Category: Movies

MUMBAI: The 62nd Edinburgh Film Festival is set to screen Before the Rains, an English language film directed by Santosh Sivan.

MUMBAI: Film producer and financer Jhamu Sugandh passed away on Monday morning following a massive cardiac arrest.

The 57-year-old producer suffered a brain hemorrhage early Monday morning and was immediately rushed to the Life Criticare Hospital in Juhu, where he passed away at around 11:20 am.

He is survived by a daughter and a son.

Some of the box-office hits that Jhamu Sugandh has financed include Lagan, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Bombay, Chachi 420 and Rangeela.

His company Jhamu Sughand Productions also produced some non commercial movies like Buddhadeb Dasgupta‘s Kaalpurush and Deepa Mehta‘s Earth.

MUMBAI: Compact Disc India Ltd (CDI) has transferred the IP rights of animated character `Joker‘ to Singapore-based Golden Games for $1.65 million (Rs 71 million).

The total payment towards the purchase of IP rights will be used for developing and publishing on-line mobile, PC and console games in near future, said a statement issued by CDI.

The Chandigarh-based media and entertainment company expects to generate additional revenue of Rs 200 million by selling IP rights for the games during the 2008-2009 fiscal.

The company is finalising another deal with Eros International for animated character Zampano from movie title Friends Forever, CDI chairman Suresh Kumar tells Indiantelevision.com.

CDI is currently working on 2D and 3D animation outsourcing projects worth $65.8 million. “We are in the production of two animated films,” adds Kumar.

MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has set up an alternative content division and is kick-starting it with The Osho Talks series.

Shemaroo has signed a multi-year license deal with The Osho International Foundation under its alternate content segment “to bring to today‘s generation Osho discourses” through the home video format of VCDs and DVDs titled Osho Talks on the Shemaroo label.

The Osho Talks VCDs and DVDs are priced at Rs 149 and Rs 299 respectively.

Shemaroo has invested approximately Rs 20 million to tap the lifestyle and alternate market segment.

“Today home video penetration is huge and reaches out to a larger set of audience. Also, with increase in the standard of living along with awareness, the indulgence element is getting diversified. People are not just interested in watching films only. Hence, we decided to launch an alternative content division which will cater to various kinds of audiences ranging from children, philosophy, and literature to fitness and health. We have invested around Rs 20 million in this new division for this year and as we penetrate into this market more, we will pump in more amounts,” said Shemaroo Entertainment joint managing director Atul Maru.

“How to Relax with Yourself and Art of Loving are the first two releases from the Osho Talks series. The forthcoming titles that Shemaroo plans to release shortly include How To be Really Alive, The Transforming Power of Sex and Loving and Accepting Yourself,” stated Shemaroo Entertainment director Hiren Gada.

Shemaroo has assigned a budget of around Rs 200000 to 300000 to market the Osho Talks series. “We have tied up with various retail chains like Croma and Planet M where the Osho VCDs and DVDs will be available. We will also be looking at print and below the line advertising to tap our target audience,” said Maru.

NEW DELHI: The Mumbai police arrested four people on 15 May after busting a piracy racket by a film theatre in Gujarat, which was selling pirated DVDs of Tashan (Yash Raj film‘s latest production).

The police raided Shivam theatre at Bilimora in Navsari district of Gujarat and have seized substantial incriminating material, according to information received here.

Yash Raj Films (YRF) last week discovered a pirated DVD copy in the market, and upon analysing it found the security arrows and watermarks, which are put in by UFO Moviez during digitalisation.

YRF raised their concern and UFO in turn quickly found out that the camera print had been generated at Shivam Theatre on 25 April at 2:30 am (few hours before the first show) by placing a high-end camera in front of the screen in an empty cinema hall.

The pirates were unaware of the fact that UFO technology inserts a watermark slate during the playback of the movie, the company source says. This watermark is unique for each theatre and for each movie. Hence once that watermark is found in any pirated copy, UFO technology can detect the date, time and location of the act.

Once that watermark was found in the pirated content, UFO Moviez promptly lodged a formal complaint to the enforcement branch of Mumbai police with proper documentation.

The police involved the Central Forensic Lab at Kalina and attested the findings of UFO. Then, based on the report by the lab, a special team led by inspector Gadekar was dispatched to Bilimora on the evening of 15 May.

Gadekar and his men raided the theatre, and the residence of the manager and the owner, and arrested the culprit Vikram Patel.

