Opinion: Open Letter To Puri Jagannath

Mr Puri Jagannath, I understand that you are very practical in your approach but you need to watch your words when you say something. A star director like you should not be saying all this. As per you, imported heroin's are very talented. My simple question is, what talent did Hansika exhibit in Desamuduru? What talent did Ileana exhibit in Pokiri and what talent did Neha Sharma exhibit in Chirutha? Didn't you use them only for songs n glamor? Did you give them any performance based role? Or, are they really capable to act before the lens? A simple fact with one of your heroin's, Hansika, is that she was kicked off from Bollywood after one film (Aap ka Suroor) because of her terrible acting and now she is back in Tollywood. It's proved many times that your so called imported actresses use Tollywood as a perfect launchpad to get into Bollywood. And, please don't compare heroin's with camera's. It doesn't make much sense.

Coming to the issue of Prakash Raj and Ashish Vidhyarthi, it's understandable why one casts them in their films, lack of villain's in Tollywood. There's no doubt that they are tremendously talented. I agree with you on those.

Coming to filming locations, going abroad, it's your / hero's obsession. Isn't it funny/foolish to see our hero's and heroin's dancing on roads in foreign lands and people look at them as if there is something wrong. Is that necessary? How can a director like Shekar Kammula show the grandeur of Andhra on Celluloid? How can it be possible for him and how come people like you go to foreign shores for shooting? If your hero insists and your producer is ready to burn his money then it's okay but going abroad for every movie you make raises doubts about you and your crew's hidden obsession's (like, erotic massage in Thailand, etc).

To conclude, it's not that Telugu girls are not available for us but it's people like you who are not interested in them and interested in other state (North) girls. You directly prove that famous proverb in Telugu, What we have in our house doesn't look good, but what we see in other's house appeals a lot to us.

Regards
Sandeep Mogulla
sandeep277@gmail.com
Edison, NJ, USA

Puri Jaganadh: 'I Fulfilled Chiranjeevi's Desire'

Charan is good but the story is bad. Charan's voice is good but the screenplay is not good. Charan's dance is good but Puri's narration is bad…'

These are the comments those have been making rounds after the release of Chirutha. When the same thing was asked to Puri, he said, "I did what Chiranjeevi garu asked me to do. He asked me to project his son well. That was fulfilled. Chiranjeevi garu hugged me after watching the first positive of the film. That's enough for me. When the purpose of showing Ram Charan in right degree is served, I don't feel anything if people say that my story is not up to the mark".

So Puri is happy even though the negative feedback on his story is heard. He also said that he never takes life serious and hence his stories also will be week and there will be no heaviness in that.

Puri's Expected Remuneration For Chirutha

Grapevine says Puri Jagannath's remuneration for the film 'Chirutha' is Rs 4 Crore, with 'conditions applied'. The first remuneration is Rs 2 Cr while the rest is assuring on the percentage of the profits collected on it.

Considering the total number of prints and the scope of the film, it is estimated that irrespective of the status of the film Puri would bag a sum of Rs 4 Crore on total. If the film gets positive feedback and turns out to be a big hit then the pay would go big for Puri.

The inside statistics and the percentages are not revealed indeed.

Puri's Neck on the Chopping Block?

Chirutha release has been postponed once again. Reason? Chiranjeevi wants to personally supervise the pre-release publicity.

And the one man who is most anxious about the fate of Chirutha, of all people, is director Puri Jagannath. He has done his best, but still some doubts linger. There was news that he did not have a completely free hand in direction and that there was some interference (Darsakathna Paryavekhshana!). The re-shooting of some sequences once again in Bangkok is just one example.

Now Puri is in an unenviable position. His position is like – 'Heads you win, tails I lose' or if the film is a hit, then all credit goes to Ram Charan and if the film does not do well for any reason, then all blame is put at Puri Jagannath's door.

So Puri must be praying really hard, more than Chiranjeeevi and Ram Charan Tej, for the success of the film.

Chitchat with Puri Jagan

Puri Jagan who introduced his brother Sairam Shankar as a hero with his 143 film is coming out with a second venture with him again 'Hello Premistara' directed by Raj Kumar. This film is all set to release on 30 August. Puri Jagan met scribes today for a brief chitchat. Here are the excerpts -

What is the reason for producing this film?
Dil Raju sent me the director Raj Kumar for a narration. I loved the story. He narrated it with lot of clarity. Dil Raju wanted to make a film with Sairam Shankar. But he could not do it alone because of his other commitments. That is the reason why we decided to produce it jointly.

How different is this love story compared to other love flicks?
It is a nice story. Hero works in a mobile network company called Airtalk. Heroine works as an anchor in a TV program called 'Hello Premistara'. That is the reason why we have chosen Hello Premistara as the title. This story will be new.

You worked with Sairam Shankar for 143. Do you see any improvement in him as an actor since then?
He matured himself as an actor. He would improve more if he does a few more flicks.

How important is music for this film?
Chakri scored wonderful music. Earlier also there were lots of musical hits in our combination. Music will play a big role in the success of this film. The audio generated good response. 'Ninna Monna Yedalo levu' is my personal favorite.

Did you give any suggestion to director Raj Kumar?
I told him that Sairam Shankar is not a big hero. Hence asked him to complete the movie in adequate footage.

Is there any importance to the comedy in this film?
This film would provide a lot of entertainment. Brahmanandam, Ali, Mallikharjuna, MS Narayana and Sunil are doing humor oriented roles.

What kind of roles you want to see Sairam Shankar in?
Sairam is suitable for rough characters.

Do you think it would help Sairam because he happens to be your brother?
I think it only helps for the first show on the first day. After that it is up to the quality of the film.

