latest film news

Rambha blessed with baby girl
Rambha, Glamour queen of 90s and early 2000s, has given birth to a baby girl on January 14 at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Both the mother and the baby are doing fine.
The actress is married to Canada-based entrepreneur Indran Pathmanathan. They entered wedlock on April 8 in Tirupathi last year. Rambha is also brand ambassador of Magickwoods, a company owned by her husband.

Bellamkonda Suresh to remake Kaavalan?
If reports are to be believed, leading Tollywood producer Bellamkonda Suresh has bought the remake rights of Kollywood's latest hit Kaavalan, starring Vijay and Asin. More details about the Telugu remake are expected very soon.
Notably, Kaavalan itself is a remake of the Malayalam film Bodyguard, which had Dileep and Nayantara in the lead roles. Both Tamil and Malayalam versions were directed by Siddique.

Mani Ratnam's next: 200 crores budget?


After his much acclaimed Raavanan, ace director Mani Ratnam is currently busy with the pre-production works of his next project, based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's popular Tamil historical novel 'Ponniyin Selvan'.
A historic fiction featuring mostly real historical characters and real historical incidents, Ponniyin Selvan narrates the story of Arulmozhivarman, later crowned as Raja Raja Chola, one of the greatest kings in Tamil history.
It is learned that the film is planned with a whopping budget of Rs. 200 crores. As per sources, Kalanidhi Maran of Sun Pictures, who earlier produced Enthiran (Robot) is likely to produce this high budget film. Noted Tamil writer Jayamohan will pen the dialogues.
Mani Ratnam is reportedly considering Telugu actor Mahesh Babu and Tamil superstar Vikram for the lead roles. He is also trying to rope music maestro Ilayaraaja as music director. However, an official announcement is awaited.

Narain's image makeover in Thambikkottai  
Malayalam-Tamil actor Narain, who has been playing chocolate boy and light-hearted roles in Malayalam films, is attempting an image makeover in Tamil as a mass hero with his forthcoming Thambikkottai, in which he plays an angry young man named Azhagiri.
"This young man gets involved with a controversial bridge and locks horns with the villain who’s responsible for the destruction of the bridge," Narain said.
"I intentionally decided to do such a commercial potboiler because I wanted to have a mass appeal. I wanted to have a heady mix of films and that's the reason I chose to be a part of Thambikkottai. I'm serious about my career in Tamil films and want to give it my best shot. The shooting was an entirely new experience. Moreover, it's extremely close to my heart as it's my first release in Tamil after two years," the actor said.

Bala-Swetha Menon together again
After their sensational combo in Anil's Kayam, which was released recently, young actor Bala and renowned actress-model Swetha Menon are coming together once again for a film titled Sthalam to be directed by Sivaprasad.
According to sources, the film has Bala playing a land surveyor named Raghuthaman, while Shwetha plays Chandrika, daughter of Pokkan Mooppan. Sthalam is scripted by the director himself. More details are awaited.

Kudumbasree Travels bags 'U' certificate  

Family hero Jayaram’s first release in 2011, Kudumbasree Travels, directed by Kiran and produced by Maithri Vision, has been awarded a clean 'U' certificate. The film is releasing on Friday (January 21) in 55 screens in Kerala.
Bhavana is the heroine. This is the second time she is pairing up with Jayaram after the successful Happy Husbands. Supporting cast includes Jagathy, Maniyan Pillai Raju, Mamukoya, P. Sree Kumar, Kalpana and K.P.A.C. Lalitha.
Penned by Thomas Thoppilkkudi, the film has Jayaram playing Aravindan, who hails from a family full of Chakyarkoothu artists. Bijipal has composed music for lyrics written by Vayalar Sharath Chandra. The film is distributed by Central Pictures.

Naayika: Another film on Sreevidya's life?  

Remember ace Ranjith's much acclaimed Thirakkatha (2008), loosely based on late actress Sreevidya's life? Now, sources say that Jayaraj's next Malayalam film Naayika is also based on the life of Sreevidya.
Produced by Thomas Benjamin under the banner of Makayiram Creations, Naayika stars yesteryear lead actors Madhu and Sharada in the lead.
Scripted by Deedi Damodaran, who earlier scripted Jayaraj's Gulmohar, Naayika tells the story of a yesteryear heroine who disappears behind the curtain of time. Jayaram, Sabitha Jayaraj and Jagathy will be seen in supporting roles.

Bhavana: No marriage in near future   

Bhavana was upset when she read news of her forthcoming marriage on several websites. She said she has no plans to get married right now. Busy with her films in Malayalam and other languages, she is happy that her film Jackie with Puneeth Rajkumar is doing really well. She plans to do another Kannada film with super hero Upendra.
Speaking to Galatta.com, Bhavana said, "The rumours of my marriage are all hot air. I have never told anyone of my marriage and have no plans to get married any time soon. I am busy with lots of offers and work. I want to excel in all the South Indian films. I am truly happy my Christmas release Marykundoru Kunjadu with Dileep is a super hit."

Ilayaraaja honoured with M.S. Subbulakshmi award  

Music maestro Ilayaraaja has been chosen for the prestigious M.S. Subbulakshmi award, instituted by the Tamil Nadu Government in memory of legendary Carnatic music exponent M.S. Subbulakshmi, a press note issued by the TN government said on Monday.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and a memento. Noted writer Jayakanthan would be honoured with the Bharathiyar award and danseuse Padma Subramaniam with the Balasaraswati award, it added.
During the Budget session in May 2009, the State government had announced that eminent personalities from various disciplines, known for their contribution at the national level, would be honoured with special awards.

Sneha promotes polio eradication programme 

Smiling beauty Sneha, known to support social causes, recently participated in a fund-raising campaign organised by the Pondicherry Rotary Club at SRM University.
Sneha was the chief guest at the event and even donated Rs. 15000 for a polio eradication programme undertaken by Rotary Club.
The actress recalled that her father was a member of the Rotary Club since long which motivated her to join the club. Rotarians, who donated over Rs. 5000, were later allowed be photographed with Sneha.

Arabiyum, Ottakavum, P. Madhavan Nairum  

After a gap of seven years, commercial director Priyadarshan is teaming up with Malayalam superstar Mohanlal in a film. According to sources, this much discussed film has been titled Arabiyum, Ottakavum, P. Madhavan Nairum.
"Arabiyum, Ottakavum, P. Madhavan Nairum has tremendous title value, as people will surely be curious to know what it is all about. The film is a satirical comedy, set in Abu Dhabi. I can't reveal anything more at this point," the director said.
The film will start rolling in Abu Dhabi from March 1 and will hit the screens in July. It stars Mukesh an important role, while Lakshmi Rai and Bhavana would be the heroines.

Achchan in trouble again  

After many spats with AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists), Ali Akbar’s Achchan, starring Thilakan, hit the screens last Friday, but its troubles did not end!
Director Ali Akbar told a press conference that the managing director of the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) informed him that the film would be screened for only seven days in the state. It is learnt that if there was a single day of ‘holdover’, the film will be thrown out.
"Why are these people troubling low budget film makers like me? If they have decided to stop my film after seven days of screening, why haven’t they did the same to Kandahar, starring Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan that had pulled up a ‘holdover’ 15 days after release?" asked Ali.
The director reiterated that KSFDC’s move was aimed at tarnishing the reputation of veteran actor Thilakan, who has already been ostracized by the Malayalam film fraternity.