Will Rajakumar and Shivaraj share the screen?

Is Kannada superstar Rajakumar making a comeback this year? That too in a film starring eldest son, Shivaraj?

His fans, who are still recovering from his abduction by Veerappan last year, can't wait to find out! But nobody is willing to confirm whether the father-son duo will co-star in a historical film.

Producer Rockline Venkatesh, known for big budget commercial extravaganzas like Preethse, is being touted as the man behind the venture. He was spotted at Jakkur airport when Rajakumar was flown in after his release last November.

If Venkatesh succeeds, this will be the ultimate casting coup, since Rajakumar has only acted in films produced by his family for many years. Only time will tell the avatar Rajakumar's Bhakta Ambareesha, which he was due to start shooting just before he was kidnapped, will take.

Tara is all smiles

Good times are here to stay for actress Tara. 2000 saw her win accolades in art film circles for her title role in Girish Karnad's Kannooru Heggadthi.

This time around, her personal life is giving her cause to smile. The fairly popular actress is engaged to Gautham who belongs to Sakleshpur, located in the heartland of Karnataka's coffee plantations.

Although Tara never made it to the top in Kannada cinema, she has 150 films to her credit. She may have played subordinate roles in films, but she was quite prominent on the small screen.

Stork visits Malashree

The millennium started on a great note for once popular actress Malashree, who is now married to producer V Ramu. She recently gave birth to a baby girl at Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

The actress, undisputed leading lady of Kannada cinema eight years ago, became unpopular within industry circles when she reportedly claimed that even if a dog acted opposite her, the film would become a hit!

Malashree, engaged to co-star Sunil at the time, lost her beau in a tragic road accident.

After her marriage a few years later, Malashree virtually retired from films. The actress made quite a comeback in Chamundi last year. The latest addition to her life may keep her off screen for a while.

Husband Ramu, who is known to produce big budget spectacles like AK-47 starring Shivaraj Kumar, looks set to set his sights higher.

Spate of Ramesh films

It took Ramesh several years to climb to the top in Kannada cinema.

Now that he has attained the coveted position, a spate of his films will hit theatres soon.

Last year did not see many Ramesh releases, but the next few months will see him more than make up for that. Most of them will be remakes, though.

While last week saw the release of Mahalakshmi, his other films Shaapa, Hoon Anthiya Oohoon Anthiya, a big budget film, Premi Number One and Kurialu Saar Kurigalu are waiting in queue.

Ramesh could find himself in the unfortunate situation of having his own releases displace his own films from theatres!