Watch Iniya for Balaji

Balaji returns with a refined performance in the Kannada movie Iniya, an average presentation from a promising director like Mahesh whose first film, Mussanje Maathu was a finely knitted sentimental yarn backed by good performances from Sudeep and Ramya, and a scintillating music.

As for Iniya, the movie is handicapped by a faulty characterisation. Even the music does not match the brilliance of Mussanje Maathu. Iniya suffers mainly because of a weak script by Mahesh who has forced some sequences to give a sentimental angle to the film. The so called mother's sentiment falls flat as many sequences fail to strike a chord with the audience. Mahesh has tried to include some unrelated comedy sequences and fights too which do not gel with the story line. To make things worse, the film drags, testing your patience several times.

Mahesh should also be taken to task for propogating a regressive idea through this film which is totally anti-feministic. The male chuvanistic angle is given a platform through this film. There are lot of punch dialogues which question the integrity and commitment of a woman towards love and at the same time hailing the view point of a male who stands by his love.

The characterisation of the heroine suffers mainly because she has been presented as a woman who changes tracks through her whims and fancies. Even the portrayal of many woman characters in the film as gullible and submissive is questionable.

The story is about Balu, who belongs to a joint family headed by a patriarch. Janaki who is friend of Balu's cousin arrives in the house at the time of her friend's marriage. After some initial misunderstandings, Balu and Janaki start loving each other. Balu saves Janaki from a gang of rowdies during his visit to the city. On the day of marriage Balu is arrested because he had attacked a big business man's son. Once Balu is implicated in the crime, his mother is thrown out of the house by her scheming relatives. Whether Balu saves his love after his release forms the rest of the story.

To be fair to Mahesh there are some sequences in the film which create some interest. Especially the sequence after the death of Balu's mother and some comedy oriented sequences in the first half.

Balaji has really carried the film on his shoulders with a good performance. He comes out well in the action sequences. It is a pity that Pooja Gandhi was offered such a role with grey shades. Her characterisation too is weak. Sanketh Kashi is good in one sequence while nothing special can be said about the rest of the cast. Even seasoned performers like Oorvashi and Jai Jagadish have been wasted in the film.

Music by Sreedhar is above average. Compositions like Yaarannu, Mudhdhaadha I Naguvige shine. Sundaranatha Suvarna's camera work is good too.

Overall Iniya is worth a watch Balaji.

Two Kannada biggies heading for a showdown

August seems to be a funny month as far as the release of Kannada films are concerned. The first and third week saw no release while the second week had one release -- the much awaited Raaj, the Showman starring Puneet Raj Kumar and Priyanka Kothari. But in the last week, two big films are competing with each other.

Cheluvina Chilipili by S Narayan is the remake of the Telugu film Koththa Bangaru Lokam produced by Dil Raju.

Cheluvina Chilipili starring Narayan's son Pankaaj and debutant actress Roopika is being released amidst big hype not normally associated with his films. Narayan has ensured huge publicity drive by putting up vinyl hoardings all over the major cities.

For Pankaaj this is the second film after his debut Chaithradha Chandrama opposite the sensational Amoolya.

"Pankaaj has improved a lot. He looks better and has done well in songs and emotional sequences," said Narayan, director and father.

He is also delighted to introduce 17-year-old Roopika, a child artist earlier, as the leading lady. "She is such a fast learner that I consider her as the most promising young actress of today. She is perhaps the only actress who I have not criticised on the sets," remarked Narayan.

Incidentally, the audio of the film has become a hit thanks to the music by Mickey J Meyers. Some of the tunes of the original film have been used in the Kannada film, which Narayan is not apologetic about. And for the first time in his film, he has shot two songs -- one abroad and another in Rajahmundry.

Sudeep to direct Bollywood film

Sudeep is all set to work in his third Bollywood movie. This time, he will be directing a movie, a remake of his yet to be released 'Just Maath Maathalli'.
Sources say, he has already narrated the story to Shahid Kapur and Riteish Deshmukh and that both the actors were thrilled to be part of the project. The rest of the team is yet to be finalised and Sudeep will start on the project once the Kannada version is released.
Meanwhile, the actor is getting ready for a journey to Germany for the last schedule of 'Just Maath Mathalli'. The shooting would be concluded by this month end and Sudeep is planning to release the film in October.

'Raaj, the Showman will be a top commercial entertainer'

Prem, the director of Raaj the Showman is the highest paid director in Kannada having struck gold with three of his four films made so far.

