October 2023

Superstar Krishna’s grandson Ashok Galla, who made his grand debut with ‘Hero’ and nephew of superstar Mahesh Babu, is making his second film under the direction of Arjun Jandhyala of ‘Guna 369’ fame. #AshokGalla2 is written by creative director Prashant Varma. NRI (Film Distributor) Somineni Balakrishna is producing this film as production number 1 of Lalithambika Productions. Nallapaneni Yami is being presented by K Sagar as co-producer. The promotional content of this already released movie has received a good response.

Today the makers have released the first look of Devadatta Nage of Adipurush fame who is playing the villain in the film. Devadatta will be seen in the powerful role of Kansaraju in this film. In the first look, he looked very violent holding a knife.

In this film, Miss India 2020 Manasa Varanasi is playing the heroine along with Ashok Galla. Top technicians are working for this movie. Composer Bheems Cicerolio, who gave the blockbuster music for Dhamaka, is composing the music, while Prasad Moorella is the cinematographer and Tammiraju is the editor. Burra Saimadhav is providing the dialogues.

The makers will soon announce the teaser and title.

Actors: Ashok Galla, Varanasi Manasa, Devdatta Nage

Technical Department:
Story: Prashant Verma
Directed by: Arjun Jandhyala
Producer: Somineni Balakrishna
Banner: Lalithambika Productions
Submitted by: Nallapaneni Yamini
Music: Bheems Cicerolio
DVP: Prasad Murella
Editor: Tammiraju
Dialogues: Burra Sai Madhav
Co-producer: Sagar.K
Publicity Designer: Dhani Ele
PRO: Vamsi-Shekhar

Hero Karthi who is basking under the glory of consecutive hits is presently doing his landmark 25th film Japan. This heist thriller is directed by Raju Murugan of Joker fame and produced by SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabhu under Dream Warrior Pictures.

Japan is releasing for Diwali and Annapurna Studios bagged the Telugu Rights for a fancy amount. With Annapurna, the movie is expected to get a wide release and extensive visibility.

The film’s teaser released a few days ago has got a fantastic response. The teaser promises to be an intriguing story of an anonymous person executing a heist of 200 Crores. Japan looks to be a crazy character and storyline for Karthi. The actor who underwent a makeover appeared in a completely different avatar.

Anu Emmanuel played the heroine opposite Karthi, while Sunil appeared in a vital role. Popular cinematographer Vijay Milton makes his acting debut with the film. The frames captured by S Ravi Varman are majestic, while GV Prakash Kumar enhanced them with his BGM. Philomin Raj is in charge of the editing. Vinesh Banglan, the National Award-winning production designer (Kammarasambhavam) is taking care of the production design for Japan.
Cast: Karthi, Anu Emmanuel, Sunil, Vijay Milton & others.

Technical Crew:
Directed by: Rajumurugan
Production House: Dream Warrior Pictures
Producers: S R Prakash Babu, S R Prabu
Creative Producer: Thangaprabaharan R
Executive Producer: Aravendraj Baskaran
DOP: S. Ravi Varman
Music: GV Prakash Kumar
Editor: Philomin Raj
Stunts: Anl Arasu
Production Designer: Vinesh Banglan
PRO: Vamsi-Shekar

Happy to start a youngster production house like Swathi and do rustic thriller ‘Mangalavaram’ with talented director Ajay Bhupathi – Megastar Chiranjeevi

After ‘RX 100’ and ‘Mahasamudram’, the movie ‘Mangalavaram’ is coming under the direction of Ajay Bhupathi. Payal Rajput and Ajmal Amir acted as a couple. The movie will release on November 17 in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages. Swathi Reddy Gunupathi and Suresh Verma are producing this film under the banner of Mudra Media Works.

Megastar Chiranjeevi released the trailer of ‘Mangalavaram’ via Twitter (X). While he released it online… Hero Karthikeya released it offline.
Chiranjeevi said through Twitter, “The producers of this film, Swathi Reddy Gunupathi and Suresh Verma, are close friends of mine. Especially Swathi Reddy is a very dynamic girl. My girl is a good friend of Sreeja. For me, it is very exciting to see young people, including young women, entering various branches of the film industry. They can give a new direction to film making and marketing with their new ideas, new energy. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to start a youngster production house like Swathi Reddy and make this film as a first attempt with a talented director like Ajay Bhupathi. I am happy that the trailer of this movie, which is made as a rustic action thriller in the background of the village, is being released at my hands. Wishing the film a super duper success, all the best to the entire team!” he tweeted.

