‘Idhi Chaaladura’, Ram Charan on Sai Tej Wegiht
Despite the fact that almost half-dozen films flopped in a row, hero Sai Dharam Tej has cut that ‘Dharam’ from his name, but failed to cut out that flab from his body. In Chitralahari movie he was looking super chubby by putting some more extra kilos after his previous films.
Crediting his transformation to cousin Ram Charan, the mega hero whose Prathiroju Pandage is arriving this Friday, says that losing out weight has gained him new confidence. “When I met Ram Charan after Chitralahari, I’ve already lost a bit of weight. But then he said, ‘Idhi Chaaladhura’, and made him meet his trainer Rakesh Udiyar, who is actually suggested to him by Salman Khan. Through him, I’ve lost more weight” says Sai Tej.
But then, he adds that shedding weight is a good thing and it also helped him do a shirtless fight sequence in his upcoming movie. “Directed wants to show it quite pulsating and authentic, so we did that shirtless fight where I could flaunt my muscles” he gushes. We have to see how this transformation will work out for him in terms of result.
Buzz: Theater Scarcity For Balayya’s Ruler
On this December 20th, Nandamuri Balakrishna is arriving at the box office with his “Ruler” directed by KS Ravikumar. As the mass hero’s previous film, NTR biopic, failed to create any magic, he is banking on mass masala formula to make sure that his fans get their thirst fulfilled.
Though Balayya has announced that date quite early, in the end, we have the likes of Sai Dharam Tej’s Prathiroju Pandage, Karthi’s Donga and Salman Khan’s Dabanng 3 also locking 20th as their release date. While Tollywood could easily accommodate 4-5 films in theatres at any given time, this time it is becoming tough for Balayya’s Ruler as many theatres are already locked by some intelligent distributors.
With Suresh Babu’s backing, Dabanng 3 is getting a good number of screens, while Karthi’s Donga is said to have got Allu Arvind’s backing. And Sai Dharam’s film is Geetha Arts own venture, so there will be no scarcity of theatres for it. These factors isolated Balayya’s Ruler and the film lacking buzz due to routine-trailer also made it tough to acquire a major number of theatres.
Reports are coming that producer C Kalyan is trying to acquire as many theatres as possible from all the big exhibitors, to make sure that Balayya’s film does not have a scarcity of theatres.
‘Gully Boy Is A Copied Film, Who Gives Oscar For It?’
After a lot of buzz, Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy did not make it to 92nd Oscars, that is, to the list of Best International Feature Film nominations. The film has earned huge accolades for showcasing struggles of an aspiring rapper named Murad and Ranveer Singh did justice to the role.
Ranveer has been highly praised for his acting in trying to depict the struggles in a rapper role who wants to earn a place in the music industry with his hip-hop prowess. Gully Boy was India’s official entry to the Oscars. But, today, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlist for the Best Foreign Film.
On the other hand, Twitteratti is really not happy with the result. Users said that they already knew that Gully Boy won’t make it to the big event. “It’s a good film but Oscar? No.” read the tweet. Another user added: “It had 0% chance of winning against Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece Parasite.” One more painful tweet came in “People were really expecting Gully Boy to make it? Please go back and look at what else the world made in 2019”.
Netizens also suggested that instead of Gully Boy, Super 30, Andhadhun and Tumbbad must have been considered to the Oscars. Parallel to the issue, the controversial Rangoli Chandell, sister of Kangan Ranaut claimed that Gully Boy is a copy of Hollywood film called 8 Mile and no one will give an oscar to a copied film, she said.
Ganta Gets An Excuse For Defection!
YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for announcing creation of three capital cities for the state evoked strong resistance from Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He described the decision as a “Tughlaq move” and wondered where from Jagan would operate – Visakhapatnam or Amaravati or Kurnool. He said the decision would cause serious troubles for the people.
But to the utter shock of Naidu, his own party MLA and former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao welcomed Jagan’s decision. Within hours of the announcement, Ganta tweeted welcoming the move.
“I wholeheartedly welcome CM Jagan’s statement that Visakhapatnam would be made administrative capital. There is no doubt that Visakhapatnam would fulfil the aspirations of all sections of people, as it has road, rail and air connectivity. If this cosmopolitan metropolitan city becomes an administrative capital, it will emerge as a world city. The people of Visakhapatnam will definitely cooperate with you,” Ganta, who represents Visakhapantam (North) assembly constituency tweeted.
The tweet triggered serious discussion in the TDP circles in Visakhapatnam. There is a talk that Ganta might have made the statement defying the party’s stand only to find a reason for his plan to defect into the YSRC.
For quite some time, Ganta has been desperately trying to shift the loyalties to the YSRC, but he could not succeed due to strong resistance from Avanti Srinivas, a minister in Jagan cabinet. At the same time, Ganta also did not find a proper excuse to defend his defection.
