TeLuGu HaNgOuT

Nayantara is now in the safe zone as the Tamil Film Producers Council and the South India Film Actors Association has issued the green card today on 7th February. She was earlier condemned with a red card by the associations for not returning the advance amount paid to her for 'Paiya'.

Following several controversies, the actress finally returned the amount today to one of the director of Thriupati Bros Film Media Ltd, Subash Chandrabose. After a joint meet, the issue was settled in am amicable manner. The associations held a brief talk and issued a green card for Nayantara withdrawing the ban, letting her act in Tamil movies once again.

For now, Nayantara is completely out of trouble. Rather than going head over heels, it will be advisable if the actress concentrates more on her job than the remunerations.

The melodramatic love story ‘Naa Girlfriend Baaga Rich’ starring Shivaji, Kaveri Jha is getting released on February 20th. M. Nagendra Kumar has directed the film and Kumar Brothers has produced it on KBC Cinema banner.

Ready to hit the screens shortly, the plot is said to be a mirrored image of the current generation youngsters and their perception towards ritualistic customs. Their emotional take towards prominent things like love and marriage is said to be portrayed on screen. Brahmanandam, the Padmashri award winner has been entrusted with the job of tickling the funny bone of the audience. For spicy elements, the heroines’ costumes have been designed on a shoe string budget for the glamour quotient. These two aspects are being said to be the USP of the movie.

Music has been composed by ‘Manthra’ Anand. Other important cast of the movie includes Ahuthi Prasad, Tulasi, Komal, Vijaya, Sai, Ramaprabha and Allari Subhashini

Venkatesh who gives first preference to versatility in the characters he plays rather than 'image' has fairly established himself as a family hero. It is learnt that he is soon going to start his next venture with director Teja.

Post 'Chinthakayala Ravi' his latest release, 'Krishnam Vande Jagathgurum' was one title that made the rounds in film circles but was stalled for unknown reasons.

It is now learnt reliably that Venkatesh will soon start off with a new film that will be directed by Teja. Akula Siva has provided the subject which is said to have been liked by Venkatesh.

Teja who made most of his films with new comers, has made only one film 'Nijam' with star hero Mahesh Babu. Now if this project takes off, Venkatesh will be another star hero to work with Teja. Presently the venture is in the discussions phase and more details will be released soon.

The bilingual film titled '16 days' in Telugu and 'Laadam' in Tamil is being directed by Prabhu Solomon. Charmi stars in the film that also introduces Aravind. Produced by P. Mahesh Babu and 'Mana' Chowdary on behalf of Cosmos Entertainments Pvt Ltd the film will be released on the 20th of February.

The post-production work is on at a brisk pace currently.

The producers briefed about the film recently and said "Charmi is playing the character of a girl named Angel. Various incidents that take place in her life, in a span of 16days, is the story line. A mimicry performance by Charmi imitating the stars Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijaykanth, Pawan Kalyan, Ravi Teja, Suneela and others is one of the highlights in the film and is sure to attract viewers. Music is also of high quality. I am Hopeful that the movie will attract all classes of audience and will be successful'.

Boyapati Sreenu debuted as a director with 'Bhadra' starring Raviteja, produced by 'Dil' Raju. He is soon going direct a new film with Raviteja again.

Sources have revealed that Nayanatara is playing heroine opposite Raviteja, and she is going to receive one Crore as remuneration for this project.

The movie will be produced by actor Ganesh on Parameshwar Arts banner. The film will soon go to the floors. Also a new big budget film in combination of Pawankalyan – Puri Jagannath will be produced by Ganesh.

Nayanatara's first film opposite Raviteja was 'Dubai Seenu' and this is the second time she will be sharing screen space with the actor. This is also the second time combination of Raviteja - Boyapati Sreenu. The news less known in Tollywood is Nayanthara was roped in for a Tamil movie titled ‘Paiya’ for a one crore remuneration and was chucked out later. She was issued a red card by producers’ association in Tamil for not returning the advance paid. But, later on the actress refunded the amount and the ban was removed.

