MANKATHA-TALKS

DIRECTER VENKET

ACTOR BHARATH


AMALAPAL       
                                                  
DEVAYANI

 SJ.SURYA

 DHEENA RJ

 ATHARVA

                                                                                                                         CHARAN

                                                                                                                         PUSHKAR & GAYATHRI

                                                                                                                         PRASSANA

                                                                                                                         JAI

                                                                                                                         SUSEENDRAN

                                                                                                                         RAMESH KANNA

                                                                                                                         DHEENA

mankatha

Mankatha' is seeing a release in 34 locations at USA! It truly can't get bigger than this. Online ticketing is currently open in many locations. Check out the below and book your tickets in advance for Thala Ajith's game, 'Mankatha'!

Big cinemas Locations:

Phoenix Big Cinemas Dos Lagos Stadium 15 

Big Cinemas Towne 3, San Jose, CA 

Big Cinemas Freemont, CA 

Big Cinemas Norwalk, CA 

Big Cinemas Columbia Park, NJ 

Big Cinemas Movie City, Edison, NJ

Big Cinemas Peach Tree, Atlanta, GA 

Big Cinemas Golf Glenn, Chicago, IL 

Big Cinemas Loehmanns, VA 

Cinemark Locations:

Austin, TX Tinsel Town 

Century 20 Great Mall and XD, Milpitas, CA

Century Folsom 14 (Sacramento)  

Century Aurora (Denver), CO 

Cinemark Movies 10, Charlotte (Matthews), NC 

Cinemark Warren, Detroit, MI

Other Locations:

The Screens at the Continent - Columbus

Georgetown 14 Cinemas - Indianapolis 

West Hills -Laemmle Fallbrook - Los Angeles

Reading Cinemas, Carmel Mountain 12 - San Diego

Fun Asia Hollywood, Dallas, TX 

Fun Asia, Houston, TX 

MyGalaxy Cinema Raleigh

Britton 8 Tampa, Florida 

Bloomfield 8 Cinema - Connecticut

Entertainment Cinemas, Boston, MA 

Navrang Theaters, Roswell, GA 

Peoria, IL 

Bloomfield, IL

Green Bay, WI 

Milwaukee, WI 

Madison, WI 

Mann Maple Grove, Minneapolis 

Pollack Tempe Cinemas, Tempe, AZ

Totem Lake Seattle, WA

Paagan

Srikanth is back in the limelight after some set backs in his career during the mid 2000s. The actor is at the moment busy with a handful of films in Tamil and Telugu.

In Tamil Srikanth is shooting for director Shankar's 'Nanban' alongside a pompous star cast to the likes of Vijay, Jiiva and Ileana. A Tamil version of Bollywood's '3 Idiots' 'Nanban' is touted to have all the ingredients of a Shankar film in terms of grandeur, larger than life sets and beautiful locales over seas.

Apart from Shankar's 'Nanban,' Srikanth will don the lead's role in 'Ethiri En 3.' This flick is believed to be a thriller with Poonam Bajwa playing Srikanth's female lead. Srikanth also recently signed 'Paagan' which will be directed by Aslam, a subordinate to director Ameer.

Janani Iyer who made a mark with Bala's 'Avan Ivan' has been signed on to play the female lead in this 'Paagan.' The shoot for 'Paagan' has already started rolling from Pollachi. Character artist and popular comedienne Kovai Sarala will play an important role in this film.

Anbulla Kamal

'Four Friends', a Malayalam film that released last year is being dubbed to Tamil as 'Anbulla Kamal'. The film features our very own Kamal Haasan in a pivotal guest appearance towards the end.

This film by Saji Surendran features Jayaram, Jayasurya, Kunchako Boban and Meera Jasmine in the lead roles. The film is inspired by Hollywood blockbuster 'The Bucket List' which garnered much appreciation from critics.

Kamal appears in a scene, portraying his real self, that of a top-notch actor. The film has all the four actors as cancer victims and they meet one another and become close friends during their treatment. Kamal who meets them in an airport gives them pep talk that boosts their confidence.

Rajinikanth's blockbuster 'Anbulla Rajinikanth' also dealt with a cancer patient and the film is a dear one to many fans till date. 'Anbulla Kamal' boasts off a clean script that does away from masala entertainers, we'll have to wait to see if the film strikes the chord at the BO

pandiraj's next film

He hit the bull's eye with 'Pasanga' which bagged a whole lot of awards, locally, nationally as well as some international trophies. Now the director, Pandiraj, is all set to crank the camera for his next project which is touted to be on children along with a love tale in the sideline.

