Yesteryear heartthrob Sridevi's daughter Jhanvi debuts

After Radha, yesteryear heartthrob Sridevi is all set to launch her daughter Jhanvi on the big screen, that too in Tollywood. Sridevi's daughter Jhanvi will do her first film opposite Nagarjuna's younger son Akhil. Interestingly, Radha's daughter Karthika made her onscreen debut in Josh opposite Nagarjuna's elder son Naga Chaithanya

Source: Galatta

Popular South Indian Actress Vimla Raman forays into Bollywood

Popular South Indian actress Vimala Raman is all set to make her Bollywood entry with an author-backed role in Amrapali, a remake of the yesteryear classic. Frankly, I never dreamt of a B-town career since I am happy with my career here. After a few discussions with the director, I signed the film two weeks ago and the muhurat for the same will be held on April 16, she said. Atul Garge (former assistant of Ashutosh Gowariker) will direct the film and there are reports that Arbaaz Khan will play a prominent role in this epic. The film is based on the life of a royal courtesan who latter becomes a disciple of Buddha. Vimala Raman has apparently become a specialist in playing courtesan roles and period epics. I won great laurels for my courtesan role (Nagavalli) in the Kannada hit Aptharakshaka and probably that is one of the reasons for Hindi film-makers to consider me. The Kannada film was a semi-periodic drama set 150 years ago, whereas Amrapali is set during the advent of Buddhism. Doing period epics is a challenge as we need to be careful about costumes, hairstyling, dialect, etc. to get our act right. Even my classical dancing skills have come in handy in enacting such roles, she added. Vimala Raman's upcoming projects in Tollywood includes Ranga The Donga and Gayam 2. She is also excited about her maiden international project Dame 999. The plot revolves around navarasas and my traditional role represents karunasa. While doing this film, I learnt a lot about live sound recording. I shared screen space with Indian actors Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and a few Hollywood actors. I also realized the significance of subtle and non-dramatic acting, she revealed.

Source: Galatta

Popular Telugu Hero Ram replaces Star Ravi Teja.

Popular Telugu hero Ram, who is currently busy with Rama Rama Krishna Krishna under the direction of Srivas, will be the hero instead of Ravi Teja in creative director Krishna Vamsi's new flick, which is expected to start rolling in June. According to sources, Krishna Vamsi initially had plans to cast Ravi Teja as the hero in this flick, but later changed his mind after a clash with Ravi Teja during a private meeting. However, the official version is that Ravi Teja walked out of the project as he is too busy to allot dates for Krishna Vamsi. Jenda Pai Kapiraju and Kandhiriga are the two names under consideration as the title of this flick jointly produced by Raju, Praveen and Giri. Other cast and crew will be finalized soon.

Source:Galatta

Malayalam Actor Prithviraj in Director Blessy's Next Movie

2010 seems to be a great year for young Malayalam-Tamil actor Prithviraj as he has got plenty of prestigious releases ahead, including ace Mani Ratnam's much anticipated Raavan, bilingual Police Police (Telugu and Tamil) and Mammootty-Shriya starrer Pokkiri Raja (Malayalam). According to latest reports, Prithviraj's 2010 movies will also include another prestigious film from Blessy, one of the most promising directors of Mollywood! The director has recently chosen Prithviraj to play the hero in his untitled film to be shot extensively at Gulf deserts. This project is expected to go on floors by mid-August. More details about the film are awaited.

Source:Galatta

Kannada Movie Maduve Mane is ready for release!

Shraddha Arya is gearing up to make her much-delayed Sandalwood debut opposite Ganesh in Maduve Mane. Shraddha made her onscreen debut in Nishabd (Hindi) as Amitabh Bachchan's daughter. She has also played the role of Abhishek Bachchan's wife in a TV commercial, and Hrithik Roshan's girlfriend in another commercial. And now, she's playing a Class 12 student in the Shahid Kapur-starrer Paathshaala. Reportedly Shraddha plays a 'very Indian, very homely' girl in Maduve Mane.

Source: Galatta

Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth and family Elated!!

