Pa n o r a m a o f s o u t h c i n e m a

Vol 1 issue 1 october 2009

rs.50

01 01
www.southscope.in

siddharth’s

intoxicating

signature style

i am a technique in myself -Balakrishna

Why sizzler

ileana’s story unfolded

follow us on

shraddha das
will never do that?
Panorama of south cinema

Publisher Chief Executive Officer Executive Director Editor- in- Chief Assistant
Editor Features Editor Features Writer Editorial Coordinators Tamil Nadu & Kerala
Karnataka Mumbai Creative Director Visualiser Senior Graphic Designers Graphic
Designers Production Head Creative Consultant Branding & Marketing Director
Marketing Managers

Moorthy Sreenivasulu Allu Sirish Ramakanth T Vanaja Banagiri Mona Ramavat Karthik
Pasupulate Vrinda Prasad Sridevi Sreedhar Aravind G Anil Merani Raj Shekar B Jaya
Prakash K P Suresh K Palvai, Suresh CH Ravi Kumar K V, Vamshi Vulavapati Krishna P
Priya Gazdar Ayyar S, ayyar@southscope.in Tvishi Zaveri, tvishi@southscope.in Raja
Reddy M, raja.mogulla@southscope.in Saroj Kumar Biswal, saroj@southscope.in Raghu
Kumar Gorthy, gorthy@southscope.in Sanjay Kumar S, sanjay@southscope.in Mohan
Manoharan, manoharan@southscope.in Ravanam Swaminaidu Vishnuvardhan Induri,
Radhakrishna G subscriptions@southscope.in or SMS SCOPE to 56263
info@southscope.in

Circulation National Manager Deputy Manager Regional Manager (Chennai) Consultant-

Distribution Board of Advisors Subscriptions: Enquiries:

www.southscope.in

Southscope takes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs or material. ALL

PHOTOGRAPHS, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, ARE USED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY
Registered Office: #202, Shiva Sai Sannidhi, Dwarakapuri Colony, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad 500 034. All rights reserved. Reproducing in any manner without
permission prohibited. PuBliSHED FOR tHE MONtH OF OCtOBER 2009 Edited, Printed,
Published and owned by Moorthy Sreenivasulu Printed at Kalajyothi Process Pvt.
ltd, 1-1-60/5, RtC X Roads, Hyderabad – 500 020. Published at 202, Shiva Sai
Sannidhi, Dwarakapuri Colony, Panjagutta, Hyderabad 500034, A.P. Editor : Moorthy
Sreenivasulu
Letter from the PubLisher
Cinema is probably the first love for millions of Indians. But love for cinema
assumes gargantuan proportions in the south of India. Cinema is a way of life for
us, a religion almost. Hand painted cutouts of the superstars going up to 100 feet
are a part of the landscape down south. Talk about hero worship! Obviously, in a
land that is obsessed with cinema, the business of movie making has no choice but
to thrive. But why is it that an industry which produces more than half of the
1000 films that hit Indian screens in a year not so much in the public eye? When
the bulk of gross filmed entertainment revenues – 50% - is garnered by the South
Indian film industry, and 60% of the country’s cinema houses are in South India
even if only 22% of India’s population lives here, why is the South Indian film
industry not so written about? With enormous talent, path breaking ideas, hallmark
discipline and sophisticated technology on its side, the south Indian film
industry is in a state of eternal bloom. It’s only befitting that its story is
taken to the world in a manner as zippy as its nature. The highpoint of our
achievements came in the form of Oscar awards. When AR Rahman, the music maestro
and Resul Pookutty, the editing genius walked the red carpet at the Academy
Awards, the entire world saluted Indian talent and creativity. It took two south
Indians to bring home the much coveted Oscar that remained elusive for generations
despite several films being nominated in the past. On the homeground, south films
and south actors swept the national awards last month. With accolades pouring in
from all quarters, it’s high time we dedicate a magazine that holds a mirror to
south cinema. So here’s presenting southscope. An English-language monthly,
focusing on the happening Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada film industries
primarily. Pages will, of course, also be dedicated to the Bollywood, Hollywood,
regional cinema and world cinema. With a subtle seductive presentation style, a
young and contemporary look, smart and informative content, southscope aims to be
a first-off-the-shelf pick. southscope will be made widely available at all Indian
stands and in USA, Malaysia, Far East, Middle East and Europe to cater to the vast
diaspora of Indians there. I would like to extend thanks to the people whose long
hours and hard work, and frenetic pace, have made this project possible. The
raring-to-go editorial team, the explodingwith-ideas design team, my dream editor
and very many others behind the scenes. Ultimately what matters most is your long
lasting relationship with southscope. southscope will continue to evolve, recreate
and redefine itself in tune with your expectations. Hope you’ll enjoy the read.
All comments and suggestions are welcome. best

Moorthy Sreenivasulu Publisher

VOL01 ISSUE01 OCTOBER 2009

CONTENTS
exclusive
36 Back Stage
Get set to meet Ravindra, the hot shot art director

pAnoRAMA oF south cineMA

44 Rajadhiraja

44

The importance of being Balakrishna

56

Shooting Star

Pooja Gandhi - The hit machine of Kannada cinema

FeAtuRes
14 31 58 Stars on Facebook and Twitter The highs & lows of small budget films The
DNA of a blockbuster 26

Model: ILEANA coveR pictuRe: RAMAKANTH T MAkeup: MAdHU hAiR: SUNITA styling:
SAMIRA d’CRUz pRoduction designeR: dIVyA UdAy

46
44

FundA
13 17 Junk Mail Telugu Tinsel, Kannada Capers Screen Test

Who’s doing what, where?

38

38

21 22 34 62 63 66 69 70

Launch pad for aspiring actors

22

Loading… Please wait

Films in the making

Hi 5 with Krishnudu Kaleidoscope Bioscope

Film reviews Events, parties etc...

58

Star Affair
Horoscope

Sing Along Flashback

Karaoke of hit songs

Nostalgia revisited – The timeless magic of Mayabazaar

CONTENTS
centRe stAge
46 Up close and personal with Ileana D’cruz

Pa n o r a m a o f s o u t h c i n e m a

Vol 1 issue 1 october 2009

rs.50

01 01
www.southscope.in

Prabhudeva on Wanted, nayanthara & that special someone the other side of MuMaith
Khan

Suriya

vS vijay ClaSh of the titanS

South SWeePS national aWardS

gAlleRiA
26 38
Siddharth’s Signature Style

Siddharth

+
THIS MONTH ON SOUTHSCOPE.IN

e-MAgAzine sep ‘09

VIEW READ DOWNLOAD

Shraddha Das

Sizzler Shraddha Das’s tryst with the couch

pRoFile
54 Prabhas’s powerful formula

VIEW READ DOWNLOAD

e-MAgAzine oct ‘09

69
FUNdA

13 10 : 09

RIDE ON THE SIDE

You’ve seen them, you love them, you can’t imagine growing up without them… Now
here’s what you didn’t know about them!

legendary director k viswanath’s swathi Muthyam was India’s official entry to the
Oscars in 1986. It was the first Telugu film and only second south Indian film to
have represented India in the prestigious competition. No other Telugu film has
ever been chosen to represent India at the Oscars.

Jayamalini is famous for her salacious item numbers and vamp roles. There was a
time when there would not be a film without a Jayamalini number. She went on to
feature in over 500 Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi movies.

We all know about the acting caliber of the late actress Savitri. Her humanitarian
side is less discussed. Savitri happened to meet the former Prime Minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri and came back having donated all the jewelry she was wearing for
the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. That’s what you call a heart of gold!

Mohan Babu has won many honours both as an actor and a politician. But few people
know that he was made the Deputy Member for the International Parliament for
Safety and peace, u.s.A in due recognition in his achievements in the field of
Education. International Parliament for Safety and Peace, is an international
organization whose stated intention is the promotion of world safety and peace.

Darshan is the only kannada actor to own the fuel-guzzling Hummer vehicle. The
star hardly uses it these days though, because of its poor fuel economy. Ramya is
a book worm. She has a huge collection of books, especially short stories and
novels, at home.

oct 09

13

kAnnAdA

telugu
FEATURES
Have an account?

sign in

Join the converstion

IS yOUR FACE ON THE BOOK, TwEETy?

search

sign up now

If stars don’t exist in the cyber world, they haven’t arrived in life discovers
Vrinda Prasad
Ram Gopal Varma Lakshmi Manchu Mallika Sherawat Meher Ramesh Mickey J Meyer Reema
Sen Puri Jagannath Nayanthara Shriya Saran dhanush Katrina Kaif

Uday Chopra

Satish Kasetty

Amrita Rao

Priyanka Chopra

Lakshmi Manchu loved Inglorious Bastards, Raja is on a trip, Krishna Vamsi is busy
with his work, Suhani Kailta is depressed, Ram Gopal Varma says, “The point of
Life is tht thrs no point to it. So it’s better to live it point by point and
point to point.” Celina Jaitley is watching Balika Vadhu and has become a TV soap
addict while Uday Chopra says “I am setting up my new MacBook Pro unibody and 24”
cinema display, life couldn’t be better!!!...I love my mac, proud to be a geek;”
Aarthi Agarwal is out of town with friends and badly needs this break. Mallika
Sherawat is over the moon because “Gosh! Ram Gopal Varma called me the Marilyn
Monroe of the east… blush blush.” No we’re not gossiping for the heck of it,
neither have we made typographic errors. these are quotes straight from the stars’
mouths. That’s not all. We managed to get them all in 10 minutes precisely. Far
fetched? Would have been a few years ago. But in this era of social networking in
the

cyber world, it’s free for all if not on the Facebook, then Twitter. Stars in the
tinsel town across the country have been diving into networking sites of late in a
big way. Ah, the beauty and simplicity of micro-blogging! Twitter and Facebook are
no longer an addiction for the hoi polloi; it’s an absolute hit with the
Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood fraternity as well! “Whenever I write something
or want to update about my projects, I paste it first on Twitter. But I’m not
active on Facebook” the reigning Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra explains on one of
her posts on Twitter. The latest tweet from Priyanka Chopra reads (copied
verbatim):

Dhan ta nan..my first contest only ma tweeple! 50 pesonally autographed KAMINEY

audio CDs up for grabs! Try it!! http://tinyurl.com/ne4kox

14

oct 09
FEATURES

A source close to Katrina said, “There is someone who is impersonating Katrina

Kaif and talking to people pretending to be Katrina Kaif. Katrina got a call from
a famous director asking how was the script which he discussed on twitter, to this
Katrina was shocked and explained to the director that she doesn’t use networking
sites at all. Another incident happened when Katrina got a call from a famous
studio head about another project, as discussed on twitter. to which katrina was
stunned and replied that she never uses Twitter to talk to any one. On Twitter the
person pretending to be Katrina has been telling people how the Rajniti shoot is
going on in Bhopal. Seems like this impersonation is reading a lot of material
that has been published and hence has so much information on the same.”

Many of these stars feel that it’s a great platform to be in touch with their
fans. And with social networking going mobile, it becomes easier for stars who are
always on the move to update their status or post a message. Actress Shriya Saran
is hugely impressed with the mobile network. “I update Facebook mostly over my
phone. It’s so convenient now. I have not tried Twitter so far, as Facebook is
friendly and I can’t handle both. You have to be an intelligent user and I am
extremely careful about adding friends and my list is just about 50 people. My
fear is that my personal pictures may get leaked or some stranger may read my
status,” avers Shriya. Simbu (Silambarasan) agrees, “I find updating over my phone
much easier as I do it even while I’m watching a movie or at a party. I love to
write something on my wall everyday and some days when I don’t have anything I
scribble some nonsense. isn’t that weird? that’s why i call myself a Facebook
addict.” Most of them have the same opinion about being on Facebook or Twitter.
Music Director Mickey J Meyer feels, “Facebook is more useful to find lost friends
and also easier to keep friends updated about my whereabouts.”

