ITV

Tag: Barfi!

  • Priyanka Chopra signs with WME talent agency

    Priyanka Chopra signs with WME talent agency

    NEW DELHI: Actress Priyanka Chopra, who stars as the lead in  ABC’s FBI television drama Quantico, has moved from talent management agency CAA to William Morris Endeavor.

     

    Chopra, who had been with CAA since 2012, was introduced to the agency by her longtime manager Anjula Acharia-Bath.

     

    Acharia-Bath will continue to manage Chopra.

     

    Chopra plays the lead in Quantico, which already has been picked up for a full season. She read 26 scripts under her ABC Studios talent deal before handpicking the role of Alex Parrish, an FBI recruit accused of causing a terrorist attack on Grand Central.

     

    A former Miss World (2000), Chopra has starred in more than 50 Hindi movies and has received critical acclaim for her performances in movies like Fashion, Mary Kom and Barfi! amongst others. Her forthcoming Hindi films include Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic drama Baajirao Mastani and Prakash Jha’s Jai Gangajaal.

     

    On Indian television, Chopra also hosted a season of Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi on Colors in 2010, for which she received the Indian Telly Awards for Most Impactful Debut on Television.

     

    Chopra is also actively pursuing her music career and has recorded albums in English. Her single “In My City” was chosen as the NFL Network’s 2013 Thursday Night Football theme song. Later, she recorded a duet with Pitbull and her cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” was featured in a nationwide Beats By Dre campaign.

  • Spuul inks deal with UTV; to stream ‘PK’

    Spuul inks deal with UTV; to stream ‘PK’

    MUMBAI: Online streaming service for Indian cinema and television content, Spuul has added the highest grossing Hindi movie of all time PK in its catalogue. Along with PK, subscribers can also watch other UTV titles like Rang De Basanti, Jodhaa Akbar, Kai Po Che, Barfi, Dev D and Chennai Express amongst others.

     

    All movies will be available across platforms like web, mobile (iOS, Android), Smart TV (Samsung, Panasonic, LG) Airplay on iOS, and Chromecast on Android. Spuul will be offering these movies to subscribers in India, UK, Middle East and other major territories around the world.

     

    Spuul global CEO Subin Subaiah said, “As one of the leading providers of Bollywood content to viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US and Middle East, we are constantly investing in growing our library by adding new, popular and in many cases, offbeat titles to our list. PK’s addition to our rich UTV catalogue is yet another step in this direction.”

  • Star World to air Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Quantico’ in India

    Star World to air Priyanka Chopra’s ‘Quantico’ in India

    MUMBAI: Priyanka Chopra’s debut international television series, ABC’s Quantico will air in India on Star World & Star World HD.

     

    Quantico will be available to Indian audiences almost immediately after its US airing, which is slated for 27 September, 2015. Star World will be launching the show with great fanfare later this year.

     

    Produced by Disney–ABC Television Group’s television production division, Quantico has created a lot of buzz since the launch of its first trailer in May this year.

     

    A Star India official spokesperson said, “This is a first for Bollywood as well as for India where an A-List actor like Priyanka Chopra is playing a lead in an international TV series. There is a lot of chatter and excitement in the country for this show and we are thrilled that Star World will give this magnum-opus show an imposing launch platform that it rightly deserves.”

     

    On the launch of her first international TV venture, Chopra said, “Quantico is my first international TV venture and I am truly proud of it. I’m equally excited that the Star Network will showcase Quantico as part of its primetime line-up on Star World and Star World HD in India, and I couldn’t think of a better launchpad in India for my TV debut. What makes it even more special for me is that it will be real-time.”

     

    “Audience response to our first trailer has been fantastic and I am looking forward to working with the Star TV team to create a memorable launch campaign for the show. Being part of a major TV show like this has been a whole new experience for me. I’m looking forward to a weekly date with viewers from across the world, and I hope this is just the beginning of a long lasting relationship with Star Network,” Chopra added.

     

    Disney India VP and head of marketing and distribution Amrita Pandey said, “Quantico is one of the most exciting shows in ABC Studio’s portfolio this year. We are happy for the show to be on Star’s network and this is a great addition to our existing shows on Star like Castle, How to Get Away with Murder and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We are really happy to extend our long standing association with Priyanka Chopra from celluloid to a global TV show. After collaborating with us on incredible movies like Fashion, Kaminey and Barfi!, in which she played remarkable characters, we hope that Priyanka’s character in Quantico too, will resonate with television audiences.”

