Velayudham sets new Audio Record in Kollywood

Vijay's popularity has been proved again, as the audio of his recently released Velayudham has set a new record in the Tamil film industry. The sale of its music album has crossed over one lakh on the launch day.

Sources say that Sony Music had released one lakh CDs of Velayudham on the first day to the market and it was sold in a few hours after the album was launched officially. The Mumbai-based company, which has not witnessed such a sales for its Tamil movies, was stunned by the demand for the audio. Soon, it decided to print one lakh units again, as the audience are still desperate to buy the album.

The audio company chief has confirmed the news and said that they are overwhelmed by the response from the audience. It has rewritten the history of the audio sales in the Tamil film industry.

Vijay, Genelia D'Souza and Hansika Motwani starrer Velayudham has Vijay Antony's music. The movie directed by Jayam Raja is produced by Aascar Ravichandran.

Yuvan Yuvathi (2011) - Tamil Movie Review

Cast:

• Bharath as Kathirvel Murugan (Kathir)
• Rima Kallingal as Nisha
• Santhanam as Sakkarai
• Sampath Raj as Kathir's father
• Mayilsamy as Auto Owner
• T. P. Gajendran as HighCourt Judge
• Anuja Iyer as HighCourt Judge's daughter
• Sakthi Vasu as Saravanan

Directed by : G. N. R. Kumaravelan
Produced by : Baija
Singers : Vijay Antony, Vijay Prakash, Madhumitha, Haricharan, Snehga Lock up(Malaysia), Karthik, Ramya, Krishnan Mahesan, Sangeetha Rajeshwaran
Lyricist : Annamalai, Kalai Kumar, Priyan
Music by : Vijay Antony
Cinematography : Jagadeswaran
Editing by : G. K. Prabhkar
Studio : Ram Pictures
Distributed by : Reliance Entertainment


Having tackled a college premise in his debut directorial project Ninaithale Inikkum, G N R Kumaravelan shifts gears to a different plot in Yuvan Yuvathi with Bharath and debutant Rima Kallingal.

With a simple and an unambiguous title, the film is about Yuvan Bharath and Yuvathi Rima with Yuvan’s dad Sampath and friend Santhanam thrown in as embellishments to decorate the proceedings. Director has woven his tale around the young Indian’s American dream for a trouble free life, the conflict between a village based dad and his fashion conscious son, their communication gap and its fall out.

Undoubtedly the film’s hero is cinematographer Gopi who has painted through his lens a picturesque canvas of Seychelles and its lovely beaches. The song picturization definitely deserves a special mention as it captivates the aesthetics with panache. Gopi’s work is a bolstering aspect of YY which helps the director to narrate his story interestingly. The fun moments of YY, expectedly, belong to Santhanam who with his comic timing steals the thunder from the other cast members. Mostly the humor is situational, well woven in the script.

Sampath is as usual very comfortable in the role that is being assigned to him and dishes out the character of Sevaga Pandiyan with consummate ease. Bharath as someone from a rural background aspiring to make it big in America, has portrayed his role convincingly. Rima Kallingal who is making her debut in Tamil has a different kind of look that does not instantly please you but she comes across quite spontaneously in her character. However it is Sathyan who earns brownie points in just a small cameo as a gay. And there is also a surprise couple in YY which if revealed would give away the suspense.

Under Vijay Anthony’s musical baton, YY is like a musical with seven tracks. Oh My Angel and Mayakka Oosi create a mellifluous impact while Kolakuthu is unwarranted and forced.

Despite the positive features, YY fails to make an impact hugely due to the epic gaffe in the climax which is the major let down for the film. The entire story collapses due to a very flippant portrayal of Sampath in climax that is completely the antithesis of his character through out the film. Kumaravelan should definitely have worked on this. The screenplay is doddering with ennui setting in quite often although the necessary buoy is being given by Santhanam and cameraman Gopi.

Yuvan Yuvathi fails to create that lasting impact due to these features that go against it. Narration does slip into dull tones and monotony on and off as Kumaravelan finds it difficult to hold the attention of his audience. In all, a film that could have worked well with its positive features, goes south due to the week screenplay, narration and the badly conceived climax.

Verdict : Could have made a bigger impact with better climax.

