Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Overshadowed by protests by minority Tamils and boycotted by South Indian stars like Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam, the IIFA awards were presented at an extravagant ceremony in Colombo.

As expected the Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots swept this year‘s IIFA awards bagging eight honours including the best film award.

The film had been nominated in 12 of the 13 main categories of which it had already won eight of the 12 technical awards announced last month including best screenplay and best cinematography.

Amitabh Bachchan won the best actor award for his role as a progeria-afflicted child in Paa, while the best actress award was shared by Vidya Balan for Paa and Kareena Kapoor for 3 Idiots.

The best director award was lapped up by the 3 Idiots director Rajkumar Hirani. Also, Hirani along with Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra won the best story award for the same film.

While Sharman Joshi who played a stellar role in 3 Idiots won the best male supporting actor award, Divya Dutta received the best supporting actress award for her performance in Dilli 6.

3 Idiots won another laurel when Boman Irani clinched the award for his negative role in the film.

The surprise of the evening was when Sanjay Dutt was called to collect the award for best performance in a comic role for All the Best.

Composer Pritam edged out AR Rahman to win the best music director award for Love Aaj Kal. While Shaan was adjudged the best singer (male) for ‘Behti hawa sa tha woh‘ (3 Idiots), Kavita Seth won the best singer (female) for ‘Iktara‘ in Wake Up, Sid!

Swanand Kirkire won the best lyrics award for 3 Idiots.

While Omi Vaidya (Chatur Ramalingam of 3 Idiots) shared the debut male honours with Jackky Bhagnani (Kal Kissne Dekha), Jacqueline Fernandez shared the best debut female actress award with Mahie Gill for their roles in Aladin and Dev.D respectively.

Veteran filmmaker J Om Prakash, maternal grandfather of Hrithik Roshan and yesteryear actress Zeenat Aman were awarded with the Lifetime Achievement award.
 

MUMBAI: Raajneeti has mopped up Rs 105 million on the opening day, posting UTV‘s first big movie release success this year.

The Prakash Jha-directed political thriller, built on a budget of Rs 450 million, has recorded strong collections from Mumbai, Delhi/UP, East Punjab, CP Berar, CI and Rajasthan with almost 80-90 per cent average occupancy. The response, as expected, was weak in the South Indian market.

Producers UTV Motion Pictures and Manmohan Shetty‘s Walkwater Media, who have invested a further Rs 100 million in promoting the film, are optimistic that the movie will rake in profits.

UTV, in fact, claims Raajneeti to have recorded the second highest opening ever after 3 Idiots, which grossed Rs 129.8 million on its opening day last year (25 December). Raajneeti is closely followed by Kites (Rs 100.4 million) and Housefull (Rs 90 million).

Raajneeti stars Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Naseerrudin Shah along with newcomer Sarah. The music of the film is composed by Wayne Sharpe and screenplay is by Jha and Anjum Rajabali.

Before Raajneeti, UTV had suffered a setback in the year with the Shahid Kapoor-starrer Chance Pe Dance failing to click at the box-office. UTV also released a Marathi movie, Harishchandrachi Factory, during the year.

NEW DELHI: Perhaps the largest contribution that the media including cinema can make to promote Brand India is to make positive and realistic films that also touch upon the developments taking place in various fields.

This was one of the main points of consensus that emerged in a panel discussion ‘Brand India : Determining the Future’ organized by NewsX (which is being renamed from next month as IMN News) in collaboration with the CEO Club of India before an invited audience. 

It was also generally agreed that irrespective of whether India wins many medals or not, the forthcoming Commonwealth Games will help improve the image of the country and prepare it to host other international sporting events, apart from creating greater sportsmanship.

Those who took part included Union Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, National Films award winner Dibakar Banerjee, KPMG India Head of Advisory Richard Rekhy, Collage Sports Management Latika Khaneja and renowned surgeon Dr Naresh Trehan. The discussion was moderated by NewsX head Jehangir S Pocha.

Banerjee said there was greater need to make films on contemporary India that reflects reality. Bollywood has to work harder to make the kind of impact overseas that a Hollywood film does in India.

In answer to another question, he said it was common to artists in all countries that they were often not allowed to say what they wanted, but that should not deter them from attempting to do so.

He also stressed that India was such a rich storehouse of original stories that filmmakers did not need to take ideas from overseas for their films. Such films would win greater laurels overseas, he said.

