T Damodaran passes away

Well-known scenarist T Damodaran, popularly known as Damodaran Master, has passed away.

He has been one of the most successful scenarists in Malayalam and has scripted several success stories, especially in the 1970s and 80s. 

His association with director I V Sasi has been instrumental in the birth of a number of huge hits including Angaadi, Eenadu, Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Vaartha, Avanazhi, 1921,Inspector Balram, Kaalaapani and Yes your honour among many others.

Damodaran master started his career as a physical education teacher and has acted in a few films as well. He died at his home in Kozhikode at the age of 77.

Ranjini Haridas to play the heroine

TV anchor Ranjini Haridas will play the heroine in a new film titled Entry, the shooting of which has started in Kochi. 

The film is being directed by Rajesh Amanakara. She has been receiving several offers in the past but according to reports, she decided to acceptEntry after liking the film’s story and her character in it.

Baburaj, Bhagath, Asokan and Suresh Krishna include the main cast. Meyjo Joseph is the music director.

Ranjini has been the anchor for the ‘Idea Star Singer Show’ in Asianet for several years now and is a former beauty pageant winner.

Padmapriya in 'Trivandrum Lodge'

After the hugely successful Beautiful, director V K Prakash, scenarist and actor Anoop Menon and actor Jayasurya will come together again inTrivandrum Lodge. The shooting of the film will start in mid April.

Padmapriya will play the heroine in Trivandrum Lodge, which is being produced by Time Ads’ P A Sebastian.

Beautiful became some kind of a sensation, which virtually helped the careers of everyone involved in the film. Anoop Menon had announced a project with Traffic director Rajesh Pillai but it has now been postponed.

Jayasurya is currently shooting for Saji Surendran’s laugh riot Husbands in Goa.

Copycats beware!

As per reliable sources, the producers of a high profile film made last year are in a state of panic. The reason? One of the songs from the film has been a straight copy from a foreign album. It is almost sure by now that the producer will have to cough up some lakhs as compensation. 

The foreign company has taken up the issue and there is a great debate happening on who is going to shoulder the responsibility. The music director, when last heard, is living in a state of shock!

But then, most of the tunes that are being presented in Malayalam have inspirations elsewhere. A prominent singer turned composer had shamelessly copied songs from an Egyptian singer’s album, which became some kind of a joke on the various social networking sites.

All these are happening at a time when plagiarism is regarded as something of an accepted trend in Malayalam. Malayali directors are finding inspirations not just from Hollywood as they did earlier, but also from other language films including Chinese and Latin American ones.

The new trend in Malayalam is to copy story ideas from Bollywood. After a prominent Bollywood director’s thriller was copied and made into a horrible Malayalam film recently, another film from the same director is getting a ‘new treatment’ in Malayalam of late. The new film is nearing completion now.

And surprisingly, the makers of these Malayalam films pose themselves as great talents even after all these shameful acts of plagiarism. But the real panic happens for them when the makers of the original seek legal ways against piracy.

Or ask the music directors, who make it a point to teach young singers how to sing perfectly, in some popular reality shows on TV.

STR- Nayan in 'Love Anthem'?

Nayantara is back to signing films after her much talked about break up with multi-faceted Prabhu Deva. The latest is that there's a huge demand to bring back Nayantara and Simbu aka STR on screen! The duo set the screens on fire with their on screen chemistry in 'Vallavan' following which they reportedly got together and parted ways. But they didn't sign any film together post it although fans seemed to like their on screen chemistry. Now that all seems to be well between the duos, it is said that Nayantara might be seen in Simbu's international music album, 'Love Anthem For World Peace'! It is also said that Vetrimaaran tried bringing them together for his 'Vada Chennai'. Nayantara has signed a project with Gopichand in Tamil and has also managed to bag a few biggies in Telugu. She is touted to play Ajith's lady love in Vishnuvardhan's next, although there's no official confirmation on this front.

Rajesh Pillai's next film titled 'Gold'

Traffic director Rajesh Pillai has announced his next project in Malayalam, a film titled Gold. 

“It’s based on the lives of women athletes and their journey of struggles that often gets unnoticed,” says Rajesh Pillai. 

The film has been scripted by Sankar Ramakrishnan, who wrote Urumi.

Rajesh, who recently pulled out of the Tamil version of Traffic, will direct the Bollywood version of the film soon.

The cast of Gold is being decided now and several top names from the business are being considered for the roles. 

The grapevine has it that the director has finalized a Malayali heroine, who acted in a Tamil hit recently. 

