Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: These days Indian films are not only being raved about in the country but are also being lauded overseas.

The Gujarati film Harun-Arun, directed by Vinod Ganatra for the Children‘s Film Society, has won the Liv Ullmann Peace Prize at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival held last month.

The Liv Ullmann Peace Prize is given to a film that positively addresses difficult topics related to children, such as racism, prejudice and abuse, conservation of the planet, alternative dispute resolution (of individuals, organisations and or countries) or the exploration of any topic which brings children closer with an understanding of the global culture in which they function.

A crossover film, Harun-Arun is the story of a young boy in Pakistan who after being told that his family is in India, manages to cross the border. He is sheltered by three young Indian children without the knowledge of their elders till he can find his parent’s village.

The film will also be screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival that will be held from 14 to 22 January next year. It will be screened in both the Adult and Children sections of the festival.

Meanwhile, the Tamil film Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai by Krishnan Seshadri Gomatam won the Silver Award in the digital section of the Cairo International Film Festival. The film was also a part of Indian Panorama IFFI 2008.

India was the ‘Guest of Honour’ in the Festival and famed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan was the Chairman of the International Jury. Apart from screening of films curated by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) also participated in the Films market at the Festival.

Another Indian entry New York earned the honour of being the opening film at the Festival. The Festival also presented a retrospective of seven films by Madhur Bhandarkar including Corporate, Fashion and Chandni Bar.

Among other films sent by DFF, ‘Summer of 2007’ in the Human Rights Category and Gafle (Scam) in the general category, drew a huge response from viewers.

MUMBAI: PVR Pictures chief executive officer Uday Singh has quit the organisation.

Talking to indiantelevision.com, Singh says, “When I joined PVR in March, handling distribution and production, I was told of rapid expansion in PVR. But now, they wanted to slow down things. I differed with them on this issue. Eventually, finding no way out, I quit on the 23rd of this month.”

Not wanting to divulge more about his future, Singh said, “I have not yet decided about my next move. Wait for the New Year to hear from me.”

Meanwhile, PVR Ltd group president and PVR Blu-O director Pramod Arora will take over as PVR CEO.

Singh joined PVR Pictures in March this year after he left Sony Pictures Releasing of India, where he held the post of executive vice president, production.
 

MUMBAI: Having 30 multiplexes and 109 screens in 21 cities all over India, Inox made its presence felt in Siliguri on 25 December with the opening of its new multiplex ‘Inox Siliguri’. The plex will have 4 screens with 1041 seats.

With this, Inox becomes the only multiplex chain to have eight multiplexes in West Bengal including 4 in Kolkata and 1 each in Darjeeling, Durgapur, Burdwan and Siliguri.

The programming mix will include Hindi, English, Bengali and other regional films. The movies that will be showcased at Inox in the opening week are 3 Idiots, Paa and Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year. 

Said Inox Leisure Ltd.CEO Alok Tandon, “We have ensured that movie-lovers in Siliguri enjoy the top of the line Inox experience. With the multiplex’s convenient location, easy accessibility and modern comforts, we aim to revolutionise movie-watching experience in Siliguri.”

Inox Siliguri is equipped with a fully automated box-office with computerised ticketing.
 

MUMBAI: The last month of the year has had three good releases, one better than the other as far as box-office collections go.

First, it was AB Corp’s Paa that brought to the fore the acting capabilities of the 65-plus Amitabh Bachchan when he played a 13-year-old child. Then we had James Cameron’s Avatar that has supposedly broken box-office records of its Hollywood contemporaries 2012 and The Spiderman in India.

But the Christmas opening of 3 Idiots has brought in a big cheer in industry circles, mopping up over Rs 140 million at the box-office on its opening day of its theatrical release.

Says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “3 Idiots has seen the biggest starts ever, collecting Rs. 25 milion in paid previews on Thursday. Comparatively, the paid preview collections of Ghajini were Rs 16 million net. And the film has had a solid first day opening, with estimates pegged at box-office collections of Rs 140 million.” 

Multiplex players, who have had a tough year with content, expect the movie to emerge as the biggest hit this fiscal. Says Cinemax vice president Devang Sampat, “The film is doing exceptional business. As per our properties, all I can say is that each one has broken its own previous records as far as the box-office returns of the opening day are concerned. To me, 3 Idiots will stand as the biggest hit of 2009.”

Adds Delhi-based PVR Cinemas CEO Amitabh Vardhan, “This is one of the best openings this year in terms of theatrical revenues. Going by the advance booking numbers, we believe the film will continue with its success story in the days to come.”

Made on a budget of Rs 350 million and distributed by Reliance Big Pictures, 3 Idiots has been released with 1894 prints, of which 1550 is for the Indian market.

Interestingly, Khan‘s superhit Ghajini was released during the same time of last year.

Says Reliance Big Pictures domestic distribution head Kamal Gianchandani, “The opening of the film is phenomenal and is currently on its way to become the highest-ever opening weekend grosser.”

MUMBAI: Avatar has garnered Rs 400 million at the box-office during its first seven-day run in India, according to an official statement.

The movie, released in four languages, collected one-fourth of its revenues from 3D theatres.

Said Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh, “The Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions are doing well.”

MUMBAI: Gipsy Films‘ Road To Sangam is being readied for release on 29 January.

Produced by Amit Chheda and directed by Amit Rai, the film is a story of a
God-fearing, devout Muslim mechanic named Hashmat Ullah (Paresh Rawal) who has been entrusted the job of repairing an old V8 ford engine, not knowing the historic significance that it once carried the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi which were immersed in the holy river ‘Sangam‘.