Rakesh Maria of UFO Moviez said, “The piracy market in India is worth Rs 20 billion, and it deprives the government of crores of rupees of entertainment tax. According to a report commissioned by USIBC (United States India Business Council) to Ernst & Young, 800,000 people across the world lose their legitimate livelihood every year.”

“Mumbai being the epicentre of the Indian film industry the State Home department has put piracy on top of its agenda and recently extended stringent provisions of Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act to piracy, which is awaiting the Centre‘s approval.” added Maria.

DCP (Enforcement) Sanjay Mohite supervised the overall investigation in this matter.

MUMBAI: The Weinstein Company (TWC) is set to adapt Paulo Coelho‘s best-selling novel The Alchemist into a full length feature film.

The film, to be made at a budget of approximately $60 million, will be directed by actor Laurence Fishburne who will also star in the film as the lead character.

Laurence Fishburne said, “The deal to adapt the Brazilian writer‘s novel is a dream come true for me and I am looking forward to directing it, acting in it, and collaborating with Harvey Weinstein to produce a beautiful film that will do justice to Paulo‘s enormously successful novel.”

The book tells the story of Santiago, a Spanish shepherd who dreams of finding a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. He embarks on his quest, falls in love and learns life’s lessons along the way.

Coelho said, “I am very happy that my book will be filmed in the way I intended it to be, and I hope the spirit and simplicity of my work will be preserved.”

Bob and Harvey Weinstein, creators of the multi-media company TWC in March 2008, have been associated with many award-winning films including Shakespeare in Love (that won seven Academy Awards in 1999, including best picture), The English Patient, Good Will Hunting and Chicago.

MUMBAI: Manipal Education, in association with Subhash Ghai-promoted Whistling Woods, has introduced a two year MBA degree in media and entertainment. The course begins in July 2008 and admissions are open.

The MBA programme will have specialization in Film, Broadcasting, New and Interactive Media and Event Management. The first year will be conducted in Manipal University campus in Bangalore.

The second year will be a “hands on” training programme which will be conducted at the Whistling Woods premises located at Film City, Mumbai. The MBA degree will be provided by Manipal University on completion of the second year.

Whistling Woods founder Subhash Ghai said, “We have admired the growth of Manipal Education and its contribution to education. We are happy that they are moving into higher technical areas that would support the kind of explosive growth in entertainment that the IT sector has shown in the last few decades. Whistling Woods International, which has partnered with major technology players globally, and enjoys goodwill in the industry, is pleased to offer value to the students through its industry programme while adding value to education offered by Manipal Education. We are looking forward to a meaningful association”.

Manipal Education MD and CEO Anand Sudarshan said, “The new generations of youngsters are looking for education in areas of high growth and opportunity, and Media offers both the scope for creative and managerial growth. We are confident that students would seek this opportunity to further their prospects. We are pleased with the industry tie-up offered through Whistling Woods International which is based in the heart of the Mumbai Film Industry.”

MUMBAI: Adlabs Cinemas, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has launched India‘s first 6D cinema in Agra that is based on the Cinema Park format.

The main aim of a Cinema Park is to create an “overall cinema experience” so that viewers can not only see movies but also experience them through every other sense – sight, smell, sound, touch, motion and above all – interactive.

By providing a “multi-sensory cinematic experience”, the newly launched 6D Cinema aims to become a “distinctive global tourist entertainment attraction”.

“As a prominent fixture on the international tourist map, Agra joins an impressive list of destinations across the world that will host a unique 6D attraction. We have plans to introduce this format at other popular tourist destinations such as Jaipur and Goa as well as international airport terminals, adding a whole new dimension to the country‘s tourism and entertainment industries. We believe that Indian culture and entertainment have a huge audience internationally and this – going forth from our new cinema chains in both the US and Malaysia – is the next step towards taking India to the world,” said Adlabs Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra.

“Apart from tourists, the Cinema Park format is ideal for schools and educational institutes, employee programmes and families, and will help us to better utilise our capacity and extend our operating hours,” he added.

Adlabs Cinemas had earlier partnered with the worldwide Cinema Park Network to pioneer the multi-sensory cinema experience in India.

The network has completed approximately 450 projects across the world in cities such as Jerusalem, Rome, Baltimore, Orlando, Mexico, Athens, Warsaw and Tel Aviv.

Cinema Park Network founder and CEO Ori Yardeni said, “We are proud that India, which is an important tourist destination, is joining our global network. We have already set-up multi-sensory experiences in other parts of the world, including Disney World in Florida, and now India is our first installation in Asia. We will provide the tourist agencies and operators with a state-of-the-art unforgettable experience, based on a solid commercial partnership.”