The coming of a newborn into a family is always a joyous time. Rajinikanth and family, who were just celebrating the engagement of his second daughter Soundarya, are equally excited awaiting the arrival of the second child of Aishwarya, his elder daughter! Rajinikanth, who is a very dedicated and adoring dad, is quite the pampering grandfather to Aishwarya's first child, Yatra. He is at the beck and call of the three year old, and indulges in the kid's every whim and fancy [He supposedly even bought an entire train compartment and set it up in their backyard just to amuse Yatra!]. And now grandpa is going to have a tough time dividing his attention betweem Yatra and the next baby! Aishwarya and husband Dhanush are natually overjoyed about having a second child. We are pretty sure that grandpa Rajni's and dad Dhanush's call sheets are going to be so overloaded with baby time, their next directors are going to have a difficult time scheduling their movies!

Source:Galatta

Telugu Movie Darling's Audio released in Hyderabad.

The audio of rebel star Prabhas's new Karunakaran-directed class love story Darling, which is expected to grace screens on April 23, was released in a grand function at Cyber Gardens, Hyderabad. The audio release function coincided with the birthday celebrations of Allu Arjun and lyricist Anant Sriram and the unit members cut the birthday cakes. B.V.N. Prasad, Karunakaran, Puri Jagannath, Rajamoui, V.V. Vinayak, Meher Ramesh, Boyapati Seenu, Dil Raju, Nallamalupu Bujji, Shyam Prasad Reddy, Aditya Babu, G.V. Prakash, Kajal, Prabhas, Ravi Teja, Allu Arjun, Sravanti Ravi Kishore, Krishnam Raju and others took part in the event. The film directors who attended the event launched the audio jointly by handing over the first copies to the heroes present. Supreme Music has bought the audio rights of Darling, made by B.V.N. Prasad under the banner of Sri Venkateswara Cine Creations. G.V. Prakash is the music director.

Source: Galatta

Tamil Actress Rambha's Wedding Pictures- Exclusive.

Malayalam Actor and Superstar Mohan Lal launches Anti-terrorism campaign.

On Thursday, Malayalam superstar and brand ambassador of Act of Humanity Mohanlal launched the second phase of the anti-terrorism campaign at the European Union Market in Kochi, which is led by magician R.K. Malayath. Mohanlal and former Kerala High Court judge P.K. Shamsudeen handed over the flag to Malayath, marking the start of the awareness rally. Malayath performed magic to drive home the message. In his short address, Mohanlal urged the crowd to make this attempt a success and convert Kerala into a terrorism-free state. The tour will end at Kasargod on April 21.

Source: Galatta

Tamil Actor Karthi's Movie Paiyya declared a Hit!

Actor Karthi is on Cloud Nine because his latest film Paiyya has been declared a hit. When asked if he would concentrate only on mass movies now, he said, "I've just started my career and at this stage, I'm open to doing as many masala flicks as I can. I've played heavy characters in my first two films. Now, I want to play the mass hero who bashes up all the villains. But after a few years, I'll definitely do films like Paruthiveeran. When a reporter asked if he would act in a film with his brother, he humorously replied, "Definitely! But we will not play brothers or friends. Suriya will play the hero and I will play the villain."

Source: Galatta

Telugu Super Star Mahesh Babu is Back!

After the tremendous success of Athidhi (2007), Tollywood's Prince Mahesh Babu surprisingly had no releases for the last two years! The reason is obvious. Mahesh Babu is actor who strongly believes in quality of films rather than quantity. In a career spanning more than 10 years, Mahesh Babu was very particular in doing not more than two films per year and the outcome has been remarkable! He has done just 15 films so far; of them, 8 won the most prestigious awards in the state including Nandi Film Awards. It does not end there! Mahesh Babu's steady career growth has made him the only Tollywood star who is the brand ambassador of three major companies: Thums Up, Univercel and Navaratna Oil. He is also the only actor in Telugu to have signed an agreement with corporate gaint UTV Motion Pictures. Is that not enough? Mahesh Babu fans can cheer up now! After a halt, their favourite hero is currently working on successful dialogue writer turned director Trivikram Srinivas' tentatively titled Kaleja, produced by Singanamala Ramesh Babu under the banner of Kanakaratna Movies with a whopping budget of over Rs. 30 crores. After the tremendous success of Athadu, this is the second time Mahesh Babu teams up with Trivikram Srinivas in Kaleja, touted to be an adventurous, comedy-oriented love story. Mahesh Babu plays the role of a taxi driver. Kaleja is expected to hit the marquee in May.