Venghai (2011) - Tamil Movie Review

Cast:

• Dhanush
• Tamannaah Bhatia
• Rajkiran
• Prakash Raj
• Ganja Karuppu
• Livingston
• Y. Gee. Mahendra
• Oorvasi
• Charle
• Sudha Chandran
• Srithika

Directed by : Hari
Produced by : B. Bharathireddy
Screenplay by : Hari
Story by : Hari
Written by :
Singers : Benny Dayal, Baba Sehgal, Karthik, Devi Sri Prasad, M. L. R. Karthikeyan, Tippu, Harini, Mukesh, Suchitra
Lyricist : Viveka
Music by : Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography : Vetri
Editing by : V. T. Vijayan
Studio : Vijaya Productions
Banner :
Distributed by : Vijaya Productions

By now you would know what to expect out of a Hari film: four fights, two duets, honest hero, a vengeful politician and an unreasonably beautiful heroine. You have it all in Vengai. As is customary with his style of movie making, he doesn’t go overboard with any of these by toning down the melodrama and peppering the script with whatever’s necessary to make the movie fast paced. And that works to his favor; although the script has gaping holes as wide as a huge elephant, you tend not to notice it because of the movie’s pace.

If you are only looking for some time pass and do not mind a hybrid of a movie between Singham and Thamirabharani, Vengai is the perfect movie for you. There is Dhanush, getting even with Prakashraj in an effort to outsmart his villainy, the ubiquitous ‘nattamai’ of recent day Tamil movies Rajkiran and Tamannah who is endowed with a passable role and a passable performance.

The story, as mentioned earlier, is nothing phenomenal. Prakashraj is a politician who secures an MLA position after support from the Good Samaritan Rajkiran and his villagers. But, not so surprisingly, Prakashraj misuses his position, earns the wrath of Rajkiran and eventually loses his political career. Now the shamed Prakashraj wants to teach Rajkiran, his son Dhanush and family a lesson. And the rest, as Hari says, is Vengai.

If you begin to nitpick, there will be nothing left of Vengai. The movie can be torn into pieces for its lack of a credible plot, presence of a cinematic and beaten to death plot, and many such details. But the point is, Hari knows his onions and the movie flies like you are on a speeding jet. There are vicious sickles, villagers in dazzling white clothes and blazing fast vehicles of a politician. But none of these come in between Hari’s assiduous story telling technique.

Hari creates Dhanush’s character with all the intelligence his heroes usually have. Dhanush laps the role up greedily and leaves nothing more to be desired. He sports the aforementioned dazzlingly white shirts during fight sequences and makes Prakashraj go mad with the help of just a cell phone. Hero, you see!

Since he didn’t want Tamannah to be typecast as a two-songs-few-love-scenes heroine, Hari seemed to have genuinely tried to assign some depth in her character. That turns out to be just about ok, albeit tolerable. But why the sorrow-laden eyes Tamannah? She looks like a pale of gloom has descended on her, all the time. Prakashraj and Rajkiran are in serious danger of being stereotyped (if it’s not done yet to them). Another thing about stereotyping is that even Prakashraj’s serious dialogues tend to tickle your funny bones. On that note, Ganja Karuppu’s comedy is intolerable as well. Having said that, it’s only fair to mention that there are some razor sharp dialogues that flicker and disappear in the movie.

Devi Sri Prasad’s songs aren’t the greatest things to happen to Venghai although he made it up with rerecording. Few fights, predominantly the climax fight, will be loved by action lovers.

If your idea for a weekend is to just unwind and not care much about the cinematic liberties the director has freely taken, Vengai might just be the film for you. And if you like Dhanush and Tamannah, you get a bonus!

Verdict: A caged leopard, raring to go!

Velayudham (2011) - Tamil Movie MP3 Songs

Cast:

• Vijay as Vel
• Genelia D'Souza as Deepa
• Hansika Motwani as Vaidehi
• Saranya Mohan as Vel's sister
• Santhanam
• Sathyan
• Abhimanyu Singh
• M. S. Bhaskar
• Pandiarajan
• Sampath Raj
• Sayaji Shinde
• Raaghav
• Veera Samar

Directed by: M. Raja
Produced by: Venu Ravichandran
Screenplay by: M. Raja
Singers: Haricharan, Sri Madhumitha, Prasanna, Supriya Joshi, Karthik, Charulatha Mani, Sangeetha Rajeshwaran, Vijay Antony, Veera Shankar, Mark
Lyricist: Annamalai, Vivega, Siva Shanmugam, Priyan
Music by: Vijay Antony
Cinematography: Priyan
Editing by: V. T. Vijayan
Studio: Aascar Films
Distributed by: Aascar Films

Soundtrack:
1. Rathathin Rathame [Haricharan, Sri Madhumitha]
2. Molachu Moonu [Prasanna, Supriya Joshi]
3. Chillax [Karthik, Charulatha Mani]
4. Mayam Seidhayo [Sangeetha Rajeshwaran]
5. Sonna Puriyadhu [Vijay Antony, Veera Shankar]
6. Vela Vela Velayutham [Vijay Antony, Mark]

Bollywood hails Hazare's Victory; Terms it a New Dawn

Anna Hazare ended his 12-day fast Sunday morning and a lot of Bollywood celebrities -- from megastar Amitabh Bachchan to social activist-actress Shabana Azmi -- expressed their, happiness calling it "a moment of greatest pride" and "a new beginning".

