Selvaraghavan's B'wood debut with Vivek Oberoi

Bollywood is no more too far fetched for Tamil Cinema now. It was only the very lucky (or successful) directors who were really able to score a Bollywood big one. Among them are Bharatiraja and K Bhagyaraaj. Some of these directors had very bad experiences and jumped straight back into Tamil Cinema.

But in the changing of trends, many young and upcoming directors have found a good opening in Bollywood. The nig boys of Bollywood, The Khans and the Bachchans, seem to be very eager to get things going with South Indian film directors – even those who are making their debut in Bollywood. At present, Prabhudeva is working with Salman Khan in Pokkiri Hindi remake and AR Murugadoss is working on the Ghajini Hindi remake with Aamir Khan.

Now add another top-notch director to that list - Selvaraghavan. He has tasted success with Tamil Cinema over and over again. Now he will work with none other than Vivek Oberoi. The film is the Hindi remake of 7G Rainbow Colony.


The star recently visited Chennai, the place where he was born, and watched the orignal film with Dhanush and Selvaraghavan. After watching the film, he was on the top of the world and asked the director to start the work of the film as soon as possible. He later dined with Selva and his family. Selva will first finish the shooting of Aayirathil Oruvan before starting the shooting of the film.

Selva will direct his debut Hindi movie after the completion of Aayirathil Oruvan.

Jodha Akbar

Ashutosh Gowariker’s film Jodha Akbar is one hugely anticipated film. The man who delivered two finest fines in the past years, Swades and Lagaan, is back. And this time with a historical movie. Surely Ashutosh is not afraid of exploring unexplored zones. Ashustosh also has a great cast for his film Jodha Akbar. Hrithik Roshan plays the Mughal Emperor, Akbar while Aishwarya Rai plays Akbar’s wife, the Rajput princess, Jodha.

I did not quite enjoy Hrithik’s and Aishwarya’s chemistry in Dhoom 2. Surely expecting Ashutosh Gowariker to create magical romance between the two in Jodha Akbar.

Just recently the look of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai for Jodha Akbar was revealed by Ashutosh. If you thought Sanjay Leela Bhansali was clever by hiding Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor in Saawariya, then you gotta check this picture out.

There’s a certain royal quality to Hrithik’s face and body language. As for Aishwarya, to me she’s the quintessential princess…straight out of Amar Chitra Katha….the distressed princess waiting in her chamber to be rescued. Aishwarya has the elegance and of course the beauty. Calling her beautiful is an understatement. Though we’ve seen her in so many avatars as Jodha she’s something else. Hrithik and Ash are amazing together.




Hrithik Roshan

After receiving rave reviews for Dhoom 2, Hrithik Roshan is heading towards yet another milestone in his career. And this time it’s a role of a life time, that of Emperor Akbar that he’s portraying in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s mega epic Jodha Akbar. And to give himself a more authentic royal look, Hrithik will be spotted with a moustache in the film. From his muscular look in Dhoom 2 to the royal look, Hrithik seems to be giving perfectionist Aamir some tough competition!

After learning Wushu (a martial art) for Krrish and ice skating for Dhoom 2, the actor is undergoing special training to ride an elephant adeptly and convincingly for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Akbar Jodha, ..

Given that Hritik prefers to do all his stunts himself, he will do the same in Akbar Jodha too. “Action director Ravi Diwan has composed the war sequence keeping Hrithik’s calibre as an actor in mind. It won’t be like Krrish or Dhoom 2, the film will be mostly about hand-to-hand fight. Hrithik even asked me to change the grip of the sword because he wanted to feel comfortable while doing the scenes,” says Nitin.



In an interview to Mumbai Mirror in the past, Hrithik had said, “I have complete faith in Ashutosh’s directorial capability. Had it been any other director, I wouldn’t have agreed to do a period film. For Akbar Jodha, I will start reading books on Mughal history, especially on Emperor Akbar. All I can say about the film is that the depiction of Akbar is nothing like what we have seen in the past. It’s sad that whenever we talk of historical films, people have an image of a theatrical representation of the era. But Ashu’s film will be far more real and a true representation of the era.” Scholar, Haider Ali Sahib is helping Ashutosh with the research for the film.

