He debuted as a villain, went on to become an anti-hero and finally ended up as a showbiz supernova: a superstar in every right. The Periya Thaliavar of Tamil filmdom has had the people of Tamil Nadu sway to his histrionics, characteristic mannerisms and punch dialogues for years (he is known as “Style Mannan” for his screen presence). With every movie he does, he just seems to get bigger and better, so much so that the people of Tamil Nadu in recognition to his contribution to Tamil cinema have unanimously crowned him “Superstar.”

Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, he is ‘Rajnikant,’ to the common man. Rajnikant walked up the ladder of success in life and films methodically. Born on 12 December 1949, to a lower middle class conservative Maharashtrian family in Bangalore, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad worked as a conductor with the Karnataka Road Transport Corporation before he discovered his hidden talent for acting. And since then, there was no looking back. With perseverance and strong will he managed to sail through the many vicissitudes in life to arrive at what he is today.

Rajnikant joined the Madras Film Institute where he learnt his first lessons in acting. It was here that he was noticed by K.Balachander, his mentor. Balachander who had a knack for sporting talent, gave Rajnikanth his first break in the movie ‘Apoorva Raagangal.’ It was an inconsequential 15-minute screen presence but he did not lose hope.

It was with ‘Moondru Mudichu’ that he came to the spotlight. ‘Moondru Mudichu’ defines many of his firsts: he plays a character with negative shades, charms us with his famous ‘cigarette flip,’ and sweeps us off his feet with his chaste style of dialogue delivery and punch lines. The film bombed at the box office, but the star Rajnikant was born and people started to sit up and take notice of him.

Producers went all out to capitalise on this new “wonder” called Rajnikant, and a string of films projecting him as an anti-hero, with all his stylish mannerisms in full swing, were released in quick succession.

‘Bhuvana Oru Kelvikkuri’ first saw him in a positive role. Essaying the role with his usual style, he established himself as a hero able to do varied roles; this also earned him a fan base from all walks of life. What followed then was a string of blockbusters, the likes of ‘Pokkiri Raja’, ‘Thanikkattu Raja’, Naan Mahaan Alla’, ‘Moondru Mugham’ and ‘Nettrikkam’.

Rajnikanth became a phenomenon. He was the numero uno who could decide the roles he wanted to play. Increasingly, he chose roles portraying people from various walks of life and films that also held a social message. This way he struck a chord with his viewers who regarded him as one of their own. He put to shame the greatest superstars of Indian cinema and his popularity soared. It came to such a point where he could influence electoral results in Tamil Nadu. But he was careful enough not to become an MGR in the making.

‘Sivaji’ is the superstar’s hundredth Tamil film. It is his ninth movie under the banner of AVM Productions. The film is directed by Shankar and produced by M. Saravanan and M.S. Guhan of AVM Productions. The film also stars Shriya Saran, Suman, Prakash Raj, Vivek, Raghuvaran, Manivannan and Nayantara.The music has been composed by the mastero A.R.Rahman.

The hype and hysteria surrounding the release of his latest blockbuster ‘Sivaji-The Boss’ has been the talk of the town. His fans have been waiting in anticipation for two years for the release of the movie, ‘Chandramukhi’ being his last outing at the box-office.

According to media reports, Sivaji premiers at Seattle, US, on June 14. It will also be released in Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia and will hit Indian screens on June 15. The Tamil Nadu government is expected to give it the tax benefit. ‘Sivaji’ will be released with approximately 400 Tamil and 300 Telugu digital prints worldwide.

The trailers and movie clips have created interest among the audience and they are all set to lap up what ‘Superstar’ Rajnikanth has to offer when ‘Sivaji’ hits the box office this weekend.

Anyone who makes therapeutic cinema in choleric times deserves a kudos. Dharm is a film that needs to be made mandatory viewing in all schools across India if we really want to build a secular nation, without giving up on our traditional heritage. More importantly, it needs to be screened — free public viewings — for each and every fanatic organisation that exists within our country and in every communally sensitive town, kasbah, colony. Finally, it should be made compulsory viewing for some of our political leaders — and we won’t take names — who have made a killing out of orchestrated communal frenzy and caste violence.

