Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Goutam Ghosh, whose film Moner Manush won the best film award at the Goa film festival last year, is currently in Kathmandu with three of his films due to be screened in the capital city of Nepal. The programme is being organised by the Indian Culture Centre in Kathmandu.

The 60-year-old Kolkata-based director is in Kathmandu to take part in a workshop. The three films of Ghosh that would be screened in the mini film festival starting Tuesday are Paar, the 1984 film starring Shabana Azmi, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah, Yatra starring Rekha made in 2007 and Moner Manush.

Indian films enjoy tremendous popularity in Nepal. Dabangg, directed by Abhinav Kashyap, proved to be the most successful film in the country in 2010 running to packed houses. Films of Satyajit Ray, who has shot one of his films in Nepal, are regarded with admiration in the country.
 

MUMBAI: Inox Leisure, which ran into an open fight with Reliance MediaWorks over its acquisition of multiplex chain Fame, has seen a 40 per cent drop in its third-quarter net profit due to a rise in expenses.

Inox posted a net profit of Rs 52.5 million for the three months ended December 2100 compared to Rs 87.4 million in the earlier year.

Revenue jumped 19.77 per cent to Rs 1.01 billion, from Rs 8.43 million in the third quarter of Fy‘10. However, it was offset by a 32 per cent increase in expenses, which climbed t0 Rs 904.4 million in the quarter under review, from Rs 684.4 million in the year-ago period.

Inox had 38 properties with 144 screens under its brand, till 31 December 2010.

The multiplex business segment had an operating profit of Rs 105.6 million, down from Rs 157.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenue from this segment was Rs 1.01 billion, up from Rs 842.3 million.

The capital deployed in the segment is Rs 3.76 billion.

Meanwhile, in the nine-month period ended 31 December, the net profit rose 20 per cent to Rs 120.9 million (from Rs 100.3 million). Revenue grew 45 per cent to 2.70 billion (from Rs 1.86 billion), while Ebitda surged 36 per cent to Rs 423.2 million.

Inox Leisure director Deepak Asher said, “The opening of new properties, and the good line up of movies in Hindi, English and regional languages contributed to our commendable performance. We hope to maintain the growth momentum in the forthcoming quarters and deliver a world class film viewing experience to our patrons, and enhance value to our stakeholders.”

MUMBAI: Balaji Motion Pictures and ALT Entertainment has lined up three film releases during April and May this year.

Taryanche Bait (Island of Stars), a Marathi language movie, is set for release on 14 April. The film is directed by Kiran Yagnopavit and stars Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Vinay Apte and Kishore Kadam.

Alt Entertainment, a division of Balaji Motion Pictures that makes small budget films, is co-producing Taryanche Bait with Neeraj Pandey. It has recently won two awards at the Pune International Film Festival.

The second movie to roll out is Shor – In The City. Scheduled for release on 28 April, the film is directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. The star cast includes Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Preeti Desai and Radhika Apte.

The Hindi movie is an edgy, serio-comic, new-age entertainer, which revolves around three loosely interconnected stories set in the midst of the noise and grime of Mumbai.

The last in the roster is Ragini MMS which is scheduled for release on 12 May in Hindi and Telugu. It is directed by Pavan Kriplani and stars Raj Kumar Yadav and Kainaaz Motiwala.
 

MUMBAI: Eros International Media, the pure play movie production company, has posted a consolidated third-quarter net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 427.9 million, up 167.27 per cent over the year-ago period.

Eros’ total income jumped 86.8 per cent to Rs 2.8 billion for the three-month period ended 31 December. Expenses, however, rose to Rs 2.19 billion, from Rs 1.28 billion in the year-ago period.

Profit from operations before other income, interest & exceptional items was at Rs 610.6 million, from Rs 215.1 million in the earlier year.

On a standalone basis, Eros‘ net profit increased to Rs 347.1 million, from Rs 96.9 million a year ago. Total income was Rs 2.17 billion (from Rs 1.36 billion), while expenses were at Rs 1.66 billion (Rs 1.21 billion in year ago period).

Eros was listed on Indian bourses on 6 October after completing its Rs 3.5 billion IPO. The company raised funds primarily for acquiring and co-producing Indian films including Hindi as well as certain Tamil and other regional language films.

