Kollywood Hotspot!

Kandasamy opens with scenes showing ordinary people flocking to a Murugan temple which has become famous as all your wishes can be fulfilled at the temple. All those who submit their woes as petitions to Kandasamy (another name for Lord Muruga) on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree in the temple, their problems mainly financial are solved.

Meanwhile there is this brave and daring CBI officer Kandasamy (Vikram), who is on a mission to uncover black money and illegal wealth of rich and corrupt Indians stashed in foreign banks, which he believes is responsible for all the crime in our society. And our hero has the IQ of a genius, the strength of a bull and the speed of a cheetah.

Soon he crosses swords with Pallur Paramajyoti Ponnusamy or PPP (Ashish Vidyarti), the man with a golden tooth and conducts a raid in his palatial bungalow and finds unaccounted cash and documents of various foreign deals worth over Rs 1000 crore! PPP is devastated after the raid and his only daughter Subbalakshmi (Shriya Saran) swears revenge and pretends to fall in love with the dashing IPS officer.

What is the connection between masked crusader Kandasamy and the CBI officer Kandasamy? Why is the CBI Joint Director Krishna Rao (Telugu actor Krishna) protecting Mr. Kandasamy? Can the villains- PPP, Rajmohan of RMG group, and Mexican Pitchumani (Alex) expose and bring Kandasamy to trial? Will the DIG succeed in proving that Kandasamy is no God? The underlining message in the film is, “Money (read black) is the root cause of all evil”.

Don’t ask the answers to all these questions, the idea is to have a chill out time. Watch the action which is fast paced even though slightly long ( 3 hours 12 minutes), chew on your popcorn as the adrenaline goes pumping. The rooster Kandasamy introduction scene where he comes crashing through the dome of a police station, and plays around with the bad comic cop (Mansoor Ali Khan) is terrific.

But the highlight is Kandasamy dressed as a woman, a la Aishwarya Rai and teaching Charly and Mayilsamy a fitting lesson is hilarious. The verbal foreplay between the quarrelsome Kandasamy and Subbalakshmi is quite ticklish, and Kandasamy’s blindfolded action scenes in Mexico are stunning.

Technically the film is chic with slick production values. The innovative camera angles and lighting of cinematographer NK Ekambaram makes the film visually stunning. He has given a different colour tone to the Mexico episode of the film. Thotta Tharini’s set designs are fabulous, the luxury bedroom of the heroine and the interior of the plush bus used as villain’s hide out is fantastic. The VFX work of Movinstilz makes it picture perfect, the night effect scenes especially the fight scene in the corn field.

Music of Devi Sri Prasad blends with the mood of the film. Two of the six songs, Excuse me Mr.Kandasamy… and Yen Peru Meenakumari have been well picturised and lavishly shot. There is grandeur and richness in every shot in the film, no wonder it took two years to complete. Susy Ganeshan who does a cameo in the film joins the big league of directors in Tamil for directing an adventurous film with an underlying message.

But the film indubitably belongs to Vikram and he rocks. He is mesmerizing and has given an extra dimension to the characters he plays in the film and steers it to the winning post. There are very few people in Indian cinema who can do the larger-than-life fantasy character as easily as Vikram.

Shriya sizzles throughout and carries the glamorous role with élan and the attitude. Prabhu fits the role of an investigative cop, while the villains are a bit clichéd. Some of the film's most enjoyable moments are Vadivel‘s comedy track as Thengakadai Thenappan. The scene where Prabhu takes him to the police station for questioning and uses water cannon is a scream!

Director Radha Mohan, known for his realistic films, is all set to nosedive into a new genre of action films.

Despite being only four films old, the director managed to carve an identity for himself through his films, which were marked by sensitive issues and real characterization.

The director however says he has no interest in being pigeon holed and would like to try out new genres. “I’m currently working on my next script. It is an action based film and we are still working out the cast,” says the director, whose association with actor Prakash Raj is well known. In fact, Prakash Raj has produced three of Radha Mohan’s films.

Originally, it was said that the director was making plans to direct his blockbuster 'Mozhi' in Bollywood, to be produced by Boney Kapoor. “Plans to remake the film have been stalled as the producers want to wait until their film ‘Pokkiri’ is released,” says the director.