Twitter’s popularity amongst Bollywood celebrities is a definite indication of how

significant social networking sites can be. “Considering the influence that
celebrities have on Indian consumers and Twitter becoming twilmy i’m wondering if
the next trend will be celebrities endorsing brands on Twitter or promoting
services amongst their followers. You don’t have to sit and respond to fans or
accept any request. Makes things simpler,” quoted a star on terms of anonymity.
Bollywood damsel Amrita Rao joined the Facebook bandwagon recently. This is what
she says, “Although I am a gadget freak and quiet technology friendly, I never
felt the need for being present on social networking sites such as Facebook and
Orkut until recently. I joined Facebook recently as I understand the importance of
staying connected in a net savvy world. I make sure I accept friend requests only
from people I know and not fakes. And yes, the world should know that Amrita Rao
is outgoing.” Be it updating status or passing time by playing games between
shots, it’s totally

From updates to promotions, Bollywood celebrities have wisened up to all the right
tactics to engage and interact with fans of this generation. “In a country like
India where Bollywood is as good as religion and celebrities no less than idols,

oct 09

15
FEATURES

an addiction. Shraddha Das’s page on Facebook gives away her craze for playing
games there. “I’m totally into poker, thought it’s not a great game to play but
now can’t stop myself from playing poker even for a day.”

The actor is peeved, that somebody who seems to know him was trying to impersonate
him on Facebook. Says Dhanush: “My identity has been stolen by someone in virtual
space and I am not going to take it lightly after realizing that almost 4000
people mostly my fans across the globe are interacting with this person thinking
that it’s me!” The problem is that this particular person who has opened an
account in the name of dhanush Kasthuri Raja has been connecting with people and
posing as if he is the real Dhanush. This is a clear case of impersonation as well
as cheating, as many adore the actor. Adds Dhanush: “This person has been
connecting with my fans who don’t know that the ID is fake. I want to nip this
problem in its bud”. The actor is worried that someone might end up using his name
to con people and thereby tarnish his image and brand name. - Dhanush
16 oct 09

Actor ‘Color’ Swati is exasperated

Though many are happy about being there, a few like director Meher Ramesh and
nayanthara don’t enjoy networking much. There were two fake ids of Nayanthara on
Facebook when queried if that was hers she replies, “I am a very private person
and love to remain so. So next time you log on to any social network sites, please
remember that it’s not me”. And Meher Ramesh feels, “It’s like opening up your
personal life to people and I’m not happy about it”. While some of the celebrities
want to bond with their colleagues or friends, for a few others it’s a means to
capture new talent. Director Satish Kasetty

because, “It gets too much for celebrities to manage their authentic online
profiles.” shraddha agrees with swati and chips in, “It’s very tough for
celebrities because fans keep posting messages. It’s annoying but nothing can be
done about it”.

of Hope and Kalavaramaye Madilo fame put up a status “calling for people who are
interested in cracking a comedy script” and being a part of his team. It took just
140 characters to change the way our celebrities talk to us. You no longer need
Page 3 to know who Mallika Sherawat is flirting with or what Puri Jagannath’s next
project is. Just login and stay in the loop.

I am not a Facebook addict like many of my friends and they keep complaining about
it. i do interact with my friends and update my status regularly. twitter is new
and I have not tried it. I think FB is the best interactive media and I like to
interact with my fans through FB as it does not involve the risk of giving out my
phone number or address. i enjoy updating and seeing personal pics of my close
friends. I have not tried updating my profile and status through my phone as I am
more comfortable with my laptop. - reema sen
FUNdA

17 10 : 09

wonder why we do not get to see charmi in Hyderabad these days. Nope, she is not
on vacation, but busy shooting for a Malayalam film, which doesn’t happen to be
her first by the way. She had a rather forgettable debut with Kattuchembakam, way
back in 2002. Charmi has been signed up to play the lead in director Dileep’s
upcoming Malayalam film touted to be a comic thriller. Well Charmi has not had a
great time of late in Telugu films. Perhaps a change in place might do her some
good?

MalayalaM

CharM’ing

Anushka rising!
It’s amazing what one film can do an actor’s career. Since the record breaking
success of Arundhati, Anushka has been the hottest property of Tollywood! She has
a slew of big budget Telugu films lined up for her. But she’s got as many offers
from Tamil as well! We hear a lot of top Tamil stars have a preference for her
these days. Having completed the shoot for Vettaikaran which stars vijay in the
male lead, Anushka has begun shooting for Suriya’s next film titled singam. Looks
like everybody wants to pair with Anushka at the moment, but she’s making her
choices very carefully. Way to go girl!

The name isRANA

Be it politics or cinema, it seems to be the season of successions in Andhra
Pradesh. We will leave the politics to the newsrooms, and focus on cinema instead.
After naga chaitanya set off on the arduous task of taking the Akineni legacy
ahead with a confident debut in Josh, the stage is being readied for the launch of
Rana, the grandson of movie moghul Ramanaidu and son of ace producer Suresh Babu.
Rana is playing the lead in the Shekhar Kammula directed film, leader, which is
all set to release this month. Make way for the new brigade, folks!

oct 09

17

TELUGU TINSEL

V
TELUGU TINSEL

18 10 : 09

FUNdA

Unfair share

Life can be unfair and Karthika seems to have had a first hand taste of the
strange ways of showbiz. Just in case you are wondering Karthika, who? Let us tell
you that she is the pretty young miss who played the lead opposite Naga Chaitanya
in Josh. The film was always going to be about Nagarjuna’s son, but Karthika did a
pretty decent job too. With that girlnext-door kind of appeal, she did manage to
flutter hearts. And what sets her apart is her sultry dusky complexion, from the
regular fair skinned imports from Mumbai. But why is it that down here we like ‘em
fair and lovely? We wonder…

Ace director Puri Jagannath is known to be the god of commercial entertainers. But
looks like he’s now keen on trying something else. Well, politics for instance? No
he is not entering politics, but will soon direct a film on the late chief
minister of Andhra pradesh, ys Rajashekhara Reddy. His namesake Dr Rajasekhar, is
playing the lead in the film. He is also co-producing the movie. However, the
director is not disclosing anything much yet. He has been meeting various aides of
YSR learning about his life. It has already created quite a buzz both in the
industry and the political circles. Puri certainly has got quite a task on his
hand

on YSR

A film

After Magadheera became a super hit, producer Allu Arvind has been flooded with
congratulatory messages, naturally. But besides those, he’s also being bombarded
with a whole lot of stuff that he’s been pretty amused with. Recently somebody
asked him, something to the effect, “what message have you tried to give through
Magadheera?” We’re told, he replied, “Message? Well if I have to send a message, I
would use SMS or email! I make movies to entertain, not to send messages!” How
cool is that!

a spade! a spade!

Calling

18

oct 09
FUNdA

19 10 : 09

Prakash Raj directs his first Kannada movie

Prakash Raj, who is known by his original name Prakash Rai in Karnataka, is all
set to direct his first movie in Kannada. It will be a remake of his recent
successful Tamil film Abhiyum Naanum. Prakash has selected the golden girl of the
Kannada film industry, Ramya to play the lead role in this movie. He will be
playing Ramya’s father in the film. We too are looking forward to this one!

Stars don’t show

interest in KPL

Ganesh back with his home

production
Golden Star Ganesh who has been maintaining a low profile for six months now,
after three of his movies bombed at the box office, is making a comeback with his
maiden home production Maleyali Jotheyali. Produced by his wife Shilpa under the
banner Golden Movies, this film will see a lean and trim Ganesh. It’s being
directed by Ganesh’s childhood friend Preetam Gubbi, who scripted Ganesh’s
blockbuster Mungaru Male. Welcome back Ganesh! The Karnataka Premier League, the
state version of the Indian Premier League, failed to attract the attention of
Kannada film stars. Initially, it was said that a number of artistes like Ramya
and Upendra would buy teams. Eventually, most of the teams were lapped up by real
estate companies and politicians. The lack of glamour in KPL forced some of the
team owners to approach the Kannada film stars for the role of “ambassadors”.
Apparently, unhappy with the poor fee offered, all the film stars backed out. What
a pity!
oct 09 19

KANNAdA CAPERS
KANNAdA CAPERS

20 10 : 09

FUNdA

what has upset

Darshan?
Remake Star Darshan, we hear is really upset with Ramesh Yadav, the producer of
his latest film, Boss. Apparently, Ramesh has not yet paid anyone including the
rest of the crew. A very miffed Darshan has boycotted shooting and the rest of the
cast have followed suit. The matter is yet to reach the Karnataka Film Chamber of
Commerce. In the meanwhile, the producer announced that he would release close to
100 prints of the movie although it’s not yet completed. What’s going on, really…

upendra back in action... Direction

Upendra is back to directing movies, we hear. The last movie Uppi directed was
Upendra a decade ago in which he also played the lead role. Now, he has surprised
everybody by announcing his return direction. with this not yet titled film, he’s
doing a repeat performance. He’s producing, directing and playing the lead role
all over again after ten years! His movies usually have unique titles which
sometimes have symbols too. For this film, he’s chosen the hasta mudra (thumb and
fore finger forming a circle). According to the actor, it could mean anything you
please. The movie will be made in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. sounds good…

Priyamani finally does a Kannada film

National-award winning actress Priyamani hails from Bangalore and speaks Kannada,
but she’s never acted in a single Kannada movie so far! Her argument is that she
has not found the right offer. After being around in the film industry for so
long, she’s finally debuting in Kannada with Raam and what’s more, she’s paired
with Power Star Puneet Rajkumar. Good beginning, we think!

That’s what we call a role-reversal!

Comedian-turned-hero Jaggesh’s younger brother Komal Kumar, is hot property in
Kannada cinema these days. And this thanks to two back to back hits. His first
movie as a lead actor, Mr garagasa, loosely based on the Hindi film Bheja Fry, was
a big hit and so was his second, Chamkaaisi Chindi udaaisi. A few years ago, Komal
went around knocking the doors of every director and producer for a role. But now
it’s the other way round. He’s already got four more comedy films lined up. What
fun!
20 oct 09
SCREEN TEST

PRIYA
A movie buff, Priya grew up on a staple diet of Telugu films. She modelled for a
TV commercial for Manepally jewelers and print ads for MBS, Brisah and La celebre.
This lass doesn’t prefer being on beauty pageants to get into movies. She wants to
be a great performer and impress audience with her talent. When she is hit by
boredom she watches movies and tries to learn the nitty-gritty to improve her
acting skills. She is a trained western dancer. Weill she, won’t she? Let’s see.
By Vrinda Prasad...

Southscope invites aspiring actors to send in their portfolio pictures to

vrinda@southscope.in

photogRApheR: RAMAKANTH T
telugu

AduRs

Cast Director Producer Music Director

Jr NTR, Nayanthara, Sheela V V Vinayak Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan Devi Sri Prasad

Jr. NTR is playing a dual role in this one, which promises to have all the
elements of a masala entertainment. He plays a brahmin, which is rather comical
and the other role is also quite dramatic. nayanthara, who did a bikini act in the
Ajith starrer Billa (Tamil), is supposedly doing it all over again for Adurs.

