The BOSS !!!

Finally, 4 months after missing Sivaji’s theatrical release, I had my hands on the DVD yesterday. The moment this project was announced in December 2005, it made great news all over the place as it was supposed to be an amalgamation of an intelligent director, Shankar and Rajani, who enjoys larger than life image. As the stills from the movie got leaked, the curiosity levels rose to an all time high seeing Rajani in different (read weird) getups.

Whenever I read / heard about Sivaji, I always wondered if it would end up as a RAJANI movie or as a SHANKAR movie. But I think it ended up as a RAJANI movie directed by SHANKAR. This movie is larger than you can imagine. I will bet that you haven’t watched Style, Romance, Comedy, Action, Emotion and Revenge – all on such a large scale. They have done wonders on Rajani’s costumes and hairstyles. The fact that Shankar used more hairstyles for Rajani than Shirya speaks of what you can expect on the screen. The Climax “gundu” getup with a little tap that he does on his head is “THE BEST” in the recent times and will also remain unchallenged for a long time to come.

As always Shankar brings in a new dimension to an otherwise regular commercial movie using CPR, Money laundering, Black Money and Voice recognition. Not to forget the gigantic beautiful sets. He thinks BIG and executes them BIG on screen. Sivaji is reportedly the most expensive film of South India. Every penny spent shows on screen. The Egyptian palace set in Vaaji Vaaji song, glass house set in Sahaana song is absolutely stunning. He has showed what a director can do with a SUPERSTAR. He worked to RAJANI’s strengths and it has worked wonders for the film.

Shriya or as a matter of fact, no heroin had looked so good before. Again, all credit goes to Shankar for his visualization. As opposed to the regular cruel look of a villain, Suman looked very good in White and White sporting a wide smile. Art by “Padmasree” Thota Tharani and Photography by K.V.Anand is first rate throughout. A.R.Rahman rocked both in songs as well as in the background.

On the flipside, after the first 10 minutes, the next 30 minutes could be trimmed down. The intro song just pops up on the screen and seems to be out of place though it was picturized beautifully. Except for the climax fight, all the fights are a major let down. The saving grace of the climax fight was again the menacing look of RAJANI.

All in all, this is a RAJANI movie directed by SHANKAR. You will be in for a huge disappointment if your were looking for a SHANKAR film starring RAJANI. Otherwise, it’s a paisa vassool commercial entertainer. Kudos to Shankar for raising the BENCH MARK OF A SUPERSTAR FILM !!

Johhny Gaddaar

Most of the times, thriller movies test the intelligence of audiences and question it. But Johnny Gaddaar is different !! Director Sriram Raghavan has chosen to make it different. You know who the Gaddar is right from the beginning but it still succeeds in creating the air of suspense amongst viewers and characters in the film. Johnny G is Sriram Raghavan’s homage to Vijay Anand movies and James Hadley Chase novels. Raghavan’s previous film, his debut movie Ek Hasina Thi starring Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar was average at the box office but won rave reviews from the critics. It infact gave Urmila couple of awards for her acting.

As this is a thriller, I will not discuss about the story but I would like to mention a few things which I really liked in this movie. The movie opens with titles reminding you of the technology that was available in 70’s and 80’s. This mixes well with the narrative style of the movie. Background music which is very crucial in movies like these is simply superb. Again, you get a feeling that you are watching a 70’s movie but gells well with the narrative style. Shot division is absolutely first class. Few shots leaves a huge impact on you like the various shades from red to orange which was used to narrate the dark side of the characters.

All the lead actors Dharmendra (after a long time I liked him in a movie), new comer Neil, Zakir Hussain and Vinay Pathak did a great job. On the flip side, movie could have been cut short by atleast 15 minutes so that the movie maintains a uniform pace throughout.

On the whole, a different thriller where you actually know who the Gaddaar is, but still movie succeeds in keeping your mind guessing. Go for it if you want to see a thriller of a different kind !!!

Jhil Jhil Jhinga !!!

Even though I am not a big fan of Anand or Godavari, I admire Sekhar Kammula for his decision to go back to India from US and pursue his dream and also for his cinematic sensibilities. As you all know, not all can give up a lucrative career even though your heart is not in it and pursue your dream. Even though Anand was critically acclaimed a lot, I somehow felt that the movie was “TV serial ki ekkuva and cinema ki takkuva”. But as I said, I liked his cinematic sensibilities. I felt Godavari was better than Anand, though songs in both the films sound the same.

When I came to know that Sekhar was making a film on youngsters with all new faces I got all excited. Was very eager to see how he would apply his cinematic sensibility to a youth film. Then few months later when I came to know that he was making this film against the CBIT background, I could not resist myself from looking forward to it.

Before its release, Sekhar has been publicizing the movie as a “Youth film which you can watch with your parents”. This increased my curiosity levels to an all time high as I was very eager to see how you could make a youth film which you can watch with your parents with Sekhar’s cinematic sensibilities. And when he decided to release the movie in US along with CHIRUTHA, then I could not stop admiring his guts.

Well, when I watched Happy Days last weekend, it really took me back to my CBIT days. As a story on paper, there is nothing in it. It is the story of the lead character’s life during Engineering. But what makes it interesting is the screenplay and portrayal of the lead characters by the new actors. Film is funny, hilarious, emotional and touching. This is quite a big task to achieve all at the same time. Emotions are very nicely balanced which makes it stand apart from the other youth films. This was what I was looking for from Sekhar. He applied his sensibilities in a great way to balance the emotions throughout the movie.

Sekhar again uses his fascination for fantasy through the weird gimmicks of one of the lead character. This is the only fictional part in an otherwise complete real film.

Technically Mickey scores way above the rest. His songs and also re-recording raise the movie to a different level. I was not too satisfied with photography as I personally feel that there are too many locations on CBIT campus which could have been exploited. I am extremely disappointed on this aspect. For the first 20 minutes or so, dubbing was awful as there was no lip synchronization for most of the characters. Editing needs a lot to be desired. I do not understand why they were running against time to release the movie before having a techinically glitch free product in hand.

