Reel Talk: Athidhi Black Tickets At Rs.500

Now the tickets season started for 'Athidhi'. As the film is releasing day after tomorrow, the tickets lobbying has ignited. Easy movies counter people are booking all the tickets in some center in advance with a plan to sell on premium rates. Even a few theater owners are doing the same. The estimated price of ticket on first day is Rs 500.

But on the other hand there is a talk that expectations are big on the film and hence until and unless it comes out really well, the film wouldn't do well eventually. One source says that inside talk of the film is good. Other source says that it is good but how far it meets expectations has to be seen.

Another interesting factor is that Mahesh Babu Fans are only going to tantamount the film with Pokiri. They are not talking about Sainikudu any way.

Sekhar Kammula: 'This Is My Highest Grosser So Far'

He had thought provokingly knocked the brains with 'Dollar Dreams'. He gently knocked the hearts with 'Anand'. He pleasantly touched the senses with ' Godavari'. And now he unleashed the way to make big business with small investment and rich idea called 'Happy Days'. He is Sekhar Kammula, the renowned director with different substance.

He says the fresh film 'Happy Days' has crossed his expectations completely.

"This is the highest grosser in my filmography so far. It's houseful everywhere. Numbers would be deceptive in first week. But it's true now. Devi, the biggest theatre in RTC cross roads is screening this film. Even the big films dare less to release in this film as it becomes difficult to continue their stand for many days. But 'Happy Days', out of my surprise, is running housefuls in that even in second week. That's really fantastic. Many are saying that it's going to be 150 days film. It's almost in 10 theaters in Hyderabad like a big film", shared Sekhar Kammula.

He also added saying, "It's like a big wave in Vizag, Kakinada and many other towns. We didn't expect this range initially. Audiences are always beyond film makers and reviewers. That's proved once again".

Sekhar Kammula also said that he is yet to think about his next film and it takes time to write that.

Added 10 Exclusive Spicy Akshara PhoAdded 10 Exclusive Spicy Akshara Photo Galleryto Gallery

Mohan Babu: 'Vishnu Learned Fights At Jackie Chan'

Mohan Babu says that Jackie Chan taught stunts for his sons Vishnu and Manoj. He said, "Vishnu likes to fight on screen. He loves action episodes. He is now acting with lot of interest in this new film. He learnt some action sequences at Jackie Chan. Even Manoj learnt at him when he came to India. Vishnu is now jumping from 100 feet height without dupe. So we brought imported air beds for these sequences".

P Vasu is directing the film and right now the shooting is going on in Tirupathi. Stun Shiva is composing action scenes.

Mamata Mohandas is pairing up with Vishnu in this film. Nagarjuna is playing a vital role in this film and the title is yet to be decided.

Puri Liked This South Indian Mallika Sherawat

Puri liked the Kannada actress Sanjana and pulled her to make her act in his film 'Bujjigadu made in Chennai' beside Prabhas.

The actress has shown 95 percent of her skin in the film 'Gandi Hendathi', a Kannada flick. That was the remake of Hindi film 'Murder'. Sanjana played Mallika Sherawat's role while Tilak played the role of Imraan Hashmi in that. Now that is getting dubbed into Telugu to release. The title is confirmed to be 'Mogudu Pellam Oka Boy Friend'.

The posters are seeing the light of day. Puri liked this hot actress who can be called South Indian Mallika Sherawat as she has got no reservations with respect to skin show

9 Exclusive Tabu's New Telugu Film Gallery

Rumors: EVV Satyanarayana's Iron Hand

EVV Satyanarayana created the character called 'Iron Leg'. The usage is so popular among people now. But freshly EVV is being called 'Iron Hand'. He eyes on super hit Tamil films and makes in Telugu. And they turn to be flop shows. He eyed on 'Kadalikku Mariyadai, starred Vijay and Shalini long back. He remade that in Telugu with JD Chakravarthy and Rachana as 'Nenu Premistunnanu'. The film was utter flop and the only thing that can be remembered in this film is the song 'Kovelalo Deepamla…'

Now he again made the Tamil story by Bhagyaraja as 'Pellaindi Kaani' in Telugu. The film proved to be a flop everywhere. Why is it happening so?

EVV attempts to add Telugu nativity to his remake ideas and spoils the dish on a whole. But some are simply stating, EVV is 'iron hand' for remakes.

Kalamandir Kalyan-A Real Devotee of Heroines

We have read about Meera Bai who loved Lord Krishna and attained moksha. We learned about Goda Devi that became the platonic lover of Lord Sri Ranganatha (Vishnu).

