Curious case of Telugu cinema...

It was February, 2010. I wrote a full page article for a newspaper I was working for, on stereotypical films being made in Telugu film industry.I lynched story writers and heroes on lack of creative ideas. In the article, I quoted film producers who suffered massive losses in the past one and a half year.The article won appreciation from friends and colleagues.

Tired of continuous work, I decided to take a break from Tollywood for a week.Me and my friend decided to backpack to Haridwar, Rishikesh and Gangotri. At Delhi, we got on to a Uttarakhand state transport corporation bus to Haridwar.All sorts of people were in this bus.Dhant Manjan sellers, astrologers, second hand electronic goods sellers, baba followers, engineering students,firangs in search of salvation...all headed to Haridwar for the Kumbhmela.

After gazing at each of them for some time for some entertainment, I fell asleep.The bus passed through the dusty roads of Uttarpradesh and Uttarakhand.The fabric of people traveling in this bus started changing from midly violent to aggressively intolerant as the journey progressed.

I woke up at a dusty stop for chai .That small town seemed to have had half of the dust in the world.It had the power to instantly kill an asthma patient. Beyond the dusty road, I could vaguely see a theatre and people lined up.I was curious to see which hero's film did these people line up for.

I got off the bus and walked closer to the theatre.I saw the posters of the movie up for screening.I rubbed my eyes to re read it.I was surprised.It had Junior NTR, Genelia and Shriya Saran on the poster.The title was 'Main Hoon Gambler...' something i vaguely register.It referred to NTR as 'He-man fighter'. I was bowled over.

For the next half of the journey, I saw posters of Mahesh Babu, Jnr NTR, Gopichand, Allu Arjun, Jagapathibabu and Srikanth in several small towns that passed by.The posters had obscure titles.Most of the titles had Khiladi, Chor, Raja, Khatra, Sikandar as common words.

In many seven seater autos I got into at Rishikesh or Haridwar, fellow tourists from Maharashtra and Rajasthan played 'Aakalesthe Annam Pedatha..','Adhara kottu...' 'Aa Ante Amalapuram'...on their music players.

I didn't find a logical answer to why direct and dubbed Telugu films appealed to these people.The reach of our dubbed films was wider than I had imagined.On one hand the industry suffers huge losses and on the other she wins new admirers up north ..I continue to wonder if we are progressing or regressing.


At one of my family functions in Karnataka later last year, 'Ringa..Ringa' was hot favourite.At NIFT campus in Hyderabad dominated by Bihar students , Ringa Ringa is campus anthem. On my journey to Hassan district, I striked a conversation with a waiter in a road side eatery.He and his friends had hired a truck to attend Chiranjeevi's party launch rally in Tirupati two years ago.

In another incident, my colleague's cousin from Kerala travelled all the way to Hyderabad just to see Allu Arjun at a public meeting.

Every time I see Uttarpradesh lining up, Orissa and Rajasthan sway for mass Telugu numbers, Uttarakhand poster up our heroes and Karnataka taken over by Telugu cinema, I feel proud. The cynic in me dies.The victim of bad films in me forgives.The critique of cliche content calms down.


We are an industry of N T Ramarao, ANR, S V Ranga Rao. Of Vittalacharya, LV Prasad, Nagireddy, C Pullaiah. Of Bhanumati, Savitri, Dasari, Shobhan Babu and Krishna. Of Ghantasala, SP Balasubramaniam, Susheela, Janaki and Jikki.Of Bapu, Vamsi, Jandhyala and EVV. Of Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Balaiah and Venkatesh. Of Sharada, Satyanarayana, Rao Gopal Rao, Paruchuri and Bramhanandam. Of RGV, Jayapradha, Jayasudha, Sridevi and Vijayashanti.Filmnagar houses an endless list of brand ambassadors who ventured into newer places and conquered them. She has more market to exploit, more fans to win, more territories to occupy and boundaries to expand.

With 30 heroes,30 comedians over 1,200 screens and 210 films an year she looks larger than Bollywood.

What I like the most about Telugu film industry is its innocent love for the medium of cinema. After Anaganaga Oo Dheerudu, this industry has not stopped making films. After Veera, they have not gone out of business. After Saleem, they haven't sat home. After Marocharitra the production houses didn't shut down. KSD Appalraju didn't stop distributors from buying films. Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi film industries may be equally or more talented than Telugu cinema in a few ways but can never match her in her entrepreneurial spirit.

However, I have mixed feelings about Telugu film industry's future.When I look at box office collections of superhit films, I am optimistic of Telugu cinema's future.When I think of the monopoly in film exhibiting system in Tollywood, I am pessimistic.Hundreds of theatres are in the hands of five people.Of the 30 heroes, 25 are from film families.Industry unfortunately works on 'Caste'ing rather than on 'Casting'.This monopoly is dangerous for a creative industry.Telugu cinema is a fan driven industry and movies are hero centric as against story centric.We need to graduate to being 'audience' driven industry with story as the hero if we have to uphold the glitz of her golden past.


Every time she is bruised with an utter flop and I am worried of her,Telugu cinema tells me

"Don't worry a Magadheera will soon be born to save me.I will continue my Dhookudu again.... I am Telugu cinema...Neninthe!!


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An Enigma called Pawan Kalyan!!

Months after I stopped blogging thanks to my laziness, I decided to write again.The motivation was Pawan Kalyan's 'Panjaa' audio launch.
Before you could conclude me as Pawan Kalyan fan, let me disclaim:I have been a biggest critique of Pawan until what I saw at the audio launch of his film 'Puli'.
I remember driving down to HICC Convention centre in Madhapur to cover the audio launch.It was a lazy day.I wasn't too excited but was curious to see Pawan Kalyan. A kilometre before HICC, I saw a huge group of youngsters walking.
As I reached closer to HICC, the groups started getting bigger.By the time my car reached the main gate of the venue, the crowd size was unbelievable.I wondered who they were and why they all walked and where to.

The first major shock hit me when a few of them peeped into every car that passed by.A lot of them were not allowed to enter the main gate. Cops pushed them away to make way for cars entering the venue. After the security check, I parked my car and walked towards the main entrance.What I saw then was unforgettable.Thousands of youngsters stood in the line to get into HICC.I boast myself as a journalist who covered hundreds of events.I have never ever seen something like this.

Public relations head Mr.B A Raju spotted me looking at the crowd bewildered.He escorted me in.I was still dazed and wide eyed unwilling to believe that so many people could come for a hero who hasn't had a big hit for a long time.A youngster found press pass in my hand and came up to me.He requested me to give him the pass.I explained that it was no more valid because I am already inside.He said he wants to go back to his hometown Vizianagaram and flaunt it in his village.I asked him if he really came from Vizianagaram for this audio launch.He nodded and there was no need for him to lie to a stranger like me.Bang, second shock!

As I entered the hall, I was in third stage of Power shock.The auditorium was full.A R Rahman had just arrived.When his arrival was announced, the crowd cheered and that sound strolled me back to reality from the shock.The then Chief Minister Rosaiah was to be the chief guest for that event.

Even as the compere was struggling to find space between the screams of the audience to announce something, the LED screens in the hall showed Pawan Kalyan's entry.
What followed then blew my mind off.For the next ten minutes, I could only hear 'Power star... Power star'' and something that sounded like a wave.I looked back at the crowd and found most of them standing on their seats trying their luck to find Pawan Kalyan walking in.
Minutes later Chief Minister Rosaiah came in.After the usual 'oh this is a great movie' lines, CM Rosaiah said, 'I am a fan of Chiranjeevi'.For the next few minutes CM couldn't talk.We only heard a massive wave sound again.This was an experience to experience.I looked at other journalists and raised my eyebrows.

Pawan Kalyan spoke and there I was armed with pen and notepad scribbling every line he said.His speech had honesty, something I never found in most actors in Tollywood.
I found him genuine and realistic.There was no pretence, no fake words, no arrogance, no deceit, no false praise.It was straight from the heart.For someone who was sick of stereotypical film speeches praising themselves and their unbearable films, his speech came as a pleasant surprise.He left the venue.I walked back to my car and as I drove towards the main gate of HICC, I found people peeping into my car.I realised whom they were looking for.

