GreatAndhra News

Ranga Rao quits Cong; two more to follow?

As announced earlier, Congress MLA from Bobbili Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao on Wednesday resigned from the primary membership of party as well as his assembly seat in protest against the arrest of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy by the CBI in his alleged illegal assets case.

Ranga Rao declared that he would be joining the YSR Congress party. He said PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana had not treated him even like a mandal parishad member and he had not been given the due recognition in the party despite being a three-time MLA. The Congress leadership, particularly, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, made a desperate bid to retain him in the party, but it was of no use.

What is more worrying for the party are the reports that two more MLAs from Vizianagaram district Savarapu Jayamani of Parvathipuram and Janardhan of Kurupam have also made up their mind to quit the Congress and join the YSR Congress party. Both of them had detailed talks with Ranga Rao and are expected to meet Jagan in the jail in a day or two.

KCR Has The Last Laugh In Parkal

Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao has successfully blackmailed the the Telangana Joint Action Committee to extend its support to TRS candidate Bhikshapathi in Parkal assembly by-elections.

Though a majority of the Telangana JAC leaders suggested that it should remain neutral, its chairman Prof M Kodandaram had to succumb to KCRs pressure tactics and convince his colleagues that the JAC should support the TRS at least for the present by-elections in Parkal, as there is every possibility that a split in the Telangana vote would ultimately help YSR Congress party candidate Konda Surekha and it would in turn lead to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy establish his presence in the Telangana region.

We do not want any mileage to Konda Surekha because of the fight between the TRS and the BJP candidates. Though we wanted to be neutral, we had to extend the support to the TRS based on the peoples aspirations and also to see that the Telangana vote does not split. However, this support to the TRS is only for the Parkal election, Kodandaram clarified.

The JAC support to the TRS came as a shock to the TDP and the BJP, which are now planning to split their supporting groups from the JAC. The TJAC has become a mouth-piece of the TRS. We will form a separate JAC with like-minded Telangana groups and parties, TDP leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao said.

Jagan To Be Shifted To Tihar Jail?

Will YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy be shifted to Tihar jail in New Delhi to deny him the sympathy in the ongoing by-elections?

The answer is yes, according to political observers. The entry of the Enforcement Directorate officials into the alleged illegal assets case of Jagan shows that there is indeed a plan to shift Jagan to Delhi. The ED authorities have filed a petition in the CBI court seeking questioning of Nimmagadda Prasad and Vijay Sai Reddy in the case and there is every possibility that they would also seek custody of Jagan.

Once Jagan goes into their custody, the ED authorities would shift him to Delhi and lodge him Tihar jail till their investigation is completed. That would shift the focus to Delhi and he would not be able to give any instructions to the party leaders directly from jail, as he can do now from Chanchalguda jail. And his party would go into a complete panic mode, which is what his rivals want, an observer said.

With Jagan in jail, Vijayamma in media focus

Now that YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in the Chanchalguda jail in connection with his alleged illegal assets case, the media focus has now shifted on to his mother Y S Vijayalakshmi, who is going to hit the campaign trail on Wednesday.

Particularly, Jagans media house Sakshi has started given extensive coverage to Vijayamma. Since Wednesday morning, it has been highlighting her maiden speech at the YSR Congress party plenary, calling upon the people to bless her son who had all the qualities of her husband. It has also projected Vijayammas first speech in the state assembly and also her campaign in the Pulivendula by-elections in the past.

The partys publicity managers have sent file pictures of Vijayammas visit to villages in the past, interacting with the villagers in her constituency and consoling them to all the media houses. The whole idea is to familiarize Vijayamma to the people and ensure that the party would get the maximum mileage when she goes to them seeking votes.

The other media, too, is keenly watching whether Vijayamma would be able to attract voters like his son.

Sex And Murder Diluted With Politics

Time and again, it has been discussed and declared that the definition of journalism has been changed completely with the invasion of the electronic media. Today, whatever the news channels show that is news and what they show is the national problem. The public has no choice but to accept it.

And right now, the electronic media feels Jagan episode is the biggest concern. As a result, few other important issues have been discarded. For instance, the sex scandal episode of Tara Chowdary wherein many names of biggies were expected to roll out has been sidelined completely.

On the other hand, the arrest of Bhanu Kiran which became a major sensation is no longer an important news. With CID grilling Bhanu, the expectation was that many fraudulent deals and illegal transactions will get exposed. But thanks to the e-medias focus, even that got diluted. Strange but true.

Kiran Violated Poll Code: EC

In a major setback to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the Election Commission of India on Tuesday served notices on him for making certain remarks during his election meetings at Rayadurgam and Tirupati in violation of the model code of conduct.

EC reacted strongly to the complaint lodged by the YSR Congress party that Kiran Kumar Reddy had asked the Congress supporters to cast at least 10 votes each to ensure the victory of the Congress party in the by-elections. The EC authorities went through the video clippings of the Chief Ministers election speeches and came to the conclusion that he had in deed violated the code of conduct. The EC asked the Chief Minister to give an explanation to his comments by May 31.

Sources, however, said the Chief Minister has landed in trouble because of his poor language skills in Telugu.

He might have called upon the Congress workers to see that each of them should get at least 10 votes polled in favour of the Congress. He might not have meant that each of them should vote 10 votes. His lack of knowledge in Telugu led to this problem, sources said.

Sonia Is Leading Italian Mafia

All these days, the YSR Congress party leaders had hitherto been making only political criticism against the Congress party and its president Sonia Gandhi and have been refraining from making sweeping comments against her.

But after the arrest of their party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, they started attacking Sonia Gandhi personally and abusing her in the choicest words. Party spokesman Ambati Rambabu led the attack from the front on Tuesday and described Sonia Gandhi as a mafia leader from Italy.

