ITV

Category: Movies

  • Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami…20 guns too many

    Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami…20 guns too many

    Selling honesty as a theme is a tough proposal. It is considered boring and not as readily acceptable as corruption is. Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami juxtaposes one honest man who never wavered despite temptations and desperations, against a totally sold-out system including the local CM. How that honest man, in whom even his sons don’t have faith, finally gets his way is an interesting idea.

     

    Anupam Kher works for the Mumbai municipal department’s malaria control wing, setting out every day with his fogging machine diligently to do his job. His two sons, Divyendu Sharma and Manu Rishi, are totally wayward. Sharma, the dominant of the two, does hatchet jobs for the local CM and is the star of the local political branch (shakha).

     

    Divyendu holds a degree of influence over the CM, Rajesh Sharma. When he gets hurt at a pro-CM rally, the CM foots his five-star hospital bill. Divyendu’s hotline in the CM’s house is his girlfriend, Aditi Sharma. She is the trustworthy aide of the CM.

     

    There is a scandal breaking out against the CM; he is reported to have gifted a Rs 12 crore worth bungalow on sea-facing, government land to his concubine, Neha Dhupia. The news is all over and Neha has no scruples using it to gain mileage for herself. While she is busy telling the media the inside story, the CM is ashamed that he is in news for a meagre Rs 12 crore scam when anything below Rs 1000 crore is considered petty cash!

     

    Meanwhile, it is D day for Kher. He is due for retirement and goes to the office beaming for a golden handshake, a certificate and a box of sweets. Instead, what he gets is a humiliating discharge sans retirement benefits. His fault, the day before, the last day of his duty, was that he did not surrender his fog machine officially. He is accused of stealing it and selling it to cheat the municipality.

     

    Kher is humiliated and devastated, and on his deathbed as a result of the shame, but his son’s only care to scavenge on whatever little his dead bones have to offer. They want his pension and they want to inherit the municipality-allotted room. They want him to sign a letter asking for a pardon for stealing the fogging machine so his benefits are restored. Kher would sign that pardon letter on one condition; his sons should send him off with a 21-canon salute.

     

    Divyendu has sworn to fulfil his father’s last wish not knowing how!

     

    However, he sees a ray of hope. The CM’s sexual excitement with Neha has given him his third, final fatal heart attack. He is declared dead. Having died in office, he will get a state funeral along with a 21 canon salute.

     

    By this time, the sons have realised that if anybody deserved a 21 canon salute, it is Kher and not the CM. Since there is no way Kher can get that honour, things will have to be managed to make Kher take the CM’s place.

     

    This was a good idea, but, it consumes a lengthy second half and goes into too much detailing and emotional overload. By the time it happens the viewer is not emotionally connected, just relieved.

     

    The film has spoilt its bright idea by taking too long over it. The director has an eye for detail but no control over content and needed a better editor. Dialogue is funny at times and bland at others. Divyendu is impressive. Manu Rishi is a natural. Aditi is very good. Rajesh Sharma is good as always, a seasoned actor that he is. Neha is effective in a brief role. Kher plays the signature role he started off with in Saaranash. Uttara Baokar and Sudhir Pandey are fine.

     

    Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami would have been watchable had the approach had been on a lighter note towards its goal.

     

    Producers: Anurradha Prasad and Abhinav Shukla.

     

    Director: Ravindra Gautam.

     

    Cast: Divyendu Sharma, Neha Dhupia, Anupam Kher, Manu Rishi, Aditi Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Uttara Baokar, Sudhit Pandey, Aashif Sheikh.

     

    Spark Is missing

     

    They just don’t work, these films about UP-Bihar local feudal gang lords-cum-politicians. After all, UP has one such gang lord in each village. It is the same old story: The more gun-wielding goons you have on your muster, the bigger your don-ness. Focusing on just one such gang makes things extra monotonous so Spark has some ex-loyalists from the same gang rising to form their own. Nothing you have not seen before; nothing that you have approved either.

