"I am genetically loaded actor" says Vikram

He is a professional photographer and an artist, can play the guitar, piano and flute effortlessly and has dabbled in playback singing. He can fight even the real life baddies with his karate and boxing skills and flaunts a six pack at 43. Most of all, he is considered one of the most successful actors down South. Meet Vikram, who was called John Kennedy before he became a box office sensation.


After he won over the AP audience with Aparichitudu, Vikram is now all set to star in Mallanna. Even before its release, the movie is making much news — its satellite rights were reportedly sold for a cool Rs 4.5 crore, breaking even Rajnikanth’s Shivaji record. Vikram, who has sung four songs and sported many avatars in this Rs 35 crore-venture, promises that this is “more than just a film”.


“The movie goes beyond the usual glitz, glamour, songs and fight sequences. It’s a socially relevant film. In fact, we set up a Mallanna foundation as part of which we adopt two villages and remodel them totally,” he says.
Rumours are rife that Vikram’s multiple roles in this flick is fashioned on the lines of Kamal Hasan’s Dasavataram. “Yes, the audience can see me in different looks, but it’s nothing like what Kamal did. It is part of the script and was not intended to break any record. If I wanted to do so, I could have done 20 roles in the movie,” Vikram quips.
While his South career is going great guns, Vikram is making more news for his role as Ravana in Maniratnam’s much awaited film. “It’s been my dream to work with Mani Ratnam. This movie will be a great hit for sure, not just for the star cast ranging from Aishwarya to Priyamani — but also for the kind of visual treatment Mani is known for,” says Vikram who also plans to direct a film in the next five years.


Talking about his love for the Telugu film industry, he says, “I will never act in a movie which doesn’t cater to the Telugu audience. In fact, I take extra care to ensure that there is always a Telugu element in my bilingual movies. Even in my next film, we didn’t just shoot in Hyderabad, but also roped in actors like Bramhanandam,” he says.
known for his histrionics, Vikram feels that acting is in his genes.

“My dad was an actor and I am genetically loaded with the acting DNA too. The same is the case with my son Dhruv, who writes scripts, tells me what to wear, which heroine to work with, how to wear my moustache and what hairstyle to sport,” says the actor who wants to reign as a superstar for the next couple of decades.


“The Big B is 60 plus and is still a superstar. I want to roles like his, and keep acting forever,” he says.

Reporter's diary!!!

Wonder why the actors try to hide so many things from public domain. Last night I met Tamil superstar Vikram at Taj Banjara for an interview. He is in the town for the promotion of his upcoming film 'Mallanna'. I asked him about his son Dhruv. Vikram spoke about his son for more than 10 minutes without a break. I was surprised to see him so vocal about his son. He told me about how his son is a born actor and he does plays in his school etc. He told me that his son is eight and a half years old. As I was about to note that point in my notebook, he requested me not to mention that in the interview.I was aghast. I wanted to ask him why. But he changed the topic.(He probabaly didn't want to let people know that he is 43 years old).

Today I met Happydays fame Varun Sandesh in his Banjarahills flat. He was cool and spoke to me about so many things. His education in US, his friends in Tollywood, his projects, his liking for vediogames etc.I asked him about celeb blogs working hard to prove his relationship with his co-stars. Varun said " They linked me to Mumaith Khan, Vimala Raman, Neha Sharma etc. I take it easy as it is the part of the game. I am not seeing anyone right now". I am a reporter and was happy i got a good statement from him.I bid bye to him and headed back to office. Even before I could cross his lane, he called me and asked me not to mention the name of the actors in the news paper. He told me his dad doesn't like it.

Both Vikram and Varun were well behaved and decent though.

Wonder why stars are dichotomous. If they don't want me to write things in the newspaper, why do they talk about it? Do they want me to publish it so that they could create a scene? I feel actors need to be groomed in giving interviews.

" I have a Telugu face" says Shaam

Tollywood is becoming a hot spot for imports from the Tamil film industry. Almost all Kollywood actors have tried their luck in Andhra shores. And the latest to hop on to this bandwagon is Tamil’s favourite lover boy Shaam. He shed his chocolate boy image and grew a moustache to play a tough cop in Kick. Having received rave reviews for his performance, the 14-film-old actor is all set to star in two Telugu movies now.

Shaam who is “learning Telugu” for his roles, says, “Apart from Antony, I’m working on Agampuram. Many may have criticised my move to play a second lead in Kick, but I chose the role since I always wanted to enter the Telugu film industry. I’ve gotten loads of Tollywood offers before, but since I was not too familiar with the language, I backed out. Now, I’ve learnt a little bit of Telugu and I’m on a signing spree in Tollywood.”
And it is not just his enthusiasm for learning the local language that makes this actor a hit with producers of Tollywood. His “Telugu looks” will take him a long way, he feels. “When I was shooting for Kick, people kept telling me that I look like a Telugu boy. Very few actors can boast of this. Now wonder, actors who are successful in one industry don’t click in another. I’m going to make full use of my local looks to get movies,” he quips.

