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Dil Raju Cancels Movie with Chiranjeevi

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Dil Raju Cancels Movie with Chiranjeevi

A few days back Dil Raju almost finalized a project with Chiranjeevi under Anil Ravipudi’s direction. The story discussions happened and Chiranjeevi also gave a positive response to the project. This film was planned to begin its shoot soon in parallel with Vishwambhara this year.

Anil Ravipudi is famous for making commercial entertainers and handles hero elevation scenes perfectly. Recently, with Balakrishna’s Bhagavath Kesari, Anil has proved he can make a film showing a senior hero in a different character without missing the mass elements. 

However, the movie seems to have faced a roadblock over remuneration discussions as now OTT and satellite rights are not yielding producers big amounts as before.

The estimated budget is coming close to 170Cr if Chiranjeevi is the main lead. Dil Raju feels it could be a risky move so he has decided to take a step back on this one. Now as per reports, he has decided to change the lead cast and moved the same story to Venkatesh.

Venkatesh and Anil Ravipudi have a successful combination. This time they are starring Venkatesh as a solo hero and it will be a clean family entertainer. The announcement is expected very soon and Dil Raju may target Sankranthi 2025 release.

A Glimpse of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Historic Drama Series is Out!

Surya Sankella
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A Glimpse of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Historic Drama Series is Out!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of the few filmmakers of Hindi cinema with a strong brand value among the masses like that of S. S. Rajamouli. Unlike the latter, the former is known for making period dramas featuring grand sets, visuals, and dance numbers with top-notch technical standards. His films, right from Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas (2002) to Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022), have received immense critical acclaim internationally.

Now a filmmaker of that stature is making his OTT debut. Yes, bankrolled by the American streaming giant Netflix, a historic drama series titled ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ is under production. The first major update from the series, a first look or glimpse, is now out, and it has succeeded in raising expectations. Made on a lavish budget under the banner of Bhansali Productions, it features an ensemble cast of Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, and Aditi Rao Hydari.

Consisting of eight episodes, the series narrates the story of a power struggle between a young heir entangled in conflict who opts for love over succession. Set in the pre-independence era, when the freedom movement was gaining momentum, the plot challenges the traditional role of tawaifs (courtesans), testing the last remnants of their art. The series is set to release in mid-2024.

Srimanthudu: A Complete Copy Film?

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Srimanthudu: A Complete Copy Film?

Koratala Siva has found himself in tough waters with the recent Supreme Court orders suggesting he should face charges as per the local court’s orders. The cases started when writer Sarath Chandra accused Koratala Siva’s Srimanthudu of being a complete copy of his story Chacheantha Prema.

This blow to Koratala Siva comes after the Nampally court subsequently instructed to file criminal charges against him. The director later approached the Telangana High Court due to this.

The whole story dates back to 2012 when Sarath Chandra wrote a story for Swathi monthly magazine titled Chacheantha Prema. The writer later planned to make it into a movie with director V Samudra who had earlier directed films like Evadithe Nakenti and Simharaasi.

Koratala Siva subsequently made Srimanthudu in 2014 with Mahesh Babu which carries the exact same plot with similar names for various characters and places. This led Sarath Chandra to take legal action against the director under the Plagiarism Act.

“I did 7 years of hard work on this story. I even shared my novel with Koratala for comparison for him to see the eerie similarities between Chacheantha Prema and Srimanthudu,” recalled Sarath Chandra.

“Some movie people tried to compromise by giving me Rs 15 lakhs. I don’t want money, I want their acceptance of stealing my plot. If Koratala Siva doesn’t accept his mistake he will have to be jailed as all the evidence is against him and criminal case is impending,” said the writer.

A Sequel to Rana Daggubati’s Leader On Cards

Surya Sankella
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A Sequel to Rana Daggubati’s Leader On Cards

As we all know, Rana Daggubati made his debut in Sekhar Kammula’s political drama film, Leader (2010). The movie carried a good buzz since its basic plot greatly resembled the then-political scenario of United Andhra Pradesh. Releasing in February 2010, the film received high critical acclaim with praise for its story, direction, performances, and music, thus emerging as a sleeper hit at the box office.

