Archives for 2015

Dum Laga Ke Haisha Opening Film At River To River Festival

Yash Raj Films’ Dum Laga Ke Haisha was the opening film at the 15th River to River Florence Indian Film Festival which took place from 5th Dec, 2015 to 10th Dec, 2015. The film’s director Sharat Katariya was in attendance to present the much loved & appreciated film starring Ayushmann Khurrana & Bhumi Pednekar at the festival, the 1st in the world totally devoted to films from & about India along with many other special events. In the framework of the 50 Giorni Di Cinema Internazionale A Firenze, the festival takes place in the beautiful twenties Odeon cinema, in the heart of the lovely city of Florence.

Film Federation Of India Makes An Ardent Appeal

The Film Federation of India (FFI) has ardently appealed to all the members of the film fraternity to pledge one day’s theatrical collections from all across the country for the relief work in Chennai. In a note sent to all the association bodies and its members, FFI president J P Chowksey said that the amount can be deposited in the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. In Chennai, he said several actors had helped people on the streets and some cinema houses opened their doors for the homeless or those seeking shelter. He added that the film industry has always come forward to offer help whenever there has been any calamity of this nature in the country.

Government Level Film Festival On Disability Ends

A total of 40 films including features, shorts & documentaries were screened at the very 1st Government run International Film Festival for Persons with Disabilities (IFFPD) which ended recently with the presentation of awards by Social Justice & Empowerment Mnister Thaawar Chand Gehlot. Minister of State in the Ministry Vijay Sampla & Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Col. Rajyawardhan Rathore were also present. Speaking on the occasion. Vivek Oberoi said that it was heartening to see that the disabled were being brought into the mainstream in an inclusive society. Gehlot said 500 entries had been received for the film festival which in itself was a big feat. In the years to come, the festival may be expanded to achieve more success and achieve its objective of creating greater awareness about the problems of the disabled. During the opening day, he had said the Government was taking several initiatives for empowering people with disabilities and one such initiative was the Accessible India Campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, which marks the International day of Persons with Disabilities. This Campaign intends to create a disabled friendly public infrastructure in 50 most important cities to bring the people with disabilities into the mainstream.

Bombay High Court Acquits Salman Khan Of All Charges

It’s been more than 13 years since the case of Salman Khan being accused of killing people on the streets has been in court expecting a verdict. The latest update on the case is that, recently, the Bombay High Court has acquitted Salman Khan of all the criminal charges. It was Justice A. R. Joshi, who, while pronouncing the justice, said that the prosecution has failed to prove charges against Khan on all counts. As per the media reports, he asserted that the court has come to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to bring material on record to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant (Salman Khan) was driving and under the influence of alcohol, also, whether the accident occurred due to bursting (of tyre) prior to the incident or tyre burst after the incident.Needless to say that Salman Khan, who was present in the court during the verdict, along with his sister Alvira Khan – Sharma and her husband Aayush Sharma, got emotional, after the verdict was delivered. He, then, was seen reciting the ‘kalma’ with tears of joy & relief rolling down from his eyes. Speaking about the verdict, Salman’s lawyer Amit Desai mentioned that he did not take that as a personal victory and that his entire team had worked hard on this for 6 months now.

Sanjay Gupta’s Next With Hrithik Roshan In legal trouble

After the release of Jazbaa, Sanjay Gupta has fast moved onto his next venture which would feature Hrithik Roshan. But of late it seems that the film which will be produced by Rakesh Roshan has landed in legal trouble with model – actor Sudhanshu Pandey accusing Gupta and the Roshans for copyright infringement. Rakesh Roshan has totally denied these allegations and said, “We haven’t launched any film yet so where is the question of it being similar.” However, while the makers the of the untitled film, Sanjay Gupta & Rakesh Roshan, except for this statement have chosen to stay mum about the topic. Besides Siraj Ahmad had been contracted by Pandey to develop the screenplay & dialogues of Farmayish.

