Synopsis:
Happy Birthday : Set in a small town, Mandya, this love story between Sachin and Anjali, who help each other overcome personal tragedies to embark on a new life. Dubbed from the Kannada original
Director : Kiran Kumaru
Starring : Sachin, Samskruthy Shenoy, Achyuth Kumar
Genres : Action, Drama
Rana Daggubati garnered national attention for his antagonist role in the Bahubali series. With the movie becoming a cult classic, Rana is flooded with offers from Bollywood, which he is choosing carefully.
Rana’s new movie, Bhuj: The Pride Of India, a war drama, was launched on June 25th, 2019, with famous actor Sanjay Dutt starting his part in Hyderabad, at a specially erected set in Ramoji Film City.
Bhuj: The Pride Of India is written and directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya. The movie also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Ajay Devgn, Parineeti Chopra and Ammy Virk.
Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ginny Khanuja, Vajir Singh, Abhishek Dudhaiya and Kumar Mangat are the producers of the movie. Bhuj: The Pride Of India will release on August 14th, 2020.
Synopsis:
Chitti Chellelu : The moving story of sibling bonding, who live for one another, but fate decides otherwise. The tale of Raja and Shanta,whose life takes turns with the entry of Raghu (Haranath). The AVM product has memorable musical score by the legendary composer, S. Rajeswara Rao
Director : M. Krishnan Nair
Starring : N. T. Rama Rao, Vanisri, Rajasree
Genres : Kids, Drama
Actor Nani’s sports drama Jersey was dubbed as ‘the most authentic sports drama in Telugu’ by critics. The Gowtam Tinnanuri directorial was a huge hit at the box office and garnered a career best opening for Nani.
The Bollywood remake rights of Jersey were recently sold. Bollywood biggie Karan Johar, who recently presented the Baahubali series in the North, bought the rights of Jersey to remake it in Hindi.
News has it, Karan just zeroed in on the documents for the Jersey remake and wants Gowtam Tinnanuri to direct the Hindi version as well.
Well, it seems Bollywood realised the talent burst in the South and wants to utilise it in Hindi. As Hindi movies already have cinematographers, makeup artists and scriptwriters from the South, now it is time for the directors to rule the roost in Bollywood.
Seems like the Sandeep Reddy Vanga effect, right?
Oh! Baby director Nandini Reddy revealed a new detail about her early experiences in Tollywood. Before she directed Ala Modalaindi, Nandini assisted ace director Krishna Vamsi, for movies like Murari and Antahpuram.
As a part of a freewheeling discussion, Nandini disclosed an interesting tidbit about her assistant life. When she assisted Krishna Vamsi for films like Chakram, she had a teenage crush on young Rebel Star Prabhas. Nandini added, she could not gather the courage to tell him personally she adored him a lot.
Nandini also stated, she always looked forward for a Prabhas movie, whenever it is released. She added, she is waiting for Saaho to release and savor Prabhas’ action hero avatar.
Megastar Chiranjeevi historical Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, completed its shooting on June 24th, 2019. Sharing the news, cinematographer of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Ratnavelu shared some pictures on his Twitter handle.
“Syeraa shooting completed !!Thanx to each n every member of Team Syeraa for their hard work n cooperation .A memorable journey indeed!! Movie has shaped out extremely well💪💪. Kick started the DI too 😊 @KonidelaPro @DirSurender(sic.)”
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is a pre-Independence historical tracing the journey of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, a freedom fighter of late 18th century,who fought the British in the Rayalaseema region. Nayantara plays the female lead opposite Chiranjeevi in the movie. Amit Trivedi is the music director to this Surender Reddy directorial.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is slated to an October release, in late 2019.
Ram Charan is the producer of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, under the home banner Konidela Productions.
Syeraa shooting completed !!Thanx to each n every member of Team Syeraa for their hard work n cooperation .A memorable journey indeed!! Movie has shaped out extremely well💪💪. Kick started the DI too 😊 @KonidelaPro @DirSurender pic.twitter.com/wjBZM3gZLE
— Rathnavelu ISC (@RathnaveluDop) June 24, 2019
Lady Superstar—people in the South mostly attach this title to Nayantara today, but few know, this title originally belonged to Vijayashanthi, the only heroine in the South who stood head and shoulders ahead of her contemporaries.
Her place was earned through constant self appraisal and retrospection in choice of her movies and also the amount of physical strain she undertook to do ‘non heroine’ like things like beating up goons and carrying out risky action sequences single handedly in movies like Karthavyam. The cop drama earned her the National Film Award for Best Actress in 1990.
Vijayashanthi turns 53 on June 24th, 2019 and is all set to regale her millions of fans with a fantastic comeback in Anil Ravipudi’s Sarileru Neekevvaru, which is a Mahesh Babu starrer.
The original Lady Superstar of the South
Vijayashanthi started her career in Tamil and starred in films driven by hero star value, till she found her foot as an upright lecturer, who stands for justice and is molested by politicians. She bounces back with vengeance on the political mafia. This, you find in the iconic film Prathighatana, which made Vijayashanthi and her firebrand persona a household name in South. It was for the first time a leading lady had a fiery persona who kills the villain in public for the misdeed he did to the society.
Her dialogues were sold as long playing records and cassettes in the late 1980s, not only in Tamil but in Telugu too, making her the first choice for women centric films. It would not be an understatement to say, Vijayashanthi gave directors and filmmakers scope for making women centric movies, with strong women characters.
