Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra is working towards making a bank of classic films in the form of detailed books.

The books will include the minutest details of a script that will include the screenplay, deleted scenes, character sketches, reworked scenes, casting and everything that goes into the making process of a film.

Chopra‘s intention is to make such books available to students and cinema lovers.

The first among the books that will be available in the market would be Chopra‘s latest hit, 3 Idiots, to be followed by the Munnabhai series. Later, Chopra will go into making books of classic films like Mother India, Kagaz Ke Phool and Pyaas. for which necessary permissions are being shot.

The project will come under a new division of Vinod Chopra films that is yet untitled. A special team has been formed to ensure that all the necessary details are included in the book.

NEW DELHI: For 10 years, India has been increasing its presence at the Cannes Film Festival year after year. And now, is seems to have visibly surpassed all the previous years in terms of the films being screened in different sections.

A high-level 45-member team, led by the ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Raghu Menon, will also be at the seaside resort in France which is considered the most important of all International Film Festivals. The fest begins on 12 May while the Indian pavilion will be inaugurated on 13 May by Menon.

Veteran filmmaker S Krishnaswamy of Krishnaswamy Associates, remembered for his film Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi and other short films and series, will be present along with his producer Mohana Krishnaswamy to showcase his latest feature-length documentary, A Different Pilgrimage. The documentary is about the spread of Hindu culture in south east Asia from ancient times. The film has been extensively shot in some Asian countries including Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Filmed by the award-winning Madhu Ambat, the film has research by Dr Lokesh Chandra of Delhi.

Senior filmmaker Pulak Mukherjee of Entertainment Creation is also showcasing his documentary The Uncaptured Passion, directed by Mohammed Afzal Khan and Harshvardhan Singh. The 30-minute film has been made by seven final year engineering students of the National Institute of Technology in Durgapur and is the story of Aditya Shrivastav who is a creative person and a passionate photographer since childhood. When he grows up, he is put under a lot of mental pressure from his surroundings which turns him into a psycho. But, his passion lives on.

Veteran Delhi-based distributor Parvesh Mehra, who recently held an exhibition of some of the earliest photographs and posters from Indian cinema in the capital, will also be at the Cannes Fest to purchase some foreign films for the Indian market. 

Both the Confederation of Indian Industry and Assocham have made arrangements for Indian film professionals. While the CII has taken two booths in the Palais des Festivals and is providing table space in the market area, Assocham is hosting the official India pavilion in the Village International along the famed Cannes Croisette in association with the ministry of information and broadcasting.

A large number of filmmakers and film distributors from India will also be present at the Festival.

Khandhar, starring Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor, which has been restored by Reliance MediaWorks at the National Film Archives of India, will be screened in the Classics section introduced last year. The film had won awards within the country and also at Montreal and Chicago.

Reliance MediaWorks will also showcase its efforts at restoration of old films during the Festival between 12 and 23 May.

UTV is showcasing five films including Udaan, co-produced by Anurag Kashyap and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane (selected for the ‘Un Certain Regard‘ section), and Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live, apart from a market screening of Paresh Mokashi’s Harischandrachi Factory. The film is about the making of the first indigenous Indian film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913 by DG Phalke.

I Am Kalam, a feature film by debutante Nila Madhab Panda and inspired by former President APJ Abdul Kalam, is to be screened in Le Marche du Film section while the Naga short film, Last of the Tattooed Head Hunters, by Vikeyeno Zao, has been selected in the short film corner category of the festival.

MUMBAI: Nadiadwala Grandsons‘ Housefull, which released on 30 April, has grossed Rs 950 million worldwide. While it has pocketed Rs 750 million from India, it has earned Rs 200 million from the overseas markets.

The film enjoyed a wide release with 2000 plus screens.

Commenting on the film‘s performance over the week, Eros International Media Sr VP – distribution Nandu Ahuja said, “Post the fabulous opening weekend, Housefull has remained steady through the week. With the second weekend coming up, we are confident the film will continue its superb run over this weekend too.”

Said PVR CEO Amitabh Vardhan, “The film has been doing extremely good business with the full week registering approximately 50 per cent occupancy. The way the film has been performing, we expect occupancy between 70 to 80 per cent during the next weekend akin to that of the first weekend.”

The film recorded a very positive opening weekend at Rs 480 million in India, making it the second highest opening after 3 Idiots.

