CELEBS FACTORY

K.V Anand's Suriya starrer 'Maatraan' is closing completion but for a song.

While the shoot for the film is yet to be wrapped, sources confirmed that the director's penchant for hunting new locations is the reason behind the song still being pending.

K.V Anand, a filmmaker in perfection best known for his work in 'Ayan (2009)' and 'Ko (2011)' is still on the lookout for unseen locales to shoot the one remaining song with Suriya and Kajal Aggarwal.

Meanwhile, Eros International bought the distribution rights of the film for an astronomical 43 crores even before the final product is complete. With this 'Maatraan' becomes one of the year's most expensive movies to be released.

Harris Jayaraj who is composing music for the film, recently revealed that the songs of 'Maatraan' were composed in 6 different countries.

The action thriller is expected to release for the Independence Day weekend in August.

Director turned Actor S.J Suryah who has hit films like Vaali and Kushi is working on his next film titled Isai. The director has been on the lookout for a suitable leading lady for this film and has auditioned more than a 100 wannabe actresses.

Finally, the film maker is reported to have zeroed in on a Mumbai-based model.

Now that the heroine for Isai has been finalized, the shooting should start rolling anytime soon.

It may be mentioned here that S.J Suryah’s last directorial venture in Tamil film was Anbe Aaruyire in 2005 and he was last seen in the recently-released Nanban in a cameo.

Mahesh Babu’s The Businessman is all set for Pongal release and the distribution and remake rights have been bought by Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green.

The film is directed by Puri Jagannath and it has Kajal Agarwal playing the lead lady.

It may be noted that Studio Green is the production house owned by a close relative of actors Suriya and Karthi and with the remake rights in place we can see either of them to star in remake of The Businessman.

The long awaited sequel to Suriya's 2010 hit 'Singam' directed by Hari is finally confirmed.

It is reported that the sequel would have two heroines to romance Suriya and one among them is finalized to be Anushka, reprising the role of the cop's lady love also in its sequel.

When Celebs Factory contacted director Hari on confirmation of this,

Hari said "The script for Singam II calls for two heroines and we have actually finalized Anushka as one of the female leads, a long time ago. The discussion about Amala Paul being approached for the other role is still in its nascent stage and I have been considering other actresses as well."

"Anushka and Amala had earlier appeared together in Vikram’s Deiva Thiirumagal and have become good friends on the set. I am working with Suriya on this and soon, a final picture on the story, cast and crew will emerge in a fortnight," said the director.

Among all the accolades and appreciations that actor Suriya had received for 7am Arivu, he cherishes the admiration of his father and veteran actor Sivakumar the most.

"My dad watches all my films and reviews my performance with me. However after watching 7am Arivu, he drove all the way and hugged me, looked at my eyes and said that I made him proud" revealed the actor.

Suriya, who is thrilled with the phenomenal response for 7am Arivu said, "7am Arivu is the biggest hit of my career," adding that "K V Anand’s Maatran is a commercial entertrainer and his next with Hari (supposedly a sequel to Singham) will be announced in a couple of weeks."

It can’t get bigger than this for Mollywood beauty Amala Paul, who’s whizzing upwards on the popularity charts.

Amala Paul is soon going to team up with none other than Suriya, the handsome hunk of Kollywood.

Confirmed sources revealed that Amala Paul was Hari's first choice for his sequel to his earlier blockbuster, Singam.

With the working title Singam 2, the movie has Suriya once again playing the lead.

After essaying the demanding role of Bodhidharman for 7 Am Arivu, Suriya has deliberately moved on to a relatively less arduous mass masala script helmed by Hari, who is a past master of the genre.

Here’s the inside dope about how the Mynaa girl was selected.

Reportedly, Hari expected a certain ‘look’ from his female lead, so the filmmaker met Lingusamy and requested him to screen some footage of Amala from his upcoming flick Vettai, where Amala is paired opposite Arya.

Apparently, Hari was pleased with what he saw and decided to cast Amala opposite Suriya.