Vijayashanthi proved her versatility starring opposite legends like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, holding her own in combination scenes with the two icons of the South. In Indrudu Chandrudu (1989,) she played a fun loving journalist,who unearths a political leader’s corrupt practices, alongside Kamal Haasan. In Mannan (1992,) she proved her mettle as an arrogant industrialist who chastises her worker, played by Rajinikanth, because he questions the injustice meted out to the working class. These films assured her place in the South as a nonpareil actress who could play any role with panache and assurance.
Karthavyam: The Lady Amitabh Bachchan garners national attention
Vijayashanthi’s biggest triumph and testimony to her subtle performing skills came in 1990, in the form of Karthavyam. This movie was a cop drama with her playing an extremely honest police officer who is undone by scheming politicians, but who bounces back to take revenge on them, legally. Vijayashanthi became a symbol of Durga, who performed stunts with such elan and vigor as impressively as the reigning superstars of the South or the North did. There was no heroine in the whole of Bollywood and the South who did any serious stunt sequences in their movies. This pioneering attempt by Vijayashanthi made her get the title ‘Lady Amitabh Bachchan.’
When Karthavyam won her the National Film Award For Best Actress, she stole the hearts of the national media, as the movie was dubbed into Hindi and released in the northern belt.
Senior IPS officer Kiran Bedi saw the movie and appreciated the cop role Vijayashanthi played to perfection, including the body language of a confident woman police officer.
Osey Ramulamma: The Superstardom Enhances
The legendary Dasari Narayana Rao made this path breaking movie about the exploitation of women in Telangana. In Osey Ramulamma, Vijayashanthi playing the role of Ramulamma, a poor, beautiful girl, who, upon attaining puberty, is sold to the local landlord as his serf, who provides sexual favours on his behest. Unable to bear this, one day, Ramulamma escapes and joins the naxalite movement and kills the zamindar and his son, who was her child.
The movie was a raging hit in Andhra Pradesh and won her both the State and Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Vijayashanthi became a legend, who carved her career on her own terms, making smart choices in her nearly four decade long film journey. Her last movie, before joining the political arena as a member of Parliament in 2004, was Nayudamma, which was in the making for years together due to her political campaigns. Vijayashanthi was deservedly bestowed with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 for her monumental body of work in the Indian film industry.
With Sarileru Neekevvaru gaining all the positive talk and love from her fans, who desperately want to see her on the silver screen, Vijayashanthi is raring to comeback, as she explains in her Twitter posts. She often declares her love for films in general and Tollywood, in particular.
Here’s wishing the Lady Superstar a happy birthday and homecoming! We are waiting for more from her!
Dr. Rajasekhar is always game for action entertainers, which became his forte right from the time he donned a cop role in Ankusam. He cemented a place in Tollywood with his angry young man roles.
Now, his latest movie Kalki, which hits the screens on June 28th, is said to be a serious action entertainer, which includes many stunts and investigative scenes. It is being said, Kalki will be another feather in the cap of Rajasekhar’s repertoire of action flicks.
Be it PSV Garuda Vega or the current movie Kalki, Rajasekhar’s strength lies in the fact he does not play roles which are outside his comfort zone. He remains a safe player who plays to his strengths, always.
Kalki is basically a film which is mounted on the strength of its plot and screenplay by Prasanth Varma. The man who made the awe inspiring Awe! is back at his directorial best in the movie. Going by the trailer and the action choreography in it, we can vouch for a tight thriller, with gripping visuals and sensible storytelling.
Insiders say, the movie has come out very well, with Rajasekhar seen in an uber cool avatar.
With an able supporting cast of Adah Sharma, Nanditha Swetha and Scarlett Wilson, the movie will be a mix of glamor and action. Senior actors Nassar and Ashutosh Rana play pivotal roles in Kalki.
Rajasekhar, who got a second life in Tollywood with his film PSV Garuda Vega, is eager to cement his place again as the go to man for playing an angry cop.
Rajasekhar’s fans are awaiting his arrival on June 28th, 2019.
Kabir Singh released to a warm reception from Bollywood. Both ardent fans and celebrities from the film fraternity heaped praises on the portrayal of a young doctor who has anger management issues. Many film folks felt Kabir Singh was the toughest role played by Shahid Kapoor in his 15 year old career studded with classics like Haider, Kaminey and Udta Punjab, in which he astounded people with his method acting.
Interestingly, the Hindi remake of the cult Telugu classic Arjun Reddy received a lot of brickbats from critics in the North, be it online or via print media. Most of the people felt Kabir Singh was misogynistic and projected toxic masculinity. Most of the so called feminist reviewers of Bollywood felt Kabir Singh showed how a girl is picked up from the group by a male, how he overpowers her with complete control over her body, mind and soul. This meek acceptance of the female lead to the virile manliness of the male who coveted her.
However, the reception in the South two years earlier was more forthcoming. Most of the critics, considered the ‘tough nuts’ to crack, gave Arjun Reddy a thumbs up for a refreshing image of a South hero, who is flawed and erroneous in his actions, just for love. The character of Arjun Reddy tries to satiate his sexual appetite by resorting to be with married girls, but cannot do THE thing, as he is haunted by the ‘pure’ unadulterated love for his lady, Preethi.
Where does the fault lie, then? Is it that the South reviewers are more magnanimous in their appraisal of a movie and do so with an open mind, or is it still the North South divide playing its ugly game in Hindi, because such a path breaking movie was created by a South director?
