Breather for 'Dasavatharam' unit

Dasavatharam Gallery

Even as the Madras High Court ruled in favour of Kamal Haasan starrer 'Dasavatharam' holding that freedom of expression cannot be curtailed by 'mere belief, myth and fiction', it expressed the hope that the film 'shall not carry anything that wounds' any section of the Hindus.

'Movies are powerful means of communication which affect a larger audience. It cannot allow itself to propagate hatred among people of all walks of life including the religion oriented people... certain amount of restraint from them (those behind the silver screen) is the need of the hour and they should ensure that their freedom of expression does not affect sentiments of any religion,' a division bench comprising Justice K Venkatraman and Justice M Satyanarayanan, said.

'So, we hope that the film (Dasavatharam) shall not carry any thing which wounds any sect of the Hindus,' it said.

It hoped that the petitioners would not be offended after watching the entire movie.

The Bench dismissed a petition seeking a direction to film certification authorities to change the title of the movie and delete some scenes, paving the way for the movie's release.

The International Sri Vaishnava Dharma Samrakshanna Society (SVDSS), had, based on TV clippings, filed a petition contending that some of the scenes could spark off tension between the Vaishnavites and the Saivites.

Dasavatharam Gallery

The High Court ruled in favour of the producer--Oscar Movies--taking into account a number of factors such as the filing of the case based on TV clippings only and counter affidavits that the film glorified God as a divine power and depicted only imaginary characters and incidents.

It also noted that the viewers of the movie were not 'illiterate' to not understand that the title meant ten roles played by Kamal Haasan and had nothing to do with the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu, as claimed by the petitioner.

The court held that the name 'Dasavatharam' was an ancient historical and religious one and nobody could object to its usage since there was no intellectual property rights attached to it.

Kamal Haasan's last few films--'Virumandi', 'Vasool Raja' and 'Mumbai Express' --have had their fair share of controversies with some people objecting to the titles.

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'Dasavatharam' release postponed

Putting again the thousands of eagerly awaiting film viewers into another prolonged wait, it has been informed that Kamal Haasan epic film 'Dasavatharam' will hit the theatres on June 12.

Hope that this will be the last one in the series of postponement.

Normally when a film's release date gets delayed, the interest of the media starts to wane on that particular film.

But in the case of 'Dasavatharam' it is just the opposite that is happening.

The repeated shift of release dates has only aroused the curiosity of the media and film viewers more.

But there is news for the 'Dasavatharam' unit to rejoice.

The petitions filed against the movie have been dismissed by the Madras High court.

Ravali becomes mom

Noted actress Ravali, who entered wedlock with Neelikrishna, gave birth to a baby girl in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Ravali, a popular actress in Tamil and Telugu cinema had been part of several films opposite popular actors including Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Parthiban, Vineeth among others.

Married a year ago, she is settled in Hyderabad.

On Thursday evening, she gave birth to a baby girl.

'Kucheludu' to release in September

There are lots of speculations running around on the date of the release of Rajinikanth's next film.

People are also eagerly waiting to see their favorite hero appearing in the film in the role of a superstar.

The Rajinikanth fans will have to wait till September to see the film on screen as per the information given by P.Vasu.

The director told that 80 percent of the film's shooting is over. Further schedule of the shooting will depend on the onset of the monsoon season.

He also informed that the frames of 'Kucheludu' which has been shot till now has come out extremely well.

The film maker considers Pollachi as a lucky place for him.

P.Vasu's first film 'En Thangachi Padichava' which was shot in Pollachi was a hit

There is no need to mention the status 'Chinna Thampi' attained in the minds of film lovers. The location for this film too was Pollachi.

The director has shot lot of important scenes for the Rajinikanth film 'Kucheludu' in Pollachi and neighboring areas.

The other locations of the film are Coimbatore, Pollachi, Udumalapet and Thirupur.

‘Pandurangadu‘ set to hit screen on May 30

Directed by K Raghavendra Rao and produced by K Krishna Mohana Rao on the banner of RK Film Associates ‘Pandurangadu‘, with Balakrishna, Sneha and Tabu in the lead is all set for release on May 30.

Balakrishna says, ‘I got an opportunity to play in the remake of a film in which my father played the lead which remained an all-time classic. It was really a boon for all the unit members to work for such a wonderful movie. There are a total of 16 songs and Keeravani gave melodious tunes to all of them.
Already the audio received a very good response.‘

K Viswanath, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Balayya, LB Sriram, Prasadbabu, Anant, Sameer, Archana, Suhasini, Meghana Naidu, Y Vijaya, Sana, Sivaparvathi, Sireesha, Bhargavi, Neethu, Baby Kavya and others are in the cast.

Story and dialogues are by JK Bharavi, music is by Keeravani, cinematography is by V Jayaram, while editing is by Srikara Prasad.

Kim sarma doing Item Song with Ramcharan

Director SS Rajamouli has completed his first schedule shoot of the film with Ramcharan. The first schedule was done in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The film has completed 25% of the shooting.

Now an item song shoot is planned in a specially erected set in Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. The item song will be filmed from 30th May on sexy girl Kim Sharma and Ramcharan.