     

    Quantico, which is touted to be one of the biggest shows of fall 2015, will also be the first American show to have an Indian-national playing the lead.

  • Ranbir Kapoor unveils first look of Ronnie Screwvala’s book

    Ranbir Kapoor unveils first look of Ronnie Screwvala’s book

    MUMBAI: Ronnie Screwvala’s entrepreneurial journey is an inspiration, to say the least. Founder of one of India’s largest media & entertainment conglomerates UTV, Screwvala has now penned a book on his journey called Dream with your Eyes Open. 

     

    Published by Rupa, Ranbir Kapoor unveiled the cover of the book, which will be on stands from 2 April, 2015. In the meanwhile, online bookings have commenced for for Dream With Your Eyes Open.

     

    Encompassing Screwvala’s journey from cable TV to toothbrushes manufacturing, from theatre to media and entertainment, Dream with your Eyes Open, aims to champion entrepreneurship in the country.

     

    “Ronnie is an inspiration for everyone who dares to make their dreams come true. His conviction in an out-of-the-box film like Barfi made me realize that when belief meets innovation, it creates magic! I am delighted to launch the cover of his book and look forward to its release. I will definitely be buying the first day, first copy,” said Kapoor.

     

    Screwvala added, “Dream With Your Eyes Open shares failures and triumphs, thoughts and anecdotes of my journey. It details out my vast experiences and myriad lessons learned from more than two decades of building some successful (and some not-so-successful) businesses. This book is about ‘it can be done’, not ‘I did it’. It’s all possible. Just dream your own dream—and when you do, dream with your eyes open.”

     

    Demonstrating an innate ability to merge creativity with commerce, Screwvala is credited with pioneering Cable TV in India, building one of the largest toothbrush manufacturing operations – before founding UTV, which he later divested to The Walt Disney Company.

     

    Onto his second innings, Screwvala is driven by his interest in championing entrepreneurship in India, and is focused on building his next set of ground up businesses in high growth and impact sectors. His more recent commitment to being a first mover in sports has made him lend his support to Kabaddi and football.

  • Fox Star India appoints Shikha Kapur as chief marketing officer

    Fox Star India appoints Shikha Kapur as chief marketing officer

    MUMBAI: Fox Star India has announced the appointment of Shikha Kapur as chief marketing officer, who will additionally head syndication as well.

     

    In her new role, Kapur will be marketing the entire studio portfolio across Hollywood, Bollywood and Tamil. She will be reporting to Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh and will join on 15 May. 

     

    With more than a decade of experience in having marketed over 100 films and winning multiple awards, Kapur has conceptualised the marketing campaigns for Chennai Express, Rowdy Rathore, Barfi!, Raajneeti,  Rang De Basanti and many more.

     

    She has also been responsible for the campaigns of movies like Dev.D, No one Killed Jessica, Kai Po Che, ABCD, Delhi Belly, Peepli Live, Fashion and Kaminey.  One of the main architects behind the creation of the UTV Motion Pictures brand, Kapur has created a niche for herself in the Hindi film industry. 

     

    Prior to joining Fox Star India, Kapur was heading marketing for studios, broadcasting and the interactive business at Disney India and served as the vice president of the company.

     

    Commenting on her appointment, Fox Star Studios, India CEO Vijay Singh said, “Shikha has proven herself to be the best marketing professional in the film business  in India. A remarkable strategist, innovator and an effective team leader, she has played a critical role in driving a series of successful marketing campaigns that have set new trends in the industry. Her depth of experience along with her relationship in the industry combine wonderfully well with the vision we have of making Fox Star Studios a premiere studio in India. Shikha will be working closely with me and the senior management as we embark on this exciting journey.”

  • Red Chillies appoints Gaurav Verma as chief revenue officer

    Red Chillies appoints Gaurav Verma as chief revenue officer

    MUMBAI: Red Chillies Entertainment has appointed Gaurav Verma as its new chief revenue officer. 

     

    Verma, comes with an immense experience in exhibition and distribution. In the past seven years he has spearheaded the distribution of over 100 films in six major languages. Verma has been involved with some of the biggest and path breaking films like Raajneeti, Paan Singh Tomar, Delhi Belly, Barfi, Ship Of Theseus and Chennai Express.

     

    In his previous role as Disney executive director theatrical distribution, Verma was handling worldwide theatrical distribution. Before Disney, Gaurav was head of distribution at PVR Pictures. 

