CinemaSpeak.in

By Rinku Gupta This is a sequel to the original ( which brought Suseendran,Vishnu Vishal, Soori, Appukutty and others to the forefront). Pasupathy plays a bus driver whose love for kabaddi earns the loathing of his son Saravanan ( Vikranth) when the sport interferes in his livelihood and he is suspended from his job. But as a result, he learns from his mother how his dad sacrificed his love for kabaddi to save his son. Saravanan now decides to revive the Vennia Kabaddi Kuzhu team and bring back the cup and title for his father. Does he succeed? The canerawork transports you back beautifully into the 80s where the film is set as does the melodious music. Vikranth  as hero holds the film together with ease and Pasuathy as the father and former kabaddi player is impressive and completely fits the role to a T. The street  chase and action scene is particularly engaging. The emotional scenes between dad and son are well conceived and executed in a moving manner. But the mov...

By Rinku Gupta It was recently that Jai and Athulya  signed a film together, which is directed by SA Chandrasekhar. Now  they have been signed up together for yet another flick wielded by debutant Vetriselvan SK.  Vetriselvan SK says, “It’s an amalgamation of action, thrill, crime and romance. Jai’s character is laced with realistic shades as he plays someone, whom you would easily spot in your neighborhood. However, compelling situations force him to take justice into his hands. It’s a role that encapsulates joy, energy and yes, the ferocious angry young man too. Athulya Ravi will be seen as Jai’s love interest. Soon after penning the script, we were actually looking up for an actress, who could be identified as girl-to-next-door and we found her befittingly perfect.” While Vaibhav’s elder brother Sunil of ‘Seethakaathi’ has been roped in for playing a vital role. They  are yet to finalize an actor for negative role. Right now, the team is busy involved...

By Rinku Gupta Gurkha produced by 4 Monkeys Studio is directed by Sam Anton. Yogi Babu plays Bahadhur Babu who becomes a security guard in a Chennai mall where he meets Ussain Bolt ( Charlie) , a co - guard. Babu along with his dog friend Undertaker, and Bolt, get involved in a major terror strike in the mall by Thigarajan ( Raj Bharath). A whole bunch of important people are among the hostages. Now, due to circumstances, the whole burden of saving them falls on Babu and Bolt. Does the innocent Babu manage to save the day ? The comedy is loud and the introduction to the main characters takes a long time. However, the situational comedy and witty one liners though squeezed in between characters talking at full volume, work in parts. Yogi Babu is in full form in a meaty ( and at times emotional ) lead role with even action and a one- sided love angle thrown in, ans he does full justice to it all. References to contemporary socio- political events and digs at celebrities, keep...

By Rinku Gupta Gorilla directed by Don Sandy is produced by All In Pictures. The story is about a bunch of friends ( Jiiva, Sathish, Vivek Prasanna) who decide to rob a bank in order to raise funds for themselves. They are accompanied by thier pet chimp, Kong. They are joined by a farmer who is on dire financial trouble and had come to the city to earn a living and save his family. When the heist goes wrong, things go out of hand. But in a surprise twist the robbers discover a cause to help in the midst of the heist. Do they get away successfully? The romance angle between Jiiva and Shalini Pandey has its interesting though brief moments but Shalini doesnt have much to do. Sathish's one liners generate the laughs from time to time though Vivek Prasanna seems pretty under utilised as is Yogi Babu. The comedy though loud works in parts. The farmer's cause touches a chord. A racy screenplay ensures there are no lags though the scenes inside the bank get a tad repetitive t...

By Rinku Gupta Thozhar Vekatesan is directed by Maha Shivan and produced by Kala Films. The story revolves around a young man Venkatesan ( newbie Hari Sankar) who is a proud entrepreneur selling home made sodas in his village. He meets Kamli (  Monica Chinnakotla) an innocent girl whose mother dies, and who resorts to suicide in order to escape a grim future, having been subject to overtures of lecherous men. Venkatesan offers her his home and soon a tender affection and deep love develops between them. Just when things are going well, tragedy strikes.  A Government bus runs over Venkatesan and his arms are amputated. He is told he can get compensation by his lawyer but his case runs on for 3 years before 20 lakhs is allotted by the courts. However instead of the money, a bus is given to him as compensation till the money due to him is paid up by the reluctant to pay  government. The bus turns out to be a white elephant and only adds to his woes. What happens to the ...

