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Category: Hindi

  • MOMI honours Om Puri

    MOMI honours Om Puri

    NEW DELHI: Veteran actor Om Puri, has been feted by Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in the US for his contribution to the Indian cinema. The honour was given to the 63-year old actor on the eve of release of his next international release, The Hundred Foot Journey co-starring Helen Mirren, which is opening on 8 August.

     

    The actor, who has made a name for himself in Indian and international cinema, discussed his long journey to stardom at a conversation moderated by actress Madhur Jaffrey. This was followed by a screening of his latest film.

     

    Based on the book by Richard C Morais and directed by Lasse Hallström, The Hundred-Foot Journey is about the cultural war that ensues the opening of an Indian restaurant in the south of France next to a famous Michelin-starred eatery. Puri plays the role of a patriarch of a family displaced from their native India. The movie also stars Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon and Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla. It is produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Juliet Blake.

     

    During the conversation with Jaffrey, Puri revealed that when he first came to Delhi nearly four decades ago with only Rs 120 in his pockets to try his luck in theatre, he could not anticipate the success that lay ahead of him. A versatile theater and film actor, Puri, has made a name for himself in Hollywood as well. The actor also added that he and Naseeruddin Shah were the ‘two idiots’ who joined the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

     

    Puri made his debut with the Marathi film Ghasiram Kotwal based on a Marathi play of the same name by Vijay Tendulkar. The film was directed by K Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII.

     

    Jaffrey also discussed Puri’s big break in Bollywood – Ardh Satya portraying Puri as a policeman struggling to deal with the evils around and inside him. “This was my lottery in the Hindi film industry. Everybody sort of sat back and noticed me,” Puri said. He also received the National Film Award for Best Actor for the film.

     

    Puri considers himself to be introverted, but he believes acting gave him a voice to convey his emotions. “I had a lot feelings looking at the world around me, particularly, the disparities in society used to disturb me,” he said.

  • Mary Kom’s latest song ‘Sukoon Mila’ available exclusively on Hungama.com

    Mary Kom’s latest song ‘Sukoon Mila’ available exclusively on Hungama.com

    MUMBAI: The most awaited biopic on the Olympic Medalist ‘Mary Kom’ released its second song today. ‘Sukoon Mila’ the latest track from the Priyanka Chopra starrer has been launched exclusively on Hungama.com and on Hungama music app. Sung by music sensation Arijit Singh the beautiful and soulful number depicts the romance between reel-life Mary Kom and her husband.

     

    Commenting on the release, Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer (Consumer Business & Allied Services) at Hungama Digital said, “We at Hungama always look forward to offer exclusive and fresh content to our consumers. With Mary Kom being one of the most awaited movies of this year, we are sure that our consumers will be enthralled by the release of this song exclusively on Hungama.com and Hungama music app.”

     

    Mary Kom is an upcoming 2014 Indian biographical sports drama film directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the life of the Indian boxer Mary Kom, the film stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead, along with Danny Denzongpa, Minakkshi Kalitaa, Bijou Thaangjam, Darshan Kumar, Shishir Sharma and Zachary Coffin in the movie.

     

    Link to Android app:

     

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hungama.myplay.activity&hl=en

     

    Link to iOS app:

     

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hungama-music-videos-radio/id414009038?mt=8

  • Viacom18 Motion Pictures set to give a big break to Bollywood with ‘Cineshorts’

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures set to give a big break to Bollywood with ‘Cineshorts’

    MUMBAI:  Are you a movie maker waiting to debut on the silver screen? Viacom18 Motion Pictures (VMP) is giving you an opportunity to be the one. It takes the lead to recognise talent in movies by providing an exclusive opportunity for budding filmmakers to showcase their talent through a visionary initiative christened – ‘Cineshorts.’

     

    The contest requires participants to submit a short film of five minutes, based on a theme that resonates with the upcoming film of the studio.

     

    To up the credits, VMP is all set to flag off this engaging enterprise with its upcoming mega release Mary Kom on the theme “Against All Odds”, which celebrates the unbreakable and resilient spirit of Mary Kom. An eminent jury comprising Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Omung Kumar along with VMP COO Ajit Andhare among others will judge the competition.

