30th March 2004

Charmi with Sumanth
Charmi is selected as heroine for Sravanthi Ravi Kishore's film starring Sumanth. She would be entering sets from 8th April onwards. Sumanth is playing the role of 'Gowri Shankar' in this film. Ramana - a protégé of Ram Gopal Varma - is directing this action film in Varma style. Charmi entered Telugu film industry with 'Nee Thodu Kavali' and she is currently acting in Krishna Vamsi's 'Sri Anjaneyam'. She was also screen tested for Sravanthi Ravi Kishore's film 'Nuvve Nuvve' in the past. Koti provides music. Marudhuri Raja provides dialogues. This film is a remake of Tamil hit Thirumalai.

Pepsi spends 70 lakhs on Nani
Pepsi cola is going to spend Rs. 70 lakhs in mutual promotion campaign of Mahesh Babu's Nani and Pepsi. Pepsi has prepared a gift kit that consists of Nani's black cap (see this photo), black t shirt, blue knapsack and a Pepsi bottle. Thousands of these gift packs would be distributed to the fans of Mahesh Babu. Pepsi is also doing out door publicity and campaign for Naani very heavily. Naani is all set for 30th April 2004 release.

Tarun injured
Tarun suffered a right leg injury recently. The doctors have suggested 4-week rest to him. Tarun is supposed to go to New Zealand to attend the shoot on 25th of this month. It was cancelled due to this reason. The second schedule of this film would start in the last week of next month. Jayant Paranji directs this film.

29th March 2004

Nagarjuna films details
Jyothika is acting as heroine in Nagarjuna's film 'Mass' (Dammunte Kasko) in the direction of Lawrence. Shooting of this film is going on at present. There would be another heroine in this film who is yet to be selected. Devi Sri Prasad provides music. Nagarjuna would be acting in a Telugu film to be directed Puri Jagan in the second half of 2004. Trisha is being considered as heroine in this film. It may be to known to the visitors that Trisha was supposed to do 'Shivamani' and she was replaced by Rakshita later.

Adavi Ramudu on 29 April
The most popular mass song of 1980's 'Aresukoboyi Paresukunnanu' is being reused for Prabhas's latest film 'Adavi Ramudu' (Eka Love You di katha). This song is being canned from yesterday at Annapurna studios on Prabhas and Arti Agarwal in the dance direction of Raja Sekhar. Same lyrics of original are being used. Niece of Suseela sang this song along with SP Balu. A special song would be pictured on Prabhas and Ramya Krishna from 1st April onwards. This film is going to sport 4-5 minutes of graphics work. Producer Chanti Addala is planning to release audio by 10th April. This movie is tentatively slated for 29th April 2004 release. B Gopal directs this film on Friendly Movies banner. Mani Sharma provides music.

Rajamouli-Prabhas film details
SS Rajamouli would be doing an ultimate mass entertainer with Prabhas as hero from September 2004 onwards. BVSN Prasad produces this film on Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra banner. This film would start after the completion of Prabhas's film in the direction of Krishna Vamsi. Vijayendra Prasad provides story. M Rathnam pens dialogues. MM Keeravani scores music. Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao edits this film.

27th March 2004

S sentiment for SS Rajamouli
SS Raja Mouli is sticking to the sentiment of titling his films that starts with S. His first two films are 'Student No.1' and 'Simhadri'. His latest film under production is 'Sye', with Nitin and Genelia in the main leads. Breaking this sentiment, he has recently registered the title of Mahanandi for his forthcoming film. 70% of shooting of Sye is completed so far. Audio of this film is expected in the month end of May. Sye is all set to hit the marquee in the month of June 2004.

Rama Krishna claims Sridevi
Rama Krishna - who belongs to Guntur - claimed recently that film actress Sridevi married him in 1992 on 15th of March. Later on she left him to get married to Boney Kapoor. He has recently lodged a petition regarding the same at a court in Chennai. The same Rama Krishna claimed in 1980 that he married film actress Jaya Prada. He also claimed that he married a lady IAS officer in 1991. In 1992, he claimed that he married Priyanka Gandhi. Rama Krishna has gone to Chennai in 1970 and tried to become a Telugu film hero, in vain. It is also learnt that he had bad experience with girls whom he proposed as a student.