22

oct 09
Touted to be an out-and-out commercial movie, Ek niranjan is packed with romance,
action, fun and emotion. Prabhas plays this rough and tough guy who’s also a
loner. Kangana Ranaut, who is making her debut in Tollywood plays the role of a
guitar teacher. The film was shot in a massive set of eight acres in Jubilee
Hills, Hyderabad and the estimated cost of this gigantic set, designed by art
director Chinna, is said to be a whopping three crores. Prabhas also spent time in
Chanchalguda jail for this film since Puri Jagannath preferred shooting a climax
scene in real jail premises instead of a created jail set.

Cast director producer Music director

Prabhas, Kangana Ranaut, Sonu Sood, Mukul Dev puri Jagannadh Aditya Ram Mani
sharma

ek niRAnJAn

oct 09

23

telugu
kAnnAdA

ullAsA utsAhA

cast Director Producer Music Director

ganesh, yami gautam Devaraja Palan B P Thyagaraj G V Prakash

Ullasa Utsaha is the remake of Telugu film Ullasanga Utsahanga. Ullasa Utsaha is a
romantic film that explores love and friendship from a different perspective.
Filled with all that is young and fresh, the film is a peppy celebration of youth.

24

oct 09
Cast Director producer

Sri Murali, Pooja Gandhi, Radhika Gandhi Dayal Padmanabhan s A chinne gowda and n
kumar

sRi hARikAthe

Sri Harikathe is being talked about quite a bit because sisters Pooja and Radhika
gandhi are starring together in this one. It’s a psychological thriller based on
split personalities.

oct 09

25

kAnnAdA
Styl
Brought to you By AsmitA mArwA…

26

oct 09
concePt And styling: AsmitA mArwA

Here’s a splasH of siddHartH in an interesting blend of His personality and

asmita’s style! AsmitA stArted her cAreer As A stylist in coolie no: 1 And PremA
Ante idherA And moved on to BlockBusters like ghArshAnA,

sAnthosAm, AthAdu And Pokiri over the

yeArs. nAgArjunA once told her, “creAte A style thAt the mAsses cAn identify with
And will eventuAlly follow,” And thAt hAs Been her mAntrA ever since. some of her
creAtions for the screen like the ‘mAnmAdhudu kurtA’ were A rAge Being retAiled
not only here But As fAr As ludhiAnA!
“Well siddharth, a power house of talent and a very successful pan-indian star is
also quite a stylish dude. the challenge for me was that he had never worked with
a stylist for any of his films. In fact, he has been styling himself very
successfully. but i was not sure how we would work together….both of us
perfectionists, sticklers for detail and control freaks…. quite a combination
which could work only if one trusted the other. i must hand it to siddharth for
being an absolute professional and having faith in me and giving me the freedom to
experiment with his clothes and look. i created seven different looks for him –
from cool and smart casual to preppy, to formal , to a la brando, from on the
Waterfront. the looks were conceptualized keeping in mind siddharth’s personality
and his lover boy image. siddharth was a wonderful model and never complained
about the very humid weather that day or the lousy lunch that i subjected him to.
it was threatening to rain and was hot as hell, yet he went through all the seven
changes and gave us some amazing moments to capture. on wrapping up the shoot the
rain gods smiled on us with the first monsoon shower. i think we “blew it out of
the water” as siddharth would have put it…” - asmita marwa

le

clothes: Benetton

scArves: AsmitA mArwA

PhotogrAPher: rAngAnAth

oct 09

27
two hot to handle!

28

oct 09
fashionably broody!

oct 09

29
driving us crazy...

30

oct 09
FEATURES

GettinG hiGh on loW buDGet moVies

Using the 80:20 principle – we can safely say that the big-budget films form the
industry’s backbone as most of the commerce is through these films. It’s
understood and acknowledged that ‘small budget’ films are equally essential to the
industry. Many classics of Telugu cinema were ‘small’ when they released. Many of
the biggest names in the industry today – technicians and actor got their ‘big
break’ from this form of filmmaking. This article is more about the economics of
these films, rather than their creative importance. Until recently, for many years
small budget movies – the ones made under a budget of 2 crores have not achieved
major success. While there were hits, none of them was ground-breaking.

small is clearly turning out to be the new big! Allu Sirish explores the economics
and appeal of making small budget films in telugu cinema.

The early years: In 2000, Chitram by Teja was made on a shoe-string budget of
about 50 lakh and went on to collect 8 crores as ‘net revenues’. Bettering that
was 2001’s Nuvve Kavali which was made on a meager budget of less than 2 crores,
and went on to gross over 20 crores – making it one of the most profitable films
if one had to calculate RoI (return on investment). 6 Teens was another low-budget
sex comedy which had super hit music, youngsters with raging hormones and eye
candy that went on to gross over 5 crores. This set off a trend of ‘youth movies’
in Telugu films – where filmmakers constantly dished out movies with similar
storylines hoping to the cash in on the success of such films. Some succeeded,
while most failed and a point came when the audience was fed up of it and the
genre was sidelined completely. There were many small movies between 2002 and 2007
in Telugu cinema that tasted success, such as Show, missamma, Aithe, Anand, A film
by Arvind, Vennela and Pellaina Kotthalo. And then there were the mid-budget films
such as Jayam, Pellam Vurelithe, Manasantha Nuvve, Itlu Sravani Subramanyam,
Dongodu, Kabaddi Kabaddi, Nuvve Nuvve which steadily supplied the industry with
hits. But none of them could repeat the magic of Nuvve Kavali.

oct 09

31
FEATURES
The Happy days effect: But one film that totally changed the scenario, making
everybody sit up and notice small budget films was happy Days. Suddenly, small
came into vogue. Everybody now is making such films. Technically, the movie was
made for a little above two crores, but that could be discounted. It had an
unknown cast, new music director, abused theme of campus romance and a director
who was only moderately successful. But that film went on to become one of the
biggest hits of 2007 making instant stars out of all the people associated with
the film – the huge ensemble of actors right from the lead to the character
artistes, the music director Mickey J Meyer and director Shekhar Kammula who is
now a brand in himself. The movie got industry counterparts in Chennai and Mumbai
also talking about it. It’s now being considered to be remade in Tamil and Hindi.
But one feat only happy Days can boast of amongst all small movies is its
blockbuster run in the overseas box office. It crossed the collections of super
hits of A-list stars such as Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu and Pawan Kalyan! Yes, it
did. happy Days may not be the mother of small budget films, but it sure did
revive people’s interests in making such films. And its success is used as a
benchmark to measure the success of other films of this league. Unlike the last
time luckily, the industry this time seems to have learnt its lesson. They’re not
churning out happy Days clones, but testing subjects from different genres such as
thriller, horror, comedy and romance of course. Small films are the next big
thing: Today most people in the industry – big and small - want to make a ’small
budget film’ with a sub two crore budget. It’s not the challenge of telling an
interesting story with minimum resources that excites most of these filmmakers,
but the economics behind it. The inflation in production cost from 2000 to now is
marginal, while revenues have increased multiple-fold. The inflation is again due
to external factors such as higher labour wages, rise in real estate, petrol etc.,
But pure production material such as raw stock, studio rent, equipment etc have
remained in the same price bracket. Raw stock still costs Rs 10,000 for 1000 feet
(which equals 10 minutes footage). A small film uses about 4050,000 feet of raw
stock. The cost for a single print is still about Rs 50,000 for a 150 minutes
film. Rents for studios are between Rs. 7,000 per day to Rs. 20,000 depending on
the location and soundstage size. Shooting permissions in municipal places such as
roads, parks remain almost the same as before. The same is the case with rents for
real-life houses, offices, colleges to be used in films. Likewise, a lot of other
costs have remained in the same price range as before. Filmmakers who have shot
their film completely on digital, i.e. : HD camera such as Viper, Sony Cine Alta
or Red One have cut down their costs by a half by shifting from film. Kamal
Haasan’s Eenadu is the first film in Telugu to use Red one. The whole process of
scanning the footage for editing, dubbing, scoring background, sound effects,
mixing and then printing back onto film becomes simplified if a film is shot on
HD. Unlike bigger films, a small budget unit size is smaller – where people handle
multiple functions which help cut costs further. Films like Cell, Grahanam, and
Black & White were completed under Rs. 50 lakh budgets with a minimum crew and
less than 40 days of shooting. Films like Chitram, Allari, Premiste (dubbed from
Tamil) were completed in a budget of less than a crore. The recent box office
super hit – Ashta Chamma was completed within Rs 1.5 crore. The movie recovered
its total production cost even before release by ‘pre-selling’ its television
rights and ancillary. So, all the money made from box office goes straight into
the producer’s pockets. There are three major factors that contributed to the
increase in revenues of small budget films - Satellite rights, Hyderabad city box
office, Ancillary revenues.
32 oct 09

Satellite rights: This is the lifeline of all small-budget movies today. Many of
these films have recovered their money from satellite rights alone. With 5
channels competing for rights, prices have increased due to demand. And in Andhra,
it’s always film-based programs that draw the maximum TRPs. Perpetual satellite
rights of these films get sold even before the film’s release – at times even
acting as a source of finance. A small-to-mid budget movie can fetch anywhere
between Rs. 60 lakhs -1.5 crore today, whereas big-budget films fetched up to 6
crores if they are block busters in recent times!

One film that totally changed the scenario, making everybody sit up and notice
small budget films was happy Days.
FEATURES
Hyderabad box office: Hyderabad had a population of about 40 lakhs in the late
nineties. But today the greater Hyderabad metropolitan area has nearly a crore
inhabitants. So, it’s understood that the box office too grew likewise in size.
For big-budget films, about 20% of the domestic box office revenues come from
Hyderabad alone. But for many small budget hits, that ratio is as high as 35%.
Today Hyderabad is home to 6 multiplexes and more are in the making. With more
coming up, it’s only going to get better. Unlike in single screens, the difference
in collections between a small budget hit and a ‘star cast film’ isn’t very wide
if the movie is a hit – as the urban audiences are more willing to experiment.
Ancillary rights: Earlier, the only source of revenue for a movie was the box
office. With the advent of cable in the 90s, television rights became a new
source. But now there are newer sources of income streams such as home video
rights, which fetch upto 50 lakhs for a big-budget blockbuster and Rs 25 lakhs for
a smaller film. While the sale of cassettes has fallen, it’s compensated by the
increase in CD sales, mp3 downloads (legitimate through sales), FM royalties and
the biggest of them all – ring tones.

Vinayakudu, Yuvatha and Aakashamantha were the only recent small budget hits
grossing over 5 crores at the box office. Most of the other films failed to repeat
the success.

