Tag: Drive

  • We want to be future-protected: Netflix’s Aashish Singh

    We want to be future-protected: Netflix’s Aashish Singh

    MUMBAI: Netflix India’s recent film Yeh Ballet has received critical appreciation. It is a story of two boys from humble backgrounds who go on to become dancers. On the contrary, critics did not hold a very high view of Drive. The streaming service has kicked off March with another film Guilty. Along with churning out premium episodic content like Sacred Games, Jamtara, the ambition of Netflix to make a mark in digital original films is very evident.

    At Indiantelevision.com's The Content Hub 2020, Netflix India original film director Aashish Singh in a candid chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari spoke about Netflix’s upcoming diverse slate of films to offer its subscribers content for every mood.

    Singh said that they are looking for content creators to create the best work of their lives. The platform is looking at a very diverse slate including films that can work across all genres for any audience that they can watch, anytime, anywhere. Singh is of the view that good stories could come from anywhere and can be watched everywhere. 

    “We do look at quality in terms of the technical requirements of a film, in terms of the cameras because we want to be future-protected. We want our films to be watched even ten years later, for that matter. So definitely quality is something that we definitely look at. We want to work with the best creative talent,” Singh commented.

    Netflix is also expanding its funnel by getting to know the Indian market better. 

    "So you will get to see a very diverse state going forward. And we have a wonderful slate already that's in process for 2021 and 2022,” he added.

    Singh also reaffirmed that the platform is not only looking at big names and they are working with ten new directors, nine new writers, eight women as new writers and directors this year itself. He added that Netflix is hungry for people who have not yet been discovered. According to him, those are the people who can come up with shows like Jamtara.

    When it comes to filmmaking, Netflix helps filmmakers throughout the process right from pre-production. The streaming service has a production team, finance team, post production team, VFX team that supports the entire filmmaking process. He notes that it helps in quality production. He also mentioned that they support creators to make it the best experience for them but they do not interfere in the process.

    “I liked Yeh Ballet a lot. And it's a very authentic story which talks about dance form that's not very common. The feedback that I got from a lot of people is that they didn't know much about ballet but after they saw the film, they want their kids to probably go and learn ballet,” he added. He also stated that Drive has also performed well on the platform.

    Although Netflix has not announced any animated content in terms of films, the platform is exploring things that could do well in the animation space and is in talks with a lot of people who are creating animation content in the country.

    Talking about challenges, Singh mentions that awareness of Netflix is an issue in India. Although the tier one cities and most of the urban people know about Netflix, Singh thinks they still have a long way to go as far as reaching out to the tier two cities or tier three cities. 

  • Big Boy Toyz partner with Dharmatic Entertainment for Netflix

    Big Boy Toyz partner with Dharmatic Entertainment for Netflix

    MUMBAI: Dharmatic Entertainment and Big Boy Toyz, Delhi’s most trusted pre-owned luxury cars hub, partnered for former’s action film on Netflix. The film, Drive, showcased some of the best keeps of Bog Boy Toyz that were used in many high-speed chases and over-the-top stunts.

    Karan Johar has had a track record of making top-notch films and telling stories that resonate with people from all around the world. As for Netflix and Dharma Productions, their relationship is even stronger. Both Netflix and Johar have been working together since 2018, starting with the film Lust Stories and going on to create other much-loved films such as Ghost Stories and Guilty.

    Big Boy Toyz Founder and MD Jatin Ahuja said, “For us, this was a breakthrough since partnering with Karan who has an innate sense of what people want to see on screen helped us offer our best performances. I was and I am super excited about this opportunity and the kind of possibilities it holds for our franchise in the Bollywood industry.”

    Written and directed by Tarun Mansukhani and led by Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez, the film is spin chilling rough thriller that can drive even the most undemanding Bollywood fan up the divider with its blend of speed, lust for money and crazy pursuits. It is the kind of film where a variety of luxury cars have no issue in placing the actors and actresses on-screen in the shade. A sizeable level of the film's chief characters is either renowned racers in their big toys or are individuals who hold the aspiration become one.

