'Cycle' rides ahead of its Malayalam rivals

Kochi, March 5 (IANS) Director Johny Antony's "Cycle" is still going strong at the box office and debutant Vineeth Sreenivasan is getting a lot of mileage. There is no competition worth talking about and, therefore, the film will have a smooth ride in the coming weeks.


The top five Malayalam films are:

1. "Cycle" - Writer James Albert and director Johny Antony have made a contemporary film to which the youth could relate. Lead actors Vineeth Sreenivasan and Vinu Mohan are refreshing. The film is a true definition of a youth movie.

2. "Roudram" - Director Renji Panikkar doles out his brand of filmmaking with Mammootty at the helm of affairs. The star plays a police officer who won't bend before the powers-that-be but will bring everyone corrupt to the book. There is the typical topical air to the subject as the director has put in everything that has hogged the headlines over the last few months, which the audience loves.

3. "Sound of Boot" - A Shaji Kailas thriller, starring Suresh Gopi, has the settings changed to 1986 for the sake of novelty. Otherwise, it is the same old thing.

4. "Kadha Parayumbol" - The re-entry of Sreenivasan starrer into the list is prompted by the lacklustre performance of other films at the box office.

5. "College Kumaran" - This film adds itself to the list of flops starring Mohanlal, but remains here as a token due to lack of competition.

Dileep and Roshan Andrews Team Up

Director Rosshan Andrrews of Udayanaanu Thaaram fame (who also made Notebook) is all set to team up with Dileep in a forthcoming film.

To be produced by Karunakaran under the banner of Carlton Films, this Rosshan Andrrews-Dileep film will have Guinness Gilbert as the title. What is on the cards is a full length comedy film that will fully exploit Dileep's capabilities in the genre.

Discussions are still going on and more details regarding the theme and cast are awaited. Meanwhile it is to be remembered that Rosshan Andrrews had announced a Mohanlal-starrer named Casanova, but no news is so far heard of it.

Let's wait and see as to which one begins first.

Twenty:20 second schedule begins

The second schedule of the hugely-anticipated film Twenty:20 starts today. For starters, Twenty:20 stars almost all of Kerala"s superstars, including Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi and a host of sizzling beauties like Nayantara, Navya Nair, Kavya Madhavan, Bhavana and Gopika.

The film, produced by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), has around 50 prominent artistes appearing together. The first schedule was completed in February.

This novel attempt is directed by ace director Joshy. The second schedule kickstarts at Cochin today and continues till April 4. The unit is planning to shoot over 50 percent of the film in this schedule which is likely to hit screens by June.

cycle- review

Vineeth Sreenivasan stole the hearts of several of his fans with his splendid voice as a playback singer and rendering some real chartbusters. His fans have been eagerly waiting to see their favourite singer, in a new avatar; in the youthful lively film, Cycle and he has emerged successful, as an actor too.

Director Johnny Antony who us gave hit films like C.I.D Moosa, Kochavi Raju, Inspector Garuda and Thurugulan teams up with writer James Albert of Classmates fame, to give us a riveting youthful film. The movie set against the background of a posh shopping mall zooms into the life of two young boys hailing from different family backgrounds and having their own dreams.

City Centre is a classy shopping mall in Kochi. Roy (Vineeth Sreenivasan) an engineering college dropout, works as an accountant with Kausthuban, a private financing company, owned by Kasthuban (Jagathy Sreekumar). Sanju, a cricketer who has been thrown out of the Kerala Ranji team, now works as a salesman in a shop selling home appliances. Both Roy and Sanju hail from different family background and struggle to make ends meet with their meager incomes they earn from thier respective jobs in the mall.

Roy, is a close friend of Annie (Bhama), who works for a travel agency of the same mall. Kasthuban's daughter, Meenakshy is in love with Sanju and keeps moving around him, but Sanju hardly has any time for her. Roy is a fun loving guy while Sanju is a gloomy person.

Things take a new turn on New Year eve, as the close buddies Roy and Sanju are forced to rob a huge amount of money from Kasthubhan Financiers, landing them into a big trouble. The hot chase begins, and the young guys are having a huge amount of money in their hand. What new changes their lifecycle holds for them, forms rest of the plot.

Vineeth Sreenivasan is the real scene-stealer with an astounding performance, as a cool fun loving guy, Roy. His dialogue delivery, comic timing and screen presence is amazing. Vinu Mohan is magnificent. He compliments Vineeth beautifully and performs his role with precision. The superb onscreen chemistry between them is the major highlight of the film.

Sandhya is in her best form, giving a stunning performance. Bhama has done justice to her role. Other supporting cast, Jagathy Sreekumar, Sai Kumar, Ashokan, Haneefa and Shammi Thilakan are good.

Cameraman Shaji brings in some exotic locales of Bombay and Singapore. His camera generates sheer poetry on celluloid. Biju Bal's background music is simply extra-ordinary. Mejo Joseph's music gels beautifully with the theme of this colorful film.

If you have a wonderful script backed by good direction, you can surely appeal the young generation. And that's what makes Cycle, a thrilling entertainer! The director ensures the right mix of emotions, humour and suspense in the film. With a refreshing theme and a classy narration by writer James Albert and superb direction by Johnny Antony, the movie is sure to win the hearts of the audiences who are looking for newer ideas in today's films.

Viewers will surely enjoy the awesome ride of this new Cycle!

Jayasurya again with Mammootty

Young star Jayasurya will again star with Superstar Mammootty in a new film. The movie titled "Parunthu" directed by M. Padmakumar in the scripts of T A Rassaq will have Jayasurya playing the role of Vinayan, an important link in the hawala mafia, who is forced to seek support from shrewd private financier Purushothaman, the character played by Mammootty.

The movie will start its shooting by the last week of April.

Jayasurya was last seen with the super star in "Bus Conductor" one of the hits of 2005. The actor who is quite famous for selecting appropriate supporting roles that help him to become a part of super hits, was seen thereafter in many successful flicks like "Chocolate", "Classmates" and "Arabikkatha" to the latest "Kangaroo".

"Katha Parayumpol" breaking records

Sreenivasan's latest venture "Katha Parayumpol" will celebrate 100 days in 14 centres. This is the first instance in the last five years, in which a film is able to celebrate its hundredth day in more than twelve centers. The film which was released last December during the Christmas season was a slow starter but gathered momentum in a few weeks to become the best of the hits of the year.

The creaters of the movie are planning to hold the hundredth day celebration at Ernakulam, next month. Produced by lead actors Mukesh and Sreenivasan, the movie is directed by debutante M. Mohanan.

"Katha Parayumpol" also captured national headlines following the initiatives that various actors took to remake the movie in Tamil and Hindi. In Kollywood it was none other than Superstar Rajinikanth, who was much impressed with the movie and opted for a remake in the title "Kuselan".

The shoot for the movie is already on, and will hit the theatres by July. And in bollywood, Shahrukh Khan will don the cameo that Mammootty has done in the original.