City to host International Children Film Festival

The city will host the 16th International Children's film festival between November 14 and November 20 . The festival for which Hyderabad has been the permanent host since 1995, is being organised by the state government and Children film society of India. The film festival will be inaugurated by Union Minister Ambika Soni and Chief Minister K Rosaiah at Lalitakala Toranam on Novemner 14. Children Film Society of India has selected over 70 films for screening from International, Asian and movies selected by children categories.


These movies will be screened in eight theatres across the city apart from three screens at Prasad Multiplex. The government will give the details of the theatres where the movies will be screened by the end of next week. The film festival that is organised in the city once in two years will for the first time have workshops in animation, acting, story telling and film making for students. CFSI has also decided to have a special screening for blind children with the help of specialists. Until last film festival ,only International films were given the golden elephant awards. This time the society has decided to include awards to Asian films too.

The Chairperson of the society , actor Nandita Das who was in the city to oversee the arrangements for the festival said that the films will be screened for free to all the children and there will be special screenings of about 25 films by UNICEF and a few German movies this time. "We have included awards in screenplay and Asian films category. Though I wanted to include Indian children films category, there were hardly any good Indian films for children. Only six Indian movies were selected for thescreening of which two are animated movies from Hyderabad. Children can walk into any of the theatres that are screening the movies for free. We have also organised for open forums where topics on enhancing the quality of children's films in India will be discussed. Over 250 child delegates will come from all over India and five delegates from each district in the state will also participate." said actor Nandita Das, Chairperson, Children film society of India., who also rubbished the rumours that the venue of this festival is being shifted to Goa.


About two lakh children from across the state are expected to view films during this festival. The state government has announced that it would provide free transport for the students to reach the theatres and is also organising cultural events at Lalitakala Toranam in the city on all the days during the festival.
The state government which is making arrangements for the festival, announced that it plans to start a Children film complex in the city. Though the state government offered land to the society to start its complex in the city, the central government didn't approve of it. Minister for Cinematography Dr J Geetha Reddy said that irrespective of the central government's decision, the state government will give space for the society to start its complex in the city soon. The Children film society is trying to rope in a few Bollywood and Tollywood stars to participate in the festival. The mascot of the festival and details on the jury will be announced in the first week of November.

Rajni to be in the city for 'Star night'

Tollywood actors hope to rake in atleast Rs 3.5 crore through the 'Starnight' event which being organised by Movie Artistes Association to raise funds for the recent flood victims. Sources from the association confirmed that actors Dharmendra, Jitendra, Rajesh Khanna Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, actors Vijayakanth, Vikram, Suriya , Sarath Kumar and others will be apart of the event.

Big B Amitabh Bacchan is also likely to participate in the event. Most of the actors in Telugu film industry will perform on the stage atstar night event. Rehearsals for the event is on and about 14 music directors will also perform on the stage at this event which will be held at Gachibowli stadium on November 7. That apart, there is also aspecial skit in which about 80 artistes will perform for more than onehour. Actors on Monday, also released a musical album dedicated to the victims, as a curtain raiser to this event.


Actors said that they hope to raise at least Rs 3.5 crore which will be handed over to the Chief Minister K Rosaiah at the event. Movie Artistes association informed that anyone who wish to contribute more than Rs 5 lakh will be allowed to hand over the cheque to the Chief Minister directly on the stage at the event.


"The highest denomination of the tickets will be Rs 1 lakh on which two will be permitted. The rest are Rs 10,000 and Rs 1,000. We are notgiving any complimentary tickets as the net proceedings are going tothe CM relief fund. Even the actors who are not performing should buy the ticket to enter the premises" said actor Maharshi, the joint secretary,Movie artistes association.


Apart from Tollywood stars, actors from Kannada, Hindi and Tamil film industries too will perform at the event."We have spoken to the actors from other film industries. They will not only perform but also handover their contribution to the Chief Minister's relief fund at the event. From Tollywood, all of us are practising since the past several days for this event. I am trying to ropein as many sponsors as possible for this event, so that we spend less onthe event and give most of the collected money to the Chief Minister" said actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, who is the executive chairman of the committee that is monitoring the arrangements for the 'star night'.


