29th July 2004

Bitter experience for Ankita
Ankita was recently in USA to participate in ATA (American Telugu Association) celebrations. She had a bitter experience due to a few NRI's over there as few of them approached her thinking that she was 'available'. She feels sad that few people had such an opinion on her by looking at the glamorous roles she is doing on the screen.

Nafisa Joseph commits suicide
Nafisa Joseph - former Miss India Universe (1997) - was found dead in her Mumbai flat after she committed suicide in the night of Thursday (29th July). She was 25 and was a popular MTV anchor. She hailed from Bangalore and was expected to get married in August.

Amisha Patel sues her father
Telugu/Hindi film heroine Amisha Patel recently served a legal notice to her father for mismanaging her earnings to the tune of 11 crores. She asked her father to return the money failing which he will have to to face legal charges

Santosham awards night
Santosham film magazine is coming up with an awards night 2 years after its inception. Santosham Awards night would be held on the night of 2nd August at Gatchibowli indoor stadium amidst high voltage blitz. This awards night would be graced by cream of Telugu film industry.

Sada as Monalisa
Sadaf made her mark in Kannada as well with a straight Kannada film titled 'Monalisa'. This film has become a big hit and is currently approaching 100 days. On this eve, the producer/director Indrajit Lankesh is doing the dubbing of this film in Telugu by adding a separate comedy track with Brahmanandam and Kovai Sarala. This film is due for release in the month of September 2004. Telugu musicians' duo Valisha-Sandeep scored music for this film.

Pop album 'Abad Hyderabad'
Though a Telugu man, Rohit Kumar of Vizag is planning a Hindi music album and reached Hyderabad and got attracted to the city's culture and traditions. He had decided to do a pop album with Hyderabad as it's backdrop. The director cum producer of the pop album Rohit Kumar says, 'The historical city of Hyderabad has something special in it. People of different languages and cultures mingle with each other in a cordial manner and hence I have selected this city as backdrop to my album - Adab Hyderabad'. This album would soon be released by a new audio company Vratina Music.

28th July 2004

Pawan Kalyan's film on 6th January
Pawan Kalyan's film in the direction of Karuranakaran would be releasing for Sankranthi 2005 on 6th January. The last schedule of this film would start on 25th August and continue till 1st week of November. Postproduction would start in November and first copy should be ready by the end of December 2004. Shriya, Neha Oberai, Jayasudha, Anantharam, Rajan P Dev, Gulshan Grover, Jersey Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Milind Gunaji, Kamal Mallik, Shoab Khan, Bombay Raju, Mahesh Anand, Brahmanandam and Sunil are playing other roles. C Aswini Dutt produces this film on Vyjayanthi banner. Mani Sharma provides music.

NTR on helpline
Youth mass star NTR is showing his helping nature and generosity by helping out the people in need. He financially helped a bright student Raghavendra Reddy (Cudappah) who secured MSc (Hons) Economics in BITS Pilani (see photo). He also met a heart patient D Yadagiri (see photo) who wished to meet his favorite star using 'Make a wish' foundation's help.

Varsham 175-days function
Prabhas's blockbuster Varsham would celebrate its run of 175 days on 5th September at a function arranged in Hyderabad. This function would be held in big scale and would be attended by lots of film celebrities along with the fans of Prabhas.

Posani's Memu Saitham
Posani Krishna Murali started a charity foundation called 'Memu Saitham' with the help of friends like Hari Krishna Nandamuri, Srihari, Jayant, Ganesh, AVS and Paruchuri brothers. All these celebrities contributed money to save the life of a peasant Sriramulu from Vemulawada.

