ITV

Category: Hindi

  • ‘Baabarr’ lands in court for showing community in bad light

    NEW DELHI: The Mumbai High Court will hear a petition on 19 September challenging the grant of a censor certificate to the film Baabarr on the plea that it was a negative portrayal of a particular community and was likely to lead to ‘public disharmony’.

    The public interest litigation by Anwar Hussein Mukeri against director Ashuu Trikha, producer Ridhi Sidhi films, Union of India, State of Maharashtra and Central Board of Certification says the film should not have been issued even an ‘adults only’ certificate.


    Released on 4 September, the film is about the faction fights between two criminal gangs in Uttar Pradesh and how a twelve-year old gets embroiled in the underworld.


    The petitioner says certain characters and incidents are clearly identifiable with real life personalities and screening of the film may lead to ‘public disharmony‘. The director and producer have been accused of showing the ugly side of an entire community. It is alleged that the film has tried to show that woman and children of the families are involved in crime and entire areas where the community lives is part of the underworld.


    The grant of a censor certificate to a film showing children involved in crime has also been challenged in the petition.



  • UTV Motion Pictures in pact with Star to promote Main aurr Mrs Khanna

    MUMBAI: In a unique initiative that will help bond a Bollywood film release in the US and the growing South Asian Diaspora, Star India, in partnership with StateFarm and UTV Motion Pictures, has launched ‘Main Aurrr Mrs Khanna Meet the Stars‘ contest.

    The contest comes with a prize for two to travel to Mumbai and meet Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan, the lead cast members of the upcoming film.


    Said UTV Motion Pictures North American head Lokesh Dhar, “We are proud to partner with Star, which is effective in reaching our core audience in the US.”


    Ronnie Screwvala, Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna is a film with a simple story, highlighting the belief in the institution of marriage and life-long commitment in today‘s time and age.


    Slated for worldwide release on 16 October, the film stars Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Govinda and Preity Zinta in a special appearance.

  • B4U Network launches Bollywood magazine

    MUMBAI: B4U Network, which operates bollywood channels B4U Music and B4U Movies, has entered the print media industry with its annual magazine, ‘Bollywood Glitz’.


    The magazine will be available in stores worldwide from October this year.



    The network claims that Bollywood Glitz will be “a yearly edition of B4U in print media, which will stick to the B4U ethos of bringing in Bollywood when it comes to music, movies and A-list interviews.”



    Says B4U Television Network head – sales and marketing international Kevin Rego, “In the midst of B4U Television’s 10th year anniversary, we are happy to venture into print media and launch the Bollywood Glitz magazine. The magazine will cater to Bollywood fans worldwide and be the ultimate source for star studded interviews and features.”


    Bollywood Glitz will be distributed in countries including India, USA, UK and UAE. The content will include features based on scandals, industry news and interviews with Bollywood celebrities.



    The magazine will also cover the Asian music scene worldwide including interviews and featured reviews. “Bollywood Glitz will cater to all elements of the Bollywood and Asian entertainment industry lifestyle, creating exciting stories with a twist that differ from the usual content offered by magazines of this kind,” the company said in a release.

  • Tamil, Telugu remake of ‘A Wednesday‘ to release on 18 Sept

    MUMBAI:UTV Motion Pictures and Raajkamal International is set to release the Tamil and Telugu versions of A Wednesday! worldwide on 18 September.

    Christened Unnaipol Oruvam in Tamil and Eenadu in Telugu, both version have been directed by Chakravorthy Toleti.


    Tamil (Unnaipol Oruvam) and Telugu (Eenadu) remake of A Wednesday will have a worldwide release on 18 September.


    Kamal Hasaan has enacted the role of Naseeruddin Shah in both the films while Anupam Kher‘s role is played by Mohan Lal in the Tamil remake and Venkatesh in the Telugu one.


    Said UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “The most original plots traditionally have travelled to Hindi cinema from South Indian cinema. This time however, there is a twist in the tale, with a Hindi movie being re-made in Tamil and Telugu. The South Indian audience is very discerning and we at UTV are confident that the Tamil and Telugu remakes of A Wednesday! will garner as much acclaim as their Hindi counterpart had. We are hopeful that this will start a trend in the reverse migration of original stories from Hindi cinema being remade for South audiences.”


    The plot of the movie is the narrative of a common man who takes it upon himself to purge the society of terrorism. It is the story of certain events that unfolds between 6 am and 6.10 pm on a particular day – events which do not exist in any record but which deeply impact the lives of those involved.

  • DreamWorks to co-produce Real Steel, gets Levy to direct

    MUMBAI: Reliance Big Entertainment and Steven Spielberg‘s DreamWorks Studios has added yet one more cookie to its film production pipeline.

