Kamal with a 'Celluloid'

After the critically acclaimed 'Gaddhama', Senior director Kamal will come up with a biographical take of Mollywood in the new movie titled as 'Celluloid'. Featuring the life story of J C Daniel, the pioneer of Malayalam cinema, this movie scripted by the director will be produced by Ubaid and the director himself. Young star Prithviraj will come up as the lead character of the movie which will also have Sreenivasan and Samvrutha Sunil playing an important roles. The crew is still on the lookout for a right face to do the role of the heroine in this movie .The makers of the movie are planning to kick start the shoot of this 'Celluloid' by the month of August.

A fairly good April for Mollywood

As expected, the month of April has been extremely lucky for Mollywood. The month has created more than a couple of hits, as much of the movies released during the season brought in good number of audiences. The surprise pack of the month was definitely 'Ordinary' by Sugeeth, which continues with its heavy collections even as it is into the second month. The movie featuring Kunchakko Boban, Biju menon and Baburaj is undoubtedly the biggest hit of the year so far.                                  But the collection tsunami was seen for 'MayaMohini' - the new Dileep film in which the actor was appearing as a female. Directed by Jose Thomas, this movie again with Biju Menon- Baburaj team is registering houseful in almost all theatres. The movie is reported to have gathered around nine cores from its two week run.                                    But the movie that has emerged the dark horse seems to be Aashiq Abu's '22 Female Kottayam' . The movie with its great opening collections in the metros is sure to propel it into the status of a hit and will ensure a decent long run for the movie. Even a movie like 'Cobra' which was written off after the initial shows has managed to keep the Box Office happy. And the movie is now reported to be entering the hit status.                                     Arun Kumar Aravind's "Ee Adutha kalathu' was another film that celebrated fifty days run recently. The movie is also reported to be in the safe zone, as per B O status. The coming weeks, especially the first week of May is sure to witness some other biggies in 'Grandmaster', Mallu Singh' Diamond Necklace and 'Ustad Hotel' which all will make the viewers merry with their different narrative styles and story lines. And with the coming of these movies, the winners of April are expected to settle down to average collections.

Mohanlal to promote GM in a big way!

For the first time in several years, Mohanlal is going out of his way to promote Grand Master, which is tremendously helping the film. 

UTV Motion Pictures has tied up with Vodafone, who are the mobile partners in the film and carrying out an outdoor, radio and SMS campaign in Kerala for Grand Master. For the radio promotion, Mohanlal lent his voice, which is being air on now in Kerala radio FM channels.

Also, Mohanlal is so involved that he will be promoting the film by giving interviews to all the TV channels for three days this week. He will also be meeting the audience selected by Vodafone on 7th after an exclusive show to the audience. 

Grand Master has generated lot of positive buzz post the screening to censor board and all the main theatres are keen to screen the film on 3rd May.

Anoop Menon in K Madhu’s 'Banking Hours 10-4'

Director K Madhu, who is well known for his CBI Diary kurippu series and many other taut thrillers, has announced his next project. 

Titled Banking Hours 10-4, the film has Anoop Menon and Meghna Raj in the lead.

Biju Menon, Kalabhavan Mani, Baburaj, Jishnu, Kailash and Sudheesh also include the cast. The shooting of the film starts next month. 

The cinematographer is Salu George. The banner is Limo Films.

Anoop Menon is currently scripting and acting in V K Prakash’s Trivandrum Lodge.

Yami Gautham is red hot

Yami Gautham, the heroine of the forthcoming Prithviraj starrer Hero is riding high these days after the success of the Bollywood movie, Vicky Donor.

Hero has Prithviraj playing a stunt artiste and Yami is a south Indian heroine.

Yami is also active as a model for several prestigious ad campaigns and has earlier done some Hindi TV serials. She has also acted in Telugu and Kannada movies.

Vicky Donor has her playing a Bengali girl named Ashima Roy, who falls in love with a Punjabi guy, Vicky Arora, who is a sperm donor.

Hope Yami finds success in Malayalam with Hero.

Kamal's Celluloid is on J C Daniel

Director Kamal is all set to launch his new film titled Celluloid, which is based on the life of J C Daniel, who is regarded as the father of Malayalam cinema.

 

Daniel’s Vigathakumaran was the first film in Malayalam and the filmmaker had to face some terrible experiences after the film was made. 

The heroine of the movie, P K Rosy had to flee from the ire of people after the film was released.

Kamal has scripted the film, Celluloid, based on the books by Vinu Abraham and Chelangad Gopalakrishnan. 

