Category: Movies

  • Jafar Panahi’s ‘Taxi’ wins Golden Bear at Berlinale

    Jafar Panahi’s ‘Taxi’ wins Golden Bear at Berlinale

    NEW DELHI: The Iranian ‘Taxi‘ by Jafar Panahi – who cannot even leave his country as he is awaiting trial – bagged both the Golden Bear as well as the FIPRESCI (film critics) awards at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast.

     

    The Silver Bear went to El Club (The Club) by Pablo Larrain of Chilea while the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives was given to Ixcancul (Volcano) by Jayro Bustamante from Guatemala.

     

    The Silver Bear for Best Director was shared by two films: Radu Jude for Aferim! from Romania and Malgorzata Szumowska for Body from Poland.

     

    The Silver Bears for best actress and best actor went to Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courteny respectively for the same film: In 45 Years by Andrew Haigh.

     

    Interestingly, Panahi cannot even have credits in his films and his films do not exist ‘officially’ and are not ‘distributable’ there. The well written, directed and performed film is overtly political and a pithy indictment of the Iranian censorship laws as well as the ‘sharia-based’ criminal justice system of the theocratic regime. His award was collected by his niece.

     

    The Silver Bears for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went to the German Sturla Brandth Grovlen for his ‘one-take’ cinematography in Victoria directed by Sebastian Schipper while the Russians Evgeniy Privin and Sergey Mikhalchuk got it for Pod Electricheskimi Oblakami (Under Electric Clouds) directed by Alexey German Jr.

     

    Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak received two awards: the Special Mention by the Children’s Jury Generation KPlus, and the Grand Prix of the Generation KPlus International Jury for the best feature-length film, endowed with  7,500 by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk.

  • ‘Roy’ fails to grab eyeballs at the BO

    ‘Roy’ fails to grab eyeballs at the BO

    MUMBAI: Roy does not quite go well with the moviegoer; a confusing film moving at snail’s pace with nothing happening through its lengthy trudge, the film had fair collections on the opening day thanks to names of Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal in the cast.

     

    The film maintained about same figures on Saturday but suffered a huge drop of about 50 per cent on Sunday because of India Pakistan World Cup match. The film managed weekend collections of Rs 24.9 crore.

     

    Controversial film MSG: The Messenger fails at the box office.

     

    R Balki’s experiment of a ventriloquist played by Amitabh Bachchan landing his rich baritone to an aspiring mute actor, Dhanush, fails to catch the audience’s fancy. While Bachchan may still be a media star, casting him in such a film is tricky business, Dhanush has little to charm the Hindi audience. Shamitabh does not add much to its already deficient weekend, ending its first week with a figure of Rs 17.6 crore.

     

    Baby continues to make the most of a run of poor oppositions over last three weeks. The film adds a reasonable Rs 6.5 crore in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 75.3 crore.

     

    Khamoshiyan has collected Rs 75 lakh in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 6.5 crore. Forced horror film sans content don’t work. A disappointing outcome for the investor.

     

    PK has added Rs 20 lakh in its eighth week. The film has put together Rs 329.95 crore in eight weeks.

  • CBFC’s Nihalani defends diktat banning use of certain words & scenes in films

    CBFC’s Nihalani defends diktat banning use of certain words & scenes in films

    NEW DELHI: Even as film bodies are yet to react on the issue, several members of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) have reacted strongly to the diktat by chairman Pahlaj Nihalani banning use of certain English and Hindi words in films.

     

    While some members tweeted that they had not been consulted and another termed him a moron, Nihalani told Indiantelevision.com that he was very much within the Certification Guidelines in issuing the directive.

     

    In a note sent to producers associations and some prominent individual producers apart from his own CBFC members, Nihalani has banned the use of 11 English words, and 10 Hindi words, which are almost literal translations of these words that, according to him were obscene.

     

    In addition, he said films should avoid scenes of violence against women, glorification of violence, double-meaning words, and the use of the name Bombay instead of Mumbai.

