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Tag: Tannishtha Chatterjee

  • Piracy at YouTube under check, claims Raghavan

    Piracy at YouTube under check, claims Raghavan

    NEW DELHI: YouTube India head of content operations Satya Raghavan has claimed that it has succeeded in curbing piracy on its platform to a large extent. Veteran actress Shabana Azmi along with the young actor Tannishtha Chatterjee was the cynosure of all eyes as they conducted a session in Producers’ Lab at the ongoing Film Bazaar at IFFI Goa on ‘How to Pitch an Actor’.

    Speaking in the Building Communities and Icons section at the Bazaar, Raghavan said “When you upload a film on YouTube, a fingerprint of that film is created. If somebody else is uploading that film, there are a certain proofs by which you come to know about this. YouTube is perhaps the only platform where you can actually know that someone has put up your content but you need to put your content up first, because about 500 hours of content is being uploaded every minute. This is a great system that allows the content owner to understand if their content is being pirated.” He was conducting an engrossing session about the burgeoning digital space and the platform that Youtube has provided filmmakers.

    On monetisation of a Youtube channel, he said, “Once you turn on the section called monetisation in your backend control centre, only then will it serve you ads. You also have to think about whether you’re sending the right signals through your content, which is by giving good descriptions, that help to identify the content and helps us match it with viewers on the other side.”

    The Bazaar organized by the National Film Development Corporation concludes tomorrow. It is held to coincide with the International Film Festival of India which will conclude on 27 November.

    Azmi, who attended the Film Bazaar for the first time since it commenced a decade earlier, was also there to promote her upcoming film Idgah which is a part of the ‘Film Bazaar Recommends’ section. She said, “I learnt there is a formal way in which film business can be conducted. I think it’s important because I’m very interested in the work of first-time filmmakers.”

    “I think these tags of a film being ‘women-oriented’ and ‘heroine-oriented’ have to slowly go out at some point, to feel that we are reaching a point of gender equality, and recognising that cinema is essentially a medium of storytelling,” said Chatterjee.

    “It’s important to highlight the truths about women today, no matter how ugly they are,” said theatre artist/filmmaker/screenwriter Vani Tripathi Tikoo. “Once we address this, the change is cumulative, and only then will it be accepted widely as a part of our culture and society.”

    Producer Kiran Rao, who spent most of her time catching diverse south Asian films in the Viewing Room, said Aamir Khan Productions will attend the next edition of the NFDC Film Bazaar.

    “The Film Bazaar has changed the landscape of how films are made and distributed, and really brought the film community together. It’s a fantastic and much-needed annual event. Aamir Khan Productions will hope to look for projects, meet people and find talent here. The Viewing Room is a great resource that Deepti DCunha, programmer of WIP, has created,” Rao said.

    The Knowledge Series started with the Investor Pitch of Film Bazaar Recommends (Part I) which screened documentary and film trailers followed by a short presentation by the filmmakers, highlighting the support that they needed to complete their process.
    Baradwaj Rangan moderated a discussion with filmmaker Prakash Jha, Chatterjee and Tikoo on “Women Protagonists in Indian Filmscape – Changing Dynamics.”

    In the discussion on Unique Distribution Models – Reaching Out With Independent Films moderator by filmmaker Rohan Sippy, panelists included filmmakers Sandeep Mohan, director of Love, Wrinkle-Free and Hola Venky!, and Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, who started ‘Cinema Cab’, a movement to screen films across the length and breadth of Kerala, and co-founder and CEO of Reelmonk Vivek Paul.

    Rohan Sippy explored the intricacies of the two filmmakers’ approaches, which both thrived on a non-monetary promotional approach and remarked, “It’s very interesting how you have managed to create unique models that work for you and your specific films and audiences. It takes a lot of conviction to follow through on such a vision of involving the audience, and taking the film to them.”

    In Storytelling & Narratives in 360 degrees section, Amsterdam Creative Industries Network Coordinator of Interaction and Games Lab Mirjam Vosmeer presented an illuminating presentation on Virtual Reality, and spoke at length about the various aspects of the uncharted territory that are being researched upon.

    Filmmaker and animator Gitanjali Rao who moderated the discussion and posed questions from the point of view of a filmmaker.“It is such a different way of telling stories. Besides, the fantasy and pleasure aspect of Virtual Reality, it is the empathy that it can induce in the viewer that really fascinates me,” she confessed. “To be able to involve an audience in such an immersive way has a lot of potential, especially for documentary filmmakers.”

    The panel discussion on Queen’s Journey & Filming In the Netherlands moderated by the media specialist and author Vanita Kohli-Khandekar included film commissioner, Nederlands Filmfonds, Bas Van der Reem, the producer Thomas Drijver and the producer of Queen Vivek Bajrang Agrawal. The panel discussion on VOD as the key distribution platforms for independent films included founder of The Film Collaborative, Orly Ravid, and Vista India CEO Suri Gopalan.

    ​Before the film bazaar commenced, the Film Facilitation Office had organised a one-day Workshop with Nodal Officers appointed by various State Governments and Central Government Ministries / Departments / Agencies to act as the one-point contact for easing the process of filming in their respective jurisdiction.

