Chandrababu emerges NDA’s standby PM candidate

HYDERABAD: In an unexpected development that is raising eyebrows, Telugu Desam Party(TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu is emerging as the NDA's consensus candidate asPrime Minister in the event of the BJP failing to get more than 200 parliamentary seats on its own, revealed top leaders privy to the development.

Leaders said along with a formal pre-poll alliance between BJP and TDP, the formal announcement on Naidu emerging as the dark horse will come after Parliament session ends. With more than 200 seats on its own Narendra Modi will be the clear PM favorite. "It would be difficult for us to see Modi at the helm in case we fail to cross the 200 mark. While we are hopeful of getting more than 200 seats, it is practical to have plan B and leaders like Chandrababu Naidu would be the natural choice, going by his acceptance," said a top BJP leader who commented that he would be expelled by his party if he is named.

Naidu is likely to contest the parliamentary polls either from Malkajgiri in Ranga Reddy district or Hindupur in Anantapur district.

"It is for sure that Chandrababu Naidu is going to play a pivotal role in government formation at the Centre. And we are not denying the fact that he is the prime ministerial candidate. As the dynamics of the pre-poll coalition are being worked out, Naidu rightfully tops the list of consensus candidates for the PM post," said senior TDP legislator A Revanth Reddy.

While he himself is among the aspirants to run for the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri, Revanth Reddy said he would work for Naidu in the constituency if he prefers to contest from that constituency."As it is likely that Naidu would contest from Malkajgiri, I will be one of his campaign managers," added Revanth Reddy.BJP leaders said it was important that Naidu be on their side in the post-poll scenario while the party faces an uphill task to win over the coalition partners with Narendra Modi being the prime ministerial nominee.

Veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told TOI that the coalition scenario would get clearer once there was clarity on Telangana, which he expects after the Parliament session ends. "We are waiting for the Telangana issue to be settled before going for the formalities of the coalition. Andhra Pradesh is one of the most important states for us because we have strong old partners here," said Venkaiah Naidu.BJP insiders said internal political dynamics in the party was also aimed at reining in Modi. They said Naidu's prime ministerial candidature was strongly being projected by the camps opposed to the Gujarat chief minister. They said leaders including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, and Arun Jaitley are in touch with Naidu.

As Naidu called on Advani and Sushma in Delhi on Tuesday, the BJP leaders said there was more to the meeting as it is being perceived as the TDP leader's bid to stop the Congress from going ahead with the bifurcation of AP for its political gains. .Sources said Naidu was in touch with the JD(U), which is vehemently opposing Modi as prime minister

Going by the positive response he was getting, the BJP leaders said Naidu would prove a good leader to rope in the coalition partners in the post-poll scenario.As united AP has 42 seats, the TDP is hopeful of emerging the single largest party in Seemandhra, which sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The party is pinning its hope on Chandrabau Naidu who is claiming to have turned the tide on the division issue by convincing the BJP not to support the Telangana Bill in its present form.

Congress eyeing a 'loyal' Lokpal: BJP

NEW DELHI: After opposing senior advocate PP Rao's inclusion in the Lokpal selection panel, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swarajon Tuesday said she would request PresidentPranab Mukherjee to convince the government that the panel be formed unanimously and not by majority vote. 

This comes after she gave a written dissent on Rao, who was recommended as an eminent jurist on the panel by PM Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Chief Justice of India's nominee Justice H L Dattu. Swaraj's objection to Rao was that "he was too much of aCongress loyalist," which she communicated to the PM at Monday's meeting. 

While a four-member panel headed by the PM recommends the name of an eminent jurist to be part of the selection committee to pick the Lokpal, the President appoints the member. 

Unhappy with her experience at a meeting to choose the eminent jurist on Monday evening at Singh's residence, Swaraj said, "They (Congress) want to pack this body with their loyalists." 

Swaraj told reporters a meeting was called at 8 pm on Monday. At the meeting, a list of seven names that included Fali S Nariman, K Parasaran, P P Rao, Mohan Gopal, Chandrashekhar Pillai and two others were taken up, but the PM suggested Rao on his own and Kumar and Dattu accepted. Swaraj objected saying she thought Rao was not in the category of eminent jurist, so if it had to be from the list it could be Parasaran. 

