101 pieces of tamil film trivia from Maheshwaran

1. Who are the popular actor & director who makes a walkin appearance in the shopping mall during the song 'Poongaviyam' from 'Karpoora Mullai'?
- Suresh Gopi & Fazil. (Fazil directed the movie and Suresh Gopi did the Raja's role in Malayalam version - Ente Surya Puthriykku)

2. Which is the popular music that comes in the background when Arvindswamy sees Vaishnavi in 'Roja'?
- 'Nee Illai endral' stanza from 'Telephone mani pol' song (Indian)

3. What song comes as re-recording in the scenes Mohanlal meeting Madhubala from movie 'Asokan'?
- Sevvanam Chinnapen (Pavithra)

3. Which movie Ajith and Vijay had acted together?
- Raajavin Paarvaiyile

4. Ajith and Arvindswamy had acted together in a movie. Name it?
- Paasa Malargal. Ajith played the junior artiste role of one of the 6 girl's boyfriend who elopes with her in the movie.

5. An actress turned down the offer from Maniratnam for 'Roja', (which later Madhubala did) citing date problems and reportedly slapped herself with chappal after seeing it in Pollachi theatre. Name her?
- Aishwarya (not Rai)

6. Meera Jasmine replaced Vidya Balan in two south movies. Name them?
- Run (Tamil) and Chakram (Malayalam)

7. Vidya Balan was supposed to debut in this movie opposite to SriKanth. Later she was replaced by Trisha on grounds of non-performance. Name that unlucky movie?
- Manasellam

8. Trisha had actually done a bit role as heroine's friend before her 'official' debut in 'Lesa Lesa'. Name it?
- Jodi. In the Ooty episodes with Simran.

9. Shaam's first screen appearance was not 12B, but...?
- Khushi. (A blink-n-miss appearance as Vijay's friend)

10. Sneha's first movie was not 'Virmbukirein', the media said that she was chosen by Kumudam talent hunt but..?
- Ingane Oru Nilapakshi in Malayalam

11. Simran's first South Movie was not VIP/Nerukku Ner or Once More. It is in Malayalam, name it?
- Indhraprastham (A Mamooty movie which had Vikram in bit role and Prakash Raj as villian)

12. Kamal Hassan's first movie as adult was....
- Kanyakumari in Malayalam.

13. After Malayalam, singer Chitra had sung the maximum in ....
- Telugu, then only Tamil comes.

14. 'Nishanthi' a.k.a Shanthi Priya and Akshay Kumar debuted together in a movie called 'Saugandh'. Mohini had acted with Akshay Kumar in a Hindi movie called Dancer. A strong south connection for AK.

15. Jyothika was discovered by Vasanth in 'Poovellam Kettu Paar'. True or False.
- False. Priyadarshan spotted Jyothika in Anupam Kher's office and launched her in 'Doli Sajake Rakhna' remake of Aniyathi Praavu (Kadhalukku Mariyadhai in Tamil)

16. Shalini acted in Malayalam and Tamil and had a similarities careerwise in both languages. What is it?
- Her first and last movies in both Malayalam & Tamil were with same set of directors Faazil (Aniyathipravu / Kadhalukku mariyadhai) & Kamal (Niram / Piriyatha Varam vendum).

17. Simran and Jyothika did the same role in two different languages. What was the role?
- Hero's dead wife role in Ramana. Jyothika did the role opposite to Chiranjeevi in Telugu, whereas Shreya played the Ashima Bhalla's role.

18. Tamil's first Dolby Sound movie was...
- Kuruthipunal.

19. Speaking of Kuruthipunal, it was a remake of a Hindi movie directed by Govind Nihalani, who offered the role to Kamal but latter couldn't do because of date problems. What is the movie?
- Drohkaal (Om Puri did the role whereas Ashish Vidyarthi ('Dhill' fame) essayed the role played by Nasser in Tamil.

20. Late Silk Smitha and Rambha have a common thread, what is it?
- Their actual name is Vijayalakshmi and hit fame with assumed screen name.

21. 'Kadhalan' Prabhudeva, 'Kadhal Desam' Abbas have one thing in common. What is it?
- Their voice was by none other than 'Chiyaan' Vikram during his struggling days.