Kim Sharma is well known to Telugu audiences with the film Khadgam of Krishnavamsy. The song will be highlight fore the film.

The film is expected to hit the screen by the year end, Kajal is the heroine, MM Keeravaani is composing the music.

Ravi Teja‘s next film Baladoor

Ravi Teja and Anushka once again paired in a new flick which is been directed by Uday Shankar of ‘Kalisundam Ra‘-fame and produced by D Suresh Babu on Suresh productions banner.

There is news that the film will be titled as ‘Baladoor‘( Veediki Badyatalu Ekkuva). It is not officially announced. KM Radhakrishnan has scored the music and the audio is expected to hit the market towards the end of June.

Kajal Agarwal to replace Charmme?

Kajal Agarwal, who shot into fame with her role in ‘Chandamama’ of Krishnavamsi, also played in some other hit films and filled the glamour slot. She is becoming one of the busy heroines in Telugu. Apart from films, Kaajal is into modelling and appeared in many ad promos including ‘Khazana’ Jewellers.

Now, she got one more good offer to act as the ambassador for ‘Big C’, one of the largest chain of mobile phone showrooms, across the Andhra Pradesh. Hitherto, Charmme was the ambassador and the showroom now roped in Kajal as their ambassador. According to reliable information, this will be officially declared on June 1.

Jagadam Producer Turned Kannada Hero

Young producer Aditya Babu has great drive in film making and he is debuted with ‘Jagadam‘ as producer. He has emerged as an actor now and chosen Kannada cinema for his debut on screen. His inclination for Kannada actress Ramya made him pair up with her in the direction of Veera Shankar. The first Kannada film of Aditya as hero will be ‘Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu‘.

He said that he has crave for acting since teenage but his education turned an obstacle for that. Now he is free from studies and ready for acting before camera. Director Veera Shankar said that Ramya and Aditya are Hobson‘s choice for the film as they suit up to perfection for the roles.

The film story is on the shades of ‘Adavari Matalaku Ardhaley Veruley‘ that depicts heroine as software professional and hero as her junior. How the love between them affects their lives is the theme of the film.

Aditya Babu is financially strong since his birth as he is from contractors‘ family. His grand father Ramesh Babu was a lion share contractor of Nagarjuna Sagar dam built long back.

Andamaina Abaddham completes talkie

Shooting of ‘Andamaina Abaddham’ with Raja and Kamna Jethmalani is progressing well. The film, directed by Raviraja Pinisetty and produced by Ramana Murthy on the banner of MH Movies, would complete the shooting of the talkie part by the end of May, and canning of a song remained balance for the flick.

The film unit sources say, ‘It would be a complete family subject and is totally aimed at family audiences. In the wake of films with action and love backdrop hitting the screen, our film would be a quite off beat and would give a novel experience to the audiences. We are sure that the film would be a definite hit as Raviraja Pinisetty is known for bringing out good family subjects. After a gap of four years Ravi Raja Pinnishetty is directing this flick.

Hansika Motwani : Big dreams, small age

She shot to fame with her launch in the hit flick ‘Aap Ka Suroor’ opposite Himesh Reshammiya. However, she had already tasted success as a child artist. Just a teenager not touching the eighteen year old category, Hansika Motwani has dreams flying high.

The sexy teenager has bought herself a brand spanking new car, even though she is not legally allowed to drive yet. So, now she is the proud owner of a Honda Civic (we envy) but will have to wait to get behind that tempting wheel. Till then, her driver will escort her around. Not bad again!

Kareena kapoor - From zero to one!

Just when we thought it was going going gone, Kareena has bounced back with a size one figure. Kareena who is currently shooting with Salman Khan in Australia has finally started binging on food. The hectic shooting schedules keep her busy while, lessening her workout time. Fashion designer Manish Malhotra who has signed up Kareena as the show stopper for his collection was heard saying “now that she is a size one, I have to work doubly hard to get the clothes to fit perfectly”.

The upcoming IIFA, to be held at Bangkok from June 6-8 will see Kareena shaking a leg on some hit numbers and walking the ramp for Manish. The designer who has done makeovers of many Bollywood stars will present a bridal collection at IIFA 2008. He discloses “, I am looking forward to the international Indian platform that will allow me to showcase my art. I will be using 15 female models and 5 male models. But right now, I am concentrating on Kareena.”

While Kareena will fly to Bangkok only a few hours before the show, anxious Manish is trying hard, contemplating with designs that will best accentuate Bebo’s new figure!!

Kajol agrees to become Mrs Khan for Karan

Kareena Kapoor can put her hopes of being cast in My Name Is Khan to complete rest. For finally Karan Johar’s first choice Kajol has agreed to do the film. Kajol gave the nod to the project on Thursday. A source close to Kajol’s husband, Ajay Devgan, tells us, “Kajol indeed took a long time to take a call on her participation in Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan, but the problem was that she had not heard the script in detail. This week, she took a long look at the script and finally said ‘yes’.” “Karan and Kajol go back a long way.

Their dosti is not only friendship but respect for each other as well. Kajol could not have refused the film outright,” the insider further says.

