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Tag: Varma

  • Homi Adajania says Vijay Varma is a top dog, on the IMDb original series ‘Burning Questions’

    Homi Adajania says Vijay Varma is a top dog, on the IMDb original series ‘Burning Questions’

    Mumbai: Sara Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Vijay Varma, Sanjay Kapoor, Suhail Nayyar, and Homi Adajania recently appeared on the IMDb original series ‘Burning Questions’ to talk about their film Murder Mubarak. The movie is an official adaptation of the murder mystery novel, ‘Club You To Death’ by Anuja Chauhan. Together, the cast shared insights on their collaboration and provided interesting anecdotes about the film.

    When asked what she would steal from the cast of Murder Mubarak if she were a kleptomaniac in real life just like her character in the film, Sara Ali Khan replied, “I think I would take Tisca (Chopra) ma’am’s bilingual eloquence. Yeah, it’s amazing. I think Lolo’s (Karisma Kapoor) infectious energy while singing. Sanjay (Kapoor) sir’s selflessness. I admire Vijay’s (Varma) versatility. I’d covet Homi (Adajania) sir’s patience, and Suhail’s (Nayyar) undiscovered talent. From Dimple (Kapadia) aunty, I would steal her timeless beauty and her hair. And from Pankaj (Tripathi) sir, I would take everything he embodies.”

    When asked which cast member’s real-life personality is closest to their character, and why, Vijay Varma responded, “I think it’s me. I mean, this character is an outsider on the inside, so I feel a connection with him.” Homi Adajania added, “Yes, I agree. Akash Dogra is a bit of an underdog. Not that Vijay Varma is an underdog anymore. He once was, and he’s still trying to hold onto that part of his identity. But now he’s become a star, so he’s the top dog.”

    Regarding Karisma Kapoor’s character in Murder Mubarak, Homi Adajania remarked, “Lolo is portraying a B-grade slasher flick, cult heroine in the film, which is quite different from her usual roles.” Kapoor herself added, “Yes, I think she was very different, eccentric, quirky, and a bit crazily weird. So yeah, she was very different from me.”

  • Single Window clearance for filmmmakers to be operational within a month: Varma

    Single Window clearance for filmmmakers to be operational within a month: Varma

    NEW DELHI: Noting that he was conscious of the need for a level playing field for Indian filmmakers, information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari has said ways would be found for the single window clearance for even producers from within the country.

    The Minister was referring to the single window clearance avenue announced recently for filmmakers from overseas.

    The Minister also announced that the Cinematograph Act 1952 was a very old law and was being ‘overhauled‘ in view of the changes in the industry since then.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the Centenary of Indian Cinema festival in the capital yesterday evening, the Minister said cinema epitomised the nation and its people.

    He said it was a tribute to the film industry that it had ‘grown despite the government and not because of the government‘.

    I and B secretary Uday Kumar Varma said the proposal for single window clearance includes a Film Promotion Board to attract foreign filmmakers to Indian shores. This would bring a paradigm shift and will be ready in a month‘s time.

    He said the film industry was Rs 90 billion strong in 2011 and was expected to grow to Rs 150 billion by 2016.

    Though the box office share globally was a mere seven per cent, Indian films had made it big overseas and two films had recently been released in more than fifty countries simultaneously.

    The opening of the festival was followed by the screening of the 1929 silent film ‘Throw of Dice‘ by Franz Osten. The screening was unique in that a live music orchestra of more than thirty persons conducted by maestro Nishat Khan. There were separate screens in front of the musicians so that they could react musically to what was happening on the large screen at Sirifort Auditorium which was filled to capacity.

    The minister also inaugurated an exhibition on "Indian Cinema 100 (Celebrating a Century: An Audio Visual Voyage)" and a make-shift mini-theatre named Gulshan Mahal which will screen silent films every day. Gulshan Mahal is the name of the building in Mumbai in which the Museum of Cinematic Arts is coming up.

    The six-day festival will conclude on 30 April with a play on the life and times of Dadasaheb Phalke by Aamir Raza Hussain.

    The festival is being held at the Siri Fort auditorium as well as other venues such as Jamia Milia Islamia University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and India Habitat Center in an effort to bring the festival to the doorstep of film lovers in the capital.

    The extravaganza will include screenings of some classics as well as contemporary Indian films by master directors such as Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and others.

  • I&B sec Varma: “DAS Phase II roll-out smooth”

    I&B sec Varma: “DAS Phase II roll-out smooth”

    NEW DELHI: India‘s historical march towards cable television digitisation has taken a giant leap forward with the government expressing satisfaction over the implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS) that covered 38 cities and towns in phase II.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said that analogue signals had been switched off in 33 of the 38 towns at the stroke of midnight of 31 March.

    A confident Varma expressed that the success of the first and second phase of digitisation has strengthened his resolve that government‘s digitisation initiative was on track to be completed before the 31 December 2014 deadline.

    Five cities in Gujarat and Karnataka have been left out since there was a stay by Gujarat and Karnataka High Courts on DAS. Overall 75 per cent of the television homes in these 38 cities have been digitised, said Varma.

    In Gujarat, digitisation in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot has reached 50 per cent with Vadodara leading the pack with 70 per cent digitisation.

    Varma also asserted that seven cities including Hyderabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Allahabad out of the 38 had 100 per cent digitisation, while another nine had achieved over 75 per cent.

    However, he did confess that towns like Srinagar, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore were slow in seeding of STBs. Around 12 million of the 16 million TV households had been digitised, he said.

    He said the Ministry was keeping a watch on the situation with regard to STBs and said his information was that there were enough STBs at present for all the 38 cities in fourteen states and one union territory.

    “It was a mammoth task and I am happy that the switch-over had been smooth, without any law and order problems,” he said in a candid conversation.

    Asked about the 48-hour cable TV blackout in Delhi, