Official logo of Tulasi

Official logo of Tulasi

Here is the logo of Venkatesh's much awaited Tulasi in the direction of Boyapati Seenu. This logo is designed by Kiran Poster Ads. Nayana Tara is playing female lead. D Suresh Babu produces it on Suresh Productions banner. This film is due for the release in the next month.

Open Letter on Happy Days

I would like to wish all the best for Shekhar Kammula's forthcoming movie. Just like any Telugu filmlover, I too have my "Wishlist for Shekhar", but I would like to express why I am compelled to write.

Telugu cinema hasn't made it to National audiences like Tamil cinema has, neither has it gained a certain classy character that Malayali/Bengali cinema has. 75 years of experience and we are at best evolving into a technically much forward version of Chattisgadh film industry.

At certain points in the 1980/90s, we've taken detours that have resulted in movies being made for certain economic sections of audiences, where numbers are high and quality is low. With Jandhyala, Bapu, K.Vishwanath, Ram Gopal Verma making apparent exits from the industry, a section of filmmaking has been sliced out.

Each time I watch a good Non-Telugu movie, I get the same feeling that every Telugu film goer gets - Why aren't our movies coming along? In his Vajrotsavam address, Megastar Chiranjeevi himself has spoken of such apathy - "Manam Bombay, Goa, Delhi daaka kooda vellalekapoyaam". So true!

On a Telugu person living in a multicultural society, all such thoughts take their toll. To me, its not at all funny to Watch "funny" Telugu videos of a South Indian hero ordering a train back with a slap on his thigh, or of a South Indian Star skidding his horse under an 18-wheeler. Responding to a popular argument that Tamil cinema too has its own share of eccentricities, it gives us no reason to do the same to our films too.

I would really love that it be people like Shekhar who represent Telugu film industry and our culture. It might be a little late, but it would be a wonderful thing if Happy Days releases with subtitles, at least in USA. Such Telugu Films need to be made available to a national audience. I watch Tamil/Malayalam/Hindi films and I can expect similar folks from other parts of India too.

As for the fate of the movie, re-quoting Al Pacino for Shekhar, "On any given Friday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is - can you win or lose like a man". We all know what Shekhar Kammula is. We all know what he is capable of. We all know how much he has done to our films with just a score of 3. And we all recognize he is human too.

A "straight from the heart" wish that Happy days gains loads of appreciation, scores of awards and tonnes of money. From my side - I am gonna own an original DVD of the movie, with subtitles - my investment in the future of our industry.

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Malaika Arora’s item number in Athithi

Malaika Arora Khan has been roped in to play a hot song in Mahesh Babu’s “Athithi.” Malaika who first did item song in Manirathnam’s “Dil Se” is acting in this Telugu film for the first time. She is now dancing with Mahesh Babu at Padmalaya Studios where the shooting is going on at a specially built set. After this song, most of the shooting part will be over. Surender Reddy is directing the film and Ramesh Babu produces.

Dhoni to lead in ODIs; Pathan, Harbhajan recalled

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Tuesday replaced Rahul Dravid as captain for the One-day International home series against Australia and Pakistan, while Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh come back to the side.

Dhoni, 26, is currently leading India at the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Dravid, who had opted out of the Twenty20, had made himself unavailable for the captaincy to concentrate on his batting after the recent tour of England.

Announcing a 15-member team for the first three ODIs against Australia at a press conference, cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah said here that Yuvraj Singh, who is senior to Dhoni, would be the vice-captain.

"We thought he was the best man for the job. He is a good (Twenty20) captain and it is the right time to groom him," said Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the selection committee.

Referring to speculation that Sachin Tendulkar had declined to lead the ODI team, he said that no one was offered the captaincy before Dhoni was finally picked.

Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel, who were part of the team that recently toured England, were dropped for the first three matches.

The three ODIs will be played at Bangalore (Sep 29) Kochi (Oct 2) and Hyderabad (Oct 5).

The team for the remaining four one-dayers will be announced later.

A hard-hitting batsman who can change his game according to the situation, the Ranchi-based Dhoni has played 84 ODIs since making his debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2004 and scored 2,477 runs at 44.23. In 20 Tests, he has scored 1,019 runs at 36.39.

Board president Sharad Pawar, who approved the team, endorsed the choice of Dhoni and the team as a whole.

"Anything that takes the team forward should be welcomed. We also have to see that the young generation is given opportunity and if the captain is also young that's good," he said.

The seven-match One-day International series against Australia will be played from Sep 29 to Oct 17.

