THE GREAT INDIAN FAT WEDDING IS GETTING FATTER THIS SEASON

It might be a 'seasonal' industry, thriving only during the auspicious months of the year but with an estimated worth of Rs 1,25,000 crore, the Indian wedding industry is getting bigger and fatter.

With the industry growing at an average rate of 25 per cent per annum, the lavishness doled out by Indians on weddings is just getting larger this season as exhibitors and even designers from Pakistan entering the market to target the customers who have begun shopping for the post October marriage season.

"The weddings just grown larger only. The latest trend is now to fly out the barat comprising 250-350 people to Kaula Lampur or Singapore to have the wedding there," says Tarun Sarda, CEO, Vintage Group, Vivaha Interactive, the organisers of Vivaha exhibitions.

Citing seven such weddings which have taken place in foreign locations, such as Sunway Lagoon and the Palace of the Golden Horses in Malayasia recently, he adds, "Everyone is trying to outdo each other. With the property and stock boom, India has seen new generation of millionaires coming up and the lavishness that they indulge in weddings are just mind-blowing."

Gone are the days when great weddings were the ones to be held at some five-star hotel with baratis trooping in fanning Rs 10 bundles, points out wedding organisers and industry experts.

AMRITA RAO BOWLS OVER RENOWNED ARTIST M F HUSSAIN WITH HER SMALL TOWN LOOKS

Ram Charan Teja is not the only one raring to act with Mahesh Babu's dream girl in Athidi Amrita Rao. M F Hussain has been raving about the girl, so much so, that today she is his muse. He has seen Vivah, God knows how many times, and totally smitten by her simple looks, he has started a series of paintings on her.

Here is what Hussain has to say about Amrita Rao:

"I’ve already started my series on Amrita Rao and I just can’t seem to stop. For me she represents the small town girl of India, an aspect of womanhood no one seems to remember in any form of artistic expression today -– in art, cinema, drama or literature.

"I’m trying to paint a woman who is not aggressive.. but is still very strong in her values and attitudes. I’ve been seeing Vivah over and over again..don’t ask me how many times though…I’ll tell you that next year.

"She was very shy and courteous. When I saw her before me, I was taken back to the days when I was a boy in Indore. I would see such lovely girls in the gullies and bylanes. They would walk with a faint smile but their faces would look away.”

And what does Amrita feel?

“My friends told me that being an artist’s muse; one has sit in front of him for hours together. But Husainsaab just needs to say ‘statue’ and I’d freeze forever!”

AMRITA RAO GOES APPEASING THE GODS ON HER BIRTHDAY, AND SHE CLAIMS IT WAS A THANKSGIVING FOR WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN HER!!

It was time to appease the gods for Amrita Rao, the heroine of Athidi, opposite Mahesh Babu, who turned 26 recently. The gal, who loves to party and is getting into the groove of late, went visiting visiting Shirdi with her uncle and his family, instead of grooving her way to glory. The bubbly gal, who was also said to be acting in Ram Charan Teja's second film to be directed by S S Rajamouli, however, tells us, that it was more important to be with the family and pray for what God has given her than go partying. And, mind you, it was the same gal, who has been complaining that she didn't have time to go partying in New York. What a contradiction, Amritaji? When you are abroad, you put on your wildest best, but when you are in India, with your parents, you give all those conservative talk. But, it has been one helluva birthday party for her. The actress says that she has been inundated with SMSes, phone calls and greetings from fans, who just wouldn't stop wishing her. But she is one actress, we must admit, who gives credit wherever it is due. And she has rightfully been saying that all the credit for her popularity goes to Vivah, which has paved her career with gold.

RAM CHARAN TEJA'S PLANNING COMMISSION GETS UNDERWAY: S S RAJAMOULI ROPED IN TO DO TEJA'S SECOND FILM JUST IN CASE...