Young protagonist, Ajay Bhupathi’s first movie ‘RX 100’ hero Karthikeya said, “RX 100 has been released for five years. Now when I come here and sit, I feel like I am in the success meeting of that movie. Ever since the release of ‘RX 100’, when everyone was asking when I, Ajay Bhupathi or I and Payal would do it, I kept telling them that a good story should be done. I am the favorite of both of them. One day I saw the news that both of them were doing a movie. Sir what will we do! These are not days for goodness. They left me and made a movie. We completed the shooting of ‘RX 100’ in 50 days. I know how big a movie Ajay Bhupathi will make if he shoots for 100 days. He shot ‘RX 100’ in their hometown Atreyapuram. Now he has shown that town in a different way in this movie. We think that Godavari is like in Vamsi Gari’s movies. He started a new genre with ‘RX 100’. Now the movie. 100 percent I am weighing more than this movie. The trailer shows that Ajanish’s music is amazing,” he said.

Karthikeya said that he did the film in front of Payal and Ajay Bhupathi, not with him… Did you think that he would not make it with you? It should be repeated first with Karthikeya. As the mind told me, I went and did ‘Tuesday’. Very soon, there will be a film with 100 percent our combination (Kartikeya). It is not normal. It is in the plan. There is a shocking story,” said Ajay Bhupathi.

Ajay Bhupathi said, “I was introduced to KCW Karthikeya Creative Works through ‘RX100’. Karthikeya is the hero of that movie. He is the producer. Now I started ACW (Ajay Bhupathi Creative Works). Let’s see if KCW and ACW meet in future. Music director Ajaneesh is suffering from severe fever. Therefore, he could not come here. Our cinematographer Shivendra got an opportunity to do a film with Nagarjuna after the release of ‘Mangalavaram’ teaser. He got busy. Thanks to both of them and all other technicians. It is a dark thriller. She made a different genre of film. I can’t say anything more than that. It is still difficult to make a dark thriller with this type of Village & Nativity. Editing and sound should be kept in mind while shooting. Shoot with the full script. I have touched a point that no one has touched. I hope they will support this movie like they supported ‘RX 100’. There is a reason behind the title ‘Mangalavaram’. You will know that by watching the movie. Tuesday is the favorite day of the gods. It is also known as Jayavaram. Someone says some crazy proverbs. Ignore them. Let’s talk about our producers. Swati garu is very classy. She is so raw and rustic, my film was a success when the masses accepted the film. I don’t say it is a female oriented movie. We have touched the point related to women. She liked it and said that she will make the film. All the shooting was done outside Hyderabad. The budget has increased. However, they anchored that she is doing a big film. Thanks to my elder brother Suresh Verma and Swathi Reddy,” he said.

Viraj Ashwin, who made a special place in the hearts of the audience as the lead actor with Baby, is the latest film ‘Joruga Husharuga’ starring Poojita Ponnada. Anu Prasad is the director. Nirish Thiruvidhuli is producing under the banner Shikhara and Akshara Arts LLP. The teaser of this film, which is being made as a youthful family entertainer, was released on Saturday. Eminent producers KL Damodar Prasad, Bekkam Venugopal, director Kashna Chaitanya, senior journalists TV 5 Murthy, Vinayaka Rao and Suresh Kondeti who were the chief guests of this program released the news. On this occasion, Damodara Prasad said, ‘The film pair is cute. The teaser is impressive. I hope that the film will also become popular. Beckham Venugopal said ‘This is a genuine love entertainer. Good movies will always have my support. I saw this movie. That is why I am contributing my part to the release of this film. Director Anuprasad has shot the film very well. The emotion and entertainment in the film will entertain everyone. I want the film to be successful as well. Director Anuprasad said.. This film is made with all the emotions with elements that are liked by today’s youth and will appeal to all those who are looking for something new. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me. Director Krishna Chaitanya said that director Anuprasad is my friend and a good talent. Along with the teaser, the conversations also touched the heart. Cameraman Mahireddy Pandugula, actor Chaitanya Rao, Madhunandan, heroine Sonu Thakur and others participated in this program.

Starring Viraj Ashwin, Poojita Ponnada, Saikumar, Rohini, Madhunandan, Siri Hanumanthu, Sonu Thakur, Brahmaji, Chammak Chandra, Crazy Kanna etc.

