Lakshmi Prasanna's Attraction For Young Hero

Actress/socialite Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna has always been known for her elegant glamour and presence in Page 3 circuit. Recently, she was also part of the special party involving Paris Hilton. While there are many admirers of Lakshmi Prasanna, she seems to be having an attraction for one man.

Well, friends of Lakshmi reveal that she likes Prabhas a lot (which girl doesn’t??). She is reportedly talking among her close circles saying “I have a crush for Prabhas. He has this raw manly appeal and at the same time, he carries himself with suave style. He is ‘Mr Perfect’.”

It is heard that when Prabhas came as the celebrity guest for Lakshmi’s talk show she took special interest in her getup and was dressed in a special way. Well, if someone like Lakshmi can go through that experience then one can imagine what the regular girls must be feeling watching him.

Aamani Aunty Acting Again After Long Gap

It appears that a new season of aunties has begun. These aunties were once the hot heroines of Tollywood. While most of them like Divya Vani, Kavitha etc are opting for small screen, here is one lady who is still keen on making her comeback into the silver screen.

She is none other than Aamani and this homely looking beauty is all set to be seen in the new movie ‘Devasthanam’. The film is being directed by Janardhan Maharshi and it is heard that Aamani has a key role to play in it. The film is generating good interest among the family audience due to the presence of S P Balasubramanyam and K Viswanath in it.

As for Aamani, the cine folks say “She has a very natural beauty on her face and a homely sensuousness. In this film, her role may be very pious but if she still has that same beauty then she is sure to get some offers as character actress.” Anyways, the news of Aamani’s comeback is causing a tingling in many uncles who were her fans during her heydays.

Adhinayakudu inching towards completion

Nandamuri Balayya’s film in the direction of Paruchuri Murali has been tentatively titled ‘Adhinayakudu’. The shooting is almost complete barring a few scenes and these will be filmed near Kurnool from Thursday.That should officially complete the shooting. The official title and the first look will be released soon.

The movie is being produced by M.L.Padmakumar Chowdhary on Sri Keerthi Combines banner and Kalyani Malik is the music director. Hot beauties Saloni and Lakshmi Rai are playing the female leads. The movie is an action entertainer and shows Balayya in three very different and poweful characters.

“A true leader is one who stands by his people through thick and thin and through good and bad.This film will show how such a leader should behave”, says a very confident Paruchuri Murali.

The movie will hit the screens after the devotional magnum opus, Sri Rama Rajyam, which is due on November 10th.

Oosaraverlli gearing up for a massive release

Young Tiger NTR’s big budget action extravaganza ‘Oosaravelli’ is gearing up for a massive release in a few days time. With the industry talk being extremely positive about the film,no efforts are being spared to ensure a grand a successful release.The movie is being released in AP through R.R.Movie Makers and currently,negotiations are on to secure as many theaters as possible for October 6th.

The movie has been doing terrific business even before launch. Distribution rights were picked up by R.R.Movie Makers for a handsome price. Audio and Satellite rights went for princely sums too.

Oosaravelli has NTR pairing up with the voluptuous beauty Tamanna.Stylish director Surender Reddy has directed this film and BVSN Prasad.is the producer. The audio album has been received enthusiastically and some tracks have set the charts on fire.

After a very long time, we have been getting extremely positive feedback about two back to back big films in the Telugu Film Industry and that is a very very good sign for all of us.The commercial success of the movie seems assured.Let us hope ‘Oosaravelli’ shakes the Box Office and re-establishes the true stamina of Telugu Cinema.

Los Angeles Times: 'Dookudu,' the biggest hit you've never heard of

The most popular movies at the multiplex this past weekend included some familiar titles: "The Lion King,"  "Moneyball," "Drive" and "Dookudu: Daring & Dashing."

Doo-wha?

"Dookudu," an Indian cinema offering that blends action, comedy, romance and dance sequences  (don't they always?), scored three of the seven most lucrative engagements around the country, according to the trade newspaper Variety. At a multiplex in Fairfax County, Va., the movie took in a whopping $82,000 over the weekend, a sum surpassed only by a trio of  "Moneyball" engagements (at gargantuan venues such as AMC Lincoln Square and Regal Union Square in Manhattan and the ArcLight in Hollywood).

The Virginia multiplex was an outlet of the Phoenix BIG chain, which programs Indian films along with the "Abductions" and "Dolphin Tales" of the world. (The other two engagements, incidentally, came in Edison, N.J., and suburban Dallas, where the film took in $73,000 and $71,000, respectively, over the weekend.)

