Peers praises Mani Ratnam

Office bearers of Tamil Film Directors Association, including veterans like Balumahendra and K Bhagyaraj, called on Mani Ratnam at his office in Chennai on Friday and congratulated the ace director for the honour bestowed on him at the Venice Film Festival.

Those who were present include Vasanth, R K Selvamani, Santhanabarathy, Lingusamy, Ezhil, Balaji Sakthivel, S P Jananathan, Rajakumaran and Vikraman among others. They presented a bouquet to Mani and exchanged pleasantries with him.

On Monday, hailing Mani Ratnam as ‘one of the great innovators in contemporary Indian cinema’, the Venice International Film Festival honoured him with the 2010 Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award.

With the award Mani Ratnam joined Sylvester Stallone, Agnes Varda, Abbas Kiarostami, and Takeshi Kitano who have ‘left a mark’ on contemporary cinema. After the award ceremony, the festival premiere of ‘Raavanan’ was screened.

Mani was accompanied by wife Suhasini, and Vikram. ‘Mani Ratnam used to make movies only in his native tongue, Tamil, but has been one of a handful of filmmakers to successfully handle the transition to the All-India market,’ said the Venice Film Festival director Marco Mueller explaining the choice in a news release.

Raavanan count down 15 days to release

There is big trouble ahead for the release of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan in Hindi, Raavanan in Tamil and Villain in Telugu from releasing in Karnataka and Kerala.

First and foremost Vasant Kumar Patil, president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), on Wednesday night told the media that Raavan and Raavanan in Tamil, cannot be treated as separate films!

The KFCC chief has made it clear that the film will have a restricted release. Says Patil: "A decision has been taken to follow the existing policy of allowing non-Kannada films in a stipulated number of theatres, which means Raavan can be shown in only 24 screens in Bangalore city and it’s up to the distributor to decide whether he wants to screen the Hindi, Tamil or Telugu version."

The film’s distributors Big Cinemas had pleaded with KFCC that both Hindi and Tamil should be treated as separate versions and allowed to release in 48 or more screens, taking into consideration the budget of the film. But KFCC has its own agenda and is unlikely to ease the pressure.

Meanwhile in Kerala, the Film Distributors Association Kerala (FDAK) has issued an “unofficial order” to cinema theatres in the state not to screen Other Language Films (OLF) like Tamil, English and Hindi simultaneously with the rest of the world! Last Friday, they successfully saw to it that Suriya’s Singam was not released simultaneously with Tamil Nadu.

Added to that FDAK has a score to settle with Big Cinemas who released their Hrithik Roshan’s big budget Hindi film Kites simultaneously with the rest of the world. So this time they are hell bent that Big Cinemas Raavanan will not release in Kerala on June 18.

Sonam Kapoor says no to Mani Ratnam

Is it true?? But that’s what our birdies are chirping about excitedly! They have heard that Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor who is just two films old, had the audacity to turn down an offer from Mani Ratnam.

The story goes like… Mani Ratnam is to bring up a project titled ‘Paki’, which will be a directorial debut of his former assistant Shiva. The script is written by Mani himself, while Vivek Oberoi has been signed on for the lead.

And it was for this film Mani had approached Sonam. Now the ‘thumbs down’ sign given by the actress seem to have taken all by surprise, especially when the man behind the venture is such a high-profile director who has given some of the remarkable films in Indian cinema.

When the actresses are dreaming of an offer from Mani Ratnam what would have made Sonam Kapoor to say no is a big question. Does anybody know the reason?

Raavanan is the pet name of Vikram in Raavanan flim

A special event on the Mani Ratnam-directed Raavanan was held in Chennai recently. Priyamani, Vikram, Karthik, Prabhu, Vairamuthu, AR Rahman and others participated in the event. In an effort to introduce the film, actor Karthik and Priyamani held an interview session.

To a question on whether the film is an inspiration of Ramayana, Vikram said that it has traces of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Silappadhigaram. When asked if he is the Raavanan, Vikram replied that it is his pet name in the film.

Vairamuthu read out the lyrics that he had penned for the movie and AR Rahman sang it on stage much to the delight of the audience.

Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan count down starts

 

(Click and read)

The count down for Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan has begun and a note from the director throws light on the character Raavana in a different perspective:

Raavanan

TEN HEADS

TEN MINDS

A HUNDRED VOICES

ONE MAN

Did such a man ever exist…?

Was he just a myth…or a metaphor…?

Is Raavan the line that divides Good from Evil…?

Does our understanding change when we look from the opponent’s perspective…?

The bond between the Hunter and the Hunted - between the Captor and the Captive seems to be a bond of do or die….

The tension between opposites often seems so electric, that it isolates them from the rest of the world, leaving just the two – All alone…

Are Ten Heads better than one…?

Is there a Ram inside Raavan? And a Raavan inside each of us?!

