Get, set, go for Pongal releases

With just a couple of days left for the Harvest Festival, Kollywood is buzzing with activity. Theatres have started to wear a festive look and advance reservations have commenced for the movies hitting the screens.
The box-office would see an intense battle between the likes of Ajith, Vijay, Vishal and director Manirathinam.
Fans of these film personalities have started to paste posters in front of cinema halls where the movies would be screened.
Manirathinam's Guru hit the screens on Friday and this will be followed by Ajith’s Aalwar, Vijay's Pokiri, director Ameer's Paruthi Veeran and Vijaya T Rajendhar’s Veerasamy and Vishal's Thamiraparani in the next few days.
With ticket rates slashed and intense publicity by the production houses, the movies are expected to get a better opening.
All set for the D-day, it is sure going to be an excellent treat for movie-buffs.

Credit : IndiaGlitz

Asin happy with two releases for Pongal

Asin has enough reasons to feel elated. After getting accolades for her histrionics, dancing skills and comic timing, she is one person who knows to play the cards well in an industry which is predominantly male-centric.
Her charisma, coupled with her flawless performances, has won her not just appreciation from fans but also offers and big ones at that. Among the Pongal releases, Pokiri and Aalwar ride high on hopes and Asin plays the female lead in both the films. Naturally, she is on cloud nine.
Asin is also acting opposite Kamal Hassan in Dasavatharam.
Taking on a different role yesterday, Asin, who got the Best Actress Award in a function organised by a web portal, spent time with kids affected with the HIV virus. She spent time chatting away merrily with the HIV affected young girls from a home. The kids also sang ‘Suttum vizhi sudarae,’ the super-hit song from Asin’s Ghajini.
We wish the chirpy actor all success and we, like others, anticipate with bated breath for her releases this Pongal.

Credit : IndiaGlitz

“Ajith will be talking less and doing more”

Nothing succeeds like success. Ajith has just tasted success after a long time and he is feeling good about it. This is reflecting in his work too. Aalwar is ready to hit screens during the Pongal weekend and the vibes around the film have been very positive.The film is said to have shaped up very well and director Chella is all praise for the Ultimate Star.
Chella says that Ajith was very cooperative during the entire shooting period. Ajith did not seem to be concerned about the fact that Chella was just making his debut and was all ears to the director’s specifications. In fact during a schedule at Kaaraikudi, Ajith was required to be entirely drenched and fight in a pit that was almost a swamp. All this happened well into the night, at around 2 A.M, a time during which the air in those places is chilling and Ajith did not complain at all. The energy and enthusiasm he showed were really commendable.Chella also says that the audience will get to see a very different Ajith in Aalwar. In the past Ajith’s films have been heavily criticized for his lengthy dialogues. But this time round Ajith will be seen talking less and doing more. A refreshing makeover. On the other hand Ajith too is all praise for Chella. Ajith has been so impressed with Chella’s work for Aalwar that he has expressed his willingness to work with the director in the future. This is what is called a team that thrives on mutual respect.

Credit : Behindwoods

Pokkiri – the scenes that went under scissors

Pokkiri team is all agog that the movie has turned out to be a wholesome entertainer. Industry sources suggest that Pokkiri is packaged with all racy elements to make the movie a commercial potboiler.Meanwhile, censor officials have granted a U/A certificate for the movie.
That apart, the officials have also suggested whopping 20 cuts for the movie. It is learnt that Prabhudeva and Vijay held discussions with the officials to reduce the number of cuts. Some of the significant scenes that could not evade the scissor hands are the scene showing someone illegally photographing a girl in the bathroom and another gory scene.

Credit : Behindwoods

Simbu pairs up with Asin

Back from his stressful sabbatical from the Unites States last week, Simbhu, as it seems, has finalized his next project. Not bothered about sounding negative, he has named his venture Mosamanavan – which literally means bad man.After hearing umpteen stories, sources state that Simbhu was finally bowled over by
Tharungopi’s, the director of Thimiru, script and immediately uttered his consent. Simbhu has promised his call sheets for Mosamanavan and the shoots are expected to commence soon.It is also reported that Asin will romance Simbhu for the movie. Yuvan Shankar Raja scores music for Mosamanavan.

