TAMIL NEWS : UDHAYAM ON-LINE

After the record-breaking success of the audio of Endhiran expectations have have soared. Shankar is very confident that this will not only be the best film of his career, but also a landmark film in Indian cinema, a film that will stand shoulder to shoulder to any Hollywood thriller.

The science fiction theme does come with a fair amount of risk as this is relatively rare in Indian cinema but Shankar is confident that the fanatical followers of Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan will make audiences more receptive to a relatively new theme.

The film is particularly significant for Rajinikanth as this will be the last film in which he will portray a young character.

The film is officially India’s most expensive film to date and will have the most international releases of any film since the release of Spiderman. It will also be the first Indian film to release day-and-date in China. The film is also the first to reunite Oscar award winners A.R.Rahmaan and Resul Pookutty.

ENDHIRAN is scheduled for release on 24 September 2010. 

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Illaiya Thallabadhi Vijay turns 36 on June 22. Having acted as a child star under the direction of his father, S.A. Chandhrasegaran, in numerous films, Vijay made his debut as a lead actor at the age of 18 in the film Naallaiya Theerpu, directed by his father.

The film’s moderate success saw him co-star with Vijayakanth in his 2nd film (Sendhoora Paandi) and with Ajithkumar in his 5th film (Rajavin Paarvaiyile).

His first commercial blockbuster was Vikraman’s Poove Unakaage (1995). In 1997 he co-starred with the great Sivaji Ganesan in Once More, directed by his father and produced by veteran director C.V.Rajendran. Later that year he starred in his most critically acclaimed role in Faasil’s Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai for which he won the Tamil Nadu state award for best actor.

His 2000 release, Kushi was also a hit film, directed by S.J.Suryah and in 2001 he teamed up with Surya once again in the comedy entertainer Friends directed by Siddique.

After a period of moderate success, Vijay saw another megahit with Dharani’s Ghilli in which he co-starred with Trisha and Prakash Raj.

Another dry spell followed before he starred in Prabhu Deva’s Pokkiri, which was a resounding box-office success.

Vijay’s recent run at the box-office has been dismal with his last film, Sura - his 50th -  his worst performing film of recent times.  

His 51st film is Kaavalkaaran, which will be directed by Siddique, is a remake of the Malayalam superhit Bodyguard and is sure to re-establish Vijay’s sagging market. Also on the cards are films for N.Lingusamy, Jayam Raja and Seeman. What is notable about these films is that they are all directed by established directors and should promise success for Vijay at the box-office.

Vijay is married to Sangeedha and they have two children, Jason Sanjay and Divya Saasha. Sanjay appeared in a song sequence with his father in Vettaikaaran.

Vijay clearly has the potential to be an oustanding actor and evidence of this was to be seen in films like Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai and Kannukkull Nilavu. He seems to need the guidance of an experienced director and this would explain his poor acting performances of late.

It is my opinion that he has the potential to be a fabulous star. He has been blessed with good looks, charm, unbelievable grace and flexibility in dancing and equal dexterity in stunt sequences. He is also a talented singer and all this ought to spell commercial success at the box-office but Vijay’s poor choice of scripts, his undisguised attempt to imitate MGR and his unashamed histrionics for the camera result in making him look like a talentless, bumbling actor and this is really sad because he has what it takes to be a superstar.

My birthday wish then is for Vijay to continue with this new direction he has embarked on, by accepting projects for established directors. Leave the political aspirations aside for the time being and concentrate on reaffirming your place as one of Kodambakkam’s top stars….The rest will follow.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Rajinikanth is still the highest paid actor in India and the second highest paid in Asia (after Jackie Chan). He earns R50 million or Rs 300 million per film.

Kamalhassan is at second place with R42 million or Rs 250 million and Vijay is at position 3 with a salary of R16 million per film as well as the Chennai city rights - which is worth about R5 million.

The highest paid actress is Asin with R3,4 million or Rs 20 million. 

Oscar award winner A.R.Rahmaan leads the music composers with a fee of R5 million (Rs 30 million) per film.