Vijaya Shanti for Hyderabad LS
Film actress Vijaya Shanti is fielded as BJP Lok Sabha candidate for Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency for the latest elections. The officials of BJP party revealed her candidature yesterday. Vijaya Shanti expressed her confidence in winning elections. Her opponent said that Vijaya Shanti is a madarasi and she does not have a house in Hyderabad.

Sashi Preetam robbed
Music director Sashi Preetam (of Gulabi fame) was robbed yesterday when burglar entered the house and robbed gold ornaments worth approximately Rs. 4 lakhs on the night of Friday. Police are investigating this issue.

25th March 2004

Chiranjeevi recommends SVL
The double platinum disc function of RP Patnaik's debut as actor 'Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi' (SVL) was held at Prasad Labs Preview Theater on 25th March 2004. Chiranjeevi was invited as the chief guest. A special screening of this film was arranged to Chiranjeevi. After watching SVL, Chiranjeevi opined that it's a good commercial film with high human values. He praised the histrionics of RP Patnaik and direction of E Srinivas. Film producer NV Prasad was also invited as a guest.

Trisha with Bala Krishna
Trisha - the hottest heroine on the block - is signed to play female lead in Bala Krishna's film to be directed by Jayant C Paranji. This film would be produced by MR Prasad on PB arts banner. This film is expected to go to floors in the month of June 2004.

Pepsi to sponsor 10 Telugu films
Major cola Pepsi is all set to offer multimedia promotional package to more than 10 Telugu films during this year. Pepsi has already tied up with Nani film for in-film branding, on-ground promotions and consumer contests. Pepsi is coming up with a new tagline 'Ee Daham Peddadi' (Yeh Pyaas Hai badi). Pepsi unveiled a contest for the buyers of Nani audiocassette. The consumer would have to select his favorite song in the film and complete the slogan "Thirst for cinema gets bigger with Pepsi, because …..".

24th March 2004

Nani function on 25th
The audio release function of Mahesh Babu's 'Nani' would be held on 25th March at 7 pm in screen 5 (private screen) of Prasads Multiplex. Superstar Krishna has sent out special invitations for this function. Music director AR Rehman is flowing from London to attend this function. Chiranjeevi is expected as the chief guest. 2 songs of Nani would be projected on the screen in this function. Audio of Nani would be hitting market on 26th March 2004 with a first bunch of 5 lakh audiocassettes.

Malliswari Platinum on 28th
The triple platinum disc function of Venkatesh's blockbuster would be held at Odeon 70mm, Hyderabad on 28th of March at 12 noon. The entire cast and crew of 'Malliswari' is expected to grace this occasion. Katrina Kaif is going to be the special attraction. Women who have the name of 'Malliswari' would also be invited as guests and these Malliswaris are expected to give away the platinum discs to the cast and crewmembers.

Explicit Mahesh Bhatt
Mahesh Bhatt and Mallika Sherawat are in town to promote their latest film 'Murder'. A press conference was arranged at hotel Tabla on 24th March. A scribe asked Mahesh Bhatt if he would recommend 'Murder' for a family viewing as the teaser itself has got so many titillating scenes. Mahesh Bhatt answered to it by saying that he watched the preview of 'Murder' with his wife and 15-year-old daughter and did not feel uncomfortable watching it with his family members. He also added to it by saying that his daughter watches sex sites on internet. He mentioned that the film has got 'A' certificate and all the patrons above the age of 18 are eligible to watch this film. This film 'Murder' is being simultaneously dubbed and released in Telugu on 2nd April 2004.

23rd March 2004

Nenunnanu with 225 prints
Nagarjuna's latest film Nenunnanu is going to be released with a huge number of 225 prints on 7th of April. This is the highest number for Nagarjuna so far. His earlier film 'Shivamani 98480 22338' was released with 190 prints. Re-recording of this film is currently going on. Nagarjuna - who did an unconventional release of his earlier film as producer Satyam on 19th December though biggies were slated for Sankranthi - is again having an unconventional release though there is threat from cricket matches and elections. Arti Agarwal and Shriya are doing female leads. VN Aditya (of Manasantha Nuvve fame) is directing this film.

