Prakash Raj, the 'Chellam' of Tamil cinema, is on cloud nine. The actor, who won a National Award for his role of Vengadam, a humble silk weaver in Priyadarshan's 'Kanchivaram', has swept aside the likes of Shah Rukh and Aamir Khans in the race.
"When Priyadarshan narrated the story, I was shaken and stirred. My hands were shivering, I was in tears and I simply walked out. After a cup of coffee, I was able to call him and blasted him for keeping the story to himself for 12 years," he says.
Interestingly, the actor did not take any money for the film. "It was a painful role. It was mind blowing professionally as well as personally. I had to unlearn all that I had to learnt as an actor," he says.
On winning the National Award, he says, "all credit should go to Priyadarshan and his team. He was hitherto called as commercial filmmaker. Had he wanted, he could have gone ahead and done some commercial ventures and made enough money. But he had the guts and conviction to do meaningful movie. I dedicate this award to Priyan, our art-director Sabu Cyril and cinematographer Thiru".
Saying that the award has encouraged him to do more realistic movies, Prakash adds: "It is what my production house 'Duet Movies' is striving for. The joy of doing such films is great. I want my contemporaries in the industry to experience it".
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Prakash Raj’s Fights Without Dupe
Prakash Raj has set a standard for character and villain roles. He is known for hard working and meticulous job. He also never minds taking peril into his lap to act in any risky shot.
Vishal, the lead role in Pista said that Prakash Raj acted in climax action episodes without any dupe. Although many denied him not to take the risk, Prakash Raj left deaf ear and performed successfully.
The dare devil attitude of Prakash Raj is known for entire unit members with those shots, said Vishal. The film is directed by Sabha Ayyappan while the producer is Vikram Krishna.
The music for the film has been composed by Mani Sharma.
Vishal, the lead role in Pista said that Prakash Raj acted in climax action episodes without any dupe. Although many denied him not to take the risk, Prakash Raj left deaf ear and performed successfully.
The dare devil attitude of Prakash Raj is known for entire unit members with those shots, said Vishal. The film is directed by Sabha Ayyappan while the producer is Vikram Krishna.
The music for the film has been composed by Mani Sharma.
Priyan happy, Adoor double happy
Filmmaker Priyadarshan is thrilled with the fact that his 'Kanchivaram' has managed to won two National Awards-one in the Best Film category and the other for Prakash Raj (Best Actor).
He says: "People call me comedy director. Form now on, they can call me a ‘comical serious’ director. We made the movie with a purpose. All the artistes, crew and technicians gave their best effort and the result is here to see".
"Doing such films gives one immense satisfaction. When it is recognised with such awards, it motivates and encourages one more", he adds.
Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has won his seventh National Award. For 2007, he was adjudged the best director the movie 'Naalu Pennungal'.
"I am happy on winning the honour, my seventh overall and fifth for my direction skills," he says.
"When we made the movie we had no such aspirations. It was screened at various international film festivals and was welcome with glee and joy. The recognition goes on to prove that masses do accept movies that touch their heart and are close top reality", Adoor adds.
He says: "People call me comedy director. Form now on, they can call me a ‘comical serious’ director. We made the movie with a purpose. All the artistes, crew and technicians gave their best effort and the result is here to see".
"Doing such films gives one immense satisfaction. When it is recognised with such awards, it motivates and encourages one more", he adds.
Malayalam filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has won his seventh National Award. For 2007, he was adjudged the best director the movie 'Naalu Pennungal'.
"I am happy on winning the honour, my seventh overall and fifth for my direction skills," he says.
"When we made the movie we had no such aspirations. It was screened at various international film festivals and was welcome with glee and joy. The recognition goes on to prove that masses do accept movies that touch their heart and are close top reality", Adoor adds.
‘Aarumugam’ comes to Tollywood!!!!!
Noted director Suresh Krishna who has been known for his commercial ventures with good messages comes up with ‘Aarumugam’ this time. The film has the talented Bharath and the buxom beauty Priyamani in the lead and it will be released in Tamil and Telugu simultaneously.
Currently, it is in post-production stage and the dubbing process will be happening soon. There is also news that popular Telugu producer E V V Sathyanarayana has bought the Telugu rights.
This will be Bharath’s second film in Tollywood after ‘Premisthe’. The film also has the ravishing seductress Ramya Krishna doing a role that she did in ‘Narasimha’.