The Kabir Singh Predicament: Questions Answered
The main accusation of the Hindi critics was Kabir Singh portrayed women as toys to be used by the male machismo. The ‘male gaze’ played its part in making the role of Preethi, an ‘offering of sorts’ to the ‘love god’ Kabir Singh to be enjoyed, the critics opined.
It is interesting the same critics were praising the characterisation of Ranbir Kapoor playing a womanising starkid Sanjay Dutt in Sanju. Many critics from Bollywood’s so called elite club, gave Sanju 3 stars and dubbed Ranbir’s performance of a man who does a lot of crimes, both in public and private as a classic. Did they not find Sanju mouthing dialogues like “I do not remember the number of girls I had sex with,” loathful? Was it not a misogynistic portrayal at its height of absurdity? The critics who found it ‘excellent’ found the role of Kabir Singh, who says in one of his interactions with his friend Shiva, “How can you get your sister married to one who objectifies a woman for her colour and physical appearance?” a symbol of toxic masculinity! Moreover, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, the man who successfully translated his vision in not one, but two languages, showed his man Arjun Reddy in a manner which is truly respectful to women, other than the girl with whom he chooses to live forever. Look at the interactions Kabir Singh has with Preethi too, who agrees to sleep with him out of love, but he desists from doing so because she utters the word ‘love.’ Is this a symbolic representation of masculinity at its worst?
The coming of age drama Befikre, which openly celebrated unbridled sex and debauchery was given a raising rating by critics like Anupama Chopra and they find Kabir Singh not even worth a watch? Is it okay to exhibit open ‘friends with benefits’ roles by people in web series like Made In Heaven and Four More Shots Please? They were lauded as high points in upholding liberty and freedom of an individual to do what they want. There were random hookups shown in the series, with women taking the lead for one night stands. Did not the critics find it problematic? Is the hypocrisy raising its ugly head in Bollywood, with double standards while dissecting a Rajkumar Hirani movie and a Sandeep Reddy Vanga movie? If this is the truth, it is unfortunate.
The Constitution of India, in its chapter on fundamental rights, states, one’s freedom of expression cannot be taken back at any cost, till it causes a threat to the other individual or a group. Did Kabir Singh cause such a threat to people’s sentiments or that of women’s?
Well, the audience, be it from the North or the South, are not known to fake their opinions. They are the ultimate deciders of a film’s fate and in the case of Kabir Singh, they loved the movie and Kabir Singh’s character. We hope the critics in the North develop an eclectic view of cinema as a medium which gives one freedom to portray various models of heroism and not to stick to the ‘righteous’ model of a hero. Though there were flawed heroes in the past too, the acceptance of people is what makes one like the movie. Kabir Singh, in this respect, a complete winner, with the audience giving the film a rousing acceptance.
Critics, well, are now left to fend for themselves and should do some soul searching, which will help them in having a relook at their myopic view of the notion of what masculinity stands for and what true feminism means.
In reality, true feminism does not do away with the male, but asks for an equal role in the life and relationship of the pair, which Kabir Singh truly provides.
Superstar Mahesh Babu lauded the efforts of the Telugu Filmnagar team, for their relentless hard work and pursuit of news dissemination. The reason was Telugu Filmnagar reached a whopping one million followers on their Instagram page.
The Maharshi star took to his Instagram page to congratulate Team Telugu Filmnagar for the great achievement.
“Congratulations [email protected] on surpassing 1million followers on Instagram and becoming the No1 entertainment brand in South India.Best wishes to the team 👍(sic.) “
Team Telugu Filmnagar always strives to give reliable, quality information about the world of Tollywood. It means a lot that Mahesh Babu follows the website and the social media pages of Telugu Filmnagar. His wishes will further invigorate the strength of this happening portal of Tollywood.
Team TFN convey their heartfelt thanks for the wishes from the man who made Tollywood proud by his movies and personality.
Nithiin is busy shooting for his new movie with Venky Kudumula, which is titled Bheeshma. Now, he signed a new movie with Venky Atluri, under the banner of Sithara Entertainments, produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamshi. The movie title was revealed on June 24th, 2019.
Rang De is the title of this Nithiin starrer, in which he co stars with the Mahanati actress, Keerthy Suresh.
Apart from this, Nithiin also launched his new movie with seasoned director Chandrasekhar Yeleti on June 23rd, 2019, in which Rakul Preet Singh and Priya Prakash Warrier play the leading ladies.
Legendary cameraman P.C. Sriram will handle the camerawork for Rang De. Interestingly, the title Rang De is taken from the opening lines of a song from Nithiin’s movie A Aa. Rang De will be a romantic genre movie.
Sai Tej is on a high, post Chitralahari becoming a hit. He is looking forward to his next venture with unique director Maruthi. The movie, titled Prati Roju Pandage, was launched on June 24th, 2019 in Hyderabad Film Nagar Temple complex. This movie happens to be the 12th movie in the career of Sai Tej.
The Geetha Arts banner is bankrolling the project, along with UV Creations. The leading lady of Prati Roju Pandage is Rashi Khanna. S.S. Thaman scores the music for this family drama. Sai Tej has a good reputation of performing in family dramas like Subramanyam For Sale (2015) previously, in which he excelled.
Prati Roju Pandage is slated for a late 2019 release, sources said.
