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Niharika Konidela Rocks the Dance Floor on Uncle Chiranjeevi’s Hit Song at Her Sangeet

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Niharika Konidela is all set to tie the knot with fiance Chaitanya JV on December 9. Ahead of the big day, a video of the actress-producer dancing to her uncle Chiranjeevi’s song from Bavagaru Bagunnara at her sangeet function is going viral on social media.

Wearing a green cut-out gown with ruffled shoulders, Niharika rocked the dance floor with her fiance, who wore a cream-coloured embroidered Sherwani. The pair danced to her uncle Chiranjeevi’s popular song from Bavagaru Bagunnara at their sangeet at the Udaivilas Palace in Udaipur.

The sangeet function showed Niharika and Chaitanya dancing and having a gala time with loved ones. Niharika’s outfit was designed by Shantanu and Nikhil. The pre-wedding celebrations started on December 5 and photos are being circulated all over social media.

Chiranjeevi himself shared photos with his niece from one of the pre-wedding functions.

Niharika is the daughter of Naga Babu and the niece of megastars Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan. Her brother Varun Tej and cousins Ram Charan, Sai Dharam Tej, Allu Arjun and Allu Sirish are also actors in Tollywood. The entire Konidela family is in Udaipur for the wedding.

On Monday, Niharika flew to Udaipur with her family and fiancé Chaitanya JV. Brother Varun Tej shared pictures from their flight on social media. Telugu superstar Allu Arjun along with his family flew to Udaipur too to attend the wedding. Arjun posted a string of pictures on his Instagram before boarding the plane with his family.

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Allu Arjun Flies with Family to Udaipur to Attend Niharika Konidela’s Wedding

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Niharika Konidela’s grand wedding celebrations have begun and social media is filled with pictures of her famous family members preparing for the festivities. On Monday, the actress flew to Udaipur with her family and fiancé Chaitanya JV. Brother Varun Tej shared pictures from their flight on social media.

Niharika is the daughter of actor and producer Nagendra Babu. She is the niece of actors Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan. Her brother Varun Tej and cousins Ram Charan, Sai Dharam Tej, Allu Arjun and Allu Sirish are also actors in Tollywood.

Telugu superstar Allu Arjun along with his family flew to Udaipur too to attend the wedding. Arjun posted a string of pictures on his Instagram before boarding the plane with his family.

“Flying together as a family after years . N&C Wedding celebrations begin … #allufamily,” he captioned the image, before talking off earlier in the day.

He shared a picture on board his chartered flight, too, where he is seen playing with his son. “Naughtiest of all,” he wrote.

“Allu Diva” he wrote as caption for a picture of his daughter. He also shared a picture of his wife Sneha and called her a “cutie”.

Niharika, daughter of producer Nagendra Babu and is the niece of southern superstars Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan, is all set to tie the knot with her beau with beau Chaitanya JV on December 9. She has worked in films like “Oka Manasu”, “Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren”, “Happy Wedding” and “Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy”. Chaitanya reportedly works at an MNC in Hyderabad.

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Darbaan Movie Review: This Rabindranath Tagore Drama Adaptation is an Insipid Affair

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Darbaan

Director: Bipin Nadkarni

Cast: Sharib Hashmi, Rasika Dugal, Flora Saini, Harsh Chhaya, Suneeta Sengupta, Varun Sharma

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s stories are universal and have an essential timelessness about them – 0ne of which is Khokababur Pratyabartan (The Return of Little Master). Penned in 1891, this tale was adapted in a 1960 Bengali language movie with the evergreen matinee idol, Uttam Kumar, essaying a loyal servant in a sprawling zamindari haveli in the coal-mining town of Jharia. I have not seen the film, but Zee5 has just begun streaming a Hindi adaptation of the Tagore story, and co-scripted and directed by Bipin Nadkarni, Darbaan (Guard) – that is the title – begins in the early years of the 1970s when the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, nationalised dozens of coal mines, a move that ruined several wealthy private owners.

Nadkarni’s Darbaan begins on a happy note in Jharia with coal-mine owner Naren Tripathi’s (Harsh Chhaya) baby son, Ankul, sharing a warm and affectionate relationship with their darbaan, Raicharan (Sharib Hashmi). But when the mines are taken over by the Government, Tripathi sells his haveli and moves out. Raicharan returns to his wife, Bhuri (Rasika Duggal), and farming in village.

Years later, a grown Ankul buys the haveli back, settles down there and still nursing fond memories of Raicharan, asks him to take care of his little boy. But a tragedy with the child drowning in a swollen river destroys the trust that Ankul and his wife, Charul (Flora Saini), had placed on their darbaan.

Although Tagore’s stories have been made into excellent adaptations for the screen, and they have worked, Darbaan has not aged well. It is disappointing, and some issues appear out of place in today’s times.

