Surya -Karthi angers politicians

29 July 2020

Thala Ajith next Hindi film is by Karan Johar

In a latest, we heard that Karan Johar is to produce Thala Ajith’s Hindi film. Director Vishnuvardhan is said to have got the approval of Thala Ajith and Karan is in talks with him. Karan Johar stands accused of being in a way responsible for the suicide of Sushanth as he is part of the Aditya Chopra- Salman Khan gang. Boney who is producing his second film with Ajith in Tamil has acquired the copyright of two films -Vaali and Vaaralaaru, both acted by Ajith and produced by Nic Arts Chakravarthy. A newspaper notification inviting objections, if any, to acquiring the rights was published. At one time S S Chakravarthy was the central point in Ajith’s life. From the struggling times of Raasi flop,SS decided on what subject should Ajith hear and the dates and remuneration was handled by him. Even if the director told Ajith, the story, a second rendition had to be told to Chakrvarthy. `Vaali’ produced by Chakravarthy and directed by S J Suryah was going on in fits and starts due to cash crunch. Ajith pooled in his earnings from each film to keep the production going. Finally, the film which had Ajith in a dual role was a blockbuster hit. Ajith left everything to NIC Arts. Vaaralaru, a NIC Arts film, was another film that was caught in a financial crunch and finally when it was released, it was a hit. Ajith slowly found that his box-office was slipping and Chakravarthy had let many good projects slip by for reasons best known to him. Ajith finally decided to part ways and take his own decision. The two films that Boney is to produce were suggested by Ajith. Thala Ajith is said to have told Boney to give Rs 1 crore each as copyright fees. Chakravarthy had in the meanwhile turned producer of Simbhu film Vaalu and all his past debts came to haunt him. Added to this the erratic behavior of Simbhu after his breakup with the heroine Hansika added to the misery. Chakravarthy was also producing a film Vettai Mannan with Simbhu and Hansika. Finally TR had to pay up the creditors to get Vaallu released as it was holding up releases of Simbhu’s films. The Rs 2 crore as royalty would be music to old pal Chakravarthy. Though Boney Kapoor had a three film deal with Thala Ajith, it has been limited to two. Vaali might star Arjun Kapoor ( son of Boney) in the lead. Veteran producer K Rajan had questioned the logic of Thala Ajith giving dates to Boney Kapoor when his first producer Chozha Ponurangam was is in distress. So Thala Ajith accused of nepotism is joining hands with Karan Johar `gang’. S J Suryah meanwhile reminded Boney that he deserves a part of copyright fees as he is the director. Ajith made his Hindi debut with Asoka the Shah Rukh Khan film.

NCW TAKE ACTION ON VIJAYLAKSHMI SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Ex Manager celeberate Thalapathy Vijay birthday at Annai Velankanni

Thalapathy Vijay's ex Manager and Puli producer present activity

Do not copy Meera Mithun

A R Rahman and sister confirms our story on Bollywood boycott

A R Rahman is quoted in today Chennai Times in a story headlined - There is a whole gang working against me: A.R. Rahman on having fewer collaborations with Bollywood. On July 22nd we published a story - Bollywood biggies to shut doors on A R Rahman ?. We had talked about the possibility of Rahman after his Dil Bechara show being blacklisted by Bollywood biggies. Now in a talk with the FM radio of Times Rahman spoke about the music he has composed for Bollywood films. When asked why he does not compose more music for Bollywood films, he said, “I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumours.” The music maestro went on to narrate an incident which happened recently. He said, “When Mukesh Chhabra came to me, I gave him four songs in two days. He told me, ‘Sir, how many people said don’t go, don’t go to him (AR Rahman) and they told me stories after stories.’ I heard that, and I realised, yeah okay, now I understand why I am doing less (work in Hindi films) and why the good movies are not coming to me. I am doing dark movies, because there is a whole gang working against me, without them knowing that they are doing harm.” He further added, “People are expecting me to do stuff, but there is another gang of people preventing that from happening. It is fine, because I believe in destiny, and I believe that everything comes from God. So, I am taking my movies and doing my other stuff. But all of you are welcome to come to me. Make beautiful movies, and you are welcome to come to me.” (Source: Radio Mirchi) AR Rahman’s sister, a music director herself spoke to the media about this issue - “Ram Gopal Varma introduced AR Rahman to Bollywood with Rangeela which went on to become a huge hit. Then when Subaash Ghai came to Chennai to approach Rahman for his film Taal, he told us that many people criticized him for inviting a south Indian to compose music for his film. Subaash back then boldly faced them and asked them to pin point one composer who is better than Rahman in Bollywod at that point of time. That courage that Subaash Ghai had back then, I don’t know if the current generation of directors carry that attitude now. But like Rahman said, Mukesh Chabbra has flown down to Chennai to work with him despite facing a lot of negative criticisms. Even now, a lot of people are speculating false news against AR Rahman stating that he would only work in Los Angeles, he would only work in Hollywood films, he won’t complete the album in time. So, a section of people has been constantly pulling down his legs. Rahman got to know this issue only through Mukesh Chabbra. Even in Tamil, I have heard rumours about Rahman not willing to work in Tamil films. Someone extremely gifted like Rahman shouldn’t face an issue like this, he doesn’t do 50 or 100 films a year, he picks and does 4 or 5 films a year. So, everyone in the music industry has scope to show their skills. It is sad to see a few good films have missed to have Rahman’s music. I feel a few people have got together, developed good friendship and wants to promote only their friends and not encourage other talents. I feel there is that negative space prevailing in Bollywood right now. Maybe, that is why they gang up and not let good talents enter the industry and stop them from becoming big. That’s what I feel.” Bollywood actor Salman Khan and music maestro A R Rahmaan's awkward interaction at the launch of Raunaq in 2014 had grabbed a lot of headlines. The two shared the stage at the launch of a music collaboration between Rahman and then Union Minister (Telecom & IT) Kapil Sibal. At the event, 'Dabangg' actor Salman Khan had jokingly called the Oscar-winning musician an 'average' composer. The unpleasant remark seemingly didn't go down well and as Salman put his foot in his mouth, he asked Rahman, "Hamaare saath kab kaam karoge yaar?" Although Salman tried to make up for the joke by trying to shake hands with him, AR Rahman kept his hands glued to his pocket and maintained a poker face. Later at the same event, when a journalist asked the music director about why he didn't reply to Salman's question about composing music for him, he had a 'savage' comeback! He replied that Only if he makes the kind of movies I like. Recently, a criminal complaint was filed against Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for abetting the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Bollywood biggies to shut doors on A R Rahman ?

