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Global Films Round Up

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gaumont

GAUMONT EXPANDS ITS BIZ IN US

Preparing to expand its animation business in US, French powerhouse Gaumont
has appointed LA based industry vet Nicolas Atlan to a new position as president of animation. Another LA based executive, Terry Kalagian, has been tapped creative VP of animation. Both executives will report directly to Sidonie Dumas, Gaumont CEO & Christophe Riandee, vice CEO of Gaumont. Prior to joining Gaumont, Atlan was co – CEO of Splash Entertainment (rebranded from Moonscoop) since Feb, 2014. He has also presided over Kabillion, a VOD platform for kids. Kalagian, meanwhile, has previously worked as VP of business development for Rainmaker Entertainment. During her tenure at Turner, she led acquisitions and co – productions for Cartoon Network US & Boomerang US.

FOX SEARCHLIGHT SIGNS 1ST LOOK DEAL

Fox Searchlight Pictures has signed a 2 year, 1st look deal with Damian Jones’ DJ Films, which recently wrapped principal photography on Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, which will be released by Fox Searchlight on 1st July 2016 in UK & 22nd Jul, 2016 in North America. It is based on the television series directed by Mandie Fletcher, starring Jennifer Saunders & Joanna Lumley. Last year Jones produced the British comedy film Dad’s Army, directed by Oliver Parker, & Lady In The Van, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, who was nominated for both BAFTA & Golden Globe Awards for her performance. Jones is developing Goodbye Christopher Robin with Steve Christian & director Simon Curtis. Jones’ relationship with Fox Searchlight started with The History Boys, and continued through Belle into Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie & Goodbye Christopher Robin. Fox Searchlight Pictures has a long & exciting history of collaborating with film making partners in the British film industry.

NETFLIX COMMISSIONS SEASON 2 OF SCROTAL RECALL

Netflix has commissioned and will debut globally season 2 of the Netflix original series Scrotal Recall, following a deal with BBC Worldwide North America.
Clerkenwell Films will produce the new season exclusively for Netflix with series stars Johnny Flynn, Antonia Thomas & Daniel Ings all returning to the romantic comedy. Season 2 will consist of 8 episodes. Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix in US & Canada, and will be available globally later this year. In Season 1 of Scrotal Recall, viewers followed the exploits of hapless twenty something Dylan Witter (Johny Flynn) who, after receiving a troubling diagnosis, resolves to contact everyone he’s ever slept with to tell them the news. Each episode focuses on Dylan reaching out to a different girl from his past, which gives him the opportunity to look back on his neurotic mess of a love life and figure out where it all went wrong, all the while missing his most obvious hope at true love that has been under his nose the whole time. Joining him on this trip down memory lane are best friend Evie (Antonia Thomas), and ladies’ man Luke (Daniel Ings), who’ve been by Dylan’s side for years, picking up the pieces after each romantic car crash.

MUSIC BOX ACQUIRES US RIGHTS TO THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT

Music Box Films has picked up all US rights to Jaco Van Dormael’s Golden – Globe nominated The Brand New Testament, a Brussels based eccentric & surreal comedy starring Benoit Poelvoorde as a tyrannical God. The movie, which world premiered at Cannes’ Directors Fortnight & repped Belgium in the Oscars’ foreign language race, re-imagines God as a jerk living in Brussels who clashes with his daughter, the 10 year old Ea. Setting off to save humanity from her father, Ea hacks into his computer and leaks to the entire world via text message their date of death. Poelvoorde stars opposite Catherine Deneuve, Francois Damiens & Yolande Moreau. Deal was negotiated between Music Box Films’ president William Schopf & Camille Neel, head of International sales at Le Pacte. The Brand New Testament’ has been a hit in every territory it has opened so far. Music Box will release the movie in the fall.

LABIRINTUS TO STAR MARK -RACHEAL – LORANT

Mark Webber, Rachel Hurd -Wood & Lorant Deutsch have been signed on to star in a chiller Labirintus, which is directed by The Howling & Gremlins helmer Joe Dante.
Goldcrest Films is handling the International sales. Labirintus tells the story of a paranormal investigator (Mark Webber), psychiatric researcher (Racheal Hurd-Wood) & engineer (Lorant Deutsch) who join forces to explore an abandoned subterranean Soviet research facility, hidden within the dark twisting catacombs beneath Buda Castle. When supernatural forces confound & torment the group they begin to question their own sanity. To escape they must quash their fears and lead their team to find & destroy the dark heart of the maze. Written by Alan Campbell, Labirintus is produced by Fabrice Lambot of France’s Metaluna Prods, Lucy Mukerjee – Brown of Mukerjee – Brown Prods, Elizabeth Stanley of Elizabeth Stanley Pictures & Jean – Charles Levy of Forecast Pictures.

BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE STRIKES PROGRAM PACT

The British Film Institute has struck an exclusive deal to curate a movie strand for iQIYI, one of China’s largest online video platforms. “The BFI Collection for iQIYI includes 20 feature titles, a mixture of stand – out British independents & world cinema, which have all premiered at BFI London Film Festival,” the organisation said in a statement. Some titles have already been licensed by iQIYI from rights owners. Others are supplied to Chinese company by BFI, which describes its role as having “programmed & delivered” the collection. Titles in the collection include Captain Phillips, Ilo Ilo & Submarine. BFI supplied titles include Philomena, Nowhere Boy & Millions. They are organised into thematic strands including “foreign adventures,” “growing pains” & “family anecdotes”, mirroring London festival’s own programming avenues. The collection is expected to grow beyond the initial 20. “Online movie streaming transcends time & space to allow more Chinese movie fans to watch world class films in real time,” said Yang Xianghua, senior VP of iQIYI.

