Shahrukh Khan set to act in Tamil movie!

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is reportedly set to act in a Tamil flick. According to the reports, King Khan would be appearing in the movie “Asal” in a new Avatar.

Reports say that the makers of Ajith starrer Asal are making every effort possible to contact SRK and request his cameo appearance in Asal.

Ajith was earlier a part of SRK’s Asoka as his younger brother. And now, King Khan may just decide to return the favour.

Bollywood’s hottest babe Sameera Reddy is playing the lead opposite to Ajith and the same time the movie is produced by Sivaji Productions.

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B-school to run Kollywood?

Khushbu, actress, producer and distributor says, “These so called B-school guys have ruined Tamil cinema, by entering the market without doing a proper study. As a result, they have pushed up the cost of production. What do these guys, sitting in the cool comfort of their offices in Mumbai and Chennai, know about collections, audiences profile or the topography of a Theni or a Dindigul film market?”

The B-school boys and their management skills have come in for sharp criticism in the industry after the failure of a superstar film which they bought for a ridiculous amount. The company, which purchased the film, also took over 200 theatres in Tamil Nadu on lease, but is struggling to keep afloat today. Says Balasubramaniam, a theatre owner in Coimbatore who had leased out his twin theatres to the company, “I was running my theatre well before these guys took it on lease. They claimed that they would professionalise the business, but ended up with egg on their face.”

Kandaswamy Bharathan, an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad and a leading producer says, “The word corporatisation, when it comes to the film industry, should be defined in a broader context. Films have to be considered as products — there is production, pricing, distribution and they satisfy the needs of customers through entertainment.” Kandaswamy also added that today, a lot of young B-school boys are venturing into production, distribution and other sectors of film business, which require a professional approach.
However P L Thenappan, a leading producer begs to differ. Says he, “I’m a school drop out, but I have made more than a dozen hit films with big stars like Kamal Haasan. I know how the trade functions better than any B-school graduate. These guys have created chaos in the industry by making films without any budget constraints, paid salaries to stars which were not viable and most importantly, they do not understand the pulls and pressures of filmmaking.”

The argument is never ending as financial analysts and entertainment industry trackers who have graduated out of B-schools feel that there is gold in Tamil film production and trade if the “best minds in the business run Kollywood.” Recently, a leading corporate completed their new film Kandein Kadhalai in a record five months. This is quite a feat considering veteran producers are still struggling to finish their big budget films two years after the film was launched!

Says producer G Dhananjayan, who has made quality films like Poo, Raman Thediya Seethai and now Kandein Kadhalai, “We have brought in a professional approach to filmmaking by completing our films on time. We are currently testing waters and if we are confident, then we will definitely invest more.” Concludes Swaroop Reddy, owner of a leading multiplex in the city, and one of the key players to bring about a change in the Tamil film business, “Much can be said by both sides. At the end of the day, it does not matter if you are a traditionalist or a modernist. It is the passion for cinema that is the driving force in show business.”

Tamil cinema once again - Mumbai meri jaan

Kollywood's heartthrob Suriya, who made Aamir Khan sit up, take note and better his box office raking with ‘Ghajjini' , has just commenced shooting for Ram Gopal Varma (RGV)'s ‘Raktha Charitra', a biopic on the Naxalite Paritala Ravi. Former Miss Chennai Trisha is ecstatic about her Bollywood
debut with Akshay Kumar in Priyadarshan's movie, ‘Khatta Meetha'.

More than 60 years after S S Vasan's Chandralekha', the country's first all-India hit, created ripples with its promos and the movie itself the Bollywood-Kollywood cine express is on a fast track. Kollywood technicians, actors and directors are making movies with top Hindi stars and directors.

Mani Ratnam, who tugged the heartstrings of audiences even in Jammu and Kashmir with Roja' is currently directing Aishwarya Rai and Abishek Bachchan in Ravan'. Mani has also roped in popular Tamil star Vikram, marking his entry into Hindi films. Ace south Indian cinematographer Ravi K Chandran is currently in San Francisco, shooting Raj Kumar Santhoshi's ‘Ajab Prem Ki Gajan Kahani'.

And it's not just a one-way street. Hindi stars are increasingly signing up with Tamil directors. Sameera Reddy and Pradeep Rawat will be packing their bags to Malaysia for the shoot of Asal', being produced by Sivaji Films, which forayed into Bollywood with Amar Deep' and Rakhi'.

In fact, there has always been an exchange of talent between the two film industries. From the late 40s right upto the 80s, Tamil producers and directors had successfully made Hindi films with leading stars such as Raj Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Nargis, Waheeda Rahman and Rajesh Khanna.

Stars from Tamil cinema have also made waves in Bollywood. Vyjayanthimala Bali was the first superstar from the south who debuted with ‘Bahaar' , produced by AVM, in 1951. A couple of decades later Kamal Haasan's Ek Duje Ke Liye' was a chartbuster. ‘Andha Kanoon' gave Rajinikanth a pan Indian face and his mannerisms like flicking the cigarette drew non-Tamil movie buffs to the theatres.

"The cross-border movie making culture between Hindi and Tamil cinema is the perfect example of a love story in business," says G Ramkumar, son of Sivaji Ganesan. He should know, since his home has been the preferred destination of many Bollywood stars, including Prithviraj Kapoor, Mahmood, Rajendra Kumar, Pran and Lata Mangeshkar. S Ramanathan is another director who successfully cast top Bollywood stars in his films, and is said to be a close confidante of Amitabh Bachchan.

"The recent signings are an indication that Tamil stars are saleable, since they are being paired with top Hindi stars once again," says Ramesh Prasad, son of the late LV Prasad who successfully produced and directed many silver jubilee hits in Hindi.

"It is wonderful that Bollywood is once again shopping down south," says Bali. "Tamil producers and directors have always been successful because of their skillful storytelling abilities."

"It was Vasan's ‘Chandralekha' which opened the doors for other Kollywood producers and directors in Bollywood," says film historian Randor Guy. "Thevar was another successful filmmaker who, without knowing a word of Hindi or English, signed up stars like Rajesh Khanna. He would just say, Date mine, money yours' and the stars would smile and sign up," says actor and corporate lecturer Mohan Raman.

Today language is no bar. Asin dubbed her own lines in ‘Ghajjini' and is likely to do so in her second film as well, this time with Salman Khan. Indu Mirani, a Bollywood trade analyst, says, "The trend in Bollywood has been towards hiring male stars with Punjabi and Pathan looks, but Siddharth was also a huge rage, so it is wide open there."

Ramkumar is convinced that the Kollywood-Bollywood connection is a hot and happening bridge."The glamour quotient in Tamil films is a proven one today. Add to it the mind-blowing expertise of our technicians and our reputation for being good paymasters and it's going to be ‘Chennai Chalo', and ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan'," he says.

via: indiatimes.com

Prabhu Deva - Nayanthara Secrets In Hyderabad. Married?

The big news doing the rounds is that the choreographer, actor-turned-director Prabhu Deva has secretly married Nayanthara in Hyderabad.

Prabhu Deva, the father of three kids and husband of the former dancer Ramlath, fell in love with Nayantara when they worked together in Vijay’s ‘Villu’.

However, the sources close to the actress denied the rumor, and said, “She was not even in Hyderabad when rumours of her marriage broke.”

A few months back when Prabhu lost his eldest son, it was Nayanthara, who gave him strength to come out of his personal pain.

Last heard, Prabhudeva had answered a question on his so-called relationship with Nayantara that ‘it’s personal’ and no one had any say in it.

The reports also said that both Prabhu and Nayantara have been living together for the last 3 weeks and the marriage was held in Hyderabad in secret.

Prabhu Deva has flown to an unnamed place saying that he has to finish some works in a Hindi project.

