T-town loses 300 crores in 2013

Among 170-odd films released till 7.12.2013, only 12 to 14 films were either smashing hits, hits and average grossers, while more than 140-odd films were disasters and left more than 70-odd producers struggling for existence, while few big ones are trying to survive by chasing stars for dates, so it was a bad show at the box office and its becoming difficult to draw in Telugu audience. 

It was 'Atharintiki Daredi' which stood tall in this year with 85-crore plus, while other films that touched  40 crore mark were-Mirchi, Badshah, Nayak, Seethamma Vakitlo, whereas Gundejari Gallanthaiyinde and Balupu crossed 22 crores, while Prema Katha Chitram, grossed 15 crores and films like Tadaka, touched 10 crore mark and even small movies like 'Swamy Ra Ra' ( 7 crores) 'Anthakamundhu Aa Tharvatha' and Adda ( 3 to 4 crores) but industry sank deeply under the heap of 100-odd flops. 

However, lacklustre performance of few star films shook the industry and blew the lid and exposed that they no more 'so called' bankable stars since their films fell short of their production cost by a big margin- 'Ramayya Vasthavayya ( 19 crores out of 35 crores), Shadow ( 12 crores out of 30 crores), Greekuveerudu (10 out of 22 crores), Iddarammayilitho (22 out of 33 crores), Toofan (10 out of 60 crores), Masala (10 out of 24 crores), Bhai (12 cores out of 25 crores) Sahasam (5 out of 11 crores) and the list is endless. 

Even though films like Balupu and Badshah were hits, but producers lost Rs. 8 to10 crores respectively, for going over budget. The heap of flops include- Ongole Gitta, Mr. Pellikoduku, Jaffa, Jabardast, Gauravam, Arvind 2, Chamak Challo, Back Bench Student, Potugadu, Sukumarudu,Pavitra, Chandi, Varna etc, etc, we have to stop, otherwise, we will be left with no space). 

'More than Rs. 300 crores has been lost in the drain in 2013 because of poor scripts, spiraling salaries of stars, technicians and rampant piracy and most importantly Telugu audience are unwilling to digest crap in the name of star movies and even thumbed down new-age small movies, if they lacked novelty and even the 60-days bandh in Seemandhra added to producer's woes as it dented collections of many films, its definitely worst years for T-town box office, its time filmmakers, think out of the box or would perish further' says a top producer. 

http://chithralahari2025.blogspot.in/

Anushka Made A Huge Sacrifice!!!

Among the talented beautiful ladies we have, Mangalore siren Anushka Shetty always takes the top place. In the recent days she is getting praised for her acts that benefit producers a lot. But after watching her other day release, we have to say that in another way.

During the audio release function of 'Varna', many biggies have praised Anushka for her dedication and producer-friendly moves. People like Bandla Ganesh said she is darling of producers as she is more committed to her work and enables producers to mint money with her mere screen presence. But in reality, Anushka has made a huge sacrifice by accepting a project like 'Varna'. No doubt, the cliched storyline and atrocious screenplay of this flick will not make any heroine take up the challenge.

Risking her career daringly, Anushka sacrificed her glorious in-form career for a sick flick that will spoil her popularity for sure. Already there are comments about her silly fights and aunty looks, and this will increase with the film struggling at theatres for few more days. What a sacrifice Sweety!

http://chithralahari2025.blogspot.in/

'Varna' Review: Confusing And Perplexing

Film: Varna

Rating: 1.75/5
Banner: PVP Pictures
Cast: Anushka, Arya, Farouq, Sathyan Sivakumar, Ashok Kumar and others
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Background Score: Anirudh
Cinematographer: Ramji
Editor: Kola Bhaskar
Director: Sri Raghava
Producer: Potluri Prasad
Release date: 22/11/2013

Director Sri Raghava known for his hit movies like ‘7G Brindavanam Colony’ ‘Adavari Matalaku Ardhaalu Verule’ has now arrived with a rather unusual subject. Whether it is good enough or not, let us see.

Story
Set on the backdrop of two different worlds, in our world there is Ramya (Anushka) who admires Madhu (Arya) a kind hearted man. She expresses her feelings but he doesn’t accept it. Eventually he starts liking her and begins wooing her. In the other world, there is Varna (Anushka) who is a fiercely independent girl but liked by one man (Arya) strongly. After some time, Ramya accepts Madhu’s proposal but a twist occurs. What is that twist and how things change from there forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Arya did an okay job in the double role though he looked pale in the other world role. He tried his best to bring intensity wherever possible but in vain.

