Category: Regional

Zee Biskope brings the world TV premiere of ‘Khoon Bhari Humaar Maang’

MUMBAI: Giving its ardent and movie-crazy fans across the region not one but two reasons to celebrate, Zee Biskope brings the feeling of joy and jubilation to every doorstep on the occasion of the birthday of one of the biggest superstars of the region, Khesari Lal Yadav. An actor and singer above par, Khesari has bagged several accolades across film award platforms. He also made his appearance beyond Bhojiwood in popular reality shows at a national level.

The superstar initiated his journey with Zee Biskope as one of the channel’s launch brand ambassadors post which the brand has celebrated Bhojiwood’s most romantic idol through various initiatives including showcasing some of his biggest blockbusters. On Khesari Lal Yadav’s birthday this year, Zee Biskope is all set to mesmerise viewers with a special world television premiere of his blockbuster Khoon Bhari Humaar Maang on 15 March at 6 PM. With Khesari holding a special place in the heart of audiences, the movie will treat his ardent fans to one of his career’s best performances on his big day.

The movie stars Khesari along with a power-packed women brigade featuring leading actresses like Smriti Sinha, Pakkhi Hegde, Monalisa, Anjana Singh and Subhi Sharma in prominent roles. This beautiful story showcases how three friends find strength in each other and decide to take a stand for their rights. Khesari dons the pivotal role of the person who helps the women brigade in their fight against all wrongdoings.

The fun doesn’t end there – two more blockbusters starring the superstar will air in the afternoon bands. Deewanapan featuring Khesari and Kajal Raghwani will be telecast at noon, followed by Sajan Chale Sasural 2 featuring Khesari, Akshara Singh and Smriti Sinha at 3 pm.

ZeeL cluster head east Samrat Ghosh said, “Our viewers are our big extended family and we take immense pride in being a consumer centric brand that brings them hyperlocal entertainment that is close to their hearts. High viewership WTPs especially with a starcast like Khesari Lal Yadav, serve as a great opportunity for brands as well as our viewers.”

Zee Biskope & Big Ganga business head Amarpreet Singh Saini said, “Khesari Lal Yadav being a superstar in the region has been ruling the audience's hearts for years. Presenting one of his best performances, a cult film for cinephiles, on his birthday is the grandest way to celebrate his big day. It’s a film that will not just entertain the viewers but will also give them a sense of celebrating their superstar’s birthday.”

March 10, 2021
Tamil Nadu allows cinemas to operate at 100% capacity

NEW DELHI: In a big boost to the Tamil film industry, the state government on Monday issued a new directive removing the 50 per cent cap on occupancy in theatres.

Cinema halls in Tamil Nadu can now operate at 100 per cent capacity while following the standard operating procedures issued by the government. Precautionary measures will also be screened from time to time to spread awareness among the audiences.

The order comes days after actor Vijay and theatre owners requested chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to allow theatres to function at their full capacity.

Back in October, the ministry of home affairs had released guidelines wherein film theatres were only allowed to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity to ensure social distancing.

Tamil Nadu is the first state to allow cinema halls to operate at 100 per cent capacity. The 50 per cent cap, however, still remains in neighbouring states. In fact, only last week, the Kerala government gave its nod to re-open theatres with 50 per cent capacity with Covid-safety protocols in place.

However, the film industry continues to be hit as no big Bollywood releases are coming to the silver screen.

January 4, 2021
No. 1 Bhojpuri Channel, ZEEL’s Big Ganga collaborates with foremost Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan for a 7-movie deal

MUMBAI: Over the last two decades, Bhojpuri movies industry has seen a revolution in the form of content, talent, and production. The industry is on an all-time high, with major players in the market seeing a big opportunity in Bhojpuri movies and investing heavily in production, content, and marketing. Consolidating its position as the number one regional GEC across Bihar and Jharkhand, ZEEL’s Bhojpuri channel Big Ganga now brings its viewers wholesome Bhojpuri entertainment by joining hands with the industry’s foremost superstar, Ravi Kishan in an exclusive seven-movie deal over a period of 2.5 years.

