TELUGU CINEMASS: August 2013

Aug 26, 2013

Aug 25, 2013

Anthaku Mundu Aa Tharuvatha Movie Review

Cast: Sumanth Ashwin, Esha, Rao Ramesh, Rohini, Roja, Ravi Babu
Direction: Mohan Krishna Indraganti
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 31 minutes

Story: Despite being in love, Anil (Sumanth) and Ananya (Esha) can't figure out if they are really made for each other. So they decide to live in together to find out.

Movie Review: Good old fashioned, syrupy, well intentioned romance - that is free of innuendos and double entendres i.e. - has become a rarity in Tollywood off late. This movie offers a surfeit of such moments. In what turns out to be their second date, Ananya takes Anil to a hill overlooking Hi-Tech city on a moonlit night and serves him instant noodles and coffee, just to help the guy understand the meaning of romantic outing. The couple spends the night just admiring the night sky.

In another episode, Anil drives out to a far away lotus pond on a rainy morning, takes a swim, gathers some choicest lotuses just to wish Ananya (who is watching it all via a video call) happy birthday after which a rain song follows.

It isn't just the romance but the characters are honey dipped as well. Anil is the son of a wealthy flower merchant from Rajamundry, who moves to Hyderabad ostensibly to expand their business. In reality though, he just wants and to live up the city life. Anil is attracted to Ananya the moment he sees her when a focus light lands on her face, while she is helping set up the light ambience of a wedding mandap. A string few honey dipped romantic episodes and songs later the duo admits love to each other and then comes the twist in the tale when Ananya comes up the subject of marriage.

Doubts begin to crop up. Are they really made for each other? Will romance last a life time? So they decide to play "amma nanna aata" (Telugu for that game children play where they act as a married couple). They move into an apartment to live together and find out if they are compatible enough to last a life together and soon the romance begins to make way for acrimony. Meanwhile their respective parents also have their share of marriage issues which only complicate matters.

Simply put the filmmaker has designed the movie like an academic thesis on what constitutes romantic compatibility, starting from courtship, commitment, living in and marriage.

The writing is simple, sharp, witty and hard hitting depending on the situation. The boldness and maturity with which issues of premarital sex, women's menstrual cycles is commendable. The artwork in the movie also deserves a special mention as well. Every property used looks very real and adds that sense of believability to the proceedings. The visuals are pleasing much like the music. Both Sumanth and Esha have carried off their roles very believably and fit the bill perfectly. It all adds up to make a pleasant viewing experience.

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Divya Bharti’s Cousin Debuts in 'Grand Masti'

‘Jwala and I are just friends’: Actor Harshavardhan Rane

‘Jwala and I are just friends’: Harshavardhan Rane

Ace shuttler Jwala Gutta with actor Harshavardhan Rane

Actor Harshavardhan Rane Interview

Actor Harshavardhan Rane finds it amusing that people are talking about him seeing ace badminton player Jwala Gutta and that recently she gifted him a Volvo. “As a matter of principle I don’t accept expensive gifts from anyone. My middle-class mind-set doesn’t allow me to even dream of such luxuries. It’s her car and people might have seen me behind the wheels when I drove her home after a tiring practice session,” says the Avunu star. Talking about their link-up rumours, he says, “These rumours are not true. I had ignored them as I did not want to talk about our friendship before the media. However, I would now like to put the record straight that we are just good friends.”

Stating that he likes spending time with his “friend”, Rane adds, “She is a great person and time just flies when she is around. She is full of smiles and is a stress buster,” he adds. About the two being seen together quite a few times, he says, “Can’t you go out with your friend?” “Basically I am a home bird and am reluctant to go out for dinners or parties, so once in a while when I do venture out, it’s blown out of proportion,” he explains, adding, “Rana Daggubati is another of my close friends in T-town.”

After Jwala’s item number in Gunde Jari Gallanthainde, would she pursue acting any further? Rane thinks not. “I could sense that she was nervous and uneasy in that song and wasn’t comfortable wearing make-up and film costumes. I don’t think she will pursue acting seriously since she is a world-class shuttler and has a lot left to achieve in her field,” he clarifies. Meanwhile Rane’s film career is thriving. He is excited about signing a three-film deal with director Madhura Sreedhar and producer M.V.K. Reddy. “I can only reveal that I have signed a three-film deal and have discovered that corporatisation of T-town is on its way” he explains. He adds that he is excited to work with director Sekar Kammula in the Telugu / Tamil film Anamika, the remake of the Kahaani. “Working with directors like Sekar Kammula is like a dream come true,” he says.

