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Southern Movies Round Up

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Katappa

As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regularly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

Sathyaraj Turns Villain In ‘Sandakozhi 2’

Director N. Linguswamy revealed recently that he will start filming for ‘Sandakozhi 2’ from 9th Sept, 2015 and just recently Sathyaraj has been signed on for a major role and he will be the main villain having a very powerful role. ‘Sandakozhi 2’ stars Vishal, Meera Jasmine, Keerthi Suresh, Rajkiran, Soori & Lal with music by D. Imman & produced by Vishal Film Factory.

G. V. Prakash Once Again Has A Catchy Title For His Next Film

G. V. Prakash’s next film as a lead hero will be directed by Prashanth Pandiyaraj, a former assistant to National award winning director Pandiraj. This film is going to be produced by Selvakumar of Kenanya films. Shankar is in charge of cinematography while GVP himself will score the music. The team considered various titles for the film and now they have zeroed in on a catchy name. The film has been titled as ‘Bruce Lee’ reminding us of yesteryear’s Hong Kong Superstar. The film is expected to go on floors in Sept, 2015.

Vijay Fans force The Producer To Have More Cinema Halls

The Telugu version of Vijay’s ‘Jilla’ which released last Friday has become a super hit in Andhra and in the wake of that the Telugu fans of Vijay seem to be loving it and the extraordinary demand has forced the producer of the film to increase the theatre count by 50 from this weekend. The charisma of Illayathalapathy Vijay and the presence of well known stars like Mohan Lal, Kajal Agarwal, Brahmanandham, Poornima Bhagyaraj & Sampathraj coupled with the high quotient masala elements that director R. T. Neason has mixed in the script seems to have gone down well with the Telugu audiences.

Andrea Gets Anjali’s Support

Intense filmmaker Ram of ‘Katradhu Tamizh’ & ‘Thangameengal’ fame has finished his urban love story ‘Taramani’ that has Andrea in the leading role with newcomer Vasanth Ravi playing her love interest. Azhangam Perumal & child actor Adrian Knight Jesly are also in the cast. ‘Taramani’ has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and is produced by J. Sathish Kumar under the banner JSK Film Corporation. Anjali is making a special appearance in the film and it is said that her role will be an important one serving as a turning point to the story. The film is expected to release in a couple of months.

Manisha Koirala & Shaam Shoot For A Romantic Song

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala will be joining the cast of the Tamil film ‘Oru Melliya Kodu’. The unit will be shooting 2 songs 1 with Shaam & Raksha Bhatt and the other song featuring Shaam & Manisha Koirala in Bangkok. Both the songs are romantic numbers, composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

The film revolves around a murder mystery in which Manisha plays politician’s wife and Arjun & Shaam are the protagonists.

Mahesh Babu’s Latest Avtar Decoded

Mahesh Babu has recently upped his eye candy quotient to a new level to get into the role of a filthy rich NRI in his forthcoming film ‘Srimanthdu’. Apparently, Mahesh had to follow an exhausting weight training sessions & cardio schedule that helps him perform his action & dance sequences. And that’s not all; the superstar has also experimented with his looks for this movie. Apparently, Mahesh will be seen in at least 7 new looks as he tried everything, from scarf’s to dhotis, a corporate look, a college look, et al. He will also be seen in a never seen before dhoti and a shirt avatar.

Anjali To Act In Another Cameo Role

Actress Anjali has played a cameo in filmmaker Ramsubramaniam’s ‘Taramani’, which features débutante Vasanth Ravi and singer – turned -actress Andrea Jeremiah in the lead.

“It was at the personal request of direct Ram that I accepted this offer. It’s a role quite contrary to anything I’ve done lately,” Anjali told. Anjali had previously worked with Ram in his critically acclaimed directorial debut ‘Kattradhu Thamizh’. Said to be a moody urban romantic saga, ‘Taramani’ is jointly produced by Ram & JSK Sathish. The film, which has music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, is currently in its post production phase.

Nikhila Waits For Sreebala’s Next

Nikhila Vimal is on a high after her debut vehicle as an actress namely ‘Love 24×7’ which is getting rave reviews. Her performance in the movie as Kabani was much appreciated and many reviewed that she was a face to watch out for. Nikhila however says that she did nothing for the role and all she did was to follow director Sreebala’s instructions. Nikhila revealed that she had known Sreebala ever since she had acted in ‘Bhagyadevatha’ when she was in class 8. Sreebala had been associate to Sathyan Anthikad then.

Samvrutha Writes To Malayalees

After a long sabbaitical Samvrutha Sunil’s voice was heard loud & clear as she addressed Malaylees. Specifically, her post was addressed to people who “might be interested in her marital status”. This is after some rumours sprang up stating that she was on the verge of a divorce. She wrote, “To everyone who might be concerned about my marital status…….I am happily married and leading a peaceful life by God’s grace. I have a 5 month old baby who is keeping me very busy and I barely have the time to even post this message”.