His first film Kariya ran for 500 days and made Darshan a very big star. His second film Excuse Me ran for nearly 35 weeks in Bangalore's Kapali theatre. The third film Jogi with Shivaraj Kumar was a blockbuster.

Despite the debacle he faced in his fourth film, he was selected by producer Suresh Gowda and Sreenivasa Murthy to direct Raaj, the Showman with Puneet Raj Kumar and Priyanka Kothari in the lead.

Prem, who has been shuttling between Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore for the past one month for the post production work of Raaj, speaks exclusively to R G Vijayasarathy about his film and reveals many things that were not disclosed till now.

Vijith debuts with ‘Ragavan’

Paranthaman, a former assistant of Selvaraghavan makes his directorial debut with ‘Ragavan’. The film revolves around the quest for true love and the hardships one has to undergo to attain it.

The director himself writes the story and screenplay. Debutant Vijith, a software engineer, plays the male lead while Radhika Malhotra, a relative of Kollywood siren Namitha, is the heroine.

The story of the film is about how an innocent young man falls in love with a girl who loves somebody else.
Gangai Amaran returns to film music with a few melodies in this film. Manoj K. Jayan plays a very important role in the film.

Shruthi adopts blind girl

Child Welfare Development Board Shruthi has adopted a blind girl called Vinutha on the occasion of the 7th birthday of her daughter Gowri.

Yes, the actress adopted the blind Vinutha and signed papers at and agreed to take care of that child. Shruthi signed the necessary papers at Ramanashree Ashram in J P Nagar and also donated a sum of Rs. 10,800 to the ashram. Shruthi said she wants to raise Vinutha like her daughter.

Shruthi is all set to take charge as the chairperson of Women and Child Development Board. The first task she is planning to do on assuming the position is to construct 5000 houses to "devadasis". She also wants to start an ashram called ‘Madilu’ for children in distress.

Shivarajkumar in remake films again?

One actor who was firm and adamant in not acting in remake films has been Shivarajkumar. The actor, who was criticised for acting in too many remakes some years back, had later announced that he won't be acting in remake films any more. After 'Kodandarama' a remake of 'Thenkasipattanam' in Malayalam, Shivarajkumar never tried his hand at remakes.

Now, if rumours are to be believed, the actor will be acting in two films. According to reports, Malayalam director Prasthanth Mambully is in talks with Shivarajkumar to remake his 'Bhagwan', starring Mohanlal, in Kannada. The Malayalam film went into record books as it was shot in a single day.

Meanwhile, the actor is all set to act in a film called 'Muttu Nammappa' to be directed by most controversial director Ravi Srivatsa. If the film's ads are to be believed, the film is a remake of Hollywood hit 'Pursuit of Happiness' starring Will Smith and his son in lead roles. But Ravi Srivatsa says that the rumours are baseless and the film is not at all a remake but the film is inspired from 'Pursuit of Happiness'.

Kannada star Puneet Raj Kumar to dance with dad's heroines

Kannada actor Puneet Raj Kumar's forthcoming film 'Raaj - The Showman' is set to have an interesting dance sequence where he will shake a leg with yesteryears heroines who had worked with his father, the late Rajkumar.

According to sources close to the project, the dance sequence would feature actress-turned-MP Jayaprada, Jayamala, who is now president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, multilingual actress Ambika, Roopa Devi and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan.

The song is likely to be shot from Jan 4 in Bangalore, the sources added.

Director Prem, who is known for having delivered three superhits in a row, confirmed that a song featuring Puneet and the actresses who had acted opposite Kannada acting legend Rajkumar would indeed be shot.

He said Jayaprada would be part of the song in 'Raaj - The Showman', but refused to reveal the names of the other heroines.

'The song was to have been shot early. But because Jayaprada madam was busy canvassing for the Samajawadi Party in several northern states, we had to postpone the song shooting,' said Prem.

'Raaj - The Showman' is said to be one of the costliest Kannada films and Puneet would be seen in different get-ups in the movie. According to informed sources, the film's budget is estimated to be anywhere between Rs.80 million and Rs.100 million.

Bollywood actress Nisha Kothari is the lead actress of the film, which has been shot extensively in Mysore, Bangalore and Kodagu. Two songs of the film have been picturised in scenic locales in Europe.

The film's music has been composed by Hari Krishna and its audio release is set to be held in Dubai.

