The rumour mills are buzzing with this news, and if true, hats off to Thala Ajith for just the sheer generosity and good will. Yes, it seems the actor has ‘gifted’ houses to his staff members who have been with him for a long time!!

The driver, maid, housekeeper, gardener and other such valuable members of the superstar’s help are supposedly getting one free house each, and again, if rumours are to be believed in this case, he has built 10 such houses!

Not only are they gifts from the kind soul that is Ajith, they are fully furnished and in ‘ready to move in’ condition, and the house warming ceremonies will be held as soon as the actor get backs from Malaysia.

However, surprisingly, this is not the whole interesting bit about this – it is that Ajith actually wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps, and not be put up in the media for public consumption. You heard it right folks – he does not want any recognition for his actions and actually prefers to do it as quietly as possible; in short, a man who believes that charity should be for charity’s sake and not for personal gain of any kind including praise or glory.

But like in any other case, the people who do receive such help from him find it hard not to talk about it and especially to refrain from showing the world what a warm, wonderful person he can be.

Not that Thala needs any more ‘attention’ drawn to him but kudos to you sir for your truly astonishing and giving spirit, and for your attitude towards those who are loyal to you, in whatever capacity it may be.

It becomes hard not to remember and quote Ajith’s own line in Veeram – “If we look after those who are below us, the One who sits above will look after us.”

It is indeed easy to see why Ajith is among the most respected of the stars in the industry and why many have only admiration for him as an actor and as a human being.

Actress Shruthi Sawant, better known by her screen name Iniya, just had a burglary at her home in Thiruvananthapuram in which, approximately Rs 5 lacs in cash and valuable gold ornaments, also worth lacs, were stolen!

The police, along with their dog squad, have been mobilized and it is not known yet if there has been development in the search for the culprits. The actress lives at home with her parents and the theft, apparently took place when the family was out for a late night show of a movie.

The father of the 21 year old Kerala born starlet, told the media that the ornaments and the cash were for his daughter’s wedding, which they had collected over the years. No – it doesn’t mean Iniya is about to tie the knot soon (that we know of at least)!

The beautiful actress, with her dusky complexion and sultry looks had turned heads the first time in the Tamil movie – Vaagai Sooda Vaa – in which her performance was acclaimed critically and opened new doors for her.

It was for this movie that she changed her name to Iniya as she felt Shruthi was a very common name and didn’t stand out much. Anyway, Iniya became a recognised face especially because of the songs in the period flick like ‘Sara sara saara kaathu’ and ‘Poraney poraney’ which became chart topping hits.

Although it was Kollywood that welcomed the actress with open arms, she had done some minor work in Malayalam before; but undoubtedly it was the Tamil movie’s success that got her noticed and she went on to play a pivotal role in the Malayalam film Ayal starring Lal which also gathered up quite a few laurels.

Well, it looks like lady luck left her side with this incident though and hopefully the police manage to recover the stolen property.

There have been many movies in Indian cinema history, in multiple languages, that have been ‘inspired by’ certain famous (or not so famous) foreign movies – especially hit Hollywood ones, but rarely does someone actually go about remaking a movie properly – by buying the official remake rights to the original one. Well that’s the case anyway with the French film Point Blank which is being remade in Tamil and Hindi soon!

The original French action thriller, directed by Fred Cavaye, starred Gilles Lellouches, Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin and Elena Anaya in the lead roles and according to Sunir Kheterpal, who has bought the remake rights to the film, the story is entertaining and has a particular universal appeal. This means it should lend well to being remade for the Indian audiences, with a few changes and tweaks of course, to suit our unique sensibilities.

Ravi K Chandran, the veteran cinematographer turned debutant director of Jeeva starrer Yaan, will be the man at the helm of both remakes – Tamil and Hindi. Mr Chandran is particularly well suited to the task as he has worked in both industries over a career spanning more than two decades as a cinematographer (one of the most sought after ones in fact).

It still remains to be decided whether the filming for both versions will be done simultaneously or one after another. The cast too will only be decided by the end of the month according to the proposed films’ makers.

This is good news for the fans eagerly on the wait for Ravi K Chandran’s current project and maiden directorial venture Yaan. The movie which was announced over a year ago is still not complete and is expected to hit the theatres sometime in August this year.

Rumors surfaced recently that the plot of the movie might bear certain resemblances to A R Murgadoss – Vijay movie Kaththi (also in production). If true it evidently falls upon the director’s unique vision to get the audiences to pick one over the other.

Good luck on both projects to Mr Chandran and keep them coming.

