Aakko

Aakko is a 2015 Tamil comedy and youth film directed by Shyam Kumar and produced by Deepan Boopathy and Ratesh Velu. The film features newcomers Geethan Britto and Tulika Gupta in the leading roles with Arjunan and Swaminathan in pivotal roles, whileAnirudh Ravichander composes the film's music and plays a guest appearance.

Cast

·         Geethan Britto

·         Tulika Gupta

·         Arjunan

·         Swaminathan

·         Anirudh Ravichander in a guest appearance

·         Sharath

Production

Shyam Kumar had approached music composer Anirudh Ravichander hoping to cast him in the lead role for the film. After listening to the script and liking the concept, Anirudh passed the offer on making his acting debut but agreed to compose the film's music. He later agreed to feature in the film in a guest appearance, with a promotional song most likely to be shot with the composer. Then Durga was roped in to the film for the backgroundscore. The director then cast newcomers Geethan Britto, Arjun and Swaminathan to play significant roles in the film, noting that the title "Aakko" is slang for the term "Aarva Kolaaru", which translates into "enthusiastic youngster". In a recent interview, Anirudh revealed that he accepted to compose the music to test his star status in the market. In a film composed of completely new comers, Anirudh being the only known star,he considers this as an acid test for himself.^[2]

The film's first look was released to the media on January 1, 2014 with a series of posters featuring Anirudh released.^[3][4]A Single "Enakenna Yaarum Illaye" was released online on 14th February 2015.^[5]

O Kadhal Kanmani

O Kadhal Kanmani (English: Oh Love, Apple of my Eye), also known as OK Kanmani,^[1] is a 2015 Tamil romantic drama filmwritten, directed and produced by Mani Ratnam.^[2] The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen^[3] as a young couple in a live-in relationship^[4][5] and was said to be a "reflection of the modern mindset of urban India", dealing with issues such as marriage and traditional values.^[6] The music was composed by A. R. Rahman. The film released on 17 April 2015.^[7]

Premise

Aadi (Dulquer Salmaan), a computer game developer who relocates to Mumbai chances upon Thara (Nithya Menen) at a strange situation as soon he lands in the railway station. Adhi stays with his brother’s ex-colleague Ganapathy (Prakash Raj) whose wife Bhavani (Leela Samson) is a former carnatic singer now an Alzheimer patient. Thara an architect by profession lives in a ladies hostel and is awaiting admission from a Paris university for higher studies.

Adhi subsequently meets Thara at his friend Ananya’s (Ramya Subramaniam) wedding at a church. They exchange phone numbers and soon become close friends as they share similar thoughts. Soon they realize that they are in love. Since both don’t believe in the institution of marriage and are career driven, they decide to ‘live together’ without any commitments. Thara moves to Adhi’s room although initially Ganapathy does not approve of their idea. All goes hunky dory until Adhi gets selected to go to US on deputation. A stage comes when things start to change and they feel that there’s something more to their relationship than a casual affair. Now they have to take a vital decision. Whether they enter wedlock or part ways forms the rest of the story.

Production

Development

Mani Ratnam had discussions with Fahad Fazil, on a bilingual in Tamil and Malayalam.^[9] After the project failed to materialize, he had discussions with Chiranjeevi and his sonRam Charan about other potential projects, before finalising to make a multi-starrer featuring Ram Charan and Allu Arjun in leading roles.^[10][11] Apparently Ram Charan expressed skepticism noting that it 'lacked the potential of being a commercial success.'^[12] In August 2014, Dulquer Salmaan was signed on by Mani Ratnam for another project, a romantic drama reportedly on the lines of Alaipayuthey (2000).^[13][14] The film was titled OK Kanmani during the first schedule.^[15] During the making, the cinematographer hinted that the film has contents on the lines of Ratnam's Alaipayuthey (2000), that was also based on a real life incident.^[16] Briefing about the film, Ratnam called it an urban love story. The story is set in Mumbai and deals with people away from home who become independent of the rules and regulations of a family.^[17] In a press conference at Taj Coromandel in Chennai, Ratnam went on to add that the film is a contemporary take on the new generation, their attitudes and their values.^[5] Through the film, Ratnam wanted to portray the change that takes place every five or six years when a new generation comes in with different set of values.^[5] This story revolves about two different sets of characters with its discords, the understanding and the changing that comes through.^[5] Lyricist Vairamuthu, who has done lyrical work for the songs stated that the film has been made at a time when capitalism is dissolving traditional cultures. The entire film was shot with live sound.^[6] Sound engineer Anand Krishnamoorthi was roped in as sound designer for the post production, including the elaborate animation scenes used throughout the film.

