Category: Movies

NEW DELHI: Pakistani film Ramchand Pakistani, directed by Mehreen Jabbar, has been selected for the competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival. The film will also be screened at the Seattle Film Festival.

The film, slated for a simultaneous release in theaters pan India and Pakistan in August, is about a Pakistani Hindu boy and his father who accidentally cross the border into India from their village in Pakistan.

They end up spending five years in an Indian prison while the mother is left wondering about her husband‘s and son‘s whereabouts. The story aims to capture the plight of an eight-year old child who learns to cope with the trauma of forced separation from his mother while being held prisoner.

Javed, producer of Ramchand Pakistani, said at a press meet at the ongoing 10th OCFF that this was the first-ever Pakistani film to be shot in the Bhuj area of Gujarat . It also stars Rashid Farooqi, Fazal Hussain, Nouman Ijaz and Maria Wasti.

When asked about her experience with the film, Nandita Das said that she often forgot she was in a different country and behaved as she does when in her own home. “Human emotions are universal and so I had no difficulty to adjusting to working in Pakistan,” she added.

NEW DELHI: Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis believes that it is quite unavoidable to make films in West Asia today without some kind of political element.

“It is unavoidable to make a film that does not have some kind of political element in it, but the aim should be to make a film that people understand and leave it to them to interpret in their own way,” said Eran Riklis while addressing the audience at the ongoing Osian‘s festival.

Riklis felt it was his responsibility to bring in some elements of the political situation in the country, though there were other filmmakers who were making films that did not refer to the situation in West Asia.

Similarly, he is also attempting to make women the focal point of his films as they were the ones who suffered in the political imbroglio in Israel and Palestine.

He said that the work of a filmmaker was to promote and provoke ideas through a film and then let the viewer judge it.

Riklis admitted that both the films being screened at this festival – Lemon tree in the Asian and Arab competition and Syrian Bride in the focus on Israel – were based on true stories but he had taken cinematic liberties and added to them.

On asking about censorship in making political films in Israel, he said that there was no difficulty or censorship in making political films in Israel, but there were some problems when trying to get finance for making the films.

Meanwhile, a painting by Raja Ravi Varma depicting the British Governor General being seen off by the Maharaja of Tranvacore acquired by Osian’s in a London auction, was unveiled at the ongoing 10th Osian’s.

MUMBAI: Paramount Pictures’ plan of a $450 million film financing deal with Deutsche Bank has collapsed.

Had the deal taken place, Deutsche would have funded 25 per cent of each Paramount film, capped at $30 million per movie.

However, as per reports, Paramount declined from negotiating with the bank on the deal because the terms had become unattractive compared with alternative sources of financing available.

Deutsche has decided to shut its film finance unit, thereby axing the entire film finance team, which includes the unit‘s top executive Laura Fazio.

Paramount is currently looking forward to revive the deal with another bank and aims to release the films, affected by the deal, on the same scheduled dates.

MUMBAI: Percept Picture Company (PPC) has roped in Rohit Arora as chief operating officer (COO), feature films.

Prior to this appointment, Arora was with Sri Adhikari Brothers as president corporate affairs.

Percept Limited joint managing director Shailendra Singh said, “We extend a warm welcome to Rohit and look forward to working with him. I am sure he will bring in a lot of value to the company with his past experience and help lead some of the new and exciting ventures of PPC.”

Additionally, Arora has also been associated with HSBC, KPMG Advisory Services and Andersen India.

Arora has done his Bachelor‘s of technology, Mechanical Engineering from IIT, Bombay. He later pursued his post graduate programme in management from Indian School of Business. He has also pursued the International Exchange Programme from Kellogg School of Management, Evanston US.

MUMBAI: Vikram Bhatt’s next directorial venture 1920 is a period horror film, produced by ASA Productions and Enterprises.

The film marks the debut of the lead protagonists namely leads Rajneesh Duggal and Adah Sharma. The casting of 1920 also includes actors like Anjori Alagh, Raj Zutshi, Vipin Sharma, Vallab Vyas, Amin Haji, Ashish Pradhan, Smita Hai and Rushitaa Pandyaas.

The music of the film has been scored by Adnan Sami while the lyrics have been penned down by Sameer. The playback singers of 1920 include Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Kailash Kher, Shubha Mudgal.

Pandit Jasraj makes his Hindi film singing debut with the film.

MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has released its home production animated film Ghatothkach – Master of Magic on home video in Hindi and English.

