MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) will release Michael Haneke‘s Palme d‘Or winner Amour on 9 December for a limited release.
The film will initially open in New York and Los Angeles putting it square in the awards season. The move makes the film eligible for consideration in all the major categories.
Amour revolves around an octogenarian couple whose love is tested as they face mortality.
SPC had lso released Haneke‘s Cache in 2005 and The White Ribbon in 2009.
MUMBAI: Rajan Khosa’s Gattu has won the ‘Best Film’ award at the 12th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) that concluded on 27 May.
While Mohd. Samad won the ‘Best Young Actor’ award for essaying the role of Gattu in the film, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tannishtha Chatterjee were declared best actors for Dekh Indian Circus. Sujay Dahake won both the ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Script’ awards for the Marathi film Shala.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Daniel Junge’s Saving Face was declared the Best Documentary while the award for the best short film went to Chinmay Dalvi’s Bombay Snow.
The festival, running from 23 to 27 May, showcased more than 50 features, documentaries and short films.
MUMBAI: With his last film Paan Singh Tomar garnering both critical acclaim and audience response, Tigmanshu Dhulia will adapt William Shakespeare‘s tragic play Hamlet in Hindi.
The project will be produced by Goldie Behl and his sister Shrishti Arya under the Rose Movies banner. Abhishek Bachchan has been tipped to play the title role.
The project was first discussed with filmmaker Behl over a decade, when Dhulia was writing Behl’s film Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai in 2001. That‘s when Dhulia suggested him a Hindi adaptation of the William Shakespeare play.
“Tigmanshu and I go back a long way… We started our careers around the same time in Rose Movies. So it feels great that he‘s coming back home but this time as a director. We both are very passionate about adapting ‘Hamlet‘ as its the ultimate revenge drama,” observed Behl.
The last movie released under the Rose Movies banner was London, Paris, New York.
MUMBAI: Producer Chandra Pemmaraju is gearing up to release Love Lies And Seeta under the banner of Movie Depot on 18 May.
This Indo–American independent film is about falling for a girl who doesn’t believe in love and interweaving friendships that cross-traditional borders of ethnicity. The movie follows the lives of the male leads – Rahul, Tom, and Bhavuk, who have all independently met the beautiful Seeta at different stages in their lives.
As the friendship amongst the three men grow, a chance encounter with Seeta makes them realise they all have fallen in love with the same woman. They reach out to their friends outside the group to cope with falling in love with Seeta. The love triangle envelops the characters and their friends. The city backdrop depicts a New York summer and makes its urban-natural beauty an important supporting character.
“The idea was simple to make the first of its kind fun, young urban romantic comedy in an extremely low budget yet with international standards. The movie took a year and half to make. I enjoyed the process of writing the story as well as making the movie, and I hope the Indian audience will like the movie as much as I liked making it,” said Premraju in a statement.
Shot in 50 plus different locations in just 28 days, using the revolutionary red camera, the film has been shot completely in Manhattan and Brooklyn NY with an ensemble cast of Indian and American actors. The film aims to appeal to the hipster generation of moviegoers as well as all the audience who love cinema.
Chandra Pemmaraju is a film writer, producer and director of Indian origin based out of New York. The film is to be distributed by Cinemax Motion Pictures in India.
MUMBAI: UTV Motion Pictures is set to release Aamir Khan‘s Delhi Belly on 10 May in Hong Kong.
A rip-roaring film, Delhi Belly will release across eight screens in cinemas for the first week with Cantonese subtitles.
After consecutive success of Hindi films in Hong Kong, there has been immense demand of content that has the ability to crossover and work with local audiences across culture and sensibilities.
The film is about Tashi, Arun and Nitin – flatmates, buddies and partners in crime. Tashi is to get married in a month but still doesn‘t know if his fiancé is the one. Arun can‘t make up his mind who he wants to kill first – his girlfriend who has just dumped him or his stupid, annoying boss whose idea of creativity is sketching a smiling banana.
On the other hand, Nitin is about to discover that eating delicious tandoori chicken off a street vendor is going to give him the worst case of Delhi Belly he‘s ever known! Three regular blokes, living the regular life except for one small detail – they are on the hit list of one of the world‘s deadliest crime syndicates. Will they be able to get away before the shit hits the roof and it comes crashing down? Delhi Belly is the meanest comedy you‘re ever likely to see.