    The workshop included a case study presentation by Gujarat, which won the National Award for the Most Film Friendly State in 2016. It is envisaged that these discussions would motivate and mobilize the Nodal officers from State and Central Governments towards not only easier and timely facilitation of permissions for shooting films in their State, but also undertaking initiatives for a favorable filming environment.​

  • Piracy at YouTube under check, claims Raghavan

    Piracy at YouTube under check, claims Raghavan

    NEW DELHI: YouTube India head of content operations Satya Raghavan has claimed that it has succeeded in curbing piracy on its platform to a large extent. Veteran actress Shabana Azmi along with the young actor Tannishtha Chatterjee was the cynosure of all eyes as they conducted a session in Producers’ Lab at the ongoing Film Bazaar at IFFI Goa on ‘How to Pitch an Actor’.

    Speaking in the Building Communities and Icons section at the Bazaar, Raghavan said “When you upload a film on YouTube, a fingerprint of that film is created. If somebody else is uploading that film, there are a certain proofs by which you come to know about this. YouTube is perhaps the only platform where you can actually know that someone has put up your content but you need to put your content up first, because about 500 hours of content is being uploaded every minute. This is a great system that allows the content owner to understand if their content is being pirated.” He was conducting an engrossing session about the burgeoning digital space and the platform that Youtube has provided filmmakers.

    On monetisation of a Youtube channel, he said, “Once you turn on the section called monetisation in your backend control centre, only then will it serve you ads. You also have to think about whether you’re sending the right signals through your content, which is by giving good descriptions, that help to identify the content and helps us match it with viewers on the other side.”

    The Bazaar organized by the National Film Development Corporation concludes tomorrow. It is held to coincide with the International Film Festival of India which will conclude on 27 November.

    Azmi, who attended the Film Bazaar for the first time since it commenced a decade earlier, was also there to promote her upcoming film Idgah which is a part of the ‘Film Bazaar Recommends’ section. She said, “I learnt there is a formal way in which film business can be conducted. I think it’s important because I’m very interested in the work of first-time filmmakers.”

    “I think these tags of a film being ‘women-oriented’ and ‘heroine-oriented’ have to slowly go out at some point, to feel that we are reaching a point of gender equality, and recognising that cinema is essentially a medium of storytelling,” said Chatterjee.

    “It’s important to highlight the truths about women today, no matter how ugly they are,” said theatre artist/filmmaker/screenwriter Vani Tripathi Tikoo. “Once we address this, the change is cumulative, and only then will it be accepted widely as a part of our culture and society.”

    Producer Kiran Rao, who spent most of her time catching diverse south Asian films in the Viewing Room, said Aamir Khan Productions will attend the next edition of the NFDC Film Bazaar.

    “The Film Bazaar has changed the landscape of how films are made and distributed, and really brought the film community together. It’s a fantastic and much-needed annual event. Aamir Khan Productions will hope to look for projects, meet people and find talent here. The Viewing Room is a great resource that Deepti DCunha, programmer of WIP, has created,” Rao said.

    The Knowledge Series started with the Investor Pitch of Film Bazaar Recommends (Part I) which screened documentary and film trailers followed by a short presentation by the filmmakers, highlighting the support that they needed to complete their process.
    Baradwaj Rangan moderated a discussion with filmmaker Prakash Jha, Chatterjee and Tikoo on “Women Protagonists in Indian Filmscape – Changing Dynamics.”

    In the discussion on Unique Distribution Models – Reaching Out With Independent Films moderator by filmmaker Rohan Sippy, panelists included filmmakers Sandeep Mohan, director of Love, Wrinkle-Free and Hola Venky!, and Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, who started ‘Cinema Cab’, a movement to screen films across the length and breadth of Kerala, and co-founder and CEO of Reelmonk Vivek Paul.

    Rohan Sippy explored the intricacies of the two filmmakers’ approaches, which both thrived on a non-monetary promotional approach and remarked, “It’s very interesting how you have managed to create unique models that work for you and your specific films and audiences. It takes a lot of conviction to follow through on such a vision of involving the audience, and taking the film to them.”

    In Storytelling & Narratives in 360 degrees section, Amsterdam Creative Industries Network Coordinator of Interaction and Games Lab Mirjam Vosmeer presented an illuminating presentation on Virtual Reality, and spoke at length about the various aspects of the uncharted territory that are being researched upon.

    Filmmaker and animator Gitanjali Rao who moderated the discussion and posed questions from the point of view of a filmmaker.“It is such a different way of telling stories. Besides, the fantasy and pleasure aspect of Virtual Reality, it is the empathy that it can induce in the viewer that really fascinates me,” she confessed. “To be able to involve an audience in such an immersive way has a lot of potential, especially for documentary filmmakers.”

    The panel discussion on Queen’s Journey & Filming In the Netherlands moderated by the media specialist and author Vanita Kohli-Khandekar included film commissioner, Nederlands Filmfonds, Bas Van der Reem, the producer Thomas Drijver and the producer of Queen Vivek Bajrang Agrawal. The panel discussion on VOD as the key distribution platforms for independent films included founder of The Film Collaborative, Orly Ravid, and Vista India CEO Suri Gopalan.

    ​Before the film bazaar commenced, the Film Facilitation Office had organised a one-day Workshop with Nodal Officers appointed by various State Governments and Central Government Ministries / Departments / Agencies to act as the one-point contact for easing the process of filming in their respective jurisdiction.

