ITV

Category: Movies

  • Tanu Weds Manu survives World Cup scare

    MUMBAI: Tanu Weds Manu has done reasonably well over the weekend, improving marginally each day and facing a small drop on Sunday because of the India-England World Cup match. The film has several interesting situations as an NRI doctor with an Indian heart falls for the first girl he meets in the process of an arranged marriage match.


    Having opened with Rs 31.8 million on Friday, it collected Rs 113.5 million in the opening weekend. The film, however, has registered a major drop on Monday, which is more noticeable at single screens.


    According to distributor Sanjay Mehta of Bobby Enterprises, Delhi, “Tomorrow the Board exams start which would show on collections. The film, however, has an open run next week and should show some gain due to that.”


    Meanwhile, 7 Khoon Maaf is a box office debacle from Vishal Bhardwaj, an outcome of a senseless script and indulgent execution. Having been rejected from day one, it added precious little to its opening weekend figures of Rs 96 million to end the week with Rs 128 million.


    Patiala House added another Rs 60 million to its first week total of Rs 219 million to take its tally to Rs 279 million.


    Yeh Sali Zindagi has bravely survived through its 3rd week to add about Rs 10 million to its previous total of Rs 94 million; thereby crossing the Rs 100 million mark. Its total net collection stands at Rs 104 million.

  • Eros to release Chalo Dilli on 29 April

    MUMBAI: Eros International Media has announced that it will release Chalo Dilli on 29 April.


    The film is produced by Eros in association with Big Daddy Productions (owned by Mahesh Bhapati’s Globosport) and Bheegi Basanti Production.


    Directed by Shashant Shah, the film stars Lara Datta and Vinay Pathak in lead roles.


    Chalo Dilli is a journey which, along with the two protagonists, showcases the real India and its colorful and funny people with their eccentricities.


    Said Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla, “We are looking forward to releasing a strong and interesting slate this year with Chalo Dilli. The film is an exciting collaboration with Mahesh and Lara and is going to take audiences by surprise with its strong content and fabulous casting.”


    Commenting on the synergy, Big Daddy Productions’ managing director Mahesh Bhupathi said, “We are extremely excited that our first production is with the number one studio in the business. Through Eros International‘s global positioning, we hope to present the film on a worldwide platform. We have a lot of faith in the script and believe that the audiences can expect a sure-shot rib tickler.”


    Chalo Dilli is currently in the post-production stage.
     

  • Indian entry Three Idiots at fourth Asian Film Festival

    MUMBAI: The recently held 4th Asian Film Festival had a good turnout of film fans. The festival that was organized by the Asian Consuls General Club saw the participation of fourteen nations.


    The festival opened with the Filipino film Fidel, Indonesia had two films The Alienation and The Dreamer. Korea ran a documentary and a feature film Duratta (The Alienation). While China featured Desert Family, India made its presence felt with the Aamir Khan starrer Three Idiots. Thailand and Japan got the spotlight with their respective films Best of Times and Love Letter. 


    Akin to international film festivals, a day was given to each country to show its films. Among the documentaries that were shown were Indonesia‘s Ultimate in Diversity, China‘s Tea Culture, Bangladesh‘s Discover Bangladesh South Korea‘s A Bright Day in Korea, Thailand‘s Phuket, India‘s Incredible India, Malaysia‘s Sabah, Land of Borneo, Japan‘s Visit Japan, Singapore‘s Miracle of Asia Singapore Success Story, Pakistan‘s Story of Pakistan and Sri Lanka‘s Locations in Sri Lanka.


    Saudi Arabia featured documentaries including Jeddah Meeting of Cultures and Civilizations, Ayesh and Shadow of Silence.

  • Shyamalan’s The Airbender tops Razzie awards

    MUMBAI: M Night Shyamalan‘s The Last Airbender and comedy Sex and the City 2 were the top two films that earned the wrath of Razzie voters in the annual Oscar spoof that spotlights Hollywood`s worst performances.


    Meanwhile stars of Valentine`s Day Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba picked up Golden Raspberry Awards for worst actor and actress respectively. 


    But it was a bad night for the Shyamalan film that won five Razzies to eclipse all other films of last year. The director was named the worst director for his film and to his discredit, the film was proclaimed as the “worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D.”


    Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristen Davis, the four principle stars of Sex and the City 2 were collectively named worst actress at the Razzies. The so-called “winners” were determined by ballots from some 657 voters in the United States and 17 foreign countries.


    Others who won the Razzies were Jessica Alba, worst supporting actress for The Killer Inside Me, Little Fockers, Machete and Valentine`s Day, Jackson Rathbone, worst supporting actor for The Last Airbender and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, worse screen couple/worst screen ensemble, The entire cast of Sex and the City 2, worst screenplay, The Last Airbender and Sex and the City 2, worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.
     

  • Azaan set for release on 23 June

    MUMBAI: JMJ Entertainment, in association with Percept Picture Company and Alchemia Films, is making Azaan, an international espionage film directed by Prashant Chaddha.