Sonia Gandhi was born in Italy. The word mafia was also born in the same country. And it was Sonia who had brought mafia from Italy to ruin India. The Congress, under the leadership of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi hatched the conspiracy to confine Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to jail in its mafia style operation, Ambati said.

He said the Congress in connivance of the law enforcing authorities had arrested Jagan only to save its flock and stop further exodus after its disastrous performance in the June 12 by-polls. If our leader is in the open, the Congress edifice will collapse as there will be exodus from that party, he said.

Roja Proved Iron Leg Again!

Who is responsible for the arrest of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Redd: The Congress high command or the CBI?

Ask Mahila Congress president Ganga Bhavani; she has the answer. She said it was actress-turned-politician Roja who should be held responsible for all the troubles Jagan was facing now.

Roja has once again proved an iron leg for the political parties. The real troubles for Jagan began only after Roja was inducted into the YSR Congress and given a position. And finally, it led to Jagans arrest, Ganga Bhavani said.

She reminded that everything was going on smoothly for the Congress party in 2009 till Roja had met late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and decided to join the Congress. YSR died within a couple of days of Roja meeting him, she said.

The Mahila Congress president further reminded that when Roja was in the TDP, she used to make derogatory comments against YSR and Jagan. One wonders how she had shamelessly joined the YSR Congress. But we will not keep quiet if she continues to criticize the Congress party and our president Sonia Gandhi, Ganga said.

Earlier, the TDP leaders too described Roja as an iron leg. When she started contesting the elections, the party lost power both in 2004 and 2009. And when she met YSR and decided to join the Congress party, he had to meet with untimely death. Only god knows on what would happen to Jagan in the coming days, a TDP leader said.

Media Does Kite Flying On Jagan Dinner!

Strange are the ways of the media in Andhra Pradesh. They resort to all sorts of speculations and make their readers and viewers believe the reports they churn out. In the process, they bring journalism to ridiculous proportions.

Take for example, the episode of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. The Central Bureau of Investigation authorities interrogated him for three days and on most of the occasions, it was one-to-one interaction between the CBI sleuths and Jagan. Yet, the media wrote all sorts of speculative stories on what had transpired between the CBI and Jagan; what questions the officials posed and what Jagan answered. People wonder whether the CBI officials reveal everything to the media verbatim.

On Monday, Jagan was sent to Chanchalguda jail as part of the 14-day judicial remand. Once he went into the jail, nobody would now what he was doing inside, unless any jail authority reveals to the media. Surprisingly, the media did all sort of kite flying on what Jagan had taken for dinner on Monday night. One English daily reported that Jagan had skipped his dinner; a Telugu daily said Jagan had eaten normal dinner with palakura pappu and tomato curry, while another daily reported that Jagan had taken only fruits and milk in the dinner.

Now, which is correct? The readers are confused.

EC not to intervene with regard to Jagan's arrest

The Election Commission of India has decided not to intervene in the matter concerning the arrest of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

The three-member Election Commission which met in New Delhi on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi discussed the letter from Y S Vijayalakshmi, YSR Congress honorary president and Jagans mother seeking the ECs intervention in getting her son released from jail to enable him campaign in the by-elections. The EC authorities said the Commission would not be able to do anything in this regard as the matter was sub judice and a legal process was on.

The Commission will make clear its position in a communication to Vijayalakshmi. So, the final attempt of Vijayalakshmi to get her son released has also failed. Now, she will have to wait for the courts decision on granting bail to Jagan. The court will take a decision on May 31.

Mother, wife call on Jagan in jail

Hyderabad: A day after MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy was sent to jail by a court in a corruption case, his mother, wife and other family members called on him here Tuesday.

Jagan's mother Y.S. Vijayamma, wife Bharathi, sister Sharmila and brother-in-law Anil Kumar spent 45 minutes with him at the Chanchalguda Central Jail.

The family reached the jail soon after 'mulaqat' time started. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Sunday.

Bharathi along with Jagan's aide and auditor Vijay Sai Reddy had reached jail Monday evening but the authorities did not let them meet him.

Vijayamma is believed to have discussed with her son their party's strategy for the June 12 by-elections. The party hopes to cash in on the perceived public sympathy in the wake of his arrest.

Vijayamma, the honorary president of the party and a member of the state assembly, will launch the campaign from Narsannapeta in Srikakulam district.

Former MP and YSR party candidate for Nellore Lok Sabha by-poll Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy also called on Jagan. He alleged that he was arrested to keep him away from by-election campaign.

Meanwhile, Jagan was Tuesday allotted a separate cell in line with the special category status given by the court.

He is entitled for better diet and can also cook his own food. The 12x12 cell has a kitchen and a toilet attached to it.

The 40-year-old, said to be the richest MP, spent the night in the admission barrack, where the under trials are usually kept if brought late in the evening.

Rajmohan Reddy told reporters that Jagan was fine. He said the jail life would not be very tough for Jagan as he had been touring the state under hot sun. (IANS)

Kiran fails to woo pro-Jagan MLAs

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddys desperate attempts to woo the two rebel MLAs Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili and Alla Nani of Eluru -- who jumped the fence to support YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy -- seem to have boomeranged.

Sujaya Ranga Rao on Tuesday made it clear that he would be quitting the Congress on Wednesday and joining the YSR Congress party soon. The other MLA, Alla Nani, also made his intentions clear much earlier. The Congress party has issued show cause notices to Nani already and is all set to issue notices to Sujaya Ranga Rao as well.

However, Kiran is said to have requested PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana not to be hasty in expelling them from the party but wait for a couple of days more. He reportedly told the PCC chief that he would try to convince the MLAs and ask them to stay back in the Congress. But, both the MLAs are firm on their stand to support Jagan at this crucial juncture and they decided to quit the party, rather than being suspended or disqualified.

Nimmagadda Turning Approver?

Noted industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, who had been arrested by the CBI for his alleged illegal investments in YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, is likely to turn an approver, if the sources are to be believed.

