Star Portrait-Jr NTR

Junior NTR is well known as NTR is an Notable Tollywood actor, he is the grandson of Legendary Actor, Former Chief Minister and TDP former Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao. He was born on May 20th, 1983 to N.Harikrishna and Shalini in Hyderabad. Shalini is the second wife of Hari Krishna. He has two older half-brothers and an older half-sister from his father's earlier marriage, actor/producer Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, Nandamuri Janaki Ram and Nandamuri Suhasini respectively. Jr. NTR was brought up by his mother away from the Nandamuri family, as his father abandoned her after Jr. NTR's birth. On many occasions, Jr. NTR has paid glowing tributes to his mother, praising her for single-handedly bringing him up to what he is today despite being ostracised by his father's family members and always reminding him of his duties as he is the grandson of the legendary NTR.

It was none other than the legendary NTR who would later accept Jr. NTR and his mother into the Nandamuri family after he found out about them. He renamed Jr. NTR after himself and was the first
member of the Nandamuri family to have a good relationship with him. Eventually, Jr. NTR was accepted by his father and the other members of the Nandamuri family as well. Jr. NTR resembles his grandfather in many aspects, which are evident in his looks, personality and acting. Jr. NTR did his schooling from Vidyaranya High School, Hyderabad, following which he completed his Intermediate from St. Mary's College, Hyderabad. At an early age, Jr. NTR learned the Indian classical dance Kuchipudi. He gave many performances in India and also around the world at a young age.

He is fondly called as Tarak by his family, friends and close associates. Later, he changed his name to Taraka Rama Rao in honor of his grandfather. Many cine and political analysts believe that he is the next big star from the Nandamuri family. NTR would consequently cast him as Bharatha in his 1991 film Bhramasri Viswamitra. In an interview, Jr. NTR told that the experience of knowing and working with his grandfather was the main reason why he became an actor. Within few days of entry the success has gone to his head. At the age of 20, he became a sensation of his generation and gave his seniors a run for their glory. When asked, what message would he like to give to fans, he responded by saying "I'm too young to give any message to all those who have so much respect and love for the Nandamuri family and me. I simply bow my head to them."

 He married to Narne Lakshmi Pranathi in 2011, the daughter of Narne Srinivasa Rao, the owner of the Telugu news channel Studio N and a relative of Jr. NTR's uncle, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu. It was an arranged marriage. His all-round acting abilities and wonderful performance in 2007 blockbuster “Yamadonga” made Late Legendary Actor Shoban Babu remark NTR as one of his favourite actors in this generation, and reckoned that NTR has done everything in such a short span of time to impress everyone.

Film Career 

 Junior NTR started his career as a junior artist with roles in “Brahmarshi Viswamithra” in the year 1993 and then “Bala Ramayanam”, directed by Gunasekhar in 1996 and rose to become one of the best film actors in the Telugu film industry. NTR first movie as a hero was "Ninnu choodalani" released in the year 2000. It was produced by RamojiRao under Ushakiron movies banner. Written off by critics in his first film, he made a striking comeback with the film “Student No.1” which was released after 4 months. The movie went on to become an instant hit with both classes and masses.

However it was “Aadi” that catapulted him in to the big league. Suddenly the critics took notice of this wiry young man and opined that there are sparks of his grandfather in him. “Aadi” had stood as blockbuster of the year 2002. “Aadi” not only had created records, but also put him in the top league of actors. His next big blockbuster “Simhadri” stabilized his status as the next mass hero of Tollywood. Starting from 2004 his career took a downward turn. His first release of 2004, “Andhrawala” flopped miserably at the box office despite the pre-release hype.

The next movie “Samba” was an average grosser and the only respite during that period. In 2005 his two releases, “Naa Alludu” and “Narasimhudu” flopped at the box office. “Narasimhudu” in particular was such a commercial disaster that it led to a suicide attempt from the producer. In 2006 his movie “Ashok” had good openings. The movie was in particular appreciated for its technical values and the gripping  screenplay from director Surendar Reddy. His next movie “Rakhi” which proved a success at the box  office, has gained NTR admirable reviews from fans and critics alike. His next movie “Yamadonga” which was inspired by his grandfather's blockbuster “Yamagola” released in 2007. The movie brought him back into the super-hit stream, and became the sensational movie of the year in Tollywood.

