Tollywood Celebrities !!

Natasimha Balakrishna is known for his powerful mass entertainers. He showed his power in masses with films like Legend,Lion and more recently in Dictator. He is now trying to be different starring in a historical film Gautamiputra Satakarni under the direction of Krish. Film which happens to be his 100th is getting grander as filmmakers started roping Bollywood actors. 

Yesteryear dream girl Hema Malini and Kabir Bedi will be playing important roles.Devi Sri Prasad is composing music in USA while the film's regular shoot will star from May 9th in Morocco. Balakrishna is working hard to get the right physique for the role. 

Filmmakers are hunting for heroine and it is comingout that they contacted gorgeous Goan Beauty Ileana. However much to the shock she rejected the queen role offered by the makers. This came as shock as Ileana is looking for a comeback to south. 

Filmmakers already contacted Anushka and Nayanatara but they are busy with the current projects. Filmmakers are now hunting for other heroines. Film is slated for grand release on 12 Jan 2017. 

Malayalee Beauty Priyamani who romanced top stars of south during her hay days is currently left with no offers in Tollywood. Sometime back everyone envied her when she got the golden opportunity to dance with Bollywood Badshah Sharukh Khan in Chennai Express. 

Priyamani responding to rape and murder of a dalit girl Jisha in Kerala and attempt to rape in Bangalore came with sensational tweets which shocked all. 

She tweeted "Appalled and shocked to read about yet another tragic rape and murder!i don't think India is safe anymore for women. Someone in Bangalore is picked up in the middle of the night and was almost on the verge of being raped..and then this!#sick#india not safe!. If this is the way it's going..Women and Girls in India I pls beg all of u to get out of India and live elsewhere where it is safer"

Some found her tweets Anti-India and started blasting her but she retorted with the following tweet."I have only expressed my feelings towards the untoward incidents which have occurred and r still occurring! How is this anti India??"

New Delhi: Special Status to Andhra Pradesh is resulting in sparks in the on going parliament session. Dashing the hopes of the people and Government of Andhra Pradesh, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha replying to a question from Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said there will not be any special status to Andhra Pradesh. He said there was no proposal before the Union Government to change the rules to accord special status to Andhra Pradesh. 

TDP MP Galla Jayadev speaking in Parliament stunned all by demanding white paper on what Centre should give to Andhra Pradesh and what funds it released till now. He demanded that these facts and figures will expose everyone. 

Even as Jayadev is getting ready to corner Union Government with his questions rolling out facts, TRS MP Jitender Reddy demanded same status to Telangana as to Andhra Pradesh. But house broke down with laughter as if he cracked a joke. 

Megastar Chiranjeevi reportedly appreciated his nephew Sai Dharam Tej that he has lived up to all the expectations.

Megastar Chiranjeevi along with his family members had seen the movie of “Supreme” that features Sai Dharam Tej and Raashi Khanna.

Chiranjeevi reportedly appreciated Sai Dharam Tej for showing grace in dances as well as exhibiting ease in comedy sequences. 

Producer Dil Raju had arranged a special show for Chiranjeevi and his family members. Since Chiru was known as “Supreme” hero before he was won the tag of “Megastar”, he was very particular about watching this film before the release. Hence special show was arranged for him at Prasad Preview Theatre in Hyderabad.

The film has remixed of Chiranjeevi’s famous song “Andama Hindolam” from “Yamudiki Mogudu”. Since the song is one of iconic songs in Megastar’s career, he was curious to watch whether the song is used properly or not.

Chiranjeevi is said to have appreciated the director and producer for filming the song lavishly and not spoiling the original feel. 

“Supreme” is directed by Anil Ravipudi of “Pataas” fame. It is said to be a mass film with plenty of comedy and entertainment.

Police in California (US) have arrested the husband of a 48-year-old Indian-American woman who was found shot dead.

Sonia Nallan -- a technical recruiter at Encore Semiconductors -- was allegedly shot dead by her husband James Nallan, also an Indian-American, at a home on Indigo Oak Lane, San Jose. James, 63, was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for murder.

Officers arrived to find her with at least one gunshot wound, police said. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The motive behind the shooting that took place on Saturday is still under investigation, San Jose Police Department said. There are no outstanding suspects.

Sonia has left behind her two sons -- Sahil, 21, who attends UC Berkeley and Nitin, 20, who attends UC Irvine. Chris Nallan, the suspect's younger brother, visited the Nallans' two-story home and said the family is in shock. "They had a wonderful relationship," he was quoted as saying by The Mercury News.