Previously, the hearsays linking Prabhudeva and Nayantara grew stronger, as Nayantara had the name 'Prabhudeva' tattooed on her wrist.

Will Nayan or Prabhu Deva explain as to what is going on?

via: http://www.topnews.in/

South Sexy Angel Lakshmi Rai falls into a snow gorge

Lakshmi Rai, the hot and happening Kollywood actress, faced a big snow storm during the shooting of her film Naan Avan Ilali - 2 in Switzerland. She is playing one of the lead pairs of Jeevan in the sequel of block buster movie Naan Avan Illai, which was released a couple of years ago.

Lakshmi Rai fell into a snow gorge while shooting for a hot duet with Jeevan, and soon she was covered by snow. The cast and crew of the film had to wait for a day for her to recover.

Naan Avan Illai-2 is being directed by Selva, who also did the first part. In the sequel, Jeevan acts with five girls namely Lakshmi Rai, Sangeetha , Shwetha, hema malini and Rakshana.

This sequel promises to be more interesting than the original and has peppy music by Vijay Antony. Lakshmi Rai is said to be playing the role of a sensuous actress who gets conned by Jeevan.

Namitha's expanding clout to South Indians Cinema.

Since the start of her career down south, Namitha has focused mainly on Telugu and Tamil cinema with an odd Kannada film now and then. But now, sources from Kollywood say the actress is keen on doing more films in Malayalam and Kannada.

It’s common knowledge that Namitha is doing the Malayalam film ‘Black Stallion’ in which she’s cast opposite Kalabavan Mani. Now, the busty belle will be seen in a Kannada film as well.

Reports say director V. Ravichandran has finalized Namitha to be the leading lady of his next Kannada film which will be an action thriller. Namitha had earlier worked in the director’s Kannada film ‘Neelkanta’ way back in 2006. After that she’s only done one more Kannada film titled ‘Indra’.

Sources say Namitha and Ravichandran shared a very good camaraderie while working in ‘Neelkanta’ and that is why the filmmaker is keen to cast her in his next film.

Given the fact that Namitha’s resume so far boasts of just two Kannada film and a yet-unreleased Malayalam film, signing more movies in these languages will surely broaden her fan base.

It looks like Namitha just doesn’t want to rule over Kollywood and Tollywood, but wants to be the reigning queen of the South.

Twitter Blog: The Replies Kerfuffle

Twitter Blog: The Replies Kerfuffle: "Kerfuffle"

Latest in Madurai News

Freida Pinto got chance in Woody Allen's next film!

Freida Pinto has been in the news for all the wrong reasons and her love life has made bigger news than even her Oscar appearance but she knows she has hit the bull's eye. Cashing in on the success of her debut film Slumdog Millionaire, which bagged eight Oscars, Freida has signed a lucrative project with renowned American filmmaker Woody Allen.

The news is doing the rounds that Freida would feature in Woody Allen's next film. The film also features well-known actors like Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts and Anthony Hopkins. It would certainly boost Freida's career if the news turns out right.

Keep going Freida!

Freida Pinto Biography
She was just another face in the modeling circuit until she bagged the role of a lifetime in Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Now, Frieda Pinto is a known name worldwide.

Born in Mumbai to Sylvia Pinto, principal of a high school, and Frederick Pinto, a senior branch manager at the Bank Of Baroda, Freida’s stint with the showbiz started when she enrolled herself with modelling agency Elite Model Management.

Freida acted as host for the international travel show ‘Full Circle’ on Zee International Asia Pacific in English. Besides this, she has done many television and print commercials for products such as Wrigleys Chewing Gum, Skoda, Hutch, Airtel, and De Beers.

Surprisingly, Freida, who studied at Mumbai's St.Xaviers College, only began taking acting classes after completing her debut film - when she attended a three-month workshop by Barry John, the veteran theatre guru, who has even trained Shahrukh Khan.

She is even trained in some forms of Indian classical dance as well as Salsa.