Swaraj said the PM insisted that she agree to Rao, but she told him that he was known to be too much of a Congress loyalist. So when the panel went ahead and recommended Rao, Swaraj ensured that her dissent and that she favoured Parasaran was registered. Swaraj also suggested that the decision be delayed by a couple of days and the shortlist expanded to include people like Soli Sorabjee and Harish Salve among others, she told the media on Tuesday. 

"I feel that when the country is finally getting a Lokpal after 40 years, it should be a unanimous decision. It looks like the Lokpal will also be chosen in a manner which would ensure that he or she is a Congress loyalist. It is sad since people will have no faith in the Lokpal chosen in this manner." 

'Kochadaiiyaan' Audio Launch

The audio launch of magnum opus "Kochadaiiyaan" is expected to be a grand affair with the presence of some of the Indian film industry's biggest stars.

According to reports, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan will be launching the film's audio at a grand event to be held at Satyam cinemas on 9 March. "Kochadaiiyaan" lead actors Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone are likely to attend the event. Besides these stars, film's music composer AR Rahman, director Soundarya and other cast, crew members are expected to be present at the occasion.

The epic drama is one of the most-awaited films of 2014. The film was expected to hit screens in 2013, but its release has been delayed multiple times owing to the post-production work. Earlier, the audio launch was supposed to be held on 28 February, but it was postponed as the team was readying the film's trailer, which is likely to be unveiled at the audio launch function.

"Kochadaiiyaan" marks the directorial debut of Soundarya, who is the younger daughter of Rajini. The film is touted to be India's first 3D project that uses motion capture technology.

Everything is fine between me and Trisha : Nayanthara

There was a time when they were considered rivals, but all that's history. Nayanthara and Trisha are the best of friends now, the actresses clarified in a joint interview recently.

Interestingly, the duo has many common friends in South Indian cities and does not let films interfere their chats or togetherness. Nayanthara considers Trisha to be the biggest survivor in the industry and says that she is quite proud of her friend. When their careers started, the insecurity and immaturity came in the way of forming a good friendship. However, once they spoke face to face, everything was fine, reveals Nayanthara.

Trisha doesn't want to talk about Now Rana

"There's always a right time to speak about a relationship," says actress Trisha when asked to comment about her rumoured relationship withRana Daggubati, in a chat with Hyderabad Times 

Actress Trisha Krishnan,who's busy doing Tamil films, is out of action in Tollywood for a while now. However, the actress says she is still interested in Tollywood and is also in favour of acting in Telugu films if anything interesting comes her way. "To be honest, it's not that I'm intentionally away from Telugu films. 

At one point, when I was doing lot of Telugu films, people from Tamil industry started asking why have I slowed down on doing Tamil movies and it's vice versa now. Maybe, since I stay in Chennai,my absence is not felt there, but it's noticed here. See, there's a time when you particularly do more films in certain language and I did it too. And at this point, after spending 11 years in the industry, I think I have the right to pick and choose. Thus, I want to do right kind of films in Telugu too." 

Well, it seems that the actress has got the right script and is currently working on MS Raju's next female-oriented Telugu-Tamil bilingual RUM (Rambha Urvasi Menaka). "It's perhaps the first time I am acting in a women-oriented movie. It's the story of a girl and a villain. The plot has its lighter side too. There is an element of drama as well as thrilling content." The actor is quick to add that this is her first shot at action. "I've attempted a bit of action in this film for the first time. It's not that I'm a fighter or an action person, but by default I was forced to do lot of action scenes that too in an intense way. I just hope people like it. We've finished shooting for the first half and waiting to start the second part," she says. 

Although Trisha's Bollywood debut with Priyadarshan's Khatta Meetha bombed at the BO, she's gung-ho about giving Bollywood another shot. "I did not do Khatta Meetha because I wanted a big launch in Bollywood or prove something. I did it for Priyan sir who had launched me in the South. However, if I get another Bollywood film with a good script, I'll do it. Likewise, I'll be making my Kannada film debut with the remake of Mahesh Babu's Dookudu. I enjoy doing different cinema, whether it's Bollywood, Tollywood or any other industry, doesn't matter. I want to do anything that works for me and, if required, I'll slow down my work also," the actress reveals. 

More than her work, Trisha has been in news for reportedly dating Rana Daggubati. Quiz her on this and she quips, "I don't want to comment anything on it right now. When it comes to any kind of relationship, there's always a right time and when that time comes, I'll definitely speak up." 