Two songs reminded me of Super Star Krishna's dance. They were just doing a drill on the playground. "Podduna levali" song disappointed me the most among all. In that song when the lyrics say "Amma mundu wonderlu, nanna mundu blunderlu" I expected some feats/tricks which would amuse mom and you fail in the same feat/trick when your dad comes in front. On the contrary you have the lead actor just facing mom and dad. Can't Sekhar imagine atleast this with the lyrics in his hand. I also do not agree with Sekhar that you can watch this film with your parents. It is a good one to watch with your classmates but not with your parents. The movie clearly explains what most of the college guys do. I was also very surprised to see all the parents in the movie very broad minded.

In spite of all these, this movie will be a money spinner in towns and cities for the theme. Sekhar has chosen a beautiful theme but comes up with a very mediocre product as the outcome. Its a shame that he could not use the mesmerizing music. Its a shame that he could not exploit the beautiful locales of CBIT. BUT this movie is a MUST WATCH for any person who went to a college. Go for it NOW !!

Mission Accomplished

Finally, the movie I was waiting for almost 6 months now released over the weekend. I guess you all know what I am talking about. Yes, that is Chirutha. Well, my title for this post tells you what’s the result of Chirutha is.

I wont dwell too much on the story because…….WHO CARES for a story in a movie like this. AGREED. Ram Charan does not score too well on the looks front BUT he has amazing screen presence. He almost excelled in all the categories considering this is his FIRST FILM. I would rather say, during my short stint of life so far, he made a perfect debut any hero would dream of in TFI.

Ram Charan has the PLEASURE of instant fan following, BUT on the other hand he has immense PRESSURE of being the ONLY SON of a MEGASTAR. With this movie, I guess he lived up to the expectations. A little bit of rawness seen here and there would be polished with time.

I cannot stop myself from writing the following. I have heard so many comments saying that CHIRUTHA is a total trash movie and there is nothing in it except for songs and fights. Well, THAT IS TRUE. But to all my friends out there, I would like to make a point here.

Each and every movie has a label attached to it, i.e., a purpose of making that movie. For example, Pokiri was made to entertain the crowds not to bring realism. Can anyone show me a person who behaves like POKIRI? It’s a fictional character and the movie was made to entertain the crowds using that character.

Then, Bommarillu. This movie was made dealing with a common problem seen in every other house. You can not bring any fiction into a story like this. Sri Ramadasu and Annamayya were made with real characters. You cannot expect mass songs and fights in these. Can you?

Well, if you cannot read that LABEL attached to that movie, then please do yourself a FAVOUR. DO NOT WATCH THAT MOVIE ON THE FIRST DAY / WEEKEND. Wait for the feedback or TAKE YOUR TIME TO READ THE LABEL.

I cannot help myself from laughing out my heart if you mention to me that the MOVIE WAS AWFUL. Hmmmm, what can I say? Did you go to a Megastar’s ONLY SON debut movie on the first day / weekend expecting a NEW STORY and VARIETY TREATMENT which by the way can go either way with the crowds. Do you think any father who is trying to launch his son with his brain at the right place would do that?

Chirutha was made to launch a hero from the FIRST FAMILY of TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY. And as per TFI constitutional rules, A HERO IS A PERSON WHO CAN DO THESE AMAZING THINGS WHICH A NORMAL PERSON WOULD ASPIRE TO DO IN THEIR DREAMS. Going by this Ram Charan has done full justice to what was expected of him and lived up to the expectations. It is a very rare scenario where a debut hero had carried the entire film on his shoulders.

Go, Watch it if you want to see some good dances, fights and if you are eager to see how Megastar’s son performed on his debut. If not, please help yourself.

One of the Best Scene's in Telugu Film History

Gangleader 100 day's Function

Spoof on Bommarillu

Everyone knows the climax confrontation scene in Bommarillu between Siddharth and Prakash Raj. I came across this hilarious spoof of that scene. Don’t know who the author is but I appreciate his talent.

Balayya Fans: Balayya babu…meeru 20 years nunchi gelichaanu ani anukuntunnaru….kaani mimmalni gelipinchadaniki memu 20 years nunchi vodipotuney vunnam

Balayya: Naaku 5 crores remuneration vochinappudu kudaa nenu santosha padanu kaani naa fans naa movies ni aadaristunnaru ani gurtochinappudalla ento santosha paddanu

Balayya Fans: Meeru chaala goppa cinema teesanu ani anukuntaaru….kaani aa cinema nachaledu ani chairs viraga kotti screen chimpi mariii cheppali ani anipistundhi…..kaani emi cheyyaleni nissahaya paristhithi

Balayya: Raises Eye brows in surprise

Balayya Fans: Thidutunnaru Sir…..Banda Boothulu tidutunnaru....Balayya movie ki veltunnanu anteyney banda boothulu tidutunnaru sir

What a Screenplay !!!!!!

India Batting Highlights

Pandagey Pandaga !!!!!

World Champions !!!!!!

Hero's Dance in Real Life

My Prediction on Vijaya Dasami

Vijaya Dasami starring Kalyan Ram and Vedika is releasing this Friday, September 21. It is a remake of Tamil so-called HIT Sivakasi starring Vijay, Asin, directed by Perarasu and produced by A.M.Ratnam. This is a typical formula movie with mother sentiment written all over it.

Hero (Kalyan Ram) has a mean brother (Sai Kumar) who even uses his mother (Jaya Sudha) as a pawn. In between hero falls for the rich heroin (Vedika). Story in just an excuse in films like these. It all boils down to heroism.

I personally feel that the fate of this movie will depend on how ladies react to the mother-sentiment and how the director had projected heroism with Kalyan Ram.

My prediction – Average to Above average

Devudaa…Ohh Manchi Devudaa….

I think there are a few people in our film industry who craves for public attention all the time and in the process make a big fool out of themselves. Collection King Mohan Babu tops this list by a huge margin. Close to him comes Superstar Krishna. I will talk about Krishna at some point later.