     

    In a series of tweets, CBFC member and filmmaker Ashoke Pandit said, “I as a Filmmaker & #CBFC board member do not endorse the list issued by the Chairperson on words not to be used in films. I was not consulted. Does the #ChairpersonCBFC endorse other bad words, which are not in this list can be used in the films? #Antifilmmakers. The list of words ‘not to be used in films’ issued by the Chairperson is against the freedom & creative liberty of a filmmaker. If I am portraying the character of Dawood in my film, he will use the language as per his character & not what a saint would use. Does the #ChairpersonCBFC endorse other bad words which are not in this list can be used in the films?”

     

    Reacting to the tweets, Nihalani said he stood by his directive and wondered why such obscenities had been permitted so far. He said this made it difficult not only for family audiences to see such films, but added the burden of ‘bleeping’ out these words when the films were shown on television. 

  • Kukunoor bags Grand Prix for children’s film at Berlinale

    Kukunoor bags Grand Prix for children’s film at Berlinale

    NEW DELHI: International award-winning filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak (Rainbow) has won the Grand Prix for Best Feature given by the International Jury in the Generation KPlus section for children, as well as a Special Mention of the Children’s Jury in the same section, at the Berlin Film Festival.

     

    Kukunoor has directed and written the film, which is a fable-like story of a young girl in Rajasthan who is determined to have vision restored to her blind brother before his ninth birthday.

     

    “This dynamically-directed film delivers joy and heartbreak in equal measure – the young brother and sister at its heart and the unbreakable love between them is irresistible… Filled with colour, magic, music, spontaneity and a plenty of emotion, this film lives up to its name and delivers a celebration of life to savor long after the end credits roll,” a statement from the International Jury said.

     

    Dhanak, produced by Manish Mundra, also won prize money of 7,500 euros that comes with the Grand Prix. 

     

    This is Kukunoor’s 14th film since Hyderabad Blues. He was on the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival along with Mundra, co-producer Elahe Hiptoola, sound designer Vipin Bhati and music composer Tapas Relia.

     

    “Actually when I met Manish, I went to pitch a film about a boxer,” Kukunoor recalled. “In passing, I also mentioned a small, sweet film – as a filler – about a brother and sister set in Rajasthan, and he said let’s do this one.” 

     

    Mundra grew up in Jodhpur and for Kukunoor too, it is the third film in Rajasthan after Dor and Yeh Honsla. “I am repeatedly drawn to Rajasthan because I’m fascinated by how small and insignificant humans become in vast open spaces,” said the director. “The moment I had this image of a brother and sister against the desert landscape, I rushed to my computer and wrote the script right away. I couldn’t stop,” he added.

     

    Dhanak also conveys a message. “I wanted to say that life is good and there are good people too. When I was growing up in Hyderabad, you could trust people. You could go over to a stranger’s house and they would be kind to you. WithDhanak, I’m kind of returning to my childhood and a kinder world,” Kukunoor said.

     

    Kukunoor’s work reveals a lively keenness to experiment with genres and subjects, varying wildly from homegrown romance Hyderabad Blues to thrillers Teen Deewarein and 8×10 Tasveer, inspirational drama Iqbal, to Dhanak. “The process of filmmaking is what I live for, and the day the print comes out, my fun ends,” said the director. 

     

    One of the revelations of Dhanak is how confidently its young blind protagonist moves, unlike the cane-tapping, champion hobblers of Bollywood. Kukunoor says he knew he wanted to make it as a road movie, so he needed to know “how the kid moves.” 

     

    Kukunoor said, “I’m extremely impatient and immediately asked my assistant director Ranjeet Jha to bring me phone camera footage of blind children. He followed some blind kids in the slums of Ghatkopar. The blind kids moved so fast and confidently, not stumbling or even touching walls, I said, ‘Wow, what the hell is this?’ The characters, featuring Krrish Chhabria and Hetal Gada, were worked out accordingly.” 

     

    For the success of Dhanak, Kukunoor duly credits co-producer Elahe Hiptoola. “Elahe is always invaluable. I had hired her as an actress two days before we shot Hyderabad Blues, but her skills were so good, she was an assistant director on Hyderabad Blues, and then we formed SIC Productions, and she has been my creative producer since. She totally gets my back, above and beyond the call of duty.”

