Category: Movies

MUMBAI: Gone are the days when classical songs used to be a part of every second film. Who will forget those ear-catching songs in films like Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah and scores of other films.

To fill in this void, singer-turned-anchor Durga Jasraj daughter of music icon Pandit Jasraj is contemplating to produce a Hindi film with a number of classical songs. The film based on classical music will be made under her production and event Management Company ‘Art and Artistes.‘

“These days no one in Bollywood is making films like Baiju Bawra or Tansen, where classical music is part of the storyline. The last such film was Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam that had songs with references to classical music,” Durga said. She is, however, yet to finalise a script and casting for the project.

Born and brought up in a musical household, Durga always had music in her blood and started her career at the age of seven as a classical vocalist, before turning into other music-related ventures.

Her reality show Jalsa on Doordarshan brought together classical music and reality show. The show had young maestros, selected through a talent hunt, and legendary artists performing in all genres of Indian music like Hindustani, Ghazal, Carnatic, Bhajan, Sufi, folk.

Produced by her company, the programme begun as a concert tour spread across 40 cities in India in 2006 but was later spinned into a reality show.
 

MUMBAI: Opening a week ahead of its US release, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has reported a gross collection of Rs 205 million.

Fox Star Studios India, the distributor of the movie that has shaken audiences across the globe, said the India collection was in 10 days across four languages.

“We are delighted that Indian audiences have embraced the magical world of Narnia with such enthusiasm. The film is holding strong across the country,” commented Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh.

The movie opened in the US and other international markets to a collection of $105.5 million, according to box office reports.

The third part of the popular Narnia film series is directed by Michael Apted.
 

MUMBAI: MUMBAI: Eros International Media‘s No Problem has reported a gross collection of Rs 295 million worldwide in the opening weekend, according to box-office data provided by the company.

India has contributed to Rs 250 million while the other Rs 45 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 reasonably well on Friday and picked up over the weekend. Despite the cold wave in North India, the film picked up well over the weekend. We are anticipating a steady run for the film over the week.”

Averred Eros International plc President – Distribution Pranab Kapadia, “In line with the current flavour at the box office, Eros International tastes success yet again with No Problem. A multi star cast comedy – Anees Bazmee style with fun filled entertainment for the whole family, the film has grossed remarkable collections in US, UK, UAE, Australia, Mauritius, Fiji and Pakistan. With school holidays and the festive season starting this week, we expect the film to continue its hold on the box office.”

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

MUMBAI:The distributors of Tees Maar Khan (UTV) and Toonpur Ka Superhero (Eros) have decided to release the films worldwide two days before they hit the screens in India.

To capitalise on the Christmas festive period, both the films will be released in US and UK on 22 December and in the Middle East on 23 December. They will release in the rest of the world including India on 24 December.

Over the years, the Christmas weekend has yielded excellent returns. In 2007, this period marked the release of Taare Zameen Par and Welcome; in 2008 it was Ghajini while 2009 saw the release of 3 Idiots.

Since the world is in a celebratory mood, with people enjoying the birth of Christ and New Year festivities, the Christmas weekend is considered the most lucrative period for release of films.

MUMBAI: Indian billionaire Anil Ambani is looking at writing new scripts in the global movie world. Reliance Big Entertainment, the company that he owns, has entered into a partnership with Ron Howard‘s production company Imagine Entertainment to set up a “writers lab” that will employ 10 screenwriters for a year.

Reliance will fund an undisclosed amount for the programme, which will be run by Imagine co-chairman Karen Kehela Sherwood. Reliance will have the rights to co-finance any project Imagine sets up at Universal Pictures or at other studios. Imagine has an existing first-look deal with Universal Pictures.

As per the deal, Reliance and Universal have the first rights with the lab to purchase completed screenplays.

For any script that is selected, the team of 10 will get additional fee and the main writer will be given the lion‘s share.

The lab will consist of 10 experienced scribes who will be paid to work exclusively as creative consultants, evaluating one another‘s story pitches and also penning original screenplays.

Scribes set to take part in the lab are Margaret Nagle, Michael Fitzpatrick, Lee Patterson, Glen Lakin, Michael Perry, Stacey Harman, Jason Mantzoukas, Scott Aukerman and Daniel Casey. The 10th writer has not yet been named.

Says Howard, “This is an approach to screenplay development that I have believed in and wanted to experiment with for years. The creative energy and support system the lab should stimulate is something I am incredibly eager to be a part of.”

Sherwood will oversee both the film development department of Imagine and also assign projects for the writers group.

It may be recalled that Imagine and Reliance struck a first-look film development pact in November 2009 as part of Reliance‘s aggressive push into Hollywood. Shortly after that pact was signed, Howard brought up the idea of a lab to Reliance executives.

The project came together through Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, who leads the media and entertainment business for Reliance ADA group. “When Ron and Brian brought this unique concept to Reliance, we immediately recognised its tremendous value and potential,” Jhunjhunwala said in a statement.

Hollywood production companies are impacted by the recession as studios are cutting down on their costs. This is forcing production companies to look at reducing budgets for development of projects. The market is opening up for new capital from other geographies, an opportunity which Ambani has grabbed.

MUMBAI: Director of the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Vijay H. Jadhav, expired after he suffered a massive heart attack.

Soon after he complained of uneasiness and breathing problems, he was rushed to the Sahyadri Hospital where he expired. 

Jadhav is survived by his wife and two daughters.

From the 1995 batch of Indian Information Service, Jadhav, a chemical engineer, served with the Press Information Bureau in Pune, where he was the director.

Later, he did a stint with the Mumbai Doordarshan as news editor and as defence public relations officer in Pune. He was transferred as the National Film Archives of India in April 2008 as director and was based in Pune since then.

Jadhav was an accomplished tabla player, having trained under Ustad Allahrakha.

In a condolence message, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said, “I had the opportunity to observe Jadhav‘s work during our discussions on setting up of National Film Heritage Mission.

” His professionalism remained unmatched and committed to the tasks assigned to him from time to time. I was deeply impressed with his innovative ideas and his ability to lead from the front. The untimely death of Jadhav had left a void in the Ministry that would be very difficult to fill.”