So how will Kajol adjust to the US schedule? Will her daughter Nysa accompany her? Wasn’t that one of the reasons why Kajol took long to give her nod of consent? “Well, that all will be sorted out. Kajol has worked out how to look after Nysa during that period. Whether Nysa will go with Kajol or not is still not known,” our source adds.

The only time Shah Rukh and Kareena have been romantically paired earlier was in Asoka the Great (2001), which too was produced in part by Shah Rukh Khan.

Govinda - Dhawan teams up once again

When the title of the film goes ‘Do Not Disturb’, it is sure to ring the naughtiest bells in your system. Vashu Bhagnani is more than excited about his new venture which will have the rocking team of Govinda and David Dhawan along with other stars like Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta, Sushmita Sen, Ranvir Shorey and Rajpal Yadav.

Talking excitedly about the film, Vashu says, “The correct selection of star cast is half battle won. I feel both Govinda and Riteish Deshmukh have excellent comic timing which will work wonders for the film.” Do Not Disturb goes on floors on June 15.

Besides this, Vashu has things going at other scenes too. He is launching his son Jackie in ‘Kal Kisne Dekha’, which is directed by Vivek Sharma. He has also signed Abhishek for a yet untitled film to be directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Well, we have things on a move for Bhagnani, it seems!

Now, Salman Khan begins blogging

Aamir Khan was the first notable celebrity from Hindi film industry to directly interact with his fans through his personal blog. Amitabh Bachchan soon followed suit and attracted hundreds and thousands of his fans to his blog. Now, Salman Khan has joined the bandwagon.

Sallu has begun writing on http://duskadum.blogspot.com.
However, his blog is not personal but related to his upcoming TV show ‘10 Ka Dum’ which is set to go on air from June 6, 2008.

In his blog, Salman writes about how he came aboard for the show. “I still remember the day when my brother Sohail Khan , who always dreams big, thinks different, brought the proposal to anchor a show for Sony Entertainment Television. I had my reservations. The idea sounded so impractical that I rejected it even without giving it much thought. All my decisions are based on my instinct and some people think that I am too moody and cynical. But believe me I have been guided by my instincts and my heart all my life! I do not depend too much on intelligence, analysis and calculations…However, Sohail, the eternal optimist, and family friend Ajay Chhabaria have tremendous patience and endless power of persuasion. They kept asking me to look into the format closely. Their patience and perseverance paid dividends,” Salman writes.

About what attracted him to the show, Salman writes: “What attracted me to the format of 10 Ka Dum is that there is no false shame and sense of humiliation if your answer is wrong…The second thing that attracted me to the format is the informality of the show -- it goes to such an extent that the role of anchor and contestants are reversed at times and also interchangeable.”

Salman added that soon, ‘10 Ka Dum’ ceased to be a format or a chat show for him. “It became my thanks-giving to millions of my fans who have showered their love and blessings to a rather reluctant star.”

Lekha Washington Bowled over by King Khan

Not only the regional cricketers but aspiring actors and vee-jays are also getting benefited by the cricket revolution brought about in the country by the shortened form of cricket.

Being a field anchor for Sony Max in the Indian Premier League has certainly given the cute and stunning former SS music vee-jay Lekha Washington to get the attention of the media players in Bollywood but also gave her a chance to meet and interact with some of greatest cricket players like Shane Warne, Sanath Jayasuuya, Adam Gilchrist etc.

The reason why Lekha will always consider herself lucky to be the field host for SonyMax will be due to the reason that in this first session of the IPL itself, she was presented with a chance to meet up and talk with none other than the badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan.

The upcoming actress will soon be seen in the film 'Jeyam Kondaan' and is also said to have come in focus of the film makers in Bollywood.

She herself has come out with the news that discussions are going on with some film makers but nothing has been finalized.

Although the actress has admitted that she was not able to talk much with Shah Rukh, simply due to the fact seeing the King Khan standing in front of her made her totally dumbstruck and she forgot what she was supposed to talk with him, who knows this chance meeting with the king of Bollywood may prove out to be a lucky star that will shine in the future for Lekha.

Nisha Rawal all set to score a hat trick

She is yet to see a film of hers arrive on the big screen but she already has three projects lined up one after another.

We are talking about Nisha Rawal who would be making her big screen debut this Friday with HASTEY HASTEY where she is paired opposite Jimmy Sheirgill. But this is not the only film that she is looking at to make a mark at the box office. That's because in weeks to follow, she would also have two more films of hers getting ready to hit the silver screen.

"It has been a little wait but certainly worth it", gleams Nisha who is looking all sweet and bubbly, the tag which has always been associated with Preity Zinta, in the promos of her romantic comedy HASTEY HASTEY, "I wasn't resting even as I was completing HASTEY HASTEY. That's because soon after I got involved with RAFOO CHAKKAR which is a riotous comedy. Shooting of this film too is complete and we should see it on the screens in a few weeks from now."

What else apart from HASTEY HASTEY and RAFOO CHAKKAR?

"It is this film called JACK N JHOL and as the title suggests, this too is a comedy flick", smiles Nisha who is creating a hat trick of sorts with each of her first three films belonging to comedy genre, "Call it incidental but I have been getting an opportunity to be a part of all these fun flicks. In July I should be starting shooting for one more film but I would rather wait for the formal announcement before divulging more about it."

