Nayantara in another Ramayana film?

Reigning actress Nayantara, who received rave reviews for her performance in Balakrishna's epic film Sri Rama Rajyam(Telugu) based on epic Ramayana, has been reportedly offered a film, which has also links with the epic.

According to sources, this untitled film’s maker is Ram Gopal Varma and he approached Nayantara to play a key role as Mandodari, wife of demon king Raavana. If Nayantara gives a nod, she would pair up with Nagarjuna, sources further said. More details and official confirmation are awaited.

Anushka in Vinayan's 3D film?

Malayalam rebel director Vinayan is trying to rope in actress Anushka for his latest flick titled Dracula 2012, based on the famous novel by Bram Stoker.

Confirming the same, Vinayan said, "Yes, Anushka is interested in the project and she is almost confirmed. I wanted dates in February but, she has another project during that time. So, there is confusion regarding her dates. Hopefully in the coming days it will be confirmed."

Anushka, who won critical acclaim through the horror-fantasy flick Arundhati, will be essaying the role of an MBBS student, who is the daughter of a sorcerer. Though she in love with a boy, she is being visited by a strange man in her dreams, with whom she falls in love. According to the director, this is a fantasy horror film in 3D and it will be released in Tamil, Telugu and English.

Entries invited for National Film Awards

Entries have been invited by the Directorate of Film Festivals for the 59th National Film Awards for feature and non-feature films made in 2011.

Only Indian films, certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011, are eligible for the awards. The awards will have three sections - Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Best Writing on Cinema.

In case of feature films, there are 30 different awards including the award for Best Feature Film, Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director, Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration and awards for films in regional languages.

The Non-feature Film category has 22 different awards including Best Non-feature film, Best Debut Non-feature film of a Director, Best Anthropological or Ethnographic Film and Best Historical Reconstruction film.

In addition to this, there is also a National Award for Best Writing on Cinema which consists of two different awards - Best Book on Cinema and Best Film Critic. The last date for entries is 17 January 2011. All films must have English sub-titles.

The Big Mollywood hits, in the year of multistarrers

2011 has been an exceptional one of Mollywood. The year brought some remarkable moments for the industry with some small time movies becoming surprise hits. The year also holds special as this is only year in recent times which do not feature a 'Big M' movie in its list of top five. Interestingly it showed the door for established filmmakers like Jayaraj (Train, Naayika), Fazil( Living Together), Shaji kailas  (August 1 ) and  Thulaseedas  (Killadi Raman), as they fell short of living up to the maker's potential or reputation.

In contrast, smaller-budget films helmed by relatively freshers like Rajesh R Pillai, Salim Ahamed and Aashiq Abu flourished in the Box Office, with great support from the lovers of quality cinema. It was undoubtedly an year of multi starers with most of the hit list featuring such movies which had many starts in its castlist. Though Mammootty had a disastrous year with four flops and an average grosser in a row, Superstar vehicles weren't totally ignored either. In fact, the other Big M of Mollywood, Mohanlal has a merry time with all of his films doing pretty well in the Box Office. The following are the 10 winners of the year arranged in no particular order.

1. Seniors-As per the early reports 'Seniors', a multistarrer by young director Vysakh is the biggest hit of 2011. Featuring Kunchakko Boban, Jayaram, Biju Menon and Manoj K Jayan as four friends who return to their campus life after a gap of a decade, the movie was sharply edited and paced superbly. The director who already had a following after his debut movie 'Pookkiriraja', made 'Seniors' in a budget of 4.5 crores and is expected to have brought in a at least a 3 crore profit to the producer , Vaishakha Rajan.

2. Salt N Pepper-The most notable movie of the year was Salt N Pepper, which after making a slow start built on its positive word of mouth and ended up as a big hit. Featuring Asif Ali, Lal, Shwetha Menon and Mydhili, the movie by Aashiq Abu completed 100 days run in major centres, creating good profit for its producer Luc Sam creations.

3. Traffic- Another Slow star which was released in the first month of 2011, the movie by Rajesh R Pillai, surprised everybody with its concept and treatment. A superbly-crafted multinarrative with an edge of the thriller makeover, 'Traffic' was supported by a well knit script by Sanjay Bobby. This was also a multistarrer which told the life of a number of its lead players, who were engaged in transporting a heart through the busy roads of the Ernakulam to a hospital at palakkad. 'Traffic' also celebrated 100 days in a few release centres.

4. Urumi- This historical thriller featuring Prithviraj and Prabhudeva had an ensemble cast and was noted for its brilliant production values. Scripted by Shankar Ramakrishnan and directed by Santhosh Sivan, the movie made an impressive start at the Box Office. It was based on the attempt of a few to end the portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama. The movie when dubbed into Telugu also turned a profitable affair.

5. Rathinirvedham- Another movie that surprised everybody with the collections was 'Rathinirvedham'. A remake of the 70's hit with the same title, the pre publicity and Oomph actor has done much good to the film which opened to great initials though without a single big star. Shwetha Menon, who played the lead, was cast for the first time in Mollywood as a sensuous lady who becomes the love interest of a younger boy from the neighbourhood. The movie made in a budget of 1.5 crores collected more than 2.5 crores from the theatres itself.

