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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.'

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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."

Read more »

Vijay's 'golden' gift

'Ilaya Thalapathi' Vijay celebrated a meaningful birthday on Wednesday, by not just personally taking part in welfare activities, but also by ensuring that members of his fan clubs all over Tamil Nadu followed the suit.

As soon as the day dawned, Vijay, accompanied by wife Sangeetha and children, sought blessings from his parents S A Chandrasekaran and Shobha. Later, he accepted wishes from fans who had thronged in large numbers to greet him.

This was followed by the actor's visit to the Egmore children's hospital, where he gifted new-born babies with gold rings. He also took part in a couple of other welfare activities, organised by the members of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam.

In other parts of the State, fans of Vijay celebrated the actor's birthday by reaching out to people through various social service programmes. They organised special pujas at temples, breakfast for students and blood donation camps. Also, saplings were distributed to people and uniforms, notebooks, pens were given to students.

Read more »

Deiva Thirumagal this July 15?

Chiyaan Vikram's 'Deiva Thirumagal' that is directed by Vijay and marketed by UTV is making a buzz already as it is said to take one on an emotional roller-coaster ride.The film sees Vikram as a victim of autism with the mental ability of five, undergoing an emotional tug of war with a child and wife who are not able to accept him for who he is. Amala Paul plays his wife, whereas Anushka Shetty will appear in her first ever de-glam role in Tamil through this movie, she plays a lawyer who tries to help Vikram.The music had been tuned in by GV Prakash and as we had earlier mentioned the team will be giving us the climax in a different way, it will be of orchestra (musical with no dialogues), something toyed with by ace music composers in the past for few sections in movies, remember the musical bit in 'Hey Ram'?

Now the Kollywood grapevine is abuzz that this film that is undergoing its post-production stage now will hit the screens on July 15, and will meet the censor board on June 27.

Santhanam who is now ruling the roost as a comedian in K'town will play a pivotal role in this film.

We'll get back to you shortly once the movie receives its certificate from the censor board and an official announcement is made on the release date.

Read more »

Kadhal 2 Kalyanam Preview

Not just sons of celebrities, brothers too could try their luck in Tamil cinema. In �Kadhal 2 Kalyanam�, we have Arya�s younger brother Sathya making his acting debut, with Divya Spandana playing the heroine.

The film, jointly produced by Mirchi Movies and East Coast Entertainment, is directed by newcomer Milind. Music is by Yuvan Shankar Raja, while dialogues by Baradwaj Rangan, a national award winning film critic

Giving details about the film, the director says, �The film approaches love from a new angle. Sathya is playing a radio jockey and Yuvan�s music is one of the highlights. The surprise element will be a cameo by Arya.�

On selecting Sathya for the lead role, the director says, �I was in search for exactly a person like Sathya when I met him. Fulfilling my expectations, he has performed very well.�

Sathya, after being assigned for the role, had visited Bollywood actor Anupam Kher�s acting school in Mumbai to �hone his acting skills�, before starting to shoot, besides sitting with and observing professional radio jockeys at a radio station.

He says: �Though my brother is my inspiration, I would like to make a mark of my own. Thanks to Milind, �Kadhal 2 Kalyanam� has shaped up well and I sincerely hope the film would make an impact in the box office.�

Since a large part of the film would take place at a radio station, art director Rajeevan errected a radio jockey booth in Chennai. The film notably became the first movie after 40 years to be shot at all the six most important shrines of Lord Muruga, the Arupadaiveedu

�I guess we did it after Aandavan Kattalai and Kandhan Karunai,� says Milind, adding: �All the six temple towns are different from each other and it was a refreshing experience to shoot the film there.�

The album features six songs overall, with Yuvan Shankar Raja himself, who stated on Twitter that the songs would be �young and fresh�. �Heard K2K songs. The songs are up to date and superb,� he said.

Milind is a former assistant of Mani Ratnam. With his mentor being an expert at making love stories, let�s hope the student repeats the magic.

