Kochi movie buffs had a real treat this Friday. With more than four movie releases a day, what more can they ask for!? From the highly acclaimed ‘Dam 999’ to the funky ‘Desi Boyz’, Malayalam flicks ‘Naayika’ and ‘Swapnasanchari’ in the leads, theatres around the city (including multiplexes) were flooded.

Dam 999 was in the news for a lot of reasons. Yes, you got that right. The Mullaperiyar dam issue definitely gave the movie a boost to its marketing, and we must admit that we are all pretty keen on watching the movie (all thanks to the Mullaperiyar issue). The movie directed by Sohan Roy is receiving mixed responses, and hence you need to watch the movie yourself to determine whether it caters to ‘your’ choice.

‘Desi Boyz’ needs no introduction. Akshay Kumar and John Abraham have proved that they are crowd-pullers. Not to forget the very ‘hot’ Chitrangada Singh and Deepika Padukone playing the ‘love of the heros’ lives’.

Jayaram seems to be having a super week this time. With two his flicks released, this superstar would definitely fetch a huge audience. Malayalam flicks ‘Swapnasanchari’ (directed by Kamal) and ‘Naayika’ (directed by Jayaraj) are movies appealing to the family crowd. So if you are sitting jobless at home, or whether you are in the mood for ‘family’ time, the best thing is, go watch a movie. Make sure you do not miss them!

We at Kochivibe got to ask the hot and new face of the Malayalam film industry, Mamta Mohandas a few questions. The heartthrob who acted in the recent movie Anwar has been making headlines ever since her entry in the film industry in 2005. She has been lucky to work with some of the big names of the Malayalam movie business like Jayaram, Mammootty, Amal Neerad and just recently female fan’s favorite, Prithviraj. She sports a new look and it looks really good on her, fresh and modern would be the apt description.

Interview
KV: Great opening for Anwar, Prithviraj says it was a bigger opening than Enthiran in Kerala, how does it feel?
Mamta: As good as one can feel when a movie taken regionally makes it bigger here than a film which the whole world is talking about. The point is tat great opening means more viewership.. That’s good for the actors and the producer alike.

KV: Amal Neerad, The director is renowned for his bold new style of film making, defying convention. Anwar is supposed to be raw in your face filmmaking.. your thoughts on this change in malayalam Cinema.
Mamta: I have been associated with this change that Amal has brought about from his first movie Big B. Choosing to work with him again is clearly my way of expressing the fact that I love the way his movies create anticipation and restlessness in the audience to watch the film even before he’s done making it. An actor is imprinted in a viewers mind depending on how the director sees and presents him. Over here we have the added benefits of Amal being a great cameraman.

People look for too much perfection in an already visually perfect film and hence complain about his scripts. He chooses to do scripts which will complement the beauty of the film more than just telling a great story. This change should be embraced by film makers and audience alike. Its because of this reason that Tamil and Telugu industries which were once on par with us have moved up n flourished, now to finally compete with Bollywood films, when we are still sitting back watching everything, wasting time in criticism.

KV: Your new look is great, Is this part of an upcoming role?
Mamta: Just a great make over. Makes me feel reborn.. Not many noticed that I had it in Anwar’s last song Nhaan. But now having some highlights it looks even hotter. Will be using it in a film soon.

KV: Your tattoos look interesting.. Any significance worth mentioning, where did u get it?
Mamta: Its a tattoo which says ‘Om Sri ganeshaya namaha’ and it simply signifies my positivity in life. The design is mine and I got it done in New York last January.
God dwells inside me and not in any external force. Devotion is in my positive approach to life. If we need to fight a situation in life, its the strength of the mind which finds the solution. We seldom realize this.
A help that comes from outside too is purely invited by vibrations radiated from the self. Hence Ganesha is a celebration of that thinking.. Joyous n Happy!

KV: Your take on cinema on a whole, your approach to it and outlook.
Mamta: Nowadays Cinema is pure entertainment and fun. I’m still happy when I think about the day cinema chose me.. At the time I was quite clueless about how a films made and neither was I an avid watcher of films. Iv enjoyed my journey so far and the more I work, more I learn and it goes on. Never would I get rid of it.
Just as everything around us changes, cinema has and so has our audience. And this challenge makes it difficult for legends to b made anymore, no more movies and songs Which will become classics for the coming generations. Cinema has been but is now more a business. Make a film which will keep people gripped and will invite more to watch and make producers happy. That encourages more films to be made.. And its a chain reaction. I’m happy to be a part of that chain.. Lol.

KV: Any favorite directors and actors you want to work with?
Mamta: The list is long. In Malayalam.. Sathyan Anthikad was one director I craved to work with. I still feel like working with him. Then there’s Kamal sir, with whom I was to work but it Could not happen. Then its Lal Jose. Other names include Actors like Surya and Ranbir kapoor are the ones I adore the most.

KV: Are you getting on twitter, like many of your co-stars.
Mamta: Been tweeting since March. You may follow me on @mamtamohan

KV: Your Kinda cinema, Indian and International.
Mamta: Anything which has atleast 30Mins of new content which catches my attention could be called my kinda cinema be it Indian or international. No genre barriers.

KV: Bollywood aspirations
Mamta: I’m holding discussions for a Bollywood film at present.