6. China Town-Another multi starrer with Mohanlal, Dileep and Jayaram coming together in full length roles for an Aashirwad film, 'Chinatown' opened to magnificent initials though the hungama over the film didn't last long. The movie made at a budget of 7.75 crores managed to create profits for its makers in the long run.

7. Christian Brothers-This Joshy movie which was in the making for long, had plenty of frontline popular stars of Mollywood including Mohanlal, Dileep, Sureshgopi and Sarathkumar. The movie was released in maximum centres in Kerala and made fantastic collections, but due to the bigger budgets just managed to end a little better than average.

8. Makeup Man-Another Shafi hit after the impressive''Marykkundoru Kaunjaadu', this sparking family drama with plenty of wits was received with applause. With Suraj Venjarmoodu in his top form, this 'cinema about cinema', managed to keep the viewers engrossed with jumbled up characters and welcome cameos by Kunchakko Boban and Prithviraj.

9. Arabeem Ottakavum P Madhavan Nairum- Of the Christmas releases, this Priyadarshan's get together with Mohanlal after seven years has resulted in a safe earner. Though the old charm is missing, the movie definitely reminds us of the good old entertainers of the past with plenty of oneliners.

10. Indian rupee and Beautiful- These two movies which came out in the final months of the year met with the Mollywood standards of quality film making. Coming from the senior showman Renjith, 'Indian rupee was a brightly scripted and constructed film that was rightly listed among the must see movies of the year. Beautiful written by Anoop Menon and directed by V K Prakash emerged p nth beautiful films of 2011, with an absorbing style off narratives and performances. The other few movies that made safer earnings with the Box Office collections and television rights include 'Manikyakallu', 'Snehaveedu', 'Chappa Kurisu', 'Pranayam', 'Janapriyan', '3 Kings', 'Ghaddhama', 'My Dear Kuttichaathan', 'Venicile Vyapari, 'Dr. Love', 'Manushya Mrigum'  and 'Kayam'. 

'Hero' starts at Ernakulam

The shooting for the new movie 'Hero' featuring Prithviraj in the lead has started at Ernakulam. The director Deepan, famous for his hit movie 'Puthiyamukham' has started canning the parts of the flick at FACT near Alwaye. Tamil star Sreekanth and Bala are in other important roles in this movie which will have Yami Gowtham, a star from Chanttisgarh, as the heroine.Vinod Guruvayoor pens the scripts for this action thriller which will also feature Nedumudi Venu and Thalaivasal Vijay in the supporting cast. Meanwhile, the Mammootty-Lal flick on production 'Cobra' will restart its second schedule by the first week of January. Also directed by Lal, the movie will have much of its shoot at Ernakulam and Bangkok.

'Traffic' team again

After creating a mind blowing hit in 'Traffic', director Rajesh Pillai is getting ready to shoot his next in Malayalam. This time he will be using the scripts of Anoop Menon who had done an interesting role in 'Traffic'. Planned again as a family thriller, the new film will also have Jayasuriya apart from Kunchakko Boban, Asif Ali and Nivin Poly who were part of the big hit. Rajesh will start shooting for the movie from the early months of 2012. Meanwhile, the pre-production works of the Hindi remake of 'Traffic' is also progressing briskly. The Hindi version will feature front line stars of the industry.

Unnikuttan is back

After almost a twenty years from that golden hit, 'Yoddha', few film journalists has recently made a travel to spot the Nepali born Unnikuttan of the film. They succeeded in finding him, as the small boy has grown up into Siddhartha Lama who is currently residing at Kathmandu and working with the visual media. But the latest story is that Siddhartha has been called back by Mollywood to play one of the leads in the new movie by Lenin Rajendran, titled as 'Idavapathy'. The movie which will be simultaneously made as 'No man's land' in English will also feature another Nepali beauty and Bollywood star Manisha Koirala in an important role. Jagathy Sreekumar who had been with Sidharth in 'Yoddha' will also don a pivotal character in this new project which will have Tibet as its backdrop.Planned to be shot at interesting locales in Mercara, Chithradurg and Kathmandu, 'Idavapathy' will be produced by Shiju Sudevan in the banner of Poornima Image makers.

Saroj Kumar for this January

After a short gap from Mollywood, senior star Sreenivasan will bounce back with the movie 'Padmashree Bharath Dr.Saroj Kumar' in 2012. The movie which is in its post production works will grace the theatres on the 14th of January. Produced and distributed by Vaishakha movies, this filmy satire about the behind stories of Mollywood will be released in 70 centres. Directed by debutante Sajin Raghavan, the movie will have Sreenivasan in the title character that he has made immortal in 'Udhayanaanu Tharam'. Also scripted by the senior star, the movie will also feature the best of the comedy artists of Mollywood including Jagathy, Mukesh, Salimkumar and Suraj Venjaaramoodu, while Vineeth, Mamtha Mohandas and Fahd Fazil will be in other important roles.

