Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Aamir Khan‘s much-awaited film Dhobi Ghat, directed by his wife Kiran Rao, will release on 25 February next year.

The film is about Mumbai‘s multicultural aspect and the life of a painter who has a temporary fling with an American women. The connecting link between the two is a dhobi. Besides Khan, the film also stars Pratiek Babbar along with Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra. While Khan plays a painter in the film, Babbar plays a dhobi.

The film has been in the news lately due to a legal case over the title when the Hindustan Kanojia Organisation of Dhobis chairman Vinod Kumar Kanojia tapped the Delhi High Court, demanding a change of title before its release in theatres.

The film was expected to release on Christmas this year but has been postponed till February next year.

The film premiered at the Toronto international film festival recently.
 

MUMBAI: After tying up with Alliance Films to distribute his Canadian co-production Break Away globally, producer Akshay Kumar has decided to release his first international project in India himself.
Kumar says, “Break Away will be released globally next winter. I have a unique vision on how to bring it out, but it’s too early to discuss that now.” 

A cross-cultural hockey drama set in the Indo-Canadian community in Toronto and helmed by Robert Lieberman, the movie stars Vinay Virmani, Camila Belle, Anupam Kher, Russel Peters and Rob Lowe.

Avers Kumar, “I’m a huge sports enthusiast, but I also need to look at who is best suited for the role.”
 

MUMBAI: Army officer-turned-filmmaker Major Ravi‘s forthcoming film Kandahar will release on 9 December.

Max Labs is planning to release the film in over 100 screens in Kerala.

Kandahar is Amitabh Bachchan‘s first Malayalam movie. It also marks the coming together of the Bollywood star and Mohanlal after Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag. 

A trilingual made in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, the film revolves around the hijack of the IC-814 flight that happened a few years ago.

The film has completed its entire shoot in Ooty, Dehradun, Mumbai and Pune in a record 28 days.

The story of the film centers on Ganesh Venkataraman who plays Bachhan‘s son and an angry young commando whose life undergoes a change when he meets Major Mahadevan, played by Mohanlal. The film also marks the debut of Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi.
 

MUMBAI: For the first time in four years, Whistling Woods founder Subhash Ghai took a master class with 400 students post the screening of his evergreen film Taal.

Ghai shared the stories behind the making of the film through scene-by scene narration and enlightened the students on how to make a great film with given resources, budget, talent and technology.

Specifically speaking on the topic “How to handle a crisis” and how to come up with better results, Ghai also shared his experience of rewriting the character‘s traits when it came to casting. In this case, Anil Kapoor was to play a role which was originally written for Govinda as a dancer than a musician.

“Every technician and actor must know his limitation of excellence if they want to be on top… even if you decide to be the 1st assistant director or chief assistant forever. Our generation is the victim of misguided motivation to become a complete film personality. Script writing and directing are two different forms of talent and we should not live in dreams to become a Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar and so on, unless we are multi-talented and have full command over each department. Great directors never wrote a script but shared their vision with specialised writers and translated it on the screen,” averred Ghai. 

Ghai said that he thoroughly enjoyed making Taal because it was a huge challenge for him to create a pure musical film with a thin storyline and work with actors who were not big stars at that time.

“I knew that A. R. Rahman would justify the journey of music and its sound from chapter one to chapter six of the script along with the growth of characters and each of my stars including Aishwarya and Akshay put their level best to get of the final result while playing such complex roles,” Ghai said.

Talking about proven good writers, he expressed strongly that they must be paid a percentage of the film’s budget like in Hollywood, so they are encouraged to have a respectable position. However, writers must stop dreaming to be directors since direction is surely a different art and craft.

“I am proud of my students and faculty, most of whom are moving ahead in the right direction and discovering themselves as experts in their art and I am sure that they will learn more from the industry once they join it. This will be their new beginning,” he concluded.

Producers: Sajid Nadiadwala Director: Siddharth Anand Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Zayed Khan

MUMBAI: Anjaana Anjaani is a love story about losers; Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra meet on a bridge in New York, ready to take a plunge and end their lives. For the Hindi film audience who love their heroes to be larger than life, the tone set is wrong. Failing in the attempt, they join forces and help each other commit suicide; still no luck. They conclude that they probably have some incomplete tasks and this is the divine message to finish those. A 20-day deadline is set by both to jointly commit suicide from the same bridge.

Since they can’t think of any tasks they need to complete, they decide to have fun and see places. Here onwards, nobody seems to keep track of what happens and why, and after a while it does not matter to the viewer either; he just gives up, resigned to whatever is heaped onto him. Inevitably, the girl and boy do fall in love but, again, are not very sure! Finally, what has convinced a thousand screen lovers before convinces these two that they do love each other and that is a montage of flashbacks!

In Anjaana Anjaani there is nothing identifiable to an Indian moviegoer. While
the concept is hackneyed, the influence on the makers is purely their exposure to American films and music videos. Most of the film looks like it is selling the American dream (as dreamt by the makers) when it is not looking like US Tourism show reel!

