Shreya Reddy to marry Vishal’s brother

Shreya Reddy, who shot to fame playing versatile roles in movies including Thimiru, Veyyil and Pallikoodam, was reportedly engaged to Ajay alias Vikram Krishna.

Vikram Krishna, brother of actor Vishal, is an actor-turned-producer. Son of prominent producer G K Reddy, he acted in a couple of films including Poo Parika Varugirom with Sivaji Ganesan.

He ventured to produce movies with his brother Vishal playing the hero. His films Sandai Kozhi and Thimiru were big hits.

The engagement was held in Chennai and it was reportedly a private affair.

Vikram is currently producing Vishal starrer Sathyam.

Sonia moves into Selva's home?

There has been reports that Sonia Agarwal and director Selva Raghavan are maintaining live-in relationship openly. Some even said that Sonia has moved into Selva's apartment. Well, that is not truth, our sources say.
Yes, they have been caught together at various dos in Chennai and Hyderabad (where Selva shooting for his 7G RAINBOW COLONY) several times. Our sources reveal that they have no plan of marriage. Not at the moment.

Apna Asmaan doesn't move you

This week's release Apna Asmaan has already made its festival rounds and won accolades. Starring Irrfan Khan [Images] and Shobhana, the film deals with the delicate issue of parenting and autistic children.

Ravi (Khan) and Padmini (Shobhana) are happily married. They have a baby boy Buddhi Raj (Dhruv Piyush Panjnani), who is autistic. Padmini blames Ravi for the child's mental state because he had dropped him when Buddhi was small.

Buddhi is good at drawing but his mother wants him to be good at mathematics, as she was a gold medallist herself.

Seeing her son is not like other normal children, she takes him to temples, churches and babas, hoping for a miracle.

Meanwhile, Dr Satya [Images] (Anupam Kher [Images]), who has done a lot of research on the subject, discovers a drug that is a brain-booster. So, Ravi meets up with the doctor and makes Buddhi take it. But the brain-booster has its side effects -- one of them being amnesia.

The drug changes Buddhi, and he suddenly becomes a very good mathematician, faster than a computer. But he forgets his parents in the bargain.

Director Kaushik Roy makes a good point in showing that present-day parents are very ambitious and want their children to be geniuses even though they may not be gifted at all.

However, Roy does not tackle the subject of autism very well; he fails to really bring it out. Considering the film was born out of his own autistic son, Orko, he should not have commercialised the subject. It should have been dealt with some sensitivity, instead of entering the fantasy world of brain-boosters.

Irrfan and Shobhana are fantastic. But we do not feel sorry for the child, nor sympathy for the parents.

My Sholay was jinxed from start: Ram Gopal Varma

Ram Gopal Varma silences the Aag critics… almost

Were do you think you went wrong with Aag?
I did go wrong. The one person I must have made supremely happy is Ramesh Sippy. I'm very happy to make him happy because he made my life. I saw Sippy's Sholay again last night. It's fantastic. I must've been nuts to attempt it.

All my impressions of Sholay over the years went into Aag. Now I ask myself, if someone else had made Aag and I as a fan of Sholay went to see Aag, how would I react? I'd probably hate Aag as much as pople have hated it. The original is too deeply embedded in the public's psyche.

Were you at all preprared for the severe backlash?
Can't say it was entirely unexpected. When you attempt to remake the most revered film in the history of Indian cinema you're going into the realm of the sacrilegous. Everyone from friends to well-wishers to people who didn't care a damn either way warned me I was heading for trouble.

Irrespective of whether the film was good or bad I was expecting extreme criticism. But I was not expecting such a low opening for the film.Whether it was because of the title or because of the film's look, I don't know.

People felt the film was looking very 1970s
But I wanted to make a 1970s film! So one way of looking at it as a homage to the decade. The other way is to see it as outdated. It's a question of perception.

Aag is your career's most vilified and ridiculed film.
I'd think so. The baggage of expectations was too high. The brickbats were a part of what people see as this upstart trying to tamper with a classic. The backlash isn't personal. Sometimes the criticism against some film begins and rises in a wave, all in one voice. I don't think people sat down and conspired to trash the film.

What according to you is the reason for the backlash?
They hate my guts for having the audacity to attempt to remake Sholay. But I'm used to be hated for what I do. Only this time the volume of protests is higher.