Casting

For the leading female role, Alia Bhatt was considered but she rejected the offer.^[18] Pooja Hegde was offered the role but was unable to accept it due to levied contractual obligations until release of her debut Bollywood film Mohenjo Daro (2016).^[19] The team subsequently held discussions with Nithya Menen for the role, while actress Parvathy was also considered, before the former was finalised.^[20][21] Actress Kanika shot for a day with the team and confirmed her part a cameo appearance. P. C. Sreeram was signed on to be the film's cinematographer, collaborating with after fifteen years.^[22] Eka Lakhani had designed the costumes for the main cast.^[23]

The character Aadi (played by Dulquer Salmaan) is about a young urban man. For this role, Ratnam was looking for 'someone real and belonging to an upper class family, but not a hero'. Ratnam first met Salmaan at an audio release function and felt that he was the right choice to play the character Aadi, although he hadn't seen any of the latter's films. However, Ratnam had watched Nithya Menen's previous films where she played small roles.^[5] Ratnam was quoted saying, "I found something alive about her, something real and perfectly beautiful about her. Nithya carries an individuality and is not just a glamorous girl. Like her character in the film, Tara, she has a mind of her own."^[5] The supporting cast includes Prakash Raj and Leela Samson as onscreen husband and wife.^[5] The latter makes her cinematic acting debut through this film.^[24]

Filming

Principal photography began from October 6, 2014 with scenes featuring Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menen being filmed.^[25] Menen revealed that the film would be shot in a short span of time and her portions would be completed by December 2014, while the team swiftly shot scenes at locations in and around Chennai, including near a bank inParry's Corner. The last leg of filming, started in Mumbai in November 2014 with the shooting lasting for a week.^[26] The team shot scenes at Indian Institute of Management andCEPT University both in Ahmedabad, the following month.^[27][28] Filming was completed by December 2014.^[27][29]

Music

Main article: O Kadhal Kanmani (soundtrack)

The soundtrack and film score were composed by A. R. Rahman. The lyrics were written by Vairamuthu^[30] whereas Sirivennela Sitaramasastri^[31] wrote the Telugu lyrics for the dubbed version. The soundtrack album was noted to be "youthful" with Carnatic themes.^[32] Since Leela Samson plays the role of an old Carnatic singer in the film, there is a tinge of Carnatic music in the film.^[5] Ratnam wanted an original soundtrack from Rahman that is contemporary as well as trendy.^[5] Rahman's son, A. R. Ameen sang the track "Maula Wa Sallim" in Arabic. A first preview of the song "Mental Manadhil (Male version)" was released on March 17,^[33] while the full song was released as a single on March 17 to positive critical response.^[34] The soundtrack album was released by Sony Music India on April 4, 2015.^[35]

Promotion and release

On April 8, 2015, the film was awarded a "U/A" certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification because of adult situations depicted in the film. The makers then sent the film to the revising committee to acquire a "U" (Universal) certificate but the status remained unchanged.^[36]

The film was distributed by Studio Green^[37] in 350 theatres in Tamil Nadu ^[38] whereas producer Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations distributed the Telugu version.^[39] It was Dil Raju who suggested Mani to name the Telugu version as Ok Bangaram.^[40]

The first poster of the Tamil and the dubbed Telugu version of the film were released on February 14, 2015.^[41] The teaser titled "OK Kanmani - A Glimpse" was released on February 27.^[8] The first trailer was released on March 1.^[42]

Uttama Villain

Uttama Villain (English: Virtuous Villain) is an upcoming Tamil comedy-drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and produced by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Kamal Hassan, Jayaram, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Nassar, Parvathi, Parvathy Nair and Urvashi. Directors K. Viswanath and K. Balachander plays cameo roles in the film. M. Ghibran composes the soundtrack album and background score for the film.