     

    It starts like a 1970s film as some shotgun brandishing guys barge in to a haveli and shoot down two women and a man. However, because of an alert victim, a small child is hidden in a closet. He survives and makes this story into an unending saga.

     

    Rajneesh Duggal, like all other heroes, is a popular member of his college excelling at everything from dramatics to debates. During rehearsal, with the college lacking female talent, the college invites Shubhashree Ganguly. Both get acquainted but Duggal’s time in India has ended.

     

    Duggal gets into an altercation with the nephew of the biggest bahubali of the region, Ashutosh Rana, who, like in all such films and like all such bahubali types, literally runs the local governments, granting of contracts and so on. Duggal is bashed up by Rana. Ranjeet has brought up the orphan Duggal and loves him like his son. He decides to dispatch Duggal off to Germany to keep him away from trouble.

     

    As things would have it, Duggal spots Shubsharee in Germany; it is time to resume the romance because there won’t be time for that once the film moves into action mode.

     

    Back home, the villains have realised that the family they set out to kill 20 years back has one survivor, Duggal. However, they don’t know who he is, what he looks like and where is he. Only Ranjeet can reveal that.

     

    Govind Namdeo, an ex-henchman of Rana has branched out with his own ambition to be the next leader. He knows he can use Duggal against Rana by revealing to him that he is the one who ordered his family killed 20 years back.

     

    What follows are a lot of revelations you don’t really care to know, followed by too many back-stabbings. Finally it is time for the showdown where the hero deals with hundreds of gun-toting and sword-swishing goons, leaving him and Rana to fight it out alone.

     

    A very poor concept which is out of sync with any era, with direction to match. Duggal is okay while Shubshashree has a pleasant demeanour. Ranjeet supports well. Rana, Namdeo, Manoj Joshi are the loud villains performing more through decibels than acting. The musical score offers a few pleasant numbers. Some parts have been shot in Germany but it is no help.

     

    Spark is a poor film.

     

    Producer: Naresh Gupta.

     

    Director: V K Singh.

     

    Cast: Rajnees Duggal, Shubhashree Ganguly, Ashutosh Rana, Govind Namdeo, Manoj Joshi, Rati Agnihotri, Ranjeet.

  • Ben Affleck’s ‘Gone Girl’ to release in India on Diwali

    Ben Affleck’s ‘Gone Girl’ to release in India on Diwali

    NEW DELHI: Gone girl by David Fincher starring Ben Affleck will be released in the India on 23 October after a phenomenal American box office opening and rave reviews by expert critics.
     
    With staggering positive reviews the movie has already got bumper box office numbers in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) territories with numbers expected to grow even further.

    Gone Girl, based on a best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn, earned strong reviews from critics, with an 87 per cent positive rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.

     
    Affleck stars as a writer who is caught in a media circus when his wife goes missing and the police suspect he is responsible.

     
    It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, and Carrie Coon. The film had its world premiere on opening night of the 52nd New York Film Festival on 26 September. It had its American theatrical release on 3 October.

     
    The film examines dishonesty in the media, and the economy’s effects on marriage, and appearances.

    The film opened the 52nd New York Film Festival, receiving high profile press coverage and early positive reviews.

     

    Flincher is the film-maker behind The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

     
    Published in 2012, Flynn’s novel has sold more than six million copies. Earlier this year, she was commissioned by the Hogarth Shakespeare project to rewrite The Bard’s tragedy Hamlet.

     

  • Ankhon Dekhi to open Dharmshala Film Festival later this month

    Ankhon Dekhi to open Dharmshala Film Festival later this month

    NEW DELHI: Rajat Kapoor’s critically acclaimed film Ankhon Dekhi will open the third Dharamshala International Film Festival on 30 October.
    The four-day festival will showcase feature films, documentaries, short films and animation films. Besides, DIFF will also host Masterclasses, panel discussions and Harun Farocki Retrospective.

