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Filmnews was a monthly newspaper dealing with independent film production, distribution and exhibition in Australia and the federal and state government policies and practices which supported them. It was produced in Sydney but distributed Australia-wide, containing news, reviews, interviews, articles and some gossip on the local film community. It ran from the easrly 1970s to mid 1994.

History[link]

Filmnews was born from the irregular roneoed newsletter of a group of filmmakers struggling to distribute their films at a time when film was still a very marginalised activity; it developed through the life of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-op from a paper mainly concerned with screening information and members' news to a journal that took a vital interest in and a strong position on all the issues that concerned the filmmaker/worker community around the Co-op; and after the demise of the Co-op it further broadened its base to encompass the wide range of cultural and industrial concerns that affect the film, media and communications sector.

Over the nearly twenty years of its existence Filmnews followed the many issues that have contributed to the development of film and media policy, theory, and practice, surveyed the development of individual filmmakers and videographers, of filmmaking practice in all its formats, and of the film community itself. In fact, it charted the change from a struggling, marginalised group of determined individuals to a strong and healthy industry. As the various film and video organisations around Australia came into being, they provided operational bases for a film and video community of plurality, diversity and innovation, and Filmnews documented their histories, recorded their activities and shared their commitment to screen culture. Filmnews gradually developed into a journal that provided an independent, critical perspective on all those issues that affected the production, distribution and exhibition of film and video in Australia, and aimed to supply both information and analysis to a readership that ranged from film practitioners to those working in screen education and film studies, to both teachers and students. And Filmnews was vigilant in continually questioning the practices of the industry, of government in relation to film and funding policies, of the funding bodies, and of screen education and training providers.

Content[link]

The content of Filmnews ranged from major articles and extensive interviews to great photos and other illustrations, and was enlivened by cartoons, poems and other short pieces, and even comic strips, while the news and gossip page, Who’s Doing What, was essential reading. Our reviews, of films, related books, the occasional TV program, ranged from short and snappy to very extensive, and the obituaries of important local and overseas film people became a feature. FilmNews’ coverage of specific subjects or themes - such as government assistance, women's filmmaking, public and community broadcasting, censorship, copyright, new technologies, the various institutions within the film landscape (Film Australia, the AFI, SBS, AFTRS, the state funding bodies, and of course the AFC itself) and changes in documentary practice – featured solid reporting and informed commentary. And although there were some spirited and very lively stoushes over coverage of some of these issues, they never caused real damage. It was probably both the range and diversity of its content and the unusual juxtapositions of issues, events and people that made filmnews so unique, and made its readers so attached to it. And it was a matter of absolute conviction to all involved with producing Filmnews that production, distribution, exhibition and the audience are inseparable, and all are part of an overarching screen culture.

A readership survey in 1986 discovered that the typical reader was involved in film or video production, was male and in his twenties, was relatively poor, and loved the writing of Adrian Martin. He went to the movies at least once a week, bought several other film journals, regularly attended conferences, and spent up to $10,000 a year on film or video production services. Readers loved Filmnews, the only changes they wanted was more of what they were already getting – although one respondent did argue for `more criticism of local independent film and video, but better argued and less righteous.’ And another argued for more obituaries.

For ten years Filmnews was part of the C-op – often, and for most people, the most visible part. Filmnews was involved in all the fights, the campaigns, the lobbying, the victories and the conflicts that were so much part of Co-op life. Filmnews explained and analysed Co-op changes in policy, argued for more attention and funding to be given to the production of independent film and video, and to independent distribution and exhibition. Women’s films and women filmmakers became a strong and important element in Filmnews, including campaigns for training and workshops for women; the theory and the practice, the setting up of and the progress of the Women’s Film Fund and the Women’s film units became a continuing theme. Indigenous film making, films on black Australia, and the need for an Indigenous film unit was another strong campaign.

Then, almost overnight, the Co-op was gone. The cinema had closed down in 1981, when the AFC decided not to fund it any longer; but the AFC supported the Co-op’s move to new premises in Pyrmont, and encouraged more aggressive marketing and distribution policies. But these policies stretched the Co-op’s resources, and the AFC decided that only one government-funded distribution body was to be supported and that was the AFI; the Co-op had to close its doors. After a brief and badly thought out relationship with a commercial proprietor (Encore) selected by the AFC, FilmNews was allowed to become its own entity. Given a home for several years by Metro TV (now Metro Screen) in the Paddington Town Hall complex, and then by UTS, proved fruitful in both cases. New writers, new topics, new ways of looking at issues came out of both relationships, and Filmnews continued and improved its coverage of a growing, developing community that encompassed film and television production, film and media policies, and the institutions and organisations that covered and represented all sorts of different aspects of an increasingly diverse and complex area.

