Ace Producer Dil Raju's Double Hat-trick?

Hailed as the most successful producer-distributor of his era, Dil Raju is now aiming to score a double hat-trick this year.

Raju's first hit of 2017 was 'Shatamanam Bhavathi', a critical and commercial success. The family entertainer even earned a National Award for Raju.

His next was Nani's 'Nenu Local', the actor's biggest commercial hit till date. The film is also the highest grosser among mid-range heroes' films.

Raju's third release of this year is Allu Arjun's DJ. There have been umpteen doubts on this film's box office collections but Raju claims it to be a bigger grosser than Bunny's career best film, Sarrainodu.

The fourth release of this year from Raju's production house is Varun Tej-Sai Pallavi starrer 'Fidaa'. The film is slated for release on July 21. It has generated decent buzz, especially after the release of the second trailer.

Ravi Teja starrer 'Raja The Great' and Nani's 'MCA' are the remaining two releases of Dil Raju in this year. The ace producer confirmed that the former will hit screens on October 12, ahead of Diwali festival to encash the holidays, and the ever-dependable Nani's film will be released in December this year.

Raju hopes that Fidaa, 'Raja The Great' and MCA will live up to his and audiences expectations and complete double hat-trick for him this year.

He has also confirmed his next two projects - Mahesh Babu-Vamsi Paidipally's untitled movie, which will go to sets in January 2018 and Sathamanam Bhavathi director's 'Srinivasa Kalyanam'.

Is It Indirect Counter To Bunny,Varun?

It looks like Mega Prince Varun Tej fired a storm at Stylish Star Allu Arjun during the pre-release event of Fidaa on Monday evening.

Ever since the 'Cheppanu Brother' episode of Bunny hit headlines, Pawan Kalyan fans were quite furious over the actor and he had to deliver an explanation later. In fact, that controversy had put other Mega Stars in a highly compulsion zone. As a result, other actors in family Sai Dharam Tej and Varun are not missing out any opportunity to speak about Powerstar and Megastar.

At the pre-release event of his upcoming film Fidaa, Varun said, 'If we (Mega actors) are standing on this stage today, it is all because of Pedhanana (Chiranjeevi) and Babai (Pawan Kalyan). Their hard work has put us where we are now. So, I will never miss a chance to speak about them. On a bigger stage like this, particularly.'

Varun further said, 'not everyone will like to listen us speak about them all the time, but we will never stop remembering them.' The film's producer Dil Raju also recalled his moments with Megastar Chiranjeevi on the stage.

Fidaa, directed by Shekar Kammula and produced by Dil Raju, has Premam fame Sai Pallavi as female lead. Touted as youth-ful romantic entertainer, the film is scheduled for release on 21st July.

Harish Shankar: Prove Or Shutdown the Websites!

Allu Arjun's DJ is one film which indulged in as many controversies after its release as it had before release. The film's 'collections' especially came under scanner with some websites publishing the collections taking the "figures being circulated on social media as reference".

Irked by the website/websites propaganda, director Harish Shankar has now thrown an open challenge. By sharing DJ's collections of Nizam region on Twitter, he challenged the websites, which had earlier published much lesser collections, to either prove him wrong or shut down the websites. The 'Gabbar Singh' director challenged that he would stop making films if his version of collections was proved wrong. 

This is the first time a filmmaker responded in such serious manner on fake collections published by some websites. These kinds of situations won't arise if the production houses announce genuine numbers or/and media houses verify with producers or reliable trade sources before publishing collections.

As per the numbers shared by him, DJ has collected a mammoth Rs 20 crore share in the Nizam area in just 13 days. DJ is the first Rs 20 crore film for Bunny and second for Harish after 'Gabbar Singh'.

Once Again Bunny Gains Hearts of many, for his Remarks against Critics

Allu Arjun is all over the news of late. Sometimes it is for his comments regarding Pawan Kalyan or for his aggressive speech against the film critics a day back in the US.

Speaking from the promotional tour of DJ, Bunny said that critics have always shown a different attitude towards commercial films and it is high time that they start appreciating the genre which gives so much for the common man.

This comment of Bunny has been well appreciated by many where as a section of the media has once again started targeting the star for his remarks. This has become a huge topic of discussions all over and various opinions are being expressed quite strongly.