Production

Development

In early 2013, director-producer N. Lingusamy made an official statement confirming that Kamal Haasan had agreed to direct and feature in a film to be produced by the production house, Thirrupathi Brothers.^[3] The actor had handed Lingusamy three scripts and the pair chose the most commercially viable option, with early working title of the film being Bitter Chocolate. The project was eventually titled in June 2013 as Uttama Villain, with Kamal Haasan himself writing the script for the film,^[4] while Crazy Mohan was involved in early discussions for the film's dialogues. Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed on to compose the film's music,^[5] while reports also incorrectly suggested that Rajesh was added to the scripting team for the film.^[6] In July 2013, Ramesh Aravind took over the task of directing the film from Kamal Haasan.^[7] It was later announced that M. Ghibran, who had worked with Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam II, would compose music for the film instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja.^[8] Shamdat Sainudeen and Vijay Shankar were also subsequently announced as cinematographer and editor of the project, respectively,^[9] while Gautami Tadimalla was selected to handle the costume designing for the film.^[10] According to Ramesh Aravind, Kamal Haasan wrote the majority of the dialogues and that Crazy Mohan's inputs and suggestions were recorded.^[11]

Casting

Kajal Aggarwal was initially reported to have signed on to play the lead female role though her manager later confirmed that she was not approached and that her dates were already allotted for other projects.^[12] Asin and Deepika Padukone were also reported by the media to be cast in the lead female role, though neither reports materialised.^[13][14]The team later held discussions with actresses Divya Spandana and Lekha Washington for roles in the film, though neither were signed.^[15] A month prior to shoot, three female lead characters were touted to appear in the film. Kajal Aggarwal, Tamannaah and Trisha Krishnan were actively considered for the three roles.^[16] The three roles finally went toPooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Parvathi.^[17] Pooja played the role of a non-Tamil-speaking modern-day actress, who was offered a character that spoke old, archaic and chaste Tamil. Pooja also performed 3 song sequences in the film, unlike in Vishwaroopam (2013), where she had no song sequences.^[18] Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti Haasan was considered for the role of his on screen daughter in the film but her unavailability meant that the team chose to pick a new actress instead.^[19] Another actressParvathy Nair was added to the cast after impressing the team in an audition and was select to be paired opposite Ashwin, a debutant who plays Kamal Haasan's son in the film.^[20] Actors Sarath Kumar and Vivek were reported to have been added to the preliminary cast, but the actors later noted the news as untrue.^[21][22] Santhanam was also said to be involved in the film, but his inclusion remained unconfirmed.^[23] In January 2014, noted director K. Balachander was selected to play a pivotal role in the film and sported a beard for his character.^[24] Producer Lingusamy himself was reported to be playing a role in the venture, after being seen sporting a new look during the making of his directorial project Anjaan (2014).^[25] Director K. Viswanath also joined the film's cast as did Jayaram, and the pair began filming scenes in March 2014.^[26] Anant Mahadevan, who featured in Vishwaroopam (2013), was given the role of the manager of Kamal Haasan's character in the film. More details about the film were shown in mid-March with a detailed cast and character list released to the media.^[27] In May 2014, actor Nasser was roped in to play a supporting role.^[28] In July 2014, director Chithra Lakshmanan joined the team to play a small role in the film.^[29] Actress Abhirami was selected to dub for Pooja Kumar in the film.^[30] Ramesh Aravind himself was to make a cameo appearance in the film, but the director did not reveal much about it and kept his decision under wraps.^[31]