     

    Making the announcement, RCE CEO Venky Mysore said, “As we work towards becoming a full-fledged studio, senior executive, with proven track records, such as Gaurav will play key roles. Our main endeavour is to develop high quality content and to disseminate it in ways that consumers are demanding it.”

     

  • Priyanka Chopra, the 500 crore heroine

    Priyanka Chopra, the 500 crore heroine

    MUMBAI: Establishing herself as a force to reckon with, Priyanka Chopra couldn’t be more excited as her recent release Krrish 3 makes its way into the 200 crore club, making this her 4th  film to surpass the 100 crore mark.

     

    While Don 2 went on to garner an approximate 107 crores in the domestic market, Agneepath grossed over 133 crores and Barfi had cash registers ringing to the tune of 175 crores worldwide, her recent Krrish 3 has raked in Rs 255 crore worldwide in just 12 days and is still going steady at the ticket windows, reiterating the fact that Priyanka Chopra – the 500 crore heroine now stands one of the most sought after actresses in the industry given her tryst at the box office.

     

    An industry source said, “Apart from working with some of the biggest actors in the industry, Priyanka has also proved herself as a powerhouse of talent. Taking into consideration the business that four of her films have done in the last two years, she is one of the most bankable stars in the industry, not to mention amongst the most successful.”

     

    Talking about her success, Priyanka Chopra said, “It’s a great moment. I feel very proud of being a part of such successful films. Box Office is the King”.
    It’s been a busy week for Priyanka, apart from being flooded with congratulatory calls for Krrish 3, her recent special song in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram-Leela, Ram Chahe Leela… has also been well appreciated.

  • Actors Chandrashekhar and Manoj Kumar honoured at Jagran Film Festival

    Actors Chandrashekhar and Manoj Kumar honoured at Jagran Film Festival

    Veteran Chandrashekhar whose film career spans from the black and white era to the early part of this century received the Grand Prize for lifetime contribution to the cinematic arts while thespian Manoj Kumar was honoured for his work as the Icon at the Jagran Film Festival which concluded in Mumbai over the weekend.

     

    The 90-year old Chandrashekhar has acted in 186 films commencing in 1947 with Arsi. Beginning as an actor in Fashion in 1957, Manoj Kumar went on to act in or make a large number of films, many of them with patriotic themes which got him the nickname of Bharat Kumar. The government also honoured him with the Padma Shri.

     

    Versatile thespian Sridevi bagged the best actor (female) award for her comeback film English Vinglish, while the best actor award was shared by Ranbir Kapoor for Barfi! and Farhan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Trupti Bhoir got a special mention as actor (female) for the Marathi film Touring Talkies produced by her and directed by Gajendra Ahire.

     

    The best film award went to the film Kai Po Che!; which also bagged the best director award for Abhishek Kapoor and the background score award for Hitesh Sonik.

     

    Among those who gave away the awards were the versatile Kamal Haasan, veteran filmmaker N Chandra, producer-director Sudhir Mishra, Tushaar Kapoor and Divya Dutta. Festival Advisor Manoj Srivastava was also present.

     

    The programme presented by Kunal Kapoor and Huma Quraishi also included performances by the group Mati Baani, a World Music band combining elements of Hindustani Classical with various styles of Folk music and New age sounds

     

    Ship of Theseus received the maximum awards: best debut director award for Anand Gandhi, the Jury award for best actor for Neeraj Kabi, the cinematography award for Pankaj Kumar, and the sound designer award for Gabor ifj. Erdélyi.

     

    The special jury award was presented to Vishwaroopam for raising the bar of mainstream Indian cinema to an international level. The film also received the best editor award for Mahesh Narayanan.

     

    Aditi Singh Sharma received the best female singer award for the title song in the film Heroine while actor-singer Ayushman Khurrana received the male singer award for the film Vicky Donor. The best music award was given to Pritam for the film Barfi! for his brilliant compositions.

     

    Vicky Donor also bagged the best screenplay award for Juhi Chaturvedi.

     

    Kaushal Oza won the best short film award for his film After Glow.

     

    A special highlight of the festival was the presence of Max Lefrancq Lumiere, grandson of Louis Lumiere, who screened the first-ever films made by the Lumiere Brothers in 1895 in Paris. Irrfan Khan and Dilip Tahil were among those present.

     

    A total of fifteen cities were covered by the 4th edition of the Jagran Film Festival, which marked one hundred years of Indian cinema.