Kunchacko Boban is the only confirmed name in the film’s cast, as per certain sources. 

Adieu Jose Prakash!

Just a day after he was announced the winner of the J C Daniel award for the year, veteran actor Jose Prakash died on Mar 24. 

He died of multiple disorders, at a private hospital in Kochi. He was 87.

After making his debut as a singer and actor in 1953, Jose Prakash became noted as the finest villains in Malayalam cinema. Though he has done several character roles as well, he is mainly remembered as one of the most stylish baddies in the business.

He made his debut in the film Sheriyo Thetto, directed by Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair. He did a brief appearance in Rajesh Pillai’s Traffic, last year.

Happy birthday, Prakash Raj!

Multiple National Award winning south India's favourite villain, Prakash Raj celebrates his birthday today (March 26). The multi-faceted personality has contributed in ways more than one to films as an actor, director and producer. He is also one of the few actors who is popular in the five leading industries of the country - Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Prakash Raj is today one of the prominent character artists who is in demand for films that feature top notch actors. Apart from a number of biggies in South Indian cinema he also has three promising films up north, 'Dabangg 2' with Salman Khan, 'Rowdy Rathore' and 'Zanjeer'.

In fact in 'Saguni', a Karthi - Pranitha starrer, the makers weren't satisfied with the villain's performance after the shoot was entirely wrapped and immediately opted for Prakash Raj to add mass appeal to their film!

He is a content man for his directorial venture 'Dhoni' that released in Telugu - Tamil a month back opened to rave reviews from critics and was welcomed by audience as it's a quality family entertainer.

Here's wishing the ace talent a very happy birthday from IndiaGlitz as he blows another candle!

Ee Adutha Kalathu' team bags another

After their critical success of 'Ee Adutha kalathu', the team of director Arun Kumar Aravind and scriptwriter Murali Gopi will work together for a new project. This film to be produced by M Renjith in the banner of Rejaputhra films will be on sets by the end of this year. Murali Gopi has already stated working on the scripts of this film, which will be in another different genre like their first film together.

Meanwhile, 'Ee adutha Kalathu' in its fifth week has emerged a hit, registering 60-80 percent collections in metros. Many lesser known centres are now going for a re release of the movie due to the increased word of mouth.

Jayasurya demands his due

Even after trying to give the maximum difference to his characters to  the Malayalee audience who wants change, Jayasuriya feels that he is not getting his due. The star who has proved himself to be a versatile one, playing the lead, villain, and supporting actor in simultaneous films observes that the viewers here are not giving him the right accolades and supports for the efforts that he is taking. The actor points out that if the success of 'Cocktail' and 'Beautiful' were in Tamil, the appreciations could have been much different. Jayasuriya who debuted as a comedy hero, now wishes to see himself in more serious roles, though even it be in the supporting cast. Jayasuriya's latest movies in the offer include the very diverse ones like 'Pigman' ArdhaNareeshwaran,' 'Paathiramanal', 'Husbands in  Goa', 'Evening Batch', 'Mayflower ' and 'Vadhyar'.

Surya Awards for Lal and Kavya

Repeating the trends of other popular awards of the year, Blessy's 'Pranayam', Superstar Mohanlal and Kavya were named the best movie, actor and actress in the year's edition of Surya film Award -2012. The awards jointly instituted by Surya T V and Kerala Film Producers Association were announced yesterday by the jury chairman K  R Mohanan, and the members of producers association, Sasi Ayyanchira, Milan Jaleel, and Rejaputhra Renjith.
                              
'Pranayam' once again brought another best actor trophy for Mohanlal while Kavya got the award for her role in 'Bhakthajanangalude Shraddhakku'. While Renjith was named the best director for his 'Indian Rupee', Anoop Menon and Ramya Nambeeshan were selected as the second best in acting.
                           
The popular awards for best film, best actor and actress went to Urumi', Prithviraj and Shwetha Menon respectively while Aashiq Abu is the popular director.  Blessy, M Jayachandran, Jomon T. John, Manjari, Unni Menon, Murugan Kaattakada, Master Govardhan, Rahul Pillai and Anumol will receive the other awards in various sections.  The awards will be given away in a colourful function organised at Kochy on the 15th of April.