“Despite being an action film, it will have interesting characters like all my earlier films,” assures the director, whose 'Abhiyum Naanum' released late last year and met with immediate success.

A project that has been suspected for long, Arya is finally teaming up with director Manikandan, who directed 'Dhaam Dhoom' following Jeeva's demise. The film, titled 'Chikku Bhukku', will have Shriya Saran playing his love interest.

Following 'Naan Kadavul', Arya seems to have his eyes set on romantic films, with ongoing 'Madharasapattanam' providing fodder for his acting abilities. Following 'Sarvam' with Trisha and Vishnuvardhan, will be another love story with a twist.

The film is being produced by Media One and also brings to Kollywood, Preethi Rao sister of actress Amritha Rao. About 25 days of shoot for the film has been completed, and a song with elaborate choreography by Rekha Chinni Prakash has been canned. 'Chikku Bhukku' will have music by Colonial Cousins, who have debuted as music directors with 'Modhi Vilayaadu'. Cranking the camera is another associate of Jeeva, RB Gurudev.

Shooting for the film will also be done in unseen locales of Austria, besides Mysore and Conoor.

We are all well acquainted with the ‘Jaganmohini’ of the past. An unearthly white figure, long unruly hair, loud throaty laughter and her feet in fire! This is the ‘Jaganmohini’ we have seen so far. But with the advance of technology she takes a new shape and is getting ready to send a chill down our spine!

Sexy siren Namitha will be playing the protagonist and Raja and Nila will be essaying the lead pair in this N.K. Vishwanathan directed spooky flick ‘Jaganmohini’. Unlike the older and the original version this latest version will feature state-of-the-art technology, sound effects and visuals.

The film is being wrapped in a feverish pace and the filming is going on in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. The film stars Narasimha Raju the man who played hero in the older version, but this time around he will be playing the hero’s father. Jyothi Lakshmi the yester year bombshell will be making a come back with this film and she will be portraying as Namitha’s mom.

The film is said to hit theatres by mid-June.

Director Cheran is back to doing what he is best at! Chronicling yesteryear love stories, in the most poignant way. He back at it again with ‘Pokkisham’ whose audio was launched recently at Kalagnar TV.

Following the audio launch, the movie’s crew met the press at a preview theatre. The director Cheran called it “A simple love story between a Hindu boy working in Kolkata and a Muslim girl living in Nagoor. Over 70 percent of the film is narrated in flashback format, like my previous films Autograph and Thavamai Thavamirundhu.” The movie is slated for a May end release.

One of the songs of the film, Nila.. sung by Vijay Yesudas and Chinmayi, will be the highlight of the film, says the director, who adds that the music duo of Sabesh Murali have provided astounding music, with three full songs and seven bit songs in the movie.

Padmapriya, who plays the role of Nadira in the film, called it a well etched character, which was demanding for her as she had to play a girl enamoured by Tamil literature.

Isaignani Ilayaraja is acting in a song for the first time in his career for the film Azhagar malai. Showing up in his own car in his usual sparkling white attire, the musician dedicated six days for the shoot of a song, Ullagam Ippo, in the film directed by SP Rajkumar.

The Isaignani, who is known to let his music speak for himself, has finally agreed to even don the greasepaint. Acting as himself in the movie’s first song, the musical genius is said to have worked like any professional actor. The song was shot in locations that had an impact in his real life, including his school, the bridge he grew up near, the banyan tree he played with his wife in, and his mother’s cemetery. The song was captured in Thiruvannamalai Raman Assramam, where the genius picked his spiritual learnings from, the Uthama Palayam Aatru Paalam, Mullai Periyar, and the Madurai American College where he studied, apart from the Banyan tree that he and his wife Jeeva played under.

The musician, who looks up to the land of Thiruvannamalai, as a holy place, trod the entire area without wearing footwear, and let his mother’s cemetery been shown on screen for the first time. He also insisted on cleaning it completely by himself and participated with a lot of enthusiasm in the shoot. Director SP Rajkumar gives all credit for making this happen to his producer Sangili Murugan who persuaded the Isaignani to act.