Shaam’s eagerness to work in Tollywood, in fact, has much to do with the “the local audience.” “I find the Telugu audience much more encouraging. In Tamil Nadu, people go to the theatres to watch a movie only if it is a big hit. Here in Andhra, everyone is a movie buff. They appreciate every film. I love that attitude,” he says.
And the audiences love him too. He may be just one film old in Tollywood, but he already has many fan clubs dedicated to him online. In fact, sources say that when Shaam was shooting in Malaysia, female fans kept hovering around him. Wonder if that made lead actor Ravi Teja jealous, considering that critics too stated that Shaam overshadowed Ravi Teja.
“I’ve earned the tag of a ‘romantic hero’, thanks to my Tamil films. And since they have a great audience in Malaysia, many fans were happy to see me. Ravi Teja kept pulling my leg about how I’m more popular than him. It was all in good humour. He took care of me like my brother,” he clarifies.

Apart from the many Tollywood offers, this actor also has his eyes set on Bollywood. “I want to play interesting roles and not just act in the same old love stories. I’ve signed a Hindi film titled Mujhe Maaf Karo to be directed by Faisal Saif,” says this actor who adds that he plays cricket matches and parties with “good buddies” like actors Ajith, Srikanth, Jeeva and Abbas to de-stress on weekends.

Film Titles get quirky

Tollywood directors seem to have found a cool new way to catch the attention of today’s impatient generation — keep it short and snappy. Movie titles in Tollywood which once started off as long, “poetic” phrases have now transformed into single syllable sounds!

Be it Sidharth’s upcoming film, Oy, NTR Junior’s Adurs, Srikanth starrer Aa Aaa Ee Eee, Ravi Teja’s Kick or Vishal’s Pistha, movie titles have gotten quirkier than ever in a bid to draw the crowds.
Parcha Sarath Kumar, senior film critic and member of the film censor board, says, “Earlier, producers and directors used to declare a prize money to anyone who suggested the best title for their movies. A lot of importance was given to movie titles then.

But now, directors go to any extent to get people talking about the film. Most of the films have titles which have nothing to do with the story of the films.”
And they sure don’t. If you are expecting kick boxing or cool action sequences in Ravi Teja’s Kick, you better think twice. Junior NTR’s Adurs is named so after a commonly used Telugu slang phrase, adiripoyindi (superb). What’s more, titles are also becoming tools of personal vengeance on rivals.

Filmnagar sources state that director Srinivas Reddy is naming his next movie Dil Raju-Puli Raju after he had a fallout with producer Dil Raju. One can also look forward to Sushanth’s next film Current which definitely has nothing to do with electricity. And who can forget, popular Tollywood slang words like Pokiri, Baladoor and Idiot becoming titles of hit films.
When it comes to drawing crowds, “everything is justified”, feel directors in the city. I have titled all my movies innovatively. Srinivas Reddi, director of Aa Aaa Ee Eee, says,

“Titles create curiosity among audiences and everyone ends up watching the movie just to check out what it is about.”
While most movie directors usually name their movie after its hero, there are others who just want to grab eyeballs. Jaya, director, says, “Youngsters in the 18-27 age group are the target audience for most directors.

Middle-aged people don’t flock the theatres as much. Funny sounds and strange titles are the only way to attract the audiences.”

Bindu, behave like a Telugu girl to be treated like one!!

Avakaya Biryani fame Bindu Madhavi is supposedly complaining that Tollywood producers aren't giving her roles though she is a Telugu Ammayi from Chitoor. Heard she smokes on the sets and throws tantrums. By the way the dress she wore for a Telugu film function recently was absurd and even Mumbai imported heroines wouldn't wear such attire. Bindu, my advise is please beleive in your talent, stay grounded and behave like a Telugu girl if they have to give you roles on those grounds. You have a long way to go.

Akash to entertain global audiences

It is common for Tollywood audience to get to see the son of a star become
a hero. Director Puri Jagannath's son Akash seem to have got into the
industry too young. Sixth standard student of Meridian School, Akash is
turning heads in Filmnagar as he has been roped in by Tollywood's cinematographer
turned director P G Vinda for his English movie ' The Lotus Pond'. The
movie is based on a story of two boarding school students from Kulu in
Himachal Pradesh who set out on an adventure to find the lotus pond.

Akash who played 'hero during childhood roles' in 'Bujjigadu', 'Chirutha'
and 'Ek Niranjan' says he wants to be a Tollywood hero after he grows up.
"I thank the director for choosing me for the film. Now I have summer
vacations and hence I am shooting. I got trained by Vinod Bala in acting
skills for a few days before Chirutha. I want to become a hero in Tollywood
in the future " he chuckles.

Akash is accompanied by his mom Lavanya Puri Jagannath on the shooting.
Ask her about her son's performance, she turns 'proud mother' and claims,
"My son was active right from when he was an infant. We want him to
finish his basic education and then let him do what he likes to. We respect
cinema a lot and will be proud if he turns an actor. I am accompanying him
for the shooting since this is a distant location shoot. But when it is in the
city, I don't go with him. He doesn't take too many takes and picks up things
really fast"

This 90 minute duration movie is currently being shot at exotic locales of
Kulu Manali and is slated to hit the screens in the second half of this year.
The film maker says he waited for two years to get Akash act in the film.