Demise[link]

Filmnews was always funded by the AFC. Small and spasmodic amounts of funding came from the various state bodies, a regular and reasonable advertising revenue was earned, a respectable number of subscriptions sold, both locally and overseas, but the AFC was the major support. They continually tried to have a cover price applied, despite a regular and well argued responses that proved (to our eyes at least) that a free distribution was a far more effective way of getting to the audience, and that trying to compete with other publications in newsagents would probably kill Filmnews off. But they kept the funding at a static level for a number of years, and although they did fund me to go on a research mission to the other states to talk about increasing state input and funding (which looked promising), they suddenly pulled the plug on FilmNews in 1994. There was a brief effort to restart FilmNews in 1995, with a new editor (Paul Kalina), but with all the original support systems cancelled, it was just too hard to reinvigorate publication without the time, money, and resources the AFC was unwilling to provide. So the AFC put their film publication money into RealTime and a little more to Metro, while IF and FILMINK magazines got going.

Charlie Brooker
Brooker at the 2011 Royal Television Society Awards
Born	Charlton Brooker (1971-03-03) 3 March 1971 (age 41) Reading, Berkshire, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Polytechnic of Central London
Occupation	Broadcaster, writer, columnist, comedian, critic
Years active	1998–present
Religion	None (Atheist)[1]
Spouse	Konnie Huq (2010–present)

Charlton "Charlie" Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is a British journalist, screenwriter and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism. He presents TV shows Screenwipe, Gameswipe and Newswipe, wrote a review column for The Guardian newspaper and currently writes a comment piece each Monday for The Guardian supplement G2, and is one of four creative directors of comedy production company Zeppotron. His five-part horror drama Dead Set for E4 earned him a nomination for a BAFTA. Brooker won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his column,^[2] and the Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009. He is co-presenter of 10 O'Clock Live on Channel 4. He has also presented the documentary series How TV Ruined Your Life on BBC Two and created the Channel 4 satirical drama trilogy Black Mirror (writing and co-writing Episodes 1 and 2 respectively).

Early life and education[link]

This section requires expansion.

Brooker was born in Reading, Berkshire ^[3], growing up in the village of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire^[4]. He first worked as a writer and cartoonist for Oink!, a comic produced in the late-1980s.^[5]

After attending Wallingford School, Brooker attended the Polytechnic of Central London (which became the University of Westminster during his time there) – studying for a BA in Media Studies. He did not graduate because his dissertation was written on video games, which was not an acceptable topic.^[5][6]

Career[link]

[edit] PC Zone

Brooker wrote for PC Zone magazine in the mid-1990s. Aside from games reviews, his output included the comic strip "Cybertwats" and a column titled "Sick Notes", where Brooker would insult anyone who wrote in to the magazine and offered a £50 prize to the "best" letter.

In February 1998, one of Brooker's one-shot cartoons caused the magazine to be pulled from the shelves of many British newsagents. The cartoon was titled "Helmut Werstler's Cruelty Zoo" and professed to be an advert for a theme park created by a Teutonic psychologist for children to take out their violent impulses on animals rather than humans. It was accompanied by photoshopped pictures of children smashing the skulls of monkeys with hammers, jumping on a badger with a pitchfork, and chainsawing an orang-utan, among other things. The original joke was supposed to be at the expense of the Tomb Raider games, known at the time for the number of animals killed, but the original title, "Lara Croft's Cruelty Zoo", was changed for legal reasons.

In October 2008, Brooker and several other ex-writers were invited back to review a game for the 200th issue. Brooker reviewed Euro Truck Simulator.

SuperKaylo[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

A number of Brooker's artworks were available to the public on his website. This body of work is drawn both from the commissions of his various patrons, and began as a paper comic that was sold to customers at Brooker's former workplace CeX. In addition to its counter presence, Brooker sold issues to mail order customers when they called up to place orders for games.

One aspect of the SuperKaylo site was a series of recorded phone conversations, that had originally started from a commissioned featured for PC Zone on technical support phonelines. Brooker took things further than this half serious investigation, when in 1999 he called up the then editor of Edge magazine, Jason Brookes. Pretending to be an angry father, he phoned up enraged by an advert that had appeared in a previous issue for CeX, one that Brooker himself had written and drawn.

TVGoHome[link]

From 1999 to 2003 he wrote the satirical TVGoHome website,^[7][8] a regular series of mock TV schedules published in a format similar to that of the Radio Times, consisting of a combination of savage satire and surreal humour and featured in technology newsletter Need To Know. A print adaptation of the site was published by Fourth Estate in 2001. A TV sketch show based on the site was broadcast on UK digital station E4 the same year.^[9]

Newspaper columns[link]

Brooker began writing a TV review column titled "Screen Burn" for The Guardian newspaper's Saturday entertainment supplement The Guide in 2000, a role he continued through to October 2010.

