ITV

Category: Hindi

  • UTV announces ‘Katti Batti’

    UTV announces ‘Katti Batti’

     MUMBAI:  After clutter breaking and iconic films like Dev D, A Wednesday, Barfi!, Kai Po Che and numerous others, UTV Motion Pictures now is looking at bringing a unique love story about new age relationships and breaking up and making up in the world of today, the sort of contemporary romantic relationship never before seen on Indian celluloid – Katti Batti! The film will be directed by Nikhil Advani and will bring together the eclectic pairing of actors Imran Khan and Kangana Ranaut.

     

    Katti Batti is an unusual love story with a twist, and has been creatively developed and driven by UTV Motion Pictures from its inception. UTV’s creative team first spotted the potential in Katti Batti’s script by first time writer Anshul Singhal. Then began the search for a director who could bring the same passion to the film, a search which ended with Nikhil Advani coming on board. UTV, Nikhil and Anshul have honed and polished the script for the past year to make it one of the most zany and heartwarming love stories in contemporary Hindi cinema.

     

    “We are very excited to be taking our creative journey on Katti Batti to the next phase. It is a most unusual love story steeped in the culture and language of today’s relationships. We wanted to make sure that the script gets the right director at the helm and a cast that can justify the two incredibly real, funny and layered lead characters. Our creative team steered the entire project through wonderfully and we are thrilled to have Nikhil, Imran and Kangana on board for the film. We couldn’t have asked for a better director and cast for the film,” said Disney India managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur.

     

     Advani added, “UTV spotted a gem of a script with Katti Batti and it was critical that it got the cast that justified it! Am personally elated by this casting combination as it is a dream to work with Kangana – her body of work has not dulled her ability to bring humility to her craft. Imran on the other hand is drawing from new personal experiences and emotions and brings with him as well, a fresh approach.”

     

    Actor Imran Khan, who will be essaying the role of Maddy, said, “I have always wished to be a part of films that make me proud as an actor. Katti Batti will be one such film. My last outing with UTV gave the audiences Delhi Belly, and we have worked together in the past on many successful films like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I Hate Luv Storys and Ek Main aur Ekk Tu. Now we hope to recreate the magic with Katti Batti. Nikhil Advani is a great story teller and Kangana is one of the finest actors of our generation. I am eagerly waiting to kickstart the film!”

     

    Kangana who plays the character of Payal concluded, “It is a beautiful story. Writers have used elements like the battle of the sexes, issues of urban couples, expanded truth and non linear narrative. We have one of the leading creative studios UTV as the producers and I have worked with them in the past on Fashion and Life in a Metro, two of my most memorable films. I just hope I do justice to this story that might change the perspective of love and love stories for us and for coming generations.”

     

    Katti Batti goes on the floors later this year and is scheduled for a worldwide release in 2015.

  • ‘Finding Fanny’ to premiere 17 days before release

    ‘Finding Fanny’ to premiere 17 days before release

    NEW DELHI: For the first time, a Bollywood film is being premiered 17 days before its official release.

     

    The decision was taken in view of the huge popularity of the trailer of this quirky comedy. Homi Adajania’s Finding Fanny produced by Maddock Films and Fox Star Studios stars Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.

     

    The film will be premiered on 25 August, while its release is set for 12 September.

     

    “Premiering a film two weeks before its release has never been done and yes, we are willing to stick our necks out with a unique product like Finding Fanny.  We want opinion makers and regular movie-goers to watch the film and share their views. Sure it could spawn a variety of opinions and this is a healthy sign. As long as this strategy generates an actively interested forum for the film, it works for us,” said producer Dinesh Vijan.

     

    Fox Star Studios chief marketing officer Shikha Kapur added, “We are confident and extremely proud of Finding Fanny. Homi has made an exceptional film with impeccable performances. A product this strong and unique deserves an equally unique marketing approach. Thus, we are inverting the course of the promotions of Finding Fanny. We will be commencing our campaign with the premiere of the film.”

     

    Finding Fanny is an off the wall comical story about five oddballs who venture out to find Stefanie Fernandes (Fanny). In the process, they discover a strange sense of solace and love amongst each other, and end up seeing a point to their previously pointless lives. 

  • ‘Kick’ starts with a bang

    ‘Kick’ starts with a bang

    MUMBAI: Kick, Sajid Nadiadwala’s directorial debut, was expected to go slow till ‘Eid’ but nothing seems to stop the Salman Khan action thriller as the film took a flying start despite the fasting month of Ramzan being in its last phase where no distractions work.

     

    The film, which collected an unprecedented Rs 83.85 crore for its opening weekend, is expected to continue to add healthy figures from Eid day (29 July) onwards.

