Monday, 26 September 2011
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Ajith- The most wanted actor in K'wood
Ajith is currently the hottest star in Kollywood, following the stupendous success of Mankatha. The film recovered its cost of production in two weeks,making it the fastest film in recent times to turn profitable. It has made Ajith’s next release the Chakri Toleti directed Billa 2, the hottest film among forthcoming releases. Billa 2 is a prequel to the 2007 film Billa and would focus on how David, an ordinary man from the coastal regions of South Tamil Nadu, becomes Billa, a dreaded underworld don, with Ajith playing a character with shades of grey. The film, is being produced by Wide Angle Creations for Hinduja Group company IN Entertainment. The first schedule of the film has been over in Hyderabad, and the second schedule is starting in Goa by the end of the month. After that in December the unit will be in Russia for the third schedule. Billa 2 is scheduled to release on April 14, 2012 Tamil New Year day. Meanwhile a Mumbai based corporate has offered Rs 40 Crore , while a Malaysia businessman is willing to pay Rs 45 Crore for all rights. The buzz is that Sunir Khetrapal of In Entertainment is now demanding Rs 50 Crore, for a film which was being touted around Rs 32 Crore before Mankatha release! It clearly shows Ajith power at the box-office. No wonder the star is asking for a whopping Rs 17 Crore as salary for his next film which will be produced by AM Ratnam.
Source: sify.com
Friday, 16 September 2011
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
‘I’M NOT POLITICALLY AMBITIOUS’ - Ajith Kumar’s Exclusive Interview to Times of India
…says actor Ajith, as he gets talking about his latest hit, the audience reaction and his future plans
Lata Srinivasan
His 50th film Mankatha has had an opening like none other this year. Whether it’s the salt-and-pepper look or playing the suited baddie, Ajith has carried it off with élan. Here, he opens up about the film, politics and more…
Did you expect the film to do as well as it has?
When I first heard the synopsis of Mankatha, it was a one liner. Post Vaalee, I hadn’t done a character with negative shade and I asked Venkat if he had any scripts. The moment I mentioned it, there was pin-drop silence at the other end of the line. He told me a line and I said it sounds interesting and I don’t mind doing it. I knew the film would do well but I didn’t expect this kind of a success; not even in my wildest dreams.
Do you think it’s because it’s your 50th film?
It’s got to do with a lot of factors. Venkat Prabhu is in tune with the youngsters of today. For instance, his dialogues are something the youth can relate to. Plus, it’s my 50th film. The star cast of the film — Arjun, Trisha, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali and the boys — was also a factor. The day of release was important — very rarely do you have five days in a row of holidays. Another reason why it worked was it was all about money; people could relate to this as money is so important today.
Casting Arjun…
I personally called him and asked him if he’d like to play this role. He said that he definitely wants to be a part of it, especially because it was my 50th film. When I was watching the film, I wasn’t even worried about what the public would think. I was more worried what Mr Arjun would think! Venkat and I were conscious that we never let him down.
Have you seen the movie with the audience?
No, I haven’t. The last film that I saw in a theatre was Ullasam in 1997. I have never been to a theatre after that. I am scared — scared because if it doesn’t do well, it will be hard to take. I am also scared that if it does really well, it would go to my head. I don’t want either of those reactions. In fact, Mankatha is the first movie that my daughter Anoushka has seen on-screen!
Are you happy with the saltand-pepper look? Women loved it…
Thank you (smiles). May be after Billa 2, I will retain my salt-and-pepper look for all my films. I will start choosing scripts that suit my age post that.
There are rumours of you signing a movie with Vishuvardhan, Vijay and Vikram Kumar…
We have a lot of great directors, but I don’t know who will be available post Billa 2. Vishnu is one director I look forward to working with again. I’d like to work with Venkat Prabhu again, but I don’t want him to feel obligated to cast me. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, there’ll be an announcement.
You recently disbanded your fan clubs. Any regrets?
This has nothing to do with the industry or the culture. This is something that I wanted to do, especially with the nexus between politics and the industry being so strong. I am aware that fans of mine come from different walks of life. And I want my fans to do well, but they need to understand that there is life beyond movies. This is entertainment, don’t take it too seriously. As an individual, you have every right to express your political preference. As fans, be united and come and watch my film. I received a lot of support when I took this decision. I’m very grateful to my fans that they accepted my decision and understood why I did it. With social networking, you are free to express yourself and I will take it as constructive criticism. You don’t need an organization to be a fan. If you love me, say a prayer for me.
Politics and entertainment are intertwined…
I’m not politically ambitious or politically motivated. I believe there are two kinds of people — those who want to get directly involved and those who ask ‘what can I do as an individual?’ I belong to the latter category. I work hard, pay my taxes, do charity within my capabilities and exercise my vote. If every individual fulfills his obligations or commitments, I think the world will be a better place.
Source: Times of India (Dated: 13-9-2011)
Monday, 12 September 2011
Shalini Ajith wins State Level Badminton Mixed Doubles title
The actor hates hypocrisy of any sort and speaks out his mind on all matters which invariably land him up in controversies at times. Undeterred, he continues to do so. His wife Shalini, a popular actress when she married him many years back, appears to be toeing her husband’s line in showing her passion for things other than acting and taking care of Ajith and their dear daughter.