Said UTV Motion Pictures Senior Vice President, International Distribution and Syndication Amrita Pandey, “It‘s a very proud moment for us to have our film Delhi Belly release in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a large young local and expat population and Delhi Belly has done superb business in cities like London, Singapore, Dubai, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, we hope it resonates with audience in Hong Kong. After the phenomenal success of 3 Idiots in Hong Kong, there is huge fan following for Aamir, and correspondingly for Delhi Belly since it is produced by him.”
Directed by Abhinay Deo and written by Akshat Verma, Delhi Belly stars Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapur and Vir Das.
NEW DELHI: ‘9 Eleven‘ by America-based Indian Manan Singh Katohora, which recently received the Rising Star award at the Canada International Film Festival, is to be the closing film at the Peoples Film Festival (TPFF) from 16 to 19 May in New York.
‘9 Eleven‘ portrays the life of 11 people who belong to different walks of life. Though each individual has achieved a measure of success in his or her individual life, the darkest secrets come out in the open when all of them are given some time for introspection, when they meet each other in a bizarre twist of events.
They realise that their lives are inter-woven and this literally shakes up their peaceful lives. Terrorised to the core by an unknown entity in an unfamiliar place, each individual is petrified and is hesitant to talk or take each other into confidence for one simple reason: The Fear of the Unknown.
The Peoples Film Festival (TPFF) is a showcase of extraordinary films that use various different media formats to produce quality films. TPFF celebrates the power of the media when placed in the hands of the people. TPFF cares about films whether they are protests or powerful clips shot in the most extreme conditions. Their objective is to level the playing field while giving the everyday videographer and independent producer the same opportunities to debut their work on the big screen. The main focus is on content, the apparatus used, the technology and delivery.
MUMBAI: Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) and Daily Multimedia Ltd have come together to release the Rajat Kapoor-directed film Fatso on 4 May.
Starring Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli, Neil Bhoopalam and Gunjan Bakshi, the film takes audiences through an accidental incident that leads to Purab Kohli and the 300 pound protagonist, played by Ranvir Shorey, into exchanging lives between heaven and earth. In short, Fatso is all about love packaged with a calorie count.
The out and out comedy is already a subject of heated discussion overseas, the film having traveled to several international festivals including the South Asian International Film Festival in New York, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and Shanghai International Film Festival amongst many others.
Said PNC producer Pritish Nandy, “Fatso is funny, romantic, magical. Rajat Kapoor is at his finest as a director in the charming tradition of Raghu Romeo, Mixed Doubles and Mithya. Comedies rarely make it to top rung international film festivals.”
The film was chosen as recipient of the prestigious Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival.
MUMBAI: New York city has honoured legendary actress Shabana Azmi with a ‘Proclamation by the City of New York‘ for her contribution to cinema and her involvement with the movie industry there.
Azmi becomes the first Indian actor to receive the honour.
Azmi, 61, was presented with the proclamation by Patricia Kaufman, executive director of Motion Picture and Television Development from the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as with a ‘Certificate of
Special Congressional Recognition‘ by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
Describing Azmi as a “woman of extraordinary achievement hailing from a country rich in culture and traditions,” said Kaufman.
The proclamation also applauded her work as a social activist, noting that apart from being a “highly respected” advocate for social justice, she has worked tirelessly for other causes, including funding for displaced Kashmiri migrants and relief for victims of the Latur earthquake.
The proclamation added that her presence on the board of the arts organisation Indo-American Arts council (IAAC) has inspired hundreds of Indian film makers in the New York area for over a decade.
Azmi has served as an advisory board member of the annual New York Indian Film Festival, established by the IAAC in 2000. The annual film festival, which brings together feature films and documentaries from and about the Indian subcontinent, will be held this year from May 23 to 27.
Azmi lauded the IAAC and its co-founder Aroon Shivdasani for creating a space in North America for Indian and diaspora-related films.”The fact that the New York City Council recognises my work in cinema becomes a means of saying that Indian cinema is what we recognise because I am who I am because of my first primary identity of being an Indian film actor. It becomes a peg on which you can create greater visibility,” Azmi observed.
Azmi’s repertoire of international work includes John Schlesinger‘s Madame Sousatzka, Nicholas Klotz‘s Bengali Night, Roland Joffe‘s City of Joy, and Blake Edwards‘ Son of the Pink Panther.