Aswini Dutt's ode to TDP
Ace producer Aswini Dutt has recently produced a song for Telugu Desam Party. The lyrics of this 'Nuvve Nuvve' song are penned by Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry. Mani Sharma provided music. Sabhapati - a noted Tamil director - directed this song. Bhupati canned this song that is shot for 14 days in various locations like Vizag, Vijayawada, Araku, Rajahmundry, Hyderabad and near by places. Kola Bhaskar edited this song. Six types of trailers have been made based on this song to advertise it in various types of media. These trailers are being sent to cinema theaters for exhibition during interval period.

Raja Sekhar as Aptudu
Raja Sekhar's film in the direction of Muthyala Subbaiah is titled as Aptudu. This is the 9th film in the combination of Raja Sekhar and Muthyala Subbaiah after Aruna Kiranam, Ida Prapancham, Navabharatam, Dharma Yuddam, Mamathala Kovela, Anna, Suryudu and Manasunna Maaraju. Shooting of this film would commence on 1st April and would be wrapped up in single schedule. Raja Sekhar is producing this film on 'Andal Arts' banner which is established on the name of his mother.

22nd March 2004

Srikanth turns ATM
If Arshad Warsi did the role of 'Circuit' in Munnabhai MBBS as the loyal lieutenant of Sanjay Dutt, Srikanth is playing the role of ATM (Any Time Murder) in 'Shankar Dada MBBS'. The regular shooting of this film is going on with brisk pace. Jayant C Paranji directs this film on Gemini Film Circuit banner. Chiranjeevi and Sonali Bendre play main leads in this film. Devi Sri Prasad scores music.

Pepsi sponsors Naani
The producer of Mahesh Babu's Naani has a strategic alliance with cola maker 'Pepsi' for the promotion of Naani film. Each of the vinyl hoardings of 'Naani' film would feature an ad of Pepsi. The vans that carry crates of Pepsi bottles would also have Naani ad painted on them. As the summer has already making crowds ask for more to quench their thirst, associating a film with a cola major is definitely a good idea. Naani is going to release on 29th of April 2004.

Rajendra Prasad plays bigamist
Rajendra Prasad played the role of bigamist in many films that shown the perils of involving oneself entangled in two marriages. Right now he is acting in one such film titled 'Oka Pellam Muddu - Rendo Pellam Vaddu'. Raasi plays the wife of Rajendra Prasad and Gurlin Chopra (of Ayudham fame) plays lover. Sunil and Brahmanandam play other interesting roles. 90% of the shooting part is completed so far. Marudhuri Raja pens dialogues. Vandemataram provides music. Kongarapi Venkata Ramana makes his debut as director through this film. DS Rao produces this film on Sai Krishna productions banner.

21st March 2004

Prakash Raj's son passed away
10 year old son of veteran multi-lingual movie artist Prakash Raj passed away today (20th March 2004) due to illness. Lots of Telugu celebrities from Telugu film industry flew to Chennai to express their condolences to Prakash Raj. We - at idlebrain.com - share the deepest sorrow of Prakash Raj and may his son's soul rest in peace.

3-D IMAX films to storm Prasads
Prasads IMAX is getting ready to screen the choicest 3-D IMAX films this summer. The 3-D IMAX films that are expected to be shown are 'Into the deep' (about the life in the sea), T-REX (about dinosaurs), Cyberworld (3-d animated fantasy film) etc. The ticket prices would be hiked up for 3-d film screening.

Sivaji on a roll
Hero Sivaji is on a roll now accepting lots of projects. He is going to act in a film to be directed by K Viswanath and Vamsy each. He also committed another film to be directed by PN Ramachandra Rao. PN Ramachandra Rao has directed the comedy feast 'Chitram Bhalare Vichitram' in the past. Currently the script work is going on. PN Ramachandra Rao would also a act as the producer for this flick.

20th March 2004

Bala Krishna as Lord Krishna
Bala Krishna Nandamuri told to press today that he would be doing three roles in his directorial debut 'Nartanasaala'. He would be doing Arjuna (Brihannala getup also), Keechakudu and Krishnudu. A durbar set is made ready for the shoot in Rama Krishna Horticultural studios. He would be using his resting time (due to leg injury) to shoot the parts of Nartanasaala in which his acting presence is not required.