The Sajid Nadiawala produced Housefull, a comic caper, stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh along with Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan.
 

NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra has sent a legal notice to Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury, warning him not to release the animation film, The 4th Idiot, which is said to be a sequel to 3 Idiots.

Chopra has also asked Chowdhury of Dynamic Memory not to hold the premiere of the film in Lucknow on 9 May as scheduled.

Chopra has noted that in the public announcement, Chowdhury had said that his film is a sequel to 3 Idiots and takes off from where that film ended.

Claiming that no permission was taken from him to make any sequels, Chopra said he would be forced to take legal action if Chowdhury did not cease publicity and release of the The 4th Idiot. A copy of the notice has been sent to World Unity Convention Centre in Lucknow where the premiere is to be held.

He pointed out that Chowdhury had not only announced his film to be a sequel, but also used the same character names that were used in 3 Idiots.

Chowdhury is the Guinness world record holder for strong memory and maximum push-ups.

The 4th Idiot starts where 3 Idiotsends – that is, at the school of Phunsuk Wangdu. It explores what education would be like if Phunsuk Wangdu was the school principal. It is the story of a boy, Pappu, who, by using the techniques taught by Ranchordas Chanchar in the first film, achieved his otherwise seemingly unachievable goals like getting first position in school, winning his dream girl and even going to the moon.

With two melodious songs and narration by Chatur Ramalingam of 3 Idiots (Omi Vaidya), it is a journey to understand the brain’s hidden potential.
 

MUMBAI: To coincide with Mother‘s Day on 9 May, Marathi film Shyamchi Aai will be widely screened across hundreds of cinema halls in Maharashtra.

The film was the autobiography of freedom fighter, social activist and writer Sane Guruji, revolving around his relationship with his mother.
In 1953, the book was adopted as a film which, in 1954, won the first National Award for best feature film.

The film, which centers on a mother‘s unconditional love for her child, will also be screened widely in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. 

In Shyamchi Aai, Sane Guruji, fondly called Shyam as a child and belonged to a Brahmin family in rural Maharashtra in pre-independence era, narrates his memories to a group of children. The story unfolds in the form of chapters named ‘ratra‘ (night in Marathi).

Shyam‘s mother gets married into a wealthy family, but they gradually become a victim of debt-ridden poverty. She falls ill and dies, but her life leaves quite a mark on Shyam.

Avers Rudraa Home Video director Subhash Chheda, “It is a story that literally everyone – adult or child, man or woman, educated or illiterate – can relate to. After all who has not been touched by and changed forever by a mother‘s love.”
 

MUMBAI: After Lalit Modi personally gave a nod to incorporate all the upheavals that overtook his life in the recent past, Percept Picture Company has decided to go ahead with The Commissioner for which it has signed Irrfan Khan to play the ex-IPL commissioner.

Says producer Shailendra Singh, “Lalit Modi has indeed given us the nod to include all the new developments in his life and career. We are going full throttle with the project. Modi‘s life was never an ordinary story. But now it is more compelling; hence, the title, The Commisioner, that has the word ‘mission‘ tucked in it. Modi is a man who was and is a man on a mission.”

Shamin Desai who had earlier directed Percept‘s 24×7 Raftaar, has been roped in to direct the film.

Writer Sridhar Raghavan who has worked on films such as Khakee and Apaharan, is currently working on the screenplay.
 

MUMBAI: The pirates seem to be unfazed by the several raids that lead to confiscation and arrests. And if it was mainly the DVDs and VCDs of Hindi films that used to be available a day before their release, now it‘s gone down to Hollywood films.

The Mumbai police along with AA Khan & Associates conducted a raid at Lower Parel station, a western suburb of Mumbai, on 6 May that led to the seizure of 3000 pirated DVDs and CDs of many Hindi and English films.
Interestingly, the team laid their hands on 100 DVDs of Iron Man 2, a day prior to its theatrical release in India.

Along with the DVDs of Iron Man 2, 300 pirated discs of Housefull were also uncovered in the raid along with DVDs of Paathshala and Phoonk 2. However, no arrests were made in the raid. 

Earlier this week, a joint team of AA Khan & Associates and SS Branch, Mumbai Police, also conducted a raid outside Andheri Station, another western suburb, and the team seized close to 4000 DVDs.

