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Tag: Ashim Ahluwalia

  • Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation chooses L&K Saatchi & Saatchi India as advertising partner

    Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation chooses L&K Saatchi & Saatchi India as advertising partner

    Mumbai – Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation, formerly known as L&T Switchgear, has partnered with L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, a part of Publicis Groupe India, as its new advertising agency. It has unveiled a powerful campaign to enhance brand resonance and align with the new identity following its acquisition by Schneider Electric in 2020. The campaign seeks to strengthen the trust and heritage associated with the L&T Electrical & Automation brand under its new name – Lauritz Knudsen.

    Directed by renowned filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia and featuring an inspiring anthem by music maestro Shankar Mahadevan, the magnum opus film opens with a compelling shot of L&T Switchgear’s original signage. It then takes the viewer on a journey through houses, hospitals, agricultural lands and various geographies to show how L&T Switchgear has contributed to the country’s growth through its partnerships and products. The film seamlessly transitions between scenes via their products, finally culminating on the same sign, now under a new name: Lauritz Knudsen.

    Schneider Electric India VP- Global Marketing, CMO, Rajat Abbi said, “Lauritz Knudsen Electrical and Automation, Formerly L&T Switchgear, boasts a remarkable 70+ year legacy in powering the electrical industry and resonating with the heartbeat of the nation. Despite the name change, our core identity remains unchanged – it’s only the trust of our customers and partners that now carries a new name. Collaborating with L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, we’re happy that the team aligned with our values and helped us bring our vision to life. Effective storytelling is pivotal to any campaign, and our new brand film weaves together our entire journey and our key offering, beautifully. We eagerly anticipate the creativity that L&K Saatchi & Saatchi will bring to the table next.”

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CCO Rohit Malkani said, “One doesn’t often get to work with a musical genius, a renowned filmmaker and a voice that has moved millions, all in one TVC! That’s precisely what Lauritz Knudsen offered us in terms of an opportunity. The film has really been the icing on the cake after a toughly contested pitch. The challenge was to not just establish the new name and identity strongly but also tell the story of L&T Switchgear and its journey in building India. The result is a seamless piece of storytelling, weaving all practices in one symphony.”

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi executive director Atin Wahal said, “It is our privilege to partner with Lauritz Knudsen Electrical & Automation, a brand with a rich 70-year legacy in India, at this pivotal stage of their rebranding journey. At L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, we prioritise understanding our client’s business and delivering impactful results. This campaign underscores the brand’s legacy of trust while highlighting its continuous evolution towards a brighter future. The campaign is reassuring, uplifting and beautifully integrates the core values of both the brands.”

    The campaign has been rolled out across TV and digital platforms, ensuring broad reach and engagement. It also includes a partnership with India’s renowned game show Kaun Banega Crorepati. The campaign is being broadcast in multiple languages — Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada — demonstrating the brand’s pan-India presence.

  • Iconic music films mark 100th FD Zone screening this week

    Iconic music films mark 100th FD Zone screening this week

    NEW DELHI:  Eminent film based on the country’s music legends will mark the 100th FD Zone screening. The films include Ravi Shankar which is based on the Bharat Ratna sitarist and is directed by Pramod Pati. Others include Amir Khan by SNS Sastry, and on Bhimsen Joshi directed by the eminent Gulzar. The screening will begin on 12 July at 4 pm.

     

    All the three films are remarkably individualistic in style. Pramod Pati’s film carries his zany energy, while Sastry’s film is a sublime meditation of the arts of music and film-making. Gulzar’s film is a feature-length documentary which is a sensory delight.

     

    FD Zone commenced two years earlier with a three-day festival of Mani Kaul’s films at the FD office in Mumbai. The programme of weekly screenings began on 14 July 2012 with SNS Sastry’s I am Twenty and Ashim Ahluwalia’s John and Jane.

     

    Since then, films have been shown every Saturday from the archives of the division aimed at creating a dialogue on diverse film-making practices, with emphasis on the non-fiction genre.

     

    The FD Zone screenings are free and open to all and even independent films have been screened along with films from the FD archives.

     

    Filmmakers visiting Mumbai have shared their films, fellow filmmakers have curated programmes and the audience has supported and enthusiastically participated in creating this space. The programme has been running once a month in seven other cities – Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Madurai, Thrissur and Coimbatore, in partnership with local organisations.

     

    The films on Ravi Shankar and Amir Khan were made in 1970, while the film on Joshi was made in 1992.