"I have got this script in the year 2001. Ever since, I have been searching for
the right location to shoot the film. We are shooting the climax at a height of
14,500 feet. I saw Akash in the film ' Chirutha' and decided to cast him in
this picture. I narrated the entire story to Puri Jagannath and he liked it. But
then, Akash was too young. So, I waited for two years for him to grow up to
suit the character" reveals P G Vinda, the director of the film.

"This cinema will appeal to audience from the metros. We will subtitle it for
regional audience. We will send it to International film festivals and I am
sure it is going to make it big. It will be a world cinema that would win the
hearts of International audience" he says.

With high hopes on the movie, is Akash going to be our own 'Darsheel
Safari'? Well the director says,
"I was looking for a young face lost in day dreaming to play the lead role.
He is tailor made for the role. He is born talented, active and positive" .
If this movie lives upto the expectations of Akash and director Vinda,
Tollywood would have produced its first and best ever International cinema
in its 77 years of history.

Noise Pollution at Audio Function!!!

Though I have been reporting on Tollywood, interviewing stars for years , I never dared to cover an audio launch function of any movie. Call it my misfortune or ill-fate, I had to cover an audio launching function of ' Aa Okkadu' starring villain turned hero Ajay recently.

Oh My God!!! In first place, the programme started an hour late, secondly they made ten people sit on the stage with each one promised a chance to talk. The meeting was fine till the lyric writter Veda Vyas decided to sing a couple of songs from the movie.

Only I know the pain I underwent when hearing him sing. He continued to talk and sing as if our ears were leased to him for years.
Then came another man who vowed to kill us with his cruel singing skills. He composed music for a couple of songs in the film.

I came out of the meeting and felt like a lamb escaped from being bucthered.

My sweet Tollywood producers and directors, Please change your style of conducting audio launches. Tollywood is causing enough sound pollution through crap music these days. Spare the audio launches at least!!!

Fan Frenzy a big menace !!

For many Telugu's Tollywood matinee idols are demigods. From blood donations to free medical check up camps, fans of our stars go to any extentexpressing their undoubted love and admiration towards their favourite actor. More so with big stars. Standing as a testimonial to this statement isthe attack on theatres in the city and Tirupati by actor Balakrishna's fans on the release on his latest flick ' Mirtudu'. While fan frenzy attacks on theatresare quite common in towns, what amused city dwellers is the breaking of furniture in relatively posh PVR theatre in the city .

Balakrishna fans ransacked the theatre as they failed to screen the complete movie and didn't display the poster of their favourite actor.Telugu cine goers are by now well versed with the psychofancy of the fansof big stars. In a bid to get a ticket for the latest flick 'Billa', a young fan of Prabhas died in a stampede at Urvasi theatre in Visakhapatnam recently. A Junior NTR fan died at Tadipatri, in a similar stampede.In the PVR incident, the show got cancelled and people who came to watchother movies also had to leave the premises.

Many accuse fans of disturbing their right to watch the film."I remember going with my family members to watch Pavan Kalyan's 'Jalsa' at Prasad's Multiplex. The fans danced and screamed all through the show.It was such an irritation. They can have fun but that doesn't mean they have the right to disturb others in the theatre. Fans are these days so unruly thatparents are scared to send their daughters to the theatres" says NamrataMatlapudi, an IT employee.

Youngsters say it is almost impossible to watch a movie on the first day ofthe releases of big actors. Youngsters say they face severe problems whenthey go to watch movies of stars like Chiranjeevi, Rajnikanth, PavanKalyan, Mahesh Babu and Junior NTR.

"If we go to the theatres to watch the films of top stars on any given day,then most often we can't even listen to the dialogues in the film. The nuisance is too much for Pavan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna's movies. If it is the first day, then it is not worth watching the film as wecan't understand whats going on in the theatre" says Sriman Jetty, a moviebuff.

There are other fans who watch the movie ten times and spoil the plot of themovie by reading dialogues well in advance, tell their neighbours of whatsgoing to follow and howl at the 'mass' masala dialogues. There are instanceswhen fans worshipped their heroes once they seem them on the screen. Thefans often accuse the theatre of problems in the movie screening, delay inthe show, power cuts. If not any of these , they even create chaos in thetheatre demanding repetition of their favourite songs, scenes or dialogues.

" I remember watching Chiranjeevi's 'Tagore'. These fans performed a pooja, flew colour papers, whistled, screamed and danced infront of the screen. When the hero enters the scene, or if there is a fight scene, the fans are uncontrollable. Ever since, I stopped watching films on the first day.Sometimes i regret watching these big hero films due to unruly fans" says Y Bharathy, a student of Bhavan's College.

Stars ruin Film stories for Image

Story telling could be an art else where. But in hero centric Tollywood the story writers have no say at all. Though top Telugu heroes cite lack of good stories as a reason for not doing more than one movie a year, story writers say it is just a pretext.

