Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: The promos of Rahul Bose‘s I Dream Productions‘ horror film Fired have run into trouble with the Censor Board as they contain too much blood and gore as well as nudity in a sex scene between Bose and British model Militza Radmilovic.

Censor Board has deemed the yet to be aired promos to fall under ‘A‘ certificate, and are inappropriate to be aired on Indian television, according to Cable television Network (Regulation) Act.

The producers were asked to remove nudity and tone down the violent scenes. However, even after the cut, the promos have still attracted an ‘A‘ certificate.
 
“We don‘t understand the system. At one level, we have television channels showing horror shows and the Censor board has no control over that,” IDream Production CEO Ashish Bhatnagar said in a statement.

“There seems to be double standard of censorship of content on TV. As a producer, we are not allowed to promote our film on TV. We don‘t know how we can put the message across to the audience that ours is a horror film if we are not allowed to show blood and gore in the promos,” Bhatnagar added.

Rahul Bose feels that the Censor Board has not taken things in the right context. “I feel we have misplaced the sense of censorship. What I feel is gory or vulgar, somebody else might not. Even for the sex scene, I feel people are more mature now and hence self-censorship should be the key.”

Fired, a directorial debut of Sajid Warrier, is scheduled to release next year.

MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks has partnered with Los Angeles-based In-Three to establish a facility in India that will convert 2D films and videos into 3D.

The facility, which will commence work from February next year, will address the growing demand by Hollywood studios and other global content creators for converting both new films shot in 2D as well as older titles to be released in cinemas and on home platforms in stereoscopic 3D.

The partnership is expected to be able to cater to 15-25 feature films projects per year. Work on the first joint title will commence beginning of 2010, with several projects planned for a start in the first half of 2010.

“We are excited and bullish on the 3D entertainment market. This partnership is a joint effort that combines the best of technology and artistic talent from Hollywood with the most advanced skills and large scale image processing capabilities in India,” says Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun. “Reliance MediaWorks already does image enhancement and restoration for the leading Hollywood studios and the expansion of services into 2D-to-3D conversion was a natural next step for the company.”

The partnership will combine In-Three’s software tools for ‘dimensionalisation‘ with Reliance MediaWorks infrastructure. In-Three is a company that specialises in 2D to stereo 3D conversion.

Says In-Three CEO Neil Feldman, “In order to meet the full slate of films that In-Three has lined up for 2010 and beyond, we sought out the best possible international partner. One that could provide the level of quality our studio clients expect, which made Reliance MediaWorks the natural choice for us.”
The number of 3D cinema screens worldwide is expected to rise from 2,500 in 2008 to over 7,000 this year and 15,000 by 2013, fuelling demand for 3D films.

The In-Three-Reliance MediaWorks stereoscopic 3D alliance will also benefit from the proprietary image processing tools – that are key to image processing – developed by Reliance MediaWork’s Burbank-based subsidiary Lowry Digital, Hollywood’s film restoration and image processing expert.

NEW DELHI: The National Film Development Corporation, which commenced production over the last two years and produced eight films, has received funds under the 11th Plan to help its production activities and also revitalize it.

Noting that the Corporation had accumulated losses of Rs 276.2 million as on March 31 2009, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said all Union Ministries and state governments had been urged to give production work of documentaries and video spots of their states to NFDC.

She told Parliament that the government had no plans to close down the Corporation and was working towards “revamping and rejuvenating” it. A voluntary retirement scheme had helped in reducing the staff strength from 211 to 141, she added.

These losses were due to the “decline of gross profit margins and loss of business of marketing of free commercial time (FCT) of Doordarshan and due to the loss of royalty after DD stopped acquiring films”, she said.

NFDC was earlier permitted to retain the money from the commercials in the films when they were telecast on Doordarshan. But the situation underwent a change with the starting of Prasar Bharati.

An amount of Rs 367.5 million is owed to NFDC by advertisement agents, and it has lodged cases against 16 such companies.

