Dr D RAMA NAIDU

FOUR DECADES, A DOCTORATE, AN MP AND NOW IN THE GUINNESS BOOKS OF RECORDS, TOO
This simple man from a remote village of Karamchedu in Prakasam district, headquarters of Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, was a peasant. His amazing ambition and a hidden power whose name is too big to reveal for any human took charge of him.

Celeb Chat

Urmila Matondkar -- Coming up: three more in a row
Flop, hit or in between, Urmila Matondkar has always been special. There’s a sense of supreme selfconfidence in her bearing that rivals interpret as arrogance and friends know to be self-esteem.

Preview

PAPA THE GREAT -- WAKE UP, ALL YOU FATHERS!
When writer-director K. Bhagyaraj and Gulshan Kumar came together I remember him telling me that he could see all kinds of rare sparks flying all over, creative sparks,

Ali’s Notes

THE WAIT FOR RAJESH KHANNA
The man who millions of women once worshiped and called “God” and who tried to become some kind of “God” in politics almost failed in politics too.

Short Takes

THE GROWTH OF THE SON
IS THE FATHER’S DECLINE?
The game show’s become the talk of the town. Kaun Banega Crorepati has had viewers gasping and tearing their hair in a tizzy, watching others get lucky on the Big B show.

Tribute

JAISHANKAR
Jai, the consummate charmer!
JAISHANKAR was a law graduate. He joined the celluloid world in 1960. He came from a Brahmin Iyer family. His marriage was an arranged one..

News Flash

Champion complete
Producer Sujit Kumar completed a six-day shooting schedule of Shri Shiv Bhakti Films’ Champion recently at Khoja Bungalow (Versova) and other Mumbai locales.

Editorial

MONEY FOR THE ASKING
SO it’s been another event-crammed fortnight for showbizfolk. We’ve had the much-hyped Refugee hit the screens, followed by Bichhoo, the action extravaganza, during the eventful period. And there’s been action off the screens, too.

On the Sets

Maut Ke Saudagar - nearing completion
Maharani Films’ Maut Ke Saudagar is nearing completion after a 15-days shooting spell. During the schedule, the fight composer and editor turned director Pappu Sharma picturised many dramatic.

People's Verdict

Refugee nets 96% in Mumbai
THE pre-release hype and the fact that the film had a new lead pair in Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor, whom the audience wanted to see, has helped the film do well in all the centres except a few.

Review

BICHHOO : Scorpion without the sting
It may sound naive but it’s surprisingly true that films with no logic, no definite storyline or good performances still do pass muster at the b-o.

Debate

HYPE -- DOES THE END JUSTIFY THE COSTS?
Filmdom has found a new mantra for publicity. And it’s called Blitzkreig. The general belief seems to be that more you publicise your film, the more viewers you lure to the theatres. The million rupee question is, does it help at all?.

SARFAROSH IS MOST POPULAR FILM
National awards for Vanaprastham, Mohan Lal and Kiron Kher

The cup of joy brimmeth over yet again for Malayalam filmdom after the tiny landscape cornered as many as 14 feature and non-feature awards, the biggest haul for any language, at the national film awards announced last week.

ADLABS TO INTRODUCE IMAX
Cinema’s big brother is here

The bigger version of cinema is all set to arrive in India with IMAX. The 15/70 image Imax screen, which is ten times bigger than the conventional 35 mm frame and 5 times bigger than the 70 mm format is brought in India by Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs.

KODAK VS GEVAERT: It’s open war!

An open war appears to be on between Kodak and Gevaert even as producers vie with each other on who will take out the highest number of prints.