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Tag: Taare Zameen Par

  • Amazon MX Player drops trailer for esports dramedy ‘Gamerlog’

    Amazon MX Player drops trailer for esports dramedy ‘Gamerlog’

    MUMBAI: Amazon MX Player is leveling up its content game with Gamerlog, a slick new comedy-drama set in India’s turbo-charged esports universe. Produced by Abhinay Deo and Neeta Shah under RDP Pulp Fiction Entertainment and helmed by debutant director Arya Deo, the series is set to stream free from 12 June.

    The trailer introduces Raghu aka Maverick, a small-town genius with mad gaming chops who defies his parents to chase glory in Mumbai’s cutthroat gaming scene. What follows is a no-holds-barred adventure as he joins Team Gamerlog, a motley crew led by the feisty Joanna. Cue epic virtual battles, squad drama, and an emotional loot box of love, betrayal and brotherhood — all building to the grand prize: India’s biggest esports face-off, The Tournament of Champions.

    Frontlining the cast is Taare Zameen Par alumnus Darsheel Safary, flanked by Anjali Sivaraman, Chinmay Chandraunshuh, Kunal Bhan, Chetan Dhawan, Shubroy Chowdhury and Akash Menon.

    Reflecting on his character, Raghu, in the series, Safary shared, “Gamerlog is a world I could instantly relate to. While it’s rooted in gaming, the story goes much deeper, capturing the emotional highs and lows young people experience. It’s a show that’s fun, relatable, and something that not just avid gamers but families can enjoy together. It was an amazing experience to work with Abhinay, Neeta and the very talented debutant director Arya.”

    Deo added, “When my producing partner Neeta and I first heard this story, we were immediately struck by how compelling and layered the world of gaming could be. With Gamerlog, our goal was to tell a story that reflects the high-stakes world of E-sports while exploring the emotional realities young people face today. The show is fast paced, energetic and fun, but at its core, it’s about vulnerability, loyalty and grit. Arya, who assisted me for a long time and knows this world intimately, was the perfect choice to bring our vision to life. We are thrilled to collaborate with Amazon MX Player in bringing Gamerlog to life and can’t wait for audiences to meet these characters and step into their unpredictable world.”

    With Gamerlog, Amazon MX Player is clearly betting big on the joystick generation—and it might just be the underdog story we didn’t know we needed. Game on.

  • Aamir Khan slams Hindi cinema’s bad scripts, says good films can’t be stopped

    Aamir Khan slams Hindi cinema’s bad scripts, says good films can’t be stopped

    MUMBAI: Hindi cinema needs to raise its game—and fast. That was the clear message from celebrated actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan at ABP Network’s high-octane India @ 2047 Summit, a national thinkfest charting India’s journey to becoming a fully Viksit Bharat by its centenary year.

    “India has no shortage of stories. The problem is the way we’re telling them,” Khan quipped in a sharp takedown of the Hindi film industry’s recent flops. “Hindi cinema is making bad films. You can’t stop a good film, and you can’t force a bad one to be a hit.”

    He didn’t hold back in comparing the current business model unfavourably to the booming south Indian industry. “We release films theatrically, and in eight weeks they’re available at home. Why would anyone go to a theatre?” he asked, pointing to a post-pandemic shift in viewing habits and a shrinking window between theatrical and satellite premieres.

    Speaking in the session The Attention Industry: Telling the Best Stories, Khan struck a nuanced note. “Box office numbers matter, but they’re not the only yardstick. We also need better stories, better policy support, and frankly, more screens.”

    Taking a macro view, Khan welcomed initiatives like Waves that support the creative industries, urging deeper government collaboration. “India has only 10,000 screens. For Hindi films, we get just 5,000. Compare that with China’s 90,000 or the US’s 35,000. We need more theatres, faster licensing, and incentives to build supporting infrastructure,” he said.

    Khan also teased his upcoming film Sitare Zameen Par, calling it a spiritual successor to his 2007 classic Taare Zameen Par. 

    “It carries the inclusion theme ten steps forward, but this time through comedy. My character Gulshan is a hot-headed basketball coach—the opposite of the gentle Nikumbh,” he smiled. “It’s about how we each define what ‘normal’ means.”

    In true method-actor style, Khan recounted not bathing for days while filming Raakh and Ghulam, laughing, “I had to look like I lived on the streets!”