Making the feat more striking: "Dookudu" is a Tollywood film, the nickname for the Telugu-language cinema from India's Andhra Pradesh region. While Hindi-oriented Bollywood movies sometimes land on domestic box-office charts, reminding the American film industry of the shadow economy that is Indian cinema in the U.S., it's rarer for a Tollywood film to pull off the feat.

So shadowy is said economy that box-office reporting sites like Hollywood.com did not even receive weekend tallies from the film's distributor (which makes a total weekend tally from the film's 30 screens impossible to report). The distributor did not reply to an email from 24 Frames seeking comment.

[Update, 4:36 pm: Harish Sajja of distributor 14 Reels Ent. tells 24 Frames that the movie has grossed $1.4 million in just three days, thanks largely to word of mouth (and despite the fact that, without subtitles, even many Indians aren't able to understand it). The previous record-holder for a Tollywood film is $1.2 million--over three months. Sajja hopes the movie holds this weekend and stays in theaters through the fall, even though it will have to compete with the glut of American films unleashed in the autumn months."It's a miracle," he said. "Nobody knows the movie is going to cross over like this."]

 Already a hit in India, the film pairs the very popular Mahesh Babu with the single-monikered Tollywood starlet Samantha in a two-hander that clocks in--in true India-cinema fashion--at a lightning-quick 3 hours and 10 minutes.

You can catch a trailer below, complete with "He is daring; he is dashing" tagline and enough quick cuts to make Baz Luhrmann look like Merchant Ivory. (If you want to catch the movie in the Southland, you'll have to head down to Norwalk, where it's screening opposite summer holdovers like "Transformers" and "Bad Teacher.")

So what made "Dookudu" so popular?  According to one Indian cinema website, which cited "sleek action sequences" and entertaining one-liners," it was a triumph of casting as much as anything else.

"Obviously, the most important is the star of the film, Mahesh Babu; then the film is directed by Srinu Vytla, who has earned a name for making mass entertainers [sic]. The presence of popular comedians Brahmanandam and M.S. Narayana in the film is also an asset, and ‘Dookudu’ has a beautiful heroine Samantha Ruth Prabhu, sharing screen space with Mahesh for the first time." 

Well, that's enough for us.

 Couresty:  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com

Bipasha and Rana Daggubati get closer

Queenie Dhody's bash for Paris Hilton in Mumbai was a night full of glamour and glitz, despite the fact that most of Bollywood decided to give it a miss.

Sonakshi Sinha, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Dino Morea and Imran Khan were conspicuous by their absence, while only a few known faces (including Sushmita Sen, Kangana Ranaut, Bipasha Basu, Rana Daggubati, Shazahn Padamsee and Gul Panag) bothered to show up. We were told that the poor star turn out was due to Surinder Kapoor's demise.

However, the guests who did show up were certainly in a mood to party and how!

The moment the American heiress, dazzling in a silver outfit, made her late night entry at the disco at around 1 am everyone flocked around to get clicked with her.

Paris, followed by her entourage, designer Rocky S and Queenie, danced her way to the DJ console, posing for the star struck fans on the way.

Sushmita Sen and Pooja Bedi were caught up in some serious girl talk. Sush was accompanied by a tall and bespectacled mystery man. Gul spent considerable time with photographer Atul Kasbekar.

Kangana, who was earlier caught in a controversy regarding being the face of Paris Hilton's brand of handbags in India, seemed to be completely starstruck. She ensured she got her picture clicked with Paris.

However, the highlight of the night were Bipasha Basu and Rana Daggubati.

While Bips, easily the best-dressed woman of the night in her shimmery white jumpsuit, was happily high and dancing with her girl gang, Rana stuck by her side the whole night.

Though they restrained indulging in any sort of PDA, their chemistry was very apparent. A source says, "Towards the end of the party, Bipasha was in high spirits. Rana was with her throughout giving her company."

The revelry, which went on till the wee hours, came to an end only when the guest of honour decided to retire.

Source: mid-day

Jr NTR's Cheap Begging

There is no doubt in saying that Junior NTR is one of the leading superstars in Tollywood. In a way, his mass appeal is very deep and stands in the league of Pawan Kalyan. However, his recent acts have been raising the eyebrows of many and causing embarrassment to his fans.