Currently, it is in post-production stage and the dubbing process will be happening soon. There is also news that popular Telugu producer E V V Sathyanarayana has bought the Telugu rights.
This will be Bharath’s second film in Tollywood after ‘Premisthe’. The film also has the ravishing seductress Ramya Krishna doing a role that she did in ‘Narasimha’.
Tollywood gets another reason to smile
Big enough to have become one of the crucial revenue generators for Tollywood. Pushed to the wall with escalating budgets, the Telugu film industry seems to have found a new avenue of fetching revenue — satellite rights to television broadcasters — offering the producers a dependable source of income and a lifeline to the industry. In fact fancy satellite rights have enabled small films to recover their production costs even. In Andhra, film-based programmes/content fetch high TRPs on entertainment channels. Satellite rights of some films are sold before the film’s release— acting as a source of finance. A small-to-mid budget movie can fetch anywhere between Rs 60 lakh-1crore today, while big-budget films like Magadheera and Arundhati can earn up to Rs 7 crore.
The mushrooming of TV channels and the race to grab high TRPs has fuelled severe competition among the channels, who in turn shell out hefty pay cheques to production houses to buy the latest films. Satellite rights usually enable production houses to recover 10 to 30 per cent of the film’s budget. Earlier only flop films were sold to TV. Now, besides blockbusters, even yet-to-be released, untitled films’ satellite rights are being sold at astronomical prices.
Says Srinivas, head of an entertainment channel, “We look into the content of films carefully before buying them. Things like comedy content, songs, actors and actress are important for us. After all, buying films is a long-term investment for a channel,” he says and goes on to add, “For instance, if a movie has enough of comedy scenes we generate one episode of a programme.”
Arun Prasad whose Yagam (starring Bhumika Chawla) has been already sold out for more than Rs 1 crore even before the film hits the screens, says the trend kickstarted after “Tollywood started taking lessons from Hollywood and Bollywood. The satellite rights of some Bollywood films touch the Rs 10 crore mark. Even the Telugu film industry is seeing sky-rocketing prices and blockbusters could earn very big bucks. Some medium-budget movie producers earn a sizeable amount of their production cost with the satellite rights.”
In fact, small budget movies like Happy Days, Vinayakudu et al have churned out huge revenues for a channel which bought its satellite rights. K Sai Prasad, vice president of the movie channel admits that films like “Aatadu, Pokiri which were shown on our channel in recent times enjoyed good viewership and shot up the GRPs (gross rating points) during the week.
The mushrooming of TV channels and the race to grab high TRPs has fuelled severe competition among the channels, who in turn shell out hefty pay cheques to production houses to buy the latest films. Satellite rights usually enable production houses to recover 10 to 30 per cent of the film’s budget. Earlier only flop films were sold to TV. Now, besides blockbusters, even yet-to-be released, untitled films’ satellite rights are being sold at astronomical prices.
Says Srinivas, head of an entertainment channel, “We look into the content of films carefully before buying them. Things like comedy content, songs, actors and actress are important for us. After all, buying films is a long-term investment for a channel,” he says and goes on to add, “For instance, if a movie has enough of comedy scenes we generate one episode of a programme.”
Arun Prasad whose Yagam (starring Bhumika Chawla) has been already sold out for more than Rs 1 crore even before the film hits the screens, says the trend kickstarted after “Tollywood started taking lessons from Hollywood and Bollywood. The satellite rights of some Bollywood films touch the Rs 10 crore mark. Even the Telugu film industry is seeing sky-rocketing prices and blockbusters could earn very big bucks. Some medium-budget movie producers earn a sizeable amount of their production cost with the satellite rights.”
In fact, small budget movies like Happy Days, Vinayakudu et al have churned out huge revenues for a channel which bought its satellite rights. K Sai Prasad, vice president of the movie channel admits that films like “Aatadu, Pokiri which were shown on our channel in recent times enjoyed good viewership and shot up the GRPs (gross rating points) during the week.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I was a little immature: Chitrangada Singh
She'd surprised everyone by suddenly disappearing to Delhi after a critically acclaimed debut in Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi amidst reports that her hubby, golfer Jyoti Randhawa, didn't quite like the intrusive trappings of Bollywood. And now, just as suddenly, she's back, looking for a house with the intention of settling in Mumbai.
"Since I will be working here, it's logical to buy a place here," Chitrangada told . She's been shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai for some time now to balance her work and family life. "I have two sisters here, one lives in Yari Road and the other at Powai. Whenever I am in Mumbai, I stay with them. But this time I am quite serious about buying a place here, so I am checking out flats one after another." Her preferences are clear too. "I'd prefer a house either in Versova or Juhu."
