Kochi, December 18: “What is not art here!” exclaimed Mammootty, as the superstar visited the Kochi-Muziris Biennale today and took a view of the installations and paintings displayed at the Aspinwall House, the main venue of the three-month festival, in Fort Kochi. “See that flag-post over there…. Even that is a work of art,” said the celebrity actor, wearing cooling-glass and looking up at the cluster of green and yellow bamboo poles pitched in the central courtyard of the heritage building, where he was talking to the media after a 90- minute round of a variety of new-age art work.

Impressed with the magnitude and aesthetics of the work, Mammooty said the Biennale merited ticketed entry for the public. “I think we should all contribute towards the event…. A kind of token of appreciation to the effort behind it…. Say, a pass of Rs 10 for children and Rs 50 for adults….”

On whether he would make a donation to the Biennale, the actor turned to co-curator Bose Krishnamachari accompanying him and said: “Let us think about it, let’s discuss it.”

Mammootty said the Biennale was a “great event” that should make his native Kerala proud, given that Kochi has become the country’s first city host the festival that has a 117-year-old history globally.

“I come out (from the art venues) and see you all; now I get real. All this while I was in a magical world,” added the actor, clad in a blue shirt and jeans of a light shade.

Earlier in the day, two other Malayalam actors visited the Biennale. Babu Antony, after seeing the works, said he has been an ardent admirer of art, having been a painter himself during his earlier years in Bangalore.Actor Jishnu said it was particularly wonderful to see the Biennale providing the ideal kind of space for foreign and Indian artists. “The Biennale should have happened much before in India. Events like these would help us alter the notion that high art is only for the elite,” he said after a three-hour visit to Aspinwall.

Kochi seems to be getting fitness conscious. The increasing rate of our gyms and fitness centres bears testimony to the fact that we aren’t lagging too behind in the fitness scene. And yes, we have been hosting a number of fitness competitions recently which adds to it. Kochi will witness the state-level ‘Miss and Mister Kerala Fitness Competition 2011-2012’ on the 12^th of January 2012.

Bringing together fitness freaks from across the state, the show will showcase some real talents. The competition will be organized at the Gokulam Convention Centre at Kaloor. The event will be inaugurated by our very own superstar Mamootty and actress Shwetha Menon!! Well, you wouldn’t want to miss this event for them!

The competition being organized by Body Building and Fitness Association of Kerala will have selected participants from winners of various district championships. The winners will participate in the Senior National Championship which will be held at Karnataka on March 12.

Lots of prizes await the winners. You can win cash prizes as well. The event will carry prize money of 10 lakh rupees! So what is the icing in the cake?! The female winner of the event gets a cash prize of 50, 000 rupees and a chance to act in a Malayalam movie!!! The male winner will win a three day free trip to Dubai and a bike!!

Make sure you try your luck in this one, IF YOU THINK YOU ARE FIT!

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.

Tare Zameen par.
Veteran actors Mammootty, Mohanlal and ompuri will share the stage of DC Book’s Book fair inaguration today in kochi. Ompuri will be the chief guest. His wife, writer Nanditha Ompuri also will be an attraction on the stage. Mammootty with Mohanlal will be with them to enrich the cultural event. The Function will start at 6.30 PM at Marine Drive.

The Book fair will end on Feb. 12.