Ramya Krishnan in Sun Tv

SHE’S the latest to join the bandwagon of movie stars who have chosen the small screen as an alternative career option. Ramya Krishnan, the bold actress of Padayappa and Panchathanthiram fame, is now in Kalasam, a mega-serial on Sun TV. ‘‘When film offers come my way, if I like the script and if it suits my age, I don’t mind doing the role. Padayappa gave me the right break and people still recognise me as Nilambari. And acting with Kamal Hassan in Panchathanthiram was a dream come true,” says the actress, who played the big, bad girl in both movies.

Directed by M R Senthilkumar, Kalasam is about an employed woman, Ranjani, hailing from a middle-class background who raises her voice against male chauvinism. ‘‘I haven’t quit films. I was always on the look out for a good script for a serial and I zeroed in on Kalasam,’’ clarifies Ramya, who actually entered the small screen as the host of Thangavettai, a game show on Sun TV.

‘‘I am doing a double role in Kalasam. One of them is Nilambari (a character she played in the Rajinikant-starrer Padayappa) and the other is Ranjani, competing with a business tycoon played by Sudha Chandran,’’ she explains. The story, written by Kutti Padmini, has powerful characters, and promises to have interesting twists. Commenting on the trend of women-centric stories, Ramya says, ‘‘Women form a major part of our viewership and producers create serials based on them, for them. It’s only natural.’’

We ask her about the current buzz — that she is the highest paid small screen actress in the South — and she easily dismisses it with, ‘‘I don’t know and I haven’t thought about it as it’s just been a month since we started shooting for the serial.’’ While Ramya shares the small screen with other actresses like Devayani, Sukanya, Radhika Sarathkumar and Kousalya, she plans to get to the top soon. As for films, she has signed five movies this year in Tamil and Telugu.

‘‘I don’t want to take on too many things at a time because my family is my first priority,’’ she adds. ‘‘My husband and my fouryear- old son Ritvik already feel neglected because of my tight schedules.’’ So when Ramya is not shooting, you’ll find her with her family.

“I need no exercises as my son keeps me fit by making me run around the house,’’ laughs the actress. ....

Nisha in karthikai

AS reported over two weeks ago, Malavika’s role has been handed over to Nisha Kothari, after the actress walked out of the sets of 'Karthikai' last month.

Nisha Kothari is none other than the Jay Jay heroine, known in Kollywood as Amoha. The actress has not had a successful stint in Kollywood, though she did manage to make an impression with her glamorous roles in Hindi, including movies like 'Sarkar James' and 'RGV ki Aag'.

Malavika, who is currently expecting her first child, had been roped in to do the shrew’s role of 'Indrani' in the movie in which Vikramadithya and Samiksha play the lead. The movie is produced by Anjaneyulu and directed by Veera.

Malavika had accused the producer of the movie of harassing her sexually. ....

Pyramid gears up for D-day

WITH 'Kuselan' slated for a July 31 release, Pyramid Saimira, which has bought the distribution rights of the movie, is gearing up for the D-Day. While over 400 prints have been distributed across South India, 150 prints of 'Kuselan' are well on their way to America and Malaysia, where the company is directly distributing it. For the Telugu version of the movie, 'Kathanayakudu', over 300 prints have been planned for distribution across Andhra Pradesh.

'Kuselan', spanning two hours and 35 minutes, has Pasupathy in the lead with Meena starring opposite him. Doing an extended cameo in it will be Rajinikanth, who is said to have an hour’s screen presence, with the character name of Ashok Kumar. Nayantara plays herself in the movie, her real name being retained. As the movie is said to be an ode to friendship, based on the original Malayalam movie 'Kadha Parayumbhol', it is understood that plans are on to celebrate the movie’s release along with World Friendship Day, which falls on August 3. ....

Rajinikanth ‘is a phenomenon’

TECHNICALLY speaking, the cinematographer is the first person to see a movie in the angle it is meant to be shown to the audience. And if that first viewer of the movie happens to be a big fan of the actor he’s capturing, the Superstar in this case, imagine the glee that will be in the eyes of that cinematographer. But to be honest, there’s no such glee in cinematographer Arvind Krishna, despite him being a self proclaimed Rajini fan. (Nobody escapes Rajini-ism in their childhood, he says, matter-of-factly).

If there’s anything to show that he worked for 'Kuselan', it’s a slight limp of an injured right leg, one that he hurt in the last lap of shooting for the movie, shot as a bilingual in a remarkable three months. Shooting has been tiresome, no doubt, and post-production work kept him busy till the moment I met him, in Prasad Lab, on Wednesday evening. "'Kuselan' has been a fun riot, my sixth movie actually," he explains.

He was introduced as an actor (The Danush of Operation Danush in 'Kurudhipunal') and is now working on a movie in which a song is said to honour the work of technicians ('Cinema Cinema').

Ask him about when he appears in the movie (All technicians, including Soundarya Rajinikanth who has done the special effects, will be present in the movie) and he responds, “I can assure you that I’m the only technician of the movie who didn’t do a cameo.

And that’s for no particular reason. I was just bust shooting and couldn’t face the camera at all,” he brushes it off.