There was a time when Trisha and Nayanthara were considered rivals, but that's history now. The friendship between the two is making a lot of heads turn these days. "Nayan is a very dear friend and I've known her for a very long time.There was a time when both of us were busy in our work and a lot of misunderstanding was created by media. But we never had time to clear those rumours. She is still busy and so am I. But we have our own life and we don't care about such talks. Still, if we are in the same city,we catch up and it's fun to be with her. She's someone I can relate to a lot."

It's a known fact that many directors have tried to persuade Trisha's mother Uma Krishnan to act in films, but she has always turned down such offers saying that her daughter's career comes first. "Well, it's true that she keeps getting offers,but it's her choice to accept or reject them.Maybe she's not comfortable in doing them. However, she has shot an ad with me," she signs off.

Ram playing an NRI?

Mega Power Star Ram Charan has been seen sporting a pony tail off late. While it has been reported that it's a part of the actor new look for his upcoming film to be directed by Krishna Vamsi. It is reliably learnt that the actor will be seen playing a NRI in the movie and will be seen sporting a very stylish new look.

 

While the actor is still fine tuning the look for the movie, it is being speculated that the filmmakers are hoping to zero in on a new look in time to release the first look of the movie on the matinee idols birthday which falls on March 27. 

The cast and crew of the movie are presently shooting in Rameswaram. Actor Srikanth is playing Ram Charan's uncle in the movie which stars Kamalinee Mukherjee and Kajal Agarwal as well. 

Director Krishna Vamsi has stated that the movie will be complete family entertainer. Ganesh Babu is producing the movie on Parameswara Arts Production banner.

Chiranjeevi ask's 'Where is Pawan?'

Edi Kalyan Edi? — That was what Chiranjeeviasked when he started speaking at the launch of Varun Tej's debut film on Thursday in Hyderabad. Pawan, who made a blink-and- miss appearance at the muhurat shot to bless his nephew, was nowhere to be seen. Earlier, Pawan was spotted sitting on the staircase in a pensive mood before Chiranjeevi arrived at the venue. Later, Chiranjeevi carried on speaking regardless.

While many expected the entire 'Mega Family' — with the exception of Ram Charan who was out on shooting schedule — on one stage to usher in the filmi entry of Naga Babu's son; Pawan's detached behaviour sparked off speculation about a "rift between the Mega brothers." Unlike several occasions in the past, the duo didn't strike a pose together for the cameras, which fuelled more speculation about what caused the alleged rift.

Incidentally, Pawan Kalyan was quoted as saying, "Chiranjeevi is like my guru" just few days ago in an interview. Our guess is as good as yours about what's happening in the Mega family. Watch this space for more.

Nisha Agarwal denies rumours about Kajal's boyfriend

Kajal Aggarwal has been trending online....er reports of her alleged boyfriend rather. "Caught on camera: Kajal with her boyfriend in Dubai!", "Kajal dating a Mumbai based businessman", "Wedding bells for Kajal?", "Kajal dating secretly," "Kajal in love" screamed headlines of gossip websites all courtesy: suspected leaked pictures of Kajal and her supposed boyfriend speculated to be the head of an interior designing company based in Mumbai. While the reports created a furore online, Kajal as well as her manager were unavailable for comments. 

Refusing to join the issue, Kajal's sister Nisha said: "My sister is deleting these kind of photographs from her timeline. Yes, she has friends, but nothing more should be read into this." Nisha was dismissive of the claims made by the websites that alleged that the actress was meeting her boyfriend only outside India to keep her affair a secret, and that her parents had agreed to her wedding as well. 

Claiming that the man in the picture "is a friend" Nisha said, "Kajal has a huge circle of friends with whom she's posed for many such pictures. Sorry to burst your bubble, but please rai ka pahad mat banana (don't make a mountain of this molehill). My sister would be the first one to come out and admit if she is indeed dating anyone. She was the first to announce the news of my engagement." 

I'm not desperate to get married:- Kajal Aggarwal

Actress Kajal Aggarwal is in the news now for performing the Rahu Ketu pooja at Sri Kalahasthi temple recently. And the buzz was that she sought divine intervention because she wanted to do 'parihara' as her younger sister, actress Nisha, got married ahead of her, and some of her recent works in films have come in for criticism. 