Prithviraj, Samvritha Sunil, Sreenivasan and Tini Tom include the cast.

Mohanlal in Priyadarshan's Tezz

Malayali director Priyadarsan’s Bollywood venture, Tezz, is out at the theatres now.

With Mohanlal in the cast, his fans in this part of the world are waiting for its box office success. The film has got mixed response from the critics and the south Indian superstar is playing a cop in the story.

Tezz has Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Boman Irani and Kangna Ranaut in the lead. As usual, Priyadarsan has found inspiration for the film from the 1975 Japanese film Shinkansen Daibakuha (Bullet Trains) and the Keanu Reeves starrer Speed.

Mohanlal has earlier done roles in Hindi films like Company and Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag. His next Malayalam release, Grandmaster, is slated for release on May 3.

Sunny Wayne & Niveda in Neeko Njaacha

Before you jump into early conclusions, let us inform you that Neeko Njaacha is the title of a forthcoming film in Malayalam and not in ‘Japanese’!

 

The title is said to be a short form for Ninnem Kollum Njaanum Chaavum!

The pooja of the film, directed by N K Gireesh, will be held on April 30. The lead actors are Second Show fame Sunny Wayne and Pranayam girl Niveda Thomas.

Sunny Wayne had played the role of Kurudi in Second Show and was well appreciated for his performance in the film. 

He has recently done a role in Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Thattathin Marayathu.

Dulquer's Ustad Hotel delayed

The shooting of director Anwar Rasheed’s Ustad Hotel has been going on for sometime now. 

The film was finally scheduled for release on May 11 and the Dulquer Salmaan starrer was all set to take on Prithviraj’s Hero and the Kunchacko Boban-Unni Mukundan starrer Mallu Singh, in an interesting battle involving some of the brightest young faces in Malayalam.

But as per sources, Ustad Hotel has not been completed yet. 

A few days of shooting are still left and the film could reach the theatres during end May or June. Dulquer Salmaan, who made a highly impressive debut with Second Show, is all excited about the film and if certain insiders are to be believed, his performance is top-notch.

Cobra makes big money

Though all critics were in a single voice  to give a thumps down to Mamootty-Lal combo's latest "Cobra' , the most recent reports suggest that the movie has gathered more than enough to secure a safe place in the hit list. The movie which was completed in a little more than three crores is said to have made more than five crores in its run of two weeks. The movie is sure to make profits when the satellite rights will be added to its theatre collections. Interestingly, Lal who has aggressively marketed the film even after the initial negative reviews is having the last laugh now. You are sure not to find much of the feel good stills in the posters in any part of the movie, but it has definitely made people to have a try of the movie. This 'Cobra' will also bring an end to the continuing flop parade of Mammootty films that has been ongoing from the start of last year. Megastar Mammotty needs to learn one more thing from the run of 'Cobra'- that aggressive and imaginative marketing is important for the good run of any of his movies, particularly in the current situation of new generation movies resorting to great publicity designs.

Preview: A 'Mallusingh' to celebrate Punjabi fun

Young director Vysakh has been exceptional in creating multistar movies that go well with the masses. He had been able to convert his previous two films-  'Seniors' and 'Pokkiriraja', into big hits. Now the young director is coming up with his third movie 'Mallu Singh' all set to get released this May.

One of the most expected movies of the year, this will be the one of the rare Malayali movies using that Punjabi flavor in the songs and dance sequences with its dominant colors. Featuring Unni Mukundan in the lead with the support cast of the hit gang from his seniors, including Kunchakko Boban, Biju Menon, Suraj Venjaaramoodu  and Manoj K Jayan,  the movie is planned as a fun ride with a impressive family story.
                                   
'Mallu singh' was planned with Prithviraj as the hero.. But due to clash of dates the crew has to switch over to Unni Mukundan, who appeared handsome and exceptionally talented with his initial films. The movie thus has become a test for the young actor to enter the big league. If received well at the Box Office, 'Mallu Singh' is excepted to add a new crowd pulling hero into the list of young stars in Mollywood.
                                     
Unni Mukundan appear as Hareendra Singh who is running a Dhaba at Mallustreet in Punjab. Ani(Kunchakko Boban) is a commoner from Kerala who had a history of an younger brother running away from his home, a couple of years ago following a local issue. Accidentally, Ani happens to see the visuals of Hareendra singh   in a television programme. Believing that this is his Hari, Ani sets out on a journey to Punjab to find out his closest relative.

