ShowBiz

Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Ace director Shankar, who is now simultaneously directing Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Indian 2' and Telugu star Ram Charan's 'RC15', has showered praise on the recently released Dhanush-starrer 'Thiruchitrambalam', calling the film, 'a beautiful movie'.

Taking to Twitter, Shankar wrote: "'Thiruchitrambalam'. A beautiful movie. The beauty is in the lovely moments that follow the painful ones. Nithya Menon's character and superb performance seizes hearts, the writing by Mithran R Jawahar as well. #DNA at their best as usual. Love to Bharathiraja, Prakash Raaj and the whole team."

Dhanush was quick to respond to Shankar's praise.

The actor tweeted, "Thank you so much sir. This means a lot to me and my team."

The film has gone on to become an overwhelming success, making a good Rs 30 crores in the opening weekend itself. It has already crossed the Rs 60 crore mark in gross earnings worldwide.

'Thiruchitrambalam' has been doing brisk business not only in India but all over the world. In fact, the film's performance is one of the best overseas performances for a Dhanush film.

'Thiruchitrambalam' has already emerged as Dhanush's top grossing film in France with 10,000 entries. It is also the top grossing film of the actor in the UK, making 1,35,000 Euros so far.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Actress Ammu Abhirami, who impressed audiences with her brilliant performance in the Dhanush-starrer 'Asuran', will next be seen playing the lead along with seven others in the psychological, fantasy-thriller 'Pendulum', which went on the floors recently.

Directed by Sathish Kumaran, the new-fangled psychological fantasy thriller is being produced by Thiraviyam Bala of Surya Indrajit Films.

Over the years, Tamil cinema has witnessed psychological thrillers getting made. However, 'Pendulum' will be unique as it will feature eight people playing the lead.

'Asuran' fame Ammu Abhirami and Komal Sharma will be the prime lead characters. They will be seen alongside Sripathy, Sree Kumar, T.S.K., Vijith, Ram Jr. MGR and Prem Kumar.

Apart from these eight people who play the lead, actors Gajaraj and Chaams too will be seen playing important roles in the film.

This is the first-ever time, eight actors will be seen playing lead roles in a thriller movie.

B.Sathish Kumaran, who worked as a making cameraman in director Shankar's film 'I', is cranking the camera.

The team is planning to shoot the film in fresh locations in Chennai, Talakkonam, Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, and Goa.

--IANS
mani/kvd

Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) One of India's finest music directors, Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja, has got the background score of the musical film, 'Music School', orchestrated and recorded in Budapest, Hungary.

Sources say that the much-awaited musical with compositions by Ilaiyaraaja is getting its final touches in Budapest.

Featuring 11 songs, 'Music School' has been written and directed by Papa Rao Biyyala. The film includes three songs from the Oscar-winning and much-loved classic 'The Sound of Music'.

The film is produced by the Hyderabad-based company Yamini Films. The producers planned to record background music in Budapest to match the quality of the music from 'The Sound of Music'.

"Dr. Ilaiyaraaja has written many parts of the film's background music for a symphony orchestra," director Biyyala said. "Hence we approached the Budapest Symphony Orchestra - one of the leading orchestras in the world."

Earlier, three songs from 'The Sound of Music' were orchestrated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra before the shoot of the film.

So, the music composer and the director thought it would be wise to have an orchestra of equal stature like the Budapest Symphony score the rest of the music for the film.

The recording was done at the Tom-Tom Studio in Budapest and Laszlo Kovacs conducted the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

"I am very happy that Raaja sir gave so much time and involvement to my film," director Biyyala said.

'Music School' is about how school systems and parents put pressure on children to continue with endless hours of studies, with the hope of producing doctors and engineers, thereby leaving no time for art and leisure activities.

The film's cast is led by Shriya Saran, Sharman Joshi, Shaan, Prakash Raj, Suhasini Mulay, Benjamin Gilani, Gracy Goswami and Ozu Barua. One of India's ace cinematographers Kiran Deohans has filmed 'Music School'.

'Music School' is to be screened on September 12 and 18 in the industry/market section of the Toronto International Film Festival.

--IANS
mani/kvd

Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) Comedian and politician Raju Srivastava has been put on ventilator again after he ran a mild fever of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The actor had gained consciousness on August 25 and had been recovering since then but the latest development has once again made his fans worry about his health.

As per a report by India Today, Raju is still conscious and with normal body movements. The comedian was earlier registering Spo2 levels of 80 per cent to 90 per cent without oxygen support.

