Category: Movies

PVR Nest and Ryan International School initiate films to sensitise students on road safety

NEW DELHI: PVR Limited through its social programme and registered foundation PVR Nest and Ryan International School has created a film based road safety education programme at its Cinema at Sahara Mall, Gurgaon.

For the first time, a social foundation and a school have come together on a same platform combining their synergies to create a very unique entertaining educational session on the very important issue of Road Safety for children who are the “Future road users”.

Usually, the best behaviour practices while on road are forgotten. And thus, the issue was communicated to the children in the most innovative and entertaining manner using films as a medium. It is an effort to bring about behaviour change among children towards road safety to reduce the rate of accidents and make it a social movement.

More than 250 children from Ryan International School participated in the program and took the pledge to carry the initiative forward by forming Road safety clubs in school and making their own original films on the issue. The program was given an opening with CineArt educational workshop which was followed by a Film making session by Mr. Nitin Das (an eminent filmmaker who has been awarded by British council for entrepreneurship in the social sector) and an entertaining film.

On the occasion, PVR Vice President – CSR Deepa Menon said, “At PVR Nest, we are continuously looking at addressing core social issues that affect the community we live in and thus uphold our commitment towards urban sustainability. We are extremely happy to use our spaces and partner with Ryan International School to create education and action on this very important issue of children’s and family health& nutrition using the innovative mediums of films”.

Ryan International School School, Sector 40 Gurgaon School Head Peeya Sharma, said “We at Ryan International School aim to provide a holistic education. I strongly believe that education moulds and chisels each student into a multi-faceted personality. We recognize the importance of contributing to society in a meaningful way through the hands of children. Through ‘Films for Change’ initiative we aim to inculcate the leadership and responsibility among our students. We are happy that we are able to reach out to our students through films which are the most powerful medium of engagement.”

February 6, 2014
Books to read before they hit Indian theatres in 2014

MUMBAI: Here’s the review of the third book in the 10-part series that features the books being adapted into Hollywood movies in the year 2014.

Winter’s Tale – Mark Helprin

This Valentine Day, believe in miracles…

Starring Golden Globe award winner Colin Farrell (Alexander, In Brudges) and Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), the live action motion picture adaptation of Mark Helprin’s bestselling 1983 romantic fantasy epic will soon make your Valentine Day getaway a New York City adventure. The film adaptation of the classic 1983 novel by Mark Helprin vacillates between 1916 and present-day Manhattan.

Take your Valentine on a journey to New York of the Belle Epoque and follow the journey of Peter Lake (Farrell), a thief who falls in love with Beverly Penn (Brown Findlay), a dying girl who has tuberculosis and occupies one of the houses he breaks into. Lake is saved from the insane Irish gangster Pearly Soames, played by Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) and his henchmen by Athansor, a mysterious white horse who becomes his guardian angel. Thus begins the love between the middle-aged Irishman and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying.

Academy Award winning director Avika Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) called this film his passion project resulting in him producing and writing the screenplay for it.

The Newsday called the book, “a gifted writer’s love affair with the language”. On Good Reads, Winter’s Tale has a ranking of 4.05 based on 9,318 ratings.

Soon after its release, Winter’s Tale was praised on the front cover of the New York Times Book Review (NYTBR), courtesy Benjamin De Mott. It was thought to be “funny, thoughtful, passionate and large-souled”.

Winter’s Tale will cast its romantic magical spell in India next Friday, 14 February.

(Watch out for the next one to add to your booklist…!)

February 6, 2014
Eros International’s ‘English Vinglish’ to become the biggest B’wood release in South Korea

LONDON: Eros International, a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry announced today that it will release the blockbuster film, English Vinglish, in South Korea on February 6, 2014. Following on the heels of the film’s success in Hong Kong and Germany last year, English Vinglish will be released across 150 screens, making it one of the biggest Bollywood releases in South Korea to date.