She modeled for two years and spent six months giving auditions for films before she got a call for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. She was short-listed and finally selected for the movie, which took her to the Golden Globes.

Trisha and Dhanush - A new combination! - "Aadu Kalam"

After her successful stint in Abhiyum Naanum, Trisha is all set to play Dhanush’s heroine in Vetrimaran’s (of Polladhavan fame) new film tentatively titled Aadu Kalam.

The shoot of the film will start on February 16 in Madurai and surrounding areas.

In this film, Trisha will play an Anglo- Indian, who takes all measures to reform the rowdy hero. To get into the skin of her character, Trisha will throughout be wearing a skirt and blouse, designed by Nalini Sriram.

The film is said to be totally different from the usual run-of-the-mill commercials and Dhanush has an author-backed role. The music
is scored by GV Prakash and the film will start rolling in Madurai by February second week.

Meanwhile, the actress who came back from her vacation in Gold Coast in Brisbane, Australia, left for New Zeland to shoot a song with Arya for Vishnuvardhan’s Sarvam. She will also re-shoot for five days for the Telugu version of Abhiyum Naanum next week. Towards the end of the month, she will start work on her Telugu film with Gopichand. Looks like Trish has no time to breathe!

Big opened its first cinema in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu

Big Cinemas, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and entertainment
conglomerate Adlabs Films, has opened its first cinema in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

This has been done after the transformation of KG Cinema into KG BIG Cinema after architectural and technical renovation.

Big Cinemas had tied up with KG Cinemas in April 2008. The cinema has been non-operational from August due to the refurbishment. With four screens and a total capacity of 2325 seats, the multiplex is designed to assure utmost cinematic comforts and services.

According to Tushar Dhingra, COO of Big Cinemas: “Our focus has been to constantly innovate and provide a world class movie experience. We have received a favourable response from the KG BIG Cinemas’ moviegoers previously and are keen on increasing their enthusiasm.”

The refurbished KG Big Cinemas is now equipped with air-conditioned auditoriums, plush push back seats, floor lights, and hygienic washrooms. KG Big Cinemas will raise the bar of cinematic experience forever in Coimbatore.

While maintaining the original charm of the building, the cinema has also been refurbished with digital sound systems and superior Xenon projection systems in order to provide an international cinematic experience. For easy procurement of tickets, KG Big Cinemas has increased the number of Box Office counters, and also offers for the first time Internet booking options.

“Coimbatore is considered to be the Manchester of South India with a booming textile sector, engineering hub and plans for major IT players to start operations in the city. We are excited to see that our locations have transformed into destinations for guests who want to view movies in the most powerful format. We also see immense potential for this property thanks to its strategic location at Bungalow Road , Race Course,” added Dhingra.

Moviebuzz Shriya's Hollywood dreams go bust , now looking more eagerly at Kollywood.

The Other End Of the Line was the film which Shriya was depending a lot, her debut film in Hollywood. The film produced by Ashok Amritraj which released in US last Friday has bombed miserably at the box-office and the reviews too has been scathing.

The film made on a shoe-string budget of $ 2.5 million (Rs 12.5 crore), could gross only $ 57, 000 (approximately Rs 28 lakhs) from 91 screens in its opening weekend.

A leading US distributor of Tamil films says: "Shriya's Rajnikanth film Sivaji collected almost four times this amount in its opening weekend from lesser number of screens!" The failure of the film has Shriya now looking more eagerly at Kollywood.

She has more or less taken a decision to stick to Tamil cinema and compete with arch rival Nayanthara! A few days back she has signed Vishal’s Thoranam, to be directed by debutant Ayappan. She will be shooting for the film by the end of the month.