For most other stars, box office success matters because they are rated on those parameters.For Pawan, it doesn't. Audience like him for something beyond his cinema.I guess it is honesty, sincierity in his eloquence and truth in his voice that most actors lack.He is one of the fewest stars who don't take stardom seriously.This attitude is perhaps a style statement in itself.

Puli came and went.It was a disaster.I ripped it apart. Months passed and then came Theenmaar.I went to Prasads to review the movie on the first day.
Nothing changed.The crowd, the cheers, the screams and the fans from across the state.Though I liked the film, I am told it was an average performer at the box office.Months passed...

And now as I see Pawan Kalyan at the audio launch of Panjaa I flash back to music launch of Puli.Nothing changed.The crowd, the cheer, his speech, the honesty, eloquence...
For me and many more journalists who track the lives of celebrities from close, Pawan Kalyan is and will remain an enigma, a riddle and an unsolved puzzle for long years to come....

As I ready myself to post this on my blog, I can hear Pawan Kalyan's voice.It is my roommate here in Washington DC glued to youtube video of Panjaa's audio launch...An enigma indeed!!

Disastrous debut for Walt Disney in Telugu!!

Review:

Title:Anaganaga Oo Dheerudu

Walt Disney Production.

Starcast:Siddharth, Shruti Haasan, Laxmi Manchu, Tanikella Bharani, Bramhanandam, Ravibabu et al.

Walt Disney's debut production in Telugu, 'Anaganaga Oo Dheerudu' starring Siddharth, Shruti Haasan and Laxmi Manchu was touted as one of the most awaited films of this year.Directed by K Raghavendar Rao's son Prakash Kovelamudi, the trailers of this socio fantasy evoked massive curiosity among the audience.The movie crew went gaga over the film on twitter and promoted the film in every possible way.The magnum opus released with huge expectations all over the state.


Story:

Irendri(Laxmi Manchu) is an evil snake queen who occupies the throne of 'Anga' kin'gdom. Her cruelity known no bounds and tired of her.She casts her evil spell on children in Agarta region of her kingdom.One of the parent suggests that they go in search of a little girl 'Moksha' who is blessed with noble powers which can heal their kids.'Moksha' is in a divine ashram under the protection of 'Yodha'(Siddharth) a blind body guard.A parent comes to the ashram and requests the Guruji(Subbaraya Sarma) to send Moksha to Agarta to heal their kids.Guruji agrees to his requests and sends her with Yodha as her body guard. Enroute, Yodha narrates his story to Moksha on how he became blind.He reveals how much he loved Priya(Sruthi Haasan) a fortune teller, whom he had met at a carnival few months ago.Yodha gets blinded as he tried to protect Priya from a local king(Ravibabu).Meanwhile, Irendri is told by her snake messengers that she needs to give Moksha as a sacrifice in order to attain salvation.The rest of the story is on how Irendri finds Moksha, what is the connection between her and Priya and if Yodha manages to protect Moksha.


Performances:

Siddharth is absolutely not convicing as a warrior.His Telugu has a heavy urban accent which doesn't match his charecter.He is a classic case of wrong casting for the right role.Shruti Haasan is beautiful in every frame of the film.She is potrayed splendidly and is a treat to watch.Shruti did well in her damsel in distress role in this film.The saving grace of this much hyped movie is Laxmi Manchu.She unleashes reservoir of energy hidden in her for years.Her body language, dialogue modulation, expressions and laugh reverberate villainism to the core.Laxmi is dominating and dynamic.Subtract her, and the movie falls flat.She is outstanding and is here to stay.Comedians Bramhanandam and Ali had only one scenes each.Tanikella Bharani's role too is pigmy short .Ravibabu delivers a whistle worthy performance as a comedy villain.


Remarks:

The costumes are a visual treat. Shruti Haasan, Siddharth and Laxmi look a million bucks in those splendid and flamboyant outfits. Shruti's naval is seen almost everytime she is on screen and she is superhot.The make up artistes too need a pat on their backs for a good job.Laxmi's make up by Mumbai team adds to her captivating look.Only one song, 'Ninnu Choodani' by Anuj is ear soothing and the rest are yawn inducing.The background score is not upto the mark. Saleem Sulaiman who gave the background score, shamelessly copied 'Chaand Sifarish' music from his own film 'Fanaa' in a couple of scenes. The Arabic background score to Telugu movie don't suit one bit.In many scenes, people around are wearing costumes like belly dancers and Arabians which was funny to the core. Siddharth is a big draw back to the film .He is not serious and no match to the tall villain Laxmi.The story is known to everyone who has ever watched a film and the narration is pathetic.

The visual affects are not upto the mark.A few sets are clearly identifiable.The only good thing about visual effects is those snakes in a rope form that come from Laxmi's hair and talk to her.Barring Ali's one scene comedy, not a single frame in this film has comic scene.The scenes where Irendri's masked men chase little girl Moksha are so badly shot and makes you cringe and frown.The movie is a let down in many ways and is not in commensurate with the hype generated by the director and its twitterati stars.

Verdict:

'AOD' is a predictable story narrated very badly.The visual effects might interest kids. But, go to this film only if you don't get the tickets for 'Mirapakayi'.

And the next big Superstar is.....

In an industry where every second hero is a star kid, Nani carved a niche for himself even without a godfather.An ardent lover of cinema who started off as an assitant director, Nani is now one of the few bankable stars at the box office while the rest of the actors in his league are following the popular formula of four fights and six songs in a movie, this young star defies those rules and is now the most sought after actor for film makers who make cinema with a difference.His latest release 'Ala Modalaindi' which hit the screens this week has evoked huge response from Tollywood reasserting the theory that Nani does movies of a standard.

"In all my movies before, I had to act and emote. In Ala Modalaindi, my charecter is more like me in real life.The film is very different from what I have done before.The director Nandini Reddy is my friend and our comfort level reflects on the screen.She told me the idea and wrote five scenes.She used to share her idea as she was developing the script and I witnessed its evolution.The USP of the film is every youngster connects to the charecter and there is nothing over the top.This is the kind of cinema I would love the watch as audience."




Half a dozen movies old Nani opines that in an attempt to remain safe, a few stars calculate too many factors and second guess what their audience want while chosing their films.He reveals that he always choses scripts that appeal to him irrespective of whether it will work at the box office.

"In an attempt to carefully chose scripts, they calculate too many things. A few actors second guess if the film will work in 'B' and 'C' centres. They brainstorm if the director is bankable, who is the target audience and what content would appeal to that crowd et al. All these calculations don't work and they most often go wrong.Audience come to theatres and they always welcome movies with a difference.The actors must follow their heart and do it if they like it.I always check if the director can handle the subject well and the producer is passionate enough to give the film a decent platform.Beyond that my only checklist is if the film appeals to me or not." Nani quips.

Case in a point is the actor chose to die in the climax of his last film 'Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu', something no hero in Tollywood ever dared to agree to.What made

"In several theatres, women sat weeping even after the curtains went down on that film.Movies are all about made an impact and this film had a huge impact. I want to defy rules because if we follow rules, we will never evolve.I don't believe in rules.In an attempt to break the rules, most of the times, it may go wrong but one day it will work and when it does, it becomes a new 'rule'.Cinema is progressing because someone is breaking the rules and the others are following it.In a true sense, I have done roles of extreme variety. I avoided being typecast.With the versatile films I have done so far, film makers for sure know they can cast me for any kind of role. I would like to be known as an actor than as a hero. I am happy to be where I am today"



This assistant director turned star is debuting in Tamil cinema this year with his film 'Veppam'.The first look of the film has created a sensation of the sorts and is touted as one of the most awaited films this year.Nani says after the first look, directors are approaching him with bi-lingual projects.

"The dynamics are different between Tamil and Telugu cinema.The content of a few films don't suit the sensibilities of our audience. But whenever there are scripts that Telugu and Tamil audience can relate to, I will do a bi-lingual. I didn't chose to do a Tamil film with an intention to expand my market.I liked the subject and hence went ahead with it. Infact I always loved Tamil films for the 'raw' cinema they make.I appreciate the technical standards they apply in making their films.Ever since the first look of Veppam is out, I am being approached for bilinguals.If I am offered a typical commercial movie in Telugu and a script that appeals to me from Tamil, I will always chose the latter as job-satisifaction matters the most to me" the star boldly declares.