Both RAFOO CHAKKAR and JACK N JHOL are directed by B H Tharun Kumar of NAYEE PADOSAN fame. While RAFOO CHAKKAR stars Aslam Khan, Nauheed Cyrusi and Yudisthar, JACK N JHOL too boasts of a young team of Aslam Khan (again), Dilip Thadeshwar (MUMBAI SALSA), Tara Sharma, Shruti Seth, Shraddha Nigam and Gaurav Gera.

Soha, siddarth together

Seems nowadays Bollywood couples have figured out a new route to stay with each other. They press on producers to cast them together in a film. The most talked about example is Saif-Kareena, who find reasons to spend maximum time together even if it means by working in a film together.

And now it is learnt that Soha Ali Khan & his beau Siddharth are to be seen in a film together. According to the latest buzz BAS EK PAL & MY BROTHER NIKHIL fame director Onir has roped in Soha Ali and South superstar Siddharth (of RANG DE BASANTI fame) in his next flick which will be an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. If everything goes accordingly than this would be the couple's second film together after super hit film RANG DE BASANTI.

According to some sources Hrithik Roshan was director Onir's first choice to play the eponymous 'Hamlet'. Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani have also been roped in to play the parts of Queen Gertrude and King Polonius.

Ravi Teja - Anushka movie titled Balaadur

Crazy hero Ravi Teja and long legged heroine Anushka are acting in a movie which is titled as Baladoor with a tagline Veediki Bhadyathalu Ekkuva. Super Star Krishna is playing a vital role in it.

This movie created a sensation during its shooting because of the death of a dupe of Ravi Teja in a Godavari river mishap. The shooting of Balaadur is in its last stage and will mostly be released in the end of June or in the start of July.

Uday Shankar is directing this movie while Suresh Babu is producing it on Suresh Productions banner. KM Radha Krishnan is composing the music.

''Abhishek is in forefront but Big B isn't behind'' - RGV

Is it going to be entirely Shankar Nagre's SARKAR RAJ in RGV's sequel to SARKAR?

Laughs Ram Gopal Varma, "It may seem so because the character played by Abhishek Bachchan did take over from Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) in the climax of SARKAR. So yes, Shankar is indeed in forefront when it comes to SARKAR RAJ. However, that is just the premise of the film and not eventually reflects completely on the way the story unfolds."

What exactly does he mean here?

"You can't have a powerful character like Subhash Nagre, who incidentally is played by the most powerful actor in Bollywood cinema today, sit back and see all the action happen in front of his eyes", reflects Ramu who is a picture of confidence for his latest venture, "Yes, he comes on his own when the situation warrants. Big B indeed does what he is required to do."

Balakrishna, Jr NTR pay tributes to NTR

Balakrishna, Jr NTR, Kalyan Ram and others paid rich tributes to Late NTR on the occasion of his 86th birth anniversary celebrations at NTR Ghat. Balakrishna said that he is feeling proud to be the son of late NTR. "If there is another birth, I would like to born again as his son," he said. Kalyanram said that his family would start social service at Basavatarakam Cancer Hospital. Junior NTR said that his grand father's blessings would continue on the family.

Later speaking to the media at Basavatarakam Cancer Hospital Balakrishna said that he is always available to serve Telugu Desam party. He was not sure that whether he will contest in the next elections or not. He said, "I will not say anything about contesting in the next general elections. But I will participate in welfare programmes to move close with the people." When asked about Chiranjeevi's entry into the politics, Balakrishna said that anybody can enter into politics. He said," I will not say anything about Chiranjeevi's political entry."

Hot girl hates to wear bra

Hollywood actress Carmen Electra's recently said that the best way to snare a man is to keep a 'sexiness kit' with you at all times. "Keep a sexiness kit in the car or in a drawer at work with the essentials in it — perfume, lip gloss, and a pair of heels because they'll help you showcase your legs better. Knowing you look hot also boosts your all-around confidence," said the Baywatch babe. Rakhee Sawant completely agrees with Electra and says, "If I am wearing an evening gown, I'll make sure I am not wearing a bra. I hate wearing it," says the item girl who admits that she would, however, "wear a panty". "My lips are very pouty, my eyes are very sexy and my face is very glamorous." She would besides keeping a bra at bay like to accentuate her assets with a nude lip gloss, mascara and eyebrow powder to make the eyebrows thicker and darker. The item girl also feels that a woman should always smell good. "Ladki main khusboo na ho, to mazaa nahi aayega." And her seduction tool is a D&G perfume.

Amrita Rao sees fan in lover

Recently the gossip mills went into overdrive with rumours of actress Amrita Rao dating Gohar, the lead singer of Pakistani band Jal. However, sources close to the two insist that there’s no love brewing here. A close friend of Amrita revealed, “Well, Gohar does like Amrita and has admitted that he’s a huge fan, but Amrita was not even aware of his feelings for her.”

Another insider also insisted that it was a one-sided crush and added that Amrita has always considered him only as a coactor, after working on a music video with him. Well, after seeing Amrita in her latest sizzling avatar, it’s hardly surprising that Gohar’s lost his heart to this Indian beauty.

