IBLOG SPACE

Moksha is a film in which Meera Jasmine is trying to twist someone's arm. The film's shooting is proceeding at a full throttle at Ramoji Film City. It is learnt that the unit has completed major portions of shooting there in a lengthy schedule and did the remaining portions in Chennai. Srikanth Vemulapalli, who debuted with Black & White, is directing it. P Amarnath's Amarnathan Movies is producing it in which Nasser and Rahul Dev will be seen (in fact, these two character artistes are learnt to be the 'male leads', along with Rajeev Menon). According to the director, Jasmine's performance will be the main attraction of the film. Also, the subject dealt by Moksha has not been touched by any other Indian film in the past, in the opinion of Mr. Vemulapalli. "Evey scene will be exciting," says Srikanth. The film also stars Nasser, Rahul Dev, Disha, Sana, 'Kadal' Sukumar, Vijayabhaskar and others. The film is slated for a r

Prabhas and Kajal Agarwal can relax. They have just wrapped up the shooting of Darling. The Karunakaran-directed film is now in post-production stages. The film is produced by Bogavalli Prasad, under the banner Sri Venkateshwara Cine Chitra. The makers have avoided much publicity hoping to strike the right chord when they come out in open with their final product. Music-directed by GV Prakash Kumar of 'Ullasanga Uthsahanga' and 'Yuganiki Okkadu' fame, the film has been shot in Switzerland and Araku. Slated for an April release, the film is quite important for Prabhas and the director, who must be hungry for a smash hit. The film is learnt to be a romantic comedy and will see Prabhas in a never-seen-before role.

Allu Arjun is definitely one of the most eligible bachelors of Tollywood. At 25, the Allu scion is one of the most-sought after actors in Telugu cinema, who is known for the intelligent choice of his films and, of course, flabbergasting dance moves. At the music launch function of Varudu, the actor said that he had opted for an arranged marriage, when his father Aravind asked him about the former's marriage plans. Aravind later spoke about how his son scouts for an arranged marriage, as it was sure to foster familial bonds. Of course, the talented actor will like to marry only a beautiful girl. Arjun feels that the girl must be empathic and also be the one who understands the compulsions of a star hero like him, who has thousands of fans across the state. Meanwhile, his forthcoming film will also depict the familial bonds and the virtue of an arranged marriage. All the best, Arjun!

Ragava Larencce, in a press briefing, said that his dream was to build a temple for Sri Raghavendra Swamy in Chennai. He said he had been involved in the activities for some months and this was the reason why he was not to be seen in Hyderabad or Telugu industry, for that matter. It is known that the superb choreographer is a devotee of Mantralayam's Sri Raghavendra, whom he regards as the miraculous deity. It was his pilgrimage to the temple town that cured him of paralysis during his childhood. He said that the activity had just begun in Chennai. He said he wrote three stories - for Nagarjuna, for Prabhas and for Allu Arjun. He did not reveal as to which film will begin first. For sure, the films will be directed by him. Larencce also said that apart from Kanchana, Super Cow Boy was a film everybody should watch out for.

Srikanth and Meena will be honoured at a function to be organised in Chennai by Sri Kala Sudha Telugu Association as part of the annual ‘Ugadi Puraskar' celebrations. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, association's president B Srinivas said Sri Kala Sudha has been honouring film personalities for their achievements. “The awards will be given in 14 categories, including those for best director, music director, playback singer and screenplay,” he said. While Telugu movie ‘Mahathma' has been chosen as the Best Film, Srikanth and Meena have been adjudged best actors. Various cultural programmes would also be conducted as part of the Ugadi celebrations at the Music Academy, he said. Nine women from various fields, including legendary playback singer P Susheela, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and actress and Member of Parliament Jayapradha would be honoured as part of International Women's Day celebrations, Srinivas added.

Actor Naresh said that he was re-christening himself as 'Vijayakrishna Naresh,' on the occasion of International Women's Day. He said that he was naming himself after his mother Vijaya Nirmala and their surname Krishnamurthy. Explaining the thought behind the changing of the name, he said that it was just a tribute to his mother, who had made him into a good actor and social server. The actor said that, it was a present he was giving to his loving mother on the great day. Naresh made it a point that it was not just a namesake thing, but was also to be included as per the gazette's records. So, it is now Vijayakrishna Naresh and not Naresh!

