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Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu has cryptically clapped back at Telugu producer Chitti Babu who claimed that her career “as the heroine is finished and she cannot get back to stardom” and should accept whatever roles are to her and not be “selective.”

The actress had shared a post on her Instagram Stories, which got her fans scratching their heads believing that it was a jibe at Chitti Babu.

In a now-deleted Instagram Story, Samantha shared a post revealing that she was searching “How do people have hair growing from ears” on Google.

The answer was because of “increased testosterone.”

She shared the screenshot of her search along with the hashtag, “#Iykyk”.

Social media users believe that it was a jibe at Chitti Babu.

Chitti Babu had claimed that her career as a “heroine is finished and she cannot get back to stardom. She should continue her journey doing the offers she gets.

TollywoodWhile most mainstream Telugu films are commercial family dramas or action entertainers that rarely represent such issues, a handful of them have attempted to do so.Rajeswari ParasaDiscrimination exists in society in various ways, be it caste, colour, class or gender. While most mainstream Telugu films are commercial family dramas or action entertainers that rarely represent such issues, a handful of them have attempted to do so in the recent past. While not all of them may have been successful in getting it right, the effort still points to an interest among young filmmakers to discuss these issues on screen. Interestingly, most of these films are set in the past, from the '70s to the early 2000s. Here are six such films that have generated discussions among the Telugu audiences in recent times. Palasa 1978: This film, which released in 2020 in theatres, addresses caste-based discrimination. Directed by Karuna Kumar,...

Bigg BossIn a promotional video released by the show, Archana was seen arguing with Suresh Chakravarthy while interacting with the other housemates.Digital NativeScreenshotThe latest development in Bigg Boss Tamil 4 is that television host Archana Chandoke entered the Bigg Boss house as a wildcard contestant on Thursday. A promotional video was released by the show, featuring Archana's entry into the house. In another video, she is seen getting into an argument with Suresh Chakravarthy while interacting with their housemates. She is also seen giving titles to the housemates based on their behaviour in the house in the past week. Archana’s television debut happened with Sun TV's Comedy Time, along with Chitti Babu. The comedy show was a huge hit and Archana gained much recognition for her stint in it. After that, she was seen in shows like Ilamai Puthumai on Sun TV, and later switched to Vijay TV...

Kollywood The multi-starrer project also casts an all-female lead cast featuring Aishwarya Dutta of 'Bigg Boss' fame, Ashna Zaveri and Subiksha in the lead roles.Digital NativeVaralaxmi Sarath Kumar has been on a signing spree. 2017 was a good year for Varalaxmi with notable performances in films such as Vikram Vedha, Nibunan and Sathya. In Sathya, the Tamil remake of Telugu thriller Kshanam, she played a negative character and her performance impressed audiences and critics alike. In 2018, she impressed with four releases including two big ticket projects such as Sandakozhi 2 and Sarkar. Incidentally, she had a character with shades of gray in Sandakozhi 2 which fetched her positive reviews.She also made her television debut with a show called Unnai Arindhaal on Jaya TV, which discuses problems in the society and also help people introspect themselves. Proving herself by going against the grain and picking unique roles, Varalaxmi...

