And here is the original Benny Lava that started it all. Laugh out Loud.

P.S - Also watch Chiru’s Thriller.

The trolls are not going to like this. But I personally think Vijay is going to be the next superstar, a position that Rajini holds today. It’s not like he is going to be the next Rajini. For that matter, Rajini wasn’t the next MGR. He took a similar spot and re-invented it(or it was thrust on him, whatever). Vijay will do that too and we are witnessing it happen. This isn’t a post to compare and contract Rajini to Vijay but to think through why Vijay, despite the fact that he does some bad cinema, will make it as the next super star.

Vijay, like Rajini can evoke heroism in his movies. When Vikram, Ajith, Surya and many others have the same playing ground like Vijay, none of them have used it effectively like him. They wouldn’t want to do such masala films and its their prerogative. Simbhu and Dhanush look like kids doing vishk vishk heroism. Since there is no one else , as of today, to compete with Vijay on this, he is the next superstar-like-star.

Vijay’s rising fan clubs are also one other reason. He is treading on the same path as Rajini. Some might argue that Rajini was a better actor than Vijay. But that’s nearly an useless argument. Because after Thillu Mullu, the actor Rajini was long gone. The mass effect plays a very important part in turning an actor into a Superstar. We have more than a handful of samples for this. MGR, NTR and now Rajini. So Vijay’s fan clubs and his growing fan base(kids and rural youth) have made him into a ‘minimum guarantee’ hero for film producers. Not just minimum guarantee but a ‘big opening’ guaranteed hero.

So it doesn’t really matter if he has a small string of flops, he can bounce back provided the flops don’t keep happening. Pokirri, ATM and Kurvi’s failure at the box-office hasn’t affected Vijay by any measure. He will contine to have 32 producers lining-up at his house every morning and he has more than enough directors in Kodambakkam, smoking wills and racking their brains(not really needed for a masala movie) to create a storyline for him.

So what should Vijay do ? Nothing. Sit tight and stay the course. Kamal once said that he had to act a hundred films before he could make Raja Paarvai and Guna. So Vijay has a long way to go even if he wants to turn into a Ulaga Nayagan(which I should say impossible, given Vijay’s calibre) and I think he is on the right path of masala stardom.

His dad Chandrasekar, in the recent interview to Vikatan, talks about Vijay entering the Tamil Nadu politics. Whether you and I can do anything about it or not, its probably going to happen. Did we not see Vijaykanth making it to politics ? The legendary parties that made fun of him are now calling him as serious competition. It will happen to Vijay too. Good Luck !!

Previous Jabber : On Ajith

Man, that guy was a kiddo then. Neat interview. Cheers to the yesteryear Surabi Team and ofcourse Abdul Rahman aka ARR.

Best “village subjects” of Kollywood, Mudhal Mariyadhai and Devar Mahan[aka Godfather for Tamils]. That’s it !!

In the first viewing, I like the Krishnaveni motta-paati more than anyone else. Yeah, better than Balram Naidu and Poovaraagan. Balram Nadiu was definitely an accomplishment but it was too easy to play for someone as versatile as Kamal.

The paati on the other hand was off-beat, even though we have seen Kamal play a middle aged woman with an utmost ease in Avai Shanmugi. Paati’s plastic face was scary at times, but the characterisation, intonation and the slang was just so perfect.

What’s your favorite avatar of Dasavathaaram ?

P.S - And I hope someone would actually creates a personality quiz named - What’s your Dasavathaaram Personality ?. I’m sure the Aascar team will be happy for it.

I’ve been wondering for the last three days on the character similar to Christian Fletcher of Dasavatharam. I finally got it out this morning, while brushing.

The characterization and the macho look of Fletcher has been inspired by the villain of Sin City, Marv. All the killing and the action sequences also look alike except Dasavatharam’s effort looks like child’s play. I forgot if the Sincity’s Marv also got married at a Vegas church like Fletcher.

I only wish the production design was beefed up instead of creating various facemasks for Kamal. What a waste !!

[click imagefor a larger version]

Looks like Gautam Vasudev Menon(not due to numer(ous)ology), is pretty active. This poster of Chennayil Oru Mazhai Kaalam says the shooting is already on.

Is this even a legitimate poster ? Because I see an interesting combination of Rahman and Gautam coming together. If this is true, we are in for a treat.

BTW, Brilliant Poster. Tells us a lot about the attitude of the film. The story - Jeans clad yuppies from the chennai underworld and their lives. I hope the script stands for this buildup.

Here’s a candid interview with Gautam Menon on Vikram, Vijay, Vaaranam Aayiram et al.

Looking at Mani Ratnam’s profile on IMDB, I see a movie named Kelviyin Nayagan listed as one of his directorial ventures.

And searching the web, surprisingly, I see a bunch of sites also listing the same. Am I missing something ?

In a recent interview to Ananda Vikatan, Gautam Menon talks about Vaaranam Aayiram in length. Vaaranam Aaayiram is rumored to have the storyline of Forrest Gump. This is Oscar Ravichandran’s second big movie of the year after Kamal’s Dasavatharam. The movie’s website is almost ready to go.

Gautam’s calls Vaaranm Aayiram as a man’s saga and he is appreciative of Surya’s effort in the film. The interview doesn’t end there. When the interviewer asks if he is Surya’s director, Gautam blasts kollywood heroes for dicatating terms to directors. He accepts that Sarathkumar in Pachaikilli Muthucharam was a bad choice.

This is what he has to say about Vijay -

இன்னும் சில ஹீரோக்கள் பொழுதுபோகலைன்னா கதை கேட்கக் கூப்பிடுறாங்க. நான் கதை சொல்லி முடிச்சதும், அவங்க எதிர்பார்ப்பு நான் சொன்ன கதைக்கு எதிர்திசையில் இருக்கு. விஜய்கிட்டே கதை சொல்லப்போனேன். அவ்வளவு அமைதியாக, எந்த எதிர்க் கேள்வியும் இல்லாம கதை கேட்டார். சொல்லி முடிச்சதும் ‘அருமையா இருக்கு. உங்களோட வேலை பார்க்கிறதில் ஆர்வமா இருக்கேன். இந்த டிவிடிக்களைப் பாருங்க. இதில் உள்ள கமர்ஷியல் அம்சங்களை உங்க கதையில் கண்டிப்பா சேருங்க’னு அவர் கொடுத்த டிவிடிக்களை வெளியே வந்து பார்த்தேன். ‘திருப்பாச்சி’, ‘சிவகாசி’ டிவிடிதான் அது. என்னத்தைச் சொல்ல..!

BTW, Gautam’s next film is with Ajith. Should that say something about this comment ?