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Tag: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

  • Cinestaan Film Company to produce three films

    Cinestaan Film Company to produce three films

    MUMBAI: Cinestaan Entertainment has unveiled its plans to produce films and shall soon foray into television and internet services as well. Rohit Khattar is the founder and chairman of Cinestaan, while Anand Mahindra is a major investor.

     

    Cinestaan’s first subsidiary, the Cinestaan Film Company has announced its foray into film production with a three film agreement with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ROMP Pictures. 

     

    Rohit Khattar said, “I am delighted to announce the launch of Cinestaan Entertainment in partnership with Anand Mahindra. We share a common vision and similar tastes in story telling which shall, we hope, manifest in some good films. Cinestaan is committed to preserving the rich legacy of our cinema heritage for which we are working on several initiatives including an oral histories television project that shall celebrate the memories and contributions of our screen legends.” 

     

    He added, “To begin our film slate with a prodigal talent like Rakeysh Mehra is an incredible high and we are excited about developing these films with him.  Cinestaan shall announce some more projects soon.”

     

    Cinestaan Film Company’s first film as a co-production with ROMP Pictures will be the Rakeysh Mehra directed ‘Mirziya’. The second film ‘FanneyKhan’ is an official remake of an Oscar nominated film to be directed by Nitin Kakkar, the National Award Winner for Best Film “Filmistan” in 2013. The third film (yet untitled) shall again be directed by Rakeysh Mehra.

  • Festival of National Film award-winners of 2013 commences in capital

    Festival of National Film award-winners of 2013 commences in capital

    NEW DELHI: A festival of films that won awards at the 61st National Film awards for 2013 has commenced in the capital with the screening of Marathi feature film Astu by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar and short film Chidiya Udh by Pranjal Dua.

     
    Organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals at the Sirifort Complex, it will feature all the National Award winning films for the public during the four-day festival.

     
    Thus, it will screen 30 feature films and 23 non-feature films.
     

    The inauguration was attended by filmmakers Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar among others.
     

    Entry to the screenings is free and on first come first serve basis.
     

    Some of the other films to be screened at the festival are Ship of Theseus, Miss Lovely, Shahid, Crossing Bridges, Fandry, Liar’s Dice and The Coffin maker.

     
    A total of 41 awards are to be given by the President in the non-feature film category while the number of awards in feature film category is 40.

     
    Hindi films once again dominated the National Film Awards by getting as many as fifteen awards among feature films. Marathi came next with ten awards followed by Bengali with six and Tamil and Kannada with five each and Malayalam with four.

     
    However, the highest number of awards went to the Bengali film ‘Jaatishwar’ which won awards for best female playback for Rupankar and the film ‘e tumi kemon tumi’, best costume for Sabarni Das, best make-up for Vilram Gaikwad (for hero Prosenjit) and Kabir Suman for best musical score.

     
    ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra bagged the award for the most popular film providing wholesome entertainment. ‘Fandry’ got the Indira Gandhi Award fir best directorial debut by Nagraj Manjule, the Nargis Dutt award for national integration for Balu Mahendra’s tamil film ‘Thalaimuraigal’ and the social issues award went to the Marathi ‘Tuhya Dharma Koncha’ by Satish Manwar.

  • Big B to open Indian Film Festival in Melbourne next month

    Big B to open Indian Film Festival in Melbourne next month

    NEW DELHI: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bchchan, whose latest film ‘Bhootnath Returns’ was released this week, is to open the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2014 on 1 May.

     

    The 2014 festival programme was launched in Melbourne by Louise Asher, Australian Minister for Innovation, Tourism and Major Events and Employment and Trade, and Bollywood diva and Festival Ambassador Vidya Balan. The Festival CEO Mitu Bhowmick Lange was also present.

     

    According to Asher, Bachchan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. So total was his dominance of the movie scene in the 1970s and 1980s that the French director Francois Truffaut called him a “one-man industry”.

     

    Addressing media persons, Asher said that the festival will be held from 1 to 11 May and feature over 40 films, with more than half being Australian premieres. “Films will be shown in 20 languages and we will have five free screenings at Federation Square,” Asher said. “Victorians and all visitors to Melbourne are in for a treat of Indian films this year.

     

    “It will be an honour to have Bachchan here, just a year after he opened the Cannes Film Festival with his Great Gatsby co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio,” Asher said.

     

    “In response to community feedback, the festival has also added to the programme an exciting new section called New Voices, which will feature six films from first time filmmakers,” Asher said. 