Jacqueline’s Movier Definition Of Fear To Open Delhi Film Festival

Jacqueline Fernandez will be making her international debut with the film
Definition Of Fear for which she had started shooting long ago. And now it has been revealed that the film is in its final stages and will soon be screened at the Delhi Film Festival. The thriller will be screened on the festival’s opening day and the actress will be flying down to the capital to attend its very 1st public screening. Directed by James Simpson, Definition Of Fear has Jacqueline Fernandez playing the role of a psychologist. The film will also have an Indian release apart from its overseas one.

Mani Ratnam Conducts IFTDA Master Class

Padmashri Mani Ratnam, the director known for cult films like ‘Nayagan’, ‘Anjali’, ‘Bombay’, ‘Roja’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘OK Kanmani’ et al and the winner of 6 National awards & 10 Filmfare Awards will have his 1st ever IFTDA Master Class in Mumbai. The initiative was taken by the director’s fraternity of Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) and the event took place on 16th Nov, 2015 at 3:30 pm at ISKCON, Juhu. The IFTDA ‘Meet The Director’ Master Class session aimed to bring together 2 masters, one who shared his expertise and another who moderated the session. The Mani Ratnam session was moderated by renowned filmmaker Sudhir Mishra. The session was held for a duration of 2 hours and it also comprised of a Q & A session with the audiences. These master class was attended by students, assistant directors, aspirants & general public for free of cost. Established in 1950, Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) is the only legitimate organization that collectively represents film & television directors from India. It encapsulates within itself formidable talents of Indian cinema irrespective of region and language. IFTDA prides itself of having more than 10,000 plus active members. The Mani Ratnam Master Class was partnered by Anupam Kher’s An Actor Prepares. The previous IFTDA master class session was conducted by ace director Anand L. Rai, who felt that “The IFTDA master class initiative by IFTDA is one – of – its – kind initiative and should be attended by every movie buff & film enthusiasts.” The Mani Ratnam class was 2nd in the ‘Meet The Director’ Master Class series.

Sridevi Takes Legal Action

The magnum opus ‘Puli’ starring Vijay & Sridevi though had buzz but failed to live upto expectations. And now, the veteran actress is miffed with the makers for not clearing her remuneration for the film. Sridevi is yet to receive Rs. 50 lakhs of her fee which was supposed to be given after the release of the film. However, since the actress hasn’t received the amount as yet she decided to go the legal way and has apparently filed a complaint at the producers’ council in Mumbai. Though the actress hasn’t divulged any details as yet, one of the producers of the film Shibu Thameens recently posted a tweet referring to the issue, saying, “Will clarify Sridevi mam’s complaint, postpone my surgery and joining my partner pts in Chennai”.

50 Cr Copyright Infringement Case Filed

The makers of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ which created waves at the box office are facing a Rs. 50 crore copyright infringement law suit that claims the entire plot line & even some locales were blatantly inspired from another script. The suit filed in the Bombay High Court by director & TV producer Mahim Joshi, alleges the infringement is `career damaging’, si1950y. As per Joshi’s claims, the story of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is grounds for a 100% infringement along with prominent similarities in the screenplay & locales. Along with his petition to the High Court, Joshi has also furbished documents that include detailed comparisons of the film’s scenes and the sequences shot by Joshi. Following this, in its hearing held recently, the High Court bench presided by Justice Gautam Patel, has directed all parties including producers Rockline Venkatesh, Rajessh Bhatt and Salman Khan, a co – producer, writer KV Vijayendra Prasad & director Kabir Khan, to maintain accounts of business with respect to the movie. It also directed all respondents to file their replies by 21st Oct, 2015.

