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Jiiva’s ‘Kavalai Vendam’ to start @ 18th Jan

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Chennai: Actor Jiiva-starrer Tamil romantic-comedy “Kavalai Vendam”, which also features National Award winning actor Bobby Simhaa in a parallel lead, will finally go on the floors from January 18 in Coonoor.

“This is a film on human emotions. As how romance and relationships play a major part in life, breakups also play a major part. ‘Kavalai Vendam’ reveals the unsaid parts of relationships and breakups,” director Deekay said in a statement.

The film also features Kajal Aggarwal, Sunaina, Shruti Ramakrishna and RJ Balaji in important roles.

Sankranthi special songs by Madhu Priya

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Deepika rejected to act in Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’

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Bajrangi Bhaijan. Jai Ho. Sher Khan. Kick. Sultan. No, we aren’t enumerating Salman Khan starrers. That is a list of the films that Deepika Padukone was offered opposite the Dabangg Khan — and which she has refused. Sultan was the fifth in a line of films that would have teamed Deepika up with Salman, and industry sources say it is unlikely the two will ever work together on a movie. There had been a delay in finalising the lead actress for Sultan. Sources close to the project report that producer Aditya Chopra and director Ali Abbas Zafar wanted to sign an A-list actress with an athletic personality/background.

And who better than Deepika? Alas, the lass said no. This time too (as in the past), her reason was that she was not very happy about the role, a source says. “Deepika, Parineeti Chopra and Kangana Ranaut were all considered, but it didn’t work out. The team was in a fix. They needed a leading lady who would look convincing as an athlete,” informs a source. It was a relief indeed when Anushka Sharma said yes. So where does that leave Deepika? Out of the “Salman camp” for good? The actress herself has always maintained that she would jump at a chance to work with Salman.

“Of course, I want to work with Salman,” Deepika had said, when she was quizzed about turning down a film with the superstar as she was busy promoting Ram-Leela at the time. “I want to do a film with him, but it has to be the right film at the right time,” she had stated. Industry insiders point out that Deepika has long been part of the “Shah Rukh Khan camp”. But now that SRK and Salman have buried their animosity, will “camp members” be allowed to cross over to the “other side”? Or will they have to continue making polite excuses for not taking up projects?

PM Modi has no time for Telangana – KTR

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Priyanka Chopra’s production house to back regional cinema

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Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra’s production house, Purple Pebble Pictures (PPP), today announced its foray into regional cinema, outlining details for three projects that will release in 2016. The vision of her company is to create a platform for great stories to be told, irrespective of their genre and language, and also to provide a solid platform for new talent not just in acting but also across all other areas including direction, scriptwriting etc.

Purple Pebble Pictures lineup includes films in Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Marathi. “Today entertainment has a wide canvas which is not restricted by language or medium. At Purple Pebble Pictures, we are aspiring to erase boundaries and create an environment where the content of the story is the hero,” Priyanka said in a statement here.

“We are a country filled with exceptional young talent and our endeavor is to provide a platform for talent across the entertainment business to showcase their abilities,” she added. The three films include “Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi” (Bhojpuri) is written and directed by Santosh Mishra. It is the classic love story featuring Bhojpuri superstar Nirahau and Amrapali Dubey. The film begins shooting this month and will release in the summer of 2016. The second project is “Ventilator” (Marathi). The film is directed by Rajesh Mapuskar of “Ferrari Ki Sawaari” fame. This film will have several veteran Marathi film and theatre actors. The film begins shoot in February and releases during Ganpati festival this year.

The third one is “Ek Onkar” (Punjabi)? directed by Karan Guliani. This film is the coming of age story of a young NRI returning to find his roots. The shooting will start from March and it will release around Gurunanak Jayanti this year. “We are storytellers and that is only enhanced by being able to tell stories in varied languages. Regional cinema in India has such amazing depth and great cinematic talent,” Priyanka said. “Its been long cherished dream to be able to tell stories in various languages. There is a huge audience for these films. I am very excited to be a part of these three amazing projects.”

Raja Cheyyi Vesthe Motion Poster

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Jaish Chief Masood Azhar In ‘Protective Custody’: Pakistan Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan

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Watch Jaish Chief Masood Azhar In ‘Protective Custody’: Pakistan Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan

Ranbir – Katrina’s relationship on the rocks?

