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By Rinku Gupta When Tollywood hunk Rana Daggubati announced ' Its Official' with photos of himself and fiancee Miheeka Bajaj in a formal setting today,  social media went into a tizzy. Engagement or Roka ? Everyone assumed the couple were at their engagement function in a close knit family affair  due to the lockdown. As wishes came pouring in , Rana took to social media to clarify about the function.  He posted a screenshot of a what's app chat with actor Nani, who asked him, " Abbai engaged aa" to which Rana replied , " Roka Function". To this Nani replies, " Google Chestha" 🤣🤣. ( I ll Google it) since the concept was perhaps new to him. What is a  Roka ceremony ? In many parts of northern India, the  Roka ( or rokna, meaning ' to stop' ) ceremony is a traditional custom usually from the girl's side. Both families of the future bride and groom  formally meet for the first time, perform a traditional ...

By Rinku Gupta One of the good pieces of news during the covid lockdown came from Tollywood hero Rana Daggubati with his  surprise announcement when he proposed to his  lady love Miheeka Bajaj recently, and she accepted. The Daggubati family was on cloud nine and were reportedly planning a wedding soon this year. Now there is one more good news.  Rana and Miheeka are now officially engaged!  At a ceremony amongst family members,  Rana is all smiles, as is his fiancee, in the photos Rana has shared on social media. Rana posted, " And its official!"  The wishes from friends and fans are pouring in. Sivakarthikeyan, Saina Nehwal and Varun Tej Konidela are amongst the celebs who have wished the happy couple so far. The couple look radiant. Baahubali's Bhallala Dev is now officially engaged. Miheeka looks resplendant in a traditional sari while Rana is seen in traditional veshti and sattai. Rana is the grandson of ace producer, director...

By Rinku Gupta The Ajith Kumar  starrer Valimai's producer Boney Kapoor has issued a statement regarding the covid scare at his residence in Mumbai.           Boney Kapoor with daughters Janhvi                and Khushi   According to Kapoor's press statement, the domestic help at his  Green Acres, Lokhandwala Complex residence,  Charan Sahu (aged 23 years )  tested positive ofor Corona virus. When  Sahu was found to be unwell, Kapoor  sent him for tests and then kept him in isolation. After receiving the test report the building Society authorities were informed, who in turn informed  the Brihan Mumbai Corporation ( BMC).  Immediately the BMC and state government authorities   started the process of getting him into a quarantine center. Mr Kapoor has added in his statement  “Myself, my  children and the other staff at home  are all...

By Rinku Gupta The covid pandemic lockdown situation led to theatrical releases becoming impossible.  Films which were ready for release being directly hit at the time,  some chose to take the OTT route. In Kollywood Suriya announced his Ponmagal Vandhal would release on Amazon Prime on May 29 while Karthik Subbaraj's production Penguin, with Keerthy Suresh, will release on June 19. In Bollywood too, Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo will release on June 20 apart from several films in Kannada and Malayalam.        Kollywood producer SR Prabhu  Seven films to release on Amazon Prime in various languages.                Jyotika in Ponmagal Vandhal All this has led to a war between producers and theatre owners, with chains like Inox and PVR not taking kindly to such a shift to the OTT platform by producers. With OTT subscriptions on the rise and the platform now moving from the haunt of millenia...

By Rinku Gupta Leading streaming platform Amazon Prime Video is making deep inroads into the cinema space in the covid pandemic lockdown era when theatres are shut indefinitely . They have announced a line up of 7 films in various languages to cater to film buffs across the country.  These films include Ponmagal Vandhal (Tamil) , Penguin ( Tamil, Telugu), Law ( Kannada), French Biriyani ( Kannada),  Sufiyum Sujatayum ( Malayalam), Shakuntala Devi ( Hindi) and Gulabo Sitabo ( Hindi). The impressive list includes films of stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Jyotika, Keerthy Suresh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Jayasurya amongst others. The movies will premiere exclusively on Prime Video over the next three months and will be available in 200 countries and territories worldwide. “At Prime Video, we believe in listening to what our consumers want and working backwards from there. This belief is the genesis of our latest offering,” said Vijay Subramani...

By Rinku Gupta Actor and producer Suriya took to social media to announce the much awaited news. His 2D Entertainments production, and wife Jyotika starrer Ponmagal Vandhal will release on May 29th on Amazon Prime Video. Suriya tweeted, "We are excited and cant wait for you all to watch #PonmagalVandhalOnPrime from  29th May. She isn't afraid to fight for what is right! # WorldPremiereOnPrime " Fans have been waiting ever since April when the first announcement was made about going the OTT route. Exhibitors put up a stiff resistance to the move which they felt could set off a trend, affecting theatrical business post the covid pandemic. But 30 leading producers supported Suriya at the time, with an open letter of support. Now, that the date has also been announced,  there is no doubt jubiliation in the fans' camp. Yesterday it was announced that the Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Gulabo Sitabo would go directly digital on Amazon ...

By Rinku Gupta Is the Covid pandemic lockdown leading to a slow but certain change in the way Cinema will be consumed? Are direct digital releases on OTT streaming platforms, emerging as the new norm, given the global uncertainty around the opening of theatres as a fallout of the pandemic? Regional cinema, the early birds... In the   Telugu industry,    Amrutharamam  a film with newbies,  directed by debutant  Surendar Kontaddi  which  had been ready for release, decided not to wait indefinitely, and opted for a direct digital release  on Zee 5 on April 29 due to the uncertain  lockdown situation. In the Tamil industry, actor -producer, Suriya set the ball rolling in this direction. Suriya announced that his 2D Entertainments', Jyotika starrer Ponmaghal Vandhal would stream directly on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video , bypassing the theatrical route, given the uncertainity of a release date due to the lockdown....

By Rinku Gupta Social media is abuzz with the news of Tollywood hearththrob and scion of one of the leading film families of the Telugu industry,  Rana Daggubati  , proposing to his lady love Miheeka Bajaj today. So who is the beautiful girl Rana will be marrying?  We bring you the update...                           Rana & Miheeka  Miheeka Bajaj , a Hyderabad born and bred girl, is an entrepreneur who runs her own   events and decor design firm Dew Drops Design Studio. She is the daughter of prominent Hyderabad based businesswoman Bunty Bajaj, founder of Krsala , a jewellery design firm. Her father is Suresh Bajaj. Bunty  was a leading wedding decor planner as well before branching out into jewellery. Miheeka's mother, entrepreneur Bunty Bajaj Miheeka with parents Suresh and Bunty Bajaj Suresh and Bunty Bajaj at a dinner hosted by British roya...