According to reliable sources, the CBI has convinced Nimmagadda Prasad to turn approver and make a confession before the court, so that he could be out on bail and continue with his business as usual.

The CBI authorities are forcing him to admit before the court that he had to invest in Jagans companies only under pressure from the Kadapa MP and his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. And they had leaked to the media that most of the money invested by Nimmagadda was nothing but black money of Jagan routed through formers companies.

If the reports are true, then there would be serious troubles for Jagan. The confession statement before the court would be a solid evidence for the CBI to nail the rebel MP in the case. After all, why would anybody want to be in jail for making investments in some others companies?

Tug Of War In Parkal, BJP Has Edge?

Exit Poll surveys are saying that there is an edge for BJP in Parkal, if sympathy wave fails to work for YSRCP.

A survey report is like this:

Dr. Vijay Chandar Reddy (BJP): An orthopedic surgeon who has been doing public service as government doctor. He has 3 reasons to market his candidature 1. Good leader and native of Parkal 2. Service oriented doctor 3. All Telengana supporters want to teach lesson to KCR.

Konda Sureka (YSRCP): 1. No support from hardcore Telengana supporters 2. No star campaigners.

Bikshapathi (TRS): 1. Not a mass leader 2. Comes out only during elections 3. Just banking on Telengana movement

Dharma Reddy (TDP) : No traces of TDP in entire constituency

All in all BJP has some edge and might repeat Mahaboob Nagar episode, because Parkal has a long history of BJP since the time of Jan Sangh days. Many households in Parkal have an RSS volunteer. BJP and RSS volunteers from all over AP have landed in Parkal and working very hard for their victory in Telangana. The main tug will be between BJP and YSRCP but no other party, say sources.

Asin Tried Level Best With Cleavage

Heroines and skin show go hand in hand but when it came to the Malayalam girl Asin, she had a strong set of reservations. That was one reason why the south circuit never got to see her sexy side. But all her reservations and strictness crumbled when she stepped into Bollywood.

Today, there is hardly a time when Asin is not seen in short skirts exposing her legs. As if that is not enough, here is an interesting byte. Reports from Mumbai reveal that recently Asin tried her level best to grab the eyeballs of the onlookers by giving the best view of her cleavage.

All this happened at the birthday bash of the noted filmmaker Karan Johar. Buzz is that Asin was seen sporting a bare shouldered cocktail gown and the deep valley of her cleavage was quite prominent. As such, Asin has a buxom Malayalam figure so her voluptuous cleavage was a sight to relish. Let us wait to see if this will result in any juicy projects for her or not.

Mom Knocks EC Door For Jagan

Y S Vijayalakshmi, widow of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, is making all out efforts to get her son YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy released from jail as early as possible.

On Monday, Vijayamma knocked the doors of the Election Commission of India requesting its intervention to get Jagan released at the earliest, so that he could take part in the election campaign.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi, she said she had no choice except to approach him requesting his kind intervention.

I request you to kindly direct the CBI to immediate release Jagan. They have waited for 270 odd days; they can wait for another 15 days, particularly when there is no possibility, whatsoever, for tampering the evidence. I request you to this in the larger interest of democracy and for free and far elections, she pleaded.

The honourary president of YSRCP said it was no secret that in all CBI cases involving senior political leaders, the agency acted according to the instructions of Central Government, which is presently the Congress led UPA Government.

Naturally, the CBI is serving the interest of the Congress Party and is using its high hand to crush the political dissent. It is relevant to recall that all political parties cutting across party lines, during the recent debate on Lok Pal Bill in both the Houses of Parliament, have decried the brazen misuse of CBI by the Central Government to silence the political dissent, she reminded.

Undeclared Emergency In AP!

There is an undeclared emergency in Andhra Pradesh at present, as there was a severe repression on the political rivals of the ruling Congress party.

This was the opinion expressed by YSR Congress party leader Konathala Ramakrishna on Monday. He said the Congress government in the state was resorting to witch-hunting of YSR Congress party leaders and cadres by foisting false cases against them. Are we in a democratic government or is there an emergency situation in the state? he asked.

Another YSRCP leader Roja wondered why the CBI had felt Jagan would influence the witnesses now.

He had been out in the public for several months since the CBI inquiry began. When he did not threaten or influence the witnesses then, how can he do it now? she said.

She said the Congress had not done any favour to YSR by making him the chief minister.

It was only because YSR had the charisma, Sonia was compelled to choose him as the CM. It was the Congress party which got benefited from YSR and not the other way round, she pointed out.

Jagan Party Gets Common Symbol

At a time when the arrest of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has led to an outrage across the state, there was some good news for the party on Monday.

The Election Commission has granted ceiling fan as the common symbol for all the candidates of YSR Congress in the by-elections, including Bhumana Karunakara Reddy in Tirupati. Now, there is more clarity in the campaign of Jagans party and it can popularize the symbol all over the state.

There were doubts among the YSRCP candidates on whether they would get the common symbol or not, because the party was not yet recognized by the EC. However, the EC took into consideration the victories of Jagan, his mother Vijayalakshmi and Nallapureddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy in the earlier by-elections and granted the common symbol.

Meanwhile, Vijayamma has decided to launch the campaign from Macherla, where Jagan had his last election rally. The campaign programme would be chalked out by the governing council, sources said.

Vijayamma In Tears As Jagan Goes To Jail

It must be hard feeling for Y S Vijayalakshmi, widow of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, to see her son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy going to Chanchalguda jail in the alleged illegal assets case.

She broke down at her Lotus Pond residence when she came to know about the CBI special court remanding Jagan to the judicial custody till June 11. So did the other family members of Jagan and they cursed the Congress leadership for getting the most popular leader of the state thrown behind the bars.

Vijayamma wanted to see her son in the top seat in the state, but she might have never expected that she would imagine him languishing in the jail along with other criminals. Though the court had granted him special prisoner status immediately, it was no solace for her, as Jagan would not be able to meet for an uncertain period, at least till he gets the bail.

