Parvathamma, the gritty woman who wrote the saga of Rajkumar’s success

She was a successful film entrepreneur in Karnataka and the pivot of the ‘first family’ of the industry

The prime place Parvathamma Rajkumar occupied in the world of Kannada cinema may owe much to her second name. But being the wife of the biggest icon of the industry also overshadowed her own strong personality in many ways.

She was the only woman producer-distributor of Kannada films and anyone who saw the family from close knew that she was the pivot of the “first family” of the industry. In fact, she did not flinch to take tough decisions, not always popular, in the interests of the family.

Doddahulluru Rukkoji, film historian and author of a two-volume book on Rajkumar’s life, describes Parvathamma as the first successful woman film entrepreneur in Karnataka who played a big role in “what is easily the most sensational success story in the history of Kannada cinema”.

“She was really the centre of the story of Rajkumar. The entire family depended on her and she could go to any length to protect its interests. She managed Rajkumar’s image amazingly well,” he said.

Parvathamma was a naive 13 year old from Saligrama village in Mysuru district when she married the actor, but she grew to become a formidable force in the industry. She once told this correspondent that she wanted to continue her studies and become a doctor but her family would hear none of it. Though Rajkumar entered Kannada cinema through Bedara Kannappa, it was a hand-to-mouth existence for many years and the couple had to support the extended family of over 30 members.

Fiercely protective

Parvathamma had a reputation of being fiercely protective of Rajkumar and the rest of the family, and the story goes that she decided to step in when she felt that his image was being exploited by others.

“In fact, she had not ventured out of her house till Rajkumar crossed the 100-film mark. When she felt that Rajkumar was gullible and people were taking advantage of that, she jumped into action,” said an industry insider.

She launched Chandrika Movies in Hubballi and distributed Trimurthi in 1975 and later launched Vajreshwari Combines in 1980. Its maiden production was Shankar Guru, which was an unparalleled hit. Their 83rd production was Run Antony starring Vinay Rajkumar, her grandson. Today Vajreshwari Combines is involved in production, post-production, distribution, and every other aspect of film-making. Its sister concern Poornima Productions is also engaged in similar operations.

“Her managerial skills were proverbial as she managed production, distribution and exhibition business as efficiently as she ran her household. Vajreshwari Combines knew none of the chaos which generally reigns in film production companies,” said Mr. Rukkoji.

Besides those of Rajkumar’s, Parvathamma produced successful films featuring her sons Shivarajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar, and grandson Vinay Rajkumar. She was instrumental in launching careers of actors such as Sudharani, Malashri, Prema, Rakshita, and Ramya.

Parvathamma was honoured with various awards by the Karnataka government, including State film awards and Kannada Rajyotsava Award. Bangalore University conferred an honorary doctorate on her, considering her contribution to Kannada cinema.

“Producing 83 films with complete involvement, besides financing and distributing them — all this by a woman from a rural background might be a record of sorts in the Indian film industry,” said Baragur Ramachandrappa, writer and director who headed the committee that revised Kannada Chalanachitra Ithihasa compendium.

What they had to say:

M.H. Ambareesh, actor and former Minister: Coming from the most backward rural area and building an empire in the Kannada film industry is not an ordinary achievement.

***

Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister: Apart from introducing talented artistes and technicians to Kannada cinema, Parvathamma expanded its market as a producer and distributor.

***

B. Saroja Devi, veteran actor: Parvathamma was the strength behind Rajkumar’s success as a cultural icon.

***

Bhargava, film-maker: Parvathamma played a pivotal role in selection of stories for Rajkumar’s film. She used to read a lot of Kannada novels and chose those which suited Rajkumar’s stature.

***

Srinivasa Murthy, veteran actor: Parvathamma was the mother not only to her sons and daughters, but also to the Kannada film industry in many ways.

