Movie – Page 18

Movie Review: ‘The Last Witch Hunter’ is a hardly convincing movie

October 27, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Mark Canton & Bernie Goodman
Director: Breck Eisner
Star Cast: Vin Diesel, Rosie Leslie, Elijah Wood, Isreal Baldecanas & Micheal Caine
Genre: Fantasy
Verdict: Poor

Plot: The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all – powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today Kaulder is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long – lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to Kaulder, the Queen Witch is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.

Aces: Two gigantic actors like Vin Diesel & Micheal Caine deliver an astoundingly par excellence performance but that’s all there is to a dumbest movie The Last Witch Hunter.

Minuses: The hardly convincing storyline topped with the hardly convincing direction of Breck Eisner.

Last Word: Even the fantasy and horror lover fans are advised to stay miles away from the so called movie The Last Witch Hunter.

Bollywood Newswatch

October 27, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

50 Cr Copyright Infringement Case Filed Against Bajrangi Bhaijaan

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.

SRK To Perform At A Fundraiser Event

Shah Rukh Khan of late has decided to do his share for the farmers. He has decided to become a part of a fundraiser event, organized by Anubhav Sinha titled ‘Son Of Soil’. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha & Shah Rukh Khan, who previously collaborated for the sci – fi superhero drama ‘Ra.One’, will now come together for this charity show. Anubhav Sinha, who denied the buzz about the alleged fallout between him & SRK after ‘Ra.One’, stated that Shah Rukh Khan immediately agreed to the event, even before he could finish giving him all the details about it. Apart from the actor, others who will be a part of this concert include composers Vishal -Shekhar, singer Ankit Tiwari, anchor Manish Paul amongst others and the director further revealed that all of them will be performing without remuneration.

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, from 6th Oct, 2015 till 11th Oct, 2015. For, The Shaken But Not Stirred exhibition at Osianama Part 1 opened on 6th Oct, 2015 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.

Movie Review: ‘Rock The Kasbah’ is an interesting, entertaining & enjoyable movie

October 26, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producers: Steve Bing, Bill Block & Jacob Pechenik
Director: Barry Levinson
Star Cast: Bill Murray, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Scott Caan, Leem Lubany, Kelly Lynch, Arian Moayed, Taylor Kinny, Beejan Land & Bruce Willis
Genre: Comedy
Verdict: GOOD

Plot: Rock The Kasbah is the story of Richie Vance, a has-been rock manager who takes his last remaining client on a USO tour of Afghanistan. When Richie finds himself in Kabul, abandoned, penniless and without his passport, he discovers a young girl with an extraordinary voice and manages her through Afghanistan’s version of “American Idol” the wildly popular “Afghan Star.”

Aces: The mesmerizing performance of Zooey Deschanel in the main role of an aspiring singer and an equally catchy cameo act of Beejan Land as the host of the show Afghan Star.

Minuses: The lacklustre direction of Barry Levinson and its slow space. The editing part of it could have been crisper. And pray what was Bill Murray & Bruce Willis, both spent force, doing in the whole scheme of things or were they just taken on board as ex – veteran actors.

Last Word: A really interesting film made on the myth & the truth of a reality show. If only director Barry Levinson had paid more attention to the scattered script of Rock The Kasbah, it would have enlivened the proceedings.

Foreign Films Round Up

October 21, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

IRAN PICKS RISE OF ISLAM EPIC ‘MUHAMMED: THE MESSENGER OF GOD’

Iran has selected ‘Muhammad: The Messenger Of God’, the controversial blockbuster about the birth & the rise of Islam directed by Majid Majidi, as its entry for the foreign language Academy Award. Considered the most expensive Iranian movie ever made, the $40 million epic was lensed by Vittorio Storaro and features a score by Indian composer Allah Rakha Rahman. The film recently prompted a fatwa from a Muslim group in India and has also sparked other forms of disapproval from Sunni religious authorities. Many Muslims consider any depiction of Muhammad to be taboo, even fleeting glimpses, such as those in the film. Iran is largely Islam, with the vast majority belonging to the Shiite sect. The partly Government financed ‘Muhammad: The Messenger Of God’ is playing on more than half of Iran’s roughly 320 screens after opening the Montreal Film Festival on 27 Aug, 2015. Box office receipts have hit over 70 billion Iranian Rials, roughly $2 million in 1 month, according to the Government controlled Tehran Times. If that figure is accurate, it’s a nice haul. The Muslim ban on images of Muhammad caused concern in Iran during the 7 year gestation of the religious blockbuster, which depicts the future prophet from birth through the age of 12. In her review, Variety critic Alissa Simon wrote, “Majidi respects Islamic convention by never showing Muhammad’s face and shooting him mostly from the back.” Majidi has said that through the biopic, he aimed to remove the “violent image” of Islam created by jihadist groups.

