In response to the call by some Tamil activists urging him to relinquish the post of President (South) of the FICCI (Federation of Indian Commerce and Industry) Entertainment wing and also to give up his Padma Shri award,superstar Kamal Haasan has made his stand clear. The Tamil activist group,members of which wanted FICCI to stay away from the IIFA awards to be held in Colombo,raised slogans outside Kamals office in Chennai. It was after this that Kamal made his stand clear. He has explained,in a press note,that FICCI office-bearers would keep themselves away from the IIFA function. He also added that there was no point at all in returning the Padma Shri and hence he is not doing that. The Tamil activist group was against the holding of the IIFA awards ceremony in Sri Lanka saying that it was not fair to participate in a function held by a regime which has perpetrated crimes against Tamils. Surya film Singam to be biggest Tamil release in USSouth Indian superstar Suryas Singam will be the first Tamil film to be released on a unprecedented scale across US. BIG Cinemas is releasing the film in more than 30 screens across 24 locations/cities in US on June 28. These include ten locations owned by BIG Cinemas. A Surya searches for his biggest fan in US contest has also been organised by the distributor,which began on May 23 and will go on till June 7. Surya himself will select the winner. Singam is Suryas 25th film.Singam revolves around smuggling activities taking place in Rameshwaram. Surya plays a cop after the stupendous hit Khaaka Khaaka. Directed by Hari,the film also stars Anushka Shetty,Prakash Raj and Vivek. Revathy-Shwetha Menon-KPAC Lalitha in PenpattanamRevathy,Shwetha Menon and KPAC Lalitha,along with Vishnu Priya,are playing the lead roles in Penpattanam,a women-oriented film which has started rolling. Penpattanam,which is directed by V.M.Vinu,focusses on problems faced by women in todays society. The film is based on a story by scenarist-director-producer Ranjith while T.A. Razack has written the script. The cast includes Kailash,Abu Salim, Lal,Saadique,Augustine,Sivaji Guruvayoor and Sunanda Menon. G.Sreekumar scores the music for the film,which is produced by Maha Subair under the banner of Varnachitra Big Screen. Haryanvi cinema gets a new lease of lifeThe Haryanvi film industry,which has been on its death-bed since the 80s,is getting a new lease of life with upcoming multi-crore projects being made with artistic and technical support from Bollywood.Haryanvi film buffs,who have been waiting for an entertainer on the lines of the 1984 cult hit Chandrawal,are now looking forward to upcoming projects like Muthbed: Planned Encounter. The film produced by Sanjay Sharma and directed by Suraj Bhardwaj is being filmed at different locations in the interiors of Haryana. The film will be a milestone for Haryanvi cinema. The fight scenes will be filmed by Titu Singh,an associate of renowned fight director Veeru Devgn,who has worked on Raajneeti and Raavan, said Sharma. The film,likely to hit screens in the month of September this year, also has a star cast from Bollywood.While Mukesh Tewari plays the male protagonist,Poonam Jhaveri is his love interest in the film. It will be the first film in Haryanvi dialect that will have technical support from Bollywood. We have experienced technicians like the make up artiste,cinematographer,fight master and art director, Sharma said. The films director Suraj Bhardwaj said that Haryanvi films had died out because they stopped connecting to the Haryanvi people and their lives.The movie is basically about todays Haryanvi youth who are led astray by political vested interests. Its an emotional story full of action,shot in the interiors of Haryana, said Bhardwaj. The movie is about a youth who gets implicated in a false rape case and after his release from jail he is left with no other choice but to pick up weapons.The unprecedented success of Chandrawal had created widespread temptation among investors to produce Haryanvi films in order to make fast money during the 80s. But these movies failed to create box-office magic and the investors also gradually left the industry.