Is Dil Bechara such a great movie that A R Rahman conducts a special tribute programme ? After this digital show by Rahman, will he be thrown out by Bollywood biggies ? Lets wait for the answers. The musical tribute by A R Rahman to Dil Bechara team and to the Late Sushanth Singh Rajput has pushed the pedal on the movement that is growing against the nepotism in Bollywood. The film which did not have a release got the momentum when Rahman , after the suicide of the actor said that the movie should get a theater release. Some reports on the Vblogger channels in the name of reporting about the film teaser have torn into it. . Sushanth is shown wearing the same T shirt in all the shots and so he is in the same garb throughout ?. The hero who has a foot ailment challenges the crowd for a fight with one leg. He says in the film that one should decide the way we live as our birth and death are not in our hands but in real life he decides otherwise. There is nothing about Rahman’s score. Now why was the film not taken up for theater release? Sushanth had a massive flop film previous to it and the debut director (previously a casting director) is directing this English movie remake. In the English film, the hero dies and heroine lives and the audience is not going to lose sleep as Sushanth is no Rajesh Khanna. Now Sushanth in real life commits suicide and leaves behind no note. He even hosted a party at his house on the eve of his suicide. He had no debts. He had heard a few scripts and was to start work after the lockdown was over. Only thing was Dil Bechara completed a year back had no takers. After the suicide, Sushanth stature rose to be a legend of sorts. Curiosity for film garnered huge support in the social media. It was left to Disney- Hotstar OTT to announce that they were premiering the film. Usually, a film that attracts lot of public attention should have got buyers in at least the A list centers and mini screens in multiplexes. The nepotism charge came up as Sushanth had spoken about it at the IIFA awards. Kangana Raut took the lead and then came charges of Salman Khan having blacklisted him over a drunken blabbering by Sushanth . Now word nepotism became the buzz word. Right from Arnab Goswami onward kept spinning this word. As expected, Sonu Nigam the singer sparked off a debate saying certain label (read T series) keeps playing nepotism game and said that actor’s decided who should sing for them and the music company even after recording had changed the music director. The music label shot a theme song without even the director’s knowledge and made it the face of the film. Many said that there was nothing like that in music world. Rahman without getting into the nepotism battle kick started a call for a release of the film. It is known in music circles that Rahman has a very clear agreement about his creative freedom and exploitation of his work. No music label can tinker with it and Rahman has the last word. The reason is that ARR has a line of producers in the South lined up. After the Grammy and Oscar, the International music album market has widened and the money is more than what a Hindi film music label can pay. Sony Music backed Tribute to Dil Bechara team was aired on YouTube. It saw Rahman joined by children Raheema Rahman, AR Ameen along with Hiral Viradia who recorded wearing face shield. While the singers include Sunidhi Chauhan, Hriday Gattani, Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Arijit Singh, Shashaa Tirupati and Jonita Gandhi. A split in a cartel ruling Tamil film music world opened the door to Rahman with Roja. Even recently he discovered Sid Sriram by just hearing out the audio clip sent in the mail and that too with no Godfather to put in a word. I remember Chetan Bhagat writing about nepotism after his books was made into movies. He asked Rahman about it and the reply was that Bollywood was like a big pond filled with crocs and you have to stand at the banks and take your bath without getting eaten by crocs.( This is what I gathered from what ARR said) Now till now I have not read any review of this English movie in Indian mainstream press. The Fault in our Stars was released in 2014. So the comparison is bound to start on release. Mostly the attitude would be `Why tear the film and get badmouthed by all the Vloggers ? There is a scene in Broken Poet ( Elliot Murphy) in which a mention of a meeting of music label companies take place and one says that only if Jim Morrison died , would his music be hot cakes as he would become a legend.

