Siri, Shanmukh doing it just to create content: ‘Bigg Boss Telugu 5’ viewers

With only 11 members left on the reality show, the makers seem to be concentrating on the unnecessary matters going on, in the ‘Bigg Boss Telugu 5’ house.

Actors Siri and Shanmukh, who are branded as the best friends on the show, are being focused more, on the recent episodes of the reality show, which is being hated by the viewers.

Getting into the details, Shanmukh and Siri are spotted playing group games on the show.

From the start of the season, the duo was always seen together.

Even in the nominations, the duo voted for similar inmates, which made everyone believe they are good friends with a mutual game plan.

But, the recent episodes have become a ‘cringe-show’ to the viewers, as the duo keep fighting for silly reasons, which appear to be their ‘content-creation’.

‘Bigg Boss Telugu 5’ viewers appear to be fed up with these made-up fights, going by their opinions on the social media platforms.

“Siri and Shanmukh want to get focused. Not even one of their fight has a logical explanation. They could come up with something better if they want screen presence,” one fan wrote.

One of their fans took to their microblogging site to write: “I expected more of the pair. At times they appear like friends, while they get overly possessive of each other the other time. They fight for silly reasons, which make me think they do it for the sake of content.”

While Shanmukh has one of the biggest fan following among the current ‘Bigg Boss’ contestants, he has been performing well, except for these petty things, which are obvious to the viewers.

“Shannu need not do this. He is capable of winning the title, only if he stops drams with Siri,” a user wrote.

Sonalee Kulkarni in Planet Marathi’s ‘Chhatrapati Tararani’ in collaboration with Hollywood’s Film Studio

Akshay Bardapurkar’s Planet Marathi and Piiyush Singh’s Golden Ratio Films bring Independent film studio Black Hangar Studios onboard for the Marathi film ‘Moghul Mardini Chhatrapati Tararani’, starring Sonalee Kulkarni.

Black Hangar Studios is the name behind many Hollywood productions like ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, ‘Dark Tide’, ‘The Grand Tour, 24: Live Another Day’, and many more.

The film will be titled ‘Moghul Mardini Chhatrapati Tararani’ and is based on one of the greatest epics of valor of the warrior queen Chhatrapati Tararani who fought with the Mughals, Nizamshahi, Aadilshahi, Qutubshahi, Dutch, British, Portuguese, Siddis at the same time.

Planet Marathi CMD, Akshay Bardapurkar said: “‘Chhatrapati Tararani’ is going to be a golden page in the history of Marathi cinema. Planet Marathi and Golden Ratio are proud to take the story of the Maratha warrior queen Chhatrapati Tararani to the world. This will be the first and one of the biggest Marathi-Hollywood films to go on floors with an international film studio.

“It is too soon to reveal more details about the film but we have a talented blend of filmmakers, musicians, and artists that are working hard to bring this beautiful presentation to our Marathi audiences. I strongly believe this film has the potential to take Marathi cinema at a newer height.”

The one who gave tough resistance to Aurangzeb till his grave dug into his own military camp, and ended his dream of destroying the Swarajya. All this while she was widowed at the tender age of 25.

‘Chhatrapati Tararani’ will be directed by popular Marathi director Rahul Jadhav. The film stars Hirkani of Marathi films, with actress Sonalee Kulkarni in the lead.

Black Hangar Studios and ORWO Studios is excited to be a part of an Indian regional film that narrates the historical epic.

Jake Seal, CEO said: “After working with the Indian Sci-fi genre we are excited to create the experience for a historical period drama. The story itself moves us and with the promise that Planet Marathi brings in filmmaking we are thrilled to see where this journey leads us. We aim to make films more engaging for global audiences irrespective of the language and medium and we are committed to making the story come alive.”

Piiyush Singh, Cofounder, Golden Ratio Films added: “The title itself comes with huge responsibility to us and the entire team is working to bring out the best for the viewers.”

This mega-blockbuster, one-of-a-kind, film will be produced in both Marathi and English.

The makers are planning a Diwali 2022 release in India and overseas for this project.

Telugu folks betting on ‘Sankranti’ movies

Sankranti is a festival of harvest and is prominently celebrated in the southern part of India. For the Telugu people, Sankranti or Makar Sankranti has always been about merriment and entertainment.

That is why Telugu movies that are released during this festival grab more attention than the others.

Biggies like Prabhas and Pooja Hegde starrer ‘Radhe Shyam’, Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati starrer ‘Bheemla Nayak’, and NTR, Ram Charan starrer ‘RRR’ are slated for their respective releases during Sankranti, which has made it even harder for the analysts and traders to decide on the business of the movies.

No doubt, the makers of Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ pushed their release further to April.

As the anticipation around the movie releases increases, it is reported that the Telugu movie buffs have started betting on their favourite movies and their box-office collections, which would be released during Sankranti.