But today we have one man who is the ardent devotee of many heroines in Tollywood. Yes, he is the real devotee with no sinister intention. He admires and adores heroines, say sources. He is Kalyan, popularly known as Kalamandir Kalyan. Whenever a new heroine comes to industry he calls her for the opening of some section of Kalamandir showroom. He pays them big money as Naivedyam. He also gifts them with saris and some jewelry as a devotee donates for the idols of gods and goddesses. Knowing this, heroines are also awaiting call from this devotee.

He paid Rs 2 lakhs for Anushka and Rs 1.5 lakh for Hansika- just for visiting his shop. He simply invites them and gives this big package of gifts. He expects nothing else from them in return. Is that not a real devotion!!!!!

Here there is another interesting twist. Some of the heroines are ready to visit Kalamandir to get stamp that they are invited by Kalamandir Kalyan. That's a status symbol for them-so some of them are not expecting money from Kalyan.

Interview with Vijay C Kumar

Those who know cinematographer Vijay C Kumar in the film fraternity may tag him as an introvert, but what speaks volumes about him is his work. After having worked for the first extensive CG film ‘Ammoru’ he teamed up with Sekhar Kammula for Anand, Godavari and recently for Happy Days and captured finest scenes with the third eye. An exclusive interview with this creative cinematographer of Telugu film industry.

Background:
My father C Nageswara Rao was a famous cinematographer who worked for classics like Pandava Vanavasam, Paramanandayya Sishyula Katha, Gudigantalu, Aastulu - Anthastulu etc. But he died when I was seven years old and my mother wanted me to follow his footsteps and continue in the same profession. She joined me in Sarada Enterprises (currently known as Anand Cine Services) outdoor unit at the age of 13 as an apprentice. I worked under various cinematographers for eight years and earned lot of practical knowledge. Then I joined as an operative cameraman under Lok Singh for Vijetha film.

Producer Jaya Krishna gave me first break as cinematographer with 'Aha Naa Pellanta' film under Jandhyala director. Then I did 'Neeku Naaku Pellanta' with the same combination. I got a gap of one and half year after that. Then Shyam Prasad offered me to do unfinished work of Ankusam (official cinematographer was KS Hari). Then I worked for Agraham and Ammoru. Later on I worked for various films like Bachelors, Sampangi, Sreevarante Mavare, Jai Bhajaranga Bhali etc. Then I got some more gap. That was when I met Sekhar Kammula and he offered me Dollar Dream. Since then I was part of all his films. Later I did Dil, Andhrudu and Samanyudu.

Tell us about Ammoru?
Ammoru was the first Telugu film in which extensive graphics were used. We used blue mat for graphic related shots. I had to be very careful about the lighting for those shots.

What kind of ground work do you do when you get a project?
The photography should reflect the subject. I try to gauge the mood of the film and the scope of photography. Then we decide on the equipment and lighting schemes. Sekhar Kammula always encouraged me to experiment and let me take my own time.

Do you think you can do good work if given more time?
It depends on the sequence and situation. And weather should cooperate when we shoot out doors. For Happy Days we used backlight technique which lets us concentrate on the subject (person) and ignore the background. We shot most of the Anand film with sunrise effect. Generally sunrise stays for five minutes. We used artificial lighting with orange tint using window lights. For Godavari, it was a much difficult task as we shot it without using reflectors. It was difficult to adjust lights when we shoot using multiple boats. It was the toughest job of my life to shoot Godavari across the river for 3 months.

Which one is your favorite film among the ones you had done?
Happy Days. We used tele photography for that film. We used hawk zoom lens (300 - 900mm). It elevates the subject against the backdrop.

Why do you maintain such a low profile?
I am very bad at PR. I don't approach producers. I accept the projects that come in my way in a selective manner.

Why is there a demand for Tamil cinematographers in Telugu film industry?
It is completely up to the producer and director. The Tamil producers and directors give more preference to the technicians and that is the reason why Tamil films have rich technical values compared to Telugu films. We rarely get technically brilliant Telugu films. Our producers want us to finish the shooting as soon as possible. We do not get quality if producer want to wrap the movie up in minimum number of days.

How do you keep yourself updated about technology in cinematography?
I believe in the practical experience. I spent many years working under various talented cinematographers. I learn a lot about exposure, lighting schemes, cameras, lens from them and it helps a lot.

What is photography?
Photography is an art and a cinematographer should have an artistic bent to excel in his field. We should be able to generate maximum output using minimal resources. One should know how to create and capture mood using right lighting.

Who is your favorite cinematographer?
PC Sreeram and Govind Nihlani.

What is your future projects?
I am currently doing Nitin's film in the direction of Ravi C Kumar.

Do you have any suggestions for wannabe cinematographers?
One should have practical knowledge. One should study about equipment and lighting scheme besides having artistic bent of mind.

