PROJECTOR

Bowling ’em over

Udara completes first test for Super Six:

Ruwini Jayawardana

More is merry. Excess is fun but the key to it all is balance. The story rotates around friendship and team spirit. The romance between three couples also falls under focus with some entertainment provided by the likes of diverse individuals. Their stories run parallel and are sometimes interwoven but one aspect remains untouched: their determination to win the game.

Young director Udara Palliyaguruge completed shooting of his debut cinematic venture Super Six last week. The movie is woven around Sri Lanka’s passion for cricket and comprises young and experienced actors.

“More than 50 percent of the cast includes seasoned artistes. I have selected the youths for their abilities as well as good looks. For example Hemal Ranasinghe was the International Best Male Model in 2009 while Aruni Rajapaksa was Miss Sri Lanka in 2007. Both actors have the ability to face the camera and dance. We import actors from foreign countries because we do not appreciate our own resources. The movie will shed light on the fact that our actors have much more to offer than that meets the eye,” Palliyaguruge reveled to Daily News ‘Projector’.

Super Six is the largest commercial budget movie in the island with a production cost of Rs 77 million. It includes stunning stunts performed by experts, scenes shot via helicopters, dance sequences created by Indian choreographer Sridhar and some of the latest technological devices. Did Udara ever have second thoughts about investing such a large sum on a movie?

“The truth is that people are still vying to see a quality production. Masses will flock into theatres once they get to know that an entertaining movie of excellence is being shown. They have not given up hope in Sri Lankan cinema. The fault lies in the screen circuits. They earn large sums by screening the creations but only give 30 percent of the profit to the producers.

Therefore though movies run well producers hesitate to invest on another production because they are unable to recover the full sum,” he noted adding that the film circuits rob the producers of their profit rights.

Udara has the answer to winning back the invested amount for Super Six

“We will be screening five copies of the film dubbed in Hindi in India. The movie will also make its round in European theatres,” he quipped.

The Super Six storyline is a concept of producer R Sadesh Kumar and scripted by Anura Ekanayake. Looking at the images one almost wonders if this is a Sri Lankan version of a Bollywood project.

“Sri Lankan cinema is a combination of our traditions and those we inherited from India. Our art had Indian influence from the past. The local arts scene and Indian art have been flowing parallel to each other but we triumphed above them in using some of the latest technologies to make better productions. Ran Muthu Duwa, the first colour full-length Sinhala film, is one example. I am not attempting to make a Bollywood movie. My target goes beyond that,” said Udara who had been the program producer and director for MTV Channels (Pvt) Ltd. He had directed many popular programs including Subasiri, Style and Eye to Eye.

Udara had completed the first few innings of his film by selecting the perfect cast, locations and had completed shooting the movie in picturesque locations in Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and Andaman islands.

The final production stages are underway. Super Six comprises six songs and around 12 musical tracks. Updates of the movie are available on facebook. The team also hopes to launch a website before its release in mid 2011.

Himali turns to singing

Himali Sayurangi is well known for her presenting skills and acting talent. However recent news revealed that she is equally talented at singing.

Director Anuruddha Jayasinghe recognized her vocal skills and had presented the young actress with the opportunity to render her voice to singing poems in his latest tele creation Kaviya Nuba. The teledrama is based on Shanthi Dissanayake’s novel Agna.

Himali will be essaying the role of a disfigured girl in the tale.

The protagonist of Kaviya Nuba may not be good-looking but she embodies the talent to compose beautiful verses. Her character demands Himali to sing some of these poems aloud in the teledrama.

RJ

Chathu clinches honours

Popular actress Chathurika Peiris won a merit certificates for her performances in Dayaratne Ratagedara’s film Nil Diya Yahana and Sudath Rohana’s teledrama Karuwala Gedara at the OCIC awards recently.

She entered acting in 2002 and her career now spans eight years. She had produced a couple of teledramas like Sihina Dew Duwa. Chathurika is playing a key role in the lenthy teledrama Prathana Mal which is one of their home productions. She is also part of the cast in Sudath Rohana’s Swayanjatha.

RJ

Blanchett elf ears again

It’s all happening. Finally we’ve got some casting announcements for what is already proving to be a production nightmare: the long-awaited film adaptation of The Hobbit.

Lucky for fans, it looks like the film will do its best to provide continuity with the original Lord of The Rings film. Among the announced cast is Cate Blanchett, who will be returning to reprise her role as Galadriel, the royal elf who houses Frodo and friends in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Deadline

At 102, Oliveira ready for more films

Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, at 102 on Saturday the world’s oldest active film-maker, is planning to shoot several more films, he told an audience as he presented his last short film in Oporto.

“I have several projects up my sleeve,” including another film based on Portuguese author Agustina Bessa Luis’ latest book A ronda da noite (The Night Watch). Late Thursday Oliveira was in Oporto, the city where he was born, to present his latest short film.

AFP

Dutta to star in Don 2

Lara Dutta will be essaying the role of Shahrukh Khan’s moll in Don 2, the role that Eesha Koppikhar played in the original.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Chopra will essay the role of leading lady in the movie.

Icy winds started blowing the minute Priyanka landed on the Berlin airport.

An insider revealed, “Lara was already there a week before PC. The two barely exchanged hellos with frosty smiles before they directed their warmth to SRK and the director Farhan Akhtar.”