    The workshop included a case study presentation by Gujarat, which won the National Award for the Most Film Friendly State in 2016. It is envisaged that these discussions would motivate and mobilize the Nodal officers from State and Central Governments towards not only easier and timely facilitation of permissions for shooting films in their State, but also undertaking initiatives for a favorable filming environment.​

  • Another comic roast raises a storm

    Another comic roast raises a storm

    MUMBAI: Comic Roasts can backfire. Ask the AIB guys. And now you can ask the cast of Comedy Nights Bachao. In an episode that is yet to be telecast, the cast of the Krushna Abhishek-Bharati Singh-led show on Colors resorted to some leg-pulling of an actress during a film promotion on it. The leg-pulling was around the tanned actress’ skin colour. And, it got her goose. So much so, that it has become an issue with women’s organisations getting behind the actress and the channel and the artistes having to issue an apology.

    ‘Parched’ actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was the butt of the skin tone joke during a show to be aired on Colors. “She had no clue about ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’, says the show’s host Krushna Abhishek who has now apologised for the ‘racist’ comments. Both, Krushna and Colors have since apologised to Tannishtha after she expressed disappointment with how her skin tone was made fun of on “Comedy Nights Bachao.” Comedian Krushna defended the programme that he co-hosts, after Tannishtha rued its “blatant and regressive racist” ways of finding humour in her “dark skin tone”.

    Issues with colorism and race are not new in India. The degradation of dark color and the privileges of whiteness in a post-colonial era is endless. And, jokes on a popular show only help to reinforce the stereotype that dark skin is a subject of ridicule.

    Krushna was not present on the sets of the show when Tannishtha was “roasted” on the show. She was accompanied there by her ‘Parched’ team members — director Leena Yadav and actress Radhika Apte. Soon after shooting for the show,Tannishtha took to social media to criticise the format for its racist attack.

    The creative professionals on the Colors shows believed that calling someone ‘kaali kalooti’ or asking if eating jamuns (blackberries) as a kid is the reason why she is dark-skinned is amusing.

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) has slammed the comedy show for allegedly making fun of the skin tone of the actress, and said it is exploring avenues to initiate action on the “unfortunate episode”.

    After sitting through two segments of the show, the National Award-winning actress walked out of the shoot when jokes like ‘kaali kalooti, baingan looti’ didn’t stop. In the post, Tannishtha wrote, “…in a country where we still sell Fair and Lovely/Handsome and show adverts where people don’t get jobs because of their complexion, where every matrimonial advert demands a fair bride or groom and the colour bias is so strong, in a society which has a deep-seated problem with dark skin, which also has deep roots in our caste system, in a country where dark skin is marginalised — making fun of it is not a roast. Even considering that dark skin is a joke comes from that very deep prejudice”.

    An apologetic Krushna later reacted: “If she (Tannishtha) feels offended by something, I apologise from our side. We never want to hurt anyone deliberately. “Comedy Nights Bachao” is of a roast format. Roast doesn’t mean that we say just anything to anyone… I had asked Tannishtha, if she has seen the show, she said she doesn’t watch TV as such. So, she has no clue about the show. So, I took another example and asked her if she had seen AIB Roast? And she hadn’t seen that either. I told her that since it’s a roast, there will be some leg-pulling, but we don’t insult. Had we been insulting, the show won’t have come so far.”

    The actress has said that she had some idea of a roast through “Saturday Night Live” show, and that with “Comedy Nights Bachao”, she was anticipating to be ‘roasted’ as her perception was that a roast is “a celebratory humour at someone’s expense” and “a mock counter to a toast”.

    Pointing out that the only thing they could roast about a dark-skinned actress was “of course her dark skin”, she said in a Facebook post: “This was an entirely novel understanding of roast that equates itself with bullying. And to my utmost horror, I soon realised that the only quality they found worth roasting about in me was my skin tone. It began with, ‘Aap ko jamun bahut pasand hoga zaroor…?’”

    Krushna said there are actors who take roasts sportingly. “When Varun Dhawan came for ‘Dilwale’, Varun himself came up to me and said that he is very excited and looking forward to the roast. Even Shah Rukh Khan chose to come to our show for ‘Fan’. “I don’t know what hurt Tannishtha, because I wasn’t performing then. But I apologise if it has hurt her, though it wasn’t a deliberate attempt,” he added.

    A PTI report quoted NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam as saying it was “deplorable” and “pathetic” that the TV show “stooped to such a low level to garner TRPs”.

    “This was wrong on so many levels, in gender construct and social construct and it sets a very bad precedent. It is in bad taste and condemnable. In the name of freedom of expression, one should not and cannot allow perpetuation of social prejudice,” Kumaramangalam told PTI, adding NCW has taken cognisance of the incident and is “consulting lawyers” to determine a “course of action.”

    The NCW proposes to issue a letter to the apex authority on monitoring of the broadcast media content to bring to their notice the episode, according to the wire news service report.

    This is not the first time comedians and TV shows have come under scrutiny for content that has been described as objectionable by some.

    Meanwhile, a media report from Karnataka said that a High Court judge made some critical comments on film, TV and print media content.

    Justice Gowda, who has given time to the Central government till 4 October 2016 to respond to a petition, was reported as observing on a case regarding a film content, “In the midst of news, some objectionable contents are introduced on television. Even newspapers carry advertisements about jewellery and lingerie, which are sometimes indecent.”