Ramesh Prasad to start film school
Ramesh Prasad - the supreme of the Prasads Empire is going to start a world class film school in Hyderabad. Ramesh Prasad has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dr. Michael Collins, Dean for Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning today at a function held at Prasads Multiplex. This event occurred after the premiere show of first IMAX film shot in India - 'India - the kingdom of Tiger'. Ramesh Prasad said that he is putting all his efforts to make this film institute the best in India with world class facilities.

Srianjaneyam in Humpi
Shooting of a song is on now at Humpi for Krishna Vamsi's latest film 'Srianjaneyam'. A song is being shot on Arjun - who is playing the role of Lord Anjaneya. Talkie part of this film is complete. Nitin is playing the role of Hanuman devotee in this film. Post production work is also going on simultaneously. Mani Sharma provides music. Diwakar Babu pens dialogues. This film boasts off one of the finest visual effects ever produced on Indian screen. 'Srianjaneyam' is all set for 2nd week of May 2004 release.

19th March 2004

Chanti laps up Suresh project
Ravi Babu (of Allari fame) has developed a subject that is to be produced by Suresh Productions. Vishnu would be playing main lead and Uday Kiran would be playing a short, yet vital role. Allari Naresh would do a special character. However, this project is shifted to Friendly Movies banner. Addala Chanti would be producing this film. The reasons for the shifting of the project are unknown. The press is speculating the Suresh Babu' is to have asked the director to wait till the elections are over so that he could involve himself 100% in the script of the film. This film is going to have its muhurat on festival day of Ugadi (21st March 2004). Hopefully Allari Ravi Babu would be able to explain us the reason for shift of production banner. Chanti Addala recently took over Prabhas film as its original producer ran out of finances in the middle of project.

Srihari as Seshadri
Srihari is playing the role of 'Seshadri' in a political awareness film that is being directed by Suresh Varma. Posani Krishna Murali is providing dialogues and story. Santhi Kumari Hari (wife of hero Sri Hari) is producing this film on 'Chalanachitra' banner. Nandita is playing female lead. Swati (erstwhile known as Swapna Madhuri) is playing Srihari's sibling. This film is expected to hit the marquee in the month end of April 2004.

Kasi release postponed
JD Chakravarthy's film Kaasi is expected to be released today. But the prints were not released at the lab and a postponement note is sent to all theaters. We have to wait and see for the next release date.

17th March 2004

Viswanath's Swarabhishekam
K Viswanath is back in the field of movie direction after a gap of almost a decade. He would be directing a film titled 'Swarabhishekam' with Srikanth, Sivaji and Laya in the main leads. Vidya Sagar provides music. K Viswanath would also be playing vital role as an actor in this film. Songs recording of the film was started recently in Hyderabad. This film would go to floors on 31st March. Ramesh-Gopi provide dialogues. C Kousalyendra Rao produces this film on Rajarajeswaricombines banner.

RP to tour to promote SVL
RP Patnaik is planning to tour four major cities of AP - Tirupati, Vijayawada, Vizag and Rajahmundry - to have a get-together with movie lovers to speak about his forthcoming film as an actor - Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi (SVL) from 20th to 23rd of this month. Double platinum disc function of this film is would be held on 24th of March for which Chiranjeevi is expected to come as chief guest. On that day, RP Patnaik would be handing over 100 eye donation forms to Chiranjeevi. Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi is releasing on 26th of this month.

Keeravani scores for SVK
SV Krishna Reddy who used Mani Sharma as music director for Pellam Voorelithe has decided to hire MM Keeravani to score music for his next film that would have Srikanth as hero. We reported in the past that Bollywood director Anand Raj Anand would be scoring music for another SV Krishna Reddy's project with Sachin as hero. Its good to see SV Krishna Reddy leaving the music part of the film to other people so that he can concentrate more on the script of his films.

16th March 2004

Allari Naresh's "Nenu"
Allari Naresh's latest film in the direction of E Sattibabu is titled as 'Nenu'. This film is a remake of Tamil blockbuster 'Kadal Kondein' which shot the debut hero Dhanush into superstar position. Abhishek - who acted in Aithe and Ela Cheppanu - is doing an important role. Veda - who acted as Archana in Tapana film - is doing the female lead. Shooting of this film is complete except for a song. Audio of this film is expected in 3-4 days. This film is slated for the release on 9th April 2004.

