Category: Hindi

MUMBAI: On the occassion of International Womam‘s Day, Excel Home Video has released a DVD that carries four women centric films namely Caramel, Persepolis, The Devil Wears Prada and Flight Plan.

The DVD is priced at Rs 499 and ranges across genres like drama, comedy, action and animation.

Directed by Nadine Labaki, Caramel is a bittersweet drama that casts a rare gaze on the lives of five Lebanese women tackling forbidden love, binding traditions, repressed sexuality and Duty vs. Desire.

Persepolis is an animated film that depicts a tale of young Marjane‘s struggle to ‘grow up‘ in the repressive regime of Iran. The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and was named best animated feature by the New York Film critics circle.

The Devil Wears Prada is a comedy starring Academy Award winner Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. The movie reflects the nuances of women in corporate life and the work place.

Flight Plan is an action thriller that showcases a mother‘s resolve to save her daughter in the face of adversity.

MUMBAI: The Pink Panther 2, the sequel to the 2006 film Pink Panther, has raked in Rs 10 million during its opening weekend at the India box office.

Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Films India, the film was released in 40 screens (35 prints and 5 digital) across India in English.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) Films India managing director Kercy Daruwala said, “Though we released the film with only 40 prints in the first phase and that too around examination time, I guess it was the curiosity factor and great fan following of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan which further helped us garner an impressive opening collection of Rs.10 million plus across India.”

The sequel, directed by Harald Zwart, stars Steve Martin as he reprises the role of intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Martin is joined by co-stars Jean Reno (as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections). The cast also includes Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

MUMBAI: Ashok Amritraj‘s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Platinum Studios in the US have commenced production on Dead Of Night.

This film is based on the best-selling Italian comic book series, Dylan Dog, created by Tiziano Sclavi and published by Italy‘s Sergio Bonelli Editore. The comic book series has sold more than 56 million units worldwide and has been translated into 17 languages since its debut in 1986. Principal photography is taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Brandon Routh Superman Returns stars as Dylan – a reluctant private investigator who is drawn into the world of vampires, werewolves and the undead — and the film is being directed by Kevin Munroe, whose 2007 re-imagining of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles resurrected the billion dollar franchise.

Munroe say brings a fresh take to the genre by focussing less on the transformation from human to non-human and more on the seamless interaction between the living and the undead. Writers Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly Sahara have taken the world of Dylan Dog out of a European setting and given it a New Orleans flavor with its rich bayou and marshland backdrop.

Platinum Studios and the Hyde Park Group are joined in the production with producer Gilbert Adler who is no stranger to comic book adaptations, having produced Superman Returns and Constantine for Warner Bros. The film reteams Adler with Routh, who played Clark Kent in the Superman film.

Hyde Park and Platinum Studios completed the financing for the picture with Australia and New Zealand-based Omnilab Media and Hong Kong-based Standard Chartered Bank.

Recently Omnilab Media played a key role in providing production financing, as well as securing and/or overseeing North American distribution for The Bank Job, W, and The Messenger.

The producers have also hired Harvey Lowry and Oscar winning Drac Studios to handle make-up effects. Drac Studios has received 11 Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Makeup. It most recently won for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

MUMBAI: Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodhaa Akbar has bagged five awards at the 54th Idea Filmfare Awards. The event took place on 28 February.

While the film was crowned with the best film title, Hrithik Roshan was named the best actor for portraying the role of Akbar in the film. The film also won Ashutosh Gowarikar the best director award.

Oscar-winner AR Rehman won the best background score award for Jodhaa, while Javed Akhtar swept away the best lyrics award for the song Jash-e-Bahara.

Priyanka Chopra was named the best actress for Fashion while Kangana Ranaut bagged the best supporting actress prize for the same. The best actor in a supporting role (male) award went to Arjun Rampal for Rock On!

Rehman was bestowed with one more title with the best music director award during the event for Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.

Meanwhile, UTV’s Mumbai Meri Jaan bagged the critics‘ award for best film. While Manjyot Singh took away the critics’ award for the best actor (Oye Lucky Lucy Oye), Shahana Goswami was the critics’ choice in the best actress category.

There were two winners of the best debut actor award (male) this year. While Imran Khan bagged the prize for his role in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, Farhan Akhtar won the prize for Rock On! Asin was named the debut actor (female).

Om Puri and Bhanu Athaiya were conferred the lifetime achievement award.

The other Filmmare award winners are :

Best Playback Singer (Male)

Sukhwinder Singh ( Haule Haule, Rab Ne bana Di Jodi)

Best playback singer (Female)

Shreya Ghosal (Teri Ore, Singh Is King)

Best Story

Abhishek Kapoor (Rock On!)

Best Screenplay

Yogesh Joshi, Upendra Sidhaye (Mumbai Meri Jaan)

Best Dialogue

Manu Rishi (Oye Lucky Lucky Oye)

Best Editing

Amit Pawar (Mumbai Meri Jaan)

Best Cinematography

Jason West (Rock On!)

Best Choreography

Longinus Fernandes (Pappu Can’t Dance, Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na)

Best Action

Peter Heins (Ghajini)

Best Production Design / Art Direction

Vandana Kataria, Angelica Bhowmick (Oye Lucky Lucky Oye)

Best Sound Design

Babylon Fonseca, Vinod Subramanium (Rock On!)

Special Jury Mention for Outstanding Performance

Pratik Babbar (Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na)

Purab Kohli (Rock On!)