Pandiraj has roped in Oviya ('Kalavani' heroine) as well as Siva Karthikeyan, who is a TV host gaining momentum for his humorous style of hosting shows on small screen. Set in the northern part of Chennai, this film is about kids and deals with the lives of children who grow up amidst local thugs and how the young minds get inspired by the local goons.

The film is yet to be titled and Pandiraj has revealed that he would disclose the title to the media after naming his film. This film will also mark Siva Karthikeyan's entry in to the silver screen from the small screen, and going by the popularity he has garnered on television he might capture the hearts of the movie going audience too soon.

7am Arivu

As august is drawing to a close, eager film lovers are awaiting the films of their icons to hit theatres one behind the other. It was earlier reported that Suriya fans might get to hear the tunes of their star's '7 Am Arivu' on September 10. But there are some sources in the know, who have revealed that there might be a delay in the audio launch of '7 Am Arivu,' with the music hitting stands only by September 22.

The birdies also have suggested that the '7 Am Arivu' team is looking at either one of two places to launch the music - the Nehru Indoor stadium, Chennai or from Malaysia. But one thing is certain, irrespective of the place where the music disc might first be launched this would undoubtedly be a grand affair.

'7 Am Arivu' is  Murugadoss' brainchild and sees Suriya and Shruti Haasan sharing onscreen space for the first time. This film will also be launching Shruti Haasan in to Kollywood as heroine. Apart from this '7 Am Arivu' is packed with other USPs like three dramatically different makeovers of the lead star, spine chilling stunts a cool-as-a-cucumber-villain and a taut storyline.

Music is by Harris Jayaraj and Udhay's Red Giant Movies has produced this picture; the audio launch will be telecasted live on Sun TV.

Dheera

Superstar Rajinikanth's 'Sultan The Warrior' might see a name change and that Soundarya had zeroed in on three names to choose the final title from.

Now the Kollywood grapevine is abuzz that 'Sultan The Warrior' will be rechristened to 'Dheera' as Soundarya wanted a Tamil title for the film. Sources further add that Rajini will don dual avatars in this film, and their names might be Sultan and Dheera.

This live action-cum-animation movie will also feature Prakash Raj, Rahul Dev and many others in pivotal roles and has music by AR Rahman.

An official announcement on the name change from 'Sultan The Warrior' to 'Dheera' will be made soon and the film may see light of the day before Rajini's 'Rana'.

Vettai

The shoot for Vettai starring Arya and Madhavan has begun. They have begun shooting in Karaikudi. Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul will be paired opposite the duo. Arya and Madhavan are riding high after their recent successes at the box office. Maddy delivered a smash hit with Tanu Weds Manu (Hindi) and Arya had Boss Engira Bhaskaran. All eyes are on these hit machines.

There are high expectations for Lingusamy’s Vettai as Maddy chose this film despite being flooded with offers from Bollywood. We wish the entire unit the very best for their project!

It is no more a secret that Madhavan is playing a honest police officer and a doting elder brother of Arya in 'Vettai', a film directed by 'commercial expert' Lingusamy.

The name of his character in the film is Thirumoorthy. "A man with principles, he wants to serve the department and the society with utmost sincerity. But what happens when hurdles come in his way is the crux of the story," sources say.

Arya plays a carefree younger brother of Madhavan who later takes on an action avatar, sources say and add: "Sameera Reddy plays Madhavan's wife and Amala Paul as her sister."

"Arya falls in love with Amala at the very first sight and their romance scenes will be the highlight of the movie. Vettai is taking shape fast and would hit the screens soon," they further say.

Naanga

Selva is a creative director who started his career with his first debut was ‘Thalaivasal’ and made wonderful hits in the 90s. His other films like Amaravathi, Karna, Pooveli, James Bond, Unnaruge Naanirunthal, Student No. 2 and Naan Avan Illai are admired by audience for somany reasons.

After a long break, Selva is now back with his 25th film 'Naanga' under a new banner Cinema Kottagai. Just as his first film, Selva has chosen a college student’s drama, even for his 25th film.

 The individuality in this is the story spreads over a period of time starting from 1985 to 2010. Selva is the writer director of this film and Balabarathi who did music for ‘Thalaivasal’ does the music for ‘Naanga’ also. 

The silver screen is on its first schedule happening in Tenkasi, Kutralam, Nellai, Pollachi and Coimbatore.