Raju Srivastava was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi on August 10 after he suffered a heart attack following his gym routine. His trainer immediately took him to the hospital. Over the past few days, the comedian's health has witnessed significant fluctuations. On August 25, Raju finally regained consciousness around 8:00 a.m.

Currently the comedian is being closely monitored for fever as he continues to recuperate.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 2 (IANS) Director Stephen Merchant has shared that Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson brings his own meals to restaurants for 'regimented' diet'.

Merchant, who worked with Johnson on 'Fighting with My Family', described the actor's "regimented" diet while speaking to Jim Norton and Sam Roberts on SiriusXM, reports foxnews.com.

"I do remember having a meeting with him just in Texas just before WrestleMania and we were having a meeting about the movie and his alarm would go off at like 3:17 p.m. and he would go to the fridge and there would be turkey and rice with '3:17 p.m.' written on it and he would microwave it," Merchant recalled.

"It was so regimented. It's extraordinary," he added.

The director went on to say he was once told Johnson has even brought his own meals out to restaurants.

"I think someone told me, maybe he told me, that when he goes for dinner with friends he has to take his food to the restaurant and have them heat it up because it's such a structured diet he has to have," he said.

Johnson is known to follow strict diets and exercise programmes in order to maintain his ripped physique.

However, he does partake in cheat meals every once in a while.

Johnson recently tried In-N-Out Burger for the first time and shared his cheat meal for "the history books."

The former WWE wrestler ordered two Double-Double cheeseburgers and two large fries.

"A solid start with a bite of good fries," he wrote before adding: "as we know s----- fries can ruin the whole experience."

He paired the meal with some tequila, according to his post.

Johnson revealed his motivation to keep up his workout routine in a YouTube video shared in February.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' went down memory lane with a contestant who shared that his strict father would not allow him to play cricket, and the cine icon talked about how his mother, Teji Bachchan, would catch him listening to cricket commentary under covers.

Narrating the incident, contestant Saurabh Shekhar shares: "I have been an ardent follower of cricket since childhood and was very fascinated by the game when I was a kid. When I used to live in the village with my family, my father thought that there was no scope for sports. Even so, I was mad about cricket!"

Shekhar added: "My father used to think that if he lets us siblings play, it would be like sparing the rod, we won't study. There was also a time when we did not have a television set in our house and a match was on. My older brother would listen to the commentary on the transistor and there were only a few overs left."

"In our excitement, we went to our neighbour's house to watch TV and celebrated the last few overs that were left. No sooner than we left the house, our father woke up and then, all hell broke loose."

Big B too followed Shekhar's story with his own in which he spoke about his mother. He will be seen talking about how he used to go under the covers in his bed and listen to the commentary on the transistor from there. And when his mother caught him, she questioned him and asked him to focus on his studies.

'Kaun Banega Crorepati' Season 14 airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Malayalam director Rejishh Midhila's upcoming Tamil fantasy film, in which comedian Yogi Babu plays the lead, has been titled 'Yaanai Mugathaan'.

Interestingly, the director, who is well-known in Malayalam film industry, is making his debut in Tamil with this film.

Sources close to the unit say that Yogi Babu plays a character called Ganesh in the film. Interestingly, the name of the character actor Ramesh Tilak plays in the film is Ganesh too.

"Both characters-- played by Yogi Babu and Ramesh Tilak respectively-- are called Ganesh. Ramesh Tilak plays an auto driver in the film and is extremely devoted to Lord Ganesha. His character has the habit of procuring a loan from every person he meets. His character often gets into problems by failing to pay the debts," says the source.

"In the film, Yogi Babu introduces himself as Vinayagar to Ramesh Tilak and makes a demand. As a result, a sudden set of developments happen, changing their lives. What happens then is what the story is about," the source adds.

The shooting of the film, which started in Chennai, continued in Rajasthan.

Actress Oorvasi too will be seen playing a pivotal character in the film. She plays a character called 'Malli Akka', the owner of the apartment in which both Yogi Babu and Ramesh Thilak live.

Karunakaran plays a small pan masala shop owner called Michael.

Apart from the lead artistes, the film will also feature George Maryan, Hareesh Peradi, Kulappulli Leela ("Marudhu" Paati) and Nagavishal in important roles

--IANS
mani/kvd

Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, whose latest release 'Laal Singh Chaddha' tanked at the box-office, is currently holidaying in San Francisco.

Earlier media reports claimed that the superstar is on a two-month break and is holidaying in the US. He will start his next film after he is back in Mumbai following his break.