Aishwarya Rai and Rajnikanth at world heritage site in Peru for Enthiran Shooting

What happens when super-duper star Rajinikanth and world’s most beautiful woman, Aishwarya Rai dance arm-in-arm? Obviously, an unprecedented visual treat! Yes, recently the awesome-twosome shot an amazing dance sequence for their forthcoming film ‘Robot’. The lady was seen wearing ostrich feathers and her Rajini sir was at his stylish best. The spicy song sequence was shot at the UNESCO declared world famous heritage site - Machu Pichhu in Peru and the film went on to become the first ever shot there. Wow!

‘Robot’, one of the most promising movies of 2008, has been in news for more than one reason. Earlier, Shah Rukh had to star in the film but due to 'creative differences' with dirtector Shankar, he opted out. In walked the ‘baap’ of all superstars – the one and only Rajinikanth. After some hussle and tussle between SRK and director Shankar, the film was renamed as Enthiram. Grapevine also has it that Shankar will be shooting for his film in other exotic locales like South America, too.

The film is to be produced by Ayngaran and Eros International. AR Rahman has been roped in for music. This will be the second film for Ash under Shankar's direction after 'Jeans'.

Earlier, in an interview to a news daily, Aishwarya talked in glowing details about the Tamil superstar, “Rajini Sir is such a wonderful human being. He has been so close to the family, too. I am glad and honoured to be working with him."

When asked about heroines getting sidelined in a Rajini film, Aishwarya refuted the claim, "I don't think it's a fair statement. You can't but be fascinated by this phenomenon called Rajini sir. He is so super-fascinating and intriguing to his audience. I don't think it's a deliberate attempt by any director to sideline any actor/character working along with him."

Hubby Abhishek, do we smell something burning? As for us, we can’t help but wait eagerly to see the fascinating pair onscreen!

Earlier, in an interview to a news daily, Aishwarya Rai talked in glowing details about the Tamil superstar, “Rajini Sir is such a wonderful human being. He has been so close to the family, too. I am glad and honoured to be working with him.”

When asked about heroines getting sidelined in a Rajini film, Aishwarya refuted the claim, “I don’t think it’s a fair statement. You can’t but be fascinated by this phenomenon called Rajini sir. He is so super-fascinating and intriguing to his audience. I don’t think it’s a deliberate attempt by any director to sideline any actor/character working along with him.”

It will be interesting to watch the good vibes between this fascinating pair on screen when Enthiram hits the theatres.

MGM with Star Den joins in Indian television market

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc (MGM) will be launching the MGM channel in India, the world’s third largest cable market. Carriage of the MGM channel will be handled by Star Den Media Services Pvt Ltd (Star Den), the distribution joint venture between News Corp's Star India, the leading television Network in India, and Den Digital Entertainment Network, one of India's leading cable companies.

The announcement was made by Bruce Tuchman, Executive Vice-President, MGM Networks at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Star Den will handle distribution of the MGM channel, wholly-owned by MGM, to cable platforms operating in a nation-wide cable market of over 70 million homes. This will significantly increase the reach of the MGM channel, which is currently available in India through Dish TV, the country’s largest direct-to-home satellite platform. In addition, the Star Den carriage agreement will also help the MGM channel secure carriage on new DTH and IPTV platforms that are emerging across the country.

In announcing the deal, Tuchman stated: “Being backed by Star India and Den is the ultimate seal of approval in the eyes of India’s cable operators, and we’re thrilled that we will be distributed as part of Star Den’s unrivaled bouquet of channel offerings. By working with Star Den, MGM will now have a compelling opportunity to extend and accelerate our channel’s reach throughout the widest possible audience in the large and burgeoning Indian television market.”
Commenting on the launch of MGM channel, Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, CEO of Star Den, stated: “MGM with its huge library of compelling Hollywood movies will bring a great value addition to the Star Den bouquet of channels and will indeed compliment the best of English programming it offers to viewers in the country.”

As one of the most powerful brand names in film entertainment, the 24-hour MGM channel offers film lovers in India round-the-clock movies from MGM’s celebrated 4,000 title library, the largest modern film library in the world. Highlights among the channel’s planned movie offerings in the coming year are Woody Allen’s Manhattan, Network, Carrie, A Passage To India, Midnight Cowboy, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Mystic Pizza, Desperately Seeking Susan, and many others.