Actor Hrithik Roshan is, apparently, a thorough professional who does not believe in half-measures.Currently he has shifted base to Karjat, approximately 100 kilometre from Mumbai where Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha Akbar is being canned.Now, given the Mumbai traffic, the commute to Karjat would take him a minimum of three hours one way, so the actor has hit upon a novel idea.

Ashok Vasodia, his secretary revealed to our sources that the star has hired a helicopter that takes off from the set and lands the star at Juhu aerodrome in 15 minutes flat.It is noteworthy that Hrithik is picking up the tab for his travels unlike many other star brats who would expect the producers to foot the bill!

When contacted, Sunaina Roshan confirmed the news, saying, “Hrithik’s schedule was very hectic and I guess, this way he saves a lot of valuable time. It just takes him 20 minutes to reach Mumbai this way. Otherwise he simply ended up spending all his time travelling to and from Karjat.”

Aishwarya Rai

While Aishwarya was shooting in London for `Provoked‘, she got an SMS from Gowarikar, which read “WILL U B MY JODHA?” And Ash instantly responded by saying yes and the two later met in Mumbai and shook hands on the deal.

“Ashutosh had made it clear from the start that it would be either a new girl or me for Jodha. I respected his clear-headed thinking. When he came to me I was delighted.”,says Aishwarya Rai.



An admirer of Gowarikar’s works, Ash is all praise for his commitment. “I love the painstaking research he does for each film. It showed in Lagaan and Swades .

“For ‘Jodha-Akbar‘, he’s going into reams and reams of homework. It’s almost like rediscovering a whole new era with the director…a very fascinating process for any actor, specially at a time when he or she is trying to discover new facets to her personality, like I am.”

Ash was all praise for Hrithik.

“I’ve done a world tour with him. He’s such a focused, dedicated and passionate actor. Working with him would definitely be an enriching experience. With every film I hope to evolve as an actor. With someone like Hrithik for a co-star that process of growth becomes even easier.”


Video : Hrithik Talks About Jodha Akbar:-

Ghajini By Aamir

Jiah Khan made hot news the moment she made her debut on the big screen with the controversial Nishabd, opposite Amitabh Bachchan. And now the sultry beauty has made news again. The latest is that Jiah Khan has bagged a role opposite none other than Aamir Khan in the much talked about Ghajini.

According to sources Jiah Khan and Tamil actress Asin will be paired opposite Aamir Khan in this hindi remake of Christopher Nolan’s thriller Memento. Ghajini revolves around an amnesiac man’s hunt for his fiancée’s killer.

Initially, Ayesha Takia was supposed to do one of the lead roles, but she later backed out of Ghajini for unknown reasons. Kangana Ranaut then signed the film, however, when the actress went to town proclaiming her good fortune, Aamir reportedly got quite pisssed off with her and decided to drop the idea of casting her. Priyanka Chopra was then said to be next in line for the same role, and the actress, reports claimed, was very keen to sign the film. Unfortunately, that was not to be. So now its Jiah Khan opposite Aamir Khan for Ghajini and hopefully there will not be further changes. So that’s another feather onto Jiah khan’s cap.

I have seen the original film Memento and the screenplay, editing, story, direction are just fantastic. It’s a top notch film and to be able to replicate it will be a tough task. Thank God, Ghajini will be having Bollywood’s finest actor Aamir Khan playing the lead role. Just waiting to see how Bollywood be able to remake Memento. Hope its not a let down.



Aamir Khan is also reportedly going to sport a bald look in the film. However, Aamir will not have a bald look throughout the film. Only the second half of the Ghajini demands that he have no hair. So the extra professional Aamir khan is going to go the bald way….
Sources reveal that Aamir Khan does not have any apprehensions about the new look.He was given the option of wearing a wig, but turned it down. Way to go Aamir we need more actors like you in Bollywood.

Here’s a trailer of Memento. Watch the video and see what you can expect out of Ghajini.



 Though the pictures do not look impressive, we hope that they come out better after digital processing in the post production.

Ghajini is a physcological thriller and has Aamir Khan, Asin ( South actress) and Jiah Khan. The movie is inspired from the cult English classic, Memento.

Century for shivaji

September 22, 2007

 Is the day that we all knew would surely come. It was done and decided that such a day would happen and it would be celebrated in a fitting fashion. Even before June 15th we knew that September 22 would be special. Today Sivaji completes 100 days in theaters and without much argument the past 100 days have been the best in the history of Tamil cinema. Close to 500 theaters, more than 7 states in India and more than 7 foreign countries- neighbors, Asian, European and American.