Sruthi Haasan backs to music

Sruthi Haasan making her debut with Madhavan was one of the hottest news in tinsel town. But now it's been confirmed that the young lady has backed out of the project.

Sources close to her say that it was due to creative differences. Sruthi is however going to concentrate more on her first love - music and is in no hurry for her launch in films. Being the daughter of Kamal Haasan, she has to wait for the right story and banner to make her debut. The stunner, who has crooned for a number of movies, has taken her love for music so seriously that she is now planning to cut an album soon.

RGV plans metro tour with Bachchans

The entire team of Sarkar Raj is planning a Yatra to various cities across India from June 13, a week after its release on June 6. The Sarkar Raj yatra, it will be a replica of scene from the film. Abhishek Bachchan is taking a keen interest in the yatra and is completely involved in the planning and the route that it will take.

The procession will include flag hoisters, bikers, jeeps and the Nagre family to which the Bachchans belong, in the film. However, AB junior who is finding it difficult to juggle time, has found an innovative way to manage time. The yatra will cover five cities including Lucknow, Hyderabad, Indore, Delhi and Mumbai.

US president to watch Dasavatharam?

When asked about his film Dasavatharam’s budget shooting over Rs. 60 crores, thereby making it his costliest production, Producer Ravichandran of Oscar films says, “I take it with pride that my expertise as a producer is what has helped me to restrict the budget to that figure. Had the movie been produced by Kamal Haasan, I am certain that the budget would have touched another Rs. 40 crores easily.’ About Kamal Haasan’s commitment, Ravichandran says, “An actor of his stature, getting involved in the post-production work, and that too for over an year since the movie’s completion is something that is unheard of. This in itself is an indication of his involvement.”

Ravichandran also said that he is looking forward to making a Bengali version of the movie, as the actor was popular with the locals while shooting for the movie Mahanadhi in Kolkata. “Not many are aware that Kamal had acted in a Bengali movie several years ago.” Meanwhile, the producer is making arrangements to send a copy of Dasavatharam with English sub-titles to US President George. W. Bush. He has also sent another copy of the movie to Jackie Chan. With over 1,000 prints, Dasavatharam is slated to be released on June 6.

100 security men to protect Mallika

The shooting of Mallika Sherawat starrar Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam, which was scheduled in Puducherry, came to a standstill when thousands flocked to the set to catch a glimpse of the Mallika Sherawat. Producer Ratan Jain had to hire about 100 security personnel to keep them away. Mr. Jain says, “The situation got out of control, and hence I had to immediately make arrangements to tackle the situation. Mallika is the lead actress of my film. Hence she is my responsibility.”

“I hired a local agency to protect her,” he added. Jain’s repeated pleas to the people to keep their distance was in vain. The crowd wouldn’t budge an inch. They refused to keep their hands off her. “This practically brought the shooting to a standstill. Fans kept crowding around her and refused to leave her alone. No matter what we did, they were determined,” a unit me

Sangeetha plays prostitute with ease

Comparing me with Kareena Kapoor is a compliment,” said Sangeetha reliving the moments of Dhanam, a Tamil film, in which she plays a prostitute, who is driven by circumstances into the world’s oldest profession. Sangeetha said that she did not do any homework. Keeping away from any self-inflicted pressure, Sangeetha owed it to the late cameraman-director Jeeva for instiling the clear vision of the character.

“We had a chat before the take-off where Jeeva suggested some subtle changes to my gait and he asked me to have an alluring look in my eyes. I even bit my lips as suggested by some of the unit members,” said Sangeetha in a lighter tone. For Sangeetha, every role is a challenge giving new dimension to her personality. “At the end of the day when you live with that role, perfection cannot be far behind,” reasons out Sangeetha.

Siddharth plays Hamlet to Soha

Hrithik Roshan was director Onir’s first choice to play the eponymous Hamlet. Now, he has cast Siddharth who, it is said, has agreed in principle to play the tragic hero. For the role of Ophelia, Onir was keen on Chitarangada Singh.

Reportedly, following her tantrums on the Mauritius locations, he is now contemplating to cast Siddharth’s steady date, Soha Ali Khan. This is the second time Siddartha and Soha Ali Khan working together. Earlier they worked together for Rang De Basanhi.

Hansika’s research on stock markets

Hansika Motwani, we hear, is one smart cookie that prefers investing her money rather than spending it. The youngster has invested quite a substantial amount of her earnings in mutual funds and securities and has become quite an expert on the same too.

Says Hansikaa, “With God’s grace, I have everything I want but I know this will not remain forever. I love spending time researching on the stock market and going through my investment portfolio every month.” Looks like somebody has a second career in place.

Rajnikant spends Rs 30 million on new look

Superstar Rajnikant is to don a series of new looks for his forthcoming mega sci-fi thriller 'Robot'. He is going to Hollywood to try out novel prosthetic make-up styles, estimated to cost over Rs.30 million, for the Shankar-directed film.

According to sources close to the film unit, Shankar is accompanying the actor to finalize the series of 'new looks' for the multi-billion-rupee project. This would be followed by a month-long story session, the sources said.

