Premier Futsal unveiled Allah Rakha Rahman as the composer of the league’s official anthem, to be sung by India test captain Virat Kohli, who is Premier Futsal’s league ambassador, at an event in Chennai ahead of its inaugural season. This is the 1st time ever that the Oscar award – winner Allah Rakha Rahman is lending his musical genius to a franchise – based sports league in the country. Allah Rakha Rahman said, “It makes me happy to see such young entrepreneurs being passionate about the sporting scenario of the country. I’m especially excited to work with Virat Kohli on this, let’s hope he is as good with his melody as he is with his bat!” Virat Kohli, League ambassador, Premier Futsal said, “I have been a fan of Allah Rakha Rahman for years. It will be a privilege to share the screen with him and lend my voice to the anthem of Premier Futsal.” This high decibel marketing initiative from Premier Futsal is aimed at creating awareness for the sport of Futsal and promoting the league ahead of its launch on 15th Jul, 2016. The anthem, titled “Naam Hai Futsal”, has been released with a video featuring Virat Kohli exclusively via Premier Futsal’s digital platforms. The concept & production of the anthem have been done by DDB Mudra. Allah Rakha Rahman’s association with Premier Futsal adds further gloss to the league, which already boasts Portugal football legend and former World Player of the Year Luis Figo as President. Premier Futsal will be telecast live & exclusive on Sony SIX, SONY ESPN & Sony AATH. Matches will also be available to live stream on Sony LIV.

EROS INTERNATIONAL & MAGIC LANTERN ANNOUNCE MALYALAM ACTION COMEDY ‘IDI’ WITH JAYSURYA

Eros International in collaboration with Magic Lantern has announced their upcoming Malayalam film IDI (Punch) starring Jayasurya, slated to release on 12th Aug, 2016. The directorial debut of Sajid Yahiya, this action comedy will feature the super hit pair of Jayasurya & Shivada who won hearts as a couple in their previous film Su. Su. Sudhi Vathmeekam. The film also stars Joju George, Yog Japee, Saiju Kurup & Sudhi Koppa. A mass entertainer with big scale action sequences, protagonist Jayasurya will be playing the character of a super cop – Inspector Dawood Ibrahim. Rahul Raj is the music director of the film.

A R MURUGADOSS REVEALS THE REASON BEHIND SONAKSHI SINHA’S SCAR IN AKIRA

The poster of Akira has definitely created a lot of curiosity amongst the moviegoers about the film. Whats interesting is that the scar that is visible on Sonakshi’s forehead has an interesting back story to it. Director A R Murugadoss wanted to establish that she has gone through enough but isn’t weak to stand up and fight it out. Talking about the same, he avers, “In life every scar that occurs on our body has a story behind it. Similarly Akira has a past wound that has dried up & remains a scar now. The moment we see her face we should come to know that she has had a painful past. That’s why I created the scar under her eyes.”

ERIKA JOINS THE JOURNEY OF SHIVAAY

SHIVAAY’s international face, Erika Kaar has been finally released by the makers of the film! And with this poster Erika has joined her journey of Shivaay. Erika, who was last seen as a leading girl in one of the famous BBC Production’s television shows, is making her Bollywood debut with SHIVAAY! Directed by Ajay Devgn, SHIVAAY releases this Diwali on 28th Oct, 2016.

KARAN MAHAVAR LOOKS FORWARD TO GETTING BLESSED BY MR. BACHCHAN

There is not a single soul in the industry who doesn’t admire Amitabh Bachchan, and young debutant Karan Mahavar is no different. Karan Mahavar, who is all set to make his debut this week in Bollywood with an interesting film, Kerry on Kutton is really hoping to show the film to his childhood idol, Amitabh Bachchan. Karan has always been inspired by Amitabh Bachchan’s work, during his college days he would go watch AB’s film and stand in front of the mirror and try to act like him. Karan has done a lot of theatre too during his college days. Karan is hoping that Mr. Bachchan sees it and gives him his blessings. Karan Mahavar says, “This is my 1st film as an actor and I am extremely excited about it, I have always been passionate about acting and started my theatre at a very young age. Kerry On Kutton is a very special film for me.”

