‘Jayam’ Raja’s next film to star Sivakarthikeyan in the lead After the colossal success of his latest directorial venture Thani Oruvan, director ‘Jayam’ Raja is said to be directing Sivakarthikeyan in his next, untitled venture. Raja and ‘Jayam’ Ravi, siblings in real life, have formed one of the most potent and successful director-hero association in Kollywood over the past decade with a string of hit films staring with Jayam and then with M Kumaran S/o Mahlaxmi, Unakkum Enakkum, Santosh Subramaniam, Thillalangadi and Thani Oruvan. Raja directed Vijay in Velayudham (2011) and would be directing Sivakarthikeyan in his next. Thani Oruvan not became one of the most successful hit films of 2015 but it also impressed audiences with the script, narration, performances of ‘Jayam’ Ravi, Nayantara and Arvind Swamy. It was rumoured that Raja would go back to Vijay as the hero of his next film but it has now been confirmed that Sivakarthikeyan and not Vijay would be the hero of Raja’s next film. Raja has confirmed this on his Twitter account. “I have just launched my film yesterday (11th December) on the birthday of the great poet Subramania Bharati. I shall reveal other details about the film towards the end of this month,” he has said. The film, untitled as yet, will be produced by 24 AM Studios.
Ron Yohann, music director of Maya, was spoken much for his brilliant score in the film. The talented music director has signed his next film, Sigai whose poster had created a huge buzz sometime back. On being aboard Sigai, Ron tells behindwoods, “Sigai is yet again a script based film just like Maya. There will not be unwanted songs in the film. Initially songs were not meant to be there in the film. Then it was decided that we would have two songs. One would be a promo number and the other is a thematic number. It is more of a background based work for the film. After I read the script, I started working on the theme. I have also completed the tune of the first song. I need to finalize the lyricist and the singers”. Sigai is a social thriller which is being directed by Jagadeesan Subu and features Kathir as the lead.
Vetrivel is an upcoming film being directed by Vasantha Mani that features Sasikumar in the lead with Miya George as the heroine. The film also has Prabhu, Thambi Ramaiah, Renuka, Vijee and others. Imman scores music and Kathir handles camera. As regards the shooting updates of the film, it is reported that the film is in its final schedule which is happening in Pollachi and then will proceed to Tanjore where they had shot for major portions of the film earlier. With the Tanjore part completed, the film will be wrapped up. Earlier on, the unit took a small break when Sasikumar took time off to dub for Bala’s Thara Thappattai and resumed work after Diwali.
Oscar winner AR Rahman is very choosy when it comes to singing. He sings for his own composition once in a while and does not much sing for others, since his plate is full most of the time. Supposedly, the Mozart of Madras has rendered his voice for a Hindi song in a film called Jugni. The album is composed by Clinton Cerejo, a singer turned composer. He has sung some hit numbers in Tamil and Hindi for AR Rahman and other composers in films like Taj Mahal, Alaipayuthey and Boys. Though the album is composed by Clinton Cerejo, the Sufi song (Lakhon Salaam) that Rahman has sung is written and composed by Kashif. Another interesting fact is that apart from AR Rahman the album will also have another celebrated music composer’s name in the singer’s list. And that would be Vishal Bhardwaj. Nice to see two of India’s top music directors coming together for one film.
Nithya Menen has mentioned on previous occasions that she is a big fan of Chiyaan Vikram and that she would love to share the screen space with him. Looks like her wish has been fulfilled as she has been roped in for the Vikram - Anand Shankar film which also has Nayanthara in its cast. Harris Jayaraj, RD Rajasekhar, Muthuraj and Dilip Subburayan are part of the film's technical crew. This film is produced by Shibu Thameens and the shoot commencement has been planned after Christmas in Malaysia. Vikram is seen with a really thick beard of late and it may be for this film, which is supposed to be his 52nd. Stay tuned for more info.
The latest Atharvaa starrer Eetti directed by Ravi Arasu opened on Dec 11. The initial reviews have been good and the film has capitalized on the wide release and the big screens that it got, to come out with an opening weekend gross of around 4 crores in Tamil Nadu. The Chennai city gross is 70 lakhs as reported earlier. This is a very good total for an Atharvaa starrer and the film has made a big dent in its first weekend. This week's big release is Thangamagan and we have to see how Eetti holds on after the arrival of the Dhanush starrer.
Now that Jayam Ravi’s Bhooloham confirms a spot for December 24th 2015, this Christmas weekend just got even more happening. So far we have 4 films eyeing a Christmas release - Bhooloham, Pasanga 2, Vil Ambu and Anjala. Last year too, Tamil cinema saw 4 films releasing - Meaghamann, Kayal, Kappal and Vellaikaara Durai. It would be interesting to see how Dhanush’s Thangamagan will hold on in its 2nd week at the box office, and compete with these 4 films. A little birdie hints to us that there is a slight possibility of Gitanjali Selvaraghavan’s Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam also releasing for Christmas!
