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Zee Cine awards Telugu 2020: List of winners
The prestigious Zee Cine awards Telugu 2020, which took place yesterday on Jan 11, had many bigwigs from the Telugu film industry. Megastar Chiranjeevi, Samantha, Ram Pothineni, Sushmita Konidela, Pooja Hegde, Niddhi Agerwal, Anasuya Bharadwaj, K.Vishwanath, Neil Nitin Mukesh and father Nitin Mukesh, Shraddha Srinath were among a few who graced the occasion.
Samantha won the best actress in the leading role for both Majili and Oh Baby! The actress stole the show with her beautiful attire as she wore a turtle neck gown with see-through fabric, flaunting her thin waist and slim figure. The outfit has a self embroidery, making her look grandeur among others. Also, Megastar Chiranjeevi, who won the best actor in the leading role for Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, made a grand entry to the event, making fans go berserk. Chiru wore formal attire, looking smashing even in his 60s.
On the other hand, it was iSmart Shankar team which created fun in the awards and the film has bagged five prestigious awards. Puri Jagganadh won the best sensational director, Charmee won the best producer and handsome Ram Pothineni wins the best sensational hero. Also, iSmart Shankar wins the best music and the best sensational movie awards. The team was indeed on cloud 9! Not to mention, Ram Pothineni rocked in his monochrome shirt. So stylish!
Pooja Hedge, who made an appearance in a thigh slit shimmery yellow gown, not only wooed us with her beautiful look but also received favourite actress and popular choice of the year awards. Other awards were like, Vijay Deverakonda’s brother Anand D wins best debut male for Dorasani and the sensational singer Sid Sriram won the best singer the Kadalalle song from Dear comrade. Also, Allari Naresh wins the well-deserved best-supporting actor for Maharshi and the valuable lifetime achievement award goes to the 90-year-old Kala Tapaswi K Vishwanath.
And. the list continues with…
Best Find of the year Female – Shraddha Srinath for Jersey
Favorite Actor of the Year Male -Nani for Jersey
Best Comedian – Rahul Rama Krishna and Priyadarshi for Brochevarevarura
Favourite Supporting Actor Male – Neil N Mukesh for Saaho
Best Debut Female – Shivathmika Rajasekhar for Dorasaani
Favourite Actress – Pooja Hegde for Maharshi
Best Cinematography – Rathnavelu for Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
Favourite Album of the year – Prabhakaran for Dear comrade
Best villain – Thiruvee for George Reddy
Best Screenplay – Vivek Athreya for Brochevarevarura
AP Kammas, Dreaming Too Much!
The Kammas have special character, be it in politic or business. They are enterprising and have a vision ahead of others – for good or bad.
Certainly, their entrepreneurship or vision is aimed at getting the greater benefit for them and some for the rest.
This selfish entrepreneurship and vision was the reason for the Telangana people to fight to free their region from the influence of these visionaries. They were the target then and the movement continued till they freed Telangana from Kammas.
Having lost Hyderabad, the Kammas have decided to keep the rest of Andhra Pradesh under their control. That was how Amaravati was born.
The lands were purchased by them at cheaper prices even before it was declared as capital by the government. Several others also purchased lands, but the major stake was for the Kammas and that is the fact.
The dreams that they had for Amaravati and the initial steps that they have taken at every stage were to consolidate their position in the 13 districts, with Amaravati as seat of power.
They wanted Amaravati as the Kukatpalli of Hyderabad, of the Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills of Hyderabad.
Now, with the change of guard in the State and a non-Kamma sitting in the hot seat, the Kammas are feeling the heat.
They forgot that the power is just for five years and keeping people of other castes out of the reach of Amaravati (the seat of power) will also lead to change of power from their hands.
It is too late now as elections are four-and-a-half years away from now. It is also too hard to protect the seat of power (Amaravati) as they are not in power.
Having lost the electoral battle, they are sure of losing the seat of power too and that shocks them most.
Losing power, they initially thought, was a loss to Chandrababu Naidu and a few of his party leaders. But, now, they are realising that the losing power in elections is loss to every one of them – Kammas.
It is for this reason, even the women from these families have come on to the streets of Vijayawada. These women have never come out of their homes either in Samaikyandhra or in the movement for special category status to the state.
But, their coming out of homes and fighting on the streets, was to save the investments that they have made in Amaravati.