BENGALI FILM UNDER SCANNER BY CBFC

Even as the debate now shifts to HARAAMKHOR, after UDTA PUNJAB, a Bengali film fought a 6 month long battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Kolkata to again show that the board is defunct and their members unfit to review films for certification. SHAHEB BIBI GOLAAM, directed by Pratim D. Gupta and starring Swastika Mukherjee in the lead with music by Anupam Roy (Piku), had applied for a certificate in mid – Dec, 2015 and after as many as 5 screenings (4 in CBFC alone), the film got the certificate on 16th Jun, 2016 with just a small cut and 6 muted words thanks to Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) But the
harassment the makers went through goes on to show that the problem lies not only with Mr Pahalaj Nihalani, but the board and its system and rules. Finally when the film was resubmitted to CBFC for them to check whether we followed the FCAT recommendations, 6 words were muted and a rape scene shortened and they sent it back saying “Smoking causes cancer” card is missing. Funnily, no one smokes in the film! SHAHEB BIBI GOLAAM Shaheb now releases nationally (including Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore) on 26th August, more than 7 months after 22nd Jan, 2016.

MILAN LUTHRIA’S MULTI – STARRER IS ALL SET TO GO ON THE FLOORS IN MUMBAI THIS AUG

Milan Luthria has zeroed in on the rest of cast for his much awaited Ajay Devgn starrer BAADSHAHO which also includes Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Ileana D’Cruz, Esha Gupta & Sanjay Mishra. The multi – starrer film is all set to go on the floors this Aug with a 15 day schedule in Mumbai, followed by a 2 month schedule in Rajasthan. BAADSHAHO, co – produced by Milan Luthria & Bhushan Kumar and written by Rajat Aroraa, is a thriller set in the Emergency era of the ’70s. Milan & his team spent 3 months on the research. Milan will collaborate with a foreign action director for BAADSHAHO and the music includes Rajasthani folk with a funky twist, composed by Ankit Tiwari.

KETAN MEHTA TO RELAUNCH HIS CAPTAIN VYOM STARRINg MILIND SOMAN

Nothing beats nostalgia! It’s time to relive the fabulous 90’s with India’s most iconic and 1st ever science fiction television series on superhero Captain Vyom. The space adventure; the saga of the superhero and his inter galactic super villains starring the heartthrob and India’s 1st ever supermodel Milind Soman. Directed by Ketan Mehta and produced by Deepa Sahi, it is set to be resurrected and revived by Cosmos Maya. The classic from the turn of the century broke on the internet on Thurs 23nd, Jun, 2016.
Directed by Ketan Mehta, Captain Vyom is the 1st Indian live – action superhero science fiction (sci – fi) television series, which was aired on DD National at the end of the century. The TV series pioneered the art of computer animation & visual effects in India. Captain Vyom takes you to the future – 2123, where humans conquer the entire solar system. Ketan Mehta, who had directed the show said “It has been almost 20 years since this landmark show, was 1st aired. The show went on to achieve a cult following amongst its viewers, who were then introduced to a show that was much ahead of its time, and in an era when science – fiction and superheroes were unheard concepts not just on television, but also in films. The series also has Tom Alter, Kartika Rane, Sanjay Singh, Divya Palat, Madhu Sapre, Rahul Bose, Dino Morea etc.

WHEN OBAMA LOVED OSAMA IS THE FATHER OF ALL COMEDIES

Producer Jaiwinder Singh Bhati’s last film was HUM HAI TEEN KHURAFATI which clicked at the box office. Now he has come up with yet another comedy caper called When OBAMA LOVED OSAMA. The subject of the film is very interesting. It is about 2 heroes & 2 heroines. In his 3rd film titled CHEATERS, the hero actors will be seen cheating each & every one around them but will not break the hearts of the girls with whom they fall in love with. After making his 4th film titled THE GUINNNESS BOOK which will be an out & out entertainment oriented film based on 2 kids, perhaps the producer will hopefully find his name in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records as a maker with the maximum number of comedies to his credit. OBAMA LOVED OSAMA has been directed by Sudeesh Kumar Sharma. The story has been written by Vaibhav Bhist while music has been composed by Kashi. The film stars Nishan, Parul Chauhan, Vicky Chowdhary, Divya Sharma, Mushtaq Khan, Brijendra Kala, Mohit Baghel & Manoj Bakshi

EROS INTERNATIONAL & SOHAM ROCKSTAR ENTERTAINMEN TO PRODUCE A SEQUEL TO NAYAK

Eros International has announced the sequel to the 2001 hit political thriller, Anil Kapoor starrer NAYAK, in association with Deepak Mukut’s Soham Rockstar Entertainment. Produced by Eros International & Deepak Mukut, the film will be scripted by K V Vijayendra Prasad who has written blockbusters like BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN and BAAHUBALI. Continuing from the earlier film, the sequel will be a political satire with romance as the backdrop. The sequel will also introduce fresh characters while retaining some of the old characters including the lead character, Shivaji Rao from NAYAK. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd averred, “NAYAK created ripples on its release and was one of the most successful political satires of its time. It’s the apt time to plan the sequel in the current political milieu. And we can expect only the finest writing with Vijayendra Prasadji on board who has given 2 of Bollywood’s biggest releases last year – BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN & BAAHUBALI.”. Producer Deepak Mukut of Soham Rockstar Entertainment, adds, “We are partnering with Eros International to jointly produce the sequel of NAYAK. This was a very popular film and continues to be widely watched on television. We have bought the rights of the film and the action promises to be even bigger & better.”

