[Pic : akkthefilm.com]

This is a long biased post. I have unbiased reasons to write it. Aayitha Ezhuthu which scores a century with today, has been one of the most expected movies of this summer. 

It's unfortunate that since Aayitha Ezhuthu's release, it hasn't created any kind of serious criticisms or analysis. Seems like both the media and the public have ignored completely it by not having an opinion on it. Forget creating waves of criticism it hasn't created ripples at all. A fact that was even true for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar. With Iruvar's release there was a political cloud and that might have kept the public away from the theatre. But Aayitha Ezhuthu, though politically inclined, has also had elements of Mani Ratnam's commercial brilliance. We aren't talking about the usual cinema review of the media. It is about an analysis on the social, political impact that they movie represents and above all the spectrum of today's youth it portrays.

Movies like Virumandi, Kannathil Muthamittal have been seriously argued even in the most commercial magazines. Aayitha Ezhuthu, I personally feel, has been shunned completely except just one or two magazines which analyzed it. Now, if you might feel why should a movie be analyzed or discussed seriously. Aayitha Ezhuthu represents a cross-section of the society. It doesn't advocate or preach a theory, rather, subtly wishes political awareness among the progressive youth. The movie could have been experimented in a form that's tough for a normal cine-goer to grasp. But it is the media that should have encouraged the movie and should have given it five stars for the excellence in cinema that it brought along. While all this is an earnest longing to happen for any good film, here are my silly/serious/semi-serious reasons in Aayitha Ezhuthu to get five stars. 

These are some sparks of brilliance, though silly they may sound, they carry forward Aayitha Ezhuthu and it's theme. As they say, a film is all about teamwork, though they are named straight to the particular person who excelled, they are awarded to Mani Ratnam and his complete crew of Aayitha Ezhuthu.

Sujatha / Mani Ratnam
- Maddy responding to Sriman in the truck, Oru 50 milli sarayathukkaga saaraya kadayaye vaanga kudathu. 
- Enna Autographa, Madhavan responding to the policeman while he signs the release register in prison. 
- Vote for Inba Sekhar. The shot that subtly/obviously hints Inba Sekhar's desire for power. 
- Surya holding DNA responsible for even a headache.
- That amazing conversation of Bharathiraaja - Surya in the university when Bharathiraaja tries to brainstorm Surya to rush away out of politics. Surya responding - Neenga mattum evalavu naal kashtapaduveenga, Naangalum varom.
- Glimpses of Michael Vasant's genius in prison where he conveys universe isn't made of infinitely dense matter. Though this is just a hint, it conveys the genius in him, helping the movie to move ahead. Make-believe to make Surya's character seen as a hipster. Yet another similar shot where he quickly talks about hormones and showing his disbelief towards the institution of marriage.
- Siddharth's flirt dialogue with Trisha in the Coffee day. One of the most revealing dialogues of the SMS cultured modern day yuppie youth. Siddharth : Naapapathi Rendra, Trisha : Ah !! Yaar Andha Arrai, Sidharth : Neenga Thaan, Trisha - Thoda and the following dialogue as to how Siddharth wants to make his life thereon.
- Siddharth saying Indha Pakkam Oru Vellakaari, Andha Pakkam Oru Karuppi, Naduvula Nala Venba Project. This is one is straight from Sujatha. It is his cute way of unleasing the mindset of the character.
- Surya talking amidst students in his house, Naama Poi Software ezhuthuvom, Coco-Cola vippom, aana inga endha poruppum eduthukka mattom, illa.
- The amazing one-liner Surya tells the TV correspondent, Century Adikanumna Kooda Singlela irundhu thaan aarambikanum.
- Surya banging Madhavan's head on the Napier Bridge, and telling him, Nee enga ethiri illa. Un Azhukku Arasiyal. Atha Naanga Maathaporom. Showing the clarity of Michael Vasant's thinking which eliminates the sub-causes and going in for to rectify the root.

A R Rahman / Vairamuthu
- The theme of Aayitha Ezhuthu, though not a part of the album. That music that starts with a single bang and continues as a harmony.
- That fabulous techno music background during titles along with the sounds of buses and cars moving around
- The nice bit song, Nee Mazhai, when Siddharth and Trisha travel in pallavan bus, a variant of Hey Goodbye Nanba..
- Fanah. A complete blow away. Great contribution of Vairamuthu.
- Aayiram Elainargal Thunindhu Vittal, Aayutham ethuvum thevai illai. Lyrics by Vairamuthu.
- Nicely orchestrated Hey Goodbye Nanba, especially the jazz piano slowly playing at the back
- A classy re-recording throughout the movie, not to mention the final climax and techno feel music at the back, similar to the titles.

Mani Ratnam
- For the characterization of Surya as a progressive youth. Unaffected towards his goals by the elements that cause him troubles. Even in the final scenes when he carries himself while his friend dupe that they have lost in the elections.
- The characterization of Madhavan. Fabulously observed from the streets of Chennai.
- The amazing sketch of modern day yuppies, the easy accessibility and the kind of escapist attitudes that prevalent among them.
- The distinction he chose to make in the final scenes when a chudhidhar and a couple of jeans walk into the assembly.
- Surya, not uttering even a single word and just quietly, slowly pushing Bharathiraaja away and making his walk into the assembly, telling that he is unaffected by them. One shot for the entire movie that talks.
- For the amazing format, the movie was taken.

Team
- Surya for getting into the skin of Michael Vasant. That very derisive smile he does to Bharathiraaja when they meet.
- Madhavan's hysterical dance for Dol Dol song in the boat.
- Trisha mimicking to her friends about Sidharth when he calls.
- Sidharth and Trish for the very cute Wow.....wow.. long interlude in Hey Goodbye Nanba. 
- The incredible co-ordination of everyone for Hey Goodbye Nanba. 
- The well done climax scenes on Napier Bridge. Superb re-recording, editing, amazing steady cam shots and every other thing done to those shots.

These are just the positives of Aayitha Ezhuthu. The list of minuses are comfortably forgotten to meet the idea of the post. And if any of these points provoke you in some way to like or dislike the movie, or even if it prompts you to watch the movie, the idea of the post is met. As Surya says in the movie, Century Adikanumna Kooda Singlela irundhu thaan aarambikanum. Aayitha Ezhuthu's century today is the one of the single run towards good cinema. Yep, Aayitha Ezhuthu One (in a) hundred. Three Cheers, Aayitha Ezhuthu.

By Guru Subramanian

Mani Ratnam's Yuva starring Ajay Devgan, Abhishiekh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol has been officially selected for screening at the prestigious 61st Venice Film Festival.

This is Mani Ratnam's first film to be invited to the all important festival at Venice. It is an honour that "Yuva" is being screened at midnight on the closing day as the main attraction. The festival is to be held in September.

Many of Ratnam's films have won awards at prestigious International film festivals such as Berlin, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem with retrospectives of the director's work having been shown at film festivals around the world.

This film was made simultaneously in Tamil as Aayitha Ezhuthu and focuses on the lives of three youngsters from different strata of society and the irreversible changes that occur when their paths cross.

Blame me for the double standards. I'm one among the few millions who are hell bent to have no songs in Tamil movies because they interrupt the story telling. But yesterday, after a tiring day at work I reached home when the whole of Chennai was watching Metti Oli. Thanks to the stars and satellites, among the 'n' to the power 2 channels available, someone played Hey GoodBye Nanba from Aayitha Ezhuthu. It was enchanting to watch Siddharth and Trisha running around the beach amidst the dirty sand on a sunny day.

Starting with a top angle akela crane shot, the camera swirls down to land on Siddharth who is half lying on the boat and then it pans on to Trisha who whistles as she wears those goggles. With split second, the shot cuts into the next one where the camera is half-immersed in the water and both of them lie on a canal boat with their life jackets. And as they dive into the water, the camera too goes down into water for a moment and comes back, leaving a feeling that the audience themselves getting dipped in the water. With the A R Rahman's music in the background so jiving, Shankar Mahadevan shouting his heart out coupled with Sunitha Sarathy, Lucky Ali and Karthik, Hey Good Bye Nanba is a delight to watch.

It's thoroughly a refreshing experience especially for someone who wants to chill-out. Mani Ratnam shares his credit with the entire tech team, for the song's picturisation was in tune with Vairamuthu's and A R Rahman's musical efforts. Should I still crib about having 'good' songs in Tamil movies ? Thank god, we still have songs in Tamil movies, else we would have been bored with just the sub-intellectual indy pop. There are exceptions too in Indy Pop. Anyway, read the first line of the post, again.

By Mr. Guru Subramanian

Click here to what the technical team of Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu/Yuva has to say on their experiences in working in the project. These links will lead you to the Official website of Aayitha Ezhuthu. Only the links have been given here for the esteemed viewers to read.

(Rediff Movies). All about Yuva.

With "Yuva" and "Aayitha Ezhuthu," Mani Ratnam has delivered classy films that truly reflect the different ideals of the youth of today.

"YUVA" AND "Aayitha Ezhuthu," Mani Ratnam's latest have opened to mixed reactions from the youth. Those who love it, love it and think it is the best movie of the year. As a friend says, "I loved the violence in the movie. I think it's reflective of the frustrations we want to take out and our desire to kick evil out of the system." One would quite agree.

Those who don't like the movie, have their issues, like a colleague, who found it to be "an assault" on her senses. The other common reaction was: "How can Mani Ratnam make a movie with a Shankar kind of Utopian ending?"

But that is understandable given the story was essentially about three men and their roles within a violent system: good, bad and indifferent. And, why should one look at it as a Mani Ratnam film? Why not see it just as a movie that entertains and makes you think? Besides, the director has had a history of finding conveniently easy solutions to his conflicts like in "Roja," "Bombay" and now "Aayitha Ezhuthu." And if not for the movies, where can we see such optimism?

"Real life and corruption aren't inspiring. We need the movies for that. I was inspired watching this movie. We can make a difference," says Sravan, who has just passed out of college.

The conservative women in the audience, however, are objecting to the portrayal of the women in the movie. "What is this woman doing going back to the man who keeps hitting her? And what is the other girl doing with a useless boy she met at the disco? Practising swimming? And couldn't he find any other actress who at least could speak the language for the doll role?" But the point is: Haven't we seen them around? The women in the slums who live with the men they love in spite of all the abuse? Haven't we seen the girl in college who goes out for coffee with another guy even when she's engaged? And the romantic one who is even willing to move in? Maybe some people find the movie "ahead of its time," but that's only because they are losing touch with the current crop of young people living in the metros.

It is a metropolitan movie. Mani Ratnam delivers a classy film, which truly reflects the different ideals of the youth of today. He stops the film just short of realism, shirks away from telling us more and stops his fantasy a little abruptly. But isn't cinema about living the fantasy and not waking up before the climax?

SUDHISH KAMATH

Guest Blog 14 - Anand C

Good students are good students in the Indian education system, regardless of how well others perform. You get "first class" if you have 60%. Simple!

However in the American educational system you could get a 'B' if you got 60% and half the class scored higher than you. On the flip side, you could get less than 40% and still get a 'B' if most of the class is behind you. The key to decide which side of the 'bump in the bell curve' one sits on is which class you get compared to!

If Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu is analyzed a la the Indian education system (i.e., by itself, not in comparison with his past films), he would get a great grade - commercially and critically speaking. Most current reviews though seem biased in one form or another by the "relative grading" syndrome.

What do you think?

By Subhash K Jha 
Wednesday, 09 June , 2004, 09:25 

So enamoured is the pride of Bengal, Rituparno Ghosh with Abhishek Bachchan�s performance in Mani Ratnam�s Yuva that he wants to cast him in a Bengali film. 

"I�ve been looking for a dark brooding intense presence, like Mithun in Mrinal Sen�s Mrigaya. And I think I�ve found him. We�re meeting very soon." 

After seeing Yuva Ritu immediately spoke to Abhishek. The two met over lunch at the Bachchan residence, and Abhishek liked the story idea. Interestingly Abhishek has done a Bengali film � Raja Sen�s Des where he played his own mother�s son.

"Resembling his father is no longer an issue for his critics � thank God for that! He says he can�t cope with the Bangla language, but that�s ok because the character in my film doesn�t speak much. I just loved Abhishek, Bebo (Kareena), Rani and of course the film Yuva," says the director whose first Hindi film Raincoat has just been invited in the competition section of the Karlovy Vary festival. 

Does Bollywood feel threatened when internationally renowned regional directors like Mani Ratnam and Rituparno Ghosh make a Hindi film? 

Observes Ritu, "I can�t comment on that. But I love Yuva. It�s the kind of Indian film that can take us to an international level. It has the right blend of message and entertainment. In Mumbai they keep talking about crossover films. Well Yuva is a genuine crossover film. Look at a Tamilian filmmaker crossing over to a completely different culture in Bengal. Yuva has a pan-Indian relevance. It�s about the homecoming of three young urban males. It�s truly modern and fascinating, without being outrageous." 

Does Ghosh empathize with Mani Ratnam? "He has made a Hindi film earlier Dil Se.. which was panned in Mumbai. But it was a wonderful film. Choti mooh aur badi baat...but is Bollywood capable of rating Mani Ratnam? Is there anyone of his stature in Bollywood? Very few filmmakers can match his skills. I remember watching Mani�s Iruvar with Adoor Gopalkrishnan in Japan. If Adoor didn�t explain the politics of South India to me I wouldn�t have understood Iruvar. To assess a work by Mani Ratnam we need someone as qualified as Adoor. Yuva is as layered as Iruvar. I�m going to watch it again. I�ve requested Mani to send me a copy with subtitles. It�s high time Bollywood relinquished the formula." 

Interestingly like Mani, Ritu too crosses over to Hindi with a star-centric film. 

"And why not?" defends Ritu. "The stars bring a definite audience. Producers and distributors want the stars. Besides, actors like Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai, Kareena, Rani and Abhishek are very talented. Just because they�re stars have they done less than complete justice to the films?" 

The tentative release date for Ghosh�s Raincoat is 22 July. Karlovy Vary is the only international film festival that occurs before that date. Locarno and Venice film festivals come in August. But once Raincoat is released internationally it cannot be eligible in the competitive section of any festival. 

Raincoat is in the last stages of mixing. Was Ritu as daunted by the Hindi as Mani? Apparently Mani had to depend on his dialogue writer Anuraag Kashyap even to brief his actors. 

Sighs Ghosh, "I don�t think I was inhibited by the Hindi language. Yes I did have initial problems. But I took on the challenge with grace. In fact I�ve written the Hindi lyrics of the songs in Raincoat."

Its problems are larger than life, but its solutions are too easy. UMA MAHADEVAN-DASGUPTA takes a look at Mani Ratnam's latest film Yuva.

MANI RATNAM'S intense personal dramas tend to unfold in interesting locations. In "Nayagan", we see the slums of Dharavi; in "Bombay", the city during the riots; in "Roja", the beautiful, terror-ridden Kashmir Valley; in "Kannathil Mutthamittaal", a war-torn Sri Lanka; and now, with his latest release "Yuva", he takes us into the streets of Kolkata.

The problem however is that we get to see very little of these places, not only literally but also in terms of the struggles that they represent. "Roja" showed us hardly anything of Kashmir beyond the usual mountainscapes; "Bombay" showed us riots and burning streets, but little else of this lively and turbulent metropolis; and "Yuva" shows us an airbrushed, sanitised Kolkata that is hardly like that great city. We do see a few images of Kolkata � some disparate elements put together in the hope that they will suggest a seamless whole. A fleeting glimpse of the Victoria Memorial; a sweetly filmed tram ride; the Telegraph; the beach at Chandipur; a flooded street; a Durga idol being taken in procession. A game of kabaddi in the prison compound, in pouring rain. A bunch of Presidency College boys getting into a fight with some shady goons. The Howrah and the second Hooghly Bridge, both overused, although there is a terrific fight sequence located on the bridge at the end of the film.

Rural Bengal, too, has been airbrushed almost out of recognition: it is all rather like one long television commercial. Villages, it seems, are made up of long processions of people walking rapidly along a dusty road as brown, bare-bodied boys watch from a tree, rather like that soft drink commercial that used to appear on television during cricket season. And all those who stand for elections, it seems, are met with cheers and victory. If only real life were as glossy, as glorious!

"Even Kolkata looks clean to me now," says the happy-go-lucky Arjun when he falls in love � and that is precisely the problem. The film diminishes the city into a murky backdrop that is quickly set right, first by romantic love, then by political success. For a film that professes to be about the street-fights of politics and the reformative power of youth, "Yuva" manages to avoid, as far as possible, any direct look at sleaze and violence. The camera itself seems to shrink from looking at evil. Three young men are taken hostage, but the "treatment" given to them is mostly behind a closed door. As Lallan pumps three bullets into his brother's body, we see the man crumpling up tidily; similarly, when Lallan shoots his friend for letting the hostages escape, the camera doesn't stop to linger at the scene. And as for noise, crowds, dirt, adda, sweet shops, music, history, all of which make up the spirit of the city � these have been missed out entirely.

The problem, really, is in the script. There are several Kolkatas, and in his attempt to show us three of them, Ratnam has created a loose and undefined patchwork. The most successful part of the film is the story of the Bihar-born street thug and survivor Lallan Singh and his Bengali wife Shashi. Rani Mukherjee has given one of her better performances as the lower middle class Bengali girl who loves her man fiercely. Abhishek Bachchan, too, (although his acting talents are evidently less than adequate � just think how brilliant Amitabh would have been in this role!) manages to make an impression as Lallan. Their alternately violent and passionate relationship is the most interesting thread of the story.

Unfortunately, the film chooses not to sustain this thread. Compulsively � or at least to justify its Rs.20-crore plus budget � it moves on to tell upper-middle-class stories. We meet the idealistic youth leader Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan, with four hunky guys behind him) and the happy-go-lucky Arjun (a sunshiny Vivek Oberoi), busy pataoing girls and dreaming of the U.S. There are also their mandatory romantic links, played by Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor.

In Ratnam's typical style, the women are used as little more than ornaments: while they show occasional flashes of emotional strength (Roja, Shaila Bano), Ratnam's women are almost never depicted as professionally strong. The youth leader pulls his girlfriend out of her workplace to take her on their campaign; even in the revolutionary politics of youth, it seems, there is little place for women to lead. Except by means of their feminine wiles. Meanwhile, Lallan's wife Shashi is a strong and loyal woman � her angry tirade at the ticket checker in the train, and at men in general, is one of the better scenes in the film � but she is just not given enough to do. The film, like the politics of youth, it seems, belongs to the men.

As for the baddie, played by Om Puri, he suffers not only from a poor Bengali accent, but also from a role that has no angles at all. The talented Vijay Raaz is underused as Lallan's buddy. Indeed, the film suffers from poor casting. Ratnam has fallen into the Rs.20-crore-plus trap, which has forced him to cast stars, especially a mid-thirties Ajay Devgan in a role that deserved a young and fresh face.

Ratnam has tried, unsuccessfully, to work within the Bollywood star system and its song-and-dance routines, and still retain the social message of his film. In his earlier films, he has managed to get away with intrusive song and dance sequences because of some great music and choreography. One recalls "Chaiyya Chaiyya", "Choti Si Asha", "Vellai Pookkal". But in "Yuva", Rehman's music is less remarkable, and as for the song sequences, though competently done � for Ratnam is always so good at showing us the little delights of domesticity, or the breezy joys of young love � they intrude in the telling of what is essentially a gritty street story.

After the intense and very real drama of the Indian elections this year, then, "Yuva" comes as a letdown. If the problems are larger than life, the solutions offered by the film are too easy. Four young men contest the elections against a club of geriatrics � and all of them win. In the final scene of the film, we see the inside of the state assembly, with a sea of old men in white kurtas and dhotis � and then our four denim-clad heroes strut in. Is it a note of hope, or is it the same old, same old? Surely this is where the story really begins, but then the credits begin to roll.

Aayitha Ezhuthu and its Hindi version, Yuva, have been getting tremendous response, except in places such as Delhi or Salem. For director Mani Ratnam, it is success on his own terms, writes RANA SIDDIQUI.

� Pic. by R. Ragu

MANI RATNAM is all smiles these days. His film in Tamil Aayitha Ezhuthu and its Hindi version Yuva are receiving tremendous response. For instance, it is learnt that the Satyam Cinema in Chennai has collected Rs.1500300 in 30 shows this past week, including Saturday and Sunday morning shows. "For those who don't know, Satyam is a 1,260-seater auditorium, which had 100 per cent collection.

In Kerala and Karnataka the film is reportedly running to packed houses, while in Tamil Nadu, and the less cinema-oriented centres like Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Salem, the responses have not been as encouraging. In Kerala, Aayitha Ezhuthu and Yuva combined have netted Rs.31 lakhs from 13 prints in the first week.