Milan Jaleel elected president

Milan Jaleel, the producer of hit movies like 'Happy Husbands' and 'Thuruppughulan', has been elected the president of Kerala Film Producers' Association.

Jaleel and his panel including the General Secretary Sasi Ayyanchira has won almost all the seats except three in a closely contested election defeating much of the members of panel lead by Siyad Koker and Evershine Mani. The other  winners in the election include  Alwin Antony, Kalliyoor Sasi (Vice Pr), B Rakesh, Johny Sagarika (Jt Secretary), M Renjith (Treasure) and   V P Madhavan Nair.

The election was held at Hotel Travancore Court in Kochi. It was after a long time that the leading members of the association were selected through a closed contested elections.

Mamtha ties the marital knot

Popular Mollywood actress Mamtha Mohandas tied the marital knot with his family friend Prajith  Padmanabhan in a function that was held today at Kadavu resorts, Kozhikkod. Prajith who is a businessman based on Bahrain is the son of Moovattupuzha based Padmanabhan kartha and Geetha while Mamtha hails from Thalassery near kannur. The low profile function was attended by the close relatives of the bride and groom. The filmy fraternity who were seen at the function includes Sathyan Anthikkad, Shyamaprasad, Unni Menon and Samvrutha Sunil.

Vellaripravinte Changathy Movie Review

Banner     :Chandvi Productions
Cast         :Dileep, Indrajith, Kavya Madhavan, Manian Pillai Raju, Mamukoya, Devan, 
                  Anil Murali, Geetha   Salam, Vijayaraghavan, Ramu, Kollam Thulasi, Venu Machad,   
                  Seenath, Archana
Direction :Akku Akbar                                                     Production:Arun Ghosh, Bijoy Chandran 

'Vellaripravinte Changathi' from Akku Akbar offers plenty of fresh air with narratives thrown out of conventions and a tale told in three different levels and periods. The movie has Indrajith as Manikunju coming to Chennai in search of a job and to realise the dreams of his father Augustine, who was a failed movie director. As he is offered the job of cleaning up the retro reels at Gemini Labs, he finds to his surprise a dusty print of a film titled 'Vellaripravinte Changathi' that his father had directed thirty years back. Manikunju attempts for a preview results in a famous banner agreeing to distribute the film, which though made in the seventies is still watchable in the current times. We are also shown the film which narrated the love story of Ravi (Dileep) and Sulekha (Kavya Madhavan) who were fated to be separated in life in the filmy climax. Manikunju realizes that the actors Shajahan and Mary Varghese (again Dileep and Kavya Madhavan) who had played the lead roles, were in intense love as well, and were planning to marry after the film. Manikunju now embarks on a journey to find out what happened to them, who ran off into anonymity after the final shoot. The movie about a 'cinema within cinema' definitely has a novel theme by G S Anil and much of it is treated with honesty and elaan by the director Akku Akbar, who takes pain to pay brightest tributes to the period settings. Much of the dialogues are also impressive and suits the mood of the film. Akku just misses the post of a big hit by a whisker as the events turn melodramatic in the later half, with the odd makeup taking out much of the charm. Adding to the negatives are that the romance portrayed lacks depth and the coincidences for the twists looks contrived.It is the final few minutes that take the life out of the hard work that the crew has done in the other 110 minutes. This is Dileep's best of the roles  in 2011, who exceptionally plays the 'Ravi' on screens while Kavya Madhavan also looks good, though she hasn't improvised her acting to suit the settings of the old period. Manoj K Jayan looked the most impressive of the actors with a few scenes to treasure.  Indrajith, Sai Kumar, Vijayaraghavan, Ramu and Mamukoya have also done justice to their roles. In the technical side the cinematographers, Vipin Mohan and Sameer Haq, who had cranked the camera for the different periods have done a fine job. It is stated that the movies like 'Kuttikkuppayam' are the ones that prompted the director Augustine Joseph to go for such a film. And in all sincerity the music director Mohan Sithara's tunes on the lines of  Vayalar Sharath including 'Pathinezhakainte'.' definitely have the magic of the songs of the yesteryears, and is BG is one thing that takes the viewers to the period. 'Vellaripravinte Changathi' is undoubtedly a film that traverses a different path and could have been a bigger winner with a little more careful execution. As of now, it is a worth watch that you are sure to yearn for more.

Prasad tuning film director

After spending a decade in producing and directing popular television serials, Prasad Nooranad will call shots for a film shortly. Titled as 'Ore Pole' his debut venture as a filmmaker will be scripted by Babu Janardhanan. Based on a story by the director, this project will be produced by Nagaraj under the banner of Alakapuri Films. Prasad is planning to cast a bunch of newcomers in the male lead, who two popular actresses will come up as the heroines. Prasad had been a regular contributor to mainstream channels of Kerala including Asianet,Surya and Kairali. Recently he has won some awards for his 'Kunjedathi,' a short film based on O.N.V.Kurup's poem of the same title.

