31st March 2003

Harivillu enters Cannes film festival
D Rama Naidu's yet-to-be-released children film 'Harivillu' entered the prestigious Cannes film festival to be held at Paris from 14th May 2003 to 25th May 2003. B Narsing Rao directed this film that has only 5 characters. This film is about a cancer-stuck child who is in search of definition of the term death. This film would be releasing on 2nd of April 2003 as Ugaadi special. D Rama Naidu is going to take the best producer Nandi award for 'Preminchu' on 1st April from CM Chandra Babu Naidu. On 2nd April, another award-oriented film Harivillu is releasing. Two days of celebrations for the Telugu movie moghul D Rama Naidu!

CM to grace the 100 days function of Okkadu
Prince Mahesh Babu is going to give the most precious birthday gift to his father Superstar Krishna on his birthday (31st May) this year. He is going to have the 100 days function of the industry hit of the year 'Okkadu' held at Merchant Association Grounds in Gollapudi, Vijayawada (the same venue where Indra 175 days function was held). CM Chandra Babu Naidu has been invited as the chief guest. The function would start at 6 pm.

30th March 2003

NTR Malli Puttaadu details
There is lot of similarity in the looks of current hero NTR and the legend NTR. A movie is coming up with a title called 'NTR Malli Puttaadu' that is based on the similarity we are talking about. This film is going to be a full-fledged socio fantasy film with a good political touch. This film would feature both Legend NTR and current NTR. Sunil Narang - the man behind Asian Film Distributors of Nizam area - is going to produce this film. More details later!!

NTR injured in Simhadri shooting
NTR is injured while doing a stunt composed by fight master Vijayan for the film 'Simhadri' on 29th of March 2003. This injury caused 13 stitches to NTR. The doctors asked NTR to take rest till Tuesday. Incidentally, NTR had similar kind of injury while shooting for 'Aadi' and that film went on to become a blockbuster. This sentiment is like a blessing in disguise for NTR. So, sentimentally Simhadri should also become a big hit!

28th March 2003

Chiru to clap on NTR
Chiranjeevi is going to clap the muhurat shot on NTR on 11th of April 2003. Akkineni Nagarjuna would start the camera for this occasion. Poori Jagannath - NTR combination film 'Andhrawala' is going to have its muhurat on that day. Rakshita is signed as heroine. Raju - Giri would produce this venture on Venkateswara Arts banner.

Johnny music launch in UK
Uday Kiran is going to launch the audio CD of Pawan Kalyan's Johnny officially on the evening of 29th March 2003 at 'Pepper Pot Pub' in London. Uday Kiran has gone to UK to attend the 'Ugadi Celebrations' out there. The duo of Teja - RP is expected to release the audio CD on 30th of March in this function. Telugu cinema music is officially going places! Is it not?

Music magic on 11th April
The latest 3-D film 'Music Magic' is going to release on 11th April. This 3-D film is being simultaneously released in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. Appachan, who produced Chinnari Chetana -the first 3-D film in Telugu -, is presenting this film. SP Balu is acting as magician in a vital role. Dancing star Prabhudeva is also doing an important role. Jose directs this 3-D film that is stuffed with lots of special effects.

26th March 2003

Telugu film celebs for Ugadi in UK
A host of Telugu film celebrities are thronging to UK to celebrate Ugadi with the Telugu community out there. These celebrities include Uday Kiran, Teja, Murali Mohan, MM Keeravani, Chakri, Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry, RP Patnaik, Usha, Kausalya, Ghantasala Ratna Kumar, G Anand and Kavitha Krishna Murthy. These celebrations are going to be held on 30th of March at Stourbridge Town Hall in West Midlands, UK. There would also be performances by the above-mentioned singers and music directors.

25th March 2003

Nandi Awards function on 1st of April
Nandi Awards for the year 2000 and 2001 would be jointly given away at a function held on 1st April 2003. Raghupati Venkaiah award would also be presented to Allu Rama Laingaiah and TL Kantha Rao for the year 2000 and 2001 respectively. CM Chandra Babu Naidu, Devender Goud, Bandaru Dattatreya, Somireddy Chandra Mohan Reddy, K Vijaya Rama Rao, T Srinivasa Yadav, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and K Raghavendra Rao would attend and preside over the function. The selection of Nandi awards for the year 2002 is currently going on. The results would be announced soon and a function to give away those awards would be held in the month of October 2003.

