ADLABS now in Punjab and Kolkata

Adlabs, a member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is the only integrated movie and entertainment company in India with a presence in production of films, TV content and animation, film processing and services, domestic and international distribution of content and the largest cinema chain in the country. Adlabs enjoys a dominant position in all its business segments.

Metro ADLABS, Mumbai

Inside Metro ADLABS

Adlabs Cinemas which is a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and India's leading entertainment conglomerate Adlabs Films is now open at Pathankot, Punjab and at Salt Lake in Kolkata. The new top-of-the-line two-screen cinema, MSP Adlabs, is Adlabs’ first cinema in Pathankot as well as in Salt Lake.

In Punjab the new Adlabs is located at Jalandhar Jammu Bypass, near Indian Oil Depot and in Kolkata it is located at RDB Boulevard in Sector 5 of Salt Lake. Both the complexes will have two world class widescreen-viewing screens with a total seating capacity of 335 seats, exceptional food and beverage offerings, crystal-clear DTS sound, superior Xenon projection systems and plush seats.

On opening the new Adlabs in Kolkata, Tushar Dhingra, COO – Adlabs Cinemas said, “We are very excited to make our entry into Kolkata. Salt Lake is a rapidly upcoming area and an IT hub. Moreover, alternative entertainment locations nearby such as Nicco Park ensure immense potential for this property. We are proud to give Kolkata patrons access to Adlabs’ world class cinema viewing experience at very competitive rates.”

Adlabs Cinemas is the largest cinema chain in India and presently it has 136 screens spread over 47 properties nationwide.

Enjoy the comfort of film viewing in a world-class setup.

The entertainment magazine from ADLABS

Shahrukh challenging Rajinikanth?

For some time now, Shahrukh Khan has been thinking of coming up with a grand scale special effects movie. Enter Shankar: who approaches him for Robot, his sci-fi epic. But after a few creative differences, the duo part.

Shankar moves on, making his big project even bigger by roping in Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai, with the largest budget Indian cinema has conceived of so far.

Now, Shahrukh responds by announcing that his Red Chillies banner plans to make the most expensive film in India with a budget of $25 million. Was SRK provoked/inspired by Shankar’s grand ambition?

While at the Berlin Film Festival, Shahrukh recently spoke to the legendary Hollywood trade magazine, Variety: "We are dedicating the next eight or nine months to taking the best technicians from around the world and asking them to help us make the best VFX film India has ever made. It will be madcap, over the top. I want it to be as beautiful as 'Spider-Man' in terms of effects,"

The film is yet to be titled but we roughly know the plot: what happens when a bunch of children have all their wishes come true. Are wishes that come true always a good thing or actually a nightmare disguised as a dream? The director of movies like Cash and Dus – Anubhav Sinha – will helm this mega project. What will excite VFX buffs is that Charles Darby, the man responsible for some of the special effects in Minority Report and The Matrix has been roped in. Apparently he has set up a VFX studio in Mumbai.

It will indeed be interesting to see what Shankar’s response will be. An even more grandly scaled movie than what SRK has in mind? After all, isn’t Shankar one of India’s initial special effects movie wizards?

Such healthy professional rivalry will only help in the betterment of Indian cinema.

Dr. Gayathri’s book on Superstar

Film stars, irrespective of cast, creed, gender, location, status or financial back ground entertain people belonging to all walks of life. And it was a personality from this same film field, Rajinikanth, who has inspired Dr. Gayathri Sreekanth to author a book on him.

About the book:

Being inspired by the superstar Dr. Gayathri wanted to show her appreciation towards her favorite star, and what best way to convey it than write a book on your idol. And that’s exactly what she has done. Come March and Dr. Gayathri’s book will be out in the markets for us to read and appreciate.

The book is published by Om Books International, the same firm that published the biography of the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. When Dr. Gayathri approached Om Books International she was not sure if she could get the same publication house to prepare this book too, and was immensely happy when she got a green signal.

The full length of Dr. Gayathri’s book reads to around 350 pages. The doctor reveals that it was initially 600 pages big but has been crispy edited to fit 350 pages now. Om Books International is publishing the book both in English and Tamil.

The book is more or less a chronicle where the author leads the audience through the facts and the interesting happenings in the life of superstar.

Inputs:

When Dr. Gayathri approached the superstar and told him about her plans on doing a biography on him, Rajinikanth wished her good luck and helped her in providing snaps to make the biography a more colorful one. The doctor says, more than anything else it was the humility of this actor that hit her the most. She was humbled by his speech and his simplicity, and has vowed that she too will adopt a lifestyle like her idol.

A long way to go ma’am!

Dr. Gayathri received very useful information from director AVM Saravanan, and she is very thankful for her association with him and his support in making her article more interesting and factual.

