Will, Jada Pinkett Smith to host Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Hollywood actor Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett are set to host this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

The star couple said that they are both humbled and honored to take part in the 16th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert to be held on Dec. 11 in Oslo, Norway.

“The opportunity to recognize the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience,” People quoted the couple as saying in a statement.

“We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year, and look forward to sharing the historic evening with artists and humanitarians from across the globe,” they added.

“Together they’ve had a global impact on the arts and philanthropy and will be excellent ambassadors for peace,” said Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said of the Smiths.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has also lined up Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith and Donna Summer to perform at the concert.

Dadasaheb Phalke award for music legend Manna Dey

Ninety-year-old playback legend Manna Dey - who belted out evergreen songs like “Ae mere pyaare watan” and “Zindagi kaisi hai paheli” - is being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, his family said Wednesday.
“We got a call from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Tuesday to inform us about the award (for 2007). He is right now in New York for some cultural programe. He will return to Bangalore Thursday. We are very happy for him,” his family member Anuradha Dey told IANS on phone.

Born as Prabodh Chandra Dey May 1, 1919 to Purna Chandra and Mahamaya Dey, the singer was a name to reckon with in the Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3,500 songs over the course of his career.

He started his career in playback singing with the movie “Tamanna” in 1943. The song was an instant hit and later he sang a solo, “Upar Gagan Vishal”, in the 1950 movie “Mashal”.

His all-time hits include “Sur na saje kya gaun main”, “Na to karanwa ki talash hai na to humsafar ki talash hain”, “Puchho na kaise maine rain bitayee”, “Laga chunari main daag”, “Aaja sanam madhur chandani mein hum”, “Dil ka haal sune dilwala”, “Ye raat bhigi bhigi, ye masta fijzayen”, “Jhanak jhanak tori baaje payaliya”, “Tu pyar ka saagar hai”, “Chunari sambhal gori udi chali jaye re” and “Ay meri Zohara”.

He also teamed up with Kishore Kumar for hit numbers like “Yeh dosti hum nahin torenge” (”Sholay”) and “Ek chatur naar” (”Padosan”).

How can one forget “Yaari hai imaan mera yaar meri zindagi” from the film “Zanjeer”? He also sang for the Bengali film industry, sometimes teaming up with Hemant Kumar.

He sang a duet “Ke prothom kachhe esechi” with Lata Mangeshkar for the Bengali movie “Sankhyabela”.

Fans’ associations-hindrances in the way of Malayalam cinema

After his Vairam became a box office success, MA Nishad is smiling from ear to ear. At a press conference held recently, he said that fans’ associations were one of the biggest hurdles in the way of Malayalam movies. He has tried to revive commercial films with Vairam, something that is slowly disappearing from the scene. He has concentrated on highlighting the emotional parts of Vairam.

Fans’ associations-hindrances in the way of Malayalam cinema

After his Vairam became a box office success, MA Nishad is smiling from ear to ear. At a press conference held recently, he said that fans’ associations were one of the biggest hurdles in the way of Malayalam movies. He has tried to revive commercial films with Vairam, something that is slowly disappearing from the scene. He has concentrated on highlighting the emotional parts of Vairam.

Mohan Lal wants to work with Kamal again

The most happening actors of Indian film industry had spelled the most overpowering performance with “Unnai Pol Oruvan’ (remake of “A Wednesday’). Indeed, the film critics and trade analysts have strongly admitted that “UPO’ has overshadowed “A Wednesday’ in more panoramas.

Accordingly, much elated with the film’s success both Kamal Haasan and Mohan Lal cannot stop singing praises of each other’s performance. In an interview, Mohan Lal has stated that Kamal Haasan is a wonderful actor and deserves more appreciation than he has been endowed now.

“I am really interested in working with him for more projects in future’ adds Mohan Lal who enacted the role of Anupam Kher in this remake.

Mohan Lal wants to work with Kamal again

The most happening actors of Indian film industry had spelled the most overpowering performance with “Unnai Pol Oruvan’ (remake of “A Wednesday’). Indeed, the film critics and trade analysts have strongly admitted that “UPO’ has overshadowed “A Wednesday’ in more panoramas.

Accordingly, much elated with the film’s success both Kamal Haasan and Mohan Lal cannot stop singing praises of each other’s performance. In an interview, Mohan Lal has stated that Kamal Haasan is a wonderful actor and deserves more appreciation than he has been endowed now.

“I am really interested in working with him for more projects in future’ adds Mohan Lal who enacted the role of Anupam Kher in this remake.

