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From Chennai to Pichavaram with a detour that took the crew to Malaysia and the U.S., ‘Dasavatharam’s locations have been impressively diverse. To be simultaneously released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, the buzz is, the magnum opus will be an incredible example of technical perfection that matches international standards. The action choreographers from Hollywood have created some of the most difficult stunt sequences — CG had no place here. “Their small tricks and wonderful equipment helped me and Asin perform the stunts without any risks,” says ‘Dasavatharam’s inimitable hero, Kamal Haasan.

After the wedding that created more hullabaloo than a hit movie, and a whirlwind of a honeymoon, Srikanth is now busy shooting for ‘Ettappan’ in and around Chennai. He pairs with Navya Nair for the first time. The title suggests stabbing-in-the-back kind of role, but insiders insist that more than terming it negative, you could describe the character as astute. “The story is bound to be a big draw,” says the film’s director R.K. Vidyadharan. The soon-to-be released Sarath Kumar starrer, ‘Vaitheeswaran,’ will mark Vidyadharan’s Tamil debut, though he has already directed Upendra for the Kannada film, ‘News.’

It has been a marathon session in Malaysia for the unit of ‘Billa.’ Every picturesque nook and corner of Malaysia has been captured by lens man Nirav Shah, during the 70-day stint. And producer L. Suresh is a happy man. “It’s a very stylish version of the previous ‘Billa,’” he says. The basic line is the same as the earlier Rajini film, but changes have been made in the screenplay, you hear. Ajit’s intro in ‘Billa’ has been conceived and canned with such finesse that the impact will be tremendous, is the optimistic refrain in the camp. The makers are waiting for Rajini’s date for the audio release, soon after which ‘Billa’ will arrive with a bang!

‘Tamizhan,’ with Vijay was A. Majith’s first film. The director is now into his next project, ‘Ki. Mu,’ starring new faces Hasan and Saarika. “It’s based on true life incidents,” says Majith, who’s taken permission from his friends to base the film on their lives. Even the shooting is going on in the actual locations. But the unexpected happened recently. Saarika and Hasan were seated in a bus. Charanraj and his henchmen were supposed to enter, beat them up and drag them away. The camera was placed at a discreet distance. Not realising that it was a shoot, the public got petrified and the police surrounded Charanraj. Of course, the unit had a lot of explanation to do!

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