Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: The 16th Annual Star Screen Awards saw Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s 3 Idiots bag as many as 10 awards.

3 Idiots won the best film, best director (Rajkumar Hirani), best editor (Rajkumar Hirani), best screenplay (Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra), best Choreographer (Bosco Ceaser), best dialogue (Abhijat Joshi), best Newcomer – Male (Omi Vaidya), best actor in a comic role – Male (Omi Vaidya), best actor in a negative role (Boman Irani) and popular choice award for best actor – Female (Kareena Kapoor).

On the other hand, R Balki‘s Paa bagged a few awards. Amitabh Bachchan won the best actor male award while Vidya Balan bagged the best actor female award. Pratik Katare got the best child artiste award.

Rishi Kapoor won the best male supporting actor award for Zoya Akhtar‘s Luck By Chance, while Arundhati Nag won the best female supporting actor award.

Shahid Kapur received the best actor award in the popular category for Kaminey.
Javed Akhtar was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Yash Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan while the Jodi No 1 award was bagged by the father-son duo of Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan.

The best music award was bagged by AR Rahman for Delhi 6 and the best background score was awarded to Amit Truvedi for Dev D. Kavita Seth won the best female playback singer award for Iktaara in Wake Up Sid while Rahat Fateh Ali Khan lapped up the best male playback singer award for Aaj din chadeya from Love Aaj Kal.

Nandita Das bagged the award for the most promising debut director for Firaaq as well as the Ram Nath Goenka Award. The most promising newcomer Female award went to Mahie Gill for Dev D. Zoya Akhtar‘s Luck by Chance also won the Best ensemble cast award. The best story award went to Imtiaz Ali for Love Aaj Kal.
 

MUMBAI: Eros International Ltd, which has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in India, has earmarked a budget of Rs 2.8 billion to fund 11 movies in Hindi, Tamil and Marathi.

The 11 titles include four each in Hindi and Marathi while three are in Tamil. Eros already has deployed Rs 254.10 million in respect of the Hindi film projects, according to information provided till 24 December.

Among the Hindi projects are three co-productions- Anjana Anjaanee, Desi Boys and a untitled project with Saif Ali Khan. The company has also acquired a Red Chillies Entertainment’s untitled movie starring Shah Rukh Khan.

Eros International has inked co-production deals for Marathi movies like Punha Dhakka, Haapus, Shodh and Phakt Ladh Mhana.

The company has also acquired Tamil movies like Murattu Kalai (remake), Arjunan Kaadhal, and Krishna Leelai.

Eros‘ business model is to release at least 50 movies a year. For the fiscal ended 31 March 2009, the company released 19 Hindi and 75 regional language films. In the year prior to that, Eros released 23 Hindi and 42 regional language films.

Eros International Media, a subsidiary of Aim-listed Eros International Plc, plans to raise Rs 3.5 billion via an IPO.

NEW DELHI: The 11th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF), to be held in Mumbai next month, received 864 entries from 37 countries – an all time record.

Organised by the Films Division, MIFF will be held from 3 to 9 February at the prestigious National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, Mumbai.

The Selection Committee consisting of eminent filmmakers, journalists and critics had previewed the films, the total duration of which crosses more than 400 hours. A total of 64 films have been selected for the Competition Section and 43 films have been taken in the Non-Competition Section.

Films Division Chief Producer and Festival Director Kuldeep Sinha said, “MIFF, which began in 1990, is rated as one of the world’s best and largest documentary film festivals. It has now gained recognition on par with renowned International Film Festivals like Leipzig , Berlin, Oberhausen, Krakow and Tampere.

From this year, the International and Indian Competition Sections have been merged into one. Sinha said, “Indian documentary producers have now achieved high level of creative as well as technical excellence, to compete with the best in the world.”

He said the award money had been enhanced in each category, totaling to Rs 2.275 million. The best short film/documentary (upto 30 minutes) will be awarded a Golden Conch and Rs 3,00,000 cash prize. Another Golden Conch and Rs 3,00,000 award will be given to the best film/documentary over 30 minutes duration.