Chris Nallan said James and Sonia who met at a technology firm, had been married for a long time. He revealed, about seven years ago, James suffered severe injuries in a fall while doing home repairs and was in a coma for three months. When he awoke, his personality had changed dramatically, his brother said. Once fun-loving and engaging, he became withdrawn, and his moods were unpredictable, Chris said.

Chris added, Sonia cared for her husband, who was unable to work. (PTI)

Mumbai: Actress Taapsee Pannu finds actor Prakash Raj a powerhouse performer. The two worked in Telugu films like "Mr. Perfect" and "Vastadu Naa Raju". And now, she will be seen as the lead actress in his Hindi directorial debut.

Prakash Raj is making a remake of a Malayalam movie "Salt and Pepper" where he has signed Taapsee, Ali Fazal, Nana Patekar and Shriya Saran. 

Taapsee said in a statement: "I have known Prakash sir for sometime now. He is a powerhouse performer. I've known him off screen as well. He is an extremely caring person. I'm looking forward to it (movie).”

Even as Telangana chief minster K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced the launch of prestigious Hyderabad Metro Rail first phase on June 2, coinciding with the second anniversary of formation of Telangana, project developer L&T made it clear that it is not possible to launch it.

Outgoing MD of the L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail V B Gadgil told media on Wednesday that the work is expected to be delayed by almost 18 months.

“Yes, there was a proposal to launch the first phase on June 2, but in many places, civil works have yet to be completed. So, there is no possibility of launching it on June 2, this year,” he said.

According to the latest estimation, the project is likely to be completed by December 2018. “Earlier, it was projected that we would be able to complete it by July 2017,” Gadgil said.

The company is now discussing with the government on the delay and possible financial implications on the project.

“Naturally, the talks are going on with the government. Let’s see how we will take it forward,” he said, when asked whether the concession period would be extended by the government due to the delay.

Even as the Telugu Desam Party leadership continues to claim that it will fight it out with the Centre on granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, the NDA government made it clear once again that there was no proposal whatsoever with it in this regard.

In a written reply to TDP MP Avanti Srinivas in Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha categorically said there was no question of amending the rules just to grant special status to AP.

“We shall strictly go by the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission and the Niti Ayog in extending financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

The Union minister, however, said the Centre would consider providing additional financial assistance to AP in tune with the provisions made in the AP Reorganisation Act, subject to budgetary constraints.

In the last two years, the Centre had released Rs 6,400 crore under various schemes including the assistance to offset revenue deficit, he said

Venkatesh who took almost a year gap before starting director Maruthi’s “Babu Bangaram” is all set to launch two new movies at a time. Both will be launched towards end of this month or in the first week of June.

Venkatesh will be beginning an unusual matured love story in the direction of Kishore Tirumala, who shot to fame with Ram starrer “Nenu Sailaja”. The film will have Kajal Agarwal as heroine and six more actresses.

Regular shoot will begin after July but the film will be launched shortly.

On the other hand, Venkatesh will also be starting off remake of Madhavan starrer “Saala Khadoos” with the same cast and crew from July. He will be finishing it off it in flat 30 days, sources say.

Meanwhile, his “Babu Bangaram” in the direction of Maruthi is getting delayed to wrap off the shoot for various reasons. But the movie is scheduled for July 4th release.

Senior director and former union minister Dasari Narayan Rao has expressed his anguish over the television channels not coming forward to buy satellite rights of his movies.

Dasari, who announced that he is going to direct a love story-based movie shortly, expressed his desire to wield megaphone even at this age.

Reacting on the failure of his recent movies, he said these films might not be commercial hits, but had received appreciation from critics.

“Let them be telecast by television channels; audiences will understand their quality and worth,” he said.

Dasari had directed two films – Parama Veera Chakra and Erra Bus, in the recent past and both of them bombed at the box office.

Especially, Parama Veera Chakra starring Balakrishna as hero, could not attract even his hard core fans and ended up as a disaster as it could not recover even the publicity expenses.

As a result, not a single television channel has come forward to buy its satellite rights. So is the case with Erra Bus, which was remake of a Tamil movie.

That is precisely why Dasari is anguished. He wants that at least one channel has to buy their satellite rights so that audiences would acknowledge his direction skills. But, it’s long time since the films were released and flopped. Who will show interest on them now?

Bengaluru: Shreya Ukil, a 40-year-old Indian woman who was formerly a techie at the Wipro office in London, has won a landmark lawsuit in a British court against the IT major for sacking her on grounds of gender discrimination, unequal pay and victimisation.

"The Wipro leadership team, including its (then) chief executive T.K. Kurien, conspired to push Ukil out of her job and her role in Britain," her counsel Slater Gordon said in a statement from London on Wednesday.

The court observed that the direction (to sack Ukil) had come from the very top and was followed through with considerable resolve.

"Ukil was victimised by Wipro's leadership for speaking up about sex discrimination, unequal pay and a culture of sexism," the statement said.

Ukil, who worked with Wipro for almost 10 years, won multi-million-dollar contracts for the firm and received numerous performance awards, started raising concerns in 2012, which went unheeded.

Ukil sued the Bengaluru-based outsourcing firm in October 2015, seeking one million pounds compensation for gender discrimination, unequal pay and harassment.

Sacking Ukil and her superior Manoj Punja, 54, the company had then said that they were relieved from service after an internal inquiry established that they were into a relationship but did not report about it to the company as a policy.

Ukil, who was the sales and market development manager for Wipro's back office operations in London, filed the lawsuit with the central London employment tribunal, claiming she was forced into an affair by Punja, a married man, who was head of its business process outsourcing (BPO) office in London.

Bellam Sridevi is the role that Raashi Khanna has done in "Supreme", Sai Dharam Tej's new film which is releasing worldwide on May 5th. The makers are extensively promoting the movie's heroine character in the promos and interviews.

"Supreme" is directed by Anil Ravipudi who debuted with "Pataas". Unlike his debut movie, he has given equal importance to the female lead. He said that comedy is generated through Bellam Sridevi's character.

Bellam Sridevi is the name given to the role played by Raashi Khanna. She has played the role of a cop and has also kicked the butt. 

Sai Dharam Tej is not worrying about Rashi Khanna hogging the limelight as the first half of the movie focuses on playfulness between them but in the second half the drama completely is on him.

Most of our heroes don't like to repeat their heroines. They look out for fresh combinations all the time and a heroine is not repeated if their combination didn’t work in the first attempt. However the beauty with thunder thighs, Raashi Khanna seems to be an exception to it.

Raashi is currently doing Oxygen with Gopichand and an untitled film with Raviteja. Her first films with these heroes were Jil and Bengal Tiger respectively. Both these films ended up as average fare. Despite that Raashi is romancing them again. Now Ram is added to this list.

Raashi is going to romance Ram again in his upcoming film directed by ‘Kandireega’ Srinivas. Ram and Raashi’s first film Shivam was a huge disaster. In spite of it Ram is repeating Raashi in his next film.

Recently Rakul Preeth got a second chance from Ram Charan after her first film with the mega powerstar ended up as dud at the box office. So our heroes are finally accepting that heroines have nothing to do with a movie’s failure.

The Chandrababu Naidu government’s decision to appoint an eight-member panel of renowned architects to assist Japanese firm Maki and Associates to redesign the government buildings in the new capital of Amaravati has come under sharp criticism.

For reasons known only to him, Naidu had selected the Japanese company to design the capital city official buildings at a whopping cost.

He even declared that the designs were trendy and of international standard. But following criticism from all quarters that the designs do not reflect the Telugu culture, Naidu changed his mind and wanted the Japanese company to redesign the same.

However, Maki and Associates started creating troubles for Naidu saying it cannot prepare designs reflecting Telugu culture, which it does not know. So, it wanted the help of local architects who would help them in giving new designs, but they should be paid by the Naidu government itself.

Now, Naidu has appointed a committee of eight local architects to assist Japanese company. The question is when they can prepare the designs reflecting Telugu culture, why should they assist Japanese company? Is it not extra burden on the government? Why can’t Naidu cancel the deal with Japanese firm?

In early April, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the agency received more than 236,000 petitions for H-1B visas during the annual filing period. This means, that once again the demand for high-skilled temporary foreign workers in the US is nearly three times higher than the 85,000 cap on H-1B visas mandated by the US Congress.

The fact, that demand for visas continues to be so high – despite the reinstated and increased visa fees unfairly imposed by Congress in December 2015 – certainly proves that a shortage of information technology specialists in the US persists.

In fact, the shortage is getting worse as businesses and other organisations across all sectors of the American economy seek digital strategies to gain efficiencies, improve customer service and open new markets.

