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Tag: Om Puri

  • Steven Spielberg produced, Om Puri film trailer released

    Steven Spielberg produced, Om Puri film trailer released

    MUMBAI: Yahoo Movies has just released the first trailer of The Hundred Foot Journey, an upcoming motion picture adaptation of Richard C. Morrais’s New York Times bestseller. The film is produced by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List) and Academy Award nominee Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple).

     

    The film narrates the rise of Hassan Haji, the unlikely gourmand who recounts his life’s journey through the events of the film.

     

    Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumi?re, a small village in the French Alps.

    The boisterous Haji family takes Lumi?re by storm. They open an inexpensive Indian restaurant opposite an esteemed French relais (that of the famous chef Madame Mallory) and infuse the sleepy town with the spices of India, transforming the lives of its eccentric villagers and infuriating their celebrated neighbour. Only after Madame Mallory wages culinary war with the immigrant family, does she finally agree to mentor young Hassan, leading him to Paris, the launch of his own restaurant, and a slew of new adventures.

     

    The Hundred Foot Journey stars Academy Award winner Helen Mirren (The Queen), Manish Dayal (90210) as Hassal Haji and Filmfare Award winner Om Puri (Aakrosh).

  • Tata Sky brings the ithaas of Ramayana to you

    Tata Sky brings the ithaas of Ramayana to you

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, India’s leading DTH service provider brings Ramayana, the popular and timeless Indian epic once again on to television with a twist. Starting this month, the Ramayana tales will a part of Tata Sky’s interactive platform – Actve Music every Sunday.

    Tata Sky gives its subscribers an opportunity to relive a total of 1300 minutes of exhilarating audio entertainment of the Ramayana at convenient time slots throughout their Sundays with voice over’s from some of Indian cinemas most profound and famous personalities such as Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Jafri, Om Puri etc. The classic epic is divided into 120 episodes of 10 mins each which will be played on Bhakti Sagar channel every Sunday.

    Commenting on this unique introduction, Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer at Tata Sky said, “In today’s day and age every parent seems to be struggling to ensure that their child in the 21st century, should be aware of Indian history and religious folks, one way or the other. This offering ensures that customers from all age groups to enjoy the offering, relaxed on a Sunday with their entire family in the comfort of their homes.”

    Tata Sky’s Actve Music has time and again revamped itself, catering to the likes of its subscribers, this time by introducing music genres such as Classical, Kannada Devotional, Spiritual Music, Blues and Jazz, English Hits & Classics. Actve Music’s USP continues to be a 24×7 music platform with subscriber’s choice of music with no ad-breaks, no RJ or VJ interruption. Now with the Ramayana on Actve Music subscribers have an enduring epic as new offerings to enjoy.

     

  • ‘Bhaji in problem’ receives record price from distributors in Punjab

    ‘Bhaji in problem’ receives record price from distributors in Punjab

    NEW DELHI: With ten days to go for the release of the Punjabi comical relief, Bhaji in Problem from Akshay Kumar and Ashvini Yardi’s production house Grazing Goat Pictures, the company has been inundated with huge demands for the rights of the film from across cinemas in Punjab!

    Bhaji in Problem stars some of Punjab’s most reputed stars such as Gippy Grewal and Gurpreet Ghuggi who are joined by Sasural Ghenda Phool’s Ragini Khanna and veteran actor Om Puri as central characters.

    The film is directed by Smeep Kang who has delivered successful hits such as Carry on Jatta and Lucky Di Unlucky Story.

    The film also sees cricketer Harbajan Singh make a friendly appearance in the film. Akshay Kumar who is producing the film with Grazing Goat Pictures Co-producer Ashvini Yardi will feature in an extended role.

    Bhaji in Problem is Grazing Goat Picture’s second regional film production after the poignant Marathi film 72 Miles Ek Pravas. The film is being released on 15 November.

  • Bhaji in problem receives record price from distributors in Punjab

    Bhaji in problem receives record price from distributors in Punjab

    NEW DELHI: With ten days to go for the release of the Punjabi comical relief, Bhaji in Problem from Akshay Kumar and Ashvini Yardi’s production house Grazing Goat Pictures, the company has been inundated with huge demands for the rights of the film from across cinemas in Punjab!

