Exhibitors, distributors to boycott 'Kuselan' producers

CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Rajnikant may have promised Rs.100 million compensation to distributors of his box office flop "Kuselan", but exhibitors and distributors Friday announced a non-cooperation movement against the film's producers and the actor.

Small exhibitors and distributors across the state are angry with producer Pushpa Kandaswamy for blaming main distributor Pyramid Saimira for the losses, industry sources said.

"Exhibitors Pyramid Saimira's bosses saw the film a week before release, hiked its costs by publicity hype and hiked the ticket prices, going against the sane advice of Rajnikanth, and are responsible for the losses. Further, no film can be written off within 20 days of its release," Kandaswamy, daughter of director K. Balachander, said Thursday.

S. Palaniappan, head of a distributors' organisation, earlier this week complained that the distributors were taken for a ride by the producers, who claimed it was a full length Rajnikanth film, though he featured only for a little over 20 minutes.

The stir by distributors is likely to hit Kandaswamy's production house Kavithalaya. Its forthcoming releases, which include the Arjun-starrer "Thiruvannamalai" and "Krishna Leelai" are banking on the smaller distributors and exhibitors, who have now threatened to boycott the films.

Meanwhile, industry sources said that Rajnikant has asked producer Panchu Arunachalam to make a quick film and market it at a discount to help distributors. ....

'US is the real hero of movie Meiporul'

IT'S touted as the first Tamil film to be shot entirely in the US and the excitement doesn’t end there. 'Meiporul' is special to the Tamil film fraternity for sentimental reasons too.

It’s the debut film of NRI civil engineer turned film producer and director Natty Kumar, son of producer TN Janakiraman of MR Arts Fame. The audio launch of the film was marked by the presence of several producers who lauded the efforts of the youngster.

As dad Janakiraman put it, “Since Natty became an engineer and settled in the US, I never imagined that one day I would be introducing him as a producer and director, carrying on my film lineage. It’s a very satisfying moment for me”

Dreams on Frames’ 'Meiporul' is a family suspense thriller, produced by Natty Kumar and Krishna Bala and has several American technicians. The background score is by John Masey while the camera has been handled by Chris Elridge. Lenin edits while Rahul debuts as the music director with this film.

Speaking on the occasion, S Ve Sekar remarked, “It's very courageous of Natty to make a film like this, spending in dollars, without even knowing the outcome of it. The film looks slick and America seems to be the real hero in it.” So what made Natty take up this film? “My dad gave me an Indian education while my wife made me go back to school in the US!” quipped Natty.

“Thanks to her encouragement, I did a film technology course in the US and the movie is the outcome of my interest in filmmaking.” The film’s co-producer, Krishna Bala was an IT geek in Napster before the film bug bit him too.

With more and more people from various backgrounds making Tamil films, looks like there are good times ahead for the film industry. ....

'It took me weeks to forget Ayyanar'-Aadhi

IN an image driven industry, it takes sheer courage for a debutant hero to play Aadhi’s role in Mirugam. A rough, arrogant, violent, sexually overactive, rustic character who ends up an AIDS victim, turning hollow eyed, balding and emaciated is not everyone’s idea of a dream debut.

His debut can perhaps be compared to that of Karthi, who also courageously took on a rustic, self-transforming role in Paruthiveeran, both actors preferring performance over appearance and image. Aadhi too in actuality, is quite the opposite of his screen character. So who is Aadhi? How tough was Mirugam? What are his future plans in Kollywood?

No cakewalk

“I‘m a complete Chennaiite,” says the Don Bosco and Venkateshwara Engineering College graduate. A BE in Computer Engineering satisfied his dad Raviraja Pini Setty (actor and director of 60 Telugu films) who always kept him away from the uncertain cinematic world. “Till I joined movies I had never been to a film shooting!” grins Aadhi.

So why did he join films? “Actors from the film frat were doing it around me and when I acted in a play Galileo Galilei directed by Mu Ramasamy, I thought of giving films a shot,” he shrugs. The first break came with Teja’s Telugu film Oka V Chitram which didn’t do too well. He was disappointed and decided to discontinue and get a job.

But director Saamy spotted him at the YMCA at Pandian master’s Silambam class and offered him Mirugam. “Frankly I was hesitant and thought it's not for a newcomer. But my friends encouraged me. I also knew that the Tamil audience would encourage something new, so I accepted,” recalls Aadhi.

