Category: Movies

PANAJI: Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today assured the film industry that she would pursue, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the various demands relating to tax-burden on the film industry.

Speaking after inaugurating the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Banerjee said Indian films could today stand on an equal footing against films from any other part of the world.

She said Goa has provided a bridge between Indian and international cinema.

Guest of honour and eminent film maker Yash Chopra said it was unfortunate that the government tended to treat the film industry as mere entertainment and not as the major foreign exchange earner and a contributor to the national exchequer. The government, therefore, continues to burden the industry with more and more taxes.

Minister of State for I&B CM Jatua said cinema promoted co-operation and understanding, while Goa CM Digambar Kamat said Goa had emerged as a major film destination in the past few years. He referred to the involvement of film societies and said a special jury has been formed to award young film journalists.

In a brief address, film actor Ajay Devgn described the festival as a ‘Mahakumbh’ of cinema. 

SM Khan, director in the directorate of film festival, said the 41st IFFI had opened up competition across all continents and had attracted films from 61 countries. The total award money for the five awards had been enhanced to $200,000.

After the lightning of the lamp assisted by Riya Sen, several film personalities were felicitated. They included Divya Dutta, Manoj Bajpai, Rajkumar Hirani and Malayalam actor Jayaram.

After the cultural programme of classical dance and music, the opening film West is West was screened.

The programme was anchored by actors Aftab Shivdasani and Gracy Singh.
 

MUMBAI: Hollywood director Ang Lee would be one of the main attractions of the ongoing IFFI, according to senior officials of Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) that is one of the two organisers of the 11-day event.

There will be a total of 47 films in Indian Panorama out of which 26 will be features. Anant Mahadevan‘s Mee Sindhutai Sapkal will be the opening film. In the non-feature film category, the opening film would be Leaving Home, a film based on the musical band Indian Ocean. The band will also perform at the festival.

Debutante director Anusha Rizvi‘s critically acclaimed film and India‘s official entry to the 83rd Academy Awards,[Peepli Live] will have a special screening at the festival.

Films of two recent Dada Saheb Phalke winners, VK.Murthy and D Ramanaidu, will be screened in the Master Stroke section.

Important films of Motilal, Nadia, Ashok Kumar and Raja Paranjpe would be screened as part of ‘centenary tributes‘.

This edition, being held up to 2 December, will also commemorate the golden jubilee of the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
 

PANAJI: An exhibition of Wall posters and Photographs organised by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune, was inaugurated here by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ministry S Jagathrakshakan.

The exhibition is being held as part of the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010 opening today. The exhibition is being displayed at the Art Gallery, Kala Academy, Panaji.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jagathrakshakan noted that the Exhibition gives an insight into the devotion and dedication of these awardees, and also highlights their special attributes. 

Interspersed with relevant write-ups and informative captions, this Exhibition will present the diverse and rich heritage of Indian film culture. Also present on the occasion were Dadasaheb Phalke awardee D. Rama Naidu and Ministry Secretary Raghu Menon.

NFAI organises screenings of classics as well as set up Exhibitions of Wall posters and other memorabilia which take the audience on a nostalgic trip down the memory lane of Indian Cinema. Five Indian classics will also be screened in the Restored Classics from NFAI programme at the Festival. The NFAI recently launched a Digital Restoration Project where rare Indian films are restored digitally with a view to safeguarding the content for posterity.

NFAI, a media unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, had been organising retrospectives of major Indian and foreign film personalities at IFFI. It has also organised live music shows of Indian Silent Films and presented the pre-cinematic gadget, the Shambharik Kharolika (The Indian Magic Lantern), last year.
 

NEW DELHI: The Kannada film, Kanasembo Kudureyaneri, by renowned filmmaker Girish Kasarvalli, which is a part of the Indian Panorama of the 41st International Film Festival of India, has won the top awards at Asiatica Film Mediale Film Festival in Rome.

Kanasembo Kudureyaneri has won the Best Film of 2010 award given by the International Jury and also the award of the jury set up by the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema.

Kasarvalli who is in Rome told indiantelevision.com that both the Juries were highly appreciative of the film.The film has already won several awards overseas.

The film is the story of Irya, the gravedigger of the village, who can foresee events. Whenever he sees Siddha, his guru, in a dream, someone in the village is sure to die. But Irya is shattered when one day he realises this power has vanished. This is reaffirmed when his wife’s dream too fails. All this puts his work as a gravedigger into a jeopardy.
 

MUMBAI: Guzaarish proves to be an unmitigated disaster. This high budget Hrithik Roshan starrer has managed to collect a meagre Rs 125.6 million in its opening weekend.