Now that Vijayamma would lead the partys campaign in the by-elections, she would go all out expose the conspiracy hatched by the Congress party at all levels to harass his son.

Congress using CBI against opponents, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday accused the Congress of using the Central Bureau of Investigation against YSR Congress leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy while shielding other ministers in its Andhra Pradesh government charged with corruption.

"The Congress is using the CBI against its opponents...we would like to ask Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy why is he trying to shield six of his ministers facing charges of corruption," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.

Jagan, as the YSR Congress leader is popularly known, was arrested by the agency Sunday in Hyderabad after three days of questioning in a case of illegally acquiring assets.

Jagan sent to jail till June 11

Member of Parliament Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy landed in Chanchalguda Central Jail here Monday after a special court remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days for illegally amassing assets, dealing a big blow to YSR Congress Party ahead of next month's by-elections.

Amid unprecedented security, police brought Jagan, as he is popularly known, from Nampally Court Complex to the jail located in the old city of Hyderabad.

After spending the entire day in court, a tired-looking Jagan greeted media persons and security personnel with folded hands before entering the jail.

The CBI court sent the YSR Congress Party leader to judicial custody till June 11 while dismissing his bail petition.

The court also dismissed CBI's petition seeking 14-day judicial custody of the accused. It granted special category status to Jagan, one of the richest MPs in the country with declared assets of Rs.356 crore last year.

Judge A. Pullaiah, who heard arguments from both sides in the morning, pronounced his order around 4.30 p.m.

Jagan's entry into the jail in the evening brought an end to the suspense which began Friday with the agency summoning the 40-year-old for questioning. He was arrested Sunday night.

The son of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is accused of corruption, cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts.

The CBI charges Jagan with having amassed huge wealth after his father became chief minister in 2004. YSR, as he was popularly known, died in a helicopter crash in 2009.

Jagan's mother Vijayamma, who sat on indefinite fast in the morning at their residence to protest the arrest, broke down after hearing news of being sent to jail. She called off her fast and announced that she would campaign for the party in June 12 by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats.

"I am confident that my son will soon come out," she said while accusing Congress of political vendetta. She alleged that the arrest was aimed at preventing him from campaigning.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy condemned Vijayamma's allegations against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He said the Congress had nothing to do with Jagan's arrest as the CBI was carrying out the investigations on the direction of the court.

Jagan is the number one accused in the case, the CBI registered in August last year following direction from the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Earlier, during the hearing in the court the CBI alleged that Jagan became richer in a short span of time by looting the public money.

"Jagan enriched himself by dubious mechanism by sending the funds abroad and getting the same invested in his companies," said senior CBI counsel Ashok Bhan, accusing Jagan of running a "hawala" racket.

Jagan's counsel menawhile argued that the arrest was illegal and amounted to contempt of court as he was arrested a few hours before he was scheduled to appear in the court in response to the court summons.

The counsel wondered why the CBI choose to question and arrest Jagan at this stage when the investigations into the case were going on for the last nine months.

Looking uncomfortable, Jagan was seen dozing off in the court hall. He appeared to have spent a sleepless night in the CBI custody at Dilkusha Guest House.

Jagan was scheduled to appear in the CBI court with regard to the first charge sheet filed by CBI on March 30. The judge first took up this case for hearing and, barring Jagan and his close aide Vijay Sai Reddy, granted bail to remaining 11 accused.

Photo feature: Posed Full Nude, At Last

At last, Poonam Pandey, the lady who promised that she would strip tease if India wins in World Cup has posed nude now. She posted this on twitter saying, here is a Pic as I PROMISED

Poonam has been attracting the attention of the people and media just by throwing these nude tantrums all these months. Now the day has come for those who love to relish her nudity.

Chandrababu Invested For 'Adhinayakudu' Release?

Adhinayakudu is at last releasing on June 1st and that is confirmed. The film has been struggling to come out due to financial crisis and hence the sources said that Chandrababu has shown interest to release the film by pumping in required resources. It is said that there are some dialogues in the film those will politically stir and support TDP in huge way.

Since the elections are coming up shortly, Chandrababu and other TDP leaders have found that Adhinayakudu may help them gain some mileage.

Let us see how far the dialogues in the film becoming score points for TDP.

Photo Feature: Gutsy Ash wears clingy Elie Saab

We'll give Aishwarya Rai Bachchan points for sheer gutsiness, and for metaphorically thumbing her nose at the weight watchers. Her fourth outfit at Cannes is possibly her most adventurous look ever, even though it shows almost no skin. Not only does the dark grey, spangly gown cling to every supersize curve, it also defines her plus size waist with a thin belt. But Ash clearly doesn't care if she looks fat or not, and we're giving her a rousing cheer for it. The designer? Old favourite Elie Saab.

Courtesy: NDTV

Ganesh's Rs 40 Cr Deal With Pawan Kalyan

Pawan Kalyan is back in action and is pumped up with full energy after his recent release Gabbar Singh has scored a thumping success. In a way, it has also brought a new lease of life to producer Bandla Ganesh who has been coming up with big movies but had not scored a registered hit.

Now, it is heard that Ganesh struck a deal with Pawan prior to all this. Apparently, he gave Rs 40 crores to Pawan for three movies. First was Teen Maar, second is Gabbar Singh and one more film is yet to take off. Sources say Pawan has given away his Nandi hills home to Renu Desai.

Currently, it is heard that he is constructing a new bungalow in MLA colony with state of the art infrastructure. If Pawans next project also scores a big hit then it is sure that the remuneration will hike up by few extra crores. Maybe that could lead to another sprawling bungalow somewhere.

