Samantha Akkineni has been away from work for almost a year. There are no announcements about her next project and she has been spending quality time with her husband Naga Chaitanya who is locked at home because of lockdown. Samantha who practices yoga and meditation started her 48-day journey of Isha Kriya, a process of meditation. Samantha even posted the pictures from her meditation time. The actress is finding much peace through these meditation sessions. On the work front, Samantha is expected to join the sets of a women-centric film soon that would be produced by Sony Pictures.
Digital Promotions: New ways of earnings for top actresses
Gone are the days when actresses earned big amounts through endorsements, inaugurations and promoting brands. These were equal to their film earnings per year. With the coronavirus outbreak, the shoots are stalled and the actresses could not earn much through the brands and endorsements. Small heroines who depended on earning money through endorsements have been in struggling phase.
However, things are different with top heroines. They have chosen digital ways of promotions through which they made handsome money during the lockdown. South Indian actresses Samantha, Kajal, Rakul Preet Singh, Tamannaah and Rashmika kept themselves busy at home and promoted several brands through their social media platforms and took hefty remunerations. Samantha was promoting Myntra and she even shot for a short video byte at home to promote the brand.
Pooja Hegde campaigned for ‘Swag se Solo’ while Kajal, Tamannaah and Rakul were busy promoting various international brands. Along with these, they are charging a bomb per social media post as they have been enjoying millions of followers. All these actresses spent quality time with their families during this lockdown time and they managed to earn decent money through these digital promotions.
Samantha signs her first pan-Indian project
Samantha Akkineni has been idle from some time and kept her fans guessing about her upcoming projects. It is true that the top actress rejected a series of projects after Jaanu. Sony Pictures India is in talks with the actress for a women-centric project from a long time and the entire pre-production work of the film got completed recently. As per the latest update, the film would be the first pan-Indian project for Samantha.
This untitled project will start rolling from August and will be shot simultaneously in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages. The entire shoot of the film will be completed in a single schedule by the end of this year. An official announcement about the project will be made soon after things settle down. Samantha recently completed the shoot of her first web series ‘The Family Man: Season 2’ which will release on Amazon Prime this year.
Samantha’s ‘Intermittent fasting’
Samantha Akkineni is away from work from some time and is spending time with her hubby Naga Chaitanya during this lockdown time. During her recent interaction on twitter, the actress said that she has been following the technique of ‘Intermittent fasting’ to keep herself fit and to satisfy her hunger for food. Samantha said that she is having biryani for lunch every other day. Samantha who is fond of spicy food finished three bottles of pickle already.
She made it clear that she has been on a strict diet for some time and is turning a foodie for the rest of the season. Samantha is battling between a foodie and a fitness freak through ‘Intermittent fasting’. The actress has a couple of women-centric films in the pipeline and they will be announced officially after the lockdown.
Samantha’s only release this year
Samantha Akkineni hasn’t been seen across the film circles after the super success of Oh Baby. Though she signed a couple of films, they are yet to be announced officially and start the shoots. The actress already completed the shoot of ‘The Family Man: Season 2’ which features Manoj Bajpayee and Priyamani in the lead roles. Samantha will be playing the role of the lead antagonist in this action drama.
The web series is gearing up for July and it marks the next release of Samantha. The post-production work reached the final stages. Along with other languages, Samantha also dubbed for her role in English. Amazon Prime bankrolled ‘The Family Man: Season 2’. With the country under lockdown and theatres shut, the web series would be in the bucket list of the most viewers as the first season was a smashing hit. Samantha also signed films for top production houses Mythri Movie Makers, Sony Pictures. Both of these films are expected to start soon.
Samantha’s next Telugu project details are here
Samantha Akkineni is a star actress and she has been living up to the expectations with every project. After back to back blockbusters, the actress rejected a series of films in the recent times. Her fans are eagerly waiting for the big announcement about her next. The latest news we have is that Samantha recently gave her nod for a women-centric film. Sony Pictures India will bankroll this project and will be directed by a debutant.
All the agreements got completed before the lockdown was imposed. An official announcement will be made soon. The film will be shot simultaneously in Telugu, Tamil languages and will be completed in a single schedule. Samantha is also in talks for the biopic of Bengaluru Nagarathnamma which will be directed by Singeetham Srinivas Rao. Samantha will hear the complete draft soon and will take a call about this project.
