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Tag: Prakash Jha

  • Patna High Court also rejects petition against Aarakshan

    Patna High Court also rejects petition against Aarakshan

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Supreme Court is to take up the case relating to Prakash Jha‘s film Aarakshan on Friday, the Patna High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) requesting the Court to stop the release of the film in Bihar.

    Petitioner Pramod Kumar Singh had demanded a stay on the release of the film fearing breach of peace in the state. Singh had said that certain comments, allegedly made in the film, were “against the constitutional provisions”.

    A division bench of the Patna High Court comprising Justice SK Katriar and Justice A Amanullah, however, dismissed the petition, saying a similar petition filed in the Bombay High Court was dismissed on 9 August.

    The bench further observed that as the film had already been released in Bihar on 12 August and no breach of peace took place since then, the application had been rendered infructuous.

    Even as the Uttar Pradesh Government gears itself to protect its ban of the film before the Apex Court tomorrow, it is learnt that the state exchequer lost revenue worth about Rs 40 million due to the ban.

    Estimates made by entertainment department said that window sales on the first weekend alone would have generated around Rs 25 million. By Tuesday, the amount was expected to cross Rs 40 million mark.

  • Bombay HC refuses to stay release of Aarakshan

    Bombay HC refuses to stay release of Aarakshan

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has refused to stay the release of Prakash Jha‘s film Aarakshan. It also said that there will be no special screening for anybody before its release next Friday.


    After hearing a petition filed by two advocates seeking a preview of the film, claiming that it was anti-reservation and could disturb peace and harmony, a division bench of Justices D D Sinha and A R Joshi passed the order.


    “We are of the view that the petitioner‘s prayers for special screening of the movie before its release are totally misconceived and wrong. Hence we are rejecting it,” said Justice Sinha, after which he adjourned the matter for further hearing on 22 August.
     
    The Court also refused to stay the release of the film on 12 August as sought by Advocate Sanghraj Rupwate who appeared for the petitioners.


    “It is not right to impose restraint on the movie‘s release. There is no ground to do so,” the Court observed.


    Since sometime, the film has been facing a flurry of protests by several political leaders over its alleged anti-quota stance.

  • The story of three channels

    The story of three channels

    NEW DELHI: Three different channels operating in different markets are trying to work out content that would work and advertising revenues that would make them profitable. Struggling to succeed against their bigger rivals, they have a task cut out for them.

    CNEB News, part of the HBN Group, is up against the mightier Hindi news channels such as Aaj Tak, India TV and Star News.

    “Distribution is the main problem for us. The government also should be strict in handing out permissions for news channels,” said CNEB COO Anuranjan Jha, while speaking at the 4th News Television Summit.

    Maurya TV, operating in Bihar and Jharkhand, has managed to find space for itself. “We became the No. 1 channel in these markets. Bihar is a very political market. We are also expanding to Uttar Pradesh,” said Maurya TV executive editor Kumar Raajesh.  
         
      The channel is 74 per cent owned by Prakash Jha and 26 per cent by Manmohan Shetty. Though it may have got ratings, the channel is finding it tough to rope in advertisers. The hope is that a wider footprint would help. Entering into Uttar Pradesh, however, would mean coughing out higher carriage costs as MSO Den Networks dominates that market.

    Day & Night News is also finding the going tough. Blocked initially by a leading MSO in Punjab for coverage of political news, the multi-lingual channel (Punjabi, Hindi and English) is fighting back and has sealed distribution deals with the DTH operators.

    “We have carved a space for ourselves by being politically neutral. The other channels in the state are politically aligned,” said Day & Night News managing editor Kanwar Sandhu.

    The channel is from Chandigarh with primary focus on Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi & NCR.

  • Prakash Jha to launch news channel

    Prakash Jha to launch news channel

    MUMBAI: Filmmaker Prakash Jha is all set to launch his news and current affairs channel, Maurya TV, in Bihar.

    To be based in Patna, the 24-hour, free-to-air channel will air in Bihari language. “This will be an infotainment channel and will cover everything related to Bollywood, politics, news and society,” reveals Jha.

    According to Jha, the team for the setup is already in place and the process of chosing an individual to head day-to-day operations for the channel is currently in the final stages.

    Manmohan Shetty will be an investor in Jha’s project.

    The clearance of the channel was secured from the I&B Ministry a year ago and the channel in all probablity will start functioning two months from now, adds Jha.