9 PM | ETV Telugu News | 31st January” 2026
Rashmika–Vijay Wedding Buzz Grows After Udaipur Video
Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda are once again making headlines after a video from Udaipur went viral on social media. The clip, which shows wedding decorations and preparations underway at a heritage venue, has sparked fresh speculation about the actors’ wedding plans.
Several reports suggest that the couple may tie the knot in February, though neither Rashmika nor Vijay has made any official announcement so far. According to sources, the wedding is expected to be an intimate affair attended only by close family members and friends. The venue seen in the viral video is reportedly a palace in Udaipur, a popular destination for private celebrity weddings.
The leaked visuals, showcasing elaborate floral arrangements, decorated stages, and ongoing preparations, have further fueled excitement among fans. Although Rashmika and Vijay have never publicly confirmed their relationship, their frequent public appearances together and long-standing rumours have kept speculation alive.
For now, both actors have chosen to maintain silence on the matter. Until an official confirmation is made, the wedding news remains speculative, but curiosity and interest among fans continue to grow.
Priyamani to Star Opposite Chiranjeevi
Actress Priyamani is reportedly set to star opposite Megastar Chiranjeevi in his upcoming film directed by Bobby Kolli. While an official announcement is yet to be made, reliable industry sources suggest that Priyamani has been finalized for the project, with discussions now at an advanced stage.
The news has generated significant buzz, as this will mark a fresh on-screen pairing. Known for her strong performances and versatility, Priyamani is expected to bring depth and elegance to her character, adding a new dimension to what is shaping up as a full-fledged commercial entertainer.
Director Bobby Kolli, who has previously delivered mass-appeal films, is said to be crafting a compelling script that will present Chiranjeevi in a dynamic and stylish avatar. The film is expected to strike a balance between action, emotion, and entertainment, catering to the high expectations of the Megastar’s fanbase.
Pre-production work is reportedly progressing rapidly, and a formal announcement regarding the cast and technical team is anticipated soon. With Priyamani on board, the project has already created considerable excitement in Tollywood, with fans eagerly awaiting updates on the film’s title, music composer, and shooting schedule.
Vijay Concerned Over Jana Nayagan Setbacks
Thalapathy Vijay has expressed concern over the politically motivated troubles surrounding his upcoming film Jana Nayagan. In an interview with NDTV, the Tamil superstar said he feels deeply for his producer, as the project is facing obstacles due to his entry into politics. While Vijay anticipated challenges and was mentally prepared for the personal impact of his political journey, he admitted being pained by the difficulties caused to the producer, especially given that the film’s budget is around Rs 350 crore, with his remuneration alone accounting for Rs 250 crore.
The Bigil and Mersal star noted that his political entry has effectively resulted in a “permanent exile” from films. Interestingly, Vijay also opened up about his admiration for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, calling him a role model. He praised SRK’s clarity in speech and articulation and spoke of their close bond, referring to a viral interaction that took place during the filming of Jawan in Chennai.
Jana Nayagan was originally slated for a Pongal release on January 9 and is being described as Vijay’s last film before he fully immerses himself in politics. The actor has recently launched his own political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The film ran into trouble when the CBFC withheld certification, citing concerns that certain scenes could hurt religious sentiments.
Sree Leela Set for Big Comeback with Dhanush
Even though Sree Leela is admired for her top-notch dancing skills and glamorous on-screen presence, her career in Tollywood has been hampered by more flops than hits. She recently ventured into Kollywood, but her debut film Parasakthi failed to make a mark at the box office, leaving her performance largely unnoticed.
Surprisingly, Sree Leela continues to attract promising offers in Tamil cinema despite her underwhelming debut. She recently secured a significant role in Pradeep Ranganathan’s upcoming film and has now been signed as the leading lady opposite Dhanush in an untitled project directed by Amaran filmmaker Rajkumar Periyaswamy.
Dhanush, a versatile actor with pan-India recognition, makes this a golden opportunity for Sree Leela at a crucial stage in her career. She is clearly eager to deliver a notable success and revive her trajectory. Director Rajkumar Periyaswamy is known for offering strong, performance-oriented roles to his female leads — in Amaran, Sai Pallavi won accolades for her stellar performance. If the director crafts a meaty role for Sree Leela, it could be a turning point and showcase her best work to date.
