New entrants, old controversies

On September 15, not only was Sarat Kumar's 100th film launched, three others had their poojas. Of course, the most talked about film was Thalaimakan, Kumar's film. Next came AVM's 167th film Tirupathi, with Ajit in the lead. Young actor Jeeva's E had all the big names at the pooja. The fourth film launched at AVM Oru Ponnu, Oru Payyan had newcomers, so it was the most low profile launch of the day.

Ajit has not had a big hit for a long time, but his all-time rival Vijay has surged far ahead with almost all his films turning out to be bumper hits. Ajit disappeared for a month and came back losing at least 10 kilos. He now looks like the old handsome Ajit, heartthrob of many.

It was not the launch of Tirupathi that made news but the presence of Vijay, described as his 'rival' and 'enemy' at the pooja. It was a great photo opportunity when Vijay hugged Ajit and wished him luck. The director Perarasu had directed Vijay's biggest hit of recent times, Thirupachi. It was reported that Perarasu sought Vijay's permission before agreeing to direct Ajit. Sada, the heroine in Anniyan, is Ajit's lady in this action film.

Noted producer R B Chowdhary's son Jeeva's Raam was an offbeat film in which Jeeva excelled as an autistic young man. The film was critically and commercially successful. It was but natural, then, that Jeeva's new film generated a lot of interest. This interest doubled with the news that it was directed by S P Jananadhan. Kamal Haasan, Vijay and Sarat Kumar were chief guests. Sarat Kumar rushed to attend the pooja after launching his own film.

It is interesting to note that Nayanthara is the heroine of two films launched on that day. She appears to be the most sought after heroine in Tamil now. She stars opposite Sarat Kumar in Thalaimakan, and opposite Jeeva in E According to earlier reports, she was supposed to do Ajit's Tirupathi as well.

Arya, the toast of Tamil cinema

New heroes with tremendous potential are making their mark in Tamil cinema daily. Like Jeeva, who unexpectedly impressed everyone with his superlative performance in Raam, Arya amazed everyone when all three of his films became surprise hits.

If Jeeva had his father as a film producer, Arya, a computer science engineer from Chennai, had no godfathers or fathers in the industry. His first two films, Ullam Ketkume and Arindum Ariyamalum reached theatres silently and without fanfare after remaining in the cans for quite a while. Both did extremely well at the box office because they were different and had good storylines. His third film Oru Kallooriyin Kathai also arrived quietly, but succeeded because of the novelty in its treatment.

Double entendre and S J Suryah

Double entendre, thy name is Suryah. His Film New -- now banned by the High Court for obscenity after a highly successful year at the box office -- was full of sex and double entendre. His new film Ah..Aah is no different. This time, the censors actually edited certain words, so audiences see mouths moving but hear nothing.

Aa..Aah  is about a press reporter and a rich wannabe businesswoman who share the same apartment. Much hype has been created about Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta living together in Salaam Namaste, and fighting all the time but, in Ah..Aah, all fights end up in bed.

It appears that sex and a Simran look-alike (Simran was his heroine in New) have not helped Ah..Aah much at the box office though. It is definitely not going to be another New.