Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Ghajini producer Madhu Mantena has announced the Hindi remake of the 2009 Telugu blockbuster Magadheera.

Set in the 17th century when the Mughals ruled parts of North India, the film is about a warrior who protects the princess of his kingdom, only to be killed and born again 400 years later to take his revenge on his enemy. The plot is based on reincarnation, a belief that after death the soul will return in a new body. With reincarnation as the central theme, it is set in contemporary times and in medieval times as well.

The film will star Ranbir Kapoor in a double role and be directed by S S Rajamouli, the director of the original fare.

Incidentally, Magadheera rewrote the records of the Telugu film industry in many ways. The film, dubbed in Malayalam as Dheeran, is set to release soon.

MUMBAI: Producer Sajid Nadiadwala has announced that he would be making five big budget films.

Nadiadwala has roped in big stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and Shahid Kapoor for these films.

Shah Rukh Khan will star in 2 States, while Kick will have Salman Khan and Housefull 2, Akshay Kumar. Besides starring John Abraham, Asin, Rahul Khanna and Jacqueline Fernandez, Housefull 2 will also star brothers Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor who have never done a film together.

Kick, a remake of a South film, will be directed by Shirish Kunder. Housefull 2 will have Sajid Khan as director while 2 States will be directed by Vishal Bharadwaj.

While the fourth film Heer Ranjha will star Shahid Kapoor, the fifth project directed by Imtiaz Ali is likely to star Roshan.
 

MUMBAI: Suniel Wadhwa‘s 52 Weeks Entertainment Inc has acquired the India distribution rights of Summit Entertainment‘s Source Code-Make Every Second Count and The Impossible.

Code- Make Every Second Count, an action thriller directed by director Duncan Jones, is set for April release. The film revolves around protagonist Capitan Colter Stevens who discovers that he‘s part of a mission to find the bomber of a commuter train. He inhabits the body of another person and relives the last eight minutes over and over again, unearthing clues each time as to the identity of the bomber. 

The film, co-produced by Mark Gordon who made 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow and Philippe Rousselet of Lord of War, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga.

The Impossible, based on a true story of 2004 Tsunami in Thailand and directed by Juan Antoino Bayona, is set for a release in October-November.

Comments Wadhwa, “The Hollywood revenue pie in India is stagnant at a meagre 3-4 per cent of the total Indian film box office collections for a long time. In 2009 and 2010, due to the advent of 3D technology, this has increased to between 8-10 per cent and is likely to touch 12 per cent this year.”

MUMBAI: Tamil cinema, known as India‘s second largest film industry in terms of revenue and worldwide distribution, has enjoyed consistent popularity among populations in South East Asia. Way back in 1998, the Tamil film Chandralekha, Muthu was dubbed into Japanese language as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja and grossed a record $1.6 million.

Last year, Endhiran (Robot) grossed a record $4 million in North America. After making waves in many international markets, Tamil films are now set to make its presence felt in Norway.

People in Norway have organised a Norway Tamil Film Festival scheduled to be held from 20 to 25 April in Oslo. Having 15 films, the festival will screen Sun Pictures‘ Rajinikant starrer Endhiran directed by Shankar. Few other films have been shortlisted to be screened at the festival.

Other films to be screened at the festival are Angadi Theru, Kalavani, Madraspattinam, Aadukalam, Mynaa, Boss Engira Baskaran, Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, Yudham Sei, Tha and Thenmerku Paruvakkaatru.

Organisers of the festival are seeking support from the Norwegian government for the event.

MUMBAI: After the Punjab government’s nod to set up a world-class film city in Mohali last week, the state principal secretary Tourism and Culture, Geetika Kalha is busy putting up the conceptual plan for the proposed project.

The Punjab government was initially hobnobbing with the idea of setting up the film city in Rupanagar but has now changed it to Mohali as it has better infrastructure and is in close proximity to the state capital.

Along with the Film City, a film and television institute on the lines of the one at Pune will also be set up as an integral part of the city.