Police case against Mani

Mollywood actor Kalabhavan Mani has been charged a case for manhandling a policeman on duty. Charged according to IPC 322, the complainer says that while he was controlling the heavy traffic at Anamala near Chalakkudy, Mani's five friends who came up with the Kavady Mahotsav of Koodappuzha Sreesubrahmania Swamy temple didn't obey his order to clear off the traffic due to the procession. And then Mani came up to support his friends who had been in sever arguments with the policeman. And finally Mani is said to have engaged in a small fisticuffs. Mani is also reported to have threatened the police man over phone when he was later admitted to the government hospital. But the actor maintains that the entire story is false. Mani maintains that it was the policeman who has pushed him and created a scene.

2012 Calendar girls

Photographer Venket Ram's calendar featuring twelve gorgeous women was recently unveiled by Suriya Sivakumar. Check out these pretty damsels and click on the image to see the full view along with the styling details of each of these actresses...

Don't forget to cast your vote in the poll below, on whose styling and looks are best in this year's calendar!

Kerala heroines stop Bharathiraja?

In a rather curious grapevine from Kollywood , the shooting for the new Bharathiraja film 'Annakodiyum Kodiveeranum' is on a halt due to very different reason. The on lookers are saying that it was due to the presence of   two Malayalee actresses- Karthika and Iniya, that the senior director has called the pack up earlier than usual. It is cited that when the Mullaiperiyar issue has gone out of proportions, Bharathiraja who has always stood for Tamil cause felt it unfair to continue shooting his movies with two Kerala heroines. But sources close to Bharathiraja says that the director is not thinking on these lines and that the shot was called off only due to the reason that the first schedule for the movie is already completed and that the call sheet problems of its lead artists has delayed the further shoot. Anyhow, Bharathiraja together with Cheran, lyricist Thamarai and politicians Vaiko were seen in the front line of the protest in Chennai's Marina beach yesterday, demanding that the dam be protected.

Rahman for a Spielberg film

After the big Oscar win, music maestro A R Rahman is once again to Hollywood. This time Rahman will be giving music to a movie by none other than Steven Spielberg, famous for his bigger hits like 'Jurassic Park'. Titled as 'Welcome to the people', the movie is scripted and directed by Alex Kurtzmen, famous for his 'Mission Impossible' series. 'Welcome to People' narrates a tale about a struggling young man who, after the funeral of his estranged record-producer father, discovers that they will stipulates that he must deliver $150,000 in cash to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister he never knew existed, and her troubled 12-year-old son. The movie which is already on production will be funded by Steven Spielberg's 'Dream works'. Rahman had earlier been to Hollywood for movies like 127 hours, couples retreat and the Oscar Winner' Slum dog Millionaire'. The musician is also busy with his plenty of projects in Tamil and Hindi.

Jayaram, Jagathy in 'Thiruvambady Thampan'

After their last hit together- 'Swapna Sanchari' which is currently on theatres, Jayaram and Jagathy will come together once again for the movie titled as 'Thiruvambady Thampan'. Directed by M Padmakumar after 'Shikaar', the movie will have Jagathy as the father of the character played by Jayaram, both hailing from a family famous for their love for elephants. Scripted by S Sureshbabu, the movie will have Kannada star Haripriya as the heroine. Ouseppachan is in charge of the music section of the film which will also feature Kishore, Janardhanan, Babu Namboodhiri, Reshmi Soman and Nedumudi Venu in other important roles. Alexander John produces the movie under the banner of Jini cinema.

'Arike' is special- Samvrutha

After completing her first film with celebrated director Shyamaprasad, talented actress Samvrutha Sunil is delighted than ever before. Though this film ' Arike'  happens to be her 37th film in the industry after a nice debut in 'Rasikan' in 2003, Samvrutha is for the first time offered a chance to have a live sound recording while filming. According to the actress, this sync sound not only helped her to deliver the best, but also helped to tap the best of the resources in Dileep and Mamtha Mohandas, her co-artists in the movie and also boosted every men's involvement in the filming. Playing a bubbly girl brimming with life in the film, Samvrutha looks forward to have this technology used in each and every films in future. Samvrutha's immediate release will be A K Sajan's 'Asuravithu', where she teams up with Asif Ali.

Businessman music launched in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam

                       For the first time, Hyderabad witnessed the audio launch of Mahesh Babu's much awaitedBusinessmanon Thursday. Aditya Music has bagged the music rights. Thaman has composed music.

                 The Tamil version of the songs was released by Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala while Rajamouli, Charmee and Achhi Reddy released the Malayalam version. Director Seenu Vytla unveiled the Telugu songs.