Thalapathy Vijay is King of Lockdown

Who won the lockdown battle in Tamil Nadu? No, it is not EPS- Stalin-Modi or Radhakrishnan. It is Thalapathy Vijay. He beat Rajinikanth and pushed him to third place. Raghava Lawrence overtook his `Guru’ and came second. Did they find a vaccine or put in place a mechanism to bring down Covid 19 cases? No. Then what the hell did Thaalapathy do to win during lockdown? Thalapathy Vijay’s film screened on TV during lockdown clocked more views than Rajinikanth and Raghava Lawrence came second. Who says so? BARC. What? We never said so and don’t use our letterhead or we will take action says BARC. Now there is an all round embarrassment in Thalapthy’s social media circles. Some said it was from unofficial twitter accounts and others said that it was a result of a serious analysis of BARC TRP ratings for channels and came to this conclusion. They only added the BARC logo for `effect’. The fans made a serious study of TRP during the times when Thalapathy films were telecast. Then they made a note of the figures of Raghava Lawrence and Rajinikanth films telecast in the same period. They further expanded the scope to other languages and saw that Prabhas and Akshay Kumar were trailing behind. Now what is the finding? Vijay clocked 117.9 million impressions and Rajinikanth had only 65.8 million. Now Rajinikanth fans say that more number of Vijay films was screened and so the figures are high. Now at the start of the 2020, BARC released a list of top 5 premieres. All Time Top 5 Tamil Premiere TV Impressions saw Ajith at the top. 1. #Viswasam - 18143000 2. #Pichaikkaran - 17696000 3. #Sarkar - 16906000 4. #SeemaRaja - 16766000 5. #Bigil – 16473000 So Thala Ajith fans can now boast of this unbeaten record. What puzzles me is the rise of Raghava Lawrence to second position? Were his films with horror- comedy stuff the right relief material for the TV viewers locked in their rooms? A relief from visuals of men in blue coats carrying dead bodies? Here again, Thalapathy fans can say that Sarkar + Bigil is more than Viswasam of Ajith. As I am doing some test shoots on YouTube for my channel (which was lying defunct), I took a look at those that I used to watch every week. Some are around, others not seen and some in a new avatar. Speaking about Avatar, a report said that Sushanth Singh Rajput’s upcoming film Dil Bechara trailor broke the world record in YouTube of having maximum views on first day. It was held by Avatar and Avatar Infinity From my viewing some YT channels on Tamil cinema news, I gather that Thalapathy fans are angry with these news floating around – Britto ( Vijay’s relative) is only a dummy producer of upcoming `Master’ and media mistakenly is interviewing him. The real producer is Lalith Kumar. Other one is that Jagatheesh, manager of Vijay and Line producer of Master has been sacked as Britto complained about many irregularities that took place at the Master audio launch. Third news that upcoming producer (Sun TV?) has backed out after Thalapathy refused to cut his fees. The timing of raking up the old Thalapathy- Napolean rift on sets of Pokkiri is too said to be handiwork of the anti- Jagadeesh camp to irritate Vijay.

Dubbing- Recording studios might spread Covid 19

The biggest threat to Film Industries across the nation is the dubbing and recording theaters. As I had given you a sneak peek of the scenario that awaits theater goers when the curtain goes up, yet startling information that comes is from dubbing artistes in Chennai and Thiruvanthapuram. These dubbing theaters are nothing but death traps and points that can cause spread of the Corona 19 virus. The situation has reached a flash point that the dubbing artistes are now asking directors to allow them to dub from home. Some of the well to do artistes has invested in mini studios setup at home. The main reason being that the dubbing studios that are functional now are primarily engaged by TV serial producers. The economics of a TV serial production does not allow for studio owners to buy santizers, gloves, masks of the high variety and periodic spraying of disinfectants in wash room areas. In the social distancing norms, the dining hall inside the studio or outside the premises is not possible. It means ordering food from delivery apps. The dubbing of a serial work is entrusted to a senior dubbing artiste who runs an agency that has a wide range of voices that suit the TV actors. The rate is fixed per episode and an advance paid. The final settlement comes after a month. The dubbing in-charge has to pay the artistes daily batta and their fees as well as studio hire. In case of artistes and studios, a package deal is made before the commencement. As there was a three month lull and now that TV shootings have picked up, dubbing industry has begun to thrive. Most of the dubbing theaters are housed in two room apartments and sometimes in makeshift enclosures on roof of a building. Sun TV, Vijay and Zee have strict standards of audio quality and they cannot be done in any seedy studio, other serials all thrive on the small outfits. As the studio owners have not included any provision for extra costs due to Covid 19 safety norms, the old system continues. The artistes say that the studio owners are doing eyewash by giving sanitizers at entry points and spraying disinfectants and sometimes even room fresheners are passed off as cleansing agent. The problem starts from the old cushioned chairs onwards to the popup filter in front of the mike. A dubbing artiste said that when he stood in front of the mike, he could smell the chicken biryani eaten by the previous user. A pop filter, pop shield or pop screen is a noise protection filter for microphones, typically used in a recording studio. It serves to reduce or eliminate popping sounds caused by the mechanical impact of fast-moving air on the microphone during recorded speech and singing. Though the studios wash the filter and put it up, the artistes say that each time a new user comes, a new filter should be used. Though for medium and big budgeted films, this can be affordable, it cannot be implemented for TV serials and small time film producers. Those doing short films, documentaries, small time jingle- advt film makers have no option but to go with the available facility. If a dubbing artiste makes a demand for new popup filter, the studio owners asks them to dub or sing without one. This is very difficult, they say. The dubbing artistes who dub for 6-7 serials a day say that they are hard-pressed for time that they stop to notice if Covid 19 precautions are in place. They say that travelling in autos and cabs during lockdown are a major problem as most of them stink and a quarrel can only let you be offloaded. Yet another aspect is that the dialogue sheet comes straight from the location and nothing is done about it. So far the valve masks were considered must for artistes and staff, but now studio officials say that it is most harmful and must not be worn. The news that Abhishek Bachchan might have got the infection at dubbing theatre (later proved wrong) points to the danger lurking in these studios. Govt has come out with norms for TV serial shootings but nothing for the recording theaters.