These sources of revenue have now increased manifold. But, growth in revenue is
flat from the older streams – box office collections from coastal Andhra towns and
‘districts’ of Telangana. But on the whole, the size of the industry has
increased. I have purposefully avoided ‘overseas market’ as it’s almost non-
existent for small films due to various reasons. Any income from this can be
termed as a ‘windfall gain.’ happy Days being the only exception, as Mr. Kammula
is a brand name there. Frankly, even I am smitten by this ‘indie style’ of
filmmaking and wish to test the waters for two reasons. The first – creative
restrictions are lesser in this form of filmmaking. The best form of creativity
usually comes when resources are limited (read: budget). Also, the producer has
better say in creative and managerial decisions. And at least amongst avid film
goers, the producer will earn a name for having bet on new talent and pulled off a
hit. Secondly, like for a lot of other people – the sheer economics behind making
a small budget film. If one calculates the RoI (return on investment), big-budget
films typically can fetch only 20-25% returns if they’re a hit. But small budget
films have fetched returns of 200-300% in the recent past. The ‘high risk’ of
small films: Here comes the pitfall. The people working in the two biggest film
processing laboratories in Hyderabad – Prasad’s and Ramanaidu Studios - tell me
that nearly 50-70 such small budget films are “lying in cans” in each of their
studios. The value of 100-120 odd films lying in these studios without being
released could be over 200 crores. These films have either stopped shooting mid-
way as they’ve run out of money or couldn’t clear the lab’s bills. Some of the
films are completed, but did not return the money to the financier who has to
submit the ‘clearance letter’ allowing the lab to print the film for release.
Typically, these films are made by small-time producers who lack a source of
finance. They invest very little from their own pockets and borrow heavily from
private financiers at a ridiculous rate of 3% per month or 36% annually! This is
three times more than nationalized bank charges. Banks lend money only to
producers with a track record, hence financiers are the only option. Also, unlike
big-ticket films, distributors don’t buy the rights of these movies in advance.
For big star-cast films, the advances paid by distributors against the rights are
a major source of finance. And it comes interest-free to the producer as the
distributors become investors in the project. The producers of these films screen
their film for distributors. But rarely does any one take the risk and bet their
money on an unknown film. So, it’s a death-spiral from here onwards for a lot of
producers. Their personal money is locked in the project. They take loans from
financiers mortgaging their properties. Non-payment means the property can be
liquidated. Distributors mostly don’t buy the rights in advance, hence that source
of finance is not available. Now, they don’t have money to shoot further or repay
the loan. As time lapses interest piles on. To cut it short, it takes a lot of
financial and production planning to execute a small-budget film successfully. The
filmmaker should be able to secure a source of funding, where they would not fall
into these pitfalls, yet be a part of the profits of the film. So it is a huge
risk. But as the maxim goes, higher the risk, higher the reward. But one thing is
for sure – we’re going to see more number of small budget films in the years to
come. In fact Vinayakudu, Yuvatha and Aakashamantha were the only recent small
budget hits grossing over 5 crores at the box office. Most of the other films
failed to repeat the success. Yet this doesn’t dissuade aspiring film makers from
making an attempt.

PS: One of the best ways for smaller filmmakers to secure funding is to approach a
known producer to become a partner. He can guide in the managerial process and be
a source of finance. If you’re good enough to handle production, a corporate
company rich on funds or an HNI (high net worth individual) like a real estate
baron, or NRI friend can be a good option.

oct 09

33
One You are fast turning out to be a star of the new wave of small budget cinema.
Ever thought you will end up doing lead roles? Every actor starts off with trying
to get some role, and the first one is not necessarily a lead role. I always knew
I wanted to be an actor and not a hero. I am passionate about cinema and I have
always been determined. So, here I am. TwoWould you ever prefer a glamorous co-
star and what’s your fantasy woman like? Of course I would want to work with a
glamorous co-star! Do you even have to ask? (Wink wink!) Someone like Trisha,
would be great. About my fantasy woman, well, she would be simple and independent.
Somebody like Kajol .(Are the girls listening?)
34 oct 09
e’s big. And getting bigger, we can safely add! Krishnam Raju or Krishnudu, like
he’s known, has gone ahead and broken the myth that the leading man in a film has
to be your quintessential fitness freak with a penchant for six packs. After the
success of Vinayakudu, in which he played the lead, some stereotypes were
definitely broken. But things weren’t as easy as that for Krishnudu who lived off
bit roles in the beginning. In Happy Days, when everyone saw him as this adorable
fatso who was not a laughing stock – like these characters usually are -
Krishnudu’s happy days actually began! His career was finally put on the fast
track after this film and is now pretty popular. Although he’s got at least two
projects coming up with him in the lead, he still enjoys playing cameos too.
Actually, anything, that’s sort of challenging, like what he played in Oy. His
next film, Village lo Vinayakudu is set to release later this month. And for
Amayakudu, which will come in after that, Krishnudu’s shedding kilos, changing his
image and who knows what surprises might be in store. He seems to be full of them
anyway. Just in case you didn’t know, he’s also a fashion photographer and an
aspiring film director. Vrinda Prasad indulges in a yakathon with the offbeat
actor whose size has become a big deal…

threeIs being obese a deterrent to being in showbiz?The perception has changed

now. The fact that people accepted my role in Vinayakudu and the offers that I’m
getting now proves that being heavy doesn’t matter. Initially, it was a deterrent
for me. So, I did cameo roles in Manodu, Pokiri and Okkadu unnaadu before finally
being noticed in Shekhar’s Happy Days. And, that’s when Sai Kiran’s Vinayakudu
happened which gave a 360 degree turn to my life. FOURLet’s imagine you were back
to the 1970s…What would be different about you? At least I’d have more hair on my
head then. FIVE Did you ever regret being obese and what is your fitness
philosophy?Well, I’m fat. But so what and I don’t have a fitness philosophy yet.
If I have to choose between the momentary joy of eating a biryani or a lifetime of
restrain for a slimmer me, it’s usually the former! Until I finish the projects in
hand I will have to remain the way I am. Post that, you would certainly see me
slimming down.
oct 09 35
ExCLUSIVE

From painting posters to heading production design oF a hollywood Film, RavindeR

has sure come a long way. KaRthiK PasuPulate digs into the art director’s notes
For more.

photogRApheR: G PRAVEEN

36

oct 09
ExCLUSIVE

Going international
ravinder has just completed work on his first international project, a prayer For
rain. dealing with the Bhopal gas tragedy, the movie’s star cast includes martin
sheen, mischa Barton and Karl penn. “creative designer selvin liked my work.
initially, i was supposed to assist him but as it turned out i ended up being the
production designer myself. it has been an incredible experience,” shares
ravinder. selecting a location to raise the set of the union carbide pesticide
plant was not an easy job. But by some strange quirk of coincidence it turned out
to be hyderabad. “the factory in Bhopal is located in an industrial area and we
needed a similar backdrop. we considered many locations before zeroing in on the
two-acre plot in Bolarum. it shares an uncanny resemblance to the location in
Bhopal,” he says. however, reconstructing the plant as it looked in 1984 was the
biggest challenge. as the production designer it was ravinder’s job to capture the
ambience of the pesticide plant as it was 25 years ago. “i visited the factory
almost 20 times to study every minute detail. From the slum that stood outside the
factory to the plant itself, pipes, switch boards, the controls… everything had to
look exactly the same,” states ravinder explaining the work that had gone into
erecting the set.

Sound of inspiration
interestingly enough, ravinder is not a big movie buff. he seems to derive his
inspiration from the sound of music among other things. “i am a big fan of
ilayaraja and Keeravani. it is amazing how they can convey so much emotion through
their melodies. i attempt to do the same with my sets,” he explains “Keeravani
garu has suggested a list of films i must watch to get some ideas. haven’t really
got around to doing that,” he jests. well, how does it matter what inspires you as
long as you are inspired! the biggest source of inspiration for any artist is life
itself. a native of nellore, his father was a government employee and was required
to travel around the state quite a bit. “we lived in villages like udayagiri and
Basineri palli where there was no power. even a gas stove was a luxury then. the
images of the trees, the culture and the water have been a big influence from back
then,” he says.

set design can be a thankless job. when the list of credits rolls up after a
movie, rarely do we wait for the line that reads art director. But Ravinder is one
of those artists in southern cinema whose work speaks louder than any credit line.
the blockbuster Magadheera is proof enough. he is now all set to make a mark on
the world stage.

Fame is another game

the post production work for the film is on at the moment. it will be ready for
release in a few months. until then ravinder will be known as the art director of
the first ever south indian magnum opus, Magadheera. however, ravinder does not
seem to think much about this newfound fame. “it’s just that i have had to give
more interviews in the recent past. yeah, a lot of people call to say we want you
in our next film, but nothing much has changed otherwise,” he says with a rather
impish grin. then what gets him going? “art work can contribute significantly to
the visual appeal of the film. i get my kicks when i can contribute to the success
of the film with my work,” he confesses. “Besides, i got over 50 thank you calls
from the helpers and artisans who worked with me on magadheera. that was most
satisfying.”

Self made
painting was something that came naturally to ravinder but until his class 12 he
aspired to be a doctor. But when he could not secure a seat in the medical
entrance he chose to follow his heart. after completing his BFa (Bachelors in fine
arts) at Jntu (Jawaharlal nehru technological university) he completed his m des
course from iit delhi.. driven by a zeal to be independent, ravinder did every job
he could lay his hands on to make some extra money in his adolescent years. From
selling mango ripening chemical, painting hoardings, marking plots, dropping milk
packets in the wee hours of the morning and working in battery manufacturing unit
he has done it all. “i think i learnt about life doing these odd jobs and i guess
it is reflected in my work,” he says thoughtfully. But his first brush with films
is rather interesting. “i was always good with sketching. i specialized in making
movie cutouts. i was a big fan of chiru. if i had an order to make a 70 ft cut out
i would make it 90 ft long!” he smiles, recollecting.

oct 09

37
SouthSpread

Been there, not done that!

Outspoken, straightforward and someone who totally believes in doing her own
thing. That’s Shraddha Das for you in one line. Can cry without glycerine, bonds
with her kid brother over board games and breaks into a song every now and again
for no reason. That’s her too! She ran away from home once, prefers an arranged
marriage and hated her first Telugu release. She looks up to her mother and
Sushmita Sen is her hero. She’s done this and she’s done that and then there’s
stuff she’s not done…despite having been there. Mona Ramavat indulges her in girl
talk that boys would die to eavesdrop on!

photogRApheR: NILOy KUMAR dE stylist: RIMA MELwANI MAkeup: VIRENdRA R NARVEKAR

hAiR: JAyA COORDINATED BY: ANIL MERANI

38

oct 09
Lights...

Guess what, Shraddha joined the list of Mumbai bred aspiring actors with south
calling, as recently as last year. So here’s what the fuss is all about. She
already has six Telugu films to brag home about, especially her roles in the
recently released Adhineta and Diary, though they weren’t box office hits. But
what everyone’s looking forward to is Arya 2 releasing soon. Cast with Allu Arjun
and Kajal Aggarwal, Shraddha is expected to climb a high rung up the ladder after
this one. What’s more, she confesses she aspires to be “the number one heroine in
Telugu cinema in five years!” Then there’s Lahore, a Bollywood film that’s
releasing sometime soon, based on Indo-Pak relations. It was adjudged the best
film in the Houston film festival and happens to be the only one ever to be viewed
together by the Indian and Pakistani consul generals. Siddhu From Srikakulam, her
first Telugu release is perhaps Shraddha’s only grouse against Tollywood, but
otherwise, she’d rather stick here than head to Bollywood. With Siddhu… the issue
was that her actual performance in the film turned out to be completely different
from what was in the script. She minces no words here. “There was hardly any scope
for performance and I had to wear clothes that were not one bit me. I hated the
whole experience and the only reason I didn’t quit midway was because I didn’t
want to be unprofessional!”
oct 09 39
SouthSpread

Camera...

But she’s not the sort to give up, you know. What with a huge number of auditions
in Bollywood and still persevering! She’s decided not to do more auditions there
and only take up a project if something she’s comfortable with comes her way. Is
the casting couch an issue here? “Sometimes, yes. I’m not the sort who will give
up on my values for a role in a film. I’d rather earn lesser money and struggle my
way up than do something that I’d be ashamed of. If you’re a star kid, it helps.
If you’re willing to sleep, you stand a better chance. And you know what, not just
sleep once but for a full month! Even then, you may or may not make it. Sometimes
even after a contract is signed, there’s a chance that the actor might be thrown
out of the project. I don’t want to mention names but you wouldn’t believe me when
I say that a couple of popular producers literally pounced on me during auditions!
That’s how it is. It’s not that bad in the south. Over here, merit is respected,
which is why I have found grounding in Telugu cinema.” Whew, that was some
confession! And she was mostly unfazed all through this. Time for some deep
breathing folks…

40

oct 09
Action...

