South Actress Bhavana Menon Interview

Bhavana Menon Interview

When you entered the industry, there were very few youth oriented films in Malayalam. But nowadays every film seems to be youth centric. What do you have to say about the trend?

I came into the industry through the film Nammal, which had four youngsters. It was one of the films that started off the trend. I was a part of plenty more, like Swapnakkoodu, Chadikkatha Chanthu, Lollypop, Robinhood etc. I don't think there has been such a huge change over the years. The recent movies that I did, Ezhamathe Varavu, Honeybee, Polytechnic and now, Angry Babies are all different in their own way. I have been lucky to have done all kinds of roles and escaped any kind of stereotyping.

Why do you do just one or two films a year? 
When I'm approached for a film, I look at the whole team, the director, producer etc. Even if I'm okay with the team, I wouldn't do a film unless I like the story and script and vice-versa too. I've left out big projects at times because of this. But I have absolutely no issues with new directors. Many of the films I have done are with newbies.

Your looks have evolved beyond recognition over the past 10 years... I did my first film at the age of 15, when I had no idea about make-up or styling or fashion. I wasn't bothered about them for many years and also, no senior actress ever told me that I should change. Even those who I asked for help never supported me. It was maybe at the age of 19-20 that I myself realised that I should change. I educated myself and learnt everything about fitness, make-up and style, all by myself. And now, when young girls ask me tips and tricks, I am so glad they ask and am only happy to help them.

In your latest release, Angry Babies, your co-star is Anoop Menon, again... How do you explain the coincidence? Anoop and I had already acted in Trivandrum Lodge, where the chemistry worked out really well. As a co-star, I feel very comfortable with Anoop ettan, more than comfortable, actually.

You revealed that you are in a relationship... With many Malayalam actresses getting married recently, don't you feel like taking the leap? 
Yes, I am seeing someone but I can't say at this point where it's going or whether it will lead to marriage. If at all I marry, I plan to do so next year. But I feel it is better to get married when I am ready for it, not because others are doing it or under pressure from society or other people. I never take any decision that way. Because if there are any problems, none of these people will be there; there will be just me and my family to face it. At the end of the day, I live for myself, not for others. I will listen to everyone but the final decision will be mine.

What about the whole debate on whether actresses should act after marriage?
Do you see any actor stopping acting after marriage? The film industry is not something dirty that you should stop acting after you marry. Having said that, it is each person's personal decision, I feel. I have always maintained that I will never say goodbye to films completely. Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai and Sreedevi have all done good roles after marriage. If I get good roles, I too will definitely take them up. Not that I will do anything and everything which comes my way, but then, I don't do that now either. If I get offered a film which I like, which I feel I shouldn't miss, I will I do it, just like now.

And I will marry only someone who recognises acting as my profession and someone who will encourage me and support me to do a good film, like a good friend, not a narrow-minded person who thinks on the lines of - from now on, stay at home and look after me and do nothing else.

Is there anything like you won't marry someone from the film industry... If I fall in love with an actor or filmmaker, what's wrong with it? Cinema is something I have been doing since age 15. And whatever anyone says, I have never had even one bad experience with the industry. I really love this profession; it has given me everything, made me what I am. So I have absolutely no aversion towards people from the film industry. I would love a person for the human being he is; on the basis of his personality, not on the basis of his profession.

What are you working on next?
I will be doing two Malayalam films and one Kannada film this year, but the official agreement is not over yet.

source: toi

SURI Exclusive Interview

SURI Ntv Exclusive Interview Part - 1

Army honours Mohanlal with Lieutenant Colonel post

Malayam film star Mohanlal is the Indian Army's latest brand ambassador. He will be given the rank of Lt Col in the Territorial Army in New Delhi on Thursday. He exclusively spoke to CNN-IBN about turning Lieutenant Colonel Mohanlal.

CNN-IBN: You always wanted to be a part of the Army since your childhood?

Mohanlal: Not exactly. Surprisingly in my neighbourhood, my friend Veenu used to sketch lot of pictures inspired from the Army, Air Force and Navy. When I was a child, I used to go, sit and look at those.

CNN-IBN: What do you think a Mohanlal, a celebrity can bring into the Indian Army?

Mohanlal: The thing is that they asked me to be the brand ambassador of the Army. It in itself is a great honour. Being an actor I have visited Delhi many a times, I had been in the Capital for my Padmashree, receiving my Best Actor, Best Producer awards. But this is a very rare thing, or rare an occasion.