Thala Ajith appoints biker Alisha , AR Rahman steals Tamil film tech, Mohanlal daughter to assist Dad and Shakeela opens website to show her films

Thala Ajith recommended biker Alisha Abdullah for State President of a Central Government  organization. A R Rahman’s Le Musk is a plagiarized version of a Tamil film. Mohanlal’s daughter to be AD to Dad, Ex porn Queen Shakeela starts her own website to stream her own film. Too much hot news to post them separately.

Now Thala Ajith who is a doting family man had a surprise visitor. Alisha Abdullah, a biker who shares a common interest with Thala Ajith about sports bikes was appointed Tamil Nadu State Women President of National Human Rights Anti Crime and Anti Corruption Bureau. Now my search shows that it is an NGO and one Mohit is the National President. Alisha with the appointment order fell at the feet of Thala and told him that this new posting could not have been possible without you. Even before thanking the National President, Alisha went to Ajith house!!!. She said in a video that because Ajith got mobbed badly that he does not go to public functions. So having committed such acts and untold disclosures, is there anything brewing ( other than tea or coffee) asks the anchor of YouTUbe channel. Alisha is furious. She tweeted - “I will not tolerate such nonsense.” Alisha had acted in a Tamil film opposite Atharva as a baddie.

As the anchor made it appear that it was a Central Government appointment, I thought of adding my angle of how Thala is a silent mole of BJP. My hopes were dashed. I googled and found that it was an NGO. Meera Mithun of ex Bigg Boss show was heading a similar organization that claimed to be having judicial powers. She threatened to put entire EPS cabinet in jail and make India into corruption free and rich country - if Modiji made her CM. Today’s news is that Mithun posted a selfie with Udhaynidhi Stalin and urged him to further do more `hard work’. Radha Ravi who spoke badly about heroines was kicked out of DMK and joined BJP. Now BJP’s State working committee has been revamped and filled with Namitha, Gayathri Raghuram, Kutty Padmini onwards. Probably he might ask Vijaykanth to accommodate him.

Next is something that the World media should have lapped it up by now. Tamil film director Babu Ganesh in 2000  made a film titled 'Kadal Pura' in which he reportedly created the effect of smell inside the theaters in accordance with scenes on the screen. The film was screened at a preview theater and we had the entire place engulfed in smoke emitted by machines. The doors were thrown open. We had to take a walk till the smoke cleared. Anyway Babu says Rahman has allegedly copied the concept used in 'Kadal Pura' and used it in his directorial debut movie 'Le Musk'. Ganesh has stated that he tried to contact the Oscar winner through email, music directors association and has also sent a legal notice but he has got no reply. The loss runs into crores , claims Ganesh.

Mohanlal's daughter Vismaya's debut in movies is as assistant director of Dad in his first directorial venture `Berroz’. International stars Raphael Amargo and Paz Vega are expected to star in the film that has music by child musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram. The ambitious project backed by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas. Barroz is scripted by Jijo who directed My dear Kuttichatthan 3D. It revolves around the story of Barroz, a mythical figure who was the guardian of Vasco da Gama’s valuable treasures for 400 years. Son Pranav assisted Jeethu Joseph in the Tamil remake of Drishyam with Kamal Haasan. He played the lead in the hit film  Aadhi and Irupathiyonnam noothandu and is doing Hridyam directed by Vineeth Srinivasan.

 I read Nithya Menen of Malayalam cinema whose Mission Mangal was her big Bollywood debut ,for which she received immense praise , that  her digital debut with Breathe Into The Shadows, the second season will be seen in a lip  lock with a lady actress and also stripping to suggest lesbianism in play. Next I read was Andrea Jermiah (remember her opposite Fahad in  Annayum Rasoolum ? ) is to go nude for a web series in Hindi. As I was wondering about whether this OTT platforms were taking us to Shakeela days. Comes the announcement that this retired queen of soft porn is coming out with a film `Ladies not allowed ‘ ( Telugu). Produced by her, she says pay Rs 50 per view (means per screening) to her website by the same name. She says it is ATT and not over the top (OTT) site and censors banned her film because she did not pay the bribe. Though she wanted an Adult certificate, the censors felt the content deserves to be banned. Reminds me of a short film Shakeela, uploaded in YouTube. It tells of a young Malayali girl, whose name makes her the butt of jokes, causes her to be leered at, and also comes in the way of her getting married. The film takes places 20 years after the end of Shakeela wave. The name still evokes a stirring in God’s Own Country.

A theater owner reveals the scenario if the curtains are up before Corona goes away

My friend, an owner of a standalone theater in the suburbs of Chennai conducted a mock drill to see what problems he would face when public are allowed to come in after going through all procedures spelt out by IMCR and WHO. The following lessons that he learnt are – It takes 30 minutes for 300 persons (50% of the total capacity is only allowed)  to be screened and sanitized  to enable them to see the show. If more than 50 % of them came in just 15 minutes before the show?.  Giving out pre-ordered snacks to ticket holders in the short time before the show started and that too without a mix-up is another hassle. All this with security guys ensuring that the patrons maintained a safe distance to get the parcels.

Should the patrons come with masks or should it be given by the theater? If so who pays for it as one cannot give away some masks that are available off the handcarts. Who pays for the sanitizers? Those taking temp readings should be wearing PPE kits that have to be changed every day. More expenses.