There was a call to ban 7am Arivu in Sri Lanka because the film had some dialogues on the lack of Tamil liberation movement that created uproar in Sri Lanka.

Following this opposition, the producer of 7am Arivu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, decided to delete the offending scenes so that it would not hurt the film’s success in that country.

The protestors are now contended that the dialogues have been removed and have allowed the film to be screened.

7am Arivu directed by A.R. Murugadoss has Suriya and Shruti Haasan starring as the leads with music composed by Harris Jayaraj.

Karthi’s Saguni seems to be getting bigger by the day.

The movie, which is produced by Gnanavel Raja and directed by debutant Shankar Dayal, stars Karthi and Pranitha in the lead with Radhikaa Sarath Kumar playing a crucial role that is rumored to have negative shades. Santhanam has been roped in for the comedy.

Now the hot buzz is that Anushka Shetty, despite being busy in Tollywood has agreed to do a cameo in Saguni on Karthi’s request.

Sources say that the duo have enjoyed a good rapport ever since the actress starred with his brother Suriya in Singham and signed a movie opposite Karthi under Suraj’s direction.

Speaking about Saguni, the actor, who dons several looks in the movie, says, “Saguni has a number of unexpected twists and turns that will keep the audience hooked to their seats.

Meanwhile, we hear that the sizzling pair is gearing up for the Suraj flick which is set to roll from next month in Karthi’s favourite Paiyya location — Chaalakudy in Kerala.

Noted director Thangar Bachan has lauded 7am Arivu so much that he has penned an open letter to Red Giant Movies Udhayanidhi Stalin for producing the film.

Thangar Bachan in his letter had said that only few films bring honor to Tamilians and 7am Arivu is one among them.

According to the director, the film has made every Tamilian sit up and take notice of their glorious past.

Thangar Bachan, on the discussion about the film’s success, said that the collections at the box office, are largely the concern of the people who are going to benefit from the profits that is the producers and distributors and it is not for the movie buffs who only need to enjoy the film.

7am Arivu and Velayutham collections for the first five days have been declared by trade sources.

It is reported that 7am Arivu grossed about 40.25 crores from October 25th and Velayutham has grossed over 40 crores from October 26th onwards.

Both Suriya and Vijay are excited over these figures because the competition is still neck to neck and looks like this competition will end in a draw.

Velayutham has Vijay, Hansika and Genelia in the lead while in 7aum Arivu it is Suriya and Shruti Haasan as the lead pair.

Kollywood saw a massive clash between two big movies that were released during Diwali. One was the much-hyped AR Murugadoss’s 7am Arivu and the other, Jeyam Raja’s Velayudham.

With two popular heroes of Kollywood — Suriya and Vijay — battling it out on this festive occasion, it was rather surprising to learn who actually won the hearts of the masses this time.

7aam Arivu, produced by Udayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Films, saw massive publicity that ran for nearly a month before its release. Expectations too were soaring high for this film as the director who gave a runaway hit like Ghajini (both in Hindi and Tamil) was expected to deliver triple the success for this one.

Adding to the hype was Suriya’s role as Bodhidharma (a Buddhist monk) and Shruti Haasan's debut in Tamil cinema.

On the other hand, Vijay’s Velayudham was promoted at a mediocre scale in and around Tamil Nadu. With Vijay playing the role of a super-hero for the first time in his career, this one too created a lot of buzz before its release.

However, post the release, Velayudham’s stupendous victory has come as a rather surprising one. With critics and audiences voting for Vijay’s super-hero flick over Suriya’s 7am Arivu, the results have proved to be a shocker.

What really turned the tables?

“Before the release of these two movies, it seemed clear that 7am Arivu would win over Velayudham. The film’s massive promotional activities, claiming it as ‘something unseen’, proved to be a wrong tactic, once the film was released. With a lot of commercial elements in the film and scripting errors, people were let down by the Suriya-Murugadoss’s combination,” reports the source.

As a matter of fact, Velayudham which was released in comparatively lesser number of theatres across the country, has raked in more than 7aam Arivu in the first week of its theatrical release.

