CELEBS FACTORY

Shahrukh Khan's new movie titled 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' is set to release on Diwali day. The first look posters have been released too. The King Khan's market pervades all over the world and his films open strongly even in Tamil Nadu.


Over the years, by some coincidence or the other, Vijay's films also release on Diwali day and they invariably clash with the films of Bollywood's Baadshah Shahrukh Khan.

It was Vijay's 'Azhagiya Tamil Magan' vs SRK's 'Om Shanti Om' in 2007. In 2011, it was 'Velayudham' vs 'Ra. One'. This year, history repeats itself yet again as SRK's 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' will compete with Vijay's 'Thuppakki' for a share of the Diwali box-office pie in Tamil Nadu.

A super battle ahead! Shahrukh has Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif for company in this movie and both these stars are popular with TN audiences as well. A.R Rahman scores the music for this SRK starrer and the Mozart of Madras commands his own opening. For Thuppakki, Vijay has a strong technical team backing him with Kajal Aggarwal for company. On the whole, Diwali day is going to see fireworks on the cinema screen as well.

Ileana D'Cruz is very happy with the warm response that she has received so far for her Bollywood debut 'Barfi!' directed by Anurag Basu.


The hot and sexy actor revealed that she was earlier offered an opportunity to work with Salman Khan in the Prabhu Deva directed 'Wanted  (2009)' which was the Hindi remake of the Telugu film 'Pokkiri (2006)' directed by Puri Jagannadh starring herself and Mahesh Babu in the lead.

"Albeit I was excited to work with Salman, I felt that I was not ready for Bollywood then. So I allowed the opportunity to slip through my fingers," said the goan beauty admitting that she would love to work with Salman if she's offered a chance again.

However, the 'Nanban' heroine was quick to clarify that she had no regrets about refusing the given opportunity to act with Salman Khan and was proud to make her Bollywood debut with 'Barfi!'.

Asin has been enacting marriage scenes in quite a few of her recent movies like Ready and Housefull 2.


Even for her upcoming film with Akshay Kumar titled Khiladi 786, Asin got married last week on the sets in Punjabi style.

Now, she has jokingly remarked to her support crew that it is time for her to find a good guy, and get married for real.

Looks like she is fed up of all these reel marriages. However, her fans would hope that Asin would continue donning the greasepaint and not think about marriage seriously anytime soon.

Coincidentally, Harris Jayaraj is the composer for both the films that are highly expected to release this year.

Sonakshi Sinha's act in a red saree in the song 'Chammak challo chail chabeeli' from Rowdy Rathore has forced people to draw comparisons with Kareena Kapoor's Chammak challo in RA.One. However, the actor brushes it off as mere co-incidence and insists the two not be compared.

"I am not just Chammak Challo, I am also Chail Chabeeli. I would like to say that Ra. One had not released when we had shot for this song and we had not seen that Chammak Challo in a red saree. It's just a co-incidence," said the 24-year-old belle in an interview.

Sonakshi insists that the two songs are completely different.

"Both the songs are different, it was westernised but our song is full of Indian melody. So you should not compare the two," said Sonakshi, who made her Bollywood debut with Dabangg.

Having said that, 'Chamak Challo' Bebo had agreed to sizzle for a hot item number in ‘Rowdy Rathore’ as a friendly gesture for producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-producer Shabinaa Khan.

The diva is reported to have raised the oomph wearing a glamorous black outfit to dance on the song.

Directed by Prabhu Deva, Rowdy Rathore will hit the silver screens on June 1. Besides promoting Rowdy Rathore, Sonakshi is also busy shooting for Joker, Lootera and Dabangg 2.

We all know how Vijay impressed everyone with his dancing skills on the sets of the Akshay Kumar starrer 'Rowdy Rathore' directed by Prabhu Deva. The director of the film recently revealed some interesting details about the same in a recent interview.

