Comedian Mallikarjuna Rao, 56, passed away this Tuesday fighting leukemia. Apart from his movie roles, he was also the general secretary of the Telugu Movie Artists Association and the cultural wing secretary of Telugu Desam Party. As TV channels paid tributes to him, they all mentioned his career of about 375 films that came into [...]
Posts from ‘June, 2008’
Telugu Cinema in the 70s – 3
Continued from Telugu Cinema in the 70s – 2. A director is the most important person behind a movie. It is a director’s judgment and taste that reflects on the screen. A successful director’s choice of actors, writers, musicians, and many other roles can become a trend for the future. During the 70s a few [...]
Where are all the men?
Last week, I was still listening to SPB-Illayaraja songs. Songs in A. Kodandarami Reddy’s abhilASha were among them. The movie has some wonderful songs, but that is not my point. There are three wonderful male characters in abhilASha — CKP Chiranjeevi, Sentry Sarma, and the great criminal lawyer Sarvottama Rao. In fact, there are three [...]
Illayaraja – SPB Jukebox
Last week music fans like me celebrated the birthdays of these two giants by listening to their songs. “Maestro” Illayaraja turned 65 on 2nd June. Happy birthday, Sir. “Balu” turned 62 on 4th June. Happy birthday, Balu. Much has been said about their greatness and influence on Indian cinema music, especially South Indian. Here I [...]