Pa n o r a m a o f s o u t h c i n e m a
Vol 1 Issue 1 October 2009
Rs.50
01 01 www.southscope.in
Prabhudeva on Wanted, nayanthara & that special someone The other side of Mumaith Khan
Suriya
vs Vijay Clash of the Titans
South sweeps national awards Follow us on
VOL01 ISSUE01 OCTOBER 2009
CONTENTS 22
COVER STORY
32
EXCLUSIVES Director’s Choice
Kannan’s recreating magic
30 Prabhudava
on Wanted, Nayanthara
38 Rajadhiraja
Prithviraj’s penchant for perfection
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National Awards
Southern Conquest
PANORAMA OF SOUTH CINEMA
FEATURES 16 The beauty of small budget films 18 South inspires Bollywood
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Suriya v/s Vijay 32
FUNDA
30
7 Junk Mail Trivia on films
40
8 Tamil and Malayalam Snippets
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Cover picture: g vENKET rAM sTYLIst: Vivek Karunakaran Coordinator: SRIDEVI sREEDHAR
Loading... Please Wait... New arrivals on Screen
41 Kaleidoscope
Events, Parties etc...
38
43 Bioscope Film reviews
50 Wildwest
Hollywood Hullabaloo
52 Mumbai Matinee Bollywood Brouhaha
54
Flashback
Kalathoor Kannamaa revisited
56 Chartbusters 59 Sing Along - Karaoke
3 2 CENTRESTAGE Exclusive
- Cover story – What makes Vikram hot property?
GALLERIA
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Are you ready for Mumaith Khan?
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tamil
Funda
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RIDE ON THE SIDE
If somebody visited the legendary MGR’s home, he’d unfailingly enquire if they had eaten – and if they hadn’t, he’d serve a three-course meal. He went through a poverty-stricken childhood so MGR never forgot what it was to go hungry. Any guest who visited him always went back well fed.
Director Sridhar was looking for a unique face for his classic film, Vennira Aadai, and auditioned many girls. One particular girl, despite her conventional good looks was rejected by the director and in her place was cast a young Jayalalitha. The rejected actress went on to become the dream girl of Bollywood: Hema Malini.
Actress B Saroja Devi was as known for her extraordinary fashion sense as her acting. They say that she never repeated any of her blouses or jewellery designs in any film – and set new fashion trends with each film.
malayalam
Yesudas is one of those singers that come along one in a lifetime. In a career spanning over four decades he has lent his voice for over 40,000 films most Indian languages. He has won seven national awards for best singer, the most by any singer in the country. Assamese and Kashmiri are the only languages he has not sung in.
Chemmeen, a renowned Malayalam novel by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai has been translated into more than thirty languages and later it was made into a film by Ramu Kariat and released in 1965. It won the Indian President’s Gold Medal for the Best Film of 1965. Incidentally, it was also one of the first Malayalam movies in colour and was recognised as technically and artistically a brilliant film. Abdul Khader alias Prem Nazir, was considered as one of the all time superstars in Indian cinema. He is still referred to as Nithya haritha nayakan (Ever green hero). Nazir holds two Guinness records: one for acting with the same heroine Sheela in 107 films and the other for playing the lead role in over 700 films. The government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, the third and fourth highest civilian honours respectively, for his contribution to Indian cinema. Oct 09
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Jolly Kolly
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Sandhya in love
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Funda
These days Sandhya is keeping an extremely low profile. She is refusing to attend public functions, something which she used to do regularly. Grapevine has it that she is in love, and hold your breath, with Santhanoo Bhygayaraj! Earlier the two were seen romancing in up-market coffee shops. But ever since he left to do Angel John with Mohanlal in Kochi, poor Sandhya has been feeling pretty lonely. We hear, she’s friends with Santhanoo’s sister Saranya and they used to hang out together, which confirmed the rumours of their affair. In the meanwhile, she is busy with three Tamil films - Odi Polamma, Irumbukottai Murattu Singam, Nootrukku Noor, Aptharakshaka in Kannada and Hasini a heroine centric film in Telugu. But who says, no time for love, these days?
Iceland is the new Switzerland
After Udayanidhi Stalin and his director KS Ravikumar discovered the picturesque locales of Iceland for their film, Aadhavan starring Suriya and Nayanthara, it has become the hottest destination for south Indian film makers. All topnotch heroes in Telugu and Kannada are now packing their bags to shoot their songs at the snowcapped mountains of Iceland, especially after seeing the stills of the song Yeno Yeno..Panithulli…from Aadhavan. Telugu superstars Trisha and Venkatesh recently headed there to shoot a song for their film, Namo Venkatesa. NTR and director VV Vinayak chose Iceland too for Adurs featuring Nayanthara and Sheela. Even Kannada stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Darshan are planning to follow suit. Iceland is suddenly heating up, we’d say!
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Jolly Kolly
Funda
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Madhavan’s mania R. Madhavan or Maddy is a qualified engineer, and he is the only actor in Tamil who has a fascination for aero modeling and gizmos. He has a large collection of minihelicopters and planes. His palatial house has a hobby room where he loves to spend leisure time and makes models of planes and helicopters. Madhavan, who is a vegetarian, endorses PETA and was voted as the ‘cutest male vegetarian’ by an online poll conducted by them.
Dhanush is on cloud nine these days especially after he shifted to his new penthouse in the heart of Chennai. It cost him a fortune but Dhanush is not complaining. He roped in Chirag Kapoor to do the interiors, while Aishwarya, his wife, chipped in too. Looks like Dhanush these days has become the complete family man. He just can’t get enough of “Aishu” and his little son Yatra is “my bundle of happiness and my lucky charm.” The doting father that he is, Dhanush is very upset that his shooting schedules have been keeping him away from Yatra, who’s now started going to school. Dhanush can’t believe his son’s grown so much and gets nostalgic about his own childhood whenever he talks about the little one. Ash and Dhanush always make it a point to avoid the media when it comes to their son. But, for them, it’s sonny side up!
Dhanush the complete family man
Karthi gets together with Kajal Aggarwal! Suriya’s brother, Karthi has signed his fourth film titled Naan Mahan Allai for his cousin to be directed by Susindran of Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu fame. Telugu star Kajal Aggarwal, who suddenly shot to fame with the mega hit, Magadheera is playing the female lead. In Tamil, she was last seen in Saran’s Modhi Vilayadu which was pretty disappointing. The shoot for Naan Mahan Allai has begun already in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam. It is a fast paced film with action and romance mixed together, backed by a solid script. We just can’t wait for this one to come out!
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Simbly Malayalee
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Funda
It’s still all about money, honey! After the super success of Puthiya Mugham, Prithviraj has hiked his charges to Rs 40 lakhs, which was earlier only 25! The film is a super hit and has raked in over Rs 2 crores! It is Prithviraj’s biggest hit and the film became profitable from Kerala theatres in record 17 days. Meanwhile, it has also given Prithvi a new action hero image. And guess what, he might just be the new face of Malayalam cinema, something that was meant only for the two superstars (Mamooty and Mohanlal) for the last 20 years. What’s more, these days theatres in Kerala prefer his new films over everything else. Let’s make way for the new hero.
Looks like Nayanthara, these days is quite smitten by ‘different’ kind of cinema. We hear that she is impressed with a script narrated by the award winning Malayalam director, Shyama Prasad. This new film titled Electra is an adaptation of a Greek play. Talks are on with Arya to play the hero and producer Vindyan confirms that Nayan is working out her dates to do this film. What’s more, she’s not charging a penny for this one! She plays the central character Alexandra in this heroine oriented film, which will start rolling from November after she completes her Telugu assignments. Good move, Nayan. After all, money is not everything, right? 10
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But Nayanthara is doing this for free!
Simbly Malayalee
Funda
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It’s now Harihar Nagar, part 3! Siddique and Lal’s original laugh riot, the classic In Harihar Nagar, had a sequel after 18 years when writer, director, producer and distributor Lal came up with 2 Harihar Nagar, which became a blockbuster! And now Lal is back with the third part, already. Titled In Ghost House Inn, the third of the trilogy is starting less than four months after the release of the sequel! This one is going to be a horror comedy thriller with the original bunch (plus three new men and five heroines) back in trouble! The shoot will begin next month, and will be a big Easter-Vishu and summer release, by Lal creations. Three cheers, we say…
Jayasurya’s romantic indulgences
Runaway bride!
Meera Jasmine, as usual has pulled out of another affair when she was on the brink of tying the knot. We are talking about Meera’s ‘great’ love for Mandolin Rajesh, the younger brother of mandolin maestro U Srinivas. The affair has been going on for two years now. The couple, who were supposedly living together have now officially split. At a recent function in Bangalore, Rajesh himself confessed that it was all over. “I had a great dream which went bust leaving me with a lot of painful memories. Anyway, time would be a great healer. I’m getting back to the music world and will concentrate on my career”, he said. And recently at the pooja of her new film, Meera refused to answer any questions on this and walked out of the press conference after a journalist asked her about her private life. Is this turning out to be a case of Run Meera Run?