But filmmakers appeared to be obsessed with either dreams, or the dreary period that society may be passing through at a particular time.

He said filmmakers were aware that they could not do very much to promote Brand India, but they could at least help in creating a oneness among Indians all over the world.

The hour-long discussion also discussed several other subjects relating to politics, economy and other matters.
 

MUMBAI: The Australian City Council has denied further permission for shooting of Mahesh Bhatt‘s Crook: It‘s Good To Be Bad.

The shooting that was going on in Melbourne, thus, had to be called off two days before the schedule could end.

While the reason behind the denial of permission is not yet known, the fact remains that Crook is seeing its fair share of trouble and controversies right through its making. Just on 28 May, Emraan Hashmi met with an accident while shooting for the film in Melbourne. This resulted in the breaking of the camera equipment but Hashmi came out safe.

Since it is a known fact that the film touches upon the topical issue of racial discrimination against Indians in Australia, the Australian Council must have denied further shooting permission of the film fearing repercussions from the Indian community in the country.

NEW DELHI: World renowned sitarist and Grammy awardee Shujaat Husain Khan has now entered the world of Bollywood to give music for ‘Mr Singh Mrs Mehta’.

Shujaat, however, is not alone from his family to venture into giving music for films. His father Ustad Vilayat Khan had composed music for Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece Jalsaghar.

The music for the film will be a mix of ballads, ghazals and sufiana songs. Shujaat has not only composed the music but has also lent his voice to the song – Aye Khuda.

“The soul of Mr Singh Mrs Mehta lies in its music. And who better than Shujaat Hussain Khan, the Grammy awards nominated sitarist to create the music for the film,” says Pravesh Bhardwaj, the director of the film.

“I had heard this particular track of Shujaat Khan Sahib Lajo Lajo on the internet which stayed with me for a long time,” he says. “When I connected with Shujaat Bhai for the film he asked me what kind of music I wanted. I had told him that I would like the music of our film to belong to my father’s record collection. Shujaat Bhai gave a hearty laughter,” he adds.

“People having been approaching me to compose the music for their films for a very long time but they expect me to compose item numbers without having the respect for the kind of music I am known for,” says Shujaat Husain Khan. “And here came a first time director who said that he wants my kind of music. There was no way I could say no,” he says.

In keeping with Hindi film music tradition, Shujaat Husain Khan has actually composed music to pre-written lyrics, a rarity in current times where tunes precede words. Amitabh Varma (Metro) has penned the lyrics for the film.

“I’m very proud of my work for Mr Singh Mrs Mehta. It is easily the best work I have done till date,” says Amitabh Varma, the lyricist of the film. “I got a chance to write a sufi qawwali, a ghazal, a romantic ballad, a sad song… you name it. This film is special to me for two reasons. One, this is the kind of music (and lyrics) I have always listened to and liked. The other reason is that here I got to write the songs first and then they were composed, a rare phenomenon these days.”

Starring Aruna Shields (Prince) and Prashant Narayanan (Waisa Bhi Hota Hai, Chhal) Mr Singh Mrs Mehta is the story of Ashwin Mehta and Neera Singh who find that their spouses are having an affair. Drawn together by shame and anger, they find comfort in their growing friendship even as they resolve not to be like their unfaithful mates. The film releases 25 June.
 

MUMBAI: Devang Sampat, who was till now functioning as senior VP of Cinemax India Ltd, has been promoted as president – sales, marketing and operations from 3 June.

In his expanded role, Sampat will get added the responsibility of sales and marketing. He will continue to report to Cinemax managing director Himanshu Kanakia.

Avers Sampat, “I am very happy and excited by the additional responsibility given to me by my organization. I hope with these additional responsibilities, I would be able to make Cinemax even stronger.”

Having started his tenure at Cinemax in the accounts department, Sampat worked in various capacities but kept marketing and sales as his core competency. He later headed operations and played a key role in establishing Cinemax as the largest multiplex operator in Mumbai.
 

COLOMBO: Bollywood is not just limited to India anymore. It is now an international extravaganza!

For instance, ask any Sri Lankan who their favourite actors are (without naming the industry you are referring to) and they almost jump off their seats to say “of course Amitabh Bachchan.” It is almost unanimous. Shah Rukh Khan is, no doubt, the heartthrob of the pearl island while just a tiny mention of Aamir‘s name can bring a glee on their Bollywood-bright face.