“PLAYMOBIL” PRODUCTION LAUNCHED

Backed by Wild Bunch & Pathe, Dimitri Rassam & Aton Soumache’s Paris based ON Animation Studios has launched the production of $75 million franchise based movie ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’ on the heels of Toronto, where the project was snatched up by a flurry of international distributors. Cross Creek has acquired distribution rights to ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’ for a wide release in US. The tiny – toy movie follows Lego’s big screen lead. ‘The Lego Movie’ opened to a whopping $69.1 million and grossed $468.8 million worldwide last year. Following a short story presentation at Toronto, ‘Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels’, the ambitious 1st animated feature based on the iconic toy brand, locked pre -sales in other major territories, including Germany (Concorde), Latin America (Leda), Benelux (Belga), Switzerland (Impuls) & Middle East (Shooting Stars). Pathe will release the movie in France, while Vincent Maraval’s Wild Bunch handles international sales and will seal more deals at AFM in Nov, 2015.

LANTICA TO CO – PRODUCE ‘GRAN HOTEL’

Driving into higher end international drama under Chris Philip, tapped Jan, 2015 to head up production & distribution, Televisa USA is teaming with Lantica Media to adapt & co -produce TV series format ‘Gran Hotel’. From an original screenplay by Stephen Kornish, Televisa USA’s ‘Gran Hotel’ will be transposed from the original’s Spanish Belle Epoque milieu to the licentious 1950s pre -Castro Havana. Series will be shot at Lantica’s Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios. Lantica are now all set to co -develop & co – finance multiple projects with global producer & distributor Televisa USA. “We are thrilled to be in business with Televisa USA on this and future projects, said Antonio Gennari, CEO of Lantica Media. A romantic murder mystery melding danger & passion, Televisa USA’s ‘Gran Hotel’ 1950s Havana will forseebly amp up format’s crime gristle & licentiousness: Many Havana hotels were built by the mob, including Cuban kingpin Meyer Lansky, taking advantage of lax Cuban gambling laws. In plot, ‘Gran Hotel’ will turn on Julio who, following his sister’s disappearance, ends up searching for her at the opulent Gran Hotel in Havana, where he falls into the arms of the sexy daughter of its wealthy owner.

‘THE WALK’ HEADS TO ROME

Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Walk’ which opens the New York Film Festival this Sat, will launch into Italy from the Rome Film Festival which has secured several other Italo bows of pics with Oscar buzz and will honor hot Chilean auteur Pablo Larrain with a complete retro. ‘The Walk’, which stars Joseph Gordon – Levitt as famous high wire artist Philippe Petit who performed on a tightrope connecting the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, will screen at the Rome fest in 3D, ahead of its 22nd Oct, 2015 Italian release via Warner Bros. Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz & Charlotte Le Bon also star. As previously announced, James Vanderbilt’s ‘Truth’, starring Robert Redford as Dan Rather & Cate Blanchett as his producer Mary Mapes, in a depiction of the “Memogate” controversy that ended Rather’s career as CBS News anchorman, will open the recently reconfigured Rome fest on 16th Oct, 2015. The 16th – 20th Oct, 2015 Eternal City event has a new artistic director, Antonio Monda, who is New York based Italian jouro, writer & academic and also boasts a beefed up market component called MIA – an acronym for Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo. Pablo Larrain, who is 39, will be on hand for the 1st complete retro of his works comprising of ‘Tony Manero’, ‘Post Mortem’ & ‘No’, which form a trilogy on the rise & fall of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. His ‘El Club’, which is about Catholic Church abuses in Chile, won the Silver Bear this year in Berlin and is Chile’s candidate in the foreign language category at the upcoming Academy Awards.

‘JUNUN’ TO DEBUT ON STREAMING PLATFORM MUBI

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film ‘Junun’ will have its exclusive worldwide premiere on subscription streaming platform MUBI on 9th Oct, 2015 following its 8th Oct, 2015 opening at New York Film Festival. Earlier this year, Anderson, whose credits include ‘Inherent Vice’, ‘There Will Be Blood’ & ‘The Master’, joined his friend & collaborator Jonny Greenwood, guitarist with the band Radiohead & Israeli musician, composer & poet Shye Ben Tzur on a trip to Rajasthan in North – Western India, where they were hosted by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Their destination was the 15th century Mehrangarh Fort, where Greenwood, with the help of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and a group of musicians drawn from across the Indian sub – continent, worked on Ben Tzur’s album, which will be released by Nonesuch in Nov, 2015. The band assembled a makeshift studio at the fort and over the following 3 weeks created the collaboration that became the music and film of ‘Junun’. (The word “junun” is an alternate spelling of “junoon” the Arabic, Persian, Urdu & Hindi word for “mania,” or “the madness of love”).