Katappa To Don A Villainous Avatar

Versatile actor Satyaraj, who played many different roles in his illustrious career, is going to be seen in a negative role once again. As Katappa has been roped in as the baddie in the sequel of ‘Pandem Kodi’ (Sandakozhi).
Lingusamy, who directed the 1st part, will also direct this film. Though it was speculated that Shamili will play the lead actress in this film, the unit has rubbished those rumours. Akshara Haasan is being considered as the heroine but she is not finalized yet.

‘Sri Sai’ Audio Released

Noted director Om Saiprakash at the edge of his 100th film direction released audio CD of ‘Sri Sai’ at a function attended by prominent pontiffs. Adhichunchanagiri Sri Nirmalananda Swamiji, Murugarajendra Brihanmath Mokshapathi Swamiji, Mukthinaga Kshetra Daivagna Subramanya Shastry, Sri Angala Parameshwari Temple Elumalai Swamiji & Maharshi Dr Ananda Guruji presided over the audio release function and blessed the makers of ‘Sri Sai’, a Kannada film. Producer TS Senthil brother MLC Sharavana plays devotee of Shirdi Saibaba in this film.

“My film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in reality my real life journey from Punjab to Austria”: Navvy Jassal

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A Non-Resident Indian named Navvy Jassal makes his debut as an actor with a film titled ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ which is due for release very soon. Actually speaking Navvy Jassal happens to be an actor from Austria. Having lived in Austria since the last 26 years his heart & soul is still rooted in India. Originally hailing from Punjab it was his childhood dream to be an actor. Navy aka Naresh Jassal’s debut making film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in fact his own real life journey from Punjab to Austria depicting all the pitfalls, the side effects, the trials & tribulations including all the ups & downs of belonging to the tribe of the scheduled caste.

To begin with enlist your background in a nutshell.

Actually speaking I was born in a small village of Kariha located in the district of Navanshaher in Punjab. Since childhood I have been victimised & harassed a lot for belonging to a scheduled caste tribe. My upcoming debut making film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ is in reality my real life journey from Punjab to Austria. During this journey I had to face all the pitfalls, the side effects, the trials & tribulations including all the ups & downs of belonging to the tribe of the scheduled caste.

What is the significance of the title of the film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’?

From the point of view of the people belonging to the higher caste, the title of my upcoming film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’, means that even if we look down upon and mete out bad treatment to the down trodden lower caste people what difference does it make? Really ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ as they are meant & deserved to be treated like that. While from our point of view it means that let the higher caste people treat us the way they want us to treat, ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’. But then through our film we have tried to show that this attitudinal caste system differences should change drastically on behalf of both the parties and that too with immediate effect. This attitude no longer exists in metro cities but th saddest part is that it is still prevalent in smaller cities & especially in villages.

Fine so tell us more about the storyline of your upcoming film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’.

Through our film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ we are trying to awaken the people. It is time to drive away the evils of caste system and differential casteism is one of them. Besides we have also tried to stress on the fact that their should be complete transparency in a couple’s relationship and a slightest mistake leads to a lot of mistrust & misunderstanding between them. That apart we have also tried to depict the side effects of drugs and all these are the resultant effects of my own real life experiences. In short ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’, is in fact a take on my own real life journey from Punjab to Austria. I have enacted the role of a person who is constantly insulted & humiliated because he belongs to a lower caste. At last getting fed up and in sheer disgust he leaves his village and sets off for Austria. At this point the film also points out that most of the youths undertake the overseas journey illegally and with thinking & consulting anyone and thereby becomes a victim of human trafficking and sometimes even lose their lives. After reaching Austria I complete my academic qualification and become a Professor in college who ultimately falls in love with one of his colleague. But here too he becomes a victim of caste system and is thrown out of the college. Later on he joins politics and forms his own party named OMP and was in power for 5 years whence he fights tooth & nail to eradicate the evils of caste system. And for further developments of the film ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ you will have to catch the film on the celluloid silver screen when it hits the marquee very soon.

As a parting shot give us some more details about the cast & the crew of ‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’.

‘Kya Farak Padta Hai’ has been produced by Charanjit Kaur & directed by Jitendra Jaiswal. Of course the film has been penned by me and backed by me from “The Beginning” to “The End”, while its melodious & mellifluous music, having 5 songs, has been composed by Sanjvee. And besides me the film also stars Pankaj Berry, Kalpana Shah, Jaiseline Sharma et al.

