Kavya Madhavan attempts suicide

Malayalam leading actress Kavya Madhavan, who made headlines recently for being a part of a Mallu masala film scandal, has attempted suicide, some sources said.

She reportedly made the attempt on Saturday night (14 June), immediately after some ugly gossip about her began circulating that the clips showing her performing a special pooja with a swamiji without any clothes, have hit the internet. It was also said that she was shown in an intimate position with swamiji in an MMS

When she heard the news that she was dragged into a scandal involving a well-known swamiji, she was disturbed a lot, sources said. The suicide attempt was foiled by her family members

The entire story began when a self-proclaimed 'swamiji' was arrested in Kerala. It was said that a number of leading heroines used to visit him for some special semi-nude poojas that he performed. In the said list, Kavya Madhavan's name was also reportedly found.

However, online circulation of Kavya Madhavan's blue film is still unconfirmed. Many claim that they have seen it, others state that there is no such thing. Perhaps mischief-makers may be circulating the rumours for their own interest!

Greatness is not just about ... Dr. Kamal Haasan

Jack of all trades and master of many, may be all.’ If this is true of any one person it has to be the one and only - Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan. Greatness is not just about how good you are, it is about how good you continue to be over years and decades, that separates the good from the great. Greatness is about being in the right place, doing the right things and living a life that puts the pursuit of perfection at the top of all priorities. If this is greatness then Kamal Haasan is surely one of the greatest that cinema has seen and will ever see. As his glowing 50 year celluloid life is poised to hit a crescendo, ready to shine at its brightest, we thought about taking all Kamal fans back in time- from the days of the toddler in Kalathur Kannamma, through the young lad learning the nuances of bharathanatyam, the assistant dance director, the beginner, the star, the master, the director, the producer, the visionary- all the way to Universal Star. Retracing the steps that took the boy from Paramakudi to the pinnacles of celluloid perfection; Kamal-the making of a legend

Some say, ‘legends are born’. Others beg to differ, they say ‘legends are made’. When each person is born they are nothing but a mound of earth waiting to be molded, a stone waiting to be cut to diamond, a sapling waiting to be tended. Destiny chooses few among us to mold, cut and tend to greatness. Kamal Haasan was one such chosen by the hands of time to be shaped to hold greatness, not as an ornament or an attainment but as a way of life. What sets Kamal apart from other greats is that his greatness neither precedes him nor follows him, it is a part of him. Each time he performs it is not his reputation that speaks, it is that performance which is perfection personified. He does not rest on laurels nor lives in the past, he strives to construct monuments through each frame, each shot and each movie. Everyone has but one masterpiece but Kamal is one whose career is strewn with masterpieces. ‘Masterpiece-ing’ is just another day in the office for him and now he awaits us with another masterpiece which we believe will outdo, outclass and outshine all masterpieces that have been put before us in the past.

Dasavatharam is almost here and it might be the most appropriate time to revel in the genius of Kamal. But this is not just about Dasavatharam or any one movie. Dasavatharam or not, all that has been said above about Dr. Kamal Haasan holds true. It is not about 10 roles or one big movie, it is about the dedication of one man to what he does, the pursuit of excellence that made him the legend.

Poorna ---- "Chinna Asin"!

Scene 1- On Monday evening, at Landmark in Chennai, Asin had a farewell party of sorts after an impressive innings in Tamil cinema.

She was being launched by an international fashion magazine as the cover girl announcing her as the new hot girl in Bollywood for being featured as Aamir Khan's heroine. Her last film in Tamil Dasavatharam had just released.

By late evening she was back on board a flight to Mumbai to chase her Bollywood dreams.

Scene 2- Cut to the swanky Asiana Hotel in Chennai's IT corridor. The newly-opened hotel was holding its first ever Kollywood big bash- the audio launch of Bharath's new film Muniyandi Vilayangiyal oondrammaandu (MVM). After the trailer and songs from the film was played for the invitees, Ilayathalapathy Vijay, in his speech said, "The heroine of the film reminds me so much of Asin, especially in her dance movements and expressions. She has a bright future in Tamil cinema".

Everybody in the packed ballroom of the hotel craned their necks to take a better look at the demure girl on stage. Kollywood's biggest superstar after Rajinikanth and a man of few words, Vijay praising a girl he was seeing for the first time took the gathering by surprise. After Vijay's speech the rest of the film fraternity took the cue, and had something nice to say about - "Chinna Asin"!

So who is this 17-going-on-18 girl who has become the new sensation in Kollywood? Meet Poorna alias Shamna Kasim, a Malayalee girl now residing in Kochi, the heroine of MVM. Her claim to fame was that she had done three Malayalam films with the superstar Mohanlal as his foster sister in Ali Bhai, as heroine's friend in Flash, and finally the second heroine who comes in a flashback in College Kumaran. Though she was close to Mohanlal, her film career in Malayalam never took off as all her films bombed.

It was at this time the MVM director Thirumurugan, who made a name for himself as the director of Mettioli, the longest running soap on television, chose her to be his heroine. "I picked her after screen testing nearly 100 other people for the crucial heroine's role. I make only family movies.