The talk is “Well, this is about Junior and his begging Rajamouli to do a film. Agreed that Rajamouli has shown a totally different NTR through his ‘Yamadonga’ but that doesn’t mean Junior has to keep begging Rajamouli so many times. Being a star, he should know to maintain his behaviour.”


The other version is “Given the recent string of flops that Junior has been through, he seems to be pinning all his hopes of bouncing back only through a film by Rajamouli. But then, with a positive talk of Rajamouli on ‘Dammu’ he should have settled. Not sure why he is still chanting the name of Rajamouli and begging him. It looks cheap.”
Courtesy:Greatandhra

Siddhu Cried Like A Child

It is known that a few months ago Siddarth made some grey comments on media and apologized for the same, a couple of days ago. But that didn’t happen easily. A big high drama had run behind Siddhu saying sorry to media. This has come to light little late.

Media channels have taken decision not to publicize any film in which Siddhu works. Dil Raju made many attempts to make Siddhu say sorry to media. But he didn't agree. Dil Raju went serious on Siddhu as well.

In that situation, Prakash Raj intervened and convinced Siddhu. Finally, Siddhu agreed uninterestingly and said 'sorry' to media in a press meet organized at Dil Raju's office. After the Press Meet, Siddhu went inside and broke down into tears. He was angry on Dil Raju for forcing him to do something he hates.

His argument was, "What's wrong in my comments on media when media writes every nonsense about me".

Jeevita On Grease Paint Again

Although Rajasekhar and Jeevita are appearing happy outwardly, they are dumped in heavy debts in reality. They didn't get big money with Evadaithey Nakenti, although that got a hit talk. And they lost big money with Satyameva Jayate. On the other hand they started a nature school which is ending up in losses. They are unable to bear even the building rent.

Hence to cross all these financial barriers, Jeevitha is planning to act again. Jeevitha is also a natural artiste like Jayasudha. She can get under the skin of any character when asked for.

Rajasekhar also agreed for her decision as there is no way. It is known that many producers love to give chances for Jeevitha. But Jeevitha is taking care in choosing the producer as she wishes that should be a grand re entry.

Jayalalitha Enjoyed AVS's Vulgar Joke

The senior Tollywood personality AVS may be a dud when it comes to delivering comedy as a director but he has always been good as an actor. Those who know him say he is double humorous off the sets. This was seen recently at an event and the one to enjoy his joke was the seductive actress Jayalalitha.

All this was happening during the felicitation ceremony for Brahmanandam by Subbarami Reddy’s Kala Parishad. The event took place at Vizag. When AVS took the mike, he recalled a joke about how once he was to be felicitated through ‘Pushpabhishekam’ and instead of the flowers, the person who was supposed to throw the flowers fell from top into AVS’s lap.

AVS said, “As the person fell on my lap, I was suffered a lot with pain in some organs of my body that I cannot name them publicly. They are not functioning even now”.

While this was generating few smiles, the one person who enjoyed it most was Jayalalitha. She was sitting on the stage amongst all celebrities and she enjoyed that joke. However, here is the flip side. Few regulars to such events reveal “Whenever AVS comes onstage, he repeats the same vulgar joke. Maybe that’s the only one he knows. Recently he told the same joke at an event in Ravindra Bharathi. Maybe he thinks people will not know. But he should realize that people watch everything on TV.”

Reel Talk: Jayasudha's Son To Debut

Jayasudha, the senior actress and present MLA is making plans to make her son Neehar debut into films. Jayasudha was a bit dejected earlier considering her son’s over-height (almost 6’7’’) and not so great looks, but now looking at Rana she changed her mind with confidence.

She is at present in touch with the likes of Ramanaidu and Ramoji Rao for introducing Neehar on screen.

So, we are going to see the tallest hero in the history of Tollywood, probably in India as well.

Navadeep: 'I Missed Death- It's My Second Life'

I sit here in shock and write to this to my dear friends!

I woke up today morning to my manager running to my room and shaking me out of sleep and he puts his hand on my head and says god bless you dear you are alive!

I came to know that the flight I was supposed to take today morning and could not because the agent was not available when I called crashed killing 18 people including 10 Indians.

I check my phone to see many messages and calls from friends and family. Now that's literally staring death in its face and escaping it!! they say our whole life flashes in front of our eyes when we are about to die but guess what, now its flashing in slow motion for me as I have all the time in the world to realize what could have happened with my life!!