Telugu Film News October 16, 2007

Telugu heroine Soumya enters into Tamil

Vizag based Telugu actress Soumya is flooded with interesting film offers. She got noticed in various films ("The Angrez", "Aa Roje) and Soumya has good line up of films that will ensure her to get a good foothold in the film industry. Sowmya has signed two Telugu films which are currently under progress. She has "Ninna Nedu Repu" and "Call Centre", a film by Kanmani in Telugu. She is also entering into Tamil films. In a Tamil film called "Tozha", the charming heroine acts as one of the lead roles.

Vishnu does dare devil action stunt

The success of "Dhee" brought Vishnu new level of confidence. For his new film, he does a risky dare devil action sequence without any dupe or assistance. This is said to be most dangerous stunt and he performed with such finesse that everyone left gaping with awe. This happened during the shooting of his current film being directed by P Vasu at Tirupathi. Fight master Stun Shiva has composed a terrific action scene and special airbeds have been imported for this scene.

Bhumika to continue acting after marriage

Bhumika is getting married to her long time boyfriend Bharat Thakur on October 25th at her residence in Mumbai. She has already been preparing for wedding. Even after marriage, she has no plans of discontinuing her acting career. Indeed, she wants to have a flourishing career like Bollywood heroines. Marriage is not a hindrance for career, she believes. Bhumika has many interesting films on her hand presently both in Telugu and in Hindi.

Jagapathi Babu in Venkat Akkineni's film

Nagarjuna's brother Venkat Akkineni is a popular producer. He made successful films like "Shiva" on Annapoorna Studios banner. Venkat Akkineni presently takes up direction and he is going to make this film for outside banner – "Gemini Film Circuits". Jagapathi Babu is the hero. From January, regular shooting will begin.

Gadde Veerabrahmam Forecasted Chiranjeevi

Had anyone bothered about Ravi Teja when he acted in the group behind Rajasekhar? But he became a bigger star than Rajasekhar in eventual years. Had anyone expected 'Raasi' would become a heroine when she was shown in 'Rao Garillu' as child artiste? But she shined on screen for sometime.

Similarly we all know that no one bothered about Chiranjeevi and none expected something big awaiting him when he acted in Pranam Khareedu and Punadi Rallu. But there was a man with intuition in Guntur district with the name Gadde Veerabrahmam who used to tell something that certainly goes to happen. He said, "There was a man in the group acted for 'Manavoori Pandavulu'. I asked some one and he said his name is Chiranjeevi. His eyes are very sharp. My intuition says he will rule the industry for many years. I feel he will be next to NTR in history of Telugu film industry in many aspects".

That's the future unveiled by Veerabrahmam about 30 years ago. He is no more now but it is said that he also said that Chiranjeevi would spend later stage of his life in service to people. Will that be through politics? Or quite personal has to be seen.

Reel Talk: Jayaprada Complex Hired For Athidhi

Now it's the talk of 'Athidhi' everywhere. Incredibly it is releasing in 712 theaters world wide which is a big record. The biggest plus point for this film is that it is releasing during dasara festivals. It's beyond imagination to estimate the first day collections of this film.

Coming to the point, Athidhi is releasing in Jayaprada Complex of Chennai. The theatre is booked at very huge rent that ran into a few lakhs. It is considered to be a 3 week minimum guarantee film there. It is known fact that that the theater belongs to actress Jayaprada. The film is releasing there with 'Pokiri' sentiment.

Pokiri released in that theater and has broken all the earlier collection records of all Telugu films released in Chennai.

Let us se how far it meets the expectations now.

Kalyan Ram Worried And Running Behind Him

Kalyan Ram is deeply worried now. Except his 'Athanokkadey', he hasn't seen hit till now in his career. His films 'Asadhyudu', Lakshmi Kalyanam' and 'Vijayadasami' have flopped at box office. On the other hand his cousin NTR is dashing in Tollywood.

Kalyan Ram is not happy with any of the directors other than Surender Reddy. Grapevine says that the combination is going to come up after 'Athanokkadey'. Rumor says that Kalyan Ram is unhappy with Samudra for making 'Vijayadasami' in out dated style that killed it on a whole.

Surender Reddy is now busy with 'Athidhi' aspects. We have to see if Surender Reddy works for Kalyan Ram immediately.

Box-Office: On An Average It's A Better Week

1. Happy Days: The film is still going unbeatable and theaters are still seen with housefuls. The film proved to be tremendous hit at home and abroad. Sekhar Kammula proved his mettle once again and the film sits in position-1 of the toppers list of the week.

2. Tulasi : The film bagged big opening collections, it being the film of a big star. The talk on the film is now divided everywhere. But Venkatesh's films run well if the positive talk is at least somewhere. The film is made with full commercial punch targeting all sets of audiences. The film sits in position-2 of the toppers list of the week.