His next release “Kantri” which exposed his superb skill of dancing has also done well at the box-office. This is for the first time, that NTR has given two hit movies in a row. His next film was “Kantri” released in May 2008 exposed his superb skill of dancing but did average at box office. In year 2010 he appeared in two movies and both of them “Adhurs” in which he played a dual role and “Brindavanam” succeeded well at box-office with 31cr worldwide share. Then “Shakthi” released in 2011 failed to perform well at the box office. NTR’s next film “Oosaravelli” directed by Surender Reddy, which was released in 2011 and though it received mixed reviews, it generated good revenue at the box office. Another movie titled “Dammu” under the direction of Boyapati Seenu was released in 2012 which received mixed reviews but the movie managed to collect good revenue at box office.

His recent release “Baadshah” under Srinu Vaitla direction became the biggest Blockbuster of 2013 and collected 56+ Cr Worldwide till 4 weeks and stood at 3rd Position in All time top 3 TFI films. NTR is currently doing a film “Ramayya Vasthavayya” with Harish Shanker and expected to release on Aug 9, 2013. In his film career, Jr. NTR has worked in twenty three films till date, two as a child artist and twenty one as a lead actor

Endorsements 

Junior NTR appears in commercials of Navratna Hair Oil, Zandu Balm in Andhra Pradesh, Malabar God & Diamonds (2012) amongst others

Political Career  

Jr. NTR is also involved in politics and is currently an inactive member of his grandfather's political party, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He was one of the campaigners for the Telugu Desam Party, for the Indian general election, 2009 from April to May 2009. On March 26, 2009, after electioneering, en route to Hyderabad, the SUV in which he was a passenger was struck head-on with another vehicle, at Khammam. He and his companions were thrown from the SUV and suffered brutal injuries, NTR was treated at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, in Secunderabad to recuperate

Awards and Honours  

He has won two Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, one Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award and three CineMAA Awards. He was listed 66 in Forbes India top 100 Celebrities for the year 2012. Here is the list of Awards

2007 - Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actor for Yamadonga

2007 - CineMAA Award for Best Actor for Yamadonga

2003 - Santosham Best Young Performer Award for Simhadri

2002 - Nandi Award for Special Jury for Aadi

Star Portrait-Kajal

Hot and sexy young Kajal Agarwal is famous actress in Tollwyood, Kollywood and Bollywood.  She was born on 19th June 1985 Mumbai, to Suman Agarwal and Vinay Agarwal of Punjabi descent. Her father Vinay Agarwal is an entrepreneur and mother Suman Agarwal a confectioner. She studied at St. Anne’s High School, Colaba, Mumbai and Jai Hind College, Mumbai. She graduated from K.C. College, Mumbai with a degree in Mass Media. The actress started her modelling career while she was in college.

 She was planning on pursuing MBA in Brand Management before deciding to pursue acting. She is one of the prominent actresses in both Tamil and Telugu film industries. Kajal Agarwal has a sister named Nisha Agarwal, upcoming Kollywwood and Tollywood Heroine who is following her sister footsteps. Kajal Aggarwal started her film career in 2007 in the film “Lakshmi Kalyanam” alongside Kalyan Ram, which did worked well at the box office. She has become a celebrity in the film Industry in a very short span of time.

Film Career.

Kajal Agarwal started her acting from 2004 in Bollywood with movie Kyun! Ho Gaya Na. In the film, she played a minor supporting role as friend of film lead actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Only 3 years later, she got her next acting offer, which was veteran Tamil director Bhrathiraja's “Bommalattam”. The film, however, got delayed and released only in late 2008. In the meantime, she made her debut in the Telugu film industry and played her first leading role in Teja's” Lakshmi Kalyanam” in 2007 alongside Kalyan Ram. Her next film was “Chandamama” which received positive reviews and became her first major successful film. In 2008, she made her Kollywood debut with movie “Pazhani” opposite Bharath.

