All Entries in the "Chat" Category
Wanna do an action flick
She isn’t a star yet, but since her lustrous performance as the female lead in Nidhi Prasad’s Bhagyalakshmi Bumper Draw, Farzana will soon be one. Ask her how she bagged the film, and the actress says, “I am basically a choreographer and I had worked with Shaimak Davar for three years. I went on to [...]
Raju Sundaram works magic with Astha
Raju Sundaram comes across as a fresh and simple, a frank and open person without the repertoire of tricks and affectations which film folks too often use in order to cover basic inadequacies in their work and performances. His colleagues and seniors say he is great in rehearsals, wonderful to work with and totally co-operative. [...]
Geetanjali plays granny
An epitome of grace and talent, Mani aka Geetanjali reigned supreme in all kinds of roles over Telugu and Tamil filmdom for many decades. She was just not beautiful but had a truly transcendental appeal. Age has not dimmed her aura: the brilliance in her eyes and the attractive smile she wears across her lips [...]
Pawan kalyan reveals his lesser known side
The oldest adage in the business: The bigger the star, the shorter the introduction. Pawan Kalyan’s half an hour patter makes you laugh, think, shake your head, shrug your shoulders, and edge forward as he takes you into a surreal world. “What do you want me to talk about? Films? Nah, not unless it’s something [...]
Punjabi kudi in Poramboku
Model turned actress Ekta Khosla makes her debut in Poramboku opposite Navdeep. “It’s a role which demands solid acting and nothing else,” claims the pretty Punjabi girl from Mumbai. Having modelled for an array of products, acting naturally figured in Ekta’s scheme of things. “I didn’t want to make my debut in a film seeing [...]
Chat with KL Narayana
Six films in fifteen years, that’s pretty low average but the success ration of Durga Arts has been phenomenal. Kshana Kshanam, Hello Brother, Intlo Illalu Vantitintlo Priyuralu, Dongata, Santosham, Ninne Ishtapaddanu, and now Rakhee. And the person responsible behind the victory run is Dr. KL Narayana. Most filmi people lose touch with reality on their [...]
Pioneer of telugu cinema
It all began in 1957. Armed with fire in his belly and the vision for the future, Doondeswar Rao took the first step towards dubbing films. Kondaveeti Donga became an unprecedent success and there was no looking back. Seventy six year old Doondy Garu as he is affectionately called by the industry people has given [...]
Fantasy plus reality
Indraganti Mohana Krishna director of Mayabazar was a journalist before he became a director. He had worked in the now redundant AP Times and Deccan Chronicle as a free lancer before he took upto working as a co-director for documentaries. After having undergone a course in film making in Toronto he returned to India to [...]
Breaking the mould
Do we need to know everything about a director in order to appreciate their work? Many creators resist easy theorizing about what goes into their work. Yet there’s a long literary tradition scrutinizing what movement these directors emerged from. Chandra Siddardha had worked in just 3 films..The Inscrutable Americans, Appudappudu and Aa Naluguru and now his next [...]
A khatarnak encounter
He entered the Telugu film industry with great courage and enthusiasm but had to face a 10-year-long period of struggle before getting a foothold in commercial cinema. A string of hits, countless offers, applause and thoughtful career moves…today it’s a new, confident Raviteja who strides across the filmi firmament.
He says, “Over the years, I’ve accumulated [...]
How Suhasini got her name
The 18-years-old heroine of Chantigadu had tasted success in her first film but isn’t overtly ambitious and is happy with what she’s doing on screen. “There is very little space for actress in this field,” she says with a refreshing candour. “An actress still cannot ask about the story in a film in which she [...]
Mumait unmasked
Her most recent appearance was in Pokiri, but Mumait Khan is quite a veteran in films. Mumait means beautiful in persian and she has been in the industry as a background dancer since she was 13. Talking to me from Hotel Golkonda, the item girl says, “I’ve no qwaish in life. I would draw around 2,500 [...]
Siva baktha
You can see the excitement in his eyes when he’s on the set. It’s a different kind of rush. “Acting is my drug…my opium. My prime priority is to do good work. I don’t want my mind wandering in directions that are a waste of time. At the end of the day each artiste has [...]
Mesmerising Mamta
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 [...]
Girl with a golden voice
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 [...]
Badshah of telugu cinema
Good actors are aplenty but great ones are few. And those whose magic works both on and off-screen are fewer and farther in between. Chiranjeevi happens to belong to the category of actors who mesmerise the audience and fans anywhere, anytime. There has to be only one reason behind Chiru’s charm: his down-to-earth attitude despite [...]
Raja casts a maya
Lot of things can happen over a cup of coffee. A compulsive coffee addict, Raja reels off his story while he helps himself with another cuppa. He lost his parents when he was young and all he has is some hazy but fantastic memories. His sisters fed and bathed him, sent him to school and [...]
Manchi attha ee sari
Having already cut her teeth on the near clinical, irascible icy mother-in-law character in Anand, Chandana Chakrabarti moves into more meaningful roles and this time in Manasu Palike Mounaragam she essays a strong, compassionate and a non-weepy character that is going to make film-goers sit up and take notice. ”I’m going to be more choosy, will [...]
Venky’s spiritual quest
Venkatesh is not unconventional; he’s absolutely normal. He treats everyone with so much dignity and respect that you can’t help but marvel at his evolving persona. As an actor, he’s incredibly talented and committed to his work. There are zillion cliches to being a star but Venkatesh has avoided them and found an interesting truth [...]