THE RISE & RISE OF AYESHA DHARKAR

In the landmark year when Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company is marking the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare, Ayesha Dharker has won “the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in her field”. She features prominently in all the RSC’s posters, having landed a key role in its main offering in 2016. Says Ayesha: “I have fallen in love with the RSC — completely”. That’s easy to understand, not simply because the RSC has cast her in the crucial role of Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in its current production of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, but also because it is a very political organization. And like the RSC, almost certainly the most prestigious drama group in the world, Ayesha believes passionately in the political power of theatre, not simply to entertain middle class folk who can buy the expensive tickets (£30 or more in Britain), but to transform the lives of the disadvantaged children. All art is political and you have to embrace that, be proud of it and take responsibility for what we mean when we put on a piece of art. I desperately wish there was something like the RSC in India. That would be a dream for me,” she sighs. She is wonderfully eloquent and her voice is soft & expressive, which is why she has been sought out for everything from Shakespeare to soap, radio & musicals. Ayesha is 38 now with nearly 3 decades of acting behind her.

2ND SHOOT SCHEDULE OF MUZZAFARNAGAR 2013 HELD IN UMARGAON

Mannu & Sara have arrived in the city of Umargoan to shoot a very important sequence for their film – Muzzafarnagar 2013. These 2 roles are from the movie and actors Dev Sharma & Aishwarya Devan are enacting them. This is the 2nd shoot schedule for the film and it will complete in 10 days. Other actors like Anil George & Mursalen Qureshi were also present along with the starcast. Based on the actual communal riots which took place in the year 2013; this film is based in a village called Morna in Uttar Pradesh. Every communal riot is a result of dirty politics which evil minds play with the citizens of the country. This film aims to expose all that and more! Muzzafarnagar 2013 is directed by Harish Kumar & produced by Manoj Maandi. Story & lyrics are by Manoj Kumar.

1ST EVER KONKANI CHILDREN’S MOVIE AAA VAI JAA SAA BY FILM INDIA PROUDUCTIONS!!!

AAA VAI JAA SAA is the 1st ever Konkani children’s film to hit the theatres in Jul, 2016. The film is expected to be exceptional and promises many take aways for the young and not so young; AAA VAI JAA SAA stands for Aaadhyatmik, Vaignanik, Jaatyateeth and Saamajik. This movie is concerned with the holistic development & progress of the new generation. It very devotedly & very aptly undertakes the serious task of divulging the dire need for spiritual, social, cultural as also collective growth & progress of the youngsters. Every nuance of film making is adopted to make it incredibly informative, educative as also entertaining. The film has artists from Karnataka, Kerala , Maharastra & Goa. You will find all Konkani dialects in this movie. The child artistes include Sarthak Shenoy, Shreyas Kamath, Samarth Shenoy & Spandana Pai. The film is directed by veteran Konkani film director Dr K Ramesh Kamath. The film has been shot in beautiful coastal belt of Karnataka. The film is 1st ever Konkani film and will be having its world premiere at the international Konkani convention 2016 organized by NAKA at Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 2nd Jul, 2016

RAAKHI SAWANT’S BROTHER RAKESH SAWANT MAKES 30 SHORT FILMS

If Imtiaz Ali made a short film with Huma Qureshi recently & Shailendra Singh made his short film I AM, A SEXAHOLIC with Shama Sikander, Shirish Kunder has made KRITI and now Raakhi Sawant’s brother Rakesh Sawant has directed not just one but 3 short films called BASTARDS, PSYCHO & EK THI LAILA under the banner of his mother Jaya Sawant’s Jaya Productions. He has also come out with a music album called DARD FIRST LOVE under the music label of Jaya Productions. The song has been sung by Kumar Sanu & Ejaz Khan has acted in the album. The hightlight of the short films BASTARDS & PSYCHO is that Shakti Kapoor has essayed dark negative roles in both of them. It is his 1st attempt at acting in short films. Present on the occasion were Raakhee Sawant, Rakesh Sawant, Shaktui Kapoor, Mukesh Rishi, Kunika Lal & Ejaz Khan.

YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH READY FOR RELEASE

Director Mann Kumar has completed the shooting of his debut film YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH in a span of 40 days in Manali, Malegaon, Kalyan, Lonavala and several parts of the city of Mumbai with Nishant Kumar & Neetu Wadhwa in the lead. The film has been produced under the banner of Maaj Productions, after extensive research over the subject by the director for over a year. Incidentally, it is the debut film of Nishant Kumar too who had earlier acted in several ad films. The film YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH is inspired by Yakub Memon and Nishant is essaying the role of Ashraf Ansari. “The film is not a biopic of Yakub Memon but has been inspired by his character and hence I am playing a character with negative shades called Ashraf Ansari modeled on Yakyub Memon, who was allegedly involved in the 1993 riots in Mumbai. Mann Kumar has now decided to launch his next film called GANGS OF AZAMGARH with Aman Trikha, Amit Singh & Nishant Kumar shortly, after YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH is released in July this year.

Producer: Kanchan Adhikari & Om Gahlot
Director: Kanchan Adhikari
Star Cast: Subodh Bhave, Kranti Redkar, Avishkar Darwhekar, Priya Marathe & Namrata Awate
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Of late Marathi Cinema is really coming of age for trying out different genres of filmmaking. Gone are the rural lavni’s & tamasha days. In the same vein director Kanchan Adhikari’s Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni is a zara hatke triangular romantic comedy drama.

The scripted scenario of Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni unfolds with Kiran Kulkarni (Subodh Bhave) who is a successful employee of an IIT Company and is about to join his Company’s Germany branch. Just then he becomes a victim of a credit card fraud, due to the lapse of his wife, and gets framed for a murder too in a Pub as his Credit card was traced over there. Needless to say he looses his job & his Germany trip too. So his immediate boss (Mohan Joshi) advises him to catch the culprit redhanded. Kiran goes to Lonavala and bumps into the credit card fraud girl Kasturi (Kranti Redkar). From here on the story of Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni takes a whole new twist.

As the title Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni hints it is not at all a courtroom drama at all. On the contrary the film starts off with a credit card fraud but somewhere along the way director Kanchan Adhikari focuses more on the heart touching romantic triangle. Being a woman director Kanchan Adhikari seems a little biased as she has given an author backed role to her lead heroine Kranti Redkar thereby not really using the overall potential of an extremely talented and gifted actor like Subodh Bhave who has already proven his versatility in films like Katyar Kaljhat Ghusli to name just one.

Performance wise Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni is no doubt a Kranti Redkar film all the way. As Kasturi she is genuine, she is funny, she is witty and a little filmy too. Her comic timing is just seen to be believed. In fact she has delivered a par excellence act. Next in line is of course Subodh Bhave who is simply outstanding in the title role of Kiran Kulkarni. And the actress who enacts the role of his wife is good but she hardly gets a scope to prove her worth. Rest of the characters are ok and they do contribute in carrying the film forward.

In the end one can only say that Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni is a full on non – stop entertaining film for the masses as well as the classes. After a long, long time Kiran Kulkarni Vs Kiran Kulkarni is a clean and wholesome family entertainer.

Producers: Ajay Jaiswal and Satish Tripathi
Director: Anil Ballani
Starcast: Adhyayan Suman, Sara Loren, Sanskkriti Jain etc
Genre: Drama

The scenario of Ishq Click opens with Aditya Vardhan (Adhyayan Suman), a professional photographer, who has come to Darjeeling on a Goverment
assignment. Over here Aditya meets an orphan girl Sophia Diaz (Sara Loren) and starts wooing her. He then invites her to Mumbai to try her hands in the Fashion world. Sophia agrees and with Aditya’s help she becomes a most sought after model and even has a live – in relationship with him. Next Aditya meets Ira (Sanskriti Jain) daughter of an Internationally famed photographer. Now Aditya woos Ira to further his career as a photographer. Soon enough he succeeds and even gets married to Ira. With his new found success, pride and arrogance overtakes Aditya’s mind and this becomes the cause of his rapid downfall and his life, as well as the audiences, becomes full of miseries.

Director Anil Ballani has seriously erred in his directorial commitment for Ishq Click as he has made a hotch potch of this such a simple triangular drama. Besides sadly enough nothing seems to have gone in his favour, neither his behind the scenes amateurish team of technicians nor the, on the screen team of, actors.
But all said and done a well deserved mention must go to the film’s cinematographer and the film’s music composer.