The casting does not quite work. While Ranbir looks too young next to Priyanka Chopra, his character, that of an unexposed and inexperienced to the ways of the world as against Priyanka’s ‘Ms Know It All’, only makes the pairing odder. To the film’s disadvantage, the two lead characters are expected to carry all of its nearly 4,200 meter length between the two of them; sadly neither are they capable nor does the script afford them the scope.

Ranbir Kapoor has been carrying his limited expressions and ‘I am at sea’ look since his debut; he will need a lot of variety if he plans to stay around. Priyanka Chopra looks too mature for the role and gesticulating and making faces is what she does in the name of acting. Her perky, cute at times, bubbly at others is not convincing. Other actors who fleet in and out of the film are incidental and only add to the tedium.

While the cinematography is pleasant, this is about as much America as you would want to see in one film. Music falls much, much short of the kind a love story requires; what is a song like ‘Aas paas Khuda….’ doing in this film? It blends with neither the characters nor the ambience… anything at all!! Since the love story has no story, the film plods along on gags and funny moments and some of them are enjoyable.

Uninspiring as a love story or as an entertainer, Anjaana Anjaani will pass unnoticed!

 

Khichdi- better off on TV

Producers: J D Majethia Director: Aatish Kapadia Cast: Anang Desai, J D Majethia, Supriya Pathak, Rajeev Mehta, Nimisha Vakharia

Khichdi-The Movie starts off on a promising note. Satish Shah, the God incarnate, is visiting the Parekh family to offer them laddoos of wisdom. Exasperated by them he gives up and walks out. Khichdi was very popular as a television serial and to cash in on its brand equity, the makers have made its movie version.

Like in the serial, the antics of the Parekh family continue with some gags and misadventures. The race is to excel in foolishness with each member vying to out do each other. To give the film a storyline, the family is on the lookout for a bride for JD and there is an equally duh girl in the neighbouring Sikh family, where peculiarly, everyone in the family of about 40 to 50 is named Parminder. A match is fixed between JD and Parminder girl (Kirti Kulhari). However, there is a hitch: JD wants his love story to be memorable hence wants hurdles in his love for Parminder before it finds its happy ending!
The film has some interesting gags in the first half and is fun to watch. But, in the second half, it starts sagging; things get repetitive and monotonous.
In this farce, performances are more like buffoonery.

Khichdi- The Movie would have been better off being a TV serial; at least the remote control is available!

 

 

 

 

Benny And Babloo – worth a watch 

Producers: Umesh Chouhan Director: Yunus Sajawal Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Rajpal Yadav, Riya Sen, Shweta Tiwari Kishori Shahane, Mukesh Rawal, Hiten Paintal, Aasif Sheikh

MUMBAI: Benny And Babloo advocates the cause of bar girls and, to give more credibility to their profession, their story is juxtaposed with that of a five star hotel neck deep in shady
business.

Kay Kay Menon ands Rajpal Yadav are friends working for a typically old Mumbai Irani restaurant and share accommodation in a chawl room. The restaurant makes way for a pizza joint and Kay Kay and Rajpal are out looking for a job. While Kay Kay finds one as a bell boy at a five star hotel, Rajpal lands one at a dance bar. Kay Kay is struck by the glam and glitter of his hotel and its guests, is proud of his uniform and loves to be called Benny the Bellboy! Rajpal, on the other hand, is ashamed of his surroundings, the things he sees and can’t cope with the stigma his job attaches. But soon, things are not what they seem. Under the façade of glam and glitter and high society patronage, what go on at the hotel are drugs, nudity, prostitution and wife swapping. At the same time, it is not what it seems at the bars. The girls, each of them are here because of circumstances; have more
heart and concern for people around them.

Benny Aur Babloo is a sincere attempt, has a fair share of humour and handles the issue with awareness; however its depiction of five star cultures is exaggerated. Yunus Sajawal has done a fair job.

Kay Kay Menon and Rajpal Yadav both do a commendable job and make the film
a watchable fare. The supporting cast is well chosen and make the story convincing.

The films on social issues are not a preferred genre but Benny And Babloo is worth a watch.

YAMUNA NAGAR: The third Haryana International Film Festival, organised by the DAV College for Girls, has begun in Yamuna Nagar. The week-long festival was inaugurated today by Dadasaheb Phalke award winner and filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan.

In his address, he noted that women are now in every sphere of filmmaking including the technical side such as cinematography. “Women have to come forward if society has to progress,” he said.

The festival will be on till 7 October and it includes a Film Appreciation workshop.
 
Gopalakrishnan said that it was unfortunate that serious cinema was viewed as something not meant for everyone, particularly since it was this genre of cinema rather than the commercial cinema which was rooted in the reality of our culture and our lives.

But it was unfortunate that it was the commercial cinema that attracted the average audiences and was also lapped up by the television channels.

Serious cinema has to be enjoyed at a deep level as a cultural exposure, and was not something that one had to suffer. But serious cinema has to find ways to tell stories in unique fashion, though he said the experience of the audience will vary from person to person. This kind of cinema did not compromise since it was rooted in realty. Cinema helps you to “live the lives of others” and has a deep influence, he added.

