It’s time for Ramanaidu to lose another tooth. At Raju Bhai’s audio, Mohan Babu asked him why he came late and pat comes the reply that he’s been to a dentist. But when the press came on dot MB asked why we came so early.

Coming to Ramanaidu, he can’t conceal his happiness on the good report AMAV is getting. “Nenu choosinappude cheppanu, baaga aduthadi ani. Especially father-son scenes kanta thadi teppisthundi.” But suddenly he is reminded of something, “Assalu nee blog lo Venkatesh kena publicity? Mari maa gurinchi kooda edhaina raasthunnara ledha?”

Ayyo, someone tell him that Venky is just a ‘namesake’ hero, samvatsaram mottham ee peddhayane untaru websites ninda. Pannu oodindhani pettamuga!

Ramanaidu is enthu about Muppalaneni Siva’s film, “Right now katnaalu kaanukalu (discussion on remuneration) pani lo busy ga vunna tarvatha maatladatha”. Nenu Vaakey cheppanu.

It happened during Bommarillu and the song was composed and given to Chandrabose to pen the lyrics and several months passed by, the lyrics hadn’t come from Chandrabose. Eventually the producer and the music director decided to get it done by someone else and the audio was released. But people who vouch for CB say that if he is in a correct frame of mind, he gives you a very good song in one day (you’ve heard of the award haven’t you?) otherwise he won’t turn up even for a year.

We know that dance master Suchitra is CB’s wife and she turned into a director with Pallakilo Pellikooturu with a lot of hype but she didn’t get to direct after that. Will she direct again and if so when will that happen?

Some people who adored Amitabh Bachchan adore him no more. They feel the whole family seems calculating and artificial. Instead cine lovers are rooting for SRK, the new KBC host because he comes across as a very caring, affectionate, humble and endearing person. Amitabh has lost all his credibility by endorsing whatever comes his way, including Mulayam Singh Yadav. Now the act of getting Aishwarya married to a tree first to ward off evil and seeking blessings before and after wedding at TTD is like getting certificates from gods say atheists.

Anaganaga oka kurra hero. He is shooting and for the scene he is supposed to eat a samosa. ‘I don’t want to eat it,’ said he. Pray why? Unhygenic. ‘Sare aithe what will you eat,’ asked the set lo manishi. ‘Sandwich kavali.’ So they asked him, ‘Bread madhya lo emi pettali.’ ‘Butter theppiyandi,’ he squealed. The unit boy was about to rush he said, “Wait get the butter from the star hotel.” Saar late avuddhi. The bugged and furious hero called his father and gave the phone to the person in charge. “Emayya chinna pillodi tho ila na chesedhi?” So one should know that getting butter or to make ‘buttering’ into a fine art is not all that easy.

Pawan Kalyan has done only 12 films in his ten-year old career, that’s almost a film a year. Similarly Arjun has done only five films in four years, Jan 2006-Happy, Jan 2007-Desamuduru, 2008-Bommarillu Bhaskar’s film which hasn’t started shooting. Before this every hero would work in four films a year. Krishna’s movies aithe one year lo 18 movies release ayyayi, Guinness record adhi, but the way it’s going now, a hero will have a release every year. Even Mahesh Babu said the other day 3 or 4 films chesthe cinema hit avvadhu ani. If this is the manner they are going to chalk out their careers, what about the poor star-struck fans who wait for months to see their fav star’s film release.

K. Raghavendra Rao, the director with the midas touch is not seen much in filmi functions these days. Is he busy with story discussions or the script work with JK Bharavi? The success of Sree Ramadasu has inspired the director to think of Pandurangadu but sources say that Balakrishna will be working with Krishna Vamsi immediately after Okka Magadu. Bharavi’s dream is Jesus Christ and he publicly expressed his opinion and embarrased Nagarjuna. KRR is not a person to announce a mythological film and then shelve it, he’d rather wait and begin the film even if it means that he has to surmount many obstacles. He was even hospitalised when Sri Ramadasu was about to take off and when the heroines Jyotika, Kamalini played truant. But see the result he came up with a winner.

Raghavendra Rao did dish out some disasters like Subash Chandra Bose which was touted to be his 101st film. Even the pucca commercial Nitin-Trisha movie (Allari Bullodu) became a dud. One should at the same time not forget the projects that were kick started with him at the helm like Gangotri, Rajakumarudu, Student No. 1, etc. We hear that the director is more keen to do mythological films and and his family is upset because he has been postponing his retirement plans. His family is concerned about his health and wants him to do less strenuous work but you can never confine his creativity and passion for cinema within the four walls. Sree Ramadasu was supposed to be his last but now we can say for sure that Pandurangadu will not be his last. The show must go on.