CNN-IBN: At 17 when you started off with films, did you ever expect that it's going to come this far?

Mohanlal: I never plan or expect things. This is definitely a gift from the almighty and this is a great honour. Indian Army is honouring me with the Lieutenant Colonel Post.

King - Seenu Vytla Interview

King - Seenu Vytla’s latest film with Nagarjuna – is releasing on 25 December. Seenu Vytla spoke to scribes on this occasion in Annapurna studios on 24 December. Here are the excerpts of chitchat -
Tell us about Nagarjuna’s character in King?
Nagarjuna is donning three roles of Bottu Seenu, Sarath and King in this film. Bottu Seenu is a mass character. Sarath is a software engineer. King belongs to the royal lineage. We shot a part of the film in Bangalore palace. Bottu Seenu, Sarath and King reflect the mass, class and royal aspects. You have to watch the film know if these three people are same or different.

Tell us about working with Nagarjuna?
It was a very good experience working with Nagarjuna. He gave a lot of freedom to me. King my 10th film as the director and I never got such a free hand in my earlier films.

You had the lyrics of title song as records anni brea’king’. Are you aiming for the records?
I am not a kind of guy who is after the records. I was little hesitant to have that lyric in the beginning. This song was the last one we shot recently. After watching the rushes, Devi Sri Prasad insisted that we should go with the lyric. I hope that the film will become a big hit.

Tell us about the 8-heroines song?
This song comes as the last song in the second half. This song comes during the high point of the film. The idea was borrowed from Om Shanti Om film.

Tell us about Brahmanandam character?
After doing the roles of Chari (Dhee) and McDowell Murthy (Ready) Brahmanandam is doing another hilarious character as ‘Jayasurya’. His profession is music direction. But, this film has no backdrop of film industry. Brahmanandam character is linked to the story and it will be there throughout the film.

Srihari is doing the role of a don called Gnaneswar. It will be one of the highlights of the movie.

Tell us about Devi Sri Prasad?
He gave wonderful music. He elevated the second half with terrific background score. There are nine songs in the album and there would be 8 songs in the film. The ‘film titles parody song’ will not be there in the film. King remix song will come during the rolling of end titles.

Tell us about the producer Shiva Prasad Reddy?
I had problems with the producers most of the times. But Shiva Prasad Reddy is one producer who let me free by not interfering. He saw the final copy yesterday night and he was extremely happy with the way film was shaped up.

Tell us about Naga Chaitanya’s project?
Nagarjuna was impressed with my working style after the first schedule and he offered me a film with Naga Chaitanya. This film will be produced by D Siva Prasad Reddy.

What about Venkatesh’s film?
Venkatesh’s film will be launched in the month of March. We are working on the script now.

What is the runtime of the film?
King is the lengthiest film I ever worked on. The runtime of the film is 2 hour and 50 minutes. We started the project on 20 June and the movie is releasing on 25 December. We completed the entire execution in a period of six months.

What is your gut feeling about King?
I am 100% satisfied with the outcome. King will be liked by all.

source

Telugu Actress Shraddha Arya gone missing?

Heroine gone missing?

‘We haven’t even fixed Shraddha Arya the heroine’

Rumours suggest your film has been stalled because the heroine left the sets.

It hasn’t stopped. Ganesh had told us a long time ago that he had to attend a function this week. So we gave him a four-day break. We will resume shooting from next week. As for the heroine dumping the film, we hadn’t even zeroed in on one.

How come you started the shoot without the heroine?

That’s not a problem because her scenes start only from December 5. Meanwhile, we’re shooting most of Ganesh’s portions, including his fight sequences.

What about Shraddha Arya? She’s reported to have shot some portions for your film.

We did consider her, but none of the films she’s signed have ever taken off, so we were apprehensive about casting her. So now, I’m planning to go to Mumbai to hunt for a new face.

‘The heroine had a personal issue’

How is your new film coming along?

It’s going great. I just shot for some fight sequences in Mysore and returned to the city on Tuesday.

We heard your film has been stalled.

Really? The shooting has been going on smoothly and we’ve taken a short break of 5-6 days because we’ve just canned some fight scenes.

Apparently, the heroine of your film has quit mid-way.