Some pro-Telangana activists created mayhem at the shooting spot of Vandemataram Srinivas' Badmaash, yesterday. The unit was shooting at Chintalkunta's Sri Raghavendra Bhavan. Srinivas, who is directing the film, reportedly pleaded with the activists not to disrupt the shooting, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The rampaging activists went on to destroy furniture and other assets. Many days after the isolated incident involving another film unit, the incident has shocked some industry members. Though, the situation is much better than it was in December, the incident is definitely a bad one.

After some distinguished film personalities, it is now the turn of R Narayana Murthy to be in the midst of a controversy. This time, the complaint could not be much serious, but has the potential to backfire on the actor. A Samaikhyandra representative has asked the Movie Artistes Association to come down heavily on RNM, for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Osmania University some days ago. The complainant said that the speech hurt the sentiments of those striving for a United Andhra. It may be noted that RNM, known for his inspiring movies, set mostly in the Telangana part of the state, is not active in films these days. Since he has made the statements on his personal capacity, and not as a member of the industry, action might not be initiated against him for transgressing the "no politics" line of the MAA.

Selvaraghavan and Sonia Agarwal who have filed a mutual consent divorce suit, appeared before the family welfare court today. They both informed the court that they are firm in their decision. Justice Ramalingam who heard the case postponed the verdict to Friday, March 12. An enviable couple once, Selvaraghavan and Sonia Agarwal fell in love on the sets of the Tamil film ‘Kadhal Kondein’. They got married in December 2006. But the happiness lasted only for two years and they filed for divorce with mutual consent in August 2009. After filing for divorce Sonia Agarwal returned to acting with the television drama ‘Naanal’ on Kalaignar TV. She has also reportedly signed a Malayalam film for the first time. Selvaraghavan after the misfortune of ‘Yuganiki Okkadu’ is waiting to strike back with vengeance; He is immersed with his next film starring Vikram and Swathi.

Even as he rules the roost in Tollywood, delivering hit albums after super hit albums, Devi Sri Prasad has been roped in as the music director by KS Ravi Kumar of Kollywood to score tunes for his Kamal Haasan starrer. The film stars Madhavan and Trisha, apart from Kamal. This is the second time Devi is teaming up with Kamal, after Dasavatharam for which he composed background score. After Maazhai and Aaru, and other hits, Devi is all set to dole out another musical hit in Tamil. It may be noted that the most-sought after Telugu musician is every young, but is creating waves in the biggest South Indian industry. Never the one to spell out his dreams before the media, it seems that he is all set to take Kollywood too by storms in the coming years.

Bava star Siddharth has described himself as the Shah Rukh Khan of Tollywood. The talented actor, who is equally brilliant in doing a lover boy as well as an intense patriot (Rang De Basanthi), said that his forte was romantic films. In fact, one would only agree with what Siddharth says about himself. Any observer of his career will be struck by the choice of his films. At a time when his fame has been soaring to new heights in T'wood, he has done an RDB and now Striker. The actor will reportedly turn a producer next year. We all know that he has directorial ambitions, too. Though, in Telugu, he badly needs a hit after two so-so films in a row, Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam and Oye!, it seems that he is geared up for a big one, next time

Samantha has caught every one's attention. Even as the audience of Ye Maaya Chesave are going gung-ho about her, the actress says that there is nothing wrong in doing a kissing scene. The actress did not have any inhibitions about doing a 'kissing scene' with her co-star Nag Chaitanya in the film. She says that Nag was a great co-star, who had put her at ease since day one. In fact, Samantha has proved her mettle beyond doubt. The actress has a film lined up with Junior NTR in the lead, titled Brindavanam. The actress's screen presence in Ye Maaya Chesave has been appreciated and described an asset for the film.

Ragava Larencce, the Super Cow Boy, is all set to launch his production house in Telugu. The choreographer-turned-actor and director is keen to wield the megaphone for his film, titled Kanchana. The big news is that, produced under the banner Raghavendra Productions, the film will star Anushka as the female lead. Lawrence will cast himself in the role of the male lead, direct and produce it himself! So, when is Kanchana going on the floors? News is that the film will be launched in April, when the regular shooting will commence. Anushka, who is currently shooting for Panchakshari, will take part in the shooting of Kanchana, after she is done with it. The film is touted as the sequel to Muni, the 2006 film in which Lawrence starred. Hope, the film turns out to be a hit.