“Velayudham was promoted as an out-and-out commercial entertainer and did surprise the audiences when it was released. Though it had lesser publicity compared to the former, it has proven to be the ultimate winner. And while both the movies enjoyed a massive opening, the rather critical reviews let 7am Arivu down,” adds the source.

For films that rely only on promotional activities, the clear win of Velayudham proves to be a resounding lesson.

Though 7 Aum Arivu has been receiving mixed reactions from critics, director A R Murugadoss, producer Udhayanidhi Stalin and actor Suriya are flying high for they have won the admiration of Super Star Rajnikanth.

On Wednesday, a special screening of the movie was organised for Rajnikanth in Chennai.

Impressed watching the movie, Rajnikanth had reportedly appreciated Suriya for playing the lead roles well.

Rajnikanth said Suriya has put up an excellent performance. Udhayanidhi Stalin too has tweeted that Rajnikanth’s appreciation has made him happy.

Kamal Haasan is a proud papa and despite his hectic schedule for Viswaroopam, he managed to catch a special screening of 7am Arivu.

The film directed by A R Murugadoss opened to huge crowd across Tamilnadu on the Diwali day.

Kamal had nothing but good things to say about the film and not surprisingly he loved his daughter Shruti in it.

Shruti has done a good job and 7am Arivu undoubtedly proves to be an ideal debut for her in Tamil, said Kamal.

"I couldn’t meet him personally after he saw the movie because I was busy with promotional activities. But I called him up and he gave his views over the phone. He felt that it was an extraordinary movie," added Udhayanidhi.

Kamal Haasan quickly left after the screening avoiding public appearance as his look for Viswaroopam is urged to be a top secret!

Suriya is a true director’s actor.

Suriya's performances so far has proved that he is keen to go to any stretch to achieve what his director has in mind. Pithamagan, Nandha, Ghajini, are just a few examples of his hard work.

In 7aum Arivu, Suriya is said to have done some mind-boggling stunts and he did not opt for a dupe.

Suriya is so eager to perform his own stunts that he does not prefer for dupes even though he has the option to use one.

The star takes risks willingly and he is happy to see the fans enjoy the outcome on the silver screen. His films’ run at the box-office prove that it’s well worth the risk.

After seeing the Ajith starrer Mankatha, Suriya is said to have wondered how long it would take him to act in a film like that.

Suriya was apparently showering praises on Ajith for acting in a negative role without considering his image.

Ajith’s negative role in Mankatha was the talk of the town when the film released.

It is noteworthy that at a time when his contemporaries would shun such roles to maintain their image, Ajith took it up without any qualms.

Shruti Hassan's career in Bollywood has not been very fruitful so far but she is getting a golden opportunity to create a niche for herself in the Hindi film industry.

Well, Shruti will be pairing up with none other than the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in the Hindi remake of the Tamil movie 7am Arivu.

If reports are to be believed, Aamir Khan has recently seen the Tamil movie, 7am Arivu and the actor was so impressed with the movie that he immediately made his mind to have it remade. Not only the story of the movie but also Shruti Hassan's performance made him to stand up and clap for the actress at the end.

It goes without saying that A R Murugadoss, who directed Aamir in Ghajini, shares a good rapport with actor and Aamir knowing of Murgadoss' potential, has been keen on watching his 7aam Arivu, ever since it was announced.

7aam Arivu (7th Sense) directed by A R Murugadoss features Surya in dual roles of a circus artist and a monk named Bodhi Dharman, the transmitter of the Zen. Shruti Hassan will be seen in the character of a young scientist, whereas Hollywood actor Johnny Tri Nguyen threatens everybody with his negative character.

Tamil superstar Ilayathalapathy Vijay has termed his upcoming release "Velayudham" a special film of his career.

Addressing thousands of his fans in Banglore on Saturday at the city's Poornima Theatre, where two trailers of the film were screened, Vijay said:

"Velayudham is a special film for me. I have acted in many films which have been filled with commercial elements.

