Big B & Vidya Balan win awards

Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan were cited as best actor and best actress respectively at the star-studded 55th Filmfare Awards ceremony on Saturday.

Bachchan won the award for his role in "Paa", while Vidya Balan claimed the trophy for her role in the same movie. As Bachchan was not present in the ceremony, Vidya Balan took the award on his behalf.

Hosting the gala night were Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, whose one liners had the audience in splits. Their on-stage chemistry was much appreciated by the Bollywood stars present at the ceremony at the Yash Raj Studios.

"3 Idiots" was declared the best film, while Rajkumar Hirani claimed the best director award for the movie.

A.R. Rahman won the best music director for "Delhi 6".

Mohit Chauhan won the award for the best male playback singer for the song "masakali" from the movie "Delhi 6", while the female playback singer honours were shared by Kavita Seth and Rekha Bhardwaj.

While Kavita was awarded for the song "Ik tara" from the movie "Wake Up Sid", Rekha won the trophy for the song "Genda phool" from the movie "Delhi 6".

Among the other highlights of the evening was a tribute to legendary pop singer Michael Jackson by Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who charmed the audience with his perfect dance moves.

Salman gets a kiss from hot model!

The German model, Claudia Ciesla who was once in news with a link up with Super star Salman Khan is again in news now. Claudia was recently seen in charity event at Mumbai where Salman also attended it.

Claudia went to Salman on the event and congratulated him for his support to the noble cause and Salman also greeted her with an open heart. And while leaving the place, Claudia has surprised every one over there by giving the super star a peck on his left cheek. Claudia left with a joy meeting his old friend while, Salman has no words on this, but left blushing.

Well, Is Kat reading this?

Shahid Kapoor working hard for Michael Jackson act

Shahid Kapoor is working hard on his Michael Jackson act for the Filmfare awards, even if it means rehearsing on his birthday Thursday.

Says Shahid: “The Filmfare organisers felt I could do the Michael Jackson tribute. And I took up the challenge.

“We didn’t have much time to rehearse, only four days. But I’ve grown up watching MJ’s music videos, am a huge fan, so it wasn’t difficult to master the choreography. I will be paying a tribute, not copying MJ. But it is better not to adulterate his steps,” he adds.

While other performers at the Filmfare awards Saturday will have their acts recorded, Shahid will perform live.

Says the focussed performer: “Yes, I’ll be going live… an eight-minute homage. I love dancing on stage. In India, there’s no specific culture for stage performances.

“Out West, there’s a huge market for live performances. Their films don’t have songs and dances. Their pop stars have a vibrant stage culture. So, stage performances are a huge market in the West,” he adds.

Arshad to get Rs.3 crore for ‘Golmaal 3′

Arshad Warsi has finally agreed to do “Golmaal 3″ after the producers agreed to pay him a whopping Rs.3 crore to be part of the film, sources said.

Director Rohit Shetty said Arshad was on for the project, but the actor did not confirm his consent for the film.

Sources said the deal was finally cut Monday, after frantic negotiations. Arshad’s fee is higher than each member of the cast, barring Ajay Devgn. It is even higher than that of Kareena Kapoor who has a three-film deal with the producers.

Says a source: “After ‘Ishqiya’, Arshad was adamant on his fee. The producers (Ashtavinayak) tried to convince him to take a much smaller fee, arguing that his co-stars Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu (who replaces Sharman Joshi) were accepting a far smaller fee and if Arshad was paid three crore, the others would feel short-changed.”

But Arshad stuck to his guns. Earlier reports said the actor, now hot at the box office after “Ishqiya”, did not like the script of “Golmaal 3″.

Rohit Shetty says: “We were really keen to have him in the film. And yes, the price has been worked out between Arshad and the producers. So he’s on.”

Strangely, though Rohit confirmed Arshad’s presence in “Golmaal 3″, Arshad was still in denial.

“I am not sure yet. They’ve been after me for some time now. But I’m not able to make up my mind. I need to give time to my own production ‘Hum Tum Aur Ghost’. So I don’t know how I’ll manage the dates,” he said.

Sharman Joshi, who was part of the earlier two movies of the “Golmaal” series, had reportedly asked for Rs2.5 crore. He turned down the third part through his secretary.