'Daruvu' Review: Old Wine In Old Bottle

Rating: 2/5
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Entertainments
Cast: Ravi Teja, Taapsee, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, Vennela Kishore, M S Narayana, Prabhu, Jayasudha, Raghu Babu and others
Music: Vijay Antony
Editor: Goutham Raju
Story, screenplay, direction: Siva
Producer: Burugupalli Sivaramakrishna
Release date: 25/05/2012

Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja who has been reeling through a string of flops has chosen a socio fantasy theme this time and he has teamed up with Taapsee who is also looking for a hit. Let us see how this is

Story
In Yamalokam, retirement age comes from senior Yama (Satyanarayana) and he gives the charge to his son (Prabhu). However, the experienced Chitragupta (M S Narayana) is retained much to his disappointment. He decides to teach a lesson to the new Yama and plans to get a person from Bhulokam who can create chaos in Yamalokam. That person turns out to be Bullet Raja (Ravi Teja), a mass character. He falls in love with Taapsee. Though he is yet to complete his lifespan, Chitragupta plays a game and Bullet Raja gets killed only to come to hell. Here, he discovers the plot and demands to go back to earth. Since his body has perished, Yama and Chitragupta send him inside the home ministers body. What happens from there and how things change forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Ravi Teja has come up with yet another good performance. His energy levels, comedy timing and his dialogue delivery suit the bill perfectly. For his age, he is truly a fabulous star.

Taapsee was there to fill the glamour quotient and provide the visual feast in songs. She has trimmed down a bit but doesnt look shrunk like her earlier film. Not much was there for her to perform.

Brahmanandam had a meaty role and did his best to generate laughs. However, the more restrained he is with his expressions the better impact the comedy will have. So he should do that more often.

Sayaji Shinde was standard, Avinash was alright, Sushant Singh was not used to his potential, Vennela Kishore made his presence felt, Jayasudha was elegant, Raghu Babu was regular, Prabhu didnt have much to do, M S Narayana was moderate, Dharmavarapu and L B Sriram came and went. The others didnt have any scope.

Highlights

Ravi Tejas performance
Art Department

Drawbacks

Too much eccentricity
Poor quality comedy
Fluctuating emotional quotient
Songs
Exaggerated cinematic liberties

Analysis
After Mirapakaya, Ravi Teja has dabbled with many films but he was unable to get the much needed hit for his career. With Daruvu many felt that gap will be fulfilled. Even the sentiment factor also worked since it had the element of Yamalokam and all films with that worked at the box office. Of course, the film had to suffer from factors like zero pre-release publicity, bad songs etc.

Daruvu looks like a proper commercial entertainer packed with endless comedy but few minutes after the film begins, one realizes that the comedy is more mindless than endless. Moreover, the quality of humour was rather mass than meaningful. The director tried to pump in a lot of energy into the scenes but if not for Ravi Teja, the film would have been totally tasteless.

Time and again, the Telugu makers have burnt their fingers by relying on Tamil directors. There is no doubt that the technicians from Kollywood are good but expecting the directors to catch the pulse of Telugu audience is a mistake. Here again, the film sees a lot of Tamil Paithyam in scene composition, content and cinematic liberties. Putting up a loud show doesnt make for good humour.

The element of blasphemy is something to be made note of. Yes, many films have come wherein Yama is made fun of but then the character always had strength and respect. Even Rajamouli gave that leverage in his film Yama Donga. But that was missing here. Scenes like Ravi Teja showing holding knife on Prabhus (Yama) neck, the shooting of arrows on Naradha, Chitragupta, Yama and above all, projecting Chitragupta as a more lustful individual was not very appealing.

A lot of focus was kept on exploiting Ravi Tejas potential as a performer but in this process, the others were ignored. The villain was hardly there, the romance track was just for songs, efficient artists like Vennela Kishore, Srinivas Reddy, Raghu Babu mumbled few lines but they were totally subdued.

Overall, this is a film for those who want to see a good act from Ravi Teja but if you are expecting a wholesome entertainer then it will completly disappoint you.

At the box office, the hardcore masses and ardent Ravi Teja fans might like it to an some extent but if the making budget has touched Rs 15 crores or more then recovery is difficult.

Bottomline: Muta Mestri + Yama Donga + Yamudiki Mogudu = DARUVU.

(Venkat can be reached at venkat@greatandhra.com)

Click here for telugu review

Photo Feature: Ash Spotted At Cannes!!!

After her delivery, Aishwarya Bachchan was not to be seen in front of the media cameras. But finally she has been spotted. This is at Cannes and she is reportedly being dressed by Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla. She was seen in an Angelo Katsapis maxidress. So far, Ashs wardrobe has been a big secret and talk was that she would be seen in a cream Chikankari sari and Anarkali style kurta but she popped a surprise with the maxi look. See this folks!!

Photo Feature: Sunny Leone poses in bikini

Sunny Leone is to the manner porn when she strips down to her bare essentials in Sri Lanka for Jism 2. See sunny-side up in this pic posted on Jism's twit handle that reads "#JISM2-DAY 9- SRI LANKA. Just another SIZZLING day in paradise! Drool! Drool!

Why Ganesh Scared Of Declaring 'Gabbar Singh' Numbers?

The most talked about movie of the season is Gabbar Singh and it is a known fact that the film is on its way to register a sizeable blockbuster. So, it is obvious that the box office must be ringing with loads of money and collection centers must be overflowing with cash.

When so much is happening, why is producer Bandla Ganesh silent? These are the days when many producers come up with fake figures just to prove records so when something genuine is happening why is Ganesh keeping quiet? These are the doubts coming into the minds of the cine folks.

Well, a source close to the Gabbar Singh camp revealed the inside story. After the claims made by the producers of Dookudu they are still facing problems with IT officials. The producers are now scared to declare numbers as they know the consequences and Ganesh has reportedly realized it sooner and is silent.

Double Standards by Tollywood Folks

The cinema industry is filled with many shining things and glamorous people but beneath that lies a dark world of secrets, politics and jealousies. It is just that such things dont come out too often but everyone knows what is happening. The reason for this discussion is the recent statements coming from a veteran personality.

