Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: Last week‘s releases Wake Up Sid and Do Knot Disturb have taken a good opening at the box office.
Dharma Production‘s Wake Up Sid has collected over Rs 215 million at the worldwide box office in the first weekend of its theatrical release.

The movie, which was released on 2 October and distributed worldwide by UTV Motion Pictures, has managed to cross Rs 170 million in India alone with a 420-screen release.

In the overseas market, Wake Up Sid collected more than Rs 40 million on less than 200 screens, UTV claimed.

In UK, the movie grossed $165,934, while in the US it mopped up $355,532. In the Gulf, it grossed a per print average of $9,575.

UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “For a primarily urban centric, coming of age romantic drama, its box office performance reflects that themes and subjects which were considered ‘niche‘ in the past have now completely broken into mainstream cinema – not just in India, but also in traditional markets, like the UK. The word of mouth the film has generated will ensure a long and successful run.”

Wake Up Sid is the story of a quintessential Mumbai rich kid who is wealthy, lazy, and completely lacking in focus. His meeting with a girl from Kolkata results in a ‘coming of age‘ for Sid.

Meanwhile, the David Dhawan film Do Knot Disturb opened slightly lower at around 60 to 70 per cent occupancy.

Said PVR Cinemas CEO Amitabh Vardhan, “Both the films have done good business. Wake Up Sid could garner a business of 80 per cent while Do Knot Disturb made an average business collecting around 70 per cent.”

Meanwhile, the fortunes of What‘s Your Rashee seems to be on the decline. The running time of approximately 3.20 hours has come as a demoralizer both within and outside the industry, despite distributors trimming the film by deleting three songs.

Of the old releases Wanted has been proclaimed a hit.

Meanwhile, the advance booking of Blue, which is to release on 16 October, started two weeks earlier on 4 October. “A ploy, just because two other films – Ajay Devgan‘s All The Best and Salman Khan‘s Main Aurr Mrs Khanna – will be releasing on the same day. This could work in favour of the Shree Ashtavinayak film,” says Vardhan.

MUMBAI: After Bal Ganesh, Shemaroo Entertainment is all set to woo children once again with Bal Ganesh 2 that will release across the country on 23 October

The 3D animation film has been produced by Shemaroo Entertainment in association with Astute Media Vision.

The sequel explores fresh new heroic tales of Bal Ganesh as he battles with the wicked and powerful rakshas Gajamukhasur, competes with the intelligent Maharshi Vyasa and his several naughty antics along with his Mooshak and friends.

Announcing the launch, Shemaroo Entertainment VP, Animation Smita Maroo said, “The overwhelming response to Bal Ganesh prompted us to consider a sequel and here it is! We are glad that Bal Ganesh 2 is the first Indian animation release of the year.”

Said Pankaj Sharma, director of Bal Ganesh and Bal Ganesh 2, “There are quite a few pleasant surprises awaiting all Bal Ganesh fans. We had great fun working on this film and Shemaroo has been very supportive in all our endeavours. We are confident that kids and families will enjoy watching this film.”

It may be recalled that Bal Ganesh won the best animated feature film and best animated character at the Lil Star Awards 2008.

NEW DELHI: Renowned filmmaker Priyadarshan, who recently won the National award for the best film of 2007 for Kanchivaram, today said that famed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa had inspired thousands of filmmakers worldwide and continues to do so even after his death.

Inaugurating a two-day retrospective of Kurosawa’s films organised as part of the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Japanese Embassy, Priyadarshan said that the Hollywood film Vantage Pointmade barely two years earlier had been inspired by Roshomon, the 1950 feature film which was the opening film of the retrospective.

He himself had been inspired by Kurosawa’s style and this was his reason for paying a tribute at the opening of the retrospective, he added.

Later in an interaction, he said that such festivals like the DIAF were very essential to keep alive the cultural traditions of the country.

While refering to the popularity of Indian cinema in Japan, Japan Information Centre Director Kojiro Uchiyama said even the film Sholaywas inspired by Kurosawa.

Director of Film Festivals, S M Khan and DIAF Director Pratibha Prahlad were also present in the occasion. The other films being screened at the festival are Doomed, High and Low, Red Beardand Sanjuro at the Sirifort Auditorium on 3 and 4 October.

Best known in India for his films Seven Samurai (1954) and Roshomon(1950), Kurosawa was a filmmaker who was emulated by filmmakers all over the world.

The Magnificent Seven by Hollywood filmmaker John Sturges and starred Yul Brynner, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Robert Vaughn made several years later was a copy of Seven Samurai.

China Gate made by Rajkumar Santoshi some years earlier is also an adaptation of this theme as are many other films like Karan Arjun where villagers unite to fight villains.

Akira Kurosawa (23 March 1910 – 6 September 1998) was a director, producer, screenwriter and editor. In a career that spanned 50 years, Kurosawa directed 30 films. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in film history.