     

    Andhare believes that there is a need to democratise the entertainment space so that anyone with the vision, drive and talent can find an ecosystem of support and nurturing to make a film.  “Cineshorts is a platform that ventures into empowering talent by mentoring and showcasing their promising work. We are certain that this will usher in a new talent pool for the industry.”

     

    Filmmaker, Bhansali echoed the sentiment. “It’s a wonderful platform, I mean, when I started off in 1994, with Khamoshi it was a very difficult process. Today’s youth come out with new ways of looking at life. They bring in a new perspective, their whole take on a story, screenplay, edit or shot taking is completely different from mine. So this is an amazing opportunity for me to see what you have to offer.”

     

    Expressing her support of this mega platform, actress Chopra said, “When you want to establish yourself in life, you do not always need somebody to aid you but what you need is immense belief and a strong confidence in yourself. So, if I did and so did Mary Kom, why can’t you? When you have a platform like Cineshorts why don’t you just go out there and show them your talent so the whole world knows about it?”

     

    Marking the winning edge, the top five winning films will be officially premiered on Pepsi MTV Indies, along with winning significant cash prizes. The contest ends on 30 September 2014.

  • Indian film gets Emmy nomination for outstanding coverage of current news story

    Indian film gets Emmy nomination for outstanding coverage of current news story

    NEW DELHI: The documentary The World Before Her directed by Nisha Pahuja has earned her the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Emmy nomination in ‘Outstanding Coverage of a Current News Story’ category.

     

    The nominations for the 35th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards known as the Academy awards of American television will be presented on 30 September.

     

    The World Before Her, which had a successful run in major cities of India starting 6 June, has won high appraisal on its release in Chandigarh.

     

    The documentary shifts between the worlds of the Miss India pageant and a Hindu fundamentalist camp for girls.

     

    In one, Ruhi Singh is a small-town girl competing in Mumbai to win the Miss India pageant—her ticket to stardom.

     

    In the other India, Prachi Trivedi is a young, militant leader at a camp for girls run by the Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the VHP. Here she preaches violent resistance to western culture, Christianity and Islam.

     

    The film has been screened at more than 125 international film festivals and won 19 awards. 

  • ‘Kick’ to soon enter the Rs 200 crore club

    ‘Kick’ to soon enter the Rs 200 crore club

    MUMBAI: While this week’s release, Lateef, has failed to find viewers, Kick, which was the directorial debut of producer Sajid Nadiadwala, with Salman Khan as its lead star and the Eid festival for release has created new records as it went along in the second week.

     

    Despite four days to go for the Eid, the film had a massive opening weekend of Rs 83.84 crore. Eid on Tuesday, helped the film consolidate its week days with just about as much collections as the weekend through its first week, almost doubling the weekend total with a first week total of Rs 163.95 crore. The film continued to hold sway in its second weekend with another Rs 34.02 crore there by taking its 10 day total to 197.97; in touching distance of the 200 crore mark. 

     

    Hate Story 2 has done excellent to hold its own in opposition of Kick to collect Rs 13.4 crore in its second week and taking its two week total to Rs 35.6 crore.

     

    Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania has added another Rs 3.5 crore for its third week to take its three week total to Rs 75.2 crore.

     

    Ek Villain has collected Rs 20 lakh in its fifth week to take its five week total to Rs 102.67 crore.

     

    Holday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty has added 20 lakh in its eighth week to take its eight week total to Rs 111.47 crore.

  • ‘Siddharth’ bags German Star at Stuttgart Indian Film Festival

    ‘Siddharth’ bags German Star at Stuttgart Indian Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Richie Mehta’s Siddharth won the German Star of India award in the feature film category at the recent 11th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart which attracted several non-Indians to see the films.

     

    The award of 4000 euros is given to a film that narrates a very serious political theme in a very poetic and humorous way.

     

    The German Star of India award in the short film category went to Tamaash by Satyanshu and Devanshu Singh. The prize was of 1000 Euros. Tamaash is the story of Anzar, a poor performer at school who is scorned by his elders. He is expected to fare better than Sadat, a high scorer in class. Anzar seeks the help of a mysterious stranger, but following the new guide becomes increasingly tough for him and his kid brother.