Ask the actress about this, and she laughs, "Some of my cousins from the US, who had come down for the wedding, wanted to visit Tirupati, and I went to the temple along with my family. Sri Kalahasthi is just an hour from there, and we thought it would be good for us to go there as well. We went as a gang, and performed small poojas. This has nothing to do with my characters in the film not being appreciated or that my films weren't doing well. I'm very happy that my sister got married to the guy she had been dating. And, I'm not desperate to get married. I'm happy where I am." 

But, does criticism about her performance in her recent films or the fate of her films at the BO affect her? "I enjoyed shooting for all the films that I have done and have no regrets. In Jilla, I played a cop for the first time, and had the opportunity to work with a legend like Mohanlal and an actor like Vijay. I can't argue with the director and ask or more screen time because the film is his vision. And, in All In All Azhagu Raja, I had a full-on comic character, something that I haven't given a shot at before," she justifies, "Criticism doesn't affect me — it actually helps me understand what the audience like. Everyone makes mistake, and it's important you learn from them." 

After Singham and Special 26, the actress hasn't signed any film in Bollywood. Why's that? "I did get offers, but nothing was appealing. I currently have two scripts in hand, and I'll decide on them soon," she states. 

Back in Tamil, she will be starting work on her film with Balaji Mohan. "It's a fun romantic film. I play a city-bred girl in it, and we are planning to go on floors with the film from May," she says, "I also have a film in Telugu with Krishna Vamsi and Ram Charan. I've worked with the two of them earlier, and it will be fun to shoot with them together." 

There was also a buzz that she was in talks to do Nanbenda with Udhayanidhi Stalin, a role that finally went to Nayanthara. "Film for which you are in talks might not always materialize. I was in discussion to do Udhay's fillm, but it didn't work out. Similarly, I was approached for a film with Kamal Haasan long back, but I couldn't do it because of date issues. These things keep happening," she signs off. 

Bhumika delivers a baby boy

In her first official interview since becoming a mother, actress Bhumika Chawla shares the joys of motherhood. A Hyderabad Times exclusive 

Not many people know that Bhumika Chawla was a few months pregnant when she shot for Allari Naresh's Laddu Babu. It's something we discovered, much to our surprise, only after she revealed it herself, when asked to share an anecdote about shooting for the movie. So when she told us: "I've just had a baby...it was two weeks ago...it's a boy," her supposed "come-back movie" became incidental to the scheme of things. 

Sharing her first reaction on seeing her baby she says, "I was super excited and had this rush of emotions. Both Bharath and I had tears of joy. It's the most joyous, fulfiling feeling... the sheer joy of it all is quite overwhelming." Bhumika reckons becoming a mother is akin to having a rebirth. 

"Just as a mother gives birth to a child, I believe the child also gives birth to a mother.Along with the child, the mother is also born, it's a new beginning," she says. "It's been a beautiful journey right from pregnancy to becoming a mother. It's hard to find words to describe the gamut of emotions I'm going through," she shares, adding, "I guess sleepless nights go hand-in-hand with motherhood. But it's just the most incredible feeling in the world." 

However, the actress is unsure about who the boy resembles more, her or hubby Bharath Thakur. "I don't know. He's a combination of both of us I guess," shares the actress who is in the process of choosing a name for the newborn. "We will have the official namakaran ceremony in a couple of days. Still haven't zeroed in on the name," she says. 

Bhumika is unwilling to share pictures of her baby. "We will share the pictures in the due course of time, for now, I will share the most recent picture of mine," she says politely turning down our request for a picture. 

While it's obvious that her life will revolve around her baby from now on, Bhumika believes she will never give up acting. "I've never really stopped working. I worked during my pregnancy. Last year, when I was working on April Fool, everyone asked me if this was my comeback film. I never really left to make a comeback.Well, the movie did not release and guess people have been asking me the same question," she says. As they say, once an actor, always an actor. 

Her role in Laddu Babu will be her first appearance on the silver screen since becoming a mother. "It's a truly different movie and I've worked with Ravi Babu earlier, so it was a familiar territory. I can't reveal much about my role. All I can say is that it is going to be a very important role in the film. I thoroughly enjoyed myself working on the movie and I hope the audiences like my performance," she says, signing off.