Countdown to another spectacular IIFA show
★ IIFA MAGIC
BOLLYWOOD big guns, such as Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Madhuri Dixit, are gearing up for the glittering 14th annual International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards to be held at The Venetian in Macau, China, from July 4-6.
This year’s theme is “100 Years of Indian Cinema”.
The event will be hosted by Khan and Kapoor.
After scooping nine of the technical awards, Anurag Bau’s Barfi is a frontrunner with strong challenges from
Agneepath, Kahaani , Vicky Donor and English Vinglish. Among the stars that are sure to sizzle at the event are Dixit and Sridevi, with Padukone set to make her stage debut after the amazing recent success of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
“I’m thrilled to be performing at the IIFAs this year. l will be performing to some of my favourite songs from my recent release Yeh Jawaani Hai
Deewani and Cocktail . This will also be my first visit to Macau,” said Padukone.
Also making a return to the IIFA celebrations are the Bachchans, with son Abhishek rumoured to be hosting the IIFA fashion extravaganza.
Dixit is preparing to make her IIFA debut this year, performing a montage of the most unforgettable songs of her career. “I’m excited to be making my performance debut on the IIFA stage,” said Dixit. “I think it is a great fit, especially since we’re celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. I am thrilled to perform for my fans from Hong Kong and Macau.” Another eagerly awaited act will be by
Commando star Vidyut Jammwal, with a combination of martial-arts and powerpacked action stunts.
★ FIRST TIME
YUVANSHANKAR Raja will write the score for a Kamalhassan movie for the first time — the forthcoming comedy
Uthama Villain. J Lingusamy will produce and Crazy Mohan wrote the script. Kamalhassan and Yuvan worked together in the past when the former sang one of the tracks on Yuvan’s album
The Blast.
★ STILL PARTNERS
FOX Star Studios and AR Murugadhaas Productions are working on their third joint venture, Raja Rani. The film stars Arya and Nayanthara and is being directed by newcomer Atlee Kumar, who was apprenticed under Shankar. GV Prakash Kumar wrote the score for the film, scheduled to be released in September.
★ SECRET VISIT
AJITHKUMAR, shooting his 54th film, was seen on the set of Venkat Prabhu’s
Biriyani last week. Nobody knows the
reason for the visit. Could it be a planned sequel to Mangatha or is Ajith making a special appearance in
Biriyani? Only an official announcement will bring an end to these speculations.
★ NEW TEAM
SARATHKUMAR and Vikram Prabhu come together for the first time in the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film,
Ustaad Hotel. Sarathkumar and his wife Radhika will jointly produce the film with Listin Stephen.
★ NEXT PROJECT
VIKRAM Prabhu will soon commence work on the next UTV Productions film titled Ivan Veramaadhiri, to be directed by Saravanan ( Engeyum Eppodhum). J Lingusamy’s production company, Thirupathi Brothers, will jointly produce a film with UTV For the first time.
★ SPECULATION
TRISHA is under consideration for the lead role opposite Surya in Goutham Vasudev Moenon’s Dhuruva
Natchathiram but the actress has not signed any confirmation. It is rumoured that Amala Paul has been approached but one can only speculate about whether they will both be there or whether Menon wants to choose between them.
★ SUSPENSE
DHANUSH has confirmed that he will soon commence a film directed by KV Anand (Ayan, Ko and Maatraan ). There have been reports that Alia Bhatt ( Student of the Year) has been approached to play the female lead but KV Anand is, as always, keeping us in suspense. Dhanush can be seen on the local circuit in Raajhna and its Tamil dubbed version, Ambikabathy.