That was the number of theaters that showed Sivaji on June 15th and today 100 days from that date nearly 200 theaters are still showing the movie. Some of them are in Kerala, in Karnataka, some others are in Canada and Britain. Rarely does a movie have such a wide reach, rarely are so many tickets sold for a single movie, rarely do so man people go crazy over one man, rarely do cinema and history go hand in hand.

But when it is Superstar in action we know that history is in the making. It is much like Sachin Tendulkar batting; when he bats he has only one record to break- his own. When a Rajinikanth movie releases it has to get better of only the previous Rajini movie. Everything else is a foregone conclusion. It was the same with Sivaji. The only thing everyone wanted to know was whether it would do better than Chandramukhi and today we have the answer for you- very easy to guess.

Yes. Sivaji is Rajini’s-Tamil cinema’s biggest ever in terms of, well….. everything that you can think of. The biggest and best combination of sheer talent, star power and tradition that Tamil cinema has seen.


The biggest budget, the biggest release and of course the biggest hit… it doesn’t get any bigger and there is only one man who can make things bigger- Superstar himself, when he chooses to do so. If Shankar and Rahman are amongst the greatest in their chosen fields of expertise and AVM is the production house most steeped in tradition. That was the stage that was set for the Superstar effect to unleash; this was the only stage that could do justice to awesome potential that a Superstar movie has to offer. And what was done was more than just justice. Sivaji is not about the creation of a hit, it is about the creation of new frontiers, new benchmarks which will spur others in Tamil cinema to work harder, to go higher and expect more out of themselves.


What this Superstar movie has proved is that “Success is a journey, not a destination”. The pursuit of excellence never stops and there is no place for complacency, no matter how big a star you are, no matter how sure of success you may be.

We all might think that Rajinikanth has nothing to prove to anyone; he’s been there and done that, given the biggest hits Indian cinema has known, reached the pinnacles of stardom, become the idol of crores and yet in each frame of Sivaji you can see the efforts that he has taken, the hard work he has put in, the new things he has tried and done to make the movie an unforgettable one for all of us as if he is a newcomer who still has to prove his mettle to everyone.



They say, ‘only a retired actor has nothing to prove to anyone’ and that’s what Superstar seems to be following and thank God he has not shown any inclination towards retirement, in fact the next Superstar movie is almost sure to happen (at least we like to believe in that) quite soon.

It would be sacrilege to not give special mention to everyone involved in the creation of this movie. Shankar, we need not tell you how good he is at doing what he did in Sivaji. Painting larger than life characters on a larger than life canvas is his bread and butter but in Sivaji he gave new dimensions to the term ‘larger than life’. Rahman might indisputably be the best music director in India at the moment but the efforts that he put into this project are obvious to all music lovers; its one thing to give good tunes but it takes a lot of dedication to travel around the world in search of new sounds, new kinds of music and put them together to create a great album. K.V. Anandh grabbed the opportunity to be part of such a great team and gave his best work yet and AVM was always there to provide everything that the team needed to enable them create a product that would be yet another feather in the cap of this haloed production house. It was as if everyone realized that they were not working on just another movie. Sivaji is the result of that realization.



Sivaji is not ‘great cinema’ in the context in which critics use the quote. But then no one pretended it is. Neither the director nor producer ever said that it was going to be one. What they set out to make was a Superstar movie, for the countless Superstar fans (me and you) to enjoy and cherish. They set out to create a thing of beauty that will remain a joy forever and they achieved everything they set out to and more. They created history and today history is in its 100th day and we know that it is just the beginning.

Ajith in Kireedom

Kireedom is the next big release after Sivaji and everyone is waiting for the release of this family drama starring Ajith and Trisha. G.V.Prakash made his presence felt with his very first album and when he joins hands with 'Thala' Ajith Kumar, it is sure to spark curiosity.

Lets see how the young G.V.Prakash fares,

Vizhiyil

The very first song starts with an impressive note and G.V.Prakash shows his mastery over slow paced romantic song. Inspiring orchestration, smooth and romantic sounds make this number a treat for all the fans of Ajith. The singers Sonu Nigam & Swetha do their work with perfect élan. A sure chart buster.