Prakash Raj: Bollywood's busy villain

Looks like Prakash Raj is all set to storm the Hindi film industry with his power-packed performance. The popular south Indian actor-producer-director is currently part of three promising Bollywood projects. He is playing the villain in 'Dabangg 2', a sequel to one of the biggest blockbusters of the recent times. Prakash Raj is part of 'Rowdy Rathore' the Hindi remake of Tamil hit 'Siruthai'. He will also be seen in the remake of Amitabh Bachchan classic, 'Zanjeer'. 'Zanjeer' will be directed by Apoorva Lakhia simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu and it will have Chiranjeevi's son Ramcharan Teja in the lead role. "I'm playing the role essayed by the iconic Ajith in the original," says Prakash Raj. On 'Dabangg 2', he says, "I am having a great time on the sets of the film. The sequel is 10 times more powerful than Dabangg. Everyone will love it." Prakash Raj is confident that 'Rowdy Rathore' will also make it big.

Sreeni in 'Bhoopadathil Illatha Oridam'

After a long time, Sreenivasan will once again turn a school teacher for the new movie 'Bhoopadathil Illatha Oridam'. Directed and Scripted by debutante Joe Challiseerry, this satirical and humorous movie is based on one of the earlier stories of Sethu which came out in the title 'Deshathinte Vijayam'.                     Sreenivasan appears as Madhavan Kutty, a school teacher in a silent village who is a favourite among the villagers. Rajashri Nair is the heroine of the movie while Nivin poly, Innocent, Nedumudi Venu, Salimkumar, Manian pillai raju,  Iniya , Suraj venjaramoodu and  K PA C Lalitha also appear in other important roles. Mohan Sithara is in charge of the music section while Sameer Haq handles the camera. David Kachappilly produces this movie under his own banner.

Hamuda's 'Kobra' act

Four time body building champion Mr Universe Ahamed Hamuda was in kerala for quite a couple of months, promoting the body building initiatives in the state. He was the chief guest in many body building competitions that was organized in the state, last month. And almost all media did give much coverage for the champion.                            Reading about Hamuda, it was the suggestion from Mammootty and lal to have him with them for their new movie togther- Kottayam Brothers alias 'Kobra'. They contacted Abu Salim, who is another national champion to know the whereabouts of this Universal champion. Abu Salim got in touch with the chairman of State body building association and within days, Hamuda was ready to act in his first movie.    The movie 'Kobra' will now feature Hamuda in the introduction sequences of Mammooty and Lal where the world champion will take on the Delhi boxing champions Kari and Raja, played by lal and Mammootty in the movie. Though Hamuda struggled with the language initially, he very soon picked up and was able to complete his portions in a matter of a couple of days .During his two days with the crew, Hamuda also impressed every one with his humble manners. The portions with Hamuda were shot at Chitranjali studio by cinematographer Venu.                     Hamuda was much overwhelmed with his first stint with camera and suggested that he is ready to be back, if more Mollywood filmmakers demands him for such roles.

Simbu: 'Vettai Mannan' is a light hearted gangster flick

Simbu is back to films after working on his much expected international album 'Love Anthem For World Peace' and STR has kick-started work on his films that are taking shape in a fast pace. Speaking on 'Vettai Mannan' he says, "Vettai Mannan is a gangster flick. Usually gangster films have a lot of action and are very serious but we have tried this with a comedy base so all types of audience will like it. It's a technically sound film and is one of the biggest projects of my career". 'Vettai Mannan' is a three heroine project where Simbu woos Deeksha Seth and Hansika Motwani will be seen as a glam gangster girl. Simbu and VTV Ganesh will provide comic relief. The first half has been wrapped and the team is leaving to Brazil where the next schedule will kick-start. On the eagerly awaited music (Simbu - Yuvan have delivered several chartbusters in the past) he says, "We're trying something new, I am hopeful that the audience like it. I am singing a song and penning lyrics for a track".

'The King and The Commissioner' takes on 'Agent Vinod'

With its release in more than 200 centres, The King and The Commissioner is evidently aiming at the huge initials.

Most of the centres have extra shows today and the memories of the two characters, known for their dare devil nature and thrilling dialogues, should bring in huge crowds on the first day of their comeback.

Taking on The King and The Commissioner is the Bollywood movie Agent Vinod.

The film has been directed by Sriram Raghavan, the director of the exciting moviesEk Hasina Thi and Johnny Gaddaar. Saif Ali Khan is producing the film and is playing the hero while his ladylove in real life, Kareena Kapoor, will play the heroine on screen.

Both the films have been in the making for a while now and have to live up to huge expectations. The countdown starts now. 

