Srihari arrives in style

Srihari is one actor who is very clear as to what he wants from his films -- that is in terms of image building. He has patronised his writers, and stunt directors and even directors to the point that all of them think like him when they make a film with him. So when you watch a film you know it is a typical Srihari film. Which is indeed an achievement. Among the aam janta he still commands a very respectable position. And he has cashed in on it in style. Even the character roles he has done from some films recently, like Dhee, Nuvvostaanante Nenoddantaana? and others, have put him on par with the heroes and garnered him more mileage. Now, after much planning he has acted as a hero, in a film which is suprisingly titled Mahalakshmi. Generally, if you go by his track record, his films are oxymorons: why should I care what is happening in this self-centred world? They are selfish to the point of being arrogant and recklessly foolhardy. And he acts only when one of the characters realises the importance of taking the situation into his/her own hands. And he swoops down with his verbal whiplashing to the point of motivating them to their call of duty. Mahalakshmi too falls into the same category, but with a slight difference. It has been planned well, and executed every better. And the fight sequences by the director-stunt choreographer Vijayan have been choreographed amazingly. It's worth a watch if you are looking for some masala in your lives and bored with the same hero-beats-up-villain kind of stuff.

Mumaith asks for the moon, what more she gets it

Bollywood gals know better where to shed their clothes. And Mumaith Khan is no exception. Making her appearance in the sensuous number Jan lo... in Munnabhai MBBS, she sizzled in a couple of Bollywood films thereafter but soon faded into oblivion. So she landed, where else, in Tollywood, the heaven on earth for the Bombay babes. Predictably, Tollywood unwrapped the red carpet and she made the most of it. After doing a couple of jiggles in a couple fo B grade films, she showed her mettle in Yogi and Pokiri, and soon crawled her way into the top item girl and has been having the Tollywood producers swooning for more. She did the best she could do: jacked up her remuneration. The last I heard it was somewhere in the stratosphere. And her demands don't just end there. She wants to do extened roles too instead of just confining herself to item numbers. And when a Bollywood babe, and that too a successful one, asks for something will she not get it? She did. And now she is acting in a bit role in Mahalakshmi, produced by Srihari's wife Disco Shanti, for who else her husband. Mumaith claims that she has other producers too lining up to offer her roles, but she just doesn't have the time. (Translation: they are too small to cough up the dough). Once she slowly settles down, she wants to play the heroine's role. Definitely madam, we are too eager to entertain you.