TollywoodThe Bollywood star has said that Ram Charan is a Mega Combo of Superstar and Superperformer. Digital NativeDigital NativeRangasthalam, which hit the silver screens on March 30, has turned out to be one of the biggest hits in the Telugu film industry. While the box office collections are soaring, the film’s positive reviews and good word of mouth is helping it to reach greater heights. While Ram Charan’s uncle and the Power Star of Tollywood Pawan Kalyan who was at the special screening of Rangasthalam recently praised the team for coming up with a blockbuster hit, the latest to join the bandwagon happens to be the Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi. He had tweeted: “Chitti Babu sound engineer!!! So happy for my bro #RamCharan & the Massive Blockbuster success of #Rangasthalam! What a brilliant transformation! You are a ‘Mega’ combo of superstar & superperformer! God bless, proud of u man! Big congrats to the super talented team! Take a bow! (sic).” Chitti Babu sound engineer!!! So happy for my bro #RamCharan & the Massive Blockbuster success of #Rangasthalam!What a brilliant transformation! You are a ‘Mega’ combo of superstar & superperformer! God bless, proud of u man! Big congrats to the super talented team! Take a bow! pic.twitter.com/pVB5W4w05B — Vivek Anand Oberoi (@vivekoberoi) April 13, 2018 Rangasthalam, according to trade sources, has collected Rs 175 crores worldwide and is still going strong at the box office. The film recorded as the second biggest hit of Telugu cinema, next only to SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali. Following this, the film is all set to be dubbed into several Indian languages - Malayalam, Tamil, Bhojpuri and Hindi Several other languages are under consideration as well. The film was bankrolled by Y Naveen, Y Ravi Sankar and CV Mohan under the banner Mythri Movie Makers on a budget of Rs 60 crores. Reports are that the film’s theatrical rights had fetched its makers close to Rs 80 crores and it earned its distributors about Rs 110 crores, which means it has earned a profit of Rs. 30 crores for its distributors. It may be noted here that the film was distributed by Ram Charan’s Konidela Production Company. The film, directed by Sukumar, stars Ram Charan Teja and Samantha Akkineni as the lead pair with Aadhi Pinisetty, Anasuya Bharadwaj and Jagapati Babu also included to the star cast. Devi Sri Prasad had composed music for this venture with R Rathnavelu being its cinematographer and Navin Nooli as the editor. (Content provided by Digital Native)...

TollywoodAs the feisty Rama Lakshmi, Samantha proves that she isn’t going to disappear or be relegated to ‘sister’ roles anytime soon. Sowmya RajendranWhen Samantha and Naga Chaitanya announced their decision to get married last year, Samantha said that film offers suddenly began to dry up. Among the top ranked heroines in the Telugu and Tamil film industries today, Samantha made it clear that she wasn’t calling it quits only because she’d made an important decision in her personal life. With Rangasthalam, the actor has sent out a strong message that not only is she here to stay, she isn’t going to be relegated to the ‘sister’ and ‘mother’ roles anytime soon. Directed by Sukumar, the Telugu film, which is set in the ‘80s and stars Ram Charan and Samantha in lead roles, has gone on to become a blockbuster. The long-held assumption that the audience cannot accept a married woman playing another man's heroine on screen has been rubbished, with Samantha's character winning favour with viewers. Unlike most mainstream Telugu films which barely have a role for the heroine, Samantha in Rangasthalam plays a feisty Rama Lakshmi who doesn’t disappear after a song and dance routine. One can ask why our filmmakers continue to cast fair-skinned women with tan make-up in such roles, instead of selecting someone who looks the part – but that’s a debate for another day. When Rama Lakshmi spots Chitti Babu (Ram Charan) ogling her as she works in the fields, she has no qualms about taking off her half-saree and asking him what he’s looking at. The scene description might sound sleazy but the effect of it is not – Samantha’s stride and confident body language ensure that she’s in control of what’s happening. An actor who is mostly known for playing “glamorous” roles (a pity, considering she has proved that she can perform with films like Eega), Samantha has more to do in Rangasthalam than make cutesy faces. The scene when she hands a bigger bottle of poison to her father, who threatens to commit suicide if she walks out of her wedding, is among the best moments in the film. Interestingly, Rangasthalam was launched by Chiranjeevi, veteran actor and Ram Charan’s father, in February 2017, soon after Samantha and Naga Chaitanya got engaged the previous month. Usually, a woman actor’s commitment to marriage would sound the death knell for her career. This is especially true in the south Indian film industries where very few women actors since the ‘80s have continued to act in lead roles after marriage, unlike a Savitri or Kr Vijaya. You can count the names like Rima Kallingal, Asha Sharath and Amala Paul (who later divorced) on your fingers. Most times, heroines decide to get married at the fag end of their career or quit if they happen to be at their peak. A few like Jyothika and Manju Warrier have since made successful comebacks after a long break. None of Samantha’s contemporaries and competitors in the Tamil and Telugu industries like Anushka Shetty, Nayanthara, Rakul Preet Singh, Kajal Aggarwal, Regina Cassandra, Nithya Menen and Tamannaah are married. Shriya Saran, who isn’t quite in the same league as Samantha any more, is the only exception. Most male actors who play the lead, on the other hand, are married and this isn’t surprising, considering that their marital status has never had an impact on film offers or salary. Things have changed in Bollywood where stars like Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Radhika Apte and others have not let their marital status dictate their hold over the box office. With Rangasthalam and a host of upcoming films, Samantha may well establish the tradition in the south, too.

