ITV

Category: Hindi

  • Reliance BigFlicks launches movie rental stores in 6 metros, eyes 30 cities

    MUMBAI: Reliance ADAG‘s BigFlicks has launched its VCD and DVD movies rental stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chandigarh.

    BigFlicks claims to be India‘s largest online and offline movie rental service, offering access to more than 14,000 titles. In addition to international movies, it has titles in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and Kannada. The company also provides movie download and free streaming through its site bigflicks.com.


    Movies can be ordered from the stores or through the net; they can be picked up or delivered free of charge. To boot it all, under its membership plans, there is no due date to return a movie and no late return fee, and the delivery is within a day.


    BigFicks COO Kamal Gianchandani said, “With the launch of BigFlicks stores in the city, we hope to bring the best of Bollywood, Hollywood, TV shows and music on original VCDs and DVDs to our customers. Organised movie lending would ensure that you have a wide range of music and movies to choose from, with the assurance of quality, on-time delivery and pick ups, thus ensuring a convenient and fulfilling experience.”


    The company has launched its movie rental services through its online home delivery service as well as a network of retail shops. The roll-out of these services across the top ten cities has begun starting with Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai in the current fiscal year. Indore, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad will soon join the list.


    “The store tally is expected to touch 500 by the end of financial year 2008-09 in around 30 cities,” Gianchandani added.


    In addition, BigFlicks portal (bigflicks.com) has introduced entertainment solutions to make Indian cinema, television and music accessible to the overseas non-resident Indian (NRI) population and Indian cinema lovers the world over. The company would also offer download-to-rent and subscription services in its portfolio of operations.

  • UTV agrees on 41% revenue for 2nd week of ‘Jodhaa Akbar’; row with multiplexes ends

    MUMBAI: UTV has agreed to take a revenue share of 41 per cent for the second week collections from the multiplex owners, ending the dispute over screening of the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Jodhaa Akbar.

    UTV had originally demanded a 42.5 per cent share from the second week collections while multiplex owners were willing to part with 40 per cent. The 2.5 per cent extra share that UTV wanted caused a day‘s delay for the release of the Rs 400 million period film in multiplexes across the country.


    “We have settled at 41 per cent,” says a multiplex owner on condition of anonymity.


    UTV and the multiplex operators had no dispute over sharing of spoils for the first week, according to sources. The revenue sharing between multiplexes and film distributors is usually 50 per cent for the first week, 40 per cent for the second, 35 per cent for the third and 30 per cent for the fourth week of run.


    When contacted, UTV Motion Picture Plc director Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “I do not want to comment on our commercial terms. The fact is that there are no more disputes and the multiplexes are showing the movie from Saturday.”


    The reduction by 1.5 per cent means multiplex owners have made a fair bargain, says the senior executive of a leading chain. “For every multiplex chain operator who has 150-200 screens, even one per cent can make a huge difference. If the movie does good business, the 2.5 per cent revenue may sum up to Rs 300,000-400,000 for an average multiplex property,” he adds.


    Unable to show Jodhaa Akbar on the first day of release, multiplex owners have taken a hit with industry estimates pegging the average loss of a big chain operator at Rs 1.5 – 2 million.


    In the recent past, movies like Om Shanti Om, Sawariya, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Fanaa have seen late releases due to disputes over revenue sharing terms.

  • Anupam Kher announces tie-up with Australian film organisations

    MUMBAI: Bollywood actor and producer Anupam Kher has announced a series of tie-ups with Australian film organisations and individuals. The announcements were made at the end of his Australian tour for his play Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai.

    The tie-ups will see Kher, his acting school, and his production company collaborate with Australian producers like John Winter, Australia‘s Indian film expert, filmmaker and Australia India Film Council chairman Anupam Sharma, and financial consultant Manish Sunderjee.


    The partnership includes planning of a branch of Kher‘s acting school in Sydney possibly at Fox Studios, which Kher will be touring during his visit to Australia.


