Self-styled film maker Kethireddy Jagadheeshwar Reddy, who announced that he would make a film on Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvathi, widow of former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party founder late N T Rama Rao, seems to have gone crazy.

Kethireddy wants to prove that he will make the first film on NTR with focus on Lakshmi Parvathi’s background.

On Sunday, he enacted a big drama at NTR Ghat in the name of shooting the Muhurtham shot for his film Lakshmi’s Veeragrantham.

He tried to create ruckus there when the police and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority stopped shooting saying he had not taken any permission.

Everybody knows it is just a publicity stunt and Kethireddy was only trying to bluff the people with such dramas.

As if it is not enough, he made a crazy statement saying he would even approach Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai or even star of yester years Rekha to play the role of Lakshmi Parvathi.

In the past, too, Kethireddy claimed that he would approach Sunny Leone to do the role of Lakshmi Parvathi.

This is nothing but ridiculous, as everybody knows. Kethireddy is taking big names only to get some publicity in the media. Otherwise, it is completely a non-serious activity.

Who will believe him, since it is not so easy to get Aishwarya, the top heroine of Bollywood, to act in Telugu? And who knows Kethireddy in the industry?

It is better if he stops making such ridiculous statements!

With 2.0 moving away from Jan 25 slot, many producers are looking to cash in on Sankranthi festive period, the fruitful season for Telugu cinema. In recent years it has been proved that multiple films can survive during Sankranthi.

Even big films like Pawan Kalyan’s Agnathavasi and Balakrishna’s Jai Simha are not scaring away filmmakers that are hoping for a Sankranthi release.

There is Anushka’s Bhagamathi and Raj Tarun’s Rajugadu/Rangularatnam that are vying for a slot during Sankranthi festivities.

Buzz has it that Raviteja’s Touch Chesi Chudu also may join the Sankranthi race. Raviteja who recently bounced back with Raja The Great is likely to take on big films in coming January.

With Sankranthi hits like Krishna and Mirapakay to his credit, Raviteja has an impressive track record. So makers of Touch Chesi Chudu are planning for festival release.

Top actress Rakul Preet Singh, who is currently awaiting the release of Karthi-starrer “Khakee”, is allegedly being hounded by a small director. According to the buzz, the director was so relentless and demanding that Rakul had to warn him of legal consequences to keep him at bay.

Rakul had done a few small-medium budget Telugu films before she went on act opposite top heroes and eventually becoming a star heroine. The director of one of those early films starring Rakul, which sank at box office, has approached Rakul a few months ago with a heroine-oriented subject, and asked for her dates. This director, who doesn’t have a single credible film to his name, hoped that Rakul’s stardom will help him get investors.

Either because of the unimpressive script or her busy schedule or both, Rakul however subtly rejected the project. The director allegedly took an offence and continued to pressure her for signing the film. Rakul tolerated his dogmatic attitude for quite a long time because he was one of the first directors to sign her at the start of her career, but he continued to try coercing her into signing his film.

According to the buzz, he backed off only after Rakul had given him a warning recently.

In an unfortunate incident, today a film set at Annapurna Studios in Jubilee Hills got engulfed in flames. It is believed that a short circuit has caused fire and it spread in no time, bringing the whole set down to ashes. More details of the news is awaited.

Way back in 2011 and 2013 also, there were fire accidents at Annapurna Studios due to short circuits.

Just one film is enough as a leading hero and the stupendous success of that film will make the lead guy fetch huge fan-base. And those fanbases turn into dedicated admirers making that hero a big star.

With Arjun Reddy success, surely young hero Vijay Devarakonda got catapulted into a new league and it is likely that many fans associations will emerge for him. But no such association, neither any such meet-the-fans events are being seen when it comes to this hero. Wonder why?

Talk is that several fan groups have sprouted after the actor’s stupendous successes like Pelli Choopulu Arjun Reddy, and those people are approaching the actor to form registered associations and fan groups. But Vijay is said to be completely against such associations and gently turning down such requests.

By forming such groups, most fans look forward to a photo-op with Vijay such that they could print those pictures on flexis and post on Facebook. Instead of cashing in on the craze and make fan groups of his own, Vijay is maintaining a low-profile, which is a shocker of sorts.

Looks like, Vijay Devarakonda is yet again proving to be different in his own way by gently avoiding fans. Hope his decision fares well.

Generally we don’t see a hero praising a particular film which is slated to release in competition with his film. Nara Rohith however has done a commendable thing by saying very nice words about “Mental Madhilo”, which is scheduled to clash with his “Balakrishnudu” on 24th November.

Starring budding actor Sree Vishnu and debutante Nivetha Pethuraj in lead roles, “Mental Madhilo” can pose a challenge to Balakrishnudu at box office especially since it is the immediate next production venture of “Pelli Choopulu” producer, and has the backing of Daggubati Suresh Babu. These factors however haven’t deterred Rohith from appreciating the film, and promote it on social media.

After watching the special screening of Mental Madhilo, Rohith took to Facebook and wrote that he was bowled out by the movie. He appreciated the entire cast & crew, before writing, ‘my dear friend Sree Vishnu will impress you with his innocence and confusion. Big thumbs up to the whole team’.

