Viyyalavari Kayyalu Unit Birthday Functions

Larsco's "Viyyalavari Kayyalu" is progressing at rapid pace. While the film is shaping up well, the film's crew had gathered together to celebrate albeit their own birthdays. The men behind "Viyyalavari Kayyalu", producer Lagadapati Sridhar, director E Sattibabu and music director Ramana Gogula had celebrated their respective birthdays at one stage. June 13th is Ramana Gogula's birthday but along with him, Lagadapati (his birthday falls on June 14th ) and Sattibabu (his is on June 15th) also celebrated their birthdays on Wednesday at Larsco office at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

Hero Uday Kiran, actor Srihari who is playing a vital role in the film had also grace the gala.

Ramana Gogula said this is unique day. "I am glad that producer Sridhar cared to celebrate my birthday like this way," he said.

Hero Uday Kiran who wished the birthday boys spoke about Viyyalavari Kayyalu. "These kind of films should be made and encouraged. That is why we have teamed up for this film. It is nice working with Sridhar and director Sattiababu. It would give me a new image," Uday said. He also thanked Srihari for giving him the space to evolve and encouraging him to do well.

Srihari opined that the film would be one of the biggest blockbusters in this year. "I am not saying this because I am acting in it but the story and the script is really amazing. It will be remembered for many years. I am sure that it will get a place in the list of all time big hits in Telugu."

Producer Sridhar who had also done charity on this occasion said the film would be treat for all groups of audiences.

Photo Gallery

Sivaji Today: First Day Rs 1.7 crore

Sivaji The Boss to call the shots in tinsel town today, redefines big-budget films

Fans adore his silver-screen antics. His films are known to set new records at the box office and break them in style. And this Friday, when Kollywood superstar Rajnikanth's latest production Sivaji The Boss' is released, it is expected to create records in more ways than one.

The movie, with an estimated budget of Rs 60 crore is the costliest production in the history of Kollywood or Bollywood. Its world-wide release will make it, perhaps, the first Indian language movie to be screened in the largest number of theaters world over. The distributors of the movie claim it is a super hit, even before it hits theatres. Despite the feverish pitch generated by the Rajni starrer, the film's script remains a closely guarded secret even on the eve of its release. The only thing known about the storyline, as put by the superstar himself, is: 'it is all about black money, honey'.

P Saminathan, managing director, Pyramid Saimira Theatres Ltd, said: "It is a little known fact that south Indian films are costlier than north Indian movies. This film is possibly the costliest Indian film to date and might collect about Rs 150 crore plus, giving huge profit to distributors and exhibitors. It is being released in many countries and is expected to expand the market of the Tamil films world over. Going by advance reservations, the film is expected to be a major hit, breaking all records in the Indian film industry." According to reports, the collections on June 10 - the first day of advance bookings - were Rs 1.7 crore in Chennai alone, which is said to be a record in south India. The movie will be screened in 17 theatres across Chennai and tickets have been sold out for the first 12 days.

While GV Films and Abirami Ramanathan (owner of the multiplex Abirami Mega Mall) have bagged rights to distribute the movie within the city for Rs 6.5 crore, Pyramid Saimira and Ayngaran International have been given the overseas rights.

Pyramid Saimira has acquired rights to distribute Sivaji The Boss for Rs 25 crore in 252 screens across the world, including 110 screens in Andhra Pradesh, 86 screens in Tamil Nadu, four in Karnataka and 52 in Malaysia.

Telugu Film News 15-06-2007 Latest

Impression: Young Hero Ready for Villain Roles

Young hero Rishi's real name is Richards. He is the brother of famous artistes Shalini and Shamili. He already bagged two hits with the films 'Bhagya Lakshmi Bumper Draw' and 'A Film By Aravind'.

He is now ready for doing villain roles as well. Right now he is acting in the film 'Bangaru Konda' that is being made with Navneeth Kour in female lead role. Rishi is presenting himself as a mass hero with this film.

He must be taking Gopichand as inspiration and standing open for all sort of roles from hero to villain to second hero roles. Indeed, Rishi is also acting with Srikanth as second hero in one of the forthcoming films.

Rajnikant: No comparison between me and Big B

CHENNAI: Superstar of Tamil movies Rajnikant, whose film Sivaji-The Boss is to be released on Friday, on Thursday night said there could not be any comparison between him and Amitabh Bachchan.

On his return from Hyderabad, where he screened the Telugu version of the film for TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, the actor told reporters: “He (Amitabh) is a very big personality. I am too small a man in front of him.”

Asked what was the speciality of Sivaji, he said everything in the movie is special.

Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa would watch the movie at a special screening, party sources said.

DMK patriarch and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, along with members of his family, have already watched the movie and appreciated it, DMK sources said.

Rajnikant fans all over the state have started celebrating the movie’s release by breaking coconuts in front of the actor’s cut-outs in front of cinema houses which would be screening the movie. In some places, they poured milk over the cut-outs.

Tickets for 20 days had been sold out in advance, cinema house owners said.

Dr Ramanaidu Busy In Building Studio At Vizag

Dr Ramanaidu is now busy in building the film studio in Vizag. It is said in Film Circles that he is not available for many as he is busy in dealing with the proceedings of that studio. Suresh Babu is also deeply involved in that matter. Venkatesh is not involving in that as he is busy in the shooting of Tulasi (tentative title).

So, in near future we may find detailed news about Ramanaidu's new studio in Visakhapatnam .