The movie will also have a number of heroines- right from Samvrutha Sunil, Meera Nandhan, Rupa Manjari, Aparna nair and Radha Varma.  Saikumar, Siddique, Sreejith Ravi, Suresh Krishna, Jojo, Geetha, Aparna Nair, and Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy lend support as the other important characters of the movie. The movie is the first independent script by Sethu of Sachi-Sethu fame.
                                  
The music of the film has been composed by M Jayachandran, while the lyrics have been penned by Rajeev Alungal and Murugan Kattakada. The songs of the movie including that in Punjabi beats and flavours are already big hits in the FM's .The songs pictured ala Tamil songs ,choreographed by Shobin Paulraj will definitely stand out  from the rest of the regular songs in Mollywood. While Shaji is in charge of cinematography, Mahesh Narayan does the editing. Produced by Neeta Anto under the banner of Ann Mega Media, 'Mallu Singh' would grace the screens on the lucky weekend of Vysakh, that is the first weekend of May.

Thappana restarts at Kuttikkanam

Director Johny Antony has started the second schedule of the Mammootty starrer, Thappana, at Kuttikkanam. 

Mammootty is playing a small time thief named Samson, who is out from jail. On his journey back, he meets a girl named Mallika. 

He has to face certain difficult situations as the two reach her place.

Charmee plays the character called Mallika, who is also a convict coming out of jail. Murali Gopi is the baddie in the film.

Thappana has been scripted by M Sindhuraj and has been produced by Galaxy Films. Rajarathnam is the cinematographer and Vidyasagar is the music director.

Beautiful team is back

Director V K Prakash has started shooting his new film, with script by Anoop Menon. 

The film has been titled Trivandrum Lodgeand the shooting is currently underway in Kochi. Jayasurya and Anoop Menon are doing the lead roles.

The pooja ceremony was held on April 23 after which the shooting began. Anoop Menon has just completed shooting for Aji John’s Namukku Parkkan and Jaysurya is back after shooting for Husbands in Goa.

V K Prakash, Anoop Menon and Jaysurya had joined hands to make Beautiful, which became a sensational hit, some months back.

Mamta to play Dileep’s boss

In director Jeethu Joseph’s My Boss, Mamta Mohandas will play Dileep’s boss.

The pooja ceremony of the film was held at Sarovaram in Kochi on April 23. Dileep, Kunchacko Boban and Archana Kavi were the star attractions at the event.

The shooting of the film is being held in two schedules, the first of which will start at Alappuzha on May 10.

Jeethu Joseph shot into fame with his maiden film Detective starring Suresh Gopi in a double role and then with Mummy & Me, with Kunchacko Boban and Archana Kavi in the lead roles.

My Boss is being produced by East Coast Vijayan.

Anoop to script for Mammootty

It is raining scripts from Anoop Menon. The time is such that not a single day passes without the announcement of a movie with Anoop Menon playing the lead or writing the scripts. The latest we hear is that Anoop will shortly join Megasstar Mammootty for a new movie. In fact, he will be scripting this movie for director Renjith.This project to be produced by Madhavan Nair under the banner of Murali films will thus see the coming together of the most happening trio of Mollywood. Apart from this Anoop has also agreed to do the scripts for half a dozen movies under planning.He is also one of the busiest actor around. And so it is a sheer wonder how he finds time to script all those productions. Madhavan Nair 's last movie was 'Venicile Vyaapari' which couldn't recreate the success of his early movies with Mammootty.

This Mallu is ready

After the mega hit of last year 'Karysathan'  , Neeta Anto and her banner Ann Mega Media will be once again greeting the viewers with the new movie 'Mallu Singh'. Directed by hit maker Vysakh, the post production of the movie is almost over with musician Gopi Sundar giving final touches to the BG scores.                                               The movie which was mostly shot at Punjab and Ottappalam, is also a movie of interest due to shifting of  its lead role. Originally devised with Prithviraj in the lead, the movie makers were forced to bring in Unni Mukundan in the lead role due to clash of dates of Prithvi.                                                All set to be on theatres by May 3,the film scripted by Sethu is all about the attempts of a man to find his close relative in the streets of Punjab.                                             'Mallu Singh' will also feature a big cast including  Kunchako Boban, Biju Menon,  Manoj K Jayan, Suraj Venjaramood, Sidhique, Saikumar, Suresh Krishna, Mamukkoya, Sreejith Ravi, Jojo, Rupa Manjari, Samvrutha Sunil, Meera Nandan, Aparna, Shalu and Geetha in other important roles.                                   'Mallusingh' which is Kunchakko Boban's 50th film will have songs composed by M.Jayachandran. With Mohanlal 's Grandmaster and Fahad fazil's Laljose movie 'Diamond Necklace to greet the theatres on the same weekend, it will be of interest to watch how this fun filled entertainer will take on the family thrillers.

