Rajni rules
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Sun TV has bought the rights for the new Rajnikanth starrer Shivaji for an astounding sum
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Photo: V. Ganesan
WINNER ALL THE WAY No one gave him a chance when he was starting out and now Rajnikanth is the master of all he surveys
He is a phenomenon and personifies the word charisma. His journey from being a bus conductor in the bowels of Bangalore to becoming the Badshah of the box-office is awe-inspiring. The fire that the great K. Balachander saw in young Rajni's eyes just gets better with age. Nobody gave a chance to this dark, beady-eyed youth with unkempt mane. "He will not last," said industry pundits but Rajni dethroned the redoubtable Kamal Hasan and has been ruling the Tamil film industry for a little less than a quarter of a decade. Today, he's the highest paid actor in the country. Shah Rukh Khan will have to combine his earnings from dancing at weddings, on stage, endorsements and acting to match what Rajni gets for appearing in a single movie.
Humungous earnings
If rumours are to be believed, his magnum opus Shivaji has been bought by the omnipotent Sun TV group for a whopping Rs. 90 crores. This includes the distribution, dubbing, audio, video, remake and satellite TV rights. Sun TV, which was rebuffed by the Tamil film producers who were confident that "Amma" would regain power, wants to re-establish its stranglehold over the industry. Rajni and the producer, A.V.M. Saravanan will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Datta directed by Gurudutt has shown encouraging collections. This pot-pourri of various bankable commercial ingredients seems to have paid off. Gurudutt whose last directorial venture, Samara with Shivraj Kumar was a disaster, had gone into hibernation. Here he spares no efforts to woo Darshan fans. Ramya, paired with Darshan for the first time has little to do but seems to be working hard on her dancing prowess. It is actually the comic portions involving the hero and his sidekick that works for the film.
Projects stalled
Films starring Shivraj Kumar and Puneet have been stalled because the stars had to offer their hair after their father's demise. Nobody's complaining as it gives directors time to rework their scripts. Arasu the last script that Dr. Raj listened to, discussed with his brother Varadaraj and approved will start shooting in August.
"We will shoot the entire film in Bangalore and the songs abroad," says Mahesh who showed immense promise in Aakash. Why has he changed the music director from Patnaik who scored the chartbusting tune "Neene neene" to Josua Sridher? "Patnaik is superb. I just wanted some fresh thought. I was apprehensive about repetition in the songs," Mahesh clarifies.
The makers are making sure the film gets maximum publicity, good or bad. They have taken a leaf from the Bhatt camp. From sleazy posters to reports of threatening calls made to a person belonging to the Fourth Estate, every trick in the trade is being used. Lets hope there's more content than the clothes that cover the heroine's body!!
S. SHIVA KUMAR
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