Get glued to know more.

Rajni Kanth's 'Shivaji' Costumes For Auction

Everything is hype with respect to Sivaji. AVM people are planning to cash every aspect of the film. Now they are going to conduct an auction of dresses and peripherals used by Rajni Kanth. We know that there are hardcore fans of Rajni Kanth everywhere and the articles would certainly go at whopping prices. That way there is plan to recover the budget to some extent. So like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, now Rajni Kanth is also becoming a hot star whose used clothes bring big money!

Rakhi Sawant is so crazy about Rajnikant

Rakhi Sawant is so crazy about Rajnikant that she even dressed up as him in school. On the eve of the release of Sivaji, she mimics her hero’s antics for MiD DAY

I am a hardcore Rajnikant fan since childhood. Rajni is a style guru and a ‘studdo’. Every movement and style of his is extraordinary.

I still recollect trying to light a fake menthol cigarette just the way Rajni did. Even his style of wearing sunglasses attracted me so much that I decided to become Rajnikant at a fancy dress competition in school.

I just can’t forget the scene in Giraftar where Rajni plays a cop, Ali, and he gets attacked by goons.

I was in tears, but I freaked out on his accent and style. Just before he succumbs to his injuries, Rajni lights a cigarette in his style. Now that’s what you call a star!

I feel proud that aapla Marathi manus Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, now Rajni, has got the status of God down south, with millions worshipping him in temples. I am dying to watch Sivaji.

Photo Feature: Watch 'Sivaji' Poster In Japanese

Observe carefully. You can see Sivaji poster printer in Japanese. This poster is appearing on the roads of Osaha in Japan. Sunil Tantravahi, a greatandhra.com reader from Osaha shared this picture.

Hero Gopichand Is Real Hero with Kindness

Hero Gopichand is kind, generous and a real hero in life, say a few. It seems that he frequently donates for poor and needy and also inclines to donate for charity organizations. Freshly on his birthday that took place couple of days ago he donated Rs 1 Lakh for Care Foundation and also another Rs 1 Lakh for Sweekar-Upkar organization.

Film circles say that Gopichand took the quality of melting for sad things of human life from his father T Krishna who made films like 'Pratighatana' and 'Repati Pourulu'.

That way good talk is spreading about Gopichand in industry. Hope he keeps that up.

Trade Talk: Secret behind Rajini’s young looks

Wondering what the secret behind Rajinikanth’s youthful looks and movements in Sivaji is? Apart from all the news that has been floating around about the actor’s special diet and make-up, another reason is also the high quality resolution and visual effects (VFX) which have been used for this film. While the officials at Prasad EFX, a unit of Prasad Labs, which has done the post-production work for this movie, refuse to go into any of the details of the movie; according to sources special effects have been used for a number of scenes including the ones where Rajini does stunts with a gun and the sequence where the lead couple’s reflections can be seen in a room filled with mirrors. These sources also say that superstar’s skin colour and texture have been enhanced by special effects giving him a youthful look.

While many south Indian movies these days are getting a touch of special effects to enhance the quality of the product, Sivaji seems to be intent on setting a new standard in the industry. It has been scanned using a 4K resolution, while Indian movies are usually scanned with a 2K resolution for digital intermediate processes (DI) and only certain mega budget Hollywood movies have used a high resolution.

Says Madhu of Prasad EFX, “By routing the entire film through the 4K pipeline for the DI process we can be certain that none of the details available in the celluloid film are lost.” That is probably why we can see Rajinikanth’s hair fly the way it so carefully does. The entire scanning and DI processes for Sivaji were done at Prasad EFX in Chennai and a team of around 10 people worked on this process. “Totally we have done around 30 minutes worth of VFX in the entire film,” says Mohan Krishnan, head of corporate communications – Prasad EFX. A team of 30 people worked for a period of approximately one-and-a-half months on 85 per sent of the VFX for the Rajinikanth starrer.

Sivaji 9 pm preview started

Bellamkonda Suresh arranged a special preview to the close associates in Hitech theater, Madhapur now. This preview was started at 9 pm and is expected to end by mid night. The runtime of the film is said to be in excess of 3 hours. We have to wait and see for the public verdict tomorrow when the film releases worldwide.

National coverage for Sivaji

Rajnikanth’s latest film Sivaji grabbed the attention of national media. NDTV, CNN IBN and CNBC - TV 18 have shown lot of interest in covering the Sivaji release. An OB of CNBC - TV 18 was kept at Prasad multiplex today morning to relay the release event live to CNBC TV 18.

Pyramid - a publicly listed company based in Chennai - has acquired rights of Sivaji for most of the areas. Pyramid has around 29 multiplexes, 325 screens and over 2.25 lakh seats per show. Here is the data of Pyramid release of Sivaji (Telugu and Tamil) worldwide

Area	No. of screens	No. of daily shows	No. of seats
Tamilnadu	86	260	2.41 lakhs
Andhra Pradesh	110	440	3.25 lakhs
Karnataka	4	16	0.11 lakhs
Malaysia	52	212	1.01 lakhs
Note: This data is limited to Pyramid theaters only

Shivaji - The Boss

Superstar Rajnikanth is undoubtedly is the boss of box-office in South India. His charisma and popularity cuts across the languages and regions. He proved his star power constantly with many hits including Narasimha, Basha, Muthu and Chandramukhi. The reigning star of South India is now coming up with Shivaji – The Boss. He joins hands with Shankar, one of the high-profile directors of South India. The prestigious production house AVM made this humongous film shot at Rs 60 Crores and did business around Rs 80 Crores.