Says Rohit Shetty: “Even before the scripting of “Golmaal 3″, Sharman sent me a message through his secretary, saying he had other plans. I immediately looked for a replacement and am very happy with Kunal Khemu.”

Shahid Kapoor on spiritual quest before next film

A sudden change in work schedule made Shahid Kapoor a nervous wreck last month. A timely visit to his father Pankaj Kapoor’s spiritual guru in the hills however revealed to him the virtues of stillness in an overactive lifestyle.

Having finished all his assignments, the actor has no projects on hand at the moment apart from his dad’s film “Mausam”.

Shahid said, “All I can say is faith makes all things possible. That’s why it’s called a leap of faith. I was working 20 hours a day till Jan 20. I was working insanely. When I woke up on Jan 21, I had no work to go to.

“Initially I felt a sense of freedom. Then immediately it was followed by panic…what do I do with myself? I’ve become an insomniac and started tweeting at 4 a.m. I don’t feel tired. I feel I haven’t earned the right to rest. And I don’t know what to do with myself!”

However, here is the upside. “Every time I’ve sat at home without work, it has worked for my career. I did it before ‘Vivah’ and before ‘Jab We Met’.”

Shahid will be doing only one film in 2010 and that is his father’s “Mausam”. He will serve as a hands-on technician, spotboy whatever for the project.

“While I’m being directed by my dad, I’d like to learn in every department. I want to learn about cinematography, choreography and direction. Most of all, I’d learn a lot about acting from my dad. I want to try and absorb from him.”

The thought of acting in front of his father petrifies Shahid. “It’s a very scary thought. But in life you have to face challenges. Of course, there’s anxiety and fear about acting in front of my father. I quite often think I’ve given a decent performance. And then when I hold a trial show for my father, all the confidence crumbles.”

Shahid remembers a nightmarish incident. “I remember this one time when we were shooting for ‘Jab We Met’ near Khandala. Dad dropped in and was watching me on the monitor. And I just couldn’t give my shot! I actually had to tell my dad to leave. I tactfully told him to proceed, and I’d join him for lunch. He immediately understood. And my next shot was okay.”

Explaining his reason for staying away from all other projects, Shahid says, “It’s a film very close to my heart because after 35 years of acting, dad is finally directing a film. After being the best actor in the country – that’s what I believe him to be – he has decided to make a film with me in the lead because he wants to project me in a certain way.

“It’s a huge sacrifice for someone who does so little work as an actor. The least I can do is to be there unconditionally for him during the time that he makes the film.”

To prepare for “Mausam”, Shahid needs to train as a pilot at a military academy.

Says Shahid, “I don’t want to reveal right now what all I’ll be doing. But, yes, I do play an air force pilot. But if you think I’ll learn how to fly a plane for the film, then all I can say is I haven’t reached that stage of madness!”

Rs.80 Crores on Pawan & Mahesh!

Producer Singanamala Ramesh who is producing two big budget films, Power star Pawan kalyan’s ‘Komaram Puli’ and Prince Mahesh, Trivikram’s tentatively titled ‘Khaleja’ is now waiting for the result by keeping his fingers crossed. According to the sources Ramesh has invested 80 crores on these two films 40 crores on each.

The two big budgets are gearing up for the release soon. Both being the top stars and both the movies being much awaited ones since the two big star films have been released two years back many feel that both the films click at the box-office.

Hope the two biggies click at the box-office and leaves Singanamala Ramesh tension free!

‘Dammunnodu’ to hit the screens in March - Cast & Crew

Starring : Rishi, Soumya, Nazar, Rahul Dev , Atluri Pundarikakshaiah, Venumadhav , Ram Jagan, Satyam Rajesh,Potti Vijay
Director: BVV Chowdhary
Producer: A Raju
Music Director: Vandemataram Srinivas
Singers : Vandemataram Srinivas,Malathi ,Srinivas Sharma,Mallikarjun,Malavika
Release Date: 01 Jan 2010
Genre: Action - Romance
Language: Telugu
Certification: U/A

krishnudu upcoming telugu movie ‘Kothi Mukalu’ Movie.

