Mumbai, Nov 9 (IANS) Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, who is known for his action films and recently worked with Jackie Chan on a Indo-China film “Kung Fu Yoga”, said that the recent incident of two actors who lost their lives while attempting a stunt was a result of irresponsible attitude of the filmmakers.
“I heard the news about the sad incident that has happened to two actors of the Kannada film while shooting a stunt. I am shocked, sad and angry at the same time! I saw the video and there was no safety precautions taken for those actors. I think it’s a pure criminal act by the producer and action director; who make them jump into the water, when they didn’t know how to swim! I think it is unpardonable,” Sonu told IANS.
The actor who has worked in Indo-Chinese collaborative projects like “Kung Fu Yoga” with Jackie Chan and “Xuanzang”, a film that has been selected as official entry for the 89th Academy Awards, says their makers took greater care.
“They are very high on taking safety measures while shooting a stunt. They have a ambulance ready on set, doctors are always present there whether we need it or not, it is so well structured.
“Though in our Bollywood, we take certain precautions but we can learn a lot from them as they are very well-equipped,” he said.
Sonu, who has attempted many stunts in his films, to queries if he ever felt fear while doing any stunt, said: “If I am not comfortable doing something I don’t attempt it. As an actor, we have all the right to say no if not confident, and I do the same.”

Kamal Haasan turned 62 on Monday with a very subdued birthday. There were no celebrations because, as the actor put it, there is nothing to celebrate.
His partner of 13 years left him. Plus, there is a health setback.
“My leg which suffered a multi-fracture in August suffered a neural trauma on Monday. The pain is unbearable. I am on sedation most of the time now. So there is hardly room for celebration,” Kamal said in a groggy voice.
Every year he brings in his birthday with two very close friends from outside the film industry who share their birth date with him.
“But this time I had to say no to their invitation. There’s too much pain. I am sedated from physical pain. But the other pain is not something I want to go out in public with,” he said.
The exit of Kamal’s partner Gautami Tadimalla, has left him shaken. But he has maintained an outwardly calm.
“I am not about to have public breakdowns. Pain is nothing new to me. I’ve dealt with it all my life. But yes, it gets awkward on a birthday when friends and fans want to meet you.”
Kamal is also avoiding fan meeting this birthday.
“They wouldn’t like me hobbling on one leg and looking groggy with sedation. It gets awkward. This year, I’d rather be on my own.”
So is this the most unhappy birthday of his life?
“No. My unhappiest birthday was my 16th birthday. I was aimless, directionless and without any purpose in life. My father called me and gave me a dressing down. I remember I locked myself in my room and cried bitterly. It is the only time I’ve cried on my birthday,” he recalled.
The actor-filmmaker has plenty on his plate, all waiting for the leg to heal.
“It’s truly frustrating. I want to get back on my feet. There is a film waiting to be completed. There is work to be done. But I am at home sedated against pain. It’s not a good feeling. All I ever wanted was work and someone at home to come back to.”

Visakhapatnam, Nov 5 (IANS) Amid an uproar over the proposed “Beach Love” festival being planned in this coastal city, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday clarified that it will not allow any programme “inimical to Telugu culture and traditions”.

The authorities termed as “rumours” some media reports that the programme proposed to be held at one of the beaches during February 12-14 (Valentine’s Day) would hurt the cultural sensibilities of people.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the Municipal Corporation of Visakhapatnam condemned what they called the misinformation campaign.
“It is speculated that over nine thousand couples from across the world would descend upon Visakhapatnam to indulge in a no-holds barred beach love and that preparations are on to organise the private event sanctioned by the government,” an official statement said.
It clarified that the government had received a proposal by a private agency about organising a mega event during February 2017 in Visakhapatnam to attract foreign tourists. Accordingly the government formed a committee to liaise with the event managers.
“As of now the private agency did not put forth any blueprint of the proposed event before the said committee, and as and when it is done the same would be examined as per standard procedure,” it added.
A Mumbai based agency, which holds similar events in Goa, has submitted the proposal to the government.
Women’s organisations have come out strongly against the proposed programme.
Even political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is sharing power with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), have condemned the proposal. They said such an event which goes against the state’s culture can’t be allowed.
BJP leader and local legislator P. Vishnukumar Raju said there was no question of allowing such a programme.
“Come what may, we will not allow this event,” said R. K. Roja, a leader of opposition YSR Congress Party.

Mechuka (Arunachal Pradesh), Nov 6 (IANS) Seeking to promote adventure tourism, this scenic valley nestled at the foot of the north-eastern Himalayan range in Arunachal Pradesh will host a three-day festival starting on Monday showcasing local sports, food and wine.