21st July 2004

Venkatesh as Subhash Chandrabose
Venkatesh would be enacting the role of Subhas Chandrabose in a high-budgeted film to be directed by K Raghavendra Rao. C Aswini Dutt produces this film on Vyjayanthi banner. Shriya and Genelia would be playing female leads. There would be a British girl playing a vital role. Shooting of this film would start on 22nd in a set erected at Ramoji film city and would continue till 15th of August. Later on the film would shoot at another huge set being erected at Kurnool. Satyanand provides story. Manisharma is the music director. Two songs are already been recorded. Paruchuri brothers pen dialogues. Bhupati handles camera. Ashok provides art work. Vijayan choreographs action sequences.

Krishna to release Arjun audio
Audio of Mahesh Babu's Arjun would be released in Padmalaya studios on 22nd July by Superstar Krishna. The audio would be in market on 23rd July. Currently a song being picturized in a set erected at Padmalaya. In the past too Superstar Krishna released the audio of Mahesh Babu's blockbuster 'Okkadu' in the same floor at Padmalaya studios. Aditya music bought the audio rights. Gunasekhar directed this flick. G Ramesh Babu is the producer.

Krishnam Raju - herbal specialist
Actor Krishnam Raju might be a rebel star on the screen. But off the screen, he is a great humanitarian with fine knowledge in herbal medicine. He is quite popular as a doctor in friends, film and journalists circle. He never says no to anybody who approaches him for medical attention and prepares herbal medicine on his own using leaves and other ingredients. And his treatment shows positive results all the time.

20th July 2004

Gundumba Shankar audio on 29th July
Audio of Gudumba Shankar would be releasing on 29th of this month. Mani Sharma scored music. Veera Shankar who directed 'Hello I Love You' (screen version of Yandamuri's classic novel 'Vennello Adapilla') directed this film. Pawan kalyan plays the spoilt youth called Gudumba Sankar in this film. Naga Babu produced this film on Anjana Creations banner. This film is said to be stuffed with ample comedy by Pawan Kalyan which was badly missing in his last release 'Johnny'. Meera Jasmine is paired up with Pawan Kalyan.

A week gap between Arjun and Gudumba Shankar
As per the unconfirmed reports the makers of Arjun and Gudumba Shankar have decided to have an ample gap of a week so that openings generated would not be split between the films. The sources of idlebrain.com revealed that Arjun and Gudumba Shankar are going to be released on 18th and 25th August respectively. The official release date of Gudumba Shankar is 20th August as of now. We have to wait and see if that date would be shifted to 25th or not.

Charmy chants Sri Anjaneyam
Actress Charmy seems to have been caught with the mantra of Sri Anjaneyam. Instead of saying hello and goodbye to the people, she simply chants Sri Anjaneyam. This kind of greeting is being followed by ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) to greet as 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' since its inception. Charmy seems to have taken it as an inspiration. It is also another way of advertising and it shows the kind of integrity/responsibility she has for her films. Would she be chanting 'Gowri Mantra' in the next month? (Her next film Gowri with Sumanth as hero would be releasing in August).

19th July 2004

Srianjaneyam on 24th July
Release of Krishna Vamsi's Sri Anjaneyam is delayed by a day. This film would be releasing on 24th July (Saturday) instead of 23rd July as announced earlier. However, there would not be any change in the USA release date (30th July). Director Krishna Vamsi already started shooting for his next venture 'Chakram' with Prabhas and Charmy in the lead roles.

Devadas to shoot in USA
YVS Chowdary's Devadas would be extensively shot USA for his next musical love story Devadas with new faces in the lead roles. He has given an advertisement in idlebrain.com asking for the NRI girls to apply for the heroine role. And he had to choose a Mumbai model as the applicants did not exactly fit in the shoes. It may be learnt that Teja and D Suresh Babu has given ads in idlebrain.com asking for fresh NRI girls for the role of heroines in Jayam and Malliswari respectively and they had to opt for Mumbai girls. YVS Chowdary is presently in USA for selecting shooting locations for Devadas. This film would go to floors in the month of August 2004.