The spotlight is on him. His every move has been making news. And he hasn't uttered a word ever since he announced his desire to put on the grease paint. He is the heir of a great tradition set by his father Chiranjeevi. Following the footsteps of the megastar, Pavan Kalyan and Allu Arjun have created a niche for themselves in the Telugu film industry. But it is just the tip of the iceberg. The real mantle falls on him now -- Ram Charan Teja. All eyes are on him. Will he blaze a trail like his father? That only time will tell which is not far away.

In the meanwhile, all the top directors are vying with one another to work with him. Or conversely, Chiranjeevi is making the right moves to ensure that his son's future is paved with gold. And he has rightly put Teja's future in Puri Jagannath's hands with Chirutha as the launch vehicle. And this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because Puri is presently riding the crest of success unknown in the history of Telugu cinema with the stupenduous success of Pokiri, followed by Desamuduru. And all he has to do is ensure that it is a decent film and the market will take care of the rest. On the other hand, since Puri's popularity is hovering in the stratosphere, and the expectations from Teja, too, hovering at the same place, even a minor hiccup in the film is going to bring their soaring popularities crashing down like a house of cards. And it will prove to be a disaster for the careers of both Teja and Puri.

Chiranjeevi seems to have correctly read the situation. And so he has okayed Teja's second film with the currently-in-demand director S S Rajamouli. Now, Rajamouli is known for giving his heroes a larger-than-life image, especially NTR and Prabhas, who have become the current favourites of Telugu cinema partly because of him.

Therefore, realising that Rajamouli can feel the pulse of the masses, Chiranjeevi has decided to make Teja's second film under the Geeta Arts baner with hium. And, what more, the cutie pie of Bollywood, who has become the darling of Bollywood after the stupendous success of Vivah, and who is currently doing Adithi with Mahesh Babu, Amrita Rao, has been selected as the heroine.

Amrita Rao too seems to have been taken given the craze she has already achieved thanks to her casting in Atidhi.

Ram Charan Teja currently is in Bangkok busy with the shooting of Chirutha. But going by the way his every move is being meticulously planned by his father, it looks another super director may be roped in to make it a complete threesome of films, before his first film is released. Will it be a perfect 3, Mr Chiranjeevi?

Amrita Rao has a blast in Goa

Mahesh Babu is on a new high after the success of Pokiri. And he deserves every ounce of it. Producers are queuing up in front of his house for his call sheets, directors are tightening their scripts to impress him, and heroines are sending feelers in a desperate attempt to catch his fancy. But this time he has decided to opt for the cute Bollywood babe Amrita Rao for his new film Atidhi. Predictably, the spotlight in Tollywood is on Ms Rao, whether the likes of Illeana like it or not. Every titbit of news about her is lapped up with glee by Mahesh's fans, not to talk of the others. The latest we hear about her is that she is shooting for an ad in Goa and having a ball. Normally one to keep away from the fun and frolic gang of boisterous Bollywood hunks, this time she claims she was so exhausted from her tight schedule that she had to break her vow. And so she had a ball of a time, she tells us.

By the way did you know that Ms Rao was a model before making her forays into Bollywood? And a successful one at that too. She did more than 35 ads, the most popular of which is the Bru ad, where she stutters in front of her father to tell him about her boyfriend Sagar.

Bollywood came calling when Subhash Ghai noticed her in the same coffee ad and offered her a minor role in Bhagat Singh. Later, she got meatier roles in Ab Ke Baras (2002), Ishq Vishq (2003), Masti, Main Hoon Na, Deewaar, (all in 2004. Though her later releases -- Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005), Shikhar (2005), and Pyare Mohan (2006) -- turned turtle at the box office, her Vivah (2006) was a stupendous success earning her fame worldwide. She managed a nurture a cutesie image with her roles especially Ishq Vishq, Main Hoon Naan and the latest Vivah, that she has become the epitome of the girl next door character. Presently she is basking in the glory of her stardom and that was when Atidhi happened. Will she cast a spell in the south as well?