Credit : Behindwoods

'Pokkiri' Preview - Destroyer of Evil

Vijay plays a ruthless mafia man, who kills anybody for money. He falls in love with Asin, who plays an aerobic instructor, and it is love at first sight. Asin also falls in love with Vijay, but hesitates to confess her love for him, as he is a reckless criminal. Though a goon, Vijay has certain principles which leads to an enmity with Prakash Raj, the biggest mafia don in the town. The rest of the story is all about how Vijay settles scores with Prakash Raj.
Ilayathalapathy Vijay plays the lead role of Pokkiri. Pairing up with him is Asin, and this is her second movie with Vijay after their blockbuster hit 'Sivakaasi'. Choreographer and former hero, now turned director Prabudeva handles the direction of this movie. Manisharma, who has scored music for previous Vijay films like Shajahan, Youth and a song in Thirupachi, scores the music of the film.
The rest of the cast includes Prakash Raj, Napolean, Nasser, Vadivelu, Mukesh Tiwari, Sreeman, Anand Raj and others. Nirav Shah handles the camera, Fefsi Vijayan is in charge of the stunts. Editing is by Kola Baskar & Kathir handles the Art department.
This film is a sincere remake of the Telugu mega blockbuster movie "Pokiri' starring Mahesh Babu and Ileana in lead roles. In fact, this is Vijay's second remake of a Mahesh Babu film, with the first one being 'Ghilli' which was a remake of Mahesh's "Okkadu". Both films were blockbuster hits, and here one is hoping that history repeats itself. Will Pokkiri re-write the records set by Vijay's earlier films? The industry and the whole team predicts that it has all the ingredients to do so!

Credit : Ilayathalapathy Vijay Fans Network

Crisis brewing!

A major crisis is brewing in Kollywood, as distributors of Pongal releases are refusing to take delivery of prints. Suddenly distributors are not willing to screen new releases in B and C centers where ticket rates have come down after the new government rates have come into effect.
Earlier theatres which were charging Rs 40 to 50 for new releases have found to their dismay that they can charge only Rs 15 to 25, as per the new rule! Hundreds of releasing centers which used to collect Rs 5 to Rs 7 Lakhs weekly net on superstar films, found that under the new rate card it would be just Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs per week!
So these theatres were unwilling to give Minimum Guarantee(MG) amount to the distributors, who in turn has refused to take delivery. The alarming thing is that the producers are yet to issue work order to processing labs to start printing, even after getting censor certificate. And overseas prints of Pongal releases which are traditionally dispatched on Tuesday’s are yet to leave the labs.
Meanwhile producers of Pongal films are claiming that they will release as scheduled. The release schedule is as follows--

Aalwar- Jan 13th, Saturday

Pokiri-- Jan 14th, Sunday

Paruthiveeran- Jan 14th, Sunday

Tamarabharani-- Jan 15th, Monday

Credit : Sify

“Pokkiri is a different from my recent films”, says Vijay

The recent films of Ilaya Thalapathy have almost been of the same action genre. Stunt and fights were the core theme of films like Sivakasi, Adi and Thirupachi. Amidst such films, his Sachin was a soft romantic film. But this was not well accepted by his fans and he once again reverted to action movies. But his Pongal release Pokkiri is said to have romantic elements along with action in it.
There is a specific lift scene which is reported to be shot for a longer duration with Vijay and Asin. This scene would have all the ingredients of soft romance and light hearted comedy in it. Vijay in an interview had mentioned that this sequence is sure to be the highlight of the movie. On anti hero and different subjects, he does not mind trying them as he had already tried a similar one in “Kannukkul Nilavu”. But the film was not much welcomed among his fans. Hence he has decided to work in films which are liked by his fans, favorable to his producers and distributors. Good strategy indeed!

Credit : Behindwoods

2005 returns for Asin

Currently in Kollywood, Asin can be regarded as the number one heroine. She is involved in most of the mega projects and her endorsements in the advertisement field also seem to echo this. Her selection of movies solely depends on the banner of the film company and the heroes involved in it.
Story element does not interest this young lady from Kerala. Her portfolio can make any actress turn green with envy. She is engaged in prestigious assignments like Pokkiri with Vijay, Alwaar with Ajith and with Kamal in Dasavatharam.Diwali of 2005 witnessed Asin in two of the films of leading actors like Majaa with Vikram and Sivakasi with Vijay. This must surely be heartening for any artiste. Now the lady luck seems to have smiled at Asin once again as she would be featuring in two of the big budget films that are going to be released during Pongal, viz. Aalwar and Pokkiri. This year appears certainly promising for Asin.

Credit : Behindwoods

Pong`A`l releases!

Are the censors cracking down on violence and gore in Tamil films? None of the Pongal releases certified by regional censors board have got a ‘U’ certificate.
As on Jan 9 (Monday), among the four Pongal releases, Aalwar has got an `A` certificate, Pokkiri has been passed with a ‘UA’ certificate while Paruthiveeran too has an ‘UA’ certificate.
As far as Thamarabharani goes, the members of censor board who saw the film on Monday are divided whether to issue a ‘A’ or ‘UA’ certificate, which will be decided today.