    On his long-cherished dream of adapting the Mahabharat, Khan said, “That’s a sacred story. It won’t let you down—but you could let it down.” While coy about which character he’d play, he admitted, “Krishna inspires me a lot.”

    He also reflected on missing the re-release of cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna due to the Pahalgam terror attack. “We were devastated. I couldn’t bring myself to attend the premiere. But I trust the government will bring the perpetrators to justice.”

    Recounting a post-Article 370 visit to Srinagar, Khan noted, “There was peace and calm. The lockdown had just ended, but it felt like normalcy was returning.”

    On his unusual compensation model, Khan revealed he doesn’t charge fees upfront. “If the film profits, I earn. If it flops, I don’t. I didn’t take a rupee for Laal Singh Chaddha. I believe in putting my money where my mouth is.”

    At 58, Khan may be selective in his projects, but his voice still packs punch. Hindi cinema makers consider yourself warned.

  • Nikul Desai talks about his new show Taare Zameen Par

    Nikul Desai talks about his new show Taare Zameen Par

    MUMBAI: Nikul Desai is mainly known for directing non-fiction shows like Comedy Circus and Rising Star. Desai began his career under the supervision of his paternal uncle Vipul D Shah, the co-founder of Optimystix Entertainment. Starting off as an assistant director back in 2001, he has worked his way up to head of non-fiction content.

    But luck played its part too. Desai got to don the director's hat when the main director of a TV show fell ill – and that was his first break as a full-time television director. Fame quickly followed when he made a splash with the runaway success of Comedy Circus. The show aired for nine years with 18 seasons. Not only this, he brought various comedians like Kapil Sharma, Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh, Sudesh Lehri, and many more, into the limelight.

    Now, Desai is coming up with yet another singing reality show – Taare Zameen Par. Conceptualised as a platform for kids to showcase their signing talent, the show will be telecast on Star Plus from 2 November at 6.30 pm. The programme will not have judges, but mentors who will groom and train the kids. The makers have roped in Shankar Mahadevan, Tony Kakkar and Jonita Gandhi as mentors while popular comedian Sugandha Mishra and Aakriti Sharma (of Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala fame) will host the show.

    Desai revealed that this is the first time that any production house is attempting a non-fiction from a daily point of view. Said he: “Taare Zameen Par is a mammoth show that is keeping me and my team very busy. And then there are other projects in the pipeline, we are in conversation with Star Plus for a few other shows, which should hopefully get cleared by the end of October or November. We are also coming up with an original series, and a movie in partnership with Ashwin Varde.”

    Due to the Covid2019 pandemic, production houses have to come up with innovative ways to evolve and upgrade in the new normal. For instance, the studio has cut down on crew size – a measure that has generated its fair share of headaches.

    “A big non-fiction show has anywhere between 300 to 400 people, but now the studio is functioning with anywhere between 160 to 200 people while the work remains the same. Consequently, production has become considerably more difficult, and the team has to pre-plan a lot of stuff so there are no last minute requirements and scramble,” said Desai. This is because all the props which are coming from the market need to be sanitized and must be kept aside for 48 hours.

    In terms of the restrictions, only cameramen and technicians are allowed to go on the floor, otherwise access to the floor has been completely shut off. Further, there is zero physical contact with judges and hosts. Contact and communication has undergone a sea change.

    “Largely, the communication is completely killed from a security point of view, it's either from a pre-production point of view where we do phone calls or Zoom calls. We are shooting every day together, but we haven't really met each other. We are strictly adhering to safety and security protocols,” stated Desai.

    Child participants and their guardians, who came from all over India, went through a minimum of 14 days quarantine and it’s only recently that they have been brought out from their hotel rooms for band rehearsals, he added.

    Generally, the production control room (PCR) is a small, cluttered space. But this time to maintain social distancing. Optimystix has designed a bigger area for PCR. The studio has created a partition between technicians by putting acrylic sheets so that everybody can watch the monitors while shooting takes place. But only limited people are allowed in the room. For other crew members, the studio has made a viewing room where people who want to just watch the content can actually go to the viewing room and tune in.

    “We have given them the Zoom output off the whole master camera, so that they can watch what's happening on the floor at any point of time while sitting at their homes. And they can communicate with us over the call or Zoom chat. So, the way we function has completely changed. Earlier, a lot of people used to be there on standby to help the people present on the set but now 70 per cent of the crew is handling their own work,” Desai elaborated.