Wait for a while to get all your answers!

Aishwarya Rai visit to Chennai

Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is currently in Greece enjoying her holiday with hubby Abhishek. The actress will make a flash visit to Chennai for the post-audio launch function of Mani Ratnam's Raavanan (Raavan in Hindi and Villan in Telugu) on May 14. Aishwarya plays the role of Ragini, a classical dancer in the film.

Mani Ratnam: I won't go to Sri Lanka

Mani Ratnam today clarified that neither his forthcoming film 'Raavanan' be screened nor would he participate in the International Indian Film Academy's (IIFA) Film Festival to be held from June 3 to 5 in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a function in Chennai, he said, "It is known to everyone that a special show of 'Raavanan' was planned at the event. However, the film will not be screened as the post-production work is not over."

Stating that the film would be ready only by June, the filmmaker said that he would not participate in the film festival. Asked whether Aishwarya Rai would participate in the event, he said that he could not interfere in her decision and it was her wish whether to participate or not.

Baana Kaathadi audio secret of success

The audio of Baana Kaathadi directed by newcomer Badri Venkatesh who is also a professor at the Film Institute in Chennai, was released at Sathyam cinemas this morning. This film is produced by Senthil of Sathyajyothi films. When Thyagarajan, father of Senthil spoke he said that around 26 years back, Sathyajyothy films had produced Mani Ratnam’s Pagal Nilavu and its music was being scored by Ilayaraja. There used to be two tiny tots who were playing around the sets and they were Yuvan Shankar Raja and Karthik Raja.

He further drew parallels between Pagal Nilavu and Baana Kaathadi and said that in Baana Kaathadi, Yuvan is scoring music and Atharva, son of Murali who featured in Pagal Nilavu is the hero and his son Senthil is the producer. Three songs were screened during the audio. Baana Kaathadi has Samantha as the screen partner for Atharva.

Mani's Raavan's Ravan audio will be release soon

With the release of the teaser trailer, Mani's Raavan is topping the list of search items on the internet. Raavan's audio is releasing soon and the movie itself is slated for a mid-2010 release. While the Tamil version will have Vikram and Aishwarya Rai playing the lead roles, the Hindi will have Abhishek Bachchan in place of Vikram in the lead.

In the meanwhile, Mani's musings on the character Raavan are available on the movie's official website, which poses a few questions about the mythical character. It questions, of all other things, whether Raavan is the line that divides Good from Evil. Mani also asks whether Raavan was just a myth or a metaphor.

We are sure Mani has answers to all those questions in the movie. To decipher his messages, we might have to wait until Raavan's release however.
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Raavan audio launched

The music launch teaser of the Hindi version of Raavan was released online and guess what, it has already captured the attention of millions who could not wait for the release of the film.

Abhishek Bachchan on top of a hillock plunging into the river below is mind blowing and you can feel the adrenaline rush.

The teaser runs for only 40 seconds but has already created a deep impact among netizens.

The music of A R Rahman though heard only for a short duration keeps ringing in your ears even long after the teaser is over.

If 40 seconds could be so gripping imagine the influence of the full film. With the astounding hits this online teaser is getting looks it will break records of sorts.Top Image Gallery of Today:
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Vivek Oberoi likes Trisha

Vivek Oberoi is currently busy promoting his film Prince. Speaking to the media persons, Vivek said that he would lap up an opportunity to work in a Tamil film. He added that Tamil film directors Gautham Menon, Mani Ratnam, Bala and Selvaraghavan are topnotch and he would never miss an opportunity to star in their film.

Vivek says that he likes Trisha among the South Indian actresses. With the lady venturing into Bollywood, he feels that an opportunity to play her on-screen pair is not far off.

AR Rahman writing his coffee table book

Oscar winning music director AR Rahman is writing his coffee table book that will talk about his experiences from Roja to Raavan. The musician began his career with Roja, which earned him the fame and fortune. Since then, there is no looking back for this ace music director.

Rahman’s book will comprise details of all the films that he has worked thus far and this also includes the yet-to-be released Mani Ratnam directed Raavan. It is worth mentioning here that Mani introduced Rahman to filmdom with Roja.

The book will contain photos of about 300 singers with comments from the Mozart of Madras. The photos are by Selva Kumar.

Mani Ratnam feels bad because of Ranjitha-Nithyananda issue

One director that will be affected with the Ranjitha-Nithyananda blue film leakage is Mani Ratnam. The actress plays an important role in the Mani Ratnam directed Ravan. Ever since the video made its way to the television channels and news papers, the actress has been absconding.

The Ravan unit, which is gearing up to release the film during the summer holidays, is now in a fix. Apparently, a few scenes involving the actress need to be shot, and this issue has the team in jitters, as Ranjitha remains untraceable.