                      R. Venkat is producing the film under the banner of RR Movie Makers. Starring Kajal Aggarwal in the female lead, the film will be released it in three languages: Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam simultaneously

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A 'Blank Check' about Lal fans

After an appreciable debut with the movie 'Plus Two', young director Shebi Chavakkad will turn a producer with the new movie titled as 'Blank Check'. Produced in the banner of Chavakkad Movies, the flick will present a debutante, Babu Retnam as director. Babu had been a long time associate to front line editor Mahesh Narayanan. 'Blank Check' will tell a very different story about three youngsters who are thick fans of superstar Mohanlal. The movie which will have enough comedy, thrill and suspense will have the stories of these three youngsters who suddenly receives a blank check to richness. Roshan, Vishnu Mohan and Tomin plays the heroes of this movie which will also present Tamil star Jimmy Dominic as the villain. 'Blank Check'  will also present a few freshers in technical sections including the music director Jesnifer, and cinematographer Binendra Menon. The shoot for the movie will start by the end of this January.

Mamtha at Guruvayoor

Mamtha Mohandas, one of the best known faces of current day Mollywood, was yesterday at Guruvayoor to offer 'Thulabharam' at the famous temple. She also offered many rituals including the 'Vazhipadu' to solicit the blessings from the powerful deity for her marriage scheduled on the 28th of this month. Mamtha will be tying the marital knot with Prejith Padmanabhan, her childhood friend and a businessman based on Bahrain. The ceremonial marriage functions will be held at Kozhikkod.

Asin wants to act with Rajni

It is a known fact that every lead ladies in the Southern movie industry likes to share the screen with the universal star Rajnikanth. Even in the case of Asin, the malayalee girl who made big name even in Hindi, the case is not different. In a recent interview, Asin opened out her mind, and about her desire to act with Rajnikanth. It is also important to note that Asin's disclosure of her desire comes out in the wake of the search for heroines for Rajni's new 3D flick 'Kochadiyan'. It is reported that though Anushka Shetty and Vidhya Balan are in the list of probable's, Asin holds an important chance to play the heroine to the senior star in this movie scheduled to start its shoot by March. After her two back to back Hindi hits in 'Ghajini' and 'Ready',  Asin is currently shooting for her new Hindi movie 'Houseful 2' with Akshay Kumar as the hero.

Another Malayalee heroine for Tamil

Following the bandwagon of Malayalee heroines, who had made a good name in Tamil is the actress Sunulakshmy, whose latest 'Senkathubhoomiyile' is gradually grabbing media attention. The actress who had been to many popular television serials like 'Kadamattathu Kathanar' and 'Kuttichathan', is playing a village girl in this yet to be released movie which will be distributed to theaters by none other than the music maestro 'Illayaraja. The maestro is said to be much impressed by the acting of Sunulakshmy in the movie. ''I find it as a biggest accomplishment in my life to get the accolades from lIlayaraja sir, who said he was much impressed by my portrayal of the orphan, Poonkodi in this movie.'' says Sunulakshmy. Illayaraja also sung the songs of the movie for her in his studio and has also tuned one special song "Ennusire, ennei vittu pokathe..." for her character in the movie.     Expected to be on theatres by February, Sunulakshmy is in great expectations for the Box office performance of the movie. The actress has earlier debuted into Tamil with the flick 'Sirithen Rasithen'. She is also the heroine for the movie 'Moonru Malar' which is currently on production.

Thilakan to help Indran

After helping Prithviraj to make an appreciable hit in 'Indian Rupee', veteran star  Thilakan will now join Indrajith to guide him  find that much evading hit. Indrajith had been always appreciated as a better actor with that sense of role selection than his much popular brother Prithviraj, but could never convert any of his films as a sole hero to a big hit. Indrjaith had been a part of many hit multistarrers and was appreciated for his roles. But many of his promising movies like 'Mizhi Randilum', 'Nayakan' and 'City of God' were not well received by the masses. Anyhow, Veteran star Thilakan will now join Indrajith for the new film titled 'Mullamoottum Munthiricharum', the shooting of which has started at Thodupuzha. Indrajith is in the role of Jose, a spoilt brat who is a regular headache to his villagers. Thilakan will come up as a priest in the local Church whose timely intervention changes the character of Jose. Ananya and Meghna Raj play the female leads of the film directed by Aneesh Anwar. Tini Tom, Ashokan, Anil Murali, Shajon and Kochupreman are also in the cast of the film produced under the banner of Jyothirgamaya.

Another big Lal fan

The most versatile star of our times Mohanlal has ever amused fellow actors and directors, who had always raved to be with the star in at least one of their projects. Ram Gopal Varma, Maniratnam, Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Batchchan are few names in this big list who had publicly acknowledged the grace and quality of working with Mohanlal. Now into the list is the new entry-the Tamil director Selvaraghavan. While recently promoting his latest movie 'Mayakkam Enna', Selvaraghavan admitted himself as a big fan of Mohanlal. The director who love to have worked with Mohanlal, is looking for a right project so that he can speak with Mohanlal and realise such a cinema. Lovers of the maverick star, just wait with fingers crossed for that biggie that will undoubtedly make the best from the duo.