Speaking on the film’s success, Kumar Ahuja, President, Business Development, Eros International Media Ltd, said, “English Vinglish is a universal story that truly resonates with global audiences, especially as it relates to acceptance and the challenges of learning a new language. With newer markets for the film consistently opening, we believe audiences worldwide will continue to find a connection with this captivating film.The film, directed by Gauri Shinde, has performed exceptionally well in new markets. In Taiwan, the film was released across 6 screens in December, 2013 and amassed over US$ 300,000, making it the second biggest grossing Bollywood film in Taiwan. English Vinglish also continues to hold a firm position in Taiwan’s top 10 charts.

“In several new markets, including Asia, audiences have shown that they love Indian ethos and drama. In response to the growing appetite, we plan to release additional films like Dabaang, Dabaang 2, Ra.One and Go Goa Gone into new markets in the coming year.”

In 2014, Eros will look to further expand its presence in Asia by releasing films such as Cocktail, Student Of The Year and Table no 21 in Taiwan and Chalo Dilli, English Vinglish, Dabaang, Student Of The Year and Agent Vinod in Japan. The Japanese market has already proven to be a strong one for Eros as the Company’s release of Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om across 14 screens earned over US $ 150,000 at the Japanese box office in 2013.

Eros is also making inroads in Eurasia and Russia with plans to release some of its hit films including, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Rockstar, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Student of the Year, Vicky Donor and Desi Boyz in these territories during 2014. This activity comes on the heels of the successful Eros film, Cocktail, which was released in March, 2013 across 19 screens in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and became the first Indian film in these countries to gross over US$ 100,000 at the box office.

Finally, Eros has expanded into African markets with the release of its hugely successful Krrish 3 across 14 screens in Egypt this past December.

February 6, 2014
Books to read before they hit Indian theatres in 2014

MUMBAI: This review is the second of the 10-part series by Indiantelevision.com on the books that are being adapted into Hollywood movies in the year 2014.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Having spent eight weeks on The New York Times Bestsellers List at number 1, Gone Girl‘s principal suspense comes from an uncertainty about the main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he killed his wife, Amy Dunne when the latter goes missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary.

The book has a 3.93 rating based on 441, 306 ratings on Goodreads. The book is a “pathological, twisted freak-show of a relationship so demented that it leaves wanting for more”!

Hairspray screenwriter Leslie Dixon read the manuscript of the novel in 2011 and brought it to the attention of Reese Witherspoon in December of that year. Soon after, Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon swopped in and bought the rights to the film adaptation of the blockbuster hit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Witherspoon was drawn to the script because of its strong female character and its use of multiple perspectives and non-linear structure.

In January of 2013, it was announced that Witherspoon will only be producing, and will not be starring in the film. By May, Golden Globe Award winning director David Fincher (The Social Network) was attached to the project with another Oscar winner Ben Affleck soon joining the project as the lead, Nick Dunne along with Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Die Another Day) as his missing wife, Amy.

In several interviews, Flynn has said she was interested in exploring the psychology and dynamics of a long-term relationship. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where Flynn worked as a television critic before bursting out as an author, she hinted that the film will have a different design than her twisty novel.

The director, David Fincher himself designed the cover for the 17 January, 2014 edition of Entertainment Weekly. It can be seen below.

(Watch out for the next one to add to your booklist…!)

February 5, 2014
India’s Qissa to compete at Vesoul Filmfest in France

NEW DELHI: The Indian film Qissa by Anup Singh, which has already won accolades on the international festival circuit, will one of the nine Asian films in competition at the 20th Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie.

The Cinemas d’Asie which is a specific festival for developing film industries in Asia will be held from 11 to 18 February in Vesoul in France next month.

There are two films from Japan, both receiving their European premiere, and one each from China, India, Iran, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey in the Festival. Five of these nine films were also screened at last year’s Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.

Qissa was also the opening film of the 43rd International Film Festival at Rotterdam from 22 January to 2 February and this marked the European premiere of the film. It won the Audience Award at that Festival.

The award comprising Euro 10,000 (INR 9 Lakh Approx) is given to the most voted film supported by the Hubert Bals Fund.

