MUMBAI: Anil Kapoor Films Company and PVR Pictures‘ much awaited Abhay Deol-Sonam Kapoor starrer Aisha will release on 9 August.
The film, an adaptation of Jane Austen‘s famous novel ‘Emma‘, is being produced by Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev K Bijli and Rhea Kapoor and is being directed by Rajshree Ojha.
While Austen‘s Emma was set in 19th century rural England, Aisha is based in present times in the country‘s capital Delhi.
Besides Abhay and Sonam, the film also stars Cyrus Sahukar and Ira Dubey.
MUMBAI: After a California Court‘s order for the return of Roman Polanski to the United States to serve a sentence, more than three decades after he fled a statutory rape charge, Swiss legal experts observe that his extradition could be done in the coming months.
However, they predicted months of further legal wrangling before extradition.
Caught up in the complexity of the case, Switzerland has yet to issue a decision on delivering the fugitive Oscar-winning filmmaker to Los Angeles prosecutors nearly seven months after his arrest.
Swiss authorities have cited the voluminous paperwork and said they would wait out a California court‘s examination of whether Polanski could be sentenced in absentia for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.
But the US Court rejected Polanski‘s sentencing request last Thursday without an opinion. While his attorneys could still appeal to the California Supreme Court, legal experts see little basis for Swiss authorities to reject handing over Polanski.
If the Swiss government ultimately approves extradition, Polanski could still lodge court appeals in Switzerland that would delay his return to the United States for months.
MUMBAI: Comedian, actor and producer Mel Brooks famous for his films like Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and The Producers got a star Friday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Brooks received the 2,406th star during a ceremony held at the Egyptian Theatre where his son, Max, and friend Carl Reiner were also present.
83 year-Brooks has won several Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
MUMBAI: Ever since Whistling Woods International (WWI) introduced the ‘Short Course Unit’ this year, noted Greek producer James P Mimikos is back to the WWI campus for an intensive week-long workshop with students who have opted for ‘Film Production”.
Drawing upon his extensive experience in international co-productions, Mimikos laid emphasis on the skills required by the students as producers – from the development process right up to the post-production of a film project.
Says Mimikos, “Enough thought needs to be given even at the development stage about the potential of the film to bring in audiences and also match the budget. The task of a producer is to deliver a film on time and on budget.”
WWI’s ‘Short Course Unit’ has also conceptualised a workshop on ‘Fundamentals of Motion Picture Pre-production Skills‘ that will stress upon the importance of planning at the pre-production stage of a film project.
The workshop, which is aimed at line producers, executive producers and also assistant directors, will involve systematic working on a script, keeping in mind the time, the budget and also the quality of the film.
MUMBAI: Eros International is set to release the DVD of Veer that will be incorporated with an audio description (AD). This makes the Salman Khan-starrer to be the first film in India to have an AD track in Hindi on its DVD.
UK-based Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has worked with Eros International to achieve this after its research among blind or partially-sighted people of Asian origin in the UK and India. The research found out that over 70 per cent of respondents were more likely to watch Bollywood films if AD in Hindi was provided.
Says Eros International Head of International distribution Pranab Kapadia, “We are extremely excited to join hands with RNIB and present the first-of-its- kind film DVD with Veer having AD for the blind or partially-sighted fans of Indian cinema. We strongly believe in our social responsibility and this is our humble attempt in initiating a step that we believe will benefit consumers largely.”
Observes RNIB Director of International Affairs Stephen King, “RNIB has worked with the Bollywood industry to bring the benefits of audio description to new audiences. The decision by Eros to include audio description on its DVD release is momentous, transforming the experience of blind and partially-sighted Bollywood fans watching films at home, not just in the UK but internationally. Our research tells us that fans want AD on Bollywood films and RNIB hopes that other distributors will follow the lead of Eros.”
The AD track for Veer has been produced at Red Bee Media Limited which has offices in UK, Australia, France, Spain and Germany.
Eros International is also exploring the possibility of making DVDs of evergreen classics such as Sholay, Waqt and Devdas for the blind and partially-sighted audiences across the world.
RNIB‘s campaign for AD has resulted in several major distributors of Hollywood films releasing their DVDs with an AD track in the UK.
Veer DVD will hit stores on 24 April.
MUMBAI: Percept Pictures has rescheduled the release date for its forthcoming film Bumm Bumm Bole.
Directed by Priyadarshan, the film will now hit the screens on 14 May, a week after the original release plan.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Percept Picture Company joint managing director Shailendra Singh says, You see our film was to release with Gurinder Chaddha‘s It‘s A Wonderful Afterlife and YRF‘s Badmaash Company. We found that Bumm Bumm Bole would get lost among the other two films. Hence we shifted to the 14 May slot, since that week there are no other releases. It would augur well for the family audience to enter and have a look at Bumm Bumm Bole.”
The film has Darsheel Safary, Atul Kulkarni, Ziah Vastani and Rituparna Sengupta in the cast.