InterviewThe Telugu film, set in the '80s, has gone on to become a blockbuster.Hemanth Kumar C R“I cheated Ram Charan when we started shooting the film,” Sukumar confessed at a recent interaction with the media about Rangasthalam, much to everyone’s surprise. “On the third day of the shoot, I asked him to wear a hearing aid, as part of his characterisation. He asked me, “Do you think it’ll be good, darling?” I said ‘yes’, but deep down in my heart I wasn’t sure about it. He believed in me and it’s this blind faith in me and the film that motivated all of us to make Rangasthalam. I apologise to Ram Charan for that (laughs).” The film, starring Ram Charan, Samantha, Aadhi, Jagapathi Babu, and a slew of other actors, has turned out to be a blockbuster at the box-office and it’s poised to be the biggest hit in Ram Charan and Sukumar’s career. Beyond the numbers, the film’s realistic imagery from the ’80s, cinematography, music, production design earned rave reviews, apart from the performances of the ensemble cast, and Sukumar’s writing and direction. The idea of Rangasthalam Apparently, Sukumar has been toying with the idea of making a rural drama for several years now. Cinematographer Rathnavelu, who has collaborated with Sukumar for films like Arya, Jagadam, 1-Nennokkadine, and now Rangasthalam, recalls Sukumar talking about it even before the making of 1-Nennokkadine. “It’s not easy to make such films. Besides, a lot of actors too prefer modern stories. After Sukumar made Nannaku Prematho, he narrated a couple of storylines to me - one of them was a contemporary story revolving around green revolution and another was a rural drama. We spoke about it and finally, I told him to go with a rural drama because he spent several years of his life in his village near Razole and he has fond memories from his childhood. Initially, he wanted to make a rural drama which is more contemporary, but I was more inclined to making a period drama because it gives us more scope to showcase local culture. Today, everyone has a laptop and a cellphone, even in rural areas. Besides, I haven’t done a period film set in a village for a while now. So, it was a challenge for all of us,” Rathnavelu says. It was during the making of Nannaku Prematho that Sukumar was introduced to Ram Charan by their mutual friend, Ranga, who is said to have told Sukumar, “You have no idea about Ram Charan’s fan base and what a good film with him in a lead role can do at the box-office.” The duo decided to collaborate for a film and it didn’t take too long for Mythri Movie Makers to green light the film. “The producers were quite excited when I narrated the story in October, 2016; however, I wasn’t ready to start the shoot until April, 2017. Charan was free from early January 2017 onwards, but I felt that I could fine-tune the script even more. Funny thing is that I hardly met Charan prior to the shoot, and I think I narrated the entire script only once to him. He was quite impressed with the characterisation of Chitti Babu, and this film wouldn’t have been possible without him. Full credit to him for not thinking about his image and what his fans would think before he decided to come onboard,” Sukumar recalls. Finding Rangasthalam Rangasthalam, Rathnavelu says, is among the films which drew a lot from the locations that it was going to be shot in. When the team decided to set the story in the '80s, they had to choose the right setting the background too to give it a realistic feel. Initially, the team suggested shooting the film in Araku valley, but Rathnavelu vetoed the idea saying, “You’ll get a beautiful scenery in Araku, but it’s very hard to depict culture there. It wasn’t until we visited areas near Kolleru lake and Godavari region that we found our Rangasthalam. All these years we have seen Godavari region filled with lush green imagery, and beautiful views of the river. When I went for a recce there, I loved the burnt out feel that the area had when the time was around 11:30 Am. That was quite different from what we are used to watching on screen all these years. Later, we found acres and acres of grasslands by the river side and that location inspired us to turn it into a ‘killing field’ in the story. It’s at the entrance of the village and everyone has to pass through it. It has an eerie feeling too because a lot of people get killed there. The grassland added a lot of character to the storytelling. Unlike today, we had a lot of festivals, fairs, folk performances, Hari Katha, Burra Katha, in our villages couple of decades ago. In the film, whenever a confrontation or an emotional scene is about to unfold, you’ll find one of these elements in the background. Showing all that in the film helped us to transport the audience back to the '80s.” The village where the film was shot is nearly a couple of hours' drive from Rajahmundry, and the whole cast and crew were, admittedly, quite surprised that nothing much has changed in those areas even after so much economic progress in surrounding areas. “There’s no concept of savings in these places. People are content with what they make in a day and they don’t really think so much about their future. We tried working with few people from these villages but they wouldn’t show up after 3-4 days because they are happy with what they have earned in those few days (laughs),” Sukumar adds. Capturing Rangasthalam on film A lot of elements in the film, including the concept of a ‘society’, which is controlled by a few influential men from the village, the burden of debt on farmers, and a select few men heading to Gulf region, were inspired from real-life incidents of people who were close to Sukumar. And he wrote so much about each character in the film that it had a ripple effect on the whole cast and crew by the time they came to the shoot. “Ram Charan and Samantha had never lived in a village before they shot for the film, but it didn’t take them too long to get into the skin of their character. In fact, Ram Charan was so comfortable wearing a lungi that I was convinced that he became Chitti Babu the moment he arrived on the sets. If you ask me what really made a difference in Rangasthalam compared to his previous films, I would say it’s the depth in his characterisation. He has a hearing impairment, but at times, he gets what people are saying and sometimes, he pretends that he didn’t listen anything. It’s a tricky role, but he pulled it off so well. There were a lot of times that the whole set clapped after watching Ram Charan perform in multiple scenes,” Sukumar reveals. Among the many challenges that cinematographer Rathnavelu faced while making Rangasthalam, one of the key things was to make the film look more dynamic and glossy, and this required plenty of effort. “It’s hard to shoot when the frame looks burnt-out. But that was a critical thing to do to achieve a hyper-realistic look for the film. The normal style of lighting won’t suffice for such style. Moreover, my team was quite skeptical about the shoot because it’s a dialogue-oriented script and there’s nothing much to do if you stick to the conventional style. So, we decided to shoot a gimbal for nearly 90% of the film. I had to be in the middle of the action to capture the story instead of sitting in one corner and looking at everything through a zoom lens,” Rathnavelu says. Another key change that the cinematographer made was change the traditional method of shot division where a close-up shot, over-the-shoulder shot, and a medium shot are used to shoot conversations. “There are too many actors to work with in several sequences and it would have been a time consuming process to capture all of that. Instead, we went for long takes where we capture everything in real time without being intrusive. Also, you can’t restrict the body language of actors in such cases. When they have the freedom to express their emotions realistically, cinematography has to complement it. That’s the reason why I feel like I’m a member of Sukumar’s direction team instead of being just a cinematographer. You’ve to think like him (Sukumar) while working with him, and getting into the psychology of the characters helps a lot.” The people of Rangasthalam Elucidating the psychological aspect of cinematography in the film, he says, “For instance, take Jagapathi Babu’s role - he’s the most powerful man in the village and he’s above everyone else. So, when he stands and talks, he’s at least 4-5 feet above everyone else. His house is on a pedestal for the same reason because it signifies authority. I used a lot of hard-lighting while shooting his scenes, and if it’s a scene that’s set in the night, Jagapathi Babu is always close to a light source. It shows the character in a different dimension.” Each character had a significant look in terms of the costumes and colour palette. While Ram Charan’s characterisation is innocent-but-tough, Samantha had a totally different look. “For Ram Charan, we used nearly 30 shades of brown which highlighted his toughness. And I convinced Samantha to just apply red & brown tan base to make her look two shades darker, without any makeup. She wasn’t sure if it’s going to work, but once she came to the shoot, she just fell in love with it. She doesn’t like shooting in the sun, so we shot a lot of her portions early in the morning or late in the evening,” Rathanvelu adds. Both the director and the cinematographer are all praise for production designers Ramakrishna and Monika, who created the '80s look. “They did a wonderful job and made my job a lot easier,” Sukumar stated, adding, “The duo brought life to the whole setting. They were particularly helpful in getting the properties to showcase the ‘80s look.” Rathnavelu was clear that he wanted the whole village to look different in every sense. “The colour palette had to be consistent with what the script demanded. You won’t see any bright yellows or blue or red anywhere. Everything had to be quite muted and earthy. Even the sky doesn’t look blue like how you see in other films. When Ramakrishna and Monika built the set in Hyderabad, it looked fabulous, but it rained twice much to our surprise. We had to bring in quite a few M90 series of lights to achieve the harsh burnt-out look while shooting here.” The whole film was shot using Red Helium 8k camera and Rathnavelu says that Rangasthalam is one of first few films to be shot using the camera. “It offers a great dynamic range to capture the kind of visuals we were aiming for. Some of the sequences had to be shot under extremely low-light conditions, so the Red 8k came in quite handy,” he says. With Rangasthalam turning into a blockbuster, Sukumar is admittedly quite excited about what he wants to do next. “Now, I feel like making different rural dramas set in different regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (laughs). On a serious note, I’m glad that I could tell the story of Rangasthalam quite convincingly, and since people appreciated our efforts, they have been kind enough to overlook some of our mistakes,” Sukumar says. And Rathnavelu puts everything in perspective saying, “There’s so much rustic beauty in the Godavari region that I fell in love with it. I want to dedicate this film to the people of Godavari. We tried to recreate the scent of soil through the film. I hope we succeeded in that aspect.”...