Mohanlal's 'Grandmaster' bags clean 'U'!

UTV Motion Pictures' 'Grandmaster' starring Mohanlal has bagged a clean 'U' certificate from the regional censor board. The film was censored today (April 25) in Trivandrum. It is slated for a worldwide release on May 3. It is said that the censor board called UTV's G Dhananjayan and director Unnikrishnan to the discussions room and highly appreciated the film without giving any cuts. The censor board members have expressed that 'Grandmaster' is entertaining, engaging and emotionally connecting. The makers are elated with such a positive response from all the members of the board. 'Grandmaster' stars Mohan Lal, Narain, Anup Menon, Jagathy Sree Kumar, Priyamani, Roma, Seetha, Fathima Babu and several others and has music by Deepak Dev. Mohan Lal and Narain will be seen as cops. Rigorous marketing promotions are set to take place from April 27

'Chattakari' in 25 days

The new version of 'Chattakkari', which is under production, has completed its shoot. The movie which was completed in a record 25 days,  was shot at Koonnoor  and Thiruvananthapuram. Directed by debutante Santhosh Sethumadhavan,  the movie feature Shamna Kassim  and Hemanth in the lead roles. Innocent, Suvarna and Renuka are also in the cast lines of the movie which will get to theatres by the months of June. The movie will have four songs set to music by M Jayachandran. 'Chattakari' is produced by Sureshkumar in the banner of Revathy Kalamandhir.

Six bigs films for May

May will be busy month in Mollywood with more than half a dozen films getting ready to face the viewers. The first weekend of the month will have B Unnikrishnan's Mohanlal starrer 'Grandmaster' in eighty plus  theatres of the state. The much expected movie which is also the first production of UTV in Mollywood will feature Priyamani, Anoop Menon, and Naren in the lead roles.                      'Grandmaster ' will take on hit director Vysakh's 'Mallu Singh' which will have Unni Mukundan, Kunchakko Boban, and Biju menon in the lead.Laljose's 'Diamond Necklace' is also another film expected on the same weekend.                         The movie feature the new heart throb of Mollywood,  Fahad fazil in the lead role. The very next weekend of May will have another set of big releases in 'Prithviraj's 'Hero' and Dulqar Salman's 'Usthad Hotel'.  M A Nishad`s 'No 66 Madurai Bus', Pradeep Nair`s 'Cherukkanum Pennum', Aji John`s 'Namukku Parkkan' and Aneesh Anwar`s Mullamottum Munthiricharum  are the few other films in the list to  grace the theatres for May. With another five more films to greet the theatres for May,  it will be an eventful month with new Box office equations likely to come up.

Happy Birthday, Janaki

When she is crooning, or do we say cooing, she can make any other singer feel about himself like a musical dilettante.  Such is the genius of S Janaki, the gifted exponent of songs. As he turns 74 today (April 23), Janaki continues to induce joie de vivre in those who listen to her songs. Having rendered thousands of songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and many other languages, Janaki is a proud recipient of four National Awards, 31 State film awards and countless other awards.  Of course, for someone like her who regards singing as a divine duty, like a karmayogin, awards do not matter much. Janaki is known for her devotional numbers as well. As a devotee of Krishna and Sai Baba of Shirdi, she has left her indelible mark on singing a number of immortal bhajans and hymns. IndiaGlitz wishes 'The Nightingale of the South' many more years of soulful singing and a joyful birthday!

Ananya gets injured

The promising young actress Ananya broke his hand, while shooting for the new movie with Dileep. She was shooting for 'Nadodimannan' directed by Viji Thampy yesterday, and the shot that was planned was the one in which she was resisting the goons lead by Abu Salim, from evicting her from her house.  Abu Salim was supposed to grab her by hand and throw her out of the house. Viji Thampi was not satisfied with he first take and asked his cast to repeat it once again, which resulted in the actress slipping and falling to the ground, breaking her hand. Ananya is reported to have been advised rest for two months. The actress is known for participating is risky sequences, without dupes. She had earlier amazed everyone in the shoot of 'Shikar' with Mohanlal, in which she had been to many dangerous shots for the climax sequences.

