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Tag: Prakash Raj

  • Cyber threats loom in Special Ops 2 trailer

    Cyber threats loom in Special Ops 2 trailer

    MUMBAI: JioHotstar has plugged in with the trailer for Special Ops Season 2, signalling the electrifying return of Kay Kay Menon as the redoubtable R&AW officer Himmat Singh. This time, the stakes are not just high, they’re sky-high, as the series pivots to a perilous cyber front.

    Created and directed by Neeraj Pandey, who also serves as a writer for the series, alongside Deepak Kingrani and Benazir Ali Fida, the show’s cinematography was handled by Sudheer Palsane, Arvind Singh, and Praveen Kathikuloth.

    Under the keen eye of director Shivam Nair, the new season plunges audiences into a volatile geopolitical skirmish. Wars, it seems, are no longer confined to muddy battlegrounds but are now waged in the digital ether, with the enemy lurking in plain sight. Himmat and his crack squad face a silent, insidious war – one of coordinated cyber breaches that threaten to dismantle national stability without a whisper of warning or a single visible scar. It’s a battle for the very soul of the nation, folks.

    A sterling ensemble cast, including Prakash Raj, Vinay Pathak, Karan Tacker, Saiyami Kher, Muzammil Ibrahim, Gautami Kapoor, Parmeet Sethi, and Kali Prasad Mukherjee, lend their considerable talents, adding layers of intensity to this high-octane narrative.

    The Grand Hyatt Mumbai played host to the grand unveiling, where the full cast mingled with the press. JioStar CMO & head-SVOD Sushant Sreeram, offered a fascinating insight into the streaming giant’s greenlighting philosophy. Addressing the perennial question of audience attachment to characters, Mr Sreeram mused that on-screen personas transcend mere viewing figures, becoming integral to a process. He elaborated, rather pointedly, that audiences seek inspiration, hope, or solace in these journeys, finding reflections of ‘either what we are or what we want to be.’

    While JioHotstar boasts a ‘repertoire’ of ‘best characters’, their true vibrancy, he noted, stems from the collective genius of ‘writing it, to directing it, to the people who actually portray the characters,’ not forgetting the ‘fantastic teams at JioStar’ who bring them to the screen. In essence, he argued, these on-screen figures are but echoes of ‘our close relationships’, promising both familiarity and ‘surprise and, you know, delight’ this season.

    JioHotstar, not one to miss a beat, shared the trailer on Instagram with a pithy caption: “This time, everyone is a Target! Cyber-Terrorism vs. Himmat Singh and his squad. #HotstarSpecials #SpecialOps2, streaming from July 11, only on #JioHotstar”.

    https://www.instagram.com/jiohotstar

    With a fresh antagonist in Tahir Raj Bhasin, and a global scale matched by razor-sharp performances, Special Ops Season 2 is set for a thrilling 11 July drop. Brace yourselves, because this time, the battlefield is everywhere!

     

  • TenderCuts promises ‘freshest meats’ in new marketing campaign

    TenderCuts promises ‘freshest meats’ in new marketing campaign

    Mumbai: TenderCuts, the meat and seafood omnichannel company has launched its new ‘Good meat. Genuine meat. Always.’ proposition in a multi-film campaign conceived by Lowe Lintas Bangalore.  The key objective of the campaign is to increase brand awareness and consideration to drive trials by consumers. 

    Consumers today are increasingly wary of the quality of products available in the market – especially meats and seafood. Most people still prefer to physically purchase the products to ensure that they are not compromising on the quality. Lowe Lintas has used this insight to showcase the various elements of TenderCuts communicating that the brand offerings are best in quality, said the statement.

    TenderCuts integrated creative will be live across TV, digital, print, and OOH in multiple markets, especially in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore where the brand has a strong foothold currently, it added.

    The campaign consists of three films highlighting different messages by the brand – the first one showcases the best quality meat products at the most honest prices, the second one features the ready-to-cook range by TenderCuts which consists of the freshest meat that is freshly marinated, and the third film focuses on the fact that all products are freshly cut only after an order is placed. The ads feature well-known South actor Prakash Raj.

    “Prakash Raj is truly a fabulous actor and brings the campaign alive with his engaging humour and seasoned acting skills. Through our omnichannel presence we endeavour to offer the best quality, genuine meat always,” said TenderCuts founder and CEO Nishanth Chandran. “Our customers can now see our proposition of freshly cut after you order come alive through our efficient Tech based QR code, by which customers can know when, where and by whom the meat was cut.”