Anushka has begun to look a little old and since she had a grumpy face most of the time, her impact was not much. Most importantly, her character was not at all etched convincingly.

Ashok Kumar got a meaty role and he did his best. The others were there to fill the screen.

Highlights

• Computer graphics

Drawbacks

• Ridiculous storyline
• Pathetic narration
• Slow pace
• Confusing second half
• Bizarre backdrop

Analysis
Storytelling is an art and if one has to do it with the aid of technology and modern day graphics then it gets even more interesting. The fact that it is Sri Raghava leading this project set a good standard of expectation. This is despite the fact that he has a streak of eccentricity which is always seen in his films. 

This film which was originally commenced years ago and from thereon it went through different changes in cast and crew to finally arrive now. Well, it was not really worth the wait for.  The list of questions are many but here are a few for Raghava- what was he trying to convey? Where exactly is the story? Is there a plot to it? What is the purpose behind making this film? To give few grace points, he used his imagination and came up with fantasy planets (albeit with humans like us) and creatures which are quite robotic. For those who have seen ‘Avatar’ all this is nothing. 

Anyways, coming back to the point, without proper clarity on what the film is meant for Sri Raghava seems to have gone by an instinct and kept modifying it now and then. The film takes off on a good note but with each passing minute the energy levels dip and drain you out. A big damage was done by the dialogues which sounded quite old school. The background score did the final damage of nailing the coffin by providing tunes used in video games. A couple of songs are impressive but of no use with this spoiled narration. 

The interval break leaves the audience in utter confusion. Things were expected to improve in the second half but unfortunately it got worse and the climax did the wrap up job of ensuring every viewer has enough bumps on the head with blank thoughts. There is no clue what the producers saw in the story, no idea why Anushka saw potential. 

All in all, this is one mess of a product but a good lesson to filmmakers on how not to make a film.

http://chithralahari2025.blogspot.in/

I believe in director's vision: Anushka

Southern actress Anushka Shetty, who is currently part of projects worth over Rs.200 crore, says she is not concerned about the budget of her films as long as she believes in her director's vision. Three of Anushka's big budget projects include S.S. Rajamouli's "Baahubali", Gunsekhar's "Rudhramadevi" and Selvaraghavan's "Iranadam Ulagam". 

"Every big budget film is powered by a director's vision. I blindly follow the instructions of my director, believe in him and deliver what he exactly wants from me. I'm really not concerned about the budget of a film because I worry about my work," Anushka told IANS. "My priority will always be my performance more than anything associated with a film. I always look forward to give my best to the character I play on screen," she said. 


The commonality in all the aforementioned films is action, which Anushka had performed with dedication and undergoing rigorous training. "Preparing for action sequences helps me stay fit. I don't have to necessarily take out time for workout because I get physically exhausted while performing most of these stunt sequences. It's also great fun to learn something new," she said. For "Baahubali" and "Rudhramadevi", Anushka underwent special training to learn sword-fighting and horse riding.

http://chithralahari2025.blogspot.in/

Telugu Angelina Jolie's First Instalment - Anushka Shetty

                                   

Anushka Shetty, the tall and curvaceous Mangalore lady is no more a glamorous heroine in south tinsel towns. Time and again, she proved her mettle with action characters and now she is ending up as Angelina Jolie of Telugu industry with some continuous action-packed roles in a line.

Angelina is not new to Telugu folks, after all they all have grown up watching her Lara Croft movies, Wanted chases and Salt punches. Of late, Anushka is also evolving similarly in Tollywood with her Arundathi fights, Varna blues, Rudramadevi rides and Baahubali charms. That is why they call Anushka as Jolie of Tollywood and it seems like there is no option to imagine in our Mangalore beauty's place. And the big news is that Anushka's latest socio-fantasy flick 'Varna' is hitting screens somewhere in mid-December. Other than playing a regular heroine, our Sweety will be seen as a warrior in a medieval age in this flick.

If Varna is her first instalment, then Rudramadevi will be her second as the film is expected to hit marquee in 2014. And anyway, we have a strong backing in 2015 as Baahbuali will strike screens. So, get ready for Anushka's first instalment for now.