Britain-based Indian filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra has put on hold his project to make a film on Sonia Gandhi because he hasn't got any concrete reply from the Congress president. She has said she will let him know after the general elections next year. "I'm afraid a lot of inaccuracies and fabrications have crept into the reports in India about my Sonia project. Yes, I did meet her but she has not given the nod to the project. Nor has she said no," said Mundhra. "She was gracious but noncommittal and extremely genteel. She wanted to know if biopics were made about living people. I pointed out several films on Nelson Mandela. I told her I didn't want to make a film about Sonia the politician, but about two individuals from disparate backgrounds who fall in love and make a life together." Mundhra narrated several anecdotes on Sonia's early years with Rajiv that he had collected in the course of his research. "I told her things she thought no one knew. When she came from Italy to England, she went to a school of languages in Cambridge to learn English. I also told her about the bakery in London where Rajiv used to clean the chimney in the night, about that bird in a nest in his room in London for which he wouldn't close the window in the night so the bird could return home and Soniaji's fondness for the ice creams that Rajivji took her to have at India Gate."Sonia seemed convinced by Mundhra's sincerity. "But I repeat, she has neither said yes nor no," concludes the director. "I've been asked to hold on till the general elections in 2009."

There is going to be no 2008 Onam releases in Malayalam! It has never happened before as Onam is the biggest festival season in Kerala, when biggies release. The long Onam weekend falls between September 10 (Wednesday) to 14 (Sunday). However the month long Noyambu (Ramzan fasting period) starts on September 2 and will go on till Perunaal day (Ramzan) either on October 1 or 2. During the Noyambu season collections plummet, as people mostly in Malabar keep away from cinema. So as of now the Onam releases that are being planned are Mohanlal's off-beat art film Aakasha Gopuram (in pic) on August 29, Jayaram's long delayed Paarthen Kanda Paralokam on September 5 and a few other small films waiting to get playing time. Meanwhile the holiday weekend starting from October 1 (Ramzan) and Oct 2 (Gandhi Jayanthi) , will be the bumper weekend followed by Pooja holidays October 7 to 12. All biggies are targeting this huge holiday season. In Malayalam there will be a clash between the old warhorses Mammootty with his Maya Bazaar (tentatively on Oct 1), and Mohanlal's Kurukshetra (tentatively on Oct 2). Pritviraj's Thirakatha ( likely on Oct 9) is also scheduled during that time.

The actress who won the prestigious National Award for her performance as a rustic belle in the film 'Paruthiveeran' shot back at reporters when asked as to why she has hiked her remuneration. 'What is wrong in hiking my salary? Do you expect me to work for a fixed amount all through my career?' the actress questioned. When asked if her remuneration was 40 lakhs now, she said, 'I don't want to disclose as to how much I am paid now, but I wish it was 40 lakhs', she laughed. Priya Mani also made it very clear that she does not want to be typecast with a particular role. Ever since she made a successful portrayal of a village girl in 'Paruthiveeran', hordes of directors offered her similar roles. 'I played a glamorous girl in 'Malaikottai' after 'Paruthiveeran' because I want to be known as an all round actress', she says. Priya Mani is gearing up to work with Mani Ratnam and this could boost her career to tremendous heights.

After a long sabbatical Fazil, has decided to do a Malayalam film. He will be directing a film for the first time with Dileep. The film titled Moses.B. Samuel produced by Johnny Sagarika will start in September and will be completed in one schedule and will be a Christmas release. Dileep is basically an actor comfortable doing comedy films so Fazil has made it a light hearted entertainer laced with sentiments. He is looking for a new girl to play the heroine's role. The film will have music by Ouseappachan and camera of Anandakuttan.

