Pongal Films

With over Rs 40 crore riding on it, Pongal 2006 is going to be Kollywood’s most expensive Pongal bash ever. The big clash is between reigning superstar Vijay’s Aathi and Ajit's comeback movie Paramasivan. And then there is Silambarasan, a pretender to the throne, who has also thrown in his towel. Prabhu and Murali are there as observers with their Pasakilikal, as `Captain' Vijaykanth and his Perarasu are likely to sit out of the Pongal race.

For Ajit, Paramasivan is the most crucial film of his career as he needs a hit badly for surviving in this dog-eat-dog industry, where only the box-office counts. Ajit's recent track record has been miserable -Anjaneya, Attakasam, and Ji, all of which have turned out to be flops. But now that he is on the comeback trail, the law of averages should help him. But above all, he has a director in P.Vasu, who, through his expertise in the movie business, has just delivered the biggest hit of all time.

As far as Vijay is concerned, he desperately wants Aathi to be a hit for the sake of his dad S.A.Chandrasekhara, who is the producer of the film. SAC, as he is popularly known as, had stopped production about seven years back and, believe it or not, all the films that he produced with his son as the hero were flops! Now SAC is all set to change his luck, after following the advice of a leading numerologist who made him change his name from Chandrasekharan to Chandrasekhara! Aathi has been sold to distributors for a record Rs 19 crore, due to Vijay’s new found superstar status.

Silambarasan is one actor who relishes taking on the established stars. He feels that he has an audience of his own, and is confident that Saravana will be the Pongal dark horse. Simbu is also taking a big risk as he is unofficially the producer of the film and is virtually distributing it in most areas. Simbu and his dad are taking one of the biggest gambles in their life. You really cannot rule out Saravana becoming a hit as K.S Ravi kumar, the director, knows how to dish out movies with mass appeal.

What is a family tear-jerker like Pasaikilikal doing in the midst of all these actioners? A good question, but the Prabhu-Murali-Navya Thankachi Pasam, written and scripted by the great man Kalingar Karunanidhi, may appeal to the female audience, especially in B&C centres.

When reports last came in, a panchayat (a meeting of financiers, distributors and the producer) was being held to sort out issues concerning our Captain’s long pending release, Perarasu, which was slated to release on this Pongal.