Movie Review: ‘Ant-Man’ disappoints, as it is not so impressive

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ant-man

Producer: Kevin Feige
Director: Peyton Tucker Reed
Star Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Micheal Pena, Tip Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian & Micheal Douglas.
Genre: Fantasy
Verdict: Average

Peyton Tucker Reed is an American television & film director. He is best known for directing comedy films like Yes Man, Bring It On & The Break Up and now his latest offering is the super hero film Ant-Man. But somehow one feels that Ant-Man has failed to leave up to the expectations of the fans & cine goers of super hero films.

Plot: Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym & Lang must plan & pull off a heist that will save the world.

Aces: The grandeur & the gloss and the huge scale on which the movie has been presented.

Minuses: Right from the word go the whole exercise seems unbelievable.

Last Word: They have served a new super hero recipe in Ant-Man now be prepared for its sequel franchised Ant-Woman.

Movie Review: ‘Mr. Holmes’ is an artistic film excellently made

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film1.jpg

film1.jpg

Producer: Anne Carrey, Lain Canning & Emile Sherman
Director: Bill Condon
Star Cast: Ian Mckellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker, Hattie Morahan, Hiroyuki Sanada, Patrick Kennedy, Roger Allam, Phil Davis, Frances De La Tour, Colin Starkey, Nicholas Rowe, Francis Barber & John Sessions.
Genre: Suspense
Verdict: Good

Bill Condon of Gods & Monsters and the 2 final instalments of the Twilight Sagas fame, has made as artistic film in Mr. Holmes. He has touched upon the core truth of how Sherlock Holmes remained a brilliant sleuth even at the age of 93, barring the fact that age had really started catching him off guard.

Plot: Long retired and near the end of his life, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) grapples with an unreliable memory and must rely on his housekeeper’s son Roger (Miko Parker) as he revisits the still unsolved case that led to his retirement.

Aces: Bill Condon’s skilful presentation of the last days of Sherlock Holmes topped with extracting excellent performances mainly from Ian Mckellen as Sherlock Holmes & Milo Parker as his sidekick Roger.

Minuses: The snail’s pace of the movie really gets on your nerves.

Last Word: Catch it before it vanishes from the silver screen.

Movie Review: ‘Masaan’ is a very disturbing fare

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Masaan

Producer: Anuraag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane etc
Director: Neeraj Ghaywan
Star Cast: Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Pankaj Tripathji, Nikhil Sahni, Satyakam Anand & Vineet Kumar
Genre: Drama
Verdict: Good

Debutante director Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan has earned rave reviews in the global festival circuit, but will it suit the palate of the Indian audience is a bit doubtful. Yet the movie in itself is laudable and a critics delight.

Plot: The plotted scenario of Masaan is set in present day Banaras it follows 2 separate story that eventually converge. In the 1st story Devi and (Richa Chadda) and her fellow student, Piyush, check into a hotel room. They are interrupted when the police bursts in, accusing them of indulging in indecent behaviour. In the 2nd story Deepak (Vicky Kaushal), a young boy (also from Banaras) works in a funeral pyre. Deepak meets & falls in love with Shaalu (Shweta Tripathi).

Aces: Neeraj Ghaywan’s apt directorial treatment coupled with stellar performances from Richa Chadda as well as debutante actors like Vicky Kaushal, Shweta & Pankaj Tripathi and a special mention must be made of child actor Nikhil Saini.
Minuses: The grimness of the film leaves you drained of all emotions.

Last Word: Strictly recommended for lovers of art house cinema.

An interactive session with a media guy turned film director Rajesh Ransinghe

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Rajesh Ransinghe, a director of small as well as big screen, happens to be a very youthful, energitic & dynamic director. Incidentally speaking he had started of his career as a Videographer. And then he made a quick switch as a small screen megaphone wielder. This was almost more than 2 decades ago, when he had dabbled with the small screen shows, starting off with a biggest production house named Contileo films, like ‘Ankhen’ (his debut serial), ‘Aahat’, ‘CID’, ‘CID Bureau’, ‘Bhanwar’, ‘Koi Hai’, ‘Maharana Pratap’, Savdhaan India’, ‘Rishte’, ‘Fear File’ and last but not the least ‘Adalat’. All in all till this date almost 22,000 hours of work has been tucked under his directorial belt. And then his next big leap was in the big screen arena in the year 2010 when he had directed a Hindi film named ‘Rokkk’. And finally after almost half a decade he is ready with his 1st ever Marathi film namely ‘Janiva’.

Just recently the music of your 1st ever Marathi film ‘Janiva’ was released at the hands of Salman Khan. So was it on purpose to cash in on his ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ wave? That apart you were also conspicious by your absence in your own film’s music release event?