     

    In the documentary category, the winner was Millions can Walk by Swiss director Chistoph Schaub and Swiss-Indian director Kamal Musale. The documentary traces hundreds and thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers –  who demanded their right to existence by undertaking a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi in 2012.

     

    The Director’s Vision Award went to Lakshmi by the renowned Nagesh Kukunoor while the equally well known Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar got the Audience Award for Astu. 

  • ‘Chaarfutiya Chhokare’ to be premiered in Dubai

    ‘Chaarfutiya Chhokare’ to be premiered in Dubai

    NEW DELHI:The bollywood film ‘Chaarfutiya Chhokre’ directed by Manish Harishankar will have its premiere in Dubai on 24 September.

     

    The film is presented by Wave Cinemas, Ponty Chadha, and Maxor Movies, in association with Raju Chadha. It will be released on 600 screens all over the world. The cast and crew are all set to leave for promotional tours all over India.

     

    The film stars Soha Ali Khan, Seema Biswas, Mukesh Tawari, and Zakir Hussian in the main roles. The music is by Abhijeet-Sameer and Sudeep Banerjee and the singers are by Sharda Sinha, Malini Awasthi, Sudeep Banerjee, and Vibha Dutta Khosla. T-Series releases the audio of the film.

     

    Chaarfutiya Chhokare is a Hindi social thriller on the subject of child-trafficking. The plot revolves around Neha Malini who is an NRI girl returning to India in order to start a school in a village in north Bihar.

     

    Starting off optimistic and happy about her endeavour, she is unaware of the hardships, obstructions and risks awaiting her in this small, serene village. She is pleased after meeting three boys Awadhesh, Hari and Gorakh but soon finds out that it is the beginning of a nightmare.

     

    Being hardcore criminals, these three boys become the centre of her activities. After seeing this, she vows to stop the criminal and sexual exploitation of the children in the village. Her meeting with Janaki (Seema Biswas) – the mother of one of the boys, Awadhesh – helps her understand the deeply embedded political-criminal nexus that pervades the system. Neha is resolute to free the three of them from this world of crime.

  • ‘Lateef: The King Of Crime’…Lateef who?

    ‘Lateef: The King Of Crime’…Lateef who?

    MUMBAI: Gangster movies are an easy genre to handle. It does not matter that the gang you want to portray on screen is relevant to any sort of audience in India or elsewhere. And, how does one gangster movie differ from another where one man from nowhere who fails in all other endeavours turns a successful gangster and builds a gang around him? This is irrelevant for those who want to make gangster movies.

    Initially, filmmakers inspired by the American all-time classic Godfather saga tried to make versions of it for Hindi screen; most failed miserably. India was not a national gang country until a Mumbai gangster came to be known as don and to pull strings all over country. Then came a slew of films on UP dons and Bihar dons, local police-file legends that found no takers anywhere.

    Now we have this film about a Gujarat don, ‘Lateef: The King of Crime’, which is not quite right. Gujarat never had a culture of breeding dons; he was just a local bootlegger whom politicians began using giving him muscle power.

    Lateef, a petty bootlegger from the walled city of Ahmedabad, on whose life the film is based (but is way off the mark) thrived mainly because he was a bootlegger in a dry state whose services were need by everybody from industrialists to bureaucrats. Politicians are known to breed Lateef kinds and soon a proximity grew between the two. The two occasions when the city was tense and prone to communal violence, Rath Yatra and Makar Sankranti (the kite flying festival in January) were the communal riot seasons when he thrived.

    Producer: Kewal Krishna

    Director: Sharique Minhaj

    Cast: Hameed Khan, Bharti Sharma, Aryan Vaid, Raju Mavani, Aditya Lakhiya, Mustaq Khan

    As the film depicts and as it happened, Lateef came into his own when he reportedly linked up with Dawood. This was also the time he was going beyond the control of his political masters. His reported link to the 1993 Mumbai multiple bomb blasts was too hot to handle for all concerned, especially the people of Gujarat not used to don culture. Lateef was put behind bars and later liquidated while ‘attempting to flee through a jail toilet’ in 1997. A political puppet created and dumped by the same clan.