     

    The Festival commenced in Delhi in July and culminated in Mumbai from 24-29 September. In between it travelled to Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Indore, and Bhopal.

     

    The various sections included the Jagran Classics of Indian films to mark a centenary of cinema, international and national shorts, the country focus on Korea, and World Panorama, and Indian showcase.

     

    The centenary celebration included screening of films like Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro,  Satyajit Ray’s  Apu Trilogy , Ramesh Sippy’s  Sholay , Bimal Roy’s Madhumati and Do Bigha Zameen, Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Mani Ratnam’s  Nayagan, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anand, Vijay Anand’s  Guide, K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam among others.

     

    A special feature this year was Cinema for the Sellers – an Indian competition for Advertising Films.
    Other sections include World Panorama, Indian Showcase, Indian Premieres, and Jagran Shorts.

  • Kapoor and Basu come together to begin their production house Picture Shuru Productions

    Kapoor and Basu come together to begin their production house Picture Shuru Productions

    MUMBAI: After the success of the critically acclaimed ‘Barfi‘ which commercially too, raked in nearly Rs 120 crore worldwide, the successful ‘jodi‘ of Anurag Basu and Bollywood‘s youngest heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor have yet again come together. However it‘s not a movie we are referring to here, as the duo is going a step further in strengthening their ties by opening their own production house, ‘Picture Shuru Productions‘.

    As reported by Desimartini, Ranbir and Anurag locked onto this name for their banner house from the lyrics of a song in ‘Barfi‘. Apparently they were hooked to the word, since they first heard the recording of the song.

    Evidently, the movies to be produced under this new banner would see Ranbir Kapoor in the lead while Basu would be once again be seen behind the camera. Their very first venture too has been set, named ‘Jagga Jasoos‘, where the audience will see Ranbir playing the role of a sleuth, named Jagga. The movie is expected to go on floors by this year end.

    Ranbir meanwhile remains busy with a series of movies lined up with Anurag Kashyup. He is currently shooting for Abhinav Kashyap‘s ‘Besharam‘ and will follow it up with ‘Bombay Velvet‘. Kapoor and Kashyup are also trying to finalise the details of the Kishore Kumar‘s biopic, which is one of the dream projects of Basu.

  • UTV’s Barfi! is the first Indian film to get a mainstream theatrical release in Turkey

    UTV’s Barfi! is the first Indian film to get a mainstream theatrical release in Turkey

    MUMBAI: Barfi! has earned the distinction of being the first Indian movie to get a mainstream release in the Turkey market, in close to 40 screens on 10 May in the country.

    Directed by Anurag Basu, the film has award winning performances by Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D‘Cruz and music composed by Pritam.

    "Turkey is a place where my grandfather has a great following even today. To see my film getting a wide theatrical release in the same country is a huge compliment. I am very excited about this," said Ranbir Kapoor – lead actor and winner of Best Actor award at Filmfare, Screen, Zee Cine, Apsara Producer‘s Guild awards for his role in Barfi!

    "I am extremely happy that a story I have lived with over so many years, has in the last few months, received global recognition and now is geared towards greater opportunities including mainstream releases in non-traditional markets," says Anurag Basu, who has won several accolades at all major awards in the country for his direction of Barfi!.

    "At UTV, great stories are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that a memorable story finds resonance wherever it travels and Barfi! is one such story, which has appealed to a global audience much like its success in India, North America, UK, Middle East. After its screening at the prestigious Busan and Marrakech film festival last year, the film continues to receive accolades from all quarters including the Grand Jury Award at the prestigious Okinawa Film Festival in Japan. Barfi! is the widest release for any Hindi film in Turkey and we are thrilled at the prospect of around 40 theatres showcasing Barfi! This is as wide a release as Hindi movies get in one of our largest markets like Middle East", said Disney UTV international distribution, syndication and Disney media distribution executive director Amrita Pandey.

    Turkey‘s film exhibitors Cinemajestic Firat Dilbaz said, "The trailer was truly wonderful and the film an even more beautiful experience for us. For many years Turkish audiences have not watched Indian movies in theatres and we are excited to have a critical and commercial success such as Barfi! as the first on this scale. We are currently trailering the film in over 200 screens and the response from the audiences has been extremely encouraging. The story is truly heart-warming and we believe it will touch a chord with our audience irrespective of language and the location where it was created."

    The film witnessed immense success at the box office as well as critical acclaim in the form of top honours at all key awards in India this year and is expected to echo the same success in newer markets. The film was India‘s official entry to the Academy Awards 2012.