Prabhu Deva dances for MJ

Today is the day on which our Archangel of pop-music was born. Every die-hard fan of MJ would cherish his loving memories and will pray for his soul. Shah Rukh Khan's company Red Chillies has produced a music video as a tribute to the King of Pop, just in time for the legend's 51st birthday, that’s today!

The music for the special video song has been given by Vishal-Shekhar, while Remo has choreographed it, Vishal has also written the song. Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, KK and Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan have rendered their voice for the track.

Things can’t get better for the video. Yeah! Our Indian Michael Jackson, Prabhu Deva performs Michael's steps as a backdrop in the video. The five minute music video has Prabhu Deva wearing a white suit and dancing like MJ.

When Prabhu Deva was approached by Shah Rukh Khan for this tribute he happily agreed. “Michael Jackson was my mentor. I grew up watching his dance and copying his steps. Even today, when I choreograph songs or when I am just dancing at home, without my knowledge MJ’s steps seep in,” Prabhu Deva relishes.

The video will be released online from today in the websites of Red Chillies and Seagram's Royal Stag and also on all music channels. It will be available for free download and is not a commercial venture.

The album video will also have loving messages devoted for MJ by stars like SRK, Hrithik Roshan, Prabhu Deva, Shahid Kapoor, Harman Baweja, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Kangna Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra and cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

So, here is a great thing to look out for us all MJ maniacs. Don’t miss it!

Alliance with Cong: V’kanth is ready

Extending an implicit invitation to the Congress to join forces with his party in the future, DMDK president Vijayakanth today said the national party was welcome to form an alliance (with his party).

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his birthday celebrations here, the actor-politician said, ‘you (media) will make them (Congress) to join hands with me. If Congress wants to forge an alliance with us, I welcome it.’

To a question as whether the DMK would join forces with other parties as it had faced the elections alone in the past, he said, ‘this question has to be asked during the elections. I don’t want to speculate on things.’

He however said that a host of Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, J M Haroon and Karti P Chidambaram sent birthday greetings to him.

‘BJP State president L Ganesan and BSP State president Selva Perunthagai too had wished me,’ the DMDK chief said, apparently keeping his options for an alliance open.

On a letter penned by Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi in his party organ ‘Murasoli’ taking a dig at him, Vijayakanth said this showed the growth of his party.

‘DMK founder Annadurai preached duty, dignity and discipline to party workers. But the three principles are no more alive in the DMK now. They distributed money to voters and tasted victory in the recently concluded by-elections.

But the votes garnered by the DMDK candidates show still there are people who are not ready to sell themselves,’ he said. Earlier, Vijayakanth distributed financial assistance to the underprivileged from all over the State. Poojas were conducted at various temples by his party activists

Kanthasamy Review!!Paisa Vasool

Movie Info

Movie::Kanthaswamy

Director::Susi Ganeshan

Producer::Kalaipuli S Thanu

Music:Devi Sri Prasad

Cast::Vikram, Shriya, Krishna, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vadivel,

Review

Chiyaan Vikram has a winner in Kandasamy. It is pure commercial masala entertainer that strikes a fine balance between style and substance, and also has a neat message. Susi Ganeshan has constructed an engrossing action driven adventure with panache.

The film has all the trademark superhero-movie elements like flashy action scenes and eye-popping special effects. But in many ways, it is not the typical super-hero film that one imagines it to be. Well, that’s the twist in the tale which we will not reveal as it will be a spoiler.

Kandasamy opens with scenes showing ordinary people flocking to a Murugan temple which has become famous as all your wishes can be fulfilled at the temple. All those who submit their woes as petitions to Kandasamy (another name for Lord Muruga) on a piece of paper and tie it to a tree in the temple, their problems mainly financial are solved.

Soon Kandasamy (Vikram) becomes a phenomenon, a caped crusader dressed as a rooster, takes up letters of ordinary folks from the petition tree, and in a Robin Hood way provides cash and succor. The local DIG of Police (Prabhu) suspects that there is something unnatural about it and starts investigating.

Meanwhile there is this brave and daring CBI officer Kandasamy (Vikram), who is on a mission to uncover black money and illegal wealth of rich and corrupt Indians stashed in foreign banks, which he believes is responsible for all the crime in our society. And our hero has the IQ of a genius, the strength of a bull and the speed of a cheetah.

Soon he crosses swords with Pallur Paramajyoti Ponnusamy or PPP (Ashish Vidyarti), the man with a golden tooth and conducts a raid in his palatial bungalow and finds unaccounted cash and documents of various foreign deals worth over Rs 1000 crore! PPP is devastated after the raid and his only daughter Subbalakshmi (Shriya Saran) swears revenge and pretends to fall in love with the dashing IPS officer.