Bellamkonda Suresh is acting as producer for Telugu version although all rights are with AVM.

What is it to offer?

Shivaji is Rajnikanth's film all the way. Yet it is shot in Shankar's style – gigantic on screen with a message. Great locales, stunning visuals, mind-boggling action episodes, entertainment, social message, beautiful heroine, rocking music – what not it offers everything one goes to see for a commercial movie.

Plot

Rajinikanth (Shiivaji) plays the role of a NRI software analyst. He returns from USA to India to set up colleges and hospitals. Suman plays a business tycoon who feels threatened by Shivaji's charity plans. So he conspires against Shivaji, ruins his plans and ensures Sivaji is jailed.

Once out of jail Sivaji seeks revenge on Suman who is responsible for his plight. He also unearths crores of black money from various businessmen and makes it white and does it for good cause. He also loves a traditional Telugu girl (Shriya) and marries her. But she initially refuses to marry him fearing he'd die if she marries him, as one astrologer told her.

Message that it gives

It talks about the lying black money in the country. If we can unearth all the black money and use it for the development of the society, India can become great nation.

Specialties

* For Rajinikanth, Shivaji is his 9th movie with AVM Productions and for director Shankar, known for making big budget films, this is his 9th movie in his directional career.Incidentally Rajinikanth's lucky number is also 9 and the superstar hopes this movie will bring great success.

* Rajnikanth plays the role of Shivaji, which happens to be Rajni's real name. Shivaji Rao is Rajnikant's real name before he became a star.

* Shivaji's look and style is designed by Shankar himself after watching all his films.

* Rajinkanth and heroine Shriya's costumes are designed by Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra.

* The first song on the film is shot on Rajnikant and Nayantara.

* Shriya's glamour is major attraction. Incidentally, Shriya was not Shankar's first choice. Names of leading Bollywood ladies including Aishwarya Rai, Ayesha Takia and Rani Mukherjee were initially proposed for the said role.

* Glass set erected by art director Tota Tharani and K V Anand's cinematography are said to be in top notch.

* Running time of the film is 3 hours 5 minutes. 3 + 5 = 8 which is director Shankar's lucky number.

Logo and posters of Chiranjeevi's Shankar Dada Zindabad

‘Sivaji’ Review: Big War On Black Money

Film: Sivaji

Punchline: black to white
Banner: AVM
Cast: Rajni Kanth, Shriya, Vibek, Vadivukkarasi, Mani Vannan, Raghuvaran, Suman etc
Dialogue: Sri Ramakrishna
Art: Tota Tharani
Editing: Antony
Camera: KV Anand
Producers: Saravanan, Guhan
Story-Screenplay-Direction: Shankar
Release Date: 15th June 2007

The most expensive film of India boosted up many expectations among the audiences. Has it reached the expectations? Just give a read.

Story:

The film starts with Sivaji (Rajni) returning to India where his parents (Mani Vannan and Vadivukkarasi) and mama (Vivek) receive him at the Airport. Everything rolls on screen with typical Rajni style. He falls in love with Shriya who looks in traditional get up.

Shivaji’s motive is to spend his Rs 250 Cr for people and charity by setting up educational institutions. But Adiseshan (Suman) the owner of other engineering college group hinders Sivaji’s attempts. His fear is that he may lose his business if Sivaji starts free education for people. But Sivaji goes ahead ignoring Adiseshan and starts building the college and hospital. When the work is amidst and when almost all the amount was spent on that, Adiseshan uses his political influence and demolishes Sivaji’s dream. He brings him on roads. He drops a Re 1 coin in his hand and asks him to live with begging.

But Sivaji stands bold and uses his brain and brawn to get back his lost earning from Adiseshan. When he wins in that plan he uses the same with every rich man in the state. By unearthing black money he will do social service for all. In the process he wins the hearts of everyone. Adiseshan comes to roads with Sivaji’s strategy. Then he conspires to kill him.

What happens next? That has to be watched on screen.

Performances:
Rajni Kanth is at his best and the make up man and costume designer must be given all the credit. And the spark, spirit and driving force in Rajni Kanth are at his superlative degree and nothing waned even a little with his age. His buzz word in the film is ‘Cool’. His unique style in the film is throwing chewing gum into his mouth. He imitated NTR for the song ‘Aku Chaatu Pinde Tadise…’ Wah! What a perfection! Similarly his dance for the song ‘Abba Nee Tiyyani Debba..’ shows how able Rajni is in imitating other stars.

Shriya looted the hearts and senses with her spellbound beauty. Her body and body language are perfectly in tune with the commercial aura of the film. She is beautiful in traditional half saris, saris as well as in songs. Like a romantic madrigal, like an embodiment of feminine beauty, like a bright fair Venus she made her presence felt in this film. She looked perfectly pretty like Sridevi in the bit songs ‘Aku Chaatu Pinde Tadise’ and ‘Abba Nee Tiyyani Debba’. She made it impressive while enacting emotions and pathos as well.

Suman is to be lauded. His image definitely strides up with this film. He is given a typical facial look with projected teeth. His hefty built body and traditional Madrasi costume aptly suited his body language.

Vivek, Mani Vannan, Vadi Vukkarasi and others have justified their roles.

Shankar appears in the song ‘Ballelakka…’ where audiences shout in excitement and delight.