Bhumika in Hindi films
Bhumika Chawla, in spite of being a girl from Mumbai, has to prove herself in Telugu before entering in to Bollywood. As per the confirmed reports, Bhumika Chawla is acting in a couple of remakes from south. She is acting in 'Tera Naam' (a remake of Tamil Sethu and Telugu Seshu) and she is paired up with Salman Khan in that film. She is also acting in Hindi remake of Tamil hit 'Run' opposite Abhishek Bachchan.

Taarak calendar
NT Rathnaa's 3rd film - Taarak - is going to release 11th of April 2003. On this eve, the producer has released free calendar that features Legend NTR in 'Maha Vishnu' getup. It also contains many more images of Taraka Rathnaa. The audio of Taarak that was released in the last week has got very good response.

24th March 2003

Johnny audio's break even in 1st batch
Like movie openings, the audio openings also depend more on the star than the substance. When a big audio is coming up, the audio maker tries to cash in the opening craze by releasing maximum number of cassettes. This craze went to the peak when Aditya music has released the much-awaited 'Johnny' album on 24th of March 2003. The official figure of the 1st bunch is 6 lakhs of cassettes, which are priced at Rs. 40/- and Rs 42/- each for the buyers in AP and outside AP respectively. Another bunch of the audio CDs are expected to be dispatched in a couple of days. Now lets come to the statistics. The thumb rule in the music industry is that, the audio producer (who has recording unit and other accessories in his hand) makes a profit of Rs 20/- on each original audiocassette sold in the market. If 6 lakhs of the albums are released, the audio producer is stand to make 1.2 crores if all the cassettes are sold. As per the unconfirmed reports, the rights of Johnny audio are sold for a staggering amount of 1.15 crores (highest when it was sold). This implies that Aditya music is going to make a breakeven with the first batch of the audio itself. After initial frenzy, the sales would again gain momentum after film's release if film becomes a blockbuster. Hence the Aditya audio producer is eagerly waiting for Johnny to become a good hit so that he can mint money.

23rd March 2003

It's teamwork for Teja
If you think that the films of Teja are the results of 'one-man-show', you are grossly mistaken. He let the right person do the right job and at the same time involve all the technicians that matter in making of the movie. You can find the choreographer Shankar and editor Shankar on the sets of Nijam most of the time though their presence is not required. They assist Teja in every possible dimension to make their own difference to the film. At the same time, when choreographer Shankar is directing the dances in the film, Teja does not even bother to have a look at the monitor of the shoot, as he believes his technicians so much. With so much of teamwork, Mahesh Babu's Nijam is coming out extremely well to satiate the unlimited expectations and thirst of Mahesh fans all over the world.

It's like shooting my first film - KL Narayana
Kshanakshanam, Hello Brother, Intlo Illalu Vantitlo Priyuralu, Dongodu and Santosham - there are the five consecutive hits delivered by KL Narayana of Durga Arts banner. When we spoke to KL Narayana recently, he opined that he is putting all his track record behind and working for his new venture with Tarun as if this is his first film. KL Narayana felt that though he puts all his honest hardwork in to the film, the luck has to favor in many ways to make the film become a blockbuster. It's nice to see such a humble producers who speak down-to-earth in spite of delivering blockbusters. The term 'hardwork' never betrayed anybody in the film industry.

Navveen has no takers
The change of name is not changing the fortunes for the hero Navveen. Navveen changed his name from Naveen to Navveen. His latest flick Dhanush has been lying in docks for the past 9 months. There are no takers for his film. And the producer is not daring to release it on his own. Kiran Gill is making her debut in Telugu through this film. Dina - who made debut with disastrous 'Adrustam' - scored music for this film. N Srinivas is making his debut as director through 'Dhanush'.

22nd March 2003

Urvasi Sarada after a long gap
Urvasi Sharada - the most versatile Telugu actress who made a name for herself in all South Indian Languages - is acting again in a Telugu film after a gap of almost 4 years. She last acted in Krishna Vamsi's faction film 'Anthahpuram'. This film is the production number 75 by Usha Kiron Movies. Kasi Viswanath - of Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu fame - is directing this film. Nandamuri Kalyan Ram is making his debut as hero. Urvasi Sarada is acting as grandmother of the heroine 'Akanksha'. 30% of the shooting is completed so far. Chakri provides music. Paruchuri brothers are penning dialogues. Sekhar V Joseph handles camera. Ramoji Rao is producing this film.