Awards are being given for the best animation film, fiction film, and student’s film. The Maharashtra Government’s Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari will give a Trophy and Rs 1,00,000 for the best debut director.

The “Dr. V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award” will be awarded to an Indian filmmaker for his/her contribution to the documentary film movement, with cash award and trophy.

Apart from the Competition Section, there will be screening of Retrospectives and Special packages, Spectrum India, Seminars and Open Forum during MIFF 2010. Retrospectives and Special Packages include Jury’s retrospectives, Women packages, Oscar nominated films, immigration issues, environment, global warming, Cinema legends and icons of the Indian Freedom Movement. Films from Bhutan and Argentina figure in the country focus.

Other packages include Students’ films from L.V. Prasad Institute in Chennai, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India in Kolkata, and National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, films from North East India, treasures from the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and Puppet Films.

The NFAI, Pune, will also stage a show of pre-cinema projection technique called ‘Shambharik Kharolika’ or the magic lantern (staged earlier at the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November 2009).
 

MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based animation, gaming and entertainment company DQ Entertainment (DQE) has partnered with two French firms – Method Animation and MK2 to produce a series of animated short films inspired by Charlie Chaplin.

Under the partnership, DQE, Method Animation and MK2 will produce, distribute and exploit an animated version of 104 six-minute episodes inspired by the legendary film icon Charlie Chaplin‘s Hollywood films.

With a global production budget of approximately $11.4 million, the first series will be developed in colour creating a timeless atmosphere and a unique look, blending early 20th century with present time, allowing younger generations to identify with the Charlie Chaplin character.

In keeping with the spirit of Chaplin, the short episodes will be presented without dialogue, giving enough space for the full scope of the famous character‘s talents in pantomime. Completing the picture, particular emphasis will be put on the choice of music and the sound design to add to the laughter and emotion of the adventures of the legendary tramp.

Said DQ Entertainment (International) chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti, “The three companies will keep the legend of Charlie Chaplin alive and these large number of short films in hi-end 3D animation will delight the 21st century kids and families again as they will witness the legendary entertainer in his new Avatar.”

Added MK2 president of the board of directors Nathanaël Karmitz, “We are confident that this step in the promotion of Chaplin‘s legacy will reach a greater audience and introduce the greatest international star of modern cinema to younger generations. The series represent an introduction to Chaplin‘s world as well as a rediscovery of his body of work.”

MUMBAI: The Gujarat and West Bengal government have exempted Paa from entertainment tax with immediate effect.

A three-member committee consisting of Principal Secretary – Finance, Secretary, Youth and Culture and State Information Commissioner of the Modi Government has recommended that Paa be exempted from entertainment tax in the state.

The government‘s decision came after producers AB Corp organised a special screening of the film for the Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan in Gandhinagar.

Bachchan who had specially come from Mumbai for screening of the movie had appealed to the Chief Minister to exempt it from entertainment tax in the state.

It may be noted that there are hundreds of cinema houses including 22 multiplexes in the state and annual income from the entertainment tax is around Rs 220 million.

According to the West Bengal government the tax exemption in the state will help reduce ticket prices so that the film can reach out to more people.

Till date, Paa has grossed Rs 58 crore worldwide.
 

MUMBAI: After a string of big releases like Paa and 3 Idiots in the last month of 2009, the New Year started with three not so big releases like Accident On Hill Road, Bolo Raam and Raat Gayi Baat Gayi.

Magna Films’ Accident On Hill Road is a total washout. Directed by Mahesh Nair, the remake of English film Stuck has had no impact at all.

The same could be said about Goldy’s Bolo Raam, directed by Rakesh Chaturvedi. A thrilling murder mystery, where the key witness is himself a suspect, the film doesn’t seem to have what it takes to sail through the grueling box-office route. 

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, a PNC film directed by Saurabh Shukla, revolves around a small, uncomplicated plot. But the film doesn’t have the merits required to salvage it at a time when 3 Idiots is ruling the roost.

Meanwhile, there is no stopping 3 Idiots that is set to make box-office records. Running into its second week, the film has earned Rs.2.4 billion so far and multiplexes are still screening an average of 10 houseful shows a day.