While a few writers claim that their stories are " modified" according to the image of the hero, there are others who reveal that directors themselves 'cook' up a story keeping in view the image of the star. Interestingly, Tollywood buys rights from Tamil, Malayalam or Hindi film industry for the stories.

"There is no dreath for good stories in Tollywood. The stars take more than Rs 1 crore for a movie while the story writer is paid merely Rs 3 lakh. The stars intimidate the young story writers saying this story is similar to some English movie. They doing everything possible to demoralise the youngstory writers" says Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, popular story writer in Tollywood and member of Writers association.

A few star directors have even become story writers. Puri Jagannath,Chandrasekhar Yeleti, Shekhar Kammula, Chandrasekhar Sidharth are a few celeb directors who write stories for their own movies.Director Rajamouli's father writes story for him. Heores prefer to listen to them than new strory writers.Writers say this is also a reason why they are not ' heard' by the heroes.

"Though we have wonderful stories in hand. Heroes don't listen to them at all. Top directors approach the heroes and explain them the story 'dramatically' and convince them. Unlike a few years ago, now heroes anddirectors call the shots and we are helpless. " Venkateswara Rao says.Writers say story is thought of only after hero, heroine, director and music director are fixed. They complain that heroes don't believe in the concept of'story'.

"The producer approaches the hero, heroine, director and the rest of thecrew. Depending on the marketability of the star, they cook up some story.The story should have four songs, one item song, five comedy scenesirrespective of the storyline and three fights. They weave some story themselves around the characters depending on the image of the star. Forinstance, after the movie 'Dhee' starring Vishnu was a success, several movies followed with comedy entertaining stories. There is absolutely novalue for the story in Telugu cinema" says Venkatanarayana, story writer and director of the movie 'Cell'.

Writers who are tired of going around heroes explain how their stories aremodified according to the whims and fancies of the stars. They say ourheroes don't want to experiment with the 'self proclaimed image' and lack basic cinema knowledge.

"If we take the top 10 heroes of Tollywood and the movies they made, not asingle movie story of theirs is worth watching. Of all the movies Chiranjeeviacted in, hardly two have innovative scripts and worth watching. In this hero dominated industry, once we give them a story, we have to forget it.They make the maximum changes depending on the wish and image of thehero. Our heroes consider jumping from 16th floor, bashing up hundredpeople or dancing with the heroine in European ice as great scripts. Theydon't know about our own cinema, lack basic knowledge on literature.

A classic example to this is latest flick Billa. They bought the remake rights ofa remake movie. There are thousands of good stories in Tollywood and theydon't want to take them up. 'Naa oopiri ' was a wonderful movie starringNaveen in the lead role. If the same film was done by Mahesh Babu orPavan Kalyan, that good concept would have clikced with the audience"says G Vijayasarathi, a young director and story writer.

Tollywood's Acting Guru

'Actors are not made, they are born' may be a thing of the past. In Tollywood , actors are made or at least refined. Kuchipudi dancer Aruna Bhikshu is the woman behind the groomed stars of the industry.Tollywood's acting guru as she is popularly referred to as has Junior NTR, Ram, Iliyana, Nitin, Nikhil, Poonam Kaur, Suhasini, Nehu, Venu, Parvati Melton et al., as her students.

Worked as a acting trainer for more than fifteen films, Aruna has groomed more than 25 actors. A Ph.D. in Kuchipudi Abhinaya from University of Hyderabad, Aruna reveals how Tollywood happened to her.

"I was from the first batch of Kuchipudi students who graduated fromUniversity of Hyderabad. In those days, I was asked by one of ourprofessors from Theatres department to play a role in a play called' Mrichakatikam'. I married Gnaneshwar Bhikshu who was a student in Theatres department there. Ever since, both of us have done so many theatre plays. My husband was the Principal of Madhu Film Institute, in the city.Ever since 1993, I used to train aspiring actors in acting methodologies. In the year 1995, director Gunasekhar approached me to train the 150 childartistes for the movie Balaramayanam which Junior NTR as a lead. Eversince the past 15 years, I have been training actors" says Aruna.

Though there are about a half a dozen acting Gurus in the industry, being awoman and a trained professional helped her she says. Aruna trains not onlyactors and lead characters, she is the directors choice to give orientation to child artistes, character artistes and just about anyone who is seen in the film.

"Director Gunasekhar will use 50 families in his upcoming film. I was asked to give them orientation. More than 1,000 families applied to be a part of thefilm and fifty families were short listed. There were people from all age groups. I played music, made them dance and play characters to shed their inhibitions. Their characters needed them to cry in the film. I told them to imagine themselves in the characters. Surprisingly, more than ten of them cried really." she explains.Aruna trains the actors for three months. She finished her bachelors degreein psychology from Osmania University too and says her insight topsychology helps her understand the stars and train them properly.

"I take an aptitude test to all the actors who come to me. I understand theirmentality , then give them personalised training accordingly. Non-verbal-communication, knowing and identifying emotions, playing differentcharacters are the three stages of training. There are a few of my actorstudents who call me in the late nights and ask me on how to go about thenext day's shooting, emotions, dialogue modulation film making. We makeshort films for the actors to familiarise them to acting and camera." Aruna says.

