It’s great news for all fans of Superstar Rajnikanth as he has completed shooting for ‘Endhiran- The Robot’. According to the source, the talkie portions have been completed with couple of songs pending now. One of the songs will be shot in Pune while Shankar has decided to take a world tour on finalizing locations for the other one.

‘Endhiran’ had started rolling in September 2008 and has been shot across various parts of the World including United States, Switzerland, South Africa and Peru.

Recently, the climax action sequences between Rajnikanth and baddies and was shot in an engineering college at Maduravoyal. Since, it would take some more time to complete the couple of songs, director Shankar has started with postproduction works and Rajnikanth will dub for next 20 days, out of which the actor has already completed 3-day schedule.

But until now, the dubbing artist for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan remains unconfirmed. Earlier, Rajnikanth’s daughter Aishwarya Dhanush was supposed to render her voice and now Shankar has been planning to rope in Kaniha. (She dubbed for Shriya in Rajnikanth’s previous film ‘Sivaji’ as well)

-R. Richard Mahesh/ Sampurn Media

Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar are back again with their next film “Karthik Calling Karthik” The Film is slated to release under the banner of Excel Entertainment on 26th February 2010.

‘Karthik calling Karthik’, a romantic thriller, is the story of a lovable loser Karthik, played by Farhan Akhtar, whose life changes with the help of someone who also claims to be Karthik. It’s a thrilling, soulful and romantic journey of this man’s victory against all odds. Deepika Padukone plays a pivotal role in the film adding a lot of fun n color to the film!

Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, under the banner of Excel Entertainment and co-produced by Amit Chandrra and Vijay Lalwani, under the banner of Magic Beans. The film is being directed and written by Vijay Lalwani. “Karthik Calling Karthik” stars Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah.

Other credits include music by Shankar, Eshaan and Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and cinematography by Sano Varghese.

-Sampurn Media

Endhiran is almost there! The much-awaited Rajnikanth film is on the verge of completion of the tiresome long-term filming. Director Shankar kick-started the shooting in September 2008 and has only recently canned the climax fight sequence between Rajnikanth and the villains.

These sequences were shot at an engineering college at Maduravoyal, situated on the outskirts of Chennai. According to the sources, the shot was on Rajnikanth getting out of his car, which was planted with bombs. But while fleeing the coupe the actor got hurt, as the bombs exploded into kingdom come… Rajnikanth was seen limping all over the place and the entire crew including action choreographer Peter Hein were appalled presuming that he was injured. But as soon as the shot got over Rajnikanth, got back to his normal walk, thereby laying rest to the suspicion of him being hurt in the shooting blast.

When we approached the associates of director Shankar to inquire on the release status of the film, they stated that the film would hit the theater screens in April 2010.

-R. Richard Mahesh/ Sampurn Media

Shankar and Mohanlal worked together in their acting debut many years ago. Shankar was the hero and Mohanlal, the villain. After that film, Shankar wasn’t seen in any film and Mohanlal became a superstar. Years later, the two are going to be seen in Ividam Swargamanu together. The movie is carrying a lot of expectations.

-Sampurn Media

How did London Dreams happen?

I was still shooting for Ghajini but Vipul had seen some of my South Indian films. So I got a call from him and he said he had a role of a headstrong talented girl in his next directorial venture after Namastey London. Obviously I was excited at the sound of it! (laughs) I love Vipul’s cinema, he showcases emotions really well and his films always have strong music. So it was actually a no-brainer that I wanted to be a part of this project immediately on hearing its script. In a way, this is my first authentic Bollywood film even though Ghajini released first. That’s because I had already played Kalpana in the south version of Ghajini before doing the Hindi remake with Aamir (Khan).

Tell us the experience of working with Vipul Shah!

Fabulous! Vipul is very organized, he does his homework really well so when you reach the sets the shot break downs are done, he knows exactly how he wants the scene done. And I am a complete Director’s actor. It’s important for me to understand my director’s vision and in that sense Vipul is very giving. I’ve been spoilt by him because now I think I will always want all shoots to be as planned! (Smiles)

Tell us something about your character in London Dreams?

I play a south Indian girl, Priya, who is emotional but strong willed and ambitious at the same time. And she has two radically different sides to her. At home she’s a traditional girl clad in Indian outfits but the minute she’s out with friends, she’s a fire brand, and that shows in the way she dresses. And she’s also partly responsible for the conflict between Salman and Ajay’s characters. So it was a wholesome character to play.

This is the first time you’re working with big names like Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. What was that like?

When I came on to the sets of London Dreams I didn’t know them. I knew they were way senior and was anxious just like any newcomer would understandably be. And then I’d heard so much about them from different people. Salman has a ‘bad boy’ image. Many told me that he was very temperamental and erratic! Having worked with him I dispelled all those myths. I got to see a sensitive actor who had an absolute ball on the sets and went out of his way to make everyone comfortable. Both Ajay and Salman are also great off screen friends and that shows on celluloid. Ajay, contrary to popular belief, was not reticent at all. He was very helpful and friendly! I realised that you find out the truth about people only when you work with them and get to know them better.

