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Industry grapevine is that director Siva is trying hard to convince Anirudh to come on board.  On November 23, it was officially announced that Ajith will once again team up with director Siva for his upcoming project, titled Viswasam. After Vivegam, this film would mark the fourth collaboration of the duo. In December, the team had a formal pooja along with the technicians and members of the production house, Sathyajyothi Films.
A few weeks back, it was confirmed that Yuvan Shankar Raja has been roped in as the music director for Viswasam, touted to be a rural-based entertainer. However, Yuvan has now backed out of the project, due to unknown reasons. A source close to the composer reveals that he was in talks with director Siva and Sathyajyothi Films. Another source tells that director Siva is considering Anirudh Ravichander and other music directors to compose for Viswasam. The team is also on the lookout for a suitable heroine for this village-based flick. Earlier, the team was in talks with Anushka Shetty for the same, but it looks like she hasn't signed the project. The shooting of Viswasam is slated to commence sometime in January 2018 and is scheduled to release for Diwali 2018. Ajith has ditched his salt-and-pepper look and has had his hair coloured black for his role in the movie. The technical team of Viswasam includes cinematographer Vetri and editor Antony Ruben.
With an elephant standing right behind him, Rana Daggubati appears with a cropped hair cut and looks rugged.
Rana Daggubati has been very selective about the roles he plays in his films and this has earned him a huge fan base.
Having had a successful 2017 with three of his films, The Ghazi Attack, Baahubali: the Conclusion and Nene Raju Nene Mantri turning out to be big hits, the star ventured into the New Year with the release of the first look of his upcoming movie Haathi Mere Saathi. He had earlier said that this film would be about the conservation of elephants and the first look makes it clear. With an elephant standing right behind him, Rana Daggubati appears with a cropped hair cut and looks rugged. It looks like he plays a mahout in the film. On the release of the first look of Haathi Meri Saathi, he wrote on Twitter, “Entering the new year with a great new story to tell. Introducing #Bandev from #HaathiMereSaathi #HaathiMereSaathiFL.” “And now It’s officially another year!! Happy New Year!! Let’s make each day count!! Best wishes. And for the one’s who missed here’s #Bandev form #HaathiMereSaathi,” he later tweeted.
In an interview to TNIE, he said, "There's a very exciting physical language to the character I'm playing in 'Haathi Mere Saathi', something entirely different from what I've done in the past. I've always wanted to be a part of content that can travel across the country, and am very happy that Trinity is backing cinema of this genre.”
Prabhu Solomon, who had directed critically acclaimed films such as Mynaa, Kumki and Kayal, is wielding the megaphone for this venture. The film will be shot extensively in Thailand and various locations in India. To be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, Haathi Meri Saathi is touted to hit the screens for Diwali this year. Incidentally, this will be the first time he is directing a multi-lingual. It may be mentioned here that director Prabhu Solomon had directed Kumkiearlier and this film also dealt with elephants. On making films on the massive creatures, he has said that elephants are both magnificent and intelligent and humans can take cue from them. Atlee is presently working on the script of the film  Director Atlee, who shot to limelight with his debut flick Raja Rani, starring Arya and Nayanthara in the lead roles, then went on to direct Theri and Mersal with Vijay. Soon after his latest release Mersal, there were reports that the director would go on to direct Vijay again. But according to latest reports, Atlee’s film with Vijay may not commence anytime soon.
Further, there have been rumors of the director roping in the Baahubali star Prabhas for his next. Enquiries about his next revealed that Atlee is busy with the scripting work and will be completing it in a couple of months. He will be finalizing the hero for the film only after completing the scripting work. Mersal, released for Diwali this year, was made on a budget of Rs. 120 crore and it collected over Rs. 250 crores worldwide. Incidentally, the film was co-written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, who had penned the story for the smash hit movie Baahubali: the Beginning and Baahubali: the Conclusion. Produced by N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani, R. Mahendran and H. Murali under the banner Thenandal Studio Limited, Mersal starred a bevy of actors including Vijay, Samantha, Nithya Menon, S. J. Surya, Kajal Aggarwal, Vadivelu and Sathyaraj in pivotal roles. AR Rahman had composed music for this flick with GK Vishnu as its cinematographer and Ruben as its editor. Vijay is currently busy with the AR Murugadoss directorial which has not been titled yet. The film is being bankrolled by Sun Pictures on a huge budget. It is believed that the project is being planned as a Diwali 2018 release. It might even come earlier if completed on time. Otherwise, the makers will look for a very good festival release date. Soon after wrapping up the current project.