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Mumbai: For a while, there have been speculations about Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif’s relationship hitting a rough patch, especially post Ranbir’s last outing ‘Tamasha’ with his ex-flame Deepika Padukone. Gossip mills are abuzz with the news that all is not well between the two and they have decided to part ways. According to a report in Spotboye, Ranbir has shifted base from his love-nest to Wilson Apartments in Bandra, a property he brought in 2014. Ranbir’s parents Rishi and Neetu are also expected to move into the same building shortly. According to a security guard at the premises, the family has performed a pooja and Ranbir has also shifted his belongings.

Ranbir and Katrina recently put up a united front when they made a joint appearance at the Kapoors’ Christmas bash. Later, a picture of them kissing on their balcony was captured by a leading daily. Last year, Katrina Kaif, who is always tight-lipped about her personal life made few candid confessions in an interview. She said that her greatest fear, when it comes to marriage, is that when she’s standing at the altar, her partner might not love her completely and be unsure of his decision of marriage. She further added that the anticipation of a heartbreak is her only fear.

Kartina had also admitted that she is not as close to Ranbir’s family as she would like to be and said that she would like to hang out with them more often. On the work front, the two will be seen romancing each other on the big screen after almost six years in Anurag Basu’s ‘Jagga Jasoos’. The film had hit troubled waters last year and had been delayed several times. Ranbir even went on to say that he would be ruined if the film didn’t release in 2016. However, the trailer of the film is expected to release mid-April, while the 15 songs from the film will release in the weeks rounding up to the film’s June 2016 release.

Class Vs Mass

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The Nandamuri family is having a nail-biting Sankranti this time with two major films — from Jr NTR and uncle Balakrishna — hitting the screens at the same time. Though released with much hype and fanfare, Jr NTR’s Nannaku Prematho is not going smooth on Day 2, if sources are to be believed, whereas, Balakrishna’s Dictator is getting good response in single screens. Dictator, which was released in 750 to 800 theatres in both the states on Thursday, is expected to be a crowd-puller. “I am getting good responses and I am confident that this is going to be a big one among Sankranti releases. The expectations are very high,” says Srivaas, director and producer of the film.

On the other hand, Nannaku Prematho, which came out with mixed response, has sent waves of panic in the Jr NTR turf as the fans are learnt to be disappointed due to too much mathematics in the film. “I agree that there is a mixed response, but the film is doing well at multiplexes,” says Abhishek Nama, the distributor of the Nizam area. He added that it collected nearly `3.7 crore in Nizam alone on the first day. “Now, we cut nearly 100 screens for the release of other films. We expect a good crowd in the coming holidays,” says Abhishek.

Balakrishna, however, says that his films are not meant for multiplexes as he had a strong support at ‘B’ and ‘C’ centres. “I spoke to Balakrishna today morning and he is every excited about the results. He is watching the film at Tirupathi,” says Srivaas. Though it’s quite early to talk about the outcome, it seems that Balakrishna has a slight edge over his nephew!

It’s strictly for Balayya’s fans

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Another Sankranti release, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Dictator has created a buzz — firstly because this is his 99th film and secondly, all his festival releases so far have been super hits. Directed by Srivaas, the film stars Anjali and Sonal Chauhan as the leading ladies. Chandrasekhar aka Chandu (Balakrishna) is a meek guy working in a supermarket. He meets Indu (Sonal), an aspiring actress, who is harassed by some goons who are after her brother (Rajiv Kanakala), a witness to a murder attempted by them.

Indu shares her problems with Chandu, who vows to help her and kills all the goons. Meanwhile, Chandu’s colleague steals Rs 5 lakh for her daughter’s marriage, but Chandu takes the blame when police arrives. Soon, it is revealed that Chandu is not the soft-spoken guy seen till now and why he chose to lead a supermarket employee’s life becomes one of the big twists in the movie. In his first movie with Balakrishna, Srivaas chooses the regular script with the regular formula, eyeing Balakrishna fans. The typical Balakrishna dialogues, action scenes and regular masala are aimed at hardcore Balayya fans.

The first half is very interesting with some really good scenes, but when it comes to the second half, the director loses his grip on the story. Also, the first half of the film and one of the action episodes has been copied from The Equilizer that stars Denzel Washington. Instead of going with stronger villains against Balakrishna, the director chose a wrong person —Rati Agnihotri. Performance-wise, Balakrishna is at his usual best histrionics. The two-shaded character is safe in his hands. Even at this age, the actor shows a lot of energy and grace, especially, in action and dance sequences.