Two Big B's of Mollywood in 2011

2011 had been an exceptional year for two artists in Mollywood, who otherwise were tied to undemanding roles in recent times. Biju Menon and Baburaj are the two actors who tasted success like never before. Though they had been in the business for over 15 years, the year focused them in some best of the roles, which received great acceptance, form the masses. Biju Menon, once considered as a hero material, had started the year with a positive note for his role in 'Marykkundoru Kunjaadu' which was rated the best thing of the film. Though with very few dialogues, this character of the film which pulled it to success was savoured with accolades. Then followed his role in 'Ghadhama', 'Christan Brothers' and 'Ulakaom Chuttum Vaaliban'. He had been the best of the lead four in the 'Seniors' another super hit of the year while in 'Snehaveedu' he was for the first time casted in a Sathyan Anthikkad film. All these roles were applauded by the audience who will see him in similar roles in 2012 films like 'Ordianary', Spanish Masala' and Mr. Marumakan'. Baburaj who had been to baddie roles for quite some time had a very special offer in Aashiq Abu's 'Salt N Papper', as a soft spoken cook which took the viewers by surprise. No only that it elevated the actor to the list of great supporting actors, he is also flooded with offers in softer, humorous roles.He also had a directorial success in 2011 in 'Manushyamrugam', which had him placed against Pritvhriaj. Baburaj will also have some exceptional roles coming his way in 2012, the first being his first double role in 'Second Show', the debut movie of Mammootty's son 'Dulqar Salmon. Anyhow, good going, Big B's......

Mammootty's 'Gangster'

Though director Aashiq Abu is busy getting ready to start his new '22 Female Kottayam, with Reema Kallingal as the heroine, his next Mammootty project 'Gangster' is in the final phase of writing. Ahamed Siddhique, the actor who become popular as the character Mirash in 'Salt N Pepper' is now giving final touches to the scripts of 'The gangster'. Written jointly by Parthan Mohan, Ahamed says that he is trying to go for an original, wild and exciting script. And as the movie which was originally scheduled to start by February got shifted, he has got some more time to improvise the scenes. Mammooty will appear as a gangster named Akbar Ali Khan in this movie which will also feature Rohini Attangadi, Parthiban, Baburaj & Suraj Venjaramoodu in the important roles. Produced in the banner of Ahead Cinema Company, this action thriller will be shot at Kasarkode and Mangalore. As per the current plans, Aashiq Abu will kick start the shoot for 'Gangster ' by the month of May.

Dulquar gets married

Megastar Mammootty's son Dulquar Salman got married yesterday in a low profile function attended by the close relatives of the groom and bride. Dulqar's Nikkah with Chennai based Amal Sulfi took place between 1and 8 pm at Park Sheraton. Mammootty played the perfect host to the few celebrity guest including singer KJ Yesudas, Sarath Kumar and his wife Radhika, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Prabhu, Kunjan, Seema, Sukumari, director Hariharan and MK Stalin. Mammootty will be holding a big reception on December 26 at Ramada Resorts in Kochi for the other relatives and film fraternity. Meanwhile, Dulquar who has entered filmdom recently will have his first release 'Second Show' by the third week of January.  Dulquar will also concentrate further of his filmi career with films like 'Usthad Hotel' by Anwar Rasheed and the big project with super star Mohanlal directed by Vysakh.

Ratheesh Vega impresses

The three film old Ratheesh Vega has suddenly captured the hearts of the young music lovers of Kerala with his recent songs in the movie 'Beautiful'. 'Mazhaneerthullikal'- the song written by Anoop Menon set to music by Ratheesh Vega and rendered in the voice of Unni Menon is the most recent song that is getting maximum appreciation online and is maximum downloads as caller tunes. Ratheesh has beautifully blended the traditional song rhythms with the modern backing in the song which is said to be the major highlight of the promotion of the film, also pictured well by V K Prakash. Ratheesh's entry into the field was through the movie 'Cocktail' which had a beautiful melody in 'Neeyam Thanalinu Thaaze' which also went to become the chart topper. He also delivered the BG scores for some films which also went noticed. With the succuss of 'Beautiful' Ratheesh is suddenly finding himself busy amidst many big projects. 'Mullasery Madhavankutty, Nemom P O' is his immediate movie ready for release. Ratheesh has also signed for some big projects in Mollywood including the Mammooty film by Johny Antony and the 'Newsmaker' by Deepan. The young music director is planning to use many foreign sounds and artists and to record the music for the film at London and France. Ratheeesh is also planning to organize a romantic music journey with the aid of his band named as 'Band Cocktail'.

ARR prays for 'DAM 999' songs

As three songs from the controversial film Dam 999 is currently listed in the competition for the best song category of the year's Oscar's, the only Indian winner in this category A R Rahman says that he is praying for the songs to get honoured in the ceremony. ARR rates the music of film as brilliant and worthy enough to win the awards in the 84th edition of Oscars. Rahman adds that he knows everyone associated with the music department of the film very closely. Hariharan who had sung many of the songs for Rahman texted him about the accomplishment. Moreover, Rahman in his younger days had associated with the music director of the film Ouseppachan, with whom Rahman worked as the keyboard player. Ouseppachan is still known to be invited by Rahman to add additional violin inputs to many of the famous Rahman songs. Much of the readers will remember that AR Rahman had won two Oscars for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire.