This noted director/producer who has always been known for blowing his trumpet all the time had given some positive statements about the recent release Dammu. However, the moment he stepped off the stage, it is heard that he has been trashing the film among his close circles.

The case is not just with this veteran personality. There are many individuals like that who maintain double standards and change their colours according to situation. This is one of the key reasons why Tollywood has not been able to flourish in the way it should have. Perhaps it is time for some ethics and professional standards in filmnagar.

Teenage Girls Carrying Condoms In Pocket

The last few years has been seeing a revolutionary transition in terms of girls and their attitude towards life. With elements like womens liberation, feminism being given an unusually high importance, it is clear that the society is heading towards a direction which has broken the barriers of culture and tradition.

And this has also changed their stand towards sexual activity. Recently, the regular frisking was taking place at a noted multiplex when few teenage girls came to watch the film Gababrsingh. The frisking for girls is done by ladies only. But when they were checking, they were shocked to discover that a couple of girls had condom packs in their jeans and handbags.

Of course, they are allowed to carry such stuff but this news has come out and raised the eyebrows of many those discussed where the country heading and what is happening to the society. It is a good thing to see girls trying to be ambitious about career and other things but not at the cost of disowning their personal integrity and ethics.

'Department' Review: For Rogue Audience

Film: Department
Rating: 2/5
Banners: Ram Gopal Varma Productions, Viacom 18 Pictures, Uberoi Line Productions
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana, Lakshmi Manchu, Madhu Shalini, Anjana Sukhani, Nathalia Kaur and others
Music: Bappa Lahiri, Dharam Sandeep, Vikram Negi
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Producer: Ram Gopal Varma
Release date: 18/05/2012

Ram Gopal Varma who is deemed as one of the finest technicians and storytellers of todays times is back and yet again, he chose his favourite genre of underworld and cops. Let us see how this is

Story
Set on the backdrop of Mumbai police department, the story begins with senior cop Mahadev Bhonsale (Sanjay Dutt) who is called for a special job by the Home Ministry. The increasing menace of the mafia in the city had to be curbed and Mahadev is given the task of coming up with a special team to wipe it out. He calls in Shivnarayan (Rana), the young and honest cop along with few other officers. However, the ideology of both Mahadev and Shivnarayan are different but they come to pact that they would not interfere in each others paths. In comes politician-turned-gangster Sarjerao Gaekwad (Amitabh) who takes Shiv under his wings. On the other hand, gangster DK (Abhimanyu) is power hungry and wants to establish his mafia rule in the city. The clash of ideology happens and everyone gets intertwined into it. How that happens forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Amitabh Bachchan is the total life and soul of this film. He was enigmatic in his act and his baritone voice with that mild elegance gave a strong impact to his character.

Sanjay Dutt was clean and looked like a typical cop. However, his potential and strong screen presence was not utilized to the fullest and his character got quite underplayed throughout.

Daggubati Rana was present in almost every scene of the film. His character was intense and given his alarming physique and minimal expressions, the role suited his body language.

Vijay Raaz was yet another actor whose potential was not used to the fullest. But despite getting a weak role, he made his presence felt in few scenes. His character should have got more strength.

Abhimanyu Singh comes up with an expressive performance. Unlike his earlier movies especially in Telugu where he has contained himself, it was a free flow of energy and he did full justice to his role.

Madhu Shalini is the one to watch out for. Her wildness, raw sex appeal, innocently dangerous expressions gives her an edge over others. This role has given her a transformation. Moreover, she dubbed her voice in Hindi that is highly convincing with native Mumbaikar punch. She scores full marks for her portrayal.

Lakshmi Manchu was elegant and did her bit as required, Deepak Tijori was apt, Subbaraju was brief, Neera Vohra brought few light moments. The others didnt have much to offer.

Highlights

Dialogues

Drawbacks

Visually disturbing
Weak Background score

Analysis
It is true that Ram Gopal Varma has been going through a string of flops. It is also true that he believes in making films as per his convictions and doesnt really focus on the box office outcome. Despite all this, whenever a film from him is making its way into the theatres, the enthusiasm and expectations from Ramu never go down. He is one of those trendsetting moviemakers who may have lost his touch but not his sheen. Anyways, the same momentum was present while going inside the theatre to watch Department.

The concept of revolutionary moviemaking is something Ramu can roll out even when his feet are upside down in the air. And he is also known for his amazing story telling and engaging sequences. However, that didnt seem to be the case with this one.

A film is made not just for conviction but also for the majority people. And if that majority section dont connect to it then the very purpose is useless. Department had a lot of style, a remarkable technique in camera angles, screenplay despite the stereotype genre chosen but that alone is not enough to sustain the viewers.

There must be that required element which defines a mainstream movie and that was missing here. The focus which was there on presenting the film in a different way was not there in tuning the story finely, giving it a good plot and delivering that emotional velocity in a typical RGV signature style. And the sound sync idea that was used also didnt work.

Overall, this is a film which promises good concept but its execution is beyond the realms of cinematic viewing. If only Ramu didnt show variation and too much experimentation and focused on the story and what it has to deliver, the film would have been another epic masterpiece.

Bottomline: Can be liked by those who unlike movies made in traditional way..to say it in RGVS style ..its for Rogue audience.

(Venkat can be reached at venkat@greatandhra.com)

'Gabbar Singh' Review: Power Of Pawanism!!

Rating: 3.75/5
Banner: Parameswara Art Productions
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Shruti Haasan, Abhimanyu Singh, Tanikella, Ajay, Kota, Suhasini, Brahmanandam, Ali and others
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Editor: Gowtham Raju
Cinematographer: Jayanan Vincent
Dialogues, direction: Harish Shankar
Producer: Bandla Ganesh
Release date: 11/05/2012

After the not so successful Panjaa, Pawan Kalyan has returned to his forte of strong commercial cinema and that too with a remake of a Bollywood blockbuster. Let us see how good this is.