This was not so with commercial films which evoked similar sentiments among all kinds of audiences.

For this reason, he lauded the organisers for the Film Appreciation Workshop being held along with the Festival.

Guest of Honour and renowned filmmaker K Bikram Singh said around 7.5 billion people went to theatres all through the year in India and this number went up manifold if one was to consider those who saw films on television. Despite this, it was regrettable that there were hardly any cinema studies or good research on meaningful and serious cinema.

For this reason, the Film Appreciation Workshop was very relevant and he was happy that around 250 students had signed up for the course.

He recalled his association with Gopalakrishnan which began when they traveled to the Berlin Film Festival in the late seventies.

Festival Director Ajit Rai said this festival had successfully proved that a good festival was possible even in a small town like Yamuna Nagar and was not the preserve of the metros. Small budget festivals had a charm of their own, he added.

He said cinema cannot change society directly, but does influence the people who then bring about changes in society. Commercial cinema was cut off from the reality of the people, and therefore the HIFF concentrated on the other cinema that was real and rooted in culture. “One has to be local to be global,” he added.

Dr Sushma Arya, principal of the DAV College for Girls, said organising a festival in a college was a real challenge without much assistance from the state, but she had found a lot of support from both the director and the various dignitaries who had agreed to come. The festival had broken the monopoly of the big cities and brought films to the place where ‘real India breathes’.

Earlier, the inauguration got off with the lighting of the auspicious lamp by the dignitaries. Also present on the occasion were filmmakers Sanjay Jha and Sharmila Maity.

Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s film Shadow Kill (Nizhalkuthu) was screened after the inaugural function.

MUMBAI: Post a three week lull after the release of Dabangg on 10 September, three films are releasing on 1 October. These include Sun Pictures‘ highly awaited Rajinikanth starrer- Robot; Nadiadwala Grandsons‘ Anjaana Anjaani; and Fox Star Studios India‘s Khichdi.

While Robot has been made on a whopping budget of Rs 1.6 billion, Anjaana Anjaani is said to be made at a cost of between Rs 340 to Rs 350 million. Khichdi, of course, is a low budget film comprising TV artistes of the TV serial by the same name – Khichdi.

The release dates of Anjaana Anjaani and Robot were pushed back. “It seems for the Ranbir Kapoor – Priyanka Chopra starrer, the new launch date could work as a dampener. The interest levels for this much-hyped movie seems to be waning. For Robot, the fan-following of “superstar Rajini” is bound to rake in moolah,” says a trade analyst.

Interestingly, in Tamil Nadu, the tickets of the Robot (Enthiran) pre-view show were sold in a record 30 minutes.

As per cinema promotion tracking tool Cinematrix, Anjaana Anjaani would make an opening weekend collection of between Rs 280 to 300 million net.

MUMBAI: Shekhar Kapur, who gave us films like Bandit Queen and Elizabeth, will be one of the jury members for the upcoming London film festival that begins on 13 October.

Headed by Patricia Clarkson, the jury also includes Gabriel Byrne and Sandy Powell.

Kapur, who was also on jury for the Cannes Film Festival, will judge films including Danny Boyle‘s 127 Hours, Mike Leigh‘s Another Year, Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan and Tom Hooper‘s The King‘s Speech.

Other awards to be given out during the ceremony include a nod for best British newcomer; the Sutherland Award, presented to the director of the festival‘s most original and imaginative feature debut, and the Grierson documentary feature award.

The best British newcomer will emerge from among writers, directors, producers and actors that include Conor McCarron for his role in Neds and Richard Ayoade, the writer-director of Submarine, while Boyle would be honoured with a fellowship by British Film Institute during the festival.

The festival‘s best film award was introduced last year during the 15-day-long festival
 

MUMBAI: UTV and Dharma Productions‘ We Are Family has become the third-highest Indian grosser in the UK this year, according to an official release.

Starring Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal, the film has grossed over $1.2 million in the UK and continues to perform steadily in its 4th weekend.

The film released in the UK with 60 prints and outdid its own opening in the second week. 

Commenting on this occasion, UTV senior VP, International Distribution and Syndication, Motion Pictures Amrita Pandey said, “It‘s great to see We Are Family perform so well in the UK. This is our third release in UK in 4 months (Raajneeti, I Hate Luv Storys and now We Are Family) to cross the GBP 500,000 mark at the UK box- office.”

MUMBAI: Amid allegations that he had hired a gangster to threaten Sushma Shiromanee into withdrawing her candidature against him, film producer T P Agarwal has been re-elected president of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) for the third time.

Agarwal won with a clear margin of 18 votes. Says Agarwal, “My election proves that the members have faith in me. All that my fellow member was doing was to tarnish my image.”

Though Shiromanee won, her team could not achieve a majority. Others from her team who won the election are Shabnam Kapoor, Hetan Desai, Babubhai Thiba and Aruna Irani. “I am not sure if the controversy raging before the election had an effect on my team’s defeat,” sighed Shiromanee.

New office bearers of IMPPA are K C Bokadia ( senior vice president) , Abhay Sinha (senior vice-president) and producer Kumar Mohan (treasurer).