22. Kausalya's debut was in Malayalam as ....?
- Nandhini in Balchandra Menon's April 9.

23. Long before playing opposite to Rajinikanth in 'Mannan', Vijayashanti had acted with him in a bit role as his sister. What was the movie?
- Netrikann. Remember that 'Maamanukku Kaaman manasu' song.

24. Joining the list of Singers SPB, Malaysia Vasudevan, Mano and Kannadasan, Hariharan also had acted as a lead in a movie opposite to Khushboo. Name it?
- Power of Woman.

25. Only one movie in the world has the record has the same person doing her child role and as well as adult. Who is it?
- Actress Kaveri in malayalam movie 'Made in USA' opposite to Madhavan. The producer bought the scenes of one of her old unreleased movie where she had acted as a child artiste and used in the Made in USA.

26. Trisha and Ayesha Takia shared screen space in....
- A music video for Falguni Pathak (Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaaye). Trisha is the forest angel who comes to life when Ayesha is alone and frustrated to cheer her up.

27. Beauty Queens Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Yuktha Mukhey have one thing in common. What is it?
- Their first screen appearances were for Tamil movies not Hindi. (Thamizhan, Iruvar, Rakshagan, Arasatchi and Poovellam un Vaasam respectively)

28. Poove Unakkaga was remade in Hindi as ....
- Badhaai Ho Badhaai (Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty and Kirthi Reddy). For strange reasons the producers kept the original movie under wraps.

29. 2005's biggest Bollywood hit 'No Entry' was an average grosser in Tamil. What was it?
- Charlie Chaplin.

30. Renowned cinematographer Ravi K Chandran's first Tamil movie was not 'Minsara Kanavu' as many think. Then what?
- Honest Raj (A Vijayakanth Starrer)

31. Vijayakanth has a record of only actor having his 100th film as commercial hit. What was other's flop 100th movie?
Kamal Hassan - Raja Paarvai
Rajnikanth - Sri Raghavendra
SarathKumar - Thalaimagan
Prabhu - Raajakumaran

32. Vijayakumar and Rajinikanth played the same powerful cameo in various languages of same movie. Which movie had it?
- Vijayakumar in Nattamai & Rajnikanth in Pedda Rayudu (Tel) & Bulundi (hin)... Naattami theerpa maathi sollu.

33. Mohanlal had acted opposite to a real life mother and daughter. Who are they?
- Poornima Mohan (Manjnil Virinja Pookkal) & her daughter Sharanya (Photographer)

34. Kamal Hassan's Vasool Raja had two upcoming actors playing the cameo. Who are they?
- Jayasurya (now popular malayalam actor) as cancer infected Zaheer and Nithin Satya (Chennai 600028 fame) in 'Azhvarpettai Andava' song

35. Surya must thank Ajith for not doing some movies which later Surya stepped in as last minute replacement but turned out to be milestones of his career. What are they?
- Surya's debut movie "Nerukku Ner", Bala's "Nandha" and AR Murugadoss's "Ghajini".

36. 'Kadhal' director Balaji Sakthivel and 'Veyil' director Vasanthabalan would like to forget the fact that 'Kadhal & Veyil' were their second movies not first one. What are those movies?
- Balaji Sakthivel did 'Samurai' with Vikram and Vasanthabalan did 'Album' for Kavithalaya. Both were disasters and their mentor Shankar relauched them as successful directors.

37. 'Mozhi' was not Radha Mohan's second movie after an impressive debut in 'Azhagiya Theeye' as many including media believes. He had directed one movie in between, what was that unfortunate thing?
- Ponniyin Selvan with Ravi Krishna and Gopika. Even Radha Mohan doesn't acknowledge this movie.

38. In the same vein, Prakash Raj's first home production was not 'Azhagiya Theeye' as many believe. Then what it was?
- A forgettable flick called 'Daya' along with Meena and Lakshmi. He also had produced duds like Andhappuram, Naam before becoming succesful with 'Azhagiya Theeye'.

39. Charan had worked with Namitha earlier. What was the movie?
- Gemini in Telugu. Namitha did the Kiran's role (Marwari girl) under a screen name of Bhairavi. She reverted to Namitha later.

40. Homely actress Devyani had done sexy roles before becoming a homely icon with Kadhal Kottai, what were they?
- Thotta Sinungi & Kalloori Vasal. She also had done some B-Grade Hindi movies & music videos assuming a screen name 'Koyel'

41. 'Rendu' Anushka was having a career of _________ as before becoming an actress. What was she?
- Yoga teacher.