Kannada film to be shot in South Africa, Iceland

The much-awaited Kannada film 'Raaj, The Showman', which has popular actor Puneet Rajkumar in the lead, will now be shot in South Africa and Iceland as well.

The movie's 35-member team will move to South Africa June 7 to start shooting a song titled 'Hey Paro' in Durban and Johannesburg among other places.

The audio of the film, composed by Hari Krishna, has been released to a good response and only two songs are left to be canned. Made by hugely successful director Prem, 'Raaj, The Showman' is likely to be released July 31.


The film was launched April 24, 2008, but the shooting schedule saw many halts. First, heroine Priyanka Kothari, earlier known as Nisha Kothari, fractured her leg. Then she got busy with Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming film 'Rann'.

The unit had planned to shoot two songs in Canada earlier in May but that got cancelled because of the swine flu outbreak.

'We are shooting for 12 days in South Africa for the 'Hey Paro' song. The song has become a huge hit in audio circles and the expectations among fans have skyrocketed,' said producer Sreenivasa Murthy, who has earlier produced the 2007 blockbuster 'Gaja'. He revealed that 20 South African dancers would be included for the song's shoot.

Murthy added that the unit would then proceed to Iceland for shooting one more song.

Director Prem said the film would be digitally graded and it would be technically at par with big budget Hindi flicks.

'We want to showcase the abundance of technical talent in the Kannada film industry through the film. The film has been made with rich production values, but I can assure you that the film's script possesses a lot of strength to attract all sections of audience,' Prem said.

The main highlight of 'Raaj, The Showman' is a song that features Puneet Rajkumar dancing with five leading ladies who had worked with his father, legendary Kannada actor Rajkumar.

The film has also been in the news because this is the first time director Prem and Puneet Rajkumar are working together.

Resul Pookutty wins Oscar award

Noted Keralite sound engineer Resul Pookutty has bagged the Best Editing award at the Oscars for Danny Boyle's much-acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire, which also won the Best Adapted Screenplay award, the Best Cinematography award and the Best Film award. Resul Pookutty is the first Keralite to win an Oscar award. The 81st Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Hailing from Vilakkupaara village near Anchal, Kollam, Resul Pookutty has been in the top of headline after he won an Oscar nomination for his work in Slumdog Millionaire, a film in the Oscar race with ten nominations, including three for music director A.R. Rahman.

A graduate of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Resul Pookutty has been in the music industry for 13 years now with a filmography of more than ten blockbusters. He started his career with Rajat Kapoor's little-known Private Detective in 1997 and came into the limelight with his work in Black (2005).

Interestingly, Black was a film without songs, but the sound got everyone talking. His next venture, Gandhi My Father, was a challenging experience in his career since the film demanded extreme attention on the variations in Gandhi's voice from his youth to old age. However, his hard work paid off when he got an opportunity to work with one of his favourite directors Danny Boyle in Slumdog Millionaire. His other noted films include Saawariya (2007), Ghajini (2008).

Nikita: Dr. Vishnu’s heroine

Nikita is the lucky actress who will be the leading lady in Aptha Rakshaka, Dr. Vishnu’s 200th film. Aptha Rakshaka is a sequel to Apthamithra, a remake of the famous Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu.

Aptha Rakshaka will be directed by P. Vasu and produced by Krishnakumar. The pooja was held at Krishnakumar’s residence on February 19th in which Vasu and the other crew members participated. The film will start rolling from March 10 and it is heard that Lakshmi Gopalaswami will play an important role. Apparently, Lakshmi will also appear in Dr. Vishnuvardhan’s upcoming Nam Yejamanru with Avinash, Sreenivasa Murthy, Ramesh Bhat, Shobharaj also playing important roles.

Vamshi, Nikita’s first release in Kannada, was a huge hit and she is presently working on two big-budget films: Dubai Babu with Upendra and Darshan’s new film.

Ravichandran to re-shoot Manjina Hani

Crazy star Ravichandran had completed the shooting of his forthcoming film Manjina Hani but it is heard that he is re-shooting the entire film again. The film even had gone to the post production table when Ravichandran had second thoughts. Apparently, he believes that the film does not have enough commercial elements in it to pull audiences into theatres.

So he rapidly re-wrote the script, adding the extra commercial and entertainment elements he thought necessary and made plans for the re-shoot. Interestingly, hehas repaid the investment of the producer and now, he is the producer.

The latest news is that Manjina Hani will be re-shot in March with the addition of a few more artists. The songs will also be re-shot.