Anthaka Mundhu Aa Tharuvatha' coming on August 23

Director Indraganti Mohana Krishna’s forthcoming movie ‘Anthaka Mundhu Aa Tharuvatha’ is set for a grand release on 23rd of August.

Sri Ranjith Movies producing Anthaku Mundhu Aa Taruvatha is a youthful romantic entertainer. Sumanth Ashwin(son of producer M.S. Raju) and Eesha will be seen in main leads.  The movie is said to be very sensitive story with strong emotions and values. The film is studded with actors like Ravi Babu, Rao Ramesh, Avasarala Srinivas. Kalyani Koduri is providing the musical scores.

Distributed by K L Damodhar Prasad, who earlier delivered blockbuster film like Ala Modalaindi, 'Anthaku Mundhu Aa Taruvatha' has confirmed its release date to be Aug 23.

Kalyani Koduri is on music board, camera by P G Vindha and editing is handled by Marthand K Venkatesh for Anthaku Mundhu Aa Taruvatha. Vivek Kuchibhotla and Jagan are executive producers.

Nitya Menen's 'Malini 22' shooting in Hyderabad

Our readers are aware that Nithya Menen is playing a female oriented role in a bi-lingual "Malini 22".The movie is the official remake of the Malayalam super hit ’22 Female Kottayam’. This movie is based on the story of a nurse who ends up as rape victim and takes revenge on the accused. The Malayalam film was commercially successful. Rimi Kallingal played the female lead role in original.  The movie is currently being shot in Hyderabad.

Veteran actress Sri Priya is handling the direction of this movie. Rajkumar Sethupathy is producing this film. Reema Kallingal essayed Nithya’s role in Malayalam. The Telugu version of the movie will have actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao, Naresh etc.

Nithya Menen is known for her good performances and we can expect something similar from her in ’22 Malini’ as well.

Manchu Manoj's 'Potugadu' gets 'A' certificate

Manchu Manoj's forthcoming movie 'Potugadu' movie has completed its censor formalities and has been awarded 'A' certificate by the authorities. The film is now set for a release on September 14 on a grand scale.

Potugadu film is the remake of the Kannada hit Govindaya Namaha and Pawan Wadeyar, who directed the original version has wielded the megaphone for Telugu version as well.
Sakshi, Simran, Rachel and Anu Priya are making their debut as heroines in Telugu with 'Potugadu'.

Lagadapati Sireesha and Lagadapati Sreedhar are producing 'Potugadu' under Ramalakshmi Cine Creations banner. Achu has composed the music

Krishna, Raghavendra Rao to receive ANR Swarna Kankan award

Veteran filmmaker K. Raghavendra Rao, actor G. Krishna, actress-filmmaker Vijaya Nirmala and actor Ali will be honoured with actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) lifetime achievement Swarna Kankan award here Sep 22.

Six others from different walks of lives will also have the award bestowed upon them by ANR.

"Ten prominent personalities from different professions have been chosen for this award. The awards will be presented to the awardees in a grand function on Sep 22. It will be a star-studded event," a member of the organising committee told.

Other six awardees include NRI community leader Prasad Thotakura, filmmaker R. Narayana Murthy, former Andhra Pradesh High Court lawyer Yellam Raju Gopalakrishna Murthy, writer C. Ananda Ramam, CEO of SVBC television channel P. Madhusudhana Rao, and TV anchor MKR Asha Latha.

At the award function, hit songs from ANR's films will be performed by a live orchestra. A special souvenir tracking the career of ANR will also be release at the function, which will take place at Ravindra Bharati.

Divya Dutta to star in Hindi remake of 'Traffic'

Actress Divya Dutta who is currently basking in the success of her new film ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is on a roll. The 35-year-old actress who has her plate full with interesting projects recently signed Traffic, the Hindi remake of the Malayalam hit by the same name, starring Manoj Bajpai and Prasanjit Chatterjee.

Divya Dutta who has made a mark in bollywood with her performance in films like Veer Zara, Dangerous Ishq, Heroine, Delhi 6 is also in the midst of signing a film to be produced by Ekta Kapoor. She has also signed a Hollywood film, to be shot in Europe and India. The shoot for this project will commence next month.

Talking about the roles she is being offered, Divya says "It's a great space to be in. I'm being offered roles of substance by the directors on my wish list."

Divya is also looking forward to doing an item number, the details of which are being tightly kept under wraps. The actor is unable to divulge more details about the item song but says, "It will be different, with expressions and adas."