The New York Times in its latest edition has praised the film for its technically sound treatment with which Mani is synonymous. And abroad, especially in the U.K, the film, if you take Mani's words, ``has done incredible business and is among the top 10 films of the week.''

In Delhi though, it has received a critically mixed feedback. But Mani is in high spirits not only because his cash registers are ringing but because this film has set almost the entire nation debating over the contemporary nature of the subject and the treatment. ``I was able to get my message across,'' is his response to the reactions he receives "almost every one hour since its release."

At Wave Cineplex, Noida, where the film was released to upwardly mobile audiences, Mani Ratnam was there with Abhishek Bachchan to gauge the pulse of the people.

What is the message actually ? ``The message that optimism is the key to success,'' he quips. And optimism is not about making a successful film but a film that evokes response from those for whom it is actually made. Here it is the young generation, especially those who can change the governance, if they so wish. "It is not important to make films. It is important to make films of social concern," is what his thrust has always been.

"I always wanted to make a film on a student leader,'' he reveals. It finds reflection in the well-defined role of Ajay Devgan. Through the characters of Devgan and Vivek Oberoi, he hints at the fact that if youth want they can actually take things in their hands and those who go on the wrong side of the law, only end up losing much in life. "Ajay Devgan's character is based on a real life student leader in Osmania University. That was long ago. He was assassinated for he initiated the students' movement and was almost on the verge of bringing the deciding change. But I am an incurable optimist, so I showed him alive and responsible for bringing the much-desired change in the political affairs,'' says Mani. And he does not conceal his feelings of joy over the young crowd entering the new Lok Sabha. "It is good to see so many young faces in the Lok Sabha. We can expect some positive changes now."

Many feel that he has not let his female characters develop fully in the film...

``Don's say that, please. You are not doing justice to me by saying so. They are not heroines. They are real life characters. I have clearly shown that if a woman wants, she can have her way. If Sashi (Rani Mukerjee) accepts defeat, it is only because of anger. She also proves that emotionally she is stronger than her husband. Other women too live the life they want and are a strong support to their men. Still, my film is after all more about male protagonists than females,'' he declares.

A film on Yuva by quite a senior man ...

"You don't have to be a six-year-old to write about one. . You just need to know what he likes, eats and how he behaves in a certain situation." In Yuva Mani has used Kolkatta as the background simply "because the connection between students and political leaders is much stronger in Kolkatta than anywhere else in the country."

But in Delhi, which has many universities, the film has not go down well. Mani refuses to believe it. "Please don't jump to conclusions. Better wait. The information I get from every quarter is that `it is an okay film'. I am not even predicting that it might pick up in the days to come but the response to the film on the first day of the release and now is amazingly different. It says a lot... "

And the film was supposed to be a song-less affair ...

``Initially yes, but I had my way. Hardly do my characters sing in the film, except Lallan's wife in a romantic scene, other songs are only in the background.''

One hears whispers about Abhishek being given more mileage over others to boost his otherwise sagging career. "He is an actor with tremendous potential. I know whom to choose. I am not bothered about their saleability." And that is what makes him an accomplished director.

"I have never tried to make films that would please others," Mani concludes. And we believe what Anna Quindlen said once, "If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.''

Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu may not be palatable to the common man but is creating a new box office record!

At Satyam theatre in Chennai, the highest collecting movie house in South India, Aayitha Ezhuthu has netted an amazing Rs 15,00,300 in 30 shows (including Sat and Sun morning shows). This is a new theatre record for the 1260 seater which reported almost 100 percent collections.

Aayitha Ezhuthu is doing extraordinary business in Coimbatore, Kerala and Bangalore while in the rest of Tamilnadu in B centres like Tanjavur, Tirunelveli and Salem it is sliding. In Kerala, Aayitha Ezhuthu and Yuva combined has netted Rs 31 Lakhs from 13 prints in the first week.

For distributors in Tamil Nadu the film may break even as it was sold at a reasonable price to compensate the losses they had incurred in "Madras Talkies" earlier film Kannathil Muthamittal. "Madras Talkies" themselves were distributing the film in Chennai city where the film is expected to do Rs 80 Lakhs to 1 Crore business!

Mumbai, May 30 (IANS) The generally hostile response to his new film hasn't really put Mani Ratnam off Bollywood.

"By now I'm quite used to it," he says from Chennai where "Aayitha Ezhuthu", the Tamil version of "Yuva", is doing roaring business.

Contrary to doomsday reports, "Yuva" has not only opened well in most parts of the country but is sustaining itself at the box office beyond the first weekend even in a place like Bihar where the southern combination of Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman is considered a no-no.

No one associated with the film is going to lose money, and that's for sure. So why the haste to write the film off?

"Yuva" isn't the first biggie to be thus hushed and swept under the carpet. Many big films in the past have been subjected to a similar treatment.

For many weeks after its release, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Devdas" had been written off. Only six months later was the film finally declared the biggest blockbuster of 2003.

On the other hand, Farhan Akhtar's "Dil Chahta Hai", which was declared a rage on release, was a miserable flop in most centres except Mumbai.

Kamal Amrohi's enchanting magnum opus "Pakeezah" was declared a turnip on release. When a few days after its release its leading lady Meena Kumari died, the film was suddenly declared an all-time blockbuster.

Until two weeks after release, Ramesh Sippy's "Sholay" was labeled a complete disaster. The film picked up in the third week and went on to be the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema.

More recently, two Abishiekh Bachchan-starrers "Zameen" and "Kuch Na Kaho", which were declared duds within a week, went on to break even and even made a small profit in places.

How do trade analysts in Mumbai determine the fate of a film without waiting for the audiences' reaction to crystallize and solidify?

In nine out of 10 cases, reports on the box office performance of a film are based on unsubstantiated Mumbai-centric calculations that are far from foolproof.

Defending the film and its performance at the box office, Amitabh Bachchan observes, "Yuva is very different and my son Abishiekh rocks. As for why the press in Mumbai has chosen to come down heavily on it, I haven't a clue."

Will Mani Ratnam desist from making another Hindi film in future?

The reticent creator smiles: "I can't say right now. I might make another film just to provoke the Mumbai press!"

Mani Ratnam has met with Police Commissioner Natarajana and has filed a complaint that pirated VCDs of his new film �Aayitha Ezhuthu� have surfaced in the city.

Mani had invested huge amounts of money to release the film in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. While the film runs all over the state very well, pirated versions have also appeared on VCDs. Sales of these VCDs are doing pretty well too.

In this matter, Mani met with the Police Commissioner and requested him to take action against the culprits. He also gave him a pirated VCD as proof. Based on this complaint the Police conducted surprise raids in Chintadripet and found pirated VCDs of not only �Aayitha Ezhuthuu�, but also of films like �Perazagan� and �Gilli�. More than 4000 pirated VCDs were recovered valued at more than Rs 4 Lakhs. Three people, Siraj, Raja and Abu Bakker, have been arrested.

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/n/m/tamil/282/

It is tricky to predict the results of lavishly made Tamil films in the state of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Mani Ratnam�s Yuva had been declared a disappointment in Bollywood and in Mumbai. But, the reaction of the audience of these two states is still awaited. Andhra Pradesh has a long track record of making leading heroines of some faces that had been rejected in Tamil.

Sometimes, this also happens with films. Some of the films that didn�t do well in Tamil Nadu had done very well in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. So, reports are still awaited on the fate of Mani�s latest bilingual. Meanwhile, it is Surya who seems to be attracting the crowds in Tamil Nadu.

While Mumbai critics have panned the film Yuva results in the state of Andhra Pradesh are still inconclusive. Andhra Pradesh always has been a good market for Hindi films thanks to the predominantly Hindi and Urdu speaking populations in the state. And, of course, the Bollywood actresses are big hits in Tollywood. The recently released bilingual Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu had created great prerelease expectations in the state.

The negative remarks from Bollywood seem to have had a bad impact on the performance of Yuva, but, Aayitha Ezhuthu seems to be doing reasonably well. This time, the star attraction seems to be Surya.

Mani Ratnam has decided to capitalize on the initial draw of his films �Aayitha Ezhuthu and Yuva. More than 400 prints are being released of the films all over the country and the state of Tamil Nadu. With this, the film becomes the one with most number of prints to be ever released in India.

The Telugu dubbed version of the film is ready to be released. 100 prints are going to be released soon all over the state of Andhra Pradesh.

I'm proud that I had acted in Mani's film. I should thank him for that,? says Madhavan. Though Madhavan was one of the three heroes in Mani's latest film, Aayitha Ezhuhtu. His was the most talked about character thanks to the role of the rowdy that he had played. He said, "My role in the film is that of a man who doesn't mind snatching things away if it doesn't come naturally to him. But, he is very tender to his lover. This is the third time that I'm acting in Mani's film. But, this character is very different from all the other characters that I had played. There is bound to be something unusual in the characters that Mani gives".

I had already played a gangster in KS Ravikumar's Aithree, but, this role is very different from that one. There is the K S Ravikumar stamp in that film but, the role that Mani had given me has its own unique style. I'm proud of the fact that I got an offer to do such a role in his film. I would like to express my thanks to him,? he said.

�There is a huge difference in the Surya who had appeared in Nerukku Naer which I had produced and the Surya in Aayitha Ezhuthu. He has come a long way in acting.,� Mani Ratnam said. Amidst huge expectations, Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu was released on Friday. Mani Ratnam spoke about his film. He said, �This is a film about the youngsters of the present age. It describes the society form the points of view of three young men from different strata of the society.  I have tried to say that in an interesting way.� About the three heroes, he said;

�I have shown Madhavan in a new dimension. Surya has acted in a role that is just opposite to his. There is a huge difference between the Surya of �Nerukku Naer� which I had produced and the Surya in Aayitha Ezhuthu. He has come up very well in acting. I�m happy about that. Siddharth is my boy. He is spirited. He speaks openly with me about films.� He was proud of the fact that he had directed Bharathiraaja. He said, �Bharadiraaja is such a well known person. Without any ego, he would ask me, �Mani, tell me what you want me to do�. He is very emotional. I have used that in the film. It was pleasure working with him�.

Mani Ratnam�s bilingual - Yuva in Hindi and Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil - has been torn by critics and savaged by his colleagues in the industry but at the box office, the films have taken a bumper opening. In Bangalore, both the versions have taken an extraordinary opening in 30 screens with 93 percent occupancy for the weekend setting a new record. In Mumbai and New Delhi multiplexes, the week-end tickets of Yuva were sold out in advance and in US the film has done $ 200,000 in the opening weekend. Back home in Chennai Aayitha Ezhuthu has registered 100 percent opening at all the five theatres, thanks to the brand equity of Mani Ratnam which was able to get the film such a good opening.

Aayitha Ezhuthu, the Tamil film and its Hindi version Yuva with two separate set of actors but directed and produced by Mani Ratnam has released on the same day thereby creating history. Bilingual versions of the same film have been made simultaneously in India before, but never been released together. Shakti Samanta's Amanush and Anand Ashram featuring Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore, and Pramod Chakrvarty's Jagir, starring Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman and Mithun Chakbraborty, were made in Bengali and Hindi but released on different dates.

The last attempt was Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhaan in Tamil was shot as Abhay in Hindi but could not be released on the same day. Aaiytha Ezhuthu�s Telugu dubbed version too has been released on the same day.

*No Spoilers Ahead* (Movie Review by Guru Subramanian).

As you stroll down the dark cinema hall to watch Aayitha Ezhuthu and if you are a few minutes late, you might assume that the climax is around. So begins the latest Mani Ratnam flick Aayitha Ezhuthu. And hey, you needn't worry for there is lot more to come and even if you miss this first scene, the scene repeats more number of times than the cost of your popcorn. Aayitha Ezhuthu is about serious cinema and not just for the popcorn eating cinema commoner.

Aayitha Ezhuthu's premise is all about the rare species of progressive youths who are not opportunists and escapists from stamp paper scams and water-scarce society of the modern day India. It is Mani Ratnam's expression of the angst against the middle class escapist mentality of the country and his endeavor to handover the country to such modern, intellectually progressive youth. 

While conveying this Mani Ratnam chooses to adopt a style of film-making which is still in its experimental state, at least in India. The basic rule for the screenplay is that there no rules. There are only directives. Playing with this fact, Mani Ratnam has taken liberties to play with the style of film making. While he has adopted the classic structure that demands to introduce the characters, create the conflict and give an ending, he has just meddled with the timing of each the above mentioned components. Though I haven't seen any of the movies they say has inspired Aayitha Ezhuthu like Ameros Perros, City of God or Kurasowa's Rashomon, I personally think they might have had little to do with this film. As reported Aayitha Ezhuthu doesn't sport overlapping events or even points of view. The movie, if observed meticulously, is told from a third person's point-of-view. 

In Mani Ratnam's earlier super hit Alai Payuthey, the movie oscillates from the past to present and in one point the flashback merges with the present event. This same thing if you deploy as three flashbacks which gets merged with the present through a common incident, you get AAayitha Ezhuthu. 

Pity the media as it reports the highlight lies in this connection of three stories to one point. It merely takes a pulp-fiction writer to manufacture such stories. The 'Maathiyosi' (think different) lies in shaping these characters and using them to unfold the story in the later half. But in Aayitha Ezhuthu, the character build-up occupies for more than two thirds of the movie. The reason being all the three characters form the core of the movie and the movie details up their lives and their view of life. So every character's story is detailed until which the other characters wait for their chance. 

The risk involved in having such a story-telling style is that, relating to a character becomes tougher as there is no one central character that gets focused. It is only finally when the repercussion of that common incident gets focus, we clearly see the main theme and the protagonist of the movie. Despite these risks and shortcomings, it's Mani Ratnam's sheer ability to keep up the interest of the viewer with his character sketching. But after the two flashbacks and one common incident, one will tend to feel what the director wants to convey. Well, there is a long dense second half to come. But patience waits for none and you tend to loose it by the first half. 

Madhavan as Inba Sekhar fails poorly to portray 'the guy from streets'. Just because of Writer Sujatha's Chennai slang the character of Inba Sekhar escapes without a curse. His Chocolate boy image and his intonations bring out the urban actor in him. With the kind of character that Mani Ratnam and Sujatha has etched out, one would expect a splendid and powerful performance from Madhavan. Though by his characterization Madhavan would tend to get noticed it is one of Mani Ratnam's biggest mistake is to cast Madhavan for this role.

Surya as Michael Vasant, a child prodigy who comes from a middle class Christian family. Mike is rigidly violent and a genius of his own kind. Be it the way he rigs the politician or the way he proves that the universe is made of dense matter with a single equation, the character of Michael Vasant is here to stay with us. Surya has played his role very subtly like Kakkha Kakkha and gets full points for his perfect body language. Surya enters the flashback with the same walk into a mall just like Karthik in Mouna Ragam. The strength of his character doesn't lie in all the powerful stunts he does with Madhavan but by the intelligent dialogue delivering skills of Surya.

Siddharth, the rascally flirtatious young man comes as a relief to the rather serious movie and his flashback just after the second half of the movie reminds us the romantic yester-year Mani Ratnam. For Siddharth is very natural and he portrays the present day $ dreaming yuppie youth. Actually it is Siddharth life that get entirely changed by the Napier Bridge incident and not the other two. 

Bharathiraaja as Selva Nayakam is convincing and does his role better than expected. A great find. Meera Jasmine who pairs Madhavan has done an appreciable job and it is her character that earns all the sympathy. Esha Deol's character could be easily avoided because she does nothing more than just appearing on-screen. Trisha is also convincing as Meera.

Writer Sujatha again steals the show with his appropriate dialogues for the three characters. The difference he has shown in the dialogues of each character shows the genius he is. 

Ravi K Chandran excels with his camera techniques, as expected. The kind of hand-in-hand exercise Ravi K Chandran, Editor Sreekar Prasad and Stuntman Vikram Dharma has done makes the stunts very remarkable. 

Art Director Sabu Cyril is certainly a let down. His sets for Madhavan's house, near the Chennai port is very artificial. The streets and roads leading to Madhavan's house is clearly noticed as sets. We all know that each character gets a color. If only it was subtle, it would have won the praise. But these contrasting colors is so evident even in the sets and costumes. Madhavan's neighborhood is fully painted red which makes it very artificial. For Surya, even the prison walls also are in Green. And the worst thing is for Siddharth, from the discotheque, his basketball walls and his bike, all feature blue. Even Trisha is forced to wear blue costumes to pair Sidharth. Not the kind of color thrust that we expect from a Mani Ratnam film. 

Not all songs are picturised like typical Indian film songs. That's however a relief. But Fanah and Hey Goodbye Nanba songs fill up that gap. A R Rahman also scores very subtly for Aayitha Ezhuthu. The extra bit song for Surya-Esha Deol in pallavan bus is a surprise. Mani Ratnam - A R Rahman deliver this surprise every time. Each character gets a theme of music and the music flows throughout the flash back for all the three characters. This background score is however very subdued and the difference can be heard only in a theatre. Having said that, this is certainly not the best of Mani Ratnam - ARR combo.

It is a fact that time pass films de-humanize the viewers and give a superman image to the heroes. Mani Ratnam has always tried to portray his heroes as practical humans. So he does that with class in Aayitha Ezhuthu too. Mani Ratnam spontaneously evolves towards the leftist line of thinking as his protagonist believes the change should not only be made in urbanized cities but also from villages like Neikaaranpatti. 

Just like how Shakespeare's Macbeth starts very sensationally with the introduction of the three witches, Aayitha Ezhuthu story starts right from the first second of the movie. It is just that Mani Ratnam takes time to set the dramatic need to the characters; the movie looses the chance to find a place in the viewer's heart. If the movie fails it is because of this experiment that he has chosen to make. Though this effort may prove costly for him, Indian Cinema would go a long way because of such pioneering efforts. Mani Ratnam proves again that good film-making is an exercise in style.

Read Chennai Online.com's Movie Review

Saturday May 22 2004 14:13 IST

Subhash K Jha

Are film-makers targeting a predominantly young audience? Do mature films find a place in the sun these days? Subhash K Jha finds out

What do the young want to see? That�s the question which everyone in the industry is asking. Every second film seems to be targeted at the young audience. But how young is young? And what sort of an audience are these youngsters meant to be?

All the three hits of 2004 - Murder, Masti and Main Hoon Na - were targeted at the college-going crowds. While Masti and Main Hoon Na ultimately got itself a family audience, Murder remained restricted to a male 16-25 target audience.

This coming month when a crucial cluster of big films are being released, it would be appropriate to wonder how many of those are actually aimed at a predominantly-young audience.

�Not my film,� pleads producer Gaurang Doshi about his ambitious June release Deewaar: Let�s Bring Our Heroes Home. �It�s a fallacy to think films targeted at a 20-something audience have a better market. Only the family films do really well. So I�d like to think that Deewaar will interest the ladies and children. Because that�s the audience which will finally determine a film�s fate.�

Doshi thinks even Mani Ratnam�s Yuva is finally �a film about the young but not only for the young�.�

One tends to agree with Doshi�s reasoning. Though Ratnam�s film is called Yuva, Ajay Devgan would hardly be considered a college dude.

Again, though Farhan Akhtar�s Lakshya, Govind Nihalani�s Dev and Samir Karnik�s Kyun Ho Gaya Na star Hrithik Roshan, Fardeen-Kareena and Vivek Oberoi, they are not meant to entertain youngsters alone.

So what are the young flicks that the experts seem to be constantly pointing a finger at? Farhan Akhtar whose Dil Chahta Hai triggered off the trend towards youthful yearnings in Hindi commercial cinema has already moved on. His Lakshya which opens next month is as far removed from the camp climate of Dil Chahta Hai as Amitabh Bachchan from Saif Ali Khan.

In reality the only truly young film this season is the Rajshris� Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai where the 22-year old debutante Sammir Dattani woos the 21-year old Pooja Kanwal. Cleverly, the Rajshris have pitched the film against Yuva on May 21 knowing that in spite of its �young� title Mani Ratnam�s film isn�t really about the young.

So who are these young audiences at whom the supposedly �young� films are pitched? Hansal Mehta who made one of the truly young films in recent times says, �My film Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai was about 20-somethings looking for fun sex and life. No one in the film was above 25. That�s how young films should be made.�

Delhi-based Planman films piloted by academician and management scholar Arindam Chaudhuri seems to have got the formula right. Their maiden Hindi film Rok Sako To Rok Lo takes on the yearnings of the young . While the campus dudes and dolls with problems ranging from acne to dislocation is played by six newcomers, even here Sunny Deol and Namrata Shirodkar are brought in to balance the inexperience and weightlessness of the central cast.

So what are the young films that everyone in the industry keeps talking about? Problems of the young do not interest the average moviegoers unless they�re extended into the music-romance-drama formula that makes mainstream Hindi cinema what it is, namely an escape route manned by flights of fancy.

