Now, I was touted as the biggest release to kickstart the year in both Tamil and Telugu industries. But the reviews since morning haven’t been very good and more or less everyone feels it surely lacks Shankar’s magic.

Well, there is an age-old Telugu saying which says that the pain is more when the sister-in-law laughs than being slapped by the husband.

On one hand, fans of Pawan Kalyan are ecstatic that I hasn’t lived up to expectations and on the other, fans of other heroes are unhappy that I hasn’t got good reviews.

While Pawan fans insist that I will be an average runner, fans of other heroes argue that I will end up being a hit. They maintain that I is definitely better than Gopala Gopala.

Many of them are unable to come to terms with the fact that while I might fizzle in Telugu, Gopala Gopala might sustain itself simply because it has no competition.

Now, trade analysts have their own version. They say I may be hit or flop, but it will not help Gopala Gopala beyond Sankranthi days.

No matter what the industry thinks, it surely is lackluster festive season for the audiences.

The Supreme Court has given a ruling banning cockfights. Though it has been a part of our culture, during the recent years, it has become a huge spectacle with just about everyone from politicians to common man betting heavily during the season.

In fact, social media network is inundated with jokes which show Allu Arjun saying that on one single day, money to the tune of state budget will be betted in cockfights.

No matter where you reach in life, what you do during your growing up years stays with you. So is the case with well-known comedian MS Narayana.

He says he would enjoy the festival and be a part of all the events in and around his village near Bheemavaram.

Having worked as a lecturer there, he says he can still remember the cockfights, the huge Bhogi bonfires and the festive spirit all over.

Well, he also confesses that he enjoyed eating hot chicken pakodas after watching cockfights along with a drink. And before you ask the obvious question, he says he never placed a bet on any cock.

Narayana also says the best festival was the one in his village, where people would competed to light the biggest bonfire. The sons-in-law would enjoy the festival in particular and the energy that the three days gave would stay on for a very long time, he says.

Today, everything has changed and that’s rather sad, says Narayana.

Sankranthi is the biggest festival of Telugu people and actress Anjali who hails from coastal Andhra has her own tales to tell.

Apparently, she would wake up early in the morning and put rangoli as is the custom. Then, she and her friends would enjoy Bhogi bonfires and watch a lot of films during the three day festival.

The Geetanjali says she used to love eating all the food prepared for the festival and going to the fair in Sivakodu village on Kanuma.

“There we would walk around and buy jilebis and other sweets. It would be so much fun,” says she.

Of course, she confesses that there would be mischievous boys who would chase them around. But we would be one step ahead of them, laughs Anjali.

“We would poke them with hair pins,” she giggles.

In Telugu, the film-makers have moved all their films fearing the release of I for Sankranthi. In fact, there has been no direct release today.

But in Tamil Nadu, Vishal went ahead and released his film titled Aambala (well when translated it reads as ‘magatanam’).

Titled Magamaharaju in Telugu, the film is directed by C Sunder and has Vishal playing the son-in-law to three mothers-in-law.

In what could surprise many film lovers, Shankar’s I managed to get a rating of 3/5 and Vishal’s film got 3.5/5. Also, the websites in Tamil Nadu have said that the film was the ideal release for Sankranthi with ample mass elements.

Well, Vishal has won over Tamil audiences and will soon try to work his magic in Telugu too.

Recently, his Pooja also did decent business in Telugu, while it did good business in Tamil Nadu, especially the B and C centres.

So, finally Vishal has a reason to smile as he has managed back to back hits in Tamil.

On a normal day, one can dream about whatever pleases them, but when the confession comes from hot and sexy Shruti Haasan, it is a tad bit disappointing.

Well, Shruti is one girl who speaks her mind among south Indian heroines.

She is not coy and does not play up to the galleries like others. She has a mind of her own and she does not mind being herself.