  • ‘American Sniper’ collections surpass $300 million in N. America

    ‘American Sniper’ collections surpass $300 million in N. America

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ Oscar-nominated blockbuster American Sniper continues to make cinema history, crossing $300 million at the North American box office.

     

    Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller, American Sniper has continued to fill conventional and IMAX theatres nationwide. It is now the top-grossing war movie of all time, Bradley Cooper’s biggest live-action feature ever, and the second-highest-grossing R-rated drama ever. In addition, it is the first Warner Bros. non-franchise film, only the seventh Warner Bros. release of any kind, and one of only 50 films in cinema history to achieve this milestone domestically.

     

    Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said, “This is another extraordinary benchmark for an extraordinary film. Rarely does a film come along that strikes such an emotional and thought-provoking chord with such a wide audience. Congratulations to Clint Eastwood and everyone involved in American Sniper on the film’s huge success, both at the box office and in the hearts and minds of people everywhere.”

     

    American Sniper is also showing strength overseas. With just 40 per cent of international markets launched to date, the film has grossed an impressive $85.7 million, with many major territories prepping to release next week, including France, Spain, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.

     

    American Sniper, from a screenplay written by Jason Hall, is based on the book by Chris Kyle, with Jim DeFelice and Scott McEwen.

     

    The movie has earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Jason Hall). In addition, Eastwood was honored by his peers with his fourth Directors Guild of America Award nomination and also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director. The film’s other honors include a Producers Guild of America Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award nomination, and a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

  • ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ seduces box office with $239.7 million

    ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ seduces box office with $239.7 million

    MUMBAI: Universal Pictures’ erotica movie Fifty Shades of Grey has seduced the global box office with stupendous collections of $ 239.7 million in its opening weekend. 

     

    According to Rentrak’s box office estimates for the weekend of 15 February, 2015, the movie collected a whopping $81.7 million at the box office in North America.

     

    Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said, “Universal’s erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey felt the love from audiences as it earned a whopping $239.7 million around the globe this weekend. Generating an impressive $158 million in 58 international territories (and $81.7 million in North America), this is Universal’s second biggest international opening weekend ever behind Fast & Furious 6 at $160.3 million. Also impressive is the super cool Kingsman: The Secret Service from Fox that in its second weekend internationally took no prisoners with $23.1 million in 38 territories. This combined with the $35.6 million it earned in its North American debut gives Kingsman $58.7 million for the weekend and a worldwide total to date of nearly $80 million.”

     

    The top 12 worldwide weekend box office estimates, listed in descending order, per data collected as of Sunday, 15 February, 2015, are below:

     

    1. Fifty Shades Of Grey – $239.7 million

    2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – $58.7 million

    3. Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water – $44 million

    4. Somewhere Only We Know – $30 million

    5. Jupiter Ascending – $25 million

    6. American Sniper – $20.1 million

    7. Big Hero 6 – $9.9 million

    8. Taken 3 – $8.3 million

    9. The Imitation Game – $7.5 million

    10. Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb – $7.1 million

    11. Detective K: The Laborer’s Daughter – $6.2 million

    12. Paddington – $5.1 million

     

    The top 12 North American weekend box office estimates, listed in descending order, per data collected as of Sunday, 15 February, 2015, are below:

     

    1. Fifty Shades Of Grey – $81.7 million

    2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – $35.6 million

    3. Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water – $30.5 million

    4. American Sniper – $16.4 million

    5. Jupiter Ascending – $9.4 million

    6. Seventh Son – $4.2 million

    7. Paddington – $4.1 million

    8. The Imitation Game – $3.5 million

    9. The Wedding Ringer – $3.4 million

    10. Project Almanac – $2.7 million

    11. Black Or White – $2.6 million

    12. The Boy Next Door – $1.8 million

  • Two funding agencies to jointly promote children’s cinema at BIFF

    Two funding agencies to jointly promote children’s cinema at BIFF

    NEW DELHI: The Netherlands Film Fund and the MDM, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung GmbH, have established a co-development fund to jointly support script development for original children’s film projects.