Ravi Kishan announced the special collaboration as a treat to his fans on his 49th birthday. As a part of the deal between ZEEL’s BIG Ganga and Ravi Kishan Productions, ZEEL has acquired the exclusive rights for both linear and non-linear formats for all the seven movies. Ravi Kishan who will be the lead in all the movies made the announcement during the trailer launch of his latest Bhojpuri offering Sanki Daroga. The exclusive deal includes seven Bhojpuri movies – Sanki Daroga, Parem Pothi, Sher Zinda Hai, Sanki Daroga 2, Mangrua Ke Prem Katha, Ragadta Bihar and Babbar Sher.

Commenting on the deal, Ravi Kishan said, “I am extremely thrilled to be collaborating with ZEEL’s Big Ganga for this special venture. All seven movies that will be produced will offer differentiated content and will be subject based than only being masala entertainers. ZEEL’s Big Ganga as a channel understands the pulse of the audience and has a wider reach across the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, where the viewers consume Bhojpuri content. Through this partnership, it is our endeavor to take Bhojpuri Cinema to the next level and I sincerely hope that my fans will enjoy watching these movies.”

Speaking about the same, spokesperson of ZEEL’s Big Ganga shared, “Big Ganga offers differentiated and dynamic content for family viewing which resonates well with the masses. With its popular movie slot brands, Ganga Talkies and Family Talkies’, it makes us the only channel to go beyond movies and offer high-quality non-fiction, fiction, devotional content for the region. We have the exclusive rights to some of the biggest titles of Bhojpuri’s Cine Stars. Big Ganga’s movie library is quite vast and garners the highest rated World Television Premieres in the market. The 7-movie deal with Ravi Kishan Productions is a step towards bringing in Bhojpuri cinema to newer audiences and continue to grow the industry with compelling storylines. We are confident that each of these movies will resonate well with the audience and provide a push in the right direction to the growing demand for Bhojpuri cinema.”

Being the No. 1 Bhojpuri GEC in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, ZEEL’s Big Ganga has a deep understanding of the socio-cultural fabric, reflecting the ‘pride’ of people from the region. The Free-to-air channel boasts of an extensive reach, based on its distribution across all cable operators in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh and across major DTH players across the country. With the seven movies deal, ZEEL’s Big Ganga is all set to cement its position as the market leader in the Bhojpuri content space.

July 20, 2018
Zee Cinemalu Announces World Television Premiere of Superhit Romance-Idi Maa Prema Katha

MUMBAI: Continuing to respect and support new-time actors, Zee Cinemalu’s World Television Premiere of Idi Maa Prema Katha stars the well-known faces from the small screen – Zee Telugu’s very own Anchor Ravi and Kalyana Vaibhogam-famed Meghana Lokesh. Making their much-appreciated film debut with Idi Maa Prema Katha, the film also marks Director Ayodhya Karthik’s first film in the film industry. Be sure to catch this heart-warming romance on 21st July at 8:00 PM, only on Zee Cinemalu and Zee Cinemalu HD.

Ravi plays the role of Arun and is paired opposite Meghana, who portrays Sandhya. The story revolves around a vintage love story set against a college backdrop. Meghana Lokesh, who is currently doing two hit shows on Zee Telugu – Raktha Sambandham and Kalyana Vaibhogam, has stunned audiences with her confident first-time silver-screen performance. Anchor Ravi–who is extremely popular on television for his rugged style and flamboyant personality–has also received a lot of praise for his work in the film. Comedian Prabhas Sreenu, Priyadarshi, the young actor who has recently made his mark with his comic timing and acting capabilities, Tulasi, Vizag Prasad, and Getup Srinu play important roles. The music by young singer and composer Karthik Kodakandla is a major highlight of the film and has proven to be a huge hit with youngsters.

July 18, 2018
Bengali film Posto to premiere on Hoichoi before satellite TV

NEW DELHI: Digital Bengali entertainment content platform Hoichoi has acquired exclusive digital rights of this year’s most successful Bengali feature film Posto, ensuring it a world digital premiere today before a satellite TV premiere.

This will provide Bengali moviemakers a robust additional pipeline of movie-loving Bengali diaspora across the world, who have so far been deprived of many movies in the language because most have a weak or no international theatrical release.

Hoichoi has already created a huge buzz in the Bengali entertainment industry with the launch of a slew of engaging original web series and shorts, and the acquisition of the Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy directorial venture, Posto, is set to further disrupt the industry.