EONE BUYS CONTROLLING STAKE IN RENEGRADE 83

Canadian studio’s eOne has acquired a 65% stake in David Garfinkle & Jay Renfroe’s reality show production company Renegade 83. Garfinkle & Renfroe will continue to lead the company as co – presidents & CEOs. California based Renegade 83, which launched in 1994, is behind such shows as Discovery’s Naked & Afraid, Discovery’s Emmy nominated documentary special The Kennedy Detail, CMT’s Gone Country, ABC’s Miracle Workers, NBC’s The Law Firm & USA’s Emmy nominated scripted series The 4400. “Renegade is truly best – in – class with a winning formula and a strong track record of success in unscripted television. We are looking forward to collaborating as they continue to do what they do best now powered by eOne,” said John Morayniss, CEO, eOne Television.

“BATMAN V SUPERMAN BEATEN BY “ASSISSINATION CLASSROOM” SEQUEL

Assassination Classroom: Graduation, the 2nd part of a 2 part action comedy based on a hit comic, debuted atop the Japanese box office for the weekend of 26th & 27th Mar, 2016. Bowing on 319 screens, with Toho distributing, the film earned $5.64 million on 545,000 admissions. That was more than 50% higher than the 1st weekend take of the prior film, Assassination Classroom, which was released in Mar, 2015 and finished with $24 million. Doraemon: Nobita And The Birth Of Japan 2016 took 2nd place after 3 weeks at number #1. Opening in #3 slot was Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Released on 717 screens by Warner, the film recorded $3.27 million on 231,000 admissions in its opening frame. Over the 3 day holiday weekend, the film racked up $4.42 million and is expected to finish with $13 million. Bowing at #4 was Kamen Rider 1: The Movie, the latest feature in the long running action series about a baddie battling biker cyborg, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. Bowing on 307 screens with Toei distributing, the film took $1.37 million on 124,000 admissions. That was about 70% of the 1st weekend Box Office for the previous installment, which opened in Dec last year. The film’s final take is forecast at $8.8 million.

GAGA ENTERS PRODUCTION SECTOR

Major independent Japanese distributor Gaga has announced its entry into feature production & TV anime
production. One of its 1st ventures will be Itazurana Kiss – The Movie, a live action feature based on a popular 1990s girls’ comic that has previously spawned live action TV dramas in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea & Thailand, as well as an anime series in Japan. Gaga will partner
with Korean production company Asia Pictures Entertainment & Tokyo based music talent agency LDH for production & distribution. Directed by Minoru Mizoguchi, Itazurana Kiss – The Movie is set for a fall 2016 release in Japan. Gaga will become involved in production committees for TV anime shows, starting with 2 titles that will be announced at the Anime Japan Event on Sat, 26th Mar, 2016. The target is not just Japan but global markets.

“BATMAN V SUPERMAN” TAKES 2 THIRDS OF WEEKEND TOTAL

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice debuted on top of Korean Box Office, accounting for 68% of the weekend Box Office. Opening on 1,600 screens nationwide, the film earned $10.1 million from 1.39 million admissions between Thurs & Sun. That is higher than the opening score of previous DC movie Man Of Steel, which made $8.24 million from 1.21 million admissions over 4 days in 2013, but weaker than The Dark Knight Rises, which earned $15.4 million from 2.43 million admissions in 2012. Previous weekend winner, Zootopia slipped to 2nd place. The Walt Disney animation earned $1.8 million between Fri & Sun, for a total of $21.2 million from 3.18 million admissions after 6 weekends. Korean low budget drama, One Way Trip opened in 3rd, earning $766,000 between Thurs & Sun. The CJ release about 4 friends, whose fate dramatically changes in one night, premiered at last year’s Busan festival. 4th placed, local drama Spirits’ Homecoming made $303,000 between Fri & Sun, for a total of $22.9 million after 5 weekends.

“BATMAN V SUPERMAN” HAS AN OK $56 MILLION OPENING WEEKEND

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice opened on top of the Chinese box office. But it fell short of expectations and failed to rewrite many record books. The double superhero fantasy action franchise picture opened on 16,000 screens and posted $56.5 million over its 3 day opening, according to data from Ent Group. That comfortably beat Zootopia in 2nd place, which managed $26.8 million over the full week and stands on a 24 day cumulative of $197 million after 24 days on release. “Batman v Superman” had the supposed benefit of a release that was simultaneous with its worldwide rollout. And it scored an impressive $18.4 million on Fri (25th Mar, 2016). That was the 2nd largest Fri opening for a Hollywood film, behind Transformers 4 from 2014, and was reported to be the 6th largest opening day for a Hollywood movie in China, But after Fri matters were much closer over the weekend proper. On Sat “Batman v Superman” earned $22.3 million, an increase of only 21%. On Sunday its score slipped to $14.8 million. Warner Bros. said that the film delivered the biggest 3 day opening in China for the studio, and reported $57.3 million (RMB371.5 million). Preliminary data for Mon, which was not a holiday in China, is for a score of $4.58 million and a cumulative of $61.5 million after 4 days. That slowdown is going to make it hard for the film to reach even low end forecasts of $150 million, and it is highly unlikely to reach the top end predictions of $230 million. Sources close to the studio suggest that “Batman V Superman” is well positioned for the upcoming holiday weekend. Though it will face fresh competition from local titles including The Bodyguard & When We Were Young. Zootopia, in contrast, looks to have crossed $200 million on Mon and still has a few days before its run is terminated. It is the top grossing Hollywood film of the year in China and the highest ever animation film. It also beat the China – US co – production Kung Fu Panda 3, which has taken $152 million.