Recently, Sree Leela has been selective about Telugu films, possibly due to consecutive setbacks or the lack of interesting roles. Her current choices indicate a determined effort to establish herself in Tamil cinema. Regardless of the reasons, she urgently needs a strong success in Kollywood to reverse her slump and give her career the boost it needs.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Announces Ambitious SSR61
Veteran filmmaker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who recently contributed key creative inputs to Nag Ashwin’s visionary epic Kalki 2898 AD, has confirmed that retirement is far from his plans. The legendary director is now officially helming his next project, SSR61, which was formally announced today during a traditional puja ceremony.
The film is being produced by Nag Ashwin under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner, with music composed by Rockstar Devi Sri Prasad, marking an exciting cross-generational collaboration. The announcement video paid tribute to Singeetam’s unparalleled legacy, featuring several leading industry figures lauding his pioneering contributions to Indian cinema.
Renowned for pathbreaking works such as Pushpaka Vimanam, Singeetam has consistently pushed the boundaries of storytelling with genre-defining narratives. SSR61 is being positioned as the most ambitious project of his illustrious career, promising a unique cinematic experience from the master filmmaker. The official title and further details of the film are expected to be revealed soon.
Ranveer Singh’s Next Projects: Rumours vs Reality
Bollywood star Ranveer Singh is currently riding a wave of success as his recent film Dhurandhar not only dominated the box office but also became a hit on OTT platforms, despite some initial setbacks. Fans are now eagerly awaiting the much-anticipated sequel, set to release in March this year.
As Ranveer prepares to begin shooting for his next project, Pralay, media speculation has been rife about his future collaborations. Unconfirmed reports suggest that he is in talks with leading South Indian directors. It is said that acclaimed director Shankar Shanmugam is considering Ranveer as one of the leads in an ambitious adaptation of the popular Tamil historical novel Velpari. Similarly, Telugu filmmaker Boyapati Srinu is reportedly interested in casting him for a high-octane action drama.
While the buzz continues to grow, the chances of these projects materializing appear slim. Ranveer is reportedly in no rush to lock his next films, aiming to build a diverse and distinctive filmography rather than signing consecutive commercial projects. He may also prefer to work on a potential third installment of Dhurandhar if the second part turns out to be a massive hit.
In the past, Ranveer had agreed to collaborate with Hanuman director Prashanth Varma for a period drama titled Rakshas, but the project was shelved due to creative differences. There were also earlier reports of a Hindi remake of Aparichithudu with Shankar, which never came to fruition for undisclosed reasons.
With the overwhelming success of Dhurandhar, Ranveer Singh has emerged as one of the most sought-after actors in India. However, he remains selective about scripts, and until official announcements are made, all media speculations regarding his upcoming projects should be taken with caution.
India Launches IAIRO to Drive Sovereign AI Ambitions
India has marked a decisive turning point in its artificial intelligence journey with the formal launch of the Indian AI Research Organisation (IAIRO), signalling a shift from policy formulation to sovereign execution. Launched in New Delhi on January 30, 2026, IAIRO is envisioned as the execution engine for India’s AI ambitions, with a focus on converting research and intellectual property into deployable, population-scale systems.
The launch was accompanied by a position paper titled “Sovereign AI for India’s Strategic Autonomy”, authored by Dr Amit Sheth, Founding Director of IAIRO. The paper emphasises the importance of strengthening India’s strategic autonomy by building AI systems governed by national institutions and aligned with domestic priorities rather than external dependencies.
Aligned with the IndiaAI Mission, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Gujarat AI Action Plan, IAIRO will focus on advancing frontier AI research, creating sovereign intellectual property, retaining top global AI talent within India, translating research into real-world deployments, and supporting evidence-based policy for secure and trustworthy AI.
Unlike consumer-oriented large language models that are often monolithic and resource-intensive, IAIRO will prioritise next-generation AI systems that are custom-built, compact, and domain-specific. These include neurosymbolic and hybrid agent-based frameworks designed to be more cost-effective while supporting mission-critical enterprise, governance, and strategic applications.
Commenting on the launch, Dr Amit Sheth said India is moving decisively to ensure its AI future is built in India, for India, and governed by Indian institutions. He noted that IAIRO has been created to convert national AI ambition into deployable systems, sovereign intellectual property, and long-term national capability, while consciously avoiding consumer-centric AI approaches that are rapidly becoming commoditised.