     

    Other industry guests include Konkona Sen Sharma, Vijay Krishna Acharya (director of Dhoom 3), Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (director of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag), Hassan Waqas Rana and  Shaan Shahid (producer and star respectively of Waar, Pakistan’s highest-grossing box office hit of all time), and South Indian actor-producer Suhasini Maniratnam.

     

    Asher said this year’s festival would see the return of Festival favourites, such as the interactive master classes, Western Union Short Film competition and the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition, to be judged by the incredible actor/producer Malaika Arora Khan, a judge on TV show India’s Got Talent.

     

    Asher said “Balan is a great friend of Victoria, and known for her roles portraying strong female protagonists. She launched the 2012 and 2013 Festivals and it is an honour and a pleasure to have her back this year.”

     

    She added: “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne brings prominent Indian filmmakers and screen professionals to Melbourne, helps promote Victoria as an international screen production destination, and provides opportunities todevelop Victorian and Indian screen partnerships.”

     

    Balan said she felt at home in Melbourne and would come back again with her husband soon. She thanked the Victorian government for supporting the IFFM 2014 and she considered the festival as a personal achievement.

     

    IFFM Festival director Lange said the 2014 IFFM would be the most exciting and ambitious festival yet. “We could not have asked for a better chief guest than the patriarch of Indian cinema and one of the most iconic Indians of all times, Amitabh Bachchan, to open the festival on 1 May.”

     

    “The inaugural IFFM Awards takes the festival to a new level and we are all very excited to see who the winners will be. I hope you will all join in with your friends and family to celebrate the magic of cinema!,” Lange ended.

  • Good biopics can be made with good actors: Rakeysh Mehra

    Good biopics can be made with good actors: Rakeysh Mehra

    MUMBAI: He may be getting entirely positive response for the “biopic” he made on sprinter Milkha Singh’s life but filmmaker Rakeysh Omprkash Mehra believes that a film can’t be a biopic. He says that a film can always be an “inspired by a true life piece” which he believes even Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is as it isn’t telling the story of Singh from starting to end. “It’s rather telling the stories of his life that led him to become Milkha Singh,” said Mehra while talking during the session – “From Real Life Heroes to Reel Life Heroes: Biopics Inspiring Generations” on the first day of FICCI Frames 2014.

     

    Also present at the session was Farhan Akhtar who has received rave reviews for his performance as Milkha Singh, while it was being anchored by CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand.

     

    Mehra, when quizzed if filmmakers take certain liberties and tweak the life story while filming a biopic, he remarked: “When you tell a story, you have your own interpretation. Like in BMB, we didn’t follow Singh’s life in chronological order rather we started the story from an incident that would transform his life.” Mehra believes that storytellers have to be “morally” correct while telling stories.

     

    While talking about the most important aspect of making a film on a person’s life, Farhan said that it is very important to come down to that one lesson of the person’s life from which the audiences can draw an inspiration. “The writing is another important aspect,” says Farhan.

     

    In the same vein, Mehra says that it’s the actors, especially the one playing the title role who can put across the story in the best possible way. “It is important for the actors to get the feelings correct and the essence of the movie out,” he said.

     

    Mehra, now wants to make a movie on the life of Guru Dutt and for the research he thinks that more than studying the life of the person, it is important to understand the situation in which that person lived and grew to become who he was. “It’s very important to understand the time in which the person lived,” said Mehra, adding that he is even studying the life of Sahir Ludhianvi.

  • Two Indian movies nominated for the 8th Asian Film Awards

    Two Indian movies nominated for the 8th Asian Film Awards

    NEW DELHI: The Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra may have failed to make it to the Academy nominations but it figures prominently in the nominations for the Asian version of the Oscars — the 8th Asian Film Awards.

     

    The awards are to be presented on 27 March at a ceremony to be held at the City of Dreams casino resort in Macau, and the nominations were announced in Hong Kong over the weekend.

     

    The Lunchbox has been nominated for the best film award and Ritesh Batra has been nominated for the best screenplay while actor Irrfan Khan is in the list of best actor awards.

     

    The only other Indian film to make it to the nominations is Bhag Milka Bhag by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the music composers of which – Shankar Ehsaan Loy – have been nominated for best music category.

     

    Renowned filmmaker Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster topped with eleven nominations including best film and best director out of 14 categories. The highly stylised martial arts drama opened the Berlin festival this time last year.

     

    After being organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited (HKIFF) for the past seven years, this year’s award is being organised by the new Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), a combined effort between the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), and the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).

     

    Competing closely with Wong Kar-wai is Korean director Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi fantasy Snowpiercer with five nominations including best film and best director.