Censor Board Refuses To Give Reasons

40 days after the censor board declared to the media that they have refused to give a censor certificate to Kamal Swaroop’s documentary ‘Battle For Banaras’, the censor board is yet to officially communicate to the producer the reason for the rejection of the film. The documentary was officially invited to play at the 17th Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival but the invitation was withdrawn in the absence of clarity on the censor certificate. “This lack of clarity & communication from the censor board is irresponsible,” says Manu Kumaran,the producer of the film. The film was screened for the censor board on 27th August. Inspired by Nobel laureate Elias Canetti’s book, “Crowds And Power”, the documentary, ‘Battle For Banaras’ captures the excitement, the madness & the noise behind the high octane poll battle in the holy city of Banaras, Produced by Manu Kumaran & Mediente International Films, the documentary was shot in 4K, over a 44 day schedule in Banaras during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ Lapped Up

‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ has been receiving appreciation across film festivals and is being loved by audiences at large. Followed by its sale to GAS (Germany – Austria -Switzerland), France, Benelux (Belgium -Netherlands – Luxembourg), Spain, Portugal & Canadian territories at Toronto International Film Festival 2015, the film went on to win the 1st Runner Up at the Grolsch People’s Choice Award at TIFF. With packed public screenings and positive word of mouth, the film has now been lapped up by Italia Film (Disney affiliated company)for the Middle East market. It includes 15 countries namely, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen & Sudan. It is a great feat for an Indian Film as it continues to travel to other international festival including this years prestigious Rome International Film Festival (16th Oct, 2015 to 23rd Oct, 2015), where it is the lone Indian film. Rome film festival line up includes 37 films from across 24 countries. The film was also a special screening at the 35th Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax and recently had it’s European Premiere at the 11th edition of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) on 28th Sept, 2015.

James Bond Poster Exhibition Held At Liberty Cinema

While the world awaits the 24th James Bond Film ‘Spectre’, the cult fiction spy James Bond was in Mumbai through his ageless posters. And met his fans at Osianama at Liberty Cinema, For, The Shaken But Not Stirred exhibition at Osianama Part 1 opened on recently to mark the 53rd Anniversary of 1st Bond Film ‘Dr. No’ starring Sean Connery. With this exhibition of original, timeless Landmark Bond posters from the US to Japanese to French to Italian versions, The Osian’s Film Archive begins to share its vast Hollywood Collection with the masses.

‘Court’ To Compete With Films From 80 Countries At The Oscars

India’s official entry to the Oscars, ‘Court’, will be competing with films from 80 countries in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards. The Oscars have this year received film entries from 81 countries in this category including Paraguay, which is a 1st time entrant. The Marathi language film ‘Court’ is directed by Chaitanya Tamhane. Giving ‘Court’ a tough competition will also be renowned director Majid Majidi’s Iranian film ‘Muhammad: The Messenger Of God’, which is Iran’s official entry to the Oscars this year. On the other hand, Paraguay’s maiden film entry for the Oscars is titled ‘Cloudy Times’, directed by Arami Ullón.

Eros International Media’s Proposal Approved

The Government has cleared Eros International Media’s proposal of setting up a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). The approval followed recommendation of the Foreign Investments Promotion Board (FIBP) and will involve a foreign direct investment (FDI) of Rs 49.90 lakh. The Government cleared as many as 11 FDI proposals worth Rs 1,567.91 crore, including that of Eros International Media. Additionally, approval was also granted to Amar Ujala Publications Limited for foreign shareholding in the company up to 26% of the post issue paid up equity share capital pursuant to proposed initial public offering, issue of equity shares to FIIs / FPIs / NRIs and transfer of 26,90,234 shares by existing shareholders for an aggregate consideration of Rs 50 crore.

‘Kadambari’ Bags Top Award

Bengali film ‘Kadambari’ by Suman Ghosh about Kadambari Devi, sister – in – law of Rabindranath Tagore with whom he is supposed to have had a close personal relationship and who eventually committed suicide, won the Best Film award at the 4th Washington South Asian Film Festival.

Chaitanya Tamhane won the “Best Director” award for ‘Court’, a Hindi and Marathi film, which is India’s official entry for the Academy Awards. Aparna Sen received the “Special Achievement Award”, while Huma Beg from Pakistan got the “Special Appreciation Award Documentary”. ‘Sarmad Khoosat’ received the Special Award for Contribution to Pakistan TV & Films. The Festival of independent alternate cinema on the theme of “Art and culture transcend boundaries” had 14 features, 10 shorts & 1 documentary from India, Pakistan, United States & Canada.

