Tantex Sports day celebrations in Dallas – USA
‘Chattamtho Poratam’ Is Mahesh’s Title?
In the good olden days, Megastar Chiranjeevi has come up with the film “Chattamtho Poratam”. In 1985, that film is a different hit of its kind. And now, we hear that Superstar Mahesh Babu is heard in awe of this title now. Here goes the detail.
Speculation is rife that AR Murugadoss and Mahesh’s most hyped bilingual project will deal with judiciary system in India. In his trademark style, this Tamil director want to explore the loop holes, corruption and the dark side of judiciary system.
What could be the best title for this film? Word has “Chattamtho Poratam” is the Telugu title being under consideration.
Will Mahesh use Megastar’s title to stun both Telugu and Tamil audiences? For now, he’s busy shooting for Brahmotsavam in Ooty, while Murugadoss is wrapping Akira with Sonakshi Sinha in Mumbai. Post wrapping the projects on hand, these two will unite.
Sexy Robot Signed Up For Shankar’s Robo 2
Maverick director Shankar is right now busy with the pre production work of his high budget graphical extravaganza Robo 2. Rajinikanth is currently wrapping up his balance work for Kabali and will soon join the sets of Robo 2. Meanwhile Shankar is getting everything in place for a marathon schedule.
As per the grapevine Shankar has signed up Amy Jackson for an important character in Robo 2. Amy who also played the female lead in Shankar’s previous film I will be reprising the role of a sexy robot in this one. Deepika Padukone is in talks for the female lead but Amy is happy to be a part of this magnum opus.
Shankar is planning this as an international project and the budget of this film is estimated to be over 250 crore. Which means this film is going to be costlier than Baahubali 1 and 2 put together. Shankar is signing up some of the big names of Hollywood for Robo 2 to grab the attention of world audience.
Pawan Kalyan To Work With Kushi Director?
Although Pawan Kalyan has no clarity about his next movies, one project that has come up suddenly is director S J Surya’s new proposal. Buzz is that Surya got confirmation from Pawan Kalyan to work on a new script for him. S J Surya is currently being spotted at Pawan’s office regularly.
S J Surya made Kushi thirteen years ago that was turning the point of Pawan Kalyan’s career. Kushi made Pawan Kalyan an youth icon. Seven years after the release of Kushi, they again teamed up for a movie called Puli but the movie was a disaster at the box-office.
Surya is now regarded as failed director as his recent movies in Tamil were flops. Still, Pawan Kalyan has reportedly agreed to give another chance to Surya to revive his career.
Akshay Kumar’s big donation for Chennai Flood relief
Many Celebrities are lending their hands to the needy people affected by heavy rains that lashed Chennai. Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar now joins the list by making a whopping 1 Crore for Chennai Flood Relief activities.
Akshay was moved by seeing the plight of the city and wanted to help the people. He reportedly called Director Priyadarshan and in return Priyadarshan directed him to contact Suhasini Maniratnam for further proceedings.
After Suhasini Maniratnam’s suggestion, Akshay Kumar donated Rs. 1 Crore to Bhoomika Trust who are actively involved in food prepartion and distribution in Chennai from the day of disaster.
Another year of killings and attacks on journalists
Fifty-five journalists have been killed across the world so far this year. In purely statistical terms, it signifies an improvement. It is six fewer than were killed last year and 17 fewer than in 2013. Yet it is further evidence of the incredibly hostile conditions under which many journalists work, conditions that have seen a total of 597 killed over the past decade because of their journalistic activities. The figures, compiled by the New York-based press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, include only cases in which the motive for the killings has been clearly established as related to the victims’ work. It also excludes a further 18 deaths in which the motives have yet to be confirmed.
A closer look at the figures reveals a particularly disturbing fact: the high proportion who were murdered in 2015. Of the 55 total, 40 were murdered. This compares with 27 in 2014, 32 in 2013 and 35 in 2012 and the increase suggests that the deliberate, premeditated targeting of journalists is on the rise. Of the other 15 killed this year, 14 died in crossfire or during combat — nine of them in the Syrian conflict — and one while engaged on a dangerous reporting assignment in Yemen. By far the worst single incident this year was the murder in January of eight cartoonists working for the Parisian satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. That massacre was rightly the subject of massive media coverage around the globe, not least because it was a transparent attempt to stifle freedom of expression. By contrast, the murders of five journalists in each of three other countries — Brazil, South Sudan and Bangladesh — plus four in Mexico hardly featured, if at all, in headlines. A couple of the cases underscore the commitment and bravery of the journalists plying their trade under these circumstances.