In 2009, she signed a high budget Telugu historical movie Magadheera in the movie she essayed double roles for the first time. Her character of a princess in Magadheera got lot of comments by viewers. The film was also commercially successful and broke several records. Magadheera's enormous success turned Kajal into one of the most sought-after actresses in the Telugu film industry and she also got nominated for the Film fare Award for Best Actress. In the same year she did a lead role in “Arya-2” opposite to Allu Arjun and against Ram in “Just Ganesh”. In 2010, she appeared in movie “Darling” opposite Prabhas and received positive response becoming a commercial success at the box office.

She was again nominated for Film fare Award for Best Actress for her performance in “Darling”. She appeared with Karthi in the Tamil thriller movie “Naan Mahaan Alla” and movie performed well at the box office and was declared a blockbuster. In the same year, she acted the role of Bhoomi in movie “Brindaavanam” opposite Jr. NTR and actress Samantha. The film performed well at the box office and Kajal Agarwal won the CineMAA Award for Best Actress for her performance. In 2011, her movie “Mr. Perfect” opposite Prabhas was opened to positive reviews, while Kajal won appraisal by critics. In the same year, she made her Bollywood re-entry as leading actress in movie “Singham” opposite Ajay Devgan. The film was announced super hit at the box office.

 She has also acted in Tamil films, “Naan Mahaan Alla” in 2010 being her first notable project, but with “Maattrraan” in 2012 and “Thuppakki” in 2012, she emerged as a leading actress in Kollywood as well. “Thuppaki” was declared as a blockbuster and has become the second Tamil film ever to enter the  100 crore club. Her final release in 2012 was the Telugu romantic film “Sarocharu”, opposite Ravi Teja for the second time in her career. Although her performance in the film was praised by critics, the film received poor reviews and did below-average business at the box office. In early 2013, she starred in V. V. Vinayak's action film “Naayak” opposite Ram Charan Teja and Amala Paul. The film went with a positive talk and made super hit at box office.

She starred opposite Jr. NTR for the second time in her career in Srinu Vytla’s “Baadshah” which was relapsed in 2013 created sensation at box office collections and this film is one of the high collected films at overseas box office. In the same year her third film in Bollywood, “Special Chabbis” alongside Akshay Kumar but this film didn’t acquire any positive talk and added one more flop in Kajal’s bollywood career. She is currently shooting for Tamil film “All in All Azhagu Raja” opposite Karthi and one more tamil “Jilla” is under per production work. She is also going to appear in a special role along with Allu Arjun in Ram Charan’s upcoming film “Yevadu” where Shruthi Hassan and Amy Jackson are cast in lead roles.

Endorsements 

In addition to films, Kajal also endorses a large number of popular brands. Before starting her film career, she had acted in various commercials as a model. She is the brand ambassador for Lux, joining the likes of Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif in endorsing the beauty soap. She is also the brand ambassador for jewellery stores like Sri Lakshmi Jewellery in Pondi cherry and AVR in Salem She has featured in television advertisements along with Karthi endorsing Bru instant coffee.

She has also endorsed mobile brands like Samsung Mobile and has featured in advertisements for the Secunderabad based “The Chennai Shopping Mall”, along with Samantha, Tamannaah and Nisha Agarwal . In April 2012, Kajal was announced as the brand ambassador for Panasonic India. She is also the brand ambassador for the Telugu Warriors cricket team in the CCL. She is also doing ads & Shopping mall openings also. She is the Brand Ambassador of ‘BIG C’ Mobile Company.

Awards and Honours 

She won the CineMAA Award for Best Actress for her performance in movie “Brindaavanam”.

She Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu for “Magadheera”

She Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu for “Darling”.

She Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu for “Mr. Perfect”.

She Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in Tamil for “Singham”’

She Nominated for Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut in Tamil for Singham”.

She Nominated for South Scope Award for Best Telugu Actress in Telugu for “Magadheera”.

Star Portrait-Srinu Vaitla

Popular film director Srinu Vaitla was born on 24th September, 1972 at Kandulapalem, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. He is residing in Hyderabad.

Film career

He made his debut as director with Neekosam in 1999. The film starred Ravi Teja and Maheswari and was critically well acclaimed. However the film turned out to be average flick at the box office.