Jayasurya is quite busy these days with his next film, a romantic comedy, Uttaraswayamvaram, after his recent hit Ivar Vivahithirayal. Roma is paired with him and the film is directed by debutant Ramakanth Sarju. Jayasurya is appearing together with Roma as a romantic pair for the third time in this film. This one’s all about a young man who drops out of college and falls for a rich girl in a village. So the film will surely have lots of humour laced with drama and emotion. What’s more, it’s got a whole bunch of comedy stars in it. The film is currently being shot and promises oodles of entertainment. And we like it just like that!
Gowri Munjal is Mammootty’s next…
…heroine we mean! There are no Malayalee heroines these days. It is usually out-of-work girls from Telugu, Kannada or Tamil films that end up in Malayalam cinema and become the first choice of superstars. Mamootty and Gowri Munjal are coming together in the Paleri Manikkam directed film, Ranjit. It is a period crime thriller in which Mammootty will play both the key roles – of a CBI officer who investigates a case in 2009 and that of a feudal Muslim landlord who lived in the 50s and was involved in the same crime. Gowri is quite excited about this film and hopes to do more meaningful cinema in Malayalam. Telugu’s loss and Malayalam’s gain!
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Tamil
Director Shankar Cast
Rajinikanth,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
A.R. Rahman
Music
Magnum Opus in the making… A clutch of Hollywood biggies are coming on board for hot shot director Shankar’s upcoming film Enthiren starring superstars Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai. Budgeted at Rs. 100 crores, the Tamil film being shot in Chennai is touted as one of the most expensive movies ever shot in the Asian subcontinent - and its credits include some of Hollywood’s major names.To name a few, the Stan Winston special effects house is creating a robot that will be a replica of the Indian film star. Other Hollywood big names to join the project are costume designer Mary E. Vogt, who created the costumes in Batman Returns and Men in Black, fight-scene designer WooPing Yuen, whose credits include Kill Bill and The Matrix, and a Hollywood make-up artist assigned to co-star lead actress Aishwarya Rai. Music has been scored by India’s pride A R Rehman and is being touted as his next best album.
enthiren in tamil robot in hindi & telugu
Rajinikanth is playing the role of a scientist as well as a robot. Shankar had originally wanted to do Robot with Kamal Hassan over five years ago for Media Dreams, the now defunct film arm of Chennai-based Pentamedia Graphics. Somewhere down the line, even Hrithik Roshan’s name came up for serious consideration. But Rajini appears to have swung it yet again. One of the songs has been shot in Brazil and another in Hawaii. The movie is currently in its eighth month of production and will take 8 months to complete.
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Udayanidhi Stalin’s K S Ravikumar directed Aadhavan featuring Suriya and Nayanthara in the lead is all set for Deepavali release. Harris Jeyaraj, the music director of the film and actor Suriya are coming together for the fifth time, to churn out more hits. The movie has shots from the virgin locales of Iceland for the first time. This visual extravaganza has Saroja Devi who will be back after a gap of twelve years, late Murali and Vadivel also play supporting roles. Suriya showcases negative shades for the first time, which is rumored to be the highlight of the flick. Suriya, also appears as a 10-year old in a portion of the movie. Aadhavan seems to be a slick film.
Director
K.S. Ravikumar
Cast Suriya, Nayanthara, Vadivelu, Saroja Devi
Music Harris Jayaraj
aadhavan
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malayalm
This movie marks the Malayalam debut of Shanthanoo Bhagyaraj (Sakkarakatti fame) who is the son of Tamil actor-director K Bhagyaraj and Poornima. Mohanlal does a cameo for this one.
Director S L Jayasurya
Cast
Shantanoo, Mohanlal
Produced by K.K. Narayanan under the banner Creative Team
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angel john
malayalm This historical film set in 18th century is based on the life of Pazhassi Raja who was the warrior prince of Malabar, the first real freedom fighter in India who fought against the British rule. This epic movie is the biggest ever project in the history of Malayalam films with a budget of Rs 25 crore. The film will subsequently be dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Resul Pookutty of Slumdog Millionaire fame is recording sound for this film.
pazhassi raja
Director Hariharan Cast
Mammootty, Sarath Kumar, Kaniha, Padmapriya
Illairaja
Music
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Features
A spate of small budget films in Tamil this year beat the biggies at their own game! Sridevi Sreedhar takes stock
small iful isBeaut
It started as something that industry pundits sat up and took notice of, somewhere in the beginning of the year and eight months into 2009, the trend was pretty much and irreversibly established! The numerous small budget films made and marketed (including print and publicity cost) on a budget of Rs 3 to Rs 6 crores turned out to be bigger box office grosser than anything big! Films like Yaavarum Nalam, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, Siva Manasulla Sakthi, Pasanga, Maasailamani, Nadodigal and Maayandi Kudumbathaar were the real winners. Says Tirupur Subramaniam, leading distributor and financier in Tamil Nadu, “Films like Nadodigal, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu etc are super hits as they will make nearly three times the money invested on them”. What came as a surprise was the less than expected popularity of superstar big budget films like Villu, Sarvvam, Naan Kadavul, Thoranai and a few others in the Rs 15-20 crores range. The only exception to this was the year’s biggest blockbuster so far, Suriya’s Ayan, which was made and marketed with a budget of Rs 23 crore and is doing business worth Rs 40 to 45 crore from domestic theatres, overseas, Telugu dubbing, audio and DVD sales and Television rights Small budget films also nudged to the limelight many new entrants like Jeeva, Nakul, Vishnu. Add to that writer, director, actor and producer Sasikumar who is the new rage with Tamil cinema buffs these days. 16
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Features
Ramanarayanan, the President of the powerful Tamil Film Producers Council offers, “I’m very happy with the current trend in Tamil film industry. Small and entertaining films made on a tight budget are turning out to be the new formulae for box office hits these days. Personally,
I feel that star movies are highly overpriced and we can make at least two small films with the salary the stars are demanding.” Add to that a chief minister with a connoisseur’s interest in cinema. M Karunanidhi is an excellent script writer who contributed immensely to the industry. Also, Tamil Nadu is the only state that does not have entertainment tax for Tamil films. Adds Swaroop Reddy of Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai, the highest collecting multiplex in south India, “I would say that audiences are on the look out for fresh and innovative ideas and not necessarily stars. I agree that star films take an extraordinary opening but they will not sustain, if the content is bad.” The success of a film no longer depends entirely on bombarding the audience with the tried and tested, while exploiting their ideas of fantasy and escape. Something refreshing, a good presentation reinforced by effective marketing techniques clicks at the box-office. Anushka’s Telugu blockbuster Arundhati which was bought at a record price to be dubbed into Tamil and released in nearly 150 screens across the state did good business primarily because of its graphics and special effects, which was not run of the mill. Noted director Mysskin points out, “Today I can bravely make a film the way I want to as a star alone cannot make a film a hit. It is the newness in script and presentation that matters to most of
Tamil films mostly in the small budget genre were released, while another 50 to 60 are getting ready for release later this year. By the end of the year, trade pundits predict a record output from the Tamil industry that may just flirt with the 150 releases mark! The new wave Tamil cinema is all about small being the new big!
our audiences.” Sasikumar who many consider the man who made the change says, “In a way the new trend of content driven films with attractive packaging and essential commercial ingredients show that Tamil cinema has evolved. Our audiences have also matured as they have become more open to newer ideas and are not willing to accept a film just for the sake of a hero.” All of this has resulted in a small film boom of sorts. But there are enough Tamil NRIs and Mumbai based corporates who are pumping in the moolah, and finance is the least of the problems. In the first eight months of the year nearly 90 straight
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Features
south masala,bollywood style Mona Ramavat goes spelunking back in cinematic history and discovers that southern cinema has been inspiring Bollywood for almost as long as it’s been around!