Inside the auditorium, the ushers have to ensure that there was a seat gap between two. Doors should be kept open or shut and AC kept on? If it were kept open, then huge pedestal fans and wall mounted fans are  needed and the whirring sound cannot be silenced. The next best option is for the theater to leave the AC on for some time before the crowd came in. Once again the staff has to see that the pre-ordered snacks through apps are delivered to the patrons at the seat during interval.

Extra personnel with PPE kits and machines to spray the rest rooms and inside the auditorium after the show are needed. A continuous vigil is needed inside the theater to see that social distancing is kept. If the middle seat is removed for now and later the Govt says it is ok (as in case of airlines) it will have to be refitted and the seats are not any local make for an ordinary carpenter to do it.

The theater made money out of its own popcorn brand and beverages sold without MRP. Now the food app guys have to agree to deliver the stuff at theater rates. Next option is allow parcels from counters. The question is will public obey the idea to come early for a show, like a check in time for flights? If they come late, can they be denied entry?

Coming to business point. With 50% occupancy, a theater- distributor will need at least 50 days to make profits. By this 50 days. Online pirated movies will come and so also HD quality DVD.  The results of theater  owner talk with public is that except for a small 10% , no one will come to see a re-run or of a non star film when the curtains lift up gain as they feel that they have go through lot of inconvenience and risks ( they say seeing films in theater is a risk). Only a star studded film can bring life back to theaters is the consensus. Most of the patrons   have taken to viewing films on OTT from the comfort of their homes and though they are not pleased with the OTT releases like Ponmagal Vandhal and Penguin, other language films, especially the Malayalam and Hindi films have caught their fancy. Many of them have even been hooked to web series.

As my friend says that it is better to wait till the epidemic is over. He points out that Suriya’s SP is the only film as of now that is ready and can bring public to take a look or take a risk. But after that? Even Hollywood films are coming out only in November and many theaters in USA are still shut , even after getting a green signal, as they can’t find people to come in to see re-runs or those that were yanked off due to lockdown. They are giving the summer a miss.

P S : The pix used is only for illustrative purpose. Nazar, Giri (artist manager), director Rasi Alagappan were in Trivandrum and wanted to see Jallikattu film ( Malayalam). Anand ( Thiruda Thiruda) who shifted base to Trivandrum took them to New Theater. They were told that as only a handful had come, the show was cancelled. Anand paid for 26 seats (cutoff limit) and saw the film.

Suriya CDP a copy of Vijay kicks virtual war, Rajinikanth- Kamal and 100 days

With theaters closed and film shootings not yet begun, Kollywood erupted in a virtual war. Actor Vijay fans say that the Common DP poster released by Suriya’s forthcoming film Soorai Pottru to mark the 45 th birthday of their hero on july 23^rd is nothing but a rehash of the CDP released by them on their idol’s birthday last month. This virtual war fought on Twitter and social media had a respite after the lockdown.  There were no big releases, trailors or audio launches. Fans handle did not have to brag about the rising First Day First Collections being the record (implying that all other heroes are put in a shadow). Also they had the job of tweeting right from theater as early as 4 AM . Right from the titles onwards , fans start tweet about how grt the start has been. On the side, you get tweets about being a so so film and  a big yawn.

The recent issue is the CDP.  Now this is supposed to be giving a complete picture of the hero’s career and social acceptance etc. In companies this is a system used to show the marketing potential of a product. The similarity raised is that both heroes have identical stance and hands raised upwards (only difference being the right and left). Next is that there are scores of people seen climbing on to Vijay. In Suriya, you have a bridge that goes around him and ends in his palm. The palm has people in doctors, lawyers and other professionals garb. In the bottom of  Vijay poster has Thiruvaluvar and Gandhi statue along with modern buildings. In Suriya poster there are a few buildings, greenery for villages and a Agaram Foundation board (a Trust that Suriya runs to fund education of needy children).

Now Suriya fans say that the name of the actor is written in six languages  inside the lettering. It implies that the actor is a pan Indian actor. This is the reason why 100 celebs will be releasing the CDP of  Suriya and film team has said a big surprise waits on birthday. In the social media war, Suriya was not targeted by other hero’s fans. However, when Suriya fans took to a MASS tag, Dhanush fans jumped in to blast them as the MASS tag is their idol’s rightfully deserved one. Suriya’s father Actor Sivakumar is who chided anybody for being his fan and had no fan clubs in an era of MGR and Sivaji manrams.

In the Kamal- Rajnikanth period too this continued forward. As it was the era of standalone theaters, there was no question of both heroes film releasing under  one roof. Albert Theater Mariappan had the obsession to see that every Rajinikanth film celebrated 100 days in his theatre and he conducted a function. My Editor ( Screen Weekly) asked me to be guide to a Japanese TV crew covering greats of Indian cinema . Rajnikanth’s `Muthu’ was a hit in Japan. Now, I managed to get an appointment with Rajanikanth for the TV crew and luckily they had a Hindi speaking guy to interpret. After the shoot, they wanted to shoot the theater showing Muthu. It was running on a morning show only and past 100 days. Mariappan told me that hardly ten guys came and to ask Sathyanarayana ( then manager of Rajinikanth) to do the needful. At 8 AM, I went to the theater with the crew. There was a huge crowd outside. They garlanded the Japanese crew and theater was full. They danced, threw ticket bills and made a ruckus. A cutout outside the theatre was garlanded and pots of milk poured on it. Mariappan keeps the cutout standing till the next Superstar film is released. TV crew  is happy. Mogambu kush ho gaya !!!

