Three cheers to Trisha

Trisha was one of the three prominent personalities who came together in Chennai on Wednesday to honour the winners of a contest at the Silk Mark Expo, an initiative of Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

The other two special guests were veteran Bollywood actress Hema Malini and ace Carnatic vocalist Sudha Ragunathan. Interestingly, all the three happen to be the brand ambassadors of a popular textile chain in Tamil Nadu.

The 30 winners participated in an SMS contest that had questions on three varieties of the saris. They were selected through a lucky draw contest and were gifted silk saris, which were designed to give a blend of tradition and modernity.

Remember a couple of weeks ago Shriya Saran walked the ramp at an handloom expo organised by the same Union Textile Ministry.

Dhanush is 'Karuppu'

The name of the character Dhanush plays in his Pongal release 'Aadukalam' is Karuppu, say reliable sources in the unit. "It is a lively and rare role for any actor and Dhanush has performed it with elan," they say.

"He initially found it tough to master the Madurai slang for Aadukalam. However, he practiced hard and finally came out with a very good performance," maintain sources.

Elaborating more on Karuppu, they say, "He is one person who is so outspoken. This trait of him makes him land in troubles. How he overcomes everything is the crux of the story."

Songs from 'Aadukalam', set to tune by G V Prakash Kumar, have already become hits. Directed by Vettrimaran of 'Polladhavan' fame, the film distributed by Sun Pictures is expected to be a sure shot this harvest festival.

'Eththan' gets ready

After 'Kalavani', Vimal and producer Nazir of Sherali Films are gearing up to strike the box office with 'Eththan'. Shoot of the movie is in its final stages of completion, according to circles close to the film's unit.

Directed by L Suresh, the film would be as interesting as 'Kalavani', they say and add, "But at the same time, there would be no shades of the earlier venture of Nazir and Vimal."

Music is by Taj Noor, who hogged the limelight with 'Vamsam', the Arulnidhi starrer. "Eththan is about a youngster who uses his brain to be happy all the time," sources add.

To remind you, Vimal recently married his ladylove Priyadarshini, a medical college student, by taking a break for a couple of hours from the sets of 'Eththan'. "I am happy about the way Eththan is shot," he says.

What Hansika did last night?

At a time when the whole world was busy welcoming 2011 last night, Hansika kept herself away from all the celebrations that took place around her and chose to spend the New Year eve with herself.

"Well, I’m going to sleep at home on December 31 because I’m shooting from January 1. So yay! Going to sleep like a baby!," the actress wrote on her page on a microblogging website.

Meanwhile, Kollywood pundits have been predicting that Hansika would rule Tamil cinema in 2011 as she has not just one, but three promising projects in hand.

They are 'Velayudham' with Vijay, 'Maappillai' with Dhanush and 'Engeyum Kadhal' with 'Jayam' Ravi. It is to be noted that she is already an established face in Tollywood and Bollywood.

Suhasini hails Gautham Menon

Suhasini Mani Ratnam was all praise for Gautham Vasudev Menon at the audio launch of 'Veppam', a film produced by the director's production house Photon Kathas, in Chennai on Friday.

In her address, the actress-filmmaker said, "After Mani Ratnam, Gautham is the one director who shows Chennai life so beautifully in his films. At a time when Kollywood moving towards south, very few filmmakers make Chennai-based movies."

She also said that talent along would taste victory in the tinsel town. "Many with money are making their entry. But only those with talent and passion could excel," the wife of ace director Mani Ratnam said.

Songs of the film, composed by Joshua Sridhar of 'Kadhal' fame, were screened for the audience on the occasion. 'Veppam' director Anjana, R Parthiban, Nasser, Poornima Baghyaraj, Dharani, K V Anand, Priya and Balaji Sakthivel among others were present.