Watch Polavaram Project contractor Transstroy goes bankrupt!
Vi Anand’s Sci-fi Thriller With Bunny Confirmed?
It seems that talented director Vi Anand’s chances of directing Bunny have bettered after ‘Okka Kshanam’ received positive talk all over.
Impressed by his filmmaking skills, Allu Aravind had roped in Anand a long time ago to make a film under his banner. The potential filmmaker had narrated a few storylines to Allu family, and got the nod to direct Sirish in ‘Okka Kshanam’. He was promised that he would be given another film based on the result of the Sirish-starrer. As the thriller has now received good talk, Anand has reportedly got the chance to direct Bunny.
It is heard that the ‘Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada’ director has recently narrated the final version of a story to Bunny, and got a go ahead. Its another out of the box subject, a science fiction thriller. Reportedly, Allu Aravind has already given Rs 20 Lakhs advance to Vi Anand for this directorial.
Since Allu Arjun has committed to work with Tamil director Lingusamy for a bilingual after wrapping up ‘Naa Peru Surya’, there is no clarity on when Vi Anand’s film will take off. The talented director might complete another film before taking Bunny’s film onto floors.
Defectors from YSRC dejected with Naidu?
At least a dozen YSR Congress party MLAs, who had defected to the Telugu Desam Party in the last two years, are in for big disappointment.
If sources in the TDP are to be believed, party president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have told them that they might not be able to get the party tickets in the next assembly elections to be held in 2019, as the intelligence reports indicate that they might not be able to win the elections.
Naidu had admitted the MLAs from YSRC into the TDP left, right and centre, promising them several things, including the tickets for the next elections.
Apparently, he was hoping to accommodate them in the additional MLA seats to be created with the delimitation of assembly constituencies, which he was confident of achieving from the Centre.
But with the NDA government categorically rejecting the delimitation, Naidu is in a piquant situation. Apart from some of his own party MLAs, at least a dozen MLAs who defected from YSRC were found to be non-performers and if they are given the tickets, they are bound to lose.
So, he is calling them one by one and telling them that they might not get the tickets for the next elections.
He is, however, promising them that he would protect their interests in some or other form. Some of them could be given the MLC seats and a few others corporation chairperson posts, if the TDP comes back to power again.As of now, they are all said to be in a dejected mood!
Indian student shot dead by armed robbers in Chicago
An Indian-origin student was shot dead during an attempted armed robbery in the U.S., becoming one of the latest victims of gun violence in the country. Another Indian was injured in the attack.
Arshad Vhora, 19, was shot dead yesterday at the Clark gas station at 142nd and Langley in Dolton in Chicago, CBS News reported.
Police said two people were shot during an armed robbery attempt inside the convenience store. The second victim, who was not named, was critically wounded, police said, adding the victims are related.Vhora was filling in for a family member at the convenience store and gas station, relatives were quoted as saying by the report.
The suspects fled the scene. No one has been arrested yet. A USD 12,000 reward is being offered to help solve the case, the report said.The shooting comes amidst growing attacks on Indians and Americans of Indian descent in recent months.
Not the first
On December 15, Karunakar Karengle was killed during a robbery by two hooded attackers in Ohio.Earlier this month, a 30-year-old Indian national pursuing his masters in Chicago has been seriously injured after he was shot in his right cheek by an unidentified assailant.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer from India, was fatally shot in Olathe, Kansas, in February by a U.S. navy veteran who had told him and his friend at a bar to go back to their country.
Weeks later, a Sikh man was shot in his arm in his driveway in Kent, Washington state, by a masked man who had told him go back to his “own country“.
There were 58,491 incidents of gun violence across the country in 2017 in which 14,763 people were killed and 29,888 others injured, according to Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a not for profit corporation providing public access to gun-related violence. (PTI)
Official: Jai Simha to Have Head-on Clash
Staying true to his title – Sankranthi Hero, Balayya has been releasing his films for Sankranthi season for past three years. Like last two seasons, his film is going to face stiff competition this time too.
Balayya’s “Dictator” had to compete with NTR’s “Nannaku Prematho”, Nagarjuna’s “Soggade Chinni Nayan’ and Sharwa’s “Express Raja’ in 2016 and with Khaidi No.150 and Shathamanam Bhavathi in 2017. Coming to 2018 Sankranthi, his new film “Jai Simha” will have to deal with Pawan Kalyan’s “Agnyaathavaasi” and Suriya’s “Gang”.
Although Agnyaathavaasi (Jan 10) will release two days ahead of Jai Simha it has now been officially announced that “Gang” will have head-on clash with the Balayya starrer as both films are scheduled to release on Jan 12. The Balayya starrer will obviously have a wider release in comparison, but one can’t underestimate the dubbed film not just because it stars Suriya in lead role but also because it has the backing of very successful and influential UV Creations.
