Director K Balachander Passes Away

K. Balachander (1930-2014)

K Balachander, one of the most revered filmmakers in Indian film industry, has passed away. He was 84 years old and for the past few weeks, he suffering from severe urinary tract infection and fever which did not subside even after continuous treatment. Few days ago, Balachander was admitted to Kauvery hospital in Chennai and although there was news that he was showing signs of recovery, he breathed his last at 7:10 PM on Tuesday evening in the hospital.

His demise truly marks the end of an era and over the past 45 years of his career, he has created several memorable characters and introduced scores of new talent. The veteran director was the mentor for Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth and directed classics like Anthuleni Katha, Thoorpu Padamara, Maro Charitra, Akali Rajyam and Rudraveena to name a few. In Tamil, his filmography is unparalleled and throughout his career, he continued to push the boundaries of story-telling, along with creating strong characterisations for actresses in all his films.

K Balachander was the recipient of Padma Shri, nine National awards, ANR National award and Dadasaheb Phalke award, apart from countless other honours in Telugu and Tamil film industries.

Pawan Kalyan buy Brand New Scorpio

Pawan Kalyan - The First Person To Buy It!

Pawan Kalyan is the first person to buy brand new Scorpio and we could find the above picture at Mahindra showroom in Miyapur. It is learnt that the Jana Sena Chief will be using the vehicle for his security purpose.

Off late, Pawan Kalyan has been touring different parts of Telugu states for various reasons like poll canvassing, paying homage to the victims and foreseeing the relief & rehabilitation works. He encountered few security issues during these visits and hence decided to purchase as well-built heavy vehicle to overcome them.

The actor-turned-politician has almost completed his part of shooting for 'Gopala Gopala'. He will be soon joining the shoot of 'Gabbar Singh' to release the film next year.

Actress Shweta Basu Released From Rescue Home

Actress Shweta Basu who was earlier caught in a prostitution racket has been released from the rescue home. The sessions court in Hyderabad on Wednesday allowed the actress to stay with her mother

The actress’ mother had filed a revision plea challenging the court’s order that she would stay at the rescue home for six months from September 30. The court allowed the revision plea, and the actress left the home, reports stated.

The actress told the police that she got into the flesh trade as she was out of money and she wasn’t landing any roles in films.

According to multiple reports, the actress might reveal the names of her clients to the police.

Kajal Praises People's effort in Hudhud's Relief operations

Kajal Aggarwal is the latest celebrity from tinsel town to urge people to join the ongoing relief operations in Uttarandhra region after Hudhud cyclone wrecked havoc in the three districts. The actress, who was last seen in Govindudu Andharivadele, took to her offiicial page, saying, "Been following the news on Cyclone #HudHud which hit Vizag and it's surrounding areas... This tragic calamity has shattered lives, homes and property.. I'm happy to know that so many people have united in support and help is actively being provided to restore the damage that the cyclone left behind.. Let's all try to help in our own ways and fasten the restoration process ."

Pawan Kalyan Is Highest Paid Actor Of Tollywood

Pawan Kalyan is highest paid actor of Tollywood, according to Forbes India. The Power Star is charging Rs 23 crore for a film and Mahesh Babu is in second position with 21 crores. Coming to Kollywood, Rajinikanth is on top with 32 crores and is followed by Vijay and Surya with 22 crores and 20 crores respectively. Here is Forbes Highest paid actors list for Tollywood and Kollywood:

pawan tops here, rajinikanth tops there

Tollywood highest paid actors and their remunerations:
1. Pawan Kalyan 23cr
2.Mahesh Babu 21cr
3. Ram Charan 18cr
4. AlluArjun 17cr
5. Jr NTR 15 cr

Kollywood highest paid actors and their remunerations:
Rajinikanth 32 cr
2. Vijay 22 cr
3. Surya 20 cr
4. Ajith 18 cr
5. Vikram 17 cr

Amala Paul’s ‘Engagement’ Invalid

One day before wedding, church calls Amala Paul’s ‘engagement’ invalid

One day before her wedding, Amala Paul's recent engagement to director A L Vijay has been called invalid by the Catholic church. Despite the show of rings by the couple and the grand, almost wedding like ceremony, which included an exchange of rings, supposedly overseen by a 'priest', both Amala's father Paul Varghese and the church now deny that it was an engagement ceremony. While the church calls the betrothal invalid, Varghese calls the whole 'engagement' affair just a prayer.