Anoop looking for a 'Thaakkol'

Though at least more than half a dozen projects are in his  line up for this year , Anoop Menon is not taking rest to enjoy his new assignments. He is going on hearing subjects and is signing on dotted lines for newer subjects and films. The latest we hear is that he has agreed to play the lead to the director M D Sukumaran's  new project titled as 'Thakkol'.The movie will also have Meera Nandhan in the female lead. Both Anoop and Meera had been together earlier for films like 'Mrithyunjam' in Kerala Cafe' and in 'VenShankhu Pol'. Thakkol' will  also feature Irshad, Saikumar, Babu Mathew, Kottayam nazeer, Suraj, Tini Tom and Saiju Kurup in other important roles.

It will rain films this May

Now, this May could be a crucial one for the Malayalam film industry.

With several films lined up for release, the fortunes of quite a few could be decided in the days to come.

Mammootty, whose latest release Cobra was not really a memorable one, is waiting for his son Dulquer Salmaan`s Ustad Hotel, which will be released on May 11. Mohanlal`s Grandmaster is all set to hit the screens on May 3. 

Lal Jose will come up with his own production, Diamond Necklace, on May 4.

Mallu Singh, starring Unni Mukundan and Kunchacko Boban, will hit the screens on May 11. Prithviraj, who was originally slated to play the lead in Mallu Singh, will have his Hero at the theatres in early May. Jayasurya`s Vaadhyaar is also expected to reach the theatres during May this year.

The performances of these big films will decide the releasing dates of a few more. M A Nishad`s No 66 Madurai Bus, Pradeep Nair`s Cherukkanum Pennum, Aji John`sNamukku Parkkan and Aneesh Anwar`s Mullamottum Munthiricharum are at various stages of completion and will go for a May release, if the climate is favourable.

The coming weeks will decide the fate of a few big names in Malayalam. As they say, the plot thickens now and all of you movie buffs out there get ready for action!

Grand Master censored

UTV Motion Pictures` eagerly awaited Grand Master has been censored in Thiruvananthapuram today.

The B Unnikrishnan directed investigative thriller has been given a clean U certificate without any cuts.

The censor board members who saw the film were raving about it and called UTV`s G Dhananjayan and Unnikrishnan to the discussion room and congratulated them for making such a taut thriller.

The Regional Censor Board Officer is said to have mentioned that it is a very good film they have seen after a long time and said that it is entertaining, engaging and emotional.

Grand Master will now release in 130 screens plus worldwide through Max Lab in Kerala and UTV in rest of India and overseas on May 3. The film is sure to take an earth shattering opening.

Run Baby Run begins

Mohanlal plays a photographer in director Joshiy`s forthcoming film Run Baby Run. 

Amala Paul, who started doing small roles in Malayalam but became a south Indian sensation after Mynaa, is the heroine. She is the reporter for a TV channel.

The pooja of the film was held on Monday at Holiday Inn, Kochi. Several noted names from the Malayalam film industry were present at the occasion.

The film has been scripted by Sachi, of the erstwhile Sachi-Sethu duo, who had scripted films like Chocolate, Robin Hood and Seniors. Meanwhile Sethu is all set to rock the screens with his new film, Mallu Singh.

Dulquer to play Mohanlal`s son

​Now, this one could be interesting. Mammootty`s son Dulquer Salmaan, who made an impressive debut withSecond Show, is reportedly playing Mohanlal`s son in director Priyadarsan`s next.

The shooting will start in August and is expected to hit the cinemas during Christmas. Seven Arts are planning to produce the film, which is said to be a laugh riot.

Dulquer`s second film, Anwar Rasheed`s Ustad Hotel, is scheduled for release on May 11. He has reportedly agreed to do a film with a debutant director next.

The industry is waiting for a film with Mammootty and Dulquer in the lead. If the young hero decides to team up with Mohanlal first, it could be an even more interesting development. Let`s hope Priyadarsan comes up with a genuine storyline for his new film.

Appachan's last gift to Mohanlal!

Legendary Malyalam producer Appachan who passed away yesterday, is the man who 'discovered' Mohanlal through his debut film Manjil Virinja Pookal (MVP) which released for Christmas 1980. Initially the film was dubbed a flop by the trade.

Then Appachan boosted the publicity of the film using Mohanlal’s villainous mugshot in the posters and film went on to become a trendsetting blockbuster. What would have happened if Appachan had written it off ?

Last week Mohanlal was shooting for new Renjith directed Spirit at Appachan's Navodaya Studio. A day before he was hospitalised Appachan came to the sets and told MohanLal whom he calls affectionately Lalu, that he wanted to gift him something precious. Appachan had already put it in the actor’s car. 