Murders in Bangladesh Washiqur Rahman Babu, a Bangladeshi freelancer described as a progressive thinker who wrote a blog critical of “irrational religious beliefs, superstitions and radical Islamists”, was hacked to death in March by three men wielding meat cleavers. Bystanders caught two of the men and disarmed them. The perpetrators later told police they knew nothing of the blogger but were following orders to kill him. Babu was one of five journalists killed in Bangladesh this year for opposing hardline Islamism. In Brazil, the motive in all five cases concerned reports on instances of corruption involving politicians and police officers. Some were especially grisly. Radio reporter Djalma Santos da Conceicao suffered horrific torture in which his right eye was gouged out and his tongue was hacked off. Blogger Evany JosE Metzler was decapitated.
As in Mexico, most had received death threats in advance of their murders. Despite the intimidation, they refused to back down. Although it is hard to monitor, press freedom and human rights groups argue that such threats, and consequent murders, create a climate of self-censorship. “The fact that murders have risen underscores the cycle of violence and impunity that has taken hold in many parts of the world. These numbers will continue to remain high so long as the journalists’ killers continue to escape justice nine times out of 10,” said Elisabeth Witchel, the CPJ’s impunity campaign consultant.
Violinist Perlman wins ‘Jewish Nobel’
Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman has been awarded this year’s “Jewish Nobel” for his accomplishments as a musician, teacher and advocate for the disabled, organisers of the $1 million prize announced on Monday. The Genesis Prize is given each year to an individual who has achieved professional success, contributed to humanity and shown a strong commitment to Jewish causes and the state of Israel.
Mr. Perlman said he was “humbled” to be recognised not only for his personal accomplishments, but also his commitment to his Jewish identity. “I have always been very proud of my Jewish heritage, which has greatly influenced my music, my world view, and my work as an advocate for individuals whom society often leaves behind,” he said in a statement issued by the prize organisers.
Mr. Perlman (70), has won 16 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 2008, and played the violin solo in John Williams’ Oscar-winning soundtrack for the 1993 film “Schindler’s List.” He has performed with or conducted the world’s top symphony orchestras, and has been a regular guest at White House events. Last month, he received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.
Mr. Perlman has shared his love of music with diverse audiences, appearing on late-night comedy programs, Sesame Street and in special programs on American public television. With his wife Toby, he helps run the Perlman Music Program for talented young musicians. Treated for polio as a child, Mr. Perlman, who walks with crutches, has also been a vocal advocate for the disabled. Mr. Perlman intends to use his prize money for projects to assist individuals with disabilities and to develop young musicians of special talent, prize organisers said. “Itzhak Perlman is the embodiment of everything an ideal Genesis Prize Laureate should be,” said Stan Polovets, chairman and co-founder of the prize.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to present the award to Mr. Perlman at the June 23 ceremony in Jerusalem. The prize was inaugurated in 2014 and is run in a partnership between the Israeli prime minister’s office, the private Genesis Prize Foundation and the chairman’s office of the Jewish Agency, a nonprofit group with close ties to the Israeli government. It is funded by a $100 million endowment established by the foundation. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the recipient of the first prize, and actor Michael Douglas was this year’s winner.
Not approached for Baahubali-2: Lavanya
Bhale Bhale Magadivoy fame Lavanya Tripathi is celebrating her Birthday today. The actress have an eventful year after Bhale Bhale Magadivoy success and she have three projects in hand. LOL, Soggade Chinni Nayana and an untitled film with Allu Sirish.
In Soggadu Chinni Nayana, Lavanya is playing a very traditional and matured wife. In LOL, her character has three shades and in the last one, She is seen as a college student.
However the actress says there is no truth in the rumours that she is a part of Baahubali-2. In an interview, she confirmed that no one from Baahubali team approached her with an offer.
GA 2 Keeps The End Director
Prominent producer Allu Aravind, known for making high budget entertainers under his Geetha Arts Banner, has floated another production banner GA2 (Geetha Arts 2) to make small to medium range movies. First production under the banner- Bhale Bhale Magadivoy starring Nani and Lavanya Tripathi was a run away hit and the ace producer is looking for young talent for next ventures in the new banner.
Rahul Sankrityan of ‘The End’ fame has been asked to prepare a script. Currently, the director is busy readying a thriller subject and if things materialize then Rahul will next work under GA 2 banner. It may be recalled that, the young director is winner of MAA TV’s short film contest. Rahul was appreciated for making a qualitative product- The End in a limited budget.
