Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Cinemax India has launched its first property in Kolkata, West Bengal. The three-screen multiplex, with a seating capacity of 758, opened to the audiences with the screening of the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

The new property is Cinemax’s second multiplex in the eastern region. The multiplex operator entered the eastern market in 2007 at Guwahati.

Cinemax India senior vice president Devang Sampat said, “We, at Cinemax have always strived to provide the best movie-viewing experience to our patrons across the country. We have laid strong emphasis on screen size, picture and sound quality and innovative consumer offers, which have kept our viewers coming back for more. Our latest and first property in Kolkata is a step towards reinforcing our philosophy of providing a state-of-the-art entertainment complex, a Cinemax Hallmark.”

With this addition, Cinemax India now has a total of 22 theatre properties and 65 screens.

MUMBAI: Television production company Behind The Scene is venturing into the distribution of English films in India with Outlander that is slated to hit theatres worldwide on 23 January.The film, a sci-fi action adventure, will witness a simultaneous opening in India, the US and Europe.

Confirming the move, Behind The Scene president – film distribution Jeetu Chawla said, “Yes, we are venturing into the distribution of English films in India with Outlander. In India, apart from English the film will also be released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on the same day. In Hindi, the film will be called Ek Aur Kurukshetra.”

Talking about the number of screens across which the film will be released, Chawla stated, “We are planning to release Outlander across 125-175 screens pan India.”

While the film, produced by Barrie M Osborne and Chris Roberts, will be distributed by The Weinstein Company in the US, Wild Bunch will release Outlander in Europe.

Made at a budget of $47 million, the film has been directed by Howard McCain and stars James Caviezel, Sophia Myles, Jack Huston, Ron Perlman and John Hurt.

Some of the television productions from the Behind The Scene basket include Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi, Apne…Mere Apne, Des Pardes and Saath Rahega Always.

MUMBAI: Kambakth Ishq, a Sajid Nadiadwala production which was earlier slated for a December release, is now set to hit the theatres worldwide on 29 May.

Directed by debutant Sabir Khan, the film features Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor as lead protagonists.

Kambakth Ishq also casts Hollywood actors Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh in cameos, playing themselves. Bollywood actors Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora play supporting roles in the film.

To be distributed by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment

, Kambakth Ishq is a romantic action comedy that revolves around the story of a stuntman in Hollywood.

MUMBAI: PVR, which works in the movie exhibitions and entertainment business, has launched its latest multiplex comprising 7 mainstream digital audio at Phoenix Mills in Mumbai. The multiplex, with a seating capacity of 1847, is called PVR Phoenix Mill.

The multiplex is owned by CR Retail, a wholly owned subsidiary of PVR, and boasts of 2k digital cinema that is compliant with DCI technology.

With the opening of PVR Phoenix Mill, the total number of PVR screens in operation has gone up to 108 at 26 locations across 14 cities. In Mumbai, PVR now has 24 operational screens.

MUMBAI: In a bid to attract the hearing-impaired and non-Hindi speaking audience to its theaters pan India, Reliance ADAG’s theatre chain Big Cinemas is planning to screen the forthcoming movies with English subtitles.

To begin with, Big Cinemas will screen the Amir Khan-starrer Ghajini with English subtitles from its second week at digital screens in BIG Cinemas’ Wadala and Metro BIG Cinemas in Mumbai.

“We wanted to expand our audience reach and hence, decided to take up this new initiative. This will ensure that the cinema medium can be enjoyed by a larger number of the public – especially the hearing impaired who could not earlier understand the dialogues,” says Big Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra.

“The release of Ghajini, being an eagerly awaited film, was an ideal way for us to start offering this facility and will set a trend for future releases,” Dhingra adds.

Post Ghajini, the next big release that will be screened with English subtitles by Big Cinemas across its digital theatres is Chandni Chowk To China. The film, directed by Nikhil Advani and starring Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone, will hit the theatres on 16 January.

Adlabs Digital Cinema COO Patrick von Sychowski states, “Digital cinema technology makes it easy to introduce such innovations. Hence, we look forward to introducing more such innovations for the benefit of the audience.”

MUMBAI: The Madras High Court has lifted the ban on Ghajini‘s worldwide release. The Aamir Khan-starrer will, thus, release as per schedule on 25 December.

Earlier on 23 December the Madras High Court had stayed the worldwide release of the film after A Chandrasekaran, producer of the original Tamil film, filed a suit against it.

While filing the suit, Chandrasekaran claimed that he was the copyright holder for remaking and dubbing of the film in all Indian languages except in Telugu.