Filming

In mid February 2014, the team carried out make up tests involving Kamal Haasan in Bangalore with a photo shoot being held with the actor.^[32] Principal photography began on 3 March 2014.^[33] The team then shot for two weeks in Bangalore, before moving on to film sequences in Chennai with Gouthami joining the team as a costume designer.^[34] In early April, parts of the film were shot in Madhya Pradesh before the team returned to Bangalore to film scenes involving Parvathy Nair and Ashwin.^[35] Further scenes involving Kamal Haasan in the role of a star actor were filmed at a shopping mall in Bangalore, with several hundred onlookers used as extras. Posters from a fictional film in the plot,Veera Vilaiyaatu, were put up around the mall by the film's art direction team.^[36] After initially planning a trip to Australia to film the songs from the soundtrack, the team later opted to fly to Turkey instead. Many scenes in the film,^[37] including a song featuring Kamal Haasan and Pooja Kumar was consequently shot in Istanbul. The cast performed night rehearsals to get their expressions and dialogues right.^[38][39] The portions featuring Kamal Haasan as an aging superstar were completed with the shoot of the song.^[40]The 21st century portions were completed by mid May 2014.^[41] In between, Kamal Haasan took a break from the shoot to attend the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and to inaugurate the Indian Pavilion there.^[42] Another schedule was started on 21 May 2014 in Madhya Pradesh and then Chennai, with the team filming scenes enacting happenings in the 8th century.^[43][44] In early June 2014, Andrea had completed her portions in the film.^[45] Kamal Haasan sustained a small muscle pull during the film's shooting and was advised a day's rest.^[46] Majority of the film's portions were shot by the end of July, with only patchwork and dubbing left.^[37] On 9 August 2014, Ramesh Aravind confirmed on hisTwitter account that the shooting of the film had been completed with a song sequence which would feature in the 8th century segment of the film.^[47][48]

Allegations of plagiarism

There was speculation that the first look of the film was inspired by a photograph taken by French photographer Eric Lafforgue, but Kamal Hassan rubbished the allegations by saying, "Theyyam is more than a 1000 year old art. The make-up was done by a good artist who is probably a third-generation practitioner of this art. My film has a Theyyam dance fusion with Tamil Nadu's Kooththu tradition". Admitting that the lighting might have had a few similarities to the photograph of the French Photographer, he said that comparing the photo with his first look poster was like saying two lovers leaning on one another's chest looking in the same direction is a copy of the 'Ek Duje Ke Liye' poster. He also stated that the poster did not depict a mask, but make-up painted on his face and that it took 4 hours to paint it.^[49]

Release

The first look poster and logo of the film were released on 1 March 2014, depicting a Theyyam art form sketched on Kamal Haasan's face.^[62]

Kamal said that the movie would have some very funny moments, but won't be a full-fledged comedy, further confirming that the film would release before Vishwaroopam 2, another film which featured him in the lead role.^[63][64] The film was initially touted to be released in October 2014,^[65] but Ramesh Aravind clarified that the film involved a lot ofVFX work to be done and that it would be completed in 10 weeks.^[66] Eros International was confirmed to co-distribute the film worldwide.^[67] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Thamizh. Before the film's release, Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Tamil Nadu wing called for its ban, as they alleged that the lyrics of a song in the film had belittled a conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu, which affect the religious sentiments of Hindu people.^[68]

Terminator Genisys

Terminator Genisys is an upcoming 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. It is the fifth theatrical film in the Terminator series and acts as both a sequel and reboot of the series.^[2] Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the titular character, along with newcomers Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Matt Smith, Lee Byung-hun and J. K. Simmons. The film is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 2015. In addition to opening in regular theatres, it will also be shown in IMAX.

Premise

In 2029, John Connor, leader of the Resistance, continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John's fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when John is notified by his army unit, Tech-Com, that Skynet will attack him from two fronts, past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever.