  • Another comic roast raises a storm

    Another comic roast raises a storm

    MUMBAI: Comic Roasts can backfire. Ask the AIB guys. And now you can ask the cast of Comedy Nights Bachao. In an episode that is yet to be telecast, the cast of the Krushna Abhishek-Bharati Singh-led show on Colors resorted to some leg-pulling of an actress during a film promotion on it. The leg-pulling was around the tanned actress’ skin colour. And, it got her goose. So much so, that it has become an issue with women’s organisations getting behind the actress and the channel and the artistes having to issue an apology.

    ‘Parched’ actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was the butt of the skin tone joke during a show to be aired on Colors. “She had no clue about ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’, says the show’s host Krushna Abhishek who has now apologised for the ‘racist’ comments. Both, Krushna and Colors have since apologised to Tannishtha after she expressed disappointment with how her skin tone was made fun of on “Comedy Nights Bachao.” Comedian Krushna defended the programme that he co-hosts, after Tannishtha rued its “blatant and regressive racist” ways of finding humour in her “dark skin tone”.

    Issues with colorism and race are not new in India. The degradation of dark color and the privileges of whiteness in a post-colonial era is endless. And, jokes on a popular show only help to reinforce the stereotype that dark skin is a subject of ridicule.

    Krushna was not present on the sets of the show when Tannishtha was “roasted” on the show. She was accompanied there by her ‘Parched’ team members — director Leena Yadav and actress Radhika Apte. Soon after shooting for the show,Tannishtha took to social media to criticise the format for its racist attack.

    The creative professionals on the Colors shows believed that calling someone ‘kaali kalooti’ or asking if eating jamuns (blackberries) as a kid is the reason why she is dark-skinned is amusing.

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) has slammed the comedy show for allegedly making fun of the skin tone of the actress, and said it is exploring avenues to initiate action on the “unfortunate episode”.

    After sitting through two segments of the show, the National Award-winning actress walked out of the shoot when jokes like ‘kaali kalooti, baingan looti’ didn’t stop. In the post, Tannishtha wrote, “…in a country where we still sell Fair and Lovely/Handsome and show adverts where people don’t get jobs because of their complexion, where every matrimonial advert demands a fair bride or groom and the colour bias is so strong, in a society which has a deep-seated problem with dark skin, which also has deep roots in our caste system, in a country where dark skin is marginalised — making fun of it is not a roast. Even considering that dark skin is a joke comes from that very deep prejudice”.

    An apologetic Krushna later reacted: “If she (Tannishtha) feels offended by something, I apologise from our side. We never want to hurt anyone deliberately. “Comedy Nights Bachao” is of a roast format. Roast doesn’t mean that we say just anything to anyone… I had asked Tannishtha, if she has seen the show, she said she doesn’t watch TV as such. So, she has no clue about the show. So, I took another example and asked her if she had seen AIB Roast? And she hadn’t seen that either. I told her that since it’s a roast, there will be some leg-pulling, but we don’t insult. Had we been insulting, the show won’t have come so far.”

    The actress has said that she had some idea of a roast through “Saturday Night Live” show, and that with “Comedy Nights Bachao”, she was anticipating to be ‘roasted’ as her perception was that a roast is “a celebratory humour at someone’s expense” and “a mock counter to a toast”.

    Pointing out that the only thing they could roast about a dark-skinned actress was “of course her dark skin”, she said in a Facebook post: “This was an entirely novel understanding of roast that equates itself with bullying. And to my utmost horror, I soon realised that the only quality they found worth roasting about in me was my skin tone. It began with, ‘Aap ko jamun bahut pasand hoga zaroor…?’”

    Krushna said there are actors who take roasts sportingly. “When Varun Dhawan came for ‘Dilwale’, Varun himself came up to me and said that he is very excited and looking forward to the roast. Even Shah Rukh Khan chose to come to our show for ‘Fan’. “I don’t know what hurt Tannishtha, because I wasn’t performing then. But I apologise if it has hurt her, though it wasn’t a deliberate attempt,” he added.

    A PTI report quoted NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam as saying it was “deplorable” and “pathetic” that the TV show “stooped to such a low level to garner TRPs”.

    “This was wrong on so many levels, in gender construct and social construct and it sets a very bad precedent. It is in bad taste and condemnable. In the name of freedom of expression, one should not and cannot allow perpetuation of social prejudice,” Kumaramangalam told PTI, adding NCW has taken cognisance of the incident and is “consulting lawyers” to determine a “course of action.”

    The NCW proposes to issue a letter to the apex authority on monitoring of the broadcast media content to bring to their notice the episode, according to the wire news service report.

    This is not the first time comedians and TV shows have come under scrutiny for content that has been described as objectionable by some.

    Meanwhile, a media report from Karnataka said that a High Court judge made some critical comments on film, TV and print media content.

    Justice Gowda, who has given time to the Central government till 4 October 2016 to respond to a petition, was reported as observing on a case regarding a film content, “In the midst of news, some objectionable contents are introduced on television. Even newspapers carry advertisements about jewellery and lingerie, which are sometimes indecent.”

  • Parched…Dry run at box office

    Parched…Dry run at box office

    MUMBAI: Leena Yadav’s Parched debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. Ever since, it has been on the festival circuit extensively till its theatrical release this week.

    Parched is about the state of women in the hinterland. The injustice meted out to women is a part of all societies; while the urban tales do not usually come out, rural stories abound but taken as a way of life till, a film or a story is made on it.