Bunny’s DJ has crossed the 60 crore mark in spite of a lot of negative publicity. It has brought solid revenues to Dil Raju and is doing decently well in the B and C centers in its second week.

We need to see what kind of reactions this topic leads to in the coming days.

RGV Describes Biggies With One Word !

In a recent interview, controversial film maker Ram Gopal Varma has described some of the biggest names in film industry and politics in one word. While his answer may please fans of some, others may get annoyed, and most others may get confused with his enigmatic answers.

Below is how he had described the actors and politicians.

Prabhas: 'Sexiest Power'

Rajamouli: 'Messiah of films'

Jr NTR: 'Befitting Sr NTR'

Nagarjuna: Love

Chiranjeevi: Star Mega

Ram Charan: Dheerudaina Magaadu

He seems to have just reversed 'Mega Star' and 'Maga Dheera' titles.

Naga Babu: Lovely Brother (quite unexpected answer)

Allu Arjun : Dangerous Rabbit

The most enigmatic and RGV-mark answer was witnessed in the case of Allu Arjun. Amidst the turmoil over 'Bunny vs Pawan Fans', the hullabaloo regarding Bunny trying to take over 'Megastar' title etc. RGV's remark against Bunny may have a deeper meaning. 

Time for some politicians...RGV has mysterious and sarcastic answers...

Chandrababu Naidu: Navvuleni Nayakudu (The Leader who doesn't Smile)

Jagan: Sannani Inumu (Thin Iron)

Pawan Kalyan as Politician: Wait and Watch

Day1 Collections of DJ

Allu Arjun's latest offering Duvvada Jagannadham might not have impressed critics  but the film said to have opened to a terrific start at the Box Office. According to producer Dil Raju, Duvvada Jagannadham is the biggest-ever opening in Allu Arjun's career till date. The day 1 BO figures of DJ said to have beaten Day 1 numbers of Allu Arjun's previous blockbuster Sarrainodu.
According to trade reports quoted by Team DJ, Duvvada Jagannadham has raked in Rs 32 Crore world-wide gross (including premieres in the US). If these numbers are believed to be true, DJ has beaten Sarrainodu's day 1 record by huge margin. 

While Sarrainiodu's openings had affect of Bunny's previous film Son of Sathyamurthy that failed to meet high expectations, openings of DJ have advantage of Sarrainodu becoming blockbuster and thus pulled crowds to cinemas on the day 1. Also, rise in ticket prices (compared to Sarraiondu time) said to have worked in favour of DJ.   

Also, Sarrainodu had failed to do magic in US, overseas. Delay in the sending the prints to US then had affected Sarrainodu's openings in US and film being mass treat seems to have its affect. However, it seems DJ has got great opening in US. Thursday premieres and Friday collections said to be pegged at Rs 3 Crore gross.

However, going forward, it has to be seen how the film would fare at the ticket  windows. Huge pre-release business, mixed reviews, and climatic conditions pose a major challenge to DJ. Looks like, it is not so easy for DJ. But let's wait and watch what's in store for the film.

Break-up in Share (figures shared by Team DJ)

Nizam - 4,95,00,000

Ceded - 2,70,00,000

Nellore - 1,10,17,528

Guntur - 2,26,00,000

Krishna - 1,03,06,746

West - 2,08,00,000

East - 1,86,00,000

Uttharandhra - 1,95,00,000

Total 1st day AP & TG share 17.93cr

Trade : DJ opens humongous across Telugu states, collects a share of 17.93cr, about 24cr gross on it's day1 in AP & TG, close to 32cr gross in Worldwide.

DJ becomes the biggest opener for Allu Arjun beats his prev best Sarrainodu by huge margin & 7th highest opening of all time, 4th in 2017 behind baahubali2, Khaidi No.150, Katamarayudu !

DJ – Duvvada Jagannadham: Movie Review

Release date : June 23, 2017

Director : Harish Shankar

Producer : Dil Raju

Music Director : Devi Sri Prasad

Cast : Allu Arjun, Pooja Hegde, Rao Ramesh, Posani, Murali Sharma

The wait is finally over as the much-awaited action entertainer, DJ has finally hit the screens on a massive scale. Let’s see whether it gives Allu Arjun yet another hit in his career.

