Indie film ‘Runt’, starring late Disney descendant, releases on Oct 19

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Indie film ‘Runt’, starring late Disney descendant, releases on Oct 19

Late actor Cameron Boyce’s ‘Runt’ is set to release on October 19.

1091 Pictures released the trailer on the Instagram page announcing the release date, “What happens when everything and everyone just seems to be against you? Do you let it ride or take a stand? See what happens in #RUNT 10/19.”
Runt
The indie drama stars Cameron Boyce, the star of Disney Channel’s ‘Descendants’ franchise, and HBO’s ‘Mrs Fletcher’, who died in July 2019 at the age of 20 following an epileptic seizure.

The film, directed and co-written by William Coakley, centers on a group of neglected and misguided high school seniors who are pulled into a downward cycle of violence when the adults in their lives fail them. Boyce portrays Cal, who after a troubling incident takes a stand, resulting in devastating consequences, according to Deadline.com.

1091 acquired the film in June. It will be released on VOD and digital platforms on October 19.

The features stars Nicole Elizabeth Berger, Aramis Knight, Brianna Hildebrand, Cyrus Arnold, Jason Patric, Charlie Gillespie and Tichina Arnold.

‘Runt’ was scripted by Coakley, Christian Van Gregg and Armand Constantine. Its producers were Carl Rumbaugh and Gregory Thomas. The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Mammoth Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.

“This film is very important in the climate we live in today,” said Cameron Boyce’s parents, Victor and Libby Boyce. “Cameron was incredibly proud of this film, and we believe his powerful performance will resonate deeply with all his fans throughout the world.”

“We are grateful to be working with 1091 Pictures, which understands the relevance and power of this story,” added the producers. “We have also partnered with The Cameron Boyce Foundation and its Wielding Peace initiative to promote peace instead of violence and spread awareness of the consequences of gun violence. We are excited for audiences to see this powerful and thrilling picture.”

The Cameron Boyce Foundation was founded in July of 2019, to continue the philanthropic legacy of the late Cameron Boyce. Its mission is to raise awareness and research dollars for epilepsy and SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) through digital campaigns and programmatic partnerships, according to Deadline.com.

Kichcha Sudeepa’s first look in ‘Vikrant Rona’ unveiled

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Kichcha Sudeepa’s first look in ‘Vikrant Rona’ unveiled

The makers of the much-awaited multilingual film ‘Vikrant Rona’ released the first look of actor Kichcha Sudeepa on Thursday. The day also marks the actor’s birthday.

The glimpse follows the narration of a world that sees the entry of ‘Vikrant Rona’ striking fear into his enemies’ hearts. The narrator describes the actor’s character as ‘Lord of the Dark’.

Talking about the first look, director Anup Bhandari says: “I am very happy that we got to celebrate Sudeepa sir’s birthday with ‘Deadman’s Anthem’ first glimpse reveal of Vikrant Rona. Vikrant Rona is a mysterious character and the first glimpse captures that. While making the film, I was aware of its humongous scale, but Sudeepa sir’s embodiment of the titular hero has elevated it even further. Happy birthday to him.”

The film will also have a special part of Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez.

Producer Jack Manjunath says: “We wish Sudeepa sir the warmest birthday wishes with the First Glimpse of Vikrant Rona. It’s incredible and we’re raring to go on such a positive note. His energy, passion and his will to make cinema that’s big enough to withstand the test of time is what makes Vikrant Rona special.”

‘Vikrant Rona’ is a multilingual action adventure that will see a 3-D release in 14 languages and 55 countries. Directed by Anup Bhandari, produced by Jack Manjunath and Shalini Manjunath, co-produced by Alankar Pandian, music by B Ajaneesh Loknath, the film features sets designed by award-winning art director Shivkumar and frames lit up by DOP William David.

It stars Kichcha Sudeepa, Nirup Bhandari and Jacqueline Fernandez.

Sidharth’s first director recalls his rise from ‘a non-actor to a TV star’

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Sidharth’s first director recalls his rise from ‘a non-actor to a TV star’

Ratna Sinha is the director who launched late actor Sidharth Shukla in the television series titled ‘Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na’, released in 2008. And since then, there was no looking back for Sidharth.

After his sudden demise, Sinha recalled the upcoming model who had that spark that turned him into a successful actor. Here’s her first-person account, shared exclusively with IANS, of her first meeting with the late actor:

It was around 2007 onwards when I think I saw him in a shopping mall. Sidharth was a ramp model back then when me and my team was looking for a new face for a new show that I was working on.

One of my assistants walked towards him and approached him for acting and he was so skeptical about the idea of acting. He really was a non-actor and when we auditioned, even the channel rejected the audition.

He was actually quite happy with modelling. But we thought there is something in him that will work! We kept on working on his skill and eventually I cast him as the male protagonist for my show ‘Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na’.