SVF & Hoichoi co-founder Mahendra Soni said, “What adds to our delight is that it is with this, the most successful film of 2017 so far, that Hoichoi will not only delight the Bengali diaspora across the world but will also help the Bengali film industry to overcome the challenges and limitations of international theatrical releases and take their forthcoming movies to a massive global audience of movie lovers worldwide.”

Posto, which grossed more than Rs 50 million within four weeks of its release, received critical acclaim from the film fraternity. Portrayed by Arghya Basu Roy, Posto is a little boy raised by his grandparents (Soumitra Chatterjee and Lily Chakraboty) in Shantiniketan, a small town in Birbhum district, West Bengal. Posto’s parents (Jisshu Sengupta and Mimi Chakraborty) who are settled 200 km away in Kolkata, visit their son only on weekends.

Trouble ensues when Posto’s father gets a new job offer outside India and plans to take Posto along with him. The boy’s grandparents are against the decision and the argument finally drags the kid into the courtroom.

The film’s director, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that Posto will be exclusively available on Hoichoi, which has become the one-stop destination for people looking for great Bengali entertainment content. Any director would want his creation to be seen and liked by as many people as possible and Hoichoi will enable my film Posto to do just that!”

Hoichoi showcases exclusive original shows every month and more than 500 Bengali movies. Founded in 2017, it is SVF New Media’s maiden venture. Hoichoi is headed by co-founder Vishnu Mohta, who is also SVF’s executive director.

November 24, 2017
SPNI and Mojo production launches Maacher Jhol’s trailer

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India’s (SPN) latest offering, co-produced by Mojo Productions Pvt. Ltd, bengali film Maacher Jhol’s trailer was launched today on the big screen in the presence of the cast and crew.

Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Pratim D. Gupta, is a heartwarming journey of an internationally renowned Masterchef struggling to cook the quintessential Bengali dish, Maacher Jhol (fish curry).

The official trailer, launched at the popular Kolkata cinema hall Priya, gave the audience a sneak peak of the film that has been shot in Kolkata and Paris and has music by Anupam Roy of Piku fame. Award-winning actor Ritwick Chakraborty plays Masterchef Dev D while the legendary Mamata Shankar plays his mother, and Paoli Dam his wife Sreela. “Maacher Jhol” is all set for a 18th August release in Bengal followed by a national release in the later weeks.

Sony Pictures Networks India executive vice president Tushar Shah said, “Maacher Jhol beautifully captures the emotional bond between mother and son and how they make beautiful memories with food. It also brings out the flavors and aromas of Masterchef Dev’s relationship with various people who made an indelible impact on his life. We are confident that this heartwarming drama will change the way people watch Bengali cinema forever.”

Mojo Productions Pvt. Ltd Joy B. Ganguly also added, “We have reached an inflection point in regional cinema, and Bengali films are in the forefront. Our second co-production for Sony Pictures Networks India has been a great experience. Pratim’s vision for “Maacher Jhol” will be a clutter breaker in the Indian film industry, the trailer is just one example.”

Talking about the film, writer and director Pratim D. Gupta said: “Maacher Jhol has turned out to be a visceral experience to be seen, heard, felt and, most importantly, tasted. It celebrates a very Bengali sentiment but is universal in its resonance. Partnering with Sony Pictures Networks India and Joy has been a very fulfilling and enriching experience, given their unalloyed passion for cinema.”

July 25, 2017
Radio City launches initiative to felicitate regional film fraternity

MUMBAI: Radio City 91.1FM, a leading radio network, in yet another pioneering move, announced Radio City Cine Awards, its first ever award initiative to felicitate regional film fraternity in India. There are 10 different categories like favourite actor, favourite actress, favourite director, favourite lyrics, favourite music composer, favourite singer – male, favourite singer – female, favourite comedian, favourite cinematographer and favourite movie.

Radio City Cine Awards 2017 aims to empower listeners to recognize and celebrate the efforts of artists and technicians. Radio City Cine Awards 2017 Tamil, which is a one of its kind, listener choice award on radio that will give a transparent access to the listeners to cast their vote and support for their favourite Tamil stars of the Kollywood industry.

Listeners can share votes on WhatsApp from Chennai: 7845 911 911, Coimbatore: 7200 911 911, Madurai: 7845 919 919 and cast their vote directly on the website.