KV: How’s the singing going?
Mamta: Rocking as ever.. I wonder how I get so many hits with such little effort in singing and its the other way around in acting with great efforts.. What a turn of event.. lol

KV: What is your kind of Music.
Mamta: I don’t like music.. Because I hate what it does to me. I go nuts! There’s nothing like great music.. Music is just great.

Thanks Mamta for taking your time in giving the interview.

You can also catch a video of an interview taken by SS Entertainment on Sunday the 24th at 7 pm on their channel.

Mamta's recent release Anwar

The Lux Sandal Southscope Cine Awards 2010 celebrates cinematic talent from four south Indian film industries; Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada and will be held at HICC (Hyderabad International Convention Centre), Hyderabad on September 19. The awards is held honor those who helped to make South Indian Film awe-inspiring for all cinema-goers.

Mr. Moorthy Sreenivasulu, M.D. & Publisher, Southscope announced at a Press Meet that “We want to honour the originality and excellence of filmmakers, actors, technicians and artists across the four South Indian film industries viz. Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.” Various Film Stars Rima Kallingal and Shammu also spoke on the occasion and disclosed the nominations from Malayalam film industry.
The theme of the awards is ‘South is One’.

The Awards ceremony will celebrate and honour cinematic talent in various categories such as:

Best Film – 4 languages

Best Actor (Male / Female) – 4 Languages

Best Director – 4 languages

Best Music Director – 4 languages

Best Singer (Male / Female) – 4 languages

Best Supporting Actor (Male / Female) – 4 languages

Best Comedian – 4 languages

Best Lyricist – 4 languages

Best Cinematographer – 4 languages

Sensational Debut – 4 languages

Lifetime Achievement

The impressive guest list that is to grace the Southscope Cine Awards 2010 comprises of the who’s who of South Indian cinema. Apart from the nominees & other stars,expect to see other mentionable’s like Chiranjeevi, Vikram, Suriya, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Puneet Rajkumar, Venkatesh, Ramcharan Tej, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, Shriya Saran, Reema Sen, Prabhu Deva, Nayanthara, Jyothika, Vijay, Simbu, Namita, Soundarya Rajnikanth, Upendra, Ramya & Pooja Gandhi.

As an interlude to the presentation ceremony, there will be electrifying performances by prominent film personalities. Genelia, Tamannah, Mamta Mohandas, Charmme, Sruthi Hassan, Reema Sen, Vijay, Yash, Arjun, Bharat and others. The current Indian Idol, Sriram will also be giving a performance.

Now a look at the nominations from the Malayalam film industry.

LUX SANDAL SOUTHSCOPE CINE AWARDS NOMINATIONS-MALAYALAM

Best Film
Pazhassi Raja
Bhramaram
Evidam Swargamanu
Paleri Manikyam

Best Director
Hariharan – Pazhassi Raja
Blessy – Bhramaram
Renjith – Paleri Manikyam
Ranjith Sankar – Passenger

Best Actor
Mammootty – Paleri Manikyam & Pazhassi Raja
Jayaram – Bhagyadevatha
Mohanlal – Bhramaram & Evidam Swargamanu
Prithviraj Sukumaran – Puthiyamugham

Best Actress
Swetha Menon – Paleri Manikyam
Kaniha – Bhagyadevatha
Mamta Mohandas – Passenger
Priyanka – Vilapangalkkapuram

Best Supporting Actor
Manoj K. Jayan – Pazhassi Raja
Sarathkumar – Pazhassi Raja
Nedumudi Venu – Bhagyadevatha
Pasupathy – Vairam

Best Supporting Actress
Padmapriya – Pazhassi Raja
KPAC Lalitha – Bhagyadevatha
Suhasini – Makante Achan & Vilapangalkkapuram
Nitya Menon – Kerala Cafe

Best Comedian
Jagadheesh – 2 Harihar Nagar
Salim Kumar – Chattambinadu
Suraj Venjaranmood – Ivar Vivahitharayal
Jagathy Sreekumar – Crazy Gopalan

Best Music Director
Vidyasagar – Neelathaamara
Deepak Dev – Puthiya Mukham
Ilaiyaraaja – Bhagyadevatha
Mohan Sitara – Bhramaram & Soofi Paranja Katha

Best Male Playback Singer
K. J. Yesudas – Adhi Usha Sandhya – Pazhassi Raja
Shankar Mahadevan – Pichavacha – Puthiya Mukham
V. Sreekumar – Anuraga Vilocha – Neelathaamara
Venugopal – Kuzaloothi – Bhramaram

Best Female Playback Singer
K. S. Chithra – Kunnathe Konna – Pazhassi Raja
Shreya Ghoshal – Chanthu Thottille – Banaras
Shweta Mohan – Priyanu Mathram – Robinhood
Sujatha Mohan – Muthe Muthe – Kanakanmani

Best Lyricist
O. N. V. Kurup – Kunnathe Konna – Pazhassi Raja
Anil Panachuran – Kuzhaloothum – Bhramaram
Kaithapram – Pichavacha – Puthiya Mukham
Sarathchandra Varma – Azhithira – Bhagyadevatha

Best Cinematography
Venu – Bhagyadevatha
P. Sukumar – Passenger
Ajayan Vincent – Bhramaram
Ramnath Shetty – Pazhassi Raja

Best of luck guys.