  • Ashim Ahluwalia’s ‘Miss Lovely’ to release in India with 400 prints

    Ashim Ahluwalia’s ‘Miss Lovely’ to release in India with 400 prints

    MUMBAI: Miss Lovely directed by Ashim Ahluwalia has received a fair amount of appreciation for his work that is based on Bombay’s C-grade film industry in the ‘80s, but internationally. The director has struggled to release it in India. However, now the film would release in 400plus screens.

    The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and will release on 17 January. The story revolves around two brothers, Vicky and Sonu Duggal (Anil George and Nawazuddin) who are struggling to produce illegal sex-horror films in the mid 1980s, and their mutually destructive relationship with a struggling actress, Pinky (Niharika Singh).

    Talking about the film that earlier got an A-certificate from the Censor Board, Ahluwalia said, “It is a very adult film that explores sexuality and violence and the things that people do to each other when they are struggling to make it in a city. I’m happy that the censor board didn’t ban it and, instead, eventually opted to grant it very few cuts.”

  • Miss Lovely set for India, US release

    Miss Lovely set for India, US release

    MUMBAI: Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely was one of the most critically acclaimed films at the international festivals in 2012. It was premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard in 2012 and won best film in the India Gold competition at last year’s Mumbai Film Festival.

     

    But as is the case with most independent films, Miss Lovely too was grappling to find a space in the theatres. However, the film is up for a January release in India through a start-up distributor Easel Films and Eagle Movies.

     

    Easel is the brainchild of distributor executive Abhishek Gautam and filmmakers Bikramjit Gupta, Atanu Mukherjee and Pooja Gupte. “We hope to release across 200-300 screens,” said Abhishek Gautam in a release.

     

    “As a team we want to focus on distributing independent cinema in India,” he added.

     

    Meanwhile, former IFC Films executive Ryan Werner and distribution agency Required Viewing are working on the US release of Miss Lovely, which is scheduled for March 2014. Cinetic Media’s FilmBuff is handling digital distribution for North America.

  • India to make major presence at Rome Film Festival

    India to make major presence at Rome Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: The Jury of the Cimema XXI section of the Rome Film Festival that commences tomorrow and will be on till 17 November also has an Indian filmmaker, Ashim Ahluwalia on board.

     

    Ashim Ahluwalia came to the limelight with his debut film John & Jane that had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the Berlin Film Festival. It was the first Indian film to be distributed by HBO Films. His first feature-length film — Miss Lovely premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard section.

     

    An outsider with respect to the Bollywood cinema system, Ashim Ahluwalia is part of the new generation of Indian directors who avoid working with the stars of Hindi films.

     

    The Jury is chaired by American director and artist Larry Clark and other members include Yuri Ancarani (Italy), Laila Pakalnina (Latvia) and Michael Wahrmann (Uruguay).

     

    On the occasion of the 100 Years of Indian Cinema, a restored version of Kamal Swaroop’s 1988 cult classic Om Dar Ba Dar will be screened out of competition in CinemaXXI.

     

    The two Indian films competing in the CinemaXXI section are Prantik Basu’s Makara and Kamal Swaroop’s Rangbhoomi. The Seventh Walk (Saatvin Sair) by Amit Dutta will be the closing film section.

    CinemaXXI is a competitive section devoted to new trends in world cinema and focuses on works that reflect the continuous reinvention of cinema in the contemporary audiovisual landscape. CinemaXXI hosts feature-length, medium-length, and short films.

  • India to make major presence at Rome Film Festival

    India to make major presence at Rome Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: The Jury of the Cimema XXI section of the Rome Film Festival that commences tomorrow and will be on till 17 November also has an Indian filmmaker, Ashim Ahluwalia on board.

    Ashim Ahluwalia came to the limelight with his debut film John & Jane that had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the Berlin Film Festival. It was the first Indian film to be distributed by HBO Films. His first feature-length film — Miss Lovely premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard section.

    An outsider with respect to the Bollywood cinema system, Ashim Ahluwalia is part of the new generation of Indian directors who avoid working with the stars of Hindi films.

    The Jury is chaired by American director and artist Larry Clark and other members include Yuri Ancarani (Italy), Laila Pakalnina (Latvia) and Michael Wahrmann (Uruguay).

    On the occasion of the 100 Years of Indian Cinema, a restored version of Kamal Swaroop’s 1988 cult classic Om Dar Ba Dar will be screened out of competition in CinemaXXI.