    “We are really excited about the campaign & through this we want our customers to become aware of the Tender promise,” stated TenderCuts CMO Aruna Jathar. “At TenderCuts we believe in doing things that are right for the customer and that is table stakes. We highlight this undeniable fact through our new & remarkable campaign which is spun around the promise of Good Meat, Genuine Meat, Always!”

    “TenderCuts is all about honesty. Be it their prices, their quality or even their practices,” remarked Lowe Lintas executive director and branch head  Sonali Khanna. “Most of the time this is experienced first-hand by those who visit their stores. We wanted to achieve the same emotion. By roping in a celebrity like Prakash Raj, we felt it would be nice to let him experience this honesty first-hand. Hence the idea of a shoot within a shoot.”

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  • Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha launch ‘Save Tiger’ campaign with Prakash Raj

    Suvarna News & Kannada Prabha launch ‘Save Tiger’ campaign with Prakash Raj

    BANGALORE: Suvarna News 24×7 and Kannada Prabha have launched a Save Tiger Campaign with actor Prakash Raj as brand ambassador.

     

    The initiative was unveiled with Raj along with Karnataka forest minister Ramanath Rai and state forest department officials recently.

     

    The 45 days long awareness campaign has multiple layers of communication and grassroots level activities, which include television campaign with experts discussions and TVCs along with print and digital campaigns, contests and other engaging BTL activities. A meet and greet will also be organized with Raj at tiger reserve areas to educate people on the importance of saving the tiger. A Tiger photography contest has also been organized with an exhibition at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat in Bangalore.

     

    “This is first of a kind campaign by a regional news media, apart from the scale and duration; the crux of the campaign is it is designed to reach all kinds of target groups that include students, to housewives to corporates to IT corridors. Extensive TV and print campaign will surely creates an impact in bringing awareness, yet we believe in going an extra mile. Hence our approach, by design, is deep rooted and reaches even the last mile in the forest,” said Asianet News Network CEO C Shyamsundar.

     

    “We thank our sponsors CSS Corp, Karnataka Forest Department and Jungle Lodges & Resorts for supporting the campaign,” he added.

  • ‘Entertainment’…This one is for kids and likeminded!

    ‘Entertainment’…This one is for kids and likeminded!

    MUMBAI: A dog rates as the most accepted and loved pet anywhere and everywhere. They are easily adaptable to training and loyal as companions. The pet and the owner have a tendency to get emotionally attached to each other, so much so that fortunes are sometimes willed to a pet on the owner’s death. 

    Dogs are often used in films too, usually with the aim to entertain children or, otherwise, to solve mysteries. Entertainment seems to have been inspired from an American film, Bailey’s Billion$, a children’s film about a pet dog inheriting a billion dollar and the deceased’s nephew and spouse wanting to eliminate him for the billion to pass on to them.

    Akshay Kumar is a devoted son who has no regular job. To tend to his ailing father lying in hospital, he keeps doing various odd jobs every day. Every time he does an odd job, he is shortchanged but he avoids getting into a fight as his priority is to run to hospital to check on his father, Darshan Jariwal.

    On one such visit to the hospital with his friend to check on his father, he learns that Jariwala is not sick at all and just exploiting Akshay to enjoy the luxury of the five-star hospital and is romancing a nurse. When confronted, Jariwala reveals that Akshay is not his son but he adopted him after a train accident in which his mother had died and the compensation to her close relatives was Rs one lakh which he wanted to claim. Akshay is actually the son of a wealthy jeweller (played by Dalip Tahil as a photo frame) from Bangkok who sired him and later betrayed his mother.

    Producers: Ramesh S Taurani, Jayantilal Gada.

    Directors: Sajid-Farhad.

    Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah ,MIthun Chakraborty, Johny Liver, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood, Krishna Abhishek, Darshan Jariwala and, in cameo, Riteish Deshmukh.

    Just when Akshay learns of this history about his family, he happens to watch a TV news bulletin and learns that his biological father has passed away. Akshay is thrilled and decides to go to Bangkok along with his sidekick, Krishna, to claim his father’s fortune. On his arrival at his late father’s palatial mansion, he meets Johny Lever, the family lawyer and executor of the will. Lever does not take much convincing to accept Akshay as the jeweller’s son. However, Akshay can’t inherit the Rs 3000 crore fortune since his dead father has bestowed all of it to his pet dog named Entertainment!

    Akshay thinks nothing of it and decides that all he has to do is to get rid of the pet and, as the son of the deceased Tahil, he will be the next heir. Meanwhile, two jailbirds, Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood, also claimants to Tahil’s fortune, are just out and proceed to claim it. But they realise that there are two other heirs before them, a dog and Akshay. They realise that Akshy plans to kill the dog so all they have to do is wait till that happens after which they can kill Akshay.