When asked her about who her favourite student amongst the lot, she playsit diplomatic,"I don't show any discrimination. Each one of them is different. I watch themovies of my students and give them feedback. The actors should not bejudged only by the box office success. There are so many factors that gointo the success of a movie apart from acting. All the students who havebeen trained by me have put in good efforts. Their directors come and watchthe progress regularly. If the director wants me to come on to the sets, I goand give my suggestions"

Currently, Music director Manisharma and leading producer M S Raju have enrolled their sons with her. Well when she taught 'acting' to so many stars,does she plan to do a role as well?

"I was asked by director Teja to act in ' Nuvvu Nenu ' which was ablockbuster. I could not as I was busy training actors for some film. Then they hired Telangana Shankuntala for the role. She became very popular after she played that role. I regret not taking it up. If there are offers in thefuture, I may take up" she laughs.

Aruna welcomes the influx of young and fresh faces in Tollywood. She saysthe industry is changing for good and the directors are seeing the need totrain their star cast before starting the project.

"The directors select some heroine from Mumbai and puts her up in the city.They spend money for their stay here just for training. That shows that thereis an increase in number of directors who realise the importance of trainingin film industry."Aruna who still continues to give her Kuchipudi dance performances is anexpert in all the Indian dance forms. She even inked a book titled 'Bharathiya Shastriya Nrutyalu' on the dance forms. She was a visitingprofessor for dance in University of Hyderabad ,has attended the workshopson dance forms all over the country.

" I attribute most of my success to my husband. He is the associate professorof Theatre department in the University of Hyderabad now. He doesn't findtime to train the actor students. However, we share knowledge, information and technology in film making. Though my family was a sceptical about my Tollywood projects, he encouraged me. He watches movies and explains the technicalities of the movie. My daughter Mahati cribs about it and asks us to allow her enjoy the movie without telling her the technicalities of movie making "she laughs

Aruna's Star Film maker Clients:
Sravanti Ravi Kishore
Gunasekhar
Shiva Nageswara Rao
Suresh Babu
Y V S Chowdhary
V N AdityaTeja

Tollywood's bad boys turn heroes

Tall dark and handsome might end up being heroes anywhere, but inTollywood, they become villains. And young actors who have been playingnegative shades till date are trying their luck now by playing lead hero roles.While a few of them already signed up projects, others are carefullyevaluating the scripts that would give them a 'break' in the industry.

25 movies old Ajay, who played villain in Simhadri, Vikramarkudu, Sye and as buddy of hero in Pokiri, Sainikudu, Chatrapati bagged a lead hero role in 'Aa Okkadu'. Ajay who is the hero of this movie which is all set to release atthe end of this month explains that having acted as a 'bad boy' in so manyfilms, it was tough for him to be in hero's shoes."I always wanted to do negative roles in the industry. I wanted to be an actorand never aspired to be a hero. There is always a demand for young boyswith muscle to take beatings from hero. So I decided to play villain roles. Itwas tough for me to garb the role of a hero, having done so many negativeshade and hero's buddy characters" explains Ajay, B.Com graduate fromcity's Bhavan's college.Infact Tollywood had many villain turned heroes who have made it big. Actor Mohan Babu, Srihari, Srikanth, Gopichand all started off as villainsand tuned heroes. Young actors without any film background usually don'tmind accepting villain roles. The roles give them contacts in the industryand an opportunity to prove themselves too. Directors are knocking the doors of actor Subba Raju too with lead roleoffers. He says 'hero' runs the show in the movie and has a greatresponsibility which is why he is cautious before accepting any lead role inthe film. Sources say that he is all set to play a hero role in the remake of a Kannada film,


"I played negative, comic and hero buddy roles in Telugu, Kannada andTamil. I am flooded with offers and have heard a lot of scripts. It is a littlescary to accept the lead role as it is a big responsibility. Well thediscussions are on and I have not finalised any project as yet. I might end upplaying ' lead hero' role very soon" hopes Subba Raju.

Senior Villain turned heroes claim that it is the script, the acting whichmatters and that the audience are more than willing to watch if it is a goodcinema. They say it is a kind of 'promotion' to be a hero of a movie than playa negative or character in the film." I act in whatever role comes my way. Though I have played hero roles andvillain, I don't mind signing up for any character as long as the script isinnovative. Getting a hero role from a negative shade is certainly considereda promotion as the whole story in the film revolves around him. Peopleaccept villain turned heroes and actors like Srikanth and Mohanbabu, haveproved it through their box office success" says actor Rajeev Kanakala senior villain turned hero. Interstingly, most of them don't mind doing negative roles after acting ashero in one movie.


" I may be a hero of the movie now. But I am known to the people fornegative charecters. I will certainly continue doing those roles evenhereafter" Ajay says.The directors and producers in the industry say that they don't mind casting any one for the 'hero' role as long as they are performing and suit the role.


Film critics say that the young villains now are also handsome and wellgroomed unlike a few years ago which makes it easy for directors to cast them.