"You have liked my films for their quality in picturisation of songs and fights. But Velayudham is one such film that is focused on a issue besides being packaged with lot of commercial elements."

"You have already given a thumbs up for the audio of the film. I hope you would like the film also," he said amid cheers.

Slated for a Diwali release, Velayutham is produced by Aascar Ravichandran and directed by M. Raja. The film also stars Genelia D'Souza and Hansika.

Vijay was in the city to inaugurate a store of Jos Alukkas Jewellery, of which he is the brand ambassador.

"I have come here many times, including the launch of the Kannada film Jogayya, which was my friend Shivaraj Kumar's hundredth film. I am very fond of my fans in Karnataka," said Vijay.

Velayudham is being released along with actor Surya's 7 Aam Arivu, helmed by Ghajini director Murugadoss. These two major Tamil films have to contend with a big competitor in the form of Shah Rukh Khan's RA.One, the costliest film to be ever made in the country.

Murugadoss had also directed the Hindi version of Ghajini with Aamir Khan in the lead, which had become a sensational hit. Now, the news is that Bollywood star Shah Rukh too is interested in working with the director.

Even as their 'Oh My Friend' is shaping up in a brisk pace, the latest buzz in tinsel town is that Siddharth and Shruti Haasan, who are touted to be seeing each other, are no more a pair, as the actor and actress have parted ways due to difference of opinion.

Siddharth and Shruti shared the screen space together for the first time in a Telugu film titled 'Anaganaga O Deerudu' and since then rumour mills had it that they have become close and were in love. Their on-screen chemistry led to their coming together in another Telugu project 'Oh My Friend'.

However, sources now say Siddharth and Shruti are no longer together. "Their split is the latest sensational talk in film circles in Hyderabad and Chennai," they claim.

Meanwhile, Shruti is gearing up to take part in the promotional activities of '7am Arivu' that happens to be her maiden acting venture in Tamil. "As the countdown has started for Diwali, some big promotional programs are being planned for the Suriya-starrer, directed by AR Murugadoss."

The fact that she has been part of a movie by a big director like A R Murugadoss, and has shared screen space with Suriya, has created a lot of curiosity. “They were clear about their ideas and the entire shoot was well-planned. To work with big stars like Suriya and Murugadoss was a great learning experience for me. Every day was a new day for me,” says Shruti.

The actor, who is currently shooting for 3 with Dhanush and Gabbar Singh with Pavan Kalyan, is thrilled about experimenting with varied roles. She says, “The role I play in 3 is by far the most challenging role that I have played. The character is emotionally very strong, and to essay that was quite a task.” Probe her about working with Aishwarya Dhanush, she says, “Though I know Aishwarya for a long time, I only share a professional equation with her. It’s the first time I am working with a female director and their perspectives are rather interesting. It’s a young crew, so there is a lot of energy in the sets.”

With Gabbar Singh being a remake of a Bollywood blockbuster Dabangg, does the thought of comparisons really bother her? “I was born with comparisons and they don’t really bother me. I let my work speak for me and being part of good films is my only concern. I am lucky to have received powerful roles and am looking forward to playing more such challenging roles in the future. This is my benchmark,” signs off Shruti.

The buzz surrounding 7aam Arivu, a film directed by AR Murugadoss starring Suriya and Shruti Haasan continues to mount every day closing its grand release this Diwali.

The Buddhist monk's character portrayed by Suriya is especially the one that is most interested one and talks are out it is certainly worth it. Apparently this character is originally a Pallava prince named Bodhidharman, who renounced his Kingdom, becomes a monk. He then goes to China to spread the word about Buddhism in the steps of its founder Prince Siddhattha Gotama who later became Gautama Buddha.

The existence of Prince Bodhidharman has been recorded in history, but Murugadoss has given a fictionalized account of his life that is based on some true facts.

Now wasn't that fascinating? We're sure it was . . If it was not, read more about Bodhidharman.

what is more fascinating is that Shruti Haasan plays the role of a scientist in the film and that the film will be in an alternate between the past and the present during the course of the narrative.

Hold your horses. Diwali ain't that far.