Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ram Charan-Bhaskar’s film to start on Oct 2nd

Ram Charan Teja who acquired the mass image with his very first film ‘Chirutha’ will also continue the same in his second film in Rajamouli’s direction. Having been associated with two mass oriented projects, Ram Charan probably appears to have been advised to go for a mix. Thus his third movie is going to be a class one and not a mass one. October 2 will be the day when the third project of Ram Charan will take off under Anjana Productions banner and Bhaskar’s direction. We have to wait for some more time to know the details of cast and crew.
Monday, September 15, 2008
RGV to do a Telugu film with NTR

Ram Gopal Varma these days is very busy in giving publicity to ‘Raksha’. Since he is presenting the film, he is in constant touch with the media by giving interviews, be it web sites or TV channels. Many people have come to the conclusion that ‘Raksha’ which is ready for September 19th release is a remake of ‘Phoonk’. But RGV is making it clear to the public, though the theme of both films is same, ‘Raksha’ is more sensible and realistic than his latest ‘Phoonk’. He said this to the press reporters today at Vizag. Further adding he said that he is planning to do a straight film in Telugu after his two current projects ‘Veerappan’ and the ‘Media’. It could be with NTR as he mentioned in one of his interviews that he is an ardent fan of Late N T Rama Rao and that he would fulfill his wish by directing his grandson.
NTR-Bujji with a film soon
NTR, who attended the music launch of Chintakayala Ravi yesterday, told the media that he Nallamalupu Bujji had given him hit with Aadi film by producing it, and that yet another film in their combination is likely to come soon. NTR had also given a guest appearance in ‘Chintakayala Ravi’ produced by Nallamalupu Bujji.
Jr. NTR launches Venky's Chintakayala Ravi audio
Venkatesh's 'Chintakayala Ravi' had a glittering audio launch last evening with almost the entire cast of the film turning up. Itemboy Jr. NTR, who is doing a special gig in the film released the audio cassette of the film while senior comedian Brahmanandam released the CD. Heroines Anushka, Mamatha Mohandas, music directors Vishal-Sekhar, lyricist Chandrabose, producer Bujji and Director Yogi were all present at the launch. Jr. NTR said that Bujji had produced his record breaking film 'Aadi' and had given him a life in the industry. He also said that he had avoided Bujji for a long time after meeting him during Student No.1 as he did not have proper dress sense and did not look like a producer. He also praised Vishal-Sekhar and said that he had apprehensions about how they would score the music as it was their first Telugu film, but his doubts were erased when he heard the music. Venkatesh said that this film would be one of the biggest musical hits in his career. Vishal-Sekhar said that Telugu was a musical language and that they found it very easy to score music in Telugu. They also said that they had met great people and made great friends in the industry.MuraliMohan elected president of MAA
The elections for the governing committee of the Movie Artistes Association saw a huge turnout with all the top stars in the industry including thespians like Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Krishna and major stars like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh turning up to vote. Murali Mohan clinched the election for the post of President and won by a margin of 108 votes. Actor Ahuti Prasad was elected as General Secretary and actors Srikanth and Srihari will be the Vice Presidents. New President Murali Mohan started off on a strong note by saying that though each of them is associated to a different political party, in the film world they always remain united on a single platform. He told the politicians to keep the two spheres separate and not target anyone based on their political inclinations. Thursday, September 11, 2008
Shreya playing second lead in Kamal's 'Marmayogi'

In a refreshing display of a lack of ego, Shreya Saran, who is doing quite well for herself in national and international projects has agreed to do the role of a second lead in Kamal Hassan's magnum opus 'Marmayogi'. Trisha plays the main lead in the film. Shreya's role is said to be an important role that comes in the flashback of the flick. With the film itself being set in the 7th century, one wonders what period the flashback might be set in. Earlier, Rani Mukherjee had played a similar second fiddle to Vasundhara Das in Kamal's 'Hare Ram'. Grapevine also has it that Shreya will have to do a liplock in the film with Kamal Hassan. Now, Shreya has always said that she would never kiss onscreen, but a film with Kamal is no mean thing and Shreya might just bend the rules a bit!
Naga Chaitanya to be called 'Abhinava Samrat'

Legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao's grandson hansomse actor Nagarjuna'son Naga Chaitanya will be called 'Abhinava Samrat' by the fans in the state. With this the third generation in the Akkineni family continues the tradition of 'Samrat' titles that the Akkineni family holds. Thespian Akkineni Nageswara Rao holds the title Nata Samrat. His son Nagarjuna holds the title Yuva Samrat. Nag's nephew Sumanth is called Nava Samrat. Nagarjuna had recently remarked during his birthday celebrations that the title Yuva Samrat is no longer applicable to him and that Nagachaitanya should be given that title. Adamant fans, however, disagreed and said that Nagarjuna would be Yuva Samrat forever.
Anushka confirmed for Prabhas' Don remake