Ajith will be paired with Sameera Reddy - FOR Gautam Vasudev Menon Direction

With Aegan set for a Diwali release, Ajith will begin his next project on November 2. The yet-to-titled movie will be directed by Gautam Vasudev Menon and Ajith will be paired with Sameera Reddy.Shooting for this movie, which will be produced by Sivaji Films, is set to begin in Chennai and is expected to continue in Rameshwaram. Despite being an action movie, Ajith will not be a cop in this movie, which will be the first time Gautam teams up with Ajith. The movie will also bring together Gautam and Harris Jayaraj, whose streak of five movies with Gautam, was broken by Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam, in which AR Rahman scores the music. The new project will have Nirav Shah as the cinematographer.Meanwhile, Gautam’s Vaaranam Aayiram is finally heading for an audio launch on September 24 at Sathyam Cinemas.

Priya Mani previews in Chennai

On Wednesday night (September 17), Priya Mani held a special show of her controversial Malayalam film Thirakkatha at the Four Frames for her close friends and family members.

In the film based on the life and romantic journey of the late yesteryear actress Srividya, Priyamani is brilliant. The film's writer and director Ranjit too was present for the show.

Kamal - Srividya romance is now a film!

Those who attended the show included Dhanush, Revathy, Seven Arts Vijayakumar and personalities from Malayalam film world. After the show, all the women were seen trying to hold back their tears as the film leaves a lump in your throat.

Revathy in her trade mark off-white salwar-kameez went and hugged Priyamani. Said Priya after the show: “I am extremely fortunate to have bagged this wonderful role at a time when heroines have nothing much to do in mainstream cinema. I am happy to balance my roles in commercial and off-beat films as I enjoy doing both”.

Priya Mani in an all-new gallery

Priyamani who has just completed a song shoot of her Bharath starrer Aarumugham in Hyderabad, flew down to attend the preview show.

Priya Mani pictures:

Kollywood's New Film Production Company

More movies are in the offing for the Tamil film buff as TV networks take to film production. After years of speculation, Sun TV network has finally ventured into film production and distribution.

The Kalanithi Maran controlled media conglomerate which dominates the television market in the south, already has a presence in print media, FM Radio and DTH. They also have the biggest Tamil film library in the world holding the telecast rights of nearly 3000 Tamil films.

According to a recent market study, television channels which have their own film production units will rule, as cinema has far more reach than soaps or reality shows.

The entry of corporates into Kollywood and the launch of new Tamil channels have further intensified the competition between television channels for film content. At a glittering function in Chennai last week, the COO of the company Hansraj Saxena unveiled the logo and announced the setting up of Sun Pictures and also talked about its future moves. As of now, their first release will be Atlantic Cinema’s Kadhalil Vizhundaen, which has the chartbuster Vijay Antony number Nakku Mukka.

The film is to be the launch pad of Boys Nakul as hero. They also have two Jeeva films — Thenavattu and Siva Manasilla Sakthi (SMS) — and Sundar C’s Thee and Narain’s Pookada Ravi.

Hansraj Saxena, popularly known as Sax, is Kalanithi Maran’s right-hand man, the one behind the network and all its channels in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Sax is on first name terms with most Kollywood stars and producers. He says, “For the last three years, we have been looking to set up our own film production and marketing company. We feel the time is now ripe as Kollywood is booming and small movies made on a reasonable budget are also doing good business. Added to that, we needed to create content for our network, and producing our own films makes good business sense.”
It is a Hollywood style studio management system that is being followed by them. The company funds independent producers who have a decent proposal, after Sax and his team clear the script and the actors. The nitty-gritty of production and daily hassles of shooting and completing the project on time is the responsibility of the line producer.
According to Sax, “At the end of the day, it is the opening a film gets that matters, so we will use all our resources for that.”
Recently, after Junglee Music and the FM channels made the Vijay Antony composed song Nakku Mukka, from Kadhalil Vizhindaen an anthem of sorts, Sun Pictures, who were marketing the film, decided to re-shoot it giving it a rich look.
Now, they will be premiering the song on all television channels, a week before the film’s release later this month. Sax says, “We are gung-ho about Tamil cinema, where new faces and ideas are being accepted.”
Sreedhar Pillai