    This is one smart dog who has saved Tahil from Prakash and Sood and outsmarts Akshay every time he tries to kill him. On one such attempt to kill the pet, it is Akshay whose life is in danger; the pet saves him. Akshay has a change of heart. Now he accepts the pet as the true inheritor of Tahil’s fortune and decides to leave Bangkok. But, not for long since he knows that the pet’s life is in danger.

    Now the battle of wits is between Akshay, Krishna and the pet on one side and Sood and Prakash on the other.

    Since this is supposed to be a light entertainer, aiming more towards kids, wittingly or unwittingly, the treatment is of the sort one would find in the Hollywood hit Home Alone. Not only the theme but also a lot of things are borrowed from earlier films: the pet’s tricks for instance are sourced from the movie Kung Fu Hustle and Akshay describing ghosts to Prakash and Sood is from Mahmood’s famous scene from classic hit, Pyar Kiye Jaa. Little is original—except for the best part of the film, which is Krishna’s linking and rhyming various film titles to convey whatever he wants; that is funny.  Songs are pleasant and peppy but used randomly whatever the situation. While their direction is okay with ample help from other sources, dialogue on which Sajid and Farhad have built their career is a notch below their standard except for Krishna’s lines. The second half needed some trimming.

    While the dog Junior is expectedly the mainstay of the film, Krishna and Johny Lever’s parts add to the fun quotient. Akshay is his normal self: funny at times, almost so at others. Prakash and Sood as blundering villains are apt for a film aimed at children. Tamannaah is kept away for most of the first half while she does get due exposure in the latter part.

    Entertainment is a fairly amusing film which the children will enjoy. However, with cinema chains blocked for the next week’s release, Singham Returns, this film has limited time to recover whatever it can.

  • Two time Golden Globe winning series BROOKLYN NINE-NINE now on Indian Television

    Two time Golden Globe winning series BROOKLYN NINE-NINE now on Indian Television

    MUMBAI: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a workplace comedy that deals with a diverse group of detectives. Set in the 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn, the single-camera ensemble comedy follows a talented-but-carefree detective Jake Peralta and his colleagues, who have to prove themselves to the new Captain Ray Holt who has come on-board and wants his team to work hard and follow the rules.

    Together, these cops interrogate suspects, arrest perps and solve murders. But, ultimately, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a workplace comedy that’s not really about the job. It’s about the men and women behind the badge – singing karaoke, eating gourmet ham and hitting on each other – all while protecting the fine people of Brooklyn.

     
    Andre Braugher and Golden Globe winner Andy Samberg are the most unusual yet compelling actor duo on the block. Catch them in action and get ready for all the drama starting. May 19, 2014 onwards, every Monday – Wednesday at 10:00pm exclusively on Comedy Central India.

  • Single screen saab

    Single screen saab

    MUMBAI: Anil Sharma’s Singh Saab The Great may as well have been a Punjabi film: much of the dialogue and songs are in Punjabi. This follows a week after Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s almost-Gujarati Ram-Leela, which had dialogue with Gujarati blend and just about every song and background songs taken from Gujarati folk music. If this is these makers’ idea of being different, they are succeeding only in limiting their audience. As for the rest, Sharma tries to cash in on Sunny Deol’s “dhai kilo haath” which now, with time, weighs three and half kilos, which he uses to take on hundreds of goons let loose on him by the villain, Prakash Raj. It is a simple story: Sunny is an honest government servant and Prakash Raj is a despotic evil man. Take it or leave it.

    Sunny Deol is a Sikh gentleman who descends on village after village and town after town to cleanse them of villains, corruption and other such evils. But one day a journalist, Amrita Rao, barges into his office and starts accusing him of hiding from the law in the guise of a Sardar without having completed his 18 year jail sentence, which he was given along with five of his colleagues. That is the cue; you know a flashback is coming. So Sunny, who usually flares up with fury at the slightest provocation, goes soft on this TV reporter and decides to tell her all.

    Sunny is the usual oft-transferred collector who is posted to a town where Prakash’s writ runs large, unchallenged. Because like all such bad men of recent era, he controls enough MLAs and MPs to topple the local government! However, Sunny turns out to be a tough ‘un-government-servant’ kind of guy. While he is dispatching Prakash off with disdain, the latter dares to threaten to harm his sister, meriting a resounding slap from Sunny. That is reason enough for Prakash not to use his clout and get Sunny transferred of town but to let him be and use his guile to harm him and his family on a regular basis. Guile is something Sunny’s brawn is no match for.