Rating – 4.5/5


Kanavellam

The starting notes do give one a deja vu feel with Harris Jeyaraj's compositions. This number is sung by a proud father about his son which just follows the usual path with nothing new to offer but rich lyrics do make the song a good one to hear. The sounds used in between lighten up the track. Jeyachandran and Karthik do their job; overall an average track.

Rating – 3/5



Vilayaadu Vilayaadu

This is the opening song of Ajith. It does have a peppy feel but still the sound is a little on a higher note and the rhythm is very much similar to some of the kuthu songs of the past. In the middle the sounds used though innovative is very harsh on ears. Shankar Mahadevan sings the song with his usual charm. A track that will satisfy Ajith's fans.

Rating – 2.5/5


Akkam Pakkam

Sadhana Sargam is back with this slow number which is about the fantasies of a lover. Even though the rhythm and feel do remind us about her super hit 'Snegidane', the music director uses the sounds to good use. The lyrics too have a major hang over of Snegidane. Yet the final outcome is satisfactory.

Rating – 4/5


Kaneer Thuliyae

A R Rahman looms over this number of G.V.Prakash which sounds a lot like Kanathil Muthamittal and Uyirae put together. Vijay Yesudas does justice to this track. Getting inspired by the legend of Indian film music is natural for any upcoming music director and it is more justified in G V Prakash's case as he shares the family genes with Rahman. However when one finds his own touch it aids the song to stand out. And G.V.P does find some success in that.

Rating – 2.5/5


Kreedom Theme music

The start impresses the listeners but the flow is lost soon and when it is regained, it is a bit too late. It is a valiant attempt by the music director to add a theme song which has a running time of four minutes as it is quite rare in Kollywood. The final outcome is satisfactory, but Hindi music lovers can easily recognize the source of inspiration of G.V.Prakash.

Rating – 3/5

On the whole G.V.Prakash does a neat job but shows his uncle's effect on his music more than once. But as he is in his start up phase of his career, great things are expected from this young music director very soon. A decent buy.

Overall rating – 3/5

Mohanlal as Casanova

The long awaiting of Roshan Andrus is finally over. The director, who is known for his very bold films like Note book and Udhayanaanu Thaaram, has been awaiting for dates from the superstar Mohanlal for one of the best scripts among his next projects.

The new venture which is titled as Casanova will bring out some of the unseen performances and acts from the star through a very different character, the film which is to be scripted by Bobby Sanjay, will be produced by Impressario motion Pictures limited.

Undoubtingly the movie will be one of the prestigious projects of the star, next year.

Sharukh as Robo

While Sivaji: the Boss is still making waves across the globe, director Shankar is all set to commence his dream venture, supposedly his magnum opus titled Robo, a gripping science fiction film with Sharukh Khan playing the lead role.

Director Shankar has expressed his delight at going to Bollywood again. After the legendary runaway hits of Humsay Hai Muqabla and Hindustani that had drawn a plethora of National Awards including the Best Actor Award for Kamal Haasan, Robo will be his second straight Hindi film, following Nayak.

Robo will be produced by Red Chilies Entertainment, a production house of the King Khan himself. The movie with all its techno jazz will be released in Tamil, Telugu and other languages. With Speculations doing their rounds, the crew details are yet to be finalized.

Khan In Dutt Out!

Rajkumar Hirani goes for a change from Sanjay Dutt to Shahrukh Khan. Who can forget the rediscovery of Gandhian views in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, it was one of the finest movies of Sunjay Dutt and now it will be Shahrukh Khan creating the same magic for us. Hirani has decided to take Shahrukh Khan for his next project. Hirani was always interested to work with SRK and Sharukh khan was his first choice for Munnabhai MBBS but things didn’t work out with him so Sanjay Dutt got the role.

                          The SRK-Hirani project is based on Chetan Bhagat’s book on the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) culture, ‘Five Point Someone’. The story revolves around three friends, who are unable to cope with the pressures of being in the premier institution. it is said that the script is being reworked and some changes have been made. lets see if the magic of Munna Bhai and Lage Raho is seen in Hirani’s next project and how well does Shahrukh Khan deal with it. Another point to think about is that if there are three people in the lead wonder who the other two can be apart from SRK? Any Guesses who it might be?