Remake rights of Naduvula Konjam sold in four languages
At a time when films fail to linger on screen beyond two weeks, small-budget Tamil film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (NKPK) is showing unusual longevity, screening for more than 50 days at southern cinemas, and selling the remake rights in four languages. The rights were sold in Hindi (Rs2.5 million), Telegu (Rs4.5 million), Kannada (Rs1.2 million) and Malayalam (Rs1 million), while Sun TV has acquired the television rights for Rs7.5 million.
With its intriguing title (“few pages go missing from the centre”), this is a tale of a young man who suffers temporary memory loss on the eve of his wedding. What forms the rest of the situational comedy is how his three friends hide this mishap from family members until the wedding is performed.
NKPK has earned a place among the new wave of films that have rocked the Tamil industry in the recent past. Produced by V.S. Rajkumaran at a budget of Rs15 million, NKPK was subsequently purchased by Satish Kumar of JSK Films Corporation, Chennai. Released last November, it went on to gross Rs25 million in Tamil Nadu.
Celebrations were held in Chennai on January 19 to mark 50 days of NKPK in theatres.
“The performance of the actors was commendable,” said director K.V. Anand. “They brought out the comedy without going overboard. The characters resembled people from life around.”
Vijay Sethupathi’s subtle performance was hailed as one of the reasons for the film’s success, holding viewers attention with the one liner “Enna aachu” (what happened?).
“Vijay did not act. He lived the character,” said actor Parthiban,
C. Prem Kumar’s camera work and Ved Shankar’s music was appreciated too. This story, by debutant Balaji Dharaneedharan, is based on cameraman Prem Kumar’s real life.
So what drew Rajkumaran to Dharaneedharan’s script?
“Today’s cinema follows a template that includes songs and fight sequences. This story broke every format of this template,” said Rajkumaran. “Its strength lies in its clean humour.”
“I did not think about the commercial aspect then. I was drawn by the story and knew that I was taking a risk, but I was determined to produce this film.”
Read the review at gulfnews.com/tabloid
Vazhakku Enn 18/9 wins in Paris
Critically acclaimed Tamil film Vazhakku Enn 18/9 received the Best Film award at the South Asian Film festival that concluded in Paris (Festival du film d’Asie du Sud Transgressif) on January 20.
Directed by Balaji Sakthivel and produced by Thirupathi Brothers, Vazhakku Enn 18/9 featured freshers and is a teen crime thriller revolving around a GenX love story.
Pongal celebrations with Sanjay Dutt
Guess who was busy stirring the sweet delicacy this Pongal?
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, clad in silk veshti (shawl) and red shirt, was hard to miss on the sets of ‘Police Giri,’ as he participated in the festival celebrations held in Chennai.
Produced by Star Entertainment World Wide Pvt. Ltd and directed by K.S. Ravikumar, ‘Police Giri,’ is a remake of Tamil film, ‘Sami’ and features Sanju Baba opposite Prachi Desai.