What is the connection between masked crusader Kandasamy and the CBI officer Kandasamy? Why is the CBI Joint Director Krishna Rao (Telugu actor Krishna) protecting Mr. Kandasamy? Can the villains- PPP, Rajmohan of RMG group, and Mexican Pitchumani (Alex) expose and bring Kandasamy to trial? Will the DIG succeed in proving that Kandasamy is no God? The underlining message in the film is, “Money (read black) is the root cause of all evil”.

Don’t ask the answers to all these questions, the idea is to have a chill out time. Watch the action which is fast paced even though slightly long ( 3 hours 12 minutes), chew on your popcorn as the adrenaline goes pumping. The rooster Kandasamy introduction scene where he comes crashing through the dome of a police station, and plays around with the bad comic cop (Mansoor Ali Khan) is terrific.

But the highlight is Kandasamy dressed as a woman, a la Aishwarya Rai and teaching Charly and Mayilsamy a fitting lesson is hilarious. The verbal foreplay between the quarrelsome Kandasamy and Subbalakshmi is quite ticklish, and Kandasamy’s blindfolded action scenes in Mexico are stunning.

Technically the film is chic with slick production values. The innovative camera angles and lighting of cinematographer NK Ekambaram makes the film visually stunning. He has given a different colour tone to the Mexico episode of the film. Thotta Tharini’s set designs are fabulous, the luxury bedroom of the heroine and the interior of the plush bus used as villain’s hide out is fantastic. The VFX work of Movinstilz makes it picture perfect, the night effect scenes especially the fight scene in the corn field.

Music of Devi Sri Prasad blends with the mood of the film. Two of the six songs, Excuse me Mr.Kandasamy… and Yen Peru Meenakumari have been well picturised and lavishly shot. There is grandeur and richness in every shot in the film, no wonder it took two years to complete. Susy Ganeshan who does a cameo in the film joins the big league of directors in Tamil for directing an adventurous film with an underlying message.

But the film indubitably belongs to Vikram and he rocks. He is mesmerizing and has given an extra dimension to the characters he plays in the film and steers it to the winning post. There are very few people in Indian cinema who can do the larger-than-life fantasy character as easily as Vikram.

Shriya sizzles throughout and carries the glamorous role with élan and the attitude. Prabhu fits the role of an investigative cop, while the villains are a bit clichéd. Some of the film's most enjoyable moments are Vadivel‘s comedy track as Thengakadai Thenappan. The scene where Prabhu takes him to the police station for questioning and uses water cannon is a scream!

In short, Kandasamy is a roller coaster ride of pure unadulterated masala. So go ahead, make your matinee.

Verdict

Block Buster Of 2009 & Paisa Vasool

Ajith and Vijay going to act in a movie

Ajith & Vijay are set to take of Tamil Magga Dheera

Actors Ajith and Vijay who are busy in acting in their respective movies are all set to feature as a lead in the Tamil remake of Telugu movie “Magga Dheera”. The movie which features Telugu actor Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan in lead is ringing the collection bells at the tollywood box office.

So, among a stiff competition the movie’s remake rights were clasped by producer Kalaipuli. S. Thanu. The movie is all set to be made in Tamil with a very few changes and there is a twist in the Tamil remake. The Tamil remake of “Magga Dheera” will be a multi starrer film as actor Ajith and Vijay will be acting in this film in different characters. According to sources, Ajith will be seen as a king in the second half and Vijay will be seen as a college going guy in the first half of the film.

Sources, also confirm that director SS Rajamouli who directed the Telugu “Magadheera” has been offered the direction duty by Mr. Kalaipuli.

If this proves to be true , than the movie will be a sure blockbuster as both the fans of Ajith and Vijay will thrive hard to make it run for 100 days.

Dravid back in Indian ODI team

Former India captain Rahul Dravid was today recalled to India's one-day squad for the forthcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa next month.

Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Subramaniam Badrinath and Ravindra Jadeja were the notabe ommisions from the squad that won the one-day series in West Indies in June.

Amit Mishra was recalled to the one-day squad for the first time since he made his debut in 2003.

While Rahul Dravid has made a return to the Indian team after a gap of nearly two years, Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina have also made a comeback.

The 36-year-old Dravid's last ODI appearance was as far back as in October, 2007.

As expected, Tendulkar who made himself unavailable for the four-match ODI series in the West Indies in June-July, is back to the squad along with Suresh Raina. An injury had kept Raina away from the West Indies tour.