MUMBAI: AB Corp’s Paa, released this week, opened to a good response as cinema-watchers were curious to see the 60-plus Amitabh Bachchan playing the role of a 13-year-old child.

The film has already grossed Rs 200 million in the opening weekend, according to industry estimates.

Paa had an average opening on its first day, but picked up considerably on Saturday and Sunday. The film had a 62 per cent occupancy on the first day at both single screen theatres as well as multiplexes, but made fantastic business on Saturday and Sunday.

Not only has Bachchan essayed the role of Auro (character played by Bachchan) perfectly but has also made people cry and laugh with the character that he has played. This has resulted in a lot of word-of-mouth publicity.

 
Says AB Corp CEO wing commander Ramesh Pulapaka, “Compared to Friday, occupancies increased nearly 50 per cent on Saturday. We have been receiving good comments about the film. To me, mouth publicity has been a positive factor. The film will do very well.”

Multiplex players said Paa, like Tare Zameen Par , has started on a slow note but recorded a significant jump in ticket sales on Saturday and Sunday following strong word-of-mouth reviews.

Fun Cinema COO Vishal Kapur said, “The film has done fairly well over the weekend and we are expecting around 50 per cent occupancy throughout the week.”

Inox Leisure vice president programming and distribution Utpal Acharya said, “While the film is doing very well in the metros, it is picking up in the smaller centres. People are very positive about the film because of which we are expecting the film to pick up well.”

MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks has partnered with Los Angeles-based In-Three to establish a facility in India that will convert 2D films and videos into 3D.

The facility, which will commence work from February next year, will address the growing demand by Hollywood studios and other global content creators for converting both new films shot in 2D as well as older titles to be released in cinemas and on home platforms in stereoscopic 3D.

The partnership is expected to be able to cater to 15-25 feature films projects per year. Work on the first joint title will commence beginning of 2010, with several projects planned for a start in the first half of 2010.

“We are excited and bullish on the 3D entertainment market. This partnership is a joint effort that combines the best of technology and artistic talent from Hollywood with the most advanced skills and large scale image processing capabilities in India,” says Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun. “Reliance MediaWorks already does image enhancement and restoration for the leading Hollywood studios and the expansion of services into 2D-to-3D conversion was a natural next step for the company.”

 
The partnership will combine In-Three’s software tools for ‘dimensionalisation‘ with Reliance MediaWorks infrastructure. In-Three is a company that specialises in 2D to stereo 3D conversion.

Says In-Three CEO Neil Feldman, “In order to meet the full slate of films that In-Three has lined up for 2010 and beyond, we sought out the best possible international partner. One that could provide the level of quality our studio clients expect, which made Reliance MediaWorks the natural choice for us.”
The number of 3D cinema screens worldwide is expected to rise from 2,500 in 2008 to over 7,000 this year and 15,000 by 2013, fuelling demand for 3D films.

The In-Three-Reliance MediaWorks stereoscopic 3D alliance will also benefit from the proprietary image processing tools – that are key to image processing – developed by Reliance MediaWork’s Burbank-based subsidiary Lowry Digital, Hollywood’s film restoration and image processing expert.

MUMBAI: Making its foray into the North East, Cinemax has launched its first property in Siliguri.

With the launch of Cinemax-Savin Plaza in Dagapur, Siliguri, Cinemax has established a strong presence in the region.

The four-screen multiplex opened yesterday with the release of PAA. The new property is a step towards the reinforcement of Cinemax‘s commitment of providing the best of Indian and international cinema to all its viewers across the country.

The Cinemax at Siliguri will host a total of 974 seats. Screen I has a capacity of 216 patrons, Screen II can seat 242 patrons. The capacity of Screen III is 216 patrons while Screen IV has a capacity to seat 300 patrons.

The multiplex will also host 73 recliner seats.

 
Talking on the launch, Cinemax India Ltd Senior Vice President Devang Sampat said, “Cinemax has established its presence with a strong emphasis on screen size, picture and sound quality and innovative consumer offers, offering viewers a variety which keeps them coming back for more.”