Rajinikanth's Kaala Karikaalan: New Cast Members, Shooting Details Revealed

Nana Patekar has been cast in a pivotal role in Rajinikanth's Kaala Karikaalan, which is directed by Pa Ranjith and produced by Dhanush

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Rajinikanth on the sets of Kaala Karikaalan in Mumbai. [Image courtesy (R): rajini_rfc]

NEW DELHI: 

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Rajinikanth's Kaala Karikaalan went on floors in Mumbai on Sunday
2. The shooting will reportedly go on continuously for 40 days
3. The film also stars huma Qureshi, Samuthirakani and Anjali Patil

Nana Patekar will co-star with Rajinikanth in upcoming film Kaala Karikaalan, reports news agency IANS. The Pa Ranjith-directed film went on floors over the weekend in Mumbai. The makers of Kaala Karikaalan released a statement in which they conformed the film's cast which also includes Huma Qureshi as the female lead. Kaala Karikaalan also stars Samuthirakani and Anjali Patil. The makers also revealed that the shooting for Kaala Karikaalan will go on continuously for 40 days, reports IANS. Dhanush, who is the producer of Rajinikanth's film, shared a few posters of the film last week on Twitter in which Rajinikanth's swag was off the charts.

Here are the posters of Kaala Karikaalan:
 

Paul Allen Just Rolled Out The World's Largest Airplane

The initial construction on the massive airplane Paul Allen has been quietly building in the California desert is complete, and the vehicle, which would be the world's largest airplane with a wingspan wider than Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, was wheeled out of its hangar for the first time on Wednesday.

Called Stratolaunch, the plane has some impressive stats: a wingspan of 385 feet, or longer than a football field, a height of 50 feet. Unfueled, it weighs 500,000 pounds. But it can carry 250,000 pounds of fuel, and its total weight can reach as high as 1.3 million pounds.

But, really . . .. How big is it? It's so big that it has 28 wheels and six 747 jet engines. It's so big that it has 60 miles of wire coursing through it. It's so big that the county had to issue special construction permits just for the construction scaffolding.

It's so big that to truly get a sense of it, you have to see it from a distance - like a mountain.

But why is Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Seattle Seahawks, building such a massive plane?

It's not to carry passengers, but rather rockets. The bigger the plane, the larger the rockets, or the greater the number.

Allen's Stratolaunch company has partnered with Orbital ATK to "air launch" the company's Pegasus XL, a rocket capable of delivering small satellites, weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, to orbit. The rockets would be tethered to the belly of the giant plane, which would fly them aloft, and once at an altitude of 35,000 feet or so, the rockets would drop and "air launch" to space.

"With airport-style operations and quick turn-around capabilities," the company said it believes "air launch" is a cheaper and more efficient way to get satellites into space than rockets that launch vertically and can be extraordinarily expensive.

For Allen, it's all about LEO, or low-Earth orbit. He, and others, such as Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit, are betting that they can reduce the cost of launching small satellites to space. And that, in turn, will lead to new ways to beam the internet all across the globe, provide better Earth sensing capabilities, better communication, and open up all sorts of avenues.

"When such access to space is routine, innovation will accelerate in ways beyond what we can currently imagine," Allen said in a statement a year ago. "That's the thing about new platforms: when they become easily available, convenient and affordable, they attract and enable other visionaries and entrepreneurs to realize more new concepts."

More than a decade ago, Allen had hoped to spark a revolution in space travel when he funded SpaceShipOne, which became the first commercial vehicle to cross the threshold of space. The project ultimately won the Ansari X Prize, and a $10 million award. He then licensed the technology to Branson and moved on to other pursuits. But with Stratolaunch, he is back in the space business.

"Thirty years ago, the PC revolution put computing power into the hands of millions and unlocked incalculable human potential," he wrote. "Twenty years ago, the advent of the Web and the subsequent proliferation of smartphones combined to enable billions of people to surmount the traditional limitations of geography and commerce. Today, expanding access to LEO holds similar revolutionary potential."

In a statement Wednesday, Jean Floyd, Stratolauch's chief executive, said the company would be "actively exploring a broad spectrum of launch vehicles that will enable us to provide more flexibility to customers."

