Rajinikanth shoots for Kabali first look poster

The first look of Superstar Rajinikant's upcoming film Kabali, directed by Pa Ranjith has been released. The first look poster has the superstar sitting on a sofa draped in a grey suit sporting a salt and pepper look with a blue shades. The superstar has one on the arm rest and the other over his head on the head rest. The Petronas twin towers can been seen in the background through the glass behind.

Today, Rajinikanth will start shooting for Pa Ranjith's Kabali, on ECR. The Superstar, according to sources, will be shooting for 50 days at a stretch (barring travel time to Malaysia, of course), so as to speed up the canning of the film, which is produced by S Thanu. This schedule, on ECR, is for 20 days, post which, the team will head to Malaysia. "The subsequent schedules of the film, according to sources, are in Bangkok and Japan," adds the source.

Goof-ups at 'I' audio launch

While the audio launch of director Shankar's magnum opus 'I' was a grand event, there were quite a few goof-ups during the show. First, the launch was scheduled to start at 6 pm, but the stars turned up late pushing the kick off to close to 8 pm. While the guest and audience were in the arena by 5.30, the crowd were getting a bit restless. But they were all on their toes once the launch started and were stunned by every aspect of the film.

The show hosts singer Chinmayi and actor Bobby Simha couldn't keep the crowd engaged either. Though both are stars in their own profession, their hosting talent was in question. While Chinmayi welcomed Telugu star Rana Daggubati, who wasn't present at the event, Bobby's was left speechless on quite a few occasions.

Actor Rana Daggubati had earlier in the day said on his social networking page that he wouldn't be able to attend the grand audio launch of filmmaker Shankar's Tamil magnum opus I. "Won't be able to make it to the 'I' audio launch this evening because of shoot. Will be missing a huge event. Missing a chance to see the legends on stage @Schwarzenegger and @superstarrajini," Rana posted on Twitter Monday.

Actor Vikram too thanked Rana Daggubati for coming to the audio launch even though he didn't. A mistake on Vikram's part is understandable, considering the fact that he isn't on social networking site and also because he was putting on his make-up for the beast character he was performing at the audio launch. But Chinmayi, who is active on social network sites, should have known or at least should have kept to welcoming the stars by actually spotting them.

Chinmayi's co host Bobby Simha was take aback when a person from the audience said on mic that he wanted to take a picture with Arnold when asked to sing in a high pitch.

Rajinikanth confirms on Lingaa and entering politics

Superstar Rajinikanth, who is currently busy shooting for Tamil film 'Lingaa', recently visited Mangalore for the shoot. The star actor was also surrounded by the media when he reached the Mangalore airport along with the film's producer Rockline Venkatesh.

When quizzed on the release on KS Ravikumar directed 'Lingaa', Rajinikanth confirmed that 'Lingaa' will release on December 12, as his birthday treat to his fans and the whole team is trying to finish the movie soon. Directed by K.S. Ravikumar, ' Lingaa' has Rajinikanth and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead with Jagapathi Babu in an important role, while AR Rahman is composing the tunes for the movie.

Answering to an often repeated question on him entering politics, Rajnikanth said, he will do that if God wishes so. Apparently when a reporter asked about what is his wish, he said, "God's wish is my wish".

The film's shoot is more than 80% complete and the final schedule of 21 days has been planned in Mangalore.

Rajinikanth impressed by Baadshah

Ever heard of one Baasha praising another? Well, Superstar Rajinikanth seems to have been quite impressed by Junior NTR's commercial potboiler Baadshah.

Rajinikanth is known to keep abreast of the latest releases in the industry; especially the impressive ones. A case in point being Junior NTR's super hit commercial entertainer Baadshah. The film directed by Srinu Vaitla has raked in the moolah both across the country and overseas.

Superstar Rajinikanth seems to have called the makers of the film and had appreciated their work. We also hear that the Superstar had urged them to remake the film in Tamil.

Dhanush, KV Anand team up

While it was widely reported that director KV Anand was one of the top contenders to do a film with Rajinikanth  post Kochadaiiyan, the latest news is that he will actually team up with the superstar's son-in-law Dhanush.

The Kolaveri star tweeted recently, "Yes guys...much 2 d delight of u all and myself i am doing a film with k v anand sir.the technicians are yet 2 be finalised. Shoot 4m august."

The director, whose last release was Suriya's Maattrraan, has been working on several scripts in the past few months. Instead of the routine practice of getting a star's dates and a producer first, the filmmaker has been in the process of finalizing the storyline first.