Credit : Sify

Asin, Shriya compete for 'Vel'!

Mohan Natarajan of Rajali Amman Super Films is producing 'Azhwar' starring Ajith.

After 'Azhwar,' he plans to produce 'Vel'! It is to be directed by Hari who is famous for films with devotional titles like 'Samy,' 'Kovil' and 'Arul.' The hero is Surya who acted in Hari's direction in 'Aaru.'

A film directed by Hari usually gets sold immediately. A Hari and Surya combination ensures faster sales. The heroine has not yet been finalized. Both Asin and Shriya are determined to bag the heroine role.
Since Asin is the honorary competition for Jyotika, it may be difficult for her to get the role. Since Shriya has hiked up her fee beyond limits, she is also out of the race.
Hari had introduced Nayantara in 'Iyya' and Bhanu in 'Thamirabarani.' So it seems Hari could well look out for a new face for 'Vel.'
We are eager to check out who the new rasagolla is!

Credit : Cinesouth

'Annavaram' gets record collections

The Pawankalyan-Asin starrer 'Annavaram', directed by Bhimaneni Srinivasa Rao and produced by RB Choudary on the banner of Mega Super Good Films, the remake of a successful Tamil film 'Tirupachi', was released recently and proved a mega hit.

The Power Star's powerful image had helped a lot for the success of the film. After the Mega Star, it is Power Star who could hit the box office and break records after his earlier 'Khushi' film.

Power Star proved his might with the success of 'Annavaram'. He made it clear that he was the Nawab in Nizam, proved that there is no power to resist him in Ceded and confirmed that he is the Mega brother in Andhra.

The first week collections are being presented before you (Of course, Indiaglitz had collected these details from AP distributors.)

Nizam – Rs 4.80 crores share (with share guarantees)

Ceded – Rs 2.50 crores share (with share guarantees)

Vizag – Rs 1.10 crore share

East Godavari – Rs 80 lakhs share

West Godavari – Rs 68 lakhs share

Krishna – Rs 80 lakhs share

Guntur – Rs 88 lakhs share

Nellore – Rs 50 lakhs share

Stay tuned for more and more fantastic collection records.

Now let us have a glance over the first week shares in some areas under Vizag

Vizianagaram – Rs 5 lakhs share

Bobbili – Rs 2.85 lakhs share

Parvatipuram – Rs 2.80 lakhs share

Salur – Rs 2.47 lakhs share

Rajam – Rs 3.48 lakhs share

Gajuwaka – Rs 6.10 lakhs share

Credit : IndiaGlitz

The Exclusive list - top ten heroines of Kollywood.

Hospitality is the buzz word of Tamil Nadu and this feeling can very well be perceived in tinsel town too. Whoever enters Kollywood with talent, good looks and hard work can make it to the top irrespective of the geographical area they come from. A few years back actresses from the north ruled the roost here. But things have changed and now it is the time of damsels from Kerala who are calling the shots.

Glamour alone cannot help any artist in the long run. Ultimately, it is the talent that makes a difference. Now let us have a look at the top ten actresses who with their talent have made Kodambakkam as their abode of career. This ranking is based on their recent performances, box office results of their movies, their trade value and their upcoming movies.

Asin

This cherubic girl was introduced in Malayalam films. She stepped into filmdom through modeling. A popular model with Alukkas Jewellery and Hayagriva Silks was noted by leading film makers of Malayalam and was absorbed into the world of glamour. She was earning around two to four lakhs in advertisement campaigns, charged five lakhs for a film with Dileep.


Subsequently was paid a sum of ten lakhs for the Telugu original of M Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi and when the film was made in Tamil she was offered 10-15 lakhs. Eventually when her movies started doing well, her rates have also catapulted to a greater height. Asin is very smart and accepts films only with leading stars and big banners. There would not be a dearth of publicity in such films with mega stars and mega banners. Similarly in the advertising field, she endorses products only for leading and top companies. Currently had asked for 50 lakhs for Dasavatharam with Kamal under the direction of K.S.Ravikumar but settled for 45 lakhs. Pongal 2007 is going to belong exclusively to her with Pokkiri and Aalwar lined up for release.

