Ajith strikes gold

Ajith's Diwali release Varalaaru might have waited a long while to finally hit theatres, but the wait seems well worth it. Among all the Diwali releases, it's the only box office success. Vallavan came with a lot of expectations but bombed mainly because of the convoluted story. But one film that is doing reasonably well because of word of mouth publicity is E.

For Ajith, whose films get terrific openings next only to Rajnikant, the success of Varalaaru is a major victory especially because he has won plaudits for his performance. K S Ravikumar who gave Ajith a double role and a hit in Villain has this time given him a triple role and a bigger hit. This has made his next projects Aalawar and Kireedam hot properties.

Classmates still going strong

Lal Jose's Classmates was released during Onam, next to films starring Mohanlal and Mammootty. Then came the releases in the month of Ramzan, featuring Mohanlal, Mammootty and Suresh Gopi. While the Onam and Eid releases with the superstars bombed, Classmates still has houseful shows. The film is said to be one of the biggest hits in the history of Malayalam cinema. No wonder other languages are interested in remaking this sweet, romantic suspense thriller.

Interestingly, one film released much before Onam but still doing well is Mohanlal's Keerthichakra directed by Major Ravi.

Now, a Telugu Classmates

Classmates is soon to be remade in Telugu. It is being produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore and directed by Vijayabhaskar. Sumanth, Sharwanand and Sada form the cast, with Sumanth as the character originally played by Prithviraj.

"I saw the Malayalam original after I was approached," says Sumanth. "I liked it. It's a screenplay-oriented movie, different yet commercial. I wanted to work with Vijayabhaskar garu and this was a good opportunity. The combo of Ravi Kishore and Vijayabhaskar garu is good. It's a good project. The movie has to be adapted. It needs more detailing and certain changes are being made under Vijayabhaskar garu's supervision."

"In Malayalam it was shot in 34 days on a shoestring budget, but in Telugu it may be on a slightly bigger scale. It's an ensemble cast movie, and the whole movie is set in a college campus. The team is on the lookout for a fresh college campus for the shoot. Since it is spread over a time span of 10 years, care has to be taken about the time frame."

"I was asked to watch the movie and I said yes immediately after I saw it," says Sharwanand, all set to play the singer's role made memorable by Narain. "I liked the character and loved the film. I want to be part of good films with good characters. I did not want to miss this opportunity. Who would say no to such a big banner and director? I am confident that the effort will be to make the Telugu version good."

The shoot will begin in December. Let's wait and see whether the magic can be recreated.

Ramesh Arvind in Kamal's role

Even today, those who watched Kamal Haasan play a Sri Lankan in Tenali talk about his fantastic performance and the terrific comic timing he shared with Jayaram, who played his doctor in the film.

Now Tenali is being remade in Kannada as Tenali Rama and the man enacting Kamal's role is his best friend Ramesh Arvind. Arvind has acted with Kamal in several movies, including Mumbai Express. The film is being directed by Nagendra Magadi. The Tamil original was by K S Ravikumar, who is currently busy shooting Dasavatharam with Kamal.