Chennai Box-Office & Cine Express

July11 -- Surya's ayan hits 100days

A film With Kamal - Murugadoss

Ace director Murugadoss has been keeping a low profile after the stupendous success of his Aamir Khan-Asin starrer Ghajini. For the last one year, the director has been trying to work with SRK, but it seems to be getting delayed as doctors have advised the star not to do action movies. Now, it looks like Murgadoss will have to wait for two years if he has to do a film with King Khan as the actor has to complete Farah Khan’s Happy New Yearand Anubhav Sinha’s sci-fi film Ra 1. So Murugadoss is now looking to direct a big-budget Tamil film with his original Ghajinihero, Suriya for producer Udayanidhi Stalin, which may roll only in 2010 after the actor completes Hari’s Singam. Meanwhile, the buzz is that Murugadoss may start his next film with Kamal Haasan, after the director publicly stated at an award function that his dream is to work with the Ulaganayagan!

Second time lucky - Actress Sunaina

There is a certain aura that surrounds Sunaina. She is refreshing, excited as a kid and can give you a run for money when it comes to girlie banter. With her latest film Maasilamani, opposite her Kadhalil Vizhunthaen pair Nakul, raking in the moolah at the box-office, the new pin-up girl in town has all the reasons to be happy.“I consider myself lucky,” starts off the chirpy actress with a big smile, “I’m glad that I made the right choice. I was confident that these films would become hits.”But if you believe that this pretty lass will settle for a candyfloss role, then you are mistaken. She says that she is doubly careful when it comes to work. “I’ve been a stage performer and I like to act, emote and express. I don’t want to just run around trees. I want to do justice to my passion to act and that’s the reason I’m here,” she explains.Quiz her if she is willing to take the glam route and she immediately shoots back, “The audience has always perceived me as a cute girl and like me in deglam mode. I don’t want to upset them. But if there is a real need for glamour in the script, then I don’t mind doing it.”Revealing details about her upcoming flick Yathumaagi, Sunaina says, “I play a village belle called Annam who loves to live in a dream world. How she falls in love with a city-bred guy (played by debutant Sachin) forms the crux the story. It is a heart-warming tale of opposites, and for the first time, you can see me in paavadai dhaavani on-screen,” she giggles.“I have also completed 60 per cent of Kathirvel with Ajmal. It is a nice film which has given me adequate scope for expression and dialogues. It’s a story about a small town guy who travels to the city and falls in love with a girl. The challenges that he faces is all the story is about.”Coming from a non-filmi background, is handling stardom a challenge for the 20-year-old? “Right from my first film, I’ve constantly been in the news for some reason or the other. For instance, I opted out of Jai Akash’s film long time ago, but rumours are still doing the rounds that I’m acting in it. Then, there are reports linking me with Akash and Sachin. Let me make it clear that my relationship with my co-stars is strictly professional. I’ve struggled to reach this position, and I just want to concentrate on my work and studies.” The actress also rubbishes rumours that cupid has struck with her two-time on-screen pair Nakul. “All those who were associated with my first film are special to me. I’ve worked with Nakul in Kadhalil Vizhunthaen and Maasilamani and he is a good friend. We share a certain comfort level as we have worked together twice. We faced hardships together and shared the fruit of success. There’s nothing more than that.”Despite having two hits and two more geared for release, the petite actress has her feet firmly on the ground. “Expectations are high. But I never think about hits or flops. I just want to enjoy what I’m doing and want people to recognise me as an actress of substance.” (S U N A I N A S P E A K) Sunaina may not have done many films in Tamil, but the actress has a great liking for the city. “ I find Chennai the best place to live in. Chennai is like my home now. People here are warm and loving. In fact, these days I prefer to be in Chennai than in Hyderabad.” Guess what Sunaina’s fitness mantra is? “I don’t believe much in hitting the treadmill. I jog everyday and that keeps me full of beans the entire day. When I am upset or stressed, I meditate.This keeps me going.”

Kamal and not Nayanthara

The latest addition to Kamal Haasan’s Unnai Pol Oruvan is Anuja Iyer. The actress played the lead roles in M3V and Sivi. In a recent interview to a Tamil magazine, Anuja said that she was selected to play an important role in Unnai Pol Oruvan by Kamal Haasan after seeing her performance in her earlier ventures. The actress also states that Kamal was impressed with her proficiency in Tamil language and thought she would do justice to the role. Anuja clarifies that being a native of Thanjavur she can speak the language well.For what we hear from Anuja, it is clear that she will be playing a reporter in Unnai Pol Oruvan. It is worth mentioning here that this character was prominent in the original version 'A Wednesday'. When asked if she would prefer to reach the top spot like Nayanthara or Trisha, the actress said that she aimed as high as Kamal!

Thala Ajith's Asal Gets Rolling !

It has begun, at last! The shoot of Ultimate Star Ajith’s much-expected Asal, directed by Saran, has started in Malaysia. During this schedule, which will last for month, scenes involving Ajith, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana and Prabhu will be shot. As per the script written by Yugi Sethu and Saran, a major portion of the film is set in Malaysia. According to our sources, the film is about a guy from the slums of Chennai who becomes a don and manages his empire from a foreign land. His enemies find it difficult to annihilate him as he is continuously on the run, hopping across continents. Ninety-five per cent of the story happens overseas and Asal’s next schedule is likely to be shot in Europe. Interestingly, this film is touted to be thala’s costliest film till date.

Has Trisha opted out of Aadukalam ?