To that extent the Rajshris are uniquely slotted with Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai. �Ours is the only film where the young couple is truly young and where the pangs of first love are felt in every breath that our lead pair Sammir and Pooja takes.�

Oh, to be young again!

Mani Ratnam�s much expected bilingual Yuva seems to have failed to make an impact, according to preliminary reports. This is not yet the final results, but Mani�s multi-starrer Yuva with Abishiekh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor failed to make a good first impact. The screenplay is being blamed for the dismal opening. �I wouldn�t want to watch the Hindi version, but I just might watch the Tamil one for the sake of Surya,� says a young Bollywood director. In a few more days, we�ll know if the film just took time to pick up.

Guest Blog 8 - Anand Chandrasekharan

This is not a film review. You can catch one (some of them reviewing the filmmaker, than the film) here on LazyGeek, here and here. A prolific filmmaker like Mani Ratnam makes one think, by addressing contemporary issues from a human perspective, albeit to finally deliver a commercial film. And Aayitha Ezhuthu did make one think.

Before we move on to other ruminations, the point is worth making that the movie is unlikely to succeed in Hindi (as Yuva) for the same reasons that Nayak (a remake of Shankar's blockbuster Tamil movie Mudhalvan) failed to impress. It's surprising that Mani Ratnam, who has made a career of putting his finger on the urban pulse, did not see through this. A theme like Ram Gopal Varma's Company (based primarily on a Mumbai gang) may have local relevance and interpretations, but a screenplay like Yuva (based primarily on student leaders and their effect on local politics) is unlikely to have much emotional association among North Indian audiences. The Tamil version is definitely a recipe for a blockbuster, and is unlikely to go the direction of Kannathil Muthamittal or Uyirae (which received more critical than box-office acclaim).

The timing is impeccable: it comes at a time when the Indian public, primarily the 700 million living in 700,000 villages have spoken in a collective voice through their electoral franchise that India Shining is a farce, when their daily struggles for "Roti, Kapda, Makaan" and "Paani, Sadak, Bijli" are unceasing. The film's emphasis that as long as the top 1% of India does not extend its hand to the remaining 99%, no one else will, is well-made. My friend and netCore CEO Rajesh Jain's As India Develops posts came to mind.

The movie's theme, Identity, is beautifully expounded upon. People who complain that Mani 'Sir' had little to say, need only look at the subtleties in the film. When Michael Vasant spares Inba Sekar towards the end, disparaging not him but his dirty politics, the themed lyrics rang clear:

Aayutham Yedu, Aanavam Sudu...
Thee Pandam Yedu, Theemaiyai Sudu
Irulai Yeritthu Vidu.
(Kill ego with your weapons...Kill evil with your fire...and use it to extinguish darkness...)

A lot has been said about the film being inspired by the Mexican film Amores Perros ('Love's a Bitch'), Kurasowa's Rashomon, and even Pulp Fiction. To say that a three-way flashback used in a narration belongs to Quentin Tarantino is to say that Al Gore invented the Internet. Yes, there were techniques of story-telling that were unoriginal. But Aayitha Ezhuthu is definitely a good tasting wine, regardless of the fact that it's packaged in an old bottle.

What does the coincidence, that forms the crux of AKK, have to do our daily lives? We may not remember the day, but certainly the moment when an incident changed the way we think. It may have been an article, a person, even a thought. But it changes everything. That fallibility of human thinking is brought to life well. Of course, one could not have trusted Mani Ratnam any less. It's not a new theme in film (Amelie, Signs, and Run Lola Run all expound on this theme...more on these in a separate blog...) but has been handled well here, and leads to an excellent ending which respects the audience and does not hand them an over-simplified resolution to a complex and subtle issue (a la "Main Hoon Na").

As for the events in the film, it definitely kept the audience engrossed. The black and white morality between Madhavan and Surya's characters reminded one that for every 'Gentleman', there is a 'Kicha's Appalam' to deal with. Madhavan's Vote for Inba Shekar scene and Surya proving of mathematic formulae in jail and his tiffs with Bharathiraaja are going to remain in memory for a long time, be filed away under �M� for Mani Ratnam, and be compared with montages that evoke nostalgic memories even today from Dalapathi and Nayagan. It's hard to deny that the new breed of stars have arrived in South Indian cinema. It also brought back to memory a cable interview that Tina Brown had with Irshad Manji, the author of "The Trouble with Islam", where she brings out the concept of "Inshtihaad", which is another way of fighting against an enemy in Islam, but through peace. She hoped that it would replace "Jihad" as the Islamist way of expressing their anger, and it was amazing to see both her faith in Islam as well as her optimism about the Middle East. Such optimism, the essense of Michael Vasant's character, is contagious.

The two things that stood out were how well the cast and crew brought out the theme of AKK (the last letter in the Tamil language) and the media hype that preceded the movie's release. Everything I wondered after seeing Amores Perros came back after AKK, and was summarized by Vairamuthu's lyrics in "Hey, Goodbye Nanba":

Andha Saalai Yil Nee Vandhu Seramal...
6 degree yil yen paarvai saayamal
Vilagi Poyirundhaal thollaiye Illai.... Idhu Vendadha Velai.
(If only you hadn't been at that street; If only my eyes hadn't tilted 6 degrees; There would have been no trouble...)

Mani Ratnam would probably be wishing he was a little known director whose work gets discovered each time. The only factor that seems to be selling this movie short is his larger than life image. Expectationos, Perros!

Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu is a radical departure from the familiar way of presenting a commercial masala concoctions serving all the nine rasas. Mani has made an attempt to combine mainstream Tamil film aesthetics with international cinematic sensibilities. However those raised on a sugar-n- spice masala movie diet may find the outcome unpalatable.

The movie opens with a hit man Inba (Madhavan) of a politician following motor cyclist and student leader Michael Vasanth (Surya) along the Marina Beach Road in Chennai. Meanwhile a young couple Arjun and Meera (Siddharth and Trisha) obviously madly in love with each other are thrust into the frame.

On the Napier bridge as Inba pumps bullets into Michael, Arjun tries to save him and the story of the three characters intertwine. From that deadly intersection the story moves back and forward in time, following three separate flash-backs that occasionally brush against each other.

Each of the tales would be interesting on their own, but cobbled together as uniquely as they are the film becomes a devastating story about fate and relationship. The concept of three juxtaposed narratives can be traced to Mani's favourite director Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Alejandro Gonzales Inarrito's Amores Perros.

Mani has used a format similar to Amores Perros as it relies on fast pacing and jump cuts to tell three overlapping and intersecting stories dealing with loss, reject and life's harsh realities. But can the ordinary viewer stomach this kind of story telling and presentation?

Actually Mani the master story teller has very little to say and is depending more on style and techno-razzle-dazzle. Perhaps the snag lies in the absence of a solid, straight forward plot with an emotional core. Also disappointing is the climax as he is unable to tie-up the loose ends, the ending appears tame and contrived. The film also drags as the flashbacks take almost three-fourth of the time and the story unfolds only in the last 30 minutes.

At the moral centre of the film are the three men - Inba, a scum of the earth gangster who knows nothing but the violent methods of survival (strong resemblance to Little Ze of City of God) and even makes love violently with his live-in girl friend Sasi (Meera Jasmine) who dotes on him.

Michael the brilliant student leader and social activist who has refused a scholarship in US because he wants to fight for the cause of the poor and down-trodden bringing him in direct competition with professional politician like Selva (Bharathiraaja) who uses Inba to stop his growing influence among the electorate. His girl friend Radhika (Esha) is a French teacher who moves in to live with him.

Arjun Balakrishnan a Engineer chasing American dreams who falls in love with Meera (Trisha) before faith intervenes and he is sucked into politics due to the influence of Michael. Michael wants to cleanse the political system so he and three others contest the election (against whom and the purpose is not told). They win not only the election but is able to beat Inba to pulp in the middle of a crowded traffic and send him to jail. The film culminates in a typical Mani Ratnam climax which asserts that traditional human values will triumph over evil.

Surya as Michael the `hero' of the film has given a finely calibrated performance and is smashing, while Madhavan in a negative role as the `Villain` Inba is terrific, Siddharth as Arjun is cool and discovers his comic side with some great one-liners. The lovely Meera Jasmine as Sasi has a meaty role and she pitches in her career best act. Esha is surprisingly fresh and sparkling while Trisha has only to look attractive and is competent. Bharathiraaja makes a cameo as the wily-old street smart politician who manipulates the system.

Mani has totally neglected his biggest selling point - Song picturisations which are a total let down. At places the songs do not gell into the narration and the music of A R Rahman sounds more like Mexican pop. However sync sound has come of age along with Ravi K Chandran's great camera work, Vikram Dharma's superbly choreographed action scenes and Sabu Cyril's simple sets.

The bottom line is Aayitha Ezhuthu is a bold and daring move by Mani Ratnam to change the staid style of our commercial cinema. But will the audience accept his new style of film making?

By Taran Adarsh, May 21st, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST

Mani Ratnam. The name itself is enough to generate tremendous curiosity and excitement for a film. So, as the lights go off in a cinema hall and the titles roll, you expect nothing short of a masterpiece from a master film-maker.

Unfortunately, YUVA is high on hype, but low on substance. Or, let's just say, naam bade aur darshan chhote.

Coming from the maker of classics like NAYAGAN, ROJA and BOMBAY, his latest offering is a complete letdown. It simply fails to connect with the viewer!

YUVA tells the story of three youngsters -- Michael [Ajay Devgan], Arjun [Vivek Oberoi] and Lallan [Abishiekh Bachchan].

Michael is a student-politician, who dreams of cleansing the corrupt political system some day. Arjun is a student as well, who nurses a desire of settling down in the U.S. Lallan is a ruffian, who works for another hooligan [Sonu Sood], who in turn is a henchman of the corrupt politician [Om Puri].

The three youngsters, completely unaware of each other's existence, cross path one day. And suddenly life undergoes a change...

Loosely based on Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Oscar-nominated Spanish film AMORES PERROS, YUVA is divided into three chapters. But, sadly, none of the chapters hardly make an impact!

Mani Ratnam is an accomplished storyteller, but he seems to have got confused this time around. He has opted for a theme which not many would take a fancy to -- politics -- since the issue has been beaten to death by several makers in the past.

Nonetheless, rehashing a story is pardonable, since every maker has his way of interpreting a tale. But what makes matters worse is that Mani's storytelling lacks the hammer strong impact that this genre demands. In fact, the stamp of a genius is sorely missing in the film, even though the film does boast of some fine performances. But can the best of performances camouflage the harm inflicted by a weak screenplay? Never!

The film has loopholes aplenty. To start with, the film has been treated in an episodic fashion; the first 30-35 minutes focus on Abishiekh and Rani's story. Then Ajay and Esha's track takes over, followed by Vivek and Kareena's portions And then politics and politicians take precedence.

The film moves at such a lethargic and leisurely pace that you start getting restless even before the first segment [Abishiekh-Rani] wraps up.

Another drawback is that barring Abishiekh and Rani's track, which at least has some interesting moments, the other two stories are dull and drab. And the latter reels, when the dirty political games are unveiled, the film falls into an altogether new low.

Even the finale leaves the viewer with the feeling of complete discontent and disapproval. There should've been a proper culmination to Abishiekh's character. Similarly, Ajay and Vivek winning the elections don't make you jump with joy either.

Director Mani Ratnam fails completely in keeping the viewer's interest alive. The film banks too heavily on the student politics, which may not find flavour with a majority of the audience. Such topics hardly interest the viewers of today, also because the viewer tilts more towards escapist cinema. Not only is Mani's choice of the subject debatable, even his treatment is not as expected.

Frankly, Mani is letdown by the script of the film. The film tries to strike a balance between realism and make-believe, but falls flat from tip to toe. Neither does the student politics appeal, nor does the saccharine-sweet romance between Vivek and Kareena make your heart beat faster. In fact, the romantic track of Vivek and Kareena is devoid of any excitement whatsoever.

A R Rahman's music is a mixed bag. While 'Ae Khuda' and 'Fanaa' are hummable [both are well shot], the remaining tracks are just about okay. Cinematography [Ravi Chandran] is first-rate. The stunts are fantastic, especially the climax fight on a busy road.

YUVA clearly belongs to Abishiekh Bachchan, who delivers his best performance so far. Playing a crude, lower middle class ruffian is no child's play, but Abishiekh has handled it with amazing confidence. This performance surely merits an award!

Vivek Oberoi may have looked uncomfortable in his last few films, but he is back in his element this time. He comes up with a natural performance. Ajay Devgan doesn't come across as strongly as the other two actors. He's just about okay.

Amongst the leading ladies, it is Rani Mukherjee who is the best of the lot. The role demanded an actress of substance and Rani more than lives up to the expectations. Kareena is highly competent, despite a half-baked character. Also, she looks gorgeous throughout, despite minimal make up. Esha Deol justifies her part, but her role doesn't demand histrionics either.

Om Puri enacts the corrupt politician part with conviction. Sonu Sood is okay. Anant Nag is fair. Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz are adequate.

On the whole, YUVA disappoints big time. At the box-office, the film will neither appeal to connoisseurs of meaningful cinema, nor strike a chord with the hardcore masses. Its business may be better at multiplexes, thanks to the hype surrounding the film, but its fall is inevitable.

Rating:- *.

Related features

Yuva: Music Review

Yuva: Movie Stills

Yuva: Posters

Yuva: Song Lyrics

MTV will kick start a new show on May 19 tilted Director's Cut at 8.30 pm prime time. The first episode will feature ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who will throw light on his movies, characters, actors et al. Ratnam, who shot to fame with flicks such as Anjali, Roja, Bombay and Dil Se.., will dwell at length on the art of filmmaking and his creative inspiration in particular. The interview will also capture his personal life, especially his journey from business management to filmmaking. Known to be media-shy, this is Ratnam's first full-length interview after the making of Yuva, his latest offering starring Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor.

Alongside, MTV is also gearing up for the annual youth marketing forum, which will be held on May 20 in Mumbai. The half-day seminar will have speakers such as Muktesh Pant, ex-chief marketing officer, Reebok International, Irma Zandl, president, Zandl Group, Bill Roedy, president, MTV Networks International, Nagesh Kukunoor, popular film-maker and actor and fashion designer Manish Malhotra. MTV will also release the fourth edition of the study 'MTV Tuning Into the Indian Youth' on the occasion.

Friday May 14 2004 11:19 IST

WHAT started as a one-day affair, turned into a weekend gala filled with glittering stars from Bollywood. Launched four years ago at the Millennium Dome, London, Samsung Indian IFA Awards*** 2004 has become one of most talked about filmi events in recent times. ''It's incredible. This is our fifth award function but we have grown 500 times,'' says Wiz Viraf Sarkari, director of Wizcraft International Entertainment, which is organising IIFA.

This year the IIFA team is flying to Singapore to ''celebrate the Indian cinema in global platform''. The invitee list includes the IIFA's brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan to Main Hoon Na Amrita Rao. Stars like Saif, Vivek, Priety and Yana are all set with their dancing shoes, thanks to choreographer Shiamak Davar.

So, why Singapore? ''Singapore is beautiful and has lots of Indians. The government is very supportive. So, why not?'' says Sarkari. According to Sarkari, IIFA follows a different structure from most film awards. ''We have an advisory board comprising Ramesh Sippy, Yash Johar, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, and Govind Nihalani, to name a few,'' says Sarkari. But this year, IIFA is special. ''For one, we have a theme - Celebrating Superstars of Indian Cinema. Plus we have almost 15 fun-filled activities for the weekend involving the stars,'' says Sarkari.

Rahul Khanna along with Katrina Kaif, Mahima Choudhary, Celina Jaitley and Amrita Rao will host the awards presentation ceremony at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Music directors Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy pay a special tribute to the music directors of yesteryears.

And then there is the IIFA World premiere - which will showcase Mani Ratnam's Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu. Other most awaited event is the IIFA Foundation Celebrity Football Match.

Unfortunately, though a Tamil movie, Aayitha Ezhuthu, is being screened, the south has to wait a year for a proper representation at IIFA Awards. ''This year, we are only inviting the film fraternity from the south. But next year we are planning an IIFA South. It is impossible to club Hindi cinema and the southern film industry, they both need separate platforms,'' says Sarkar.

Stills from YUVA press meet and Pictures.

By Moviebuzz 
Wednesday, 19 May , 2004, 12:17

The 18th film of noted director Mani Ratnam which is a bilingual in Tamil (Aayitha Ezhuthu) and Hindi (Yuva) is releasing worldwide on May 21. Mani has never won a single National award for the Best director or any international recognition but is the most lionised film maker in India!

Mani Sir as he is affectionately known is a perfect gentleman and makes no bones that his films are �commercial from frame one� and he enjoys filming songs. But none of his films are blockbusters in the real sense. His films cater basically to the upper middle class audience what the trade calls �The Mount Road� (Chennai) and �Bandra� (Mumbai) audience. In today�s world it is the multiplex audience, as his films are more about their lives, trials and tribulations.

This master storyteller's screenplays include bitter-sweet moments of everyday life. Never has the middle class since the days of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterji and K Balachandar (during his heydays) looked so refreshing on screen. The most important aspect of Mani�s film making is that he never bothers about the stars and always gives prime importance to the story and screenplay.

He never starts work without a proper script and improvises on it sticking to what he believes in. Mani was recently quoted saying, "I make films to please myself". A few years back when questioned how he estimates himself as scriptwriter his answer was forthright, "I am fantastic and I love the struggle of creating a story which starts with one word on a sheet of paper and then starts flowing. I write my own scripts as I haven�t yet found anyone who think and feel the way I do." 

In mainstream commercial cinema if you have a good story it is not enough as packaging and presenting are very important. It has to be visually appealing to the viewer and there is no one in India who is as good as Mani. He is brilliant as he has displayed a fabulous flair for blending aesthetic with commercial. From Mouna Ragam to Dalapathi, Mani�s combination with Ilayaraaja and since then from Roja to Aayitha Ezhuthu with A R Rahman, has been a musical odyssey.

One of the biggest contributions of Mani Ratnam to Indian commercial cinema has been the way he introduced technique and style into choreography of songs, lighting, colour schemes and locations. In an on-line poll by BBC the most popular Indian song was Rakkamma�Kaiyee from Dalapathi picturised on Rajnikanth and a group of dancers. It was since then that such songs of mass appeal started to be an essential ingredient of Tamil cinema. 

Who can ever forget the Chaiyya Chaiyya song from Dil Se.. shot brilliantly on top of a moving train? Though Dil Se.. was a flop this Shah Rukh starrer was much talked about for choreography by Farah Khan, songs by Rahman and super camera by Santhosh Sivan and was the first Indian film to enter the UK Top Ten. 

For Mani, songs are an important part of a film�s creative structure. "They are totally unrealistic and so can be used to bring real magic into the film," the director has once said. Today his films are lapped up by the youth and urban audience for his magical song picturisation. The songs like Rukkumani�Rukkumani choreographed with 60-plus women in Roja and Mottamadi�Mottamadi in Anjali with children and Humma Humma in Bombay stand testimony to the fact.

In fact many attributed the success of the musical genius A R Rahman to the influence of Mani Ratnam. He brought in percussion and heavy synthesized sound that was new to the Hindi film audience. Mani�s fondness for experimentation in songs matched Rahman�s. Both agreed on the use of untrained voice in songs. 

In fact the big hype for Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu are the teaser songs promoted on satellite channels. The Anjaana Anjaanee song picturised on Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor on the sun-kissed beaches is driving the nation crazy. And to believe that this song was shot brilliantly by ace cameraman Ravi K Chandran not in any foreign locales but at the Kovalam beach about 20 kilometers from Chennai city on the way to Mahabalipuram! Mani Ratnam is the only director who has never shot a single song abroad! 

As Shekhar Kapoor the internationally acclaimed director remarks, "Mani Ratnam films evoke a kaleidoscope of colour, style and substance. He has shook the edifice of once staid commercial cinema with his innovative film making."

By Subhash K Jha 
Wednesday, 19 May , 2004, 09:35

Innovative directors are hard to come by in India. But what the Southern maverick Mani Ratnam is about to do this Friday is unique by all criteria of international cinema.

Ratnam releases two versions of the same film in Hindi � Yuva and Tamil � Aayitha Ezhuthu - with a different cast, but the same crew and technical team helming both films.

Why two separate versions of the same film? Wouldn�t it have been easier to release a dubbed version of the Tamil film in Hindi? After all Ratnam�s Roja and Bombay both in Tamil, were successful in their dubbed Hindi versions. Mani Ratnam seems to disagree. "The idea was to make two different films, not one film extended into two languages. To that extent Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu are separate entities." 

So apart from the star cast what�s different about the two versions of the film? Ratnam agrees they are very similar.

"To the average viewer the two versions may look like Xerox copies. In fact many portions including the song sequences are identical in Hindi and Tamil except that different actors enact the two versions and therefore bring in their own unique sensibilities."