Sitting here in Kathmandu waiting for my friends to join me for trekking I’m thinking about my life, all the mistakes I have done, all the victories I have had, all the failures I have faced and all the friends I have made!! I have had one lucky life and take this opportunity to once again thank all the people who have been a part of this journey and helped me!!

My parents who have been there through my worst , director Teja for giving me this wonderful film career and the people who have been appreciating my work and giving me the energy to work harder and most importantly to all my friends for supporting me no matter what I did and what I had to go through! I love u all so much and I am where and what I am because of you people!

Realizing how delicate life can be, I promise myself I am going to live a better life, do good, be good, travel more, work more and live life to the fullest every single day-in and day-out!

Love you all!

Navdeep
Actor

Samantha Breaks Kajal's Background

All it takes is one super hit for any heroine to get crazy following. For sometime, they also become the queen of Tollywood. After ‘Pokiri’ industry lifted Ileana and put her on head. Now, Ileana’s graph has come down in Tollywood.

With ‘Magadheera’ Kajal Agarwal became top heroine and all ran after her. Though she retained the top slot for some time, even her graph also fell. The main reason to keep Ileana and Kajal away is their attitude and headstrong nature, as per the cine folks.

With strong talks making rounds like Kajal slapping Naga Chaitanya during ‘Dhada’ shooting, Ileana showed extraas with NTR junior during ‘Shakti’, preference for them reduced.  Some say they may have reached the climax of their peak.

Now, the next blockbuster is ‘Dookudu’ so it is obvious that the focus will be on Samantha. But the big question is, will she be received like that. For her, even ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’ was also a hit and she got decent success with ‘Brindaavanam’. But Industry wise and commercial success wise, ‘Dookudu’ is ruling. So, many are asking - can Samantha take Kajal’s place.

Did Chiru change his mind on Telangana?

Congress MLA from Tirupati K Chiranjeevi, who was the only politician who had openly opposed the bifurcation of the state way back in December 2009 when he was heading the Praja Rajyam Party, now appears to have softened his stand.

It was indicated from Chiranjeevi’s comments before the media, after meeting AICC incharge of AP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi on Monday night. He denied the reports that he had advocated the “Visalandhra” slogan.

“I never campaigned for Visalandhra. It was a media creation,” he said.

Chiranjeevi said he had explained the ground realities in the state and the ongoing Sakala Janula Samme to Azad.

“I only asked the high command to take a quick decision on the Telangana issue and he said the decision would be announced at the earliest. I will abide by whatever decision the Centre takes,” he said.

Apparently, Chiranjeevi seems to have realized that the Telangana demand could not be rejected outrightly, in the wake of the popular upsurge. And now that he is in the Congress party, he cannot antagonize any leader from any region. So, he is not strongly advocating the united Andhra slogan.

Dookudu races past 5 Crores mark in Nizam

Dookudu is turning in a truly stunning performance in the Nizam area. By the end of the fourth day, the collections raced past the 5 Crore mark and our sources inform us that they stand at approximately 5 Crores 60 Lakhs. Dookudu is on track to collect about Rs 7 Crore 75 lakhs in Nizam by the end of the first week.

Mahesh Babu’s telangana dialect and the rib tickling comedy scenes involving Brahmanandam and M.S.Narayana are proving to be the main attractions.

Sreenu Vytla has successfully orchestrated brilliant comedy sequences and they are turning out to be the best in Prince Mahesh Babu’s career. Thaman’s tunes are adding to the movie’s appeal and Samantha’s glamour is providing the necessary oomph.

courtesy: 123telugu.com

Dookudu crosses 1 crore in Vizag

Prince Mahesh Babu’s high voltage action and comedy entertainer Dookudu has been doing phenomenally well across Andhra Pradesh and records are falling by the wayside.The industry is celebrating with joy and happiness as everyone in the film chain is making money, not just the producers. Sources inform us that Dookudu has raked in about Rs 1 Crore 30 Lakhs by the fourth day in Visakhapatnam.

Going by current trends, the movie is on target to cross 4 Crores in Vishakhapatnam. The movie was bought for about Rs 3 Crores. So Dookudu is turning out to be very profitable for its investors.

It has been a while since the industry has seen such collections in all areas of the state.

Courtesy: 123telugu.com

Mahesh cashes in on Balaiah-Jr NTR rivalry

The incorporation of legend actor late N T Rama Rao’s scenes in “Prince” Mahesh Babu’s latest blockbuster movie Dookudu has raised many eyebrows, given the fact that NTR and Mahesh Babu’s father Superstar Krishna were arch rivals during their period.

