Manisha Koirala goes to Malayalam!

After top heroines Shriya Saran and Sameera Reddy, now another Bollywood beauty Manish Koirala is making her debut in Mollywood.

Manisha, who had done films like Bombay, Indian, Muthalvan and Baba is now making a comeback in Tamil as Dhanush’s arrogant mother-in-law in Maapillai.

 

The pretty actress has signed on the dotted line in noted art house Malayalam director Shyamaprasad’s next film tentatively titled Electra! She will play the role of Nayanthara’s mother, a very crucial character.

The film is based on a Greek play, and has Nishan, the hero of Shyam’s earlier film Rithu playing the male lead. When Manisha was contacted in Mumbai, the actress said: “I‘m really happy to do a Shyamaprasad film, in which I have a very crucial and meaty role”.

Shyamaprasad’s Electra produced by Vindhyan will start rolling in April. Prakash Raj plays Manisha’s husband and Nayanthara’s father in the film. National award winning music director Ousepachan will provide the music

Mammootty to take a break!

Megastar Mammootty has been having a torrid time this year after the colossal failure of Drona and Thilakan’s wild accusations against him.

 

Mammootty the cool guy that he is, did not get into a slanging match with Thilakan, though the veteran actor tried to needle him unnecessarily. Now leaving all that behind, Mammootty is going to take a one month break, where he will just chill out. He wants to keep his holiday plans under the wrap.

The star is pinning a lot of hope on his two summer releases. B Unnikrishnan directed Pramani will release first on March 26. The film is said to have shaped out well and after a long time you can see Mammootty doing a role with negative shades.

Five weeks later his multi starrer Pokkiri Raja is scheduled for release on April 30. It is a mass action film with Prithviraj and Shriya doing the supporting roles. Both these films are sure to work big time at the box-office.

Rajat Kapoor replaces Thilakan

Dam 999, a English film produced and directed by NRI Sohan Roy has been in the news for the wrong reasons. After Thilakan was removed from the film, a compensation of Rs 7 lakhs had to be paid to him.

Now the latest we hear is that .Bollywood actor and model Rajath Kapoor has replaced Thilakan in Dam 999. The movie is directed by Sohan Roy. Buzz is that Rajath has already started shooting for the film.

Another new addition to the film is Thampi Antony, whose performance in Sufi Paranja Katha, has been critically appreciated. Thampy will be joining the next schedule of the film in Hyderabad in May.

Lal, Pookkutty conferred D Litt

Megastar Mohanlal and Sound designer Resul Pookkutty was conferred with the D.Litt by the Kalady Sankaracharya University, today. The super star, who spoke after the ceremony, made reminiscences about his dad who always encouraged him to study and become a greater person. “And when I decided for such a career, he never stood on my way. I would like to dedicate this honour to my father, who made me what I am today” said Mohanlal.

Lal also remembered the greater responsibilities that this title bring with it. ”I would like to say that before this honour, I was just a film actor” Lal concluded.

Shooting hungama at the capital city

After quite some time, the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram is once again becoming the backdrop of a number of movies. The shooting crew of many films that have been wandering around Palakkad and Ottappalam is planning to shift their locations to the south due to intense heat wave and sunburn stories that have affected northern Kerala.

Mohanlal’s movie ‘Oru Naal Varum’ directed by Rajeevkumar is the first to start its shoot at the capital city, this season. The movie will get completed in a single schedule of around sixty days in and around Thiruvananthapuram. Suresh Gopi’s T S Sureshbabu movie ‘Kanyakumari Express’ is also continuing with its shot at the capital city.

Another movie crew that was seen in the South is Kabir Rauther’s movie ‘Inganeyum Oral’ which will be completed in a couple of weeks.

‘Oru Naal Varum’ by June

One of the greatest pairs of Mollywood cinema, Mohanlal and Sreenivasan, had been immensely successful in creating superhits whenever they were pitted against each other. Their blockbuster movies like Gandhi Nagar 2nd Street, Sanmanasullavarkku Samadhanam, Varavelppu, Nadodikattu, Pattana Pravesham, Vellanakalude Nadu, Thenmavin Kombathu, Chandralekha, Kilichundan Mambazham and Udayananu Tharam had been also listed as the new age classics of Malayalam cinema.

And when they are once again coming together for a new movie in the title of ‘Oru Naal Varum’, expectations are quite high. Planned to get completed in a single schedule, the movie will get to theatres by the month of June. The movie directed by T K Rajeevkumar in the scripts of Sreenivasan, will feature Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy as the heroine.

The glamorous star who is debuting into Mollywood with this movie, has made a extremely good opinion at the sets with her modest attitudes and maneuvers. A workaholic, she was found to be extremely busy at the sets preparing herself for the next shot, by learning dialogues in advance. The actress who is also thrilled to play the role of Mohanlal’s wife finds her charter to be too realistic and believable and admits that she finds learning Malayalam easier than Tamil, due to her maternal roots in Kerala.