    The studio has also hired an external Covid2019 compliance company named the Covid Marshal. The set and other equipment are sanitised twice a day. No more than two episodes are shot in a day. Desai further mentioned that due to safety and security measures the productivity has comparatively been hampered.  

    Desai shared his view that audiences are now more keen than ever to watch light-hearted programmes, and in the long run non-fiction shows will fare better. 

  • Actor Vipin Sharma in Sudhir Mishr’a Daas Dev

    Actor Vipin Sharma in Sudhir Mishr’a Daas Dev

    Actor Vipin Sharma, who made his debut as a strict father to a dyslexic child in ‘Taare Zameen Par’ will be seen as a ruthless yet vulnerable politician in his next called Daas Dev directed by Sudhir Mishra which is a modern day adaptation of Sarat Chandra’s DevDas.

    With actors Rahul Bhat, Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hyadri essaying the role of Dev, Paro and Chandni respectively, Vipin’s character “Ramashraya Shukla”  is loosely based on Chunni Lal but with a twist.

    Throwing light on his character, Sharma says “Daas Dev is a highly gripping film and I play an interesting role of a politician who has his own complexed notions and feels it’s absolutely fine to shed blood for the welfare of your people. An intense and a complex character indeed.”

    Set in Uttar Pradesh, with a Political backdrop, the film is about addiction, power and love.

    Contrary to original DevDas the character of Dev in Daas Dev moves from alcohol to power and he discovers that power is a far more lethal addiction.

    Das Dev is slated to releases on 9th March across the country.

  • Awarded adman Prasoon Joshi is new CBFC chief, Pahlaj Nihalani exits

    NEW DELHI: Renowned lyricist and senior adman Prasoon Joshi has been appointed chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification with immediate effect.

    An official order said Joshi was being appointed chairperson of the CBFC in an honorary capacity from 11 August 2017 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Cinematograph Act 1952 read with rule 3 of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules 1983.

    This marks the exit of filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani who was embroiled in several controversies during his tenure.

    Joshi is the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman (Asia Pacific), a subsidiary of global marketing firm McCann Erickson.

    Prasoon has received the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award three times, in 2007 and 2008 and again in 2014 for the Hindi movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He has also received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice, for his work in Taare Zameen Par (2007), and Chittagong (2013).He was awarded Padma Shri by the Government in 2015 for his contributions towards the field of Arts, Literature and Advertising.

    Born on 16 September 1971, he started his career with Ogilvy & Mather in Delhi. He worked there for 10 years and eventually became the executive creative director of the Mumbai office. In early 2002, he joined McCann-Erickson as executive vice-president and national creative director. By 2006, he was regional creative director for South and South East Asia. In December 2006 he was promoted to executive chairman for McCann Worldgroup India and regional creative director for Asia Pacific

    Joshi created advertising campaigns for NDTV India (Sach dikhate hain hum), Saffola (Abhi to main Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.jawan hoon) LG, Marico, Perfetti (Alpenliebe, Chlormint), and the Cannes-winning Thanda matlab Coca-Cola campaign with Aamir Khan. His Happydent television commercial was listed by Bob Garfield of AdvertisingAge as one of his personal choices for the Cannes Gold in 2007, and it was chosen by a Gunn Report poll as one of the 20 best ads of the 21st century.

    He also wrote the lyrics for CNN IBN’s advertising jingle “India Rising’ and Coke’s Ummeed wali dhoop.

    In cinema, he made his debut as film lyricist with Rajkumar Santoshi’s Lajja, a critical and commercial success, and this soon led to Yash Chopra’s Hum Tum and a string of highly successful Bollywood films like Fanaa, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Black and Delhi 6. With Rang De Basanti (2006), he also became a dialogue writer.

    He won the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for “Chand Sifarish” from the film Fanaa in 2007 and for “Maa” from Taare Zameen Par in 2008. He has won the prestigious National Award twice. The first for his work in Taare Zameen Par and the second one in 2013 for Chittagong.

    He had also written the script for the award-winning 2014 film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

    He started writing early in life and published his first book at age 17, Main Aur Woh, a ‘conversation with himself’, inspired by Frederich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra. Two more books followed, establishing him as an author.