     

    Bhaji in Problem stars some of Punjab’s most reputed stars such as Gippy Grewal and Gurpreet Ghuggi who are joined by Sasural Ghenda Phool’s Ragini Khanna and veteran actor Om Puri as central characters.

     

    The film is directed by Smeep Kang who has delivered successful hits such as Carry on Jatta and Lucky Di Unlucky Story.

     

    The film also sees cricketer Harbajan Singh make a friendly appearance in the film. Akshay Kumar who is producing the film with Grazing Goat Pictures Co-producer Ashvini Yardi will feature in an extended role.

     

    Bhaji in Problem is Grazing Goat Picture’s second regional film production after the poignant Marathi film 72 Miles Ek Pravas. The film is being released on 15 November.

  • Om Puri joins Helen Mirren in Lasse Hallstrom’s ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’

    Om Puri joins Helen Mirren in Lasse Hallstrom’s ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’

    MUMBAI: The Indian actor has been cast in DreamWorks’ adaptation of Richard C Morais’ best-seller. Om Puri has starred in dozens of films but is best known stateside for East Is East (1999).

     

    The Hundred-Foot Journey follows an Indian family that moves to France and opens an Indian restaurant a hundred feet across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant. The ensuing battle between the eateries tests the power of family, loyalty and love.

     

    Helen Mirren, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon also star in director Lasse Hallstrom’s film, which is produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake. Steve Knight wrote the script. Disney will release the pic in the US on 8 August 2014.

  • Renowned Polish filmmaker Zanussi gets Lifetime Achievement Award as 43rd IFFI commences

    Renowned Polish filmmaker Zanussi gets Lifetime Achievement Award as 43rd IFFI commences

    PANAJI: The 43rd International Film Festival of India commenced today with a promise by Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari to make India an international destination of good cinema.

    Tewari said the Government was taking a number of steps to nurture the Indian film industry and to promote India as a destination for film shooting. He said that the Government was embarking on an ambitious National Film Heritage Mission during the 12th five year plan to preserve India’s film heritage. Moreover, India has entered into co-production agreements with various countries with a view towards encouraging co-production between India and other countries.

    Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the journey started by him 8 years ago had yielded positive results and Goa had been awarded the best film destination in India. He, however, added that a collective endeavour will be made to take this festival to newer heights and to make it truly international.

    Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary in the Ministry, said IFFI had grown from strength to strength incorporating new themes and all efforts will be made to imbibe the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family) through IFFI.

    The Chief Guest of the event and the Bollywood heartthrob Akshay Kumar said that cinema is very important not only for him but for his entire family. Pitching for good and wholesome cinema, he felt proud that the festival is happening in the centenary year of Indian Cinema.

    Renowned Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi was conferred the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion by Tewari. The award carries an amount of Rs one million, a scroll, a shawl and a certificate. Known for producing acclaimed films like Camouflage, Family life, and The Silent Touch, Zanussi said amidst standing ovation that this is the most moving moment of his life that he is being awarded for some achievement and promised to make more films in future. He said 21st century will be Asia’s Century and it is his deep belief that it will be India’s Century.

    Goutam Ghose, Chairman of the International Jury and all the Jury members were felicitated by the IFFI. Ghosh said IFFI has gone through many ups and downs but it’s still glowing. He also called for more autonomy for the film body to function in an efficient way.

    Hosted by Kabir Bedi and Perizaad Zorabian, the event showcased the evolution of 100 years of Indian Cinema through a brilliant combo of music, dance and videos conceived and directed by Jahnu Barua, Saroj Khan and Sajjad Ali. Nearly two-hour cultural extravaganza came to a close with the spell-bound renditions of Kailash Kher.

    With the galaxy of stars like Akshay Kumar, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Om Puri, Jackie Shroff, Vinay Pathak, the opening ceremony was a bit different from the previous festivals. As a part of the international presence, the cine lovers were treated to the company of renowned film personalities like Kim Ki-duk, Michael Winterbottom, Susanne Bier amongst others.

    Academy Award winning Director Ang Lee’s much acclaimed 3D film “Life of Pi” is being screened this evening as the opening film of the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2012). The cast and crew of the film including Irrfan Khan and Tabu were present on the occasion.

