Okka Magaadu shoots in Talakona

Okka Magaadu shoots in TalakonaBalakrishna and YVS Chowdhary's prestigious film "Okka Magaadu" is progressing at rapid pace. It has already completed major part of the shooting in various locations Hyderabad, Australia, Malaysia, Rayalaseema, Rajamundry, etc. Presently, the shooting has moved to another beautiful location Talakona.

Hero Balakrishna and all the important cast is participating in the shooting in the forest. Music of "Okka Magaadu" is expected to release on Dussera. Music director Manisharma who is working with YVS for the first time has already recorded all the songs. Chandrabose has written all the songs.

24 Frames Factory Launch

Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures (SLPP), one of the largest production houses in India announced today the launch of 24 Frames Factory, exclusively designed as a content development company. 24 Frames Factory will conceive and develop varied content to suit the requirements of TV, Radio and Mobile Communication and Internet.
This pre-production and production company will work in association with ThinkSamrt, a leading VFX studio and post-production unit in Hyderabad as a cost-effective service provider catering to the needs of TV program makers, working on a tight schedule and defined budgets. In an effort to ascertain audience preferences in terms of terms of TV programming in Telugu, 24 frames factory has set up an audience research division.
The year 2007 happens to be the silver jubilee year for the SLPP. Commenting on the launch of 24 Frames Factory, Dr. Mohan Babu, renowned actor, producer and educationalist said, “With the proliferation of TV networks and increase in TV viewership - notably in Andhra Pradesh, SLPP recognizes the need to generate and serve non-film based TV entertainment and programmes that reflect changing attitudes and lifestyles. With a well-researched team in this field, target of 24 frames factory is small budget films, quality serials and talk, reality, game and film-related shows.”
“O Inti Katha’, a TV serial, produced under the banner of SLPP is going to be launched in August. The foremost objective of this serial is to encourage the talented and promising artistes and technicians and introducing them to the small screen.
Vishnu Manchu, actor and CEO, ThinkSmart & SVN group said, “We have laid out great expansion plans for 24 frames factory. By next two years, 24 frames factory is poised to enter the area of feature films, mostly catering to new-age audience. In 2009, the target is to make 10 feature films in many in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil and co-production in English films. In tune with the ever growing need for quality entertainment, the company has laid special emphasis on producing meaningful and superior content.”
Along with the launch of 24 frame factory, Vishnu who is the main source of inspiration for its establishment also celebrated 100 days of Dhee, his recent movie.
This launch was attended by K Raghavendra Rao, Bala Krishna, B Gopal and many heads of various TV channels.

Rao needs a dozen heroines for 'Ranga Panduranga'

Director K. Raghavendra Rao is looking for a dozen heroines to star alongside Telugu actor N.T. Balakrishna in his devotional film 'Ranga Panduranga'.
A remake of 'Panduranga Mahatmyam', a yesteryear's hit starring Balakrishna's legendary father, actor-politician N.T. Rama Rao, the film will go on the floors in September.
Sneha, known for her heart-warming smile, is reportedly the favourite for the role of one of the two main heroines.
The names under consideration for the other 10 actresses, who will make guest appearances for 5 to 10 minutes each, include Parvathi Melton. She is known for her roles in 'Madhumasam' and 'Vennela'.
Currently Parvathi is making waves in Kerala for her role in the Malayalam comedy 'Hello', in which she is paired with Mohanlal.

Priyamani, who has made a name with her performance in Tamil film 'Paruthiveeran', a box-office hit that also won critical acclaim, is also being considered for the film. (IANS)

Jonnavithula's Advises For Balakrishna

Jonnaviththula Ramalingeswara Rao is known as film lyricist for many. He is also known as great scholar who has command over Telugu and Sanskrit, among literary circles. But he has got another phase now.
He is almost acting as 'Mahamanthri' and 'Raja Purohitha' for Balakrishna. After the split with Astrologer Satyanarayana Choudhary in the 'shooting episode', it is said that Balakrishna made Jonnaviththula close to him. He also knows Astrology to some extent and advises Balayya on those matters.

Well, Jonaviththula makes foreign visits along with Balakrishna. Indeed, that is the duty of a Minister when he assumes someone as his king!

Gossip: Balaiah’s ‘Sidhanthi’ Living Secluded Life!

Satyanarayana Chowdary, one of the fellow victims of Bellamkonda Suresh, in Balakrishna’s ‘hysterical’ shooting is living a secluded life in Visakhapatnam. He had been with Balaih as a trusted astrologer till the fateful night of the ‘shooting’. Had his relation with Balaiah not been strained, he would have played a key role in the betrothal function of Balaiah’s daughter (Brahmani) with Lokesh, many in the industry say. Chowdary, who is known as ‘Siddhanthi’, is trying hard to renew his contacts with Balaiah these days, sources reveal.

