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Tag: Pakistan

  • Rahul Bose set to make English film based on Pakistani novel

    Rahul Bose set to make English film based on Pakistani novel

    MUMBAI: Rahul Bose is all set to make an English movie, said to be an adaptation of a Pakistani novel.

    “I will be making an English movie based on a Pakistani novel. So I won‘t be available for any other movies during that period of August, September and October,” said Bose.

    Bose, who started his career with English August, is also excited about his next Bengali film with national award-wining director Suman Mukhopadhyay. The film is based on Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore‘s Shesher Kabita.

    “I will start my shooting for my next venture Shesher Kabita with Konkona Sen Sharma. The film will be directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay,” said the 44-year-old actor.

    Notable films of Bose include 15 Park Avenue, Shaurya, Tahaan and Antaheen among many others.

  • Dilip Kumar house in Peshawar granted national heritage status

    Dilip Kumar house in Peshawar granted national heritage status

    MUMBAI: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in Pakistan, in a tribute to veteran Dilip Kumar, has granted the status of ‘national heritage‘ to the star’s house in Peshawar.

    The house with six rooms was located at Mohallah Khudadad, Qissa Khwani Bazaar.The government purchased the land for Rs 30 million from a local.

    Averred Kumar in a statement, “The news that the house where I was born (1922) and where I spent a good part of my childhood in Peshawar‘s Qissa Khwani Bazaar, then in Undivided India, will be given the honour of being a part of the national heritage of Pakistan has sent my mind racing back to memories of happy days spent in the spacious home and its surroundings. This morning many of you asked me to blog about it.

    “I am at once full of fond remembrances of my parents, grandparents and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins who filled the house with the sounds of their chatter and hearty laughter. I can vividly recall the piggy rides on my grandfather‘s back and the scary stories my grandmother cooked up to forbid me from wandering out of the house alone.”

    Known as the ‘Tragedy King of Bollywood‘, Kumar said that he has penned down all this in his autobiography that is due to release soon. The star was born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan at Mohalla Khudadad in Qissa Khwani Bazaar on 11 December 1922.

    Incidentally, Peshawar has produced some gems in the field of performing arts like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan, to name a few.

  • OLX rolls out new TVC conceptualised by Saatchi & Saatchi

    OLX rolls out new TVC conceptualised by Saatchi & Saatchi

    MUMBAI: The free online classified site OLX.in has launched a new TVC, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, to take its ‘Bech de’ campaign further. It is back on national TV with ‘Grandfather’ and ‘Baby Cot’ TVCs.

    The idea of the campaign is ‘everything sells for a price’.

    The first set of commercials was aired in June 2011 and the company claims that it worked well in driving traffic to the site as well in making OLX a household name in India.

    Encouraged by the campaign’s response in India, OLX ran the same TV ads in Pakistan as well and the same creative idea was reproduced in Portugal.

    Saatchi & Saatchi NCD Ramanuj Shastry said, “Not going for the so-called fresh situations to bring newness to a campaign and keeping the narrative within a family was a decision we didn’t have to think twice about. That aside, it was a tremendous feeling to have a seasoned actor like Ramesh Deo holding the fort in our latest script.”

    OLX India country head Amarjit Batra added, “Our core value proposition of ‘Individuals using OLX to sell personal goods that they don’t need or use’ comes out beautifully from these new TV ads. The use of same cast in all the films implies the huge need among every Indian Family to solve their daily problems of buying, selling products and services locally. With OLX they simply have to tell their friends and relatives to ‘BechDe’.”

    The new TVCs carry the distinct humour. So where the first one began from younger brother convincing the elder one to sell his old bike, and second one getting the two together to get their dad to sell off his desktop, the third one builds on this natural progression. Now the two brothers and the father get their grandfather to part with his cherished old car.

  • The Dirty Picture banned in Pakistan

    The Dirty Picture banned in Pakistan

    MUMBAI: The Pakistan Censor Board has reportedly banned Balaji Telefilms‘ The Dirty Picture starring Vidya Balan.

    Confirming the ban in Pakistan, Balaji Motion Pictures Head of Distribution and Acquisition Girish Johar said, “Yes, it‘s a loss to all The Dirty Picture fans in Pakistan – especially fans of Vidya, Emraan and those who wanted to see the song ‘Ooh La La‘.”

    The Dirty Picture is based on the life of Silk Smitha, the sultry south siren of the 80‘s. The film has Vidya Balan essaying the role of the actress for which she has been receiving rave reviews.

    The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tushar Kapoor in pivotal roles.

  • Jessica Chastian to play Princess Diana

    Jessica Chastian to play Princess Diana

    MUMBAI: Jessica Chastain will play the late Diana, Princess of Wales in a romantic biopic titled Caught in Flight, according to movie blog Thompson on Hollywood.

    Chastian follows Meryl Streep who played Margaret Thatcher earlier or Anne Hathaway who played Jane Austen.

    Caught in Flight will depict a secret two-year affair the princess had with heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan from 1995, that would be presented as a “love story between a princess locked in a tower and an ordinary man”.

    The script of the film has been written by The Libertine‘s Steven Jeffreys and would be directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.

    The film‘s pre-production will start in March 2012 under British production company Ecosse Films while it will be shot in Pakistan, Angola, the South of France and Paris.

  • Book on bin Laden killing to be made into a Hollywood film By Indiantelevision.com Team(22 October 2011 3:45 pm)

    Book on bin Laden killing to be made into a Hollywood film By Indiantelevision.com Team(22 October 2011 3:45 pm)

    MUMBAI: Osama bin Laden continues to interest Americans. And now a book detailing his death could be converted into a Hollywood movie.

