'Saguni' from June 2, 'Sakuni' from June 5!

Saguni' that saw two tracks audio launch today will see its full album launch on June 2 and the Telugu version, 'Sakuni's audio will be unveiled on June 5. Remember, the actor enjoys a huge fan base in Andhra Pradesh as well. Today (May 25), celebrating their lead Karthi's birthday the makers released two tracks from the album and two video song teasers. Music for this political satire is by GV Prakash. The film stars Karthi and Pranitha in lead roles and has comic relief by Santhanam who worked with Karthi in 'Siruthai'. Helmed by newbie Shankar Dayal the film is a commercial package and sees Karthi in a varied role. Post this film Karthi has 'All In All Azhagu Raja' and 'Alex Pandian', two other out and out commercial ventures.

User Review - Urumi - A benchmark for dubbed movies!

More than a year after Urumi released in Malayalam, the film has finally released in Tamil. However, it is nothing short of its original counterpart and despite being dubbed, it has all the qualities of a great movie. I can go a step further and say that this is probably the best dubbed film I have seen. Credit goes to the entire team that has made this possible.Urumi is directed by Santhosh Sivan, who is know more in the Tamil film industry as a cinematographer, thanks to his work in several movies including Roja, Iruvar and Raavanan. His style in direction is reminiscent of Asoka, the 2001 Shah Rukh Khan starrer, which didn't do very well. Ten years later, taking up a period film again, Santhosh Sivan has shown how much he has grown as a director. For starters, portraying a film like Urumi and its periodical elements are a daunting task in itself. To be cinematographing, partly-producing and directing the movie at the same time represents a job that cannot be put into words. We salute you for your efforts! If you had seen the posters, you would know that this film includes a lot of big actors. Prithviraj (who is also producing this time), Prabhu Deva, Genelia, Nithya Menon, Amole Gupte (writer of Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba), Vidya Balan, Jagathy Sreekumar (who has acted in more than 1000 Malayalam movies) are part of a long prominent. In addition, Arya and Tabu also do guest roles in this one. All of the characters played by these roles add weight to the film and with Santhosh Sivan directing them, they have possibly done one of the best portrayals ever, despite how long they take the screen. The lead actors are Prithviraj, Prabhu Deva, Genelia and Nithya Menon and they are the ones who take up considerably more screen time. I was surprised to see that they were not the ones who had done the dubbing. Their performance deserves credit. Action sequences, adjusting to costumes and some very good reactions shown during dialogues give the movie a very natural look. However, a little more effort and time in dubbing would have gone a long way. This would definitely be a shortcoming. The highlight of the movie and perhaps the most important factor in enticing the audience and reducing the dubbing-factor would be the dialogues by Sasikumaran. Dialogue translation is difficult on its own, but translating a Malayalam period movie and yet managing to keep the very essence of it and also matching them with the original lip movements, WOW! If you ought to give credit to one man for how good this movie is, or how it has been managed to be released, you must look at Sasikumaran. The next specific credit goes to Deepak Dev, the music director. I could notice several genres in the music and was very delighted to learn that there was no electronic music used. Others may complain, but I credit him for capturing and delivering tunes to the director that have made a whole lot of difference. To get into more technical stuff, Santhosh Sivan's cinematography is brilliant, which is not surprising. Slow-motion action sequences close up shots of actors; capturing emotions during dialogue delivery and using unique angles in the music videos are all attributes to his work. It makes me wonder if he becomes a better cinematographer if he takes the director's seat. Sreekar Prasad's editing makes the movie intriguing and gripping throughout the 160 minutes despite some annoying scenes which seem to be dragging. Costumes are admirable, but are far from the best we have seen in modern-day cinema. The budget of the film being Rs.23 crores is also a surprise. Despite having a complete package, there are quite a few shortcomings. Some of the voices do not match the faces of characters correctly and I could find many inconsistencies in the way the scenes got more importance on some occasions and not so much on others. The storyline makes you think a lot, but also makes you wonder if there is too much fantasy involved. However, the good points trump the bad ones very easily and I promise you will have a great time if you see it in the theatre. Do not write this one off because it's a dubbed movie, or don't just simply get the Malayalam version and see it home. The big screen adds a lot of things to your experience, even more than the traditional movies. Compare it with Asoka, and you will be able to see the minute differences that make Urumi a whole lot better. Rating - 4/5 for giving fans a very unique and historical experience. Verdict - Urumi is a winner and all audiences will enjoy it, especially when they are watching it for the first time.

'Agni Natchathiram' to be remade in Tamil - Telugu!