Her bubbly nature, charm and refreshing screen presence have endeared her to audiences. She has not yet got an opportunity to showcase her acting skills to any great extent apart from the out of the ordinary role in Gajini; she remains largely untested on this front. However Dasavatharam alongside Kamal may prove to be the yardstick by which she is judged



Credit : Behindwoods

Comparison and analysis of Aalwar and Pokkiri

Comparison and analysis of Aalwar and Pokkiri

The year 2007 is on the roll and so are the movies that are ready to hit the screens on the auspicious Pongal day. The most expected of them being Aalwar and Pokkiri which are said to be the clash of the titans of Kollywood viz Ajith and Vijay. Will Ajith repeat his Varalaru success this time or is it Vijay’s time to set the cash registers ringing?

While that could only be known after the release of those movies, we decided to do a brief analysis of these two films. Read on to find out more.Distribution details Both the movies have been sold keeping the old ticket rates in mind. Pokkiri has been sold for 12 to 15 crores while Aalwar has commanded around 9 to 12 crores. Now that the government has slashed down the ticket rates, it is yet to be known what the distributors’ demand would be to make up for the money. The distributors could only make enough money if the movies sustain at the box office for a longer duration. AudioTrade pundits remark that Pokkiri’s songs are sure to become chartbusters. With a consummate combination of Prabhudeva, the then dance master and Vijay who is an accomplished dancer, Pokkiri’s songs are expected to be foot-thumping numbers. Another advantage with Pokkiri would be that Mani Sharma’s recreation of his hit numbers of Telugu Pokkiri in its Tamil version.Aalwar, with Srikanth Deva’s music has hit the charts already and the songs would be noticed only after the release of the movie.

OpeningAs far as the opening is concerned, both have registered an equal opening in all the centres. As stated earlier, for Vijay this film comes after Aathi that sank without a trace while for Ajith, Aalwar follows after his recent success of Varalaru. AdvantagePokkiri, as we all know, was a blockbuster in Telugu which is being remade in Tamil with Prabhu Deva as the director who is synonymous with continuous hits in Telugu with his direction. The name of the game is; would it be as easier for Prabhu Deva to repeat his success in Tamil?
Aalwar is directed by Chella who was trained under S J Surya. While a refreshing style of narration is expected in the movie, will the debutant director please the likes of Ajith fans? On the other hand, the script of Aalwar has reportedly awed the film fraternity.HeroineAsin is fortunate enough to be featured in both the films as heroines and is shuttling between the sets of Aalwar and Pokkiri these days. While being slowly branded as a lucky mascot, the success of these movies would spearhead her market value. As these two films have the most popular heroes of Kollywood combined with all the entertainment quotients, it is expected that Aalwar and Pokkiri are sure to be a great grossers in terms of revenue generation.

Credit : Behindwoods

Top heroines and drivers

Although they are expected to be gliding around in chauffer driven luxury limousines, seldom do our top heroines let the drivers behind the wheels of their cars. They seem to have become a bold lot hitting the roads on their own.

Nayan and Asin head the list while it comes to driving on their own, though they have drivers.

Nayan could be spotted reaching the shoot spot stylishly in her car, which has a Kerala registration number.

Asin, on the other hand, prefers to hit the roads on holidays and for running her errands – shopping and visiting her beauty parlor.

Meena has garnered the courage during recent times and is seen driving devoid of her mother. The list of top ladies who are yet to hit the road on their own despite having a driver’s license includes Trisha, Shreya, Bhavana, Sandhya, Gopika, and Vindhya.

Credit : Behindwoods

Asin keeps herself happy

Asin seems to be maintaining a vital data in her gizmos. Apart from preserving the information of her shoot schedules, she has a huge database of birthdays of stars in the Tamil industry. The petite lady seems to have taken the adage - togetherness is never forgetting a birthday - seriously. She does not stop maintaining the database; .

rather she wishes the stars on their birthdays without fail. Asin feels happy when she keeps others around her happy and one such act of hers is to send birthday wishes. This routine of hers is definitely deserving of praise.

Credit : Behindwoods

Celebrities contribute to Chennai Police’s celebrations

As the Chennai city police gear up to celebrate their 150th year this week, as many as seven short films will be screened as part of the celebrations.
The series, titled ‘Kaavalar namma sevagar’ (Police, our (public) servants), has many police officers and professional actors starring in them.
The celebrities who make their appearance in this series include Kamal Hassan, Sathyaraj, Vikram, Suriya, Arjun, Jayam Ravi and Asin. They appear in between each film with an appeal to the public to assist the police in curbing illegal activities.
The cast includes Nasser and experienced IPS officers too. Tamil Nadu CM Kalaignar Karunanidhi also makes an appearance in the beginning.
This series has been directed by P Ilavarasan, who has also taken care of story, screenplay and dialogues. Mani Sharma has scored the music and Vairamuthu has written the lyrics. Vetri has handled the camera.
Abirami Ramanathan and Nallammai Ramanathan have produced the films, which will be screened for the public after due approval from the Government.

