I want to direct a Bollywood movie: Prakash Raj

Added by harini on Jul 26, 2013

Southern actor Prakash Raj has carved a niche for himself in Bollywood with brilliant performances in villainous roles in movies like ‘Wanted’, ‘Singham’, ‘Dabangg 2’ and ‘Policegiri’.

Prakash Raj, who has already directed movies down South, now wants to direct a Hindi movie as well.

 “I want to direct a Hindi film. There is a plan...News will roll in as it happens. As of now, I don't want to say anything on it,” Prakash Raj said to PTI.

Prakash Raj is happy with the way his Bollywood career is shaping up.

“There are lot of heroes and villains in films today with lot of action films coming up. So I have got a place here," said Prakash.

After a string of negative roles Prakash Raj broke the mould and played a strict army officer in critically as well as commercially acclaimed movie ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’.

“It is a refreshing change to play a role like this. It is rare to get such a role and film like this. This is a film where you are not an actor, you are part of the film, you are part of that moment," he said.

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Sonakshi Sinha to make her Tollywood debut opposite Mahesh Babu

Added by harini on Feb 13, 2013

Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha will make her Tollywood debut opposite Mahesh Babu with periodic drama movie, tentatively titled ‘Shivam’, by director Krish Jagarlamudi.

Sonakshi Sinha confirmed the news and said that she was very excited to make her debut in Telugu industry.

“Wow! Lots of support from the south for my Telugu debut - thanks guys!! Really looking forward to it... Feels like Dabangg déjà - debut with superstar, script I couldn’t refuse, capable and intelligent director! Shoot starts later this year… it's going to be a great journey :),” posted Sonakshi Sinha on her Twitter page.

According to sources, the actress was very keen on doing the movie despite her tight schedule as the movie will be her first periodic drama.

“Sonakshi had limited dates but she liked the script. She was also keen to do a period film so she gave her consent,” said a source to Mid-Day.

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Priyamani to do an item number in 'Chennai Express'

Added by harini on Feb 12, 2013

National Award winning southern actress Priyamani will be seen in an item song for the first time in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’.

The actress is very excited about the item number as she will get an opportunity to meet Shah Rukh Khan, who plays the male lead in the movie.

“I am very excited. I am just waiting for the shoot to happen so that I get to meet Shah Rukh Khan and to shoot with him,” said Priyamani to IANS.

Priyamani, who won the National Award for 2006 Tamil film ‘Paruthi Veeran’, will be seen in an item song for the first time.

“I have never done an item number. It is the first time and there is always a first time for everything,” she said.

Item numbers have become a significant part of the movies. Actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Malaika Arora Khan have been roped in to do item numbers to increase the hype and expectations surrounding the movie. Item songs like Malaika Arora Khan’s ‘Munni Badnaam’, Katrina Kaif’s ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ and ‘Chikni Chameli’, and Kareena Kapoor’s ‘Chammak Challo’ and ‘Fevicol’ achieved tremendous success and raised the bar for all item numbers. But Priyamani is unperturbed about the competition.

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Tamil Nadu government defends its decision to ban Kamal Haasan's 'Vishwaroopam' in court

Added by harini on Jan 29, 2013

The Tamil Nadu government defended its decision to ban Kamal Haasan’s movie ‘Vishwaroopam’ in court today.

The government of Tamil Nadu described the censor board's clearance of the film as a ‘scam’. The Attorney General for the state said the censor board's sanction was given "without application of the mind."

The Tamil Nadu High Court is expected to decide whether the ban of the movie, placed by the State Government last week, will be revoked.

In court today, Kamal Haasan’s lawyer claimed that the ban seems to be part of "a concerted effort to gag" the actor. He also said the ban is unconstitutional because the movie has been cleared by the country's censor board.

But Tamil Nadu government stood its ground and said that ban was due to the protests held by various Muslim groups throughout the country, who claim that the portrayal of Muslims in the movie is offensive.

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Kamal Haasan defends the release of `Viswaroopam' on DTH

Added by harini on Dec 31, 2012

The decision of actor Kamal Haasan to release his Tamil film `Viswaroopam' on Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform first has received strong opposition from theater owners, who have threatened to boycott not only this movie but also Kamal Haasan’s future projects.