Virender Sehwag has not been picked as the selectors want to give him some rest after his shoulder surgery.

And with Zaheer Khan too ruled out after a similar surgery, Ashish Nehra will now partner Ishant Sharma with the new ball.

UP all-rounder Praveen Kumar got the nod ahead of Sudeep Tyagi for the last seamer's slot.

Tamilnadu captain Dinesh Karthik, who came in for the West Indies ODIs as replacement for Virender Sehwag, and Abhishek Nayar, who edged out Ravindra Jadeja, held on to their places.

Chief selector Krish Srikkanth and his colleagues in the selection committee went by the players' performance in their last ODI series in the West Indies, which they won 2-1, besides their fitness levels which was assessed in Delhi and Mumbai under coach Gary Kirsten's hawk eyes.

India squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar.

Cheran’s snail mail -Pokkisham

Mobile phones, text messaging, e-mail, fax et al have long elbowed out letters as a form of communication.

Writing letters and relying on the Indian Postal Service to have them delivered would seem a waste of time for most people when contact can be established in a jiffy.

But in the not-so-distant past, which you definitely were a part of, letters were what people wrote to be in touch.

Cheran’s Pokkisham is about a romance between a couple ( in 1971), who are miles apart and whose only means of communication are letters. The tagline says it all. Nee Enukku Ezhuthiya Kadhal Kadhingal Thaan En Pokkisham (The love letters you wrote to me are my treasures).

Imagine a postman stopping by your gate and dropping mail into your letterbox. Indolently you walk upto it and check them out. The brown envelope that catches your eye makes it pop out of its sockets.

You go crazy with excitement if the mail is from your beloved. With shaky hands, you tear open the envelope and pull out the letter. The ritual of receiving your beloved’s letter by post and reading it over and over again was not without its share of excitement.

In Pokkisham produced by Hithesh Jhabhak, Cheran has attempted to recreate the magic of that past which contrasts today’s fast-paced world driven by technology. It begins almost like a classic movie, offbeat and intense. The sense of deja vu which the scenes evoke just gets more difficult to shrug off.

A young lad Mahesh (Aryan Rajesh) stumbles upon his father’s love life and impressed by the dignity involved in the romance, he sets out to meet his father’s ex-lover.

A bunch of letters written by a young Hindu boy Lenin (Cheran) from Kolkata to Nadhira (Padmapriya), who hails from a conservative Muslim family in Nagoor, is what the movie revolves around.

What starts as ‘pen friendship’ slowly blossoms into romance. But there’s is an unrequited love. In the end it is for Mahesh to give their love a fitting conclusion. He sets out to find Nadhira and hand over the letters written by his dad but not delivered to her.

The pace is Pokkisham’s major problem. The progression of the plot is so slow that it tests the patience of the audience at many places. Cheran’s screenplay has little to excite the masses.

Art direction by Vairabalan deserves a mention. The trams, huge post offices and post boxes of Kolkata are a treat to the eyes . Rajesh Yadav captures the flashback scenes with a clever change of tone. Sabesh Murali’s background score is good.

Cheran sticks to playing a mild mannered youth, who romances and narrates poems. A tailor-made role for him. Cheran is better off as an actor than a filmmaker. Padmapriya as Nadhira is apt for the role. Her expressions are spontaneous and good.

If only Cheran had managed to infuse a bit more pace into the proceedings, Pokkisham would have been the treasure it was thought out to be.

The right choice for a complete Man

Next Friday is my Boss Birthday. He is kind of a man who likes to be unique in everything. While choosing a gift for my Boss, I don’t want to be too personal or exorbitant.

It's like, you know the person and something about his personal taste and interests but you don’t know what he already has or would like to have from an employee. So, there is always a risk of gifting a dozen of golf balls which will join another hundreds in his garage. So Gadgetophilia has carefully evaluated the aspects and brought out a compilation of usual and unusual gift items.

I was searching for a cool gadget as a gift for his birthday. I also don't want the gift to drill a big hole on my wallet. While searching on the internet, I stumbled on a mens gift online shopping website. OMG!! This has everything which is very unique.

The eye catchy is the traditional gifts. There were also many unusual and luxurious gifts. I don't know which one to buy for him. The electronic gadget gifts, all of them suited his taste. infact everything suites his character and taste.

This website is really for men. Infact women and kids have many sources for their gifts. It's really hard to find gift shops for men. At last I found the treasure. They have Gifts as low as $4.50. The most exiting thing is Christmas gifts. They even have Christmas gifs for women. Where would you find a personalized Christmas gift? That's very very unique. They have also got Luxurious Business gifts for men.