Many actors envy Nani for bagging the lead role in ace director S S Rajamouli's project 'Eega'.The actor has raised quit a few eyebrows as he bagged a project with the hit machine director.

"There were rumours that I was doing a Rajamouli film even before I was approached for the project. One day, I was told that he was trying to reach me on a project.He was down to earth and narrated the script to me. Despite being number one director, he described the story in detail and I was very impressed on how grounded he was.I immediately agreed to do it.It is a nice oppurtunity for me to prove myself as an actor and since it is his film, a lot more people will watch my performance as Rajamouli has a huge fan base too.This movie is going to be one of his best films and he is all set to start a new trend in Tollywood" Nani says with confidence.


Apart from his movies, Nani is a hot topic online and for tabloids which hooked him to actor Swati earlier and now to his co-star Nitya Menon.The actor takes these link-ups with a pinch of salt .

"If I was linked up with Swati or Nitya Menon it only means our onscreen chemistry is good.It works well for my movie. Both of them are my good friends. I am not seeing either of them and all these rumours are baseless" he clarifies.

"Making people laugh is the toughest task"

His name has become synonymous with success.Tollywood's hit machine who makes more movies than any other star, Ravi Teja is on a high.Of all the releases this Sankranti, Raviteja's 'Mirapakayi' is doing exceptionally well at the box office.Despite competition from an A-lister hero Balakrishna's Paramaveera Chakra and socio fantasy film Anaganaga Oo Dheerudu, Mirapakayi emerged box office winner.A confident Raviteja says he released it because he was sure it will work this season.


" I am happy it is doing very well.Audience will watch the film if it is good no matter how many release at the same time.In my career, there were four releases for Sankranti festival and this is one of the most successful of them.I never planned conciously to release my film for Sankranti but it is just coincidence. I am overwhelmed with the response" he says with a glint in his eyes.


Overtly shy, Raviteja who entered the film industry with no godfather, today is one of the highly paid stars who is branded as 'minimum guarentee' by the producers. Popular perception is his movies either do exceptionally well or get the money back.Given his 'Akshay Kumar' histrionics blended with slapstick comedy body language, he was recently conferred the ephithet 'Mass Maharaja'. Is he happy with such titles?

"I don't believe in taglines and titles. I don't like them. But my directors and producers call me so.People watch some movie and then compare me with Akshay Kumar or someother actor. I don't believe in number games. Such comparisons keep popping up in media and distribution circles but I don't take them seriously. I would like to be called just Raviteja and nothing else" says the actor who is now giving established A-lister stars a run for their money.

Raviteja's films are a type with trademark comedy.The actor admits that his comedy timing draws crowds and that 'entertainment' is his first priority.

"I like people to laugh and enjoy when they come to watch me in theatres. There is so much drama and pain in everyone's lives. I don't like to replay them in my movies. My films are for those who want to forget their troubles and relax for two and a half hours. Entertainment is my priority.I don't like tragic films and so I believe in making people laugh watching my films" he claims.


This star is one of the few actors in Tollywood who has an image. Though he has done a few thought provoking films like 'Shambho Siva Shambo' and 'Naa Autograph Sweet Memories' in between, offlate he is typecast as an action and comedy hero.The hero opines that though he likes to do scripts that merit critical acclaim, it is not commercially viable.

"I would like to do movies that can win critical acclaim but audience won't watch. People want entertainment.If we make 'different' cinema, the results also will be different.Going by the history, such films didn't do well at the box office.Audience who watch such critically acclaimed movies are very few and we can't keep making films only keeping them in mind.Only musical entertainers with some action have gone on to become hits.Serious films get awards but not money" he says.


"The trick is to try and blend both.For instance in my film 'Vikramarkudu', I play a serious charecter and a comic one and both compliment each other.However, not every script can accomodate both serious and comic charecters.It is rare."Ravi adds.


His comedy timing is earning rave reviews and his movies don't need too many comedians as he makes up for all of them.Ravi reveals that he watches the films of superstars Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda for inspiration.Ravi defends his 'comic' action and declares that making people laugh is one of the toughest thing.

"I observe people outside and their expressioTns.Most of my emotions are picked up from observing people in real life. Besides, I am an avid follower of Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Rajinikanth,Chiranjeevi and Mohanlal. All of them are masters in blending comedy with action.Their comedy timing is splendid and are absolute entertainers.These five are commercial mass actors and are popular because they did 'entertaining' films.Making people laugh is one of the toughest things because the timing is very important." he says.


Hit or flop, he has always been consistent in doing films. He does over three films an year and currently he has 'Veera' a film directed by Ramesh Varma and another untitled film in kitty.Despite his superstar status, Ravi maintains very low profile outside cinema world.He is never seen in social dos or partying with the city's who's who.

"I love to keep a low profile in my personal life. I eat, breathe and live cinema. I don't know anything beyond showbusiness.This is my favourite world and I would like to confine myself to it"


"I don't have future plans and ambitions in life.I love to work round the year. I don't have a fixed rule that I should do these many movies an year. I would like to remain an actor and keep working in cinema until I die" he ends in a typical filmi style.

(Published in Times of India on 18-01-2011)

Taapsee rejects Amitabh's film offer!

Taapsee who is now on a high with two films ready to release in Telugu and a couple in Tamil is on a rejection spree. Sources confirm that this Punjabi girl from Delhi was approached by Puri Jagannath for his upcoming film starring Amitabh Bachchan in Hindi.The movie is titled 'Budda'.

Deeksha Seth and Taapsee were to play roles in this film but Taapsee is believed to have rejected it. The reason-she is not going to act with Amitabh but will be paired next to Sonu Sood.

"She is busy and her dates are crammed now.She will do a film in Hindi only if it is a great script and a seasoned director.In this film, her role is next to Sonu Sood and her rejection has got nothing to do with Amitabh Bachchan" a close aide of the actress informed.

Pawan Kalyan in 'Dabangg' remake

Powerstar Pawan Kalyan is all set to redo what Salman Khan did last year in Dabanngg. Sources from Tollywood confirm the news that Pawan will do the remake of Dabangg in Telugu.Whats more, he is all set to produce this film on house Pawan Kalyan creative works. The project has been titled 'Gabbar Singh'.Director Harish Shankar who directed 'Mirapakayi' with Ravi Teja this Sankranti, will direct this project.

A little birdie tells us that Pawan Kalyan was supposed to do 'Mirapakayi' earlier but it went to Raviteja at the end.The heroine of this film is yet to be finalised. We hear that 'Gabbar Singh' will be shot and released this year itself.

Pawan Kalyan is currently doing three films. One with Jayant Paranjipe which is 'Love Aaj Kal' remake, the other on Jesus Christ and an untitled film. At this rate, Pawan is all set to have four releases in 2011.

(Published in Times of India on 23-1-2011)

Sundeep Kishan-Best Debutant of the year

In Tollywood where movies of three fights and six songs are a standard staple for cinema, 'Prasthanam' directed by Deva Katta came as a surprise to many who gave up hopes.The movie had intense performances, strong dialogues, sensible story line and applause worthy cinematography and more than anything else, the film had Sundeep Kishan.This 23 year old with a mammoth love for cinema is the most critically acclaimed actor this year.Basking in the glory of appreciation for his whistle drawing performance, Sundeep admits that he did the role as he liked it immensely and spontaneity did the wonders on screen.

"Method acting doesn't work for every charecter.For my charecter 'Chinna' in Prasthanam, I had to be unpredictable and spontaneous.I used to reharse my dialogues just minutes before the shot. My body language for that charecter had to be A surprise for the audience and so I conciously didn't follow any method for the performance in it. While shooting for it, I used to talk very little and was in my own world.This process made Chinna an unpredictable charecter on screen that worked" says the actor.Incidentally, Prasthanam was the only Telugu movie that got selected for Indian panorama in Goa film festival this year.

Nephew of ace cinematographers Chota K Naidu and Shyam K Naidu, Sundeep consisders compliments from his family and film maker Krishna Vamsi the best ones for his acting in the movie.

