Chennai Box-Office & Cine Express: May 2009

May30 --- Karthi in next venture titled Siruthai

Karthi Sivakumar rose to fame in Kollywood with his very first film Paruthiveeran, and went on to win the Filmfare Best Tamil Male Debut Award and the Filmfare Best Actor Award. His brother Suriya watched the movie and congratulated Karthi, saying that his brother achieved a certain status with just one film, a status that would take several years if it had been anyone else! Karthi has just completed shooting for Aayirathil Oruvan and has started working on Paiyya. In the meantime, sources close to the actor say that he is currently in talks with director Bhoopathy Pandian for his next venture titled Siruthai. Director Bhoopathy Pandian is known for his earlier flicks like Thiruvilayadal Aarambam and Malaikottai.Expectations have risen and this could be Karthi's first comedy flick. Comedian Vadivelu is expected to play a major role in the film.Karthi completed his undergraduation in Chennai and went on to pursue his Master's in Industrial Engineering in USA. He also completed a short course in film-making, and returned to India to work under director Mani Ratnam for Ayutha Ezhuthu.

MAY30 --- Anushka in Asal ?

Anushka is the name of new cyclone that has invaded Kodambakkam. Followed by Kollywood’s craze on Trisha and Nayanthara, new entry from Tollywood Anushka of ‘Arundhathi’ has captured many hearts. Beginning from producers to fans she is on demand to be seen on silver screen. Though she already did ‘Rendu’ in Tamil with Madhavan, her comeback was through the supernatural thriller ‘Arundhathi’ and then Telugu Billa. Anushka is the lead lady in ‘Vettaikkaran’, Vijay’s 49th flick. The lady will pair with Surya in Singam, Karthik in an untitled flick and even Simbu has got her committed by paying the advance amount for his next film. Latest rumor about this blazing dusky beauty might be casted along with Ajith in ‘Asal’.

MAY30 --- NAN AVAN ELAI SEQUEL

Jeevan in the lead with five lovely ladies ‘Naan Avan Illai’ was a box office hit. Director Selva banking his belief on the story has already the sequel ‘Naan Avan Illai 2’. Jeeva as usual does a play boy in this too. Sangeetha, Laksmi Rai, Swetha Menon, Ratchana Maurya and Hemamalini shares screen space in lead with lucky hero Jeevan.
Produced by Nemikchand Jhabak the movie is extensively being filmed in foreign locations like Switzerland, Dubai, Geneva, Greece and Honk Kong. According to direcror Selva, the climax part has something new to go for. Beginning of the third part will be showcased at the end of second part. Actress Vijayalakshmi will be the one conclude the 2nd part. And once again it will be a new beginning with more beautiful sizzlingladies!

MAY30 --- Neetu Chandra in Vishal's Next Flick ?

Vishal will be immediately kicking off with his next flick ‘Theeradha Vilayaatu Pillai’. The actor plays the lead which cast him as play boy.

‘For the first time I am doing play boy role, a lovable play boy’ says Vishal.
As the story demands three heroines, Shriya Saran and Reema Sen who are good friends with Vishal have taken up the role. Third heroine character hails from Mumbai, so Bipasha and Tanushree Dutta were initially approached. As their remuneration was high Yaavarum Nalam fame Neetu Chandra is considered for this role. Discussions are going on to rope in this scorching beauty Neetu.

MAY30 --- Swathi and Jai Pair again

Subramaniyapuram marked Swathi’s debut to Kollywood. Apart from the screenplay, Swathi and Jai combination casted magic on screen. Their magical combination strikes once again alive on screen very soon for an untitled movie produced by Amma Creations Shiva. Direction is by Sripathi. The actress refused many offers based on character and was busy doing Telugu movies has now accepted to do this film in Tamil.
Jai, being one of the busiest heroes in Kollywood, will join the shoot after the completion of his current commitments.
After considering many heroines for this role, director Sripathi chose Swathi as she suits the role

MAY30 --- Vishnu relishes well earned success

Vishnu, who played the naïve villager in Vennila kabadi Kuzhu, is definitely going places. And this, the actor cherishes as the fruits of a five-year-long quest. Soon after completing my MBA, I decided I wanted to be in cinema. I tried for five long years but I never got a break. So I was disillusioned and wanted to take up a regular nine-to-five job. And just when I was about to forsake my dream, I received the opportunity to act in VKK. It looks like a dream. I could not believe my luck when I received the role, but it was only when I began acting that I realised we had a winner on our hands, says the actor, who has quickly moved on to his next project, Bale Pandiya.The film is being directed by Sidharth Chandrasekar and is produced by Kalpathi S Aghoram. It is not a run-of-the-mill flick, and he is paired with Piyaa After this, the actor who seems in no hurry to sign films, has also committed to do a double hero subject, Droha with Srikanth.