By Rinku Gupta Bodhai Yeri Budhi Maari is directed by newbie Chandru SK and produced by Sreenidhi Sagar. The story revolves around Karthik ( doctor turned actor Dheeraj) who on the eve of his wedding visits his friend Roshan ( Roshan) and meets up for a drinking session with his buddies. There he ends up inhaling a deadly drug during a prank and from then on things go haywire for him.Several unexplained murders happen and he is trapped in the apartment, unable to leave nor fathom what's happening. There is a drug nexus, a cop ( Ajay) , a journo ( Pradaini ) and his fiancee ( Dushara ) and Roshan's lover ( Meera Mithun ) who are all part of the story, whose plot thickens as the film proceeds. How much is real and what is fantasy? What happens to Karthik? Does he escape the clutches of deadly addiction? Or is he trapped forever? The camerawork by Balasubramaniam is commendable especially in the confines of the apartment where most of the action takes place. Directo...

By Rinku Gupta She is the latest entrant in Kollywood with Bodhai Yeri Budhi Maari directed by debutant Chandru SK. A Tamil speaking bundle of talent from Dindigul, Dushara has a Telugu background. A student of fashion from NIFT, Dushara says she was drawn to cinema, ' I always felt acting is my piece of cake and I should do it. Cinema is my passion and I want to do bold an d versatile roles apart from commercial cinema.' She has already completed shooting for her second film Anbulla Gilli with Riseeast films, the makers of BYBM. All the best Dushara!

By Rinku Gupta Sree Muruka Movie Makers Reel had a grand audio launch today. The film directed by R Munuswamy is touted to have a message for society and has the tagline, ' Reel of Real Love.' The DOP is Sunil Prem while the editing is by P Sai Suresh. Santosh Chandran who is basically a guitarist and has worked in Malyalam and Marathi films, has debuted as composer for the music for the film written by TN Suraj. The action is by Dilli Babu while the dances are by Noble. ' The hero told me he was not adept at dancing but on sets he did everything I choreographed to perfection, ' said Noble. The film is said to be based on real events. The producer, Captain Karudu, is an ex army captain who has also acted in a Malyalam film with Mammooty. He also acted in a Tamil film which didn't release. He is currently running a business in Coimbatore. ' I only wanted one thing and that was that the cast should be new.' Stunt director Jaguar Thangam and act...

by Rinku Gupta The world awaits the majestic arrival of ‘The Lion King’. A tremendous comeback after 24 years on the big screens, embellished with top-notch technological elements, where  characters for they look so real rather than being animated. With the film scheduled for a worldwide release on July 19, Arvind Swami, Siddarth, Robo Shankar and Singam Puli who have dubbed for the Tamil version were present for the pre-release event in Chennai. Mr. Bikram Duggal whois the Executive Director and Head for Disney's Studios said, “The Lion King is very special to all of us in Disney Studios. Yes, we are overwhelmed with abundant success of movies like ‘Avengers End Game’ and ‘Aladdin’ that was released by us this year, but “The Lion King” is even more special. There are lots of attractive elements in the film and one among them is the technological process, where one might find it more difficult to find if the characters on the screen are real or animated ones. More than t...

By Rinku Gupta Coming from the artistic film Pannaiyarum Padminiyum director Arunkumar, Sindhubadh,  the next film of the Vijay Sethupathi- Arunkumar combo had raised a quiet curiostity. The film centres around our hero( Vijay Sethupathi), a pickpocket con artist ( hard of hearing at times),  who falls in love with a girl from Malyasia  ( Anjali) who habitually talks loudly. Their synergies are made for each other but tragedy strikes and the duo are separated. Now, Sethupathi has to travel across the seas ( hence title perhaps of iconic traveler of folklore,  Sindbad) and find and rescue his lady love. How does he do it forms the story. The romantic portions are well concieved with novel situations. Sethupathi's son Surya makes a good impact in his debut film. Anjali and Sethupathi hit it off well with thier screen romance. This is Arunkumar's attempt to weave in hi octane, larger than life action into the drama and some may not take to that aspect of the film...