Hollywood dubbed Telugu films make a mark
It is safer to buy a Telugu dubbed Hollywood film than any small-budgeted Telugu film, feel prominent distributors. 'Spiderman 2' (Telugu version releasing on 23rd July) is sold for a better price than the small-budget straight Telugu films that are released recently. The other film that is due for frenzy buying is 'Anaconda 2' (Telugu version), as Anaconda 1 (Telugu version) was a bit hit in AP.

15th July 2004

Gowtam to direct Pawan Kalyan
Gowtam Menon after making a mark for himself with two stupendous hits in Tamil in the form of Minnale (Cheli) and Kakha Kakha (Gharshana) is all set to direct Pawan Kalyan in the near future. Sharat Chandra Marar - the executive producer of Geeta Films - would be producing this film independently on 'Marar Films Private Limited'. For the starters, Sharat Chandra Marar is an IIM graduate who worked for prestigious entertainment firms like ABCL (Amitab Bachchan Corporation Limited) before joining as executive producer of Allu Arvind's Geeta Arts.

Gharshana in USA on 30th
Venkatesh's latest cop flick 'Gharshana' is going to release simultaneously in India and USA on 30th of this month. A new distribution agency has picked up the USA rights for a fancy price. They are planning to release Gharshana with 4-5 prints.

Killi song in Gudumba Shankar
After writing a good religious tolerance song in the form of 'Narazu Kakura' in Pawan Kalyan's Johnny, the lyricist Masterji has written another song for the next Pawan Kalyan's starrer 'Gudumba Shankar'. This song is on Killi (paan) and it comes as Dhaba song in this film. This song is of folk mass song.

Puri Jagan's 143
Puri Jagan is currently making a film with his younger brother Sai as hero. This film is titled as 143. 143 denote the most fascinatingly used phrase 'I Love You'. This 143 was vividly used in a SV Krishna Reddy's film titled 'Vinodam'. Shooting of this film is nearing completion. Puri Jagan is keeping a low profile on this film now. He is planning to launch the publicity campaign on a big scale when the film is about to release.

14th July 2004

Krishna Vamsi to release Sri Anjaneyam in USA on his own
Creative genius Krishna Vamsi would be releasing his latest film 'Sri Anjaneyam' on his home banner Karthikeya Entertainments Private Limited. Vijaya Sekhar Vellanki, who screened Ninne Pelladatha - the first official Telugu film in USA - would be helping out Krishna Vamsi in USA distribution. Vijay Sekhar Vellanki distributed over 50 films in USA so far. Sri Anjaneyam would be releasing on 23rd July in India. The USA release is slated on 30th July 2004.

Vasool Raja audio released
Film makers are trying out innovative ways of marketing and there by wooing distributors and the audience. The latest to join this club is the invitation for the audio release for Gemini Film Circuits Kamal Hassan starrer Vasoolraja MBBS on July 14 at the University Centenary hall at Chepauk, Chennai. Vasoolraja MBBS says the story of a hospital and doctors and hence the invite is in the form of a first aid box with a huge syringe with Kamal's face pasted on it. When you open the syringe, you find the rolled invitation inside along with band-aid strip, cotton and dressing cloth all with a dettol smell. Earlier Kamals Virumaandi too had a novel invite in the form of an FIR (First Information Report) issued against the hero. According to a spokesperson in Gemini Film Circuit, this gimmick has already worked, as it has caught the attention of the media and the public. Bharadwaj has scored music for lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The film is directed by Saran.

4 films on this Friday
Four Telugu films are going to battle for top position at box office this Friday. The major release is Hari Krishna's 'Swamy' that is directed by VR Pratap and produced by Bhagawan. This film deals about how an elder brother seeks revenge on the killers of his sisters. Sivaji is coming up with a film titled 'Ammai Bagundi' that stars crazy heroine Meera Jasmine. Balasekharan directed this Telugu remake of Tamil blockbuster. Mass hero Sai Kumar is coming up with a film titled 'Sivaram' that features Devyani as heroine. Mayam is the Telugu version of Hindi film 'Gayab' which is going to have simultaneous release on 16th July. This film comes from Ram Gopal Varma's factory.