The Pakistani team will visit India for five ODIs and three Test matches to be played between Nov 6 and Dec 12.

The captain for the Test series will be named later, said Vengsarkar.

On the recall of left-arm pacer Pathan and off-spinner Harbhajan, both of whom are playing Twenty20 World Championship, he said they have done well to merit a recall.

On Virender Sehwag, who is also playing in South Africa but was again ignored for the ODIs, Vengsarkar said that since the team was only for three matches, "he will get his opportunity" later in the series.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicket keeper), Yuvraj Singh (vice captain), Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh.

Australia in India
Date	Match	Venue
Tue, Sep 25	Australia team arrival
Sat, Sep 29	First ODI	Bangalore
Tue, Oct 2	Second ODI	Kochi
Fri, Oct 5	Third ODI	Hyderabad
Mon, Oct 8	Fourth ODI	Guwahati
Thu, Oct 11	Fifth ODI	Baroda
Sun, Oct 14	Sixth ODI	Nagpur
Wed, Oct 17	Seventh ODI	Mumbai

Pakistan in India
Date	Match	Venue
Fri, Nov 2	Pakistan team arrival
Tue, Nov 6	First ODI	Faridabad
Fri, Nov 9	Second ODI	Mohali
Mon, Nov 12	Third ODI	Kanpur
Thu, Nov 15	Fourth ODI	Gwalior
Sun, Nov 18	Fifth ODI	Jaipur
Thu, Nov 22 - Mon, Nov 26	First Test	Delhi
Fri, Nov 30 to Tue, Dec 4	Second Test	Kolkata
Sat, Dec 8 - Wed, Dec 12	Third Test	Bangalore

Venkatesh's Costumes Will Bring Revolution?

We all know how the T Shirts of 'Pokiri' became popular. Now the inside sources are saying that Venkatesh's costumes in the film 'Tulasi' will be a sensation and people tend to adopt those designs looking at him. The film is made on the lines of action and comedy by Boyapati Sreenivas. Nayantara is playing female lead in that.

After Adavari Matalaku Ardhaley Veruley, Venkatesh is coming up with action dose this time. This is the second time that Venkatesh and Nayantara are uniting after 'Lakshmi'. Shriya is dancing for an item song in the film.

Let us see how the film brings revolution in dress code of young guys.

Gossip: Mamatha Mohan Das Steals Devi Sri's Heart!

Music director, Devisri Prasad has found a new soul mate. She is none other than actor- singer Mamatha Mohan Das. As his relations with Charmy strained with the intervention of his father, he was forlorn for many days.

Mamatha who was working with him gave her healing touch to his desperate soul. Now Mamatha and Devisri, are found together everywhere-be it a pub or a club.

Charmy on the other hand is crestfallen with Mamatha's advancement. She is unable to digest to imagine Mamatha in her place.

Having not been aware of these developments, an enthusiastic producer approached Charmy and proposed a film with two heroines- one for Charmy and one for Mamatha. Charmy bluntly rejected the offer.

Tania Sachdev won the Asian Women's Chess Championship

Tania Sachdev won the Asian Women's Chess Championship on Tuesday i.e. on 11/9/07, at Tehran by beating Chinese Ju Wenjun. She is also a Grandmaster-norm holder. She joined Women Grandmaster (WGM) Club in 2005.

Isn't she cute?

Ramoji Rao's Smuggling Activity Revealed

ABK Prasad, the official language commission Chairman, brought to the notice of people, the smuggling activity done by a company in the Ramoji's Eenadu group.

ABK said, "The Company tried to smuggle two idols of Parvati and Vanitha Jyothy to Australia and America. But the customs officials caught them and seized. This news was published by another News Paper. But Eenadu couldn't give any rejoinder to that and sent legal notices to the Editor and Management of that News Paper after many weeks. Eenadu group tried to put the editor and management of that News Paper behind bars. But nothing materialized in favor of Eenadu group. Meanwhile the customs officials caught three more idols those were getting smuggled. Eenadu group made rounds around court from 1998 to 2006 but it couldn't come out from the mark of smuggling. The total master pieces caught by customs from Eenadu group for smuggling are 5. This was declared by Director General of customs on 12th October 2001. The DG declared those idols as antics".

It can be said that ABK Prasad has made it a point to reveal all ins and outs of Ramoji Rao. A few weeks ago he said Ramoji's attitude is crooked; next he said Ramoji was illiterate and cannot write an editorial on his own, now he implies that Ramoji is a smuggler.