Having opened with a very, very poor response, its first day figures were Rs 35.3 million, with Saturday showing a marginal rise at Rs 45 million. But having been rejected by then, the Sunday collections were a meagre Rs 45.3 million. 

Industry sources unanimously attribute this fate to poor theme, lack of a coherent script, unispiring music; almost nothing that was right for a commercial film.

The Harry Potter saga also comes to an end as far as India is concerned; the film has been able to draw just about Rs 110 million during its first weekend which, in all probability, will be its last.
 

MUMBAI: The latest Harry Potter film has created a record of sorts. By grossing over $330 million worldwide on the opening day, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 became the highest grossing film in the US and Canada on the open day ticket sale among all the earlier films released in the Harry Potter series.

The film collected over $125.1 million, the sixth-best grossing film on the opening day behind The Dark Knight that made $158.4 million on the opening day in 2008.

Though the film couldn’t rope in $128 million, as estimated, it clearly beat the earlier best in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,that made a first-day collection of $102.7 million.

Elsewhere, in the UK the film made $28 million and in Germany $21.8 million. While in Australia it grossed $14.8 million, in Japan the film made $14 million, in Russia $12.3 million, in Italy $11.5 million, in Mexico $10.2 million and in China it collected $9 million.

In India, the first day’s net collections of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was approximately Rs 25 million, taking into account all the versions like English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

The film stands out to be the biggest ever release in terms of prints (531) in India for the Harry Potter franschise.
 

MUMBAI: The Yash Patnaik produced and Wison Louis-directed horror film, Kaalo, has won two awards at the South African Horrofest held at Cape Town from 27 October to 5 November.

Kaalo won the best feature film award and also the best cinematography award.

Said Wilson Louis, “Getting an international recognition that too for a horror film to an Indian filmmaker like me gives me an opening and a thought process to henceforward make films in which I am apt in (horror).”

Other films that lapped up awards were The Taint that received the most outrageous award. Ken Foree won the best male award for Zone Of The Dead while Kristina Klebe annexed the best female lead award for the same film.

The best screenplay award went to Adam Mason and Simon Boyes won the best screenplay award for Blood River, Pushpank Gawade won the best cinematography award for Kaalo.

While The Phantom Of The Opera that won the audience choice award, Walking Distance won the best special FX make-up award.

Short film Stay got a special mention for the best scare film while Joe Spinell got an entry into the Hall of Fame for Maniac.
 

NEW DELHI: The British film ‘West is West’ directed by Andy DeEmmony. Starring Om Puri, Robert Pugh and Jimi Mistry, is the opening film of the 41st International Film Festival of India commencing in Panaji on 22 November.

The festival will have a special Cannes Kaleidoscope 2010 with a comprehensive package of films that were shown at Cannes this year.

The films include ‘Film Socialism’ by Jean Lun Godard among others in the Festival which will conclude on 2 December.
 
There will also be a package of ten Iranian films with high aesthetic content to be represented by filmmakers, cast and crew members. IFFI will also feature retrospectives of Jan Jakub Kolski, Jim Jarmusch, Michael Cacoyannis, and Mira Nair.

Following the decision to open up the competition to all countries instead of only the third world, the competition section this year will have 18 films including three from India.

New awards – Best Actor and Best Actress – have also been introduced from this year. The Best Film would be awarded the Golden Peacock and a prize money of Rs 4 million, the Best Director would be awarded Silver Peacock and given prize money of Rs 1.5 million, the best Actor and actress would get Silver Peacocks and Rs 1 million each. The Special Jury Award will comprise Silver Peacock and rize money of Rs. 1.5 million.

A key aspect of the festival will be the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the Film and Television Institute of India. Five non-features curated by the Institute will be screened. Five Oriya films would be screened as part of the celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee of Oriya Cinema. Two films associated with the work of Dada Saheb Phalke Awardees V K Murti and D Ramanaidu would be screened. The birth centenary of luminaries of Indian Cinema including Ashok Kumar will be observed with the screening of their films. The Indian Panorama will feature 26 feature and 21 non-feature films.

There is a special screening of India’s Oscar entry ‘Peepli Live’ in the presence of important cast and crew members.

The country focus during the festival is on Sri Lanka, New Wave Taiwanese Cinema and a section on Australian Indigenous Fiction Films. IFFI would also pay homage to the Iconic French film maker, Eric Rohmer, who passed away this year. Six of his films would be screened.

The festival will be inaugurated by Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee in the presence of renowned film Producer and Director Yash Chopra who is the chief guest.