Srinu then shot back with Aanandam, a youthful entertainer in 2001 which gave him immense stardom.  From then he never looked back as he started scoring hits with his trade mark comedy.

Some of the hit films include Venky, Dhee,Dubai Seenu and Ready, Dookudu and Badshah. He completed 13 yrs of career in Tollywood and made 12 films as director,  6 as screenplay writer, 4 as story writer and 2 as supporting cast.

Actor

Srinu played special roles in Rain Bow and Parama Veera Chakra Movies. He used services of Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat for scripts for his films. Devi Sri Prasad used to be his favorite music composer.

Personal

He was married to Rupa Vaitla and has three daughters.

His wife is costume designer for his films.


Awards

 Nandi Award for Best Feature Film (Nee Kosam)
Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director (Nee Kosam)
Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer (Nee Kosam, Dhee)
Filmfare Award for Best Director - Telugu (Dookudu)
CinemAA Awards - Best Director (Dookudu)
South Indian International Movie Awards - Best Director (Dookudu)
The Hyderabad Times Film Awards - Best Director (Dookudu)

Star Portrait-Gopi Mohan

Pinnamaneni Gopi Mohan is an upcoming script, screen play and story writer who is working for Tollywood industry from a decade. He was born on December 4th, 1974 in Gudiwada, Krishna District. He completed his schooling and college in Gudiwada, Narasaraopet and Vijayawada. His father was an assistant engineer in PWD and his mother is an home maker.. His father belongs to native place of Kurumaddali and his mother was from Pedaparupudi of krishna district in. He was wed locked with Praveena in 2007 November and the couple were blessed with two daughters.

Film Industry Life.

He entered into film industry as assistant director for N.Shankar's film “Yamajathakudu” in the year 1999 and in the next year 2000 he continued as Assistant director for and B. Gopal's film “Vamsi”. In the year 2001 he assisted in script and direction for Teja's film “Nuvvu-Nenu” and he had given only script to “Family Circus”. After “Nuvvu-Nenu” he stopped working as Assistant director and he completely shifted to story writing department. From that point onwards he has been giving many beautiful stories to Tollywood industries he also been working as screenplay writer for many films. He wrote screenplays for successful films “Santosham”, “Venky”, “Dhee”, “Dubai Seenu”, “Lakshyam” and “Swagatam”. He also wrote stories for successful films “Ready”,”King” and “Namo Venkatesa”, “Dookudu”, “Baadshah” and “Shadow”. He is associated with successful directors such as Dasaradh and Srinu Vytla. He is the story writer for director Srinu Vytla and Hero Mahesh Babu Combination block buster movie “Dookudu” and Srinu Bytla and NTR combo “Baadshah”. He did screenplay along with Kona Venkat for 2012 release super hit film Denikaina Ready. Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat worked together for many super hit films as Script Writers. He also worked as story writer for couple of Tamil and Bengali film too.

His Future Dream

Gopi Mohan expressed many time in his interviews that he wants to become a successful director for that he is trying hard. He is also preparing his dream project scripts. 

Badshah movie review

Baadshah-Review        Release date : 05 April 2013
Director : Srinu Vaitla
Producer : Bandla Ganesh Babu
Music Director : S. Thaman
Starring : NTR, Kajal Aggarwal, Navdeep

Young Tiger NTR’s ‘Baadshah’ is all set to hit the screens tomorrow (April 5th) in a big way. We have been to a special screening of the film and this is the first and exclusive review of ‘Baadshah’, specially for 123telugu.com readers. The movie has been directed by Sreenu Vaitla and Bandla Ganesh is the producer. Expectations on the film are sky high, so let us see if the film lives up to the hype.

Story :

Baadshah (NTR) is the youngest and most aggressive player in the international crime syndicate headed by Saadhu Bhai (Kelly Dorji). Baadshah’s father Ranjan (Mukesh Rushi) operates a very profitable casino in Macau and he is a trusted aide of Saadhu Bhai. Baadshah’s intelligence, ambition and aggression soon put him on a collision course with Saadhu Bhai and the Don wants to finish off the young upstart. With the help of rival Dons Crazy Robert (Ashish Vidyardhi) and Violent Victor (Pradeep Rawat), Saadhu tries to eliminate Baadshah and his family.