A section of people from the Christian community in Kerala had started accusing Amala Paul's family of violating some basic rules of the Christian engagement and started spreading rumours saying that the engagement was not held as per Christian customs. Hence, in a move that seems to have been made to avert controversy, her father Paul Varghese has reportedly issued a statement saying that it was just a prayer and not an engagement. In the statement, Amala Paul's father also says that the actress grew up in and around the St. Jude Church, at Aluva in Kochi, and had special affection towards the church and it was only because of that that they decided to have the 'prayer' there. A guest who attended the ceremony says, "The couple exchanged rings as the priest prayed for them. They then walked out and displayed their rings to the waiting press."

However, according to Syro Malabar Church spokesperson Fr Paul Thelakkat, it was not a legally valid ceremony. "It was not a legally valid betrothal that was conducted at the church. But people got such an impression, that's all," he said and further added that, "A Christian engagement will be considered valid only if it was presided over by a legally valid person." When asked if it was a legally valid priest who conducted the ceremony, Fr Paul maintained that he does not want to discuss or reveal how or who conducted it.
Amala Paul gets married to director A L Vijay in a traditional Chettiyar ceremony, in Chennai, today.

ACTRESS AMALA PAUL ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

Actress Amala Paul married Vijay

Amala Paul married Vijay

Southern actress Amala Paul married Tamil filmmaker Vijay here Thursday in a traditional south Indian style wedding. The occasion was graced by many members of the Tamil film fraternity. While Amala was dressed in a red Kanjivaram sari, Vijay was draped in a sparkling white dhoti and shirt.

The couple will host a grand reception Thursday evening, for which Amala will be seen in designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee's creation. She will be decorated with jewels from Amrapali and Joy Lukas.

Industry members who attended the wedding and blessed the couple included Mani Ratnam, Jagapathi Babu, Vikram, Arya, Bala, Jeyam Raja, Abbas, Krish, Sangeetha Krish and Samuthirakani. Vijay and Amala recently got engaged in Kerala in a church. They fell in love on sets of Tamil film "Deiva Thirumagal" and have been dating for nearly three years.

Genelia Is Pregnant

Yes, Genelia is pregnant: Riteish Deshmukh

So the rumours were true. Hubby Riteish Deshmukh has confirmed to a leading daily that his wife and actress Genelia D'Souza is pregnant. When asked about the rumours around Genelia's pregnancy, he said, "Yes, she is and we are looking forward to the baby and are very excited about it."

Speculations of the couple on family way started when Genelia skipped several award shows and public events.

In past few months, she was seen only at Yellow's promotional event, produced by Riteish Deshmukh and at Hawa Hawaii premiere, where people couldn't help but notice her baby bump. The couple married in 2012 after dating for almost a decade. We wish them all the good luck and joy.

Pawan Kalyan Contest From Kakinada For Lok Sabha

It is being speculated that actor Pawan Kalyan, who will formally launch his political party, Jana Sena, in Hyderabad on Friday, might contest from the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming polls. If Pawan contests from the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat, the calculations of the established political parties will go awry as he hails from the dominant Kapu community in the district. The community holds sway over four constituencies  Pithapuram, Peddapuram, Jaggampet and Prathipadu.

According to sources, the TD is likely to give tickets to Kapu community leaders in Prathipadu and Jaggampet. The YSRC is likely to give five tickets to Kapu leaders for Pithapuram, Peddapuram, Prathipadu, Jaggampet and Tuni. In such a situation, if Pawan decides to run from Kakinada, “it may cause some upsets and his image can affect the results of the candidates”, said a senior TD leader. Students of engineering colleges in the area and the youth, irrespective of caste, have been wearing T shirts with “Pawanism” printed on them after the success of the movie Atharintiki Daredi, said sources.

Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan’s fans are making arrangements to set up live screens at the Sri Venkateswara Function Hall here to show Pawan’s party launch live. “We are implementing Pawan’s instructions,” said Kakinada City Pawan Kalyan Fans Association president Chintakayala Chinni. However, he was unsure whether the fans are supporting Pawan or his elder brother Chiranjeevi.

The TD is hoping to capture the Kapu vote by promising `1,000 crore per annum for their welfare. Union minister for Human Resources Development M. Pallam Raju, meanwhile, is banking on his own image to see him through the election. In spite of the public anger against the Congress over the bifurcation issue, Mr Raju, is relying on his “development mantra” and is expecting that the electorate will not abandon him.

Mahesh Babu Is Stressed, Not Injured

Mahesh Babu, who had been shooting in Bellary for his upcoming Telugu film, Aagadu, has been advised to take rest for a few days. Contrary to rumours that he got injured while shooting for the film, sources close to the actor say that he was only stressed out because the shoot was quite hectic and that the team has completed the schedule.

The team has returned to Hyderabad and the next schedule is expected to begin soon. Mahesh Babu is playing the role of a cop and the film also stars Prakash Raj as a villain. Tamannaah is playing the lead role opposite Mahesh Babu in this film and it's the first time that duo has teamed up. The film is reportedly set in Rayalaseema backdrop and it is said to be a full fledged action comedy. Sreenu Vaitla is directing the film and Thaman is scoring the music. KV Guhan is the cinematographer. The film is expected to hit the screens later this year.

Neetu Chandra Shocking Comments OnTelugu Films

Neetu Chandra makes a shocking confession

Neetu Chandra, who had acted in films like Godavari and Satyameva Jayate, has made a shocking confession about why she stopped acting in Telugu films. Recently, when one of her Telugu film's dubbed version was being aired on TV, the actress took to her micro blogging profile and said, "My Telgu film 'Satya mev Jayate' dubbed in Hindi ' Lalkar ki jung ' n showing on ZAction right now..."My worst experience on a film set ever #ActorRajshekhar of @telguindustry use to be drunk n carrying gun on sets.. That scared me (sic)" Apparently, she was so traumatised by that experience that she never worked in a Telugu film after that.

Interestingly, she deleted these comments from her page about Rajasekhar and stated that it's an old story and she has moved on from the incident. The actress also confessed that she'll be back in Telugu film industry soon. Neetu Chandra will be making a cameo in ANR, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya starrer Manam. And if all goes well, she'll be part of one of Nagarjuna's upcoming production.

Kapil Sharma To Record A Song With Shruti Haasan

Popular TV host, Kapil Sharma is all set to record a song with actress Shruti Haasan. Interestingly, Sukhwinder Singh will be composing this track, as per the latest reports in Bollywood. Apparently, Kapil Sharma, who hosts the hugely popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, met Shruti Haasan recently and the duo discovered that music and singing is their common interest. The duo is going to record the song soon and it'll be produced by the makers of a popular music show.

Meanwhile, Kapil Sharma is gearing up to make his acting debut in a feature film, which will be produced by a top production house, later this year. Looks like the TV host turned actor is going to juggle between his acting and singing career in near future.

After films, Kapil Sharma to croon with Shruti Haasan


Just as Kapil Sharma is getting ready to embark on his movie career, the actor-comedian is also all set to sing a number with Shruti Haasan. Sukhwinder Singh would be composing the track. The number will be produced by Coke Studios. Kapil loves music and says he would be pursuing his singing career as seriously as acting.

About the venture, Kapil says "We are planning something. I met Shruti on a flight. We started chatting and discovered our mutual love for music and singing. We decided we'd do a song together," Sharma went on to add that he'd might soon be looking at seriously pursuing acting as well as singing.