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Features Imagine Hindi cinema but without super hits like Solva sawan, Woh saat din, Sargam, Ek duje ke liye and more recently Beta, Judwa, Saathiya, Bhool Bhoolaiya, Ghajini, Kambakht Ishq and the most recent, Wanted. But also the super duper box office hit of 1948, Chandralekha. It’s not worth investing so much energy in conceiving the idea of Hindi cinema sans all its inspirations especially south Indian. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that several stars were made in Hindi cinema thanks to these remakes. Besides resurrecting sagging careers of actors like Jeetendra whose hit pairing with Sridevi and Jayaprada in umpteen films remade by Padmalaya studios put him back in business. Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Govinda, Amitabh Bachchan…
Almost every super star in Bollywood has a super hit remake or a few to his credit. The list of Bollywood remakes of south Indian cinema is way too long to fit into an opening paragraph. So let’s do that instead, as we go along. Spelunking back in history we said, and we’ll do exactly that. For those not keen on grabbing the dictionary, the word doesn’t mean anything fancy. It’s simply exploring caves. For now though we could settle with the darkness of a movie theatre than a cave, really. Taking you back in time to the early 1900s, a little after the first talkie film was rejoiced, the trend of inter-lingual cinema was already trickling in. Bengali films were remade into Hindi even in the silent era. Another inspiration for Hindi cinema came from Marathi films and filmmakers. Their concepts were borrowed heavily and remade for the Hindi audience. V Shantaram’s Kunku in Marathi was remade into Duniya Na Mane in Hindi as back as 1937. After the mid 1940s, Hindi cinema started looking southwards perhaps for the first time. The south Indian influence on Bollywood was rather slow
to begin but for the seven decades that followed, it was etched for posterity. S S Vasan’s Chandralekha first made in Tamil and later in Hindi by the same name was a sensation back then in the 40s. It’s the story of a beautiful dancer named Chandralekha, played by T R Rajkumari. A prince falls in love with her but his brother desires her too and wants to marry her forcibly. Chandralekha agrees but on the condition that an elaborate drum dance event be organised first. During the dance, the good prince’s men appear from the drums and attack the palace. The sword fighting sequence that follows is said to be the longest ever in film history. The evil prince and his army are defeated and Chandralekha is rescued. The film was
named Sharda. They are separated after an accident he survives. But the real trouble in paradise is that he later discovers Sharda is married to an old rich man, who happens to be his father! Other hits like Miss Mary and Choti Behen again are Prasad’s remakes of southern films.
a rage those days and is recognised as the first Indian film to get nationwide distribution. And Vasan was among the first of south Indian filmmakers to foray into Hindi cinema. Later came Bahut Din Huye, which was the remake of the very successful Balanagamma, which was also produced by him. Over the next two decades he produced and directed several Hindi movies, two out of which became prominent hits of Bollywood – Insaniyat and Zindagi – both remakes of Tamil and Telugu. Through the 1950s and 60s, many Tamil and Telugu film producers explored the idea of repeating the success stories of hit south Indian films with Hindi. The motive: to reach a wider audience. The result: A bunch of films stamped with south Indian style drama and mass entertainment. The impact: A different kind of sensibility infused into Hindi cinema. Veteran producer-director L V Prasad’s debut Hindi film, Sharda, the remake of the Tamil movie Etibirparadathu was a three hanky tear jerker and based on a rather futuristic subject for the mainstream Hindi audience. Sharda is about a man who falls in love with a girl Oct 09
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Features
Another filmmaker who successfully remade Tamil films into Hindi was A Bhimsingh. His Adini was remade from the Tamil hit Alayamani and was a huge success. The classic Bhai Behen was also remade from Pasamalar by Bhimsingh. In the meanwhile, Prasad continued to remake southern films in Hindi during the 70s and 80s. The most remembered one from that period is perhaps the K Balachander directed Maro Charitra that Prasad remade into Ek Duje Ke Liye. Around the same time, noted southern producer-director T Rama Rao was working in overdrive on Hindi films primarily funded by southern capital. He dished out hits like Judai (remade from Telugu Aalu Magalu), Maang Bharo Sajna (remade from the Telugu Karthika Deepam), Andha Kanoon and Inquilab. Many of T Rama Rao’s southern inspired films featured Jeetendra in the lead, who was struggling to establish himself as a popular actor. In jest it is said that Jeetendra would be paid a fixed amount for a year and flown down to Chennai or Hyderabad to complete four southern remakes! All through the 80s, southern remakes in Hindi continued while the high drama gave way to psychological adventures
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and romances with a new twist. Tamil director Bharthiraja remade Sigappu Rojakkal into Red Rose starring Rajesh Khanna in 1980. Another filmmaker, Bhagyaraja made a spate of Hindi films inspired by southern cinema. Popular ones include Woh Saat Din and Mohabbat. But what became a bigger sensation was the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Akhri Raasta that Bhagyaraj remade from Oru Kaithiya Diary. David Dhawan by then was already adapting several movies of the south into his famous Bollywood comedies with Govinda. Especially Telugu films starring veteran comedy star Rajendra Prasad. Biwi No 1 was inspired from the killer comedy Sathi Leelavathi in Telugu. Enter the late 90s and Mani Ratnam began to create new standards of filmmaking, particularly in the technical aspects with his films Roja, Bombay, Dil Se and later Yuva and Guru, which were all inspired by his Tamil films. Not too far behind was Priyadarshan, perhaps the most prominent Malayalam filmmaker who did Hindi cinema and churned out several popular hits. The Anil Kapoor, Tabu starrer Virasat was remade by him from Kamal Haasan’s Thevar Magan. Before that came Gardish, which was inspired by a Malayalam
film. Priyadarshan successfully remade several Malayalam and Tamil comedy films into Hindi like Hulchul, Bhool Bhulaiya, Hungama and Garam Masala. Kyun Ki based on his 1986 film, Thalavottam was also reasonably successful. Over the last two decades, several Hindi films have also been remade into the south Indian languages, but this is more of a reverse trend. More recently, with the Khan troika doing it too, southern remakes have become a cool thing to do. Aamir Khan’s Ghajini remade from the Tamil version of the same name, Shahrukh Khan’s Billu Barber adapted from the Malayalam Kadha Parayumbol and the recently released Wanted with Salman Khan is remade from the Telugu superhit Pokiri. What next? We wonder.
Exclusive
Kannan recreates the magic of Jab We Met in its Tamil remake, Kanden Kadhalai. In this exclusive with Pavithra Srinivasan, he talks of the adaptations from the original and the departures that make it so much more interesting.
The air-conditioning whirs comfortably from some unseen corner. The small room is crammed with computers, odd tables, trunks stacked up, while a harried
Kannan (right) discusses the script with Tamannaah
assistant speaks on two cell-phones simultaneously. In the midst of it all, arrives R Kannan, highly preoccupied, a little sheepish for coming late and delves straight into the film that’s being talked about quite a bit these days.
Kanden Kadhalai, one of 2009’s most anticipated films is complete. Pride and relief echo in Kannan’s voice, more so as it is a faithful remake of Imtiaz Ali’s smashhit, Jab We Met. “My first movie Jeyam kondaan was my own script, so Kanden
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Kadhalai was a very different experience as the completed script came to me,” he shares. Mani Ratnam’s erstwhile assistant, Kannan has worked with the ace filmmaker on films like Ayudha Ezhuthu, Alaipayuthe, Yuva and Guru among others. With something like that on his resume, it was rather easy to be picked from a handful of directors by Moser Baer, that produced the film. Originally called Raja Rani – “Someone else blocked the title and wouldn’t give it to us, so we had to change it,” Kannan grins – the movie is now all set to hit screens. “It’s a faithful reproduction,” Kannan confirms. “There are a lot of expectations riding on this Film, and we are sure it will live up to them,” he shares. We’ve gone to the extent of tranlating diologues from the original, for the Tamil audience, and we’re sure we’ll be able to hit the right note. We’ve been very careful not to give a ‘dubbed sort of feel’ to the movie since that would end up spoiling things.” His calm assurance mingles with his nervousness about how the film will be received. “But we had a blast, filming it in 60 days flat,” he shares. Aside from a mild feverish upset – thanks to Tamannaah who apparently took it upon herself to spread the flu to the whole unit – things were pretty high energy.
Such confidence usually indicates that Kannan did his homework by watching the original innumerable times, right? Yes, he says, but they had to rely on subtitles. “I don’t know Hindi,” he grins disarmingly. Language, though, was not such a big problem. “Jab We Met was never in any danger of getting lost in translation,” he argues. The songs have been tuned all over again with music director Vidhyasagar. And the casting was more or less perfect, in his opinion. “Bharath, who is playing the male lead was a complete professional, as always. It takes some guts to attempt a role like this one. The script is heroine-oriented and the hero’s character is subdued in comparison, yet firm in its individuality. “He had to play it down, and Bharath did that very well. Tamannaah too,” Kannan adds gravely. How did this eminently Punjabi girl play a typical, Theni ponnu (girl from Theni)?
Exclusive
“It might surprise some, but she memorised her dialogues well and delivered them perfectly,” Kannan is firm. “There are girls in those areas who aren’t unlike her in complexion and looks. So she didn’t seem out of place” Aside from these two, there’s Santhanam as well, who’s playing the heroine’s uncle. The story has been retained, essentially – “but there are changes,” he lets us know. Like that sensual lip-lock in the original? “Well, yes,” says Kannan. “Obviously, we had to tone that down, as Shahid and Kareena were lovers in real life at that time. The Tamil audience’s sensibilities are different. Also, the pace is faster. There needs to be a little bit of everything, and in the right proportions.” Apparently, the changes Kannan made were for the better, as Imtiaz Ali saw the Tamil version and pointed out. “You’ve ironed out all the wrinkles in my film,” he’s said to have commented. “For him to say that is a great thing,” Kannan acknowledges. And in the end, that’s what he’s looking forward to – staying loyal to the original, while letting a whole new set of viewers experience the refreshing breezer that Jab We Met was.