In Varudu, Sneha Ullal will be seen in a special song, opposite Allu Arjun. So, she will jive to the tunes of Mani Sharma. The big ticket release is slated for a March 26 outing. It seems that after she signed a film with Balakrishna in the lead (Simha, that is being currently filmed), Sneha has this guest appearance she can savour. She can hope to be in the limelight, because any and every feature about this film will be advertised by the electronic media. Sneha, who was seen in films like Ullasanga Uthsahanga and Nenu Meeku Telusa, badly needs a success to become a top actress.

Ayesha Takia is now associated with a message-oriented film, titled Paathshala. The film is a take on the poverty in Indian education system, that treats the child/student, rather mindlessly. Ayesha will share screenspace with the likes of Nana Patekar, Suniel Shetty and others. However, it is Shahid Kapoor whom she will romance. The film will have loads of comedy and romance, too. Which explains the presence of Shahi and Ayesha in the movie. Directed by Milind Ukey, it has been under production for some months now. Let's hope the talented actress strikes gold with this film, in the same way she had after Iqbal.

If in Telugu, damsel Shraddha Das has a release in the form of Maro Charitra, in Hindi too, she has a good one, an international one at that: Lahore. Directed by Sanjay Chauhan, the film has Shraddha playing one of the most important characters. She is sharing screen space with Aanahad and veteran actors like Nafisa Ali and Farooq Sheik. She plays the character of Ida in the film. The actress plays a Pakistani girl and her role is meaty. So, we may say that Das has got her first worthy role to prove her innate talent. She plays a public relations officer for a kickboxing team, who overcomes a thousand blockades before she bags the job. Lahore is slated for a release on the 19th of March. It has music by our very own MM Keeravani. Hope Shraddha finally gets her due!

In Aakasa Ramanna, where actor Shivaji is playing a significant role along with Allari Naresh, he plays a character named Jai. The actor is upbeat about the release of the film, which happens to fall on the 12th. He says that his character will be liked by one all. By the way, what is Shivaji doing in the film? The suspense will be out only the release date, but all what he has spoken about it so far is that he will be seen as the son of a super bazaar's owner, obsessed about girls. Meanwhile, he blurts out another truth. Though Naresh is another important character here, he will not share screenspace with Shivaji. They both will keep talking over the phone. Aakasa Ramanna, seemingly a suspense film, is set in night time, and takes place between 12:00 and 12:40. Directed by Ashok, it also stars Meera Jasmine, who is doing comedy in the flick. Rajeev Kanakala is yet another important actor.

Actor Ram's carefully nurtured blog site was hacked by some mischievous elements and most data deleted forever! The actor's close aides, however, acted in time and tried to retrieve some data, but it was not early. Writing about the same in his blog, a shocked Ram, who is currently working on his film Rama Rama Krishna Krishna, said that it was unfortunate. He is happy, the site is partially restored, and hopes to be back in contact with his blog's visitors and fans. Saying that his blog was now, "just as good as new," Ram stated in the first blog entry after the restoration, "nobody can keep me away from my people 'n' vice versa." As blogs are rarely written by Telugu actors, Ram's first ever (almost) has been closely followed by some of his admirers. Though the news did upset Ram, it seems that he is all set to bounce back with rigour. Great going, Ram!

Shivaji, the passionate producer-actor of Taj Mahal, says that the artistic values of the iconic architectural marvel, Taj Mahal can be felt in his up-and-coming film of the same name. The film, continuously put off for more than two months, is based on a Kannada blockbuster of the same name. It stars Shivaji in the role of male lead and Shruthi as his muse. Though the film's music was released sometime in the month of December, the film has not seen the light of the day, probably because of the same reasons a Prasthanam or an Inkosari have seen undue delays. The film explores the relationship two love birds share in their love. Though we may think it is so much for an actor of Sivaji's age to do a college buddy in the film, Taj Mahal takes place in the backdrop of an engineering college. It is directed by Arun Singaraju.

Actress Hansika Motwani has a generous heart. Yes, it is said that she likes to go about her way to bring those close to her up the ladder of aspiration and success. Confessing about this attitude of her, Hansika said that she is not selfish to believe that those who work under her, should live in the same lever for eternity. In fact, the actress wants to fund their education and help them come up in life. Hansika, who hails from Mumbai, says that she feels happy when people whom she had helped settle down in their lives and come to her expressing their gratitude. She is someone who likes to see those around better their standards, and helps them achieve the same. That's great, Hansika!