Telugu Film News September 18, 2007

Tulasi music to be released on Sept 23rd

Audio of Venkatesh's "Tulasi" is ready, waiting only for release. Buzz is that producer Suresh Babu is planning a big function for the music launch. Either it is on September 22 nd night or September 23rd. But audio albums will sure be available through Aditya Music from 23rd, they say.
Tulasi has musical score by Devi Sri Prasad. It is the first time that the young music director is scoring songs for a Venkatesh film. Presently a song is being shot on hero Venkatesh and heroine Nayanatara in Hyderabad. Boyapati Srinivas who directed blockbuster "Bhadra" is working hard to finish the film by Dussera.

Govt receives Rs 94 Lakhs from Prasads

The management of the Prasads today submitted a cheque of Rs. 94.03 lakhs to the Andhra Pradesh government as part of the revenue share. Cinematography minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy received the Cheque on behalf of the Andhra government from Ramesh Prasad, the chairperson of Prasads Group.
Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, G Adisheshagiri Rao too were present. Prasads Imax began operations in July 2003 and now it enters into fifth year.

Puri Jagannadh to direct a film for Dil Raju

Director Puri Jagannadh and producer Dil Raju have a brand identity among filmgoers. Both of them are highly successful and many hits under their belt. Recently they had teamed up for "Hello..Premistara" as producers and made it as a joint venture. As the film running successfully, they will be working together again. Puri Jagannadh recently informed the media that he will direct a film for producer Dil Raju. He said he has commitment. Buzz is that a big hero will act in this film.

Two release dates for Happy Days

Director Sekhar Kammula's "Happy Days" is going to be trendsetter. Much before the release, it set a new trend. "Happy Days" will be the first movie in Telugu film history to release outside India first. The movie is going to hit the screens in USA on September 28th, four days before its Andhra release. In Andhra Pradesh, the film that stars all newcomers will only release on Gandhi Jayanthi i.e. October 22 nd. Producer and director Sekhar Kammula announced this at a press meet and said he is happy to release the movie overseas first.

Gossip: Nag To Rewrite History Of TV Serials!

No more sobs! No more wordy and boring dialogues! There's going to be a breakthrough in the making of Telugu TV Serials. It is the star Nagarjuna who is making all the difference.

As Nag has his stake in Maa TV, he has made it a platform to do the experiment. He is producing very expensive serial by name 'Yuva'.

He has taken young gals and boys from IT Industry for the serial. Barring the comedian, Gundu Hanumantha Rao, no familiar actor is found in the serial.

The theme runs through the modern and posh lifestyle of rich youth. These serials will be one par with Star TV serials in quality, Nag claims.

'Basic Instinct' Remake In Telugu?!

Are attempts being made to remake the erotic thriller 'Basic Instinct' acted by Sharon Stone in Telugu? Monalisa, the item girl is playing the role of a novel writer in a film on Venkata Sai films banner.

The film narrates the story of a sexy and hot novel writer who taught lesson to some guys. The first schedule of the film is over and the second schedule is starting in a few days.

Underlining the story line, it appears that Monalisa is playing the role of Sharon Stone in it. If that is the case, will such kind of films work in direct Telugu? Venkata Sai banner is known for making a few dubbing films so far in Telugu.

Gossips Are Too Fast In Spreading

Gossips are too fast in spreading. Krishna Vamshi requested Chiranjeevi to watch his movie 'Chandamama' in private screening. Chiranjeevi watched that and appreciated Krishna Vamshi for dishing out a clean family entertainer. The issue closed there.

But the gossips are spreading that Chiranjeevi's next film will be with Krishna Vamshi. Earlier Krishna Vamshi directed a few ads like Navarathna Tailam with Chiranjeevi. Underlining all this, the grapevine started spreading stating that Chiru will be acting in Krishna Vamshi's direction.

The news is not at all official and Chiranjeevi is now sitting silent without discussing on any of his future films. He is doing this until the release of his son's Chirutha.

Gossip: Rs 1 Crore Offer For Sunil!

Nayanatara, one of the top ranking heroines, is willing to pair Sunil, comedian-turned hero in the film 'Banthi'. She gave her nod after listening to the Story of the film. Sunil himself provided the story line for the film.

She says she has fondness for his wit. He has made her laugh with his humor on sets many a time, she acknowledges.

Vakada Apparao of Super good films is producing the film. While Sunil's remuneration is fixed at Rupees one crore, Nayanatara's remuneration is yet to be decided.

Once this is finalized, the making of the film commences.

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.

10 Exclusive Ram Charan's Chirutha Movie Gallery