Crucial day for Mammootty & Suresh Gopi

For both Mammootty and Suresh Gopi, The King and Commissioner were just another films, in the mid nineties. 

It was the same for director Shaji Kailas and scenarist Ranji Panicker. But things have changed now.

Mammootty has been going through a rough patch in his career, with almost half a dozen flops in his kitty during the past one-year or so.

Suresh Gopi is no where near what he used to be during his hey days and is hoping to start an alternative career as a television anchor with the Malayalam version of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

Shaji Kailas has also been making forgettable duds like Drona 2010 and August 15, during the past two years. Ranji Panicker has not written a script after Roudram in 2008.

No wonder, The King and The Commissioner could be a crucial one in the careers of the big quartet.

The next Pandit?

For all those Santhosh Pandit fans, here is a new clone to take on the comical filmmaker-hero.

The curious thing here is that the new one matches up with the original in his comical avatar and his film has been called Lt. Col. Satheesh Pandit! 

Almost the entire technical aspects have been handled by someone called ‘Sundaran Shukkoor’.

The new Pandit has made it clear that his war is not against superstars but is targeting the Pandits who are maligning the film industry. In fact, he has paid his respects for The King and The Commissioner in the ads.

Lt. Col. Satheesh Pandit will release in select centres today. 

Kunchacko Boban targets Prithviraj

In the first interview after their ‘hush-hush marriage’, actor Prithviraj’s wife Supriya said that when she was searching for a south Indian actor who could speak English, it was her beau’s name that first came to her mind. This comment was ridiculed in a video, which had become a rage in the social networking sites. 

Now, when everyone else seems to have forgotten that episode, the issue is brought back again by Kunchacko Boban as he take potshots at Prithviraj, making fun of the ‘famous’ comment, in his latest release Ordinary, directed by Sugeeth.

A smart move, plain jealousy or was he just saying those lines which were given to him by the director? Your guess could be as good as ours.

K&C opens to bumper responses

The latest movie from Shaji Kailas, SureshGopi and Mammootty' The King and the Commissioner opened to bumper responses today. The movie enmeshed with bombastic dialogues and racy treatment is a lengthy film at 3.15 hours and finds its initial shows houseful, all over kerala. The performances of the lead stars including Mammootty and SureshGopi are said to be power packed with high voltage sequences all along the movie. Shaji Kailas in direction and Samjath in editing is also said to have put in a good show. Altogether a fan celebration, this King and the commissioner is, in all probabilities, likely to end the drought of a hit for its lead stars and the director.

'Oru yathrayil' gets ready

After the critically acclaimed anthology 'Kerala Caf�' by a team led by Ranjith, another one titled 'Oru Yaathrayil' is getting ready . This anthology in five parts is directed by a team of five directors-Major Ravi, Vinod Vijayan, Priyanandhanan, Rajesh Amanakara and Mathews.                      While  Major Ravi movie titled 'Amma'  features Janardhanan, Jayakrishnan, Manikandan Pattambi,and  Sukumari in the lead roles, priyanandhanan will have Remya Nambeesan, Vineethkumar and  C.K. Babu in the lead roles in his shot 'Marichavarude kadal'. Vinod Vijyayan's 'Sarvashiksha Abhiyan' will feature Surabhi, Anil Murali and Baby Esther. The titles of the  movie by Rajesh Amanakara is "Honey moon'  while Mathews will have   Lakshmi Gopala Swami, Jayan,and  Master Vivas for his 'I Love you Papa'.                           Presented by Sibi Thottapuram and Joby Mundamattam in the banner of S J M entertainments, 'Oru Yaathrayil' is almost through its shoots and will grace the theatres, this vacation.

'King and Commissioner' ready for a big release

Mollywood is gearing up for the biggest release of the year in ' The king and the Commissioner', - a multi-starrer featuring megastar Mammootty and Sureshgopi, once again in the gang of Ranji Panikkar and Shaji Kailas. A different genre of a sequel which unites two  hit characters from two big hits'- Joseph Alex Thevallyparambil I A S of 'The King'' and Bharath Chandran I P S of 'The Commissioner', this reunion has already made it the most expected movie of the year.
                      
The release of the movie coincides with a crucial juncture in the career of its lead stars and the director, who all are ailing without any success for almost an year. While Mammootty is facing the viewers after five flop movies in a row, Sureshgopi's latest movies are in a pathetic stage with not even managing an average opening. The case of the director Shaji Kailas, who had delivered a lot of hits in the late nineties in not much different. His last half a dozen movies didn't made their respective producers happy, with a few like 'Drona' and ' August 15' sinking terribly in the Box Office.
                