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Oct 09
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h on s hig t e g he al. S anim r hours. y t f r o ber o le pa top f num atiab ce non-s s y n n i da dan is an n foo She and can orea K c i d an mus past Thai well not e on s v i i l a te can e’s She if sh rning f mo urfaces . s o y d a d oun n she s e irst r h’s f hat is wh t i a m T u . M e h tim lunc ng. i work
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xclusive
From the diary
of a recluse
Something that can make him hungry anytime is Sambar sadam Michael Jackson is his idol and although they were to share the stage once, the show was cancelled.
Famous Five
He believes in Astrology only when it favours him! Prabhu Deva is a typical Arian. His beard, curly hair and vibhooti are his signature style statements.
Dancer-turned-choreographer-turned-actor-turned filmmaker Prabhu Deva’s modest home in Chennai, is like the man himself. Its doors are not open to everyone. Southscope becomes the chosen one to be privy to his abode on the bustling TTK road. Sridevi Sreedhar attempts to unravel the enigma surrounding the boneless wonder‌
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How different was it directing Vijay in the Tamil remake of the Telugu blockbuster Pokiri and working with Salman Khan in the Hindi version Wanted? Well, every actor has his individual style. The Tamil Pokkiri is city based and there wasn’t much need for any nativity changes. The best thing is that I’m buddies with both the actors.
Do you believe in love or is it more about companionship? I think, both love and companionship together make a happy relationship. For me, compatibility and comfort level are the most important. What makes Prabhu Deva happy?
Why is Prabhu Deva surrounded by mediocrity when he deserves to be the best?
Being close to loved ones and my work being appreciated are the two things that make me happy.
(Smiles) I have always been this way and nothing - success or failure - affects me. It could be because of the middle-class attitude we’ve imbibed from our parents. They have always kept us grounded and honestly, I don’t think I’ve achieved anything so big that I should be bragging. Even now, we never discuss films at home.
Who is the closest person in your life right now?
Your brothers are accomplished choreographers too. What is your relationship with them like? All of us are busy doing our own thing. We hardly meet or talk on a daily basis. But deep within we care a lot about each other. We meet occasionally for family functions. Tell us about Nayanthara, your co-star from Villu? Nayanthara is very professional, punctual and most importantly, treats everyone with the same kind of respect - be it the producer or the light boy. As an actor, she has immense screen presence and charisma which are very important for someone in her position. Will you work with her in future? There are rumours that she is the heroine in your next Telugu film and that you are launching her in Hindi? And you’ve also been linked up… These are all figments of someone’s very creative imagination! She is definitely not the heroine in my next film and working with her in the future, depends entirely on the script.
That’s someone very, very special, who I cannot talk about now. When the right time comes, I will definitely tell the whole world about that person. Why don’t you choreograph songs in your films that you direct? Has choreography taken a back seat now? It’s not a deliberate move. Recently, I did a song for Rajinikanth’s Shankar directed Enthiren (Robot). I am so busy with direction that I leave the choreography bit to Raju or other dance masters. They are all talented and I give them complete freedom. You’ve always been shy, soft spoken and reticent. Not so media friendly, even. What do you have to say about that? (Laughs) I am no longer what you think I am. I have changed a lot. Now for the first time, I am promoting Wanted and I understand the importance of promoting one’s film. The way they market films in Bollywood, is an eye opener. An average film can be made into a super hit by aggressive promotion and it’s time we took a leaf out of the books of Bollywood filmmakers and actors. What are your future plans? I have no plans for the future. I take life as it comes. When I was young, I had very modest dreams in life. I worked very hard and God has been extremely kind with me. Today, I am directing, choreographing and acting in films. I am planning to start an international dance school in Malaysia, US and Bangalore. I am also planning to do my first live stage show in Dubai this December.
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Centre Stage
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Oct 09
Photographer: G Venket Ram Stylist: Vivek Karunakaran Coordinated by: Sridevi Sreedhar
Chameleon before the camera, just like one of us otherwise, charming as sin, definitely male, intelligence is his foreplay, can call him the reluctant superstar of Tamil cinema‌ SridEvi SrEEdHar strikes a chord with Vikram
Oct 09
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Centre Stage
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Oct 09
C
“My whole life revolves around a single film – my diet, workout, life.”
hiyaan they call him, or Kenny sometimes and John Kennedy he was supposedly named while his official website states Vikram K Vinod for a full name. “I’m sure most of you didn’t know that” appears in parentheses below it. But what we do know is that we can’t seem to get enough of him, of late! For the uninitiated, Vikram is not merely known for the number of films he’s done, but the impact he creates with every film. Kanthasamy in Tamil and Mallana in Telugu, his latest action thriller and a super stylish one at that was pretty seismic in Tamil Nadu, but his fan following transcends state borders. While a deliberate low profile might be a fashion statement that some stars sport, with Vikram, it’s pretty uncomplicated. Like most things about him are! And if you are where you live, then Vikram’s rather unpretentious home in the quiet street of the up-market seaside Besant Nagar in Chennai screams his personality. A couple of security guards in plain clothes, no starry intimidations at the gate, no fuss to accentuate his star status. He looks like he’s just walked out of the Kanthasamy sets; well no, we are not suggesting he came flying in a black cape with feathers, what we mean is the hangover of his last film is hard to miss. “My whole life revolves around a single film – my diet, work-out, life, and that too, even if I am not shooting largely revolves around the film that I am working on.” And we can see that, all too well. “Kanthasamy was an important film for me as I had a release almost after two years. I am quite different from other actors who do two or three films a year. So if a film does not work, for me it’s a major blow. But after some real intense work of the last two years, I’m pretty chilled out now since Kanthasamy is doing great. It’s a damn good feeling!” Incidentally, Vikram’s father, Vinod Raj is also an actor and they featured together for the first time in this film. Vinod did a minor role. So now that that’s done, Vikram is already getting into the groove for his next project – Raavan, which is being directed by Mani Ratnam. The film is a contemporary adaptation of the Ramayan and Vikram is playing Raavan. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is doing Seeta. We’re told, this role’s like nothing Vikram’s done before. Actually, with every film, he strives to outperform himself. But for Raavan, he’s working like he’s never worked before. “Every day is like going out for a war! It’s not just me. Every member of the cast and crew are putting their best. Mani Sir is a genius, a master craftsman who visualises every scene before the actual shoot, while also giving you the freedom to experiment. Trust me, the film will be something so truly different from anything we’d have seen before. Its uniqueness lies in its simplicity and a larger than life scale for everything. You won’t believe that when the shot is ready, I go out there and the first thing that comes to my mind is: ‘God! Am I a part of this film?” So, after so much of himself that he invests in a film, if it doesn’t do well, does failure disappoint him? “Yes, it does,” he replies without any pretences of a lofty philosophy to deal with failure. His only mantra is: “I get rid of the disappointment by accomplishing success in my next film.” Can’t get more matter of fact than that, can he?
Oct 09
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Centre Stage
Vikram also confesses that he’s rather sensitive, as much as he is excitable. “I get happy and hurt very easily. I get very disturbed if a film doesn’t do well. I’m human after all. Sometimes, I can be volatile too. But not insecure.” Vikram is one star who probably competes only with himself! He raced much ahead of the others and created a path of his own that he now treads. “I’m not really in the race since I do fewer films than my contemporaries. All my films like Dhill, Dhool, Saamy, Pitamagan, Anniyan, created quite a stir. But there are also films like Kathal Sadugudu and Vinnukkum Mannukkum which I’d rather forget all about like they were some nightmares.” But every film was a learning experience, right through those first ten struggling years when all he got were insignificant roles and playback singing projects. After the blockbuster Sethu, things turned around and the accelerator thereafter stepped up with a vengeance. “My biggest learning from the industry has been that people can wow you with words when they narrate a script but when it gets translated into the screen, it can turn out to be a big disappointment. So I learnt never to be carried away by words…” He won the National Award for Best Actor (2004) for his performance in Pitamagan. Vikram played the critically acclaimed character of Chitan, who is orphaned at a young age and lives as a graveyard caretaker only on his innate 36
Oct 09
animal instincts. He later ends up in jail where he actually becomes more human. “I’d love to do a negative character that never exists, something like what Bala created in Pitamagan- a character that never existed. I am a director’s actor. Anything extraordinary will excite me,” he shares. So does money excite him too? “Sure. Money is extremely important for a comfortable life. But I can choose a good role over money.” Is there any character he’s seen recently that he would loved to have played? “It has to be Rajendra Prasad’s role in Quick Gun Murugun. I saw it and thought - Shit! I could have done that! It was rather cute and funny.” After Raavan is completed, he will start two new projects, with Vikram Kumar and Selvaraghavan. “I am also producing a film that Sasikumar will direct. I appreciate director Shankar’s policy of producing small sensible films and experimenting with younger talent. I’m trying to do that too.” But in the middle of so much happening on the work front, he sure must be missing time off with his family. “Yep, I actually woke up thinking about it this morning. I have a lot of commitments over the next one year. But I have made it very clear with whomsoever it may concern that I am taking a break in May next year or at the end of the year to be only with my wife and kids. I want to be with them doing…well nothing at all,” he smiles.