As the show received a good response, since then the world of acting opportunities grew for Sidharth. You know I really have seen Sidharth growing from a model, non-actor to a television star that he became. I had a mixed feeling of pride and happiness that this fellow is growing from strength to strength.

It is not easy at all to make it big here in the industry and staying relevant for 13 years! There were many youngsters back then started as a model and stepped into acting but maintaining success is a task that Sidharth was doing successfully. I think ‘Balika Vadhu’ was the breakthrough for him.

When I spoke to him last time, before lockdown, he was saying how keen is he to do more films. He was very keen on expanding his horizon in Bollywood. He did one film (‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’) and he nurtured the hope of acting in more films.

In the morning, when I woke up to the message of his sudden demise, I was numb. Just numb.

In the past one year, we lost so many young talents really. This is hard to process … life is so unpredictable really. I knew how emotionally close Sidharth was to his mother … my heart goes out to her.

Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Hari Hara Veeramallu’ to release in April 2022

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Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Hari Hara Veeramallu’ to release in April 2022

Telugu star Pawan Kalyan’s film ‘Hari Hara Veeramallu’ will release in theatres on April 29, 2022. The announcement was made on Thursday on the occasion of Pawan’s 50th birthday.

The official Twitter handle of the film’s production house, Mega Surya Production, made the big announcement.

“Happy Birthday to The MIGHTY POWER @PawanKalyan garu. The Legendary Heroic Outlaw #HariHaraVeeraMallu will arrive on 29 April, 2022.”

The film, which is directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, stars actress Nidhii Agerwal as the female lead.

The film is set in the 17th century and marks the first collaboration between Pawan and Krish.

‘Shershaah’ passes with flying colours in Allu Arjun’s review

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‘Shershaah’ passes with flying colours in Allu Arjun’s review

Telugu star Allu Arjun is mighty impressed with actor Sidharth Malhotra after watching his recent Hindi film ‘Shershaah’. Arjun took to his social media to congratulate the actor and the entire team for making the film.

‘Shershaah’ is based on life of Kargil martyr Captain Vikram Batra.

Arjun tweeted to the actors and the team on Wednesday evening.

He wrote: “Congratulations to the entire team of #Shershaah. A very heart touching film. Career best performance by Mr. @SidMalhotra. Man who stole the show. Subtle & impactful performance by Ms @advani_kiara and all the other actors. My respect to all the technicians of the film.”

He also praised director Vishnuvaradhan for his work for the film, which released digitally on Amazon Prime Video.

“Wonderful Conviction by the director @vishnu_dir garu. Sir, you made us all proud. Congratulations to @karanjohar ji and producers. Bigggg Congratulations @PrimeVideoIN for this blockbuster hit. A must watch for every Indian,” Arjun tweeted.

Arjun is currently working on finishing the first part of his upcoming film ‘Pushpa’. The movie, which will also star Rashmika Mandanna will be released in two parts.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ release postponed on Covid concerns

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‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ release postponed on Covid concerns

Paramount has postponed the release dates of its upcoming movies, including Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Mission: Impossible 7’, due to Covid concerns.

Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is departing its November 19 date and will now release on May 27, 2022. Whereas, his ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ set for May 27, 2022, also gets delayed and will now open September 30, 2022.

The studio has also pushed back ‘Jackass Forever’, which moves to February 4, 2022, from the earlier date of October 22, 2021.

The moves come as concerns over the Delta variant continue to hamper theater attendance and make releasing tentpoles into cinemas a risky proposition for studios. Paramount, like other studios, regularly consults with epidemiologists on decisions such as this, and the studio is hopeful the box office will recover in 2022 when these films are now set to open, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Shortly after Paramount announced ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ was exiting November 19, Sony pushed ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ to that date, as it previously was set for November 11.

‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct the seventh and eighth installments of the franchise. Joseph Kosinski helms ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, which last week unspooled off its first 13 minutes at CinemaCon, the convention for theater owners where speculation as to when the box office would return to pre-Covid levels was a hot topic.

While studios such as Warner Bros and Disney have experimented with putting tentpoles on streaming services and in theaters day-and-date, Paramount has kept many of its big titles, such as ‘A Quiet Place II’, for theatrical release only. It did sell off ‘The Tomorrow War’ to Amazon and put Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Infinite’ on Paramount+ exclusively, but it has been expected that ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ remain theatrical only, as Cruise is a strong proponent of the theatrical experience and because of the hefty budgets of these movies.

“That doesn’t mean that decision is the right decision for every film,” said Paramount distribution exec Chris Aronson at CinemaCon of its ‘A Quiet Place II’ gamble, but “the underlying principle couldn’t be more clear: The theatrical experience is irreplaceable,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Actress Charmee Kaur appears before ED in PMLA case

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Actress Charmee Kaur appears before ED in PMLA case

Tollywood actress Charmee Kaur on Thursday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe linked to four-year-old drug case.