     

    A total of 28 films from ten countries and regions have been nominated this year from over a thousand eligible films. Hong Kong films have the most nominations with a total of 19 shared between The Grandmaster (11 nominations), Rigor Mortis (4 nominations), Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (3 nominations) and The Way We Dance (1 nomination).

     

    Films from South Korea and Japan are tied at 14 nominations each. In addition to the five recognitions for Snowpiercer, the nominated South Korean films are Cold Eyes (4 nominations), The Attorney (3 nominations), Mr. Go (1 nomination) and The Face Reader (1 nomination).

     

    The 14 nominations for films from Japan are shared between The Great Passage (3 nominations), Like Father, Like Son (3 nominations), Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (3 nominations), Tokyo Family (2 nominations), Backwater (1 nomination), and The Ravine of Goodbye (1 nomination).

     

    HKIFF’s chairman Wilfred Wong is Chairman of the AFAA committee, which also includes BIFF’s Lee Yong-kwan and TIFF’s Shiina Yasushi.

     

    Director Peter Chan is serving as this year’s jury president, with Donnie Yen joining as a “celebrity jury” member. The two are joined by the Philippines’ Ronald Arguelles, Indonesia’s John Badalu, Japan’s Ishizaaka Kenji, France’s Christian Jeune, Singapore’s Eric Khoo, South Korea’s Lee Yong-kwan, Thailand’s Kong Rithdee, Taiwan’s Wen Tien-hsiang as well as Hong Kong’s Jacob Wong and Patricia Cheng.

     

    “Each industry, although successful commercially, is becoming more and more localised, catering to the taste of local audiences. As a result there are fewer channels for crossover distribution outside local markets. I think AFA is not only important in its celebration of Asian film and filmmakers, but an event that can bring Asian films together,” says Chan.

     

    For the first time this year, the award ceremony has been moved to a venue outside of Hong Kong, to a casino resort in neighbouring Macau. While the ceremony is traditionally held on the first day of the Hong Kong FilMart, this year’s ceremony will be held on 27 March, the final day of this year’s film market.

  • Maharashtra government grants tax exemption to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

    Maharashtra government grants tax exemption to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

    MUMBAI: Milkhaji‘s inspiring life would now be accessible to many more citizens in Maharashtra. With the commendable responses that

    the film is getting, the Maharashtra government on Saturday granted tax exemption to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra‘s biopicBhaag Milkha Bhaag.

    Mehra was pleasantly surpriseds that the government acted so speedily and was very pleased and touched. The film would now be accessible to those middleclass families who cannot afford the ticket prices at multiplexes.

    Mehra is hopeful other states would follow suit and grant his Milkha biopic tax exemption in the coming week. 

  • Special preview screening of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ for Indian Armed Forces

    Special preview screening of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ for Indian Armed Forces

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18 Media and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, in association with UFO Moviez have announced exclusive preview screenings of the eagerly awaited biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in all UFO digital Defence theatres across India, a day ahead of the film‘s nationwide theatrical release.

    Starring Farhan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor, and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a film about the revered athlete Milkha Singh‘s perseverance as a sportsperson and also as a courageous human spirit.

    While the theatrical release of the film is scheduled for 12 July, the exclusive premiere for Indian Defence Personnel and their families will be held at 8.00 pm on 11 July, in UFO‘s digital Defence theatres across India. 

     
     

    “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a tribute to a national hero. It was because of the Indian Army that Milkha Singh‘s talent was discovered and nurtured. Viacom18 Motion Pictures is privileged and proud to premiere the film for the armed forces across India a day before its commercial release. It‘s our humble way of saying ‘we salute you‘”, said Viacom18 Motion Pictures marketing and operations head Rudrarup Datta.

    The Defense spokesperson of Chandimandir Army Cantonment in Chandigarh added, “The special screenings of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a positive step by Viacom18 and UFO towards entertaining our troops. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, with its message of resilience of spirit, body and mind, promises to be an extremely interesting film to watch, as will be the chance for the defence personnel to meet with the star cast of the film along with Shri Milkha Singh.”

    Speaking on the occasion, UFO Moviez joint MD Kapil Agarwal said, “The Defence Forces are our nation‘s pride and the specially organised premiere of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is our way of paying tribute to the brave soldiers who safeguard our nation. We are very happy to partner with Viacom 18 Media and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra for such an initiative. It is a matter of personal pride for all UFOrians that our digital cinema services and solutions have helped entertain Indian Armed Forces personnel across the length and breadth of India, round the year and in all weather conditions.”