    As for the film, it fails to be either an interesting adaption of his story or a docudrama. There is no sense in making this film in the first place. He was an ‘Accidental Don’ thanks to the Dawood era and died the way he was destined to. The film is a poor narrative sans details, nonperformers as actors and has poor sense of direction. The protagonist looks rather comic with his ill-fitting wig.

    The film is slated for release at few cinemas but finding audience will be nigh impossible.

  • Date extended for co-productions proposals at Film Bazaar

    Date extended for co-productions proposals at Film Bazaar

    NEW DELHI: Film Bazaar has extended the date for receiving projects for co-productions to 31 August.

     

    It has listed a large number of co-productions that have helped young filmmakers make a name for themselves in the international market, including ‘Lunch Box’ by Ritesh Batra, ‘Titli’ by Kanu Behl, ‘Ship of Theseus’ by Anand Gandhi, ‘Television’ by Mostofa Farooki, ‘The Girl in Yellow Boots’ by Anurag Kashyap, ‘Miss Lovely’ by Ashim Ahluwalia, ‘Shanghai’ by Dibakar Banerjee; ‘Monsoon Shootout’ by Amit Kumar, ‘Karma’ by Prasanna Jayakody, ‘Mumbai cha Raja’ by Manjeet Singh, and ‘Paltadacho Munis’ by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar which have all won awards overseas and in India.

     

    This will form part of the co-production market for south Asian stories with international appeal that can go for pitching to international market delegates.

     

    Film Bazaar will be held from 20 to 24 November at the Marriott Resort in Panaji. 

     

    This year’s Film Bazaar will feature a romance screenwriters’ lab with six scripts in the romance genre mentored by leading Indian filmmakers and writers.

     

    Another new feature at the Film Bazaar this year is film offices for various states of the country for their film promotion and tourism boards, and film commissions for them to introduce their delegates to the visiting delegates, National Film Development Corporation managing director Neena Lath Gupta which organizes the Bazaar told indiantelevision.com.

     

    Other sections include exhibition stalls for showcasing products and meetings with other delegates, screenwriters’ lab which will also have six scripts; and a producers’ lab for producers to learn the facets of production from leading Indian and international producers.

     

    Sections include industry screenings which are aimed at exclusive film screenings at digital theatres for investors, buyers and festival programmes from other festivals in India and overseas; and the viewing room meant for latest film projects that are meant for festival placement and sales or finishing funds.

     

    In addition, the Film Bazaar will have networking events where discussions are held informally over tea or meals, work-in-progress labs for films that in rough-cut stage, NFDC knowledge series lectures by renowned film personalities, and a branding opportunity for those get themselves associated with the Bazaar which gets delegates from all over the globe.    

     

    Aspiring film delegates include buyers and exhibitors, those looking for co-production opportunities, heads or representatives of International film festivals, film producers, and members of film distribution bodies. 

  • PVR introduces special merchandise for ‘Singham Returns’

    PVR introduces special merchandise for ‘Singham Returns’

    MUMBAI: PVR Cinemas, a movie exhibition company in India has recently commenced another new venture to woo its audience. The company has launched an exclusive range of merchandise for its patrons to give them an even closer feel to the nuances of the movie. These merchandises are integrated with PVR’s F&B service.

     

    PVR, being the cinema partner of the film Singham Returns, has associated with the Bollywood production house for the first time. As part of this, it will introduce exclusive Singham Returns popcorn bags, sippers for beverages and lunch boxes that can also be carried home by patrons, as souvenirs.

     

    PVR Pictures president Kamal Gianchandani said, “Cinema watching in India is changing at a dynamic rate. Today, the patrons demand a personal- visual treat when they enter to watch a movie. Internationally, movie merchandising is extremely popular with cult movies like Star Wars, Harry Porter series, Jurassic Park and many more. PVR, being the industry leader leaves no stones unturned to offer its patrons a global- standard movie watching experience in the country.”

     

    PVR has launched a series of candy merchandising with Disney as well with its ‘Take Home Disney collection’ for international characters like Spiderman and Princess. Some upcoming merchandise includes the likes of Cars and Avengers. 

     

    The movie Singham Returns is slated to release on 15 August 2014.