Recently I came across an Interview of Mohan Babu where he was talking as usual in his filmi style, about how he is Second only to Late NTR in dialogue delivery (he never ever forgets to mentions this), how he DID NOT BUY ANY AWARDS so far, blah blah blah blah blah…… Then I suddenly heard something and before I realized I was rolling on the floor laughing. If you are curious to know what it is, then here you go....

Mohan Babu feels that his sons Vishnu and Manoj have ONLY ONE MINUS POINT. And that is, they being his SONS. It seems that “if they had come from a non-filmy background, with the acting prowess they showed so far, they would have become notable actors.”

Devudaa…..Ohh Manchi Devuda….Chiranjeevi ki Vishaala Hrudayam Ichaav….Nagarjuna ki talent ni spot cheesy capacity Ichaav….Venkatesh ki Remakes chesey talent Ichaav….Bala Krishna ki %&**# chesey talent Ichav….alaagey ee Mohan Babu ki kudaa vaadi kodukula prathibha gurtinchey talent ichi 10 kotla andhrulanu kaapadu swamii…..Nuvvu kaapadutaavu…Naaku Telusu….Endukantey basically you are a GOD….Good GOD !!!!!!

Ram Charan's Dance Clip

Chirutha Trailer

Chirutha is going to release worldwide on September 28, i.e. just 10 more days to go. Still there is not a single trailer out there in the market. There are not even a handful of photos out in circulation. The only pictures which are out there seems to be from only one song. Some of the internet sites had got hold of few more pictures from a different song which were released yesterday on all the websites. Everyone is trying their best to get their hands on whatever they could lay of Chirutha.

Everyone from fans to industry wallah’s, are eagerly waiting for the Megastar’s son’s debut. Keeping these huge expectations in mind, it looks like Chiru is trying his best to reduce the hype. As far as I know, this is the FIRST TIME IN INDIAN FILM HISTORY, where a most anticipated movie does not have its trailer or good set of publicity stills even 10 days before its release.

Bravo Sekhar !!!!

I was in for a shocking / pleasant surprise as soon as I opened my filmi news sites this morning. The news was Happy Days is releasing on September 28 in USA and on October 2 in INDIA.

I will call this as THE MOST DARING STEP I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY FILMI LIFE. I would say so for the following two reasons.

1. With today’s e-world, film’s fate is decided in less than 3 hours from the time of first screening. Reviews are out there on zillions of websites. 80% of the movie going junta reads a review before watching a movie. (It’s altogether a different story where they end up watching it even if the reviews are bad).Now Sekhar Kammula is having 4 days gap between its release in US and India.

2. The MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIE OF THE YEAR – CHIRUTHA is also releasing on the same day. I do not have to describe how even the common man is waiting just to know how MEGA STAR’s one and only son has performed in his debut vehicle.

Sekhar has made it clear by now that his target audience are youth and families who crave for a clean entertainer. On the other side, music of Chirutha gives a feel that it is also aimed at youth along with the masses. The curiosity of the families to watch how Chiru’s son performed will be an added advantage.

Sekhar might be highly confident of his product but yet, this is an extremely daring move. He had released his ANAND on the same day as of Chiru’s Shankardada MBBS. But at that point of time, he was an unknown commodity and was releasing in only handful of theatres in the entire A.P. But now he is a brand by himself.

As you all know, both these movies were Super Hits and I sincerely hope history repeats again.

Vinayka Chavithi Shubhakankshalu !!!!!

Happy Vinayaka Chavithi !!!!!

A big sorry for all you guys who have been checking my blog for the last two weeks even though I haven't updated any. I have been tied up with too many activities lately where I hardly had any air to breathe.

I promise you all that I would be back from Monday with regular updates. Keep checking......

Watch Out For Him !!!!

Can anybody forget the small kids voice which says Chikubuku Chikubuku Railey in Shankar’s first film Gentleman. He is G.V. Prakash, nephew of our music genius A.R. Rahman. That small kid now is all grown up and turned into a music director. His introduction as a film composer was again under Shankar through the critically acclaimed Tamil film Veyil (Vesavi in Telugu) directed by Vasanthabalan. This film had been adjudged as the best film for the Filmfare Award.

His other releases so far are Oram Po, Evano Oruvan and Kireedom, all in Tamil. All these films are musical hits so far and his music has been receiving rave reviews and is acclaimed by all. He is currently working on two films in Telugu which are Adhi Oka Idhi Ley (Leelai in Tamil) and Ullasanga Uthsahanga for Karunakaran.

Even though I do not understand Tamil, songs were rocking and made me hear again and again. He is a grade 8 gold medalist in solo piano from Trinity College, London. Though he is only 19, he had already worked with the big names in the industry like A.R.Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, Bharadwaj, Vidyasagar, and Anu Malik. It is also rumored that Anu Malik's only musical hit in the recent years Jaan-E-Mann was actually composed by GV Prakash.

When his telugu songs gets released, I am sure he is gonna rock our TFI. Mark my words and Watch out for him !!!

Chirutha Audio

Finally the audio of the most awaited movie of the year is out. Here is short glimpse at what Charan has offered us in the first installment.

1. Yamaho Yammaa... 3.75 / 5

Song starts slowly and builds the tempo which suits best for a dance number. There seems to be Himesh Reshamiyya’s influence on this song especially on the hindhi lyrics. Good song to start an album with. Mani Sharma neither disappoints nor excels in this song. He did his job and now it is upto Charan and Puri to complete the job.

2. Love U raa... 3 / 5

Here comes another Puri and Krishna Vamsi’s trade mark BEACH song. Nice melody as interludes. This is the only song which more or less falls into soft melody. Definetly could have been better.

3. Yenduko pichi pichi ga nachaave.... 3.5/5

This reminds of a situational youth song. Starts with the same guitar beat as in "Avunu Nijam" song in Athadu. Mani should have avoided this.

Rough ga vundey oka kurraaadu, oka ammaayini chusi one-side prema lo padi soft ga tayarayyi aame chuttu tirigi tirigi, aame enthaki padakakunda pose kottadam tho, koncham visugocchi aa abbayi vesukunna song idhi.

