Category: Movies

MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures has sold the German rights of Aamir Khan Productions‘ Dhobi Ghat to German distributor Rapid Eye Movies at the ongoing Berlin Film Festival.

The deal includes theatrical distribution rights, home video and free TV rights.

The film will be released theatrically in Germany later this year.

Said UTV Senior Vice President, International Distribution & Syndication Amrita Pandey, “Dhobi Ghat is a special film and we are pleased to announce that the film will now be seen by German audiences. We are happy to join hands with Rapid Eye Movies who is the ideal partner for this film.”

Dhobi Ghat is the story of four people from very different backgrounds, whose worlds intersect and leave them forever altered. As they find themselves drawn into compelling relationships, the city finds its way into the crevices of their lives, separating them even as it brings them closer.

Said Stephan Holl of Rapid Eye Movies, “We are excited to work with Kiran Rao who has made a beautiful and touching film about life in Mumbai and we believe it will touch the hearts of German audiences. It is truly a pleasure to work with Aamir Khan Productions and UTV Motion Pictures. We are thrilled to introduce Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) to German audiences.”

Khan is attending the Berlin Film Festival as a jury member.
 

MUMBAI: The first Guwahati International Short Film Festival (GISFF), organised by Creovaent Productions, will be held on 4 and 5 April at Cinemax, Guwahati.

According to the festival authorities, the short film competition is restricted only to filmmakers from North-East Region of India for the first year. However, short filmmakers from other parts of the country can submit their entries for the Indian Kaleidoscope section. There is no entry fee in the maiden edition of the short film festival.

Says festival founder Prithish Chakraborty, the mastermind behind the up-and-coming international short film festival: “The idea of creating an International Short Film Festival as a brand in Guwahati was unique. I shared the idea for the first time with Utpal da (Utpal Dutta) and he appreciated the initiative. It was a huge boosting factor for me and after doing my homework, I decided to take the idea finally to the people.”

In the competition section, short films will be awarded under the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. The best film will win a Golden Rhino, certificate and cash award.

MUMBAI: Reliance Big Pictures will release director Buddhadeb Dasgupta‘s latest Bengali film Janala on 25 February.

Produced by Reliance Big Pictures, the film stars Indraneil Sengupta and Swastika Mukherjee in lead roles.

The film touches on the nostalgia of childhood and the quest to get back to roots while struggling to keep one‘s neck above the waters of the present day muck.

Says Dasgupta, “Janala is an attempt to be a reminiscent of the times when we sometimes try to make a simple dream come true, but the cogs of destiny leave us feeling unfulfilled. The film has been showcased at 15 film festivals across the world and been well received. I am glad Janala is now releasing in India and the audience here will see it.”

Janala was premiered in the Masters of World Cinema section at Toronto International Film Festival and since then has been to various film festivals like Telluride Film Festival (USA), London Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, International Film Festival of India, Mahindra Indo- American Arts Council Film Festival (New York) and the Dubai International Film Festival.

MUMBAI: The Pusan International Film Festival signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mumbai Film Festival to collaborate more closely and build a solid network among Asian film communities at the ongoing Berlin Film Festival.

Pusan‘s festival director Lee Yong-kwan and Srinivasan Narayanan, the festival director of Mumbai, also signed an agreement to strengthen artistic, financial and educational exchanges between the two festivals.

Mumbai Film Festival, which includes an international competition, is sponsored by Reliance Big Entertainment.

Last year, the Pusan festival signed a similar MoU with the Vietnam International Film Festival.
 

MUMBAI: Time magazine has listed Guru Dutt‘s classic Pyaasa among its Top 5 romantic films of all time.

The film, about a struggling poet and his friendship with a prostitute, is included in the magazine‘s website‘s list of top ten romantic films for ‘lovers‘ and ‘for people with broken, bitter hearts who hate all those lovers‘.

The magazine, which had rated the film as one of the 100 best films of all time in the year 2005, said that classic Hollywood died but popular Indian cinema “still attends to antique conventions of family fealty, personal integrity and, of course, all-conquering love.” 

A tale of a poet whose one true friend is a prostitute, the film stars Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman and is considered as one of the great films in India cinema. A commentary on the post-Independent India, the film also depicts the tender love story between two characters marginalised by society.

Other films that feature in the top five romantic films are Son of the Sheik, Dodsworth, Camille and An Affair to Remember. French film Jules and Jim stands at number six followed by Chungking Express, Moulin Rouge, Talk to Her and Brokeback Mountain.

MUMBAI: Sixteenth February this year marks the 67th death anniversary of the doyen of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke. The day is being observed with a lot of devotion towards him.

While film and television personalities have converged on the Film City at Goregaon to pay their respect to the father of Indian cinema, UTV World Movies has decided to telecast Harishchandrachi Factory on 20 February.

The 2009 made film, directed by Paresh Mokashi, depicts the struggle of Dadasaheb Phalke in making India‘s first feature film. Raja Harishchandra was last year‘s India‘s official entry to the Oscars. The film starred Nandu Madhav as Dadasaheb Phalke and Vibhawari Deshpande as his wife Saraswati Phalke.

Meanwhile, a couple of days ago veteran actress Sulochana was felicitated with the prestigious ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Janmabhoomi‘ award at a ceremony in Nashik. “This is one of the great awards given to me. I am honoured especially because I received it in the birth place of late Phalke, father of the Indian cinema,” she said on the occasion
The octogenarian, known for her roles in Marathi films like ‘Vahinichya Bangdya‘, ‘Meeth Bhakar and ‘Dhakti Jau, has played mother to many actors and actresses in several films.