13th July 2004

Srihari's guest role
Real star Srihari would be playing a vital guest role in Prabhudeva's debut film as director 'Nuvvostanante Ne Vaddantana'. Neha (Dil fame) is paired up with Srihari in this film. Siddardha (Boys & Yuva fame) and Trisha play the lead roles in this romantic musical. Devi Sri Prasad provides music. 40% of the shooting is completed so far. Producer MS Raju is planning to release this film on 22nd October 2004.

Pallakilo Pellikoothuru on 30th July
Pallakilo Pellikoothuru that launches Gotam - son of comedy king Brahmanandam - as hero is going to release on 30th July. This film also introduces Suchitra Chandrabose (director), Rathi (heroine), Abburi Ravi (dialogue writer) and Devineni Prasad (producer). K Raghavendra Rao supervises this film as MM Keeravani provided music. Sunkara Madhumurali presents this film.

Letha Manasulu audio on 15th July
Audio of SV Krishna Reddy's latest film Letha Manasulu starring Srikanth, Laya and Kalyani would be releasing on 15th July. MM Keeravani scored music for this Telugu remake of Tamil blockbuster. Madhura Entertainment has grabbed the audio rights of this film.

12th July 2004

Chiranjeevi sings for Shankar Dada MBBS
Chiranjeevi rendered his voice for the Hospital song of Shankar Dada MBBS in Sabdalaya recording studio today under the supervision of music director Devi Sri Prasad. It may be learnt that Sanjay Dutt also lent his voice for the same song in Munnabhai MBBS as well.

Arya Tamil remake rights for 70 lakhs
As per the sources of idlebrain.com, the Tamil remake rights of Allu Arjun's blockbuster Arya were sold to producer Editor Mohan for a neat sum of Rs. 70 lakhs. Ravi - son of Editor Mohan - would star in the Tamil version. Bhaskar - a debutant director - would direct the Tamil version. Hero Ravi made his debut in Tamil with a remake of Telugu film Jayam, which was also produced by Editor Mohan in the past.

Teja - Gopichand combination film Bhadram
The title 'Bhadram' was registered at AP Film Chambers today. It is learnt that Teja would direct this film. Gopichand - fresh from hit film 'Yagnam' - is expected to play the title role. Gopichand was shot to fame with his superb portrayal of villain in Jayam under Teja's direction. Now Teja would be directing Gopichand as hero.

Rajasekhar shakes leg with Abhinaya Sri
Raja Sekhar has completed his 10-day schedule at Rajahmundry and is shifted to Paritala today to shoot a song with dancer Abhinaya Sri (daughter of ex-vamp Anuradha) for the film 'Aptudu'. Muthyala Subbayya directs this film. Raja Sekhar produces this film on his home banner Andal Creations. Anjala Zhaveri is paired up with Raja Sekhar. Ramana Gogula provides music.

10th July 2004

Gharshana on 30th July?
Venkatesh's latest film 'Gharshana' is supposed to release on 16th of this month. But due to some unknown reasons, Gharshana is being postponed. The expected date of release is 30th July. This film is a Telugu remake of Tamil blockbuster 'Khakha khakha' that feature the hero as 'Encounter Specialist'. Asin plays female lead. Yana Gupta did an item song. The music scored by Harris Jayaraj is a big hit in audio market.

Varma's 'Commercial Break'
Ram Gopal Varma is planning to make a Hindi flick titled 'Commercial Break'. This film deals about the changing trends in Indian Media. It shows how Indian media - newspapers & TV - has transformed from unbiased news reporting to paparazzi type of sensationalism.