She suited my character - a small-town village girl. She came out with a knockout performance and has a good screen presence", says Thirumurugan. Added Bharath, who has worked with Malayalee heroines like Sandhya, Bhavana, Gopika, and Meera Jasmine, "After MVM , Poorna is going to go places. She is not only a good-looker but can also emote on screen. And like Vijay said, she does in some ways resemble Asin."

Meanwhile Poorna was swept off her feet and was speechless after Vijay's comments that she looked like Asin. "I was dumbstruck, because Vijay is my favourite hero and I have seen Pokkiri four times! When he compared me with Asin 'Chechi', who is my role model my day was made."

Suddenly a halo has been created around Poorna’s head, as she got three calls early next morning from top directors and a hero from Kollywood asking for her dates. She will become the first Malayalee Muslim born and brought up in Kannur, to debut in Tamil cinema. It may be coincidental but those who have played Mohanlal's sister and later heroine have made it big in Tamil. You need look no further than the numero uno actress Nayanthara!

Dimple Kapadia way is Bipasha Basu

Going the Dimple Kapadia way is Bipasha Basu who is romancing all younger men in her next three films... and all debutants of 2007.There’s Ranbir Kapoor in Siddharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseenon, Neil Nitin Mukesh in Jehangir Surtia’s Freeze and Maradonna Rebello in Sudipto Chattopdhya’s Paankh.

In the past, Dimple romanced Akshaye Khanna in Dil Chahta Hai, Saif Ali Khan in Being Cyrus, and Amol Mhatre in Leela.“So what if these actors are younger, is there an issue,” asked the Bengali actress testily. “My pairing with these younger men looks good. With Ranbir, I have great chemistry onscreen. Neil and I complement each other thanks to a fabulous script.

They are cool and contemporary,” said Bips. In the third film, unfortunately, she’s only a diva who lives in actor Maradonna’s fantasy.

The ‘Aap Ka Suroor’ star Hansika Motwani is hardly in her 17s but has Hansika Motwaniworked with Bollywood stars, who are more than double her age. But, she feels that age has nothing to do with working.

Recently, the cute-faced actress has also disclosed that she has no problem in wearing a bikini, and if the character demands she would surely wear it.Hansika also garnerned lots of publicity recently for her alleged spat with co-star Celina Jaitley because she was sporting more glamourous dresses in the movie ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’.

But Hansika cleared the air by saying that their looks have been clearly defined, she is being cast as a drama queen, whereas Celina essaying the role of a fashion designer, and there were no problems between them.

On argument with Celina, she said, “I don’t know who’s cooking up these stories that I had a problem with Celina just because she was sporting more glamourous dresses in the film Money Hai Toh Honey Hai. Our look has been clearly defined in the film. I am playing a drama queen, whereas Celina is essaying the role of a fashion designer. Why would we have a jhagda over this?”

Hansika Motwani, who started her career as a child artiste in Bollywood and worked in films like Koi... Mil Gaya, Escape from Taliban, Jaago and Aabra Ka Daabra, is surely on cloud 9 these days as she has big budget movies like ‘Money Hai Toh Honey Hai’ (opposite comedy star Govinda) in her kitty. And of recent, she has quite a few south Indian hits to her credit too.

On working with multi-talented star Govinda, she said, “Working with him is an experience in itself. When people ask me as to how I feel romancing a much older person like him on screen, I really feel funny. Acting, after all, is about playing a character and I can even play an 80-year-old woman with ease on screen. Moreover, when you are working with an actor like Govinda, you end up giving your 110 per cent.”

So, here is another actress with dare-to-bare feelings. Gone are the days of ‘Sati-Savitri’ heroines, here comes the ‘Bikini-Brigade’, really, Bollywood industry is becoming hotter day-by-day!

Saloni in Ram Charan’s new film ‘Dheerudu’.

Saloni is a young actor who is still struggling to establish herself in Tollywood. She acted in films like Oka Oorilo and Kokila and Dhana 51. But none of her film could make a mark and she later moved to Sandalwood and tried her luck there.Saloni made a good mark in Kannada and has some successful films to her credit.

She has now bagged a big offer in Telugu. Saloni will play the second heroine in Ram Charan’s new film ‘Dheerudu’. Rajamouli is the director. Kajal Agarwal is the heroine. Saloni hopes that her role in Dheerudu will finally bring her recognition and help her bag offers in Telugu.

Victory Venkatesh is now busy with .....

Victory Venkatesh is now busy with his latest film Chintakayala Ravi (software engineer) directed by Yogi. Anushka is the heroine. After that Venkatesh will act in a film tentatively titled as ‘Krishna Mukunda Murari. Krish of Gamyam fame will direct this film. Venkatesh has agreed to act in a film to be directed by Srinu Vaitla. Vaitla is now a hat trick director with three straight hits – Dhee, Dubai Seenu and Ready. Vaitla is now directing Nagarjuna and Trisha for the film titled ‘King’. The Venaktesh-Vaitla film will go to the sets only in 2009.