The plan for 2009
It’s almost two months since anything official emerged from Kamal. There has been confusion involving Marmayogi, Thalaivan Irukkindraan and many other rumoured ventures. We sought help from reliable sources and here’s what they came up with. Take it with a pinch of salt, as they themselves don’t have a clear picture.
- Kamal has indeed bought the remake rights of A Wednesday, as rumoured. Kamal will do this movie quickly before starting on other ventures.
- Marmayogi will resume after this.
- There will be a break in between to accommodate 19th Step where Kamal is playing an important role.
Sounds reasonable? Read on for what’s been going on in the media.
A couple of Web-sites including ChennaiOnline.com reported that Kamal and Prakashraj were in the race for acquiring A Wednesday. While some felt that both could do the movie together, Mammootty is the rumoured co-star. While Mammootty sounds like a relishing prospect, the media coming up with his name after rumours of Mohanlal for Thalaivan Irukkindraan doesn’t seem like a co-incidence.
19th Step , a 50 million-dollar project, has been confirmed by Asin on several occassions. Kamal is said to be playing the role of a veteran Kalaripayattu expert. Check out news from The Hindu, Screen and Chitramala.
Another minor rumour was about Kamal doing a guest role in Maganae En Marumaganae directed by TP Gajendran. The makers supposedly want him to deliver a message on organ donation. We all know that he personally has gone all the way and donated his body for medical research and study.
While fans have mixed views of these ventures, they are more interested in Kamal making a formal announcement soon and kick-starting work on a new project.
[With inputs from Ananth]
January 5th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Guys,
I found this article on one of the blogs I follow,
http://www.charuonline.com/Jan09/KamalIndiaToday.html
January 8th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Its really so tiring being a kamal fan.I have to say this with great pain.why is it taking him so much time to com eup with a new project? There are the best directors who want to work with him.
Still what makes him drop projects like a newcomer ?
Actors like Aamir Khan are able to get our directors,actors,cameraman.
why not him?
Kamal should be responsible to his true fans !
This is not what we deserve ? we deserve to see you being at ur creative best again!
Please transfer ur creative ideas,projects to a proven director and make them
use you to the fullest?
someone like gautam menon,balki,bala,balu mahendra,singeetam,balachande, bharatiraaja,
etc
or why dont you try out a totally new,fresh but innovative film director!
January 9th, 2009 at 3:04 am
U raised a good point, nitin….Making a film is not necessarily to be in big budget only…An acclaimed actor/director of Kamal’s calibre should rely more on their creativity to churn out a movie…As a sincere fan of Kamal sir, I would like to see more films like Guna, Mahanadhi and Thevar magan, which I believe does not cost too much if we compare to likes of vikram, Aalavandan, indian or Dasavatharam..
At this moment, although I would like to see Kamal make Maruthanayagam or Maramayogi, if the economic situation does not permit, then do some low budget-high value movies (remake of A Wednesday, perhaps)
Whatever it is, even if you give a hit or a flop, you’re already up there..Nobody can change that..
January 10th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Thanks for the comments Mark,
but you missed my main concern regarding kamal,
I dont like to be a blind fan because if we become so we end up accepting whatever kamal does .
It will not let us be critical of him.
Sincerely I believe we have spoilt kamal by praising him too much.
and I also feel the kind of people he has for company too are spoiling him.
But i feel kamal’s creativity is not getting used by himself and
others mainly because he has to compete with the kind of films rajni
makes,the ones vijay,vijaykanth,satyaraj etc make.
I sincerely feel he is getting insecure about box office success.
I also feel he has complex regarding his educational background
which is not letting him work with the best of the highly educated
movie technicians in both tollywood and bollywood.
Also he wants to prove both his acting and creativity and he is not
sure which one to focus on at this point in his life.
Moreover tamil filmdom is a highly disorganised industry i believe.
There is no unity,one technician is too egoistic about the other and
kamal has imbibed all those traits being in the same industry for long
Its not a problem with rajni because he is just a obedient follower
of his fans and directors and he is not ambitious regarding being a
creative person.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
guys,
I just came across this link. Has a lot of info on 19th Step.
http://www.haf.org.hk/haf/pdf/project07/project1.pdf
January 12th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Thanx for that info, Karthik…
January 12th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Nitin:
Though I agree with some of the things that you mentioned, I have to disagree with most of them.