He added: "Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be actively conducting ground and flightline testing at the Mojave Air and Space Port. This is a first-of-its-kind aircraft, so we're going to be diligent throughout testing and continue to prioritize the safety of our pilots, crew and staff. Stratolaunch is on track to perform its first launch demonstration as early as 2019."

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Thalapathy 61: Vijay to play three roles in his next film, one of them being a magician

Tamil superstar Vijay has reunited with Theri director Atlee for yet-untitled upcoming project which is currently being shot in exotic European locales. We had already reported that the film features Vijay in triple roles for the first time in his career. Apparently, as part of these roles he will be seen playing a panchayat head, a doctor and a magician. It has also been clarified by reliable sources close to the team that he doesn’t play a Sikh character and a police officer, as reported by a section of media.

Price caps help check medical costs, bring relief to poor

allan| TNN | May 24, 2017, 05.29 AM IST

NEW DELHI:The health sector saw major initiatives to bring down and cap prices of essential medicines through price control, coupled with moves to expand a network of cheaper drug dispensaries in the last three years.

The push for cheaper medicines and medical devices comes even as cost of medical care remains high with the government looking for ways to expand insurance cover and reduce out-of-pocket expenditure.

Official data shows prices of essential medicines have come down by over 50% in the last three years. Price control played a major role in enhancing savings on medicines, which constitute at least 40% of an household's expenditure on health. Both health ministry and drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) worked to cap prices of commonly used essential medicines. The health ministry ensured timely review of the National List of Essential Medicines, the basis for price capping and NPPA implemented price caps keeping a tight check on violations and non-compliance.

Three years of Modi government: Foreign policy takes an unconventional route

Three years of Modi government: Foreign policy takes an unconventional route

Indrani Bagchi| TNN | Updated: May 24, 2017, 09.09 AM IST

HIGHLIGHTS

• Traditionally India used to be reluctant to publicly confront China’s hegemonic ambitions
• But, in the last three years India clearly articulated objections to OBOR and CPEC
• Announcement of surgical strike also highlights a bold and proactive stance on terror
• NEW DELHI: By doing foreign policy differently — as the Modi government completes its third year in office — India has challenged conventional thinking even though the effects of these actions in the longer term still need to be assessed.
  
  Working backwards chronologically, India's recent decision to skip the much-hyped 'Belt & Road Forum' (BRF) in Beijing, was contrary to India's traditional reluctance to publicly confront China's hegemonic ambitions.
  
  India clearly articulated objections to OBOR and CPEC (China-Pakistan economic corridor) on the basis of sovereignty. India laid out why it believed OBOR to be exploitative, colonial in its lack of transparency and the way it created unsustainable debt in "partner" countries and caused environmental damage.
  
  While some nations were gearing up to praise China's massive utilisation of excess capacities, India's reaction proved to be a dampener for the Chinese.
  
  For some in India, signing up for OBOR would have been less painful, and apparently pragmatic. The Modi government concluded its unusual reaction was in keeping with India's traditional opposition to China-Pakistan activities in POK. And that going by Sri Lanka's experience and perhaps even Pakistan's, the openly mercantilist policies of China need to be publicly opposed.
  
  As it turned out, the EU too backed away from a trade statement using similar arguments. Political ties with China have gone steadily downhill in the past couple of years, though interestingly FDI from China has risen significantly in the Modi years.
  
  China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of FDI into India — it was 17th largest in 2016, up from the 28th in 2014 and 35th in 2011.
  
  Matters have not been helped by China stymying India's bid for NSG membership and protecting Pakistan-based Jaish terrorist Masood Azhar from sanctions. Early this year, foreign secretary S Jaishankar promised China would get a lot more attention from India, in order to put the relationship back on the rails.
  
  The two countries continue working together on some areas, but the promise held out when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi swung gently on a Gujarati swing in 2014, has dissipated.
  
  India has paid much greater attention to its near neighbourhood, sans Pakistan. Bangladesh has been the template for a new kind of engagement. While neighbours traditionally get a large chunk of Indian assistance, it was largely unstructured.
  
