Box-office
clash coming up
Two
formidable tie-ups have been announced by the Tamil box office’s top-draw
stars. How is this for a box-office clash: on one side, actor Vijay, director
A.R. Murugadoss and music director Anirudh; and on the other side actor Ajith,
director Gautham Menon and music director A.R. Rahman? Samantha will pair Vijay
in the A.R. Murugadoss project, which has set expectations soaring, especially
after the same combination worked wonders with ‘Thuppakki’. The unit was seen
shooting at the airport recently. Gautham Vasudev Menon is expected to start
shooting his Ajith Kumar-starrer in March.
TV stars
shine
Tamil
television talk-show and reality-show hosts are basking in the glory that
hitherto only film stars enjoyed. From Sivakarthikeyan, Gopinath, MaKaPa Anand
to Jagan, Deepak, Sanjeev, Nirmala Periyasamy and Bhavana, the list of TV stars
who are now household names is growing constantly. Divyadharshini Neelakandan
(nicknamed ‘DD’) of Vijay TV says she keeps hearing about youngsters aspiring
to become TV anchors. “I am glad when mothers say they want their daughters to
become anchors after watching my shows. But, I don’t agree when people put me
on a par with heroines as their profession is completely different, and
demanding,” she said. New TV host and actor-director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan feels
the small screen connects her better with her audience. “I didn’t have an idea
about the extent of television popularity. When I go out in public now, people
treat me like a part of their family. My talk show (Solvadhellam Unmai on Zee
Tamil) is team work. Yet, many see me as the face of the show and share their
views and problems with me. Of course, much responsibility comes with hosting
television shows. You cannot demand retakes in talk shows packed with emotions
as in films,” she said.
