Director Ranjith Manikandan, after picking up the basics from renowned filmmakers such as K. Bhagyaraj, has been chosen by producer Malcolm of Cloud 9 Entertainment, under their new banner, Absolute Pictures, for their debut film, Adhi Maedhavigal . “Comedy and romance are integral to the screenplay of Adhi Maedhavigal which is about two engineering students. It will surely appeal to the youth of today,” says Ranjith. For the lead pair, Ranjit has signed up Suresh Ravi and Ishaara Nair. Suresh has been a VJ, model and an ad filmmaker, while Ishaara has done three Tamil films which are getting ready for release.
Suriya’s new look for Anjaan
Actor Suriya not only has a new heroine in his forthcoming Anjaan, directed by N. Lingusamy, but a new hairstyle and look too. Incidentally, the title, Anjaan , means fearless. Samantha Ruth Prabhu is the lucky girl to be cast opposite Suriya. Currently shooting for a long schedule in Mumbai, Suriya says, “Yes, this new style is in keeping with the character I play in Anjaan . It is about a south Indian in Mumbai and my character has some grey shades too. At this point, I can’t reveal too much but Lingusamy’s screenplay and the way he has built my character into it are very exciting. I do only one film every year and I take up a project only if the overall script excites me.” Suriya is acting with Samantha Ruth Prabhu for the first time. “As with all Lingusamy movies, there will be a lot of romance and action in Anjaan too. After Mumbai, we plan to shift to Hyderabad where most of the remaining portions will be shot,” says Suriya.
Bitten by the acting bug
Is she following in the footsteps of Amy Jackson? Dominika Kaminska came to Chennai from Poland to work with an NGO which she was attached to in her country. One day, she inadvertently walked into a press conference for a Tamil film held in the hotel she was staying in. A film buff, Dominika was smitten by the glamorous goings-on at the event and was keen to get involved in acting. That’s when she met Sathish Kumar, popularly known as the Common Man who reviews Tamil films on several leading websites. “We were planning to do a short film to be co-directed by me and K. P. Selvam. Dominika fit into the scheme of things as the subject was about how foreigners who come to work in NGOs here are taken for a ride by unscrupulous people,” says Sathish. The film, titled Indian Tourist, is both in English and Tamil (while Dominka speaks Polish). Right now, on an India tour, Dominika has evinced a keen interest in acting in a Tamil film.
Tamannaah turns down Telugu version of Aashiqui 2
H immatwala may not have set the box office on fire, but Tamannaah has made her presence felt in Bollywood. After Tamil film Veeram with Ajith Kumar, it is back to amchi Mumbai for Tamannaah with two big productions in her kitty — It’s Entertainment with Akshay Kumar for directors Sajid-Farhad and Hamshakal with Saif Ali Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor for director Sajid Khan. “ Hamshakal ’s filming is over and it will probably get released first. This is a fun film, on the lines of Housefull . Next will be It’s Entertainment ,” says Tamannaah. Wisely, she has not let go of her foothold in the Telugu film industry where she has two interesting projects coming up — Aagadu with Mahesh Babu and Baahubali with Prabhas and Rana Daggubati. “Although after Veeram I have not finalised any film in Tamil, Baahubali is a bilingual in Telugu and Tamil; so for all practical purposes, there will be a Tamil release coming up.” In the midst of all this, with her dates filled up till next year, Tamannaah had to forego the Telugu remake of the Hindi hit, Aashiqui 2 . “It would have been an interesting project to do, considering the story, character and the huge success of the Hindi film. But, that’s how life is — we can’t have everything, can we?” asks Tamannaah, who seems content with the way her career is progressing now.