'Vellaripravinte Changathy' to wait for two more days

The final release of the year 'Vellaripravinte Changathy' was expected to be on theatres tomorrow. But as per the current reports this Dileep -Kavya starrer will take two more days to be on the release centres. This delay in release of the nostalgic Akku Akbar film is said to be due to the delay in the post production and censoring. The movie will get to theatres on the Christmas day (December 25) in around 70 centres. The movie have to take on Shahrukh's 'Don 2' and Vikram's 'Rajapattai' which will make their big release tomorrow. 'Vellaripravinte Changathi' is  a trip down the nostalgic lane of film  making in the B&W period , with the movie telling the story behind the efforts in  making a romantic flick in the seventies. This is the 20th film together for Dileep and Kavya, who already have an impressive track record in creating hits. Their movies like 'Meesa Madhavan', 'Thenkasi Pattanam', 'Darling Darling', 'Thilakkam', 'Kochy Rajavu', 'Lion', 'Pappy Appacha', Christian Brothers' and  'Runway' were all big hits and the pair will be expecting to sign off 2011 in a winning note.

Pasupathi - Padmapriya asked to stop work

The Mullaiperiyar issue had its impact in the shooting of a Malayalam movie starring Pasupathi and Padmapriya in the lead roles, when the protestors asked the cast and crew to wind up their schedule at Sundarapandipuram near Tirunelveli.

The film titled 'No 66 Madurai Bus', directed by M A Nishad, was being shot at Sundarapandipuram a few days ago after a small-schedule in Tenkasi. It was at that time agitators reached the spot and asked the director not to hold the shooting there.

However, no violence was reported and it is said that the protestors gave one hour time for the cast and crew to pack their belongings. "All that the agitators wanted was to show their opposition in a peaceful manner," sources said.

Recently, there were rumours that there was a ban on Malayalam movies in Tamil Nadu and films of even top stars suffered a setback because of this. However, distributors and cinema hall owners in the State denied this saying no such ban.

Mammootty meets Jayalalitha

Megastar Mammootty met Dr.Jayalalitha yesterday at CM's office at Chennai. The megastar was there to invite the CM to his son Dulqar Salman's wedding, scheduled to take place this 22nd.Mammootty had a few minutes chat with the Tamil Nadu C M. It is not yet clear whether Mammootty has talked about the ongoing Mullaiperiyar issue in between. The megastar has already taken leave from the movie industry to be a part of the final preparation of his only son's wedding.

Big M's have a flying start

After quite some time, the theatres in Kerala are having goods time with Malayalam films as the superstar movies are  registering good collections at the Box Office. Venciile Vyapari' and 'oru Marubhumikkadha' has made a flying start that will help the theatres to earn some revenue with Mollywood films. For the last couple of months ,most of them were after Other Language films, that did  some good business all over kerala. But the movie that got stuck in between seems to be Beautiful, directed by V K Prakash with Jayasurya, Anoop Menon and Meghna Raj, which was taken of from quite a number of centres due to these super star films. Though the movie has got a positive word of mouth, lesser stars couldn't make a winning situation for the film. Director V K Prakash is feeling not so good for the industry and find this a sorry situation where even good films can't even fetch audience and continue in release centres for more than a couple of weeks. As per the industry sources, some centres will go for a re-release  of 'Beautiful' after the hungama over the current superstar flicks are over.

Dam and Ouseppachan for Oscars

'DAM 999'- the movie which told the story of a few lives in the backdrop of a cracking dam has been shortlisted  among  the 265 films contending for the Best Picture nomination at the year's Oscars.Three songs from the movie "Dakkanaga Dugu Dugu", "DAM999 Theme Song" and "Mujhe Chhod Ke"  set to music by Ouseppachan are also among the 39 shortlisted for nominations in the Original Song category for the 84th Academy Awards. The movie made at a budget of $10 million is directed by Sohan Roy who is pretty happy about this dream achievement. "DAM 999" was in news last month, when its screening in Tamil Nadu was banned for its alleged closer connection in plots with the Mullaperiyar Dam. The final list of nominations for the 84th Academy Awards s will be announced on January 24, 2012, in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

Kavya, happy with her dubbing

After some time, Kavya Madhavan is pretty happy with the good Box Office run of his 'Venicile Vyapari' for more than one reason. Apart from being the heroine of the movie,that too with Mammootty , Kavya is also appreciated for the dubbing of her character in her own voice. Kavya complains that she is not always allowed to dub for her characters, as the voices of dubbing artists are preferred over her husky, baser voice with a slight Neeleshwaram accent. But whenever she had dubbed for her characters, she had been able to do more justice to her on-screen performances. Kavya had lent her voice for a few more recent films like 'Gaddhama' and 'Bhakthajanangalude Shradhakku'. But directors of films like   'Christian Brothers', and 'China Town' opted for other voices to fill the screen face of the actress who had been honoured many times with the State Awards for great acting performances.