Rane, however, regrets that he missed out on a negative role in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela. “I got the offer last year but I couldn’t allot 100-days to play the main antagonist in the big-ticket entertainer,” he concludes.

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Jr NTR Missed Balakrishna's daughter Wedding

Why did Jr NTR and dad Harikrishna skip Balakrishna's daughter Tejaswini's wedding?

Nandamuri Balakrishna's Daughter Tejaswini's Wedding Photos

Jr NTR skipped the wedding, while his brother Kalyan Ram attended

Adding fuel to the rumour about the rift within the Nandamuri family, actor Jr NTR and his father Nandamuri Harikrishna skipped the wedding of Balakrishna’s younger daughter Tejeswini with Sri Bharath, held on Wednesday in Hitex grounds. The two stayed away from the grand function though our sources confirm that both were in the country. Jr NTR preferred to attend the shooting his film rather than attending the wedding of Balayya’s daughter. When contacted, his manager only said, “He is busy shooting for his upcoming film 'Ramayya Vastavayya'.” The film’s producer Dil Raju corroborated, “We shot the climax scenes of the film at Ramoji Film City on Wednesday as part of the last day of the schedule. The unit will shortly head to Spain where the schedule is from August 28 to September 5. Samantha and Shruti Haasan will also join us. We’re going to shoot two songs there, one on Samantha and the other on Shruti.”

When contacted, Nandamuri Harikrishna clarified, “I’m in Delhi. I can’t say anything more as of now. I’ll open up about it later. I’m happy for their wedding.” While the father-son duo was absent, the irony was the presence of Kalyan Ram, Harikrishna’s elder son and brother of Jr NTR, who shares a great bond with Balayya. The other person whose absence was conspicuous was Balakrishna’s step mother Lakshmi Parvathi. Sources said that she was not invited at all. Nagarjuna, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Rana, Rajamouli, Naga Chaitanya and many other stars were also absent as it was apparently strictly an affair between Balakrishna’s fans and him.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu Governor and former AP chief minister K. Rosaiah’s “brief interaction” caught everyone’s attention at the function. Among the other celebrities and politicians present were Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Mohan Babu, Lakshmi Manchu, Murali Mohan, Ramanaidu, Krishna, Vijay Nirmala, Revanth Reddy, Lagadapati Rajagopal, Jana Reddy, Jagapathi Babu, Boyapati Sreenu, V.V. Vinayak, Uday Kiran and Ali. According to sources: Some reports suggest Jr. NTR was extended an invite at the last minute (a day before the wedding) which annoyed Harikrishna. Other reports say he wasn’t invited at all. Details of the ‘invitation’ are unknown. Balakrishna however, openly invited his fans to come and bless the couple. The Akkinenis too missed out on the wedding.

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Indraganti Mohankrishna’s Anthaku Mundu, Aa Taruvatha Realease Today

Indraganti Mohankrishna Interview

Anthaku Mundu, Aa Taruvatha

National award-winning director Indraganti Mohankrishna’s Anthaku Mundu, Aa Taruvatha hits the screens today AMAT (Anthaku Mundu, Aa Taruvatha), which hits the screens on Friday, wafts in with a whiff of freshness to the Telugu film industry, promising to appeal to young and old alike. Why?

For one, it comes from National award-winning director Indraganti Mohankrishna, who turned the spotlight of critical acclaim onto himself with his debut Grahanam. It also marks the debut of a Telugu girl, Eesha, a rarity these days. AMAT is the director’s fifth film, which follows Maya Bazaar, Ashta Chamma and Golkonda High School.

Anthaku Mundu, Aa Taruvatha

“It is my most personal film so far and is very special for me. Actually, I would say it’s the first out of my own inspiration and experiences and hence is kind of ‘semi-autobiographical’. Visually it is my most satisfying film and musically, the one with the maximum number of songs (seven), with music scored by Kalyani Mallik, now christened Kalyani Koduri,” Mohankrishna said. As for the story, he says it’s about a boy and girl who after a most romantic period of wooing, develop new anxieties and doubts once they commit themselves to spending the rest of their lives with each other.

“How they choose to address their fears and find solutions is interesting. And the twists and turns the story takes is AMAT. As the story progress, they find that love is not all hunky-dory and chocolate, but that love is work, hard work and not something one just walks right in and through,” he narrates.

“This film is my tribute to the great French filmmaker Francois Truffaut, whom I have come to recognise as a major influence on me. Eesha will be the first female lead that I am introducing. I have introduced Swati earlier in the lead but she had already done films before and I can proudly claim to have introduced Nani (of Eega fame) and Srinivas Avasarala with Ashta Chamma,” Mohanakrishna says, signing off.