Saturday, July 23, 2011

Vanthaan Ventraan Music Review


A former associate to Mani Ratnam, Kannan should obviously have an ear for music. And it was visible (or should we say audible) in his first two ventures- 'Jayamkondan' and 'Kanden Kadhalai'.

The director does a hat-trick in 'Vanthaan Ventraan', this time in the company of young music composer Thaman. Produced by K S Srinivasan of Vasan Visual Ventures, the film has Jiiva and Taapsee essaying lead roles.

There are six songs in this album and Thaman has presented what youngsters would like. As a result, the songs started to conquer our hearts the moment they arrived, aptly resembling the title 'Vanthaan Ventraan'.

1. Anjana Anjana - Listen here

Singer: Alap Raju

We already have an 'Anjana Anjana...' in 'Aadhavan'. But this one is different, thanks to Thaman's composition and Alap Raju's rendering. A romantic number with a mesmerizing voice and chorus, 'Anjana Anjana...' does leave an impact in the very first listen itself.

2. Kanchana Mala - Listen here

Singers: Karthik, Priya Hemesh

The first two words remind us some old classics. And the remaining was a perfect mix of modernity with tradition. Thaman's work comes with a Keralite touch and it takes us straight to the 'God's own country'. Kudos to Karthik and Priya Hemesh for a wonderful job.

3. Anjo - Listen here

Singer: Devan

Devan is back with a cheerful number, lyrics for which have been penned by 'Kaviperarasu' Vairamuthu's son Karky. A refreshing number, it raises an expectation as to how it would be shot by Kannan on the lead pair- Jiiva and Taapsee.

4. Thirandhen Thirandhen - Listen here

Singers: Alap Raju, Shreya Ghoshal

Thaman takes a melodious route to go into the hearts of the listeners. Alap Raju is here again to make an impact and giving him good company is Shreya Ghoshal. Some good music awaits you in 'Thirandhen Thirandhen...'

5. Nagarudhe Nagarudhe - Listen here

Singer: Thaman

There is an allegation that music composers would reserve the best tunes for themselves to sing. Thaman proves this in 'Nagarudhe...Nagarudhe...', which moves on a mild note, in a soft and suave manner. Thumbs up to Thaman and lyricist Na Muthukumar.

6. Mudivilla Mazhaiodu - Listen here

Singer: Hariharan

A complex tune, 'Mudivilla Mazhaiodu...' has Hariharan at work. The master-singer makes us realize why he is called so, as he croons for this number with utmost ease and energy. Thaman does justice for Hariharan for giving him a number like this.

To sum it up, 'Vandhaan Vendraan' is an album which has got all the ingredients to attract the young.

Rowthiram Preview

'Rowthiram Pazhagu' is a popular line from Mahakavi Bharathi, who urged youngsters of those days to practice anger. And revolutionists say anger not just stops bad things, but also make good things to happen.

Apparently inspired by these thoughts, debutant director Gokul has made 'Rowthiram', with Jiiva and Shriya Saran playing the lead roles. After a long gap, this Jiiva-starrer is produced by his home banner Super Good Films, led by his father and ace producer R B Choudary.

If sources are to be believed, 'Rowthiram' features Jiiva in the role of an angry youngster, who questions the system and the uncovered holes in it. Shriya is his supportive lover who also happens to be a law student.

Says Jiiva, whose career graph has touched new heights post the success of 'Ko', "The important reason behind many atrocities in the society is lack of anger among public. People become mute spectators for violent incidents. The film tries to find a solution to it."

'Rowthiram' will be Shriya's Tamil release after a long gap. Sources say her role in the film is so crucial that it comes with suspense. "It will be an important movie in Shriya's career. She is eagerly looking forward for the release," they say.

Cinematography for 'Rowthiram' is by Shanmugasundaram and music is by newcomer Prakash Nikki. Prakashraj and Jayaprakash are playing pivotal roles in this film, which is to be released worldwide by Telesat Media Matrix Pvt Ltd.

