Indira Vizha

Life is an exciting drama and all human beings are mere players in the greatest production. Human life allocates value to relationships. Apart from our closest circle of relatives and friends, we get to meet a lot of people in our lives. Among the diverse lot, some remain with us as our friends and due to certain differences, some become our foes. Indira Vizha deals with the consequence of such a tainted and embittered relationship. 

Santosh (Sreekanth) is a cheerful young man who works as a programme executive for a local TV channel. Hard-working and full of vigour to grow in the competitive world of entertainment, Santosh is always on the look out for ideas to enrich his presentations. Santosh meets Savithri (Hemamalini), a bright young Law student through one of his innovative programmes titled 'Asadu No. 1'. Working in close association, both of them get to know each other and fall in love. Subsequently, their love gains acceptance from their respective families and soon, the wedding gets finalized. Meanwhile, the channel's owner suddenly decides to transfer the management responsibilities to his wife Kamini (Namitha). Kamini is pretty, wily and adventurous. Soon, she takes charge of the channel's activities and in connection with the same, meets Santosh. The meeting shocks Santosh and Kamini. 

In the flashback that follows, Kamini and Santosh are shown as two bubbly youngsters madly in love with each other. When Santosh brings up the matter of an early marriage, Kamini does not concur. Fiercely ambitious, she prefers to settle down in her career well before familial responsibilities envelop her. Disappointed and confused and not knowing how to convince Kamini, Santosh drops his decision and soon, work takes him away from the city; her career distracts Kamini. Thus, both of them drift apart and away from each other. 

Cut to the present: Kamini is excited to see Santosh in her domain. His nearness excites her and caught in the daze, she decides to pull Santosh into her web and seduce him. Even knowing that he is engaged and soon to be married, she flirts with him using her position and power and in one vulnerable moment, tries to make a big move on Santosh. Realizing that Kamini is trying to transform the friendship into an extra-marital affair, Santosh tries to wriggle out of her hold. But cunning and result-oriented Kamini chases him and when he continues to put her off, she uses a wicked plan against him. Kamini files a complaint against Santosh for attempting to rape her. The scandal wrecks Santosh's reputation as well as his understanding with Savithri; friends and relatives look down at him. Insulted and hurt, Santosh takes the matter to court. So many twists and turns follow; is Santosh finally able to prove his stand? Does he escape from crafty Kamini's traps? Does his marriage pass the endurance test? How does Savithri react to the whole episode? 

Wait and watch Indira Vizha to know! This film is inspired by a Hindi film, which was inspired by an English film, which was inspired by...

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Vetttaikkaran: Vijay’s get up and Rajamundry schedule

Vijay starrer Vettaikkaran’s first round of shooting, held in Rajamundry (Andhra Pradesh), has been completed. The crew will return to Chennai soon and get ready for the next round of shooting, which will most likely be held in AVM Studios.

In Rajamundry, the crew shot an introductory song for Vijay, in which he danced merrily with his son Sanjay. The song was shot in a grand temple set built by Milan in an obscure location on the outskirts of Rajamundry. Insiders reveal that the dance steps of Vijay in this song – choreographed by renowned dance master Shobi – look astounding! Following this song, the crew shot a few talkie portions involving Vijay and the film’s heroine Anushka, who plays a software engineer.

The biggest attraction is Vijay’s new get up for the movie! Though it has been kept a secret, it is understood that the actor will sport a new hairstyle. Usually, the star prefers short hair, slightly unruffled; but it looks like he will sport slightly longer hair, combed back slickly in a few scenes in Vettaikkaran! Similarly, the star is said to have paid great attention to his dress code in the film! Then there is news from director Babu Sivan himself – that Vijay will don four different get ups in the movie, though it is unclear if he will do that in a song or in the talkie portion! So it is sure that his fans will get to enjoy his new avatars in Vettaikkaran.

Vettaikkaran is Vijay’s 49th film and is produced by A.V.M.

PS: Kamal Haasan debuted as a child artist in A.V.M.’s Kalathur Kannamma years ago. Now, Vijay’s son Sanjay too is making a debut in A.V.M.’s movie! Can we expect him to grow up to be an actor of Kamal’s calibre?! Will the luck of coincidence shine on him too! We sure hope so!

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Arundhathee

Set from the 1920s till the 21st century, Arundhathee stars pretty and curvaceous Anushka. The movie is directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. The dubbed version is brought to the Tamil audiences by N. Radha under the banner of Sri Thenandal Films. 