AR Rehman’s music is wonderful with international standards where some songs are pictured with the standards to take place in international chartbusters.

Ballelakka… is quite traditional on screen with dancing troupe starring slim and sexy Nayantara and Rajni Kanth. Oka Bandi Sunlight… is quite contemporary that shows Rajni Kanth with fair skin. In fact it’s a song on Rajni’s complexion. Sahana… is melodious to ears, peaceful to hearts, romantic to senses and elegant to eye balls. The highly splendid set erected for this song cannot be forgotten. Wah! Ji Wah! Ji Raraje Naa Sivaji… is grand and stupendous. The most expensive set used in the song stands on par or beyond Hollywood standards.

Other song… is pictured on par with the standards of Michael Jackson’s song. The graphics used in it are tremendous.

Screenplay - direction: Shankar is always known for mixing entertainment with purposeful message. He also tried the same thing with this film. But he had to add some other aspect called heroism to his recipe. By concentrating more on the love thread between hero and heroine in the first half, he missed his commercial formula. The mechanism in which he makes hero convert black money into white is good. The 'office' treatment is also good. If you observe all Shankar's films, there is always a strong motive for hero get the ultimate urge to help society (hero’s brother death in Gentleman, Hero's daughter death in Bharateeyudu, hero's sister death in Aparichitudu etc). But here we find no reason that prompted hero to develop the strong urge to help society. The following two points are unconvincing, more so because these two points are turning points to the movie -

1. Sivaji accepting that he bribed the officials to get permissions.
2. The CBI arresting Sivaji even without knowing what is there in the Laptops (as the data in laptop is locked by a voice-recognition security system)

Screenplay - direction: Shankar is always known for mixing entertainment with purposeful message. He also tried the same thing with this film. But he had to add some other aspect called heroism to his recipe. By concentrating more on the love thread between hero and heroine in the first half, he missed his commercial formula. The mechanism in which he makes hero convert black money into white is good. The 'office' treatment is also good. If you observe all Shankar's films, there is always a strong motive for hero get the ultimate urge to help society (hero’s brother death in Gentleman, Hero's daughter death in Bharateeyudu, hero's sister death in Aparichitudu etc). But here we find no reason that prompted hero to develop the strong urge to help society. The following two points are unconvincing, more so because these two points are turning points to the movie -

Other departments: The dialogues by Sri Rama Krishna are very good. Cinematography by KV Anand is an asset. Music by AR Rehman is adequate. On the picturization part, the second songs and the last song are extremely good. The main highlight of the film is Rajnikant dancing to Premabhishekam (ANR), Aaku Chatu (NTR) and Abba Nee Tiyyani (Chiranjeevi) with perfect body language. The fights of the film are adequate. The fight in Music Shop did not go well. Art work by Thota Tharani is good. The production values by AVM are lavish.

Dialogues:
1. Rajni: Vachchinadaani kante Nachchina daanni chesukovadamloney santhosham untundhi
2. Rajni: Amma! Nannu Nallaga enduku kannavamma
Vadivukkarasi: Tellaga kante maasipothaav nayana
3. Vivek: Six tarvata seven…Sivaji tarvata evadraa?
4. Vivek: BOSS-Bachelor of Social Service
5. Rajni: Nenu puttakathone karulo puttledu. Chinnavayasulo cheppullekunda tirigaa..’bussullo’ prayanincha.

Analysis:
The film is opened with crazy collections with Rajni factor and runs with the same. The story of the film is apt for the star image of Rajni. To say with critical outlook and common sense, the process to unearth the black money that’s shown in this film is completely impractical. But still Rajni mania and the hype that it created makes the film run marathon.

There are many notable scenes in the film those entertain and here are a few:

1. Chandramukhi scene between Shriya, Rajni and police officer
2. Shankar’s appearance in Ballelakka song
3. Rajni as NTR and Chiranjeevi
4. Shriya as a perfect replica of Sridevi

Illogical scenes:
1. Sivaji hires gundas to batter rich people to unearth black money. He follows same formula everywhere and becomes successful. That sounds illogical. It would have been shown intellectually without using cheap muscle trick (well. It’s for masses. So we have to compromise)
2. Stunts are hard to believe (again, it’s for masses and the hero is Rajni. So again we have to compromise)
3. MMS Episode- Why Sivaji sends that to doctor Raghuvaran? Why doesn’t he send it to media so that he can be protected easily and Adi Seshan will be arrested? (No No! by doing so, the film comes to End 40 minutes earlier).

To sum up, it’s a film with grand extravaganza that appeals for mass film lovers, Rajni fans and the ones who are habituated to watch routine masala flicks. As a thought provoking idea is discussed in the film to excavate black money, it will be a point of discussion among class audiences. Stunts, Rajni style and songs are for young ones. Sivaji’s love for villages and Shriya’s get up off the songs appeal B, C centers. That way the film targeted all the audiences. The result is obvious!

Bottom Line: Watch It!

Rajani Life story flyers on Ohio streets

This is the first time in OHIO history one telugu movie is releasing on the same date as in India . Usevally movies are releasing in this state 3rd or forth week. Superstar Rajanikanth and Shankar combinations “Shivaji” is going to hit the Ohio screens on this Friday. Fans are distibuting Rajani hisory flyers in Columbus and cincinati streets.This is going to be another record...