Tamil superstar Ilayathalapathy Vijay is commonly billed to be the next big thing in Kollywood, after Rajinikanth. With fans’ constant support and adulation, Vijay rose from a normal looking boy next door to the level of Thalapathy, from Ilayathalapathy.
As Vijay turns 45 on June 22nd, his fans and admirers have a thing or two to celebrate. Vijay’s latest movie, his 63rd, is in shooting stages. As a birthday gift to Vijay, the title of this Atlee directorial was revealed and it is Bigil.
Vijay is from a filmy family, with his father S.A. Chandrasekhar being a well known director and producer. Vijay started his filmy career as a child star in his father’s films, then switched on to playing an action hero late in his career. His career is marked by many hits, which also included Tamil remakes of Mahesh Babu’s movies, including Okkadu (2003) and Pokiri (2006.)
As Vijay celebrates his 45th birthday, let us have a look at his five important career defining movies.
1. Poove Unakkaga (1996)
This romantic comedy film, for the first time showcased Vijay’s impeccable comic timing, with an ensemble cast. As a crossbreed born into a Hindu-Christian families, Vijay donned the role of Raja, a youth who reunites his maternal and paternal families. The movie was the first biggest hit of Vijay’s career, which made him a lovable guy in the Tamil families. This was a stepping stone which gave Vijay the license to dive into action image. The movie was remade into Telugu as Subhakankshalu (1997.)
2. Kushi (2000)
This S.J. Suryah directorial gave Vijay an undisputed position in the commercial market of Kollywood as the ever bankable star. The Jyothika-Vijay pair literally created a huge impact on the youth. Vijay’s persona as a dancing star was firmly established in this movie. He played a college youth, Shiva, who falls for his childhood sweetheart, Jenny (Jyothika.) The way Vijay emoted his role, with the required panache, spawned an array of remakes, including the Telugu one with Pawan Kalyan, Khushi (2001.)
3. Ghilli (2004)
The official remake of Mahesh Babu’s magnum opus Okkadu (2003,) Ghilli gave Vijay a place in the Tamil hearts, next only to Rajinikanth. Vijay suddenly found himself being worshipped as a demigod, with rituals and ceremonies on the day of his movie releases. In fact, Mahesh Babu was an unseen force in making Vijay a superstar in Tamil Nadu, as he is the only Tamil hero who made the largest Tamil remakes of Mahesh Babu’s.
4. Pokkiri (2007)
Telugu legend Mahesh Babu’s Pokiri (2006) inspired Vijay to remake it in Tamil, with Asin as the main lead pair. The special aspect of any Vijay film is the fact, one identifies the movie with Vijay and not with any director. This aspect was achieved by only Rajinikanth previously. The movie cemented Vijay’s place as the next superstar, after Rajinikanth. It is another fact he still remains ‘the prince in waiting.’
5. Thuppakki (2012)
This film by A.R. Murugadoss, an action thriller, added a unique aspect to Vijay’s film oeuvre. The film still remains the highest grossing movie of Vijay till date. The cop drama, featuring Kajal Aggarwal and Vijay, is particularly noted for its great screenplay. Vijay’s role as an Intelligence officer in Army who fights for the nation’s cause was a big hit with the audience and Vijay became a deified god by now.
2019 will see Vijay add another dimension to his repertoire, in the form of Bigil, the name of which indicates it is a sports drama. In fact, Vijay plays both an elderly man in his 60s and a young football player, who is the patriarch of the household.
Fans’ frenzy for Bigil has started and will not die down till the ‘bigil’ is blown about the release date.
Saaho, the most awaited movie if 2019, is slated to release on August 15th, 2019. The film is completing its final schedule in June. Currently, Team Saaho is busy shooting some scenes and a song in Austria.
Prabhas and team enjoyed a cable ride in the mountains of Austria and the pictures are adorable. Shraddha Kapoor’s hair stylist, Nikita Menon, posted on her Instagram pictures of the team enjoying a cable ride in the mountains.
Saaho is a joint production by T-Series, UV Productions and Dharma Productions and will be a multilingual release (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.) An interesting aspect of Saaho is, Prabhas dubbed his lines in Hindi for the first time. This is his token of love for the people of the north who adored his Bahubali avatar in the eponymous S.S. Rajamouli epic.
Vijay Deverakonda is well known for his witty one liners and quirky lifestyle. The Dear Comrade star knows how to flaunt his body and his PR skills are legendary.
The South sensation is now shooting for his new movie with director Kranthi Madhav, which has three leading ladies namely, Rashi Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh and Isabelle Leite, a well known Brazilian model based in Mumbai.
The yet to be titled movie has Aishwarya Rajesh, Rashi Khanna and Brazilian model Isabelle Leite. Now, the K.S. Rama Rao product is in its second schedule, with shooting going on in Paris.
Now, a picture of Vijay Deverakonda and Isabelle in a cuddly pose is doing the rounds on the net, with fans of Vijay Deverakonda wanting more from the stylish star.
In fact, Isabelle tweeted about her ‘memorable’ shooting schedule in France.
“had such a beautiful time in France, full of new experiences . feeling blessed ! already missing everything and everyone who crossed my path.
now back in Brazil to enjoy my family for sometime. 🇧🇷💚🍀(sic.)”