Saadhu also plans large scale terrorist attacks in all the major metros of India. Baadshah vows to foil the plans of Saadhu and to do this, he takes the help of Janaki (Kajal) and her father Jai Krishna Simha (Nasser). Jai Krishna Simha is the Police Commissioner of Hyderabad and he is a very strict head of a joint family that also includes Padmanabha Simha (Brahmanandam).

As the story progresses, it becomes clear that there is more to Baadshah than what meets the eye. He has a tragic past and a powerful motive for taking on Saadhu Bhai. What is that motive? Who is Baadshah? How does Padmanabha Simha fit into the plans of Baadshah? That forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points :

NTR is simply brilliant as Baadshah. The character demands aggression, style and ruthlessness. NTR displays all three qualities in abundance. His comedy timing is spot on and the sequences with Kajal in Italy are very entertaining. In the second half of the film, he changes his appearance and dialogue delivery effortlessly, to transform into someone else (I don’t want to reveal more details). NTR’s dances in ‘Sairo Sairo’ and ‘Rangoli Rangoli’ are fantastic.

The film will be a feast for fans. There are some special sequences that have been designed to delight them. Special mention must be made of NTR’s brief appearance in the Justice Chowdhary getup. The resemblance to his legendary grandfather is just too much. In the second half, there is a very entertaining sangeeth episode based on a medley of Sr NTR’s popular songs.

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s voice over comes in at a number of crucial junctures in the first half and it is effective. Brahmanandam is hilarious as Inspector Padmanabha Simha and he is a major asset for the film. His scenes with NTR and Nasser are rib-tickling. Sreenu Vaitla has cleverly used the ‘living out a dream’ concept from the Hollywood flick ‘Inception’ to come up with Brahmanandam’s comedy track.

M.S. Narayana is perfect for the role of film director Revenge Nageswara Rao and he will make you laugh. The character has an uncanny resemblance to Ram Gopal Varma but it is not offensive. M.S. Narayana takes care of the comedy in the first half along with NTR, Vennela Kishore and Kajal.

Kajal entertains with her ‘Banthi’ philosophy and corny one liners. She looks quite glamorous in the movie. Suhasini is neat. Navdeep has done well as an evil cop. Hero Siddharth has a very small but very crucial role in the film. Nasser is effective as the strict police officer. Pragathi has come up with a surprisingly effective and entertaining dance in the sangeeth ceremony sequence.

The second half of the film is packed with entertainment. Fast paced narration, superb comedy sequences and three peppy songs (Banthi Poola Janaki, Welcome Kanakam and Rangoli Rangoli) will keep viewers happy. All the songs have very rich visuals.

Minus Points :

The film has certain similarities to a number of Sreenu Vaitla’s past projects.Talented actors like Jayaprakash Reddy, Brahmaji, Tanikella Bharani, Master Bharath, Chandra Mohan and Thagubothu Ramesh did not receive characters fit for their abilities.

The movie slows down a little as it approaches the interval. A fight sequence should have been chopped off to speed up things.

Technical Aspects :

Four different cinematographers worked for the film and it is difficult to say who shot what. But the visuals look very rich and colourful. Editing could have been better in the first half. Thaman’s background score is effective and lends good support to the proceedings.

Choreography is good for all the songs. Sairo Sairo and Rangoli have the best steps. Dialogues are hilarious and the one liners are very effective. Credit must go to Sreenu Vaitla, Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat for this.

Sreenu Vaitla scores at the Box Office because of the entertainment quotient in his films. ‘Baadshah’ is no different. He has come up with some good comedy sequences in the movie. He has used Brahmanandam and M.S.Narayana effectively.

Production values are very good.

Verdict :

Baadshah is a very effective entertainer for the summer holidays. Brilliant performances from NTR, Kajal, Brahmanandam and M.S.Narayana coupled with a highly entertaining second half are major plus points for the film. Despite similarities to Sreenu Vaitla’s past projects, the film makes for a very enjoyable watch. Catch ‘Baadshah’ this weekend. Entertainment is guaranteed!

Badshah shooting stills in Aus and NZ

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