Radio City Cine Awards is a first initiative by a radio station that would strengthen the connect between the listeners and their favourite stars. In its first leg, Radio City Cine Awards 2017 Tamil is all set to applaud the artists and technicians from the Tamil Film industry. The unique selection process will determine nominees and crown winners based on public voting which will be available via traditional mediums on-air, SMS, and new-age mediums Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp.

Radio City 91.1FM CEO Abraham Thomas said: “Radio City Cine Awards is one such initiative that helps to strengthen our city connect between listeners and their favourite celebrity. Very few award platforms aim to empower the consumer and recognize talent based on public opinion. Post the success of Radio City Cine Awards 2017 Tamil; we will soon launch this initiative for our Kannada, Telugu, Marathi Gujarati, Bhojpuri and other audience.”

He further added, “We are certain that the listeners will eagerly look forward to the grand finale and witness their favourite celebrities being awarded. Radio City extends its best wishes to all the artists and technicians who have made 2016-17 an entertaining year for Tamilians across the country.”

Voting for nomination starts from 24 July and public voting to choose their favorite stars starts from 31 July across platforms like SMS, new-age mediums Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp. This will culminate into a grand award night on air where the winners will be announced and felicitated.

July 22, 2017
Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

NEW DELHI: Regional films did exceptionally well at the box office in 2016 and Malayalam cinema particularly a major rise, if one is to go by online bookings for tickets.

Online movie ticketing for Malayalam cinema showed over 80 per cent growth as compared to in 2015, according to tickets sold by online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow.

However, the Rajinikanth starrer Kabali (Tamil) was the only regional film that made it to BookMyShow’s Top 10. The Shahrukh Khan starrer Fan was ranked 14th

While Kabali (Telugu) was the most sold regional film, Natsamrat (Marathi) was the top rated

Thus, regional and even Hollywood films did well during 2016 apart from Bollywood, according to the ticketing brand.

This was directly mirrored through millions of ratings and reviews that BookMyShow received on its platform this year.

While Sunday remains the best day of the week to watch a film and Friday to Sunday are the preferred days by cinegoers, 2016 threw up a surprise when Monday proved to be the fourth most popular film-watching day in comparison to 2015 when Thursday had reserved this honour.

Viewers generally preferred a 7:00 pm show on any given day of the week but the most perfect day and time combination for movie watching was Saturday at 10:00 pm.

Only four Hindi and English films rated in the top 10, while al the other spots were grabbed by regional films

The trailer of Sultan was most rated on BookMyShow, followed by M S Dhoni- The Untold Story

This year, BookMyShow also compiled a list of its favourites in four categories:

Cult- Among others, a movie that left a long lasting impression on BookMyShow and the editor was Miss Peregrines’s Home for Peculiar Children; Debutants as 2016 saw some noteworthy performances by new talent such as Waluscha De Sousa in Fan opposite Shahrukh Khan and Harshvardhan Kapoor in Mirzya; Dialogue- Movie buffs came across quite a few memorable dialogues this year. One of them definitely was Aishwarya Rai’s “Main kisi ki zaroorat nahi, khwaish ban-na chahti hoon” from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil; and Movers and Shakers – Among the ones who definitely made a huge impact to the films was definitely Dwayne Johnson who made the headlines all year long in 2016 for his act in Moana.

BookMyShow Co-founder & Director Parikshit Dar said, “As we near the end of 2016, we decided to revisit their truly incredible 2016 journey with us and summarize their year at the movies. Our objective has always been to enrich the user experience by smartly using technology, while enhancing content discovery on BookMyShow. In this regard, our comprehensive reviews and ratings platform, which has also established itself as an industry yardstick to evaluate a film’s popularity, has played an instrumental role in further assisting viewers in making informed decisions while transacting on BookMyShow. The year 2017 already looks promising with some great line content already lined up and we are excited to embark upon the New Year with our users.”

Detailed results:

December 31, 2016
Regional films fared better in ’16 in terms of online booking

NEW DELHI: Regional films did exceptionally well at the box office in 2016 and Malayalam cinema particularly a major rise, if one is to go by online bookings for tickets.

Online movie ticketing for Malayalam cinema showed over 80 per cent growth as compared to in 2015, according to tickets sold by online entertainment ticketing brand BookMyShow.