Performance wise all the trio of actors Adhyayan Suman, Sara Loren and Sanskkriti Jain needs to take a crash course in acting to brush up their non – existent acting skills. Not only these even the so called supporting actors have failed to lend an adequate support to enliven the proceedings on the silver screen.

On the whole one can at least say that the first half of Ishq Click is somewhat tolerable with one or two good songs. But the second half of Ishq Click drags on and on to such an extent that it crosses all the limits of boredom.

Banner: Eros International and Ravi Jadhav Films
Producer: Krishika Lulla and Ravi Jadhav
Director: Prakash Kunte
Star Cast : Mrinal Kulkarni, Siddharth Menon, Shivani Rangole and Indraneil Sengupta
Genre: Family Drama

The screenplay of &Zara Hatke centres around Nallu (Indraneil Sengupta) & Meera (Mrinal Kulkarni) who happens to be old friends albeit not exactly romantically inclined. After some time they go off on their own ways with Nallu marrying Swati and Meera marrying Dilip. Both Nallu and Meera meet accidentally years later when Nallu’s wife Swati has expired leaving behind a teenage son Nishant (Siddharth Menon) and Meera’s husband Dilip divorces her and leaves his teenaged daughter Astha (Shivani Rangole) in her care. Nallu and Meera now take a mutual decision to get married to each other. When they announce their decision to their respective family members all hell breaks loose with an unexpected twist which forms the core crux of the story and hence the title of the movie, &Zara Hat Ke.

Director Prakash Kunte’s debut outing was Coffee Ani Barach Kahi which was also an unconventional movie as per the usual standards of the Marathi Cinema and coming to think of it Prakash Kunte’s second outing &Zara Hat Ke is also no exception to the rule, which again is a bold and daring effort.

Performance wise Mrinal Kulkarni excellently portrays both the happiness of a woman in love as well as a woman in a dilemma. Indraneil Sengupta is slightly unconvincing due to lack of the grasping power of the Marathi language and how he deals with it is very amusing. On the other hand both the actors Shivani Rangole and Siddharth Menon are just perfect as Mrinalini and Indraneil’s respective off springs. Indeed they have given a good account of themselves in their respective roles.

In conclusion one can only predict that the film &Zara Hatke may win a lot of accolades from the classy cine goers and may also garner a lot of critical acclaim but at the Box Office turnstiles it does not stand even an iota of chance.

Banner: Balaji Motion Pictures & Maruti International
Producers: Sameer Nair, Aman Gill, Ashok Thakeria, Sri Adhikari Brothers & Anand Pandit
Director: Indra Kumar
Star Cast: Ritesh Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela, Pooja Bannerrjee, Mishti, Shraddha Das, Sonali Raut, Kangana Sharma, Usha Nadkarni, Sanjay Mishra, Shreyas Talpade, Sudesh Lehri et al
Music: Sanjeev – Darshan, Shaarib – Toshi & Shaan

Director Indra Kumar’s latest outing Great Grand Masti is a rollicking albeit profusely oriented double entendre comic film, the 3rd installment in the Masti film series after Masti (2004) & Grand Masti (2013). But incidentally speaking the sequel Great Grand Masti does not at all lives up to the expectations bar previously raised by both its prequels namely Masti &
Grand Masti.

The loosely scripted scenario of Great Grand Masti starts off in its usual manner of establishing a premise of 3 sexless marriages. The Masti boys namely, Meet Mehta (Vivek Oberoi), Prem Chawla (Aftab Shivdasani) & Riteish Deshmukh (Amar Saxena) are trying to add some spice to their dead love lives but their attempts are foiled by the kith & kin of their respective wives’ families. Self -proclaimed Godman, Antakshari Baba (Sanjay Mishra) & Amar’s mother – in – law’s (Usha Nadkarni) faith in him is a hindrance for Amar who is on a lookout for some fun with his darling wife Sapna Saxena (Pooja Bannerjee). On the other hand, the childish & immature sister – in -law (Kangna Sharma) of Prem and her clingy nature to her sister & Prem’s wife Nisha Chawla (Shraddha Das) is a menace for Prem. Going ahead, the cross connection or rather the Judwaa experience between Meet’s wife Rekha Mehta (Mishti) and her body builder brother (Ketan Karandhe) makes him stay away from his wife. Prem, a real estate broker by profession, decides to take a break from the mundane life and decides to visit the village, Doodhwadi along with his 2 best friends to get some ‘masti’ under the pretext of selling off the so called haunted & heritage bungalow of Amar. As the trio set out on this crazy journey, they encounter the sexy Shabari (Urvashi Rautela). As the 3 men try to woo her & gain her attention, they realize that this time their Masti is not with a human but with a ghost who is longing for love & lust. As the 3 guys are trapped in the clutches of Shabari aka Ragini, the tale gets even further twisted when the wives of the trio decide to give a surprise to their hubbies.

