ONE SONG. TWO LANGUAGES. ONE HEROINE. TWO HEROES

THE ORIGINAL IN TELUGU



THE REMAKE IN TAMIL

RAJNIKANTH AND KAMAL BAG BEST ACTOR AWARDS

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth and versatile actor Kamal Hassan have been chosen for Tamil Nadu State Film Award for the year 2005 and 2006 respectively.

While Rajni won the best actor award for his performance in the blockbuster movie Chandramukhi, Kamal won the honour for Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, an official release in Chennai said.

Jyothika, who portrayed the role of a split personality in Chandramukhi, was the best actress for 2005, while Priya Mani won the award for 2006 for her effective portrayal of a bubbly rural girl in Paruthi Veeran.

P Vasu-directed Chandramukhi won the award for best film category for 2005, while Veyil, which was screened at Cannes Film festival, was adjudged the best film for 2006.

Actors Vijay (Thirupachi), Surya (Gajini), Meera Jasmine (Kasthuri Maan), Karthi (Paruthi Veeran), Fakru and Sandhya (Dishyum) won special awards.

The awardees were selected by a committee headed by Justice S Mohan. The panel members included veteran director S P Muthuraman and actors Shivakumar, Manorama and Sripriya.

RAJNIKANTH GIVES HIS FAN THE BEST DAY OF HIS LIFE

Naveen Jain, a Rajnikanth fan, bumped into the superstar while travelling to Chennai. And casually requested him to pose for a photograph. And the superstar made his day by posing for a dozen of them.

'He (Rajnikanth) is a very, very humble and down-to-earth person,' says an overjoyed Jain . 'The best part was when he took my newborn son in his lap.'

IS RAJNIKANTH A GOD IN HUMAN FORM? OR A HUMAN GOD? CHECK OUT THE ADORATION

History was made on the second Friday of June when the Rajnikanth starrer Sivaji: The Boss was released all over the country. Fans went into a frenzy finding new ways and means to express their devotion to their maverick superstar. Sacrificial offerings were made to the Gods, heads were tonsured, processions taken out, and crackers bursted. The adoration can only be seen to be believed. Check them out.



Rajnikanth fans doing pooja to the posters of their leader



Performing abhishekham to their demi-god idol with milk



A piece of prasaad for the good success of their god



And the celebrations commence with the bursting of the crackers



And more and more crackers light up the festive spirit



Fans tonsure their heads for the glorious success of the film



Jumbo ways of showing their diehard devotion to Rajnikanth



They are willing to give their leader a place anywhere on their body



The huge serpentine queues to get a glimpse of their hero



And they dig into religion too to find ways to attract the attention



And the jubilations don't stop



And the women painted the town yellow

WHERE HAS REEMA SEN DISAPPEARED TO: CAN SOMEONE TELL US?

Reema Sen is hardly seen in Telugu films these days. Except for one lone film Yamagola malli modalayyindi, she can be rarely sighted in the Telugu film industry. She is one of the few actresses who has the oomph and the talent to wow audiences. For some time, she has been flying high in Kollywood, the Tamil film industry, and has been doing pretty well for herself there bagging roles opposite many of the top heroes. She even excelled in Bollywood with a couple of films, includig one opposite Fardeen Khan. The doe-eyed girl looked really pretty in Cheli, and she had some amazing dance sequences in the film. Wonder, when she will return to Tollywood again. We miss you Reema.

THIS SWIMSUIT IS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD: CHECK IT OUT

CONGRESSMAN FILES DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST SIVAJI FOR TARNISHING THE IMAGE OF SONIA GANDHI AND MANMOHAN SINGH

A defamation suit seeking Rs 50 crore damages and a ban on the screening of Tamil Superstar Rajnikanth's latest blockbuster Sivaji: The Boss was filed in Madras High Court on Monday.

In his petition, M Sathiyamoorthy of the Congress contended the film was defamatory in nature, and aimed at tarnishing the image of AICC President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The film dealt with the exploitation of education system by private institutions which collected capitation fees.

Fifteen minutes into the film, hero Rajnikanth, who plays the role of a US-returned software engineer, visits the place of Adikesavan, the villain and head of a private university, who is shown standing between the laminated photographs of Ms Gandhi and Dr Singh.