    Producer: Anuj Sharma, Sangeeta Ahir.
    Director: Anil Sharma.
    Cast: Sunny Deol, Amrita Rao, Urvashi Rautela, Prakash Raj, Shahbaz Khan, Johny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Yashpal Sharma.

    The problem is that the fear of the villain vanishes in the very first encounter between the two, when Sunny slaps him. Whatever a writer or director does to resurrect his villainous nature after that does not help: he can have hundreds of his goons kill women or harass them to teach Sunny a lesson but he does not seem threatening. A villain has to be built till the end, preferably larger than the hero so that as much as the hero, even the viewer wants him punished! But if a maker has not learnt that in over three decades in filmmaking, it is too late.

    The film is a poorly conceived and executed and any claims (though it may read so in the titles) to story, screenplay and direction are not substantiated. Just filling up frames with crowds does not make an extravaganza. And what is with all the Punjabi dialogue and music? Who are they catering to—even Punjabi films have come of age and rate much better than Singh Saab The Great.(Not to mention they cost much less.) Music, even if Punjabi, is routine. Editing and photography both look uninspired. Action has been seen alike in many South remakes recently.

    Sunny Deol plays himself, the character he has been playing since his debut; mostly looking angry and trading punches. Amrita Rao’s fascination for the widower Sunny is rather too cliché. Urvashi Rautela as a many years younger wife leaves no mark. Prakash Raj matches Sunny in his consistency at villainy since his Hindi debut; the least he could do is vary his expressions.

    Singh Saab The Great, is an old fashioned mass film with appeal for single screen patrons with its best prospects being in the North.

  • Kangna’s ‘Rajjo’ set to release with ‘Ramleela’

    Kangna’s ‘Rajjo’ set to release with ‘Ramleela’

    Mumbai: The most talked about musical dramas are now set to clash. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Ram Leela‘, the promo of which has already been unveiled was set to enjoy a solo release in the coming festive season. However, now Kangna Ranaut starrer ‘Rajjo’ is too releasing on the same date.

    On the clash of dates, makers of Rajjo says,“ However once the final cut of the ‘Rajjo‘ was seen by people concerned, there was an added sense of confidence. It was felt that the originally decided date would be just right to set the stage for ‘Rajjo‘ v/s ‘Leela‘,”.

    With so much effort put in to make delightful film the director of ‘Rajjo’ Vishwas Patil says: “I was waiting for an apt time to bring the film. Even though the main character Kangna (or Rajjo) plays a Mujra wali in the film, it isn‘t somber or depressing by any means”.

    The release date of a film was decided as 15 November after a lot of brain storming. ‘Rajjo’ would incidentally be arriving just 12 days after the release of ‘Krrish 3‘ (3rd November) in which Kangna would be seen kicking butt.

    About the film Kangna seem confident, she says “‘Rajjo‘ is really close to my heart and I am glad it is being released this festive season. As for competition with other films, there would be one every week in any case. I am sure my producers are taking a good call and it comes from the trust and confidence they have in the product. I am particularly proud of the film and my work. The film is special and it will fetch an audience of it‘s own. I strongly believe in director Vishwas Patil and music director Uttam Singh. Once you see the promos, which would be out very soon, you would know what I mean.” There is no doubt that the actress has put in a tremendous about of hard work into the film, lets hope in works in her favour.

    Rajjo is produced by Four Pillar Films starring Kangana Ranaut, Paras Arora, Prakash Raj, Mahesh Manjrekar and Jaya Prada.

  • Prakash Raj wants to direct Bollywood film

    Prakash Raj wants to direct Bollywood film

    MUMBAI: News will roll in as it happens, states actor Prakash Raj who now wants to wear a director‘s hat for a Hindi film. He is known 

     for his wicked roles in films such as Wanted,Singham, Dabangg 2 and Policegiri.

    Prakash, who primarily started his career with southern films, has also produced and directed several films there.

    He is quite pleased with the way his career is shaping up. With lot of action films coming up, he has definitely got a place there. 

    He is planning to remake a version of Zanjeer, where he plays the role of Teja, a gang-leader. The original role was played by Ajit in the 1973 blockbuster

    Prakash, 48, played the role of a strict Army officer in the recently-released Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

  • Singham grosses Rs 477 mn in opening weekend, says Reliance

    Singham grosses Rs 477 mn in opening weekend, says Reliance

    MUMBAI: Singham, has grossed Rs 477 million at the box office in its opening weekend, according to data provided by the film‘s producer Reliance Entertainment.