Qissa which received the Hubert Bals Fund for Script & Project Development in 2004, was made with further support from the Netherlands Film Fund, and was co-produced by Dutch company Augustus Film.

Set in post-colonial India, the film stars Irrfan Khan as a Sikh who has fled his village to escape ethnic cleansing at the time of partition who tries to start a new life for his family.

The choice of opening slot for the drama is part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the festival’s Hubert Bals Fund, which had supported the Indian film’s script development ten years ago.

The festival will also host a retrospective, Mysterious Objects: 25 Years of Hubert Bals Fund, including a screening of the fund’s first recipient, Chen Kaige’s Life on a String (1991).

Qissa is represented internationally by Germany’s The Match Factory GmbH. The film had its North American and Asian premieres at the Toronto International Film Festivaland Busan International Film Festival respectively.

Earlier, the film added one more feather in its cap when actor Tillotama Shome won the Best Actress award in the New Horizons competition at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

In Qissa, Shome plays the youngest daughter of Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan) who decides to raise her as a boy.

Shome made her screen debut with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and went on to play roles in Florian Gallenberger’s Shadows of Time and Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai.

Qissa earlier won the Silver Gateway Award in India Gold competition at the 15^thMumbai Film Festival and the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award for Best Asian Film at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival where it had its premiere.

Set amidst the ethnic cleansing and general chaos that accompanied India’s partition in 1947, this sweeping drama stars Irrfan Khan as a Sikh attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community.

Beautiful, timeless, and touching the deepest of human impulses, Qissa carries the spirit of a great folk tale. Although it’s set in a particular time and place — the Punjab region that straddles India and Pakistan in the years immediately after partition — it is both deeper and broader than any one moment. As this eerie family drama progresses, it cuts to the heart of eternal desires for honour, empathy, and love.

“Qissa” is originally an Arabic word meaning folk tale. Both the word and the idea migrated from the Gulf into the Punjab, still connected by the ancient oral narratives handed down in communal settings. Working within this tradition, director Anup Singh gives his film both the grand themes and elemental emotions of classic storytelling. As Umber’s daughter is raised as a boy, the characters are propelled with greater and greater urgency towards their inevitable fates.

February 5, 2014
Seth Gordon to direct video game adaptation of Uncharted

MUMBAI: The long-awaited live action film adaptation of the hugely popular and award winning video game series, Uncharted may finally see the light of day.

According to reports, Sony Pictures is in talks with Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon to helm Uncharted, a live-action adaptation of the PlayStation videogame series Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune with a script by David Guggenheim (Safe House, Bad Boys 3) and produced by Charles Roven (The Dark Knight trilogy), Avi Arad (Iron Man series) and Alex Gartner (Get Smart).

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the first one in the series, follows the journey of protagonist Nathan Drake, supposed descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he seeks the lost treasure of El Dorado, with the help of journalist Elena Fisher and mentor Victor Sullivan. Drake’s search for El Dorado becomes competitive when a rival hunter joins the hunt, and then the plot takes a crazy turn when creatures begin attacking those hoping to learn the treasure’s true secrets.

If finalised, Seth Gordon will be the third director to be attached to the project along with David O. Russel (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) and Neil Burger (Divergent).

February 5, 2014
Oscar nominee Matthew McConaughey will star in Gus Van Sant’s next film

MUMBAI: Matthew McConaughey, who recently won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club and has been nominated for the coveted Academy Award, has been cast in Gus Van Sant’s upcoming film along with Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).

Based on a script by Chris Sparling (Buried), the story of Sea of Trees follows an American man played by McConaughey, who takes a journey into the infamous “Suicide Forest” at the foothills of Mount Fuji with the intention of taking his own life. When he is interrupted by a Japanese man played by Watanabe, who has had second thoughts about his own suicide, and is trying to find his way out of the forest, the two begin a journey of reflection and survival.

Gus Van Sant was nominated for an Academy Award for helming the Matt Damon starrer Good Will Hunting and the Sean Penn starrer Milk, for which Penn won the Best Actor Oscar. In addition to Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey was last seen in The Wolf of Wall Street and can also be seen in the HBO Original series True Detective, currently airing in India on HBO Defined.

