Tamil film banned by censors
The censor board has banned a Tamil film Kaatukkenna Vaeli for allegedly glorifying the LTTE. For the last one month, director Thangaraj is in Delhi to get it cleared.

Studio 5 in Chennai
A new theatre, Studio 5, has opened in Chennai with a seating capacity of 147 and per show nett of Rs. 7500. The admission rate is Rs.80, Rs.60 and Rs.30 respectively.

Grand Cinema closes
The Grand Cinema, Chennai, has downed shutters and two more cinemas are slated to follow suit.

Dr Rajkumar to be awarded
Dr Rajkumar will be awarded the Sangali Rayanna Award in Bangalore soon by the Krantheveera Sagoli Rayanna Samithi. Actress B Saroja Devi too is to honoured on the occasion. A book Sangoli Rayanna by Mr. Basheer will also be released.

Sanjay Khan shocked by KPTCL
The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) has decided to issue a notice to actor-filmmaker Sanjay Khan, to pay up his dues amounting to Rs. 37 lakh which he owes the KPTCL for power theft by directly hooking on to the mainline transformer and consuming more than 2.5 lakh units of power for his resort during its construction.

Maratha Battalian nearing completion
Pranjali Films’ Marathi venture Maratha Battalian is fast nearing completion. The film stars Milind Gavali, Laxmikant Berde, Vijay Chavan, Bharat Jadhav, Mahesh Kokate and Rahul Solapurkar. Being produced by Jajiraj Waswani and directed by Nagesh Darak, the film has music by Nandu Honap.

Aaoo Piya Hamar Nagri
The entire editing of Ashu Priya Productions’ Maithili venture Aaoo Piya Hamar Nagri was completed at Film City on December 15. The film stars Juhi Sinha, Lokesh Sharma, Dr. Manikant Mishra, Poornima Josi, Abhiraj, Ramesh Guchiya, Ram Narayan Thakur, Pradeep Kumar, Manju Singh, Poonam Jha, Ratna Jha and Seema Sinha.

Suresh Gopi in Kalidasan
Suresh Gopi has been signed to play an important role in Ganesh Productions’ Kalidasan. Produced by KP Kottarakara and directed by TS Suresh Babu, the film has music by Vidyasagar. The starcast comprises of Saundarya, Malavika, Babu Anthony, Lalu Alex, Innocent and Srividya.

Thampy-Jayaram-Soundarya teamed
Sunita Productions’ Naaraanathu Bhraanthan will star Jayaram, Soundarya, Siddique and Janardhan. Produced by M Mani and directed by V Thampy, the film is written by Benny and P Nayarambalam, and has lyrics by S. Rammeshan Nair and music by Vidyasagar.

MPA honours UP Minister
The Motion Pictures Association, the apex body of Delhi and UP film trade, honoured the UP Minister Hukum Singh on his grant of reduction in entertainment tax from 100 percent to 60 percent in the State. He holds the portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs, Registration and Entertainment Tax.

Nagpur exhibitors honour Revenue Minister
In a special ceremony at Hotel Tuli International, the Cine Exhibitors Association, (CEA) Nagpur honoured Ashok Chavan, the Maharashtra Revenue Minister. The event was presided over by Vijay Rathi, the secretary of the Central Circuit Cine Association. Dilip Singh Tuli, president CEA, Nagpur, welcomed the minister. The leading exhibitors of Vidarbha were present on the occasion.

Site auctioned
A site for setting up a multi-plex, located on Tonk Road in Jaipur, measuring 4073.67 sq. metres, was auctioned by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) at Rs. 14,157 per sq. metre for record price of Rs. 5.75 crores.

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Playback singer Satyam passes away
Madhavapeddi Satyam, the well-known Telugu playback singer, died on December 17 in Chennai. He was 78 and is survived by his wife, a daughter and son Madhavapeddi Murthy, a singer, music director and choreographer.
Satyam, who began his career with the Bengali film Kabir in 1948, had been admitted to a hospital after suffering a hip fracture recently. He sang about 5,000 songs in his career, including about 4,000 in Telugu films. He also sang in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Sinhalese languages.

French film fest in Hyderabad
A film festival of French films started in Hyderabad from December 19. Jointly organised by Alliance Francaise De Hyderabad and the AP State Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation Ltd., the festival marks the 20th anniversary of Alliance Franchaise and continued till December 30.
Twenty French films were screened from December 19 to 23 at Indira Priyadarshini theatre. No films were screened on December 24 and 25. From December 26 to 30, two films daily were screened at Lalitha Kala Thoranam (open air theatre). All films were subtitled in English and include classics like Venus Beauty Institute and Tchao Paqntin.

VJ becomes star
Producer Shiva Prasada Reddy of Kamakshi Movies Combines, has selected MTV-VJ Shehnaz to act in a Telugu film with Nagarjuna in the lead. The role is of a modern girl. The shooting of the film is currently going on in Hyderabad and expected to be completed by March. The film has story-screenplay by Bhupathi Raja and is directed by Jannagaladda Srinivasa Rao and music by SA Raj Kumar.