Chennai: Days after Tamil film industry came to a standstill, the Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors' Association on Thursday called off its indefinite strike following a meeting with ministers .

“As the ministers gave assurance to accept our demands, we decide to call off the strike,” Abirami Ramanathan, president of the association, said.

The exhibitors have been in a strike from March 16 putting forth demands including cancellation of entertainment tax, maintenance cost among others. The strike also had hit new releases.

Following the standstill, a meeting had been held in the presence of state ministers Kadambur Raju and K.C. Veeramani, on Thursday. “Respecting their word, we call off the strike. Cinema halls will open from Friday,” Ramanathan told media, shortly after the conclusion of the meeting. It may be recalled that the film producers are continuing their protest against Digital Service Providers (DSP) and withheld new releases and stopped shootings.

Released specially for Valentine's Day, the poster is a hit among fans

On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, the first look poster of the upcoming romcom Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithal has been released. Starring Dulquer Salmaan and Ritu Varma, the film has been directed by Desingh Periyasamy.

The poster shows the two actors having a ball, making funny faces. The various shots when seen together form a heart, a poster apt for Valentine’s Day.
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Dulquer Salmaan’s last Tamil film, the bilingual Solo, did not do well. The film was impeded by the sudden strike called by the Producers’ Council and was also affected by poor word of mouth coming in from Kerala. Nevertheless, the actor enjoys a wide fanbase in Tamil Nadu, thanks to the hit film OK Kanmani.Dulquer’s Malayalam films are also well-known in Tamil Nadu and it helps that the actor grew up in Chennai city.

Ritu Varma played a small role in the Dhanush film VIP 2. Known as the Pelli Choopullu girl, Ritu was fantastic in the Telugu romcom which set new standards for Tollywood. Kannum Kannum will be her big launch in the Tamil industry. She’s also acting in Dhruva Natchathiram with Vikram.
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The title for Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithal comes from the AR Rahman hit number from Mani Ratnam’s Thiruda Thiruda. Shot in Goa, the film is expected to be a light-hearted comedy.

The project, being planned as a Deepavali 2018 release, has Keerthy Suresh playing the leading lady.

​Last seen in Jayam Ravi’s Vanamagan, actor Sayyeshaa currently has three projects in her kitty – Junga with Vijay Sethupathi, Kadai Kutty Singam with Karthi and Ghajinikanth with Arya. According to the industry grapevine, she’s said to have been approached with a plum offer to play the second leading lady in Vijay’s upcoming project, tentatively titled Thalapathy 62. However, the actor has clarified to online portal Behindwoods that she’s not part of the project and that she was not even approached in the first place.
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Currently being shot in Kolkata, the Thalapathy 62 team is expected to wrap up the ongoing schedule by this week or next. They’re currently shooting an action sequence under the supervision of stuntmen Ram-Lakshman brothers, popular for their work in many Telugu films over the years.

Being directed by AR Murugadoss, the film marks his reunion with Vijay after Thuppakki and Kaththi. All eyes are on Thalapathy 62 as two of Vijay’s best films in recent years have come from Murugadoss and it naturally has built high anticipation around their next project. It is believed that the project is being planned as a Deepavali 2018 release and might lock horns with Ajith’s Viswasam at the box office.

AR Rahman has been officially signed on for the project, which will mark his reunion with Murugadoss after the Hindi version of Ghajini. Girish Gangadharan, the young lensman whose recent work includes Kali and Solo, will crank the camera. National award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad, who has worked with Murugadoss in projects such as Thuppakki and Spyder, is also part of the film.

Keerthy Suresh is playing the leading lady. Amid rumours that Vijay will reunite with Theri and Mersal director Atlee for his next project, reports have also emerged that he might team up with Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru director H Vinoth, whose work really impressed the actor who is said to have expressed interest to join hands. Vinoth, on the other hand, has a project for Suriya in the offing which might take off later this year.

The actor will soon join the sets of 'U Turn' remake.

Samantha Akkineni’s fans are in for a big treat with three of her films slotted for back-to-back releases. Reports coming in from the tinsel town are that Irumbu Thirai, a Tamil film in which she is paired opposite Vishal, is scheduled for release on March 29 and on the same day, the multi-lingual – Mahanati/Nadigayar Thilagam will also be out.
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The next day, her fans will get to see her in Rangasthalam in which she will be sharing the screen space with the Tollywood star Ram Charan.