Film producers who have evinced interest in the Mohali Film City are producer and chairman of Chandigarh Film Advisory Committee, Yash Chopra and Dharmendra, besides Anupam Kher and Jaspal Bhatti.
 

MUMBAI: India has no reasons to be aggrieved at the rejection of Peepli Live from the Oscar race. Two more Indians are still in the race.

The first is A R Rahman, who has been nominated for the best original score in Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. The other is India-born British film editor Tariq Anwar, nominated for his work in the historical drama The King‘s Speech.

Tariq will be competing with Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter (The Social Network), Jon Harris (127 Hours), Pamela Martin (The Fighter) and Andrew Weisblum (Black Swan) for the prestigious award.

This is Anwar’s second nomination for the prestigious award, the first being in 1999 when he was nomianted for American Beauty. He has to his credit two BAFTA awards, one for Oppenheimer and the second for ‘American Beauty.

The Oscar presentation takes place on 27 February.
 

MUMBAI: Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) has decided to organise a workshop on cinematography on 26 February.

The workshop will feature different shooting formats on digital as well as film. It will also feature the output of digital as well as film media on film prints. 

The workshop will cover different shooting formats in relation to creative formats of filmmaking.

The trainers for this workshop titled ‘What is your Shooting Format’ are, Film & Television Institute of India Professor of Cinematography Prof. A.S. Kanal and Film Lab India COO Caesar.

Established by the Government of Goa in 2004 as the nodal agency in the organisation of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the main objective of the ESG is to frame an entertainment policy to help cultivate Goa into a world-class international entertainment nerve centre of the country.

MUMBAI: Bhindi Baazaar Inc, the maiden venture of Picture Thoughts Productions, will release on 15 April worldwide.

Set in the underbelly of Mumbai, the film is directed by Ankush Bhatt and produced by Karan Arora. It is set between the infamous bylanes where greed is a culture; the film revolves around the gangs of Mumbai who have embraced pickpocketing as an art and a means of earning a livelihood. They use their intelligence as a canvas and their spontaneity as a brush to survive in this dangerous profession.

The film is based on the quest of a small time pickpocket Fateh and his ambitions to become a local area don.

Key artistes of the film are Kay Kay Menon, Pawan Malhotra, Dipti Naval, Prashant Narayan, Shilpa Shukla, Vedita Pratap Singh and new find Shweta Verma, Gautam and Caterina Lopez.
 

MUMBAI: With the IPL 4 ending on 28 May, the first big-ticket film to hit the silver screen would be T-Series and Rajat Rawail‘s Ready on 3 June.

It was being said earlier that the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara would also release on 3 June but distributors of the Excel Entertainment film have pushed its release to 23 June.

Ready, the Salman Khan and Asin-starrer, is a remake of a 2008 Telugu film by the same name that featured Ram and Genelia D‘Souza. The film celebrated a 100- day run in Andhra Pradesh and turned out to be one of the biggest grossers in the US too.

Directed by Aness Bazmee, the film is expected to bring back the magic created by the Salman-Anees Bazmee team that was seen in No Entry.
 

MUMBAI: After extensively shooting in Hollywood, Netguru Films‘ Will To Live, inspired from a true story, has moved into the post-production phase.

This Indo-American venture is the courageous fight of a father for his ailing son suffering from Lymphoma. Against all odds, the father takes an adventurous journey into the jungles of Himalayas in the quest of a rare herb that may cure his son, battling the depths of the jungles, greed, power and corruption and risking his own life. The story explores the intensity of a widower father‘s love to save his only son dying of this killer disease.

Directed by Charles Sleichter, the film stars Geoffrey Broderick, Anusha Singh, Erik Altemus, Arjun and Subhasis. It has been executive produced by Amrit Das and has screenplay by Alec Doyle and Sudeshna Roy, cinematography by Mike Bartkowaski and Sounmendu Roy and is co-directed by Paul Emami and Biplab Chaterjee.

The film has been shot exclusively in California, USA and India. A score of Hollywood and Indian filmmakers were involved in this feature film that has also pioneered the new technology of digital filmmaking in India.