    Feature films to be screened at the festival include Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, Hansal Mehta’s Citylights, Geetu Mohandas’ Liar’s Dice, Avinash Arun’s Killa, Khyentse Norbu’s Vara: A Blessing, Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi’s Zinda Bhaag, Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar, Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die, Byamba Sakhya’sRemote Control, Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze’s Papusza and Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive.

    Gitanjali Rao will conduct a masterclass titled Paintings in Motion where she will take the audience from the origin of the idea, to the characters – who they are, where they come from – the style and design, the animatics with sound and music and finally the film in animation through her film which featured in the Critics Week at Cannes. She will go through the different explorations of mood, colors, sounds and music that shaped the film, and how to spin these together to create an emotional experience.

    The animation section will screen films by Shilpa Ranade, Gitanjali Rao and Nina Sabnani, among others.

    Q’s Nabarun, a documentary about famous Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya who passed away in July, will have its world premiere at the festival.

     

  • Mike Leigh awarded at Reykjavík International Film Festival

    Mike Leigh awarded at Reykjavík International Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Internationally renowned British film director Mike Leigh has received the Reykjavík International Film Festival´s Puffin Lifetime Achievement Award.

     

     

    Born in February 1943 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, Leigh is a director and writer, known for Secrets & Lies (1996), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Vera Drake (2004).

     
    His films frequently centre on the British working class. Most of his work in theatre and film is done without any initial script. He and the actors improvise their characters and the scenes under his overall control.

     
    He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between work for the theatre and making films for BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty ‘kitchen sink realism’ style.

     

    His most notable works are Naked (1993) for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Palme d’Or winner Secrets & Lies (1996) and Golden Lion winner Vera Drake (2004).

     
    He has also served as Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and is the chairman of The London Film School. Additionally, he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film and television culture.  

     

    His play, ‘Abigail’s Party’, performed at the New Ambassador’s Theatre, was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Revival of 2002.

     

    His films include Bleak Moments (1971), Hard Labour (TV, 1973), The Permissive Society (BBC Second City Firsts), Knock for Knock, Nuts in May, High Hopes (1988), Life Is Sweet (1990), A Sense of History (1992) – short, All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014)

     

    He has also received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1993 Queen’s Honours List for his services to the film industry.

     

  • Mike Leigh awarded at Reykjavík International Film Festival

    Mike Leigh awarded at Reykjavík International Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: Internationally renowned British film director Mike Leigh has received the Reykjavík International Film Festival´s Puffin Lifetime Achievement Award.

     

     

    Born in February 1943 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, Leigh is a director and writer, known for Secrets & Lies (1996), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Vera Drake (2004).

     
    His films frequently centre on the British working class. Most of his work in theatre and film is done without any initial script. He and the actors improvise their characters and the scenes under his overall control.

     
    He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between work for the theatre and making films for BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty ‘kitchen sink realism’ style.

     

    His most notable works are Naked (1993) for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Palme d’Or winner Secrets & Lies (1996) and Golden Lion winner Vera Drake (2004).

     
    He has also served as Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and is the chairman of The London Film School. Additionally, he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film and television culture.  

     

    His play, ‘Abigail’s Party’, performed at the New Ambassador’s Theatre, was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Revival of 2002.

     

    His films include Bleak Moments (1971), Hard Labour (TV, 1973), The Permissive Society (BBC Second City Firsts), Knock for Knock, Nuts in May, High Hopes (1988), Life Is Sweet (1990), A Sense of History (1992) – short, All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014)

     

    He has also received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1993 Queen’s Honours List for his services to the film industry.

     

  • Scarlett Johansson coming soon on small screen

    Scarlett Johansson coming soon on small screen

    MUMBAI: Scarlett Johansson is all set to star in a new period drama for her first major TV role. According to media reports, The Lucy actress will play the lead in a limited series adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winner Edith Wharton’s classic 1913 novel The Custom of the Country.