All the film shootings have been cancelled for three days from thisThursday to ensure all the actors reharse for the show.

Directors ,the new celebrities

Gone are the days when director’s names were relegated to obscure corners of film posters. Tollywood today has undergone a major shift from being a hero-centric industry to a director-centric one. The big directors in the industry now are as popular as the actors and their names are crowd-pullers themselves. From S.S. Rajamouli, Puri Jagannadh and Krishna Vamsi to V.V. Vinayak, Shekhar Kammula and Krish Radhakrishna, directors are fast becoming celebrities in their own right.



What’s more, these directors don’t restrict themselves to making films. From walking the red carpet at award ceremonies to playing celebrity judges and participants on reality TV, they are fast going onscreen from behind-the-scenes. Recently, director V.V. Vinayak was chosen to be the chief guest on a dance show on television while Rajamouli was the star participant on another.



Film Nagar sources claim that most of these star directors charge anywhere between Rs 2 crore and Rs 6 crore as remuneration. Shyam Prasad Reddy, senior filmmaker and president of the AP Film Producer’s Council, says, “Producers don’t mind paying the directors big bucks, because they are successful. When their names are associated with the movie, the audience can be sure that the movie is worth watching.”



Interestingly, these directors don’t make too many movies. They maintain the hoopla surrounding their name by doing one film an year a la big Tollywood actors. Krishna Vamsi who reportedly charges more than Rs 2 crore per film, says,
“Producers are not stupid to pay whatever we demand. They pay us for what we are worth. There is no fixed scale as such that dictates how much a director should be paid. When he is directly responsible for the fate of the movie, what’s wrong in charging good money? The director’s name in itself is saleable now.”


Actors who were the only ones who hogged the limelight till now, attribute the directors’ new-found celebrity status to the new stories they are coming up with. Actor Allari Naresh who aspires to be a director himself and earned a Nandi award recently for Gamyam, directed by Krish Radha Krishna says, “The popularity of directors has grown phenomenally and is on par with Bollywood directors. Filmmakers like Shekhar Kammula and Krish Radhakrishna have come up with innovative concepts and stories and have made stars out of debutantes. That’s what has made them popular.”



Actor Sharwanand couldn’t agree more. “Each director is known for a certain brand of cinema now. For instance, people know that Sreenu Vytla’s movies will be comic entertainers. They are the ones who run the show, so the importance being given to them now is justified.”

"I don't care about rumours anymore"

Just when everyone thought he had bid goodbye to films and found his calling in the food business, Tollywood’s original lover boy Tarun came right back. And this time, he’s sporting a brand new look to suit his glam role in V.N. Aditya’s next film where he is paired opposite Vimla Raman.Is this new avatar minus a moustache an attempt to resurrect his sagging career?

“It’s just a coincidence,” he says, adding, “I have sported a moustache in all my movies so far. I recently shaved it off and all my friends liked it. Luckily, it suits my role in this flick where I play a chilled out VJ who works for a Telugu channel abroad.”

Tarun is quick to point out that he’s not reached a dead end in his career yet. “I may not have had major hits to boast of in the recent past, but that doesn’t mean my films were box office duds. In fact, my film Sashirekha Parinayam did well,” he quips. Justifying the thanda roles he’s been doing of late, Tarun says that the success of a film depends on the script. “no matter how choosy one is, the fate of a project just can’t be predicted sometimes. When you listen to the script, it sounds alright, but the end result may not turn out that way. There are some movies which we think will do well at the box office, but they bomb. There are other films which are not expected to do all that well, but they go on to become blockbusters. It’s all part of the game,” he adds philosophically.

While he may have given us memorable hits like Nuvve Kavali and Nuvve Nuvve, variety clearly isn’t Tarun’s forte. And he blames his cliched image in T’wood to these very hits. “It’s not that I don’t want to do different roles. These are the only scripts that are coming my way and I have to choose from what I get. I didn’t consciously make an effort to work on my romantic hero tag. The roles I did in my initial films were such big hits that directors who make romcoms think of me first. The good part however, is that anyone between six and 60 can enjoy my movies, so I’m not complaining.”

Celeb blogs have been writting about Aarti Agarwal's visit to Tarun's restraunt ON and that both of them are patching up. A few other Film nagar rumour mills are spreading news that he is gone underground. Ask him howhe reacts to all these rumours about his personal life?