No sir, not at all and it was not intentional. I did not attend the music release function of my own film Marathi film ‘Janiva’ as I was busy shooting in Hyderabad and I didn’t feel right that I should leave the entire unit in a lurch just to attend the music release of my own film ‘Janiva’. And releasing the music was Salman Khan’s own choice as he wanted to bless Satya, the son of his best friend Mahesh Manjrekar. And Satya happens to be one of the 5 main leads of my film ‘Janiva’. That’s it.

Tell us something about your upcoming Marathi film ‘Janiva’

First & Foremost I would like to state that Renuka Shahane plays a major role of a lawyer in this film. Besides Satya is playing one of the 5 male leads, there is also Anuradha, Vaibhavi, Sanket, Dev Dutt, Kishore Kadam (also playing the role of a powerful lawyer), Kiran Karmakar, Indira Krishna, Atul Parchure & Usha Nadkarni with a special appearance by Mahesh Manjrekar. Incidentally speaking, we will all see the father – son team of Mahesh Manjrekar & Satya together for the 1st ever time in ‘Janiva’. Also for the 1st time ever, the very popular singer of Bollywood films Deler mehndi has rendered a Ganpati number in Marathi and he makes it a point to croon this number in every show he does whetheer in India or abroad.

How was your experiences on the sets with the seasoned actors like Renuka Shahane & Mahesh Manjrekar?

Renuka Shahane is fantastic. She took only 2 hours to okay the script which I had narrated to her. She even improvised so much on the sets that she exceeded herself 10 times more than what I had expected from her. When I had narrated the script to Mahesh Manjrekar, he had asked me who was the hero. I told him that I need a 17 year old college going boy and just then Satya entered the room. Eureka! I knew that I had found one of the main hero of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. I immediately offered Satya the role and luckily for me I had both the father – son team on board of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. Mahesh Manjrekar appears in the Ganpati number which has been crooned by Daler Mahendi, the Punjabi pop singer who is known both fort his racy Punjabi & Hindi numbers.

How come you convinced Deler Mehndi to sing for a Marathi film?

When I went to Daler Mehendi he clearly told me that he can sing only Hindi & Punjabi numbers and not the Marathi ones. But when he heard the scratch number in my voice he really got excited and said that he will certainly give it a try and when he actually belted out the number in the recording room, everybody was stunned including myself.

On a round up note how about giving us an insight into the subject matter of your Marathi film ‘Janiva’!

You see after selecting all the lead actors, 3 boys & 2 girls, I put them through an intense and a gruelling workshop session. And then the 1st 6 days of the shooting I made them to sit for 6 whole days in the courtroom just as a spectator doing nothing, just observing the senior actors in action which proved like a Master Class in acting for them. Now coming to the subject matter of my Marathi film ‘Janiva’. It certainly has an altogether different story which I can’t reveal it now. At the moment it is suffice to say how the college students are trapped by the law and how a powerful lady lawyer like Renuka Shahane fights with the system and saves the future of these college students. This kind of a subject matter will always have a youthful audience connect and the college going boys & girls will also identify themselves with these innocent boys & girls. By the way my debut Marathi film ‘Janiva’ will hit the marquee by the end of July, 2015.

Movie Review: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is an emotional journey of an Indian man & a Pakistani Child

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Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Banner: Salman Khan Films & Kabir Khan Films
Producer: Salman Khan & Rockline Venkatesh
Director: Kabir Khan
Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Harshaali Malhotra, Najeem Khan, Ali Quli Mirza, Deepti Naval, Om Puri, Sharat Saxena & Adnan Sami (Spl App)
Music: Pritam Chakraborty, Komail Shayan (KK) & Julius Packiam

Director Kabir Khan is known for his films like ‘Kabul Express’, ‘New York’ & ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. He seems to have a penchant for cross border problems which he keeps showcasing in most of his films including in his latest directorial offering ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ too. But this this time he has succeded in delivering an endearing & a heart touching film.

A 6 year old speech impaired girl Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra) accompanies her mother from Pakistan to Delhi to visit a Muslim Shrine. On her way back to Pakistan Shahida aka Munni gets separated from her mother on the Indian border. Munni then bumps into Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan), who is a staunch bhakt of Hanuman. After some initial hesitation Pawan takes the oath of Hanuman to return Munni back to Pakistan to deliver her safely in the hands of her parents. So off he goes to Pakistan without even having a Passport not to forget the Visa. He encounters a lot of problems on his way to and in Pakistan too. His trouble starts right from the Wagah border and then continues till the end, during which a local news reporter Chand Pasha (Nawazzuddin Siddiqui) and his cameraman (Najim Khan) also help him a lot.

