Directed by Bharat Bala and produced by Walt Disney, the 19th Step will soon go on floors. Tadanobu Asano, the Japanese actor who plays a significant role in the film, is in Chennai to be a part of the photo shoot. He will be joined by Asin, who is expected to fly down from Mumbai and the film’s shooting will soon start after Kamal Haasan completes Unnai Pol Oruvan.

The Japanese actor plays a warrior who comes to India to learn the ancient martial art form Kalaripayattu from Asin. Asin essays the role of an Indian princess. The story is written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who aims to trace the origin of the ancient martial art form in India.

Asano will leave for Kerala by end of this week, to explore further and also finalize the costumes. The photo shoot will be without Kamal Haasan for now. But, he will soon join the rest of the cast in September as he plays the role of a martial arts guru.

Music for the film is scored by none other than A.R. Rahman!

Deepika Padukone recently received the Yahoo! Search Buzz Award 2008 in Mumbai. Industry source said, “While Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor are vying with each other to be voted the sexiest actress in B-Town, Deepika has quietly emerged ahead of them. She was given an award for the Most Searched word in the entertainment category. The awards have been announced on the basis of the most searched keywords for 2008 and the searches are performed by users of Yahoo! India. The source adds, “This is quite surprising considering Deepika is just three films old and one would have thought that actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai would have been voted in terms of popular appeal.”

Yahoo! is also planning a television show on the Search Awards which will be promoted and aired on their television partner’s channel in late May. Reacting to the news, Deepika says, “I am a bit surprised but its fun. They presented me with an award so I have one more to add to my collection now.”

“It’s about enjoying the moment and having fun. It all stems from loving what I do being an actor.”

Other celebrities who received awards included: Most Searched Sports Personality Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar. Most Searched Indian Film Kamal Haasan’s Dasavatharam.

Madhavan who was shooting in London for Leena Yadav’s Teen Patti is all excited as he shared screen space with Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley.

Maddy said, “I can’t believe this. Did you know that Sir Ben Kingsley was one of my inspirations other than Mr Kamal Hassan to join films? That one scene in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, when he is pushed out of the train in South Africa, and the gamut of expressions like anger, disgust and pain he had on his face was incredible. And now thinking that I got a chance to act with one of the idols in my life is truly a blessing.”

Sir Ben Kingsley plays an important part in the film and the climax scenes including him, Amitabh Bachchan and Maddy were shot inside St James Hall at the Cambridge University in London. Adds Maddy: “He is such a method actor and I am so happy to have worked in Teen Patti with two greatest actors in cinema.”