    Released in 2000 screens worldwide on 22 July, Reliance Entertainment said Singham has the second highest opener of the year after Ready.


    While the action packed entertainer grossed Rs 442 million domestically (Rs. 309.3 million net), it collected Rs 35 million overseas. 


    Singham has achieved the tenth highest domestic opening weekend of all time, Reliance said. After Dabangg (Rs 485 million net), Ready (Rs 420 million net), 3 Idiots (Rs 400 million net), Ghajini (Rs 400 million net in 4 days), Tees Maar Khan (Rs 380 million net), Rajneeti (Rs 340 million net), My Name Is Khan (Rs 320 million net) and Housefull (Rs 315 million net). Singham with a net income of Rs 309.3 million stands at the 10th position.


    Said Reliance Entertainment CEO Sanjeev Lamba, “Singham is off to a wonderful start worldwide. The film received an overwhelming response from the audience over the weekend and we hope will continue its successful run all over the world in the weeks to come.”


    Reliance Entertainment released Singham in 38 countries internationally on 22 July. In its second phase, the film will release in additional 21 countries.


    Directed by Rohit Shetty, Singham stars Ajay Devgn, Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj.

  • A dated plot of honest cop vs corrupt politicians

    A dated plot of honest cop vs corrupt politicians








    Producer: Reliance Entertainment
    Director: Rohit Shetty
    Cast: Ajay Devgn, Prakash Raj, Kajal Aggarwal, Sachin Khedekar, Govind Namdeo, Ashok Saraf, Anant Jog, Murli Sharma, Sonali Kulkarni.


    MUMBAI: Singham is the remake of Reliance Entertainment‘s own Tamil film of the same name. While in Tamil the title translates as Lion, here it means nothing in particular but retained as surname for Ajay Devgn‘s screen name, Bajirao Singham. That is fine but why does a whole village including the protagonist, Ajay Devgn‘s father in the film, address him by his surname?


    The theme seems to be: Anything goes. South remakes usually seem to work very well at the box office holding appeal for both, the multiplex as well as the single screen audience, as has been seen by the universal acceptance and success of Ghajini, Wanted, Ready, etc.


    Singham follows the old fashioned honest cop vs. corrupt politicians theme and the name coined for this genre is ‘retro film‘.


    So there is this honest to core police officer, Ajay Devgn, who is posted in his native town called Shivgad on the edge of Goa state who settles all local disputes amicably rather than with the use of law. He has earned the love and respect of all and soon that of a girl also. He has had time to just prance around woods and imagine a romantic song when it is time to be a real man; He crosses paths with the scoundrel of scoundrels, killer, kidnapper, wannabe politician, the all powerful Prakash Raj.


    Ajay Devgn draws first blood, humiliating and cutting Prakash Raj down to size after calling him to his police station. The latter decides to shift the war to his turf and, thankfully, the film shifts to more watchable locales of Goa. The battles of one-upmanship are fought in true loud and gory style of South Indian films where villains never travel in a single car, they have a cavalcade of a dozen cars of the same model and colour; you could not have missed it if you have seen even a single South film.


    Ajay Devgn‘s action scenes are backed by the title chant of ‘Singham……Singham…‘ as he resorts to various kinds of somersaults and dives and as the cars go bouncing around in the air like tennis balls in the guise of stunts.


    The problem with Singham is, for its 2 hours and 24 minutes, all it has to offer is raw action and stunts which can get tiring after some time. There is little in the name of distractions. The film lacks romance, emotions, comedy and music. The claptrap dialogue which should go with this kind of action film are few and far in between.


    Director Rohit Shetty, having chosen a South film to remake, has stuck to the South look rather than polish it up in his own style. Also, the Marathi background was unnecessary! His action design is becoming very identifiable and looks similar to his earlier films.


    The film is basically an Ajay Devgn physique and action showcase vehicle and that is how having started his career as an action hero in Phool Aur Kaante, Ajay has only improved several notches in both, physique as well as action.


    Prakash Raj is getting more and more repetitive and his same turning comic at the end shatters the villain‘s image created through the film. Kajal Aggarwal, the leading lady, has but few scenes in a film that could very well have done without her. Among others, Sachin Khedekar, Govind Namdeo, Ashok Saraf, Anant Jog and Murli Sharma give good support.


    Singham has had a better opening response at single screens and Hindi belt circuits while not making a much needed impact at metro multiplexes. Considering that multiplexes contribute a sizeable chunk to a film‘s box office takings, so much the worse for this film.