However, the Rajinikanth starrer Kabali (Tamil) was the only regional film that made it to BookMyShow’s Top 10. The Shahrukh Khan starrer Fan was ranked 14th

While Kabali (Telugu) was the most sold regional film, Natsamrat (Marathi) was the top rated

Thus, regional and even Hollywood films did well during 2016 apart from Bollywood, according to the ticketing brand.

This was directly mirrored through millions of ratings and reviews that BookMyShow received on its platform this year.

While Sunday remains the best day of the week to watch a film and Friday to Sunday are the preferred days by cinegoers, 2016 threw up a surprise when Monday proved to be the fourth most popular film-watching day in comparison to 2015 when Thursday had reserved this honour.

Viewers generally preferred a 7:00 pm show on any given day of the week but the most perfect day and time combination for movie watching was Saturday at 10:00 pm.

Only four Hindi and English films rated in the top 10, while al the other spots were grabbed by regional films

The trailer of Sultan was most rated on BookMyShow, followed by M S Dhoni- The Untold Story

This year, BookMyShow also compiled a list of its favourites in four categories:

Cult- Among others, a movie that left a long lasting impression on BookMyShow and the editor was Miss Peregrines’s Home for Peculiar Children; Debutants as 2016 saw some noteworthy performances by new talent such as Waluscha De Sousa in Fan opposite Shahrukh Khan and Harshvardhan Kapoor in Mirzya; Dialogue- Movie buffs came across quite a few memorable dialogues this year. One of them definitely was Aishwarya Rai’s “Main kisi ki zaroorat nahi, khwaish ban-na chahti hoon” from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil; and Movers and Shakers – Among the ones who definitely made a huge impact to the films was definitely Dwayne Johnson who made the headlines all year long in 2016 for his act in Moana.

BookMyShow Co-founder & Director Parikshit Dar said, “As we near the end of 2016, we decided to revisit their truly incredible 2016 journey with us and summarize their year at the movies. Our objective has always been to enrich the user experience by smartly using technology, while enhancing content discovery on BookMyShow. In this regard, our comprehensive reviews and ratings platform, which has also established itself as an industry yardstick to evaluate a film’s popularity, has played an instrumental role in further assisting viewers in making informed decisions while transacting on BookMyShow. The year 2017 already looks promising with some great line content already lined up and we are excited to embark upon the New Year with our users.”

Detailed results:

December 31, 2016
Leading Korean filmmaker impressed by Rajini ‘Robot’; keen to co-produce with India

NEW DELHI: Critically-acclaimed Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-Woon, whose action thriller ‘The Age of Shadows’ is the Closing Film for the International Film Festival of India, said it would “surely be great” to incorporate elements of cinema from both countries into each other’s films.

Addressing the media in Panaji, he said he would like to mix the elements of Indian cinema like humour and other real life emotions into Korean films, he added.

Kim said he has been greatly inspired by the stalwarts of Indian cinema like Satyajit Ray and his films like Pather Panchali and Aparajita among others. They have had a major impression on his style of film making. He would like to collaborate with the Indian film industry to make films on history and the Independence struggle in both the countries, he added.

Jee-woon, who led successful films like “I Saw the Devil”, “The Last Stand” and “The Good, the Bad, the Weird”, was highly impressed with the Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s “Robot” and would love to make a film like that some mix of historical drama.

Lead actor Song Kang-Ho said he is honoured that their film – which is also the South Korean entry in the Oscars – has been selected as the Closing Film at the IFFI 2016 and he is hopeful that the times to come would see more critically acclaimed films from both India and Korea being screened for the people in both the countries.

Set in Seoul and Shanghai, during the Japanese occupation in the late 1920s, the film depicts an intense drama that unfolds between a group of resistance fighters trying to bring in explosives from Shanghai to destroy key Japanese facilities in Seoul, on one side, and Japanese agents trying to stop them, on the other. A talented Korean-born Japanese police officer, who was previously in the independence movement himself, is thrown into a dilemma between the demands of his reality and the instinct to support a greater cause.

Kim said his film is not an attempt to show action and violence on the screen but to depict intense emotions associated with the Korean Independence struggle against the Japanese occupation. He informed that he has tried his best to show these emotions through special sound effects and the ability of his actors to emote them on the screen.

November 28, 2016