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"I want to be an actress to be reckoned with": Chitrashi Rawat

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chitrashi-rawat

Chitrashi Rawat of ‘Chak De India’ fame happens to be the 1st ever actress of the Bollywoodian Tinsel Town to have got rid of the shackles of the so called glam girls in the conventional mould. So meet Chitrashi Rawat, an unconventional actress, who is no doubt an actress par excellence. She has indeed proved time & again, right from her debut film CHAK DE INDIA to her latest release BLACK HOME, that she can tackle varied roles and further prove her mettle in the histrionics arena. At heart Chitrashi is a sports loving person, having already proved her proficiency in hockey. And now it is her dream to do as many sports films as possible. Present herewith is a telephonic conversation with a very bubbly & an enthusiastic persona known as Chitrashi Rawat.

Pencil in your background in a nutshell.

I hail born from the beautiful city of Dehradun. I have been a hockey player from the very early stage of my life and also represented my state Uttrakhand at the National level. And by a sheer chance of luck I had bagged CHAK DE INDIA.

And then?

In fact CHAK DE INDIA had happened to me almost a decade ago. Since then I have done films like FASHION, LUCK, TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA et al on the celluloid silver screen. That apart in the small screen arena too I have ended up taking part in the most popular shows like COMEDY CIRCUS & ISS JUNGLE SE MUJHE BACHAO on Sony TV and a leading role in FIR on Sab TV. Not only this I have also ended up doing the longest running theater plays like BAAP KA BAAP in Hindi & HONEY HAI TOH MONEY HAI in English.

Ok Now give us a brief insight into your latest release BLACK HOME?

Actually speaking BLACK HOME happens to be a very realistic film belonging to a dark genre, its an eye opener that sets you thinking. It is based on the theme of Juvenile Delinquency. And I have a very strong, powerful & an author backed female oriented role. In fact I am one of the main protagonists in the film. And again frankly speaking the Juvenile Act is implied for the betterment of children’s future. But unfortunately the reality is absolutely unimaginable & unthinkable. The child, who comes to the remand home, is not always & really a criminal. But the real fact is that most of the time an unwanted child of the house belongs to a very poor family. The parents are so poor that they find it very difficult to make the 2 ends meet, so to raise this child becomes like a mission impossible. Hence in reality BLACK HOME is a sincere effort to reveal the reality of these remand home girls in front of the society and make the society aware of the facts that these children lead a life worst than hell. We are a part of this society, where we live a very secure life but the other side of the society is very dark, like a BLACK HOME.

Please continue.

So to reveal the plot in a nutshell, Rajawadi Remand Home is in embroiled in a lot of controversy because of many illegal activities. DK, a news channel bureau chief is all over it again and wants to bring the facts out albeit he is surrounded all around with the usual electronic media politics. DK then uses a non – performing female journalist Anjali to expose the racket and the dark side of the society and show its real & ugly face. It unfolds so many cruel realities of the crime & the politics, which we conveniently ignore. Even otherwise it is not so easy to expose the age old system. So I would say that BLACK HOME is fully researched base film with lot of lots of information gathered from media, news papers and real life interviews of remand mome girls to understand the intensity of the subject. Sincerely speaking BLACK HOME is inspired by true events & information. And I am happy that in BLACK HOME I got a chance to work with veteran & extremely talented actors like Ashutosh Rana, Mohan Joshi, Murli Sharma, Achint Kaur, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Sharad Ponkshe, Santosh Juvekar, Raju Kher, Neelu Kohli, Simran Sehmi, Ajay Suryawanshi, Akhanksha Gade, Priya Gamre et al. BLACK HOME also corroborates the truth that India stands 3rd in the world for rape. Every 20 minutes a girl is raped in India. And out of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million girls do not see their real homes so most of these girls end up in BLACK HOME. Period!

So how would you describe your filmic journey from CHAK DE INDIA to BLACK HOME en route your varied stopovers in the small screen as well as theatrical arena?

All in all I would say that my journey in all the arenas was smooth sailing albeit my path was strewn with many ups & downs, trials & tribulations and sometimes the interim phase was laced with an unseen sign board of “No Vacancy” and then again I would bounce back with renewed energy without any visible signs of fatigue or depression.

And now name your wish list of both the Bollywoodian as well as the Hollywoodian arena.

The Bollywoodian directors on my wish list are Shekhar Kapoor, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anand Gandhi Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Kiran Rao et al and the Hollywoodian directors on my wish list are Majid Majidi, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Deepa Mehta, Mira Nair et al.

Any dream role?

No I won’t say that I would like to perform any yesteryear’s or the current heroines more popular roles. All I aspire to do is as many as and all kinds of sports oriented roles. And of course I would love to work in Hollywood films, Indie films, art house films, festival films & so on and so forth.

Your parting shot?

I want to be an actress to be reckoned with one who will leave behind a mark in remembrance in the annals of the golden pages of the filmic history.

Theatre Play Review: Darindey – The Villains

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Darindey The Villains

The Introduction

The indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) has always been a forefront runner in promoting plays of social relevance. Having carved a niche for itself in this arena, IPTA has already staged scores of plays of repute, which has ended up reflecting social problems in its entirety. Of late they are active in staging the most popular plays like “Taj Mahal Ka Tender”, directed by Salim Aarif with cast comprising of well-known actors like Rakesh Bedi, Bharat Kapoor & Jaspaul Sandhu, “Café Shimla” written-directed-acted by Rakesh Bedi, “Girija Ke Sapne” directed by M. S. Sathyu & above all “Darindey…….The Villains” directed by Ramesh Talwar starring  Aanjjan Srivastav, Rakesh Bedi,  Rashmi Sharma, Nivedita Baunthiyal, Manju Sharma, Vinati Makijany, Vikas Yadav, Hriday Malhotra & Nishant Srivastav. These plays are running successfully in Mumbai and varied part of India. The play being reviewed here is “Darindey…….The Villians” adapted from the original play named “The Little Foxes”, which was staged recently @ Prithvi Theartre on 14th Feb, 2015.