When an anchor of a television show tried to find out who Shruti Haasan dreams about, Shruti laughed off the question saying surprisingly she only dreams of temples and going on a pilgrimage, rather than about hot hunks.

Well, surely, that is not the kind of answer that an average viewer expects from Shruti, but Shruti is not one to lie to get goodie points.

Poor heroines don’t seem to have a choice even when it comes to their dreams these days, thanks to overbearing fans.

When Pawan Kalyan started the ‘Jana Sena’ he said it was not for power or positions but to question the system and those in ruling, irrespective of their Party.

The elections are over and Pawan is now a rarity on the political scene.

The inside joke doing the rounds is that the only person he has questioned after the elections is Sampath Nandi and that too regarding the script of Gabbar Singh2.

Jokes apart, Pawan Kalyan posted pictures on Twitter of him at his farm.

He wished the Telugu people a happy festival and said, “In the end, he wished Telugu people and said “Andhariki Naa’Hrudyapoorvaka ‘Sankranthi Subakankshalu’.Raithu kanneeru pettani ‘Gramina Bharatham’ ravalani asisthu”.

The last statement by Pawan Kalyan is extremely significant! He expresses his hope for a vibrant, rural India in which none of the farmers have to shed tears of sorrow.

Incidentally, the man Pawan Kalyan endorsed in the recent elections, Mr Chandrababu Naidu is doing exactly that!

His backtracking on a unanimous loan waiver policy for farmers and his forcible acquisition of land from farmers for the new capital are causing untold hardships to farmers.

But Pawan has not spoken out on any of these issues. if he is really sincere, then why this silence? Did he support the TDP just for money or popularity?

If not to the general public Pawan Kalyan at least owes an explanation to his fans who trusted him blindly and voted for the TDP-BJP combine.

Gunasekhar is producing and directing ‘Rudramadevi’, a periodic drama starring Anushka Shetty, Rana Daggubati, Krishnam Raju & Catherine Tresa etc.

Stylish Star Allu Arjun is appearing in a pivotal role in the movie. Shooting part of this film has been completed long back and Rudhramadevi team is working on the VFX work at the moment.

According to our sources, Gunasekhar is still waiting for the distributors and he is trying hard to sell the film by releasing posters and videos of Allu Arjun. Though Anushka Shetty is a leading actress, distributors are still aware of the nightmares of Sainikidu and Nippu.

So, the trade circle is carefully observing the developments of Rudramadevi. ‘Maestro’ Ilayaraja is composing the music and Background score for ‘Rudramadevi’.

As expected, Shankar’s ‘I’ started off with a bang. This film collected 7.5 crores across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions on day 1 and it’s a record in dubbing films category.

In spite of opening up with mixed response, collections are strong in B and C centers.

In USA, ‘I’ collected $126K from 100 locations on Tuesday and the film collected $77K so far today.

Shankar’s brand and lack of a strong opposition are the major reasons for this massive collections.

As informed earlier, Telugu producer bought the film for 36 crores and the trade analysts are predicting that ‘I’ will have a solid run at the box-office till Sunday.

This film might end up collecting close to 31 crores and the film has got bright chances to fare well from Monday as well, but it is too early to say that.

For the first-time, director Dasaradh and ‘Victory’ Venkatesh are teaming up if Film Nagar reports are anything to go by. Dasaradh, who made successful films like Mr Perfect, Santosham, is currently working on the script for Venky’s film. Buzz is that Dasaradh had narrated a story line to Venky sometime back to which the actor given his nod immediately and asked him to develop the script.

Latest buzz is that Dasaradh is now giving final touches to the script and the film will be formally launched in the next month. As his previous film Greeku Veerudu tanked without a trace and considering that he is going through rough phase, Dasaradh said to have taken special care on the project.

Already Venky is riding high with his recent successes like Drushyam and Gopala Gopala. So, it’d be cake walk for Dasaradh to sail with Venky’s charm. The cast and other crew are yet to be finalised.