Film – Page 27

Southern Movies Round Up

July 15, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

As compared to films produced in Bollywoodian & Hollywoodian Cinema arena, South Indian Cinema is rapidly & regularly 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.

Bala’s Next To Hit The Silver Screens

Young actor Atharvaa’s next film ‘Chandi Veeran’ directed by A. Sarkunam & Produced by director Bala under his B Studios banner is almost ready for release. The team, which was planning a July, 2015 release has now decided to release the film a little later as many films are lined up for this month. The film will now release on 7th Aug, 2015 a week ahead of Independence Day. The film set to be a rural entertainer stars Atharvaa & Anandi in lead roles and it has musical score by Arunagiri & cinematography by P. G. Muthiah. The film is expected to bring a break in Atharvaa’s acting career, as did Bala’s directorial ‘Paradesi’ which helped Atharvaa register himself as an actor capable of carrying strong roles.

‘Thala 56’ To Be Wrapped Up In Chennai

After finishing the shoot in Italy, the crew of Ajithkumar’s 56th film ‘Thala 56’ directed by Siruthai Siva is expected to return to Kolkata for the next schedule. The final schedule of the film will be taking place in Kolkata and a fight sequence will be shot in Chennai. With this the film’s shoot will be wrapped up. ‘Thala 56’ stars Shruthi Haasan, Lakshmi Menon, Soori & Kabir Singh in important roles alongside Ajith. Music is being scored by Anirudh Ravichander while the film is being produced by A. M. Ratnam. The film is expected to hit he screens for Deepavali.

Arun Vijay To Oppose This Young Telugu Star

Arun Vijay who is yet to make it big as a hero even after proving his versatile talents in many films vowed everyone with his villainy role opposite ‘Thala’ Ajith in ‘Yennai Arindhaal’ directed by Gautham Menon. Furthur more the ‘Thadayara Thakka’ actor might act as an antagonist in a Telugu film with Ram Charan Teja in the lead role. This film will be directed by Sreenu Vaitla and S. Thaman will be rendering the musical score. The director met Arun Vijay and narrated the script and the latter has given a positive signal as the role has a strong scope for performance.

Dhanush Will Enthrall Cine Goers As A Hooligan

Director Balaji Mohan, who consciously chose to go fully commercial with forthcoming Tamil entertainer ‘Maari’, says the film is a fulfillment of how he has always wanted to see actor Dhanush on screen. In the film, Dhanush will enthrall as a local hooligan, who goes with the catchphrase ‘Will finish you off’. It features the ‘Raanjhanaa’ star mostly in a dhoti – clad, cigarette – smoking & twirled – moustache avatar. Balaji said he wrote the film exclusively for Dhanush and wouldn’t have made the film had he not agreed to be part of it.

Ram Charan’s Next Confirmed

Surender Reddy is being considered as the director of Ram Charan’s next movie, which is going to be produced under Geetha Arts banner. Now this has been confirmed. It will hit the floors immediately after Charan completes his ‘Bruce Lee’ (tentative title) with Sreenu Vaitla. Kona Venkat & Gopimohan, who are currently working for Cherry – Vaitla film, will also provide the script for Surender Reddy’s film. An official announcement regarding this film will be out soon.

Poonam – The New Face Of Miss Telangana

Poonam Kaur has been chosen as the brand ambassador for Miss Telangana 2015. The actress will now be the face of the prestigious contest, promote & spread the awareness of the pageant show in Telangana. An elated Poonam says, “’m happy to be chosen as the face of Miss Telangana. When I started my career, I lacked proper guidance and had no set platform to showcase my abilities. I hope the Miss Telangana Contest will provide the perfect platform to all young women interested in making a career in the glamour world.” Poonam has featured in several Telugu, Tamil & Malayalam films, apart from winning the Miss Andhra Title (2006) & the Femina Miss India – South (2011).

Mahesh Babu Shocks With His Fluent Tamil

Harish Uthaman, who plays the baddie in upcoming Telugu family drama Srimanthudu, says he was totally taken aback when he heard superstar Mahesh Babu speak fluent Tamil on the sets. “It was my first day on the sets. We were going to shoot an action sequence. I met Mahesh and we exchanged pleasantries. After the shot, Mahesh sat near the monitor and I joined him. Suddenly he started talking in Tamil, and I was totally awestruck,” Harish told. “When I asked him how he knew Tamil, he said he did his college in Chennai. And that it was only after he started acting that he moved base to Hyderabad,” he said.

Arya’s Film May Go For A Title Change

‘Bangalore Days’ is one of the super hits and critically acclaimed Malayalam film of last year. This youthful entertainer is being remade in Tamil with the name ‘Arjun Divya Mattrum Karthik’. The film stars Arya, Sridivya, Rana, Bobby Simha, Parvathy & Rai Lakshmi in lead roles while Nayanthara is appearing in a cameo role. The film’s title when shortened comes as ‘ADMK’ which is also the name of a prominent political party in Tamil Nadu. In order to avoid any problems that may arise, the film’s production house has reportedly sought the permission from the party to officially use the name as the title. If the necessary permission is not obtained the film may go for a title change.

Disha Dinakar To Star In ‘One Day’

Disha Dinakar is the latest out of state actress to reach the Mollywood shores. The Miss Mangalore will play the lead role in the movie ‘One Day’. Though Disha has only a small yet significant part to play in the movie, she hopes to be active in M’Town in the days to come. Favas Shayani is her hero in the movie. ‘One Day’ will be a psychological thriller and will narrate the events of a day. Disha says that this is a male dominated movie and her part is quite small. Maqbool Salmaan also has a significant part in the movie.