Read more »

Avan Ivan Movie Review

First things first. �Avan Ivan� is no serious kind of a Bala film. It is like a marriage between commercial cinema with the signature style of Bala. The ace filmmaker has woven the script in such a way that there are no dull moments and the wafer-thin storyline does proceed without any lag.

All the characters blend well and there is a touch of realism in each of them even though Bala has opted for some commercial clich�s here and there in the film. The national award winning director has played to the gallery at most places, with Vishal and Arya getting due space on screen to woo the audience with their acting skills.

But quite like other Bala movies, there are enough scope for other characters too that have a bearing on the script.

If the first half is more like a cat and mouse game between siblings (Arya and Vishal), the latter part ensures that the two join hands for a cause. They embark on a journey to take revenge, reminding you �Pithamagan�.

Due credits should be given to Bala for breaking grammars of Tamil cinema. The heroes are not smart-looking fellows, the mother of the lead roles are not dotting, romance comes without duets and there are no punchlines to mouth. On the whole, the film has no structured pattern of narration.

Kumbidaren Saamy (Arya) is a petty thief and his half-brother Walter Vanangamudi (Vishal) is an aspiring drama artiste. They both live life their own way. Their father (Ananth Vaidyanthan) is caught between his two wives.

There is an old time King who lost all his wealth but commands respect in the village. Called affectionately as His Highness (G M Kumar), he showers love on Saamy and Walter.

Both Saamy and Walter do anything for His Highness. As events unfold, Walter and Saamy fall in love with a police constable Baby (Janani Iyer) and a college girl Thenmozhi (Madhu Shalini) respectively which lead to hilarious situations.

Enters a cattle smuggler (RK). He transports animals illegally to Kerala. His Highness comes across his business and ensures he gets punished. But the latter swears revenge on Highness which leads to a riveting climax featuring Saamy and Walter.

It's a totally new Vishal in the film. As a squint-eyed youth, his dialogue delivery and body language is outstanding. The actor is at his best from the very first reel. He carries the whole burden well in his shoulders. The highlight of Vishal�s performance is a scene where he pours out Navarasa emotions on stage. Wonder where this actor in him was hiding all these days.

Arya plays second fiddle to him. He is cool, casual and is at utmost ease. He carries his role with utmost sincerity. His comic acts don't fail to make us laugh. Suriya's cameo, Ambika's bold performance and the presence of two leading ladies, Janani Iyer and Madhu Shalini, adds strength to the script. RK as the baddie is a perfect foil.

The real scene stealer is G M Kumar. The veteran plays a disappointed but fun-loving old man. He emotes well on screen and deserves applause for playing such a tricky role with consummate ease.

Arya's encounters with Madhu Shalini especially the dialogues where he urges her to drop her money in the temple, Vishal's encounter with Janani Iyer in the police station or the scenes involving Ambika swearing on his sons, all have the signature style of Bala.

Arthur A Wilson's lens captures landscapes of Theni well, while crisp editing by Suresh Urs peps up the proceedings. Watch out for Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score that reminds his dad Ilayaraja in his prime form.

All said, �Avan Ivan� is not a typical Bala film, and it has its own dull moments, courtesy clich�d scenes and dragging second half. But it also has many ingredients to entertain the masses. The producers (AGS Entertainment) and the director deserve credit for such an unusual attempt.

Read more »

What's 'Velayudham' all about?

With Vijay's 'Velayudham' gearing up for a release shortly (August), we bring to you a gist of the story and who plays what in this action-packed thriller.

Ilayathalapathy Vijay, who plays Vetrivel in this movie, lives with his mum and a younger sister, Kaveri, played by Saranya Mohan. He is truly in love with Hansika, who plays a village damsel for the first time in Tamil cinema through this movie, and returns his love more than anything else. She has also tried her hands at some comedy through this film and is protective about Vijay in the film, sources say.