Vir & Soha’s Film ’31 October’ In Censor Trouble

Soha Ali Khan & Vir Das’ next release ’31 October’ is in Censor trouble. The film was recently submitted to the Board for certification. However, they have raised objections on certain scenes.”The makers are considering the changes that have been suggested but since these are integral to the film’s narrative, they are trying to figure out how to go about it. They can’t afford to lose the core essence of the film by incorporating any random cuts. All of this would mean that the film may not really make it for its 30th Oct, 2015 release.

Censor Board Allows Producers To Modify ‘A’ films to ‘UA’ for television

In a significant move to end the deadlock between the producers and the censor board over the conversion of Adults films to ‘UA’ to make them suitable for television viewing, the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has decided to let producers voluntarily cut their films and submit them for censor certification. Explaining the important decision to allow filmmakers the liberty to decide on how to cut their films for re -certification the CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani says, “As we all know, all Adult films have to be re -certified before telecast. However producers complained about a delay in the re -certification process as the CBFC often found the material unpalatable for family viewing on the home medium. Now we’ll allow producers to make the cuts that would make their ‘A’ films eligible for a ‘UA’ certificate and bring their films to us.” This is not to say that the films would become automatically eligible when submitted.

Srinda At Last Talks Of Her Failed Marriage

Srinda, one of the leading actress in the industry who does comic roles with such ease opened up about her marriage recently in an interview with a leading magazine. The actress said that she had married Ashab at the age of 19, right after her graduation, following a brief love affair. The couple had soon realized that the marriage was not going smooth and started living separately. In the meanwhile they had their only son Arhaan. Srinda mentioned that though they are living apart they are not legally divorced. She says that she does not harbour any grudge or hold resentment about her past.

Selvaraghavan’s Next Strictly For Adults

Selvaraghavan’s next Movie Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam has been certified with an A certificate without any cuts. This film has been written by the most admired director of the younger generation & directed by his wife & former associate Geethanjali Selvaraghavan.

The film deals with an adult subject which warrants a certificate and they were not ready for any cuts in an attempt to make it suitable for non – adults. Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam has been produced by Kola Bhaskar who has worked as an Editor in many films directed by Selva. Bhasker’s son Balakrishna Kola & Punjab based actress Wamiqa Gabbi make their Kollywood debuts, playing lead roles in this film. The team plans to release the film within the end of December 2015 if all things work out as planned.

Brahmanandam Out from Ravi Teja’s New Movie

Comedy king Brahmanandam, who is ruling the roost in Telugu cinema for decades, is no longer our film makers favorite. The actor is constantly failing to live up to his reputation and also became monotonous with his bland performances. Following the debacles of Sher and Bruce Lee, Tollywood filmmakers are shying away to rope in the king of comedy in their respective films. The latest update is that Brahmanandam has been replaced with actor Purdhvi for an important role in Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja’s new movie directed by new comer Chakri. Initially, the makers had approached Brahmanandam and offered him a crucial role in this film but eventually dropped the idea and brought Prudhvi on board for the same role.

Jiiva & Bobby Combo In Kavalai Vendam

R. S. Infotainment had released the 1st look poster of Jiiva & Bobby Simha starrer Kavalai Vendam in Jun, 2015 itself, but the project got delayed due to the sudden walking out of the heroine Keerthi Suresh.

Now Kajal Agarwal has been roped in for the lead heroine role and the shooting of Kavalai Vendam is all set to resume from Pongal 2016. The film is directed by Deekay of Yamirukka Bayamey fame and has Jiiva, Bobby Simha, Kajal Agarwal, Nikki Galrani, Mayliswamy and Karunakaran in the cast. The story is said to be based on modern marriages and according to the team will be a laugh riot on the lines of the timeless classic Kadhalikka Neramillai.

Amy Jackson is female Chitti

Reports coming in from Shankar’s Enthiran 2 team suggest that British beauty Amy Jackson will be playing a female robot obviously opposite the Chitti character performed with delightful aplomb by Superstar Rajinikanth in the original. Arnold Schwarzennegger & Kaththi villain Neil Nitin Mukesh play the chief antagonists while a leading Bollywood heroine will be the love interest for Rajini in Enthiran 2. Official announcement of the project is expected any time.