She is now one of the highest paid actresses of the South and offers are aplenty for the sizzling star so far.

After a long wait of three years came ‘Arundhathi’ amidst great expectations and fan following. Starring Anushka in the title role, Kodi Ramakrishna directed the film and M. Shyam Prasad Reddy on Mallemala Entertainments banner.

Being late doesn’t matter but only quality does is a universal saying. The one liner of Mahesh Babu in ‘Pokiri’ ‘Epudochhamannadi kadanna bullettu diginda leda’ translated as when we arrive is immaterial, but whether the purpose is attained or not is important, is a clear depiction of Arundhathi’s grand success that has wonderstruck the people of trade circle.

Being in the production stage for a long time and later delays in the release date evoked unethical comments from the crowd. But, on the very first day of release, unanimous hit talk clouded the movie. Collections literally started raining for the traders and it started breaking box office records constantly.

This graphical extravaganza featuring the three main characters Jejamma, Pashupathi and Fakeer raked in moolah creating a wave in all the centers. Till now, reportedly the film has collected average revenue of 30 crores. In a center like Nellore, ‘Arundhathi’ garnered about 1 crore and 80 lakhs while a star hero’s film is being said to collect about one crore at the most. The days that followed after the release date has been depicting the film’s potential in the market by continuing its good run.

The long prevailed misconception that great commercial hits happen only based on popular star cast has been shattered by ‘Arundhathi’ which has changed the opinion. It is being expected to recreate records, set by films in the 76 years of Telugu cinema. All credit goes to the entire team of ‘Arundhathi’ for their meticulous work and for producer Shyam Prasad who has confidently ventured in with the project.

Watch the space for more updates….

Movie: Nenu Devudni(Aham Brahmasmi)
My Rating: 2/5
Banner: Vassan's visual ventures
Music: Ilayaraja
Dialogues: Sri Rama Krishna
Cinematography: Arthur Wilson
Story & Direction: Bala
Editing: Suresh Urs
Producer: KS Srinivasan
Cast: Arya & Pooja etc
Release Date: 6th Feb 2009

Review

Story
Rudra (Arya) is sent to Varanasi when he was kid since the astrologers told his father that the father and son should not meet each other for 14 years. When the father comes to search his son after 14 years, he finds out that Rudra has become an aghora. Rudra’s guru tells him that he should cut all the relationships to become Kal Bhairav and sends him back home. There is a local beggar’s mafia in Rudra’s village. And rest of the story is about how this mafia crosses the line of Rudra and how he punishes them.

Artists Performance:
Arya is extraordinary as Rudra in this film. And if you see him in real life and in this film, you will not recognize him. It is a terrific makeover. The dubbing voice given to Arya by Ravi Shankar is excellent. Pooja is excellent as the blind begging girl. Both these actors are sure to bag awards. There are many new faces and physically challenged people cast in this film.

Technical Departments:
The basic concept of the film is based on ‘Aham Brahmasmi’. Rudra character behaves like a God in the end. That is why this movie is titled as ‘Nenu Devudni’. Bala comes up with another authentic and highly disturbing film ‘Nenu Devudni’. The scenes involving physically challenged beggars are brutally disturbing. All the scenes involving Arya are heroic. Though there are a few commercial elements in the film, it is mainly aimed at awards and festival circuit. The following scenes are good

1. Introduction song of Rudra.
2. When the cop comes and says swamy while interrogating, Rudra responds by saying ‘deerghayushman bhava’.
3. The scene showing a small baby crying when Rudra shouts in court.
4. When the cop comes to light the ganja of Rudra, he shouts and cop runs away.
5. The scene in which Rudra drags Malayali baddies into bushes (just like predator taking his prey into woods after killing).
The following scenes need immediate attention

1. The comedy in police station where beggars imitate the old legends of Tamil cinema. This episode has no relevance to Telugu crowds.

2. The dialogues in the final scene by heroine are too lengthy and it makes crowd restless. It should be trimmed to minimum level.