Dasari Narayana Rao has been making his film Young India with a conviction. It explains why, even after making nearly one-and-a-half century films, he has not lost the will to put his vision on the celluloid. In the new film, he has introduced 81 new artistes. Currently in various post-production stages, the film is slated for an April 9 release. From the beginning, Dasari has put his all for the making of the film. When he wanted to ensure that a particular song came the way he wanted, he decided to choreograph it all by himself. The film has music by MM Keeravani and editing by Gautham Raju. Produced by Siri India (Pvt) Ltd, the film is a message-oriented one and has been extensively shot in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Mumbai. Producer Ramakrishna Prasad hopes that the film will be a trend-setter. Dasari, the multi-talented one is writing the story, dialogue and screenplay too.

As a girl, Tamanna had a crush on one of her friend's brother. She revealed this, when she recently spoke her heart out. The actress, however, finds the same "funny" when she remembers it today. She said that she was eager to go to her friend's place to catch a glimpse of her crush. Today, when she is a busy bee, the idea seems ridiculous. Thus, the Happy Days actress' first and last crush is no longer in her mind. Actresses have long been speaking about their crushes and how, as the time passed by, they have put them behind. In the same way, some actors have confessed about their crushes and how they managed to overcome them. A case in point is that of Allu Arjun, Tamanna's Badrinath co-star. Once in a TV interview, the actor said that he had liked a girl. Today, the actor likes to go for an arranged marriage.

Following the likes of Mani C Kappan and Prakash Bare, another popular producer of Malayalam, Sasi Ayyanchira has decided to give it a try in front of the camera. His ninth film as producer, ‘Amma Nilavu’ will have him as the hero also. Sasi will be cast as a police officer Adiram in this new family movie, which is the debut directorial venture of popular lyricist M D Rajendran. Apart from calling the shots, M D Rajendran will also set the tune to his own lyrics and has already sang a song for this movie. ‘Amma Nilavu’ will be scripted by M D Ajaya Ghosh, a popular novelist and the brother of the director. The movie will feature Tamil ‘Autograph’ fame Mallika as the heroine. Also in the cast are Thara, Kalyan, Anoop, Mamukoya, T P Radhamani, Balachandran Chullikkad, and Harishanth.

After the big hits like ‘In Harihar Nagar’ and ‘Harihar Nagar-2’, director Lal will present another sequel to the superhit series with 'In Ghost House Inn'. Expected to reach the theatres by the 25th of this month, the movie will again feature the famous foursome in another hilarious act. ‘In Ghost House Inn’ will feature the four friends who decides to spend a vacation in the big bunglow, newly bought by Thomaskutty with the money that he has got in the climax of ‘Harihar Nagar-2’. Amidst their extravagant celebration in the bungalow with their families, some new occurrences unleash a horror parade before them, to make their life horrible than ever before. Produced by P N V associates and Lal creations, the movie will have his regular castings and the regular crew including cinematographer Venu, music director Alex Paul and editor V Saajan.

The new movie from Shaji Azeez, ‘Oridathoru Postman’ has started shooting in Kochy. Featuring Innocent and Boban Kunchakko in the title roles, the movie also presents Tamil star Sarath Kumar as a wildlife photographer. Written by K Gireesh Kumar, the movie presents a very humorous story about Raghunandhan, a graduate who is forced to take up the job of a postman, when he fails to get any other jobs of higher ranks. And when Reghu decides to enjoy the nuances of his job, he finds to his astonishment a big bundle of letters that were kept away from dispatching by his late father Gangadharan, who was also a postman, known for his notorious activities. Reghu now decides to find out the addressee of these letters, Yasin Mubarak, the wildlife photographer and to deliver him the posts with a note of apology. Meera Nandan and Archana Kavi are the heroines of this movie. Expected to be on theatres by June, this movie is produced by Nila creations.

After some years of films like ‘Mayoori’ and ‘Kamaladhalam’, there is another film getting ready with dance and romance as its central theme. Titled ‘Aattakkatha’, this movie is directed by producer Kannan Perumudiyoor, based on his award winning novel ‘Cholliyattam’, featuring artists like Vineeth, Meera Nandan and a French theatre artist Irish. The movie will have classical art forms like Kathakali as its backdrop. The movie will also present the last set of songs by late music maestro Raveendran written by Gireesh Puthenchery. Vineeth dons the lead role in the movie as a Kathakali student Unnikrishnan. This is the fourth film in which Vineeth is seen in the role of a Kathakali artist, the others being Kamaladhalam, Parinayam and Mizhikal Sakshi. Produced in the banner of Harishree films International, the movie is scripted to suit the screen by Shathrugnan.