"Keerti Reddy and I moved on" says Sumanth

Thirty year old Sumanth who is ten years old in Tollywood is keeping his fingers crossed for his upcoming movie 'Boni' after two average films lastyear .The nephew of actor Nagarjuna who has not got the taste of a box office blockbuster as yet, hopes to get one soon.

A contemporary of MaheshBabu and Junior NTR, Sumanth is not deterred about his mediocre stardom." My first four years of film career were mediocre. Ever since my movie'Satyam' was a hit, my career has been rosy and since then, most of mymovies are commercial hits. I agree that I didn't get a huge blockbuster asyet. I am not too conscious to give a blockbuster hit. But I anticipate ithappening very soon. I am successful and am happy about the way mycareer is pacing" Sumanth says.Sumanth who won the critics acclaim for flicks like Godavari says that helikes to act in movies with scripts that are innovative and 'hatke se'.

"I would like to act in flicks like Dev D rather than Gazini. But unfortunately, such scripts don't come Tollywood's way. There is a dreath ofinnovative scripts and fear of trying something new. For me a commercial success is no doubt important, but I'd rather make less profits withinnovative films than make crores with mass masala stereotypical cinemas.However, in regional markets like Tollywood, there is a hesitation to makesuch films. I usually choose to act in movies which have a balance of both" he explains.

Sumanth doesn't shy away from talking about his wrecked marriage withactress Keerti Reddy. He rules out getting married again in the near future."Keerti has moved on, is married now and has a kid. The episode is overand we are all happy. We both moved on, I am still in touch with her family members. There is no bitterness. Everything ended well. I am not going to get married for quitesome time now. The episode doesn't really effect my work" he says.Coming from a family of actors, does he take feedback from his grandpa oruncle?

"Well I used to consult them before signing projects till ' Satyam'. Now I take my decisions depending on the script. When all of us meet at home, wedon't talk about films we are working on. After our movies release, wewatch them on the screen like audience. My uncle Nagarjuna and my sister are extremely critical about my performance and their feedback is honest"

Armed with a graduation in direction and screenwritting , Sumanth aspires to be a director cum producer ten years down the line if anyone comes upwith story with a difference."I will not direct a film in the near future. I can't write a great story but I canidentify one and represent it well on the screen. So, ten years down the line Iplan to direct a film if I come across a different story. But I will be a film producer for sure.

"Sumanth gyms four times a week, parties twice and watches movies in hishome theatre everyday. An averse to travelling , he now plans to take upextensive travelling for the next two months.

"I am planning to go to South Africa for the IPL semi-finals and finals. I amalso touring US soon. Will be back in a couple of months post which I willsign up further films. I am not a bookworm , so I watch a lot of movieseveryday at home. I party in the weekends with friends" says this student of HPS. Sumanth names Mahesh, Junior NTR , Sidharth, Charan and Manoj as his T'wood buddies. He says his best buddies are however not from the industry.

Ask him about the two young actors in his family Susanth andNag's son Chaitanya, Sumanth opines,"We are yet to see how Sushanth's career shapes up. But Naga Chaitanya isextremely well prepared. Chaitanya is the son of Nagarjuna and nephew of Venkatesh. He is working with star producer Dil Raju. So the expectationsare naturally high. I have no doubts, he is going to be a great star"

Sumanth feels that for a movie to be a hit anywhere, story is the most important of all."Script is the daddy of all. Rest of the things in the movie are addedflavours. I care for the story and do films that are interest me" he signs off.

T'wood stars stumped in AP Political league

The election results proved that the film glamour did not have any impact inthe elections. Apart from actors Jayasudha and Vijayashanti, all the othersfrom Tollywood who contested the elections this time, lost. Actors Roja, Murali Mohan, Krishnam Raju, Naresh, Babu Mohan, Posani Krishnamurali, producers Allu Aravind, Chengala Venkatrao and Maganti Babu, faced defeat . Chiranjeevi who contested from Tirupati and Palacoleconstituencies lost in Palacole to the Congress candidate. Interestingly, film producer Vamsi Mohan, a close aid of Junior NTR, also lost the electionsfrom Vijayawada Parliamentary constituency.

The star campaign of Balakrishna, Junior NTR, Pavan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ramcharan Teja didn't yield results for Telugu Desam and Praja Rajyam.

"Voters are more or perhaps better informd now. Glamour helps draw thecrowd and their attention. People certainly listen to what the star is saying.But when it comes to voting, they weigh all options and vote for the candidateparty they choose. It is foolish to think that mere glamour getsvotes and these results prove that," said Jeevitha Rajasekhar, actor and Congress leader.

Actors claim that there are a lot of reasons for the defeat. The actors who managed to get seats citing their stardom as reason said that they should notbe seen as 'stars.

'"Actors are like any other political leaders when we go to people for votes. So glamour only gets us familiar to them. There are so many factors for thedefeat .Glamour never gives votes." said actor Naresh, who lost from Hindupur Parliamentary seat on BJP ticket.

3D animation movie on Lord Balaji

With animated charecters of Hanuman, Krishna doing well at the box office, our own Telugu's have set out to potray Edukondala Vadu in an animated version. Hyderabad based Visisht Arts has produced the first indegeniously developed full fledged 3d animation movie on Lord of seven hills titled ' Sri Balaji'.

