This story is from December 19, 2008

Good tidings for Xmas

Sreedhar Pillai / Dec 19, 2008, 00:02 IST

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Christmas might just bring cheer to Kollywood. Here’s what’s in store for movie buffs

Christmas, it seems, has turned into a new festival season for Kollywood. For the first time ever, there are going to be six releases from December 18 to 25, making it the biggest ever year-end bash.
The six films that are ready for release are �� Silambarasan��s Silambattam (Dec 18), Arjun��s Thiruvannamalai, Prakash Raj��s Abhiyum Naanum, Karunas��s Dindugal Sarathy (all on Dec 19) and Jayaram��s Panchamritam, Ravi Krishna��s Kadhalna Summa Illa (both on December 25).
It looks like the Christmas season is going to be bigger than Pongal 2009, traditionally the biggest season for new releases. Says Abirami Ramanathan, producer and leading exhibitor, ��My Panchamritam is releasing on Christmas day, because it is the time of the year when children and family audiences throng theatres.��
The trade feels that the pile-up of the ready-to-release films, which were lying unsold due to the recession and meltdown in the industry, are now going to hit theatres. There is no big star movie for Christmas and if they delay these releases then it would be suicidal to clash with big-ticket films like Vijay��s Villu or Bala��s Naan Kadavul, which are being primed for a Pongal release. Adds Tirupur Subramaniyam, leading financier and distributor, ��Never before has Christmas season seen so many releases. The backlog of movies should release before Pongal.��

Here��s a comprehensive list of films due for Christmas, and their USPs:
December 18 �� Silambattam. Cast: Silambarasan, Sana Khan, Sneha, Prabhu and Kishore. Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja. Director: Saravanan. It is Simbu��s make or break film, after the disastrous Kalai. In the film, he plays a dual role as father and son. After a long time Yuvan has bounced back to the top of the charts, with Where��s the Party? number. It is Lakshmi Movie Makers�� 25th film. Cinematographer Saravanan is turning director with this film, which is likely to take a fantastic opening.

December 19 �� Thiruvannamalai. Cast: Arjun, Sania Vakil, Sai Kumar. Music: Srikanth Deva. Director: Perarasu. A lot is riding on the film for Arjun and Perarasu as they need a hit to revive their careers. And this film might just be that much-required hit.
December 19 �� Abhiyum Naanum. Cast: Prakash Raj, Trisha, Ganesh Venkatraman. Music: Vidyasagar. Director: Radha Mohan. It��s going to be Trisha��s big day at the movies. From a glamour mainstream commercial heroine she is becoming the girl-next-door. Can the Prakash Raj-Radha Mohan duo repeat their Mozhi success?
December 19 �� Dindugal Sarathy. Cast: Karunas, Karthika, Music: Dhina, Director: Sivasanmukan. Karunas, the comedian is turning hero with this film produced by Sun Pictures. It is a remake of Sreenivasan��s Malayalam film Vadakku Nokki Yantran, and is said to be a fun movie. The big question being asked is whether Sun Pictures with their aggressive marketing can make this film a hit?
December 25 �� Kadhal Na Summa Illa. Cast: Ravi Krishna, Kamalinee Mukerjee, Sarwanand. Music: Mani Sharma. Director: Ilankannan. The film is a remake of the Telugu hit road movie Gamyam. It is Raj TV��s maiden foray into film production.
December 25 �� Panchamritam. Cast: Jayaram, Nasser, Aravind Akash, Saranya Mohan. Music: Sundar C Babu, Director: Raju Easwaran. The film is targeted at family audiences. Let us hope that all these new releases will bring cheer to Kollywood, which needs a couple of hits to revive its sagging box-office fortunes.

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