DISNEY BUYS DASAVATHARAM

The whole world is holding its breath, anxiously waiting for the extravaganza on stage on the 13th of June. Seldom does a tamil movie make waves throughout India, the haven for multilingualism. But Kamal Hasan’s Magnum opus, Dasavatharam has managed to do that on a larger magnitude, being possibly the most anxiously awaited Tamil movie ever.

Kollywood climbed a new pedestal on Saturday and Aascar films struck pay dirt. Even as the fans wait for their slice of the fun, Dasavatharam on Saturday, June 07, 2008 went one step higher than any other block buster Tamil movie ever made. The expectations have shot up even higher (if that is possible) after Walt Disney purchased the distribution rights for Canada. Walt Disney has decided to release the movie with as many as 18 prints in North America. Kamal Hasan fans in Canada have finally got their due.

This is the first time in Tamil History that a renowned Hollywood studio of the stature of Walt Disney has come forward to acquire the rights. Kamal Hasan’s efforts have definitely paid off. Kollywood is finally making its mark in the international market. And this is just the beginning. All hail Dr. Kamal Hasan

VIJAY’S VIL - TARGETING THE BOX OFFICE

It’s great news for Vijay fans. Ilaya Thalapathy Vijay is all set to star in his next Tamil movie. The movie has been christened as ‘Vil’ after a lot of contemplation. The successful duo of Prabhu Deva and Vijay are all set to repeat their Midas touch at the box office.

After a grand success with their last venture Pokkiri, which turned out to be a runaway hit, fans would be expecting nothing less than a gala time at the theaters. Actor Vijay will be looking to prolong their success story after his less successful venture, ATM and the partially successful Kuruvi.

The movie also involves another pleasant reunion. Prabhu Deva joins hands with Joseph Vijay again after Pokkiri. So ‘Vil’ brings together the awesome threesome who made waves in their last venture.



Sources reveal that, Kollywood Heart throb Nayantara could pair up with Vijay for the first time (though they had a brief time together, promoting the Chennai Super Kings as ambassadors, which was cut short very early). Nayantara would be looking for a repeat of her recent successful ventures ‘Billa’ and ‘Yaradee Nee Mogini’

Sources also say that the movie is slated for a release in the midst of January, a late new year’s gift for Vijay fans. The selection of the title seemed to have been tedious. As many as three titles were rumored before ‘Vil’ prevailed (Aandavan and singam were the other two).

Anyway the movie is now up and ready to go and that should be news enough for Vijay fans and masala movie buffs. Vijay might just be on the verge of throwing another bomb shell at the box office.

KUNG FU PANDA – COULD PACK A PUNCH

Remember those old Jackie Chan action flicks, wherein Chan plays a young man who trains under a martial arts Guru and then becomes a full fledged master and guns for vengeance? Kung Fu panda seems to take a leaf out of this book. But the similarities end right there. For, the lead is neither Chan nor Li. Actually; the lead is not even human. Nor is the subject of the tale as serious as the usual Kung Fu movies.

Kung fu panda stars, seemingly, the gentlest of all animals, the Panda. Po is a lazy, flabby, Panda who works in a noodle shop. He is a great fan of Kung fu. He idolizes the legendary Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey, and their guru Master Shifu. His wildest dreams come true, when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols. Enter the villain, Tai Lung a snow leopard, and the rest of the plot is along predictable lines. Po will have to play the savior.

With Mark Osborne, John Stevenson at the helm, the cast is quite strong with Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have penned the story. Ultimately, this is a movie which could get kids hooked into kung fu.

IPL : JUDGEMENT DAY

This is it. It doesn’t get any bigger than this. The whole of the subcontinent has come to the state of a grinding halt. People of Chennai and Jaipur are frozen with anxiety even in this hot summer. Sunday will witness a battle royale pitting two of the best captains in the IPL head to head and the war field is Mumbai. It’s MSD vs Warne now. Two captains who think out of the box and keep their calm even in turbulent times.

Both the teams are of contrasting styles – probably Rajasthan is the more explosive of the two. Both teams have had very different path to the finals – Rajasthan has had a more flamboyant series while Chennai has been blowing hot and cold.

Chennai, the hot favorites during the early days of the tournament, lived up to their name in the first few matches, with Hayden and Hussey dismantling bowlers to all parts of the stadium. But they couldn’t find their feet once the overseas stars departed. Dhoni was not in the best of form. Fleming had to fill up the very large shoes of Hayden while the local lads were struggling to come to terms with their absence.



But soon Chennai found some stars in the form of Raina, Badrinath, Makhaya Ntini and Gony. Chennai, one has to admit is peaking at the right time with consecutive victories. That, they have managed to defeat semi finalists Punjab on 3 occasions is bound to give them the confidence that is vital to face the Royals. And luckily for them, Smith is out of the final eleven for the Royals. That ought to be enough to raise the spirits of the CSK. MSD would be looking for a repeat of the T20 WC verdict.

Warne’s xi, the underdogs before the tournament began, have had an almost unbelivable run after losing the first match. Fittingly, they have been christened Royals. Warne’s brilliance and timely contributions by their overseas players and the consistency of the local lads have helped them to top the table. The only team without a coach, Rajasthan has lived off Warne’s experience and his captaincy.



They have found many stars enroute to the final. The Captain is as good as the team they say. Whoever Warne turns to has responded well and that reflects on their position in the table. Swapnil, Pathan, Trivedi, Jadeja have all been revelations in this series. Watson and Tanvir have taken it upon themselves to provide the early breakthroughs and Munaf has been stingy throughout. The team is bound to miss Smith in this crunch game. With the purple cap holder, and one of the best all rounders in the team, along with Warne who always seems to pull a rabbit out of a hat, the Royals seem to be the best bet for the crown.

The two semi finals have been a dampener and the Finals will have to be the red cherry for this superb series. When the current best captain of India takes on the wizard of spin, sparks are bound to fly. May the best captain win and hopefully it is an Indian.