High Energy undhi song lo and best suits for few Teen Maar steps in between.

4. Champaka Champaka..... 3 / 5

This would have been a sure shot chartbuster if only the tune was a little more catchy. Orchestrization chaala bagundhi kaani ,Tune anta catchy ga ledhu.

Again dance ki ekkuva scope vundhi along with picturization.

5. MaarO Maaro....... 4.5/5

Excellent Opening...Racha Racha beat song..Hit song of the album. I am sure none of MEGA FANS would be in their searts for this song. Okalliddaru fanatics aithe battalu chimpukunna aascharyam ledhu on the first day morning show.

On the flip side ee range beats ki repu on-screen steps match kaaledu antey asalukey mosam vastundhi. I am sure this would be one of the few telugu songs which is gonna rock dance floor’s in the near future.

6. Kanniti..... ????

Yedava Sodhi Bit song. Acts as lump in the throat after listening to Maaro Maaro song.

7. Ivvale..... 3.25/5

Song takes-off like a rock song but something is surely missing. A fast paced song but after the first charanam song just falls flat. It’s so sad that they let go off a sure shot winner again.

8. Innalla dooram...... ?????

Yet another sad bit song. They should have avoided these two sodhi sad songs atleast in the audio album.

Overall ga cheppali antey :
1. Complete dance oriented songs. There is a huge talk that charan is a step above Allu Arjun in dances. Audio further supplements the talk. It will be a litmus test for Charan in dances. It all depends on his dances now.

2. I kind of expected few mass songs. Kaani Mass kante youth ki baaga nache album idhi

3. I can’t help but observe the careless attitude of the protoganist which is seen in almost all of Puri Jagannath’s movies. Careless attitude, nirlakshyam, pogarubothu tanam anni ee songs lo kudaa vunnayi. Hopefully the movie is also on the same lines.

4. A little more care on “Champaka Champaka” and “Ivvale” song would have made them sure shot winners.

But again, Puri is one of the very few directors now in TFI who wraps a movie in a very short time. And the kind of music he extracts in that short period is amazing.

5. Okka feel good, romantic number vuntey this would have been a full meals, but still I am not complaining.

6. Koncham hindhi songs influence could be seen.

Final Word:
Mani Sharma icchina music ki if Charan can match even 50% in steps then I am sure MEGA FANS would proudly lap him as “CHIRUTHAnayudu" and make him the Yuvaraja for the dance samrajyam which his dad has built over the years.

Good Luck Charan !!!

Stupid Six

First Day First Show generally seals the fate of a movie. In very rare cases the slide downhill is thwarted and word of mouth creates an upswing. And if response on first day first show is not that encouraging then PR team goes all out to save the movie.

Here is a look at what I call the “Stupid Six” rules which our telugu film industry tries too often to save their movie.

1. On Second Day, an interview of either the Hero or Director appears on all channels stating that “Industry lo bad talk enduku vachindo teliyadu kaani Public antaa chaala enjoy chestunnaru”.

2. By Third day, you will see posters everywhere, i.e., on walls, sidewalks, telephone junctions, outside Public loos, inside railway platforms, at the back of buses– all having Super Hit printed either in Red or Black on white background. The more desperate ones go for Super-Duper Hit splashed across the posters.

3. All print media carries full page ads from distributors from various territories congratulating the entire team of a film and its makers for such a stupendous opening. Collections from all theatres from all prints are clubbed together to give a gross figure mentioned as Rs.4,84,54,547. Never a rounded off figure e.g. Rupees Four Crores Eighty Four Lakhs Fifty Four Thousand Five Hundred and Forty Seven. The PR team probably thinks that if the number is rounded then the public thinks it is not true (so true )

4. First day First show reactions of selective audience is edited and played non-stop on electronic media to create the buzz. Generally, the remarks selected go something like: Good movie, Awesome, Fabulous, Hero has given wonderful performance, Heroine has just given…. Wonderful…..Direction is too good.(to be true)…..Songs are fantastic(beyond fantasy).

5. Abhinandana Sabha by Fifth day. An actor who is out of form or retired by now congratulates the team for their brilliant effort and requests them to make similar movies in the future too.

6. If all this does not seem to be working then they take out their Brahmasthram i.e, Vijaya Yatra.

Cheeni Kum

This is a film to be savored and enjoyed. This script is maturely written and what impressed me the most was the dialogues between the lead pair. It has humor interlaced in the conversations with wit and sarcasm.

Cheeni Kum has Amitabh Bachan as Buddhadev Gupta, a 64 year YOUNG chef-owner of a restaurant in London, a restaurant he claims is the best in London for Indian food. He has a ego which is as big as his age. His ego receives a big dent when Tabu ( as Nina Verma) sends back a Zafrani HYDERABADI BIRYANI ( hmm…my mouth watered whenever the dish came up on the screen) saying that it’s too sweet. Arrogant Bachan instead of looking into the mistake makes use of his sarcastic tongue at Tabu. This start’s a battle of wits and ego which leads to something more.

Bachan comes to India to ask Tabu’s hand from his father Paresh Rawal who is 6 years younger to him making the film much more interesting. The way he keeps reminding Bachan of their age is something which needs to seen.

Amitabh is an Icon. As far as I know, he is the only actor who’s had films written for him, as he ages. The hero has become older with Amitabh. Matching Bachhan with height, grace and talent, Tabu does an outstanding job as the confident yet understated Nina.

Balakrishnan (renowned ad film maker) who directs a commercial film for the first time has etched out his characters well as he takes up a controversial topic. It is said many times between the characters itself that Bachan could be the father of Tabu keeping in mind 30 years age gap between them. Even though the last 30 minutes of the film goes down in terms of entertainment, this film entertains on whole.

Music by “Maestro” Ilayaraja enhances the film’s appeal, and the refrain “Cheeni Kum hai” is totally apt.

Romance is hard to do in film, and only VERY FEW movies succeed. Fortunately, Cheeni Kum is one among those. A CLASSY FILM, it’s hard to say any more.

For your weekend, go out and a grad a DVD now !!

