Rajasenan's Innanu Aa Kalyaanam from 2nd Dec.

രാജസേനന്റെ 'ഇന്നാണ് ആ കല്യാണം' രണ്ടു മുതല്‍

രജത് മേനോന്‍, മാളവിക എന്നിവരെ മുഖ്യകഥാപാത്രങ്ങളാക്കി രാജസേനന്‍ സംവിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന 'ഇന്നാണ് ആ കല്യാണം' ഡിസംബര്‍ രണ്ടിന് തീയറ്ററുകളിലെത്തുന്നു. 


റോഷന്‍, ശരണ്യാ മോഹന്‍, ജഗതി ശ്രീകുമാര്‍, സായികുമാര്‍, സുരാജ് വെഞ്ഞാറമൂട്, ബിന്ദു പണിക്കര്‍, രോഹിണി, മണിയന്‍പിള്ള രാജു, മാമുക്കോയ തുടങ്ങിയവരാണ് മറ്റ് താരങ്ങള്‍. യോഹാന്‍ പ്രൊഡക്ഷന്‍സിന്റെ ബാനറില്‍ ഗീവര്‍ഗീസ് യോഹന്നാന്‍ നിര്‍മിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രം മാക്സ്ലാബ് റിലീസ് തീയറ്ററുകളിലെത്തിക്കും. 


കുടുംബ, ക്യാമ്പസ് പശ്ചാത്തലങ്ങള്‍ ഒരുപോലെ ചിത്രത്തിന് വിഷയമാവുന്നു. ബദറുദ്ദീന്‍ തിരക്കഥയൊരുക്കുന്ന ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ കഥയും സംഭാഷണവും രാജസേനന്റേതു തന്നെ. ഗാനങ്ങള്‍: വയലാര്‍ ശരത്, സംഗീതം: ബിജിബാല്‍, ക്യാമറ: വിനോദ് ഇല്ലമ്പിള്ളി, എഡിറ്റിംഗ്: രാജാ മുഹമ്മദ്. 

Innanu aa kalyanam gallery

CM Chandy releases Mammootty's short film on drug abuse

Chief minister Oommen Chandy released a short film against the abuse of liquor and drugs on Thursday at Thiruvananthapuram. Produced by Mammootty, the film Say No to Drinks; Say No to Drugs, is a 40 seconds short film, which is made to propagate the message as part of a campaign by the excise Department of Kerala.


Mammootty said that he would try his best to avoid scenes in his films that would induce the use of drugs and liquor. He submitted the film free of charge for the campaign as he had promised on the previous occasion. He urged authorities to take steps to free schools and its premises from drugs and liquor.


Intoxication among the youth has increased criminal activities. Chief minister said the campaign against drugs and liquor should start from schools and for that he would direct authorities to take strong action against persons, who were involved in selling drugs and liquor near schools.

PM, Pranab head for US: AK Antony in charge

NEW DELHI: Next week Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will both be in the US with no formal word on who will hold charge although defence minister A K Antony is seen as the man for the job. 

Advanced communication makes distances irrelevant but careful ambiguity over naming a "number 2" or, in the current scenario, a "number 3" does not seem likely to change any time soon. The PM will be away from September 21-26 and Mukherjee from September 23-25.

Senior government sources said going by "seniority" it will be Antony who will conduct proceedings in the unlikely event the cabinet needs to meet. He will also be the point person for consultations within the government or with Congress.

In the National Democratic Alliance government, L K Advani's designation as deputy PM formalized his number 2 and successor tag. As NDA lost the 2004 election, the second part of the deputy PM statement was never put to test. Since then, there has been no formal number 2.

A recent WikiLeaks disclosure revealed that ahead of PM Manmohan Singh's heart surgery in early 2009, a foreign ministry official told US diplomats that Mukherjee had taken over as acting PM and would discharge such functions.

