After donning the roles of personalities like Chandhu, Basheer and Ambedhkar to perfection and after bagging a national award for each of the attempts, Mammootty is now going to play one of the biggest roles of his life. He is to appear as Sree Narayana Guru in the new film Yuga Purushan. The film which is directed by R Sukumaran, who has directed films like Padhamudra and Rajashilpi earlier, will essay the saga of the lives and activities of one of the best known social reformer of Kerala - Sree Narayana Guru. With the role, Mammootty is getting a rare chance to remain immortal among a sect of Kerala population who consider guru, as everything.
The film will also present the contemporaries of guru like Gandhiji, Chattambi Swamikal and Swami Vivekanandhan and his relations with them. Know who is going to be in the role of Swami Vivekanandhan. It is none other than the most flexible and accomplished actor of our times - Mohanlal. With the inclusion of Lal in the proceedings, the project has become one of the biggest to look out in 2008.

Talented young playback singer and music director Jassie Gift, who shot to fame with For The People, whose music had become the biggest rage among youth in the start of this century, is now debuting in Tollywood. Even though the singer has sung a few in the language, his first movie as a music director will be Sawal, directed by B. Jaya, which will hit the stands soon. The film which has six songs has a few crooned by Jassie himself. The young music director is expecting the film and its music to become blockbuster hits. Jassie had debuted into every language in the south with the dubbing versions of For The People, which were straight hits in every industry. In Telugu his Malleeswariye (the remade Lajjavathiye)… was one of the biggest hit of the year. Jassie is not seen much as a music director in Malayalam now days, due to his heavy assignments from other languages. Even in this haste, he finds time to sing a few in films like Palunku and Nanma.

An important member of the team which won the recent 20-20 World cup, Sreeshanth, will act with Mammootty for a feature film. Sreeshanth, the only Malayalee in the team will appear in the maiden venture produced by famous Udhaya studios, in their comeback. The film, not yet titled, which will have Mammootty in the role of a Police officer, is directed by debutante Aashiq Abu. Sreeshanth will be in the role of a cricket player, whose attitude and aggression make greater impacts in the life of an officer. Produced by Kunchako Boban, Alwin Antony and Khadar, the film will start in a short while.

Shaam - Sneha starrer Inba is fast shaping up. He plays the role of a ruffian bitten by the love bug. A debutant Vendhan wield the megaphone. “It's a love story and a handsome Shaam suits the role to a T. The story delves into the impact of love on the hero's life. Sneha plays the female lead. Vivek appears in the comic interludes”, says Vendhan. “I play the role of a bubbly young man. There's scope to experiment with my looks as my role demands varied get-ups. Though the story is based on love, there's plenty of action too”. On her part, Sneha says, “There are some scenes which involve deep emotions. Both of us have taken great pains to perform well. I don the role of a talkative girl, who loves spending money and having a good time”. P B Balaji, a keyboard player for A R Rahman, scores music for Inba.

A long romance has culminated in love. Prominent actress Bhoomika Chawla, who shot to fame doing lead roles in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi movies, will enter wedlock with Bharat Thakur, a yoga guru, soon. A millionaire Bharat Thakur and Bhoomika were in love for a long time. The romance will freshen up in their wedding soon. A grand wedding reception is planned in Mumbai soon. Bhoomika had expressed her desire to continue acting after her wedding.

The tag of Big Brother celebrity has definitely worked wonders for Shilpa Shetty. She is all set to make her debut on stage in the musical, Miss Bollywood.Miss Bollywood is the story of a young Indian woman named Maya, played by Shilpa, who lands in UK with the dream of setting up a dance academy. Shilpa has a troupe of 40 dancers from Bollywood with her for this musical. According to Shilpa, Miss Bollywood would not only cater to the lovers of Bollywood but also to the mainstream audiences who are crazy about dance and musical theatre. Shilpa Shetty and her crew will begin the tour on September 29 in Berlin and finally performing at the Opera House in Manchester, UK on November 3.