As the big film which was in the shoot for almost eight months is finally complete, the producer of the movie Anto Joseph  is making no stones unturned to create a big hit out of the it. The movie already has got adequate prepublicity, as the makers are planning to open it in 200 plus centres in the country of which 150 will be within the state. The reservations in the theatres have started at least six days ago and this time, the makers believe that they may not falter in producing a hit.

22FK for this Vishu

After the path breaking movie 'Salt 'N Pepper',  director Aashiq Abu will face the Mollywood viewers once again with his new movie ''22 Female, Kottayam'. The movie scheduled for a release on the  13th of April will be a Vishu offering from the director.  Featuring Fahd Fazil and Reema Kallingal in the lead roles, the movie will tell the story of Malayalee nursing students at Banglore.  This will be the third movie from Aashiq Abu, who will soon start his new project '�dukki Gold'.

Jyothirmayi bats for women

Mollywood actress Jyothirmayi, who is popular in Kollywood thanks to films such as 'Naan Avan Illai' and 'Vedigundu Murugesan', has become the brand ambassador of a Kerala government's initiative to protect the rights of women. Titled 'Thantedam Gender Fest', the event is organized by the Department of Social Welfare in association with various women's organizations all over the State. "I am happy to be associated with this," Jyothirmayi says. "Women empowerment is essential for the strengthening of family, society and the country," the 'Thalainagaram' actress says, adding: "Women always have to work harder than men to prove themselves. But I am sure they can excel in any field." The 10 day-long festival organized by the Social Welfare Department to provide a platform for the convergence of various activities for women, concluded a couple of days ago. It was inaugurated in Kozhikode by Bihar Minister for Social Welfare Parveen Amanulla.

Jagathy to undergo Physiotherapy

Famous artist Jagathy Sreekumar, who is currently in KIMS  hospital following the grave accident, will start doing physiotherapy from today. The actor who survived multiple injuries has been to many surgeries in the last week and is currently getting better. The entire film fraternity is taking special interest to offer the best of the treatment plans to the actor, who is in fact the most sought after one in Malayalam. Meanwhile, Jagathy's driver who was also admitted to the same hospital was discharged from hospital, yesterday.

Lal Jose shoots at the top of the world

For all those who are here astonished to find out where exactly is this top of the world, our answer is that it is 'Dubai's  Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, rising high at 828 metres. A couple of days ago, ace director Laljose and his Mollywood movie  'Diamond Necklace' became the first Indian movie to be shot in the world's tallest location. An enviable honour for Mollywood, Laljose has gone in for some astonishing stellar shots which will be the highlights of the movie .Laljose and his cinematographer Sameer Thahir  has also taken special  care to include the 'Dubai fountain', the world's tallest working fountain in its frames. Featuring Fahd Fazil, Samvrutha Sunil, Anushree and Gowthami in the lead, the shoot for the movie will be over in another couple of weeks.

Utthara to debut

The year has seen plenty of star kids doing admirable jobs on Mollywood screen. The latest to add to the block seems to be Uthara Unni, the daughter of senior actor Urmila Unni. Uthara, who had been famous through her ads, particularly that of Bhima, will make  her Mollywood debut with Lenin Rajendran's 'Edavapathy', which is currently on sets. The actress will play the character of an young girl, the daughter of the character played by Manisha koirala in the movie. Expected to offer plenty of scope for acting , the actress is excited about her debut role in Molly wood.                                Uthara is also waiting for  the release of her  Kollywood flick,Vavval Pasanga''. The young girl is a huge fan of Bollywood, and  prefers commercial movies, though her Mollywood debut is with a seasoned middle stream director.

Mammootty is a Volleyball coach

Last year superstar Mamootty was more than happy to don the role of the ambassador to the Volleyball league, which also had a impressive video teaser shot by Aashiq Abu. Now the latest we hear is that Mammootty has agreed to play the role of a Volley ball coach in the new sports based movie to be directed by V K Praksh. Much of the cinephiles will remember the success of ''�hak De India'' with Shah Rukh Khan as the hockey coach, which paved the way for the production of more sports based film in India. Every language followed the genre  and even in Tamil we had films like 'Vennilla kabadikulu' and 'Chennai 600028, which all were Box Office hits.   Anyway this Malayalam movie by V K P , which is yet to be titled is reported to have a very interesting script lines by Y V Rajesh. Mammooty after reading the one line has immediately agreed for the movie which will be on sets by the month of August.