     

    Children’s films have always played a major role within the policy of both funds. By joining forces the funds aim to develop and coproduce high quality stories for children that will find their audience in both countries and beyond.

     

    MDM director Manfred Schmidt and Netherlands Film Fund CEO Doreen Boonekamp launched the initiative at the Berlinale co-production market at the International Film Festival Berlin. The initiative reinforces the recently signed coproduction treaty between Germany and the Netherlands in order to enhance the collaboration and coproduction between the two countries.

     

    Proposals for original, live action feature films for children in the age groups 4-6, 6-9 and 9-12 years old are eligible. The film projects should be about contemporary matters and are to be told from the perspective of children. There are no limitations regarding style or genre.

     

    Priority will be given to projects that already have a co-producer or co-writer attached from Germany or the Netherlands. Applications should originate from the Netherlands or from the region of Mitteldeutschland (Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thueringen).

     

    The initial budget of the fund amounts up to € 100,000, each party contributing € 50,000. Projects will be selected by a selection committee existing of the CEOs of both funds or their representatives. The first application date for the new fund is 14 April 2015.

     

    In the past years several German Dutch children’s films were developed and produced like Supernova (2013, script writer, director Tamar van den Dop, production: Revolver Amsterdam (NL) in co-production with IJswater Films (NL) Coin Film (DE) and Epidemic (BE), Tony Ten (2012, script writer Mieke de Jong, director Mischa Kamp, production Lemming Film (NL), in co-production with Heino Deckert Ma.ja.de. (DE) and Lepel (2004, script writer Mieke de Jong, director Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, production Lemming Film (NL), in co-production with: Egoli Tossel Films (DE).

  • Film banned in India to release in North America; may later come to India via alternate channels

    Film banned in India to release in North America; may later come to India via alternate channels

    NEW DELHI:  Raj Amit Kumar’s new film Unfreedom, which has been banned in India, will be released in North American theaters on 29 May and simultaneously on digital channels via Film Buff. 

     

    The film is being distributed by Dark Frames, founded by Kumar, which is dedicated to bringing high-quality, non-Bollywood Indian films to North American and international audiences through theatrical and digital channels.

     

    Veteran film marketer and distributor Mark Urman of Paladin is partnering with Dark Frames to lead the marketing and distribution of Unfreedom

     

    The film was banned in India, where homosexuality was criminalized in 2013, by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) rendering much of its content too controversial for general audiences. Kumar is mounting an appeal at the same time that he is launching a crowd-funding campaign to finance a release in India via alternative methods.

     

    Unfreedom tells two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance that ultimately come merge. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage which she resists because she is secretly in love with another woman. The four characters come face to face with gruesome acts of violence in battles of identity, sexuality, religion, love, and family.

     

    Written and directed by Kumar, the film stars Victor Banerjee, Bhanu Uday, Bhavani Lee, Preeti Gupta, Seema Rahmani, Ankur Vikal, Samrat Chakrabarti and Adil Hussain.

  • ‘Roy’: Shot in the dark

    ‘Roy’: Shot in the dark

    MUMBAI: The title often shows a lack of imagination and is an indication of what is to follow. Roy, as it turns out after eons through the film, is the name Ranbir Kapoor goes by. Roy looks like a film inspired by watching a lot of the last century’s Hollywood and European films.

    Arjun Rampal is a film maker, who is on his third version of a series, Guns III, having earlier made two very successful versions. His inspiration comes from a suave robber, Ranbir Kapoor, who steals antiques and paintings. Having bumped into Ranbir once, he puts Ranbir’s exploits on screen.

    This once, Rampal is stuck for ideas and keeps working on his antique typewriter but nothing comes across on paper that he can go with. He realizes he needs inspiration. He proceeds to Malaysia without a script and starts shooting the film at random. No wonder then that what he comes up with through the Roy’s first part looks like a film to promote Malaysian tourism.