Sreeni and Indrajith for an 'Outsider'

In an interesting sort of casting, Sreenivasan will for the first time share the screen with Indrajith for the new movie titled as 'Outsider'. Expected to start its shoot at Chalakkudy by the 30th of December, 'Outsider' will be directed by Premlal. 'Manikyakallu' fame Gireesh will produce this movie which will tell a revenge story. Tamil star Pashupathy comes up as the villain in this movie which will also feature Suraj and Jagathy in other important roles. Meanwhile, Sreenivasan has already completed the shoot for his much expected satire 'Padmashree Bharath Dr. Sarojkumar'. The final couple of days of shoot for the movie was held at Pallipuram C R P F camp. Sajith Raghavan is the director of this movie which will be brought to theatres by Vysakh cinema, by the end of January.

Anoop in Hero

Anoop Menon who is gradually emerging as an actor to look forward to will be seen in an important role in the new Prithviraj movie 'Hero'. This is the first time both these actors are coming together for a major project. Directed by Deepan, the movie will also feature Tamil star Sreekanth and Bala in important roles. Yami Gowtham is the heroine of this movie which is scripted by Vinod Guruvayoor. Expected to start by the last week of December, ' Hero' is produced by Seven Arts.  Anoop Menon is passing through some wonderful years in his career with popular roles in films like 'Cocktail', 'Beautiful', 'Traffic' and 'Pranayam'.

Supriya to teach Hindi

In the latest of the gossips, it is reported that Young star Prithvirajis busy studying Hindi from his wife Supriya. Since Supriya was working with the National channels, she is well versed in the language and this will help Prithvi to learn the language easily. Prithvi, who is currently shooting for his debut Hindi film 'Ayya' is in heavy practice of the pronunciations in  Hindi, as he is very particular in dubbing the movie in his own voice. It is reported that Supriya is in the sets of the movie to help her husband to understand the Hindi scripts. Directed by Sachin Khundalkar, Prithvi is in all hopes for the movie which will tell a love story between a Southie and a Maharashtrian girl played by Rani Mukherjee.

No ban on Malayalam Movies

Though the two recent superstar movies from Malayalam -'Vencile Vyapari' and 'Oru Marubhoomikatha' didn't open in Tamil Nadu as usual with their Kerala release, the theatre owners in the state maintain that this is not due to the ongoing Mullaiperiyar issue. The exhibitors who says that they do not entertain ban of releases of any films in Tamil Nadu  cites that it is due to the numerous Tamil releases and the release of  the big Tom Cruise movie which led to Malayalam films not getting needed stations in Chennai.

Shafi, the director of the Mammootty movie 'Venicile Vyapari says that his movie didn't open in Tamil Nadu because much of the Malayalee families there will be moving on to Kerala due to year end vacations and Christmas season. And so the B O will not be that much impressive. Shafi is planning to release the movie only the 30th of this month at Chennai.

But there are allegations particularly from the Malayalam Film Distributors' Association that this sudden unavailability of release centres is due to Tamil Nadu's stand on the Mullaiperiyar issue and an unofficial ban imposed on the trade. Director Renjith and V K Prakash are also crying foul, as the later's 'Beautiful has to stop the Chennai screenings after its first week. They are also planning to go for agitations; if the Kerala exhibitors led by Liberty Basheer change the Malayalam movies on theatres by next week end for 'Vikram's new release 'Rajapattai' expected to be on theaters shortly.

Mohanlal, Dulkar with Vysakh

Two years ago, young director Vysakh surprised everybody with 'Pokkiri Raja', a movie made in a budget of 5 crore, gathering 17 crores from the Kerala market to emerge as the biggest hit of the year. The director who made a casting coup by uniting Prithviraj with Megastar Mammootty for this film is on the lines of a similar surprise with his new project...Yes, the promising young director is going to call the shots for his new film with Superstar Mohanlalin the lead. The surprises don't end here as Vysakh will also bring in Megastar Mammootty's son Dulqar Salman to play the second hero in this movie to be written by Sibi K Thomas- Udhay Krishna. The trade observes that the union of Mohanlal with the other superstar's son will itself bring in much curiosity that will end up in favour of the movie. Vysakh and the scriptwriters are planning to for a bigger canvas for this film which will be on sets only by the last months of 2012. Vysakh who is currently in the preproduction works of his 'Mallusingh' grabbed news headlines yesterday when he was not allowed for a location hunt by some organisations in Tamil Nadu, over the Mullaiperiyar row, The director and his crew who was at Pollachy to look for some suitable location's was forced to return as activists in large numbers surrounded the hotel on which they were staying.

Telugu Rathinirvedham, a hit

Following the good Box Office performance of the remake of 'Rathinirvedham' in the same title in Kerala, the movie is making money also with its dubbed version in Telugu. The movie which opened as one with plenty of sensuous scenes, has currently gained currency as a movie with a good message. The movie directed by T K Rajeev Kumar is being shown in around thirty theatres in and around Hyderabad. The lead lady of the movie, Shwetha Menon is already a known figure in Telugu, which adds to its demand. The trade is eagerly watching whether this good run of the movie can open a space for more releases from Mollywood in Telugu.