Sameera looks for Spanish fun and frolic

In case you’re wondering where Sameera Reddy has disappeared, she was in Spain for a show. She loved the place and the culture so much that she decided to stay back after her shooting schedule. But then, her euphoria was short lived.

She had to return to India for a film festival in Orissa. And now that she’s back, she is missing the sangria, tapas and beautiful beaches in Spain. But she’s promised to return to Spain for more Spanish fun and frolic. But till then, we guess it’s going to be work over pleasure for the busy bee.

Katrina’s midnight mantra

Katrina Kaif is going places and has made a definite mark in Bollywood. Her devotion to her work and glamorous looks add to the overall star quotient and she’s the preferred choice of filmmakers and actors alike ever since she became the hit machine.

And even though she maintains a strict diet and fitness regime which has her looking fabulous nowadays, Katrina has a special midnight snack that keeps her going when she’s very tired. “ She like to drink a glass of milk with sugar and rice when she was very tired and it’s late,” says a friend to Katrina. Is that the secret to her peaches and cream complexion?

Neetu’s scary massage experiences

Recently Neetu Chandra was shooting for a hectic schedule in Bhopal . The unit members suggested that she should try de- stressing through a relaxation technique called Hamam which is a Turkish massage and bath famous in Bhopal. Neetu was very excited about this idea and went with her hairdresser to relax. On arrival she saw these huge strong massage women, who scared her.

She chickened out at the last minute and ran from there leaving her hairdresser at the mercy of the masseur for the famous experience. However she met her hairdresser after a couple of hours who admitted that she had a wonderful experience and quite enjoyed herself. We are sure Neetu’s loss was her hairdresser’s gain.

RGV caught kissing his heroine

Ram Gopal Varma is known for his proximity to all his heroines right from Urmila Matondkar to Nisha Kothari. Varma had a severe set back with the remake of Sholay, which turned out to be one of the biggest flops in the history of Hindi cinema. Currently, the director is busy making a few films in Tollywood as well as a sequel to Sarkar. However, it’s Ramu’s newfound muse, Amrita Khanvilkar, a Pune-based actress who has become the topic of interest in the director’s camp.

According to the buzz going around in the industry, RGV was recently caught kissing Amrita in public.Nevertheless, the director reportedly said that he consideres all heroines as his sisters and that the kiss was just one from a brother to a sister. Amrita has been signed on for two RGV productions.

Rajinikanth as an inspiration to kids

Today Sivaji Rao Gaekwad or Rajinikanth can lay his hands on whatever he wishes for. He is the highest paid actor in India, respected alike by the old and young, probably the only actor in India who can do justice to the title demigod, NDTV's best Indian of the year award for 2007 and to top it all unparalleled love and adoration given by his fans. Rajinikanth, the superstar has grown to such an extent that now it is sometimes hard to believe that this screen god was once just a common unknown man just like the innumerable persons having only dreams to fuel the aspirations. Now for the first time in India's history a brief story about an actor's success story has been included in a text book. The voyage of Rajiikanth to superstardom has been included in the CBSE STD VI course material under the section Dignity of Work by the Oxford University Press. Now all over India Children can read and get inspired after reading this chapter titled 'From Bus Conductor to Film Star' as part of their academic studies. The chapter starts with the name of Raja Bahadur who is the person solely responsible for giving Kollywood the actor who later on went to rule in Industry and still continues to do so. The friendship between Rajinikanth and Raja Bahadur started in the 1970's when the superstar was the conductor and his friend the driver of a bus for the route number 10A between Majestic and Srinagar of the Bangalore Transport service. At that time Rajinikanth was known as Sivaji Rao, a government employee whose passion for acting had not gone beyond the borders of the stage at the Gubbi Veeranna Ranga Mandira in the garden city. Raja Bahadur seeing the tremendous potential that the actor inside Sivaji Rao had and the overwhelming response he got from the audience when he played Duryodhana and Yechhama Nayaka, the Kannada warrior decided to persuade the future superstar to consider acting more seriously. The class VI chapter also gives a good example of a true and heartfelt friendship as it gives out how Rajinikanth's financial expenses were met by his dear friend for two years after Rajinikanth took a risk and gave up his government job to join the newly started Adyar Film Institute as suggested by Raja Bahadur himself. After passing out of the Institute, it didn't take much time for Rajinikanth to start his acting trip as he was soon signed up by the veteran director K.Balachander for a new film. Superstar Rajinikanth's friendship with Raja Bahadur still continues and the humble bus driver always sees his film star friend's movie on the first day first show itself.

Where is 'Arundhati'?

Anushka so far played glamorous rolls so far in almost all the films in her career. For the first time, she signed the dotted line for 'Arundhati' to prove her performance capabilities.

She agreed to act in the film, with a strong urge to win the hearts of women and family audiences, which was produced by Shyamprasad Reddy.

There was a big talk that the film would earn her a special identity on the lines of Vijayashanti.

Though the film started rolling, there was no information as how much shooting was completed and how long it will take for its completion.

The film's release is being delayed on the pretext of delay in post-production works like graphic works. Though the film's fate hanged in balance, Anushka is leaving no stone unturned to keep herself busy in the industry.