We promised adventure, so here it is: When Shraddha was in college, one day she
and a friend (female) decided to go away from home. Just for the thrill of it,
that is. Her parents thought she was at her friend’s place and the friend’s
parents assumed their daughter was at Shraddha’s home. “We made sure it was that
way. And then, we simply boarded a flight from Mumbai and took off. Yes we had
fun, but didn’t know how to get back. No money, no flight tickets. And each cost
about eleven thousand bucks. So what do two girls with no money and crying on the
beach do? They find a casino, talk their way in and earn their tickets to go back
home!” Since then, she loves casinos. And sure loves action, of any sort. Shraddha
is trained in various martial arts including taekwondo, kick boxing, karate and is
now learning fencing. That’s her idea of relaxation. Sure, we can’t imagine
Shraddha meditating! She wonders aloud if she can do a Mr and Mrs Smith kind of
film in Telugu or Kill bill. Yep, that will be deadly!

oct 09

41
SouthSpread

Pack up...

After such a roller coaster, Shraddha volunteers she’s not seeing anyone at the
moment. Nor will she ever, since she’s made up her mind that nobody in the
industry could be good enough to have a relationship with. “I’m giving up acting
after I get married. And guess I will marry in about ten years and it’s going to
be someone my parents look out for me.” Old school, eh? “Totally. But that’s how
I’d like it to be. And yeah, I will also take up cooking classes when I get
married, just in case you were wondering!” No we are not. By now we know better,
or do we…

42

oct 09
showMAn speAks
Balakrishna on being NTR’s son, his own man and more. Karthik Pasupulate meets the
showman of Telugu cinema
A ‘Balakrishna movie’ is an exercise in showmanship. You’ll know exactly what we
are talking about if you’ve seen even one of them. For the benefit of those who
never got to see Balakrishna do his thing in 70mm, here’s a little something. In
the words of the legendary French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, “Acting is a
question of absorbing other people’s personalities and adding some of your own
experience.” But acting assumes a whole new definition when you are talking about
Nandamuri Balakrishna. In his case, like his father - acting is just a matter of
being! It’s what he has been doing for the last 35 years.

xcluSive

Tall legacy
Being the son of a great man is never easy and more so when the father happens to
be NTR, one of the greatest legends of Telugu cinema. Ever since Balakrishna first
burst on the scene as a 14-year-old in the film, Thathamma Kala, way back in 1974,
the shadow of his father has always loomed large on his career. We wonder if he
ever ponders about what his life would have been had he not been the son of NTR.
“I’ve never thought about it. My father has been my greatest inspiration in life.
He is my favourite actor, role model, icon…my Alma mater. Everything I am, is
because of him. Can’t imagine life any other way,” he shares. While he is still in
the mood for total recall, we decided to ask him what it was to grow up in the
Nandamuri household. “My father was a dictator! A strict disciplinarian, he would
never spare any misdemeanor. He instilled in us a strong sense of discipline and
dedication to work.”

– action, drama, folklore, mythology, historical, faction, comedy, fantasy, social

drama…he has done it all. Only more. Movies like Annadammulla Anubandham,
Bramharshi Viswamitra, Madvirat Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy, Muddula Mavayya,
narinari naduma Murari, Lorry Driver, Rowdy Inspector,

the undying adulation of millions. What is the secret of his success? “My father
was an acting technique all by himself. He could mesmerize the audience with his
acting and dictated camera angles to the director. Similarly, Balakrishna is an
acting technique in himself he says matter-of-factly.

Acting, what else?

There were never two ways about taking up acting for Balakrishna. “I have always
dreamt about becoming an actor and emulating my father,” he says. But he was able
to get this far on his own steam. “The tag of being the son of NTR might have
helped open doors for me but I have had to take it from there on. I had to prove
myself as an actor like any other.” Prove himself, he did and how! Whatever the
genre

Aditya 369 (the first science-fiction attempt in Telugu), Bhairava Dweepam (folk
lore), peddannaya, samarasimha Reddy, narasimha naidu have all been milestones in
Telugu cinema.

Emotion drives me
Unwilling to be tied down to a particular image, Balakrishna has probably tried
his hand at more genres than any of his contemporaries. We wonder what keeps him
going. “Passion for cinema is something that flows in my veins. I thrive on that
emotion to perform. It is something that flows in the Nandamuri family,” he tells
us. Perhaps it is that undying self belief that made him comeback stronger every
time he was written off as a spent force. After a slew of flops in the late
eighties, many nay sayers predicted Balakrishna was over. But then
My own man
However, the credit for his success are his fans, he says. “You know, I have
always done films that I believed in and just followed my heart. I can proudly say
that only the Telugu cinema audience can appreciate such experimentation,” he
states humbly. There sure must be something about him and his acting that has
earned him

44

oct 09
came Muddula Mavayya in 1989 which ran for 175 days in 21 theatres, a record then.
Yet again after a lean patch in the midnineties, Balakrishna, critics said was a
thing of the past. He came back with samara simha Reddy that ran for 175 days in
32 centers doing better than Maine pyar kiya’s run in 27 theatres. He then
followed it up with narasimha naidu which was highest grosser ever in Tollywood
then.

Never say never

Balayya has not had a hit worthy of his stature in a while and his critics are up
in arms once again. Now they say Balakrishna is living in a time warp as most of
his films seem outdated. But the man has seen it all a few times over by now. “I
am my own god. I have always worked in the films that I have believed in and will
continue to do so no matter what people have to say about it,” he shrugs it off.

oct 09

45
CENTRE STAGE

stylist: SAMIRA d’CRUz MAkeup: MAdHU hAiR: SUNITA pRoduction designeR: dIVyA UdAy

photogRApheR: RAMAKANTH T

46

oct 09

When her parents chose her name, inspired from Helen of Troy, they knew, probably,
that she was made for things finer than the everyday. Like most actors of late,
she never planned on becoming one. But here she is, and how! From a self confessed
clumsy kid to a superstar of Telugu cinema, Ileana D’Cruz goes back and forth on
her journey so far. Mona Ramavat tunes in for this and that …
01
She’s cheery, she’s naughty and can’t stop talking once she starts!
CENTRE STAGE

Jumping off a cliff in stilettos would have seemed less unthinkable than acting in
a movie. A Telugu movie at that! But when life intervenes, well life just decides
to take over. Ileana’s isn’t a story that rags to riches chroniclers would be
excited about. But the drama is no less, from a completely unnoticeable girl to
the glam queen that she metamorphosed into with just one film. Sample this: At 12,
she would wear her hair only in a pony tail, at 14, her wardrobe was filled with
the most boring of grunge clothes, till 15 she didn’t own a single skirt. By 16,
she knew she was probably pretty but was too diffident to use eyeliner. At 18, she
sizzled on the screen as the female lead for Devadas, her debut film, and walked
away with the Filmfare (south) best female debut! Now at 22, she competes with the
most highly paid male actors of Telugu cinema after films like Pokiri, Jalsa, Kick
became box office super hits. “Sometimes, when I think back, it feels funny how
things turned out.
48 oct 09

But of course, I’m just not complaining,” Ileana smiles, rather grins, like she
usually does. She’s cheery, she’s naughty and can’t stop talking once she starts.
So we took off from there and everything that followed was stuff that joyrides are
made of. Goan by origin and Mumbai bred, Ileana was just too happy being the most
unladylike of three sisters and a mother who without any formal training is now
her stylist. “You know, my elder sister Farrah was this hoity toity little lady
with a napkin always on her lap. And me, in contrast was this extremely clumsy
accident prone sort of a girl, who somehow never got anything right. My folks used
to call me ‘butterfingers,’ because I would drop everything from my hands and keep
falling down like every now and again. In fact for the first shot of Devadas, I
had to come walking towards the camera calling out
‘Daddy…’ Everything was fine till the director said ‘action.’ I wasn’t even
nervous. As instructed, I came walking down screaming ‘Daddy…’ and the next thing
I knew I was on the floor with an embarrassing thud!” But of course, those who saw
the film only saw this new girl on the block with a hot bod that Telugu cinema
needed rather badly. Interestingly, she’s one of the very slender Telugu actors to
be around and become so popular. Else, Tollywood movie buffs like their girls
well, err, should we say rather buxom! She did end up gaining some weight, but has
also shed it off for her rather glam packed role in Saleem, her forthcoming Telugu
film. “I am a total foodie, you know and it was difficult to be on a diet. I am
not so much of a gym person, nor can I do yoga after a wrist injury, I have to
watch what I eat. Otherwise, I totally

love my Goan curries and of course, biryani when I’m in Hyderabad,” she adds with
a touch of unmissed guilt. She peps up the room, suddenly breaking into a song and
a little something that looks like a jig. She sings beautifully and she hasn’t
formally trained in music, we are told. “I was always part of the church choir and
that’s where I picked up an interest for music.” So will she ever sing
professionally? “Who knows? Maybe, one day I will.” Oh and did you know that
Ileana never goes anywhere without her sketchbook? “Yep, it’s the first thing I
pack when I’m going somewhere. I’ve always enjoyed sketching and these days I’m
somehow just too caught up with the idea of mystery (maybe because I’m reading The
Secret) and love drawing Arab women. They never fail to fascinate me. I think they
are the most mysterious of them all.”

oct 09

49
CENTRE STAGE

Talking of women then, we asked her if she is bothered by competition. “Not

anymore. I know I am on the path I want to be on and I work hard. I don’t need to
be hassled about anything. But I must confess, when I started off, I was pretty
jealous of other girls who would act well or dance well. But one day I thought
about it and realised I need to channelise my energies into learning from them
rather than comparing.” So no friends in the industry? “Well, I share a good vibe
with lots of people, but my friends really are those who I can go out in my
pajamas and hang out with. Those kind of friendships I haven’t yet found in the
industry. Besides, most often it is the media that creates conflicts between
people, which sometimes makes it difficult to make friends. Her dogs at home, she
says are her best friends instead. She loves playing with them and that’s
something she looks forward to going home for. “I haven’t been home for over four
months now and miss my darlings so much!” she rues. And now for Ileana’s beachy
side! Nope, that wasn’t a typographical error. We mean, she loves beaches and
especially the exotic ones back home in Goa. “I just can’t get enough of the sea.
It’s almost nirvana to feel the breeze in your hair while you walk barefoot on the
wet sands. When I’m stressed or generally want some instant relaxation, I simply
close my eyes and imagine the waves lapping around my ankles, the wind cutting out
every sound and a glorious sunset for company…” she drifts off, eyes closed with a
smile meant only for fantasies. Time for more confessions then: Ileana tells us
about these two crushes she had in her teens, both of who were these young dudes,
very nervous to talk to her. But later she discovered they were trying to approach
her so she could introduce them to her sister, instead! “I am a hopeless romantic,
you know. I was pretty heartbroken then, but we laugh our heads off now,” she
shares breaking into that kind of laughter. “So when I was in college, I liked
this guy and I knew he liked me too and very much wanted him to come over to me
and confess. When he did, I finally had the pleasure of turning down a guy!” she
breaks into a guffaw again. But bubbly as she is, she is also an extremely
sensitive person. “When I was about 19, during the shoot of one of my films, I was
shouted at for something that wasn’t my fault. I made a real hue and cry about it
and just wouldn’t stop sobbing right there on the sets. Over the years, of course,
I have learnt to hold my composure even when something goes wrong, but I somehow,
never developed that business attitude that’s so necessary in showbiz.” She’s
looking forward to her Bollywood debut and was all set to make it with a film
starring Shiney Ahuja. But that project is stalled now and she refuses to comment
further. But she’s waiting for a good opportunity to come her way. “It’s worth the
wait, I would say. Don’t want to rush into anything.” She had done a couple of
Tamil films too, but those didn’t turn out to be anything great. Since then, she
chooses carefully. “Know what, this choreographer, Suchitra, once told me ‘Don’t
change for people. Let them get used to you.’ It’s not arrogance. It’s something
so positive that it left a mark on me.” We couldn’t agree more.
50 oct 09

