Shah Rukh Khan’s surgery

Shah Rukh Khan had reportedly hurt his shoulders while shooting for the film Dulha Mil Gaya at Mehboob Studios last December. However, the actor did not take it seriously until recently when the pain became bad to worse. Though the doctors advised that he should undergo a surgery immediately, the King Khan is trying to put if off as he has to promote his home production Red Chillies’ Billu Barber. It is well known in Bollywood circles that SRK sets aside two weeks exclusively for promoting his films.

So the question remains if he will opt for the surgery before or after the release of Billu Barber. It may be recalled that Shah Rukh has earlier undergone knee and back surgery in London.

Ajith, after the Padikathavan glory…

Suraj, director of the Pongal release Padikathavan, is likely to direct Ajith according to believable sources. Plans for Ajith’s next project, incidentally his 49th film, however is concrete. Directed by Charan, the movie will star Sameera Reddy in the lead and will be scored by Harris Jeyaraj. Ajith’s 50th film will be directed by Venkat Prabhu.

Now, as it seems, Ajith will be in another film directed by Suraj. Though the information is not flowing in from Suraj or Ajith, the Kollywood news trappers ascertain the possibility quite strongly. This is in spite of the previous grapevine of the Suraj – Ajith combo before Aegan having gone into silence.

All said and done, as per latest trade reports, Padikathavan is leading the collection charts among the Pongal release movies.

SUN out of SMS

SUN Pictures has pulled out from the buying race of the Jeeva starrer Siva Manasula Sakthi. SMS, as it is shortly referred to, is produced by Vikatan Talkies and is ready for a possible February release. SUN Pictures said to have insisted that the movie be released at a later date, to avoid over publicity to the company as Padikathavan is only recently released, as opposed to the release date on February 14 for Valentine’s Day; however the producers seem to have other plans.

SMS is directed by Rajesh and is scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The movie has Anuya playing Jeeva’s love interest. As the title suggests, SMS is a mushy romantic tale which is Vikatan Talkies’ maiden production venture in films.

Billu Barber Music Review

Priyadarshan movies are always looked at with a lot of expectation, and this one is much bigger. Shahrukh Khan the Baadshah of Bollywood is acting in it and has produced it. But interestingly, the Khan has only a special appearance here, with Irfan Khan being the protagonist. The music is by Pritam, and lyrics by Gulzar and Sayeed Quadri. The movie has seven songs with all getting a remixed version in the album. Let’s analyze if the songs live up to the hype the movie has created.

Marjaani

Marjaani has a South Indian flavour and the starting sounds like a typical Rajinikanth intro song. An item song which is very energetic with ample use of Punjabi words rendered by Sukhwinder Singh and Anushka. Interestingly, the remix version of this song is sung by a different female singer, Sunidhi Chauhan. But the song looks too ordinary and nothing is special to carry this to the top of the charts. The remix version is also average.

Love Mere Hit Hit

Love Mere Hit Hit is supposed to be a nonsense song and it is quite successful at that. The lyrics are quite cheesy as expected but the music is quite catchy. Again an item song with Shahrukh and Deepika shaking their legs -this one is quite clearly sung by Neeraj Sridhar and Tulsi Kumar. The song is decent enough for a second listen and with the visuals it could appeal to a larger crowd. The remix is more rapid but the instrumental usage is quite jarring.

Ae Aa O

A rock song which seems to be an intro song for Shahrukh. But does the starting of the song borrow so much from the tunes of its Tamil counterpart? But soon it goes on a different route. K.K., Rana Mazumder, Suraj rock with their vocals, but Pritam leaves a lot to be desired. From now on any rock song will obviously be compared to Rock On and this does not meet the expectations, but none the less it’s a decent track which can become a good hit with rock fans and obviously Shahrukh’s fans. And the less said about the remixed version the better, Pritam, please work on this front.

Kudhaya Khair

Kudhaya Khair is a family song picturized with Irfan khan and his family. A lovely melody and one of the best song of this album. The vocals by Soham Chakrabarthy, Akritti Kakkar & Monali Thakur are lively, which is needed for such a song. The beats and the instrumental usage is quite cleverly done and so is the chorus usage and the symphonic orchestra type music in the middle piece which elevates the song quite well. Overall a cute song which has potential to become a big hit and if the movie does succeed Khudaya Khair would clearly be on top of the charts for quite some time. The reprise version is also good.

You get me rocking and reeling

‘You get me rocking and reeling’ starts off with a hip hop song which is just an English version of Khudaya khair but sung by Neeraj Shridhar alone. It’s quite good but a small feeling of the music over powering the song can be sensed. Still a good listen.

The remixed version is too loud and the need for a remixed version of this already hip hop song will always remain a mystery.