Naidu made them dream big. Naidu made them to visualise Amaravati 50 years ahead. They believed in him and invested.
The locals and the NRIs followed whatever Naidu told them in the last five years. They dreamt big about Amaravati, simply going by the digital presentation of Chandrababu Naidu, and invested for the future.
But, today, their dreams have shattered. They have lost power and are now set to lose the seat of power from their hands.
It is something like their wealth being taken away from them. This dream is very disturbing and uncomfortable.
In the process of dreaming big, they are either walking away from the rest of the society or causing hatred against them by the rest of the society, which is good neither for their future nor for that of the State.
Allu Arjun yet to get ‘great’ Bollywood offers
Hyderabad: Telugu star Allu Arjun is keen on exploring the “new terrain” by making his Bollywood debut. He says he is generally flooded with Bollywood offers but is yet to get the “great ones”.
His 2008 Telugu film “Parugu” was remade in Hindi as “Heropanti”. Many of his films have been dubbed in Hindi.
Asked if he has considered acting in remakes of his own films or do a Bollywood film some day, Arjun told IANS: “Yeah, a full-fledged Hindi film is something that I am interested in. I think any south Indian actor would be interested because it (Bollywood) is such a big industry and a new terrain to explore.”
“I think it’s about the right project and director with the right team,” added the artiste, whose debut film “Gangotri” as a lead actor released in 2003.
Has he got any offers so far? “Not any great ones. We keep getting something or the other, but nothing great,” said the “Arya” actor.
Many south Indian actors like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ram Charan and Dulquer Salmaan have tried their hands in Hindi films. Even though some of their films met with success, they don’t quite enjoy the same kind of fan following or stardom that they do back home.
“I think it is a matter of success. You can take the example of Dhanush. He did a Bollywood film (‘Raanjhanaa’). It worked really well. I think it all depends on the film. Dulquer did (Bollywood) films. I don’t think they worked that much,” said Arjun.
“To be a big actor in Bollywood, the key is consistency. I think consistenly these people have either not been showing interest or delivering…,” he added.
Arjun’s latest Telugu film “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo” has many known Bollywood faces such as Tabu and Pooja Hegde along with songs by Armaan Malik and Shreya Ghoshal. Is this his way of inching closer to Bollywood?
“Sometimes we feel that some of the Bollywood actors suit the role. More Bollywood actors like Murali Sharma and Sachin Khedekar have also worked on the film. It’s just that sometimes we feel that we need somebody from outside to bring in freshness. That’s why we go for Bollywood. I don’t think that is anyway going closer to Bollywood,” he said about the Trivikram directorial that will be dubbed in Hindi “much later”.
The son of producer Allu Aravind did introduce the regional film to a wider audience through national media.
“My father and uncle have been doing great work in south. All these years, I feel, there is a lot of gap between north and south in terms of information and appreciation of each other’s work,” said the actor, who comes from a family of actors and producers.
“Of late, because of social media, everybody gets to see everybody’s work and the lines are getting blurred. I think it is time to exhibit (your work), break the wall that’s been separating us. We always think that ‘Okay, this film is not going to release in Bollywood, so what’s the point of promoting it for national media. There is no immediate tangible result for this film’. I think this mindset should change.
“All the actors should step up and start exhibiting their films to national media. Eventually they will get to know and will help the industry,” said Arjun.
“Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo” hit the screens on Sunday on the festive occasion of Sankranthi. Around the same time, other biggies’ films also released.
“Sankranthi is a season when every year, there are two to three big films that release. Competition is something that is always there. There is nothing to feel nervous about. It is part of our job,” said Arjun.
“Our movies are spaced out. We are not clashing on the same date. Rajinikanth’s ‘Darbar’ released on January 9, Mahesh Babu’s film (‘Sarileru Neekevvaru’) on January 11, mine on January 12 and another one (‘Entha Manchi Vadavura’) on January 15. The season is so good that almost all the films do well,” he added.
“Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo”, a family entertainer, already has a hit soundtrack that features numbers such as “Samajavaragamana” and “Butta Bomma”.
“The songs have become a sensation. The soundtrack has become one of biggest trump cards of the film. Every actor has a strength. One of my core strengths is music. That’s why we have focussed a lot more on the music of the film,” said Arjun, who’s also popular for his dance moves.
Star Music Director Speaks About His Acting Debut!
