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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

How Rajini spends time at hospital?

Cinemimi[Wednesday, May 18, 2011]
Superstar Rajinikanth, who was admitted to the Sri Ramachandra Hospital at Porur for recurrent respiratory infection and gastro-intestinal problems, is stable and is spending time with his family members, doctors said.

A release from the hospital on Tuesday said the actor was being treated for respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. “His vital parameters are stable. He is spending his time with family members,” the bulletin said.

The top actor, according to the statement, has undergone relevant investigations and is receiving appropriate and comprehensive treatment by a team of doctors. His vital parameters are stable.

The hospital has however restricted visitors from meeting the Superstar who is in a private ward. He was admitted to Sri Ramachandra Hospital on May 13 for detailed investigations - the third time in just over three weeks.

Divya Spandana heading for the wedding aisle?

Cinemimi May 18, 2011
Divya Spandana was spotted with a foreigner at the IPL cricket match recently, setting the tongues in the tinsel town wagging. There is also a talk going on that Divya is likely to marry this foreigner and their wedding will take place later this year.

Sources close to Divya say that the foreigner is Robert Ruperrcht, who is into export business in Switzerland. The actress has neither confirmed nor denied her relationship with Robert till now.

Divya, a Kannada actress, has also acted in several Tamil films including Vaaranam Aayiram, Kuthu and Singam Puli.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Ajith’s new look in ‘Billa 2’

Cinemimi [Monday, May 16, 2011]
If it is ‘salt & pepper’ look in ‘Mankatha’, the Thala is going for a young and energetic look in ‘Billa 2’, which will go on floors by the end of June or by the beginning of July this year.

“I am fast completing the shooting of Mankatha. Because Ajith has to hit the gym for Billa 2, for he has decided to reduce weight to get a fresh look,” says Venkat Prabhu, the director of Ajith’s 50th film.

Directed by Chakri Toleti of ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’ fame, ‘Billa 2’ will be a prequel to ‘Billa’, Ajith’s 2007 hit inspired by a blockbuster of the same title starring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role.

Says Ajith, “I am eagerly looking forward to do Billa 2. It is an energetic team and the script is so powerful and interesting as well. Both Mankatha and Billa 2 will be important movies in my career.”

Deiva Thirumagal Vs Velayudham Vs Saguni

Cinemimi May 16, 2011
Of course, these films are on different stages of production and there is no way they would clash up for box office combat. But this is all about the teasers that become the public glare for spectators. Usually, the makers of a film would opt for special occasions like festivals to unveil the teasers of their films in satellite channels.

But the results of Tamil Nadu State Government Elections became the best option for the producers. The first look teasers of ‘Velayudham’ were relentlessly aired on Jaya TV while new trailer of Chiyaan Vikram’s ‘Deiva Thirumagal’ followed up in other satellite channels. The montage-teaser of ‘Saguni’ starring Karthi in lead role was aired as well.

'Ko' and its king-size victory

Cinemimi [Sunday, May 16, 2011]
Two types of success stories are there in Tamil cinema. One is scripting history, and the other, rewriting it. 'Ko' fits well into both these categories, and we are not saying this without reasons.
The Jiiva-starrer directed by K V Anand penned a history of its own by shattering all box-office records in the very first weekend of its release. And it fulfills the second criteria by rewriting age old formulae of commercial cinema. In other words, the film is very much within the commercial format, but at the same time it is different too.
When we asked a film pundit to comment on 'Ko' and its success, he said, "At a time when directors prefer to handle the story, screenplay and dialogue departments too, Anand was clear that his job was to wield the megaphone alone. He had a solid backup on this front in the form of Subha, who are established writers. They came up with a superb script which was executed well by Anand."
He added: "Though he is a popular cinematographer, Anand stayed away from this task too. He asked one of his former assistants (Richard Nathan) to take care of photography and gave his entire attention only on directing the film. And the result was there on screen."
The movie's most important asset, needless to say, is Harris Jayaraj's music. Knowing well the pulse of the audience and the needs of the script, the music composer came up with sizzling songs and scintillating background score, which helped a lot to the success.
If the above things are the hidden strengths of 'Ko', the visible one was the performance of artistes. Most media persons who had watched the film were perhaps ready to accept Jiiva as their colleague, as the actor played beautifully the role of a press photographer.
And from Karthika, Piaa, Ajmal and Prakashraj to those who had appeared in one or two scenes (the woman who played the mother of an innocent school going girl could be a good example) provided enough support to the film.
Last but not the least, Anand himself was a press photographer years ago. For obvious reasons, this crucial factor could have provided him more interest on 'Ko', besides enabling him to hold a firm grip while picturising the script.
All these things, coupled with the support from the media, has made the film produced by R S Infotainment and distributed by Red Giant Movies, a landmark movie of 2011.
A good picture is equal to a thousand words, they say. 'Ko' is just that.