MAY30 --- Devi Sri Prasad for Bollywood

Devi Sri Prasad is one of the most renowned and outstanding music composers of south Indian movies. He has created sensation with his songs despite the industry having the noted composers like Harris Jayaraj and Mani Sharma. Now the latest news is that Devi Sri Prasad has got some Bollywood offers and he seems to be trying his luck in Bollywood too. If everything goes well, we can enjoy the scores of DSP in Bollywood as well. For now, Devi Sri is rocking with his tunes for the film ‘Kanthaswamy’ and sources close to him reveal that he would come up with a formal announcement if he does take up a Bollywood assignment. Waiting to hear that Devi Sri!!!

MAY30 --- Kamal’s IIT dream

Kamal Haasan’s Rajkamal International and the Indian Institute of Technology have jointly organized a conference on screen play writing. This conference will begin on May 29th (Friday) and end on June 3rd. The inaugural ceremony of this conference was attended by Kamal Haasan, Balu Mahendara, Santhana Barathy, Perarasu, Dharani, Vasanth, Ameer, Priya, Mysskin, Sasi, Crazy Mohan among others.

Speaking to the media persons, Kamal said that he is happy that his long time dream of holding conference on screen play has come true at last. The actor said that he is still a student as far as the film industry is concerned and is looking to learn more. Kamal disclosed that he cut short his studies due to his penchant for acting or else he would have joined the IIT for higher studies, the actor said.

MAY30 --- Dhanush's Competition Heats Up

Arya, the Telugu flick with Allu Arjun, Siva and Anuradha Mehta was much appreciated for its content and performance. Now this film is being remade in Tamil as Kutty with Dhanush and Shriya in lead roles. For Siva’s role, a Mumbai import Sameer Dattani is firmed up but he is being introduced as Dhiyan in Kollywood.

Dhiyan’s credentials are impressive. He has acted in Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films and was introduced in the music album ‘Valentine’s day’. In Kutty he will be competing with Dhanush in wooing Shriya. Looks like Dhiyan will be here to make his mark as he is currently busy in learning Tamil. Good luck Dhiyan!

MAY30 --- THORANAI Review

CAST:Vishal, Shriya, Prakash Raj, Kishore,Santhanam,Shayaji shindey,Geetha,Lal
DIRECTION:Saba Ayyappan
MUSIC:Mani Sharma
PRODUCTION:GK Films

STORY :

Vishal begins from where he left in malaikotai. Thoranai is an action packed entertainer that doesnt keep you
entertained due to various flaws in the screenplay.The story however is not new to tamil cinema . Murugan(Vishal) son of geetha comes to chennai in search of his elder brother ( Guru). The story begins with as usual an intro song in a village . The scene where guru enters chennai he is shocked and surprised to see a murder happening in front of him . Then he runs intro trouble with the local dons Prakashraj and Kishore. Vishal then meets Shriya and falls in love with her.The entire first half is quite humourous with santhanam,mayilsamy,aarthy providing the audience some comedies which doesnt make you laugh at places .At the end of the First half is the twist where Vishal finds that one of the don is his elder brother .Whether Vishal brings his elder brother to His Village Forms the rest of the plot . Second half has some extra characters like Shivaji Shindey who is a minister and who uses prakash raj for comitting his political crimes. Lal an encounter specialist who flows in from mumbai and is forced to do an encounter by the minister and thereby
eliminating all the local goons from the city. The movie is full of one liners with almost each character saying a one liner while Vishal leads them saying most of the punches to Prakash Raj. Having seen Prakash Raj in these roles before it is nothing new and his character doesnt entertain the audience as expected. Guru ( Kishore ) has amazed the audience with his way of speaking Tamil in a style which is something special.Shriya provides the necessary glamour quotient and keeps the youth satisfied throughout the movie.Finally Coming to Vishal after a mediocre Malaikotai and a LackLustre Sathyam Vishal still hasnt learnt his lesson as he tries to imitate Senior Actors like Rajini and Vijay through out the movie. Vishal needs to understand that he must follow his own style to achieve stardom and shouldnt follow other actors.The movie ends with an encounter in which almost the entire baddies of chennai are killed in the harbour .The music of mani sharma is okay. Pelican Paravagal ,Va chellam are quite good . Rest of the songs make the audience move out of the theatre during the songs. The background score is appealing for the massesThe stunts are good as they have tried to make most of the stunts realistic as possible. But the stunts are spoiled by the one liners that vishal speaks before/after each and every fight sequence