“Dookudu” director Srinu Vaitla incorporated certain graphics showing senior NTR as the Prime Minister of India in the film; and this attempt has turned out to be a big hit.

The fans of NTR are thronging the theatres to watch their legend actor on the screen once again. It also brought a lot of cheers in Kamma community, for whom NTR stands as an icon.

Now, the story behind this NTR in Mahesh Babu’s film goes like this: It is a known fact in the film industry that Nandamuri family has given a brand image to the Kamma community in the Tollywood, though there are many other actors from that community. Of late, there have been rifts in the Nandamuri family, thanks to the growing popularity of young hero Junior NTR. Because of his facial and acting resemblances with senior NTR, people have started acknowledging him as the true successor of the legend actor.

Obviously, this has not been taken kindly by the Nandamuri family, which has been projecting NTR’s son Balakrishna as the true successor in politics and industry. Balaiah joined hands with his brother-in-law and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and began sidelining Jr NTR. This has led to a sort of cold war between Balaiah and Jr NTR camps.

Of late, Balayya was compelled to postpone the release of his latest film “Sri Rama Rajyam” to November, as Jr NTR had refused to defer the release of his film Oosaravelli. That irked Balayya fans first. And Jr NTR’s move to take over the management of Studio N from Chandrababu’s on Lokesh through his father in law Narne Srinivas was the flash point in the internal struggle.

And this has become a plus point for Mahesh Babu. By incorporating the scenes of senior NTR in the film “Dookudu,” he not only satisfied the Kammas, but also ensured that the film is a big hit!

Unbelievable feat by Dookudu Shocks

Mahesh Babu Dookudu started off on a high note at the box office that many records started to topple right from the first show was screened. This film is setting new records which are unbelievable by any standards. Dookudu is all set to break Magadheera's full run record in overseas in just a week's time.

Dookudu is poised to become the first ever Telugu film to collect over 10 crore rupees in Overseas territory. These mind boggling figures are showing the star power of Mahesh Babu and Telugu cinema alike. Overseas area was not as big as this until Dookudu happened. But with Dookudu it proved that there is so much business which was left untapped all these days.

It is amazing that Overseas area collections would be next to Nizam collections of Dookudu in full run. Dookudu was sold for just over 3 crore rupees for overseas region and the distributors have recovered their investment and are into profits in just three days. This proves that no Telugu hero can come closer to Mahesh Babu particularly in this region. 

Sons gifting Fathers with Dookudu Tickets

Commonality between comedy and sentiment is that both are to bring tears in our eyes. Director Srinu Vytla succeeded in both the angles as strong sentiment in ‘dookudu’ is equally moving the audience as comedy scenes. Especially climax scenes where the responsibility of a son towards father and the love of father on his son are exceptionally captured by the emotional performance of Mahesh Babu and Prakashraj.         Not a big deal that we have seen many movies based on father-son bonding. ‘dookudu’ is different as the closing scene added new dimension to entire flick. One of our sources report that, sons are gifting their fathers with ‘dookudu’ tickets as an expression of their love and affection. What more do we need in proof to say that Mahesh Babu has given a perfect family entertainer.

'Dookudu Tickets' or 'Gold Biscuits'

Media always runs behind TRPs and no wonder that ‘dookudu’ has become a State wide subject along with Political repercussion of Telangana agitation helping TV channels to come up with a record breaking number of ‘Breaking News.’ On the entertainment front, TV9 seems to be giving a boost for the betterment of Tollywood fortunes by intensely promoting ‘dookudu.’   Yes, a special program covered on success of ‘dookudu’ by TV9 has compared the tickets of this film as equivalent to ‘Gold Biscuits.’ With ‘House Full’ boards at theatres and online bookings, definitely ‘dookudu’ is running to high crowds but a comparison with ‘Gold Biscuits’ is more exaggerated. What say folks…?

Piracy Not Stopping 'Dookudu' Collections

It is often heard from many quarters of the producers, directors and actors that the piracy has been eating away a lot of revenue for the Tollywood industry.

Usually, piracy is considered a threat and many take lot of measures and anti-piracy drives to ensure it is controlled.