02
“I am a hopeless romantic”
oct 09

51
PROFILE

54

oct 09
TowerIng

Inferno
In a relatively short span of time Prabhas has managed to carve a niche for
himself in Tollywood. Karthik Pasupulate finds out what sets him apart from the
rest.
with his famous uncle would never end and the naysayers were having a field day.
It turned out to be a case of third time lucky for Prabhas. Director Sobhan’s
Varsham, went on to be a smashing success and Prabhas had arrived. He had shown he
was more than just a poster boy in Tollywood, making his critics eat their own
words. Buoyed by this success he tried to break away from the action hero mould
with the Krishna Vamsi directed Chakram in which he essayed the role of a US
returned doctor who is diagnosed with cancer. His subdued performance was
appreciated but the film did not do much for his career. He soon got back to doing
what he does best – playing the hot blooded action hero. Maverick director
Rajamouli brought the best out of Prabhas in the high voltage action drama,
Chatrapathi. The film set the cash registers ringing and established Prabhas once
and for all as a force to reckon with in the

Some actors can light up the screen just by the force of their persona. Prabhas is
one such actor. A 6ft 2 inch specimen of unadulterated south Indian manhood, his
presence can fill up a frame. Let’s face it, cinema is essentially a visual medium
and it sure helps to be good looking. But Prabhas is a talented actor as well and
has proven his acting prowess with some powerhouse performances in films like
Chatrapathi, Varsham and Raghavendra. In seven years since he made his debut with
Eshwar, Prabhas has managed to create quite a niche for himself in the Industry. A
big favourite with the feminine gender, Prabhas though has had to earn his
success. His first two films, Eshwar and Raghavendra turned out to be average at
best. Though he was getting good reviews it was not translating into box office
success. The tag of being the nephew of rebel star Krishnam Raju did not help
matters either as the comparisons

industry. Set in the dockyards of Vizag, Chatrapathi is a Tollywood classic.

Prabhas excelled in the role of a raging young man who inspires awe and fright in
equal measures as the protector of the helpless. Movies like Pournami, Yogi, Munna
and Bujjigadu followed since but none really set the box office on fire. Prabhas
made the transition from rustic to suave in this year with Billa, the Telugu
version of the hugely successful SRK starrer Don. Prabhas’s stylish act stood out
in the chic cocktail of babes, guns and cars. There is quite a buzz surrounding
his next venture, Ek Niranjan, directed by ace director Puri Jagannath. It will be
interesting to see what the promising actor has in store for us this time around.

oct 09

55
CENTRE STAGE

Advant e Pooja ag

Gandhi
In three years, she is already signing her 25th Kannada film, has transformed from
Pooja to Sanjana and back to Pooja and turned into some kind of a hot sought
inamorata of Kannada cinema. Over to Aravind G for more on Pooja Gandhi…

56

oct 09
V
She’s become a lucky charm with the producers, since everyone now believes that if
Pooja is in a film, it sure will become a hit!

k
t’s not so much about how long you’ve been around, but more about what you’ve done
while you were around. Right? Right. So, if that is something to go by, Pooja
Gandhi has already come a long way and from the looks of it, only going in
directions many would want to but only a few get to. She’s Punjabi by birth but
Bangalore is her home now, and Kannada, the language she perhaps uses the most.
Her first Kannada film, Mungaru Male in 2003 was a big hit at the box office and
propelled her to eventually climb the top position. And held that place, despite
stiff competition from the locals in the industry and many new comers. Pooja
recently signed her 25th Kannada film, which is commendable in itself, considering
that actresses do not have a long run in the male-dominated Kannada film industry.
What’s more? She’s become a lucky charm with the producers here, since everyone
now believes that if Pooja is in a film, it sure will become a hit! Thanks to her
hit films like Krishna and Iniya and Minugu, more recently. Some compare her to
the legendary Malashree who ruled the Kannada films for more than a decade. To
this, Pooja’s humble response, “Malashree is a living legend. I still have a long
way to go. Malashree excelled in a wide variety of roles. I am just three years
old in Kannada cinema.” But like Malashree, Shilpa, Ambika, Pooja too was an
outsider who went on to become a leading star. Kannada cinema pundits often quip
that every now and again an outsider comes in and takes everyone by storm. It’s
been happening for the last two decades at least.

Pooja owes her success to hard work and a very careful selection of projects and
of course, “the adulation that I have been receiving from my fans”. Only a couple
of her films have bombed at the box office so far, otherwise, filmmakers and top
male stars in Kannada prefer having Pooja in their films, thanks to a number of
hits she’s churned out. She has acted with leading male stars like Powerstar
Puneet Rajkumar, Ramesh Aravind, Ravichandran and Upendra. But despite being
established as a distinct brand in Kannada cinema, she is not averse to acting
with newcomers. “It is the film that matters, not the stars,” she contends. Her
list of costars who are new entrants is also as long - Tarun, Ajay, Prashanth,
Kitty, Balu, Vishal Hegde and Sunil Raoh. So what is it that makes her a pleasure
to work with? Those who have directed her before share that she settles into the
role quite easily. She played a romantic heroine in Krishna with as much
conviction as the toughie in Anu, or a mentally challenged girl in Huchchi. She’s
been getting a whole lot of heroine-centric roles of late, thanks to the ease with
which she adapts every character. With four releases lined up for this year, she
sure has her hands full. She’s also making her Bollywood debut with Abhimanyu, an
off-beat film being directed by Onir of My Brother Nikhil fame. The movie is about
of the exploitation of children and child abuse. The movie also features Radhika
Apte, Sanjay Suri and Rahul Bose. Abhimanyu is a short film and sixth of a series.
Besides acting, Pooja has taken to singing these days. She lent her voice to a
track

in her film, Minugu. But she’s clear she doesn’t want to turn singer full time,
which is because she thinks of herself an “average singer. I did my best to croon
this number for Minugu. It is somewhat like Madhuri Dixit’s track in Devdas,” she
explains. Also, she’s lost oodles of weight recently, since she follows a rigorous
schedule of two hours of work out and yoga. That’s body. And soul? “I am inspired
by this guru (can’t name) who is no more. I read his books. It helps me take
important decisions in life.” Last year, she launched her younger sister Radhika
Gandhi into the industry and they are together appearing in Sriharikathe, slated
for release later this year. Her next big dream is to produce and direct a
romantic movie. “Guess I’ll be around for another five years at least. By then, I
would have firmed up my plans.” Who knows, sooner even…

oct 09

57
xcluSive

58

oct 09

Here comes the Box Office Monster...

once in every 2-3 years, the andhra pradesh box office witnesses a blockbuster
that breaks all the records to emerge as the highest grossing film. southscope
analyses the phenomenon…
throughout 2006, 2007 and 2008 the industry witnessed many blockbusters like
Yamadonga, Stalin and Jalsa but none of them could displace Pokiri. till this box
office monster called Magadheera released. the movie flooded the market by opening
at 1000 screens across the world, which in trade parlance is known as a
“saturation release”. the idea is to garner the maximum collections in the initial
week. it opened at 50 screens in america alone. with a 28 theatre opening,
Magadheera occupied most of the theatres in Vijayawada city. of the 120 screens
greater hyderabad metropolis had nearly 60 of them showing Magadheera. the movie
opened with a ‘blockbuster talk’ right from the day one. the movie ended up
grossing 32 crores in the very first week itself. this is a number, which some hit
movies gross in their full box office run. half way into the third week, the movie
whizzed past the 50 crore mark, making it the first ever telugu film to reach that
landmark. six weeks after its release, today the worldwide gross of the movie
stands at a massive 75 crore. each of the above mentioned blockbusters crossed
their predecessors by a margin of ten-fifteen percent But, Magadheera collected
over 150% of its predecessor making it really ‘once a decade’ hit, in league of
films such as Maya bazaar, Prem Nagar, Lavakusha, Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka
Sundari and Shiva. the movie was the first telugu film to collect $2 million from
the overseas box office. the distributor revenues or “share” as it’s known in
trade touched the 50 crore mark. this puts Magadheera in the same league of films
such as Shivaji, Ghajini (hindi) and Gadar which had an all-india share of 64, 60
and 48 crores respectively.

we may indulge in textual analysis, critical commentary, attribute it to publicity

and promotional tie-ups, when a film becomes a super hit. But if a movie maker
finds a definite formula to churn out a hit after a hit, he may as well have found
god. while a small budget film with unknown star cast may overtake big banner
films stunning people who have made them, a mega budget movie featuring top stars,
shot in the most exotic locales may sink without a trace. the enigma of movie
making is hard, if not impossible, to hack. that said, once in a way comes a
massive budget movie starring budding actors that hits the bull’s eye bang on.
that too, right in the first few weeks, surpassing every other film in the
category, much to the delight of the audiences and the people involved in making
it. that’s when the industry watchers sit up and gape in awe. the year 2009 was
the chosen one to have one such telugu film in its calendar. But before we present
that picture here’s a lowdown on high grossers of recent times:

oct 09

in 2000, Nuvve Kavali, a small-budget film emerged as the biggest hit by grossing
25 crores, taking everybody by surprise. in 2001, pawan Kalyan’s Kushi beat that
margin by grossing 28 crores. and in 2002, Indra upped the ante by grossing 38
crores. Okkadu which released in January 2003, matched that by grossing 35 crores.
By september 2003, chiranjeevi’s Tagore ended up as the first film to gross 40
crores in telugu cinema. the zeitgeist of this time was to measure a film’s
success by the days it ran in the movie theatres. ntr’s Simhadri ran for 100 days
in 156 cinemas, while Tagore reached that milestone in 192 theatres. But, slowly
that trend was on the decline, as the industry started measuring a movie’s
performance by its box office gross and not the number of days it ran at box
office.

chiranjeevi’s next film Shankar Dada which was the biggest hit of that year, ended
its box office run just short of the 40 crore run. Tagore’s record remained
largely untouched till the release of mahesh Babu’s Pokiri in april 2006, which
not only catapulted him into superstardom, but grossed 48 crores at box office.
the records of Pokiri remained unchallenged.

grossing 48 crores, Pokiri was the biggest hit of telugu cinema. the records of
the movie remained unchallenged right through 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, till
Magadheera arrived.

59
xcluSive

60

The other fact that Magadheera brings to light is the revenue making potential of
South Indian films, especially the stamina of Andhra Pradesh box office.

oct 09
true to the rajamouli brand of blockbusters such as Student No.1, Simhadri,
Chatrapati, Sye, Yamadonga, the movie had all the commercial packaging such as
strong story, peppy music, well-executed action episodes, glamorous heroines. But
what set this film apart from his previous works was the grandeur. the film was
made on a budget of 40 crores, the highest ever for a telugu film. the colosseum-
like stadium, sword and sandal costumes, the chariot chase, epic wars transported
the audience to another era. the other fact that Magadheera brings to light is the
revenue making potential of south indian films, especially the stamina of andhra
pradesh box office. inspite of being a telugulanguage film, the movie was able to
match the collections of Bollywood’s biggies and the tamil-telugu bi-linguals
starring rajinikanth and Kamal haasan. to give credit where it’s due, ap box
office contributes considerably to these bi-linguals. here’s an indicator: Sivaji
– 18 crore, Aparichitudu – 14 crore, Dashavataram – 12 crore, Chandramukhi – 10
crore, Ghajini – 9 crore.

star system. But, Magadheera brought it back into vogue and the audiences have
lapped it up big time. many telugu filmmakers are not out to make ‘sword and
sandal’ dramas with big budgets. geetha arts, the producers of Magadheera
themselves are one amongst them. Badrinath, is the title of their next film to be
directed by V.V Vinayak, this time with the other star in the family, allu arjun.
the movie is another bigbudget epic drama which would go to floors in 2010.