Pooja Bhatt - 'Cabaret' songs will have longer shelf life

Actress-director-producer Pooja Bhatt is currently busy recording songs for her next project "Cabaret" and promises that the songs won't be short-lived.

"Yes, like always, even the music of 'Cabaret' will be unusual. The songs will have longer shelf life," Pooja, whose last film was "Jism 2", told IANS.

"We are known to work with new people, so there is a lot of freshness. One thing I can promise is that the songs of 'Cabaret' will be chart-busters," she added.

Kaustav Narayan Niyogi, who is making his directorial debut with "Cabaret", has also composed the songs for the film.

"This is his directorial debut as well as his debut as a composer. He has got an amazing sense of music. Today, we are recording the fifth song with Roopkumar Rathod. Once we finish our album, we will start shooting."

Randeep Hooda has been finalised for the male lead for the film, while the hunt is still on for the leading lady.

Amitabh to shoot for Sudhir Mishra's 'Mehrunnisa' soon

Bollywood Mega star Amitabh Bachchan who will be next seen playing the role of a social crusader in Prakash Jha's 'Satyagraha', would be shooting for Sudhir Mishra's next film 'Mehrunnisa' in the old city of the state capital, sometime after Eid, sources said Friday.

A lavish stage is being erected in the Chowk area for the shoot, which will see Big B, as Amitabh Bachchan is popularly known, Rishi Kapoor and the main lead of the film, Chitrangada Singh, shoot in the city.

Permission for shooting has been sought by the film unit for places like the Chowk, Bada Imambada, La Martinere Boys' College and Colvin Taluqdar's College.

The film is a tale of two friends who meet again after a span of 40 years. The script was written in 1996 by director Sudhir Mishra, and revolves around the friends, who fall in love with the same woman and get separated. The woman they both sought, played by Chitrangada Singh, re-enters their life when they are in their 60s.

The tale that the film tells begins in 1945 and spans four decades.

'Mehrunnisa' is produced by Nikhil Advani. Director Sudhir Mishra hails from Lucknow.

Kainaat Arora always wanted to debut with comedy film

Kainaat Arora, who will make her acting debut with Hindi comedy film "Grand Masti", says that she always wanted to foray into the acting world with the entertaining comedy genre.

Other than comedies, she loves romantic films, and says she would have always chosen either one of them for her first film.

"I enjoy comedies and love stories and so I always wanted to do a comedy. But comedy is not an easy thing to do," Kainaat told IANS.

She said the "Grand Masti" experience was thrilling. The movie is a sequel to the 2004 film "Masti".

"It is fun shooting for comedy films. 'Grand Masti' was double the fun as 'Masti' itself was a big comedy film. The story is different this time. It is a different script. Being a part of the film by Indra Kumar was a treat as he is an interesting filmmaker," she said.

The actress will be seen opposite Vivek Oberoi.

"I was very happy and glad that I am featuring opposite Vivek. I was so happy as I have seen the first part. He is a very supportive guy. I have seen his negative roles also and have liked them. He has a great comic timing and there was not one even one serious moment for us," she said.

Kainaat hails from Dehradhun and she has completed her studies in merchandising from National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi. But her desire was always to get into acting.

"I always knew that I wanted to be an actress... since I was six years old! After my college, I was getting offers for advertisements. I also walked the ramp for many designers. Everything was happening on its own and I never planned much. I was working without a portfolio," she said.

The actress entered Bollywood with the song "Aila re Aila" with Akshay Kumar in film "Khatta Meetha", directed by Priyadarshan.

Nihalani keen to have Om Puri in 'Ardh Satya' sequel

Acclaimed filmmaker Govind Nihalani, who is planning a sequel to "Ardh Satya", says he would like to team up with Om Puri for the second part.

Om Puri played the protagonist in the 1983 release, which also had Amrish Puri and Smita Patil -- but both the actors are not alive.

"...the two major people are not there anymore with us. Right now, I am keeping my options open and I am waiting to see what happens. I would love to have Om Puri again," he said.

Based on noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar's short story, the critically acclaimed cop-drama revolved around a police officer, played by Om Puri, struggling with the bad elements around him and with his own weaknesses.

The director hopes to lock the story by the end of the year.

"My friend and the producer of the film, Manmohan Shetty has been persuading me for several years. I am thinking about it. I am in the process of developing the story. I hope that at the end of the year or by next year, I will finalise it," he said.

Known for directing films like "Aakrosh", "Vijeta", "Party" and "Dev", the director feels sequels can be challenging at times.