ALL THE BEST

RAMBABU GADI PELLAM

Allari Naresh's new movie "Rambabu Gaadi Pellam" with a tagline ‘Vadiki Aa Feelinge Ledhu’ featuring Allari Naresh and Gajala rested in cans for quite some time before finding its way out now.

The movie taken in Naresh’s earlier days featured Gajala opposite him is a full fledged comedy entertainer. Directed by Kapuganti Rajendra and produced by Venkateswara Rao under Sitara Art Creations banner, ‘Rambabu Gaadi Pellam’.

Movie contains all elements pertaining to youth and a right subject for the image of Allari Naresh. The concept of the movie is that the hero wants to be away from girls till he gets married and the way he ensures that will certainly make every one laugh to the maximum.

Director:   Kapuganti Rajendra
Producer:   M Venkateswara Rao
Music Director:   Kamalakar
Cast: Allari Naresh, Gajala, Sonali Joshi
Release Date: 26 Feb 2010
Genre: Comedy - Romance
Language: Telugu

SNEHAM

Sneham is dubbed veriosn of tamil movie Anjathe and the story opens in a typical police housing colony, where Narain and Ajmal Ameer both sons of police head constables (MS Bhaskar and Livingston) are childhood friends.

Though they are close friends for years, they are totally different in their attitude towards life. Narain is an aimless, irresponsible and happy go lucky youngster, who always spends time drinking with friends and getting into petty fights.

He also hates to become a policeman like his father. Ajmal Ameer on the other hand is ambitious, gentle in nature and has a big dream to join the police as a sub inspector.

One day Narain is badly humiliated by his father for spoiling a festival day in the colony, when he gets into a fight with Prasanna a notorious psychopath guy, who is running a kidnapping racket with a mechanic Pandirajan.

After this incident, Narain decides to join the force by using the influence of his uncle, a personal assistant of a powerful minister. Both, the well versed Ajmal Ameer and irresponsible Narain appear the police Sub-Inspectors (SI) examination on a same day, but using his influence Narain is selected while Ajmal Ameer fails.

On the next day itself Ajmal Ameer drifts away from his best friend and turns out to be his most bitter foe.

Cast: Narain, Vijayalakshmi, Prasanna

Release date : 26 Feb 2010

Naga Chaitanya’s next with Sukumar

Naga Chaitanya’s ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’ under the direction of Gowtham Menon is gearing up for its release and now the joshful hero is getting ready for two more films for this year. While the D. SivaPrasad Reddy’s film under the Kamakshi film movies banner is going on floors in the month of March, Naga Chaitanya has signed another film under the direction of Sukumar now.

Geetha Arts will present this film. Although Sukumar has earlier planned Varun Sandesh for the film, he has now changed his mind and roped in Naga Chaitanya.

More details of the movie are yet to be revealed.

Saif Ali Khan looks forward to spy thriller, 'Race 2'

With a Padma Shri and quite a few hits tucked under his belt, Saif Ali Khan is set to launch his second production venture and spy thriller Agent Vinod and says the delayed project is very much on.

"A lot has been said about Agent Vinod, but we are very much on track. Final touches are being given to the script and at the end of March we should have the film on the floors," Saif, 39, told IANS in an interview.

After Love Aaj Kal, this will be his second production, Agent Vinod. It will be directed by Sriram Raghavan.

"Meanwhile, I definitely want to work on Race 2. To do a romantic comedy is also something that stands high up in my list, but then I am just waiting for a great script to come my way."

Taking a trip down memory lane, he said it was superhit Hum Tum that bailed him out during trying times.

"I would think that Hum Tum was a definite milestone film in my career. Yes, there was Kal Ho Na Ho which was a good success as well, but then I was a second lead there. Hum Tum was a solo hit and had the momentum going for me," Saif told IANS.

"Soon followed Salaam Namaste, which further set the pace in my career. In the earlier years, Yeh Dillagi was definitely a landmark movie. Then came Main Khiladi Tu Anari, which again worked quite well for me," added Saif who is one of the top actors today and a successful producer also.

Success came to him after a lean patch where nothing seemed to be working for him. With many of his films belonging to diverse genres failing at the box office, Saif was pretty much looking at the bottom of the barrel.