UV Creations can ensure Gang has an impactful release, and so Jai Simha will have to share prime theatres with the Suriya-starrer on Day 1 itself, a major blow to its first day revenue. UV Creations track record and Suriya’s image can give stiff competition to Jai Simha. Besides, Agnyaathavaasi is an altogether a different league force to reckon with.
Chiranjeevi’s Srimanthudu Act Gets Huge Applause
The whole concept of ‘Srimanthudu’ movie is to adopt villages by rich people and take care of the development work. But some celebs, politicians and philanthropists are doing such work much before the film was actually released. One such example is Megastar Chiranjeevi, says Perupalem villagers.
Though Chiranjeevi hasn’t spent his own money, he has got Perupalem South village in Mogalturu Mandal of West Godavari District developed through MP lads funds. After adopting this village three years ago, Chiranjeevi got 5 crores sanctioned from Central Govt under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. With that funds, the village got into a good shape now, reported a leading English Daily other day.
‘The roads are in bad condition, there are no infrastructure facilities, there is no proper drinking water facility in the village. But now, there cement roads, underground drainage system, solar street lights, free-flowing canals, and reverse osmosis (water purification) plants, thanks to Mr Chiranjeevi, the villagers said’, says the report.
The villagers have further said that they are waiting for Megastar Chiru to inaugurate the second phase of development works in the village in January 2018.
Where Did Vanitha Reddy Get Evidence?
In a latest development in Vijay Sai suicide episode, his wife Vanitha Reddy has finally surrendered before the police.
Vanitha has been absconding for 11 days following her husband’s death. Before committing suicide, Vijay Sai had taken a selfie video accusing his wife of torturing him which led to his decision of taking his life. Based on the video, the police had issued notices to Vanitha Reddy.
After surrendering at the Jubilee Hills police station, Vanitha Reddy said she had been to various places to collect evidence and that she had no intention of absconding.
In fact, soon after the death of Vijay Sai, Vanitha Reddy had given two pictures to the police. Now, she had various other proofs which included intimate pictures of Vijay Sai with other women he had affairs with. She also provided some audio files as part of evidence.
Claiming that she never tortured her husband, Vanitha maintained that Vijay Sai had sexual encounters with other women right in their house, due to which she was contemplating divorcing him she added.
While the evidence does look straightforward, it will be quite some time before the police are likely to let go of Vanitha Reddy.
For starters, Vijay Sai is said to have provided some crucial information in his selfie video. Also, Vanitha Reddy seems to have a ‘dubious’ side to her, thanks to the two different passports she carries. She is also known to go about under various names.
In fact, Vara Lakshmi happens to be the real name of Vanitha Reddy, but she has used names like Vanitha, Brundam, Vinny on different occasions.It is being said that the police also questioned her about changing different cars of late.
Line clear for KTR as next Telangana CM?
It looks like Telangana IT minister is seriously preparing ground for taking over as the next chief minister of Telangana in place of his father K Chandrasekhar Rao after 2019 elections.
It is evident from the way KTR is getting focussed in every field by the media, much more than KCR, be it attending the official meetings which are supposed to be headed by his father or receiving national and international awards on behalf of the Telangana government.
And the latest invitation to KTR to attend the World Economic Forum meeting to be held at Davos in Switzerland in February has indicated that the young leader is all set to replace his father as the next chief minister.
The way KTR had chosen to interact with people through twitter is also yet another example of his domination in the Telangana government.As if he is the chief minister, he answered several questions relating to the government and the party.
He also made it clear that he won’t contest the Lok Sabha elections but confine himself to the state assembly, indicating that he would like to take the mantle of his father.
The TRS sources said KCR might not contest the 2019 elections but leave the field to KTR. He would, however, remain the TRS president and guide his son rule the state.KCR might also bring his daughter into the assembly and make her a cabinet minister, sources said.
Naidu asks MPs to avoid ‘begging’
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday reminded the Ministers and members to avoid using the words “I beg to” while laying papers, reports etc on the table of the House.
The Chairman’s stricture came as Minister of State for Law and Justice P.P. Chaudhary stood up to lay the papers for his Ministry in the House.”Sir, with your permission, I beg to lay on the table of the House papers listed under my name,” Chaudhary said.
Naidu interrupted: “No begging please…I have said it earlier too, but you might not have been present at that time. I told the members that when laying papers just say ‘I seek permission to lay papers’ or simply say ‘I lay the papers’.”It would be good to avoid the word ‘begging’,” he added before moving on to the next item in the list of business for the day.
