Konidala Shiva Shankar Vara Prasad  more popularly known to millions of Indians as Megastar Chiranjeevi was born on 22nd August 1955 in Narsapuram, West Godavari Andhra Pradesh.  While Chiranjeevi would be celebrating his birthday tomorrow, the time is just appropriate to have a look at his illustrious career. 

Chiranjeevis initial phase:- Chiranjeevi made his debut in 1978 and attained success almost immediately stringing a sequence of successful films most of which were family oriented themes like Intilo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya which ran for more than a year and eventhough  Chiranjeevi won great critical acclaim for most of his movies by jury and audience alike it was Khaidi which released in 1983 which capitulated him to super stardom and from there on Chiranjeevi never looked back as there was never a lean phase ever in his career.  Chiranjeevi's action packed performance in the blockbuster film Khaidi also set a new trend in Telugu movies as the theme on most of the movies since the release of super success of Khaidi has been on hero in action oriented roles.

Chiranjeevi Delivered hits for more than 25 years:- Chiranjeevi continued delivering hit after hit for more than 25 years and he delivered so many hits it is difficult to recall a particular hit.  Infact it would be easy to count Chiranjeevi's flops because there are hardly any and his flops have collected substantially higher revenue than the blockbusters delivered by other stars.  Some of Chiranjeevi's memorable hits are Mahanagarmalo Mayagadu and Challenge released in 1984.  Adavi Donga in 1985, Kondaveeti Raja in 1986, Pasavadi Pranam in 1987, Manchi Donga, Yamudiki Mogudu, Khaidi No.786 in 1988.  Gang Leader released in 1991 was a landmark film in the history of Telugu cinema as it was one of the biggest ever grossers of all time.  The film also made Chiranjeevi the highest paid actor in Indian films.  Chiranjeevi became the first Indian film hero to be paid more than One Crore for a movie.  It was a remarkable achievement because no regional actor has ever been paid more than a bollywood hero and even though Rajanikath till recently was the highest paid actor the credit should go to Chiranjeevi because it was who he set the trend.

Chiranjeevi has a few firsts to his credit.  In the first place it was Chiranjeevi who introduced break dance to Indian audience and in this regard credit should go to Mithun Chakraborty who introduced dancing to Indian audience when he disco danced his way to million through the block buster Disco Dancer released in 1982.  In an era when fights looked childish to the audience, Chiranjeevi introduced fights in a systematic and stylish way and his dances and fights were a treat to millions of his fans andto those who were not his fans. Chiranjeevi was not just a great actor but a pioneer in many ways who set bencmarks for many.

Chiranjeevi's transition from Dynamic Hero to Mega Star:- Chiranjeevi enjoyed yet another first in his career when the title given to him was changed from time to time in view of his unprecedented success.  While actors like Krishna were conferred the tag  "Superstar" and had on to hold on till retirement fans of Chiranjeevi were never content witha tag because his performances made them rethink and feel disatisfied.  Intially Chiranjeevi's performances earned him th tag "Dynamic Hero".  Fans not content gave him a new nag "Daring Dashing and Dynamic Hero" and subsequently to "Supreme Hero" and finally to "Megastar" which stayed on till he quit films.  While many have been give the tag "Superstar" in bollywood and regional movies Chiranjeevi is the only actor to be conferred the "Mega Star"

Chiranjeevi is a one man army"- Usually exceptional sportsman of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar are referred to as "One Man Army" and if there was a film actor who could be referred to as One Man Army it is Chiranjeevi because the distributors bank soley on him for the revenue and they get many times of what they have invested irrespective of whether the film is a hit which is almost sure and if the film flops which is a rarity.  Chiranjeevi apart from being a brilliant actor is a brilliant dancer and extraordinarily brilliant in stunts and to his credit has performed some real risky stunts in movies.  Chiranjeevi apart from his heroics in movies is a hero is real life as he once saved his co star from near death in a risky stunt in the movie Manchi Donga released in 1988.