If industry insiders are to be believed, Mani Ratnam's cult blockbuster 'Agni Natchathiram' will be remade in Tamil and Telugu by producer T Ramesh. "Agni Natchathiram is a cult classic and I'm thoroughly thrilled to remake it as a bilingual in Tamil - Telugu. I'm in talks with the big stars of Tamil and Telugu film industries for this remake and I can assure that it will be a big project with a big star from both the industries in the lead", says T Ramesh. T Ramesh is the producer of Vishal - Trisha starrer 'Samar'. An announcement listing the cast and crew of the film is expected from him shortly. Buzz is that a couple of supporting actors from the original might be retained in the remake as well. The film is about two half brothers, played by Prabhu and Karthik in the original. It was dubbed in Telugu back then and was also remade in Hindi. It will be interesting to watch who will be cast as the brothers in the remake.

Aishwarya, the ideal mom

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has the habit of emerging the best in whatever she does. Now a survey has rated the 'Enthiran' and 'Jeans' heroine as the best celebrity mother. On the occasion of Mother's Day, a matrimonial portal conducted the survey to find out the Bollywood diva who has the qualities of being an ideal mother. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has topped the list of being the 'Ideal Celebrity Mom,' according to the survey conducted by Shaadi.com. Aishwarya led the survey with 54 per cent respondents voting for her followed by Karishma Kapoor with 27 per cent respondents opting her to be the ideal mom. Malika Arora Khan (11 per cent) and Lara Dutta (eight per cent) were the other contenders in the survey. The survey also reveals that when it comes to be an ideal mother in Hollywood, 67 per cent respondents voted for Angelina Jolie as the ideal celebrity mother. The poll received responses from over 8200 members across India. The survey further reveals that Indians feel Priyanka Chopra would make an ideal mother once she attains motherhood. 30 per cent respondents have voted for Priyanka whereas 25 per cent respondents feel Kareena Kapoor would make an ideal mother in future. While 32 per cent male respondents voted for Priyanka Chopra, 33 per cent female respondents feel Kareena Kapoor will be a better fit as an ideal mother. Hema Mailini and her pretty daughter Esha Deol were voted the 'Most popular Celebrity Mother - Daughter duo' who make a great pairing and share a bond.

Ranjitha files suit against Kanchi seer

Actress Ranjitha, an ardent follower of Swami Nithyananda, on Friday filed a defamation suit against Kanchi Sankaracharya Sri Jayandra Saraswathi Swamigal for his alleged comments on her. She approached a magistrate court in Chennai to file a criminal defamation complaint against the Kanchi Sankaracharya. She sought to initiate defamation proceedings against the pontiff for his reported statements against her. The actress along with her advocates came to the Egmore Magistrate Court to file the case. Speaking to journalists later, Ranjitha claimed there was no truth in the comments made by the Kanchi Seer. In her complaint, Ranjitha said she is a strong believer in the principles of Hinduism and had attended discourses of Nithyananda in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and became his disciple. She claimed that the insinuation by the Kanchi Seer, during an interview on Wednesday, that she was always in the company of Nithyananda subjected her to "immense agony and stress" and was defamatory

Sneha, Prasanna to go to US?

All is well. This is how the wedding of Prasanna and Sneha, which took place on Friday, can be described in one sentence. Within a week's time from now, the happy couple will start their honeymoon trip, say circles close to them. "Sneha and Prasanna are willing to go to the United States, as it was there their love journey started. Remember they had acted together in Achamundu Achamundu which was shot entirely in the US," sources say. "Some places in the US are so close to their hearts. Hence the love birds will go there as part of their honeymoon trip," sources say, adding: "But a couple of other destinations are also on the cards." The marriage and reception at Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace Kalyana Mandapam were well attended by the couple's friends, relatives and colleagues. It was a grand, traditional wedding with the blessings of elders
in both the families.

Shankar - Vikram to team up for 'Thendral'?

Post the stupendous success of 'Nanban', a guessing game was on as to who will celebrated director Shankar team up with for his next and a number of names, from Suriya, Vikram to Kamal Haasan were rumored. The rumors came to an end as Shankar has reportedly met few in the industry regarding the pre-production work and it is as good as official that he will be teaming up with Chiyaan Vikram for his next. Now, rumor mills are working overtime that the director will be helming a project on elections and that it has been tentatively titled 'Thendral'. Dialogues are touted to be penned by writers Suba and cinematography by PC Sriram. Vikram who is currently shooting for his forthcoming high voltage action entertainer 'Thaandavam' in foreign locales will be back in a few weeks following which the pre-production and first look work on the film
will begin.