ITV

Tag: Jackie Chan

  • UTV action packs in more power for fans

    UTV action packs in more power for fans

    MUMBAI: Home to a wide-range of high-octane movies across Hollywood, Bollywood, Asian and Regional cinema, UTV ACTION is the go-to linear channel offering uninterrupted dhamakedar entertainment to film aficionados. Now, the channel is all set to offer 100 plus new, adrenaline-rushing titles to its robust library to enhance an action lover’s movie watching experience further this month.

    UTV ACTION is already home to Marvel and offers the largest collection of titles from this universe in Hindi, featuring everyone’s favourite Super Heroes including The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man and more. Now, the channel has licensed rights to a diverse range of action flicks across genres.

    For fans who enjoy high-voltage drama, there’s a new, stellar line-up of dubbed versions of ‘South Indian hits’ featuring some of the biggest stars like Darshan, Dhanush, Sai Dharam Tej, Naga Chaitanya, Sudeep, Dhruva Sarja and more.

    In the ‘Martial Arts’ genre, there’s a slew of super hits by action legends Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and latest titles in the ‘Fantasy Action/ Adventure’ series is Stephen Chow’s Journey To The West 2, whose previous films, The Mermaid and Journey To The West 1, are among the most popular movies on UTV ACTION.

    That’s not all. Be prepared for more action as thrilling titles from popular franchises like Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Men in Black and Star Trek will be added to the extensive collection of UTV ACTION to keep action lovers glued to their cushy couches.

  • Kung Fu Yoga! (Hindi English assorted) …Old wine in tetra pack

    Kung Fu Yoga! (Hindi English assorted) …Old wine in tetra pack

    MUMBAI: Jackie Chan films are known for Kung Fu coupled with comedy. The Kung Fu in his films is not about felling an opponent, it is rather going on and on as a lesson in self-defense. The kind where two Kung Fu adversaries keep going at each other while the protagonist, Chan, goes through some of his stunts and, eventually, gets the better of his rival through some device or trick and not Kung Fu.

    Kung Fu Yoga has but one challenge for the viewer and that is to find Yoga in this film. There are a couple of references to this age old practice, but that is it. The film is mainly about Chan’s Kung Fu prowess seen umpteen times before.

    What is new is that the theme of the film is based around India, some lost civilisation in the country and the treasure left behind.

    Chan is the number one archeologist in China. Along with his Indian students of archeology, he comes across an old map of a 1,000 year old civilization in India where a treasure is waiting to be discovered. Their exploration takes them deep in to snow-clad mountains where, along with frozen peaks, they also have running water; must be freeze proof. Deep down under the snow, they stumble across gold sovereigns and other such treasures. And, there is a key to unlock the real cache.

    But, no sooner have they laid their hands on the key, there comes the other claimant, SonuSood. There is some hand-to-hand combat with an attempt to make it sort of funny. While the one-to-one blended in Kung Fu is routine, the comedy falls flat.

    In between, the film takes a detour to Dubai for another action sequence. Because, the way to the treasure is through one-upmanship between the Chan group and Sood and his goons.  While Sood claims the treasure to be his, Chan sermonises of the same belonging to the government!

    When both parties have arrived at the treasure site, they have one more Kung Fu bout; Yoga is nowhere to be found except in the film’s title. Eventually, not the government but a saffron clad group of men and women take over the proceedings as Chan, Sood and the rest get into a dance routine to end the film on a happy note!

    Kung Fu Yoga is just another Hong Kong style film trying to mix the martial art with comedy. The title being irrelevant, so is its Indian theme. Many such films on treasure hunts have been made and this film seems to have borrowed a bit from all of them. There is nothing original about this one.

    Can’t say much about the direction since most of it has been executed through effects. While Chan is routine and Sood is passable, the girls, Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur add glamour. The rest are incidental.