It had to be more than just coincidence. Krishnam Raju announces that he is remaking 'Don' (Tamil version Billa) with Prabhas in the lead. Nayantara refuses to play the lead. Anushka announces that she is ready to don a bikini 'if the scene demands it'. Don has a scene which has the heroine donning a bikini. Sure enough, a couple weeks later, it has been confirmed that Anushka is going to play the lead in the film. The film will be directed by Meher 'Kantri' Ramesh and produced by Rebel Star Krishnam Raju on his Gopikrishna Films banner. Muhurat of the flick is set for October 9, one the auspicious occasion of Dussera. Anushka seriously seems to be the most sought after heroine these days, what with atleast three films in the pipeline!
Chintakayala Ravi to clash with Keka
Venkatesh starrer Chintakayala Ravi is getting ready for release on October 1. The producer of the film Bujji informed the media yesterday that the film was almost complete except for two songs. The remaining songs are to be shot in the next two weeks with Venkatesh and Anushka. The film is being directed by first timer Yogi. Bollywood hit duo Vishal-Sekhar are composing music for the film. October 1 marks the beginning of the Dussera vacation and families will be expected to flock to theaters in a big manner during the next 10 days. Maverick maker Teja has also announced that his film starring 40 newcomers, ‘Keka’ will hit the screens on October 2. It will be an interesting beginning to the festival week with experience clashing against youth! May the best film win!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Telugu Movie review - Ashta Chemma
Cast: Colors Swati, Nani, Srinivas Avasarala, Bhargavi, Jhansi, Tanikella Bharani, Hema etc Music: Kalyani Malik
Cinematography: PG Vinda
Lyrics: Sirivennela
Producer: Ram Mohan
Stoy - dialogues - Screenplay – direction: Mohana Krishna Indraganti
Release date: 5 September 2008
Cinematography: PG Vinda
Lyrics: Sirivennela
Producer: Ram Mohan
Stoy - dialogues - Screenplay – direction: Mohana Krishna Indraganti
Release date: 5 September 2008
Lavanya (Colors Swati) is a hardcore fan of hero Mahesh Babu. And her ambition is to marry hero Mahesh. But her heart is broken when Mahesh married Namrata Sirodkar. She lowers her expectations and decided to marry somebody who has ‘Mahesh’ in his name. Anand (Srinivas Avasarala) is a lanky neighbor of Lavanya and he is bugged with ‘Pokiri’ songs played in loud volume by Lavanya. He decides that the only way to get rid of noise from her house is to hook her up with a good looking boy with the name Mahesh. And he finds a handsome guy called Mahesh (Nani). The rest of the story is all about the comedy of errors originated due to the Mahesh obsession of Lavanya.Artists Performance
Srinivas Avasarala: A real actor is the one who adds more to the table than what it is with his performance. Srinivas Avasarala is a born actor and he added 25% to the output of the film with his performance. Be it dialogue delivery, comedy timing, minute expressions or body language. He should seriously consider packing his bags and finding the next available flight to Hyderabad as Telugu film industry is desperately looking for such fine actors. He is a complete delight to watch. Srinivas Avasarala is selected for this film through a talent hunt conducted by Mohana Krishna Indraganti in idlebrain.com.
Colors Swathi: Her character in this film as an obsessed fan of Mahesh Babu is like a natural extension to her hilarious portrayal of girl in love with Venky in AMAV. She is completely natural and is herself while doing the role of Lavanya. She brought out lot of mischief and child-like stupidity that is needed for the character which her histrionics. But fans of Swathi will get little disappointed in the second half because her footage is relatively less compared to the first half.
Nani: Nani has sharp features, nice Telugu diction and amazing confidence levels. Doing a role that requires the attributes of Mahesh Babu is a challenge for a newcomer. And Nani comes up with a fabulous performance. He has a promising future if he selects the roles carefully.
Story – screenplay – direction: Story of the film is simple, yet complicated. This story is based on a play written by Oscar Wilde. Most of the film revolves around name confusion. A film like this needs an interesting screenplay to sustain the attention of he viewers. Mohan Krishna Indraganti succeeds in giving us a film that sustains the interest levels throughout by injecting the necessary twists at the right time. Direction of the film is good. The narrative style using which he introduced characters is brilliant. The director is supposed to take the comedy in the film to the next level during the last half-an-hour of the film where pieces fall into the place. Though the twists were well-placed in the last half an hour, the director could not get more laughs towards the climax.
Other departments: Music by Kalyani Malik is nice. The visuals and situations in the film add more to the music. Dialogues written in the film are witty and most of the time impromptu (except for the last half an hour where the dialogues are lengthy). Cinematography by PG Vinda is nice. The vintage song should have been done in black and white. Editing is nice. The product looks superior in terms of visuals and sound. Producer Ram Mohan should be commended for keeping faith on the director and on this genre.
Analysis: First half of the film is really good. The narration is little slow in the second half. The climax is interesting, but a better handled one would have added lot of the value to the film. The plus points of the film are casting and comedy quotient. The director and the producer’s decision for choosing a particular genre and sticking to it without diluting with formula commercial ingredients deserve applause. Probably Ashta Chemma is the first Telugu film where the entire story revolves around a real film hero. And it shows the kind of craze Mahesh Babu has in the hearts of people (especially girls). On a whole, Ashta Chemma makes a good viewing for multiplexes and A center crowds.
Analysis: First half of the film is really good. The narration is little slow in the second half. The climax is interesting, but a better handled one would have added lot of the value to the film. The plus points of the film are casting and comedy quotient. The director and the producer’s decision for choosing a particular genre and sticking to it without diluting with formula commercial ingredients deserve applause. Probably Ashta Chemma is the first Telugu film where the entire story revolves around a real film hero. And it shows the kind of craze Mahesh Babu has in the hearts of people (especially girls). On a whole, Ashta Chemma makes a good viewing for multiplexes and A center crowds.
Rajni's Robot changes to 'Yantram'

