Get your lowdown of what's happening in Malayalam cinema.

Malayalam actor Prithviraj will begin shooting for Anurag Kashyap's production, Aiyya. The film will be directed by National Award-winning Marathi filmmaker Sachin Kundalkar.

The film is about the romance between a Maharashtrian girl (played by Rani Mukerji) and a Tamilian boy (Prithviraj).

The actor has earlier acted in the Tamil version of Mani Ratnam's Ravan, in which Aishwarya Rai Bachchan played his heroine.

Prithviraj has had offers from the Hindi industry before as well but was waiting for the right time to make his Hindi film debut. His latest release, Indian Rupee (which incidentally was produced by his own banner, August Cinemas), has been appreciated by the audience. He is currently shooting for Johny Antony's Masters.

Jayasurya plays a young man who starts getting some respect from his family only after he becomes rich in director Saji Surendran's Kunjaliyan.

The shooting of the film has begun at Pollachi.

Saji, who started off making television serials, later made a superb entry into films with the hit film, Ivar Vivahitharayal. The film was scripted by Krishna Poojappura and the cinematographer was Anil Nair.

The same team once again tasted success with Happy Husbands but their next venture, Fo(u)r Friends, was a disappointment. The team is all set to repeat their success story with Kunjaliyan.

Next year, they will start shooting for Husbands in Goa, which is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures.

Actress Rima Kallingal hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons last week. Soon after the unit was ready to shoot the climax of Siby Malayil's Unnam, they had a big problem: the heroine Rima was missing.

Siby informed the various organisations in the industry and the media as well about the actor's unprofessional attitude. Rima later clarified that she had gone to Thiruvananthapuram to attend a private function, after intimating the production team. In fact, she was on the sets the next day and completed the shooting as well.

Many connected Rima's behaviour with the controversy surrounding Nithya Menen's refusal to meet some big-time producers. Now, what's the connection? Well, Rima had tweeted her support for Nithya soon after the episode!