COOK STILL CHARTING A VAST CHINA STRATEGY

Using your brand as the host of a big conference in
China does not necessarily mean that you have made it in to Chinese film industry. In the case of former Disney chief Dick Cook, it appears to mean that he is on the way. Cook, his Dick Cook Studios, and a clutch of Middle Kingdom allies this week put their names to the China – US Motion Picture Summit. It was a bridge building film conference graced by the likes of Paul Haggis, Alfonso Cuaron, animation great Don Hahn, top Chinese director Lu Chuan & Desen Media producer Ann An, as well as senior Chinese Government figures. All in all, it was a massive display of kudos. Though quite who was doing who the bigger favour remains unclear. At present Cook is unwilling or unable to give precise answers about strategy, the timetable or how many movies DCS intends to produce. Cook, who operates with grace, while undoubtedly under pressure, says his alliance with the state backed CITIC Guoan group, 1st unveiled in principal in Apr, last year, is “strategic, not just financial.”

WANDA PICTURES RAISES $2.4 BILLION

Dalian Wanda is reported to have raised $2.4 billion (RMB15.9 billion) for its film unit, Wanda Pictures. According to a report by Bloomberg, group VP Liu Zhaohui held a briefing for financiers in Hong Kong on Thurs and said that the offering, which had sought $1.5 billion was over subscribed. Wanda is busily restructuring & scaling up its entertainment assets, though it is not currently clear how the organisational chart will finish up. Chairman Wang Jianlin has publicly said that he was seeking one, or two, IPOs for the company’s film distribution & production arms. But now it appears that Wanda is able to raise the finance through private placings and may be able to avoid a new share listing. Wanda Cinema Line, the groups already listed theaters chain, is expected to absorb Wanda Pictures, the unit that will include the recently acquired Legendary Entertainment. Wanda Cinema Line shares have been suspended since the end of Feb, 2016 and the group has said that the stock could remain suspended until Apr, 2016, albeit with updates made to the market every week.

PARADIGM & BENDERSPINK SIGN MEXIC’S EMILIANO ROCHA MINTER

The Paradigm Talent Agency has signed Mexico’s Emiliano Rocha Minter, screenwriter -director of Tenemos La Carne” (We Are The Flesh), a Mexican movie that is quickly acquiring cult status after its 2nd Feb, 2016 world premiere at the Rotterdam Festival and endorsement by fellow Mexican cineastes Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, Alfonso Cuaron & Carlos Reygadas. LA based production management company Benderspink has also signed on as his manager. Paradigm’s representation deal comes only 3 weeks after it moved smartly to ink Maria Evoli, the Mexican actress star of We Are The Flesh. Not since Reygadas’ 2002 Japan has a Mexican feature debut attracted so much attention, though that’s currently limited to Rotterdam audiences and cognoscenti who have seen the film. We Are The Flesh is set in a seemingly post apocalypse world, where a teen sister (Fauna, played by Evoli) & brother (Diego Gamaliel) stumble on a grotesque but charismatic man who seems to make a living grinding human flesh into slush and offers them food if they convert his building into a womb like cave. There, he cajoles and coerces them to abandon inhibitions, slake their lusts and break taboos in acts of incest, bloodlust, rape, murder, onanism and cannibalism.

Movie Review: ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is a highly entertaining movie

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X-Men Apocalypse

Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Bryan Singer and Hutch Parker
Director: Bryan Singer
Star Cast: James McAvoy, Micheal Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byme, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till

Since the dawn of civilization, Apocalypse was worshipped as a God. Apocalypse, the first and the most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X – Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants.

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X – Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X – Men: Apocalypse yet another franchise and to his credit goes his slick direction. Besides all the actors powerful performance keeps the viewers glued to their seats.

Minuses: Some of the duelling scenes are far too dragging and boring. The movie can easily be scissored off at least by half an hour.

X – Men: Apocalypse is one more interesting addition to the super hero franchise which is not only interesting but also entertaining to the core.

Review: Alibaba And The Forty Thieves

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Alibaba

“Greed is the root of all evil but God has his own ways of punishing the wrong doers” – Rashmi Sharma (writer & director)
Producer-Director-Writer-Set Designer-Costume- Makeup- Rashmi Sharma Artistes – Revant Bhatia, Paritosh Tiwari, Vedika Bhandari, Avinash Kumar Chauhan, Arbaaz S Khan, Pooja Muralia, Aditya Kumar, Suraj Surkar, Sachin Maurya et al Music- Nitin Hivarkar Lights- Abishek Srivastav Production Manager: Vipin Pandey

This summer season Progressive Theatre Group is back with another amazing show for all age groups especially for children namely Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves. The play is written & directed by veteran theatre artiste Rashmi Sharma who has 6 productions going on currently like A Perfect Couple, A Fairy Tale of Rapunzel, Pinocchio & The Blue Fairy et al.

