ITV

Category: Hindi

  • Osian’s Film Festival from 24 to 30 October

    NEW DELHI: About 100 feature and short films from across 25 countries including India will be screened in the 11th Osian’s-Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. The festival will be held in Delhi from 24 to 30 October.

    As in previous years, the festival is being organised by Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art in association with the government of the NCT of Delhi.

    The opening film of the festival will be a France-Romanian co-production, Hooked, directed by Adrian Sitaru.


    For the first time, India will be in the spotlight at the festival. Said Osian‘s chairman Neville Tuli, “With Osian’s entering the world of learning and education with Osian’s Learning Experience (OLE), the programming lineup of the festival has altered profoundly providing a radical platform for OLE. The role of learning and education will henceforth be taken up in an explicit manner.”


    Tuli denied that the festival had been scaled down but said priorities had been re-defined.

    The NewStream Cinema section with six prominent Hindi films takes this concept further and will showcase and explore exhaustively films that have dared to redefine mainstream cinema.


    These films are Amir, Dev D, Kaminey, Love Aaj Kal, Luck by Chance and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!.

    In a new initiative, there is the InDialogue section of 34 films from 28 countries that show a dialogue of sensibilities amongst the makers of a certain kind of cinema dedicated to the subtlest and most intelligent employment of the possibilities of the cinematic, all over the world.


    The Indian features in the InCompetition section are 033, Khargosh and Man’s Woman and other stories.

  • Diwali releases set to sparkle

    MUMBAI: The countdown has begun. Like every year, this Diwali has three big releases lined up.

    The releases, Shree Ashtavinayak‘s Blue, Ajay Devgn Ffilms‘ All The Best and Sohail Khan‘s Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, are set to sparkle with viewers thronging theatres to watch their favourite films.

    Insiders in the trade feel that the three films would revive and rejuvenate the industry that has been ailing since the last few months except for a couple of good films like Wanted and Wake Up Sid.

    Thanks to the festive season and three big films in the fray, there is expectancy of good business all-around.

    Brisk bookings have been noticed in cinema halls and multiplexes. Says Cinemax COO Devang Sampat, “The bookings for all the three films are satisfying because they cater to different genres. People who want action will want to see Blue first, while viewers who want to see comedy will opt for All The Best and people who like love stories will opt for Main Aurr Mrs Khanna. I have heard of people who have booked one film after another in simultaneous shows.”


    Avers Fun Cinemas CEO Vikas Kapoor, “We are booked for the entire weekend and also for Monday when we will see maximum footfalls. Going by its promotions, tickets for Blue was most sought-after, followed by All The Best and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.

    Another clash akin to the one this week will be seen on 30 October when Vipul Shah‘s London Dreams clashes with Eros Entertainment‘s magic film Aladin.

    Coming to last week‘s solo release, Acid Factory has made a dent into the pocket of its distributors. The film had a poor opening at the box-office with it doing a business of Rs 15 million on its first day run with as many as 800 prints.


    From the previous week‘s releases, Dharma Productions‘ Wake Up Sid collected Rs 160 million in its first-week run while Vashu Bhagnani‘s Do Knot Disturb collected around Rs 145 million.


    Meanwhile, the Salman Khan starrer Wanted has done a net business of over
    Rs 500 million while Yash Raj



    Films‘ Dil Bole Hadippa has garnered approximately Rs 225 million.


  • Blockbuster.co.uk adds 100 Bollywood films for DVD rental

    MUMBAI: In time with the Diwali celebration, UK-based DVD rental outlet Blockbuster has made available 100 essential Bollywood films including Hindi classics on its DVD rental online service, Blockbuster.co.uk.

    Among the films are Namesake, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Swades, We The People, Sarkar and Lagaan.

    Details of other films in the list could be had from Blockbuster.co.uk. The essential Bollywood collection is part of a brand new section called Blockbuster Essentials, available exclusively at Blockbuster.co.uk.

    Founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1985, Blockbuster Inc. is a leading global provider of in-home rental, retail movie and game entertainment.

    Blockbuster.co.uk provides the latest releases and also gives its customers much more choice from classic titles, foreign films, music DVDs, interactive game DVDs, language DVDs and popular TV series.

    In 20 years, Blockbuster has grown from a single video rental store to become the biggest rental company with many stores around the world.

  • Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski on UTV World Movies in October

    MUMBAI: In its In-Focus category, UTV World Movies will feature Krzysztof Kieslowski for the entire month of October on Wednesdays at 8.30 pm. It will focus on the unmatched and impeccable works of the most influential Polish writer-director.

    Kieslowski was a leading director of documentaries, television and feature films from the 1970s to the 1990s. The social and moral themes of contemporary times became the focus of his many significant films and his humanist treatment of those themes secured his place as one of the greatest of modern film directors.

    His film career began when he served as assistant director on Abbas


    Kiarostami‘s Through the Olive Trees.

    His last work, a trilogy, is regarded by many as the finest single collection of films ever made. Also made in both France and Poland, the trilogy was titled Trois Couleurs (Three Colors), each based on a different colour of the French flag and representing its social slogan evolving from the Revolution.


    While Blue is the showcase piece for artistic direction, White is the starkly contrasting but highly articulate portrait and Red is the graceful and warmest of the three films. The films were scheduled to be released three months apart from each other while each could stand on its own; they were designed to be seen as a single entity.


    The Decalogue (1988), a series of ten short films each nominally based on one of the Ten Commandments, was created for Polish television with funding from West Germany.


    Said UTV World Movies programming head Manasi Sapre, “With his Three Colours and Decalogue series – Kieslowski is one of the best loved and most well-known of European directors in the world. His films, especially A Short Film About Love (which was remade in Hindi!!) and Three Colours Blue always top the favourite film lists of Indian media and film fans. Lyrical, controversial and a true master of his craft: Kieslowski is a director whose films have an unlimited potential of emotional and intellectual enlightenment every time you view them.”


  • Sanjeev Lamba joins Reliance Big Pictures as CEO

    MUMBAI: Reliance Big Entertainment has roped in Sanjeev Lamba as Reliance Big Pictures CEO.

    Prior to this, Reliance‘s motion pictures arm had no CEO. Mahesh was heading the division as Reliance Big Pictures COO.


    Lamba moves in from Zee Entertainment Studios, the motion pictures arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel), where he was COO.


    Says Lamba, “We are currently undergoing a significant change in the way Indian movies are made, distributed and marketed. Reliance is well positioned to be a long term global media and entertainment player, particularly in movies. I am looking forward to working with the senior team already in place to build a strong profitable global movie business.”


    Apart from Zee, Lamba has also worked with Ogilvy and Mather in Mumbai and New Delhi, The Walt Disney Company in Hong Kong, Tokyo and California and the Weinstein Company in New York.


    Says Reliance Big Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna, “I am sure he will help build Reliance Big Pictures into a pre-eminent film studio in India and overseas.”

  • DIAF pays tribute to Bimal Roy

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) recently organised a film festival on a rare gem of Indian cinema, Bimal Roy.

    The tribute to the filmmaker was organised by the DIAF in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals and the National Film Archives, India to commemorate his birth centenary with the screening of five Hindi films.

    Roy’s son Joy and daughter Aparajita Sinha said that their father had lived for his cinema and gave full attention to the medium and would continue to live in the hearts of the people as long as people kept coming to see his films.

    Rattnotama Sengupta, daughter of the late filmmaker and writer Nabendu Ghosh who had written most of Roy’s films said that the films of Roy came out of real-life characters and out of literature. Director of Film Festivals, S M Khan and Arshiya Sethi of DIAF also paid their tributes on the occasion.


    Films screened in the Bimal Roy tribute section were Bandini, Parakh, Sujata, Do Bigha Zameen and Madhumati. The films were varied for their range. If Bandini was about the moral dilemma of a condemned woman and her struggle for social legitimacy, Parakh was about greed and lust for money. Sujata dealt with the divides created by casteism while Do Bigha Zameen told the story of a zamindar‘s hold on the rural poor. Madhumati was a commercial film with lighter moments tinged with some hints of re-incarnation.

    It would not be wrong to describe Bimal Roy as a filmmaker who crossed national and international boundaries through his cinema. Noted for his realistic and socialistic films, Roy made around forty features and documentaries from 1944 till his death on 7 January, 1966 in Mumbai.

    After a long stint in Kolkata, Roy launched Bimal Roy Productions in 1952-53 with Do Bigha Zameen that made a strong universal impact for its humane portrayal of Indian peasantry.


