Priyadarshan to make his acting debut in Malayalam film

Mumbai,Mar 16:Director Priyadarshan will be making his acting debut in an upcoming Malayalam film.

Priyadarshan, who has directed almost 87 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, will try his hands on acting now after being a director, producer and screenwriter.

"I am acting in a Malayalam film. It is an arty film and not a commercial one," Priyadarshan told PTI. The national award winning director will be seen in Malayalam director Blessy's next film, which reportedly is titled Kalimannu. "I am playing a director's role. It is a cameo," he said. Priyadarshan began his film career with Malayalam cinema and later ventured into other languages.

He is best known for his comedy flicks, but has also tried his hand at action and thriller films. When asked if it is easy being in front of the camera, Priyadarshan said, "In front of the camera I find it difficult. As far as the actors are concerned, it is easy for them to do it but not for me." Presently, the 56-year-old is looking forward to the release of his next Hindi directorial venture Rangrezz, a remake of Tamil hit Naadodigal. Releasing on March 21, Rangrezz stars Jackky Bhagnani and Southern actress Priya Anand in the lead.

Kollywood takes a special liking for Malayalam cinema

Call it the new generation wave crossing borders, Malayalam films are increasingly being remade into Tamil. TOI probes...

Malayalam cinema has always enjoyed a place of prominence, with filmmakers and artistes from other industries speaking high of its rich content and rooted-to-reality subjects. Interestingly, at a time when the new-generation wave is sweeping across filmdom, there has been an influx in the number of Malayalam films being remade into Tamil, like never before. TOI probes Kollywood's rising interest in Malayalam cinema.

The ever-expanding list Incidentally, Malayalam films released over the past few years have caught the fancy of Tamil filmmakers, to be remade in K'wood. While the 2011 superhit Traffic will hit the Tamil screens as Chennail Oru Naal in some time, Ordinary goes to Kollywood as Jannal Oram. Reportedly, the Fahadh Faasil-Vineeth Sreenivasan starrer, Chappa Kurishu, is the latest entrant from Mollywood to hit the Tamil screens, with actress Radhika Sharathkumar said to helm the project. Prakash Raj takes Aashiq Abu's Salt 'N Pepper to Kollywood as Uluvacharu Biriyani, with him stepping into Lal's shoes and Tabu essaying the role of the middle-aged woman Shwetha Menon played in the original. Buzz is that Anoop Menon's Beautiful will also go on floors in a Tamil avatar soon, besides his Cocktail, with the Tamil version apparently starring Bollywood actress Radhika Apte and Telugu actor Randhir Reddy.

Why Mollywood?

It's the season of remakes in tinselville; however, Malayalam has not entirely fallen into the remake wave sweeping across most film industries, and mostly sticks to home-grown subjects. This might be a major reason why Tamil filmmakers are choosing Malayalam films over other languages, experts point out. "Kollywood filmmakers mostly prefer remakes of Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. While the first two industries cater mostly to commercial entertainers, it's Malayalam films that they look up to for convincing storylines. Further, the Malayali and Tamil audience share a number of similarities, just as the two languages do. So it takes just a minimal tweaking of the script to suit the sensibilities of the Tamil audience," a prominent Malayalam filmmaker says.

Interestingly, directors Siddhique and Faasil have helmed most of the Tamil remakes of their Malayalam films. Siddhique's Dileep-Nayanthara starrer Bodyguard was a sleeper hit in M-Town, while its Tamil remake, Kaavalan, with Vijay and Asin in the lead, was a blockbuster. Similarly, Faasil's hit film, Aniyathipraavu, also enjoyed a good run at the Kollywood BO as Kadhalukku Mariyadhai.

Malayali stars in Tamil remakes

Interestingly, two of the recent Tamil remakes from Malayalam stars Mollywood actresses who have had a successful innings in K-Town. Malayali actress Ineya, who stars in Chennail Oru Naal, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam superhit, Traffic, says, "Malayalam films are known for their substance. Traffic is one of the most-discussed films in recent times and Tamil is just one of the languages that the film is being remade into. There has not been any major change in the script as such. I play the role essayed by Remya Nambeesan in the original."

While Remya's negative role in the film opened a new path in her career, with Chennail Oru Naal, Ineya is looking forward to breaking free from the village belle roles she's mostly been seen in, in Tamil cinema. Shamna Kasim aka Poorna stars in Jannal Oram, the Tamil remake of Ordinary. "I come in Ann Augustine's role in the remake. The film's location plays a major part in taking the story forward; so the makers have stuck to the same premises for the Tamil version as well," she states.

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Malayalam movies go online

T.K. Devasia / 5 March 2013 TRIVANDRUM - Film buffs can now watch Malayalam movies online without fear of being caught by the law enforcement agencies.