Now that Jagan’s statement on the capitals has come as a pretext for Ganta to take a decision to join the ruling party. That is why, he made a statement against the TDP’s interests, say sources.
Pawan, A Napkin For Naidu’s Interests
The TDP is caught in a toughest situation with Jagan Mohan Reddy making a statement on three capitals for the State, diluting Amaravati’s importance.
The TDP is not ready to say no to Visakhapatnam and Kurnool due to fear of losing its leaders. Ganta Srinivasa Rao had already welcomed the statement and thanked the chief minister.
If TDP says no, its leaders would for a serpentine line at the party’s exit door in no time.
But, at the same time the TDP and its leaders, particularly Chandrababu Naidu and his coterie, are not really ready to remain silent when Amaravati is being diluted, just limited to a political capital.
It is for this reason, they have pulled out the napkin (Pawan Kalyan) from their pockets to speak for them and to wipe their tears.
The confused politician, Pawan Kalyan, is always ready to be used by the TDP, whenever they need him. So is the capital issue.
Pawan Kalyan’s criticism on having three capitals came contradicting his earlier statement that Kurnool is the real capital for him.
Interestingly, whatever his statement is, the TDP’s media, which always is concerned for the TDP’s electoral prospects than the State and its people, gives highest attention to Pawan Kalyan in this crisis. Because there is nothing for Pawan to lose even if he speaks for the TDP and its caste interests.
Pawan Kalyan, the confused leader who read Che Guevara and follows Naidu and Amit Shah, is always gives highest priority to his masters than himself.
The media too is always at the service of the master (Naidu) and that gives highest priority to those who serve the master’s interests.
Roundup: The Capital Conundrum
YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s statement in the assembly suggesting three capital cities – executive capital at Visakhapatnam, legislative capital at Amaravati and judicial capital at Kurnool – in place of a single cost-intensive mega capital at Amaravati, has become the biggest topic for debate in the media.
Naturally, it has become the banner story in Andhra editions of all the three major dailies. Even in Telangana editions, it has been given a lot of prominence on the front page.
Since the chief minister himself made a statement in the assembly and said he had made it “crystal clear,” one could only assume that he is very serious about implementing his plan of action; and the reports of experts committee and consultants’ committee are just a formality required for a record sake. The chief minister’s word is final.
That is precisely why Sakshi also explained in a “crystal clear” manner the entire plan of Jagan in his own words with graphics and blurbs.
Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy seem to have still some doubts; so, they only described it as an idea floated by the chief minister rather than a final decision.
Both the dailies also carried the reaction of Telugu Desam Party president and leader of the opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, who described it as a Tughlaq decision and wondered how three capitals could be run.
Sakshi dismissed it as a small pointer headline, but concentrated on the alleged irregularities committed by the previous TDP government in the Amaravati capital region through insider trading and in land pooling.
However, it is certain that the capital issue is going to hit the headlines of the media in the coming days as well, till the Jagan government comes up with a final announcement.
The murder of a Telugu Desam Party leader in Kurnool district and lifting of cases against those who took part in Kapu reservation agitations and in the attacks on Reliance properties post-death of Y S Rajasekhar Reddy were highlighted by Eenadu as part of its anti-establishment stand.
Similarly, Andhra Jyothy too has followed this anti-government agenda by carrying two reports: one on setback to the government bills on English medium in government schools and SC/ST commissions in the legislative council; another on the proposal to cut five lakh pensions in Andhra Pradesh citing old rules.
On the other hand, Sakshi carried three positive stories: one about Jagan’s appeal to the bureaucrats and police officials to extend cooperation in implementing the welfare agenda of the government at a dinner meeting; second on rise in employability of students in IT companies and third one on the Director General of Police Gautam Sawang’s meeting with police officials to discuss the implementation of AP Disha Act.
The continued violence in Delhi and other parts of the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act and Union home minister Amit Shah’s statement that there was no question of going back on the legislation was another important news that figured prominently on the front pages of all the three dailies. While Eenadu carried it as a second lead, others did it on a lesser scale.
The death sentence awarded to Pakistan President General Musharraf was also given front page reference in all the three dailies.
Prabhas Wants Big Directors Only?
After the mixed result for ‘Saaho’, Prabhas is not sure of giving chance to new and up and coming directors. Sujeeth failed to handle the mammoth craze of Prabhas. Now, Prabhas is working for ‘Jaan’, a period drama being directed by KK Radhakrishna.
The film was completed some portion during the making of ‘Saaho’ itself. So, he has no option but to go with this project.
But for future projects, he will not take a big risk. He has been interacting with various big directors to fix two or three big films. After the release of ‘Jaan’, we will Prabhas working with experienced directors only.