Rockstar Devi Sri Prasad is not at his best lately as his songs are failing to top the charts. His recent album ‘Sarileru Neekevvaru’ received a lukewarm response but he managed to give pleasing background score for the film. During the film’s interviews, he opened up about his acting debut.
His close friend Sukumar announced that he will make a film with Devi at any cost. He said that during the time of ‘Kumari 21F’ but it is getting postponed as both of them are busy with their respective projects. When quizzed about it, Devi said that there a lot of people asking him but his passion for music is stopping him from acting. He told that he will be acting in a music-based film if someone comes up with such a script.
Devi also gave a hint that he might make his acting debut through a Tamil flick. Apart from that, he said that 2020 is going to be a very busy year as he got some interesting projects lined up. He also stated that he signed a Bollywood project too. Hope he gets back to his best this year.
12th Player In The Mega Compound
Already, There are 11 recognized Actors in the Mega Family…Thanks to the strong foundation laid by Megastar! Here is the long list…Chiranjeevi, Naga Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, Allu Sirish, Niharika, Kalyan Dev and Vaishnav Tej. And now, We hear about the 12th Player in the Mega Compound.
Pawan Tej Konidela is the man in focus at the moment. This Debutante Actor is getting launched with the film titled as ‘E Katha Lo Patralu Kalpitham’. Abhiram is making his directorial debut with this flick. Rajesh Naidu is bankrolling the launch pad.
Not many knew that Pawan Tej acted in Mega Films such as ‘Khaidi No.150’, ‘Rangasthalam’ and ‘Valmiki’. Now, He wishes to establish himself as a promising Hero without using the family background.
Whether or not any of the Mega Heroes extend support to Pawan Tej is a million dollar question. Who knows, Some of them wouldn’t mind doing so if he proves his mettle as an actor. Ultimately, Talent matters the most!
Chhapaak is her lowest-opening film in last 9 years
Deepika Padukone, who is now grabbing headlines for a couple of reasons, is trending like never before. And, the trending is mostly for her alleged wrongdoings. Her latest release Chhapaak did not get the opening collections as expected, shattering hearts of the film team. And, the underlying issue for this is the actress attending JNU on Tuesday and stood with communist student leader Kanhaiya Kumar.
Her stand at JNU made her fans and the general public go against her and even decided to boycott her films, especially Chhapaak, a movie on acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal. The underwhelming start at the box office made Chhapaak collect an ordinary Rs 4.77 crore. Compared to Deepika’s all other previous releases, it is shocking to learn that Chhapaak is her lowest-opening film in the last nine years.
To much surprise, Deepika’s 2014 disastrous film Finding Fanny, directed by Homi Adajania, also had a better start at Rs 5.10 crore. In spite of promotions and all the frenzy of excitement, Chhapaak’s opening collection left the actress upset. But, the film got positive reviews from critics and hopefully, it may spike up this weekend. The hatred and boycott against Deepika is also playing a role in restricting collections.
Chhapaak has been released yesterday and had a clash with Ajay Devgn’s 100th film, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Tanhaji had a spectacular start with its Day 1 collection being Rs 15.10 crore. Comparing both Chhapaak and Tanhaji, Tanhaji has surpassed the collections and interests of the people.
Sarileru Neekevvaru Day 1 Collections: Rs 32.77 Crs, Highest For Mahesh
Superstar Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarileru Neekevvaru’ hit the cinemas on a grand note and on day one the collections are massive. From the Telugu states, ‘Sarileru..’ collected Rs 32.77 crore and emerged as the biggest figures for Mahesh in his career so far.
In regions like Nizam and Guntur, the numbers are huge with Rs 8.66 crore and Rs 5.15 crore respectively. ‘Sarileru..’ targeted commercial audiences and in Ceded UttarAndhra, it collected over Rs 4 crore share.
Today being Sunday and the following days being holidays, ‘Sarileru Neekevvaru’ collections will have no disturbance given that a bit of mixed talk.
Here are the details of Region and Collections
Nizam – Rs 8.66 Crore
Guntur – Rs 5.15 Crore
UttarAndhra – Rs 4.4 Crore
Ceded – Rs 4.15 Crore
Krishna – Rs 3.07 Crore
East Godavari – Rs 3.35 Crore
West Godavari – Rs 2.72 Crore
Nellore – Rs 1.27 Crore
Total Share from AP/TS – Rs 32.77 Crore
Pic Talk: Mahesh Babu Begins Celebrations
Mahesh babu appeared confident about his Sarileru Neekevvaru and now with positive talk and openings, the superstar and his team started celebrations.