Three companies engaged in the marketing DVDs of films have decided to stream films online at the same price the DVDs are sold. The three firms, Movie Channel, Cyna and Star Vision, will be uploading the films on the Internet as soon as they get the DVD rights. They will be streaming the films through http://www.myindiashopping.com, a Trivandrum-based online films library.

The charge for the new films will be between Rs90 and Rs125. The viewers will also be free to download the film. The three companies have come forward to take the films online following failure by the authorities to check the rise in the film piracy. Though the police have stepped up action against piracy, the menace continued to thrive due to difficulties in initiating criminal action against all those who have viewed films illegally.

 As the films go viral after it is uploaded on the Internet, the police will be faced with the gigantic task of taking action against thousands of people, which is not practical. According to film industry sources, more than three million people illegally viewed the film Ordinary on the net. Another film Grand Master was seen by 1.2 million people. In the first major case initiated by the police, it could register cases against only 1,010 out of more than 30,000 people, who illegally downloaded or viewed Bachelor Party within 10 days of its release. This was the biggest crackdown on Internet piracy of an Indian film. Investigations were conducted with the technical support of a Cochin-based firm, which specialises in cyber patrolling. The culprits were spread across the country and outside like the US, the UK, South Africa, China and Uganda.

 The Malayalam film industry has been complaining that Internet and video piracy is a grievous problem faced by it. The illegal uploading and downloading have been causing severe financial crisis to the industry as a whole. The CD companies have also been suffering huge loss due to piracy. The three firms have come forward to take films online hoping that a large majority of the people who view the films illegally will be encouraged to do it legally by paying a fee.

Industry sources say that the biggest chunk of people viewing the films illegally on the net are non-resident Indians, who usually do not get immediate access to the CDs of the films soon after they are released. The sources believe that the current price fixed by the online portal will be affordable to the NRIs and if a majority of them see the films through legal channels, it will give a big boost to the industry as a whole.

'Motorcycle Diaries' is Malayalam director Rajesh Pillai's next MALAYALAM NEWS, Posted on Mar 01, 2013 at 05:18pm IST

After the super hit Malayalam film 'Traffic', its director Rajesh Pillai is coming up with a new movie tiled 'Motorcycle Diaries'. Among the film's many highlights one striking highlight will be will be that the lead artist Kunchako Boban will be seen in a very different avatar. The movie penned by the debutante filmmaker Deepu Mathew, will have a surprisingly different narration.

The movie narrated through the eyes of the central character, will also feature actor Nivin Pauly in a very prominent role. However reports suggests that the film will be shot in Leh, Ladakh, Kolkata, Pondicherry,

Goa and Fort Kochi Also the Malayalam film 'Motorcycle Diaries' has background score by Prashant Pillai in it.

Working for climate justice is an 'ethical and spiritual imperative

Climate change is causing massive violations of human rights. This point was made at a side event on “human rights and climate change” during the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Organised by the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme for climate justice and care for creation, in collaboration with other Christian organisations, interfaith networks and civil society groups, the side event was held on Tuesday, 26 February.

Rémy Pagani, mayor of Geneva, was one of the main speakers. He asked participants to “commit themselves for human rights, justice and peace as well as towards struggles for the preservation of the planet.” He cited the example of Geneva as a leading host city for dialogues on human rights and climate justice.

“We need concrete actions to address climate change and bring this cause to the human rights agenda, stressing that we cannot wait any longer,” said Dr Mariyam Shakeela, minister of environment and energy, and acting minister of gender, family and human rights in the Maldives.

Shakeela spoke about the vulnerability of the Maldives to the adverse effects of climate change. She pointed out the principles of the 1992 UN Rio Declaration, explaining the concept of common but different responsibilities and equity. “We urgently need to create an international mechanism on human rights and climate change,” she added.

The permanent representative of Bolivia to the UN in Geneva, Angélica C. Navarro Llanos, addressed the consequences of climate change.

“Climate change is affecting peoples, mother earth and the economy,” she said. “In Bolivia it has meant an increase in floods and other weather hazards, making it one of the top ten countries affected by disasters.”

Navarro Llanos said that climate change is causing massive human rights violations. Therefore, in Bolivia, she added, the Human Rights Council (HRC) should ensure better collection of data on impacts of climate change, give a stronger voice to victims of climate change, raise awareness and promote international action based on international law within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

International human rights law, she said, reinforces the commitments of the UNFCCC. The HRC should promote rights-based alternatives in climate change action to forest protection, providing an alternative to the market-based green economy.

The event was attended by more than seventy participants. It addressed the relations between climate change and economic models, the water crisis and the need for a Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change.

The discussions were moderated by Dr Guillermo Kerber, WCC programme executive on Care for Creation and Climate Justice. In his concluding remarks, Kerber emphasized the need for visible action to protect the most vulnerable groups and all victims of climate change.

He called action for climate justice an “ethical and spiritual imperative”. From this perspective, he said, the WCC, other faith-based organisations and a broad coalition of non-governmental organisations are calling on the HRC to establish a Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change