Mammootty in Daddy Cool: Mammootty will play the lead role in debutant Ashiq Abu's film named Daddy Cool. Ashiq, who was an assistant of director Kamal, has penned the script for the film. The story revolves round a father and a son, ardent fans of cricket. Mammootty plays crime branch officer Antony Simon. The film produced by Alwin Antony has Kalabhavan Mani, Indrajith, etc. Samir Thahira, who became famous after Big B, wields camera for the film. Songs are by Anil Panachooran-Bijipal team.

Mohanlal accepts Rs 40 million offer: Actor Mohanlal has now become the highest earner in the history of Malayalam cinema with a pay cheque of Rs 40 million for his new film Nair Chan. Mammooty is stuck with his much delayed Pazasshiraja, which also happens to be the story of India's first freedom fighter. Now, Mohanlal is starring in a similar role. This one is about a man from Kerala who goes to Japan, joins their army and wages a war against the British rulers. Hollywood superstar Jackie Chan is going to star in the other lead role. Mohanlal has given 125 days call sheet for this Indo-Japanese project. Jackie Chan, who only has 12 days of work in the film, would make Rs 300 million.

Prithviraj, Bhavana in Lollypop: Shafi's new film after Chocolate has been named Lollypop. The film has Prithviraj, Bhavana, Kunchacko Boban, Jayasurya and Roma in lead roles. The film scripted by Benny P Nayarambalam is produced by ABS Combines. The shooting of the film will begin on Chingam 1st in Kochi and will be a Christmas release.

Dileep's Colours launched: Dileep, the star of Malayalam cinema, is going back to what he is best at comedy. Pooja of Colours, produced under the banner of Sunitha Productions was held at Eranakulam recently. Colours has Roma as its first heroine. A newcomer will play the second female lead. Raj Babu directs the film which is going to be an out-and-out comedy aimed at family audience. V C Ashokan has written the screenplay for the film. M Mani produces it for Aroma Movies. Dileep's films have not been doing well lately. His last film, Mulla, failed to set the cash registers ringing at the box-office.

Surya follows father's footsteps: Veteran actor Sivakumar is known for his altruistic activities. He has been helping poor and deserving students with financial assistance through a charitable trust which he runs. Following in his footsteps, his son Surya, has also floated an Agaram Foundation that helps poor. This year alone, the foundation has given cash awards to more than 20 meritorious students. The event took place in Chennai the other day. While running a trust, Surya hasn't turned away from the good deeds done by others. The foundation gave Rs 2 lakh to Prof Kalyani, who runs an educational institution, Thai Thamizh.

Sarath's daughter debuts opposite Simbu: Varalakshmi, daughter of actor Sarath Kumar, will make her debut in Tamil cinema soon. She begins her journey in the tinsel town with the mega budget movie Poda Podi. Silambarasan will be her onscreen hero. Varalakshmi is an MBA from Edinburgh University and has studied at the Anupam Kher school of Acting in Mumbai. Varalakshmi plays a good role that provides her enough scope to showcase all her talents. The entire film will be shot in Canada.

Smita Patil Memorial Award for Preity Zinta: Preity Zinta will be conferred with the Smita Patil Memorial Award 2008 for her "outstanding" contribution to the Hindi film industry. The award will be presented in September, the sources said. The biennial award is given by an NGO Priyadarshini Academy engaged in socio-cultural and educational activities. Priyadarshini Academy has been holding the biennial award function since its inception in 1984. In the past, distinguished celebrities like Yash chopra, Karishma Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit have been bestowed with this award. Kareena Kapoor was the recipient of the award in 2006.

Akshay Kumar paid Rs 75 crore: The latest news we hear is that UTV, which has a slew of projects on floors and is still planning a few more projects, has signed Akshay Kumar for a whopping Rs 75 crores. If true, it would be the highest ever price paid to any actor in Bollywood. However, a trustworthy source at UTV laughed aloud when I called to verify the development. "That's not true! We have signed Akki for one of our forthcoming projects, but the price is nowhere close to what you've heard. And we wouldn't like to go on record to confirm the actual price," he said. But the fact remains that Akshay Kumar is the most sought-after actor in Bollywood today, in the same league as Shah Rukh Khan.

Asin to star opposite Salman in London Dreams: Tamil actress Asin will play the female lead opposite Bollywood icon Salman Khan in London Dreams. The venture will be directed by Vipul Shah, sources said. Asin has acted as the female lead opposite Aamir Khan in Ghajini, the remake of a Tamil film of the same name. The actress is also tipped to play a major role in a Hollywood film, sources close to the actress added.