21st March 2003

Cricket Favs: Balayya or Chiru?
In an interview given to the anchor-sensation Swathy (of MAA TV) during Tollywood Cricket on 2nd of February 2003, Balayya chose Australia as his favorite to win the world cup. Chiranjeevi chose India to be his hot favorite for the world cup. The original choices of the two superstars of Telugu cinema are pitted against each other in the grand finale on 23rd of March 2003. Chiru and Balayya chose two teams and these two teams made it to the final. This incident proves the decision-making power and gut feelings of these two stars (Chiru and Balayya). We have to wait and see who wins the world cup! The AP film exhibitors are making every arrangement to exhibit cricket match live on big screen in each and every town. In Kakinada town, semi final matches were shown in 3 theaters. The final is going to be shown in 5 theaters in Kakinada on 23rd of this month.

20th March 2003

Johnny merchandize by Archies
The creative team of Johnny is taking the help of Archies for manufacturing and distribution of Johnny merchandize. The Johnny merchandise includes wall posters, T shirts, cargos, tattoos, pens, notepads etc. A quantity of 25,000 audio posters is released into the market on 20th of March 2003. Audio of Johnny is expected on 24th March 2003. For the first time in the history of USA, an official version of audio CD is releasing simultaneously on 24th of March. As per the unconfirmed reports, Johnny is going to release in USA simultaneously with 7 prints.

Shatrughna Sinha in Yadardham
As per the industry buzz, the parliamentarian and the Union Minister for BJP outfit Mr. Shatrughna Sinha is being roped in to play a special role in Dasari's social film 'Yadardham' starring Vijaya Shanti. This film is aimed at the corruption that is being done is corporate educational institutes and hospitals. This film sports 7 satirical songs composed by Vandemataram. Sesha Sai Creations that produced Dasari's 'Fools' is producing Yadardham. Shooting of this film would start on 27th of March and would be completed in a single schedule.

ANR to be felicitated at Mumbai
Rasamayi Foundation would felicitate veteran actor and Dada Phalke Award winner ANR in Mumbai on 24th March 2003. This felicitation would be held in Nehru Center. Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal would attend as guests. The other invitees for this function are Dr. Subbirami Reddy, Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, Jaya Prada, Talluri Rameswari and Jhonny Lever.

19th March 2003

Azhar in a Telugu Film
Former cricketer Md. Azharuddin would be making his first ever film debut through 'Anaganaga O Kurraadu' starring Rohit and Rekha. Azhar would be playing his real-life character as Azhar who encourages and inspires a talented cricketer Rohit to make it big in the game. LP Rama Rao - an associate of Poori Jagannath - is making debut through this film. Poori Jagannath provides story. Audio of this film is released in Padmalaya studios on 18th of this month. Chakri provided the music. Kona Venkat writes dialogues.

50k profit for RTC depot through Balayya
The RTC depot of Narsaraopet made a profit of Rs 50,000/- by arranging special RTC buses to Kotappakonda on the eve of Balayya's film shooting. This 50k profit was made for one day on Monday. The shooting is expected to last till 20th in Kotappakonda. Balayya fans and other interested movie lovers thronged to Kotappakonda by buses and Commanders (a type of jeeps like Sumos) from the interiors of Palnadu.

Nijam CD release in UK
After successfully releasing the audiocassette of Nijam in Sharjah and Kuwait, the duo of Teja - RP Patnaik are planning to release the audio CD of Nijam in UK on 30th of March 2003. Other details are being worked out. The audio of this film might hit the market on 2nd April on the eve of Ugaadi (Telugu new year).

Mohan Babu in the direction of Suresh Krishna
Suresh Krishna would be directing the next Sri Lakshmi Prasanna banner film with Mohan Babu as hero. This film would go to floors on May or June 2003. With this, the family of Mohan Babu would be having three working heroes (father Mohan Babu and sons Vishnu Vardhan and Manoj Kumar) and a prospective director Prasanna Lakshmi. She would be making her debut as director soon.

17th March 2003

Balayya in Kotappakonda
Balayya - who took a day off by staying at Dr. Kodela Siva Prasad's residence at Narsaraopet on 16th of March 2003 - is shooting for Venkataramana Productions venture at Kotappakonda today (17th March). A vital scene of 'Kodi Pandaalu' is being shot in holy hillock of Kotappakonda. The Palnadu schedule of this film is expected to last for 7 days.

Live Cricket matches in C centers halls
If you think Hitech Theater of Hyderabad is the only cinema hall that is hsowing cricket matches, then you are grossly mistaken. We have observed that cinema halls in C centers like Pidugurala, Macherla and Karampudi in Palnadu area are playing live cricket matches in theaters. The tickets are priced at Rs. 75/-, Rs. 50/- and Rs. 25/- each.

