Chennai's tribute to Michael Jackson

Musician-actor Shruti Haasan is all set to pay tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson on August 29. A group of young singers will be performing live in Chennai as a tribute to the late pop star. While several legends from the music world are expected to attend the event, Shruti Haasan’s father Kamal Haasan too will be present along with AR Rahman, Shankar Mahadevan and others.

A source said, “Shruti Haasan will be performing on three Michael Jackson numbers. However, they are still to zero in on the songs. Young talents like Benny Dayal and Krish will also be performing. The show will be held at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Many other performers and celebrities will be attending the show, the details of which are being finalised.”

Shruti Haasan said, “It’s a really big event in Chennai. It’s a meeting of all musicians, who are coming together to pay tribute to the career of a great man. We are all very excited and enthusiastic about the show. We are the first city to do something like this. ....

Kamal and Murugadoss to work together!

This sounds like one combination that can’t fail. Arguably India’s finest actor is ready to join hands with the most promising of young directors, AR Murugadoss.

This doesn’t seem to be the dream of the film buffs alone. Director Murugadoss, who is yet to begin his next project after ‘Ghajini’, also shares this dream to work with the Universal Hero.

He announced this at an event held recently which was attended by Kamal Haasan himself. The director went on to publicly state that he was a big fan of Kamal, who’s experimentation with roles has fascinated him a lot. He also went on to state that he would like to do a project with Kamal as the hero.

AR Murugadoss has earlier directed ‘Dheena’, ‘Ramana’ and the Suriya-starrer ‘Ghajini’ that went on to be made in Bollywood with Aamir Khan reprising Suriya’s role. Murugadoss has been holding talks with Shah Rukh for his next film, even while he will be teaming up with Suriya for another film soon. ....

I’m a soft target: Nayantara

Her last movie ‘Villu’ worked well among her fans and they were happy with her refreshing appearance. The ‘Loose Penne’ gal later created sensation when she was seen sporting a tattooed name on her arm, to reveal her love for choreographer-actor-director Prabhudeva.

Nayantara has not only bold been enough to shed off her village belle image but has been facing the rough waters of filmdom all alone till now. She is one of the few actresses in the industry who doesn’t turn up to the shooting spot along with a parent. She rebuked at the media remarks that it is untrue to say that she had been accompanied by her parents to her workplace. Initially, her dad used to accompany Nayantara to the shooting locations, later on she realised that it was not good to trouble him and managed alone thereafter. During the course of her career, she even braved all the controversies herself without allowing any helping hand from her family.

“There has been lot of rough reporting when it comes to me, as I’m a soft target. I really don’t bother too much about it, but when my family is unnecessarily dragged into such reports, it upsets me,” complains the annoyed actress.

Well Nayantara, they say - The fame you earn has a different taste from the fame that is forced upon you. ....

Neetu Chandra wants to croon

Taking cue from other actresses, Neetu Chandra has expressed her wish to sing. This bold and beautiful hopes to take the singing track someday. Having come from a musical background, Neetu seems to have a husky voice according to some people but the actress reveals, “I can hit the high notes as well”.

Neetu has formal training in Kathak and other dance forms and she wants to expand her horizons in the rhythmic field too. But she is sad that no such offer has come her way till now. She is really waiting to try out her singing talent and while expressing her wish she says, “I haven’t got the opportunity to utilise this talent of mine. I’m all game to experiment though!”

Well, Neetu, time will come... ....

Vikram turns producer

After striking jackpot on a hat-trick roll, M. Sasi Kumar has a reason to rejoice now. The filmmaker is ready on the heels of getting with his next untitled film based on the backdrops of Chennai. With the film completely comprised with new faces in lead role, the latest buzz is that Actor Vikram will be producing the film.

When enquired the closer sources, they had revealed that both Sasi Kumar and Actor Vikram are in discussions and will not let any official announcements until everything is finalized. One sure thing about the fact is that Vikram has no ideas about donning any roles even in cameos for this film. ....