Dharm is not an ordinary film. Its power lies in the fact that it gives us a progressive interpretation of religion, straight from the head pontiff who has pursued a life of misconstrued religiosity. A respected Brahmin priest, Pandit Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapoor) has dominated the spiritual landscape of Benares with his strict adherence to the traditional tenets of practised Hinduism. Like all conventional priests, he believes in caste and communal differences and his world almost falls apart when he realises he has adopted a Muslim child. The foundling who became Karthik for him was actually Mustafa, a child lost in the communal carnage that had ripped the city apart. When the child’s mother returns, the Pandit not only hurriedly gives him up, but also undergoes days of penance to purge his home, mind, body and soul, supposedly defiled by the presence of a non-believer.

Is this the true essence of Dharm? No, declares the Pandit, when the city begins to rage once again in the communal cauldron and his followers brandish their sharpened swords in half-burnt colonies. Set against the scenic backdrop of the Benares ghats, the film ends up equating Dharm with its true tenets: the world is one big family; any discrimination on the basis of colour, caste and community is anti-dharm. Pankaj Kapoor towers like a colossus amidst the dying social fabric and what could have been a didactic sermon on spirituality, turns up as uplifting soul curry.

Jiah is finally in news about her upcoming movie! After making rave news about her debut with Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd and Ramu being extremely interested in his new discovery, Jiah has now bagged a precious role outside her mentor’s arena. This girl surely has luck following her as every co-star she works with is of star status. Jiah has got the golden opportunity to work with Bollywood’s perfectionist Aamir Khan. She has been signed as his second heroine in Kajiri- the same role for which Ayesha Takia, Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra were slated.

A source confirmed, “Yes, Jiah Khan has been signed on as one of the leading ladies along with Asin. In the storyline, one actress plays a part in the past and the other actress plays a part in the future. While Asin has been roped in to play the first part, Jiah has been cast in the latter role.” Well, well, well looks like this girl is going to make it really big in Bollywood!

While most girls her age were occupied with trivial things, Geetanjali knew that fashion was her forte. A Navy officer’s daughter, she studied at the most reputed institutes, Mount Carmel and Lady Shri Ram College. She went on to study fashion design at South Delhi Polytechnic.

Seems like Geetanjali always knew that flashbulbs were what she was meant for. What she didn’t know was that midway, one wrong step would put paid to a promising career and start her on the downward spiral.

Human memory is short. And fickle. Few designers or models claimed to remember Geetanjali. Why just designers? Her own mother and sister have not laid eyes on her for the past two years! Nor have they come forward to claim her since her rescue.

Gitanjali was always the experimental, creative type. Recalls a friend,”She would mix two shades of lipstick to create a brilliant new one. She would try out different eye make-up, she liked to do alternative shoots in black and white - Gitu was always different. She loved the tanned look and would come back with a beautiful bronze tan every time she went to the beach”

Mated locks, dirty clothes and unhygienic conditions. Was it the pressure of a demanding career or bad company that took Geetanjali towards the dark lanes of drugs? Her life is known to have become merely a passage for men, walking in and out. She married Robert, a German, against the wishes of her family and had a son, Arthur, with him. And then, one fine day she walked out from here too in search of that elusive freedom .

For anyone who has known Geetanjali, it’s nearly impossible to believe that the girl who begs the dhabawala for food and sleeps in a temple is really her. Almost always spotted in a black top and skirt, she went about the streets carrying a bundle of books and sometimes even walked in to the fashion stores of Hauz Khas village

Maybe it was the fast life of Mumbai that she couldn’t cope with or maybe it was something else - but Geetanjali did lose her best years, spending them away from the glitz and glamour she had always dreamt of, in grit and grime. Her son Arthur is nearly five years old today and is unaware that he has a mother walking the streets of Delhi somewhere. His father Robert is trying to get tickets to fly down to India for her. This sure is one fairytale that went very wrong…

While one of the Chopra scions is set for a divorce, this one is going ahead with his marriage plans. Uday chopra is all set to tie the knot with Tanisha, Kajol’s sister, by the end of this year. The two have been seeing each other for the last two years and are now ready to get married. The couple has the consent of their respective and is now waiting for them to fix the marriage date.

It all began on the sets of Arjun Sablok’s ‘Neal ‘N’ Nikki’. Uday and Tanisha started off as friends but soon started dating each other. Their reel story, unfortunately, was a flop, but their real story seems to be doing rather well. The couple started thinking seriously about marriage during the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwariya Rai wedding reception. Kajol is believed to have jokingly suggested that the couple should get married. That seems to have the ball rolling. If all goes well, then Neal will get his Nikki and we will a happy ending for this love story too.