Hazare, who began his fast Aug 16 morning, agreed to break his fast after parliament Saturday broadly agreed to three key demands of his civil society group to battle corruption.

The celebrities took to Twitter to express their feelings.

Here is what they had to say:

Amitabh Bachchan : To know that such individuals inhabit our nation is a moment of the greatest pride. But to know what they feel is incredible!! ...all praise to the spirit of the one man... that he inhabits our land and feels for it.

Shabana Azmi : To a new beginning. Let's applaud Anna for leading the people of India into a nonviolent show of strength.I'm proud to be an Indian.Jai Ho

Abhishek Bachchan : One man unites an entire nation. Peacefully. #salute

Bipasha Basu : Anna is our true leader and his spirit has made everyone conscious that we can do away with corruption and need not accept it as a part of our lives. Big step forward for India and all of us!

Raveena Tandon : 'Haazaaron saal jiyo Anna Hazare!!' (Long Live Anna Hazare).

Dia Mirza : Thank you Annaji Hazare for the awakening. I was silent earlier because I was not in an agreement with the method adopted by certain people around Anna. Grateful we've found a middle path! I am proud to have witnessed the India that I have in the last 11 days. Even more proud of parliamentarians who upheld democracy.

Shekhar Kapur : Woke to a new dawn, a new freedom and saw a distant star of hope shining brighter and closer to every Indian heart. Anna can now rest as nation's youth have heeded his call. 64 years of system will not change overnight so we need to be vigilant. Anna's greatest achievement is to show the people of India that they can take charge of their own destiny.

Hrithik Roshan : My respect and congratulations to the people of India!

Shruti Seth : Anna Hazare has done what none of us thought possible. For better or worse that time will tell. You've made the public realise their power.

Riteish Deshmukh : ANNA stands tall today- PEOPLE stand tall today- INDIA stands tall today- a day to remember

Farhan Akhtar : First step taken in the right direction. My heart is full of gratitude for Anna. It is a victory of the people and for the democratic process.

Madhur Bhandarkar : Every generation needs a new revolution. Hats off to Annaji. Jai Hind.

Lara Dutta Bhupathi : Anna's fight is in every home. This will impact everyone of us for years to come! In my life, I hope I'm able to keep this alive in my small way.

Anupam Kher : Thank you Anna. Thank you #Jan Lokpal team. And biggest thanks to the people of our Great Country for their courage and belief. Jai Ho.

Sonu Nigam : Our gratitude and prayers for Anna. Blessed to have met him and rejuvenate him with music on the historical day.

Trisha on South Scope Magazine August 2011

Trisha Krishnan Sexy Hot HQ Photoshoot on SouthScope Magazine August 2011


Trisha Krishnan Sexy Hot HQ Photoshoot on SouthScope Magazine August 2011


Trisha Krishnan Sexy Hot HQ Photoshoot on SouthScope Magazine August 2011


Trisha Krishnan Sexy Hot HQ Photoshoot on SouthScope Magazine August 2011

7aam Arivu Movie and Music Release Date

Surya’s much expected movie, 7aam Arivu Release Date has been announced. Udhayanidhi Stalin the producer of the movie, has confirmed that 7aum Arivu has will be release on October 26 for this Diwali. 7aam Arivu satellite rights has been bagged by market leader Sun TV.

Udhayanidhi tweeted in his Twitter account that – “7aam Arivu will be a Red Giant release for this Diwali, on October 26! The satellite rights have been sold to Sun TV”.

7aam Arivu Audio launch will be held in Singapore on September 10 and it will be telecast-ed live in Sun TV. 7aam Arivu composed by Harris Jayaraj, has of six songs including a Chinese track, sung by Chinese singer Hau. Lyrics for the movie has been penned by Madhan Karky Vairamuthu. The audio rights of the album were bagged by Sony Music for a whopping amount.

7aam Arivu directed by A.R Murugadoss features Surya and Shruti Haasan in lead roles while the movie is being produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin of Red Giants.

Namitha says Anna Hazare is not Mahatma Gandhi

One can forgive those who don’t come forward to do good deeds. What to do with those who find fault with good intentions? Anna Hazare is fighting against corruption but strangely Namitha seems to have discovered some hidden agenda in this.

She says in an interview:

“Anna Hazare’s protest is only serving as a news making story of day. No tangible result is going to come out of it. The nation’s urgent trouble is terrorism. We should give first importance to tackling terrorism. See if the people are living in a safe environment. Corruption is not something new. Corruption has taken root in this country for many hundreds of years. This sudden agitation is not going to get rid of it. The movement has to reach the people.