Bi-lingual versions of the same film have been made simultaneously in India before. But never released together.

For instance Shakti Samanta�s Amanush and Anand Ashram featuring Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore, and Pramod Chakrvarty� Jagir (Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Mithun Chakbraborty) were made in Bengali and Hindi but released separately. Kamal Haasan�s Aalavandhan in Tamil was shot as Abhay in Hindi. But the release dates were different.

Never before have two versions of the same film come on the same Friday. In Tamil Nadu when Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu opens together this week, how would audiences judge the two films as two separate experiences?

"Obviously they�d feel partial towards the Tamil film," says Madhavan who plays the role of a hired assassin in Aayitha Ezhuthu. Madhavan is all praise for his Hindi counterpart Abishiekh Bachchan in Yuva. "I�ve seen portions of Abishiekh's work. I can�t say if he�s better than me. But he�s outstanding."

Says Abishiekh, "Strangely we three actors in Yuva � Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and me � felt no sense of rivalry. But we kept thinking about our counterparts in Tamil. Are we as good as the actors in Aayitha Ezhuthu?"

The answer will be out on Thursday when both the versions of Mani Ratnam�s opus premiere at the IIFA awards in Malaysia.

For Mani Ratnam both Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu are equally important.

"Actually we should�ve finished the Hindi version and then gone into the Tamil. But since Vivek Oberoi had an accident during Yuva we were suddenly left with a longish vacant gap. I decided to get into the Tamil version and complete it together with the Hindi version."

Madras Talkies and Pepsi are planning to conduct a contest titled an evening with the Aayitha Ezhuthu stars. The winners of the contest get to spend an evening with the three heroes of the film- Surya, Madhavan and Siddharth. Madhavan and lately Surya have been picked up as brand ambassadors for Pepsi. Now, Pepsi has come up with another idea to promote the drink. With just a few days for the release of the film Aayitha Ezhuthu, it has tied up with Mani Ratnam and has announced a contest.

The users simply have to fill up a coupon and send it to the Pepsi office in Chennai. The first 16 entries will be chosen. These chosen winners get to meet the three heroes and spend an evening with them.

Participants in the contest are likely to win T-Shirts and audio cassettes of the film Aayitha Ezhuthu. The contest forms are available only in selected shops. People buying the carry home bottles have an additional facility of filling up the coupons and send them immediately. Though it had been a condemned drink for a while, Pepsi is still very popular among people. The contest is being held to simply popularize the drinks.

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Critically-acclaimed filmmaker Mani Ratnam is ready to unveil his latest venture "Yuva", which trade observers hope will capture the essence of India's youth and mirror both the shining and the not-so-shining India.

In the wake of rapid political developments when "Bharat" spoke to India and the masses passed a damning verdict against the ruling coalition, it is being said Ratnam's film will emerge as the ultimate youth movie that reflects today's trials and tribulations. 

"Yuva", with Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol, comes on the heels of a spate of youth-oriented movies. 

It traces the lives of three young men who are brought together by an accident on Kolkata's Vivekananda Setu, the second Hoogly bridge, an event that changes their lives irreversibly. Their change, their conflict, and their interactions with one another form the crux of the film. 

"It could be the next 'Zanzeer' and provide a vent for simmering discontent among the people. It could also shape up Abishiekh's career like 'Zanzeer' gave the image of the angry young man to his father Amitabh," says Bollywood observer Taran Adarsh.

Ratnam has been a well-known name for quite some time and has made some very sensitive and thought-provoking films like "Nayagan", "Agni Nakshatiram", "Anjali", "Dalapati", "Roja", "Bombay", "Iruvar", "Alai Payuthey" and "Kannathil Mutthamithal. 

Ratnam has also simultaneously shot the Tamil version of "Yuva" titled "Aayitha Ezhuthu". This stars Surya, Madhavan, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Trisha Krishnan and Esha Deol. 

Esha Deol thus becomes the only common aspect in both versions. 

With India boasting of a larger population of 25-year-olds than any other country, it is but obvious that the entertainment industry is straining its energies to capitalize on the youth quotient.


Most of the recent youth movies have been coming of age movies, mostly from the male point of view. Almost every story including Boney Kapoor's "Run" that released this Friday and "Main Hoon Na", which is a rage and is slated to be an all-India hit, has some part of the hero-heroine flirtation set on a college campus.

But, even as they make films for the youth, our filmmakers have never got around addressing the concerns of the youth in their own language. 

The only film in recent times that came close to representing the youth of today was the box office dud "Haasil", with its stark portrayal of student politics.

"In the past, there has been no memorable youth movie that covers every aspect of growing up. At one time, a few films like 'Jawani Deewani,' 'Ehsaas,' 'Bulundi' may have scratched the surface but the definitive youth film is yet to come," says author Deepa Gahlot.

"Bollywood needs to come up with something that Indian youth identifies with and relates to, else youth will continue to be driven away from Hindi films and towards Hollywood," says Gahlot.

"The Indian teen is facing multiple challenges like a rigid educational system, rapidly changing social norms, peer and parental pressure, class and status-linked friction besides sexual doubts, image problems, cultural confusion and classic nerd-vs-cool thing, and a whole youth subculture, which our films have not even touched upon," she adds.

"There is a great Bollywood teen movie just waiting to be made. It can be funny yet deal with relevant issues, entertaining but not empty-headed, visually exciting but not like 'Mohabattein'. And hopefully not sexist. 

"Who will take up the challenge when there are a variety of Hollywood films just there to be picked up and adapted?" Gahlot wonders.

If Ratnam's film fails to strike a chord with the youth, then the onus will lie on young director Farhan Akhtar, who is ready with "Lakshya." The promos and music of the Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan-Preity Zinta-starrer have already made it a hot film among the "with-it" crowd. Hrithik is cast as a young man who discovers his mission in life in the Army.

Will Yuva be the next Zanzeer?

Ratnam�s first Hindi film Dil Se.. five years ago was both a critical and commercial non-success. In fact it ranks as a rare non-starter in recent times in the mighty Shah Rukh Khan�s oeuvre. Seen as part of Ratnam�s terrorist trilogy (Roja, Kannathil Muthamittal) Dil Se.. seems to have come a little ahead of its times.

Yuva seems more in step with contemporary times. Its crisscrossing theme takes us through the lives of three ideologically segregated men played by Ajay Devgan, Abishiekh Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi. The three-tiered storytelling in itself would seem like a huge novelty, almost a liability in the smaller less cosmopolitan movie going centres.

In fact some sceptics in the trade think Mani may be mighty in the South but has yet to prove himself in the Hindi-speaking belt.

The reclusive Ratnam isn�t quite into mooing for the cow-belt just to win brownie points. He has made Yuva exactly the way he wanted and with almost exactly the stars that he wanted...almost, because Bobby Deol was the original choice for Ajay Devgan�s role and Hrithik Roshan had also been approached for another role. Among the girls there was a bit of reshuffling, with Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee swapping roles at the last minute. Also Esha Deol (who has the singular pleasure of being the only actor common to the Hindi and Tamil versions of Yuva) stepped into Simran� shoes opposite Devgan.

How compatible would the 20-something Deol look with the 35-plus Devgan? That�s a question which Mani Ratnam isn�t bothered with. In fact, one suspects reaching out to a Hindi-speaking audience isn�t one of his burning ambitions as a master-creator. If Yuva fails to reach a crescendo of success, as it�s expected to, then he has Yuva�s Tamil version Aayitha Ezhuthu to fall back on.

The Tamil version of Yuva is being released on the same day as the Hindi�a unique experiment on celluloid, and one that would hopefully trigger off a small movement towards bringing regional cinema closer to its national counterpart.

Ironically more than Mani Ratnam�s formidable reputation as a filmmaker it�s the awesome cast which is expected to draw in the audiences to see Yuva. The sextet of stars in combinations affording colliding conflicts is the Yuva�s USP among moviegoers. How far will the starry advantage help the unusually formated Ratnam product to sell itself to an audience that has lately taken to an erotic thriller (Murder) and a raunchy comedy (Masti)?

Interestingly Abishiekh Bachchan who had a solo-hero release this week returns with Yuva next Friday. According to his colleagues Vivek Oberoi and Kareena Kapoor, Abishiekh has the best role and has given a knock-out performance as Lallan Singh, the hired assassin who triggers off the film�s dramatic momentum.

In whichever way we perceive popular cinema � entertainment or a vehicle for social message � Yuva has a unique edge over all the other epic releases lined up this summer (excluding Govind Nihlani�d Dev which goes into a similar territory).

Just how far audiences accept the thesis of a tri-plot within one film would depend on Mani Ratnam�s magic as a storyteller.

He has his usual music composer A R Rahman with him in this endeavor as well, though sad to say, Rahman�s songs haven�t caught on. Tradewallahs are hopeful the music would make an impact after the film�s release.

By Taran Adarsh 
Saturday, 15 May , 2004, 10:31

What's in store at the I.I.F.A. Awards in Singapore this year? Here's some exclusive info:

The Sultan of Brunei and the President of Singapore are the chief guests. 

Several well-known industrialists are flying to Singapore to witness the event - Ambanis, Hindujas, Mittals� 

A number of films will be showcased to the global media this year: DIL MAANGE MORE, MUSAFIR, RAKHT, TANGO CHARLIE, SARHAD PAAR and LAKSHYA. 

Sanjay Gupta will screen four out of six songs of MUSAFIR at midnight. Midnight - did we hear it right? �MUSAFIR is a dark film. It's only right to watch it at midnight,� Gupta says. Incidentally, MUSAFIR is 90% complete and is slated for release in September this year. 

I.I.F.A. Glitteratti Damas will host a fashion show cum dinner. 

The premieres of YUVA and its Tamil version, AAYITHA EZHUTHU, will be held almost simultaneously. The premiere of the Tamil version will begin an hour before the Hindi version. 

Amitabh Bachchan will sign the book 'To Be Or Not To Be'. The book chronicles his life and acting career. 

Outfits from SHOLAY to K3G will be auctioned. �The I.I.F.A. event is getting bigger and better with each passing year,� Sabbas and Andre, two of the three organizers of I.I.F.A., tell me. No two opinions on that! Indiafm

By Moviebuzz
Tuesday, 11 May , 2004, 12:45

The regional censors in Chennai found Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu too steamy. There are some steamy bedroom scenes in the film which the censors have toned and finally after a lot of deliberation they have given the film a �UA� certificate.

Mani wanted a �U� certificate but the board members say they found these scenes to be a little too much for family audience. Aayitha Ezhuthu is loosely based on Amores Perros (Site), a Mexican film which was nominated at the Oscars 2000 under The Foreign Film Category.

If Mani Ratnam had refused to the �UA� certificate his film would have been referred to the revising committee and the release would have to be postponed. So Mani has taken the best decision by agreeing to some minor cuts. (The 'Hot' scene in Yuva-From Music India Online.com).

Karthik Kumar (of Evam theater group) is a familiar face in the Tamil scene. One cannot miss him in a small role in Mani Ratnam's, Alai Payuthey (He comes as Hari Nair's brother). He played the same role in the Hindi version, Saathiya. He recently made his debut as a hero in P C Sreeram's Digitally shot film, Vaanam Vasapaddum with Poongothai. Karthik can be seen in the teaser of Yuva, which is being shown in B4U and other Hindi channels. One can easily spot him in the crowd near Ajay Devgan in the trailor. One can even spot Radio Mirchi RJ Suchitra Ramadurai next to Surya in the Tamil trailor.

Esha Deol, who stars as Surya�s heroine in Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu is Dharmendra-Hema Malini�s daughter. Hema Malini, who is originally from Srirangam, had gone to Bollywood and had become India�s Dream Girl�. She had married Dharmendra. Their daughter is now in the film Aayitha Ezhuthu. She had already acted with Hrithik Roshan and Abishiekh Bachchan in Hindi films. she had got the offer form Mani only because she knew Tamil. She was practicing Odissi dance once at home. Her phone rang. It was Mrs. Suhasini Mani Ratnam.

She spoke with her in English for a while but Suhasini asked her to speak in Tamil. She was caught unawares. But, she managed to speak to her. Only then did she come to know that since they were planning to use �Live Sound� technique in the film, she wouldn�t be able to dub the dialogues in the studios later. 

In the film, she plays �GJ� (Geethanjali), a girl who had been the hero�s girl-next-door since childhood. Surya is very much interested in politics and social reform but is also very sincere in love. They fall in love. Did you know that she is a National Level Football player? In Hindi she plays the same character called as Radhika.

The blue tone for Siddharth says that he is a terribly romantic person always willing to take risks for his own sake. The crimson red color for R Madhavan is to suggest his anger towards the society for the situation he finds himself in. Surya has a green tinge for his trailors which says that he is in the process of making a revolution but is not sure of the final result. It was nice that you noticed these strange colors in trailors. I feel that this was used only for the trailors and not in the films. Let me tell you something striking about this. If all these colours come together we get a white colour, which is the symbol of peace. May be that's what Mani Ratnam is trying to suggest. But you never know. He might spring a surprise. I am waiting eagerly for the film.

Mani Ratnam's film's storyline is always a well guarded secret. No artiste or technicians are allowed to speak about it. Somehow Galatta.com managed to get a sneak preview of the film.

The story is about three young men Madhavan, Surya and Siddharth, each with different personalities and lifestyles, coming together. One prefers not to give anything to the world, since the world has not done anything for him while one person feels every individual has a contribution to make to the world and society to make it a better place to live while the third person feels that if its enough if an individual takes care of himself and that the world would go on by itself.

When the three young men are brought together by an accident, their lives change irreversibly. Their change, their conflict, and their interactions with each other form the crux of the film. The film examines the lives of these three men and their families and the complex relationships between individuals who are very different, yet so similar.

Among the female leads Meera Jasmine, Esha Deol and Trisha are paired opposite Madhavan , Surya and Siddharth respectively. Director Bharathiraaja plays the villain. Ratnam's favorite A R Rahman has composed the music of the film.

Aayitha Ezhuthu will make a worldwide release on May 21.

A Portuguese film Cidade De Deus whose English title is God's Town was released in 2002. The film is about Cidade De Deus (City of God), housing project built in the 1960's which during the early 80's--became one of the most dangerous places in Rio de Janeiro. Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer. This slick movie told the story of the gangs in the City of God Kids, who have murdered before they are 12 years old and when they are about 18 they rule the ghetto. Could Mani be inspired by this film?

Vairamuthu's magAKK!
Multi-lingual movies, with their other challenges also bring with them the undeniable challenge of songwriting. With Rahman and other music directors making waves in multiple languages, one can't help but compare the quality of lyrics in the Hindi and the Tamil versions of the same film.

Why this rant? Because of Mani Ratnam's Yuva/Aayitha Ezhuthu music release. Among other lyrical masterpieces by Vairamuthu, one line that stands out is "Kann Thondri Kann Kaana Kanneero" (Is this a tear that is out, yet unseen?) in the song Hey, Goodbye Nanba!

The movie itself is about identity. The letter AKK, which in Tamil can only be used in conjunction with another letter to convey any meaning; the three lead characters, who all come with different ideals and then learn from the other perspectives to define their own identity. Vairamuthu captures the essence of this dilemma concisely (in only 3 words) and yet leaves the listener with so many questions - Is the tear there? Is it gone? Is the sorrow still left after the tear is gone? Much as one hopes Aayitha Ezhuthu will leave the audience wondering about the identity of today's youth.

One can't help but sigh at the genius of Vairamuthu (not that that needed any mention), and at the same time compare it with the bland "Begana Begana" in the Hindi Version of the same song.

Mani Ratnam's latest offering Yuva is reportedly the director's costliest venture till date bettering Dil Se.., which was also made in Hindi. Mani Ratnam, a management graduate, plunged into film making in 1983 with a Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi and bagged the state award for the best film. He followed it up with successful ventures mostly in Tamil like Mouna Raagam, Nayagan, Dalapathi, Roja, Bombay and Alai Payuthey. In spite of so many successful films and the rich visuals in his films, the budget of the film never crossed 10 Crores for his Tamil films. His only other Hindi film Dil Se.. which was made on 12 Crores was a big flop. Now he has gone ahead and made a bilingual in Tamil and Hindi at the combined cost of 20 Crores, with nearly 65% of the resources used by the Hindi film. Though the industry is doubtful about the fate of the film at the box-office, Mani Ratnam has already planned his moves to such an extent that he might break even with the cost on the film even before the film is released on May 21, just like he did with Kannathil Muthamittal. Hit or flop, Mani Ratnam doesn't lose anything with the venture. Being a management graduate helps!

ECONOMICTIMES.COM[ FRIDAY, APRIL 02, 2004 12:48:52 AM ]

NEW DELHI : Think global and act local. That seems to be the mantra adopted by ace film maker Mani Ratnam, an MBA from XLRI, as he hedges his risks while releasing his most expensive project till date � with a combined budget of Rs 20 crore � in three languages: Hindi ( Yuva ), Tamil ( Aayitha Ezhuthu ) and Telugu (dubbed from the Tamil version).

If the calculated gamble works, Ratnam, the producer, could well be laughing all the way to the bank even before the movies hit the screens worldwide on May 21.
�We feel that the script has a pan-Indian appeal. But we have actually made two movies � one in Hindi and the other in Tamil � with different sets of actors and locales,� says co-producer G Srinivasan. Yuva, Ratnam�s first Hindi movie since Dil Se.. (1998), has Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, and several star wards in the lead, including Vivek Oberoi, Kareena, Abishiekh Bachchan and Esha Deol, with the eastern metropolis of Kolkatta in the backdrop.

The Tamil version is set in Chennai starring Madhavan, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine and Trisha, with Esha being the only common lead actor between the two. �Music, story and screenplay are common to both the films,� adds Srinivasan.

Plans are afoot to release the movies worldwide with 500 plus prints � of which 125-odd (a mix of Hindi and Tamil) would be targetted at overseas audiences.

Producers Madras Talkies have earmarked a marketing and promotion budget of around Rs 1 crore for the project, along with plans for co-branded alliances with FMCG, telecom and media companies.

Given the economies of scale as both the projects were shot simultaneously, coupled with targeted marketing, the producers expect to recover their costs at the time of the release. Both the movies � Yuva and Aayitha Ezhuthu � will premiere at the IIFA Awards in May at Singapore. 
Yuva � with its high profile star cast � took the cake in terms of the budget taking in as much as 65 per cent of the project resources. The returns too are expected to be commensurate with the movie being sold for in excess of Rs 2 crore in major territories like Mumbai and Delhi-UP. Interestingly, Ratnam�s last solo Bollywood venture, the Shah Rukh Khan-Manisha-Preity Zinta starrer Dil Se.. turned a dud at the domestic box office with gross collections in the range of Rs 6.9 crore. The movie, made with a budget of Rs 12 crore, was, however, declared a hit in the overseas market with gross theatrical collections of around Rs 7.5 crore from major territories such as USA and UK.

His earlier Hindi dubs of Tamil hits like Roja and Bombay (both released in 1995) did average to above average business in most territories across the country. 
The 2002-hit Vivek Oberoi-Rani Mukherjee starrer Saathiya, is a re-made version of another Ratnam-directed hit.

Yuva tells the tale of three young men from different strata of society whose paths cross over the Hoogly Bridge on a Thursday morning.
Interestingly, Ratnam�s return to Bollywood adds to the heat of summer at the box office when several biggies like Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na, Boney Kapoor�s Bewafa , war epics like Deewaar and Farhan Akhtar-directed Lakshya vie for audience attention. It would be a testing time for Ratnam�s Yuva to stand up and be counted.

Distributors are not too enthusiastic to take up the dubbed project of Yuva from Tamil's Aayitha Ezhuthu, in spite of Mani Ratnam being one of the popular directors here. Mani Ratnam had made just one straight movie in Telugu Geetanjali and has never turned back to Tollywood from then on. Nevertheless his films are dubbed and released simultaneously with the Tamil versions. The latest in the line is Yuva whose original in Tamil is named Aayitha Ezhuthu and Yuva in Hindi. The distributors seem to be in a confusion whether to pick up the film as they are not sure if the film will be a winner. It is to be noted that out of the five films dubbed films released earlier, only Bombay and Sakhi have proved to be worthy hits. The distributors agree that the films will surely be worth a watch, however with the current trend moving towards mass stories, Mani Ratnam's Yuva may not be able to attract the front benchers, just like a Mani Ratnam film never did or attempted to do.

Director Bharathiraaja claims that Mani Ratnam has made his long time dream come true. Bharathiraaja is a well known director in Tamil. Tamil cinema is full of well known personalities who were once his assistant directors like Bhagayaraj, Manivannan and Manobala and of people who didn't actually work with him but treated him like their guru. Bharathiraaja claims that Mani Ratnam had fulfilled his long time dream.