MUMBAI: Warner Bros. has picked up the making rights of Sean Rubin’s upcoming graphic novel Bolivar from Archaia Entertainment. The film will be produced by Akiva Goldsman and Kerry Foster under their Weed Road banner.
Written and illustrated by Rubin, the graphic novel centres on a young girl named Sybil who moves to New York and finds out her neighbour is Bolivar, the last living dinosaur. Despite Sybil‘s persistent efforts, Bolivar refuses to befriend her.
The dinosaur is somewhat of a recluse, tucked away from the world Sybil so desperately wants him to explore with her. He soon realizes how much she means to him and that he would risk everything for her.
Bolivar, intended to be an animated feature, will be written and directed by Irish filmmaker Kealan O’Rourke.
The graphic novel is due out in May next year.
MUMBAI: Paan Singh Tomar is a biopic of a lesser known outlaw from Chambal (compared to ones like Phoolan Devi). The story is worthy of telling because it is about a national-level sportsman who takes to a life of crime when justice is denied to him.
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Producer: Ronnie Screwvala.
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Irrfan is a simple villager with his family of four-mother, father, wife and himself-having a few acres of farmland. To support his family, he joins the army, unaware of his hidden athletic talents which would win him national and international fame. The army has a ration system for food which is a problem for Irrfan and his insatiable diet. When some extra rotis that he is helping himself to are grabbed from his hands, he mentions his huge diet. It is suggested that he join army sports, where there was no limit on food. He reaches the senior‘s house with his request and is put to the test immediately: he is asked to deliver a box of ice cream to a major‘s house before it melts. He does that in four minutes flat and earns his entry in to army‘s sports cadre. The coach is amazed at Irrfan‘s talents as he outruns the star runner in a 5,000-metre race. But there is a hitch. Irrfan can‘t run 5,000 metre as he would win and coach‘s star will lose. The star pupil is the brother of coach‘s daughter‘s husband and his losing would create turmoil in her life. A simpleton and pure at heart, Irrfan would make any sacrifice for his Guru. The Guru in turn introduces Irrfan to steeplechase, a race with water and wooden hurdles. Irrfan excels and becomes the National Champion (and goes on to be so seven times). His big chance comes at the international level in Japan at the Asian Games. But he has to wear spike shoes as against canvas ones at home. Uncomfortable with this sudden development, Irrfan removes his shoes halfway through the race and runs barefoot. This wins him many hearts even as he loses the race. It is time for Irrfan to retire from the army; he is offered the job of a coach in the army but he asks for enrolment for his son instead.
The man that Paan Singh Tomar was is aptly established. That is why the later part, when he takes to arms and killings, shows the helplessness and irony of the system where a national idol till few days back has no one to turn to with a plea of help when his farmland is usurped by his cousin and his crops burnt for Holi fire. The cousin has the might of four double-barrel guns and goons. Things come to head when Irrfan‘s son is almost beaten to death and his mother killed with gun butt. The reluctant Irrfan decides to pick up a gun and turn into an outlaw. The rest of the story is about his exploits and betrayals.
Paan Singh Tomar is a one-man show. It is Irrfan all the way. His simplicity does not deprive him of native intelligence and a sharp sense of humour. Without him, the film could well have become a documentary. The film has a horde of actors doing various roles. Of them, Rajendra Gupta, Rajeev Gupta and Brijendra Kala deserve a mention. Mahie Gill as a coy wife is okay.
The film is well written and though things slow down a bit towards the end, director Tingmashu Dhulia‘s eye for detail and execution are praiseworthy. Dialogue adds to the film‘s merits. Photography is very good. The language used is the local dialect which takes some getting used to.
A biopic is a tough choice as the box office prospects for most of them, save for a Gandhi and Phoolan Devi, have been slim. Paan Singh Tomar too has scope for awards without rewards.
Well made but poorly timed release
London Paris New York is a love story with three chapters in three locations spread over eight years. It is contemporary in its approach and content in that there is no mush or melodrama and tries to be as true to life about today‘s youth as it can.
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Producers: Shrishti Arya, Goldie Behl. |
Ali Zafar is a film producer‘s son from Bandra, Mumbai. His father shows his love for his son in the form of money as he spent all his love on the elder brothers who died in an accident before Ali was born. Ali makes the most of this as he travels first class and is seen only abroad and never in Bandra!