TollywoodWhile keeping you enthralled with narration par excellence, the movie lets you down in the final lap.Krishna SripadaSukumar doesn’t make bad movies. Let me rephrase that – he cannot make bad movies. Some movies connect with the audience and some don’t, but he is a thinking man. For that reason alone, Rangasthalam deserves the hype it has received. Set in an earlier time, with a wicked village president toying with the lives of the innocent, lifeless, spineless villagers, Rangasthalam gives you a taste of the Godavari – the accent, the troubles, the wit, the penchant for sickles. And yet, while keeping you enticed and enthralled with narration par excellence, the movie lets you down eventually in the final lap. It is still a movie worth watching because of what Sukumar coaxed out of his actors. Ram Charan’s Chitti Babu, who has a hearing impairment, is stubborn but has a heart of gold. He swears by his elder brother Kumar Babu (Aadhi Pinisetty), an idealistic man who decides to stand up to the cruel Bhupathi (Jagapathi Babu), undisputed president of the village for over three decades. Calling Rangasthalam a tale of love and revenge would be doing the narration a disservice. It has spine-tingling suspense, accentuated at times by jarringly loud music, from a director who loves over-indulging in his contrivances and make us wait and wait. Samantha as Ramalakshmi justifies the song picturised on her, Chandra Bose on his way to probably a string of awards for those delectable lyrics. Anasuya is exceptionally good as Rangamma, Chitti Babu’s young aunt, whose affection for him almost makes you envious. Prakash Raj does one of his routine roles as Dakshina Murthy, a seemingly upright politician. But, the show-stealer is indeed Ram Charan, who has once and for all put to bed any doubts over his acting prowess. He is allowed an entire platter of emotions and he gorges on them sumptuously (just like his food-loving character in the movie) with the élan of a seasoned actor – childlike innocence, seething, bloodthirsty anger, devotion and playfulness. Sukumar shows sparks of his romantic genius with a couple of beautiful scenes captured with the lead pair – Chitti Babu buying Ramalakshmi bangles, Ramalakshmi kissing him when he is unable to hear her proposing to him, and such like. But, their love story is never the underlying theme of the movie. It is all about Ram Charan’s Chitti Babu and his obsession with protecting his idealistic brother, who has set himself on a dangerous path, all building up towards the movie’s climactic twist. Ram Charan is a director’s hero. His brilliance comes and goes with the sculptors who mould his characters – read Tfi auteurs like Rajamouli and Sukumar. With all these phenomenal characters, Sukumar gives you a watchable movie. Where he fails you is in the laziness of the plot, as it hurtles towards a finish. Despite the flashback style of narration, the audience did not even gasp after the final revelation. A Pooja Hegde item song finds its way into the script as well, probably as a hat-tip to 90s movies. A special round of applause should be reserved for the camerawork of Rathnavelu and for the art design, which creates an inch-perfect backward village where casteism is rife. Dsp gives you couple of good songs, but then you really expect someone of his stature to give you a little more than one good melody and one good dance track, with his trademark percussion-heavy style. For a movie whose protagonist is hearing impaired, Rangasthalam creates quite a few sparks of emotional magic, but dialogue writing for once doesn’t give you enough lines to walk out of the hall with. All in all, Rangasthalam is a treat for Ram Charan’s fans, as their star has given them a once-in-a-decade performance. One would believe Ram Charan is still capable of more but this character is a great choice. Rangasthalam gives you likable characters in a screenplay that aims to touch dizzying heights without packing enough fuel. A story that makes you wait and wait should offer more when it eventually comes to a close. Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither Tnm nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film's producers or any other members of its cast and crew.

