NEWS: Enter Kollywood, the heart of Tamil film industry
Frederick Noronha (FN)
By Papri Sri Raman, Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai, Apr 20 (IANS) The southern film industry is supposed to be down,
but it hardly seems so by the goings on in Kollywood.
Welcome to the heart of the Tamil film industry, popularly known as
Kollywood after the city's Kodambakkam area.
It is shrouded in secrecy, it is inward looking and it is difficult for any
outsider to gain entry. But if you have made it there, the fan following can
compete with that for Bollywood stars.
Even as a deadlock is on between distributors and producers in the north,
and there are no new Hindi films to see, half a dozen new Tamil films are on
the block this week.
With the Tamil New Year just having passed and the weekend marking Easter,
it is a time for holiday and films.
The most happening thing Friday was the beginning of the shooting of Kamal
Haasan's "Sandiyar", a story of the Nallamanicker and Virumaandi clans, with
Kamal playing Virumaandi.
The grapevine has it that Kamal, by scheduling the launch in Madurai, is
testing his popularity in the southern districts ahead of a political
career.
The actor denies hotly that he has any political ambitions, but says there
is no harm in carving out a constituency in the southern districts that can
be turned into a political one if necessary.
He has also told thousands of admirers that the southern film industry is in
crisis. But one wouldn't think so going by the number of releases here this
month.
Among them are "Bandaa Paramasivam", "Dum", "Student No 1", "Magic Magic",
"Sena", "Vaseegaraa", "Nilavil Kalangamillaai" and "Arasu".
"Bandaa Paramasivam" is the story of Paramu, played by Prabhu, and Sivam,
played by Kalabhavan Mani, two swindlers and cheats who are presented as
prospective grooms. The film is supposed to be funny but comedy is the last
thing on the cards.
The best film in town this week arguably is "Dum", starring Simbhu and
Rakshita with Ashish Vidyarthi as a police officer. It follows box-office
rules and has haunting tunes.
One film that is being awaited eagerly is "Anbe Anbe", directed by
Manibharati and produced by AVM studious. Music CDs of the film are already
flooding the market, and Shaam and Sharmille, its romantic lead pair, can be
seen attending all the promos in the city's shopping malls.
Actress Rambha is at last ready to release her film "Three Roses", which she
has directed, after three years. It is a fun film, with Govinda making a
guest appearance.
The city is also hot with a film festival. The Madras Film Society is
showing "Chopin", "Sara" and four other films this weekend at a Polish film
festival.
The Swiss were also here last week, presenting a film producers' guide,
"Switzerland for Movie Stars".
Consul General Losef Renggli and his team, while urging the Tamil film
industry to shoot in Switzerland, said over 50 Tamil films had been shot on
location in Switzerland.
--Indo-Asian News Service
GandS Entertainm
have shown a lot of Bollywood films and done quite well with them.
Any help, ideas, or suggestions would be appreciated.
Don
gandsen...@aol.com
Sydney Assbasket
>played by Kalabhavan Mani, two swindlers and cheats who are presented as
>prospective grooms. The film is supposed to be funny but comedy is the last
>thing on the cards.
Isn't this a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every
other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking
the locks, they are always locking three.
- Elayne Boosler
Remove "bination" to reply.
Girish Bhat
Among heros you really can't miss by showing Rajnikant or Kamal Hassan
movies.
Among directors, look out for Mani Ratnam, K Bhagaraaj,
Balachandran/Bala Mahenderan.
hth,
girish