Prakash Raj Enacts A Baddie’s Role

G. V. Prakash the fast rising hero will be teaming up with director M. Rajesh for a new film titled Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru.

While the cast & the crew members of the film is yet to be announced, veteran actor Prakash Raj has been roped into play the role of a lead villain. The multilingual actor who was last seen with Kamal Haasan in Thoongavanam has signed the agreement to star in the film. Talks are also on with top heroines to play the leading lady in the film. G. V. Prakash. who will also be scoring music for the film has already composed one song and the shooting is expected to begin soon.

Nannaku Prematho Audio Release Date Fixed

The audio release of Young Tiger NTR’s upcoming movie Nannaku Prematho is going to be held on 25th Dec, 2015. This is NTR’s 25th film in his career. The Sukumar directorial is tipped to be a revenge drama and features Rajendra Prasad & Jagapathi Babu in pivotal roles.

Currently, the shooting of the film is progressing at rapid pace in Spain. Except for some portions of the talkie and an item number, the entire shooting would be wrapped up in this schedule. The unit is expected to return to Hyderabad on 20th Dec, 2015. BVSN Prasad is producing the film and is planning to release it on 13th Jan, 2016 for Pongal.

Rakul Preet Singh is playing the leading lady in the film which has music by Devi Sri Prasad.

Bellamkonda 1s Now Speedunnodu

Bellamkonda Srinivas, who made an impressive debut with Alludu Seenu, has signed another project with Bheemaneni Srinivasa Rao. The film, a remake of Tamil hit Sundarapandian is nearing completion. Produced by Bheemaneni Sunitha, the film features Sonarika Bhadoria of Jadoogadu fame as the leading lady.

The makers have finally finalised Speedunnodu as the film’s title. Starring Sasi Kumar & Lakshmi Menon, the Tamil version has become one of the biggest hits of the year and grabbed the attention of filmmakers from other languages. Bheemaneni has acquired the rights and is producing this film under his banner Good Will Cinema. The film is likely to hit the screens for Pongal.

Prabhas Launches Garam’s Teaser

Young Rebelstar Prabhas has launched the teaser of Aadi starrer Garam. The actor wished the team of Garam all success. “Garam title is interesting. Teaser looks promising. Aadi is looking energetic with a new look in this film. Hope, this film becomes a big hit at the box office and gives a break to director Madan,” said Prabhas. The film produced by Sai Kumar features Adah Sharma as the leading lady. Madan of Pellaina Kothalo fame wields the mega phone. The shooting of the film is almost completed and the makers are planning to release the film soon. T Surendra Reddy cranks the lens, while Agasthya of Aa Naluguru fame wields the baton of music.

Arjun To Direct Aishwaria

The top notch of South India with roots from Karnataka Arjun, action king, director & producer has taken a firm decision to direct a youthful love story starring his daughter Aishwarya in the lead role. He is producer & director of this bilingual. A film in the direction & production of father Arjun is the debut for Aishwarya in Kannada. She has made already debuted in Patutha Yaanai a Tamil film. Aishwarya film in Kannada will be a romantic one. Arjun is very impressed with the story he has developed and anxious to bring it on celluloid silver screen.

Master Piece For Christmas

The one & only release of Rocking star Yash for 2015 is on 23rd Dec, 2015, on the eve of Christmas. This year Yash enjoyed the super success of Mr And Mrs Ramachari and very strong preparation in Master Piece by debut director Manju Mandavya for Hombale Films is coming up without any publicity for the film. No doubt the expectations are high on the 2 roles of Yash in Master Piece. From dialogue to direction Manju Mandavya’s preparation is very strong and the team effort is making it to receive big hype. Noted producer & distributor duo Jayanna & Bhogendra are distributing the film. The earlier film of Yash & Radhika Pandit Mr And Mrs Ramachari was produced by the same duo.