Sree Vishnu is a very close friend of Nara Rohith, and the duo have acted together in Solo, Prathinidhi and Appatlo Okadundevadu.

There is a debate from a long time that stories of Telugu films are not reflecting contemporary situations and issues related to society. Forget about the stories, our star heroes are not questioning even in a small scene about the political system and the sufferings of people.

In the recent times, Tamil heroes have impressed big time when it comes to standing by people’s side and questioning governments. Say it Vijay’s GST dialogues in Mersal or the corporate medical politics, and Simbu’s latest demonetisation song to Vishal publicly talking about piracy and politicians involved in it, the Kollywood guys are making their mark.

However, Telugu heroes are hardly seen making remarks on and offscreen against ruling political parties or talking about any scams. Most recently Venkatesh’s Ganesh took such potshots at the government, and that was a couple of decades back. Later we have seen only Tagore doing a bit, but still that doesn’t have any political punches.

So, why Telugu heroes are afraid to take a political stand and question governments in their films? From call money scam to Ayesha Meera murder case, Miyapur real-estate scams to special-status issues, there are many our heroes could voice an opinion. Are you listening to this guys?

Young Tamil hero Simbu, who was involved in a huge controversy two years ago by signing the cuss words-filled “Beep Song”, has allegedly erupted a fresh controversy with his new song.

Simbu has recently released his new song, ‘No Cash’, to mark the first anniversary of demonetization. It talks about the predicaments faced by people due to the government’s historical move, and also takes potshots at the newly implemented GST (Goods and Services Tax).

Soon after the song’s release, Simbu has been granted police protection, anticipating protests from pro-BJP and right wing organizations. As many as eight police personnel have reportedly been deployed at the actor’s house in Chennai. It is learnt that the security cover will be in place for a few more days. This preemptive measure from Chennai police is in the wake of the protests against Tamil film “Mersal” for featuring dialogues against GST.

Sung by Simbu, the demonetization anthem has been penned by “Baahubali” fame lyricist Madhan Karky for an upcoming Tamil film titled, “Thattrom Thookrom”.

Reigning queen of Bollywood, Deepika Padukone never ceases to amaze and astonish people with her fashion sense. Afresh, the lanky beauty has mesmerized everyone by draping arguably the sexiest sari ever.

Deepika will soon be seen seen portraying the role of ‘Rani Padmini’ in the highly anticipated historical film ‘Padmavati’. As the actress is currently busy promoting her upcoming movie, she is seen wearing a lot of stunning saris in order to keep the movie’s spirit alive.

At a fashion show held last night, Deepika wore this breathtaking sari, a custom-made outfit giving a modern twist to the traditional sari. The bralette design blouse, the black fabric that was draped across her body, ala sari’s pallu, and Deepika’s charms, make the outfit, the sexiest sari one can think of.

Even though his maiden film Akhil turned out to be a huge debacle, the trade seems to be unfazed as it is betting big on the actor’s second film Hello. If latest reports are to be believed, Hello’s distributor rights in Guntur area have been sold for a whopping Rs 3 Crore  under NRA (Non-Returnable Amount) agreement.

Guntur’s SV Cinemas has come forward to take this huge risk on Akhil’s second film. Buzz is that distributors are ready to bet big considering director Vikram Kumar’s track record who has directed films such as Manam, 24.

Vikram’s hold on craft, his attention for even minute details are what bringing confidence in distributors to take the risk. Also the fact that Nag is taking care of the film under his close observation, buyers are happy to invest in the film. Produced by Nag, the film is all set for release on December 22. Looks like, Nag is laughing all the way to bank even before the film’s release.

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s upcoming film, “Bharat Ane Nenu” will have a special song performed by popular Tamil actress-singer Andrea Jeremiah.

The actress who will soon be seen opposite Siddharth in the horror thriller, “Gruham”, has confirmed during a media interaction that she would be singing a groovy song for Mahesh’s film. She thanked her friend and music director Devi Sri Prasad for giving her the opportunity. She is quite excited to have got the opportunity to sing for a Mahesh-starrer.

Andrea has sung nearly ten songs in Telugu thus far, mostly in Devisri’s composition. Her last Telugu song was ‘Oye Oye’, which featured in Ram Charan’s “Yevadu”. The actress is currently awaiting the release of “Gruham”, and is also hopeful of getting good offers in Telugu post this film.

Even though ace director SS Rajamouli’s father and senior writer Vijayendra Prasad has won numerous accolades as a writer, and he is busy penning multiple scripts including one for Rajamouli’s next project, his penchant for direction in unceasing, despite setbacks, the recent being “Sri Valli”.

Prasad is reportedly planning to direct comedian-turned-hero Sunil in his next attempt. Sunil himself disclosed this news during a recent media interaction. He said he was quite excited about the idea narrated by the senior writer.

After delivering a spate of films, Sunil’s image took a severe beating. A few of his new projects got shelved in the nascent stages itself as an aftereffect of his flop streak. Actually, it was Rajamouli, who established Sunil as a hero with “Maryada Ramanna”. Can his father now resurrect Sunil’s career? Well, the senior writer himself is not a success story when it comes to direction.