NTR in Durga Arts
NTR is acting in the next venture of Durga Arts. Rajendra Prasad prepared a story for this project. Devi Sri Prasad scores music. Selection of director is going on. Three heroines are going to be playing female leads. Trisha is one among them. KL Narayana produces this film. S Gopal Reddy handles the camera. This film would go to floors in the month of October 2004.

Muthyala Subbaiah to direct Raja Sekhar
After a gap of few months, Raja Sekhar is acting in a film. Keerti Reddy is doing the role of heroine. This film is going to be directed by Muthyala Subbaiah. Raja Sekhar produces this film on his home banner 'Andal Arts' banner. This film starts its shooting on 21st March 2004 on the eve of Ugadi.

PPR on 2nd April
Relangi Narasimha Rao's Preminchukundam Pelliki Randi (PPR) is going to release on 2nd April 2004. Four songs of this film were projected to the press at film chamber yesterday. Aditya Om, Vijay, Rekha and Revathy play main leads. All the comedy actors are present in this film. Koti scores music. Yadagiri Reddy produces this film.

15th March 2004

Stars and Cars
The car that ruled the roost in Telugu film industry last year was Octavia of Skoda Company. The Benz car is owned by three heroes - Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna and Srihari. Bala Krishna and Nitin drive their red-color Skoda Octavia cars. Krishna, Mahesh Babu and Venkatesh drive Opel Astra. Venkatesh has recently switched to a Honda CV-R. Mohan Babu, Puri Jagan and Music director Chakri has a special limited edition of TATA Safari. Uday Kiran and Tarun drive Mitsubishi Lancer. Director Teja has Toyota Lexus and a convertible Benz. Director Vijaya Bhaskar and Guna Sekhar have a Merc Benz each. Hero Srikanth and Raja Sekhar travel in their land cruisers. NTR and YVS Chowdary have recently bought Hyundai Terracon.

Malliswari turns into Metro-eswari
Malliswari is going places! This film was released with English subtitled in Mumbai (Adlabs) and Pune (IMAX Multiplex) and is into to its 2nd week now with four shows. Malliswari is going to release in PVR multiplex in Delhi on 26th of this month. It would be released in Baroda and Calcutta in the next month. Malliswari was simultaneously released in south metros like Chennai and Bangalore along with its AP release. Suresh Production is opening new avenues and centers for Malliswari in North India. Shall we change the name of Malliswari to Metroeswari?

Gudumba Shankar title confirmed
The title of 'Gudumba Shankar' is confirmed for Pawan Kalyan's film in the direction of Veera Shankar. The shooting of this film is currently going on in Vikarabad which is around 88 Kilometers away from Hyderabad. 50% of shooting is completed. There would be six songs in the film and two would be shot in foreign locales. Meera Jasmine is paired up Pawan Kalyan in this film. Asish Vidyardhi, Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Ali, Venu Madhav, Ponnambalam, Siva Reddy, Tirupati Prakash, Kavita, Bhuvaneswari play other roles. Satyanand provides dialogues. Mani Sharma scored music. Chota K Naidu handles camera. Alan Amin and Stun Siva compose action sequences. Aditya music grabbed audio rights of this film. 'Gudumba Shankar' is all set for July 2004 release.

14th March 2004

Balayya injured
Box office Bonanza Balayya got injured on Sunday morning (14th March 2004) at around 10:30 AM while shooting for climax of the film that is being made on Aditya Productions banner in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Balayya tired to jump from 14-feet height without using a dupe and the knee is fractured. He was immediately rushed to the local hospital and doctors have done the preliminary aid and declared it as a hairline fracture. He was advised to take rest for a week. He is expected to be back in Hyderabad Tuesday. We - at idlebrain.com - wish Balayya a happy and fast recovery.