The Ghatothkach VCD will be available in two different kinds of packaging – one with a crimson golden look and the other with a sky blue look. It is also inclusive of a set of six Ghatothkach stickers and a school time-table for children.

The DVD pack, which has a jungle like look, comes with a “magic card” game with 11 cards with pictures of different animals.

Apart from these, book labels and Ghatothkach stickers also form part of this DVD pack.

Additionally, the Ghatothkach DVD carries “captured moments” of the making of the movie and the music launch.

MUMBAI: After contesting a strong bid against various domestic and international multiplex chains, Adlabs Cinemas has finally stitched a deal with Phoenix Mills to build the largest multiplex cinema in India.

According to the deal, the 140,000 sq. ft. Adlabs multiplex, floating up at Mumbai‘s Phoenix Market City complex in Kurla, will have 15 screens with an overall seating capacity of approximately 4000.

Apart from the construction of regular screens that will showcase the latest releases, Adlabs will also erect the “Adlabs megaplex”, which will screen “popular” sports events and live concerts.

Additionally, the megaplex, the interiors of which are being designed by international designers and architects, will house two luxury screens with adjoining ‘Ebony Lounges‘, to house live band performances round the year.

Adlabs Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra said, “Adlabs‘ commitment has always been to set precedents for new entertainment concepts in the country. We believe that the new Adlabs megaplex will set world benchmarks in terms of design and ambience, technology and overall consumer viewing experience.”

The Rs 11 billion mixed-use complex, spread over 4.5 million sq. ft, will house hypermarket, departmental stores, food courts, entertainment zones and around 400 branded stores.

Phoenix Market City management COO Tony Ward said, “The Kurla project is planned to become a complete consumer destination and a must-see for Mumbai populace and tourists. This is going to be a world-class destination with retail spaces, offices, hotel and multiplex. It will also include a uniquely designed leisure area for people, something which will be entirely new for the city. Because of its central location, the complex will be able to cater to Mumbai‘s western, central and the population from the downtown.”

Also, Market City Management is developing large Market City complexes ranging from 2 to 4 million sq. ft. in 20 other cities in India, that includes metros like Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, and tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Indore, Raipur and Udaipur.

Adlabs Cinemas currently has 170 screens in India, 251 screens in the US and 51 screens in Malaysia.

MUMBAI: Hollywood director Jennifer Lynch is all set to direct a Bollywood flick starring Mallika Sherawat as the protagonist. Titled Naagin -The Snake Woman, the film is being co-produced by Ratan Jain of Venus Records and Tapes along with Vikram Singh and Govind Menon.

The film revolves around the Nag-Naagin relationship. The casting of the film, which also includes Irrfan Khan, is currently on and not yet completely finalised.

While Hollywood‘s special effects expert Robert Kurtzman has been roped in to create graphics for the film, Madhu Ambat and Hollywood‘s Patrick Girardi will take care of the film‘s sound effects.

The shooting of the film will go on floors from July-end.

MUMBAI: Fame India Ltd (formerly Shringar Cinemas Ltd) has commenced operations of its new multiplex at Fame Raghuleela, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, with effect from 11 July.

The multiplex houses six screens, including a Gold Class screen of 62 seats, with an overall seating capacity of 1015.

With the launch of this multiplex, the total number of operational properties and screens of Fame India are 16 and 61 respectively.

MUMBAI: Percept Picture Company has joined hands with Bhandarkar Entertainment to co-produce Jail, the shooting of which will begin from October.

Slated to release on 1 May 2009, the film is directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and stars Neil Nitin Mukesh as protagonist.

Percept Ltd joint MD Shailendra Singh said, “We are proud to announce Jail with Bhandarkar Entertainment. After a successful run with Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal our relation with Madhur Bhandarkar has moved to the next level. With three national awards to his credit and accomplishments that quite speak for themselves, Madhur has established himself as a phenomenal film maker.”

Jail talks about Parag Dixit, played by Neil Mukesh, who finds himself inside a prison as a result of a series of “unfortunate” events that take place around him. The whole film is from the protagonist’s point of view and also revolves around stories of several other prison inmates.

Madhur Bhandarkar said, “Jail is based on the under-trials and as the name suggests, it is the baseline of my film. I don’t think a prison story like Jail has been done so far in Hindi Cinema. I always want to go into genres that are new to be explored. But there were too many practical problems. It‘ll be in the thriller format. I‘ve been mulling the subject right from the time I made Chandni Bar. Now I‘ve completely revamped the film.”