Nuvvaa Neanaa

“Simran Marupurani Kathalu” aired daily on MaaTV enters its second story for the month of July with “Nuvvaa Neanaa”.

Simran who churned out a brilliant performance as a servile housewife in “Cheethakokachilukka” would be slipping into yet another different role in the new drama.

“Nuvvaa Neanaa” will portray the story of a modern gutsy young woman who fearlessly challenges the people who destroyed her mother’s life and her own future. Simran emits a sense of heroism and clever manipulation in this new serial, which vows to be ultra modern in its appeal.

The versatile actress Simran would be switching roles in this new story that would again speak volumes of her acing prowess. This drama comes packed with revenge, sibling jealousy and lots of action. Renowned artistes such as Subhalekha Sudhakar, Rishi, Shrinivas, Aishwarya, Latha Rao, Maran and Azhagu would also be a part of this new mini-mega, which is being directed by Azhagar.

Sources from Pyramid Saimira state that a stirring screenplay and thrilling visual presentations that have never before been witnessed on small screen would be the cynosure of “Nuvvaa Neanaa”. So try not to miss this.

Story: Subhaa Venkat
Screenplay, Dialogue: Kumaresan
Cinematography: Gopal
Direction: Azhagar
Creative Head: Subhaa Venkat

“Nuvvaa Neanaa"
on Maa TV
Monday to Thursday, daily at 8.30 PM

Aishwarya Rai, affected with Rubella measles

Aishwarya Rai, the apple of the nations eye, is suffering from German measles (Rubella infection), a viral infection characterized by fever, swollen and painful lymph nodes, and a runny nose.
Aishwarya Rai's manager Hari Singh has said that she will not be available for about 10 to 15 days for any promo or shooting as she is suffering from a bout of fever and is advised total rest. He confirmed that Aishwarya Rai has signed Robot and another production by Mani Ratnam, and also that she will be given a 2-month break from Shankars Robot when filming for Mani Ratnams film commences.

Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra gets top French honour

Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra has been conferred with the Officier de la Legion d'Honneur, the highest French distinction, for his contribution to the Indian cinema.
The 'King of romance', whose films have also been released in French cinema halls will be decorated in a special ceremony at the French Embassy in the national capital on July 5.
With nearly 50 year old association with Bollywood, Yash Chopra would join the likes of late Satyajit Ray, Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan among other Indian film personalities to be honoured by the French government with the Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.
"France has a tradition of supporting artists from all over the world. Bestowing the insignia of the Legion of Honour on Mr Chopra, is a recognition of his international artistic career, and his notable efforts in the promotion of cultural exchanges and Indian cinema in the world," said Jerome Bonnafont, Ambassador of France to India.
Bonnafont would confer the award to Yash Chopra at the French Embassy here during an official ceremony.
Chopra , known for making romantic movies has delivered hits like Deewar, Kabhi Kabhi, Darr, Chandni and Silsila. He has so far been associated with around 40 films.

P S Saminathan receives MMA Award

Chennai, June 27: P S Saminathan, chairman and managing director of Pyramid Saimira group, received the MMA Award for Managerial Excellence 2008 in the Service Sector on behalf of Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited at a colourful function in Chennai this evening.The 7th MMA awards were presented by Kewal Handa, president, All India Management Association, and Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-chairman, Cognizant, to four organisations - Pyramid Saimira Theatre Limited (PSTL), TAFE Power Source, Autoprint Machinery Manufacturers Pvt Ltd and Hindustan University.In his acceptance speech, Saminathan thanked the shareholders of the company, and said the shareholders stood by the company in its effort to double the turnover every two months.“I dedicate this award to the employees since every single employee of this company works as an entrepreneur,” he added.Lakshmi Narayanan, speaking on managerial excellence, congratulated the Pyramid Saimira group and its chairman Saminathan for achieving such high levels of growth every two months so much so that the expectations will be high and will not come down.Praising the Pyramid Saimira group’s business model, Lakshmi Narayanan said the group had set a benchmark on innovation in management and achievement of results in a short span to the extent that managements in other companies will be asked the question - if Pyramid Saimira can do it, why not you?Those who are adept at innovative management practices and concepts like the Pyramid Saimira group will bring about changes and be effective in this no-excuses world, Lakshmi Narayanan said.Kewal Handa, congratulating the award winners, said entrepreneurs must motivate employees, be innovative in products and management practices, continue taking risks and bring about change and establish connect with customers.S Gopal, president, Madras Management Association, said the awards were aimed at motivating entrepreneurs and inspiring innovation in management.The awards were received by P S Saminathan on behalf of Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd; Jayashree Venkataraman on behalf of TAFE Power Source; C N Ashok, director, Autoprint Machinery Manufacturers Pvt Ltd, and Elizabeth Verghese, chancellor, Hindustan University.Earlier, Saminathan made a presentation on the Pyramid Saimira group, which Kewal Handa said was outstanding and richly deserved the ovation that it got.The presentation of awards was followed by MMA’s 52nd Annual General Meeting.Rajeev Mecheri, honorary treasurer, MMA, who proposed a vote of thanks, said the awards continued to motivate and inspire entrepreneurs, year after year.