     

    She has starred briefly in TV before, with stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken in 2005.

     

    The 29-year-old actress will be seen as a midwestern girl, Undine Spragg, who makes it her goal to reach the heights of New York high society by any means necessary in the early part of the 20th century in the series.

     

    According to the media reports, Johansson will also be the executive producer of the eight-episode period story.

     

    Besides Johansson, there is another big name attached to the project as Oscar-winning British playwright-screenwriter Christopher Hampton is on board to write the screenplay of the limited series.

     

    Johansson will next be seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, before starring in spin-off movie Black Widow and Disney’s live-action CGI remake of The Jungle Book.

     

    Meanwhile, Johansson has been busy juggling work and motherhood after the star gave birth to her first baby with fiancé Romain Dauriac on 4 Sept.

  • Special celebrations planned to commemorate 100 years of Begum Akhtar

    Special celebrations planned to commemorate 100 years of Begum Akhtar

    NEW DELHI: As the nation celebrates the year-long birth centenary celebrations of noted classical singer Begum Akhtar, commemorative coins of Rs 100 and Rs 5 were issued today by union culture minister Shripad Naik to symbolically mark the start of the celebrations.

     

    Noted singers Rita Ganguly (Dadra), Shashank Shekhar (Thumri) and Prabhati Mukherjee (Ghazal) gave an impressive performance on the occasion. 

    DD Bharati is also marking the day with an exclusively curated show, Akhtari ki Mehfil aur Kaifi Azmi at 9 pm with repeat telecast at 5 am and 1 pm.

     

    The show by Yatindra Mishra and Kumud Diwan features the Begum and celebrated Ghazal writer and reciter of that era, Kaifi Azmi and few others. Begum Akhtar’s archival performances were hand-picked and woven together for this telecast where Kafi Azmi will be personally present.

     

    Akhtar Bai Faizabadi, popularly called Begum Akhtar (07 October 1914 –30 October 1974) was a famous Indian singer of ghazal, dadra and thumri. She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for vocal music and was awarded Padam Shri and Padam Bhushan by government of India. She was given the title of mallika-e-ghazal (queen of ghazals). On completion of 100 years of this versatile genius, the government has decided to commemorate the occasion. With this end in view, a National Implementation Committee (NIC) under the chairmanship of the culture minister was constituted to chalk out programmes and activities that may be taken up during the commemoration year. 

     

    Some of the initiatives which will be taken up during the commemoration period are centenary festivals in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Kolkata, web portal and digitisation/ documentation etc., of the legacy of Begum Akhtar, exhibitions and workshops, publications, seminars and a scholarship to young artists.  

     

  • Voice cast announced for ‘Angry Birds’ movie

    Voice cast announced for ‘Angry Birds’ movie

    MUMBAI: Columbia pictures announced the cast for its upcoming animated film adaptation of popular game Angry Birds.

     

    The cast was revealed after fans of the game worked together to sling one billion birds over the past 48 hours.

     

    The film will center on a furious flock of three: Red, Chuck and Bomb.

     

    Horrible Bosses fame actor Jason Sudeikis will lead the cast as Red, a bird with a temper problem, accompanied with Jobs’ Josh Gad as speedy Chuck, and Danny McBride of Eastbound & Down as the volatile Bomb.

     

    Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage will bring the character of legendary Mighty Eagle alive on screen while Matilda, the white bird who lays egg bombs, will be voiced by Maya Rudolph of Bridesmaids fame.

     

    The movie will also will feature Bill Hader, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnon, Tony Hale, Ike Barinholtz and Hannibal Buress.

     

    “I’m extremely proud of this cast. Not only do we have Jason, Josh, Danny, Bill, Maya and Peter bringing these characters to life, but they’re surrounded by an all-star ensemble of emerging comic talent — these are some of the funniest people out there today, and we’re thrilled to have them all on board,” said John Cohen, producer of the film, in a press release.

