05/05/11 ~ MOVIES FACTORY

After being in the news for over three months, superstar Rajinikanth's Rana is finally falling into place. The first look of the film has been official released and as expected, the actor strikes your eyes with his new avatar.Rana will kick-start today with a formal puja at the AVM Studios, Chennai. A huge set has been erected by art director Rajeevan for the opening shot. It is said that a romantic song on Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone would be shot on the specially designed set.

Announced earlier this year, Rana will be a live action magnum opus with Rajinikanth playing a triple role and will be released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. Along with Rajini, the film stars Deepika Padukone, Ileana D’Cruz and Sonu Sood.

Speaking about the film, KS Ravikumar said, “Rana has a strong story, a very interesting ensemble cast of actors coupled with super star Rajinikanth in a triple role and promises to have some stunning visual effects that will surely take Indian cinema to the next level.

Mr. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added, “It is indeed a proud moment for us and we are very excited to be a part of this ambitious project with Rajinikanth, one of the most popular actors of all times. We are expecting this to be a landmark film for all those associated with this project”.

The music for the film is being scored by A R Rahman, director of photography will be Ratnavelu and editing would be done by Antony. The technical director is Soundarya Rajnikanth, of Ocher Visual effects UK, a subsidiary of Ocher Studios Pvt Limited, and Charles Darby of Eyeqube Studios, renowned visual effects luminary and an Emmy award winner, is the creative and special effects director on the film. The film is scheduled to release in FY 2012.

Eros International along with NextGen Films, will produce the film through Rana Production Ltd., UK.

1. Mumbai Indians - Reliance Industries Ltd owner Mukesh Ambani (son of the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani) heads the Mumbai Indians team. His wife Nita Ambani takes active part with respect to the workings of the team. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar leads the team.

2. Kolkata Knight Riders - King Khan of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan owns the KKR team with partner Jai Mehta. Jai is actress Juhi Chawla's husband and a british origin industrialist. Nokia has been the top sponsors of KKR. Gautam Gambhir is the captain of the team.

3. Kings XI Punjab – Kings XI Punjab is owned by actress Preity zinta, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendra Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur). Oz former skipper Adam Gilchrist is the captain of the team.

4. Chennai Super Kings - The team is owned by India Cements head N. Srinivasan. He is also involved in the BCCI and AICF (All India Carrom and Chess Federations). Coromandel, Aircel are its prime sponsors. 2011 World Cup champion and Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni captains the team.

5. Deccan Chargers - The team is headed by the Deccan Chronicle corporation. Gayatri Reddy, daughter of media baron T Venkattaram Reddy, initiates the workings of the team. Fast bowler Dale Steyn is the captain of the chargers.

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore – The king of good times and the UB group chairperson Dr Vijay Mallya owns the Bangalore IPL team. The well known liquor baron is the second highest bidder at the IPL auction, after Mukesh Ambani. McDowells and Bagpiper are their prime sponsorers. AB de Villiers is the captain of RCB.

7. Rajasthan Royals – The owners of the team are quite popular these days and need no introduction, we are talking about the Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra. Although they steal majority of the limelight, the actual owner is said to be Manoj Badale, who is the co-founder of Blenheim Chalcot. Other co-partners of the IPL team include Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya S Chellaram and Suresh Chellaram. Shane Warne, successfully for the fourth time, is the captain of RR.

8. Delhi Dare Devils – The Daredevils are owned by the GMR Group. Mr. G. M. Rao is the chairperson of the company that is successful in the areas such as the airports, highways, agriculture and energy. Indian opener Virendra Sehwag leads the team.

9. Kochi Tuskers Kerala - The new team was recently formed and is owned by the Rendezvous Sports World. It is a consortium made up of multiple IPL team owners. The group won the bid of the new team for $333 million, which till date is said to be exorbitant. Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene is the captain of the KTK team.

10. Pune Warriors India – And last but not the least, the Pune Warriors is owned by the Sahara Group Subrata Roy. The team was purchased for $378.2 million, the highest amount ever paid for a team in Indian Premier League. Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the new team.