Kollywood - EXCEPT for a few who have overdue schedules to meet, the festive period is blocked out by many of the who’s who.
The stars use this period to holiday in far-off destinations with their loved ones.
Suriya and Jyothika were found chilling in the Maldives. Despite his back-to-back busy shooting schedules with NGK and Kaappaan, Suriya jetted off to the Maldives with his family and clearly had a holiday to remember.
Nayanthara, who stars in Viswasam (on circuit) had an envied New Year celebration with her fiancé, Vignesh Shivan, in Las Vegas, where they attended a Bruno Mars concert.
Shivan debuted as director with the 2012 film Podaa Podi. He went on to direct Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara in Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) and Surya and Keerthy Suresh in Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, based on Neeraj Panday’s Special 26.
It was rumoured that Shruti Hassan, the older daughter of Kamal Hassan, had married her long-time boyfriend, Michael Corsale, at the end of last year.
Although this marriage did not take place, the couple enjoyed a cosy Christmas in the UK, where Corsale, who is of Italian descent, works and lives. Hassan tweeted: “Another year another Christmas with you @themichaelcorsale - so thankful for you.”
Aishwarya Rajesh’s Kanaa, produced by Sivakarthikeyan, is enjoying success at the box office and this Arunraja Kamaraj directorial has turned out to be a hit venture.
At a meeting in Chennai, the cast and crew were presented with shields for their excellent work on the film. It was a glorious moment for Sivakarthikeyan’s daughter, Aaradhana, who made her singing debut in Kanaa with the song, Vaayadi Petha Pulla, when she received her shield from the legendary Satya Raj.
The song is a chart topper and is being enjoyed by audiences young and old.
One of last year’s biggest losses was the untimely death of actress Sridevi. She was in Dubai to attend a family wedding when she died.
Plans for a biopic were being touted and many leading directors were in contention.
However, it looks like there will be a slight change in the plans.
Although official confirmation on the same is being awaited, her husband, Boney Kapoor, is planning to produce and maybe even direct a film based on the life of his late wife, which means he will have carte blanche on the subject.
This does not sit well with many, who feel that producing and directing a movie lends itself to subjectivity.
Speculation is rife that many authors and journalists have also approached Kapoor to write a book about Sridevi and that he will be selecting someone soon to write her story.
Kapoor also wants to copyright the life story of Sridevi, so only he will be able to make his wife’s biopic the way he wants to.
The harvest festival of Pongal is the largest festival observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide. Hence it is a time for great celebration and movies with a bigger budget and big stars are generally planned for a Pongal release - to add to the greatness of the festivities.
Not to be outdone, South Africa enjoys a worldwide release of two movies.
The first is Ajith Kumar’s Viswasam. This movie revolves around the life of a charismatic village chieftain and its rustic feel will definitely appeal.
The second is superstar Rajinikanth’s much-awaited Petta.