    In the 43rd edition of IFFI, over a hundred movies will be screened as a part of the Indian Cinema and the World Cinema segments. The Indian Section will bring to the audience movies from across the country in the Indian Panorama (Feature and Non-Feature Section) which is selected by a core jury headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta for the Feature and M R Rajan for the Non-Feature section. The Indian Panorama will screen twenty feature films with ‘Baandhon’ director by Jahnu Barua as the Opening film, and nineteen films in the non-feature section with ‘Celluloid Man’ directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur as the Opening film.

    Apart from the International Competition, the cine lovers at the 43rd IFFI will be treated to a varied line-up of world cinema which will be showcased in sections like ‘Cinema of the World’ which will have fifty-one films from forty-two countries with Ang Lee’s 3D film ‘Life of Pi’ as its Opening Film and Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ as its Closing Film. Other sections in the International section include ‘A Cut Above’, ‘Masterstrokes’, ‘Festival Kaleidoscope’, ‘Turkish Currents’, ‘Sketches on Screen’, ‘Retrospective: Susanne Bier’, ‘Special Tribute: Ashok Amritraj’, ‘In Focus: Kim Ki-duk’, ‘Soul of Asia’, ‘Documentaries’ and ‘Homages’.

  • Chakravyuh: A let down from Jha

    Chakravyuh: A let down from Jha

    MUMBAI: In 1973 Hrishikesh Mukherjee made Namak Haraam, an adaptation of the English film Becket (1964) an all time classic. Namak Haraam was a classic of its time too and since then, every filmmaker worth his salt has dreamt of making his own version of Becket. While many toyed with the idea, no one could put together a script worth half a Becket. Now that Namak Haraam and Becket are faded from memory and unknown to today‘s generation, Prakash Jha has taken the plunge. His latest offering, Chakravyuh, is a rehash of the great classic.

    Earlier, Jha took liberties with three classics: the epic tome, The Mahabharat; the all time Hollywood classic, The Godfather; and Shyam Benegal‘s classic, Kalyug, to make his Raajneeti. This time he tries Becket at his own peril. The film is woven around the Naxal problem in India vs corrupt politicians and trigger-happy policemen. In that, the police have a carte blanche: kill a Naxal when you see one, rape his woman to complete the ‘justice‘. That is how Chakravyuh proceeds.

    Arjun Rampal and Abhay Deol are bum chums. Rampal is one born with the proverbial silver spoon but he uses that spoon to feed his poor, no-background friend, Abhay Deol. No footage or effort is wasted on establishing their friendship, how it happened or the depth of it. The director says that they are great friends who will waste their life on each other so you accept it; period.

    When Rampal joins the police academy (since when did rich boys chose this profession?) he forces his pal Deol to join too. Also in the academy is Esha Gupta, Rampal‘s lady love. They both qualify but Deol is a rebel and is rusticated for attacking an officer. After that, he vanishes from the scene for the next seven years while Rampal and Gupta pass out with flying colours. As the film begins, they are married; he is a super cop now and she heads the intelligence wing! She is in police uniform at all times; he is inevitably in mufti and riding an SUV. That is about as much glamour as you can afford in this kind of a film.

    Rampal and his police keep falling prey to same old ploy where an ‘informer‘ plants the Naxals‘ whereabouts, the police attack and are picked off like sitting ducks by the Naxals. Rampal is hit by a bullet and that is when his bum chum, Deol, suggests he penetrate the Naxals as a police mole to help Rampal defeat them. Deol, having joined the Naxals to help his pal destroy the movement, soon starts empathising with the Naxals‘ problems. He realises that they are the ones denied justice. He takes up the cause of the discriminated and goes on to become their protagonist at the cost of alienating his friend and benefactor, Rampal.

    The equations have changed, friends have become foes. But, sadly, the film has lost its plot by now. There are encounters between the police and the Naxals and the process goes on and on. This film has no story to tell really. From script to execution, everything about it is poor; include the star cast to that which has no draw. What is a principled, educated policeman like Rampal doing protecting his corrupt masters, the politicians? How does the title fit in?