Right after the coronavirus season, Samantha will complete the women-centric film before moving on to her next projects.
Samantha in talks for a realty show
Samantha Akkineni is undoubtedly the top actress of Telugu cinema. She rejected a bunch of films in the recent times and is very selective. She is making her debut into web space with The Family Man:Season 2 which completed shoot. The actress is currently in talks for a realty show that will be streamed on Aha which was launched by Allu Aravind recently.
The talks are in initial stages and the makers are working on the concept. Samantha loved the basic idea and she would take a call once things take a better shape. Samantha already quoted huge remuneration for the realty show. The actress hasn’t signed any new Telugu film as of now.
Chaitu and Samantha expecting their first child?
Samantha Akkineni turned quite choosy after her marriage. She stood away from regular commercial films and signed films that brought her immense respect as an actress. Though Jaanu disappointed, Samantha scored full marks for her performance. The actress is now staying away from signing films and she wrapped up all her current commitments. Telugu360 exclusively learned that Chaitu and Samantha are expected their first child and hence Samantha decided to stay away from films.
The actress will take a long break as of now. Samantha wasn’t too excited about the scripts she heard recently. Hence she felt that this would be the right time to take a break. It is unclear as of now if the top actress returns back to films or restricts herself for her family. Chaitu is busy wrapping up Love Story and he will start shooting for Parasuram’s project from May.
Jaanu Day1 AP/TS Collections – Decent Opening
Jaanu has taken a decent opening in the Telugu States with a distributor share of 2.20 Cr. It has registered good occupancies in cities which is usual for this sort of films. The film is an own release all over and needs to be seen how it will perform over the weekend.
Below are the area wise first-week Shares
| Area | Day 1 Collections |
|---|---|
| Nizam | 0.88 Cr |
| Ceeded | 0.28 Cr |
| UA | 0.32 Cr |
| Guntur | 0.24 Cr |
| East | 0.17 Cr |
| West | 0.09 Cr |
| Krishna | 0.15 Cr |
| Nellore | 0.06 Cr |
| AP/TS | 2.19 Cr |
Samantha’s daredevil stunts
Samantha Akkineni is making her debut into digital space with ‘The Family Man: Season 2’. She is one of the antagonists in this thriller which completed shoot. For the first time in her career, Samantha performed some daredevil stunts for ‘The Family Man’. The actress revealed that she performed them without a body double and it was a thrilling experience. Like everyone, Samantha too is eagerly waiting for the release of this web series.
Her performance in Jaanu is winning the hearts of the audience. The film released on Friday and it registered decent numbers on day one. Samantha is in talks to play the lead actress in Ajay Bhupathi’s Maha Samudram. Sharwanand will play the lead actor in this action thriller.
Jaanu Review – Nostalgic and Romantic tale !
Jaanu Movie Review
Telugu360 Rating 3/5
Iconic Tamil hit 96 is remade into Telugu as Jaanu starring Sharwanand and Samantha Akkineni in the lead roles. The Tamil version is a runaway hit at box office and piqued the interest of movie buffs beyond boundaries in all other languages. Telugu audience also embraced 96 very well and producer Dil Raju roped in director Prem Kumar who helmed the original version to recreate the magic in Telugu. Prem Kumar has slightly tweaked the story line to suit the sensibilities of Telugu audience.
Can the Telugu version evoke a similar response like 96 ?? Let’s find out.
Story:
Ram, a travel photographer visits his native place Vizag. While passing by his school, where he first met his love Janaki two decades ago, Ramu becomes nostalgic and contacts all his school friends via whatsapp group. They plan a reunion in Hyderabad where Ram meets Janaki first time after school. Rest of the story is how Ram Janaki open up too late about their love
Analysis:
K. Ramachandra decides to pay a visit to his school en route. Like any other film which deals with coming of age theme, majority of the first half revolves around the infatuation of 10 th grade students Janaki and Ramachandra. Ram, being a shy guy, was unable to express his love towards Janaki. When they enter 11 th grade Ram’s family relocates to a different town. Since then Ram Janu never meet each other. Set in 2019, school reunion of 2004 batch turns into a reunion Ram and Jaanu. First half of the film is decent and sets the premise for emotional second half.
