We will be seeing more of Sachin Joshi

Despite the average success of his debut, Azaan, Sachin Joshi has now signed up for two interesting projects.

The first will be directed by Ankush Bhatt and will feature Mallika Sherawat as his co-star. The second will be made by Soham Shah of Kaal and Luck fame and he will have a record 16 leading ladies to keep him company.

CONFRONTATION

SEEMS like Prashant Narayan has taken his villain character from Murder 2 to the sets of Main Nahin Anna, a movie inspired by the life of social activist Anna Hazare. Apparently the actor got involved in a screaming match with director Manish Gupta on the choice of actor Manmauji to play the role of Hazare. The director has refused to back down, saying: "Prashant refused to shoot with Manmauji, arguing that someone else was supposed to play Hazare. It is true, actor Surendra Rajan was supposed to play Anna Saab. But Surendra had to opt out at the last minute. And we got Manmauji, who is a veteran comic actor with five decades of acting experience. I won't succumb to such pressure tactics. Prashant screamed at me and my producer Mridul Singhvi, 'How dare you cast a C-grade comedian to play Hazare?' But we know what we're doing. And Prashant better accept it."

SEQUEL

AFTER the runaway success of the action flick Dus in 2005, producer Nitin Manmohan has decided to make a sequel without the original director Anubhav Sinha, who recently directed Ra One. Instead Samir Karnik will direct the sequel, which should have most of the original cast including Abhishek Bachchan and Zayed Khan. There's talk that Deepika Padukone will replace Shilpa Shetty, who is expecting a baby.

NEW RELEASE

ONE of the year's most-anticipated films, 3, was released to positive reviews internationally a week ago. It stars Dhanush and Sruthi Hassan (7aum Arivu) in the lead roles, with Vijay TV presenter Sivakarthigeyan (Adhu Idhu Yedhu) and Prabhu also in important roles. The film features the international hit song Why this Kolaveri di which crossed the 50-million download-mark on YouTube a week before the release of the film. Good news for South Africans is that the movie will soon be released locally on the big screen.

EXPOSURE

DIRECTOR Soundarya Rajnikanth is trying something different with her directorial debut, Kochadaiyaan. In the past, there has always been a blackout of all information on any of Rajnikanth's films, with the cast and crew having to sign secrecy clauses before being allowed on set. However, Rajnikanth plans on maximum exposure this time, with a short feature on the making of the film being made available even before the completion of the first schedule. The cast and crew are in Pinewood Studios in London, completing the first schedule. Addressing the media in London, Rajnikanth said he was "90% better" and excited about the quality of Kochadaiyaan. It will be released on November 13.

FAME

MANDHRA, the actress who made her debut in Priyam and shot to fame in films such as Thedinen Vanthathu and Rettai Jadai Vayasu, is set for a comeback. The 30-year-old married actress has admitted that her return is mainly for financial reasons, but said she was eager to get back into films.

TRUSTED TEAM

EXCITEMENT is mounting over Thaandavam, which once again brings together director LVijay (Madrassapattinam and Deiva Thirumagall) and Vikram. The supporting cast includes Anushka Shetty, Amy Jackson, Santhaanam and Jagapathy Babu. The music is scored by GV Prakash Kumar.

COMEBACK

ARAVINDSWAMY has broken a 10-year hiatus from films with his role in Manirathinam's latest film, Kadal. While shooting on the beach, he fell and fractured his elbow but is determined to get back on set. Aravindswamy made his acting debut under Manirathinam's direction in Thallabadhi.