By portraying the senior Congress leaders with the villain, the image of the senior party leaders was tarnished, Sathiyamoorthy contended and sought Rs 50 crore in damages and a ban on screening the film.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary, Censor Board (Chennai), actor Rajnikanth, Film Producer AVM Saravanan, Director Shankar, and TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu were cited as respondents.

The petition was likely to be taken up for hearing on Monday.

NIKHITA GETS A CHANCE TO PROVE HERSELF, AND SHE IS DETERMINED TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT

Very rarely do actresses get a chance to prove themselves -- that is their talent. Especially in Tollywood where they are cast in a film only to run around bushes and trees, and what not with the heroes. But, now, after a long wait, Nikhita has a chance to display her mettle, instead of her assets for a change. We hear that director Ravi Babu is planning to remake the Hindi film Life in a .....Metro, which partly revolves around a call centre, in Telugu. And Nikhita is reportedly chosen to play the role essayed by Shilpa Shetty in the original. Given Ravi Babu's penchant for detail, the gritty girl, we are told, is eagerly looking forward to prove herself and put to rest all rumours that she is just a glamour doll. Okay, Nikhita, we can only say carry on!!

RAJNIKANTH FEVER HAS GRIPPED AHMEDABAD TOO

The Thalaivar (as Rajnikanth is fondly known in Tamil, meaning Leader) fever has now spread to Vadodara. The latest Rajnikanth flick Sivaji: the boss came a tad later from the South, but, we saw and he conquered an almost full house at a multiplex in Vadodara on Friday, with even a sizeable Gujarati crowd thoroughly enjoying the three-hour South Indian extravaganza. The movie even had the usually conservative Gujarati crowd shaking a leg and hooting with every death-defying stunt and song sequence like the other fans from the South.

READ ON

RAJNIKANTH IS NOT JUST THE BOSS, HE'S ALSO THE SULTAN OF ANIMATION

Megastar Rajnikanth’s Sivaji: the boss might have been a super-hit in south India. But for those who don’t understand Tamil, you can watch a substitute called Sultan in English, Telugu or even Japanese. Only this will be an animated film, produced by Anil Ambani’s Adlabs Films at an extravagant budget of Rs 40 crore.

READ ON

IS LINGUSAMY INTRODUCING RAM CHARAN TEJA IN TAMIL? THAT IS WHAT WE HEAR

Rumours are rife in the Telugu film industry that Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja is making forays into Kollywood, that is, the Tamil film industry. Even before his first film is released, Teja has been in the spotlight for breaking many an established record. And the rumours over his new films too have been galore.

According to the grapevine, Chiranjeevi has initiated talks with the director of Bheema, Lingusamy, to direct his son's debut film in Tamil. Of course, it wouldn't be a Tamil film per se but a bilingual.

Ram Charan Teja is currently shooting for Chirutha, his debut film in Telugu, in Bangkok.

RAJNI'S COOOOOOOOOOL STYLE BECOMES A RAGE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!

Rajnikanth in his latest Tamil flick Sivaji: The Boss sports a stylish pair of sunglasses, Amitabh Bacchchan plays a bespectacled 64-year-old cook in Cheeni Kum, and the major cast of Metro -- Irfaan Khan, Kangana Ranaut and Konkona SenSharma -- all sport zero power spectacles.

"No wonder 75 per cent of the people do not follow the optical store salesman's suggestion. They are influenced by movies and various magazines, newspapers and printed matter. Market trends keep fluctuating and things are much different than a few years ago when where one particular trend used to dominate for years. Today, fashion is changing very fast and the hot designs keep changing rapidly," says Tarun Sachdeva, of Eye Essentials, which deals in vision correcting aids, spectacle frames etc.

With more and more actors wearing glasses on screen, the common man is following suit and becoming choosy about the frames and quality of glasses. Multi-coloured and broad-sized frames are 'hot'. "Sunglasses and frames are available for Rs 1,000 and Rs 60,000," says Lalit Kalra, Director, Dayal Opticals. Also, with increasing brand consciousness people are aware of the varieties of frames and sunglasses available.

"They have fixed ideas about the type of brand they want," says Manoj Soni, Laurence and Mayo, Connaught Place. He says, "Earlier people might have been vaguely aware of some sunglass brands but nowadays due to huge advertisments in the media there is a growing awareness in the market about the wide variety of choice available to them."

Manoj Soni adds, "While customers may demand specific brands for frames awareness about lenses is still insufficient in the market." Vogue Prada, Versace, Bovigare, Gucci are the most popular brands. The latest trend is that of titanium metal because they are very flexible and strong and almost impossible to break," he says.