February 5, 2014
Books to read before they hit theatres in 2014

MUMBAI: Today, we kick off a 10-part series on the books that are being adapted into Hollywood movies in the Year 2014. Here’s the first one from the lot…

Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

Higher Learning, Higher Stakes!

It’s time the Salvatore brothers took a backseat, for the students of St. Vladimir’s Academy are taking center stage in the upcoming big screen adaptation of the bestselling Vampire Academy series. The first book revolves around 17-year-old, Rosemarie “Rose” Hathaway, a half-human, half vampire Dhampir and her Romanian Moroi vampire best friend, Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir, who return to St. Vladimir’s Academy after being on the run for two years.

The characters are smart, simple and very funny. The story has the right amount of blood, action and Gossip Girl-ing to make the book unputdownable. It has stark amount of detail and research the author has done about the Romanian vampires while still maintaining the snarky and sarcastic gift of gab.

The book received positive reviews throughout most of the literary review mediums, with a Goodreads average of 4.20/5, based on 2,15,253 ratings. In June 2010, Michael Preger’s Preger Entertainment optioned the film rights to the Vampire Academy series.

Australian actress Lucy Fry (H2O: Just Add Water) plays the royal Moroi Lissa and Zoey Deutch (Beautiful Creatures, Ringer) plays her Dhampir guardian-in-training Rose, who soon starts to develop strong feelings for her Dhampir mentor Dimitri Belikov played by Danila Kozlovsky, in his first mainstream English film. The two best friends begin to realise that the threat of the Strigoi (bloodthirsty, undead vampires) is bigger than ever. The film is directed by Mark Waters, director of the hit Lindsay Lohan teen romedy, Mean Girls.

Deepak Nayar, Owner & Producer, Kintop Pictures, one of the leading producers of the film said adapting bestselling young adult (YA) series into film franchises is not new, citing the example of Harry Potter. “Already having an existing audience, we expect the $10 million in book sales alone to turn into $100 million in ticket sales. We’ve made this film expecting a certain degree of longevity and success once made into a franchise.”

Vampire Academy stakes Indian theatres Valentine’s Day, 14 February.

(Watch out for the next one to add to your booklist…!)

February 4, 2014
MIFF 2014 opens with Anand Patwardhan getting V Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award

NEW DELHI: The week-long festival celebrating the best of documentary films – the Mumbai International Film Festival for short, documentary and animation films has commenced in Mumbai with a rare insight into the life during pre-independence India, and presentation of the V Shantaram Award.

Maharashtra Governor K N Sankaranarayanan who inaugurated the Festival appealed to filmmakers to lend their voice to raise the problems of disadvantaged through their films.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Bimal Julka, Festival Director V S Kundu who is Director-General of Films Division, and members of the national & international jury and several prominent filmmakers were present.

The veteran filmmaker on social issues Anand Patwardhan who has often raised contoversies through his films was honoured with the V Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution to promotion of documentary films movement in India.

Patwardhan is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker known for his activism through social action documentaries on topics such as corruption, slum dwellers, nuclear arms race, citizen activism and communalism. His notable films include Bombay: Our City (Hamara Sahar) (1985), In the Name of God (Ram ke Nam) (1992), Father, Son and Holy War (Pitra, Putra aur Dharmayuddha) (1995), War and Peace (Jang aur Aman) (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), which have won national and International awards. Jai Bhim Comrade had won the Best Film award at MIFF 2012.

In his acceptance speech, Patwardhan said, “My feelings are mixed. My films speak about the reality of the disadvantaged. They have raised several socially relevant issues, but the impact has been marginal. The issues I highlighted through my films sine 1980s continue to exist – rampant demolition of slums and uprooting of poor, communal violence, increasing crime against women, atrocities against the downtrodden, nuclear arms race etc, continue to remain as serious challenges”.