Business news: Indian Hotels opens Gateway to better branding

Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), that runs Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, launched its third brand, The Gateway Hotel (upscale brand), on Thursday in addition to the already existing brands including Taj (luxury) and Ginger (economy). The group will be soon launching a fourth brand as well.

“We plan to have specific brand to cater to a different set of travellers. Some of the properties did not match up to the demand of the customers. Taj kept acquiring properties that were not matching what the Taj stands for and there was a need for positioning the brands in such a manner that the customers get maximum satisfaction,” said Ajoy K Misra, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Indian Hotels Company Ltd.

Under the Gateway brand, Taj group is aiming to have 50 hotels in the next three years. “We will be bringing 16 existing hotel properties under this brand, 10 new properties will be added soon, and 15 properties are under negotiation,” said Misra.

“The Gateway Hotel will be a new brand catering to the emerging set of contemporary travellers. Gateway is a part of the Taj Group’s strategy to have a large footprint across India,” said Raymond N Bickson, managing director, Indian Hotels Company Ltd.

Bickson said that the group is looking at scaling up the brand to a large number of hotels across India. The group is open to both owning and management model for the brand. The brand will be present in all business districts and leisure locations across India.

Currently, the group has about 1,300 rooms already under the Gateway brand, which it plans to double in the next three years. The average room rate of Gateway brand hotels will range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 depending upon the location.

The hotels that will be re-flagged under the Gateway brand are in cities like Agra, Bangalore, Calicut, Chikmagalur, Coonoor, Jaipur, Jaisalmer,Madurai, Mangalore, Nasik, Sasan Gir, Surat, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam. While the new locations looked at for the Gateway brand are Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jullunder, Mysore, Navi Mumbai, Raipur and Gondia.

On investment, Misra said, “Around Rs 40 lakh per room will be invested in the new Gateway hotel project, while investment in existing projects that are being refurbished is much less. The properties under this brand currently have around 100-200 rooms.

Source:financial express.com

Tamil Cinema: A different route for a Tamil film

I DIDN'T know anything about this movie when I went to see it except that it starred popular actors Prakash Raj and and Jayaram (a Malayalam film comedian).

So, it was a surprise to find 2½ hours passing by quickly. These veteran actors were not the main characters in the movie, however, they were five new youngsters.

Saroja is unlike most Tamil movies in that it's a kind of road movie with lots of action and suspense.

Four friends (Vaibhav, S.P. Charan, Premji and Shiva) decide to go on a long-distance trip — from Chennai to Hyderabad — to see a cricket game.
At some point in the journey, they are forced to take a shortcut that takes them through hell. They become involved in a kidnapping of a girl called Saroja (Vega) and have to use their wits to stay alive and also flee from criminals.

There is plenty of humor throughout the movie and, and the songs are mercifully kept to a minimum.

Director Venkat Prabhu's first directorial venture Pacecode Chennai 600028 (also about cricket) proved to be an unexpected hit.

While most scenes have been handled well, a few show up the director's inexperience. For example, the four face death at every turn, but for some strange reason, they don't arm themselves with the knives and guns they seize from the bad guys.

Some scenes look grainy, probably because many of them were filmed at night.

Running the goof-ups at the end of the film's credits seems out of place in an action movie.

Prakash Raj plays Saroja's father while Jayaram is the police officer assigned to rescue her.

Rather than the actors, it is the story (inspired by Hollywood's Judgement Night) and its treatment that is the winner here.