42. Tabu's first movie that spoke Tamil was not Siraichalai. Can you spot it?
- It was a Telugu dubbed movie called 'Coolie No. 1', she was billed as Amrutha in that movie. It was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and music by 'Maestro' Illayaraja.

43. When Chiranjeevi acted in Tamil movies & later his dubbed movies, he was lend voice by ......
- Believe it 'Delhi' Ganesh.

44. Priyamani's aunty is a famous Playback singer, but she hadn't sung for Priyamani still. Who is she?
- "Malghadi' Shuba (Sottu Neelam Doi...)

45. 'Snehithiye' had this record of all woman cast (non Tamil also), but it was actually a remake. What was it?
- A Marathi film called 'Bindhast'

46. Arch rivals Asin and Nayantara have few things in common. What are they?
- Both are Malayalees, Syrian Christians, introduced by director Sathyan Anthikaud in Malayalam movies for the first time. Asin debutted in 'Narendran magan Jayakanthan Vaga' while Nayantara stepped into filmdom through 'Manasinakkare', both directed by Sathyan Anthikaud. Both were docile and homely in Malayalam before donning glamourous roles in Tamil and Telugu.

47. In Rajeev Menon's "Kandukondein Kandukondein", a popular Hindi Actor had done a cameo. Who is he? Another popular Bollywood actor had done a literally full fledged role in Tamil movie but was not promoted at all. Who is that unfortunate actor?
-Dino Morea in Kandkondein Kandukondein & Sunil Shetty in 12B.

48. Rambha's first movie is not a commercial venture. What was that movie?
- Rambha debuted in malayalam movie "Sargam" as Amrithaa opposite to Vineeth. It is still remembered by Malayalees as classic.

49. S.A Chandrasekar had thrown an actress from his movie even after shooting for a week, opposite to his son Vijay because she had done a sexy item number in 'Siva Sakthi'. Later that movie bombed so badly that the actress must actually be relieved for being thrown out. What was the movie & who is the actress?
- Actress is Devyani & concerned movie is Vijay's "Manbumigu Maanavan"

50. Telugu's famous actor & Chiranjeevi's younger brother Pawan Kalyan had actually acted in a straight Tamil movie, but people thought it as a dubbed movie and it bombed. What was it?
- A Tamil/Telugu bilingual called 'Anandha Mazhai' that became a sensational hit in Andhra as 'Tholi Prema'. It had "Marma Desam" Vasuki in a pivot role as his sister. It is a straight Tamil movie with everyone talking in Tamil, not Telugu.

51. Sivaji' Shreya's first Tamil movie is not 'Mazhai' even though the actress was noticed in that movie only. What is her Tamil debut?
- Enakku 18 Unakku 20. She played a second lead to Trisha as hero Tarun's friend.

52. Manirathnam's 'Agni Nakshatram" and Gautam Menon's "Kakka Kakka" have a common thread, what is it?
- Both their Telugu versions were called as Gharshana.

53. Jyothika's only negative role on screen till date was on 'Pachaikili Muthucharam'. This movie was a remake of English movie and who played her role in that?
- Derailed, played by Jeniffer Aniston.

54. Illayaraja had refused two movies saying that he couldn't identify with the script even though he had a succesful collaboration with those directors earlier. They inturn bad mouthed him in the media. Who are they?
- Thankar Bachan & Gnanasekaran. Raja refused 'Thendral' and 'Periyar' even though their previous 'Azhagi' and 'Bharathi' were musical hits.

55. In 1998, three movies came around the same time with a same story. Surprisingly they had leading actors yet flopped at the box office. What are they?
- Jodi, Minsara Kanna & Poovellam Kettu Paar. All the three had hero and heroine interchanging their places to butter the elders for a marriage.

56. Before this 'Om Shanti Om' controversy, AR Rahman had walked out of a movie due to royalty issues, but nobody noticed it. What was it?
- Bharatiraja's Pasumpon. Vidyasagar replaced him.

57. A kid who was playing flute onscreen in the song 'Panivizhum Iravu' from Mouna Ragam, later made a big name for himself in acting, choreography and direction. Who was it?
- Prabhu Deva.