We know Vijay is a flamboyant man and we know it, don’t we?
had such a beautiful time in France, full of new experiences . feeling blessed ! already missing everything and everyone who crossed my path.
now back in Brazil to enjoy my family for sometime. 🇧🇷💚🍀— Izabelle Leite (@izabelleleite25) June 20, 2019
The Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial Kabir Singh, a remake of his Telugu original Arjun Reddy, opened to a whopping reception at the box office. This Shahid Kapoor-Kiara Advani starrer released on June 21st, 2019 and opened to a stupendous thumbs up from both the cinegoers and the critics alike.
Reports say, Kabir Singh has kept the soul of Arjun Reddy intact and Shahid Kapoor performed exceptionally well in the movie. Many critics already rated Kabir Singh as the most difficult role played by Shahid and the greatest performance of his film career.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga already planted a base in Mumbai with this movie and reports added, he may produce another movie with Shahid, who is head on heels impressed by Sandeep Reddy’s commitment and dedication to his art.
South sensation Vijay Deverakonda is all set to regale his zillions of fans from July 26th with his latest movie, Dear Comrade.The Bharat Kamma directorial has a lilting musical score by Justin Prabhakaran. All the three lyrical videos of Dear Comrade are a hit with people, starting from Nee Neeli Kallalona and Kadalalle Veche Kanule, to the just released Gira Gira.
Now, as the movie is going to be released in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam, Team Dear Comrade is leaving no stone unturned to make it a celebration of sorts for Vijay’s fans.
Malayalam superstar Dulquer Salmaan, who worked with Vijay on Mahanati, recorded a song for the Malayalam version of Dear Comrade. Reports say, Justin Prabhakaran and the team felt Dulquer’s voice was suited for a montage solo depicting Vijay Deverakonda. So, they recorded a song on June 20th, 2019. Dulquer is a good singer, who tested his vocal chords under the musical guidance of Gopi Sundar for the Malayalam movies Charlie and Bangalore Days.
Dulquer readily agreed and sang for his dear friend Vijay. Dulquer Salmaan and Vijay Deverakonda are giving serious friendship goals to cine folks, are they not?
Sherlock Holmes is a favourite crime investigator of all time. Hollywood explored the theme to the T, by producing movies and web series about the legendary fictitious character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Now, we have our own Telugu Sherlock Holmes, as Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya proclaims in his movie Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya. Telugu cinema did not exploit the detective genre, except for a few cases like Anveshana and Detective Narada, a Mohan Babu starrer.
Now we have a native Nellore detective in the form of Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya.
Swaroop R.S.J. is the director of this movie, with an ardent devotion and love to this genre of movie.
Movie Details:
Cast: Naveen Polishetty, Shruthi Sharma, Suhaas, Sandeep Raj
Direction: Swaroop R.S.J
Music: Mark K. Robin
Story:
Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya (Naveen Polishetty) runs a private detective agency named Fathima Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) in Nellore. He does not have any serious cases generally, but works for the local police, to solve petty cases.
One day, he is informed by his friend Sirish, a crime reporter, about the discovery of corpses of orphans in the suburban area of Nellore. This makes Sai Srinivasa Athreya to seriously investigate the case in private. Athreya himself gets caught in the case as one of the accused under mysterious conditions.
While in jail, Athreya comes across a person, an old man serving a jail term, who explains how his daughter was raped and killed by miscreants while he was serving his jail term. He also shares the phone numbers of three persons, who called his daughter before she was murdered.
Athreya is released on bail and starts seriously researching about the case of the old man. He manages to find the addresses of two members. While he is on search for the third person, the other two are murdered. Athreya is again considered as a suspect in this murder case too. He is again arrested and taken to custody. How does Sai Srinivasa Athreya come out from this predicament? How does he prove he is innocent in both the cases? Who were the culprits who killed the young girl? Whose was the third phone number? The investigation about these aspects forms the rest of the movie’s plot.
Review:
This is an out and out Naveen Polishetty show. With his swag, humor, witty one liners and emotional outpours at the required moments, Naveen proves again he comes from the great school of Sekhar Kammula. Right from picking up the Nellore dialect, to hilarious comic timing, Naveen springs life into the character of Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya. He is ably supported by his assistant Sneha (Shruthi Sharma,) who shares a sparkling chemistry with him in all the scenes of the movie. Other supporting staff do their job well to the required level.
The brilliant screenplay and direction of Swaroop R.S.J., are a plus to the movie. Combined with the intriguing musical score of Mark K. Robin, Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya is a treat to watch.
For the Telugu cinegoers who crave for a clean detective thriller, this is one to savor.
Go and watch it, give it a miss at your own peril!
Telugu movies are being remade in many other languages these days, noted for their commercial value and box office merit. It is unusual for a non Telugu movie being remade into Telugu. First Rank Raju, which is an official Kannada remake of the movie of the same name is one such movie. In the Kannada version, Gurunandan played the role of a studious guy who revels in bookish knowledge and does not have any other sentiments, including love, friendship, etc. The Telugu version, a Chetan Maddineni starrer, is a laughter riot, which stands on the merit of original screenplay by Naresh Kumar H.N. Most of the movie plays on the naivete of Raju and his tryst with realities of life.
Movie Details:
Cast: Chetan Maddineni, Kashish Vohra, Prakash Raj, Naresh and Vennela Kishore
Direction: Naresh Kumar H.N.
Music: Kiran Ravindranath
Story:
Raju (Chetan Maddineni) is brought up in a way which says ‘bookish knowledge is better than world knowledge,’ by his first rank obsessed parents, mostly his father (Naresh.) One day, Raju is taken to an astrologer, who professes Raju would be a dud in studies and will be a failure in life. To prove the prophecy wrong, Raju’s father instills in him a passion and a madness for securing the first rank in any exam or event he takes part in the school.
