Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Marathi film ‘Kaalchakra’ which is being screened as part of the Indian Panorama Section at IFFI-2007 will be made in Hindi, informed producer Avinash Onkar.

Onkar said that he was inspired to make Kaalchakra, a film that deals with the life situation of HIV + persons and how the society excludes them at large, after having personally witnessed the plight of some of the HIV + persons known to him in real life. The Hindi version would allow spreading the message of the film to a much wider audience, the producer commented.

The film’s director, Vishal Bhandari stressed that great amount of research had gone in finalizing the film’s story such as acquiring authentic information on AIDS and HIV + cases from the National AIDS Research Institute, Pune and interaction with real life HIV + people. Meanwhile, commenting on his decision to play the main protagonist of the film i.e. Shekhar, Sachin Khedekar said, “It was a rare opportunity to work in a film that provided me an opportunity to give back to the society which has given so much to me”.

The film revolves around the life of Shekhar whose dreams come crashing down, when he discovers that he is HIV +. He loses his family, job and self-respect. The film deals with the problems that Shekhar faces in terms of social exclusion and how he gradually acquires the will and determination to give himself a better future. Finally Shekhar succeeds.

MUMBAI: The complexion of film music has been undergoing a sea change. The once solitary job of scoring music is now a collaborative effort. Though this trend was noticed quite some time ago, it continues even now. A multi star cast film just does not mean an impressive line-up of stars but also multiple composers and lyricists.

The late eighties and nineties saw the emergence of this trend. It continues even today. With the release of Welcome, the Anees Bazmee film audiences will once again be treated to music by multi-composers. Himesh Reshamiya, Sajid-Wajid and Anand Raj Anand will share the credits.

In the late nineties when the trend was catching on, the much-in-demand Bappi Lahiri decided to take a sabbatical. He went on record to say that he was confused with the goings-on and hence would be going on a break. Though of course some time later Bappi did concede to compose a few songs in films which had other composers.

Even composers Anand–Milind were disturbed with this trend and felt that they lost out to a lot of work on account of this.

With the soundtrack of multi-starrer Welcome officially out in the market, the fact that there as many as three heavyweight music composers credited has not gone unnoticed.

According to the director of Welcome, Aneez Bazmee, Himesh Reshammiya was the original choice especially after he delivered a hit score for the producer Firoz Nadiadwala‘s earlier film, Phir Hera Pheri.

But as Himesh could not give the film sufficient attention because of his acting committments, the producer and director mutually decided to rope in Anand Raj Anand (Shootout At Lokhandwala) and Sajid-Wajid (Partner) to score the remaining tracks.

Himesh confirms, “All‘s well. Firoz bhai, Aneez bhai and the other composers are friends and we‘re all perfectly fine with the arrangement.”

Welcome, starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Feroz Khan & Mallika Sherawat, releases on 20 December.

MUMBAI: The Namesake, starring Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn, and Jacinda Barrett, was nominated for Best Feature at the 2007 IFP Gotham Awards, New York.

Also, star Irrfan Khan is the first Indian actor to ever be nominated for a Film Independent‘s Spirit Award. Khan has been recognized in the Best Supporting Actor category for his portrayal of Ashoke Ganguli, a father who anchors his family as they grow through loneliness, adolescence, and bitter loss.
 
The Namesake DVD hit markets in the USA on 28 November and is already available in India. It includes special features like: Commentary by Director Mira Nair, Deleted scenes, The Anatomy of The Namesake: A Class at Columbia University‘s Graduate Film School, Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with Kal Penn, Kolkata Love Poem, and Photography as Inspiration.  
 
The Namesake has been directed by Mira Nair and co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Fox Searchlight. Nair, who calls The Namesake her ”most personal film yet,” is being honoured by the Independent Feature Project with a retrospective of her body of work.

MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Group has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Dimples Cine Advertising and Dimples Cine Activations for an undisclosed amount.

Dimples Cine promoter Kamal Karamchandani will further dilute 23 per cent through private placement. “We will retain 26 per cent and dilute the rest to other investors. The valuation is confidential at this stage,” says Karamchandani.

Pyramid Saimira expects the topline to benefit by Rs 1.5 billion in FY‘09 due to the acquisition of the cinema advertising company. “Dimples Cine will automatically reach out to 1000 theatres and have geographical and customer diversity. Besides, they will also be targeting business from non Pyramid theatres. We are aiming at a topline rise of Rs 1.5 billion from this in FY‘09, says Pyramid Saimira Theatre MD PS Saminathan.