‘ANGELO RULES’ SEAON 3 LAUNCHED

UK kids / family entertainment distributors Cake Entertainment & France’s TeamTO, one of its leading CGI animation studios, will unveil Season 3 of ‘Angelo Rules’, one of TeamTO’s evergreen franchises, at this weekend’s Mip Junior. Launch comes as the partners confirmed recently that toon series’ 3rd season had sold to prestige partners: Super RTL for Germany & Cartoon Network EMEA for Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Cake will screen 1 episode of Season 3 in Mip Junior’s video library. Others will be available at its stand. Animated series will be ready for delivery by late 2015 and air in 2016 in France, Germany and around Europe. Going into production in 2008 and a TeamTO / Cake co – production for Gallic pubcaster France Televisions & Teletoon Plus, ‘Angelo Rules’, was an instant hit selling to over 100 countries. In 2010, over 1 million viewers in France watched its 1st episode, which punched a 30% 4 – 14s market share. Skein snagged a Pucinella Award for Best Kids TV Series at the 2010 Cartoons on the Bay Festival and a 2013 Emmy Kids Awards nomination. Season 3 once more turns on Angelo, aged 11, a sweet talking genius who, along with best friends Sherwood & Lola, uses planning, irreverence, a rebellious nature, optimism and above all charisma to extricate them from trouble.

SWIPE PICKS UK RIGHTS

Independent distributor Swipe Films has acquired UK rights to Maeve Murphy’s comic crime drama ‘Taking Stock’, which has its world premiere at Raindance Film Festival on 4th Oct, 2015. The 3rd feature by Belfast born director, the film stars Kelly Brook as a struggling actress who is inspired by the legend of gangsters Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow to rob the furniture store where she works part time. Star Brook, who recently landed a major role in NBC’s ‘One Big Happy’, produced by Ellen DeGeneres, is a UK actress & model whose diverse screen credits include ‘School for Seduction’, ‘Smallville’, ‘Piranha 3D’ & ‘Keith Lemon: The Film’, alongside West End stage appearances in ‘Calendar Girls’ and Neil La Bute’s ‘Fat Pig’. Murphy said: “I’m so pleased that ‘Taking Stock’ is premiering at Raindance Film Festival and will get released. The festival’s joyous indie spirit fits ‘Taking Stock’ very well. Kelly really shines and it’s a good platform for people to see it. Essentially it is a fun film which shows, in a light hearted way, some of the issues & dilemmas young people are currently facing in UK today.” Swipe, which handled TV sales for Murphy’s 2nd feature ‘Beyond The Fire’ in 2009, plans to release the film in Dec, 2015 subject to Brook’s availability. Known for its alternative marketing strategies, for its recent release of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s ‘The President’.

GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS SALE OF CHANNEL 4

The UK Government is considering a sale of the publicly owned broadcaster Channel 4, it emerged recently, when a Government official was photographed holding a document identifying privatization as an option. Culture secretary John Whittingdale, who is in charge of UK broadcasting policy, has previously denied that a sale is being considered at present. Last month, he said at the Edinburgh Internal Television Festival: “The ownership of Channel 4 is not currently under debate. Do I say there are no circumstances in which I would ever consider it? No I don’t.” He added: “What I do say is the remit of Channel 4 is a priority and it’s not going to change.” Contradicting Whittingdale’s statement, the photographed document indicates that a sale is being considered. It states: “Work should proceed to examine the options for extracting greater public value from Channel 4 Corporation, focusing on privatization options in particular, while protecting its ability to deliver against its remit.” An insider with the governing Conservative Party commented: “John Whittingdale is interested and wants to do it,” the Guardian newspaper reported recently.

SONY & DISCOVERY INK A PACT

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment & Discovery Communications have inked a multi – year physical home entertainment distribution pact for Discovery’s catalog and future release slate. Beginning this fall, SPHE will distribute Discovery content on physical formats for the home entertainment marketplace throughout Europe, Middle East & Africa. Discovery’s upcoming release slate includes ‘Racing Extinction’, a politically charged documentary from the Oscar winning director of ‘The Cove’, Louie Psihoyos, as well as ‘Bear Grylls: Breaking Point’, in which the survival expert takes ordinary people on a journey to face their fears & ‘Manhunt’, which pits former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert against some of the world’s most experienced hunting & tracking units. Additional releases will include returning franchises such as ‘Through The Wormhole’, ‘Deadliest Catch’ & ‘How the Universe Works’. “We look forward to leveraging our strong distribution channels throughout the EMEA for Discovery’s distinct slate of world class product,” said Man Jit Singh, president, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

BARRY ON SHOOTING ‘NEWCOMER’

Extraordinarily for an opening night film and extremely heartening for aspiring filmmakers everywhere, Kai Barry’s 1st feature ‘Newcomer’ came to Raindance Film Festival programmers’ attention though open submissions. But after his film’s debut at the festival, Barry won’t be under the radar for much longer. Filmed in Belgrade and starring ‘My Brother The Devil’s James Floyd, ‘Newcomer’ tells the story of Alex, an apparently bright young man who finds himself over his head when he applies for a job with a private firm protecting secret information. Barry says: “The original thing was, I read a stat that said, in US, 70% of the intelligent budget goes on independent contractors. Just reading that statistic, I thought, ‘There’s got to be a lot of confusion here, right?’ And I started to wonder: what is that world? Obviously there’s the James Bond world, but what about this world, where nobody knows who anybody really is? Misinformation can be as powerful as shooting people, or blowing things up, and that was the side of the spy world that I wanted to play with and I wanted to keep everything as real as possible from that point forward.”