R Rangaraj
Photos: B. Abraham

Pyramid Saimira presents the Fifth story of ‘Simran Thirai’- “Navavelli”

The small screen industry across the country seems to have caught up with a spiritual fervor with the re-invention of the big-budgeted “Ramayana” and “Mahabharatha” dominating the TV screens. Incidentally ‘Simran Thirai’ that has been collecting an overwhelming response from the audience embarks on a divine subject as well, for the month of July. Fittingly titled “Navavelli” this story comes amidst the most auspicious of months, the Aadi season, which celebrates the power of the Shakthi. It will be on air from the 30th of June 2008 from Monday to Friday during the 8.30P.M slot on Jaya TV.

An unsurpassable force of energy in the form of Annai Adhiparasakthi, unites the good and evil deeds of this world safeguarding the interests of human beings. As she fights for justice she instills spiritual faith in them- this concept forms the crux of the new story “Navavelli”.


In “Navavelli” a mortal man aspires to procure the energies of Amman (Simran), by unleashing heavenly secrets. Realizing the effects it would create on earth, Amman induces her devotees Uma Maheshwari and Gayathri Devi to fight the negative and egoistic mortal man whose desire to control the world reaches a zenith point. Amman shows her prowess at every juncture by adorning new avatars to teach the mortal a good lesson.

This is a story that comes to enlighten and instill the power of spiritual forces in this corrupt world. “Navavelli” is packed with mystery, mythology and divinity.

Simran as usual gives a splendid performance that would definitely ear mark her as the one and only all-rounder in Tamil small screen. From the fierce Kaali Mata to the mischievous gypsy girl Simran, adorns more than fourteen different multi-faceted characters surpassing the hype created by “Dasavathaaram”.

Along with Simran this mini-mega has Poovilangu Mohan, O.A.K. Sundar, Anuradha Krishnamoorthy and Subbulaxmi.

Story, Screenplay, Dialogue : Selva Paandi
Cinematography : Azaad
Direction : Aravindhraj
Creative Head : Subhaa Venkat

Indian international flick “Brick Lane” Synopsis & Gallery

“Brick Lane” Synopsis:
The story of a beautiful young Bangladeshi woman, Nazneen, who arrives in 1980s London, leaving behind her beloved sister and home, for an arranged marriage and a new life. Trapped within the four walls of her flat in East London, and in a loveless marriage with the middle aged Chanu, she fears her soul is quietly dying. Her sister Hasina, meanwhile, continues to live a carefree life back in Bangladesh, stumbling from one adventure to the next. Nazneen struggles to accept her own lifestyle, and keeps her head down in spite of life's blows, but she soon discovers that life cannot be avoided--and is forced to confront it the day that the hotheaded young Karim comes knocking at her door.

MMA award for Pyramid Saimira group

Chennai, June 20: The Pyramid Saimira group has been selected by the jury of the Madras Management Association (MMA) for the prestigious MMA Award for Managerial Excellence for 2008.The award, called the 7th MMA Award for Managerial Excellence 2008, will be given away at a function in Chennai on June 27, 2008.Congratulating group chairman and managing director, P S Saminathan, MMA president S Gopal said the award was for the company’s work in the services sector category.The award will be given away during the valedictory preceding MMA’s 52nd annual general meeting scheduled for Friday, 27 June 2008, in Chennai.In the communication to Saminathan, Gopal requested him to present “their best practices in a seminar on ‘Managerial Excellence’ which precedes the awards function for a duration of about 20 to 25 mins followed by interaction with the audience for about 10 minutes”.

“21” Synopsis & wallpapers

21 Synopsis:
Ben Campbell is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who--needing to pay school tuition--finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor, Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams.