She's gung-ho about her projects, which include the sequel to Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi opposite Irrfan Khan and Dhruv opposite Farhan Akhtar.
"Dhruv is an interesting film as I am playing a seductress in the movie. The character is quite sensuous and has a unique charm." But since the film also stars Kareena Kapoor, does it mean she's playing second fiddle? "I don't think it's a supporting role, I'd say it's a parallel character," she counters.
Her sudden exit was assumed to be because of her husband, but Chitrangada says she herself made the move -- which she regrets now. "I think I was a little immature to take that sudden decision. I guess a lot of things were circulated in the industry and I didn't know how to deal with them. Moreover, my family is not a part of this industry and they don't know how the industry functions. But I guess things are better now."
Is she ready for link-ups and assorted gossip? "I guess Jyoti and I are rock solid now. I am here to work and I want to concentrate on that. But in the end, I don't want to blame the media because in the stories, there is some truth most of the time, except a few occasions when completely bizarre things are written," she ends.
"Since I will be working here, it's logical to buy a place here," Chitrangada told . She's been shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai for some time now to balance her work and family life. "I have two sisters here, one lives in Yari Road and the other at Powai. Whenever I am in Mumbai, I stay with them. But this time I am quite serious about buying a place here, so I am checking out flats one after another." Her preferences are clear too. "I'd prefer a house either in Versova or Juhu."
She's gung-ho about her projects, which include the sequel to Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi opposite Irrfan Khan and Dhruv opposite Farhan Akhtar.
"Dhruv is an interesting film as I am playing a seductress in the movie. The character is quite sensuous and has a unique charm." But since the film also stars Kareena Kapoor, does it mean she's playing second fiddle? "I don't think it's a supporting role, I'd say it's a parallel character," she counters.
Her sudden exit was assumed to be because of her husband, but Chitrangada says she herself made the move -- which she regrets now. "I think I was a little immature to take that sudden decision. I guess a lot of things were circulated in the industry and I didn't know how to deal with them. Moreover, my family is not a part of this industry and they don't know how the industry functions. But I guess things are better now."
Is she ready for link-ups and assorted gossip? "I guess Jyoti and I are rock solid now. I am here to work and I want to concentrate on that. But in the end, I don't want to blame the media because in the stories, there is some truth most of the time, except a few occasions when completely bizarre things are written," she ends.
Prasoon Joshi wins his first National Award
Meri Maa, the song from Aamir Khan's directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par' has won lyricist Prasoon Joshi his first National award. Joshi, who has penned songs for some of the biggest Bollywood hits in recent times, won the award in the 'Best Lyrics' category at the 55th National Awards announced here today.
The song, which was picturised on Darsheel Safari and Tisca Chopra in the movie, also won the Best Playback Singer award for Shankar Mahadevan.
"It is a great feeling. 'Tare Zameen Par' is a film very close to my heart and the song is really special. After an appreciation from the audiences, getting the National award it is like 'Sone Pe Suhaga'," Joshi told PTI.
A beautiful piece of poetry, the song echoes the dedication of a child towards his mother. Joshi's soulful words give a glimpse of a child's sensitivity and emotions. He has already won the 2008 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for the song.
When asked what was the inspiration while penning the lines, Joshi said, "It is my truth. I feel if someone writes with total honesty it will strike a chord. I told my genuine feelings in the song which is why I think it touched many hearts." "When I heard the song I felt that it is a great piece of work which should be acknowledged," Joshi added.
The song, which was picturised on Darsheel Safari and Tisca Chopra in the movie, also won the Best Playback Singer award for Shankar Mahadevan.
"It is a great feeling. 'Tare Zameen Par' is a film very close to my heart and the song is really special. After an appreciation from the audiences, getting the National award it is like 'Sone Pe Suhaga'," Joshi told PTI.
A beautiful piece of poetry, the song echoes the dedication of a child towards his mother. Joshi's soulful words give a glimpse of a child's sensitivity and emotions. He has already won the 2008 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for the song.
When asked what was the inspiration while penning the lines, Joshi said, "It is my truth. I feel if someone writes with total honesty it will strike a chord. I told my genuine feelings in the song which is why I think it touched many hearts." "When I heard the song I felt that it is a great piece of work which should be acknowledged," Joshi added.
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