Source: Galatta

Kannada Movie Aptha Rakshaka Completes 50 days!

Kannada superstar Vishnuvardhan's 200th and last film Aptha Rakshaka, released on February 19, has completed 50 days run in Karnataka recently. The film has grossed nearly Rs. 5 crores in just four days of its release. The film is expected to gross more than Rs. 40 crores net in 100 days. Aptha Rakshaka has already replaced Mungaru Male as the highest grosser in Sandalwood so far. Aptha Rakshaka, the sequel of Apthamitra (which was remade in Tamil as Chandramukhi with superstar Rajinikanth in the lead), is directed by P. Vasu and Gurukiran has scored the music. The film stars Dr. Vishnuvardhan, Vimala Raman, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Bhavana, Sandhya, Komal Kumar, Srinivasamurthy, Avinash and others. The producer is Krishna Prajwal.

Source: Galatta

Kannada Star Upendra ,Surprise entry to reality TV show.

Kannada superstar Upendra, known for his various makeovers and get ups, made a surprise entry on a Kannada reality show recently, on which wife Priyanka is a judge. The actor also gifted Rs. 25,000 to each contestant. "He was supposed to come a while ago, but since he was busy with his latest directorial, Uppi couldn't make it. But the minute he had some time off, Uppi wanted to come there and that's how he appeared on the finale," said wife Priyanka to a leading English daily. "Uppi's very reluctant when it comes to appearing on TV shows; he's also not much of a TV viewer. But the concept of underdogs trying to make it big is what got him on board. Since he's had a tough upbringing, Uppi gets very emotional when people from a similar background strive to achieve something," she added.

Source: Galatta

Tamil Mega Star Vijay's Movie Sura Reaches the final stages.

Ilayathalapathi Vijay's 50th Tamil film Sura, being directed by S.P. Rajkumar, has reportedly finished its shooting schedule and is in its final stage. Sura is expected to grace theatres on April 14. This is the first time Vijay and Tamannaah come together in lead roles. Produced by Sangili Murugan, Sura is Ilayathalapathi Vijay's 50th film. Tamannaah has reportedly upped the glamour in this typical and proper masala movie. Sources reveals that Vijay will don the role of a fisherman in Sura which has music by Tollywood sensation Mani Sharma. The duo have worked together in Shahjahan, Youth, Pokkiri, Thirupachi and many more. Most of them were chart-busters, so let's hope Sura repeats the magic again.

Source:Galatta

Discovery Channel Meets Malayalam Superstar Mammootty

Discovery Channel's 'Travel and Living' programme's host Anthony Bourdain and his crew had an unique experience on Wednesday when they met megastar Mammootty for a personal chat on the sets of his new movie Pokkiri Raja in Kochi. Apart from spending enough time to answer their questions about the delicacies of Kerala, Mammootty shared home-made 'puttu' and 'meen curry' with Anthony Bourdain and crew. Anthony Bourdain reportedly left the sets very impressed, not just with the delicious food that the state had to offer, but also with the hospitality of one of its biggest film stars.

Source:Galatta

Telugu Superstar Nagarjuna Forays into Ad Films

Following the footsteps of his counterparts in Bollywood and Tollywood, action hero Akkineni Nagarjuna is all set to jump into the ad bandwagon for top multinationals (MNCs). Yes. I am planning to act in ad films, Nagarjuna said in reply to a question during an interaction with presspersons at the launch of new Parachute Advanced Cooling Oil in Hyderabad on Thursday. He and Bhumika Chawla unveiled the product introduced by Marico Limited. Both Nagarjuna and Bhumika have also acted in the promo screened for Parachute Advanced Cooling Oil. This is my first promo and more are in the pipeline, he said, refusing to elaborate further. Notably, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, actors Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and other film actors acted in advertisement films for a few MNCs and the response from viewers has been overwhelming.

Source:Galatta

Tamil Films a bad influence in Malaysia?

