Category: Movies

NEW DELHI: Noted Malayalam actor Jairam said today that the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India was very important as it provided a platform to films that were among the best in the country and represented different languages and cultures.

Inaugurating the Indian Panorama Section, he said the section also provided an opportunity to cinematic talents to meet under the aegis of one platform. The actor noted that this section of the Festival was gaining in popularity with every festival and it had enabled India to be a critical player on the global celluloid map. 

Festival Director SM Khan acknowledged that the Section was a catalyst in showcasing India abroad as a number of the films from this Section won accolades at international film festivals. He also mentioned that in order to enhance the visibility of the Panorama, the films would be shown in different parts of the country, enabling the growth of a vibrant film movement.

N. Chandra, Chairman of the Jury of the Feature Film Section, said the Panorama provided an opportunity to peep into the minds of filmmakers across the country who represented the diversity of India. He suggested that in order to enthuse further participation, it was necessary to carve a new section such as ‘Emerging Frames’ that would cater to the needs of those regions where the film culture was not vibrant. This would bring in wider participation from different remote corners of the country.

Siddhartha Kak, Chairman of the Jury of Non-Feature Films, said documentaries were the power and source of film making and had an individual identity. It was incorrect to consider documentary films as an appendage to feature films. Kak called upon the Directorate of Film Festivals to facilitate a pro-active policy in promoting the documentary movement in the country.

During the inauguration of the section, Members of the Jury were felicitated along with some of the Members of the cast and crew of the opening film ‘Mee Sindhutai Sapkal’ directed by Ananth Mahadevan. The crew Members of the opening Non-Feature ‘Leaving Home’ featuring the Indian Ocean Band were also felicitated. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi also graced the occasion.

The Indian Panorama this year presents a bouquet of 26 Feature and 21 Non-Feature Films from the best and promising film makers from across the country. The Indian Panorama’s opening feature film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal is based on the life of a living social reformer Sindhutai Sapkal. Leaving Home chronicles the ups and downs of one of India’s most happening bands, Indian Ocean.
 

PANAJI: After the success of East is East over a decade earlier and West is West now, producer Leslee Udwin says she is working on a third film East is West to complete a trilogy on the subject of Asians making a new life for themselves overseas.

Addressing a press meet at the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India, Udwin said the film would be commercially released in India on 25 February.

West is West, starring Om Puri, Ila Arun, Vijay Raaz, and Jimi Mistry among others, was the opening film of the Festival here yesterday evening which Udwin deemed a great honour. 

The release of the film, made with a budget of 2.5 million pound sterling (about Rs 180 million), coincides with its release date in the United Kingdom. The film has been shot in Indian Punjab (depicted as Punjab in Pakistan). Directed by Andy De Emmony, the film’s music is by Rob Lane and Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Set in Manchester 1975, West is West is a story of the claustrophobic and dysfunctional Khan family’s struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father‘s tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to ‘sort him out‘, his father decides to pack him off to Mrs. Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan (Mrs. Khan No 2) with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly follows to sort out the mess, past and present.

PANAJI: Centenaries of five unforgettable cinema talents – Ashok Kumar, B.R. Panthulu, Motilal, Nadia and Raja Paranjpe – are being observed by screening of some of their films at the ongoing International Film Festival of India.

The section was inaugurated with the screening of Bandini featuring Ashok Kumar, in the presence of Amit Kumar, son of the late eminent singer and actor Kishore Kumar, and Ashok Kumar’s grand-daughter. Anuradha Patel.

The thespian was not only a gifted actor but also an accomplished painter and a homeopathic practitioner.

At a press meet, Amit Kumar said the family proposes to hold a series of events to observe the golden era and centenary of Ashok Kumar. Remembering her grandfather, Patel said a fresh biography on the late Ashok Kumar is in the offing.

She also said as part of the centenary celebrations, a special music concert by his nephews Amit Kumar and Sumit Kumar will be organised. The concert would be a tribute by them to their late uncle who was the original rap singer with the song ‘Rail Gaadi’.
 

MUMBAI: Vishal Bhardwaj has decided to film an adaptation of William Shakespeare‘s Hamlet.