From the autumn of 2005, he wrote a regular series of columns in The Guardian supplement "G2" on Fridays called "Supposing", in which he free-associated on a set of vague what-if themes. Since late October 2006 this column has been expanded into a full-page section on Mondays, including samples from TVGoHome and Ignopedia, an occasional series of pseudo-articles on topics mostly suggested by readers. The key theme behind Ignopedia was that, while Wikipedia is written and edited by thousands of users, Ignopedia would be written by a single sub-par person with little or no awareness of the facts.^[10]

On 24 October 2004, he wrote a column on George W. Bush and the forthcoming 2004 US Presidential Election^[11] which concluded:

The Guardian withdrew the article from its website and published and endorsed an apology by Brooker.^[12] He has since commented about the remark in the column stating:

Brooker left the "Screen Burn" column in 2010. In the final column,^[14] he noted how increasingly difficult he found it to reconcile his role in mainstream media and TV production with his writing as a scabrous critic or to objectively criticise those he increasingly works and socialises with. Longtime covering contributor Grace Dent took over the column. He continues to contribute other articles to The Guardian on a regular basis.

Television[link]

From 1999 to 2000, Brooker played hooded expert 'the Pundit' in short-lived show Games Republic hosted by Trevor and Simon on BSkyB.

In 2000, Brooker was one of the writers of the Channel 4 show The Eleven O'Clock Show and a co-host (with Gia Milinovich) on BBC Knowledge's The Kit, a low-budget programme dedicated to gadgets and technology (1999–2000). In 2001, he was one of several writers on Channel 4's controversial Brass Eye special on the subject of paedophilia.

In 2003, Brooker wrote an episode entitled "How to Watch Television" for Channel 4's The Art Show.^[15] The episode was presented in the style of a public information film and was partly animated, and gave advice on how to view television.

Together with Brass Eye's Chris Morris, Brooker co-wrote the sitcom Nathan Barley, based on a character from one of TVGoHome's fictional programmes. The show was broadcast in 2005 and focused on the lives of a group of London media 'trendies'. The same year, he was also on the writing team of the Channel 4 sketch show Spoons, produced by Zeppotron.

In 2006, Brooker began writing and presenting his signature television series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe on BBC Four, a TV review programme in a similar style to his Screen Burn columns in The Guardian. After an initial pilot series of three editions in April of that year, the programme returned in the autumn for a second run of four episodes plus Christmas and Review of the Year specials in December 2006. A third series followed in February 2007 with a fourth broadcast in September 2007, followed by a Review of the Year in December 2007. The fifth series started in November 2008 and was followed by another Review of the Year special. This series was also the first to be given a primetime repeat on terrestrial television (BBC Two), in January 2009.

Screenwipe's format mostly consists of two elements. The first is the playing of clips from other television shows – both mainstream and obscure – interspersed with shots of Brooker, sitting in his living room,^[16] delivering witty critiques on them. The second is where Brooker explains, again with a slice of barbed humour, the way in which a particular area of the television industry operates. Also occasionally present are animations by David Firth and guest contributions, which have included the poetry of Tim Key, and segments in which a guest explains their fascination with a certain television show or genre.

Brooker has regularly experimented with Screenwipe, with some editions focusing on a specific theme. These themes have included American television, TV news, advertising and children's programmes. (The last of these involved a segment where Brooker joined the cast of Toonattik for one week, playing the character of "Angry News Guy".) Probably the most radical departure from the norm came with an episode focused on scriptwriting, which saw several of British television's most prominent writers interviewed by Brooker.

As per the development of his career with The Guardian, a similar show called Newswipe, focusing on current affairs reportage by the international news media, began on BBC Four on 25 March 2009. A second series began on 19 January 2010. He has also written and presented the one off special Gameswipe which focused on video games and aired on BBC Four on 29 September 2009.

Brooker has appeared on three episodes and one webisode of the popular BBC current affairs news quiz Have I Got News for You. He appeared on an episode of the Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Would I Lie To You?. In December 2006 reviewed two games written by the presenters of VideoGaiden, on their show. He also made a brief appearance in the third and final instalment of the documentary series Games Britannia, discussing the rise and popularity of computer games.

Brooker wrote for the BBC Three sketch show Rush Hour.

In 2009, Brooker began hosting You Have Been Watching, a panel comedy TV quiz on Channel 4 which discusses television. A second series was broadcast the following year.