Chiranjeevi was a perfectionist and had no competition during his rein at the top:- Many actors are known for being perfectionists but Chiranjeevi went beyond them.  Once actor Nagarjuna remarked that Chiranjeevi was not only particular about perfection in the scenes which involved him but wanted perfection in scenes which involved others in the movie which is a rarity. According to Venkatesh who himelf is a leading actor he said that Chiranjeevi has been the undisputed number one since 1987 till his retirement and it is difficult to imagine that a actor can consistently deliver hits more than 25 years.

Heroines made merry during Chiranjeevi's rein at the top:- Heroines cashed in on Chiranjeevi's popularity and made it big in the industry.  Chiranjeevi and Radha made a perfect pair of on screen lovers while Vijayshanthi and Chiranjeevi made the perfect onscreen couple.  While heroines like Bhanupriya, Radha and Vijayshanthi made the most of being paired with Chiranjeevi, it was Vijayshanthi who was the biggest beneficiary reeling in super hits like Manchi Donga, Mahanagarmlo Mayagadu and Gang leader just to name a few among the many super hits the pair delivered. Chiranjeevi paired up with almost every heroine like Nagma, Soundarya and Ramyakrishna

Lakhs benefited from Chiranjeevis Charitable Trust:- On October 2 1998, Chiranjeevi founded the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust which collects blood and eye from donors.  The Trust has is the biggest in Andhra Pradhesh and lakhs have been benefited from the blood and eye banks.  Chiranjeevi had once famously made a appeal to his fans that he does not want them to waste their blood for him, but would be happier if they can donate that amount of blood to blood banks. 

Padma Bhushan for Chiranjeevi:- Megastar Chiranjeevi was awarded Padma Bhusan, the third highest civilian award in India for his extra ordinary performances in a career spanning three decades and for his unparalleledservices in the field of charity. While many actors have been awarded Padma Shri, Chiranjeevi is among the very few actors to have been awared Padma Bhusan.

The world has seen many greats and almost all of them have blundered in one thing and that is their retirement in timing their retirement from their respective fields but Chiranjeevi has proved to be a glorious exception as he retired on his own terms and that too as the number one.  Chiranjeevi timed his entry to politics at the right time but it was sheer destiny the move did not click because nobody else deserved to be a better Chief Minister than Chiranjeevi. 

                                                                                  RAVANAN -REVIEW

Hi friends here, let us see the review about one of the very high quality film called RAVANAN. This is a bilingual project, where the director Manirathnam, took a lot of effort to make sure that the film is received well all over the world. This film also mad simultaneously in Hindi as Ravan. The most important part of the film is the cinematography and we must give a stand-in aviation to santosh Shivam, who did a stupendous job to make sure that as if we were watching the movie in real time. It was a very chill and  pleasing effect to our eyes. Credit must be given to him. Initially Manikandan was set to be the cameraman, but due to Hindi project, he opted out of the film.

This film has the storyline of Ramaynam and therefore if you expect to watch the movie for story, you can omit that option. But still, this is  very high quality film and it is due to the director and his team crew. Adding to this effort is the presence of AR Rahman and the actors Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek.

Another important aspect of this film is stunt direction .Every part of the stunt in this film is awesome but highlight is the climax fight between dev and ravanan which takes place in the hanging bridge and also the last seen o the film where ravanan alls from the mountain. one thing which adds beauty to the film is the art direction and the selection of the location which shows the entire word that India has a lot o places with scenic beauty .   The motto of the manirathram, ie to take films only in India has paid off, because experts critics from usa have applauded the effects taken by manirathnam for this beautiful film.

Thumps up

1) Location and camera work:

Each and very location in this film amazed us because of its scenic beauty. The major part of the film is taken in the hills of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Santosh sivaam have done a great job with his camera bcause every short chilled our eye.

2) Music:

Two time academy winner AR Rahman has once again proved that he is the best music director in India. Every songs in this film were huge hit especially the song “usure poguthe” sung by karthik has won the hearts of million people.

Thumps down:

Since this story is based on the concept of ramayanam people could  easily able to judge the story line. Another aspect of the film is that the film moves very slowly and lacks life.