She is presently playing heroine in 'Chintakayala Ravi' opposite Venkatesh, besides some other films opposite young heroes like Raviteja and Gopichand.

One had to wait and watch when 'Arundhati' would see the light.

The legend - N.T.Rama Rao remembered

The NTR ghat at Necklace Road,
Hyederabadwas visited by the family members
of the late actor who can also be called as a true
messiah of the masses on his birthday.

At the break of the dawn itself Nandamuri Taraka
Rama Rao's off springs and grand children came to
pay their homage to the actor, director, producer
and politician who was called by his fans as
"Vishwa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma" which
means the Emperor of Acting.

The great actor's sons Jayakrishna and Nandamuri
Balakrishna, grandsons NTR and Kalyanram and
daughter Bhuvaneshwari after coming to the ghat
placed wreaths and garlands at the Samadhi and
observed silence for sometime.

The late legendary actor was also the person responsible for forming the political outfit Telugu Desam Party and he also served three terms as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.

The patriarch of the Telugu Cinema is a true revolutionary if his work for the well being of the people of Andhra Pradesh and the various welfare activities he undertook as the chief minister are considered.

Among his most noted achievements as the chief minister, ones that should be highlighted are the educational reforms he introduced which resulted in the changing of the entire state's education syllabus for the schools, common state entrance examinations for all the branches of higher education, started a medical university in Vijaywada and improved the advanced medical capabilities of the capital city Hyderabad.

He made sure no communal riots took place and controlled the poser of Naxals to a great extent when he was the commander in chief of the state

He strongly fought and became successful in giving women equal inheritance rights by amending the Hindu inheritance laws. The loved leader also introduced the first social net program in India with Rs2 per Kg of rice scheme for the poor.

Devender Gowd, Roja and Errannaidu of the TDP also visited the NTR ghat to show their respect to the founder of the party.

In a remote place called Jayanti Puram in Krishna district, the late actor's disciple, former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and husband of his daughter Bhuvaneshwari remembered and paid his respect to his mentor by putting a flower garland around NTR's statue.

The actor's fans and party workers organized a road show up to Jaggaiapet too as a respect to the person who contributed so much to the cinema and politics in Andhra Pradesh.

A blood donation camp was also conducted by the party at the NTR Trust Bhavan.

NBK as NTR's son Nandamuri Balakrishna is known said that if there are rebirths, he wished to be born as NTR's son again and again.

He accompanied by NTR Jr and Kalyanaram later on went to Bashvatarakam Cancer Hospital to inaugurate a blood donation camp.

Due to his beautiful portrayal of Hindu deities several times on screen in various mythological films, he became the face that instantly came to the mind of the people of Andhra Pradesh whenever the names of Lord Krishna and Sri Rama is mentioned.

But no one will argue that it was due to all his sincere concern and selfless service for the poor and the needy he attained a status of a living god and not by any publicity and image building gimmicks.

'Bhairavi', a message-oriented film

Popular item girl Abhinayasri is playing the role of a powerful police officer for 'Bhairavi' directed by Ramana Mogili and produced by BO Subba Reddy on the banner of Rahul Movie Makers with Anand of 'Photo'-fame as hero and Sairabanu as heroine.

Producer says, 'The regular shooting of the film was launched on March 21 and we almost completed the shooting part. The film had all kinds of commercial elements and at the same time, we are making efforts to give a good message to the society. Abhinayasri is donning a police officer's role, who fights against the anti-social elements and those who resort to injustices against women.' Director Ramana says, 'The film reflects the real life incidents in the society.'

Story and dialogues are by K Rajender Bharadwaj, camera is by Mohan Chand, action is by Martial Ramana, music is by Dhanunjay Mishra.

'Turpu Padamara', an NRI love story

Ramesh Tummala, who underwent training in film making at Australia, had earlier brought out a film 'Neeli Meghalu', Now he is bringing out 'Turpu Padamara', with a love story of an NRI as the subject.

Arun and Ramita Setty are playing the lead while the film is jointly presented by Devenki Films and Novel Entertainments. The film is being made simultaneously in English and Telugu languages.

Director cum producer Ramesh says, 'An NRI youth reaches India to marry an Indian girl. He falls in love with a girl but differences crop up due to some attitudinal changes between the boy and the girl. Whether he was able to win back her heart or not is the climax. The film would definitely touch the hearts of the current generation youth. Gorantla Krishna's music would be an added attraction. But for the canning of two songs the entire shooting part was wrapped up. Post-production works are in progress simultaneously. We are planning to complete the canning of the balance songs in the first week of June. We are making efforts to screen the premier of our movie during the 'AATA' conference to be held in the US in July.'

Prasad Konda, Padmini, Sahadev, Meena Singh, Ganga Narasimha Reddy, Suresh, Bharat Raj, Baby Pravallika and others are in the cast.

Camera is by Rajesh Katuri, editing is by Satyam, while story, direction, and production are by Ramesh Tummala.