What do you mean?
They keep ridiculing me for everything I do. Everyone has a mind and tongue and the right to use them. I think it's human pleasure to attack others. No one has the time to be personal.

What about the SMS that said you should learn filmmaking from your former assistants Madhur Bhandarkar and Shimit Amin?
We all have an opinion on everything under the sun. If somebody feels I should learn filmmaking they're right in their own way. When Kissna failed they said Subhash Ghai should enroll in his own film institute. Ridiculing people is a form of entertainment.

At least I'm entertaining people more with their comments on Aag than I did with the film. They should at least thank me for that and give me a 5-star rating for providing post-release entertainment.

Maybe the volume of work goes against you.
I don't agree with that. I don't do anything but make films. And I can't take a break from what I do just because people want me to make less films.

In any case I don't think people care if I make 2 or 20 films a year as long as they like what they see, And who knows what will click? When I made Satya it was meant to be a no-show film with newcomers and a non-recognizable hero with a beard.

Then I made Daud with Sanjay Dutt and Urmila which was supposed to be a sure-shot. It bombed. I put in the same effort in every film. If I knew a film wouldn't work am I a madman to make it?

But people feel Aag was a careless work?
That's again a viewpoint. My intention was re-do the original without tampering with the spirit of Sholay. Now take Mohanlal. I had him with a beard all through because my logic was, how can a man without fingers shave? Then people say Mohanlal looks like a bear with the beard! Now what do I do?

As for Mr Bachchan as Babban, I wanted it to be low-profile. People found him inert and unenergetic. Let me clear this. Every actor has done exactly what he or she was told to.

If Mr Bachchan's performance was found to be inconsistent it's because through his character I tried to pay a homage to all the villains I know from Mad Max to Gabbar Singh to Anthony Hopkins in The Silence Of The Lambs to Jack Nicholson in Batman.

I was too busy enjoying Mr Bachchan's performance on sets. I lost track of the character's consistency in the film.

So you take full blame?
Yes. I take blame for every actor, camereman, dialogue writer,etc. They did what I asked them to. I kept on insisting Aag was a formula film. I never said I was making a classic. But I guess no one was listening. Right from the word go my Sholay was jinxed.

From the court cases to the title change…. Once I got caught in the process of separating the legal matters from the film I was jacked. See I'm a genre filmmaker. Sholay is not a genre. I was trying to artificially capture what didn't come naturally to me. I got confused.So obviously it wouldn't work.

Dhamaal

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey, Arshad Warsi
Direction: Indra Kumar
Rating: **1/2

Four men and a bedding? Well, sort of. These Loony Latifs are booted out by their landlady (Suhasini Mulay adopting Lalita Pawar frowns), don’t know where their next pillow or pilauf is coming from. So?

Well, then Indra Kumar who’s been suffering a dry season of late, pops Prem Chopra out of a hat. Dear P C is about to breathe his last (how many times will he do this?) and he tells the quartet about a hidden khazana. Result: an okay-dokay Dhamaal, remarkable essentially for the sparkling dialogue and screenplay by Parritosh Painter and Co. It’s the kind of ticklish farce that’s common in mid-brow Mumbai theatre.

You can chuckle along with the losers (Deshmukh, Warsi, Chaudhary, Jaffrey), especially in the first-half with a slapstick sequence involving a jalopy and Asrani (hilarious), the art scam madness and even a pretty amusing take-off on Sanjeev Kumar. But for a few stray toilet jokes, the humour’s clever.

But the second half sags. The long-winded dacoit chase, the cliffhanger stuff with kids and all that It’s a Mad Mad Mad World business turn your ha-ha’s into harrumphs. Sanjay Dutt, as a fearsome cop, seems to have been included only for star value. Jaffrey is the born-laugh-raiser in a John Beanish role, Deshmukh is terrific in his comic timing; at long last, Chaudhary is actually likeable Surprisingly, Warsi looks as pained as someone who swallowed a caterpillar.

In sum, Dhamaal isn’t exactly what the title promises. But it does have its laugh-out-loud moments.. it’s not bad at all. Go ahead and try.

Award makes them happy and high

The State government has announced its awards for best films and film personalities for the year 2005 and 2006. Check out what the awardees had to say about being selected for the coveted award.