Salman Khan

Except for a few exaggerated hicups & glitches director Kabir Khan does succeed in winning the cine goers heart especially in the 2nd half and post interval portions which is also punctuated with the right doses of humorous punches. Especially notable are the scenes of the trio of Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra & Nawazzuddin Siddiqui. That apart Salman Khan deserves a standing ovation for backing such an emotionally oriented sensitive film like ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. A fair share of credit also goes director Kabir Khan and his entire team of the cast & the crew for totally living upto his highest expectations.

Performance wise the film clearly belongs to Salman Khan and the most sensatonal discovery namely Harshaali Malhotra. Yes! Sallu miyan for a change has delivered a very emotionally charged restrained performance, if only he could have resisted those few Dishoom Dishoom scenes. And the girl child Harshaali Malhotra seems to be God gifted. She is so expressive and simply outstanding. Nawazzuddin Siddiqui as usual is brilliant to the core. Sadly enough Kareena Kapoor Khan is not up to the mark as she had nothing much to do in this emotional drama. While the rest of the cast comprising of Najim Khan, Ali Quli Mirza, Deepti Naval, Om Puri, Sharat Saxena, Adnan Sami et al just fit the bill and lend an able & adequate support.

Tail Piece: ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ initially sounds, like it is coloured with communal essence but as the film progresses it leaves you emotionally drained. Don’t miss ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, a perfect festival (Ramzan Eid) & weekend gift for one & all.

“I play a staunch Hanuman Bhakt in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan'”: Salman Khan

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Salman Khan

Salman Khan has always been surrounded by unwanted & uncalled for controversies galore. But braving all odds he has always emerged a winner. Forgetting all the back lashes in his career and personal life too, he now clears all issues with a pinch of salt. Present here with is an exclusive ad verbatim 1st person account of Salman Khan’s version.

“First of all I would like to wish all my fans & well – wishers a very, very happy Ramzaan Eid mubarak. And I here again with an Eid release ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’. I lot has been written by you media guys as to why a Hindu oriented film on the eve of a Muslim festival. I would say that a film is a film which mirrors the true picture of society at large. Which can be of any community.So “kya Muslim aur kya Hindu. We are all one. So brothers I would like to say just 1 thing that please don’t try to add communal colour & feeling to ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijaan’ and I think Mr. Pahlaj Nihalani the censor chief also seconds my opinionated train of thoughts. So ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is a gift for all my fans & well – wishers, irrespective of the caste & the creed.”

“In ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijaan’ I am enacting the role of Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, a staunch Hanuman bhakt. The film revolves around my attempt to take a lost kid back to her home to her parents. It was fun working with the kid, they are so alert & smart you see. 1 day the little girl tells me that, “Ab toh aapke saath kaam kar rahi hoon toh main bhi superstar ban jaaoongi hai na?” Needless to say I was left speechless & dumbstruck. Kabir had a tough time selecting the right kid who could fit the bill and does not look like a precocious kid. The best thing about the kid is that when we started acting together, she told me that she wanted to be a big super star like me. I told her that even I want to be a big super star.”

“After listening to the story & the script narration by director Kabir Khan. I immediately agree to be a part of the film. To be very, very frank & honest I liked the subject of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ too much. There was a comfort level too as I had acted for Kabir Khan in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ too. Even my dad said that he had not read a script as fine as that of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ or a film as good as this one in the last 2 decades. He also added that SKF (Salman Khan Films) will have to compete with ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in the future as a production house.”

“People often ask me about my opinion on success & failure. And I always tell them that success has made more failures than failure. It is easy to act when you are successful. After that you tend to get overconfident & monotonous and it is unfortunately seen on the screen when you just do anything & everything. Failure makes you pull up your socks. I should know this because I have been through this game for the last 27 years ever since I made my debut with ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’. I hope I continue to act even at the age of 70 in roles that centre around me and for another 70 years in character roles. That apart if you succumb to your failures, automatically a stage will arrive when your enthusiasm wanes. However, when a film of yours succeeds at the box office, you start giving everything to your next film because you are sorted out as an actor. If you get carried away by your success and develop an attitude, you will always be like a gas balloon and unhappy. I do not take home my character or the images but the nobleness of my characters. Kabir used to get me charged and make me emotional especially when he shot the climax of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’. The niceness of your character always stays in your real life too but you cannot use the same technique that the hero uses in a film.”

“Furthermore I would like to state that life as an actor has always been very, very tough for me. First one has to compete with all the seniors when one makes his debut as the competition is quite tough. Then comes a stage when you have to struggle along with your contemporary actors till you reach the position of you being a senior actor and still realize that it is tough to survive. How long you survive depends on your hard work & efforts, because if you are slack, the next lot is ready to take over. Neither do I jump with happiness when a film of mine is a hit, nor do I have bitterness when a film of mine flops, because I do not want to be insecure as an actor.”