    In all, it is a wild combination of India’s greatest storytelling franchise and a popular retail brand for pre-owned luxury cars and the same could be see in the movie sequences as well.

  • Netflix announces ‘Drive’, first original film with Dharma Productions

    Netflix announces ‘Drive’, first original film with Dharma Productions

    MUMBAI: Netflix announced that Dharma Productions’ Drive will premiere as a Netflix Film exclusively on the service around the world. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, the action-thriller heist film is Netflix’s first original film with Dharma Productions.

    The fast-paced film, high on action, stars Jacqueline Fernandes, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Pankaj Tripathi, Vibha Chhibber, Sapna Pabbi and Vikramjeet Virk. The film’s edgy car chases, interspersed with high octane music, make Drive a thorough entertainer.

    "At Netflix, we want to be a home for films across genres that delight our viewers in India and around the world. As we rapidly build our diverse film catalogue, we are excited to work on our first-ever film with Dharma Productions and bring Drive to Netflix. It is a complete entertainer led by a brilliantly talented cast and crew and is filled with foot tapping music and pulse-pounding action and drama. We can't wait for our members globally to enjoy it," Netflix India international original film director Srishti Behl Arya said.

    “Our vision for Drive was to make a film that elevates the genre of action-heist films. With nail-biting chases and action sequences, fronted by a spectacular cast, Drive combines the best of Bollywood storytelling with international production quality. I’m thrilled to partner Netflix once again in bringing this incredibly fun film to millions of fans of the action genre around the world,” Dharma Productions’ Karan Johar said.

  • Rishtey Cineplex, Rishtey renamed as Colors Cineplex, Colors Rishtey

    Rishtey Cineplex, Rishtey renamed as Colors Cineplex, Colors Rishtey

    MUMBAI: Harnessing the power of brand Colors, Viacom18 has brought its 24-hour Hindi movie channel, Rishtey Cineplex and the Hindi general entertainment channel, Rishtey under the Colors umbrella. Assuming their new identities 1 March onwards, the channels will be known as Colors Cineplex and Colors Rishtey respectively. Amped up with new content, the channels will be establishing themselves as premium urban entertainment destinations available on a pay model.

    After having positioned itself as the #1 mass Hindi movie channel,  Colors Cinpelex in its reinvigorated avatar will woo the viewers with its powerful line-up of blockbuster films and content-around-content formats. Colors   Rishtey on the other hand, will showcase recent and popular shows from  Colors’ vast content library, like Naagin Season3, Dance Deewane, Bigg Boss, Madhubala along with newly introduced original series like Navrangi Re! and Hum Saaf Saaf Hai.

    Speaking about the new identity of the channels, said Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Head – Hindi Mass Entertainment & Kids TV Network, Viacom18, “The idea is to expand the aegis of brand  Colors   and strengthen Viacom18’s Hindi Mass Entertainment portfolio drawing in more synergies. Colors has established itself as a household brand in just a decade and it was a logical move to consolidate the mass entertainment channels under its iconic clout.”

    “The new identity of the channels with golden hues and the archetype petal will convey the continuing evolution and growth of our business while also fortifying our bond with the viewers of the Colors Family. So far, the trend and consumption on both the channels have been extremely encouraging and now with the scaled-up movie library along with its premium positioning, we are confident of breaking new ground,” she further added.

    Colors Cineplex has acquired the most anticipated films of the year like, Brahmastra, Student of the Year 2, RAW, Drive, The Body, Thackeray, Fraud Saiyaan and many more. The line-up also includes Hindi dubbed version of blockbuster regional films like Mani Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam(Tamil), Kadaikutty Singam(Tamil), Kavacham(Telugu), Junga(Tamil), Charlie Chaplin(Tamil) and Seetharam Kalyana (Kannada). The existing library also contains compelling films like Padmaavat, Bajirao Mastani, Andhadhun, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Om Shanti Om, Main Hoon Na, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Gabbar is Back, Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, Special Chabbis, Airlift, Rangoon, Force 2, R…Rajkumar, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani,  Kapoor and Sons, Ki & Ka, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, Bazaar amongst others.