Officially Ajith has not recognized any fan outfits. In the virtual world, if you want to be famous  – call any of these actor’s bad names or even criticize them. This goes for even the reviewers and the so called industry trackers on twitter. If they do not put out a figure which is bigger than the rival’s opening they get slammed and if they do, the rival hero fans handles will ask how much you got paid for it.  How can such trade secrets can be revealed?

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Prabhu Deva , Rowdy Baby and salary cut for Tamil film stars

Prabhu Deva is a Rowdy Baby and Tamil producers to sign new films only if the Star takes a 50 % cut in their present income. I had decided that I will not feature anything about Vanitha Vijayakumar after my last blog on her romance and wedding during the Lock Down period. This time however I have to mention her in a different context. Robert the choreographer was ex hubby of Vanitha.  So What? Robert is angry because he saw Prabhu Deva go on stage to receive an award for the Dhanush- Sai Pallavi film Maari 2. Not it was  that Prabhu did not deserve the award but he credited the entire song movements to choreographer Johny ( or is Jaani) who worked as his assistant. “How can you give credit to a Telugu guy? Give that chance to Tamil choreographers,” said an angry Robert. Rowdy Baby trailor clocked 5 million views on YouTube and was  a big hit. Before, I come back to the main point; let me tell you the reason why Vanitha married Robert. According to her, she played a guest role and  a dance number in an Odisha film that had Robert as hero. As Vanitha was lonely and Robert filled the vacuum, she got married. So what took place recently is fourth wedding and second Christian style one.

The Tamil filmdom industry decided that all the trade bodies should have a Tamil identity and not be a South Indian body. It sparked off with FEFSI Vijayan and his men getting hit by local stuntmen in Hyderabad over a labour dispute. It led to  strikeon sets of Balu Mahendra who haired non Tamil workers.  A splinter group of stunt union smashed Manorama Theater where Directors were holding a meeting. Only the cinematographers union and dance masters union said that they will remain pan- South Indian. Later the strike fizzled out after a long gap (it was like the present Lock Down for Kodambakkam then). The compromise evolved was that a certain percentage of local talent will be hired by Chennai based Masters when shooting non- Tamil films. The situation now is that all the three South States have their own union and their own master’s and dancers. Robert is trying to rake up an issue that today has no relevance. Prabhu Deva has grown from a mere choreographer of South films to be a director of Star studded films.

I remember an incident on the sets of Vandanam, the Priyadarshan- Mohanlal film shooting at a set in Vijaya Studios. A group of drunk stunt men came and created a ruckus in filmy style. Lal and director along with actors were packed off. I too left for Palmgrove Hotel where  Lal and everybody were seen tensed. It seems that Balaji ( actor- producer) and Bhagyaraj had a tiff during shooting the remake of Mr India. It was over the publicity stills released by Balaji, a job that is said to be the director’s right. The attack on Vandanam set was by FEFSI men and the reason was that the hero was the son-in-law of Balaji.

All Star’s must take a 50% cut in wages, post COVID. The question -is the cut from the declared amount shown in the IT returns or in the diary of the actor and producer? When distributors raised a similar demand, a decade back, Rajnikanth started his own company. Today, except for Rajinikanth and Ajith, all saleable actors have their own production companies. If not, their mangers or friends-relatives running production companies sign them up. Even successful directors have floated companies. In Tamil filmdom, there is no duly elected Producer’s or Actor’s body. Both are facing elections. Those who have come forward and announced voluntary cuts are not those who matter. The reason for the cut is that collections in theaters post COVID will be minimal. In that case, why not offer a share of the gate collections and see which Star bites the bait?

No Star will take a cut even after a film flops and finally when the mobile stops ringing, that an offer to give a cut by the actor goes around. By then, it is too late. Either they move to character roles or just stay away. As K T Kunjumon , a producer with larger than life image said that Shankar had a five film agreement with him but it was not kept. He added that `Today, I am not in a position to produce a film with him either,’.

Abbas's daughter - son pixs bowl you over

Abbas , the mid – 90’s heartthrob of Tamil Cinema, took the social media by thunder. The photos of him with his daughter- son- wife eating out at a restaurant in Auckland (New Zealand) posted on social media. The million dollar question that is doing the rounds is – Is Abbas’s daughter Emira to act in films?. Is it the first step by circulating the photos? Though Aymaan , Abbas’s son too features in the family get-together, it is Emira, who is the cynosure of all eyes. To all those in their twenties, they keep seeing  Abbas on Telly  as the Harpic man who comes with the liquid to clean the toilet and is welcomed by a woman who gushes oon seeing him. Later, he came in a double role  as Harpic introduced two variants of the toilet cleaner. To those of us who witnessed his entry in Kodambakkam, the woman’s  welcome seemed to be in order.

Abbas in the mid 90’s danced his way to the hearts of Tamil Audience with the Rahman song `Musthapha Musthapha’ along with Vineeth- Tabu in Kadhal Desam. The entire Kollywood went into a tizzy. The tricky part of an actor who tastes success is to sign films on the merit of the content and above all the producer’s reputation in the financial market of filmdom. Like, it happens to many who do not have a proper guide, Abbas who knew only Hindi- English – Kannada and no clue of Kodambakkam signed projects that were from good banners fallen on bad times and director’s who were one time the cat whiskers. He on advice took advance from so many banners and only his manager knew who they were. The second film VIP which had a good packaging of Prabhu Deva with a two sexy lasses Simran and Rambha was well marketed by none other than by Kalaipuli Thanu.

