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KCR’s critical move: TSRTC to start services from tomorrow
Amidst the raising cases in Telangana, CM KCR decided to start the TSRTC services in the state from tomorrow. Central Government gave the power to take decision on the transportation sector to the respective State Governments. KCR organized a meeting with all the crucial people in the transportation sector and took the decision to restart the TSRTC services from tomorrow.
TSRTC has been notified yesterday on the same and the zones that will be in operation will soon be revealed to the media. Central Government previously gave green signal to start the TSRTC services at 50% capacity but the State Government stepped back considering the Covid-19 cases. Now as the lock down 4.0 is under implementation and few sectors are being restarted, Telangana Government decided to move ahead with restarting the life line of bus service.
Most of the routes from Hyderabad to various parts of the state will be restarted. TSRTC is figuring out the plan on the operational zones.
Corona Might Stop RRR To Beat Baahubali
One of the biggest motion pictures in terms of making and box office returns in the whole of India is none other than Rajamouli’s fantasy flick “Baahubali” which has Prabhas, Rana, Anushka and Ramya Krishna in the leads. The film has registered staggering box office figures which even many direct Bollywood films are unable to beat.
However, many thought that if there is a film that could beat Baahubali in terms of craze and revenues, surely it has to come from Rajamouli only. With the director uniting two big stars like Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the name of #RRR, many thought that beating Baahubali records is imminent. But the impact of Covid-19 pandemic is so strong that even #RRR will not be able to touch Baahubali’s revenue figures.
Firstly, even if #RRR releases in Summer 2021, no one is sure if theatres will be allowing maximum crowds inside the hall or not. For that to happen, the coronavirus vaccine should come out. Else, social distancing norms will be in place, and crowds might not rush hugely to theatres. This will have an impact on the nation-wide box office figures all films including that of #RRR.
On the other hand, for Baahubali, they have done huge promotions by wandering across the country which actually helped the film reap benefits at box office. So we have to see if a similar promotion might help #RRR stand next to it in terms of the craze, but it might be tough to beat box office figures of it.
Vizag cop thrashes and hauls a suspended doctor
Visakhapatnam police on Saturday took a doctor into custody, shackled and hauled him out for supposedly making racket in the public and hurling abuses on the state government officials in an intoxicated condition.
Clippings of Dr K Sudhakar who was shirtless apparently kicked and dragged out by a police constable had turned into a wild sensation via networking media, evoking criticism from opposition parties and citizens.
Sudhakar, an anesthesiologist at Narsipatnam government emergency clinic was suspended a month ago on disciplinary reason for charging the legislature for not providing a sufficient number of PPE packs and N-95 masks to the specialists and medical staff.
The police constable tied Dr Sudhakar’s hands behind his back and thrashed him up. The doctor was headstrong and lied down on the road, disobeying the police orders. This triggered the constable to rush the doctor in an auto-rickshaw to take him to the police headquarters, within the sight of confounded spectators.
“It was a cruel treatment meted out to a Dalit doctor for reiterating the inefficiency of the government. The police and the ruling party leaders are attempting to project him as a lunatic person suffering from acute psychosis in order to defend their action,” TDP member Varla Ramaiah alleged.
The police commissioner stated to reporters that they rushed to Akkayyapalem area after the police control room received a call claiming that a person was creating ruckus on the highway. As per the statement, the fourth town police arrived the place and comprehended that the person was Dr Sudhakar of Narsipatnam government hospital, who is currently sacked from the job.
‘No More Acting’: Charmmee
Chamrmee has bagged the image of dynamic beauty. She has been the close associate to Puri Jagannath in professional front and plays vital role in the production of every film that comes from Puri Connects. She is the CEO of that banner.
She made a big fortune with iSmart Shankar and now busy with the film Fighter in pan India scale.
She had an exclusive chitchat
You have started your production activities with Jyothi Lakshmi. Didn’t you feel dejected after the result of that film?
No. I enjoy this work. If it’s an actress’ job, focus will be on costume, make up and fitness. But production is not like that. There will be many hiccups. There will be an everyday run. I love this. I enjoy the kick in it.
Film industry, being a male dominated one, never made you uncomfortable?
Here the terms will be very clear. I want something. I will pay you this much. If you don’t deliver as per the requirement you will be out of the project. That’s it. There is no question of any dominations.
How did you get this business mind? Is your family into business?
Yes, from my family. My father used to take me to our factories in childhood. I started loving business since then.
What’s after Fighter and Romantic…?
There are many. Puri Jagan garu has a big bank of scripts. We have a thought of doing some of them with new directors. We also have the idea to make web series. There are two big films in pipeline after Fighter.
So, can’t we see you again on screen?
No. That is pakka. There are many new girls coming to the field with bundle of talent. During the time of Jyothilakshmi I wanted to announce that was my last film. But Kalyan garu told me not to announce, and keep away from acting if that’s the decision. So I kept quiet then. Now I am declaring. No more acting from me.
Has iSmart Shankar cleared all of your financial troubles?
It is not easy to make the money move from theatres to the producer. We need to do so many follow ups. I will tell about this off the record.
What are you doing in lockdown?
I am doing online courses. I had a long term dream to do some courses abroad. I am quenching that desire now. I am doing courses relating to business and screenplay writing.
Has Fighter got upset only due to Corona?