    Apart from the morning, matinee, prime-time and weekend line-up of impressive Hindi films and hot-selling South Indian dubbed content,  Colors Cineplex will showcase byte-sized content  like, ‘Teetar mausi’ – a gossip section that will spill the beans on celebrities; ‘Dialoguebaazi’, where popular dialogues from various films will be mashed up using animated kinetic typography. In addition to this there will be vignettes of various film festivals, behind the scene trivia and coverage of exclusive RedCarpet extravaganzas amongst many other interesting concepts. 

  • Francis Lai to receive lifetime achievement award

    Francis Lai to receive lifetime achievement award

    NEW DELHI: Renowned French composer Francis Lai is all set to receive the world Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards’s focus on France.

     

    The 14th World Soundtrack Awards and Concert will take place on October 25 at Kuipke in Ghent on the concluding day of the 41st Film Fest Gent which will begin on October 14 and will focus on France. 

     

    Francis Lai (born in 1932 in Nice) became world famous with A man and a woman (1966) which is his first score for a film by Claude Lelouch, for whom he went on to compose over 30 scores during the next four decades.

    The Oscar winning film A man and a Woman launched the career of Lelouch and made Lai a celebrated French film composer with an international career. Thanks to the ‘chabadabada’ tune, the music of A man and a woman topped the music charts. In this film, as well as in the follow-up Live for Life (1967), he introduced the authentic use of both English and French chansons sung by Pierre Barouh and Nicole Croisille, which became an innovative, refreshing and romantic sound in French film music.

    In 1970 Lai scored his biggest international hit with the soundtrack of the phenomenal blockbuster Love Story (1970) by Arthur Hiller. He achieved his biggest cult success with the film Bilitis (1977) by softcore sex photographer David Hamilton. Other acclaimed films for which he composed the music are Rider on the Rain by Rene Clement, Anima Persa by Dino Risi, My New Partner by Claude Zidi and Dark Eyes by Nikita Mikhalkov.

    During the WSA concert a selection of his work will be performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brossé.

    In addition, Jeff Neve’s captivating music for the prestigious Flemish drama series In Flanders Fields will also be receiving some deserved attention that evening. With this score, Jef Neve proved that he is not only a gifted jazz musician but also a very inspiring composer of many talents. He will be performing a selection of the music he wrote, accompanied by footage from the series.

    Confirmed central guests and performers at the World Soundtrack Awards are American composer Cliff Martinez (Drive, Only God Forgives, Contagion and Spring Breakers) and 2013 WSA Discovery Award winner Dan Romer (Beasts of the Southern Wild).

  • DD on studio upgradation drive

    DD on studio upgradation drive

    New Delhi: A total of 39 studio centres in the country have been taken up for full digitization as part of the ongoing scheme of digitization of Doordarshan’s Network, Parliament has been informed.

    State of the art digital equipment would therefore be made available at the studio centres in the north east states on a par with other similar studio centres in the country.

    Of these 39, eleven are in the north east states: three in Assam, two in Meghalaya, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The others are: five in Uttar Pradesh; two each in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal; and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Puducherry.

    Five Digital Satellite News Gathering Units (DSNG) have also been provided at Guwahati to cater to the coverage requirements of north east states. DSNG Units are deployed at different places in north east states as per coverage requirements. As part of the ongoing schemes, four additional DSNG Units for North East States are envisaged to be procured.

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati sources said upgradation/modernization which includes induction of new technologies, replacement of old aging equipment and augmentation/upgradation facilities of all Doordarshan Kendras including those located in north-east region is a continuous process and schemes in this regard are formulated and implemented from time to time.

    The sources said that for the north east region there is a dedicated 24×7 North East Channel, besides Kendras in North East like DDK Guwahati, DDK Aizwal, DDK Gangtok, DDK Tura, DDK Shillong , DDK Silchar, DDK Dibrugarh, DDK Itanagar, DDK Agartala, DDK Kohima and DDK Imphal which telecast programmes in their respective regional languages.