Rajni wanted Sonakshi out, Deepika in

Sonkashi who is going to make her debut in Kollywood with Vishwaroopam opposite Kamal Hassan was the first choice for Rana.

It is believed that the Dabangg girl was offered the role before Deepika was roped in. But before she could give her consent, Deepika got finalized for the same.

Apparently the decision of casting Deepika was taken by Rana's leading star Rajinikanth as he wasn't comfortable romancing Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi as his leading lady. Rajini and Shatrughan Sinha are friends since long time. The duo has also worked together in films earlier.

So makers of Rana wanted someone who is equally suitable for the role and Deepika bagged it. While Sonakshi missed the chance to debut opposite a big star like Rajinikath, she will now make her debut opposite an equally big superstar Kamal Hassan.

Kamal Haasan and his Viswaroopam ..

Padmasree Dr. Kamal Haasan’s grand venture went through some decisive moments today and we at Behindwoods are proud to be the first to be bringing you these exciting revelations about Viswaroopam.

The most important decision made today was that the responsibility of directing this magnum opus will no longer rest on the shoulders of Selvaraghavan. It will be instead taken up by Kamal Haasan himself. He will be directing the film in addition to handling the story, screenplay, dialogue and lyrics. So, we will be getting to see a complete Kamal film; script, dialogues, and all, after a gap of 7 years. The last time Kamal directed a film was in 2004, Virumaandi. And after listening to his lines in Manmadhan Ambu, who wouldn’t want more such poetic songs!

The decision to transfer the reins of Viswaroopam, a mutual one, came after it became impossible to defer the shooting of Viswaroopam until Selvaraghavan completed his current project, Irandam Ulagam. News is that Irandaam Ulagam will take at least another couple of months to get wrapped up and the producer of Viswaroopam, Telephoto Films, feels that it will be too long a wait. That is not without reason because the producer has planned a November 7 release for this opus.

Yes, that is November 7, 2011, not 2012. Less than 6 months from now. And, this is not going to be a simple romantic comedy or drama that can be wrapped up in double quick time within a limited budget. It is in fact the costliest film that has been planned in Tamil to date; the initial estimate running up to 150 crores. And, it will also be released simultaneously in 3 languages, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

A 150 crore trilingual in 6 months! Going by industry trends, that is akin to climbing Mt. Everest in a matter of minutes. But, the team seems confident of meeting the stiff target they have set for themselves. And, their confidence is not without reason because the work has already begun. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have been entrusted with the music of the film and the first song has been recorded. So, as you can see, the team is wasting no time in getting things underway. And, for those of you who feel disappointed at not being able to see the Kamal-Selva combination, there is good news. The producer has expressed optimism that the trio will come together for another film.

There are not too many other details available at this moment except for the fact that Bollywood ‘Dabbang’ sensation Sonakshi Sinha will be seen opposite Kamal Haasan. Well, the young actress really does seem to have many cosmic forces favoring her at the moment; debut opposite Salman Khan that broke all box office records and now her first film in Tamil is opposite one of the finest actors in the country, in one of the biggest ever productions. It does not get better for a one film old actress.

And, what is Viswaroopam about? Well, trust Kamal Haasan! Whatever news comes out about the movie, we are sure to be kept in the dark about the premise until the day it hits screens. And, we know it will be worth the wait. Going by the initial indications, this Viswaroopam is all set to dwarf the benchmarks set by Dasavatharam.

With Superstar recuperating well in hospital, we also hope that Rana will be up and running soon. With that Tamil cinema will have two giant productions getting ready in its wings at the same time. And, who is going to have the best of it all; we, the audience of course.

Sonakshi all set to romance Kamal Hassan

If Rajnikant romances Deepika Padukone in London, Kamal will romance Sonakshi Sinha.

Yeah, both Kamal and Sona are expected to be in the UK for 35 days to wrap up a major portion of their film.

Sonakshi is really looking forward to the quiet of London because she wants time off from the local paparazzi who have been dragging her into controversies galore.

Next Kamal Hassan ?

Kamal Haasan’s daughter Shruthi Haasan didn’t have a great time neither with Bollywood nor with Tollywood as her films so far has bombed terribly at the box office.

The actress is now making her Tamil debut with A.R. Murugadoss’s ‘7Aum Arivu’ opposite Suriya in the lead role. Pairing with Suriya has made Shruthi Haasan much more famous than the brand of being a legend's daughter.

The actress reveals that she plays the role of a scientist and cannot unravel anything more than this as the project by itself is a suspense thriller and there won't be any fun without the X factor.

Singing praises of A.R. Murugadoss, Shruthi says, “I believe Murugadoss is the backbone of the film. He never gets off from the concept.”