While some of them think any of the above movies might get postponed due to high competition, the fans seem to be waiting for the updates.

The fact that the audience who prefer to watch the movies at the theatres during Sankranti is proportionately high, there is a tough competition between the producers and moviemakers to book the dates for their movie releases.

The revenue generated from the movies during the Sankranti season is much more than the usual festivals or other dates.

Apart from movies, Sankranti is also famous for cock-fights and community celebrations.

Chiranjeevi, his family celebrate Sai Dharam’s recovery

Telugu actor Sai Dharam Tej had met with a road accident early in the month of September. He was riding his bike while the accident took place, which landed him at the hospital for more than a month or so.

Now that the actor has fully recovered from the injuries and the trauma, his family celebrates his recovery.

Sai Dharam and his family call it “another life/rebirth”, as they feel blessed that the actor survived the accident.

Sai Dharam’s uncle Chiranjeevi shared a family picture from the Diwali bash, and wrote: “Sai Dharam Tej has fully recovered because of the blessings of all. It was a real festival for all our family members. @IamSaiDharamTej.”

In the picture are all the actors belonging to the ‘mega’ family. Ram Charan, Varun Tej, Naga Babu, Allu Arjun, Chiranjeevi, Sai Dharam Tej, Pawan Kalyan, Panja Vaisshnav Tej, and Pawan Kalyan’s son Akira Nandan.

Sai Dharam Tej, who replied to Chiranjeevi’s tweet, quoted: “I am indebted to you for your prayers for your love that caused my rebirth. Getting your love is my true blessing.”

Sai Dharam had suffered a fracture in his collarbone and underwent surgery. This is the first time that Sai Dharam has given a public appearance post his recovery. Sai Dharam was lastly seen in his political drama ‘Republic’ which is directed by Deva Katta.

Sandalwood’s ‘lover boy’ Ganesh all set for courtroom comedy ‘Sakhat’

Ganesh, Kannada film industry’s lover boy, also known as the ‘Golden Star’, is all set to entertain audiences with ‘Sakhath’, a courtroom comedy. The movie is slated for a November 26 release.

The plot revolves around a character who makes people believe that he is blind, on the lines of the superhit Bollywood film ‘Andhadhun’, but there’s no connection beyond this between the two movies.

The movie is directed by Simple Suni, who’s known for his experimental movies. Produced under the RVN Productions banner, the film has Surabhi playing the female lead opposite Ganesh. Nishvika Naidu, Sadhu Kokila, Rangayana Raghu and Kuri Pratap play the other principal characters.

Taapsee shares her love for London as she prepares for Mithali Raj biopic

Fresh from the release of ‘Rashmi Rocket’, Taapsee Pannu took to Instagram to express her love for London. Posting pictures of her at the iconic St James’s Court hotel, she wrote in the caption: “Miss my hot coffee in cold London mornings with a home away from home to come back to. Already sure Im gonna be back soon.”

It’s pretty much an established fact that Tapsee loves to travel. The actress works hard, but always makes it a point to find some time to unwind before setting off on a new film’s journey. After working through a packed schedule of back-to-back films, Tapsee was recently in London for her vacation where she shopped, roamed around and soaked up the city’s flavours to her heart’s content.

Some time back, the actress had shared pictures and stories from her last trip to London. She also visited the Lord’s and posted a picture of herself donning the jersey of Mithali Raj, looking super impressed by the memorabilia of the Indian’s women’s cricket captain.

Tapsee will be next seen essaying the role of Mithali Raj in the upcoming biopic ‘Shabaash Mithu’, directed by Srijit Mukherjee. She has a number of other interesting projects lined up, such as the Telugu film ‘Mishan Impossible’, whose poster she shared on Diwali, the ‘Run Lola Run’ adaptation ‘Looop Lapeta’, Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Dobaaraa’, and ‘Blurr’, the Hindi remake of the Spanish ‘Julia’s Eyes’.

Award-winning Mohanlal movie set for OTT release after talks with theatres fail

The 2020 National Award-winning Malayalam movie, “Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea)”, starring superstar Mohanlal and directed by the much-acclaimed Priyadarshan, will be released on an OTT platform. This was announced by the movie’s producer, Antony Perumbavur, here on Friday.

The Kerala Film Chamber and Producers Association had been conducting a series of discussions with the producer for a theatrical release of the movie. The discussions, however, did not result in any forward movement.

Speaking to media persons, Perumbavur said, “I have tried my best and conducted several rounds of negotiations. Nothing has resulted from them and I have no choice other than to release the movie on an OTT platform.” The film bagged three National Awards for 2020 — Best Feature Film, Best Special Effects and Best Costume.

The movie, it is reliably learnt, will premiere on Prime Video around Christmas. Perumbavur added that Mohanlal’s five upcoming movies produced by him will also be released on OTT platforms.