Ali Baba And The Forty thieves is an English musical adventure with slapstick Humour and a meaningful adaptation of the original story. Ali is a wood cutter who lives with his elder brother Kassim and his bhabhijaan, Gulbahar. Gulbahar is very sweet and treats Ali as her own son on the other hand his brother Kassim is very money minded. One fine day Ali Baba is at work collecting woods in the forest when he happens to overhear a group of 40 thieves along with their Chief visiting the cave full of treasure. The cave opens on the words “Open Sesame” and seals on the words “Close Sesame”. When the thieves leave, Ali Baba enters the cave sneakingly and takes 2 bags of gold coin one for his family and other for charity. There he meets Morgina a beautiful dancer kidnapped by the Chief and kept as a slave. Ali gets mesmerized by her beauty and falls for her. He frees her and decides to take her home with him. On reaching home Ali borrows a scale from his sister – in – law to weigh gold coins. Kassim curious to know what Ali is measuring places magnet at the bottom of the scale. To his shock, he finds a gold coin sticking to the scales. Ali Baba is forced to reveal the secret to his brother. Kassim upon discovering the secret rushes to the cave all alone. In his greed & excitement over the treasure he reaches there and enters the magical cave. Unfortunately, the forty thieves catches him red handed and decides to kill him. Chief in furious rage devises a clever attack plan to harm Ali Baba too but Morgina foils their plan. What happens next form the rest of the story? Will Ali Baba be able to save his brother Kassim or the 40 thieves succeed in killing both the brothers? Will Morgina succeed in saving her master Ali Baba? It will be very interesting to know what turn Ali’s life will take. Will he be able to dive in & swim through all his problems?

The play is brilliantly narrated & executed. Director Rashmi Sharma was truly the captain of the ship. Her involvement in each & every area was visible. The costumes reflected the time period and gave a feel of the Arabian History. Lights & music added serenity to the scenes and is successful in setting the atmosphere. Revant as Ali Baba, Paritosh as Kassim & Begum, Avinash as Chief & Sheikh tickled the funny bones of the kids as well as the elders. There was a message to take back home not only for the children but also for the adults. An eye – for -eye & tooth – for – tooth would lead to a world of the blind & the toothless. The director up there is keeping his eye on everything. If we do the same thing with them then there is no difference between us. It’s a good play to watch & recommended for one & all.

Bhojpuri Films Round Up

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Rani Hum Ho Gaeeli Tohar

Rani Hum Ho Gaeeli Tohar editing progresses

The editing of Birajishri Balaji Art Films’ Rani Hum Ho Gaeeli Tohar is currently in progress at A. B. Studio under the supervision of editor Bharat. The credits of the film are produced by Raja Ram Kanaujia, written & directed by Prakash Anand, music by Sahil, lyrics by Prakash Anand & Sagar, action by Pradip Khadka, choreography by Ashok -Mayank, cinematography by Ashwini Mishra, & associate director is Satya Dubey. It stars Gaurav Jha, Neha Shree, Ram Mishra, Baleshwar Singh, Nagendra Yadav, Sanjay Verma, Dharmendra Singh, Shama, Harish Gupta, T. N. Tripathi, Manoj Gupta, Glory & Ranu Pandey.

Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi first look launched

The 1st look of Purple Pebble Pictures maiden venture Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi was launched recently at Purple Pebble Pictures Juhu office by Dr. Madhu Chopra . On this occasion the cast & the crew and film distributor Rakesh Singh (Ma Sona Films) were present. The credits of the film are produced by Priyanka Chopra & Dr. Madhu Chopra, written & director by Santosh Mishra, associate producer is Ravi Shankar Jaiswal, music by Rajnish Mishra – Madhukar Anand & cinematography by Rafik Shekh. It stars Nirahua (as Kashi), Amrapali Dube, Antara Banarjee, Prakash Jais, Manoj Tiger, Sanjay Pandey, Ayaz Khan, Rati Garg et al.

 

Loha Pahalwan shooting starts

The shooting of Nishad Production & GML Entertainment Pvt Ltd’s Loha Pahalwan has started in Mumbai this week. The credits of the film are produced by Sanjay Nishad, Gautam Nishad & Kajal Nishad, directed by Iqbal Baksh, story by Prakash Jais, executive producer is Sushil Singh & Prakash Jais, cinematography by Dinesh Patel, music by Chhote Baba, lyrics by Azad Singh, choreography by Dilip Mistri, action by Heeralal Yadav & art by Kali Charan. It stars Pawan Singh, Payas Pandit, Prakash Jais, Zafar Khan, Deepak Sinha, Dev Singh, Somlal Yadav, Kiran Mallah, Sakshi, Umakant Rai, Ratnesh Tiwari & Sushil Singh.

Mukhtar DI complete

The DI of GDM Production’s Mukhtar has been completed in Mumbai this week. The credits of the film are produced by Anurag Pandey, Hemant Tiwari & Vikas Pratap Singh, directed by Anand Singh (A.K.), written by Jitendra Yadav, screenplay & dialogues by Manoj Panday, music by Chhote Baba, lyrics by Rajesh Mishra, Pyarelal Yadav Kaviji, Ashok Sinha & Mritunjay Yadav, cinematography by Devendra Tiwari, choreography by Ashok – Mayank, action by Bazi, art by Ashok Vishwakarma, editing by Dharam Soni & executive producer is Akhilesh Rai. It stars debutant Jitendra Yadav, Raviraj Dipu, Baleshwar Singh, Santosh Shrivastava, CP Bhatt, Anjali Banarji, Mahi Khan, Pragya Tiwari, Rashmi Sharma, Sunita Pandey & Sanjay Pandey.

