Telugu Film: 2007-03-11

Shilpa Shetty snubs Mohan Babu

Mohan Babu had a bitter experience recently. The hero tried to call up Shilpa Shetty. But despite several attempts, he could not get through. However, he finally managed to get through to her secretary. When he asked to talk to her, her secretary bluntly said that 'madam is busy.' An embarrassed Mohan Babu had to swallow this biter insult silently.

Shilpa Shetty had worked with Mohan Babu in a Telugu film some time back. It is said that he had pushed her around at that time and even insulted her publicly. Mohan Babu is famous in the industry for his acid tongue. He is known to treat junior artistes with scant respect, abusing them in filthy language. So, Shilpa Shetty who is basking in the success of her UK Television show finally got a chance to get even with Mohan Babu.

Source: Bharatwaves

'I won't be mere arm candy to heroes'

Her performance in her debut Pokiri is still widely discussed and she refuses to follow the ways of the industry. But Ileana D'Cruz says she's here to stay.

She's just back from Mauritius after shooting for her forthcoming Telugu flick, Aata, with Siddharth. "It was a song sequence choreographed by Saroj Khan. And considering what a tough taskmaster she can be, I was really nervous. But know what? She actually liked my moves and said I was a good dancer.

It's one of the best compliments I've received in my career," says Pokiri star Ileana. There are reports that her co-star Siddarth has taken his Rang De Basanti success a tad too seriously; he is supposed to have taken over the megaphone from director Aditya and is now ghost directing the film.

"That's utter rubbish," says Ileana. "Siddharth is a very intelligent guy and likes improvising on content. In fact, all of us give inputs, so why single out Sid? He just offers suggestions he feels might work for the film," defends Ileana. So is Aata yet another of those films where the heroine is mere arm candy for the hero?

"It really annoys me to play arm candy to heroes! I hate it when I'm only required to up the glamour quotient; it's not acceptable to me. Some girls get carried away and within no time they're thrown out of the industry. I'm not one of them — acting is about talent, not showing off your booty," says the actress.

Ileana says she's unfazed by the intense competition in the industry. "In fact, I'm on the lookout for competition," she says. "It eggs you on to do better. But otherwise all this talk of backstabbing and catfights is all c**p," says Ileana.

As proof she narrates a recent incident: "I was doing a film with Tamanna and both of us would be punching and elbowing each other and generally having a good time on the sets. Soon enough there were news reports saying that Ileana and Tamanna were seen indulging in a catfight. That was really hilarious," she laughs.

Competition or not, right now Ileana is considered the numero uno actress in Telugu. "I'm working towards it and am almost there," she says. "Besides, I've worked with the best heroes and anyone who looks good with me is welcome to work with me!"

Koena denies Dhoni romance rumours

Actress Koena Mitra got the shock of her life when a friendly chat with cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni at a parlour became a talking point, with some reports speculating a "relationship" between the two. Mitra insists that they are "just good friends".

Tulip an ideal replacement for Tabu

Since Tabu has not been doing too many films these days, Tulip Joshi is benefited by her absence as Telugu filmmakers, who are keen to sign a younger actress with Tabu's sensibilities, are approaching her.

And Tulip is simply ecstatic since she is a huge fan of Tabu.

'I'm simply overawed and take it as a compliment if the filmmakers consider me for these roles. I consider myself to be the biggest fan of both Tabu and Rani. They are simply so talented,' said Tulip.

After giving an impressive performance in 'Matrubhoomi', Tulip shifted down south and the Telugu industry accepted her wholeheartedly. She has been inundated with scripts for performance-based roles.

Currently Tulip is finishing the last schedule of a Telugu film with very accomplished technicians in Hyderabad. Tulip debuted with 'Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'.

Shankar Dada Zindabad

Shooting clips of Shankar Dada Zindabad

Trailer of Munna

Trailer of Munna starring Prabhas

Mega star "Padma Bhusan" Chiranjeevi felicitation

Pawan speaks on the eve of Mega Star Chiranjeevi's felicitation. Mega Star received Padma Bhusan Honour from Govt. of India, Telugu film Industry felicitated him for recieving the honour.

'Dubai Sreenu' for summer release

The shooting of 'Dubai Sreenu', directed by Sreenu Vytla and produced by Bhagawan and Danayya on the banner of Universal Media with Raviteja and Nayanatara in the lead is progressing well.

It may be mentioned here that Sreenu Vytla and Raviteja were proved a successful combination with 'Venky'. Another noted hero JD Chakravathy is playing a special role in this movie.
The director portrayed Raviteja's character as a full length entertainer.

