Kajal joins Vivegam last schedule, starts app for fans

By the end of this week, Kajal Aggarwal will be joining the last twenty days shoot of Ajith’s Shiva directed Vivegam.

According to sources, the actress plays Ajith’s wife in the film and her role is said to be very crucial in the film.

Meanwhile, the Thuppaki and Jilla actress has launched a personalised app of her, to keep in touch with her fans.

Designed by EscapeX, a New York-based company, the app offers Kajal's fans various exclusive customised content and details about her personal and professional life.

She will also interact with her fans directly through the app.

Speaking to reporters, she said, "This is a platform where my fans can directly get in touch with me and talk to me by downloading the app.

I am not overtly active on various social media platforms. If I am working on a film, I can talk about that, otherwise I have a life."

Rajinikanth not support anyone at RK Nagar

Clearing the air on speculations, Superstar Rajinikanth today said he is not supporting anyone in RK Nagar by-poll.

He posted on his Twitter page: "My support is for no one in the coming elections".

His clarification has come even as there were rumours that he would support the BJP. It may be recalled BJP candidate and Rajini's good friend Gangai Amaran met him a few days ago.

After the meeting, his son and director Venkat Prabhu tweeted: "Today our thalaivar @superstarrajini met and wished my dad for his political victory in #RKNagarByElection #happyson #GangaiAmaran."

In 2014, before the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi met Rajinikanth at the latter's residence, it may be recalled.

EC freezes AIADMK symbol, name; OPS 'shocked', Dinakaran 'ready for fight'

The Election Commission (EC) froze the ‘two leaves’ poll symbol of the AIADMK late on Wednesday, a day before the last date of filing nomination for the by-election to the R K Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, which was necessitated by the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

The EC gave both factions time till 10 am on Thursday to choose new symbols to contest the crucial R K Nagar bypoll.
It further remarked that it needs more time to read the voluminous documents submitted by both factions.

The decision came after the EC heard the rival factions of O. Panneerselvam and V.K. Sasikala, who had staked their claim to the symbol.

Pending a final resolution of the dispute, the factions have also been barred from using the party’s name in the bypoll.

“A deeper examination and more closer look would also be required to the various provisions of the party constitution on which both the groups relied to buttress their submissions on factual and legal basis.

No one would grudge the fact that it is almost humanly impossible to study all the aforesaid records running into more than 20,000 pages and to analyze the oral submissions made by the learned senior counsels for more than six hours continuously, and then come to a definite finding or conclusion on the disputed questions of facts and law,” the interim order said.

While Panneerselvam expressed shock and vowed to retrieve the symbol, TTV Dinakaran said it is not a setback. "We will wage a legal war and approach the Supreme Court," he said.

Vijayakanth hospitalised, DMDK says routine check-up

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam president Vijayakanth was admitted to Miot Hospitals in Chennai in the early hours of today.

Confirming his hospitilisation, a statement from his party however said he was in the hospital for routine general health checkup.

Requesting party workers not to visit hospital, it said that the 'Captain' would return from the hospital in a day or two.

Recently, Vijayakanth used a new strategy to boost the failing morale of the party workers. Titled Ungaludan Nan (I am with you), the event saw him posing for a click with his loyalists and their families to drive home the point that he is with them.

The event at Chidambaram and Panruti saw hundreds of cadre throng the venues for the one for the family album.

Ungaludan Nan is part of the DMDK top brass’ plans to pump fresh energy into the rank and file after the demoralising drubbing in the last Assembly election, where the party tally was zilch.

Last week, Vijayakanth announced that DMDK will face the by-poll in RK Nagar on its own strength.

He also said the party's North Chennai district secretary Mathivanan will be its candidate. He has requested DMDK members and office-bearers to work hard for the victory of Mathivanan.

Rajini to unveil housing project in Sri Lanka

Superstar Rajinikanth will hand over to Tamils keys to 150 homes built for them by Gnanam Foundation on April 9 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Rajinikanth’s visit to Jaffna is likely to attract a huge crowd as he is also expected to speak at a public meeting organised in Jaffna.

The foundation, which has been named after Lyca Group chairman Subaskaran Allirajah’s mother, has constructed these homes at a cost of Rs. 22 crore. Subaskaran is the producer of Rajini's upcoming film 2.0.

Meanwhile, the shooting of Rajinikanth's mega budget film 2.0 in Chennai was marred by an unsavoury incident on Wednesday when two photo journalists were allegedly assaulted by the crew for questioning the blocking of a road.

