Rajamouli on Jr NTR: ‘He looked like a roaring tiger as he ran barefoot in Bulgaria’s dense forests’

After multiple hiccups, S.S. Rajamouli’s multistarrer ‘RRR’ is to hit the screens on March 25. Tollywood superstars Ram Charan and Jr NTR are teaming up for the first time and the expectations are huge.

Rajamouli’s earlier statements on Jr NTR’s acting have gone viral now.

As the release date is nearing, the makers of ‘RRR’ had released a few interviews and speeches, in which the team had interactions with the media. In one of those interactions, Rajamouli is seen having a brief chat about how the movie was shot in the dense forests of Bulgaria.

“We made him run barefoot in the dense forests of Bulgaria. That shot was for Tarak’s (Jr Ntr) introductory shot in ‘RRR’. He ran like a tiger. That is the only way I can possibly define his ferociousness”, the ‘Magadheera’ director said.

Rajamouli, who also highlighted Ram Charan’s acting skills. “After wrapping up a shot with Ram Charan, I had tears in my eyes”, he said.

Rajamouli, who also has become closer to the duo, said that he now shares a special bond with Jr NTR and Ram Charan, which was what made it more special to shoot with them.

‘RRR’ features Jr NTR in the role of the revolutionary ‘Gond’ hero Komaram Bheem. On the other hand, Ram Charan plays Alluri Sitarama Raju, who is one of the unsung heroes during the freedom struggle in India.

Sonu Sood rescues 19-year-old accident victim

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood saved the life of a 19-year-old boy after the latter was involved in a serious road accident on Monday in Moga, Punjab. The accident took place at a flyover where Sonu was passing through.

The actor, upon seeing the state of the crashed car, stepped out and rescued the boy, who was in an unconscious condition. What made the matter tricky was that the car had a central lock. Hence, it took some time to get the victim out of the car but soon he was rushed to the nearest hospital.

The boy received timely medical treatment at the hospital and is now doing fine. Earlier too, Sonu worked to help the country fight Covid-19 during the hellfire of the second wave of the pandemic.

Balakrishna’s ‘Unstoppable’ becomes most-watched Telugu OTT show

Nandamuri Balakrishna’s celebrity talk show ‘Unstoppable With NBK’ claims the first position in the list of the most-watched shows on the Telugu OTT platform Aha.

With a whopping score of nearly 40 crore streaming minutes, ‘Unstoppable’ has become the number one talk show of recent times, in Telugu.

Overwhelmed by the kind of response they have been receiving, the producers took to Twitter to make an announcement on the same.

“The love is UNSTOPPABLE ??#UnstoppableWithNBK is now the most-watched show on #ahavideoIN with 40 Crore Streaming Minutes ?? All Episodes Streaming Now”, Aha’s tweet reads.

Tollywood actor Balakrishna who appeared on a talk show for the first time has been receiving many praises for his energy and timely punches. Tollywood bigwigs like Rajamouli, Keeravani, Mahesh Babu, Nani, Ravi Teja, Rana Daggubati, were among the guests who appeared on the show.

The recent and the finale episode of the curtain-raiser season of ‘Unstoppable With NBK’ had Mahesh Babu and his friend and director Vamsi Paidipalli as the guests on Balakrishna’s show.

On the other hand, Balakrishna, who recently appeared in Boyapati Srinu’s hit movie ‘Akhanda’, will next act under Gopichand Mallineni’s direction for their next venture.

‘Playing a Sardar feels special,’ says ‘Kundali Bhagya’ actor Dheeraj Dhoopar

Actor Dheeraj Dhoopar shares about his new look for the Lohri party sequence in the show ‘Kundali Bhagya’. Dheeraj got a chance to experiment with his look and he took up a turban-clad, Sardar avatar for the special episode.

During the two-year leap in the show, viewers saw Karan (Dheeraj Dhoopar) and Preeta (Shraddha Arya) getting separated. Later, Prithvi (Sanjay Gagnani) has taken control of the Luthra Mansion and Preeta has returned to save the family. Now, in the latest track of ‘Kundali Bhagya,’ there will be a party and Lohri celebrations.

Talking about his look Dheeraj said: “Different roles demand different kinds of preparations, and I attempt to do it quite earnestly. For an actor, it’s more of a physical preparation when it comes to a sequence like Lohri. I mean, culturally you know I belong to Delhi and a Punjabi family. Lohri is a very prominent festival in northern India. I have many good childhood memories associated with the festival. I always cherish meeting all the family members and dressing up in colorful traditional attire; dance and sing around the bonfire.”