Namitha's the new action girl

We have seen her oozing with sex appeal. Namitha is famous for her glam roles and sexy image. Her performance in 'Billa' generated quite a bit of heat.

Now Namitha will be seen in a different avatar. The hot babe will show her mettle for doing stunts in her upcoming film 'Desadrohi'. She says that she enjoys doing action sequences and also knows that Vijayshanthi has already been a successful action heroine.

The lady has decided to do all the stunts by herself without using a body double. Interestingly, Namitha is said to have cut down on her weight drastically and reports say that she has come down by almost seven kilos of weight.

Get ready for a slender and strong Namitha folks. ....

Kanthaswamy: The next big hit?

Kanthaswamy seems to have packaged the highest in everything. Mention glamour, and there’s a wholesome double dose of it, with Mumaith Khan and Shriya lending their bits.

Think of heroism, and the movie’s superhero storyline, with Vikram effortlessly flying over skyscrapers flashes into memory. There’s action, there’s romance, there’s nail biting thrill and stunts that will take your breath away.

The film, directed by Susi Ganesan, is being produced by Dhanu’s V Creations. ....

Asin's gearing up for a hot photoshoot

Asin will reach Chennai this week to participate in the photoshoot for '19 Steps' with Japanese superstar Tadanobu Asano. Post the thumping success of Hindi 'Ghajini', Asin has shifted her base to Mumbai.

'19 steps' is a mega budget international film starring Kamal Haasan in the lead. The period film, written by Jnanpith award winner MT Vasudevan nair and directed by Bharath Bala, is about a Japanese warrior who learns the martial art Kalaripayattu from a master in Kerala (Kamal). The film is produced by Bharath Bala and Walt Disney Productions.

Recently, Asano was in Chennai for the discussions and had gone to Kozhikode to meet M T Vasudevan Nair. ....

Namitha's glams up for Indra Vizha

‘Indra Vizha’ stars Sreekanth, Namitha and Hema Malini has been in the news for its supposedly very high glam content. The recently released stills of the movie shows sirens Namitha and newbie Hema Malini competing with each other on the glamour front.

K Rajeswar directs the film being produced by Ashok K Kothvani. The film is about how the smooth love life of Santhosh (Sreekanth) and Savithri (Hemamalini) undergoes a violent change when the beautiful wife (Kamini, played by Namitha) of Santosh’s boss makes an unexpected entry.

Yadish sets to music the lyrics penned by Vairamuthu. ....

Kandasamy is not Krissh: Vikram

Actor Vikram has pinned to rock higher with successful colors on his forthcoming couple of projects. With Mani Rathnam’s ‘Raavan’ getting him on the last legs of schedule, his protégé Susi Ganesh has got ‘Kandasamy’ completed. As everyone in the film’s crew revealed Kandasamy is a superhero film, Vikram was questioned whether it would be equally enhancing as Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Krish’.

Immediately, the actor came up with a statement, ‘Krish is nowhere near Kandasamy. It was a ridiculous film made with merely top-notching technical aspects. But here, we have focused on both narrative as well technical vistas. They’re sure about mind-boggling the audiences...” ....

Unnaipol Oruvan to mark Haasan's 50 years in cinema

Unnaipol Oruvan is sure to be special to film fans both in Tamil and Malayalam. If the movie is bringing together two of the best known legends of film frat, it is also being timed for release in a way that it is special to the audiences. The film, which will be completed including post production in a month from now, is being planned as an August release for two reasons. August 12, a good fifty years ago, was when Kamal’s first film, Kalathur Kannamma was released. Plans are on to release this film on the same date.

This also works well for the Malayalam star Mohanlal, who acts with Kamal Haasan for the first time in the film. This film will be seen also as his treat for Malayalam fans in the traditional Onam season. Unnaipol Oruvan, directed by debutant Chakri Toleti, is being jointly produced by U TV and Raajkamal Films international. It is a remake of A Wednesday, and shooting, for most part of the film, has been completed. The film has been shot entirely in Hyderabad, and is a bilingual, simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu (as Eenadu). ....