That Can Be Possible Only For Balakrishna

Balakrishna has been with the passion to portray the roles like Duryodhana, Krishna , Ravana, Yama and Sri Krisna Deva Raya in films. But this is not the trend of mythological films now. Still he is quenching his desire by portraying various roles on stage. His longstanding ambition to make the film 'Nartanasala' is also pending. He said that he likes to act in the film 'Seetarama Kalyanam' if made again now. We have t see if Balakrishna ventures to make a few mythological films. Only Balakrishna can promote mythology in Andhra Pradesh. The present generation is not aware of mythological stories in depth as the people in past know. That is due to lack of mythological films now.

Balakrishna should come to rescue the waning knowledge of mythology among Telugus. He is the one with passion and talent to make those films. Is he listening!

Side Talk: Balakrishna Fans Disappointed!

The fans of Balakrishna were disappointed observing the audiences' response to Balakrishna's portrayal as 'Yama Dharma Raju' on the dais of TANA. While he portrayed the role of Sri Krishna Deva Raya along with Murali Mohan who portrayed Timmarusu the response was pretty good. But for his subsequent performance the audiences were found very meager although he did really well.

It was observed that Balakrishna was very well moved close with all the people in TANA and he was accessible for each and everyone there. That reduced his aura and hence people lost interest to watch his second performance, although that's marvelously performed by him.

But the same audiences rocked with enthusiasm when Sunil's program was announced. He just flashed for some time and moved away from mobs. That's the secret of craze on him. Same was the plight with Chiranjeevi during the last day of ATA. He spent there just for 30 minutes and left the place. So the aura sustained. So, Balakrishna wouldn't have performed those many shows at a time.

Looking at all this, Balakrishna's fans were found unhappy on one side and happy on other. They were happy since their hero was at hand's distance from them and also talking to them with smile and eagerness whenever approached. They were unhappy because the response from audience for his second show is modicum. Well, all that's the result of over familiarity and the English quote 'Familiarity begets contempt' can be recalled here.

Snippet: Can Balakrishna's Dream Fulfil!

The plight of Balakrishna can be understood by all. He is very much passionate to portray the mythological and historical roles portrayed by his father. But now the trend is away from that. Hardly there are producers who can venture boldly on those subjects. Hence to quench the desire he is playing those roles on Stage.
During Platinum Jubilee he portrayed the role of Duryodhana and in fresh TANA he played as Sree Krishna Deva Raya and Yamadarma Raju. His passion for Telugu is also understood when he spoke from dais for 45 minutes without uttering a single English word.
Can Balakrishna's desire get fulfilled at least in near future? Well he is acting in Ranga-panduranga. Will there be anything beyond that?

NBK Fund Raising Dinner Album

Bala Krishna Nandamuri raises 1 crore in LA for Hrudaya Foundation

Cure A Little Heart Foundation www.curealittleheart.org and Hrudaya Foundation www.hrudaya.com are helping thousands of under privileged kids in India by curing heart diseases and by providing surgeries at free of cost.

Popular Telugu hero Mr .Nanadamuri Balakrishna joins hands with Cure A Little Heart Foundation and Hrudaya Foundation to help further this noble cause.

Nandamuri Balakrishna's presence in the fundraising dinner helped the organizers raise 250,000$ USD (1 crore Indian rupees). This event was organized at Hilton Hotel, Irvine/Orange County Airport in California, United States on Saturday, 30th June, 2007. The event started at 7PM and went on till midnight. It was attended by the trustees of Cure a little heart and Hrudaya foundation, eminent NRI's and Mr. Nandamuri BalaKrishna's fans.

In his speech Mr. Nandamuri Balakrishna praised all the people involved in this noble cause. He said that inspite of a telugu adage " Sarvendriyanam nayanam pradhanam" (out of all the organs eyes are the most important), he believes that it is the heart that is the most important organ and substantiated his belief by pledging enough money to support heart surgeries for five children.

Dr. Gopichand Mannam, the Managing Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation received standing ovation in recognition of all his hardwork towards the foundation. Jayaram Komati Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation and Dr. Nagarjuna R.Ponugoti Managing Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation, executive members of Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC), Veeru Uppala TANA Regional Vice President, Sateesh (Chairman -- TANA Trustee board) attended the event.

Cultural events of the evening were presented by Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) and were thoroughly enjoyed by the audeince. The event was promoted by Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC).

Dr. Prem Reddy, well known Cardiologist donated 50,000 USD and Mr. Sarath Kamineni donated 25,000 USD on behalf of his family. Mr. Venkata SubbaRaju donated 5,000 USD.

Nandamuri Balakrishna fans Ravi Potluri , Chakravarthi etc donated 1500$ to the Cure A Little Heart Foundation. Mr.Ravi Potluri coordinated the fans activities.

Mr. Jayadev Appannagari Trustee Hrudaya Foundation organized the event.

Nandamuri Balakrishna's Fund Raising Dinner

Cure A Little Heart Foundation and Hrudaya Foundation are helping thousands of under privileged kids in India by curing heart diseases and by providing surgeries at free of cost.

Dynamic hero of Telugu film industry, Yuva Ratna Nanadamuri Balakrishna joins hands with Cure A Little Heart Foundation and Hrudaya Foundation to help further this noble cause.