But it is heard that the producers of ‘Dookudu’ are simply laughing it off and are not talking about piracy at all. Already, some scenes came in internet and online uploading of the movie has been done in few movies. But reports from box office officials say that this has not dipped ‘Dookudu’ collections.

Apparently, all want to come to theatres and watch it. This goes to show that if a film gets good talk then piracy also cannot do any damage. That has already been proved with films like ‘Arundhathi’ ‘Magadheera’ and now with ‘Dookudu’.

Dookudu breaks another record in Nizam

Mahesh Babu’s Dookudu is turning out to be a record breaking hit. After collecting a close to Rs 2 crores on the first day alone in Nizam, the film has shattered another record by the end of its opening weekend. Our sources say that the film has collected a share of around to Rs 4.6 crores in first three days in Nizam, which is humongous. Earlier, S S Rajamouli’s Magadheera had collected a share of close to Rs 4.5 crores in four days in Nizam; however, Dookudu broke the record one day in advance. It looks like there’s no stopping the Dookudu hurricane anytime soon.

Mahesh Babu, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood, Samantha played the lead roles in the film. Srinu Vaitla had directed it and Gopichand, Achanta Ram and Anil Sunkara had produced the film on 14 Reels Entertainment banner. Thaman composed the music and KV Guhan is the cinematographer.

Courtesy: 123telugu.com

Dookudu shakes Chennai Box-office!

Mahesh Babu’s Dookudu is shaking the box-office in Chennai. The film had released in about 17 screens in Chennai and the film reportedly collected close to Rs 15.5 lakhs on first day alone. The response has been terrific over the last three days and by the end of opening weekend, the film collected a nett of Rs 51 lakhs in Chennai alone. Even more interesting fact is that Dookudu is the highest grosser for the September 23-25 weekend in Chennai. The film collected more than a direct Tamil film, Engeyum Eppodhum which had Jai, Sharwanand, Anjali and Ananya in lead roles. Despite being an A R Murgadoss-Fox Star Studios production and garnering critical acclaim, Engeyum Eppodhum managed to rake in Rs 45 lakhs at Chennai box-office in its opening weekend. This is a rarity and certainly a first time in recent years where a direct Telugu film has collected more than Tamil films in Chennai.

Courtesy: 123telugu.com

Dookudu Records

Nizam : 3rd day: 1.3 crores ; Total 3 days : 4.5 crores

Guntur : 1st day 84 lks , 2nd day 46 lks , 3rd day 56 lks – Total: 1.86 crores

East Godavari : 3 days – 88 Lakhs  Gross 1.02 cr

West Godavari : 3 days – 86 Lakhs

Krishna : 1st day 44.3 ; 2nd day 23 ; 3rd day: 27.50 lks ; Total 3 days – 94.8 Lakhs

Kadapa : 3 days share – 72 Lakhs

Kurnool : 3 days gross – 26.44 lks

Ananthapur : 1st day 14.32 lks , 2nd day 5.7 lks , 3rd day 7.70 lks – Total 27.72 lks.

Tenali : 3 days – 20 lks.. Expecting 28 – 30 lks first week (prvs first week record – simha 20 lkhs)

Kakinada : 1st day 8.65 lks , 2nd day 7.10 lks , 3rd day 7 lks – Total: 21 lkhs ( All records Broken in Kakinada ) 

Dookud Review - Reviewed By COOL CAT

Cast : Mahesh Babu, Samantha, Prakash Raj, Suman, Dr Brahmanandam, Kota Srinivas Rao, Sonu Sood, Shayaji Shinde, Nazar, M S Narayana, Dharmavarapu Subrahmaniam, Tanikella Bharani, Giribabu, Subba Raju, Brahmaji, Ajay, Chandra Mohan, Master Bharath, Sonia, Supreeth, Shafi, Aditya Menon, Ijaaz Khan, Vinod Jevanth, Bharath, Siva Reddy, Sudha, Pragathi, Satya Krishnan, Surekha Vani, Rajitha, Vinaya Prasad, Saranya, Baby Shreya Varma, Senthil, Giridhar, Prabhakar, Sravan, Parvati Melton, etc.