ANR felicitation in Australia
ANR is being felicitated in Sydney, Australia on 10th July by the film aficionados. This felicitation would be followed by a candle light grand dinner with ANR and a few cultural events. The interested movie lovers can contact Rajesh Malla (0402 047 257) and Vinod Gadde (0421 313 740)

8th July 2004

Gaurav Khan in Shankar Dada MBBS
Mumbai import Gurav Khan is doing Telugu version of 'Dekh Le' song in Shankar Dada MBBS. This song which features Gaurav Khan in a scantly dressed cameo also consists of Chiranjeevi, Srikanth and Venu Madhav. Harish Pai is choreographing this song. Shooting of this song is currently happening at Annapurna Studios. Shooting of this film is going on at a brisk pace. Gemini Film Circuit is producing this film in the direction of Jayant C Paranji.

Arjun audio on 18th July
Audio of Arjun - Mahesh Babu's latest film in the direction of Guna Sekhar - would be released on 18th July on a grand style. G Ramesh Babu is producing this film on Krishna Productions banner on a huge budget. Most of the film was shot in a Madhura Meenakshi set erected with a budget of Rs. 4 crores. Mani Sharma scored music. Aditya music has bought audio rights. Shriya is paired up with Mahesh in this film. Raja, Prakash Raj and Keerthi Reddy play other important roles. This film would be releasing in the month of August.

Natanya Singh with Nag in Saudamini
In an interview with a Bollywood magazine, heroine Natayna Singh said that she is paired up with Nagarjuna for an English film to be directed by Puri Jagan in which she plays a prostitute-lover to Nagarjuna called 'Saudamini'. This film is on the cards for more than six months. It is expected to go to the floors in this year itself. She shot to the fame with her baring act in Hindi flick 'Tum'. She is currently acting in 'Shiva Shankar' that has Mohan Babu playing the main lead.

7th July 2004

Anand audio on 10th July
Audio of National Award winning director Sekhar Kammula's second venture 'Anand' would be held on 10th July at a function arranged in Hotel Viceroy. This film has Raja and Kamalinee Mukherjee in the main leads. Radha Krishnan provided music for this film. Anand is expected to hit the marquee by the end of July 2004.

Koti musical night at Bay Area
Koti is going to perform live in Bay Area on 9th July 2004 at Chabot College,Hayward, CA from 7 pm to 10 pm. Bay Area Telugu Association is presenting this concert. Koti's musical night at recently concluded ATA convention has got tremendous response. Koti would be performing hit songs from all his albums.

KD No.1 on 9th July
Srihari is starring in a comedy action flick titled 'KD No.1', which is going to be released on 9th July. Ramya Krishna is paired up with Srihari. Initially the title 'Dondu Donde' was considered for this comedy flick, but later on the directed changed the title to 'KD No.1' for better market positioning. Rupali provided music. Jagannada Cine Media banner that produced films like Vendi Mabbulu and Pellamtho Panenti is producing this flick.

6th July 2004

Munnabhai in Hollywood
Hollywood Studio 20th Century Fox is currently negotiating with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for remake rights of Bollywood's blockbuster Munnabhai MBBS in Hollywood. The same film is being remade in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada as Shankar Dada MBBS, Vasool Raja MBBS and Uppidada MBBS respectively. The film is also going to be remade in Malayalam and Bengali very soon. Shooting of Chiranjeevi's Shankar Dada is going at a brisk pace now.

Ravi Teja's 'Naa Autograph'
Ravi Teja's latest film in the direction of cinematographer S Gopal Reddy is titled as 'Naa Autograph' with a caption 'sweet memories'. This film is a remake of Tamil blockbuster 'Autograph'. Bhumika, Gopika & Kanyaka are paired up with Ravi Teja in this film. Shooting of the film is complete and postproduction work is going on. MM Keeravani has provided the music. Audio of this film is expected on 9/10 of this month. Bellamkonda Suresh produces this film on Sri Sai Ganesh Productions banner. 'Naa Autograph' is expected to be released on the 1st of August 2004.