The film takes a jibe at Lakshmy's 'Solvathellam Unmai' and also has a dialogue - "A good film Vijay has acted in? Which one is that?"
Tamil film Aruvi has opened to rave reviews and great word of mouth. However, not everyone is happy.
Actor, director and TV show host Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has taken umbrage to the film since it takes a jibe at her show Solvathellam Unmai. The film has actor Lakshmi Gopalaswamy playing a TV show host for a programme called Solvathellam Sathyam. The host is shown to be insensitive and hypocritical. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan took to Twitter to express her displeasure about how the film allegedly portrays her and the TV show. She asked if the director or anyone from his family had appeared on Solvathellam Unmai to know so much about the show. In the film, Aruvi is a HIV positive person who is mistreated by the TV show host. Lakshmy tweeted that many such persons had participated on the show, suggesting that they were treated with respect and not how the film had portrayed it. She also said that Aruvi was a "feminist film made by cheap & personal attacks on another woman." She further said that while Slumdog Millionaire had based a part of the film on Amitabh Bachchan's game show, people were not made to think that this was how the show runs. She also challenged the makers of the film to face her on camera and answer her queries. Lakshmy asserted that she was doing her work with social responsibility and that it was wrong to "belittle and demean" her for it.
This is not for the first time that Lakshmy has been upset at how the show has been represented on screen. The RJ Balaji-GV Prakash film Kadavul Irukan Kumaru also mocked Solvathellam Unmai, angering the actor-director.
Meanwhile, Aruvi has also drawn flak from Vijay fans for a scene that mocks the actor's films – the dialogue, "A good film that Vijay has acted in? Which one is that?" has irked some of them who've claimed that it was unnecessary for the film to take such a potshot at their star. They have alleged that Aruvi is a copy of an Egyptian film Asmaa while others have said it is not so.
The producer of the film, SR Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures, tweeted that Aruvi was made purely to promote love and humanity and that the film had no intention of offending anyone. "Nevertheless, we apologise if we have hurt anyone," he said.
The film is said to be an action thriller.  It has already been reported that Mani Ratnam’s next will be a multi-starrer. It was officially announced not long ago that the untitled film will star Vijay Sethupathi, Simbu, Fahadh Faasil, Jyothika and Aishwarya Rajesh in lead roles.
A source from the film’s unit had said that the project will start rolling from later this year and the Roja filmmaker is eyeing a 2018 summer release. However, it has now been confirmed that the project will be officially launched in January 2018 and will start rolling from February. “After an official launch in January next year, the principal shooting will begin from February. The first schedule will be shot in Chennai. Mani sir might shoot a few scenes in January itself but the full-fledged shooting will happen in February. The supporting cast is in the process of being finalised,” a source from the film’s unit said. To be bankrolled by Madras Talkies, double Oscar-winning musician A.R Rahman has been roped in compose the music. Lensman Santosh Sivan will crank the camera and it’ll be his sixth collaboration with Ratnam. The source confirmed that the film will be an action-thriller and will be a departure from the filmmaker’s usual style of films. Ratnam has pinned high hopes on this project following the debacle of Kaatru Veliyidai, which sank without a trace at the box-office. There are rumours that the film also stars senior actors Prakash Raj and Jayasudha, who have collaborated on several occasions. Apparently, they’ll be seen playing a pair and Arvind Swami, Fahadh and Simbu will be seen as their sons. It has also been confirmed that Vijay Sethupathi will be seen in a special role as a cop. There is no confirmation yet and we can expect an official word from the couple soon.  Malayalam actor Bhavana and Kannada producer Naveen got engaged at a private ceremony on March 9, 2017 early this year but the wedding date was not revealed. Sources close to the couple maintained that the wedding is very much on cards but the date has not been fixed yet. While some reports suggested that they will marry during the first week of January, one of Bhavana's friends said that the wedding is fixed to be January 22. We also hear that only close family and friends would be invited for this simple ceremony that is likely to take place in Thrissur and the it is likely to be a low-key affair just like their engagement. The engagement ceremony saw just a few family members and close friends of the couple, including Malayalam actor Manju Warrier.  Bhavana made her acting debut with the Malayalam film Nammal in 2002 which fetched her a couple of awards. She then went on to act in several Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Her last film release was Adam Joan in which she shared the screen space with Prithviraj Sukumaran, Mishti, Narain, and Rahul Madhav. This film hit the silver screens on September 1 this year.