“To continue further I would like to say that content works in a film all the time and not the star. I confess that we used to have a lot more content earlier than what we have now in films. Today we lack emotional quotient in films as we have stopped catering to the pan India audiences and restrict ourselves to the audiences between Andheri & Cuffe Parade. What is of primary importance today is the need to cater to the audiences which stay beyond Andheri railway station.”

“One more point that I would like to stress is that today there is this obsession to get into the 100 cr plus bracket, whether you are a producer, director or for that matter even an actor. It isn’t something that is new. It was there earlier too but at that time we were clamoring for the 100 days run of a film or silver or golden jubilee run. Unfortunately because of this craze for 100 crore plus bracket, the rates of tickets are increasing day by day and it pinches the common man.

When ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ was released 2 decades ago, no one watched the film though the ticket rates were reasonable. Today the film has reached a cult status but everyone prefers to watch it on TV, because repeat value isn’t there for films in theatres. It is sad that today people do not go to see a film if it is a romcom or a sweet film. Unless & until a film is promising and made on a grand scale, the youth is not attracted to watch a film and so most of the films do not touch the 100 crore bracket today.”

“Besides the scenario as far as business of a film is concerned has also changed today. Way back in 1989, as you know, my film ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ was released in just 18 theatres all over Mumbai. The producers Rajshri guys could afford that at that point of time as the film could sustain for a longer period but today the business of a film is restricted to just 2 to 3 weeks. If it is a star studded film with good content, it may run for 6 weeks in a theatre, not more. In fact the Delhi Government led by AAP has increased the rate of entertainment tax in Delhi from 20 to 40% all of a sudden. It is very sad. “Khud toh film dekhne nahin jaate lekin aam aadmi ko bhi tang karte hain”. These people will call us only when they need us to canvass for their votes and use us during the elections. They feel that it is a chotisi industry worth only 8000 crores. The aam aadmi is bleeding today with lesser number of cinema houses to watch films and steep entertainment taxes & costly tickets at the multiplexes. It is sad but the bitter truth that a large country like India which produces over 1200 films every year in several languages does not have adequate number of cinema houses for producers to show case their films. If 1 big star announces his film as an Eid release, then another star is not able to release his film on the same day but Inshah Allah, I think Shah Rukh Khan and I will be able to release our respective films on the same day of Eid next year because by then many cinema multiplexes would have been made.”

“Not only this I still wonder why are films not able to do good business today, I think this mainly because our
films are not able to generate business to a large extent even if they are good, only because we do not have theatres. I am working towards setting up small miniplexes which have a seating capacity of up to 250 patrons all over Maharashtra to begin with. If the experiment is a success, we may invite theatre owners all over the country for franchises.”

“People often ask me as to when will they be able to see the trinity of myself, Aamir Khan & Shah Rukh Khan together on the celluloid silver screen. In this regard I woud like to state that If at all Aamir and I or for that matter Shah Rukh Khan and I have to come together, why should we make a sequel or a remake of ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ or ‘Koyla’. We would rather act together in an altogether new film.”

“One thing that really saddens me is that why do you people have to repeatedly ask me as to why did ‘Jai Ho’ failed at the box office turnstiles. My clarification to that is although it was a superb film, it failed to make it big mainly because we did not want to hike the rates of the tickets. It did a business of just Rs 126 crores. If only we had hiked the rates of the tickets, Sohail could have earned a lot more. Even the ticket rates of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ will not be hiked, because we want the maximum number of people to watch the film.”

“In conclusion I woud like to say that now that ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is all set for release, I will concentrate on the shooting of Rajshree Productions ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ following which I will start acting in Yashraj Films ‘Sultan’. I was also slated to be a part of Karan Johar’s ‘Shuddhi’ but now I am not acting in it. Karan has signed Varun Dhawan to do that film. Period!”

Movie Review: ‘Baahubali’ is a masterpiece, a classic blockbuster

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Baahubali

Producer: K. Raghavendra Rao, Shobu Yarlagadda & Prasad Devineni
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
Cast: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Sathyaraj, Sudeep, Adivi Sesh, Ramya Krishnan, Nassar, Charandeep, Tamannaah, & Meka Ramakrishna
Music: M. M. Keeravani

S. S. Rajamouli, a reputed South Indian director certainly needs no fresher introduction. Suffice it to say that he is more popularly known as the director with a midas touch. So this time he has come up with a period piece in ‘Bahubali’. That apart he has also taken efforts to keep anachronistic sounds & visuals from appearing in the film. The film ‘Bahubali’ has been made in 2 parts, the 1st being named ‘Bahubali – The Beginning’ released now and the 2nd part being named ‘Bahubali – The End’ which will be released later on.