It is known that the Tamil Nadu government had announced a tax exemption to films that have Tamil titles in order to preserve the Tamil culture. The latest film to change its name to honor this commitment is Superstar Rajnikanth's Robot. The film has apparently been renamed as 'Yantram', meaning machine. The producers say that the flick was renamed so as to honor the government's commitment to the language rather than for a tax exemption. The film is directed by Shankar and is produced by London-based Aingaran Films International. It is being touted as the costliest Indian film ever made with initial budget estimates pegging it at Rs. 140 crore. Aishwarya Rai has been roped in to play the lead opposite Rajni. Will the Telugu version also be called 'Yantram'. Or do we think that we do not need to preserve the sanctity of our language by insisting our films be named in Telugu?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Trisha learning horse riding for Marmayogi

Trisha, who is silently climbing up the ladder down south is taking her roles seriously. The actress, who has bagged a once in a lifetime chance to act opposite Kamal Hassan in Marmayogi is working hard for the role. She is apparently taking Kamal Hassan's advise and trying to do some reading about the era the film is set in. Apart from that, she is taking special coaching in horse riding and also swordplay as she will be expected to do both in the flick. Sources inform us that Trisha has been asked to provide callsheets for 200 days for Marmayogi. With her current and upcoming Telugu film commitments, it will be interesting to see how she manages to juggle her dates.
Paruchuri brothers split – one to Chiru, one to CBN

Paruchuri brothers, the well known dialogue writer duo who held the unique distinction of being in the good camps of all the camps in the film industry seem to be headed towards a split due to the political inclinations of the big stars in the industry. While elder brother Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao is helping out Chiranjeevi to hone his speeches, younger brother Paruchuri Gopalakrishna is with the Chandrababu Naidu camp. The duo were well known for not taking sides during their more than 300 film stint. Seems like their diplomacy is not working out in the political arena. People who know the duo claim that this is also one of their tactics to remain in the good books of whoever will come to power eventually.
Bobbilipuli with Bala Krishna in Dasari's direction
Consequent to his withdrawal from politics temporarily, off late Dasari Narayana Rao is paying more attention in making films. In addition to his 'Mesthri' which is already in progress, he is planning to make one more film with Nandamoori Balakrishna for which NBK had instantly agreed to do. This agreement with Dasari is in addition to two films under NTR Arts and Sridevi Arts movie. Dasari Narayanarao is also planning to name the film titled 'Bobbilipuli' even if it has no resemblance with the erstwhile Late NTR's film Bobbilipuli. That film was a great success and lead to an extraordinary success of late NTR's political life. This exercise by Dasari Narayan Rao appears as though he similar plans for Balakrishna's political venture? Let's wait and watch.
Nag and Krishna Vamsi clubbing again

The crazy combination Nagarjuna – Krishna Vamsi after a long gap is again coming with a fresh project clubbing with one of the senior producers. Krishna Vamsi shot to fame with his romantic family entertainer ‘Ninne Pelladata’ starring Nag and Tabu. The film became a block buster and boosted Krishna Vamsi to go for yet another project titled ‘Chandralekha’ again with Nag. But this film did not fare well at the box office. So let’s wait and see with what project this duo will come for the third time. Presently Nag with his latest ‘King’ and Krishna Vamsi with his ‘Sasirekha Parinayam’ starring Tarun and Genelia are busy in their own ways.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Balakrishna's new film to start on October 9

The question that has been on the minds of countless Balakrishna fans is finally answered. For the millions who were waiting to know what NBK's next film is, an official announcement made today by producer Krishna Prasad should give some relief. Ever since Pandurangadu released, NBK fans have been waiting with bated breath to see what NBK signs on next. Producer Sivalinga Krishna Prasad who had earlier produced Aditya369, Vamsanikokkadu and Bhalevaadivi Baasu with the star is going to produce this flick. The film will start in the Dussera season, on October 9. Priyamani is finalized to play the leading lady in the flick. Mahadev, who had earlier assisted Rajamouli is going to direct this action flick. Vijayendra Prasad, who has given the scripts for some of Rajamouli's biggest hits has prepared the script for the film. Manisarma will be scoring the music and Rama Rajamouli will design the costumes for NBK. With this announcement, we wonder what happened to NBK's film that was supposed to be produced by his nephew Kalyanram. Wait and watch!
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