KARUNYA GETS READY TO SHAKE A LEG WITH PRETTY DAMSELS, WHILE ABHIJEET IS GROOVING TO SUFI MUSIC

A glorious loser in the Indian Idol contest, the Hyderabad-based singer N C Karunya nevertheless seems bent upon becoming the idol for millions.

After having the State swaying to his number Orugallu Pilla in Sainikudu and acquiring national fame with his Bollywood entry through Lage Raho Munnabhai, he will now be seen dancing around with pretty damsels and making love protestations in his latest Indipop album.

The album Karunya, his debut venture with Times Music, was released on Monday jointly by his Guru and uncle N C Murthy and producer of Sainikudu C Ashwini Dutt.

"The album is me, energetic and bubbly," the shy-faced youth said at the release function.

Through his album, Karunya said, he wanted to reach those millions who did not know of him.

He also urged music fans to abstain from downloading from the internet if they wanted the music industry to survive.

Composed by Leslie Lewis and directed by Madhu Sarkar, the album has nine songs along with a pin-up poster of the singer. It is available across the country at Rs 150.

...ABHIJEET GETS GROOVING TO SUFI MUSIC



Abhijeet Sawant became a star overnight after winning the show Indian Idol. And, cashing in on his popularity , he released an album, Aapka Abhijeet Sawant, and followed it up with a music video Mohabbatein Lutaunga. He has done playback singing too for half a dozen Hindi movies.

And now, he has come out with a new music video which is already creating waves. Talking about his latest album, he says, "It's a rock-based album with a touch of Sufi music. As our main target was the youth audience, it is very peppy and youthful."

Abhijeet has done playback singing for movies like Aashiq Banaya Aapne: Love Takes Over, Jawani Diwani, etc. So, how was the experience? "It was really good. When you are singing for an album, you are expressing your own thoughts, while playback singing is like putting across someone else's thoughts. It's just that when you are singing for films, the platform is bigger than an album. Still, personally, I like to do albums," says he.

Abhijeet says that he has become more professional now "than I used to be". "I never dreamt that I will become so successful. But, with success comes the pressure of responsibilities. So, now, I have the responsibility of completing the things I have started , making them successful , and maintaining the success ratio," he explains .

Considering that Abhijeet comes from a nonfilmy background, how difficult was it working in the film industry? "Initially, I was a tad intimidated by the filmy atmosphere. So, it took me some time to adjust. As I am new to this field, it will take me some time to establish myself as a playback singer. But, one day, I want to sing for Shah Rukh Khan."

And, who are his role models? "Kishore Kumar and Sonu Nigam are my idols in this field," he says. As far as music directors are concerned, Abhijeet literally worships A R Rahman . "He has such a command on each and every style of music -- it's admirable. Plus, he always keeps experimenting. According to me, he is the number one music director in the industry," he declares.

Sonu Nigam, Himesh Reshmmiya and a number of other playback singers have made forays into acting. Does he intend to follow in their footsteps? "There are offers, but I haven't given a thought to acting yet. First, I want to establish myself as a singer. Only then will I think about acting ," says he.

After Abhijeet won Indian Idol, it was reported that he received a lot of marriage proposals from his female fans. So, does he have any plans of getting married in the near future? "I am going to get married in a year's time. Most probably, it will be an arranged marriage, and that too to the girl of my parents' choice. For me, my parents' choice is very important," he says matter-of-factly.

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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?

KARISHMA KOTAK, THE HOT BABE OF SHANKARDADA ZINDABAD: TAKE A DEKKO AT SOME OF HER FABULOUS PIX

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.

MEET THE GANDHI OF SHANKARDADA ZINDABAD, WHO TURNS CHIRANJEEVI FROM A GOON TO A GANDHIAN

He was a relatively unknown actor till a couple of years back. But he has given a new definition and a new face to Gandhism in India. The revolution he spawned is so huge that even after a year of the release of Lage Raho Munnabhai, people can't stop preaching the neo-Gandhian's philosophy. That is Dilip Prabhavalkar, who brought about a transformation not only in Sanjay Dutt, but also the very face of protest in India, with his non-violent chat with Munnabhai.

After the release of the film, in many places, especially in the cities, people have started following his philosophy to bring about awareness about the civic responsibility among citizens. And he will soon be seen as the same Gandhi or Bapuji in Shankardada Zindabad.

"Bapu's make-up took more than three hours. I had to have artificial ears, nose, wrinkles, moustache. I am not dark. I am quite fair, so we had to have a tanned look. I had to shave off the hair on my head completely," he says.

What did playing Gandhi's role teach him? "I am very cool by temperament. By playing Bapu, I have imbibed compassion, empathy and benevolence," says the 60-year-old theatre artiste in Marathi.

Was he not scared of playing the role of Gandhi, especially after the world found the best Gandhi in Ben Kinsley? "I was given some tapes and cassettes by Raj Kumar Hirani, the director of the film. I also saw some old Films Division documentaries. Through the films, I realised that Gandhiji used to speak in a monotonous fashion. That is where we took liberties. If we had projected him speaking that way, many could have lost interest. It would have been authentic without being effective. So we changed the tone a little bit."

Prabhavalkar did not stop with watching films, he started reading a la Sanjay Dutt, everythign about Gandhi that he could lay his hands on. "I was greatly helped by a book by an American journalist, Louis Fisher, who called him a saint. This book was like the Bible, the Gita and the Quran for the role."

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.

LAGE RAHO ARSHADBHAI: Arshad Warsi is still the comic favourite of the judges

Rang de Basanti walked away with top honours, including for best film, in most of the categories it was nominated for the eighth IIFA Awards as glamour, emotion and an electric atmosphere combined to make for an unforgettable star-studded ceremony at Sheffield in England.

Besides being adjudged the best film, Rang de Basanti, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's take on modern day patriotism, bagged as many as 11 awards, including for best actress in a supporting role for Soha Ali Khan.

The glittering ceremony, which began last night and ended early on Sunday, was interspersed with electrifying performances from Abhishek Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Govinda and Shilpa Shetty, and was watched by thousands of expatriates from all over Britain.

While Rani Mukeri won the Best Actress trophy for her performance in Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, the Best Actor award went to Hrithik Roshan for his superhero act in Krrish.

Other major winners included Raj Kumar Hirani as Best Director and Arshad Warsi as Best Supporting Actor for Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Some of Bollywood's biggest names, including IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya, attended the marathon four-hour function, along with more than 50,000 people.

Sadha to play Dia Mirza's role in Shankardada Zindabad

Poor Sadha. We can only sympathise with her. After having donned some wonderfully characters on screen -- starting with Jayam -- and going on to act with some of the bigger heroes of the industry like Junior NTR, she is now struggling to get good roles. Seems the tide has turned against her. After having finally found a new heroine to act opposite Chiranjeevi in Shankardada Zindabad, the remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai, Prabhudeva and company have now set out to find a face for a small character in the film, that played by Dia Mirza. And, we hear, that they have zeroed in on Sadha. Of course, the actress doesn't have a choice but to say yes. And we know what her excuse would be to lap up the offer. Any guesses? Yes, you are right, it would run like this: "I was wanting to do a film with megastar Chiranjeevi since a long time, and my dream has come true now. I don't mind even if it is a small role, as long as I get to act with him." Okay Sadha, all the best and we hope that you will have many more good days ahead.