Another gangster movie

With many stories related to the underworld going great guns in the Sandalwood -  be it Duniya or Aa Dinagalu -  which became big hits at the box office, here is yet another film which has been added to the list. Slum Bala which also has a story based on underworld in the 70s, stars Vijay and Shubha Poonja. Journalist Sumana Kittur is all set to become a director and will narrate the 70’s story in a modern setting. Says Sumana, nowadays murders happen without any reason and often the slum residents who are economically poor become easy victims of underworld politics. The film depicts the story of a person who becomes prey to dirty politics. Sumana says, cinema is one of the best means of reaching the mass in an effective way and that her films would have a direct narration. Story, dialogues, screenplay is by Agni Shridhar of Aa Dinagalu fame.

Vijay has put on weight to don the role and said that the movie goes on to beat the common belief that slum people are rude and heartless and would be showing their life and pains in the movie. Vijay would also be working with the director for action sequences.

The flick will have two songs and music directed by Gurukiran. The film will have Mahendra’s cinematography. Shashi Kumar after a long gap will make an appearance as a police officer and Umashri will play the role of hero’s mother.

Movie cafe

It was a posh launch ceremony with models walking the ramp and actors making an appearance on the stage with the models. The launch of By two coffee was a grand affair as the world of fashion and film came together. This is the second movie for director P Shekhar, who has earlier directed the Tamil movie, Kadalai en Kadalai. It will be a colourful movie with lots of entertainment, says the director who believes in work rather than talk.

Naveen, a Bangalore boy  who played the lead in Kadalai plays the male lead in this flick. K S Pictures is producing the movie. The film has two heroines - Nidhi and Ragini. The film is about the journey of a person from adolescent mindset to maturity.

The film has Avinash, Chitra Shenoy, Vinayaka Joshi and Anand. Galipata fame Dracula Dayal is the production designer. Praveen Dutt is the music director, while Stephen and Shaman Mitra are behind the  camera. How does the by 2 coffee taste? Is it light or strong? Wait till July, says the director.

Anu as anchor

There’s good news for all you Anu Prabhakar fans. The bubbly actress will don the anchor’s cap yet again in Zee Kannada’s Baale Bangara. The programme will showcase 32 teams and telecast over 32 episodes. Each episode will see two teams competing with each other. While the general knowledge of the participants will be tested in the Jai Karnataka round, their awareness regarding the personalities in various fields will be tested in Evaru yaru ballirenu? 

There is also a round on old songs. The programme, in which people get to win gold, this time will also feature television and film stars. Watch Baale Bangara every Thursdays and Fridays at 7 pm.

Murali engaged

Golden Palms Resort on Monday night was no less than a film set. Only this time it was the high profile and real life engagement of actor Murali with his longtime sweetheart Vidya.

Murali got engaged to Vidya, whom he has been dating for over eight years now, on February 11. Vidya was Murali’s junior in Seshadripuram College, and belongs to the family that owns Moti Mahal Hotel in Gandhinagar.

The who’s who of the business world and film fraternity including the Rajkumar family, Sudeep, Prajwal Devraj, Vishal, Rahul Dev and many Sandalwood directors and producers were there to wish the couple. Their marriage will take place on May 11 and 12 in Bangalore. Murali’s brother and actor Vijay Raghavendra had tied the knot with Spandana in August last year.