Herogiri dubbing starts

The dubbing of Yash Movie Maker & Sabran Films’ Herogiri has started in Mumbai this week. The credits of the film are produced by Nirmal Chaudhari & Aaryan Raj Vijay, directed by Manoj S Tomar, story – screenplay – lyrics by Virendra Panday, dialogues by Sanjay Raj, music by Madhukar Anand, cinematography by P. Arun Eknathan, choreography by J D & action by Chandra Pant. It stars Anand Ojha, Kajal Raghwani, Archana Singh, Sanjay Pandey, Manoj Tiger, CP Bhatt, Ritu Pandey, Pushpa Varma, Vijay Mishra, Sunil Datt Pandey et al.

Bhail Tohra Se Pyar post production complete

The post production of Mitwa Production House’ Bhail Tohra Se Pyar has been completed in Mumbai this week. The credits of the film are produced – written – lyrics by Dharmendra Kumar Maurya, directed by Shad Kumar, co – produced by Ram Ashish Chauhan, cinematography by Shad Kumar, music by Raul & Pal Kanpuri & choreography by Gyan Singh. It stars Vinay Anand, Gunjan Pant, Rajeev Dinkar, Simran, Anand Mohan, Upasna Singh, Dev Malhotra, Mehnaz Shraff, Baby Farhan, Baby Fariya et al.

“My debut directorial movie is partly an autobiographical film”: Tanuj Bhramar

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Tanuj Bhramar 3

Director Tanuj Bhramar happens to be hailing from Ranchi – Jharkhand. He also happens to ber a new kid on the block to wield the megaphone for his directorial debut with Dear Dad. It is a sweet & simple story of a father & son who discover more about each other when they embark on a road trip. Present herewith is a brief telephonic 1st person interaction with him.

“I was born in Dhanbad and then went to a boarding school in Dehradoon and then I went to Columbia Film School as I always wanted to deal with creatively oriented fine arts and being a painter I had this good visualising power and of course I picked up the ropes of the varied departments of film making in Columbia Film School.”

Tanuj Bhramar 1

“Frankly speaking no! Whatever directional skills I acquired was in Columbia Film School. Then I made many promotional films on Cricket for my Video Club and then I just believed in exploring & evolving. Before taking up the direction of “Dear Dad” I explored further by making a short film titled “Resurrection”.

“My debut directorial movie is partly an autobiographical film because it is based on the bitter sweet memories of me & my dad, by the time I went to the boarding school we had shifted to Delhi from Ranchi – Jharkhand. So whenever my dad was free he used to drop me to Dehradun after my holidays and during those road trips we discovered many things about each other.”

“After I had finished writing the script of “Dear Dad” it was my casting director Anmol Ahuja who suggested Arvind Swamy Sir’s name for the Dad’s role. We were initially sceptical as Arvind Sir had not done a Hindi film for a long time. Anyways we went and met him in Chennai and sounded off the script of “Dear Dad” to him and he said he needed some time to think. The 1st meeting went off well and Arvind Sir also proved to be a good host. He called up after almost 2 months and wanted to meet us. I agreed thinking that even if he refused the film we can at least fill our tummies with good food. But jokes apart Arvind Sir said that he will do the film but only on one condition that the story of “Dear Dad” must be told from a Dad’s perspective too, whereas I had written the script from the son’s perspective. No problem we merged both the Dad & the Son’s perspective and the result was just great and proved very beneficial.”

“I would say that “Dear Dad” is a bitter sweet coming of age story; involving a father – son duo, 14 year old Shivam, and his 45 year old dad Nitin Swaminathan. The father – son duo embarks on an impromptu road trip from their home, in Delhi, to Mussorie (Uttarakhand), where Shivam attends a boarding school. The road trip entails unexpected confessions, weird strangers, accidental meetings, a drunken escapade and singing in the rain, all these add up to a complicated & a sweet tale.”

“I wanted to make a feel good film and I think I have succeeded in doing that. My target audiences are of course all the dads & their sons. Of course all the moms & their daughters are invited too. There have been many films made on moms & their daughters but there are very few & rare films made on the dads & their sons.”

“In the end I would like to add that I would like everyone to come & watch the film “Dear Dad” which is releasing on 13th May, 2016. As a parting shot I would also like to thankfully complement Arvind Sir, my other actors Himanshu Sharma, Ekavali Khanna & Aman Uppal and of course all my technicians for helping me to make such a beautiful film like “Dear Dad”.

Southern Films Round Up

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Asif Ali

Asif Ali Bags A New Heroine Anju Kurian

She is all set to play the lead heroine in a movie. As her leading man, she has none other than Asif Ali opposite her. Anju had hit the big screen with Om Shanti Oosana. She was also part of Premam and had appeared briefly as Nivin’s sister in it. The upcoming Asif Ali starrer is titled Kavi Uddeshichathu. Asif Ali plays Kaavalam Jimmy who tries to woo Anju’s character. Narain & Biju Menon are the other & lead actors in the movie. The shooting of this comic entertainer is on at Kannur.