The scripted scenario of Bahubali follows the life of Sivudu (Prabhas) who lives a rather solitary life all but cut off from the rest of civilization. Smuggled from his kingdom and raised by Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan) in a different tribe, Sivudu fills his days scaling mountains and their likes, unaware of his noble lineage. One fateful day Sivudu encounters Avanthika (Tamannaah Bhatia) who is a master assassin from a rebel group that intends on crushing King Bhallala Deva (Rana Daggubatti) of Mahishpati and rescuing Devasana (Anushka Shetty). However despite Shivudu understanding nothing of it, he decides to assist the rebels in their cause since he is smitten by the stunning Avantika who tells him that she is sworn to protect Devasana, who is none other than the late King Amarendra Bahubali’s wife, Sivudu’s mother and also Bhallala Deva’s sister – in – law. Setting off on his journey to fulfill Avantika’s duty, Sivudu moves towards fulfilling his own destiny as Bahubali and in the process setting in motion a series of events that lead to the second chapter.

Director S. S. Rajamouli without doubt deserves a standing ovation for making such a brilliant film although it is a dubbed version, it is certainly a cut above the rest. In fact much, much above all the South Indian dubbed films together. He has handled & synchronised all the minute details of the film excellently. A special noteworthy mention must be made of the specialised special effects & eye pleasingly breathtaking visuals of ‘Bahubali’. In fact every sequence of ‘Bahubali is a marvel that can easily be compared to the best of Hollywood. The grandiose sets, VFX, sound, editing, cinematography and most importantly, the screenplay of ‘Bahubali’ is terrific.

Performance wise All the actors have outdone each other. But a special standing ovation goes to Prabhas & Rana Duggabati for their brilliant piece of histrionics. Ramaya Krishnan, provides a perfect foil even in a supporting role. The other 2 supporting actors namely Nasser & Satyaraj leave a very strong impact too.

Tail Piece: ‘Bahubali’ is no doubt a masterpiece. In fact it can be rightfully termed as a classic blockbuster. Don’t miss ‘Bahubali’ at any costs.

Southern Movies Round Up

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Ram Charan

As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regularly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

Bala’s Next To Hit The Silver Screens

Young actor Atharvaa’s next film ‘Chandi Veeran’ directed by A. Sarkunam & Produced by director Bala under his B Studios banner is almost ready for release. The team, which was planning a July, 2015 release has now decided to release the film a little later as many films are lined up for this month. The film will now release on 7th Aug, 2015 a week ahead of Independence Day. The film set to be a rural entertainer stars Atharvaa & Anandi in lead roles and it has musical score by Arunagiri & cinematography by P. G. Muthiah. The film is expected to bring a break in Atharvaa’s acting career, as did Bala’s directorial ‘Paradesi’ which helped Atharvaa register himself as an actor capable of carrying strong roles.

‘Thala 56’ To Be Wrapped Up In Chennai

After finishing the shoot in Italy, the crew of Ajithkumar’s 56th film ‘Thala 56’ directed by Siruthai Siva is expected to return to Kolkata for the next schedule. The final schedule of the film will be taking place in Kolkata and a fight sequence will be shot in Chennai. With this the film’s shoot will be wrapped up. ‘Thala 56’ stars Shruthi Haasan, Lakshmi Menon, Soori & Kabir Singh in important roles alongside Ajith. Music is being scored by Anirudh Ravichander while the film is being produced by A. M. Ratnam. The film is expected to hit he screens for Deepavali.

Arun Vijay To Oppose This Young Telugu Star

Arun Vijay who is yet to make it big as a hero even after proving his versatile talents in many films vowed everyone with his villainy role opposite ‘Thala’ Ajith in ‘Yennai Arindhaal’ directed by Gautham Menon. Furthur more the ‘Thadayara Thakka’ actor might act as an antagonist in a Telugu film with Ram Charan Teja in the lead role. This film will be directed by Sreenu Vaitla and S. Thaman will be rendering the musical score. The director met Arun Vijay and narrated the script and the latter has given a positive signal as the role has a strong scope for performance.

Dhanush Will Enthrall Cine Goers As A Hooligan

Director Balaji Mohan, who consciously chose to go fully commercial with forthcoming Tamil entertainer ‘Maari’, says the film is a fulfillment of how he has always wanted to see actor Dhanush on screen. In the film, Dhanush will enthrall as a local hooligan, who goes with the catchphrase ‘Will finish you off’. It features the ‘Raanjhanaa’ star mostly in a dhoti – clad, cigarette – smoking & twirled – moustache avatar. Balaji said he wrote the film exclusively for Dhanush and wouldn’t have made the film had he not agreed to be part of it.