The going gets tough

Preparation for the role was tough. “From 85 kg I increased to 95 kg and then reduced to 65 kg for the second half where I become sick and old,” recalls Aadhi. He exercised vigorously for the muscled look and grew a beard and long hair to complete his character. He stayed in Kurandi village for one-and-a-half months to get the dialect, arrogant swagger and mannerisms of Ayyanar by watching the local folks.

“I became completely tanned, with skin peeling off. I wore only a veshti. We had no TV, computer or mobiles. I used to watch the men getting drunk so I could imitate them in the film. I recorded live conversations to practise the speech. When the unit came to visit the location, Thota Tharani’s car whizzed past me as I looked just like a local,” chuckles Aadhi who had indeed passed the litmus test.

The sick man’s make up took three hours to put on and two hours to remove. So after a long late night shoot, he would get two hours sleep and then had to be back in the make up room early morning! The heat made it worse. Shooting went on for long hours in rough terrain without even a tree for shade. But the toughest parts were the intimate scenes.

“I wasn’t comfortable and had to go for several retakes,” he recollects. Getting out of the role was equally tough. “It took me weeks to forget Ayyanar. I would talk rudely to my parents and react arrogantly, always speaking the Madurai dialect.

Getting rid of the beard and long hair after five months, was the first step towards becoming my old self. Being with my friends helped greatly. When I first came back and saw TVs, computers and mobiles, they looked completely alien!” recalls Aadhi.

Future plans

Aadhi is currently doing S Pictures Eerum, directed by Arivu Azhagan. The exact opposite of Ayyanar, he plays a city-bred, subtle, level headed youth. Samy’s next, Sarithiram is a fully commercial action film with Raj Kiran and Ganja Karuppu.

About the future he says, “I am grateful to Samy. I wasn’t confident, but he had faith in me and moulded me. I have three very varied movies and my future depends on the audience’s response to me.

I personally would love to work with directors like Gautham, Ameer, Sasikumar, Venkat Prabhu, Bala and Selvaraghavan.” Aadhi’s motto in life are dad's words, ‘Success and failure should never take you high nor low.’ With a balanced outlook to life and the courage of conviction in his eyes, looks like this new kid on the block is set to go places.

Dream debut

Aadhi’s famous three-and-a-half minute Jallikattu scene was cut from the film due to a protest by the Animal Welfare Board and a court case on the sport. Aadhi was deeply disappointed. “It was my opening scene which establishes the character. Samy told me we could use a dupe but I wanted to do the Jallikattu scene myself.

Maybe I had grown accustomed to roaming with bulls and cows by then! I actually played the sport amongst a live Jallikattu we had organised, complete with protective measures in place.

Only the final scene where I turn the bulls head was filmed in close up with the bull safely segregated,” recalls Aadhi. Later the case was resolved but it was too late to include the scenes in the film.

The hard work did pay and Aadhi received a good response. The film ran for 75 days and distributors recoverd their investments. “You didn’t perform like a newcomer,” was the common refrain.

He won the MGR Sivaji Award and the Old is Gold award for best newcomer while being a nominee for the Vijay TV award for best debutant (which finally went to Karthi). ....

Movie Saroja a road trip thriller

ACTUALLY, situation demands that you atleast sport a six pack if you want to be a successful Kollywood hero. Sarath Kumar or Suriya are no exceptions and Vijaykanth-waistlines simply won’t do.

Here’s where it beats you that director Venkat Prabhu does a movie with the likes of Mirchi Siva, Premgi ‘enna kodumai saar idhu’ Amaren and SP Charan as protagonists. Vaibhav, the new face in the movie, does pull of a macho look, however.

But again, like Venkat Prabhu’s previous Chennai 6000028, this isn’t a herobased script. In fact, the director explains that Chennai 600028 was not even a storybased movie at all, but just life in anyone’s locality, completely uncut. “But Saroja does have a story. It’s a thriller whose climax begins in a quick 40 minutes.

And the pace just doesn’t slacken for you to sit back on your seats ever,” he explains. There’s a story, and then, there’s fun in it, situational.

Simply put, there’s Premgi in his element, who has another one-line refrain (like Enna Kodumai Saar idhu) in this movie as well. “It’s a thriller, alright, but I can’t make a serious movie with guys like Premgi.