Irumbu Thirai features Samantha Ruth Prabhu as the lead heroine, marking her first-time association with Vishal and Action King Arjun is playing the antagonist in the film.

Directed by PS Mithran, the film is produced by Vishal under his banner Vishal Film Factory. Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed music for this venture with George cranking the camera and Ruben editing it.

Mahanati/Nadigayar Thilagam is a biopic on the legendary actor Savitri. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film has Samantha playing a journo and the film is told from her perspective.

Bankrolled under the banner Vyjayanthi Movies it has Mickey J Meyer composing music with cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez cranking the camera. 

In Rangasthalam, she is paired opposite Ram Charan Teja for the first time in her career. The film is directed by Sukumar and produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar and Mohan Cherukuri under the banner Mythri Movie Makers. Devi Sri Prasad has composed music for this flick with R Rathnavelu wielding the camera and Navin Nooli editing.

With three of her films gearing up for release, Samantha is ready to join the sets of the U Turn remake. This Kannada movie will be made in Tamil and Telugu and Pawan Kumar, who had directed the original, will be wielding the megaphone for it.

​Successful hero Sharwanand has publicly confessed about how bad he had felt for rejecting 'Arjun Reddy' when the director first approached him. Having witnessed how bold the heroine's character in the film was, we can easily presume several actresses might have turned it down too. Here is one such actress who now rues for rejecting the film as she was hesitant about doing the several lip-locks in the film.

​South actress Parvatii Nair, who has predominantly acted in Tamil and Malayalam films, has in a recent interview revealed that she was approached for "Arjun Reddy". Talking about the missed opportunity, the 'Uttama Villain' actress said that she had rejected Arjun Reddy because of the intimate scenes and lip-locks. 

She added that it seemed a simple and very ordinary love story when Sandeep had narrated to her, and so feeling unsure of a debut director's vision and also doing the intimate scenes, she turned down the role which made debutante Shalini Pandey an overnight star. 

"But, when I saw the film in a theatre, I felt so bad and unfortunate for missing it. One must give full credit to director Sandeep for converting a simple love story into a genuinely impactful film. The presentation was so well that I just fell in love with the film," Parvatii reportedly revealed.

Besides 'Arjun Reddy', Parvatii also rejected 'Aruvi', which was the finest Tamil film of 2017. 

It's true Jyothika quit films to get married but the trailer for 'Naachiyar' suggests that the actor is not letting marriage or motherhood define her career

​The trailer for Bala's upcoming thriller Naachiyar shows Jyothika playing a rough and tough cop who brooks no nonsense. The teaser for the film, which saw the actor mouthing a common sexist and casteist cuss word, had sent ripples across social media, with several people objecting not to the word in particular, but to the gender of the person uttering it.

The trailer suggests that Jyothika has transformed herself into a character she has never played before – not just the cop role but how she's playing it. The aggression is distinctly different from the cutesy, "bubbly" roles that defined her career when she was acting with the industry's top heroes.
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Jyothika, who made her debut with Priyadarshan's 1998 Hindi film Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, entered the Tamil industry with Vaali. In the film, she was the whimsical creation of a young man (Ajith) trying to impress a woman (Simran) with a fake love story. The O Sona girl, the half-sister of Nagma – who had done superhit films like Baasha and Kadhalan – became quickly popular. The 2000 film Kushi, in which she starred with Vijay, made her a big hit with the audience.

Jyothika in Vaali

In her first stint, Jyothika was known for her expressive eyes and over-the-top gestures (in a recent interview, the actor said that in those days, she was "over-acting" and not acting). The "loosu ponnu", the south Indian version of the manic pixie, was becoming the most favoured characterisation for heroines in mainstream Tamil films. The "feminine innocence" of the yesteryear heroine was further infantilised to create a child-woman whose "enthusiasm" and exaggerated gestures passed off as "cute".
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As the next generation of heroes after Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan became larger-than-life and turned into demi-gods, the women they pursued on screen were increasingly relegated to song and dance sequences which would be preceded by a "romance" track. Jyothika, who is frequently described as "bubbly", played several such roles; but she also made some interesting career choices.
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In Rhythm, for instance, she signed up to play a married woman who dies in a train accident. The same year saw the release of Snegithiye, a thriller which had only women actors in lead roles – a proposition that's still considered risky in Kollywood. Jyothika also experimented with genres when given the opportunity, doing films like the adventure fantasy Little John (in which she starred with American actor Bentley Mitchum), Perazhagan (in which she played a dual role, one of which was the visually challenged, de-glamourised Shenbagam), June R(which is about a young woman who "adopts" a mother) and Mozhi (her portrayal of a hearing and speech impaired woman won her the Tamil Nadu State Film Award).

In Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, she played a single mom who attempts suicide because of a failed relationship, while in Pachaikili Muthucharam, she played the villain – a woman who seduces men and blackmails them for money. To be sure, Jyothika's acting wasn't on par with the likes of woman actors like Sridevi, Revathi, Gautami, Madhavi, Urvashi and many others who had ruled the screen before her time. She didn't have their versatility, but she remained likable to the audience, succeeding especially in romantic films like Dum Dum Dum and Sillinu Oru Kadhal.

Her character in Gautham Menon's Kaakha Kaakha, which established Suriya (whom she would eventually marry) as a star to reckon with, is still remembered by many as among her best. Fans of Suriya and Jo will swear that the couple, who acted together in seven films, shared the best on screen chemistry.

Jyothika had acted with both Kamal Haasan (Tenali, Vetaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu) and Rajinikanth (Chandramukhi was a massive hit) and all the younger stars (Vijay, Vikram, Suriya, Prashanth, Madhavan) by the time she predictably called it quits to marry Suirya in 2006.
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Her comeback to cinema with 36 Vayadhiniley, the remake of the Malayalam film How Old Are You, saw the actor asserting herself and being vocal about women characters on screen. While many have appreciated her for speaking up, several have also cast aspersions on her intentions, believing her statements to be "marketing" for her films. Many have also been dismissive of her return to cinema, accusing her of sticking to doing vanilla, 'feel-good' films that use feminism as a crutch.
But going by what we've seen so far of Naachiyaar, Jyothika seems determined to stay and do so on her own terms. She isn't playing to attract the family audience, she's looking to establish herself as a "mass" star, the one who is greeted by wild cheers and loud whistles. While we've had actors like Vijayshanti who have ably performed fight sequences, a woman swearing and wearing her aggression on her sleeves – and being welcomed for it – is new.

While mainstream Tamil cinema is still dominated by male star vehicles, we're seeing some interesting changes in characterising the female hero – whether that's Jyothika in Magalir Mattum, Nayanthara in Aramm and Dora or Revathi in Gulaebaghavali. They get "mass" moments, the hero walk, and even punch dialogues. What's more, the audience seems to be lapping it up, at least in the metros.

Bollywood has its Vidya Balan and Kangana Ranaut. In the south, actors like Nayanthara, Trisha, Anushka Shetty, and Jyothika have reached a certain phase in their career when they are confident that their name on the title cards alone can bring audiences to the theatres. And they seem to be finding producers and directors who are willing to take a chance, too.

It's too early to pass any judgment about Naachiyaar, but one can safely say that the film is a sign of the times; even if it turns out to be terrible, it still signals the arrival of an exciting moment in Tamil cinema as far as gender is concerned. We're finally going to see a woman actor do her job, minus the baggage of marriage and motherhood dictating the roles she's "allowed" to do.

If film can set record even after film release means then it should be 'Mersal'

Mersal is creating records from time to time even when they released first look, twitter emoji, teaser, aalaporan tamizhan single & even after release whole country took a look on GST ISSUE & now it being telecasted in Zee Tamil on ocassion of Pongal & already whole tamilnadu glued to the channel there is no doubt in creating new TRP records to make more special for the first time in television history channel played Aalaporan Tamizhan song for twice & this should be first kind during a movie premiere & it added extra celebration among thalapathy fans Mersal ​is the film where it should be noted it is celebrated in two festival season from Diwali to Pongal.

Amitabh Bachchan recently shared screen space with Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan has done very few south Indian films and they were for just a few friends. Recently, he went on to ink the dotted the lines for the multi-lingual Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, in which he will be seen sharing the screen space with the Tollywood megastar Chiranjeevi. Chiru and the Big B have been friends for long so when the offer to play a pivotal character in Sye Raa was offered, he simply lapped it up.