Best Costumes

Manoshi Nath, Rushi Sharma (Oye Lucky Lucky Oye)

Best Visual Effects

David Bush (Drona)

RD Burman Award for new Musical Talent

Benny Dayal (Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, Yuvraaj, Ghajini)

NEW DELHI: A unique digital Film Archive has been launched in Panaji working on the digital asset management technology with classic films that can be viewed at the click of a button.

Inaugurating the Archive, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said that though it was beginning with just over 150 films, the aim was to ultimately increase the capacity to 10,000.

An initiative of the Entertainment Society of Goa to provide the latest in cinematic art, the Archive is supported by the National Informatics Centre – Goa. The inauguration is followed by the Demo of the technology.

It will provide production updates, technical knowhow, old classics, film encyclopaedia etc. and is not only textual but also visual. Aiming to have the biggest collection of Indian and foreign film classics, the archive currently begins with over 150 films and over 300 film books and periodicals.

ESG Chief Executive Officer Manoj Srivastava told indiantelevision.com over a telephonic interview that the Archive has over 200 film books and periodicals. Magazines like Screen International, Variety etc., and brochures of most International Film Festival are available. The Encyclopedias of films are the knowledge power house of cinema.

The salient feature of this Archive is the Digital Film Archive. The films of the archive can be viewed with a click of a button. Presently, the Digital Film archive has over 130 films including all the Short Film Centre films of 2008.

The film Archive is open to the members of Goa Cinephile. The general public can also gain entry with an entry fee of Rs 50 per day to view the Digitally Archived films. The ESG Film Archive is only a reference Library.

The inauguration was followed by the screening of the Golden Lamp Tree Award winner of the Short Film Centre – 2008 “Plot Point”, a Belgian film by Nicholas Provosi.

MUMBAI: Big Pictures, the motion pictures brand of Reliance Big Entertainment, is set to release its next on 27 March.

Co-produced by Sudhir Mishra’s CineRaas Ltd, Sikandar has been written and directed by Piyush Jha.

The film stars child artists Parzaan Dastur and Ayesha Kapur in pivotal roles. Others in the film include R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh. The music of the film has been composed by Sandesh Shandiliya, Justin-Uday and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the lyrics have been penned by Prasoon Joshi, Neelesh Misra and Kumaar.

Sikandar, a suspense thriller, revolves around the story of a young boy who has a dream to play football for the national team. It’s about his aspirations and challenges and how his life unfolds when one day he finds a gun on his way to school and deals with the exploitation and manipulation of innocent people in a state that has witnessed decades of violence and insurgency.

NEW DELHI: Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has launched a movement at the filmmaker’s level against genetically modified food coming from the United States and other countries through his new directorial verture, Poison on the Platter.

Produced in association with the Coalition for a GM-Free World, the documentary seeks to expose the nexus between biotech multinational companies from the US and Government regulatory bodies in India.

Described as the first Indian documentary on adverse health impact of GM foods, Bhatt‘s film makes a mockery of the Central Government‘s claim of not allowing import of any GM foods in the country as it conclusively demonstrates that supermarkets in India are flooded with harmful food stuff and biotech MNCs are cashing on the ignorance of unsuspecting consumers in India.

“It is by far the most disturbing subject that I have dealt with in my documentaries, simply because it concerns nearly every single person living on this planet,” says Mahesh Bhatt, presenter and anchor of the film.

MUMBAI: Multiplex chain operator Fame Cinemas has expanded its footprint to Panchkula, Haryana, with the launch of a three-screen property. Fame Panchkula boasts of a total seating capacity of 652.

Fame Cinemas MD Shravan Shroff said, “People of this city are known for their penchant for luxury and their affinity to style along with comfort. I can assure you that at Fame Panchkula we will go all out to provide our patrons the best possible experience. We will also keep this venue buzzing with premieres and other opportunities to meet movie stars.”

With the launch of this new multiplex, Fame Cinemas now has a total of 73 screens spread across 20 properties nationwide.

MUMBAI: MGM Consumer Products has signed a licensing agreement with Dolce and Gabbana to produce items based on the studio’s Rocky franchise.

Under the agreement, Dolce and Gabbana will introduce consumers, domestically and internationally, to a special collection of Rocky branded T-shirts, tank tops, robes, boxers and sweat pants.

Later this year, the Dolce and Gabbana Rocky line will be available to select high-end boutiques and will feature the Italian Stallion logos and motifs as well as other classic images and title treatments from the Rocky films.

The line was introduced last month during the Milan Fashion Show where Dolce and Gabbana models walked the runway with ‘The Italian Stallion‘ branded t-shirts.

MUMBAI: Excel Home Videos has released Anton Corbijn‘s German documentary Control on DVD.

Priced at Rs 499, the DVD also includes features like ‘about the movie‘, ‘about the director‘, ‘awards‘, ‘screenings‘ and ‘poster‘.

Control is based on Deborah Curtis‘s journal, ‘Touching from a Distance‘. It also encapsulates interviews with people who knew Curtis.

The documentary was premiered at Cannes Film Festival. It also bagged the best British independent film award in 2007. The movie was also honored with the best new British feature award and the most popular feature film prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival respectively in 2007.

Sam Riley plays the role of Curtis in Control where he depicts the singer‘s struggle in coping with teenage marriage, infidelity, epilepsy and growing fame.