Rajani Life History

South Indian SuperStar RajiniKanth is an inconic actor and is the highest paid Indian film actor.he received India's third highest civilian honour, the Padmabhushan for his work in Indian cinema. He began his career doing various jobs in Karnataka, while also attending a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he served as a bus conductor for the state transport corporation in Bangalore. It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

He joined the Madras Film institute in 1973 with the help of a friend and completed basic acting course.[8] He started his acting career with the Kannada movie Kathaa Sangama, directed by Puttanna Kanagal, in 1975. since then gave several hits... to name a few in Thalapathi , Baasha, Muthu, Arunachalam, Padaippa, Chandramukhi

Apart from Tamil, Rajinikanth has acted in over 160 movies, including Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali. Rajinikanth made a foray into Bollywood with Andha Kanoon. But Rajinikanth could not concentrate on Hindi films because he was already safely ensconced down south. He still made a few films in Hindi, like Chaalbaaz with Sridevi. Rajinikanth also enjoys a special kind of popularity in Telugu cinema. He also had a brief stint in Hollywood with the movie Bloodstone in 1988.

Shivaji Rao Gaekwad is his Real name Finally He is acting in and as " S I V A J I " Releasing All over World on June 15th 2007

A. R. Rahman is the only son of R. K. Sekhar, a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films. His father died when Rahman was nine years old, and his family used to rent out musical equipment to make ends meet. Amidst adverse difficulties, Rahman's sister, Reihana became afflicted with an unexplainable illness, which miraculously was cured after a visit by a Sufi saint. This led Dileep to convert to Islam, changing his name to Allah Rakha Rahman.

By Composing Music for Director Manirathnam's Roja, and the movie's super hit debut made him a household name in India virtually overnight and led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the Indian National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award 3 more times (for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003), the most ever by any composer.Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Kadhalan, Indira, Minsaara Kanavu, Muthu and Love Birds. His soundtracks gained him recognition and notice in the Tamil film industry and across the country for his versatality in classical, folk, jazz, reggae, soft rock and other styles. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut in Hindi films. Many popular albums for films including Dil Se and Taal followed... he has worked with Mani Ratnam on ten films until 2006, all of which have been musical superhits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar - in Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and now S i v a j i.

S. Shankar is a popular film director from Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. He has made many Tamil movies which have social themes with a commercial narration. He is credited with delivering expensive, high end CGI in most of his films. Most of his movies from Tamil are dubbed into other languages especially Telugu and Hindi. He started his career with 'Gentleman' which grossed very well, then followed by 'Kadhalan', 'Indian', 'Jeans' and 'Mudhalvan' which were all mega-blockbusters. He directed the remake version of Mudhalvan in Hindi (Nayak),it was a success at the box office. His next film 'Boys' was a musical blockbuster but grossed moderately in Tamil and Telugu. His Anniyan(Aparichutudu in Telugu) which is based on Multiple Personality Disorder was a huge commercial hit in both Tamil and Telugu languages. and now S i v a j i: The Boss is all set to release on June 15th. to break all previous Records.

NRI Special: Chicago is getting for CB Naidu visit

Chicago: The Telugu Desam Party headed by former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu, which had put the state on the world map, but failed to be back in power in the last assembly elections, is revising its policies to benefit the rural people.

This was revealed by Vijaya Rama Rao, former director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and former Minister of Telugu Desam, while addressing a largely attended meeting organized by Tri-State Telugu Association, and Telugu Association of Greater Chicago, at India House and Banquets in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago, on June 10. The meeting was arranged to finalize arrangements to extend a warm welcome to Chandrababu Naidu at a reception and dinner to be held in his honor in Chicago on July 3.

Addressing the gathering, Vijaya Rama Rao said: “We are reshaping our policies to make their benefits reach the rural poor. The Telugu Desam Party is giving utmost importance to this aspect and seriously working to make it possible that the benefits of the progressive policies percolate into the rural areas.”

Enlisting the immediate requirements for any party to succeed in India, he said the country needed participative democracy, decentralization of power and elimination of corruption. “The planning is good, the projects taken up by the government are good, and most of the bureaucratic officials are meritorious. However, there is inadequacy in the delivery of service. Sometimes we are all helpless. The education is not within the reach of all, hospitals are not able to serve efficiently, the police are not able to do their duties. The services are not reaching people properly. There is corruption. The bureaucracy must concentrate on service delivery. The elected representatives have to be serious about their role. And that is why we need participative democracy,” he added.

He said that 600,000 villages in India could not be administered by New Delhi. Similarly 70,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh could not be governed by Hyderabad. There was need for decentralization of power and services to enable the benefits of programs and policies to reach all the people.

Recounting his own experience, he said that he was first a bureaucrat and then a politician. The Telugu Desam Party, launched by N.T. Rama Rao, strongly believed in empowering people. It brought several reforms. “Impressed by the TDP’s plans, policies, and performance, I joined it after my retirement as an officer of Indian Police Service. I was elected with a thumping majority from Khairatabad constituency unseating a longstanding leader. The TDP did several good things to people of the state and the country,” he said.

Stressing the need for decentralization of power in a democracy, he said that it was true that administrative decisions were quick in a country like China because of the centralized control. Centralized political structure and economic controls would not be suited to a democracy and India has always been a democracy. He said: “India being a democracy cannot function like China. In India, the progress is slow because the decisions have to be taken democratically. The gap between rich and poor is widening. But, ultimately democracy leads to stable progress. India is definitely progressing. India and the US are good examples of successful democracy.”