Charmee reached the ED office in Hyderabad around 10.30 a.m. As she was getting down from the car, a large number of waiting camera persons and photographers moved closer to her, leading to chaos. She requested the camera persons to give her way.

The actress’ personal security personnel intervened to make way for her to enter the ED office.

She is the second Tollywood personality to appear before ED. Earlier, director Puri Jagannadh was questioned for nearly 10 hours on Tuesday.

The ED last week issued notices to 10 persons connected to Tollywood and two others including a private club manager as part of a money laundering probe linked to the drugs racket.

Actors Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, Navdeep, Mumaith Khan and director Puri Jagnnadh have been asked to appear before ED between August 31 and September 22.

Tanish, Nandu, actor Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas are also among those summoned in connection the drugs racket which was busted with the arrest of drug peddlers in 2017.

The ED also gathered details of the investigations conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana’s prohibition and excise department.

The drugs racket was busted on July 2, 2017 when customs officials arrested Calvin Mascarenhas, a musician, and two others and seized drugs worth Rs 30 lakh from their possession.

They had reportedly told the investigators that they are supplying drugs to film celebrities, software engineers, and even students of some corporate schools. Mobile numbers of some Tollywood celebrities were allegedly found in their contact lists.

The excise department had constituted SIT for a comprehensive probe. A total of 12 cases were registered, 30 people were arrested while 62 individuals including 11 people connected with Tollywood were examined by the SIT under section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and section 161 of Criminal Procedure Code.

The SIT had collected blood, hair, nail and other samples from some of those who appeared before it for questioning and sent them for analysis.

Actors Ravi Teja, Charmme Kaur, Mumaith Khan, director Puri Jagannath and young actors Tarun Kumar and P. Navadeep were among the stars who were questioned by the SIT.

Cinematographer Shyam K. Naidu, actors Subbaraju, Tanish, Nandu and Ravi Teja’s driver Srinivas were also among those questioned.

The SIT filed charge sheet in eight out of 12 cases. It, however, gave clean chit to the film personalities who were questioned as part of the investigation.

Title track of Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ released

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Title track of Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ released

On actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s birthday, the title track of his upcoming film ‘Bheemla Nayak’ was released on Thursday.

Pawan, who plays the titular role in the film, is introduced with high style quotient in the track. A traditional and folk singer is seen introducing Pawan Kalyan’s character and the history of his family starting from his grandfather. Another unique thing about the song is S. Thaman and his music band can be seen composing and singing the song in the thick jungle.

The lyrics of the track are written by Ramajogayya Sastry. Ram Miriyala, Sri Krishna and Prithvi Chandra croon the number with high pitched vocals.

The film, which also stars actor Rana Daggubati in a power-packed role, is scheduled to release on January 12, 2022.

‘Gone too soon’: Friends, colleagues express shock over Sidharth’s death

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‘Gone too soon’: Friends, colleagues express shock over Sidharth’s death

The Indian showbiz industry woke up to the shocking news of actor Sidharth Shukla’s death on Thursday. Colleagues and friends expressed their grief on Twitter.

Sidharth was 40. The actor passed away in Mumbai’s Cooper Hospital after suffering a massive heart attack in the morning.

Actor and comedian Sunil Grover tweeted: “Shocked and sad to know about Sidharth Shukla. Gone too soon. Prayers. Rest in peace.”.

Actor R. Madhavan wrote: “Heartbreaking and tragic. Rest In Peace brother. Just don’t have words to express my anguish.”

Actor Aftab Shivdasani tweeted: “Extremely sad and shocking news of the passing of #SiddharthShukla, life is so so fragile. My deepest condolences to his family in this heartbreaking time. Prayers for his soul. Om Shanti.”

Actor Kushal Tandon uploaded a picture with Sidharth and tweeted: “Sad, shocking, May God gives strength to his mother, sister and family, RIP brother fly away into different world peacefully Om Shanti.”

Director Hansal Mehta, pointed out how young he was. He tweeted: “No age to have a heart attack. No age to go. This is extremely sad and disturbing. Hope this time for sadness, reflection and mourning does not get converted into a Tamasha by some idiots.”

Actress Koena Mitra said: “Deeply saddened! @sidharth_shukla , We met for just 14 days, we fought a lot and parted ways. Never spoke again. Your sudden demise has taught me unconditional forgiveness! I forgive everyone & seek forgiveness from whoever I may have disappointed. RIP Sid. #SiddharthShukla”

Sidharth is survived by his mother and two sisters.