"In a sequel, you take the story forward with the same characters. That is tricky as you have to invent a new story with the same characters.

"Sometimes, some artists are unavailable, so you have to bring in new actors. It is like making a new film. Except that you maintain the title as the earlier film was accepted," he said.

A lot of remakes are coming nowadays, but the director would not like to see his films being remade.

"I wouldn't not like to see my films being remade. They are not entertainment- oriented. They were entertaining, but they had much more substance in terms of consciousness about social issues and situations and that is not the kind of stuff you remake," said Nihalani.

Lahore' director's sci-fi film pushed to 2014

Director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan of "Lahore" fame was earlier slated to roll the cameras for his next project, a sci-fi film, in October. But he says the film will go on the floors only around the last quarter of 2014.

"We have started the pre-production work for the film. It's a huge film, so it will take 12 to 14 months for the pre-production. The film will now go on floors by next year September or October," Chauhan told IANS.

"We have locked the location and now we are working on the technicalities. There will be a lot of special effects in the film, and so it will take some time. In the next six to eight weeks, we will finalise the star cast," he added.

Chauhan also said he was occupied with another project, and since the sci-fi film needs a lot of attention, it was best to give it more time.

Asked if the film will be in 3D, Chauhan said: "I'm against 3D (for this film) because it's a conventional film and we can't completely make use of 3D effects in this film.

"We are not trying to make an 'Avengers' or anything in that genre, so right now we are not planning to go for 3D. Besides we are trying to make this film in a moderate budget."

The filmmaker says this is his most ambitious project and a lot of technicians from Hollywood will be involved with this project.

Sonakshi - I've never been offered offensive roles

Actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has who has made a mark for herself in showbiz with movies like "Dabangg" and "Rowdy Rathore", says no filmmaker has ever offered her any role which may have been offensive.

"I have never been offered any roles which may be offensive. People know 'She is not comfortable doing few things'. So I have never been offered anything out of my comfort zone," said Sonakshi.

The 26-year-old, who has maintained her distance from revealing clothes and link-ups with her co-actors, says she is only concerned about her work.

"I am only concerned with my work... I don't party, I don't go pubs, I am a very private person. And frankly, I have no time. I am happy I am concerned only about my work and I am happy being appreciated for that," added the talented actress, who was seen in "Lootera".

Her latest release "Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara!" released Friday.

English Vinglish' goes to Japan, Taiwan and South Korea

Director Gauri Shinde's widely appreciated film on linguistic disorientation "English Vinglish", is set for release in three unconventional territories namely South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Shinde said: "Every time I think, 'Okay, it's done now', more surprises spring up. 'English Vinglish' has gone out of my hands. The baby has grown up and is travelling globally charting its own course. I am glad to see it acquire a life of its own. I feel like a very proud parent indeed."
Gauri's husband and filmmaker S. Balki produced the game-changer film that had a superlative performance by none other than Sridevi, who wore greasepaint for the movie after 15 years. The film was released last year.

Balki said: "'English Vinglish' is a true global film. It has connected with multi-cultures and is being loved in country after country. I am thrilled that it is now being released in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. These are massive film-going countries. Our film has proved that language can't stop a film from being loved."

Earlier the film was released in Germany. Kumar Ahuja, president, Business Development, Eros International, said "English Vinglish" is a universal story.

"Nearly a year after its release, the film continues to enamour people across the world. A lot of people living abroad in an English-speaking world are trying hard to learn English to be accepted by the adopted society.

"With newer markets opening for the film consistently, we see resonance with global audiences for the film. In these territories, especially in South Korea, audiences love Indian ethos and drama. We, therefore, expect the film to do good business in these territories," said Ahuja.

Satyagraha' collects Rs.11.21 crore on its first day

Prakash Jha's socio-political thriller "Satyagraha" managed to gross Rs.11.21 crore on its opening day. It is said to be the highest ever opening for the filmmaker.

The movie, which features a stellar cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee and Amrita Rao, released Friday. Made at a reported budget of Rs.50 crore, the movie is said to be getting a mixed response from critics and viewers.
However, officials at UTV Motion Pictures, are hoping for a good weekend collection.

"The film has taken a good start at the box office. It is being well-received by viewers all across age groups. As word spreads which is positive - we expect significant growth over the weekend," Gaurav Verma, director, India Theatrical Distribution, Studios, Disney UTV, said in a statement.

"Satyagraha" reflects the uprising of the middle-class against a corrupt and unjust system.