    Producer: Barbie Tung

    Director: Stanley Tong

    Cast: Jackie Chan, Sonu Sood, Damian Mavis, Disha Patani, Amyra Dastur, Eric Tsang, Zhang Guoli. Lay Zhang, Mu Qimiya.

    Alif…urposeless

    Alif / Aleph is the first character in the Arabic alphabet and also the name of the child character in this film. The title finds justification in that it is a film about education.The emphasis here is on the education of Muslim students in mainstream schools instead of madrassas, which concentrate on religious studies.

    All that is fine but why have the makers messed with the theme of need for education for Muslim children by bringing in a skewed Hindu angle as if that that was a roadblock for admitting them to a school where Hindus studied!

    There is a Muslim family in Varanasi where the character of Danish Hussain continues his family vocation as a hakeem. He dreams of making his only son, Saud Mansuri, a doctor. But, there are social taboos as Hussain stays in a Muslim mohalla where only madrassa education is encouraged and enforced while the English medium schools, which are located a few kilometers away, are abhorred and considered to be a Hindu domain. Hence, Hussain will have to be content with his son graduating when he memorizes all 30 chapters of Koran and becomes a Hafiz.

    This is the time when Hussain’s sister, played by Neelima Azeem, much tortured and harassed by her husband in Pakistan, manages to return home to India. After some melodrama on her return, she takes charge of the proceedings and insists on admitting Saud to a mainstream English school. The boy is totally at sea as he does not even know the English alphabets but has been admitted to the third standard.

    It is not the fellow students but a teacher who hates having Saud in his school and keeps framing him for various misdeeds just so that the lenient principal expels him.

    Alif is a misconstrued, illogical story with no relevance even though it looks like a propaganda film made with the UP elections in mind; Jaya Bachchan is the narrator. There is no sense in depicting mohalla system as if they were concentration camps and had no access to other parts of Varanasi. And, what is the ‘convent’ school finally where Saud is admitted? It is called Al Haneef School!

    The script tries to run too many parallel tracks: a dying father, an estranged sister, a suppressed Muslim community,and romance; friendship between two young boys, education and discrimination. None of these are linked or justified.

    All technical aspects of the film are below par. However it has good performances by Saud Mansoori. Neelima Azeem and Raza Hussain are stagy. For whatever purpose Alif was produced, it is not delivering.

    Producers: Pawan Tiwari, Zaigham Imam.

    Director: Zaigham Imam.

    Cast: Neelima Azeem, Danish Hussain, Saud Mansuri, Bhavna Pani, Ishaan Kaurav, Aditya Om, Gopal Gurjar and Simala Prasad.

  • Kung Fu Yoga! (Hindi English assorted) …Old wine in tetra pack

    Kung Fu Yoga! (Hindi English assorted) …Old wine in tetra pack

    MUMBAI: Jackie Chan films are known for Kung Fu coupled with comedy. The Kung Fu in his films is not about felling an opponent, it is rather going on and on as a lesson in self-defense. The kind where two Kung Fu adversaries keep going at each other while the protagonist, Chan, goes through some of his stunts and, eventually, gets the better of his rival through some device or trick and not Kung Fu.

    Kung Fu Yoga has but one challenge for the viewer and that is to find Yoga in this film. There are a couple of references to this age old practice, but that is it. The film is mainly about Chan’s Kung Fu prowess seen umpteen times before.

    What is new is that the theme of the film is based around India, some lost civilisation in the country and the treasure left behind.

    Chan is the number one archeologist in China. Along with his Indian students of archeology, he comes across an old map of a 1,000 year old civilization in India where a treasure is waiting to be discovered. Their exploration takes them deep in to snow-clad mountains where, along with frozen peaks, they also have running water; must be freeze proof. Deep down under the snow, they stumble across gold sovereigns and other such treasures. And, there is a key to unlock the real cache.

    But, no sooner have they laid their hands on the key, there comes the other claimant, SonuSood. There is some hand-to-hand combat with an attempt to make it sort of funny. While the one-to-one blended in Kung Fu is routine, the comedy falls flat.