Actress Asin meets Hollywood movie ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron

Hollywood big shot ‘Avatar’ director James Cameron was in New Delhi last week to attend “India Today Conclave 2010” on the theme ‘New Decade: Great Expectations’ organized by The India Today Group.

At the conclave Asin was also invited to speak at the youth forum about the theme of Reality Vs Idealism in movies in front of James Cameroon. Our Asin pulled it off with grace and confidence. Asin spoke on how the youth can break free and think out of the box to bring change in movies.

Asin also said “Change, according to me, is not just brought about by the youth, but by anyone. She said it may not be a revolution, but just a small change” and went on to cite a personal example to elucidate this further. “I was born into a traditional and orthodox Kerala Catholic family and I should have been named after my grandmother. But my parents thought out of the box, and named me Asin, which means without sin,” she says. To live up to this name is what she strives for everyday.”

Speakers at the conclave included the Dubai Royalty Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram, Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, CEO Ford Motor Co. Alan Mulally, Co-Founder of Facebook Chris Hughes, Author Salman Rushdie, Yoga Expert Swami Ramdev, Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Amir Khan.

Later James Cameron and Aamir joined Asin and Ranbir for the gala dinner that was held after the summit where the “Titanic, Avatar” director appreciated Asin for her vision.

Sharing the stage with such eminent personalities is indeed a great honour for Asin.

4 idiots in Malayalam

After the mesmerising success of ‘3 idiots’ in Hindi, Mollywood cinema is trying for a similar big hit in a title ” 4 idiots”. Directed by debutante K M Pradheesh, the movie will feature Mukesh, Siddhique, Jagathy and Suraj in the title roles.

Planned to start this week at Pollachi, the makers have not yet decided on the heroines of the movie. The movie produced by Femsik is planned to be completed in a matter of thirty days. Sources say the moive will get to theatres by the final week of May. The music department of the movie will be handled by Ramesh Nair ad Rameshan Narayanan.

Why Kites is called Kites

The title and story of Kites is the brainchild of Rakesh Roshan, the man behind some of Bollywood’s most creative blockbusters. “The idea for Kites came to me when I was gazing at the sky and saw two kites flying,” notes Rakesh Roshan. “It looked very romantic. It was very intriguing – the way they came close, played, almost embraced each other and then drew apart, unaware that someone else was pulling the strings and could cut them loose. I sat down and penned a story around this idea,” he adds.

“Kites is the metaphor of the film. Kites fly against the wind and not with it; the stronger the wind blows, the higher the kites fly,” adds Anurag Basu, who has penned the screenplay and directed the film. “Our protagonists in the movie too face obstacles; their love grows deeper with every increasing obstacle.”

Kites is a compelling romantic saga that goes beyond barriers, boundaries and cultures. It is a story of passion that defies every rule, of a relationship that takes two lovers on a thrilling journey filled with precious moments and unexpected betrayal. It has been shot in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Santa Fe and the studios of Mumbai and Maldives. Along with Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori, the film also stars Kangna Ranaut, Nick Brown and Kabir Bedi.

Kites has been made in two versions, Hindi and English. Both will release on 21st May, 2010, across more than 60 countries.

Asin: I am lucky to have such parents

Her next movie was also opposite one of the Khans (Salman) and a super successful director (Vipul Shah), but that film (London Dreams) failed to click. And so, after this quick succession of events - big-bang entry and one flop – she has come to the stage where she has very little Bollywood work at hand.

She remains big in the South, however, and says that her life is sorted. “I love myself,” she says, “seriously. Don’t get me wrong: everyone does, but no one says it.”

So, does she love anyone else as well? “Ha ha… You want to know if I am dating? No, not at all. Totally concentrating on my work. But I love my parents, even more than I love myself. Without them, I am nothing. They have given me everything I want in life. They gave me the freedom to choose my career,” says Asin.

“My parents have been very sportive, and they stood by me. They are not the kind of parents to impose their own ambitions on their children. They actually realised where my interests lay,” says Asin. “When I wanted to move to Mumbai, because a lot of my endorsements and films are Mumbai-based, they moved in with me, just so that I don’t have to struggle here alone. Whatever I am today, is all because of them,” she continued.

She says that they were early supporters of her abilities. “They were the ones who noticed that I was turning towards art and expression. Nobody in my family has any inclination towards the arts; my dad’s a businessman, my mom is a doctor, my uncles and aunties are all either academics or professionals -professors, accountants, scientists and so on. I am the only one who is in the arts, and that too in the glamour industry. Middle-class families want kids to become doctors, engineers or CAs, but in my case, it was not like that. They never pressurized me to become a doctor or an engineer. Not my parents. Indian kids are lucky to have such parents, who give their whole life to their kids,” says Asin.