Kamal Haasan to chair Indian Screen Writers' Conference

Actor Kamal Haasan will be one of the chairpersons at the second Indian Screen Writers' Conference to be held in Mumbai on December 13th and 14th at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research.

This annual meeting is conducted by Film Writers' Association whose main objectives are to improve the status of Indian screenplay writers, to protect their rights, and to take Indian screenplay writing to higher standards.

Kamal Haasan, who is also an excellent screenplay writer and one of the panelists of Indian Screen Writers' Conference, has been invited to join the chairpersons of the conference this year.

Post Dasavathaaram (also spelt as Dasavatharam), for which Kamal Haasan wrote the story and screenplay, the thespian has gained a new status in the arena of screenwriters. Ramji Londonwaley (Hindi), Mumbai Express, Chachi 420 (Hindi), Anbe Sivam, Virumandi, Hey Ram, Thevar Magan, Virasat (Hindi) and many more films are examples of his skills as a screenplay writer.

The agenda of this conference: Screenwriters' rights, remuneration, credit protection and royalties; writing for TV; improvement of the standards of Indian screenwriting; and improvement of writer-director and writer-producer relationships.

The meeting is split into eight sections and each section will be chaired by an eminent and experienced writer in Indian Cinema. Kamal Haasan chairs the second and important session of the meeting.

When Kamal Haasan chairs the conference, the topics discussed would be: Writing for TV and improvement Indian screenwriting standards. It is pertinent that Kamal Haasan, a modern thinker full of pioneering ideas, has been chosen to chair the session which discusses ways to improve screenwriting.

The writers will not only discuss ways to improve the standards of screenplay writing, they will also draft a definite plan to help bring about this change. Bigwigs of Bollywood like Ashuthosh Gowariker, Subash Ghai, Javed Akthar, Rajkumar Hirani and Amol Palekar will also attend this conference.

Ajith in 'Asal' with Sameera Reddy

Ajith has started on his next project. After Aegan, Ajith has plunged into his next film with the verve and zest that is his deeply ingrained work ethic. The latest film called Asal, meaning original, will star Sameera Reddy. This hot, shapely star from Bollywood wowed Tamil audiences with her very down-to-earth and girl-next-door performance in Vaaranam Aaiyram. It was her sweet and heart-rending smile that did it for most of her male fans.

Produced under the Sivaji Productions banner, Asal will be directed by Saran. The project was initially planned with Gautham Menon. After that several names including Dharani and Vishuvardhan did the rounds, but now Saran is to handle the project. The film's music is by Harris Jayaraj. Saran will take up the project just as soon as he wraps up Modhi Vilayadu starring Vinay and Kajal Aggarwal. Colonial Cousins Hariharan and Leslie Lewis debut as music directors in Modhi Vilayaadu.

Asal casting

Casting

Following the announcement that Sivaji Productions, Ajith Kumar and Gautham Menon would come together, other technicians were added to the film. Menon’s usual apprentices, Harris Jayaraj was signed on as the music composer for the film, while lyricist Thamarai, was selected to write the songs. Later, Dharani reportedly replaced Gautham as director due to disagreements between him and Ajith over the script.[4] After Sivaji Productions considered directors including A. R. Murugadoss, Vishnuvardhan and A. L. Vijay for the film, they turned to Saran.

Prabhu Ganesan, also co-producer for the film under Sivaji Productions, cast himself to play an important role in the film. Whilst, Gautham Menon selected Sameera Reddy, who had portrayed the lead female role in his previous film, Vaaranam Aayiram to star opposite Ajith Kumar in the film. Sameera appears along Ajith Kumar for the first time, despite previously being entitled to appear opposite him in Citizen, which eventually went ahead without her. The other members of the cast and technical crew are being finalized.

Asal.... Asal.... Asal....

Development

Following the commence of production for Ajith Kumar’s Aegan in late December 2007, reports indicated that Ajith Kumar will act in a film produced by Sivaji Productions directed by Gautham Menon. Three months later, it was confirmed that the project would go ahead as planned as soon as both, the director and the actor finished their respective projects.

The film, which is due to start its first schedule during June 2008, has been built up as the final instalment in Gautham Menon’s police trilogy, following his two earlier ventures, Kaaka Kaaka; which Ajith Kumar was originally meant to be a part of and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. However other indications suggest that the film is the remake of the classic, Pudhiya Paravai starring Sivaji Ganesan, which Ganesan’s son, Prabhu, who is the producer for the project denied. The film earlier rumoured to be titled, Kanavugal Karpanaigal or Vaanam Kadandha Siragugal, was finalized with the title of Surangani, which was later abbreviated to Sura.[2]

The story was subsequently changed and Saran was signed up to the film.

The world will end in 2012, say experts

Several experts from across the globe are predicting that the earth is likely to end by the year 2012. The reason could be a human effect or natural disaster. From Chinese theories to scientific predictions the most likely date is the year 2012.

SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it’ll be humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it’ll be God himself who would press the stop button. The following are some likely arguments as to why the world would end by the year 2012.

Reason one: Mayan calendar

The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things -- building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it’s likely they’ve got the end of the world right as well.

Reason two: Sun storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic and it’s supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It’s been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.

Reason three: The atom smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world’s largest particle accelerator. Basically, its a 27 km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it’s properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

Reason four: The Bible says it

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn’t bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between good an evil, has been set for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

Reason five: Super volcano

Yellowstone National Park in United States is famous for its thermal springs and old faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple -- it’s sitting on top of the world’s biggest volcano and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

Reason six: The physicists

This one’s case of bog -- simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berkely University have been crunching the numbers. They’ve determined that the earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they’re claiming that their calculations prove that we’re all going to die, very soon. They are also saying that their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 per cent; and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

Reason seven: Earth’s magnetic field

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that shields us from most of the sun’s radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call North and South have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so -- and right now we’re about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30 kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is under way, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.