Banthi Dorledhi Eppudoo ???

I don’t think anybody can forget the role Banthi played by Sunil in Nuvvu Naaku Nachaav. Sunil aa role lo enta jeevinchaadu antey, since then all the servant roles are done only by him. After Andala Ramudu became a hit, Sunil wanted to do a movie titled Banthi. Trivikram Srinivas who is Sunil’s best friend and his room mate during their struggling days has completed the script. But the problem was who should direct this film.

Trivikram Srinivas has become a hot shot director after the classic Athadu. The project will not be commercially viable if he directs it. Then the name which was seriously considered was Seenu Vytla. Venky is a classic example of how Seenu Vytla can handle comedy. Seenu Vytla also agreed to do the film when he was going through a low after the colossal failure of Andarivaadu and Dhee was stuck in the cans for an year.

When Dhee got released and became a Surprise Hit of the year, scene mottam maari poyindhi. He followed it up with Dubai Seenu. Now every other hero who is worth a pie is vying for Seenu Vytla to direct a movie for him. This had put Sunil’s project on the back burner now.

Mari Banthi Dorledhi Eppudooo ?????????

Press Meets

Gemini TV and Teja TV telecasts NEWS and FILM NEWS respectively at the same time 8.30 PST. Being a movie buff, I always watch film news on Teja TV. 7 days a week they have film news for 30 minutes a day. I always wonder how they can procure so much news daily. This lead to an interesting observation.

Right from the announcement of the film to the 100 days function, the filmmakers meet the Press umpteen times. Take a look at where it begins and where it ends.

1. Announcement Meet
2. Muhurath
3. First Schedule Progress
4. Second Schedule Progress
5. Third Schedule Progress
6. Songs Picturization
7. Logo Aavishkarana
8. Audio Launch
9. CD Launch
10. Trailers
11. Day before Movie Release Meet
12. Excellent First Day Talk Meet
13. Bhaari Openings Meet
14. Platinum Disc Function
15. Success Meet / Tour
16. Abhinandana – One actor praises the star for his performance
17. Hexa Platinum Disc Function
18. Last but not the least, if the film runs for 50 days and then to 100, you again have 50 days and 100 days celebrations

Apart from these, you will have the interviews of the actors, director, producer, music director, cameraman on the side. Big budget movies also have almost all of the above press meets except that of schedule progress and songs picturization, as these days most of them are filmed on a low key. But when the movie is ready for release, again you will see all the press meets stated above from 8 to 18.

This is definitely a Creative Field.

Flop King

Okappudu (or even now) Mohan Babu was/is called as Collection King. But does any one of you remember when was the last time he had a HIT ? The last hit or atleast an average movie from him was Collector garu way back in 1997. He stopped acting in outside banners and only acts in movies produced by himself. His banner Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures produced a series of flops like Rayudu, Yamajatakudu, Postman, Adhipathi (Even Nagarujuna couldn’t save this movie), Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary, Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu, Shiva Shankar, Political Rowdy (not necessarily in the same order). He then introduced his sons Vishnu and Manoj to TFI and produced Vishnu, Suryam, Sree and Raju Bhai.

Can you imagine how much money he would have lost making these miserable movies ?? Any guesses on how he is still able to churn out more miserable movies one after another ??. He must be getting his money through his colleges in Tirupati and his commercial properties elsewhere but where is he heading towards?? As I mentioned in my earlier posts, Dabbuntey Herolu ayipovacha ? Does his sons have to be Hero’s ?

Whenever I watch him in a press meet, I always hear from him “Kathane nammukuntaanu”. But look at the movies he had produced or acted. He never ever gave a chance to new and young talent. A glance at his movies in the last 10 years, tells me that Cinemallo avakasam raani vallandharu MB chuttu vunnaru. Real worth vunna vallu ayana deggara ku vellaraaa ?? Leka he won’t let them come near him aa annadhi manaku teliyadu.

He is working real hard to establish his sons as heroes in this industry. But when Dhee was stuck for more than a year, he never tried even to push it. And when it finally released, it gave Vishnu the much needed HIT. Deenini batti emi artham avutondhi antey, Mohan Babu had lost his judgement over the movies.

What I really don’t understand is why is he still trying to romance with Charmi at this age ?? MB has an impeccable style in dialogue delivery. He is aptly called as Dialogue King. Why don’t he experiment in his roles which I am sure would get elevated with his dialogue delivery ?? Is his role in Yama Donga his first step towards this ?? Let wait and see…

Lakalakakalakalakalakalakalakalaka

Everyone knows how big hit the song 'Ra Ra' in Chandramukhi was. Even though this song was in Tamil, the song and the movie was a huge HIT. But this was not the first time a Telugu Film was having a Tamil Song. Long back, Nagaiah's film Tyagaiah also had a Tamil song.

Occassionally, we do have films in other languages with Telugu songs . Here is a list of some of other South Indian films which had telugu songs:

Tamil Films with Telugu Songs

1. Mogamulu

2. Salaingai Ozhi

3. Maragada Veenai

4. Kavari Maan

5. Thava Purulavan

6. Navarathnam

7. Arivazhli

8. Krishna Bhakti

9. Isai Padumu Tendral

10. Madana Kamarajan

11. Devaragam

12. Tandu Vitten Enne

13. Gowri Manohara

14. Chandramukhi


Kannada Films with Telugu Songs
1. Apthamithra ( Chandramukhi )


Malayalam Films with Telugu Songs
1. Shankarabharanam

Putra Ratnalu !!!

We all know that A.M.Ratnam came up the hard way in life from being Vijaya Shanti’s makeup man to one of the biggest producers in South India. Literally, Kinda nundi paiki vachaadu. He made films with Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth and gave break to many people.