‘AURORA BOREALIS’ RECEIVES $2 MILLION

The Hungarian National Film Fund, which backed Cannes’ Grand Prix winner ‘Son Of Saul’, has granted 580 million HUF ($2.07 million) in production funding to Marta Meszaros’ ‘Aurora Borealis’. The feature film project starts to shoot next month. Meszaros is the director of ‘Adoption’, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1975, ‘Nine Months’, which won the Prix Fipresci at Cannes in 1977 and ‘Diary For My Children’, winner of the Grand Prix Special Du Jury at Cannes in 1984. ‘Aurora Borealis’ stars Mari Torocsik, who toplined last year’s local box – office hit ‘Swing’ by Csaba Fazekas. Torocsik won best actress at Cannes with ‘A Locsei Feher Asszony’ in 1976. As in her previous films, Meszaros examines a social taboo in ‘Aurora Borealis’, this time the story of children fathered by occupying Russian soldiers. It centers on Olga, who lives in Vienna. She realizes that there are secrets in her family past and she will not be able to put her own life in order until she works out the truth of what happened. After returning to Hungary, her elderly mother did everything in her power to keep the past a secret from her daughter and lied to her for years, but when she falls into a coma, Olga finds a mysterious photograph and starts to search for the truth.

‘NO LONGER HEROINE’ OVERTAKES “ATTACK ON TITAN”

‘Heroine Shikkaku’ (“No Longer Heroine”), climbed atop the Japanese box office this weekend in its 2nd week of release. Based on a best – selling comic by Momoko Koda about the love troubles of its title teen heroine, the film earned $1.95 million on 196,496 admissions from 268 screens, with Warner Japan distributing. This was only 12% down from last weekend, with teenaged girls accounting for most of the audience. ‘No Longer Heroine’ is now expected to finish near $25 million mark. ‘No Longer Heroine’ bumped ‘Attack On Titan: End Of The World’, the 2nd of a 2 part action / fantasy epic, distributed by Toho, after only 1 week at No. 1. Playing on 427 screens, the film took in $1.3 million from 112,487 admissions, compared with $2.7 million from 237,016 tickets for its opening frame. Even this latter figure was down 45.7% from the opening weekend of the 1st film, which bowed on 1st Aug, 2015. Also in its 2nd week of release, Disney’s ‘Ant – Man’ recorded $1.1 million on 96,575 admissions to hold onto the number 3 slot. There were no new entries to the top 10, reflecting distributors’ decisions to open their strongest films prior to the Silver Week holiday, which ran from 19th Sept, 2015 to 23rd Sept, 2015.

Mungala is the perfect depiction of a villager’s life in a rural ambience: Producer Gaurav Bhanushali

October 19, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer Gaurav Bhanushali deserves a pat on his back for presenting a perfect picture of a village in times of drought. And how the villager’s suffer more due to the politician’s mean game of using the villagers to win the so called elections. That apart they also become the victims of a natural calamity.

So how would you describe your film Mungala?

My film Mungala is the perfect depiction of a villager’s life in a rural ambience. First of all the main protagonist Kisan has just returned from the city after being sacked by an American IT company due to recession.

And then?

And then on his return to the village Kisan discovers that the villagers are also passing through a phase of drought, the villagers are now solely depending on tanker’s everyday to fulfill their necessity of water. While they are also being used as a crowd puller for an election rally time & again by the political workers. So Kisan also whiles away his time with his coterie of friends. And then there were news reports in the papers that there was a rainfall due to a research being done on the moon. Instantly Kisan & his friends devise a plan to end the sufferings of the villagers.

This almost sounds like Mungala is an off beat venture. What say?

Maybe you are right but I think the audiences all over will like it. Rural audiences will lap up Mungala, but I firmly believe that even the urban audiences will have a lot of food for thought to ponder upon.

What according to you are the main highlights of Mungala?

First of all I would like to say that it is Vijay Devkar’s excellent directional skills that will keep the audiences all over spell bind. No we don’t want their sympathy, we just want them to realize the villager’s problem minutely & offer us a concrete solution. That apart I would like to mention the names of all my artistes like Lokesh Gupte, Jyoti Joshi, Suhas Palshikar, Ganesh Yadav, Chetan Dalvi etc for going through all the grind and literally getting into the skin of the charater and literally living their roles and lastly I would like to make a mention of my music composers Vijay Gawande & Atul Lohar who have also delivered the goods expected of them.