    The company is co-producing the adventure film Real Steel along with Angry Films‘ Don Murphy and Susan Montford and has roped in Shawn Levy to direct the venture.


    Written by John Gatins, Real Steel will have Steven Spielberg as executive producer along with ImageMovers‘ Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis and Steve Starkey.


    Real Steel is set in the near-future when human boxing has been outlawed and replaced by a popular, new division, robot boxing. The movie is about a father and his estranged teenage son who reconnect to train an extraordinary fighter.


    Says DreamWorks CEO and co-chair Stacey Snider, “I‘m thrilled to be working with Shawn on this project. He‘s a master of combining heart and human stories with fantastic visuals. I‘m sure that in his capable hands, ‘Real Steel‘ will be a film that touches and excites all audiences.”


    DreamWorks Studios had earlier announced that the first three movies to roll out from the slate would be I Am Number 4, Pirate Latitudes and Harvey. They are a mix of adventure and play adaptations.


    As reported in Indiantelevision.com, DreamWorks and Reliance Big Entertainment have locked their first phase of financing, sealing an amount of $825 million that would allow the joint venture to make six films annually.

  • Santosh Singh Jain re-elected president of CCCA for 40th term

    NEW DELHI: Eminent distributor Santosh Singh Jain has been re-elected President of the distributors body Central Circuit Cine Association for the fortieth consecutive time.

    Jain, who is already in the Limca Book of Records for the feat of holding office for so many terms, is the father of Jitendra Jain, who is currently President of the Film Federation of India which is the apex organization of all film bodies.

    At the 56th Annual General Meeting of CCCA, the Santosh Singh Jain panel won all the 16 seats of the Executive Committee for the year 2009-2011. The elections of Executive Committee was held on 15 September at Santosh Sabhagriha, Film Bhawan, Indore.

    In the first meeting of the Executive Committee of the elected members, the other office bearers elected are Vijay R Rathi as the Vice President, Jitendra Jain as the General Secretary and Sanjay S Surana as the Treasurer.

    The CCCA is the sole representative organisation of the Film Industry comprising Film Distributors and Film Exhibitors of the Central Circuit – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Vidarbha and Khandesh Regions of Maharasthra.

    A total of 16 members were elected – four each from Distribution and exhibition segments from C P Berar Region, two each from Distribution and Exhibition segment from C I Region, and two each from Distribution and Exhibition segments from Rajasthan Region – as the Executive Committee of CCCA.

  • Festive season comes calling with ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ and ‘Wanted’

    MUMBAI: The festival season is arriving and film production companies are preparing for their big releases.


    Coinciding with Ramzan, Yash Raj Films and Boney Kapoor‘s BSK Network & Entertainment have lined up Dil Bole Hadippa and Wanted respectively for release this Friday. Also to release is Khussro Film Productions‘ Blue Oranges.



    Dil Bole Hadippa, starring Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukerji in the lead, is a romantic comedy with cricket as its background, while Wanted (starring Salman Khan and Ayesha Takia) is a film with gang war as its base. Blue Oranges (starring Rajit Kapoor, Harsh Chaya and Rati Agnihotri), on the other hand, is a murder mystery.


    Interestingly all the three films have debutante directors helming the projects. While Dil Bole Hadippa has been helmed by Anurag Singh, dance maestro Prabhu Deva has directed Wanted and Rajesh Ganguly has directed Blue Oranges.



    Also releasing this week is Pixar Films‘ 3D animated film UP that has been directed by Pete Docter who had earlier directed Monsters Inc.



    UP is the story of a 78-year old balloon salesman Carl Fedricksen who fulfils his dream to fly when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wild in South America.



    Next week will see the release of UTV‘s What‘s Your Rashee and Anjum Rizvi‘s Fast Forward.

  • UTV to de-list UK motion biz in January

    MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications plans to de-list its UK motion pictures subsidiary UMP Plc in January next year.

    “Cancellation is expected to occur at 7 am on 8 January, 2010,” UTV said in a filing to BSE.


    UTV, which currently owns 76.82 per cent, has also approved the scheme of arrangement to acquire the remaining 23.18 per cent stake in the company, valuing the overseas subsidiary entity at $271.92 million (Rs 13.1 billion).


    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, in July this year the board of UTV had approved the scheme to acquire the remaining in UMP Plc to consolidate its motion picture business.


    UTV said, “If the scheme becomes effective, UMP will be dissolved (without winding up). Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the cancellation of the UMP shares from admission to trading on AIM (Alternative Investment Market).”