Two arrests were made during the raid and the accused where booked under sections 51, 52(A), 63, 68(A) of Copyright Act along with sections 292A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Says AA Khan, “The recent launch of the anti-piracy coalition between Hollywood and Hindi studios will help us push this initiative further. People need to remember that besides denying the creators of the content their fair share, the proceeds from such sales fund several illegal activities including terrorism in India and abroad.”

In the first quarter of 2010, VCDs and DVDs of over Rs 5.5 million were seized and over 50 arrests made in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: UTV is gearing up to be represented at the Cannes Film Festival with a line up of five titles. The focus will be on new territory sales and to reach new audience in traditional territories for its new age films.

Udaan, Vikramaditya Motwane’s debut film, is the story of Rohan, a teenage boy who after being abandoned for eight years in boarding school, returns home and finds himself closeted with an authoritarian father and a younger half brother who he didn’t even know existed. The film is Rohan’s journey as he strives to forge his own life out of his given circumstances to pursue his dream of being a writer. 

The second film will be Aamir Khan Productions’ Peepli Live that will have market screenings at Cannes. This follows the film’s earlier screenings at the Sundance World Dramatic Competition section screening and Berlinale special screening at the Berlin film festival in February this year.

UTV will unveil some exclusive footage from its upcoming animation films Arjun-The Warrior Prince and Alibaba and 41 Thieves. It will also host private screenings of Arjun-The Warrior Prince for select buyers at Cannes.

There will be a market screening of Harishchandrachi Factory.

MUMBAI: Two PNC films, Ek Tho Chance and Saluun, have won top honours at the 43rd Worldfest Houston, one of the oldest international film and video festivals in the world.

While Saluun won the silver REMI award, Ek Tho Chance won the special jury award (the topmost awards at the festival) in the foreign features category. 

Exclaims PNC chairman Pritish Nandy, “Such international recognition is important because Indian cinema must be taken seriously internationally, not just by the Diaspora but by mainstream international audiences and winning awards at top international festivals like Worldfest Houston is a step in that direction. PNC movies have travelled to over a 100 international film festivals and is recognized as one of the few movie brands that can crossover internationally.”

Says WorldFest Houston Program Director Kathleen Haney, “We were overwhelmed to see the response to both films at the festival more so since these 2 PNC films were selected to represent India out of a total of 3 this year. The distinguished jury members decided that Saluun should be awarded the silver REMI award for its honest effort at showing the spirit of rural India and its intelligent humour and Ek Tho Chance, the special jury award for its high-value content and cinematic excellence.”
 

NEW DELHI: Five films, edited by National Award-winning editor Sreekar Prasad, are part of the 22 films that are being screened during the Habitat Film Festival beginning here tomorrow.

Renowned cinematographer-turned-director Shaji N Karun will inaugurate the Festival and Prasad who has won the National award seven times will be the Guest of Honour. The festival will take place at the India Habitat Centre from 2 to 9 May.

The Festival will also feature the AIDS Jaago series with short films by Mira Nair, Vishal Bhardwaj, Santosh Sivan, and Farhan Akhtar in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The five films edited by Prasad are Raag Birag (Assamese) by Bidyut Chakraborthy, Kutty Srank (Malayalam) by Shaji N Karun, Yuva (Hindi) by Mani Ratnam, Terrorist (Tamil) by Santhosh Sivan, and Firaaq (Hindi) by Nandita Das.

Among the other films being screened, the Hindi films are Road To Sangam by Amit Rai and Phir Khabi by VK Prakash. The Bengali films are Angshumaner Chobi by Atanu Ghosh and Antaheen by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.

The Malayalam films are Madhyavenal by Madhu Kaithapram, Kadaksham by Sasi Paravoor, and Patham Nilayile Theevandi by Joshy Mathew.

The two Tamil films are Pokkisham by Cheran and Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya by Gautam Vasdudeva Menon, the two Marathi films are Ek Cup Chaya by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar and Janma by Shirish Rane, and the two Kannada films are Mukha Puta by Roopa Iyer and Vimukthi by P Sheshadri.

The other films are Sontha Vooru (Telugu) by Sunil Kumar Reddy, Paltadcho Manis – The Man Beyond The Bridge (Konkani) by Laxmikant Shedgaonkar, Basundhara (Assamese) by Hiren Bora, and Haat: The Weekli Bazar (Rajasthani) by Seema Kapoor.