Poda Podi

After the stupendous success of the song “Evan di una pethan,” in Vaanam STR is really coming into his own as a singer and songwriter par excellence. Buoyed with the positive response, he is hard at work with what will hopefully be another chartbuster.  

The song is for Poda Podi and is entitled “Naan correctanavan.” It will be typical of his brand of style that is fast becoming a name unto itself. The Young Superstar feels that he needs to develop these talents as well. His fans cannot wait to hear it!

Nanbargalum 40 Thirudargalum

Kollywood is abuzz with the news that Kamal Haasan, Crazy Mohan and Prabhu are coming together to make a comedy flick. Grapevine has it that the film has been titled Nanbargalum 40 Thirudargalum.

It is worth mentioning here that the trio joined hands for Vasool Raja MBBS, a remake of the Hindi blockbuster Munna Bhai MBBS, and the film was a smash hit. Nanbargalum 40 Thirudargalum will be produced by Sivaji Productions.

Sources in Kollywood say that Kamal may commence this film once he wraps up Viswaroopam, which went on floors this week. More details about this project is expected to be made soon.

Mareesan

Director Chimbudevan may just be three films old in Tamil cinema as a director, but he has definitely carved a niche for himself, what with laugh riots like 'Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi', 'Arai En 305-il Kadavil' and 'Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam'.

Now the latest is that, the director is coming up with a movie, 'Mareesan', with Dhanush playing the lead role!

This film will be Dhanush's biggie with a budget of Rs 30 crore and will be produced by UTV Motion Pictures. 'Mareesan' will be a fantasy period film set in the 12th  century and have Dhanush in a never-seen-before suave avatar.

It seems the director took extreme care in penning the script of this fantasy period drama as he wanted to pay attention to every detail, and do justice to the big budget the film boasts off.

Music for 'Mareesan' will be by GV Prakash and camera by Kathir. The hunt for Dhanush's lady love in this film is on and the 'Mareesan' will go on floors by the end of the year.

Muran

It is going to be a treat for film buffs when August draws to an end and right through the coming months with the most expected films of 2011 starring the top heroes in Tamil lining up for release!

Cheran is continuing his journey as an actor with 'Muran' where he will share screen space with Prasanna. Directed by newcomer Rajjan Madhav the film has been inspired from the Alfred Hitchcock's film 'Strangers On A Train.' With modern Chennai as the backdrop the film is about two strangers meeting and what fate has in store for them from then on.

The rushes of 'Muran' which were released when 'Rowthiram' was released have been garnering appreciation for the way the film has been shot as well as for its music. The tunes for 'Muran' are by Sajjan Madhav the director's sibling and son of late Malayalam musician Ravindran.

Cheran will play a popular musician in Muran and Prasanna will be seen as a rich entrepreneur. The actor has slimmed down and lost a good amount of flab and looks lean and trendy to suit his character in this film. 'Muran' sees Nikita Tukral (the "Kodanu Kodi" girl from 'Saroja') and Haripriya as the protagonists' female leads. Jai Prakash has an important role to perform in this psychological thriller film, reveal insiders.

'Muran' is jointly produced by director Cheran's Dream Theatres and UTV Motion Pictures. The film is gearing up for release in theatres across the state on September 1, right after Ajith's game 'Mankatha' which will hit theatres on August 31!

Mallukattu

 You can call Dhanush's a real 'kalai kudumbam'. The national award winning actor's father (Kasthuriraja), brother (Selvaraghavan) and wife (Aishwarya) are directors and his sister (Dr Vimalageetha) is a producer.

Now, his cousin Varun has become an actor, with a film titled 'Mallukattu'. Directed by Muruganandham and produced by TD Prathaban and S Nandhagopal, it has music by Taj Noor, while Honeyrose of 'Singam Puli' fame plays the heroine.

Happy and at the same time thrilled about his turning an actor, Varun says, "t is my pleasure to make a debut in cinema. I have worked with Selvaraghavan as his assistant and saw Dhanush performing at close quarters."

'Mallukattu' is a story of a youth, who strives hard to come up in his life. He faces many challenges and how he overcomes them forms the crux. In between, he also has a love affair and everything has been told interestingly, sources say.

Varun was keen to mark his presence felt in films since his childhood and this zeal of him made him to work as an assistant director to Selvaraghavan. After undergoing training in acting and dancing skills, he chose to make his entry as an actor.

Muruganandham, who worked as assistant to Vikraman, the master of sentiment dramas, says, "Mallukattu will be an enjoyable entertainer. Varun has done his best. I watched him closely before casting him in the movie and found him to be an apt choice."