A Malaysian Indian official has blamed Tamil cinema for young people from the community taking to crime.

N.V. Subbarow, education officer of the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP), was quoted by Malaysia Namban newspaper as saying that the "incidence of crime among Indian youths was related to violence depicted in Tamil films".

Malaysia's estimated two million ethnic Indian community is predominantly Tamil that watches Tamil films, mostly sourced from India.

Subbarow said that so far no concrete action had been taken to cure such social ills as the government, politicians and community were "too busy blaming each other", The Star newspaper said Monday.

Ethnic Indian leaders generally complain of falling moral and social standards among the community due to lack of adequate religious and moral teachings.

Source: IANS

Malayalam Super Star Mohan Lal Elated.

Having done a few army-related films, Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is elated after completing his three-day post commission training with the 122 Territorial Army battalion here Saturday. The actor is now its brand ambassador.

'This is India's Army and I had a wonderful feeling in the last three days. Now I know the value of a soldier. I had a feel of this by a doing a few army-related films. Now being a part of that training is something unbelievable,' Mohanlal told reporters here.

The Territorial Army is a part of the Indian Army. Volunteers receive military training and can be mobilised during war or natural disasters.

Dressed in army dress, Lt Col (Honorary) Mohanlal said his job would be to propagate this feeling among Keralites.

'I consider that each one should give something back to the nation. The army is highly disciplined. There is nothing called 'no' in the army, and it is a tough job,' said Mohanlal. The actor underwent various training including night firing.

Colonel Davidson Kolath, who commands the battalion in Kannur, said that in future there would be refresher courses for Mohanlal.

The superstar earned himself an honorary commission last year after it was cleared by President Pratibha Patil, supreme commander of the armed forces.

The actor said: 'Cinema is a make-belief world. But being a brand ambassador of the Territorial Army is a once in a life time achievement. People of Kerala should think how they can serve the nation through this. School children should be given adequate exposure about it.'

Mohanlal's interest to don the uniform came after he did his first major role as an army officer in 'Keerthi Chakra' directed by Major Ravi, a former commando with the National Security Guards, in 2006.

In 2008 came 'Kurukshetra,' also directed by Ravi, about the Kargil war. It was then that the superstar decided to get an honorary commission.

Source:IANS

Kannada Superstar Sudeep feels Actors from down south are sidelined in Bollywood!

He may have rubbed shoulders with the likes of megastar Amitabh Bachchan in only his second Hindi film 'Rann', but Kannada star Sudeep is a little disillusioned with Bollywood. Actors from Karnataka and Kerala, he says, are 'totally sidelined by Hindi filmgoers'.

'I didn't come to Mumbai looking for a career. I adore this personality called Ram Gopal Varma. I think it was basically Ramu's trust in my abilities that prompted me to get on that flight from Bangalore to Mumbai,' Sudeep told IANS in an interview.

The actor, who made his Hindi film debut with 'Phoonk' and followed it with 'Rann', said: 'Somehow I feel South Indian actors are not that well known in the Hindi belt. Tamil and Telugu actors have an upper hand. But Kannada and Kerala are totally sidelined by Hindi filmgoers.'

'I don't want to blame anyone for this state of affairs. It's just that Kannada cinema hasn't grown. But let's be fair. There are filmmakers like Ramu to give us a chance. I'm sure there will be other chances given to South Indian actors.'

His next Hindi film is 'Rakta Charitra'.

Source:IANS

Tamil Super Hit Director Murugadoss signs Shruti Haasan.

Filmmaker AR Murugadoss, the man behind the blockbuster 'Ghajini', has signed Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti and Tamil superstar Suriya for his next project.

Suriya, who will soon be making his Bollywood debut, has previously worked with Murugadoss in 'Ghajini', whose Hindi remake starred superstar Aamir Khan.

Shruti, who made her movie debut with 'Luck', has been creating waves not only in Bollywood but also in the South. She had composed the music for 'Unnaipol Oruvan' and is currently working on a Telugu movie.

The new untitled film with Murugadoss is her debut in Tamil cinema.

The music composer for the film is Harris Jayaraj and the cinematographer is Ravi K Chandran. Udhayanidhi Stalin will produce the movie, which begins shooting this April.