13th March 2004

4+3 heroines in Naani
Four heroines are acting in various roles of Mahesh Babu's Naani. These heroines are Amisha Patel (main heroine), Ramya Krishna (Mahesh's neighbor), Devyani (hero's mother) and Aiswarya (Lakshmi's daughter). In addition to these heroines, there would be 3 more heroines dancing with Mahesh in 'Naani vayase 28' song. Mahesh Babu's nephew 'Master Ashok Galla' (son of Mahesh Babu's sister Ms. Padmavathi) is acting in vital role. This film is releasing on 29th April 2004.

Anitha special song in Nenunnanu
Anitha (of Nuvvu Nenu fame) is doing an item song in Nagarjuna's 'Nenunnanu'. Incidentally she was the heroine of director VN Aditya's earlier film 'Sreeram' starring Uday Kiran. Nenunnanu's audio was released in a grand style at Shilpakala Vedika on 12th of this month and got very good feedback from listeners. Shriya and Arti Agarwal are playing female leads. This film is releasing on 7th April 2004.

Diwakar Babu's son debut
Another 'varasudu' joins the Tollywood bandwagon. Srikar Babu - son of noted dialogue writer Diwakar Babu - is having a unique distinction of making debut as villain in one film and as hero in another film. He is playing negative role in Muppalaneni Siva's film 'Dost'. He is playing the role of hero in 'Veeri Veeri Gummadipandu' directed and produced by Balaji Sriram (director of Tarun's Chirujallu). Now he is acting as hero in another film to be directed by Y Venkatareddy on SK Cinema banner.

12th March 2004

Balayya learns gliding
Bala Krishna Nandamuri is acting as RAW (Research Analysis Wing) officer in his forthcoming film in the direction of Swarna Subba Rao. Bala Krishna got formally trained in using gliders for a risky stunt episode in this film. The unit - including 300 cast and crewmembers - has moved to Rajasthan on 4th March 2004 and shooting there since then. The unit would be traveling abroad to can a few songs in the month of April. This film is all set for first week release of May 2004. Ankita, Laya and Sangeeta are playing female leads in this film.

NTR-Vara film for Dussera
NTR is doing a charity film to bail out the distributors who lost heavily for 'Andhrawala' film. Vara (son of famous writer Mullapudi Venkata Rama of Bapu-Ramana fame) is making directorial debut with this film. Genelia and Riya Sen are doing female leads. Ramya Krishna is doing a challenging role (like the one she did in Rajnikant's Narasimha). Vijayendra Prasad provides story. MM Keeravani scores tunes. M Ratnam pens songs. Ravindra Babu handles camera. Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, MS Narayana, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam and Ali play other roles. This film would go to floors on 31st March 2004 and is expected to be released by Dussera 2004.

Summer heats up for releases
Lots of big films are ready to hit the marquee on for this summer. The first major summer flick is 'Nenunnanu' by Nagarjuna on 7th April 2004. The second release is Mahesh Babu's Naani on 29th of April. NTR's Samba is releasing on 5th May 2004. Bala Krishna - Swarna Subba Rao's film is releasing in the 1st week of May.

Puri's brother as hero
Puri Jagan is going to launch his younger brother Sai in to Telugu films very soon. As per the unconfirmed news, Sai would be launched on Puri Jagan's banner 'Vaishno Academy'. He got trained in the institute of Satyanand, Vizag for six months. This film is expected to be a love story with a fresh presentation. Puri Jagan would direct this film.

10th March 2004

Girish Karnad plays Chiru father
Veteran actor Girish Karnad is roped in to play Chiranjeevi's father role in 'Shankar Dada MBBS'. Venu Madhav, Sivaji Raja, Duvvasi Mohan and Venky (half-pants guy from Satyam film) would be playing the assistants of Chiranjeevi and Srikanth in this film. Shooting of this film is going on brisk pace. Jayant C Paranji directs this film on Gemini Film Circuits banner.

Riya Sen with NTR
Riya Sen - daughter of Moon Moon Sen - would be paired up with NTR in his forthcoming film in the direction of Vara. Riya Sen has acted in 'Jhankar Beats' in the past. Other heroine in this film is Genelia D'Souza. MM Keeravani scored music. Giri produces this film on Bharati Enterprises banner. Muhurat of this film would be held on 21st March on the eve of Ugadi festival.