The government of this isle knows this truth well and therefore, through IIFA, expects to garner massive international coverage, showcasing the country as the destination of choice for business enterprise and tourism.

“IIFA will do a lot of good to brand Sri Lanka. India is an extremely important market for us as almost 20 per cent of our tourists come from this land. Also, as Bollywood films are always on the lookout for new locales to shoot, Sri Lanka could become the next stop for various film shoots. Additionally, Bollywood is no more an Indian affair and neither is IIFA. The event will be showcased to at least 600 million viewers and will give us an opportunity to put brand Sri Lanka before the rest of the world,” said Sri Lankan minister of economic development Basil Rajapaksa. 

IIFA will also initiate engagement and discussion with the Sri Lanka Tourism for various projects, with a special focus on the north and east regions of the island.

Speaking on the way forward and growing importance of the Sri Lanka-India partnership, Wizcraft International director Sabbas Joseph said, “Our work with the Unicef, Habitat for Humanity and the discussions at the FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum, will bring focus to the development and reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. With the glamour quotient being at an all time high we are delighted that all roads lead to Colombo, as IIFA puts on a grand three day show in the heart of Sri Lanka. ”

Meanwhile, the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum presented by ERI (Environmental Resources Investment PLC) on 4 June will be inaugurated by the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and will be addressed by respected personalities from the world of business, entertainment and cricket from India and Sri Lanka.

The speakers list include likes of Basil Rajapaksa; Sri Lanka Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal; Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K Kantha; Indian MP and former MoS External Affairs Shashi Tharoor; The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group chairperson Jyotsna Suri; Steria Ltd India CEO Mukesh Aghi; Micromax Mobile business director Vikas Jain and film producer Karan Johar will discuss the building of economic partnerships between India and Sri Lanka, investing and rebuilding the new North – East Sri Lanka and the future of ‘cricketainment’.

The event is co-sponsored by BOI and Green Lanka Shipping, while Hilton Colombo is the hospitality partner.

MUMBAI: Percept Pictures will release the Emraan Hashmi-starrer Raftaar 24×7, sometime in September.

According to Percept, the film is ready with the exception of three songs that would be shot this month. Confirms Percept Pictures CEO Shailendra Singh,
“The film got late because the director Shamim Desai fell ill midway. Now that he has recovered, we will shoot these three songs and only after completion of the shoot, will we announce the release date of the film. Most likely, the film will release in September.”

Another Percept film, John Abraham starrer Aashayein will, in all probability, be released in August. “The film is ready. Reliance Big Pictures that is going to release the film has tentatively announced that it will release the film on 13 August,” reveals Singh.

Percept Pictures has released three films in the last six months namely Jail, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi and Bumm Bumm Bole.
 

MUMBAI: Karnataka is proving a tough nut to crack for filmmakers and distribution companies thanks to the state‘s policy of allowing restricted releases of non-Kannada films. After Kites, it is now the turn of the Mani Ratnam directed Hindi-Tamil films Raavan and Raavanan to run into rough weather with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC).

The film stars Aishwarya Rai and Abhishekh Bachchan in the Hindi version and Vikram in the Tamil one. The KFCC has permitted Reliance Big Pictures to release the film in both its versions in only 24 screens in the old Mysore distribution area of Karantaka.

Reliance Big Pictures had contended that since the project was in two languages and with a different star cast it should not be considered as a single film but rather as two movies. And hence it should be permitted to release the films in 24 screens each. 

“Raavan is a hugely mounted film and we would like the KFCC to liberalise its policy of restricting the release in a fixed number of theatres in Karnataka,” a letter from Big Pictures to KFCC had said. But the KFCC had turned down its contention and ordered it to keep it down to 12 for each language.

The distributors will be releasing the film in another 21 screens all over Karnataka, bringing it up to a total 45 screens for the state.

KFCC member and filmmaker Madhusudhan Reddy says that the chamber‘s decision was justified. “So what if the characters differ, the producer and director are the same,” he said. “A similar thing happened with me earlier when I was in a similar situation wanting to release the Kannada, Telugu and Tamil versions of my film Kuchelan where the leading men of all the three versions were different.” At least both the versions of Raavan are getting an opening here. Besides the Kannada version of my film, none of the other versions were allowed to release.”

Both the versions will have a simultaneous release on 18 June.