Akshay, The Khiladi actor who intially didn't believe of Vijay's consent to dance with him received Vijay with a warm hug. He was so amazed to see Vijay and asked Prabhu Deva, “What’s he, just 17”?

"Initially, I was a little apprehensive to ask Vijay about doing the dance, but when I asked Vijay about it, his immediate response was ‘why not?’ In an hour’s time Vijay, who was in Mumbai for the shoot of Thuppakki, was at the sets of Rowdy Rathore," said Prabhudeva.

"I'm not trying to provide a Bollywood launch for Vijay. He doesn't need anybody to recommend for him. Bollywood will welcome him with its hands wide open,” he added.

The shoot for Thuppakki, starring Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal is on full swing.

A.R Murugadoss is using everything that is only the best in the industry, starting from the lead actors to the technicians.

The latest news is that the ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan, who recently joined the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers, is not using the usual 35 MM camera to shoot the film.

It has been recently evealed that he is exploiting the latest ARRI digital technology that was introduced later last year.

Even the Hollywood technicians, who are usually the first to introduce latest techs in the industry, have just started using this technology.

The makers have assured that the picture quality in this film will be something nobody has experienced yet. The film is expected to hit the screens during the last quarter of the year.

Ajith Kumar recently caught up with director Selva of 'Naan Avan Illai' fame and has expressed his desire to work again with his first director, who had introduced him with Amaravathi.

Apparently Ajith is interested in the remake of K. Balachander's famous film, Ninaithale Innikum (1979) and believes director Selva and his experience would do justice in remaking the Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Jayaprada starrer following the successful remake of 'Naan Avan Illai' with Jeevan.


Only time will tell if anything will materialize from it. If this ought to happen, it be a treat for the fans.

While most actors have chauffeurs to drive them around as it is very stressful for them to handle the traffic, Vijay is different.

Vijay is passionate about cars and loves to drive himself around in the city. He does have a chauffeur but mostly prefers to drive on his own. And when traffic is going to be crazy, he opts to drive his little Maruti Swift.

The actor until recently had a black BMW that he adored but now he has traded it in for a hot red one.

A love for cars and driving is something he has in common with his buddy and fellow actor, Ajith.

Now we know what these two talk about!

The anticipation surrounding the Vijay - AR Murugadoss film, Thuppaki continues to increase with the latest addition of Sarath Kumar to its cast.

Apparently Sarath Kumar has a pivotal role in the film that is guaranteed to make a massive impact. He agreed to take up the part because he loved the script and the scope offered for his character.

It can be recalled that Sarath Kumar did a supporting role in Kanchana for which he was widely appreciated. He will also be seen in Kochadaiyaan. Sarath is one of the biggest stars in the industry as his career has stood the test of time. He is also the president of the South Indian Film Artistes Association, an MLA and leader of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi.

Looks like an 'azhagu rani' has been zeroed in for Karthi Sivakumar's forthcoming film 'All In All Azhagu Raja', to be helmed by Rajesh M, who tasted hat-trick success with 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'.

If sources are to be believed, Kajal Aggarwal has been roped in for the film for which the script work is yet to be completed. This venture is still in its pre-production stage and would be a comedy caper quite typical to Rajesh's earlier ventures.

Santhanam, the inevitable part of Rajesh films, is doing a crucial role in 'All In All Azhagu Raja'. It may be recalled that the duo (Karthi and Santhanam) delivered a firebrand performance in 'Siruthai' and their chemistry was much talked about.

Likewise, Karthi and Kajal, considered to be one of the cutest onscreen couples after pairing together in 'Naan Mahan Alla' is expected to recreate the magic again in 'All In All Azhagu Raja' that was recently seen in a television commercial for Bru Instant Coffee.

Kajal is thrilled with the way her career is shaping up as she now has films like Thuppaki with Vijay, Maatraan with Suriya and now her second time with Karthi.

'All In Azhagu Raja', to be produced by K.E Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green, is expected to hit the floors soon.