I finally settled for a personalized gift rather than an electronic gadget. I purchased an engraved pocket watch. I also selected a coffee Gift basket from men’s gift baskets.

I am sure that I will get a promotion next year!!!

Swine flu takes two more lives in India

Swine flu today claimed the lives of a four-year-old boy in Chennai and a 35-year-old ayurvedic doctor in Pune, taking the countrywide toll due to the deadly viral infection to six.

The boy, B Sanjay, who was admitted to a private hospital with kidney and liver-related complications and had tested positive for swine flu, died this morning, health officials said in Chennai.

The boy had also been suffering from asthma. This is the first case of flu-related death in Tamil Nadu. 'The boy was in a very critical condition. He had been suffering from asthma and he had been taken from one hospital to another for various complications.

Ultimately he landed up in this hospital for a kidney-related problem...and they found the boy testing positive (for swine flu),' Tamil Nadu Health Secretary V K Subburaj said.

The boy, who was on a ventilator, died following multi- organ failure, S Ilango, Director of Public Health, said. In Pune, the medic, Babasahib Mane, died in the Sassoon Hospital this morning, becoming the third person in the worst-hit Maharashtra city to succumb to swine flu, a senior

health official said.

Mane was ailing for sometime and blood had been found in his sputum in the last couple of days, he said. With the two deaths today, the swine flu toll in the country has climbed to eight.

Pune had reported India's first swine flu death on August three with 14-year-old Reeda Sheikh succumbing to the disease. On Saturday, 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai and 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Tukaram Kokre from Pune had died of swine flu. Pravin Patel, a 43-year-old NRI, died in Ahmedabad on Monday.

A total of 82 fresh cases were reported from across the country yesterday, taking the total number of positive cases to 864. With the number of cases rising rapidly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in and reviewed the situation with Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday.

Singh asked Azad to ensure that his Ministry co-ordinates with state governments on efforts to contain the spread of the infection and set up a panel of experts to correctly disseminate information on H1N1 virus.

Azad has asked people having flu symptoms to take precautions and stay away from public places till their status of infection was clear.

He said three companies were working to develop a swine flu vaccine in the country. 'WHO has provided virus seed to several countries including India. If another other country develops the vaccine before us, we will adopt it,' he said.

13-year-old girl dies

Swine flu claimed yet another life of a 13-year-old girl here today, raising the total number of victims across the country to eight.

Shruti Gawade, a student of Ahilyadevi school, became the sixth victim of the H1N1 virus in the state. Five of them died in Pune itself.

Shruti, a resident of Narayan Peth area, had been kept on ventilator since August 7 when she was brought here after being referred from a private hospital in critical condition, said Dr Pandurang Pawar, Medical Superintendent of Sasoon hospital.

Huge earthquake hits in Indian Ocean

U.S. officials on Monday reported that a huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean and issued a regional tsunami watch for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh that was lifted later.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was about 160 miles (257 kilometers) north of Port Blair in India's Andaman Islands and about 20.6 miles (33 kilometers) deep.

"The danger for a tsunami is real," William Leith, an earthquake manager at the USGS, said in an interview.

By comparison, however, Leith said that Monday's Indian Ocean quake, though very large, was "many times smaller" than a massive earthquake in December 2004 off Indonesia's western island of Sumatra that triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people.

The tsunami alert was later lifted.

Also Monday, an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shook Tokyo and surrounding areas.

Quakes that occur that far apart are typically not related, Leith said, but it was too early to say for sure; he said scientists would be studying the two quakes.

The Indian Ocean earthquake was reported to have struck about 225 miles (365 kilometers) south-southwest of Myanmar, 510 miles (825 kilometers) west of Bangkok, and 1,420 miles (2,295 kilometers) southeast of New Delhi

Film Fare Awards 2008 announced

The 56th Film Fare award was held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) on July 31, 2009 amidst glitz and glamour.

The award for the best Tamil film went to Subramaniapuram and the best director was awarded to Sasikumar for the same film.

The best actor award was bagged by Suriya for Vaaranam Aayiram and best actress went to Parvathy of Poo fame.

The awards for the best supporting actress was given to Simran for Vaaranam Aayiram and best supporting actor went to Ajmal for his performance in Anjathey and Noop Menon for Thirakatha.

Harris Jayaraj was presented with the best music composer award for Vaaranam Aayiram. Best playback singer in the male category went to Naresh Iyer for the same film.

Best playback singer in the female category went to Deepa Mariam for Subramaniapuram and best lyricist is Thamarai for the song Nenjukkul Peithidum in VA..