There was, however, no instruction in writing, a move that is seen to have been deliberate. When it came to saluting martyrs at Amar Jawan Jyoti before the January 26 parade, Antony was specifically asked by the Congress leadership to stand in for the PM. Clearly, there would be no overt political signal about who stands in for Singh.

The lack of clarity is perhaps meant to ensure that Singh is seen as the leadership's choice and this message is not muddled in any manner. Despite the buffeting the government has received on corruption scandals and an increase in dissonance with Congress over policy, the PM-Sonia Gandhi equations are seen to be rock solid.

As the PM readies for his visit to the UN General Assembly and Mukherjee prepares for IMF-World Bank meetings, the unsaid word is that "Antonyji" will be in charge if the need arises while the government remains without its two senior leaders.

Protests rage against fuel price hike across the country

The Capital of the state worst hit by the steep hike in petrol prices witnessed road blockades, cycle rallies and burning of the UPA government's effigies on Sunday. The price of petrol shot up to Rs 70.66 per litre in Hyderabad from Saturday midnight because Andhra Pradesh levies the highest value added tax (VAT) of 33 per cent.

The increase in the price of fuel would bring in additional revenue to the tune of Rs 240 crore per annum for the state exchequer in the form of VAT. The state government's annual revenue from the sale of petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, works out to Rs 8,000 crore. From petrol alone, the state earns about Rs 300 crore a month through VAT and this amount is now set to go up to Rs 320 crore.

TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu participated in a cycle rally along with the representatives of the CPI and CPM, in protest against the UPA government's move. " In the past seven years, the Congress- led government has increased petrol prices 20 times, including 10 times last year alone," he alleged and demanded a rollback. The TDP and communist party workers burnt effigies and staged blockades at several places in the state.

YSR Congress president and Kadapa MP Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who started a 48-day fast in Guntur in support of the farmers' demand for remunerative prices, also lashed out at the UPA government for the "steepest ever" hike in the price of petrol.

Fiery protests also took place in several other parts of the country. In New Delhi, the BJP took out rallies at five places and announced that the party would organise blockades at 14 prominent places on Monday.

Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta said: "Right after the conclusion of the election process in five states, the UPA government has imposed a big burden on the people." Activists of the Samajwadi Party disrupted rail traffic at Allahabad in UP, while those from the BJP staged a dharna and demanded a rollback. In Maharashtra, too, Shiv Sena workers staged a rail roko at Lonavala in Pune district. The demonstration followed a statement by Sena chief Bal Thackeray criticising the Union government for burdening the common man with successive petrol price hikes.

In Patna, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar slammed the UPA government for the petrol price hike and said the measure would have a cascading effect on the prices of other goods.

Lashing out at the Centre, Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik said in Bhubaneswar that the ruling BJD would launch an agitation on the issue. "The petrol price hike will be another heavy burden on the common man," Patnaik said.

Office of profit: PC George and VS in trouble

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: P C George and V S Achuthanandan may lose their Assembly  membership if the office of profit clause is strictly applied to their present posts of Chief Whip and Opposition Leader respectively, according to legal experts.

 Contrary to the general impression and what Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and many others in the UDF camp are insisting that the precedents and practice have vested cabinet ranks on the Opposition Leader and Chief Whip, inquiries  revealed that no such enactment has been made by the state legislature, except in the case of MLAs.

“No exemption is there at present for the Opposition Leader or the Chief Whip to hold a cabinet rank. It can clearly attract disqualification of membership from the Assembly itself for those holding such rank,” a top legal source said.

    “It may be recalled that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had to quit her membership in the Lok Sabha in the first term of Manmohan Singh Government, after the cabinet rank vested on her was found to be an office of profit.

    “She had to contest the elections again and re-enter the Lok Sabha as a member and not with any cabinet rank,” the source said.

    In the case of George, the web is more complex since there is a portfolio for Parliamentary Affairs in the state now.

   As per law applicable to both the Parliament and state legislatures, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs is the one who acts as the chief whip.