"Krishnavamsi is my favourite director and I admire him a lot . After watching the movie, he walked up to me and abused me with foul words saying how I could deliver such stupendous performance in my first movie. I guess that is the best thing one has ever said to me in appreciation of my work." he reveals.


An MBA from Loyola college in Chennai, Sundeep grew up loving cinema and worked as assistant director to film maker Gautam Menon for the movie Surya S/ Krishnan. This year, his yet another release 'Snehageetam' did decent business in the state cementing his position in Tollywood. Sundeep is now looking forward to the release of his first Hindi movie 'Shor', a Balaji Telefilms production, in which he shares screen space with Tushar Kapoor and Senthil Ramamoorthy. 'Shor' too got rave reviews in all the international film festivals.He says while he loves to do Telugu movies, he saw a great oppurtunity in 'Shor' that made him sign the film.

"Shor is an international film the country will be proud of. Mine is a realistic role in the film and with a strong performance oriented charecter.I thought Shor was a great oppurtunity for debutant like me and I grabbed it. The director of the film Krishna whose earlier movie 99 was my all time favourite . When he wanted to cast me, I went ahead without second thought" Kishan says.

Sundeep is a part of critically acclaimed cinema. Will we ever get to see him in a gravity defying fight sequence and a movie with illogical SUV flying scenes?

"I am not making films for the critics or the audience.No one knows what kind of movies appeal to critics and audience.I can only be a part of a film I believe in. I am not here for money but for satisifaction. I want audience to get value for money when they watch my movies.I want to have a filmography with movies I can be proud of. I don't see anything wrong in movies with gravity defying fights as long as it is value for money to audience. I enjoying movies with fights and songs.'Robot' too had logic defying stunts but audience loved it.I will do any genre if I am confident it will be 'paisa vasool 'for movie goers"

However, Prasthanam wasn't a commercial blockbuster at the box office. Does he think Telugu audience ready to watch parallel cinema?

"For a film not to do good, there are so many factors. Telugu audience adored films like 'Sinduram' and 'Anthapuram'. If a film is good, it works and the movie's success depends on lot of circumstances. For all you know the taste of the audience might change by the tiime you finish your movie. For instance, Prasthanam had four songs. But after the morning show, audience wanted us to remove those songs immediately.Commercial cnema is something that works at the box office. There is nothing called parallel cinema genre, because all movies are made to work at the box office. Audience love to watch good cinema anyday" he quips.

Sources say, Sundeep is waiting for the response to' Shor ' to make his next move in Tollywood and is also in talks with Tamil film makersAn ardent cinema lover, this three movie old star reveals that his life time ambition is to make his name synonymous to good cinema and worth applauding acting.

"I am ambitious and want to do lot of films. I want audience to believe in me for my films. I want to do movies that make people trust me.I want to be a reason for them to come to theatres. I would consider that my life time achievement if they associate me with sensible entertainment." he says on a parting note.

(Published in The New Indian Express on 20 Dec, 2010)

"I don't care who my co-star is"

After 'Anand' and 'Godavari' became blockbusters, everyone thought she will be the next big thing in the industry.Her sky rocketing career didn't take off at the pace her fans thought it would.With no regrets of where she is today, Kamilini Mukherjee is back with whistle worthy performance in the latest release 'Nagavalli'.She plays a mentally disturbed girl and looks a million bucks after she lost weight. She clarifies that she didn't lose weight because she wanted to and not becuase any role demanded her to.

"It was just a wake up call and I realised I was chilling and need to be more fit. So I started working out. It is purely coincidental that my slimmer look worked for my charecter in Nagavalli where I play a mentally disturbed girl who is kept indoors for two years. Also when I started shooting for Nagavalli, I fell ill which actually worked wonders for the role." she explains.

This Bengali bombshell rubbishes the rumours that she was not happy with the length of her role in 'Nagavalli'. She says that her screen time in this movie is more than the same charecter in Kannada version.

"I am happy with the time I got to be on screen in 'Nagavalli'.Infact the director and the team worked on my charecter and added a song to it which wasn't the case with in its Kannada version. I have done such short length roles in 'Happydays' et al. The duration of my role never bothered me as long as I got to perform and my presence has relevance to the story"




The actress was last seen in ' Maa Annaya Bangaram' starring with Rajasekhar. While most of her contemperaries who are far less critically acclaimed chose to work with A-league stars, why does she work with a star from any league?

"For me, script, my role and the director I am working with matters and not the co-star.I know that most starlets work in projects with hardly any role just because a big hero is acting it.That is a conventional way of working. But I don't measure my career graph on the basis of how big the hero I worked with. I see if I am growing as an actor and the kind of roles I have played than whom I am seen on screen with. For me acting with Sharwanand or Venkatesh next to me is all the same. I would like to work with any actor as long as my role is challenging and different from the ones I did before" Mukherjee says.

For long she played Miss good two shoes and was seen drapped in saree, running around trees. Her last few movies like 'Maa Annaya Bangaram' and
'Bramhanandam drama company' in Telugu went unnoticed. She says she doesn't regret doing films because she didn't want to be typecast.

"In Maa Annaya Bangaram, I played the role of a timid spineless girl, something I haven't done before.I am always in look out for roles I haven't played before. I was being typecast and so I am glad I decided to come out of it and something unconventional.Otherwise it would have been boring for me and the audience too.The day acting bores me, I would venture into a new branch of cinema perhaps.If I stick to the same image comfortable in that zone, I would n't have viewed myself with a compliment." says the actress who keeps shuttling between Hyderabad and Mumbai.

She candidly admits that her staying in Mumbai might get her lesser offers from Tollywood but that she believes in her work speaking for itself than PR around being in Hyderabad.


"I am very recluse and maintain a low profile.I am perpetually hiding. I always promote my films pre and post release but I am not someone who will be conciously seen at events to build my PR. Even when I am in Hyderabad, I would finish my shoots and do things that have nothing to do with cinema. I know that by being in Hyderabad and attend events, be seen and get clicked, I might get more offers. But I would like to stay in Mumbai because it gives me that personal space. I let my work speak for itself" says the actress who is doing a film with Venu and has two more Telugu films in her kitty which will go on floors in the next two months.She is also looking forward to doing her first 'Bong' movie which was to start shooting long ago.

Despite her goody two shoes image, she had her share of controversy too. She was potrayed nude in national award winning Malayalam film Kutty Shranku. Though she clarified that it wasn't she but a body double, the number of hits on you tube to get a glimpse of her is only on the rise. Did this controversy bother her?

"I am not a net savy person and so I didn't pay attention to it initially. But my mom told me that it is doing the rounds on youtube now. It is an award winning cinema and I did a decent job but people are making an issue out of that 100 seconds visual.People are ignoring the value of that movie by cringing about that scene.The episode made me angry.When I wore a saree, a few said she only wears saree and can't carry off western attire. When I wore modern outfits they said something else. People will forget all this soon and only a great movie called 'Kutty Shranku' will be remembered" she says confidently.

(Published in The New Indian Express on 22 Dec, 2010)

10 Chartbusters of T'wood-2010

1) Inumulo Hridayam ( Robot)

Like Rajni, like song. AP got hypnotised to this track which released a month in advance to the movie.Lyrics penned by Suddhala Ashok Teja and sung by Suzzane, Kash n' Krissy, A R Rahman's ' Inumulo Hridayam' was a classy number that is still numero one in the charts.The song is a must play in all radio stations after audience watched stylish Rajnikanth wear silver and gold coloured suits depicting Robot and splendid Aishwarya potrayed as Robot woman who set the screen ablaze in this number. 'Khilimanjaro' and 'Neelo Valapu' from this movie were also notable musical hits this year.



2) Ee Hridayam( Yem Maya Chesave )

The movie wouldn't have been as big a hit it was, without this track.The song was in air every five minutes. It was in malls, radio stations, theatres, TV and hotels.Vijay Prakash and Suzzane sang this western classical number composed by A R Rahman.It was shot on Nagachaitanya and Samanta in exotic locales of New york and other parts of US. The song left an indelible impression on young audience who flocked the theatres to watch it.The tunes with the chorus in a new format, English lyrics mocktailed with visuals of a saree clad Samanta and blazer garbed Nagachaitanya was an experience to experience.


