Krishna Srinivasan’s Blog

Kuselan is a forthcoming bilingual drama being directed by P. Vasu, who with Kuselan, will direct his fifth feature film featuring Rajnikanth. Rajnikanth, playing a guest role, is the one of the few common actors in the bi-lingual, the others including Nayantara and Meena, which is to be made into Tamil as Kuselan and Telugu as Kathanayukudu respectively. Various other regional actors have been signed up for the film, with Pasupathy, Meena, Prabhu Ganesan, Vadivelu, Santhanam and Livingston playing roles in the Tamil version, whilst, Jagapati Babu, Sunil and Brahmanandam portray roles in the Telugu version. Whilst, G. V. Prakash Kumar and Arvind Krishna have confirmed their parts as members of the technical crew. The film which is expected to be released in July 2008, will be produced by prominent director, K. Balachandar for the Tamil version and Ashwini Dutt for its Telugu version. The film is a remake of the Malayalam movie, Kadha Parayumbhol.

‘Kandasaamy’ is expected to be released for Diwali. The film stars Vikram, Shriya in the lead roles. ‘Kandasaamy’ is directed by Susi Ganesan and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. Devi Sir Prasad scored the music for the film. The producer says that they are taking no chances and no compromises are being made and they are working to provide a quality product. He says that the film would satisfy all sections of fans. A huge set had been put up in the Prasad Studios costing Rs. 1 crore. The action scene was shot for 17 days in the sets.

This is the latest buzz in Kollywood. One of India’s premier filmmakers, Mani Ratnam, joining hands with the talented Vikram.

Reliable sources indicate that the duo will come together for a project that will be unique and special. Vikram is currently shooting for Kanthasamy which is directed by Mani Ratnam’s protege Susi Ganesan. He is expected to do Mani’s film after completing Kanthasamy. The fact that Vikram has postponed his film with Bhoopathy Pandian, which he was supposed to do after Kanthasamy, adds credibilty to the news.

Mani Ratnam, who struck gold in Bollywood with Guru last year, was supposed to do Lajjo with Aamir Khan. However, the project has fallen off the tracks as Aamir is busy with his Ghajini. Hence, the maker is planning to make a Tamil film with Vikram in the lead.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that Mani is planning to repeat the lead in his previous film, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, in a breezy romantic film on the lines of his Alaipayuthey. The reports say that the film will be in Hindi but will be dubbed into Tamil.

The report also says the director met up with top actors to start the casting for his next film. He has already finalised Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan for the lead pair and is in talks with other actors for the supporting cast.

Well, we expect the director himself to put an end to such conflicting reports.

Shankar is going to get a red carpet reception, when he comes back to Chennai tomorrow (Tuesday July 3), after a month long sojourn abroad. Three weeks after its release, his Sivaji continues to rock, and superstar Rajnikant has given him full credit for it, by saying- “Shankar is the creator of the film and he has worked hard for it”.

Now, what next is the question people in the industry are asking? According to sources close to him, Shankar will be totally concentrating on the films being made under his banner ‘S’pictures for the next three months. He will be giving some creative inputs to his in-house directors Balaji Sakthivel, and Simbudevan who are immersed in the making of their films for the company.

Meanwhile the grapevine is abuzz with rumours that Shankar is finally starting work on his ambitious pet project Robo, a futuristic science fiction thriller set in the year 3050 of Chennai. The entire shoot of the film can happen only on sets, and also involves a lot of CG work, to give the futuristic look to the film. And that means millions of dollars, and a producer willing to blow up money, and a bigger market to exploit the film.

Actually Shankar has a commitment with Telugu financier and producer Tirupati Prasad to make a film for him. But the latest we hear is that a major Bollywood production house has roped in Prasad as Executive producer, and together they are planning to make the Shankar film in Hindi for a global audience. The production house has also the “dates” of Hrithik Roshan, who is keen to do a film with Shankar.

Though Shankar had initially talked about doing the project with Kamal Hassan in Tamil, he realizes that for such a big project you need a Bollywood hero for the global audiences. Imagine Hrithik, Hindi cinema’s best action hero ( Krissh,Dhoom-2), A.R Rahman the only Indian musician with an international following and Shankar. The combination will rock!

And the latest on Robo is that a Hollywood studio, who is already making a film in Hindi, has shown an interest in the project. They want to be co-opted as presenters of the film, are willing to partly fund the project, which will definitely cost upward of Rs 100 crore. Now the ball is in Shankar’s court. He will have to take a call in the next few weeks.

Director Shankar returns to Chennai today after a month long break abroad. With Sivaji creating box office history and the Superstar giving him the entire credit for the film’s success, there is no stopping this talented director.

So what will Shankar create next? Well, as of now he plans to completely concentrate on the films being made under his banner ‘S’ Pictures. He will also be giving creative inputs to his in-house directors Balaji Sakthivel, and Simbudevan, who are busy making films for his production house.

But rumours are buzzing that Shankar is all set to start work on his ambitious project Robo, a science fiction movie set in Chennai in 3050. The movie will be shot completely on sets as it is a futuristic film and will involve a lot of computer graphics.

It is also heard that a major Bollywood production house, with whom Shankar has a commitment to make a film, has roped in Telugu financier and producer Tirupati Prasad as executive producer. Together they are planning to make the Shankar film in Hindi for a global audience. It is rumoured that the production house has obtained dates from Hrithik Roshan, who is very eager to do a film with Shankar.

Shankar had previously planned to make the film with Kamal Haasan in Tamil. But for a global audience, a Bollywood hero would ensure greater appeal.

It is also heard that a Hollywood studio has also shown interest in the film and wants to be the presenter of the film.

Whether this exciting combination will come together….well, we have to wait and watch.