Sonal Chauhan in the first half adds to the glamour and Anjali’s meaty role in the second half too blends well with the story. The only miscast was Rati Agnihotri, who didn’t exactly fit as a lady villain. Prudhvi, Hema and Shakalaka Shankar evoked a few laughs. Nasser, Suman, Shayaji Shinde and Posani played their parts well. Thaman’s music was good and Ratnam’s dialogues had the typical Balakrishna punches.Writers Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan, who were also part of the screenplay, delivered a regular entertainer, nothing new. The makers, too, during promotions, said that the film has nothing extraordinary in it. However, Dictator is a complete mass entertainer with all the masala, strictly for Balakrishna fans!

Rajamouli Not to Direct ‘Magadheera 2’?

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It has been being speculated in social media for the past few days that that ace director Rajamouli may be directing the sequel of Mega Power Star Ram Charan’s ‘Magadheera’. Analysts, however, felt these speculations are just aired stories the project might not get materialized.

According to the analysts, ‘Magadheera’ was a nice mix of heroism and directorial skills. But then, Rajamouli’s fans wish their favourite director should get full credit as a director for any movie which he directs as such ‘Magadheera 2’ may not get materialized. Whatever it is, we should not go for any assumptions unless this gossip is proved right.

Meanwhile, Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali 2’ is right now on a brisk pace of its shoot. Ensemble star cast who include Young Rebel Star Prabhas, Rana, Anushka and Tamannah are playing the lead roles of the movie. MM Keeravani scores the music of the movie. The movie is the product of Arka Media Works.

Yevade Subramanyam Actor Dies of Heart Attack

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Popular TV and film actor Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay passed away in Hyderabad on Thursday. He was 66 year old. Rajesh suffered heart attack on Thursday afternoon at around 3.30 PM while he was shooting for a regional film in Hyderabad. He succumbed to the stroke.

Rajesh was well-known for his role Guran, an astrologer, in Aamir Khan’s Oscar nominated movie Lagaan. Rajesh later acted in SRK’s Swades as a postman. Despite brief roles, Rajesh carved a niche for himself. He was recently seen in Telugu movie Yevade Subramanyam.

Before making a mark on silver screen, Rajesh was part of several iconic TV shows like Bharat Ki Khoj, Mahabharat and Ighori to name a few. He was first indtroduced by Shyam Benegal in his film Junoon in  1978 and since then he never looked back. His last rites are going to be performed today in Mumbai.

Microsoft to roll out its own SIM card

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Tech giant Microsoft is on a verge to surprise their users as it is making their own LTE (Long-Term Evolution) a mode of wireless communication which is easier to access with its own SIM card.

Recently a free app called ‘cellular data’ was published to the Microsoft store and since then there are rumors going as to what it will offer. According to reports, the software giant is currently checking a cellular data app that would allow Windows 10 devices to connect to other networks without any contract.

However, the company has not specified any details of the SIM card yet but has decided to sell the data through their Windows store.

‘Nannaku Prematho’: Great ideas, not so great film

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On paper, the concepts we’re introduced to in Sukumar’s “Nannaku Prematho”, like the Butterfly Effect and Trigonometry might totally catch you off-guard. However, you don’t even feel remotely close to being surprised when you watch the film. This is because all the lofty ideas don’t quite do justice to the story which makes the whole experience underwhelming.

“Nannaku Prematho”, despite being a decent experimental film, fails miserably due to the way it has been executed. Take the scene where NTR saves Rakul in a car yard, for instance. He’s unaware of her location initially, but somehow manages to track her down with the help of some clues. A fight ensues, and in the middle of it, he pauses for a few seconds to calculate the speed at which a man is running towards him and foresees the outcome if he slips. The scene pans out the way he mathematically visualises it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the scene; it is likeable, but it’s just a little too much for regular Telugu audiences.

At the core, the film is your regular revenge drama – a son has to fulfill his dying father’s last wish – and it’s topped with all the quintessential elements of a star vehicle. When you look beyond all this, what you get is the kind of writing we don’t see often in Telugu cinema. And the concepts used very efficiently succeed in eliciting some curiosity. Unfortunately, these good ideas don’t quite leave an impact as the film ends on a very predictable note and that’s a clear indication of running out of ideas. The spurts of creativity don’t last long enough and that’s so disappointing.