In 1989, he was awarded the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement “for cinematic accomplishments that have inspired, delighted, enriched and entertained worldwide audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world.”

He was hired and worked as an assistant director to Kajiro Yamamoto. After his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata in 1943, his next few films were made under the watchful eye of the wartime Japanese government and sometimes contained nationalistic themes. For instance, The Most Beautiful(1944) is a propaganda film about Japanese women working in a military optics factory. Judo Saga 2 (1945) portrays Japanese judo as superior to western (American) boxing.

His first post-war film No regrets for our Youth(1946), by contrast, is critical of the old Japanese regime and is about the wife of a left-wing dissident who is arrested for his political leanings. Kurosawa made several more films dealing with contemporary Japan, most notably Drunken Angel (1948) and Stray Dog (1949). However, it was Roshomon that led to him being known internationally and won him the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Kurosawa had a distinctive cinematic technique, which he had developed by the 1950s. He liked using telephoto lenses for the way they flattened the frame. He believed that placing cameras farther away from his actors produced better performances as they would not be conscious of the camera. He also liked using multiple cameras which allowed him to shoot an action scene from different angles. As with the use of telephoto lenses, the multiple-camera technique also prevented Kurosawa‘s actors from “figuring out which one is shooting him” and [invariably turning] one-third to halfway in its direction.”

Kurosawa‘s perfectionism showed in his approach to costumes: he felt that giving an actor a brand new costume made the character look less than authentic. Kurosawa did not believe that “finished” music went well with film. When choosing a musical piece to accompany his scenes, he usually had it stripped down to one element (e.g., trumpets only).

Red Beard (1965) was a drastic investment of time and money for Kurosawa (the production was such a strain to his customary hero – for 16 films – Toshiro Mifune, that he had a falling out with Kurosawa and would never again appear in one of his films ). Despite the film’s critical acclaim, Kurosawa spent the next five years trying to get a project off the ground. Dodes’ ka-den (1970) – Kurosawa’s first colour film and a daring stylistic reach for the artiste – had the unfortunate fate of being jeered at by most Japanese critics.

NEW DELHI: The 55th Annual General Meeting of the Guild was held in Mumbai recently. Senior film distributor and entrepreneur Manmohan Shetty has been re-elected President of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India.

Said an elated Shetty, “I am happy that I have been re-elected. A president of the Guild normally has a two-year term. I have just completed a year. In fact this election is a continuation of my post. Though I have no special plans, I will keep on tackling matters as and when they come.”

Raj Tilak, Ravi Chopra, Bobby Bedi and Dheeraj Kumar were re-elected vice-presidents and so were filmmakers Karan Johar and Mukesh Bhatt.

Manish Goswami and Sushilkumar Agrawal were re-elected treasurers.

Filmmakers Ashutosh Gowariker, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar and Vishal Bharadwaj were inducted into the Council of Management of the Guild.

NEW DELHI: As a pilot project, Helpage India has launched a special film festival of feature films

and documentaries on senior citizens. The festival will travel to various parts of the country over the next year.

The i’mage HelpAge India International Film Festival 2009 coincided with the International Day of Older Persons on October 1. The Festival has received about 30 feature films and documentaries from Israel, Nepal and the United States besides India.

The festival was launched by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik who gave details of various schemes of the Government for the welfare of senior citizens.

HelpAge India has been involved in protecting the rights of India’s 90 million elderly citizens since 1978, said Mathew Cherian, a member of the NGO. It was also directly involved with about 10 per cent of this ‘grey’ population, facilitation and mobilising resources to make the society aware of the concerns of the elderly and about ageing issues and help the elderly in understanding their rights and make them play an active role in the society.

Cherian explained that the name i’mage was derived from the word ‘image’, signifying reflection that motion pictures are of ourselves, while the apostrophe breaks the word into ‘I am age’, unraveling the world of the elderly.

The i’mage emblem also incorporates a principal philosophy of HelpAge India’s activities – inter-generation participation. It was conceptualised by a six-year-old.

Speaking on the occasion, festival coordinator Satish Kapoor said that this was the first festival of its kind on elderly people and would travel to various cities of India like Pune, Chandigarh etc.

The films will also be shown to students of Mass Communication, Journalism and filmmaking institutes of various cities. It would be an opportunity to all the students to develop their understanding and perspective relating to elderly issues. This will help the students when they will plan to make a short film/documentary on elderly people, he added.

Asian Academy of Film and Television (AAFT) founder-director Sandeep Marwah offered his services to Helpage India to make features or documentaries on the elderly people through his institution.

MUMBAI: Whistling Woods International (WWI) has appointed Entertainment Partners as its technology partner. Through this affiliation, Entertainment Partners‘ well-known movie production software ‘EP Budgeting & Scheduling‘ will now be available to the WWI students studying movie production.

EP Budgeting & Scheduling, which was earlier known as Movie Magic is being used in the US for the last 40-50 years. Recently, high-end Indian production houses like Dharma Productions, Yash Raj Films and Mukta Arts have adopted this software.

