Will MANIRATHNAM change his climax Location ?

With the nation reeling under the swine-flu threat, the burning question is whether Mani Ratnam will go ahead with his plans to shoot his crucial climax scenes of Raavan/Ashokavanam on the outskirts of Pune.
A close associate of the filmmaker says Mani wanted a picturesque location to add an authentic touch to his film's finale.

After consulting with art director Samir Chanda, Mani devised lofty plans to construct a costly suspension bridge set atop a cliff in the dense Malshej Ghat forest area between Pune and Nasik. Sources say that he zeroed in on Malshej Ghats, lured by its breathtaking vistas of misty mountaintops and ice-cold cascades, the surrounding hills covered with a mint-green canopy in August and September every year. The proposed shoot was to feature all the stars of the film and more than 500 junior artistes. It was scheduled to last for around 25 days, commencing from the last week of August.

But now the scenario has changed drastically, with the onset of H1N1 and Pune becoming the epicenter of the epidemic. The government has advised Mumbai citizens not to travel to Lonavala and Khandala, hill stations which are fairly closer to Pune .

Who is Raavana’s Mandodhari in ManiRathnam film ?

Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavana’ steals a lot of attention, both for good and the dark reasons. He is busy churning out ‘Raavana’, the bilingual project, in spite of lay-backs.

The director had at times remade epics into modern day stories ever since ‘Thalapathi’ (story of Karna from Mahabharata). And inspired by ‘Ramayana’, he is working on ‘Raavana’ with lots of diligence to bring it out as a masterwork.

As per his plan, for the Hindi version the characters based on Rama and Seetha is played by Abhishek and Aish while Vikram would play the shades of Ravana. On the other hand the Tamil version will have Vikram replacing Abhishek’s role and would pair up with Aish. Prithiviraj would play the baddie in this version. We are also aware that Priyamani is roped in for the role of ‘Surpanagai’ for both the versions.

But, for quite some time there is a delay in fixing up an actress for the role of Mandodhari (Ravana’s wife). As most of us know, the gorgeous Nayantara has refused this juicy offer from the maverick movie maker. It was said that she turned down the role of Mandodhari as there was no glamour quotient. Guess what? A small birdie says that Mani Sir is now eying Reema Sen, for the same role. The ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ girl is still busy with the project’s patch work. But Suhasni Mani Ratnam had directly approached Selvaragavan and had asked for his permission to hire the lady for her husband’s project just for ten days.

Be it ten days or fifty days, will Selvaragavan allow Reema to cross his territory?

Vikram-Gung-ho about Kanthaswamy!

Vikram is gung-ho the way his Susi Ganeshan directed Kanthaswamy has shaped out.

Last week before he left for Ooty for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan shoot, he saw the film.

Vikram says: “ Kanthaswamy is one of the most stylish films ever made in Tamil, it is class at the same time very mass and racy. The film is fun with lots of entertainment, yet has a serious message to convey.”

The songs of the film tuned by Devi Sri Prasad are topping the charts. Says Vikram: “ The songs are chic with oodles of oomph and glamour. Devi’s music and background score is awesome. Shriya is gorgeous.”

The actor feels such spectacular action scenes have never been shot before. Added Vikram: “You will see me in a startling new uber stylish avatar.”

The actor is also all praise for director Susi Ganeshan. “I would count Susi as one of the finest directors today in Tamil commercial cinema. He has designed the sound on par with Hollywood standards. And his shots are seen to be believed. Added to that, Ekambaram’s camera is magnificent. The film is going to rock”, concludes Vikram.