Aditi Rao is born of a Tamil Brahmin and Maharashtrian Brahmin parents. She is from a middle-class background in another Mumbai suburb, Chembur. Unlike in old films where the heroine dropped her handkerchief, here, being an intellectual type, Aditi Rao happens to drop a book on her way out of the airplane. Ali Zafar picks it up, returns it to her and both get talking. Having missed her connecting flight from London to New York (of course, there are direct flights from Mumbai to New York!), Aditi uses her middle class acumen and opts for cash from the airline instead of hotel stay in lieu of the delay which caused her to miss her flight. But then she is stranded because the friend whose house she planned to take refuge in is away. Seeing her dilemma, Ali Zafar suggests they spend the night roaming around London, sightseeing. By the fifth hour of togetherness he is already in love with her and on a bridge over the Thames, makes his first attempt to kiss her. However, enamoured Aditi Rao may have been watching kissing scenes in films, she is not ready to be kissed yet. The night of fun is over and it is time to part, with Ali Zafar making a promise to visit her in New York. This is a promise he is unable to keep. The letters he writes to her remain unanswered. Exasperated, Ali Zafar decides to trace her and learns that she is in Paris as an exchange student.
Again it is a one night tour round Paris with a bridge over the Seine symbolic of the gap being bridged between the two as they kiss and end up in bed. The girl is ready for sex now and as if as in indication her look in this chapter is quite tartish. To give a suitable gap to the next chapter of romance-after all it is an eight-year love saga-Aditi Rao parts in anger professing her hatred for him. That is, until one fine morning a day before she is planning to take vows of matrimony with some Alan. She finds Ali Zafar standing outside her apartment building. Since her Appa-Ayi (mom and dad) are around to attend her wedding, this time it can‘t be the bedroom. The affair with riverfronts continues as both end up spending the night kissing and smooching on a bridge over the Hudson River in New York till it is sunlight and she realises she is running late for her wedding. After a semi-emotional outburst by Ali Zafar where he calls her a cock-teaser and just happy to know she has him by his balls, it all ends well as love triumphs after eight years.
London Paris New York caters to the new generation to which not much is taboo, be it in Bandra or Chembur. Thankfully, the viewer is not taken to be an imbecile. Despite some loose ends, the film has been written intelligently; dialogue is natural and full of subtle humour. Music composed by Ali Zafar himself blends with the story though one durable melody would have been very welcome. Ali Zafar is natural as a carefree, wannabe filmmaker; he is sure to add to his fan following. Aditi Rao has nothing Tamil or Maharashtrian Brahmin about her except spouting bookish theories, including one on the chemical reaction of exchanging a kiss. She acts and looks suitably loveable. Photography, as it should be in such a film, is very good. There is not much of a supporting cast except for passing characters.
London Paris New York would have stood much better prospects if released when its target audience, the youth, was not facing exams.
Lacks in logic and almost everything else
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Producers: Anil Dalmia, Rakesh Sabharwal. |
There are romantic films, thrillers, comedies, adventure and then there is Diary of a Butterfly. It is impossible to find a genre or the logic behind making it. It looks like an outcome of a ‘Have money will make a movie‘ whim.
Udita Goswami is a well-to-do Jaipur girl, who nurses an ambition to make it big in Mumbai. She gets her chance when a friend arranges for a job as a designer in a fashion house. Ready to leave for Mumbai, she drops her boyfriend whom she generally uses as her sex toy. Her job is cushy, has a friendly boss and she shares an apartment with two friends. All goes well until her firm is faced with a challenge to design a range for an international brand within ten days if they want the account. The designs she makes are instantly rejected by her senior. Her ambitious side surfaces as she lures her senior into spending a night in her bed; the next day her rejected designs are approved. Soon, while you were not looking, she is the big shot in the ultimate fashion house; the global one her firm was vying to win over. Meanwhile, Udita Goswami maintains a diary of her day-to-day activities on the insistence of her mother Rati Agnihotri.
Her mother maintains one too: don‘t know why since as a housewife she would not have much to write about except how much she paid the dhobi or for vegetables! On the 72nd day or so, she goes through her diary and realises she has hurt many people in her thirst for success and approaches each of them to apologise only to be shunned by them all. In revenge, she decides to remain as she is, using her bed as a ladder to rise in her career.
Since one sees no sense in making this film, there is no sense in anything else about it either.
Finding the minimum number of patrons to run a screening at cinemas will be a miracle for Dairy of a Butterfly!