    The cast of Chakravyuh reads like the maker‘s office roll call, consisting mainly of Jha‘s regular faces. It does not matter if they don‘t really fill the bill. Of his main players, Rampal, Deol and Gupta, none has a well-defined role. The only one who steals a march is the little known Anjali Patil. Om Puri and Manoj Bajpayee don‘t help much because of their sketchy characters. And it is high time Murali Sharma changed his expressions and mannerisms. The music is a letdown and the film offers nothing in the name of entertainment.

    Prakash Jha‘s story, screenplay, direction and the very idea of making this film fails to justify why anyone will pay 200 to 300 rupees to watch it.

    Chakravyuh is poor beyond redemption.

  • Entertainment tax relief for Krishna aur Kans

    Entertainment tax relief for Krishna aur Kans

    MUMBAI: 3D animated feature film Krishna aur Kans has been declared tax-free in six states including Maharashtra.

    Produced by Reliance Animation, the film, which released on Friday, has been declared tax-free in Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

    Other states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are also considering the proposal.

    “We are thankful to all the state governments for such overwhelming support towards the film for the cause. We want every family in our country to celebrate Janmashtami with ‘Krishna aur Kans‘ and enjoy the adventures and pranks of their favourite Krishna,” said Reliance Animation CEO Ashish Kulkarni.

    Krishna Aur Kans is the story of Lord Krishna and the brutality of Kans. It highlights Krishna’s birth and his victory over Kans. “We’ve watched many animated films revolving around the Gods in the Hindu mythology but this one takes Hindi 3D animation to a new level,” the CEO observed.

    The film has voiceovers by Juhi Chawla, Manoj Bajpayi, Om Puri, Prachi Save, Anupam Kher, A.K. Hangal and Mukesh Khanna.

    “Schools across the states have started doing block bookings of the shows for their students. Even corporate, social groups and clubs in various cities across the country have done block bookings for their employees and members. Also, religious organisations have made bulk bookings,” Kulkarni said.

  • Venice fest to screen Mira Nair’s latest film

    Venice fest to screen Mira Nair’s latest film

    MUMBAI: Mira Nair‘s latest film The Reluctant Fundamentalist will open the 69th Venice International Film Festival that will run from 29 August to 8 September this year.

    Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is an international political thriller that follows the story of a young Pakistani man, chasing corporate success on Wall Street, who ultimately finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis and the enduring call of his family‘s homeland.

    The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which screens out of competition, stars Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber, Martin Donovan, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Haluk Bilginer and Meesha Shafi. The film was shot in the cities of Lahore, Delhi, Istanbul, New York and Atlanta.

    Mira Nair, Golden Lion winner in 2001 for Monsoon Wedding, returns to the Venice Film Festival for her fifth time after having participated in 1991 with Mississippi Masala, in 2002 with the episode from the collective film 11‘09‘01 and in 2004 in Competition with Vanity Fair.

  • Reliance to release Krishna aur Kans on 3 August

    Reliance to release Krishna aur Kans on 3 August

    MUMBAI: Reliance Motion Pictures is gearing up to release its 3D film Krishna Aur Kans on 3 August.

    The film is based on the timeless tale of Lord Krishna – one of the legendary characters from Indian mythology revered across the globe. The film chronicles his early years – from his birth as the nemesis of his evil uncle Kans, to his combat against innumerable lethal demons- who are sent by Kans to kill Krishna. This film brings to life Krishna‘s various adventures and miracles in an aim to fulfill his aim on earth – to put an end to evil.

    The film, directed by Vikram Veturi for Reliance Animation, has voiceovers by Om Puri, Juhi Chawla, Manoj Bajpai, Anupam Kher, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Supriya Pilgaonkar, and AK Hangal among others.

    Veturi‘s career, that spans over 13 years in animation, started as a 2D animator on the Millimages series -Pablo- The Little Red Fox. Among his noted earlier ventures is Mucha Lucha (TV series) for Warner Bros in which he was the animation director. He also co-directed the short film The Bad Egg that won the Digicon International award at Japan and Gold medal at New York Film Festival and directed the digital 2D animated series Shaktimaan, which will be airing on Nickelodeon and Sonic.