    Do Bigha Zameen has the additional distinction of being one of the first Indian films to win awards and accolades in China, UK, Karlovy Vary, Cannes, the then Soviet Union, Venice and Melbourne.


    It is considered one of the ten best Indian films of all time.

  • PVR in plans to invest Rs 1.6 bn for expansion

    MUMBAI: PVR Cinemas is in plans to invest Rs 1.6 billion to scale up its screen and bowling alley network in the country.

    Said PVR Blu-O Director Pramod Arora, “We plan to invest Rs 1000 million to add 60 more screens by the end of this fiscal and open five bowling alleys in the next calendar year.”


    The balance 600 million would be invested in setting up the five bowling alleys in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. The company also plans to set up 60 new alleys across the country over the next two-and-a-half-years.


    “These new alleys will come up in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Cochin,” Arora added. Presently, Blu-O has a 24-lane bowling alley at Gurgaon in NCR, which has posted a revenue of Rs 150 million, Arora said.


    Currently, the company runs 108 screens nationwide. PVR earned a Rs 270 crore revenue in FY 09 thus projecting a 40 per cent growth this fiscal from its cinemas.


    From its bowling alley segment alone, PVR expects a 100 per cent growth this fiscal and a whopping 500 per cent growth next financial year.

  • UTV signs exclusive three-year deal with Anurag Kashyap

    MUMBAI: UTV has signed an exclusive deal with Anurag Kashyap for the next three years. In this period, Kashyap will direct 4 to 5 films produced by UTV, while creatively producing an equal number of films in this period.

    Said UTV Motion Pictures COO Vikas Bahl, “Anurag Kashyap is an extremely talented director with a unique vision for his projects. There is a clear connect between how we want each of our films to be exceptional and diverse in various aspects and how Anurag treats each of his projects.

    “Dev D, a UTV Spotboy film directed by Anurag, was a blockbuster and set the base for a phenomenal working relationship. We now want to take this association forward with a long-term perspective and that is exactly how this idea came about.”


    Averred Anurag Kashyap, “I am very happy to sign up with UTV because it gives me the freedom to make the kind of films I want to and feel UTV supports as well as enhances my creative process.


    “Not only do I enjoy directing for UTV but I also appreciate the support they give to films and filmmakers in delivering a creative vision that the films demand. Making Dev D was one of the most satisfying experiences and the production and distribution support that I got from UTV was the best I ever had. A repeat of that is always welcome.”

    Dev D, the first UTV Spotboy film directed by Anurag Kashyap, was a modern take on Devdas, the novel written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The film broke all the typecasts of the original novel including its principal characters.

  • Academy invites Pookutty to be voting member

    MUMBAI: Academy of Motion Pictures has invited Sound Engineer, Resul Pookutty to be a voting member of the Academy. Pookutty had, this year, won the Oscar for his work in Slumdog Millionaire.

    Now, Pookutty is among the 134 privileged artistes who have received an invitation to join the Oscar roster of voting.


    Other big names who are part of this elite group include Hollywood legends like Will Smith, Jack Nicholson, Quentin Tarantino besides Indians such as Mira Nair and A. R.Rahman.

  • Mumbai Film Festival from 29 October

    MUMBAI: The 11th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) will be held from 29 October to 5 November.

    Organised by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), MFF, a Reliance Big Entertainment initiative, has the distinction of being the only international film festival in India to be organised by an independent body of practicing film professionals.

    Says filmmaker Shyam Benegal, “All the sections of the festival carry some of the best films made the world over. Whether it‘s the thematic or the director‘s point of view that makes every film so distinctive, our audience will be able to see and experience it for themselves.”


    The festival is divided into five sections – international competition for the first feature films of directors, world cinema, Indian showcase, dimensions Mumbai and retrospectives.

    Above The Cut, an out of competition section, will highlight those debut features which are extraordinary but could not be included in the competition section. Films to be screened in the section include Rwanda, The Day God Walked Away (France), She A Chinese (UK-France-Germany), Ajami (Germany-Israel), La Pivellina (Austria-Italy) and Should I really Do It? (Turkey).

    Some of other Indian films to be screened at the festival include Bengali films like Buddhadeb Dasgupta‘s Janala and Rituparno Ghosh‘s Abohomaan along with Marathi films like Umesh Kulkarni‘s Vihir and Renuka Shahane‘s Rita and Madhupal‘s Malayalam film, The Crown.