Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Having already deployed 220 screens across 23 cities in India and with plans for a further 250 screens by next year, Scrabble Entertainment has now decided to spread its wings into the Middle East, a region that shares similar characteristics to the Indian theatrical marketplace. The roll out will commence in early 2011 and will cover the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordon and Syria. Scrabble will be the first deployment entity in the Middle East, The company will deploy over 400 screens in the region over the next two years. To facilitate the deployment in this region, Scrabble has signed non–exclusive digital cinema deployment agreements with five major Hollywood studios – 20th Century Fox International, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, Paramount Pictures International, Universal Pictures International and Warner Bros Pictures. In response to the broad 3D slate announced by the major studios, Scrabble aims to significantly increase the number of screens capable of playing 3D content within the region Said Scrabble Entertainment CEO Ranjit Thakur,“Scrabble Entertainment has already managed to gain a strong foothold in the Indian entertainment market. We now have a much better understanding of the business. Since our funding and infrastructure is in place, it’s time to move to other markets.”

MUMBAI: In his aim to educate the masses of Orissa in differentiating a serious film from the regular Bollywood masala stuff, a Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA) student, Jubanashwa Mishra, has decided to host an international short film festival in Bhubaneswar from 25 to 27 February next year.

PGDM student Mishra, due to pass out in January next, will be organising this film festival. He says, “This is my first initiative in educating masses from Orissa about short films. In a way, I also want them to take this ahead and make short films that will be appreciated and accepted both at the national and international levels.”

The festival-cum-competition has been kept open for all genres of movies. Every film has been allocated a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 22 minutes.

The source of inspiration for Mishra‘s film festival-cum-competition was the Nigerian film industry.

Mishra is likely to spend around Rs 1.5 million for the entire festival and wants to showcase at least 80 films.

MUMBAI: Along with their personal relationship, Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi have entered into a professional relationship by launching their debut film titled Chalo Dilli.

Produced by Eros International in association with Big Daddy Productions (owned by Bhupati‘s Globosport) and Bheegi Basanti Production (owned by Dutta), the film is being directed by Shashant Shah of Dasvidaniya fame. It is now on the floors.

The film that has Dutta opposite Vinay Pathak belongs to the road movie genre that entertains as well as brings a lump to the throat with its touching story. It also boasts of impressive and promising talent from the Indian theatre scene.

Averred Eros International Media producer Krishika Lulla, “We are working towards creating fresh and exciting cinema through rightly budgeted films and providing wholesome entertainment. This collaboration with Mahesh and Lara promises to be high on content.”

Talking on this tie-up, Bhupati said, “We are excited that our first production is with the number one studio in the business. Through Eros‘ global positioning, we hope to present the film on a worldwide platform. We have a lot of faith in the script and audiences can expect a sure-shot rib tickler.”

The film‘s first schedule that is being shot in Jaipur would be followed up by a start-to-end single schedule in Delhi. It is slated for release in March-April next year.

MUMBAI: Animation house Illusion Interactive’s Ashoka –The Hero will be released on 7 January by PVR Pictures’ Springboard Films.

Made on a budget of Rs 25 million, the 2D film will released with 50 prints.

Ashoka – The Hero is the first feature to come out from the studio‘s kitty.

Ashoka –The Hero is the story of a young boy Ashoka who wants to grow up and help others. His inspiration is his father, a policeman who died in the line of duty. The boy finds a powerful medallion, created by Emperor Asoka after the war of Kalinga, to protect mankind from self destruction and evil.

After getting these powers, Ashoka becomes a super hero and learns to use his powers and help others. How he fights off the corruption of power and saves the city forms the crux of the film.

Illusion Interactive is an independent animation studio based in Mumbai with its strengths in concept development and production.

MUMBAI: Of the four releases last Friday, Mirch was appreciated but that did not show on its collections. The other three – 332 Mumbai To India, Kaalo and Payback – are very poor.

Mirch has managed positive reviews as well as appreciation from few who watched it. The movie, however, suffered on account of poor promotion since the public awareness about it was poor.

The other three films – 332 Mumbai To India, Kaalo and Payback – struggled to keep shows going with their poor subjects and poorer face values.

As for the weekly box office returns, No Problem has proved to be a loser with its script proving to be a major drawback. Labelled as a comedy, it had neither comic situations nor any support from the cast or music. A tedious watch, it has managed to net a measly Rs 220 million in its first week run in India. The trade wrote it off on day one.

Band Baaja Baaraat, a Delhi centric romance, has collected Rs 100 million during its first week. Having benefitted due to poor opposition from new releases this week, the film‘s performance over the second weekend was steady, though with collections on the lower side with Rs 60 million.
 

MUMBAI: No Problem has reported a gross collection of Rs 425 million worldwide in its first week, according to box-office data provided by Eros International Media.

In India, the film has earned Rs 360 million while the other Rs 65 million has come from overseas.

The film, produced by Anil Kapoor Film Company, Rawail Grandsons Entertainment & Software and Spice Entertainment, released across cinemas on 10 December in more than 1,200 screens worldwide. Eros has acquired the distribution rights of the movie.

Speaking on the film‘s opening, Eros International Media SVP, distribution, Nandu Ahuja said, “No Problem opened positively and has fared fairly well over the week. The collections remained steady through the week and we have got a good showcasing of the film over the second week too.”

No Problem stars Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna along with Sushmita Sen, Kangna Ranaut and Neetu Chandra.
 

MUMBAI: Jaipur-born filmmaker Naman Goyal, now a US resident, is in plans to make Rajiv Meets Rachel, a Hollywood film with an Indian taste.

A romantic comedy, the film would be based on dating.

The English film is about an Indian boy who meets and falls in love with an American girl in New York. He wants to bring the untouched realms of love affairs of persons from different nationality.

Goyal, who believes one of the main reasons for the success of Slumdog Millionaire was the publicity surrounding the song ‘Jai Ho‘, is planning a similar strategy with two songs sequences, one of them complete with Bollywood-style dress changes and background dancers keeping the lead couple company in New York‘s Central Park.

Goyal is confident that Rajiv Meets Rachel would be an instant hit with the American audience because it targets the global English speaking audience and not the Indian Americans. According to him, the message of the film is that all cultures of the world have positive and negative aspects and it‘s up to an individual to pick up the best things.

Goyal says he chose to come to America to learn the art of filmmaking instead of Mumbai because “I have always been influenced by the way Hollywood films were made and the way they were executed.”

Goyal felt “learning the American way of filmmaking would be very fascinating and would also give me an edge because of the consideration one gets if one comes back to Bollywood.”

Planned to shoot the film in July-August next year, Goyal is now trying to rope in a top Hollywood actress and an A-list Bollywood hero to play Rachel and Rajiv.
 

MUMBAI: Cinépolis India has appointed Devang Sampat as its head of strategy.
Having worked in the organisation for 12 years, Sampat was president-sales, marketing and operations at Cinemax when he exited the company.

Confirming his joining Cinépolis, Sampat says, “I am very excited to join a world leader in cinema exhibition and look forward to making significant contributions to the exciting and dynamic growth of Cinépolis in India.” 

Comments Cinépolis managing director and country head Milan Saini, “As Cinépolis moves towards an aggressive expansion path in India, Sampat‘s proven track record as well as his enormous and diverse experience in the industry will be a great asset to the organisation.”

Sampat has been directly associated with the Indian film exhibition industry for over a decade, specialising in corporate strategy and planning.