Vijay (Best Actor – special Prize Thirupachi): “I am thrilled to win the recognition of the State government. I dedicate this award to my fans, the cast and crew of Thirupachi, who motivated me and encouraged me to achieve it”.

Jyothika (Best Actress Chandramukhi): “I thank my director P Vasu and 'Super star' Rajnikanth for their support to help me pull off a good performance. At a time when I have given birth to my baby (Diya), the award has come at the right time”.

Prabhu (Best Film – Chandramukhi): “Rajnikanth and P Vasu deserve credit for mega hit of Chandramukhi. Every person in the unit toiled hard to get the basics right in the movie. I thank Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for honouring Chandramukhi with such an award”.

Suriya (Best Actor Ghajini): “It was a tough and challenging role. But thanks to the guidance of my director A R Murugadoss it shaped out well. The award has come as a tonic for me. I hope to repeat the feat in coming years”.

Priyamani (Best Actress – Paruthiveeran): “It is a joy to be selected for such rare honour. Director Ameer deserves all credit for helping me clinch this award”.

Film awards announced; Rajini, Kamal chosen best actors

CHENNAI: Actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have been chosen for a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for 2005 and 2006.

While Rajini won the best actor award for his performance in ‘Chandramukhi,’ Kamal won the honour for ‘Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu’.

Actor Jyothika, who portrayed the role of a split personality in ‘Chandramukhi,’ was adjudged the best actress for 2005, and Priya Mani won the award for 2006 for her acclaimed portrayal of a lively rural girl in ‘Paruthi Veeran’.

‘Chandramukhi’ won the first prize in the best film category for 2005, while ‘Veyil’ was adjudged the best film for 2006.

Actors Vijay (‘Thirupachi’), Surya (‘Gajini’), Meera Jasmine (‘Kasthuri Maan’), Karthi (‘Paruthi Veeran’), Fakru and Sandhya (‘Dishyum’) won special awards. The awardees were selected by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge S. Mohan.

Surya, Jyothika happy

The husband-wife duo Surya and Jyothika said they were glad that both had received awards.

“I thank the State Government and the jury for thinking I am worth this award. ‘Gajini’ was made with a lot of hard work and great team sprit. Director Murugadoss lived his dream and made this film so special for all of us. I must also thank Harris Jayaraj for giving lilting tunes,” said Surya.

“My first thanks to my baby who has brought me all the luck,” said Jyothika. “Next is for Rajinikanth for encouraging films where women take the centre stage. This proves that he is truly a superstar. Then I cannot forget director P. Vasu for showing me what I need to do in every shot in the film. I have to thank my co-star Prabhu. He made us all feel that work was a picnic. I must thank music director Vidyasagar and dance master Kala for giving me the ‘Ra Ra’ song.” Priya Mani thanked the entire team that worked on the movie. “I must thank director Ameer and his assistants and other technicians who worked with me in the film.” Director Shankar said he was happy to get an award from the State Government. “We feel happy when we are recognised at home.”

The list of awardees for 2005:

Best film: Chandramukhi, Gajini (first prize), Anniyan (second prize), Dhavamai Dhavamirundhu (third), Priyasaki (special), Kasthuri Maan (special category for glorifying womanhood).

Best actor: Rajinikanth (Chandramukhi), best actress: Jothika (Chandramukhi), best actors (special): Vijay (Thirupachi), Surya (Gajini), Meera Jasmine (Kasthuri Maan), best villain: Prakashraj, best comedian: Vivek, best director: Shankar, best music director: Harris Jayaraj, best playback singers: Sriram Parthasarathy, Mumbai Jayashree.

For 2006: Best Film: Veyil (first prize), Paruthi Veeran (second), Thiruttu Payale (third), Ilakkanam (special), Kadale En Kadale (Special award for glorifying womanhood).

Best actor: Kamal Haasan (Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu), best actress: Priya Mani (Paruthi Veeran), best actors (special): Karthi (Paruthi Veeran), Fakru (Dishyum), Sandhya (Dishyum), best villain: Pasupathi (E), best comedian: Vadivelu (Pulikesi), best director: Thirumurugan (Em Magan), best music director: Yuvan Shankar Raja, best playback singers: Madhu Balakrishnan and Shreya Goshal.