Uday's film abandoned
Uday Kiran's film in the direction of Chandra Sekhar Yeleti (Aithe fame) was abandoned due to budgetary constraints. Uday Kiran was supposed to play the role of army officer in that flick. When the producers contacted Indian Army for the permission of shooting in sensitive areas, they have demanded a security deposit of 3 crores. The total budget turned out to be 8 crores. Uday Kiran's current market does not deserve that much budget. And the heroine Meera Vasudevan was also replaced because she is looking elder to Uday Kiran. All these caused the movie to get abandoned.

Aditya grabs Gudumba Shankar audio
Aditya music has bought the audio rights of Pawan Kalyan's next release 'Gundumba Shankar' at a high price. Nagababu is producing this film Anjana Production banner. Meera Jasmin is paired up with Pawan Kalyan. Veera Shankar directs this film. Mani Sharma provides music.

9th March 2004

Naani audio on 19th March 2004
Audio of Mahesh Babu's latest flick 'Naani' would be releasing on 19th March 2004. As per the rumor mills, Aditya music has bought the rights of Naani music for an astonishing price of around 1.1 crores. Amisha Patel is paired up with Mahesh. SJ Suryah - who directed films like Vali and Kushi - is directing this bi-lingual. Manjula - heroine and producer of award-winning 'Show' film - is producing a film on Indira Productions banner. AR Rehman scored 7 tunes for this film. Naani movie is slated for release on 29th April 2004. There is a comfortable gap of 40 days between audio and movie release.

RP & Teja films on same day?
It is reliably learnt that RP Patnaik's screen debut 'Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi' and Teja's latest film 'Jai' are releasing on the same weekend. Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi is confirmed on 25th March as Jai is expected to hit screens either on 25th of 26th. Teja and RP Patnaiak combination shot to fame with Chitram and their combination continued till 'Nijam'. For Jai, Teja introduced Anoop - a protégé of RP - as music director. And RP stopped scoring music and made his debut as an actor. Now RP and Teja are going to have their releases in the same weekend.

Rama Naidu announces Trivikram film
Dr. Rama Naidu said that he likes the dialogues of Trivikram a lot and he was so much impressed that he wanted to produce the debut directorial of Trivikram in Suresh Production banner. But Trivikram is said to have informed Rama Naidu that Sravanthi Ravi Kishore was producing his debut film. Now Trivikram is going to direct a film with Mahesh Babu and Trisha in the main leads. Rama Naidu said that he is willing to produce the further venture of Trivikram. This news was revealed at a press meet held for Malliswari recently. However there is no official confirmation from Trivikram yet.

6th March 2004

Ravi Teja in autograph
Ravi Teja is going to star in Telugu remake of Tamil film 'Autograph' to be produced by Bellamkonda Suresh. Cinematographer S Gopal Reddy would be making his debut as director through this film. Bhumika is signed as one of the four heroines in this film. MM Keeravani provides music. The shooting of this film would start on 18th of March 2004.

Nani audio on March 25
Audio of Mahesh Babu's Naani would be releasing on 25th of March 2004. AR Rehman composed seven tunes for this film. Naani film would be releasing on 28th April, after the results of political elections are announced. Manjula - sister of Mahesh Babu - produces this film on Indira Productions Pvt. Limited banner. Surya - who directed Vali and Kushi - is directing this film. Surya is said to have narrated another subject to Mahesh Babu, which was immensely liked by him. Manjula might produce another film in the same combination.

Shankar Dada MBBS business craze
Shankar Dada MBBS is got tremendous business craze and potential in the market. This film was sold for 1.9 crores for East Godavari territory and 1.1 crores for Karnataka. Hari Kumar of Devi Films has picked up Shankar Dada for 4.5 crores on a NRA (Non Returnable Advance) basis. It is also learnt that a famous producer has bought Shankar Dada for 1.6 crores for Krishna territory. If things go as planned, Shankar Dada might release on 24th July 2004, which also happens to be the release date of Chiranjeevi's Indra.

3rd March 2004

Devi Sri Prasad turns actor
The upcoming popular music director Devi Sri Prasad is going to play vital role in Chiranjeevi's film in production 'Shankar Dada MBBS' which is an official Telugu remake of Hindi blockbuster 'Munnabhai MBBS'. Director VV Vinayak did a small role in Chiranjeevi's Tagore. And now Devi Sri Prasad is doing a role in 'Shankar Dada MBBS'. The shooting of this film is going on in Kothi Medical College with the artists combination of Chiranjeevi, Paresh Rawal, Surya, Benarjee, LB Sriram and Ahuti Prasad.