Andrea wants to work with Rajinikanth

It looks like Andrea Jeremiah's career is on a high now. The success of Vishwaroopam  has given a fillip to her career and the actress is already busy shooting for the sequel to the film, Vishwaroopam 2. The original had Kamal Haasan, Pooja Kumar, Rahul Bose  and Shekar Kapoor in the film and the film was declared a success at the Box Office. Andrea plays the female lead in Saradha Ramanathan's Puthiya Thiruppangal. She is also playing a pivotal role in the Jiiva-Trisha starrer Endrendrum Punnagai.

When quizzed the actress if she would like to work with Rajinikanth, she said that working with Kamal Haasan itself was a big surprise for her. "If I am indeed called to act with Superstar Rajinikanth how could I ever say no," she was quoted saying.

Cannes canned, but will it be a Japanese premiere for Kochadaiiyan?

Superstar Rajinikanth might not have gone to Cannes as was originally planned, but work on his upcoming Kochadaiiyan  is in progress, with the trailer of the film slated to be released soon.

So, why didn't Rajini head to Cannes? "We were initially planning to go there, but we wanted to ensure that the trailer was cut well and in the best format. That was taking time. So, we have rescheduled it and will be releasing the trailer soon," informs producer Murali Manohar. The director of the film, Soundarya Rajinikanth, had tweeted, "Trailer shaping out well. Working on more surprises... All efforts are going in to release it asap. (sic)"

Post-production work on the period flick is taking place simultaneously in Chennai, China and London. Meanwhile, the buzz is that either the film's audio launch or its premiere will be held in Japan, considering the fact that the actor has a huge fan following there.

Oscar winner A R Rahman, who is the music composer for the film, will start work on the background score soon and it's said that one of the songs, which has Rajinikanth crooning after a long time, will be the highlight of the music album. Interestingly, this special number will also be part of the making-of-the-movie video that will be released by the team soon.

Kochadaiyaan's trailer release!

The trailer of Rajinikanth's most anticipated movie Kochadaiyaan  will be released in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2013. The director of the film Soundarya R Ashwin updated the progress of the film in her micro-blogging page tweeting "Hey guys. Trailer is shaping out well. Working on more surprises. All efforts are going in to release it asap. Will keep u posted."

Deepika Padukone is playing the female lead and tunes are composed by A R Rahman. Sunil Lulla is producing this movie under Eros International with Shobana, Aadhi, Raadhika Sarathkumar and Jackie Shroff are playing prominent roles.

The post-production work of the film is underway currently. Directed by Soundarya Ashwin, daughter of Rajinikanth, the film is India's first movie filmed in motion-capture technology.

Rajini bonds with Sridevi!

For her private party held in the city recently, actress Sridevi had invited just about 50 people from Kollywood... and all of them were people who had worked with her in films. However, the surprise of the evening was the presence of Superstar Rajinikanth, who shares a warm rapport with the actress. Sources say that the actor surprised Sridevi by turning up for the do.

A source said, "Though Sridevi had invited Rajini, it was not confirmed if he would be able to make it. Everybody at the bash was expecting him but nobody was sure if he would actually turn up. When he finally arrived, Sridevi was surprised and overwhelmed. Apart from spending some quality time with Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, he also bonded with the other actors who were present at the bash."

Poornima Bhagyaraj, who attended the bash, said, "Rajini usually likes to bond with his 80's co-stars. Every year, he makes it a point to attend the re-union meet of the 80's actors with great enthusiasm."

Meanwhile, we also hear that Sridevi had roped in Vivekh to be a part of the celebration as he is the actress's favourite comedian. When CT contacted Vivekh, he said, "I have been Sridevi's ardent fan since my school days and was pleased to hear that she likes my style of acting. Also, it was nice to see Rajini and Sridevi, the superhit combo, come together after a long time."

Kochadaiyaan new poster released!

The most-anticipated film of the year is Superstar Rajinikanth's Kochadaiyaan. While the historical drama, produced by Rajini's daughter Soundarya and Eros, written by K S Ravikumar is expected to be released soon, Soundarya Rajinikanth  released a new look poster of the film through the social media.

The look clearly shows that Rajinikanth is playing a dual role as father and son in the period action 3D motion capture film. The film also has Sarath Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Deepika Padukone , Shobhana, Nassar, Aadhi among others. The film is expected to be a summer holidays' treat and the music scored by AR Rahman is expected to hit the stores in April.

The cinematography of this film which has been shot using motion capture technology in 3D, has been handled by Rajiv Menon. The producers of the film along with Sony Music are planning a big audio launch overseas for the film.

Kochadaiyaan surprise for Tamil New Year?

Rajinikanth's most anticipated movie Kochadaiyaan  may have its trailer release in Cannes Film Festival in May, but the fans who are eagerly awaiting for the film may have a glimpse of the star with a first look teaser which could be released on Tamil New Year day (April 14).