It will be out on the 3rd. A film touted to be one of the biggest ever films this year. I remember when this film released I would look at Rekha’s life size hoardings in disbelief. There was Umrao everywhere on cigarettes, calenders she became quite a rage. Umrao Jaan is the life of the courtesan Amiran, based on the Urdu novel titled Umrao Jaan Ada (by Mirza Hadi Ruswa). None can forget that haunting music by Khayyam and the role lived to the utmost by Rekha. This one by JP Dutta will be hopefully immortalised by the stunning Aishwarya Rai.

When I saw Bollywood Calling I laughed my guts out. Even a film like Dor which I never in my dreams could imagine as anything more than an average film, has come way beyond my expectations. I’ve seen every film of Nagesh Kukunoor’s and I’m really all praise for the director for aptly choosing the cast and bringing out the best in the actors. Also my senior in school Elahe Hiptoolah’s contribution shouldn’t be ignored. I met her ages back when she was the executive producer of the video being shot by Mani Shankar on Aravind Swami. She is really brilliant at her work. Coming back to Kukunoor, he has a knack of bringing life into imagination. He surely is the director to look out for.

An actress from the South worked in our Telugu film and found the working experience very pleasant. At that time the hero in the film (just married) got his new home done and the hero’s wife would visit the set very frequently.. mostly during lunch hour. Does that remind you of those black and white movies, Savitri taking a ‘carraige’ to NTR while he ploughed, toiled, etc. etc. and lovingly looked at her as she grounded the basket from her head. But there was a difference here. The hero got very embarrased when his wife would take those trips to the sets. One day the wife invited the heroine to see her new home. The actress says that the lady behaved as if she never owned a decent house and it could be the first time, no wonder the exhilaration and excitement. “Idhi choodanadi, ee tiles jaipur nundi teppinchaamu, idhi choodandi ee taps, telephone shower bangalore nundi vacchindi, etc. etc.” By the time she finsihed the home tour the actress remarks she was exhausted. The hero threw a party at “his home” when the film was completed. Obviously the actress avoided it.

My colleague told me he was bombarded with calls to attend a cocktail at Touch on October 16th. Pray why? Because it was supposed to be the International Boss Day. Even Nayantara doesn’t agree that Boss was not working at the box office. The party was obviously a PR exercise for damage control he added.

Talking of a film’s fate at the market, most filmmakers are getting enthusiastic about holding success meets the very next week. I remember Mahesh Babu held a press meet that too on the insistence of the managers, months after Pokiri became a hit. Some journos opine that film people don’t need media when the film goes on to become a massive hit, they need them only when the hold weakens at the collections. You can’t blame them too. The way some film magazines behave with some production houses for advertisements brings disgrace to the tribe.

Mamta Mohandas is scaling heights. Though her debut film was Mayookham directed by Hariharan, it was in Lanka opposite Suresh Gopi, that she received many accolades and it showed that Mamta had arrived. Mamta, who originally hails from Kozhikode, grew up in Bahrain and did a stint on the ramp in Bangalore before she jumped into films.

As a student, she wanted to finish her post graduation and work as a banker. Has she given into the glitz of the glam world? She says, “In spite of my parents being very particular about how I fared in my exams, they also felt that I needed to do more for an over-all development because they didn’t want me to grow up and ask them why they denied me of anything other than academics. So that’s how I did a year of Bharatnatyam, two years of Carnatic music and when I realised the beauty of Hindustani music, I did that for four years.”

Mamta Mohandas is already being touted as one of the most interesting and fresh faces of Telugu cinema. She made heads turn even before she signed her maiden Telugu film. But she has no plans to confine herself to films and has already recorded songs for two films.

She says, “Destiny’s call again. I never made any attempt to sing in movies and neither (unlike what people here say) did I send people CDs of mine. I’ve only sung one song until now and that happened when I was at a photo shoot with Siddharth. Music director Devisri Prasad just walked into the studio. I didn’t even know who he was. While Siddharth and I were discussing music amidst the shoot, he heard me sing a tune and later on he asked me to drop into his studio when I was done with the shoot. But the tune that he gave me was for the title song of the Telugu film Rakhee. He loved it and recorded it. In my case, nothing is pre-planned. It’s all decided at the spur of the moment, because some things you plan never work-out. Ultimately destiny surfaces and takes control of situations and it’s always for the better.”