The V Shantaram Award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

The opening film – the 86-minute package curated by the British Film Institute National Archive Before Midnight: a Portrait of India on Film, 1899-1947, is a collection of home movies, documentaries , dramas and comedies exploring how life was lived in British India. It has over 100 short films covering topics ranging from temples to tigers.

The Maharajah of Jodhpur’s home movies provide an epic portrait of princely power in the 1930s and 40s, whilst those of the Gorrie family offer an intimate picture of family life and their expeditions into the Himalaya. The collection also features the films and TV dramas that helped to shape the mythologies of British India including The Drum (1938), The North West Frontier (1959) and The Far Pavilions (1984).

Another highlight of the opening ceremony was the screening of short film titled ‘Checkmate BB’ produced by Mumbai School kids. Seventeen kids from 13 schools were trained to conceptualise, direct, shoot and edit a film of their own at a workshop conducted by by the Linnep Media and CineKids, Amsterdam, as part of the fortnight-long Linnep Kids Film Festival, that was held in 15 schools of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane, as a run up to MIFF 2014.

The Indian Navy’s ceremonial Naval band and Bangalore’s noted music group Mystic Vibes also enthralled the audience at the inaugural ceremony.

The 13th MIFF being held from 3 Feb to 9 Feb at NCPA (Tata Centre) at Nariman Point received over 790 entries including 205 entries in the international section. This biennial film festival organised by the Films Division of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is held in collaboration with the state Government of Maharashtra and the Indian Documentary Producers Association.

February 4, 2014
Kochadaiiyaan to release globally on 11 April

MUMBAI: Eros International Media Ltd (Eros International), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry will release the eagerly awaited futuristic fantasy event of the year ‘KOCHADAIIYAAN – The Legend, a Mediaone Global Entertainment Limited production, directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin, worldwide in cinemas on April 11, 2014.

Kochadaiiyaan features the unique visual mastery of Photorealistic Performance Capture technology for the very first time in the history of an Indian film. This technology has been previously seen in Hollywood masterpieces as Avatar, Tin Tin and Beowulf.

Kochadaiiyaan is an epic dramatization of good versus evil starring South Indian megastar Rajinikanth in a double role in a larger than life depiction. Also starring in the grand production is leading lady Deepika Padukone together with South India’s leading stars R. Sharath kumar, Nazar, Aadi, Shobana and Rukmini.

Providing the musical score is Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, whose list of credits includes a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards for his outstanding musical contribution for the multi-Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Announcing the release of the film, Ms.Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin, the Director of the film said, “Following last year’s celebrations of India’s film making centenary we view the release of Kochadaiiyaan as part of the next steps of Indian cinema. For the first time a full length feature has been made using performance capture technology in India and I truly hope this creates a whole alternate film making avenue apart from live action films in our country”.

Mr. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added, “Eros is proud to present this magnum opus with Rajinikanth, which will take the Indian film industry to the next level. We are confident that this will be a landmark film in world cinema as a result of the ground breaking technology used. The film will be released in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Bengali and Punjabi in India and overseas in more than 6,000 screens. We will be releasing an English version internationally as well”.

In a major brand tie-up, Eros International and Mediaone have also tied up with Karbonn Mobile to launch 1 million Kochadaiiyaan branded mobile phones to celebrate the release of the film. The exclusive Karbonn ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ mobile phones will have screen savers and must-have images from the film along with the trailer and the signature tune of the film. These special Kochadaiiyaan mobile phones are intended to launch in February 2014, during the audio launch of the film.

Kochadaiiyaan was shot extensively at Pinewood Studios in the UK with a team of world-class technical experts including the London based Centroid Studios, a state of the art facility for Full Body Motion Capture, which has worked on various Hollywood productions including the recent Brad Pitt starrer World War Z as we// as Pirates of the Caribbean, lronman 2 and Harry Potter, and Counter Punch Studios from Los Angeles, who have been behind successes such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua. They worked in collaboration with Faceware Technologies, United Kingdom, who have worked on The Mummy 3 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for the Facial Capturing technology. A team of technical experts from South India and China have worked on this technology, with the best production facilities in London, for the overall completion of the project.

February 4, 2014