Looking back
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Ambi has done well though the audience is choosing classic Rajkumar films over new releases
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ACROSS THE BOARD Ambi is a big hit with the family audience
With temperatures soaring one would have thought Kannada film fans would seek the cool confines of theatres. No such luck with none of the recent releases faring well at the box-office. There are more people revisiting old Raj Kumar favourites (VCDs and DVDs) compared to those venturing out. With Raj's films you at least know what you're getting and you can watch it with your family without squirming in your seat.
Auditya is pretty happy the way Ambi is faring. "It's doing well.. The cuts and changes we had to make have not affected the end product. What surprises me is that families rather than the masses are enjoying the film, especially children," says the satisfied hero.
Sevanti Sevanti has not fared well even though it has the redoubtable Ramya in it. One of the reasons seems to be that this tale of a simpleton tying a thali around a girl's neck and the girl accepting it in the end was thought to be regressive.
Ramya is in Hyderabad shooting for the Telugu version of Amruthadhare and is worried about whether she can attend the premiere of Julie today. "You have to watch the film," insists the spirited actress who has a role of a lifetime in the film. She's also wrapped up Datta with Darshan. "We had a ball," she says about the outdoor stints for the film in places as exotic as Vienna.
Real to reel
Channaganappa is a bureaucrat and an upright one at that. He is worried about the degeneration in the quality of life in Bangalore.
He's turning his concerns into celluloid with Soundarya, a tale about the travails of a middle-class couple pitted against the omnipresent land mafia. "I play a killer in the film," says Ramesh who's excited about the project.
"It's my best role after Amruthavarshini." The film also stars Sakshi Shivanand who says the theme is similar to what she had to go through when she was battling land sharks in Hyderabad. Ramesh is awaiting Kamal Hassan's return from Hollywood where he's trying out new looks for his ambitious Dashavatharam. Ramesh is itching to get behind the camera again with a love story and a bilingual, hopefully with Kamal.
Across the border, Tamil and Telugu industries are having a tough time as well. Over dependence on stars who charge a fortune is the culprit. The much-awaited Bangaram starring Pawan Kalyan crashed at the box-office. Has the talented Dharani turned over confident or is Pawan Kalyan's interference the culprit?
Meanwhile, Telugu cinema's most underrated actor Mahesh Babu has quietly come up with a winner, Pokkiri.
Tamil superstar Vijay, anxious after the debacle of Aadhi made his producer buy the remake rights of Bangaram but when it bombed he promptly bought the rights to clone Pokkiri. The irony is that AVM's ambitious Tirupathi with Ajit has failed while Tiruttu Payale a low budget film about a small time ruffian black-mailing a rich man's wife who strays is doing well.
S. SHIVA KUMAR
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