The actor-producer and his newly-wed choreographer wife will throw a reception in Chennai and Hyderabad in the forthcoming days.

‘Singam’ features Surya in the role of honest cop while Prakash Raj takes on the antagonist’s role. It’s worth mentioning that both Surya and Prakash Raj have come together for the first time and Hari seems to have crafted a brilliantly paced screenplay.

South Indian film industry’s most happening actress Anushka stars opposite Surya in the female lead and comic Vivek is set to tickle funny bones with his hilarious quotients. Devi Sri Prasad has scored music and one of the duet songs choreographed by Brindha is being shot across the exotic locales of Dubai.

According to the sources closer to Studio Green Productions, the film is slated to release in April, as the summer holidays would benefit the box-office collections.

Nonetheless, let’s take a sneak-peek at this week’s other releases other than MNIK, which is creating waves all over. But first MNIK definitely deserves a mention.

My Name Is Khan: My Name Is Khan will have the widest release ever for a Bollywood film in the international markets. The biggest pull of MNIK is the comeback of Bollywood’s most sought after and celebrated on-screen couple SRK-Kajol. What does a movie need- an amazing storyteller Karan Johar and ultra-stupendous pairing of SRK-Kajol is more than enough for cine-goers to enjoy larger than life entertainment.

Pyaar Kaa Fundaa: Clearly a film that seems to be a forthcoming debacle. With no big stars to boast off and no known names, the film has taken a hit even before the release. With names like Yugbodh Garewal, Surbhi Shukla who are in the lead roles under the direction of?Monazir Hasan, the entire cast might have as well come from Timbuktu, as none of them ring a bell. Now the question remains will Shakti Kapoor, Kiran Kumar and Reema Lagoo make any difference. Alas! We don’t think so, as poor promotions have added to the disdain. Nonetheless, let the makers try their luck.

Sukhmani: Boasts of veterans Gurdas Mann, Juhi Chawla, Divya Dutta and Anoop Soni, which are likely to attract the cine-goers. Sukhmani has a fair chance but again poorpromotions have left the movie in a not very comfortable position. Strong word of mouth publicity if the movie is good may prove fruitful.

Overall, the chances of MNIK are strong as the Shiv Sena controversy is giving it a strong recall value apart from the big banner and bigger star cast. Looks like this week the major slice of box-office would definitely go to ‘My Name Is Khan’.

The film is produced by RS infotainment and Udhayanidhi Stalin of Red Giant Movies has acquired the rights now. Recently the censor board officials have certifiedthe film with ‘U/A’ certificate for the sheer depiction of romantic sequences between Simbhu and Trisha.

The film has musical score by academy award winner A.R. Rahman and all the songs have become chartbusters in audio markets. Earlier, Gowtham Menon had plans about releasingthe film on Feb 19 and with Ajith Kumar’s ‘ASAL’ yielding out better results at theatres, distributors have decided to screen the film in main theatres for next couple of weeks.

On pars, Sun Pictures has occupied most of the theatres for releasing ‘Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai’ hitting screens tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Udhayanidhi Stalin is busy publicizing the film across all his satellite channel networks.

Director Raj says, “The film was made with good technical values and it would reflect the mindset of the youth and highlight the contemporary issues. Preeti Jhangiani’s item song, chasing scenes, and Brahmanandam’s comedy would be highlights of the movie.”

Producer Rajasekhar says, “Already there was a massive response for the audio. The songs are so melodious to listen and at the same time their picturisation would also be that impressive. We are happy that the censor board members complimented us for bringing out a film oncontemporary issues.”

Sardar Patel, Suresh, Mahesh, Vinod, Vivek, Dileep (Raju), Gautham, Jayavardhan, Monisha, Divya, MS Narayana, Kishore Das, Allari Subhashini, Ramya Choudary and Ramakrishna are in the cast. Music is by Gana.

Rambabu Gadi Pellam. has already attracted the mass by the tag line ‘Vaadiki Aa Felinge Ledu.’. About the movie Producer M Venkateswara Rao says, ‘The film is a romantic comedy entertainer and he is producing under the banner Sitara Art Creations.

Producer Venkateswara Rao said “Naresh’s characterisation and his performance would impress the audiences well. Presently the DTS mixing works of the film are in progress at Prasad Labs. We are planning to launch the audio on February 16 and are making efforts to release the film on February 26.”