Pawan Kalyan@50: Tollywood’s ‘Power Star’ is a master of multiple roles

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Pawan Kalyan@50: Tollywood’s ‘Power Star’ is a master of multiple roles

Telugu cinema’s ‘Power Star’, style icon and social reformer — Pawan Kalyan manages to fit into each descriptor seamlessly.

As he turned 50 on Thursday, the day has been seeing a frenzy of celebrations across Tollywood and beyond — his fans are organising birthday parties in his honour; as many as 100 theatres across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are running the re-release of his blockbuster movie ‘Gabbar Singh’; there’s been a song launch from his latest movie outing; and of course, celebrity best wishes for the star are trending on social media.

“Many many happy returns of the day to my @PawanKalyan garu. May this day and the coming year bring you more n more peace and happiness,” tweeted Allu Arjun. Others who joined in included his nephews, fellow actors and public figures.

When he set out on his Tollywood career, Pawan Kalyan was more famous as ‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi’s kid brother. But over the years, ‘Power Star’ Pawan Kalyan is a big name in his own right.

The heart-throb of movie-goers and the youth icon of Telugu land, Konidela Kalyan Babu, better known as Pawan Kalyan, has donned many hats with panache, and continues to do so. Actor, director, writer, producer, real-life do-gooder, Pawan Kalyan has been there and done it all.

Born on September 2, 1970, in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, the third son of a police official, Pawan Kalyan watched from the wings as his eldest brother Chiranjeevi clawed his way to the top rungs of Telugu filmdom.

Surprisingly, it was not acting but directing that caught young Pawan Kalyan’s fancy. But he made his acting debut in 1996 with ‘Akkada Abbayi, Ikkada Ammaayi’, which did not create much of an impact at the box-office.

Unfazed by this initial setback, he went on to deliver hits such as ‘Gokulamlo Seeta’ and ‘Suswagatam’. By this time, the audiences, especially youngsters, started empathising with his laconic portrayals of young people and their emotional issues.

With the superhit ‘Tholi Prema’ in 1998, Pawan Kalyan had truly arrived and there has been no looking back since then — no matter what. A series of hit movies such as ‘Thammudu’, ‘Badri’ and ‘Khushi’ only added to his allure.

Not content with acting, he dabbles in other departments of filmmaking, notably choreographing movie stunts.

Pawan Kalyan has always come forward to help people in distress, whether they belong to the film industry or not. He is also known to not mince words when he believes an injustice has been committed.

Known to be an introvert and somewhat of a recluse, Pawan Kalyan is known to bury himself in books. He also loves farming and tries his hand at it whenever he gets the opportunity. An intensely private person, but he has never shied away from responding to detractors making snide comments on his three marriages.

In 2013, he married Anna Lezhneva, who acted with him in ‘Teen Maar’. They have a son and a daughter. Pawan Kalyan also has a son and daughter from his previous marriage with Renu Desai, who starred with him in Telugu movies.

In recent years, his movies, such as ‘Gabbar Singh’, ‘Attaarintiki Daaredi’ and ‘Katamarayudu’ have kept the box-office and his fans asking for more. His latest big-screen outing, ‘Vakeel Saab’, which is a remake of the Hindi movie ‘Pink’, reflected his grip on the box office yet again. At present, he is busy with his upcoming film, ‘Bheemla Nayak’.

Even as he rules the roost in Telugu movies, it is politics where Pawan intends to leave his mark. His first foray into politics was in 2008, along with his brother Chiranjeevi, who had floated the ‘Praja Rajyam’ party. Pawan Kalyan was then heading the party’s youth wing.

That stint ended after the party’s merger with the Congress. From there on, Pawan Kalyan has been ploughing his own furrow in Andhra politics.

Setting up the Jana Sena Party (JSP) in 2014, he made his inclinations clear with his slogan ‘Congress Hatao, Desh Bachao’ in the aftermath of Andhra Pradesh bifurcation and formation of Telangana.

He penned ‘Ism’, a book of his thoughts around which his party’s philosophy centres. Although he had entered into an alliance with the BJP, the JSP didn’t field candidates for the 2014 Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh.

Pawan Kalyan was the star campaigner for the BJP-TDP combine in the 2014 assembly and parliamentary elections. The combine won and formed the first government in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.

But cracks began to appear in the alliance and the three parties, fighting separately in the 2019 assembly elections, gave way to the YSRCP led by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Pawan Kalyan lost in both the assembly constituencies he contested from.

Since then, the JSP and BJP have revived their alliance, and are working to establish themselves as serious contenders for ruling the state. On his birthday, the JSP has launched a social media campaign targeting the miserable state of roads in Andhra Pradesh.

For the moment though, Pawan Kalyan walks the tightrope between Tinseltown and politics. With age on his side, is he the elusive leader that Andhra Pradesh, after its tryst with thespian and former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, is longing for? Only time will answer this million-dollar question.

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