Except for a few states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, all other states had the portfolio long ago itself and hence there was no chief whip post.    But in 2001 Kerala also changed its pattern in accordance with the national system developed on the basis of recommendations of the all-India whips’ conference held in Shimla in 1984.

    Currently, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is holding the charge of  Parliamentary Affairs.

If at all a ruling front is forced to yield to political compulsions of coalition management, the only way out is the creation of a deputy chief whip post, next to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and gift a cabinet rank. But then, for those already holding the post of Chief Whip or Opposition Leader with a Cabinet rank, they may be forced to pay a political price.

Mediation fails, Jacobites shift prayer venue

Despite initially showing some signs of withdrawing from the protest over the ownership of St Paul’s and St Peter’s Church at Kolenchery, the Orthodox and Jacobite Churches decided to continue with the path of agitation.

In the talks held by the Kerala Mediation Committee (KMC) and district administration on Thursday, leaders of both the sides put forward more conditions before going for mediation talks.

After the mid-day prayers, the Catholicos of Jacobite Church decided to shift the venue of prayer programme to St Peter’s and St Paul’s chapel. He along with other priests and the faithful went to the chapel in a procession at 1.30 pm on Thursday.

“The change in the venue does not mean that we are ending the prayer programme. The Catholicos will go ahead with the prayer programme till a solution is evolved,” said Thampu George Thukalan, secretary, Jacobite Syrian Church.

The Malankara Association, the highest decision making body of Orthodox Church, met at Kolenchery. It decided to intensify the strike in the days to come.

In the reconciliation talks, the representatives of the Orthodox faction laid down new conditions for accepting mediation, sources with the church said.

“All the individual churches under the Orthodox Church, will observe fast on Friday. The faithful under Kochi diocese will observe fast at the High Court junction demanding strong action on the part of authorities for executing the court verdict,” E C Alias, PRO, Orthodox Malankara Syrian Church said.

Metropolitan Yacob Mar Irvanious will inaugurate the fast at the High Court junction at 10 am. “Women from all the parishes under the Church will come to Kolenchery and take part in the fast,” he said.

The Action Council which is to meet on Friday will decide the future course of action, he said.

Protests in Kerala over petrol price rise

Two government vehicles were set afire Friday as protests here against the rise in petrol prices turned violent, police said. Protests were reported from other parts of Kerala too.

Meanwhile, the Motor Employees Union said all taxis and autorickshaws will keep off the roads across the state for a day on Monday to protest against the fuel price rise.

Price of petrol went up by Rs.3.14 per litre to touch Rs.69.54 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Angry front organisations of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) went on a rampage, setting fire to two government vehicles and pelting stones at a police jeep, while staging protests in front of central government offices.

Acting swiftly, police took into custody a few people suspected of the attacks and also carried out a baton-charge to disperse the mob.

Protesting the act on their activists, the opposition Left Democratic Front has called a dawn-to-dusk shutdown here Saturday.

Former home minister and CPI-M leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters here that the state government is ‘playing the dirty game’ of using force to put down democratic forms of protest.

Protests were reported elsewhere in Kerala too. In Kozhikode, protesters blocked the railways tracks, delaying running of trains in north Kerala.

Meanwhile, the government said it would discuss measures to cushion the effect of the hike.

‘I will discuss with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on what the state can do to absorb the increase in fuel prices,’ said Finance Minister K.M. Mani

Salman's 'Bodyguard' rakes in $1.4 mn

 Salman Khan's latest Bollywood blockbuster "Bodyguard" has scored a gigantic opening in North America, raking in an astounding $1.4 million over its six-day debut period.

In less than one week, the Reliance Entertainment release has already surpassed the entire lifetime gross of his recent blockbuster hit "Dabangg" and has beaten the combined totals for his films "Ready" and "Wanted".

Playing in 88 theatres across the US and Canada, the weekend collection for "Bodyguard" included $863,531 over the Friday-to-Sunday period and $1,051,132 across the Friday-to-Monday Labour Day holiday period.

