RGV to launch Homam Music

Ramgopal Varma will be launching the audio of Homam, a Jagapati Babu starrer, on August 3rd in Hyderabad. This film is directed by the actor JD Chakravarthy and production is by Kiran Kumar Koneru. Nitin Raikwar scores music. Theatrical release is planned in the last week of August. The logo and posters were launched in April during the final match of Indian Cricket League. JD Chakravarty also plays another vital role. Mamata Mohandas plays the female lead.

Ravi Teja's Baladoor on Aug 14

Baladhoor, starring Ravi Teja and Anushka, on Suresh Productions banner with Uday Shankar directing it will be releasing worldwide on August 14th. Tri Color Movies is releasing the film overseas with 14 prints. The audio with music scored by KM Radhakrishna was released yesterday and is declared an instant chartbuster. After Vikramarkudu, the lead pair has come to repeat their performance in Baladhoor.

Yasho Sagar with Sekhar Kammula?

Sekhar Kammula is going to direct Yasho Sagar's next film, sources said. BC Somu, the hero's father will produce the flick on their home production Amrut Arts banner. Earlier, at a press meeting, the producer himself said he was interested to make a film with Sekhar Kammula. Further details are awaited. Currently, Yasho Sagar's debut film Ullasanga Utsahanga in the direction of Karunakaran is into its sixth day run today.

Gopichand - Anushka's flick is Sowryam

Gopichand-Anushka starrer on Bhavya Creations is titled Sowryam. It is produced by V. Anand Prasad in the direction Siva, a debutant. Producer said that the film is about the exploits of a daredevil youth who finally achieves a powerful goal. But for three songs, the film's shoot if finished. Songs will be canned in Swiss from Aug 10th and the film is planned to release in the second week of September. Gopichand is hopeful that the film would surpass the expectations of his previous films. Music is by Mani Sharma. Camera is handled by Vetrivel and dialogues are by M. Ratnam.

Kathanayakudu / Kuselan Movie Review

Story :
Balakrishna(Jagapathi babu) is a poor barber who leads a miserable life in Sirisilla with wife Sridevi (Meena) & 3 children.His Childhood friend Ashok kumar(Rajinikanth) is now a Superstar.Ashok kumar& his film crew comes to Sirisilla for a filmshooting.So the whole village,including his family,converges around Balakrishna seeking his favour for a meeting with the Superstar. Balakrishna is reluctant to approach the star thinking that Ashok kumar may have forgotten his lowly friend in these intervening years.Does the rich n famous Superstar remember his childhood buddy?does he values friendship ? is the rest of the story.

Highlights:
It isn't a regular Rajinikanth kind of mass masala movie.But the film almost resembles his ideology as a person.The Superstar should be lauded for his bold attempt to act in an offbeat subject.(though masala incorporated !)
Unlike other Rajini's films The film has an all Telugu cast Jagapathi babu,MS Narayana,Ali, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam,Sunil,Brahmanandam(guest role),Ananth,Duvvasi Mohan et al.
Comedy is good,Dialogue writer Marudhuri Raja did a commendable job in this aspect.
Climax is good.Rajini's speech in the climax is the lifeline of the movie.
Cinematography(Aravind Krishna),Art(Thota Tarani) are Good.
Jagapathi babu,Meena are adequate.
Nayanatara portrayed her real life role as actress Nayanatara.

Sidelights:
There are a lot of dull and boring moments.
Comedians got more footage than the lead characters.
Screenplay isn't that good.

Etc.,Etc.,
Rajinikanth told something about his larger than life image,his frequent trips to Himalayas & his political entry .

Public Talk : Just an Ok flick.it's Watchable for Rajinikanth,Comedy & Climax if you have got 'some' patience.
Industry Talk : May not work in Telugu.Hardly an average fare.

Nitin and Bhavana in love?

The latest news doing the rounds in Tollywood is that young hero Nitin has fallen for the charms of Kerala beauty Bhavana. Are they really in love or just another rumor that occasionally plagues the Tollywood?

Both of them are now acting together in a film titled ‘Hero’ directed by GV (who plays villain roles in movies) and is produced by Manyam Ramesh. Bhavana has entered into Telugu films with Gopichand’s Ontari.

Although, the film is still under progress, rumors about the off screen romance about Nitin and Bhavana are circulating thick and fast. Some see it as 'promotional gimmick' too!

Rajni’s magic: 60 minutes, 60 Crores!

Tamil superstar Rajnikant means business! His last film, Shivaji, was the highest grocer in South India and stood on par with a Bollywood blockbuster. His popularity cuts across the regions. Hence even if he makes a guest appearance in a movie, the film sells like a hot cake. That is exactly what happened in the case of Kathanayakudu/Kuselan.

He is not the real ‘Kathanayakudu’ (star) of the story; he just appears for about 60 minutes in the movie. Rest of the movie is driven by Jagapathi Babu in Telugu and Pasupathi in Tamil.

Yet, both the Telugu and Tamil versions was done about Rs 60 Crores business. Pyramid Saimira has bought the theatrical exhibition rights for that sum.