When asked how does she feel about Suriya being considered as ‘The Next Kamal Haasan’? She says, “Tomorrow, someone might be called as Next Suriya. That’s film industry!”

Shruti-Siddharth move in together !!

Siddharth and Shruti Haasan have taken their relationship to an all new level. They are so confident about their relationship that they have started living-in to get to know each other better.

The couple hasn't hidden anything from the actress-singer's father Kamal Haasan and have also got his blessings. When Kamal learnt that the two were intending to take their relationship forward, the progressive father was more than happy to bless the duo.

"They felt they should live-in, given as they have never really fought with each other or had any sort of misunderstandings. Shruti is head-over-heels in love. She is willing to even chase a career down South and keep Bollywood as a secondary option. She has rejected around five good offers. She feels proximity with her beau will make her relationship work. The couple very much wants to settle down a few years down the line," says a reliable informer.

The insider adds, "Kamal is very happy about Shruti choosing Sid. He feels the actor is good for his girl. He liked Sid as an actor even before Shruti and Sid started seeing each other. Shruti has also not been performing with the new band that she had formed — the reason, again her relationship which doesn't leave her with much time to do anything else. Therefore, writing new songs, preparing new compositions and tracks is also not happening. But she is happy and content." When contacted, Shruti and Siddharth, who was married earlier to his childhood sweetheart Meghna for four years before they split in 2006, remained unavailable for comment.

Long Overdue already ..

Kamal Haasan has said that the Dada Saheb Phalke award for ace director K Balachander is long overdue. The star, who always says that he enjoys a father-son relationship with him, is happy that he is groomed by him.

Kamal revealed that KB sir changed his lifestyle completely when suffered a heart attack when he was around 40 and since then has been living a healthy life. While wishing him a long life, the star requested him to consider new stories, though he is not making films, and advise the newbies on making films.

It is interesting to note that Kamal has said that his favorite roles, which are directed by KB sir, are the ones from films that did not do well at the box office.

Ram Charan pulled it off when heroines fail . . .

Actor Ram Charan, son of Chiranjeevi, whose Maaveeran will be hitting the theatres shortly is overwhelmed with the warm reception he received from the Tamil industry. The journos were very surprised when he addressed them in perfect Tamil. Even the director Rajamouli and producer, Allu Aravind spoke in Tamil. This is amazing in an age where most of the heroines can barely string a sentence together in Tamil despite doing so many films in that language. They all received a thunderous applause from the delighted onlookers.

Ram Charan conveyed his gratitude to Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam for their kind words and encouragement. He said he loves Chennai as he spent his younger days in the city and it is close to his heart and hopes there will be more collaboration between the Tamil and Telugu film fraternities.

STR wanted Sonakshi

It is now confirmed that director Dharani will direct the Tamil remake of the Hindi film Dabangg. Silambarasan will essay the role done by Salman Khan in the original version. There was a talk earlier that STR wanted Sonakshi Sinha, who played the heroine in Dabangg, to essay the role in Tamil too. When he approached the actress, she brushed aside the offer as she had Kamal Haasan’s Visawaroopam to concentrate on.

But with Viswaroopam not commencing as planned due to the Visa hassles that the team is facing, Sonakshi is contemplating on offering her dates for this remake, sources say.

Meanwhile, Silambarasan is busy concentrating in Poda Podi and the team is in Spain filming some important sequences.

Did Kamal ditch Selvaraghavan ?

Everyone knows that Padmashri Kamal Haasan is an ardent movie buff who enjoys watching films made in almost all languages. Recently he happened to watch Traffic, a super hit Malayalam movie and absolutely fell in love with it.

The film that had the story of three men with little in common entwining their lives having not met before seems to have impressed him a lot. The star immediately had expressed his desire to do one of the roles in its Tamil remake.

Kamal agreed to star in Selvaraghavan’s Viswaroopam and his interest in this Tamil remake has stunned many in the film industry. There is also a question doing rounds is that “Will Kamal ditch Selva?” But sources close to the actor say that Kamal intends to finish off this remake before Viswaroopam commences.

Erandam Ulagam: Lives before marriage

Director Selvaraghavan is all geared up to direct Viswaroopam starring Kamal Hassan and Sonakshi Sinha. The movie is expected to go to floors very soon.

Meanwhile, Selvah, who is directing Dhanush for a movie titled Erandam Ulagam, is shooting the movie at brisk pace. Selvaraghavan wants to finish Erandaam Ulagam soon so that he can move on to his venture with Kamal Hassan. With major portion of Erandam Ulagam completed, Selvah hopes to start Viswaroppam by June atleast.

In Erandam Ulagam, Dhanush has Andrea playing his ladylove. The movie speaks about a married couple and how their lives were before marriage. Music is by Selvah's lucky mascot Yuvan Shankar Raja and expectations are very high. The movie is produced by UTV and plans are on to release it by June.