This approach aligns with recent remarks by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw at the World Economic Forum, where he underlined the need for India to chart its own AI path, including the development of small language models. Referring to those remarks, Dr Sheth said India’s AI agenda has now entered a mission-mode phase that demands dedicated institutions, long-term capital, deep talent pools, and strong translational capabilities — needs that IAIRO has been designed to address.
Established as a public–private partnership and headquartered in GIFT City, Gujarat, IAIRO brings together frontier research, ecosystem partnerships, talent development, and real-world deployment under a single national mandate. The organisation aims to build for artificial intelligence the kind of concentrated national capability that ISRO created for India’s space sector, with a sharp focus on measurable outcomes and sovereign technological leadership.
IAIRO’s founding team includes Prof. Ramesh Jain, Prof. Dev Niyogi, Prof. Sanjay Chaudhary, Juhi Bhatnagar, Selvam Velmurugan, and Dr Amit Sheth. Its advisory council features leading global academics and industry experts from institutions such as Ohio State University, Penn State University, IBM Research, Google, DeepMind, OpenAI, Apple, and Amazon. The organisation’s board comprises industry and policy leaders including Dr Ajai Chowdhry, Prof. Rajat Moona, and Smt. P. Bharati, with an approved expansion to include Shri Sharad Sharma, Shri Abhishek Singh, and Prof. Ramesh Jain.
As India prepares to host the AI Impact Summit, the launch of IAIRO reflects a broader national intent to pair ambition with institution-building and innovation with sovereignty, positioning India not just as a participant in the global AI race but as an architect of its own AI future.
Canada Visa Processing Times Updated, India Sees Relief
Canada’s immigration department has quietly revised processing timelines for thousands of temporary visa applicants, with Indian travellers seeing a notable improvement even as other categories show signs of strain. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated its processing times for temporary resident applications, including visitor visas, work permits, study permits, and super visas.
The most significant relief is for visitor visa applicants from India. Processing time has dropped to 83 days from 99 days in the previous update issued on January 14, marking a 16-day improvement. In contrast, applications from Nigeria and those submitted from within Canada have experienced slight increases in wait times. While IRCC maintains a service standard of 14 days for visitor visa applications submitted outside Canada, it does not specify a benchmark for applications filed within the country.
Work permit processing remains uneven. Although overall timelines have been relatively stable, several markets have seen slower processing and greater unpredictability. Applicants from Pakistan and the United States are facing longer wait times. For Indian applicants, the work permit processing time currently stands at eight weeks, a marginal improvement from nine weeks in the January update. IRCC targets a processing time of 120 days for work permit applications submitted within Canada, including extensions, and 60 days for those filed outside Canada, except for International Experience Canada permits, which carry a 56-day standard.
Study permits continue to be the most stable category, with only minor fluctuations rather than sharp delays. However, processing times for Indian applicants have increased slightly to four weeks, up from three weeks in the previous update. IRCC’s service standard remains 120 days for applications filed inside Canada and 60 days for those submitted outside the country.
Super visa applications continue to face extended wait times well beyond IRCC’s internal target. For India, processing time has increased to 214 days from 206 days in mid-January. The most dramatic change was observed in applications filed from the United States, where super visa processing times doubled within a two-week period, possibly due to a sudden surge in application volumes. IRCC’s service standard for super visas is 112 days, and these applications can only be submitted from outside Canada.
IRCC processing times are estimates that reflect how long it may take to reach a final decision for applications submitted today. The timeline begins once IRCC receives an application and ends when a decision is made. Actual processing can vary depending on factors such as case complexity, verification requirements, and how quickly applicants respond to additional information requests. These estimates are based on historical performance and current workloads and may change frequently as application volumes fluctuate.
GCC Unified Tourist Visa Delayed to 2026
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has delayed the launch of its much-anticipated Schengen-style unified tourist visa, confirming that the “GCC Grand Tours” visa is now expected to be introduced sometime in 2026 instead of the earlier end-2025 target.
The single visa is designed to allow tourists to travel freely across all six GCC countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain — using one authorisation, thereby eliminating the need to apply for separate visas for each country. Officially referred to as the GCC Unified Tourist Visa, the initiative was approved in November 2023 during a meeting of GCC interior ministers in Oman and has been positioned as a regional mobility project inspired by Europe’s Schengen system.