Director Indra Kumar seems to have made Great Grand Masti only for the rural masses namely the so called front benchers, who relish in such double entendre fare accompanied with their own fully blasted citees & catcalls in the darkened cinema halls. But the film may not go down well with the classy metropolitan cine goers as Great Grand Masti doesn’t at all match up to the comedy quotient of the Masti franchise. Moreover Great Grand Masti also fails to retain the viewers attention span mostly succumbing to its predictability throughout the movie. So all in all Great Grand Masti’s main villian is its faulty & uninteresting script and overall the absolutely hackneyed directorial skills of Indra Kumar as his previously rib ticking directorial attempts in Masti & Grand Masti were absolutely entertaining & hilarious to the core.

Performance wise of course, the trio of Masti boys namely Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi & Aftab Shivdasani have really become proficient in enacting & re-enacting their mastibhara roles 3rd time in a row. Moreover the trio of actor’s namely Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi & Aftab Shivdasani’s comic timing is the probably the only saving grace of Great Grand Masti. Minus the trio of them the movie Great Grand Masti’s overall value is totally ZERO. Amongst the trio of actresses Mishti, Pooja Bannerjee & Shraddha Das also prove to be a big disappointment as they are nothing but glamour dolls displayed in a toy shop window of a shopping mall. That apart the other actress like Sonali Raut & Kangana Sharma too fails to impress, but actors like Shreyas Talpade in a cameo role of Babu Rangeela certainly & strongly makes his presence felt. On the other hand veteran actors like Sudesh Lehri, Sanjay Mishra & above all Usha Nadkarni have given a very interestingly believable account of themselves.

Tail Piece: Great Grand Masti will definitely fail to register any real masti oriented magic at the Box Office turnstiles.

Indervesh Yogee, the debutant director of Love Ke Funday talks at length about directing his 1st ever realistic new age movie, which he promises will highly appeal to the Gen X of the country.

*So what is your debut directorial movie Love Ke Funday all about?

*Actually speaking Love Ke Funday is all about today’s modern generation and their idea of love. Now trends have changed. Today’s generation is all about the social media interaction on What’s app, Facebook, Twitter et al. It’s a generation of quick love. So the attraction is strong but it is short – lived and with time it almost fizzles out. That apart Love Ke Funday is based in Mumbai and it talks about how people fall in love in this fast paced era.

*Ok! So how different is this love story of Love Ke Funday from the rest of the movie?

*The story & the characters of Love Ke Funday are very real. But Instead of fancy love scenes, the characters meet on the road or the cafeteria or a club. We have added an aspect of human psychological touch to our love story where, for example, you walk in the sun and you see your shadow ahead of you. You cannot catch it so you walk behind it. If you change your direction and walk in the opposite direction then your shadow will follow you. When someone does not give you attention, then that person’s importance increases. As soon as you change your focus, that person feels your importance and walks behind you. Keeping this in mind we have shaped the story of Love Ke Funday.

*Tell us something about the lead characters of Love Ke Funday?

*First & foremost Love Ke Funday has Aryan played by Shaleen Bhanot. His co -character describes him saying he’s done a PHD in talking nonsense but Aryan is more practical than the others. He believes that its not love when 2 people fall for each other in a day; its a mere mutually oriented fatal attraction. He is the flirty kind of a guy and calls every girl by a car’s name according to her features. If some girl is tall he will call her Limousine. If a girl is dusky and a little healthy he will call her Duster. Then there is a 2nd character named Sandy. He is also a flirty guy. We have described him in the movie by saying, there are girls who date him, rate him & wait for him…the ones who have done all this hate him! These characters represent the youth of today.

*Are you aware that Love Ke Funday is already being compared to films like Pyaar Ka Punchnama & Mastizaade?

*Be that as it maybe as per us Love Ke Funday is very different from all the above mentioned films. But one thing is for sure, we haven’t crossed the vulgarity & double entendre (double meaning) line; it’s much less than these films. Love Ke Funday can be called bold; we have bold jokes & punches. But even the bold scenes are shot in a funny way and not in a sexy or vulgar way.