Chowka Five Men Army Gets Many Additions

The 50th film of Karnataka pride Dwarakish Chitra’s Chowka gets many strong value additions. It has 5 well known faces in the star cast – Lovely star Prem, Vijay Raghavendra, Diganth, Prajwal & Aindrita Ray. In the technical department also director Tarun Sudhir (debut) has brought in big names. Five cameramen – Sathya Hegde, S Krishna, Shekar Chandru, Sudhakar Raj & Santosh Rai Pathaje have stood behind the camera. For music of 5 songs V Harikrishna, Gurukiran, Anoop Seelin, Sridhar Sambram & Arjun Janya, for dialogues of this Chowka, Anil Kumar, Simple Suni, A P Arjun, Chitan & Yoganand Muddan have written. In the art department 5 expertise who have worked at Arun Sagar, Ravi Santhehaklu, Mohan B Kere, Hosmane Murthy & Shivakumar.

Major Cinema Organisation Supports Jayalalitha

During elections of the past it has been in vogue for Rajinikanth to voice his direct or indirect support to one of the parties and every leader would wait with bated breath for that. This time the superstar has kept mum and similarly Illayathalapathy Vijay has also instructed his fan club members to vote for their favourite candidates. At this juncture, it comes as a surprise that FEFSI the umbrella organisation of cinema which comprises of 24 craft unions has extended support to the AIADMK after the President G. Siva and other office bearers meeting with party supremo Jayalalitha.

Anjali To Be Seen In The Role Of Kannagi

Director Karthick Subbaraj in his Iraivi though having on board heavy weights like Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, S. J Suriya, Radha Ravi & Karunakaran has reportedly given more space to the heroines Anjali, Kamalinee Mukherjee & Pooja Devariya. Incidentally speaking Anjali’s role has been based on the epic characterization of Kannagi and this will turn out to be one of the path breaking roles for the talented actress on the lines of Angadi Theru & Engeyum Eppodhum.

Sri Divya Heaps Praises On Soori

At the recent press interaction for her upcoming film Marudhu pretty Sri Divya heaped praises on her costar Soori stating that he “merselled’ (mesmerized) her by his solid performance as a character artiste. Hero Vishal too was of the same opinion that Soori has excelled both in comedy & sentiments. Marudhu directed by M. Muthaiah and produced by Gopuram films has music by D. Imman & Radha Ravi in a pivotal role.

Maddy’s Sensational Heroine In Thala 57

After the blockbuster Vedalam’ which even survived & conquered the epic Chennai rains, Thala Ajith & Siruthai Siva are ready to begin their next in Jul, 2016. As of now the production company Sathyajyothi Films have confirmed Anirudh as the music director and rumors are rife that Santhanam has agreed to do a pivotal role. There are huge speculations regarding who would be the heroine of Thala 57 and Anushka has been roped in as one of the heroines and talks are on with Rithika Singh, who played the young boxer in love with Madhavan in Irudhi Suttru.

Vikram Opens Up About Prequel To 24

One may say that Vikram Kumar is a proliflic story – writer. Even when he was making 13B, he had written the story lines of 13C & 13D, apparently sequels to the Madhavan starrer. For some reasons, he couldn’t make the films with Maddy. Latest, it has been speculated that he will make a sequel to 24. It has been said that Athreya, the villain, has not been shown to have been dead conclusively enough. It’s also said that Vikram has deliberately left unconcluded the fate of the watch. Putting to rest the speculations, Vikram has said that it’s not a sequel that he has in mind, but a prequel.
This film will go on the floors after Vikram is done with his two bi – linguals, one each with Allu Arjun & Mahesh Babu.

Anushka Reveals A Thing About Bhagmathi

Anushka reveals a thing about her next movie Bhagmathi, which happens to be a historical drama, and one which sees Anushka being cast in the role of the Quli Qutub Shah’s wife. UV Creations is producing the project. The film was recently launched in a puja ceremony. Speaking about the movie, Anushka has said that it will be made like a thriller. Since thrillers are gaining currency of late, one can expect this one to be a hit. For a period drama, it’s an innovation as well. The shooting will begin once Anushka is done with Suriya’s S3. This ambitious film, which tells the legendary story of Bhagmathi, wife of Quli Qutub Shah, will be directed by Ashok G of Pilla Zamindar fame.

Chuttalabbayi’s climax being shot

Chuttalabbayi, starring Aadi and directed by Veerabhadram Chowdary of Aha Naa Pellanta & Poola Rangadu fame, is currently filming its climax in a Shamshabad temple. Dragon Prakash is choreographing the sequences. The producers say, “The songs filmed in Bangkok & Rajahmundry have come out very well.” The director says that John Kokkin is playing the villain. “The climax is turning out very well. Thaman has given extraordinary tunes.” We are planning to release it in June. As per the makers, “It’s an out & out fun film. Brahmanandam, Posani, Prudhvi, Raghu Babu, Shakalaka Shankar will have the audience in splits.” Krishna Bhagawan, Abhimanyu Singh, Jeeva, Surekha Vani, and others are part of the cast.