It is wrong of Hazare to fight with the govt. People like Hazare should first make people realize that it is wrong to give bribes. If people don’t give bribes, the accepting of bribes is done away with. It is customary for big people and corporates to give bribes o get things done.

I was born in Gujarat, the land where Gandhiji was born, so I know all about Gandhi’s fight. Hazare’s protest is not Gandhi’s protest. Fasting does not make one a Gandhi. People were with Gandhi, so he got 100% victory. It looks like Hazare’s protest is being instigated by vested interests. It won’t achieve even 20% success.

The laws now take action against those take bribes. Recently a judge has been in the news for that. Hazare’s protest could hide a political agenda. If it is not so, that would be a surprise.”

Looks like there’s a hidden agenda in this interview given by Namitha!

Rajinikanth supports Anna Hazare

It would be a pleasant surprise for Anna Hazare to know that Kollywood super star Rajinikanth is the first to declare his support to his fight against corruption. Rajinikanth speaking to media at Chennai has said “We all should be proud of Anna Hazare who is fighting on behalf of us all, to wipe out corruption from the country. We being Indians should extend our support to him and to his fight. His demand for a strong Lokpal Bill is justified and I fully support him in this matter.”

No doubt that, his statement will echoes across the Tamilnadu state as well other parts in south India and will generate a massive support for Anna Hazare’s fight, because of his huge fan base spreads across the south India.

Can’t make peace between warring Khans: Preity

Preity Zinta, a good friend of both Salman and Shah Rukh, says it is beyond her to bring about a truce between the two warring Khans.

But interestingly, Salman is going to appear on Preity’s upcoming chat-show, which is being produced by SRK`s Red Chillies Entertainment.

When asked if she tried to engineer a patch-up between the two superstars, Preity said, "Please...somebody help me escape this question!"

Salman and Preity have worked together in films like `Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega` (2000), `Chori Chori Chupke Chupke` (2001), `Jaaneman` (2006). Most of them bombed at the Box Office.

Shah Rukh and Preity were seen together in `Dil Se` (1998), `Kal Ho Na Ho` (2003), `Veer Zaara` (2004) and `Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna` (2006). All these were hits.

"Each one of us has his or her own equation in the industry. This is really beyond me...or anybody else. Let`s wait and watch," Preity said.

The bubbly actress will have both Salman and Shah Rukh -- thought separately -- on her chat show `Up, Close And Personal With PZ` that will be aired from September 3 on UTV Stars.

Sameera Reddy opposite Kamal Haasan

Sameera Reddy bagged a role in Kamal Haasan’s prestigious movie Viswaroopam. Sonakshi Sinha was supposed to play the role but could not do due to dates problem.

Viswaroopam is a bilingual - Tamil and Telugu movie. Before settling with Sameera Reddy, Kamal tried for top Bollywood stars.

Kajal is the lucky charm for Prabhas

Prabhas, the “rebel star” of Tollywood, knows whose hand he should hold in order to deliver a super hit. And it is none other than Kajal Aggarwal! She has been offered a third consecutive lead role opposite Prabhas in a new movie to be directed by ace director SS Rajamouli.

The duo’s premier outing was the super successful Darling (2010), which was followed by the super hit Mr Perfect. Produced by K Raghavendra Rao, the yet-to-be-titled SS Rajamouli movie is slated to hit the floors in November. Prabhas is currently shooting for director Lawrence Raghavendra’s action thriller Rebel, in which he has Anushka Shetty and Deeksha Seth as his love interests.

Thala Ajith cheats Trisha?

Oh yes you read that right, but we are referring to their characters in ‘Mankatha’! The trailer of ‘Mankatha’ which was recently unveiled showcased Ajith as a baddie who can do anything for money in the film. A rough and tough avatar of Ajith is what we witnessed. It seems, Ajith cheats Trisha and tricks her by playing her love interest in the film, all for money! Trisha who plays Sanjana in the film is smitten by Vinayak Mahadevan, that is to say, thala Ajith. Trisha is the daughter of a goon from the slums of Dharavi and is madly in love with Ajith, willing to do anything for him. Ajith tricks her as if in love and uses Trisha in the film to achieve his goal. After which he leaves her and goes on to fulfill his mission.

Trisha, as she has expressed in many interviews, has a small yet a pivotal role in ‘Mankatha’, that is directed by Venkat Prabhu. The film also stars Arjun, Andrea, Premgi Amaren, Mahat, Lakshmi Rai and many others, with music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Doing away with cheesy romantic entertainers and other films where heroes do ‘anything’ for love, ‘Mankatha’ is sure to set a rage among one and all, what with thala Ajith’s never seen before out-and-out villain self! Post your expectations on the film in here, for all you know the team might catch a glimpse of it.

