Looks like actor Samantha is facing a problem of plenty and that seems to have cost her her dream project. Samantha is said to have opted out of director Mani Ratnam's next project “Kadal”. According a source in the unit, “It is still not clear as to whySamantha who was excited about working with Mani Ratnam has chosen to opt out of the project. Since she is doing several big projects in Tamil and Telugu, she may be facing problems with dates. Some of the films she is part of are S. S. Rajamouli's “Naan Ee”, Gautham Menon's “Neethane En Pon Vasantham”, “Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu” and an untitled project with Nandini Reddy in which Siddharth plays the lead. “Kadal” is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year and a considerable portion of it has already been completed. The next big question is who replace Samantha? May be Karthika's sister?
True to the spirit
Agreed, on-screen humour makes for great entertainment. But nothing can match humour in real life, especially on film sets. Says Kamalakannan, director of “Madhubaana Kadai”, a teetotaller who has made a film on liquor shops, “We had erected a huge set of a liquor shop at Erode. It was so realistic that one day we found a couple of men not associated with the unit happily enjoying a drink on the sets. They were so drunk that we could not make them understand that we were only shooting and that it was not a bar. As repeated attempts to evict them failed, we continued shooting, with the men continuing to drink.” This was not all. “On another occasion, cops walked into the set saying a complaint had been lodged against us for opening a liquor shop but refusing to serve liquor. There was nothing that we could do but smile.”
Friend indeed!
Director Venkat Prabhu known to be a fun-loving person is also someone who is ever ready to help his friends. When his assistant Pa Ranjith, who just turned director, insisted that Prabhu watch his first film, “Attakathi”, he agreed. However, a thoughtful Prabhu also invited his friend and producer Gnanavel Raja to accompany him for the screening. Rajaliked the film so much that he has now bought the rights for the film's release. One of the biggest challenges that a first-time director faces is selling his film and now, it looks like Prabhu has solved that problem for Ranjith.