    In between, the film takes a detour to Dubai for another action sequence. Because, the way to the treasure is through one-upmanship between the Chan group and Sood and his goons.  While Sood claims the treasure to be his, Chan sermonises of the same belonging to the government!

    When both parties have arrived at the treasure site, they have one more Kung Fu bout; Yoga is nowhere to be found except in the film’s title. Eventually, not the government but a saffron clad group of men and women take over the proceedings as Chan, Sood and the rest get into a dance routine to end the film on a happy note!

    Kung Fu Yoga is just another Hong Kong style film trying to mix the martial art with comedy. The title being irrelevant, so is its Indian theme. Many such films on treasure hunts have been made and this film seems to have borrowed a bit from all of them. There is nothing original about this one.

    Can’t say much about the direction since most of it has been executed through effects. While Chan is routine and Sood is passable, the girls, Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur add glamour. The rest are incidental.

    Producer: Barbie Tung

    Director: Stanley Tong

    Cast: Jackie Chan, Sonu Sood, Damian Mavis, Disha Patani, Amyra Dastur, Eric Tsang, Zhang Guoli. Lay Zhang, Mu Qimiya.

    Alif…urposeless

    Alif / Aleph is the first character in the Arabic alphabet and also the name of the child character in this film. The title finds justification in that it is a film about education.The emphasis here is on the education of Muslim students in mainstream schools instead of madrassas, which concentrate on religious studies.

    All that is fine but why have the makers messed with the theme of need for education for Muslim children by bringing in a skewed Hindu angle as if that that was a roadblock for admitting them to a school where Hindus studied!

    There is a Muslim family in Varanasi where the character of Danish Hussain continues his family vocation as a hakeem. He dreams of making his only son, Saud Mansuri, a doctor. But, there are social taboos as Hussain stays in a Muslim mohalla where only madrassa education is encouraged and enforced while the English medium schools, which are located a few kilometers away, are abhorred and considered to be a Hindu domain. Hence, Hussain will have to be content with his son graduating when he memorizes all 30 chapters of Koran and becomes a Hafiz.

    This is the time when Hussain’s sister, played by Neelima Azeem, much tortured and harassed by her husband in Pakistan, manages to return home to India. After some melodrama on her return, she takes charge of the proceedings and insists on admitting Saud to a mainstream English school. The boy is totally at sea as he does not even know the English alphabets but has been admitted to the third standard.

    It is not the fellow students but a teacher who hates having Saud in his school and keeps framing him for various misdeeds just so that the lenient principal expels him.

    Alif is a misconstrued, illogical story with no relevance even though it looks like a propaganda film made with the UP elections in mind; Jaya Bachchan is the narrator. There is no sense in depicting mohalla system as if they were concentration camps and had no access to other parts of Varanasi. And, what is the ‘convent’ school finally where Saud is admitted? It is called Al Haneef School!

    The script tries to run too many parallel tracks: a dying father, an estranged sister, a suppressed Muslim community,and romance; friendship between two young boys, education and discrimination. None of these are linked or justified.

    All technical aspects of the film are below par. However it has good performances by Saud Mansoori. Neelima Azeem and Raza Hussain are stagy. For whatever purpose Alif was produced, it is not delivering.

    Producers: Pawan Tiwari, Zaigham Imam.

    Director: Zaigham Imam.

    Cast: Neelima Azeem, Danish Hussain, Saud Mansuri, Bhavna Pani, Ishaan Kaurav, Aditya Om, Gopal Gurjar and Simala Prasad.

  • ‘Goosebump’ : Zee Music collaborates with ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    ‘Goosebump’ : Zee Music collaborates with ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    MUMBAI: Zee Music Company has roped in Fazilpuria from the fame of Ladki Kar Gayi Chul to create a promotional track Goosebump for their upcoming project Kung Fu Yoga. The movie Kung Fu Yoga stars the martial art king Jackie Chan, Sonu Sood, Disha Patani & Amyra Dastur and is directed by Stanley Tong. The movie will be releasing globally on 3 February 2017.

