SHANKARDADA GETS READY TO HIT THE SCREENS ON JULY 25: ARE YOU READY FOR HIS GANDHIGIRI?

Shankardada Zindabad is finally ready to hit the screens. And the auspicious date is July 25. Even as Chiranjeevi's fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the film, it would be an acid test for both Chiranjeevi and Prabhudeva. The latter has already proved his mettle with his stupendous successes in Nuvvostanante Nenoddantanu in Telugu and the remake of Pokiri in Tamil. And seeing the spark and the deftness in his direction, he has been personally selected by Chiranjeevi to direct the sequel of Shankardada MBBS. And those who have seen the rushes say that Prabhudeva has indeed done a marvellous job. Predictably, Prabhudeva is jittery as he is directing a megastar in the south for the first time and his future fortunes hinge on the success of this film. If it becomes a hit, which it is likely to become, he will strike gold in Tollywood. But, if it turns out to be otherwise, he will have to pack his bags and head for the Tamil film industry.

As for Chiranjeevi, who is especially at the crossroads of his career, with his son too making a foray into films, he badly needs a superhit in Shankardada Zindabad. And, we hear, that he has taken all efforts to ensure that all the loose ends in the script are tightened and a perfect blow-by-blow account with all the emotions that touched the hearts of the audiences in Lage Raho Munnabhai are felt by the Telugu audiences as well.

Though Karishma Kotak looks like a pale imitation of Vidya Balan, we have to wait and see how this damsel has donned the role of a radio jockey. With hardly more than a week for the release, let's hope that Chiranjeevi will live for long in the hearts of the Telugu audiences.

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WANNA KNOW WHY VIDYA BALAN REFUSED TO DO SHANKARDADA ZINDABAD? BECAUSE THE BALL WAS IN HER COURT!!!

Vidya Balan, who made a dramatic entry into Bollywood, knows how to cock a snook at her critics in the South Indian film industry. Unfortunately, Prabhu Deva had to bear the brunt of the lady's ire against the Tamil film industry, as she refused to play the heroine's role in Shankardada Zindabad, despite the promise of a hefty remuneration and an equal footing along with Chiranjeevi in the promos.

Going into the details of the story, before she made her forays in Bollywood, Vidya Iyer, who later became Vidya Balan, was signed for the Malayalam film Chakram, which was shelved. She was then signed in Tamil by Lingusamy for his Run, but she was dropped after the first schedule and replaced by Meera Jasmine. God knows the reason. But it was being whispered that she was a bad actress. And soon word spread about her "acting potential", and while she was trying to recover from rejection and shock, came the second major jolt. Vidya was dropped from another Tamil movie Manasellam, and replaced by Trisha. But, this time she was told the reason: you can't act, please don't waster our time.

She then turned to advertising. She appeared in numerous television ads, many of which were directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She also did supporting roles in music videos, appearing with singers and bands such as Euphoria, Shubha Mudgal, and Pankaj Udhas, and acted in Hindi soap operas like Hum Paanch.

Then Parnieeta happened, followed by Lage Raho Munnabhai, and the actress got critical acclaim and there was no looking back. Interestingly, after the success of Parineeta, the same producer who dropped Vidya Balan from Manasellam on the grounds that she had a non-photogenic face and was a poor actress, sought to sign her opposite Kamal Hassan for Dasavatharam. But Vidya Balan rejected the offer, which went to Asin.

Of course, we can see why the actress has such a grouse against the Tamil filmmakers, but we couldn't understand why she refused to do a film with Chiranjeevi, or the Telugu film industry, who had nothing to do with her jinx story in the south.

But, sources tell us, that the actress was miffed with the very attitude of the southern filmmakers for treating her so badly, and has decided not to do a film in the south. Even if it is in Telugu. That is why despite repeated pleadings, she refused to budge an inch fromer position. And that was when Karishma Kotak was signed on as the heroine.

We understand your situation Vidya, but isn't it time you let bygones be bygones?

SHANKARDADA GETS READY TO WOW AUDIENCES ONCE AGAIN WITH HIS SEQUEL: WILL IT BE ZINDABAD ALL THE WAY FOR CHIRANJEEVI?

Shankardada Zindabad, starring Chiranjeevi as the goon-turned-Gandhian, has completed the shooting of its songs in Australia. The audio will be released in the first week of July, that is in a week from now, according to music director Devisri Prasad. Karishma Kotak, who is playing the lead role of a Radio Jockey, in place of Vidya Balan, has some impressive curves and curves to show in this film, we hear. But, one thing we can say for sure. She may have the oomph of a Mallika Sherawat, but she doesn't have the charisma of Vidya Balan. Let's wait and see how she will fare, it is just a matter of time. The film is a remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai, which wowed audiences the world over.

WILL SHANKARDADA DO A SIVAJI? EXPECTATIONS SOAR FOR SHANKARDADA ZINDABAD

With the super success of Rajnikanth's film, Sivaji: The Boss, all eyes are on Shankardada Zindabad, in which Chiranjeevi plays a 'goon-turned-Gandhian'. Chiranjeevi, we hear, is taking all possible efforts to ensure that there are no flaws in the film, technical or otherwise. And he has been monitoring every shot and scene of the film, especially after the not-so-impressive showing of Shankardada MBBS.

Though Munnabhai MBBS was a roaring hit in Bollywood and touched the heartstrings of the people in India, director Jayanth quite couldn't catch the pulse of the film, and the result was that Shankardada MBBS, which would have been a chartbuster for Chiranjeevi couldn't fare as expected. Predictably, Jayanth was blamed for the film's poor showing, and Prabhu Deva roped in to direct the sequel.

But, more than Shankardada MBBS, Shankardada Zindabad needs a very sensitive handling of the film, which is why the filmmakers wanted to retain the entire cast from the Hindi version. But except for Dilip Prabhavalkar, who played Gandhi, the others were not too willing to act in a remake. So, out go Vidya Balan, who was the lynchpin of the entire film after Gandhi, Dia Mirza and Boman Irani. Of course, Srikanth, who played Arshad Warsi, was the favourite of Shankardada MBBS, and the audiences are looking forward to see how he fares in the sequel. One thing we can expect, however, from Prabhu Deva is the technical finesse and the amazing choreography, two things that are vital in a Chiranjeevi film today. Because if the songs catch on, it is half the victory. And, even if they manage to capture 50 per cent of the essence of Lago Rahe Munnabhai, the filmmakers would go laughing all the way to the bank.

Right now, the songs are being picturised on Chiranjeevi and Karishma Kotak in the picturesque locales of Australia. Except for that everything is complete. And the film is sceheduled for release in exactly a month from now -- on July 24.

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Mumbai model is heroine of Shankardada Zindabad

It's official now. The pal... pal... pal... girl from Lage Raho Munnabhai, Vidya Balan, has refused to act in the Telugu remake of the same film Shankardada Zindabad despite the producers and the director, Prabhudeva, falling head over heels to convince her why she must do the film in Telugu too. But Balan refused to be cowed down by the emotional blackmailing of the Tollywood bigwigs. So now they've settled for a sexy Mumbai model Karishma Kotak. The shooting of the film is currently underway in and around Hyderabad and the grapevine has it that Prabhudeva has been doing a marvellous job in shaping up the film the way Chiranjeevi wants it. Must give it to the boneless wonder for perfectly honing his good PR skills.