     

    Hate Story 2 has done well to collect Rs 22.2 crore in its first week. Pizza 3-D, a horror suspense film has had limited appeal, managing to collect just Rs 4.45 crore in its first week.

     

    Amit Sahni Ki List caters humour that falls flat; the film collected Rs 4.2 crore in its first week.

     

    Ek Villain collected Rs 40 lakh in its fourth week taking its four week total to Rs 102.47 crore.

     

    Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania holds on very well in its second week to add Rs 19.8 crore taking its two week total to Rs 71.7 crore.

     

    Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty adds Rs 20 lakh in its seventh week to take its seven week total to Rs 111.27 crore.

  • Kangana Ranaut-Irrfan Khan starrer ‘Divine Lovers’ to release in France

    Kangana Ranaut-Irrfan Khan starrer ‘Divine Lovers’ to release in France

    NEW DELHI: Divine Lovers by Sai Kabir, starring Kangana Ranaut with Irrfan Khan, is to get a mainstream theatrical release in France on completion, as it has been recognised as a French film by the French Film Commission.

     

    The Film France COO Franck Priot has become a mentor for the film and for the director himself.

     

    Kangana who last shot in Paris for Queen said she was very excited with the association as Bollywood’s postergirl for fashion known for her sartorial choices is also known and recognised in the Fashion Capital of the world as a style icon.

     

    Both Sai Kabir and Franck Priot are looking forward to this Indo-French technical exchange, especially when the post production stage happens in France. Sources reveal that the film will be India’s answer to German and French edgy, love stories that the whole world watches.

     

    Director Sai Kabir said, “Franck Priot has truly been a mentor both to me and the film. The French Film Commission has helped us build this into an Indo-French co production”.

     

    Priot said: “It is exciting for us at the Film France to have young talent like Kabir Sai from the new generation of Indian directors, willing to work with France and French talent in order to have their movies reaching out to wider audiences outside of India. And his impressive knowledge of French cinema for sure will help him to find common grounds and references with us. With its reality-grounded style; Divine Lovers has a potential appeal to European audiences, even if they don’t know the Bollywood conventions”.

     

    Ranaut said, “Divine Lovers will receive a mainstream cinema release in France. It will be India’s answer to edgy love stories that world-cinema viewers enjoy”.

  • Three Indians selected for Asian Film Academy in Busan

    Three Indians selected for Asian Film Academy in Busan

    NEW DELHI: Three Indians have been selected for the Asian Film Academy (AFA), a filmmaking education programme of the Busan International Film Festival.

     

    Tojo Xavier Cheruthuruthil, Mikhail Marak and Manas Mittal are the ones who are selected for this.

     

    AFA selected 24 participants for its 2014 edition from all over Asia. Renowned Hungarian director Béla Tarr will be heading AFA 2014 as the dean, and Busan Film Commission Director OH Seok-geun will also double as the deputy dean.

     

    Korean director Song ll-gon (directing mentor) and Polish cinematography director Ryszard Lenczewski (cinematography mentor) complete AFA 2014 faculty.

     

    The 24 fellows will produce two short films which will be officially presented in the 19th Busan International Film Festival. Other AFA programs include workshops, a master class, special lecture series and mentoring.

     

    Asian Film Academy 2014 will be held for 18 days from 35 September to 12 October.

     

    The Academy has selected three persons from the Phillipines; two each from China, Singapore and Korea; and one each from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

  • ‘Kick’ …Get a kick out of it!

    ‘Kick’ …Get a kick out of it!

    MUMBAI: Other films may have done more business at the box office but 2009’sWanted created a new slot for Salman Khan; that of a walking talking killing machine, a Superman (but without his sartorial taste of wearing his underwear over his pants). Being a Hindi film hero, he also has to simultaneously carry out the tougher job of maintaining and placating a girlfriend, and sing and dance with her in garish club sets. Ever since Wanted, films are made for Salman to fit in that same mold which assures success. The planned Eid release, something which now seems like a fixed slot for Salman starrer, adding hugely to the film’s prospects.

    Salman is on a mission; he needs to find a person who, he thinks, is responsible for a certain crime despite being in high position in politics. Meanwhile, he notices Jacqueline Fernandez, a psychiatrist, when she is wearing horn-rimmed glasses and looks like a nerd—though she changes to tiny dresses when she is ready to romance and dance the jig with the hero.

    Impressed with Salman and very much in love with him, Jacqueline ‘s love story with Salman is not quite convincing and uses up most of the first half offering nothing except a few songs on the viewer. Then, Salman is taunted by Jacqueline about his monetary status. He vows to spend his time on making money and turns into a contemporary Robin Hood. It is another matter that a little later his cause for raising money is a small kid suffering from cancer. He makes raising monies for children needing medical attention his life’s mission.