During the first quarter, Eros has released 25 films across Hindi and regional languages. The list includes movies such as Golmaal 3, No Problem, Toonpur Ka Superhero in Hindi, Idea Chi Kalpana in Marathi, Mynaa, Virudha Giri, Nandalala and Uthama Puthiran in Tamil.

The company released a total of 64 films in the nine-month period ended December, which include Housefull, Anjaana Anjaani, Paathshaala and overseas release of Dabangg and Endhiran (Tamil & Telugu),.

Eros said that it continued to focus on its de-risking strategy of monetising film content through pre-selling its new and catalogue movies.

In order to maximise monetisation of its catalogue and new films, Eros has undertaken a new media initiative of setting up in house ‘Digital Asset Management’ platform (DAM), which will digitise and catalogue the movie library and archive the same in the platform.

The VFX facility, Eyeqube, has delivered two Hollywood projects, Tron Legacy and Moby Dick, and a South Indian film project, Shakti. Furthermore, Eyeqube is currently working on films including Ra.One and Desi Boyz which are slated to release in next fiscal.

Commenting on the results, Eros International Media MD Sunil Lulla said, “I am proud that we have capitalised on our key competitive advantages of content library and global distribution network and steadily maintained our market leadership position within film entertainment over the years. Further, our portfolio strategy and de-risking through pre-sales has allowed us to rapidly yet effectively scale up our business. Going forward, we expect a sustained growth in revenues and profitability considering our strong portfolio of films, our focus on capitalising on opportunities offered across all our business segments and our expansion into regional cinema such as Marathi, Punjabi, Telegu and Bengali.”
 

MUMBAI: Integrated film studio Eros International Media and Ocher Studios have joined hands to co-produce Rana.

The movie will be directed by K S Ravikumar, who has in the past directed two films of Rajinikanth – Muthu and Padayappa.

Scheduled to go on floors in March this year, Rana will be a live action movie with Rajini playing triple role. The film is scheduled to release in FY2012 in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

Says Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla, “We are extremely excited to join hands with Tamil industry’s most popular super star Rajinikanth for Rana and this time audiences will be treated with their favourite actor donning a triple role in the film. Rana is going to be far different from any of the recent Rajni films, a complete live action magnum opus with loads of entertainment for his fans.”

The music of the movie will be directed by AR Rahman, while the technical and special effects will be supervised by Soundarya Rajnikanth and Charles Darby of Eyeqube Studios.

Adds Ocher Studios director Soundarya Rajinikanth, “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Eros International for Rana. We hope to make a film together that will live up to the huge expectations of the movie-goers and reach out to maximum audiences across the globe.”

Eros International along with Hara Picture Production, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocher Studios, will produce the film through Rana Production UK.

Rajnikanth’s last film Robot that was released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi had grossed nearly Rs 4 billion worldwide.

Eros’ movie line-up for the year includes Game, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Rockstar, Mausam, Ra.One, Desi Boyz, Agent Vinod and Chalo Dilli.

MUMBAI: Excel Entertainment‘s next action thriller “Game” is now scheduled for release on 1 April.

Game was earlier slated to release worldwide on 18 March.

Game is directed by Abhinay Deo and the starcast includes Abhishek Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Sarah Jane Dias, Jimmy Shergill, Boman Irani and Anupam Kher.

Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Game‘s dialogues are written by Farhan Akhtar and the music is given by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy.

Game promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller with some jaw dropping action sequences, filmed across five countries including Greece, Instanbul, Bangkok, London and India.

Eros International Media (Eros International) has the worldwide distribution rights of the movie.
 

Producer: Kumar Mangat, Madhur Bhandarkar Director: Madhur Bhandarkar Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan hashmi, Omi Vaidya, Shazhan Padamsee, Shradha Das, Shruti Haasan, Tisca Chopra, Mukesh Tiwari

MUMBAI: Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji is a romantic comedy about three guys in different situations and with a different take on love. It is also about four women with different traits, though all are totally contemporary.

Ajay Devgn is going through a divorce and already on the lookout for a new love when he spots a new intern in his office, the cute and pert Shazhan Padamsee.

Emraan Hashmi is a Casanova, almost a gigolo, who finds his ATM card in oft married Tisca Chopra but finally true love hits him in the form of her stepdaughter, Shruti Haasan.