Jyothi happy as 'Thantedam' girl

Actress Jyothirmayi, who has been selected as the ambassador of the 'Thantedam Gender fest' organized by the Department of Social Welfare, is back to limelight.  The actress known for her bold nature and opinions is happy for being in the post and finds it interesting to work for women empowerment.  Jyothirmayi observes that though women can excel in any field, they are forced to work harder than the other gender to create a name. The 10 day-long festival held at Calicut  promised an abundance of opportunities for women to share their fears, hopes and thoughts, showcase their skills and intellect, strengthen their solidarity and sisterhood, question patriarchal practises and voice their demands.Many popular names of the kerala cultural sphere were at the festival, talking about womanhood and empowerment.

Critical reception for Manjadikuru

“Anjali Menon's Manjadikuru, points to a larger renewal of Malayalam cinema and is not merely an isolated triumph by a gifted and intelligent first-time filmmaker.”

FIPRESCI festival report.

"There is a connection between childhood and cinema (think of Night of the Hunter, Moonfleet, Les 400 coups, Spirit of the Beehive...), which first-time director Anjali Menon exploits beautifully, knowing she can count on the audience to follow the path that leads back from adulthood, with its calculations of profit and loss, to the pure risk and adventure of childhood, by way of the rhapsodic and seductive image on which she expends so much skill." 

Chris Fujiwara, Japan

"The film is full of contrasts: the complexity of the grown up world/family dynamics and the innocence of the children, old vs new, city vs rural, yet nothing is overtly black and white. Taking place in lush green Kerala, (Southwestern region in India)Manjadikuru is all about  the colors, sounds and wonders of childhood. It feels similar to reading an Arundhati Roy story. The imagery is so striking you could almost smell it! Manjadikuru unfolds like a good memoir. The intricacy and eye for details...Manjadikuru is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful films about childhood I've seen."

Dustin Chang, Korea-USA

“Manjadikuru is an emotionally powerful family story told with skill and restraint”  

Barbara Lorey de Lachiarerre, France

"Manjadikuru is heartbreakingly beautiful and meaningful.... a superior film."

Peter Belsito, US

"Manjadikuru took me down memory lane to my childhood... heartwarming!"

Revathy, India

"The uncontrollable tears in our eyes at the end of Manjadikuru clearly indicate the loss we sense in our lives… we long for our life to begin again and to relive it in the best way with all our relationships."

Cheran, India

Cast and crew of Manjadikuru

Cast

Prithviraj, Thilakan, Rehman, Jagathy Sreekumar,Urvashi, Sindhu Menon, Praveena, Kaviyoor Ponamma, Bindu Panicker, Julia George, Sagar Shiyaz, Sharan, Thrissur Chandran, Firoz.

Crew

Banner Little Films India

Cinematographer                                 :Pietro Zuercher (Switzerland)

Film editor                                              : B.Lenin

Music pandit                                          : Ramesh Narayan

Lyrics                                                       : Kavalam Narayana Panikkar

Dialogues                                               : Paliyath Aparna Menon & Anjali Menon

Sound recordist                                    : Harikumar Madhavan Nair

Sound design                                       : Rajakrishnan

Art direction                                          : Ratheesh Babu

Costume design                                  : S.B.Satheesh

Make-up                                                : Pattanam Rasheed

Publicity design                                  : Papaya Media

Producers                                            : Vinod Menon & Anjali Menon

Writer & director                                 : Anjali Menon

Life is beautiful : Sanjjanaa

Sanjjanaa is all exited and is keeping her fingers crossed as she has a big Malayalam releaseThe King and Commissioner with Mammootty and Suresh Gopi  in Malayalam and Narasimha  with Ravichandran in Kannada releases on the same day (March 23). 

Says Sanjjanaa to Sify.com: “Life is beautiful and I am so excited and is keeping my fingers crossed. I play Nitha Rathore a fire-brand police officer in The King and Commissioner who is assisting Mammoooty’s character. It is a deglamourised cop role and I enjoyed doing it”.

Ask her about her screen space in a multi-starrer, she does not mince words: “I agree that it is a male-dominated film.  You can’t expect the focus to be on you when you have two big stars but from whatever I shot, I’m sure that my character will stay in your mind”.

On her future plans Sanjjanaa says: “I hope to do more Malayalam films where I play a nice Mallu girl with lot of scope to perform. Talks are on with a top director for a Jayaram film and if all goes well I will be here to stay” 

Ordinary is extraordinary at the box-office!