By the way what was the need to include an item song in such an off beat film?

Mungala is not just an off beat venture, it is also a thoroughly entertaining film. So instead of keeping a tamasha oriented lavani as usual I thought of including a proper item song which would enliven the audiences.

So what’s next on your agenda?

Frankly speaking right now Mungala is my top priority. I am seriously considering of sending Mungala to global fests as in India it has already been an official selection for Sahayadri Cine Awards for “Best Choreography” & also an official selection with 4 nominations for Nashik International Film Festival where it ultimately bagged the Golden Camera Award for “Best Rural Cinema”.

Movie Review: ‘Crimson Peak’ is entertaingly enjoyable albeit not so scary

October 19, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Callum Greene, Jon Jashni, Thomas Tull & Guillermo Del Toro
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Star Cast: Mia Wasikowaka, Jessika Chastian, Tom Hiddleston, Jim Beaver & Charlie Hunnam,
Genre: Horror
Verdict: AVERAGE

The most famous works of director Guillermo Del Toro were The Hobbit series, The Orphanage, Hell Boy series, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, Blade series et al all which falls into the Horror oriented category. In short Guillermo Del Toro happens to be one director who has hardly deviated his film making attention from one particular genre.

Plot: When her heart is stolen by a seductive stranger, a young woman is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood – red clay: a place ﬁlled with secrets that will haunt her forever. Between desire & darkness, between mystery & madness, lies the truth behind Crimson Peak. So from the imagination of director Guillermo Del Toro comes a supernatural mystery starring Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska & Charlie Hunnam.

Aces: The only redeeming factor of Crimson Peak are the par excellence performance of its male brigade of actors like Tom Hiddleton, Jim Beaver & above all Charlie Hunnan who is simply superb.

Minuses: Wonder why a master of the horror genre like Guillermo Del Toro has seriously failed to live up to audiences expectations.

Last Word: Tom tomed as the most scary fare Crimson Peak fails to catch your most scary fancy.

Movie Review: ‘Jazbaa’ is a captivating thriller with good performances that makes it a decent watch

October 15, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: White Feather Films & Viiking Media & Entertaiment
Producer: Sanjay Gupta, Aishwarya Rai, Anuradha Gupta, Nittin Keni, Akash Chawla, Sachin R. Joshi & Raina Sachin R. Joshi
Director: Sanjay Gupta
Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Jackie Shroff, Atul Kulkarni, Siddhanth Kapoor, Priya Banerjee, Sara Arjun, Abhimanyu Singh et al
Music: Amjad – Nadeem Arko, Pravo Mukherjee & Amar Mohile
Distribution: Essel Vision Productions

Director Sanjay Gupta is more famous for his thriller movies genre in the past. And once again he has delivered the goods in his latest offering ‘Jazbaa’ albeit this time he has laced the movie with a bit of emotionalism too, probably to tug at the viewer’s heart strings too.

The intricatly plotted scenerio of ‘Jazbaa’ kicks off with Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a prominent criminal lawyer and a single mother who has never lost a case. One day her daughter Sanaya (Sara Arjun) is kidnapped and no ransom is demanded, but instead the kidnapper contacts her and tells her that she has to defend a convicted felon to get her daughter back. The felon is Miyaaz Shaikh (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who is convicted for rape & murder of a young woman and the case against him is set for judgement in 4 days. The kidnapper keeps track of Anuradha very closely to make sure she complies with his demand. With the pressure of time against her, Anuradha tries to get help from her suspended police friend Yohan (Irrfan Khan) who has been suspended from the police force for flaunting the rules & the regulations too often. The case against Miyaaz Shaikh is handled by a renowned public prosecutor (Atul Kulkarni) who has been defeated by Anuradha time & again and hence has a long time professional rivalry against her.

Director Sanjay Gupta has officially made ‘Jazbaa’ as the indianised version of the Korean movie ‘Seven Days’ packing in all the edge – of – the – seat punches topped with his par excellence directional skills. In fact the movie ‘Jazbaa’ sounds almost like a perfectly crafted slick Hollywood thriller, yet the film lacks in its repeat value deviod of any mass entertainment value. The film also proves weak in its proper romanticism depiction & musical treatment barring the first rate backgrond score of Amar Mohile. That apart his other behind – the – scenes technicians have also given a first rate account of their unsurpassed talent perfectly living upto his directorial expectations and that includes each & every bit role playing actors too. A word of extreme praise also goes to all the producers backing the project and of course last but not the least to Nittin Keni too for his distributional vision through his Essel Vision Company.