Since opening on Aug 31, the action-romance has collected $1,361,790 and is expected to break the $2 million barrier in its second week.

The film's per-theatre average of $11,945 was by far the highest for any film in the North American Top 20 over t
he weekend

Arvind Swamy making a comeback?

• Those who have been wondering about actor Aravind Swamy's whereabouts, here's news.
  
  If the Kollywood grapevine is to be believed, the 'Roja' star is all set to make a comeback in cinema. Sources say that the actor will mark his return to K-town with director Thiru's (of 'Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai' fame) film, which will have Vishal and Trisha in the lead.
  
  However, when we contacted director Thiru, he said, "It's true that we were thinking about approaching the actor because the character demands someone like Aravind Swamy. But, we are yet to talk to him. I don't know how the news leaked even before we approached him."
  
  But the director clearly states that the buzz that Aravind Swamy is playing a villain in the film is not true. "It's not a negative character as reported. We are yet to finalize things. As of now, I cannot confirm anything," says Thiru.
  
  Aravind Swamy started his career in K-town with Mani Ratnam's 'Thalapathi'. The film fetched him accolades and he went on to become a star in K-town with films like 'Roja', 'Bombay' and 'Alaipayuthey'. But after a brief stint in films, Aravind Swamy took a break and started his own software firm in Chennai. His personal life too took a beating as the actor separated from his wife Gayathri after a divorce last year.

Malayalam movie ulagam chuttum valiban directed by Rajbabu produced by ... Coming soo

ജയറാമിനെ നായകനാക്കി രാജ് ബാബു സംവിധാനം ചെയ്ത 'ഉലകം ചുറ്റും വാലിബന്‍' തിരുവോണ നാളില്‍ പ്രദര്‍ശനത്തിനെത്തി.

ഗാലക്സി ഫിലിംസിനു വേണ്ടി മിലന്‍ ജലീല്‍ നിര്‍മിച്ച ചിത്രത്തിന് തിരക്കഥയൊരുക്കുന്നത് കൃഷ്ണ പൂജപ്പുരയാണ്. 


മിത്ര കുര്യന്‍, വന്ദനാ മേനോന്‍, ബിജു മേനോന്‍, സുരാജ് വെഞ്ഞാറമൂട്, സലീം കുമാര്‍, ബിജുക്കുട്ടന്‍, കോട്ടയം നസീര്‍, ശോഭാ മോഹന്‍, ജനാര്‍ദനന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയവരാണ് മറ്റ് അഭിനേതാക്കള്‍.


കോമഡി ഫാമിലി എന്റര്‍ടെയ്നര്‍ ആയി ഒരുക്കിയിരിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ ക്യാമറ ആനന്ദക്കുട്ടന്റേതാണ്. സംഗീതം: മോഹന്‍ സിത്താര. വിതരണം: ഗ്യാലക്സി ഫിലിംസ്

ulakam chuttum valiban gallery

(click photos to enlarge)

WikiLeaks 'hacked' before release

Whistle-blower website says first batch of US files to be revealed by five media houses on Sunday despite online attack.


WikiLeaks has said that its website has been compromised, just hours before the expected release of a tranche of secret US diplomatic documents.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," Wikileaks said on its Twitter page.
But WikiLeaks said that five publications "will publish many US embassy cables tonight" even if the website goes down.
Meanwhile, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has said the imminent release of the classified  documents by the whistle-blower website will amount to a "diplomatic history" of global affairs.
"The material that we are about to release covers essentially every major issue in every country," Assange told reporters in Jordan by video link from an undisclosed location on Sunday.
WikiLeaks is reportedly hours away from releasing hundreds of thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables, with several governments fearing damaging revelations.
US officials took the unusual step on Saturday of sending a letter to WikiLeaks to warn against the release of the secret government documents, which it says will put "countless" lives at risk.
The letter, from Harold Hongju Koh, the US state department's top lawyer, argued that publishing the classified files would threaten counterterrorism operations and jeopardise US relations with its allies.
"No single individual has even come to harm as a result of anything that we have ever published," Assange said on Sunday.
The classified documents reportedly cover correspondence between US diplomatic missions abroad and the state department in Washington and could reveal "unflattering" views that American officials held about close EU allies and countries like Russia and Turkey.
US diplomats have been visiting foreign ministries hoping to stave off anger over the cables, which are internal messages that often lack the niceties diplomats voice in public.
WikiLeaks has said the newest release will be seven times the size of the October publication of 400,000 Iraq war documents, the biggest leak to date in US intelligence history.
The site also published 77,000 classified US files on the Afghan conflict in July