Art: A. S. Prakash

Editor: M R Varma

Costumes: Mamata Anand, Roopa Vytla

Choreography: Raju Sundaram, Dinesh, Shobi

Stunts: Vijay

Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastry, Viswa, Bhaskarbhatla

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Rahul Nambiar, Karthik, Rita, Ramya N. S., Navin Madhav, Ranjith, Divya, Ramajogayya Sastry, Koti, Megha, Ranina Reddy, Vardhini Thaman

Camera: K V Guhan and Prasad Murella

Story: Gopi Mohan

Dialogues: Kona Venkat

Music: S. Sai Thaman

Producers: Anil Sunkara, Achanta Gopichand, Achanta Ram

Screenplay - Direction: Sreenu Vytla

• Official Partners: 123Telugu.com, Radio Mirchi, Levi's Jeans, Maa TV, TV9, Aditya Music, Celkon, Image Hospitals, Diamond Towers, Shreyas Group, Life Touch

Only true superstars can elevate a routine script into a blockbuster. With Dookudu, Mahesh has once again proved why he is the ultimate Superstar of Tollywood. This long, mundane, typical Sreenu Vytla - Gopi Mohan - Kona Venkat style of movie has already been seen in its earlier avatars in Dhee, Ready and King. What differentiates Dookudu from those other films is the electric presence of an incomparable mass Superstar who is so natural and at ease with every single emotion he displays on screen - be it comedy, pathos, intensity, romance, stunts, you name it, he does it with consummate ease as if he is living the character. Without Mahesh, Dookudu would have been another average grosser. If this movie prints money at the box offices, the entire credit for elevating the proceeding goes to the single man entertainment icon Mahesh.

Gopi Mohan and Sreenu Vytla spun a yarn about a beloved leader Prakash Raj and his relationship with his son Mahesh, for whom his dad is everything. How Mahesh tackles the injustices done to Prakash Raj and cleverly gets Prakash Raj to unknowingly take revenge on his adversaries is the crux of the story. The script meanders between this core plot and smaller subplots that are linked tangentially to the main plot through an influx of hordes of villains, comedians, family members and hero's colleagues leaving a lot of talented actors with not enough scope to perform as their characters are vaguely etched. The bulk of the characterisation cake goes to Mahesh, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood. Prakash Raj is in his usual elements as the hero's father and Sonu Sood is quickly establishing himself as a performer who is growing from movie to movie, experimenting with different styles. As a middle aged greying villain Sonu equips himself well, but he has a long way to go before he can be considered a replacement for Prakash Raj or Raghuvaran. Samantha and Sonia (Happy Days) have almost equal lengths and they both equip themselves well. Comedy scenes between Sonia and Mahesh are refreshing, while the romance and teasing scenes between Mahesh and Samantha make the Superstar's lady fans swoon vicariously. Some of the best episodes of the film are the early romance scenes between the lead pair but after a point the writers seem to have run out of ideas and lose grip on that angle. More of these scenes in the later part of the film would have elevated the film a lot more.

Mention should be made of Kona Venkat's dialogues and punchlines. While it is a shame that almost all these were leaked out prior to the release of the film, the impact of Mahesh uttering those typical mass masala lines on the big screen is an experience one cannot forget quickly. The ease with which Mahesh naturally delivers these lines in standard and Telangana dialects as if he's used to speaking regularly in Telangana accent is a wonderous exploration of the breadth of talent this Superstar possesses. Flawless. Enthralling indeed. Paruchuri brothers could not have written better lines making Kona Venkat a talent to watch out for.

S.S.Thaman is a revelation. While his score for the tracks were popular even prior to the release of the film, the background score was a revelation of his upcoming talent. The very fact that one cannot really complain about the background score is enough to earn Thaman more films and keep him busy. Photography by Prasad Murella and K.V. Guhan are top notch, especially in the song Dethadi. The locales, photography, dances are beyond compare and are easily worth the price of admission. Vijay and Peter Heins' stunts are excellently conceived. After Pokiri, this is probably the film where there is no single stunt that is unwarranted and out of place in the narration. Editing could have been more crisp. The beginning 15 - 20 minutes of the film were haphazardly edited and cause some confusion in the narration, and portions of the second half could also have been better edited. This is a regular problem in Sreenu Vytla's films and he needs to work on improving this. Among the rest of the technicians kudos go to Shobi for Guruvaram song choreography and Dinesh for Puvai and Dethadi choreography.

This film is an example of what can happen if a Mahesh film is properly scripted with emotional, family, humor and romantic elements with no scope for way out themes and sticking to standard mass masala Tollywood themes. Dookudu re-establishes Mahesh as a mass and class superstar and provides a platform and box office range potential that others will find very difficult to reach if Mahesh continues choosing scripts that are well balanced and entertaining.