Have you seen Hello Premistara film?
Yes. It came out very well. There will be terrific comedy and it is the integral part of the story. Songs are also picturized well.

What can we expect in a film that is coming from the producers of Bommarillu and Pokiri?
It will be a good film. But it is unreasonable to expect something extraordinary because it is coming from us.

Tell us about heroine Sheila?
Sheila is a Telugu girl and we are seeing a Telugu girl acting as heroine in Telugu films after a long gap. She did very well. Impressed by her work, Dil Raju cast her as heroine in his film with Allu Arjun as hero.

Will Sairam Shankar settle as hero with this film?
I am sure that this film will be a plus for him and he will establish himself as hero. Even if it fails, I would do another film for him

Directors are becoming heroes. Do you want to become a hero?
There is a hero in every director. There is a director in every hero. But it will be in the best of film industry's interest, if heroes remain as heroes and directors remain as directors.

Do you think there is scarcity of stories in Telugu? How do you update yourself?
It is not proper to discuss about this topic. I stopped watching Telugu films 16 years back. I watch Hollywood flicks and prepare stories based on them.

Do you want to make films like Missamma and Gundamma Katha?
I want to do pure realistic cinema. I would make such a film if time permits.

You would continue doing big films or you direct small films too?
I got recognition through my small budget films. Hence I would continue directing small films at regular intervals.

Will you do a film with Pawan Kalyan?
I want to do it. But we are not getting the right story.

Tell us about Chiruta?
Talkie part is over. Shooting of 3 songs is pending. The audio will be released directly into market this month. We will release the film in the next month.

What is your future project?
My next film will have Prabhas as hero.

Buzz: Chakry Is Not Talking With Puri?

Puri Jagannath is not considering Chakry now. After scoring a hit album with 'Desamuduru' Chakry has been far from the company of his beloved friend Puri. Chakry assumed that Puri would give chance to score for 'Chirutha' but that didn't happen.

It was rumored that Chakry literally cried before Puri for missing the chance to score for that film. He also assumed that at least Puri would give him chance for next film. Sources say that the chance has gone for Devi Sri Prasad.

Chakry didn't cry this time, says the gossip. It is said that Chakry decided not to talk with Puri for some time. So, it's time for Puri to placate Chakry now. We have to see what Puri will do. If they talk again we have to consider that Puri placated Chakry. Otherwise, the silence continues.

Gossip: Will Puri Jagannath Forget Direction?

Though director Puri Jagannath has tripled his reputation with his Herculean task of introducing Charan as hero, he is not deriving professional satisfaction, sources close to him reveal.

It is usual with the members of Mega Stars' family to intervene with the making of the film, irrespective of the respect the director commands in the industry. Puri is no exception to this.

Every scene he shoots is prejudged. He is left with little choice to infuse his style in making.

He kept on amending the script and re-shooting many scenes, though he felt he had done them well.

'He may forget direction' by the time he finishes 'Chiruta', his friends sarcastically pity him.

Screen Talk: Puri Jaganath's Lucky Room

Besides being a good director, Puri Jaganath is also an equally brilliant story, screenplay and dialogue writer. He has written all of his films on his own. All of these films have done well at the box-office.

Puri reveals the secret behind their success.

He said, "I'm quite superstitious about the place where I write my script. There are certain places where the ideas flow non stop. One of such places is my bed room. When I was writing Pokiri, like any other writer I too faced the writer's block. But as soon as I sat in my bedroom, I just couldn't stop writing. Something similar happened when I was in Bangkok; I found my hotel room a great place for writing "Chirutha".

May be Puri should permanently book that hotel room in Bangkok. That way we will surely get to see many more good flicks from him.

Snippet: Puri Promises NTR With A Hit!

Puri Jagannath made the film 'Andhrawala' long back that toppled at box office. The main reason for its failure is that NTR portrayed dual role in which one is father's character. Audiences couldn't be able to digest that.

Now Puri says that he will give a hit to NTR. NTR also wished to work with Puri. Right now Puri is busy with Ram Charan's 'Chirutha'. So, after that he may think about his work with NTR.

Let us wait and see when that day comes.

Spotlight: Puri For Rs 4 Cr, SS Rajamouli For Rs 3 Cr

It has been an accepted truth all over the Indian film industry that the behind the screen directors are on par with big stars on screen. The remunerations bagged by directors are tremendous and the producers are going to dogs by paying huge sums to producers in many cases. Directors are also going with non-compromising way believing the quote, 'make hay while sun shines'.

Sources say that Puri Jagannath is taking a remuneration of Rs 4 Cr from Ram Charan Teja's debut 'Chirutha'. His remuneration before 'Pokiri' was Rs 2 Cr. Next falls SS Rajamouli who hasn't seen failure in his career till now. He is bagging a remuneration of Rs 3 Cr. VV Vinayak and Lawerence are taking Rs 2 Crore to 2.5 Cr. Among the directors those are taking more than a Crore, we have Trivikram Srinivas, Surender Reddy, Prabhudeva and 'Bommarillu' Bhaskar. YVS Choudary is also bagging big but since he is making films on his own banner, the figure hasn't come out exactly. But as per reports he takes not less than Rs 2 Cr if works for outside banner.

Now the corporate companies have also entered into the film production investing huge sums. Ad Labs is on top and many others are in line. So the directors are now claiming huge remunerations without any second thought or hesitation. There are indeed many directors those are making nasty films and living poor. The talented directors are always getting big treasure as remuneration.

EVV Satyanarana says that director's need is rightly understood by industry now.

Many talented directors are giving their dates for a few banners much in advance and locking crores of rupees.

In the conclusion of this we can simply say 'Vidwaan Sarvatra Poojyathey', the talented will be always honored.