In Thiruvananthapuram at the awards ceremony of the Baby John Foundation Actor Mohanlal presented the bravery award posthumously to martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, The award was received by Sandeep’s father K. Unnikrishnan and mother Dhanalakshmi. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was one of the martyrs who gave his life in fighting terrorists who attacked Mumbai city on November 26, 2008. Sandeep’s mother told Mohanlal that Sandeep was a big fan of his and the brave heart has seen every new release of the actor. Just before the award was handed over to Sandeep’s parents, the audience lit candle lights and stood in silence for a minute in remembrance of the brave soldier. Mohanlal gave the Baby John oration. Shibu Baby John, Vakkachen Mattathil, Aryadan Mohammad and Shaji B. John also spoke on the occasion.

Illuminato Films in association with Kaithakkatu Visual Media presents ‘Nayakan’ which is a power packed action film is set to take Kerala by storm soon. Shot extensively in Malaysia and in parts of Kerala, this high-octane action thriller is expected to be a turning-point in the career of its hero Indrajit. He has also sung the title track of the film. Dhanya Mary Varghese, who won critical acclaim for her role in ‘Thalappaavu’, is the leading lady. Versatile actor Siddique is the villain of the piece he adds new shades to villainy as a polished Don. Veterans like Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Vijay Raghavan, Lalu Alex, Sreejith Ravi, Anil Murali and Kalashala Babu play other important roles in the film. Lijo Jose Pallissery, ad-film maker of note makes his big screen debut with ‘Nayakan’. P.S Rafeeq owns the screenplay. Manoj Paramahamsa who is basking in the glory of the recent Tamil hit Vinnaithandi Varuvaya handles cinematography. Prashant Pillai set tune to lyrics

Amma has decided to give Thilakan yet another chance to prove his innocence, before its disciplinary committee. The star organization will now wait for some more days for the veteran actor to have a face to face conversation. Mohanlal, the general secretary of AMMA, yesterday also extended his arms of friendship, a little more by saying that he is ready to go and meet Thilakan for the cause, if the veteran is ready for a ceasefire talk. And for the time being the actor will stand on a temporary suspension from the organization, AMMA said. Meanwhile, the producers of Thilakan’s latest movie ‘Dam 999’ has handed over a cheque of rupees four lakh ninety five thousand as compensation for dropping him from the film, due to external pressures.

Megastar Mammootty's most stylish movie ‘Big B’ will have a Telugu release by next week. The movie which will be presented in the same name, will be a dubbed version of the sensational hit. The movie features Mamtha Mohandas, Nafisa Ali, Pashupathy and Sherveer Vakil who are also known names in Telugu. Directed by Amal Neerad, the movie is presented in Telugu by Sri Varalakshmi Productions.

Actor Thilakan who has defied the directives of AMMA to appear before its disciplinary committee, has offered a written explanation. The letter which is said to be about five pages was handed over to T P Madhavan who submitted it to AMMA. The contents of the letter is yet to be made public. A number of charges are leveled against the senior actor including his lashing out at the super stars and opinions about AMMA as a mafia organization. Though the contents are not yet out, many in the industry believes that AMMA will let the veteran actor go with this deed and won't force him out of the organization, calling of the temporary suspension. Any how, Thilakan is sure to have a difficult period ahead, with lot of compromises that will be asked of him.

The long due Karnataka State Film Awards presentation announced for 2007-2008 in the first week of January 2009 will be given away in first week of April 2010. The Karnataka information minister Khatta Subramanyam Naidu announced the date of state film awards on Tuesday evening when he had come to felicitate the achievers. Dr Bharathi Vishnuvaradhan will receive the Dr Rajakumar award won by Dr Vishnuvaradhan, Smt Parvathamma Rajakumar gets lifetime achievement award at this colorful state awards evening in Shimoga. Fixing a particular day for Karnataka state film awards – the Ugadi festival day is also in the mind of the government said Khatta Subramanyam Naidu. The information minister invited every one of the industry to make to the state film awards evening at Shimoga the home town of Chief Minister Dr BS Yediyurappa.

