His dream of making it to Kollywood brought him from Tiruchi to Chennai eight years ago. As with scores of youngsters with stars in their eyes, Rajkamal was slowly getting disappointed. But he did the next best thing. With wife in tow, he entered Jodi No. 1 followed by Mastana Mastana and Manada Mayilada on television. “Our song and dance acts were a draw and though they might not have won us top prizes, they helped us move towards the arc lights. I started organising live shows, first in my hometown and then in other cities. But all along, my sights were set on the silver screen for that was why I came to Chennai in the first place,” says Rajkamal. He acted in one of the entries for the current season of Nalaiya Iyakkunar and won a best actor award for Mei . “This was noticed by director MSS Shahjahan who was looking for the right person to play a tourist guide in his film Melnaattu Marumagan . The character is quite like me — has his sights set on higher things in life and wants to travel to distant lands. He meets an American girl of Indian origin who comes as a tourist to Mahabalipuram. Whether his dreams are realised or shattered forms the climax,” says Rajkamal.
Mahima rides a bike in her next
In a short span of time, Mahima has bagged roles in four Tamil films with one in Telugu on the anvil. “ Sattai with Yuvan as the hero was my debut film and it has brought me a lot of recognition. This has led to my completing Ennamo Nadukkuthu and I am currently shooting for Mosakutty and Puravi 150cc . I am quite excited about Puravi 150cc as it is a road film. I ride a bike in the film and the story unfolds on a trip from Chennai to Coimbatore,” says Mahima who plays a nurse in Ennamo Nadukkuthu and a bold, self-confident village girl in Mosakutty . “The diversity of roles in these films has helped me prove my acting ability not just to myself, but also to prospective filmmakers,” says Mahima who hails from Kerala.
Vemal in Nagendran’s directorial debut
After cutting his teeth working as an assistant and associate to several leading directors, Nagendran has made his move as an independent director with Nee Yellam Nallaa Varuvada . Backed by the producers of films such as Arinthum Ariyamalum and Pattiyal , Nagendran has signed up two well-known faces in the film industry — Vemal and director-actor Samuthirakani — for the lead roles in his ambitious film. Vemal is busy these days with several projects running concurrently — Netru Indru, Rendavathu Padam, Jannal Oram, Manjapai and Pulival . Jannal Oram and Pulival are remakes of Malayalam films Ordinary and Chappa Kurishu respectively. “In Nee Yellam Nallaa Varuvada , Vemal plays the son of a police officer, while Samuthirakani plays a cop. There are dramatic interactions between the two in the film which is based on a true incident. I would term the genre of the film action-comedy. We have completed the first schedule of 20 days, and planning is on for the next,” says Nagendran.