"It is has been interesting shooting for the movie. I won't call it a different movie, but it is indeed interesting. It is being made by our home banner and I am happy the way it has shaped up," Jiiva says further. Popular Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya plays an important role in 'Rowthiram'.

Super Good Films has introduced more than 50 filmmakers to Tamil cinema and Gokul is the latest addition. The young director says, "As the title suggests, the movie is about an angry youth, who fights evils in the society."

"Jiiva is a great performer and he is a director's actor. He was ready to go to any extent to get his act right. I am very happy to make my debut with Super Good Films that too with Jiiva in the lead role," concludes Gokul.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Deiva Thirumagal - An emotional roller-coaster ride

Well, all Chiyaan Vikram fans are anticipating as to when their idol's 'Deiva Thirumagal' will hit theatres. Directed by AL Vijay the film sees Vikram in a never-seen-before role as that of a mentally challenged man with the IQ of a five-year-old.

The film has stellar performances by Anushka Shetty, who the audience will get to know in a totally different avatar sans the grease paint; as well as Amala Paul, who is believed to have carried a very tough role with �lan.

M.S. Bhaskar and Santhanam will provide the much-needed comedy element in this emotional drama.

'Deiva Thirumagal' deals with how a mentally challenged man undergoes an emotional battle with his child and a wife who do not want him. Vikram, for the versatile actor that he is, is reported to have delivered a great performance in this film. Touted to touch the emotions of any movie-goer, this film promises to be yet another milestone in Vikram's portfolio.

Reliable sources have revealed that this film will see a good dose of scenes from the Chennai High Court.

Though sources close to the film have rubbed off rumours that the film has some similarity to the Hollywood produce 'I Am Sam', there are now partially confirmed reports doing the rounds that it will be hard to miss the similarity between the two films.

The music for 'Deiva Thirumagal' is by G.V. Prakash. The film's music has won quite a lot of thumbs ups and is still continuing to do so. As we had earlier reported, the last ten minutes of the movie has a symphony by G.V. Prakash, which many are positive, will win him critical fame. Looks like this film will add yet another feather to GV's cap!

Packed with these interesting highlights 'Deiva Thirumagal' which will release across theatres in the state on July, will sure be one interesting film to enjoy for all those die-hard film buffs, who have been responsible for the success of good films in Tamil.

Mankatha - The game is on!

There is a lot of anticipation, there are a host of stars, then there is 'Thala' and this will be his 50th innings in Tamil!

Venkat Prabhu's 'Mankatha' has raised expectations by leaps and bounds among Ajith fans and film buffs. The film sees Ajith in a first-time ever full-fledged negative character, suggest reports closely associated with the film. Trisha will play female lead with Arjun chipping in as a CBI officer.

Andrea Jeremiah, Lakshmi Rai, Premji Amaran, Vaibhav, and Anjali will be seen essaying important roles. Even the smallest incident from the sets of 'Mankatha' has garnered a lot of media attention and we have updated you regarding many interesting aspects which took place on-location as well as while the shooting was going on.

A single from the music album 'Vilayadu Mankatha...' which released on the eve of Thala's birthday was lapped up by Ajith and Yuvan fans alike and is topping music charts. Now the team has confirmed that the rest of the songs, nine tracks on the whole, will see a grand release on July 18!

The fans expectations are mounting, and with Yuvan scoring the music we can expect some chartbusting numbers on its way.

Ajith committed himself for a rigorous 90-day shooting schedule. The actor has done a lot of hard work for this film which is evident from the way some scenes have shaped up. The racer has also performed some hair-raising car chases without using a body-double (do you remember the 360 degree rotation he did on a Swift?).

Another aspect that has received a lot of attention is the look that 'Thala' will sport in this film. The actor has decided to have a natural hairdo sans any colour-the salt and pepper look which Ajith will be seen sporting in 'Mankatha' will urge many men to shun hair colour, reveals the director of the film.