    The very elated Sonu Sood said “It was a fantastic experience working on this project and I am super glad for having shared the screen with the legend Jackie Chan. This project is very close to me and I will do all I can to promote the film. Thus, to amp the promotion we approached Zee Music to create a promotional track. The track Goosebump by Fazilpuria came across as an instant hit and is a perfect fit for our film”.

    On this occasion Zee Music Company business head Anurag Bedi said “We at Zee Music Company are extremely proud to associate with the team of Kung Fu Yoga and get Faizalpuria on board to create magic with the promotional track ‘Goosebump’. This is just the beginning and there are many more associations to come. This year we look forward to collaborate with super talented artists such as Raftaar, Indeep Bakshi & Manj Musikto compose some smashing hit numbers”.

  • ‘Goosebump’ : Zee Music collaborates with ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    ‘Goosebump’ : Zee Music collaborates with ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    MUMBAI: Zee Music Company has roped in Fazilpuria from the fame of Ladki Kar Gayi Chul to create a promotional track Goosebump for their upcoming project Kung Fu Yoga. The movie Kung Fu Yoga stars the martial art king Jackie Chan, Sonu Sood, Disha Patani & Amyra Dastur and is directed by Stanley Tong. The movie will be releasing globally on 3 February 2017.

    The very elated Sonu Sood said “It was a fantastic experience working on this project and I am super glad for having shared the screen with the legend Jackie Chan. This project is very close to me and I will do all I can to promote the film. Thus, to amp the promotion we approached Zee Music to create a promotional track. The track Goosebump by Fazilpuria came across as an instant hit and is a perfect fit for our film”.

    On this occasion Zee Music Company business head Anurag Bedi said “We at Zee Music Company are extremely proud to associate with the team of Kung Fu Yoga and get Faizalpuria on board to create magic with the promotional track ‘Goosebump’. This is just the beginning and there are many more associations to come. This year we look forward to collaborate with super talented artists such as Raftaar, Indeep Bakshi & Manj Musikto compose some smashing hit numbers”.

  • India to sign film co-production pacts with BRICS members

    India to sign film co-production pacts with BRICS members

    NEW DELHI: A specially-curated BRICS section would form a part of the International Film Festival of India from this year. It would become a regular feature in the future editions. The BRICS Film Festival was held in the capital from 2 to 6 September 2016.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu said the government was actively considering signing co-production agreements with Russia and South Africa to promote India as a filming destination, taking the process forward after having signed similar agreements with Brazil and China.

    At the festival, 20 films were screened in the competition section, four from each country. The opening film at the festival saw the World Premiere of the Malayalam movie “Veeram” by Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair starring Kunal Kapoor. The closing film was the Chinese “Skiptrace” starring Jackie Chan directed by Renny Harlin. It is an action-comedy, which revolves round a Chinese detective who teams up with an American Gambler to catch a Chinese criminal.

    Speaking at the closing of the first BRICS Film Festival, the minister also proposed setting up of institutional mechanisms for regular collaboration between film archives of the member-countries as it would ensure exchange of information on preservation of film heritage. He said that BRICS countries could explore the possibility of having a formal mechanism for student exchange programmes among the leading film institutes.

    Naidu said the new-age cinema from the BRICS nations spoke to a wider audience with socially relevant themes, and filmmakers were not afraid of communicating in the way they desired. This inspired young film makers to make films that were not only entertaining but also enlightening. As a powerful medium, it sent across the right message that could counter the negativity emerging from acts of terrorism worldwide. Films awakened national consciousness and helped in channelizing energies of the youth in social reconstruction and nation-building.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present at the event where awards were given away to award-winning films.