Other Sides:
Background music by Ilayaraja is extraordinary. One does get goose bumps in certain situations. Cinematography by Arthur Wilson is very good. Fights composed by Kanal Kannan are very effective and highly realistic. Art direction by Krishna Murthy is authentic. The producer should have guts to produce such a movie.

Final Analysis:
First things first! Nenu Devudni is not for everybody. One should have stomach to absorb such a highly disturbing content. The plus points of the film are director’s conviction of sticking to realism while narrating story, riveting background music by Ilayaraja and performances. All the scenes involving Arya are good and heroic. The huge minus point of the film is disturbing content. Tamil nativity is also a drawback for Telugu crowds. On a whole Nenu Devudni is a treat for movie connoisseurs who doesn’t mind disturbing content. This film will surely have a gala time at international film festivals.

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Want a glimpse of Parvathi Melton, then wait for her in the yet to be released Mahesh Babu Film, where she is essaying the heroines role. The actress says that she would appear in a rocking new avatar in the film and it would bewitch all her fans.

Parvathi gives all credit to director Trivikram for her new look and says that he has been the force behind it, Trivikram apparently wanted to show a different Parvathi in the film and has taken special care to portray her in a special manner.

The actress also says that she has an excellent role, performance wise also in the film and she is excitedly looking forward to it. Tell you what Parvathi, we too are looking forward to catch you in your new dimension.

Ever since the film 'Bank' came after ages of waiting and turned out to be a major dud at the box office, the blame game has begun and the other day, the makers were heard saying that the film's failure was purely due to the absence of the only actress Archana not participating during the film promo activity.

As it is, this pretty starlet has been struggling with offers and this statement has added more to the negative remarks on her. However, reliable sources have now come up with a startling truth over the entire issue. All this is said to be a publicity stunt to create interest since audience tends to love controversies and watch movies.

It is heard that Archana had come up with the idea of using her name in any way possible so that a controversy of sorts can be created and this would create an element of curiosity prompting them to go to the theatre and see the film. It remains to be seen how much of this formula will work

The film ’16 Days’ raised a lot of expectations among the audience as some hot and intimate photos showing Charmy and the hero Aravind in intimate poses were leaked to the press.

Some photos showed Charmy actually kissing Aravind on the lips and as such the interest in the film among a section of the audience soared even further.

Charmy came up with a sizzling performance in Manthra and she is expected to live up to the expectations in this new film. Charmy is also looking forward to the film as she did not have any big releases in the recent past.
!6 Days is directed by Prabhu Soloman and music is by Dharani. The film has been made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. The film will hit the screens on February 13.

Genelia D’Souza, who won hearts with her girl-next-door image in last year’s hit Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, says she isn’t seeing anyone and right now her main concern is her upcoming film It’s My Life.

“I’m pretty much like Aditi from Jaane Tu…. There’s no one in my life. I’m even shooting on Valentine’s Day,” Genelia says.
Helmed by writer-turned director Aneez Bazmee, It’s My Life is a remake of the 2006 Telugu hit Bommarillu. Genelia played the female lead in the original opposite South actor Siddharth Narayan and won the Telugu Filmfare Best Actress award for the film.
“The film’s Telugu version was a blockbuster down south. Aneez sir has done a terrific job with the film and I hope the Hindi version is as successful as the Telugu one,” Genelia says.

In the film, she teams up with Hurman S. Baweja, who was written off by critics after his debut vehicle Love Story 2050 turned turtle at the box office.
Asked her if she had any apprehensions working with Hurman, Genelia said, “I would not like to comment on that but I just hope my film does really well.”
Produced by Boney Kapoor and Sridevi, It’s My Life also stars Nana Patekar. The 21-year-old wants to do all kinds of roles. “I’ll take any role that challenges me. After all, it’s only films that make the bigger picture for me,” she said.
Not many know that Genelia also had her opinion about Bollywood during her years of struggle. “Like a normal middle class girl, I initially believed that it’s (Bollywood) a big bad industry, but now I’ve realised that it treats you how you want it to treat you. I look at it now as a career opportunity more than anything else,” she said.