Music: Praneeth Music,

Editor: MarthandKevenkatesh,

Production Controller: Teja Thiruvidhula

YNOT Studios and Reliance Entertainment proudly present ‘MARTIN LUTHER KING’ (Telugu) which is hitting screens on October 27. Produced by Mahayana Motion Pictures, the film is directed by Puja Kolluru. It features Sampoornesh Babu in the lead role while senior artistes VK Naresh and Sharanya Pradeep play key roles.

The film’s teaser, released on Gandhi Jayanthi day, elicited an overwhelmingly positive response for its unique blend of political satire and entertainment, making it a refreshing addition to Telugu cinema. The film also showcases Sampoornesh Babu in a captivating new role as an actor.

As part of the promotions, director Puja Kolluru interacted with the media on Saturday. Here are the excerpts of the interview.

Can you please give a brief introduction about yourself?
I am a daughter of a Journalist who grew up in Vijayawada’s Satyanarayanapuram. After studying up to 10th Class in Kendriya Vidyalaya, I was thinking about what to opt for because I was not a science student. There was no course that could cover both science and arts. After one year, I came to know about United World College of Mahindra. South African anti-apartheid activist and politician was honorary president of the institute. Education has been like movea ment for them for the last 50 years. The institute runs with this objective irrespective of caste, religion and region. It is located in Pune. When I applied, I was fortunate to get selected from 2,000 applicants. I was offered a Rs 25 lakhs scholarship. I was fortunate to study Physics, Economics, English literature, Spanish and one art subject — Film Studies.
During that time, I was so much influenced by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro who directed Pan’s Labyrinth. He also directed The Shape of Water which was awarded The Oscars. So Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish film that tells the Spanish Civil War from the perspective of a 10-year-old girl. I grew up watching Aakali Rajyam with my father and another late legendary director Viswanath’s iconic films. Later, the storytelling and the way stories are being churned out are quite different.

Later to study my graduation, I applied to 4 universities in the USA. Although I secured a seat in all of them, Ringling College of Art and Design came forward offering me a scholarship of Rs 1.7 crore. I studied for four years, I had an amazing faculty who worked for some big Hollywood films. The team, who worked with ‘American Beauty’, taught me that was when I first learned about colours used in cinema. Later, I worked with Hollywood independent filmmakers. Hollywood studios work just like a corporate setup. But after coming to Tollywood, the atmosphere here is quite different. I worked with Swapna Dutt during the time of ‘Mahanati’.

Having studied filmmaking in the USA, what made you choose a remake for the debut?
I’ve to tell a story. It doesn’t matter whether it is a biopic or a remake. When I approached producers, they simply said it is a story that should be made after 5 years. I had already wasted a precious time of three years. When I got the offer, I felt it was the right script that I was looking for. I have many scripts with me. The themes like international integration. But Tollywood’s functioning was different here. And the OTT too is a proxy to the cinema. They go by assumptions and statistics of what the audience actually wants. It was a culture shock for me watching all these here. So, usually, the stories I write can relate to Vijaywada and the USA. By looking at my appearance, people in the industry asked me to come with family dramas and romantic entertainers which are not my cup of tea.

Is it you who joined with Venkatesh Maha or did he join hands with you?
It was I who first collaborated with Venkatesh Maha garu. During the making of Marmanu, the crowd-funding film, I happened to hear the script and I was so thrilled. YNOT Studios Sashi approached Maha garu with a script for Mandela. They want to remake it. Maha politely turned down the offer as he has so many scripts in the pipeline. That’s when I asked Maha garu if I am interested in taking up the project. The story may look like a political satire, but there is a personal angle and a discrimination angle to it. I grew up in a society where I had to face discrimination as a young girl. So I told him that I can bring the depth into the story with all my personal experiences. I feel so proud to work with Maha garu.

Vijayawada is an epicentre of political activity. When you make a political satire, how your experiences with the society helped you in the script?
Society is not so ideal as we’re taught in civics textbooks. You never find an ideal democratic nation in our society. Growing in Vijayawada, the socio-segregations that I have seen there, have all been included in the film. Maha garu has so much strength in writing screenplay and dialogues. Because he came from the people, he observed so closely. So if I wrote them, it would have been quite different.