Chirutha – ram charan’s debut film though was an average film, grossed 32 crores
at box office. armed with a lineage and dna that go into metamorphosing an actor
into a mega star, ram charan has captured the box office and captivated a cross
section of audiences with his magical second film. surpassing the box office
records of his father’s films, ram charan is being viewed as the befitting heir
who can carry the mantle from his illustrious father.. even though he is being
lauded for his blockbuster performance in Magadheera, the fact remains that even
his first firm had collected as much as chiranjeevi’s hits. All-India Distributor
Shares Movie All-India share Sivaji 64 Ghajini 60 Magadheera 52* Dashavataram 46.5
Dhoom 2 45.8 Gadar 45.1 Chandramukhi 44 Anniyan/Aparichitudu 42 40 Krrish Om
Shanti Om 40 • Still running in theatres Languages Tamil, Telugu Hindi Telugu
Tamil, Telugu Hindi Hindi Tamil, Telugu Tamil, Telugu Hindi Hindi

interestingly, Dashavataram & Anniyan were produced by tamil askar ravichandran,

while Ghajini and Magadheera were produced by allu arvind’s geetha arts.
historical, mythological and fantasy movies have always been a favorite amongst
the telugu audience. Mayabazar, Lava Kusha, Alluri Seetha Ramaraju, Dhaana Veera
Soora Karna, Jagadekaveerudu Athiloka Sundari) are classics of the industry which
fall in this genre. such films were consistently churned out till the 1990s. the
production of such movies declined with the fall of the studio system and the rise
of the

oct 09

61

Here comes the Box Office Monster...

62

kAleidoscope

10 : 09

FUNdA

ASH EFFECT!
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Longines watches promotional event in Hyderabad.

Pic: Sanjeev

BRANd LOyALTy
Heart throb Mahesh Babu at the Thums Up promotional event in Hyderabad held at Mc
Donalds.

BOSE BOASTS
Rahul Bose visits Hyderabad in connection with the ‘Joy of Giving‘ cause held at
Grill Room.

Pic: Sanjeev

pic: sri vatsa

GRANd LAUNCH
Kamal Haasan, Venkatesh, Shruti Haasan at the music release of eenadu at Taj
Krishna, Hyderabad.

FILM INdUSTRy’S “THANKS GIVING” TO THE CHIEF MINISTER

Kannada film industry gets together to thank Chief Minister Yeddyurappa for
getting the audio-video piracy under goonda act.

62

oct 09

Pic: Bhushan

Pic: Sanjeev
FUNdA

63 10 : 09

BIOSCOPE

eenaDu

Good
soP (statement of purpose) A no non sense Telugu movie with run time of less than
two hours! No hero, no songs, no comedy track, no villains, no cheap thrills . . .
not even an item number. eenadu might just make it to the Ripley’s (Believe it or
not we mean!) No pun intended. So what if eenadu is a remake, it still makes the
point loud and clear. There is life beyond the “formula”
n n

could have been better...

n

second time blues It’s just plain unfortunate that the film had to be a remake,
more so if you have already seen A wednesday. Except for some minor tweaks here
and there, it’s almost like watching the original a second time.

understated yet extravagant The two big stars – Kamal Haasan and Venkatesh were at
their understated best. Except for a rather objective account of a horror tale of
physical abuse of an unfortunate woman, Kamal Haasan exudes intensity without as
much as twitching a facial muscle. Venky is immaculate as a seasoned Police
Commissioner. The film stays true to the original in flesh and spirit. slick is
the word The movie has another first to its credit. It’s the first Tollywood flick
ever to be shot on Red one camera. The effect is not lost on the eye as the rich
visuals make an impression. The debutant director Chakri Toleti does a sleek job
of it all. The back ground score is impressive and the editing stands out as well.

something amiss Though it’s hard to find flaws with the film, for some reason
eenadu does not exactly sweep you off your feet. Blame it on the extended hangover
of A Wednesday! the BO collections will perhaps be the best judge.
n

- Karthik Pasupulate

oct 09

63

telugu
telugu kAnnAdA

64

BIOSCOPE

10 : 09

FUNdA

Good
n

could have been better…

n

First things first. Naga chaitanya is such a heart warming chip of the old block!
He seems to have inherited more than just genes. his grand-father (ANR) was
perhaps the first lover boy of Telugu cinema and his father (Nagarjuna) is the
reigning sultan of style. And you know what we mean when we say nag’s son
chaitanya or chay, like they call him sure has got some style! Let’s hope his
acting gets as good as his style in times to come. Karthika! Earthy, slender and
delicate are adjectives generally not associated with the leading ladies of the
south. But Karthika is all that and more. With a smile that could disarm an
assassin and the most expansive set of eyes this young lady sure has an
understated grace about her. The title: It was a title fit for the young gun. With
a tag line that reads ‘youth rocks…’ the film sure knew its target audience!

Packaging: The central theme of the story revolves around student politics (Think
Shiva) and Josh has an underlying message as well. Déjà vu? Well, Telugu film
buffs have learnt to live with this kind of déjà vu! But they expect some
amusement for the tickets they buy. Music: Except for a couple of hummable numbers
there is nothing in the album or the background score that stays with you.
Everything else… is just too patchy.

- Karthik Pasupulate

Josh
cast: Naga Chaitanya, Karthika, J D Chekravarthy, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Rehaman,
Prakash Raj, hema, surya and sreya dhanwantari direction: vasu varma Music:
Sandeep Chowta Produced by: Dil Raju

64

oct 09
FUNdA

65 10 : 09

BIOSCOPE

Good
n

could have been better

n

Upendra’s acting and the release date. The actor has excelled in both comedy and
action scenes. Upendra’s earlier movies Raktha kanneeru and Budhdhivantha,
released on his birthday, proved to be box office hits. If you go by that trend
Rajani, another birthday release, has followed suit.

The title. The curiosity it generated because it happens to be the superstar’s

name worked in its favour. Some people thought it was a remake of ghajini. Nobody
is complaining because the film has succeeded in drawing crowds to the theatres on
the first day of release. Hamsalekha’s music. All the five songs have a lilting
melody and are immensely hummable. The background score is mellifluous too.

n n

The plot has nothing new to offer. Aarti Chabria could have put in a little more
effort to match Upendra’s brilliant acting. Her only contribution is to prance
around in blink-and-you-will-miss clothes. Wake up girl. There’s more to acting
than just baring it all.

- usha Prasad

RAJANI
cast: Upendra, Aarti Chabria, Sharath Lohithashva, Mukul Dev, Rangayana Raghu,
Ramesh Bhat, Kokila Sadhu Music: Hamsalekha Produced by: Ramu

oct 09

65

kAnnAdA
FUNdA

(People born on dates 2nd, 11th, 20th or 29th) Vocation Your professional life
will be upgraded with expansion in your area of work, resulting in self
satisfaction. Assets You will have plenty of disposable finances for the expansion
of business or for buying property. Family and Friends There is a probability of
marriage for those of you who’re single. Health Minor ailments like stomach
disorders, knee pain, bile disorder or diabetes might disturb you erratically.
Travel The unwanted transfer won’t happen this month but there will be some
changes at locally. Romance You may enter a new relationship that may pep you up!

october predictions

(People born on dates 1st, 10th, 19th or 28th)

Vocation An important person would get attracted towards you and help you on the
professional front. Assets Your movable and immovable property will get augmented.
Family and Friends Some relatives might come to your house for their medical
treatment or education. Health Health of elderly natives might get affected
slightly but only due to excessive work and stress. Travel Your employers or
parents might send you abroad for higher education. Romance Issues surrounding
your love life and relationships would simply disappear! 66 oct 09

(People born on dates 3rd, 12th, 21st or 30th) Vocation This month will certainly
bring for you better growth in your career and business. Assets There might be
some expenditure that will be incurred on repair of immovable property or
machinery. Family and Friends Some auspicious ceremony is on the cards. Health You
may get relief from some old diseases. Travel Some uncertainties will surface in
the way of journeys concerning your profession. Romance You’ll tend to develop
intimate and deep love relationships, or it may just be strengthening of a current
relationship.

PeoPle Peo le born on dates 3rd, 12th, 21st or 30th

01

PeoPle Peo le born on dates 1st, 10th, 19th or 28th

03

PeoPle Peo le born on dates 2nd, 11th, 20th or 29th

02
PeoPle born on dates 4th, 13th, 22nd or 31st

PeoPle Peo le born on dates 6th, 15th or 24th

(People born on dates 4th, 13th, 22nd or 31st)

(People born on dates 6th, 15th or 24th) Vocation Someone close and senior may
help you to expand your business and improve your reputation and there will be
extensive gains too. Assets You might spend a lot of money in the expansion of
your business by the middle of the month. Family and Friends By mid month, you
might be worried about the health of elderly people in the family. Health An old
health problem will get cured as the month progresses. Travel An invigorating
pleasure trip is also on the cards with your close friends or family members.
Romance Romance and flirting might be a theme for you this month.

PeoPle born on dates 8th, 17th or 26th PeoPle born on dates 9th, 18th or 27th

04 06
Vocation There is a possibility of you being promoted to a senior management
position. Assets You will use some of your savings by the month end. Family and
Friends Some pending family problem will get resolved by mid month. Health You
might be affected by blood disorders, knee pain, hypertension or diabetes in the
middle of the month. Travel There will be numerous journeys in connection with
your business/work partners this month. Romance Increased responsibilities and
duties may draw a lot of your time, so you may not be able to take pleasure in
your love life.

08

(People born on dates 8th, 17th or 26th) Vocation The middle of the month will
bring for you laurels and achievements in your specialized field. Assets You might
spend money on the renovation of your old resources. Family and Friends There will
be division of your parental property in the beginning of the month. Health Minor
ailments like cough, cold and headache might bother you. Just follow an optimal
diet and exercise regime so that any ailments you might have don’t get aggravated.
Travel If you are away from your home because of your job or business, there is an
indication of getting transferred to your native city. Romance You may enter new
relationships this month, but a life time commitment seems highly unlikely.

PeoPle born on dates 5th, 14th or 23rd

(People born on dates 5th, 14th or 23rd)

(People born on dates 7th, 16th or 25th) Vocation You will save considerably on
overhead costs. Assets You will spend a good amount of money on infrastructure or
machinery that concerns your business. Family and Friends You will be happy with
the career growth of your family members. Health You need to be slightly concerned
about your health, since it needs a little bit of extra attention. Travel You will
not be bothered by unwanted travel. Romance There is warmth and happiness in
current relationships, and there is a possibility of fun through new love
relationships.

PeoPle Peo le born on dates 7th, 16th or 25th

05 07
Vocation In your business you will be able to lead your group. Assets There is
probability of detachment in your business and property which may prove
advantageous to you in the long run. Family and Friends One of your family members
might get a job of their choice. Health Take great care of your diet and exercise
regimen to keep fit as much as possible during this period. Travel You will travel
by air frequently. Romance There might be an inner struggle/ tussle over some
issues and you may feel tied down to everything and not able to express yourself
freely.

09

(People born on dates 9th, 18th or 27th) Vocation Professionals will enjoy senior
post and reputation also. Assets Be careful about rent and lease related matters.
Family and Friends One of your family members is about to relocate to some other
city. Health Certain auspicious placement of planets will bring quick recovery
from health problems and your working efficiency will remain intact. Travel You
are likely to go abroad for your higher education. Romance You may feel the
pressure of responsibilities and may be tempted to find a quick escape.