Story :-

Dhuvvada Jaganadham(Allu Arjun) is a small time brahmin boy who goes against all odds and helps others. Seeing this quality of his, a high-profile cop(Murali Sharma) asks him to become DJ, a man who fights crime in disguise.

This is the same time when Dhuvaada falls in love with Pooja(Pooja Hegde) the daughter of a high profile minister(Posani) involved with yet another crime lord Royyala Naidu(Rao Ramesh) who also operates in disguise.

On the other hand, DJ decides to take on Royyala Naidu in his mission but does not know who he is in actual life. Rest of the story is as to how Duvvada Jagannadham alias DJ manages to finish Royyala Naidu.

Plus Points :-

One of the biggest assets of this film is undoubtedly Allu Arjun and his performance. Bunny is top notch in both his characters as Duvvada and Dj. But he is the best when he becomes Duvvada as his diction, comedy touch and mannerisms are hilarious. The star hero carries the entire film on his shoulders and makes the film watchable which has an otherwise routine storyline.

Pooja Hegde is yet another star attraction for the film. She looks drop dead gorgeous and will be an eye candy for the youth and masses alike. She matches equal steps with Bunny and her chemistry with the star hero is just awesome. The first forty minutes of the film has very good entertainment with good doses of comedy.

The climax of the film is quite comical and has been handled well even though it looks a bit over the top. Subba Raju is impressive in his role and evokes good comedy. Rao Ramesh emulates his dad, Rao Gopala Rao from Aa Okkati Adakku and does his best.

Minus Points :-

Like in many other movies of late, the second half of the film is quite weak. There is hardly any story to tell here and director Harish Shankar makes the villain’s track a bit weak during this time.

Bunny’s fans would a be a bit disappointed as their star hero has not danced to his full capacity in DJ. The length of the film is also a bit high and has a lag in many areas and gets predictable and routine most of the time. The hero-villain tug of war is not that gripping.

Technical Aspects :-

Production values by Dil Raju are excellent as he has spent a lot of money and it shows on screen. DSP’s music is decent as all the songs have been inserted cleverly into the proceedings. Background score is very impressive and elevates the film well. Dialogues by Harish Shankar have a lot of tongue and cheek humor. Editing is quite weak as at least 10 minutes of the film can be trimmed easily.

Coming to the director Harish Shankar, he has done a decent job with his execution. He has written Bunny’s character quite well and his intention behind the protagonist’s fight for the society is also good. But he too disappoints during the second half as he dips the proceedings with some below average execution. But credit should go to him for showcasing Bunny in a powerful manner and also ends the film on a happy note.

Conclusion :-

On the whole, DJ is an out and out Allu Arjun film to the core. The star hero is a major attraction and carries the film with his energetic performance. Pooja Hegde’s glamor, good comedy, and some mass elements will go supremely well with the masses. 

Unintentionally Allu Arjun Takes Dig At Ram Charan?

Allu Arjun, who has allegedly been waging a cold war with Pawan Kalyan's fans, has now reportedly angered Ram Charan's fans because of his loose tongue.

In a recent interview, when asked about which film or song of Megastar Chiranjeevi would he like to remake or remix, Bunny replied that he believes Megastar has a style that no one can replicate. 'I don't think trying to imitate him is a wise thing to do, hence I have stayed away from remixing his songs. Moreover, I like to be original,' reportedly added Bunny.

In his bid to explain why he didn't touch Megastar's work, Bunny may have unintentionally taken potshots at Ram Charan who has remixed good number of his father's songs. Charan has even confessed at times that he would love to remake 'Gang Leader'. Mega fans have also on occasions expressed their happiness on seeing Charan in iconic songs and films of Megastar.

Bunny may not have targeted Charan but his comments have not gone well with Charan's fans and discussions have already started on social media in this regard.

HC notices to Balayya's Movie and Anuskha's Movie

The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states have sent notices to the producers of Gautamiputra Satakarni and Rudhramadevi. Acting on a PIL (Public Interest Litigation), the High Court asked the producers to file a counter within two weeks.