Saroja will satisfy moviegoers looking for a Tamil film with a difference

Simbu’s new heroine is Sarath Kumar's beautiful daughter Varalaxmi in Poda Podi

At the 55th Tiger Balm Filmfare Awards (South), on Saturday evening at the Nehru stadium, the cynosure of all eyes was Sarath Kumar and his beautiful daughter Varalaxmi looking gorgeous in a blue net sari with intricate zardosi work.

It looked like Sarath was officially launching her at Kollywood’s biggest bash, though they came just to attend the function. They got top billing and were invited on stage to present Priyamani with her award.

The grapevine was abuzz with rumours a few weeks ago that Varalaxmi Sarath Kumar was going to play Simbu’s heroine in his next film Poda Podi, a musical love story, to be shot in Toronto by a US-based NRI. Varalaxmi, Sarath’s daughter from his first marriage to Chaya, a designer and social worker, is beautiful, tall and attractive. She is also articulate, has style and élan to be a movie star, and is said to be a good dancer.

Varalaxmi or Varu as she is called at home has done her PhD in microbiology and has an MSc in management from the Edinburgh University in Scotland.

Speaking exclusively to CT, Varu says, “I always wanted to be an actress. I had done some stage shows and was also very impressed by Cats, the Broadway show. I even staged the show in Chennai for my friends and family. I think that must have impressed my dad, who agreed to launch me in movies.” Varu has done a six-month acting course from the prestigious Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares academy in Mumbai.

When contacted, Sarath Kumar says, “I believe any talent has to be encouraged. Like any father, I wanted her to complete her basic studies and then branch out into acting, which is her passion. Her stage show impressed me a lot. I know she has it in her to make it big in cinema. I will always be there as her guiding force to make her career a success.”

Tamil Latest Movie Subramanyapuram - a quick Review

Debutant director Sasi Kumar tries to present a different show through his much expected Subramanyapuram with the typical eighties backdrop. A former associate of Bala and Ameer, Sasi has come out with a fine watch worthy movie.

The film is the story of four youths growing up in Madurai locality and turn as killers due to unemployment and circumstances. Azhagar (Jai), Paramar (director Sasi Kumar), Kasi (Kanja Garuppu) and a handicapped young man in Subramanyapuram area. They do the odd jobs and working as sincere cadets of local politicians Somu and his brother (Samudrakani). Azhagar, the hero among the four, latter falls in love with the Somu's daughter Thulasi (Swathy). But his gang opposes the love and warns him many occasions.

Meanwhile the councilor's brother uses them to murder a party rival, promising they will be bailed out. Azhagar and Paramar committing the murder and surrender in the court. But nobody comes to bail them out. Later they realize that all are the planned conspiracy of the local politician. Now the gang turns into a revenge mood, which leads to a bloodshed second half.

The way of presentation beats the story but keep the viewers to stay in their seats. The art director and costume designer has worked hard to give that feel and look of the Madurai of the 80's. The camera work is excellent and it gives the feel of eighties in the first half, particularly in that theater scene.

The director is often using Illayaraja's golden hits and BGM in many scenes that give a different colour to the film. At the same time, we must appreciate music director James Vasant for coming out with some retro music.

The only drawback is that the film is too bloody and gory in the second half, particularly in the murder of Azhagar and Paramar's way of revenge for that (He just cut the throat of the villain in a running auto with a knife).

The actors are newcomers but contribute excellently throughout the film. Jai (Chennai-28 fame) as the romantic killer with the typical eighties costume has done a commendable job. The director comes in the role of Paramar also a welcome new face. The handicapped guy, Ganja Garuppu and Samudrakani are simply excellent. The new heroine Swathy is refreshing and her eyes speak a lot than her lips.

Sasi Kumar should be patted back for his hard work to recreate the magic of eighties on the screen with a sincere screenplay. No doubt, Subramanyapuram is a worthy film to list out top 20 Tamil films released in recent years.