Mystery and success
The young and dynamic poster boys Anil and Bhanu are in the news again for their recent poster of Andala Rakshasi . The beautiful design is drawing immense response on Facebook and Anil says, “The actors are newcomers, the hero is a painter and the girl is his vision. We were told not to show the visage of the girl and yet deliver a beautiful yet poetic description through a visual, and thereby arouse curiosity.” Hanumanthu, their close friend is making his debut as a director through this film. Bhanu quips they are currently doing Love Failure , Dhoni , Yevadu , Vennela One And Half , Ookodathara Ullikipadathara , A Routine Love Story , and Poga . He adds that even after Vennela became popular, they had to design the posters without revealing the identity of the artistes, so it had only a few legs wrapped on the bed. It was scandalous but a lot of people talked about it.
Memorable debut
Dusky in complexion and immensely attractive, Suchitra makes her debut as an actor in Ramesh Prasad's movie Rushi directed by newcomer Raj Mudiraj. Not many know that she is ‘Disco' Shanti's sister and she prefers to keep it that way. The model that has a lot of catalogues and ramp walks in Chennai and the popular advertisement for Chettinad Saris to her credit has also completed her masters in Mass Communication and has resolved to give acting a try. Even before her first film is out she has bagged two Tamil movies which are under production. Ask her about the most memorable moment in Rushi and she says, “For a scene in the anatomy room we were supposed to gather near a corpse and I was told it was a fake one. But to my astonishment I saw cockroaches crawling on it and realised it was a real dead body. Don't ask me for my reaction!” Suchitra says she has almost forgotten her name as the unit kept addressing her with her screen name ‘Vidya'.
Looking for depth
For a change, the doctor-turned-actor became a journalist in Raj Mudiraj's debut movie Rushi . Spotted at the preview of Rushi with his family, actor Ravi Prakash says, “It's just a co-incidence I'm playing a scribe in Onamalu and Rushi . I've done police officer roles hundreds of times but the one in Vedam gave me a lot of satisfaction. If you do a role that covers the character in-depth, it gives you a lot of satisfaction. I'm quite happy playing a journalist but would have enjoyed it better if there was more detailing of the character. Being a doctor I enjoyed doing the film that revolved around medicos. When I was working at Gandhi Hospital, people would touch my feet and ask me to save their life, I would feel helpless. The director has brought out the entire reality meticulously and covered many topics in detail, especially Suresh's character that played a cardio- thoracic surgeon but doesn't know the dosage of medicine.”
Fun at every turn
“Punjabi weddings are so much fun and my brother's wedding is on February 6. Don't ask me how much I've shopped. Since I'm a foodie I eat a lot of non-vegetarian. Chicken consumption forces one to exercise so I've taken to eating fish now. I drink 8 to 10 cups of green tea every day and have lost four kilos in two months. Black coffee also helps,” says Ritu Kaur whose new romantic, yet untitled comedy took off recently. Sivaji is again playing her co-star. Her last film was Gurudu with Sivaji and that is yet to release. All this while Ritu was chilling out with her parents, who live in Birmingham. She adds, “When I'm not having fun I read the Bible, I follow it thoroughly though I don't go the church or celebrate Christmas.”
Off the beaten track
The recent entry of Manisha Panchawati, a 23-year-old shooting pictures of heroes and heroines with the ease, comfort, skill of a professional, made for a pleasant sight. She doesn't do press or event, wedding photography, only portfolios of actors. She says, “Men are overly comfortable with me, easily approachable. Women have been fine so far; I expected a lot more of a cold attitude from them, but they have been encouraging. Before the shoot, a little interaction with them helps.” Manisha took up photography after Std XII , but she's been surrounded by cameras ever since her childhood. She adds, “I wanted to be a fashion photographer; I worked with magazines during and after college days and I did celebrity photography too. Now I'm focussing on the Telugu film industry.”
