Song of success
After scoring many a hit as a playback singer and making many dance to his tunes, M.G. Sreekumar is getting singers, old and new, to ‘sing' to his tunes. Moreover, he is annexing new territory as a composer even in languages where he could not make a mark as a singer. After composing the songs for Priyadarsan's Hindi film ‘Bum Bum Bole,' Sreekumar is in talks with his buddy “Priyan, for the music of his next Hindi film.” He had composed the songs of Priyadarsan's national award winning ‘Kanchivaram.' The music of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan-starrer ‘Oru Naal Varum,' releasing this month, has also been composed by Sreekumar. Tune in for more on this singer-composer after he returns from a tour in the United States.
Name of the game
Speaking of ‘Oru Naal Varum,' the film is the latest in a long list of films to be hit by charges of plagarisation. As a result of litigation and accusations, many top directors prefer to play it safe and listen only to stories written by people whom they trust. Lal Jose who has given a break to several newcomers has written about this in his blog. After he faced similar problems during the making of ‘Chandapottu' and ‘Classmates,' Lal says though he loves working with newcomers, he is forced to turn down many offers as he does not want to run into trouble. “I no more entertain stories by strangers. Nowadays, when I get calls that people have marvelous stories, a few desperately end conversation by calling me names.”
Winning pair
The shoot of Ranjith's new Mammootty-starrer ‘Pranchiettan and The Saint' will begin on August 1. A satire, the film, has Ranjith teaming up with two award winners – Mammootty and ‘Thirakkatha' star Priyamani. The role of the Saint will be enacted by Jesse Fox Allen, an American actor. Innocent and Biju Menon will also play significant roles in the film about a rice vendor in Thrissur.
Oye lucky
Pretty lass Nitya Menon who had a ‘Happy Journey' in ‘Kerala Café' has two important films up for release. One is Lenin Rajendran's period film ‘Makara Manju' and the other is Sibi Malayil's ‘Apoorva Ragam.' She is also tipped to be playing the lead in Santosh Sivan's film based on terrorism and the Sri Lankan-Tamil issue.