If one goes into flashback mode and takes a journey back in time, it wasn't too far back when he was dancing to the tune of Main hoon aashiq awara (Aashiq Awara) and Ole, Ole (Yeh Dillagi). Today, with Saif named for a Padma Sri, he has come a long way.

"Yeah, it was a disastrous patch and this is where Hum Saath Saath Hai came in handy. There were also Kachche Dhaage and Kya Kehna which were decent successes and then of course Dil Chahta Hai which was another landmark film," said Saif.

Is there any other film that he believes brought a complete turnaround in the way he was looked at as an actor?

"Other than the aforementioned films like Hum Tum, Salaam Namaste and Kal Ho Naa Ho, diverse films like Parineeta and Ek Haseena Thi brought in further recognition.

" Being Cyrus was nice and offbeat too and then considering the kind of perception that people had for me, Omkara turned out to be huge as it showed quite some range. And now as we stand, I have a production like Love Aaj Kal. So, yeah, it's not that bad after all."

Padmanabham is no more

Yesteryear Telugu comedian and director Padmanabha Rao, popularly known as Padmanabham, died at his residence in Chennai on on February 20 due to heart attack.
The actor suffered a massive heart attack at 08:30 a.m. at his Rangarajapuram residence while reading the newspaper, family sources said. He is survived by his wife, two sons and five daughters.
Born in Simhadripuram (Kadapa dist) on 20 August 1931, Padmanabham entered films in 1943 and acted in over 400 movies, including Maya Lokam and Pathala Bhairavi. His directorial ventures are Kathanayika Molla and Sri Rama Katha.
He produced four movies: Kathanayika Molla, Shri Rama Katha, Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna, Potti Pleader and Devatha. Galatta.com offers their condolences to the bereaved family.

‘Maro Charitra’ to hit the screens on March 26th

Varun Sandesh’s ‘Maro Charitra’ will be hitting the theatres on March 26^th. The audio of the film is planned to release on February 14^th. Ravi Yadav, cinematographer turned director is directing this film and Dil Raju is producing it under the banner Matinee Entertainment Pvt Ltd. Micky J Meyer is scoring the music for the film and editing is by Marthand K. Venkatesh.

Anitha, a new comer is playing the female lead in the film while Shraddha Das is the second heroine. The movie is the remake of Kamal Haasan, Sarika’s sensational hit Maro Charitra which was directed by K.Bala Chandar.

Other cast includes Pratap Pothan, Yami Gautam, Kota Srinivas Rao, Urvashi, Naresh, Thalaivasal Vijay, Sandhya Janak and Aadarsh.

Heathrow denies SRK’s body-scan autograph claim

Britain’s airport authorities have dismissed as “simply not true” claims by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan that he autographed printouts of his body-scan for female security staff at Heathrow airport.

BAA, which owns and operates British airports, said SRK’s claims made last week on the popular ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’ television show were “completely factually incorrect”.
The subject of Khan’s body scan came up while he was telling Jonathan Ross how his new film, ‘My Name is Khan’, is all about a Muslim named Khan who wants to inform the US president that he is not a terrorist.
“I’m always stopped by the security, because of the name. And I think it’s okay: the western world is a little bit worried, paranoid and touchy, I guess – and feely when they’re frisking you,” Khan told his celebrity chat show host.
“I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You’ve got to see them. It makes you embarrassed – if you’re not well endowed.
“You walk into the machine and everything – the whole outline of your body – comes out.”
Khan said he did not know that the body-scans – installed in the wake of last year’s abortive Christmas Day attempt to bomb a transatlantic flight over Detroit – showed up every little detail of the body.
“I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out.
“Then I saw these girls – they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said ‘give them to me’ – and you could see everything inside.
“So I autographed them for them.”
But a BAA spokeswoman said body-scanning machines at Heathrow could not store or print images in any form.
She said there would be no investigation into SRK’s claims because they “simply could not be true”.
Recent moves to install full-body scanners in airports have caused a furore in the West with civil rights campaigners saying they are worried about invasion of privacy. They say there are no guarantees that images of naked bodies will not be stored or distributed

Tejam to release on Feb 12th

Cast: 
Sardar Patel, Jayavardhan & Mounisha

Crew:
Director:   Raj KS Gopi
Producer:   Rajashekar
Music Director:   Gana
Lyricst: Shiva Ganesh,  Sriram
Singers : S P Balasubramaniam, Deepu, K.S. Chitra, L R Eswari & Priya

Siddharth in Hindi movie ‘Striker’

It is a story of a man's passion for a game that gave him strength to triumph over all those who took the easier path.