The full list appears below:

ACTORS

Rajinikanth - R50 million (30 crores)

Kamalhassan - R42 million (25 crores)

Vijay -R21 million (10 crores + Chennai City rights worth approximately 3 crores)

Vikram - R12 million (7 crores)

Surya -R10 million (6 crores)

Simbhu - R8,3 million (5 crores)

Dhanush -R7 million (4 crores)

Jayam Ravi - R3,4 million (2 crores)

Vishal - R3,4 million (2 crores)

Aarya - R1,7 million (1 crore)

Vadivelu R100 000 per day (6 lakhs per day)

ACTRESSES

Asin - R3,4 million (2 crores)

Nayanthara - R1,7 million (1 crore)

Tamannah - R1,7 million (1 crore)

Anushka - R1,275 milllion (75 lakhs)

Trisha - R1,2 million (70 lakhs)

Shreya - R680 000 (40 lakhs)

MUSIC COMPOSERS

A.R.Rahmaan - R5 million (3 crores)

Harris Jayaraj - R2,7 million (1,6 crores)

Yuvanshanker Raja - R1,7 million (1 crore)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Vijay’s 50th film, SURAA, directed by S.P.Rajakumar releases on the big screen in South Africa this Friday 14 May 2010 at the Suncoast Cine Centre. Vijay, Tamannah and Vadivelu head the cast in a film that features hit songs by Mani Sharma. Watych the local press and this site for showtimes.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

PIC : AARYA & KUSHBU

Kushbu, Aarya and Shreya are among the Tamil stars who got a taste of Mother Nature flexing her muscles with the Ash Clouds over Europe. Kushbu had been holidaying with her two daughters in London while Aarya and Shreya were shooting in London for the film Chikku Bukku. Shreya was then scheduled to fly to Switzerland to shoot for a Telugu film, Dom Seenu with Ravi Theja but when her flight was cancelled, Shreya was forced to make a 10-hour journey by road.

Many Kodambakkam stars who had planned holiday trips to the Uk and other parts of Western Europe have postponed their holidays because of the huge delays in flights because of the ash clouds.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The crazy comedy spoof, Quick Gun Murugan (in Tamil & English) is currently being screened at the Suncoast Entertainment Complex and Gateway, Umhlanga in Durban. The film stars Rajendra Prasad, Naaser, Rumba, Raju Sundharam (brother of Prabhu Deva) and Shanmuga Raja.

Check the daily newspapers for showtimes.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Sharing a birthday with Chiyaan Vikram today (April 17) is Mutiah Muralitharan (pronounced MOO-THAY-YAA MURA LEE DHA RIN) 

Muralitharan, the bowler for the Sri Lankan national team and IPL’s Chennai Super Kings is a great fan of Rajinikanth. He has seen the Superstar’s Sivaji more than 50 times. His other favourite Tamil film is Kamalhassan’s Naayagan.

Murali married a Chennai girl, Madhimalar Ramamurthy, and has been a fan of Tamil films even before meeting his wife. He loves to watch Tamil films whenever he can.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

April 17 marks the 44th birthday of Vikram John Kennedy Vinod, known to his fans as Vikram and to his friends as Kenny. Unlike many other actors in Kodambakkam, Vikram’s road to success was a painful and arduous one but his perseverance, determination and professionalism has led him to the exalted position he now holds in Kodambakkam.

Introduced to Kodambakkam by one of Tamil cinema’s greatest directors, Shridhar, Vikram spent his earlier days in cinema as a dubbing artist following a dearth of offers. It was Bala’s Sethu that brought him back into the limelight and also won him first first Filmfare award for Best actor. He was to win the award again for Pithamagan and Anniyan.

Vikram has just completed work on Manirathinam’s Raavan and has dubbed for both, the Tamil and Hindi versions. He has also turned producer in a forthcoming film that is to be directed by Sasikumar (Subramaniyapuram).

Vikram is spending his holiday with his family in Wynad, a picturesque hill station in Kerala.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A whisper from the rumour mongers.

Sruthi Hassan could soon be co-starring with either Al Pacino or Robert De Niro in a forthcoming Hollywood film titled Jewel of India. The film is to be directed by Rob Cohen, the director of films like The Fast and The Furious, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story; XXX2 and Stealth.

Watch this space for further details.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Warm wishes for a blessed, peacheful, prosperous and successful New Year. May the glory of Tamil, the world’s oldest living language, forever illuminate our path.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites