Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Filmmaker Deepa Mehta is set to direct Hollywood legend Al Pacino in a biopic on French artist Henri Matisse titled Masterpiece.

The film will be produced by Todd Black, Steve Tisch and Jason Blumenthal.

Pacino will portray Matisse in film that will depict the true story of the painter‘s relationship with his nurse Monique Bourgeois. The project is currently in development and the producers will soon get into the casting process of the two female leads.

The 70-year-old actor will next be seen opposite Channing Tatum in Dito Montiel‘s cop drama, The Son of No One. He‘s also set to play controversial record producer Phil Spector in an untitled HBO movie from writer-director David Mamet.

Mehta, 61, is currently developing Winds of Change, an adaptation of Salman Rushdie‘s Midnight Children.
 

MUMBAI: Shirish Kunder‘s upcoming 3D film Joker will have elements of science fiction woven into the storyline.

The film‘s story, starring Akshay Kumar, Shreyas Talpade, Sonakshi Sinha and Minissha Lamba, is supposedly about how creatures from outer space change the life of a simple individual. The film will have an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) as well as an alien creature to support the cast.

The SFX team is busy sketching and coming up with alternatives about how the alien could look and be incorporated in the plot.

Additionally, there will be a huge set of the NASA.

For a record of sorts, Kunder has recorded a film‘s song in 10 Indian languages like Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. A dance number, the fusion track has been sung by Daler Mehendi.
 

MUMBAI: Puri Jagannath is in plans to remake Bollywood‘s evergreen super hit Sholay in Telugu.

The director is contemplating to cast young rebel star Prabhas and energetic star Gopichand for the lead roles.

Jagannath plans to take up the new project after completing Nenu Naa Rakshasi which he is directing.

Starring Amitabh Bacchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, Sholay happened to be one of the biggest-ever hits in the history of Hindi cinema.

Salman Khan’s Wanted was a recent case where the Tamil hit Pokiri was made into Hindi.

MUMBAI: In its aim to give a boost to the Punjabi film industry, the Punjab government has given its nod to set up a world-class film city in Mohali.

“We have directed our tourism and culture department officials to prepare a conceptual plan for the proposed film city. This city would also have a film and television institute,‘ said Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

‘It is understood that many film professionals had approached the State government to set up a state-of-the-art film studios in the film City. “This city would give a push to Punjabi cinema, and the film and television institute would provide professional training to the youth about the art of film making and its various technical aspects,” Badal added.

Badal has also asked the principal secretary of tourism and culture to institute awards for the Punjabi films to encourage people to produce quality movies.

MUMBAI: 2011 seems to be pretty good going for Sanjay Dutt, with him signing films under good banners.

Dutt is toying with the idea to remake his father’s 1963 dacoit drama Mujhe Jeene Do. Though the actor doesn’t want to star in the film, he is mulling with the idea to cast Ranbir Kapoor in the title.

Dutt’s first production Rascals, directed by David Dhawan, stars Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Kangana Ranaut, Chunky Pandey, Satish Kaushik besides Dutt himself.
 
It is already known that Dutt has been cast in the role that Amitabh Bachchan played in Raj Sippy’s Satte Pe Satta in the remake. The film is being directed by Soham Shah under the banner of Shri Asthavinayak Cine Vision.

The actor has also decided to write his autobiography.

MUMBAI: Four years after his Bheja Fry took the country by storm, director Sagar Bellary is coming out with its sequel Bheja Fry 2. Only this time the ‘idiot’ ( Vinay Payhak) continues his journey abroad.

After the unprecedented success of Bheja Fry, why did he take four years to decide on the second part? “In 2007, Bheja Fry became a very big hit after which many producers approached me. My decision of choosing a producer was not based on money but on creative freedom. Sahara Motion Pictures has given me the most creative freedom for Kachcha Limboo that is to release soon,” avers Bellary.

Kachcha Limboo, about the transitional feelings of children when they enter adolescence, is about a 13-year-old and his relationship with his parents, school friends and teachers and how everything goes wrong at one point of time. “When a kid enters adolescence, hundreds of feelings start creeping into his head,” remarks Bellary.

Kachcha Limboo, being released on 18 February, has Atul Kulkarni and Sarika playing lead roles with Vinay Pathak doing a special appearance.

After Kachcha Limboo, Bellary has another romantic comedy Hum Tum Aur Shabana starring Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor and Minissha Lamba up his belt.
 

MUMBAI: After a long sabbatical from film production, Hema Malini is set to produce an interpretation of the timeless Romeo-Juliet story.

In a coup, of sorts, Malini has signed Aparna Sen, known for films like 36, Chowringhee Lane, Mr and Mrs Iyer and The Japanese Wife to direct the film.

Confirming the development, Malini averred, “Aparna has a lovely subject and I‘ll be producing it. She wants to start shooting in September. Hence, we have to get going soon.”

While Prateik Babbar would play the role of Romeo, Juliet‘s role would be essayed by Malini‘s youngest daughter Ahana.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that Malini will team up with Amitabh Bachchan in director Puri Jagannath‘s debut film Buddha. The film is to be jointly produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and AB Corp.

MUMBAI: After it smelt success with the Ranveer Singh-Anushka Sharma starrer Band Baaja Baaraat, Yash Raj Films has decided to cast the two together in their next venture Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl.

The film, produced by Aditya Chopra, has a story developed by him. Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl is said to be a romantic comedy in which a charming conman Ricky Bahl cons girls for a living, but finally meets his match.

It is not that the lead pair has been repeated in the upcoming film; a few of the crew members from Band Baaja Baaraat also find a place in the new film. While Habib Faisal is in charge of the dialogues and Devika Bhagat has scripted screenplay, Amitabh Bhattacharya will pen the lyrics and the film will be shot by cinematographer Aseem Mishra.

The film that goes on floors early April is scheduled to be released worldwide on 9 December.
 

Producers: Twinkle Khanna, Mukesh Talreja, Bhushan Kumar, Krishn Kumar. Writer: Nikhil Advani. Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia.

MUMBAI: Patiala House is about sports, about cricket since that‘s the sport Indians know best.

The germ of the story is the plight of a man who excels in a particular aspect of this game but has to refrain because his father has some misgivings about who he plays for.

There is this place called Patiala House, an indefinable construction with numerous pigeonhole-like rooms inhabited by no one knows who all, numbering a dozen or more at different times.

Rishi Kapoor, a Sikh migrant, is the lord and master of what he thinks this pigeonhole empire is; Dimple Kapadia is his typical, suffering in silence, Indian wife. Akshay Kumar, as a 17-year-old (played by Usman Qureshi) starts making headlines as a fast bowler and has a promising future in the England team. However, he has to give up cricket and any aspirations for playing for England. Instead, he is handed some sort of store which he runs for the next 17 years till a neighbourhood lass, Anushka Sharma, comes visiting his shop, the only good thing to have happened to him in all these years it would seem.

Akshay Kumar bears this burden of not having been able to do what he loved most- play cricket and even as he continues his bowling practice every night, he never changes his expression of perpetual sulk! Anushka, the new entrant in his life, wants to change this, make him play again and play for England national team; that he is 34, now notwithstanding.

But what is it that stops Akshay Kumar from playing cricket? The reason is that Rishi Kapoor‘s kin, Prem Chopra, was killed by skinheads and since then all Britons are enemies for Rishi Kapoor and playing for them amounts to being a traitor! And, Akshay Kumar would see him dead if he dared play, was his stand. If this is the silly premise on which Patiala House is based, no prizes for guessing how silly rest of the content will be.

A little about others occupying the pigeonholes of Patiala House; they all carry a uniform scowl or frown on their face except when they are taunting Akshay Kumar; their grouse is that because he obeys Rishi Kapoor all the time, even they have to! This is the kind of logic the rest of the script is also made of. Finally, led by Anuskha Sharma, they all convince Akshay Kumar to play again (England team is so depleted they are even waiting for him to return!). While he starts playing, the pigeonhole clan plans and plots to keep this from Rishi Kapoor, blocking all media from him.

The problems for the film are manifold. The story idea is silly, script is even sillier, music offers no relief and direction by Nikhil Advani is immature to say the least. Amid many gaffes, he even casts some old looking character as young Rishi Kapoor! Except for Akshay Kumar, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, there is no clue who is who in this crowd and it would take a Arthur Hailey to chart out a family tree!

Being veterans, Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia manage to hold their own despite flaws. Akshay Kumar is better here than doing buffoonery in other films but that is not enough. Anushka Sharma does well.

Patiala House is poor in all respects and that is how it will stay at the box office, too.

Angel: An ill conceived theme

Producer- Direcor: Ganesh Acharya. Cast: Nilesh Sahay, Maddalsa Sharma, Aruna Irani, Manoj Joshi

Angel is about a girl, Maddalsa Sharma, suffering from limbs disorder borne out of mental trauma, as the film tells you. Nilesh Sahay, who has been the cause of this girl‘s father‘s death, befriends her and helps her recover so that she talks, walks and uses her limbs normally.

Maddalsa languishes alone in a chawl room at the mercy of an ayah who is either smooching her boyfriend in another room or gold bricking while her brother and bhabhi stay in a semi luxurious flat provided in her name by the government because she is handicapped (does this happen in India?)!

However, this makes things convenient for Nilesh Sahay to visit her and tend to her and as would be expected, both fall in love and are attracted sexually, eventually.

An ill-conceived theme, Angel is poor in execution. Casting is a drawback. While Maddalsa Sharma passes muster, Nilesh Sahay is no actor material; his character is poor to add to his woes.
 

MUMBAI: Debutant director Rohit Gupta’s first feature film Life Camera Action has been invited for screening at the India International Film Festival (IIFF) 2011 at Florida in February 2011.

The 89-minute film in English, Hindi and Punjabi is a touching saga of Reina, a young, Indian-American woman who sets off to pursue a career in filmmaking against the wishes of her family. She struggles to complete her annual film project, working double shifts at an Indian restaurant and a DVD store. Reina eventually begins to see the need to reach out to her estranged parents as she begins to discover herself. 

Gupta made Life Camera Action with a two-member crew and shot it in a week and half in New York and New Jersey on a Panasonic DVX 100 camera on a shoe string budget. He mostly used the camera mike, limited usage of artificial lights to five per cent shot on locations and dubbed the entire film in four days.

Gupta’s first film Another Day Another Life, which was a 4.35 minutes long film in 2009, won awards and accolades at over 25 competitions and festivals in the US and UK and was officially selected at the Short Film Corner, Cannes 2009.

Gupta is the founder chairman and managing director of US-based RNG Films (Flagship) & Dot and Feather Entertainment.