Raju lives up to his parents’ wishes and secures the top spot in academics from then. However, the fact is, he is too immersed into his bookish knowledge, he does not know how to do even small daily chores like bringing grocery or simple housekeeping. His innocence attracts Sruthi (Kashish Vohra) to him in the college, but his misgivings in understanding her love make him spurn her love.
Raju attends an interview, in campus selection division, on the verge of his completion of engineering course. He gets rejected by the MNC (multi national corporation,) which rejects him despite him performing successfully in the interview and answering well. His father is aghast by the boy’s failure for the first time and argues with the MNC owner (Prakash Raj,) who explains the lacunae of Raju as his bookish knowledge and lack of communication. This makes Raju realise his misgivings and he starts his life afresh by mending his ways and expanding his horizons. How does he do this? The next phase of First Rank Raju explores this aspect.
Review:
Naresh Kumar H.N. is a master storyteller. He fills his screenplay with lighter moments in between, so that the audience does not feel the lag in any part of the movie. Chetan Maddineni ably plays the role of a bookish student to the demands of the director His interactions with Vennela Kishore are hilarious. The sequences where Raju interacts with Sruthi (Kashish Vohara,) the girl who loves him, are a testimony to Raju’s unreceptiveness and naive behavior.
Naresh and Prakash Raj are veterans who do their part perfectly as the father and the MNC owner respectively. The background score by Kiran Ravindranath provides just the right amount of backup for the comedy genre.
First Rank Raju is worth a watch, go for it this weekend!
Telugu cinema in the post 2000s era focussed more on the commercial aspect of making a movie a saleable product. This fact applies to every movie across which we come. Now, psychological thrillers in Telugu are a rarity, with films like Game Over, which recently dealt with themes like the anniversary effect and mental trauma.
Here we have a ‘special movie’ named Special, perhaps to indicate the marvellous screenplay, which is rendered special by its crisp cuts and taking of shots. The main protagonist of Special is a young man who can read the minds of the people he comes across with a mere touch, a handshake to be precise. The movie focuses on his role in a new angle as a vigilante who helps the police in solving many uncrackable cases with his intelligence.
Movie Details:
Cast: Ranga, Ajay and Akshata
Direction: Vastav
Music: N.V.S. Manyam
Cinematography: P. Amar Kumar
Story:
Ranga (Ranga) is a young medical student, born with a special hereditary ability. He is blessed with psychopathy, an ability to read the minds of any living being, be it a person or an animal, by mere touch, including by shaking hands with them. This power attracts many people to him. A fellow student, Akshata, falls for him and expresses her love to him. Ranga wants to focus on his career and not be in a relationship. Akshata finally proposes to him on her birthday. Ranga shakes hands with her and knows her thoughts. He invites her to a five star hotel for a treat. Akshata comes to the hotel before the stipulated time and finds a gang of inebriated men, who were friends of Ranga. When she tries to avoid them, they overpower her and gang rape her. They then throw her on the terrace and leave. She dies eventually, unattended in the Hotel.
Ranga reaches the hotel to find his lady love in a brutally bleeding condition. He takes her for medication and vows to take revenge on all the culprits.
Ranga hatches a plan and injects cancer causing chemicals cleverly into the limbs of the culprits, making them immobile, like living vegetables.
Here comes Ajay, a tough police officer who is entrusted with solving the case of Akshata. In the course of his investigation, he finds out the truth about the masterplan of the mind reading medico, in avenging those people who brutally killed his lover. How Ajay cracks the case forms the core of the story.
Review:
The main strength of Special lies in the ‘never seen before’ screenplay with a clear cut method of storytelling. Most of the story is told in the form of a flashback, with intercuts through the eyes of the police officer who cracked the case. Ajay is menacing and caring at the same time, with his powerful dialogue rendering. He brings credibility and poise to the character of a cop. Similarly, the main catalyst of Special is the character of Ranga, who is the mind reader. His identity is always kept a secret till the end to retain the intrigue and suspense in the script. The rest of the supporting cast do their job well.
The chasing scenes, including the one with Ajay and the culprits, are really interesting. The camerawork by Amar Kumar adds to the racy pace of the movie.
Special is a special film which deserves special attention!
Democracy is a term which encompasses equal rights and opportunity to every individual, but in reality, the ideal is the most misused and misinterpreted one. The elected representatives who become rulers due to the people, at the end of the day, exploit them at the cost of delivering justice. Films focussing on this theme are very few and Voter, as the name suggests, is a welcome addition to it.
The film discusses about vigilante activism of a young man disillusioned by the corrupt democracy. Voter is the story of how a young man wins over a corrupt politician in the process of getting his lady love.
Movie Details:
Cast: Manchu Vishnu, Surbhi, Nassar, Sampath Raj and Posani Krishna Murali
Direction: G.S. Karthik
Music: S.S. Thaman
Story:
Manchu Vishnu is a young college student, who falls for Surbhi at the college day celebrations. He is also un upright individual who fights for justice. When Vishnu approaches Surbhi, she accepts his love, but there comes a problem. Surbhi’s father, Nassar, is an extremely honest public worker, who exposes the land encroachment of a local politician, played by Sampath Raj.