‘Aarakshan’ screening begins in Uttar Pradesh

Over a week after its worldwide release, multiplexes and cinema halls across Uttar Pradesh started screening Prakash Jha-directed film ‘Aarakshan’ Saturday - a day after the Supreme Court revoked the state government`s ban on the movie.

"We have complied with the Supreme Court directions pertaining to the screening of the movie. Cinema halls in Lucknow and other cities have already started screening `Aarakshan`," Chandra Bhanu, secretary of the entertainment tax department, told reporters here Saturday.

"We received the copy of the Supreme Court judgment late Friday evening. We have already instructed all district magistrates and entertainment tax officials to make necessary arrangements for screening the movie in their respective regions," he added.

Citing fears of law and order problems, Mayawati`s government Aug 10 slapped a two-month ban on the screening of ‘Aarakshan’ across the state.

The government was of the view that the release of ‘Aarakshan,’ which deals with the reservation issue, could lead to social unrest.

Cinema operators and multiplex managers have expressed happiness over the apex court`s ruling, and expect to earn good profit from the movie.

"We were disappointed when the ban was imposed. But now we feel that the back-to-back holidays due to the weekend and Janmashtami holiday will bring in good business," said an official of Wave multiplex that started running five shows of the movie from 10:30 a.m.

People in Lucknow too hailed the apex court judgment.

"There was just no need to ban the screening of the movie as the censor board had already cleared the movie. The Supreme Court judgment will definitely make the government think twice before banning the screening of any movie now," Mudit Swaroop, a Lucknow University (LU) student, told reporters.

Akanksha Mittal, a research scholar here, said: "All of our friends had planned to watch the movie, but were disappointed on learning about the ban. Now, as the court has lifted it, we are again looking forward to enjoy the movie on the big screen."

Kareena to honour real-life bodyguards

Actress Kareena Kapoor, who is gearing up for the release of her new film "Bodyguard" with Salman Khan, will felicitate the real-life minders of Bollywood stars.

Kareena is planning to meet the bodyguards of Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Imran Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar and felicitate them for their work, commitment and dedication towards the protection of the stars.

"Bodyguard" is romantic action film directed by Siddique and is a remake of the director's 2010 Malayalam movie of the same name. Salman had asked Shera, his bodyguard for 15 years, to launch the promo of the film.

The film is being produced by Atul Agnihotri and is slated to release on Eid.

My Technorati Claim Token : QWASGWUVZYJ9

Amitabh defends Indian Cricket team

The Indian cricket team is getting brickbats after it lost its World No.1 Test crown to England. But Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan supports the team, saying that rubbing them off completely after the loss is a ruthless way of dealing with the situation.

"For years and till not too far away, our cricket team and its captain (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni were the masters. One loss in England and suddenly they are incompetent. People reaction is as subtle and as ruthless as this," Big B posted on his blog.

"It requires immense acumen to be where they put you and in some manner to maintain it. Some understand the futility and the improbability of the situation and reconcile to it. Others and many others do not. Once there, they believe they are there and nowhere else. This is not entirely an adverse situation."

"It is quite possible that it thrives too. Others succumb to the moment, understand and accept. This is not entirely wrong too. Both can co exist, its a matter of reconciling with its complexity," Bachchan added.

Earlier this week, Indian team tasted humiliating defeat after they lost the series by 3-0. The newspapers and the cricket legends have been criticising their performance in foreign turf by calling it Indian team's worst performance in recent years.

Shankar canning introduction scenes of Nanban

The shoot of Shankar directed Nanban is currently progressing at a private apartment in Chennai. Director Shankar is canning the opening sequence with the lead stars Jeeva and Srikanth. Vijay one of the lead star has wrapped up his introduction part well before and Jeeva has wrapped up his part yesterday.

Director Shankar has added few more scenes to the Tamil version to match the taste of Kollywood audiences. The film has 109 scenes in total after including the new scenes.

As the shoot and the rest of the works are going in a jet speed Nanban is expected for a Diwali release. The audio rendered by Harris Jayraj is going to be launched soon.

Recently Shankar has roped in Andrea Jeremiah to dub her melodious voice for Ileana, the female lead of the film.

Nanban is produced under the banner of Gemini Film Circuit by Raju Easwaran and T. Muthuraj.

So, this Diwali is going to be Festival of films rather than Festival of Lights.

Kollywood Hero's Indian Spirit - An Independence Day special

It's more than six decades that we Indians received independence but this spirit is still alive among the all of us. As an ode to Independence Day that falls on August 15, CieDen presents a special saluting all our reel life heroes who have battled terrorism. Although this topic has been a hot one through the times in cinema, there are few landmark films that need a mention for they bring up the patriotic spirit among audience as well.