The film would attract all classes of audiences as it is a total entertainer and Raviteja's character would be quite comical on the lines of 'Attili Sattibabu' in 'Vikramarkudu'.

Devisri Prasad, who made 'Venky' a musical hit film, is again providing tunes for this movie.
The producers are making efforts to complete the shooting and other formalities soon and release the film in May as a summer gift.

Rakshita ties the Knot

Rakshita is well-known among the Telugu audiences. She made her debut in Telugu films with 'Idiot' and became popular with her roles in 'Sivamani and Andhrawala'.

She married her long time beau, Kannada director Prem in Bangalore on Friday. It may be recalled here that Rakshita and Prem were in love for the past some time. They tied the knot with the consent of their elders.

Noted artistes Vishnuvardhan, Sivarajkumar, Ravichandran, TS Nagabharana, Kavita Lankesh, Arundhati Nag and several other prominent film personalities from Telugu and Tamil film industry attended the marriage and blessed the newly-wed couple.

Anushka gets a vital break

Anushka is a luscious and svelte actress. This former yoga teacher knows a thing about flexibility. And that is why she keeps getting the right films.

Anushka has now managed to walk away with a coveted role in Don. Now Don is a very important movie in this year’s calendar.

It stars Nagarjuna and he is now on a very hot streak. Most heroines like to work with Nags as movies with him lead to bigger opportunities and open up new doors.

Many young heroines have flourished under Nag’s guidance.
Nayantara, Shreya, Asin all have gone up the ladder of success after a stint in a film with Nags. Now Anushka is happy to work with Nags again.

Don is directed by Lawrence Raghavendra. The Lawrence-Nags combo is also very sharp and successful.

Sources say Anushka has walked into the role that Mamta Mohandass was originally slated to do.

Anushka is very thrilled with the break. She has every reason to feel happy

Aditya Music bags Shankar Dada audio rights for 1.15 cr

The highly awaited sequel to Shankar Dada MBBS is Shankar Dada Zindabad. The movie has the hit duo of Chiranjeevi and Srikanth in the lead. Sada is playing the role of Dia Mirza in the original, while Sayaji Shinde plays her father. Though, the heroine is not yet decided sources say it’s likely to be Asin.

The movie’s remake rights were bagged for a massive 5 crores, from the producer of the original – Vidu Vinod Chopra, the highest ever paid for a remake for an Indian film. Devi Sri Prasad scores the music for this film. Aditya Music bagged the rights for a sum of 1.15 crores. Its one of the highest price in the recent times, as the audio rights prices faced a slump. Big banner movies which easily fetched a crore before, only fetch 65-70 lakhs today.

Shankar Dada MBBS was released into the market with an initial bunch of 7.5 lakhs. The record label plans to break that record by releasing this movie with 8 lakh cassettes. Also, the other movie Aditya Music have acquired is Rajinikanth and Shankar’s highly awaited Shivaji. A.R Rehman scores the music for this film

'Munna' to be a social awareness film

The latest film of Young Rebel Star Prabhas is 'Munna'. The basic concept of the film is 'If anyone commits a mistake, it is Munna who rectifies it.'

The film is being produced by Dil Raju, who is giving successive hits, while the heartthrob of audiences Ileana is playing the female lead.

Prabhas will have a different hairstyle and would sport a different look in this film directed by debutant Vamsy Paidipally.

In this film, a student who is studying in a university will fight for social awareness. According to the director and producer, the excellent performance of Prabhas would be the highlight and remain an asset.

Harris Jayaraj provided tunes and all the songs have come out excellently with lots of melody and their picturisation was also worth watching on the screen, it is reliably learnt.
The producer is planning to launch the audio on March 18 and release the film on April 5.

Producers lock horns over Telugu remake

MUMBAI: Despite producer Boney Kapoor's claims to the contrary, actor Jeetendra's cousin, Nitin Kapoor, is remaking Telugu hit Bommarillu in Hindi.

The producer of Bommarillu, Venkataramana Reddy aka Dil Raju, confirmed the same in a telephonic conversation from Hyderabad. "Bommarillu is my fourth Telugu production under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Creations, Hyderabad. The film, a family drama was written and directed by Bhaskar and stars Siddharth, Genelia D' Souza, Prakash Raj, Srinivas Rao Kota and Jayasudha. The film, released on 9 August 2006, was a hit at the box-office. On 20 September 2006, the Hindi and other north Indian language remake rights agreement of the film were signed and sealed in favour of Nitin Kapoor, managing director of Alright Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad," he says.

Raju has produced Telugu films like Dil (2003), Arya (2004), Bhadra (2005) and is currently filming an action-thriller Munna. The film, being directed by Vamsi Paidipally, features Prakash Raj, Rahul Dev, Ileana and Prabhas.