Preity Zinta Rejects Election Buzz

Finally,Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has denied news reports that she may contest Lok Sabha elections against Congress MP Priya Dutt on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. There has been a buzz that actress, Preity Zinta has been given a BJP ticket by BJP General Secretary, Rajiv Pratap Rudy to fight the upcoming elections against Munna Bhai's sister, Priya Dutt from North-Central Mumbai constituency.

However, Preity cleared all clouds regarding the rumour of her joining politics. When asked about the issue by a follower on Twitter, Preity responded, "Where did you read this? Please tear that paper because it's 100 percent UNTRUE." It was reported that Rudy who also supposedly is a distant relative of Preity Zinta wanted to put a celebrity face against the Congress MP. Preity Zinta has been supposedly running through a tough phase with flop shows in both Bollywood movies as well as IPL and in such situations, rumours about celebrities even double up.

Pawan Kalyan To Contest As An Independent?

Not a minute seems to go by without a horde of news reports speculating over Pawan Kalyan's political entry crop up on Twitter. Earlier in the day rumors about the Power Star addressing a press conference today broke out causing the actor's spokesperson to issue a clarification that the hearsay is false.

However, there deluge rumors and gossips about his political entry have been continuing unabated. From second guessing the name of the political party, to whether he will align with Loksatta or join the Aam Aadmi Party...numerous hypotheses are floating around.

The latest is that the Power Star would not be starting a new political outfit. Apparently he will be contesting the elections as an independent candidate. While some reports claim that he would be contesting the MP seat from Malkajgiri, others conjecture that he would be contesting from Anakapalli constituency.  We will have to wait and see if there is any truth in this piece of info. Guess there is going to be another clarification for Pawan Kalyan's office on the way?

Telugu Actor Ravi Teja's Brothe rBharath Arrested for Drunk Driving, Misbehaviour

Telugu actor Ravi Teja's brother was arrested by the Hyderabad Police in the early hours of Tuesday.

Ravi Teja's brother Bharath, a small-time actor who has featured in films such as "Dhee" and "Ready", was held by the cops on the charges of abusing Madhapur policemen in an inebriated state. According to reports, Bharath was driving under the influence of alcohol in the wee hours of Tuesday. The patrolling cops stopped his car for a routine check near the HITEC City area and asked him not to drive in that condition. But it seems the actor lost his cool and got involved in a heated argument with the officers on duty. It is understood that Bharath spoke rudely to the police and abused them. Apparently the actor also manhandled a few onlookers and created nuisance on the road for over an hour, reported Gulte.

Ravi Teja's Brother Bharat Arrested in Nuisance Case

The police arrested him and took him into custody. According to reports, they booked him under drunk driving and for causing nuisance in the public place. Bharath was produced before the Miyapur court and was reportedly granted bail for personal guarantee of ₹5,000. This is not the first time that Ravi Teja's brother was held by the cops. In 2010, Bharath was arrested along with his other brother Raghubabu in connection with a drug scandal. The brothers were caught with a Nigerian national and was allegedly dealing with banned drugs. The cops reportedly recovered aroun 50 grams of cocaine from them and filed a case.

At the time, Ravi Teja (who has a clean image in the Telugu film industry) had reportedly gone on to say that he has no connections with his brothers at all. Now, one of his brothers has broken the law once again. Will the big brother come forward this time and set things right?

Rajamouli breaks own record for Prabhas

Young Rebel star Prabhas's Baahubali in SS.Rajamouli's direction will break director's earlier records by adding more number of VFX shots in his new film compared to Eega.

Yes, Rajamouli will reportedly have 4500-5000 Visual effects in Baahubali, who has used 2234 VFX shots for Eega movie. It is to be noted that Baahubali marks the highest budget in Rajamouli's career. Arka Media presenting Baahubali casts Anushak, Rana, Tamanna in the other lead roles. MM. Keeravani is the music director for the movie.