CineDen takes a sneak-peak on films that pay a full-fledged tribute to films where heroes try and combat terrorism in their own ways.

Roja (1992)
'Roja' that's directed by Mani Ratnam is one legendary film in this genre for terrorism and love and neatly woven into the script by the maker. The film also bagged three national awards and much international acclaim. The film stars Arvind Swamy and Madhu in the lead roles and showcases the hero being held captive by terrorists and while his wife tries to convince the Government to come in terms with the terrorists, Arvind tries to reason with the terrorists about their cause...

Sethupathi IPS (1994)
This film stars Vijaykanth, Meena and Nambiar in the lead roles and is one of Vijaykanth's biggest hits so far. We may mention that he has many other films belonging to this genre and saw success too...

Kuruthi Punnal (1995)
This film by PC Sriram has Kamal and Arjun in the lead roles and revolves around two police officials who want to put an end and combat terror in the society. While one has to sacrifice life during the mission, whether the other succeeds or not forms the rest of the story. This film also portrays beautifully the emotional struggles a police official goes through while fighting terror as he is risking the safety of his kin...

Aran (2006)
This film might be a dubbed version from a Malayalam offering, but nevertheless, it made the right kind of impact in here as well. The film features Mohanlal, Jiiva and Gopika in the lead roles and showcase how terrorists try to disrupt a common man�s peace and follows one of the ground rules in life, of how anything should be fought with unity (read: terrorism). It was canned in various places like Kashmir, Afghanistan and the line of control between India and Pakistan.

Peranmai (2009)
This film by SP Jananathan features Jayam Ravi and the actor received much-acclaim for his performance in this action thriller. It showcases a forest guide, Jayam Ravi, with the help of college girls, fighting away terrorists who want to curb India's scientific growth.

Payanam (2011)
This thriller by Radha Mohan deals with a plane hijack incident and showcases Telugu star Nagarjuna, and Prakash Raj, Poonam Kaur and many others in pivotal roles. The film received much acclaim.

Other noted films in this genre include 'Rajasthan', 'Airport', 'Kuppi', 'I Love India' and many others...

CieDen wishes a happy and a peaceful independence day to one and all. Keep the spirit alive!

Bollywood and it's Patriotism - An Independence Day special

It's time when Indians come together to celebrate the spirit of India's Independence. While 64 years has been passed since the historical event, India has been evolved greatly and the outlook of her people has changed significantly. Similarly the essence of the word 'Independence' has got different shades and Indians perceive it in various angles. Although we got freedom from British, we are bonded by several self-created problems and social elements and one which is most dreaded criminal is the CORRUPTION.

With a view to bring in this year's Independence Day, CieDen takes a look at those movies which not exactly celebrates the patriotic day but it speaks a lot about contemporary India, today's generation and also highlights the plights of aam aadmi, aam junta.

A Wednesday - A common man's attempt to teach the government a lesson by taking rules in his own hands.

Nayak - Where a common man brings revolution in the system. In fact, if one takes in the current scenario, every city needs a person who can stand up to fight the corruption.

Chala Mussadi Office Office - Highlights the common problem of a common man.

Swades - A man's realisation of his love for his motherland, fellow beings...

Rang De Basanti - A list is in complete without the mention of this Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's movie. It ignites the very spirit of oneness and awakening. As the movie's tagline goes - A Generation Awakens.

Lakshya - A typical urban youth at certain point of time realises his responsibility towards life, people and country.

My Name Is Khan - It teaches a valuable lesson - There are only two kinds of people: one good and other bad; but there is nothing like Hindu, Muslims, Christians and so on.

A movie which brings all people under one roof, erasing the religion differences.

Peepli Live - Relevant to real life, the movie highlights the plight of Indian farmers in a comic way. It aptly conveys that a serious matter can be blown out of proportion with media hype, but at the end of day the issue would not be solved.

Other noted films in this genre include Mission Kashmir, Chak De India, Border, Kashmir, Gadar, Lagaan, 23rd March 1931: Shaheed, .... the list is incomplete. There are many more such movies which make one think about their country and countrymen. Some movies which touch the heart and stirs the mind. Tell us your choice of film which has made you ponder; those which made you feel that we belong to 'India' and we have to do something for it....

CieDen wishes all its readers a very Happy Independence Day!

Vijay's Velayudham audio release date confirmed!

Just when fans are coming out of Mangaatha fever, here is yet another movie to take them by storm. Well, we are talking about the audio release of Vijay's Velayudham, which has been postponed several times, will finally see the light of the day on August 28.

Jayam Ravi, brother of director Jayam Raja, has confirmed the news on a social networking site. He posted, “Velayudam audio launch on 28 Aug in Madurai amidst 1000's of Vijay fans! It cant get bigger & better than this! Gonna b worth the wait :)”

Earlier, it was reported that the makers were planning to launch the music on the Independence Day evening in Chennai and they have already short listed the guests list for the mega event. However, now that Jayam Ravi has announced the date, the audience have to wait on their toes for two more weeks.