A special half-hour film called India in Motion has been specially created within this format wherein Indian actor Anupam Kher will take the audience through India‘s evolution from an ancient civilization to a modern nation “bustling with activity and abundant with opportunity”. Other films which have been popular in other Cinema Parks across the world such as Journey through the Universe will also be screened.

“India in Motion in Agra is going to be one of our flagship Wonders of the World (WoW) projects. WoW is going to be a major player in the tourism industry, and our plan is to set-up similar experiences in the most toured destinations in the world. India in Motion actually complements the visit at the Taj Mahal monument, and turns it into a live experience,” added Yardeni.

MUMBAI: Fame India, formerly known as Shringar Cinemas, is set to showcase “content driven” plays at all its multiplexes during weekends.

This new activity has been taken up by Fame with an objective to drive in audiences during weekends “even when the movie flow is less”.

“Many weeks pass by when the flow of good movies is absolutely low. To provide the movie goers with new modes of entertainment, we have come up with this activity,” said Fame India national head programming Aditya Shroff.

“Currently we are at an experimental stage. Through this new activity, we want to attain a competitive edge over the rest of our competitors,” added Shroff.

Fame aims to display at least one play per month, if the new trend meets success.

“If this trend meets success, we plan to showcase one play a month. However the programming will be highly dependent upon content. We will showcase plays only with high content quality,” stated Shroff.

To start with, Fame will be showcasing a play titled All About Women on 24 May at it‘s Inorbit Mall multiplex.

The tickets are priced at Rs 200 and are available through internet and telephonic booking.

NEW DELHI: The film Mahek by K Kanade, which has already won several awards overseas, has been selected by a major college in the United States to form part of its curriculum syllabus of the integrative studies programme on Modern India.
Otterbein College in Ohio which is one of the oldest universities in the United States (founded in 1847), has said that the film produced by the Children’s Film Society, India, has been selected the film as it is an introspective Hindi film that sensitively portrays the world of children and their rights.

Faculty President Jiten V Ruparel has in a notice said that the film has been winning awards and accolades at various international festivals.

Mahek recently bagged the Best Feature Film (Family) Platinum Remi Award at the prestigious 41st Houston International Film Festival 2008 and the best feature film award at the 10th Arpa International Film Festival in Hollywood.

The film had been nominated in Houston for as many as six categories including the Best Feature Film at the Festival: Director, screenplay, first Feature, best foreign film and best Family Film.

Mahek had its world premiere at the prestigious 51st London Film Festival 2007 and later was screened at several International Film Festivals including the 32nd Cleveland Film Festival, and at St Louis, Chicago, Frankfurt and Sydney. This was the only Indian film at the Houston festival.

Mahek is a young girl‘s journey towards self-realization. It looks at the world through the imaginative eyes of children and examines their rights. What children miss most is respect – for them and for their imagination. Eleven-year old Mahek wants to be the best in everything, but she does not know what she is best at. To complicate things, an old, magic-less Modern Fairy walks into her life and brings her face to face with reality.

The cast of the film include Shreya Sharma, Anuya Bhagwat, Madan Deodhar, Anuja Borkar, Dheeresh Joshi, Madhavi Gadgil and Lalan Sarang. The international crew was made up of Music Composer Mathieu Lamboley based in Paris, Associate Director Matthias Schwelm based in Berlin, and Second Associate Director Sania Jhankar studying at Tisch, New York. The Indian crew had DOP Mrinal Desai, Co-Writer Kedar Dharwadkar, Editor Suchitra Sathe, Sound recordist Anmol Bhave, Re-recording artists Anup Dev-Subir Das, Costume designer Dinaaz Gabrani and Makeup Director Kavita Koparkar.

Legendary artist Mario Miranda did the sketches for this film. It is for the first time that Miranda has drawn for a Hindi feature film.

According to Kanade, “My first feature film Mahek looks at the world through the imaginative eyes of children and examines their rights. What children miss most is respect. Respect for them and respect for their imagination. For a child, a flower is as important as food, shelter and clothing. The education system in India could put more emphasis on aesthetics and philosophy.”

Kanade is an alumnus in film direction from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune who also completed the Producers Program from UCLA. His thesis film Chaitra won Three National Film Awards and two National Awards at MIFF. It was included in a special DVD release: Master Strokes- 20 First Films from 45 year history of FTII. Mahek is his first feature film.