The petitioner argued that the Entertainment Tax exemption given to the films by the state governments should belong to the public exchequer and asked the court to look into the matter. The petitioner has cited the Tamil Nadu High Court's verdict regarding the tax exemption to a film as the example.

Satakarni producers Rajeev Reddy, Saibabu and Rudhramadevi producers Gunasekhar and Raagini Guna have been named by the petitioner as the respondents. While Satakarni had received exemption from both the Telugu states, Rudhramadevi had been waived off the E.T only by the Telangana state government.

Both the films were historical films that have significance with rich culture, heritage of Telugus. And interestingly both the films were commercial success at the Box Office. It has to be seen how the respondents would justify the tax waive off and at the same time, how the state governments would justify the act.

Bunny's One More Feat Like Gona Gannareddy!

Stylish Star Allu Arjun is reportedly taking special training to get perfect accent to play the role of a Brahmin in his new film 'Duvvada Jagannadham' aka DJ.

Bunny will be seen essaying a character with two different shades in DJ. One of them will be a Brahmin. To get the perfect Brahmin accent, Bunny is reportedly undergoing training with the help of two Brahmins. Speaking Brahmin accent is not an easy job and it needs perfection in pronunciation. Known for his dedication and hard work, Bunny will surely master the accent before he joins the sets.

It may be recalled that Bunny had earlier undergone similar accent training to prepare for the role of Gona Gannareddy in 'Rudhramadevi'. Everyone knows the impact created by Bunny with that iconic Telugu warrior character. Bunny's slang and look of Gannareddy were major highlights.

We expect similar impact from Bunny's Brahmin character in DJ, the regular shoot of which will start from October 21. Bunny will be joining the sets in the second schedule, which will start in early November. To be directed by Harish Shankar, the film will be produced by Dil Raju.

NTR With Raghavendra Rao: Mythological Or Socio?

The first taste of Jr NTR's short performance as 'Yama' in Yamadonga have kept us waiting to see him in a mythological role. But, there was no movie of that sorts so far. However, it's now time for Tarak to accept a mythical role with both hands and make the most of it because it's coming from none other than Darshakendra Raghavendra Rao, the filmmaker who stole many hearts with Annamayya, Sriramadasu and Shiridi Sai.

Sources from Film Nagar tell us that Raghavendra Rao is simultaneously working on a big-budgeted mythological script on the sidelines of 'Om Namo Venkateshaya' shoot. We were also informed that Nandamuri's pride Jr NTR is first choice for the film which may hit floors in two years from now, considering the actors prior commitments. Also, we think that Tarak is unarguably one of the best picks for a mythological or socio fantasy flick and nobody can dispute that as he can effortlessly pull off such roles.

The scale of this under-process project is reportedly very huge with high volume of visual effects. If this materializes, it would mark the first collaboration of Jr NTR with legendary Raghavendra Rao, who also worked with young actors like Nithin, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and Manchu Manoj. Also, let us look forward to how Raghavendra Rao is going to showcase the leading lady in the film and who it would be.

Currently, the director is filming 'Om Namo Venkateshaya', a devotional film based on the life of Hathiram Baba, with Akkineni Nagarjuna, Anushka Shetty and Pragya Jaiswal in lead roles. S Gopal Reddy is the cinematographer and MM Keeravani is scoring audio tunes for the film. 

NTR Needs To Improve His Market Expansion

Young tiger NTR Jr is one of the Top actors of tollywood. Despite losing the plot and falling behind from his peers in the box office race for a few years, the actor has recently zoomed back into Top 3 with the gigantic success of 'Janatha Garage'. Even though NTR has successfully joined shoulders with his peers at box office, he still seems to be lagging in the race of market expansion. 

Mahesh Babu is eyeing at a haul of Tamil market with his next film being directed by AR Murugadoss, who is the second most popular director of Tamil cinema after Shankar. Stylish star Allu Arjun has also announced his direct Tamil film with mass Tamil director Lingusamy, who has good number of hits under his belt.

Prabhas has already become a notable face in kollywood with Baahubali. With the second part, his stardom is expected to further flourish. Ram Charan is noted to Tamil audiences with 'Magadheera' and he already is in discussions with maverick Tamil directors like Mani Ratnam and Gautham Menon for possible collaborations. Pawan Kalyan is excluded from this discussion as his concentration has already shifted from cinema to politics.