“I also feel he has complex regarding his educational background
which is not letting him work with the best of the highly educated
movie technicians in both tollywood and bollywood.”
For me thalaivar is one role model from whom I can learn confidence from. Whatever language he speaks (though he is not well versed in them), he does make an attempt to try and speak in them (based on the audience and language the interviewer poses question). He is not the kind who has complex about his educational background. Despite of the lack in acedemic knowledge, he has learned a lot out of his self interest. And frankly I don’t see a whole lot of highly educated technicians in tollywood and bollywood, other than Manis, Gauthams, handful of Cinematographers.
I guess you meant highly “experienced” and not “educated”
“and others mainly because he has to compete with the kind of films rajni
makes,the ones vijay,vijaykanth,satyaraj etc make.”
I doubt if thalaivar ever wanted to compete with Rajni, Vijai and the lot.
And there is nothing wrong in worrying about box office viability of a project. After all, he and others are in this field to make money and more importantly for thalaivar success is more important so that he can channel the profit back to his other ventures. At this point i have to point, if thalaivar had the wherewithal he would have produced Dasa and would have used the profit to fund Marmayogi. The useless Oscar not only pocketed most of the profit, he don’t care about briging the hindi version to light. He now goes on to produce a Hollywood movie with JC. That’s why it is more imporatant that thalaivar worry about box office success.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:35 am
IS 19TH STEP A MOVIE??? WHO IS THE ACTOR??
January 21st, 2009 at 1:14 am
Asin takes The 19th Step
http://movies.ndtv.com/newstory.asp?section=Movies&Slug=Asin+takes+%3CI%3EThe+19th+Ste&Id=ENTEN20090080580
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 am
Kamal’s next: the lull before the storm
http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-articles/movies-08/kamal-21-01-09.html
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Thalaiva you dont act like A wenesday you do medium budjet and classical film like Devarmagan,guna , mahanadhi we want such film now then you start marmayogi. pls thalaiva we are expecting your next good announcement
January 28th, 2009 at 7:05 am
To Supraja:-
Hi 19 Steps is a movie directed by Bharat Bala. Kamal, Asin r playing lead roles in it. It will release in 2010.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Taling about her films after Dashavatharam, the sensous beauty from South has one more tri-lingual project on her hand starring veteran actor Kamal Hassan.
“We start rolling much later in the year. It is directed by Bharat Bhala and AR Rahman is doing the music. I think this is the 3rd- 4th movie I am doing with Rahman and I am very fortunate. I am looking forward to that project. Kamal sir is playing one of the charaters in the film. The protaginist is a Japanese actor called Tadanoku Asan,” said the South Indian beauty.
http://www.apakistannews.com/asin-dazzles-on-filmfare-cover-103988
February 6th, 2009 at 12:32 am
After the stupendous success of Ghajini, Asin is busy learning the ancient form of martial art Kalaripayattu. The Ghajini starlet has signed an international project opposite Kamal Hassan called 19th Step. This is her second film with him after Dasavatharam. The film also stars Japanse star Tadanobu Asano in the lead.
Sources close to Asin revealed, “Asin will be portraying the role of a warrior princess and hence has been trained in the ancient art. A local instructor trains her everyday. This film will be her biggest project till date, as the budget of the film is 50 million US dollars and it is based on the theme of the origin of Martial Arts in Kerala. Asin and Kamal Hassan play important role in safeguarding these Martial Arts of Kerala while Japanese actor Asano plays a blood thirsty Samurai Kenji seeking to conquer the ancient Indian Martial Arts forms of Kalaripayattu (ancestor of Karate). He learns the tough 18 steps and masters the 19th step from an Indian guru played by Kamal Hassan while Asin will play a local princess.”
Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art form which originated in Kerala, India, was taken across the Himalayas by the Buddhist monk Bodhi Dharma to China, giving birth to Chinese Kung Fu. Kalaripayattu in its current form is 1,500 years old.
The movie will be directed by Bharath Bala and produced by Bharath Bala Productions and Walt Disney. It will be released in three languages: English, Japanese and Tamil. The shooting of the film will begin in the last week of June 2009 after Kamal Hassan wraps up Marmayogi and once Asin masters the art. It will be shot in Kerala.
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/2009/asin-19th-step-050209.html