  India has now decided to focus on around 20 visible projects for Bangladesh, which will utilise the $4.5 billion in LOC assistance. India will follow a similar approach in Sri Lanka, which recently saw a second Modi visit. India has also worked hard to create a Saarc minus Pakistan, in order to beat its clasp on India's neighborhood outreach.
  
  In 2016, the BRICS summit saw the revival of BIMSTEC, while a sub-regional cooperation initiative, BBIN, is slowly coming together, creating transport and power networks in the east.
  
  Earlier this month, India launched the south Asia satellite that signalled cooperation without a direct quid pro quo. One of Modi's signature initiatives has been westwards, in his new 'Link West' policy, to mirror the 'Act East'.
  
  As Modi prepares to travel to Israel, his visit comes as virtually the last stop after unexpectedly intense engagement with the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran, in addition to Oman.
  
  Strong economic imperatives, infrastructure investment and India's desire to play a greater security role over shared concerns over threats like the terror group IS drive India's outreach. This is also intended to wean these nations away from Pakistan as India peddles a "better narrative".

SEE Vivegam new poster: Thala Ajith's gift to fans on his 46th birthday simply rocks

Today is the 46th birthday of Thala Ajith Kumar. And the boss has a special treat for his fans on this auspicious day.

As we all know, Ajith Kumar will be seen next in the action thriller Vivegam. This will be director Siva's third film with Ajith Kumar after two back to back blockbusters, the 2014 film Veeram and 2015's Vedhalam.

Reportedly Ajith Kumar plays an Interpol agent in the film while Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi is essaying the role of the antagonist. Earlier, the first look of Vivegam showed Ajith Kumar with his chiselled, bulked up physique for which the actor received a lot of appreciation.

Now on his 46th birthday, Thala Ajith has gifted his fans the new poster of Vivegam. Here the actor is seen with a huge tree trunk atop his shoulders as he sits on his knees in a place full of snow as a storm rages on. Thala's face is bloodied and he is seen looking up towards the sky and screaming. However, this time he is not shirtless.

India to have 310 million online gamers by TRUMP: Report

India to have 310 million online gamers by TRUMP: Report

New Delhi: Increasing smartphone penetration and convenient digital payment options will drive the online gamers base in the country to more than double to 310 million by 2021, a report by Google-KPMG on Wednesday said.

It also projects that the online gaming industry in India will gain momentum and grow at 20 per cent to USD 1 billion by 2021, from the current USD 360 million.

Interestingly, a 22X growth is expected this year in revenue generated by top 100 freemium games over paid apps.

Many app developers follow the 'freemium model' that offers the app for free but players have to pay for using proprietary features, functionality, or purchasing virtual goods.

"With a 117 per cent spike in searches for online games by Indians, it is estimated that the current online gamer base of 120 million gamers in 2016 will grow to 310 million by 2021," the report titled 'Online Gaming in India: 2021' said.

About 75 per cent of the respondents, who were part of the study said they have phones priced below Rs 20,000.

Also, the mix includes casual gamers who prefer more puzzle games as well as heavy gamers, who opt for strategy games.

Young gamers play upto six different games on their devices and there is a strong influence of referrals and peer groups.

The report covered over 3,000 respondents across metros and cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Agartala and Shillong

Facebook fined 150,000 euros by French data watchdog

 

Paris: Facebook has been fined 150,000 euros ($165,645) by France`s CNIL data watchdog for failure to prevent its users` data from being accessed by advertisers.

CNIL said its fine - which was imposed on both Facebook Inc and Facebook Ireland - was part of a wider European probe also being carried out in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany into some of Facebook`s practices.

The 150,000 euros fine is small in the context of the company which has quarterly revenue of about $8 billion and a stock market capitalisation which stands at around $435 billion.

Twitter co-founder asks sorry for 'helping make Trump president'

London: For Twitter playing a role in the election of Donald Trump as US president, former CEO and co-founder Evan Williams of micro-blogging site has apologied in public.