For his sister's wedding he wants to withdraw the money he has invested in a chit-fund company and comes to Chennai for that, where he meets a TV news journalist, Deepa, played by Genelia D' Souza.

After witnessing a mysterious accident where goons die, Genelia brings in a fictional character to light with the name 'Velayudham' claiming he killed the goons. Incidentally, Vijay escapes a bomb blast with no effort, by luck, and people begin to refer to him as the superhero, 'Velayudham'!

Genelia later meets Vijay and convinces our matinee idol to don the role of this superhero, to which he agrees as he realizes he and many others are cheated by the chit fund company...

So the rest of the plot follows of how Vijay under the mask of a superhero, Velayudham, avenges his loss, fights against corruption in the city and baddies.

Read more »

Ileana, the businesswoman

When others in the crew were taking rest or busy with their pastime during the shooting breaks of 'Nanban' in Coimbatore, Ileana was occupied with something else, and we have details about it.

The actress, who opened a designer wear store in Hyderbad earlier in the year, was busy visiting wholesale clothing merchants and other apparel dealers in Coimbatore, which is also known as textile city.

"All that she was looking for was good quality fabrics coupled with a fair deal. And Coimbatore impressed her a lot, for there were huge varities of apparels which were pocket-friendly too," a source said.

Ileana focused heavily on handlooms and silks, we learn. "Since the wedding season is fast approaching, she concentrated on sarees and other designer clothes. She also had plans to visit Tirupur, which is the textile hub of south India."

Read more »

Maaveeran Movie Review

Maaveeran - Bold and beautiful

Glitz, glamour, grandeur� These three �G� words sum up �Maaveeran� by S S Rajamouli, the man behind many hits in Telugu industry. He has come up with a wonder in �Maaveran� (�Magadheera� in Telugu). Mammoth sets, huge star cast, racy script and good use of computer graphics make it a stunning show on screen.

A blend of contemporary and period events, �Maaveeran� is not the regular commercial clich� you would expect from the �Telugu Desam�. Another highlight is apt Tamil dialogues by veteran filmmaker K Bhagyaraj.

Nowhere one gets a feeling of watching a Telugu movie being dubbed in Tamil and this makes �Maaveeran� work big time. What more, it has a universal theme that would be liked by kids and adults.

Huge palace, herds of horse, hundreds of soldiers, big desert, helicopter chase. Rajamouli has brought all this into reality in the film, thanks to producer Allu Aravind of Geetha Arts. The way they have been captured on lens by Senthil Kumar deserves appreciation.

Going hand-in-hand with the story is Maragadhamani�s musical score. It is a combination of racy and melodious numbers that lifts the spirit of the movie. Costumes play a pivotal part in period films.

Understanding this fully well, Rajamouli has ensured that apt attires are created for each and every character. Kamala Kannan's visual effects add to the charm. Watch out for the chase and stunt sequences that are close to reality.

Coming to the star cast, young Ram Charan Teja, son of �mega star� Chiranjeevi has cast a magical spell playing the title role, while the young and bubbly Kajal Agarwal gives him good company. The movie has many other actors too with all playing their part exceedingly well.

Harsha (Ram Charan) is a bike racer and is behind thrills and spills in his life. Life takes a turn when he meets Indhu (Kajal Agarwal). When he touches her hands, a mystic feel prevails and he feels destiny has brought them together.

But enters Randheer (Dev Gill), Indhu's cousin with an evil desire. Attracted by her beauty he kills her father and blame falls on Harsha. Randheer takes away Indhu with him to Rajagiri palace in Rajasthan.

Now Harsha goes in search of her and embarks upon a mission to set things right. Meanwhile it is revealed that the events in the lives of these persons have connection with those that happened four hundred years ago. What follows next, is the story of �Maaveeran,� a story that effectively juggles between the past and present, keeping audience glued to the screens.