The Review

“Darindey…….The Villains”

Cast: Aanjjan Srivastav, Rakesh Bedi, Jaspaul Sandhu, Rashmi Sharma, Nivedita Baunthiyal, Manju Sharma, Vinati Makijany, Vikas Yadav, Hriday Malhotra & Nishant Srivastav.
Original Playwright: Lillian Hellman (The Little Foxes)
Adaptation & Direction: Ramesh Talwar
Sets-Costumes-Lights: M. S. Sathyu Music Selection & Coordination: Kuldip Singh
Associate Director & Production Incharge: Vikas Yadav

The Plot

The play’s main focus is Regina (Rashmi Sharma), who struggles for wealth & freedom within the confines of an early 20th Century society where fathers considered only sons as their legal heirs. As a result of this practice, her avaricious brothers Benjamin (Aanjjan Srivastav) & Oscar (Rakesh Bedi) are independently wealthy, while she must rely upon her sickly, wheelchair-using husband Horace (Hriday Malhotra) for financial support.

Regina’s brother Oscar marries Birdie (Nivedita Baunthiyal), his much-maligned alcoholic wife, solely to acquire her family’s plantation &  cotton fields. Oscar now wants to join forces with his brother, Benjamin, to construct a cotton mill. They need additional money and approach their sister, asking her to invest in the project. Oscar initially proposes marriage between his son Leo (Nishant Srivastav) & Regina’s daughter Alexandra (Vinati Makijany), first cousins as a means of getting Horace’s money, but Horace & Alexandra are revolted by the suggestion. Horace refuses when Regina asks him outright for the money, so Leo, a bank teller, is pressured into stealing Horace’s railroad bonds from the bank’s safety deposit box. Horace, after discovering this, tells Regina he is going to change his will in favor of their daughter, he also gave Leo the bonds as a loan, thereby cutting Regina out of the deal completely. When he suffers a heart attack during this chat, she makes no efforts to help him. He dies within hours, without anyone knowing his plan and before changing his will. This leaves Regina free to blackmail her brothers by threatening to report Leo’s theft unless they give her bigger share for ownership in the cotton mill, which  in Regina’s mind, is a fair exchange for the stolen bonds. The price Regina ultimately pays for her evil deeds is the loss of her daughter Alexandra’s love & respect. Regina’s actions causes Alexandra to finally understand the importance of not idly watching people do evil. She tells Regina she will not watch her be “one who eats the earth” and abandons her. Having let her husband die, alienated her brothers and driven away by her only child, Regina is left wealthy but completely alone.

The Critical Analysis

The play which had been penned in the year 1939 fits accurately even in today’s time and the present day society too.  This hard hitting play is really very heart touching as it relates to every family in our society.  it is really a great production staged  by IPTA. Ramesh Talwar’s adaptation & direction is picture perfect and ends up doing the most appropriate justice to the original playwright Lillian Hellman. Even the sets, the costumes & the lighting done by M. S. Sathyu is remarkable. Kuldeep Sings music too leaves a lasting impression.

Performances wise all the actors were really stunning in their respective roles, having delivered a power packed act. Anjan Srivastav looks smart & elegant. Rakesh Bedi with his timing & comic sense gives a befitting tribute to his character. Rashmi Sharma lends glamor with her charming persona. Next in line are actors like Jaspaul Sandhu, Nivedita Baunthiyal, Manju Sharma, Vinati Makijany, Vikas Yadav, Hriday Malhotra & Nishant Srivastav all of whom have ended up delivering an unforgettably par excellence perfornance.

The Final Verdict

All in all “Darindey…….The Villains” certainly stands out as a “Not To Be Missed Play” at any cost.

An interactive session with On-Line producer Parimal Shah

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“My Bungalow ‘The Garden Retreat’ Is Built On A Prime Location, which Is Available & Accessible For Any & All Kinds Of Filmmakers In India & Abroad” – Parimal Shah

Parimal Shah

Parimal Shah happens to be an on-line producer who liaisons for shoots for big screen, small screen and ad filmmakers. He came into prominence and gained intant recognition when he did the liasioning work, in simple terms coordinated for locales n shoots in Bungalows, for Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and reputed filmmakers like Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra et al, the list is endless. And now he has his own Bungalow named “The Garden Retreat” which he rents out for shootings.

How did you get the idea to be an on-producer?

Having worked for scores of films & Television shows I realised that varied filmmakers go through many hassles to organize their shoots on locations and especially if they have to shoot in Bungalows. So at first I started freelance liasioning for Balaji Telefilms and reputed filmmakers like Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra et al. And now I have my own Bungalow named “The Garden Retreat”. Where all kinds of filmmakers are welcome to shoot their projects.

So what are the special features of your Bungalow “The Garden Retreat”?