Kapoor has earlier produced Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai in 1990. The film featured Jeetendra, Rekha, Radhika and Anupam Kher. Directed by Manobala, the film was a remake of Telugu hit En Purushan Thaan Enakkum Mattum Thaan, released in 1989.

Nitin Kapoor, who is currently in Hyderabad, says, "I found it amusing when I read newspaper reports saying Boney Kapoor would be remaking Bommarillu. According to my information, Boney has acquired the remake rights of Telugu film Pokiri which stars Mahesh Babu, Ileana, Prakash Raj, Sayaji Shinde and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film, written and directed by Puri Jagannath, was released in April last year. It's disheartening to note such a false claim being made by a respected filmmaker like Boney Kapoor. I am already working on the remake, which will be directed by Priyadarshan. I have instructed my advocate to issue notices in film trade papers regarding the issue."

Boney Kapoor, however, is unperturbed. "I have already put a public notice in film trade magazines regarding the acquisition of rights of this film last November."

'Okkadunadu' tops in a season of Telugu comebacks

The Gopichand-starrer 'Okkadunadu' tops the Telegu films' list in this season of comebacks.

The top five Telugu films are:

1. 'Okkadunadu' - Gopichand's decision to team up with promising director Chandrasekar Yeleti seems to have worked. Slick trailers raised expectations, which have not been belied.

2. 'Evadaithenakenti' - This has turned out to be the surprise hit of this season, with action hero Rajasekhar returning to limelight after a terribly lean trot.

3. 'Desamuduru' - Actor Allu Arjun's electrifying dances and performance have yielded another blockbuster for director Puri Jagannath. The film has crossed the 50-day mark in over 250 theatres.

4. 'Madhumasam' - This seems to be a season of comebacks as legendary producer Ramanaidu bounces back with a moderate hit. Though chemistry is missing between lead actors Sumanth and Sneha, director Chandra manages to hold the audience's interest.

5. 'Lakshmi Kalyanam' - Director Teja tries to recreate the magic of 'Jayam' but fails miserably. A few good performances, however, keep the film in the reckoning.

'Munna' gets ready as a success pack

Young Rebel Star Prabhas made his debut into the film industry as hero through 'Eswar' to continue the legacy of Rebel Star Krishnamraju. He used to choose crazy projects right from the day one.

He worked with top directors like Jayanth, Suresh Krishna, Shobhan, B Gopal, SS Rajamouli, Krishnavamsi, Prabhudeva and VV Vinayak and associated with top producers like MS Raju.

However, it has become a sentiment for Prabhas that he used to give two failures and one success. Every third film from Prabhas is a big hit.

While Eswar and Raghavendra were failures, Varsham was a super hit, Adavi Ramudu and Chakram were failures and Chatrapati is a super hit, next came Pournami and Yogi, which are failures and as per the sentiment, his next film should be a big hit.

Now his latest film on sets is 'Munna' being directed by debutant Vamsy Paidipalli and produced by young and dynamic producer Dil Raju.

The film has tunes from Harris Jayraj and the film is slated for release in April.

A passion for Tamil movies

Prabhas has a penchant for Tamil movies. The busy actor in Telugu cinema who is busy acting in Munna with Ileana had recently been to Chennai.

The purpose was to watch a couple of recently released Tamil movies.

Prabhas had reportedly watched director Ameer's Paruthiveeran and Prakashraj's home production Mozhi in Chennai theatres.

Prabhas was impressed with both the films.

His Munna stars Prakashraj besides yesteryear actress Kasthuri donning the role of his mother in the movie.

Amma Rajasekhar to direct Nithin

Noted choreographer Amma Rajasekhar had tested his hand in direction and gave a big hit like 'Ranam' with Gopichand in the lead.

The film proved that the debutant director had caught the mass pulse while presenting the film on the screen.

However, his next film 'Khatarnak' with Raviteja and Ileana in the lead was a huge flop. With the success of Ranam, Amma Rajasekhar was able to make top artistes turn heads towards him.

But with the failure in the second film had pushed him into a secluded place with no one coming forward to do a film with him.

However, it is learnt that Amma Rajasekhar had narrated a story to young hero Nithin and a film is likely to go to sets in their combination, if the information received from reliable sources is proved correct.

It may be mentioned here that Nithin's latest flick, 'Satyam Sivam Sundaram' had completed the shooting but failed to hit the screen due to unknown reasons.

In this backdrop, a film in the combination of Amma Rajasekhar with Nithin raised many an eyebrow.