Once again it has been proved that good content will lapped up by Kerala audiences irrespective of star cast, publicity or release date!

Ordinary starring Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon, Asaf Ali and Ann Augustine and directed by debutant Sugeet released on Saturday (March 17) in 71 screens in Kerala. 

In two days it has collected a share of Rs 51 lakhs, which is extraordinary!

Remember, Ordinary released at the peak of examinations, and on a Saturday still managed to do whopping business. At Kottayam Anand even on Monday when there is normally a steep fall in collections the ordinary film did extraordinary business!

The trade says Ordinary is going to be the first extraordinary super hit of the year. 

The film made at a cost of Rs 3 Crore including P & A will defenitely make Rs 5 Crore plus from theatricals alone. The future of Malayalam cinema looks bright.

Happy Husbands team in trouble?

If certain reports are to be believed, the makers of the Malayalam hit Happy Husbands have a case filed against them for copying the Bollywood blockbuster No Entry.

The producer of Happy Husbands - Milan Jaleel, director Saji Surendran, scenarist Krishna Poojappura, actors Jayaram, Jayasurya, Indrajit, Bhavana, Samvritha Sunil and Rima Kallingal among others have been accused of copying the Bollywood film into Malayalam.

The curious case here is that the film had given credits for inspiration to a Tamil film Charlie Chaplin. The case, as per the reports, will come for hearing soon.

In fact, most of the Happy Husbandsgang have come together again and are in the process of making a new movie titled Husbands in Goa right now. Though director Saji Surendran claims that the story line of the new film is an original one, there have been doubts if it has been inspired from a flop Bollywood film. 

Shankar Ramakrishnan replaces Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj has opted out of Ranjith’s Spirit.

Now, quite curiously, he is being replaced by debutant Shankar Ramakrishnan, who is more famous as the scenarist of Urumi.

Shankar has also directed Island Express in the Kerala Cafe anthology. He was earlier announced as the lead actor in Ranjith’s now postponed project Leela.

Shankar was writing a script for Traffic director Rajesh Pillai when the announcement of his acting came.

The shooting of Spirit has started in Kochi and has Mohanlal playing the hero.

'Melvilasom' bags Gollapudi Srinivas award

The 15th Gollapudi Srinivas National Award for the Best debut film was announced by Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial Foundation for the year 2011. 

The Award goes to Mr Madhav Ramadasan  for his Malayalam film Melvilasom.  

'Deiva Thirumagal' sweeps awards in Osaka

The accolades pouring in Chiyaan Vikram's 'Deiva Thirumagal' is never ending. The film won the Best Film Of The Festival Grand Prix Award and the Best Entertaining Film Award in the Osaka film festival in Japan. Four awards were given away in the ceremony out of which two awards were bagged by team 'Deiva Thirumagal'! Best Promising New Talent award went to a Malaysian director and the Audience Award went to a Korean film. The film by UTV Motion Pictures and Sree Rajakaliamman was marketed vigorously and managed to strike a chord among audience in all centers. Although the film has a number of stars who delivered a wonderful performance, Vikram, Baby Sara and Anushka were showered with praises for getting in to the skin of the characters they played. The clean family entertainer throws light on a mentally challenged adult and his relationship with his little daughter that made audience reach for their tissues.

Sarathkumar's 'Traffic' - Latest tidbits

It is no longer news that Malayalam blockbuster 'Traffic' that garnered the attention of one and all including the Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan himself, will be remade in Tamil with Sarathkumar in the lead. Industry insiders have it that the original film's director Rajesh Pillai who was touted to helm the Tamil remake as well has walked out of it citing date issues! Now, Shaheed Kader who is the former's assistant will be wielding the megaphone of 'Traffic'. The film was all set to go on floors long back but thanks to a recent unofficial tussle between the producers' council and workers the shoot of various Tamil films were indefinitely delayed. Now Rajesh needs to concentrate on the Hindi version of the film and has opted out of the Tamil one. 'Traffic's Tamil version will be co-produced by Radhika Sarathkumar and Listin Stephen and stars Sarathkumar as a cop with an ensemble of others including Prasanna, Prakash Raj, Nassar and Radhika Sarathkumar.

Rajini: 'Kochadaiyaan' might release on Diwali!