3) Bangaru Konda(Simha):

This track was the soul of Tollywood's Dabbangg, 'Simha' that gave new life to flickering career of Balakrishna. Composed by Chakri and shot on Nayanatara and Balakrishna, Bangaru Konda is one of the biggest hits this year.Sung by Hariharan and Kausalya, this title song was played where ever Balayya went.Filled with conventional instruments like drums and choreographed well this harmonious and prayer like song proved a great asset to the movie. Other tracks like 'Simhamanti Chinnode'. and 'Janaki Janaki' too complimented this song making this album a chartbuster in 2010.


4 )Aunana Kaadana..( Leader):

Shekhar Kammula, the director of this movie has given the musical helm to his find Mickey J Meyer once more and to Mickey's credit, he hasn't sullied the faith shown in him. This slow song picked up fast and helped create buzz around the movie.Kudos to singers Naresh Iyer and Shweta Pandit whose voice suits the romantic flavour of this track made audience excuse the minor glitches in the movie.This song was one of the most melodious numbers in 2010 that was pleasant hearing.

5)Inka Eedo( Darling)

G V Prakash Kumar, nephew of A R Rahman who gave music to this movie set a standard for melody tunes with this track. Super sweet melody that rejuvinates our ears,' Inka Eedo 'is the best thing about this film with a tune hard to forget. Shot on Prabhas and Kajal, the visual spectacle created by the movie maker by choregoraphing it in jaw dropping locales in Europe and potraying the actors infront of visual effects soaked Charminar and Buddha statue in Hussain sagar lake that is wet with snow, audience were mesmerised and it will take a long time to forget this super melody.


6)Chiru Chiru Chiru Chinukai(Awara):

Music maestro Ilayaraja's son Yuvan Shankar Raja proved that music is in his DNA through this song. The song made this Tamil to Telugu dubbed movie a hit and earned its star Karthi huge fan base in the state.Yuvan maintained a fine balance between melody and jhatka beats that caught the listeners interest.The orchestration was truely gimmicky and no other singer could have carried it off other like Haricharan did.The zest with which he sang the song reflects in its energy and it remained chartbuster all through the year.




7)Where is the Pancha Kattu?( Adurs):

This track 'Chary' for which Junior NTR turned singer worked wonders and how.The lyrics that wittily teased 'Chary' and his Shikha hair style and dhoti were new and catchy.Rita who sang with NTR pepped up this number with her husky voice.The song worked also as it was picturised on NTR himself. It doesn't have an overdose of orchestra and makes for a pleasant hearing. The music director Devi Sri Prasad realised the importance of lyrics in this song and didn't bombard it with too much noise making it one of the most heard songs in 2010. Chandrakala.. sang by Haricharan was another impressive number from this album.






8)Naa hridayam (Yamudu)

Dubbed version of Tamil blockbuster 'Singham', 'Yamudu' did decent business in the state. 'Naa Hridayam' sang by Suchitra Karthik Kumar brought some succor to one's ears.Music director Devi Sri Prasad proved his forte in giving music that lasts for years.This song had simple chorus,soothing instruments that can take you into another world. The lines in the song have ' Naa Hrudayam' in a few lines sung by chorus that makes the listener remember the words and stores the song in his memory for a while.It was a visual treat too to see bikni clad Anushka dance to this song with hunk Suriya. Naa Hrudayam created a record of the sorts by being played the highest number of times by radio stations in the city.



9) Amma Talle Noru Muyave( Puli)

Poor script, pathetic performance by stars and lousy screenplay of Puli didn't stop people from listening to 'Amma Thalle'. A R Rahman's music for Pawan Kalyan movie though didn't seem to impress audience here initially grew on them slowly.Lyricist Chandrabose took three months to write the songs and it paid off. Superfast utterances of tongue twisting lyrics by Shweta Mohan for A R Rahman's music made this song a new experience for Telugu audience. The audience adopted the song and ditched the movie.


10)Sydney Nagaram ( Orange):

The beauty of Australian city Sydney got multiplied with this song. Composed by ace music director Harris Jayaraj with the voices of Karunya and Ranina Reddy, this track was the most in demand this year.This romantic track made the audience go jiggy. With not too many instrumental interludes, Harris kept it simple and let the voice of Karunya work wonders. His voice echoed the feeling of love and joy in this track.As the lyrics of this song went ' This is the time to fall in love...oh my love...welcome to my heart..fall in love.. fall in love, the audience truely fell in love.

(Published in Times of India on 29-12-2010)

10 Important incidents of Tollywood in 2010

10 Important incidents of Tollywood in 2010:

Telangana agitation, stalling movie screenings, attacks on film shoots:

Telangana agitation that spilled over to the first half of this year had an impact on movies like 'Adurs' that released in January this year. Shooting sets of Mahesh Babu's 'Khaleja' were burnt, slogans were raised at ' Brindavanam' shoot of NTR, shoots of a few films abrupted across the region. The release of NTR's 'Adurs' was in dilema owing to the producer's support to anti Telangana agitation.A few film makers accused agitators of blackmailing them for money and a few others silently 'discussed' the matter with the agitators.

Navdeep goes to jail:

All party and no work made Navdeep a bad boy. Drunk at a party in a night club on 9th May, the actor drove his car in the wrong direction and abused cops who tried to stop him in a filmi style. IPS officer Stephen Ravindra arrested the actor after chasing him and sent him to police station late in the night and that too in an auto. Eeeeks!! Whats more, TV media covered it live. Navdeep whose hangover died the next morning realised the blunder and apologised but it was too late. The actor was in the news for wrong reasons yet again when he and his friends went boating in Nagarjuna Sagar and were alleged of boating in the river bed without permission.

Small Vs Big films:

T-town's favourite dispute topic-big movie makers acting like mafia, continued to hog news print this year too.Small budget film makers accused the President of Telugu film producers' council , Shyam Prasad Reddy of being biased towards big shots like Allu Aravind and Suresh babu and carried an aggresive SMS and email campaiign against him, forcing him to resign. A blog campaign against Sureshbabu and Allu Aravind accusing them of killing cinema, by holding hundreds of theatres in their hands sustained a cold war environ in Filmnagar.

Veturi Sundara Rama Murthy Died:

One of the legendry writers , Veturi ,who could write on any genre and emotion and considered one of the biggest assets of Telugu cinema passed away in May this year. His death is the biggest loss to the creative quotient of Telugu cinema.He penned songs for hundreds of movies that went on to become the blockbusters. He had a great art for writing lyrics for dubbing songs for the original tunes of the song.

Fight for titles:

As if titles matter in the success, of our films, Telugu film makers spent more time this year in fighting for titles than use their creativity in making watchable movies.First it was amatuer film maker Vijayabhaskar Reddy who filed a case against Mahesh Babu's movie Khaleja for using the title he had already registered. However, the court allowed Mahesh to use the title Khaleja prefixing 'Mahesh' to it. Another film maker Gunasekhar accused actor Nandamuri Kalyanram of encroaching his title 'Kathi' for his movie through series of press conferences. T-activists also hogged limelight demanding Pawan Kalyan to remove 'Komaram' from his movie title 'Komaram Puli'.Title war this year offered better entertainment than the films this time, must say.

Drug arrests:

This is the biggest of all controversies that shattered the image of Tollywood.City cops nabbed actor Ravi Teja's brothers Bharath and Raghu, red handed while purchasing cocaine from a Ugandan on August 20 in Banjara Hills .In the next two days, cops leaked a few names of star party animals whose contact details were reportedly found in that Ugandan's phone.Stars were seen barging into TV stations to give explanations, rushing with rejoinders and 'ready for blood test' slogans for the next few days until the issue mysteriously subsided.Cops have been repeating what has now become the most popular TRP getter for channels, with their once every month statement' we are investigating the involvement of actors in the drug case'. !!

Big movies, bigger flops:

Fans waited three years for Mahesh Babu to do 'Khaleja' and two years for Pawan Kalyan's 'Puli'. The movies released and left the producers in tears and fans distressed.The screenplay and story line in 'Khaleja' made the movie a flop and Puli was awful. Multiplexes saw people returning their tickets of these movies or reselling them to less informed souls. And films like 'Marocharitra' starring Varun Sandesh made audience scream and rush out of theatres as if they were escaping from a haunted house.Ditto with Ramcharan's 'Orange' too didn't meet expectations.Big movies made the the industry bleed a loss of Rs 100 crore this year.