Kushboo resigns

Cinemimi May 16, 2011
The President of the Chinna Thirai Artistes Association, Kushboo resigned from her post. She gave her resignation to the Association members and thanked them for extending their support during her tenure. Kushboo had cited her busy shooting schedules to be the reason for her resignation.

However, sources in the industry say that Kushboo resigned from the post following the landslide victory of the AIADMK. She joined the DMK just last year. Before joining the DMK, she was hosting a popular television game show telecasted by the Jaya TV, which is considered to be a mouthpiece of the AIADMK.

Sneha launches Nisha

Cinemimi May 16, 2011
‘Smiling beauty’ Sneha launched the Malaysian fairness cream NISHA at a function held at the Savera Hotel on May 15th, 2011. Nisha is a popular brand in Malaysia and is made entirely of herbs.

During the launch Sneha said, “I’m happy to launch the herbal-based NISHA beauty products in Chennai. The manufacturers proved that NISHA products are safe and 100 percent as promised. Also they used these products for their family members also. After I saw the outlook of the product’s inventor Nisha, I started to believe the brand. She is looking so young and energetic, even after many years of her marriage. In fact she has a grown daughter. I’m so glad in releasing these beauty products.”

The six products pack was launched i.e., a fairness cream, night cream, moisturizer cream, sunblock SPF 30, herbal soap and collagen soap at an introductory offer of Rs 4100 per pack.

SAC elected as Producers Council chief

Cinemimi [Sunday, May 15, 2011]
The change of government in Tamil Nadu is changing equations in Tamil cinema. A day after Rama Narayanan resigned from the post of Tamil Film Producers Council president, S A Chandrasekar was on Saturday night elected as the new chief of the all powerful body of Kollywood.

According to a press release from the Producers Council, a decision in this regard was taken by the members after an emergency meeting. The new president was later greeted by other office-bearers of the associaton.

On Friday, after trends clearly indicated that AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa is all set to take over the mantle of Tamil Nadu, S A Chandrasekar and his son Vijay called on her and conveyed their wishes.

During the April 13 Assembly elections, Vijay’s Makkal Iyakkam worked for the success of the AIADMK alliance and Chandrasekar campaigned for the front. He also met Jayalalithaa in person and offered support.

Rajini hospitalised, discharged

Cinemimi [Sunday, May 15, 2011]
Even as rumours were doing rounds about the health condition of Rajinikanth, the Superstar was on Saturday once again admitted to a hospital in Chennai. “However there is nothing to worry about his health,” said his family sources.

“It was a regular check-up since doctors have advised him rest. He was discharged later in the evening. He is keeping fine and will take part in the shoot of Rana after complete rest,” they said.

Since the last couple of weeks, the Superstar’s health has become a cause of concern for his fans. He was first hospitalised on the first day of the shoot of Rana and was discharged on the same day.

He was admitted to the same hospital at Mylapore after a week and spent nearly six days there. And on Saturday, he was treated at a hospital in Porur on the outskirts of Chennai.

Fast and Furious 5 on a fast track

May 14, 2011 {Cinemimi}
Fast and Furious 5’ or ‘Fast Five’, the action packed latest Hollywood thriller which marked the first movie to be screened at the newly built ‘Liberty Lite’ is to continue its showing for the coming few weeks.
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Elsa Pataky, Joaquim de Almeida and Dwayne Johnson joined in the cast in the film directed by Justin Lin.


Former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favourites Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race.

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom.

As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey…before someone else runs them down first.

‘Liberty Lite’, a new light to Lankan cinema

By Susitha R. Fernando

Making another good news for the cinemagoers specially those love latest Hollywood cinema country’s latest state-of-art movie theatre, ‘Liberty- Lite’ at Colombo 3 was opened last week.

With the latest worldwide concept of limited seat cinema, Liberty Lite offers a theater with latest DTS digital and Dolby SR sound with JBL speakers and QSC amplifiers and wide screen with 130 spacious seating capacity.

“We realized that there is not enough theatres for the amount of Hollywood movies released worldwide annually and there is a demand among the moviegoers in Sri Lanka to watch latest movies in the big screen,” said Anura Jasenthuliana, proprietor of Movie Works Pvt Limited who initiated the idea of a new cinema hall.

“Liberty Lite will be a English based theatre where mostly Hollywood movies will be screened,” the Technical partner of Movie Works, Palitha Perera told the TV Times.

Even though the cinema hall is comparatively smaller to some of the big theatres in Colombo which have connection to colonial times and have more than 300 seating capacities, the experience of film watching at ‘Lite’ would not be different to any of them. With its seating arrangement with 12-in a row and different elevations making every patron a completely clear view of the screen and superb sound system, ‘Lite’ is sure to provide a rare movie experience.

Opened on Friday, May 13, the cinema will daily four screenings at 10.30 am. 1.30 pm, 4.15 pm and 7 pm and the patrons can book tickets in advance by logging on to www.tickets.lk.

Mass Film makes young talents shine in short films

Ten young filmmakers, students of Mass Film Institute released their maiden cinematic production after one year’s training they had received on cinema.