After racing Nascar in Ta Ra Rum Pum, Saif Ali Khan is ready with a pacy and pulsating thriller called Race. Going with the rate at which Saif is changing his looks and style at the drop of a hat, it won’t be a surprise if anyone cast him in the title role of The Saif Chameleon. The city tabloids were recently flooded with pictures of Saif’s new look for Tashan. But the man looks equally dashing in his makeover for Race. Race comes from the stable of Abbas-Mustan and is obviously expected to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Even though it’s being headed for a release later this year, it has started creating ripples all over. Added to its tight and sleek plot, the icing on the top was the visit on the sets by international designer and fashion guru Jean Paul Gaultier, who was in Mumbai recently. On his insistence, a meeting was arranged to meet up with Pataudi Jr, at the Yash Raj Studios to ‘witness’ an item number of the film that as being picturised on Saif along with Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif. News has it that Gautier was so tad impressed with the progress of the song that he told the directors not to call for a break

The long awaiting of Roshan Andrus is finally over. The director, who is known for his very bold films like Note book and Udhayanaanu Thaaram, has been awaiting for dates from the superstar Mohanlal for one of the best scripts among his next projects. The new venture which is titled as Casanova will bring out some of the unseen performances and acts from the star through a very different character, the film which is to be scripted by Bobby Sanjay, will be produced by Impressario motion Pictures limited. Undoubtingly the movie will be one of the prestigious projects of the star, next year

Kavya and her fans were much concerned as she walked out from Mammooty's Nasrani citing it as a usual role. Many in the circuit felt that it was a missed chance to project her opposite bigger heroes. But Kavya is now making good even over that , as she now has signed another film opposite Mammootty which is to start in a short while. The new flick Rikshskaaran directed by M Padmakumar, will have her paired as the heroine for the first time opposite Mammootty. Kavya is playing the role of Advocate Indulekha in the film , which is expected to hit the floors by the last weak of November. After this film she will again appear back to back with Mammootty in the K K Raajeev film

After a grand wedding with Vandana, Srikanth is back into the business. He is back to don the grease paint. Srikanth plays the lead role in an untitled movie that would feature Navya Nair opposite him. The shooting is expected to commence next month. After completing the venture, Srikanth will act in IM, directed by Sasi.

Asin, the numero uno actress of the south, has flown from Chennai to Switzerland with her hero Surya to complete the shoot of Vel, a big release for Diwali 2007. For Asin, the location of Switzerland is very special. Most of her hit films like Ghajini have at least a song or scene in Switzerland and the snow floors of Alps.Now the actress is visiting the Alps once again for Vel.Director Hari has completed the talky portions of Vel in and around of Thirunelveli district where the story revolves around.She briefed a select group from the media about her shooting experience in the greenwoods of southern Tamil Nadu at her Chennai residence. Asin said: "I continuously travel to many parts of the country and some of the African countries like Namibia and South Africa as a part of my shooting. But the outdoor experience in Kutralam and Munnar imbibed me with a new energy and freshness. When we reached Munnar, it was raining heavily, and finally the shoot was cancelled. I simply enjoyed my two day break at the lovely hill station. I went out for a long walk and viewed the mist covered valley, a shimmering lake, and loved the awesome weather of the place. The breathtaking locations and panoramic views of the hill station made me write poems whenever I was alone…! Munnar trip was a big relief for me, and I plan to visit the place again after the completion of Vel and Ghajini!"The actress also enjoyed a typical village life when she was in Kutralam. "I wore the typical south Indian Paavadai and Thaavani when I was in Kutralam. In fact, I mingled into the crowd wearing the village costume, and no one could identify me for a while. I enjoyed the scenic views of thundering waterfalls and famous food of the region, parotta with chicken saalna…"

'Thalaimagan,' Sarath Kumar has listed 8 films and they are all to be released one at a time. '1977' is supposed to be a detective story. Sarath has an important get-up in this action thriller and he is paying special attention to this role. He is doing research on how a detective would look and doing his get-up accordingly. He is donning several versions and undergoing photo sessions to choose the most suitable get-up. After acting with junior heroes like Vijay and Ajith, Namitha is back to acting with senior heroes. Her two conditions for taking up this role are, she will not do lip to lip kissing and will not wear a two piece swimsuit. That means, a single piece is ok.
Whatever Namitha wears, her fans would be happy to feast their eyes on her!