    There is a little girl who is dying of cancer and, unable to meet the expenses of her operation, her parents commit suicide. Salman takes up the cause of that child and approaches the big shots of the town for help. One of the big shots (and a minister), Nawazuddin Siddiqi, along with a bunch of his sycophants, makes the mistake of insulting him by donating Rs 100 while he needs Rs 11 lakh for the child’s survival. That is a reason enough for Salman to eliminate the gang of Nawazuddin one after the other.

    Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala.

    Director: Sajid Nadiadwala.

    Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqi, Mithun Chakraborty, Saurabh Shukla, Vipin Sharma, Sanjay Mishra, Archana Puran Singh, Kavin Dave, Sumona Chakravarti and an item number by Nargis Fakhri.

    Meanwhile, the action has shifted to Poland and an Indian cop, Randeep Hooda, is following Salman’s tracks. He is willing and ready to shoot Salman but never does so when Salman is around him because he comes in the guise of a friend, Devi Lal while the thief Hooda is chasing is called Devil (al)!. While Salman and Hooda play cops and robbers, a lot of Nawazuddin henchman millionaires back in India are being robbed. Nawazuddin is exasperated and desperate to find the culprit and add his death to his reputation.

    The film turns into a caper as Salman carries out a number of heists in varied ways maintaining his humour all the while. These missions are serious business for Salman and his romance with Jacqueline has been called off, while Hooda, who has come to Warsaw chasing Salman, happens to be her family friend and it is left to her to look after him. A sort of triangle is formed. Though predictable and seen earlier, now the sequence is such that Salman is hunting for Nawazuddin and Hooda is hunting for Salman the Devil. These are the parts that make Kick interesting as would be expected from a Salman action thriller.

    The script, as should be apparent, is a bit messy .There is nothing solid happening in the first half except a romance without chemistry. All the action is in the second half where there are some sudden jumps and locations unexplained. You don’t know whether you are in Delhi or Europe, whether one is in past or in present as the things unwind. Sajid Nadiadwala’s foray into direction considering these glitches in the script is satisfactory. What matters is that it will go down in the record books as ‘A super hit on debut’ for him. The film has competent cinematography by Ayananka Bose. The film’s music is not up to the mark and adds to the tedium of the first part. The one song which has popular appeal is ‘Jumme ki raat…’ Dialogue has the usual Salman one liners laced with humour.

    The film belongs to Salman Khan all the way and he is in full form. Randeep Hooda comes in a different role and justifies it. Nawazuddin as a maniacal villain, the kind you see in a Bond film or a super hero film, may not come across as strong enough against Salman but looks sinister enough to be slayed. Jacqueline is okay. Mithun Chakraborty as Salman’s father complements him well. Kavin Dave and Sumona Chakravarti lead the supporting cast of able actors like Saurabh Shukla, Vipin Sharma, Sanjay Mishra and Archana Puran Singh.  

    Kick has taken a thundering opening despite coming on the last Friday of Ramzan and Kavad processions in the North as a Maha Shivratri ritual. The film is expected to break first day records and enjoy a ‘10 day weekend’ at the box office and creating more records.

  • Asian films to dominate Venice Filmfest this year

    Asian films to dominate Venice Filmfest this year

    NEW DELHI: Asian films including one from India will dominate the 71st Venice International Film Festival next month.

     

    The Festival is being held from 27 August to 6 September.

     

    The competition section includes two Asian films: Tsukamoto Shinya’s Nobi and Wang Xiaoshua’s thriller Red Amnesia.

     

    The former is the story of a soldier struggling for survival in the Filipino jungle during the Pacific War. Ooka Shohei’s novel was previously adapted by Ichikawa Kon as Fires on the Plain (1959). In addition to directing, writing, editing, producing and serving as cinematographer, Tsukamoto also stars opposite Lily Franky and Nakamura Tatsuya.

     

    A thriller about a retired widow whose life is changed after receiving anonymous calls from a mysterious stranger, Red Amnesia is Wang’s first film in three years since his autobiographical drama 11 Flowers (2011).

     

    The Orizzonti competition section includes two Asian feature films: Hong Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom and Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court. The former stars Kase Ryo as a Japanese man who falls for an older woman in Seoul. The latter chronicles a controversial court case about a folk singer accused of performing an inflammatory song that drove a man to commit suicide.

     

    Ann Hui, director of the festival closing film The Golden Era, is serving as the director of the Orizzonti competition jury.

     

    The section also includes 13-minute China short Great Heat and 17-minute Indonesia short Maryam.