"I used to party a lot before. Since the past 40 days I have not been in the town and was travelling for shooting. So, I was not seen. Perhaps, this is why they wrote saying I have gone underground. They have been writting about me and Aarti for a long time. Infact I was not even in the town when these blogs wrote that Aarti met me at 'ON'. There is no truth in those rumours. We have not been in touch for quite some time. When such rumours come up, it is very irritating. Fortunately, my parents have been in the industry for long and so they know none of those rumours are true.There has never been a bad scenario at home because of the rumours. It is a part ofthe profession I am in and I don't care about rumours anymore" he reveals.

Becoming an entrepreneur and launching his own nightclub were dreams he always nurtured. Unfortunately, people read too much into it, he says, adding, “I didn’t get into business because I lacked film offers. I am proud to have my own place to chill out at.”

Season of folk songs in Tollywood

Tired of anglicised lyrics and inane rap sequences, the local audiences are ditching ‘Tenglish’ songs. Instead, they are swaying to traditional folk songs that have become a norm in every Tollywood flick now. After the folk numbers like Gajuvaka Pilla and Maayadari Maisammo rocked the charts a few years ago, a series of folk tunes are back with a bang again. From Em Pillado Eldham Osthava from Magadheera to Enduke Ravanamma from the yet-to-be-released Bumper Offer, mana Hyderabadis can’t stop grooving to rural beats.



Puri Jagannath, the producer of Bumper Offer feels the USP of folk music is that it is “evergreen” and can make anyone break into a jig. “The ‘dappu’ beats, as they are called, are extremely catchy and foot-tapping. One can’t help but dance. Even if it is not strictly a folk song, a mix of both traditional and contemporary beats are a hit with the multiplex audience.”
Highlighting everything from recession and the price hikes to corruption and civic problems, the lyrics of these folk-style songs don’t just make you hum along, but also gives you food for thought.
Director Krishna Vamsi who has two folk songs in his latest release Mahatma, says, “Western music is like restaurant food. It is exotic and we can eat it once in a while. Folk music on the other hand is like home-cooked food, everyone relates to it.”

For the past few years, with lack of such catchy local songs, Hyderabadis have been dancing to hits like Appidi Podu and other Tamil folk songs. The current lot of songs has filled this gap, feels K.M. Radhakrishnan, a music director.

“If one song is a hit, other composers follow suit. After the success of Magadheera’s folksy music, songs that have simple yet powerful lyrics, coupled with fast-paced beats have become the norm. Folk music not just makes the audience tap their feet, but it forces them to stand up and dance.”


Filmmakers are also betting on the songs to draw the crowds to the theatres. Senior music director Chakri, says, “Movies become a hit only thanks to the mass audience. Even if movie sequences allow the introduction of a folk song, we can always include it as an ‘item number.”

Local locations win over Foreign streets

In Telugu movies, it just takes the hero and heroine to lock their eyes to go abroad and dance for on a duet. Call it new phase in Telugu cinema or changing taste of the audience, the number of movies shooting songs within the country are up on the rise. Directors now prefer making their actors run around trees in ' Konaseema' to dancing on random streets in snow drizzling European streets.

While a few film makers claim they want to shoot in Kerala, Coastal Andhra or anywhere in our own country because it is 'realistic' for the story, a few others claim shooting abroad is only to suffice the ego of the director orthe hero of the movie. There are a few movies where the hero who is supposedly poor in the movie and the heroine who is a daughter of a rich father and yet they dance abroad for a duet.
Film makers claim that the current lot of 'aware' audience don't take such unrealistic songs. "I shot the song 'Nilampuri Gajula' for ' Mahatma' in Allepy on a boat.It doesn't make sense for a story where a local goon turns noble, to go abroad and romance his girl. Most of the songs in the movies I make are shot within the country. We have a huge topological diversity to exploit. Besides, I am comfortable shooting within the country because I know the culture, the colours, the locations here. People will laugh atmy movie if I go abroad and shoot a song for a story which has nothing to do with a foreign country" says director Krishna Vamsi.