Bharathiraaja had directed and had also played the lead role in the film Kallukkul Eeram. He had played the role of the director in the film Dhaavani Kanavugal which was directed by his disciple, Bhagayaraj. Still, his dream of becoming an actor, which began at the age of 20 was fulfilled at the age of 60, thanks to director Mani Ratnam. He plays the role of a villain in the film. But, the unit of the film Aayitha Ezhuthu claims that he will surpass the performances of even the heroes, Surya and R Madhavan. In the Hindi version, Bharathiraaja's role is played by Om Puri.

By IndiaFM News Bureau, April 02nd, 2004 - 1430 hrs IST

If not father then son� that's what will happen in the upcoming IIFA awards to be held in Singapore. While initially Amitabh Bachchan's multi-starrer Deewaar was to premiere at the IIFA awards (which didn't materialize later), its son Abishiekh Bachchan's multi-starrer Yuva which will finally premiere at the IIFA 2004.

The film also starring Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol will make a worldwide release on May 21.

Galatta.com

Tamil-speaking Indian community of Singapore will get to see Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu before the Tamil viewers in India.
Yuva in Hindi and Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil are being premiered as the choices for 2004 of the prestigious International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Singapore on May 20.
Mani's last Hindi hit, Dil Se.., was six years ago. Yuva is his first Hindi venture since then.
The films will be screened at the Lido Cineplex at Shaw House in Singapore as part of the three-day event that will end with the annual IIFA awards for the best in Indian cinema. Esha Deol is the only star common to both films.

Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu is going to be screened at the International Film Festival for Indian films at Johannesburg next month.

Mani Ratnam�s latest offering is going to be Aayitha Ezhuthu. The film is expected to be released on Tamil New Year Day. The film is going to be a bilingual- it is being made in Tamil and Hindi. In Hindi, the film has been named �Yuva�. The film is being made in Hindi with the leading stars in Bollywood. But, technicians like cinematographer, music director are going to be the same for both the films. Only the lyricist and dialogue writers are different.

Yuva stars Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol. Aayitha Ezhuthu stars Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Trisha and Esha Deol.

At the International Film Festival for Indian Films to be held in Johannesburg, both Aayitha Ezhuthu and Yuva are going to be screened. Mani is jubilant about it.

The mainly Tamil-speaking Indian community of Singapore will get a special treat with the world premiere of filmmaker Mani Ratnam's latest film during an awards show in the city state next month.

Speaking to IANS on phone from Mumbai, Ratnam said he was excited about Yuva in Hindi and Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil being premiered as the choices for 2004 of the prestigious International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend.

Ratnam said he had been very busy making Tamil films since his last Hindi hit, Dil Se.., six years ago. Yuva is his first Hindi venture since then.

"The script is essentially the same, although I shot simultaneously in both languages with two different sets of artistes."

"Yuva" stars Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol as youths with different approaches to life as they try to make some sense of it. 

Aayitha Ezhuthu stars Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Esha Deol, Trisha and Meera Jasmine in the same roles.

Agreeing that the films are about changing value systems and attitude to life of the youth, Ratnam said: "It is about the options the youth have in front of them. But it is not a message that we are trying to send across to them. 

"We are just talking to them about their options and how to deal with them. It's a story about three different people and three different views towards life."

The films will be screened at the Lido Cineplex at Shaw House in Singapore May 20 as part of a three-day event that will culminate in the annual IIFA Awards for the best in Indian cinema. 

Prominent Indian cinema personalities and international guests are expected to attend the event being hosted in conjunction with the Singapore Tourism Authority.

Esha Deol, the only star common to both films, said: "My mother tongue is Tamil and I was first shooting for the Tamil version when Mani asked me to do the Hindi version as well. 

"Even the most difficult thing seems easy when you work with Mani because he's such a fantastic director."

Deol, who has not had any hit so far, admitted she had some hopes of "Yuva" helping her career.

"I'm the kind of person who goes with the flow. I take in my stride whatever comes along my way and I give it my best. I never expected 'Yuva' to come my way. 

"I've been a fan of Mani ever since I was a kid and when this movie came along I thought it was a blessing in disguise, so let's hope and see what happens."

Deol said she had learnt a lot from Ajay Devgan while shooting for "Yuva".

Siddharth, one of the male stars in Aayitha Ezhuthu, said: "This is my second outing with Mani Ratnam. I've been assisting him earlier and it's been great working on both sides of the camera with him."

Abishiekh Bachchan too said he could not pass up on the opportunity to work with Ratnam.

Bachchan, whose first film before "Yuva" will be "Run", agreed that his roles in the two films were totally different but declined to give details about "Run".

But he was more forthcoming on his role in "Yuva".

"A lot of people nowadays end up on the wrong side of the law. A lot of people have speculated about my role in 'Yuva' being a negative one. It's not a negative role, but one of a normal human being who has to live with the circumstances that he finds himself in. 

"He's not a negative person at all - he's just a character in the film," said Bachchan.

In Yuva, Rani plays the character of a Bengali girl married to Abishiekh Bachchan.  It may be recalled she played a Bengali character in Kamal Haasan's Hey! Ram as well. With Yuva, Rani finally gets an opportunity to work with director Mani Ratnam. The stunner was approached to do a role in Dil Se.., but things didn't materialise. Yuva will enjoy a world premiere in May at the forthcoming IIFA awards in Singapore.

Mani Ratnam is one of the most popular and the most influential directors of the modern generation, which is evident from the hype that his movie release builds in the whole of the country. But he's also had to face criticism of being inspired by foreign movies. Famous example will be Nayagan, which is believed to be a take-off from Godfather. His last film Amrutha too resembled the polish film with the English title 'Look in the window'.

With the trailors of his yet to be released Yuva a.k.a. Aayitha Ezhuthu bombarding the small screen, leaving a lot of them impressed with the way the songs are picturized, a totally new kind of discussion seems to be doing the rounds on internet. With the story of the film released in snippets, 'What is the inspiration behind the film Yuva?

Though there have been a number of entries for that question, the most prominent one seems to be a Portuguese film Cidade de Deus whose English title is God's town. Release in 2002, the film is about Cidade de Deus (City of God), housing project built in the 1960's that--in the early 80's--became one of the most dangerous places in Rio de Janeiro. Two boys growing up in a violent neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.

With a hand-held camera and a fast editing the movie makes you feel like you are part of it. The story of the gangs in the City of God is a disturbing one. Shown are kids, who have murdered before they are 12 years old and when they are about 18 they rule the ghetto and nothing must get in their ways.

Whether Mani Ratnam was inspired by the film or not is a different issue, it is simply interesting to know Mani Ratnam's viewpoint on this issue. As often, it will only be impartial.

Chennai Online.com

While Mani Ratnam's Aaiytha Ezhuthu (Chennai Online.com's Audio Review) is all set to be released in a couple of months, the buzz is that the film has been inspired by the Brazilian film, City of God. Remember the director's earlier film, Roja? It was said then that Roja was an inspired version of the Irish film, Held Hostage. With paucity of story ideas, directors do take inspiration from foreign films. But as long as they present it in a way that reaches the audience, who are we to grudge them their 'inspiration'.

It takes one genius to recognize another genius is a popular proverb proving to be true in the successful combination of Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman. It takes one genius to recognize another genius is a popular proverb proving to be true in the successful combination of Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman.

Mani Ratnam had always proved that he knows how to pick the right people for the right job. Their latest offering Yuva has been one of the biggest audio hits of the year both in Hindi and Tamil. From  Roja to  Yuva, what strikes the most is the way A R Rahman has constantly reinvented himself for Mani Ratnam. While melodies ruled in Roja, it was a mix of great sound and lilting folk in Thiruda Thiruda, foot tapping beats in Dil Se.. and haunting melodies in Kannathil Muthamittal.

Coming after the so called duds for A R Rahman like Tehzeeb, Meenaxi and Lakeer, at least from a collections Point of view, Yuva is just what every marketing guy would want to lay his hands on. And if you are someone who is open to full fledged experimentation with techno sounds generated by electronic instruments, then Yuva is just what the DJ ordered for you.

There are totally six tracks including a purely instrumental piece. While it is being said that the Tamil version has much better lyrics, Hindi version scores over in the rendition of songs.

With the film scheduled for a early May release, the timing of audio release seems perfect. Now the entire country, at least genuine movie lovers, are awaiting this film's release with bated breath.

Rahman's musical score for Yuva has not created the frenzy that it generated in Tamil for Aayitha Ezhuthu. The Telugu audience has given the music a lukewarm reception. The musical score of Naani has just been released. One has to see whether Rahman will prove successful with this film. The audio release of Naani in Hyderabad was marred by poor arrangements. It was conducted by PEPSI the soft drink company officials who shooed away many film wigs who as usual came without invites. Rahman was present at the launch.

Lyricist Vairamuthu tries to do something different in each of his songs. This is especially true when he teams up with the likes of Mani Ratnam. Aayitha Ezhuthu has something new too.

You should be able to guess the kind of hard work that Mani-Vairamuthu-A R Rahman put into their work when you are told that each of their soundtracks is expected to bring in a business of Rs 3 Crores. This also creates an expectation from the audience.

The audio of the film has been released recently and it has done justice to all the expectations that surrounded it. Vairamuthu wrote rhyming lyrics with each sentence ending with Aasai in the film Roja. This time, he has given a list of things that are love and emotions that are love. In the song �Yaakai thiri�, he has described love with just words. In these words, he has described what love is. He also has written a song that is going to be as good as our National Anthem. This Sahitya Academy Award winner is one of the few people Tamil cine industry is proud of.

Funda on Fanah
Just like a book on Oprah's list suddenly sees sales go through the roof, words used in a Rahman song suddenly come find themselves in vogue. Fanah may have come into popular conversation that way, but it actually has both spiritual and philosophical meaning in Islam.

One of the early Islamic writers (Ghazzali) used Fanah in the Ihya to refer to self-actualization, in a Buddhistic Nirvana Sense. In the state of Fanah, the individual loses the person in the temporal world. This kind of writing met with opposition from some interpreters, who claimed that such a moral world had never existed except in the Quran. 

The general theme of the song, that love leads to a higher plane (a la Piravi pizhai, kadhal thirutham) resonates with Ghazzali's writings, which says that an understanding and following of the Tawhidi in daily life, leads to the state of Fanah.

There you have it! When Vairamuthu says Yakkai thiri, Kadhal Sudar (My body the wick, your love the flame!), we know nothing can follow but Fanah!... It probably also explains why, this is one of those rare occasions when it's hard to come up with a single word in Tamil which conveys the same meaning (and hence the Urdu word is re-used in the Tamil version).

Listen to Aayitha Ezhuthu (Tamil), Yuva (Telugu), Yuva (Hindi) in Real audio here.

Rahman-Mani Ratnam combination has once again struck gold with Aayitha Ezhuthu album. The first three-day audio sales have crossed the magic figure of 1 lakh!

No Tamil film audio has done such fantastic opening sales in recent times. Said a spokesperson of Sony who is marketing the audio: "Aayitha Ezhuthu audio sales is phenomenal at a time when music industry is going through bad times. And people seems to be going crazy about the songs".

Normally a hit Tamil audio sale is around 40,000 to 50,000 units sold over a period of three months. But this audio has created history as it may cross 3 lakhs even before the release of the film and if the film is a hit, it will do business close to 5 lakhs units, something that happened a few years back regularly with audios of Indian, Gentleman, Roja, Bombay and Alaipayuthey.

The most popular song in the album is Jana Gana Mana sung by Rahman and Karthik followed by Hey Goodbye Nanba sung by Sunitha Sarathy, Shankar Mahadevan, Lucky Ali and Karthik.

For some time now, A R Rahman�s career graph was going south in the Tamil cine industry. He is back to claim his spot.

'Roja� made A R Rahman the darling of the masses. He followed this film up with hits like �Gentleman�, �Kaadhalan�, �Bombay� and rose to the heights of professional success. He then went to Bollywood and composed songs for films like �Taal�, �Dil Se..� and �Lagaan� to mention just a few. But, his songs hadn't done well recently.

But, Rehman is making his re-entry in style with the soundtrack of the film �Aayitha Ezhuthu�. Manirathnam-Vairamuthu-A R Rahman combination is always believed to be successful. They have spun magic with their latest film Aayitha Ezhuthu.

All the six songs in the film are very youthful and catchy. As usual, Rahman had first composed the music and only then did Vairamuthu write the lyrics.

The �Dol dol� song is going to steal the young crowd�s hearts with its Rap like style. This surely is going to be the craze of the dance floors. The �Jana gana mana� song is not going to make you stand still either! There is a musical �Nenjam elaam�.

No doubt Aayitha Ezhuthu is going to be another milestone in A R Rahman�s career, especially when he needs it the most.

Humko humka paisa chahiye. Taaqat chahiye. Izzat chahiye (I want money, power and respect). � Lallan.

Mujhe American scholarship nahi chahiye, bas main yahin rehna chahta hoon (I don't want an American scholarship. I am happy here). � Michael Mukherjee.

Meri simple philosophy hai: tum sirf apne aap ka khayal rakho. Duniya apne aap sambhal jayegi (I have a simple philosophy: You take care of yourself. The world will get taken care of). � Arjun.

Yuva is the story of three youngsters: Lallan (Abishiekh Bachchan), Michael Mukherjee (Ajay Devgan) and Arjun (Vivek Oberoi), who come from different walks of life. They all have something in common: they are young and raring to go.

In doing so, they find an emotional anchor in their respective lady loves Rani Mukerjee, Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor.

Unique in technique and uncompromising in narrative, Mani Ratnam has every reason to be labelled one of India's finest filmmakers. Witness his craftsmanship in films like Mouna Ragam (remade as Kasak in Hindi), Nayagan (remade as Dayavan in Hindi), Anjali, Roja, Bombay and Alai Payuthey (remade as Saathiya in Hindi).

After the mixed response to Dil Se.. (Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta), his first film in Hindi, Ratnam is at it again. His new film, Yuva, revolves around today's youth and their dreams, desires and difficulties. Rumour is Abishiekh Bachchan plays a negative character in Yuva. If so, it will be a first in Bachchan Jr's career. So far, the actor has only attempted mischievous, ambitious or loverboy characters. With most actors on the lookout for doing something different, this should be a good change for the Aquarian too.

Besides Yuva, look out for him in Jeeva's Run (the Hindi version of the Madhavan-Meera Jasmine Tamil film of the same name), Ram Gopal Varma's Naach (said to be a remake of Wong Kar-Wai's In The Mood For Love) and Rajkumar Santoshi's Ranveer. 

Speaking of his role in Yuva, Ajay Devgan told rediff.com, "I play a strong, energetic character who thinks he can bring about a change in society. He thinks he can get rid of the rubbish in our political system. He is an intellectual rebel. I love my role! It's the story of three young people: Abishiekh [Bachchan] and Vivek [Oberoi] and me, and how our lives get influenced by each other." 

Interestingly, Devgan played a revolutionary in The Legend of Bhagat Singh as well. The only difference being Yuva is set post-millennium. Bhagat Singh was based in the pre-Independence era.

Yuva is a film Vivek Oberoi will not forget. The young actor fractured his leg while filming a stunt in Kolkatta and had to undergo surgery to recover fully. 

Apparently, Ratnam fainted after witnessing the accident. 

The shooting of Yuva was considerably delayed due to this mishap. 

In Yuva, Rani Mukherjee teams up with her co-star of Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, Abishiekh Bachchan. Loosely inspired by Hollywood's Wall Street, the film bombed at the box-office. 

She played Vivek Oberoi and Shah Rukh Khan's significant other in Saathiya and Chalte Chalte respectively. In Yuva, she is Bachchan's better half. 

More Rani coming up in: Shaad Ali's Hum Tum, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black and Bajirao Mastani, Ketan Mehta's 1857: The Rising and Yash Chopra's untitled film. 
Kareena Kapoor's latest film is a far cry from her loud, garish streetwalker in Chameli. 

Soft perm, gentle kohl, dangling hoops and short kurtas are her style in Yuva. 

Also, this is the first time she pairs with Vivek Oberoi. Hot jodi in the making? You decide! 

Simran was the original choice. Her abrupt exit, however, resulted in Esha Deol's entry in the film. 

Good for Dharmendra and Hema Malini's elder daughter who is yet to deliver a hit. 

Esha also features in the simultaneously shot Tamil version Aayitha Ezhuthu, costarring R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine and Trisha Krishnan. 

With the exception of Vivek Oberoi, the lead cast of Yuva has featured in J P Dutta's LoC-Kargil as well. 

Produced by Ratnam's production stable, Madras Talkies, Yuva has been shot in sync sound. 

A R Rahman is known to reserve his best for Ratnam. This one's no different. Check out his unusual albeit catchy score here. 

Promising? To catch the real thing, you will have to wait till May 21 when the film releases.

By Gaurav Malani

A R Rehman and Mani Ratnam - the combination that striked gold with masterpiece albums like Roja, Bombay and Dil Se.. apart from Indira, Iruvar and Alai Payuthey down south.

A R Rahman and Mehboob - the combination that matched a perfect wavelength in albums like Bombay, Rangeela, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna and Lakeer.

What do you anticipate when they all get together? High expectations!
And yes, the album of Yuva does lives up to the hype. Moreover the music goes very much with the title of the film and has a very youthful touch.

Rehman can make his singers go totally bold and non-apprehensive in their rendition style giving them the liberty to experiment with their infinite hidden range. And then his unique touch lends an indomitable grace to the track which otherwise would appear as insane crooning in India. This is proved in the opening track of Cidade De Deus, which also happens to be the title track of the film. The track apparently would be a background theme piece in the movie highlighting youth distress and uprising. The best part of the track is its catch-line "Dhakka Laga Bukka" rendered in a grotesque fashion by the singer-lyricist-musician threesome of Karthik-Mehboob-Rehman. Composed in the groove of jungle beats the lyrics of the song are hardly perceivable (both from the rendition and the cumbersomely designed album leaflet). But then who is complaining! The tune is intriguing enough to set you in mood from the very start.

The non-apprehensive rendition continues with the ethnic opening vocals by Shaheen Badar in the instrumental theme piece "Dol Dol", where Rahman takes you to the world of trance. The unconventional rap by Blaze is much better in comparison to what he did for 'Chori Pe Chori' from Saathiya. And though the track lacks variation throughout it's run it's still infectious and addictive. Check out the sound clip of this one for yourself at the official website of the film.

After working with unconventional singers like Adnan Sami, Daler Mehendi and Kunal Ganjawala, this time Rehman ropes in the husky-voiced Lucky Ali for "Khuda Hafiz". The track opens with the vibrating vocals of Sunitha Sarathy and eventually Lucky Ali and Karthik take over with the exhilarating tempo of beats. This is the same track that is played in the Vivek Oberoi - Kareena Kapoor trailor with the Anjaane interlude. Overall a very interesting composition!

Mehboob's lyrical expertise comes forth with "Kabhi Neem Neem" expertly rendered by Madhushree who sounds so much like Alka Yagnik. Madhushree's saccharine-coated vocals instantly remind of her previous number 'Naina Milaike' from Saathiya. Rehman uses a folksy ballad throughout the background of this track imparting it a primitive touch. His alaap in the mid-way is simply mesmerizing.

Rahman regular Asha Bhonsle is conspicuous by her very absence in the album. However Alka Yagnik and the somniferous Adnan Sami attempt to fill up the vacuum in the resplendent duet "Badal". Rahman's synthesizer makes all the difference in this track.

The album concludes with an exemplary disco track "Fanaa" by Rehman, Sunitha Sarathy and Tanvi. Rahman very expertly keeps all the sophisticated tracks of the album for himself, perhaps to add the perfect essence. It's simply enchanting when Rahman throws off the word Fanaa (meaning completely destroyed in Urdu) and allows it to fade off with the temperament of the track. His sa-ni-dha-pa alaap over here is evidently derived from the classical alaap of the number 'Kehna Hi Kya' from Bombay. This one is a sure winner!

After a blunt 2003, Rahman has surely striked back to the top slot in early 2004 with Lakeer, Meenaxi and now Yuva. Yuva is surely a classy album, which would go very well with the elite though it may not have a consistent appeal with the masses. Music of Yuva does take some time to get on you, but eventually becomes pretty likeable.

Rating: ***

Also read Yuva shows a different Rahman.

After the stupendous success of Roja and Bombay, Mani Ratnam became one of the most admired commercial filmmakers in India. But his first Hindi film Dil Se..., starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala, was a disappointment.

He then made the Tamil film Alai Payuthey, a love story starring Madhavan and Shalini. It was a huge commercial hit all over South India. The music of Alai Payuthey by A R Rahman was just as big a hit. Alai Payuthey was remade in Hindi by Shaad Ali as Saathiya.

Ratnam then made the serious film, Kannathil Muthamittal, starring Madhavan and Simran. Unfortunately, it was not lapped up by the public the way they did his earlier film.