    The film is expected to release on 23 June.


    Azaan stars Sachin Joshi, CEO of the JMJ Group, Arya Babbar, Dilip Tahil, Sachin Khedekar and Aly Khan. The film also has international model and Playboy cover girl Candice Boucher.


    Azaan is the story of an informant who has to go undercover beyond enemy lines and help find enough information to be able to save his brother and the nation from destruction through biological warfare.


    Since the story has international conspiracy at its core, the film explores different countries. It is being shot in Poland, the Czech Republic, Morocco, Germany, Thailand and India.


    For the action sequences, the producers have roped in Action Concept, an exclusive international action company that has been awarded the ‘Taurus World Stunt Award’ five times in a row. The same company has also done some high octane action sequences in the forthcoming Don 2.

  • Reliance-controlled IM Global bags distribution rights of Madonna’s directorial debut

    MUMBAI: Reliance Big Entertainment controlled IM Global, which acts as a film financier and sales agency, has taken over the distribution rights of Madonna‘s directorial debut W.E.


    Backed by Reliance‘s film investments, this is the latest project to be sold by IM Global. Incidentally, the film that talks about the relationship of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.


    Earlier, IM Global, as a sales agency, used to sell other company‘s films. But with Reliance‘s backing it has also begun financing its own productions. Now, the company sells Bollywood films produced by Reliance in India through an international division and also acquires films from other producers to distribute in southern Asia.


    Reliance has big plans for its burgeoning portfolio of media companies. After DreamWorks, it acquired a 50 per cent stake last year in Codemasters, the video games publisher. It has also agreed to film development deals with Hollywood stars, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks.

  • Hong Kong Fest unveils lineup

    MUMBAI: The Hong Kong International Film festival 2011 has unveiled its lineup. The 35th edition of the festival will be held from 20 March to 3 April.


    Don‘t Go Breaking My Heart directed by John Johnnie To and Quattro Hong Kong 2 directed by Brillante Mendoza, Ho Yu-hang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Stanley Kwan will be screened as the opening films of the festival.


    Kim Longinotto‘s documentary Pink Saris, based on the gang of Sampat Pal Devi of Uttar Pradesh will be presented in Humanitarian Documentary Competition.


    The festival will screen 335 films from 56 countries. Wai Ka-fai of Hong Kong is the Filmmaker in Focus this year while retrospectives of Abbas Kiarostami, Shibuya Minoru and Kuei Chih-hung will be presented. The festival presented a mini-retrospective of Guru Dutt last year.


    Indian director Dev Benegal‘s film Samurai, a US-India co-production with Ross Katz was selected but ultimately didn‘t find place in the final lineup.

  • Worldwide BO rises, courtesy Chinese filmgoers


    MUMBAI: The growth of film markets in Asia has helped lift total worldwide box-office revenues to $31.8 billion in 2010, a 13 per cent increase on that recorded 2009, according to a report from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).


    Rising occupancy in China, where the box-office soared by 40 per cent, has mainly caused the box-office to soar. 


    On the other hand, North American box-office revenues were flat at $10.6bn that accounts to about a third of the global total. It is noted that fewer people in North America are going to cinemas, with admissions falling 5 per cent in 2010 to 1.3bn. Revenues have been sustained by higher ticket prices, with cinema chains able to charge a premium for 3D movies.


    It is being said that without the revenues from 3D films that doubled there in 2010 to $2.2bn, China‘s share would have fallen. There were 25 3D films released in 2010, up from 20 released last year.


    This year, the number is likely to increase, with studios hoping to offset declining admissions in North America with movies that cost more to watch.

  • Santosh Sivan’s Vasco Da Gama selected for Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum

    MUMBAI: Santosh Sivan’s latest film Vasco Da Gama has been selected for the ninth edition of the Hong Kong-Asia Film (HAF) Financing Forum.


    Sivan’s Vasco Da Gama is the English version of Urumi, his bilingual period drama in Malayalam-Tamil that starred Vidya Balan and Genelia D’Souza in lead roles.


    The 2011 edition of HAF includes 28 projects selected from 12 countries like China, Hong Kong, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.


    This year’s edition of the Film Financing Forum will be held from 21 to 23 March.
     

  • Akshay Kumar roped in to promote IIFA awards

    MUMBAI: With Amitabh Bachchan deciding not to be associated with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) any longer, the Academy has zeroed in on Akshay Kumar to promote the IIFA awards this year.


    As far as him being the IIFA brand ambassador, nothing has been finalised yet. But it has been in the air that IIFA organisers are also reportedly in talks with Salman Khan to be the Ambassador of the Academy.


    Bachchan, who was associated with IIFA for 11 long years, had a fallout after he failed to participate in the IIFA Weekend in Sri Lanka last year.


    Meanwhile, Kumar, 43, who is Canada’s ambassador in India, has been promoting Canada Tourism off and on. Said Kumar, “I am delighted to be the face of the North American country in India. Canada is a beautiful country and I often recommend it as a shooting destination to directors.”