*Love Ke Funday’s producer Faaiz Anwar is a legend when it comes to lyrics. So what kind of songs will be seen in this film?

*Frankly speaking Love Ke Funday’s music is the insurance of the film. So when we started working on it, we 1st got our film insured with the songs! We have some really very good & catchy songs. Mika Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Javed Ali & Jojo have sung the songs in Love Ke Funday. Mika Singh’s song is simply great and I think it will be a chartbuster. He himself is very excited about the song! Sukhwinder Singh’s song is very good, and he has taken it upon himself to promote the film & the song. I am hoping that it will be the next “Chaiya Chaiya…” The 3rd song is sung by Javed Ali. He is a fantastic singer and our choreographer has given some great dance moves. We shot it in Kashmir in the midst of snow. The title song of the film is written by Faaiz Anwar and we all know he has written excellent songs. It has been sung by Jojo. People will love the songs and listen to them for the next 10 – 15 years.

*As a parting shot tell us what made you guys think of a title like Love Ke Funday?

*To be very honest we all felt that the title has to be attractive and should sound interesting. Moreover, the film is about the fundamentals of love so there couldn’t be a better title than this. This generation uses these fundamentals in the film.

Amruta Subhash takes lessons In Kannada. And Veteran actresses Jayshree & Uma Kulkarni help Amruta to learn Kannada.

An actress goes through all that’s required for the betterment of her role and actress Amruta Subhash is one of them. This actress who has already had an impressive career in Marathi Cinema has learnt Kannada as a prep for her role in Astu from veteran actress B. Jayashree and has also won the National Award for her role in this film.

This film produced under the banner of Gaurikaa Films with producers Sheela Rao & Dr. Mohan Agashe has been released this week all over Maharashtra . Along with Dr. Mohan Agashe, this film also stars Irawati Harshe, Devika Daftardar, Amruta Subhash, Nachiket Purnputre, Milind Soman, et al. The film has a story by Sumitra Bhave and is directed by Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukhtankar. Amruta Subhash has essayed the role of a Mahuta’s wife Chenamma and has worked with an elephant named Laxmi in the film for which she undertook a workshop to learn the nuances of the role.

The character of Chenamma has a influence of Marathi & Kannada and a lot of dialogues are in Kannada she avers, “I just didn’t want to mug the dialogues in Kannada as I also wanted to learn the meaning of these dialogues in Kannada. Therefore I took the help of veteran translators Uma and Virupaksh Kulkarni and learnt the nuances of the Kannada dialogues from my veteran actor – mother Jyoti Subhash friend actress B. Jayashree and she really took a liking for my role and came down to Pune and I recorded her version of the dialogues and learnt the nuances of the Kannada dialogues and there are also two lullabys which B. Jayshree & Uma taught me, which have been added in the film. My role in the film is small says Amruta but it changed my way of looking at life. The film scenario & the script has been written so well that I enjoyed working in this film and its an experience I will cherish all my life.” concludes Amruta.

Eros International’s Trinity Pictures announces 2 Indo – Chinese co -productions with leading Chinese film companies, Peacock Mountain Culture & Media Ltd & Huaxia Film Distribution Co Ltd. These films will be directed by Kabir Khan & Siddharth Anand and released in Fiscal 2018

Eros International Media Ltd, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced recently that Trinity Pictures, India’s 1st franchise feature film studio, is planning 2 landmark Indo – China co – productions to be released in Fiscal 2018. Kabir Khan’s travel drama THE ZOOKEEPER (working title) & Siddharth Anand’s cross – cultural romantic comedy LOVE IN BEIJING (working title). The films will co -produced with China’s Peacock Mountain Culture & Media Ltd & Huaxia Film Distribution Co Ltd.

The 2 films are the 1st ever Indo – China co – productions set in both India & China and will have Han Sanping, former Chairman of China Film Group, as their Creative Producer. Sanping has produced more than 300 films & 100 TV series, including RED CLIFF, KARATE KID & LET THE BULLET FLY.

With the cast from both India & China, a leading Indian male actor and leading Chinese actress, Kabir Khan’s human drama, THE ZOOKEEPER, tells the journey of an Indian zoo keeper to China to find a panda to return to India in order to save his zoo. Siddharth Anand’s cross – cultural romantic comedy, LOVE IN BEIJING, also with an A – lister Indian actress & leading Chinese male actor is based on an Indian girl who falls in love with a Chinese man. Production costs for THE ZOOKEEPER by Kabir Khan are expected to be (approximately) USD $25.0 million & LOVE IN BEIJING (approximately) USD $15.0 million. The films will be shot simultaneously in both languages and are due for release in Fiscal 2018.

