Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Malayalam superstar Mammootty is all set to launch the sequel to his 1990 acclaimed film Mathilukal in March this year. The film would be the first under his production firm Playhouse.

Playhouse will formally enter the business of filmmaking with Mathilukalkkappuram, the sequel to Adoor Gopalakrishnan‘s film Mathilukal that won him one of his three National Awards. Besides Mammooty, the film would have Nayantara in the lead role. 

Besides, Mammooty is also upbeat about a boutique hospital in Bangalore of which he is the patron. The hospital would be inaugurated on 12 January. The hospital called ‘Motherhood‘ is owned by his son, daughter-in-law and two other NRI investors. “My role is that of a patron and we have planned this to be a chain of Motherhood boutique hospitals across the country in the near future,‘ said Mammootty in a statement.

Mammootty has acted in more than 300 films in the last three decades.

MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks Ltd (RMW) has launched RMW studios built as per strict Hollywood-complaint design specifications. It comprises eight sound stages spread across an area of seven acres within the Film City with a total built-up area of 200,000 sq. ft.

The studio will be the comprehensive resource for feature films, television, commercials, music videos, New Media, Gaming, special effects and special events. The studios are the first in India to have advanced technological features like super silent ‘sync sound‘, 55 feet high, enormous ‘live load‘ bearing capacities and elephant doors that allow full truck access on to the stages. The fire safety and security measures at the studios are as per Los Angeles County Fire Department regulations.

The launch of RMW Studios is a natural extension of the film and media services Commenting on the development, Reliance MediaWorks is already providing in the entertainment space.

Commenting on the development, Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun said, “There is a severe shortage of high quality infrastructure in Mumbai and this needed gap becomes more acute every year with the constant increase in big budget films, broadcast and advertising commercial productions. These studios are a one stop solution that blends infrastructure with technology, experience and aesthetics and are prominent step in strategy to increase our footprint across the entire entertainment services value chain.”

The RMW studios have advanced technological features as per design specifications by Wylie Carter & Associates, Studio Specialist Architects from Los Angeles who have worked with Walt Disney Studios, Raleigh Studios and Dreamworks SKG‘s Playa Vista Studio.

MUMBAI: The producers of Yamla Pagla Deewana are planning to make a sequel of the film.

“Whenever a film does well, there is a sequel. This trend is fast emerging in Bollywood. It would be well for us to also bring the sequel of Yamla Pagla Deewana,” says Bollywood star Sunny Deol whose family has produced the movie. 

The Deols are aggressively promoting the film in various cities as wells as through television and other mediums.

Releasing this Friday, the Samir Karnik-directed movie will have real life father-sons (Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol) playing the same roles on the screen four years after Apne that released n 2007.

MUMBAI: Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle will be screened in The Bright Future section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011.

The 40th edition of the festival is scheduled to place from 26 January to 6 February.

Bright Future is the section in which the festival presents debut or second feature films that it finds ‘important, idiosyncratic and adventurous’.

The section this year will screen 18 world premi?res, 10 international premi?res and 11 European premi?res. 

In total, this year’s Bright Future is made up of 80 films selected from 38 countries. Fifteen of these films, including Pairon Talle, received support from IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund.

Pairon Talle will be presented as part of European premiere in Bright Future. Other films in the section are China’s Fortune Teller, The Old Donkey, Tape and Piano In A Factory and Soul Of Sand.

Recently, it was announced that Pairon Talle would be a part of the annual touring film exhibition organised by Museum of Modern Art.

MUMBAI: The Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) that got off to a thumping start on 6 January will showcase three films based on Nobel laurette Rabindranath Tagore.

“Tagore’s cinematic legacy continues to grow and acquire unique resonances in the 21st century,” said Director of PIFF Dr Jabbar Patel in the presence of an international jury.

Among the films based on Tagore’s literature to be screened at the festival are Kabuliwallah, Teen Kanya and Chokher Bali.

Dr Patel further said, “About 70 award winning films from more than 40 countries would be screened under global cinema cateogry and the country specific focus this year will be on Japan. We will be screening eleven films under the section Indian cinema in various languages including Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil in addition to the same number of movie ‘gems’ from National Film Archives of India (NFAI). ”

The festival will conclude on 13 January.