Chandini – The New Girl In “Thattam”

Mollywood will soon get another girl in “Thattam”. Following in the footsteps of the evergreen “Thattam” girl is actress Chandini Sreedharan. She has already made a mark in the other South Indian film industries. She will make her Mollywood debut as Unni Mukundan’s heroine in the movie ‘KL 10 Pathu’.

Chandini plays a typical Malappuram girl in the movie and plays confidante & lover to Unni Mukundan’s character, Ahammed. She will appear in a “Thattam” throughout. Chandini considers Lal Jose her mentor and is happy to be associating with a movie which is under the Lal Jose banner.

Uday & Krishna’s ‘Mava I Love You’

The next combination of producer Uday Mehta & Krishna Ajay Rao is ‘Mava I Love You’. Krishna Ajay Rao did ‘Krishnan Love Story’ & ‘Krishnan Marriage Story’ but he got in to married life at ‘Krishna Leela’ his home production time. Now that he has ‘Mava’ (his wife father) in life, here is a film titled ‘Mava I Love You’. The film title also has caption ‘Krishna, Rukku Story’. Who is ‘Rukmini’ for Krishna Ajay Rao? The chances of Amoolya the charming actress acting for the 1st time with Ajay Rao is at the rumor mill. Known for action films Anil Kumar made debut as director from Malashri starring ‘Shakthi’.

1st Look Of Athiya Shetty In ‘Hero’

After releasing the teaser look & poster of Sooraj Pancholi, the makers of ‘Hero’ have let out the 1st look of Athiya Shetty. ‘Hero’, produced by Salman Khan & Subhash Ghai, is the launch vehicle for Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj & Suniel Shetty’s daughter, Athiya.

Another pic too of Sooraj has gone viral off late. Co – written by Nikhil Advani & Umesh Bist, ‘Hero’ is a remake of 1983’s Subhash Ghai directorial of the same name that starred Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Seshadri, Shammi Kapoor & Sanjeev Kumar along with Om Puri & Shakti Kapoor.

Movie Review: ‘Thoda Lutf Thoda Ishq’ is absolutely clueless

July 11, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Bharat Bansal, Vivek Yadav and Sachin Gupta
Director: Sachin Gupta
Star Cast: Hiten Tejwani, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Misra, Neha Pawar, Bhavita Anand, Sanjana Singh & Rakesh Bedi
Genre: Comedy
Verdict: AVERAGE

Director Sachin Gupta, not to be confused with music composer Sachin Gupta, in his first outing Paranthewali Galli had made a fairly sensible film. But in his second outing Thoda Lutf Thoda Ishq, termed as romantic comedy, he is absolutely clueless leading to confusions galore.

Jhumroo (Hiten Tejwani) & Ghungro (Rajpal Yadav) are the two good for nothing boys. In fact they are the best examples of fools who keep roaming around the whole day. Their sole motive in life is to have fun, befriend girls, go to parties, get drunk and chill. They find impish ways to get in touch with girls. They are also desperate to get a job, but in their comical attempt they receive yet more embarrassment. After couple of disasters they do get a job at a newly opened beauty parlour run by two smart girls. Their dream has come true. They are around girls all the time. But this is just the beginning of their hilarious trauma and a journey full of unexpected twists.

Aces: Nothing except one romantic number.

Minuses: its start to end dialogues in Punjabi which sounds more like a Punjabi film than a Hindi film.

Last Word: A strictly avoidable film even if you have nothing better to do on this weekend.

Movie Review: ‘The Gallows’ is a spine chilling fare

July 11, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Jason Blum, Travis Cluff, Benjamin Forkner, Chris Lofing & Dean Schnider
Director: Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing
Star Cast: Reese Mishler, Cassidy Gifford, Ryan Shoos, Pfeifer Brown, Price T. Morgan & Alexis Schneider
Genre: Horror
Verdict: Good

Trevis Cluff & Chris Lofing are the latest director duo who have also taken refuge in the found footage sub genre, in their latest offering The Gallows, to send a chill down viewers spine and they have been fairly successful at it.

Plot: In 1993, a student of Beatrice High School named Charlie Grimille is killed in a horrific accident during the school play, called The Gallows. 20 years later, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honour the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, but a few of the students break in at night to stop the production and soon discover that some things are better left alone for good.

Aces: The fairly good directorial treatment of the director duo Trevis Cluff & Chris Lofing complemented by a good performances by the films principal actors Reese Mishler, Cassidy Gifford, Ryan Shoos, Pfeifer Brown,
Price T. Morgan & Alexis Schneider.

Minuses: its routine plot which has nothing new to offer.

Last Word: A must see movie for the scare fare fans.

Sanjay Gupta ordered to deposit 20 lakhs in court

July 9, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Director Sanjay Gupta was recently ordered to deposit 20 lakhs in Court.