He further added: “I have experimented with multiple looks with a countless number of costumes and dressing up as a Sardar feels special. There’s always a plan of action as an actor and it’s my job to give my 101 percent to every character, be it any look. I am always excited for new challenges and this fresh avatar was a welcome change. The fun part of acting is you get to play a completely different person each time.”

Karishma Tanna to play journalist Jigna Vora whose book inspired ‘Scoop’

Journalist Jigna Vora’s book ‘Behind The Bars In Byculla: My Days in Prison’ is set for a screen adaptation helmed by ‘Scam 1992’ director Hansal Mehta.

The said project co-created by Reema Lagoo’s daughter Mrunmayee Lagoo (‘Thappad’) is a fictional series titled ‘Scoop’, and will trace the biographical journey of its lead after she gets charged with the murder of senior crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey in 2011.

Jigna was sent behind bars following her involvement in the murder. As per the sources, Karishma Tanna will play the lead character of Jagruti Pathak based on Jigna in the series that will show how incidentally, the lead character ends up in the prison with a set of dreaded criminals whom she once reported on, after she is charged with the murder.

Jyotirmoy Dey was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants in the Powai area of Mumbai. After the shoot-out, underworld don Chhota Rajan took the responsibility for the killing as he was annoyed that Dey was reporting against him. According to the CBI charge sheet, Jigna had complained against Dey to Chhota Rajan out of professional rivalry with Dey.

In 2018, the trial court acquitted Vora. However, her acquittal was challenged by the government of Maharashtra in the Bombay High Court.

Matchbox Shots has taken the onus of running the production of the series, which is inspired by the book ‘Behind The Bars In Byculla: My Days in Prison’ written by Jigna Vora, and will stream on Netflix.

Speaking about the series and associating with Netflix, Hansal Mehta said, “Reading Jigna Vora’s book – ‘Behind The Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’ piqued my interest and compelled me to bring this story alive on screen. We’ve already begun filming and I’m excited about this story being my first collaboration with Netflix.”

He added, “Great stories can only benefit from a service that can make it reach a wider set of audience, ‘Scoop’ is that kind of a story and with Netflix, we will be able to take it to audiences across the globe. With my co-creator Mrunmayee Lagoo and producers Matchbox Shots, I am seeking to delve deep into a tale of our mediatized times and the human cost of stories that we consume on a daily basis.”

Sanjay Routray, the producer at Matchbox Shots, said, “When we first laid our hands on Jigna Vora’s book ‘Behind the Bars in Byculla’, we were astounded and instantly knew that this inspirational story of grit and courage needs to be told on a wider medium. Netflix was the obvious choice for us because filming it as a series gives us the opportunity to nuance the characters and their emotions further.”

“For a tale with such a gut-wrenching narrative, only a mastermind like Hansal Mehta would be able to do complete justice. He’s a natural when it comes to bringing such hard-hitting, real-life stories to life. Honestly, our collaboration with Hansal and Netflix just aligned seamlessly, and it’s the perfect combination for stellar storytelling”, he concluded.

Makers to soon lock release date for Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’

The makers of Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming flick ‘Bheemla Nayak’, who had announced two release dates keeping the pandemic conditions in consideration, are to announce a final date soon.

As it appears, the makers of Pawan Kalyan and Rana’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ have decided to stick to the initial release plan, which is February 25. An official announcement is to confirm the same, soon.

Earlier, the makers had announced that they would release the movie on the best day, keeping the pandemic conditions in consideration, February 15 and April 1 as the probable release dates.

In the wake of rumors that the government of Andhra Pradesh is considering allowing flexible cinema ticket pricing, many Telugu biggies are preparing for release.

‘Bheemla Nayak’ stars Pawan Kalyan who will be seen as a cop, while Rana Daggubati plays his opponent in the multistarrer. Nithya Menen and Samyukta Menon are the female leads in the movie.

Being the original remake of the Malayalam movie ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’, ‘Bheemla Nayak’ is directed by Sagar K Chandra, while the screenplay and dialogues are penned by Trivikram Srinivas.

Lata Mangeshkar to be included in AU curriculum

Students in the department of music and performing arts in Allahabad University (AU) will now study the life, struggles, and achievements of iconic singer Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away in Mumbai on February 6 at the age of 92.

Prof Vidyadhar Prasad Mishra, head of the department, said: “A proposal to include the life of Lata Mangeshkar in the curriculum has been prepared. It would be part of a soon-to-be-launched five-year integrated course under the New National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.”