While NTR is at his usual best as always, this film belongs to Sukumar, even though it means in parts. NTR, particularly, needs to be lauded for not playing to the gallery and choosing to work with a director who isn’t afraid to go against the tide. This is precisely why you want to appreciate Sukumar, who, by all means, could have safely made a regular commercial potboiler. But he didn’t, and that’s what differentiates him from other filmmakers. “Nannaku Prematho”, on the whole, isn’t a bad film. Only, one wishes it was made even more sensibly. (IANS)

Telugu States Celebrate Sankranti With Pomp

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Hyderabad: Makar Sankranti, the colourful Hindu festival, was celebrated with pomp and gaiety across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Friday. On the second day of the three-day festival, the countryside in both the Telugu states wore a festive look with decorated houses, kite-flying, cockfights, bull-fights and other rural sports. Villages in both the states came alive with Sankranti, considered as one of the major festivals. It was time for the families to take a break and come together in their natives towns and villages.

People from different parts of the country and even abroad joined their near and dear ones for the festival. Attired in their best, men, women and children thronged the temples to offer prayers since early morning. Lakhs of people from Hyderabad left for their homes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the celebrations, leaving the city’s roads almost deserted. Authorities operated hundreds of special buses and trains from Hyderabad to various destinations in the two states over last couple of days to clear the festival rush. For children of those settled in cities and abroad, it is an occasion to have a feel of life in the countryside. They visit the fields and participate in various rural sports.

The houses were decorated with marigold flowers and mango leaves. Womenfolk decked the front-yard of houses with Rangoli. They set cow-dung balls called as ‘Gobbemma’ and placed among the Rangoli patterns and also put fresh harvest of rice, turmeric and sugarcane. The women also prepared ‘chakkara pongal’ or rice kheer, a special dish made of new rice, jaggery and milk. The dish is allowed to boil over which symbolises abundance. In Hyderabad and other towns in both the states, the sky was dotted with colourful kites. Popular Hindi and Telugu chartbusters blared from speakers as youngsters flew the kites from rooftops. ‘Haridasus’ and ‘Basvannas’, the uniquely attired alm-seekers with ornately decorated oxen, made rounds of villages to seek alms.

The farmers also decorated bullocks and worshipped them for their contribution to the harvest. Despite the court orders banning cock-fights, the bloody sport was organised openly in parts of coastal Andhra. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu celebrated Sankranti with his family members at his native Naravaripalle village in Chittoor district. He received greetings from the villagers. Naidu’s brother-in-law and popular actor Balakrishna and other family members too joined the celebrations. Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao and governor of the two states E. S. L. Narasimhan greeted people on the occasion of Sankranti.

Lavanya Tripathi Special Chit Chat – Soggade Chinni Nayana

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Lavanya Tripathi Special Chit Chat – Soggade Chinni Nayana

Anushka’s Surprise Treat In Soggade

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Over the past few days, Nagarjuna, in all his promotional interviews for Soggade Chinni Nayana, kept hyping up about one particular character named Krishna Kumari in the film. However, Nag maintained suspense about the actress who played the character.

Finally, Soggade Chinni Nayana released this morning and those who watched the film were in for a huge surprise seeing none other than Sweety Anushka in Krishna Kumari’s role. Anushka looked like a traditional village belle as she appeared in a saree for a brief time in a song and needles to say, impressed the fans.

Anushka made her acting debut in Nagarjuna’s Super way back in 2005. The actress shares a close rapport with Nag and romanced him in films like Ragada, Dhamarukam, Don, King and Kedi etc.

Nara-Nandamuri Clash In Raja Cheyyi Vesthe

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The first look and the motion poster of Nara Rohith’s next film Raja Cheyyi Vesthe has been released a while ago as a Sankranthi special. The poster reveals the Nara and Nandamuri heroes, Nara Rohith and Tarakaratna, looking all rugged an intense. Especially, Tarakaratna looks strikingly menacing with an image makeover.

Tarakaratna will be seen in a negative role in the film. Raja Cheyyi Vesthe is being directed by debutant Pradeep and produced by Sai Korrapati, who signed a two film deal with the Nara hero. The film stars Isha Talwar of Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde fame as Nara Rohith’s love interest.

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