The over-whelmed doctor is also very thankful to her husband and family who have stood by her in completing this book successfully.

From the first day in March all Rajini fans can have a good insight in to the ways of the superstar through the book of Dr. Gayathri Sreekanth, because that is when this book will hit the stands. The English version is titled ‘The Name Is Rajinikanth’ and in Tamil it has aptly been named ‘Pera Kettaley Chumma Athirudhulla’!

Was that a rumbling that you heard now?

Kuruvi - on it's final leg

Ilayathalapathy Vijay, the darling of Box Office after Superstar Rajini in Tamil film industry, is very certain about the release of his Kuruvi for summer 2008. He is very happy with the way his Kuruvi is getting shaped. According to the actor, Kuruvi will be better than Gilli, the Blockbuster of 2004 for the actor.

To add more pep to the racy script of Dharani, Vijay is going to dance with the rap singer Yogi B, the Malaysian dancer cum singer for a rap number. Thank god, it is not a remake from any of the old hit like Engeyum Eppothum. But for an original tune of Vidhyasaagar, who scores some catchy and foot tapping tunes for this film.

Most of the talkie portion has been completed in Chennai and Malaysia and now the unit is going to fly to some soothing locations of Tamil Nadu and Pune for the shooting of its songs sequences. Udayanidhi, grand son of Tamil Nadu CM Dr Karunanidhi is producing the film for the first time.

with Kuruvi team in Malaysia

Now Kuruvi is in its final leg and is progressing in and around Tamil Nadu gearing up for a possible mid-April release. The crew, including Vijay and director Dharani, is stationed in Salem for the shoots. It is learnt that Vijay will extend his trip to Erode after the shoots for the social welfare activities planned by the Erode wing of his fan club.

The events, planned in the evening of February 24, 2008 at 5.00 p.m. at the CST School grounds will also be attended by Minister of Handloom and Textiles NKKP Raja, MLA Palanichamy, and Erode Mayor Murugesan. Activities planned during the course of the event include distribution of computers to Government schools and tricycles to physically challenged students.

Prior to the event, Vijay will garland the Periyar statue located in Erode. Director and Vijay’s father S.A. Chandrasekhar is also expected to attend the event.

Best wishes Farook on your Birthday

On your birthday,

I wish for you the fulfillment

of all your fondest dreams.

I hope that for every candle

on your cake

you get a wonderful surprise.

I wish for you that

whatever you want most in life,

it comes to you,

just the way you imagined it,

or better.

I hope you get as much pleasure

from our friendship as I do.

I wish we were in-laws,

so I could have known you

from the beginning.

I look forward to

enjoying our friendship

for some of your birthdays.

I'm so glad you were born,

because you brighten my life

and fill it with joy.

Happy Birthday ma sweet little bro-in-law!

Happy birthday to you... May Allah shower blessings on you… Many More Happy Returns of the Day...

With Love Haseem

Best wishes shamy and taha on your Anniversary

It’s another day for you. Allah picked another petal on your flower, wishing your flowers may bloom for year. Wish you Happy Anniversary my dear sister and bro-in-law.

Remember the yesterdays,

Plan your tomorrows

And celebrate your today…

Because it’s the Anniversary

of your love that filled

your hearts with Joy

Happy Anniversary

to a Lovely Couple

(Shameema & Mohammed Taha)

Forever your’s little Haseem

A.R.Murugadoss and Aamir Khan break Indian record

A.R. Murugadoss and Aamir Khan have managed to pull off a national level record for the highest distribution rights paid for a single movie yet! Yes, you heard it right: their Hindi Ghajini has garnered a whooping 90 crores in distribution price for its producers Madhu Verma and Allu Arivind.

The Indian Film Company (IFC) has paid 53 crores to the producers of the movie for the domestic distribution rights. IFC had earlier distributed Jab We Met and Welcome, both of which have been profitable ventures. Overseas, satellite, online and home video rights collected another 40 crores.

This is quite a remarkable achievement considering the fact that not a single official still has been released about the movie yet.

The movie is obviously heavy weight with Aamir fresh off his Taare Zameen Par success, A.R. Rahman as the music director (the inside story is that the director has composed some mind blowing music for the movie), Ravi K Chandran in charge of camera, and Murugadoss, one of the most commercially successful directors of the south at the helm. Asin plays the lead lady of Aamir, supported by Jiah Khan

Ghajini has managed to break the record set by Om Shanthi Om, which had collected 73 crores for its distribution rights.

Now for the really interesting side of all this: Aamir is not just looking to take away Shahrukh's record on the finance-side, but also on the physical side. He is gearing up to flaunt a six pack ala Shahrukh Khan. The actor is on a strict exercise regimen, building up muscles and pumping some iron.

Call it professional rivalry at its peak!