Astronumerologist

Bhavikk Sangghvi

e-mail :- bhavikksangghvi@gmail.com website :- www.bhavikksangghvi.com oct 09 67

FUNdA STARRy AFFAIR

1 2 3 4
oct 09

PRABHAS

Prabhas Raju Uppalapati popularly known as Prabhas, was born on 23rd October 1980
which makes him a Number 5 ( Mercury ) person in numerology. He is a cusp between
the zodiacs – Libra and Scorpio and hence is jointly ruled by Number 6 ( Venus ),
partially by Number 8 ( Saturn ) and Number 9 ( Mars ) whereas his destiny number
adds up to Number 6 again ( 2 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 9 + 8 + 0 = 24 = 2 + 4 = 6 ). That
means, he is ruled by Number 6 twice. Which is too good ! His female fan following
is huge due to this factor. Prabhas’ lucky numbers are in the series of 6 and 8.
Here’s proof of his notable films which add up to his lucky numbers :

* varsham (2004): This film which reversed his fortunes released in his 24th year.
The year also adds up to Number 6. * Chatrapathi (2005): The title of this
monumental blockbuster film adds up to Number 8 (35). He should spell his names
PRRABHAS or PRABBHAS so that it vibrates on his most favorable Number 6. It will
ensure more fame, success and glory. Added to that, he should wear a diamond above
half a carat set in any metal on his ring finger on a Friday morning, sunrise time
after reciting the mantra ‘OM SHAM SHUKRAYA NAMAH’ - 16 times before wearing. He
should also wear a red coral set in gold on his right hand ring finger on a
tuesday morning, one hour after sunrise after reciting the mantra ‘oM Ang
ANGARKAYA NAMAH’ – 19 times before wearing. This will take care of certain delays
in his life and will even improve his health, especially blood related issues.
Prabhas will soon be entering his 30th year which may not be his best phase. He
may have to keep a watch on his wallet. Unnecessary luxuries can wait.

Both his releases Ek Niranjan and Darling may not create any ripples at the box
office.

68
Evvariki kanapadadhey premadhi Ey roopam.. Ey Chevi ki vinabadadhey premedhi Ey
raagam Kanake apuroopam.. Kaligey anuraagam... Evvariki kanapadadhe premadhi Ey
roopam.. Ey Chevi ki vinabadadhey premedhi Ey raagam Kanake apuroopam..kaligey
anuraagam... Yedhaloney koluvunna, Edurinaa polchaleka... Nijameley Anukunna,
Rujuvedhi telchalekha.. Marila..Aaa.. Aaaa...haaa.....Haa..Aaa.. Evvariki
kanapadadhe premadhi Ey roopam.. Ey Chevi ki vinabadadhey premedhi Ey raagam
Dhaari adagaka paadham, nadusthunnadha... Vela telupaka kaalam,Gadusthunnadha...
Thadi vunnadhaa Yedhaloo... Thadimi Choosuko..Ooo.. Chelimiga adigithe Cheli
janta, Chilipiga palakadha vayasanthaa Jathapadu valapula gudi ganta, Thalapula
thalupulu Thaduthundha.. Choosthune pasikoona, Edigindha inthalona.. Chebithe ney
Epudina , Telisindha Ee kshanana.. Avuna..Avunaa..Aaaa... Aaaaa.. Haa..Aaa..
Evvariki kanapadadhe premadhi Ey roopam.. Ey Chevi ki vinabadadhey premedhi Ey
raagam..... Kallu nuvvostunte, Merustunnavi... Vellivastanannte, Kurustunnavi.....
Konnalugaa....Nalo Yenni Vinthaloooo...Ohoo Galagala kaburulu chebutunna, Vadaladu
gubuloka gadiena , Madi anavalasinade edina ,

Pedavula venakane aligena...... Hrudayamlo vintha bhavam, Padamedi leni kavyam ...
Pranayam lo priya naadam , Vintune vunndi pranam..... Telusa..Aaaa... Aaaa....
Evvariki kanapadadhe premadhi Ey roopam.. Ey Chevi ki vinabadadhey premedhi Ey
raagam.....

Film: Josh Singers: rahul Vaidya, ujjaini mukherjee Music: sandeep chowta

oct 09

69
FUNdA

BAC K
if cinema is magic, then Mayabazaar must be among the most enthralling of its pack
of tricks! Karthik Pasupulate revisits the classic that became a celebrated
landmark of Telugu cinema

Looking

Movie: Mayabazaar
Year: 1957 Director: Kadri Venkata Reddy Cinematographer: Marcus Bartley
Producers: B Nagi Reddy, Chakrapani Music: Ghantasala

1957

Cast: sV rangarao, ntr, anr, Gummadi, relangi, ramana reddy, mikkilineni,

mukkamala, nagabhushanam, allu ramalingaiah, r. nageswara rao, savithri,
rishyendramani, chayadevi, surya Kantham and sandhya,

Distributors: Vijaya Vahini Studios

y
director Kadri Venkata Reddy

ou just know a good film when you see one. And a great film, well, stays with you
long after the stardust has been swept away and the year of release doesn’t
matter. An iconic film, well, creates legends of its own that last for an
eternity. kv Redddy directed Mayabazaar is among those iconic films that went on
to become a phenomenon!

70

oct 09
It’s been fifty-two years since Mayabazaar hit the theatres. Many films have been
made since but you will struggle to find somebody who has seen Mayabazaar and not
liked it. To say Mayabazaar is one of the finest Telugu films ever would be
stating the obvious. What is even more remarkable is that the film is based on
hugely popular South Indian folk-myth, Sasirekha Parinayam. It is the delightful
tale of Abhimanyu’s (son of Arjuna) marriage with Sasirekha, the daughter of
Balarama (elder Brother of Lord Krishna). Set at a time when the gods walked the
earth, the cast of Mayabazaar is certainly worthy of its characters. Needless to
say, SV Rangarao, NTR, ANR, Gummadi, Relangi, Nagabhushanam, Allu Ramalingaiah,
Savitri, Chaya Devi, Suryakantham are all demigods of Telugu cinema. However, the
contributions of the legendary director KV Reddy and master cinematographer Marcus
Bertley tower over everything else. KV Reddy’s genius can be found in every frame.
He brings epic characters to life in a way that was breathtaking. The movie takes
you on a wondrous voyage into the world where myth meets the reel in black and
white. There isn’t a single shot that seems unnecessary or overdone. The quality
of acting talent that KV Reddy had at his disposal must have surely helped but
what also stands out is the cinematography.

The special effects were futuristic and truly something to talk about even six
five decades later. Ghatotkacha (SV Rangarao) digging into the wedding feast in
the song Vivahabhojanambu…is quite awe inspiring to say the least. The laddus
falling on their own into the hungry Ghatotkacha’s mouth, arrows flying in the
air, the bed posts bending forward on their own is creativity at its best at a
time when animation was not a household term. We might not be too off the mark to
state, Mayabazaar is a lesson in black and white photography. Any reference to
Mayabazaar can never be complete without a mention of the music. Songs like Bhali
Bhali Bhali Bhali Deva, Lahiri Lahiri, Ahan Naa Pelli Anta, Vivaha Bhojanambu,
Chuupulu kalasina Subhavela are legendary. It’s just one of those rare films where
everything comes together so beautifully, the end result is phenomenal!

oct 09

71
letteR FRoM the editoR
Happily ever after The festive season has begun. With Eid and Dasara behind us and
Deepavali around the corner, the aroma of celebrations is in the air. However, for
us south Indians there have been plenty more reasons to say cheers this year. We
won the Oscars. We swept the national awards. And beginning this month, we will
have a magazine exclusively covering southern cinema. Considering the fact that
the southern industry has churned out biggest blockbusters forever now and other
language film makers have laughed their way to the banks by remaking our films, we
haven’t really got the media space that is due to us. But now that’s in the past.
Here comes southscope, India’s only English film magazine to capture the true
spirit of southern cinema. We have tried to pack in the punch of every aspect of
cinema we all love. In one sentence - for cinema, of cinema and by cinema lovers.
We have a feeling you’ll appreciate our offering. I must thank my publishers who
have entrusted me and my team with the responsibility and ensured that we have the
best of resources and above all, the creative freedom which is equivalent to
oxygen for us writers. My editorial associates Mona Ramavat and Karthik Pasupulate
who, I believe, are God’s special gifts to me and southscope. The youngest member
Vrinda Prasad may be the baby of the southscope family but is as good as they
come. We are also blessed with a dream creative team - Raj Shekar at the helm ably
supported by Prakash, Ravi, Vamsi and Suresh & Suresh (yes, there are two of them)
who are not only on the same page as us but have made all our efforts spring to
life. we, at southscope, are a crazy movie manic bunch and we love people who are
like us. That’s why we instinctively know what or who you may want to read about.
From whacky interviews to serious reviews, starry airs to down-to-earth affairs,
behind the scenes action to on screen stunts, southscope is ready to take on the
world of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada & Malayalam cinema with its action packed stories.
Please stay with us. We will back every month. before i sign off let me wish all
of you a safe and fun Deepavali on behalf of all of us at southscope.

Vanaja banagiri
editor-in-chief

oct 09

73
SUBSCRIPTION FORM
Mail this coupon along with your cheque/DD to M/s. Silver Scope Media and
Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. #202, Shiva Sai Sannidhi, Dwarakapuri Colony, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad - 500 034, A.P., India

Yes, I wish to subscribe to

Tick

Term 12 Months

No. of issues 12

Cover Price Rs. 600

You Pay Rs. 400

Mega Savings Rs. 200

Cheque / DD no. __________________ of Rs. _____________ (Payable to M/s. Silver

Scope Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.) Dated ____________ Bank
_____________________________ Amount Rs. (in words)
___________________________________ Title (Mr. / Mrs.) First name
__________________________________________________________________________________
_ Last name _______________________________________ Tel no. (Res.)
___________________ Mobile_____________________ Fax ________________________ Email
_________________________________________________________________________ Address:
House/Plot/Flat no. ____________ Floor __________ Apt. name
_____________________________________________ Street/Sector
_________________________ Landmark ____________________________ Locality
_________________________ City ____________________________ District
________________________ State ________________ Postal code ____________

For any further information / queries, please call us on +91 40 3060 2323 / 2424
Email: subscription@southscope.in or SMS SCOPE to 56263

Signature

Terms & Conditions: Cheque/DD payable at Hyderabad should be drawn in favour of

M/s. Silver Scope Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Money Orders shall not be
accepted. Cheque/DD must contain the code / address of the issuing branch. Non-
MICR Cheque shall not be accepted. Please write full name, address and signature
on the reverse of the subscription Cheque/DD. For multiple subscriptions, attach
separate coupons (photocopies allowed) along with separate Cheques/DDs.
Subscription copies shall be delivered by post/courier as soon as the issue is
released in the market, however Southscope shall not be responsible for postal or
courier delays. Do not give post box or APO address. This offer is non-refundable
and cannot be combined with any other offer. Please allow a delivery period of 4-6
weeks (after encashment of remittance) for the first issue of Southscope to reach
you. This is a limited period offer and valid only till stocks last. This offer is
valid only in India. Southscope shall not be liable for any postal delays, lost or
mutilated coupons and shall not entertain any correspondence in the above regard.
Southscope reserves the right to extend, cancel or discontinue this offer or any
part hereof, without giving any reason or prior notice. These terms and conditions
shall vary or be subject to change at the discretion of Southscope. Disputes, if
any, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Hyderabad
only.
Wishes all its ReadeRs a daZZlinG Festival OF liGhts!