CELEBS FACTORY

Prashanth starrer, Mambattiyan will hit the screens on July 15. This film produced and directed by Thiagarajan is a remake of his own super hit Malayur Mambattiyan. Meera Jasmine is the heroine and Mumaith Khan plays the femme fatale with Prakash Raj, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Vadivelu, and Mano Bala forming the rest of the star cast.

Made on a budget of 25 crores, Mambattiyan was shot in Theni, Malaiyur, Kambam, Dindi, and forest regions all over South India.

Thaman's music, according to insiders, sounds very promising with the added attraction that Silambarasan has rendered one of the numbers.

Mambattiyan is a dream project for the father and son and they are very excited to see it materialize.

Doing historic movies is no easy task. It requires lot of money, time and above all, patience. Breaking all hurdles, father-son duo Thiyagarajan and Prashanth have come out with Ponnar Shankar, which takes us break to the era of kings.

Inspired by a novel of the same title penned by Tamilnadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, the film speaks a lot about the lives of ancient Tamils, especially their bravery and good deeds.

Entering into the story, twin brothers Ponnar and Shankar (both played by Prashanth), who are brave and good-hearted, are taken care of by Rakki (Rajkiran) and Mayavar (Nasser).

One day, the duo save sisters Muthayi (Pooja Chopra) and Pavalayi (Dhivya Parameshwaran) and this lead their parents agreeing for the sisters' marrying the twin brothers.

However, comes a hurdle at the time of wedding, in the form of the brothers' past. For, they are the sons of Thamarai (Kushboo), and Muthayi and Pavalayi are the daughters of Chinna Malaikozhundhu (Ponvannan), who is Thamarai's brother. And there lies a challenge between Thamarai and Chinna Malaikozhundhu.

Prashanth delivers goods in both his roles. He is the in-charge of graphics too and the actor proves his mettle. There is a huge list of star cast apart from Prashanth (including Sneha as his sister) and everyone have tried their best.

Ilayaraja's background score takes us back over centuries. So is art work and cinematography. The only eyesore is the second half, which drags big time and too many characters, who fail to strike a chord with us.

Ponnar Shankar, an upcoming Indian epic film adapted from a novel of the same name by M. Karunanidhi, a fictionalized retelling of the Ponnar Shankar epic. The film is directed by Thiagarajan and features his son Prashanth in lead dual roles as warrior princes Ponnar and Shankar with Pooja Chopra and Divya Parameshwaran making their film debuts as princesses. The film is based on true story about KONGU NADU.The film also features an extensive cast of supporting actors with Rajkiron, Napoleon, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Sneha and Kushboo amongst others.

'Prashanth had entered into films very early and since then I've always wanted to do something big for him. The story of Ponnar - Shankar had immense scope for exhibiting not just his acting skills but also his expertise in the Martial Arts. I approached Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, with the project and he immediately gave me the go ahead, 'says Thiagarajan.

'The star cast comprises some of the biggest stars in the industry and to assemble them all on the sets was quite a challenge. If I got the call sheets of one actor, another would be busy shooting somewhere else. Another challenge was shifting the war battalions from one location to another. Moreover, to give an authentic touch, I have avoided graphics as much as possible.

So, in one scene, if you see a clash of 10,000 horses, in another, you will see 2000 dancers in action. The war and dance sequences will surely be talked about,' claims the directorm being very happy about the way his project had shaped up.

Discussions for the production of Ponnar Shankar had been ongoing since 2007 and filming started in August 2009. The film has progressed slowly due to the difficulty of fixing schedules to feature all the supporting cast together, and is expected to release in April 2011.