Ram Charan’s Next Confirmed

Surender Reddy is being considered as the director of Ram Charan’s next movie, which is going to be produced under Geetha Arts banner. Now this has been confirmed. It will hit the floors immediately after Charan completes his ‘Bruce Lee’ (tentative title) with Sreenu Vaitla. Kona Venkat & Gopimohan, who are currently working for Cherry – Vaitla film, will also provide the script for Surender Reddy’s film. An official announcement regarding this film will be out soon.

Poonam – The New Face Of Miss Telangana

Poonam Kaur has been chosen as the brand ambassador for Miss Telangana 2015. The actress will now be the face of the prestigious contest, promote & spread the awareness of the pageant show in Telangana. An elated Poonam says, “’m happy to be chosen as the face of Miss Telangana. When I started my career, I lacked proper guidance and had no set platform to showcase my abilities. I hope the Miss Telangana Contest will provide the perfect platform to all young women interested in making a career in the glamour world.” Poonam has featured in several Telugu, Tamil & Malayalam films, apart from winning the Miss Andhra Title (2006) & the Femina Miss India – South (2011).

Mahesh Babu Shocks With His Fluent Tamil

Harish Uthaman, who plays the baddie in upcoming Telugu family drama Srimanthudu, says he was totally taken aback when he heard superstar Mahesh Babu speak fluent Tamil on the sets. “It was my first day on the sets. We were going to shoot an action sequence. I met Mahesh and we exchanged pleasantries. After the shot, Mahesh sat near the monitor and I joined him. Suddenly he started talking in Tamil, and I was totally awestruck,” Harish told. “When I asked him how he knew Tamil, he said he did his college in Chennai. And that it was only after he started acting that he moved base to Hyderabad,” he said.

Arya’s Film May Go For A Title Change

‘Bangalore Days’ is one of the super hits and critically acclaimed Malayalam film of last year. This youthful entertainer is being remade in Tamil with the name ‘Arjun Divya Mattrum Karthik’. The film stars Arya, Sridivya, Rana, Bobby Simha, Parvathy & Rai Lakshmi in lead roles while Nayanthara is appearing in a cameo role. The film’s title when shortened comes as ‘ADMK’ which is also the name of a prominent political party in Tamil Nadu. In order to avoid any problems that may arise, the film’s production house has reportedly sought the permission from the party to officially use the name as the title. If the necessary permission is not obtained the film may go for a title change.

Disha Dinakar To Star In ‘One Day’

Disha Dinakar is the latest out of state actress to reach the Mollywood shores. The Miss Mangalore will play the lead role in the movie ‘One Day’. Though Disha has only a small yet significant part to play in the movie, she hopes to be active in M’Town in the days to come. Favas Shayani is her hero in the movie. ‘One Day’ will be a psychological thriller and will narrate the events of a day. Disha says that this is a male dominated movie and her part is quite small. Maqbool Salmaan also has a significant part in the movie.

Chandini – The New Girl In “Thattam”

Mollywood will soon get another girl in “Thattam”. Following in the footsteps of the evergreen “Thattam” girl is actress Chandini Sreedharan. She has already made a mark in the other South Indian film industries. She will make her Mollywood debut as Unni Mukundan’s heroine in the movie ‘KL 10 Pathu’.

Chandini plays a typical Malappuram girl in the movie and plays confidante & lover to Unni Mukundan’s character, Ahammed. She will appear in a “Thattam” throughout. Chandini considers Lal Jose her mentor and is happy to be associating with a movie which is under the Lal Jose banner.

Uday & Krishna’s ‘Mava I Love You’

The next combination of producer Uday Mehta & Krishna Ajay Rao is ‘Mava I Love You’. Krishna Ajay Rao did ‘Krishnan Love Story’ & ‘Krishnan Marriage Story’ but he got in to married life at ‘Krishna Leela’ his home production time. Now that he has ‘Mava’ (his wife father) in life, here is a film titled ‘Mava I Love You’. The film title also has caption ‘Krishna, Rukku Story’. Who is ‘Rukmini’ for Krishna Ajay Rao? The chances of Amoolya the charming actress acting for the 1st time with Ajay Rao is at the rumor mill. Known for action films Anil Kumar made debut as director from Malashri starring ‘Shakthi’.

1st Look Of Athiya Shetty In ‘Hero’

After releasing the teaser look & poster of Sooraj Pancholi, the makers of ‘Hero’ have let out the 1st look of Athiya Shetty. ‘Hero’, produced by Salman Khan & Subhash Ghai, is the launch vehicle for Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj & Suniel Shetty’s daughter, Athiya.

Another pic too of Sooraj has gone viral off late. Co – written by Nikhil Advani & Umesh Bist, ‘Hero’ is a remake of 1983’s Subhash Ghai directorial of the same name that starred Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Seshadri, Shammi Kapoor & Sanjeev Kumar along with Om Puri & Shakti Kapoor.

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