    Parched is about three women in arid Rajasthan, each having her own woes, mainly men-inflicted.These women find solace on the shoulders of each other. The women eventually gather courage to chart their own lives instead of submission.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is playing a widow with a son of marriageable age. However, the lad is unwilling. Radhika Apte, Tannishtha’s confidante, is not better off either as she is labelled a ‘baanjh’ by her alcoholic husband and subjected to a regular dose of beating. Sharing her pain with Tannishtha is the only solace in her life.

    Surveen Chawla is playing a prostitute. Seemingly liberated, she too has her own problems as she is losing out on business to her younger rivals while also bearing the brunt of the anger of her pimp and others. Surveen has this idea that why all the foul words in Hindi are addressed to women and why can’t they be reversed and used for men?

    Nobody is aware of the desires of women; they seek care, love and, also, sex. Tannishtha has but some solace in a secret admirer who keeps calling her on phone. And, there is this sage like figure, Adil Hussain, who helps Radhika experience a fulfilling life while also assisting her get rid of the social stigma of ‘baanjh’.

    Parched has worthy contribution from all actors. Leena Yadav has rightly chosen a subject that needs a bold approach and executed it well. Her handling of the subject is deft. The cinematography by the American, Russel Carpenter, captures the surroundings well while also justifying the essence of the film. Editing, also entrusted to a foreign technician, Kevin Tent, keeps the process taut.

    This women-centric film is for performers. Tannishtha, Radhika and Surveen do full justice to their roles, while Surveen excels.

    Parched, having already made it to about a dozen film festivals, is one for the laurels while commercially it would appeal to a few at the high-end multiplexes.

    Producers: Ajay Devgn, AssemBajaaj.

    Director: LeenaYadav.

    Cast: RadhikaApte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Laher Khan, Adil Hussain, Riddhi Sen.

    Days Of Tafree: In Class; Out Of Class….Lacks class!

    Days Of Tafree: In Class-Out Of Class is a youth oriented film with a college background. It is a remake of the Gujarati film, Chhello Divas: A New Beginning (2015).

    Though many Hindi films have been adapted from Gujarati stage plays, the recent ones being OMG: Oh! My God (2012: Kanji Virudh Kanji), Waqt: Race Against Time (2005: Aavjo Vahla Fari Malishu), Super Nani  (2014: Baa ae Mari Boundary) and Aankhen (2002: Andhalo Pato), instances of Gujarati film remake in Hindi are rare if not non-existent.

    The film is about a group of college friends whose behavior in class and on the campus is unlike that of other college boys you would see in real life or in films. They hoot behind the teacher’s back, they talk filthy language as if it was the new in-thing. They are loud and always chasing girls and lady instructors. And, the bunch also has one Big Moose kind of brainless hulk which also makes the boys feel invincible.

    The pranks of these boys are supposed to arouse laughter. What really happens through the film is that only those on screen keep laughing failing to take the audience along. The film also makes jokes on physical deformities which is rather rude.

    The film is a flashback into the college life of one of the boys. There is no drama or conclusion as there is no story in the film. The music is loud in keeping with the tone of the film but non-appealing. Direction is amateurish and the editing is poor. The performances are over the top.

    Days OfTafree: In Class Out Of Class is poor in all respects.

    Producers: Anand Pandit and Rashmi Sharma

    Director: Krishnadev Yagnik

    Cast: Nimisha Mehta, Ansh Bagri, Sanchay Goswami, Sarabjeet Bindra, Anuradha Mukharjee

  • Parched…Dry run at box office

    Parched…Dry run at box office

    MUMBAI: Leena Yadav’s Parched debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. Ever since, it has been on the festival circuit extensively till its theatrical release this week.

    Parched is about the state of women in the hinterland. The injustice meted out to women is a part of all societies; while the urban tales do not usually come out, rural stories abound but taken as a way of life till, a film or a story is made on it.

    Parched is about three women in arid Rajasthan, each having her own woes, mainly men-inflicted.These women find solace on the shoulders of each other. The women eventually gather courage to chart their own lives instead of submission.

    Tannishtha Chatterjee is playing a widow with a son of marriageable age. However, the lad is unwilling. Radhika Apte, Tannishtha’s confidante, is not better off either as she is labelled a ‘baanjh’ by her alcoholic husband and subjected to a regular dose of beating. Sharing her pain with Tannishtha is the only solace in her life.

    Surveen Chawla is playing a prostitute. Seemingly liberated, she too has her own problems as she is losing out on business to her younger rivals while also bearing the brunt of the anger of her pimp and others. Surveen has this idea that why all the foul words in Hindi are addressed to women and why can’t they be reversed and used for men?

    Nobody is aware of the desires of women; they seek care, love and, also, sex. Tannishtha has but some solace in a secret admirer who keeps calling her on phone. And, there is this sage like figure, Adil Hussain, who helps Radhika experience a fulfilling life while also assisting her get rid of the social stigma of ‘baanjh’.

    Parched has worthy contribution from all actors. Leena Yadav has rightly chosen a subject that needs a bold approach and executed it well. Her handling of the subject is deft. The cinematography by the American, Russel Carpenter, captures the surroundings well while also justifying the essence of the film. Editing, also entrusted to a foreign technician, Kevin Tent, keeps the process taut.

    This women-centric film is for performers. Tannishtha, Radhika and Surveen do full justice to their roles, while Surveen excels.

    Parched, having already made it to about a dozen film festivals, is one for the laurels while commercially it would appeal to a few at the high-end multiplexes.

    Producers: Ajay Devgn, AssemBajaaj.

    Director: LeenaYadav.

    Cast: RadhikaApte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Laher Khan, Adil Hussain, Riddhi Sen.

    Days Of Tafree: In Class; Out Of Class….Lacks class!

    Days Of Tafree: In Class-Out Of Class is a youth oriented film with a college background. It is a remake of the Gujarati film, Chhello Divas: A New Beginning (2015).

    Though many Hindi films have been adapted from Gujarati stage plays, the recent ones being OMG: Oh! My God (2012: Kanji Virudh Kanji), Waqt: Race Against Time (2005: Aavjo Vahla Fari Malishu), Super Nani  (2014: Baa ae Mari Boundary) and Aankhen (2002: Andhalo Pato), instances of Gujarati film remake in Hindi are rare if not non-existent.

    The film is about a group of college friends whose behavior in class and on the campus is unlike that of other college boys you would see in real life or in films. They hoot behind the teacher’s back, they talk filthy language as if it was the new in-thing. They are loud and always chasing girls and lady instructors. And, the bunch also has one Big Moose kind of brainless hulk which also makes the boys feel invincible.

    The pranks of these boys are supposed to arouse laughter. What really happens through the film is that only those on screen keep laughing failing to take the audience along. The film also makes jokes on physical deformities which is rather rude.

    The film is a flashback into the college life of one of the boys. There is no drama or conclusion as there is no story in the film. The music is loud in keeping with the tone of the film but non-appealing. Direction is amateurish and the editing is poor. The performances are over the top.

    Days OfTafree: In Class Out Of Class is poor in all respects.

    Producers: Anand Pandit and Rashmi Sharma

    Director: Krishnadev Yagnik

    Cast: Nimisha Mehta, Ansh Bagri, Sanchay Goswami, Sarabjeet Bindra, Anuradha Mukharjee

  • ‘Wazir:’ Give me Ludo any day!

    ‘Wazir:’ Give me Ludo any day!

    Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s company has some very successful entertainers and they have been huge money-spinners for the banner. To this end, his tie-up with director Rajkumar Hirani has proved to be fruitful. But, left to his own, Chopra likes to indulge in stories of intrigue, the earlier one being Eklavya. This time Chopra is credited with the original story ofWazir. Simply put, it is a story about two persons, Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, affected by the same villain and the way they join forces to avenge the wrong done to them.

    But Chopra does not like to make it so simple. He weaves a web of complications around the script and the characters like the game of chess, which is at the centre of this film. What backfires on the script is that the audience knows who the culprit is while Bachchan and Farhan try to expose him.

    Farhan is out with his wife, Aditi Rao Hydari, and daughter. While Aditi goes to a shop to get some work done; Farhan, waiting for her, spots a dreaded terrorist who, the authorities think, is in Karachi. A dutiful ATS officer that he is, he starts to chase the terrorist’s car. The chase ends abruptly when, after he turns a corner, the terrorists are waiting for him and start shooting at him. Farhan takes a bullet but survives while his daughter falls to a bullet. 

    The happy family of Farhan is shattered. Aditi holds him responsible and wants nothing to do with him anymore. Soon, Farhan learns where the killer of his daughter is. He defies the ATS cadre, which is out to get the convict with instructions to take him alive since he is linked to an influential minister. Farhan’s rage is uncontrollable and he kills the terrorist. 

    As is the norm in Hindi films of suspending honest and brave officers, Farhan too is suspended from the force. Farhan is forlorn and also decides to commit suicide at his daughter’s grave when Bachchan steps in. He gives Farhan time to have a second thought and, purposefully, drops his wallet at the gate of the cemetery. Luring Farhan to come visit his home to return the wallet. 

    Bachchan runs a Bal Bhavan at his home. He is some sort of an expert on chess and teaches small children to play the game. There is another woman around who teaches them the skills of drama. Bachchan has lost his wife and both his legs for being flamboyant. Out on a ride with his wife, he exceeds the speed limit of his car and tragedy ensues. 

    As it turns out, Bachchan’s daughter has been murdered by the same villain, Manav Kaul, who is also responsible for Farhan’s tragedy. Being handicapped, Bachchan needs a brave man with the same determination to finish the wrongdoer. Bachchan starts working on Farhan and while teaching him to play chess, fills his mind with a purpose, which is to kill Kaul. 

    By now, Farhan has grown very fond of Bachchan, who creates a fictitious character called Wazir. Wazir torments Bachchan and hurts him and also promises to kill him. Why Bachchan and why not Farhan himself as the handicapped Bachchan is no threat to anyone while Farhan is the one capable of taking revenge. But, that is Bachchan’s way of emotionally blackmailing Farhan to go out and get the man who killed his daughter.

    Kaul for his part lives a dual life. He is a terrorist who has killed the entire population of his village in Kashmir but using dramatics has emerged as the victim and as a patriot. He has even won elections and is now in a position to call the shots with police. Bachchan adopts all the tricks in the trade to convince Farhan to go after Kaul. Farhan does so. Kaul is at a public rally, surrounded by an army of guards but Farhan makes it look so easy that the audience satisfaction of justice to the villain is lost. 

    The script of the film is like a game of chess for one who is not familiar with the game. The revenge angle is stretched and even it just a little over 100 minutes, the narrative sags. And the director’s fancy for creating rain and shooting in low light most of the time makes the viewing drab. It is the same complaint with cinematography: too much of low light. The film has little scope for songs but is loaded with seven numbers. Editing has no place here for that would have rendered the film to the length of a TV episode. 

