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Tag: Kannada film

  • SonyLIV acquires streaming rights to Puneeth Rajkumar’s ‘James’

    SonyLIV acquires streaming rights to Puneeth Rajkumar’s ‘James’

    Mumbai: SonyLIV has acquired rights to late actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s last film “James” which will begin streaming 14 April onwards. Apart from Kannada, the film will be streaming in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi.

    The film will fortify SonyLIV’s regional library with the addition of Kannada language content.

    Puneeth Rajkumar was a prolific Kannada actor who enjoyed a pan-India appeal and was known for his films “Power” and “Yuvarathnaa”.

    Helmed and written by Chethan Kumar and produced by Kishore Pathikonda, James pairs Puneeth opposite Priya Anand. The film also stars Srikanth, Nawab Shah, Sarath Kumar, Tarak Ponnappa, John Kokken, Chikkanna, Shine Shetty, and Tilak, among others, with Puneeth’s brothers Shivarajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar appearing in cameos. Shivarajkumar also did the dubbing for his brother as he died before the commencement of the movie’s post-production.

    “It is an honour to be associated with James, which not only has gripping performances but is also a testament to the outstanding and multifaceted journey of Puneeth Rajkumar on celluloid,” said Sony Pictures Networks India head of content SonyLIV and SET Ashish Golwalkar.

    “He was a true genius, and we are proud to be able to bring his last feature film to his fans everywhere and help them connect with their beloved superstar. It will also boost our regional library, adding to our aim of bringing quality content that resonates with people from all parts of the country,” he added.

    “Directing Puneeth is a dream that only the fortunate can turn into a reality,” said director Chethan Kumar. “I consider myself extremely privileged to have gotten this opportunity. I had envisioned the film with Puneeth in mind, and it was an absolute honour to have him play James. By bringing the movie on SonyLIV, the platform is paying fitting tribute to the legendary personality that he was,” he added.

  • Copyright infringement: Kross awarded injunction against ‘Pushpaka Vimana’, hearing on 12 Apr

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has issued an ad-interim injunction restraining further exhibition and distribution of the Kannada film, “Pushpaka Vimana” in any manner or in any medium including cinema theatres, television, CDs/DVDs. 

    Kross Pictures is a cross-border film and television production company with offices in Seoul, Los Angeles, and Mumbai. 

    The order restrains the film-makers from awarding any rights in relation to satellite or telecast rights of the film for its exhibition. The Court further directed defendants to disclose to the court the earnings from the film and all contracts with artists involved with the movie.

    The Bombay High Court stated that the Kannada film prima facie appears to be a copy of the Korean film called “Miracle In Cell No. 7” the rights to which are owned by Kross Pictures India. The original film was released on 23rd January 2013, first in Korean and then on Youtube in English in 2014. Kross Pictures had moved the Bombay High Court claiming copyright infringement against the producers of the Pushpaka Vimana. Dr. Birendra Saraf, instructed by Anirudh Rastogi of TRA and Ankita Singh of A&P Partners, appearing for Kross Pictures drew the court’s attention to at least fifteen instances where producer AR Vikhyat  of Vikhyat Chitra Productions has publicly admitted that he ‘adapted’ the screenplay of the Korean film for Pushpak Vimana.

    Kross acquires high-concept and proven intellectual property to produce localized films in different languages.  Kross’s Indian operation started in 2015, and has produced the 2016 Hindi film “TE3N” which is based on the Korean film “Montage”, and is currently producing “Suspect X” (directed by Sujoy Ghosh) for Amazon India.

    The court order can be seen here:

  • Ekta Kapoor requests KFCC to withdraw clearance of The Dirty Picture in Kannada

    Ekta Kapoor requests KFCC to withdraw clearance of The Dirty Picture in Kannada

    MUMBAI: The much-touted remake of The Dirty Picture in Kannada by producer Venkatappa seems to have got a jolt after Ekta Kapoor, the producer of the original, filed a complaint against the use of the title.