His latest film is being readied in two versions: Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil and Yuva in Hindi (starring Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol), shot simultaneously. 

As usual, Mani Ratnam is tight-lipped about the story of Aayitha Ezhuthu. All everyone knows is that the film has three heroes (R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth (of Boys fame) and three heroines (Meera Jasmine, Trisha Krishnan and Esha Deol).

Aayitha Ezhuthu is produced by MADRAS TALKIES, Ratnam's production house. 

In terms of saleability, Surya is now next only to Vikram in the Tamil industry. With the amazing success of Kaakha Kaakha, Surya has become the star of today.

His body language, mannerisms and look as an encounter specialist (Kaakha Kaakha was the fist Indian film to be made on an encounter specialist), are a craze in Tamil Nadu.

After the suave police officer in Kaakha Kaakha, Surya came as a rugged villager in Bala�s Pithamagan and won hearts once again. Many felt he was better than Vikram in the film.

With an offbeat film like Pithamagan also becoming a commercial success, it seems nothing can stop Surya from rising further. Now, Surya has the best banners after him. In Aayitha Ezhuthu, he is paired opposite Esha Deol. 

Though Madhavan came with a bang in Alai Payuthey, he did not quite follow up with Gautham Menon�s Minnale and Lingusamy�s Run.

Though he acted in some good films like Kannathil Muthamittal, Anbe Sivam, etc, commercial success seems to be eluding him. His last few films were disasters.

Aayitha Ezhuthu is therefore extremely important for Madhavan. 

Siddharth, who holds an MBA from S P Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, moved to Chennai to pursue his passion for films, thanks to his mentors P C Sreeram and Jayendra.

Then he got a prize assignment -- assisting Mani Ratnam in Kannathil Muthamittal. While assisting Mani Ratnam that writer Sujatha and his wife got acquainted with Siddharth. They recommended him to Shankar, who was looking out for youngsters to act in Boys.

Though Siddharth got the unexpected break as an actor, he says his heart still lies in direction. �I am certainly very keen to be a writer/director. But I am also awaiting exciting acting work. How long acting manages to fuel my enthusiasm is anybody's guess".

He is paired opposite Trisha Krishnan in the film. 

Meera Jasmine never wanted to be an actress. She was spotted by writer-director Lohitadas when she went to see the shooting of a film along with some of her friends. He had to really persuade her hard to act as the heroine in his next film. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today she is one of the most sought after heroines in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. Though most of her releases after the Tamil film Run flopped, filmmakers sign her on without batting their eyelids.

She is the topmost heroine in Kerala today, acting in both commercial and art films. She was the heroine in one of the top grossers of last year, Swapnakoodu, and also the critically acclaimed Paathom Onnu Oru Vilapam.

She won last year�s Kerala State Award for best actress for her portrayal of a young Muslim girl married to an old man in Paathom Onnu Oru Vilapam.

The most challenging thing for Meera Jasmine in Aayitha Ezhuthu is that the film has sync sound. That meant she, a Malayalee with very little knowledge of Tamil, had to deliver the dialogues herself. It seems she did it perfectly. 

Trisha Krishnan shot into prominence as Miss Chennai. She acted in a few forgettable films. But with Saami, last year�s highest grosser, Trisha Krishnan has become a name to reckon with.

Now, this tall, beautiful lady is tipped as the next number one in Tamil. She is paired opposite Siddharth in Aayitha Ezhuthu. 

Esha Deol joined the Aayitha Ezhuthu gang after Simran opted out. Apparently, Simran left because of her problems with the language. Since it was being shot in sync sound, knowledge of Tamil was absolutely essential.

After all the forgettable roles Esha Deol did in several Hindi films, this film could perhaps help her establish herself as a good actress, thanks to Tamil learnt from her mother Hema Malini. 

Ravi K Chandran, who had shot Ratnam�s last film Kannathil Muthamittal, is the cinematographer of this one too. Some other notable films shot by Chandran are, Dil Chahta Hai, Koi... Mil Gaya and Boys.

Sabu Cyril is one of the most accomplished art directors India has today. His amazing work in Kala Paani, Boys, etc, is still talked about.

Five-time National Award winner Sreekar Prasad is the editor of Aayitha Ezhuthu. Who else would do the music of a Mani Ratnam film but A R Rahman? Rahman got his first break as a composer in Roja.

The story, screenplay and direction are by Mani Ratnam.

Producer Shankara Madhu Murali has bagged the rights of Mani Ratnam�s latest film, YUVA, for Telugu. The film has Madhavan, Siddharth (of BOYS fame), Surya, Trisha Krishnan and Meera Jasmine in the lead roles. The film�s audio will be released this month end. It is likely to be released on by May 21.

The Rahman-Mani Ratnam�s combination has always been magic. Together they have delivered almost six huge hits. Even Rahman feels that only Mani Ratnam has understood him and his music wholly in the film industry. Hope the music of YUVA lives up to the gargantuan expectations. Adithya Music will market the album in Andhra Pradesh.

Audio of Mani Ratnam's latest film Yuva was released today at a function organized at Taj Banjara hotel. K Raghavendra Rao and Venkatesh were invited as chief guests. Mani Ratnam, Siddharth (Boys hero), Trisha Krishnan and Meera Jasmine attended on behalf of Yuva film. The other guests who came to meet Mani Ratnam were D Suresh Babu, C Aswini Dutt, K S Rama Rao, M Shyam Prasad Reddy, KS Rama Rao, G Adiseshagiri Rao, S Gopal Reddy, KC Sekharababu, Arjuna Raju, MS Raju, Prabhu Deva, YVS Chowdary, Valluripally Ramesh, Genelia, Jaya Sudha and Jeevitha.

Madhavan, Surya (Kaakha Kaakha fame), Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan, Esha Deol and Meera Jasmine play the main leads in this film. A R Rahman provided music. Sunkara Madhu Murali is producing this film in Telugu on Murali Films banner. Aditya Music bought the audio rights.

Tanikella Bharani said that he was invited for an audition for Dalapati film and he was rejected as his age did not suit the character which was later played by Amrish Puri.

Venkatesh and K Raghavendra Rao released the audiocassette.

Hero Siddharth said that he worked as an assistant director to Mani Ratnam before making his debut as hero in Boys film. He thanked Mani Ratnam for casting him in Yuva.

Trisha Krishnan said that she is feeling honored and proud to be in Mani Ratnam's film. She said that the film is very brilliant.

Hero Venkatesh said that he is a big fan of Mani Ratnam and he is eagerly waiting for the release of Yuva.

Director Mani Ratnam said that he wanted to make Yuva without any songs. He asked A R Rahman to give a background track. After listening to the track, he felt that he should add it as a song in Yuva. After that six songs were added automatically.

The organizers provided a couple of TVs at the venue so that the guests and press can view the excitement of 2nd one dayer between India and Pakistan. Click here for Pictures.

Just bought Aayitha Ezhuthu CD and it is copy protected as said in the CD jewel box. So my PC which is an IBM system with Pentium 4 and 256MB Ram can't even recognise the audio CD. If this works the same with all PCs, the inflow of cheap priced MP3 CDs will reduce paving way to more original audio sales.

Price at 125 bucks, Sony Music is trying to make big bucks with Aayitha Ezhuthu. Kamal's Virumandi was well priced at 99 bucks which gave a sense of a value buy. But with stars like Mani Ratnam, A R Rahman, Surya and Madhavan feature in Aayitha Ezhuthu, the music is set to sell hot cakes making it one of biggies for this year.

Jana Gana Mana song, rendered by Rahman features in Aayitha Ezhuthu. Last week in MTV, I enjoyed Vande Matharam fame Bharat Bala's Jana Gana Mana version. The picturisation looks alike the Vande Matharam song and it is sheer coincidence to have a same song featuring in AKK.

Mani Ratnam's interview in Vikatan Part 1 and Part 2 about the philosophy behind the three dots of Aayitha Ezhuthu is intriguing. It creates a hype to find out how these three youngsters merge on a common issue. It is this perfect marketing mantra that differentiates him from his other contemporaries. When my friends become critical about the hype he creates, I am perfectly for it. Any hype sustains for just few weeks after the release of the movie. Then, it is only the quality of the movie that decides the fate. Not only this hype makes people come to the theatres in the release week, it also gives a good opening for a movie.

And I am sure that Mani Ratnam's movie wouldn't be a let down as we saw this same hype being created for each of his movie from Nayagan to Kannathil Muthamittal.

Some say it is City of Gods, some say it is Varumayin Niram Sivappu - accommodated to the current urban trend and the rest call it as a political thriller. But I believe, strongly, that Mani Ratnam has always something more than what's deciphered before the release of his movie.

Two days back, while speeding through the channels, I caught hold of the slick Kolkatta and its colorful dimensions in Yuva trailor. The promos staged once in every ten minutes in MTV show Vivek Oberoi and Kareena romancing in the small boat for a song called Anjaana... The song looks amazing with avid editing cuts and fabulous vocals.

Aayitha Ezhuthu audio is expected to be released today. So obviously you will get a copy of the CD by tomorrow morning in stores. So from then on until the release of Aayitha Ezhuthu, it is Neeya Naana everywhere.

By Taran Adarsh, March 17th, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST

Undeniably, A R Rahman is a complete original. And the soundtrack of YUVA more than proves the fact, living up to the humungous hype and expectations surrounding it.

When two giants - Mani Ratnam and A R Rahman - join hands to create music, expect nothing but sheer magic. We haven't forgotten the gems composed by Rahman in Ratnam's ROJA, BOMBAY and DIL SE�, have we? Now add YUVA to this illustrious list.

YUVA has five songs in all and one music piece, but if you ask me my favourite, it would undoubtedly be the music piece [filmed on Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee] and 'Shukriya Meherbaani' [filmed on Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor], in that order.

The 3-minute music piece proves why A R Rahman is still the numero uno. The orchestration is rich and the sound is amazingly different. In fact, the racy music reminds you of the music played at clubs throughout Europe. And, don't be surprised, if it takes the Indian nightspots by storm as well�

Since the film is titled YUVA and talks about youth, the music of the film has been designed keeping the essence of the film in mind.

The title track [filmed on Ajay Devgan], 'Suno Suno' [filmed on Ajay Devgan, Esha Deol] and 'Hone Do Dil Ko Fana' [filmed on Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor] are sure to find a place in the Top 10 charts of music countdowns.

Of course, no Rahman album would be complete without a soft, seeped-in-melody track. And YUVA has that in the form of 'Kabhi Neem Neem, Kabhi Shahed Shahed' [filmed on Abishiekh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee].

Undoubtedly, YUVA is amongst Rahman's best offerings!

The writer was invited for an exclusive preview of the songs of YUVA by Venus, the music company that is marketing the album. The soundtrack is expected to hit the stores on March 18, 2004.

Mani Ratnam has a gold mine in the music of Yuva, to be released on May 21. A R Rahman, who had given great music in the filmmaker�s earlier films (Roja, Bombay and Dil Se...), has done it once again. Although the audio of the multi-starrer (Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, Abishiekh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Esha Deol) is yet to be released (by Venus), one had an occasion to hear all the five songs of the film. Each song is a delight for the ears that the album should become a rage soon after it�s release on March 15. Anjaana Anjaani..., Hone do dil ko fanaah... and the title track would be loved by the youth. The Kabhi neem neem kabhi shahad shahad... number and the Adnan Saami song, Baadal woh aaye..., are also mesmerising. There�s a Rap piece too which has been picturised on Rani and Abishiekh. And to think of it, Mani Ratnam had decided to make Yuva as a song less film when he started it last year!

Mani Ratnam�s most awaited film Aayitha Ezhuthu is complete and the audio is being launched next week. The songs are rumoured to be peppy with Mani stamp of excellence in picturisation.

The title Aayitha Ezhuthu is taken from the last letter of Tamil alphabet. The movie revolves around three men (R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth) and is set against a campus background. There are three women (Meera, Esha, Trisha Krishnan) in the film and they play an important role in the lives of their respective men.

The film is based on contemporary problems concerning the youth. Bharathiraaja plays villain and comedian Janakraj, a regular in Mani Ratnam films is back after a break.

Aayitha Ezhuthu due on May 21 has an impressive technical team of Ravi K Chandran (camera), Sujatha (dialogues), A R Rahman (music), Vairamuthu (lyrics), Sabu Cyril (art), Sreekar Prasad (editing), Brinda (choreography) and Vikram Dharma (stunt).

The Hindi version Yuva is also releasing simultaneously. "Singapore IIFA Weekend 2004" to be held here on May 20 and 22 would be attended by more than 400 film personalities. Mani Ratnam's new film Yuva will be premiered in the three-day gala event.

The audio of Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu has been purchased by Sony audio saving Rahman from further blushes. The music launch will take place on March 14 in Chennai.

Remember the Hindi version Yuva was sold for Rs 3 Crore to Venus, which also includes the Indian DVD rights. There were simply no takers for the Tamil audio at Mani�s and Rahman�s quoted price. So Sony has stepped in and purchased the audio for a rumoured rock bottom price! 

Last time Mani-Rahman combination Kannathil Muthamittal was purchased by Tips for Rs 80 Lakhs. But Tips had to wind up their Chennai operations after both the album and the film crashed.

Similarly more than a year back when Sony debuted in Tamil with Kaadhal Virus, the audio bombed so badly that they had vowed never to make a comeback to Chennai. But as they are international promoters of A R Rahman and Bombay Dreams they were forced to save him from the embarrassment in his home turf.

Meanwhile Rahman continues to be an icon overseas and last week at the city of Birmingham�s Symphony orchestra (CBSO) all the 2200 seats were sold out for the Rahman show! It was the largest ever non-white audience for a mainstream British orchestra.

By Taran Adarsh, March 09th, 2004 - 0930 hrs IST

The countdown has begun for the keenly-anticipated music soundtrack of the year�

The last time director Mani Ratnam and music composer A R Rahman joined hands for a Hindi film - DIL SE - the result was sheer magic. The music sales set new records; the songs continue to remain etched in your memory even today.

Can we ever forget the haunting title track ['Dil Se Re'] from the film? Or the soulful rendition of 'Jiya Jale' - Lata's first for Rahman? Or the melodious 'Ae Ajnabi' and 'Satrangi'? And also the foot-tapping 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' number, which ruled the charts for weeks incessantly?

Well, the duo is all set to strike back with YUVA. �It's one score to look forward to,� Champak Jain of Venus [the company is marketing its music] informs me, �It's A R Rahman at his best.�

There's no denying that Rahman has not been able to recreate magic in some of his recent works. Of course, there has been a TAAL and a SAATHIYA, but there have also been some turkeys on the other hand.

Reminds me of the statement Rahman made to me at the launch of Subhash Ghai's Jackie Shroff - Shah Rukh Khan starrer in Delhi [much before TRIMURTI and PARDES were made]. He had remarked then: �If anyone understands A R Rahman completely, it's Mani Ratnam.�

Let's hope the music of YUVA lives up to the gargantuan expectations. The countdown has begun, the music will hit the stores in a few days from now�

Yuva trailors has hit the Television channels. It looks great, good music, heavy beats . Crazy
stuff by Rahman. Please don't miss it. Keep watching B4U, etc. Aayitha Ezhuthu audio posters are pasted at Chennai's Spencer Plaza (Landmark and Music World, Anna Salai). 

The film Aayutha Ezhuthu that Mani Ratnam had been quietly directing, had recently created a big controversy about its name. Thankfully, the controversy has been solved too. The film is titled as Aayitha Ezhuthu and not Aayudha Ezhuthu, says writer Sujatha at Ananda Vikatan (Tamil weekly). The letter �__� of Tamil is a dependent letter. It cant be used alone. You can interpret is as a dependency on each other. The film�s story is of three young men, whose lives begin to depend on each other.

The only but important new thing he told was "The film name is Aayitha Ezhuthu*, not Aayutha Ezhuthu. And so, the film's base is also not violence"
* - In Tamil, thr is a letter called Aayitha Ezhuthu. If u take a triangles vertices only, i.e.: 
.  `  .

CHENNAI: After a near-disastrous entry 18 months ago, Sony Music is re-visiting southern film industry. It has picked up the audio rights for ace director Mani Ratnam�s latest Tamil flick Aayitha Ezhuthu (also being made in Hindi as Yuva), which has A R Rahman�s music score. The film is being produced by MADRAS TALKIES and is set for May 21 release. The audio of the movie will be launched on March 15. It may be recalled that Sony Music entered the Tamil film music market by acquiring the rights for Kaadhal Virus, which also had A R Rahman�s music. Though it had a couple of peppy numbers from Rahman, the film was a complete flop show and bombed at the box office.

Even though Sony then planned to slowly spread to other regional language markets in the south, the disaster of its maiden venture forced it to go slow on its plans. Having had a good year 2003-04 so far in Hindi, Sony has once again ventured into the southern territory. However, it wants to focus on Tamil for some time before entering other markets in the region.

The Economic Times: D GOVARDAN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2004 12:59:17 AM ]

CHENNAI: After a near-disastrous entry 18 months ago, Sony Music is re-visiting southern film industry. It has picked up the audio rights for ace director Mani Ratnam�s latest Tamil flick Aayitha Ezhuthu (also being made in Hindi as Yuva), which has A R Rahman�s music score.

The film is being produced by MADRAS TALKIES and is set for May 21 release. The audio of the movie will be launched on March 15. It may be recalled that Sony Music entered the Tamil film music market by acquiring the rights for Kaadhal Virus, which also had A R Rahman�s music. Though it had a couple of peppy numbers from Rahman, the film was a complete flop show and bombed at the box office.

Even though Sony then planned to slowly spread to other regional language markets in the south, the disaster of its maiden venture forced it to go slow on its plans. Having had a good year 2003-04 so far in Hindi, Sony has once again ventured into the southern territory. However, it wants to focus on Tamil for some time before entering other markets in the region.

Aayitha Ezhuthu features three pairs in the lead Surya (Surya is also supposed to be acting in Mani Ratnam's and Rajiv Menon's next film) and Esha Deol, Madhavan & Meera Jasmine and Siddharth & Trisha Krishnan. The Hindi version Yuva features Ajay Devgan & Esha Deol, Vivek Oberoi & Kareena Kapoor and Abishiekh Bachchan & Rani Mukherjee in the lead.

But, the audio rights of Yuva has not been picked up by Sony, which has gone to Venus. According to industry sources, Venus offered a much bigger price and bagged the title. The Tamil film music market has had some good hits in the recent past with titles like Thiruda Thirudi, Boys and Kaakha Kaakha propping up the falling audio sales, officials of Sony Music Entertainment said. The sound track of Aayitha Ezhuthu is quite good and there are glimpses of Rahman all through. Adnan Sami and Shankar Mahadevan, besides Rahman, has sung for the film, they added. We are definitely looking at more acquisitions. While the focus will be Tamil, we will be looking at other languages in the region later, the officials said.

For Sony, the year 2003-04 has been good so far with titles like Kal Ho Na Ho and Beyond Ce, besides a couple of Hindi compilations doing well. The company expects to close the year with a turnover of Rs 55 crore to Rs 60 crore.

A R Rahman, Vairamuthu and Mani Ratnam team up for the Tamil film, Aayitha Ezhuthu.

After a gap of more than a year, director Mani Ratnam has decided to make some official announcements about his film.

Director Mani Ratnam is simultaneously making films in Tamil and Hindi. Both films have the same story. Director Mani Ratnam had been directing the film under utmost secrecy. No information has yet surfaced about the stars or the film�s story.

The final stages of shooting is on right now and Mani Ratnam has chosen to speak about his film now.

He said, Surya, Madhavan and Siddharth have acted in the film Aayitha Ezhuthu. Trisha Krishnan, Meera Jasmine and Esha Deol are the film�s heroines. A R Rahman has composed the film�s music while Vairamuthu has written the lyrics. Ravi K Chandran has done the cinematography, Sujatha has written the dialogues. Story, screenplay and Direction is by Mani Ratnam. The film has been shot in Chennai, Rameshwaram and Mumbai.

The film�s music will be released in the month of March. The film is expected to be released during the last week of April or the first week of May.

"This is my dream project. The film will give me yet another chance to evolve myself", he said.

Way to go!

It is official that Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil and Yuva in Hindi will have a simultaneous release on May 21. It is Mani�s first bilingual and his home productions MADRAS TALKIES biggest gamble.

Venus has already purchased the audio rights of Yuva for Rs 3 Crore. The music of the film is by A R Rahman. In these depressed days of audio markets this is an excellent price but Mani is yet to sell the Tamil audio rights. Remember that Mani had got Rs 80 Lakhs for his last film Kannathil Muthamittal from Tips. However later the Tamil division of Tips closed down as the audio market crashed.