    Naidu said the diverse topography of India offers a variety of locales for shooting of films round the year. In addition to this, India is home to one of the most vibrant and highly-skilled film professionals.

    BRICS film directors should take this opportunity to explore possibilities for shooting their films in India. The government has taken several steps to create a conducive environment for shooting. One such step is setting up of a Film Facilitation Office under the National Film Development Corporation.

    Kannada movie “Thithi” was awarded the Best Film, while the Special Jury prize was awarded to “Between Valleys” from Brazil. Huo Jianqi from China was adjudged the Best Director for “Xuan Chang”. Thabo Rametsi from South Africa was awarded the Best Actor (Male) award for “Kalushi (The story of Solomon Mahlangu)” and Yulia Peresild from Russia was awarded the Best Actor (Female) award for “Battle for Sevastopol”. The jury also recommended Special Mention awards to the films “Songs of the Phoenix” from China and “14+” from Russia.

    The festival showcased an amalgamation of culture, films, song and dance, and food of the member-countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Exclusive cuisine from all the nations was also available at the Food Court at the venue. A Craft Fair was also organized at the Siri Fort auditorium complex with all member-countries putting up stalls with souvenirs and other properties for sale.

    Beyond films, the festival also had spectacular performances by the Chengdu Performing Arts Theatre (China), Theatre Leningrad Centre Dreams (Russia) and MBZ Music Production (South Africa). The closing ceremony also saw the release of the first BRICS Film Festival Scroll, which was presented to representatives from China. It was announced that China will host the next version of the BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu.

    Meanwhile, the Deputy Director General of Film Bureau of China Zhou Jiandong said that China produces almost 650 to 700 feature films annually. The box office collection was $ 6.8 billion last year and the urban accumulative attendance was 1.26 billion. The Chinese delegation comprised 40 members. The cast and crew from the competing movies of China shared their stories, ideas and experiences in a press gathering.

    Members included Huo Jianqi, Director of ‘Xuan Zang’, China Film Cooperation Limited Vice President Zhou Baolin who is the co-producer of ‘Xuan Zang’, Wu Yuan Yuan who is the scriptwriter of ‘Go Away Mr. Tumor’, and Wu Yan Yan who produced, ‘Songs of the Phoenix’.

    ‘Xuan Zang’ was co-produced by China and EROS Entertainment, India. “We hope that after the success of this movie, more Chinese filmmakers will be interested in working with their Indian counterparts. With such collaborations, we will be able to bring more Indian movies to China,” Baolin said. Jianqui said the story was common to both, India and China, as it deals with the topic of Buddhism.

    The story of ‘Go Away Mr. Tumor’ is not only limited to China, but depicts universal optimistic spirit, said Yuan. Last year, this movie was showcased in film festivals of North America and Australia owing of its universal subject. She added that Indian movies inspire her a lot. She watched ‘3 idiots’ and learned that a film can be entertaining as well as educating.

    Yan Yan was happy that a non-commercial movie also received a huge audience applause. Her movie ‘Song of Phoenix’ was running successfully in theatres for two months, and it gave her a lot of hope that such cinema was appreciated by the young audience.

    In a separate exchange, delegates from South Africa expressed hope that very soon member-countries will co-produce films on various interesting topics and enhance bilateral relations. The delegation said talks at the highest level of governments are progressing well and will soon give a final shape to joint cooperation in the field of cinema.

    The cast and crew from the competing films of South Africa shared their stories, ideas and experiences. Present at the conference were Sallas de Jager, Director of ‘Free State’; Director Mandla Dube along with Associate producer Lerato Louise Montoedi of ‘Kalushi: The Story of Soloman Mahlangu’; Thapelo Mokoena, Actor of ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ and Paul Egan, Producer of ‘Tess’.

    Jager said ‘Free State’ was shot two years ago and involved people from South Africa and India. It was a privilege for him to write the story, portraying the essence of a forbidden love story. The film represents the relation between parents and children. He noted that working with the Indian crew was a great learning experience.