MUMBAI: Three films from the Reliance Big Pictures stable – Well Done Abba, Kutty Srank and Janala – will feature in the 6th Dubai International Film Festival that will go underway on 9 December and end on the 16th.

The directors and principal artistes of all these films will travel to Dubai for the screening and promotion of their films.

Hindi film Well Done Abba will be competing in the Muhr Asia Africa section along with 14 other films from across the world, with only one more Indian film in that section.

Artistes associated with the film including Boman Irani, Minissha Lamba and Sameer Dattani will be present at the festival. The film will be screened on 11 and 12 December.

 
Malayalam film Kutty Srank will be screened on 11 and 13 December in the Celebration of Indian Cinema section. Director Shaji N Karun along with Mammootty will be present at the festival.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta‘s Bengali film Janala is being screened in Cinema of Asia Africa section where the director and lead actor Indraneil Sengupta will represent the film. The film will be screened on 12 and 14 December.

Comments Reliance Big Pictures COO Mahesh Ramanathan, “It‘s a great way to round off the year. The worldwide release of Paa and 3 Idiots and these festival selections add luster to a successful year where Reliance Big Pcitures has made the world take notice of the talent and growing reach of filmmakers from India.”

All these films are expected to release theatrically next year.

NEW DELHI: The Golden Peacock for the best film went to the Taiwanese film I can’t Live without you by Leon Dai, while Ounie Leconte won the best director award (Silver Peacock) for the film A Brand New Life, a South Korea-France co-production at the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that concluded at Kala Academy here last night.

The Special Jury award went to the Georgia-Kazakhstan film The Other Bank by George Ovashvili.

Apart from the Governor of Goa, Dr S S Sidhu, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr S Jagathrakshakan, and Goa Assembly Speaker Pratapsingh Rane were among those who were present.

The glitter and shine of the show was lent by the Chief Guest of the evening, renowned star Mammootty, along with Bollywood stars Jackie Shroff and Rati Agnihotri, apart from International Jury member Sarika.

Others present at the programme, presented by actor Rohit Roy and former Miss India Sayali Bhagat, included V B Pyarelal, Joint Secretary (Films) in the I & B Ministry and Entertainment Society of Goa Chief Executive Officer Manoj Srivastava. The award-winners were also present.

While the Golden Peacock for the best film was presented by Dr Sidhu, the Silver Peacock for best director was given away by Mammootty and the Silver Peacock for best director by Dr Jagathrakshakan. As each award was announced, members of the jury read out the Citations.

The Golden Peacock also comprised a cash award of Rs two million each for the producer and director, and the Silver Peacock awardees received Rs 1.5 million each.

Dr Sidhu suggested the state government should think in terms of building a film city. He said the increasing participation in the film festival was evidence of the attempt to make this festival of the standard of those in Cannes, Toronto or Berlin.
 

Cinema, he said, is the ultimate product of artistic creation and self-expression. It was a vibrant medium which had led to job creation for millions. But he stressed the need to encourage filmmakers by creating a conducive environment to enhance the national image. He said there was a scope for an image makeover in the mainstream cinema to show the kind of resurgence that had been seen in regional cinema.

Dr Jagathrakshakan said the film industry is responsible for shaping the thoughts of the common man, and therefore there is greater responsibility on this medium. Indian cinema had begun to reach new heights, and the Oscar to maestro A R Rahman for the film ‘The Slumdog Millionaire’ was an ample example of this.

Cinema was also an important economic driver and the industry was expected to grow from the present Rs 85,000 million to 175,000 million by 2011, thus registering a compounded annual growth rate of 11 per cent. He said the central government will create the right policy environment for the growth of the film industry.

He said that a meeting of the organizing committee of the IFFI would be held soon to review the 40th IFFI and wanted suggestions on how this festival can be improved further.

Thespian Mammooty, who has acted in more than 300 films in the last 28 years in different languages, said India did not need to compete with Hollywood. Indian cinema was successful because it talked in the language of human emotions, and he felt honours received within the country were higher than Oscars or international awards, though he clarified that he was not belittling those awards.

