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. ....

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. ....

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...” ....

Kanthaswamy’s grand audio launch plans

The audio of the much-awaited Vikram-Shriya starrer 'Kanthaswamy', will be held in the Chennai Trade Centre on May 17. The launch, which was originally scheduled for April 14, has been shifted by a month, thus delaying the movie’s release to June.

Kanthaswamy’s audio launch will be a one-of-its-kind event, where in over 30 celebs for Chennai, will take a pledge and adopt a village each and take care of its necessities. Apart from that, it is also expected that two of the film’s songs will be performed live, all sung by Vikram himself. Shriya is also expected to do a sizzling number on stage, as an indicator of her glamour levels in the film. Music for the film is by Devi Sri Prasad, who will also perform live.

‘Kanthaswamy’ is being directed by Susi Ganesan and produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu. Over 40 more dancers have been flown in from Italy to decorate the event. The audio launch will only be a sample of the grandeur splashed in the film. The audio launch will be a live telecast on Sun TV. ....

Rs 3 crore costume for Vikram-Shriya

One of the big budget films in 2009, ‘Kanthaswamy’ has Vikram and Shriya in the lead. Director Susi Ganesan says the film’s storyline demanded a big budget. “In fact, we have not splurged just for the sake of it. We have spent where it is really necessary. But costumes in the film will be a highlight,” says the director.

“Vikram, playing a superhero in the flick, wears clothes worth Rs 75 lakh alone, while Shriya, whose glamour and acting will be a highlight in the movie, wears clothes worth a whopping Rs 1.25 crore,” he explains, putting the movies budget at over Rs 30 crore. “We wanted to shoot in new locations and toured and shot for a month in Mexico. We spent Rs 8 crores for shooting there, while some scenes and a song, shot in Itlay, cost us Rs 2 crore. Apart from these, being a superhero action adventure, the film has a lot of special effects. These have itself cost us Rs 3 crores,” says the director.

‘Kanthaswamy’, produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu, has music by Devi Sri Prasad and is likely to be a June end release. ....

Vikram and Shriya will speak in Spanish for Kanthaswamy

This movie’s hype gets bigger by the day. It has an enviable star cast like Vikram and Shriya. It is being directed by a director of repute, Susi Ganesan and has for the producer, one of the biggest showmen in our country, Thanu.

It was the first Tamil movie to shoot for about a month in Mexico, the first film ever to be shot in Italy’s theatre, the first film in over three decades to have the hero sing all song of the film, in both Tamil and Telugu. The list goes, on and on.

The latest we hear from the crew is that the movie will truly go international trying to capture the international market. In that bid, ‘Kanthaswamy’ is all set to be released in Italian and Spanish as well.
This is largely because a big portion of the film has been shot in these places, and that could be the reason for the film to interest them. The film’s audio is expected to be launched this month, and the movie will be a June end release. Whatever be the languages, we’d like to see the film first. ....

Vikram-Shriya's 'Kandhasamy' to release in June

The release date of 'Kandhasamy' has been postponed to June 12 from May 29. The audio launch too has been delayed, from April 26 to May 10. Vikram and Shriya Saran play the lead roles in the film.

The mega budget action entertainer by Susi Ganesan has been one of the most hyped movies in recent times. Mind-blowing action sequences and breathtaking songs shot in exotic locations will be the highlights of the film, say insiders. Vikam has sung four songs for the movie. Devi Sri Prasad is the music director.

Thought the shooting for the super hero movie is complete, the post production work, including graphics and animation, is taking longer than expected, say our sources. ....

Mani Ratnam permitted to shoot in forest area

Ace director Mani Ratnam, the shooting of whose latest multilingual film Ravana was stopped by the Kerala Forest department last week, has been given conditional sanction on Tuesday to continue shooting in the Malayatoor forest near Kochi.

Earlier, shooting was stopped on Friday and the forest officials asked the crew to pack up after they found that the crew had constructed huts inside the forest, which was against the terms of sanction.

According to new sanction, the crew numbers are restricted to 150. Shooting is permitted between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. only. There should not be any fight scenes in the location and no bushes or trees should be destroyed. No plastic material can be used. Besides, the filmmakers have been asked to remit a fee of Rs. 10,000 per day of shooting. The number of vehicles allowed inside the forest has also been drastically reduced. Reports said that the case registered by the forest department will continue.

Prior to the violations, all what they were charged was a mere Rs. 1,000 for the entire duration of the shoot. Bollywood stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, who are part of the project, are expected to arrive next week. Prominent stars like Vikram, Govinda, Prithviraj and Priyamani will also participate. Reports indicate that the filming inside the forest included a battle where over 500 people were to take part.

Mani Ratnam is making this film in Hindi and Tamil simultaneously. Vikram will play the villain while Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai is the lead pair in Hindi; Vikram will play the lead opposite Aishwarya in Tamil. The film is based on the grand epic Ramayana.

Courtesy:galatta.com ....

Vikram-Ash to film in Kerala

Now that Vikram has completed his part in Susi Ganesan's Kanthasamy and Aishwarya Rai is on the verge of completing the first schedule of Robot (probably by October 8th) Mani Ratnam has decided to start shooting his bilingual film. The news is that he will start with the Tamil version first and will film scenes pertaining to Vikram and Aishwarya in dense forests of Salakkudi, Kerala; filming begins on October 10th.

Mani Ratnam is making this film in Hindi and Tamil. The Tamil version features Vikram in the lead role and pairs him up with Aishwarya Rai; Prithviraj plays the villain. After a long time, actor Karthik will work with Mani Ratnam, who made him a household name with Mouna Ragam and Agni Natchathiram. The Hindi version features Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead.

Vikram makes his Bollywood debut in this version; he will reprise the role done by Prithviraj in Tamil. Meanwhile, Aishwarya Rai is extremely happy for finally being able to act with Rajinikanth, who, according to her, is a family friend. Aishwarya Rai, while giving an interview in Gurgaon while inaugurating a boutique, said that she is enjoying acting with Rajinikanth. She said that it was a learning experience to work with stalwarts like Rajinikanth and director Shankar.

She also added that she has heard her father-in-law (Amitabh Bachchan) praising Rajinikanth's humility, but when she witnessed it in person, she could not believe her eyes. She also added that she considers Rajinikanth a "wonder man", who has managed to be so simple despite being the most popular film star.

Courtesy:galatta.com ....

Ileana to choose between Vikram and Surya

Ileana, the slim maiden who is the hot property of Andhra Desam appeared in Kedi along with Ravi Krishna and since then has not been seen in Kollywood horizon for quite some time... More ....

Vikram-Nayantara in a film?

Talks are on with Nayantara to make her the heroine in Vikram's upcoming film, which will be directed by K S Ravikumar. In this film, K S Ravikumar is continuing his double-role juggernaut which he made famous using Sarathkumar. Now, Vikram will do the double-role act for the first time, courtesy - master director K S Ravikumar.
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Bheema for Pongal!

Vikram's magnum opus, the Lingusamy directed Bheema is finally getting out of its deep slumber and is almost certain to be the big Pongal 2008 release!

The first half Re-Recording (RR) of the film is complete. Harris Jayaraj and Editor Antony are raving about Bheema and have told their close friends –" It's awesome, never seen a movie so slick, racy and what a story!"

The second half re-recording is going on and the mixing is likely to start by the first week of December. And with the film carrying super pre-release reports, the distributors and financiers of Bheema are doing their best to bail Producer A.M Ratnam out of his financial mess. Bheema are doing their best to bail Producer A.M Ratnam out of his financial mess. ....