    His latest book, Sunshine Lanes, a collection of his songs, was launched at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2013.

  • Trinity Pictures to ‘Sniff’ out success in kids’ domain

    Trinity Pictures to ‘Sniff’ out success in kids’ domain

    MUMBAI: Eros International’s Trinity Pictures has rolled out its first feature film, Sniff, a big-scale kid’s live action-adventure film this month. A fresh new genre introduced in Indian cinema, the film went on floor on September 5, the day marking the commencement of Ganesh Chaturthi and will be shot across various locations in Mumbai.

    Helmed by the acclaimed director, Amole Gupte, of Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba fame, the man behind several acclaimed children-centric films, reputed to spot talent in children and introduce fresh new faces in Indian film industry (Darsheel Safari in Taare Zameen Par, his son Partho in Stanley Ka Dabba, etc.), is all set to launch his next discovery Khushmeet Gill, an 8-year-old ‘wonder’ boy who plays the lead character in this family entertainer that revolves around a young Sikh boy, who is a spy in the making along with his curious gang of extraordinary cohorts.

    Gupte commenced the shoot with his young star in Mumbai with a Ganesh Aarti sung by Shankar Mahadevan. Music in the film has been composed by Mujtaba Aziz Naza, son of the famous Qawwali singer Aziz Naza.

  • Trinity Pictures to ‘Sniff’ out success in kids’ domain

    Trinity Pictures to ‘Sniff’ out success in kids’ domain

    MUMBAI: Eros International’s Trinity Pictures has rolled out its first feature film, Sniff, a big-scale kid’s live action-adventure film this month. A fresh new genre introduced in Indian cinema, the film went on floor on September 5, the day marking the commencement of Ganesh Chaturthi and will be shot across various locations in Mumbai.

    Helmed by the acclaimed director, Amole Gupte, of Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba fame, the man behind several acclaimed children-centric films, reputed to spot talent in children and introduce fresh new faces in Indian film industry (Darsheel Safari in Taare Zameen Par, his son Partho in Stanley Ka Dabba, etc.), is all set to launch his next discovery Khushmeet Gill, an 8-year-old ‘wonder’ boy who plays the lead character in this family entertainer that revolves around a young Sikh boy, who is a spy in the making along with his curious gang of extraordinary cohorts.

    Gupte commenced the shoot with his young star in Mumbai with a Ganesh Aarti sung by Shankar Mahadevan. Music in the film has been composed by Mujtaba Aziz Naza, son of the famous Qawwali singer Aziz Naza.

  • &pictures celebrates Children’s Day with Kiddies Express!

    &pictures celebrates Children’s Day with Kiddies Express!

    MUMBAI: On this Children’s Day, &pictures has plannedan exciting line-up of movies fora day-long‘Kiddies Express’special where parents can enjoy a day at home with their kids and watch the best of kids entertainment movies throughout the day.  The movies showcased on Kiddies Express will be a perfect mix of education and entertainment, making this Children’s Day truly special for the lovely kids out there.

    The festival kick-starts with the fabled film Arjun: The Warrior Prince, a tale on how Arjuna fought his inner self and became the legendary archer.Next in the line is the famous animated movie, Stuart Little3: Call of the wind, the cutest mouse ever who is loved by all kids! It will be followed by Mahabharata, an animated Indian mythological drama film, which is considered to be the greatest and the longest epic in world literature .The next in line is Magic Robot, a fun movie that will totally get the kids excited. Then there is Joker, a 2012 Hindi science fiction comedy that is based in 1947. It is the story of a village of Paglapur, when the maps of India and Pakistan were being drawn. The day ends with the most heart-touching movie of recent times, Taare Zameen Parstarring superstar Aamir Khan and adorable Darsheel Safari.This is the story of an eight year old boy who is thought to be lazy and a troublemaker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.

    With a slew of exciting movies, &pictures promises to make this Children’s Day a memorable one for all kids. So make sure to tune in to this special treat on November 14 only on &pictures!

  • Films form important component of Festival of India in Peru

    Films form important component of Festival of India in Peru

    NEW DELHI: Indian films are making a global presence it seems. At the Festival of India in Peru that was recently inaugurated by vice president Hamid Ansari, few new Indian films and old classics including Raja Harishchandra (silent), Taare Zameen Par (Hindi), Ghare Bhaire (Bengali), Ardh Satya (Hindi), Bobby (Hindi), A Wednesday (Hindi) and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (Hindi) are being screened. The Indian Film Festival is being coordinated by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

     

    An India-Peru Literature Festival and an Indian Classical Dance Festival is also being held as part of the fest.