Malayalam filmdom splits into two

Kochi (IANS): The factional feud in the Malayalam film industry reached its climax Monday as top artistes, including directors and producers, announced the formation of a new organisation in defiance of a leading group for technicians.
Malayalam film superstar Mohanlal, announcing the decision, said: 'A new organization has become a necessity and we are sure that this new one would take the industry to greater heights.'
Director Siddique has been named to head the adhoc committee, which will oversee the formation of the new organisation. The committee has been given three weeks' time to formally launch the organisation.
The meeting was attended by almost all leading actors of the Malayalam film industry including superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty.
For the past two weeks, Kerala's film industry has been in a flux after a feud between leading technicians' organisation, Federation of Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), and the powerful actors' organisation, Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA).
The MACTA comprises 19 organisations that represent all those associated with filmmaking, from drivers to directors besides script writers and professionals from every field - barring producers, actors and actresses, who owe allegiance to AMMA.
A standoff between director Thulasidas and actor Dileep has caused the fracas.
Thulasidas has alleged that Dileep, after taking a payment of Rs.4 million four years back for a film, withdrew from the project following a string of flops by the director.
The MACTA has said the actor should work for the director while the AMMA is reportedly supporting Dileep.

(Courtesy:Indo Asian News Service)

Finding Amanda Trailer

Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone in Bollywood film

Mumbai, June 14: Bollywood film-maker Sajid Nadiadwala has signed Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone for his forthcoming film ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, starring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor.The movie, directed by Sabir Khan, is set against a Hollywood background in which Akshay Kumar plays a stuntman.Nadiadwala is in the process of getting on board some more Hollywood stars to lend an authentic touch to the film.“This film is my most ambitious project and I am not leaving any stone unturned. We had been speaking to Stallone’s agents for a while now and the deal has finally come through,” Nadiadwala said.The film-maker says Sylvester has two scenes in the film which will be shot in Hollywood.“I am not sure how many days Sylvester will have to put in; we are yet to work that out,” he said.According to Nadiadwala, the scenes with the ‘Rocky’ star will be shot in Universal Studios and Kodak Theatre, the venue of Oscar awards.Refusing to divulge what Stallone would be paid for the role, Nadiadwala said that the film is budgeted at Rs 80 crore.

(PTI)

“The Incredible Hulk” Review

With a strong cast, plot and action, The Incredible Hulk is another resounding Marvel Studios success. There is not much to mine here—a scientist is poisoned in an experiment and he's triggered by anger to become a raging green hunk of muscle—but what's there to be made is simple and well done.
Edward Norton, a chameleon who is Hollywood's best actor, adds depth to Marvel's catalog, much as Robert Downey, Jr. enhances Iron Man. The picture opens with a set-up montage that mirrors the opening credit segment of the CBS television series of the same name. Look for clever nods to TV show actors Lou Ferrigno and the late Bill Bixby. As the afflicted scientist, Mr. Norton flees to South America, where he adopts an adorably alert dog—brace for some tough-to-watch animal cruelty, though not as gratuitous as the dog's death in I Am Legend —studies Portuguese and corresponds with a mysterious fellow scientist about curing the condition. The opening shot of the Latin American urban hillside is impressive, drawing the viewer into his shadowy existence.
With his pointy-eared canine pal, Mr. Norton's expatriate, who is kind, affectionate, and demonstrative, works to soothe and control his explosive alter ego and he is both fastidious and fallible. When he's cut, he bleeds and working in a Third World bottling plant doesn't help. The intelligent scientist, whose handicap was caused by an irrational drive to reshape man as a weapon, is a prisoner of the mind/body dichotomy; he must contain and transform himself through exhaustive, diligent restraint.
Mr. Norton, blending passion and reason for the perfect sinewy scientist in love, is neither too tortured nor too empty. More surprisingly, Liv Tyler is effective as his former lover, whom he inadvertently injured in the Hulk's initial outburst, and William Hurt is outstanding as her military general father. Tim Roth as a heinous, power-lusting Russian, hulking in his own way, also hits the mark. Hurt mimics gruff Sam Elliott in the same role from Ang Lee’s uneven 2003 version, adding a sinister edge without camping it up to Nick Nolte proportions. Tyler's not plausible as a college professor but she is convincing as an intelligent young woman in love with a man worth admiring and the romantic angle strengthens the story. As she stands back in horror during one of the Hulk's eruptions, her malicious father declares: "now she'll see."
That sort of psychological subtext runs throughout The Incredible Hulk, which is bogged down in the usual mad scientist stuff of the genre. Mr. Norton's interloper seeks to destroy evidence that, as one villain points out, could be used to advance human progress, and the movie's more comfortable reflecting Mr. Norton's seriousness than when it goes for the joke, though there's plenty of good humor. With Roth's monster in the making lurking on the battlefield—action scenes are pulsating, with an Atlas Shrugged-like Project X soundwave scene that's particularly powerful—and Hurt's menacing militaristic authority, Mr. Norton's sensitive thinker must stay on the move, a godlike man alone against the world, struggling with battle fatigue and flashbacks and the pressures of stealing Promethean fire.
A thrilling, if thoroughly B-movie level, climax plays out in the streets of New York City, repudiating any earlier anti-science sentiment—the Hulk can be controlled—and paving the way for an expansion of Marvel's burgeoning superhero universe, which is not entirely heroic. With romantic love, breathtaking transformations (this Hulk is made of bulk with a touch of Kong) and riveting comic book action, The Incredible Hulk is wholly entertaining and positively credible.