On 6 May 2010, Brooker was a co-host of the Channel 4 alternative election night, along with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr and Lauren Laverne.^[17] The telethon was interspersed with contributions from Brooker, some live in the studio but mostly pre-recorded. Notably, an "Election Special" of You Have Been Watching and two smaller segments in an almost identical style to Screenwipe (the only noticeable difference being that Brooker was sitting in a different room). Brooker described the experience of live television as being so nerve-wracking he "did a piss" during the broadcast.^[18] A spin-off series, 10 O'Clock Live, started in January 2011 with the same four hosts.^[19]

Brooker's "2010 Wipe", a review of 2010 in the style of Screenwipe/Newswipe/Gameswipe, was broadcast on BBC2 on 27 December 2010, and a new documentary series How TV Ruined Your Life started on BBC 2 on 25 January 2011. He has co-written a feature-length spoof crime drama along with Daniel Maier for Sky1 called A Touch Of Cloth (due early 2012).^[20]

Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe, an hour-long review show of 2011, was broadcast on BBC Four on 30 December 2011.^[21][22] It was repeated on BBC Two on 3 January 2012.

Dead Set[link]

Brooker wrote Dead Set, a five part zombie horror thriller for E4 set in the Big Brother house.^[23] The show was broadcast in October 2008 to coincide with Halloween and was repeated on Channel 4 in January 2009 to coincide with Celebrity Big Brother, and again for Halloween later that year.^[24] It was produced by Zeppotron, which also produced Screenwipe.

Brooker told MediaGuardian.co.uk it comprised a "mixture of known and less well known faces" and "Dead Set is very different to anything I've done before, and I hope the end result will surprise, entertain and appall people in equal measure." He added that he has long been a fan of horror films and that his new series "could not be described as a comedy". "I couldn't really describe what it is but it will probably surprise people," Brooker said, adding that he plans to "continue as normal" with his print journalism.

Jaime Winstone starred as a runner on the TV programme, and Big Brother presenter Davina McCall guest starred as herself.^[25] Dead Set received a BAFTA nomination for Best Drama Serial.^[26]

Black Mirror[link]

In December 2011, Brooker's Black Mirror a three-part television drama series aired on Channel 4 to largely positive reviews.^[27][28][29] As well as creating the show, Brooker wrote the first episode and co-wrote the second with his wife Konnie Huq.

The series is produced by Zeppotron for Endemol. Regarding the programme's content and structure, Brooker noted, "each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they're all about the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time if we're clumsy."^[30]

An Endemol press release describes the series as "a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world", with the stories having a "techno-paranoia" feel.^[31] Channel 4 describes the first episode as "a twisted parable for the Twitter age".^[32]

Brooker explained the series' title to The Guardian, noting: "If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The "black mirror" of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone."^[30]

Radio[link]

Beginning on 11 May 2010, Brooker presented a 5-part BBC Radio 4 series celebrating failure titled So Wrong It's Right, in which guests compete to pitch the worst possible ideas for new franchises and give the 'most wrong' answer to a question. Also featured are guests' recollections about their own personal life failures and their complaints about life in general in a round called 'This Putrid Modern Hell'. Guests have included David Mitchell, Lee Mack, Josie Long, Frank Skinner and Richard Herring.^[33] The second series began airing on 10 March 2011.^[34] A third series has been commissioned for broadcast in May 2012.^[35] In common with Screenwipe's use of a Grandaddy track (A.M. 180) from the album Under The Western Freeway as its theme tune, So Wrong It's Right uses another track from the same album, Summer Here Kids.

Personal life[link]

Brooker became engaged to former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq after dating for 9 months, having met whilst filming an episode of Screenwipe.^[36][37] They married on 26 July 2010 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.^[38][39] On 23 March 2012 Huq gave birth to their first child, Covey Brooker Huq. ^[40]

Brooker is an atheist and contributed to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas.^[41]

Brooker has become an avid running enthusiast, running for up to an hour every day.^[42]

Awards[link]

Brooker won Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his Guardian column, where the judges described Brooker as "edgy, entertaining and wonderfully surreal, he has the explosive writing skills that can turn your thinking upside down. A definite destination read and a jewel of a column. Acerbic, nasty, spiteful, yet clearly in love with every subject he writes about at the same time. Must read stuff".^[2] He won Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009 and the Royal Television Society award 2010 for Best Entertainment Programme (Newswipe), beating The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. His show (Newswipe) won Best Comedy Entertainment Show at the 2011 British Comedy Awards.