    Bachchan makes his presence felt by being loud. His get-up makes him look like a caricature and is quite a put off. Farhan justifies his character to the best of his abilities. Aditi has little to do. Cameos by John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh are okay. Kaul does a fair job despite his stereotypical character. 

    Wazir has nothing for the single screens, and its time at the multiplexes won’t be exciting either. 

    Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

    Director: Bejoy Nambiar

    Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari, Manav Kaul and cameos by John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh

    ‘Chauranga:’ This is not cinema

    Chauranga is one more offering from the National Film Lab organised by NFDC and others, which means it is meant to exploit poverty, class differences and such problems in India and earn glory at various film festivals. This film has been doing the festival circuit since 2014 and has finally come to try to reach the Indian audience.

    Two brothers coming from a backward class family are thick in their brotherhood. While the elder, Riddhi Sen, studies in a school away from his village, the younger, Soham Moitra, whiles away his time hanging around a jamun tree, watching the village strongman’s (Sanjay Suri) daughter passing on her two-wheeler. He has fallen in love with her and is convinced she too loves him because she always spares a smile for him.

    Suri is the village headman by proxy as he takes all the decisions for a voicelessgram panchayat. While the population of the village is purely segregated between upper and lower castes, it does not come in the way of Suri from having a liaison with the mother of these two boys, Tannishtha Chatterjee. Her job is to look after the cowsheds of Suri and that is where their rendezvous takes place. In return, Suri looks after the education of her son. 

    Suri has built a hand pump to solve the village’s water problem. He decides to invite a politician to inaugurate the pump followed by a film show for the entire village. This way, while the whole village is glued to the cinema, he can have his time with Tannishtha in the cowshed.

    From the beginning of the film, there is a naagin slithering around on the screen, protecting her eggs. And during the duo’s rendezvous, she decides to leave her eggs, slithers into the cowshed and bites Tannishtha.

    Earlier, besotted Soham has convinced his educated elder brother to pen a love letter to Suri’s daughter. Doting on his brother, the elder one obliges. It is some lines from a film song, which Suri had heard from the boy on an earlier occasion. That sounds the death knell for the boy. The younger one manages to board a goods train to escape to safety. 

    Having sat through it, it is tough to understand the purpose of such a film. Its theatrical release spells disaster. 

    Producers: Onir, Sanjay Suri

    Director: Bikas Ranjan Mishra

    Cast: Sanjay Suri, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Riddhi Sen, Soham Maitra, Ena Saha

  • ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’: It’s different

    ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’: It’s different

    MUMBAI: Thanks to the world of media and entertainment opening up, filmmaking has been continuously expanding its dimensions. A lot of filmmakers are breaking the genre barriers and daring to project stories that would have been unimaginable until not so long ago. The era of abla Indian naari is long gone, at least, as far as the film stories go. As the title asserts, Angry Indian Goddesses is about a bunch of women who don’t conform to the stereotype. 

    Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Sandhya Mridul, Pavleen Gujral and Amrit Maghera are career women (except Pavleen). Sarah, a professional photographer, is asked to compromise: make a dark model look fair for a fairness cream. She is supposed to just shoot her pictures and the rest will be done on Photoshop, she is assured. But, she would not compromise on her skill and walks off.

    Similarly, Sandhya, a tycoon, has a problem on hand as her mining fields are controversial and have been shut down due to a protest led by Tannishtha Chatterjee. Amrit is an aspiring actor but walks out of a film shoot when she is padded up all over to just look sexy and vulnerable instead of acting her part. 

    Pavleen is a merit list graduate but is married off early into a traditional family where the only expectation from her is to deliver a child, sort of, without her husband’s participation. These all are Sarah’s dear friends. 

    Sarah, having walked out of her photo-shoot assignment, heads straight to Goa to her ancestral home. She plans to marry and decides to invite her friends. So, Sarah, Sandhya, Anushka, Pavleen and Amrit gather under one roof in a Goa village. Also around is Sarah’s childhood companion cum maid, Rajshri Deshpande, a gutsy, street smart woman. 

    As one sits through the film, nothing is happening except that this bunch has what is their idea of fun. Generally, this involves pulling each other’s leg, drinking, dancing and finally opening up with their respective problems. As they open up, you feel like an eavesdropper on an all girls’ party! None of them are really happy as the others perceived. One thinks the women have been told by the director to just go along and do as they liked; their idea of a get-together of a bunch of friends.

    If there is a purpose to the film, the indications come only post interval as Sandhya, the tycoon’s b?te noire, Tannishtha, walks in as another guest. 

    The women, all troubled by their circumstances, having time of their life and none feels like going back. On one of their outings, they confront some bike-riding bullies. The guys run away but that is not going to be the end of it. Because, the makers also plan to stress on rape and the attitude of the law and views on a woman’s dressing.

    Finally, Sarah is forced to reveal who she is going to wed and that is another aspect rarely ventured on Hindi screen. It is the last half an hour or so that turns the film around and gives it a purpose. The climax is interesting.

    Pan Nalin has penned and directed this film and he has handled it well considering this is a dicey theme with little substance in the footage for most part. The film has a very situational musical score. The Konkani song, rendered by Anushka, a musician herself, is a delight. The location being Goa, it is a pleasure to watch and aids the cinematography look pleasant to eyes. 

