Stop the bauxite mining !
A shutdown was observed in the tribal areas of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday to protest the state government’s nod for bauxite mining.The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended all bus services to tribal villages in view of the shutdown called by all-party committee against bauxite mining.
Shops, business and educational institutions were closed in Paderu, Arakau Valley and surrounding tribal areas. The protestors closed roads leading to Araku Borra Caves, Museum and Padmavathi Gardens in Araku Valley, a popular tourist spot about 100 km from coastal city of Visakhapatnam. Main opposition YSR Congress Party, Congress, the Left parties and tribal groups have called for the shutdown. Leaders of various parties staged a sit-in at Paderu. Even leaders of ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in some villages joined the protest.
The tribals have been opposing the bauxite mining on the ground that it will displace them, affect their livelihood and harm the environment. Police stepped up security to prevent any untoward incident. The Communist Party of India (Maoist)is also strongly opposing the bauxite mining. The state government on Wednesday approved mining lease for the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation for taking up bauxite mining in the agency area.
It diverted 1,212 hectares in Chintapalli and Jerrila reserve forest in Narsipatnam division for bauxite mining. The previous Congress regime in undivided Andhra Pradesh had permitted bauxite mining and had even entered into MoUs with few companies but due to strong protest by tribals kept them in abeyance. Then Congress MP from Araku, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, who also served as union tribal welfare minister, had taken strong objection to bauxite mining and had urged the government to cancel the MoUs.
Modi announces 80,000 cr package
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took part in a rally at the Sher-i-Kashmir stadium in Shrinagar and ofcource graced the state with a heavy package of love. It’s his first Visit to the state after BJP-PDP coalition government came to power in Kashmir.
Modi announced a 80,000 cr rupee package for the upliftment of the Jammu and Kasmir Youth and for the development of state. He said it’s just the beginning. He also promised them a 34,000 cr worth Jammu- Srinagar Highway that would make the interstate transit fastest ever.
Narendra Modi had a lot of love and desires for the state that he shared with the gathering there. He said the treasure of Delhi is for them and his heart too is with them. He made sure to show the people of Kashmir that they mattered to him more than diwali celebrations in Delhi and he wished for J&K to shape up as a modern state and regain its charisma as India’s favourite tourism destination.
On the contrary to his love for Jammu and Kashmir the common man of Andhra Pradesh state is left wondering if Modi lacks love for the state and just the sheer negligence of the centre toward the Capital deprived state of Andhra Pradesh.
Moto X Play: A strong contender
Motorola has been on a roll for the past few years, with the Moto G racking up sales in India and the Moto X proving a strong contender overseas. Once the domain of average phones and high end flagship devices past their prime, the world of mid-range smartphones is now where the competition is the most intense. With this in mind, Motorola has unveiled two versions of its higher end Moto X, the top end Style variant, and a more affordable Play version, which we tinker with, for this review. The Moto X Play comes with a fairly simple box packing the bare essentials – the phone itself, a two-part charger with a plug that sports two USB ports, a very basic pair of earphones (not the in-ear variety), and a SIM removal tool.
The phone does support Motorola’s TurboPower quick charge technology, which promises hours of extra battery life from just a few minutes on the charger, but unfortunately the included adapter is not of the TurboPower variety, so you’ll have to pick up one of those separately for rapid charging. The 5.5 inch phone does have a removable back, but the battery is sealed, and dual nano-SIMs and a microSD card can be inserted via a tray at the top of the phone next to a 3.5mm headphone jack. This back panel has a textured pattern, which provides a little additional grip and keeps away pesky fingerprints, though its slight curve and the smooth metal framing can still cause the phone to slip out of the hand occasionally. Overall quality is pretty great, except for the side buttons. While the texture that helps distinguish the power button from the volume rockers is welcome, the buttons feel a little flimsy to the touch.
Moving on to where the magic happens, the X Play’s 5.5 inch 1080p display is the IPS LCD variety, and it is very, very bright. Even with the brightness slider around the halfway mark, the screen is bright and crisp and quite legible under direct sunlight. The phone supports Motorola’s active display, which lights up the screen with interactive icons when notifications arrive. They don’t stay long, but merely picking up the phone or taking it out of the pocket triggers the display again, and allows the user to quickly access the relevant app.
The X Play keeps software gimmickry to a minimum, and purists will appreciate the clean, near-stock build of Android. The only additions are Motorola’s Migrate, Connect and Moto apps; the first two geared towards helping users transfer content to their new phone and manage devices, while the latter beefs up Google’s own personal assistant and turns it into an always on, always aware secretary ready to help you with everything from sending messages to finding out how old Matt Damon is (He’s 45, in case you were wondering). All additional software features are intuitive, such as how a custom phrase will have the phone ready to respond to queries, even if the screen is off. It isn’t always perfect, but when it works, you can comfortably be typing away on a computer and instructing your posh assistant to make an appointment or find out which movies are playing nearby.