Officials have attributed the delay primarily to challenges in integrating backend systems across the six member states. The process involves synchronising immigration databases, security screening mechanisms, and cross-border verification protocols among sovereign jurisdictions, which is critical for enabling seamless travel under a single visa framework. Reports suggest that backend testing revealed compatibility gaps in API–Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems and biometric watch-list integrations, prompting ministers to opt for phased pilot launches instead of a simultaneous region-wide rollout.
Once implemented, the unified visa is expected to be particularly beneficial for frequent travellers from India, given the large volume of tourism, business, and family travel between India and the Gulf region each year. Officials have indicated that the visa may be priced between $90 and $130 (approximately Dh330–Dh480), depending on the duration of stay and whether travellers choose a single-country or multi-entry option. The multi-entry “GCC Grand Tour” visa is expected to allow stays ranging from 30 to 90 days.
For now, travellers must continue applying for individual visas for each GCC country, with costs and conditions varying significantly. Saudi Arabia remains among the costliest, charging around SAR535 (Dh525) for a one-year multiple-entry e-visa that includes insurance and allows stays of up to 90 days per visit. Kuwait offers a 30-day visa on arrival for GCC residents, while online processing typically costs between Dh250 and Dh300 depending on the service provider. Oman is one of the most affordable destinations, offering a single-entry GCC Resident e-Visa for OMR5 (Dh48), valid for 28 days, with visas also available at land borders. Qatar charges QAR100 (Dh100–105) for a 30-day e-visa, while some nationalities qualify for visa-free entry. Bahrain’s visa costs vary, with BD29 (Dh284) for single-entry visas and BD77 (Dh756) for a three-month multiple-entry permit.
The delayed rollout means travellers will need to wait until 2026 to benefit from a unified GCC travel permit, though officials maintain that the system will significantly simplify and enhance regional travel once fully implemented.
Shriya Saran: “My Heart Is South Indian”
Actress Shriya Saran has opened up about being labelled a “South actress” and said she feels a deep emotional connection with the region that shaped her career. “I was born in Haridwar and lived there for 17 years. Later, I moved to Delhi to learn Kathak from Shovana Narayan ji. That was a huge move at that time,” Shriya shared. “I started acting when I was just 17, and it was a big step for my family. My father is an engineer and my mother is a teacher at DPS, so it was quite a shock for them.”
Reflecting on her formative years, Shriya said that moving from a small town to Delhi was a major cultural shift. “From there to studying at LSR and then stepping onto film sets, learning new languages and adapting to different environments — all of this truly prepared me for life,” she said.
Shriya expressed immense gratitude for the love she has received from the southern film industries. “The kind of affection the South has given me makes me feel truly blessed. My heart is South Indian,” she added.
Talking about being boxed into labels, the actress said perspective plays a crucial role. “One thing I’ve learned is that you are what you believe yourself to be. If you keep growing, learning, and allowing life to teach you, you begin to live better. But if you feel attacked because people are boxing you into an image, life becomes a constant battle,” she explained. She added that labels can also be embraced positively. “You can treat it as a flavour — this is how people see me. People start boxing you in only when they notice you, and then you break that image and become something else.”
Shriya Saran earlier ruled the roost in Tollywood and worked with top stars such as Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Balakrishna, Pawan Kalyan, and Tarun, carving a strong niche for herself in the industry.
Aishwarya Rajesh Recalls Harrowing Early-Career Experience
Tamil actress Aishwarya Rajesh, who was recently seen in the Telugu film Sankranthiki Vasthunam and is known for her powerful performances across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi cinema, has opened up about a disturbing incident from her early days in the film industry.
In a recent interview, the actress revealed that she faced harassment when she was very young and new to films. Aishwarya recalled visiting a studio with her brother for what she believed was a professional opportunity. However, the photographer asked her brother to wait outside, leaving her alone inside the studio.
She said the photographer then handed her lingerie and asked her to wear it, claiming it was part of the audition process and insisting on seeing her body. The incident left her scared and confused, as she was too young at the time to understand how the industry truly worked. Aishwarya admitted that she almost believed him, thinking such demands might be normal in cinema auditions.
She further shared that if the conversation had continued a little longer, she might have even given in. However, trusting her instincts, she told the photographer that she needed her brother’s permission before proceeding and immediately walked out. Aishwarya said she never spoke about the incident to her brother later but admitted that the experience still haunts her, especially when she thinks about how many other young women might have been similarly misled or exploited.