STR makes the most unpredictable moves!

The Young Superstar has been very busy shooting for 'Vettai Mannan' and 'Vaalu' produced by S.S Chakravarthy of Nic Arts. While 'Vaalu' co-starring Hansika and directed by debutante Vijay is announced to be a quickie that would release for Diwali this year, 'Vettai Mannan' directed by Nelson also starring Jai, Hansika, Deeksha Seth and Poonam Kaur is slated for a pongal release next year.

Incidentally Arya's 'Settai', directed by R. Kannan of Jayamkondaan fame is also expected to hit screens for Pongal next year. The film that was earlier titled 'Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam' is the Tamil remake of the Bollywood hit 'Delhi Belly' that also co-stars Premgi, Santhanam, Hansika and Anjali  in the lead roles.

It is expected that STR and Arya will be fighting it out with each other for the top spot at the box office for Pongal next year. Interestingly, Hansika is the common denominator in all three films.

A social activist, V Selvakumar has filed a complaint against A.R Murgadoss' Thupakki  that has Vijay starring as the lead with the beautiful Kajal Aggarwal opposite him. Its not the movie but its poster showing youth icon 'Vijay' puffing a cigar that has made the news now.

The Ministry of Health and the Government of India has banned any public display of smoking and the posters of A.R Murgadoss' Thupakki showing Vijay smoking a cigar violates this. This objectionable poster has been displayed all over Chennai and in the print media as well.

"In regard to the above mentioned violation of the Indian Tobacco Act, I have filed a complaint on 04 May 2012 with the Commissioner of Police, requesting to take necessary action against the violators," informed Selvakumar.

Recently, Shah Rukh Khan was pulled up for smoking in public and now it is Vijay's turn. The makers of the film are yet to comment on this situation.

STR, who is presently busy with his Podaa Podi and Vettai Mannan, will be shooting the teaser for Vaalu, his upcoming film, tomorrow in Taramani.

Along with STR, the film’s lead lady Hansika and supporting actors Santhanam and VTV Ganesh will appear for the shoot.

The director of the film has decided to shoot a scene from the film and release it as a teaser. Following the teaser shoot, G Venkatram, who did the CCL calendar 2012, will do the photo shoot for the film.

The film will be directed by debutante Vijay and will be produced by S.S. Chakravarthy of Nic Arts. Shakthi, a regular of Nic Arts will handle the camera and Thaman will be joining STR again after Osthe to entertain his audience with his music.

Actor/Director Prabhu Deva and Vijay share a good bond as both actors and dancers after working together for 'Pokiri' and 'Villu' together.

Prabhu Deva, who is presently filming Rowdy Rathore, the Hindi remake of S.S. Rajamouli's Vikramarkudu with Akshay Kumar in the lead, had asked Vijay if he could shake a leg for a song in the film along with him and Akshay.

Vijay, an esteemed actor that he is, has given his nod without any hesitation. Prabhu Deva observed this as a gentle gesture for an actor of such a high stature.

So, we will soon be seeing Vijay and Prabhu Deva shaking a leg with Akshay Kumar for a small part of the song. It must also be noted that Kareena Kapoor has also danced for a song in the film, without taking any payment.

Rowdy Rathore, now being touted as the most anticipated film of the year is being produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and UTV Motion Pictures.

Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru is the next film that Gautham Menon is going to start his work on.

The film will be an espionage thriller, the first of its kind starring Vijay as the lead. He would be playing the title character 'Yohan', an Indian spy and the story would revolve around his adventurous missions across the globe.

But why Yohan? Why not something like Kandasamy or Velayudham that regional people can relate to?

"Yohan is one of the most used names in the world. I strongly believe that the film would have a wider reach with this title," said Gowtham Menon, the ace director of his theory for having chosen his unique title.

From what we understand, Gowtham is probably trying to take this film international.

The film is expected to go on floor from May.