Lagaan was the first Indian film in which the software was introduced.

Said Whistling Woods International president Meghna Ghai Puri, “We are indeed happy to have Entertainment Partners as our technology partner. We always strive to give the latest and the best technologies to our students.

“We have our new production lab where the EP Budgeting & Scheduling software will be available. WWI will not only encourage its students to work on this software but also make available to ex-students as well as Industry A-listers.”

WWI recently opened a production lab in association with Entertainment Partners.

MUMBAI: Big Pictures and Puja Entertainment‘s Do Knot Disturb is set to release on 2 October across 1060 screens across the country.

The film starring Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh and directed by David Dhawan is said to be a laugh riot based on a comedy of errors.

Reliance Mobile has gone live with special mobile content based on the movie leveraging its VAS platform R-World to allow users to access special content including caller tunes, ringtones, wallpapers and videos related to the film.

Said Big Pictures COO Sunir Kheterpal, “We are pleased to partner RCom in this initiative that will take Do Knot Disturb to RCom subscribers. This will considerably broaden the appeal of the film, across audiences.”

Big Music & Home Entertainment CEO Kulmeet Makkar said, “The film‘s music is fast gaining popularity with audiences, the songs in the album being peppy; something that is loved by all generations and I‘m sure RCom subscribers will enjoy greater interaction with the movie and music.”

MUMBAI: Boney Kapoor‘s Wanted and Yash Raj Films‘ Dil Bole Hadippa, the most- awaited films

that released in the Eid weekend, promised a turn around of the dry spell the industry was facing post the release of Kaminey.

The footfalls at multiplexes and single screens proved that the viewers were starved of entertainment and were awaiting the biggies with bated breath.

While Wanted performed exceptionally well at the box-office, Dil Bole Hadippa fared ordinarily as people turned their back to the film.

Box-office results show that Wanted, in the first week, grossed Rs 111.78 million,
of which Mumbai contributed Rs 47.25 million. The overall total, countrywide, averaged Rs 4,88,395 per print. Incidentally, Wanted is still going strong at the box-office.

On the other hand, the reports of Dil Bole Hadippa were not enthusiastic. The film did an overall business of Rs 62.01 million, of which Mumbai contributed
Rs 30.05 million averaging Rs 3,76,285 per print.

Coming to the last week‘s releases, UTV and Ashutosh Gowariker‘s What‘s Your Rashee and Anjum Rizvi‘s Fast Forward disappointed the audience.

Before its release What‘s Your Rashee had created a big hype with it, having Priyanka Chopra 12 characters. But the hype didn‘t last long. Firstly, the film is 3 hours 20 minutes long and has 13 songs.

It‘s not that long films are boring. If a film has good content, hours don‘t matter; an unforgettable case being Titanic that was 3 hours and 17 minutes long.

But What‘s Your Rashee doesn‘t have any content. It lacks the power to keep one hooked and has turned out to be king-sized disappointment.

Similarly, Fast Forward does have some brilliantly choreographed sequences but doesn‘t have a gripping storyline. The final outcome is that the film falls flat, being a weak product.

Next week will see the release of Vashu Bhagnani‘s Do Knot Disturb and Karan Johar‘s Wake Up Sid.

MUMBAI: The Indian Film Company (IFC) has announced that its film Road, Movie will have its Asian premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival where it will contend for the coveted award -‘Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix‘. The film will be screened at TOHO Cinemas at Roppongi Hills on 21 and 23 October.

Road, Movie is the only Indian film to make it to the final 15 in the competition section out of 743 nominations from 81 countries. The film recently had it first screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim.

Last May IFC signed a deal with international sales agent Fortissimo Films to sell the film outside India. The deal marks Fortissimo‘s first venture in Hindi Cinema.

Said Indian Film Company CEO Sandeep Bhargava, “We are delighted that Road, Movie has been selected by the Tokyo International Film Festival, after its success at The Toronto International Film Festival, which is another endorsement of our successful strategy in financing high quality international cinema.”

Road, Movie tells the story of Vishnu, a restless young man, who rejects his father‘s faltering hair oil business and hits the road with a travelling cinema. Colourful and full of unforgettable characters, the film celebrates India‘s open road and the pure love of movies.

MUMBAI: Producers affiliated to the Motion Picture Producers and Television Programme (AMPTPP) met on Tuesday to deliberate on the issue of piracy that has rattled the lot and forced them to get their heads together.

Said Association of Motion Picture Producers and Television Programme (AMPTPP) senior vice president Vikas Mohan, “Some of us producers met and discussed the matter of piracy.

“Since the time the piracy racket was busted last week when one person each from Adlabs, UFO Moviez, Big Cinemas and Shemaroo Entertainment were arrested, the affected people expressed their desire to meet us to air the views on the same. To be fair with them, we have decided to listen to them only after which will we chalk out our plan of action.”