On the verge of winning the war against Skynet, Connor sends his trusted lieutenant Kyle Reese back through time to save his mother's life and ensure his own existence. However, Kyle finds the original past changed. In this timeline, a Terminator was sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor as a child and so the Resistance sent their own cyborg back in time to protect her. After the assassin killed her parents, the reprogrammed T-800 raised and trained her to face her destiny which she adamantly tries to reject.

Now, faced with a new mission, Kyle, Sarah and the old ally Terminator, have to escape the T-800 and the recent T-1000 sent by Skynet to kill them, as well as a new and horrific enemy: Kyle and Sarah's own future son, who has been converted into a nanotechnological human-cyborg hybrid. With John Connor finally compromised by Skynet, they must find a way to stop Judgment Day from ever happening; ^[4] while at the same time trying to stop the sinister GENISYS program from going online.

Cast

·         Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator ("The Guardian", the old T-800 body model)

·         Aaron V. Williamson as The Terminator (young T-800 body model)^[5][6]

·         Jason Clarke as John Connor^[7]/cyborg-hybrid^[8]

·         Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor^[9]

·         Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese^[7]

·         Bryant Prince as young Kyle Reese

·         Matt Smith in a currently secret role^[10]

·         Lee Byung-hun^[11] as the T-1000

·         J. K. Simmons as Detective O'Brien^[12]

·         Gregory Alan Williams as Detective Harding ^[13]

·         Courtney B. Vance as Miles Dyson

·         Dayo Okeniyi as Danny Dyson^[14]

·         Sandrine Holt^[15]

·         Douglas Smith^[16]

·         Michael Gladis as Lieutenant Matias^[17]

·         Nolan Gross

·         Griff Furst as Burke^[13]

Production

Development

While Terminator Salvation was initially intended to begin a new trilogy, production of a fifth film was halted by legal trouble, as well as The Halcyon Company filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11.^[18][19][20] By late September 2009, the rights to the franchise were once again up for sale as The Halcyon Company tried to emerge from bankruptcy.^[21] Late the following month, Halcyon announced it would auction off the rights to future Terminator material and was seeking $60 million to $70 million, although the only offer was made by filmmaker Joss Whedon for $10,000.^[22] In December 2009, Halcyon issued a statement saying that it was looking at various options, including sale and refinancing of the rights, with an announcement on the outcome no later than February 1, 2010.^[23] On February 8, 2010, an auction was held for the Terminator rights. After studios Sony Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment bid separately, Pacificor, the hedge fund that pushed Halcyon into bankruptcy, made a deal for $29.5 million.^[24] In May 2010, Pacificor hired an agency to sell off the rights to the franchise.^[25]

By August 2010, a new Terminator film was being developed. It was not to be a direct sequel to Salvation, but rather a 3D animated reboot of the series, titled Terminator 3000and to be shot by Hannover House. However, Pacificor had not given any official license to Hannover House to develop a film.^[26] In February 2011, Universal Studios was considering a fifth Terminator film, with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning in the title role, Justin Lin directing, and Chris Morgan as screenwriter.^[27] Within two months, aTerminator project with Schwarzenegger, Lin and producer Robert W. Cort attached, but no screenwriter, was circulating among studios including Universal, Sony, Lions Gate Entertainment, and CBS Films.^[28]

By May 2011, Megan Ellison and her production company Annapurna Pictures had won the rights at auction to make at least two more Terminator films, including Terminator 5.^[29] On December 4, 2012, the deal was finally closed, with possible merchandise to include TV projects and video games. Ellison said she and her brother David Ellison were "starting from scratch as they seek out a screenwriter to plot the end".^[30] Now titled Terminator: Genesis,^[31] the film was being produced by Megan Ellison, with David Ellison ofSkydance Productions. The executive producers were Dana Goldberg and Paul Schwake. Laeta Kalorgridis and Patrick Lussier were commissioned to write the screenplay.^[32]