For long now Aishwarya Rai has been destined to play the eternally extolled object of undying love.Earlier she was to star as Mumtaz Mahal in a film to be produced by Bharat Bala. Nothing has been heard of the project since then. But now Ben Kingsley is all set to play Shah Jahan opposite Ash’s Mumtaz Mahal. The epic film to be produced by Sir Ben's company ‘SBK Pictures’ will be shot in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri in the middle of 2008. Confirming this stunning historical creative union, Ben Kingsley said in London. "It's a project on the building of the Taj Mahal. Aishwarya and I spoke about it while we were shooting The Last Legion last year. She very generously agreed to do the project with me. Aishwarya and I will be playing Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. My production company is right now working with a screenwriter. I've very clear ideas about my approach to this subject. The romance will also include Shah Jahan's abject isolation for years in a prison cell." When told to him that people will forget Gandhi after they see him play Shah Jahan, Sir Ben quips. "I hope not! Maybe for a little while they will. But I hope I continue to be remembered by Gandhi. We want to beat the monsoons when we shoot next year. I've always been very attached to India and its people. I don't get to visit the country as often as I'd like to. This is my opportunity to do so."

Looks like Ganpati Bappa has really heard Sanjay Dutt's prayer, when the whole world bid him adieu. Because, Sanju baba aka Munnabhai, who was sentenced in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case under the Arms Act, can now breathe free for yet another month. Apparently, the judgment copy which was to be served initially has now been postponed to the end of October. And according to the officials, Sanjay Dutt is expected to head back to the Yerawada Jail in Pune if the judgment is carried out, first copies of which are expected around October 15. During his momentary release, Sanjay Dutt has been busy with his films. Dhamaal was one of his latest releases. Sanjay is also planning to start his production company and release a book on the Dutt family.

While couples like Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor-Shahid Kapur can't seem to get enough of each another, Bipasha Basu feels she spends ample time with her boyfriend John Abraham. "We've more than enough time together. While we're in Mumbai, we are always together after shooting. And while we're on separate outdoor locations the time we get to spend away from each other is very important for our relationship. We can't be together constantly," Though Bipasha is not on tenterhooks, her fans, who respond to her on her website, are very concerned about the future of her relationship with John. "They keep reading all these stories about an impending break-up. And they write hurt and angry letters. 'How can you break up?' It's sweet to see our fans being happy in our happiness. "I had to write a reassuring note to them on the website saying we're very much together," said Bipasha, who will be seen with her beau in Vivek Agnihotri's "Goal". Bipasha admits John and she are discussing marriage. "But not right away. There's still time." Apparently, John is busy hunting for a larger house for the future alliance. "John is very practical and has a great business sense. He's busy hunting and buying property. Let's see what the future has in store. "For now, we were very happy doing another film together. I was a little apprehensive after our last film, 'Madhoshi'. We hadn't enjoyed the process of making that film. But now after 'Goal', we're thinking of signing another film together. But I repeat, we don't need to work together to get time together."