     

    The film is set for a 1 July 2016 release and will be directed by Fergal Reilly of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Frozen famed Clay Kaytis while the screenplay will be written by Jon Vitti of The Simpsons. The movie is a partnership between Finnish Angry Birds creator Rovio and Hollywood studio Sony.

     

    The Angry Birds movie will mark game maker Rovio’s first leap into feature films, though they have been producing ‘Angry Birds Toons’ through their Toons TV online channel.

  • Shah Rukh Khan receives Britain’s Global Diversity Award

    Shah Rukh Khan receives Britain’s Global Diversity Award

    MUMBAI: Adding to his list of honours, the king of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan was recently presented with the ‘Global Diversity Award’ at the State Room of Britain’s House of Commons in London. The award is given to an outstanding individual who has made a major contribution to Worldwide Diversity.

     

    The Award was presented by the 136th leader of the office of speaker Rt Hon John Bercow MP while Chair of the Home Affairs committee Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP conducted the ceremony. Other members of the Parliament from both houses, Commons and Lords were also present at the occasion.

     

    He was presented with the Award for his outstanding achievements in the field of cinema and his involvement in philanthropic endeavours.

     

    Khan tweeted on the occasion expressing his gratitude, “Now at the Houses of Parliament to receive the Global Diversity Award….humbled & grateful. Thank you.”

     

    The Baadshah’s Happy New Year co-star Boman Irani also congratulated him for the achievement. “Proud of you… so very proud, for being bestowed the Global Diversity Award,” Irani tweeted.

     

    Previous recipients of the award are Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, actress Aishwarya Rai, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Chan, music legend Dionne Warwick among others.

     

    Shah Rukh has previously been honoured with several international awards, including Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (France’s highest civilian award), Wissame Al Kafaa Al Fikria (Morocco’s highest honour), Malaysian title of ‘Datuk’ (akin to the British knighthood) and several others. He has also been entrusted with being the Brand Ambassador of INTERPOL’s ‘Turn Back Crime’ Campaign recently.

  • ‘Bang Bang’ shoots ahead of ‘Haider’ at the Box Office

    ‘Bang Bang’ shoots ahead of ‘Haider’ at the Box Office

    MUMBAI: The last minute tug of war for screen time domination between Bang Bang and Haider to cash in on a five day holiday weekend starting Thursday did not help much as these holidays fell during, what is known as the dull period. Both the films could not manage to collect what was expected.

     

    Bang Bang opened with inflated admission rates which its content did not justify. The film catered action for the sake of action with the main villain being kept out through most parts of the movie. While the film registered a two figure drop the next day of its release, on Saturday the drop was more significant with around 30 per cent and not making much on Sunday either. The film collected Rs 80 crore for the first five days.

     

    Haider which also released on Thursday with the long weekend in sight, opened to an average collection and remained steady on the lower side through the weekend. There is little of universal appeal in the film. While there are not many takers on Kashmir’s terrorism, this film however binds a bunch of family members with terrorism with each one bending back over backwards to betray the other. The film managed to put together Rs 23.3 crore for the first five days.

     

    Desi Kattey was poor and collected Rs 3.1 crore in its first week while 3 AM is a loser with Rs 1.9 crore to account for its first week.

     

    Daawat-e-Ishq did average in its second week by collecting Rs 5.1 crore to take its two week total business to Rs 25.56 crore. On the other hand, Khoobsurat has managed to do well in its second week by collecting Rs. 7.5 crore to take its two week tally to Rs. 23.95 crore.

     

    Finding Fanny added Rs 65 lakh for its third week to take its three week total collection to Rs 27.70 crore. The biopic Mary Kom has added Rs 80 lakh for its fourth week taking its four week tally now to Rs. 56.55 crore.