My Bungalow “The Garden Retreat” is very spacious and built on a prime location. It has varied in built locales & sets. It has a vintage as well as modern look in which the filmmakers can depict a Gujarati haveli, a Parsee’s old house, a Muslim’s princely palace and so on and so forth. It has a massive parking lot so that at a time 3 to 4 generators, 32 cars as well as the stars vanity vans can be parked. And I have only 1 condition that only 1 filmmaker is allowed to shoot at a time in a single day. They can shoot on built in sets like police station, jail, hospital et al in the 1st half and on the makeshift sets like haveli, palace, old age home et al in the 2nd half. I don’t think that any other Bungalows in a nearby or far away vicinity offers all the above mentioned facilities to all kinds of filmmakers.

The Garden Retreat

Is your Bungalow “The Garden Retreat available & accessible only for Bollywood filmmakers?

No sir! Filmmakers from all the woods like Bollywood, Tellywood, Addywood, as mentioned earlier, Hollywood and all the Regional filmmakers are also most welcome to shoot in my Bungalow “The Garden Retreat”. In fact not so long ago in the recent past regional filmmakers & stars like Mahesh Babu shot for his Telugu film ‘Businessman’ & Surya & Samantha shot for their Tamil film ‘Anjaan’ directed by N. Linguswamy. And moreover well-known Marathi filmmaker Laxman Uttekar has shot for his upcoming Marathi film namely ‘Lalbaugh Chi Rani’. In fact I have made a conscious decision to offer discounted rates of shooting for Marathi filmmakers. And I have taken this decision mainly because if the Government can offer subsidy then why can’t I offer discounted rates to Marathi filmmakers as my humble contribution. Period.

50 plus Heroes ruling the roost In Bollywood

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Earlier on our Bollywood actors had a very limited time span of their professional career. By the time they had crossed the 35 summers of their lives they either had to quit or switch to characters roles. And unconventional heroes in Bollywood firmament was a strict no – no. Only good looking so called chocolate heroes stood a chance to survive in the rat race to Stardom.

But since the last 1 decade this scenario of Bollywood has done a total & complete volte face. Let’s first take the example of Bollywood’s one & only midget hero Aamir Khan, who has just stepped into the 50th summer of his life. But much before that Aamir Khan had already started chartering his success route stardom with hard work and above all his sheer grit & determined resolve. And his repertoire of runaway successful films include ‘Taare Zammen Par’, ‘3 Idiots’ & ‘PK’ to name just 3 and his steady policy of doing only 1 film at a time also stood him in good stead. At this rate he is all set for a still longer innings at the box office turnstiles with his next upcoming project namely ‘Dangal’.

Apart from Aamir Khan it is Big B who is the classic example of this trend of 50 plus heroes ruling the roost. At 70 plus, Big B is still calling the shots on the big screen with his hit films like the sequel of ‘Bhootnath’ to name just one, on the small screen with all the Seasons of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) and mini series of ‘Yudh’ and he is still going strong with many upcoming films in his kitty like ‘Piku’, ‘Wazir’, ‘Ghoomketu’, ‘Hasmukh Pigal Gaya’ et al. Not to forget the public issue short films and all the endorsements he keeps doing left, right & centre. All this is enough to give the younger breed of actors a run for their money.

Next in line is the ultra energetic actor like Akshay Kumar aka Akki. When he had made his debut eons ago in ‘Saugandh’, he had gone on record saying that he would be most happy if he could survive in tinsel town even for a decade. And look where he has reached now & how?. His successful films include ‘Boss’, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ & ‘Baby’ to name just 3. So even Akshay Kumar is all set to romance with lady luck for a long. Long time to come. Among the many upcoming films that he has lined up is ‘Airlift’ to name just 1.

The same is the case with Ajay Devgn who was ridiculed for his unconventional dark look since his ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ days. But he changed the entire conception in his stride. With his recent successful films like ‘Son Of Sardar’ and the ‘Singham’ series and upcoming films like his own directorial venture ‘Shivaay’ and many more. So now even he is set for a longer dalliance with the Goddess of box office.

And last but not least is undoubtedly our very own Sallu miyan nay Salman Khan who has created his own success history in spite of all the upheavals & roadblocks in his personal life as well as his professional career. Indeed this ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has given a real ‘Kick’ to all his detractors.

So here is a cautionary piece de resistance advice to all the younger heroes to take a leaf out of the above mentioned REAL HEROES or be prepared to quit, hang their boots or worst still get blown away with the wind. Period!

In conversation with Minhaz Lokhandwala, CEO of Novosol Mobile Magic

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“Funpack Is India’s 1st Multimedia Mobile Magazine!!!” – Minhaz Lokhandwala

Minhaz Lokhandwala is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer in Novosol. Minhaz began Novosol in 2006 and is the Principal Shareholder of the company. Minhaz holds 2 decades of experience in Telco Business coupled with a strong vision, strategy & skills set. He has held senior operational business management & consulting roles at McKinsey, PBS & Hewlett Packard across US & South-East Asia. He has completed Bachelors in Physics & MBA (Marketing & Finance) from Rice University, USA in the year 1987. He also has Diploma in Project Management from IIM, Ahmadabad, India & also a Diploma in Structured Software Development & Architecture. Minhaz is a member of several prestigious associations such as IEEE; MENSA-San Francisco; Singapore Logistics Association; Project Management Institute (USA) & Singapore-India Association.

To set the ball rolling in your court, kindly give us an insight into the concept of Funpack?

Ok so let’s come straight to the point. Funpack featuring fresh & engaging content such as Latest Movie Trailers & Reviews, Off-beat Unique Content, Cricket & Football Updates, and much more in high-tech audio-visual format – Funpack entertains, informs & uplifts the viewers. In this uplifted context, the advertiser’s message & promotion is brought to the viewer’s attention.  With a reach of over 1 Crore Mobile Numbers, Multimedia Elements & Interactivity…….Funpack delivers superior exposure, impact & leads…….in short a unique & superior marketing ROI.

How & when did Funpack originate?

Funpack started in Malaysia 4 years back and with the support of all the Telcos it reached over million users,  25% of the population. On the advertising part, all major media companies such as Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Music Group, 20th Century Fox, StarTV had used it to gain rapid & broad exposure of their new releases. In India, Funpack has been used by Red Chillies for ‘Happy New Year’ movie promotion. We believe that Funpack offers an unbeatable business case for the entertainment & media industry.

What are the subscribers’ charges & spam concerns?

Funpack is free to subscribers, we don’t charge from users; it is actually an ad supported service and a permission-based service, so no question of being a spam. Subscribers can stop the service anytime with an SMS.

And why the tagline ‘Fun On The Run’?

The Funpack subscribers get unique, interesting, happening & uplifting content, aimed to win a smile. Cricket, Football, Movies, Current Events, Public Service messages and more are presented to users with a twist & attitude. Since, Funpack is delivered straight into the mobile’s inbox, the subscribers can access this fun content anytime, anywhere and smile. Hence, the tagline ‘Fun On The Run’.

How is Funpack different from other digital advertising solutions?

Well, Funpack has many unique aspects: over 10 million reach, mgram tech, which delivers rich media content directly to the phone, Unique ‘Fun On The Run” Content, Interaction and Lead Generation, Superior visibility as compared to any other BTL platform and most importantly, a superior ROI.

With its potentially huge mobile reach, visibility, impact & interaction, Funpack will be a game changer in marketing. We are currently working to expand our reach to 25 million and there is no reason why Funpack cannot reach all Indian mobile users. Presently no other digital advertising service has these capabilities or possibilities.

What kind of campaigns would you suggest for Bollywood?

Well, ‘Win Free Tickets’ is very effective. The contests asking for ‘Slogans or Quiz Responses’ generate very high exposure & engagement, higher engagement greatly increases the likelihood that the subscribers will buy the products or tickets.

How does the advertiser track the campaign? Is there any reporting system?

Novosol believes in ‘Complete Transparency’ and Funpack provides an online reporting mechanism, which an advertiser can access by logging-in with their ids & passwords. Once logged in, the advertiser can view……..Daily summary of Funpack delivered with their Ads, Daily Summary of Funpacks retrieved & viewed with their Ads, Details of SMS Responses & Interactions (if enabled by advertisers). All these reports are backed by Telco Logs and viewable for audit.

Are there any other benefits to Bollywood?

There are many benefits, being a publisher we review movies, rate item songs, cover celebs, events & awards. Thus for added exposure, we can cover the Movie on Funpack and on our MoMoviez.com publication. We also offer banner ads on our various momags- mocricket.com, mofutbol.com,momoviez.com & mosportz.com, which provide an additional 12 million reach in India, Malaysia & Indonesia.

Lastly tell us about other Funpack advertisers?

Funpack has recently been launched in India, yet our list of advertisers includes Samsung, Dominos, Dabur, Red Chillies & Foresight Opticals.

Movie Review: 'Chappie' is fascinating but fails to live up to everyone's expectation

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Banner: Media Rights Capital
Producer: Simon Kinberg
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley as Chappie (voice. & motion capture), Dev Patel, Ninja, Yo – Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Anderson Cooper, Brandon Auret &  Watkin Tudor Jones
Music: Hans Zimmer

Director Neill Blomkamp of ‘District 9’ & ‘Elysium’ fame has treaded on a different kind of filmmaking genre, namely that of robotic world in lieu with the multi – million dollar heist angle.

The plotted scenario reveals that Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is the lead programmer of the Scouts programme, which has provided Johannesburg with an all – robotic police force and brought order to the lawless town. Deon Wilson is working on making his machines better through giving them artificial intelligence. Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is a war veteran, who doesn’t care for nerds such as colleague Deon Wilson, wears shorts to office unlike Deon Wilson’s tie & shirt and who is pushing for his own Moore programme in which humans will control a crime – busting robot via a neuro – transmitter helmet. Things take a turn when Deon Wilson is denied permission to try his breakthrough A. I. technology on his Scouts. He then secretes a dismantled robot away, is kidnapped on his way home and threatened by his abductors to load this robot with the a new technology. The result is ‘Chappie’, a robot that is like a child when rebooted, but who learns things much, much faster, is curious, inquisitive, has feelings and a consciousness. Chappie is absolutely charming. The scenario takes a turn and brings in South African musicians Ninja & Yo – Landi Visser, along with Cantillo, who play the gangsters who kidnapped Deon Wilson. Yo – Landi Visser takes on the role of Chappie’s ‘mother’, she reads him bedtime stories, delights in his paintings and the speed at which he picks up new words and tells him all about soul. On the other hand Ninja takes on the role of Chappie‘s father and begins to like him, though his primary motive remains using Chappie to pull off a multi – million dollar heist and ward off fellow robotic police officers. Time for another twist, Chappie is attacked, has his arm cut off and stumbles through his first few hours bewildered at how things are turning out. Particularly as “maker” Deon Wilson had instructed him “never, ever” to do anything criminal.