Credit : IndiaGlitz

'Annavaram' proves Pawan Kalyan's might

After the release the sensational film like 'Khushi', there is no notable hit for Pawan Kalyan and his fans and audiences were in a depressed mood due to the poor situation.
However, the successful combination of 'Suswagatham' — producer RB Choudary, director Bhimaneni Srinivasa Rao and Pawan Kalyan — once again joined hands and brought out an extraordinary film called 'Annavaram'.
The film was released in over 700 theatres on December 29 across the world and proved a sensational hit. Irrespective of A, B or C centres, the film had hit the box office with a powerful fist.
Several film personalities claim that the film's collections were at record level and it had collected over 80% of the total collections of all the films that were released earlier in the first one week which is a record in the 76-year-old Telugu film history.
The film really shaped Pawan Kalyan in right spirit and proved that Power Star is all powerful. For the first time, the film is collecting record collections in Nizam area and proved the might of Power Star in Nizam area.
The details of the first week collections are awaited.

Credit : IndiaGlitz

Aalwar pictures

SOME AALWAR PICTURES:

Pokkiri creating more craze

January 3, 2007

One of the much hyped movies for Pongal is Pokkiri. Vijay and Asin are playing the leading roles. Prabhu Deva is wielding the megaphone.
Mahesh Babu produces this movie. Next to this movie, actor Vijay is doing a movie titled Azhakiya Tamizh Magan produced by Abachan. Vijay and Abachan have already worked together in the movie Friends.
Bharathan who penned the story and dialogues for the movie Ghilli is directing this movie. Mazhai fame Shreya is playing the female lead role.

Credit : Galatta

Pongal releases on schedule!

All Ajith and Vijay fans have enough reasons to cheer. Aalwar and Pokiri are sure to release for Pongal 2007. The stand-off between distributors and producers of these two films over a discount over rates has been amicably settled.
Rama Narayanan, President, Tamil film producers Council (TFPC) said: “All films due for release on Pongal will definitely release as all issues have been sorted out.”
And the issue relating to stars taking a cut on their salary to compensate the producer’s loss has been put on back burner for the time being. Now both sides producers and stars are saying that they want to wait and see how the Pongal films are faring at the box-office.
As Rama Narayanan says: “The issue will be sorted out after the release. If any distributor has to be compensated I am sure that the stars will come to the producers help.”
High hopes! Vijay and his dad SA Chandrasekhar are still refusing to compensate distributors of Aathi their home production which flopped last Pongal!
Meanwhile Ramesh Babu and Mohan Natarajan the producers of Pokiri and Aalwar are trying to maintain status quo. Today (Jan 1, 2007) ‘Oscar’ Ravichandran has issued an ad in all newspapers for Pokiri with the tag line – Oscar Films Release, NSC area

Credit : Sify

Asin's new year !

Asin was completely involved with work as she was shooting late on New Year eve for the last song of Pokkiri at AVM studio in Chennai. Says Asin: “This year, I was with the Pokkiri team till midnight. We started work early next morning and hence I had no time to go out or even be with my parents at home.”

Credit : Sify

Asin - two tango this Pongal

Festival season is a great time for the people from the film industry. It's the time their big releases hits the screens and also makes the most out of it in terms of business. We saw Nayanthara walking away with all accolades during Deepavali for her films 'Vallavan', 'E' and 'Thalaimagan' releasing on the same time. Another Kerala girl is hoping to get into the position. The Pongal is reserved for queen of Kollywood, Asin. The pretty young actress will have two releases during the event.Her forthcoming biggies are 'Aalwar' opposite Ajith and 'Pokiri' along side Vijay. Both the films will be gracing the screen during the harvest festival. Both the highly anticipated and awaited films are sure to take her higher in her career. She is glad for her roles in both the films. 'Aalwar' will have her in the role of a bubbly and passionate college student. In 'Pokiri', she is performing the role of an aerobic instructor. Also she feels that it is a great opportunity that she is being paired opposite two popular actors of the cine-town. "Acting opposite two popular actors simultaneously is a great joy. I hope both my movies go on to become big hits," she says to Mohankumars.Com.More fireworks await her after this, as she arrives with 'Dasaavatharam' opposite Kamal Haasan. For Asin the celebration has just began!

Credit : Mohankumars.com