With 'Desamuduru' & 'Pokiri' running packed houses Puri Jagannadh has climbed the top spot among the directors of Tollywood.

Sources inside the film industry suggest that this director is all set for doing his next film with Naga Chaitanya, the son of Akkineni Nagarjuna. This will be Naga Chaitanya's debut film. The movie will be made under his banner 'Vaishno Academy'.

The shooting for this new project will begin in July. The director holds credit for introducing many new heroes who are doing a good job in the film industry. He introduced Mahesh Babu in 'Pokiri' & Allu Arjun in 'Desamuduru' with novel charaterizations and both films were runaway hits.

Jagan also takes credit for introducing the megastar's son Ram Charan, who was widley accepted by the audience. The director has plans to introduce the son of Nagarjuna too in a fresh role. Right now this director is busy filming 'Bujjigadu- made in chennai'


M S Raju to produce Balayya's next?

Producer M S Raju had enjoyed cult status until a few years ago. He made stars (Prabhas, Siddardh, Trisha), introduced directors and technicians (Prabhudeva, V N Aditya, Shoban, Devi Sri Prasad) and gave life to some others.

He was revered in awe. But his recent flops and failing in his maiden directorial venture changed everything. M S Raju who was once hailed for guts to tread different path has called off all his productions and is planning to bounce back with a big-budget movie. Hence, he has reportedly tied up with director Gunashekar who delivered biggest blockbuster - Okkadu.

Her last film in Telugu was Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006). The prestigious National Award is instituted in the memory of Late NTR by Andhra Pradesh Government.

Both Gunashekar and M S Raju need a big hit to revive their lost glory and they joined hands again to weave magic on silver screen. Buzz is that hero Balakrishna who immensely liked Gunashekar's script has finally given nod to this project. Earlier Gunashekar planned this film with another producer but Balayya was not convinced then. With M S Raju stepping into this, the film seems to be materializing.

Sources say, a formal announcement will be made in this regard on May 10th, coinciding with M S Raju's birthday.


Waheeda Rehman gets NTR award; Raghupathi for Ramanaidu

Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman and Veteran producer D Ramanaidu bagged prestigious NTR National award and Raghupathi Venkaiah award respectively. Andhra Pradesh Government today (March 31st) announced the awards for year 2006.

Born in Hyderabad in 1936, Waheeda Rehman began her career in Telugu films(Jaisinha and Rojulu Maarayi) and later went on to become one of the top actresses in Hindi film industry in 50's and 60's. Guru Dutt spotted her and the duo was considered as hit pair in those days.

Her last film in Telugu was Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006). The prestigious National Award is instituted in the memory of Late NTR by Andhra Pradesh Government.

Raghupathi Venkaiah Award was announced for veteran producer D Ramanaidu towards his contribution to the development of Telugu Cinema. Andhra Pradesh Ramanaidu holds Guinness record for producing highest number of films.