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The Rising Star It wasn’t easy for Prithviraj to make a mark in Malayalam cinema that has been ruled by superstars for the last 25 years, but he has and aspires to turn director some day, not too far away. Vijay in conversation with the superstar in the making…
P
rithviraj has long been regarded as the heir apparent, or in simpler terms, the next superstar of Malayalam films. The journey to the top for him has been some kind of a roller coaster until now, with some successes and quite a few failures. But his latest release Puthiya Mugham has set the cash registers ringing big time and catapulted this handsome youngster to newer heights of stardom in the process. The advantage of Puthiya Mugham was that it was a simple story which could be moulded into any pattern, explains Prithviraj. “We had deliberately made the story into a high voltage adrenaline pumper that transpires energy into the viewers as they watch it. Now our judgment has been proved right. Puthiya Mugham is a complete package where the protagonist can portray every dimension and among my successful films, this is probably the first actor-based script,” he shares.
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Such prudent thinking has perhaps made his list of forthcoming films looks incredibly impressive. The Tamil version of the Malayalam hit Classmates, Ninaithale Inikkum has just been released and he is currently shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. Prithviraj considers it a privilege to be a part of Raavan, with its brilliant cast and crew, besides many other factors. In Malayalam, he has completed Joshiy’s Robin Hood and has started shooting for Shaji Kailas’ Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram. Films like Anwar, Thanthonni, Pathiramanal, Pokkiri Raja and Veettilekkulla Vazhi are in the pipeline. Acting has been in his genes, since his parents Sukumaran and Mallika were noted actors. “Money and fame were not really my inspirations to take up acting. I had other career options to choose from” he says. He was studying in Australia when director Ranjith chose him for the role of the hero in Nandanam, which came out in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history. Malayalam cinema saw the birth of a new hero. His brother Indrajith, who was earlier working as a software engineer, also an actor around the same time and has been doing pretty well ever since. With hits like Swapnakoodu, Ananthabhadram, Classmates and Chocolate, Prithviraj cemented his position as the hottest young star of Malayalam. In an industry where the mighty two- Mammootty and Mohanlal- are still having a phenomenal rule at the box office with huge initials, that too even after more than 25 years at the top, things have never been easy for him. Prithviraj’s foray into serious cinema happened with films like Akale, Thalappavu and Daivanamathil. He has won the best actor award in the Kerala State film awards for his role as a manipulative bureaucrat in Vaasthavam. In the meanwhile, his Tamil films like Kana Kandein, Mozhi and Abhiyum Naanum and others did reasonably well. He has been getting some Bollywood offers as well. Ask him which role he’d loved to have made his debut in Bollywood with and he says Kaminey almost instantly. Of course, he is an ardent movie buff and watches films quite religiously. He is also fascinated with the technical aspects of filmmaking. “I have always been interested in knowing about cameras, the equipments, stock and anything technical. In fact, when I enquired about these things with a few people in the industry during my initial days, they didn’t take it in the right spirit and I lost films in the bargain. I still ask about those aspects but I don’t lose films because of that, anymore. Maybe, I have reached that stage only now,” he smiles. No real surprise that he is keen about these technical details, as he dreams to turn director sometime in the near future. Remember, as the dictum in our films go, anything is possible for the hero. And Prithviraj is truly a hero in every sense.
Oct 09
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xclusive
SURYA V/S VIJAY
The festival of lights this year will witness firecrackers at the box office as the stars battle it out for the top-slot. Southscope offers a ringside view as the box office biggies – Suriya’s Aadhavan and Vijay’s Vettaikaran - collide head on…
T H E 1 00 CRORE BOXOFFICE CLAS H In what can be described as the season’s clash of the titans, Suriya and Vijay contend for the top slot with their ambitious films Aadhavan and Vettaikaran respectively. Since January 2009, only seven of Tamil cinema’s A-list stars had a release. Vijay’s Villu, Surya’s Ayan, Vishal’s Thoranai, Kamal Haasan’s Unnaipol Oruvan, Vikram’s Kanthasamy, Vijay’s Mariyathai and Dhanush’s Padikkathavan were the big-budget movies that were released. In addition, Jeyam Ravi’s Peranmai and a few other small-budget movies are expected to release on the same day. So what’s the big deal about the day? Traditionally, audiences throng movie halls during the festival. Consequently, collections of movies increase threefold. This has remained a well-preserved tradition over the years. Though, the talk of both the films being released on the same day was floating in the air, it wasn’t confirmed. It was expected that Vijay’s film would be postponed by a month because of a fire that erupted on the sets of the movie. But, the superstar has confirmed to the press, “100 percent, it will have a release on the Deepavali of 2009”.
Vettaikaran though being directed by newcomer Babu Sivan is the Goliath at
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box office, as it’s being produced by AVM Studios and released by Sun Pictures, both known for their marketing muscle. So far, except Ajith none of the stars of Tamil cinema have been a competition to Vijay’s might at the box office. He is still considered a force to reckon with though his last three films Azhagiya, Tamil Magan, Kuruvi and Villu didn’t create major magic at the box office. But this time, another superstar, Suriya is releasing his film taking on a Vijay-starrer, Aadhavan which is by no measure lesser on ammunition. It’s being directed by Dashavataram & Muthu fame K S Ravikumar. Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Films produced this film. Suriya’s last film Ayan grossed over 40 crores from Tamil Nadu alone nearly crossing the records of Vijay’s blockbuster Pokkiri. Needless to mention, buyers are lapping up the rights of Aadhavan too. Also, this clash is a role-reversal of sorts. AVM which had earlier produced Surya’s Ayan are the makers of Vettaikaran, while Red Giant which produced Vijay’s earlier dud Kuruvi is producing Aadhavan.
Vettaikaran is high on hype as - Vijay Anthony known for his mass numbers, scores the music for this action film. Additionally, Vijay’s son Sanjay has done a cameo in one of the songs in the movie.
One of the clips from the movie that got leaked and surfaced on the internet generated plenty of buzz for the movie. After Vaaranam Aayiram and Ayan, Harris Jeyraj and Suriya team up again for Aadhavan which has slowly crept its way up to the top of the charts. The song Hasili Fisili’ is the ring tone of most youngsters in Chennai. Both the films are carrying heavy expectations. Aadhavan is made on a budget of 30 crore, while Vettaikaran too is produced for a similar sum. As K.S Ravikumar’s Dashavataram, Muthu and Suriya’s Ghajini, Ayan have been hits at the Andhra box office, the trade in the neighboring state too is interested in Aadhavan. The rights for the Telugudubbed version of the film have been sold, making Aadhavan a more valuable product. But the buzz is that Vettaikaran may win hands-down over Aadhavan on the publicity front, as it’s being backed by Sun Pictures, who have a virtual monopoly over the media in Tamil Nadu. The box office for the Deepavali month is worth 100 crores, with all the other films combined. Only time can tell who will emerge the king of the box office this year.
Funda
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kaleidoscope
10 : 09
Taking dance to the next level
Pazhassi Raja website launched
Pic: V.Rajesh
Pic: V.Rajesh
Kamal Haasan along with Kanimozhi MP launched the DVD of danseuse Shobana’s epic dance drama, Maya Ravan.
The website of the historical Pazhassi Raja which is being made in 5 languages was launched with lead actors Mammootty and Sharath Kumar.
Suriya and Nayan to rock on!
Akshay Kumar who is hosting Colours’ Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 2 recently met the press for an interaction with his 13 sexy contestants.
Pic: V.Rajesh
Pic: Viral Bhayani
Khatron ka Raja
Audio launch of Suriya-Nayanthara starrer Aadhavan, saw a glitzy audio launch. Music director Harris Jeyraj, Vijay and Vivek were all praises for the stars.
Pic: Viral Bhayani
Pic: Viral Bhayani
Meet and greet
Cold war Himesh Reshammiya and Annu Malik called a truce when the latter become a celeb judge on the former’s SET : Entertainment Ke Liye Aur Kuch Bhi Karega.
Soha Ali Khan who hosted India’s first branded lifestyle reality show, Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo meets the 3 winners for a cup of causal coffee.
Oct 09
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Tamil
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bioscope
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Funda
Good
The concept of water in every frame is
n
unique. The first half is extraordinary and Manoj Paramahamsa’s camerawork is top class.
The
n
lead pair is fresh and their performances are pretty realistic. Aadhi, who debuted with Mirugam has made a fantastic comeback as a cop in Eeram, his second film. Guy’s got some potential! Sindhu Menon and Nandha fit the bill well.
The SFX work is simply brilliant. Don’t
n
Could have been better… n
The film is too lengthy and could have been made crisper. Post interval, it turns rather predictable and the climax peters out to be run-of-the-mill kind.
n
The music is just passable and wonder why the audio quality is so jarring.
have to say more!
Eeram
The
n
unexpected twists and turns are baffling.
