FILMS-CHANNELS

Vijayakanth is now getting ready to create waves in television in industry. The actor-politician has detailed plans for to use his ideas for his political upliftment by launching 'Captain TV. According to sources, The Captain channel would be on air from January 15 of the coming year. Captain Vijaykanth's brother-in-law L K Sudeesh is at the helm of affairs of the channel and started roping some of the best talents in the industry. According to Sudheesh the new channel to be launched would become one of the top three channels of the Tamil language. It is likely, that Captain might direct some of his own serials or soaps as is being done for a film to be released in the near future, the sources added.

Television and film industry share a brotherly relationship and can co-exist, said actor Kamal Haasan. Television was considered a potential threat by film industry when it began to roll out serials. It took time for people to realise that both are allied industries and can co-exist without facing competition from each other, he said at the launch of Abirami, a television serial. “Some actors juggle film and television with ease, while some take time off from films to act in serials. Competition never existed between us,” he said. The reach of television serials was underestimated by many people in film industry, but the serials continue to have a strong impact on people, Mr. Haasan added. Abirami would be aired on Kalaignar TV and it would be the comeback vehicle for many. After a few years of break, the acting career of Gautami will be revived with the serial. She plays the protagonist. Actor Kalpana is also returning to the Tamil entertainment industry through this serial. On her pr...

With a month left for the releases of Vijay’s Vettaikaran and Karthi starrer Paiyya, the films now had a near combat over small screens, as audio launches of both these films were to be aired at the same time over leading satellite channels. For past one week, Sun Network has been airing promos about telecasting the audio launch while Kalainyar TV has planned for a Live telecast of Paiyya audio launch. But due to TRP issues the program producers changed the schedule of Paiyya audio launch. Paiyya audio launch, which was a star-spangled occasion, brought together the biggies of Tamil Cinema together on dais. The audio launch of Vettaikaran had the casts and crew sharing their working experiences, and the screening of exclusive songs from this film. The highlight of this function was Vijay crooning the title song ‘Naan Adiccha’.

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN The film, Passenger, is about to get a Tamil remake. Starring Sathyraj and Ganesh Venkatraman in the roles played by Sreenivasan and Dileep in the Malayalam version, the film will be directed by Selva. The Malayalam version was directed by Ranjith Shankar. The lead heroine of the film hasn’t been decided as of yet. .

BY, KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN This year National Award Winner Actor Prakash Raj and his wife Lalitha Kumari (who was also an actress)is till set to get divorce, living seperately for the past one year. Now they came to the family court together and filed a joint petition for divorce by mutual consent. Judge with whom the couple was closeted for over an hour on friday, has adjourned the matter to November 18 for further proceedings. Prakash first filed his divorce petotion in April this year, lalitha kumari however filed a restitution petition to be remitted with her husband. Later she again moved the family court seeking a monthly maintenanse of 2lakhs. Counsel for the couple have worked out an out of court settlement and the couple agreed to file a joint application for divorce by mutual consent.

. Chalo Chennai, says Kamal Haasan In an international screenwriting workshop took place in Chennai, Ulaga Nayagan Kamal Haasan plans to produce, direct and act in some short films. He wants those films' stories should be based on the Tamil Nadu capital. Speaking on the occasion, the actor said that his whole life revolves around Chennai including his appearance in films when he was hardly six or seven appearing in films in Kalathoor Kannamma produced by AVM."I am surprised to see the old Chennai onscreen," Kamal Haasan told reporters after announcing his desire. "Can we imagine the sight of chariot hurtling down the Mount Road and people walking leisurely on the stretch? Our attempt is not towards making some money, it is recording the historic memory of Chennai," said Kamal Haasan, who is known for his experiments on screen. Stating that he would wield the megaphone for one of the short films, Kamal Hassan said: "From over 250 participants of the Chennai ...

BY N.THYAGARAJAN Actress Asin is acting as a Carnatic musician and dancer of the South India in the film London Dreams. Asin who has really did Arangetram on Bharatha Natyam now has the chance to act as dancer in this film. Like Shobana who did her dance performances in many of her films, Asin now has taken over. She is acting in the film with Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan. The film is to be released on Oct.30, the sources said.