As the court battle between Sanjay Gupta on one side & Vinod Bacchan, IFTPC & FWICE on the other culminated recently with the High Court ordering Sanjay Gupta to deposit Rupees Twenty Lakhs in the Court within a specified time period. The Court also stated that in case of default by him in the payments to the Court, the non -cooperation directive instituted against Sanjay Gupta by the JDSC of the FWICE & IFTPC would once again become operational and the amount deposited till then would be forfeit. The court granted Vinod Bacchan a certain time period to institute legal proceedings to recover the money. It may be recalled that various accusations had been made on Twitter and in the press by the IFTDA President Ashok Pandit against the FWICE President Kamlesh Pandey & General Secretary Dilip Pithva casting aspersions on their intent & character. There were also reports in the press of affiliates opposing the FWICE on this matter. On this topic Kamlesh Pandey had recently stated that on 90% of the affiliates who had earlier been made to sign a paper by Ashok Pandit opposing the FWICE decision had withdrawn their objections the very next day itself stating that they had been misguided & misled by Ashok Pandit. This verdict vindicates the impartial stand taken by the JDSC of the FWICE & IFTPC. On the other hand Dilip Pithva had stated that the new committee of the FWICE has fearlessly & impartially taken concrete action against defaulter members & producers alike and is committed to making the Film & TV industry a professional and better workplace environment.

‘Teaspoon’ Bags Prestigious Awards

A short film ‘Teaspoon’ has recently bagged several prestigious wards. Kiran Deohans & Aban Deohans’ short film ‘Teaspoon has received varied prestigious awards across the Globe.

The talented Cinematographer, Kiran Deohan’s who has worked in many of the renowned feature films like ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghaam’, ‘Agneepath’ et al has recently re-created the same magic in his better half’s Aban Deohan’s short film ‘Teaspoon’. In fact the 20 minutes short film has got enormous appreciation from all the popular short film festivals across the globe. The film has been awarded for the “Best Screenplay” in the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival and very recently it has also been selected for prominent Jagaran Film Festival.
‘Teaspoon’, which exhibits an amalgamation of various human emotions & psychological imbalances of human nature, features talented actors Sreeswara who had got recognition in ‘Singham Returns’ imcluding television actor and a popular face in ads Vaquar and the adorable grandfather of small screen namely Bomi Dotiwala. A simple yet unique storyline with strong performances from the starcast has made it the most loved film in all the short film festivals. The film has previously also won awards in Goa film festival, Bangalore film festival and also international film festivals like Poppy Jasper, New York Indian Film Festival, et al.

Kishore Bags ‘Entertainment Visionary’ Award

Kishore Lulla recently bagged the “Entertainment Visionary” Award. Eros International executive chairman Kishore Lulla has recently bagged the “Entertainment Visionary” award at the 2015 Annual Gala Dinner organized by Asia Society Southern California on 20 Jun, 2015. Kishore Lulla was recognised for being a game changer as well as for his efforts in taking Bollywood to a global platform. The gala evening honoured Lulla’s quest to connect the Indian diaspora through films and bridging of cultures by introducing Bollywood to non-Indian audiences.

6th Jagran Film Festival To Open With ‘Masaan’

6th Jagran Film Festival To Open With ‘Masaan’. With India’s high profile entry in Cannes Film Festival ‘Masaan’
directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and starring Sanjay Mishra, Richa Chaddha & Shweta Tiwary, the 6th edition of Jagran Film Festival is ready to take off starting 1st Jul, 2015.

Winner of 2 prestigious awards the FIPRESCI, International Jury of Film Critics prize & Promising Future Prize in the Un Certain Regard section, ‘Masaan’ has received wide critical acclaim globally. A collaborative effort of Phantom Films, Drishyam, Macassar Productions, Pathe, Sikhya Entertainment & Arte Cinema, France, ‘Masaan’ will be presented on 1st Jul, 2015 evening by Ghaywan and the star cast of the film to the festival delegates personally.

‘Dhanak’ Bags Top Award at Sneakers Children’s Festival, Poland

‘Dhanak’ has recently bagged a top award at the Sneakers Children’s Festival, Poland. After bagging 2 awards for ‘Dhanak’ (‘Rainbow’) co -produced by Drishyam Films Manish Mundra and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor at the Berlinale, it has further bagged the top award at the Sneakers Children’s Festival, Poland. Having won the best film award in the main category, ‘Children’s Feature Film Competition’, the prize ceremony took place on 22 Jun, 2015 Kukunoor who couldn’t attend the festival shared a recorded message thanking the festival authorities & the audiences. The film was screened at International Film Festival Los Angeles (IFFLA) and at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Kids. Dhanak which stars Hetal Gada & Krrish Chhabria in the lead roles is about an 8 year old blind boy whose 10 year old sister promises him that he will get his vision back before he turns 9. The film follows the duo on a magical journey through the sand dunes of Rajasthan. The film also stars theater actors, Vipin Sharma & Vibha Chhiber in prominent roles.

Censor Board Stalls Release Of PNC’s ‘Mastizaade’

Censor Board has recently stalled the release of Pritish Nandy Communicatio’s ‘Mastizaade’. The
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has recently stalled the release of Pritish Nandy Communications’
(PNC) forthcoming comedy film titled ‘Mastizaade’ due to its explicit content. Directed by Milap Zaveri and starring Sunny Leone in a double role, the movie also stars Tusshar Kapoor, Vir Das & Riteish Deshmukh in a special appearance. It has been co-written by Mushtaq Sheikh & Milap Zaveri. The CBFC & the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal have not cleared ‘Mastizaade’ so far, which was initially slated to release on 1st May, 2015. PNC has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that it is taking appropriate steps to resolve this issue in the quickest possible manner.

