Oscar winning music maestro A.R. Rahman has won the CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year award 2009" in the entertainment category. The Madras maestro has won the award for redefining contemporary Indian music.“He is the pride of the entire nation. He is also an idol to millions for making a mark on the global music arena,” said Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, IBN Network 18.The other nominees in the category included Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Prince Group of Orissa and Colors Entertainment Channel.Rahman will be given the award on Dec 21 in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Multi-talented Varalaxmi Sarathkumar sashayed on the ramp at Chennai International Fashion Week in a beautiful white and gold number for Chennai designer Rehane. The final show of Day Three was a full house event with crowds thronging to catch the collection.Ranging from embroidered work to lace, Rehane's garments were style statements that charmed every one in the audience. The icing on the cake was Varalaxmi, the showstopper for the show, who waved at the crowds who cheered her throughout.Varalaxmi, who recently staged the musical Mamma Mia, is a trained classical dancer and aspiring actress. With this appearance, she has added another dimension to her personality. This young girl promises to take Tamil cinema by storm as and when she makes her debut.As for Rehane’s show, it was indeed an extravagant affair.
Director Lingusamy's Paiyya is almost ready for release; the post production works are on and music director Yuvanshankar Raja is working on the background score.Meanwhile, sources reveal that actor Vijay has approved a story narrated by the director. However, other details, including the production house, are yet to be finalized.Lingusamy’s production house, Tirupati Brothers, is producing two films which are to be directed by Balaji Shakthivel and Bhoopathy Pandian.
Madras maestro and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman is one of the front-runners for the Person of the Year honour. Leading business magazine Forbes India will announce its Person of the Year, 2009 in its upcoming issue.Other nominees include Nandan Nilekani, Chetan Bhagat, Facebook, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Gandhi. The award is decided through public voting.The voting is open until 11.00 p.m. today. 25 readers, who will be picked by a lucky draw, will be conferred with a special prize by the editorial team at Forbes. The next issue will hit news stands on Friday, December 18th.
Producer-director Soundarya Rajinikanth will walk the ramp at the Chennai International Fashion Week for designer Anurag Goenka on Dec 17.Soundarya Rajinikanth, daughter of Superstar Rajinikanth, is currently busy with her film Goa produced by Ocher Studios. The movie also hit the headlines recently regarding a stay order from the Madras High Court after a construction company filed a case against them. Goa is a romantic comedy directed by Venkat Prabhu.Soundarya is also simultaneously working on Sultan, the warrior, Rajinikanth's first animation film. So you can see the superstar's daughter walking the ramp at Day Two of Chennai International Fashion Week on December 17, 2009.
The Varanam Aayiram lass, Sameera Reddy is celebrating her birthday today (Dec 14). Sam, as she is called by her friends, is currently busy wrapping up the shooting schedule of Ajith starrer Aasal, in which she plays a vital role.But the Mumbai actress will be busy today, shooting non-stop to complete the schedule. “I have already given my call sheet for Aasal, I cannot disturb others in the name of my birthday,” says the gorgeous actress. “I enjoyed working for Aasal; I have a very pivotal role in the film and it has shaped out well too,” she added.Also the latest we hear is that the actress had shot a stylish dance number with Ajith supervised by Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya. Speaking about Ajith, she say, “You can't find him wasting any time; he is very disciplined and a man of dignity. Even during breaks, he keeps himself busy.”After finishing Aasal, the actress will start her debut Malayalam project Casanova with Mohanlal. “I will start working for Roshan Andrews directed Casanova from the first week of January in Dubai. I heard the narration and immediately agreed to do it. My role is very crucial for the story,” says an excited Sameera.Buzz is that the actress will have a small get-together for her friends and family in Mumbai on her birthday.
We know that Kollywood's most prominent production and distribution house Sun Pictures is the distributor of Ilayathalapathi Vijay's much-celebrated Vettaikkaaran, slated for December 18 release!Now, we hear that this Kalanidhi Maran-owned media giant has bagged yet another Vijay starrer Sura, which happens to be Vijay's 50th film, being directed by S.P. Rajkumar and produced by Sangili Murugan with reigning queen Tamannaah as heroine.the first schedule of Sura, rumoured to be a remake of Malayalam super star Mohanlal's Chotta Mumbai (2007), was recently completed and the crew is currently shooting for the next schedules in Pondicherry and Vizag.