Naidu had on the first day of this session told the MPs to avoid the word “beg” as it “reeked of colonial legacy”.
Usually, the Ministers say “I beg to lay papers listed against my name”.However, the Ministers have avoided using the word ever since Naidu first told them to shun it.
Chaudhary, too, rectified his sentence and did not use the word when he rose to lay a different set of papers shortly afterwards.As Chairman of the Upper House, Naidu has been quite a strict disciplinarian and has chided Ministers and members for indulging in activities like arguing with fellow members or speaking while sitting.
He has also told Ministers to be precise with their replies and the members to ask crisp questions so that more questions can be taken up everyday.
Rape Threat To Heroine, Star Hero’s Fan Arrested
Malayalam Film industry is turning too volatile these days with heroes associating with various sad stuff including that of threatening heroines. And their fans are also joining the chorus in no time, to warn the leading ladies.
Recently when heroine Parvathy took a jibe a one-year-old film “Kasaba” where Star hero Mammootty uttered some disrespecting and cuss words about women, fans of the actor haven’t digested it. Apparently, Parvathy felt that such a senior hero should have avoided scolding women on the screen as that will inspire others.
Reacting to the same, a 23-year-old fan of Mammootty from Kochi, has threatened the actress saying that ‘she will be raped if her words are not taken back’. Other day Kerala Police has arrested this guy as Parvathy complained against the comment as cyberbullying last week.
Meanwhile, when Mammootty was asked by a website to respond to the whole issues, including his dialogues in Kasaba movie and Parvathy’s reaction, the actor chose to remain silent than talking something.
Sundeep Kishan Files Police Complaint
After a lot of dilly dallying, Sundeep Kishan’s long-awaited Maayavan, which got good reviews and appreciation in Tamil, has finally hit the cinemas in Telugu today as Project Z.
While the film starring Sundeep and Lavanya Tripati has been released without any noise, what is further shocking is that the actor himself has claimed that an ‘illegal’ print was screened in cinemas against to the knowledge of him and his producers.
Sundeep alleged that the dubbing in the film was not his voice and he has lodged a complaint with the police on screening an illegal print. Sundeep further stated that the film was yet to get clearance from the prouction team.
“It’s an illegal print that was screened today..without my dubbing/CG/clearance from the Prod..A Police complaint is being lodged as we speak,” Sundeep wrote to his fan who took to Twitter and stated that he liked the film.
Another ‘Jambalakidi Pamba’ in Making
There is a saying in film industry that its wise not to touch ‘Classics’, either remaking them entirely or using any part of them such as title, song, particular sequence etc. because its next to impossible to recreate that magic again. It seems full time comedian-and-part time hero Srinivasa Reddy doesn’t believe in this saying.
The regular shooting of a new film starring Srinivasa Reddy in lead role commenced today. Said to be a rom-com, the film has been titled ‘Jambalakidi Pamba’. A Telugu film film with the same title released in 1993 and became a cult classic. That EVV Satyanarayana directorial is unarguably the best Telugu comedy film ever made.
Makers of Reddy’s new film said that they chose that classic title as it best suits the subject they are basing their film on. Audience will naturally relate the title with that EVV directorial and meeting the expectations will be very hard, but Reddy and the team are game for the challenge.
The Srinivasa Reddy-starrer has Posani and Vennela Kishore playing pivotal roles. Makers plan to wrap up the shoot by March end and release it Summer.
Hello! Signal Weak And Call Drop
A class film with a touch of emotion, a well executed visual marvel has only made critics like director Vikram K Kumar more. And then, Akhil Akkineni’s improved acting skills, newcomer Kalyani’s terrific screen presence, have won all the attention for “Hello”. Is it now reflecting in terms of the box office figures?
What is so surprising is that, Hello is not teasing average movie goer and that is evident in films collections. Though it got positive reviews, the film managed to collect 15+ crores ‘share’ in its first week at the box office, while the challenge is to collect 32 crores share, as theatrical rights are valued at that price.
Managing 11+ crore share from two Telugu states, AP and Telangana, the film collected equally from Nizam and Andhra. It hasn’t touched that coveted 1 Million Dollar mark (gross) in the USA and managed around 2.3+ crores ‘share’ from overseas. Adding all other territories, the film made 15+ crores share.
Now that MCA is going great, and Okka Kshanam along with 2 Countries giving some sort of competition, will Akhil manage to collect another 17 crores easily? Going by trade circles, it will be tough to collect the remaining investments as the film is not registering any growth.
Seems like ‘Hello’ took off for an average start due to ‘weak signal’ and might end up short of its target as if like a ‘call drop’. Also, it proves a point that all these ‘classy’ films don’t work with B & C centres for sure.