A special photo shoot of Aayitha Ezhuthu publicity and designs was held at Venkat Ram�s studio, Chennai. Distributors have snapped up all areas in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as it stars the hot and happening stars like Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Trisha Krishnan and Esha Deol. The villain role played by noted director Bharathiraaja is a major highlight of the film.

Aayitha Ezhuthu is a �pucca� commercial entertainer with peppy music by Rahman. The audio launch will take place as soon as Mani finds a buyer!

WE CAN say it now. Mani Ratnam's next film is Aayitha Ezhuthu. The director on Tuesday was busy completing the photo shoot for the movie at Venkat Ram's studio. Did you know that the title is derived from the last letter of the Tamil alphabet? "Just like the three dots in Aayitha Ezhuthu, the movie is about three people in three different situations", as the publicist explains. It's based on contemporary problems concerning the youth (the film is called Yuva in Hindi). MADRAS TALKIES, on Thursday last week, came up with the official announcement of the cast. Surya, Madhavan, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Trisha Krishnan and Esha Deol, a cameo by director Bharathiraaja, Sreeman and comedian, Janakaraj. "It's my crowning glory", says Madhavan. With his daringly different look, it will be a Madhavan you haven't seen before, the insiders say. The buzz is that Madhavan is paired with Meera, Surya with Esha and Siddharth with Trisha Krishnan. The audio (music by A R Rahman) is expected to be out by mid March. The film, however, is due for release only by May. The credits include Ravi K Chandran (cinematography), Sujatha (dialogues), Vairamuthu (lyrics), Sabu Cyril (art direction), Sreekar Prasad (editing), Brinda (dance) and Vikram Dharma (stunts).

By Sudhish Kamath

A Report on the film (More).

Finally, its official now � Mani Ratnam has named his Tamil movie, Aayitha Ezhuthu. Mani�s favourite, R Madhavan, hot �n� happening Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, petite Trisha Krishnan and Esha Deol are the lead artistes.

The movie revolves around the various problems faced by today�s youngsters. Sync sound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) has been used in the production. It was handled by Robert Taylor from Hollywood. The movie was shot in Chennai, Theni, Pollachi, Rameshwaram and Mumbai. As usual, A R Rahman has composed the music and lyrics are by Vairamuthu.

The other�s in the cast include director Bharathiraaja, Janakaraj and Sreeman. Cinematography is by Ravi K Chandran, dialogues by Sujatha, art by Sabu Cyril, editing by Sreekar Prasad, dance by Brinda and stunts are by Vikram Dharma. G Srinivasan and Mani Ratnam are the producers. Mani Ratnam has also handled the story, screenplay apart from direction.

The Hindi version features Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Simran.

� Express Features

Director Mani Ratnam�s new film is coming along the lines of Agni Nakshatiram, according to reports available. Aayitha Ezhuthu is the film that Mani Ratnam is making under wraps. R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth are playing the heroes and Trisha Krishnan, Meera Jasmine and Esha Deol are the heroines. While nobody knows what the story is, there are rumors that Madhavan and Surya play the kind of role that Karthik and Prabhu played in the film Agni Nakshatiram. Madhavan plays an underworld don�s chief goonda (director Bharathiraaja) and Surya plays a newspaper delivery boy. According to the story each time they run into each other they end up fighting like Prabhu and Karthik do in the film Agni Nakshatiram. Kodambakkam expects that the film too will be as involving as Agni Nakshatiram was. Mani Ratnam had chosen Bharathiraaja to play the don. He too picks up enough fights with Surya. So many clashes in the film! Is that why they have named the film Aayitha Ezhuthu ?

http://www.cinesouth.com/masala/hotnews/new/17022004-4.shtml

This is yet another story of love and terrorism. This is the plot of Aayitha Ezhuthu. Mani Ratnam hasn�t released the story or even still photographs of the film. Normally you have one hero and one heroine acting in films, but in this film, you have a whole team- Madhavan-Meera Jasmine, Surya-Esha Deol and Siddharth-Trisha Krishnan. A R Rahman has composed music for five songs. Vairamuthu had written the lyrics of all these songs. The interesting part is that all the heroes, Madhavan (Alai Payuthey), Surya (Naerukku Naer, produced by MADRAS TALKIES) and Siddharth (Assistant in Kannathil Muthamittal) are all Mani Ratnam's prot้g้s. Bharathiraaja has played the villain in the film. Surya and Bharathiraaja clash frequently with each other. The film is being made in Hindi, as Yuva. The films are going to be released on the same day in Hindi and Tamil. The film was recorded by LiveSound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) method. Actors and actresses who had worked in this film claim that this is Mani Ratnam�s personal best.

http://www.cinesouth.com/scopes/previews/new/Aayutha-Yezhuthu.shtml

After Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan, R Madhavan and Surya have joined the Pepsi brigade too. The two are now the new ambassadors for Pepsi. The duo attended a press conference in Madras to promote the brand. Interestingly, both Pepsi and archrival Coca Cola have slashed their prices to increase sales.

Surya is the new youth icon according to Pepsi, who has signed him as the new brand ambassador along with fellow actor Madhavan. R Madhavan and Surya will feature in a 75 second new commercial along with Priety Zinta. The tagline of this ad will be Indha Dagam Perisu (This thirst is bigger). For Surya it is his first endorsement and it was shot in Mumbai under the direction of ad guru Prahalad Kakkar. Both Maddy and Surya look �chilled� in the commercial. The Hindi version of the ad featured Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan again with Priety Zinta. Both the actors are coming together in Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu, due this summer, which is also likely to be promoted by Pepsi. Surya plays the role of a hockey player.

Director Mani Ratnam is looking for a change of pace in more ways than one. Not only is his newest venture, Yuva, a direct attempt to conquer the Hindi heartland, it also represents a clear move away from what has been his pet theme for quite a while now - the dynamics of terrorism.

Indeed, Yuva  does not deal with the question of violence as his last few films - Roja, Bombay, Dil Se.. and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek) - have done. "It is time I got out of it", says Ratnam of his supposed obsession with the inner workings of a militant mind. "Yuva, as the title of the film suggests, deals with contemporary youth", he adds.

Set in Kolkatta, the film has been shot primarily on locations in the eastern metropolis. Despite the unforeseen delay caused by a freak accident involving one of the film's leading stars, Vivek Oberoi, Yuva  is fast nearing completion.

"It should be ready for release by mid-2004", says the man who has emerged on the world stage as one of India's best-loved directors following the critical acclaim garnered by Kannathil Muthamittal.

Yuva  is Ratnam's first film that could be described as a mainstream multi-starrer. The cast of the film includes frontline Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, Vivek Oberoi and Abishiekh Bachchan. He has generally worked with actors from down south and achieved considerable commercial success at the national level with dubbed versions of his Tamil films.

The last time Ratnam attempted a mainstream Bollywood breakthrough, the big-budget Dil Se.. had come unstuck at the box despite the presence of Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in the cast.

The celebrated director has since made two films in Tamil - Alai Payuthey (remade as Saathiya  in 2002 by his erstwhile assistant, Shaad Ali) and the hugely popular Kannathil Muthamittal, which has bagged a clutch of National Awards, especially in the technical categories.

Ratnam's latest films demonstrate the range of cinematic expression that he is capable of pulling off. Alai Payuthey is essentially a mature love story cast in the mould of a marital drama.

There is nothing unusual in a story about a young couple that fall in love and enter wedlock only to discover that their path isn't exactly strewn with roses. Ratnam, however, raised the tale of domestic strife to a different plane with the help of a characteristically inventive script.

Kannathil Muthamittal, on the other hand, denoted a journey that bridged the gap between the home to the world. The film relied not so much on the taut screenplay as on the powerful drama inherent in the tale of a little girl who goes out in search of her mother, a Sri Lankan Tamil terrorist, with her adoptive parents. Aided by first-rate technical inputs, Ratnam, as only he can, squeezes every ounce of energy from the storyline.

With the Hindi-Tamil bilingual Yuva, Ratnam is now clearly poised to strike out in a completely new direction. Knowing his ability to sway audiences with his storytelling skills, Ratnam has another sure winner on his hands.

And we are not merely talking commerce here. Yuva  has the makings of a film that could significantly extend the diversity of the Chennai filmmaker's already remarkable oeuvre.

When film industry people lookout for a mileage through advertisements, Mani Ratnam is an exception to this. His film, Aayitha Ezhuthu is slated for an April release and till date he hasn�t opened a word about this film. Mani Ratnam is one among the directors who are different in their direction in Tamil Industry. One can�t find the usual noise during the shoots of his film and his trademark is to be tightlipped about his movie.

Mani Ratnam is directing the film simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil But till date he hasn�t opened a word about his film. Usually when a film is directed a lot of publicity is given about the film but Mani Ratnam hasn�t done any thing like that. He hasn�t even let out the names of the stars in the film. He is tight lipped about his movie and it�s only from the scoop news collected by the media persons we have a vague clue of the movie.

We came to know about the title of the film only when Surya confirmed it on his birthday. He said that nothing much would be spoken about the film until its release. The movie will speak for itself about the techniques of Mani Ratnam.

The snaps of Hindi film, Yuva have been published in magazines but the Tamil film snaps have not been published. Probably Mani Ratnam feels that it might increase the anticipation over the film. But by being so tightlipped also there has been a lot of anticipation for the movie.

Mani Ratnam is always known to make his films without making too much noise. He has gone about making his new movie Yuva also in the same way, but the movie has caught attention for all the wrong reasons.

The movie which has a star cast of Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Abishiekh Bachchan had it�s first problem when Vivek Oberoi was hospitalized after an accident at the shooting spot. Adding to the loss was Mani Ratnam�s heart attack when he happened to witness the incident. This led to postponing the shooting of the film by three months, but Mani Ratnam went about shooting the Tamil version of it.

When the shooting started again for the Hindi version in Kolkatta, Alipur central Jail was selected as the shooting spot for an important scene. But the officials of the Jail were reluctant to take the risk of allowing the shoot, even after several rounds of discussions.

At last Mani Ratnam seems to have completed the shoot in a small Jail in Kolkatta half-heartedly. 

Didn�t know the �Muhurat� of the film, but it had to undergo lot of troubles from the word go! The audio is supposed to have come out really well and Rahman has given amazing scores. Audio may be released sometime in February end or March beginning 2004. The shooting of the Hindi version is complete and the Tamil version has a few scenes and songs concerning Surya.

Read this: http://www.tamil.cinesouth.com/masala/hotnews/13012004-6.shtml

"A R Rahman and Mani Sir and dynamite together. The six songs Rahman has recorded for the film are mind-blowing. I don't look at it as sharing. I see it as co-creating. I'm having so much fun. The other day we suddenly had a day off. Both Ajay and Abishiekh rang me up repeatedly until I joined them. When I returned to the bridge a flood of memories haunted me. This was where the accident happened. Everybody from Mani Sir to Ajay and Abishiekh made me laugh about the accident. And suddenly I wasn't scared. Suddenly the pain of the last three months evaporated. And you know the funniest thing? There's a scene in Yuva where Ajay fractures his leg and I take him to the hospital. Mani Sir joked that maybe Ajay should behave the way I had... Ajay started mimicking how I behaved when I was in pain. So sweet of them to make it easier for me. I've realised laughter is the best medicine. From what I know he completely loves me. Am I so dumb as to tell the maestro how to do his job? I've always been a director's actor. I've had a great time shooting with Mani Sir's unit. They're teaching me Tamil. Mani Sir has come home a number of times after the accident. He calls and SMSs all the time. Who are the people spreading these stories? They don't matter. Lies don't have a long life.- Vivek Oberoi [Times of India.com]

"I play a strong, energetic character who thinks he can bring a change in society. He thinks he can get rid of the rubbish in our political system. He is an intellectual rebel. I love my role! It's the story of three young people: Abishiekh [Bachchan] and Vivek [Oberoi] and me, and how our lives get influenced by each other". - Ajay Devgan [Rediff.com]

"I play Abishiekh Bachchan�s role in the Tamil version of the same film. It�s an unapologetically grey role, and I�ve never played a grey character before. It�s going to be the most challenging role I�ve ever done. I�m actually shivering at the prospect because it�s going to be very different from what I am as a person. That always frightens me. It's my crowning glory". With his daringly different look, it will be a Madhavan you haven't seen before". - R Madhavan

"I can't reveal anything about the film yet, expect that my co-star is Abishiekh Bachchan and believe me, this film will definitely be a treat to watch. Just wait 'n' watch out for the surprise. It is a terrific story". - Rani Mukherjee [Film Fare]

"I and Abishiekh play brothers. Abishiekh's character is completely black, while mine is not entirely negative. But I do have a fabulous role". - Sonu Sood [Sonu Sood, who won critical acclaim for his performance as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, sounds equally gung ho about the film. Incidentally, 2004 seems like a crucial year for this youngster, what with Mani Ratnam's Yuva [Sonu plays the main negative role in the film] and Shyam Benegal's film slated for release in the coming months.]

Sujatha Sehgal, grand daughter of veteran actress Zohra Sehgal, makes her debut as Ajay Devgan's sister in the film.

So we all know that Bharathiraaja is in Aayitha Ezhuthu as the villain, doing what om Puri is doing in Yuva. What is he doing in A Mani Ratnam Film?
Heck, I'm not even curious to know what role is he for. But very curious to know how Mani could see the actor in him and for what reason he hooked him to Aayitha Ezhuthu. Except for "Yen Iniya Thamizh Makkaley..." types he is a rocker.
As we all agree Bharathiraaja's voice is an amazingly rocky and country like, he can do justice with just his voice. I believe in Mani's choice more than all this. Surya plays a village youth. Madhavan plays Meera Jasmine's husband and also a father of a child.

Simran has been sacked from Mani Ratnam's Yuva in Hindi and is replaced by Esha Deol! Remember, earlier Mani had replaced her with Esha in the Tamil version Aayitha Ezhuthu and now it is a double blow for the actress.

All the scenes featuring Simran and hero Ajay Devgan are now being re-shot by Mani and two songs will also be picturised on them. Esha will now be a part of both Yuva in Hindi and Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil.

The buzz is that after Simran got married, her "glamour factor" disappeared and her dates "became a hassle". When the production Manager of MADRAS TALKIES called up Simran for her dates to complete the film, she abused and cut him off. Simran was already peeved that she was ousted from Aayitha Ezhuthu, when she could not deliver her dialogues in Tamil, as it was shot in sync sound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood).

Meanwhile, Hema Malini, now an MP, used her clout and with the support of Suhasini managed to grab the role. Hema is banking heavily on Mani�s film to make Esha a big star.

Simran who was earlier sacked from ace director Mani Ratnam�s bilingual in Tamil because of her inability to deliver dialogues in Tamil is also sacked from its Hindi version Yuva.

Esha Deol, who incidentally was the one who replaced her in the Tamil version too, will replace her in the Hindi version too. So, it will be memorable double for Esha Deol. Full marks should, however, go to mother Hema Malini for aggressively lobbying for her daughter. Hence, all the scenes featuring Simran will now be re-shot with Esha which will include a couple of songs too.

Insiders attribute this sudden development to the arrogant attitude of Simran when the production manager of MADRAS TALKIES called her up for dates to complete the film. This means that Simran will now have only New, a movie with S J Surya as her next big release. Fans of Simran will surely be disappointed! In the film she plays an outspoken character Radhika opposite Ajay Devgan. The film also stars Abishiekh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee. Yuva will restart in Kolkatta during Jan '04.

Mani Ratnam is busy shooting his Aayitha Ezhuthu in Chennai. Mani is shooting the Tamil version of the bilingual now. For the past few days, he has been shooting near Marina beach's Napier Bridge. The scenes involve Madhavan and Surya clashing with each other. One half of the bridge has been blocked for the shooting and traffic is congested on the bridge right now. 

For the Hindi version, the same scene was shot at Kolkatta's Vidhyasagar bridge over the Hoogly river. That was when Vivek Oberoi was injured. Mani almost had a heart attack when he saw the accident.

Right now, amidst tight security, the same scenes are being shot with Surya and Madhavan. Aayitha Ezhuthu starring, R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan, Meera Jasmine and Esha Deol, will be released on Tamil New Year Day (April 14th 2004) next year. A R Rahman has composed the film's music and Ravi K Chandran  is doing the cinematography.

Film shooting hits traffic on Kamarajar Salai, Chennai

By K. Manikandan

CHENNAI DEC. 6. Flow of traffic on Kamarajar Salai was affected for over two hours on Saturday as crew of a film unit occupied space on the busy Napier bridge, shooting for a movie.

Shooting for a Tamil film was in progress at the bridge and a section of it was closed for traffic. Vehicles from Kamarajar Salai proceeding towards Secretariat were diverted through the other narrow bridge meant for vehicles towards Santhome.

As vehicles from Santhome had to slow down due to the diversion, it resulted in traffic congestion at the intersection of Kamarajar Salai and Swami Sivananda Salai.

Some of the road-users were taken by surprise and urged the authorities to at least inform them in advance, through the media, of such changes.

Personnel attached to the Anna Square police station, who granted permission for the shooting, said the arrangement today facilitated movement of vehicles along the bridge.

For another movie shoot three weeks ago, both sides of the bridge remained closed for some time and motorists had to take a longer detour to Parry's Corner. They were irked at the `unnecessary inconvenience' to which they were being subjected. One of them wondered if the Information and Public Relations department, which collects money for shooting in the city, had any norms to regulate the use of public space by film companies during peak hours.

Permission was granted rarely during daytime, according to traffic police. They said instances of traffic disruption on city's arterial roads due to film shooting had been brought down drastically over the past couple of years.

G.U.G. Sastry, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said shooting was allowed only during weekends and that too at night when traffic flow was minimum.

Shooting was allowed during daytime only if the crew proved that the scene needed to be shot in broad daylight, he added. On such occasions, law and order and traffic policemen would be on duty near the shooting spot to ensure that motorists were not inconvenienced.

On Saturday, the shooting was for the film Aayitha Ezhuthu, starring Madhavan and Surya and directed by Mani Ratnam. Policemen had a tough time managing curious onlookers, mostly youth, who gathered near the bridge to get a closer look at the stars. An enthusiastic boy, who darted across the Sivananda Salai to watch the spectacle, was almost hit by a car.

Mani Ratnam is in news again. His latest film Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil and Yuva in Hindi are getting ready fast. After 10 days of shooting in Kovalam (Kerala), the crew has just moved to Mumbai port to shoot scenes involving Madhavan and Esha Deol. A few scenes were also shot near Pallavaram and Marina beach in Chennai city.

It looks like Vairamuthu would pen the lyrics for A R Rahman again after the Boys break. You can expect another Alai Payuthey in terms of music. Also first time Mani is experimenting the Sync Sound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) technology so it reduces the dubbing time. Esha Deol has already proven in her television interview that she is well versed in Tamil with the help of her mother Hema Malini.

It is expected that the entire Tamil version to be shot in 35-40 days which is one of the quickest films in these days when films are being shot for months and years.

Director Mani Ratnam was rejected permission to conduct shooting at the Calcutta Jail. The well-known director Mani Ratnam is currently making Yuva, a Hindi movie. Most of the scenes of this movie are being shot in West Bengal. Mani Ratnam had plans to conduct shooting at the Alipur Central Jail. He wrote a letter to the Jail Authorities, requesting them to grant permission. The Jail Authorities who considered his request refused to give permission as it would not be possible.

Recently, two prisoners, 1 arrested for murder, and the other from Burma, for smuggling intoxicating drugs, had escaped from this jail and in turn caused a lot of commotion. However, the former was somehow arrested again but the criminal from Burma is still wanted �

The Authorities feared that if there is a movie shoot in this situation, it may only become worse. Mani Ratnam was told that he could have his shoot in front of any other jail in Calcutta. However, Mani Ratnam was not interested.

During June, Mani Ratnam had requested permission to conduct shooting at the Assembly, West Bengal. The Speaker, Haseem who consulted this with all the MLA's finally, put forth a few conditions for the shooting to take place.

The MLA's should be praised, Dialogues should not contain anything offending Politics, fight and song scenes should not be taken. These were the conditions.

Director Mani Ratnam suffered a heart attack in an accident during shooting for his film. Mani Ratnam is directing a film, which is made simultaneous in Hindi and Tamil. It is titled as Yuva in Hindi and as Aayitha Ezhuthu in Tamil.

Three months ago, the film's shoot at Kolkatta saw actor Vivek Oberoi injured in an accident during stunts.

Mani Ratnam who watched the accident suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital. Doctors who examined Director Mani Ratnam revealed that this is the 3rd attack for the Director and it is a threat for his life if he suffers a 4th attack. This was shocking news to his wife actress Suhasini and the films crew.

But within two days a refreshed director Mani Ratnam started once again to carry on with his film's works.

Aayitha Ezhuthu Crew informed: The Director is undergoing a daily check by Doctors to avoid another attack; his wife actress Suhasini and his assistants are keeping the director in their careful watch to avoid strains in his works.