He said that India lived in the villages and 54 percent of its population was engaged in agriculture. Life of farmers and artisans was in a bad shape. While the government policies and plans were good, there was a big gap in their implementation. Their benefits were not trickling down to the poor. The theories and plans were good but their implementation was faced with inadequacies. There was need for a balance. There was need for focus. Therefore, TDP was revising, refocusing and reorganizing its policies.

He said that the regional parties were gaining strength. Governments of most of the states were being administered by regional parties now. Today there were no national parties. Even the so-called national parties like the Congress Party and the BJP were reduced to the status of regional parties. That was why coalition government at the center and the governments of states headed by regional parties had become a reality. Lately, the TDP was working for a third force at national level. Under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu, about 10 regional parties met recently to form a third force to focus on the issues that would elevate the lives of the rural people. There was good response to Telugu Desam Party’s initiative of revising and refocusing its policies. While the central government was allocating huge funds for employment guarantee schemes, the benefits were not reaching the rural people. Consumerism was growing in the country. The Telugu Desam Party would make special efforts to improve the lives of rural poor, he concluded.

Earlier, Yugandhar Yadlapati, founder of Telugu Association of North America (TANA), who welcomed the gathering said that the Indian community in the US was a mosaic of people representing all states of the country, and they were all united as far as their support to their motherland was concerned. He said they were all looking forward to the visit of Chandrababu Naidu to the US, to accord him a grand reception and participate in the dinner in Chicago .

Hanumanth Reddy, founder of American Telugu Association (ATA), concurred with the views expressed by Yugandhar Yadlapati, and appealed to the Indian community members to participate in the grand reception and dinner being arranged to honor Chandrababu Naidu.

Chalma Reddy said that Chandrababu Naidu would be too glad to meet all the community members. He would be meeting them in groups and individually at Renaissances Convention Center in the afternoon of July 3 before he would be attending the reception and dinner at India House and Banquets in Schaumburg at 6:30 p.m. He would also meeting people after the dinner. Chalma Reddy appealed to all to participate in good numbers at the O’Hare Airport reception on July 3 and grand sendoff in the morning of July 4.

Iftekhar Shareef, FIA president, Keerti Ravoori, leaders of Tri-State Telugu Association and Telugu Association of Greater Chicago like Dr. Sudarasana Rao Akkineni, Jayachand Pallekonda, Jagadish Kanuru, Syama Pappu, Murali Meraga, Ravella Prasad, Azad Sunkavalli, and others spoke.

For more information and tickets, please call Jagadish Kanuru at (630) 627-9772, Syama Pappu at (630) 430-4769 and Chalma Reddy (630) 254-4823.

Telugu Film News 14-06-2007

AMAV to collect 25 crores

Venkatesh’s summer blockbuster AMAV has collected around 18 crores in Andhra Pradesh alone in six weeks. This film is expected to rake in an amount of 25 crores share in total run. It collected 6.6 crores in Nizam so far and expected to collect 9 crores in Nizam. AMAV is all set to celebrate 50 days in 200 centers. In Nizam alone this film will run for 50 days in 55 theater. This film was released with 54 prints in Nizam and the print number is increased to 90 now.

Karunya sings for Chiruta

Karunya rendered his voice for a solo song in Ram Charan Teja’s debut film Chiruta. Mani Sharma composes music for this film. The unit of Chiruta is currently in Bangkok to shoot the remaining part of the film. Puri Jagan directs this film on Vyjayanthi banner. This film is expected to hit the marquee in the month of August/September 2007.

Gossip: Kamalini Hugging Harish Halfheartedly!

Kamalini Mukherji is halfheartedly playing her role in the film, ‘Pellaindi Kani…’ The trouble is with Harish, one of the two heroes. Though she insisted upon replacing him, EVV didn’t entertain her wish. Kamlini came down and accepted to play opposite to him. She considers him a third rate hero. She is unable to conceal her revulsion against him, when she acts. She hugs him reluctantly, even when a situation warrants. Will her whimsical attitude ultimately have the impact of the film?

Actors, Actresses and Their Remunerations

Here's the list of latest remunerations of heroes and heroine sin Tollywood. Only the young ones list is given here but no seniors are included.

Heroes:
Mahesh Babu- 5 Crore
Jr NTR- 3-4 Crore
Prabhas- 3 Crore
Allu Arjun- 3 Crore
Gopichand- 2 Crore
Allari Naresh -50 lakhs
Ram- 50 lakhs
Kalyan Ram- 50 lakhs
Raja- 30 to 40 lakhs
Sivaji- 20 to 25 lakhs

Heroines:
Trisha- 80 lakhs toCr
Ileana- 75 toCr
Asin- 40-60 lakhs
Nayantara- 50 to 60 lakhs
Shriya – 50 to 60 lakhs
Genalia- 30 to 40 lakhs
Sada 20 to 30 lakhs
Reema Sen- 20 to 30 lakhs
Sneha - 20 to 30 lakhs
Namita - 15 to 20 lakhs
Gopika - 15 to 20 lakhs
Sandya - 10 lakhs

Bollywood Special News

Abishek Bachchan 'Shaking' Only Foreign Hands

What is it with certain Indians and gora skin? While Aishwarya Rai was at her nicest best with both the Indian and foreign media at IIFA, hubby Abhishek Bachchan didn’t leave Mumbai without his trademark scowl.