NTR is the only top league Telugu actor who is yet to plan a direct Tamil film. Looking at the line-up of his directors, NTR doesn't seem to be having any plans for kollywood. 

Is Allu Arjun Tried To Push NTR Into Tricky Situation?

Close on the heels of few news reports that Linguswamy and NTR may team up, Allu Arjun has made a swift and timely move by announcing his next film with the ace Tamil director. With this, Allu Arjun said to have put a checkmate to NTR by pushing him into a tricky situation as the Janatha Garage actor is in dire need of a top director to join his forces.

Though Bunny has been toying with the idea of collaborating with Linguswamy for longtime, he hasn't finalised it until the director decided to move on to do it with Bunny's peer NTR.

Apparently, the Nannaku Prematho actor was impressed with a story narrated by Pandem Kodi director and both were contemplating to work on. That's when Allu Arjun has gone onto announce his next project with Linguswamy and taken many by surprise. Meantime, NTR has an option in form of director Puri Jagannadh and it depends on the fate of Puri's ongoing film Ism. 

Allu Arjun's Tamil Debut is Produced By Studio Green

Allu Arjun is one of the leading stars in Tollywood with back-to-back hits. The Stylish Star is already a big name in Malayalam and later enhanced his market in Karnataka with S/O Satyamurthy.

Now, Bunny is all set to tap the Tamil market with his next film. The latest update is that the much awaited film in Allu Arjun and Lingusamy combo has finally been confirmed. This film will be Bunny's Tamil debut as Lingusamy will make it as a true Telugu-Tamil bilingual.

One of the leading production houses in Tamil, Studio Green, will bankroll this project. The news has been officially confirmed by the makers. More details regarding the film's cast and crew are awaited.

Before he okayed Harish Shankar's Duvvada Jagannadham, Bunny held several talks with Lingusamy for a high budget action entertainer. Bunny fans are highly elated that the project has materialized finally. The regular shooting may commence towards this year end.

Dil Raju's Perfect Planning

We all know that ace producer Dil Raju is a very clever businessman. He has a very good taste for movies and also makes them within a constraint budget and markets then quite well.

Apart from this, he also buys the various rights of hit films and makes super profits. Once again, the mega-producer has landed one more deal from his production house which will leave him in huge profits.

Latest reports reveal that Dil Raju has sold out the overseas distribution rights of his five upcoming films for a whopping 18.5 crores. The films include Nenu Local, Shatamanam Bhavati, Fidaa, Duvvada Jaggannadham and a film with Hebah Patel.

Dil Raju landed this deal which will also help the distributors who will share the profits with the ace producer. Overall, Dil Raju once again proves that with perfect planning one plans many films and see that they also do good business.

Pooja Hegde learns Aerial Silk For DJ

Slender beauty Pooja Hegde, whose spirits were down after scoring a disaster like "Mohenjo Daro", has got a breather when she was finalized to play the female lead in Allu Arjun's upcoming film "DJ - Duvvada Jagannadham".

Pooja Hegde plays a modern girl in DJ, which is said to be a quirky romantic entertainer. Pooja seems to have decided to learn an acrobatic dance form called 'Aerial Silk' to achieve impeccable figure and agility for her film opposite Bunny. The Miss Universe India 2010 2nd Runner-up has posted a pic on her social media page to in which she was seen indulged in the dance form.

DJ is the third Telugu film for Pooja Hegde after "Mukunda" and "Oka Laila Kosam". Two years ago, she was in good demand in tollywood but the saucy seductress rejected all the offers after she had signed a two year contract for 'Mohenjo Daro'. So, she now hopes to make up for the lost time by impressing the Telugu audiences big time with 'DJ'.

Produced by Dil Raju, DJ will be directed by Harish Shankar. 

Will Harish Create A Magic For Pooja Hegde?

While we are wondering whether it would be correct to label model-turned-actress Pooja Hegde as the flop actress, she has got something big to dive in. Pooja's filmy career was critically at risk after her last film, first in Bollywood, Mohenjo Daro failed disastrously at box-office. 