58. In Hindi movie 'Rangeela', when the director calls Urmila for a screen test on phone, she was shown flipping the cassettes of .........
- Kadhalan and Thiruda Thiruda in a Hindi movie.

59. Even though the movie 'Roja' was set in Kashmir, most of the movie including the Military camp, Climax Dam, and the songs were shot at......
- Ooty, Cunnoor (Military Academy) and Paikara Dam (Climax)

60. Not many have noticed, the Karthik episode in Mounaragam is a frame to frame remake of scenes from Maniratnam's Kannada movie "Pallavi Anu Pallavi", especially 'Mr. Chandramouli...', 'You are beautiful' and 'Are you searching me?' scenes which had Anil Kapoor in lead.

61. Even before 'Iruvar' Mohanlal had appeared in a straight Tamil movie. What is it?
- A cameo appearance during the song 'Keladi En Paavaiye..' playing the Accordian in the movie - 'Gopura Vasalile'. Mohanlal did it because Gopura Vasalile was directed by his close friend Priyadarshan.

62. 'Pachaikili Muthucharam' Andrea had already appeared in silver screen, before PKMC. name the movie?
- 'Kanda Naal muthal' as girl who argues with Karthik in the end credits.

63. Director Rajeev Menon appears in his directorial debut 'Minsara Kanavu' as..?
- One of the managers in Arvind Swamy's company and seen in discussion with the actor when Kajol calls Arvindswamy for help.

64. Like KS Ravikumar making a special appearance in all his films, Hindi audience remember this director for making screen appearance in all his films. Who is he?
- Subhash Ghai.

65. 'Minnale' was the second movie that had Abbas and Madhavan together. What was the first movie then?
- A kannada movie called 'Shanti Shanti Shanti'

66. Vikram had even done a TV Serial when he was struggling for movie offers. What was the serial?
- 'Killer' Vishwanath for JJ TV, that was closed down later.

67. Speaking of Vikram, he was a find of __________ not by 'Sethu' Bala. Who is that director?
- Veteran director Sridhar. I forgot the movie name which had him along with Rohini.

68. Relate Prakash Raj and Disco Shanti.
- Prakash Raj married Lalitha Kumari, the younger sister of Disco Shanti. Incidentally Lalita Kumari also have appeared in few Tamil movies as comedienne.

69. Laila was supposed to debut in _________ but did it much later in Vijayakanth's 'Kallazhagar'.
- VIP. She even did a photo shoot and thrown out following the differences between the producer Dhanu and her. Simran, who was the hottest newcomer then stepped in.

70. Bollywood actor Govinda was seen in Tamil screen for an item number, but nobody cared for it. Name that unfortunate movie for everybody associated with it?
- Three Roses produced by Rambha and she lost all her earnings in that venture.

71. The movie 'Anjali' had atleast two supporting child artistes later carving a name for them as adults. Name them.
- Actor Tarun & Director Vishnuwardhan

72. Even though Kamal speaks Telugu fluently, his Telugu movies are dubbed by....
- SP Balasubramanium. SPB had even spoken lines for Kamal in his Tamil dubbed movie 'Sippikkul Muthu'

73. Like Madhubala in Roja, its hero Arvind Swamy was also a second choice. Who was initially offered the role?
- Director Rajeev Menon.

74. Reportedly only one actress is said to have been successful as Producer in Tamil, who is she?
- Khushboo. Her productions Giri, Thalainagaram, Rendu and Veerappu were hits.

75. Aishwarya Rai has the distinction of appearing in two Indian adapations of Jane Asten's novels. What are they?
- Pride & Prejudice (Made as Bride and Prejudice), Sense & Sensibility (Made as 'Kandukondein Kandukondein')

76. Hindi stars Vidya Balan and Hemamalini have one thing common in their career, what was it?
- Both of them were thrown out of their first Tamil movies after first schedule, but became an overnight stars in Bollywood.

77. Prabhudeva's directorial debut "Nuvvostanante Nenodhantana" (later remade as Something Something Unakkum Enakkum) was loosely based on two Hindi blockbusters, what are they?
- Maine Pyar Kiya & Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya

78. Sarathkumar became a known name with Pulan Visaranai, but he had first appeared on screen in .......
- Mr. Karthik. (Sarath was the producer of the film)

79. Gopika and Nadhia have one thing in common, relate them.
- In Nadia's first film 'Nokkattha Doorethu..', her name was Girly. Gopika born on the same year was named Girly after her parents loved Nadhia's portrayal. Gopika herself told this in a TV interview.