The film has been shot extensively from Chennai, Mumbai (particularly Dharavi), Hyderabad, Bangkok, and Macau. Ajith wrapped up his final day shooting from Hyderabad.

Even before the release of 'Mankatha' there are some rumours doing the rounds that some producers are eager for a Hindi remake, though nothing regarding this has been confirmed yet.

The film which deals with the gambling game will have the IPL matches as the backdrop and is expected to hit theatres around the Independence Day weekend.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Velayudham Preview


Velayudham - A superhero's journey

Superhero projects are very rare in Tamil cinema, but things seem to be changing with Ilaya Thalapathi Vijay's 'Velayudham' and Jeeva's project with Mysskin, 'Mugamoodi' in the pipeline.

Ilaya Thalapathi's 'Velayudham' is set for a August release and the action packed thriller is one of those movies, where the common man is forced to take responsibilities and whack the goons up, for the common good.

Ilaya Thalapathi Vijay, who plays Vetrivel in this movie, leads a life of peace in a village, with his widowed mother and a younger sister, Kaveri played by Saranya Mohan. Hansika Motwani plays his morai ponnu in the film and she is smitten by him, overprotective of Vijay and has also tried her hands at some comedy through this film!

Everything is fine and for his sister to enter wedlock, he needs to withdraw the money he has invested in a chit-fund company, for which he comes to Chennai, where he meets a TV journalist, Deepa, played by Genelia D' Souza.

There's a scene where Genelia is harassed by goons, following which, there's an accident where many of city rowdies lose their lives. During which, Genelia creates her own fictional character, a superhero, 'Velayudham' and utilizes her journalist image and claims that it was this superhero that killed the goons!

Incidentally, Vijay escapes a bomb blast by luck, and since he is the only one to escape the blast, people begin to refer to him as the superhero, 'Velayudham'! Genelia later meets Vijay and confides in him, her little secret and requests him to continue to convince people that he is a superhero, to which Vijay refuses downright.

However, due to circumstances, when he and many others are cheated by the chit-fund company, he dons the role of this superhero, Velayudham, and avenges the villains and tries to put an end to corruption in the society.

What follows next as a racy thriller screenplay is the plot of 'Velayudham.'



Thursday, June 23, 2011

Karthi's 'Naan Mahaan Alla' in Telugu

Tamil actor Karthi's movie 'Naan Mahaan Alla' is all set to release in Telugu as 'Naa Peru Shiva'. Kajal Agarwal is the heroine in this movie.

'Naan Mahaan Alla' released last year in Tamil and earned good box office collections there. This flick will release in Telugu in the first week of July.

Karthi will launch the Telugu audio of this movie in Hyderabad this weekend. Yuvan Shankar Raja is the music director and Suseenthiran is the director of this film.

Karthi is getting married in the first week of July and 'Naa Peru Shiva' is releasing the same week in Andhra Pradesh.

Karthi-Anushka in Suraj's next

Even as busy gearing up for his marriage (July 3) at one side, Karthi Sivakumar is on a signing spree on the other. The actor, who is currently busy shooting for 'Saguni', has given consent to be part of a film directed by Suraj.

If sources are to be believed, the full-length commercial entertainer, which will be quite typical to Suraj's style, will have Anushka as the leading lady. "The shooting will start once Karthi completes his portions in Saguni."

"Karthi and Anushka were about to share the screen space in Siruthai itself, but it did not take place as the actress found it difficult to allot dates at that time," sources say. Interestingly, Siruthai's original version 'Vikramarkudu' had Anushka as heroine.

Meanwhile, talking about marriage, Karthi said in a recent interview, "I don't think marriage will change much. More than change, marriage will make me a bit more responsible. I think when you're a bachelor, taking risks doesn't matter much but after marriage, I think I would be taking less risks."