Paramount Pictures was negotiating to distribute the film with Laeta Kalogridis (screenwriter of Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (screenwriter of Dracula 2000 and Drive Angry) writing the script. The film was left without a director as Justin Lin, who was originally in discussions to direct, chose to direct Fast & Furious 6 instead.^[33] By June 27, 2013, Paramount had pushed the film's release date back from June 26, 2015, to July 1, 2015.^[34] By September 2013, Alan Taylor was in talks to direct the film, after Rian Johnsonand Denis Villeneuve had been considered and after a deal with Ang Lee could not be reached.^[35] By January 2014, Annapurna was no longer funding the film and Megan Ellison, instead, will serve as executive producer.^[36]

During an interview, the director of the first two Terminator films, James Cameron, admitted that he had been asked to be involved in the film by Megan Ellison. Cameron later had held several meetings with David Ellison, where they discussed Arnold Schwarzenegger's role and how to stay true to the original T-800 character.^[37] On August 6, 2014, Schwarzenegger posted a picture on his Twitter account of himself sitting in a production chair on set. The picture revealed the correct spelling of the film's title Terminator Genisys.^[38]

Casting

On June 13, 2013, Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would be back for his fourth film as the Terminator/T-800.^[39] By early November 2013, Garrett Hedlund, Tom Hardy, Taylor Kitsch, and Nicholas Hoult were being tested for the role of Kyle Reese.^[40][41] By the following month, Jason Clarke had entered talks to play John Connor.^[42] In November 2013, it was reported that Emilia Clarke, Tatiana Maslany, and Brie Larson were the finalists for the role of Sarah Connor;^[43] the next month, Clarke was announced as having won the role.^[44] In February 2014, the studio was considering Jai Courtney and Boyd Holbrook for Reese, and planning for the character to be in at least two films;^[45] later that month, it was confirmed that Courtney was cast.^[46] On March 13, 2014, it was reported that J. K. Simmons was in talks for a role as a weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades.^[12] On March 25, 2014, Schwarzenegger revealed that he is indeed playing a Terminator character, in which human tissue has aged.^[47] On March 28, 2014, it was announced that Dayo Okeniyi was cast as Danny Dyson.^[48] On March 31, 2014, it was announced that Lee Byung-hun was cast in a lead role, also Michael Gladis and Sandrine Holt joined the cast.^[49] On May 2, 2014, Matt Smith joined the cast of the film in a major role.^[50] On July 10, 2014, Douglas Smith joined the cast of the film.^[16]

Filming

Principal photography began on April 21, 2014 in New Orleans, and ended on August 6, 2014 in San Francisco.^[51][52][53] Legacy Effects, successor to Stan Winston Studio, created the Terminator robotic and make-up effects, led by John Rosengrant who had worked on the previous four Terminator films. However, Jeff Dawn, who was the lead make-up artist on the first three installments, did not return.^[54][55] The production made an effort to have the films cinematography match the visuals of the first two Terminatorfilms; sequences set in the year 1984 favoured colors and tones of blues, greens and blacks in order to match the look of The Terminator, while scenes set during the future war against the machines were modelled after such scenes from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.^[56]

Marketing

On December 2, 2014, Paramount released the first motion poster for the film, showing a T-800 disintegrating into dust before the logo appears. A trailer preview was released the following day, showing brief clips that reveal various sequences, a pop-music soundtrack (a break from past Terminator releases), somewhat forced-looking camera motion in aerial effect sequences and a first look at the color-grading used to invoke to look of past films. The full trailer debuted on December 4.^[57]

WWE's WrestleMania 31 event on March 29, 2015 promoted the film with an elaborate entrance stage for Triple H in his match against Sting. The stage featured Triple H donning a Terminator-style outfit and a video of Schwarzenegger telling fans that "Judgment Day is here. It's time to play the game."^[58]

Sequels

In September 2014, Paramount announced a new trilogy with two sequels set for May 19, 2017 and June 29, 2018.^[59][60] On February 24, 2015, Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed that he will be back for the first sequel.^[61]