The film has also received a green signal from the Bombay High Court where Mumbai-based KBC Pictures had filed a suit against Ghajini stating that director AR Murugadoss had signed an agreement with it in 2004 to remake the Tamil film in Hindi.

The court has, however, asked Murugadoss to file an affidavit on Friday clearing his stand.

Produced by Geetha Arts, Ghajini is the Hindi remake of the Tamil film with the same name. The film was also made in Telugu.

The film revolves around the story of a rich businessman who suffers from short-term memory lapse. Ghajini, made on a budget of Rs 300 million, displays the businessman‘s revenge for his wife’s murder.

MUMBAI: The Madras High Court has stayed the worldwide release of the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini after A Chandrasekaran, producer of the original Tamil film, filed a suit against the film on 22 December.

While filing the suit, Chandrasekaran claimed that he was the copyright holder for remaking and dubbing of the film in all Indian languages except in Telugu.

The stay was granted by Justice PR Shivakumar on 23 December.

Produced by Geetha Arts, the film is supposed to see a simultaneous release in India and globally on Thursday, 25 December. According to industry analysts, an amount of approximately Rs 1.2 billion is riding on Ghajini.

Ghajini is the Hindi remake of the Tamil film with the same name. The film was also made in Telugu.

The film revolves around the story of a rich businessman who suffers from short-term memory lapse. Ghajini, made on a budget of Rs 300 million, displays the businessman‘s revenge for his wife’s murder.

MUMBAI: Reliance Big Pictures has chalked out a 18-movie slate for 2009 release, defying scale back plans announced by some other big film producers.

Being part of the mega plan to produce 70 movies over three years, Big Pictures will roll out 11 Hindi films in 2009 while the other seven films will be in five regional languages.

“We are in course with our targets and there is no slowdown from our side. We will be releasing 18 movies in 2009,” Big Pictures COO Mahesh Ramanathan tells Indiantelevision.com.

To set the ball rolling on the Hindi front, Big Pictures will release the big budget Hindi film Luck By Chance, a co-production with Excel entertainment slated to hit theatres on 30 January. The film marks the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar starring Farhan Akhtar, Juhi Chawla, Konkana Sen, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Hritik Roshan in a special appearance.

This will be followed by releases like Sikander, 13 B, Mirch and Chaloo Movie. “We will have two movies – Chaloo Movie and Sikander – in the low-budget (below Rs 100 million) category,” says Ramanathan.

13 B, a supernatural thriller with Madhavan and Neetu Chandra as the lead protagonists, will be made in both Hindi and Tamil. The film is being directed by Vikram.

Directed by Piyush Jha, Sikandar has Sanjay Suri, R. Madhavan, Ayesha Kapoor and Parzaan Dastur.

“We will additionally have six Hindi co-productions for the year 2009 which we will announce over time,” says Ramanathan.

On the regional front, the production arm has a slate of three Bengali films- Shob Choritra Kalponik, Abohomann and Janala. While Shob Choritra Kalponik and Abohomann are being directed by Rituparno Ghosh, Janala will be directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

The other movies that belong to the Big Pictures regional basket include Shaji N. Karun’s Kutty Srank (Malayalam), MS Sathyu’s Ijjodu (Kannada), Amol Palekar’s Samaantar (Marathi) and Simerjit Singh’s Chak Jawana (Punjabi).

Reliance Big Pictures, the motion pictures brand of Reliance Big Entertainment, is currently busy in releasing the Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini internationally across 300 cinemas in 22 countries on 25 December.

MUMBAI: 83-year-old Robert Mulligan, the Oscar-nominated director of To Kill a Mockingbird and Summer of ‘42, died of heart disease at his Connecticut home on Friday, 19 December.

Born in New York on 23 August, 1925, Mulligan studied at Fordham University before serving with the United States Marine Corps during World War II. At war‘s end, he obtained work in the editorial department of the New York Times, but left to pursue a career in television.

Employed by the CBS network, Mulligan began his television career as a messenger boy and then worked his way up and learned the business. In 1959 he won an Emmy Award for directing The Moon and Sixpence, a made-for-television production that marked the American small-screen debut of Sir Laurence Olivier.

In 1957 Robert Mulligan directed his first motion picture Fear Strikes Out. Five years later he received wide acclaim and Academy Award and Directors Guild of America nominations for To Kill a Mockingbird.

In 1972, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best director and another Directors Guild Award for the highly successful Summer of ‘42.

MUMBAI: Massify, a film production community, has partnered with After Dark Films to create the first-ever user-generated movie – Perkins‘ 14. The film is set to debut during HorrorFest III, which runs from 9-15 January.