The competition section had films from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China/UK, Georgia/Kazakhstan, Iran, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Korea/France, Sri Lanka and Taiwan and two from India.

The jury was headed by the noted Director from Brazil Joao Batista de Andrade. Other members of the jury were Kenichi Okubu (Japan), Jean-Michel Frodon (France), Sarika (India) and Vic Sarin (Canada).

Films from Croatia, Estonia, Italy, Poland and France were screened under Country Focus section while Latin America was the Continent in Focus. The films of Gurinder Chadha, Manoel de Oliviera and Nonjee Nimibutr were screened in Retrospectives Section.

The 11-day extravaganza, which began on 23 November with the screening of He Ping’s Wheat, witnessed screening of 300 films from 47 countries. In the international section, a total of 145 films were shown in 18 categories. These included 54 in Cinema of the World, 15 in the Competition, five in the Focus on Latin America, and 23 in the Country Focus categories.
 

NEW DELHI: Kelkkunnundo (Are You Listening) by Geethu Mohandas bagged the Golden Lamp Tree in the International Competition for Short films and documentaries at the Short Film Center held as part of the 40th International Film Festival of India.

The Vasudha Award for best environmental films was shared by Sanjeev Sivan and Umesh Aggarwala’s Underground Infernoand Meltdown in Tibet by Michael Buckley. The Silver Lamp Tree for International competition went to Wagah directed by Supriyo Sen.

The Golden Lamp Tree carries a cash prize of Rs 500,000, a trophy and a citation while the Silver Lamp Tree carries a cash prize of Rs 300,000.

Vasudha comprises a cash component of Rs 3,00,000 shared by the two films.

The awards were given away by the Chief Secretary of Goa, Sanjay Srivastava, Secretary for Information and Publicity Narendra Kumar and Festival Director S M Khan. Entertainment Society of Goa Chief Executive Officer Manoj Srivastava was also present.

Ramesh Tekwani, Vice President of Indian Documentary Producers Association, said there were 20 films in the international section and six in the environment section, shortlisted out of 300 entries. Last year, 50 films were taken by buyers from across the world.

The Jury Members for the International Competition section were Shaji Karun (Chairman), Juhani Allanen, Michael Orth, Marina Anna Eich and Philiph Cheah.

The Jury Members for the Environmental Competition Section were Mike Pandey (Chairman), Lucia Rikaki and Naira Margaryan.
 

MUMBAI: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard‘s Imagine Entertainment is among the leading Hollywood production companies to have signed development/production financing deals, entitled Creative Partnerships, with Reliance Big Entertainment.

The first project under the deal will be Mofos, a film about two 20-something best friends who are unemployed, strapped for cash, down on their luck and decide to start up a business as Los Angeles‘ most unlikely male escorts. The film will be produced by Brian Grazer and written by Josh Berghaus and Jay Shore.

Said Brian Grazer, “Ron and I are pleased to have signed this deal with our friends at Reliance. With their huge expertise in one of the most exciting film industries in the world, they bring a wholly different global perspective to our Hollywood based industry and we welcome the extra independence that their financing will give us.”

Confirming the partnership, Reliance Big Entertainment‘s chairman Amit Khanna commented, “Brian Grazer and Ron Howard have forged Imagine as a major powerhouse in Hollywood and I‘m delighted to have been able to close this deal. Our ‘creative partnerships‘ have proven very attractive to filmmakers seeking innovative ways in which to develop and finance individual films. We are now looking forward to moving into the filmmaking stage on several projects.‘

“These creative partnerships will lead to Reliance co-financing with the US Studios where existing first-look deals are in place. From the conversations to date, we know that the respective studios welcome our development silos and our subsequent co-financing ability. We broke completely new ground by empowering some of the best talent in Hollywood and continue to do so,‘” Khanna added.

The deal was brokered by CAA on behalf of Reliance Big Entertainment and Josh Berghaus and Jay Shore.