The Dhruva couple gets talking about working together!

The crackling chemistry between Ram Charan and Rakul Preet Singh in Dhruva might just have been the result of intense joint workout sessions. At least that's what it seems like, when Rakul says, "When we were shooting in Kashmir for the song Choosa Choosa, Charan and I would work out together in the mornings and evenings. We would gorge on fresh fruits, especially red Kashmiri apples. Even after a whole day's shoot, we would feel detoxed. it was the best shooting schedule in the




entire film."Ask Charan about their crackling chemistry, and he says: "it's better if the audience talks about our chemistry rather than us talking about it. But, it was definitely fun working with Rakul. she is fantastic at her job. She is the most disciplined and hardworking co-star I've worked with."





It seems like the duo are part of a mutual admiration society; Rakul too considers Charan her favourite co-star. "Even though he is 'Ram Charan, the star', he's a very lovely person; a child at heart. And I've said this many a times, even to him, that he's my favourite co-star. It was a blast working with him in Bruce Lee, and that's one of the main reasons I was thrilled to team up with him the second time around for Dhruva."


Apparently, Ram Charan is a big prankster on the sets. "He's a brat! For instance, he would come to me and say, 'Rakul, today we are shooting here and this shot has to be like this', and I'd be like, 'really? nobody told me'. And it would turn out that he was just pulling a fast one! He would also make up stuff like 'we have extended schedules'. but it's hard to get mad at him," shares Rakul, who counts Pareshanura and Neethone Dance as her favourite songs from the film, besides Choosa Choosa.

Charan concurs, adding, "Pareshanura is more like Rakul's song than mine. It will feature her in a never-seen-before look. It is shot like a music video, in an unconventional way. I think the concept and output are very artistic. I was just trying to complement her in the video. I believe it stands out as the most special song in the film."

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Dhruva is high on emotion, the audience will love it, says Ram Charan

Calm, composed and effortlessly confident, Ram Charan Tej shows no signs of nervousness about Dhruva, which is releasing today. "The script speaks for itself in the film. That was what appealed the most to me. It's a tight story and it kept me on the edge of the seat. And I'm certain that it will keep the audience on the edge of the seat as well," says the Mega Power Star, who is playing IPS officer Dhruva. And he reckons the character is much like him in one specific aspect: "Dhruva is the good guy. And, he is a positive guy; just like me."

Dhruva is a man on a mission, determined to destroy the evil scientist, Siddharth Abhimanyu (played by Arvind Swamy), the brain behind "a 100 criminals". The war between 'good'

represented by Dhruva and 'evil' — Siddharth Abhimanyu — drives this film, which is a remake of the Tamil blockbuster Thani Oruvan. While the original is narrated from the antagonist's point of view, Charan shares that the Telugu version is a little different. "Dhruva is not a first person narrative of Siddharth Abhimanyu. But the story still revolves around these two major characters in the film. Neither was my character elevated nor was Arvind's downplayed. The essence of the film was kept intact by Suri garu (Surender Reddy, the director), but changes were made in terms of treatment to suit the Telugu audiences," says Charan, who confesses that he "loved the film" before he was even approached for it

Ram Charan says he didn't improvise much when playing the protagonist. "The screenplay itself was so brilliant, and detailed, that following it to the T was enough."

However, he spent over a year to get into the skin of the character, literally. "The idea was to look like a tough cop, a confident one. Therefore, the ripped body. It is meant to represent the mind of the character - how he grew up; the ups and downs he went through in his life; and how he trained to become a cop. This man Dhruva, has put in so much effort to be who he is, mentally, intellectually and physically, that it needed to be reflected in his appearance."

Talking about the USP of Dhruva, Charan says, "The film is high on emotion. And it has been proved time and again, that the audience love films which are high on emotion. Dhruva will have them glued to their seats throughout and I'm sure of that." And he has a message for the audience too: "Load up on the popcorn! You don't want to miss even a minute of the two- hour-39-minute film."

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Focus now on printing of Rs 500 notes: Government !.

The government on Thursday said that the new currency notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denominations have been designed indigenously with new security features.

"It is the first time that the design of notes is done indigenously+ . Earlier Rs 500 notes were all designed outside. Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes have been entirely designed in-house. So they are much more secure. Scope of counterfeiting is far far lower," economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters today.

Das said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was now focusing on printing of Rs 500 notes+ which would ease the liquidity situation over the next 2-3 weeks.

"The situation has considerably improved. I expect in 2-3 weeks, the situation will ease out because of the focus on printing of Rs 500 notes," he said.

Das said that initially the focus was to supply enough Rs 2,000 notes so as to replenish the demonetised notes as soon as possible.

"Initial focus was to supply Rs 2,000 notes to replenish the earlier Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Parallely, printing of Rs 500 notes had started.

"More and more production lines have been diverted for Rs 500 notes as enough stock of Rs 2,000 notes is now there. Printing of Rs 500 notes significantly stepped up so that Rs 2,000 notes become more mobile," he said.

Das said that the process of distribution has also been further streamlined with printing presses being linked to distribution areas nearer to them.

For making adequate cash available+ in the rural areas, cooperative banks have been given enough money to provide for crop loans, he said.

The government is in touch with the RBI and National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to ensure district cooperative banks have enough cash, he added.

 "We are identifying rural areas from where we are getting reports of inadequate cash. Emphasis is also on greater cash to rural areas," Das said.


On the ATMs not having enough cash+ , he said that out of 2.20 lakh ATMs, over two lakh have already been recalibrated. Many a times banks prefer to give out cash through their branches to their own customers rather than putting in the ATMs that results in no-cash in the ATMs at times.

More than two lakh ATMs already recalibrated. Larger number of ATMs are working. It is not correct that only 13 per cent ATMs are working. Have advised banks to focus on loading money in ATMs also," Das said.