Is it your choice to cast a comedian like Sampoornesh Babu as the lead protagonist in the film?
No, it was Maha garu’s call. We had cast options of 64 artistes. Usually if we sit and discuss, we come to a conclusion about who would be the best cast for the principal character. It took 20 days to zero in on Sampoo. If it was other than Sampoo, only that actor is visible. But someone like a simple man, a common man like Sampoornesh Babu appears on the screen, it appears as though you brought a common man on the stage. That’s his identity. Sampoornesh Babu garu is born for this role.

How welcoming is Tollywood for a female director like you?
It is very welcoming. If a woman filmmaker is coming to the industry, she has nothing to do with what the industry thinks about her. How determined she is is important. There were problems in Hollywood too. Sexism has changed a lot in the film industry after the emergence of social media. There are two different generations.

The two Telugu States are undergoing a politically charged atmosphere due to elections. To what extent did you try to present the present political situation in Martin Luther King?
Mandela, the original Tamil flick reflects Tamil politics. Here, it is entirely different. Be it the pop culture references or from the cinema, we tried to show how people are leading their lives. Without political essence, the film can’t be a satirical one. We haven’t made the film to appease someone or mock somebody. If there is anything bias in the film it would be the bias that we have for the people, for the common man.

So many comparisons keep coming in your mind when you deal with a remake.
I have not directed Martin Luther King by watching the original. I have not kept Mandela as the parameter. Maha garu wrote the script adapting the story of Tamil original. As a director, I made the film going by the script. It’s a completely different story. It has one year of our hard work into it. You will see a different film. We have changed the socio-political aspect — rather than taking the references of the original film, we took the lower castes which are being suppressed which are facing discrimination. The cobbler caste. That we have incorporated in the movie.

What made you cast Venkatesh Maha as the actor in the film?
We have first approached a big artiste. Unfortunately, he got busy with so many projects. That’s when we roped in Mahi.

What are the major highlights of the film?
It’s a complete fun and comedy entertainer. From a five-year-old girl dancing to folk music to the 80-year-old economic professor — everyone would enjoy this laugh riot. This satire is not just for laughs. It will be embedded in the story. That is the highlight in terms of entertainment point of view. In terms of vote point of view, how important a vote is in a democracy already exists in the story. But we amped up very much. The King, the voter is the king you see the tagline, that is the punchline of the story. Martin Luther King had fought for civil rights — especially against the discrimination of vote. I grew up listening to the name Martin Luther King. That’s how I got connected with the name.

You didn’t take the original music composer for the film. Why so?
Music changes everything, as I said we didn’t want to make a remake, we want to make a film adaptation. One of the key elements is music. Smaran Sai is a young blood. He is not recognised much although after he did RX100. I loved Smaran Sai’s work ethics. There are 5 songs in the film, you will never know whether they exist in the film. They just go with the flow. Rehman gave the lyrics.

One of the most gorgeous actors of our times, Katrina Kaif is set to melt hearts and set the internet on fire in Tiger 3’s first song Leke Prabhu Ka Naam that drops on Monday, October 23rd!

Katrina sports 7 smoking looks in the song and says Leke Prabhu Ka Naam is one of the most favourite songs of her entire career!

Katrina says, “Leke Prabhu Ka Naam stands out as a visually captivating song. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Cappadocia, Turkey, this song has to be visually one of my favourites. Teaming up once more with my favourite Vaibhavi Merchant after Mashallah and Swag Se Swagat.”

She adds, “Styled by one and only Anaita Shroff Adajania who has truly excelled in curating a stunning array of looks for me. In Leke Prabhu Ka Naam, Anaita has crafted 7 remarkable looks, each exuding an undeniable sense of glamour and unique silhouettes.”

In the teaser of the song that was released yesterday and went viral immediately, Salman & Katrina showed off incredible chemistry in this vibey dance track that has been composed by Pritam and sung by Benny Dayal , Anusha Mani! Both the superstars look drop-dead gorgeous in this song that will surely become the party anthem this festive season!

Katrina says that the songs from the Tiger franchise have always been iconic chartbusters and she expects Leke Prabhu Ka Naam to meet the soaring expectations of people.

The actress says, “Songs have always been one of the highlights in the Tiger films. I love how Vaibhavi captured the vibe and dynamic between Tiger & Zoya in this song in a new way. It embodied the vibrant and energetic feel of the song that fans anticipate from both of us.”

