Talk of the town

- A MOVIE without a hero, a villain? A Tamil movie at that? Is it possible? Well, why not. `Snehithiye', starring Jyothika and Tabu, attempts precisely that. It is not curtain call time yet, but a sneak preview of a few songs in the movie had several surprises.

A movie about friendship among girls is not new, but a ``no male'' cast? Or more precisely, the only man (significant) in the movie is said to be dead. Of course, there is the regular riot of colours, dances and songs, and a youthful cast.

Director Priyadarshan, who already has 48 films under his belt and is raring to go still, was present at the cassette release function of Snehithiye (which is to be dubbed in three other South Indian languages).

The music which had Kamal Hassan (who was present as a guest) tapping his feet, was scored by a lesser-known composer in Kollywood, Vidyasagar. The beat and rhythm match the youthful vitality of the movie.

- AND WHILE on the subject of Kamal Hassan and Priyadarshan, the former seems to be slightly disappointed that he would not be able to collaborate with the director when he made his 50th movie. Kamal, actually confessed to as much. ``Both of us were discussing the making of a movie together and I was hoping that it would be Priyadarshan's 50th film. But now, since Snehithiye will be made in three languages, I guess our venture will be his 52nd movie,'' says the star. More subtle is the message for fans in the State: look out for yet another movie from that super- combo that made `Virasat' (Devar Magan) a roaring success in the North. Perhaps, the fans have not long to wait?

- HE IS shrinking everything for fame and a place in the books of records.

Mr. S. Venkatasubramanian has devoted his attention to compressing that immortal work, the Thirukkural, into a book that would be hard to find, if you dropped it in your living room. The frail youth from Thanjavur district has packed Valluvar's words of wisdom into the 1.5 cm by 2 cm book, though reading it requires a magnifying glass, naturally. As with other such ventures, ``Thirukkural'' Venkat is in search of endorsements and a pat from the Government, which has ``inspired him'' by putting up a giant Thiruvalluvar statue.

His next project: a miniature Bible. Another goal is to acquire a graduate degree in Tamil ``Ilakkiyam'', provided someone can help him with the funds.

- THANKS TO the drive of the Minister for Tamil Development, Mr. Tamizhkudimagan, the administration is under pressure to issue Government Orders in Tamil and many departments do so. But, senior officials are apprehensive that his diktat is carried ``too far''.

In a recent instance, a senior official was told by his counterpart that though his department has done a ``commendable job'' of increasing the rate of GOs issued in Tamil threefold (from around 20 per cent), there is a long way to go. The new target is 90 per cent.

This left the departmental head wondering about the slogan of ``Tamil everywhere Tamil always'' becoming stretched beyond practical boundaries.

By Ramya Kannan, N. Ravi Kumar and T. Ramakrishnan

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Section  : Southern States
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