Have a look at the HIT films he produced-
1. Karthavyam
2. Peddarikam
3. Gentleman
4. Premikudu
5. Bharateeyudu
6. Jeans
7. Sneham Kosam
8. Oke Okkadu
9. Narasimha
10. Kushi

11. Run

12. Boys

13. Gilli (Okkadu in Tamil)

14. 7/G Brindavan Colony

Ratnam’s elder son Jyothi Krishna directed Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu with Tarun, Trisha and Shriya. It had music by none other than A.R. Rahman. There were 2 songs which were beautifully composed by ARR and also were well shot. Except for that, the whole movie was a piece of crap. A.M. Ratnam lost around 8 crores on this movie. I appreciate his guts to invest so much money on Tarun.

Then he introduced his younger son Ravi Krishna through the bi-lingual 7G Brindavan Colony (7G Rainbow Colony in Tamil). This was a master piece aesthetically shot by Selva Raghavan (Known as Sri Raghav for Telugu Audience). Then he launched Jadoo (KD in Tamil) with his younger son as hero and directed by his elder son. This film had Ileana and Tamanna as the heroines. This was a colossal failure in Tamil though it got good appreciation for Tamanna. The telugu version Jadoo is still lying in the cans and yet to see the light. Reportedly, this movie also put a dent of around 6 crores for A.M. Ratnam.

All these losses had a huge impact on A.M.Ratnam which made his Vikram starrer Bheema delay. It has been in the making for the last year and half. Ippudu dubbing avutondhi. Thondarloney re-recording finsh chesi September lo release cheddam anukuntunnaru. Can you imagine a film of a Superstar like Vikram with a producer like A.M. Ratnam getting delayed so much due to financial difficulties ??

Jeevitam lo sampadinchindhi anta rendu cinemallo iddaru putra ratnalu valla pogottukunnadu A.M.Ratnam. This reminds me of Venky's dialogue in Nuvvu Naaku Nachav "Podigina Guddu Pilla ayinappudu Kodiki, Edigina Koduku Prayojakudu ayinappudu Thandriki ........"

All in the Family

Does the following names sound familiar to you.

· Keeravani
· Rajamouli
· Gunnam Gangaraju
· Chandrasekhar Yeleti
· Cherry

If Yes, then let me explain you how closely they are connected.
· Keeravani and Rajamouli are sons of brothers i.e. Anna Tammudu
· Keeravani’s wife Sreevalli and Rajamouli’s wife Rama are sisters i.e. Akka Chelli
· Gunnam Gangaraju is Rajamouli’s wife Rama’s cousin i.e. Annayya
· Gunnam Gangaraju wife’s brother is Chandrasekhar Yeleti i.e. Bammardhi
· Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s brother-in-law is Cherry i.e. Baava

No wonder, everyone is working so hard for their home production Yama Donga. Yama Donga is

• Directed by Rajamouli
  
• On Viswamitra Creations established by Rajamouli


• Produced by Gunnam Gangaraju’s wife Urmila and Cherry
  
• Music by Keeravani
  
• Costumes by Rajamouli’s wife Rama
  
• Story by Rajamouli’s father Vijayendra Prasad
  
• Music has been released on Vel Records which is owned by Keeravani’s wife Sreevalli

So all the work for the film has been done by family members. Andukaney antaaru anukuntaa, Kalasi Vuntey Kaladu Sukham ani….

Bheja Fry

I under estimated this movie and at the end of it I was so glad that I under estimated it. I am talking about Bheja Fry. What a pleasant surpise it was !!. I really can’t understand how can they make a movie with 57 lakhs with so much talent, original songs and complete FUN. It is reported that it collected 20 times its investment.

Though this film has its inspiration from a French film, it is completely Indianised. An extra ordinary Vinay Pathak, who fancies himself as the true K L Saigal follow up, completely carries this film on his shoulders. Rajat Kapoor aptly supported him for most part of the movie. The fun multiplies when Ranvir Shorey enters the scene.

This movie easily qualifies as the most hilarious movie in the recent times. This film is seriously funny and a celebration of low budget cinema. This film has great acting, great situations and a very simple script. In a nutshell, BHEJA FRY is a time pass fare that doesn’t tax your BHEJA. It is 100 minutes of pure humor. Go out now, grab a DVD and enjoy this weekend with BHEJA FRY.

P.S: It seems that S.V. Krishna Reddy is trying to remake this movie in Telugu. If he does, I personally think that Sunil might be a great fit for the lead role.

Aata is now Chirutha

Now more dope on Aata. When Harish Shankar was removed as the director from Aata, he took the same story to his friend Puri Jagannadh and requested him to produce the movie. Puri was so impressed with the story that he took the story and made some changes and gave a narration to Chiru. Chiru was so impressed with the story that he asked Puri to launch his son Ram Charan through that story.

Harish Shankar might be extremely happy as his story was chosen by Megastar himself for his son's debut. Also, it would get him a good break if Chirutha turns out to be a hit.

So finally, Aata is now being made as Chiruta. Kahani mein twist haa !!!

Ullasanga Uthsahanga

Finally I got to lay my hands on the DVD of Happy last night. I thanked Allu Aravind inside my heart for finally releasing a DVD from Geeta Arts Banner. Watching this movie reminded me of the director Karunakaran.

Karunakaran the Tamil born director who has never directed a Tamil film so far has only one hit Tholi Prema to his credit. He followed it up with Yuvakudu which was a youthful entertainer. This film will serve as a best example where the whole film goes down just because of the CLIMAX. The last 30 minutes of the film does not gel with the rest of the film. Karunakaran seems to be carried away with the Kargil war at that time and tried to infuse kargil point into this entertainer.

He then made Vasu which again was a decent entertainer but Venkatesh was a complete miscast. It would have definitely fared better if it had anyone else other than Venkatesh. You simply can not watch venky in ¾ ‘s and Gotti.

Then he re-united with Pawan Kalyan after Tholi Prema and made Balu. This had a very bad script which was used umpteen number of times before. Then came Happy with Allu Arjun. This has a nice story with an interesting screenplay.

Karunakaran’s strength lies in his ability to chip in sweet nothings which leaves a strong impression on you even after you walk out of the theatre. This one aspect is good enough to make any movie HIT. But he also seems to mess up the climax as seen in Yuvakudu and Happy which leaves the audience curse him when they walk out of the theatre and finally making the film a FLOP.