Kapuganti Rajendra has directed Rambabu Gadi Pellam. Ram Pinisetty has handled the camera and Kamalakar has scored the music. Geeta Singh, Kausalya, Pradeep, Ali, Venumadhav, MS Narayana, LB Sriram, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam and others are the cast.

Kiran Kumar is making his debut as a director with the film Kedi. Sivaprasada Reddy is producing under the banner Kamakshi Kala Movies. Camera has been beautifully handled by Sarvesh Murari and Sandeep Chowta has composed the music. Ankur, Nirmal Pandey, Akhilendra Misra, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, Harshavardhan, Tanikella Bharani and others are in the cast.

Beginning his career in the 1990 film ” Enquiry”, Girish went on to write lyrics for more than 2,500 songs in over 300 Malayalam films. Girish won the best lyricist state film award seven times. Veteran Malayalam film director Kamal said that he was fortunate to get all the best songs of Girish in his film.

“I am at a loss to say anything. He used to say that he kept a separate pen to write for my films,” said Kamal. Girish was presently writing the script of a film called “Raman Police”. The last rites are expected to take place near here Thursday.

Singer M.G. Sreekumar, who sang many songs written by Girish, said he has no words to describe the loss to the Malayalam film industry.

According to London’s Telegraph, the airport has labelled Shah Rukh’s claims “completely factually incorrect”, reports The Age.

BAA said the claims “simply could not be true”, insisting the scanners had no facility for printing images or storing them.

While on Jonathan Ross’s BBC talk show, the Indian actor had expressed his concerns over full-body scanners, saying they breach a person’s privacy.

“I came out [of the scanner] and then I saw these girls and they had these printouts,” Khan said.

He added: “So I looked at them, I thought maybe it’s a form you’re supposed to [sign] … and you could see everything inside.

“And then I’ve autographed them for them.”

The scanners are currently in use at Heathrow and Manchester airports

Launched amid the turmoil and destruction in Germany following the end of the Second World War, the Berlinale kicks off later Thursday with the premiere of Chinese director Wang Quan’an’s “Tuan Yuan” (Apart Together), a love story set against the conflict between Taiwan and mainland China.

But the festival’s public relations coup in securing the premiere of Polanski’s political thriller “The Ghost Writer” means that his movie is likely to take centre stage at the festival while the director cools his heels under house arrest for a 1970s case resulting from the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Even if the 77-year-old Polanski is not present for the movie’s Berlin launch, “The Ghost Writer’s” all-star cast, including Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, is expected to be in the German capital for the film’s screening.

The Berlinale normally brings a touch of glamour to Berlin during the bleak winter months.

This is especially the case this year with the festival having launched a mass action in the run-up to Thursday’s opening to try to clear the accumulation of ice from the streets around the Berlinale’s main venues after weeks of snow and sub-zero temperatures.

This year’s competition for the Golden Bear, which is to be awarded at a gala ceremony Feb 20, includes 18 world premieres and three debut features.

Independent directors in the festival’s 60th anniversary main competition seem to outweigh more well known names.

The festival line-up includes acclaimed independent film-maker Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg”, which tells the story of a middle-aged American man opting out of urban life. Legendary US director Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” will also be featured.

Starring Leonard DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley, “Shutter Island” is a psychological thriller set in the early 1950s, just as the Cold War was getting started.

Also in town for the 10-day Berlinale are likely to be top-liners Ben Stiller, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Penelope Cruz and Julianne Moore.

The guest list includes France’s Gerard Depardieu and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who is set to attend the premiere of his latest movie “My Name is Khan”, one of India’s most anticipated films this year.

Another Berlinale guest who might not be seen in public is the notoriously elusive British street artist Banksy, whose debut film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is to be screened in Berlin.

Now one of the world’s top film festivals, the Berlinale has developed a reputation for showcasing films with a conscience, screening productions which have hard-edged political and social themes.

This includes the premiere of Romanian director Florin Serban’s “Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier” (If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle), the story of a young man facing life outside a reform school.

Iranian-born Rafi Pitts also returns to the Berlinale this year with a drama “Shekarchi” (The Hunter) about a man who, seeking revenge for the death of his wife and daughter, kills two policemen.