Category: Movies

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala. Directer: Raj Kumar Gupta. Cast: Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan.

MUMBAI: True life stories and newspaper headline grabbers are usually non performers at the turnstile unless dramatised. No One Killed Jessica starts of on a peppy note, almost goes on to become a dullard till it becomes a racy account of Jessica Lall murder trial.

Based on the story of an aspiring model Jessica Lall, who was shot dead by a Haryana politician‘s son at an elite cocktail party in a Delhi restaurant, the film is a right mix of facts and dramatization of events.

The story of political and financial might and fear of reprisal made around 300 witnesses clam up, leaving only seven eye witnesses. The first part is about the murder of Jessica in 1999 and the court case that lingered on till 2006, the fudging of evidence and buying out witnesses till the killer, Manu Sharma, is acquitted.

The momentum is slow as Sabrina (Vidya Balan), sister of Jessica, is on a crusade to nail the culprit. The depiction of her plight takes a lot of screen time but, probably, that is what makes the latter part convincing as the media takes on her case. In a chain of sting operations on the seven witnesses with hidden cameras, the real truth comes out. Star News joins the cause to amplify details of stings and a massive movement for retrial is set in motion.

Rani Mukerjee plays a hero‘s part in the film to put it in film parlance. A celebrated news channel reporter propelled to fame for her on the spot Kargil war coverage, the writer establishes her character in one scene when she chastises a co-passenger on airline. Armed with sting footage and her determination and conviction, Rani makes rest of the film a thrilling watch as the retrial is ordered and culprits brought to justice.

As Rani Mukerjee portrays a flamboyant reporter backed by the power and reach of electronic media with full conviction, Vidya Balan is accomplished playing a subdued, hapless sister of the murdered Jessica seeking justice for seven long years. Rajesh Sharma is very credible as the investigating officer. Myra Karn as Jessica is good with Neil Bhoopalam and others doing justice to their respective roles.

Director Rajkumar Gupta has crafted a worthy film knitting together 10 years of a murder case saga. Music by Amit Trivedi suits the subject; background score adds to the effect. Photography by Anay Gupta is praiseworthy.

                                                        You need patience to watch this movie

Producer: Search Films. Director: Rahat Kazmi. Cast: Vivek, Sayali, Charu, Hrishikesh.

Impatient  Vivek is a surprise coming from a group of literate academicians! A surprise, not because of any positive virtues but a surprise because it is so mundane, out of sync with the contemporary and so going backward in time, it is gross! The film is an insult to the sensitivities of even an imbecile!

I V aka Vivek steals his father‘s money for a trip to Goa. His companions are all stereo typical friends, caricatures from a 1960 or 70s film; a fatso, a drunkard, a …… who cares!

You know there is something amiss with this Vivek guy when a white woman wants him and he runs away! He is a romantic and not into instant sex! Next he sees a girl giggling all the way to Arabian Sea and falls for her head over heels so what if she looks half the size taller than him and half a generation older to him?

The director has this perspective about scenic locations. So the film veers from Goa to Udaipur, where the boy and girl meet again. He thinks it is love which she can‘t profess and kidnaps her on her wedding day! What follows then on is supposed to be comedy, fun and humour according to the makers; for a viewer it is sheer, unbearable torture!

There is nothing worth mentioning in this flushing down of money exercise except cinematography, which is just about okay; from script to direction to performances – all are nonexistent.
 

MUMBAI: Inox Leisure has not managed to up its stake in Fame India through an open offer which it had to make after it acquired majority control in the multiplex chain as it had to compete against a more aggressive pricing from rival Reliance MediaWorks (RMW).

Inox managed to acquire only 1,075 shares from its open offer, which was announced last year for 8,231,759 shares, or 20.25 per cent stake in Fame India, at Rs 51 per share.

Inox holds 50.3 per cent of Fame India. The company had acquired 43.1 per cent stake from the Shroff family promoting group for Rs Rs 664.8 million. Later it acquired an additional 7.2 per cent through a block deal, executed at BSE , following which it made an open offer.

Anil Ambani-led RMW had countered Inox‘s pricing with an open offer for acquisition of 21.7 million Fame India shares, representing 53.38 per cent stake, at Rs 83 per share.

Inox announced the open offer closed today and said that as per the “provisions of Companies Act, 1956, Fame India has now become a subsidiary of Inox Leisure”.

Inox currently has 38 operational properties, with 144 screens and a seating capacity of 40,140 in 25 cities across India.

Fame India, on the other hand, has 25 operational multiplexes with 95 screens and a seating capacity of 26,487 in 12 cities. Jointly, Inox controls the largest multiplex screen capacity in the country, the company said Friday.

Inox and Fame India director Deepak Asher said, “We are delighted to have completed this transaction and acquire control over Fame. This reiterates our core belief in the fundamentals and long-term prospects of the film exhibition business in India. We are now focused on seizing the attractive opportunities this transaction has created for us to increase top-line growth as well as achieving cost synergies, to enhance value for stakeholders of both companies.”

The total holding of RMW in Fame India stands at 32 per cent following the completion of its open offer.