This makes the politician create problems for Nassar and his family, with Surbhi reaching out to Vishnu for help. As a responsible voter and a man who cannot stand injustice, how does Vishnu deal with the man in a democratic method? How does he overcome the difficulties in his way? The answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
Review:
Voter is a movie which stands on its performances and dialogues. The story by G.S. Karthik makes up for a politically relevant cinema. The protagonist role, played by Manchu Vishnu, is molded well by the director. The scenes where the hero and the villain, played by Sampath Raj, confront are massy and the dialogues about the importance of voters and their votes, which can make or break a politician, are invoked well in the movie.
Nassar is a veteran and he does justice to the role of a sensible man who encourages the hero in fighting injustice against the politician.
Voter is a movie which tells the harsh truths of politics and the level to which a politician stoops to get votes. In the end, the movie is to be taken as a mouthpiece for clean democracy and a symbol of voter power.
Voter is a movie which any citizen would enjoy watching for its theme!
Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya Movie Review: The #NaveenPolishetty Starrer Offers An Interesting Watch! https://t.co/VQSU4h2RFc #AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya #AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreyaReview
— Filmibeat.com (@filmibeat) June 21, 2019
#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya Review by @123telugu
Rating: 3.25
verdict: Novel and Impressive https://t.co/jz04btG6ss@NaveenPolishety @Shrutii_Sharmaa #KRobinson @swarooprsj @RahulYadavNakka @Swadharm_Ent #AgentSSAinTheaters— Vamsi-Shekar (@UrsVamsiShekar) June 21, 2019
చాలా రోజుల తర్వాత ఒకే రోజు విడుదలై హిట్ అయిన తెలుగు సినిమాలు 👈👈#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya – 3/5 👍#Mallesham – 3.40/5 👌👌
— #Akhil4 (@JagaNagAkhilFan) June 21, 2019
@NaveenPolishety annaaaaa🙏🙏🙏🙏
Em teesaranna cinema…
Best thriller in Tollywood till date anna😍😍😍😍#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya— Rishified😍 (@urstrulyDHFSSMB) June 21, 2019
#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya review pic.twitter.com/TVjHqXVe5r
— dileep kandula (@dileepkandula) June 21, 2019
@NaveenPolishety @swarooprsj AgentMani reporting from Chicago. Just now watched the movie and enjoyed it thoroughly. Naveen bro u killed it. #AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya
— [email protected] reddy (@manikyreddy) June 21, 2019
“Sherlock Holmes fictional character Ra. E Sai Srinivas Athreya original!” @NaveenPolishety ease 👌🙏
Congratulations @RahulYadavNakka @swarooprsj and the whole team.#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya— Naveen (@Naveen5665) June 21, 2019
Superb performance from @NaveenPolishety
Fresh, hilarious and engaging 👍👍👍
Saaho vachevaraku kummutadi#AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya https://t.co/gjEONKxK9G
— Bhargav_cherryMSD™ (@bhargavcherryy) June 21, 2019
Oh HOW I loved his screen presence and energy. I really really hope we get to watch a lot more of @NaveenPolishety in Telugu. A really fresh film, do go watch it. #AgentSaiSrinivasaAthreya
— Vidya Sivalenka (@vidyasivalenka) June 21, 2019
#FirstRankRaju #RajTheRockstar ela ayyaadu?
Don’t miss watching the hilarious entertainer ‘First Rank Raju’ at your nearest theatres!Ft #ChetanMaddineni #Kashishvohra
Directed by #NareshKumarHN
Produced By #ManjunathVKandkur
Music by #KiranRavindranath#FirstRankRajuinTheatres pic.twitter.com/cVmMDONDBY— Telugu FilmNagar (@telugufilmnagar) June 21, 2019
Fun & Crazy talk with first Rank Raju Movie Team #MoviePromotions#footupWithMaheshMachidi #Chetan_meddineni #kashish_vohra #ramya#MaheshMachidi😎
chetanmaddineni kkashish_vohraa ramyaapasupuleti I… https://t.co/VaA0bCveOs
— Mahesh Machidi (@MaheshMachidi17) June 20, 2019
Every student must watch this movie with their parents!!
100% entertainer #FirstRankRaju releasing today
ft #ChetanMaddineni, #Kashishvohra
Directed by #NareshKumarHN
Produced By #ManjunathVKandkur pic.twitter.com/1ez0HUcfA3— BARaju (@baraju_SuperHit) June 21, 2019
.@actorchetan talks about everything you need to know about his upcoming #FirstRankRaju https://t.co/KDK3a1Zk11
— Hyderabad Times (@HydTimes) June 20, 2019
Political entertainer #Voter now in your nearest theaters 👆@iVishnuManchu @Surbhiactress
Produced by #JohnSudheerPudhota in #RAMAReels.
Directed by #GSKarthik
A @MusicThaman Musical #VoterNowInTheatres pic.twitter.com/PUq48VjCPH— Telugu FilmNagar (@telugufilmnagar) June 21, 2019
This is a good start. Let’s hope California’s voter laws can continue to make it harder for the crooked ballot harvesters and outright cheaters. Thanks Judicial Watch!#Voter #VoterFraud #WWG1WGA https://t.co/0BQzzs1083
— ReactionDude (@reactiondude) June 20, 2019
When power fails, a voter will arise releasing today #Voter movie
Book tickets in your nearest theaters
Book My Show https://t.co/GwiWE83prD
Paytm:https://t.co/eG4WPnEpLLStarring @ivishnumanchu @Surbhi
Produced by #JohnSudheerPudhota
Directed by #GSKarthik #VoterOnJune21st— filmtelugu.com (@FilmteluguC) June 21, 2019
Authentic biopics are almost a rarity these days. Most of the flicks either glorify the protagonist or bring their role down. However, some biopics present just the right perspective, by portraying the true struggles some great people endure, to make the lives of people better.