THE TITANS OF INDIAN CINEMA, RAJNIKANTH AND KAMAL HAASAN, CHATTING UP THEIR GOOD OLD DAYS

They are the titans of Indian cinema. They set the trend and others follow. While Rajnikanth is the virtual emperor of the masses, Kamal Haasan has carved a niche for himself as the actor's actor. When it comes to excellling in any role, no one can come anywhere near him. While Rajnikanth showed who the boss of Indian cinema was with the release of his latest film Sivaji, Kamal is set to prove to the Bolywood biggies who the best actor in India is with his portrayal of 10 roles in Dasavataram.

The two of them recently met at the 800-odd function of Chandramukhi. And the discoveries of K Balachander, who have done many a film together during their heydays, can't seem to be recalling their good old days.

ACTOR PRASHANT FILES PETITION IN FAMILY COURT TO DECLARE HIS MARRIAGE NULL AND VOID, WANTS CUSTODY OF HIS SON

Popular actor T Prashanth on Wednesday filed a petition before a family Court, seeking to declare his marriage with Grahalakshmi null and void, and to grant custody of his son to him.

Prashanth appeared in person and filed the petition.

Prashanth had filed a petition earlier seeking restitution of conjugal rights. Though initially Grahalakshmi objected to this and claimed Rs one lakh per month as interim compensation, she subsequently expressed her willingness to join with him.

Two conciliation meetings were held by the Family Court.

During the process, Grahalakshmi lodged a complaint before the Commissioner of Police, alleging dowry harassment. Following this, Prashanth filed anticipatory bail petition. While granting anticipatory bail, a sessions court observed that since both parties expressed their willingness to 're-join,'it could be better if they appear before the family court on June 18 and settle the issue.

Prashanth then lodged a complaint before the police, alleging that Grahalakshmi was already married and that she had suppressed the fact and married himn.

He also filed a petition before the family court, seeking permission to withdraw his petition seeking restitution of conjugal rights. He withdrew the petition yesterday after the permission was granted.


PHONE FILM FESTIVAL: DIAL INTO IT AND YOU'LL LIKE IT

BOLLYWOOD BILLBOARD: BOLLYWOOD IS THE ONE WORD ON THE LIPS OF EVERYONE IN WORLD!!

* Sequel fever is setting in on Bollywood with the first of many such films announced with much pomp and show earlier ready to go on the marquees.

* Indian films sell 3.8 billion tickets a year, compared with Hollywood's 3.6 billion. And this multibillion-dollar business is bigger than the 223 Hindi films made last year, with movies made in various other Indian languages, such as Telugu (245), Tamil (162), Malayalam (77) and Bengali (42).

* Cape Town has hosted more than 20 Bollywood shoots and is one of the preferred destinations of Indian film producers. Many films showcase Cape Town as an integral part of the film and not merely as a backdrop in song sequences.

* Bollywood bling set to wow the Durban Fashion Week

SHILPA GOES SINGING ALL THE WAY FORM BOLLYWOOD TO HOLLYWOOD!!

The Celebrity Big Brother winner actress Shilpa Shetty is set to star in a musical that will premiere in London in September.

Shetty will play the lead in the Moulin Rouge-style production From Bollywood to Hollywood, although her performance will focus on dancing rather than singing.

The star's spokesman Dale Bhagwagar said, "Shilpa's basic aim is to showcase Bollywood and Indian culture in the West.

"Even in this musical, her costumes will be designed by popular Indian designer Neeta Lulla, and they will represent ethics and culture of India," he added.

Shetty became the focus of international attention after winning Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year.

RAJNIKANTH IS THE BOSS OF THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY, AND NEITHER BIG B NOR ANY OF THE KHANS COME ANYWHERE NEAR

Neither Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood’s highest paid actor, nor anyone in the Khan trio of Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman, gets paid over Rs 15 crore per film as Rajni does.

Bachchan gets up to Rs 6 crore per film. The fees of the Khan trio range between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore per film. But then Bachchan does about half a dozen films every year while Rajni’s average now is about one film every two years.

Even in technological inputs, Rajni’s films are often ahead of their Hindi counterparts. Sivaji: The Boss, for instance, was made in Super 35 cinemascope format with the latest processing and scanning skills, and with a very high-pixel resolution.

