Newspaper View

Tamil actor Ajith is shooting his 50th film Mankatha in hotspots across the world

R S Prakash bmfeedback@indiatimes.com

The celebrations have already begun for Ajith’s 50th film. Titled Mankatha, the cast and crew are currently in Bangkok for what they describe as a landmark movie for Thalai, as he is fondly called — and particularly his fans. Joining the party is Telugu actor Nagarjuna, who is said to be playing a key role in the flick.

Blame it on numerological concerns, Mankatha was earlier titled Mangatha. After having overcome some of those initial problems, director Venkat Prabhu and crew are all excited about the film.

Says the ace director, “I admit there were some problems initially, but all is well now and the schedules have started rolling in the right sequence and in the right direction. We as a team are very certain that the film in its final form will wow the audience and the added attraction will be the fact that this is our Thalai’s 50th outing!”

For Venkat, this is a different experience as he has earlier worked with relatively lessknown actors and new-comers in films like Chennai- 6000028, Saroja and Goa. Besides roping in Ajith and Nagarjuna, the film also has Trisha, Manoj Manchu, Ganesh Venkataraman and new comer Mahaat.
So what is cooking? We asked Venkat, the son of director-cummusic-director Gangai Amaran.

“It is a commercial potboiler that is being made on the lines of an action adventure dealing with ‘strategic moves’ of a couple of people who would accept nothing less than a victory in a game of probability while destiny has a surprise in store for them, ” says Venkat, cheerfully.

Thankfully, Venkat has been given a complete go-ahead from his producer Dhayanidhi Azhagiri, the grandson of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi.

“I have told the director to go ahead and shoot the film exactly the way he conceived — regardless of the cost. All the top sequences will be canned abroad,” said Azhagiri.

Expectations have hit the sky for Thalai’s 50 movie, which will be shot around at least 10 top locations.

After Venkat’s film, Ajith will start shooting Billa 2, a sequel to Billa, one of his all-time hits.

November 9 : Exclusive New Mankatha Paper Ad

thala rocking

Ajith Off To Bangkok

The cast and crew of ‘Mankatha’ are flying to Bangkok this evening for a shooting schedule in which a song will be picturises on the leading stars.
Ajith, Trisha, Lakshmi Rai and the director Venkat Prabhu are cheerfully looking forward to the Bangkok schedule.
‘Mankatha’ is a lustrous crime flick in which the story happens during IPL cricket series. It is Ajith’s 50th film and so nothing is spared to give that best look to the film.
The sets of ‘Mankatha’ is always in news for the benevolence of Thala and now as the team will be away from their homes we are sure Ajith will make them feel at home as long as they are in Bangkok.

Yuvan Speaks About Ajith's Mankatha

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TEXT VIEW :
This Navaratri was very special for Yuvan Shankar Raja. After all, the busy music composer got to spend some time with his family. “We celebrate Navaratri in a grand way; several singers come to our house and we have beautiful musical evenings. So, during those days, I stopped working by 6 pm and rushed home,” begins Yuvan.
He has more than a dozen projects in his hand, but Yuvan says he’s got it all worked out. “I usually work on two projects at a time. Now, I’m working on Vaanam and Mankatha,” he says.
Despite Vaanam being a remake of the Telugu hit Vedham, Yuvan says he hasn’t retained any tunes from the original. “Each character in Vaanam, be it Simbu or Anushka or Vega and Bharath, has a song and every song belongs to a different genre,” he says, “Usually, filmmakers release the album to promote the film. But, we will be launching a teaser promo and just a song from Vaanam to endorse the music album, which will be released later. Simbu and I have each sung a song for the teaser promo.” He adds, “I’m currently working on a single track for Vaanam and it will be on the lines of a futuristic club mix.”
Yuvan has also started work on Venkat Prabhu’s Mankatha. “There will be six songs in the film and I’ve composed tunes for five of them. We are yet to have a sitting with the lyricists and finalise on who will be singing which song,” he reveals.
For Yuvan, Mankatha is special for various reasons. “I’ve already done four films with Ajith and I want our fifth film to be a huge hit. In fact, Ajith had called me earlier to say that our combination in this film should work wonders at the BO. So, I’m taking extra care while composing.”
Revealing details of the album, he says, “Appa (maestro Ilaiyaraaja) and I are planning to sing a pathos number for the album. While appa will be singing in Tamil, I will be singing the English lyrics.”
Yuvan has also finished work on Bala’s Avan Ivan and Ameer’s Aadhi Bhagavan. “A full-fledged Hindi track, sung by Mohit Chauhan (of Masakkali… fame), will be the highlight of Aadhi Bhagavan,” he adds.
Yuvan will also be making his Bollywood debut soon with Mani Ratnam’s production. “Though I’d composed a single track for Siddharth’s Striker, this film will be my proper Bollywood debut. The film, directed by Mani Ratam’s associate Shivakumar, has Vivek Oberoi in the lead,” he says.
While Yuvan’s film graph is soaring, he’s also excited about his first live concert in Chennai on December 18. “I’m thrilled beyond words. I’ve done concerts internationally, but the experience of performing in my home city is just inexplicable. I will be altering the BGM or adding a few more keys to the songs. For instance, I’m planning to perform the remixed version of Oru Naal… from Pudupettai. This will be an experience of a lifetime,” he signs off.

Yuvan & Ilayaraja To Sing For Ajith

Mankatha is going to be the 4th movie in Ajith - Yuvan combination. Yuvan tweeted already that he has completed composing 1 song for Mankatha and taking extra care for Ajith's intro song which is said to be a club number. This raised the expectations of all Ajith fans.
Today (Oct 14), Yuvan had a meeting with his Orkut fans. In that meeting he disclosed a interesting news that he himself and his dad, music genius Ilayaraja are rendering their voices for a duet song in Mankatha. Totally there are six songs in Mankatha. Expectation is now at its peak for Ajith fans.
Shooting of Mankatha is to be held from Oct 25, sources close to production house said.

Images : Ajith At Isaignani Ilayaraja's House

These images were taken during Ajith's visit to Isaignani Ilayaraj's house on occasion of Navrathri Golu function.

Mankatha Test Shoot In Progress

Ajith's 50th film "MANKATHA"is gearing up in high speed. The movie which is directed by Venkat Prabhu has created a huge expectation after the release of the teaser even before the shooting.
A test shoot was performed today (Oct 19, 2010). Artists including Premgi Amaren, Mahat Raghavendra and Vaibhav Reddy took part in the test shoot. Shooting of Ajith's Mankatha will commence on Oct 25, 2010.

"Ajith's Billa Is Very Nice" : Actress Priyanka Chopra

Ajith's "Goodwill Entertainment"

First Look : Ajith's MANKATHA Official Poster

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