A picture of Aamir doing the rounds on social media shows that the actor is currently not in the country.

The photograph has been shared by a fan named Natasha on Twitter, where the two are seen posing for a selfie.

She captioned the image: "Yesterday in unexpected unbelievable i'm still unwell twists."

In the image, Aamir is seen flaunting a salt and pepper look. He looks dapper dressed in a navy blue full sleeved T-shirt. He has a sweater tied around his waist and is seen carrying a beige coloured cross bag. He kept it casual and completed his look with spectacles.

'Laal Singh Chaddha', which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, is a remake of the Hollywood film 'Forest Gump' starring Tom Hanks.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 1 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Salman Khan along with his family welcomed Ganpati at his sister Arpita's home and even shared a video of performing aarti.

Salman took to Instagram, where he shared a small clip from the celebrations. In the video, the 'Dabangg' star is seen performing aarti dressed in a white shirt paired with denims.

Soon after him, Arpita and her actor husband Aayush Sharma are seen doing the aarti and praying.

The superstar is a believer in all faiths. His Father Salim Khan's first wife Salma is a Maharashtrian Brahmin and the second, is former Bollywood actress Helen, a Catholic. They celebrate Eid, Ganpati, Diwali and Christmas with full fervour.

On the work front, Salman on completing 34 years in Hindi cinema on August 26, announced that the title of his movie 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali' has been re-christened to 'Kisi Ka Bhai.. Kisi Ki Jaan'.

'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali', which is now titled 'Kisi Ka Bhai.. Kisi Ki Jaan', stars Venkatesh Daggubati, Jagapathi Babu and Pooja Hegde. The film is a remake of the 2014 Tamil movie, 'Veeram'.

--IANS
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By Sukant Deepak
New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) She remembers her time in the Indian film industry as fun and unique. Someone who has worked in over 20 films in different languages across the world and shot with directors like Ketan Mehta, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Goutam Ghose here, actor, writer and child-rights activist Nandana Sen decided early in her film career ("quite stubbornly, in fact") that she wanted to work in the industry in a certain way, though it was not necessarily the way the latter was used to working.


"My priorities made sense to no one but me; well-wishers in the film world often remarked that they did not understand why I accepted certain films and turned down others. But the industry was extremely generous to me, giving me lots of work and allowing me to indulge in my many eccentricities, including disappearing for months to do obscure independent films around the world," remembers Sen, who was seen in films like 'Black', 'Rang Rasiya' and 'My Wife's Murder' among others.

This Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) trained actor smiles when asked if being the daughter of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen and Padma Shri awardee writer and academic Nabaneeta Dev Sen was 'pressuring'... "No, and I have to thank my parents entirely for that. Somehow they always had immense confidence in me, and never batted an eyelid when I changed my life around, time and again or chose a profession unfamiliar to them both -- like cinema. Being academics, I think they were reassured by the fact that I was always a good student!"

Admitting that being raised by two women poets -- her mother and grandmother Radharani Debi, shaped her outlook most fundamentally, besides 'Bhalo-Basa', a heritage house she grew up in, she adds, "Growing up there shaped me as much as studying at Harvard, or living around the world, did. Ever since the 1930s, that house has always been filled with books, adda, and artists. Ma and Dimma were fearless public voices too, and their values and priorities had a huge impact on the choices I made, as an artist as well as an activist."

For someone who believes in the transformative power of the creative arts -- for instance, the films she selected had social-political consciousness at heart, whether exploring religious fundamentalism ('The War Within', USA), disability rights ('Black', India), lesbian love during apartheid ('The World Unseen', UK and South Africa), or censorship and freedom of expression ('Gudia' and 'Rang Rasiya', India), she adds, "Also, all my books for kids have girl heroes, often with single mothers, and celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of identities."

Sen, who is the Child Protection Ambassador at 'Save the Children India' says her emphasis is on every aspect of the fight to end child trafficking, child labour and child marriage.

"We have done several great campaigns together. We have also publicly addressed youth leaders about transformative engagement and campaigned extensively for girls' safety and education. Our collaboration has been very rewarding," says Sen, who studied literature at Harvard University.

Currently working on her next book in the Mambi series; a film script set in the intersection of cinema, journalism and politics in India; and a multi-generational book titled 'Mother Tongues,' she asserts she will always love cinema as a medium, as an actor and a screenwriter.

"You will see me back on a film set once my feisty seven-year-old, is a little older, though I will never stop writing books. I am loving every moment I spend with my family, and with my writing."

--IANS
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