Veteran Tamil actress Manorama, 77, better known to those close to her as Aachi, was hospitalised today on June 5th, after she she complained of severe breathing issues which started yesterday. She is currently in the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital, and neither her family nor the doctors have given any statements to the media so far.

According to rumors though, the doctors found less potash in her blood than the normal level and this has been linked as the causal factor for her respiratory ailments. They have, however, made it clear that she should stay in the ICU for another two days.

The actress has always been a fan favorite and in a career that has lasted over five decades, she has acted in over a thousand movies.

Manorama gained her recognition through acclaimed performances that showed versatility, ranging from comedic roles to dramatic ones.

The ageing star has had her run ins with health issues and injuries before, including a knee operation two years ago, a head injury and it was just this March that she exhibited signs of heart problems as strong chest pains and was hospitalized then to receive treatment for it. Fortunately, she recovered soon and was discharged a few days later.

Manorama celebrated her birthday last month and we,along with the rest of the fans, pray for her speedy recovery…

Well this could turn out to be interesting – rumors have surfaced that the much awaited A R Murgadoss – Ilaya Thalapathy Vijay movie Kaththi, promised to be a ‘mass’ action thriller, and the long overdue Jeeva movie Yaan have essentially the same storylines!

They say the plots are very similar but its the way the directors have handled their respective films and their vision (and of course the actors) that makes each movie different.

If true, this has all the signs of turning into an all out ‘Vijay vs Jiiva’ war at the box office, and with Vijay’s box office brand being on the rise again – no small thanks to Thuppakki and Jilla – and the huge fan community behind the actor, this could be the making of Jiiva or could lead to a bitter disappointment for the actor, who’s still not a top tier star in Kollywood.

Let’s also not forget that Yaan is being directed by cinematographer turned director Ravi K Chandran, whose maiden voyage into filmmaking this is. The flick has been on the floor for over a year now and it would be unfortunate for it to go straight up against one of the most anticipated movies of the year when it finally comes out.

However, the talent being sound and the craft and business of cinema being ‘unpredictable’ to say the least, this might also just be an entertainment feast for the fans with two flavours of the same dish being served – it’s up to them to choose in the end…

It sure looks like the ex pornstar turned actress knows how to play the game because if the rumors are true, Sunny Leone recently charged Rs 35 lacs to do a single ‘item’ song in Tamil! Whoa! Talk about making the hay while the sun shines…

It seems the sizzling sensation’s hot song in the Jai starrer Vadacurry has raked in a huge amount of publicity for the movie and the industry gurus did not neglect this. So it came to be that Sunny was approached for yet another song in an upcoming Tamil flick titled Oru Oorla Rendu Raaja.

But this time, the actress knew her potential worth and demanded the huge payday for a few days of shooting the song – a bold move indeed and well worth it apparently, because the producer gave in!

Sunny’s paycheque for Vadacurry too was pretty high by industry standards, though it was nowhere near this sum and was mostly kept under wraps (rumored to be around Rs 25 lacs).

Even Vishakha Singh’s hot number in Anjaan did not get her in Sunny’s league, now said to be the highest in recent years in sheer monetary value.

Anyway, the song is reported to be a highway song and will be choreographed by Brinda. Sunny will appear alongside Parotta Soori in the obviously high production value video.

Whatever you may think about her, you have to respect the young diva’s business skills and marketing strategy…

With the revolutionary and epic animated film Kochadaiiyaan raking in the big money and getting a warm reception from the audience, there has been a somewhat shocking development – Rajni may not have acted the full role of Kochadaiiyaan!

Yes, reports or rather viral news has been spreading that a television actor has come forward with claims that he served as the dupe for Rajni – not just in action scenes but voice too – in many parts of the flick!

Well, the unconfirmed reports indicate the actor claimed so in his social media page whilst giving ‘thanks’ to the Kochadaiiyaan team for the opportunity and honor of a lifetime.

Apparently, the film makers had used him in many places as substitute for Rajni so as not to completely strain the Superstar physically due to the exhausting shoot. After all, Rajnikanth was, at the time, still recovering from his physical ailments and given the fact that his daughter was directing, it seems like a good explanation.

In any case, the movie which shows only animated digital avatars of the actors ran a pretty powerful promotional campaign advertising the ‘Rajnikanth brand’ for the movie – were the audience cheated when they believed they were watching, at least in some small capacity, the performance of their idol the whole span of the lengthy movie?

Or is just a necessary step that had to be taken that had no major effect on the big picture?