The experience can be immensely enjoyable and slightly creepy at the same time.One of the main talking points of the phone is its massive 3630 mAh battery, and as expected, it does last a fairly long time. The Moto G is a great performer in the upper entry-level category, and the X Play bridges the gap between it and the Style perfectly. It’s not the standout choice in its price range, thanks to some strong competitors, but with Motorola’s recent track record, the promise of quick software updates, the humungous battery and the well-balanced software, the X Play is a phone that ticks the boxes that matter most.
Vinayak : Launching Akhil Was A Huge Responsibility
Filmmaker V.V. Vinayak admits he was under constant pressure while working with debut actor Akkineni Akhil, the younger son of Akkineni Nagarjuna,in the forthcoming eponymously titled Telugu film “Akhil”.”It’s always a huge responsibility to launch a star’s son. It was no different in the case of Akhil. But thankfully Nagarjuna never let the pressure affect me. Although he was concerned about his son’s big launch, he was very helpful too,” Vinayak told IANS.”Akhil” releases worldwide on Wednesday. It also features debutante Sayyeshaa. Talking about the young star in the making, Vinayak says Akhil will go a long way.
“He has the kind of determination I wish all young actors possess. He absolutely has no qualms of coming from a star’s family. He’s always willing to learn and give multiple takes if required. He has all the qualities of a full-fledged commercial hero,a he said. The film was originally slated to release on October 22 on the occasion of Dussehra, but now finally hits the screens on Diwali.
The delay in the release, Vinayak says, was due to “some graphics work”. He also denied rumours that Nagarjuna was upset with the output. “Thanks to the delay, we’re now releasing the film in more number of screens. We wouldn’t have got a wider release had we released it back then,” he said. “Nagarjuna never intervened in the creative aspects of the film. As a father, he was only concerned about giving his son the best launch, which is quite normal,” he added.
Pawan Will Make The Grand Opening This Time
It is more or less decided now. Pawan Kalyan will open the season in summer of 2016. Though there was a rumour that Sardar Gabbar Singh will release on May 11, which saw the release of Gabbar Singh. Then there was talk that the unit was keen on a date in March or in April. So, now it is more or less confirmed that the film will hit the screen on April 8. That means, Pawan Kalyan will open the summer season with a bang and any films planned around the time will need to be pushed around.
After a lot of initial hiccups, Pawan Kalyan has started shooting for the film and he has already completed the comedy and action part of the film. It is said that Kajal has just started shooting and the romance part will be shot now. The plan is to complete the film by February and then dedicate the rest of the time for promotional activity. Since Pawan Kalyan is also one of the producers, he has been taking special interest in the promotion of the film, it is said.
Rs 50 Crores With Debut Film ?
Akhil is all set for release. Though there was negative talk about the film some time back and everything looked iffy, right now, there is positive talk about the film and it has already completed the censor bit. Talk is that the film is 2 hours and 10 minutes long and many people think that will work in favour of the film.
Also, the team has released the making video of Akhil and Akhil does look hot and steps will make the girls go crazy. All this has added to the hype and news is that the buyers have shelled out Rs 45 crores expecting huge profits. So when the film hits the screen, if it manages to live up to the hype and expectations, then it is being said that the film could easily make Rs 50 crores. And if that happens, it will be an unusual record for Akhil. Probably, all over India, he would be the first debutant hero who will acquire star status with his very first film. Well, after watching the promos, all young boys and girls feel Akhil will go bang bang on the big screen.
It Took 6 Months To Choose Deepika’s Outfit
The recreation of Mughal-E-Azam’s Aaina Mahal (mirror palace) for the song Deewani Mastani for his film, Bajirao Mastani was a task for filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali as it’s a crucial scene that features all the three stars, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.
Since the focus of the song was on Deepika, it was necessary that she looked her best.
Apparently, it took the filmmaker almost six months to select the right outfit for his Mastani. Says a source, “As the song has been shot in Aaina Mahal, Sanjay didn’t want the outfit’s colour to overpower the set.
“The costume required a lot of layering and options were made in various colours like pink, red and gold. Eventually, Sanjay chose dhaani (a shade of green) as he felt it suited the setting.”
Koratala in Dilemma?