He is caught in a complex situation after a powerful bomb explosion rocks his town leading to the arrest of innocent Muslim youths of his locality. A strike to work is called by the prominent Muslim leaders played by Om Puri and Pavan Mallhotra to protest against the unjust treatment meted out to those arrested youths by the police.

Will he support the protest and abandon the repair of the engine or go against the wishes of his community?

Presented by Shashikant Chheda, Road to Sangam shot completely on actual locations in Allahabad, stars Paresh Rawal, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Javed Shaikh and Swati Chitnis among others.

The film has been screened prominently in the festival circuit, the prominent ones being the Cannes Film Festival, The Ahmedabad Film Festival, The Thirussur Film Festival, Levante Film Frestival Italy, Kolkata Film Festival, Third Eye Film Festival and the 14th Kerala Film Festival.
 

MUMBAI: The Indian Film Company‘s (TIFC) Road, Movie is set to have its European premiere at the 60th Berlin Film Festival that will be held between 1 to 21 February, next year.

Directed by Dev Benegal, the film is an endearing tale of a young man who takes a travelling cinema truck on a life-changing journey across the sublime Indian landscape.

The film follows Vishnu as a restless young man who rejects his father‘s faltering hair oil business and hits the road with a travelling cinema in search of freedom. Along the journey, Vishnu ponders his life‘s priorities as he learns to appreciate his culture and the power of friendship and love.

“This is a moment of glory for us at the TIFC. This is the fourth festival that the film will make its presence in. The film‘s presence at Berlin demonstrates its audience-appeal after its world premiere in Toronto in September last followed by representation in similar international festivals in Tokyo and Doha,” said Indian Film Company CEO Sandeep Bhargava.

Road, Movie, co-produced by TIFC along with Susan B. Landau and Academy Award nominee Ross Katz, stars Abhay Deol, Tannishta Chatterjee and Satish Kahshik among others.

Dev Benegal‘s debut English feature film, August, made in 1994, ignited a wave of independent Indian filmmaking. The film was hailed as a landmark in contemporary Indian cinema.

MUMBAI: The Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) will be held from 7 to 14 January. With this edition is set to become the state‘s official festival.

Screenings will be at E-Square, Inox, Fame multiplex in Fatimanagar, City Pride in Kothrud, National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and NFAI‘s new auditorium on Paud Road.

The PIFF was first held in 2002 and now with the backdrop seven eventful editions, the 8th version of PIFF promises more variety, more movies and greater insight and entertainment into the international cinematic world.

Every year, PIFF attracts dignitaries from the national and international film fraternity. The festival that attracts worldwide attention, will screen films under the Country Focus, World Cinema, Retrospectives, Indian Panorama, Music ‘n‘ sound, NFAI, Tributes categories.

The fest will be presided over by Suresh Kalmadi, MP, and director-PIFF and eminent filmmaker, Jabbar Patel.

For the first time, the Sachin Dev Burman International Award for creative music and sound is being introduced this time and so will be a scriptwriting workshop.

The PIFF, organised jointly by the Pune Film Foundation and the Government of Maharashtra will feature 150 films from 42 countries.

The festival will be inaugurated at the Balgandharva Rangmandir on 7 January
and the concluding ceremony will also be at the same venue.

The Pune International Film Festival was launched in 2002, with an idea of attracting the best in celluloid to Pune. The first “International Film Festival” received a response brimming with success. Slowly, event by event, PIFF has evolved into a major annual event.

Delegates can register their films from December 25.

NEW DELHI: Eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal was unanimously elected as chairman of the Expert Committee for upgradation of the National Film Awards.

Speaking to the Committee members, I & B Minister Ambika Soni suggested that every effort should be made to ensure that the recommendations should be proper, democratic and transparent to minimise litigation. She also wanted that a time schedule should be set up for the National Film Awards (NFA) so that these become an annual feature in the film calendar of all film buffs.

Replying to her suggestions, the committee said that it would submit its recommendations by 15 March next year to be able to make qualitative changes for NFA 2009.

The committee will also make recommendations regarding upgradation of National Film Awards for feature, non-feature and best writing on cinema and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the resultant changes to be made in the Regulations.

The members acknowledged that National Film Awards carry a dignity and importance unrivalled by any other Awards in the industry, purely because National Film Awards give due recognition to the pan-Indian cinema in the country.

However, the members suggested that newer formats such as digital and newer media should be recognised, keeping in view the technological advancements. The Members were also of the view that a two-tier juries – regional and national – should be appointed to do justice to the language nuances/regional significance.

Members also suggested that in keeping with the earlier recommendations of the Satyajit Ray Committee and Karanth Committee reports, a ‘Chalchitra Academy’ should be established.

Increasing the cash components of the Awards and rationalizing the censorship procedures were also discussed.

Among those who attended the meeting today were Benegal, Ashoke Vishwanathan, Jahnu Barua, Mohan Agashe, Nagesh Kukunoor, Rajiv Mehrotra, Shaji N Karun, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sai Paranjapye and Central Board of Film Certification Chairperson Sharmila Tagore. Senior officials of the Ministry and Directorate of Film Festivals were also present.
 

NEW DELHI: A Task Force has been set up by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry under the chairman of the Special Secretary Uday Varma to recommend measures to combat film, video, cable and video piracy.

The Task Force will have filmmaker Yash Chopra, Film & Television Producers’ Guild of India President Manmohan Shetty; former Film Federation of India President G. Adisheshagiri Rao; Indian Broadcasting Foundation President Jawahar Goel, and Association of Radion Operators’s of India member Prashant Pandey.

The Task Force will hold consultations with State Governments as well as stakeholders before finalizing their recommendations and submit its report within a period of six months – before 18 June 2010.

The decision to form the Task Force had been taken following the recommendations of the 27th State Information Ministers’ Conference (SIMCON) held here on 5 December 2009.