Selvaraghavan has completed penning the script for Viswaroopam and Kamal Hassan is mightily impressed with his work.

Viswaroobham

Is Kamal Haasan's next film directed by Selvaraghavan is titled as Viswaroobham?

Yes! The Kollywood circuits are at a buzz that this title has been finalized for Kamal's next which is a psychological thriller. Kamal and director Selvaraghavan has completed the script work for the film.
Though Selva confesses that the film is not the replica of Hollywood film Hannibal, but speculation is that it's a pure Indian version of Hannibal. Viswaroobham will move on to the floors in the mid of April in Hyderabad and later it will continue in Chennai. After the Chennai schedule, the unit will be moving to London and the idea of the unit is to finish the film in less than 90 days as the film heroine can't adjust her dates.

In an interview to a newspaper Sonakshi Sinha said "When director Selva narrated the plot to me I was very excited as the script reminded me by Bollywood debut. The whole package was very interesting and I was very happy to be a part of the film".

Sonakshi will take her flight to Chennai during the first week of April as She is going to meet Kamal and will hold some final discussions with the director regarding her role, her outfits and rest of the things.

Viswaroobham is being made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi and would be released simultaneously.

Sonakshi on cloud nine

Chalk up another point for Sonakshi Sinha. The lass, still basking in the post-Dabangg success, has been merrily mopping up endorsement deals left, right and centre — most notably those that earlier featured Katrina Kaif. The industry is also talking about how she seems to have replaced Kat in Salman Khan’s affections as well.

But lest we think that Sonakshi has a fan club of just one, the actress has a disclaimer in store: A new film she has signed opposite Kamal Haasan. Sonakshi will play the actor’s wife in a film titled Vishwaroop, and is understandably over the moon. “I am so excited,” Sonakshi gushes. “I am really looking forward to it, although the language is going to be a little difficult.” Sonakshi isn’t the only excited one. Kamal too says that he is looking forward to working with the beautiful daughter of Shatrughan Sinha. But it wasn’t her overnight success that made Kamal sign her on. “She just seemed apt for the role,” he says.

No bold scenes for Sonakshi

She's just one film old in the tinsel town, but has precociously set her priorities in the industry. Surprisingly, awed by her acting prowess in blockbuster 'Dabangg', filmmakers are ready to accept all her conditions, by default, without any discussions.

'Shotgun' Sinha's daughter Sonakshi Sinha, who has been recently roped in for a project with the legendary star Kamal Haasan, clarified the actor and the director that she won't be doing any steamy scenes in the film.

According to a source, Sinha's contract clearly states, “no kissing, no explicit love-making and no bikini.”

And interestingly, the filmmaker has accepted all her demands and is amazed that the 23-year-old actress has signed the film.

Sonakshi was hesitant to sign the film with Kamal

Initially, the lasso was dawdling to give a thumbs up for the project as she was not willing to act any intimate scenes in the film. However, after having a brief conversation with Haasan about the script, Sonakshi gave a green signal to the project.

A little birdie spilled the beans, "Kamal was very clear that he wanted Sonakshi for the film. He wasn't even thinking of any second or third choices. After watching Dabangg, he was so impressed with her, that he asked his people to persuade her to do the film. He even blindly agreed to her every term and condition."

Kamal-Sonakshi starrer is speculated to be a remake of 2001 Hollywood film 'Hannibal', directed by Ridley Scott.

The Tamil film, to be directed by Selvaraghavan, is slated to go on floors in a few weeks, and will also be released in Telugu and Hindi.

Sonakshi busy learning Tamil and Telugu

'Dabangg' actress Sonakshi Sinha's latest endeavor is to get the hold of Tamil and Telugu language. And for that, the actress is busy taking lessons from her dad, Shatrughan Sinha.

Sonakshi said, “It is impossible for me to get a grip on Tamil and Telugu in such a short time. My father couldn’t speak either language when he did Rakht Charitra (2010). He read out the lines from cue cards but no one could make it out and so now he is teaching me this trick of the trade.”

Sonakshi will not do bold scenes

The 'Joker' actress denied to perform bold scenes, just like Bipasha, in her new venture 'Race 2'.

She is, indeed, evolving to be one of the highest paid actresses in the B-town, still, the hottie is not ready to shed her inhibitions. Sinha agreed to don a hotty look like Katrina, but not like Bipasha.

An industry insider revealed TOI, “She is already getting paid a bomb. We hear that her remuneration for Race-2 is almost a crore and she is getting paid twice that amount for the Kamal Haasan film.''

Who knows Sinha might turn to be the top Bollywood hottie without going dare-bare.