Dimples Cine, which offers services for both on-screen as well as off-screen advertising, has rights to 250 screens for advertisements. Pyramid currently has 703 screens.

The target is to have access to 4,000 screens by 2010, Saminathan said. Pyramid plans to have grown to 2000 screens by then. “We plan to ramp up Dimples‘ access to 4000 theatres. We will have signage as well as out-of-home content. The advantage is that we will have content, distribution and marketing under one umbrella. This also brings a huge ability for us to cross promote on the platform because we have theaters, films, TV news media as well as the magazines. So to an advertiser Pyramid is a complete media company, which can give a huge amount of eyeball mileage across different segmental platforms,” says Saminathan.

Dimples Cine Advertising would continue to remain headquartered in Mumbai, while becoming a part of the Pyramid Saimira Group universe.

Keynote Corporate Services was the advisor to Pyramid Saimira for this transaction.

As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Pyramid Saimira Productions Ltd (PSPL), a subsidiary company for film and TV production business, is planning to float an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 1.5 billion.

Recently, Pyramid Saimira acquired Texas-based FunAsiA through its subsidiary – Pyramid Saimira Entertainment America Inc.

Pyramid is also planning to float a subsidiary company in London to target the European market. “We may look at acquiring a company in the range of $100 million. For the US and Europe operations, we are going to reach out to the Asian diaspora. In the South East Asian region, on the other hand, we are setting up native theatre chains,” says Saminathan.

MUMBAI: Eros International‘s turnover stands at $34.6 million for the six month period ended 30 September 2007, up 58.7 per cent from a year ago period.

Eros‘ profit before tax is up 75.9 per cent at $13.6 million.

Cash flow from operating activities stands at $15.4 million for the six months period ended 30 September 2007.

During this period, Eros has acquired 51 per cent in Ayngaran to enter the Tamil film market. In collaboration with Hollywood visual effects talent Cahrles Darby, it has launched a post-production unit called Eyecube Studios. It has also signed a deal with Sony Pictures to co-produce a slate of films.

During the period, Eros International has signed new deals with Sky Anytime, Joost, NME, Vudu, Mauritius telecom and Singnet in the new media section.

In March 2007, it has signed a TV syndication deal with Sony.

Besides it has expanded distribution network with mainstream cinema chains and DVD retailers.

Eros International CEO and chairman Kishore Lulla said, “Eros has continued to deliver on its strategy of consolidating the Indian entertainment market, expanding its audience reach by leveraging its local distribution network. We are delighted with our continuing momentum and our ability to deliver growth and profits while maintaining margins.

Our content library and global distribution infrastructure separates us from other players in the space. Our business is still at an inflection point and we are confident that we have the strategy as well as management to take advantage of the immense opportunity in front of us. We remain confident of a successful outcome to the current financial year.”

MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures (UTVMP) has a bagful of movies to mark the year end.

MUMBAI: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) took another step forward in its strategy of forging international alliances with public and private filmmaking organisations around the world, with the announcement of a new agreement with the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).

In their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the NFB and the MDA have agreed to work together on co-productions, education training and technological co-operation.

NFB chairperson Jacques Bensimon says, “Canada and Singapore share a commitment to cultural diversity and to nurturing indigenous voices in cinema. This new agreement between the National Film Board of Canada and the Media Development Authority of Singapore will enable us to work together to promote our shared values – on co-productions, education training and technological co-operation that will strengthen independent cinema in both our countries.”

MDA CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, “The MoU with the NFB builds on the close ties that Singapore and Canada have cultivated over the past few years since the signing of the Audio Visual Co-production Agreement with Telefilm Canada on 13 November 1998. The National Film Board of Canada, as a public producer and distributor of media content will be another key partner for us to collaborate with in facilitating media industry co-productions between Canada and Singapore”.

Under the terms of the agreement, the NFB and MDA have pledged to encourage co-produced projects between Canada and Singapore in the field of animation, documentaries, interactive and experimental films and media initiatives, including innovative digital productions for new platforms. The two organizations also agree to encourage programmes related to training and education in the audiovisual industry as well as the development of emerging technologies. In addition, the NFB and MDA will exchange experiences, strategies and practices in commercial distribution and outreach development.

International partnerships, like the one signed with the MDA, are a priority at today’s National Film Board of Canada. This agreement with the MDA follows the signing of a cultural cooperation programme agreement between the NFB and the Ministry of Culture of Brazil in March 2006.

The NFB also spearheaded the formation of a world educational consortium with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Film Australia and Discovery Channel Canada to create educational productions for mobile and new digital platforms. In addition, the NFB is a partner in Content 360, joining the British Broadcasting Corporation and Korean Broadcasting Commission to produce new digital content.