    In a letter to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), Kapoor has requested the body to withdraw the permission for the use of the title. She has given them a five-day deadline to do the needful in the matter.

    Incidentally, it was the KFCC that had cleared the title for producer Venkatappa‘s yet-to-be-launched Kannada film.

    On receipt of Kapoor‘s complaint, the KFCC executive committee is considering the issue and has referred the matter to a legal expert from whom they are awaiting a response.

    Meanwhile, the film‘s director Trishul has vehemently said that he won‘t change the title and that he is prepared for a legal battle. “There is no bar on keeping a title of any other language film to be made in a different language. There are several precedents before. We have a Kannada film called Housefull (title inspired by Hindi movie) and Bhadra (Telugu title). We have legally obtained clearance from the KFCC. Why should we change the title now?”, the director has reportedly questioned.

    Apart from the title, there will be no similarity between the two films, opined the director. The film will have Pakistani actress Veena Mallik in the lead.

    With the future of the Kannada film now in the dark, film folks have their eyes trained on Kapoor‘s reaction to the Tapas Pal made Bengali remake of The Dirty Picture.

  • Court restrains films on Veerappan from screening

    Court restrains films on Veerappan from screening

    MUMBAI: A Tamil and a Kannada film based on the slain forest brigand Veerappan has been restrained from screening by the City Civil Court in Chennai.

    This follows an application by Tamil bi-weekly Nakheeran editor Gopal about his role in both the Tamil and the Kannada versions of the film titled Vana Yuddham and Attagasam respectively. The XVII Assistant Judge of the City Civil Court granted the interim injunction till 17 April.

    The editor submitted that he had come across a news item that the films on the life of Veerappan, who was shot dead by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force in October 2004, had been made by AMR Ramesh of Bangalore and two other producers. Contending that the films were scheduled for release in the first week of May, Gopal claimed that he had made five trips to the forest, where the sandalwood smuggler was in hiding, and due to his efforts the life of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar, who was kidnapped, was saved.

    He further contended that without his role, no film about the brigand‘s kidnappings, surrender talks and his way of life in the forest could be made.

    Stating that the producers had not contacted him for his version on the role he played as an emissary, Gopal alleged that according to reliable information, his image had been tarnished in the films that made him apprehensive that his character would be spoilt.

    The Judge said the petitioner had made out a prima facie case for grant of the injunction.

  • Kannada film to premiere in Mumbai

    Kannada film to premiere in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Kannada film ‘Parie‘ is to be premiered in Mumbai at Cinemax Versova on 15 April.

    ‘Parie‘ is a love story weaved around a liquor mafia sub-plot.

    The film has been directed by Sudhir Attavar who has aptly adapted a novel into a crisp and catchy screenplay. After directing documentaries and short films, ‘Parie‘ is his directorial debut film.

    Produced by Trivikrama Beltangady, Arun Tumatti, Lingappa Sandur and Chandra Sindogi, the film has art direction by Padmashree MS Sathyu and has equal contribution from two other Padmashris, Nemai Ghosh and Usha Uthup.

  • Kannada film industry doyen Dr. Rajkumar is no more

    Kannada film industry doyen Dr. Rajkumar is no more

    BANGALORE: A sad day indeed in the annals of the film industry, especially for the Kannada Film industry. The biggest and one of the first superstars of the Kannada Film industry has bid adieu. He was 77.

    Dr Rajkumar, who complained of breathlessness about a month ago, had been admitted to M S Ramaiah Hospital. He succumbed to a cardiac arrest today as per the initial reports that have come in. The thespian, a winner of the Padma Bhushan along with a host of other awards and citations has encouraged the use of Kannada language in the state.

    Though very well known in South India, he came to national light when he was kidnapped and kept in custody for 109 days by notorious sandal wood smuggler the late Veerappan in 2000.

    The city of Bangalore has literally come to a standstill, following the demise. Crowds have been thronging to his residence along with a number of top Bangalore based politicians.