‘Chappie’ (stylized as Chappie) is an American science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. The screenplay, written by Blomkamp & his real life spouse Terri Tatchell, is based on Blomkamp’s own 2004 short film ‘Tetra Vaal’. Not to forget his copied inspiration (Read Robocop). The only praiseworthy crew members are cinematographer Trent Opalach and to some extent editor Julian Clarke and music composer Hans Zimmer.

Performance wise it is Dev Patel of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ fame as Deon Wilson who walks away with all the acting honors as he makes his presence felt in all the frames throughout the film’s duration. The next in line impressive performers are Ninja & Yo – Landi Visser. The rest of the actors like Jose Pablo Cantillo, Anderson Cooper, Brandon Auret & Watkin Tudor Jones are ok. But the most let down act has been delivered by Sigourney Weaver & Hugh Jackman.

Tailpiece: ‘Chappie’ can be recommended as an enjoyable fare for Kids.

Southern movies round up

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As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regylaerly progressing by churning out its own brand of gems of milestone movies in all the 4 languages namely Kannada, Malyalam, Telugu & Tamil. In an exclusive Nasheman.In, Shaheen Raaj will present a sneak preview of the productional happenings of Southern Cinema every fortnight. Time to stay tuned in.

AR Rehman – Manirathnam -Vairamuthu Combo To Be Back With A Big Bang

AR Rehman – Manirathnam -Vairamuthu combo to be back with a big bang. A surprise treat is in the offing for all the die hard fans of AR Rehman – Manirathnam – Vairamuthu combo. As the single “Mental Manathil” from ‘OK Kanmani’ is releasing shortly and is all set to rock the music world. Incidentally speaking ‘OK Kanmani’ is all set to release on 14th Apr, 2015 and stars Dulquer Salman & Nithya Menon with cinematography by P. C. Sriram. The film said to be on the lines of ‘Alaipaythey’, one of the most awaited films releasing this summer.

Vishal & Mysskin Join Hands For The 1st Time Ever

Vishal & Mysskin join hands for the 1st time ever. Mysskin, the maverick director is joining hands with Vishal for the 1st time ever. Mishkin is all set to release his assistant Vadivel’s movie ‘Kallapadam’. The music rights have been bagged by Vishal’s “Vishal Music company”. The audio release function is expected soon. “K”, who scored the music for Mysskin’s ‘Yuddham Sai’ & ‘Mugamoodi’ has scored the music.

‘Kallapadam’ movie is based on “Koothupattarai” and there are 5 songs in the movie. Mysskin has written the lyrics and sung one of the songs and the rest of the songs have been sung by “Koothupattarai” members themselves.

Santosh Narayan Chooses ‘Bangalore Day’ After ‘Madras’

Santosh Narayan chooses ‘Bangalore Day’ after ‘Madras’. Santosh Narayan is one of the finest music directors of Tamil cinema as he got the knack of delivering the perfect Bank Ground Music’s and soul stirring songs. His work in ‘Madras’ got him loads of acclaims and he has become one amongst the most sought after musicians in the southern industry. The Malayalam blockbuster, ‘Bangalore Days’ is getting remade in Tamil & Telugu under ‘Bommarilu’ Baskar’s direction and the latest news to emerge from their camp is, Santosh Narayan will be composing music for this bi – lingual fare.

Poorna Shakes A Leg With Jayam Ravi

Poorna shakes a leg with Jayam Ravi. The already star – studded ‘Appatakar’ has one more addition, with Poorna coming on board for a special song. The actress will shake her legs with Jayam Ravi for a pulsating number.

The song is said to be a a mix of folk & western beats and it would have the ‘Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondramandu’ & ‘Vithagan’ actress in different costumes, along with Jayam Ravi.

Trisha & Anjali are the heroines of ‘Appatakar’, directed by Suraaj. Vivekh & Santhanam are also there. Shooting is currently on in full swing in Pollachi.

Sivakarthikeyan Is Making Waves

Sivakarthikeyan Is Making Waves. Sivakarthikeyan is in the news for all the right reasons. His much awaited ‘Kakki Sattai’, directed by Durai Senthilkuumar & produced by Dhanush has hit the theatres on 27th Feb, 2015. There is more good news for the star’s fans that with the producers of his next film ‘Rajini Murugan’ are planning to unveil the 1st look of this film on 18th Apr, 2015. Rumors are rife that as many as 370 theatres have been booked for this film and some more are expected. This film is produced by Lingusamy & Subash Chandra Bose of Thirrupathi Brothers, Eros International has teamed up to release it worldwide & Studio Green K. E. Gnanavel Raja has acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights.

Nayantara To Enact A Dual Role For The 1st Time Ever

Nayantara to enact a dual role for the 1st time ever. For the 1st time in her career, Nayanthara is playing a dual role in a Tamil movie titled ‘Maaya’. It is a female centric horror entertainer.

Though the makers had first considered the title ‘Night Show’ for the film, they have changed it as ‘Maaya’. This film will be released in Telugu as ‘Mayuri’. Ashwin Saravanan is making his debut as director with this film. Nayanthara will be seen as a mother in this movie. Nayanthara is the leading heroine in Tamil now with half a dozen films in the pipeline and in Telugu, she will be seen opposite Balakrishna in the actor’s 99th film, directed by Sriwass.

Dasari Narayana Rao Teams Up With Pawan Kalyan

Dasari Narayana Rao teams up with Pawan Kalyan. The fans of Pawan Kalyan have been in a shock since Dasari Narayana Rao announced that he is going to team up with Pawan Kalyan for a movie. Though there is no official announcement, the news is that Dr. M. Mohan Babu is being considered as a villain for this movie. Mohan Babu had played negative roles during the early years of his career but it would be interesting to see him as a baddie now.