The recent national award winning director for Tulu film ‘Gaggara’, Shivadwaj (also a prominent actor in Kannada films) is all set to launch his next film ‘Naanavaladaaga’. Shivadwaj developed the story of this film when he was asked for alms by eunuch near the signal light two months ago. The film ‘Naanavaladaaga’ is prepared in three layers. The first layer is the happy middle class family with a father, a mother and a child. The second part is the inevitability of normal man donning eunuch role and third is the effects of such drastic decision of the father says Shivadwaj speaking to this correspondent after he received the felicitation for ‘Gaggara’ from the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening. Shivadwaj is looking for Prakash Raj’s call sheet to play the prominent role in the film. He has prepared the script and screenplay of the film that would fit in to art and commercial category. He is studying the status of life of eunuchs in Tamil Nadu state

The senior director Saiprakash who attempted suicide on 13th February 2010 is recovered now. Coming before the media on Monday afternoon he tendered apologies for his mistake in life. The depression at the family front and professional level made me to take such dire step said Saiprakash. The heavy losses he suffered from ‘Devaru Kotta Thangi’ is one of the reasons is not ruled out he says. The film made is Rs.5.25 crores did not bring back the investment. I had to sell a house in Abbegere plus three sites there and four sites in Hosur. I am still sinking in deep loans. I am paying Rs.2.5 lakh interest for my loan. From the industry front I have got some support. Sudeep has assured a film in November and Darshan agreed to work in my direction in February 2011. Saiprakash thanked Producers Vijayakumar, Prakash, Aradhya and Prashanth who came forward to help him in all ways. He also said he will need at least four years to clear his loans.

The Kannada film ‘Nanjangud Nanjunda’ starring Ravishanker and Mallu girl Hamsini which is a remake of Tamil ‘Dindigal Sarathy’ has completed the shooting and it is at the dubbing stage. Srinivas Prasad who made the mythological ‘Prachanda Ravana’ shot for his second film in temple town Nanjangud near Mysore for maximum portion and has made some changes to the original Malayalam film of Srinivasan that was made as ‘Dindigal Sarathi’ in Tamil. The new additions to this 1989 Malayalam film is the comedy track, songs and treatment to the psychiatry problem dealt. Director Srinivasa Prasad shot for the film in Srirangapatana, Madikeri surroundings for the song portions. Actor Ravishanker a popular television actor from ‘Pa Pa Pandu’ in the role of Dr Vittal got a very fine debut in ‘Payana’ a musical love story and after completing the film ‘Nanjungud Nanjunda’ he is now in his third film ‘Mathe Mungaru’ under the direction of Dwarki (who directed Iruvar Mattum Tamil film).

The Karnataka Film Associate and Assistant Directors Sangha (KFAADS) came in to existence to get solutions to nearly 2000 plus technicians who are in a dilemma. This will be formally inaugurated on 14th March by Labour Minister Bache Gowda. The newly formed Associate and Assistant director’s association members are deprived of so many benefits from the Karnataka Chalanachitra Directors Association. The major issue is related to systematic package to their work. The film director who hires the services of associate and assistant directors is not taking the responsibility in settling the remuneration is the main grouse of the association members. To get an amicable solution they are demanding the signing of contracts before the film goes on the floors. The Associate and assistant directions association is seeking an entry to the Karnataka Chalanachitra Karmikara Okkuta and referred its case to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and Kannada Film Producers Association.

The producer of 18 hours shot Kannada film ‘Sugriva’ – Anaji Nagaraj of Namana Films was honored by the Visveswaraya Technical University on 8th March at Kapali theatre where the film screening was going on. Nearly 1000 students plus faculty of the Technical university watched the film ‘Sugriva’ on Monday and felicitated producer Anaji Nagaraj for taking the risk of shooting a film in 18 hours with the help of 10 directors, 10 cameramen and 1800 cine workers, junior artists etc. Dr Venugopal, Principal, Dean of Visveswaraya Technical University lauded the magnificent effort of producer Anaji Nagaraj and his team.