Siddharth, Aditya Panscholi, Vidya Malvade and Padmapriya will be seen in the lead role.

Sneha bags best actress award

Actress Sneha seems to have got into the habit of adding feathers to her cap very often these days. Recently, this actress who is known for her poignant performances in the industry was adjudged the best actress at the recent Global awards function that was organised by United Artistes of India and Alandur Fine Arts. The award function for the same took place in the city recently. Sneha bagged the trophy for her role in the critically acclaimed film Achchamundu Achchamundu, which deals with the grim issue of child abuse.
Harikumar won the best actor award, the Life Time Achievement award was conferred on SS Rajendran, comedienne Sacchu and music director Deva. A host of film personalities attended the glittering function.

T’wood conquers Kerala

The Malayalam film industry might pride itself on being one of the finest in India, but looks like it's Tollywood, known for its 'commercial' movies, that is giving filmmakers from Kerala a run for their money. If the number of Telugu movies being dubbed in Malayalam is anything to go by, it can be said that Tollywood has found a new market.

Arundhati and Arya 2 are the latest movies that are being dubbed, after the success of releases like Happy Days, Parugu, Tulasi and Lakshmi. Shyam Prasad Reddy, producer of Arundhati is even contemplating roping in Malayali actors for future films. "I spent one month getting the right voices to dub for my movie. We are releasing the film in 30 theatres and I want to keep Kerala's audience in mind, while casting for my next film."

With Tollywood being a second home to many Malayali imports, like Nayantara, Sindhu Menon and Meera Jasmine, it's easier for local films to reach out to the Malayali audience. "This trend has caught on like never before. Malayalam films fail to cater to the younger audiences. Telugu films, with more masala, fill that vacuum and are a hit with young movie-goers," says a trade analyst from the Telugu film industry.

Allu Arjun's growing fan base in Kerala is testimony to this trend. Arya 2, which is slated to release in 100 theatres in Kerala, has made a pre-release business of over Rs 2 crore and the dubbing rights of his upcoming movie Varudu, have already been sold for Rs 1 crore, according to sources. Calling himself "Mallu Arjun," the actor on a recent visit to Kerala, told fans that he will shoot a few scenes in the state. "All my movies are being dubbed into Malayalam now as I have a huge fan base there. I observe the culture, the mannersims and the lifestyle of people there to emulate in my films," says Allu Arjun.

It's however, not easy to impress the audience there, says actor Nikhil, whose film, Happy Days, was a hit in Malayalam. "The audience doesn't tolerate movies that lack in quality. My next film Kalavar King will also be dubbed in Malayalam."

Jr.NTR new film ‘Brindavanam’

Jr.NTR new film ‘Brindavanam’ with a tagline ‘Govindhudu Andhari Vaadele’ under the banner ‘Sri Venkateshwara Creations’ will be moving to Pollachi, TamilNadu from February 19th for shooting some parts of the film.

The film stars NRT, Trisha and Kajal Agarwal in the leads.Kajal plays a role by name Bhoomi and is one of the female leads. 
The film has cinematography by Chota K Naidu and music by Thaman S of Kick fame.  NTR's film after Adhurs will definitely have a good market.  Let's see if the film becomes a success this summer.

Prakash Raj to tie-knot with Pony Verma

Actor, Prakash Raj is all set to tie the knot with the ace choreographer Pony Verma. Both of them have been dating from a couple of years. Prakash raj has received the divorce with Laithakumari few months back and now they have decided to enter the wed-lock.

According to Sources, “Pony and Prakash have been dating for some time now, but they have always denied it and kept their relationship under wraps. The biggest hitch was that his divorce hadn’t come through, but now that he is officially single again, both of them are keen on tying the knot soon.”

The source also added that, “Pony wanted to wait till she got into the big league and now that she’s almost signed Priyadarshan’s film and also done a couple of songs for Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Guzarish. So she has finally made up her mind to tie the knot with Prakash.”

The wedding bells might ring in the middle of this year.