Nandi awards controversy:

When 65 something year old director turned actor turned MP, Dasari Narayana Rao was declared the state government Nandi award best actor this year for his performance in 'Mestri', everyone in Tollywood jaw dropped. Ramcharan Tej was expected to bag the award for 'Magadheera'.Street talk was Dasari influenced the Nandi jury to name him the best actor. Fuelling the controversy, Chiranjeevi in his speech at a filmi do said his son doesn't crave for awards. Ouch!!The war of words from both the sides proved a popular perception that Nandi awards like every other awards are about influence and not talent.

Ramanaidu wins Dadasaheb Phalke:

A stalwart in Indian cinema production, Daggubati Ramanaidu won the Dadasaheb Phalke award this year for his contribution to Indian cinema. Before him, Nagireddy, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, LV Prasad et al won the award in Telugu.Naidu produced about 130 films in about a dozen languages and continues to produce films even today. His award was celebrated by Tollywood.

Nagababu raises budget issues:

Chiranjeevi's brother Nagababu dropped bomb shells and almost wept at an audio launch. We are sure anyone who loses Rs 6.5 cr on a movie, thanks to terrible direction and heroine tantrums will do the same.'Orange' starring Ramcharan Tej and Genelia bombed badly at box office making its producer Nagababu spit fire on the director Bhaskar for taking an year to make an unwatchable and complicated movie.Nagababu accused Genny of blackmailing him of walking out of the movie if Rs 10 lakh was not paid in excess to her remuneration. His outbursts sparked off a debate in Tollywood on minimising movie budgets.

T'wood strike against piracy:

Telugu film industry came together in unity to support film producer Yalamanchili Ravi Chand who sat in for a surprise hunger strike on March 17, demanding the government to bring in stricter law against video piracy. Tollywood unanimously decided to go on strike in support to Ravi's cause. Actors lined up infront of Ravichand's hunger strike camp to pledge support and the government decided topunish bring video pirates under goonda act. The act however is yet to be passed in the legislature.

Film federation and Producers' council strike:

For the first time, Tollywood shut down for more than a week. Producers demand increase in working hours for stars and lesser number of shooting days, employees demand producers to pay more, actors refuse to take pay cuts-mocktailed to occur the biggest logjam in history of Telugu cinema. With crores of rupees at stakes and bloated egos on all sides, shootings came to a halt, schedules went haywire, releases put on hold, making it a worst ever phase for Telugu film industry.Thanks to the strike, the industry which is already in deep losses has suffered more due to shooting delays.Shootings resumed on December 30.

(Published in Times of India on 28-12-2010)

'Ragada' Review

Starcast: Nagarjuna, Anushka, Priyamani, Pradeep Rawat, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Bramhanandam, Raghubabu, Dharmavarapu Subramaniam, Master Bharath. Director:Veeru Potla

Producer:Shivaprasad Reddy

Music: S S Thaman

Rating: 2/5


Ragada is a typical Telugu film with reel load of fights and six songs a stanard staple for hero-centric movie in Tollywood.

'Ragada' is a story of Satya alias Kadapodu(Nagarjuna) who comes to Hyderabad with a motive.Peddhanna (Pradeep Rawat) is a gangster operating in the city with three important goons executing his orders.GK( Dev Gill) is Peddhanna's principal opponent. Satya saves GK from Peddhanna's men when the latter tries to kill him. Impressed with him, GK requests Satya to assist him in fighting Peddhanna. Sirisha(Anushka) is the daughter of GK's partner and stays in his house. With Satya and Sirisha meeting quite often, there is attraction and romance between them.Peddhanna sends his men to Satya's hometown Kadapa, to find out the whereabouts of his family.The story takes an interesting turn when Ashtalakshmi,(Priyamani) a bramhin girl requests Satya to help her family from Peddhanna.The rest of the story is full of twists and turns that makes for an interesting watch on whom is Satya in love with, what is the connection between his family and him coming to Hyderabad and his rivalry with gangster Peddhanna.

Nagarjuna looks stunning and is every man's envy. Infact a few dialogues and scenes in the movie revolve around the topic of Nag's handsome personality.He looks a million bucks in every shot. However, the Rayalaseema accent didn't suit the hero. He couldn't make 'Manchiki Cheruku gadda.. cheduki Ragada' applaude worthy.There are too many fights in this film and the actor pulls it off His comic timing with Bramhanandam is perfectly entetaining. Anushkha and Priyamani don't have much to do in the movie and are seen dancing more than acting in this film. One gets the feeling if Anushka agreed to do this movie more out of obligation than out of interest as her role doesn't leave an impact on the audience.

Bramhanandam manages to tickle your funny bones with his trademark histrionics.Kota Srinivasa Rao, Pradeep Rawat, Dharmavarapu Subramaniam did well. Dev Gill didn't impress with his performance at all. Child artiste Bharath was at his best and gave Bramhanandam a tough contest on screen.Raghubabu is cliched and yawn inducing.Priyamani delivered a better performance than Anushka in the little acting she got to do in this movie.There are half a dozen villains in this action flick and all of them gave whistle worthy performance.Charmee who lost oodles of weight looked smashing in the item number. She moved her butt with a rocket speed and set the screen ablaze with her movements.
The story is very predictable cocktailed with fights, songs and comedy. Over one and a half hour of the film has fights.

Infact, every ten minutes in the movie has a fight scene. Nagarjuna does a Vijayakanth by killing a villain not by shooting him but by making him eat bullets.The dialogues are not competent enough to make you feel the emotion in the scene. Most of the dialogues give the audience a feeling of deja vu. For instance, the hero's sister screams in a scene, ' Champeyi annayya.. vaadini Champeyi' which reminds one of Ghazini and several other films with similar crowd cheers while hero gears up to murder the villain.

Thaman's music was in tandem with the mass storyline of the movie. Three songs are worth listening to in this album. The locations in Jordan and Greece chosen to shoot the songs were feast to eyes. Bramhanandam's comedy in this film is far better than his painfully boring performance in his other releases this season.Comic scenes with Bramhy and Bharath come as a great relief in between innumerable fights.Pradeep Rawat is seen wearing the same black Kurta all through the movie which makes one wonder why.

The director failed to exploit Pradeep's acting skills in the script.The story in this film is no different from hundred others that released in the past one decade. The cinematography is not worth a mention. Despite several glitches, the movie doesn't bore as much as it should because of perfect screenplay. Every fight is followed by a comedy scene or a song which makes the audience bear the otherwise cliched movie.

If you are a regular Telugu movie goer, you have already watched 'Ragada' in several movies before.Search for other options of entertainment this weekend because Ragada doesn't offer it for the money you pay.

(Review published in The New Indian express on 25-12-2010)

"I don't belong to any camp"

NRI damsel Richa Gangopadhyay who got registered with much hyped about film ' Leader', is on cloud nine now. This season is a double whammy for this former model as ' Nagavalli', her movie with Venkatesh just hit the screens and ' Mirapakaya', her flick with Ravi Teja is up for release. But what took her more than six months to hit the screen again despite an impressive debut? "I was basking in the success of 'Leader' and wanted to chose the right script after working with Shekhar Kammula.

I wanted to do versatile roles.I don't want to be just another glam doll. My priority is to balance performance with glamour. While promoting Leader, Nagavalli and Mirapakaya came my way and I signed them. I went back home to US to spend time with the family before I start shooting again and here are my two films." she says with a voice filled with excitement. With three film releases in one year, Richa couldn't have asked for more.She has signed another film with ace director Selva Raghavan for a bi-lingual movie with Rana in the lead.Sources say Suresh Babu will produce the movie. With she doing three out of four of her films with Daggubati clan, isn't she wary of being branded as belonging to their camp?

"I don't believe camps exist and every film I have signed is purely coindiental.After Leader, director Vasu saw me in Sureshbabu's office and was convinced that I suit the role I played in Nagavalli. He wanted someone who looks innocent and has large eyes. I suited the charecter and was cast in the project. As far as my next movie with Rana is considered, a lot of my fans on twitter liked the jodi of me and Rana in Leader and wished to see our jodi together on screen again. The director of that film also zeroed in on me only after screen testing hundreds of girls.So, it is wrong to assume that I am doing a film only with Daggubatis.No artiste will seclude herself to one production house and miss out oppurtunities and I would like to work with everyone" she clarifies.