Chiranjeevi in Ali’s film

Megastar Chiranjeevi will be giving a special appreance in comedian Ali’s latest film as lead actor. Sombheri, produced by Y. Venkat Rao and introducing lyricist Jonnavithula Ramalingeswara Rao, has a song that speaks about the awareness for AIDS. Chiranjeevi will be featured in that song along with the late Mother Teresa. Recently music maestro A.R. Rahman released the audio of the film. The film has completed its shooting and post production work and is ready to be released in the coming week.

‘Oye’ Ravi Teja, what’s up?

Ravi Teja’s mannerism may serve as a title for a movie. How can anyone forget Ravi Teja’s famous ‘Oye’ in his movies? Raja Ravindra, a close friend who incidentally also handles the schedules of Ravi Teja, has come out with an idea of a title ‘Oye’ for his next movie. Sources claim that the title has already been registered under Rainbow Reels Banner. But time only will tell if Ravi Teja would actually act in the movie due to his very busy schedule with three movies in one go.

Srikanth-Charmi in Kausalya Supraja Rama

Kausalya Supraja Rama has been confirmed as the title of Suresh Productions’ latest film starring Srikanth, Charmi and Gowri Munjal in leading roles. Directed by Surya Prasad the film was initially to be titled as Boss gari Ammayi but producer D.Ramanaidu decided against it and announced the former. Surya Prasad had earlier directed Srikanth and Charmi in Neeke Manasichanu. This film too is a complete family entertainer, a genre that Srikanth is quite popular with.

'Eka'love'yudu' busy in re-recording

Re-recording is in progress for 'Eka'love'yudu' produced by Medikonda Amarchand on the banner of Sri Venkataramana Productions introducing KRK as director with Udaykiran and Kruti in the lead roles.

It is the story of a youth who faced lots of struggles in winning the heart of his lover.

The producer says, 'We are making efforts to release the film in June by completing all the post-production formalities. It is a fantastic love story with action in its backdrop and it would be different film for Udaykiran and he played a never before character in his career so far'.

Brahmanandam, Venumadhav, Sunil, Srinivasa Reddy and others are in the cast.

Music is by Anil Krishna, while Medikonda Muralikrishna is the presenter.

'Pandurangadu' set to hit screen on May 30

Directed by K Raghavendra Rao and produced by K Krishna Mohana Rao on the banner of RK Film Associates 'Pandurangadu', with Balakrishna, Sneha and Tabu in the lead is all set for release on May 30.

Balakrishna says, 'I got an opportunity to play in the remake of a film in which my father played the lead which remained an all-time classic. It was really a boon for all the unit members to work for such a wonderful movie. There are a total of 16 songs and Keeravani gave melodious tunes to all of them.
Already the audio received a very good response.'

K Viswanath, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Balayya, LB Sriram, Prasadbabu, Anant, Sameer, Archana, Suhasini, Meghana Naidu, Y Vijaya, Sana, Sivaparvathi, Sireesha, Bhargavi, Neethu, Baby Kavya and others are in the cast.

Story and dialogues are by JK Bharavi, music is by Keeravani, cinematography is by V Jayaram, while editing is by Srikara Prasad.

Young heroes shed body weight

With the heroes who were quite slim were doing exercises to improve their body and exhibit a six-pack, those who were a little bulky are doing their best to shed their weight. NT Rama Rao, who was known for a heavy weight personality among all his contemporaries, sheds a lot of weight on the advice of SS Rajamouli and appeared slim in 'Yama Donga' and further slim in 'Kantri' of Meher Ramesh. Now, yet another hero Vishnuvardhan Babu, son of Mohanbabu, also followed the suit. Vishnu, who appeared quite bulky in 'Krishnarjuna' faced remarks that he needed to shed his weight. It is not like earlier days, where a person used to go on strict diet, doing lot of exercises and jogging to lose weight. The modern medical advancement came in handy for these people to take the help of 'lypo-section'. He surprised all those who attended the audio release function of 'Ready' with his slim personality. However, one thing should be kept in mind that one can shed his weight through artificial methods, but it would spoil the glow in their faces.

Puri may launch Naga Chaitanya by 2008-end

After the successful launch of Ram Charan Teja, son of Padma Bhushan, Mega Star, Dr Chiranjeevi, his compatriot Nagarjuna is all set to introduce his son Naga Chaitanya to the Telugu film industry.

Introduction of sons and other kin is not new to the Tollywood. Though Allu Arjun and Ram Charan Teja were of equal age, the former had got an opportunity to enter the fray a little earlier.

Nagarjuna had also introduced his nephews Sumanth and Sushant to the industry, and delayed Naga Chaitanya. As a precursor, it is reliably learnt that he was trained in Mumbai and London, in dialogue modulation, dances and fights.

Already one photo session was also taken up. Once again, Puri Jagannath bagged the chance to introduce Naga Chaitanya too. It is worth mentioning here that Puri Jagannath was quite busy in the recent past with continuous movies.

'Bujjigadu' with Prabhas is all set for release on May 22. After his, Puri committed to do a film 'Neninthe' with Ravi Teja as hero. Moreover, Puri has plans to bring out a film 'Chachipothe' with his brother Sairam Shankar. In this backdrop, Puri would get time to introduce Naga Chaitanya only at the end of the year. The film would be made on the joint banner of Vaishno Academy and Annapurna Studios.