    The two Indian films competing in the CinemaXXI section are Prantik Basu’s Makara and Kamal Swaroop’s Rangbhoomi. The Seventh Walk (Saatvin Sair) by Amit Dutta will be the closing film section.

    CinemaXXI is a competitive section devoted to new trends in world cinema and focuses on works that reflect the continuous reinvention of cinema in the contemporary audiovisual landscape. CinemaXXI hosts feature-length, medium-length, and short films.

  • NFDC Film Bazaar ’13 Calls for Entries for Work-in-Progress Lab and Viewing Room

    NFDC Film Bazaar ’13 Calls for Entries for Work-in-Progress Lab and Viewing Room

    MUMBAI, Friday, 06 September, 2013: Film Bazaar 2013, the promotional arm of NFDC (National Film Development Corporation), announces today, the call for entries for its the Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab and Viewing Room programs. The submission deadline for entries is September 30th 2013. South Asia’s Global Film Market, will see its seventh edition this year, held from November 20-24, 2013 at the Goa Marriott Resort alongside the International Film Festival of India 2013.

    In the WIP Lab five projects in their rough cut stage are selected to be presented to a panel of international film experts for their feedback. Feature length films and documentaries at the rough cut stage are invited to apply.

    The Viewing Room aims at presenting films seeking finishing funds, world sales, distribution partners & film festivals to investors, world sales agents and film festival programmers. Films of all genres and lengths in rough or final cut are invited to apply. Here films are viewed on individual computer terminals in private booths. These terminals provide details of the film as well as contact the director or producer.

    The films that were a part of the previous Work-in-Progress Labs have had their world premier at leading international films festivals and some even successful theatrical releases.

    c’s Miss Lovely (World Premiere, Cannes Film Festival in official competition section-Un Certain Regard), Manjeet Singh’s Mumbai Cha Raja and Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus (World Premiere, Toronto Film Festival 2012), and Ajay Bahl’s BA Pass (World Premiere, 12th Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival), Gyan Correa’s The Good Road (National award for Best Gujarati Film)

    Visit www.filmbazaarindia.com for more details and application forms, and for further queries write to: films@filmbazaarindia.com

  • Ad Vitam acquires French rights of Miss Lovely

    Ad Vitam acquires French rights of Miss Lovely

    MUMBAI: French distribution company Ad Vitam has acquired French rights of Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely.

    Set in the lower depths of Bombay’s C grade film industry, Miss Lovely follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sex horror films in the mid-1980s. The film is set to premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes Film Festival on 24 May.

    Ramarked Mackey, “We are happy to make Ad Vitam our French partner in this extraordinarily vivid tale!”

    Films in the Ad Vitam stable include Take Shelter by Jeff Nichols, Farewell My Queen by Benoit Jacquot, Miss Bala by Gerardo Naranjo and Bull Head by Michael R. Roskam.

  • Fortissimo Films acquires international rights of Miss Lovely

    Fortissimo Films acquires international rights of Miss Lovely

    MUMBAI: Days before the Cannes Film Festival, Amsredam-based Fortissimo Films has acquired the international rights of director Ashim Ahluwalia‘s Miss Lovely.

    The film will have its premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at 65th Cannes Film Festival. Taking advantage of the situation, Fortissimo will also market the film at the festival.

    Set in the lower depths of Bombay‘s “C” grade film industry, Miss Lovely follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sex horror films in the mid-1980s.

    Commented Fortissimo in its official website, “The film gets under the skin of the Bollywood underground, an audacious cinema with wild cinemascope compositions, lurid art direction, rollicking background soundtracks and gut-wrenching melodrama.”

    The production, sales and distribution company has been behind films like Wong Kar Wai‘s In the Mood for Love. It had earlier acquired international rights of Indian director Anand Gandhi‘s Ship of Theseus which is currently under production.

  • Miss Lovely to represent India at Cannes

    Miss Lovely to represent India at Cannes

    MUMBAI: Ashim Ahluwalia‘s ‘Miss Lovely‘ will represent India in the non-competitive section of the 65th Cannes Film Festival this year.

    The film will be showcased along with 16 others from different countries in the ‘Un Certain Regard‘ section.

    The film is set in the lower depths of Mumbai‘s ‘C‘ grade film industry and follows the story of two brothers who are producers of sleazy horror films in the mid-1980s.

    However, there are no Indian films that feature in the competition section of the festival which has as many as 22 movies including ‘Moonrise Kingdom‘, ‘Cosmopolis‘, ‘The Paperboy‘ and ‘Reality‘ from across the globe.

    The festival will be held from 16 to 27 May.