These two beauties have had a long history. The two were crowned as Miss Universe and Miss World in the same year.

They both started their career with the same movie Andaaz. Lara portrayed a role of grieving widow and had the author backed role, but it was Priyanka who walked away to stardom and the plum assignments with Akshay Kumar. Since then, Lara has steered clear of working with PC, sources say that she was hesitant to sign Don 2 as well.

bollywoodhott.com

Deva breaks his silence

Despite controversies surrounding him for a long time now, Prabhu Deva chose to maintain silence. Recently, the actor-choreographer-director met the media and spoke about various issues.

On his alleged relationship with actress, Nayantara, he said, “Too much is written about me. I don’t know whether it deserves such an importance. I don’t want to make any comments.”

When asked how he manages all his three trades, Deva said, “I don’t plan things. I take them as it comes. When I direct, I give my best. If I am assigned to act, I will do what an actor should and never interfere in anyone’s work at the sets. Same is the case when I am asked to choreograph.”

He is happy about the way his directorial venture Engeyum Kadhal has shaped up.

He is getting ready to direct Vishal for a Tamil movie soon, is expecting the release of two of his acting ventures. They are Kalavadia Pozhudhugal directed by Thangar Bachan and Santosh Sivan’s Urumi.

IndiaGlitz

Katrina’s loss, Aishwarya’s gain!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may have lost Salman Khan to Katrina Kaif, but the tables have turned in their professional lives.

According to reports in the media, Rai has been roped in to play the role of Debi Chaudhurani in an upcoming Rituparno Ghosh project, the same role for which the ace Bengali director’s originally choice was Kaif.

In a statement to the media, Ghosh confirms that he is indeed making an on screen adaptation of Debi Chaudhurani and if all goes well Rai may also be a part of the movie. However, Ghosh is not prepared to make any final commitment at the present moment because he is presently busy with another dance - based Bengali movie.

Moreover, Rai too, will take some time off with hubby Abhishek Bachchan to enjoy a romantic vacation.

Rai has starred in Ghosh’s Chokher Bali and Raincoat in the past. The film adaptation of the Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay novel may not be a bilingual as earlier reported, confirmed Ghosh.

Santabanta

Mann may partner with Turner

After drumming up awards, box office earnings and a healthy helping of buzz with last year’s Up In The Air, Sheldon Turner is signing up to write his next big project to potentially be directed by crime action guru Michael Mann.

The film, called Big Tuna, is not about The Office’s Jim Halpert’s turn towards the criminal life, but rather a biopic following the life of Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo and his successor, San Giancana. While Turner is coming off of huge success, Mann’s plate is a little cooler; his last film, Public Enemies, didn’t quite hit the high mark his fans had expected. Mann is also juggling a few other options for his return to the director’s chair, including two other historical dramas that stray way from the crime genre.

Coming Soon

WB goes Rabbit for Tucker

We haven’t really seen that much of Chris Tucker since he started doing Rush Hour, but that seems to be likely to change soon.

Warner Brothers is developing Rabbit, in which Tucker will star as a fugitive Vegas escape artist who is given a choice of redemption by the CIA to bust a reclusive master counterfeiter out of a fortress before the Russian Mob gets to him. Rabbit sounds a thousand times better than the other rumored project he is attached to, which is Brett Ratner’s Frank Sinatra biopic as Sinatra’s chauffeur.

Variety

Billingsley to produce A Christmas Story musical

Peter Billingsley - better known as the adorable 9-year-old Ralphie Parker - announced that he’s signed on to executive produce the musical adaptation of A Christmas Story.

“A Christmas Story has always meant a lot to me personally,” he said. “I’m excited to bring this film to the stage because the story and the characters lend themselves so well to the world of musicals.”

The musical, entitled A Christmas Story: The Musical! will remain loyal to the film and book series that it was originally based on.

Billingsley, who also produced The Break Up and Four Christmases .

The Hollywood Reporter

Ranbir to counter myth of Islamophobia

US-based Indian filmmaker Mira Nair says she in talks with Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor for the role of Changez in her film The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

“I am in touch with Ranbir for the role, but there are three other actors who are also in contention,” she said, dismissing media reports that Shahid Kapoor was also in the fray for the role.

The film is aimed at dispelling the notion of Islamophobia, which has pre-occupied the West in the recent past.

Describing the film as an answer from the subcontinent to the American perspective on war and issues like Islam, Nair said: “The movie is about a dialogues between two friends in a cafe in Lahore, which presents a south Asia perspective of the war.”

“There is the myth of Islamophobia which the West is obsessed with. We need to counter it. We need to speak about it, “ she added.

Nair also said that although the film was largely set in Lahore, Pakistan, it would be shot in India as well as New York and Chile.

Santabanta

Kalyan plays director in Jesus Christ movie

It is well aware that Pawan Kalyan is associated with a movie based on the life of Jesus Christ to be produced by Konda Krishnamraju on the banner of Aditya Productions and directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao.

The formal launch of the film was also held Jordan few days ago. Sources say, Kalyan is going to play the role of a film director in this film.

While shooting the scenes of Jesus being nailed on the cross, and the blood spills out, which transforms Kalyan into a follower of Christ.

Surprisingly, the film is being made with a working title of Traffic Jam and it would hit the screens next year.

IndiaGlitz