Mamta has so far been a part of progressive cinema. Does she enjoy doing formula films? “I love films. Formula films follow a predictable pattern that has worked in the past and will probably work again because the audience knows what to expect. We do see a huge section of the audience welcoming it maybe another section will not. Plus these days Malayalam films are coming out with a dash of formula but with a progressive treatment. And what are movies ultimately? It’s entertainment . So I love to entertain.”

About her future projects she says,”I have just finished my debut Tamil film titled Sivappathigaaram directed by Karu Palaniyappan with Vishal as the hero. I’m currently doing Baba Kalyani with Mohanlal directed by Shaji Kailas.

Has she found her ideal man? “If and when he walks into my life, I’ll know if he’s ideal or not. Right now I can only say, my ideal man should be tall.” On the people she would like to work with, Mamta says, “I’d like to work with Big B sometime, but I don’t idolise anyone.

It’s so gladdening to note that Yuvakala Vahini had honoured Puri Jagannath with the KV Reddy award. It was probably the first award that the director got after Pokiri released. Better late than never. The man’s happiness was evident in his eyes. He didn’t forget to thank the committee for deciding on this award. “Enno guduluntayi, kaani ani gullu popular avvavu”. Yes it is true, he added that it’s because of the committee a temple becomes popular and that means he likened the committee to a temple. Puri speaks very little and when he speaks the intensity is there for you to see. As journalist Vasiraju Prakasam summed it well for him, it’s just the beginning of the victory, there is more to come.

Sneha kept saying in her interviews that she wore 62 lehenga vonnis in Manasu Palike Mounaragam. She might have freaked out on them but the colours and the 62 half sarees wouldn’t have looked so beautiful but for her illuminating presence in the film. Sneha looks so gorgeous in Manasu Palike Mounaragam. She is going through the best times in her career and what more can be laudable than a sensible choice of movies. Has she plans to move into other languages as well? “Chance raavalikadha, subject manchidi dorikithe definite ga chestha. Oka art cinema cheyyalani kooda undhi.”

God knows what will happen to those 62 lehenga vonnis but what about all those designer sarees, suits, imported costumes, etc., that have been used once in films? Ashwini Dutt says, “Evi waste kaadhu, anni store chesi pedthaamu. Suits ayithey loose vunnavani inkokalki alter chesthamu, chaalamataku upayogisthaamu.” Coming to Ashwini Dutt, I asked him when he will make his entry into full time politics. Time undhi daaniki, kaani definite ga velthaanu. Oka saari otamiki nenu bhayapadanu.” I like his steely determination.

Rajendra Prasad takes pride in being an NTR fan and why not? Any one would. He says he feels nice to repeat that he had a close relationship with the great man and would feel good everytime NTR would sign his report as guardian. He adds just like how a daughter gloats after getting her mother’s gold bangles, he would feel happy if NTR showers all the blessings on him.

Satya Krishnan is the sweetest thing to hit Telugu films. The ripples she created in Anand resonated in the hearts of many from the film industry. The Nandi Award winner 2004 for the best supporting actress was spotted by Shekar Kammula when she was working for the Taj Group of Hotels. Even before she had finished working on Dollar Dreams. She says, “Anand was my second film with him. I didn’t go for money or popularity. Shekar had become a good friend by then and the obvious thing to do was to act in his film.

I did get offers after these two films but I wasn’t too confident and therefore this gap. I feel I’m not suited for all the drama a commercial film demands. For those kind of films, one needs to be very talented. I love to be natural and that is what I did in the film. Most of my friends said after watching the film that I looked and behaved the same way in real life too and didn’t find much difference. That’s how I want to be.”

How far is Satya close to the role she was worked on in the film? “Very much the same, I’m inherently independent and since childhood my sister and me were brought up that way. I can handle any situation.” People loved her voice in Anand and Satya totally disagrees. In fact after seeing this film Kuchipudi Venkat, director for Modati Cinema immediately approached her for a tiny role in his film, convinced her to do it and the young lady was paid handsomely for it. “This is one aspect I differed with Shekar. I gave him many problems during the dubbing session and insisted on some one else to dub my scenes. But for his persistence I wouldn’t have done it. I find my voice broken and husky but strangely I get to hear that people are liking it.”

About the making of Anand, Satya adds, “It took really very very long and it was because of various reasons the shooting got prolonged. Despite all this I would say it was a memorable and a lovely experience. The director gave us so much flexibility. The dialogues were so casual and I could carry it off very well but on the whole I give all the credit to Shekar. Everything put together it was very beautiful, manchi coffee laanti cinema.” After Anand Satya took a break as she moved to Bangalore and now she acted in Bommarillu.