Shotcuts: Basha’s debut

Kallapadam

Veteran actor Nasser didn’t expect his son Luthfudeen to follow in his footsteps. But director A. L. Vijay’s search for a new face to play the teenaged grandson of Nasser in

Saivam led him to Luthfudeen. “My son was actually studying music composition and sound design in Malaysia and this role happened by chance. It was left to him to decide what he wanted to do; I never impose my views on my children,” says Nasser. “Vijay thought his name would be a bit difficult to remember, so he suggested we add Basha to it, which is actually my father’s name — Mehaboob Basha.” With the arrival of Luthfudeen Basha, Nasser has ensured that his legacy will be carried forward to the next generation. “When we started shooting with him, it reminded me of Nasser in

Nayagan . I am quite impressed with his discipline and the dignity with which he is considering his new vocation,” says Vijay.

Exciting roller coaster ride

Director Vadivel has learnt the tricks of the trade from Mysskin when he assisted him in Nandalala, Yuddam Sei and Mugamoodi . When Vadivel decided that the time was ripe to go independent, he narrated the story of Kallapadam to his mentor who gave him a clean chit. “Not only that, Mysskin even wrote and sang a song in the film. There is a unique feature: cinematographer Sriram Santosh, music director K, editor Gaugin and I are appearing as ourselves in the film. Kallapadam is about the four who plan to launch their first film but at this stage it would not be right to reveal the plot. Kallapadam is a hilarious roller-coaster ride. The heroine is Lakshmipriya,” says Vadivel. The film is in its final stages, and Vadivel hopes to release it during the summer holidays.

Vaani Kapoor keen on learning Tamil

Her performance in Shuddh Desi Romance (Hindi) has won her best debutante award and Vaani Kapoor is gearing up for her first Tamil film, Aaha Kalyanam . The Bollywood connection continues with this film as it is a remake of Band Baaja Baaraat . The stunner is keen on learning Tamil so that in her future films she will be able to give a more realistic performance. The songs of Aaha Kalyanam are already a rage with the title number ‘Punch Song’ written by Karky setting the airwaves on fire. Music director Dharan has apparently done full justice to the script of director Gokul Krishna. Vaani’s co-star in Aaha Kalyanam is Nani.