Publications[link]

• TV Go Home, 2001 (rescanned reprint in 2010) (ISBN 1-84115-675-2)
• Unnovations, 2002 (rescanned reprint in 2011) (ISBN 1-84115-730-9)
• Screen Burn, 2004 (ISBN 0-571-22755-4)
• Dawn of the Dumb: Dispatches from the Idiotic Frontline, 2007 (ISBN 9780571238415)
• The Hell of it All, Charlie Brooker, 2009 (ISBN 9780571229574)^[43]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Charlie Brooker

• Charlie Brooker's Official Biography Page on zeppotron.com
• Charlie Brooker's Agents and Production Company – zeppotron.com
• Charlie Brooker at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie Brooker on Twitter
• TV Go Home
• Charlie Brooker's Guardian columns
• Shuffle's Cue & Ehh? with Charlie Brooker
• Charlie Brooker's made-up film awards
• Charlie Brooker Interview about You Have Been Watching
• Charlie Brooker's page, Conville and Walsh literary agents

Pawan Kalyan
Born	Konidala Kalyan Babu (1971-09-02) 2 September 1971 (age 40)[1][2] Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India [3]
Residence	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Other names	Pawan Kalyan, Power Star[4][5]
Occupation	Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Action Choreographer, Choreography, Playback Singer, Producer
Years active	1996 – present
Spouse	Renu Desai (2009 – present)[6]
Children	Akira Nandan Aadhya
Parents	Venkat Rao Konidala Anjana Devi Konidala
Relatives	Chiranjeevi Konidala (brother) Nagendra Babu Konidala (brother) Ram Charan Teja Konidala (nephew) Arjun Allu (2nd nephew) Aravind Allu (brother-in-law) Rama Lingaiah Allu (father-in-law of brother)

Pawan Kalyan (Telugu: పవన్ కళ్యాణ్; born Konidala Kalyan Babu on 2 September 1971)^[2] is an Indian film actor, director, screenwriter and action choreographer in Telugu cinema. He is the brother of Indian actor Chiranjeevi. He made his acting debut in 1996 with Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi.

In 1998, he was starred in Tholi Prema which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that Year. He is known for his works in other blockbusters like Gokulamlo Seetha, Suswagatham, Thammudu, Badri, Kushi, Jalsa and Gabbar Singh ^[7]

Personal life[link]

Born to Konidela Venkata Rao and Anjana Devi,^[8] Pawan Kalyan is the younger brother of Chiranjeevi and Nagendra Babu.^[9] After his divorce from Nandini,^[10] Pawan Kalyan married Renu Desai on 28 January 2009. She co-starred with him in the films Badri and Johnny^[10] and has worked as costume designer for most of his films. The couple have two children, a son named Akira Nandan born in 2004 and a girl named Aadhya born in 2010. Akira was named after Pawan Kalyan's favorite director Akira Kurosawa.

Kalyan is trained in martial arts.^{[11][12][13][14]} He holds a black belt in karate^[15] and has displayed his skills in several of his films. He publicly performed his martial arts skills at several auditoriums.^[16] He was awarded the title "Pawan", symbolizing Hanuman. From then, Kalyan Babu became popular as Pawan Kalyan.^[17][18][19]

His brother-in-law Allu Aravind is an Indian film producer. Ram Charan Teja Konidala and Allu Arjun are other actors from the family. Pawan Kalyan is a vegetarian. He is highly influenced by Che Guevara, Jiddu Krishnamurti and Swami Vivekananda's philosophy.^[20]

Career[link]

Pawan Kalyan entered the Telugu movie industry with Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi (1996) as Kalyan Babu in which he performed martial arts action sequences. His second movie was Gokulamlo Seetha (1997), which is a remake of the 1996 Tamil film Gokulathil Seethai. He also starred in Suswagatham, which is also a remake of a Tamil film Love Today (1997).

In 1998, Tholi Prema released and received 6 Nandi Awards and National Award for the Best Feature Film (Telugu).^[21] After Tholi Prema, Pawan acted in Thammudu (1999) playing the role of a kickboxer. Pawan In 2000, he featured in Puri Jagannadh's first directorial venture Badri. Pawan acted in Kushi (2001) directed by S. J. Surya.

After the release of Kushi, Pawan Kalyan took a long gap of two years in his film career. He went to Japan for a brief period to learn a martial art called Aikido. He learnt this stunt to use in his first directorial venture Johnny. His next releases were Gudumba Shankar, Balu ABCDEFG, Bangaram and Annavaram

In 2008, Jalsa directed by Trivikram Srinivas released. His subsequent release Puli arrived on 10 September. The audio sales reached a total of 1.6 lakhs of CDs in the first three days, which is an all-time record in Telugu film history.^{[22][relevant? – discuss]}

