CM distributes film awards
Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on September 19 distributed the state film awards for the year 2007 in Thiruvananthapuram. Adoor Gopalakrishnan received the award for best Director for Oru Pennun Randu Annum. Lal and Priyanka received the awards for best actors in their roles in Thalappavu and Vilapangalkappuram, respectively.
The ceremony concluded with a cultural event presented by cine artistes.
Umashree’s miraculous escape
Kannada actress Umashree, who bagged this year’s national award for best actress for her performance in the Kannada film Gulabi Talkies had a miraculous escape when the car in which she was travelling collided with a bus near Bidadi,about 30 kilometre from Bengaluru recently, police said, adding that while the car was damaged, she escaped unhurt and continued her journey to Mysore in another vehicle. The car hit the bus when it applied a sudden brake, they said. The 52-year-old actress is currently shooting in Mysore for the Kannada serial Tayi Shapa.
Kutty Srank at Pusan Festival
Mammootty’s Kutty Srank has been selected for Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea. Directed by well-known film-maker Shaji, the Malayalam film will be screened at the festival, which begins on October 8. It was screened at the Montreal film festival last month.
The first Malayalam film, produced by Reliance Big Pictures, it tells the story of a boatman from the perspective of three women. Padmapriya, Kamalini Mukherjee and Sri Lankan actress Meenakumari play the female leads. The film also stands out as it introduces the first woman cinematographer in Malayalam through Anjali Shukla.
Mohanlal, Resul Pookkutty to be awarded with doctorates
Malayalam film actor Mohanlal and Oscar award winner Resul Pookkutty will be awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit at Kalady in Kerala. A decision in this regard was taken by the university syndicate on September 22. University sources said that the award is in recognition of their services in their respective fields.
Prakash Raj out of Pokkiri remake
The latest buzz about the Kannada remake of Pokkiri is that Prakash Raj has opted out. Prakash Raj had played a key role in the original Telugu film and the Tamil version too. But since his dates clashed with some of his other assignments, he reportedly had to back off. Apparently it is Ashish Vidyarthi who’ll be playing the role instead. Darshan plays the hero in the Kannada version.
