Random Thoughts

It seems Mohanlal is going to do a film titled Nair San, in which he is going to be featured with Jackie Chan!

Hard to digest? The film will be shot in Mongolia, and will have a Japanese, Chinese and English version. It will be directed by Albert, who won the Aravindan award for his debut film Kanne Madanguka.

”Nair San is based on a real character, Ayyapan Pillai Madhavan Nair. He studied in Model School in Thiruvananthapuram and, during his school days, he got involved in the freedom struggle. He had to escape from the British—so he escaped to Japan via Sri Lanka and joined the war against British imperialism,” says Albert.

Albert had sent the concept script to Jackie Chan’s office and got a positive report from him. Later, he went to Hong Kong and is reported to have met Chan.

“The film’s shoot will start on September 1 in Mongolia and we are talking to Jackie Chan’s office to coordinate the shoot,” he says. “It is a historical period drama and will be shot by cameraman Vaidi. It is a big budget commercial extravaganza with a budget of around Rs 50 crore. The Morphous group from the Middle East is funding the project.”

When contacted, Mohanlal said: “I think it is a great opportunity for an actor like me to do the role of Nair San. My father had told me many years back about Sen’s daring exploits and he had met hi, too. I’m told that he used to stay in Poojapura, the area where I stay in Thiruvananthapuram.”

Mohanlal has given a 125-day call sheet for the film, which will be shot in Mongolia, Japan and Hong Kong.

Jackie Chan is planning to make a film about the recent devastating Chinese earthquake, which left almost 60,000 dead and more than five million homeless.

The 7.9-magnitude quake stunned the world and now Chan wants to do everything he can to help the shellshocked survivors - and that involves making a film about their plight.

The 'Rush Hour' star, who is an icon in China, is planning a meeting with the country's leading studio bosses and film financiers to discuss his movie plans.

He says: "There are so many touching stories (and) through this movie, we will be able to show the whole world what happened. This will also be another way to raise money."

Chan also plans to raise money through benefits for the victims and their families.

He tells America's People magazine: "I can spend six years doing a movie, but I can plan an event in 72 hours. An event we're doing on June 1 in Hong Kong will include more than 100 artists from Asia."

Chan has already visited hospitals, schools and the ruins of streets of houses in the areas worst hit by the earthquake, and he has already donated more than $1m (€627,475).

Complete Shanghai film fest coverage

SHANGHAI -- The pall of the recent earthquake in China hung over Day 1 of the 11th Shanghai International Film Festival on Saturday, sapping the event of the glitz it had begun to display in recent years.

The opening ceremony, clocking in at 30 minutes, was the shortest in memory and lacked typically long-winded speeches by Chinese government officials.

"The SIFF ceremony is very low profile this year because of the national mourning," said Yue-Sai Kan, founder of Yue-Sai cosmetics and a popular television hostess.

There were no limousines and no red carpet. Guests arrived at the Shanghai Grand Theater by bus, sedan and SUV and walked a carpet decorated with giant pink hearts to honor the 70,000 people who lost their lives in the May 12 quake in Sichuan Province.

Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai spoke briefly in support of the 5 million Chinese left homeless by the quake. A lifetime achievement award was given posthumously to Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, whose widow, Carolyn Choa, appeared on his behalf. Wong replaced Minghella as the festival's Jin Jue award jury chair.

Next, actress Zhang Ziyi was given the award for Outstanding Achievement in Film and Qin Yi, famous for her 1930s roles, was named the honorary recipient of the SIFF Lifetime Achievement Award for Chinese Filmmakers.

Chuck Boller, executive director of the Hawaii International Film Festival, was in Shanghai for a ninth year, seeking films for his lineup in October. "The choice of films gets better all the time," he said.

Boller praised Shanghai for approaching in quality South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival, also held each October. He noted, however, that China's most international city still failed to draw a large group of overseas guests.

Betty Brow, executive vice president of international banking at the Bank of Hawaii -- and one of Boller's festival sponsors -- was at the opening looking for investment opportunities. "We specialize in the film industry," Brow said. "We have the largest Chinese team of all the banks in Hawaii."

After the opening remarks, many guests left before the unveiling of the opening film, the Chinese documentary "Olympic Dreamers."

Tomas Prasek, co-founder of a Czech company whose technology helps stage film festivals, observed: "There's a movie going on which almost nobody is watching."