The festival, jointly organised by the union tourism ministry and state tourism department along with the event partner Centre for Cultural Research and Documentation (CCRD), Naharlagun, aims to brand Mechuka, also known as Mechukha, as a preferred adventure tourism destination.
Situated on the banks of the Siyom river (locally known as Yargap Chu), about 30 km from the McMahon Line, the valley is locally called ‘Menchuka’ (‘men’ for medicine, ‘chu’ for water and ‘kha’ for snow).
The valley, home of five tribes, is one of the lesser-explored tourism destinations.
Apart from paragliding, quad biking, rappelling and trap shooting, the fourth edition of the festival would showcase rafting on the Yargap Chu while the local cuisine, brew and local sports are also expected to be top draws.
Weaving a bond between the ancient times and the modern technological era, there will be demonstrations on how the locals took part in hunting in the past and the manner of take-off of micro-light aircraft.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who hails from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, will grace the festival.
The latest version of the adventure festival at the ‘Land of medicinal ice water’ is based on four elements of the universe — water, air, earth and fire.

The South indian actress Taapsee Panu who made a big success in Bollywood with Pink says that she was tagged as unlucky by some film makers. In an recent interview she mentioned that now she is looking for different kind of roles. She says that female oriented subjects are less in South india. Sometimes heroines are paid lesser than tha character artist. She wants the attitudes must change.

Bengaluru, Nov 8 (IANS) A day-long search on Tuesday failed to trace the bodies of two actors who drowned in a nearby lake while enacting a stunt scene by jumping from a helicopter during the filming of a Kannada movie, police said.
“Rescue teams have been searching the TG Halli lake since morning but were unable to trace the bodies of (Anil and Uday) till evening due to poor visibility, silt and water weeds in its polluted backwaters,” police officer H.L. Nandeesha told IANS from the location.
The Thippagondanahalli (TG Halli) lake is about 40 km northwest of Bengaluru at the confluence of Arkavathy and Kumudavathi rivers in Ramanagara district. It is one of the sources of drinking water supply to Bengaluru.
About 50 men of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the fire brigade have scouted for the bodies in 10 pontoon boats and four coracles but failed to locate them in the murky waters.
“We have asked for scuba divers from the Karwar naval base to join the search. The lake covers about 100 acres of space. Discharge of effluents from factories and sewage from villages around the lake have polluted its marshy water, leading to accumulation of filth, silt and mud,” lamented Nandeesha.
Fishermen familiar with the lake where a reservoir was built to store water flowing from the twin rivers and their tributaries also joined the search teams.
The stunt act is the climax of a scene in the upcoming film ‘Maastigudi’ where the hero (Vijay) chases the two villains trying to escape in a chopper from the lake shore.
The hero too hops onto the chopper, which flies over the lake’s backwaters.
As seen from the film footage, aired on local news channels, in a fight between the hero and the pair, the hero pushes both the actors from the chopper and joins them in the reservoir to carry on the fight.
Though the movie hero who knows swimming was rescued, the villains were left behind to drown, as they did not know swimming and are feared to have been caught in the thick silt and water weeds in the 20-25 feet deep lake.
“We have filed an FIR under various sections of the IPC against the film unit (KPS Combines) for criminal negligence, failure to take precautionary measures like life jackets and safety steps,” added Nandeesha.

Chennai, Nov 8 (IANS) Actors Sundeep Kishan and Mehreen are teaming up for a yet-untitled Tamil-Telugu bilingual to be directed by Suseenthiran N. The project, according to a source, will be officially launched on Wednesday.

“It will be an action-based script. The film will mark the Telugu directorial debut of Suseenthiran, who is quite popular in Tamil filmdom. Sundeep and Mehreen were the first choice for the lead pair and they were eventually signed on,” the source from the film’s unit, told IANS.
The project will be simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil.
The rest of the cast includes Sakalaka Shankar, Posani Krishna Murali, Harish Uthaman and Tagubothu Ramesh.
S.S. Thaman has been roped in to compose music for the project.

Chennai, Nov 8 (IANS) The teaser of Suriya-starrer Tamil actioner “S3″, the third part in the “Singam” franchise, has clocked over 2 million views in less than 24 hours.

The 83 seconds-long teaser, which already has over 70,000 likes, has been trending on social media pages since its launch on Monday.
Suriya returns in a fierce role of a duty-fearing policeman, and he is paired with Anushka Shetty and Shruti Haasan.
Directed by Hari, the film is gearing up for release on December 16.
Produced by Studio Green, “S3″ also stars Thakur Anoop Singh, who is being introduced as the antagonist.

Chennai, Nov 8 (IANS) Composer S.S. Thaman, who has hit Telugu albums such as “Kick”, “Dookudu” and “Baadshah” to his credit, says his long-time desire to compose music for a Pawan Kalyan’s film has been fulfilled with his upcoming project.

“I worked on nearly 15 of Pawan Kalyan’s films, including hits such as ‘Kushi’ and ‘Badri’ as a programmer and rearranged songs. But to finally get the opportunity to compose music for his film has been my long-time desire and it has been finally fulfilled,” Thaman told IANS.
Thaman has been roped in to compose music for Pawan Kalyan’s next yet-untitled Telugu project with director Neason.
The film is tipped to be the remake of Tamil blockbuster “Vedalam”.
“I have been composing for films since 2009, and it’s been a long wait to get to work on Pawan sir’s film. I need to thank Neason and producer A.M. Rathnam for believing in me and giving me this huge opportunity,” he said.