The actress has now silenced the critics with her performance in 'Nagavalli' who earlier thought she would be a one movie wonder.She managed to watch the original 'Aptarakshaka' and ' Chandramukhi' to see how Jyothika and Soundarya played the charecters and reveals that she was almost dropped from the project as the director was upset with her 'walking' style on the first day of the shoot. "After I signed the movie, I realised what challenging charecter I was signed up for. I was very nervous on the first day of my shoot. The director P Vasu was not happy with my walking style and had told people on the sets that If this girl can't walk properly, how can she act? I was almost dropped from the movie. However, there was a challenging scene which I reharsed a lot for.I gave the scene in one take and the director was impressed and put off his plans to drop me. I researched a lot for the role and even got fever out of sheer exorsion doing the role.I gave dubbing to a part of the movie and my voice went hoarse as I had to change the modulation often" Richa recalls.

This Bengali girl is learning Telugu and attempted to speak in the language at the audio launch of her movie recently. Does she have a Telugu tutor?

"I am not learning it from a teacher. I just talk to everyone around me on the sets in Telugu and started picking up. I have learnt music and so I can make out sounds easily. I understand Tamil easily too.I hope to speak Telugu fluently soon"

This former model is under the scanner of Fashion police and fitness advocates for putting on weight offlate.Doesn't she believe in working out and size zero looks? "I don't believe that size zero suits Indian women.Our women should have curves to carry off the saree well.I am a student of nutrition and feel that it is important to look healthy than size zero. I got to focus on my fitness now. I have been busy in shooting schedules which leaves me no time to exercise and also this city offers such delicious and irresistable mutton biryani , majjika Pulusu et al which obviously makes me put on weight.Also I can't do boring exercises like hitting the threadmill. I love kick boxing and hot yoga. I will work on it here on" she resolves.

Richa who is elated that her parents are in the town now who will get to watch both her releases says she wants to make them proud of her. "I am glad my parents allowed me to come to India and let me act in movies.They believed in me and are happy that I am doing good for myself.They are in the country now to attend a cousin's wedding and I am happy they will get to watch my releases this time.I don't plan my future anymore and accept things as they come. I want to live upto their expecations and make them proud" says Gangopadhyay signing off.

(Published in Times of India on 02-01-2011)

Female fans get Nag-Venky brand endorsments

Nagarjuna and Venkatesh, two of the big four in Telugu cinema industry, in their 25th year of stardom are still doing movies, more in number every year than their kids and nephews who are also actors now.Even at 50 years of age, both Nag and Venky are giving the young breed of actors a run for their money and most of the younger stars prefer not to release their films anywhere closer to the release of these two biggies for a common reason-their huge female fan following. Nagarjuna and Venkatesh are undoubtedly a big hit among female fans who even in TV smitten era flock to theatres to watch their movies.


This has worked in the favour of both these senior stars in getting them brand endorsments targetted at women customers.Unlike young Tollywood brigade who are vying with one another to turn brand ambassadors for soft drinks, jeans and telecom operators, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh are ambassadors for jewellery brands.

Nagarjuna left everyone wide eyed when he signed as brand ambassador for Kalyan Jewellers from Kerala. The star is splashed on hoarding all over the city endorsing the brand. Sources say the brand did a survey and found that these two stars are a hit with women audience watching Telugu movies which is why they went for Nag.

52 year old Nagarjuna who was away from endorsments for years and has recently got into this new venue of earning money explains,

"A few years ago I was busy and didn't have the time to do endorsments. When I got free , good brands didn't come my way. It just happened now.Both the endorsments are long standing institutions and financially also it works out for me.When the jewellery brand came to me with proposal to be their brand ambassador in AP, I told them to go to Anushka and Ileana. But they explained that they have succesffuly done it with Mammoty in Kerala and also feel that I have a female fan following that works for their brand. They needed a stature and image for people to believe their slogan on purity of gold and I was roped in"

Ditto with Venkatesh who recently turned 51. The actor was the first choice for Coke endorsment years ago when not many T'wood stars were into encashing their image.The actor too avoided endorsments then owing to his busy career and has now plunged into it now.

"Coke approached me years ago and I said no to them then as I was busy with films. This Manapuram gold loan came out of blue. They said they did their research on female audience and their favourite star. They approached me and I readily agreed to do it.I shot a few ads for them for a couple of days and I am glad I am with the right brand" Venky raves.

Sources say both these superstars are willing to endorse more brands now. Poor heroines, who thought will make quick money in their short lived stardom by endorsing apparel and jewellery have to face competition not just from fellow damsels but from Nag and Venky too.

(Published in The New Indian express on 30-12-2010)

"Love is special for me"

Despite other blockbuster hits this year, one movie that left an indelible impression on young audience was Gautam Menon's 'Yem Maya Chesave'.Nagachaitanya's performance as 'Karthik' in this romantic musical entertainer was the most talked about in the industry. YMC made Chai a dream boy of many girls in the state. Young audience flocked to theatres and related to every scene that occured between Jessie and Karthik, the charecters immortalised by Samanta and Nagachaitanya.With two movies in his kitty now, Chai concludes 2010, with lot of content.



"This year has been great for me. I couldn't have asked for more.When I signed up 'Yem Maya Chesave', I didn't think it will be this big a hit.I am flattered when people call me Karthik wherever I go.This movie means a lot to me as it made so much an impact. and it changed my career completely. I thought it was a simple love story but the audience compare everything in their love affairs to the occurences in this film."


His debut film Josh released at a wrong time when former CM YSR just passed away, which showed impact on the film's box office collections.But YMC did decent business. After two films, Nagachaitanya admits that he has evolved as an actor,

"I think I will keep evolving with every film. With every movie, there are newer things to be learnt. Acting is a profession where one can't be adept in ever and there is always a scope for learning newer ways of emoting. Post Josh and YMC, I think I have evolved as an actor for sure"

His father Nagarjuna does at least two films an year even at 25th year of his acting. Chaintya had just one release this year. Is that a concious deciscion to do lesser movies?

"Not at all. Infact, the movie I am doing now with Tamannah was supposed to hit the screens this month.Due to technical problems and now the shooting strike, the release got delayed.It will release in March now.I believe that since I am young, I could do atleast two good films an year.I want the audience to keep remembering me. I don't want them to forget me after one movie. "


Chaitanya is the grandson of two of industry's biggest stalwarts, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Daggubati Ramanaidu whose families have atleast six actors doing films now.This young actor quips that there is healthy competition at home and it is blessing in disguise,

"We need competition to keep growing and try new things. My film 'Yem Maya Chesave' and Rana's ' Leader' released almost at the same time.Me and Rana didn't want that to happen as we are from the same family.We would ideally like to give each other's films a good gap. But there are five actors from our family and we can't help have simultaneous releases.In a way it is good to compete as younger actors are always trying to innovate in their charecters" he feels

"Rana and my dad had the advantage of knowing Hindi. I grew up in Chennai where Hindi isn't spoken much.I know Tamil. Currently, my interest is Telugu and Tamil cinema. I would like to do a bi-lingual with Telugu and Tamil release. However, If the charecter is fantastic and offer is irresistable, I am even willing to learn Hindi."

"I am not much of a social person. I like going to a friend's place. I love eating out but I am not a pub person. I would like to go to a place I know and party with my friends."


While most of his contemperaries with a star backing prefer to play safe by doing movies only with big directors, Chaintanya doesn't seem to have such reservations. He claims that new directors come with fresh ideas

"It is a huge debate that goes on within me when I listen to a script. Lot of people advise me not to do movies with new directors at this juncture of my career.But I feel new directors will think out of the box.Now Telugu cinema is in a phase where audience are bored of regular commercial films. The audience want something new from movies So, I don't mind doing films with new directors with great scripts"

Being a star kid, Chai is by default compared to his dad even after two films. He says he is proud of his lineage but wants to carve a niche for himself.