Conclusion:

Over all it is a great effort by veteran director manirathnam for taking Indian film to international standard.

The Malayalam film industry

The Malayalam film industry which is based in Kerala also known as “Gods own country” is better known for providing highly talented and gifted actors like Mohan Lal and Mamotty to the Indian cinema. The first ever Malayalam movie “ Vigathakumaran” which also happens to be a “ mute film” was released in 1928. However, it was in 1938 that “ Balan” , the first Malayalam “ talkie” was released. The initial stage of Malayalam cinema was known for extremely talented actors like Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Sheela and Sharadha. Prem Nazir and Sheela also made an entry into the Guiness Record for having acted in more than 100 films together as the main lead. “Chemmen” with Prem Nazir,Sathyan and Sheela in the main lead was the first Malayalam movie to badge the “National award for the Best Film” .

However, it was from the late1980’s, Mohan Lal and Mamotty ,the best ever known actors of Malayalam cinema, started dominating the industry. Though many new faces have come and gone, nobody has succeded so far in getting more recognition than these two superstars. Till date, Mamotty and Lohan Lal continue to be considered as the biggest superstars in the Malayalam industry. Other superstars include Jayaram, Suresh Gopi, Mukesh, Dileep and Prithvi Raj.

 Though in the initial stages, Malayalam movies were well known for depicting real family life and social issues, the Malayalam industry too has undergone many changes. In the early years of 2000’s, slapstick comedies and unrealistic movies were more predominant in the industry. However, with highly appreciated movies like “ Keerthi Chakra” , “ Classmates”, “ Rajamanikyam”, and many other successful movies ,Malayalam cinema has once again come back into full form.

"Association Of Malayalam Movie Artists", better known as 'AMMA", had recently produced a film for the purpose of raising funds for its activities. The movie name which goes “ Twenty Twenty” starred almost all the popular actors of the Malayalam industry and was a huge boxoffice hit.

What is movie ? .. A film ? Movie is a continual play of some moving images on a screen. It may be a cinema or a video or a TV serial or a web video .. any motion picture is considered as a movie. A film is a shooted length originally on a celluloid film, like Kodak film . Generally people called cinemas as movies or films . Cinema came from the word ' kinema ' , means development. Well. .. How to make a movie? Movie making is a combination of three processes.

1. Pre production

2. Production

3. Post production

Pre production :

1. Script:Story is the base for a movie. A movie with a good story without better casting ,without technical excellence can be hit. Movie is visual medium . So..our story must be adapted as script.  Script preparation follows few steps.

1. Main point of the story

2. Story development

3 Story betterment

4. Story line order: Story breaks in some scenes.Generally cinemas have 70 or 80 scenes. Every scene was written in one or two lines.

5. Screen play:  How a scene will be visualized.

6. Dialogues

7. Shooting Script: breaks every scene into some shots .Preparing shooting order.

1. Budget estimation and preparation

2. Actors selections: This is crucial. Only actors will communicate the whole team efforts to the audience 

3. Technicians selections: Director, Cameraman, Music director, Art director, Makeup man, Costume designer, Manger..are the main crew.

4. locations selections: beautifull and suitable locations are essential.

5. Shedule planning : In how many shedules shooting will be done.

6. Preparations for shooting.

2. Production:   Nothing but shooting.Here the director is the key person. A reporter asked Alfred Hitchcock, who directed "psycho" . ' what is the progress of your new movie? 'Hitchcock said, ' completed .,just shooting is the balance. In his sense..preproduction is the key If the pre production is perfect , shooting is very easy.

3. Post production:

1. Editing:In shooting, every shot needs so many takes. Only one is well .remaining are waste. Shots were shooted in irregular order due to shooting convenience. In  editing , Editor and Director removes the wastage and put shots in order .

2. graphic work will be added.

3. dubbing:Experienced dubbing artistes give the voice to artistes' lip in a dubbing room without any noise.

4. Sound effects are added.

5. Re recording /background music is conducted by music director.

6. Voice and effects and music are leveled and mixed by sound engineer

7. Visual part and sound part will be  mixed

8.  Finally our out put movie is ready.