Billu Bayankar

Billu Bayankar sung by Ajay Jhingran, Kalpana is a hilarious song sung by the villagers praising Billu. The song will be enjoyed by everyone if they can understand the wacky lyrics. The music complements the overall feel of the song and after hearing this we just can’t wait to see the picturization of this song which, under Priyadarshan’s direction, would be a crackling watch.

Jaoon kahan

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Jaoon kahan’ is a melancholic rendition and quite clearly the pick of the album. The song picturized with Irfan Khan is a sure shot hit. Pritam’s music does not try anything jazzy which is quite needed for such a song.

Verdict:

Overall the music is just about average with a couple of good numbers. The music can become a good hit if the movie hits the bull’s eye -like any other Priyadarshan’s movie. But a sense of deja-vu while hearing the song tormented me and similarities to the Tamil version of this movie was quite striking. Coincidence? Not really!

Ajith’s big moustache

Managing to evade the eyes of his numerous fans, Ajith managed to watch Villu at the Prarthana drive in theater last Sunday. Of course, he was careful enough not to get out of his car at any point of time which would have resulted in a mini mob forming instantaneously. After the movie he called up Vijay and talked about the positives in the movie for a long time. He specially mentioned the stunt scenes and asked Vijay to not get involved in too many risky fights.

Meanwhile, Ajith is also getting himself ready for Asal. He has reportedly gone in for a change in his look and is now sporting an extra large, thick moustache, something he has not tried before. Asal will be directed by Saran. Ajith-Saran’s previous movie, Attagasam was a double action flick. This had created some speculation that even Asal would be on the same lines. However, Saran has said that this time round it will be just one Ajith.

JONAS BROTHERS SURPRISE OBAMA DAUGHTERS

The Jonas Brothers surprised President Barack Obama’s daughters during a White House treasure hunt.

The pop act – comprising siblings Joe, Kevin and Nick – hid behind a door for Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, to discover at the end of their search around their new home on Tuesday night (Jan 20, 2009).

The sisters – who were allowed to have the following day off school after their father was sworn in as US President – enjoyed an evening of their favorite movies, including “Bolt” starring Miley Cyrus and “High School Musical 3″ featuring Zac Efron, before their favorite band made an appearance.

White House staff organized the hunt to show the girls around the famous Presidential house and teach them some of the history surrounding the building.

A similar event was arranged for former president Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea
.

This is not the first time Malia and Sasha have been treated to an audience with the Jonas Brothers.

The band performed live for the girls and their mother Michelle – as well as 14,000 screaming fans – at the Kids Inaugural concert on Monday

A costly divorce

Husbands contesting maintenance claims beware! If the matrimonial court finds that you concealed real income to pay less to your estranged wife, it can from now on order maintenance entirely based on her standard of living before the separation and #8230; and it could prove much more costly. This is how the Delhi High Court asked Karun Raj Narang, a top official with the healthcare company Eastern Medikit Ltd to pay Rs 1,25,000 per month interim maintenance to his wife Radhika in place of Rs 40,000 per month awarded by a lower court.

Narang was also directed to provide a new Honda City car with petrol and a driver at his own cost for the day-to-day requirements of Radhika and their three children. The husband is also to provide her a two-bedroom house with a drawing and dining rooms with an extra room in any of the colony in South Delhi, specifying that it should not be more than five to seven km away from the school of their children.

The Bench accepted Radhika’s submission that before the matrimonial dispute she was Director of the company owned by the Narangs and enjoyed all facilities, including a chauffeur driven car but was removed from the post after she moved court seeking maintenance. “Courts have to ascertain the true circumstances of a given case while awarding maintenance.

Where the income of the husband is concealed and it is difficult to ascertain the correct position, the court may fix the amount based on factors which were in existence before the souring of the relation as we have done in the present case,” said Justices Mukul Mudgal and Manmohan. Radhika’s lawyer Y P Narula told the court that the amount awarded by the lower court was wholly inadequate keeping in view the husbands income, his assets and also the lifestyle to which both the parties had been used to during the period they were together.

Narula pointed to the observations by the lower court that the husband had withheld his income and his interests in various companies. “The purpose of providing maintenance in our view is meant to secure to a wife as far as possible the status and facilities enjoyed by her prior to her separation from her husband.

The determinations of maintenance not being governed by any rigid rules give enough discretion to the court to do justice”, said the court. Appearing for Narang, senior lawyer KTS Tulsi said though the wife had based their case on the existence of the joint family property, yet all the maintenance had to be paid by the husband.

He also pleaded that since Narang did not own the company, entire property did not belong to him. Citing a Supreme Court judgment, Tulsi also submitted that landed property cannot be considered for maintenance.