Shalini, who is a very competent badminton player, has recently won a major victory in a State-level competition in the sport. Sivakasi, known for its world-famous crackers, has been hosting the State-level badminton competition for the past few days. Except cricket, these sorts of competitions attract very little audience in terms of numbers. Yet, whatever number if spectators were in there, were treated to some great sport by Shalini.
She won the finals of the mixed-doubles event of the tournament pairing up along side Prakash. Shalini-Prakash duo got the best out of Suryaprakash-Reshma in the finals. It’s indeed a major victory for Shalini, who has been a regular at this tournament for the past two years. The multi-talented Shalini is also a quite competent swimmer other than remaining a badminton champion.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Ajith: Rajini and Kamal in one
‘Thala'( short for thalaiva) Ajit is an enigma. He shuns the spotlight after shooting unlike others who seek it all the time. He seldom gives interviews and you will never find him sharing the podium with all and sundry for innocuous causes or at incongruous awards functions.
He calls a spade a spade and at a rare do he attended, Rajni stood up and applauded when Ajit requested political parties not to force stars to attend gatherings that don't involve them. His ascendance to superstardom has been studied and gradual. His earlier films show that he was not keen on the number games but wanted to do a variety of roles.
For me “Vaalee” first showcased his talent in a double role. He was riveting in the role of the mute twin who lusts for his sister-in-law. “Mugavaree” was another film in which his performance was poignant. I think it was with ‘Dheena' that he was accepted as an action hero and fans found it fit to form ‘ mandrams'(clubs). There followed a confused phase when Ajit seemed to sign all the wrong films like ‘Red', ‘Citizen' and ‘Jana' just to name a few. It's remarkable that even after a slew of box-office turkeys, fans faith in their ‘Thala' was unshaken.
The initial box-office collections of ‘Mangatha' aided by the extra long festive weekend has taken the film industry by storm. That it has sustained after the holidays shows that the film will be one of the biggest grosser ever.
Ajit rocks in the film and is solely responsible for its success which also happens to be his fiftieth. He's the hero but plays a suspended cop who's after a huge cache of betting money which is in the safe keep of a local don. Ajit has to be lauded for playing the role with a panache unseen on the Indian screen especially for a hero.
Even Kamal has not dared to sport grey hair when not portraying multiple roles. The George Clooney look suits him and none of his fans have protested. Ajit drinks, smokes, cheats on his girlfriend and even dumps her in his pursuit of pelf.
In fact, Arjun Sarja is the hero because he plays the good cop. Well, the credit for the film's success goes entirely to Ajit simply because the film is mediocre. Director Venkat Prabhu has been busy watching DVDs involving heist and betrayal. He fills the screen with his cronies who are regulars in all his films. Ajit's overpowering presence simply dwarfs all the other characters in the film.
In fact a much better film along similar lines is the recently released ‘Aranya Kandam' which flopped but is now being hailed as a classic. Ironically Ajit was so impressed with the film that he's supposed to have met the director Thiagarajan a few times. Let's hope something exciting emerges.
Never one to shy away from unconventional roles Ajit is emerging to be the enviable amalgam of Rajni and Kamal which is the dream of every Tamil star.
Source: The Hindu 10-Sep-2011
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
"Technology Is To Blame For This Piracy" : Venkat Prabhu
Says Venkat Prabhu after his Mankatha makes it to 1,300 websites just a week after its release.
Monday was a disastrous day for the entire Mankatha team -including its hero Ajith and Radhika Sarath Kumar, who distributed the film in Tamil Nadu. The film, produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri and released through Sun Pictures in the festival holiday weekend, witnessed an unprecedented opening at all centres. A multiplex owner even said that it crossed the collection of Enthiran -the biggest budget film to be produced in Tamil cin ma.
Till Sunday, the going was so smooth that everyone was happy and in celebratory mode! Then came the rude shock -when all of a sudden, Mankatha was up and running in -hold your breath almost 1300 websites and some of the pirated versions were of crystal-clear quality.
This is not the first time that Radikaa Sarath Kumar is facing this problem. Last year, her film Jagghubhai, which had Sarath in the lead, was released on inter net even before its theatre release.
Radhika and director KS Ravikumar literally broke down as they wondered whether piracy could ever be controlled.
The entire film industry, including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, came out in support.
“Jagghubhai was a different case -we found out later that the film was leaked from the place where it was edited. But Mankatha's leakage is unimaginable! 1,300 web sites! We have approached the cyber crime department and lodged a complaint. But I wonder how this menace can be curbed!“ rued Radikaa to DC. An upset director Venkat Prabhu when contacted said, “I am speechless! Where is our technology leading us? My producers have acted swiftly and are taking the nec essary steps“. A close source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, informed DC that pirated copies could be taken only when the print was sent for FMS. The tech savvy Tamils all over the globe indulge in such activities, hopping from one international server to another to avoid identification.
Source: Deccan Chronicle, 07-Sep-2011
Saturday, 3 September 2011