After Amitabh Bachchan's ground-breaking transformation to Auro in Paa, it is now the turn of daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to undergo a drastic makeover.Buzz has it that Aishwarya will be playing an old lady in a few scenes in Vipul Shah's forthcoming Action Replay, for which she will have intensive make up sessions with Hollywood make up artists.Besides Ash, Action Replay also stars Akshay Kumar and Randhir Kapoor. The film is currently under production and is expected to release in April 2010.
After the grand international success of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, Mumbai slums have become fashionable and popular visiting places for international audiences. Just how much? Sudhir Mishra discovered this when he took his long-delayed film on slum life Tera Kya Hoga Johnny (featuring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Soha Ali Khan, Shahana Goswami and Karan Nath along with a real street child Sikandar) to New York's South Asian Film Festival held from October 28 to November 3.At the festival, American critics reacted to Sudhir Mishra's Tera Kya Hoga Johnny as another Slumdog Millionaire.Now Sudhir will release the film in a dubbed English version. "After Slumdog Millionaire, the West is looking with much curiosity at the slum culture of Mumbai. I had no plans of doing an English version of Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. But everyone who saw it in New York suggested I do it. Every frame in my film has been shot in the lanes and gullies of South Mumbai in Colaba."With Tutu Sharma now taking over as co-producer of Tera Kya Hoga Johnny, the film is all set for an early January 2010 release.Thus ends the blame game where Neil Nitin Mukesh was being accused of trying to stall the film by not dubbing for it.Defends Sudhir Mishra, "First of all, most of the film is in sync sound. There was just about a day's dubbing to be done by Neil. He finished it long ago. Why blame the poor guy?"
Sameer (Dhyaan in Kannada) who will soon be seen in Kutty with Dhanush and Shriya, is in Dubai for the Film Festival, where his Shyam Benegal movie Well Done Abba is being screened. He had a scary experience when shooting for his Hindi film 8, a horror flick directed by Wilson Louis.The schedule was in Jodhpur where the team was shooting in the 400-year-old Khejarla Fort. Like many forts and palaces in Rajasthan, this too has been converted into a heritage hotel. The shooting was going as planned, but when the team had to travel to locales away from the city for the shooting, local tales of spirits and ghosts spooked them out. Imagine shooting for a horror film at places that have ghostly pasts!
It's soon going to be officially celebrated as the only film in the world featuring the father-son duo reversing their real-life roles on screen.Real-life father and son Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan are all set to enter the Guinness Book Of World Records for being the only father-son acting duo to have played reversed roles on screen in Paa. It's also the only instance of a 67-year old actor playing a 12-year old child and a 31-year old actress playing mother to a 67 -year old actor.Director Balki admits Paa is pretty much a hotbed of unprecedented occurrences. "You know, while casting and all through the shooting, I never sat back to consider the uniqueness of the casting. It was only the people all around me who seemed to be constantly conscious of the casting oddity. To me Amitji, Abhishek and Vidya were playing the roles I had in mind for them from the start. But now, I do see that the casting is exceptional. It hasn't been done in any part of the world. So yes, plans are afoot to enter Paa into the Guinness book in various categories."The necessary steps have already been made and Balki would ensure that Paa gets noticed in the right categories as soon as release of the film is completed.After Paa, he plans to take a vacation and let his wife Gauri Shinde direct a film for his production house."Gauri has been a part of my creative processes for many years now. We got married two years back. The film she wants to make is very different from what I do. Her script has a flavour that's totally removed from mine."None of the Bachchans are likely to figure in Balki's wife's directorial debut. But Balki intends to make his third film with the Bachchans, this time making sure that Mrs. Jaya Bachchan too has a part.