Mohanlal and his 'Man Friday' producer Antony Perumbavoor of Aashirwad Cinemas have said goodbye to their long standing association with Central Pictures, the oldest distributors in Kerala. Aashirwad and Central have produced and distributed a string of Mohanlal films- Rasathantram, Naran, Baba Kalyani, Ali Bhai, Innathe Chintha Vishayam etc.Now Central Pictures has backed out of Aashirwad's new project, a sequel to Mohanlal's super hit 1991 film Irupatham Nootandu, written by S.N Swamy and directed by Amal Neerad, who debuted with Mammootty's Big B. Central Pictures Alex George was offered the new film by Antony, on Minimum Guarantee (MG) basis, but the distributors thought it was a big risk. They feel Malayalam cinema has become risky business, and has decided to keep away from it. Now the latest we hear is that Mohanlal, Antony and a group of close friends have decided to start a film distribution company along with a television channel. In short, Mohanlal will be going back to film distribution, something he had done eight years back!

One of the most eagerly awaited films, long in the making was the Joshy directed Twenty:20, produced by AMMA. The film's star cast boasted of almost the entire Malayalam industry, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Jayaram, Pritviraj, Indrajit, Bobban Kunchacko etc. They have also got a special appearance of Nayanthara. The shoot of the film is almost over but for the climax. The trouble is that the superstar's due to their inflated egos are playing a one-man-upmanship game between them. When Mammootty has dates, Mohanlal is unavailable and when both are ready for the shoot Suresh Gopi does not report for the shoot! This tug of war has been going on for the last three months making producer Dileep (he is producing it on behalf of AMMA) go crazy. Dileep has sworn that he will start his next film only after he completes T:20, which is dragging on like a test match! Now the latest we hear is that AMMA itself may call for a meeting of its members to sort out the ego issue between its members and try to complete the film. A one week schedule of the film is to take place between August 5 and 12. Let us hope the superstars turn up for the shoot to complete its climax scenes in Ernakulam.

Ajay Devgan, who is busy shooting for his animated venture Toonpur Ka Superhero, says his complexion might metamorphose into green because he is constantly shooting against a green backdrop. "It looks like I am going to turn green without the presence of chlorophyll in me, reason being, I am shooting only against green background for this film," Ajay wrote on his blog www.ajaydevgan.net. Ajay described his long engagement with the project and added: "This will be the second schedule, which will last till the first week of September."The actor says he is enjoying the experience."It is so much fun when I watch myself on an off line monitor and realise the way I am going to look as I perform along with the animated characters in their toon world."He also mentioned that there are more than 200 people behind the scenes, working round the clock creating, developing and synchronising the characters.

Parvathy who made her debut with Notebook in Malayalam is one actress who is sure to make waves in Kollywood. After doing couple of films like Flash and Vinodayatra in Malayalam, she went on to do Milana a Kannada film opposite Puneethkumar (remake of Mani Ratnam classic Mounaragam) in which she had a meaty role and a runaway super hit. Now Parvathy has completed Poo, a film produced by Moserbaer which is an off-beat touching story set in a rural milieu. It is directed by Sasi, who has directed three films Sollamale, Rojakoottam and Dishyum. Parvathy is said to have come out with a stunning performance which is sure to win her a couple of awards. And after seeing the rushes, she was very keen on dubbing for herself which surprised the director as it has the rural Madurai slang. Parvathy took it up as challenge and successfully completed the dubbing and the film is in post-production stage and will be ready for release by year end. The film has Srikanth as hero and the entire supporting cast and technicians are debutants.

Pyramid Saimira is doing a novel thing for children. The first day first show of Kuselan in Chennai has been earmarked for children from an orphanage in Chennai! The first ever public show of Kuselan will be held at 9 AM on Friday, August 1 at Pyramid Saimira run 1200- seater Woodlands Pyramid near Roypettah clock tower in Chennai. Children from many orphanages in Chennai city will be invited for this special screening. Says P.S Saminathan, the Managing Director of Pyramid Saimira: "Children of all ages are Rajinikanth's biggest fans. Kuselan is a family entertainer with a cute message on friendship. One of its major plus point is the scene where Vadivel acting as a crazy fan of the superstar meets him for the first time. Vadivel's comedy scenes with Rajini will bring the house down."