RATING: 1.5/5
VERDICT: THORANAI HAS THE MASS BUT MISSES TO SATISFY THE AUDIENCE
AT THE CBO: AS THERE ARE NO BIG RELEASES FOR A FEW DAYS AND AFTER SARWAM'S DISSAPOINTING SHOW THE MOVIE WILL HAVE GOOD COLLECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE OPENING WEEK . THE FATE OF THE MOVIE THEN RESTS WITH THE AUDIENCE.

MAY29 --- Vijay Birthday Special

Actors’ birthdays are indeed eventful occasions. It is one of the happy times when fans and fan clubs go on a celebration spree. From a fan’s perspective, it is the opportunity to demonstratively express his love for his onscreen heroes. Actors too participate enthusiastically in the event since it is one of the rare moments they get to spend with their fans. Some actors organize social service camps too as part of the celebration. This year, owing to the ordeals experienced by the Tamils living in Sri Lanka, actors such as Ajith and Rajinikanth decided to skip the usual grandeur in their birthday celebrations and kept the programme austere.June 22nd is Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s birthday. Every year, a lot of planning and arrangement goes into the celebration. Vijay looks at it as an opportunity to share some crucial moves in his career with his supporters. Be it a new role or a changeover he is planning to try on screen, Vijay shares the privileged info with his fans on the occasion. Last year, it was the launch of an official flag for his fan clubs. This year, will he announce news regarding his much-anticipated move into politics? Let us wait and see!

May 29 --- THORANAI - A Sneak Peak

Kollywood’s summer kicks off this Friday. It is delayed heavily, thanks to the IPL. And, first off the block is the Vishal-Shriya starrer Thoranai. What do you expect from a Vishal movie? Loads of entertainment and action; this is the mix that has sustained Vishal in his few years at Kollywood. This time too he will remain faithful to it, but there is going to be a lot more emphasis on comedy. Yes, there was some comedy in Malaikottai, but precious little of that was done by Vishal. In Thoranai, we will see Vishal himself trying his hand at the lighter stuff in a lot of scenes. Of course, he will be in the company of some experienced comedians which includes Santhanam and M.S. Bhaskar.Thoranai is the story of a man (Vishal) who comes to the city from his village to find out his long-lost elder brother and reunite him with the family. But he is not able to do it easily and keeps running into trouble and there are certain people who disturb him often. How he gets over all the challenges to reach his goal is what Thoranai is all about. In this, we have Shriya who comes as Vishal’s lady love. The stills and promos have promised a lot of glamour; but there will be no vulgarity, promise the crew of the movie. Prakash Raj plays an important role in Thoranai. But you can gauge that comedy is the highlight of Thoranai from the fact that in spite of the presence of artistes like Prakash Raj and Shriya, the highlights of the film are said to be the scenes involving Santhanam and Vishal. There is a particular scene where Vishal appears as Lord Rama and Santhanam as Hanuman, which is sure to bring the house down. The director of Thoranai, Saba Ayyappan makes his debut with the movie. It is easy to see why he chose comedy to make his debut with; he has been an assistant of Viji (Vellithirai) and Bhoopathy Pandian (Thiruvilayaadal, Malaikottai). Music by Mani Sharma has received its share of attention, but has not yet managed to create any serious waves. Thoranai is a crucial film for Vishal as he looks to come back after the Sathyam debacle. It is also important for Kollywood as it marks the beginning of the delayed summer. A lot of films are set to release in the coming weeks and everyone would love to see Thoranai get the season off to a good start.