U.S. Release Date: June 13, 2008

Distributor: Universal

Director: Louis Leterrier

Writer: Zak Penn
Producer: Avi Arad, Gale Ann Hurd

Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tuler, Tim Roth

Running Time: 1 hour and 54 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content)

“Shriya Saran” Bikini stills for “Maxim” Magazine

First it was Nayantara, now it is Shriya. Yes! Shriya has posed in a bikini. But unlike Nayantara, it is not for a movie. It is for the famous fashion magazine Maxim. On the cover of Maxim’s June issue, Shriya Saran stands majestically in her bikini with a look that conveys two meanings: “Come here, boys” for men and “It takes guts plus a charming figure to pose in a bikini” for women. She looks absolutely sexy in the bikini. Her perfectly tanned and gleaming complexion will make people from the West envy her. It does not stop with this. There are more pictures of her inside the magazine, all hot and sexy. It takes a lot of hard work to do this – Dieting, exercise, sunbathing, practice (for the pose, looks, and grace), and above all confidence!

Asin signs up for London Dreams

South India's top heroine, Asin, who could go places with the Hindi version of 'Ghajini' with Aamir Khan, has signed up another Hindi film, 'London Dreams', co-starring Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. The film will be directed by Vipul Shah.
It's also learnt that she will do a film for director Priyadarshan. The movie will have Akshay Kumar in the lead role. Shooting could begin for 'Venus' in November.
She has done her own dubbing for the Hindi version of Ghajini, and industry insiders are impressed by her talent and looks. So much so, despite the release of 'Dasavathaaram' on June 13 in Tamil and Telugu versions this June, Asin has set her sights on Bollywood and is expected to make Mumbai her home - at least for the time being.
In any case, 'Dasavathaaram' will also have a run in Hindi as 'Dasavathaar', which will be a big plus for her forays into Bollywood. The Kamal movie will establish her as a star in her own right.

R Rangaraj
News Reel India
(http://newsreelindia.in )

Bollywood stars feast on prizes

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Bollywood's brightest stars and about 2,000 of their enthusiastic fans stayed up into the early hours of Monday in the Thai capital to see the film "Chak De! India," carry off top honors at one of the Indian film industry's glitziest awards ceremonies. "Chak De! India," with an inspirational theme pegged to women's field hockey, won a slew of top awards from the Indian International Film Academy: best director, for Shimit Amin; best actor, for Shah Rukh Khan; best story; and best screenplay shared with "Life in a Metro.
" The popular and critically acclaimed film's lock on the big awards was broken only by the best actress honors won by Kareena Kapoor for "Jab We Met." As many as 600 million people worldwide had been expected to watch the awards ceremony.
which is staged abroad to promote Indian films to an international audience. The awards were launched in 2000, with earlier ceremonies were held in the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Singapore.
"It's the biggest celebration of the Indian movie industry." said Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft Entertainment, which helped organize the awards ceremony.
The winning supporting performances both came from "Life in a Metro," with Irrfan Khan carrying off the male honors, and Konkana Sen Sharma taking the prize for the distaff side. Prominent among Sunday night's early winners were Vivek Oberoi, who captured the award for the best performance in a negative role for "Shootout at Lokhandwala," and Govinda, who won for best performance in a comic role for "Partner.
" A. R. Rahman captured the awards for best music direction for "Guru," while Javed Akhtar took the prize for best lyricist for "Om Shanti Om." Shreya Ghoshal who was nominated for four of the five slots in the best female playback singer category won the honors for "Barso Re" from "Guru," while Shaan was named best male playback singer for "Jab Se Tere Naina" from "Saawariya.
" Song and dance number were highlights of the evening and helping heighten anticipation for the naming of the big four awards closing out the night: best actor and actress, best direction, and best movie. Seven films had contended for best picture: "Guru," ''Chak De India," ''Jab We Met," ''Om Shanti Om," ''Life In A Metro," ''Partner," and "Taare Zameen Par.
" "It's not about competition, it is about fraternity," Abhishek Bachchan, a contender for leading actor, said as he entered the awards hall, which was mobbed by fans. Other big names of Bollywood, including Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan and Priyanka Chopra, also paraded down a green carpet, substituting for red in a bid to spread awareness about global warming.
The Mumbai-based Indian film industry, commonly called Bollywood, churns out some 800 Hindi-language movies a year three times Hollywood's production rate. Hundreds more films are produced in southern India.
(Courtesy: Yahoo)

“Polar Opposites” Trailer

“Kung fu Panda” gallery