Kajal Speaks On her Brahmotsavam Role

It is a film which has got many wondering what the story might be, especially given the fact that it has 2 ace actresses romancing Mahesh Babu. The trailer has hardly thrown the hint. Meanwhile, Kajal Aggarwal has opened up about her role in this mega budgeted family entertainer. In this Srikanth Addala directed summer bonanza, the pretty diva plays an independent minded woman who is firm. Does this mean that Kajal (not to forget Samantha) has a meaty role in Brahmotsavam? Apparently, yes. It has to be seen how her strong minded character fits in the scheme of the things. For sure, many feminists are going to warm up to her role. Before all, Kajal is understandably in love of her role because the character admittedly reflects her true self in real life in terms of the strength that she shows.

Bhavana To Enact the role of a committed school teacher

She is all set to play a committed school teacher in an upcoming movie. She plays a character named Aswathy Ananthakrishnan. She is bold and works for the children tirelessly. She is also a counsellor at the juvenile home. The film to be helmed by Vijay Menon has been titled Vilakkumaram. The movie has been scripted by Vijay’s son Nikhil. This is a woman centric movie and has a serious & strong theme & message. However the director assures that the movie will be an entertainer. The film rolled recently and will be shot at Trivandrum & Ladakh.

Kabbaddi Kalpana 2 To Star Upendra In A Kannada Remake

The super hit Tamil film of Raghav Lawerence Kanchana 2 coming up in Kannada with super star Upendra in the lead and with 2 lovely looking heroines Priyamani & Avanthika Shetty. It is almost near the completion of shoot. At a playground in Malleshwaram super star Upendra representing Karnataka team with some protection to his knee took part in the national game Kabbaddi. The opponent party was Bihar team. The game was also mixed with song & dance that was directed in Kalai Kumar dance direction. When Upendra is there, the on lookers are huge. It happened so at the public playground. With this song the shooting also comes to an end says director Anantha Raju. Dr KM Rajendra of Kalla Police fame and Shilpa Srinivas are joint producers of this Kalpana 2 in the direction of Anantha Raju.

Movie Review: ‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ is an interesting & realistic movie

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Buddha In A Traffic Jam

Producer: Vivek Agnihotri & Sharad Patel
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
Star Cast: Arunoday Singh, Mahie Gill, Aanchal Dwivedi, Pallavi Joshi & Anupam Kher
Music: Rohit Sharma

Vivek Agnihotri has given many marvellous films in the past and Buddha In A Traffic Jam is one more interesting & realistic film from his camp which is now backed by dynamic & dashing producer namely Sharad Patel & a brigade of dozen other producers.

The plotted scenario of Buddha In A Traffic Jam starts off with Vikram Pandit (Arunoday Singh) who is a happy – go – lucky management student from a business school in India. Little does Vikram Pandit know that he was about to become a part of the plot that would risk his life & also the Nation. He gets entangled between the 2 facets of India namely socialism & capitalism, both of which are deeply rooted in the isolated corners of the country. Somewhere deep within the jungles, flagrant conspirators are gearing up to maim the country. Vikram Pandit’s internet campaigns pulls him into a very deep web of conspiracy. The film revolves around Vikram Pandit’s survival in the sinister designs of the establishment. It resolves the age long conflicts between socialism & capitalism and defines the much needed revolution for the contemporary India.

The autobiographical film Buddha In A Traffic Jam is loosely based on director Vivek Agnihotri’s life himself and gives a lot of insight into the nexus between the so called NGO’s & the Naxalites and how the Universities exploits its students to give the much needed momentum to the Naxalite moment.

The direction of Vivek Agnihotri and the par excellence act of all the actors like Arunoday Singh, Mahie Gill, Aanchal Dwivedi, Pallavi Joshi & Anupam Kher are one of the major highlights of Buddha In A Traffic Jam. Beside the music of Rohit Sharma is apt in keeping up with the tempo of the film.

But there is one minor glitch in the film as it does not sound like a common man’s cup of tea as they may hardly relate to the subject at hand. Besides some of the so called bold scenes of the film in lieu with the blatant, in your face, cuss words may not be acceptable to some of the viewers.

Tail Piece: So all in all Buddha In A Traffic Jam is more of a film for the elite class and festival circuit audiences. But it may also have a good prospects at the Box Office turnstiles with sheer word of mouth publicity.

Movie Review: ‘One Night Stand’ is the kind of movie which may prove good only for one time viewing

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one-night-stand

Director: Jasmine Moses – D’Souza
Star Cast: Tanuj Virwani, Sunny Leone, Nyra Bannerjee, Ninad Kamath & Khalid Siddiqui
Music: Jeet Ganguly, Meet Bros, Tony Kakkar, Vivek Kar

Debutant director Jasmine Moses – D’Souza has really made a fairly decent & engaging
film in her debut directorial offering One Night Stand but sadly enough the loose script makes the proceedings dull and obviously the cine goers may loose Interest half way through.

The plotted scenario of One Night Stand kicks off with a flashback that’s being narrated by Urvil (Tanuj Virwani). It is the flashback and a series of events from his past that has defined his today. The flashback starts off with a fashion show organised by his event management agency. And after completing the event successfully, Urvil and his colleagues go drinking to celebrate. It is here that his friends challenge him to speak to a rank stranger (Sunny Leone) for a few thousand rupees. An attempt to win the bet gets him introduced to the stranger who, in turn, introduces herself as Celina. What follows after that, is unlimited liquor drinking by the 2 of them, which ultimately lands them up in bed together. But, the very next day, when Urvil gets up, he finds out that Celina has already left the room, without leaving any details of her whereabouts. And when Urvil comes back to his home in Pune, he is welcomed by his beautiful & dutiful wife Simran (Nyra Banerjee). Things are absolutely smooth between the couple, until one day Urvil accidentally spots Celina in the same mall wherein he has gone for shopping with his wife Simran. That very sight of Celina freshens up his ‘one night stand’ with her, which, in turn, gets translated into his desperation to meet her again. Thereafter begins his unending quest to hunt down Celina from the length & breadth of the world. Amidst all this, Urvil gets extremely busy with his company’s big – budget event of a product launch. It is here where he gets introduced to his rich client and his family, which takes the daylights out of Urvil.