Incidentally, there have been reports that Amitabh Bachchan was approached to play a role in N Balakrishna’s film but he declined the offer. Following this, Balayya shelved the project stating that he wouldn’t do it unless Amitabh Bachchan agrees to do the role.
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And now, there is a buzz that director KV Anand is trying hard to get the star onboard for his next with Suriya in the lead. Sources say that the filmmaker is trying to get in touch with Amitabh Bachchan to narrate the story and is sure to impress him with the script. Well, to get clarity on it, we need to wait.

Meanwhile, Suriya’s Thaana Serntha Kootam hit the marquee recently and is doing well at the theatres. The star will now move over to the Selvaraghavan directorial. Reports are that the KV Anand’s film will start rolling after Suriya is done with this project. In the meantime, KV Anand will be completing the groundwork and assembling his star cast.

It may be mentioned here that KV Anand had directed Suriya in Ayan and Maatraan earlier of which the former was smash hit while the latter received a lukewarm response. It needs to be seen how their third venture together would fare at the box office.

Going the 'Baahubali' way, the project is believed to be made as two parts over the course of next 18 months.

​Sundar C’s magnum opus Sangamithra, which has been planned as a trilingual in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, was launched amidst fanfare last year in Cannes International Film Festival and even before the buzz died down, Shruti Haasan walked out of the project citing reason that she was not given the full script as promised when she had accepted the offer.
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However, producer Hema Rukmani clarified that Shruti didn’t walk out. They chose to not work together as things didn’t work out with her effectively. She was eventually replaced by Disha Patani and the project was supposed to go on the floors from December last year. Following the delay in the commencement of the shoot, rumours made the rounds that the project has been shelved.

Earlier this week, speaking to reporters at the press meet of his upcoming release Kalakalappu 2, director Sundar C clarified that the film has not been shelved. "It's a film with mammoth scale. A film of that grandness needs perfect planning and we are doing the pre-preparation work for the last one and a half years. Unlike other films where work on graphics will be done only after shooting, here in Sangamithra, we have started it before shooting,” Sundar was quoted by Deccan Chronicle. Apparently, the shoot of Sangamithra is expected to commence from April or May.

Tipped to be made on a budget of Rs. 150 crores, the project will star Arya and Jayam Ravi, and the latter had said that he will be required to beef up for the role. Going the Baahubali way, the project is believed to be made as two parts over the course of next 18 months.

To be bankrolled by Sri Thenandal Films, the film will have music by double Oscar-winning A R Rahman, who is kicked to be part of this project. At Cannes, he had said, “It’s a very ambitious film. Six months back when I heard just 30 minutes of the narration, it was good enough for me to come on board.” 

The film is believed to be the remake of a French film.

Vikram, last seen on screen in action-thriller Irumugan, didn’t have a single release in 2017 even though he was shooting for three projects – Sketch, Dhruva Natchathiram and Saamy Square, the highly anticipated sequel to his 2003 blockbuster Saamy.The year also saw his daughter get married and that kept him out action for a brief while.

He was also busy putting together the perfect launch pad for his son Dhruv, who is making his acting debut with Varma, the Tamil remake of Arjun Reddy. Awaiting the release of Sketch on January 12, it is believed that Vikram has signed a new project in Kamal Haasan’s production Raaj Kamal Films and the film will be helmed by Rajesh M Selva.
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According to a Times of India report, the film will be a remake of a French flick. “The team had originally planned to announce this project on January 1, but since Vikram's father passed away on December 31, they have put off the announcement as a mark of respect to the actor.”

The regular shooting will commence soon. Currently busy wrapping up Saamy Square, in which he returns as the foul-mouthed cop, Vikram will also finish the leftover portion of Gautham Menon’s Dhruva Natchathiram, in which he plays a secret agent out for revenge.

Vikram is expected to commence shooting for Selva’s project from the summer of this year and will hopefully wrap this up by year-end. If everything goes as planned, Vikram might have three releases this year.

There are also rumours that Dhruva Natchathiram is being planned as a trilogy. The film’s talkie portion should be completed by next month. The next four months will be spent on post-production and the film will release as planned later this year. The film was shot in key locations outside India, especially in Europe and the US. Originally planned with Suriya, who opted out after a fall out with Gautham Menon, Vikram was roped in as his replacement.