Pawan Kalyan first release of 2011 was Theenmaar directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee in which he portrayed the two contrasting characters of present and yesteryear generations. Following this, Pawan Kalyan appeared in a Vishnuvardhan's gangster film Panjaa.This film is now set to release in Tamil.^[23] In September 2011, Pawan began shooting for the movie Gabbar Singh. The movie is being directed by Harish Shankar and produced by Bandla Ganesh. The movie is a remake of the Hindi film Dabangg.^[24] In 2012, Pawan is slated to work in Puri Jagannadh's Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu. The film is being produced by D. V. V. Danayya and filming is set to begin in May 2012.^{[25] [26]}

A social networking community on his name in the popular social networking website orkut is the second most active community in india. After orkut 'India' community, orkut 'Power Star Pawan Kalyan' community takes second place in Top 10 orkut National communities.^[27][28]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Action Choreographer[link]

Playback singing[link]

Choreography/Songs Visualization[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Pawan Kalyan at the Internet Movie Database

Kajal Agarwal
Born	Kajal Aggarwal (1985-06-19) June 19, 1985 (age 27) Mumbai, Maharashtra
Residence	Mumbai
Occupation	Model, Actress
Years active	2005-present

Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian film actress, who predominantly appears in Telugu films. Kajal made her film debut in the 2004 Hindi film Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na and entered the Telugu film industry through the film Lakshmi Kalyanam (2007). She had her first commercial success with Chandamama (2007) and rose to prominence after her performance in Magadheera (2009), which remains her biggest commercial success,^[1] and fetched her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Actress. Following further consecutive successes with Darling (2010), Brindavanam (2010), Mr. Perfect (2011) and Business Man (2012), she established herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu cinema.^[2]

Early life[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

She was born in Mumbai, India to Suman Agarwal and Vinay Agarwal. She has a sister named Nisha Aggarwal, who is appearing in Telugu films as well. She finished her studies in Mumbai and started her modeling career while she was in college.

Film career[link]

Career beginnings (2004–08)[link]

Kajal made her acting debut in the 2004 Hindi film Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na, in which she enacted minor supporting role as the friend of Diya, the film’s lead, played by Aishwarya Rai,^[3][4] following which she signed veteran Tamil director Bharathiraja's Bommalattam. The film, however, got delayed and released in late 2008.

She made her debut in the Telugu film industry and played her first leading role in 2007 in Teja's Lakshmi Kalyanam alongside Kalyan Ram, which did not fare well at the box office. Later that year, she appeared in the Krishna Vamsi-directed film Chandamama, which opened to positive reviews and became her first major successful film.^[5] In 2008, she had her first Tamil film release, Perarasu's action entertainer Pazhani, co-starring Bharath. Following this film, she had two more Tamil releases that year with Venkat Prabhu’s comedy-thriller Saroja, in which she did a guest appearance, and Bharathiraja’s investigative thriller Bommalattam. Although the former went on to become a commercial as well as a critical success,^[6] both films failed to boost her career as her roles were too insignificant.^[7] Both her Telugu releases, Pourudu and Aatadista opposite Sumanth and Nitin, respectively, neither received positive reviews nor were successul at the box office.

Success (2009–present)[link]

She had four releases in 2009; she first starred in another Tamil film Modhi Vilayadu, which garnered mixed reviews and was a financial failure, following which she appeared in the high-budget Telugu historical drama Magadheera, which saw her essaying double roles for the first time. The film, directed by S. S. Rajamouli, received universal critical acclaim, while Kajal, particularly, was praised for her portrayal of a princess in the film. Rediff wrote that she "was quite a surprise package, [...] sweet and charming and looked like an 'ethereal' princess. She carries off both the roles fairly well",^[8] while NDTV cited that "Kajal Agarwal is also an asset to the film. She is very apt for the character of the princess. Besides filling the glamour slot, she has proven that given a chance, she too can give an excellent performance".^[9] The film was also highly commercially successful and broke several records,^[10] emerging as the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time.^[11][12][13] Magadheera's enormous success turned Kajal into one of the most sought-after actresses in the Telugu film industry and catapulted her into the main foray of lead Telugu actresses.^[14] Her subsequent releases Ganesh Just Ganesh and Arya 2 received mixed reviews from critics, while her performance garnered positive feedback.^[15][16]

Kajal's first 2010 release was A. Karunakaran's Darling which featured her alongside Prabhas and received favorable response, becoming a commercial success at the box office,^[17] with Kajal receiving her second Filmfare nomination for Best Actress for her performance. In August, she appeared in the Tamil thriller film Naan Mahaan Alla opposite Karthi, which was based on a real life incident and opened to unanimously positive reviews.^[18] The film performed well at the box office and was declared a blockbuster. Kajal's final release in 2010 was Brindavanam opposite NTR Jr. and Samantha, which received critical acclaim and went on to become an economical success as well,^[19] while fetching Kajal the CineMAA Award for Best Actress.