Since the pivotal essence of Bumm Bumm Bole is a unique brother-sister relationship, the director has carved out the innocent and poignant story of two siblings and the dilemmas they face in life and how they fight their way to overcome it.
Being a kids film, brands associated with the film are Pantaloon, Adidas, Hansaplast, Pogo, Bright Outdoor, T.Series Toy for Joy, Oberoi Mall, Sea Cod, Rangeela, Future Generalli and Big Oye.
MUMBAI: Bunty Walia‘s Lamhaa, directed by Rahul Dholakia and starring Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher and Shenaaz, is scheduled to release on 16 July.
The film is a story about an army man, played by Sanjay Dutt, and his love interest, played by Bipasha Basu, in the midst of the various issues that Kashmir had faced for years.
Lamhaa is award-winning filmmaker Rahul Dholakia‘s second film after his first Parzania won critical acclaim. It is a sensitive film and just like Parzania that centred on the angst of the people in a terror-stricken place, Lamhaa deals about these issues.
Since Lamhaa is depicted in Kashmir, the government went out of its way to ensure that there was no untoward incident when the filming was on.
The film was shot across three schedules in 75 days. While two schedules were held in Kashmir for 25 days, the third one was held in Mumbai for 50 days.
MUMBAI: At a presentation, Disney Film chief Rich Ross has declared that Pixar‘s Brave would releaseon 12 June, 2012. He also disclosed plans of having another sequel to Monsters, Inc. that is scheduled to release on 16 November, 2012.
After unveiling trailers for a number of upcoming titles — including Jerry Bruckheimer‘s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, The Sorcerer‘s Apprentice and Secretariat -Ross unveiled the first three movies he‘s given a go-ahead to Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and The Muppets in 2011 and Prom in 2012.
The first is the company‘s most successful global franchise and hence a no-brainer, the second will introduce a new Muppet named Walter, and the third will be “smart and authentic” a la what John Hughes used to do.
Brave, once known as The Bear and the Bow, is written and directed by Brenda Chapman features the voices of Reese Witherspoon and Billy Connolly in a tale of archery and royalty while Monsters, Inc. directed by Pete Docter grossed $525 million worldwide after its release in November 2001.
Ross emphasized the diversity of the banners under the studio umbrella — from Disney‘s bemused and decidedly modern take on the Rapunzel fairy tale in Tangled to Pixar, Marvel and DreamWorks‘ distinctive brands and approaches. But, he added, none has a “silo mentality.”
MUMBAI: Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski lost his latest bid to be sentenced while outside the United States for having unlawful sex with a minor more than three decades ago.
Affirming the decision of a Los Angeles judge in January, a state appeals court ruled that the filmmaker must return to California before he can be sentenced and bring his 33-year-long legal saga to a close.
The director fled the United States for his native France in 1978 and is now fighting extradition from Switzerland.
The appellate panel found that Polanski “failed to demonstrate” that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza lacked the discretion to refuse his request to remain abroad while the case against him was concluded.
Denial of his appeal to be sentenced in absentia came shortly after the same court rejected a separate petition filed by the woman who was his victim at age 13 to have the case dismissed altogether.
Polanski pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor but fled the country before sentencing, fearing the judge would renege on a plea agreement limiting his punishment to 42 days he already had spent behind bars for psychiatric evaluation.
He has since lived as a fugitive in Europe, facing the prospect of arrest the moment he set foot back on U.S. soil while continuing his film career. In 2003, he won an Oscar for best director for the acclaimed Holocaust film The Pianist.
His latest film, The Ghost Writer won him the best director prize at the Berlin film festival in February.
MUMBAI: Marathi film Baangdya that centers around the plight of widows of farmers will have its world premiere at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival that goes underway from 12 to 23 May.
Baangdya, shot entirely in black and white, brings forth the colourless life of farmers’ widows in India.
Said director Kedar Jape, “It‘s a great feeling that my first film has been selected for the world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. This is an acknowledgement to my cast and crew who worked hard to make this film possible.”
Baangdya revolves around a small village girl Chingi who loves to play with bangles. She finds out that her father had committed suicide and her mother is also on her way to do the same. The film tracks the girl‘s struggle to save her only parent and in the process reality about farmers is revealed.
‘Farmer suicide is a burning and socially relevant issue. These people suffer a lot and my film is an effort to create awareness about their plight not only at the domestic level but also at a global platform. This is a cause which is very close to my heart. I feel that through Cannes it will get represented all over the world,‘ Jape declares.
Talking about how tough it was to raise funds for the film Jape says, “I discussed my story idea with many people across the globe. Many of them responded positively by contributing small amounts. I am happy for those who supported me and showed their trust in me.”
Jape plans to take Baangdya that features Maithili Kadam, Madhugandha Kulkarni, Manoj Aacharya, and Hitendra Upasni to other film festivals as well.