“The run of 3 Idiots continues to surprise and shock. The film’s last Tuesday figures were in the range of Rs 87.5 million to Rs 90 million which is bigger than the Friday numbers of all biggies that opened this year,” avers trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Meanwhile, Fardeen Khan fans are awaiting the release of Viveck Vaswani’s Dulha Mil Gaya that has Shah Rukh Khan in a 50-minute cameo role.

MUMBAI: The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) has got additional legs to support it financially. As part of the restructuring, the government has allowed the corporation, which is traditionally into funding meaningful movies, to release advertisements and publicity along the lines of DAVP (Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity).

“We will be doing the social awareness advertisements for television, radio, internet and theatres. We have started the process and already have clients like the Ministry of Health, Income Tax department and Ministry of Agriculture,” NFDC managing director Nina Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com.

NFDC‘s other catches include Department of Ayush, National Aids Control Organisation and National Disaster Management in India.

In its additional role, NFDC will be producing social adverts in audio visual formats. “We are already into film making, so it is a logical extension for us,” avers Gupta.

NFDC has accumulated losses of Rs 276.2 million as on 31 March 2009. The corporation gets an annual grant of Rs 65 million from the government.

Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni had urged all Union Ministries and state governments to give production work of documentaries and video spots of their states to NFDC.

NFDC has also gone through a rightsizing, offering a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to 70 of its employees.

MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has released home videos of three English films from Studio Canal‘s catalogue. They are Left Right Centre, The Changeling and The Fallen Idol.

Each DVD will cost Rs 199.

Left Right and Centre, a 95-minute long movie directed by Sidney Gilliat, is the story of TV personality Bob Wilcot for the Conservatives who finds himself up against Billingsgate girl Stella Stoker for the Socialists. 

The Changeling is a 107-minute film directed by Peter Medak. It is the story of composer John Russell and his family who get caught in a freak automobile accident that claims the lives of his wife and daughter. He rents out part of his big house, little knowing that he also shares it with the spirit of a murdered child who has homed in on John‘s despair and uses him to uncover decades of silence and deceit.

The Fallen Idol is a 95-minute film, directed by Carol Reed. It is the story of Philippe, a diplomat‘s son who is confused by the complexities and evasions of adult life. He tries to keep secrets from but ends up telling them. He lies to protect his friends, even though he knows he should tell the truth. He resolves not to listen to adults‘ stories any more when his father Baines is suspected of murdering his wife and noone will listen to Philippe‘s vital information.

MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks Ltd. has gobbled up the assets of iLabs UK, one of only two film processing facilities operating in London‘s SOHO, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will help the Reliance ADA Group company to offer its services to the filmmakers and broadcasters in UK, one of the world‘s leading post-production markets. Reliance MediaWorks already has a facility in the US through its LA-based subsidiary Lowry Digital.

iLabs does high-end processing work for film, television, commercial and shorts productions. The dedicated film and media services facility in London will, thus, help Reliance MediaWorks offer front-end, processing, restoration, 2D to 3D conversion and post-production services to broadcasters and studios.

Says Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun, “Our expansion is growing at a remarkable pace and we are happy to now be offering our services in UK. Through Reliance MediaWorks UK we would provide next generation services for the local film makers and broadcasters, while also catering to Hollywood and Hindi film businesses. We look forward to the creative synergies that integrating of UK operations would bring to the entire film and media services value chain that Reliance MediaWorks has developed across continents.” .

Lowry Digital has handled projects for leading studios like Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, MGM and 20th Century Fox and entertainment leaders like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron. Also recently, Lowry Digital has handled the restoration of footage sent back to Earth from Apollo 11, as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the mission for NASA.

To further enhance the synergy between the services offered by Reliance MediaWorks across India, the US and UK, the company has established an optical fibre network through Reliance Globalcom’s Ethernet Private Line. This network has already been used for close to a year for distributing digital cinema releases of Indian films from Mumbai to the US.

In the past year, iLabs has worked on high-end film originated Drama Series for the BBC. Apart from tying in with Reliance MediaWorks‘ lab facility in Mumbai, it will be able to offer lab, rushes and transfer services to the many Indian films that are shot on location in London and UK each year.