Cast: Aadhi, Nandha, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan Direction: Arivazhagan Music: Thaman Produced by: Shankar
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-Sridevi Sreedhar
bioscope
10 : 09
Cast: Jayaram, Padma Priya, Baby Nivedita Direction: Akku Akbar Music: Shyam Dharman Produced by: Moserbaer Entertainment
Good
Could have been better…
A
n
Director Akku Akbar and scenarist
n
n
brave film that’s very different from the usual formula driven superstar kind of fare. It shows.
n
K Gireesh Kumar come up with an engaging thriller which can send a chill down your spine, even without the mandatory screeches or excessive melodrama.
Kana Kanmani
The first half is an engaging mix of
n
horror and suspense. The message is clear and it screams - a strong cry against abortion and the right of the unborn child.
An
engaging first half peters out to be a run-of-the-mill ghost story with no thrills.
The
songs are not as interesting and the way they are shot is pretty clichéd.
The climax looks stage managed.
n
- Sridevi Sreedhar
Jayaram
n
and Padmapriya are very good but it is Baby Nivedita who steals the show with a scintillating performance
Oct 09
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malayalm
Funda
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xclusive
Southern cinema sweeps the national awards this year, and how! Karthik Pasupulate and Sridevi Sreedhar report.
It was a case of hit and run, at the 55th National Awards. For southern cinema that is. Malayalam cinema lived up to the tag of the most creative film industry in the country bagging five awards. Tamil cinema emerged a close second winning four while Kannada actress Uma Maheshwari was adjudged the best actress for her performance in Gulabi Talkies. Be it the best feature film, best director, best actor, best actress, best music, best animation film, best special effects, best editing and best make up artist… the south Indian films swept them all, overcoming stiff competition from Bollywood. SRK starrer Chak De India and Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par were popular contenders for the best feature film award but Kanchivaram was in a league of its own. The film won critical acclaim in
all the 14 international film festivals it has been screened at so far. Priyadarshan and his crew received a standing ovation when the film was screened at the Toronto film festival. Set amidst the lives of the community of silk weavers of Kanchivaram in the 1920s the film is a touching tale of a weaver who takes to communism only to find himself caught between personal needs and the pursuit of social equality. Prakash Raj was simply brilliant as the protagonist Vengadam, who is unable to buy a silk sari for his daughter. The irony of the weavers who make silk saris all their lives not being able to afford the same saris for themselves forms the crux of Kanchivaram. Master filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan was adjudged the best director for Naalu Pennunga. The film is based on Jnanapith
Best Feature film – Kanchivaram (Tamil) – Director Priyadarshan Best Animation Film – Inimey Naangathaan (Tamil) – Director S Venky Baboo Best Director – Naalu Pennungal (Malayalam) – Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Best Actor – Kanchivaram (Tamil) – Prakash Raj Best Actress – Gulabi Talkies (Kannada) – Umashree
award-winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's four short stories. This is his ninth national award and fifth in the best director category. Music director Ouseppachan won the National Award for his musical score in Shyamaprasad’s Ore Kadal. Pattanam Rasheed was given the award for best make-up for his work in Paradesi. B Ajit won the best editing award for his work in Naalu Pennungal. Shyamaprasad’s Ore Kadal was awarded the best regional film. Chennai-based special effects company, Indian Artists, which worked on Rajinikanth’s look in Sivaji took home the prize for Best Special Effects. The animation studio, Mayabimbham won the Best Animated Film award for India’s first 3D-animated movie Inime Nangathan.
Best Editing – Naalu Pennungal (Malayalam) - B Ajith Kumar Best make-up Artist - Paradesi (Malayalam) – Pattnam Rasheed Best Music – Ore Kadal (Malayalam) – Ouseppachan
Best Special Effects – Sivaji (Tamil) – Indian Artists, Chennai Best Regional film – Ore Kadal (Malayalam)
Oct 09
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xclusive
I knew Kanchivaram would work after seeing the response we got at the festival circuits like Toronto, where the audiences gave it a standing ovation. Actually, when I finished the script, my close friend, Mohan Lal was supposed to do the film, but he had scheduling issues. Then I zeroed in on Prakash Raj, who I think is a fantastic actor and his dialogue delivery in Tamil gave him the edge over Mohanlal. Prakash took Kanchivaram to a different level, was totally committed and did the film without taking any remuneration. After seeing the first copy together, I told him that he will get a national award for it! - Priyadarshan
“I owe this award to Adoor Sir, who made it possible”. - B Ajit
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“I am very happy and consider this award as a recognition for a new attempt in Indian cinema. Naalu Pennungal has four different stories made as one film.”
“It was not easy to do make up for a period film like Paradesi in which the hero has four different looks, including that of a 70-year old man. But I have to thank Mohanlal who encouraged me and made the character come alive on screen.”
- Adoor Gopalakrishnan
- Pattanam Rasheed
Oct 09
“I never expected this award. So when I came to know about it, I was shocked! I consider this as a very big honour and thank my producer Vindyan who introduced me to director Shyamaprasad for Ore Kadal. The songs in the film were different from my usual style and Shyam reinvented my talents as a music director.” - Ouseppachan
“This is my hat trick national award for the best regional film. I am very happy that the film got noticed.” - Shyamaprasad
An elated Prakash Raj spoke exclusively to Southscope I owe it all to one man, Priyadarshan, without him, Kanchivaram would not have been possible. I’m on top of the world since I heard the news. The film was very close to my heart. When he first narrated the story, I fell in love with it. I was willing to give any number of dates to Priyan after reading the complete script. The character of Vengatam is a life time role. I’ve got a National award in the supporting role category four times and the big one proved to be elusive till I got it now for Kanchivaram. It will adorn an important place in my show case, as it is the most prestigious award I have ever received.
How much of this do you attribute to luck? There have been many controversies in the media that Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Mohanlal and Sathyaraj were strong contenders for the National Award for best actor. I have the highest respect for all of them and loved their films. But it was my lucky day! How did you prepare for the role? Priyadarshan had written the script many years back and was thinking of doing it with Mohanlal, but somehow it did not work out. When he approached me and narrated the script, I told him that I’ll cancel all my other commitments and do the film. As far as the character goes, I
just did what Priyan asked me to do, but did some basic background study about the character, the weaver community and the setting up of co-operatives in Kanchivaram. Tell us about your future projects. I would definitely do more realistic films in future. Vengatam the master weaver is the most intense and powerful character I have ever played. I am passionate about good cinema and I’m proud to have produced films like Mozhi and Abhiyum Naanum and will continue to produce meaningful films. At the same time my forte is commercial cinema, where I will continue to do villain roles (Laughs).
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Around the World in 24 Frames
Human Prejudice Ramakanth T explores the dynamics of underlying prejudices in every aspect of life that Philadelphia so convincingly portrays
May we never find space so vast, planets so cold, heart and mind so empty that we cannot fill them with love and warmth... There were perhaps very few films in the past which dealt with complex subjects like human prejudice as convincingly as Philadelphia (1993). The story is about Andrew Becket (Tom Hanks), a brilliant young attorney who works with a formidable law firm in Philadelphia. He shows the first visible signs of AIDS when he is assigned a prestigious case by his firm. But to his shock, the management sacks him suddenly citing some alleged incompetence that might have cost them the case. When Andrew realises that he was actually a victim of ugly social discrimination because of his illness, he decides to fight against his ex-employer with the help of yet another smart lawyer Joe Miller(Denzel Washington) and wins the case.
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An uncomfortable experience of emotional indifference is established at the very beginning with some excellent montage shots super imposed by a stimulating song by Bruce Springsteen. There is a kind of hurriedness, which perhaps reminds us of the fast deteriorating health of Andrew, juxtaposed with serene moments with soft dissolves to indicate the inevitable. Joe Miller, the attorney who reluctantly agrees to accept the case of Andrew takes his time to outgrow his own prejudice on AIDS. “Let’s talk about what this case is really about; the general public’s hatred…our loathing, our fear of homosexuals.” ...he announces boldly in the court. Is he announcing his experience? Being a black man, would he have identified with such issues of being loathed and hated in his own life? By the way, he himself doesn’t approve of Andrew’s lifestyle. “I hate homosexuals..,” that’s what he says to his wife in one of those dinner talks!