The third of the trio is Omi Vaidya, a Maharashtrian with old values who considers being virgin at thirty a virtue; he is in a one-sided love affair with a DJ, Shradha Das.

Ajay Devgn’s intern is 17 years his junior but her playfulness and proximity lead him to believe she loves him too. Emraan Hashmi, using girls to finance his lifestyle, comes across rich Tisca Chopra who wants him for keeps. He is happy with this arrangement till his eyes fall on Shruti. Omi Vaidya’s girl, Shradha Das aspires to be a film actor and just when she gives up all hopes and falls in the arms of Omi, she gets her break in a film. And, there end three love stories which were never there. 

The more than 4000 meters of length of the film is all about how the trio woos and coos with their respective lovers. Where the film suffers is there is nothing much happening on the screen; as the film meanders around the romances of the three, there are no great gags, there is no movement and distractions are few; in that this being a urban multiplex fare, the faces on screen are almost all uninspiring, the music is weak and funny moments scarce.

Direction is okay but a tighter script would have helped the cause better. Dialogue is day to day, bereft of punches and one-liners. Music is a let down. Editing is weak.

Performances wise, Ajay Devgan does well as a man all at sea nursing a notion of love with a girl 17 years younger. Emraan Hashmi is his usual self; no histrionics. Omi Vaidya is passable but will soon have to show some range in his acting and expressions. Of the girls, Shazhan Padamsee acts well and is watchable, Shruti Hassan is not. Shradha Das is average. Tiscsa Chopra does well.

Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji is an average entertainer with very limited box office prospects – perhaps confined to a few metro multiplexes.

MUMBAI: SRS Group has announced the opening of its 11th multiplex at Faridabad.

The three-screen multiplex has a seating capacity of 689. It is equipped with digital projectors, DTS and Dolby Digital sound system. With this multiplex now, SRS has 30 screens and a seating capacity of 7608. 

SRS, which has diverse interests including real estate, retail, food and beverages, is also offering exclusive kids‘ corner and other hospitality services.

Says SRS Group CMD Dr. Anil Jindal, “Multiplex industry is one the fastest growing industry in India which is getting overwhelming response from our valued customers. Today we are inaugurating our 11th multiplex in Faridabad and we are planning to open few more multiplexes in NCR very soon. Our objective is to provide a world class experience to the movie lovers with latest & international technologies, comfortable seating, food court and ample lounge area for kids & family.”

The services are operated by the group itself and not outsourced to any other organisation.

Adds SRS Group group president Tinku Singh, “The new multiplex launch is part of our expansion plan and in the beginning of this year SRS cinema brings lots of opportunities to serve our movie lovers of Faridabad. This addition will bring in a lot more opportunity of content availability as well as opportunities for our customers for a premium movie experience.”

SRS had earlier announced it would invest Rs.500 million to add 20 more screens to its current portfolio of 30 screens, taking the total number to 50 by the end of this year.

MUMBAI: Dev Anand‘s 1961 black and white film Hum Dono will release in a digitally coloured version worldwide and in India simultaneously on 4 February.

The Amarjeet directed film that saw the veteran in a double role opposite Nanda and Sadhana half a decade ago was originally scheduled to release worldwide on 28 February worldwide and later hit the Indian screens in the first week of February.

Barry Sandrew, founder of Legend films, has coloured the black and white version of Hum Dono with the most advanced technology in US.

The process has used 65,000 colours while Mughal-e-Azam and Naya Daur had used a scheme of 16 and 32 colours respectively.
 
“It‘s nostalgic to even think about Hum Dono. I still remember the kind of response we had got when it was released way back in 1961. I am happy that people would be able to relive the experience in a better way and hope the younger generation who has not seen the film would also love it the way film was loved 50 years back. This film is also special because it was the last black and white film of Navketan films. I am waiting for people‘s reaction to Hum Dono Rangeen and my next directorial film Charge Sheet that will release shortly after Hum Dono Rangeen,” says Dev Anand.

Dev Anand has also roped in outdoor media agency Global Advertisers for promoting the last black and white offering from Navketan Films.

Global has put up 16 hoardings at traffic spots in Juhu, Andheri, Marine Drive, Peddar Road, Borivali, Sion, Malad from 25 January for a fortnight.