    There will be acceptance to be the first ambassador for Indian International Film Festival and awards to be held in 2008 in Australia.


    The deal also contain co-production and collaborations with Australian film industry utilising locations, crew and the producer‘s rebate recently introduced in Australia.


    Kher said, “I am looking forward to working with leading Australian filmmakers and institutes on projects which will benefit both countries.”


    Sharma added, “Anupam Kher‘s interest in Australia being translated to projects is a big boost to the Indo-Australia film and media links. We look forward to working with Kher and assisting him in fully utilising the potential of Australian film services and talent”.


    With the announcement of collaborations in Australia, Kher completes his global presence, which he has been working towards, through UK, South Africa and American operations particularly of his acting school ‘Actor Prepares‘.


    The announcements of partnership by Kher is expected to further increase activity and interest between the two countries.

  • Shemaroo to release ‘Samsara’ on DVD

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment will shortly release Samsara, the winner of 30 international awards, on DVD.


    Samsara has grossed above Rs 4 billion the world over. It has already seen DVD release in over 60 countries.


    Directed by Pan Nalin, Samsara stars Christy Chung, Neelesha BaVora, Tenzin Tashi and Shawn Ku.


    “Samsara is a passionate love story with shades of spirituality… within our worldly existence; it‘s about the awakening of sexuality, desires, love and liberation,” said Nalin.


    Samsara, set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, is the first feature film to be entirely shot at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The film was officially selected at the Sundance Film Festival and has seen a world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.


    The story revolves around a Buddhist monk Tashi, who emerges from three years of solitary meditation to find himself experiencing a profound sexual awakening and a strong attraction to a beautiful woman Pema.


    This unexpected awakening of his human desires leads him to question the spiritual values of his monastic existence, and he decides to opt out of the monastery for the secular world.


    Tashi then goes through the entire Samsara cycle which leaves him confused, wherein he struggles to cope with the complexities of this world. “What is more important, to satisfy one thousand desires or to conquer just one?” – this quetion looms large through the film.

  • UTV, multiplexes end dispute over Jodhaa Akbar; no release yet in Rajasthan

    MUMBAI: UTV and multiplex operators have reached a settlement to show Jodhaa Akbar, ending a dispute over revenue sharing terms.

    The Hritik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer and UTV production, however, escapes screens in Rajasthan.


    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com after a late-evening meeting with multiplex operators, UTV Motion Pictures Plc director Siddharth Roy Kapur said: “All multiplexes will start screening of Jodhaa Akbar from Saturday.” He, however, declined to divulge the commercial terms of UTV‘s settlement with the multiplexes.


    Indian multiplex chains like Inox theaters, Adlabs Cinemas, Fame, Fun Cinemas, Cinemax and Movietime could not agree on the revenue sharing model, leading to a boycott of the Rs 400 million period film in 430 cinema screens across the country.


    Jodhaa Akbar released on 15 February across 26 countries. Prior to launch, UTV said it would release the movie in 1,325 screens, of which 500 will be through digital cinemas and 825 through physical prints. In the US, the film released with close to 122 prints.


    Cinema halls in Rajasthan continue to boycott the film amid protests by Rajput groups against “distortion of historical facts” in the movie based on Mughal emperor Akbar.


    In Rajasthan, Karni Sena activists had written letters in blood against the film‘s release and submitted it to theatre owners. Karni Sena patron Lokendra Kalvi had said they would not stop the film but the Vasundhara Raje government would be held “responsible” if any untoward incidents occurred.

  • Whoever wins the Oscar, Kodak gets laurels

    NEW DELHI: Irrespective of which film wins the Oscar this year for Best Picture, it will be an accolade for Kodak Film since all the film nominees have been produced on Kodak film.

    This is for the 80th consecutive year – ever since the inception of the Academy Awards – that the Oscar for Best Picture will go to a Kodak movie.