Bharath Reddy plays the baddie in 'Mallukattu' which also has Sabesh Karthik and Shadhika in key roles. The film has music by Taj Noor.  "Songs would be the highlight of the movie", says the director, adding: "Taj Noor, a former associate of AR Rahman, has given wonderful music."

Annakodiyum Kodi Veeranum

Parthiban is playing a dual role in Bharathiraja's 'Annakodiyum Kodi Veeranum', which is expected to go on floors by September. "It is a lifetime project and I am extremely happy to work with the Iyakkumar Imayam," he says.

Besides Parthiban, the film will have Priyamani, Parvathi Menon of 'Poo' fame, Meenal and a host of newfaces in pivotal roles. Remember Priyamani was introduced to Kollywood by Bharathiraja in 'Kangalal Kaidhu Sei'.

Adds Parthiban, who is a student of K Bhagyaraj, who in turn is a student of Bharathiraja, "I am thankful to Bharathiraja for choosing me for the project. He could have selected any leading hero for the character I am doing in this film."

'Annakodiym Kodi Veeranum', according to Bharathiraja, is his dream project and his challenge to young filmmakers. "I will prove myself once again with this film," he said earlier. G V Prakash Kumar is composing music.

Ceylon

Celebrated cinematographer and director Santosh Sivan is all set to launch his next film as a director. Titled 'Ceylon' the film will showcase Sri Lankan refugees. The director who had begun this project a couple of years back had some delays while progressing with this film. According to the director 'Ceylon' is basically on the plight of refugees from Sri Lanka who have been displaced from their land due to the domestic war. With 'Urumi' having done a good show in Malayalam, he is getting ready for the premiering it in Tamil and Telugu with more commercial element, and with more screen time to Arya's role in the film. Through 'Ceyoln,' Santosh will be introducing three new faces in to South Indian cinema. The director who has done more than 40 documentaries for various organizations is at the moment in Allepy, shooting a documentary on the troubled lives of farmers. This short film, sources indicate, is being shot with real farmers with the director planning to wrap the shoots by October. Santosh is also trying to group a fresh cast for his upcoming 'Ceylon' which will go on floors soon after his documentary is done.

Poraali

Sasi Kumar, who plays the lead role in Poraali, has said that the film does not deal with revolution, as guessed by many. He revealed that the film dwells on the life of a young man who has to fight to achieve what he wants.

It is a story of an individual, he clarified. Sasi Kumar added that he appears in two getups in this film and has cut short his long mane for this purpose. The shooting of Poraali is currently going on in and around Chennai and the team had shot extensively in Theni before arriving to Chennai.

Sundar C Babu has scored the music for this film and Samuthirakani has directed it. Swathi, Vasundara and Niveda play the female lead stars.

Boologam

Jayam Ravi has said that his next project will be Boologam. This film is to be directed by debut director Kalyana Krishnan. In Boologam, Jayam Ravi will play a boxer and is now undergoing special training course in this form of martial arts.

Sources say that Jayam Ravi will essay the role of boxing champion Madan, who had won a medal in the Asian championship. Madan is taking a keen interest in this project and is training Jayam Ravi for the role. The star will learn the nuances of boxing from Madan and will put it to good use onscreen

Aadhi Bhagavan

Answering a question on which actor he would like to share the screen space with, if a film offered to him is a multi-starrer, Jayam Ravi has said that he would love to star alongside Kamal Haasan.

Jayam Ravi has said that he is not averse to multi-starrers as it has become very common these days because the young generation stars share a good and healthy friendship. The star said that currently the shooting of Aadhi Bhagwan is in progress and this film may most probably be released by this year end. He revealed that his next project in the pipeline is Boologam.

Mugamoodi

Jiiva is on a roll and there in no stopping him. Ko has enhanced his star status considerably and he has filmmakers queuing up to sign him on for their projects. But Jiiva is not one to grab everything that comes his way and he is waiting for the right scripts. When Mysskin approached him with a project he has dreamed of making for a long time, Jiiva was floored and agreed at once.

The film will be called Mugamoodi and it is going to be a superhero flick, the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu. A Mumbai based production house has agreed to bankroll this mega venture, so it is time for Jiiva and Mysskin to rock and roll!