He is the guy who spread a word that he was the hero of Santhosh Subramaniyam and Jayam Ravi, was just his friend doing a cameo. He’s doing the same with Saroja too, but let me tell you, all four men are heroes of the movie. SP Charan and Vaibhav play Telugu-speaking people in the movie.

And Jayaram plays a serious police officer, as opposed to all funny roles. In fact, my villain Sampath is a good looker and is even shown having a love life in the film.

It’s not just another movie and care has been taken to make it look like a different road trip film,” explains the director, who adds that directing is more common sense than a curriculum to study, not requiring him to work as an assistant or study direction.

Saroja has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, composed in a record two days. Cranking the camera is Shakthi Saravanan, who was under the scanner for his dull, jaded work in Chennai 600028. “Not many realised that it was to give a neighbourhood look to the movie.

But this time, it’s going to be a glossy rich look like that of a Hollywood movie,” he adds.

And why? “Because we want to tell people that we Chennai 600028 boys can actually do a technically sound movie with finesse, and not just be funny. We are not like that only.” ....

'Acting happened by chance'-Ragini

SHE seems down-to-earth, dignified and very much in love with what she's doing. Happy to be acting in yet another Sundar C film ( after her debut 'Sandai'), Ragini is going to be seen soon in Thee.

So how did she come into showbiz? “Acting happened just by chance,” says Ragini, who happens to be related to none other than Khushboo. “My akka is Khushboo’s anni,” she explains. “When I used to come down from Malaysia and visit her, she would ask me if was interested in acting. I was already interested in dancing.

So I decided to take the opportunity to act when it came after I completed my education,” smiles the trained Bharatnatyam dancer.

The savvy gal has done her undergraduate studies in the US and ran an event management company in Malaysia before her jump into tinseltown.

And she seems to be getting enough opportunity to showcase her talent in Kollywood quite early in her career. She played a modern girl in Sandai and is a housewife with two kids in the forthcoming Thee. So how difficult has her journey been in tinselville so far? “I was lucky to have these opportunities to learn so much from Sundar C.

He is so easy to work with,” she gushes, all praise for him. “He is very simple and down to earth with anyone he meets. Despite being so senior he would sit with us under the trees and have lunch. He is untouched by the ‘caravan culture’. I have learnt so much.”

Thee is a film with a message for society and other costar is the sizzling Namitha. Is Ragini flooded with more offers after her successful Sandai? “Aadi kept projects on hold but now I will be looking at more of them soon,” concludes the gal. With all the family support thrown in, Kollywood should be a cakewalk for the talented young lady. ....

Shriya and dhanush to team up

DIRECTOR Mitran Jawahar and Dhanush will pair up for the second time after 'Yaaradi Nee Mohini' for a movie. Shriya plays the heroine Actor Dhanush, who is currently working on 'Padikkadhavan' with Suraj, will next be doing a movie with director Mitran Jawahar.

The movie, yet to be titled, will have Shriya pair up with the actor for the second time after 'Thiruvilayaadal Aarambam'.

Sivaji Film Circuit will produce the movie and other details about the cast and crew are yet to finalized. The movie’s storyline is said to be an adaptation of the movie Arya, though changes will be made in the storyline and the second half of the movie, according to the director.

Devisri Prasad, who is now doing movies like 'Kandasamy' and 'Villu,' is composing music for this movie as well. This will be the first time that Devisre Prasad and Dhanush will team up for a movie as well. ....

Trisha thrilled to croon for Rahman

CHENNAI: Tamil actress Trisha says she is thrilled to sing for a forthcoming movie under the baton of AR Rahman.

"I was thrilled when Rahman invited me to sing. I could not refuse the chance because I'm bowled over by his talent," Trisha told IANS.

"I think I sing okay, but never dared to do so in public," added the actress who featured in two recent hits - Tamil film "Kuruvi" and Telugu moive "Bujjigadu".

Though there has been no official announcement, sources close to Rahman and the actress said the movie might be "Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikkalam".

Trisha's next is heroine-centric movie "Abhiyum Naanum" and is scheduled for an early October release. ....

Will Rajni energise fan clubs after lacklustre 'Kuselan'?

CHENNAI: Shaken by the lukewarm response to his latest release 'Kuselan', southern superstar Rajnikant is all set to energise his fan clubs in Tamil Nadu.