Trump indicated in March that Twitter played an important role in his election. When asked about that remark, Williams in an interview told the New York Times, "It`s a very bad thing, Twitter`s role in that." 

"If it`s true that he wouldn`t be President if it weren`t for Twitter, then yeah, I`m sorry," Williams said

Trump has 30 million followers on his personal account on the platform and was known as a prolific tweeter well before he announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for presidency, independent.co.uk reported on Saturday.

Since entering the White House and taking control of the @POTUS (President of the United States) Twitter handle, he has 17 million followers of that account.

The platform was used extensively by his supporters during the presidential poll to advocate him and to denounce Hillary Clinton.

His detractors also well utilised the platform.

"I think that maybe I wouldn`t be here if it wasn`t for Twitter, because I get such a fake press, such a dishonest press. I mean, if you look at -- and I`m not including Fox, because I think Fox has been fair to me, but if you look at CNN and if you look at these other networks," Trump told Fox News in March

சென்னையில் கீழ்ப்பாக்கம் சாலையில் திடீர் பள்ளம்

ள்ளசென்னையில் கீழ்ப்பாக்கம் சாலையில் திடீர் பம்

சென்னை கீழ்பாக்கத்தில் மெட்ரோ ரயில் சுரங்கப் பாதை அமைந்துள்ள இடத்தின் அருகே சாலையில் திடீர் பள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.

ஏற்கெனவே, சென்னை அண்ணாசாலையில் அவ்வப்போது திடீர் பள்ளங்கள் ஏற்பட்டு வந்தது. அதாவது கடந்த மார்ச் 9-ம் தேதி அண்ணா சாலை அருகில் சாலையில் திடீர் பள்ளம் விழுந்தது. இந்தப் பள்ளத்தில், அரசுப் பேருந்தும், ஒரு காரும் சிக்கிக்கொண்டன.

இந்நிலையில், இன்று காலை கீழ்ப்பாக்கம் சாலையிலும் திடீர் பள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. இன்று அதிகாலையில் இந்த பள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. மெட்ரோ ரயில் பணிகளின் காரணமாக, இந்த பள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர். அதிகாரிகள் வேகமாக செயல்பட்டு சிமெண்ட் கலவை கொண்டு பள்ளத்தை மூடி உள்ளனர். 

சென்னையில் பள்ளம் ஏற்படுவது தொடர்கதையாகி வருகிறது. இதனால் மக்கள் மத்தியில் பெரும்பரபரப்பு மற்றும் அச்சத்தைக் ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.

லக்னோவில் நோ' ஹெல்மெட் நோ' பெட்ரோல்

லக்னோவில் நோ' ஹெல்மெட் நோ' பெட்ரோல்

லக்னோவில் ஹெல்மெட் அணியாதவர்களுக்கு நாளை முதல் பெட்ரோல் பங்குகளில் பெட்ரோல் விற்பனை செய்யப்படாது என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

உத்தரபிரதேசத்தின் முதல் அமைச்சர் யோகி ஆதித்யநாத் தலைமையிலான அரசு கடந்த வாரம் இந்த உத்தரவை பிறப்பித்து இருந்தது. இந்த உத்தரவை சிறப்பாக நடைமுறைப்படுத்தும் விதமாக லக்னோ போலீசார் பெட்ரோல் நிலையங்களுக்கு சென்று அங்குள்ள ஊழியர்களுக்கு கடந்த 3 நாட்களாக பயிற்சி அளித்து வந்தனர்.இந்த உத்தரவு நாளை முதல் அமலுக்கு வர உள்ளது. 

கேரளாவிலுள்ள திருவனந்தபுரம், எர்ணாகுளம், கோழிக்கோடு ஆகிய 3 நகரங்களில் வரும் ஆகஸ்ட் 1-ம் தேதி முதல், ஹெல்மெட் அணியாவிட்டால் பெட்ரோல் நிலையங்களில் பெட்ரோல் வழங்கப்பட மாட்டாது என கேரள அரசு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.