    ‘Free State’ showcases the story of Jeanette, who is a beautiful open-minded law student. During her summer holiday with her father in the Free State, a random act of kindness by an attractive Indian sprouts an unexpected love affair. Secret meetings follow, since it was against the law at the time to have an inter-racial relationship. As the film progresses, their secret comes out and hell breaks loose.

    Dube said ‘Kalushi’ was shot eight years ago and had been screened at various film festivals including Cannes, and loved by the people of Edinburgh, South Africa, Zanzibar and London.

    Lerato Louise added that the idea of making this movie came from a stage play. The movie portrays the story of a young liberator who fought for the country. The story of Solomon relates to the connection of South Africa and India, as the lawyer of Kalushi was an Indian.

    Thapelo Mokoena said ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ revolved round a woman and is one of the three romantic comedy movies produced by the black community. He added that the film is more than just a struggle story of the past.

    ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ is the story of Gugu, a woman who rejects love before it can get too close to rock her from a self-imposed exile from love. But, to find bliss with the right guy she must first realize that no man is created equal.

    Paul Egan said the shooting of ‘Tess’ was completed in June 2016 and the audience outside South Africa witnessed it for the first time at this festival. The quality and precision of movies from the other countries screened at BRICS were extremely inspiring and that they were learning quite a lot from them, he added.

  • India to sign film co-production pacts with BRICS members

    India to sign film co-production pacts with BRICS members

    NEW DELHI: A specially-curated BRICS section would form a part of the International Film Festival of India from this year. It would become a regular feature in the future editions. The BRICS Film Festival was held in the capital from 2 to 6 September 2016.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu said the government was actively considering signing co-production agreements with Russia and South Africa to promote India as a filming destination, taking the process forward after having signed similar agreements with Brazil and China.

    At the festival, 20 films were screened in the competition section, four from each country. The opening film at the festival saw the World Premiere of the Malayalam movie “Veeram” by Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair starring Kunal Kapoor. The closing film was the Chinese “Skiptrace” starring Jackie Chan directed by Renny Harlin. It is an action-comedy, which revolves round a Chinese detective who teams up with an American Gambler to catch a Chinese criminal.

    Speaking at the closing of the first BRICS Film Festival, the minister also proposed setting up of institutional mechanisms for regular collaboration between film archives of the member-countries as it would ensure exchange of information on preservation of film heritage. He said that BRICS countries could explore the possibility of having a formal mechanism for student exchange programmes among the leading film institutes.

    Naidu said the new-age cinema from the BRICS nations spoke to a wider audience with socially relevant themes, and filmmakers were not afraid of communicating in the way they desired. This inspired young film makers to make films that were not only entertaining but also enlightening. As a powerful medium, it sent across the right message that could counter the negativity emerging from acts of terrorism worldwide. Films awakened national consciousness and helped in channelizing energies of the youth in social reconstruction and nation-building.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present at the event where awards were given away to award-winning films.

    Naidu said the diverse topography of India offers a variety of locales for shooting of films round the year. In addition to this, India is home to one of the most vibrant and highly-skilled film professionals.

    BRICS film directors should take this opportunity to explore possibilities for shooting their films in India. The government has taken several steps to create a conducive environment for shooting. One such step is setting up of a Film Facilitation Office under the National Film Development Corporation.

    Kannada movie “Thithi” was awarded the Best Film, while the Special Jury prize was awarded to “Between Valleys” from Brazil. Huo Jianqi from China was adjudged the Best Director for “Xuan Chang”. Thabo Rametsi from South Africa was awarded the Best Actor (Male) award for “Kalushi (The story of Solomon Mahlangu)” and Yulia Peresild from Russia was awarded the Best Actor (Female) award for “Battle for Sevastopol”. The jury also recommended Special Mention awards to the films “Songs of the Phoenix” from China and “14+” from Russia.

