Kollywod: As 2.0 continues to shatter world records, the star of the movie, superstar Rajinikanth, celebrated his 68th birthday on December 12.
Born as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, Rajinikanth was discovered while he was working for the Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor.
In 1973, he joined the Madras Film Institute to pursue a diploma in acting and made his bow in Kollywood through director K Balachander’s movie, Apoorva Raagangal.
In the beginning of his career he portrayed villains. This soon changed and he became a sought-after protagonist for Tamil movies, acquiring a cult status among fans.
It's reported that he will have a quiet birthday with his family at his Poes Garden home.
Great news for the superstar is that his 2.0 is all set to release in China.
Rajinikanth’s next release is Petta with director Karthik Subburaj. This movie is slated for release on January 14 (Pongal). Negotiations are already under way for his next venture after Petta. The yet-to-be-named movie will be directed by AR Murugadas and have cinematography by Santosh Sivan.
Sivan and Murugadas collaborated in movies such as Thuppaki and Spyder.
This could be Rajinikanth’s last movie as he plunges full-time into politics.
Director Priyadarshini has released a poster featuring Nithya Menon as the “Iron Lady” - a biopic of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and actress Jayalalitha.
The poster was released to commemorate the iconic chief minister’s second anniversary since her death.
Menon bagged the role in the face of stiff competition from the likes of Nayanthara and Keerthy Suresh.
It’s official - Kajal Aggarwal will be sharing screen space with Kamalhaasan in Indian 2, which will be directed by Shankar.
After Shankar’s fantastic work in 2.0, the outcome of Indian 2 is highly anticipated. Simbu is back in form since Maniratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, and with interesting movies in his kitty, has also been roped in for Indian2. Dulquer Salmaan will also be part of the project.
Nagarjuna Akkineni brings his son Akhil Akkineni’s Telugu romantic action thriller Hello to Tamil audiences.
The movie has Kalyani Priyadarshan, daughter of ace film-maker Priya-darshan, as Akhil’s romantic couple.
Directed by Vikram Kumar, who directed hit movies Manam and Suriya’s 24, the makers have retained the same title in Tamil as well. Earlier, the film was dubbed in Hindi and released as Taqdeer.
Ramya Krishnan and Jagapathy Babu play crucial roles. Anup Rubens has scored the music.
Nayanthara had a successful 2018 with two big hits in female-centric movies in Kolamaavu Kokila and Imaikka Nodigal.
The superstar, who is awaiting her Pongal release Viswasam with Ajith Kumar, is set to begin 2019 with another woman-centric movie titled Kolaiyuthir Kaalam, a famous title from the late renowned writer Sujatha.
The second look at the movie, reportedly based on the American thriller Hush, where Nayanthara is said to play a deaf and mute character, was released recently. The poster, with three faces of Nayanthara portraying different shades of emotions, has gone viral. Directed by Chakri Toleti, the movie has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan, known to speak up boldly on social issues, has come to the rescue of victims of Cyclone Gaja in Tamil Nadu. The actor took to his social media handle to write, “I’m very saddened to hear of the devastation caused by Cyclone Gaja in Tamil Nadu.
“Let us all come together to help our brothers and sisters there who are suffering. Let us try to contribute in any way that we can.” Many, including Kamal Hassan, have hailed Aamir for his humanitarian gesture.
* Lutchmanan is an educator, author and linguistic campaigner. She is also a presenter/producer at Lotus FM. You can hear her on Inisai Mazhai on Fridays from 6pm to 7pm, and The Best Of Kodambakkam, on Sundays from 10am to 1pm.