If industry grapevine is to be believed, NTR don’t want to clash it with Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Dictator and is even ready to postpone the release of his Nannaku Preamtho in order to avoid Box Office war between Nandamuri family heroes. If this happens and Nannaku Prematho is postponed, definitely it’s going to affect the schedule of his up next film (tentatively titled as Janatha Garage) to be directed by Koratala Siva.
Already, Siva has been waiting for NTR for a while and even got his script ready and is on verge of finalising the female lead. After two back-to-back hits like Mirchi, Srimanthudu, Siva is looking forward to work with Tarak.
In fact, producers Mythri Movie Makers too a bit worried as they have already announced the film’s release date as August 12, 2016 on the muhurat day itself and made all arrangements to start shooting from January. Going back now won’t look good. All in all, it’s in Tarak hands. Even if Tarak postpones Nannaku Prematho, he could join the shoot of Janata Garage. But will Tarak able to do this is the moot question. If not definitely, it’s likely to push Koratala in dilemma.
Akhil Wants To Give Complaint On Nitin
Hero Nitin and debuting youngster Akhil share a nice camaraderie. It’s Nitin who has been encouraging the Akkineni lad to take up this VV Vinayak directorial. Here’s an interesting thing.
The other day when Akhil is taking part in a Q&A session, Nitin first asked him, “hii akhil garuu, how much do u love mee?”. Meeting this naughty question in crazy style, Akhil replied, “Nenu maatallo cheppaleka pothunaanu Nithiin garu”.
Nitin’s questions haven’t stopped there. He shoot another one. “Whom do you like better in the movie.. Sayeshaa or Brahmanandam.. Dont say both!!”. This question explored the best humorist in Akhil, as he takes no time to reply, “I am going to call Trivikram garu and complain to him that you are disturbing my chat”.
The whole of Akhil’s chatting session brought new energy in fans too looking at the positivity of this youngster. His debut film “Akhil”, directed by VV Vinayak and produced by Nitin, is slated for November 11th release.
Anushka Is First To Erase Boundary
It is widely believed by film lovers that Telugu Film industry never encourages actresses who have crossed their 30s. Even during the times of Simran, Soundarya, Ramba and Ramya Krishna, it became tough to grab chances after crossing this particular age.
Right now we have the likes of Trisha (32), Nayantara (30) and Kajal (30) who have crossed the coveted mark and still ruling hearts. But guess who’s the boss of all these sirens. It’s none other than Anushka Shetty who turned 34 today.
With movies like Baahubali, Rudhramadevi and Size Zero to her credit this year, still many filmmakers are running after this hot lady and her hawa might continue for next 3-4 years. Maybe we have to proudly say that Anushka has erased the boundaries for actresses when it comes to such age limits.
As more and more content oriented films are coming in Telugu industry, actresses like Anushka who are both performers and glamour stars will continue dominate the hearts. Age is just a number for such hotties.
Young Hero to Clash with Superstar!
After a lot of dilly dallying, Raj Tarun’s Kumari 21F has finally got a release date. The movie will be releasing on Nov 20. Directed by newcomer Surya Pratap, the film is maiden production venture of Sukumar who also provided story, screenplay for the film.
First-timer heroine Hebah Patel is seen as Raj Tarun’s romantic interest in this bold, refreshing story. Since the film has work by top technicians like music director Devi Sri Prasad, DOP Rathnavelu, there is good buzz surrounding the film.
Meanwhile, superstar Kamal Haasan and Trisha starrer Cheekati Rajyam is also scheduled for release on same day. This film too has good buzz considering that maverick Kamal, who is genius of cinema, is returning to Telugu cinema with a straight film.It needs to be seen who will come out with flying colours.
Kona Didn’t Do Justice to HER
Writer Kona Venkat is one of the most sought-after screenplay writers in Telugu film industry. Kona along with Gopi Mohan have worked with almost all the top stars in the industry and have star-studded films in hand including Balayya’s Dictator.
However, Kona got so busy recently as he even turned into producer with Geethanjali which was a sleeper hit last year. With the film’s director Raj Kiran making his second film, and almost for a similar genre, naturally Kona was the choice.
This time, Kona Venkat teamed up with Veligonda Srinivas and the duo together penned the screenplay for horror-thriller Tripura. The film released this Friday opened to mixed reviews and critics hit out at film’s pathetic screenplay, disengaging direction and poor production values. Many are wondering how could Kona provide such a screenplay.
Even Swathi is of the opinion that Kona who provided good work for Anjali’s Geetanjali, hasn’t done justice to her, her film. Now gossip mongers predict that Kona would distant himself from the project as it did’nt get good talk just like what he did for Bruce Lee.