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...

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN After breaking up with Simbhu, the new man in gorgeous Nayanthara’s life is non-other-than dancing king Prabhu Deva. Though married, Prabhu Deva is said to be in a serious relationship with the actress. The two came close to each other while shooting for Villu in foreign locations when Nayanthara’s parents were not there to keep an eye on her. This has upset Nayanthara’s father Kurien Kodiyatahm and mother Omana a lot as they were seriously looking for a suitable alliance for their daughter with the help of the brokers. They have warned Nayanthara to stay away from Prabhu since he is already married. But Naynathara is said to be so deeply involved in the relationship that she is paying no attention towards her parents warning.

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN After breaking up with Simbhu, the new man in gorgeous Nayanthara’s life is non-other-than dancing king Prabhu Deva. Though married, Prabhu Deva is said to be in a serious relationship with the actress. The two came close to each other while shooting for Villu in foreign locations when Nayanthara’s parents were not there to keep an eye on her. This has upset Nayanthara’s father Kurien Kodiyatahm and mother Omana a lot as they were seriously looking for a suitable alliance for their daughter with the help of the brokers. They have warned Nayanthara to stay away from Prabhu since he is already married. But Naynathara is said to be so deeply involved in the relationship that she is paying no attention towards her parents warning.

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN Even after acting in more than 400 films, Vadivelu feels that he isn’t getting the kind of respect he deserves. Recently, while speaking to media he stated that he wouldn’t be doing any lead roles in the future, “I have decided not to act in hero roles because I am being blamed if the film fails.” He added, “so far I have acted in 490 films. My 490th film is Adhavan. Since I am bulky I am not able to dance. So I have reduced my weight by 5 kgs by doing rigorous exercises and diet. I have decided not to do hero roles in future. If a film flops, they are blaming me. If I say there can be little more salt in the food, they say that I am interfering in the production.” “During the dubbing if I say that the lines can be changed they immediately comment that I am interfering with the editing,” rues Vadivelu. He further adds, “If I say that the shirt button is not proper they quip that I am interfering with the costumes. The hero has no right over anything. If at all I...

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN Glad tidings to all! Actor Narain– The Charming guy of South Indian Film Industry has become a father now. His wife Manju gave birth to a girl baby on july 22nd afternoon at 1.30 p.m. in Baby Memorial Hospital, Calicut. Actor Narain entered into nuptials with TV Anchor Manju Haridas on August 26, 2007. It’s noteworthy that both of them fell in love while encountering each other on a TV interview for a Satellite Channel. In his early days, actor Narain was a cinematographer and graduated from Adyar Film Institute. He assisted Rajiv Menon in various projects including Morning Raga. He made his debut as an actor with Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s ‘Nizhalkuthu’ and shot to fame with ‘4 The People’. He made his debut in Kollywood with Mysskin’s directorial ‘Chittiram Pesuthadi’ We convey our heartiest congratulations to Narain and Manju and wish them success in future.

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN Yesterday was a very intriguing day for film lovers in Malayalam Film Industry with news about their popular star Kavya, planning to call it a day from her married life with Nishaal. Kavya Madhavan has also tried her hand in Tamil with a couple of films like ‘En Mana Vaanile’. The news spread like fire after it appeared as a cover story in the midday newspaper, which also stated that after having problems with her husband Nishaal, the actress is back to Kochi with her parents. The actress who got married five months ago, even while she was in the peak of her career was said to be regularly mentally tortured for the rumours about her relation with a top artist of Mollywood. The TV channels all over the state then tried far and wide to get backing sources for the story and the people from every corners of life in the state were discussing about the chances about this developments in the life of their favorite actor. By the evening, many of the channels flashed tha...

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN From 27th July monday to friday at 9.30 pm AVM's new soap 'avazh oru minsaram'.It is going to be a different story says the story writer Devi Bala. Produced by M. Saravanan M.S. Guhan, ArunaGuhan and AparnaGuhan. Music ByRamani Bharathvaj and directed By R.K. Watch this soap from Monday at 9.30P.M.