Mallesham is one of a kind in the biopic genre, which centres around the life and times of Chintakindi Mallesham, who pioneered the Laxmi spinning machine for women to spin yarn, which women from these families used to do manually.
Movie Details:
Cast: Priyadarshi, Jhansi and Ananya
Direction: Raj Rachakonda
Music: Mark Robin
Cinematography: Balu
Story:
Mallesham (Priyadarshi) stops his studies with the 7th grade, due to the financial difficulties his family faces because of a lull in the yarn industry. One day, he finds out his mother’s (Jhansi) shoulder bones have worn out due to the continuous spinning of yarn manually for the delivery of raw material for sarees. Doctors advise complete rest, but to make the household run smoothly, Mallesham joins his parents’ business of cotton and silk yarn spinning.
Blessed with strong technical knowledge about machines, Mallesham decides to invent a yarn spinning machine. To make it a reality, he takes loans from his village people. Years pass by, but his machine is still a paper dream and the villagers start picking up disputes with him for fooling them with a mere plan of changing their lives with a spinning machine.
How does Mallesham overcome these odds to invent the machine which he eventually did? This forms the rest of the story.
Review:
Mallesham is raw and uninhabited. The tone and tenor of the movie is serious with all the characters performing well in their roles. Priyadarshi is the pivot on which this movie stands and he does not disappoint us. The amount of care he took to learn spinning yarn and the way he delivers it on screen is amazing. Ananya, as Mallesham’s wife who understands him well to let him realise his dream, is a star in the making. She does her work with minimal dialogues and conveys a plethora of expressions through her lovely eyes.
The lone winner of the movie cast is Jhansi, who mastered her histrionic skills under the guidance of Tanikella Bharani. As an understanding mother of Mallesham, Jhansi delivers a heart rending performance. The scenes between Jhansi and Priyadarshi are a class apart.
The camerawork of Balu combined, with the soulful background music by Mark Robin, makes Mallesham a lovable guy to everyone and the fact he is a Telangana icon is another aspect of pride to each Telugu.
Mallesham is a must watch!
Watched this inspiring, beautiful & extraordinary story of an ordinary man #Mallesham. It’s a Must watch with family n children. Hats off to director Raj R & @priyadarshi_i, Jhansi, Ananya &remaining artists for their wonderful performance. #SriAdhikari @vrsiddareddy @markkrobin pic.twitter.com/uiimbsO27M
— Madhura Sreedhar Reddy (@madhurasreedhar) June 21, 2019
#Mallesham – The story of a man so inspiring. @priyadarshi_i and I started off together and it is a proud moment to see him take-up and lead a story that many wouldn’t dare take-up. Immense respect for the director, producers and all the amazing actors in this one. (3/4)
— Vijay Deverakonda (@TheDeverakonda) June 20, 2019
My review of #Mallesham: I liked how the director, Raj, transports us to a milieu we don’t often see in Telugu cinema, to narrate a tale of tenacity & triumph. And, it’s @priyadarshi_i‘s finest performance till date.https://t.co/2VOLl3VH6a pic.twitter.com/2M7ARtNzeN
— sangeetha devi (@Sangeetha_Devi) June 20, 2019
#Mallesham Good first half. Everything looks rooted and authentic(well done art dept). Each and every feeling/emotion hits you instantly thanks to #MarkRobin BGM.
Wish there were more stakes though
— Thyview (@Thyview) June 21, 2019
#Mallesham in New Jersey…
Inspiring movie. Proud of the whole team’s effort. This movie portrayed that one should never give up and continue working hard to achieve their dreams!
Good job guys 👏😊👏 pic.twitter.com/z8AbNz4O65— Lavanya Boopalam (@realtorlavanya) June 21, 2019
A beautiful movie..loved Priyadarshi ,jhansi garu and Ananya ‘s performance..Happy to sing few songs in this film..go and watch it in theatres..#mallesham
K Mark Robins— srikrishna (@srikrisin) June 21, 2019
#Mallesham loved it, absolutely loved it . Simple and honest storytelling . And what an actor @priyadarshi_i is , you feel his happiness , frustration, hopelessness and his triumph . Every actor fits the bill perfectly . climax is so wonderfully executed.
Thyview Rating : 8/10
— Thyview (@Thyview) June 21, 2019
#mallesham
Anna hit kottinav@priyadarshi_i @vrsiddareddy
Hearing fantastic words from everyone— Thimmaraj Niyantha Pasupeti (@Shadow_Of_TNP) June 21, 2019
Good movies come rarely,Book your ticket to #Mallesham don’t miss this wonderful movie. All the best to #Mallesham team . — feeling happy
— Keshavdeepak (@keshavdeepak1) June 21, 2019
Synopsis:
The Classic of K. Balachander explores the 1970’s unemployment of India, where its youth remained jobless, despite being qualified. Aakali Rajyam tells this story through Ranga and Devi (Kamal Haasan and Sridevi).
Director: K. Balachander
Starring: Kamal Haasan, Sridevi, Prathap K Pothan
Genres: Drama, Comedy