'We realised that most of our active members were lured away by actors-turned-politicians Vijaykanth and Sarath Kumar to build their parties, resulting in several clubs becoming headless. This also contributed to poor turnouts at 'Kuselan' screenings,' said a top functionary of the Rajni Rasikar Mandram.

The Mandram is an umbrella organisation of Rajnikant fan clubs in Tamil Nadu.

A meet has been scheduled for Aug 27 at the Raghavendra Marriage Hall here owned by Rajnikant to help overhaul the fan clubs. An announcement about the number of such clubs touching 100,000 would be made that day, a source said.

Industry sources said Rajnikant is being forced to shore up his act since the new movie projects starring him are expected to cost over Rs.2 billion.

'The actor had embarked upon a similar exercise after the 2002 flop 'Baba' and it fetched him good returns for subsequent releases, 'Chandramukhi' and 'Sivaji',' the sources said.

A fan club secretary from western Tamil Nadu said many branches of the Mandram body would request the iconic 50-plus actor to start his own political party. After all, another southern star, Chiranjeevi, has only just joined politics.

Sources close to Rajnikant, however, said he was against such a move and had discouraged a similar effort a few years ago when a political outfit had been named after him.

Explaining the reasons for the dull performance of 'Kuselan', a source said: 'Corporate houses out to make a fast buck are trying to break the existing distributor lobby in the south - a development frowned upon by the star.

'Though Rajnikant had discouraged the exhibitor, Pyramid Saimira, from billing 'Kuselan' as a full length film with him as the lead, they ignored his requests and hyped the film, unnecessarily leading to huge losses to small exhibitors,' the source said.

Saimira has, however, denied the charge and said the movie is expected to recover the cost. ....

Theatre owners seek compensation for losses

CHENNAI: RAJINI-starrer 'Kuselan' has suffered yet another low with the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association demanding more compensation for the losses they have suffered on the movie. The decision was taken at a meeting of the association here on Saturday.

Pyramid Saimira, the movie’s distributors, had earlier announced to compensate 35 per cent of the minimum guarantee amount at which the exhibitors had purchased the exhibiting rights.

“Pyramid Saimira had agreed to refund us and the other distributors of the movie to the extent of 35 percent.

But the distributors association is against reclaiming money for the losses suffered.

So, we have decided to ask Saimira for that compensation amount as well,” explained R Panneer Selvam, secretary, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association, adding that this would take the total compensation received to 60 per cent of the Minimum Guarantee amount.

Over 125 theatres, excluding Pyramid Saimira’s theatre chain, had obtained screening rights of 'Kuselan' under the minimum guarantee method, and over 80 per cent of them had reported a loss. Pyamid Saimira had obtained the distribution rights of the movie at Rs 67 crore and had distributed the films directly in a few areas, including Chennai and Salem.

Members of the theatre owners’ association had met Rajinikanth on Friday, and it transpired that the actor discussed their problems for almost an hour.“He was very understanding and even mentioned that we needn’t have purchased the rights to exhibit using the minimum guarantee method,” said Sukumaran, a committee member.

The total amount to be paid back to the theatre owners will have to be coughed up by Pyramid Saimira, Rajini kanth and producers Seven Arts and Kavithalaya.

Explaining why the theatre owners have asked for a reclaim from Rajini, though he was not the producer, Panneer Selvam said, “Film’s director Vasu had once announced that Kuselan is Rajini’s movie and changes have been made keeping the superstar in mind. Rajinikanth, who was also present at the event, did not refute it. Even their publicity for the movie was only Rajini-centric. This led us to believe that he is the movie and that is why we are seeking a compensation. In fact, we have suffered a loss for many movies, including Vijay’s 'Kuruvi', Simbhu’s 'Kaalai', Vikram’s 'Bheema' and currently Vishal’s 'Sathyam', but we haven’t asked for a refund.

That’s because we took the decision and were prepared to face the results. But, in Kuselan’s case, we were misled by Vasu’s statements.” 'Kuselan', the members said, had taught them a lesson on the entire system of acquiring exhibition rights.

“From now on, we have decided not to agree to exhibit any movie under the minimum guarantee method. It should actually be the movie’s producers, who pay us money first to screen their movie.

In future, if any theatre works under the minimum guarantee system, it will not be supported by the association,” Panneer Selvam added. ....