Vaikundarajan On Forbes 100 Highest Paid Celebrities Of 2016

Forbes released its 100 Highest Paid Celebrities of 2016 list with two Indians making it to the list this year. “Shah Rukh Khan shares his spot with Robert Downey Jr at 86th place while Akshay Kumar shares his 94th spot with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt,” informs Vaikundarajan.

SRK is said to have made the list due to his multi-million dollar upfront fees and cut of the backend strategy. SRK’s big bucks endorsement deal is no news to anyone.

Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, made the list due to his last three blockbuster films – Brothers, Singh is Bliing and the critically acclaimed Airlift. “Akshay Kumar also endorses diverse brands such as motorcycles and gold loan companies,” adds Vaikundarajan.

Both SRK and Akshay Kumar are gearing up for their next Bollywood release, Raees and Rustom, respectively. It should not be surprising to see the superstars higher on the list of 100 highest paid celebrities next year.

The current list is led by Taylor Swift on top, followed by boy band One Direction and author James Patterson.

Vaikundarajan On India Vs Spain Hockey At 6 Nations Invitational Tournament

Indian men’s hockey team held their counterpart Spain to a 1-1 draw in the 6 Nations Invitational Tournament on Sunday.

“The men in blue started off well showcasing their attack early on. In the 5th minute, Spain goalkeeper Quico Cortes had to make a heroic save to keep Indian attack at bay,” says Vaikundarajan. Spain too had an early penalty corner turned down by Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh.

Most of the match was played on quick counterattacks on either side of the goals. Spain soon regained control of the match as Pau Quemada scored to give them a lead at the break time.

“In the 2nd quarter of the match, India came out strong and determined to get back in the game. It took another 18 minutes for the Indian team to break the deadlock through Raghunath. In the very next minute, India had a glorious opportunity for a second, only to be squandered by a superb save by Crotes,” recalls Vaikundarajan.

In the 2nd half, India took control of the game and played counterattack through the flanks. Spain held off India for most of the remaining time. In the final few minutes, India came closest to scoring the second but only to be denied by the crossbar. The match ended at 1-1.

Vaikundarajan On The Release Of Freedom 251 Smartphone Device

When it was announced, Freedom 251 became a hot topic of discussion among the technology enthusiasts across the country. The sensational and controversial smartphone is now ready for sale, as announced by its CEO Mohit Goel.

“The device will be shipped from 30th June onwards. 2 lakh units are estimated to be shipped by 5th July,” informs Vaikundarajan.

At the price tag of 250, the company is predicted to incur losses in crores. Sources suggested that the current delay in releasing the devices was due to the battery adding further to the losses. “Over 7.5 crore users have registered for the device. Now the question arises, who will receive the device?” asks Vaikundarajan.

Vaikundarajan On Ashutosh Gowariker Next Mohenjo Daro

Maverick filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker will soon return to the big screen with his period film Mohenjo Daro. “The film stars Hrithik Roshan who Gowariker has previously worked with in Jodha Akbar,” informs Vaikundarajan. This will be his third period film after Lagaan and Khele Hum Jee Jaan se.

The first look of the film may not be fresh for the audience as several pictures from the shoot were leaked earlier. Nevertheless, the medieval age setting brings freshness to the cinema. Hrithik Roshan plays Sarman, a character who feels intensely drawn to a place called Mohenjo Daro. The character looks like a common man working hard to meet ends in big kingdom.

“Also playing the lead opposite Hrithik Roshan is the newcomer Pooja Hegde who plays the role of a princess from elite class,” adds Vaikundarajan. Arunoday Singh and Kabir Bedi will add to the cast in a negative role. Suhasini Mulay and Manish Choudhary join in the supporting role.

The intense action sequences remind us of Hollywood blockbusters like Troy and Gladiator. Hrithik Roshan is seen fighting in a large arena with the audiences cheering. “In one scene we see Hrithik Roshan fighting giant men and crocodiles. That should be the first on big screen,” says Vaikundarajan.

The film is produced by Sunita Gowariker and Siddharth Roy Kapur while music will be provided by AR Rahman. Vaikundarajan sends his best wishes to star cast and hopes Gowariker’s film brings the same magic as that of Lagaan.

Vaikundarajan On India’s 3-0 Series Victory Over Zimbabwe

Having lost the 1st two matches in their on-going series against India, Zimbabwe only chance to salvage a win would have to be in the 3rd ODI. Batting first, Zimbabwe got off to a slow start and managed to put up a score of only 123.

“The series has been a sort of nightmare for Zimbabwe and it is finally over,” says Vaikundarajan. “Losing the series to 2nd string Indian team will be a blow to the Zimbabwe team.”

The bowling attack spearheaded by Bumrah dismissed the opponents for a lowly 123 in 44.2 overs at Harare cricket ground. Bumrah ended his spell with impressive figures of 4/22 while spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2/25) and Axar Patel (1/16) added to the damage.

Baahubali Bags Top Awards At CineMAA Awards 2016, Says Vaikundarajan

“At the CineMAA Awards 2016 event held at HICC, Hyderabad, Baahubali became the highlight of the night as it swept major awards,” informs Vaikundarajan.