TollywoodMegastar Chiranjeevi unveiled the much-awaited trailer of the film at a grand pre-release event.Digital NativeDigital NativeDirector Sukumar has been revealing the teasers of his upcoming film Rangasthalam over the past few months to gain the attention of the film buffs. While there is no doubt that these teasers have gone viral and promoted the film, the trailer launch recently seems to be the crown of it all. On the auspicious occasion of Ugadi the team organised a grand pre-release event held on Sunday at the landmark venue Rk Beach, Visakhapatnam, which had megastar Chiranjeevi as the Chief Guest. At the event, the megastar unveiled the much-awaited trailer of the film. The megastar spoke high about the film and performance of Ram Charan in the film. Chiranjeevi said, "Many movies have come in this concept but it is completely different try. Director Sukumar has put his full hardwork. Rangasthalam will be for Charan what Khaidi No.150 was for me. I am proud of Charan as a father and also jealous of him being an actor, since Charan has got an opportunity to portray a character like Chitti Babu. After watching the movie, I became a spellbound and my wife Surekha hugged." From the trailer, it is evident that the film’s hero, Ram Charan had gone into the skin of the character, Chitti Babu, and has lived the role. Set in the 1980s, the trailer also proves that the director has succeeded in perfectly recreating that era. Starring Ram Charan and Samantha as the lead pair, fans will get to see them as Chitti Babu and Rama Lakshmi on screen. With the story, screenplay and dialogues penned by director Sukumar, the film is bankrolled by Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar and Mohan Cherukuri under the banner Mythrie Movie Makers on a budget of Rs 50 crores. The star cast of this period revenge drama also includes Anasuya Bharadwaj, Aadhi Pinisetty, Prakash Raj, Jagapati Babu, Amit Sharma, Gauthami and Rajesh Diwakar. Devi Sri Prasad is the music composer for this movie with R Rathnavelu cranking the camera and Navin Nooli editing it. Rangasthalam is due to hit the silver screens on March 30 worldwide. With Rangasthalam scheduled for release, Ram Charan is gearing up to get on to the sets of the Boyapati Srinivas directorial which is yet to be titled. The shooting of this film is expected to begin next month. After this project is wrapped up, Ram Charan would be moving over to the SS Rajamouli directorial. (Content provided by Digital Native)...