    Angry Indian Goddesses is an interesting watch if you are a discerning film lover with patience. Eventually, it makes up for your patience and money spent. 

    Producers: Pan Nalin, Gaurav Dhingra

    Director: Pan Nalin

    Cast: Sarah-Jane Dias, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anushka Manchanda, Sandhya Mridul, Amrit 

    Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, Pavleen Gujra, Arjun Mathur, Adil Hussain.

    ‘Hate Story 3’: Rides on brand equity

    The Hate Story franchise has been a moderate success twice before, albeit, in a limited range. Not blockbusters but profitmaking all the same. And so the story continues. You have a title and you have the basic theme of skin show. Rest would be easy.

    However, while rules at the censor board are still the same, the implementation has changed. So, liberties can’t be taken. ForHate Story 3, the germ is borrowed from the Hollywood movie, Indecent Proposal (1993).

    Sharman Joshi is a successful entrepreneur with an ever growing business empire. He has a loving wife by his side in Zarine Khan. But, there is a sinister man around who has a glad eye for Zarine. That is Karan Singh Grover. He invites Sharman and Zarine for a business launch. He offers to help Sharman to grow his empire even further because, he says, he likes self-made men! However, for his help Sharman would have to send Zarine to Karan to spend a night with him. Now, why should Karan even imagine Sharman, a self-made man rich man would want to do that? You may borrow an idea from a foreign film but how about logic?

    Rejected, Karan becomes vengeful and plans to destroy Sharman and his business. He starts with contaminating the soft drinks in Sharman’s factory. Sharman is wary. He deputes his secretary, Daisy Shah, to lure Karan and find out what he is up to. But, it is not all that easy as Daisy is killed and her body is found in the bushes.

    Hate Story 3 has a weak base and far short of content compared to the earlier two versions. The direction is okay but not good enough to stretch the limited content to over two hours. The songs, usually the strength of a T-Series home production, have limited appeal. Two song, Tumhe apna bana…and Wajah… sound pleasant. Editing needed to be slicker. 

    Performance wise, Sharman looks a bit ill at ease. Karan is okay. Zarine is good. Daisy is passable. 

    Hate Story 3 has taken a good opening thanks to its brand equity. Made within a controlled budget, it has a two week open window without opposition and will make the most of it. 

    Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Vikram Bhatt Director: Vishal Pandya

    Cast: Sharman Joshi, Zarine Khan, Daisy Shah, Karan Singh Grover

  • Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    MUMBAI: After a legendary inning in cricket, Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is all set to star in his first lead role as an actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy.

     

    Titled UnIndian, the movie is the first feature to be produced by the recently established Australia India Film Fund (AIFF). Lee will share screen space with Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee.

     

    The announcement about the upcoming film was done by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indian cricket’s living legend Sachin Tendulkar during their meet at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

     

    Written by Thushy Saathi and to be directed by Anupam Sharma, the movie will be shot primarily in Sydney. Sharma and Lisa Duff are co-producing the film while Chandru Tolani is the executive producer.

     

    After being part of a Bollywood film and music video, former Australia cricketer Brett Lee is all set to become a full-time actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy, aptly titled ‘UnIndian’.

     

    “I’m honoured to have been cast as a lead in the first AIFF film, privileged to be working with Anupam Sharma and humbled to be working with an actress of the calibre of Tannishtha Chatterjee,” Lee said in a statement.

     

    Lee plays the role of a happy-go-lucky man who falls in love with divorcee and single mother, Meera (Chatterjee). The movie is set to go into production in October and expected to hit the theatres in March 2015.

     

    While this is not Lee’s first stint with movies, he has earlier done a cameo in Hindi film Victory starring Harman Baweja and has also featured in a music video with Asha Bhosle,  Chatterjee is best known for her role in Brick Lane (2007), a British film.

     

    AIFF was established in 2013 to invest in Australian films with Indian themes for a global audience.

     

    The 37-year-old pacer, announced his retirement from international cricket in 2012, however, the cricketer still plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash League.

  • Four film personalities align to develop quality children‘s films in India

    Four film personalities align to develop quality children‘s films in India

    MUMBAI: Director Onir, Paan Singh Tomar screenwriter Sanjay Chouhan, actress Tannishtha Chatterjee and noted German director Arend Agthe have decided to align to develop quality Indian children‘s cinema.

    The group will mentor 18 screenplays for children‘s cinema at the Green Screen Lab 2012 being organised by Eleeanora Images Pvt Ltd (India) and Performing Arts Lab (UK) in association with Children‘s Film Society, India (CFSI), in Bhubhaneshwar in Odisha.

    The 18 screenplays include five from North-East India as part of the Lab organisers‘ idea to bring out the many exciting stories from the neglected region to the mainstream India and beyond.

    At least five projects are likely to be chosen for development and production funding with the target to take the films to the floor in 2013.

    Acclaimed author Ruskin Bond, whose works have been adapted to the screen by directors like Shyam Benegal and Vishal Bhardwaj, will attend the Lab as a special guest, and share his thoughts on the relationship between literature and cinema with the participants.

    “The call for entry to the Lab elicited a huge response and the selection jury had a tough time picking up the chosen 18 as the quality of the submissions was generally quite high. In fact, this gives us great hope about the future of children‘s cinema, which has been a neglected genre in India largely,” said Nila Madhab Panda, maker of I am Kalam.