Is Trisha slowly losing interest in Kollywood? Ever since she signed up Priyadarsan’s Khatta Meeta with Akshay Kumar, the buzz is she is putting Tamil films on the backburner. As of now, she has two live projects in Tamil — Aadukalam with Dhanush, directed by Vetrimaran and Gautham Menon’s Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, in which she is paired with Silambarassan. Her Gautham Menon project with newcomers, Chennayil Oru Mazhaikalam, has been shelved for all practical purposes. Now, the latest in the grapevine is that the makers of Aadukalam and Trisha are trying to work out a settlement, by which she will be free to walk out of the film. Recently, the makers of the film did not use her call sheet and the actress was forced to cool her heels at a Madurai hotel doing nothing for four days, while other scenes were canned! This upset her as she thought they were trying to be one up on her.However, sources close to the unit claim that Trisha has become “too big for her boots ever since she signed up the Akshay Kumar project.” She was not too keen to do a “realistic film in the heat and dust of Madurai”, and the film may take a long time to be completed, which will upset her carefully laid out Bollywood plans.The actress is currently shooting in Sydney with Gopichand for a Telugu film and from there, she will head to New York to complete the last schedule of Gautham Menon’s Vinnaithandi Varuvaya with her “good friend” Simbu. After she finishes her New York assignment, the pretty actress is to fly to Europe for a monthlong schedule of Namo Venkatesa opposite her lucky Aadavari Mataluku Ardhale Verule hero Venkatesh in Telugu. She is reported to have been paid a bomb for the film, which in all probability will be her last Telugu release.From October, Trisha is likely to relocate herself to Mumbai as she has given bulk dates to Priyadarsan. The buzz is that the actress is going for a total make over to join the Bollywood race and will be appointing a leading marketing agency to look after her career in films and endorsements. — where she was shooting a song with Suriya for his KS Ravikumar directed Aadhavan — to the hot and sultry Dubai. Nayan had a prior commitment as she had a dinner appointment at her brother’s place, where Prabhu Dheva was being introduced to the family. The next day, newspapers in Dubai flashed the picture and story of the couple visiting upmarket restaurants and shopping at designer stores at malls. They were mobbed there and people were seen clicking photographs on their mobile phones. We hear that the duo had to leave as the crowd became uncontrollable. Meanwhile, it was Nayan (who was hooked on to the Internet) who first told Prabhu that MJ had passed away!

Nayanthara flew from Iceland

Last week, Nayanthara flew from Iceland — where she was shooting a song with Suriya for his KS Ravikumar directed Aadhavan — to the hot and sultry Dubai. Nayan had a prior commitment as she had a dinner appointment at her brother’s place, where Prabhu Dheva was being introduced to the family. The next day, newspapers in Dubai flashed the picture and story of the couple visiting upmarket restaurants and shopping at designer stores at malls. They were mobbed there and people were seen clicking photographs on their mobile phones. We hear that the duo had to leave as the crowd became uncontrollable. Meanwhile, it was Nayan (who was hooked on to the Internet) who first told Prabhu that MJ had passed away!

JUNE26 :: Nadodigal Film has taken a Lukewarm opening

Soundarya Rajinikanth, busy with Sultan – The Warrior

She might have grown up watching Rajini films just like any other normal Tamil cinema fan, but when an opportunity came knocking to actually make a movie with him in the lead role, she immediately chose animation! “Pictures and images have always attracted me,” says Soundarya Rajinikanth, who is giving the final touches to her Sultan – The Warrior, “That’s why animation was the first choice when my dad gave me a go-ahead sign.”When she was asked to speak on her favourite topic at the Times Avenues, she was more than ready for it. “There’s a huge future for animation in India,” she says, “Apart from the creative line, there’s almost 10 times more opportunities on the technical side.”
Keeping that in mind, this pretty filmmaker is planning to launch a new initiative — she calls it the School of Thoughts. “It will create a platform to people who have ideas,” she states. Prod her on this and she’s not willing to reveal more. “There’ll be an official announcement soon,” is all she’ll say.Though her film is quite big on the technical front, Sultan will have all the essential ingredients of a typical Rajinikanth film. So, there’s style too? “Of course,” she laughs, “There’s action, drama, revenge and love… it’s a commercial film. I’m a commercial person.”That’s one quality driving her to market the film aggressively. But, despite a lot of marketing, animation movies made in India haven’t really raked in a lot of moolah. How does she think will Sultan fare in that context? “Quality is the key in animation movies,” she says, “If there’s no finesse, you’ve lost your audience.”Audience is surely an important factor that Soundarya will be considering, as it’s the fans of the superstar who shape the success of the film. “I’m sure Sultan will be path-breaking and we’re working towards it,” she says, “I love to take up challenges and triumph.”So, what’s Rajinikanth as a dad? What are their dinner table conversations like? “Ah, we discuss everything under the sun. From politics to general gossip, we chat about everything!” Does he ever talk about Sultan competing with his upcoming Endhiran? “No way,” she states, “They are both different films. He thinks of them as two prestigious projects. The work to be put in them is the same.”Soundarya is very interested in the stories and anecdotes that her father narrates to explain human nature. “Appa is hugely into story-telling,” she says, “You know, he has this manner of narrating a lot of little stories. I love listening to them.”

Namitha has gone to extent of E-mailing her fans

This must be innovative promotion at its peak! For her next film Indira Vizha (IV), Namitha has gone to the extent of e-mailing her fans! Yes, the IV team has adopted a new technique to promote their film that is scheduled to release on July 10.We understand that the actress sent 20 lakh mailers, which contained stills and interesting tidbits about the film. IV has Srikanth playing the lead role. According to a press release, Namitha has addressed her fans in her unique ‘tanglish’ style. Apparently, the sultry siren is also responding to some of the mail. So, if you get an e- mail from Namitha soon, don’t be surprised!