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Tag: Arun Rangachari

  • The Lunchbox bags Star Box Office India award

    The Lunchbox bags Star Box Office India award

    MUMBAI: Described as a defining film in Indian cinema, The Lunchbox which has won numerous domestic and international accolades in its slight over a year’s run at the box office won yet another award. It was recently conferred the Film with the Best Return on Investment award at the Star Box Office India 2014 awards. DAR Motion Pictures producer Vivek Rangachari and Guneet Monga from Sikhya Entertainment were present on the occasion to receive the award.

     

    The film is a story about a mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to a stranger in the dusk of his life. They build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality. The film is an example of global collaboration with studios from India, USA, France and Germany coming together to produce a film that strikes a chord with global audiences. One of the top-rated film by critics in India this year, it was distributed in the US by Sony Classic Pictures.

     

    Commenting on the award Rangachari said “When the script of The Lunchbox came to me, I was sure this movie will do great but the kind of response we have got from India as well as globally is way beyond all expectations. DAR is really happy to be a part of the project which has created a new path for Indian cinema nationally and globally.”
    Written and directed by Ritesh Batra, the film has released globally in various countries like UK, USA, New Zealand, France, Germany, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, China, Columbia, Malaysia, Italy, Israel, Hungary, Hong Kong, Japan, Poland, Middle East, Singapore amongst others. Furthermore, it has been showcased in various film festivals including The Cannes Film Festival, The Telluride Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival, The London Film Festival, etc. winning various awards like Viewers Choice Award at the International Critics’ Week, Best Film at The London Film Festival and The Filmfare awards, to name a few.

     

    Produced by Arun Rangachari of Dar Motion Pictures (India) and Guneet Monga and Anurag Kashyap of Sikhya Entertainment (India), The Lunchbox has been co-produced by Vivek Rangachari, Nina Lath Gupta of NFDC (India), Karan Johar (Dharma Productions), UTV Motion Pictures, Shanaab Alam, Sunil John, Nittin Keni, Karsten Stöter and Benny Drechsel of Rohfilm (Germany), Cedomir Kolar and Marc Baschet of ASAP Films (France), Danis Tanovic and executive produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher of CineMosaic, Irrfan and Ritesh Batra.

     

  • Micky Virus: There is a virus in my cinema ticket!

    Micky Virus: There is a virus in my cinema ticket!

    MUMBAI: Micky Virus attempts a contemporary theme of computers and hackers, weaving it around a murder mystery and bank fraud. The approach is kept on a lighter note for the most part, at least until the interval.

    Manish Paul (Micky) belongs to a group of computer geeks in Delhi, with each member specialising in some sort of computer trick. They are led by the Harvard educated Nitesh Pandey, referred to as professor. The other members of the group are Puja Gupta, Raghav Kakkar and Vikesh Kumar. However, Paul has mastered the art of hacking and can get into any computer anywhere in the world however safe and secure.

    Now, the ACP Manish Chaudhary and Inspector Varun Badola are looking for Paul not because hacking is a crime but because they need his expertise to crack a very tricky case. Two hackers of repute, both foreign citizens, have been found murdered in broad daylight and in a public place in the city with no obvious marks of harm. On investigation, Chaudhary learns that they were killed with a cyanide-tipped needle, both are non-Indians. Concluding that they were called to India to break into some computer, the cops want to enrol Paul to hack a site belonging to a gang of hackers.

    Paul is allergic to any kind of job; the idea of working for someone is not his thing. But, with a little arm-twisting by the cops and a sudden need to make a living, as he has fallen in love in the meanwhile, make him accept the assignment. Paul’s romantic interest is Eli Avram, an executive at an investment firm. By the time the romance is a month old, Eli makes her move and asks Paul to correct a computer error she made with a client’s account. So far neither the film nor its story has moved anywhere except the hero falling in love with a very willing heroine.

    Producer: Arun Rangachari, Vivek Rangachari.
    Director: Saurabh Varma.
    Cast: Manish Paul, Eli Avram, Manish Chaudhary, Varun Badola, Puja Gupta, Nitesh Pandey, Raghav Kakkar, Vikesh Kumar.

    By the end of the interval, the director finally feels the need to introduce some story in the film. Paul has been used by Eli to transfer rupees 100 crore from a government middleman’s account to another account. He has been framed. What is more, Eli is not around to tell him what happened because she has been killed the same way two hackers were killed earlier, with a poisoned needle. Paul finds out whose account the money is transferred to but that story ends as soon as it started as the man is killed in a very predictable road accident while being chased by Paul!

    All the key punching in computers of all kinds continues until Paul suspects the identity of at least one of the people behind the plot. And after 2 hour and 10 minutes of running around, dropping hints, punching computers and displaying lot of geekeryon screen, it is not the script that tells you the story but through verbal outpouring by the culprits that all the plots are revealed. Some hacker story!

    Micky Virus tries to fit in too much of effects without relevance or to any positive results. The film should have had an ideal length of 90 to 100 minutes. But it stretches by almost 30 minutes. The one time that the film generates some interest is when Eli is killed. Direction falls victim to a weak script. Paul acts the typical loud Delhi lad with set expressions throughout. Eli Avram is a misfit. Puja Gupta is good while Chaudhary and Badola are impressive.

  • DAR, Nikhil Advani to co-produce Mehrunisa

    DAR, Nikhil Advani to co-produce Mehrunisa

    MUMBAI: Nikhil Advani‘s Emmay Entertainment has decided to produce Sudhir Mishra‘s dream project Mehrunisa along with DAR Motion Pictures, the filmed entertainment division of DAR Media.

    Announcing the co-production DAR Capital Group Chairman Arun Rangachari said, "Mehrunisa is today among one of the most anticipated movies within the industry being propelled and helmed by some of the best in the business. This apart the movie perfectly matched our sensibilities of what we would define as good commercial cinema and we had absolutely no hesitation partnering in this project."

    Set in the beautiful locales of Lucknow, the Sudhir Mishra film is a romantic drama with light hearted moments that track the enmity of two bitter rivals and their past romance. Alternating between the present and the past, the story deals with their actions when the love of their life returns to their world.

    Commented Mishra, "Mehrunisa has lived with us for a very long time, and having a partner like DAR on board is an added strength. A project of this stature needs a strong foundation; DAR & Emmay provide exactly that & more."

    It may be noted that earlier UTV was to co-produce Mehrunisa. That was the reason why Amitabh Bachchan was hesitating to sign for the film. But now with UTV out of the scene, Mishra has acquired the veteran star‘s approval.