     

    The festival is also hosting the world premieres of Peter Chan’s Dearest and IM Kwon-taek’s Make Up as out of competition screening.

     
    Organisers of the Venice Days sidebar said in addition to Kim Ki-duk’s One on One as opening film, the programme includes Bengali-language recession-set drama Asha jaoar majhe (aka Labour of Love) by Aditya Vikram Sengupta.

     

    Independently organised by the SNCCI (Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani), the International Critics’ Week includes Vietnam’s Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, and China’s The Coffin in the Mountain. 

  • Celina Jaitly’s musical video for LGBT gets one million views

    Celina Jaitly’s musical video for LGBT gets one million views

    NEW DELHI: A Bollywood-style music video featuring United Nations Equality Champion Celina Jaitly which promotes equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community received more than a million views online.

     

    The two-and-a-half minute video, titled ‘welcome’ has become one of UN’s most watched videos. Jaitly was named UN Equality Champion by Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay last year for her support for LGBT rights.

     

    The video tells the story of a young man who brings his boyfriend home to meet his family for the first time. Charles Radcliff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) tweeted that the video had become one of the “UN’s most watched ever”.

     

    Jaitly, who made her music debut in the video, also took to Twitter to express her gratitude for the response. “As my song/video for @UN @free_equal #thewelcome crosses one million views on @YouTube I feel so blessed in the holy month of Ramadan! Thank you all,” she said.

     

    Click here to watch the video

     

    The 32-year-old also expressed the hope that the video would spread the broader message of the need to change not just laws but also attitudes and to challenge stereotypes about the LGBT community in light of the threats and discrimination the community faced in India and across the world, the Press Trust of India reported.

     

    Jaitly, a mother of two-year old twins, has said that she has received threats for supporting gays and lesbians but will continue to work towards achieving equality for the community.

     

    Born to a Punjabi father and an Afghan mother, Jaitly was crowned Femina Miss India Universe in 2001. Her breakthrough film role was in the 2003 thriller Janasheen. She rose to fame in the late 2000s following roles in the films Silsiilay (2005), No Entry (2005), Tom, Dick, and Harry (2006) and Golmaal Returns (2008).

     

    She is married to Austrian businessman Peter Haag and the couple has two-year-old twin boys Winston and Viraaj. Jaitly divides her time Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore.

  • Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor most searched emerging stars online

    Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor most searched emerging stars online

    BENGALURU: India’s crazy love for Bollywood stars, movies, and songs is a celebrated and known fact.  With the entry of fresh talent and dynamic performances over the last year, Bollywood buffs across the country have been extending their support to the stars of tomorrow. While some are new to film fraternity, the others hail from filmy homes and have grown up in Bollywood.

     

    Starry kids including the likes of Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff are leading searches on Google. Although filmy background gives them a clear edge, the other non-filmy newbies on screen including Sidhartha Malhotra and Ileana D’cruz have made their way to fans’ hearts with their performances and talent.

     

    An analysis of recent searches on Google (Google Search trends) takes a look at the popularity of these stars among the fans online. 

     

    Alia Bhatt’s dream launch in Student of the Year followed by blockbuster movies including Highway and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania has gained a lot of interest online as she leads search interest among fans for emerging stars.

     

    Aashiqui 2 fame Shraddha Kapoor with her compelling performance in Ek Villian has also grabbed continuous attention from fans online. Interestingly their standing remains too close as the two continue to work hard to maintain their fast growing fan base.  Among those with no starry backgrounds, Ileana D’Cruz stood out of the crowd with high interest witnessed online.  

     

    Among the male stars, Arjun Kapoor is the latest on the block attracting huge search interest online. While he made his debut in 2012 with Isaqzaade, he took on the spotlight with his blockbuster hit 2 States this year.

     

    Sidhartha Malhothra’s journey with his charming performance in Student of the Year & Hasee Toh Phasee to the thrilling Ek Villian has been followed closely by his fans. The actor has shown steady and charismatic performances that are driving searches online.

  • Film Bazaar to have a romance screenwriters’ lab

    Film Bazaar to have a romance screenwriters’ lab

    NEW DELHI: The Film Bazaar that will be held to coincide with the International Film Festival of India will this year feature a romance screenwriters’ lab with six scripts in the romance genre mentored by leading Indian filmmakers and writers.

     

    Another new feature at the Bazaar this year is the 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 organises the Bazaar told indiantelevision.com.

     

    The Bazaar will be held from 20 to 24 November at the Marriott Resort in Panaji, Goa. The Festival itself is being held from 20 to 30 November.

     

    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.

     

    There will be a co-production market for South Asian stories with international appeal that can go for pitching to international market delegates; 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 Bazaar for which entries are still open, 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.