Mani Ratnam feels bad about Ravaana releases

Ace director Mani Ratnam is allegedly upset over the release of his latest big budget extravagance Ravaana. Reportedly, the director had planned to release this bilingual film in May, but the latest we hear is that film will hit screens only on June 18.
Apparently, Big Pictures owns the rights of Abhishek-Aishwarya-Vikram starrer Raavana and Hrithik-Barbara duo's Kites. The latest buzz is that the production house had the option of releasing one of them on May 21 and the other on June 18.
Veteran director Mani Ratnam wanted to release his film on May 21 but the production house has alloted the date to Hrithik's Kites. Reports states that Mani Ratnam is allegedly upset with this development.
Mani Ratnam's big budget bilingual tentatively titled Raavana in Tamil and Raavan in Hindi. Raavana, said to be the modern adaptation of the epic Ramayana, revolves around Raavana, the ruler of Lanka, who kidnapped Sita. The story culminates with Sita supporting Raavana instead of Rama, who suspects her chastity after having spent so much time in Raavana’s custody.

Mani Ratnam's Raavan ready to release

Mani Ratnam is working over time to release Raavan in July. The film’s shooting is almost over and the director has begun the post production work. However, Mani decided to re-shoot a couple scenes as he was not very satisfied with it. With the re-shoot, Mani now feels that Raavan has come out very well.

Raavan is a multilingual film and it has Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Prithviraj in important roles in Tamil, while in Hindi Abhishek Bachchan plays Vikram’s role.

Aishwarya Rai has agree Tamil version of Raavan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has agreed to dub for the Tamil version of Raavan, sources say. The actress has been associated with the Tamil film industry for quite some years now with a couple of popular films like Iruvar and Jeans to her credit. The lady had been rendering the dialogues in these films by penning them down in English but ultimately the dubbing was done by another artiste.

For Raavan, however, Mani Ratnam had suggested that Ash should dub with her voice to bring in the essence of the film. And reports say that Ash has indeed agreed!

It is worth a mention here that Sandhya, Aishwarya Dhanush and Kanika were in consideration to dub for Ash in Raavan.

Manja Velu is near end

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The Manja Velu team of director A Venkatesh, Stunt master Kanal Kannan, producer Mohan and lead actors Arun Vijay, Karthik, Riaz Khan and heroine Dhansika held a media briefing at AVM studio where the shooting is going on.

The film which is a remake of the Gopichand action film Lakshyam from Telugu is almost 75 percent complete. Said Arun Vijay: “ It is shaping up well and we hope to create the magic of our last super hit Malai Malai”.
Karthik is making a comeback of sorts after five years to mainstream commercial cinema. Said the actor: “I am doing a small role in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. When I got a call from Arun Vijay, to play his brother in the film, I was surprised. But now, we all are like one big family and most of the time, I don’t like to go home after pack-up. I am enjoying a warm welcome from my friends”.
Director A.Venkatesh added that technically the film is brilliant. Producer Dr Mohan announced that his third film will be titled Kavalthurai. Vijayakumar, father of Arun said that the 100 days function of Malai Malai will be held soon in a grand manner with Kamal Hassan being the chief guest.

Mani Ratnam's next project

Ace director Mani Ratnam is already working on his next project, say sources in Kollywood. The director, though busy with Raavan, is also making plans for his next film, which we hear is titled Azan.
This again is a Bollywood flick and Mani intends to rope in Ranbir Kapoor to play the lead role.
Azan is said to be a film that focuses on the life of Muslims. The sources also report that this film could go on floors in March 2010. However, we are yet to get confirmation on this

Vikram - The charmer in conversation

Engaging in conversation with Chiyaan Vikram is always a pleasure. The actor is back in Chennai after a long schedule of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan followed by Selvaraghavan’s untitled thriller in Ladakh.

Talk about Ladakh and the actor says, “It’s such a beautiful place. We shot for 30days till it started snowing and became difficult for the unit to bear the weather. People are so innocent and helpful. There are very few south Indians and they are mostly army men.”
A little birdie from the unit says that when the temperature fell to -14 degree, and it became unbearable, their large hearted hero drove to the city and brought shawls, sweaters and blankets for all the junior artists who were freezing.
Quiz him about his character in the film, he flashes that naughty smile and says: “Normally, I take breaks between my films to get the right look for the character I play. But this time, I went directly from Mani’s shoot to Ladakh. But I can assure you that I have a different look in the film”.
The buzz is that he plays a suave and stylish person in designer suits. His costume designer is Falguni Thakore from Mumbai and Chiyaan will wear suits, coolers, caps, jewellery and shoes from Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Tiffany and Gucci. He also plans to go on a shopping spree in New York sometime later.
About doing three films simultaneously, Vikram says: “I have completed Raavan except for patchwork. My friends in the trade and well-wishers wanted me to do more films. So I have re-structured my working style and is doing Vikram Kumar’s 24 for producer Mohan Natarajan which will release first followed by Selva’s film”.