Performance wise the film ‘Jazbaa’ clearly belongs to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as her overtly perfect comback launch pad after 5 long years. She delivers a towering performance despite the towering presence of a superbly talented performer like Irrfan Khan. But sadly speaking this time around Irrfan Khan could not stand tall with his volcano of talent with his half the time dopey act, against an equally talented performer like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Yet all said & done the duo has perfecty matched their talent in a few scenes at least. And for that the entire credit goes to director Sanjay Gupta for capturing & extracting a raw & stunning performance from the duo. Next in line the veteran actress Shabana Azmi, on the other hand, comes up with yet another sterling performance. The remaining actors like Jackie Shroff, Priya Banerjee, Siddhant Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal & Atul Kulkarni too have excelled beyond imagination in their respectively brief cameo roles.

Tail Piece: ‘Jabaa’ is a captivating thriller with good performances that makes it a decent watch for the entire family audiences.

‘Ranveer – The Maarshal’ is completely based on 8 kinds of unique martial arts”: Milind Ukey

October 15, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Director Milind Ukey had 1st gained a recognized limelight with a Shahid Kapoor & Nana Patekar starrer movie ‘Pathshaala’. And then he came into his own with varied language films made every once in 2 years and he is still around with many more filmy martial arts tucked up his directorial sleeves. At present, he is ready with his extraordinaire martial art movie named ‘Ranviir – The Martial’, whose imminent release is just round the corner.

To start off with, how about giving us a brief lowdown on your pre -filmic background?

I am from Nagpur. I am basically a Mechanical Engineer from VNIT. I had done my 3 year Film Direction Course from FTII Pune.

Now tell us how & from where did your cinematic journey begin?

I had started off as an associate director for Sanjay Leela Bhansali in ‘Khamoshi’ & ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. I had made my 1st independent feature film in Marathi named ‘Devaki’ which had won 27 awards. Then I had made films like ‘Hanuman’ the 1st animation film, ‘Paathshaala’ with Shahid Kapoor & Nana Patekar, ‘Dehradun Diary’ with Adhyayan Suman. Then I had made 2 more films in between namely ‘Deshdevi’ & ‘Humne Jeena Seekh Liya’. I was also a creative director for ‘Naina’.

Fine! By the way, why was there such a long gap in your directional arena?

I have made 1 feature film every 2 years for the last 10 years. Hence, there is not much gap in the directional arena. Making good films from conception to release does take around 1.5 to 2 years.

Time to reveal about your upcoming film ‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ in a nutshell’?

‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ is the 1st of its kind film in India which is completely based on 8 kinds of martial arts. All artists are expert professional martial artists. Every character , story, backdrop, twists & turns deals with only martial arts. The fights are choreographed by professional martial artists, supported by International Taekwondo Federations of India. The feel, the structure & the execution of this film is on the lines of the international martial arts films.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Ranviir – The Marshall’?

The great martial arts fights of the lead hero and the professional martial artists, the arena fights, the pure martial arts competition fights involving 800 students, the international look of the characters & the backdrops and above all 8 kind of martial arts in the finale and above all 6 International fighters are the highlights of the film.

Scores of martial art movies are being made time & again, so what’s so special about ‘Ranviir – The Marshal?

You see full-fledged martial arts films are not made in India. There is specific writing, designing & fight composition of martial arts films, which nobody understands in India. I myself practiced martial arts. I studied martial arts cinema from ‘Enter The Dragon’ to the recent ‘Grandmastar’. Besides I also learnt some cinematic fight technique from Hong Kong fight master in London. So I can proudly claim that ‘Ranviir – The Marshal’ is a 1st of its kind of martial arts film completely based on art, culture, skills & designs of only martial arts.

When is the movie finally releasing and what was the specific reasons for its delay?

It is finally releasing on 23rd Oct, 2015 and there was no delay in the film as such. Its only that lots of post production work takes time as much as ground level marketing does. We had long connect programme with 5000 martial arts clubs all over India. So it takes time.

Is your film a message oriented one and what message are you trying to impart?

This is a sports film based on martial arts sports. Today’s children are too absorbed in electronic gadgets, video games, internets,
smart phones et al, thereby restricting their physical growth. This film will inspire them to come out of their closets & play ground games. The Guru in my film says, “Martial arts ek jeene ki kala hai, ek aam aadmi se ek kabil insaan banane tak ka safar” It will also inspire girls to learn the self-defence techniques.

How was it moulding & working with debutante artistes. Did they deliver the goods and finally are you satisfied as a director?

Every actor has delivered a superb performance. Rishy as Ranviir is outstanding in fighting as well as emotional & dramatic sequences. Rajesh as a stylized villain is unique. Shibani Kashyap debuting as a vamp with a hunter is too good to be true. NSD Guru of acting Robin Das adds the spiritual angle to the film. Viswajeet Pradhan as composed guide & Ratiji as over powering mother are amazing. The professional martial artists Sameer Khan, Vinod Koomang, Prateek Parmar are outstanding in their fights of international standards.