Many actors are turning villains at present and it is a good sign for the industry that our actors are getting ready to play different roles if the story demands.

Puri Jagannadh May Direct Chiranjeevi

Puri Jagannadh is all set to direct Chiranjeevi. With the big success of ‘Temper’, Puri Jagannadh is back in the big league and now the director’s aim is to direct Chiranjeevi. He said that he has been a big fan of Chiranjeevi since his childhood and will be very happy if Chiru gives him a chance to direct his 150th film. He also said that though he has no story with him, he has registered the title ‘Auto Jaani’ for Chiru long time back. He added the title would strike a chord with the masses easily and no one would bother what the story of the film is, if Chiru acts in a film with that title. Auto Jaani is the name of Chiranjeevi’s character in his super hit film, ‘Rowdy Alludu’. Lets see if Chiranjeevi gives his nod for Puri Jagannadh.

Senior Cinematographer Vincent Is No More

Senior cinematographer Vincent left for his heavenly abode recently. Senior
cinematographer Aloysius Vincent, who has worked for South as well as  Bollywood films, has passed away. He was 86. He worked with many big actors in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam & Hindi films like Sr. NTR, ANR, Rajesh Khanna, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh et al. He is best known for his work as a cinematographer for films like ‘Adavi Ramudu’, ‘Prem Nagar’ (Hindi), ‘Major Chandrakanth’, ‘Annamayya’ et al in Telugu. He was one of the most revered cinematographers in India. His son Jayanan Vincent is also a cinematographer.

Anoop Menon To Script For Priyan

Anoop Menon to write a screenplay for Priyan. “Priyadarshan…….we as a generation was fed on his films…….a master of the craft, the moments spent with him were replete with anecdotes and sheer movie magic…….will be soon writing for the maverick’…….!” wrote Anoop Menon in his social networking page thereby announcing his new project. Anoop who is excited to be a part of his favorite director Priyadarshan, is planning this project as an out & out commercial entertainer. Anoop who finds Priyadarshan as the big reason for his passion for cinema was also recently seen in a Priyadarshan movie named ‘Aamayum Muyalum’ which uynfortunately failed at the Box Office.

Pranav Says No To Acting

Pranav says no to acting. Following a statement from actor turned director Sajid Yahiya about his new film, ‘Inspector Davood Ibrahim’, reports flooded on the net about Pranav Mohanlal’s entry as hero through this film. All media were after the young assistant of Jeethu Joseph to know about the real story and its confirmation. But incidentally speaking Pranav has not yet confirmed about his entry into film acting. Citing earlier stories as baseless, it is now learned that Pranav still doesn’t have any solid acting plans. Pranav, had earlier acted in films like ‘Punarjani’ & ‘Onnaman’, while he was a child. He is currently assisting director Jeethu Joseph in the Dileep starrer ‘Life Of Josutty’.

Horro To Star In ‘Last Bus’

Horro to star in ‘Last Bus’. Last Bus is very important on many occasions. When the last bus is not caught for reaching the destination, life becomes horrible. It is not horrible but horror says director of ‘Jugari’ in his 2nd film ‘Last Bus’. The shoot has been completed for this film with 6 prominent actors. The grand children of Hasyachakravarthy Narasimharaju – SD Aravind, Avinash & Samarth are part of this film. 6 strangers in the ‘Last Bus’ travelling to Malanad reach a bungalow. They witness lots of strange developments in the stay. Pravin D. Rao has scored the background music & K. Y. Narayanaswamy has lent 3 songs. Aravind has composed songs. Avinash Narasimharaju has high expectations from this film. Deepa Gowda admitted that she had taken 35 takes for 1st shot. Manasa Joshi, Meghasri Bhagavathar expressed happiness while working for this film. Rajesh is playing Kerala Mantrik’s role. 3rd generation from Narasimharaju family Samarth is in a prominent role.

‘Kanana’ All Set To Go On The Floors

‘Kanana’ All Set To Go On The Floors. This is yet another father & son combination project. On the investment of father the young son is entering filmdom via ‘Kaanana’. S. Srinivas of S. Nalige Productions is introducing a new director Radha. Radha has written story, screenplay, & dialogue besides direction.

According to director Radha the film is on crime & punishment. The shoot will be held In Hosur, Kolar & other locales of Kerala. Son of producer Srinivas, Sushanth who is making his debut worked in England for 3 years and is currently an employee of HP company. He is also a close relative of famous comedian N. S. Rao.

"My film 'Monsoon' is the final test of my inborn histrionic talent": Shristi Sharma

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Shristi Sharma, can no longer be termed as a débutante heroine of the celluloid silver screen. In fact she has seen it all & done it all in her illustrious & chequered Bollywoodian journey. And now to bag her share of limelight & stardom she is eyeing the box office Queen to bestow her winsome smile on her. And for that She is keeping her heart, fingers, toes et al crossed for the runaway success of ‘Monsoon’. Here in this interactive telephonic encounter with SHAHEEN RAAJ, she recounts all about the success of her recently released movie ‘MONSOON’.

Please inform us about the latest development in your professional life?