Jasmine Moses – D’Souza has certainly presented Sunny Leone in a different avatar much away from her stereotyped image. If only she had paid more attention on the screenplay then One Night Stand would have turned out to be more interesting romantic thriller. That apart music proves to be the main USP of the film.

Performance wise it is refreshing to see Sunny Leone in an unusal role. She carries the film entirely on her dainty shoulders. She is charming & effortlessly acts out her role putting behind her sexy siren image. Tanuj Virwani is perfect in his role but struggles in a few scenes to get his expressions correct. Nyra Banerjee is totally natural while facing the camera and is a promising discovery. Other actors like Khalid Siddiqui & Ninad Kamath are good in their respective roles.

Tail Piece: All in all One Night Stand is a kind of film which may prove good only for one time viewing.

Movie Review: ‘Azhar’ is a highly engaging piece of cinema that grips you completely

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azhar

Producer: Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa Kapoor & Sony Pictures Networks
Director: Tony D’Souza
Star Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai, Nargis Fakhri, Lara Dutta, Gautam Gulati, Manjot Singh, Rajesh Chaudhary, Varun Badola, Kulbhushan Kharbanda & Kunal Roy Kapur
Music: Pritam & Amal Mallik

After making damp squib films like Blue & Boss director Tony D’Souza is in full form in Azhar. He has made a very heart warming film by laying bare most of the controversial facets of the legendary cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin.

The plotted scenario of Azhar throws light on the life & times of Azhar (Emraan Hashmi) and his marriage with Naureen (Prachi Desai), his 1st wife and of course on his personal relationship with Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani (Nargis Fakhri) who later on become his 2nd wife. But the film is more of an effort to clear his name from the 3 match fixing scandals in which he was dragged in for no fault of his own. But then Azhar being Azhar he fights for justice in court in a long drawn out court proceedings with his long time friend Reddy (Kunal Roy Kapur) as the defense lawyer and his die – hard fan from London namely Meera (Lara Dutta)
as the public prosecutor. Needless to say that Azhar wins the long drawn out court battle of 12 years till he succeeds in clearing his defamed name and regains his honour & respect in the eyes of his millions of fans.

Director Tony D’souza’s Azhar brilliantly captures the angst, the simplicity, the colossal success, the dual romance, the tryst with infamy and an arduous innings of never ending struggle – to – clear – the – name of Indian cricket’s heroic, yet arguably the most controversial captain Mohammad Azharuddin. A special well – deserved mention should also be made of Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa Kapoor & Sony Pictures Networks for backing this project. Besides hats of to all the behind the scenes man for their over all competence like writer Rajat Arora, music composers Pritam & Amal Mallik, cinematographer Rakesh Singh, editor Tushar Shivam et al.

Performance wise it is an Emraan Hashmi film from “The Start” till “The End”. Emraan has really sunk his teeth into the skin of Mohammed Azharuddin’s character to the extent of getting Azhar’s typical mannerisms & body language right. This is Emraan’s career best performance. He literally captures the spirit & the soul of Mohammed Azharuddin. Prachi Desai is delightful as the simple Naureen and acts with a lot of heart. Nargis Fakhri is a visual delight as a glam doll. Kunal Roy Kapoor as the bumbling lawyer friend is a major highlight of the film. He ensures genuine comical moments in spite of retaining the seriousness of certain key moments in the film. Lara Dutta is in top form as the no – nonsense prosecution lawyer. Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Azhar’s grandfather shines in a cameo. But the film makes blatant mockery of the other Indian Cricketers by presenting their characters very shabbily and the poor victims were actors like Gautam Gulati & Varun Badola portraying the roles of Ravi Shashtri
& Kapil Dev respectively.

Tail Piece: Azhar is a not to be missed heart touching movie

Movie Review: ‘Money Monster’ is a first rate spell binding movie

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Money Monster

Producers: Lara Alameddine, George Clooney, Daniel Dubieki & Grant Heslov
Director: Jodie Foster
Star Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancario Esposito etc.

The plotted scenario of Money Monster kick start with Lee Gates (George Clooney) who is a bombastic TV personality whose popular financial network show has made him the money wiz of Wall Street. But after he hawks a high tech stock that mysteriously crashes, an irate investor Jack Budwell (Jack O’ Connell) takes Gates, his crew, and his ace producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) hostage live on air. Unfolding in real time, Gates and Fenn must find a way to keep themselves alive while simultaneously uncovering the truth behind a tangle of big money lies.

This edge of the seat thriller really keeps you hooked from start to end mainly because of director Jodie Foster’s excellent directorial treatment in tandem with the par excellence performance of all its major actors like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and above all Jack O’Connell as the investor who takes the entire TV crew as hostage.

The plot is convincing but the entire drama of the TV crew being taken hostage that too when the show is live on air seems too far – fetched.

Money Monster is a kind of film that can be recommended to one an all. Go watch it.

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