The sensational drugs case and its link to Telugu film industry is seeing new turns each day. After Puri Jagannath, Syam K Naidu and Subbaraju’s interrogation, it is Navadeep’s turn today. The interrogation team questioned Navadeep for more than 11 hours and reportedly extracted vital information from him.

Twist of the day is that Navadeep reportedly refused to give his blood samples to investigation team as they asked him for tests which can deduct his drug usage, if he did. Earlier Puri Jagannath gave his blood samples with a written consent when SIT team asked him for.

Navdeep spoke to media in brief before he walked out from Abkari office after long hours of interrogation in drug abuse case. The actor said he revealed things known to him about drugs and he will cooperate with SIT team if asked to visit again for questioning.

On the other hand, Charmme filed a petition against SIT team investigation and Akun Sabharwal about lady interrogation officer and about the SIT team violating Supreme court guidelines in investigation. Akun Sabharwal countered each statement with sensible answers and assured that investigation is going on according to guidelines.

SIT team will be questioning art director Chinna tomorrow.

In the age of social media, audiences are having the opportunity of watching the making videos of their favorite stars’ films to see how they practiced to bring out the scenes alive on screen. More cherishable than the making videos are the videos that take us to the time when our favorite stars were learning the nuances of acting.

A video of Mega Power Star Ram Charan from his acting school days has now landed on Youtube, and it is sure to make the day of the his fans.

In the video, a young Ram Charan and gorgeous Shriya Saran are seen performing a scene together when the Mega scion was being trained at an acting school in Mumbai. Charan’s look will take us back to the days of his debut film ‘Chirutha’. Shriya, who was already an established actress by then, is said to be an alumni of the school and that she was requested to turn up at the school as a guest actor to inspire the youngsters. Shriya’s lively expressions in the video are a treat to watch.

Interestingly, Shriya hasn’t shared screen space with Charan yet but she romanced his father, Megastar Chiranjeevi in the iconic film, ‘Tagore’.

Tamil people generally don’t patronize films from other languages, Baahubali 2 was the rarest exception. Hence, Superstar Mahesh Babu’s SPYder striking a theatrical deal of a whopping Rs 23 crore may prove risky, opine some trade reports.

Lyca Productions, the production house which is bankrolling Rajinikanth’s ‘2.0’ has acquired the theatrical rights of Spyder’s Tamil version for 23 crore. Before Lyca jumped into the competition, distributors were ready to offer in the range of 18 crore but being an audacious banner that won’t compromise on investments, Lyca went on to clinch the deal by offering 4-5 crore more than what others were offering.

Some trade experts believe that not the makers but Mahesh Babu took a huge risk with this deal. Even if the film falls short by a few crore at box office, makers won’t get in any trouble but the film will be branded a flop. Since Mahesh is targeting to tap the Tamil market with Spyder, he may not like to start off his campaign with a commercially risky film. Had it been sold in the range of 17-18 crore, it would have been a safe deal for everyone, say trade experts.

It may be recalled that Srimanthudu, which became the non-Baahubali industry hit in Telugu, couldn’t become a success in Tamil Nadu, indicating the low market for Tollywood stars in the neighboring state. Hence Spyder will have to primarily rely on Murugadoss’ stardom in Tamil Nadu. The director’s brand value and Mahesh’s charisma could have been sufficient to recover this huge investment but the film’s high-tech genre may prove a deterrent to the film’s prospects in B,C centres.

On the whole, Spyder needs to put up good show in B,C centres as well to result in the kind of launch Mahesh was expecting in Tamil Nadu.

The petition filed by popular actress Charmee Kaur in the Hyderabad high court challenging the method of questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Telangana excise and prohibition enforcement department for her alleged links with drug peddlers has surprised everybody.

At a time when all the other film personalities including Puri Jagannath, Tarun and Navdeep are cooperating with the SIT authorities, Charmee wanted that the questioning be done in the presence of women officials and that she be exempt from undergoing medical examination.

She argued that under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India, the authorities cannot compel her to subject to both physical and psychological examinations, such as collection of blood, hair and nail samples by way of coercion.

While she is justified in asking for questioning by women officials and seeking the presence he lawyers during the questioning, one wonders why Charmee was reluctant to give her blood, hair and nail samples for testing.

It only confirms the speculations in the media that she is one of the consumers of narcotics. Otherwise, she should not have any objections.

SIT director Akun Sabharwal told media that there was no coercion in obtaining blood, nail and hair samples and so far, they had taken the samples from actors only with their consent.

“If any actor is not willing to part with the samples, we will simply record the objection in the case diary and produce the same in the court. And we shall act according to the court directions,” he said.

He also pointed out that there would be women officers while interrogating women actors. As such, there was no point in Charmee’s demand!

Ever since the sensational hottie Raai Lakshmi became popular after featuring in “Ratthaalu” song in ‘Khaidi No.150’ opposite Megastar Chiranjeevi, she has been making full use of the stardom by luring netizens to her instagram account where she often shares some smoking hot pics of herself.

Raai Lakshmi loves the sun, the beaches, and spends most of the time lying on beaches wearing bikinis and swimsuits, if she doesn’t have shoots. And, her followers love the titillating selfies she shares from there.

In this latest selfie, Laxmi looks absolutely sizzling and the pic leaves her followers asking for more.

Excise Enforcement Director Akun Sabharwal, who is heading the SIT that is probing the drug scandal in Hyderabad, convened a press conference this evening and clarified on many speculations. He even took the petition filed by actress Charmme in the High Court very seriously and gave sensible answers to all the allegations she had made in her petition.

On Charmme alleging SIT not following guidelines during interrogation..  

“All guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court are being followed during the investigation. We are following best interviewing techniques across the world, we are video recording the questioning of every person from start to finish. A 4-member team carries out the interrogations. Doctor will be present throughout the interrogation if the person need any medical emergency.”

On forcibly taking blood samples..

“We are taking blood, hair and nail samples only with the written consent of the person appeared for questioning. If somebody refuses to give, we mention the same in the case dairy, and the court will decide what to do with them. We are not forcing anyone to give their samples, so far only two persons gave their samples.”

Reputation of women attending interrogation being put at stake… 

“Two actresses have been served notices and it was clearly mentioned in the notices itself that they would be questioned at their place of choice.

On not including women officers in interrogating teams…

From Day 1, we have included a woman officer in the SIT taking part in every interrogation, even in the interrogation of men.

On leaking information to media..

Whatever we do inside the interrogation room stays at only one place, case dairy. We are not responsible for whatever that is coming in media, they must be weaving stories out of imagination.

When asked why film industry is only being targeted.. 

“There is no truth in it. We have questioned 27 persons so far and only 5 of them are from film industry. 7 cases have been filed and 19 People have been arrested till date. Every suspect is being treated in same manner and there is no discrimination at all”