She is currently busy with the Kannada movie Tagaru which has Shiva Rajkumar playing the main lead. The star cast of this film also includes Manvitha, Dhananjay, Vasishta N Simha, Devaraj and Suhasini Maniratnam. Directed by Duniya Soori and produced by KP Srikanth under the banner Venus Entertainers, the film is slated to hit the marquee on January 10 to cash in on the festive holidays. With reports about Bhavana – Naveen wedding surfacing again, we can expect an official word from the couple soon. ‘Irumbu Thirai’ is scheduled for a Pongal release.  Vishal's next major outing is action-thriller Irumbu Thirai, which is gearing up for Pongal 2018 release. The film marks his first collaboration with Action King Arjun, who plays the antagonist.
The film's director Mithran has revealed that Vishal was more interested in playing the villain after he heard the script. "Vishal wanted to do the villain role in Irumbu Thirai when I pitched the subject to him to produce it under his banner. He was so impressed with the plot that he not only agreed to bankroll it, but also opted to do the powerful baddie character,” the film’s director Mithran told Deccan Chronicle. Mithran revealed that the original plan was to rope in some other hero if Vishal agrees to produce the film. “He loved the villain role and evinced interest to portray it. Then I had to convince him that he does the lead protagonist and made changes accordingly. The film has a military backdrop and from an ordinary man’s character, I made Vishal’s role a military man.” Samantha Akkineni plays Vishal’s love interest in the film, which has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. On working with the Sandakozhi actor, the director said: “He gave me a lot of freedom and without hesitation he was providing me the kind of things I wanted during its making. It is he who suggested that we cast big actors and also rope in big technicians. He was more concerned about the outcome.” Vishal had taken many by surprise when he chose to contest in the RK Nagar bye-election in December. However, the actor’s nomination paper was rejected by the Returning Officer after two proposers alleged that their signatures had been forged. His decision to contest, however, had ruffled feathers in the industry, given that Vishal holds two key posts – that of Nadigar Sangam General Secretary and the President of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers’ Council. Filmmaker Cheran even went to the extent of staging a protest and demanded that he step down from the Producers’ Council post.
The second look of Suriya's 'Thaana Sernda Kootam' was the most retweeted in 2017, till Virat and Anushka got married.
This year saw southern cinema ruling social media … until Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma decided to get married last weekend.
The couple, christened ‘Virushka’ by the media, broke the internet when they finally went official and Kohli’s tweet announcing their wedding was declared the Golden Tweet of 2017. His tweet got a whopping 88,446 retweets, and over 5 lakh ‘likes’ and counting.
Suriya’s tweet, which was declared the Golden Tweet just a week ago, has now fallen to the Number 2 spot. The actor unveiled the second look for his upcoming Tamil film, Thaana Serndha Kootam, and it quickly garnered 74,704 retweets.
With this, the skipper of the Indian cricket team has had the most retweeted tweet in India for the second year running – and coincidentally, both tweets have been about Anushka Sharma. Last year, when internet trolls went after Sharma, blaming her for Kohli’s drop in form, an angry Kohli tweeted asking everyone to show “compassion”.
In a series of tweets, each one more vicious than the last, trolls had linked Kohli’s performance to the couple’s alleged break-up. An angry Kohli took to Twitter to react, and it sparked rumours of a reconciliation between the two.
One of the top Twitter trends in India this year was #Mersal, which garnered over 1.7 million tweets in just three days. Other trending topics in entertainment included Baahubali 2 and the show Bigg Boss.