That means, each minute of Rajni’s presence in the movie fetched Rs One Crore! Rajni is true superstar in South India.

Bhaskar’s next with Ram Charan Teja

Director Bhaskar who made debut with Bommarillu is preparing script for his next film. Reliable sources told us that his next movie would be with Ram Charan Teja. Soon after Ram Charan finishing his current film directed by Rajamouli, he will be start working for Bhaskar’s love story. Naga Babu will produce this movie on Anjana Productions banner.

Although Lawrence and Karunakaran are also in the race to direct Ram Charan’s third movie, Chiranjeevi is in favour of Bhaskar. Chiru likes Bhasker’s way of presenting the story. Chiru liked Bhaskar’s Bommarillu and Parugu.

NTR aims for ‘Sankranthi hit’ this time!

Getting blockbuster in the lucrative ‘Sankranthi’ season is like a dream come true for any hero. History tells us that Late NTR, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and Krishna had delivered their biggest hits during that period. So every hero tries to release their films on Sankranthi and rake in big moolah but only few succeed.

NTR too nurses the same dream. Ever since his highly hyped Naga (released on Jan 10, 2003) and Andhrawala (released on Jan 1, 2004) bombed at the Box-office, he has been trying to get a blockbuster during the Sankranthi/January period. This time he hopes to get that magic success in January with director V V Vinayak’s film. This year, Vinayak tasted big success with Krishna starring Ravi Teja during Sankranthi. So NTR believes that the same sentiment will work again in Jan 2009.

NTR and Vinayak’s film is hitting the floors on August 12th and will be wrapped up its shooting by this December. So Vinayak is confident that their film would be ready to hit the screens on Sankranthi. The untitled film has Ileana as the heroine and Devi Sri Prasad scores the music. Kodali Nani and Vamsi are producing it.

‘Yes, I’m coming in August’ - Chiranjeevi

Megastar Chiranjeevi has finally let out his political plans. On Tuesday, he interacted with a couple of journalists and cleared the ambiguity surrounding his political entry. “Yes, I am entering into politics in August,” he has confirmed the political plans. Here is sum of what he said..

• Party will be announced in the third week of August
• 20 names are under consideration for party
• After announcing the party, a huge meeting will be held in Tirupati
• A whirlwind tour across the state in two months
• Will take stand on Telangana according to the wishes of people
• 70 percent seats will be catered to youth
• 30 percent seats are reserved for senior politicians and mega fans

Gorintaku: Biggest hit in Rajashekar’s career!

Hero Rajashekar bounces back with a bang. He is really having great time these days after the success of ‘Evdaithey Nakenti’. Now, his latest release, Gorintaku, a sentiment drama, is all set to become biggest hit in his entire career. The film is doing phenomenal business in rural areas.

The surprising news is that the film is breaking some of the records of big heroes in Andhra and Ceded areas. In Guntur district, it is doing the business in the range of top heroes’ films. Trade pundits predict that it might end up with Rs 12 Crores all over the state.

No one expected that this sentimental drama will put Rajashekar back on ‘hot seat’. Irony is that the film is co-produced by N V Prasad who is right hand man to Megastar Chiranjeevi. And as we all know, Rajashekar has been fighting against Chiru

18 Kathanayakudu prints overseas

Kathanayakudu has been censored with U certificate, 2 hours and 35 minutes is the running time. Rajinikanth appears for 60 minutes, Jagapathy Babu plays the main hero role with Bramanandham and Sunil donning comedy roles. 18 Telugu Prints are being shipped from Hydrebad to US on Tuesday, the movie will release on Friday August across major cities. Expectations are high as the malayalam version was the highest grossing movie last year, in addition to Rajinikath co-starting with Jagapathy babu. Last 20 minuets, climax of the movie talks about friendship and is very emotional between Rajinikanth and Jagapathy babu, which will be highlight and stay in audience heart and mind for a while.

Nayantara starts Kuselan publicity

Hot heroine Nayantara flagged off a mobile publicity van of Kuselan in Chennai. A big van with posters of Rajni in stylish attires fixed to it both sides will reach all the arterial junction in the metropolis, before taking to the overall state tour. The launch comes in the wake of the film's release on August 1. Inside the van, rare pics of Rajnikanth from the yesteryears film Apurvaragangal to the present day Kuselan has been displayed for public viewing. Director P. Vasu was also present at the function.

Sunil's Banthi from Jan 2009

The buzz over SS Rajamouli's proposed film with comedian Sunil with its title in unofficial circulation – Banthi, was gone a couple of months ago. But, it has surfaced again that the flick would be launched in January 2009. It is said that star writer turned mass director Trivikram Srinivas has readied the script for this film. Though the name of Surender Reddy also surfaced in the past that he would direct the film, it didn't happen as Reddy was said to have opted out fearing being branded as comedy director. The title Banthi is based on the name of Sunil's character in Nuvvu Naku Nachchav.