Since it is expected a lot from Mani Ratnam to achieve, lets pray for his well-being and wish him a speedy recovery.

Himalayan director Bharathiraaja is doing villain's role in this movie. Mani Ratnam search for a villain with different outlook was answered by discovering Bharathiraaja. Bharathiraaja who took up the role after Mani Ratnam coaxed him. Bharathiraaja has appeared on screen earlier in Kallukkul Eeram a few years back. Bharathiraaja in Mani Ratnam's film- reading this makes it interesting. How will it be on Screen? Let's wait for the big bash. It seems director Bharathiraaja told Mani Ratnam, that if he did not like his performance, he could tell him, but Mani only smiled away only to brief him the next shot. Heck, I'm not even curious to know what role is he for. But very curious to know how Mani could see the actor in him and for what reason he hooked him to Aayitha Ezhuthu. Except for "Yen Iniya Thamizh Makkaley..." types he is a rocker. As we all agree Bharathiraaja's voice is an amazingly rocky and country like, he can do justice with just his voice. I believe in Mani's choice more than all this. He is cast in the role of an influential politician. Bharathiraaja seems to have told Mani Ratnam, "Call me anytime and I will come and act". It is also known that Bharathiraaja had refused to do a role in Kamal's Virumandi. Madhavan has also shaved his head and grown a mustache for his negative role in the film. His shooting has been done. om Puri and Abishiekh Bachchan do the roles in Yuva. According to Mani...Maddy's hair has a "Gentleman trademark"...I mean clean image trade mark. That is the reason why he asked Maddy to tonsure...while Abishiekh's curly and unmanaged hair...enough to give the un-decent look which Mani Ratnam wants!

"I play Abishiekh Bachchan�s role in the Tamil version of the same film. It�s an unapologetically grey role, and I�ve never played a grey character before. It�s going to be the most challenging role I�ve ever done. I�m actually shivering at the prospect because it�s going to be very different from what I am as a person. That always frightens me". - Madhavan

Oomaha Zeeya...the beginning of the hit song Uyirin Uyire from Kaakha Kaakha tuned by Harris Jayaraj has become a national anthem in the discos and campuses in the South.

The song has a Japanese tone about it and sensuality rushes through when you hear Suchitra and KK singing it. Suchi is a Radio Jockey (RJ) with Radio Mirchi and hosts the popular breakfast show �Hello Chennai�. Her sparkling wit, spontaneity and intelligent conversation have been an instant hit with the �machas� and �mamis� of a conservative Chennai.

Suchitra compels you to stop and listen. Those who have heard her new number from Jay Jay, May Masam 98�il... written by Vairamuthu and tuned by Bharadwaj swear that this song is going to be the next O Podu. This item number is picturised on Reema Sen and is shot at the Vishakapatanam railway station. The song is sure to top the charts once the visuals appear on channels.

Said music director Bharadwaj: "Suchitra invests a lot of vigour and energy in her numbers. She is sure to go places." In Jay Jay Suchitra also makes a cameo as an RJ Suchi and helps Amoga find Maddy! And the big news is that she is acting in a film directed by India�s finest director! She plays Surya's friend in Mani Ratnam's Aayitha Ezhuthu. She says she accepted to do the role as it was a Mani Ratnam film, otherwise she has nothing to do with acting.

Poor Esha Deol! The girl can�t speak Tamil properly and is giving a hard time to the crew of Mani Ratnam�s Aayitha Ezhuthu! Mani is shooting in and around Chennai and its suburbs for the Tamil version of his bilingual. As the film is shot using sync sound, (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) the artists have to deliver their dialogues in Tamil.

According to sources close to the unit: "When Esha starts speaking in Tamil the whole unit starts bursting into laughter as she says her dialogues in heavily accented Hindi. Mani and the Tamil coach are trying their best to improve her pronunciation".

However Mani is patience personified and is trying to make Esha comfortable even if he has to go for retakes. And Surya who is cast opposite her is also trying to help her out to the maximum.

Sify.com had first broke the story of Simran being replaced in Mani Ratnam�s new film (Aayitha Ezhuthu). The actress was alleged to have denied the report and said �it was a figment of imagination�!

Now the news is official. Esha Deol has replaced Simran and the shooting of the film has started in Mumbai instead of Chennai. Esha Deol is the eldest daughter of Hema Malini and the heroine of a few flop films in Hindi.

Esha joins the rest of the cast consisting of R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine and Trisha Krishnan. And guess who plays villain in the film? It is none other than the veteran director Bharathiraaja who took up the role after Mani Ratnam coaxed him. Bharathiraaja has appeared on screen earlier in Kallukkul Eeram a few years back.

Hema Malini was able to convince Mani Ratnam that Esha was the right replacement for Simran. A few months back Esha had made an impression among the Tamil directors by doing an interview in Tamil on Vijay TV. In Mani�s film where Sync sound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) is used Esha will now speak in Tamil; she has been busy brushing her Tamil with the help of a private tutor.

Mani Ratnam is now facing a new problem. Everyone knows that he is using sync sound (Robert Taylor from Hollywood) in his bilingual film. The Tamil version Aayitha Ezhuthu will start rolling on September 15 in Chennai.

The Hindi version was successfully completed using the same sync sound, where the dialogues are recorded on the spot. But for those who cannot speak fluently in Tamil, the sync sound system will turn out to be a headache. Simran, one of the actresses in the film, cannot speak fluently in Tamil. She had done the Hindi version as she was comfortable with the language.

Remember that the actress had tried her best to dub for Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi and failed miserably. Now Mani feels that he cannot waste time by dubbing for one artiste. So the latest we hear is that Simran is out of the Tamil project and Mani is looking for a heroine who can speak Tamil fluently.

The grapevine has it that the makers feel that Simran is also over-exposed and has joined the �item� bandwagon. Meera Jasmine has a private tutor to help her speak fluently in Tamil and Trisha Krishnan is brushing up her Tamil diction!

Meanwhile Mani Ratnam was last seen at Cinema Paradiso, the upmarket DVD library in Chennai where he left his imprint on the famous square at the shop.

Seventy years after the Graumans Chinese Theatre commenced, the unique Hollywood experience is here in Chennai for the first time. Thanks to Cinema Paradiso, a full time rental DVD showroom which is the first of its kind in Chennai. Cinema Paradiso has more than 1000 titles covering action, romance and comedy. An attempt has been made by its owner Santhosh to bring the Walk of Fame concept here with an added flavor of our own celebrities.

Earlier it was PadmaShri Kamal Haasan who imprinted his hands and feet for the inauguration. Now the Oruvar of Tamil Cinema - Mani Ratnam was the celebrity who was on the Walk of Fame at Cinema Paradiso this morning. Starlets like Shalini Ajith, Kadhal Virus Richard, Jayam Ravi, attended the gala function. While speaking to Galatta.com, Mani Ratnam said The Tamil version of my bilingual film will be launched soon and the project got delayed because of the setback to my health. And he denied reports that there are no songs in the film. It has songs and music by A R Rahman said the director.

Mani Ratnam�s bilingual in Hindi and Tamil will not have any songs! Mani-Rahman combination has always created excellent music but this time there will be no songs and instead Rahman will be giving a great background score for the film. And for the trailors to be shown on satellite channels there will be teaser songs.

The duration of this untitled film will be only 2 hours 15 minutes. The Hindi version is already complete with only a few scenes of Vivek Oberoi to be shot once he is back in action after the freak accident that happened in Kolkatta.

The Hindi version is likely to be titled Yuva and the Tamil Aayitha Ezhuthu. The Tamil version will now have Surya (Ajay Devgan in Hindi), Madhavan ((Abishiekh Bachchan in Hindi) and Siddharth (Vivek Oberoi in Hindi) along with Meera Jasmine, Simran and Trisha Krishnan.

The background for the Tamil version will be Chennai and Mani plans to release both the versions simultaneously in January 2004. Since there are no songs and the film is shot using sync sound [(Robert Taylor from Hollywood) (saves dubbing time)] the work will be complete in less time.

Mani Ratnam�s latest bilingual (Hindi and Tamil) film will reportedly have no songs. Even though the Mani Ratnam - A R Rahman combination has produced some great soundtracks, this time Rahman will only compose a background score for the film and �teaser songs� for the trailors to be shown on satellite channels.

The duration of this untitled film will be only 2 hours 15 minutes. The Hindi version is already complete with only a few scenes of Vivek Oberoi to be shot once he is back in action.

The Hindi version is likely to be titled Yuva and the Tamil one, Aayitha Ezhuthu. The Tamil version will have R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth (all of whom use only one name) along with Meera Jasmine, Esha Deol and Trisha Krishnan. Even though the Tamil version is set in Chennai (not Kolkatta), Ratnam plans to release both the versions simultaneously in January 2004. Since there are no songs and the film is shot using sync sound, the work will be complete in less time.

The Chennai grapevine is abuzz with rumours that Siddharth the hero of Shankar�s Boys has replaced Shaam in Mani Ratnam�s next film.

The bilingual in Hindi and Tamil is already in the news for many reasons. Once the Hindi version is over, Mani will start work on the Tamil version which will now have R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Simran, Meera Jasmine and Trisha Krishnan.

If the news is true, then poor Shaam is out of the project. Shaam�s career is going through an all time low after films like Aye Nee Romba, Bala and Laysa Laysa flopped miserably. His new film Pepsi has no buyers.

What has lent credence to these rumours is that Siddharth is seen in MADRAS TALKIES office regularly. And once Boys hit the screens later this month Siddharth�s commercial value is going to go up.

When contacted, MADRAS TALKIES refuses to confirm or deny the report.

Noted film director Mani Ratnam suffered his third heart attack in Kolkatta at 5.30 pm yesterday (16 July). He was taking a shot from close range on the second Hoogly Bridge when he gave a shrill cry and collapsed. The director was taken immediately to the B M Birla Heart Research Institute and admitted to the intensive care unit.

The film in Hindi starring Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee was said to be a quickie and was a start-to-finish project. The shooting was moving at a brisk pace in and around Chennai and Mahabalipuram. The cast and crew had shifted to Kolkatta last week.

Mani was found to be extremely tired for the past few days and his close friends say that he was over straining himself and this might have resulted in the heart attack.

Vivek Oberoi who had also suffered fracture on his leg just before Mani collapsed. Spectators of the incident say that it was seeing the accident happen in front of his eyes that Mani, who was taking the shot from up close, yelled and collapsed on the spot. Vivek has been shifted to Mumbai where he is getting operated today morning by noted orthopedics surgeon, Sanjay Agarwal who had operated Aishwarya Rai recently.

Doctors at the Birla Heart Research Institute said today morning that Mani�s condition is stable but he needs complete rest for a few weeks.

Director Mani Ratnam on Friday resumed shooting in Kolkatta two days after fainting on the sets of his yet untitled movie when a stunt scene went horribly wrong. On Wednesday, while shooting on the Vidhyasagar Bridge across the Hoogly River, he fainted after seeing his lead actor Vivek Oberoi break his leg during filming. Ratnam had been admitted to the B M Birla Heart Research Centre. He had been suffering from fever, dehydration and low blood pressure for the last few days. On Thursday evening, Ratnam got the green signal from doctors to resume work on Friday. However, they have told him not to strain himself.

Meanwhile, Vivek Oberoi is recuperating after surgery at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. He will remain indisposed for about three months.

Film director Mani Ratnam, admitted to a Kolkatta hospital on Wednesday evening with low blood pressure, fever and dehydration, was released on Thursday evening after his condition became stable. 

A beaming Ratnam, accompanied by wife Suhasini and production unit members, left the hospital under tight security for the Taj Bengal hotel where his crew is putting up.

Clinical Director of B M Birla Heart Research Centre Anil Mishra, who attended on Ratnam, told PTI that all tests conducted on him, including an ECG, were normal as too his blood pressure.

The director, who fainted after a stunt scene being picturised on Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi went awry leading to a fracture in the lead actor's leg, had been skipping meals and suffering from dehydration due to the high humidity levels.

Actor Vivek Oberoi fractured his leg and director Mani Ratnam got pain in the chest on Wednesday after a stunt scene they were shooting on the Vidhyasagar Bridge over the Hoogly River in Kolkatta went awry. Co-stars Abishiekh Bachchan and Ajay Devgan, standing close along with Ratnam, received minor injuries during the accident, which led the production unit to abandon the shooting of the yet-to-be-titled film for the next few days. Click here for a report from The Telegraph.

Ratnam also received minor bruises on his hand.

Oberoi fractured two bones of his left leg, according to Mala Chatterjee, medical superintendent of the Calcutta Medical Research Institute, where the star was admitted. The medical superintendent said the condition of the actor was 'serious' and he would undergo surgery on his fractured leg on Thursday. The surgery will be conducted by two Dr Ashok Das and Dr Subrata Dasgupta, she added.

Abishiekh Bachchan and Ajay Devgan later went to the B M Birla Heart Research Institute to see Ratnam. The accident took place at around 1715 IST. "The scene involved Oberoi running through several stationary vehicles and a motorcycle chasing him. The bike was being ridden by a stuntman. In the film it was to be Ajay Devgan on the bike", a police official told rediff.com. As Oberoi fell down, the motorcycle, which followed him closely, ran over his left leg. "Seeing the accident happen in front of his eyes, Mani Ratnam, who was taking the shot from up close, yelled and passed out", the official said.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/july17/i6.asp

The long awaited Mani Ratnam movie in Hindi, four years after Dil Se.. has started shoot amidst high security and secrecy in Chennai. In a casting coup, Mani has roped in Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi, Abishiekh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Simran. Once the Hindi version is over, Mani will start work on the Tamil.

The story is set in Kolkatta but the shooting is progressing in and around Adayar and Boat club area including the posh house of Laysa Laysa, producer Vikram Singh in south Chennai. A dozen ambassador cars were painted yellow to make them look like Kolkatta taxis with WB registration numbers.

No cell phones are allowed on the sets as the film is being shot in sync-sound like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai. The cameraman Ravi K Chandran is using the latest lens to give the film a minty cool campus look. Anuraag Kashyap with a golf cap could be seen excitedly talking to the lead stars, as he is the dialogue writer of the film.

Mani Ratnam was as usual not available to talk, as he believes in stealth and secrecy while filming a project. He has also given strict orders to his lead stars not to speak about the film to anyone!!

It has been 20 years now since Mani Ratnam made his entry into films. For the first time, he is making a film in two languages simultaneously- Hindi and Tamil. He already made Uyirae in these two languages, but they weren't simultaneous.

Even when he made movies in Tamil alone, the whole industry used to get curious about it. Now that he is making film in both the languages, the Indian cine industry is watching him, curiously. This time around Mani Ratnam hasn't even held an official press briefing to announce the launch of the film. And has been completely avoiding the press, especially the Tamil media. [May be he has learnt from his previous experiences, the dirty games played by the Tamil media only to create sensation and publicity. The way the Tamil media treated Mani Ratnam's last film Kannathil Muthamittal is an example.

We fished for some information. This was what we managed to get-

Ravi K Chandran's cinematography added great strength to Kannathil Muthamittal. Mani decided that he should be his next film's cinematographer too. And, Ravi had been given the advance last year itself. Sujatha is writing the dialogues for the Tamil version. Screenplay and dialogues in Hindi are taken care by Anuraag Kashyap. He is a very close associate of Mani these days.

Throughout last year, Mani has been busy with the planning of this film. Star-selection took the longest. Call-sheet delays of suitable actors and actresses had delayed the film so much. Most of the technicians in the Hindi version (that was started first) are from Kollywood. They are happy because they are being paid twice the salary.

In the Hindi version, Abishiekh Bachchan is paired with Rani Mukherjee. Esha Deol is with Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor is paired with Vivek Oberoi. Abishiekh plays a negative character. Madhavan plays the role in the Tamil version.

Since the film has to be made in Hindi and Tamil, shooting is on at a frantic pace in Chennai and Kolkatta. More than 50% of the film is ready. The film has more than 70 scenes and they are trying to shoot at least 1-1.5 scenes a day. Everybody feels that only Mani Ratnam is capable enough to maintain the quality even at such a fast pace. A R Rahman hasn't composed even a single song yet, but they are shooting the film with song outlines. When it comes to work, Mani puts in more than 100%.

Example: When his brother, GV, committed suicide, everybody thought that shooting would be postponed by at least two months, but he was back on the sets within a few days of mourning.

Last month, Vivek Oberoi broke his leg while shooting a chase sequence. Mani fell ill too. But, Mani was back within two days to shoot his film. Everybody in Bollywood is surprised by it.

For the Tamil version, Mani had first approached Srikanth but Srikanth had to only curse his bad luck because he didn't have the dates free. But, Mani liked his direct approach and left after assuring him that they will work together soon in future.

R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth are doing the film in Tamil. The heroines are Esha Deol, Trisha Krishnan and Meera Jasmine. When Dil Se.. was released, Kareena Kapoor made a statement that she would do anything (!) to get into his next Hindi film. She seems to have done it.

The Hindi film hasn't been named yet. But, the Tamil version has been named Aayitha Ezhuthu. Two interpretations are given for this- the three dots for the fact that the film has three heroes and the title suggests the violence that exists in the film.

Mani has mad the crew swears that they wouldn't reveal the story to anybody. He isn't worried that people would copy it and make a teleserial but he is worried that people might create problems for him. Vivek Oberoi's injury has led to some cancellations of plans. Don't be surprised if the Tamil film's shooting begins.

Surprising thing- none of the stars (Bollywood and Kollywood) have yet spoken to him about their salaries yet. Acting in Mani's films is like acting in Rajini's films- everything depends on your talents and you are always well paid. So, nobody complains or haggles.

India�s highly hyped director Mani Ratnam has finally decided to launch his next film a bilingual in Hindi and Tamil. This film will be made under his home production MADRAS TALKIES and is said to be a quickie.

It will be a multi starrer in Hindi with Abishiekh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Ajay Devgan, Esha Deol, Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Karthik Kumar, Sujatha Sehgal. The Tamil version will star R Madhavan, Surya, Siddharth, Esha Deol, Trisha Krishnan, Meera Jasmine, Nadhiya, Bharathiraaja (director), Suchitra (RJ, Radio Mirchi). The main technicians will be Art director Sabu Cyril, Cinematographer Ravi K Chandran, and music director A R Rahman. Writer Sujatha will be in charge of the Tamil screenplay and the story is by Mani himself. The Hindi dialogues by Anuraag Kashyap.

It will be a youth film, which will be made in �Mani style� and aimed at the Cineplex crowds in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Remember that Shaad Ali�s Saathiya which was a remake of the Tamil Alai Payuthey worked wonders at the box-office mainly in metros. Similarly, this heady youthful brat pack film is targeted at the teenyboppers in India and overseas.

One of India�s leading film financier is said to be backing the project and the shooting will start by June end and is scheduled for release by January 2004, provided A R Rahman delivers music on time!

The Tamil/Hindi star cast:

Mani Ratnam, the most acclaimed director of Kannathil Muthamittal is getting ready for a his next flick, supposedly a racy thriller called Aayitha Ezhuthu (Writings of Weapon). Kannathil Muthamittal became the most popular foreign language film in the latest Palm Springs film festival. It was one of the films which received more good reviews than other movies in that festival. Rumours around say he has roped Srikanth (Roja Kootam) and Surya as heroes for Aayitha Ezhuthu. One more hero is yet to be known. There is a lot of speculation about Ajith being the next one. The title Aayitha Ezhuthu has a very subtle tone of violence. In Tamil it is the last character in the character set which has three dots, each opposite to one another. That explains the three heroes. But it also means Writings of Weapon because Aayudham means weapon and so we assume it a story of three dons. As a suspense, I am sure Mani Ratnam will still have something else under his sleeves for us.

Aayitha Ezhuthu also features three heroines. Trisha is sure to be one of them and others haven't been revealed. I hope Jothika should be given a chance to prove her metal. A chance in Mani Ratnam movie is certainly a career high for these guys and I am sure they will take it right. The backdrop of the movie is still not escaped the rooms of MADRAS TALKIES. Mani started planning this after the movie with Kamal Haasan got dropped due to various issues.

Srikanth, who made his impact with the debut Roja Kootam, has been lucky enough to be spotted by Mani Ratnam. His second movie April Madhathil was also a hit because of its dancy numbers and college romance. He proves to be a promising actor. Surya has already showcased his acting capabilities through his previous movies and he gets his first chance to be directed by Mani.

The music, I suppose would/should be A R Rahman. A R Rahman considering Mani Ratnam has his mentor, accepted to change his plans and did the Unity of Light in Chennai. And that relationship will also continue through the movies to come. Hope Rahman gives his best just as he did for the previous movies of Mani.

Get Ready !! Its time for one more monster of a film. He can. If not who?