After this, Abbas was seen in films that did nothing to help his career. We heard that he could not give dates for Kadhalukku Mariyadai that gave Vijay a major blockbuster hit and the Shankar film `Jeans’. He happened to actually land up in Kandukondai Kandukondain opposite Aishwarya Rai after Prasanth (after Jeans) felt the role would not be right and was not willing to be paired with Tabu. Abbas shifted to doing supporting roles. The next teen sensation after Abbas was Maddy aka Madhavan with Minnale directed by Gautam Menon and it had Abbas in a supporting role. They had paired together in a Kannada and Tamil film.

In Tamil, his comic role in Pammal K Sambandam is still rated as his career best. But I rate his career best as Kannuezhuthi Pottu Thottu directed by T K Rajeev Kumar. He plays Moosakutty, a bangle seller in the waterways of Kerala and love interest of the heroine Manju Warrier who plays Gowri. The film’s musical score and the offbeat theme of how a woman uses her sexuality to take revenge with the film ending with Gowri marrying Moosakutty, made it memorable. Abbas just lived the role. A far cry from what he had done till then and later in his career. Manju got special mention from the National Film Award jury for her performance. In fact, Rajiv Menon had approached Manju to play the Aishwarya Rai role  but she could not come on board.

Abbas was always the `vellaikaran’ (whiteman) of filmdom for his lifestyle and the way he conducts himself in public. His wife Erum Ali had a boutique that was very popular and a nice interior too. He is a close family friend of Kushboo. I parked my scooter in the parking lot of Spencers Plaza. I saw Abbas and the attendant having a quarrel at the car parking lot. Abbas wants to park his sports bike in the car park area as it costs much more than of the cars parked in that lot. He cannot have guys dashing on his bike etc.  Finally, he agreed to pay for two car tickets slot as it was a wide bodied one. As there is no Covid scare in New Zealand, where he is settled, eating out and posting pixs of the two kids to us guys holed up (as today is a total Lock Down in Chennai) is a good gesture. The kids look great and so do you and Erum.

Raghava Lawrence donation to PM Cares not worthy as Sonu Sood - Akshay Kumar- Amitabh ?

The Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB),  in the lockdown period conducted a survey about who would the corporate companies and the consumer’s rate as their favourite brand Ambassador. Sonu Sood , Akashy Kumar , Amitabh comes first , second and third. Reason, being that they helped in the lockdown period by donating liberally and paying for migrants to reach home. By same yardstick, Raghava Lawrence ,the dancing Star- director- producer of  the South, should have figured in the top list .  I think he has given Rs 1 crore  to PM Cares fund. So is there a different survey for products that are sold only in the South States? Or the corporate and consumers are not aware of a guy called Lawrence and his Samaritan deeds? It looks like the persons surveyed are from the North India and our `national ‘ channels did not go to town with Lawrence like with the  Sood, Khiladi Kumar  and Bachchan charity acts.

Anyway, Lawrence first outing in Bollywood is Laxmi Bomb directed by him with Akshay and to be released on Disney- HotStar. I heard my three friends in the YouTube Channel `Valai Pechu’ say that the personal assistants of actors are not part of any union and they are denied benefits given by FEFSI during lockdown period. They hoped that Lawrence could be of help. The next thing was that Lawrence called them and asked  them to give him a list of affected workers and he would reach help to them. Apart from the PM Fund, he has given to FEFSI and to Dancers Union, a huge amount. His charity work did  not start after lockdown. It is a 15 year long process that started way back.

Starting out as a driver of a stunt master, moving to be a group dancer and graduating to a choreographer, Lawrence knows the pain. When veteran Puliyur Saroja ,our Screen Award jury member  said Lawrence was the winner, we were stunned. He won for a Telugu film and me who moved around with  Salim, Puliyur Saroja ,Raghuram Master and Sundaram Master never had the eye to note a talent like him. My colleague BVS who tracked Lawrence’s one room place in Vadapalani backstreets to invite him said that he could not believe it. It was his first award in his life.

An ardent die-hard fan of Rajinikant, he turned director and a reputed choreographer in Telugu films. He is  a favourite of Chiranjeevi and a pet of Nagarjuna. His Kanchana series made him a hit in Kollywood. Though, he has no market in Kerala, he donated Rs 1 crore to CM Flood Relief. Akshay Kumar who heard about Lawrence’s project to build a home for transgender announced a donation of Rs 1.5 crore. Said Lawrence –“I consider everyone who helps as God. So now, Akshay Kumar sir is a God for us. I thank him for lending his huge support for this project. “

Corona virus played cupid to celeb lovers

Lock Down has its own way of playing cupid. The lovers unite in wedlock and they live happily ever after. But Lock Down decides otherwise. Film websites,  TV channels fed up with body count of Covid and social media activists bored of Covid and custody deaths ,jump up to pose questions .– Is Vanitha Vijayakumar’s husband an alcoholic, a non -vegetarian  and is he not legally divorced from his wife ? Is Vanitha not spoiling the children of today by releasing photos of her kissing her hubby? Vanitha’s  kid daughter gives interviews and so does Peter’s son and wife and it all leads to character assassination. The pitch has reached a point that only EPS – Stalin and BJP spokespersons have not commented yet on this grave issue. Surprisingly ,the AIADMK ministers who are known to rush to give their views on any topic have not come out with any gems.