     

    Ansari’s visit is the highest ranking bilateral visit since year 1998 from India to Peru. The Festival would manifest many elements of long, rich and diverse Indian cultural heritage and would be the largest Indian cultural festival ever held in Latin America and the Caribbean. This reflects the special place that Peru enjoys among Indians.

     

    The inaugural function was attended by the Peruvian First Vice President Marisol Espinoza and a number of senior dignitaries from the Indian and Peruvian side.

     

    Indian Culture Secretary Ravindra Singh who is in Peru to mark the occasion said the Festival is expected to bring the Indian and Peruvian people closer to each other and will enhance people to people contact.

     

    Highly reputed Indian writers like Arun Kamal, H S Shivaprakash, K Satchidanandan, Purshottam Agarwal, Shyama Prasad Ganguly, and Ms Karabi Deka Hazarika participated in the symposium on India-Latin America: Literary Exchanges and Influences and Contemporary Literary Trends and their Challenges in a Multilingual Society in addition to a session on poetry reading.

     

    Several noted Peruvian Writers including Jose Leon Herrera, Pablo Carreno Cabrejos, Jose Ignacio Lopez Gaston, Marcel Velaquez Castro, and leading poets Carlos German Belli, Mario Montalbetti, and Marcos Martos would be participating in the Literature Festival. The Literature Festival is being coordinated by the Sahitya Academy.

    The Indian Dance Festival in Peru is titled ‘Nrityarupa’, the mosaic of Indian dance which encapsulates the experience of Indian dance as it has evolved in various parts of the India. It offers a glimpse of the great mosaic of cultures that constitutes the Indian Nation, and demonstrates in a creative, kinetic form their dynamics in relation to each other. Six dance forms representing the diversity of India’s culture have been chosen for this presentation to audiences in Latin America: Bharatanatyam of Tamil Nadu, Kathank which is pre-eminently the dance of northern India; Odissi from Odisha in eastern India; Manipuri from north-eastern State of India; Kathakali of Kerala at Southern tip of the Indian peninsula; and Chhau which covers a wide swathe of territory in eastern States of the Union.

     

    One seamless presentation of these dances has been visualized by leading to a jubiliant finish. The Indian Dance Festival is being coordinated by the Sangeet Natak Academy.

     

    The Festival of India in Peru is being coordinated by the Culture Ministry in association with the Sahitya Academy, the Sangeet Natak Academy and the I&B Ministry.

     

    Meanwhile, India and Peru have signed a Letter of Intent for enhancing cooperation in the fields of dissemination and promotion of cultural heritage of each other´s countries.

     

    The two sides underscored the importance of further deepening bilateral cultural relations through cultural exchanges and cooperation in diverse art forms such as painting, dance, theatre, literature, craft, etc. as well as holding of cultural festivals in each other´s countries from time to time. 

  • Amole Gupte casts Saqib Saleem in Hawaa Hawaai

    Amole Gupte casts Saqib Saleem in Hawaa Hawaai

    Writer-director Amole Gupte had promised to make another ‘heartwarming’ film after his masterpiece Stanley Ka Dabba. The details of the movie, to be produced by Fox Star Studios, are finally out.

     

    Titled Hawaa Hawaai, the film is about ‘dreamers’, according to Gupte. The filmmaker has roped in Bombay Talkies actor Saqib Saleem in the lead. His son Partho Gupte, who won the National Film Award for his role as Stanley, will also be seen in the film.

     

    Hawaa Hawaai is the story of how a dream can be achieved. Gupte elaborates, “Dreamers possess the might to move mountains. This dream flight is the triumph of human spirit in the wake of adversity… rooted so deep in our ethos that the identification with the protagonists of the tale is instant. I have been so lucky to have netted two magical performers ably supported by an ensemble cast that is equally talented and exciting.”

     

    Hawaa Hawaai is set to release on 18 April 2014. And considering Gupte’s contribution to films such as Taare Zameen Par and Stanley Ka Dabba, this new offering from the director would be highly anticipated.