Stop Motion photography for Sye
For the first time, a straight Telugu film would feature an episode canned using the stop motion photography. SS Raja Mouli is directing this film 'Sye' that has the backdrop of Rugby game. Nitin and Genelia are playing mainleads. 64 cameras are going to be used for this Stop Motion cinematography. A huge stadium set is been erected in police academy for the climax of this film. Giri produces this film on Bharati enterprises banner.

Sangeet to become a multiplex
The Multiplex is the latest catch word in Hyderabad. After the phenomenal success of Prasads multiplex, two more multiplexes are under construction now. These multiplexes are 3 screen multiplex by K Raghavendra Rao (opposite LV Prasad Eye Institute in Banjara Hills) and a 6-screen multiplex by GVK Reddy in association with Spensers (beside Taj Krishna in Banjara Hills). Now the most popular theater Sangeet (secenderabad) is going to be converted into multiplex with 6 screens. The construction would start soon and it would take 2 years to complete this 5-storey building. CPG Corporation - a Singapore based company - is acting as design consultant for this project. This means more comfort for Hyderabad movie lovers.

Allu Arjun in Kanya Kumari
Allu Arjun traveled to Himalayas to shoot for his debut film 'Gangotri'. Now he traveled the other extreme Kanya Kumari to shoot for his second film in the direction of Sukumar. The title under consideration for this film is 'Sabdam'. Devi Sri Prasad provides music. Raju (Dil fame) produces this film.

2nd March 2004

March 1st Mania
Panchangam plays a pivotal role in deciding the muhurats of Telugu film industry. March 1st is said to be having one of such rare auspicious moments. Five films (Bala Krishna's Nartanasaala, Mohan Babu's film, Hari Krishna's Swamy, debut film of comedy star Brahmanandam's son as hero in the direction of Suchitra Chandrabose and Vijaya Sai creations Production No.1) had their muhurats, two films (Chiranjeevi's Shankar Dada MBBS and Dega Arts film with Sivaji and Meera Jasmine) started their shootings and one success meet (Malliswari) was held. The film journalists had tough time covering all these functions.

Hari Krishna as Swamy
Nandamuri Hari Krishna would be playing the title role Swamy in a film to be produced by Krishna Teja banner. Meena is paired up with him. VR Pratap of Nuvvu Vastavani fame is directing this film. Posani Krishna Murali provides story and dialogues. MM Keeravani provides music. Muhurat of this film was held on 1st March at a floor of Annapurna studios.

Mohan Babu after 2 years gap
Mohan Babu is acting as hero after a gap of 2 years. His last film was 'Tappuchesi Pappukoodu'. Kapuganti Rajendra who is presently directing 'Rambabu Gaadi Pellam' with Naresh is directing this film. He worked as an assistant director for Mohan Babu's blockbuster 'Pedda Rayudu'. Maestro Ilayaraja provides music. Soundarya and Natainya Singh are doing female leads. Mohan Babu is producing this film on his home banner. Vishnu and Manoj present this film.

Varsham 50 days function at Bheemavaram
Sankranthi blockbuster Varsham is going to celebrate it's 50 days run at a function organized at Bheemavaram on 7th March 2004 at DNR college grounds at 5 pm. UV Krishnam Raju is invited as chief guest. The cast of the film Prabhas, Trisha, Prakash Raj and Gopichand are going to attend this function along with the crewmembers. Devi Sri Prasad is going to entertain crowds with his electrifying musical night.

Mani Rathnam's Yuva
Mani Rathnam is directing two versions of 'Yuva' in Hindi and South. The Bollywood version would have Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberai, Aiswarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukharjee in the mainleads. The Tamil and Telugu version would have Madhavan, Siddardh (Boys fame), Surya (Kakha Kakha fame), Trisha, Meera Jasmine and Isha Deol. AR Rehman provides music. Sunkara Madhu Murali has obtained the Telugu dubbing rights of this film.

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