  • Sony Music reunites with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Rakeysh Ompraksash Mehra for the music of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

    Sony Music reunites with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Rakeysh Ompraksash Mehra for the music of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

    MUMBAI: Sony music has teamed up with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Viacom18 for the music rights of the biopic – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

    After ‘Rang De Basanti‘s musical success, this is the second project with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra that adds another feather to Sony music‘s list. Co-produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is based on the life of athlete, Milkha Singh. The title character is which is played by actor Farhan Akhtar.

    The music is composed by the musical trio Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi.

    Sony Music Entertainment president India and middle east Shridhar Subramaniam said, "Our journey with Rakeysh began in the year 2005 with Rang De Basanti wherein we worked very closely with his team and created a huge success. Today while we work with him on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag we are all geared up to put in the same passion and energy. We are extremely confident of the subject and the music as it‘s an integral part of the film."

    He further adds, "Prasoon Joshi‘s lyrics in Rang De Basanti elevated the musical experience and we are sure it will be the same this time too while Shankar Ehsaan and Loy always bring a fresh new angle to the music. At Sony Music, it‘s always a pleasure to work with Viacom 18 and we together will ensure a great musical journey for the listeners."

    Mehra adds, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has been the most challenging experience. I have felt growth within myself as a film maker. The songs of the film is what a soul is to a body, we are lucky that Shridhar and his passionate team at Sony Music have joined hands and have become an integral part of the BMB family".

    The music will roll out in May and the movie is slated for release in theatres on 12 July.

  • Petition against Hindi film ‘Delhi 6’ quashed by Delhi High Court

    Petition against Hindi film ‘Delhi 6’ quashed by Delhi High Court

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has quashed a first information report against the Hindi film’Delhi 6’ which had alleged that a character in the film enacting the role of a lady sweeper (played by Divya Dutta) had been insulted and thereby the entire Balmiki Samaj had been insulted.

     

    The Court observed that the film seen in its entirety generates empathy for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,

     

    The FIR had been filed by Delhi MLA Jai Kishan against film director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and others. It had been lodged under The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and The Protection of Civil Rights Act at the Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi in 2009.

     

    In its judgment on a petition by Mehra and others, Justice Manmohan said: “The present film seen in its entirety generates empathy for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. No intention to insult the members of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes community can be attributed to the petitioners in the present case.”

     

    “The present film in no manner supports the practice of untouchability in any manner. The acts attributed to the petitioners do not amount to preaching and practicing untouchability….” Justice Manmohan stated.

     

    Allowing the plea, Justice Manmohan observed in his 37-page judgment that “in fact, a film is an expression of an idea which is protected by Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Freedom of expression is of inestimable value in a democratic society based on the rule of law. Our written Constitution guarantees not only freedom of speech but also freedom after speech”.

     

    Justice Manmohan also dismissed the plea by the complainant that an FIR could not be quashed when the investigation was on, saying that “this Court has the power to quash an FIR under investigation at the initial stage itself”.

     

    Seeking quashing of the FIR, counsel for the petitioners submitted that the film conveyed a strong message to the public at large against the caste system and was not intended to hurt the sentiments of any section or society.

     

    Petitioners’ counsel further submitted that the impugned FIR had been lodged by the MLA only to gain cheap popularity and with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the petitioners who were attempting to create awareness about the condition of the Scheduled Castes community.

     

    The film starring Abhishek Bachchan with Sonam Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman among others, had been inspired by a real-life incident that had occurred some years earlier in the walled city

  • CFSI to release Gattu commercially

    CFSI to release Gattu commercially

    MUMBAI: The Children‘s Film Society of India (CFSI) has decided to release Rajan Khosa‘s Gattu commercially.

    CFSI chairperson Nandita Das said, “Gattu is the first film that CFSI is releasing commercially. We also have a Kannada and an animation film coming up. Gattu will be a gate opener for all of them.” Das was speaking at the launch of Gattu‘s promotional song – Laga le pech.

    Gattu, starring Mohammad Samad as Gattu, is the story about a nine-year-old street boy who is obsessed with flying kites. “He wants to cut this black kite called Kali and for this he needs a high roof. He realises that the school has one and pretends to go to the school and wins the heart of all children,” Khosa said while elaborating on the story.

    “The film is about the have and have-not and the right to education. It is about all of us. I am sure it will be a lovely movie and I want to give it my entire support. Lower the budget, more are the challenges. The film seems entertaining and the story is wonderful. Let‘s revisit our childhood through this film,” he said.

    Producer-director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who is supporting Gattu said that the entertaining story will take viewers back to their childhood days. “I am proud that I am associated with Gattu. I will do whatever I can to support the film,” he added.