American LGBT Film Festival In Delhi featured 5 films

5 prominent American films were screened in a special LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) festival which was held in the capital recently. The American Centre organized the festival, which was held from 25th to 27th Jun, 2015. The opening film is the 2001 film ‘Kissing Jessica Stein’ by Charles Herman Wurmfeld and stars Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen & Tovah Feldshuh. It is about a woman out to find a perfect man, ending up finding the perfect woman instead. The other films include the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005), which is American epic romantic drama directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx. The film stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams & Randy Quaid. The movie depicts the complex emotional & sexual relationship between 2 men in the American West from 1963 to 1983.

FIR Filed Against Sunny Deol For Hurting Sentiments In ‘Mohalla Assi’

An FIR was recently filed against Sunny Deol for hurting sentiments in Mohalla Assi. No sooner the trailer of the Sunny Deol starrer ‘Mohalla Assi’ came out, it managed to raise quite a few eyebrows, courtesy its ‘explicit’ content. The resultant effect was that a police complaint has been filed against Sunny Deol the film’s director Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, by an organization named Sarvajan Jagruti Sanstha in Varanasi for reportedly hurting religious sentiments. In their compliant, the said organization stated that the film ‘Mohalla Assi’ not only violated moral ethics, but also shows Varanasi in a very poor light. The complainant also said that they cannot allow such a film to be released. Meanwhile, the film’s director Chandra Prakash Dwivedi clarified that the film’s trailer that was ‘released’ was not an official one, but a leaked version. That’s why he has now filed an FIR at the Oshiwara police station and also with the Cyber Cell. He added that, it was a conspiracy to malign the film’s makers as well as the film. Further, he also added that the (leaked) version of the trailer has been made in such a way that it showed that the film was only about abuses and it maligned the holy city’s image.

Censor Board Snips Off Nude Shot

Censor Board recently snipped off a nude shot from ‘Calendar Girls’. It looks like Madhur Bhandarkar has got quite a tantalizing film lined up for release. His next feature ‘Calendar Girl’, which comes after the fiasco that was his last release ‘Heroine’ and the aborted attempt to start another film ‘Madamjee’ starring Priyanka Chopra, is suffused in sufficient slivers of sensationalism. Sources at the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) revealed that the film’s 1st trailer was submitted for certification. And the results were…….explosive!

The trailer contained a lot of provocative & sensuous content. There was even a shot of a nude woman which the Censors had to of course snip off before granting the trailer a ‘U/A’ certificate. They were confused as to why Madhur Bhandarkar came to them with a trailer that contained a nude shot. In fact Madhur Bhadarkar should know that such a shot can never be passed in a trailer. The ‘U/A’ certificate for the trailer automatically limits its reach. It cannot be shown on television and it can only be attached to films that are certified for all ages.

Bhushan Kumar To Produce Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Music Album

Yo Yo Honey Singh is all set to resuming his crooning glory with a single. He will soon be developing a new single that will be produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series. It will also feature a music video much like their earlier outing ‘Desi Kalakar’ that featured Sonakshi Sinha.

Sony Music acquires music rights for ‘Brothers’

Sony Music Entertainment has acquired the music rights of Dharma Productions’ action – drama film Brothers. Directed by Karan Malhotra, the film is an official remake of the 2011 Hollywood film Warrior.

After Ageneepath, this is the second time the successful team of Dharma Productions, Sony Music, Karan Malhotra, Ajay-Atul and Amitabh Bhattacharya will be working together.

Sony Music India marketing director Sanujeet Bhujabal said, “Dharma and Sony Music have always created great musical milestones and the music of this film will be another such. Composed by the multi award winning duo Ajay -Atul’s who will weave in magic with their melodies and the lyrics penned by Bhattacharya, this album will a worthy follow up to the smashing soundtrack of Agneepath.” Produced by Dharma Productions, Lionsgate Films and Endemol India, the film is all set to release on 14 August 2015.

“I have always been passionate about great cinema”: Manoj Bajpai

July 8, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

The master of impeccable performances of Bollywood, Manoj Bajpai has taken a step towards promoting the golden era of the cinema. The fine actor for the 1st time ever gets associated with a unique online portal which is solely dedicated to the classic cult movies, documentaries & short films of Indian cinema varying in all languages.

The 2 time national award winner Manoj Bajpai is known for his unconventional choices of films and has always given a chance to emerging talents by working in their movies, now gives them a chance to grow further. Being the brand ambassador and also a mentor to this distinctive online portal, Manoj aims to encourage & preserve the essence of the golden era of cinema and various non – commercial films.

Manoj will be supporting the portal in getting deserving attention of creating such a unique idea and will help in promoting it among people as well as industry.

Sharing his thoughts on this initiative towards cinema, Manoj Bajpai says, “I have always been passionate about great cinema, the online portal is the 1st ever of its kind which gives importance to short films & documentary makers who are extremely talented but just not recognised enough. I would be extremely glad if my association can
make a difference in uplifting the talent of amazing unknown filmmakers.”

Movie Review: ‘Max’ is a heart touching emotional saga of a boy and a dog

July 6, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Karen Rosenfelt
Director: Boaz Yakin
Star Cast: Josh Wiggins, Dejon LaQuake, Thomas Haden Church, Robbie Amell, Lauren Graham, Luke Kleintank, Jay Hernandez, Miles Mussenden, Mia Xitlali, Owen Harn & Joseph Julian
Genre: Adventure
Verdict: Good

Boaz Yakin an American director, of Remember The Titans fame, has come up this time with an emotionally heart touching film about a boy Justin and a dog named Max and the total bonding they share with each other.