The coming Friday March 12th is a rare battle in the box office of Kannada cinema. Actor Srimurali’s two films – Sriharikathe with Pooja Gandhi, Radhika Gandhi and Naveen Krishna and ‘Sihigali’ with sensuous Shirin are hitting 90 plus screens in Karnataka. The truce meeting between the two producers arranged by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce went in vain. Both the producers did not agree to come a week later. ‘Sihigali’ produced by P Umesh, BN Balakrishna, J Anil and Kodanda Reddy was in the cans for last two years. The film was delayed because the first two producers got married while another producer Kodanda Reddy’s sister got married. Besides this these realtors had seen steep fall in the land business too. According to the director of the film Lekhan the film’s release is inevitable. Pyramid Saimira Vijayakumar is releasing the film in 30 plus centers and as far as possible we are maintaining the distance in theatres showing the two films. ‘Sihigali’ is prod

‘I want to celebrate the 200th day event of the 200th film of Dr Vishnuvaradhan ‘Aptha Rakshaka’– eminent director P Vasu said at Bangalore Turf Club on Saturday evening when he convened a media meet to host a party for the tremendous response he got in the media for ‘Aptha Rakshaka’. P Vasu surprised everyone by saying the script what he made as ‘Chandramukhi’ sequel was later made as ‘Aptha Rakshaka’. Dr Vishnu had good vibrations on the script as I narrated and further there was no fuss in making it as ‘Aptha Mithra’ sequel said P Vasu. After reading the reviews in the media I am analyzing what kind of vibrations Dr Vishnuvaradhan said the successful director. Thanking his artists and technicians director P Vasu said the media has the power to ‘Hold and Scold’ films. In my case I traveled with the wind in my cycle. It is difficult to travel against the media wind according to me he stated.

Director, producer, music director Goverdhan’s ‘Nirdoshi’ is out of the troubled waters. His film titled as ‘Rasagulla’ faced the first slash from Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. It was told the title is ‘Sexy’. No way out Goverdhan had to change the title to ‘Nirdoshi’. Goverdhan was surprised when Regional Censor Board’s two lady members after watching the film ‘Nirdoshi’ said 25 minutes have to cut in the film then ‘A’ certificate will be given for three rape scenes, bikini costumes. Goverdhan went straight to Tribunal in New Delhi. In Delhi a retired High Court judge in the Tribunal (a lady) in the presence of Goverdhan and Bangalore regional censor officer said there is nothing wrong in the film and asked the regional censor board to give ‘U/A’. Last year December 29 the Tribunal ordered for UA certificate to ‘Nirdoshi’ but regional censor board kept on delaying to give the certificate. According to one sources even after Delhi Tribunal order the regional cens

The famous actress of South India also wife of famous director Mani Ratnam has said she is not a good person. There are eight cases against me. When I spoke truth and protested the wrong the litigations came up. She was addressing at the first National Akila Bharatha Young Women’s Convention at Senate Hall, Central College in Bangalore recently. The good and bad behavior in men is equal. The bad behavior they have to correct insisted Suhasini. The woman of 50 years ago has changed. There is need for protection to female gender and in the name of communal problems the woman is projected wrongly she said. At the convention Suhasini Mani Ratnam delivered the dialogues and songs from her Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films.

The debut song in Kannada film ‘Prithvi’ for Shruthi Haasan daughter Dr Kamal Haasan was recorded at Bombay Brothers Studio in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. Shruthi Haasan was welcomed with a bouquet by producers Soorappa Babu, NS Rajakumar, music director Manikanth Khadri and director of ‘Prithvi’ Jacob Verghese. Shruthi Haasan came to the studio around 2.30 pm and completed the duet portion of the song Nenapidhu Nenapidhu….that is featured on Parvathi Menon in two hours. Power star Puneeth Rajakumar plays the title role in this film. Shruthi Haasan was invited for the audio release of the film ‘Prithvi’ and she has promised to make it for audio release in Bangalore. After the recording of the song Shruthi Haasan over mobile phone spoke to power star Puneeth Rajakumar for a few minutes. Producer Soorappa Babu and NS Rajakumar of ‘Prithvi’ discussed with Shruthi Haasan on appearance in silver screen as heroine in Kannada. ‘If I get the good script I will look in to it’ sa

I don’t think we’ve ever played a game of “wireless router, cheese grater or oil-filled radiator?” here on SlashGear, but there’s a first time for everything. Forgive me for giving the answer away, but you’re looking at the dimpled front of the ASUS RT-N56U router, an unusually designed and certainly distinctive addition to the company’s range. It’s in fact one of a number of new routers ASUS have wheeled out for CeBIT 2010 this week. The RT-N56U supports both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and will function as a printer server too; it’s also capable of 300,000 concurrent sessions, which is apparently “industry-leading”. There are two USB 2.0 ports (with 3G modem support), four gigabit ethernet ports and WiFi a/b/g/n. Similar features can be found on the far more mundane-looking ASUS RT-N76U, which swaps radiator-chic for three aerials. Elsewhere there are two 3G-compatible routers, the ASUS RT-N13U and the AP-N13M. Each can share the connection from a 3G USB modem, with the former se