Rajnikanth's heartfelt appeal

Controversies seem to dog Rajnikanth's new Tamil film Kuselan. The latest is that Rajnikanth has requested the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to facilitate the release of his film in the state on August 1.

His letter said that it was not his intention to hurt the feelings of anyone when he spoke at the protest rally organised by the Tamil Nadu Film Artists Association.

"I understand that some people in Karnataka are still feeling bitter and pained over what I spoke on the Hogenakal water issue. This has really saddened me. I am not a person who would hurt the feelings of anyone. It is not my habit to make any person bitter with my behaviour or speech. I have always believed that I should not create bitterness or difficulties to the people. This is my desire and ambition," wrote Rajnikanth in his letter addressed to Jayamala, the newly elected president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. 

The letter written in chaste Kannada overwhelmed many in the Kannada film industry. That the superstar could be so prolific in a language he had studied in school amazed some of them. 

Reiterating that his films in Karnataka are viewed not only by Tamilians but also by Kannadigas and people speaking different languages, releasing Kuselan in the state should not pose any difficulty.

Meanwhile, taking note of the letter, Jayamala said that Kuselan will be released on August 1 as planned with ten prints in thirteen theatres across Bangalore. As number of prints has been restricted, Jayamala urged the pro-Kannada activists to forget all the bitterness.

NTR releases Vishal’s 'Salute' music

Hero NTR unveiled the music cassettes of Vishal’s forthcoming film - Salute. Charmee was also graced the event as the guest for the audio launch ceremony that was held today (Monday, July 28th) at Taj Krishna in a grand manner. Huge arrangements were made and gathering was also large. V V Vinayak, Suresh Krishna, G K Reddy and Dil Raju also graced the event. The film’s producer Vikram Krishna and his wife and actress Shriya Reddy attended together an event for the first time post their marriage.

NTR has all praise for Vishal. “I had seen his Pandem Kodi and felt bad not getting such beautiful film for me. It has remained one of my favorites. Vishal is doing right projects and tasting success. I wish him a great success with Salute too,” he wished.

“After D Ramanaidu, only G K Reddy has the distinction of having a popular hero and successful producer as sons. It is nice to see Vishal transforming into a macho hero,” Vinayak said.

Dil Raju informed the press that he is distributing the film in Nizam and Vizag areas.

Director Suresh Krishna shared his happiness over his disciple Rajashekar turning director. “He worked with me about 7 years as associate. Rajashekar has really come up with good product. The trailer is awesome. Vishal is a big hero in Tamilnadu. I wish him the best in Telugu too,” Suresh Krishna said.

Vishal said that the subject of the film is interesting and would surely be appreciated by the class audiences and masses as well. “I play the role of a cop. Police stories are very common but the director has dealt it uniquely. Haaris Jayaraj has given some great numbers. I believe this is my best audio,” he said.

Charmee wished the team all the best.

Film industry: No ‘Kamma’, ‘Kapu’ divide!

K S Rama Rao has been elected as new President for Film Chamber of Commerce. In intense elections, he won the post by the huge margin but it was also marred by the controversies.

Rumors were rife that all the producers belonging to dominant ‘Kamma’ caste voted in favour of Rama Rao just to put Allu Aravind’s camp down. Although Allu Arvind was initially fielded for the post, he and his group walked out of the elections. But the rumors grew in thick that the increasing ‘Kamma’/Kapu divide or Pro-Chiru/Anti-Chiru divide has further strengthened with Rama Rao’s win.

Reacting to these rumors and speculation in a section of media, the industry bigwigs denied the divide in Tollywood. Speaking to reports on Monday (July 28, 2008), they said, ‘we are all one.’

Dasarath's film with Prabhas?

Dasarath is going to be the captain of the ship for a film with hero Prabhas with Dil Raju producing it on his Sree Venkateswara Creations banner, sources said. Dasarath known for his soft and family-oriented subjects is said to have prepared the outline of his project with lighter vein elements, unlike Prabhas' out and out action flicks with serious tones. Though Prabhas did such soft roles in films like Krishnavamsi's Chakram, it didn't click commercially, but brought critical acclaim for him. Further details are awaited.

Sneha Ullal for Nag Chaitanya

Sneha Ullal, who proved her mettle with her debut film Ullasanga Utsahanga, is mostly likely to be the heroine for Naga Chaitanya for his debut film to be directed by debutant Vasu Varma under Dil Raju's production. Of late, there has been a frantic search for the heroine for Nag Chaitanya. Sources said that Dil Raju, who released Karunakaran's UU, got impressed with Ullal's performance and the same is being welcomed by the would-be hero.

Manjari in Maska?

Manjari Fadnis, one of the two heroines of and Allari Naresh's yet-to-be released film, is going to be one of the two heroines in MS Raju's film Maska, starring Ram as hero, it is learnt. The other heroine is already fixed as Hansika Motwani. B. Gopal directs the film. Manjari, who came into limelight with Jane Tu Ya Jane Na, recently, now made her debut with Siddhu from Sikakulam. Earlier, she debuted into Bollywood with the film Rok Sako To Rok Lo (2004).