TollywoodThe film is expected to release in March this year.Tnm StaffYoutube/Teaser ScreenshotThe official teaser for the Ram Charan-Samantha starrer Rangasthalam was released on Wednesday. The teaser starts with Ram Charan introducing himself as Chitti Babu, an 'engineer'. The visuals show him being the go-to-man of his native land, Rangasthalam. He says everyone can hear sound but that he can 'see' it and that's why he's called a 'sound engineer' - does this mean he's playing a hearing-impaired man or is there more to the story? We'll have to wait and watch. We also see Ram Charan striding ahead with a sickle in his hand in the last shot, suggesting that the film will be high on action sequences. The star sports a beard and his fans are thrilled with his new look. Samantha does not appear in the teaser. Said to be a period drama directed by Sukumar, the film also stars Aadhi Pinisetty and Jagapathy Babu in pivotal roles. The film was launched by megastar Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan's father, in February last year and is among the most anticipated Telugu films of the year. The teaser says that the film, which has music by Devi Sri Prasad, will release on March 30. Ram Charan's last release was Dhruva, the Telugu remake of the Tamil film Thani Oruvan. Aravind Swamy played the villain in both versions to great success. Ram Charan also made a special appearance in Chiranjeevi's comeback film Khaidi 150. Sukumar's last directorial was Junior Ntr's 25th film, Nannaku Prematho.