This two and a half hour long animated cinema slated to release next month was developed by a whoophing 265 professionals for over an year. Film makers say they chose to make a film on Lord Venkateswara as he is famous across the globe and since they wanted to make people aware of the history of his avatar.

"The movie describes the history of Tirumala Tirupati and the avatar of Lord Venkateswara. The story details the reasons why Lord had to come to the earth in this incarnation and the reason behind him becoming a statue at Tirumala. Most of us go to Tirupati for darshan and are not aware of the history. It helps parents tell their children about the history of Tirumala and the reason why we worship him . More so for the parents who are abroad, it arms them in explaining our culture and karma philosophy to the next generation" explains Sudhakar J Gundu, President of Visisht Arts.

Whats more, this 3D Animated flick has 'Rakshasas' flaunting six pack body, five songs songs by S P Balasubramanyam, Vijay Yesudas( Yesudas's son), Madhu Balakrishnan( cousin of cricketer Srishanth), lyrics by T'wood's veteran writter Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy and music composed by K M Radhakrishnan. There is also one song with a fifteen minutes length that describes the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Film makers are even trying to rope in prominent Tollywood stars to give dubbing for the 37 charecters in the film. "We will release this film next month in as many as ten languages across the country with English subtitles. We are talking to big actors in Tollywood to give dubbing for the charecters. More so for Lord Venkateswara's charecter, we want to approach top stars. We will finalise it soon" says Tejaswi, director of Visisht.Interestingly, this film is also the longest in duration compared to that of any other 3D animated film in the country. When Hanuman and Krishna are on the stands with merchandising, how can our Venkateswara Swamy not?

Well, the firm now plans to come out with the story books on Lord Venkateswara once the movie is out in the theatres.The team of animators who have made this film have also researched on the charecters, the story and got more information from Tirumala Tiruapati Devasthanam to potray the story effectively.

The firm will role out a similar animated flick on Lord Ayappa and Lord Ganesha after this movie.There have been umpteen number of films on Lord Venkateswara. But this one with 3D animation and well built body of the Lord, he is all set to look special.

I want to be remembered: Swati

It just took a 22-year old Swathi's dialogue ' Naku Mahesh Kavali' in Astachamma for Tollywood to shed its notions that a heroine ought to be exorbitantly unnatural and aggressively expose her skin, to draw the crowds. With the girl next door looks and realistic expressions, this young Telugu ammayi managed to trickle the funny bones of the audience and raised the critics eyebrows.Swati who came to limelight with her show 'Colours' in a Telugu channel, and is already three movies old in Tollywood, won accolades from film critics for her performance in the Tamil flick ' Subramaniapuram' a story that dates back to 1980's.

Sources confirm that director Maniratnam who watched the film was impressed with her performance. Swati reveals that she learnt to read write and speak Tamil fluently on the sets of this movie to play the role.

"The movie was screened for Maniratnam. Though he didn't personally call me and appreciate my work, I got to know from my director that he liked my performance. It came as a surprise for me" Swati says. " I enjoyed working for the film in the scorching sun for 100 long days at Madurai. My mom learnt a bit of Tamil and gave me ' learn Tamil in 30 days' book which helped me with the basics. On the sets, I have managed to pick quite a lot of it and after shooting for 100 days, I even gave dubbing for my character in Tamil. ' Naa ippo nallave Tamil pesren'" she laughs.

Working for 'Kalavaramaye Madilo', in Telugu, this B.Sc. graduate from St. Mary's will soon act in yet another Tamil movie. She says for now she has no plans to further her studies as she is only focusing only on her film career."I believe in giving my best to whatever I do. I was studying and working for films simultaneously during my graduation and I know it is tough to give your best at the same time. I don't want to be doing a correspondence course and flaunt that I am pursuing my studies." she explains.

Swati whose TV show ' Colours' did miracles for her, opines that the people can't exploit an actress in Tollywood if the girls know how to carry themselves." For me fortunately, Tollywood has not been a twisted place. I have never faced problem with anyone in the industry. I haven't approached any producer for roles. Each movie of mine brought the other and thats how it continued. If we know how to behave and where to draw the line, people will not misbehave" she feels.

When asked about why not many Telugu girls take up acting, Swati feels it is probably because of their misconceptions about the industry. She believes that rumours and intrusion into personal life of the actors by media and fans is a a part of the glamour industry."Most Telugu girls think that Tollywood is a bad place. Many of them have pre conceived notions about the industry. Rumours and breach of personal freedom by people comes with celebrity status. It is all a part of the job. Gossiping about people is omnipresent. Since we are in the film industry, it what ever we do gets noticed easily. I don't let rumours effect me. My family and friends don't talk about them to me and I am lucky enough to be extremely protected"

Swati who aspired to anything but an actress says she doesn't get carried away with her stardom ruin her freedom."I still go around in auto rickshaw, eat my favourite pani puri , biryani and travel by trains. When we expect people to watch our movies, we should also be friendly to them when they approach you with a genuine compliment"

When asked about how she wants to be remembered in Tollywood,"I want to be remembered. Thats all. In Tollywood actors come and go and hence the memory is too short. Even if they remember me after a few years, I consider it an achievement" she says.She dismisses the critics opinion that she does similar 'bubbly' girl roles in all her movies.