For all who thought that the era of the sari-clad seductress was forgotten history, there's new hope in Anushka, who is redefining sensuality with her costumes of heavy silk saris, long plaits decorated with flowers, bangles upto her elbows and the whole look, rounded off with a big red bindi on her forehead. 

Now, the story:

Arundhati (Anushka) arrives at her ancestral home in Gandharavakottai to meet her grandfather (Kaikala Satyanarayana) after her engagement with Rahul (Deepak). As she is the spitting image of her great grandmother, Jakkamma (Anushka), her grandfather, and his loyal maid Chandramma (Manorama) look upon her as the heiress to the lineage. 

A flashback reveals Jakkamma fighting and vanquishing Pasupathi (Sonu Sood). His vengeful soul is imprisoned in his samadhi awaiting the day when he can be released so that he can take revenge. Jakkamma is blissfully unaware of all this and reigns her province peacefully.

Coming to the present, a couple on the way to visit Arundhati meet with an accident near the palace. The woman vanishes mysteriously and the man breaks open Pasupathi's samadhi as evil spirits possess him. Now Pasupathi is free to wreak his vengeance and comes after Arundhati, as she is the reincarnation of Jakkamma. Fakeer Anwar (Sayaji Shinde) an expert in the supernatural and paranormal world warns Arundhati to leave Gandharvakottai as soonas possible as he can sense an evil presence. Arundhati refuses to believe all this, but when circumstances bring her face to face with the evil spirit of Pasupathi, she is forced to fight him again.

Can Arundhati outwit the evil spirit now? Watch how graphics has lifted a revenge drama from the ordinary to the simply awe-inspiring in theatres.

Anushka is the surprise factor as Jakkamma. Rising to fame in glamorous roles, she is beautiful as a medieval princess in traditional attire. Her performance is so good as Jakkamma that it overpowers her portrayal as Arundhati She has proved that she's more than just a pretty face and can act very well. Sonu Sood is chillingly evil as Pasupathi and has given a stellar performance. Kaikala Satyanarayana returns to the screen after a long time and proves that his acting skills are as good as ever. Manorama is in her usual element,

The dialogues of the movie are well written and the lyrics also work well. The dubbing has been done so well that after a while you cease to forget that it is a Telugu film dubbed in Tamil. The Tamil version will surely do as well if not better than the Telugu version.

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Kanchivaram

After making hard-hitting realistic Malayalam/ multilingual movies like Kaala Pani, Priyadarshan jumped on the hilarious remake bandwagon, making a number of popular commercial masala comedies. Now the same Priyadarshan has made a film straight from his heart - Kanchivaram, the story of a poor weaver who strives to fulfil a promise made to his daughter. The age-old saying that one who weaves a piece of cloth never enjoys ownership and authority over the same is demonstrated by the plight of Vengadam the protagonist in the film. The film is also set in the British era of the 1940s in the famous silk-weaving village of Kanchipuram in Madras Province. 

In Hindu rituals, silk is surprisingly a symbol of sanctity and must be used during marriage and death ceremonies. (Surprisingly, because silk is made be boiling live silk pupae to extract the silk yarn.) Priyadarshan has spun a gripping human story with utmost perfection, precision and poignancy - using the lives of the silk-weavers as his weft and warp. 

Vengadam (Prakashraj) is a traditional master weaver, who, for a pittance, weaves the most intricate and delicate silk saris for the merchants who hire him. Ever as a child, he dreamt of draping his bride in silk sari but could not make his dream come true. When Vengadam's wife Annam (Shreya Reddy) gives birth to a daughter, he pledges before the village that his daughter will wear a silk sari on her wedding day. But how will the poor weaver, mired in poverty and near-starvation, fulfill this pledge? He starts stealing single strands of silk yarn every day from his workplace, brings them home and starts weaving his dream sari in his own backyard. His wife dies, his daughter Thamarai (Shammu) grows up into a beautiful girl, and the sari becomes longer and longer. Vengadam also takes part in hunger strikes, makes friends with a communist writer, gets influenced by his talks, and participates in demonstrations against the merchants who hold the weavers in thrall. 

An emotional story is told with the historical and political changes as its backdrop and its authentic mood is maintained throughout the film. It is indeed a proud badge of distinction and honour for director Priyadarshan. With Akashvani's mourning for Gandhiji's death broadcast in the background, the film begins as a flashback. The whole village surrounds and looks in awe at the first motor car that enters the destination. From there begins Vengadam's story. Then the film shuttles back and forth in time, much like the shuttle in a hand loom.

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