The film was awarded the Best Film award while director Rajamouli was adjudged as best director for Baahubali. The movie also won several awards in technical categories including music, singing etc.

“Koratala Siva won Critics award for his direction in Srimanthudu while the movie itself was chosen as the critic favourite awarding it the Crictic’s Choice award for Best film,” says Vaikundarajan.

Versatile actor NTR Jr received the Best Actor award for his stunning performance in the movie Temper. Megastar Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna presented the Best Actor Award trophy to NTR Jr.

The Best Actress award in popular category went to Anushka for her performance in Gunasekhar’s Rudhramadevi. Allu Arjun received the Critics Award for his performance as Gona Ganna Reddy in Rudhramadevi.

The highlight of the event was Megastar Chiranjeevi’s live dance performance that received a standing ovation from the actors and audiences alike.

“The event will be telecast on MAA TV later this month,” concludes Vaikundarajan.

Vaikundarajan On National Award Winning Film Thithi

Having won the National Award, debutant filmmaker Raam Reddy’s Kannada film Thithi has garnered applause from top Bollywood celebrities. The film also won various awards at the prestigious film festivals such as Locarno, Marrakech and Palm Springs.

“A special screening of Thithi was held in Mumbai by Anurag Kashyap. Among those present at the event were Kangana Ranaut, Swara Bhaskar, Amit Trivedi, Shekhar Kapur and Sudhir Mishra,” says Vaikundarajan.

The celebrities present at the event appreciated the film and the director’s work. The film is set for a release on 3rd June with English subtitles. “Interesting fact about the movie is that the film comprises of a non-professional cast,” adds Vaikundarajan.

SRH Clinch A Narrow Victory While Gayle And Kohli Impressive, Says Vaikundarajan

When Sunrisers Hyderabad put up a massive score of 208/7 on the board, all eyes turned to Royal Challengers Bangalore openers, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. And they did not disappoint. “A 100 run stand between Gayle and Kohli gave RCB the much needed lead as they looked to steal the victory from SRH,” says Vaikundarajan. However, SRH held their nerves and bowled brilliant spells to contain RCB and snatch a win to become the champions of IPL 2016 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

RCB finished only 8 runs short of the target and suffered their third defeat in three finals. Batting first, SRH captain David Warner led the line with a swift 69 off 38. Supported by Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and Cutting, SRH set a mammoth task for RCB to chase.

“Knowing what Gayle and Kohli can do any day, it was not much to expect a downpour of fours and sixes. Surely the duo did not disappoint,” says Vaikundarajan. Gayle’s 76 and Kohli’s 54 were the perfect start that RCB needed. However, once SRH took out the openers, everything else fell into a domino effect. Only 70 runs were scored between the next 8 batsmen.

David Warner made some excellent bowling decisions and held his team together to ensure the trophy traveled to Hyderabad. Cutting was the highest wicket-taker for SRH with bowling figures of 2/35.

All eyes were on Kohli as he looked set to create a new record of 1000-runs in a single season. However, RCB fans looked distraught when their hero fell only 27 runs short of the benchmark.

“Kohli has been in the form of his life and has entertained the cricket fans with his aggressive and impressive batting style. We are yet to see a lot from this lad,” says Vaikundarajan. He sends his congratulations to SRH and hopes RCB will bounce back next season.

Vaikundarajan Reviews Asus Zenfone Max

Smartphone giants Asus have launched a new device that has two storage options and new processor priced at INR 9999. “At an affordable price, Asus Zenfone Max comes with a host of features. It has a large 5000 mAh battery with 2GB RAM,” says Vaikundarajan. The phone is available for pre-order on e-commerce site Flipkart. “A 3GB variant of the same device can also be ordered at INR 12999 from Amazon, Snapdeal or Flipkart,” informs Vaikundarajan.

The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor and comes with a storage space of 32 GB (expandable up to 64GB via microSD card). The device can run for an impressive 37.5 hours of 3G talk time or 32.5 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing. It also comes with an OTG cable that turns the device in to a charger.

The phone will be available in black, orange and blue colour variants with metal-like edges and textured leather pattern at the back. It will run on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 on top of company’s ZenUI.

Speaking of its camera, Vaikundarajan says, “The rear camera is a powerful 13MP with f/2.0 aperture and dual LED flash. The front camera is 5MP.” Other supporting features on Asus Zenfone Max are 4G LTE, GSM, GPRS, aGPS, Bluetooth V 4.0, WiFi and micros USB.

Vaikundarajan Reviews Lenovo MotoG4 Plus

The eagerly anticipated Lenovo MotoG4 Plus is finally out. “At just 155 grams, the device is very light for a 5.5-inch display and 3000 mAh battery,” says Vaikundarajan.

The smartphone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset with a quad core 1.5 GHz Cortex. It comes with a 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory with an expandable option of 32GB and 64GB. The phone comes with a powerful camera with a 16MP primary lens and 5MP secondary lens. The camera also offers f/2.0 aperture, phase detection and laser autofocus with dual-LED flash.