Vijay, Genelia D'Souza and Hansika Motwani starrer Velayudham is expected to hit the screens in September first week. It is directed by Jayam Raja and produced by Aascar Ravichandran.

Freida Pinto slams Slumdog Millionaire co-star

All is not well between actress Freida Pinto and her Slumdog Millionaire co-star Anil Kapoor. The actress revealed on Simi Garewal's chat show India's Most Desirable that Anil should not have spoken about her relationship with her co-star Dev Patel to the media. She added that he should have waited for them to make it public.

“If Anil Kapoor witnessed it when we were experiencing it, I must say that he is a genius... but he shouldn't have said it before we said it... I was at the red carpet and he is suddenly talking to Ryan Secrest (American radio and TV personality) and saying things that are embarrassing me and I was like what is happening... where do I look?” said Freida on the show.

Well, Freida has a point here. We are sure Anil has a point too!

Priyanka Chopra in race for Vijay's next

Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra is in the race to star in Vijay and AR Murugadoss' Maalai Neram Mazhaithuli. The actress is being considered along with Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone to pair up the Kaavalan star in the forthcoming Tamil movie.

Priyanka Chopra had acted with Vijay in Thamizhan in the year 2002. As their chemistry had worked before, AR Murugadoss is planning to bring them together on-screen again. It is said that the makers of the film are keen to cast and soon they are planning to approach the Bollywood actress.

Reports say that the movie bosses have short-listed Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone's names for the female lead role in the proposed project. However, AR Murugadoss has already roped in Harris Jayaraj and Santhosh Sivan for the the music and cinematography department.

The movie is expected to take-off during Diwali and it is produced by Vijay's father SA Chandrasekhar.

Deepika and Siddhartha watch Aarakshan together

Deepika Padukone and Siddharth Mallya are literally painting the town red!

We know that the two are an item. Or not? And we can also see how the style is perfectly complemented by his beautiful girlfriend Deepika Siddharth and watch. The couple attended the special screening of Aarakshan and was manipulated in red.

Red symbolizes love. They have taken the couple’s sense of color too seriously? In the special screening of Aarakshan Deepika, the next version, we saw in a red Anarkali Deepika, it was a shock was that the man has also chosen to show red. Coincidence or coordination … do not know. But Siddharth was only for a red shirt, but the red shoes. After seeing two of them, we think, are just perfect!

In fact, the couple has reminded us of Sonam Kapoor and blanket-dovey boyfriend Hate Luv Storys wearing similar color to the bulk of the film.

Look at the pictures of lovebirds Deepika Padukone Siddharth Mallya and complement each other as lovers only.

I'm not doing any Telugu film: Madhu Shalini

She knows the Old City like the palm of her hand. Madhu Shalini takes us by surprise as she turns up at 6 am sharp at Madina Cafe, to catch up with us over a cup of Irani chai as promised.

"I have fond memories of this place," she reminisces... "My friends and I come here often for our breakfast. You get the best dosas in the city here," she says, leading us along patli gallis to a stall that does not even have a sign board, but is teeming with people. With the magnificent Charminar in the backdrop, the actress, who's now carved a niche for herself in Kollywood with " Avan Ivan" ("Vaadu Veedu"), walks down memory lane as she talks about her childhood, her career, her favorite haunts and the rich culture of the city.

In love with mana city
My dad is a Muslim, so Ramzan has always been a special family time for us at home with all my cousins meeting up. I love visiting the Old City during this time of the year. People think that only Muslims own shops here, but the fact is that there are a lot of Hindus too. It such a beautiful intermingling of cultures and you can see this mirrored in the city and in Hyderabadis from every walk of life. My favorite shopping spot here is the Chudi Bazaar. I make it a point to visit the place at least once a year. In fact, I pick up stuff from here for my friends who live abroad and also my colleagues. Just a couple of months back I picked up bangles for (director) Bala sir's wife.

Missing home
I have missed home badly the whole of last year. I was in the city for only 20 days as I was shooting in Chennai for "Avan Ivan". Working with National Award winning director Bala was like going to an acting school. I had to go de-glam for the role, but I do not regret it as the film turned out to be a super hit.

Right now, I am not doing any Telugu film as I am waiting for good scripts to come my way. There's been talk that I have bid goodbye to Tollywood and that's why I supported the Chennai Rhinos, but that's not true. I was the ambassador for the Chennai team because I was doing a Tamil film at that time and my co-stars Arya and Vishal were part of the team. For the record, even the Telugu Warriors' ambassador was not a Telugu girl!