Plot: A military dog from Afghanistan is adopted by his late handler Kyle Wincott’s (Robbie Amell;) grieving family in US, where his close bond with the soldier’s brother Justin Wincott (Josh Wiggins) leads to a life altering revelation in this family friendly adventure.

Aces: Its salutation to all the military dogs who not only help the soldiers on the battlefield but also on their home front. Besides Josh Wiggins and the dog steals the show in the entire proceedings.

Minuses: Too much exposure of melodramatic sentiments.

Last Word: A perfect outing for all animal lovers.

Movie Review: ‘Terminator Genisys’ is not impressive at all

July 6, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: David Ellison & Dana Goldberg
Director: Alan Taylor
Star Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brett Azar, Aaron V. Williamson, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Willa Taylor, Jai Courtney, Bryant Prince, J. K. Simmons, Wayne Bastrup, Matt Smith, Nolan Gross, Courtney B. Vance, Dayo Okeniyi, Gregory Alan Williams, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gladis, Griff Furst, Teri Wyble & debutante Lee Byung – Hun
Genre: Sci-Fi

Verdict: Average

Alan Taylor, the director of such popular films like Lost, The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Sex And The City, The Sopranos, Game Of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, Mad Men, Palookaville, Thor: The Dark World et al, is the latest director to wield the megaphone for Terminator Genisys. But sadly enough he has failed to create the magic of the earlier “Terminator” series.

Plot: In the year 2029, John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the Resistance against Skynet, launches a massive final offensive on Los Angeles. He is notified by his unit, Tech – Com that Skynet will attack on 2 fronts, past & future, thereby changing warfare forever.

Aces: As in all the Terminator series. Its the special effects that rules the roost here too. And the débutante actor Lee Byung – Hun is promising enough to watch out for.

Minuses: Seriously speaking It lacks the thematic depth, conceptual intelligence or even visual thrills that launched this once mighty franchise.

Last Word: Even the staunch fans of Arnie and the past Terminator series will be sadly disappointed.

Movie Review: ‘Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho’ is good in parts but hardly convincing

July 4, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Producer: Crossword Films
Director: Vinod Kapri
Cast: Annu Kapoor, Hrishita Bhatt, Om Puri, Sanjay Mishra, Ravi Kishan & Rahul Bagga
Music: Sushmit Sen & Palash Muchal

Director Vinod Kapri in his latest offering ‘Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho’ has tackled a political satire of the real life situation in a village. The film is a humorous albeit a thought provoking take, loosely based on real life incidents.

The film’s scenario starts off with the summoning of ‘Miss Tanakpur’ (A Buffalo) by the court. Then a kaleidoscope flashback depicts that the film is set in the village of Tanakpur, which is ‘headed’ by Pradhaan’ Sualal Gandas (Annu Kapoor), who is married to a young Maya (Hrishita Bhatt). Pradhaan is unable to keep his ‘wife happy’, which leads her to fall in love with a young & aspiring wannabe’ policeman Arjun (Rahul Bagga). The duo never skips even a single opportunity to meet each other, something that sets Pradhaan’s mind to work overtime with suspicion. Since his repeated confrontations with his wife yield no results, he takes the help of the ‘multi-talented’ Goswami (Sanjay Mishra), who ‘engages’ the dead peoples’ spirits for the job of finding out the culprit. And after many attempts, when Pradhaan finds out the culprit to be Arjun, he & his henchmen beat him black & blue and get him tied down semi-naked in front of the whole village. While this leads to Arjun’s sister’s ongoing marriage being called off, simultaneously his father also passes away. Sensing that the villagers may get to know the ‘real reason’ for him to publicly humiliate Arjun, Pradhaan cooks up an impromptu story that the reason why he bashed up Arjun was because Arjun had raped his priceless buffalo, which had incidentally been crowned as ‘Miss Tanakpur’ at the village fair. And as a ‘punishment’, Pradhaan & his men order Arjun to get married to ‘Miss Tanakpur’.

Everything is appealing but the biggest spoilspot turns out to be a lack of conviction from the storical point of view and also for the lack of directional skills of Vinod Kapri. The film just meanders on and ultimately tests the viewers patience to the point of no return. The weakest point of the film is that its premise itself is unbelievable.

Performance wise it is Annu Kapoor who steals the show. The next in line excellent performance is delivered by the ever dependable actor like Sanjay Mishra. While Ravi Kissen is ok to some extent. On the other hand Hrishita Bhatt is seriously miscast as the young woman married to an old man who can’t satisy her at any costs. Rahul Bagga can be counted as a promising actor. That apart Om Puri hams his way to glory.

Tail Piece: ‘Miss Tanakpur Haazir Ho’ may appeal to the single screen vievers especially in the interiors. Hence the Multiplex cinegoers may stay away from this so called Miss Tanakpur.

Movie Review: ‘Uvaa’ is an eye opener not only for Gen X but for one & all

July 4, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

Banner: Dhanraj Films
Producer: Anil D. Jethani & Chandresh D. Jethani
Director: Jasbir B Bhaati
Cast: Om Puri, Jimmy Shergill, Sangram Singh, Archana Puran Singh, Vikrant Rai, Rajit Kapoor, Elena Kazan, Sanjay Mishra, Jitu Shivhare, Shefali Singh, Gautam Gilhotra, Parikshat Sahani, Vraddhi Sharma, Jyoti Kalash, Vicky Aahuja, Padam Singh, Poonam Pandey, Rohan Mehra, Lavin Gothi, Mohit Baghel, Bhupendra Singh “Megh”, Vinti Idnani, Sheena Bajaj, Yukti Kapoor, Neha Khan & Manish Choudhary
Music: Rashid Khan, Palash Muchal, Haneef Sheikh & Pravin-Manoj

When a small screen director makes his big screen debut he has certain set notions to make it big on the big screen and débutante director Jasbir B. Bhatti is no exception. In his debut directorial ‘Uvaa’ he has successfully blended all the commercial ingredients to make his latest film ‘Uvaa’ a hit film and he has succeeded in achieving his goal.