If you think that the fashion fever is over for the year, it's time to think again because Tamil Nadu's capital is all set to host the Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW). The event will unfold over five days (Dec 16 to Dec 20) and will have participants from 10 countries at the Le Royal Meridien, Chennai.A whopping 1200 outfits from 25 fashion show will be displayed only at the CIFW. Watch the ramp set ablaze by Neil Nitin Mukesh walking for Sidney S. and Genelia D'Souza for Ishita Singh. Other celebrity participants includes Sushmita Sen, Koena Mitra, Alecia Raut, Namitha, Anarkali Akshara and Indrani Dasgupta.It is reported that there will be 26 rocking shows with 20 film stars participating in the event. International flavours will converge from the US, UK, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Mauritius and other nations. Some of the better-known Indian names include Sidney Sladen, Neeta Lulla, Vikram Phandis, Satya Paul and Rehane.CIFW has been formed as a platform for Indian designers to showcase their collections to world media and global fashion professionals.
The Chennai International Fashion Week (CIFW) is all set to roll from December 16, 2009. And as 30 well known designers from 10 countries gear up to show off their creations on the ramp, news about the showstoppers is also trickling in.Genelia, who has made her mark in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, will be the showstopper on Day One for designer Ishita Singh. Genelia, who is a popular model for several brands, has walked the ramp for quite few fashion shows and it would be indeed a pleasure to see her on the Chennai fashion scene.Riding on the success wave of her recent releases, Genelia will be soon seen shaking a leg with Shahid Kapur in Ken Ghosh's musical Chance Pe Dance, which hits screens in January next year.Genelia is having a good run on television as well, with the success of the reality show Big Switch hosted by her. Her soon to be released Telugu film Katha is expected to create waves at the box office.So all you Genelia fans and fashion mongers, better not miss this chance to watch the young star stride down the ramp at CIFW.
Veteran Bollywood actor Om Puri's biography written by his wife Nandita Puri will be released in Chennai by none other than Kamal Haasan on 14th December. Titled 'Unlikely Hero: Om Puri', it was earlier released in Mumbai by Amitabh Bachchan and Mani Ratnam at the IFFI.The book was in the limelight when media reports revealed that Om Puri had a spat with his wife on some issues in the book. But Puri rubbished all these media reports and added that he has absolutely no issues in this matter. “She hasn't written anything awkward,” he said.Nandita clarified that there are no marketing tactics behind these reports; she also said that the book is the story of a man born with a wooden spoon. Unlikely hero: Om Puri talks about the life and times of the veteran actor, an uplifting story of a man who beat poverty and other odds to become India’s first truly successful crossover actor.The book, presented by Roli Books and ITC, will be released at Mowbrays, Sheraton Park Hotel at 7.30 p.m.
Oscar winning music maestro A.R. Rahman will be part of the forthcoming Hollywood film Son of a Preacher Man, based on the life and times of Grammy winning singer-lyricist-producer P.J. Morton.To be shot in Atlanta and New Orleans in USA and London in United Kingdom, Son of a Preacher Man is directed by Michael Akwesi Djaba and will be released in 2010. Rahman and P.J. Morton collaborated on the 'Sajna' song in recent Hollywood comedy Couples Retreat.Besides Rahman, American Gospel musician Kirk Franklin (Norbit), Grammy nominated American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard (Life on a Stick) and producer Warryn Campbell (Stomp the Yard) will also have roles in this film.
While the premiere for James Cameron’s newest adventure Avatar is scheduled for 11th December, to catch the movie in India, we need to wait a week longer. The movie releases across the country on 18th December, and expectations here are quite as overwhelming as they are abroad. It must be noted that after the thunderous success of his Titanic, James has kept away from mainstream cinema, keeping himself busy by making documentaries. However, his latest offering is now on the verge of release, and he is already making up for his absence from the cine scene! Avatar is a human versus humanoid story, set in the distant future on a planet that is as similar to Earth as it is different! And yes, the film is in 3D!Without revealing much about the story, 20th Century Fox, the studio producing the movie, has been releasing featurette after featurette to keep the interest and intrigue going. These featurettes give us detailed descriptions of the paradise-like planet and its predominantly harmless human-like inhabitants. The details are so well-researched and narrated, they tend to make us believe this fictitious land actually exists at the said spot in a neighbouring galaxy! The authenticity of these promotional featurettes have succeeded in further kindling the interests of fans who already believe the movie will make a sweep at the Oscars next year! In just a week, we will know for sure, how far these predictions will hold true...