But the court was not convinced.

WILL SMITH WANTS TO PLAY OBAMA

Will Smith wants to play Barack Obama in a film.

The 40-year-old actor admits he would be unable to say no if the US President-Elect asked him to take on the role.

He said: “If I’m ordered by my Commander-In-Chief to star in the film, then I’ll do my duty as an American.”

Although Will is a staunch supporter of Obama, he insists he has no plans to follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzengger and move from acting to politics.

He said: “It’s a whole lot more fun to be a movie star. The President is a difficult job with a whole lot of lives on the line with every decision you make.”

“In my job I can just bring joy. I don’t have to bring bad news so I think I’ll stay in my position for quite a long time.”

In addition to portraying Obama, the actor recently revealed he would like to play former South African President Nelson Mandela and soul singer Marvin Gaye in a movie about their lives, but fears he isn’t “man enough” for the roles.

He said: “I’m not certain I’m actor enough yet. I love both of those, and I need to make sure I’m man enough.”

Rajni and Ash in a glass chamber

The Rajnikanth starrer Endhiran, which has Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his lead pair, is being produced by Sun Pictures on a whopping budget of Rs. 140 crores. Endhiran’s director Shankar, known for his penchant for creating extravagant sets in his films, has erected a huge glass chamber to can just a few scenes of a duet. Sources close to the Endhiran unit say that it is impossible for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajni to stay in the glass chamber for a long time and hence only a very few shots will be picturised in it and not the entire song sequence. The necessity to erect such an extravagant set is to enhance the visual effect, it is said.

Naan Kadavul song review

Produced by K.S.Srinivasan, directed by Bala and starring Arya and Pooja in the lead roles. This film’s tagline ‘Aham Brahmaasmi’ ( an upanishadic line) says it all—the search for God inside you. The movie is supposed to portray the life of an Aghori, of a saiva (?) sect which practices cannibalism. Suitably the movie has Varanasi as its backdrop. Bala has crafted it painstakingly for almost three years now and with maestro Ilayaraja handling the music department, this film has generated a lot of curiosity. Bala is well-known for his intense films.

Om Sivoham…

Vocals: Vijay Prakash.

Lyrics: Vaali.

A rather longish song, but very well conceived, full of siva-bhakti. The use of appropriate native percussion instruments, sankha, drums and some fascinating tabla work add the right amount of awe to the presentation of Shiva as the fearsome, all-destroying Rudra. You hear a bit of ‘rudram’ and some descriptions in praise of Shiva in his varied manifestations. The swirling beats, now dipping, now blazing, bring to your mind’s eye the thandava of the Lord. Quite well sung too.

Kannil Paarvai…

Vocals: Shreya Ghosal.

Lyrics: Vaali.

Gentle, pathos-laden lyrics—is it sung by a visually challenged girl? The song itself moves on a slow rhythm with curving sangatis, in what appears to be Tilang raga with a generous Hindustani touch. Is that the dilruba we hear at the start and in the first interlude? This too adds pathos, The violin pieces too are sober. When Shreya goes to a higher pitch, the words are not distinctly heard. The dholak –like rhythms suit the mood of this song. Haunting.

Madha un…

Vocals: Madhumita.

Lyrics: Vaali.

A tiny number set to native rhythms. Must be his own old hit.

Picchaippaatthiram…

Vocals: Madhu Balakrishnan.

Lyrics: Ilayaraja.

The cry of a deeply anguished soul in search of lasting peace. Sung with lovely ‘vinayam’ by Madhu Balakrishnan. Again some pleasing tabla work. Is that the guitar that is made to sound like the ‘tundana’ that the mendicants use? Adds a startling touch. The violin and the flute sangatis too flow along as if afraid to break the pensive mood of the number itself. Looks like Mayamalavagowla, but could be Vagulabaranam raga too.

Amma Un Pillai…

Vocals: Sadhana Sargam.

Lyrics: Vaali.

The same mettu of song no.3, but notice the different feel of the rhythm—here it is all tabla. Again a sober number, that of a woman crying out against loneliness. Also observe how the dramatic violin sangatis are quietly set off by soothing notes from the veena and other instruments. You get to hear guitar and keys too. Clear articulation from Sadhana.

Oru Kaatril…

Vocals: Ilayaraja.

Lyrics: Vaali.

A repetition of song no.2, with very few changes in lyrics. Ilayaraja sounds flatter after you hear Shreya. At least he has articulated the words well.

Verdict:

The songs look very purposeful and thankfully not frivolous. The theme of the movie itself is obviously a serious one, going by the mood the album conveys. Of course there’s nothing new or striking here, but there is an indefinable mellowness about the music itself. Frill-free and polished Ilayaraja stuff!