What if the Mahatma Gandhi returns and how would he react to the changes that have taken place in the society. Would he be scandalised, upset, happy? Maharshi Raghava plays the Mahatma in a political satire wrtiten by Vijaya Bhaskar, personal secretary to Shri Koneru Ranga Rao. Titled Gandhi Jayanthi, the play with a duration of one hour forty five minutes will be staged on May 7th at Ravindra Bharati. Prominent stage artistes as well as film personalities like Telangana Shakuntala, Jaya Prakash Reddy, IDPL Nirmala will participate in the drama.

A Telugu cine journalist has been admitted to hospital to be treated for a debilitating heart condition. He seems to be recovering but the worrying aspect for his family is the huge bill they have to eventually cough up. After subtracting the amount that goes from his health insurance…he still needs to pay a bit. We don’t have to be a movie star to help our friend. If you have a suggestion, an idea or any thought that can give him a new lease of life, visit him at Usha Mullapudi Cardiac Centre in Jeedimetla.

In the Telugu film industry he is one of those actors who would love to be labelled as an actor rather than a star, he doesn’t throw tantrums, he’s punctual, he doesn’t make you call several times for an interview and most importantly he’s not been involved in any controversy so far. Interviewing him was like chatting with a friend and not an actor which isn’t the case always with a star. Excerpts from the conversation (part 2) Click here for the first part.

“Athidhi is an action film. There is lot of importance to the love angle in it. We are really kicked about this film. I think it will work. The story takes place in Delhi and then it moves. We have worked hard on my look, tried something new, on my clothes too and I lost about five to six kgs for this film and the style is completely different.

AfterAthidhi I’m going to take a month or two months break. For the past seven years I’ve been working non-stop. After Sainikudu, in the US too we were sitting on the script and I got to spend time with my son.

I’ve entered films at 24. Mid-thirties is a stage when a man has to settle down, establish himself and one’s maturity level grows and you are in the right frame of mind. I think I’m I am on the right track. One has to sit down on a script for three to four months and you have a winner in your hands. There’s no point hurrying yourself doing three or four films a year. We got to scrutinise all angles before taking off.

Frankly speaking, it’s been a year but the success of Pokiri hasn’t sunk in. I’ve come up the hard way, and I am aware now that I have a new responsibility. About Surender Reddy - he narrated the story line for 15 minutes and I liked it . I told him to work on it. He took two months and later came back to give me a one and a half hour narration. I told him it was scrap and he went back and worked on it for five months. The total script came out well. The minute I heard Surender’s line I said I’m doing this and I won’t be doing anything else. After Athidhi I may do KL Narayana’s and MS Raju’s movie.”

 

Press Club elections tarvatha lot of nice things happened. One of it is the subsidized working lunches for our brothers (why, maaku brothers undakudadha?). We even got to see Pokiri on one screen and the world cup final on the other. I left finally groggy-eyed and only to be rudely awakened on a Sunday morning by my colleague who wanted to warn my hubby that I am falling in love with Mahesh Babu just because my blog is filled with posts on Athidhi. Did I ever complain to his wife that he is filling the daily with Nayanatara’s pictures? We’ll say truce later on.

Getting back to business, let me update you about the conversation I overheard while watching AMAV. It’s about Ramgopal Verma stealing the story idea of Cheeni Kum and re-doing it as Nishabd. Amitabh plays the 63-year old chef who falls in love with the 36-year old Tabu who visits the restaurant. Incidentally his would be father-in-law is just a few years older to him. Amitabh looks cool with his pony and Tabu is said to have given a whale of a performance. While onscreen Bachchan impresses, off screen he is facing flak from the intellectuals.

People are miffed with his behaviour for playing the sulking old father to Abhishek, on one hand apologising for the stampede and inconvenience caused at his Juhu residence during the shaadi and on the other hand for the scribes’ nauseating public interest in his private matter. Bachchan is peeved because a guest took photos from his mobile phone and downloaded it on the internet. Yup everyone loves attention but the same goes over the top when the media gets too intrusive.

Remember the fracas Pawan Kalyan had with the media when his neice was getting engaged. But they were nice enough (unlike Amitabh) to invite the media when Chiranjeevi’s daughter got married. Our man knows and values public support to his career and was intelligent enough to request his fans not to attend the wedding and later hosted a lunch for them too. That is management.

Amar Singh says he had learnt a lot from the journalists. There was a time when the socialite cum socialist would throw lavish parties for all and one press person would be a regular to the wine and dine session. One fine day Amar Singh says he read the headline, “Amar Singh throws a Pushkar (mela) farewell Party” which helped him take a decision. The politician adds that the hint given in black and white publicly stopped him from throwing a party which looked like a mela again. He has learnt that Jaya Pradha, Abhishek, Jaya Bachchan, politicians and socialites from all walks of life will attend the party but after ‘khaana peena’ they will bitch about him.