To make a perfect casting, Bharadwaj wants Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the adaptation. If all goes according to plans, Roshan will play the Prince Of Denmark while Rai Bachchan would play his Ophelia.

Like the earlier adaptations, Hamlet too would be very dissimilar to the original.
Hamlet would be Vishal‘s third Shakespearean adaptation after Maqbool that was an adaptation of Shakespeare‘s Macbeth and Omkara that was Bharadwaj‘s take on the Bard‘s Othello. The director had always maintained that he would do three Shakespearean adaptations in his career.

It may be recalled that in the past too, Bharadwaj had approached both Roshan and Rai Bachchan but things couldn‘t fall in place.

Previously Hrithik-Aishwarya have worked together in Dhoom 2 (2006), Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and the latest Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Guzaarish.

MUMBAI: The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has decided to preserve the films of Madhur Bhandarkar – Chandni Bar, Page-3, Corporate, Traffic Signal, Fashion and Jail. These films will now find space in government‘s archival data for Indian films.

After Bhandarkar handed over the copies of all his films to the NFAI today, NFAI director Vijay Jadhav said, “Madhur Bhandarkar‘s films are very popular and widely seen. His films are very much in demand for various film festivals and they also arouse a lot of interest in students and youngsters. I would like to thank Madhur Bhandarkar for his kind gesture and I respect his understanding for the value of Film Preservation.”

Commented Bhandarkar, “I am very happy that NFAI is preserving my films. I feel it is of a critical importance that we preserve our films. Our industry has some very respectful and milestone work which is left just like that, but if it is preserved it can be viewed at any time in the future and hence our work gets an everlasting life. Familiarizing foreign audiences with Indian Cinema and to make it more visible across the globe is another declared objective of the archive.”

The NFAI safeguards the heritage of Indian Cinema for posterity and acts as a centre for dissemination of a healthy film culture in the country. Promotion of film scholarship and research on various aspects of cinema also form part of its charter.
 

MUMBAI: Eros International Media has announced the worldwide release of its live action animation film, Toonpur Ka Superhero, on 24 December.

Produced by Krishika Lulla and Kumar Mangat and directed by ad filmmaker Kireet Khurana, the family entertainer is an exciting story of a reel life hero who accidentally lands in a world of cartoons and transforms into a real life hero.

Said Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla, “Children with their families will enjoy watching their favorite actors Ajay and Kajol along with some charming new cartoon characters of the Toonpur world. I am sure that this fun and adventure-filled family entertainer will win the hearts of our audiences.”
 

MUMBAI: With an aim to woo the international buyers, filmmakers from Saarc nations will participate in National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) Film Bazaar 2010 with their films.

“To continue the age old tradition of improving trade relations between the Saarc nations, NFDC has invited projects from these countries this year,” NFDC officials stated. The officials claimed that for the very first time film projects from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be part of Film Bazaar.

In yet another highlight this year, Film Bazaar will organise industry screenings for filmmakers for the first time to showcase their films to potential producers, distributors, agents, buyers and representatives of international film festivals.

The state-of-the-art screening facility will have multiple screens of 12-seater theatres and will have digital and 3D compatible projection to portray their work in its complete essence. “This will also help the international buyers to make informed and quick decisions on the various projects they are interested in. These theatres have been set-up in collaboration with UFO Moviez,” an official added.

Film Bazaar 2010 will be held from 23 to 26 November on the sidelines of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010 in Panaji.

The Film Bazaar has grown and gained wide popularity since its inception in 2007. Last year, over 350 delegates from 22 countries had attended Film Bazaar.

MUMBAI: After being screened at several international film festivals, Shemaroo Entertainment’s Ishqiya has now been selected to be screened at the 10th River to River Florence Indian Film Festival to be held at Florence in Italy.

Comments Shemaroo Entertainment director Hiren Gada, “We are glad to know that our efforts are recognized worldwide. The film has travelled across the boundary of language and culture differences and has been appreciated in every festival it has participated in.”

The film has earlier participated at the Munich International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, IFFL, Bollywood and Beyond, The Indie Fest, 34th Cairo International Film Festival and Dainik Jagran Film Festival.

The Florence Indian Film Festival is scheduled to be held from 3 to 9 December.