The film is about 5 friends in a boarding school and their daily life suddenly turning into a rebellion to fight for justice and make an example to the outside world. The 5 youngsters Ram, Anil, Vikram, Salmaan & Deenbandhu are the rebellious brats of suburban Delhi NCR, with the world at their feet and nothing to worry. They stomp everything in their path without knowing or bothering about the consequences, but challenge lay ahead when all of them are put in a totally new world of convent school, here they survive & thrive only to find love. But one night they encounter a horrifying event which puts them in the hands of law. Their lives change forever, they have to fight for justice & moral integrity to make an example for the world.

Hats off to producers duo Anil D. Jethani & Chandresh D. Jethani for backing such a meaningful & interesting film like ‘Uvaa’ and of course director Jasbir B. Bhatti too deserves all the kudos & plaudits for giving us a youthful & message oriented film like ‘Uvaa’.

Performance wise all the actors like Om Puri, Jimmy Shergill, Sangram Singh, Archana Puran Singh, Vikrant Rai, Rajit Kapoor, Elena Kazan, Sanjay Mishra, Jitu Shivhare, Shefali Singh, Gautam Gilhotra, Parikshat Sahani, Vraddhi Sharma, Jyoti Kalash, Vicky Aahuja, Padam Singh & Poonam Pandey for having done full justice to their respective roles. Not to forget all the débutante actors Rohan Mehra, Lavin Gothi, Mohit Baghel, Bhupendra Singh “Megh”, Vinti Idnani, Sheena Bajaj, Yukti Kapoor, Neha Khan, Manish Choudhary et al for delivering a commendable act in their respective roles.

Tail Piece: ‘Uvaa’ is a light, breezy & youthful entertainer meant for one & all.

Foreign Films Worldwide Round Up

June 29, 2015 by Shaheen Raaj

GLOBALIZATION FIRE UP FEST MARKET

Annecy attendance has The Big Mo. And Hollywood and US animation at large is driving that surge as US industry reaches out to the world for talent & markets. 5 days out from 15th Jun launch of 2015 fest edihtion, France’s Annecy Animation Film Festival & Market were on track for an overall 10% – 15% accreditation boost, a near dramatic boost. US fest / market participants were up a remarkable 60%, Canada’s by 40%. Including the Festival’s International Animation Film Market (MIFA), registrations – industry professionals & accredited film school students, look set to come in around 8,000 vs. 7,100 in 2014, reported Patrick Eveno, CEO of Citia, the Annecy Fest’s organizer. At MIFA, market registrations were over 10% up year -on – year. MIFA began its 30th edition on 17th Jun, 2015 with more participants than it finished last year’s, MIFA head Mickael Marin confirmation. Put that down to globalization, often driven by a digital revolution.

BRUCE PITCHES ‘BADLANDS’

Bruce Tuchman, president of AMC Global & Sundance Channel Global, is pitching upcoming series ‘Into The Badlands’ as a role model for the company’s future content investments. “I’m proud to say I don’t know any broadcaster in US which has put in so much investment and put so much on the line into what is essentially a Chinese – inspired story and is now bringing that to a huge audience in US.” said Tuchman on at the China and the World conference on the fringes of the Shanghai Television Festival. Starring Hong Kong’s Daniel Wu, the 6 part series that debuts in Nov, 2015 is the story of a well – trained warrior who embarks on a journey across a dangerous territory to find enlightenment. Accompanying him on his journey is a young boy named M. K. (Aramis Knight). Tuchman said that the series is inspired by Chinese fantastical tale “Journey To The West” and is AMC’s “costliest investment till this date.” “It is a genre – bending show. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic US.

3 MOVIES JOIN THE FESTIVAL LINEUP

Kyle Balda & Pierre Coffin’s ‘Minions’, Chris Columbus’ ‘Pixels’ & ‘Terminator Genisys’, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger & Emilia Clarke, are among the films selected to play at Croatia’s Pula Film Festival. The international program competition includes George Ovashvili’s ‘Corn Island’, which won at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival; Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winner ‘Dheepan’, Gabriel Ripstein’s ‘600 Miles’, winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s 1st feature award Alante Kavaite’s ‘The Summer Of Sangaile’, which won the Sundance Film Festival’s world cinema dramatic directing award. 14 films play in the competition section of the international program, and 14 features have been selected for the Croatian films program, which were chosen from the 28 movies submitted. The fest is headed by Gordana Restovic and the festival board includes Hrvoje Puksec, Mike Downey & Tanja Milicic. Downey, who is also deputy chairman of the European Film Academy, said: “The international program reflects a growing interest from the Pula public in quality cinema from all over the world.”