But the actor is unfazed by the opposition and believes that releasing movie was "evolutionary growth" and insisted it was the "way to go forward."

“Like satellite television this (effort of releasing the movie on DTH) is an evolutionary growth...The monetization is very well-planned and we debated it with DTH companies without disturbing the ecosystem of the (cinema) business. This is the way to go forward,” said Kamal Haasan to PTI.

The actor claimed that this was a `first-of-its-kind` initiative across the globe.

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SS Thaman Composing Qawali for Siddharth’s Film

Added by vidhatha on Sep 18, 2012

Thaman is going to score a Qawwali song for Siddharth’s forthcoming untitled movie directed by Nandini Reddy. He has composed the song recently and the lyrics were given by Ramjogayya Sastry. Qawwali falls under Sufi music, which was made popular by legendary singer like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Though this form of music is very popular in Hyderabad, it has appeared rarely in Telugu movies.

It is very good to know that a contemporary director like SS Thaman is composing a Qawwali number. Samantha is playing opposite Siddharth in the film. The unit is going to fly to Dubai in the 4th week of September to shoot a song along with some scenes. The film is being produced by Bellamkonda Suresh and it is likely to release during the end of this year.

Yami Gautham injured on Gauravam sets!

Added by vidhatha on Sep 18, 2012

Yami Gautham, who’s playing the lead lady role opposite Allu Sirish in ‘Gauravam’, got hurt at the film sets while shooting for an action sequence. The incident took place recently on the sets of ‘Gauravam’. Reportedly, the crew and cast on the sets were in a panic state as the injury was not a minor one.

A doctor was called immediately to check the state of actress. However, to everyone’s surprise, Yami requested the doctor to give her painkillers and put her on medication in order to resume the shoot as she did not want to cause any delay in the shooting. The film is being directed by Radha Mohan and is being shot simultaneously both in Telugu and Tamil.

Allu Sirish is making his debut through this film as an actor, and buzz is that his name in the film is ‘Arjun’. The film is being produced by Prakash Raj through Duet Movies banner, and SS Thaman is giving music for the film.

Dil Raju Owns Nizam Theater Rights on CGTR

Added by vidhatha on Sep 18, 2012

Popular producer cum film distributor Dil Raju has grabbed the theater rights of Powerstar Pawan Kalyan’s forthcoming film ‘Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu’ (CGTR). Sources say that he has bagged the CGTR theatrical rights for a record amount of Rs 11.50 crores. This is the first time for a Telugu movie to obtain over 11 crores in Nizam area.

Tamanna is paired opposite Pawan Kalyan in ‘CGTR’. Puri Jagannath is directing the film and the music scores are given by Mani Sharma. The audio launch of 'CGTR' would be held on September 24 in Hyderabad and the first look teaser will be released on the occassion of Vinayaka Chaviti on September 19.

Veteran Actor Suttivelu Passed Away

Added by vidhatha on Sep 18, 2012

Comedian and veteran artist Sutti Velu passed away at around 3:30am yesterday in Chennai due to heart attack. Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimharao, familiarly known by his screen name as Suttivelu, was born in Bandar, Krishna district on August 7, 1947. He has acted in about 200 films, and won Nandi award as the best supporting actor in 1985 for the movie ‘Vandemataram’.

He became more familiar to Telugu audience through his film ‘Naalugu Stambalata’. Apart from films, he also appeared in many tele-serials in ETV and Doordarshan. The actor is survived by his wife, one son and three daughters.

Megastar Chiranjeevi to Start Aarogya Yatra

Added by vidhatha on Sep 18, 2012

Actor turned politician Dr Chiranjeevi is planning to start a health tour called ‘Aarogya Yatra’ in entire state of Andhra Pradesh from the last week of September. The main aim behind Chiranjeevi’s ‘Aarogya Yatra’ is to offer medical assistance to the poor and to create health awareness among them. Megastar believes that the medical assistance is not reaching the poor and needy at the right time, hence he is planning for this health tour.

The ‘Arogya Yatra’ is organized by Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust, and this tour will begin from Adilabad district and will continue in 12 other districts till this October. Sources confirm that this tour purely comes from Chiranjeevi’s charity programs and does not have any political logic behind it.