Sathyam screened for a special person

Major portion of the Vishal starrer Sathyam is complete but for a few song sequences. The unit was very satisfied after watching the canned portion of the film. Highlight of Sathyam is said to be popular Kannada star Upendra who is slipping in to the role of an encounter cop. In addition to him, there is one more actor who is making her entry into films after a long hibernation. It is dancer Sudha Chandran who will be seen in an important role in Sathyam. After her first film Mayuri and a few other projects, she is currently busy in television assignments.

Another interesting trivia about Sathyam is that the finished portion of the film was screened for police officer Sailendra Babu who is said to have tutored hero Vishal in the life, body language, mannerisms and other finer nuances of an encounter cop. Hence it is only fair that Vishal takes the approval of his guru before the film hits the big screen. One of the unit members was heard saying that the top notch police officer was much impressed with his pupil’s performance and is satisfied with the way Vishal has projected himself in the film.

Anjathe - Movie Review

Cast: Narain, Prasanna, Vijayalakshmi, Ajmal, Ponvannan, Pandia Rajan

Direction: Mysskin

Music: Sundar C Babu

Production: V. Hitesh Jhabak

Mysskin’s eagerly awaited follow up to Chitiram Pesuthadi does not disappoint. Anjathe, a tale of two friends Sathya & Kiruba played by Narain and Ajmal (debut), defies plot synopsis with its many twists and turns. The lives of these friends take turns they least expect - at times by destiny and at other times by desperation. They take paths so different from each other that when their paths cross accidentally; it results in a big loss for one of them.

Narain and Ajmal are sons of two police constables living in the same colony. They are the best of friends-but the similarities end there. While Ajmal nurses a sub inspector dream by day and night, Narain is a guy with a conscience but with no aim in life.

In an interesting turn of events, a bit of luck, ‘under the table’ dealings and ‘influence’ leads Narain rather than Ajmal to bag the SI post. A naturally disappointed Ajmal is further hurt by the change of attitude towards him at home. A brooding Ajmal slowly loses his grip on life and slips away into the dark lanes of intoxication in spite of Narain’s efforts. Crime comes as a natural consequence of events, with money being the motivation. These are the sequence of events that have been set forth in Anjathe. How well has this been narrated?

At the outset, the story is pretty interesting with enough events to keep you hooked for over three hours. The high point of the movie is definitely the casting. The crew must be lauded for showing the courage to think beyond the Daniel Balajis’ and other typical bad guys and casting Prasanna (the chocolate boy) as the lead baddie with comedy veteran Pandiarajan keeping him company. How Prasanna fares as a ‘no holds barred’ criminal is interesting to watch. Prasanna is the one who woos Ajmal into the world of crime by throwing easy and fast money and convincing him that life on the wrong side of the law is possible.

The kidnapping racket that they run in the city and the ensuing events have been niftily narrated. The police investigation that has a tough time tracking them down also forms an interesting part of the narrative. All this builds up to the climatic sequences where the two old friends have to face each other once again.

The highlight of Anjathe is definitely the performances. Prasanna, Narain and Ajmal carry off the main roles very convincingly, with Prasanna finally looking like he has managed to pull out of his ‘chocolate boy’ image trap. The way Vijayalakshmi settles scores at the end with Prasanna is also worth a mention. However, it has to be pointed out that the characters, particularly that played by Narain contain contradictions. In one scene Narain shirks from confronting violence, in another he’s fighting with all his heart. Pandiarajan’s character also disappoints a little. After being introduced as a hardcore criminal, the element of toughness in his character has been sacrificed for some customary Pandiarajan brand of comedy that fails to work; a waste of what could have been an interesting character.

The rest of the cast -Ponvannan (as the investigating officer), Livingston and M.S. Bhaskar, have all played their roles neatly. The script is a good piece of work; keeping an audience interested for more than three hours is not an easy task, but the film pulls it off rather neatly. However, there are certain issues that could have been polished and rounded off before the climax. These loose knots remain untied till the end of the movie. The other pitfall is the seeming nonchalance with which Prasanna and Ajmal dupe the entire police force while kidnapping sons, daughters and others related to big shots of the city. This bit is a little hard to swallow, especially since you know that they don’t have much of a criminal network within the city.

Camera by Mahesh Muthusamy is interesting, there seems to be a touch of P.C. Sreeram inspiration here, especially in the lighting (some scenes that are half-lit and shaded dark for atmosphere). Out of the three songs scored by Sundar. C. Babu, one stands out. The background score just passes muster.

Anjathe looks and feels good. The tempo rarely slackens, remaining consistently interesting and seldom boring. This, and the good performances in Anjathe, makes it more than just watchable fair.

Verdict: Not a bad follow up to Chitiram at all.

Rating: 3 stars on 5