Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Who can forget Musaddilal, the central character of Sab TV’s long-running show Office Office?

First beamed in 2000, the comedy show ran for four long years entertaining audiences with its witty and sarcastic remarks.

By watching the serial, viewers could relate to the middle-class commoner stuck in the rut of bribery and corruption, getting fleeced by government officials. Featuring Pankaj Kapur as Mussadilal, it was a hit and made a name for itself.

Now, the show is all set to be made into a film with the producers in final plans to remake the television series. This is not the first time that a popular TV serial will be made into a film. The very famous and largely-viewed Khichdi was recently made into a film. The film, however, showed no freshness in terms of content and humour seemed to be just an extension of the serial.
 

MUMBAI: The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, having a viewership of between 700 million to 800 million globally, is also known as Bollywood’s Oscar equivalent.

Says IIFA director Sabbas Joseph, “We consider this a landmark event, huge in proportion. It is the highest-rated, most-watched Indian television event.”

“The difference between this and the Oscars is that our film stars sing and dance, compared to Hollywood stars. So the stars themselves provide the entertainment of the night,” he added.

But surprisingly, the IIFA now in its 12th year, have never been held in India. It was earlier held in countries like the U.K., South Africa, the Netherlands, Thailand, China and Sri Lanka.

That is why the organisers chose North America this time. It will be held in Ontario, Canada from 23 to 25 June. Events lined up at this year’s awards include a gala screening in Brampton, a major centre of Toronto’s Indian community; a music and fashion show for Canadian and Indian designers, including Indian singers and film stars and a convention in Toronto for Canadian and Indian businesses.

Anil Kapoor is currently in Toronto to promote the awards event in the country. Said Kapoor, “Because of the hyper-attention paid to Indian film stars, the focus on Toronto in the months to come will be no small affair. In India, public appearances by film stars often create massive crowds. “People from all ages react the same way. They all become like teenagers.”
 

MUMBAI: This year’s Berlin International Film Festival will screen three Indian films in the Panorama section – Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf, Kaushik Mukherjee’s Gandu and Phil Cox’s The Bengali Detective.

While Bhardwaj’s film tells the story of an intimidating female character who moves between the religions and their male proponents in 7 Khoon Maaf , young director Mukherjee’s film has angry young men set out to find a place for themselves.

British filmmaker Phil Cox lets viewers experience the city of Calcutta up close in The Bengali Detective; the film takes one to the darkest corners of the metropolis with private detectives whose businesses are booming because the police can no longer be trusted.

7 Khoon Maaf will have its world premiere at the Berlinale with Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan and Naseeruddin Shah attending.

In solidarity with the convicted Iranian director Jafar Panahi, the organisers of the festival have arranged for a a special screening of his film Offside on 11 February, the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution.

The 61st edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will be on from 10-20 February.
 

MUMBAI: Peepli Live, India‘s official entry to the Oscars for Best Foreign Film, has been left out of the nine films shortlisted by the Academy.

The list will be further scanned before the five final nominees would be announced on 25 January. It may be recalled that Peepli Live had edged out other critically acclaimed films from India like Udaan and Raajneeti to claim the top spot.

Now the films that are still in the Oscar race are Mexican film Biutiful, Algeria‘s Hors la Loi, Canada‘s Incendies, Denmark‘s In a Better World, Greece‘s Dogtooth, Japan‘s Confessions, South Africa‘s Life, above All, Spain‘s Tambien la Lluvia and Sweden‘s Simple Simon. 

Previous Indian nominations for Best Foreign Film have been few and far between. Mother India became the first Indian film to make the cut in 1958. Three decades later, Mira Nair‘s Salaam Bombay! became the second film to make it to the final five in 1988. Another 14 years later in 2002, we saw the third Indian film Lagaan being sent to the Oscars. The golden man eluded all three films, as it did Ashvin Kumar‘s Little Terrorist, nominated for Best Live Action Short Film in 2004. And now Peeepli Live.

