Daily Archives: March 19, 2015

Ugadi awards for Telangana artistes

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Hyderabad :

Two film personalities who contributed to the Telangana state struggle have been chosen for Ugadi puraskarams for this year. The Ugadi awards are given annually to personalities from different fields.

The awards announced for the first time by the Telangana government after it came into being also seek to honour film personalities.

Producer-director N Shankar and writer-actor M Bhoopal Reddy have been honoured with the awards for furthering the cause of the Telangana movement on the celluloid.

Shankar produced and directed ‘Jai Bolo Telangana’ for which chief minster K Chandrasekhara Rao penned lyrics. The film was about how the division of the state could make people happy and also help them live together. The movie was a big hit at the box-office in 2011.

“The whole purpose of the film was to explain clearly the reasons why a separate Telangana state was necessary,” Shankar told TOI. He also expressed his happiness at being chosen for the award.

Actor M Bhoopal Reddy who has also been selected for the Ugadi puraskarams played the lead role as Gond tribal leader Komaram Bheem in ‘Komaram Bheem’ which was made in 1990. Allani Sridhar got the state government’s Nandi award for the best debut film director award for ‘Komaram Bheem’.

The film also got the Nandi best film award for national integration. “Bhoopal Reddy perfectly suited for the role. It was important for us to make a film on Komaram Bheem,” Allani Sridhar said. Komaram Bheem who died in 1940 had mobilized the tribals and fought against the Nizam to liberate the tribals in Telangana and end their exploitation.

The film, for which Gautam Ghosh was the music director, however, got a theatrical release in the year 2010. Bhoopal Reddy who played Komaram bheem is also a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / March 19th, 2015

Same story, new approaches

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
( L to R) Mahalingam, Venkataraman and Sridhar Subhasri of Sri Rama Navami Cultural Festival Photo: K. Ramesh Babu
( L to R) Mahalingam, Venkataraman and Sridhar Subhasri of Sri Rama Navami Cultural Festival Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

As the 54th Sri Rama Navami Cultural Festival begins tomorrow, G. Venkatraman, J. Mahalingam and Sridhar Subasri talk about spreading the message of Indian epics and connecting to the younger generation

Every year during the Sri Rama Navami festival celebrations, Hyderabadis, especially Tamilians, gather at Keyes High School to refresh their ties to their roots. As Bharathi Ravikumar makes the announcements in Tamil on stage, the auditorium with a mix of young and old audience reverberates with applause. With a wide panorama of events including discourses, lectures, music programmes, literary and cultural events… the Sri Rama Navami Cultural Festival group helps the gathering to get to know about Indian culture and epics.

This year marks the 54th annual celebrations of the Festival. which takes off tomorrow with a devotional music concert by Bombay Saradha.

The annual cultural festival that was begun by Subasri in the ’60s has since evolved into a unique one. At the first floor of Nagarjuna Fertiliser Office, G. Venkatraman (president), J. Mahalingam (vice-president) and Sridhar Subasri (secretary) recall their journey over the years. “I had moved from Bombay to Hyderabad and was still settling in the new place, when I met Subasri and our association began,” says Venkatraman with a smile. Mahalingam, who came from Chennai and was used to attending such programmes agreed to be one of the office-bearers. While Sridhar, son of Subasri, now continues the legacy, the trio claim it is the fleet of volunteers whose selfless work is the basis for the festival’s success.

Subhasri
Subhasri

“There is a volunteer named Kuppuswamy, who is 80 plus and his enthusiasm in setting the chairs has to be seen to believed,” says Sridhar. Recollecting his growing up years, Sridhar says, “I would be running errands on my cycle and our open house would be buzzing with activities.”

With a crowd of 1000 people, the festival is special, thanks to the illustrious speakers and singers. “We make sure we do not repeat our artistes,” says Venkatraman. Giving an example, Mahalingam, executive director of Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited says, “Our focus is to present our shows in a unique way. Trichur Brothers presented fusion music, so did Sowmya from Chennai.

This year, Gayathri Girish is presenting an audio visual on Shiva temples.”

Adds Sridhar, “Some of the guests are also professionals like Dushyanth Sridhar, an IT professional, who spoke on Ramayana last year. Dr. Venkatesh is a doctor by profession and is one of the speakers this year.

This is an attempt to connect to the internet crowd and help them look at our epics in a different way.”

The festival’s golden jubilee celebrations were a momentous occasion when the events were held for 50 days! “Fifty years is an important milestone for every institution and we wanted to celebrate the occasion in a grand and fitting manner,” says Sridhar. Another special feature are the sessions on Ramayana. “It is the same story but it is told with new approaches and different formats. Our aim is to build values in children and spread the message,” says Mahalingam.

Venkatraman speaks of the challenges. “We are our own competitors and our real challenge is to maintain the status and see that we do not fall in the quality of artistes.” Sridhar says bringing in more youngsters to the venue is also one of the challenges. “Building a new team and roping in the younger generation is on our agenda,” he points out.

The 54th Sri Rama Navami Cultural Festival is scheduled from March 21 to April 4 at Keyes High School from 6.30 p.m. onwards

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Neeraja Murthy / March 19th, 2015