    Soon, Rampal finds his inspiration in Jacqueline Fernandez. She is in Malaysia to shoot a short film. Rampal makes her a part of his story. Roy is out to steal a part of a portrait of which the other part is with his handler. There is a huge offer if both the parts are available together to complete the portrait. Rampal manipulates his story idea where now the part of the portrait is in Jacqueline’s possession from where Ranbir will steal it. For this purpose, he also finds an actress who is Jacqueline’s lookalike.

    Producers: Divya Khosla Kumar, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar
    Director: Vikramjit Singh
    Cast: Arjun Rampal, Jacqueline Frenandez, Ranbir Kapoor, Anupam Kher (guest role), Shibani Dandekar

    As in most of the film, what happens thereafter is beyond understanding. The job is made easy for Ranbir as the actress has lured Ranbir to her bed and he just has to pick up the portrait hanging on the wall and make an early departure. Actually, it is all quite confusing.

    This is a film of whims and fancy. There is no script and a thin line about a thief inspiring film stories, which qualifies as cock and bull stuff. The director has no clue what he wants to make and seems to think that shooting low light dark scenes makes one a genius. The film, however, has excellent visual value backed by a good background score. Mumbling passes as dialogue and is not easy to catch. Songs are good but orchestra overpowers the lyrics.

    There is little in this film for actors: Rampal is lovelorn but hardly looks it. Ranbir Kapoor sleepwalks through his brief role. Jacqueline emerges the most sincere of the lot. Anupam Kher has a brief role, which is irrelevant.

    Roy is a waste of lot of resources with no hope of returns.

     

     

     

    ‘MSG: The Messenger’: Of self-gratification

    Having gained some recognition through media because of his numerous controversies, Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, as he calls himself, decides to use his film watching hobby to help promote him and his cult, Dera Sacha Sauda, on a national level. The result is MSG: The Messenger, a film for the janata.

    Producer: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan

    Director: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan

    Cast: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan

    And, no he does need stars to project him on screen; he can do it himself. So the Insan plays himself as a pure hearted person who is clean of thoughts and deeds, full of energy and preaches others to be like himself.

    Insan does all the things NGOs around the world do: organises de-addiction programmes, blood donation camps, cleans streets, plants trees, rescues women from prostitution and also resettles eunuchs.

    Insan also has a cure for his followers’ ailments through his ‘Ruhaani jaam,’ which is his own concoction. Insan also fights the evils of the world as he can fly, throw a mean punch and do all the stunts seen in Hollywood and Indian films.

    The film, all of its 190+ minutes has Insan, each and every frame of it. What else would you expect? His costumes are garish and loud but that he has been seen to wear even in his real life.

    Insan has done everything in this film from producing, directing, scripting, cinematography et al.

    To make further sure his ‘hard work’ pays, Insan has also bought out tickets worth crores to make sure his followers don’t miss it!

  • ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ a hit in Pakistan; earns 50 lakh on Day 1

    ‘Dolly Ki Doli’ a hit in Pakistan; earns 50 lakh on Day 1

    NEW DELHI: The film Dolly Ki Dolly starring Sonam Kapoor with Pulkit Samrt, Rajkumar Rao and Varun Sharma has become a major hit in Pakistan earning Rs 50 lakh in its opening day on the big screen.

     

    Produced by Kinesis Films and Arbaaz Khan Productions, the film also did good business in the United Arab Emirates.

     

    The hilarious comedy was screened at 35 cinemas on 65 plus screens (68-70 screens approximately in total including e-print and DCP) in cinemas nationwide.

     

    The success of the film in Pakistan could be due to the wholesome family entertainment quotient and the song “Mere Naina Kafir Ho Gaye” by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan- a hightlight in the film.

     

    Malaika Arora Khan’s item number and Saif Ali Khan’s guest appearance all add to the Bollywood masala the film has to offer.

     

    Kinesis Films director Samir Gupta said, “The film has performed very well in Pakistan in week 2 despite the other releases and is continuing in 30 cinemas even in week 3. While Khoobsurat had the advantage of the popular Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, this has been a super effort by Sonam and the rest of the cast to bring in family audiences and keep them entertained.”