3. Chiruta: There is some drop in the collections everywhere. Except weekends, the other days are not seen housefuls. Now the only hope is that as the dasara season started, the film goes to safe zone. All that depends on the talk of Athidhi as well that is releasing this week. The film sits in position-3 of the toppers list of the week.

4. Chandamama: The film has gone into safe zone long back and the collections are still impressive. Family audiences have patronized the film a lot. Although there are some feeble knots with respect to story line, many considered it to be a violence free family entertainer. It sits in position-4 of toppers list of the week.

5. Yamadonga: The collections have come down drastically but still surviving in some theaters. Although 50 day run proved to be an easy walk for this film, the run towards 100 days proves to be very difficult. The competition from new films also disturbed the tempo of this flick. It sits in position-5 of the toppers list of the week.

Spotlight: Only 12 Audiences For 'Pellaindi Kaani'

It sounds shocking and fretful to know that the opening day of a big director's film could attract on 12 audiences in theatre. That's EVV's 'Pellaindi Kaani'. On the release day of the film there were only 12 audiences in matinee show at the Raghavendra Theatre in Malkajgiri. Who should be blamed for this? Producer Narasimha Rao of Raasi Movies should be pointed out for this. There is no proper publicity campaign for his film and that too released along with big mass masala film 'Tulasi'.

The film got totally killed with the stuff in that as well. EVV's audiences are different and they are not relishing this flick. The much expected comedy in the film is missing for the displeasure of mass audience. Allari Naresh portrayed serious role in it. Kamalini and Harish also couldn't appeal to masses.

For all reasons, It ended up as a disaster.

Hyderabad Buzz: Cine-goers turn skeptical!

Hyderabad: The Ludhiana multiplex blast had its impact on cine-goers in the city on Monday with the usually teeming cinema theatres wearing a deserted look.

Santosh-Sapna, Abids, received poor collections due to Sunday’s blast. “The impact of the blast was visible. Though Sapna’s seating capacity is 696, only 400 seats were filled during the matinee show, while at the 1,050-seat Santosh, not even 200 seats were occupied,” Santosh-Sapna general manager Mohammad Suleman Khan told media.

“The twin blasts still haunt Hyderabadis. And, the repeated checks by police too are affecting the collections,” Mohammad Suleman Khan added.

“Our collections dipped after the twin blasts. To instill confidence in our patrons, we have installed a door frame metal detector (DFMD), but still we are not getting our average collections,” Vijayalakshmi theatre proprietor P Paramesh said.

Meanwhile, the city police have intensified surprise checks on various theatres in view of the Ludhiana blast.

I don't miss Twenty20 cricket: Sourav Ganguly

Mumbai, Oct 16 (IANS) Sourav Ganguly's explosive batting style - which he rediscovered in the Nagpur ODI against Australia - would have made him a successful batsman in Twenty20 cricket, but the former Indian captain says he doesn't miss the newest and fastest version of the game.

"I don't think I miss Twenty20 cricket. I don't know what it would have been if this kind of cricket was introduced during my younger days. But now I don't think I would have really missed it," Ganguly told IANS in an interview here.

Ganguly along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - known as the 'Big 3' of Team India - made themselves unavailable for the Twenty20 World Cup. Their non-availability put wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the hot seat of captaincy. Dhoni led a bunch of young players to victory at the inaugural world championship of the newest form of cricket in South Africa.

That win gave India some of its future stars, who rose to the occasion when it mattered the most. They beat Pakistan in a nerve biting finish at the final, and the squad is now tipped to be the future of Indian cricket.

"I think this team has all the ingredients to be the world champions. The new guys are really good and they all are talented and will do the country proud in the coming days," said Ganguly, who won the best captain in 75 years of Indian Test cricket award.

Ganguly beat some of the biggest names of Indian cricket like Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavsakar and the late C.K. Nayudu and late Vinoo Mankad for the prestigious award.

"It is a great honour to be adjudged as the best captain of 75 years of Indian Test cricket. My best success as a captain, I think, will always remain beating Pakistan in their home in 2004," said Ganguly.

India defeated Pakistan for the first time on their soil to win a Test series in March 2004. The series was also memorable because Virender Sehwag became the first Indian to score a triple century with a solid knock of 309.

Ganguly had words of praise for Dhoni and said the 26-year-old should be given more time to click.

"I am sure he will take India to new cricketing heights. The only thing he lacks is experience and he should be given more time to gain it," said Ganguly.

On his role in the Indian team as a senior player, Ganguly said: "The only thing I have to do is to keep on performing. I have to keep on scoring runs.

"Performance and not age should be the criteria for selection in the team," he said.