Mohanlal was gifted a German camera which they shot Manjil Virinja Pookal !

Mohanlal will now put it in his private museum. An emotionally charged Mohanlal hugged Appachan, as tears came rollingdown his cheek.

Navodaya Appachan is no more

Legendary producer Navodaya Appachan (88) passed away in Kochi on Monday (April23) evening. He was the Cecil B DeMille of Malayalam cinema, a trendsetter who understood commercial cinema.

Appachan had produced the first cinemascope film in Malayalam (Thacholi Ambu),first 70MM film (Padayottam) and above all the first 3D film in India My Dear Kuttichathan. The man was a visionary who also built the first amusement park in India, Kishkinta. He knew commercial cinema inside out and it was all about marketing along with star power and innovation.

He learned the ropes from his brother Kunchacko who set up Udaya Studio near Alappuzha in the 60’s. Udaya was known for their spectacular ‘Vaddakan Pattu’stories  (Thacholi Otheyanan, Aromalunni,Mamakkam etc), a kind of Malayalam ballad mixed with western style full of sword fights, sorcery, song and dance, glam girls and big stars. Udaya has made the maximum movies with Prem Nazir, the first superstar of Malayalam films.

Appachan learnt the importance of mass masala ingredients to make a film commercially successful during his learning years in Udaya. Later he went one step furtherand mixed new innovations like cinemascope and 3D along with right elements to hit the bulls eye at the box-office. At the same time Appachan experimented with low budget movies with new faces and novel story ideas like Manjil Virinja Pookkal and  Ente Mamattikutty amma, which clicked.

The marketing guru had also a keen eye to spot talent. Appachan was responsible for giving break to Mohanlal, who played the villain in Manjil Virinja Pookal and its director Fazil. The ace producer was suffering from prostate cancer and was admitted to Lake Shore hospital in Kochi last week. He is survived by his wife Baby, sons Jijo(director of Padayottam and My Dear Kuttychathan) and Jose,two daughters Jissa and Jisha.

Appachan’s body has been kept at Ernakulam Town Hall till today evening, and funeral will be held in Chennai on Wednesday.

UTV has a special screening of Grandmaster

A special screening of Mohanlal’s eagerly awaited Grandmaster directed by Unnikrishnan was held for the UTV top bosses at Mumbai, Nehru Auditorium.

The film was screened with sub-titles; director Unnikrishnan and UTV's Dhananjayan were present. 

Everyone from UTV top management who attended the special screening loved the film and mentioned that it is stylish and sleek.

Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of UTV Motion Pictures, personally called up Mohanlal and congratulated him for his superlative performance in the film as in investigating officer, who unravels the facts. 

Says Siddharth  Roy Kapoor: “Grandmaster is a well made investigative thriller that moves at a rapid pace. It is going to be a trendsetter and Mohanlal is extraordinary in his style and presentation.” 

Unnikrishnan has made it in a sleek and racy manner. The film is 2 hours 10 minutes, sharply edited and there are no unwanted scenes and unnecessary songs in the film.

Grandmaster releases in nearly 130 screens on May 3 across the globe through UTV Motion Pictures and Max Lab in Kerala.

Vysakh ready with a Mallu Singh

After back to back hits in 'Seniors' and 'Pokkiriraja', young director Vysakh will have his third movie 'Mallu Singh' released this May.One of the most expected movies of the year, this will be the one of the rare Malayali movie using the Punjabi flavor of songs and dance sequences with its dominant colours.Featuring Unni Mukundan in the lead with the support cast of the hit seniors, including Kunchakko Boban, Biju Menon and Manoj K Jayan,  the movie will also have a number of heroines- right from Samvrutha Sunil, Meera Nandhan, Rupa Manjari, Aparna nair and Radha Varma.   . Saikumar, Siddique, Sreejith Ravi, Suresh Krishna, Jojo,  Geetha, Aparna Nair, and Lakshmi Krishnamoorthy lend support in the other cast of the movie scripted by Sethu. The music of the film has been composed by M Jayachandran, while the lyrics have been penned by Rajeev Alungal and Murugan Kattakada. Produced by Neeta Anto under the banner of Ann Mega Media, 'Mallu Singh' would grace the screes on the lucky weekend of Vysakh, that is the first weekend of May.

Rajini shoots in Mohanlal's studio!