Thandavakone

Thandavakone starring Sanjay Kumar and Nandagi had its audio release recently. The USP of the film is that Ilaiyaraja composed the music. In a moving speech, the maestro reminisced about how he first got his break in films. He revealed the struggles he underwent and was full of gratitude to producer Panchu Arunachalam for believing in him, when he was a nobody and giving him his first break.

The great man said that he has always sought to repay the favor by giving other talented artistes a chance to prove themselves. In addition to this, he is always happy to score the music for films by new directors who have the potential to make it big. And that is why he agreed to work on Thandavakone directed by Subbusujatha and produced by Ambience Movie Makers.

All in the audience were moved by the speech and the humility of the speaker. Truly, Ilaiyaraja is a living legend and an inspiration to all who know and love him.

Mayakkam Enna

Selvaraghavan's much awaited Irandam Ulagam has been reportedly renamed Mayakkam Enna. Tollywood sensation Richa Gangopadhyay has replaced Andrea Jeremiah in this film, which is in its final schedule. For the first time Dhanush will play the role of a doctor. UTV Motion Pictures has acquired the release rights of this film produced by Dhanush's father Kasthuri Raja; Ramji (of Raam fame) handles the camera. Kola Bhaskar is the editor and G.V. Prakash is the music director.

Brothers Selvaraghavan and Dhanush astonished Kollywood audiences with Thulluvatho Ilamai, touched their hearts with Kadhal Konden, and enthralled them with Pudhupettai. So let's hope that the duo repeats the magic again.

Raja Pattai

Vikram's Raja Pattai with director Suseendran was launched in Chennai recently. Sexy siren Deeksha Seth, who created waves in Tollywood within a short time, will make her Kollywood debut with this film in which it is reported that Vikram will play a dual role.

Deeksha has revealed that she will play the role of a modern college-going girl; Abhinaya will also be seen in a prominent role. Yuvan Shankar Raja will score music and Madhie is the cinematographer of this complete action thriller. Veteran actor K. Viswanath will appear as Vikram's father.

Karikalan

Vikram, who is quite upbeat about his forthcoming release Deiva Thirumagal, has recently signed a magnum opus titled Karikalan, produced by S.S. Vasan and S. Parthi of SilverLine Film Factory. L.I. Kannan, who has earlier worked for special effects in Enthiran, Anniyan, Eeram, Ghajini and Sivakasi, will direct this mega budget flick. According to sources, the film will have the right mix of periodic and contemporary elements.

Zarine Khan (of Veer fame) will play the female lead while Harris Jayaraj will compose the music. It is said that the film will be made using Animatronics, Miniature, Computer Graphics and some portions have been shot already at Thalakonam forests. N. Karthik (who has worked as a associate cinematographer in Yaradi Nee Mohini and Enthiran) will handle the camera and Mahesh will take care of editing. S.S. Murthy and Maya Pandi are the art directors for this fantasy flick.

Mudhal Idam

AVM Production’s 175th movie is Mudhal Idam. Mynaa’s hero Viddarth has been paired with Kavitha Nair, a new face from Kerala for Mudhal Idam movie.

Vellore Mavattam

After his earlier film Masilamani,  director Manohar is joining with Kalpathi S. Agoram for his next project ‘Vellore Mavattam’ under the big banner AGS productions. Nandha and Poorna are playing the lead roles in this film.

The story of the film revolves around a sincere police officer and his struggles to maintain his standing position.

The producer of the film has many hopes on the director Manahor, as the big banner AGM productions have a number of films for release like Irumbhu Kottai Murattu Singam, Bale Pandiya, Bala's next film with Arya and Vishal, Jayam Ravi's film to be directed by Prabhu Deva in the coming months.

Let’s wish all the best to the combo!

Maalai Nera Mazhaithuli

Vijay and director AR Murugadoss are gearing up to start their film as soon as they complete their ongoing projects.

During the last update we have come across regarding the hunt for the heroine and top Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra might be roped in as Vijay’s heroine in the film. But according to some sources it is revealed that Priyanka Chopra was unavailable for selection and so the filmmakers are planning to sign a top Mumbai-based model as heroine.

Latest we hear is about the theme of the film. The story runs on the backdrop of Mumbai, where Vijay will be tracing his life beyond that in the Western Metropolis. Most of the shoot is expected to take place in Mumbai. The director is tight-lipped about the project.

The movie is likely to move on floors on the eve of Diwali. Murugadoss is currently busy finalizing the title and other lead cats for the film.

Murugadoss has signed Santhosh Sivan and Harris Jayaraj for cinematography and music respectively.