Pratibha Patil presents 58th national film awards

President Pratibha Patil on Friday (September 09) conferred Dada Saheb Phalke award to Veteran director K Balachander, known for his masterpieces Iru Kodugal", "Apoorva Raagangal" and "Ek Duuje Ke Liye", while giving away National Awards in 36 other categories.

Informing media details on the films Ambika Soni, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting said, “This year there were record number of 161 feature films in fifteen languages and 113 non feature films in thirteen languages from all over the country that competed for the top honors. Talent was seen in greater bundles. Therefore as we see, join winners in categories of best actor, best actress and best child artist.”

Live performances by Rekha Bhardwaj and Suresh Wadkar wooed the audience.

While Tamil movie ‘Aadukalam’ walked away with the award in six top categories, Malayalam film ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ picked up four awards.

The President honoured K. Balachander, veteran Tamil director with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at Vigyan Bhawan.

Fort the first time in 58 years the certificate was also given a makeover.

Tamil star Dhanush receives the Best Actor award for Aadukalam from President Pratibha Patil.

Actress Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar receives Best Actress award for her role in Marathi film Baboo Band Baaja from President Pratibha Patil.

Veteran Tamil filmmaker K Balachander receives the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award from President Pratibha Patil.

Producer Arbaaz Khan receives the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Dabangg from President Pratibha Patil.

Vishal Bhardwaj receives the award for Best Music Direction for Ishqiya from President Pratibha Patil.

Rekha Bhardwaj receives the award for Best Female Playback Singer for Ishqiya from President Pratibha Patil.

Child actor Harsh Mayar receives the Best Child Artist award for his performance in the Hindi film I am Kalam from President Pratibha Patil.

Malaika Arora Khan at the event.

Actor Salim Kumar receives the Best Actor award for the Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu from President Pratibha Patil.

Producer Basantkumar Patil receives the Best Children's Film Award for the Kannada film Hejjegalu from President Pratibha Patil.

Producer couple Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan pose with the Swarna Kamal medal. The duo received the Award For Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Dabangg.

Director P. Sheshadri receives the Best Film On Environment Conservation/Preservation award for Kannada film Bettada Jeeva from President Pratibha Patil.

Director P.R. Ramadas Naidu receives the Best Children's Film award for his Kannada film Hejjegalu from President Pratibha Patil.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner K Balachander with actor Arbaaz Khan.

Director Seenu Ramasamy receives the award for the Best Tamil Film for Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru from President Pratibha Patil.

(From Right to left)Best Actor award winner Salim Kumar with Best Child Artist award winner Harsh Mayar, followed by fellow Best Actor award winner K Dhanush and Best Actress award winner Saranya Pon Vannan at the 58th National Film Awards Function in New Delhi on Friday (September 9).

Singer Suresh Wadkar receives the Best Male Playback Singer award for the Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal from President Pratibha Patil.

Best Actor award winners Salim Kumar (Right) and Dhanush with Best Actress award winners Saranya Pon Vannan and Mitalee Jagtap-Varadkar (Left) at the 58th National Film Awards Function in New Delhi.

Author Vijaya Mulay receives the Best Book On Cinema award for her English book ‘From Rajahs and Yogis to Gandhi and Beyond: Images of India in International Films of the Twentieth Century' from President Pratibha Patil.