It was earlier reported that the cast and crew of Superstar Rajinikanth's magnum opus, 'Kochadaiyaan', were shooting at the renowned Chitranjali studio. The latest is that they are now canning at Mollywood's top notch star Mohanlal's studio Vismaya Max Studio! The post production work is taking place in a full swing in this studio that has all the amenities required to edit an animation flick. The place is a media free zone with high level security, as it is for most of the Thalaivar movies. Scenes and songs featuring Rajini and Deepika Padukone were reportedly shot in a Kerala studio. Sources further have it that Rajinikanth looks wow in and as 'Kochadaiyaan'. The performance motion capture film has an ensemble of stars in the lead including Rajini, Deepika Padukone, Sarathkumar, Aadhi, Jackie Shroff, Shobana, Rukimini and several others. Music is by AR Rahman. The shoot will be wrapped in a couple of days following which the post-production work will begin for this biggie! 'Kochadaiyaan' will release come September.

Lakshmi Rai joins UTV's 'Thaandavam'!

Joining the already glam team of UTV Motion Pictures' 'Thaandavam' is Lakshmi Rai. After Anushka Shetty and Amy Jackson, this 'Kanchana' & 'Mankatha' girl plays the third female lead and she will join the crew in London some time next week. It is said that Lakshmi Rai has allotted a chunk of 25 days for the film. The shooting in London will be on till mid - June. Music that is by GV Prakash will be unveiled in July and the makers are planning to release the film by August or September. The actress reached the next level in Kollywood as she was a part of two blockbusters last year, 'Mankatha' and 'Kachana', in varied roles, with negative shades and as a glam doll. 'Thaandavam' by AL Vijay stars Vikram, Jagapathi Babu, Anushka Shetty, Amy Jackson, Lakshmi Rai, Santhanam, Thambi Ramaiah, Saranya Ponvannan, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Delhi Ganesh and Sujita.

A 'Manjadikkuru' for this summer

After a long time in waiting, director  Anjali Menon will have his debut movie 'Manjadikkuru' (Lucky Red Seeds'), into theatres shortly.  The movie which had been accorded with plenty of awards and achievement in festivals have Prithviraj, Rahman, Urvashi, Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Bindu Panickar, Kaviyoor Ponamma, Praveena and Sindhu Menon in its cast lines. Produced by Little films, the movie about a  10-year-old boy who returns to his village to attend the funeral of his grandfather, had a dream run at every festivals in which it participated. The movie had been awarded with the Best Indian Debut Director Award instituted by Mira Nair at the IFFK, the FIPRESCI Award by the International Federation of Film Critics, the Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay and Best Emerging Talent Awards at the South Asian International Film Festival, US, a Certificate of Appreciation at the Schlegel International Film Festival, Germany and the Best Directorial Debut by a Woman Award at the New Jersey NJISACF, US. Anjali Menon's rose to fame with her debut short titled 'Happy Journey'  in 'Kerala Cafe' anthology, which she made after this 'Manjadi kkuru'. A product of London film school, she was also invited to do the scripts for 'Usthad Hotel' which will be on theatres in a short while.

It's the best of marketing in 22FK

'I hate like this film'-Male Chauvinist , aged 45-reads the new posters of the revolutionary hit  '22 Female Kottayam, by Aashiq Abu'.The new posters of the movie will be  released on the eve of its successful fifteenth day celebration of the movie, which is getting popular with a great word of mouth.

Aashiq Abu, who is spearheading the new generation films in Mollywood has been one of the directors who realized the capabiliity of new media and different marketing techniques in boosting up the prospects of any movie. His previous hit 'Salt 'N Pepper' was definitely the right example for right kind of marketing for a right film. And now when he is into the latest female centric film '22 Female Kottayam', the director has resorted to a different kind of viral marketing, where he captured life-like staged videos of strong females  who resisted attacks on personal space. And now with the latest posters, Aashiq is once again proving that intelligent marketing holds the key for intelligent and quality cinema, especially in a refined market like that of Kerala. It is also expected to silent the male critics on theatres airing loud comments , who seems to have developed some sort of hostility to its bold theme.

'22FK' is  indeed the marketing gimmicks at its best in Malayalam cinema, selling a product even through the catch lines of people who hate it.

Manu's second Outing

Young actor Manu had an appreciable role in his debut movie 'Tournament' , which created many fans for him.  Sadly, the actor was largely ignored for quite some time by the mainstream film makers and he was left waiting for his lone offering in 'Nidra' for a long year, during which he grew a long beard and practised well to be fit for the role.But something illogical occurred in the last  phase of the casting of the movie and Manu was left out of ' Nidra', with the director Siddharth coming up to  do the lead role of the protagonist. Anyhow, the wait is finally over for the young actor who has restarted acting before movie  camera for the new film  titled as 'Friday'. Manu will be playing the role of a college student in this movie which is currently shot at Alappuzha.          The movie will also have Fahad fazil and Ann Augustine together with Manu.

