Kollywood stars are making a splash not just in the other parts of the country, but also across the world. Yes, after Vikram, who was voted the Youth Envoy for the UN Habitat, and Dhanush, whose ‘Kolaveri Di' was voted one of the most popular songs in the world, it is now the turn of actor-cum-producer Kushboo.
The actor has been invited to deliver a lecture at the UN Habitat Summit to be held at Nairobi on March 16 and 17. Says Kushboo, “Yes, I have been invited by the UN to deliver a lecture. I will be talking about the empowerment of women and how to safeguard the future of the next generation at the summit to be held later this month.”
The invite sent to the actor says the international organisation which has been following her work is impressed with it.
Candid to a fault
Truth can hurt. But it can also evoke laughter when uttered by those with a clear conscience and a sportive attitude. In fact, that's what happened on Monday at the Sathyam Cinema Complex, where the audio of the film “Oru Kal Oru Kannadi” was launched amidst much fanfare. The film, directed by Rajesh, has Udhayanidhi Stalin and Hansika Motwani in the lead. More importantly, it has comedian Santhanam joining hands with Rajesh for a third consecutive time.
Speaking on the occasion, Santhanam, in his inimitable style, said, “I am compelled to reveal the truth, as dance master Dinesh, in a bid to save us from embarrassment, has buried it. He said Udhay and I were good dancers. That's totally untrue.”
Even as the audience roared with laughter, he continued, “There is a song in the film for which Udhay and I were to dance. On the first day of rehearsal, I was stunned to see the moves and was worried if we would be able to pull them off. So, when it was my turn to shake a leg, I went up to Dinesh and told him that I had a sore throat, therefore couldn't dance. He turned around, smiled and told me, ‘In all my years as a dance master, it is the first time someone has come up with such a lame excuse.' The shooting was postponed. “Later, during rehearsals, Udhay and I were shown another dance move that was really challenging. I was flabbergasted. Udhay was nonchalant. I was too stunned to react, while Udhay, with a smile, said, ‘Okay'. I was shocked. Sheepishly, I asked the master's assistant to show me the move once more. He did and I was convinced I wouldn't be able to deliver. Still, we went in for the shot. Several takes later, we still hadn't got the move right. It was then I asked Udhay, ‘What made you say okay the first time when you hadn't understood it?' Udhay replied, ‘No matter how hard they try to teach us, we will be able to deliver only what we can, right? When that's the case, why worry?' From then on, every time, a complex step was shown, I said ‘Okay'!”
The road not taken
At a time when most producers do all that's possible to get a U certificate from the Censor Board for their films, well-known producer Pattiyal Sekar has dared to be different.
Says a source close to the unit of “Kazhugu,” a film being produced by Sekar, “Producers of most Tamil films wish their films are awarded a ‘U' certificate by the Censor Board — this is because only such films are eligible for tax exemption. Recently, the Censor Board officials offered to award a ‘U' certificate to “Kazhugu,” provided certain scenes were removed. Sekar, however, declined the offer, saying the scenes in question were important to the film and that their removal would affect the narration. As the scenes were not removed, the film was awarded a U/A certificate.” “Kazhugu,” which stars Krishna and Bindhu Madhavi, is expected to hit the screens on March 9.