You know, the one reserved for the Indian press? Indian TV crews tell us that he refused to speak nicely to them, constantly throwing that now infamous attitude.

But the minute the lovely English presenter from CNN stopped the couple on the red carpet, Abhi turned on the trademark Bachchan charm. In fact, he was more than willing to talk about his grand wedding, that too in great detail!

Seriously, we thought he’d be the last person to pander to this sort of bias. After all, the British media is far more intrusive and aggressive than us, no, Abhi dahling?

Bipasha's Bitterness At Yorkshire!

A birdie present at the IIFA event in Yorkshire tells us that Bipasha Basu got a bitter taste of her own medicine when a local radio station slammed her for an entire day for being rude to them!

The crew had turned up for an interview, but Bips was peeved with the organisers for not providing her with an AC dressing room at the show.

She made a big fuss about not being treated well for all to see.

As a result, the radio crew had to bear the brunt of her tantrum when she refused to speak to them.

So they did the only logical thing and slammed her on air.

Bips, of course, could do nothing but squirm. You know, it's really not that hard to be nice to people!

Hollywood technology gives Sivaji superior imagery

Ranjikant's much hyped Sivaji: The Boss, which opens Friday, is the first Indian film to incorporate the latest 4K resolution technology that is used only on big-budget Hollywood films.

In India, 2K resolution for digital intermediate (DI) is the set standard. Around 400 of the 2,900 prints of Sivaji have been made in digital format by Prasad EFX, one of the largest digital post-production studios in India. The studio has colour graded and post-produced the film.

Till recently, digital grading in India was done on a small monitor or by a low-end projector and screen.

Major Hollywood studios, however, allow cinematographers to see images being graded in high resolution on the big screen. Detailed attention is thus paid to selectively colour grade smaller areas in a frame or shot.

Considering the superior imagery that has been cinematographed by KV Anand for Sivaji, the processor for the film, Prasad group, felt that 4K would do justice to the film by enhancing its digital image quality and flexibility in colour grading.

AVM, the producers of Sivaji, have also gone ahead with the process considering the advantage it would have despite an increase in the cost of production.

"By routing the entire film through the 4K pipeline for the DI process, we can be certain that none of the details available in the celluloid film are lost," Madhu of Prasad EFX said.

Considering the superior imagery that has been used by KV Anand for Sivaji, the processor for the film, Prasad group, felt that 4K would enhance the digital image quality and flexibility in colour grading. "Another advantage is that when we can scale up the images during the post and graphics processes, the image will not go soft or lead to any artefacts. As a 4K image has larger resolution, we can also have unlimited freedom in manipulating the colours during grading," he added.

"Our meticulously colour calibrated environment ensures that what the cinematographers see in our facility is what is actually seen by people in the theatres."

The entire 4K DI process was done in Prasad EFX's Chennai facility, using high-end scanners, film recorders and colour grading suites.

Prasad simultaneously worked on around 85 percent of the VFX, or graphics, in Sivaji, also in 4K resolutions.

In the recent past, Prasad EFX has worked on the DI and colour grading of mega budget Bollywood movies like Krrish and Rang De Basanti.

The group has also upgraded their DI facility in Mumbai by including a digital theatrical projection system and a high-end Barco Projector D-Cine Premiere DP100 to their existing facilities.

The 26 ft x 40 ft theatre is located in the Prasad EFX facility at Andheri West, Mumbai, and is equipped with 5.1 surround sound.

Prasad EFX won several prestigious awards -- Filmfare, Screen, Zee Technical, Broadcast India, and at the recently held International Indian Film Academy at Yorkshire -- for Krrish.

The company has been a pioneer in bringing in new technologies and sophisticated equipment to India.

Prasad EFX is an arm of the 50-year-old Prasad Group, which has facilities and offices across India, Singapore, Dubai and Hollywood and is one of Asia's largest post-production groups.

Telugu Film News 14-06-2007 Latest

Venkatesh: 'Rajnikanth deserves it'

Venky, who was injured while shooting for his latest film, is now fit and raring to go.

Venky is all smiles because his recent release Aadavari Matalaku Arthalu Verule is about to complete 50 days.

“The film is doing well and is going to be the best in my career,” said Venkatesh.

According to trade pundits the blockbuster has already collected around Rs 18 crores in six weeks in AP alone. Finally the figures may cross the Rs 25 crore mark, the highest in the star’s career.

The film is going to celebrate 50 days in 200 centres throughout AP. In Nizam alone, it was released in 55 theatres and has been running for 50 days.

He, however, said the title had not been finalised so far.

“Suresh is looking after that and he wants to change the name from Tulasi,” he said.

Venky is sportive about the hype around Sivaji. “Rajnikanth deserves it. People are crazy about him. He is a big star and that film needs it,” he said. He smiles when asked Sivaji might adversely affect his film’s collections too.

“My film has already done its business, you can’t expect more,” is all he says.

It's True! Shivaji Ticket Sold Out @ Rs 12,000

The fresh news about Sivaji is really a source to horripilate. A hardcore fan of Rajni Kanth bought the Sivaji ticket for Rs 12,000 in Chennai. It is said that the guy is a software engineer who wishes to watch Sivaji on first day morning show at any cost. That way for the first time in the history of Indian Cinema a film ticket is sold out at whopping price on par with that of a pavilion ticket of live cricket match in stadium.

Is it true? Or a mere hype from Shankar's side? That's not known but reliable sources say that it's true!