Trisha is oozing with confidence

Trisha is confidence personified. Having established her supremacy in Tamil and Telugu film industry, Trisha is careful to sustain her hard-earned place in the industry.

Currently she is working in Sathyam opposite Vishal, Vikram's Bheema, Ajith starrer Kireedom besides Selvaraghavan's Telugu film Adavari Mataluku Arthalae Verulae.

Says Trisha, “An actor or actress has to continuously deliver hits to sustain in the industry. Even if one has acted in several films before, a success in their last film is the yardstick in the industry.”

“Success can be achieved only through teamwork,” Trisha says and adds, “I am happy that all my forthcoming films are different from each other and they have all come out well so far.”

“If your films run, you survive and otherwise, you perish in the industry,” says a philosophical Trisha.

Lawrence speak on Muni

Lawrence Raghavender is happy that his Muni, releasing this Friday, has shaped well.

Lawrence, who is proving to be a compact director, has gone on record saying that Muni maybe his best film as director.

Now that may not be saying much. But Lawrence is indeed very confident that Muni will not in any let him down.

This supernatural thriller deals about transmigration and also interestingly woven around some good songs. The songs will showcase the dancer in Lawrence to us.

Lawrence says the stress is on humour, action and overall entertainment. The overall impact is also one of strong emotion, he adds.

Lawrence, in a chat with the media, also talked about Nagarjuna’s Don and the controversy surrounding him and Prabhu Deva.

'Classmates' of Sumanth to hit screen on April 20

Sumanth, who made entry into the film industry, to continue the legacy of Nata Samrat Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Yuva Samrat Nagarjuna, used to take utmost care to present himself on the screen in a novel way and try to avoid their influence on him.

In 'Satyam' he played as a love narrator, in Gowri he played the role as a mass audience, as a matured lover in 'Godavari' and as a delicate lover in 'Madhumasam'.

All the roles portrayed on him were quite memorable to the audiences. Now Sumanth is being presented in a different angle by director K Vijayabhaskar in 'Classmates' being produced by Sravanti Ravikishore on the banner of Sravanti Movies.

The film has music from Koti.

The producer and director are planning to release the film on April 20 as a summer special. Presently the film unit is in Araku to can songs.

Athidi - Mahesh Babu & Amrita Rao: News & Pictures

Athidhi starring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao will be directed by Surender Reddy. G. Ramesh Babu produces it under their banner Krishna Pictures Private Limited. It is scheduled to release on August 9, 2007, which happens to be Mahesh Babu's birthday.

Hansika Motwani was originally considered for the film but lost to Amrita Rao.

Major part of the film will be shot in New Delhi.

Watch this space for more updates on this film... till then enjoy these pictures!

'Shankar Dada Zindabad' for release in June

It is media which highlights anything good or bad. Of the media, 'cinema' is a little more powerful medium. In addition to providing good entertainment, the cinema should also be utilised for giving a very good message to the society.

It is also a quite powerful medium to spread the message and there would be a definite change in people if it was passed properly.

Mega Star, Padma Bhushan, Dr Chiranjeevi, who gave many good messages through his films like Indra, Shankar Dada MBBS, Tagore and Stalin' earlier, is now all set to extend another good message through his latest flick 'Shankar Dada Zindabad', i.e., Gandhism is better than goondaism.

The shooting of the film is going on a brisk pace under the direction of poetic director Prabhudeva which was produced by Gemini Film Circuits.

Devisri Prasad is providing tunes for this movie.

The producers are making efforts to release the film in June. However, the heroine in this film is yet to be selected. The names of Nayanatara and Asin are under consideration.

However, Sada has been selected for a special role in this movie.

Neha to play opposite Ram Charan Tej

Mega Power Star Ram Charan Tej, son of Mega Star, Padma Bhushan, Dr Chiranjeevi, is making his debut appearance in films under the direction of sensational director Puri Jagannath, which is being produced by C Aswinidutt on the banner of Vyjayanti Movies.

The film is going to sets during this week. It is reliably learnt that Neha, a Delhi model, has been selected to play the female lead opposite Ram Charan Tej.

It is a quite memorable incident for Ram Charan Teja and he has to remember her for his lifetime as she is pairing up with him for the first time.

We can as well remind here that Chiranjeevi had felicitated his first-ever heroine at a function recently. Puri Jagannath who is known for introducing several girls to the Telugu film industry had selected her for the debut film of Ram Charan Tej.

Manisharma is providing tunes for this film.

Neha also expressed her excitement for making her debut into the Telugu film industry on a prestigious banner of a successful producer, with a sensational director wielding the megaphone and for pairing opposite a hero from a prestigious family.

Source: India Glitz

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