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Samantha to play Savitri ,.,

Samantha could be playing celebrated yesteryear superstar Late Savitri in the upcoming biopic directed by Nag Ashwin who shot to fame with Yevade Subramanyam.




 Apparently, the filmmakers have approached the actress recently. "The makers are keen on roping in Samantha to play Savitri. Samantha responded positively, the negotiations are on," confirms a source close to the actress.

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₹3.25 Crore In Old Notes Seized From Hotel In Delhi's Karol Bagh!

Following a tip off, a joint action of the Income Tax and the Delhi Crime Branch was conducted in a hotel in Karol Bagh here, upon which the massive amount of ₹3.25 crores was recovered in old notes.

Upon interrogation it was found that the money belongs to some Bombay based hawala operators, who have hired packaging specialists who pack these notes in such a manner that it was even undetectable by airport scanning machines.

These experts in packaging use a particular type of tape and wires which passes through X-ray also without being detected.

Meanwhile, the IT Department has seized the cash and is analyzing the mobile details which allegedly contain details of lot of other hawala operators.

The Hotel Taksh Inn was raided on upon the search of Room No. 202 and 206, five persons were caught.

Ansari Abuzar, Fazal khan, Ansari Affan from Mumbai, Ladu Ram from Rajasthan and Mahaveer Singh from Jodhpur were held.

The recovered amount was kept in different suitcases and a card board box and upon counting the amount, the total amount came up to ₹3.25 crores in demonetised currency notes.

This recent raid comes in the wake of yet another raid carried out in the national capital, where in a joint raid conducted by the Income Tax Department and the Delhi Police, ₹10 crores was recovered from a law firm in Greater Kailash area.

Acting on a tip-off, the police recovered ₹2.5 crore in new currency notes and the balance ₹7.5 crores in old currency notes from the T&T law firm owned by Rohit Tondon late on Saturday night.

"We received information which we shared with the Income Tax department and jointly raided this place. Till now, we have seized around ₹10 crore rupees out of which ₹2.5 crore are new currencies and ₹7.5 crores in old currency," Assistant Commissioner of Police, Inter-State Cell Sanjay Sehrawat told media.

The police said the currencies were kept in various bags and stored in a cupboard in a separate room.

Following the massive raids on the premises of three Chennai-based businessmen, the Income Tax Department last Saturday confirmed seizing ₹24 crores in new currency notes in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

The latest haul is the highest number in cash recovery that has been retrieved so far in the form of new currency.

During an investigation, the IT department found out that some cash was hidden in a car in Vellore, upon which it was discovered that all currency was in the form of ₹2,000 notes in 12 boxes of ₹2 crore each.

Upon interrogation of those detained in Chennai, a breakthrough was made in the recovery of this cash wherein the IT sleuths laid a trap for the person transporting ₹24 crores in Vellore and subsequently seized the currency. Interrogation is currently underway of those who were detained in Chennai which could lead to further recoveries.

Following demonetisation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had carried out massive raids in 50 branches of 10 banks across the nation in an attempt to keep a tab on those account holders, who deposited huge amounts at one time.

According to sources, the ED also received a strong tip off that several account holders post demonetisation deposited money and changed their black money into white through banks nationwide.

The officials also turned their attention on those accounts that have suspicious transaction post demonetisation and shining bright on their radar are those banks and branches, where maximum amount of cash in old currency has been deposited.

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NITI Aayog announces daily, weekly, and mega-awards on digital transactions to promote cashless payments!.

The National Institute for Transforming India(NITI) Aayog, the government's policy think-tank, on Thursday announced a lottery with daily, weekly and mega awards for consumers and merchants, to encourage a transition to digital payments+ .

The awards will be offered through two schemes - the Lucky Grahak Yojna for consumers, and the Digi-dhan Vyapar Yojna for merchants at an estimated cost of Rs 340 crore, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

Both the schemes will cover small transactions between Rs 50 and Rs 3,000 to encourage every section of the society+ to move to digital payments+ , Kant explained.

Terming it a 'Christmas Gift' to the country, Kant said the first draw will happen on December 25 and the mega-draw on April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

"(The) focus of Lucky Grahak and Digi-Dhan Yojana is on poor, middle class and small businesses so as to bring them into digital payments revolution," he added.

The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) will implement the schemes.





Weekly and daily awards

Under the Lucky Grahak Yojna, 15,000 winners will get cashback prizes of Rs 1000 each every day starting on December 25 (Christmas) and ending on April 14 next year (Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanthi).

In addition, there will be weekly awards worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for 7000 people.

Under the Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojna, 7000 winning merchants will receive weekly prizes worth Rs 50,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500.

Mega awards

In addition, mega-awards will be announced on April 14 for both consumers and merchants.

For consumers, the first prize is Rs 1 crore, the second prize is Rs 50 lakh, and the third is Rs 25 lakh. For merchants, the prizes are Rs 50 lakh, Rs 25 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh, respectively.

There will be a random draw of digital transaction IDs to select awardees, Kant explained.

All forms of transactions through UPI, USSD, Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) and RuPay cards will be eligible for lucky draws.

However, NITI Aayog also said the scheme isn't applicable for transactions done through private credit cards and e-wallets of private companies

NITI Aayog had requested National Payments Corporation of India to conceptualize and launch a new scheme to incentivize digital payments. NPCI is a not-for-profit company which is charged with the responsibility of helping India become a cashless society.

Giving details on digital transactions post demonetisation of old Rs 500/1000 notes, Kant said PoS transactions witnessed a jump+ of 95 per cent since November 8 (till December 7).

RuPay Card transactions were up 316 per cent and e-wallet 271 per cent, while both UPI about and USSD witnessed increase of about 1,200 per cent each.

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