Sony’s upcoming netbook refresh, the Sony VAIO M, has broken cover, and we have to say it looks a little less interesting than the company’s previous netbooks. Suspected to replace the VAIO W range, the VAIO M packs Intel’s new Atom N450 1.66GHz processor along with 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 250GB 5,400rpm HDD and Intel GMA 3150 graphics. There’s also a 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit display, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, along with a webcam. The whole thing is expected to tip the scales at 1.3kg, and has the usual range of VGA, ethernet, USB, audio in/out and memory card reader ports. Frankly the chunky keyboard looks like a bit of a throwback to old-fashioned netbooks, and is a disappointing departure from Sony’s regular chicklet keys. According to UK listings the Sony VAIO M is expected to be priced at around £299 ($451) and available in black and white.

According to NetbookNews, when attached the netbook saw a tenfold increase in graphics performance, benchmarking around 5,000 marks in 3DMark06 compared to around 500 when the CULV machine was tested alone. It’s not just for graphics cards, though; since the i-Power GXT Mini box basically gives you a PCI-Express slot to play with, you can slot in a desktop TV tuner card or a USB 3.0 card. There are also a couple of USB 2.0 ports on the front panel no matter what guts you opt for. Shuttle will apparently sell both preconfigured versions of the setup, with a video card already in place, and barebones versions. Meanwhile the GXT port itself will be showing up on netbooks and nettops from the company, such as the one demonstrated in the video below.

We've been slipped some additional information on Motorola's imminent Android-powered i1 for iDEN networks today -- actually, one correction and one interesting note. First, the correction: we're now being told (by the same tipster as before) that it's actually got a 5 megapixel camera on board, a nice upgrade from the 3 we'd previously been told to expect. More interestingly, though, we're also hearing that Opera Mini has been tapped as the i1's default browser -- a move that Moto is more than welcome to make since this is a Blur-powered, non-"Google Experience" device. It's also a possible admission that third-party Android browsers are currently outperforming Google's own, something Microsoft has long dealt with on Windows Mobile as companies like HTC ultimately ended up bundling Opera Mobile with virtually every model they sold. So, Sprint Direct Connect and Boost Mobile customers, you getting excited about this thing or what?

Unwilling or unable to wait for the next major trade show (CTIA in two weeks), LG showed off a king's ransom worth of new devices to a bunch of journos in the Netherlands this week; most of it appears to be pretty low-end fare, but there were a few notables in the lot. First up, the Cookie Music extends the Cookie brand with Dolby Mobile tech on board (something LG's been doing pretty frequently lately), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a tweaked design that looks a little more futuristic than Cookies of old. Viewty was starting to feel like a forgotten marque, but not so -- we've now got a GT400 Viewty Smile here featuring a 5 megapixel cam and scratch-resistant display. As QWERTY dumbphones go, we'd thought that the GT350 was the KS360's true successor, but not so -- there's a new KS365 in the mix with revised styling but seemingly very little in the way of upgraded specs. The rest of the lot looks like pretty forgettable stuff -- and seeing how LG operates, they&#

Enthusiasts have had plenty to cheer about with the convergence of electronics and bicycling over the years, from bikes that pedal themselves to the various devices and apps that assist them with their training. And for those of us who just want to get from one place to another? Google Maps has added bicycling directions to its walking, car, and public transport options -- with travel times calculated to include things like the number of hills and fatigue over time. But that ain't all! The company has also partnered with Rails-to-Trails to provide information on bike trails in more than 150 cities. According to Google, thousands of miles of trails in the US have already been added to the map, with more to come. For the time being, however, only those planning trips in their home or office need apply: while available on the web, those using a Google Maps smartphone app are being excluded for the time being. So much for "mobile first," guys. Video after the break.

Well, we'd already had a pretty clear indication that the HTC HD2 would be launching on T-Mobile on March 24th (or possibly the 23rd), and Laptop Magazine is now reporting that a "very close T-Mobile source" has confirmed that the 24th is indeed the date, and that the phone will run $199 on a two-year contract (or $449 off-contract). The March 23rd date that recently cropped up is apparently just the day the MobiTV software will go live. Just as notably, Laptop also says that it has confirmed that the phone won't be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series -- although, at this point, we'll have to hear that first-hand to truly put an end to the speculation. Thankfully, that should happen in just a few days.