And of course, the boss of the Andrew’s law firm, Charles Wheeler (superbly played by Jason Robards) would not have experienced any of these discriminations. After all, he was always on the right side of the ‘rules’ according to him. When he is asked to talk in front of the judge, he describes Andrew as the guy who wants to benefit by the system, but doesn’t want to play by the system’s rules. But on Joe’s questioning he states things like Andrew Becket’s ‘character’, the ‘society’ being run by ‘these kinds of people’ who want to bend the rules, ‘decent values,’ getting the society back on the wheels etc...he says it all. A spectacular example of an intelligent, thinking man who is blinded by his own value system founded on moral prejudice. He actually knows that it is not about a disease but about Andrew Beckett’s character. He also knows that he fired Andrew because the choices he made in his life were simply unacceptable. The cigarmunching legal kingpin with his craggy face, gravelly voice, cannot believe to be dragged on to the mat to lose to Andrew, a disgusting show piece of social decadence. In another scene, when Andrew makes Joe listen to an opera of Andrea Chenier, he talks about heartache in the voice of Madeleine, who was saved by her mother when a mob set fire to her house during the French Revolution, sacrificing her own life. He talks about the lovely music which fills with hope. Not very unconventional though, the extremely disturbing nature of this scene reveals the sudden surfacing of the lust for life of a dying man. He quotes ‘It was during that sorrow that love came to me! A voice filled with harmony that said…live still, I am life’... What is going on? Probably his heart is craving for the love which finds as many reasons to accept than reject. A world without prejudices. Philadelphia is a moderately melodramatic script worked on a neat arc and format, the film compelled to signal that the heart is at the right place. All the high points of the film are admirably understated. There are very few conventional emotional moments. No high drama at the time of the verdict. Death scene is heart-wrenching but not that dramatic. No rough edges as you see Andrew who is so lovable, is dying. Audience is made to involve in an uncomfortable subject like AIDS with a remarkable treatment as Joe, who is the defender himself never comes around with a broader perspective on the subject. What are the other tools which work convincingly in dealing with subjects like prejudice? We need contrasts, which is again, thanks to the extremely tidy script, very well placed. The defense attorneys are a black man and a woman. To bring in the coalition on sympathies about the guy with AIDS, there is a brief show on a woman, a trial witness, who talks how she had innocently contracted the disease through infusion. To firm it up and to get the audience on his side, they show how beautiful his family picture is and where he enjoys unfailing support from his parents, sisters and brothers. The lawyer who works for him is small and the firm he Oct 09
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Around the World in 24 frames
The outraged justice, seductive story line and courtroom dramas are fairly familiar subjects for the filmmakers. But the craft of narration is so refreshingly innovative right from the word, go.
Around the World in 24 Frames
fights against is really a big bad one! To establish that it is not a film about AIDS, the filmmakers shrewdly ignored any intimate scenes between the characters. However, they made a very intelligent attempt to bring out every one’s feelings, on the subject - mostly unfounded beliefs that are devastatingly discriminative. In the process, the audience is introduced to a completely new world of problems and sensibilities of AIDS patients for their acceptance. This film is famous for Oscar winning performances - brilliance of Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and others. Tom Hanks connects every nagging issue about his condition to a basic human rejection. He rejects the societal alienation. He rejects the rights and wrongs of ‘common people’. He demonstrates the freedom of life as it was captured in a home video tape, which shows the little Andrew shouting gleefully as he chases a new puppy, squealing as he jumps into a tiny swimming pool, riding a bike with training wheels...he could not be bothered by what people think of him. Both Jonathan Demme and Ron Nyswaner, were supported by some brilliant works of Tak Fujimoto (Camera), Craig McKay (editor) and Howard Shore (music).
PHILADELPHIA 1993
Director : Jonathan Demme Writer (WGA) : Ron Nyswaner Genre : Drama Awards : Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations Cast : Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman...
Spin a Yarn. Win a chance! Southscope invites contributions from aspiring writers to send in their entries. Short listed stories will be published in our forthcoming issues. Winners will also receive valuable gifts. Word limit- 500 - 1500. SILVER SCOPE
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Bollywood’s new stunt woman Eesha Koppikhar’s long lost desire of getting a black belt in Taekwondo was fulfilled recently. She’s been practicing Taekwondo for the past eight years, and while she should have cleared her exams at least two years back, she is not complaining too much. It’s a case of better late than never. She hopes she never needs to use her newly perfected skills except in films. And she’ll get a chance to do exactly that. She is not only hosting a wrestling show on television but will be doing some raw stunts in her upcoming film Shabri. She’s so motivated that she would now like to go in for the second level black belt too. The highest degree is ninth level. And she hopes to reach there when she’s like 70, since it takes a good 30-40 years of relentless practice to get there!
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National award winning actress Rituparna Sengupta is quite miffed these days. Reason: she was robbed recently! At a crowded location in Kolkata, where she was shooting, somebody managed to steal her latest cell phones and a lakh in cash from her vanity van. The money, we are told was to go for the West Bengal chief minister’s cyclone relief fund. She was to go there to make the donation herself after the shooting, but landed there empty handed. She had to finally write a cheque right there to make the donation. But she lost most of her contacts since the police only managed to get back one phone and her wallet, but of course the money was gone. Apparently, she used to laugh when her friends would complain about losing their phones in trains or taxis, but not anymore.
Phone-etics!
film
Akshay Kumar turns blue. But don’t worry he’s not sick. He has just got the word Blue inked on his neck for his upcoming underwater action caper Blue. He plays the character of a rich businessman who is obsessed with money and just can’t get enough of it. The film has some fast paced action and breathtaking underwater sequences. Director Anthony thought it would be a good idea to have Blue tattooed on the nape of Akshay’s neck to give his character an extra edge. What’s more, Akshay even went on to shave off a bit of his eyebrows! It was a smart move to name Akshay’s character in the film, Arav, which happens to be his son’s name and is already tattooed on Akshay’s back. That’s some preparation, we’d say!
Rituparna’s
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Priyanka and Harman’s
tiring night! Aushtosh Gowariker’s penchant for perfection really cost Priyanka and Harman Baweja. During the shooting of What’s Your Rashi, Ashutosh wanted one song sequence to be shot in a single go, so it took around 20-25 takes before he was finally satisfied. A khabru says that the shoot stretched on almost throughout the night and both Priyanka and Harman were half dead by pack up time. But being utterly professional as they are, they hardly complained. After the shoot was completed, somebody from the unit joked saying if the shoot had happened when Priyanka and Harman were supposedly dating, they would have loved the extended schedule! To this, someone else quipped “well they are best of friends even now…” Hmm, whatever?
Wedding wows It seems Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have very smartly planned their possible marriage in 2011 knowing very well that most of Bebo’s projects will be over by then. As of now Bebo has Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Kurbaan and Aamir Khan, starrer Three Idiots releasing this year. There are six more projects lined up for her including Gulel and Dhoom 3. She can then hang up her boots, like most other actresses have done after tying the knot. Wonder if Sharmila Tagore will like the Pataudi khandaan ki bahu appearing on the big screen in short dresses and bikini ala Kambaqt Ishq style post the wedding. Can’t imagine Bebo in boring sister and bhabhi kind of roles though!
What’s
going on? Recently, Amrita Rao, Akshay Khanna, Farhan Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut were travelling to a foreign locale together on the same flight. Apparently, Kangana was trying desperately to get Akshay’s attention but he was busy catching up with Amrita instead, who eventually fell asleep on Akshay’s shoulder after a tiring day! In fact, once the flight landed in Hong Kong, Kangana introduced herself to Akshay as his co-star in the next Anil Kapoor film to which all that Akshay said was “really.” Well by the way, it seems like Akshay and Amrita have a great chemistry going on. Wonder what Shahid would have to say now since he has been calling Amrita quite frequently these days. Some soap opera style complications here?
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Pop singer Christina Aguilera almost lost the lyrics she penned down for her new song on a napkin at a Los Angeles restaurant while she was dining there. Her husband Jordan Bratman and she had finished eating and the waiter came to take away the dishes. Everything was efficiently whisked away including the prized napkin! But she caught up with the waiter just before the napkin could be thrown away. The Grammy awardwinning singer had to go great lengths explaining to the waiter about what happened and found the napkin untouched on top of a plate. Guess after she found it, she was truly on a song!
the tissue issue
THE FONDA FOUR PLAY
Veteran actress Jane Fonda is planning to marry her exboyfriend at the end of the year in the presence of two exhusbands! Rumours were going around about Fonda planning to tie the knot with 67-year producer Richard Perry, but a spokeswoman of the actress apparently stated that it may not happen anytime soon. The couple had announced their engagement at a recent party in the Malibu home of Barbara Streisand and James Brolin and now everyone seems to be talking about it. What’s more interesting is that she plans to invite her second and third husbands - former politician Tom Hayden and media tycoon Ted Turner for the wedding! Is that called eating and having your, ahem, wedding cake?
Lady GaGa has become the biggest gaga of downloads according to figures on all-time download charts. Her single Poker face has notched up 7,79,000 sales on downloads alone to top the charts while her first British release Let’s Dance is at number three with 7,00,000. British pop singer GaGa feels honoured to be the songwriter and performer of the number one and number three all time downloaded songs in the history of Britain. That must be music to her ears! 54
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megan fox insecure
“I am really insecure about everything. I never think I am worthy of anything. I have a sick feeling of being mocked all
Victoria Beckham’s
‘sheer’ magic Victoria Beckham posed again for the cover of a magazine giving her fans a glimpse of her naughty side. She’s sporting stockings and suspenders while perched on a diving board. The former Spice Girl certainly has a thing for posing in lingerie. Earlier this year, she featured in a raunchy Emporio Armani campaign with David. Who knows what might come next…
the time. I have a lot of self-loathing,” she says. She added, “Yeah! But I don’t want to elaborate. I would never call myself a cutter. Girls go through different phases when they are growing up. When they are miserable they do different things, whether it is an eating disorder or they dabble in cutting.”