Amazed with his making abilities, Allu Aravind has called Rahul Sankrityan and offered a film under his second production house. Apart from Rahul, few other young and upcoming directors are also asked to come up with unique and interesting subjects. It is to be seen whether the production banner will introduce new actors or will zero-in only established young actors.
Human skin detection technology for improved security
Washington: Scientists have developed a new technology that can better characterise human skin using spectral imaging of melanin, hemoglobin and water, which could improve security, search and rescue operations. Spectral imaging systems use information from the entire electromagnetic spectrum to provide digital images with much greater information per pixel than traditional cameras. Feature spaces in a spectral imaging system are vectors that numerically represent an object’s characteristics.
Researchers at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in US have developed a novel two-dimensional feature space which uses the spectral absorption characteristics of melanin, hemoglobin and water to better characterise human skin. The researchers used feature spaces to key in on specific constituents of human tissue by using a skin index concerned with how water and melanin’s presence in skin manifests at two different wavelengths in the near-infrared region. This would cut the overall cost of hyperspectral-based search and rescue systems by a factor of seven.
“The study represents a crossroads between physics and statistical pattern recognition,” said Michael J Mendenhall, assistant professor at AFIT. “The features were designed based on an understanding of the physics behind skin’s spectral shape, but in such a way that the features separated skin and non-skin pixels in order to make the pattern recognition portion of the problem more effective,” said Mendenhall. “After a lot of investigation into spectral properties of false alarm sources, we arrived at a simple observation that skin is more red than green, due to the melanin in darker skin and oxygenated hemoglobin in lighter skin, whereas many of the false alarm sources were more green than red,” he said.
Many current image recognition programmes employ hyperspectral imaging systems, which allow engineers to search for a wide variety of objects – exoplanets, oil wells, or human skin, to name a few – by looking for specific “fingerprints” in the electromagnetic spectrum. However, the involved image acquisition and post-processing are typically too slow for live search and rescue operations. Additionally, specific air platform requirements and the high cost of acquisition and management currently puts hyperspectral systems out of reach for search and rescue organisations. The researchers used their skin detection and false alarm suppression feature space to design an application-specific optical system using three framing cameras. Their skin detection solution can be implemented with less expensive technology capable of live video frame rates. The study was published in the journal Applied Optics.
NTR Creates a Record!
Even before the release of his most-awaited film, Nannaku Prematho, the NTR has set a record. The audio rights of the film were sold for a whopping price which is considered as highest in the recent times. At a time, when demand for the audio rights is going down, NTR rose from the ashes like a phoenix.
An up-country audio company said to have bought the audio rights of Nannaku Prematho by paying nearly a whopping Rs 1 Crore. The deal is closed and the makers are planning to have a music launch very soon, say sources close to the unit.
Directed by Sukumar, NTR is pairing up with Rakul Preet Singh for the first time and the film is said to have a perfect dose of sentiment, action, comedy. Meanwhile, trade buzz is that the movie is going to lock horns with Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Dictator. Both the films are going to slug it out at the Box Office for Sankranthi.
Ram gives green signal to Srinu Vaitla
Director Srinu Vaitla is all set to begin his life or death project very soon. After two back to back disasters with Aagadu and Bruce Lee, every one thought his career is finished. But Vaitla managed to convince Ram for the net project.
Previously they have teamed up for Ready which is a sensational blockbuster back then. This project will go on floors early next year after the release of Ram’s next film, Nenu Sailaja on January 1st, 2016. Senior Producer C.Kalyan is producing the film.
C.Kalyan recent became a very active. He produced Jyothi Lakshmi with Charmi and his next project, Loafer is releasing on 17th of this month.There is news that he signed a two films deal with Srinu Vaitla. More details on this project later!
This makes easier to take screenshots
In the latest Android 6.0 upgrade, Google has added a new feature for the Marshmallow users. Post the update, Android users will be able to take screenshots just at a tap, instead of struggling with the power button and the volume rocker.
This new feature is available via the Google Now on Tap feature, which can be turned on by long pressing the Home button of the device, and simply following the instructions to turn on Now on Top. To the feature, Google has added a new share button, which lets you take screenshots, and also share it if you so wish.
The screenshots will not include any notifications in the status bar on top of the screen. Currently, this new feature is only available on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but it soon may be rolled out for other non-Nexus devices too.
Keep Making Fools Of People!