As a parting shot tell us what is next on your filmmaking agenda?

I am busy making 3 films at the moment. Firstly I am working on the next level of martial arts film. Another project is a true international story about Gomla village. Period!

Southern Films Round Up

October 14, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Raghava Changes Mind And Turns Corrupt

As a follow up to the blockbuster ‘Kanchana 2’ actor & director Raghava Lawrence announced 2 films ‘Motta Siva Ketta Siva’ with Kajal Agarwal as heroine and a supernatural thriller ‘Naaga’ both produced by Vendhar Movies. Now Lawrence has had a change of mind and has decided to 1st do a film for producer R. B. Chowdhary’s Super Good Films to be directed by Sai Ramani whose earlier film is the Jiiva starrer ‘Singam Puli’. Raghava has so far played the role of an innocent & loveable man but he is going for a complete makeover in this new untitled film in which he is going to appear as a corrupt cop. The film is a remake of the Telugu super hit ‘Pataas’ that had Nandamuri Kalyan Ram as the hero.

Keerthy Opts Out Of Mani Ratnam’s Film

Actor Dulquer Salman who was supposed to play one of the male leads in director Mani Ratnam’s upcoming bilingual film has been replaced by actor Naani as the latter is popular among both Tamil & Telugu audiences. Besides actress Keethy Suresh who had signed up for one of the female leads in the film has also opted out of the project. Keerhy’s father and Malayalam film producer Suresh Kumar has confirmed this and also explained the reason behind his daughter’s decision to let go off an offer that is still a dream for many actors & actresses across the country.

Amala Has The Most Dangerous Links Amongst The Tamil Celebrities

It was Dhanush In the year 2014, and now it is the much married & prettier by the day Amala Paul, who tops the list of the “Most Sensational Celebrities” according to Intel Securities Annual survey for the year 2015. Intel, the world’s largest computer chip manufacturing company keeps a watch on cyber criminals who take advantage of people’s search patterns and let loose malicious links to sites & lure unsuspecting users to reveal their sensitive information. Amala Paul’s name is linked to the maximum number of such malicious sites followed by Arya, Suriya, Vijay & Amy Jackson.

Actresss Aachi Manorama Is No More

Born as Gopishantha in Mannarugudi of Tamil Nadu, Manorama started acting in a theater group at the young age of 12. Her excellent skill of dialogue delivery won her a chance to act in films. She 1st acted in an unreleased film starring S. S. Rajendran & Devika. Then she was offered the lead heroine’s role in ‘Malaiyitta Mangai’ produced by ace lyricist Kannadasan and that became her 1st film. After that Manorama migrated to supporting characters laced with comedy and paired up with male comedians of those days like Nagesh. Cho, Thangavelu, V. K. Ramasamy, Thengai Srinivasan and many others. Her performance as Jil Jil Ramamani, a folk dancer in the Sivaji Ganesan – Padmini starrer classic film ‘Thillana Mohanambal’ was one of the highly regarded female supporting characters ever enacted in Tamil cinema and the same is also considered as the towering performance of her career in those days.

‘Rudrama Devi’ Buy 1 Get 1 In USA

Indian’s 1st and biggest historical 3D film, ‘Rudrama Devi’ is running strong in USA. It has already crossed half a million mark by collecting $570k recently and heading towards 1 million club in the overall run. Online ticketing website www.fandango.com offer a buy 1 get 1 free ticket scheme per transaction for those buying tickets and watching Rudrama Devi. This offer was valid only till 11th Oct, 2015 for ticket bought online at www.fandango.com but it was not valid at counter purchases at any other ticketing websites.

Srihari’s Statue Unveiled by Dasari

It’s been 2 years since Srihari passed away and a perfect replacement for him has been not found yet. He made a mark in Tollywood with his versatility and will be remembered forever not only for his acting skills, but also for the philanthropic activities he had done. A statue was unveiled as an honor of this late actor. Dasari Narayana Rao inaugurated the statue at Balanagar in Hyderabad on 11th Oct, 2015. A few Telangana minsters also attended the inauguration event.

Actor Raj Tarun Teams Up With Director Puri Jagannadh

Raj Tarun has now become one of the most sought after young actors in Tollywood. After acting in just 2 films, he got a chance to work with Sukumar for ‘Kumari 21F’, for which the director penned the story, the screenplay & the dialogues, apart from producing it. The latest news is that Puri Jagannadh will be producing one of Raj Tarun’s upcoming films. The ‘Temper’ director is said to have also penned the story & the dialogues for this film, which will be directed by yesteryear actress Revathi.