Tell us about the music of London Dreams!

Oh! There’s so much that I can say! (smiles) London Dreams has a backdrop of a rock band so it’s only right that the music should be an arterial part of the film. And I think that Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have done complete justice to the film in that sense. The music is melodious but remains true to the essence of the film. It’s a very holistic album- there’s the masti of Punjab and the edge of contemporary music. I personally love Man Ko Ati Bhaave and Tapke Masti; they’re fun songs!

Everyone is waiting for London Dreams with bated breath. Tell us why we should watch it?

It’s an absolutely stunning looking commercial entertainer with emotions, humour, music and drama! It’s a big one for the families! We had a blast shooting it in the UK and I took back some really fond memories with me. The fantastic time we had on the sets and the chemistry between all of us will show on screen!

-Sampurn Media

Cast: Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqi, Fazal Hussain, Nouman Ijaz

Director: Mehreen Jabbar

At one point in Ramchand Pakistani, Shankar, a poor Dalit farmer from Pakistan, who is rotting in an Indian jail because he inadvertently followed his son Ramchand into India, furiously tells his son that its all his fault.

The eight-year-old boy looks shattered and slowly his eyes brim with tears. It’s moments like these that stay with you even when debutant director Mehreen Jabbar’s film becomes a ponderous test of patience. Working from a true-life incident, Mehreen tells the story of a loving family that falls apart when the defiant boy has an innocuous quarrel with his mother and storms off. He unknowingly crosses the India-Pakistan border. His father follows him. Both are arrested and spend the next five years in jail.

Ramchand Pakistani underlines the human cost of geopolitics. When an Indian policeman asks Shankar if he has read the news about their respective armies amassing at the border, the farmer says no. His concerns are more basic: his son who refuses to go to school, his wife who loves surma and the 50,000 rupees loan he has taken.

And yet, the long and bloody history of the two countries, keep Shankar and Ramchand in prison. Of course the irony is that being a low-cast Hindu, Shankar is at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy in Pakistan. This story is rich in emotion and drama. Jabbar’s heart is in the right place and her intentions are noble.

But in cinema, that is never enough. The telling of this tale is crushingly slow and often clumsy. Mehreen, working from a screenplay by her father and producer Javed Jabbar, sets up the tragedy skillfully but then, for far too long, the story stays still.

The writing is thin and the characters in the Indian jail aren’t engaging enough to sustain the scenes. Soon enough, the parallel track of Ramchand’s long-suffering mother, played by Nandita Das, also starts to sputter.
Thankfully, the bumpy narrative tracks converge into a predictable but immensely moving climax. The actors, Fazal Hussain playing Ramchand and Rashid Farooqui, playing his father, are very good. They give the film an emotional heft.

See Ramchand Pakistani for their performances. But be prepared to be patient.

There was a word going around that Aishwarya had backed out of Rajnikanth starrer ‘Robot’ probably because she wanted to start a family, but the latest one is that the Bachchan Bahu has put that on the back burner… because Robot is too good a role to miss out on.

The director of this sci-fi thriller has apparently told the actress to shed some six kilos as she will have to perform some stunts for the film. So, Ash, who had put on some weight for her role in ‘Jodha Akbar’, has been working out meticulously at the gym and is also on a strict diet so that she can lose the weight quickly. Shankar is known to be very particular even bout the smallest details in his film. He wants to leave no stone unturned for Robot as well.

Apparently, the script of Robot is being changed so that it can be more Aishwarya-orientated. Earlier Rajnikanth’s character was to create a robot for his disabled son to play with… but now it will be a woman… a mother. But things go wrong and the Mother-Robot kidnaps the child and wants to kill it. Hence the action scenes between Rajnikanth and Aishwarya.

The film’s budget is a whopping Rs 100 crore. Shankar had approached actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan to play the lead before he finalized Rajnikanth.

It may seem to be incredible, but the truth is that ‘one film wonder’ Deepika Padukone is proving to be costlier than former Miss World Aishwarya Rai to the film producers.

Before her entry into Bollywood, Deepika was talked about more because of her string of boyfriends, but today she is also in the news for demanding exorbitant rates for acting in films.

Soon after the resounding success of the Shah Rukh-Deepika starrer ‘Om Shani Om’, a producer from south India Shankar, who made the super hit film ‘Shivaji –The Boss’ with Rajnikanth, had approached the former model for the female lead role in his forthcoming film ‘Robot’, but Deepika is reported to have charged such a high fee which left the producer stunned as well as silent.

Next, Shankar approached Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan for the role, but there is no confirmation whether the actress has said yes.

Sources close to the former beauty queen revealed that though money is no factor with Aishwarya, she is basically running a tight schedule.

After having completed the magnum opus ‘Jodhaa-Akbar’, Aishwarya has just completed shooting for an international project ‘Pink Panther – 2’ and ‘Sarkar Raj’. Currently, the actress, her husband and actor Abhishek Bachchan and mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan are holidaying in the ‘pink city of Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Producer Shankar has once again signed up his favorite super hero Rajnikanth for ‘Robot’, where the actor will be seen in the role of a scientist who creates a robot for the benefit of mankind.