Story
Set on the backdrop of Kondaveedu town, the story is about Gabbar Singh (Pawan Kalyan) a fearless and honest cop who likes to be an anti-hero but with a good cause. Neglected by his father (Nagineedu), Gabbar Singh has a mind of his own. His unusual style of functioning begins to cause a pain to the local leader Siddhappa Naidu (Abhimanyu Singh) who is aspiring to be an MLA. All his illegal plans keep getting thwarted by Gabbar Singh.

On the other hand, Gabbar Singh falls in love with the demure Bhagyalakshmi (Shruti Haasan) but she keeps him away. The story takes a turn when Naidu decides to use a backdoor approach to put an end to Gabbar Singh. How does he deal with that? What happens to his romance story with Bhagyalakshmi? All this forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Pawan Kalyan is all over the film and his energy levels, dance moves and dialogue delivery is punch packed. After his mild portrayal of roles, this is one film which has seen him in full form.

Shruti Haasan looks sensuous and seductive. Though the dubbing for her was a little unusual, she managed to cover it up with her expressions and natural beauty. Not much scope for her in terms of performance.

Abhimanyu Singh underplays his role aptly and has the perfect menacing look of a villain. If his character was strengthened it could have caused more impact to the film. But still, he did a good job.

Ajay did his bit as required, Suhasini was standard, Kota was okay, Tanikella Bharani had a meaty role and he did full justice to it, Gayatri of Happy Days fame gave a surprise with her saucy character, Ali and Brahmanandam brought few smiles. Ravu Ramesh was brief but effective, he deserves more meaty characters. The others did their bit as required and added value to the film.

Highlights

Pawan Kalyan
Songs
First half
Antakshari scene in police station
Dialogues
Technical aspects
Nativity

Drawbacks

Abrupt climax

Analysis
When a film of star like Pawan Kalyan is on the anvil, it is very difficult to match the expectations of his fans and the general audience. The hype and hungama that gets created makes anyone go into the theatres with out of the world entertainment. And this is a true challenge for any director handling that project. But director Harish Shankar has stood up to the challenge and delivered it as required. As such, this is a full plate unlimited meals for Pawan Kalyan and not stopping at that, it serves an extra dessert.

Despite the fact that this is a remake of the Bollywood blockbuster Dabangg, Harish has ensured that the story conversion happened in the right proportion and it suits the native taste of the audience. The occasional dialogues with double entendres, the entertainment quotient, the massive punch impact of the protagonist and those in-between dialogues which keep sending messages to other stars and fans is what makes the formula for a perfect commercial entertainer.

Of course, the entire focus was on Pawan and his energy levels were utilized to the fullest. In Dabangg, there were four verticals- significance was given to hero, heroine, villain and even the heros brother but that is not the case in this one. While most of the principal cast were sidelined and were there to fill the scenes, the total responsibility was on Pawan to carry the film on his shoulders and he has done an exceptional job. After Jalsa this is the film where we see Pawan hysteria once again.

While the fans may have their own feast, there is sufficient material for the general audience. Right from the age of 16 to 80, there are enough scenes which can connect them to the film in terms of entertainment. Frankly speaking, the Telugu audience has always believed in larger than life power in their superstars and though cinematic liberties are taken to match those wishes, if it is done with conviction then the film gets a thumbs up.

Gabbar Singh is a product which has the right mix of Pawanism, comedy, sentiment, romance and action. Perhaps the only hiccup in the film was the climax which ended on a rather quick note. Though the voltage was less, the entire energy throughout the film was maintained and due credit must be given to the screenplay and dialogues. Here are few lines to give you a glimpse-

"Peru, gothram cheppadaaniki nenaimainaa gullo poojaarinaa"
"Nenu cheppinaa okate, fans cheppinaa okate"
"Charitra gurinchi chetta buttala gurinchi aalochinchanu"

While there are many counters and punch lines which must be enjoyed in the theatres only, the film stands as a true example for an apt formula film which will fill the stomach of the commercial summer audience. At the box office, since there is nobody around for the next two weeks, the film will register thumping collections. And given the impact of songs like Kevvu Keka and Akasam Ammayaithe.. the chances of repeat audience is also high. We could be looking at a registered blockbuster here.

Bottomline: Ee Thikka Ki Lekka Kattalenidhi!!

(Venkat can be reached at venkat@greatandhra.com)

Click here for Telugu Review

Tweet Review: 'Gabbar Singh', first day, first show

It is friday time which means it is the time to have a look at what is happening in the theatres. Perhaps the biggest and most promising movie of the year is getting ready to take the judgement from the audience.

We are talking about the film 'Gabbar Singh' and it is hitting the screens today. This has power star Pawan Kalyan as the hero and he is pairing up with Shruti Haasan. The film is directed by Harish Shankar and produced by Bandla Ganesh.

The music by Devi Sri Prasad has created good impact with the audience and one of the songs 'Kevvu Keka' is a ruling chartbuster. The film is the remake of the Bollywood blockbuster 'Dabangg'. So let us hope the remake scores a blockbuster too.

Greatandhra brings to you the experience of watching the film live via tweet review.

Response in theatre with hell a lot of shouts is ever seen in last 5 years.

Titles on gun point

Film starts with Puri's son Aakash Gabbar Singh scene (kitne aadmi the) from Sholay.

Pawan Kalyan's entry on horse followed by a gun fight with decoits

"Peru, gothram cheppadaaniki nenaimainaa gullo poojaarinaa"- Pawan Kalyan's first dialogue amidst fight.

Gabbar Singh title song with an interesting lead scene.

Hilarious, sensible and hitting dialogues so far

Ali enters on a moped in the get up constable. Pawan names him Samba (Sholay effect...)