Now to prove his mettle he is coming back with vengeance with a film titled Ullasamga Utsahanga with a new hero and Sneha Ullal, an Aishwarya Rai look-alike.

The music director is GV Prakash (nephew of AR Rehman) who’s pretty famous now in Tamil Nadu. I will talk about him in detail later.

I sincerely wish he gives us a breezy entertainer and make us leave the theatre Ullasanga Uthsahanga.

Sentiment in the Industry

There is a sentiment in the industry that if a heroine once selected and later on rejected by a big director / producer, if cast in some other movie will be a big heroine. This happened with Ramyakrishna, Rambha and more recently Ileana who was the first choice in Dhairyam opposite Nitin. She was replaced by Raima Sen.

Mamata Mohan Das, who is already making waves through her singing is supposed to be next big thing in the Tollywood. She sang Rakhi Rakhi in Rakhi, Muppi Aaru in Jagadam, Aaakalesthey in Shankar Dada Zindabad and Olammi Tikka Reginda in Yama Donga.

Mamata Mohan Das was selected as the heroin for Aata when the movie was to be filmed with Harish Shankar’s story. (Refer to my post). She was officially the heroin when the movie was launched. Then she was replaced by Ileana. She was also taken in for Nagarjuna’s Don. For unknown reasons, she was replaced by Anushka. Finally she is pairing with NTR Jr. in one of the most anticipated movies of the year Yama Donga.

Will she also make it big on the screen as the industry’s sentiment ? I guess we just have to wait and see.

Ab Kya Hoga Kaaliyaa ??

Here is an interesting observation.

Allu Arjun had acted in 5 films so far. Out of them 4 were hits. Only Happy flopped. I personally liked Happy a lot after Arya. It was a nice movie with subtle emotions (Except for the climax). I still wonder why it didn’t do well.

He had a new heroin in 4 out of these 5 movies. Lets take a look at them.

1. Gangothri – Aditi Agarwal
2. Arya – Anuradha Mehta
3. Bunny – Gowri Munjal
4. Happy – Genelia
5. Desamuduru – Hansika

Except for Genelia all the others were new faces. Every time he paired with a new face, the movie is a HIT. The only time he paired with a known heroin i.e, Happy, movie was a FLOP. This tells me that the movie will be a FLOP if he does not pair with a new heroin. Now we hear that in his latest movie, produced by Dil Raju and directed by Bhaskar of Bommarillu fame, he is pairing with Priyamani of Pellaina Kottalo fame. Ab Kya Hoga ???

P.S: You can also observe that though his movie with new heroins were HITS, none of the heroins could survive in the industry. Antey Cinema or heroin, edo okatey batukuntundhaa ???

Bhagwan Jab Bhi Deta Hain Chappad Phaad Ke Deta Hain…

Nitin came on to the silver screen with the silver jubilee Jayam. Then he was really lucky to get a script like Dil. Then it had been tough for him to hold onto success for long. The only other hit film he has is Sye which an out and out a S.S.Rajamouli film.

Film after film bombed at the box office and distributors are staying away from his film Satyam Sivam Sundaram which was completed an year ago. He has been lying low for a while now with no offers coming his way. EVV tried to rope in Nitin for his latest venture Pellaindhi Kaani along with his son Naresh. But Nitin declined it saying he won’t act in multi-starrers (??????) and patiently waited for his opportunity to knock on his door.

Now suddenly he has 5 films on his hand.

1. Takkari with Amma Rajasekhar of Ranam fame
2. RR Movies with Ravi C Kumar of Samanyudu fame
3. Movie with A.S. Ravi Kumar Chowdary of Yagnam fame

Also Dil Raju is planning to make a movie with him under the direction of Sri Vaas who just hit the bulls eye with Lakshyam. And the Icing on the cake is M.S. Raju has decided to cast Nitin as his hero for his upcoming remake of Kannada Blockbuster Mungare Male.

Andukaney antaaru, Bhagwan Jab Bhi Deta Hain Chappad Phad Ke Deta Hain....

P.S: Of these 5 directors, 3 of them i.e., Amma Rajasekhar, A.S. Ravi Kumar Chowdary and Sri Vaas had given hits only to Gopi Chand. Is this just a coincidence ???

Similarities between NTR and MGR

Here are the similarities between great legends of Telugu and Tamil films – NTR and MGR.

Both of them were..

1. Actors

2. Directors

3. Writers

4. Producers

5. Studio Owners

6. Great Orators

7. Doctorate holders

8. Party Presidents

9. Chief Ministers

And..

In their first films both of them had acted as Police Inspectors.

Don Mein Kaam Karna Mushkil hi Nahin.......

Lawrence is directing Nagarjuna again in Don after Mass. It was supposed to start in November. Kaani Lawrence was busy in completing his bi-lingual Muni which fared not that bad when it got released.

Nag grew his mustache and kept waiting for Lawrence which is very rare in TFI where a star waits for a director. First heroin ga Ileana ni anukunnaru. She couldn’t provide the dates as the movie was pushed back several times. Then Trisha came in. Kaani dates kept on changing and even she opted out due to lack of dates. Then Mamata Mohan Das was signed. She was removed with the same speed she was taken in. God knows what went wrong (I will talk in detail later about the projects Mamata Mohan Das was removed before being finalized for Yama Donga).

Then it was Rahul Dev’s turn to be out of the project. Again the reason is lack of dates as the movie got delayed due to Lawrence.Now its reported that another villain who is making his debut in NBK’s Okka Magadu is playing that role.

After all this, I personally feel that Don Mein Kaam Karna Mushkil hi Nahin.......

Tera Venuka Chitraalu

This is a very complex story, but I will try to put it as simple as I can.

As I already mentioned in my earlier post, M.S. Raju prepared a story for Allu Arjun which was named as "Veera”. After the script was completely developed, bunny dropped out for obvious reasons. Then Harish Shankar, who directed Ravi Teja starrer “Shock” for RGV narrated a story for M.S. Raju who immensely liked it and wanted to start shooting with Siddharth who was riding high on the success of “Bommarillu”. This movie was named as “Aata”.