All of this is now relevant because a direct sequel to Leader (2010) is currently in pre-production. Jointly produced by Suniel Narang and Puskur Ram Mohan under Sree Venkateshwara Cinemas (Asian Group), the movie marks the company’s third collaboration with Shekhar Kammula after Love Story (2021) and the untitled Nagarjuna-Dhanush multi-starrer film. On January 31, 2024, an official announcement regarding the production company-director collaboration was made via Twitter, which fueled speculations about the sequel.

Though the team has yet to announce its cast, Rana Daggubati is expected to reprise his role as a young chief minister, Arjun Prasad. With music composed by Mickey J. Meyer, the original film also featured Priya Anand and former actress Richa Gangopadhyay. Fans of the Bahubali star will hope this flick will revive the actor’s career, which has been going downhill lately.

Political Agenda Films Set to Release for Andhra Pradesh 2024 Elections

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Political Agenda Films Set to Release for Andhra Pradesh 2024 Elections

Movies are one of the powerful mediums to influence the people and with elections approaching later this year, political parties are making busy in spreading their agenda with films. With Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections around the corner, multiple films based on political themes are ready to release.

Ram Gopal Varma made Vyooham in two parts and had plans to release it in December which later moved to January. But the movie failed to release due to censor issues. He is now trying to sort out the issues and release Vyooham as soon as possible.

The film revolves around the events that led to YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s election victory and his untimely death. The film will be heavily favoured towards YSRCP and will feature negativity against TDP and Chandrababu Naidu in particular.

Similarly, Mahi V Raghav’s Yatra 2 which chronicles YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s rise to the Chief Minister post is up for release next week. This film features Jeeva in Jaganmohan Reddy’s role while Mammootty will be back as YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Nara Rohit’s Prathinidhi 2 is going to be TDP’s response to these YSRCP favouring films. While this is not a biographical film like Vyooham and Yatra 2, Prathinidhi 2 features political commentary and relationship between media and those in power.

While these three movies have been in the making and in plans for release for quite some time, a new film with a political theme has been announced. Titled ‘Rajadhani Files’, the film is reportedly a real-life account of farmers’ struggles and the government’s role in their hardships. The first look was released earlier today.

Bollywood Trade Exposes Dunki and Salaar Corporate Numbers Entirely

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Bollywood Trade Exposes Dunki and Salaar Corporate Numbers Entirely

Dunki and Salaar released for Christmas 2023 and set up the stage for the biggest box-office clash in years. Before their release, everyone expected both these biggies to do massive numbers in Hindi for sure. But both films got off to a slower start shockingly. Both movies opened with positive reviews from their target audiences but that also was not enough for the film to bring bigger audiences to theatres.

Many controversies happened for both releases and there were accusations that both Dunki and Salaar teams were using corporate bookings [Putting their own money] to show strong numbers for the films. Few trade analysts and websites were exposed at that time only while the others remained silent. However, after the release of Fighter entire trade and industry insiders have started revealing that Dunki and Salaar numbers were boosted by 20% – 25%.

For Fighter, there are no corporate bookings so we can clearly see a big drop in the film’s performance on weekdays. The trade is now saying all three films Dunki, Salaar, and Fighter failed to perform even with positive reviews.

Corporate bookings have been happening in Bollywood for long time. Recently Animal producer Pranay Reddy also said that their team did not boost their film by corporate bookings or else Animal would have reached 1000Cr and many others also openly spoke of corporate bookings in Bollywood. This is a bad trend for any industry to follow and should stop as soon as possible

Renaming ‘Nandi Awards’ to ‘Gaddar Awards’ Attracts Criticism

Surya Sankella
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Renaming ‘Nandi Awards’ to ‘Gaddar Awards’ Attracts Criticism

The newly-formed government of Telangana, headed by Hon. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, has decided to honour Gummadi Vittal Rao, aka Gaddar, an Indian poet, singer, and communist revolutionary. As a part of it, Gaddar Jayanti was held at Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad, on January 31, 2024, to commemorate the late poet. At the event, the Hon. Chief Minister announced that the Government of TS will restart awarding cinema, television, and theatre artists, but with a new title called ‘Gaddar Awards’.