Tollywood Musician MM Keeravani Announces His Retirement Date

MM Keeravani aka MM Kreem is one of top and the most popular musicians of the South India. The Tollywood composer, who has been enthralling the music lovers in this part of the country for three decades, has surprised everyone by announcing his retirement date on his official Facebook page. He says that he would retire from the work on December 8, 2016. Today, MM Keeravani took to his Twitter page and wrote, "I recorded my 1st song on 9th December 1989 at Prasad Studios Chennai. The very day i fixed my retirement day to be 8th December 2016 which i am planning to celebrate the day with my close associates and musicians.. most likely at Prasad Studio, Hyderabad. So it is hardly 3 more years to go. Meanwhile i am happy to start this new journey on FB from tomorrow, details will be updated in the evening. I thank all of my fans who spared their time to express their likes, dislikes, advices and wishes to me all these years !!"

However, MM Keeravani started his career assistant music composer with the noted composer Chakravarthy in the year 1987. Later, he became independent musician with the movie Manasu Mamatha in 1990. In his career spanning two and half decades, he composed music for over 200 films in various languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. He has been honoured with eight Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, four Filmfare Awards South and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award too.

Kamal Haasan Gets Padma Bhushan

Actor-director Kamal Haasan adds another honour to his long list of achievements. Kamal Haasan, known for his work across all southern languages, was named for the Padma Bhushan award on the occasion of the 65th Republic Day.

Haasan will get the award for his contribution to Indian cinema over the last five decades. The 59-year old, who has so far starred in over 200 films, made his cinematic debut as a child actor in Tamil film 'Kalathur Kannamma', which earned him the president's gold medal. His first adult role was in his mentor K. Balachander's 1973 Tamil drama 'Arangetram'. The two has since then worked in over 30 films together. Some of his prominent Tamil films include 'Moondram Pirai', 'Nayagan', 'Pushpak', 'Virumaandi' and 'Anbe Sivam'.

Besides working predominantly in Tamil filmdom, Haasan had also starred in films in other southern languages such as Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. Films such as 'Sagara Sangamam', 'Swati Muthyam' and 'Subha Sankalpam' have popularized him in Telugu, while films such as 'Pushapaka Vimana' and ‘Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu’ are regarded as his best works in Kannada. In Malayalam, he is known for films such as 'Vrutham', 'Daisy' and 'Chanakyan'. Haasan had also worked in Hindi films such as 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye', 'Sagar', 'Raaj Tilak' and 'Giraftaar'.

Besides acting, Haasan has also proved his mettle as a director, writer, singer and producer over the years.
He has so far directed five films such as 'Chachi 420', 'Hey Ram', 'Virumaandi', 'Vishwaroopam' and soon to release 'Vishwaroopam 2'. Haasan is the winner of three National awards and 19 Filmfare awards so far. In 1990, he also received the Padma Shri. He has two daughters - Shruti Haasan, a popular actress and Akshara Haasan.

Ilayaraja Hospitalized

A few hours ago Maestro Ilayaraja is admitted in to Apollo hospital in Chennai city due to mild attack.

Reports claim that Ilayaraja was suffering from a heart pain and he was immediately rushed to the Apollo. Doctors in Apollo Chennai are giving the treatment to Ilayaraja .

However, Apollo doctors confirmed that it is just a mild attack and Ilayaraja will be discharged after resting for a couple of days.

Hansika Motwani’s ‘Nine’ Sentiment!

Stars in the industry have their share of sentiments and beliefs — be it a lucky colour or a number or a habit that they believe is lucky for them. And we've found out that for Hansika, the number nine holds a special place. So much that we hear number of most of the hotel rooms that she stays in during outdoor schedules either end in nine or adds up to it.

"More than me, my mom believes that nine is lucky for me," says Hansika, "My date of birth is nine. For the longest time, my roll numbers in school added up to nine. Our house number is nine, and even the license plate of our cars adds up to nine. So, whenever I stay at hotels as well, I see if I can get a room number that's either nine or adds up to it. And I've seen that this number has proven lucky for me."