MUMBAI: The nominations of the 6th Chevrolet Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards are out.

Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan leads the list with 13 nominations, followed by the Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg that is named in 10 categories.

Other nominations in the best film category are Raajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Band Baaja Baaraat and Ishqiya.

My Name Is Khan has been nominated in the best story category for Shibani Bathija; best lyrics for Niranjan Iyengar for ‘Tere naina’ while Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan has got the best male singer nomination for the same number; best music for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; best female singer for Richa Sharma for Sajda; best director for Karan Johar; best female actress for Kajol; best editing for Deepa Bhatia; best cinematography Ravi K. Chandran; best sound recording Dileep Subramaniam; and best special effects for Red Chilles VFX.

Arbaaz Khan-produced Dabangg has also been nominated for best dialogue for Abhinav Kashyap and Dilip Shukla; best choreography for Farah Khan for Munni Badnam, while Mamta Sharma has also annexed the best female singer nomination for the same song. The film has also been nominated for best lyrics for Faiz Anwar for the song Tere mast mast do nain for which Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has got the best male singer nomination and also for best music for Sajid-Wajid. Sonu Sood too has got a nomination best actor in a negative role category. The action filled funny cop drama has also been nominated for the best special effects for Alagar Swamy.

For the best actor trophy, there is a keen tussle between Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Other actors competing for the same category are Ajay Devgn for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Hrithik Roshan for Guzaarish and Ranbir Kapoor for Raajneeti.

Newcomer Anushka Sharma is competing with Kajol in best actress category for her role in Band Baaja Baaraat, Kareena Kapoor for Golmaal 3, Vidya Balan for Ishqiya and Aishwarya Rai for Guzaarish.

The nominations for best director include Prakash Jha for Raajneeti, Milan Luthria for Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Dibakar Banerjee for Love Sex Aur Dhoka and Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Guzaarish.

In the best female singer category, Sunidhi Chauhan has got two nominations for ‘Sheila Ki Jawaani (Tees Maar Khan) and Ainvayi Ainvayi (Band Baaja Baaraat). Others vying for best singer trophy are Tulsi Kumar for Tum jo aaye (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai) and Sona Mahapatra and Shreya Ghoshal for Bahara (I Hate Luv Storys).

Said Film & Television Producers Guild of India president Ramesh Sippy in a statement, “The Indian film industry has had a thrilling past year with the likes of both small and big budget films reigning equally at the box office. It is very thrilling to watch varied movies like Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, Dabaang, Peepli Live, My Name is Khan, Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Golmaal 3, Ishqiya, Guzaarish and Tere Bin Laden. All these films have done very well and I anticipate that the producers would have a tough time deciding a winner. Bollywood‘s golden era has arrived.”

Small-budget movies like Peepli Live, Well Done Abba and Love Sex Aur Dhoka have also won nominations in various categories.
 

MUMBAI: Going by his earlier films like Black Friday, No Smoking and Dev D, director Anurag Kashyap has proved that he has a preference for dark movies. His latest film, Gangs of Wasseypur, is another example.

The film is an out-and-out political film supposedly based on the real life story of Bihar‘s charge-sheeted politician Surajbhan Singh, wanted for several alleged crimes and convicted in 2008 for murder.

Based completely in the northern belt of Bihar, the film has characters dressed up as politicians.

To make this film something of the other kind, Kashyap has signed director Tigmanshu Dhulia to play the role of Surajbhan Singh.

Avers Dhulia, “It‘s a major role. The film is in two parts and I am in both. Maybe one of my temptations to take up the offer was the fact that I am very familiar with the North Indian Bihar-UP belt.”

This is not the first time that a director has ventured into the acting arena. It all started with Farah Akhtar who essayed a role in Rock On; then Anurag Kashyap did small roles in films like Zoya Akhtar‘s Luck By Chance and the yet-to-be released Sudhir Mishra‘s Tera Kya Hoga Johnny.

Dhulia has been a casting director, is a screenplay writer and has earlier directed films like Haasil, Dil Se, Tere Mere Sapne and Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai. His upcoming film Paan Singh Tomar will release on 11 March by UTV.