The movie, the cinematographer believes, will show Pollachi, a favourite location of our filmmakers, in an altogether new, happy light. Following this, Arvind Krishna’s next is 'Poi Solla Porom', directed by Vijay and is slated for an August release. As someone who has worked with Kollywood’s youngest directors, from Selvaraghavan (7/G Rainbow Colony, Pudupettai, Kadhal Kondein) to Gautam Menon ('Pachaikili Muthucharam') and Vijay, Arvind doesn’t see P Vasu as a director of the older generation.

“It’s rare for a director to know so much about the technical side of things. And credit goes to him for finishing work on time because he is one director who exactly knows what he wants even before shoot for a scene begins.”

If it’s laurels for P Vasu, what Arvind says about the Superstar sparks of pure adulation. “Oh, Mr Rajini is a phenomenon. He moved me with his actor role in the movie. He’s always punctual, jovial on the sets, very interactive and a fantastic actor,” he explains.

“There was this assistant director who Rajini sir used to make fun of on the sets. It was in good humour but the assistant even tried hiding his face once when the Superstar appeared on the sets. Yet, Rajini spotted him and it was such fun on the sets with the duo. Sir is a phenomenon, as a hero, as an actor and as a person,” he recalls.

And the clearly bowled-over cinematographer does have good things to say about Rajini’s on-screen role in the movie too. “It’s a classic Rajini you will see, one in the glory of his vintage days. Trust me when I say this will be one of the best movies ever,” he adds.

To any of the many Rajini fans, to see the Superstar, at close quarters in his element, a leg injury will only seem a small price to pay. ....

Rajnikant starrer Kuselan goes to Tokyo film festival

CHENNAI: Tamil superstar Rajnikant starrer 'Kuselan' will be shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival, starting in October.

The film is scheduled to be released here July 31.

"After the superstar's huge popularity following the success of 'Muthu' in Japan, interest in his films is huge. Since Rajnikant is playing himself, the pre-release response is fantastic," R Venkatakrishnan, Chief Operating Officer Pyramid Saimira, told IANS.

Rajnikant's 1995 film 'Muthu' was dubbed in Japanese and released in Japan in 1998. It ran for 288 days in multiple screens.

It is not clear right now whether the actor will attend the festival, said sources close to the actor.

So far Japanese media companies and television stations have produced over 30 documentaries on Rajnikant. ....

Rajnikanth is the only superstar: Dhanush

CHENNAI: Tamil film star Dhanush Thursday urged his fans not to call him a 'junior superstar' as the only superstar in the industry was his father-in-law and actor Rajnikanth.

'Do not call me 'Ilaya (junior) superstar' because there is only one and that is my father-in-law Rajnikanth,' Dhanush said on the eve of his 30th birthday.

'I have now begun paying attention to my fans more because I have understood that it is they who convert an average film into a hit,' the actor said after inaugurating a blood donation camp with 200 of his fans.

After a string of flops, Dhanush's career was resurrected with the release of his last film 'Pollathavan' (The terrible one), which was a blockbuster and was also the title of an earlier film starring Rajnikanth made in 1980.

The next venture starring Dhanush also has a name similar to another Rajnikanth hit 'Padikkathavan' (Illiterate) made in 1985.

Starring Vadivelu, Tamanna and Suman, 'Padikkathavan 'is scheduled for release in September 2008.

Dhanush is married to superstar Rajnikanth's elder daughter Aishwarya. ....

Actor Jai whose voice and looks so similar to Vijay

IT’S not easy to gain a foothold in filmdom even if you look like the superstar of your generation. Actor Jai, whose name, voice and looks are so similar to Vijay’s, will vouch for that.

His looks may well have been his trump card for an entry into Kollywood as, understandably, Vijay’s brother in Bhagavathy, but success hasn’t come easy for him. After a noticeable role in Chennai 600028, and a stunner in Subramaniapuram, this 23-year-old is finally a name to reckon with.

And success rests so easily on his young shoulders, despite his movie being among the biggest hits of the year so far. “All credit to the director. The first take being okayed was how I wanted to work, but a lot of scenes took as many as nine takes. So what you see is only what director Sasikumar wanted me to do,” he says. And that, he excitedly continues, has won him the appreciation of the biggest heroes, including Vijay, Ajith, Simbhu and Vishal.

“The most unforgettable of them all was director Bala giving me a big hug and saying I’d acted with the maturity that comes after 50 movies,” he exclaims.

“Subramaniyapuram has been one big success, bigger than I expected it would be. And it seems to have made me a lot more worth monetarily in the industry,” he adds. The actor is currently doing Adhey Neram Adhey Idam, a love story with a twist. In the movie, he pairs with Vijayalakshmi of Chennai 600028 fame, while Premiji Amaren is the music director.

“It has a big surprise element in its treatment, and letting it out will spoil your experience,” he explains. The movie is directed by Prabhu, an assistant to director SJ Suryah. And following that will be yet another interesting movie, Aval Peyar Tamilarasi, along with Navya Nair, a very interesting script that he is excited about.

And then, there’ll be another experimental movie about Chennai’s growing nightlife, to be directed by the Gayathri- Puskar duo, who had earlier directed Oram Po.

Somehow, the desire to do a commercial movie seems to have eluded the actor. Speaking about it, Jai says, “I am not interested in run-of-the mill commercial cinema. It needs a good screenplay. There’s no point in doing the usual stuff always,” he explains with conviction.

With a pause, he then quickly adds “If a good commercial script like Ghilli comes my way, I’ll definitely do it.” Spoken like a true Vijay fan. ....