The Superstar left to London this morning (March 17) for the shoot of his forthcoming magnum opus 3D flick, 'Kochadaiyaan'. Rajinikanth along with daughter and helmer of his project, Soundarya Ashwin and KS Ravikumar took a flight from Chennai to London for a 20 day shoot.  While speaking to the media at the airport Rajini expressed, "We're trying our best to release Kochadaiyaan for Diwali". Speaking about the London schedule he said, "There's a 20-day shoot in a studio at London where we wrap 40% of the talkies and a song, the rest of the film will be shot in India". Rajini's lead lady Deepika Padukone, Sarathkumar, Rukimini and Sarathkumar will be leaving to London in a couple of days as well. The film until recently was touted to be India's first ever performance capture film, however, recently Suriya's 'Maatraan' that's releasing this summer adopted this technology. 'Kochadaiyaan' is a period entertainer that supposedly sees Rajini in two avatars, that of father and son. It's doubtlessly one of the biggest projects of the year eagerly awaited by Tamil film patrons across the country.

No godfather for me- Archana

Archana Kavi who has done an impressive role in the recent Tamil film 'Aravan' has observed in an interview that she never had a 'god father' who could have suggested her further steps. ''That's why I travelled on my own ways and has done only five films in five years. I also finds that I had very little media support in my initiatives '"adds Archana. The actress who debuted with the laljose hit 'Neelathamara' had some good roles in films like 'Mummy and me'. But later she wasted much of her time playing inconsequential roles and some guest appearances. Archana reveals that she has got some good offers from Tamil and she is looking forward to glamorous roles that suit her body shape, but she hasn't yet committed any. Her immediate assignment in Malayalam will be ''Mad dad'' by Revathy Varma. She has also agreed to a Telugu film titled as 'Five Vedav'.

Innocent turns doctor

Remember one of the earliest Innocent hits in the title 'Dr. Pashupathy'. It was one of the rare humour films directed by ShajiKailas in the scripts of Renji Panikkar. Now after two decades for the film, Innocent will once again turn a doctor for the new movie titled as  'Dr. Innocent aanu'. Directed by Ajmal, who debuted with a 'Ring tone,' Innocent will be cast as a homeo doctor who loves to give free medial aids and financial support to his patients. Sona Nair appears as the heroine in this movie which will also feature Suraj Venjaramoodu, Biju Kuttan, Sukumari, Shaari, and Kottayam Nazeer in other important roles. The other highlight of the movie will be that Innocent will be lending his voice for a song in the movie written by Santosh Varma.  Produced by Saseendra Varma and Ali Khan, under the banner of Varma Film Corporation,' Dr Innocent Aanu' will get to release centres shortly.

'Kuttichaathan' once again

The first Malayalam 3D ' MY Dear Kuttichaathan' directed by Jijo and produced by Navodaya, which started its journey way back in 1984 is still finding interest among the new age viewers. Yes, the movie which had been re released twice after its initial presentations will once again get to theatres by this March 30. The movie which had run to hundred days in each of its releases had been the favourite of the children of each of the generations, whenever it was released. This time the movie dubbed in several languages  will be distributed by Universal Movie Makers. If some one is still not a part of the games played by 'Kutichaathan' , this may be a last chance to have a view of him on theatres.

'Second Show' into 50

One of the unassuming movies that turned the first hit of the year- 'Second Show' celebrates its fifty days this week. The movie which was the launch pad of Dulqar, son of megastar Mammootty still continues in ten centres in its fifty day. 'Ee Adutha Kalathu' by Arun Kumar Aravind has gradually settled on a steady note in its fourth week after good word of mouth and critic reviews. Lal Jose's 'Spanish Masala' is one movie that managed to make a healthy theatre run even after a weak start. It still finds screens in four centres in its 60th day. Meanwhile, Mammootty's multilingual 'Shikari' is down to less than half its release centres in its second week, making his tally of continuous flops to six.

Asif Ali in 'Silma Nadan'

Director Thomas Sebastian had a immensely forgettable debut with the Mammootty movie 'Maya Bazaar' which turned out into one of the biggest flops of that year. With the immense experience that he had, everyone in the industry was really surprised to see the fate of the film. Anyhow after a wait for another couple of years, Thomas Sebastian will be back with a film this year that will really prove his credentials. Titled as 'Silma Nadan', Asfi Ali will be the male protagonist in the movie to be scripted by Govind Vijayan. Kala Nair will be producing the film under the banner of Akhil Cinema. 'Silma Nadan' will also feature Tini Tom, Sailm Kumar and Baburaj in other important roles. The shoot for the movie is reported to begin in July.