Katrina admits that she loves dancing with Salman Khan! She says, “Dancing with Salman is always amazing & I take away so many wonderful memories of shooting for Leke Prabhu Ka Naam. Just as Swag Se Swagat was received with so much love, we hope Leke Prabhu Ka Naam will raise the bar even higher.”

Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif are an all-time biggest on-screen couple in the history of Indian cinema. They have delivered historic blockbusters & generation-defining chartbusters. Now they are back again in Aditya Chopra’s Tiger 3 reprising their iconic characters, super-agents Tiger and Zoya from the YRF Spy Universe and the internet is in frenzy!

Directed by Maneesh Sharma, Tiger 3 is set to release this year on Diwali, November 12, Sunday!

Combinations the runs successfully tend to repeat over again and again due to their compatibility. One such combination is Natural Star Nani and Vivek Athreya who worked on the film “Ante Sundaraaniki…” 

The most lovable combination combined again with DVV Entertainments and the Nani31 announcement video is out now.

The movie is produced by DVV Danayya and Kalyan Dasari of DVV Entertainments who delivered RRR which went to global recognition with Oscar Awards.

This time with intense eyes from Nani in the announcement video looks promising that this combo is planning to do something more exciting compared to Ante Sundaraaniki. The Short video gave a look into the hard work and shoot preparation they are working on.

The background score and the color tint in the announcement video show that this exciting combo is exploring something unique this time dropping an exciting update mentioning that Nani31 will be unchained on the 23rd of this month and the muhurtham on the 24th.   

For more Natural Star Nani’s updates on Nani31 follow Telugu Funda on your favorite Social Media Site and Apps.

God of Masses Nandamuri Balakrishna’s ‘Bhagwant Kesari’ received blockbuster success. Directed by successful director Anil Ravipudi, this film starring Kajal Aggarwal as the heroine and playing the key role of Srila, was released worldwide on October 19 as a Dussehra gift under the banner of the famous production company Shine Screens. In the backdrop of successful run of ‘Bhagwant Kesari’ with record breaking collections, the film unit organized the blockbuster press meet.

Srileela spoke that Bhagwant Kesari’s victory gave great joy. The way I see myself has changed with this movie. Thanks to the director Anil Ravipudi for giving such a nice role. It is not common for a girl to get a chance to fight in a Balakrishna film. He encouraged me greatly. Thanks to Balakrishna for giving me such a great opportunity. Everyone is very connected to the emotional scenes. The audience for our movie is like the baby Vizzi. Such a good content is so well received. The whole family is enjoying the movie together. Thank you to the audience for such a great success,” she said.

Director Anil Ravipudi said,  We have been saying the same thing ever since the promotions of this film started. He said, “This movie is a long time.” That was made true today. Very happy. As a director, ‘Bhagwant Kesari’ gave complete satisfaction. There has been a tremendous response from all sides. The audience connected very well with the human emotions shown in the film and the bond between father and child. A good content to raise a girl like a tiger went to the masses. Balakrishna went beyond his comfort zone and made this story about women empowerment. Hats off to Balakrishna. Everyone is talking great about Balakrishna’s performance. With this movie, he rose to greater heights as a hero. Thanks to Balakrishna for giving me such a good opportunity. Srileela did a wonderful job as Vijji Papa. Especially in the action episode, she took special training and made it extraordinary. Those episodes are giving goose bumps. The movie was very well received. This is just the beginning. Dussehra is ten days away. Get a clean run. Let’s talk further. Thank you to the audience for such great support and such a big success. We are going to organize another big event with Balakrishna. “Bhagwant Kesari celebrations are going on,” he said.

Producer Sahu Garapati said, “Heartfelt thanks to Balakrishna for playing such a wonderful role and giving us such a great film.”

Ananth Sriram said, Thanks to the audience for making ‘Bhagwant Kesari’ such a great success. I feel lucky to write the song Uyyala Uyyala in this. Bhagwant Kesari is a film that is getting national records and national awards through a single film. There is no doubt about this.’

Ramajogayya Shastri said that he got goosebumps many times while watching the movie ‘Bhagwant Kesari’. Balakrishna’s performance is superb. Everything is perfect for this movie. There is a lot of diversity in Anil. It came out with this movie. Srileela has done her best in her role. Taman has done very nice music. Anil wrote good songs. Congratulations to all the film unit. I am happy to be a part of this film.