Rajinikanth, who is the closest pal of Vijayakumar is sticking to tweets and so also Kamal Haasan, thanks to Lockdown. Vanitha , is daughter of actor Vijayakumar – Manjula family. It might strike a bell to those not so familiar with yesteryear Tamil cinema- Manjula acted in many MGR films and I remember her in the MGR film Rickshawkaran. I got to see this aging beauty in person at a set in Venus Studio where a brothel set was erected for Abhimanyu ( directed by Priyadarshan) and she was playing the Madame of the brothel. Vijayakumar is a jolly good fellow and a good company for a get-together. Among the daughters, I think Preetha did quite well and had her mom’s beauty. Vanitha played heroine to RajKiran in a Tamil film.  She is also brother of actor Arun Vijay.

She was always in news for either dragging her parents to the police station over a property dispute or her ex husbands over custody of the children. It was Bigg Boss 3 that gave her the much needed spotlight and the guys identified her as the quarreling Akka (elder sister). Now Peter Paul a VFX guy who works for Hollywood movies falls for Vanitha and goes on his knees and proposes. She agrees. A Christian wedding with bridesmaid etc and huge cake is held ( strictly according to Lock Down rules). We get a long note about this dream come true event and that we will get all the photos. So don’t bother about coming. Photos keep coming of the married couple showing their love by smooches and lip lock. Fine. Thanks and we will remember you for this gesture of following Lock down, said me.

Joy was short lived. Parents comments come in – How can you spoil our children with kissing photos and videos. Use parental control button and remember kissing is gesture of LOVE, answers Vanitha. Next a person calls saying Helen the legal wife of Peter is coming to police station to ask for arrest of her hubby and Vanitha for bigamy and adultery. Now actress Lakshmi Ramakrishnan who hosts a TV show that settles issues between couples and an activist herself tweets that Vanitha did a blunder and so also Helen for waiting for the wedding to be over. Vanitha says in so many words says that go and look after your life and don’t give me advice. Flabbergasted, Lakshmi says that she never got such an overwhelming response when she tweeted about Covid or custody murder and beats a retreat.

 Now Vanitha says my hubby is a teetotaler and a vegan to blunt Helen’s charge. Helen’s son says Dad called up drunk and said that he started drinking after marrying Vanitha and that twice his Dad was in a de-addiction home. Once he tried to escape and was beaten up. Now Lock Down or is it Corona virus comes back in play. Vanitha posts pixs of her feeding Peter, a KFC chicken leg. So you bluffed, asks netizens. Kutty Padmini, actress- TV producer in a YouTube channel advises that Vanitha should put  her children in a hostel. “Keep your advice to yourself and don’t take to social media for publicity when you can call and talk to me,” replies Vanitha. She also says something about Kutty’s past without elaborating. Padmini had just been nominated to State BJP working council. Padmini says sorry and retreats. At the time of writing, Kasthuri another actress and activist takes a potshot – You do everything in public and want privacy?.   it  gave me a jolt. Everything? How come I did not get the photos? Got to check the spam folder.

Bring theatre back make Kodambakkam alive

Visaranai director Vetri Maran story writer , director Arun Vaidyanathan on Sathankulam

Apart from Covid 19, the most covered news topic is the Sathankulam custody death of father-son. Director Arun Vaidyanathan has echoed more or less the view put out on the YouTube by this blogger. Director Vetri Maran whose film `Visaranai' on custody torture was an entry in the Oscars tweeted -  Honourable judges P. N. Prakash, P. Pugazhendhi, magistrate Bharathidasan, courageous Revathi, you’ve given us hope. We stand by you.  The author Chandrakumar of the book Lockup ,whose first hand experience of custodial torture was the subject of Visaranai told The Indian Express his views on the police reforms that is to be implemented.

Commenting on the Tamil Nadu Police department’s decision to conduct a behavioural course for officers under mental stress, Chandrakumat said it’s only meant to save the department’s image.“When police officers in interior towns of Madurai, Thoothukudi can abuse the judicial magistrate, do you think they will be kind to the general public? The disciplinary course is just a face-saving exercise".Chandrakumar runs an auto and was fortunate to come out alive after the Guntur police torture says that in his case, the police wanted him to be alive as they needed him to give a confession that he was the head of a 20 member robbers gang. Even when he went on hunger strike, the police did nothing to him. He points out that here the police had no need to keep the two men alive as they had no criminal record and their being in custody was illegal So the point is why were they produced before the magistrate to be remanded ?. Tell tale blood stains on the table in the Station and blood soaked lungis as well as head injuries and CCTV cameras are all evidence against the police. However , the case can be won only if you have a strong eye witness who can testify in the court, said Chandrakumar. The police here cannot escape saying that the violence was in self- defense, he said as it took place inside the station. He likened the incident to " running over a random person on the street knowingly. This is a barbaric act,”. Going by Chandrakumar's view ,the eye witness report by the woman constable  has nailed the erring cops.

As I had said in my YouTube video posted in this blog, Surya and director Hari have owed their success to the various cop stories that they have come out. The famous being the Singam series which in Hindi is also Singham with Ajay Devgn. Three parts have been released. Both of them regretted having taken movies that glorified cops. To which Arun Vaidyanathan director of  Tamil films and Peruchazhi with Mohanlal in Malayalam said in a tweet - "Come on, give me a break! This is not a film script, where you need to push the emotional quotient little over the top for some likes and retweets. Let's treat this as a separate incident, inquire the truth and punish the people behind them. Don't project the entire department in bad light. My prayers are with the Jeyaraj and Fenix family. I hope the justice is served soon."

Surya, Rajini and police brutality Suriya,Rajni and police brutality