The ten short films; ‘Manasu’ by Rosina, ‘Manitham’ by Poo Karthik, ‘Vithi” by Ithyakkumar, ‘Ilakku’ by Mayuran, ‘Leg’ by Deva, ‘Seruppu’ by Jesmeer, ‘Shiva’by Arul, ‘Good Selection’ by Anton Bothindan, ‘Azaippu’by Shatheesraj, ‘Stop’ by Prashanth were highly appreciated by the audience which included National Film Corporation Chairman, Kumar Abeysinghe, well-known poet Memon Kavi.

The films which were acted by students and their lecturers were screened recently at the NFC theatre, Colombo. Established by Nilapiryan Thowfeek, Mass Film Institute, a private film institute had trained the aspiring filmmakers on various technical skills in cinema over a period of one year.

Manipulavar Maruthur A Majeed one of the invitees addressing the gathering
said that there is no significant difference between Indian cinema and Sri Lankan cinema. However, Indian cinema has been successful commercially. Sri Lankan cinema industry has to overcome many hurdles to be successful. In this respect, the foundation stone laid by Mass Film Institute through which these films are produced is a testimony to compete with India in future.

“While setting up a private cinema Institute single handedly in Sri Lanka for the first time, Nilapiriyan has made a big contribution to the future of Sri Lankan cinema,” poet, Memon Kavi said. The NFC chairman, Kumar Abeysinghe, the chief guest of the event noted the talents and the hard work put by the amateur filmmakers.

“These films illustrate humanity and the students have conveyed the concept accurately within the specified time. Their hard work is not wasted. We should be thankful to the administrator and the Mass Film Institute which has groomed these students,” Mr. Abeysinghe said.

Former parliamentarian, V. Puththirasigamani addressing the gathering noted that the young filmmakers have huge potential and they have captured the art of short film. “The short films were brief and tight. We can easily relate a story within two hours. It is far more difficult to narrate the story within two minutes. However, these students have handled the technique and the dialogue magnificently” he added. The music direction for the ten short films were done by Kalmunai Shiva.

‘14’ cinema journal out

‘14’, a new quarterly cinema journal in Sinhala, under the theme of ‘a Space for Expression’ was launched recently. The first issue was presented to country’s pioneer filmmaker Dr. Lester James Peries, who has defended the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka on a number of occasions specially when there were various censorships introduced on cinema on his 92nd birthday.

Looking back at the censorship, judiciary process and the judgment of the film “Purahanda Kaluwara...” ten years ago and analyzing the situation on censorship world around today, the first issue of 14, focuses on the State, censorship and art. Wijayananda Rupasinghe, Deepthi Kumara Gunaratne, Sunil Wijesiriwardena, M. D. Mahindapala, Sunila Abeysekara, Priyan Wijebandara and Amila Galapptty has contributed to the first issue. Articles vary from international cinema to young short filmmakers in Sri Lanka.

The international festival report is on Berlin Film Festival 2011 and imprisoned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi. Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage talks about the role of the censors and past present and future of Sri Lankan cinema. Boodie Keerthisena talks about David Lynch who influenced him, film review is on Asoka Handagama’s film ‘Vidu’, translations useful for students who are learning cinema and other arts are included in the journal. “In addition 14 attempts to develop a glossary of terms use in cinema as well,” said its editor Anoma Rajakaruna.

‘14’ is an Agenda 14 publication edited by Anoma Rajakaruna. Anoma, the first Sri Lankan woman to edit a film journal edited “Chithrapata” a quarterly film Journal of National Film Corporation (2005- 2006) is a documentary filmmaker and a photographer who has won several international awards and has also served as a juror at several International film festivals in Asia, Africa and Europe during the last 15 years.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Zarine Khan is Vikram’s heroine

May 14, 2011 {Cinemimi}
Vikram had signed up for a movie with debutant director, Kannan who has made a name for himself as a special effects whiz. The film is going to be a visual extravaganza and will be called Karikalan. The two of them searched high and low for a suitable leading lady and finally zeroed in on Zarine Khan.

Zarine made her debut in Salman Khan’s Veer and played a Princess in the movie. This will be her first foray into Tamil cinema. Actor Pasupathy also has an important role in Karikalan. The music will be composed by Harris Jayaraj. Karthik, will be the cinematographer and the film is to be produced by Silver Line Film Factory.

An upbeat Vijay promotes Velayudham

May 14, 2011 Cinemimi
Promos of Vijay’s upcoming film, Velayudham were aired on Jaya TV even as Jayalalitha registered a thumping win against her political opponents. The timing was perfect as all eyes were glued to the TV watching the election drama unfold.

The trailer opens to the foot-stomping beats of the title track, and shows a fully charged Vijay kicking booty big time. The three heroines – Genelia, Hansika, and Saranya Mohan were also shown in glimpses and sweetened the viewing experience considerably. Looks like one pataka of a film

 
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