The purity in their mutual love is the underlying reason for the success of this script. It is not an easy task to engage the audience while narrating a whole story between four walls. Be it hotel room or Ram’s house – majority of the second half runs indoors but still engage the audience.
Jaanu film portrays true love shared by two beautiful souls. In present day’s society, it is impossible to expect a love story like Ram and Janu. But their characterizations make you root for them. Director C. Prem Kumar deserves the whole credit for his skill in handling a sensible subject.
The slow-motion shots make us feel the emotion of characters and their moral dilemma. Music composer Govind Menon’s score is a big plus for the film as it helps us feel the happiness, the dilemma and the purity that the characters have to deal with. Telugu dialogues writer Kiran Kumar Reddy ( Mirchi Kiran) did a commendable job.
Performances:
Sharwanand as Ramachandra is a good fit in the role. Samantha aces her performance as a woman. Younger sharwa is cool as well.Vennela Kishore , Tagubothu Ramesh play Sharwa’s Childhood friends roles. Remaining characters are less significant
Positives:
- Heartwarming emotions
- Hero, Heroines performance
- Good Songs, music
- Clean film
Negatives:
- Slow Paced narration
Verdict:
Jaanu is a faithful remake that is able to recreate the essence of its original. Second half has many heartwarming scenes and dialogues. Sharwanand, Samantha’s great performance and background score are excellent. It would be interesting to see how Telugu Audience will lap up this matured love story.
Telugu360 Rating 3/5
Queen of Overseas ‘ Samantha ‘ back as Jaanu
Samantha Akkineni is undoubtedly the top actress in Telugu cinema currently. She is a huge crowd puller and all her recent films made the magic at the box-office. After the super success of Oh Baby, Samantha is testing her luck with Jaanu. Sharwanand is the lead actor and Prem Kumar directed this romantic drama. She is a queen at the USA box-office and she has 15 million dollar films in the territory. Jaanu is expected to take a flying start because of the lead actors and the genre.
Jaanu is an emotional and heart touching romantic saga which is inspired by Tamil film 96. The trailer hints that the film will appeal to youth big time and the songs are topping the music charts. Sharwanand and Samantha are promoting the film widely and they complimented each other for their performances in Jaanu. With a lot of positive signs surrounded, Jaanu is expected to take a thumping start in USA. Dil Raju produced the film and Jaanu is getting a huge release across the globe.
Jaanu Trailer: Poetic and Heart-touching
96 happened to be a magical romantic tale in Tamil which is made in Telugu as Jaanu. Without missing the soul, the film’s director Prem Kumar recreated the magic and the trailer says it all. Sharwanand and Samantha live up to the expectations as Ram and Jaanu in their roles. With some poetic narration, beautiful visuals and top-notch performances, Jaanu is all set to make a spark in Telugu cinema too. The trailer makes sure that the film is a heart-touching romantic film filled with pure love and emotions.
The cinematography work and background score excels. Jaanu trailer keeps good expectations on the film and it makes a pleasant watch. Sharwanand and Samantha’s performances will take the film to the next level says the trailer. Jaanu is slated for February 7th release. Dil Raju is the producer and Govind Vasantha is the music composer.
A hard-hitting role for Samantha?
Samantha Akkineni is on a break and is yet to start shooting for her next film after the super success of Oh Baby. The actress will next be seen in Maha Samudram along with Sharwanand. The latest update is that Samantha is now in talks with Tamil director Gopi Nainar who earlier directed critically acclaimed and award-winning film Aramm. The actress loved the concept and her role is said to be a hard-hitting one. This women-centric film will roll this year if the actress gives her nod. Samantha is quite positive about the project but she is yet to sign the dotted line. The film is a bilingual and will be shot in Telugu, Tamil languages simultaneously. More details awaited.
First Look: Sharwanand and Samantha’s Jaanu
After 96 ended up as a blockbuster in Tamil, top producer Dil Raju acquired the remake rights of the film. Prem Kumar who directed the original has been roped in to remake the film. Sharwanand and Samantha are the lead actors. The film completed all the formalities and is slated for February release. The makers today unveiled the title and first look poster of the film which is titled Jaanu.
Sharwanand has been spotted in the poster in a desert. Samantha’s look as of now is kept under wraps. Jaanu is a romantic entertainer which is carrying decent expectations. Govind Vasantha composed the music and Sri Venkateswara Creations are the producers. The film releases on February 7th across the globe.
