It is confirmed. Surya is the 'surprise' element in Revathy Varma's June R, a film that has generated a lot of curiosity and interest among the public mainly because of the casting coup Revathy has managed.

It has three strong actresses -- Saritha, Khushboo and Jyothika -- playing equally important roles in a woman-oriented film, a rarity these days. It was rumoured that no hero wanted to be in the film, but Surya came to the rescue, thanks to his alleged girl friend Jyothika.

Though it was widely reported that Biju Menon was the surprise hero, it is Surya. Of course, Biju Menon has a very important role as well. That makes for two surprises!

Vikram bowled over by Chaandupottu

Chaandupottu, an Onam release with Dileep in the lead, is a big success in Kerala [Images]. No, it is not the usual Dileep comedy; it is the story of a boy who was brought up by his grandmother as a girl. The grandmother, who longed for a girl, dressed up her grandson as a girl, with pottu (bindi), kajal and all accessories.

Even as a young man, Radhakrishnan, who prefers being called Radha, enjoys women's accessories and walks, talks and acts like a woman. He is not gay; he is simply brought up like a girl. Finally, thanks to the efforts of many male friends, he slowly learns to live and behave like a man.

Not even once has Dileep gone overboard as Radha, and his restrained performance has won him many admirers outside Kerala too. One among them is last year's national award winner Vikram. He was so enamoured by the story, presentation and performance that he immediately decided to do a remake in Tamil. Audiences will soon see him wear the kajal as well. Vikram is currently shooting the film Maza in Pollachi, a remake of the Mammootty hit, Thommanum Makkalum.

A super hit for Mohanlal

The last hit Mohanlal had was Udayananu Tharam. All his films following that have been duds at the box office. At last, he has a super hit on hand. Among the Onam releases, it is his Naran, a commercial masala film that hit the real jackpot. All three major Onam releases (the other two are Mammootty's Nerariyan CBI and Dileep's Chandu pottu) have been successful.

The Mohanlal starrer that is really being looked forward to is director Blessy's Thanmatra, where he plays a government employee at the state secretariat in Trivandrum. The film is about the monotonous life a middle-class employee leads between his office and home. In the office, he is surrounded by files; at home, he teaches his children, helps his wife in the kitchen and does the shopping.

After Udayananu Tharam, Mohanlal finally gets a role that has life in it. From the director who made Kazhcha, we can definitely expect a good film.

Kamal Haasan [Images] in the US

No, he is not shooting for Gowtham Menon's Vettayadu Vilayadu in the US; he is preparing himself for a unique role, rather roles with various 'get-ups'. Striving hard to do something different all the time, Kamal Haasan's next assignment after VV is going to be Dasavatharam in which he will be seen in ten different roles.

The film will be directed by K S Ravi Kumar and a team that has, in the past, made films like Avvai Shanmughi, Tenali and Panchathantram. As usual, for such fare, dialogues are by 'Crazy' Mohan.