Nandamuri Balakrishna's presence in the fundraising dinner helped the organizers raise 250,000$ USD (1 crore Indian rupees). This event was organized at Hilton Hotel, Irvine/Orange County Airport in California, United States on Saturday, 30th June, 2007. The event started at 7PM and went on till almost midnight. It was attened by the trustees of Cure a little heart and Hrudaya foundation, eminent NRI's and Mr. Nandamuri BalaKrishna's fans.

Nandamuri Balakrishna mesmerised the crowd of over 200 people with his speech. In his speech Nandamuri Balakrishna praised all the people invloved in this noble cause. He said that in spite of a telugu adage " Sarvendriyanam nayanam pradhanam" meaning out of all the organs eyes are the most important, he bvelievs that it is the heart that is the most important organ and substantiated his belief by pledging enough money to support heart surgeries for five children.

Dr. Gopichand Mannam, the Managing Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation received standing ovation in recognition of all his hardwork towards the foundation. Jayaram Komati Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation and Dr. Nagarjuna R.Ponugoti Managing Trustee of Hrudaya Foundation, executive members of Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC), Veeru Uppala TANA Regional Vice President, Sateesh (Chairman -- TANA Trustee board) attended the event.

Cultural events of the evening were presented by Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) and were thoroughly enjoyed by the audeince. The event was promoted by Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC).

Dr. Prem Reddy, well known Cardiologist donated 50,000 USD and Mr. Sarath Kamineni donated 25,000 USD on behalf of his family. Mr. Venkata SubbaRaju donated 5,000 USD. Nandamuri Balakrishna fans Ravi Potluri, Chakradhar etc donated 1500$ to the Cure A Little Heart Foundation.

Mr.Ravi Potluri coordinated the fans activities.

Mr. Jayadev Appannagari Trustee Hrudaya Foundation organized the event.

City Buzz: Big Bad Joke On Balakrishna!

Nasty SMSs started circulating again which should be condemned.

Here is one: "Flash Flash- D Time magazine survey estimates that the software boom will be down after 1 year becoz our BALAYYA is acting as Project Manager in Okka Magadu".

Such messages made big rounds in Internet and mobiles when the film 'Veerabhadra' was releasing. The syndrome reduced with 'Maharadhi'. But now, again bad campaign started this way, which should be condemned.

Okka Magadu on the lines of 'Bharateeyudu'!

Balakrishna, who is busy with his hectic schedules for 'Okka Magadu', celebrated his 48th birthday amidst thousands of fans in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh on June 10.

The actor also participated in a Pulse Polio programme and distributed clothes and fruits at a local hospital and an old age home. When his fans kept raising slogans projecting Balakrishna as the future chief minister, Balakrishna maintained that he would continue to serve society.

'Okka Magadu', being directed by Y V S Chowdary, though the storyline of the film remained a guarded secret, it is learnt that the film is on the lines of Kamal Haasan’s 'Bharateeyudu' (Indian) where Balakrishna appears in a double role. And Simran dons the role of Sukanya. His daughter Brahmani’s marriage to Chandrababu Naidu’s son, Lokesh, is going to be held in the month of August. And the actor is said to be the only candidate in the race for the Rajya Sabha seat on behalf of the TDP.

Daggubati gets invite from Balakrishna!

Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Daggubati Purandareshwari and her husband and Congress MLA D Venkateshwara Rao played a very active role in the engagement ceremony of film hero Balakrishna's daughter Brahmani with Lokesh, son of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday.

One interesting aspect noticed at the engagement ceremony was that the Daggubati couple came well in advance to Balakrishna's house and waited at the main entrance to receive the guests. In fact, almost all the family members of Telugu Desam patriarch N T Rama Rao, came directly to Balakrishna's house and nobody accompanied Naidu family, though his wife Bhuvaneshwari is also NTR's daughter. Only Naidu's close relatives came in a bus to Balakrishna's house.

Inquiries revealed there was a little politics involved in the engagement ceremony, too. Bhuvaneshwari formally invited her sisters to her place first and asked them to come in a baarat. However, no invitation was extended to Daggubati family. And it was Balakrishna, who invited Purandareshwari and Venkateshwara Rao to the function and asked them to help him. So, when Daggubati couple invited all others into Balakrishna's house, including Lokesh, they did not see eye to eye with Chandrababu Naidu. And it did not miss the eye of waiting mediapersons!!

Balayya-Babu: Everything in Secret Mode

Today is the most memorable day in the families of Nandamuri and Nara . It's second time that both these surnames are coming together on betrothal. Balakrishna's daughter Brahmani and Chandrababu Naidu's son Lokesh are getting engaged today.

That's a beginning for new relation on one side and big political move on the other. The house of Balakrishna is decorated well but that's going to be a complete private party.

Only the close family members and best friends of Babu and Balayya will be seen in the ceremony as per the sources and Chandrababu's earlier statement.

Balakrishana's OKKAMAGADU

*ing... Balakrishana, Simran, Anushaka, Nisha Kotari
Director & Producer : Y.V.S.Chowdary