Aascar Ravichandran and S.A Chandrasekar will be producing the film on first copy basis and Fox Star Studios will release the film all over the world.

Maasi

Action King Arjun’s latest film ‘Maasi’ directed by G Kicha is finally going to see the light of the day on August 26, the last Friday of this month.

Action king is popular in doing cop roles and Maasi is one film which joins the list.  Arjun plays an encounter specialist who weeds out his enemies through his incredible intelligence. At the same time he will not be disappointing his fans as director has chalked out some outstanding action sequences and the Arjun has performed the stunts without body double.

Director Kicha says “Maasi will be fresh film and will surely make the audiences glued to the screens.  It is an out and out mass masala action entertainer”.

Dhina has composed music for this film, produced by K S Kovai Mani.

Puli Vesham

‘Puli vesham’, an upcoming film starring industrialist-turned-actor RK, has been accorded ‘U/A’ certificate by the Censors which watched the film recently.  It has been announced that the film, which marks the return to Tamil films for actress Sadaa, would be releasing worldwide on 26th August. 

 The film has been directed by veteran director P. Vasu.

Nanban

Vijay's upcoming flick Nanban is the remake of Bollywood blockbuster '3 Idiots' by Rajkumar Hirani. Jeeva and Srikanth play the other pivotal roles. Shankar directs the movie.

Nanban has the musical score by Harris Jayaraj. Manoj Paramahamsa handles the camera. The original story is by Abhijat Joshi & Rajkumar Hirani. Nanban screenplay is by S. Shankar and Madhan Karky.
Editing is by Anthony while Gemini Film Circuit produces the film. The lead characters were confirmed after a lot of changes. In the original, the leading 3 characters were done by Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi.
Nanban began its initial schedule in January this year at Ooty and Coimbatore. The college scenes were picturised at Dehradun.
Ileana D'Cruz will don the female lead character while Sathyaraj will don the role of Professor. S. J. Surya, Anuya and Sathyan are the others in the many cast.

Nanban is expected to grace screens by October 2011.

Sangaiya

Sangaiya film was launched at AVM studios aug 18 which is directed by A.R.Kendran Muniyasamy , The function was graced by PMK Leader Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss, Pasumpon Desiya Kalagam, .N.Vellaichamy Devar, FIlm Chamber Vice President , Amma Creations T.Siva. 

Thadaiyara Thaakka

Arjun Vijay's forthcoming film 'Thadaiyara Thaakka' is gearing up and buzz is that the film will be canned entirely in Chennai!

 Arun Vijay said, "We are keen in shooting most parts of film in Chennai and that's making the film a little difficult one to shoot, as it involves a lot of procedures and approvals in here. To top to that, the rains are further delaying it, but we are somehow managing to shoot in between and the film is shaping up very well".

He also added that nearly half the scenes are canned in the dark to add to the appeal of the film. Salim Baig, who played the villain in the Telugu version of 'Khaaka Khaaka', that is to say 'Garshana', plays the baddie in this film. Apart from Salim there are two other villains in this film.

'Thadaiyara Thaaka' stars Arun Vijay alongside Mamta Mohandas and Rakul Preet Singh.

Nithya

 Gautham Menon directed Jiiva starrer will go on floors on August 29 and now there's more on this front.

Rumour mills had it that Samantha of 'Baana Kaathadi' fame will play the female lead in this film and now this is official! The film is titled 'Nithya', and some say that it might be rechristened in the coming days. Samantha who has become one hot property in Telugu has given two decent offerings in Tamil, 'Baana Kaathadi' and 'Moscovin Kaveri', both the films that saw musical success.

It may be mentioned that Samantha was the female lead of the Telugu version of 'Vinnaithandi Varuvaya', titled 'Ye Maaya Chesave', directed by Gautham. 

The pre-production work has begun; the film will go on floors on August 29 and will be a 2012 summer treat to Gautham fans.

Prakash Raj is all set to direct his next venture, 'Dhoni' that deals with a little kid's dream to become a renowned cricketer like MS Dhoni, as the title suggests. 'Dhoni' also deals with the pressure that children undergo these days in schools and will enable every viewer to connect the story to their real lives.

'Dhoni' is a bilingual in Tamil and Telugu and has Prakash Raj and Mughda Godse, and the film will have music rendered by Ilaiyaraja. The film will be produced by Prakash Raj's Duet Movies.

Unveiling the first look of this film, Prakash Raj said, "Dhoni, the first look of the bilingual I am directing in Tamil and Telugu. Another journey begins...!"