But just a day before the film’s official launch, due to some unknown behind the screen politics, Harish Shankar was replaced with “Manasantha Nuvve” fame V.N.Aditya. The movie was then officially launched as “Aata” with a tagline “To win the hearts”.

On the Muhurath day, it was also released to the press and public that the story is provided by Harish Shankar and veteran actress Sharada was supposed to play a key role in the movie. A significant portion of the movie was also supposed to take place in Australia. (If you want to check on this, do a simple google on “Aata Movie Launch”)

Kaani, Harish Shankar didn’t give his story for M.S. Raju when he was removed from the director’s seat. So, keeping the same title “Aata”, the movie was completed with Veera’s story and the tagline was removed. And now as everyone sees, Aata is nothing but a rehashed version of Gudumba Shankar.

Deenini batti naaku artham ayyindhi enti antey, Tera meeda Bomma padey mundara, tera venuko ennenni chitralooo ……

Nee Dhairyaaniki Lal Salaam Comrade !!!

This guy really have some guts. I am talking about our erra cinema super hero R.Narayana Murthy. He is remaking his 1994 hit Yerra Sainyam in hindhi as Yeh Dharthi Hamaaara.

Narayana Murthy always made films one after another irrespective of its fate at the box office. Asalu dabbu ekkadi nundi vastondhi ani ???? Anni cinemalu flop ayinaa malli cinema teesey anta backing vunnappudu why doesn’t he undertake a village and develop it rather than being limited to preaching. Ippudu Telugu loney choosey dikku ledu antey hindhi meeda paddadu. God Save Those souls !!!

The brave part is he is releasing it on August 10th the same day as Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De India.

Kanisam poster la dabbulu anna vastaaya ani ????

Vaarasulu Vastunnaru Jagrattha !!

1. Ram Charan Teja – Son of our Megastar. He needs no other introduction than this. He is debuting this September through ‘Chiruta’ directed by none other than the current hot shot director Puri Jagannadh. ‘Chiruta’ is coined from Chiru Tanayudu. Chiru Tanayudu = Chiruta. Some creativity haa ?

2. Chaitanya – Son of Nagarjuna. His film will start rolling some time in November. This film is produced by ‘Dil’ Raju and directed by debutant Vasu.

3. Sumanth Aswin – Son of M.S. Raju. He is mostly likely to act in M.S.Raju’s next production tentatively titled as ‘Vaana’. This is a remake of this year’s Kannada blockbuster ‘Mungaru Male’. Reportedly, this film has collected the highest amount so far in Kannada film history.

4. Rama Naidu (RaNa) – You guessed it right. He is the grandson of Rama Naidu (son of Suresh Babu). He will be debuting sometime early next year.

5. Allu Sireesh – Son of Allu Aravind and younger brother of Allu Arjun. I already talked about him in my earlier post.

6. Apart from these, it is also heard that son of Rajendra Prasad is trying to debut sometime later this year. Ramoji Film City which has been lying low for a while now is trying to come back into film production through this film.

Kalyan Ram is going to be a father very soon. Inko Nandamuri Nata Varasudu Vastunnadu anna maata. Hatha Vidhiiii !!!!

Veellu Herolu enti ra bhagavantudaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is a limit for EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. I don’t think Industry wallah’s seem to have heard or read this.

The reason for my complaint here is, in the good olden days, people with reasonably good looks and acting skills were becoming actors. But now days even with no acting capabilities and not even reasonably good looks everyone is becoming an actor.

Look at these heroes – Kiran Tej and Harinath Policherla.

It is heard that Kiran Tej dad has lots and lots of money and produced his son’s film 'Brahma' making his elder son as the producer. I will talk about him and his film in more detail later.

Harinath on the other hand being a practicing doctor in USA earned so much money that he can produce atleast 15 films keeping him as the main protagonist. He also owns IMAGE hospitals in Hyderabad. 15 films emi karma, 51 films ayinaa teestaadu aa maatram backing vuntey.

He already produced and acted in Premaaya Namaha, Alex, Hope and now Chandrahas. He also named himself as ‘Rising Star’. I almost had tears in my eyes ( or may be blood ) watching some scenes of Chandrahas on Gemini. I can only imagine the plight of audience in theaters.

Idantaa choostuntey naaku okati anipistondhi. Dabbu Vuntey Evadayinaa Hero ayipovachaa ?

Jiddu laaga tagulukunna J.D.

Chakravarthy more often known as J.D. Chakravarthy by the telugu film audience marked his debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s debut path breaking blockbuster ‘Shiva’ as a fellow student named J.D. After that, he played several supporting, side and lead roles in Telugu before RGV launched him in bollywood through ‘Satya’.

He re-surfaced again in Telugu through several films which flopped miserably at the box office. He ghost directed ‘Suri’ which had its plot very similar to ‘Satya’. This was later dubbed into Hindi as ‘Durga’. J.D took credit for the hindi version for direction whereas the telugu version doesn’t show his name as the director. God only must be knowing what he was thinking for putting his name as the director for a dubbing movie.

He again ghost directed 'Madhyahnam Hatya' which drew a lot of flak from several women organizations. Finally he made an official entry into direction through ‘Darwaaza Bandh Rakho’. GOD…What a piece of crap were all these films !! Not even in a single frame in any of these movies had J.D shown his creative talent.

Now it is learnt that he is planning to remake the 2006 Academy Award winning Martin Scorsese classic ‘The Departed’. This film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (Jack Nicholson) implants Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) as an informant within the Massachusetts State Police. Simultaneously, the police assign Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, the two men are dispatched to discover each other's identities.

JD is planning to make this film with Jagapathi Babu and himself in the lead along with Prakash Raj in the role Jack Nicholson made immortal. The title under consideration is ‘Homam’.

As always, Ram Gopal Varma, the man who believed in JD from his initial days and also produced all his directorial ventures (apart from Suri) is producing this film.

I sincerely wish JD good luck but at the same time pray to GOD to save this film from being a digusting INSPIRED version of ‘The Departed’.