Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Ram Gopal Varma‘s upcoming film Rakta Charitra is set to create history in Bollywood.

This is the first film in Indian cinema to release in two parts. Both films will be released in October and will be of two hours and ten minutes duration each.
Part II will release three to four weeks after Part I hits the screens.

As per Varma, it‘s a record that he has not just completed the prequel but the sequel is ready too.

The film is based on real life events in the life of slain leader Paritala Ravindra played by Vivek Oberoi and Maddelacheruvu Suri by South actor Surya. Shatrughan Sinha is enacting the role of NT Rama Rao.

Due to the violence quotient in Rakta Charitra, Varma has advised women and children not to watch the movie at all saying, “this film is for men only.”

The film has been made in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

MUMBAI: A retrospective of Prakash Jha‘s films will be held in Fiji from 18 to 21 August.

The retrospective will feature six films including the recently released Raajneeti, GangaaJal, Apaharan, Mrityudand, Parinati and Damul.

Raajneeti and Damul will also be screened at the Bollywood Festival at Norway that will be held from 10 to 16 September.

The retrospective is being organised by the Fiji National University, Fiji Audio Visual Commission, Damodar Brothers and the Indian High Commission in Fiji.

Joining the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, in 1973, Jha had to leave a course in editing midway, because the institution was closed for a while due to student agitation. He later completed the course in 1976.

In his career that started in 1983, Jha has made films like Hip Hip Hurray, Damul, Parinati, Bandish, Mrityudand, Dil Kya Kare, Rahul, Gangaajal, Apaharan and Raajneeti. His next Turning 30 is now in its post-production stage.

MUMBAI: Studio18, the film production and distribution arm of Viacom18, has appointed Vikram Malhotra as chief operating officer.

In his new capacity, Malhotra will be responsible for driving growth and profitability at Studio18.

Malhotra joins Studio18 from Balaji Telefilms where, as COO, he was responsible for the business strategy and profitable growth of the motion pictures business.

Prior to that, Malhotra was head of worldwide marketing of Kingfisher Airlines, where he led a team that is credited with creating India’s largest airline brand in just a little over four years of operations.

The top team of Studio18, being led by Sandeep Bhargava, is being given a new shape under Viacom18. Bhargava had earlier quit the organisation.

Await detailed report…
 

MUMBAI: Mukta Arts, the Subhash Ghai-promoted film and entertainment company, has posted a net profit of Rs 14.46 million for the quarter ended 30 June, as against a net loss of Rs 99.94 million in the year-ago period.

The company saw a surge in its revenue to the tune of Rs 333.38 million compared to Rs 73.21million in the earlier year.

Expenses climbed to Rs 324.50 million, up 92.61 per cent from Rs 168.48 million.

Profit from operations, before other income, interest and exceptional items was at Rs 8.88 million, as against a loss of Rs 95.35 million.

The software division business saw maximum growth and turned profitable with Rs 35.75 million on an income of Rs 332.88 million. In the earlier-year quarter, the loss stood at Rs 70.19 million on an income of Rs 72.43 million. Capital deployed towards this segment was Rs 453.44 million.

The equipment division business, however, suffered an operating loss of Rs 1.99 million on an income of Rs 0.50 million. The capital deployed for the segment stood at Rs 138.32 million.
 

MUMBAI: Fox Star Studios will release Khichdi – The Movie, a big screen adaptation of the popular television series Khichdi on 1 October. It is, perhaps, the first time in India that a TV show has been turned into a film.

Produced by Hats Off Productions and written and directed by Aatish Kapadia, the film is an all out fun and crazy ride and is best described as “Comedy Family ki Family Comedy”.

Says producer Jamnadas Majethia, “The TV serial changed the grammar of comedy when it came on television and viewers got addicted to the humour. Khichdi – The Movie will create the same magic on the big screen and hopefully redefine comedy in Indian cinema.”

Bringing Hollywood practices to India where popular and successful television shows like Mr. Bean, Batman, Simpsons, Mission Impossible, Star Wars and Sex and the City get made into films regularly, the studio could be a starting a new trend in the country.

“We are very excited about the research feedback from the audiences that have seen Khichdi – The Movie. Audiences loved the ’saaf suthri comedy’ and found it to be funnier than most recent comedy films. Audiences are looking for new experiences and let’s face it, there are very few good clean comedy films that audiences can go and watch with the entire family and that’s the promise of Khichdi – The Movie,” says Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh.

Khichdi, which aired on Star Plus in 2002, achieved the highest TVR for a comedy sitcom on television. In its first run, the serial reached out to 8.6 million viewers tickling households across the country and bagged several awards.
 

MUMBAI: A month before his first Indo-Canadian film Break Away goes on the floor, Akshay Kumar has gone ahead and signed a distribution deal with Alliance Films – the studio that earlier distributed noted films like The Lord of The Rings triology and Kill Bill.