Actor Shilpa Shetty faced some unpleasant and embarrassing moments at the international airport here early Wednesday when an immigration official allegedly spoke rudely to her just before she was to leave for Germany for West End musical "Miss Bollywood". The immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport were apparently not informed of the Supreme Court clearance given to the Bollywood actor to travel abroad.Her spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar said: "The immigration authorities at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport just seemed to refuse to take note of this clearance of Shilpa's name by the Supreme Court.""She called me in the middle of the night and was in tears saying an inspector had treated her badly, and told her she could not travel out of the country as there was no clearance order from the court," Bhagwagar said. "I can understand something like this if I'd committed a criminal offence. But what was my offence, when I'm just an actor, going to perform a musical on foreign land, representing my country? I don't need to be treated like this in my own country. It's terrible," said Shilpa before she left.The actor had kicked off a controversy a few months ago when Hollywood star Richard Gere kissed her in public at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi. The incident triggered protests from some, and some people filed cases against her in various courts of the country. When the Supreme Court gave a direction to transfer the cases to the Mumbai court, most of the complainants backed out. However, a court in Alwar district of Rajasthan issued a 'look-out notice' for Shilpa at various airports. The notice said that the actress shouldn't be allowed to leave the country till the Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty case was over. Shilpa appealed to the Supreme Court against this order, and the apex court quashed the Alwar court order and gave her permission to travel abroad. What added to the actor's embarrassment was a huge crowd that had gathered around at the airport to watch her exchange of words with the immigration personnel.Now Shilpa is planning to take action against the immigration authorities for what she termed as offensive behaviour.

Lal creations, the leading producers and distributors are trying their best to infuse new blood into Malayalam cinema. After the debacle of Lohitadas's Onam film Nivediyam, Lal Creations and Master Cinemas are coming out with a trendy youth film Cycle. Cycle is going to be the launch pad of singer Vineeth Sreenivasan, son of renowned actor Sreenivasan as a full fledged hero. The others in the cast are Nivediyam fame Vinu Mohan and Bhama along with Tamil actress Kathal fame Sandhya, a Malayalee by birth. The other highlight of Cycle is the coming together of top commercial director Johnny Antony (C.I.D Moosa, Kochi Rajavu, Thuruppu Gulan etc) with the innovative Classmates script writer James Albert. The others in the film are Jagathy, Sai Kumar,Anoop Chandran, Cochin Haneefa . Music is by debutant Majo Joseph. Cycle moves around a shopping mall in Kochi, where the four youth are employed in sales. Says James Albert : "Cycle is a mod and hip movie, targeted at the youth audiences." The shoot of the film starts in Kochi from October 3.

Of late Preity Zinta has been gravitating towards a neo-realistic cinema. After working with Rituparno Ghosh and Jahnu Barua in The Last Lear and Har Pal, Preity's latest creative acquisition is none other than Deepa Mehta who has earlier worked with 'method' actresses like Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. Now in a sudden and unexpected move Deepa has finalised Preity Zinta to play the battered Punjabi wife in Heaven On Earth. Preity is over the moon. "I met Deepa a while back at the IIFA. She saw my film The Last Lear and loved it. I'm so glad I did this film. It has opened an entirely new door for me. I feel I'm born anew. Right now I'm hungering for a new kind of acting challenge. Doing Deepa's film is another step in the same direction. She's one director I've been longing to work with. When I read the script I said, this is it."

Remember how Subhash Ghai had signed Madhuri Dixit for a dance number in Karma. When he saw the rushes, he realised Dixit was too good for just an item number and so signed her for the lead in Uttar Dakshin and Ram Lakhan. Cut to Anubhav Sinha, who was all set to cast Bond girl Caterina Murino, who played Solange in Casino Royale, in an item song in Cash. "I realised I was wasting her presence in one item number," confesses Anubhav, who has now signed Murino for the lead in his next film Chase.

Last week Mammootty's Joshy directed Nasarani shoot was over at the Marian college ground at Kuttikanam, near Peerumedu in Kerala. Mammootty plays a rich planter David John who has his own helicopter in the film. Joshy was shooting a scene in the college where Mammootty as David John wearing a Kasavu Mundu and white Juba, looking sexy with a Ray Ban glasses and talking continuously on higher end Nokia mobile was trying to impress Sara Eapen (Vimala) a college lecturer. Vimala in a pink sari was sufficiently impressed by Mammootty's small talk and his helicopter and takes a ride with him. The entire shoot of Nasarani is over, and it is Mammootty's big Perunal (Ramzan) film, that is likely to release on October 12. Mammookka needs a hit badly to catch up with arch-rival Mohanlal in the box-office sweepstake. Nasarani is a film which is sure going to be lapped up by Mammootty's fans as it has all the essential ingredients to keep them happy. Ranjit who has given Mammootty some memorable characters is writing the script. An array of top actors like Kalabhavan Mani, Biju Menon Lalu Alex. Bharat Gopi, Mukta George, K.P.A.C Lalitha and others are in the cast. The film milieu is Christian background and Mammootty as 'Achayan' simply rocks!