Ram Charan is extraordinary as Harsha and Parthiban, he is impressive. His amazing body language, dialogue delivery and his expressive eyes are a treat to watch. A blend of beauty and glamour, Kajal Agarwal is apt choice. She is cool and casual in trendy costumes as well.

Dev Gill as baddie is tailor-made for the role. He deserves appreciation for the character. Sri Hari's cameo in double role lends twist to the tale. Watch out for special performance by Sunil and Brahmanandham that evokes good humour.

Three cheers to Geetha Arts for making such a mammoth movie. They have rendered a grand film that is entertaining and enthralling and one that sure deserves applause.

�Maaveeran� on the whole lives up to the title.

Read more »

Aaranya Kaandam Movie Review

Aaranya Kaandam - Survival of the fittest

Tamil cinema is slowly maturing to move away from commercial cliches towards experimenting unique plots and innovative themes. Gone are those days when tear-jerkers, masala movies and saas-bahu stories dominated the scene.

�Aaranya Kaandam� by debutant director Thiyagarajan Kumararaja is a novel attempt that breaks all barriers of methodical film-making.

Strikingly different from frame one, �Aaranya Kaandam� is a film not for weak-hearted. Though it may present scenes as they are from the real life, it may put the viewers in jolt at the first instance. It is more a character-driven story where the events in the lives of various characters make up the script.

The filmmaker has chosen to pull out a story from the warlords in North Chennai. With guns, narcotics and men dominating the scene, it is a violent tale on screen. There are enough swear words, specially in Chennai Tamil. The characters are so real for there is no fantasy attached to them.

Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff), who runs a gang of his own in North Chennai, dominates the story. His trusted lieutenant is Pasupathi (Sampath Raj). But the latter has a motive - to take control from Singaperumal.

There is one young girl Subbu (Yasmeen Ponnappa), who was lured by Singamperumal by promising to make her an actress, but he keeps her with him for personal gain. Sappai (Ravi Krishna), an innocent simple straightforward youth, is also with Singam Perumal. Subbu plans to woo Sappai and escape from the clutches of Singam Perumal.

Meanwhile, a narcotic deal comes and Pasupathy plays a double game, leading him to incur the wrath of Singam Perumal. Then there is Gajendran (Rambo Rajkumar) who has his own gang.

And an alcoholic Kalyan (Somasundaram) and his son Kodukapuli (Master Vasanth) arrive with their rooster from village to make money participating in fights. The war begins and the cunning and smart cookies survive. The movie eventually ends with blood shed and violence.

Kudos to the director for casting Jackie Shroff as dreaded Singam Perumal. He seems to have done it with elegance. He plays the role with consummate ease. Watch out for a different Sampath Raj. He is the scene-stealer playing his part with arrogance and style.

It�s an interesting role for Ravikrishna, which he has done well. He portrays emotions well on screen, while Yasmeen Ponnappa is tailor-made for the character. Somasundaram and and master Vasanth walk away with honours.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score, more of natural sounds and silence at many places sets up the momentum in the script, while Vinod has opted for some stylish angles to capture dark life in Chennai.

All said, �Aaranya Kaandam� is a movie that doesn't belong to the regular genre of Tamil cinema. It is different and unique. Watch it if you love bloodshed and violence. And credits go to SPB Charan for coming forward to fund such a novel attempt.

Read more »

180 - Degree of love

180 Movie Preview :

It was seven years back Kollywood last saw Siddarth on screen, in Mani Ratnam's 'Ayudha Ezhuthu'. The chocolate hero is now back, with '180', directed by Jayendra, who is admired by none other than Mani Ratnam.

A popular ad filmmaker, Jayendra is venturing into big screen with '180'. In Mani's own words, "Jayendra as a talented person. It is my longtime wish that he should direct a movie. It has come true now."

Interestingly, there is a buzz in the industry that '180' will be on the lines of Mani's romantic films, throwing light on the emotions shared between lovers. And we have two heroines here- Priya Anand and Nithya Menon- to do the needful in the company of Siddarth.