Well, if everything goes well, I'm quite close to signing a big Bollywood film with a Telugu director!

Conserving our heritage
Every time I come to this part of the city, it pains me to see heritage buildings being neglected. The lack of civic sense among the people who disfigure monuments is appaling. While on my foreign jaunts, when I see the care with which ancient monuments are preserved, I feel that we too should be adopting their methods and creating awareness among the people. Sometime back, I read that the Charminar is going to be a 'pedestrian only' zone, but look, even this early in the morning the road is busy with traffic. We are a little too laidback, even when it comes to our heritage!

Hrithik Roshan's helping Hands

Hrithik Roshan is in a good mood these days. Apart from the fact that his reality show has opened to a good response, the actor is busy helping out people in need.

Says a source close to Hrithik, "The contestants of his show adore Hrithik and he'a always there to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. If some people need training, Hrithik asks his own trainer Satyajit to help them out. If someone needs dance training, he asks Saroj Khan to help them. Hrithik has also given each contestant a kit that contains healthy nutritional supplements to build a good bod.

It's not just his reality show but he goes out of his way for even the Agneepath path unit. Hrithik is very nice to everyone, including the ADs, technicians and spot boys on the sets. He has opened up quite a bit and even children love him today."

South Indian actress Nayantara Converted to Hinduism?

Top southern actress Nayanthara has converted from Christianity to Hinduism, say sources close to the Arya Samaj, even as she herself maintains a studied silence on the issue.

Nayanthara, born and brought up as Diana Mariam Kurian, was a born Christian. She changed her name because of her foray into films.

She reportedly converted to Hinduism Sunday morning at the Arya Samaj Temple in Chennai, the sources said, adding she has retained her name Nayanthara.

Some see it as a step towards her impending marriage to actor-director Prabhu Deva who divorced his earlier wife, a Muslim and did not change her religion at the time of marriage.

Nayanthara is tightlipped. Asked about her marriage, she says: 'No comments.'

On Sunday morning, the actress reportedly headed straight to the Arya Samaj Temple on Waltax Road.

She went through all the religious processes as per the scriptures. All the procedures of 'Shuddhi Karma', a procedure involving Vedic purification, were meticulously followed, say the sources close to Arya Samaj.

They also added that a 'homan' or fire ritual was held where Nayantara chanted hymns and the Sankeerthan Mantra.

Incidentally, the members of Prabhu Deva's family are devotees of the Suttur Mutt in Mysore. His parents are devotees of Male Mahadeshwara Swamy.

The sources said Nayanthara left soon after the purification ceremony. A certificate of conversion to Hinduism was issued to her. The actress flew back to Kochi by an evening flight.

It is reported that her parents have expressed their opposition to Nayanthara's desire to convert to Hinduism.

Nayanthara's last film 'Ramayana', directed by veteran director Bapu, was completed only a few days ago.

Nayanthara who plays Sita's role in the film became emotional on the last day of her shoot and even lay prostrate before all the elders in the unit, including the octogenarian director Bapu.

Nayanthara says her decision to convert to Hinduism is purely personal.

'Yes, I have become a Hindu and it's my own personal decision. I went through the entire ceremony with passion and conviction,' she is believed to have told a friend.

She sports a tattoo of Prabhu Deva on her body. The couple were also seen in some film related functions together.

Amala Paul with Naga Chaitanya

Actress Amala Paul will be pairing up with Naga Chaitanya shortly in a Telugu movie. Amala Paul, who played the character of school correspondent in Deiva Thirumagal (Nanna in Telugu) and gained acclamation, would be sharing screen space with Yuva Samrat Naga Chaitanya for an untitled Telugu movie.

According to the sources, Amala Paul has been roped in for Naga Chaitanya's film but the makers are trying to keep this matter under the wraps till the final casting is announced. Amala Paul's upcoming Tamil movies include a romantic musical Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal.

I'm not getting married, says Trisha Krishnan

Grapevine is abuzz that actress Trisha Krishnan is getting married. Rumours are going strong that Trisha's marriage is on the cards and her mom has found a perfect match for her.

The fourth estate has been going gung-ho about Trisha's wedding once more often only to be foiled by the actress' vehement denials.

Says Trisha, "And since so many of you have asked me just to clarify, I'm not getting engaged nor am I getting married to anyone in the near future."

Tamannaah Bhatia on JFW Magazine 2011

Tamannaah Bhatia Sexy Hot Photoshoot Stills on JFW Magazine 2011

Tamannaah Bhatia Sexy Hot Photoshoot Stills on JFW Magazine 2011

Tamannaah Bhatia Sexy Hot Photoshoot Stills on JFW Magazine 2011

Tamannaah Bhatia Sexy Hot Photoshoot Stills on JFW Magazine 2011