Kamal, Mohan Lal and Shah Rukh in ‘Pazhassi Raja’ Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/kamal-mohan-lal-and-shah-rukh-in-pazhas

Padmashree Kamal Haasan has dubbed a prologue for Mammooty-Sarath Kumar multilingual starrer “Pazhassi Raja’. The film is directed by Hariharan and is crafted by ace writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair. Kamal Haasan, who happens to be an ardent buff of Vasudevan Nair, had voluntarily approached Hariharan to offer him the opportunity.

Well, the Malayalam version will have Mohan Lal introducing Pazhassi Raja to audiences with a 45-sec prologue. It has been revealed that Shah Rukh Khan will dub for the same part in Hindi version.

The film is based on historical epic of Pazhassi Raja, a native king of Wynad in Malabar area of Kerala while Sarath Kumar plays the role of Edachena Kunkan, Pazhassi Raja’s “Thalapathy’ (Commander in Chief).

Maestro Ilayaraja has scored music while academy award winner Resul Pookutty is the sound editor. Earlier plans were to release the film for Ramzan and now it has been postponed to October 2.

Singing Manoj K Jayan

Known for his roles as a villain in numerous Malayalam films, Manoj K Jayan showcased his singing abilities to the audience at the inaugural ceremony of the seventh Mullassery Raju Music Awards. He sang “Anuragaganam pole…’ after which people wanted to hear more of him so he also sang “Oru Pushpam Mathram…’. Let’s see if the actor goes commercial with his hidden talent.

VK Prakash’s film to release in October

Director VK Prakash’s film, Gulumaal is set to release next month. Starring Jayasurya and Kunchacko Boban, the film is slated to be a comedy entertainer. If it does well at the box office or not, we’ll have to wait for time to tell!

Honorary degrees for Mohanlal, Resul Pookutty and Sastrikal

The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit Tuesday decided to confer D.Litt to superstar Mohanlal, Oscar award winner Resul Pookutty and veteran Sanskrit scholar M.H. Sastrikal.

Speaking to IANS, state Education Minister M.A. Baby said the decision has been made taking into consideration their outstanding performances in their respective fields.

“The syndicate of the university has cleared the proposal and now it has to be cleared by the senate,” he said.

The Sree Sankaracharya University is situated in Kalady, the birth place of Adi Sankaracharya, in Ernakulam district.

Shobana loves cinema!

Two-time National award winning actress Shobana has expressed her love for cinema and that she is happy with the changes taking place in both commercial and art films. A lot of commercial movies that star her favorite actors do well and also win National awards.

Robinhood postponed by a week

Prithviraj starrer Robinhood has been delayed. The movie was supposed to have a Ramzan release, but director Joshy wants to make some last minute changes in the film and now it will be released a week later. Starring Bhavana, Jayasuriya and Narain, the film is about a thief who is very good at stealing from ATMs.

Gautham Menon casts Dileep

Tamil film genius Gautham Menon has cast actor Dileep in one of the three films that he will be directing the next year. AR Rahman will be the music composer for the film. It promises to be an entertainer and the rest of the details are yet to be divulged.

Actress Ramya Krishnan celebrates her birthday

Actress Ramya Krishnan celebrated her 39th birthday yesterday (Sep 15). Since the actress was busy shooting for a TV serial “Thangam’, she had to spend the entire day over there feting the occasion. The entire cast and crew of “Thangam’: Vijayakumar, Ravi Varma, Joy, actresses Seema, Anuradha, Manju Bhargavi, Kaveri, Jyothi, creative director Naachiyaar and other crewmembers offered her special gifts and Ramya Krishnan had cut the cake over there.

Ramya Krishnan was born in Chennai on September 15, 1970 and started her acting career at the age of 13. She made her debut in female lead with “Vellai Manasu’ pairing up with Y.Gee. Mahendran.

She holds special mention for having performed various roles of a glam-doll, a caring wife, a devoted mom, an arrogant vamp, and even a goddess.

Mollywood movie “Vairam” goes to Bollywood

Finally Director Nishad. M. A’s “Vairam” is slated to release on September 20. N. Shiva Rao produces the film. Cheriyan Kalpakavadi whose earlier work includes Sarvakalasala, Ulladakkam and many other super hits does the script. The cinematographer of the movie is Sanjeev Shankar and his work includes the stylish film “Dubai” and many others. Stills by Mahadevan Thamby.
The music composing is done by M. Jayachandran and the music’s lyrics is by Gireesh Puthencherry. The singers include “Gana Gandharvan” K. J. Yesudas, 2007 national award winner Sankar Mahadevan and latest sensation Vijay Yesudas. The songs of the movie are already a hit.
Meanwhile offers are pouring down for the remake rights of the movie from Bollywood even before the release of the movie. When enquired sources has confirmed this report and has told that final discussions with a major Bollywood production company is going on.
So we can expect that “Vairam” will release in Hindi with a major Bollywood cast. The original director of the film, Nishad M. A has told that the movie will be a youth oriented one.