According to US government data, there could be 2.4-million unfilled STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths-related) jobs in the US by 2018, with more than half of these vacancies in computer and IT-related skills.

So why do certain US “experts” and the journalists who follow them continue to claim that employees of India’s IT sector operating in the US are stealing jobs from Americans? In part, such claims reflect an election year climate in the US, when complicated issues are boiled down to simplistic slogans to attract votes. But they also reflect myths that we at Nasscom are working hard to correct.

One such myth is the mistaken notion that American workers are losing jobs to less than fullyqualified foreign workers on temporary visas and are required to “train” these workers before departing. In reality, the IT professionals coming to the US from India on temporary H-1B visas are well educated and highly trained in technical knowledge.

Another myth is that temporary high-skilled workers earn far less than their American counterparts.

This has been disproven by credible US institutions such as the Brookings Institution, whose studies have found that H-1B visa holders are paid salaries comparable to or even higher than American workers with bachelor’s degrees.

Also a myth is the notion that building a virtual wall of policies and even higher costs to keep Indian IT companies from operating, investing and recruiting in the US would somehow benefit the job prospects and quality of life of Americans. Most certainly the opposite is true. If American businesses cannot obtain skilled IT support in the US, they will have no choice but to curtail operations and cut jobs, or to move operations to overseas locations.

Besides making their US customers more efficient and competitive, Nasscom member companies also invest nearly $1 billion annually in the US, support the employment of more than 411,000 Americans and pay $6 billion in federal, state and local taxes a year.

Yet another “idea” that seems to be growing in this US election year is that foreign trade hurts Americans. Certainly the opposite is true when it comes to India, which the World Bank expects to overtake China in real GDP growth this year. A long-standing US trade deficit with India is beginning to turn around, based on 2015 data.

When increased US defence sales to India are added to the equation, that deficit is further reduced. US military sales to India have increased dramatically along with remarkable strides in military cooperation since the New Framework for Defence Cooperation in 2005.

Rather than building walls, we should remove impediments to strategic collaboration, trade, and the free exchange of intellectual talent. A strong commercial and strategic partnership between India and the US is in the interests of both of our nations. Unfairly focusing blame on India’s IT sector is not.

Los Angeles: Singer Britney Spears wowed her fans as she showed off her slim physique in her new "favourite" swimsuit.

"Bought three new swimsuits today," Spears wrote on her Instagram account, reports people.com. "This one is my favourite!"

In the image, the "Toxic" hitmaker strikes a pose wearing a bright green cut-out one-piece, accentuating her toned body. 

Shruti Haasan has no qualms over flaunting her picture perfect figure. She has done it in the past and she did it again for GQ India’s latest edition cover shoot. Shruti’s awesome cleavage show in a blazing red gown is a sight that one would die for.

Shruti has surely set a benchmark for this month’s cover girls and it would require something exceptionally special to top this one.

No wonder Shruti has been largely successful in Bollywood while her contemporaries from the South industry are struggling to make a mark over there. She has the goods and she knows how to make good use of them!

Bengaluru: Single men and women of the city, rejoice; Uncle's finally in your city. Stay Uncle, the startup that helps unmarried couples get a hotel room, has started services in Bengaluru. The team announced the launch in their usual style of an informal mail to customers.

Blaze Arizanov, the 27-year-old co-founder, wrote in his mail: "We made it dost. We reached to your city. Ever since I got your request to come either to Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata or Hyderabad I was after Sanchit's life, `arrey ch***ya do we have any hotels in these cities already? People are asking. It's about time don't you think'. Now is the time. Sanchit has done a great job. We have finally come to these cities and worked our a***s off to partner with even more hotels."

The startup's portal shows that there are already three hotels on board. These include Hotel Splendour Park in Halasuru and Trinity; and Hotel Grand Bee in Yeshwantpur. The team is trying to get more hotels on board and have even requested users to suggest a few hotels.

Through the start-up any unmarried couple, above 18 years of age and possessing valid identification, can book a hotel room. The rooms need not be booked for the whole day; they can be booked in two slots: 10 am to 7 pm, and 9 pm and 8 am.

Arizanov said: "We started services last Monday. We got a lot of inquiries from Bengaluru. So we decided let's just start services there, even if it means just three hotels. In a week, we have had around 12 customers and the response has been good. However, Bengaluru pricing is currently on the higher side. By the end of next week, we will have 10 more hotels in a variety of price ranges and we will be able to serve more couples."