Actor Nani’s next, Mahalakshmi Pelliki Dhooram 150Km is currently in the last phase of its production. The makers are planning to release the movie on December 25th as Christmas Special. They say the actor will be seen as Anantapur Balakrishna fans president in the film.

Andhala Rakshasi fame Hanu Raghavapudi is directing the film. 14 Reels Entertainments which recently tasted flops like Aagadu and 1-Nenokkadine is producing the film. Nani who recent bagged a blockbuster hit with Bhale Bhale Magadivoy is hoping that he will continue his success streak with this film too.

This film will bring together a young and bright team consisting of DOP Yuvaraj (assisted Ratnavelu for Robo & 1-Nenokkadine), Music Director Vishal (protege of A.R. Rahman’s Music School in Chennai).

We don’t see Indian goddesses or any particular goddess getting angry on people or anyone, but right now Manchu Lakshmi is showing those goddesses to her friends and other fraternity from Telugu Film Industry.

“Angry Indian Goddesses” is an upcoming Hindi movie which was recently screened at Toronto International Film Festival and ended up as the second most voted film under People’s Choice category. Directed by Pan Nalin, the film features five female protagonists notably “Panjaa” beauty Sarah Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda and Sandhya Mridul. On Saturday evening, Lakshmi Manchu has arranged a special screening of the film at Prasad Labs for Telugu industry fraternity.

Being an all-girl film, winning some sort of support from the Telugu actor and producer is a really good thing. Maybe that will help the film’s promotions as “Angry Indian Goddesses” is heading for a release on 4th December 2015.

After playing the girl-next-door in Veer, Zarine Khan plays a bold role in Hate Story 3. Zarine admits she was hesitant. “I was, to do bold scenes initially because people have always criticised me from the beginning — be it my weight, my clothes or looks. After the release of Housefull 2, I did get few offers but I turned them down since I didn’t want to disappoint the audience. But Vishal promised me that he will make me look good in the film. I trusted him.” Talking about the film she says, “Revenge has been the pivotal part of the Hate Story franchise. I can’t reveal much about the plot but it’s the story of four good-looking people where everyone has different shades. Hate Story 3 has nothing to do with Indecent Proposal. It has a lot more twists and turns. One thing I promise, the audience will be glued to the film till the end.”

Zarine was called a Katrina Kaif look-alike when she joined the industry, but the actress believes that she has been able to break away from the image. “Phew, I am very happy that finally I managed to build my own identity. I am glad that people have started knowing me for my individuality. But I won’t mind playing the younger sister of Katrina Kaif in any film, if offered!”

Zarine started her career with Salman but unlike his other protégés, Zarine’s career didn’t exactly blossom like the rest. “I had never planned to become an actor. It was mere destiny that I entered films. I will always be thankful to Salman that he introduced me to the industry. For me Veer was a dream debut and I am not at all disappointed with the way my career has shaped so far.”

Would she like to work with him again? “Of course, I do miss working with him. I recently met him on the sets of Bigg Boss 9. He once told me that I am like an innocent child.” Since co-star Daisy Shah was launched by Salman too, were there ever comparisons? “I’m okay with being compared to Daisy Shah. It’s a part of our profession.” Speaking about co-stars, “Sharman is a quiet person but a fabulous actor. Karan is a fun person. He is so witty and such a prankster, I must say!” Zarine says.

Actor-turned-director-turned singer and now the father of a teenage daughter, Farhan talks about the different roles he plays on and off screen. You’ve proved yourself in many ways. But there was a time by your own admission, when people didn’t expect much from you…
I genuinely was confused. I wasn’t ill mannered or anti-social, I would just sit watching TV and films. You can imagine, if someone sits at home for two years doing nothing, there is definitely a problem. So the only way my mom thought she could motivate me was to tell me to leave the house. She said, “I will throw you out of the house, enough of this behaviour.”

You are yourself now the father of a teenager. What’s that like?
The younger one, eight years old, is closer to me than the elder one, now 15. She prefers spending time away from me. But the younger one always has either my wife or me with her. I get to spend time with them since most of my shoots happen in Mumbai.

You started as an assistant director, how did all the other roles come along?
Slowly and gradually my interest in things increased. I always had an inclination towards music since childhood and used to love playing the guitar. At the age of 18-19, I bought my first guitar and learnt to play it myself without any training. I bought my own books and then through the Internet, learnt a lot about music. There are phases in life when you feel that you should focus only on one particular thing. So as of now, I have been shooting for I Can Do That apart from Rock On 2. While the show gives you a kick out of pushing your limits, the film is all about the two things that are closest to my heart — acting and music. I am really enjoying music as of now and through this movie, we get to do a lot of concerts and sit in music studios, creating music. There will be a time when I want to direct and will only concentrate on that.

Do you recall the time you said ‘I can do that’ to yourself?
I say ‘I can do that’ when I do anything related to work or activities like sky diving or when I got married at the age of 26 (laughs)! It’s a phrase you repeat to yourself when you take on something new and you have to try new things —that’s how one grows.

After representing Perth as a finalist for a beauty pageant, Alisha Farrer made her way to Indian television and also bagged the couple of films in Bollywood. In a chat with DC, Alisha reveals about her not so smooth journey to Hindi film industry and more.

As you are from a non-film background, how difficult was it for you to make it to Bollywood?
Back home, things were very systematic, your agency get calls and they send you for auditions and you get paid for your hard work. I had lot of trouble in running here and there in India. Out here it is very unprofessional and they also don’t pay on time. I still consider myself lucky as I kept getting films and TV shows back-to-back. I landed in India and within a week I got ‘Hotel Beautifool’.

Do you think casting couch happens in Bollywood and have you ever faced it?
Yes, I do believe in it. Couple of months back, I got a call from one of the casting director. I got few lines and then I had to perform a dance. Later, the producer of the film called me and told me that he liked my work but I need to sleep with him, I was shocked and turned down the offer. I told him that my family background doesn’t allow me to do all this.

Can you name him?
It would not be good to reveal his name. He is very renowned producer- director. I don’t want to get surrounded by any kind of controversies.

How did you get Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Love Games’?
The casting team of the film called me over for an audition. Later, Vikram saw my tape and liked my audition. I got a call from them a little later but honestly, I wasn’t expecting a great role. I thought they would consider me for a small role but I got to know that I have a big role.

Who inspired you from the Hindi film industry to enter Indian cinema?
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has so much grace and perfection. She inspired me so much to act in films. Katrina Kaif and Nargis Fakshri too inspired me since they both hailed from abroad and made their mark in Bollywood.

Do you think winning beauty pageant made your way little easier to enter Bollwyood?
No, I don’t think so. Beauty pageant is just a platform. It gives exposure but it’s about your hard work you do and luck.

Of late, Nani is emerging as a power house performer and winning accolades of both class and mass audiences alike. His biggest blockbuster has come in the form of Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi recently. What stunned anyone is the way his films got nominated for the upcoming IIFA-South awards.

Celebrating the first ever IIFA Utsav 2015, the awards committee has nominated five films under the “Best Film” category. Naturally, this year’s biggies Baahubali and Srimanthudu got a nomination in the list. And then there are three other films of which two belong to hero Nani.

Though commercially not a successful film, Patashaala got a nomination while Nani’s blockbuster hit Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi and thought provoking movie Yevade Subramanyam have joined the list. It’s stunning that a hero is giving competition to 2015’s biggies with not just one but two movies.

Apparently the winners will be picked not by the jury alone but basing the votes polled on the IIFA website and also through SMSes received to a special number. We’ve to see if Nani will come up as a surprising winner at the end.