MUMBAI: Conde Nast Media Group (CNMG), the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) in the US have announced the star line-up of presenters for Movies Rock. This is a two-hour live event and television special that celebrates the relationship between music and movies by paying tribute to some of music‘s most iconic moments in film.

The presenters include Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Cuba Gooding Jr., Danny DeVito, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Hudson, Quentin Tarantino Shirley MacLaine, Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Sir Elton John and film composer John Williams.

The event will take place at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on 2 December and will air on 7 December on CBS.

Movies Rock is sponsored by Chevrolet, Citi, Dillard‘s, Estee Lauder, Sony, TRESemme, and Verizon Wireless.

MUMBAI: Eros International, has won three awards at the DVD Entertainment India Summit held on 24 November in Mumbai.

The event was organised by Infocast Systems Pvt Ltd. which publishes Studio Systems, Optical Disc Systems, Cinema Systems and Pro Sound Systems magazines.

Eros bagged awards in three categories including Best technical Interactive menu design for Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Direct to Disc Special Interest for Bollywood Bodies featuring John Abraham and Bipasha Basu and Best documentary/Educational (Instructional) for Shiamak Davar‘s Bollywood Jazz.

Commenting on this occasion Eros International India operations SVP Hanif Khatri said, ‘”We at Eros International are constantly upgrading our technologies to meet the ever growing consumer demand and we hope to excel our own caliber in the future.”

MUMBAI: Worldkids Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of ‘entertainment with a purpose‘, announced the launch of the “Kotak Worldkids International Film Festival.”

The festival to be held in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Godrej Interio, BPL Mobile, AIAI, Ryan International School, Adlabs, P9 Integrated and with support from Department of Culture – Government Of Maharashtra, Children‘s Film Society of India (CFSI) and Times Foundation, will showcase the best of International and National award winning Animation, Documentaries, Shorts and Feature Films at the week long festival.

Adlabs, Wadala will screen and host Mumbai‘s first-of-its kind children‘s film festival targeted at 8-18 year olds. World Kids Foundation will be promoting the festival while P9-Cinema Activation will be marketing the event.

Some of the multi-award winning films which will be showcased during the festival are Red like the Sky –Italy, Hayat-Iran, Heda Hoda– India, Magnifico – Phillipines, An Inconvenient Truth – USA, Charkh– Iran, Summer with the Ghosts – Canada, Pinky & Million Pug – Germany, Halo – India, Malli – India, Bonkers – Holland and Benji – USA.

Explaining the reason behind initiating such a move, Festival Director Manju Singh said, “Our endeavor is to engage the children of India with positive media images and inspire them into thinking and learning while having a good time Entertainment with a Purpose is the Foundations mantra.”

“Kotak Worlkids International Film Festival will provide a platform for young and talented directors to reach a wider audience at the festival, thus hoping to encourage the wider film fraternity into dabbling more in the production of films for children,” asserted Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, Advisory Board, WKIFF.

Commenting on the occasion, Rahul Sinha, Group Brand Head, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., said, “The idea of hosting this exclusive international film festival for children was first mooted with the Worldkids Foundation and I am delighted that this has come to fruition. It will be our endeavor to provide healthy and wholesome entertainment to children, help them enhance their knowledge, develop their character, broaden their perspective and help shape them into useful citizens of modern India.”

Talking about P9‘s participation to market the festival P9 Integrated CEO Navin Shah said, “Worldkids International Film Festival was more of an opportunity for us to be part of something that was not just huge by itself in its nature but also an opportunity for us to be providing a platform for the children of our nation. It is very crucial for us to imbibe good values and culture in our children and this festival promises to do the same.”

Commenting on the association with the WorldKids International Film Festival, BPL Mobile director and CEO S Subramaniam said, “We endeavour to contribute to the growth of the society in the best possible manner and hence we are privileged to be associated with this International Film Festival which proposes learning through entertainment to the children of today. This association will serve as a platform for us to help these children learn as they grow since we at BPL Mobile believe that it is the children of today who will take our country ahead in the future.”

Godrej Interio COO Anil Sain Godrej aid,” World Kids Festival is an opportunity for Godrej Interio (i-space) to interact with the children from these schools that will only help us as a company form a bigger and brighter relationship with each one of them.”

Adlabs Cinemas COO Tushar Dhingra said, “Kids are a very important part of our audience and this festival is a great opportunity for us to entertain them and their families in a healthy and whole some way.”