" My show Colours was extremely popular and so people still have that 16 year old girl image of mine in their minds. It will take some time for them to get over it. I have done four movies so far and each of them had a different image altogether. I am just a few movies old and as I grow and good scripts come my way, I will do different roles. After doing ' Adavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule' most of them offered 'village girl' roles because it was a success. I didn't want to be identified with one particular image which is why I am choosy and accept scripts that are totally different from my previous project."

Swati deems her family the first priority and says she spends time with her parents and brother despite her hectic schedule."I get to spend lots of time with family,its obviously my first priority. My brother is an engineer turned pilot. My family gives me their feedback. They are are my worse critics and best supporters

"With appreciation pouring in and Swati crafting her career with careful choice of roles, looks like this girl is sure to be ' remembered'.

Jayasudha to quit Tollywood!!!

She is titled 'Sahaja Nati' of Tollywood. Now she has a new tag line ' Secunderabad MLA'. 200 movie old Jayasudha Kapoor who created a record of the sorts by becoming the first Tollywood actress to be the MLA from the city is overwhelmed with joy about her new stint as MLA. Won on three time MLA and former Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Jayasudha attributes her success to her clean image.

"I don't have a bad image. In the 37 years of my film career, I have never been controversial.Even in my election campaign, I never spoke bad about anyone. I kept my speeches short. I didn't have to tell voters about the government programmes. The welfare schemes have reached most of them and they used to read out the programmes to me when I went for campaign. Also people found a different leader in me. I have helped more than 40 families through my TV show. I have been doing charity work through my own foundation.All these helped me win" Jayasudha says, even as visitors throng her residence with flowers to congragulate her.

When asked her about the analysis of political pundits that Congress has cleverly fielded her from Secunderabad where the Christian population is huge, she agrees, "I am a Christian.There are more than 30,000 Christian voters in Secunderabad constituency. So, may be Cheif Minister thought I could give my opponents tough competetion if fielded here. I don't like to talk about religion. If the leader has no credibility, irrespective of which religion they hail from, people will not accept them. Most Christians in Secunderabad know me and have seen my charity work. Muslims also voted for our party. Christians, Muslims and Women voters saw me through the elections" Critics vouched that she would lose the elections as she was illusioned with the stardom and that she refused to become a mass leader.

Jayasudha rubbishes the critics and challenges to prove them wrong. "There is nothing impossible. I have come from the film industry. I won the elections. It isn't correct to say that I have not mingled with people. If Talasani Srinivas Yadav walks on the street, no one will come. But if Jayasudha walks, thousands of people come to see me which makes it difficult for me to walk on the roads like other candidates. There were internal fights in our own party. I had to manage them and sort out the issues.So I didn't have much time" she quips.

Jayasudha has been playing charecters like Hero's mother, aunt and elederly roles. Now that she is MLA, Secunderabad, she plans to quit acting."I wanted to stop my acting career for a long time now. The roles I was getting were also not very satisifactory.My fans are also middle aged group who want me to concentrate on public welfare than acting in movies. Now that I am an MLA, I have to focus on my constituency. I will not act in movies anymore" she confirms. Reasons apart, now that she won, when does she plan to start working for the people of her constituency?

"I will soon start my office in Secunderabad constituency for the people to walk in and tell me their problems. Once the swearing in ceremony is over and the goverment is formed, I will start focusing on problems. I will firstly take up the drinage and lack of drinking water problems in my constituency. There are slums like Addagutta and Manikeshwarnagar from where women asked me for house. So I will do my best to get houses sanctioned for them. I will ask local leaders to give me their problems in written. I will solve them one after the other" she promises in a true neta style.

Ask her on why her other Tollywood friends failed to win the elections, she says" It depends on their opponent. If the candidate they are constesting against is a hardworker who has been doing good work there with a clean track record, it is natural that stars lose"

Now that she has become MLA, what are her chances of becoming a Minister? "There are already rumours doing the rounds that I am being given Social, Women and Child welfare Ministry. I was surprised. If they give me a Ministry I will certainly take it up. It is upto the party to decide that. In whichever way, I wanted to be closer to people and serve them"

This 50 year old actress now plans to stay permanently in Secunderabad. She dismisses criticism on her that she would shift back to her Gachibowli residence now that she won the elections. "I am currently staying in Marredpally. I am looking for someother place in this constituency itself to reside as this is an apartment and my stay might disturb the other residents. Since my office will be here in the constituency, people can walk in anytime to let us know their problems"

Sidharth, arrogance personified!!!

Tollywood's blue eyed boy Sidharth should realise that failure begins when pride takes over.Filmnagar sources say Sidharth yelled at his 'fans' who tried for a photo opp when the latter was partying at Excess Pub in the city. Sidhu, start respecting your fans and stay grounded. Lest , your decline is awaiting you!!!