80. Asin's debut Tamil movie is .....
- Ullam Ketkume, not M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi. Infact Asin was a jinxed actress with all her initial movies shelved or delayed. E.g Mirattal (Ghajini), Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam and PEPSI (Ullam Ketkume)

81. Maaveran, Billa, and Panakkaran have a common thread of being Rajni's movies.....
- Remake of Amitabh Bachan's hits Mard, Don and Laawaris respectively.

82. Sharkh Khan's favourite actresses Juhi Chawla and Deepika Padukone have one thing common in their career. What was it?
- Both debuted in Kannada and moved to Bollywood. Juhi - "Premaloka" (A Tamil/Kannada Bilingual) and Deepika - "Aishwarya" (A rehash of Ghajini and Manmudhudu)

83. Juhi Chawla had done two straight Tamil movies, what are they?
- Paruvaragam, Nattukku Or Nallavan.

84. The visual classic 'Chandralekha' song from Thiruda Thiruda was actually shot in .....
- Govt. Museum located in Pantheon Road, Egmore. Yes it is very much in Chennai.

85. First Tamil movie to be shot in Sync sound where the actors need not dub later is .....
- Maniratnam's "Ayutha Ezhutthu"

86. Illayaraja had actually worked as a Guest Composer in a Hindi film. Can somebody name it?
- Rajkumar Santhoshi's "Lajja"

87. Thalavattam, Kyonki.. and Manasellam Mathappo are linked by _______
- Indianised version of a 'A fly over Cuckoo's nest'

88. Once top Hindi actress Amisha Patel had actually done a Tamil movie in her heydays, but she was not shown even in the promos. Also the movie was a super flop, so nobody knows that she had acted in Tamil.
- Movie is 'Puthiya Geethai' opposite to Vijay.

89. Till Saawariya released, the director Jananathan maintained that his 'Iyarkai' was written out of his imagination. He later accepted that he fact that it was an adaptation of _______________ & a French film _________________.
- Russian short story 'Four Nights' and a French movie ______________

90. Before getting married to Telugu actor Srikanth, Ooha had a dream run in Tamil as ......
- Sivaranjani.

91. Some of Illayaraja's compositions that were used in jingles and became famous were
- Jallanta Jallanta (Lyril Soap), Naguva Nalitha (Hutch Tune), Devanin Kovil Mudiya Neram (Complan)

92. Kamal Hassan's "Devar Magan" was directed by ________________
Veteran Malayalam Director Bharathan. Not by Kamal himself as lot believe.

93. Kamal Hassan's official directorial debut was not 'Hey Ram'. Then...?
- Chachi 420 (Hindi remake of Avvai Shanmughi)

94. First on screen smooch (french kiss) was by ______
Who else other than Kamal Hassan in Velinattu Marumakal to some foreign actress.

95. 'Chithiram Pesuthadi' Myshkin was working in _____________ before venturing into movies.
- Salesman in Landmark so that he can access all good books on movies.

96. Maniratnam approached this top heroine those days to do a powerful character role in his Tamil debut. But the actress refused point blank. He determined not to work with her but destiny had other plans, now she is in almost assisting all his movies. She is _____
- Suhasini Maniratnam, his wife. That role was done by Radhika later in the movie Pagal Nilavu.

97. Sneha and Meera Jasmine (so called rivals) have done a same role in different languages and walked away with accolades. What was the movie / Role?
- Janani & Sathya. Yes, Meera did Sneha's roles in 'Ammayi Baghundi', telugu version of 'Parthiban Kanavu'. Sneha scored better than Meera. Even the screen names were retained as Janani and Satya.

98. The link between old and new 'Naan Avan Illai' besides 'Radha Kadhal varadha' song is ___________
- Lakshmi. Sneha did her role in new version whereas Lakshmi donned the judge's role.

99. There is a peculiarity about the songs of 'Chinna Thambi'. What is it?
- The tunes are supposed to have been composed by Illayaraja in flat 30 minutes time.

100. Devyani had five releases in a day for a Pongal and 4 became hits consolidating her position in Kollywood. A record performance for an actress.
- Marumalarchi, Udhavikku Varalama.. Please somebody complete the list.

Submitted to Triviapettai by Maheshwaran.