After Mukunda and Oka Laila Kosam, she's set to be back in Tollywood with a biggie. Pooja was offered a leading female role in Allu Arjun's next Duvvada Jagannadam, to be directed by Gabbar Singh maker Harish Shankar. 

It's definitely an offer which no one could miss. Besides the fact that Pooja have no offers in hand after Mohenjo Daro's debacle.

With Gabbar Singh, director Harish Shankar changed the game for the slim beauty Shruti Haasan, when her career was under rough patch. Now, it remains to be seen whether he'll repeat the same with Pooja Hegde, who was a former beauty pageant. We wish to see Laila going big with this opportunity.

Duvvada Jagannadam, being termed as DJ, will be produced by Dil Raju and musician Devi Sri Prasad to score sound track.

Nani : I am MILLIONAIRE now

Natural star Nani is emerging as most reliable hero in Tollywood with good success rate than any of his contemporary actors. He has good market value than few top stars when it comes to overseas business. Now, Nani has become a millionaire.

Of course, Nani might already be a millionaire with remunerations he is charging for his films. In fact, whatever he is charging is a worth price, because of the minimum guarantee tag Nani is carrying.

However, Nani has become 'true millionaire', having million followers in social network site Twitter. In fact, Nani followers count is higher than top stars like Pawan Kalyan, NTR and Allu Arjun.

While the Tollywood's biggest star Pawan Kalyan has 962K followers, Allu Arjun and NTR has 917K and 650K followers respectively. Superstar Mahesh Babu is the highest following male star in Telugu with 2.45M followers.

Thanking his followers, Nani tweeted saying, "I am a MILLIONAIRE now Thank you my Twitter family. Love, Nani."

Basking on four consecutive hits, Nani is waiting for release of Majnu set to grace theaters on September 23rd. Directed by Virinchi Varma, the film has Anu Emmanuel and Priya Shri in female lead roles.

Congrats Nani for million followers and all the best for Majnu! 

NTR haven't, Will Allu Arjun?

Writer Vakkantham Vamsi was supposed to wield mega phone for the first time with young tiger Jr NTR. Kalyan Ram had announced to produce the film under NTR Arts Banner. Vamsi even completed script works for the film.

Surprisingly, NTR recently during Janatha Garage promotional event said that, he hasn't decided on film with Vamsi. Blockbuster success of the Koratala Siva directed film might be reason for NTR re-thinking over risking to give directorial chance for inexperienced like Vamsi.

Latest we heard is Vakkantham Vamsi has now got nod from stylish star Allu Arjun. This film to be produced under Geethe Arts is expected to be launched in January, 2017. This will be Allu Arjun's 18th film.

Vakkantham Vamsi has close association with NTR with whom he worked as writer for several films. In fact, NTR recommended Vamsi to write story for Temper which was a runaway hit. He then, promised Vamsi to make him a director. Seems like, NTR is not willing to take risk at this point of time, when he is in full swing with back to back hits. He is expected to announce director and other details of his next project soon.

On the other hand, Allu Arjun has no issues working with Vamsi, so has accepted to work with him. What's more his home production Geetha Arts is producing it. Official announcement regarding the project is awaited.

Allu Arjun's 17th film Duvvada Jagannadham directed by Harish Shankar will go on floors soon. 

Allu Arjun's Wife into entrepreneur League!

Yet another star wife turns entrepreneur. After the likes of star wives such as Namrata Mahesh and Upasana, the latest to join the businesswoman bandwagon is Stylish Star Allu Arjun's wife Sneha Reddy.

Yesterday evening, Bunny made a pleasantly surprising announcement on his Twitter page saying - "PICABOO! A Start up by my wife Allu Sneha Reddy, a photo studio creating great pictures & memories for everyone."

Pic-a-boo! has been capturing the beautiful and emotional moments of young couples who are parents-to-be, the new born babies, kids and children in various stages. Pic-a-boo! has been in the startup mode till now and is raring to spread its wings now.

A lesser known fact is that most of the cute photoshoots of Allu Ayaan, the doting little son of Allu Arjun and Sneha, were shot by Sneha's Pic-a-boo studio! It is heartening to see star wives entering the business world and their husbands supporting them unconditionally.