While this move initially received applause, it eventually attracted criticism, with some labelling it a blatant move by the government to gain political mileage among backward castes, particularly dalits. Besides that, a section of the Telugu film fraternity has felt that the government should have simply introduced a new category of awards honouring the legend instead of renaming ‘Nandi Awards’, which were originally named after the big granite bull, Lepakshi, a symbol of the rich Telugu culture.

All in all, the iconic bull in the variants gold (Swarnam), silver (Rajatam), and bronze (Kamsyam) that have represented excellence in Telugu cinema, television, and theatre since 1964 is going to lose its identity. Hope the renamed version adds more value to these awards, encouraging more people to make feature films, television shows, and theatre plays in Telugu with technical finesse and aesthetic values.

Big applause for Viduthalai Part 2

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Big applause for Viduthalai Part 2

Vetrimaran’s crime thriller Viduthalai 2 was screened at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam amidst massive applause and standing ovation. The film is a sequel of the Viduthalai 1 which was released in 2023 amidst equal critical acclaim for Vetrimaran as well as Suri and the rest of the cast.

Since its announcement, Viduthalai Part 2 has been one of the most anticipated films among film lovers and is slated to come out this year. It is understood that Vijay Sethupathi’s character will be explored more in the sequel.  It is reported that the film received a five-minute standing ovation. Vetrimaaran, as well as Vijay Sethupathi and Soori, were also present for the opening. 

Viduthalai Part 1 and Part 2 were shown together at the Film Festival. Viduthalai Part 2 shooting has not been completed, with a little patch-up work remaining. The film still has some portions to be completed before it gets ready for worldwide release. Vetrimaaran specially made a festival cut for its premiere.

Viduthalai 2 stars also Soori, Bhavani Sre, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Ilavarasu and many more in prominent roles, apart from Vijay Sethupathi and Manju Warrier.

Ram Charan’s RC16 Team to Recruit 400 Actors in Uttarandhra

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Ram Charan’s RC16 Team to Recruit 400 Actors in Uttarandhra

Global Star Ram Charan, Buchi Babu Sana, Venkata Satish Kilaru, Vriddhi Cinemas, Mythri Movie Makers, Sukumar Writings Pan India Film RC16 Coming To Uttarandhra For A Talent Hunt

Global Star Ram Charan will next be teaming up with young and talented director Buchi Babu Sana who made a blockbuster debut with Uppena for a Pan India film- #RC16. Proudly presented by the leading production house Mythri Movie Makers, Venkata Satish Kilaru is venturing into film production grandly with the movie to be mounted on a huge scale with a high budget under the banners of Vriddhi Cinemas and Sukumar Writings.

The movie which will have some amazing technicians taking care of different crafts requires actors who can fluently speak their dialogues in Uttarandhra slang. So, the team RC16 is coming to Uttarandhra for a talent hunt. They ask all the aspiring actors to get ready to be a part of something sensational. The auditions will take place in Vizianagaram, Salur, Srikakulam, and Visakhapatnam during the month of February, starting from the 5th to the 17th. Close to 400 actors of different age groups will be cast for the movie.

Buchi Babu prepared a powerful script that will have a universal appeal. Oscar-award-winning composer AR Rahman will score the music. The makers will announce the details of the other cast and crew of the movie soon.

Tamannaah Bhatia signs a web series for an OTT platform

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Tamannaah Bhatia signs a web series for an OTT platform

Tamannah Bhatia has been focussing on Web Series along with movies of late. The actress began her OTT journey with Masterchef Telugu and was seen in Aha Web Series 11th Hour. After these shows, she made her Web Series debut on the national level with Amazon Prime’s Jee Karda and Netflix’s Lust Story 2.

After these shows, Tamannah will be next seen in a comedy web series produced by Dharma Productions. The show will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The makers of the show are planning to release the show in all languages.

Archit Kumar, who earlier directed web series like Dr. Arora, Thoda Adjust Please and Sepia will be directing this web series. This untitled web series marks her fourth project in the digital realm. Apart from this, the actress has an impressive lineup of projects in her way. Tamannaah Bhatia will be seen in ‘Vedaa’ alongside John Abraham and also in a Tamil project titled ‘Arnamanai 4’.

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