Though the agitated journalists initially lodged a police complaint against the concerned crew members, they withdrew it after the film director Shankar expressed regret.

It is also reported that Pappu, an assistant director of the film, was detained by the police. The journalists decided to withdraw the complaint, following Shankar's regret.

Dhanush's Pa Paandi trailer makes waves

The trailer of Dhanush's directorial debut Power Paandi has been released. The title of the film has been changed to Pa Pandi to avoid English word in the title which would help in getting tax excemption.

Speaking to reporters, Rajkiran, who plays the lead role in the film said "Dhanush has great respect in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and he even forays into Hollywood now. For his status, he could have cast Rajinikanth in his directorial debut but approached me instead".

"Prasanna jovially explained about how I carefully observed when Dhanush enacted my scenes, yes it was intimidating. I've have done only 50% of what Dhanush performed, had I exact replicated his performance, people would have seen a new Rajkiran", he added.

In his address, Prasanna said, "Earlier, I used to envy Dhanush's success but only after working with him, I realised why he is at the top of his game."

Dhanush said, "Positivity is the core theme of Power Paandi. The moment Rajkiran sir came on board, I took it as a blessing. Watching his smile and the way he performed is endearing".

The film under Wunderbar productions banner has a star cast that includes Dhanush, Chaya Singh, Rajkiran, Revathi, Prasanna, Dhivyadarshini, and Gautham Menon. Dhanush plays a cameo as the younger version of Rajkiran.

Housejoy Salutes the Spirit of Acid-Attack Survivors

To celebrate the true spirit of womanhood, Housejoy’s ‘Joy Squad’, in association with Atijeevan Foundation in Bengaluru and Chennai; brought joy into the lives of a few acid-attack survivors.

Atijeevan Foundation is an organization that works to empower acid attack survivors, by helping them become economically independent. They also guide them with medical and legal assistance as required.

Housejoy reached out to Atijeevan to see how they can collaborate with them and do something for these women. To start off, as a tribute to their spirit, ten survivors were pampered from head to toe through Housejoy’s beauty services, giving them the opportunity to explore and enjoy services that they would normally shy away from.

The brave women, who went through a great ordeal to stand where they are today, were not just thrilled but their self-confidence and dignity doubled up, after the pampering session. Commenting on the experience, Rathnamma from Atijeevan Foundation, said, “We had a great pampering session and loved it to bits. We are often termed as victims but the truth is we are fighters. I am glad that Housejoy took the initiative to celebrate our lives and show the world how capable we are in front of others.”

Another heroic survivor Akiamma, said, “I am so indebted to the Joy Squad team from Housejoy for taking time to spread joy to each one of us, here. Some of us have never had a pedicure or manicure in our lives and this experience is going to be an unforgettable one.”

Speaking on this initiative, Pragya Singh, Founder & Secretary, Atijeevan Foundation, said, “The effects of acid-attack can be very daunting. We have been working hard to help these survivors in this lifelong battle by bringing happiness in their lives, in every small way possible. I am really grateful to Housejoy, for helping us in our mission by going one step ahead and making these people happy from the comfort of their homes.”

Athijeevan foundation has been fighting for the empowerment and rehabilitation of acid attack survivors for more than five years now. It strives to open the doors of opportunities for the survivors to earn their living with their own skills and talent. The organization even guides them with medical and legal assistance with the help of a team of professionals and donors.

Saran Chatterjee, CEO of Housejoy, said, “The goal behind the Housejoy’s ‘Joy Squad’ initiative is to bring joy into the lives of people. The tales of these acid-attack survivors is nothing short of inspiring, and we salute the spirit of these women who make every effort to make a mark for themselves in unconventional roles.”

About Housejoy:

Housejoy is the leading provider in the home services space. They are pioneers in providing high-quality on demand residential services, supported by a team of dynamic, capable and trusted professionals. Housejoy launched in January 2015 to provide an aggregation of services to customers ensuring punctuality, quality and reliability. They perform a wide variety of services ranging from maintenance and home repairs to high quality plumbing, electrical services, home cleaning and computer repairs. Housejoy additionally offers specialized services in beauty and in-house bridal make-up and are expanding their service portfolio. Housejoy will also take care of your laundry and dry cleaning, with pickup and delivery right at your door step. Within a short time, Housejoy is operational in 5 cities across the nation and has raised 4 $Million funding in series A from Matrix Partners and has raised 22 $Million in series B led by Amazon and included new investors Vertex Ventures, Qualcomm and Ru-Net Technology Partners

For more about Housejoy, please visit: http://www.housejoy.in/