by Rinku Gupta " I had such a shock when I read the 1 page synopsis of Aadai," said Amala Paul at the audio launch of the film.  " I met director Rathna Kumar in Delhi where he narrated the story for 2 hours. There was a lot of positive energy at that meeting. Then I met producer Subbu. Before signing the film, we had a lot of discussion about the script. I told the director we have to work as a team. Vijay Karthik is the cameraman of the film and I saw truth in the photos he took. I saw a lost part of me. The trust then grew." This is the first time Amala did a rehearsal for a movie. " Rathna gave me the freedom to be myself, which is rare. He said 'just be yourself, embrace your madness' " she added. Aadai is the first script of Rathnakumar she disclosed about the Meiyathu Maan director. Amala plays a character called Kamini in the film. About shooting the second half which involve ' naked' scenes in the script, Amala said, " T...

Kalavani 2 is directed by A Sargunam with Vemal and Oviya reprising the position of lead pair. The story revolves around Arkki (Vemal) who is despised by his village for being a prankster, cheat and thief. All except his mother ( Saranya) dislike him immensely including his dad ( Ilavarsan). His only friend is Vicky ( VJ Vigneshkant) who plans cons on people with him. This aspect leads to few gags and laughs especially with Ganja Karuppu in the fray. One day Arkki decides that the easy way to big money is to be in the run for village president so that the big contestants will view him as competition and buy him off. The plot thickens when his uncle is one of the key contestants while the other is the father of his lady love Maheswari ( Oviya...though its not clear when and why exactly she falls for him even though he steals her pet goat ). As it turns out nobody is willing to vote for Arkki. What does he do to achieve his ends? Does he succeed? Vemal is back in full form be it d...

by Rinku Gupta Actor and entrepreneur RK will be launching a VIP Youth India Movement to enter the Guinness Book of Records on 15th August. The event will take place with 1500  people  applying his company's VIP hair color shampoo with bare hands at EVP Film City. The feat will prove that no color will rub off on bare hands of users. The event is tput3d to be held in the midst of celebrities even  from Bollywood. The product is a 3 in 1 with shampoo, hair dye and conditioner. 'This product came into existence because of cinema only because due to losses in cinema I went into business.  In 1991 I started with Kaasu Thanga Kaasu as actor and producer. I ran into financial difficulties but released the film. Then I decided to become an entrpreneur and only then I could continue in films,' said  RK.  About his product which he said is doing excellantly in the market, 'Can anyone touch hair color with bare hands? Usually the color will rub o...

by Rinku Gupta Raatchasi is a Dream Warrior Pictures film starring Jyotika directed by Sy Gautamraj. The film deals with the story of Geetarani ( Jyotika) who is the new headmistress of a run down goverment school in the village of Pudur. When she takes over, the school is in bad shape with no discipline, no proper teaching by staff, ramshackle facilities and rampant negligence and corruption. Encouraged by her father, she takes over and rules with an iron hand, gaining enemies but turning the school into a haven for students, creating opportunities for them to excel in. What happens when she runs into a greedy private school owner forms the rest of the story. The director has chosen a good subject to work on and the focus on education is commendable. The teachers and kids have all acted well, doing what's required, keeping us invested in the proceedings. But the film is a one woman show and though Jyotika breathes and lives her part all through, one wishes she could have...

By Rinku Gupta Kadaram Kondan produced by Rajkamal Films International starring Chiyaan Vikram, Akshara Haasan and Abi Haasan with Lena, had a grand audio launch in the presence of its cast and crew and guests at a star hotel. The highlight of the evening was the praise heaped upon his lead actor Chiyaan Vikram, by producer Kamal Haasan. " Vikram has displayed such style style and panache iin the film, an entertainer which will delight his fans." Kamal also announced the release date of the film as July 19th ( click here for Kamal Haasan' s speech ). Vikram recalled how as a student he would watch Kamal's films in boarding school and added that he was a die hard fan of 16 Vayadhinile which is the one classic he would like to see remade , and play Chappani's charcter. ( click here to watch Vikram's speech). This is music director Ghibran's 25th film and RajKamal Film's International's 45th project. The film is directed by Rajesh M Sel...

