FILMS-CHANNELS

Shooting, post-production and censor formalities are complete for Jagadguru Sri Shirdi Saibaba directed by G Ramakrishna and produced by BV Reddy under the banner of SRR Creations. The producer himself plays the title role in this movie and the film is slated for release in the second week of September. Speaking on the occasion, the producer and artiste BV Reddy said, “There are seven songs in the movie and all of them are situational. We are sure that all the songs would attract the audiences. Mohanbabu, who watched the movie, complimented that the film has been brought out well. Senior director B Gopal too expressed his happiness after watching the movie.” Director Ramakrishna said, “We have portrayed some new elements in Baba’s life which have never been described on the silver screen earlier.” Source - http://entertainment.oneindia.in/telugu/top-stories/2009/jagadguru-shri-shirdi-saibaba-200809.html

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN Film: “Vamanan”; Director: I. Ahmed; Cast: Jai, Santhanam, Priya, Lakshmi Rai, Sampath, Rahman and Urvashi; Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja; Rating: ** Seemingly inspired by the great mythological character of “Vamanan”, debutant director Ahmed has dished out a movie that is about an ordinary young man who gets into a tangle and emerges successfully against all odds. After making a mark for himself by doing a couple of experimental movies, Jai is finally seen in a full-length commercial film that has loads of romance, action and humour. Right from frame one, Jai makes his intentions very clear, delivering a performance that has influence of mass heroes like Vijay and Silambarasan complimented by his body language and dialogue delivery. The story of the film is as old as a hill. A prominent minister (Delhi Ganesh) is killed by his colleague and a video tape that captures the crime goes missing. The murderer, who is an influential man in society, searches for the tape i...

In collaboration with Bharatidasan University, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, popular Telugu channel Subhavaartha Television will launch Subhvaartha Television Technology Training Institute on September, offering three diploma courses in Television Program & Direction, Television Camera Technology and Television Editing. Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, Subhavaartha TV chairman Nehru Dhyriam and managing director N. Ashvin Dhyriam said that the minimum qualification required is 10+2 pass and admission is open to men and women with age no bar. The course fee is Rs 50,000 and can be paid in two instalments. The media of instruction will be English and Telugu. The course content is modelled on Geoffrey R. Conway School of Broadcasting, a famous media institute in Canada.

Some of the big guns of Tamil film industry including director Shankar and actor Vijay took part at the audio and trailer launch of ‘Aadhavan’ in Chennai Wednesday night. The film, with Suriya and Nayantara in the lead, is directed by K S Ravikumar and produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin. In his address, Shankar hailed Ravikumar as a director of the producers. “The visuals of ‘Aadhavan’ are very good. Kudos to Ravikumar, Suriya and the entire team of Aadhavan,” he said. Vijay, who received the first copy of the trailer from producer R B Chowdry, said, “Suriya is a man of hard work and commitment. I always admire him a lot. He has proved himself once again in Aadhavan.” Thanking all the guests for attending the function, Udhayanidhi Stalin hoped that the box-office collections by ‘Aadhavan’ would surpass the revenue made by ‘Ayan’. “Ravikumar is not just the director of the film. He has taken complete care of the project. He is almost like a producer,” Udhayanidhi said. Music composer of the...

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN It is reported that the Vijayawada-born actress has joined hands with a Tamil TV channel for the 'marriage reality show'.In this endeavour, Rambha has the full support of her parents, who have been trying to find a bridegroom for their daughter for the last few years. When Rambha came up with this idea, they gave their consent immediately, our sources say. It is learnt that her parents would get half of the profits from the show and a deal has been agreed upon to this effect. 'Rakhi Ka Swayamvar', aired on NDTV Imagine had been a huge a success. Canada-based businessman Elesh Parujanwala won the tough competition to win Rakhi's hand.

MUMBAI: Kalaignar Television Network that runs channels in the GEC, comedy, music and news category is now foraying into the kids' entertainment space with Chithram. The network has already acquired the licence for the kids' channel that will compete with Sun Network's Chutti TV in Tamil. The network currently operates GEC channel Kalaignar TV, music channel Isai Aruvi, news channel Seithigal and comedy channel Sirippoli. Says Kalaignar Television Network VP operations Humayen Ali Ahmed, "We are currently working on the programming mix of the channel and we plan to launch it in the next 90 days." Meanwhile, the network is also gearing up to launch Kalaignar TV as Kalaignar Asia in Singapore and Malaysia to tap the Tamil audiences in the region. "We have already got the government clearance for Kalaignar Asia and will launch it prior to the launch of the kids' channel," states Ahmed. Earlier Indiantelevision.com had reported that I&B Minister Am...

CHENNAI: Fire broke out in the famous AVM studios in Vadapalani early on Friday morning, destroying the sets of under-production Tamil film Vettaikaran' starring Vijay and Anushka. The fire, which broke shortly before three in the morning, gutted floor numbers 6 and 7 of the studios. The sets for the film was erected on floor 7. The damage, according to studio sources, is estimated to be Rs 8 crore. Inquiries reveal that the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit in floor 6 and spread to floor 7. The two floors are part of one large building, partitioned by a wall, facing the lawns of the studios. Floors are separate structures in a studio where several films can be shot simultaneously. Around 2.50 am on Friday, a security guard noticed smoke emanating from floor 7. He immediately alerted the studio incharge and fire personnel. "Fire kept leaping out of floor 6. Within an hour, the entire floor was gutted. Vijay TV had erected its sets there," a fire personnel sai...