In 2011, she was paired with Prabhas for the second time in Mr. Perfect, directed by Dasaradh. The film became a critical and commercial success. Kajal won appraisal by critics with Times Of India writing, "What is applause-worthy in the movie is Kajal Agarwal's performance. She looks great, expresses well and fits into the role perfectly".^[20] In May, she appeared in Veera opposite Ravi Teja that received negative reviews.^[21] and the box office collections was Break-even.^[22] She subsequently made her Bollywood debut in a leading role with Singham, a remake of the same-titled 2010 Tamil film, opposite Ajay Devgn. The film received mixed reviews from critics,^[23] as did her portrayal of a Goan girl Kavya Bhosle. Film critic Taran Adarsh dismissed Kajal's role saying "Kaajal doesn't really get much of an opportunity to prove her talent and the film cannot be regarded as an ideal Bollywood debut for her", but further stated that "she makes her presence felt nonetheless". While Komal Nahta wrote that, "she acts with effortless ease and her performance is good".^[24] The film became a blockbuster at the box office, collecting 85 crore (US$16.96 million) within three weeks.^[25]

In early 2012, kajal appeared in Puri Jagannadh's directed Telugu film Business Man alongside Mahesh Babu. Upon release, the film broke the highest opening day collections record and became a critical and commercial success.^[26][27]

She will be the heroine of Suriya's Maatraan, which will be directed by K. V. Anand.^[28][29] She has also signed A. R. Murugadoss's Thuppakki opposite Vijay.^[30][31] She will also lead in Sukumar's Untitled Project opposite Mahesh Babu.^[32]

Filmography[link]

Sunil

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kajal Aggarwal at the Internet Movie Database
• Kajal Aggarwal Fan Website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kajal Aggarwal

Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart at the 2012 Wondercon on March 17, 2012
Born	Kristen Jaymes Stewart (1990-04-09) April 9, 1990 (age 22) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present
Signature
Website
kristenstewart.com

Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has starred in other films, including Panic Room (2002), Zathura (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), The Messengers (2007), Adventureland (2009), The Runaways (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman. She will star in upcoming films in 2012: On the Road and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.

Early life[link]

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.^[1][2][3] Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox.^[4] Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia.^[3][5][6][7] She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart, and an adopted brother, Taylor.^[8][9] Stewart attended school until the seventh grade and then continued her education by correspondence.^[3] She has since completed high school.^[10]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Her whole family all worked behind the camera and Stewart thought she would become a writer/director, but never considered being an actor. "I never wanted to be the center of attention – I wasn't that 'I want to be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on everything."^[11] Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play.^[12] After a year of auditioning, Stewart's first role was a small nonspeaking part in the Disney Channel original film The Thirteenth Year.^[4] Then, she had another part in the film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas as the "ring toss girl".^[4] She subsequently appeared in the independent film The Safety of Objects, in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy in the film Panic Room, playing the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.^[13]

After Panic Room's success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, Cold Creek Manor, playing the daughter of Dennis Quaid's and Sharon Stone's characters. She was again nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.^[13] It was revealed that at about this time in her career, she had to be homeschooled due to her irregular schedule, which was affecting her grades. She said, "I started homeschooling because my teachers were failing me. I think it was just resentment – I made more work for them. But homeschooling is great; you can study what you want, which allows you to get more excited about what you're doing".^[13]

2004–07[link]

Her first starring role followed, in the children's action-comedy Catch That Kid, opposite Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu. Stewart also played the role of Lila in the thriller Undertow. Stewart starred in the Lifetime/Showtime television film Speak (2004), based on the novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Stewart, 13 at the time of filming, played high school freshman Melinda Sordino, who stops almost all verbal contact after being raped.

In 2005, Stewart appeared in the fantasy-adventure film Zathura, playing the role of Lisa, the irresponsible older sister of two little boys, who turn their house into a spacecraft hurtling uncontrollably in outer space by playing a board game. The film received praise by critics, but Stewart's performance did not garner much media attention, as it was noted that her character is immobilized during most of the film.^[14] The following year, she played the character Maya in Fierce People, directed by Griffin Dunne. After that film, she received the lead role of Jess Solomon in the supernatural thriller film The Messengers.

In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in In the Land of Women, a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart appeared in the Sean Penn-directed adaptation film Into the Wild. For her portrayal of Tracy – a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) – Stewart received mixed reviews. While Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance",^[15] and the Chicago Tribune noted that she did "vividly well with a sketch of a role",^[16] Variety's critic Dennis Harvey said, "It's unclear whether Stewart means to be playing hippie-chick Tracy as vapid, or whether it just comes off that way."^[17] After Into the Wild, Stewart had a cameo appearance in Jumper and also appeared in What Just Happened, which was released in October 2008.^[18] She also co-starred in The Cake Eaters an independent film that has only been screened at film festivals.