Interestingly, last year, two movies 'Astachamma' and 'Gamyam' which were shot with exotic locales of Coastal Andhra became added advantage to these movies. Mahi the producer of ' Village Lo Vinayakudu' a movie shot completely in East Godavari district says shooting a song abroad only shows lack of content in the cinema.
"I don't see any reason why the songs should be shot abroad unless the story is something like 'Pardes' or about NRI community living there. If there is no content in the movie or to satisify the ego of the hero or director, they go abroad, show the locations and try to make up for it. Maniratnam who is the star director never went abroad to shoot any song and yet managed to bag the most number of superhits in his career. My movie is all about village. To make the village a little more pleasant and poetic, we shot it at Rajolu in our own state" .

Senior film maker Aswini Dutt says the current trend is a part of the cycle. His movie 'Banam' which released recently was completely shot in Araku Valley and admist coconut trees of Kerala.

"A few years Telugu film makers shot in Ooty, then there was craze forMahabaleswar. When they were bored of it, they moved to Kulu-Manali. Since the past 10 years shooting abroad has become rampant.Perhaps now the trend is to shoot in our own locations and it will stay for sometime. For a story like 'Banam' which we produced, it looks weird for a hero with limited means of income to romance a heroine on foreign locations. Audience have become intelligent and we can't take them for granted. If it is a mass hero, then we will shoot abroad as their huge fans might still want to watch it. We can take liberty on locations when it comes to big heroes. But now saturation point has come fordancing on foreign streets" he claims.

Interestingly, producers say it costs them lesser to shoot abroad than within our own country because if it is here, the whole crew of about 60 people need to travel, where as if it is a song sequence abroad, three songs can be shot in ten days with lesser number of people.

MohanVadlapatla, producer of ' Kalavaramaye Madhilo' says though it costs lesser to shoot abroad than within our own country, cost of productionis very low if we shoot in our own state as it doesn't cost much for travel.He says the stories that are being filmed these days don't require a foriegn travel which is also the reason for avoiding foriegn shoots. His movie Kalavaramaye Madhilo had songs shot in Munnar.


"Shooting in Kerala is expensive than shooting abroad. It costs a bombfor shooting location in Munnar, Kodaikanal etc. Shooting in foreignlocation is cheaper because we take lesser crew with us, there are tourpackages and shooting location is free of cost. However, there seems tobe an increase in shooting within because, dancing on the roads ofother countries doesn't go well with the theme of the stories being filmed these days. Shooting within AP is cheaper again. No other country can boost of greenery like us. I am going to shoot my next movie completely in Coastal Andhra districts and other parts of the state." says Mohan.

Mahatma in storm of controversies

A case has been lodged against the producer of the Telugu movie Mahatma for not displaying the censor rating given by the Censor Board on the movie’s posters and promotions.The movie is directed by Krishna Vamsi and features actor Srikanth.On Thursday, Mr Hanumantha Rao, vice-president of an NGO, filed a case under cinematography Act 1952 at the Moghalpura Police station for not displaying the U/A rating given by the board on the movie’s posters and hoardings.


“Movies released recently don’t display the Censor Board’s rating as it is likely to discourage parents from taking their children to the movie. Not displaying the rating is a cognisable and non-bailable offence,” Mr Hanumantha Rao said.
Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma movie office at Filmnagar, demanding the director to delete a scene in the movie where the hero beats up Hindu activists for moral policing a couple at a park. Bajrang Dal issued a 24-hour deadline to the director to delete the scene as “ it hurts the sentiments of the Hindu community”.

Earlier, the film’s producer, Mr C.R. Manohar, had to deposit Rs 50,000 in the High Court this week after a writer, A. Lakshman, filed a case, claiming the song from his album, Neelampuri Gajulu, was used in the movie. The movie’s release was also delayed as the Censor Board had asked the director to delete the name of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the song, Indiramma Inti Peru Kadhu ra Gandhi.

The producer, Mr C.R. Manohar, said the scenes in the movie were not intended to hurt any community. He said he will hold talks with the people who have objections to scenes in the movie.

“Through the scene where the hero beats up activists who were moral policing a couple at a park, we are giving a message to youngsters to be in their limits,” he said. Mr Manohar also said he had bought the rights to the song in question by paying the writer a huge remuneration.