The legendary singer’s name has been included along with other icons of the world of music like Bhimsen Joshi, Alla Rakha Khan, Bismillah Khan, and Pt Jasraj, among others.

“The unit based on veteran singers of the county would be implemented after getting a formal approval of AU’s Academic Council (AC), Executive Council (EC) and is expected to be rolled out from 2022-23 session,” Mishra said.

Presently, the curriculum being taught to students of UG and PG courses teaches about several renowned Indian and western musicians.

“However, now as per the provisions of the NEP, there will be a thrust on Indian artistes, both in the field of vocal and instrumental music. It is dubbed as life sketches of prominent musicians,” added Prof Mishra.

Besides, there would also be a focus on local artists, who, despite their vast talent, remained unnoticed but their disciples earned fame, he said.

Names like Ramashrey Jha, the guru of famous classical singer Shubha Mudgal (who was associated with AU’s department of music), Bholanath Bhatt, Bhola Nath Prasanna and Rajendra Prasanna, famous flute player Hari Prasad Chaurasia, etc will also be part of the curriculum.

US film scribe’s tweet boosts hopes of ‘Jai Bhim’ making it to Oscar nominations

A tweet by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley has raised hopes that director Tha Se Gnanavel’s critically-acclaimed Tamil courtroom drama ‘Jai Bhim’, featuring actor Suriya, may make it to the nominations of the 94th Academy Awards that are expected to be announced later on Tuesday.

With just hours to go before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces its list of Oscar nominations, New York Times Awards Season Columnist Kyle Buchanan tweeted a question to Jacqueline Coley. He asked her, “Which Oscar nomination could provoke the biggest reaction from you tomorrow morning?”

Responding to the question, Coley said, “‘Jai Bhim’ for Best Picture. Trust me on this one.”

Coley’s reply has triggered huge excitement in the Tamil film industry circles with Rajasekar Karpoorasundarapandian, the co-producer of ‘Jai Bhim’, responding to Coley’s tweet.

Quoting Coley’s tweet, Rajasekar said, “Thank you, this means a lot to us!”

Apart from ‘Jai Bhim’, Priyadarshan’s Malayalam period drama ‘Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham’ (‘Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea’), featuring Mohanlal in the lead, is also on the list of 276 movies eligible for this year’s Academy Awards.

The voting for Oscar nominations, which began on January 27, continued until February 1. Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards are being announced on Tuesday, February 8.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised on the American network ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

First song of Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ out on Feb 14

The makers of Mahesh Babu’s upcoming commercial thriller ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ announced the release of their first single from the movie.

As announced recently by the makers, the film’s first single will be out on February 14, coinciding with Valentine’s Day.

The first single from ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’, tilted ‘ Kalaavati’, which actually is Keerthy Suresh’s character name in the movie, will be out on Valentines’ Day.

‘Mahanati’ fame Keerthy Suresh has joined hands to appear opposite Mahesh for the first time. Fans and followers have kept their expectations high, as the movie is one of the most-awaited ones of recent times.

Touted to be a melodious song, ‘Kalaavathi’s music rendered by ‘Ala Vaikuntapuramloo’ musician Thaman.

Being helmed by ‘Geetha Govindam’ director Parasuram, ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is nearing completion and its theatrical release is slated on May 12.

The upcoming commercial drama is jointly produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, Ram Achanta, and Gopichand Achanta under Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment, and 14 Reels Plus banners.

R Madhi handles the cinematography, while Marthand K Venkatesh is the editor and AS Prakash takes care of the art department.

Second shoot schedule of Prabhas’ upcoming movie ‘Project K’ to resume soon

Having reigned as numero uno post his massive hit ‘Baahubali’, Prabhas’ line-up is nothing short of spectacular. The second shooting schedule of his upcoming movie ‘Project K’ is to resume shortly, as the makers prepare with the pre-production works.

As the much-anticipated movie is in its early stages of production, it is reported that the makers are preparing the ground for the forthcoming schedule of the film.

The upcoming schedule of ‘Project K’ will apparently commence in Hyderabad in the second week of February. Prabhas and Deepika Padukone will be taking part in this schedule and it will be a lengthy one.

It is expected that some crucial sequences featuring the lead pair will be wrapped up in this schedule. While the sources have not revealed anything related to megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s schedule, it is assumed that he would join the team for the next schedule.

Billed as a sci-fi project, Deepika Padukone and Prabhas will come together for the first time, and it is produced by Vyjayanthi Movies.

The first schedule of the mega movie had Deepika fly down to Hyderabad and was wrapped up quickly.