Reliance MediaWorks currently has a comprehensive presence in film services: motion picture processing; visual effects; film restoration and image enhancement; digital mastering: studios and equipment rentals with facilities located at US and India.

Reliance MediaWorks operates Big Cinemas, India‘s largest cinema chain with currently 500 screens spread across India, US, Malaysia and Netherlands.
 

NEW DELHI: Veteran actor Saeed Jaffrey was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in absentia at the first-ever Pravasi Film Festival in the country that concluded in Delhi today.

The feature ‘Life Goes on’ by Sangeeta Dutta from the United Kingdom bagged the award for the best feature film award at The short fiction ‘Shor’ by D K Krishna and Raj Nidimoru received the best short fiction award while ‘Flying Sikh’ by Navdeep Kandola got the best short non-fiction award. Both filmmakers come from the United States.

According to the feature film jury, ‘Life Goes on’ – which had been the opening film of the Festival – received the award for an emphatic rendition of characters and situations and heartfelt performances. Sangeeta Dutta was the only recipient who was present to receive her award.

A large number of eminent personalities were present at the function, which concluded with the screening of the film ‘Chehere’ by Rohit Kaushik starring Manisha Koirala and Divya Dutta among others.

Those present included Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, Mauritian High Commissioner Mookeshwar Choonee, Mauritian Culture Minister Dr Vasant K Bunwaree, and Mauritian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Etienne Sinatambou.

Choonee expressed happiness that his country was a partner country for this Festival and hoped this would lead to some fruitful results. He said Mauritius had always been a favourite shooting site for Indian filmmakers.

Jury member and senior filmmaker Rahul Rawail called upon the film industry in India to support the Pravasi Film Festival initiative and referred to the affinity in themes. He added that women appeared to be doing very well as far as NRI filmmaker went, with Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, Gurinder Chadha, and now Sangeeta Dutta.

Festival Director Anil Joshi said this first venture was only at a take-off stage and added that it could help create a market for films by NRI filmmakers. He recalled that the Mauritian President Sir Anerood Jugnauth accompanied by his wife Sarojini Jugnauth had unveiled the awards to be given away at the Festival in a ceremony on 1st December.

Pravasi Today group Chief Editor Padmesh Gupta and Festival Co-Director Pankaj Dubey were also present.

The competitive Festival had been organized by the Pravasi Today Group in association with the Mauritius government at India Habitat Center from 3rd to 6th January. Around 35 films from different countries were screened at the Festival and a large number of the filmmakers have come to India to attend the event.

The feature film jury was headed by veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee and the non-feature jury by renowned critic Latika Padgaonkar. Other members of the feature film jury were filmmakers Rahul Rawail and Sanjay Singh, Festival advisor and senior critic Aruna Vasudev and critic Namrata Joshi. The other short film jury members were film historian Lalit Mohan Joshi, and senior critic Utpal Borpujari.

The Festival was inaugurated on 3rd January by renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta who expressed the views of the NRI filmmakers when she said “we are like children who have left their mother and gone away. And we keep coming back because the mother is so good and pulls us back.”

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay, Central Board of Film Certification and veteran film actress Sharmila Tagore, actresses Soha Ali Khan, Pooja Kumar and Purva Bedi, Ashok Malhotra who is Secretary General of the Group of People of India Origin (GOPIO), American Yoga expert Dhananjay Kumar, Dr Nikhil Kaushik who is a doctor and also a filmmaker from the United Kingdom, British filmmaker Sangeeta Dutta, and Avantika Hari, filmmaker Patricia Mohammed from the Trinidad and Tobago were present on the occasion.

The festival also saw the presence of other film personalities from the Diaspora like Mira Nair and Manoj Bajpai, Nasreen Munni Kabir, Karan Razdan, Dr Nikhil Kaushik, and Dr Shiv Pande.

Apart from over 30 feature and non-features from the Diaspora and India, there were several panel discussions on subjects like ‘Mauritius – an attractive destination for filmmakers’, ‘India on my mind’; ‘Commerce of NRI Films’, ‘Filmmaking – a question of identity’, and ‘NRI films – the road ahead’.