First & foremost I would like to Thank God – The Almighty that slowly but steadily I am inching ahead in my career. And of late one of my film named ‘Monsoon’ has been released and has proved successful and I am 100% sure it has proved to be the final test of my Inborn histrionic talent. I am not like the other débutante starlets who keep on shouting from rooftops to tom tom about, how good & talented actresses they are. As for me I firmly & strongly believe in letting my work speak for me. Just wait & watch out for my other upcoming movies.

So what was your film ‘Monsoon’ all about?

Incidentally speaking in ‘Monsoon’ I had an author backed female oriented role. Which incidentally revolved totally & completely around me. I had enacted a very strong character in ‘Monsoon’. There were  2 looks of my character in ‘Monsoon’. One was that of a silently suffering widow and the other was the imaginary side of her reflecting her romantic side.

How was it working with a débutante actor like Vijay Singh?

My lead hero in ‘Monsoon’ was none other than débutante Vijay Singh, the winner of the Mallika Sherawat’s reality show ‘The Bachelorette India’. So if Vijay Singh was the real life hero of Mallika on the small screen then Vijay Singh happened to be my reel life hero on the big screen. He is a good actor, but he has miles to go is all I can say but of course I found him to be a very intense & dedicated actor.

And what about your director Sujat Khan?

No doubt he is a very talented director and the way he explains the gamut & the nuances of the character is awesome. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

Anything else that you would like to add?

‘Monsoon’ has been produced by my erstwhile mentor Mahendra Dhariwal and it has been directed by Sujat Khan topped of course with some of the most daring stunts executed by none other than Tinu Verma and last but not the least is Khusi who has styled my character in ‘Monsoon’.

Tell us what other new things are happening in your professional advertisement career?

I have just done 2 ad films one is named “Khushboo” and the other one is named “Mango Freshy” made by one of my favorite directors namely Navin Batra.

Movie Review: NH10 is a brilliant film crafted with a very realistic touch

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Banner: Phantom Films & Clean Slate Films
Producer: Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Sunil Lulla, Krishika Lulla & Anushka Sharma
Director: Navdeep Singh
Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Deepti Naval, Ravi Jhankal, Darshan Kumar et al
Music: Anirban Chakraborty, Sanjeev -Darshan, Ayush Shrestha, Savera Mehta & Samira Koppikar

Director Navdeep Singh, of ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ fame, in his latest offering ‘NH10’ seems to have surpassed his own directorial skills. So ‘NH10’ is chilling, blood curdling, horrifying et al beyond imagination. It leaves you speechless & dumbfounded with its shocking twists & turns at every turn of events. Sometimes its scary, true to life, happenings makes you flinch and with a nail biting attitude you are left wondering what next? And the high point of ‘NH10’ is its shockingly spine chilling climax in the last half an hour’s duration of the film. If only Navdeep Singh had resisted the temptation of getting entangled in the inspirational web, of Hollywood films ‘Eden Lake’ and even the blatantly copied poster of another Hollywood film ‘Black Widow’ based on a similar theme.

The film’s title NH10 refers to the 403 km long National Highway 10 that starts from Delhi, passes through Haryana via Bahadurgarh, Rohtak, Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa and ends at the Pakistan border in Punjab. So ‘NH10’ unfolds the story of a young couple whose road trip gets upset after an encounter with a group of violent criminals. Meera (Anushka Sharma) &  Arjun (Neil Bhoopalam) are corporate professionals living in Gurgaon. When Meera walks out of a party late one night, she is attacked by a group of unknown men. Although she escapes by the skin of her teeth, the encounter leaves her extremely traumatized. Arjun, partly blaming himself for not being there that night, tries to make up for it by treating her to a luxurious desert holiday. As they stop on a Highway dhaba for dinner, they witness a young girl & a young boy being picked up by a bunch of hoodlums, a clear revengeful case of honor killing, when Arjun chooses to step in unmindful of the danger lying ahead. And that’s when Meera & Arjun’s pleasant & fun oriented romantic road trip goes completly & totally toppsy turvy. No I won’t be a spoiler by revealing the rest of the true to life, spine chilling & horrifyingly dangerous plot. It can happen to anyone on a darkened deserted highway. So “Beware”!!!

Director Navdeep Singh’s carefully assembled directorial treatment is 1st rate, simply outstanding. Hats off to the entire team of producers namely Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Sunil Lulla, Krishika Lulla & above all actor Anushka Sharma for also donning a producer’s hat with an excellent film like ‘NH10’. And due credit of the crowning glory of ‘NH10’ also goes to the behind the scenes team members like Dipa De Motwane (Co – producer), Sudeep Sharma (Writer), Karan Gour (Background Score), Eka Lakhani (Costume Designers), Sanjeev – Darshan, Bann Chakraborty, Ayush Shrestha, Savera Mehta & Samira Koppikar (Music), Jabeen Merchant (Editor), Arvind Kannabiran (Cinematographer), Mustafa Stationwala (Production Designers), Armin Sauer & Abdul Salaam Ansari (Action), Subhash Sahu (Sound), Jogi (Casting Director), Ravi Padda & Binny Padda (Publicity Stills) & Raindrop Media (PRO).

Performance wise undoubtedly the scene stealer is Anushka Sharma, this simple Bangalorean girl, nay an actor perhaps whose potential talent was untapped till this date, but she has finally arrived and how? Her vendetta oriented flawless act doesn’t even give you a chance to bat your eyelids. If she continues in the same team in her subsequent films then there is no looking back for her. Even an extremely talented actor like Neil Bhoopalam is a few shades paler in comparison to Anushka Sharma. Darshan Kumar as Satbir is unbeliably remarkable. Deepti Naval leaves a strong impact. Finally Ravi Jhaankal along with the entire bunch of talented albeit unknown actors in the entire hoodlum’s gang deserves a special & a noteworthy mention.