One fellow abused Andhraites in the vilest of terms for his political ambitions, the other fellow said that he was anti-bifurcation but nevertheless gives a letter in support of Telangana and later says that Hyderabad is not safe anymore for Andhraites. Both of them get into slanging matches and whip up regional passions but what is the ground reality at the end of the day?
They suck up to each other not in the best interests of the people but once again in their own selfish interests. One person, to escape from the note-for-vote case and the other not to have section 8 imposed in Hyderabad. In short, they make or break the people in accordance with their own political aspirations.
Fighting for Samaikhyandhra or Telangana and getting divided along regional lines at the instigation of these people is really a worthless endeavor in hindsight. Because, at the end of it all, these fellows treat each other to Natu Kodi and biryani while the people remain divided and bereft of good governance.
Now, Naidu’s wife also into politics?
After son Nara Lokesh Babu and daughter-in-law Nara Brahmani, it now appears to be the turn of Nara Bhuvaneshwari, wife of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to enter Telugu Desam Party politics and official functions. It was evident from the way Bhuvaneshwari took part in the inauguration of a cement road laid at Komaravolu village of Pamarru mandal in Krishna district a couple of days ago.
She was participating in the Jana Chaitanya Yatra launched by the TDP to propagate the AP government programmes. She interacted with the villages and enquired about the issues. Later, Bhuvaneshwari also distributed gas cylinders to Dwacra women and addressed the villagers at the gram sabha. Several TDP leaders participated in the programme.
It may be mentioned that Lokesh has already started taking active interest in the party politics in the capacity of politburo member and also the central committee member of the TDP, his wife Brahmani has been gradually evincing interest in the party activities in the name of NTR Memorial Trust.
The New Versatile Star from Mega Camp
The career graph of Varun Tej is so different and peaking up in no time. He is clearly a distinctive artist unlike other Mega camp heroes who have struck to particular image. There is nothing much Varun is looking in the scripts except novelty and scope for him to improve and excel as artist. All three films ‘Mukunda, Kanche’ and ‘Loafer’ belong to three different genres and none has a complaint to file on Varun’s side.
As of now response for ‘Loafer’ is wonderfully promising. The certification from Puri Jagannath made Varun much more a promising talent, both Mega Fans and common audience can look for. If reports are to be believed, directors Gopichand Malineni, Krish and Deva Katta are queued up to sign projects with Varun. At the same time, producer Dil Raju is all likely to announce a project with one of these directors and Varun as hero.
The message is crystal clear. Varun Tej isn’t eyeing on the short living stardom. He wants to leave a versatile impression of a formidable artist like what Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan have created of own. He is on the process and doing tremendously well.
Choco Boy Turns Muscular Boxer!
South India’s chocolate image hero Madhavan is here turned into a muscular boxer for upcoming film ‘Saala Khadoos.’ It is great to hear that, ‘Saala Khadoos’ is a bi-lingual film (Tamil, Hindi) based on the life of boxing coach. To look more authentic for the role, Madhavan worked very hard striking the gym and above is the first look poster of film hitting the screens on 29th of January next year.
‘Saala Khadoos’ Tamil version is titled as ‘Irudhi Suttru’ with Rithika Singh and Mumtaz Sorcar in other leads. Most importantly, Raj Kumar Hirani is handling the Hindi version release works because Madhavan is so close to him. The film is directed by Sudha Kongara Prasad while Santosh Narayanan composed the music. Sudha actually worked as Assistant to Mani Ratnam.
Real life boxers are made a part of casting and prestigious distribution firms like UTV Motion Pictures and Raj Kumar Hirani Films are managing the business. Anyways, the first look poster is quite impressive.
Bunny: ‘I am really touched by her affection’!
Celebrities visiting ailing Fans to fulfill their last wishes have been commonly seen off late in Indian cinema circles. Pawan Kalyan, Junior NTR and Balakrishna were few among them not only supported the sufferers financially but also offered them moral support. One such incident is reported again today and this time it is Allu Arjun.
Currently very busy with ‘Sarainodu’ shooting, Bunny took out his time to go Singh Nagar, Vijayawada and visit one of his Fans named Mastan Bee suffering with cancer. She was aged almost 70+ and is a cancer patient. Mastan Bee had close association with Mega family and especially Allu Rama Lingaiah, Chiranjeevi were so close to her.
‘When I got the news of Mastan Bee is in last stages of life, I could not resist from visiting her. My PA said that, next shooting schedule is scheduled from day after tomorrow. Immediately, I planned the trip to Vijayawada just to meet Mastan Bi. I am really touched by her affection and she is also feeling quite happy,’ Bunny said to media.