    The feature films nominated in 2008 for an Academy Award for Best Picture are Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood.



    The five cinematographers nominated for Oscars this year also chose to use Kodak colour negative films. Contenders in this year‘s Cinematography category are: Roger Deakins (The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men), Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood), Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and Seamus McGarvey (Atonement).



    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will recognise Kodak‘s commitment to innovation this year with an Oscar statuette for the development of photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak VISION2 family of colour negative films. This is the ninth Oscar that Kodak has earned for scientific and technical excellence and service to the motion picture industry.



    “The VISION2 film platform and our recently-launched VISION3 films are the benchmark in the motion picture industry for image capture efficiency,” said Kodak‘s Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group President and Eastman Kodak Company EVP Mary Jane Hellyar.



    Kodak‘s connection to the motion picture industry dates back to 1889, during the dawn of the industry, when Thomas Edison asked Kodak founder George Eastman if he could provide film for his experimental motion picture camera and projector. Kodak continues to work with customers worldwide to help them bring their stories to life.



    The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be held on 24 February at Kodak Theatre, which is now home to the annual Academy Awards ceremonies.

  • Comedian Rajendra Nath passes away

    MUMBAI: Popular Hindi film comedian of the 1960s and 1970s Rajendra Nath passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 76.
    The actor, who had been ailing for a long time, breathed his last at his residence in suburban Khar.

    Nath began his career in 1938 with Hindi film Vachan and went on to act in movies like Patanga, Hum Sab Chor Hain and Dil Deke Dekho.

    His role of Popatlal in the 1961 box-office hit Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai became a big hit and the title of Popatlal stuck to him.

    Condoling the actor‘s death, Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh said, “Rajendra Nath regaled film lovers across generations with his typical sense of comic timing.”

  • Tatarstan hopes to host Hindi film artistes

    NEW DELHI: The Republic of Tatarstan, a region in Russia, is keen to have Indian film artistes.
    Tatarstan also hosts one week of Indian films every year, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Zilya Valeeva.

    She told Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni that the Indian artistes could help promote further understanding about Hindi cinema.

    Soni said India had signed a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) with Russia in 2007 and exchange of cultural delegations including film personalities to Tatarstan would be taken up soon. She exchanged views about the status of women, libraries and museums and cinema in India with the visiting dignitary.

  • Indian Short Feature wins award at Berlin Filmfest

    NEW DELHI: ‘Udedh Bun’, a short film directed by Siddharth Sinha of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has won the Silver Bear in the Berlinale Shorts Section of the Berlin Film Festival.
    ‘Udedh Bun’ is the story of Ashu who is leaving his boyhood behind and growing up to be a man. He needs to reinvent himself.

    The Silver Award has been given for the film’s modern narration and a sharp focus that relies on a harmony between images and sound rather than words.

  • UTV Motion Pictures to release Jodhaa Akbar in 26 countries

    MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker‘s co-production movie Jodhaa Akbar is all set for a mega release across 26 countries in USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

    The film will be dubbed in three languages – Hindi, Telugu, Tamil; and subtitled in English, Arabic and Dutch. It will be viewed across 1,500 screens worldwide.


    In India, the film is set to release in more than 1,200 screens, of which 500 will be through digital cinemas and 825 through physical prints. In the US, the film will be released on close to 122 prints.


    “Jodhaa Abkar is one of the most anticipated movies and in keeping with the anticipation amongst audiences, our distribution strategy will ensure that the film can be viewed by the maximum possible audience in the very week of its release.” says UTV Motion Pictures Plc director Siddharth Roy Kapur.


    With this film, UTV will start its distribution in North America again. In Canada this is the first time that a Hindi film is being released simultaneously in six provinces – British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Alberta.


    Jodhaa Akbar is the epic romance between Mughal Emperor Akbar and his Rajput princess Jodhaa.


    The music of Jodhaa Abkar was launched by AR Rahman under UTV Music label in January.