BRITISH COUNCIL LAUNCHES SCRIPT WRITING PROGRAM

The British Council has launched a UK -Nigeria screenwriting partnership program, Script Junction, which will run from Jun to Nov. The aim of the program, which is part of the British Council’s UK – Nigeria season of cultural collaborations, is to help 6 Nigerian & 6 UK screenwriters further develop their skills as well as to foster cultural exchange between the film industries in UK & Nigeria. The other program partners are the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the National Film & Television School, the Africa International Film Festival and the Nigerian Film Institute. The workshops will kick off with a 5 day module at the Edinburgh Film Festival from 19th – 23rd Jun, 2015. A 2nd 5 day module will be held in Nigeria during the Africa International Film Festival in Nov, 2014. At Afriff, all 12 participants will also pitch their projects to an expert industry panel and get feedback on their work. The project aims to “bring together, inspire & motivate a cohort of contemporary screenwriters to explore, develop & create screenplays.

MARY JOINS BFI FILM Fund

The British Film Institute has appointed Mary Burke as senior production & development executive at the BFI Film Fund. Burke joins from Warp Films, where she is an executive producer & board member. The BFI is UK’s largest public investor in film, with more than £30 million ($46.5 million) in funding to invest each year. Burke’s role will be to identify & support a diverse range of British feature film projects, working closely with writers, directors & producers across development & production. Burke’s producer credits include ‘Bunny And The Bull’, the 2009 feature debut from Paul King, who went on to direct ‘Paddington’, UK’s most successful independent film of 2014; ‘Submarine’, the feature BAFTA & BIFA winning debut of Richard Ayoade, which premiered at Toronto Film Festival in 2010; Paul Wright’s ‘For Those In Peril’, which premiered in Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2013; ‘Berberian Sound Studio’, the critically acclaimed 2nd feature from Peter Strickland, which premiered at Edinburgh in 2012; and Chris Waitt’s feature documentary ‘A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures’, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TO CHINA SHOW

Cirque du Soleil is to open an office in China and launch its 1st permanent show in the country by 2018. The moves follow the acquisition of Cirque earlier this year by financier TPG & Fosun, the Chinese conglomerate that is fast expanding its entertainment & leisure portfolio. The developments were announced at a Fosun event in Shanghai, attended by 20th Century Fox chairman Jim Gianopulos, Cirque’s president and CEO Daniel Lamarre and representatives from South Korean talent agency SM Entertainment, in which Fosun also has an investment. ‘Titanic’ director James Cameron sent a video message. “Toruk – The First Flight,” a stage show derived from Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ will debut in Montreal and tour China in 2017, after several stops in North America. Cirque’s China office opens later this year in Shanghai. The permanent show will be based in Hangzhou and will be a part of a joint development with Hangzhou Industrial. It will be located within a large mixed – use residential, retail & entertainment development that Fosun describe as a hive city.

SHANGHAI FESTIVAL DROPS “TITAN”

The Shanghai International Film Festival, which opened recently, will not go ahead with the scheduled screening of Japanese cartoon ‘Attack On Titan: Guren No Yumiya’. The film appeared recently on a list of animated content which the Chinese government has banned because of “violent and pornographic content.” In a statement circulated only to Chinese media, the festival said that “Titan” had been withdrawn “due to technical reasons.” It said that the film’s 3 screenings will now be filled with other festival titles and that refunds would be available to those who bought tickets in advance. “Titan” (aka “Attack On Titan: Crimson Bow And Arrow”) is directed by Tetsuo Araki, produced by Wit Studio. It is handled internationally by Pony Canyon. The film was one of 8 Japanese movies submitted to the Shanghai festival by the Japan – China Friendship Film Festival Executive Committee. Festivals in China are often able to show films that would not be screened in Chinese commercial theaters, but they are not exempt from censorship.

BRIDGING THE DRAGON PROJECT MARKET

With the start of Shanghai festival, the 1st edition of the Sino – European project lab “Bridging The Dragon” comes to a close. The 4 day residential workshop was held in Songjiang, Shanghai. It saw 10 selected projects, 5 each from China & Europe, pitched, analysed & critiqued by a panel of experts. Of particular importance in the context of attempting to make films that might straddle both European & Chinese markets were elements including story structure, believability of the setting in relationship to the other co – producing side, and feasibility of the co – production. Screenwriting tutors included Shu Huan, Alex Jia, chief creative officer of the Shanghai New Culture Media Group, Luigi Ventriglia, tutor at TorinoFilmLab & Marietta von Hausswolff von Baumgarten. Production experts included Xian Su from DMG Entertainment, Synnove Horsdal from Maipo Film, independent producer Chi Cheung Kwong, Dongrong Zhu from SMG Pictures, Leontine Petit from Lemming Film & Isabelle Glachant from Chinese Shadows.

‘LONG LIVE’ WINS THE WEEKEND

‘Love Live! The School Idol Movie’, a feature animation based on a multimedia project that encompasses a TV anime show, comic, music CDs & live concerts, opened at #1 in Japan for the 13th – 14th Jun, 2015 weekend. Bowing on just 121 screens, with Shochiku distributing, the film about teenaged girls who form an idol group to save their school from closing earned $3.42 million on 252,000 admissions. The film is expected to finish near the $20 million mark. Debuting at #2 was ‘Our Little Sister’, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Cannes competition entry about 4 sisters who form an unusual household in the seaside town of Kamakura. Opening on 323 screens, the film took in $1.86 million from 182,000 admissions. With Gaga & Toho as co – distributors and a full – scale media blitz by Koreeda and his 4 stars, the film looks likely to pass the $10 million milestone. Last week’s top ranking films, led by #1 ‘Tomorrowland’, slipped down 2 places to occupy the #3 to #8 slots. Naomi Kawase’s ‘An’, which also screened at Cannes, held onto its #10 rank, while reaching the JPY200 million ($1.6 million) mark on 94 screens with Elephant House distributing.