    The festival showcased an amalgamation of culture, films, song and dance, and food of the member-countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Exclusive cuisine from all the nations was also available at the Food Court at the venue. A Craft Fair was also organized at the Siri Fort auditorium complex with all member-countries putting up stalls with souvenirs and other properties for sale.

    Beyond films, the festival also had spectacular performances by the Chengdu Performing Arts Theatre (China), Theatre Leningrad Centre Dreams (Russia) and MBZ Music Production (South Africa). The closing ceremony also saw the release of the first BRICS Film Festival Scroll, which was presented to representatives from China. It was announced that China will host the next version of the BRICS Film Festival in Chengdu.

    Meanwhile, the Deputy Director General of Film Bureau of China Zhou Jiandong said that China produces almost 650 to 700 feature films annually. The box office collection was $ 6.8 billion last year and the urban accumulative attendance was 1.26 billion. The Chinese delegation comprised 40 members. The cast and crew from the competing movies of China shared their stories, ideas and experiences in a press gathering.

    Members included Huo Jianqi, Director of ‘Xuan Zang’, China Film Cooperation Limited Vice President Zhou Baolin who is the co-producer of ‘Xuan Zang’, Wu Yuan Yuan who is the scriptwriter of ‘Go Away Mr. Tumor’, and Wu Yan Yan who produced, ‘Songs of the Phoenix’.

    ‘Xuan Zang’ was co-produced by China and EROS Entertainment, India. “We hope that after the success of this movie, more Chinese filmmakers will be interested in working with their Indian counterparts. With such collaborations, we will be able to bring more Indian movies to China,” Baolin said. Jianqui said the story was common to both, India and China, as it deals with the topic of Buddhism.

    The story of ‘Go Away Mr. Tumor’ is not only limited to China, but depicts universal optimistic spirit, said Yuan. Last year, this movie was showcased in film festivals of North America and Australia owing of its universal subject. She added that Indian movies inspire her a lot. She watched ‘3 idiots’ and learned that a film can be entertaining as well as educating.

    Yan Yan was happy that a non-commercial movie also received a huge audience applause. Her movie ‘Song of Phoenix’ was running successfully in theatres for two months, and it gave her a lot of hope that such cinema was appreciated by the young audience.

    In a separate exchange, delegates from South Africa expressed hope that very soon member-countries will co-produce films on various interesting topics and enhance bilateral relations. The delegation said talks at the highest level of governments are progressing well and will soon give a final shape to joint cooperation in the field of cinema.

    The cast and crew from the competing films of South Africa shared their stories, ideas and experiences. Present at the conference were Sallas de Jager, Director of ‘Free State’; Director Mandla Dube along with Associate producer Lerato Louise Montoedi of ‘Kalushi: The Story of Soloman Mahlangu’; Thapelo Mokoena, Actor of ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ and Paul Egan, Producer of ‘Tess’.

    Jager said ‘Free State’ was shot two years ago and involved people from South Africa and India. It was a privilege for him to write the story, portraying the essence of a forbidden love story. The film represents the relation between parents and children. He noted that working with the Indian crew was a great learning experience.

    ‘Free State’ showcases the story of Jeanette, who is a beautiful open-minded law student. During her summer holiday with her father in the Free State, a random act of kindness by an attractive Indian sprouts an unexpected love affair. Secret meetings follow, since it was against the law at the time to have an inter-racial relationship. As the film progresses, their secret comes out and hell breaks loose.

    Dube said ‘Kalushi’ was shot eight years ago and had been screened at various film festivals including Cannes, and loved by the people of Edinburgh, South Africa, Zanzibar and London.

    Lerato Louise added that the idea of making this movie came from a stage play. The movie portrays the story of a young liberator who fought for the country. The story of Solomon relates to the connection of South Africa and India, as the lawyer of Kalushi was an Indian.

    Thapelo Mokoena said ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ revolved round a woman and is one of the three romantic comedy movies produced by the black community. He added that the film is more than just a struggle story of the past.