Tailpiece: ‘NH10’s press preview was a hardcore, nay every critics delight and its theatrical shows will be a moviegoer’s ultimate, with no alternate, movie watching experience. And a cautionary advice: certainly & defintely not recommended for cinegoers with a weak heart.

Movie Review: 'Focus'

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Banner: RatPac – Dune Entertainment, Di Novi Pictures, Kramer & Sigman Films, Overbrook Entertainment & Zaftig Films
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Director: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, B. D. Wong, Robert Taylor, Dominic Fumusa, Brennan Brown, Griff Furst, Adrian Martinez & Alfred Tumbley
Music: Nick Urata

Director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa in their latest outing ‘Focus’ seems to be just a bit out of focus as while mixing the recipe of con-game with love dose they got really carried away by the inspirational game from George Roy Hill’s ‘The Sting’ or even Stephen Frears ‘The Grifters’. Not to forget other “Heist” movies like ‘Out Of Sight’ & ‘Ocean’s 11’. But the over all presentation of good actors, eye pleasing locales (New Orlean & Buenos Aires), some smart twists & turns et al are really note worthy & impressive.

So ‘Focus’ is an American romantic dark comedy film in which a seasoned con – man Nicky Spurgeon (Will Smith) goes to a nightclub, where an inexperienced grifter, Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie), attempts to seduce him by pretending that they’ve been caught by her jealous husband, in order to con Nicky. Seeing through their deception, Nicky exposes their plan and advises them never to lose focus when faced with unexpected situations before leaving. Jess finds him in another nightclub a few days later and convinces Nicky to become her mentor by detailing all information she acquired on him, including that his father, Bucky Spurgeon, was forced to shoot Nicky’s grandfather after a con game gone wrong. Nick takes Jess to New Orleans, where she performs a series of minor cons as a test. After proving her worth, Jess is introduced to Nicky’s crew, and soon Nicky & Jess develop a romantic relationship, upsetting Nicky, who was taught by his father to never become emotionally involved with anyone in their line of business. At a professional football championship game at the Mercedes -Benz Superdome, Nicky & Jess con a compulsive gambler, Liyuan Tse (B. D. Wong) out of all his money. Afterwards, Nicky gives Jess her share but reluctantly sends her away, leaving her heartbroken. 3 years later, Nicky is in Buenos Aires, working for a billionaire motorsport team owner Rafael Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro). Garriga needs to beat a team headed by Australian businessman McEwen (Robert Taylor) to win the championship. Nicky will pretend to be a disgruntled technician on Garriga’s team, and will sell a bogus component to McEwen, slowing their car down during the race. At a pre -race party, Nicky runs into Jess, who is now Garriga’s girlfriend. Nicky has a convincing fight with Garriga in public, and is recruited by McEwen to provide the component. Nicky begins pursuing Jess again, and they eventually rekindle their relationship. The head of Garriga’s security entourage, Owens (Gerald McRaney), is suspicious and follows Nicky & Jess. Nicky delivers the component to McEwen for 3 million euros, but also sells it to the other teams for similar amounts. While he is waiting for Jess at his hotel room, he receives a text saying that he is exposed, and should leave immediately. Nicky & Jess attempt to return to the United States together. However, they are caught by Garriga’s men and taken to an abandoned warehouse, where Nicky pleads for Jess’ life, and is beaten by Garriga. Jess reveals she was trying to seduce Garriga in order to steal his valuable watch, and Owens then shoots Nicky in the chest, causing a horrified Garriga to leave. Owens then reveals himself to be Nicky’s father, Bucky, and assures Jess that he avoided any major arteries.

Bucky drives Nicky & Jess to the hospital to treat Nicky’s punctured lung and departs with Nicky’s money, as a reminder of the consequences of losing focus. After he leaves, Jess reveals that she had snatched Garriga’s watch before he left the warehouse, and Nicky & Jess then go into the hospital together.

Mostly solo directors or even co – directors plan a sequel of a movie once it acquires the box office crown but the director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa seems to have set their focus, the other way round as ‘Focus’ is appears garbed more like a prequel.

That apart they had too battle it out with the indian censor board too who indeed allowed scores of cuss words & raunchy innuendo, as well as several sex scenes, though they’re limited to kissing and shots of bare shoulders, backs, and the sides of breasts but no frontal nudity. As we are all morally conscious indians you know! Kudos & bouquets of appreciation to the director duo Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, if only their script did not display loopholes galore, in tandem with their technical team Xavier Pérez Grobet (Cinematographer), Jan Kovac (Editor), Nick Urata (Music) et al for making the movie racy & enjoyable to some extent.

Performance wise, for a change, ‘Focus’ focuses on each & every characters galore. So in brief their individual act can be outlined: Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon – Outstanding Act, Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett – Brilliantly Sensuous, Rodrigo Santoro as Garriga – Charming, Gerald McRaney as Bucky Spurgeon / Owens – Perfection Personified, B. D. Wong as Liyuan Tse, Extremely Funny, Robert Taylor as McEwen – OK, Dominic Fumusa as Jared – Passable, Brennan Brown as Horst – Adequate, Griff Furst as Gareth – Noteworthy, Adrian Martinez as Farhad – Hilariously Comical & Alfred Tumbley as Dogs – Wicked.

Tailpiece: Worth watching without loosing your focus on the entire proceedings.

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