Yes. We planned many things right from foreign technicians and schedules. Everything is in hibernation now. First, health is important. We don’t have the thought of abruptly jump into shooting as soon as the lockdown is over. I think we miss this year totally, though we thought of releasing it in 2020.
T’gana Cabinet to decide new lockdown strategy
With the Centre on Sunday announcing guidelines for the fourth phase of the countrywide lockdown, the Telangana Cabinet will meet on Monday to discuss the same and decide the strategy to be implemented in the state.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao will chair the meeting at his official residence Pragathi Bhavan at 5 pm.
As the centre has left it to the states to colour-code the coronavirus-affected zones according to the number of cases and thereby take a final decision on the activities to be allowed in a particular area, the Cabinet meeting is being considered crucial.
The state government on May 5 had announced extension of the lockdown till May 27. As the Centre on Sunday extended the lockdown till May 31, the state cabinet is expected to decide whether to extend the lockdown in the state by another four days or beyond.
The state government is expected to allow relaxations in the lockdown in tune with the fresh guidelines issued by the Centre. It may allow resumption of many activities outside the containment zones in Hyderabad and two adjacent districts.
The Chief Minister dropped indications to this effect during the last few days. He had told a meeting on Friday that no one should be scared of coronavirus. “We don’t know how long this virus will be with us. Hence, we have to adapt a strategy to live with it and we have no option,” Rao had said.
He also stated that except in four zones in Hyderabad, there are no active cases of coronavirus in the state.
From Saturday, the government allowed re-opening of shops selling air conditioners, automobile showrooms and shops selling automobile spare parts across the state.
The government has already permitted construction activity, including in the red zones, while some economic activity has already resumed in orange and green zone districts.
Keerthy Suresh Puts Anushka In A Spot!
One of the OTT giants has been trying hard to acquire the direct to OTT release rights of Anushka starrer Nissabdham.
Buzz has it that Anushka was against this idea as the decision may trouble the theatrical business of her future movies.
However, Tamil films Penguin and Ponmagal Vandhal announcing their digital release dates has put Anushka in a spot.
Two lady oriented films opting for digital release and Penguin having a reigning actress Keerthy Suresh in the lead role has added to the pressure on Anushka’s film.
According to reports, Anushka has said okay to whatever decision the producer takes and also agreed to promote the film if needed.
Anushka’s films have great potential in terms of theatrical business. However, Nissabdham is likely to be released on an OTT platform as theaters are expected to remain closed for a few more months.
If the buzz is true, the news about the movie’s digital release will be made official shortly.
Quarantine Review: Loser Is A Winner!
Hindi web series are being made with production values that are comparable to Bollywood movies with better stories and drama. Telugu filmmakers haven’t been able to deliver rich content for OTT platforms with whatever they have made in the past. Loser backed by Annapurna Studios is undoubtedly the best Telugu web series yet. It has a good script, able star cast, decent production values, pace and drama to hold your attention for ten episodes.
Directed by Abhilash Reddy, the ten-episode series is an anthology of three stories that are set in three time frames. Loser tells us about the spite of sportspersons from economically poor backgrounds in India. A talented but aggressive cricketer (Sashank), a muslim badminton player (Annie, Kalpika) who gets no support from her orthodox father (Sayaji) and a very talented air rifle shooter (Priyadarshi), who cannot afford to buy an expensive rifle are the principal characters of Loser.
The story seamlessly switches between the 80’s, the 90’s and the 2000’s narrating the stories of these three characters that are also interlinked. Loser is not entirely fresh in terms of writing as Tollywood has made a fair share of sports dramas and Loser uses all possible genre tropes to establish an emotional connect with its viewers. We had seen similar plot and characters in the recently released sports dramas Jersey and Dear Comrade.
Loser is not as emotionally moving as Jersey in terms of drama, but it definitely addresses the ‘sexual harassment’ issue that sportswomen face better than Dear Comrade. Among its three stories, Priyadarshi’s and Annie’s stories are more fleshed out and rounded while Shashank’s failure story lacked depth. His part is okay at the beginning, but becomes ‘skippable’ after few episodes. Thankfully, this track has limited screen space compared to other stories as the drama thickens.
It takes a couple of episodes for us to feel the emotion and travel with the characters. Last five episodes are high on drama and are well-paced too. The characters behave and talk like real people and doesn’t try to be a hero at any point. Priyadarshi’s reaction to his girlfriend’s biggest problem is as realistic as a movie scene can be.
However, the director fails to show the skills of Priyadarshi’s ‘shooter’ character and we hardly see him train for the Olympics. All he does is roam around to collect money for his rifle and deal with the problems created by his brash brother. Loser is largely PG 13 stuff, but there is that unnecessary use of cuss words and that domestic sexual violence Kalpika faces at home could have been done away with.
Technically, Loser is well-made with impressive visuals, soothing music and credible production design. On the performance front, Priyadarshi is very good as Suri. This is on par with his show in Mallesham. Shashank’s performance is good, but his character is not properly etched. Annie and Kalpika does justice to Ruby’s character. Sayaji Shinde is good. Pavani Gangireddy also shines.
Loser is definitely not among the best options available online at the moment, but it is surely a step forward for Telugu web series that lacked vision and execution when it comes to making realistic dramas. Despite a few shortcomings, Loser is worth streaming.