Twitter users in India also took to the platform to discuss current affairs as well, on topics such as the GST and the Supreme Court’s verdict on Triple Talaq. Trisha has mostly featured in big budget mainstream films but she's also played some interesting roles that go against the grain.  Actor Trisha, who came into the limelight after she won the Miss Chennai beauty pageant, had sworn at the time that she would never enter cinema. Cut to 2017 and Trisha has more than survived in an industry where heroines have a shelf life shorter than the average avocado. The star has acted with nearly all the bigwigs in the industry, save Rajinikanth. Trisha has always been a mainstream actor, featuring in mostly big budget films. Known to be nimble on her feet, she has given many memorable dance performances like Appadi Podu in her career. The actor has also been mired in controversy a few times, not in the least because of the unapologetic way in which she leads her life in a conservative state like Tamil Nadu. After having spent 15 years in Kollywood, Trisha, like her contemporary Nayanthara, is looking to do meatier roles that offer her more than a song and a dance. She recently walked out of Saamy 2 with Vikram, the sequel to the 2003 blockbuster, citing creative difference. It's rumoured that the actor was unhappy with the role given to her in the second film and had chosen to walk out of the big budget project rather than stick with it. Here's a look at some of the unconventional choices that Trisha has made in her career in Tamil films: Lesa Lesa: Early in her career, Trisha played the role of a woman who is in love with a death row convict and refuses to move on in life. The film had two heroes, Shaam and Madhavan, but the plot revolved around her character. Abhiyum Naanum: In this film which explored the relationship between a father and daughter, Trisha had ample scope to perform. She plays a young, assertive woman who falls in love with a Punjabi man and convinces her father (a hilarious Prakash Raj) that she knows what she's doing. Manmadhan Ambu: Trisha played an actor who breaks up with her fiance because he wants her to give up her career after marriage. Usually, Indian films have treated ambitious women with very little respect. Trisha's Ambu came as a surprise. Yennai Arindhal: Trisha had a very successful outing with Gautham Menon's Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya, in which she plays a Malayali woman from a conservative Christian family. In her second film with the director, she played a single mother to a young girl, a role which most mainstream heroines would be reluctant to touch. Thoongavanam: Trisha played an Intelligence Officer on a job all through the film. It's perhaps one of the rare times when a mainstream heroine in Tamil films has been shown completely in the context of her profession rather than family or love life. Kodi: Trisha played a villain who kills the hero in cold blood to fulfill her political ambitions. Although a female villain, Trisha's character in Kodi was mostly free of the misogynistic trappings that usually accompany such characters. The actor was willing to take the risk to play such a role despite knowing it could backfire badly in a state where heroes are deified. Trisha has an interesting line-up of upcoming films including Garjanai, the Tamil remake of Anushka Sharma's NH 10, 1818, which is based on the Mumbai terror attacks and in which she's the central protagonist, and 96 with Vijay Sethupathi. She is also making her Malayalam debut with Nivin Pauly in Hey Jude.
THE FILM WAS RUMOURED TO HAVE BEEN STALLED BECAUSE THE PRODUCER HADN'T CLEARED DHANUSH'S DUES FOR 'KODI'.  Dhanush's Enai Noki Paayum Thota, which marks his first time collaboration with filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon, was launched with much fanfare sometime last year. For reasons unknown, the shoot of the project was stalled just when it was on the verge of completion.
The industry grapevine is that the project was on the back burner for a few months as producer Madan, who had bankrolled Dhanush's Kodi, hadn't cleared his remuneration for a long time and that the latter gave up on the project. On Tuesday, the film finally resumed shooting in and near OMR in Chennai. The film will be wrapped up by this year-end and the team is hopeful of releasing the film in February 2018. "The film is back on track. The last schedule will be completed in the next couple of weeks. Dhanush has shaved off his thick beard for this portion. He plays a college student and will be seen sporting a clean-shaven look throughout the film," a source from the film's unit said. Tipped to be a campus-based action drama, the film has music by Darbuka Siva whose identity was kept a secret for a long time. The makers promoted him as MR.X to create curiosity amongst fans. The idea paid off as the songs were extremely well received. There were rumours that A.R Rahman was the composer of the album after the phenomenal response to the first single of the album. For months, the makers dodged every speculation and maintained secrecy about the composer's name. Dhanush will wrap up this schedule and then grow back his moustache for Maari 2, in which he will be seen playing a dhoti-clad, mustache-twirling gangster. Sai Pallavi has been signed as the leading lady while Tovino Thomas plays the antagonist. Balaji Mohan will helm the sequel, which is slated to hit the screens during the summer of 2018. |
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