    Under the proposal, holders of every 3.75 UMP shares will get one new UTV share. The proposal values each UMP share at $2.61, based on the Indian closing price of Rs 475 per UTV share on 11 September.


    UMP would convene a court meeting of shareholders pursuant to the approval received from the High Court of the Isle of Man for the purpose of approving the said scheme, the filing said.


    UMP Plc, formerly UTV Motion Pictures Plc, is a holding company for UTV (Mauritius). Under the proposed plan, there would also be a merger of UTV (Mauritius), which is UMP‘s subsidiary, into UTV pursuant to the Indian scheme and a scheme of arrangement under Mauritius law between UTV (Mauritius).

  • Fast Forward to release on 25 September

    MUMBAI: Fast Forward produced by Anjum Rizvi under the banner of Y.T Entertainment Ltd. & Anjum Rizvi Film is due to release on 25 September.

    The film, a story of people sharing a common passion – Dance, moves around simple people and their struggle against time and the odds is full with conflicts, emotions, romance and thrills.


    Directed by Zaigham Ali Sayed, the film stars veterans Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar and a team of youngsters like Akshay Kapoor, Bhavna Pani, Rehan Khan, Sabina Sheema and Siddhanth Karnick.


    Says producer Anjum Rizvi, “Fast Forward is the only film of its kind in India. Till yet, we haven‘t had any film that‘s solely based on the concept of dance. Not only is the film based on it, but also has extremely professional and intense choreography which any dance lover would appreciate. Also we don‘t have any camera acts, on the contrary the film has actual stunts performed by the dancers after seeing it I‘m sure the audiences will be fascinated.”

    Fast Forward will showcase the most explosive dance sequences that are packed with high energy. The film will be the first of its kind to reveal some professional hip hop moves and B Boying stunts unseen in their original form in Hindi Cinema



    till date.


  • Bollywood waits for rescue from big releases

    MUMBAI: Three hits. That‘s Bollywood‘s scorecard for the year so far. Plagued by bad content, a two-month multiplex strike, cricket and general elections, the industry is waiting to be rescued by the mega releases.

    A few of them have already come and, fortunately, fared well at the box-office. The first to escape the slump came as late as June in the form of Yash Raj Films‘ New York, a story about three friends in the backdrop of 9/11 terror attack, that captivated audiences and grossed Rs 870 million. Eros‘ Love Aaj Kal, a long-distance relationship, raked in over Rs 1 billion and UTV‘s Kaminey, a dark comedy, fetched Rs 800 million.

    But it is no news to cheer as most of the films just fell by the wayside. Recent films like Aage Se Right, Chintuji, Three- Love, Lies, Betrayal, Mohandas, Fox and Bachelor‘s Party fared dismally. This is reflected by their box-office figures. Fox with 79 prints across the country proved to be a disaster when it grossed Rs 13.73 million.

    Aagey Se Right was also rejected. Releasing with 277 prints across the country, the film could muster Rs 21.93 million. Three – Love, Lies, Betrayal didn‘t find acceptance too. With 87 prints, the film grossed Rs 26,05,985.

    Rishi Kapoor‘s Chintuji also failed to work its magic with the audience. The film released with 16 prints across the country and could rope in just Rs 213,157 per print. Mohandas also failed, garnering a measly Rs 226,227.

    Take last week‘s release of relatively small films – Vaada Raha..I Promise, Shaabash! You Can Do It, Baabarr and Aamras. The initial market feedback is that these films are failing to perform.


    There have been over 200 films released in the first nine months, of which we have had only three hits.


    Explains noted filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, “Some of the big-banner films are expected to release in this period. I think if half of these films click, we would have made even.”


    The Bollywood film industry is waiting to be rescued by the mega releases. All eyes are set for the release of Yash Raj Films‘ Dil Bole Hadippa and Boney Kapoor‘s Wanted on 18 September.


    Says Cinemax COO Devang Sampat, “We are hopeful about the coming few months, when many good films are to release. During the festive season, we can foresee people thronging the theatres. But take it from me, the third quarter will be bigger and brighter than the second.”


    With the September quarter about to end and a few good films lined up, the film industry is keeping its fingers crossed. Rolling out will be big-banner and big budget mmovies like What‘s Your Rashee, Wake Up Sid, Blue, London Dreams, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, All The Best, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Alladin,Three Idiots, Jail, Tum Mile, Paa and De Dhana Dhan.


    Says Fun Cinemas COO Vikas Kapur, “Not only will the release of big-banner Bollywood films make an impact, but Hollywood films (UP, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, 2012 etc) will also work wonders for us, I hope.”