Though Indian films may have not won an Oscar, the country’s film personalities have had better luck with individual Oscars. In 1982, Bhanu Athaiya won Best Costume Design for Gandhi. A decade later, Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray was given the Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1992. And 2009‘s Slumdog Millionaire sweep included an Oscar for sound mixing for Resul Pookutty and two Oscars (Best Score and Best Song) for music maestro A R Rahman.

NEW DELHI: Eight films from overseas including one from Nepal are being screened in the three-day Flashpoint Human Rights Film Festival commencing here on 20 January.

The films urge people to reflect, react, revolutionalize and act as a ‘flashpoint’ to usher in change.

Though the festival was held in Mumbai last month, the New Delhi edition would include special focused thematic screenings and panel discussions. There would also be two panel discussions. The first, on ‘Rising intolerance’, is being supported by the Human Rights Law Network. The second, on ‘Gender and conflict’, is being supported by UN Women.

The eight documentaries to be screened at Flashpoint, which were part of the ‘Matter of Act’ programme at the Movies That Matter Film Festival 2010 in the Netherlands, highlight the extraordinary work done by human rights defenders across the world, and their fight against injustice and oppression. These films show what great dangers these activists have to face to do their work where freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial and the right to life are violated.

The films look at human rights issues like human trafficking and child prostitution; violation of international laws on war and peace; atrocities under military regimes; religious fundamentalism and homophobia; political annexation/occupation and oppression; women disempowerment and honour killings; ravages of civil war and hostilities; and war crimes and killing of innocents.

The films being screened are Redlight by Guy Jacobson and Adi Ezroni; Song For Amine by Alberto Bougleux; Suddenly, Last Winter by Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi; The 10 Conditions Of Love by Jeff Daniels; The Sari Soldiers by Julie Bridgham; To Shoot An Elephant by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rujailah; Women In Shroud by Farid Haerinejad and Mohammad Reza Kazemi; and Women In White by Gry Winther.

“Screening of these films along with panel discussion and media campaigns could possibly bring about a change in perceptions and mindsets and initiate action. Flashpoint intends to spotlight human rights issues and make a call for the audience to act as ‘Flashpointers’,” said Sridhar Rangayan of Solaris Pictures, which is organising the festival.

Solaris Pictures has consistently been making films on issues such as homosexuality and gay rights, films that engage the audience and initiate dialogues on issues dealing with health and sexuality, human rights, and the gay and transgender communities.

The festival, which will be held at Alliance Francaise, is being co-organised by Magic Lantern Foundation, non-profit group working with culture and human rights. The foundation is involved with production of documentary films that explore aesthetics and politics, campaigning with films on issues of social justice, culture and censorship, media education to critically assess the dominant media, intervening in the construction of media policy, dissemination of independent films, and curation and organisation of film festivals.

MUMBAI: Breaking away from the traditional interval in between a film‘s screening, Aamir Khan‘s soon-to-be-released film Dhobi Ghat will be screened across the country without any interval since it is a mere 95 minute film.

In this connection, Khan has been visiting owners and managers of multiplex chains and single-screen theatres and telling them about his new concept. They‘ve apparently now given it to him in writing that there would be no interval while the film is being screened. Similar undertakings are coming in from theatres across the country.

UTV, the co-producer and distributor of the film, confirms Khan‘s firm stand on the mid-point issue. Says UTV Motion Pictures Siddharth Roy Kapur, “Aamir spoke to all the multiplexes and they agreed to no interval. Dhobi Ghat is only 95 minutes long and structured to be watched in one sitting without an interval. So yes, the multiplexes have seen the wisdom of his logic.”

Apparently the implementation of the no-intermission clause for Dhobi Ghat would be closely monitored across the country.

Directed by Khan‘s wife Kiran Rao, Dhobi Ghat is releasing this Friday.