"People compare my walking style and body language to my dad's. He is looking younger by day and it is a huge pressure to meet his fitness levels. I couldn't have asked for better than be born in such an illustrious family.But I want to be known for who I am and want people to look at my work and appreciate me for that. I want to be known for my acting skills too than be identified only as grandson and son of big stars. People still think I can do only lover boy roles. I want to prove to them that I can do anything and even negative shades. I tell directors not to look at me as a hero. I want to be a charecter.I got into cinema because acting interested me and not stardom. I want to make a mark for myself" says the actor who is planning to move out of his father's residence soon to try living independantly.

Unlike other young breed of actors, Chai makes very few public appearances.He reveals that he isn't a pub person.

"I would like to eat out and party but at some friend's place. I would like to go and party at a place that I know rather than at a pub. I am not much a social person and hang out only with my close friends" Nagachaitanya raves.

Chaitanya says love is a very special feeling for him and he would like to find a girl for himself may be after a few years.But would he like his girl friend to be like Jessie, the charecter played by Samanta in YMC?


"If I had a girl friend, she wouldn't be like Jessie.I cant take it when girls are so confused.Love is a very imp thing in my life.I like the feeling of love and being loved.I told my parents not to think of marriage now.I would like to find my own girl but this is the time mind keeps changing. Let us see how it goes" he concludes.

(Published in Times of India on 31-12-2010)

Laxmi at Kukke Subramanya temple!!

Laxmi Manchu who is debuting as an actor in much talked about socio-fantasy film 'Anaganaga Oo Dheerudu' plays the charecter of snake evil queen Irendri.Wonder if it is to appease snake gods or to offer her prayers to avoid unnecessary trouble, Laxmi is on her visit to Kukke Subramanya temple near Mangalore in Karnataka now. The temple is situated in Western Ghats which has the highest population of King Cobras in the world.Kukke temple is popular among celebrities who come there to perform the 'Sarpadosha Nivarana' puja.

Snake God here is supposed to be very powerful here.Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar, Aishwarya Rai, Shilpa Shetty, Sunil Gavaskar et al performed their puja here. Since Laxmi is playing the Snake queen in her upcoming film, she seems to be on her visit to appease Snake Gods, seek their blessings, perform puja to avoid any unwarranted trouble.Sources say Laxmi is not doing this for promoting her film and is genuinely going to offer her prayers.

T'wood progress report 2010

Tollywood may now be fighting with itself halting all film shoots, but everyone in the film industry agree on one fact that 2010 has been one of the worst years ever for this largest movie making industry in the country.The success ratio of movies in Telugu filmdom shrunk drastically this year from 15 per cent last year to 10 per cent this time.Over Rs 250 crore was spent on making films in 2010 and the returns have been merely Rs 120 crore.Most seasoned film producers have stopped making movies as it is not viable anymore relegating the number of regular producers to 20 now. Of the 110 flicks that hit the screens in 2010, only two were superhits, six broke even and the rest were disasters.Makers of big movies have mortgaged their properties and are keeping their fingers crossed now. Producers are on strike demanding reforms to reduce budgets which they think is their last attempt to survive in this business.We go on a rewind mode of 2010 and bring you the list of top five grossers, five big flops, most succesful hero, heroine this year.

Top five grossers in 2010:

1)Robot: Baap of all movies, superstar Rajinikanth's Enthiran dubbed into Telugu as Robot, harvested Rs 60 crore collections to Thota Kanna Rao, the producer who bought rights of this film for AP region.When the makers quoted Rs 27 crore as the price for AP rights of Robot, people here were hesitant.Kanna Rao bought the rights and got double his investment.People flocked to theatres at Rajini speed. Straight Telugu films got washed away in Rajini tide. Aishwaraya Rai, Shankar, A R Rahman clubbed with Rajinikanth left the producer huge treasures and how.Robot is undoubtedly the highest grosser in Tollywood this year.

2)Simha: The movie was made in Rs 18 crore and it collected over Rs 50 crore.Simha is Tollywood's Dabanngg this year.Director Boyapati Seenu capsuled the mass image of hero Balakrishna and fixed the glitches in his on screen appearance .He included three heroines, six fights, reduced the length of Balayya's dialogues. This Tollywood style commercial movie ran houseful in theatres for month and brought a sense of hope in an industry filled with despair. 3)

Maryadaramanna: S S Rajamouli directed film, raked in Rs 40 crore at the box office despite no big hero in the film. Comedian turned hero Sunil played the lead in a charecter with no fights and sleazy romance in it Rajamouli, his wife Rama, friend M M Keeravani who composed music have proven to be a magic team with midas touch again. Made with less than Rs 20 crore, the film was the second highest grosser at the box office.

4)Brindavanam:Every one thought the career of film maker Dilraju has gone for a toss and he would be on the rocks after this film.NTR, Kajal and Samanta starrer film did decent business of Rs 35 crore at box office. This film released at a time when Maheshbabu's Khaleja was in the theatres. The unwatchable and head ache inducing story of 'Khaleja' worked in Brindavanam's favour as audience chose to bear NTR over Mahesh that season.The movie gave Nandamuri clan a boost as uncle Balakrishna and nephew NTR got hits this year.

5)Darling: Prabhas and Kajal starrer Darling, made with Rs 23 crore, collected Rs 30 crore and managed to save the producer.More than the story, star cast, soothing music and excotic locations, one of the biggest factors that worked in Darling's favour is - no other films in theatres. When Darling released, there were hardly any good films in cinemas for a fortnight. With no options left, audience watched this movie and listed it as one of the top grossers.Prabhas delivered a decent performance in this film while Kajal was terrible. Her bad performance was made up by ear soothing music by G V Prakash Kumar, nephew of A R Rahman.
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BOX office superflops that left producers in dismay:


Mahesh Khaleja: Mahesh Babu, considered as one of the biggest crowd pullers in Telugu cinema dissapointed his fans. People who watched this movie failed to understand why the hero took three years to make this movie.Poor storyline that is not even close to cinematic reality, depressing music, awful action sequences left the producer Singanamalai Ramesh in deep debts.The movie left the maker a loss of Rs 15 crore. The actor desperately tweeted on twitter and for the first time promoted his film big time but in vain. The movie's fate at box office posed a threat to the numero uno position of Mahesh Babu among the young breed of stars.

Puli: Eeeks!! Assignments like these at the end of the year remind us of such films.Pawan Kalyan's Puli was nothing less than a third degree torture. The heroine looked lost in the movie. The hero's dialogues were as big as Kharagpur railway platform.The screenplay was aimless and A R Rahman's music couldn't hold the audience from running out of the theatres as the movie was being screened. Audience were looking at two things while watching this film-their watches and the exit doors.The film produced again by poor soul Singanamalai Ramesh left tears in producer's eye with a staggering loss of Rs 10 crore.

Kedi: This film starring Nagarjuna and Mamta Mohandas released. Yes, you got to believe us. It did. This film should be credited the most unnoticed movie in 2010. Not many knew it released but the producer Shiva Prasad Reddy will take long time to forget this nightmare.Sources say Kedi gave the producer only 30 per cent of his investments which is a loss of more than Rs 12 crore.

Orange: Ram Charan Tej's 'Orange' had thumping opening collections. It didn't take too many shows for the movie to get a bad talk.The story of a grafitti designer who falls in love with girls and loves them only until he wasn't bored of her didn't go well with B and C centre audience. Genelia looked like she was given current shock.Not many understood why the film is titled Orange and remarked that the film didn't have pulp in it. Ouch!!The movie reportedly took a toll on its producer Nagababu who is also the uncle of hero Ramcharan Tej to an extent that he lashed out at the director Bommarillu Bhaskar and heroine Genny for its disaster.Ramcharan Tej too couldn't reconcile with its flop and was busy tweeting against TV channels and web media that gave this unwatchable painful movie a bad review.

Marocharitra: This is a movie that qualifies to be a case study for film making students on how not to make movies.Produced by Dil Raju, the movie was a visual feast as it was shot completely in USA. But thats about it. Acting, star cast, music and direction, screenplay and story were out of place.It is a blasphemy to the title of its original classic 'Marocharitra'.The heroine of this movie was such a turn off. Marocharitra was depressing to watch and shattered the skyrocketing career of Varun Sandesh.It left a loss of Rs 9 crore to the producer.