Sathyam Cinemas and Aghal Films have jointly produced '180', which has music by popular Mollywood composer Sharreth. The film is shot on Phantom and Red One digital camera and the visuals in the movie are on par with international standards, we learn.

Giving details about the film, Jayendra says, "I guess I am the oldest director to debut. Jokes apart, the film is a contemporary love story. But it is not just any triangular love story, but goes beyond it."

On the lead actors, he says, "While Siddarth is a bundle of energy, Priya Anand and Nithya Menon have given their best. All the three have cooperated well and the output is good."

Heaping laurels on music composer Sharreth, Jayendra says, "He came out with 180 tunes for the film, reflecting it title. I had a tough time to choose the best from his tunes as all of them were extremely good."

Finally, Siddarth too has something to say about the film. "The reason behind me not acting in Tamil for many years was that I didn't come across nice scripts. Thanks to Jayendra, I am back in Kollywood now. 180 is a beautiful story and I loved to be part of it."

With promising persons promising a lot about '180', expectations are high on the film. Let's hope the end-product to be a fulfilling experience.

Read more »

14th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Vijay’s Kaavalan movie directed by Siddique has been selected for screening at the Panorama section at the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival. (SIFF)

Every year, SIFF receives nearly 2,500 entries from over 80 countries and 200 films are selected.Kaavalan is selected from nearly 2,500 entries. Vijay was invited by Shanghai International Film Festival to be guest of honor during Kavalan screening.

Vijay Shangai Film Festival Photos

The Film Festival, founded in 1993, is China’s only A-category international film festival accredited by the Federation of Film Producers Associations based in Paris and also one of the most prestigious film festivals in Asia.

Read more »

Vanthaan Ventraan

Vanthaan Ventraan Preview :

There could no be no apt title than 'Vandhaan Vendraan' for a Jiiva-starrer at this point of time. Even as the actor ruling the box-office with 'Ko', comes 'Vandhaan Vendraan', generating huge expectations due to reasons many.

Firstly, the film stars Jiiva, a reliable name among Tamil actors to look for quality entertainers. And it is directed by Kannan, a former associate of Mani Ratnam, who has built an image for himself with movies like 'Jayamkondan' and 'Kanden Kadhalai'.

Finally, this is the second film in Tamil for Tapsee, the 'Vellavi vechi velutha...' Punjabi girl, who won over the hearts of Tamil masses by beautifully playing the role of an Anglo Indian girl in Dhanush-starrer 'Aadukalam'.

Produced by K S Srinivasan of Vasan Visual Ventures, the man behind 'Naan Kadavul' and 'Boss Engira Baskaran', 'Vandhaan Vendraan' has music by Thaman, whose music is also said to be one of the highlights of the film.

Jiiva , who plays a boxer in the movie, says, "the script is simply amazing and has everything in it to impress the audience. All credits go to Kannan for beautifully conceiving and making the film. It is an entertainer with a difference."

He adds: "It is a interesting role, that of a professional boxer that I play in the movie. And, I underwent rigorous training for this. Also, with Santhanam around, there is no dearth of comedy".

For 'Vandhaan Vendraan', Kannan shot for almost 22 days in Mumbai's sensitive areas like the Gateway of India and Taj Hotel. "We were refused permission initially, as security was high in these areas where the terror attack of 2008 happened. But my script was conceived four years back, even before the incident, and I went out of my way to convince them."

Kannan also clears the air by saying that 'Vandhan Vendran' is not a remake, but based on an original script penned by him. "My maiden film Jayamkondan too is not inspired by any other movie. Only my second venture Kanden Kadhalai is the Tamil adaptation of Bollywood hit Jab We Met," says the former associate of Mani Ratnam.

He adds: "Though Jiiva is playing a boxer, it is just his profession in the movie and it doesn�t have any crucial importance. The screenplay will be so different and I am hopeful that film-buffs would love watching Vandhaan Vendraan."

Read more »