"Nenu cheppinaa okate, fans cheppinaa okate". "Naaku nene potee..." "Charitra gurinchi chetta buttala gurinchi aalochinchanu". Fans in theatre shouted like a hell to these dialogues

Shruthi Hasan entry on screen with an accidental hug to Pawan Kalyan.

'Happy Days' Gayatri appears as a side kick to heroine.

'Akasam ammayaithe..' Song perfectly gelled with the situation.

No drop in entertainment graph till now.

Brahmi enters as Recovery Ranjit Kumar.

Off screen sisters (cousins) Suhasini and Shruthi Hasan perform as aththa and kodalu on screen.

Abhimanyu Singh is magnetic.

Tanikella Bharani excels after a long time with Godavari slang.

Pawan comes to fight with Abhimanyu Singh's gang on a rickshaw with the background song 'ee petaku nene mestri..' Very funny.

Tanikella Bharani's character seems to be an extension of what he did in Athadu.

Whistles for Kota Sreenivas Rao's 'Mandu Baabulam' song. Surprising and deserving...

'Pilla Nuvvu leni jeevitam' song rocks with huge energy on screen.

Hard core fight between Pawan and Abhimanyu's cronies.

Interval...Energetic bang

Emotional and hilarious second half with action dose started.

Pawan Kalyan's 'Antyaakshari' with rowdies in police station. Very hilarious. Rib tickling comedy. Junior artistes excelled with great performances. Imitations of R Narayana Murthy and Dr Rajasekhar superb.

Pawan Kalyan's shocking dialogue imitating Rajasekhar 'Rose Rose Rose puvvaa?? Rojaa naa veedi koojaa naa' (may be a revenge dialogue in connection with off screen strife between Rajasekhar and Chiru)

'Kevvu Keka***' song shaking theatre.

'Premalo Padithe' Review: A Bad Experience

Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: S K Pictures
Cast: Sree, Urmila Mohanty, Mithun Murali, Manisha Yadav, Muthuraman, Rithika and others
Music: R Prasanna
Cinematographer: S D Vijay Milton
Editor: Gopikrishna
Story, screenplay, direction: Balaji Sakthivel
Producer: Suresh Kondeti
Release date: 04/05/2012

Just like stale mass masala movies coming in Tollywood, even Kollywood is seeing few movies like that. Tamil directors have got addicted to giving tragic ending to romance stories. Many of those movies got translated into Telugu but not many were successful. Telugu audience has understood that Tamil movies will be like this only and tragedy will be there somehow or the other. Tamil audience may like it but the Telugu buyers should think twice before they invest money. This film is also one from that lot.

Story
Venu (Sree) hails from utter poverty and he takes up work in a street-side Tiffin shop. He falls in love with Jyothi (Urmila) who works in the neighbouring apartment but is unable to express it. Before he decides to express his feelings, Jyothi meets with an accident. Venu is made responsible for that and is arrested. What exactly happens to Jyothi? Why did Venu get arrested? In the same apartment lives a teenage girl Aarti (Manisha), she is constantly chased by Nitesh (Mithun) a boy from the same apartment. The fight between them leads to a problem for Jyothi. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.

Performances
The film comprises of debutantes mostly and among them, the lead pair of Sree and Urmila have done well.

Urmila conveys a lot through her eyes though she has few dialogues. Sree fits the character rightly with perfect expressions. Manisha also has done a good act. Mithun was natural.

Rest of the cast ensured that Tamil flavour was not missed. And Suresh Kondeti who dubbed the movie in Telugu might have discovered the lack of comedy so he filled the gap with an item song.

Technical Aspects
The background score of R Prasanna is good. Two songs in the film were composed without instruments and only the voices of the singers were used. This technique sounds okay but you will feel the absence of music in critical romantic scenes and get bored. Cinematography was neat. Usually, such films tend to have a rugged backdrop but the cinematographer has taken enough precautions to give a soothing feel. Editing was average it could have been better in second half.

Highlights

Cinematography

Drawbacks

Story, screenplay filled with Tamil flavour
Character development
Direction

Analysis
The director Balaji Sakthivel has made 'Premisthe' movie in a very natural way. Though it was a tragic love story the entertainment value is there. In this movie he has also touched contemporary issues by showing how youth are getting misled through SMS and Smartphones. But the crucial scenes of the film had flat direction. Climax was not effective. Mainly, one will not get sympathy for the lead pair which has fallen into problems because of someone else. The main drawback is not developing the love story rightly. The scenes and screenplay to show the link between first half and second half, the emotions between the characters and the attachment to be given to the audience was left to the wind. Thats why one does not react even if something terrible is happening onscreen. That shows the weakness of direction.

The low budget films coming from Kollywood are always like this, why? There is a compulsory tragedy in the end, why? The characters are always below the poverty line, why? Is it because directors believe this to be the easiest way for appreciation? Or is it a genuine sympathy or affection towards people who belong to such class?

Earlier, we saw a cobbler, roadside mechanic, employee in clothes shop. Since they have shown all such characters, did the hero become a worker at a streetside Tiffin centre? Is that why his pair is a servant maid? Finally, the tragedy that strikes them, was it also written after ensuring that it was not repeated in other films?

One film sees the hero going mad and the other film sees the heroine becoming physically handicapped. So what should be fresh in our film? Did they write the story thinking what will make the audience cry their hearts out and show extreme affection to their lovers? Isnt this one form of sadism? Is it not an attempt to exploit the weakness of audience and encash it?

With entertainment quotient being zero and a snail pace of the film, it is difficult for Telugu audience to show generosity. Since there are audiences in neighbouring state who pay money to cry their hearts out, such films can make good collections there. Telugu audience is not in a position to move to such sentiments. Those who are used to watching Tamil tragedy flicks can watch it but otherwise this forced tragedy will not be liked by anyone.

Bottomline: Premalo Padithesure to lose peace of mind

Written By GreatAndhra Team