2008–present[link]

On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film Twilight, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance novel of the same name.^[19] Stewart was on the set of Adventureland when director Catherine Hardwicke visited her for an informal screen test which "captivated" the director.^[20] She starred alongside Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, her character's vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008. Twilight was released domestically on November 21, 2008.^[21] Her performance garnered mixed reviews with some critcs calling her "the ideal casting choice" and praising her for conveying "Bella's detachment, as well as her need to bust through it"^[22] while others criticized her acting for being "wooden" and lacking variety in her facial expressions which they described as "blank".^[23]

Stewart reappeared as Bella in the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, once again receiving mixed reviews for her performance. Jordan Mintzer from Variety called Stewart "the heart and soul of the film" and praised her for giving "both weight and depth to dialogue...she makes Bella's psychological wounds seem like the real deal"^[24] Manohla Dargis from The New York Times said Stewart's "lonely-girl blues soon grow wearisome" throughout the film^[25] and Billy Goodykoontz from The Arizona Republic stated "Stewart is a huge disapointment... She sucks the energy right out of the film".^[26] She reprised this role in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Kristen Stewart at the 2010 Academy Awards.

At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honour of the horror movie genre.^[27]

In 2009, Stewart starred in The Yellow Handkerchief, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was released into theaters in 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. She also starred alongside James Gandolfini in Welcome to the Rileys, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010.

In 2010, Stewart portrayed rock star Joan Jett in The Runaways, a biographical film of the titular band of the same name from writer-director Floria Sigismondi.^[28] Stewart met with Jett over the 2008–2009 New Year to prepare for the role and ended up prerecording songs in a studio for the film.^[29] She received praise for her performance as the Metro Times wrote, "It turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance... Stewart is a genuine rock star here."^[30] Also, A. O. Scott of The New York Times noted "Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul."^[31]

She was cast in the role of Mary Lou in an upcoming film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's cult classic novel On the Road. Shooting began in August 2010.^[32]

Stewart was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood in the "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List" compiled by Vanity Fair. Throughout 2010, Stewart earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie appearances.^[33]

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was released on November 18, 2011. The film was successful in the box office making $283.5 million its opening weekend. Though the film received negative reviews, Stewart's performance was praised. Gabriel Chong called Stewart's performance "mesmerising" and said that she "makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy, trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute determination"^[34] and the Village Voice's Dan Konis saying Stewart "beautifully underplays"^[35] the role. However, some critics found Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry lacking and said that the relationship came off like a "charade" onscreen^[36] or that none of the three leads were convincing in their roles.^[37]

In March 2011, it was confirmed that Stewart would be playing Snow White in the film Snow White and the Huntsman.^[38] Filming began on August 15 and the film was released on June 1, 2012.^[39]

On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck.^[40]

She was named the new face of an unnamed Balenciaga perfume on January 13, 2012.^[41]

In May 2012, Stewart was cast in the thiller titled Cali, directed by Nick Cassavetes. She will begin shooting the film at the end of this summer.^[42] Stewart plays one half of a troublesome pair of San Fernando Valley lovebirds who decide to sell a fake snuff film and permanently ditch with the cash. Years later, Stewart's character runs into a dilemma when she's compelled to return to Los Angeles to help out the little sister she left behind. After faking her own death, she must explain her dramatic decision to not only her closest family members but to the angry former business partners she left behind.

Personal life[link]

Stewart currently lives in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She has expressed a desire to live and work in Australia, saying, "I want to go to Sydney University in Australia. My mom's from there."^[43] Apart from acting, she is also interested in attending college in the near future, saying, "I want to go to college for literature. I want to be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do – be a professional liar for the rest of my life."^[44] In 2008, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Stewart acknowledged that she was in a relationship with Michael Angarano, her co-star from Speak.^[45]

Since meeting on the set of Twilight, Stewart has been romantically linked to co-star Robert Pattinson.^[46] Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention, making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage.^[47] In an interview with GQ, when asked why she remained reluctant to talk about the relationship despite evidence of it being accessible online, Stewart replied, "Yeah, I know it is...So much of my life is so easily googled. I mean, it's like, come on guys, it's so obvious!"^[47] When asked why she refuses to talk about her life, Stewart replied "I'm selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine remaining that way. It's a funny little game to play and it's a slippery slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away because there's never any point or benefit for me. I guarantee whenever I get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's name and I'm not going to say it for ages."^[47]

Filmography[link]