by Rinku Gupta  The Vemal- Oviya starrer Kalavani 2 is finally ready for release. At the press meet of this Sargunam directorial, Vemal was absent due to an out station shoot. Oviya however, got nostalgic at the event as she moved with smiles amongst the supporting cast present at the event. The cast includes VJ Vignesh, Ilavarasan, Robot Shankar and Saranya Ponvannan amongst others. In the interim, the actor has become a household name thanks to her appearance in Bigg Boss Tamil with an Oviya Army of fans. ' Kalavani was my debut film in Tamil and I owe it to Sargunam sir. Today I am very happy to be back to see the same faces after an 8 years gap. Sargunam sir only kept my screen  name as Oviya. Vemal helped me learn Tamil.The film has lots of fun and romance and it was great to work with everyone again. Actually Saranya mam and Ilavarsan sir had greater chemistry than Vemal and myself!' said Oviya. Saranya Ponvannan  said that the laughter in the sequel ...

By Rinku Gupta Thozhar Venkatesan, set in Kanchipuram and based on the director’s real life experience,  deals with the tough process of getting compensation from insurance companies when they meet with accidents in government buses.  How this affects common citizens forms the story. Directed by Mahasivan who had assisted Suseenthiran earlier, the film has newbie Harishankar in the lead with Monica Chinnakotla as his pair. The director  is confident about the impavt it will create,  ' My film is about the travails of the common man when dealing with the government agencies and will create a lot of buzz.'  The film is produced by Suseenthiran and Kala Films.

By Rinku Gupta Veteran actor Napoleon is now acting in a Hollywood movie called Christmas Coupon. The actor and his team flew down to Chennai to hold a press meet about the movie. Directed by Daniel Knudsen, it has Courtney Mathews and Aaron Noble in the lead. In this romantic story, Mathews plays a skating champ who is teaching skating to children. Noble is a hockey player. Napoleon plays a sports agent.  Speaking about his experience there,  Napoleon narrated how recording in live synch sound left no room for corrections in a dubbing studio like in Kollywood. The actor hoped to play the lead in a Hollywood movie someday. ' 'Last year we released the trailer of Devil's  Night a crime thriller which will release soon. Christmas Coupon too has been shot in Detroit. I had to act in extreme cold conditions and that was very tough since I am not used to such cold,' said Napoleon. The actor was accompanied by producer Tel K Ganesan and co actor Sheena Monni...

by Rinku Gupta London Talkies' K Natarajan Bow Bow is directed by S Pradeep Kilikar. The film is inspired by true events and has won several International awards including award for Best  International  Youth Actor for Child hero master Ahaan . The rest of the cast includes V Shiva, Tejaswy, Sathyan, Sharmila, Nanjil V Rambabu, Jane and Pulikutty. The audio launch of the film was held amidst the cast and crew. The DOP is K Arunprasath with music by Marc D Muse and A Denis Vallaban. The movie centres around a child and a dog and 2 dog trainers K9 Baskar and Varamani have trained the dog. The dignitaries from the film industry included Abirami Ramanathan, Chitra Laxman, director Sasi, H Murali, PL Thenappan, actor Ashok and editor Mohan. The story is about the relationship between a child and his dog. It was no easy task adjusting to the moods of  child actor and the dog and the unit did a good job of it. " This is a film not just for children but also for the child w...

By Rinku Gupta Sreenidhi Sagar's Riseeast Productions'   Bodhi Yeri Budhi Maari ( BYBM) is directed by debutant Chandru KR. VJ Sabu Joseph is the editor while Balasubramaniem is the DOP. ' My father has made movies before I left for New Zealand. I heard the one liner of this script and was in total awe of the twists in the film. I had a doubt if the new director could translate it to screen. But full marks to the DOP for bringing his vision to life. We gave him a challenge by shooting in just a room.Hero Dheeraj is a cardio thoracic surgeon and heroines are Dushara and Pradaini Surva   who is a super model. She will be seen in a different role. The music director is KP who has done a fantastic job,' said producer Sagar speaking about the project at the trailer launch press meet. VJ Sabu revealed that the film travels at the speed shown in the trailer. The film's director Chandru KR was a Jet Airways crew member earlier and is debuting as a director, 'S...