It seems South India's Next Best Thing Asin is determined to take her success-quotient to a high a level in Bollywood as it is in Tamil and Telugu cinema. No false moves no slip-ups for this stunning sensation who is being touted as a blend of Hema Malini and Rekha. Just recently, Asin gave the nod to three biggies with Aamir Khan (Ghajini), Salman Khan-Ajay Devgan (London Dreams) and last but certainly not the least, Akshay Kumar (Aise Ko Taisa). Now the news is, Asin is out of Priyadarshan's comedy with Akshay Kumar and according to her polite father, "There's a date clash with the promos of Ghajini." However, Priyadarshan is more forthcoming. "The Akshay film is a three-heroine project. I don't think Asin would be comfortable with that. My producers Venus are looking into the matter of the heroines. We start shooting in November. So we've ample time to find the girls."As far as Asin is concerned, the signal is loud and clear. This girl is here only to do author-backed central roles. No less.

If it’s bitchy, if it’s sexy and, if it’s naughty…it’s got to be Channel [V]’s launch pad for aspiring models across the country – Get Gorgeous. As a 5th phenomenal season drew to a close last night, one exotic butterfly fluttered to the nectar, proclaiming victory to one and all. Iris Maity, amid much fanfare and regalia, was crowned Get Gorgeous 2008 when Pia Trivedi placed the coveted butterfly behind her. The beautiful and graceful Iris was stupefied and did a classical imitation of a beauty pageant winner in full ishtyle. The moment almost single-handedly marked the completion of her transition from the pretty girl next door to supermodel/actor. The winner announcement was preceded by a soiree which included a fashion show exhibiting designer duo Rahul Khanna and Rohit Gandhi’s latest line designed exclusively for the ‘gorgeous’ girls. The evening witnessed a host of celebrities like Rocky S. Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Hard Kaur, Koel Puri, Nandini Jumaani and the hot and very sexy, Kelly Dorjee, to name a few.After Mumbai, Kerala and Paris, Iris, along with the other two finalists, Gwen and Salome, returned to Mumbai to claim the title. When asked to comment on her experience on the show, Iris, gushing with excitement said, “While I never doubted my abilities, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I’d actually win. This has been a tremendous learning experience for me. I can’t thank Channel [V] enough for providing me with this platform to go ahead and realise my dreams.” As winner of Channel [V] Get Gorgeous 5, Iris walks away with a neat Rs. 1 million contract with Channel [V] and ICE Model Management.Ice Model Management is a multi-faceted modeling company churning out pure talent. With a team of many years of expertise, the Ice team has sourced, moulded and encapsulated many talents. Thus, creating a reputable profile in the mesmerizing world of fashion.Ice is also affiliated with agencies in France, UK, Germany, Croatia, Dubai, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and South Africa, hence can cater to the Indian Fashion Industry with the best international models.

Actress Genelia D'Souza might face a possible ban from the Tamilnadu Artistes' Association for not becoming a member of the association even after five years as an actress. Genelia started out featuring in an ad for the product Fair and Lovely. Impressed with her performance in the commercial, director Shankar cast her in 'Boys' and then the floodgates opened for her. She then starred in many Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Genelia paired with Vijay in the film 'Sachin' and then tasted sweet success playing a naïve and yet sweet girl in 'Santhosh Subramanaiam'. The Tamilnadu Artistes' Association had in fact informed her to become a member many times but failed to receive any communication from her. An official letter has now been sent to her underscoring the point of a possible ban. Many of the actors who featured in 'Chennai 600028' have also been dispatched letters as they too have not yet become members of the association.
Interestingly, actresses Nayantara, Trisha and Priyamani became members very recently after pressure for the association

Actress Gopika who got married to an Ireland based medical practitioner Ajilesh recently was at Velankanni church with her husband to give thanks to God. Gopika had already announced that she'll be visiting the church for a thanksgiving prayer for giving her a good husband. Thousands of fans came over to have a glimpse of her. After the prayer service, she had to be escorted by police personnel to her car.