    ‘Mrs. Right Guy’ is the story of Gugu, a woman who rejects love before it can get too close to rock her from a self-imposed exile from love. But, to find bliss with the right guy she must first realize that no man is created equal.

    Paul Egan said the shooting of ‘Tess’ was completed in June 2016 and the audience outside South Africa witnessed it for the first time at this festival. The quality and precision of movies from the other countries screened at BRICS were extremely inspiring and that they were learning quite a lot from them, he added.

  • &Pictures to air ‘Kung Fu Fighter’ on 17 June

    &Pictures to air ‘Kung Fu Fighter’ on 17 June

    MUMBAI: &Pictures will present its audiences with the second edition of Chiniwood, a perfect blend of pulse racing action and entertainment. With an interesting mantra Bollywood se zyaada masala, Hollywood se zyaada action, Chiniwood presents films starring some of the world’s biggest martial art heroes namely Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Tony Jaa amongst others who are fighting it out on &pictures every at 8 pm. This Friday on 17 June, tune-in to the action entertainer Kung Fu Fighter in Hindi at 8 pm.

    At the zenith of his stardom, action star Cheng Feng is put to challenge by an American actor Peter who is skilled in real martial arts. Cheng ends up losing much more than the fight and his career starts spiraling downward. Unwilling to give up, Cheng resorts to arduous martial arts training in oblivion. After a year of relentless learning, Cheng returns to reclaim all that’s his. But with Peter, it’s a fight to finish.

    Directed by Dragon Chen, Kung Fu Fighter makes for an interesting watch with martial arts techniques and a gripping storyline.

  • &Pictures to air ‘Kung Fu Fighter’ on 17 June

    &Pictures to air ‘Kung Fu Fighter’ on 17 June

    MUMBAI: &Pictures will present its audiences with the second edition of Chiniwood, a perfect blend of pulse racing action and entertainment. With an interesting mantra Bollywood se zyaada masala, Hollywood se zyaada action, Chiniwood presents films starring some of the world’s biggest martial art heroes namely Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Tony Jaa amongst others who are fighting it out on &pictures every at 8 pm. This Friday on 17 June, tune-in to the action entertainer Kung Fu Fighter in Hindi at 8 pm.

    At the zenith of his stardom, action star Cheng Feng is put to challenge by an American actor Peter who is skilled in real martial arts. Cheng ends up losing much more than the fight and his career starts spiraling downward. Unwilling to give up, Cheng resorts to arduous martial arts training in oblivion. After a year of relentless learning, Cheng returns to reclaim all that’s his. But with Peter, it’s a fight to finish.

    Directed by Dragon Chen, Kung Fu Fighter makes for an interesting watch with martial arts techniques and a gripping storyline.

  • Aamir Khan – Jackie Chan to star in ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    Aamir Khan – Jackie Chan to star in ‘Kung Fu Yoga’

    MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China has spelt good news for the Indian film industry.

     

    In a casting coup of sorts, Chinese film regulators have announced that Indian actor Aamir Khan and Jackie Chan will be starring together in a movie titled Kung Fu Yoga. The movie, which will be co-produced by India and China, is being touted as a perfect combination of Chinese martial arts and Indian culture.

     

    As was reported by Indiantelevision.com earlier, Khan was in China to attend the premier of his blockbuster movie PK. The dubbed Chinese version of the movie is slated to release across 3500+ screens in China on 22 May.

     

    China will also co-produce another movie with India titled Da Nao Tian Zhu (Causing Havoc in India). The movie will be the directorial debut of Chinese film star Wang Baoqiang.

     

    As was reported earlier, India’s Eros International and Chinese Film Corporation entered into a co-production deal for a film titled Da Tang XuanZang (Monk XuanZang). Wong Kar Wai will be the executive producer on the movie.

     

    The three film co-productions were jointly announced by China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) and the Indian Embassy in China.