"Chiranjeevi special dosa"
Chutnys is a renowned restaurant located on Road number 3, Banjara Hills. Don't be surprised if you find an item, "Chiranjeevi's Dosa", in their menu. It is learnt that Chiranjeevi orders special dosa from this place, regularly. What makes this special, is that this Dosa made with the same preparations meant for Chiranjeevi, would be served to you if you order one. Wonder if they can name their sambar and chutney too after some heroines; Now that would make a great combination, doesn't it?

4th July 2004

NBK as Vijayendra Varma
Title of Bala Krishna's film is declared as Vijayendra Varma (Power of an Indian) today at a press meet. Shooting of this film is complete except for 3 songs and climax. The next schedule would start on 23rd July and would be completed by 28th August. Audio would be released in between 15th and 20th of August. The writer Vijayendra Prasad reworked on the climax of the film in the 4 month gap after Bala Krishna got injured in Jodhpur. 'Vijayendra Varma' would be releasing in the 1st week of September. Producer Konda Krishnamraju expressed his confidence that this film would become a landmark film in the career of Bala Krishna.

Santhi Sandesam on 9th July
Superstar Krishna's Santhi Sandesam is all set for 9th June release. Krishna is acting as Jesus Christ in this film. Songs of this film were projected for journalists at Film Chamber on 3rd July. The producer said that Krishna has lots of features of Jesus Christ in his appearance; hence he made the people believe that the character on the screen is Jesus. PC Reddy directed this film. Vandemataram provided music.

Mallika Sherawat with Jackie Chan
Mallika Sherawat would be playing a meaty role in Jackie Chan's film 'Time Breaker' to be directed by Stanley Tong who directed Jackie Chan's films like Police Story, Supercop & Rumble in the Bronx. Recently Mallika Sherawat has also got an offer from Playboy magazine for center spread.

2nd July 2004

Mahesh Babu as 'Athadu'
Mahesh Babu's film in the direction of Trivikram is titled as 'Athadu'. Shooting of this film was started on 10th June 2004 at Araku Valley. The next schedule would start on 16th July. D Kishore is producing this film on Jayabheri Entertainments banner. Shooting of this film would be completed by November. 'Athadu' would be releasing for Sankranthi 2005. Trisha is paired up with Mahesh Babu. Prakash Raj, Rahul Dev, Nassar, Brahmanandam, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Giri Babu and Sunil are playing other important roles. Mani Sharma provides music. Thota Tharani is the art director. Sirivennela pens lyrics. KV Guhan provides photography. Trivikram is providing story, screenplay, dialogues and direction. M Murali Mohan presents this film.

1st July 2004

Sri Anjaneyam release on 23rd July
Krishna Vamsi's Sri Anjaneyam is all set for the release on 23rd July 2004. This film has Nitin and Charmy playing the lead role as Arjun appearing as Lord Anjaneya. Audio of this film has become a big hit. This film boasts of 78 minutes of visual effects which were created by Hollywood specialists. Actress Ramya Krishna is doing a special role in this film and also has a devotional song picturized on his.

Gharshana on 16th July
Venkatesh's Gharshana is slated for 16th July 2004 release. Venkatesh and Asin are playing main lead in this stylish presentation of an encounter specialist named Ramachandra. Gowtam - who directed Tamil original Kakha Kakha - directed this flick. The audio, scored by Chennai-based Harris Jayaraj and was released ten days back, is an instant hit. Siva Raju and Venkatraju produced this film on Sri Geetachitra International banner.

Bapu to direct Sivaji
Ever since he acted in Missamma, Sivaji seems to be on a song. He is currently acting in a film titled 'Swarabhishekam' in the direction of K Viswanadh. He is signed up for a film to be directed by Vamsy (Ladies Tailor fame). He would be acted in another film to be directed Bapu after a long gap.