The Tamil Version Of ‘Akhil’ All Set To Be Released

The Tamil version of ‘Akhil’ will be released simultaneously with the Telugu version of the film on 22nd Oct, 2015. C. Kalyan bagged the Tamil rights of the film and he is planning to hold a grand event in Chennai to introduce ‘Akhil’ to the Tamil audiences. As per the latest update, the Tamil version of the film has been titled as ‘Surya Kavacham’, which is very much linked to the concept of the movie. The film will be a socio fantasy entertainer. V. V. Vinayak is the director of this film and Nithiin is the producer.

Sreenivasan in ‘Ceylon Cinema’

Versatile cine artiste Sreenivasan will play the lead role in a movie titled ‘Ceylon Cinema’. The movie has been written by M. Vineesh. He will also direct the movie. The pooja of the movie was held at Kozhikode.’Ceylon Cinema’ will also star Aju Varghese, Ramesh Pisharody, Dharmajan, Kalabhavan Shajon et al in pivotal roles. Gopi Sunder will handle the music department for this movie. Suesh Sastha is the cameraman.

‘Mulgudi Days’ Official Teaser Released

The official teaser of ‘Mulgudi Days’ has been released. The movie is based in a fictional village and revolves around a school high up in a hilly terrain. Anoop Menon & Bhama play the lead actors in the movie. The teaser of the movie depicts the actors along with school kids. Anoop Menon had gone on record saying that this was one of those movies which has changed him as a person and brought about a new dimension in him. The movie has been completed and is ready for release.

Srinivas Unhappy

Noted producer of Kannada cinema B. K. Srinivasa feels depressed for showcasing him and his Sri Harsha Productions in distasteful manner by the director of his film ‘Dove’ Alemari Santhu. B. K. Srinivasa who lives on the slogan ‘Nambikeye Jeevana’ (Belief is life) believed Alemari Santhu completely in the production of ‘Dove’ but did not know that he would project his name so poorly in his own film. In the title card his name is not spelt properly and the photo that comes with the name is not given prominence for investing crores on his film ‘Dove’. Director Santhu is solely responsible for it. Secondly his prestigious banner Sri Harsha Productions has been kept as the name of a bar & restaurant. Which has hurt B. K. Srinivasa no end.

Welcome To Anoop

A long stay in the cinema industry as producer, Kannada activist & KFCC active member Sa Ra Govindu is an anxious person today. That is because his son’s debut film ‘Dove’ is releasing all over Karnataka. It is a 1st test match for Anoop in the days of ’20:20’. Anoop’s late mother wanted to see his son in a cricket ground hitting six & fours. He has landed in another popular field of cinema. He is watched by lakhs of people like in cricket ground. This is what Sa Ra Govindu lamented when his son was introduced to media for the 1st time at Hotel Le Meredian. Anoop Sa Ra Govindu is taking birth in the profession that has given life for innumerable personalities all around the world. For the connection of a renowned father, there were several best wishes to Anoop in the print media. Anoop Sa Ra Govindu has been already invited for the 2nd film by noted producer Kanakapura Srinivas.

Thailand bans film over depictions of Buddhist monks

October 13, 2015 by Nasheman

Buddhist body says Arbat could destroy the religion with its intimate scenes and depiction of monk taking drugs.

Buddhist monks, traditionally revered in Thailand, have been rocked by a number of scandals [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

A Thai horror film about Buddhist monks has been banned over fears it could “destroy” the kingdom’s majority faith, authorities say.

The culture ministry on Tuesday objected to certain parts of the film Arbat, including a kissing scene and one where a monk is shown taking drugs.

The clergy have long been revered in overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand but in recent years have been rocked by scandals, including gambling and prostitution, as well as corruption at the increasingly wealthy temples propped by donations from the faithful.

“The movie has some scenes that will destroy Buddhism. If it is shown, people’s faith in Buddhism will deteriorate,” Somchai Surachatri, spokesman for Thailand’s National Office of Buddhism, told AFP news agency.

His office sits on the censorship committee at the culture ministry.

On Tuesday the film’s producer Sahamongkol Film International said it was “preparing to adjust some parts of the movie” before resubmitting it for consideration.

“We will try to maintain the essence and plot of the story as far as we can,” it said in a Facebook post.

Arbat, which translates from Thai as “violations committed by monks”, was scheduled for nationwide release on Thursday.

Corruption scandal

Thailand’s monks have come under increasing fire for their embrace of commercialism in recent years.

In April the Dhammakaya temple, one of the richest in the kingdom, returned about $20m given by a company executive later accused of embezzling the cash.

Donations have long formed the bedrock of Thai Buddhism.

Every morning barefooted monks make alms rounds in their local neighbourhoods while many devotees “make merit” by gifting money to temples.

The case of notoriously flashy monk, Wiraphol Sukphol, taking selfies while flying in a private jet triggered particular outrage.

Other embarrassing incidents in recent months include a monk arrested for multiple sexual assaults, clergy dressed in civilian clothes drinking alcohol and crashing a car, and monks, who are expected to be celibate, having girlfriends.