Shares of Inox closed Friday at Rs 64.95 on the BSE, dropping 7.81 per cent from the previous day‘s close. Fame saw a 9.83 per cent fall to Rs 78.9.

MUMBAI: Breaking away from its regular practice of making lengthy films high on drama filled with song and dance, the Indian film industry is coming up with some different kinds of films that would give a fresh experience to the audience.

One such film is Sumthing Like Luv, a short film soon to be showcased at Videoformes International Festival, 2011, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

In Delhi, a love story unfolds and opens up a window into the lives of the newer generation. In bits and pieces, the film speaks about their aspirations, cool language, crisis and a newly found stress buster to beat up all of their blues. 

The 17-minute digital colour film has been entirely shot on location in East Delhi in the areas Laxmi Nagar and Ghaziabad. The film has been jointly produced by Nikhil Sablania and Sudhir Raut under the banner of Cowdung Films, a film production, marketing, distribution and consultancy company in New Delhi.

Since 1986, Videoformes has been annually organising an international video and digital art festival. The festival will take place at Clermont-Ferrand, a city famous for some of the most prominent short film festivals in the world.
 

MUMBAI: Owners of the New York-based Archie Comic Publications Inc have threatened to sue the makers of the yet-to-be-released Hindi film, Boys Toh Boys Hain, if they find that the film has been lifted from any of the comic books.

Representatives of the publication will soon be in Mumbai to see the film to find out the resemblances and take a final call on whether they should be taking the legal course.

Though the makers insist that Boys Toh… is based on an original script, the film‘s cast and crew has been saying in media interviews that the story has been inspired by the famous comic characters and their funny take on life.
Legal experts feel that unauthorised promotion through visuals or verbal representations of a trademark character or its likeness amounts to copyright infringement.

In a legal notice sent to the producers of the film, the publication house has pointed out that they had read media reports about the characters in the film being inspired by Archie and his friends Jughead, Reggie, Betty, and Veronica.
Reads the notice,”It has recently been brought to the attention of our clients that you are making bold promotional statements in the media that the plot of your film is based upon and inspired by Archie Comic.”

Archie Comics‘ lawyer Jyotideep Kaur said that if the film‘s protagonists have any resemblance to the characters from the comic, the makers should pay her clients licensing fees for the intellectual rights. “It is impermissible to proceed with the unauthorised use of our clients‘ intellectual and copyrighted properties,” she added.

The makers of Boys Toh Boys Hain have a different view. “We never made any statements suggesting that the film is inspired from Archie Comic. One of us may have said it in a media interview that it has a similar look and feel to Archie, but never that the film is based on it,” they say.

MUMBAI: Produced by Bhandarkar Entertainment and Kumar Mangat Pathak‘s Wide Frame Pictures, the Madhur Bhandarakar-directed Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (DTBHJ) is set to release on 28 January.

DTBHJ is a romantic comedy starring Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya in the male leads and Shruti Hassan, Shazahn Padamsee and Shraddha Das in the female leads.

Says Bhandarkar, “This is the first time that I am making a slice of life romantic comedy and I hope as people loved my earlier films, they will definitely accept this movie too. The way DTBHJ is shaping up, I am sure it will be a treat to watch.” 

With the film Madhur Bhandarkar, for the first time, explores the genre of romantic comedy within realistic parameters. It is a slice of life about three men and their encounters with love. A listless Naren Ahuja (Ajay Devgn), well into his thirties and going through a divorce, falls in love with a vibrant and bubbly June Pinto (Shazahn Padamsee) who has just stepped out of her teens. Milind Kelkar (Omi Vaidya), a naive poet and an idealistic lover, is besotted by an ambitious and practical Gungun Sarkar (Shraddha Das) who is determined to follow her dreams and a charming Casanova Abhay (Emraan Hashmi), starts feeling an alien emotion called love, when he feels increasingly drawn towards Nikki (Shruti Hassan), a modern girl who knows her wants and speaks her mind.
Struggling to cope with modern women and contemporary relationships, the three go through a fun-filled roller coaster ride of emotions with its constant highs and lows that usually accompany love. But will they succeed in their quest for happiness or love? DTBHJ takes a humorous look at love and the extent people will go to escape or attain it.

“Madhurji and I were in talks since quite some time to work on a film catering to romantic comedy genre and were waiting for a right script to come across, keeping the current trends in mind. Now that the film is ready and is looking very promising, we are very excited and looking forward to it.” adds Pathak.

MUMBAI: Puja Entertainment India‘s zingy comedy film F.A.L.T.U. will release on 1 April.

The film, produced by Vashu Bhagnani and starring Jackky Bhagnani, Puja Gupta, Arshad Warsi, Angad Bedi, Riteish Deshmukh and Chandan, has been shot extensively in Mauritius. It marks choreographer Remo D‘Souza‘s directorial debut. 

F.A.L.T.U. tells the tale of a student played by Jackky Bhagnani, who, thanks to his terrible grades, can‘t get into a college and comes up with the idea of starting a University with the help of his friends.

The film also stars R Madhavan, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, Mallika Sherawat, Akbar Khan and Arshad Warsi.