May29 --- Vijay's Choice of Vettaikaran Lyrics

Kapilan’s lyrics in Vettaikaran have impressed Illayathalapathy Vijay, we hear. The actor was highly impressed over the lines Unavu udai uraividam uzhavanukku kidaikkanum avan anupavicha micham meedhi aandavanukku padaikkanum. It is worth mentioning here that Kapilan’s lyrics in Vijay’s earlier film Pokkiri Adungada enna suthi with the lines theepandham edudhu theendamai koluthu was also a hit and the actor’s fans had used it in the banners during the release of the film. Probably Vijay’s fans should be eying the Unavu Udai Uraividam song lyrics for the banner this time.
Vijay next film in the pipeline, Vettaikaran, has drawn in a lot of expectations among his fans. The film is directed by Babu Sivan and has Anushka pairing up with Vijay.

May28 --- Kamal Hassan - A novel approach

The most important thing in cinema is screen writing. It is the basic structure that will decide whether the audiences will like a film or not.the Chennai International Screenwriting Workshop (CISW), the first of its kind in South India, hosted by Raajkamal Films International in association with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, will kick off with a inaugural session.The workshop will culminate with a two-day seminar with some of the best screenwriters and filmmakers from around the world. French writer Jean Claude Carriere, Olivier Lorelle (whose film Indigenes was nominated to the Oscars 2006) and Shekhar Kapur, will share their thoughts with the likes of K. Balachander, Balu Mahendra, Gulzar, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Vishal Bharadwaj, Rituparno Ghosh, Shyamaprasad and Sriram Raghavan at the seminar between June 2 and 3."I envy the 250 delegates who will get to be there at the ICSR auditorium at IIT to listen to the masters and attend the screenwriting workshop to be conducted by Anjum Rajabali, Atul Tiwari and K.Hariharan," says a beaming Kamal Haasan.

May28 --- Vikram distributes Swiss bank money ?

Vikram is happy over the way his forthcoming release Kanthaswamy has shaped up. The actor revealed that he plays a CBI officer in the film. According to Vikram, his role will have a tinge of James Bond-ism in it. Speaking about the eight get ups in Kanthaswamy, Vikram said that he has also donned the get up of a woman. With the film’s director Susi Ganesan time and again stressing that the costumes in the film will be very fashionable and special, Vikram has reiterated that point.

From what we hear about Kanthaswamy’s storyline, Vikram will bring in crores of rupees deposited in the Swiss banks and distribute it among the poor. Shriya Saran stars opposite Vilram in this film.

May26 --- Little Superstar Simbu, football addict !

While the whole of Indian cheers the Indian cricket team and awaits the start of T20 World Cup at England, Simbu can’t wait for Manchester United to win the Champions League. Manchester meets Barcelona head on in Rome this month and Simbu, who has just returned from Malta where he picturised songs for Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, has already packed his bags and will be off to Rome to catch the match!

“I’m crazy about football, and am a diehard fan of Manchester United. I can’t wait to see them winning the Champions League title back-to-back, something that has never been done before,” he says excitedly. And word has it that he has doled out cash to get tickets for a handful of his pals who will be joining him as well!

May26 --- Sherin is Tamannaah's sister

Remember Sherin, who sizzled on screen a few years ago with her foot-tapping Azhagiya Asura in Whistle? The actress was also popular in her role as Dhanush’s love in Thulluvadho Ilamai.The actress has, ever since, faded into obscurity with no interesting roles coming her way.Looks like Sherin has now resigned to playing sister characters. If sources are to be believed, the actress will reenter the silver screen after a long time playing Tamannaah’s sister in the remake of Jab We Met, Kandein Kadhalai.Kandein Kadhalai, directed by Kannan, has Bharath and Tamannaah in the lead, and shooting is on at a brisk pace to release the film in the next couple of months. The film has a sister’s character in the film, and it looks like Sherin has been roped in to play the part. But the original character in the film had only a younger sister for the heroine. Given that Sherin is senior to Tamannaah by many years, it looks like the character has been changed a bit, and Sherin will be playing Tamannaah’s elder sister..