Kanchivaram was supposed to have Mohanlal

National award winning film Kanchivaram’s director Priyadarshan is still elated about the film’s success. According to him, the hit film was supposed to have Mohanlal playing the lead, but since he didn’t have the dates, the role went to Prakash Raj instead, who then went on to win a National award for the role. He also confirmed that Prakash Raj had acted in the movie free of charge.

Malayalam Movie Viaram On September 20

Super star Suresh Gopi’s new flick Vairam has been scheduled to grace screens on September 20.
Directed by Nishad. M. A and produced by N. Shiva Rao under the banner Cinema NSR (I) Pvt. Cheriyan Kalpakavadi has written the script.
The cast are Pasupathi, Mukesh,Dhanya Mary, Meera Vasudev and others. The film is cinematographed by Sanjeev Shanker and stills are by Mahadevan Thambi.

Malayalam Movie Viaram On September 20

Super star Suresh Gopi’s new flick Vairam has been scheduled to grace screens on September 20.
Directed by Nishad. M. A and produced by N. Shiva Rao under the banner Cinema NSR (I) Pvt. Cheriyan Kalpakavadi has written the script.
The cast are Pasupathi, Mukesh,Dhanya Mary, Meera Vasudev and others. The film is cinematographed by Sanjeev Shanker and stills are by Mahadevan Thambi.

Mammootty’s ‘Pazhassi Raja’ to be released on Gandhi’s birth anniversary

Mammootty and Sarath Kumar starrer “Pazhassi Raja”, a tale of a valorous freedom fighter, is all set for release in five languages — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi — on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary Oct 2.
“The film will throw light on the atrocities by the British and how people suffered at their hands. We have made the movie after intense research. Suresh Krishna, Manoj K. Jayan and Sarath Kumar play prominent roles in the film,” Malayalam superstar Mammootty said.

Directed by Hariharan and produced by Gokulam Gopalan, the movie tells the story of a warrior King of Kerala who revolted against the British well before the 1857 sepoy mutiny.

Denying reports that “Pazhassi Raja” has been portrayed as the first freedom fighter in in the film, Sarath Kumar said: “We have not indulged in such act. He is respected and revered in Kerala for his patriotic spirit. Historians have been saying that the first uprising against British was 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, but Pazhassi Raja fought them long back. We have also mentioned Thippu Sultan, Marudha Pillai and Poolithevan in the film.”

Ilayaraja has scored the music for the hostorical and Padmapriya will be seen in female lead in it.

It’s celebration time for Puthiya Mugham team

Puthiya Mugham has been a huge box office hit. The film’s team can’t stop rejoicing. It reportedly grossed over two crores in 17 days. Deepan and Prithviraj, the team of Puthiya Mugham, are ready to come together for another film, which will have most of the technicians from Puthiya Mugham.

Malayalam Dreams for Vikram

Talented actor Vikram is reaping the success of his latest flick “Kanthasamy”. He has expressed his desire to act in Malayalam movies while he was in Kerala to promote his film. But he will have to adjust his schedule in order to make space for more films. Let’s see if he does appear in Malayalam films.

Dileep is ‘Valayar Paramashivam’

We are sure about your familiarity with this name of ‘Valayar Parashivam’. Yes, the same name you have heard in the Dileep-Kavya Madhavan super hit ‘Runway’. The actor is now back to play this title character in the new movie, to be directed by Joshy. Planned as a hilarious action thriller in the scripts by Sibi K Thomas - Udhay Krishna, the movie will be a sequel to ‘Runway’. ‘Valayar Paramashivam’ is expected to start its shoot by the first months of January 2010.

Meanwhile Dileep has completed shooting for ‘Swantham Lekhakan’ which will be the next release of the star. Directed by cinematographer P Sukumar, the movie is also the comeback project of actress Gopika.

Loudspeaker cleared by Censor Board

Another one of Mammootty’s upcoming films, Loudspeaker, received its Censor Board certificate and has got a U certificate. Directed by Jayaraj, Loudspeaker has Bollywood actress Gracy Singh playing the female lead. The film is set for an 18 September release and promises to be a message giving comedy.