The trade circles say that the ticket might have sold out at that whopping price but that wouldn't be so on the D Day as there will be big bargaining between vendors and fans.

Wait and watch this place for more interesting details on Sivaji.

Ameer Khan Says Media Is Silly Today

Ameer Khan is freshly in news for possessing huge land and for his claim as farmer. He has big lands in Pune those are fit for agriculture. When media questioned him he affirmed that he will be farming the land very soon. When asked about media he came out with his opinion.

Ameer Khan expresses the feeling in his inner heart saying that media is silly. He said, "I always prefer keeping away from media. The reason is that I don't know how to deal with that. I also don't like the way of media. It's making hype for every silly thing. Especially I'm worried about electronic media. I really wonder how there can be background music for News. Media approaches me and asks all nonsense. I don't think that there is need for me to answer for every silly thing".

Producer Says 'Sivaji' Brought Big Loss To Tollywood

Many have been expressing their views on the release of the film 'Sivaji' that's happening tomorrow.

Producer Nallamalupu Srinivas says that Tollywood had already faced loss and there is nothing new to face now.

He said, "Loss is already met. There is nothing new to face now. The releases of the films were troubled with the news that Sivaji is releasing. Good films always survive. As of now, the films those bagged good applause from audiences are doing well".

Many in the film industry feel that although Sivaji may bring split in collections of new films, but that is not for longer time.

Sumanth's Fiancée's Best Actress Dreams

Kamalini Mukherjee is being regarded in the industry as the fiancée to Sumanth. She is getting considerable recognition and significance in Tamil industry as well. She already acted in the Tamil film 'Vetayadu Veliyadu' (the dubbed version hasn't released in Telugu) with Kamala Hasan.

Now she got another chance to act and she is being respected as the girl to be entering into ANR's family. It is said that Kamalini is going her own voice of dubbing for this Tamil film. She is specially getting trained in language with the help of a lady coach who is also the assistant director of the film.

It is said that Kamalini has the dream to bag the award of best actress in Tamilnadu.

Dharmavarapu Excelling Brahmanandam In Arrogance!

Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam may break the record set by Brahmanandam. No. That’s not in comedy but in arrogance. Many reports say how Brahmanandam harasses producers and directors with his adamant approach. Now it is Subrahmanyam, who is making the lives of producers and directors miserable. As he is holding a Government Post, he is dictating terms to directors, many in the Industry say. Of late, he was dropped from Lagadapati Sridhar’s ‘Viyyalavari Kayyalu’ in the middle for his attitude. Narsing Yadav, a small time comedian, replaced him.

Rajinikanth, Chandrababu Naidu watched Shivaji Preview @ Prasad labs

Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu had seen the much-awaited big-budgeted Shivaji at a special preview arranged for him on Thursday, June 14, 2007. Rajnikant arranged the show and he flew down to Hyderabad to watch the movie with Chandrababu Naidu. Telugu Desam Parliamentary leader Yerram Naidu, TD leader Ayyanapatrudu and Shivaji's Telugu producer Bellamkonda Suresh were also present there.

Later the show, both Chandrababu Naidu and Rajnikanth spoke about the film.

Chandrababu Naidu
"Rajnikant is my good friend. About the film, all I can say it is going to create a history. It has great message. I appreciate Rajnikant for making a film with a social message. It deals about Black Money. If you see the current scenario in India, there is crores of black money lying. The film is an eye-opener for everyone. In the film, villain gives one rupee and challenges him. And in the end, the hero gives back him rupee and shows him that no one would take the money with him or her when they die. Director Shankar also told that no one is above the law. Even if someone deals with illegal and gets instant success, they too will be punished by the law. It is told in the film very correctly. The irregularities in the government setup also dealt in the film in right manner.
I have known Rajnikanth personally for a longtime. I know his thinking. I appreciate for his socially relevant movies. Even for his fans, there is everything for them in the film – from good songs, entertainment and good fights. In my opinion, there is no one in India to beat Rajni as per as his style is concerned. His popularity has reached to even Japan country even though he didn't go there.
A section of people are getting richer at one side, on the other hand poorer are becoming poorer. In 20 years, India will be one of the top 4 nations in the world. It is a fact, even the world is saying the same. Shivaji told this too.

Rajnikanth
Chandrababu Naidu gaaru is my best friend. I told him I would show Chandramukhi but could not do because of time constraint. So when I came here for the shooting of Shivaji, I met him personally and promised him that I would show Shivaji before the release. That is why I have arranged this screening. I am happy that he liked it. Three days back Kalaingar Karunanidhi had also seen the movie and he appreciated it. It is nice to that these gentlemen and great personalities have enjoyed my movie. Tonight, I am showing the film to Jayalalitha.
NTR once told me that I should make films that contain message. I am doing the same by his suggestion.
Shivaji has come out well. But the entire credit goes to Shankar and AVM. Shankar has made it a very interesting film. Shivaji is an socio-commercial entertainer.

The Himesh film pictures

Curiously, this shot reminds us of another superstar's upcoming film.
Reshammiya's Moviee releases June 29.

Mallika Sherawat plays a vamp, Ruby James.

Produced by Vijay Taneja, the film is rumoured to be insanely expensive.

The love story stars Himesh alongside former child star Hansika Motwani. Here, she is credited as Riaa.

Let's start by getting the name right.
Himesh Reshammiya's upcoming film is called Aap Ka Surroor: The Moviee: The Real Luv Story.