Apart from It’s My Life, Genelia will also be seen in David Dhawan’s Hook Ya Crook and Rumy Jaffrey’s Life Partner.

Movie: Konchem Istam Konchem Kastam
My Rating: 3/5
Banner: Lakshmi Narasimha Productions
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Cinematography: Vijay C Chakravarthy
Screenplay: Vikram Siri - Deepak Raj
Editing: Srikar Prasad
Producer: Nallamalupu Srinivas
Story & Direction: Kishore Kumar Parthasani
Cast: Siddhardh, Tamanna, Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishna, Nassar, Samrat, Karuna, Sudha, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Hema etc
Release Date: 5th Feb 2009

Review

Story

Siddhardh is a playful youngster with no emotions. His parents get separated in his childhood and he stays with his mother. He falls in love with Geeta (Tamanna) who comes to Hyderabad from a village. When she introduces him to her father (Nassar) he says the he would give the hand of his daughter to him if Siddhardh unites his parents. The rest of the story is all about how Siddhardh unites his parents (Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj).

Artists Performance:

Siddhardh is lovable in the role of a youngster. His emotions in the drinking scene are nice. His costumes suited him well. Tamanna is good as the girl who is torn between her father and her lover. Prakash Raj got lot of dignity to the role of father character he portrayed. He is excellent. There is a scene in which he acts like Robert Di Nero by saying ‘Aren’t you proud of me?’ three times (There is a famous ‘are you talking to me?’ episode in Taxi Driver film). Nassar is fair. Ramya Krishna is just ok in the role of doting mother with an attitude. Karuna and Samrat are adequate as buddies. Brahmanandam is good in most of the scenes (especially when he listens to ‘yeem’ in phone during Geetanjali spoof episode). Venu Madhav is good though his comedy is of mass type.

Technical Departments:

Story of the film is nicely divided into two parts. The first half is about two youngsters falling it love and hence it is targeted to the youth. The interval block is about heroine’s father putting a condition. The second half is about the couple uniting the parents of hero which is targeted towards the family crowds. The whole film is based on the point that Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishna are separated. The reasons for the separation are not effectively established in the film. Hence the basic foundation of the entire film appears flimsy.

Screenplay of the film is adequate. Direction of the film is good in parts. The narration is very slow. The director did well in second half while handling emotional scenes. But he could not get it right when it comes to the romance aspect in the first half. He should be commended the way he integrated the songs into the film. The thread of ‘crossing marks on the people you dislike’ (‘flushing the photo in toilet’ from Jab We Met?) is interesting. Vankai curry thread is also good. The characterizations should have been more consistent. Both Siddhardh and Tamanna characters in second half behave little amateurish from the scene when they quarrel about Geeta’s surname.

Songs scored by Shankar Ehsaan Loy are excellent and they are picturized well and placement is perfect. Songs are so good that they dominated the story narration in the film. Lyrics by Sirivennela and Chandrabose are good. Mani Sharma’s background score is nice in the second half. Cinematography by Vijay C Chakravarthy is excellent. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are neat in the second half. There are sentiment-oriented dialogues like ‘Evarikaina problem vaste amma nanna daggaraku veltaru. Amma nanne problem aithe?’ and Trivikramish lines like ‘nenu kaalu tho break veyyaledu, jaalitho break vesa’ (Brahmanandam). Editing by Srikar Prasad is adequate. Producer Nallamalupu Bujji should be commended for trusting his technicians and making this film with high technical standards.

Final Analysis:

First half of the film is average. Second half has got emotional content. The plus points are excellent songs and emotions in second half. The negative point of the film is slow-paced narration (2:50 hours runtime). The scenes towards climax appear prolonged. On a whole, KIKK is an okay film that is targeted towards family crowds. KIKK is not a film for the morning show crowds. It is more targeted towards second show crowds (family crowds)