Itsy-bitsy -One project at a time

K. V. Anand

His Maatran is fast nearing completion and director K. V. Anand says he hopes to wrap up the remaining portion, including a song, by April end, after which post-production work will commence. Meanwhile, there was a lot of speculation that Anand had been approached to direct superstar Rajnikanth. Says Anand: “As a cinematographer, I have filmed him in Shivaji and admire him for his talent and experience. Before any such project is agreed upon, I will have to do a lot of self-assessment to see if I am worthy enough to direct him. At the same time, when I am approached by any producer or actor to direct a film, I must have a foolproof script ready; I don't want to look like an idiot with a half-baked story when I meet them. Right now, I can think of nothing beyond Maatran; I will move on to my next project only after its release,” says Anand.

Role of a lifetime

Acting in the Vasanthabalan-directed

Aravaan has been an experience of a lifetime for Aadhi. Playing a de-glam role in a rustic setting has allowed a serious actor like Aadhi to explore his potential and prove his talent.

Aravaan is a few weeks old at the theatres and despite the mixed reviews, Aadhi is quite happy that his producer and distributors are contented. “I have received good feedback on my performance-oriented role and, as with most Vasanthabalan films, the response will only grow more positive with time. I am now excited about my role in director Kumar's

Maranthein Mannithein (tentative title) which is based on the 1986 Godavari floods. I am paired with Taapsi and Lakshmi Manchu (also its producer). The story has a mix of emotions — love, lust, anxiety and disillusionment,” says Aadhi who plays the role of a fisherman in a village that was catastrophically affected by the floods. “Yet another great opportunity came my way when I was signed on for

Kochadaiyan . It is a crucial role for me and I am excited about the interactions I will have with Rajinikanth, Jackie Shroff and Deepika Padukone.”

Haridas, Kishore's next

V anayudham is fast getting ready and Kishore plays forest brigand Veerappan in the film. He has just signed a film titled Haridas , directed by GNR Kumaravelan, in which he plays a police official with an autistic son. “It is an emotional film which deals with the difficult relationship between the father and son. Playing a crucial connect in this relationship is the boy's teacher played by Sneha. But, there is no romantic involvement, except underplayed affection which is natural in such circumstances. There is a lot of maturity in the scripting of both the characters,” informs Kishore. Playing yet another role of a cop in director-turned-producer Vetri's next film, Kishore deals with a boy who escapes custody and tries to understand his psyche. This film is directed by Vetri's associate Mani.

Simply thrilling

Thrillers are becoming an interesting genre in Tamil films — a welcome departure from syrupy love tales. Director A. M. Baskar has conceived of a new plot — two stories within one, in his just launched SIM Card . A police officer arrests two suspects only to find that they are wannabe film directors. Unable to solve a mystery of a missing husband on his honeymoon, he asks the suspects to come up with all possible angles to the case to help him locate the victim. Two stories unfold in tandem to culminate in the solution in the final frames of the movie, or script in this case. Baskar is getting ready to shoot SIM Card in Kerala with his star cast of Ramprasad (son of Nallinikanth) and Aashika. “An interesting member of our team is a talented 15-year-old, Sadiq Hassan, who has scored five songs for the movie. We found him after an extensive search for a new face in this area,” informs Baskar.