Kaanakanmani puts forth unborn woes

Director Akku Akbar’s film Kaanakanmani is about the story of unborn children who were aborted by their parents before they could see the light of the day. The movie stars Jayaram and Padmapriya and promises not to get preachy, but to simply be a good narration from the point of view of the victim.

Adoor gets his 5th National Award for direction

Ace Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan got his fifth National Award for best direction for “Nallu Pennungal”, making him the only second person to win the prestigious award five or more times. The 55th edition of the awards were announced in New Delhi Monday.

“This is a film based on four different stories. The treatment of the film is special because all the four stories have been tied up and this has never been tried out before,” said Adoor.

“Every film of mine is different and I am happy I have won it again,” said Adoor.

With the latest, the renowned director has won nine National Awards since 1972 when he made his first feature film. Only film maestro Satyajit Ray, with six best director awards, has won the this prestigious award more times than Adoor.

Adoor previously was adjudged best director for “Swayamvaram” (1972), “Mukhamugham” 1984), “Anantaram” (1987) and “Mathilukal” (1990).

Adoor is one of the six Malayalis whose names figure in the list of National Award winners for 2007. Others are Priyadarshan (best film for “Kanchivaram” in Tamil), Ousepachen (best music for “Ore Kadal”), B. Ajith, (best editor for “Nallu Pennungal”), Patanam Rashid, best make-up artist for (”Paradeshi”) and Sabu Cyril (best art director for Hindi film “Om Shanti Om”).

Ajith, who was named the best editor, said the credit for the award goes to Adoor.

“I never expected this award. For this film the entire credit should go to the directorial vision of Adoor. With this award my responsibilities increases,” said Ajith.

Ousepachen, who scored for his music in Mammootty-starrer “Ore Kadal”, said: “Of course I am delighted. I never expected an award for this because I felt I would be edged out in the competition. This is certainly going to be my cherished moment.”

“Ore Kadal” also won the National Award for best Malayalam film.

“I am really delighted that I have been selected for a National Award for the first time. This film was one where the story demanded a lot from my side. So I am really happy that I have been rewarded for my hard work,” said Rashid, who won for his efforts in Mohan Lal-starrer “Paradeshi”.

Sonia and Kavya to move on!

Kavya Madhavan and Tamil’s Kadhal Devathai Sonia Agarwal are the two heroines who tasted sour grapes too early in their marriage life. Recently Kavya Madhavan has applied for her divorce in Kochi high court. Following this heartbreak, even Sonia-Selvaragavn pair has applied for divorce under mutual consent.

Despite the fact that both their marriages have turned to be a fool’s gold, they have fresh ideas for their professional life.

Sonia has signed up as the lead character for a brand-new mega serial in Kalaingnar TV. Looks like the actress had guaranteed that she won’t pull back like how she did last time for the serial ‘Naanal’.

Meanwhile Kavya had also received offers from all the sides, and now she has signed up for a project with Major Ravi. Kavya will be cast opposite Prithviraj for this one. It’s heard that Kavya will be enacting the role of a CBCID officer while Prithvi will be doing the role of a black-magician.

Kanika- Jayaram team up again

After their super hit pairing in Bhagyadevata, Kanika and Jayaram will be seen together again in My Big Father, directed by P Mahesh.

The film will be produced by PA Sebastian under the banner of Time Add Entertainment. Kanika will be playing a housewife and Jayaram, her husband.

Samvritha Sunil Unveils the Official Website of “Vairam”

Samvritha Sunil unveiled the official website of the Malayalam movie “Vairam”. The function was held at Kalloor Stadium, Ernakulam.

The film is directed by Nishad.M.A and is written by Cheriyan Kalpakavadi. N.Shiva Rao produces the film under the banner of CinemaNSR (I) P. Limited. The film is expected to release during Ramzaan time. Based on social relevance the movie “Vairam” is the story of a father’s fight for justice after his daughter Vairamani (Dhanya) is brutally molested and killed. Pasupathi plays the role of Sivaraman, an officer in a bank in Kerala.

Originally a Tamilian, he is married to a Malayali girl, Devi (Meera Vasudev). When money and political power influence the judiciary, Sivaraman (Pasupathy) has no other option than to track down the culprit on his own. Annie Jacob (Samvrutha Sunil), an investigative Journalist of a popular Magazine is on trail of the case, trying to bring up the story which becomes sensational.

Adv. Ravi Varma (Suresh Gopi) takes initiative to reopen the case. The DYSP of crime branch Thomas Erali (Mukesh) who does not believe in the usual police tactics, investigates the case in his unique humorous manner. The Journalist, Advocate and Police officer together battle to bring out the truth and at last reveal who is who behind the scene.