She was never here to shoot in the first place. She had some personal issues to sort out; I heard she wants to get married. We don’t have a heroine, but that will not stop us from continuing with our shooting schedule.

So any names being considered?

There are three names, but I can’t disclose that information.

source:timesofindia

Avakkai Biriyani Director 'Anish Kuruvilla' Interview

Avakkai Biriyani: A slice of life

Last year Anish Kuruvilla had directed the Telugu film Naa Video Diary (Confessions of a Filmmaker in English) shot on digicam and released it on the Internet. It was quite a daring attempt as exposes the 'negative' side of the film industry.

Subsequently Anish scripted and directed Avakkai Biryani which is slated for release on November 14. Anish has been associated with Sekhar Kammula from his Dollar Dreams days till now (Anand, Godavari, Happy Days). Kammula has produced Avakkai Biryani along with his brother Chandrasekhar Kammula.

Anish delineates about his new film Avakkai Biryani over a cup of coffee:

The title Avakkai Biryani sounds intriguing. Has it something to do with a fusion of cultures?

I like it to be a surprise and want people to discover whether it is one, after coming to the theatres.

What is the film about?

It's the coming-of-age story of two individuals. The film focuses on their dreams, ambitions and relationships. Humour is inbuilt. It's a unique film -- not an urban film as it is set in a small town. The film sends a message to young people to speak out.


'I wanted to have control over the actors'
What are the strong points of Avakkai Biryani?

The film has a good story -- a nice fairy tale. One can watch the story unfold with good characters. It's the old fashioned classic story telling and the characters are those one can identify with. In that sense, it's a slice of life. The film has touching and sensitive events leading to a climax. It is a mix of the Iranian film (in terms of vast landscapes) and classic Telugu film, and will cater to all.

Sekhar Kammula is producing the film. You have been associated with Sekhar for almost close to a decade. How was he as a producer?

Sekhar is a dream producer. He is all that I wanted. He was a pillar of strength. There was no pressure from him as a producer.

Kamal Kamaraju has been cast by you as the main lead. You found a newcomer -- a Telugu girl Bindu Madhavi to star opposite Kamal. Why did you not want to cast established stars?

I made it clear that I did not want stars right from day one. Sekhar said I could try for stars but I wanted to have control over the actors. I have known Kamal from Godavari days (he played the second lead in Godavari). He played the main protagonist in Confessions... Moreover, Kamal has been associated with Avakkai Biryani since the inception stage.

I was clear I wanted a Telugu-speaking girl for the heroine and I chose Bindu Mandhavi, who used to model in Chennai. She is now settled in Hyderabad. She too was looking for an opportunity and I found her suitable. There are quite a few newcomers in the supporting cast too.


'Avakkai Biriyani was shot in and around villages'
You said the film is set in a small town. Where have you shot the film?

In and around villages in Vikarabad (near Hyderabad).

Who is the cinematographer of Avakkai Biriyani?

Shamdat from Kerala. The location around Vikarabad was a dream one for him. He's done a terrific job.

How did you come to know of him?

He had shot a Bahrain film which I saw. I liked the tones and his sensibilities. He has given an Iranian feel to that movie.

You are introducing a new music director in this movie. How did you discover him?

Yes, he is Manikanth Kadri, son of the saxophone maestro Kadri Gopalnath. I had heard a track (he had remixed the famous Vara Veena) composed by him on my friend's laptop. Manikanth had done music only for Kannada films. I wanted him to work for Avakkai Biryani.


'Editor Praveen Boyna has been my closest sounding board'
How do you find the music?

It's awesome. He's done melody-based tracks.

Who has edited the film?

Editor Praveen Boyna has been my closest sounding board and involved with the story since the beginning. He was also the co-producer of Confessions of a Filmmaker.

Of course, the styles of cutting both the films are different. He has had his own challenges.


'Avakkai Biryani will encourage people to come out with original stories'
Are you nervous with the date of release just a day away?

I am nervous. But I would say Avakkai Biryani is truly a film not seen before. It is an original piece of work and I am proud of it.

Do you think Avakkai Biryani is going to make a mark or create an impact?

I think a lot of people will take encouragement from the fact that we can tell stories. Most of the time, it's a medley of things. There is no proper structure. I think Avakkai Biryani will encourage people to come out with original stories.

I am confident every one will get a name for themselves. The film is fresh and original. I get confidence from the fact that Sekhar has seen it and he is behind the project.

source:rediff.com