While the original stories were developed by the Trinity Pictures Writers’ Room, creative teams from both Trinity Pictures & the Chinese film companies have worked closely on the scripts to create storylines that blend Sino – Indian culture. The films will be shot across India & China with major parts of Kabir Khan’s THE ZOOKEEPER shot in Chengdu while Siddharth Anand’s LOVE IN BEIJING will be shot in Beijing and its suburbs.

Commenting on the Indo – China co -productions, Jyoti Deshpande, Group CEO, Eros International averred, “We continue to establish our dominant global distribution network including entry into the Chinese market. We believe China to be a significant market opportunity for Indian films. Following our co – production treatise last year, we are very proud to announce the 1st of our joint productions going into production soon. With Trinity, we also want to tell stories that transcend the language barrier and have mainstream appeal. We believe our Indo -China co – productions will be game -changing as we pave the way to open up one of the largest film markets in the world.”

Ajit Thakur, CEO, Trinity Pictures added, “It’s a revolutionary milestone for Indian cinema as Eros’ Trinity Pictures becomes the 1st Indian studio to collaborate with China’s Huaxia Film Distribution Co Ltd & Peacock Mountain Culture & Media Ltd and deliver our vision for a truly global film. Having 2 acclaimed directors like Kabir Khan & Siddharth Anand on board with us, is a big leap towards opening one of the biggest & the fastest growing film markets in the world. With these co – productions being shot in both languages, we hope to present compelling film content, weaving in the socio – cultural worlds of both the countries, which should appeal to the massive Sino – Indian market”.

Creative Producer, Han Sanping averred, “Creating an entertaining movie for 2 of the biggest markets in the world is a big challenge. But having good creative people from both India & China working together we are sure to be successful.”

Allen Liu, Partner, Peacock Mountain added on the association, “It’s exciting to finally pull the curtains over the efforts from writers from both India & China side. Getting the right & the organic story was one of the most important aspect for both the teams from the beginning. Hope the movie shapes up to be a true co -production”.

Director Kabir Khan commented, “It’s an exciting challenge to shoot the film in 2 languages, a 1st for me and creating a whole new world of completely unique characters. There is tremendous potential with similarities in art & culture and I hope to present a film that will be a complete package and will combine the ethos of both the countries.”

Director Siddharth Anand averred, “I am thrilled to be part of a film that will cater to a much wider audience, span new geographies and reach new territories. We are working on a story and creating characters that should resonate with audiences in both the markets.”

Last year, Eros International signed memorandums with leading Chinese state owned film companies China Film Group Corp, Shanghai Film Group & Fudan University for the exploitation of intellectual property rights as well as to develop, co – produce & distribute Indo -China films across all platforms in both countries during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to China.

As per PwC Outlook 2016, China is expected to overtake the US box office in 2016 growing to $10.3 billion. In 2015, the Box Office grew to $6.3 billion marking a 49% year on year growth. In comparison, the US box office is expected to contract from $10.3 billion to $10 billion next year, with Hollywood’s share of the Chinese Box Office slipping to 38.4% in 2015 from 45.5% in 2014. In early 2014, China had just under 19,000 screens and by end of 2015, that number grew to almost 32,000. Overall, China is propelling Asia – Pacific’s growth (including Indonesia, Malaysia) with Box Office revenue across Asia -Pacific expected to grow to $21.11 billion by 2020 and thus continue to emerge as important growth markets for Bollywood.

THE JUNGLE BOOK COMPLETES 100 DAYS AND CREATES HISTORY!!!

The Jungle BooK completes 100 days and creates History. That apart The Jungle Book is back in more cinema halls. Disney’s The Jungle Book adds one more feather in its glittering cap!!! The live action & epic adventure has already set the record of being the Highest Grossing Hollywood Film of all time in India, and raised the bar when it comes to marketing English movies in the country. Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Neli Sethi, The Jungle Book now completes 100 days of its running in Indian theatres on 16th Jul, 2016!!! The film’s total Box -Office collection so far is a whopping 260.28 crores (Gross Box Office) and 187.40 cr NBOC, thus setting a benchmark for English films in India. And if these benchmarks are not enough, encouraged by a surge in demand, driven by the audience’s unparalleled love for the wild adventure, the Studios is all set to bring back the magic of Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo & Shere Khan to more screens. The film will now be screened at 25 additional screens in the country.