For some strange reason, Simbu continues to reestablish his communication with his now former-girlfriend Nayantara. But the actress is hell-bent on avoiding him at all costs. That hasn't stopped the actor from giving some very blunt interviews about her in the magazines. Realizing that it hasn't created the necessary reaction, he has devised a new way to keep track of her- be close to her assistants. So, he'd call up her makeup assistants and personal secretaries and get all the information that he wanted about her. For a long time, Nayantara wasn't aware of it. But when she came to know about it, she became very angry and annoyed. She has now bought new phone numbers to her entourage. But honestly, if Simbu is really keen on staying informed about her, it wouldn't take him long to get hold of the new numbers.

Shriya Reddy is the daughter of acclaimed cricket player Bharat Reddy. About a week or two ago, she had got engaged to be married to Ajay, the elder brother of popular Tamil actor Vishaal. The two had fallen in love with each other during the making of one of the films in which Shriya had starred with Vishaal. When the parents came to know that they are serious about their relationship, they decided to hold the engagement ceremony. Until now, the relationship was kept under wraps. The parents also wanted to keep the engagement a secret. That was the reason why they had planned to hold the engagement in a bungalow on the outskirts of Chennai. But the media somehow came to know about it and were present in huge numbers. Needless to say, the parents of both Ajay and Shriya Reddy aren't happy about it at all. Well, what can we say!

Padmapriya is a qualified MBA and before joining films, she worked as a quality adviser earning more than half a lakh per month. Maybe that's why she is a very self respecting person and never asks anyone for offers. But there are exceptions. Adoor Gopalakrishnan is one of the foremost film makers in Malayalam and his films are famous on an international level. Padmapriya has always wanted to be associated in his him and has conveyed this to him personally. As an actress teamed with top stars like Mammootty and Mohanlal, such a request must have surprised Adoor Gopalakrishnan. He has given her a role in his new film 'Naalu Ponnungal' and fulfilled her wish.This film was entered in the Toronto Film Festival and won appreciation. Padmapriya is justified in having such meaningful wishes!

Delhi girl Nikita Anand, who won the Miss India Universe 2003 crown, is ready with her first full-fledged film "Dil Dosti Etc" but says she didn't use the pageant as a gateway to Bollywood. Produced by Prakash Jha and directed by Manish Tiwari, the film about a clash between two student groups in a college campus also stars Shreyas Talpade and Naseeruddin Shah's son Imaad."I never took the Miss India pageant as a platform to get into acting. I always wanted to be Miss India and luckily I became one. If I had taken acting as my prime target, I would have straightaway gone for that just after winning the pageant and not after four years," Nikita told IANS.She knows expectations from her are high."Especially after Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, who have made their mark in the industry. Lara followed them and Priyanka too has been successful. So there will be more expectations from me too. I am prepared for it."The actress, who gave a glimpse of her talent in "Life Mein Kabhie Kabhie", wants to work with the prolific Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the versatile Saif Ali Khan."I would love to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Saif Ali Khan. He acts so well and he is my reel life hero," said Anand.The actress, who found herself in a controversy for her alleged affair with model-cum-actor Dino Morea, bluntly says it's a rumour."I don't know how these rumours about both of us being together began in the first place. I came to know about such a thing after I read it in a newspaper."Nikita started her career as a model but is right now focussed on anchoring shows on fast cars and cricket on television and acting."I started modelling when I stepped into the showbiz but now I have stopped doing that. I am anchoring shows and now I am looking forward to 'Dil Dosti Etc'," said Nikita who is also a trained singer.Though she doesn't want to make singing her career, she certainly wants to sing songs for her films one day. As far as the competition goes, she said: "I am not here to let anybody down, the only competitor I have is myself and I believe I can curse myself and overcome my mistakes by doing that."