NETFLIX PRODUCTION PACT WITH KOGYO

Online video giant Netflix and the Yoshimoto Kogyo talent agency are partnering to make local programs for Netflix’s coming foray into the Japanese market, according to reports. In an unusual arrangement for the Japanese market, Netflix will underwrite a specified portion of the production costs, in exchange for exclusive streaming rights for a set period, according to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. Meanwhile, Yoshimoto will retain the copyright, allowing it to sell the content elsewhere. The 1st show produced under the arrangement will reportedly feature Sanma Akashiya, a popular MC who has been a fixture on Japanese TV for decades. Netflix is reportedly in talks with Japanese TV production houses, animation studios and other contents producers for similar deals. Netflix is planning to launch a new video – streaming service in Japan this fall. Partly in response, 29 Japanese content providers, including major TV networks & film studios, joined together to form the Japan Contents Group (JCG) consortium at the end of May, 2015. They aim to start their own pay – per – view service before the end of the year.

‘JURRASIC WORLD 2ND LARGEST OPENER OF THE YEAR

Despite the ongoing MERS outbreak, the Korean box office recovered from last week’s slump. According to the KOBIS tracking service, admissions hit 2.19 million between Fri & Sun, represented a week – on – week rise of 147%. Spectators were brought out by ‘Jurassic World’. Released on Thurs, the UPI picture grossed $14.4 million from 1.81 million admissions in 4 days. Opening on 1,290 screens nationwide, “World” accounted for 72% of the weekend total. Its score was the 2nd highest opening of the year, behind ‘Avengers: Age Of Ulton’, which amassed $28.2 million in its 1st week. ‘San Andreas’ slipped to 2nd place, with a drop of 63%. The disaster pic earned $2.1 million between Fri & Sun, boosting its total to $11.2 million after 2 weekends. 3rd place went to Warner’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ with $1.05 million between Fri & Sun, down 49%. It has a cume of $28.3 million after a month in cinemas. The weak performance of Korean titles continued for another week. 5th placed, ‘The Treacherous’ managed $243,000 and after 4 weekends has accumulated $7.82 million. Last week’s opener ‘Perfect Proposal’ took an 87% tumble to 8th place, managing only $66,500 between Fri & Sun, and just $960,000 after 11 days.

LEE MIN – HO CONFIRMED HIS PRESENCE IN ‘BOUNTY HUNTERS

Fast rising Korean actor Lee Min -Ho, who has recently been in high demand in Greater China, has been confirmed to star in action – adventure film ‘Bounty Hunters’. The film is poised to be one of the most expensive in a growing wave of Korean – Chinese co -ventures. Pitched at Cannes by sales agency, it had a tentative budget of $16 million. More recent data put the budget at $31 million. Casting was confirmed this week by Lee’s agency. His recent credits also include ‘Public Enemy Returns’, & TV’s ‘Boys Over Flowers’. The movie is to be directed by Korea’s Shin Terra, action comedy and is written by Edmond Wong. It is the story of 5 bounty hunters who chase fugitives for money in China, Hong Kong, Korea & Thailand. Locations are expected to include Korea’s Jeju Island.
The production involves China’s Harmonious Entertainment Shanghai, Hong Kong’s Pegasus Motion Pictures, & Korea’s Starhaus Entertainment.

6 CELEBITIES BOOKED

Wes Anderson, Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, William Friedkin, Paolo Sorrentino & Italian star architect Renzo Piano are among onstage speakers recruited by new artistic topper Antonio Monda for the 10th edition of the recently reconfigured Rome Film Festival. Anderson (pictured) is booked for a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. author Donna Tartt about their love for Italian movies; Joel Coen and McDormand will speak about what it’s like to be husband and wife on set, and also on the notion of “muse”; Friedkin will hold forth with an as yet unspecified Italian master; Sorrentino will screen and discuss a previously unseen short of his and talk about the films that formed his cinematic vision. Renzo Piano will talk about the rapport between movies and architecture. Monda, a New-York based Italian journalist and academic with ties to the U.S. film and literary worlds, recently replaced Marco Mueller as Rome’s artistic director, after Mueller’s three-year mandate expired. Piera Detassis, a prominent Italian film journalist, critic and fest topper, was named Rome prexy.

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL TO PAY HOMAGE TO FEDERICO FELLINI

Venice Film Festival will pay homage to Federico Fellini with a special world premiere screening of a freshly restored copy of ‘Amarcord’ in Sept, 2015, 4 decades after the Italian master’s reminiscence of his native ‘Rimini’ won the foreign – language film Oscar. The announcement was made by Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna, the prominent film archives known globally as a prime film preservation entity. It handled the restoration, sponsored by Italian fashion e – tailer Yoox Group in collaboration with Warner Bros & Italy’s Cristaldi Film, which produced the 1973 pic, the title of which means ‘I remember’ in the local dialect. Fellini’s. ode to his youth and satirical depiction of small – town Italy during 1930’s ‘Fascism’ is considered his most personal film. Co – written with poet & scribe Tonino Guerra, and shot at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, it is set to Nina Rota’s nostalgic score. Cineteca di Bologna topper Gianluca Farinelli noted that ‘Amarcord’ is the last of 4 pics Fellini won Oscars for, and “in some way marks the start of the final period in his career. I also believe this film speaks a lot about Italy to an international audience,” Farinelli added. The 72nd edition of the Venice fest will run 2nd to 12th Sept, 2015.