Another grandson of NTR makes movie debut
Chaitanya Krishna - the son of Jaya Krishna and the grand son of Legend NT Rama Rao - is making his debut as hero as one among the foursome gang of boys in 'Dhum' (Dhammunte Preminchu) that is being produced by Radhika in Radon mediaworks banner. Jagapati Babu plays the vital role of encouraging the love of these four youngsters in the film. Soni, Neha and Swapna Madhuri are the heroines that are selected for this film so far. Ramana Gogula provides music. Raju directs this film.

16th March 2003

RP's charity concert for TTD
RP Patnaik is going to hold a musical night on 11th of May 2003 at Tirupati. This show would be a big concert with around 2 lakhs of music lovers attending it. The tickets for this concert does not have any fixed prices. The interested music lovers can buy the ticket by giving whatever money they want to donate. The money collected from this show would be transferred to 'Praanadaata' (TTD free health services) scheme for Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam (TTD). More details later!

Chiru as Chief Guest for abroad functions
Chiranjeevi is giving nod to attend all the Telugu related functions that are happening outside India. He was among the one of the chief guests for 5th world Telugu Federation Conference that was held at Singapore on 29th of December 2002. He recently attended the 'Nijam' audio function as chief guest at Sharjah. He would be attending the TANA (Telugu Association of Northern America) 2003 at San Jose as chief guest on the weekend of 4th July 2003. He has also recently accepted to be the chief guest for the 'Star Shows' that are going to happen in Malaysia and Singapore on 7th and 8th of June 2003 respectively.

Balayya in Narsaraopet
Balayya is currently in Narsaraopet to shoot for his latest film in the direction of B Gopal. In a pressmeet arranged at the Dr. Kodela Siva Prasad's house, Bala Krishna thrashed the questions that speculated his entrance into the politics. He recently finished the Mysore schedule in which an awesome train-chase sequence was picturised. B Gopal - who give continuous hits with Balayya in the form of Lorry Driver, Rowdy Inspector, Samarasimha Reddy and Narasimha Naidu - is all set to repeat the magic for the fifth time.

15th March 2003

Aditya Om turns director
Aditya Om - who made his debut as hero with 'Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo' - is turning director for the 2nd silent film that is being made in India after Kamal Hassan's Pushpak. L Rambabu Varma - who is working as a cine journalist for Superhit magazine - is producing this film on RV Arts banner. Nandana Sen - the daughter of Nobel award winner Amartya Sen - is acting as heroine in this film. Monty,who provided background music for Devdas film is providing music for this silent film. Najib Khan and Daboo Devan - who handled photography for Bollywood films like Gaddar and Stumped are handling camera for this film. Hero Om Aditya has experience of directing 200 episodes of TV serials. Veteran actor Naresh is doing the role of negative shades for this film. Vijay Varma presents this film. This film would have two versions. One is in regular format of 2 and half hours for Telugu. The other version would be a 1 and half hour international version. Ghantadi Krishna also handles music. Brahmanandam, Sandesh, Rajendra Gupta, Vizag Prasad, Gundu Hanumantha Rao.Gowtam Raju, Ironleg Sastry, Chittibabu, Anant, Lakshmipati, Ramaprabha, Apoorva, Jyoti are playing other characters. This film would be ready for the release in the month of May.

MAA Star Show in Malaysia and Singapore
After the super success of Star Cricket in the first week of February 2003, MAA (Movie Artists Association) is planning to have a MAA Star Night in Malaysia and Singapore on 7th of 8th of June 2003. A team consisting of 85 people (40 artists, 20 musicians, 20 dancers and 5 technicians) would be traveling for the MAA shows. During these shows, ANR and D Rama Naidu would be conferred with Millennium Hero and Millennium Producer awards respectively.

Speculations over Tagore heroine
Lots of speculations are happening about the 2nd heroine of Chiranjeevi's Tagore film. Names like Namitha, Simran and Kalyani names were popped up earlier. The other heroine's names that are being currently speculated for the same role are Bhumika Chawla, Amisha Patel and Madhuri Dixit. This role is done by Simran in Tamil version. We have to wait and see who would be confirmed for this 'flashback' role. Shriya is playing the main heroine role in this film.

Simran in Prabhas 'Raghavendra'
Simran has given a nod to do a special song for a Prabhas film in production 'Ragahvendra'. This song would be shot on Simran and Prabhas from 16th March onwards. The audio of this film was recently released on 14th of this month. Anshu and Swetha Agarwal are playing heroines. This film is all set for the release on 28th of this month.