JOHANSSON HAS STAGE FEAR
Hollywood starlet Megan Fox confessed that she feels insecure and has the feeling of being mocked all the time. The 23 year old also confessed that she used to harm herself during her tender age.
Scarlett Johansson confessed that she dreads going on musical tours since she suffers stage fright. The actor-singer has recorded a new album with music collaborator Pete Yorn titled Break Up. While she’s excited about the whole project she also fears that the success of the album will lead to a series of live shows and she is already feeling phobic! Oct 09
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BAC K After five decades, Kalathoor Kannamma remains a legend of south Indian cinema, as much for its cinematic prowess as for being Kamal Haasan’s first film. Pavithra Srinivasan revels in the nostalgia.
Movie: Kalathoor Kannamma Director: A. Bhimsingh
Cast: Gemini Ganesan Kamal Haasan Savithri
Produced by: AVM PRODUCTIONS Music: R Sudarshanam Year of release: 1960
A. Bhim Singh
For all intents and purposes, Kalathoor Kannamma was your readymade big-budget movie with all the requisites of the day: A Bhim Singh, who ruled the roost with his romances those days, Gemini Ganesan, Savithri – both known for their unmissed chemistry and remarkable performances - and the inimitable M R Radha, a villain not easily forgotten. The story was calculated to be a heart-wrenching tear-jerker and everyone was sure that it would catapult the leads into yet another blockbuster. Which it did – but for a different reason altogether. In many ways, Kalathoor Kannamma was the archetypal melodrama that spawned numerous emotional dramas, poor imitations that couldn’t catch the spirit of the original. Bhim Singh’s scripts, however, were refreshing and his ability to bring out the emotions from the actors was truly commendable. It was the classic love story - rich boy, poor girl, opposing parents and a love that finally unites all.
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Gemini Ganesan The script needed a charming young boy to play Savithri’s forlorn son – the reason why his parents come together. But no matter how charming any child was, he really wasn’t going to make a dent in the Savithri-Ganesan romance. Except that when a certain youngster appeared in the opening shots, singing “Ammavum Neeye, Appavum Neeye,” adorable in a heartbroken sort of a way, with a host of other orphans, emotions went into overdrive. People flocked to see this child who really was a child and not some adult dressed in children’s clothes. His precocious chatter, melting brown eyes and a natural knack for adapting to the screen became legendary. And though everyone knew that the boy was born for the screen, no one quite expected him to become a legend in his own right. Fifty years later, he’s counted among the legends of not just the south but of Indian cinema. Kamal Haasan’s first film was special in a lot of ways.
M R Radha
irate M R Radha’s threats – the only proof of their marriage is the child. No one knows they’re married, and Savithri’s child is taken away in the belief that she would be better off without him. Kamal Haasan grows in an orphanage, believing his parents are dead, while in reality, his parents are angry, frustrated and sorrowful, thinking each betrayed the other. But Ganesan stumbles upon the child and practically adopts him. Blood is, after all, thicker than water. And that’s how he finds his wife, as well – right in the nick of time in the tradition of Tamil cinema, on the verge of tying the thaali around another woman’s neck, and in the presence of the entire community (or how else would their relationship be sanctified?)
Kamal Haasan
Kalathoor Kannamma was a blockbuster – but more, importantly, it made Kamal Haasan a star, and fetched him the National Award for Best Child Artist. In later years, on the sets of Avvai Shanmughi, Ganesan would joke around: “In Kalathoor Kannamma, I carried him around, in Avvai Shanmughi, Kamal carries me!”
Kalathoor Kannamma, with its lilting melodies revolved around the child, especially in the second half. As Savithri and Ganesan separate – not willingly, but because of a cruel intervention of fate, not to mention an
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I was born in Madurai, bought up in Tirupachi, studied in Sivakasi. If you shower your love on me, I’m a lover, if you anger me I’m not just malai, I’m Tirumalai… You are already a beauty, bathing in water you are super baa (item)!
Illaya talapathy Vijay’s dialogues Enjoy da!
We might have been born to different mothers, but we’re still brothers!
Hey Mass (supposedly villain), you’re just a speck of dust to me who’s not afraid for his life. This is a bra – not top. This is underwear, not shorts!
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If a guy likes a girl once then till the end he will think of her. A person living for love and dying for love is a man!
If I would have known that after being beaten up and taking the pain you would kiss me, I would have gotten bashed up my entire life… If I wouldn’t have taken all the bashing would you still give me a kiss?
Film: Kanthasamy
Singers: Vikram, Suchitra
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
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Hey excuse me Mr kandhasamy oru coffee kudipom come with me hott ah cold ah neeye thottu
Podi poda podi poda podi poda podipoda podi poda
Hitler pethiye hitler pethiye kadhal onnum yudhay illa kolladhey Linkan Perane linkan perane thathuvangal pesy pesy kolladhey kasmir naan ne pakisthan theraadhu disyum dhaan
kadavul illannu sonna ramasamy kadhal illannu solran kandhasamy Nopa nopa nopa sonnaar valluvar grandpa oodal thaandi koodachonnar kadaisi kuralil sharpa vena vena vena ne naamam poda venam un kooda vandha sanda pota vazhkai pogum veenah
Hey kandhasamy yen lifela puyala vandha samy yen azhaga paathu manusla nondha samu che vendha samy un azhagunaala illa un imisaiyala nondha samy un kaiyila sikka maatan indha samy
You are my love .. You are my love ..
Hey excuse me Ms subulakshmi your activities are thapu lakshmi un pechum thottam romba kuppa lakshmiiii…. Poda poda
Hey excuse me Mr kandhasamy oru coffee kudipom come with me hott ah cold ah neeye thottu paaruuuuuuu Podi podi.
Hey excuse me Ms subulakshmi Your activities are thapu lakshmi un lippum hippum romba sappa lakshmiiii…. Poda poda
Hey excuse me Mr kandhasamy oru coffee kudipom come with me hott ah cold ah neeye thottu paaruuuuuuu Podi podi.
Podi poda podi poda podi poda podipoda podi poda
Hey uppu mootayei uppu mootayei lifelonga unna thooki sumapenda Hey ducku muttayei ducku muttayei vaathu muttai kooda unna sethukadhu pesaadhey nee crack madhi plz vaayen track maariiii.
Vena vena vena wastu panna vena ippo vitta thappeni pinnal aluva thaana Podi podi podi foola pona lady Girls nambi loosa pona boys pala kodi .
Yei yenna romba overa panra onnum panna vidamatriye Nee padicha ponnu dhaana unna padika mudiyalaye Heyei th thalli po Yenna thallitu po Konjam moodu romba mooooooooodu .. aayyoooooooooooooooo
Hey excuse me Ms subulakshmi Your activities are thapu lakshmi un pechum thottam romba kuppa lakshmiiii…. Poda poda
paaruuuuuuu Podi podi.
Letter from the Editor 62
Oct 09
Happily Ever After… How do I begin? Or where? I have never been faced with as daunting a task as writing this editorial. Almost as difficult as choosing one befitting word to describe the magic of celluloid. I don’t know what I was thinking when I sat with my team and uttered the irrevocable words – let’s make it an action packed issue that holds a mirror to the south Indian film industry. Let’s have two juxtaposed covers. Can we? I don’t think they were thinking when they, agog with excitement, responded with the Obama esque ‘Yes, we can.’ From then began the roller coaster ride which has been as tough as it probably has been for Obama to get America back on tracks. Exaggeration, did you say? You’re right. Just can’t help that – quintessential south Indian that I am. If I am not exaggerating, I am hyperventilating. More often than not, my well wishers encourage me to indulge in the former. Better sickness, they say. Sorry for that digression. Let me get back to Southscope and all the jazz that went with our launch issue. Action packed and all that sounded pretty gung ho but when it was time for us to act, all of us went crazy. One day we would be upbeat about everything falling in place, about the universe conspiring to make it happen. And the next day an outdoor photo shoot would be called off either because of the star’s dates or inclement weather. We would sink into an abyss. When it was not a physical roller coaster it was an emotional one. However, like the bard said, all’s well that ends well. We worked like maniacs and actually pulled it off. It was a complete riot as you can see from the current sensation Vikram’s hot pictures & quotes, reigning chica bonita Ileana’s saucy looks & words, sexy damsel Shraddha Das’s tryst with the couch, seductress Mumaith Khan’s affair with the camera & dictaphone, cross country actor Siddharth’s attitude. By the way, I haven’t even mentioned choreographer-dancer-actor-director (phew!) Prabhu Deva’s revelations like never before, art director Ravindra’s secret behind his magical set designs, into the mind of Malayalam actor Prithviraj to name just a few. And of course what’s going on, where, how, why, when and other trivia. The heat is on. And how!
Vanaja Banagiri Editor-in-Chief