READ ON

DECIPHERING THE TOLLYWOOD TALK: WHAT ACTORS SAY AND WHAT THEY MEAN

ACTRESSES: WHAT DO THEY MEAN WHEN THEY SAY...

1. Yes = No

2. No = Yes

3. Maybe = No

4. We need = I want

5. I am sorry = you'll be sorry

6. We need to talk = you're in trouble

7. Fine, go ahead = you better not

8. Do what you want = you will pay for this later

9. I am not upset = of course I am upset, you idiot!

10. You're very attentive tonight = is s@x all you ever think about?


ACTORS: WHAT DO THEY MEAN WHEN THEY SAY...

1. I am hungry = I am hungry

2. I am sleepy = I am sleepy

3. I am tired = I am tired

4. Nice dress = Nice cleavage!

5. I love you = let's have s@x now

6. I am bored = Do you want to have s@x?

7. May I have this dance? = I'd like to have s@x with you

8. Can I call you sometime? = I'd like to have s@x with you

9. Do you want to go to a movie? = I'd like to have s@x with you

10. Can I take you out to dinner? = I'd like to have s@x with you

THE KING AND THE EMPEROR OF INDIAN CINEMA -- AMITABH BACHCHAN AND RAJNIKANTH -- TO ACT TOGETHER IN A TAMIL FILM

It will take a while for the legends of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth to decide who is the King and who is the Emperor of Indian Cinema. But, before that both of them have decided to act together in a Tamil film. Says Amitabh Bachchan, "The producer of Sivaji bought the rights of a film of mine that had closed shop due to financial constraints. In return, I was required to work as a guest in the film being made with Rajnikanth. That's how it happened. And, thank God it did."

Explaining how he had done a guest role in one of Rajnikanth's Hindi films, Amitabh recalls, "I remember Rajni starred in the Hindi film Andha Kanoon which had me in one of the most dynamic guest appearances of my life."

Wow! Good times are ahead for Indian cinema. And what should the director name the film? KING EMPEROR?

AMITABH'S VERDICT: RAJNIKANTH IS THE LARGEST,THE BIGGEST AND TRULY THE BOSS OF INDIAN CINEMA

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan says that if at all there is an Emperor of Indian Cinema, that Rajnikanth trule deserves the title. "He is the largest, the best and truly the boss," says Rajnikanth.

Amitabh says he is no match for Rajnikanth, the legendary actor from South India, whose film Sivaji: The Boss opened to a rousing reception all over the world, and, consequently, breaking all records. The film has evoked so much curiosity in recent times that whoever was worth their salt was interviewed by all the mainstream television channels and the print media in the country and abroad. Especially in South East Asian nations like Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and Japan, it has generated a debate that is hitherto unknown in the Indian film industry.

Not naturally, Amitabh Bachchan relegates himself and crowns Rajnikanth as the ONLY EMPEROR OF INDIAN CINEMA. In an exclusive interview to The Times of India, Amitabh said, "Rajni is phenomenal. The largest, the best and truly the boss. It is ridiculous to compare me to him. His following outside of Tamil Nadu is incomparable. Don't believe a word of this King and Emperor thing (Rajni has told NDTV on the eve of the release of Sivaji, that 'If I am King, Amitabh Bachchan is the Emperor'.) We all know that he is the Emperor. I abhor epithets, but for him I will make an exception, for he is truly exceptional."

Showering praises on Rajnikant, Bachchan said, "His modesty is legendary. His simplicity in his existence and in his demeanour is also legendary. "

And Bachchan doesnt't stop at that. He says, "Look where he came from and what he has become. Sheer hard work, talent and the belief that he could do it… and he did! Such a fantastic example for any youth in any part of the world. Despite his extraordinary career he has remained the simple down–to-earth person that he was when he started off. All his people around him are friends who were with him when he was a nobody."

Amitabh recalls the fond memories he had with the legendary star from Tamil Nadu, Rajnikanth, "Do you know, a Fiat he had bought when he attained his early success still remains with him and he only uses that car to date? He's a humble human being and a caring and considerate co-star. Rajni is terrific company on the sets and a fine gentleman. He's religious, traditional and charitable. And most importantly, he and his equally modest wife have brought up their two daughters well. His daughters are a reflection of him. For me, the way your offspring have turned out are the truest reflection of your achievements."

Well said, Amitabhji, we truly love your humility too.

PRIYAMANI, AN ENIGMA WRAPPED IN BLACK MAGIC