He will announce a series of movies early next year. Meanwhile, he will be losing some weight for ‘Jaan’. The film will commence its new schedule after Sankranthi.
Dil Raju Teams Up With Vijay Deverakonda
Successful Producer Dil Raju had a good year so far, as both his F2 & Maharshi minted money at the box-office and his ‘Iddari Lokam Okate’ is up for release on December 25th.
Now, he is all set to produce a film with Vijay Deverakonda under the direction of Shiva Nirvana.
Currently, Vijay is busy with ‘World Famous Lover’ & ’Fighter’, while Shiva Nirvana is working with Nani for ‘Tuck Jagadish’.
An official announcement about Dil Raju & Vijay’s film is out on the eve of the producer’s birthday.
More details about this crazy combination will be out soon.
Buzz: 50-plus Hero Romancing Young Actress!
Despite the 20-year age gap between them, this odd couple is in a serious relationship. He is a 50-plus south Indian star and his son is also an upcoming lead actor.
She is in her early 30’s. Now they are seeing each other. The married actor with grownup kids and this unmarried actress are now maintaining an amorous relationship.
She has acted in all south Indian language movies but she not paired up with him yet on screen. She has not had much success either but they hit off well off the screen.
He met her last year when acted in his son’s movie. By end of this movie’s shooting, this actress attracted to the hero’s father.
However, their relationship is not known to many in the south Indian film industry. The age gap between them is not giving any suspicion at them though they are regularly meeting with each other.
Will Mahesh Babu Tweet About Ala Vaikunthapuramulo?
Superstar Mahesh Babu took to Twitter to appreciate Venky Mama and stated that he ‘enjoyed every bit of it’.
Venky and Chay fans are making merry to see the Superstar tweet about Venky Mama when other celebrities didn’t bother to speak about it.
Venkatesh fans are trending the hashtag #ThankyouChinnodu (remember Chinnodu-Peddodu from SVSC?) as he tweeted super positively about their favorite actor’s film.
Mahesh has made it a habit to tweet about others films if he likes it. Not many celebs are openly praising other actors films as they like to keep it private by calling them directly or sending a bouquet.
Will Mahesh continue the same trend and tweet about Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo that is releasing against his Sarileru Neekevvaru? Of course, only if he likes the film!
Mahesh could have tweeted about Ala Vaikunthapurramulo songs, though. Two songs clocking over 100 Million views on YouTube prior to the movie’s release is a never before feat in Telugu Cinema history.
Ala Vaikunthapurramulo has done it and looks like Mahesh is yet to listen to Samajavaragamana and Ramulo Ramula songs.
Viveka murder case to be given to CBI?
It has been nine months since YSR Congress party leader and former minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy was murdered at his own residence in Pulivendula, but the investigation into the case has not made any headway so far.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted afresh by the YSRC government led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to probe into the murder case has questioned several people, including the close relatives of Jagan and local TDP leaders like former minister C Adinarayana Reddy and TDP MLC B Tech Ravi, but it hasn’t come to any conclusion.
Meanwhile, TDP leader Ravi filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh high court demanding that the Vivekananda Reddy murder case be handed over to the CBI, as the SIT has failed to identify the accused.
On Tuesday, the high court directed that the SIT submits its report of the investigation it has done so far to the court in a sealed cover before December 23. The next hearing has been postponed to January 3, 2020.
Apparently, the BJP leaders are also lobbying at the Centre to see that the case be handed over to the CBI. Since Adinarayana Reddy, who recently joined the BJP, fears that he is likely to be targeted in the case, he reportedly requested the Centre’s support.
If the case is handed over to the CBI, he thinks he can avoid harassment by the local police, sources said.
Following the high court direction, the SIT has stepped up investigation. The SIT authorities are examining records of Sunrise Private Hospital in Kadapa town, where one of the suspects Komma Parameshwar Reddy of Kasunur of Simhadripuram Mandal was admitted on the day of Viveka’s assassination on March 15.
The police had arrested him in the past and conducted Narco Tests on him. But nothing has come out of it. He was questioned several times to find out the real culprit.
Venky Mama Collections Drop, Tough Times Ahead!
Venky Mama had a fabulous opening weekend, all thanks to its crazy combination and the lull at the box office before its release.However, the film didn’t live up to the expectations of audience as director Bobby simply banked on a dated formulaic family drama in spite of getting Daggubati and Akkineni heroes on board.
Venky Mama’s collections dipped on its first Monday although it maintained decent hold in some centers. But on Tuesday, the collections dropped further and it is not a great sign for the film that needs to recover so much more from the theaters.
With films like Prathi Roju Pandage, Ruler and Dabangg 3 lined up for release this Friday, it is tough road ahead for this multi-starrer.
Suresh Babu will make sure to retain the film in most of his theaters during the festive week, but Venky Mama’s second week run will largely depend on how the Friday releases perform.