Break Away, set against the backdrop of ice hockey, is very close to Kumar’s heart. “I have been always supportive of sports and I’ll do everything I can to ensure that the film shapes up well,” says the producer who is making the film under the banner of Hari Om Productions.

The film will be directed by Robert Liberman and has Canadian born Vinay Virmani pitted against Emily VanCamp.

Viramny, an ice hockey player from Canada’s south Asian community, has trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

MUMBAI: Ramesh Taurani has signed Salman Khan to essay the role of Anthony Gonsalves in the remake of Manmohan Desai‘s 1977 hit Amar Akbar Anthony.

The film, directed by David Dhawan, will have Arbaaz Khan as Amar. It was played by Vinod Khanna in the original, while younger brother Sohail Khan would enact the role of Akbar, originally played by Rishi Kapoor.

The film would be produced by Tips Industries that has acquired the rights from Narendra Hirawat and Ketan Desai.

The project is now awaiting Salman‘s dates.

MUMBAI: Tips Industries has suffered a net loss of Rs 123.25 million for the three-month period ended 30 June, pulled down by its movie production and distribution business.

Tips‘ mega budget action thriller Prince bombed at the box office, shaving its bottom line, as it reversed from its earlier-year quarter profit of Rs 12.75 million.

 The film distribution and production business suffered an operating loss of Rs 120.04 million on an income of Rs 135.82 million. The capital deployed for the segment was Rs 529.96 million.

Tips Industries’ income from operations surged 245.31 per cent during the quarter to Rs 195.43 million, as against Rs 56.6 million in the year ago period, as it had the big budget movie release during the quarter under review.

Expenses, however, rose 857.56 per cent to Rs 304.87 million, mainly on account of film distribution and production costs.

The company suffered a loss of Rs 109.43 million (loss from operations, before other income, interest and exceptional items), as against a profit of Rs 24.76 million a year ago.

The audio product business, however, remained profitable with Rs 27.2 million on an income of Rs 60.22 million. Tips had posted a profit of Rs 40.22 million in this segment on an income of Rs 59.36 million in the year-ago period.
 

Director: Anusha Rizvi Producer: Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao Cinematography: Shanker Raman Editor: Hemanti Sarkar

Peepli  Live is a satire on politics vis a vis farmer suicides and politics, in the process making digs at the media, especially the electronic media.

While news based films generally prove to be drab and boring, ending as hyped up documentaries, the mainstay of Peepli Live is its script, generously sprinkled with humourous scenes and dialogue.

Standing on the premise that the government does nothing to solve the debt-ridden farmers‘ problems who, cornered and exasperated, commit suicide, funnily enough, there is a Rs 100,000 compensation for the family who has lost its breadwinner!! When they fail to redeem their mortgaged land, brothers Raghubir Yadav and Omkar Das are in a quandary. As one of them suggests he commit suicide so that the land could be freed from lien, a stringer for a local newspaper overhears their conversation and as for their bad luck, is ready to carry this piece of news in his paper.

As the news spreads like wild fire, all roads including the electronic media lead to Peepli. What ensues is a circus called vote bank and TRPs. This farmer has a police escort and TV cameras follow him even when he wants to relieve himself and the media even has his poop analysed to tell the viewers his state of mind!

Peepli Live has its strong points in its script and dialogue. However, the ending is tame and unsatisfying, making the whole exercise much ado about nothing.

While director Anusha Rizvi has treated the film in great detail, the film‘s casting wins more than half its battle. First timer Omkar Das Manikpuri seems made for the role and performs as naturally as one could. Raghubir Yadav easily blends into the story and ambience. Actors Shalini Vaysa and Farrukh Jaffer are very good and so are Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Malaika Shenoy and Vishal O Sharma. Music is functional, its appeal limited to the film. Photgraphy is commendable.

Peepli Live has a genre of its own and if any film came close, it was Main Azaad Hoon (Amitabh Bachchan) which in turn was inspired by Hollywood hit Meet John Doe, about politicians, media and the common man.

Peepli Live is an enjoyable satire on rural India made for urban elite – the discerning multiplex audience.

MUMBAI: Amol Palekar‘s English language film, And Once Again, that was to release on 13 August has been deferred by a week as it would have clashed with Aamir Khan‘s Peepli [Live].

Talking about the deferment, Palekar says,” We didn‘t want to take chance with Aamir Khan‘s Peepli [Live] also releasing on the same day. And who can contest a Aamir Khan film?”

This film comes five years after Palekar released his last film Paheli, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, on 24 June 2005.

The film deals with intricacies of man-woman relationship and talks about repercussions of violence on human life; its lingering shadow on all of us with its startling shades. Somehow we manage to draw a line between our past and present.

The non-violent film has no glam and glitter and no sexy songs and dance, says Palekar. “In fact the film is about the tussle between the past and the present”, he adds.

The film, written by Palekar‘s wife Sandhya and shot on location in Sikkim, has Antara Mali, Rajat Kapoor, Rituparna Sengupta and Gerson D‘Cunha among others.