Ajmal for a comeback

After a short Mollywood stint and much better Tamil filmography, Malayalee actor Ajmal Ameer is for the time making a comeback to Mollywood. Debutante director Suvid Wilson will call the shots for his comeback movie titled as 'Bangles'.                          Basically a suspense thriller, Bangles will have Ajmal in the role of a cinematographer.The movie will have a different story-line in which a few bangles found from the site of murders prove the only clue to a couple of murders. Suvid , who happens to be a practicing dentist will have the scripts from Shyam Menon for his debut thriller. Interestingly, Ajmal is also a medical doctor by profession.                             Ajmal who debuted with 'Pranayakalam' was much appreciated for his role of  Mohanlal's younger brother in "Madambi'. The actor got big breaks in Tamil with films like 'Ko',Anjathe' and 'Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru'. Ajmal still has got a handful of films in Tamil including 'Kathirvel' , 'Karuppampetti' and 'Vetriselvan'.

Dulqar in 'June'

After the movies 'Second Show' and 'Usthad Hotel', young star Dulqar Salman has agreed to play the lead in the new movie titled as 'June'. To be directed by debutante Kannan, 'June' will have him playing  the role of a guitarist in the movie which will be a musical love story. Also scripted by the director, June is expected to be on sets by the month of May. The other highlight of the movie will be that it will be captured on camera by cinematographer Kathir famous for his many Tamil hits including Subhramaniapuram. 'June' will have music by Santhosh Varma- Alphonse team.

Director's Trivia : 'The Making of Diamond Necklace'

Lal Jose's fans will be delighted much when they hear news related to the making efforts of their Ace Director and about its release by first week of May (probably may 4). Now lets see from his point of view direct speech, he said: "It is truly an honour for us to shoot 'Diamond Necklace' in such prestigious locations as Burj Khalifa, and a privilege to be the first Indian film to be shot in this architectural masterpiece. I thank the Dubai Government authorities and a number of kind-hearted individuals, my friends and cinema lovers, in the city, who have always encouraged me and my films. Without their support, this film could not have been shot in such majestic locations that have added a vibrant flavour to the movie."

From the same team of the super-hit movie,'Arabikatha,' also shot in Dubai and which put the spotlight on a Keralite who is forced to find refuge in the Gulf to eke out a living, 'Diamond Necklace,' however, captures the shifting realities in the expatriate Malayali population - now with a large population of youngsters, who cherish the comforts and luxuries that the city provides.

Nearly 95 percent of the film is being shot in Dubai with locations including Downtown Dubai, The Dubai Mall, The Atlantis, The Walk at JBR, Bab Al Shams Resort, Meydan, Oasis Centre and Sheikh Zayed Road, among others. While shooting in Dubai, the crew had also faced an unexpected 'shamaal' but continued with the filming undeterred.

Scripted by Dr Iqbal Kuttipuram, a homeopath practising in Dubai, the film's camera is wielded by Sameer Tahir, who is noted for an exceptionally different nuanced style of filming that has won critical and mass acclaim. Sameer has loved the challenge of filming Burj Khalifa, and is presenting Dubai in a never-before-seen light in the Indian silver screen. Also starring Samvritha Sunil, Rohini, Gauthami, Anushree and Sreenivasan, 'Diamond Necklace' also has a rich pool of actors from Dubai including Moideen Koya and Mithun Ramesh, as well as supporting crew drawn from the city's vast talent pool of film and audiovisual professionals. The film is edited by Renjan Abraham with music by Vidyasagar. 'Diamond Necklace' will be distributed by LJ Films and is scheduled to reach theatres on May 4.

"Banking Hours" on the roll.

Ever since the hit movie' Beautiful 'happened to Anoop and Meghnaraj, the couple had been on demand with back to back three flicks around the corner. Their beautiful association was recently seen in the new movie ''Namukku Paarkkan' which had its shoot completed. The movie will be facing the audience by the third week of May.The couple has also agreed for the new movie from V K Prakash, titled Trivandrum Lodge, which will kick start the production by the month of June. Anoop and Meghna will once again come together for the new thriller by  K Madhu ''Banking Hours'10 to 4'', which is about to start its shoot pretty soon. The pooja of the movie was held a couple of days ago at Ernakulam. A heist thriller, the movie will get to sets in a matter of few weeks.