The film unit gathered at Mahesh’s place for the celebrations and here is the picture from the party night with all the happy faces.
Rashmika, Devisri, Anil Ravipudi, Vijayashanti, Sangeetha, Anil Sunkara, Rajendra Prasad, Namrata, Sirish, Ratnavelu and of course Sitara can be seen in the celebrations.
Nithin’s Bheeshma Teaser: Frivolous Fun!
The first glimpse of Bheeshma has given an impression that it is a fun film in the making.
The teaser of Bheeshma will add credibility to that impression as it is filled with some quirky characters and funny dialogue.
Venky Kudumula’s debut film Chalo was a harmless fun film that eventually won the box office.
Venky, a protégé of Trivikram seems to be following his guru’s template in packaging his films with fun elements.
Nithin is in his elements playing a character that could be relatable to current day’s youth.
Nithin took a big break after three consecutive flops and chose Bheeshma to make a strong comeback.
Movies like Ishq and Gunde Jaari Gallantayyinde have put Nithin back on track after his dreadful streak that was on for eight long years.
Bheeshma also looks to be a similar kind of film in terms of entertainment and youth appeal.
The movie bankrolled by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi is gearing up for release on Feb 21.
Indira had shut JNU. Will Modi do an Indira?
New Delhi: If protest is synonymous with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), violence too has had an intrinsic relation with the varsity. While many think its a sudden spurt of emotions that deviated to hooliganism, provoked by unrelenting government stand on the CAA; JNU’s tryst with violence has been more bloody in the past, forcing then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to summarily it shut down for 46 days.
Two rival Left organisations came face to face, reducing the campus into a virtual warzone. If 2019’s violence inside the Periyar Hostel was shocking, 1980’s clash was never seen before, say historical accounts. Twelve years after it was established, Gandhi had to shut it down between November 16, 1980 and January 3, 1981. Then JNU Students Union (JNUSU) President Rajan G. James had to be detained to bring the situation under control.
Rajiv Gandhi’s biographer Minhaz Merchant says: “JNU has a long history of Left-instigated violence… It was even closed down from November 1980 to January 1981 due to student violence.”
But looking at those bloody days, the CPI-M’s polit bureau leader Md Selim seems to find the 46-days shutdown “less dangerous” than 2020.
When asked to elaborate, Selim told IANS: “No one beat up Sitaram Yechury the way Aishe Ghosh has been beat up. Delhi Police wasn’t used by Indira Gandhi then, as it is being used today by the current dispensation.”
However, the Left’s portrayal appears to be influenced by its present day political compulsion. In 1980, not only the then JNUSU President was detained by cops, but the crackdown was at a larger scale.
Has the time for a repeat of 1980 come again? BJP MP Subramanian Swamy agrees. Last November, he demanded that JNU should be shut for two years and renamed after Subhas Chandra Bose. He still stands by his demand.
Swamy isn’t alone in this demand. In 2016, TMC leader Chandan Mitra, when he was still in the BJP, had demanded that the government should close down JNU.
“I am not saying that the government is going to repeat 1980 but what looks like is that they are directed that way,” Selim told IANS.
As JNU was rocked with a spate of violence after intermittently witnessing WiFi shutdown allegedly by Left students, even former Higher Education Secretary R. Subrahmanyam, a JNU alumni himself, condemned the violence calling it “completely unacceptable and shameful”.
Violence swept the university on January 5, as several masked individuals, both male and female, thrashed students, including girls, and teachers inside the varsity campus with wooden and metal rods.
Two JNUSU office-bearers, including President Aishe Ghosh – who was reportedly hit over the eye with an iron rod, received severe injuries.
They accused RSS’ student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for the rampant violence in the campus. The ABVP had counter alleged by releasing photos of Ghosh which later made Delhi Police treat her as an accused.
Even as the usual political carnivore launched an instantaneous move to use violence for mean politicking, the larger point wasn’t lost among those with historical perspectives – JNU has always been the hotbed of Left politics that periodically ventures towards senseless anarchy.
If the 1980s was a period of global intellectual effervesce that led to rigid stands of students followed by senseless violence which shut JNU for more than a month, 2020 is a period where the CAA and JNU fee hike have played the role of catalyst.