    Chuck Pfaffer, author of “SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden,” is keen to sell to studios or producers the television and film rights. The book is set for release on 8 November.

    The book is a first hand account of the raid on bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan from SEAL members. Pfaffe, a former U.S. Navy SEAL commander, has offered a different account of the raid than the official White House version.

    According to the official version, bin Laden’s death operations took 40 minutes as SEALS made their way up to the bedroom from the ground floor. Pfarrer, however, writes that bin Laden was killed in the first 90 seconds of the raid as the SEALS entered from the roof.

    Another movie about the raid is being made by director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal for Sony. The film is scheduled to release during the fall of 2012.

  • Doha Film Institute finances Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’

    Doha Film Institute finances Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’

    MUMBAI: The Doha Film Institute (DFI) is to finance internationally acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist based on Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling novel by the same name.


    The film, a Mirabai Films and Cine Mosaic production, marks DFI’s first financing involvement in an independent feature film. The project underscores DFI’s ongoing goal to foster creativity and storytelling by supporting key independent productions from international filmmakers around the world.


    Adapted by Bill Wheeler, Mohsin Hamid, and Ami Boghani and produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the second major international production to receive financing from the DFI. The institute first ventured into international production earlier this year with the Arabian epic Black Gold along with Quinta Communications.


    Commenting on The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Nair said, “My father lived in Lahore before the partition of India and Pakistan. I am inspired to make a contemporary film about Pakistan, especially in this day and age when the perceived schism between Islamists and the Western World becomes more pronounced each day. In Doha Film Institute, I have a like-minded partner who shares a common belief in this story and its ability to affect change, having supported this project from the very beginning. In this day and age to have creative freedom to make a film that is political, timely and multi layered is a gift.”


    The film is a riveting thriller about Changez, a young Pakistani man chasing corporate success on Wall Street in the era of globalization. After 11 September, Changez experiences a seismic shift in his own attitude, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.


    Commented DFI executive director Amanda Palmer, “Mira Nair is one of the most recognised filmmakers working today, someone who Qatar has long admired for her talent and commitment to making films that tackle strong subject matters with enduring humanity. And with the tenth anniversary year of September 11, the importance of this story cannot be understated.”


    Other crew members include cinematographer Declan Quinn, costume designer Arjun Bhasin, production designer Michael Carlin and editor Shimit Amin.

  • South Asian filmmakers team up for film on human trafficking

    South Asian filmmakers team up for film on human trafficking

    MUMBAI: Leading film producers from South Asian countries have decided to join hands and make a feature film on ‘human trafficking‘, a major issue afflicting their countries.


    An agreement for making the film was signed by South Asian Foundation, which organised the festival, Impress Telefilms, a big production house of Bangladesh, Roya Films of Afghanistan and Bhutan‘s Karma Dekhi Productions.
     
    Besides production houses from Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka have also evinced keen interest to fund the movie.


    The film is to be directed by Rakesh Mehta whose debut film Khudakhushi had words of praise from critics of several international festivals last year.


    Khudakhushi was a story about two Muslim youths who get involved in terrorist activities but by the time they realise the gravity of the crime they are involved in, it is too late for them to come out of it.


    The just announced film will go on the floors early next year and not only the cast but also the locales will cover the South Asian countries.

  • SAFF gets going in Goa

    SAFF gets going in Goa

    MUMBAI: The South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) got going in Goa yesterday with the screening of the Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore-starrer Kashmir ki Kali, screened as a special tribute to the late star.


    The festival was declared open by Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat in the presence of Randhir Kapoor and Rajeev Kapoor, the scions of Kapoor family among representatives of South Asian Countries who were present at the ceremony.


    Randhir Kapoor was felicitated by the state chief secretary Sanjay Srivastava in honour of the contribution of the Kapoor family to Indian Cinema. “Cinema knows no boundaries. Its just an emotion that we create. We should have lot of cultural exchange amongst the south Asian nations,” said Kapoor responding to the felicitation.


    The festival‘s theme is ‘Dissolving Boundaries‘ – spreading the message of togetherness and oneness amongst the South Asian Countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


    Bhutan is the focus country for SAFF 2011. The annual festival will also pay tribute to Bangladeshi film maker Tareque Masud who was one of the two prime witnesses of the International War Crime Tribunal. Incidentally, Tareque was killed in a fatal bus accident near Dhaka on 26 August.

  • Eros set to release Bol on 31 August

    Eros set to release Bol on 31 August

    Mumbai/New Delhi: The Pakistani film ‘Bol‘ by Shoaib Mansoor under the banner Geo Films, which has already broken the records set by ‘My Name is Khan’ following its release in Pakistan on 24 June, is slated to release in India by Eros International on 31 August to coincide with the festival of Id-ul-Fitr marking the end of the month of Ramadan.

    The film is based on an original story Mansoor, who had earlier made history by succeeding at the Indian box office with his film ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ which had also starred Naseeruddin Shah in an important role.

    The film is also being released worldwide in countries where Urdu-speaking people live.

    The exercise was spearheaded by Krishika Lulla, known to be a supporter of woman- oriented socially relevant causes.

    “This is a fabulous film that deals with gender issues in Pakistan, questioning the reasoning behind considering the birth of a female child as a bane,” said Lulla in a statement.

    “The film will touch hearts regardless of geographical borders. Those in India who have seen the film have all shared the same reaction. If Mansoor‘s Khuda Ke Liye caused goose bumps, Bol will send a shiver down your spine,” she added.

    The film is about the status of women in a society headed by orthodox males, and also deals with the issue of families ill-treating the girl child on failing to get male children.