NEW DELHI: A total of 144 films including 71 from overseas will be screened at the 3rd Jaipur International Film Festival beginning later this week in the pink city.

To be held from 27 to 30 January, the competitive festival will have 57 films from India including two from Rajasthan itself. The festival will be held at four venues and is expected to attract around 300 film delegates from India and overseas.

Veteran actress Asha Parekh is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival in a gala evening.

A special jury of international film critics reviewed the foreign submissions to the JIFF Awards which include at least two films that have won Oscar awards.

Festival Director Hanu Roj said in a press meet in Jaipur today that the two films are “Hugh Hefner-Playboy, Activist and Rebel” among features dealing with the life of the founder of ‘Playboy’ and “Smile Pinky” (documentary) under International category.

The festival will be inaugurated by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. State Tourism Minister Beena Kaak will preside over the inaugural function.

The opening will be followed by famous Rajasthani folk dancer Gulabo. The films, “Hay Fever’ directed by Lara Luchhiti of Italy, ‘Open Door’ directed by Alessandro Del Bianco of Italy, ‘Rain For Life’ by Jal Bhagirathi Foundation of Rajasthan, ‘Topi’ by Arjun Rihan from the United States, will be screened as the Opening films. “Gandhi-The Mahatma” by Naresh Chandra Lal will be the closing film after the Red Carpet awards function on 30 January.

In the feature film category, Golden Camel, Red Rose, Green Rose, Yellow Rose and Best Director for first film are being presented from this year. This is in addition to awards in the category of Short Film, Documentary Film, Director, Cinematography, Sound, Script, Editing, best film From Rajasthan, Critics’ Award, Animation Film, and Upcoming Star. The last two categories have been added this year.

The jury includes former Films Division Director General Kuldeep Sinha, filmmakers Subhash Kapoor, G L Bhardawaj, Kreet Khurana, Italian filmmaker Alessandro Del Bianco, Deepak Mahaan, Biju Mohan, Dr. D P Agarwal, M D Soni, Michael Wigge (Germany), and Rakesh Gogna.

He said another attraction at the Festival will be the screening of six films from the Indian Panorama, one of which is from Rajasthan (‘I am Kalam’ by Nila Madhab Panda) and another – ‘Just Another Love Story’ by Kaushik Ganguly starring Rituparno Ghosh – won a major award at the last International Film Festival of India at Panaji in Goa in 2010.

The others are ‘Raavanan’ by Mani Ratnam, the Marathi films ‘Jhing Chik Jhing’ by Nitin Nandan and ‘Vihir’ by Umesh Kulkarni, and Kannada film ‘Aidu Ondola Aidu’ by V K Prakash.

Some films from Rajasthan or with the state as backdrop will also be screened, including ‘13 May Gulabi Nagar’ directed by Nand K Pareek and Vinod Gupta; ‘Bhobhar’ directed by Gajendra S Shrotriya, and ‘I am Kalam’, apart from documentary ‘Tiger Queen’ by S Nallamuthu.

The various sections of the Festival include Worldwood International, Coming Stars about student cinema, ‘U Turn Rajasthan’ about Rajasthani cinema, ‘The Guest’ which is a focus on French Cinema, a Jury Retrospective, the Indian Panorama, and a Bollywood Special.

There will also be several discussions during the festival. These include ‘Beyond the Oscars’ to be moderated by Film Federation of India General Secretary Supran Sen, ‘Young filmmakers and networking’ to be moderated by film critic B B Nagpal, ‘Yesterday/ past –Today/ present – tomorrow/ future of cinema’ moderated by filmmaker Subhash Kapoor, the Film Market section with FFI President T P Aggarwal and Jaipur distributor Sanjay Chatar, a discussion on French cinema, another on South Asian cinema, and a discussion on film distribution in India conducted by Santosh Singh Jain who is former FFI President and President of the Central Cine Circuit.

There will be three filmmaker sessions with Lara Lee of the United States, Jag Mohan Mundhara from India, and the team of ‘Smile Pinky’. There will be workshops by Subhash Kapoor (India) and Allessandra Del Bianco.

Apart from filmmaker Kamal Kumar Barjatya, several filmmakers from India and overseas whose films are being screened are also expected to attend the Festival.