Mumbai, New York-based Indian filmmaker Mira Nair likely to push Tabu's name for an Oscar nomination this year. The talented actress played the central role in her film "The Namesake". "She is definitely going to project Tabu as a potential best actress at the Oscars. Though Irrfan Khan is as good, if not better, the focus of Nair's Oscar campaign for her masterly study of the Indian diaspora is likely to be predominantly Tabu," said a source close to the project. "Irrfan is excellent. But he lacks what the Americans are looking for in their Oscars recipe. Tabu is exotic, glamorous and mysterious. This is her first real exposure to the Western audience. And they're lapping up her Bengali act, thick accent and all. On top of that she's also wowing the westerners with her performance in 'Cheeni Kum'," added the source.Will Tabu be the first Indian actor to win an Oscar? "Why not?" says Mira's creative compatriot Deepa Mehta. "She's amazingly good, on a par with any of her Western counterparts," said Mehta who six years ago offered Tabu the lead in "Water". The deal fell apart. A lot of global cineastes are positive about Tabu's chances. However, Tabu herself remains supremely indifferent to recognition at home or abroad.

A plate of mixed vegetable noodles made by actor Madhavan was sold for a whopping Rs 50000, at a charity auction held in Chennai! Olympia Technology Park, world's largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold rated green building, opened out its swanky new food court to the public. Taking time off his busy schedule, actor Madhavan inaugurated the 25,000 square feet food court, one of the biggest in the country. The food court is professionally managed by Planet Yumm, a leading food brand chain in the city. Madhavan, the chief guest for the day cheerfully donned the chef's hat and tossed out a egetable noodles from the Wang’s Kitchen, which was finally purchased by Ajith Kumar Chordia, Managing Director, Olympia Technology Park in an auction for Rs 50,000! Maddy also enthusiastically interacted with the special invitees, the inmates of Banyan. The inmates were happy to share a few precious moments with Chennai's heart throb. All proceeds from the activities of the day were handed over to Banyan.

Bharath and Meera Jasmine did an intimate kissing scene in a song for their forthcoming film Nepali. Bharath known for his boy-next-door image has gone for a complete make-over in this film in which he looks dashing. Meera Jasmine one of the finest actors in the country has been paired opposite Bharath and sources close to the unit say that the pair share a great on-screen chemistry, which has to be seen to be believed. Says Bharath: “Yes, this was a very sensuous song which was choreographed brilliantly by Brinda master and this intimate kissing scene was a part of the story board.”Srikanth Deva the music director known for his loud, mass songs has also changed tracks and in Nepali all the songs are soft romantic numbers.

Mumbai, Mild-mannered Vidya Balan is livid over questions being raised about her pairing with Shahid Kapur in Aziz Mirza's latest production for which she's currently shooting abroad. "Who says I look incompatible with Shahid Kapur? People are raising questions on our on-screen compatibility. All I'll say is wait and see," Vidya told IANS."I loved working with his father, Pankaj Kapur, in Raj Kumar Santoshi's 'Halla Bol'. And I think Shahid is a bundle of talent," she added.On being reminded that she resembles Mirza's favourite heroine Juhi Chawla, Vidya laughs delightedly."Juhi and I do have the same business manager (K.S. Sanjay). I loved Aziz saab's 'Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman' and 'Yes Boss'. This also is a sweet and tender film. All his films are entertaining and socially conscious. I'm blessed to be working with directors like Mani Ratnam, Rajkumar Santoshi and Aziz Mirza."As for her much-discussed bonding with co-star John, Vidya brushes it off as "only a professional relationship"."After 'Salaam-e-Ishq', we are doing another film together. We don't share a social life after working hours. But I guess we have lots of fun on the sets.""But my Prince Charming will have to be away from the industry," the vivacious Vidya said.