For instance, why does Ankul return to Jharia, back into his old haveli? Or, why is Raicharan willing to be enslaved to the third generation? With the plot stretching to 2000 or so, Raicharan’s sense of loyalty, unquestioned and complete, 30-odd years later seems not just odd, but unbelievably farfetched. What is more, this loyalty or sense of submission pushes him towards a supreme sacrifice!

The only redeeming feature in the film is Hashmi, who portrays well the joys and sorrows of being part of a household whose fortunes swing from one extreme to another. Most of the narrative looks too superficial, and the writers have not been able to capture the essence of the times, the regality of the coal-miners’ lives does not come through with any conviction. Certainly, Tagore could not have bargained for this.

Rating: 1.5/5

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Mank Movie Review: A Depressed Hollywood That Created a Masterpiece Called Citizen Kane

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Mank

Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins

Director: David Fincher

David Fincher – known for his psychological thrillers like Zodiac, Gone Girl and Panic Room, apart from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button outside this genre – directs this time an extremely nostalgic film, Mank. About a 1930s Hollywood living in the frightening times of World War II and the debilitating depression, Fincher’s creation from a screenplay by his father, Jack (written a long time ago) is a back-and-forth narration of a tinsel town gingerly stepping from a world of silent cinema into one of cacophonous sounds. In a way, Mank reminded me of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, which though touted as a story of Roman Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate, was mostly about the coming of television and the jitters it caused to theatres.

Coincidentally, the cinema industry today is in disarray as well, given the destructive Coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of men and women working in showbiz have lost their livelihoods, and in Mank, we see Louis Mayer (played by Arliss Howard) of MGM pleading with his employees to take a pay cut. I do not want to lay off any one of you, he says, and offers to restore their full salaries in eight weeks. It will pass in no time, he adds to cheering workers.

Things are not as easy or simple today, but, well, Mank actually is about how Herman J. Mankiewicz aka Mank (Gary Oldman) wrote the script for a movie that is considered the ultimate in cinema – Citizen Kane. Helmed by Orson Welles (Tom Burke gets just a cameo), it is even today a Bible of sorts for writers and directors. However, despite several Oscar nominations, it won just a single trophy, Best Original Screenplay that was shared by Mank and Welles.

A true ode to a Hollywood that once was with gigantic studios and their heads, who were truly mughuls of cinema, Mank, now streaming on Netflix, is almost art in black and white, and its story nudges us towards a tight deadline which Mank is given to write Citizen Kane. With his leg in plaster after an automobile accident and battling a drinking problem, Mank dictates the script to his secretary, Rita Alexander (Lilly Collins) – and she has a hell-of-a-time getting the writer to stay off booze and, well, write!

This is the crux of the plot which is enriched by a whole lot of Hollywood happenings – bickering, denial of credits to writers (don’t we know that in India) and rivalries between studios. Interspersed into all this is the keenly fought American presidential elections (Mank gets one more point here having opened at a time when we saw the big fight between Biden and Trump).

Attractively photographed and impressively mounted, Mank also stands out for Oldman’s brilliant piece of performance. He is entirely convincing, and his callous arrogance costs him just about everything. He is irreverent to the core, and so damn undisciplined. Would anyone, anyone tolerate this today? Hollywood was actually kind to him.

However, Mank will appeal only to a niche set of viewers; those who have some idea who Mayer was or, for instance, Irving Thalberg. And very, very few would have even heard of Mank.

Rating: 4/5

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Prabhas to Unleash His Dark Side in New Pan-India Film Salaar, Makers Release Intense Poster

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South star Prabhas seems to be on a roll. The actor already has two films in the making, and a third has just been announced. After Adipurush and Radhe Shyam, Prabhas fans will see him in an underworld action thriller called ‘Salaar’.

Produced by Vijay Kiragandur and directed by Prashanth Neel, the film will see Prabhas unleash his dark side, portraying a violent character. The makers have shared the official poster of the film, presenting Prabhas in an intense avatar, sporting a new hairstyle and posing with a gun.

Some days ago the production house had made the official announcement and revealed that this would be a wholesome Indian film catering to audiences pan-India. Hombale Films have earlier produced films like ‘Raajakumara’ and ‘KGF’.

Sharing his excitement about the project, director Prashanth Neel shared, “I’m extremely thrilled to join hands with Vijay Kiragandur and our very talented Prabhas. We were in talks for quite some time about the project and now when it’s finally happening, we are all geared up to present one of a kind actioner to our audiences. They are definitely going to see Prabhas in a never seen before avatar, which am confident cinema fans will love. Hombale Films have always backed solid stories and given blockbusters like KGF and Raajakumara, hence this is going to be bigger than anyone has ever seen. I’m really honoured to be directing the film.”

In addition to this, Prabhas stated, “I’ve always wanted to work with Hombale Films and having Prashanth Neel as the director for our film, I don’t think there can be a better and more exciting opportunity for me as an actor. This is a very exciting film and my character is extremely violent, so this is something I haven’t really done before. It’s a Pan-Indian film and I can’t wait to be on the sets already.”

The film is expected to go on floors next year.

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