The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) office-bearers, however, had a different version to offer. FEOUK President Anchal Vijayakumar said: “We had guaranteed 500 screens and Rs 15 crore as the minimum guarantee. When the producer still backs out, it means he has entered into some sort of a deal with certain OTT platforms.”

Perumbavur countered this version of the story by pointing out that only 89 theatres had agreed to the demands put forth by him. He also denied that he had taken Rs 40 crore as advance from theatre owners.

The Rs 100 crore movie, the most expensive Malayalam film ever produced, features Mohanlal in the title role and its star cast includes Suniel Shetty, Arjun Serja, Manju Warrier, Keerthi Suresh, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Pranav Mohanlal, Innocent, Siddik, the late Nedumudi Venu, and several other prominent names of the South Indian film industry.

The historical film is set in the 16th century and recounts the adventures of Kunjali Marakkar IV, naval commander of the then ruler of Kozhikode (Calicut), known to the world as the Zamorin. Marakkar and his men defended the Malabar coast against Portuguese forces who had followed in the wake of Vasco Da Gama.

Shooting for the film started in December 2018 and was completed in March 2019. It was mostly shot in the Ramoji Film Studios, Hyderabad.

Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor make their relationship official

While the world was absorbed in the festivities and lights of Diwali, Ali Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor gave their fans a spellbinding surprise as they went official with their relationship.

The two earlier have been rumoured to be dating with Alia also being a part of many gatherings of the Kapoor family but, it has either been under the wraps or hasn’t been stated explicitly. But, Alia’s post on Diwali put all rumours to rest.

The actress took to her Instagram as she shared a few pictures on the occasion of Diwali. She captioned the first set of pictures as, “Some light…Happy Diwali”.

However, it was the next picture that the fans left pleasantly surprised. The actress put up a picture of herself hugging Ranbir with both of them smiling ear-to-ear. Taking the thread from her last caption, she wrote, “& some love .. Happy Diwali”.

Both Ranbir and Alia chose to don the shades of blue on the festive occasion. Many film personalities like Jacqueline Fernandez, Zoya Akhtar and Anaita Shroff Adajania put up love reactions under the couple’s picture.

With the actors going official about their relationship, it won’t be too long before the wedding bells start ringing for them.

Suriya: Puneeth’s smile will be eternal in our hearts

Tamil star Suriya paid his respects at the ‘samadhi’ of late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar in Bengaluru on Friday, and said that Puneeth’s smile will be “eternal” in his heart.

‘Jai Bhim’ star Suriya who came down to the city to pay respects to the Kannada star, was in tears at his ‘samadhi’ in the premises of Kanteerava Studio where he was laid to rest.

“My mother told me when I was a four-month-old baby, Puneeth was seven months old. We can’t come to terms with his untimely demise. His father Dr Rajkumar was a model for all of us. I don’t know what to tell Kannadigas. May God give them strength and may his soul rest in peace,” Suriya said.

Suriya also visited his residence and spoke to Puneeth’s family members.

Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar passed away on October 29 due to cardiac arrest.

Telugu actor Rajendra Prasad paid visit to Puneeth’s residence and consoled Puneeth’s wife Ashwini. “Puneeth was like my younger brother. We all are shocked in Hyderabad with the untimely death of Puneeth. He was a great human being,” he stated.

The fact that more than 20 lakh people came to pay their homage itself testified to his popularity. “I met him at Kanteerava Studio last and he had invited me by giving a wedding invitation of his brother’s son,” he stated.

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Chandrashekar also paid a visit to Puneeth’s residence and met his family members.

“Puneeth was a son of Karnataka. I have come here to give my condolences to his family. Puneeth had involved himself in programmes of skill development. He gave succour to the helpless in society. His philanthropic activities should continue. We will always be there with his family,” he stated.

‘The Big Picture’: Saif recalls shooting of ‘Ole Ole’ song

Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji will be seen on the quiz show ‘The Big Picture’ hosted by Ranveer Singh. They are coming to promote their movie ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’.

During the show while asking questions to both the guests, Ranveer also revealed that he has a dream to dance with Saif on his popular track, ‘Ole Ole’ from the movie ‘Yeh Dillagi’. Thus, Saif will be shaking legs with Ranveer on this song.

After their performance, Ranveer shared: I have danced on ‘Jumma Chumma’ with Bachchan Ji, ‘Dhina Dhin Dha’ with Anil Kapoor Ji, ‘Mai Toh Raste Se Jaa Raha tha’ with Govinda Ji, and today have also performed on ‘Ole Ole’ with Saif Ji. My dream has come true.”

Saif Ali Khan recalled shooting of this track: “I was such a bad dancer. Late Saroj Khan ji has made me practice so much on this song, the steps used to come in my dreams.”

‘The Big Picture’ airs on Colors.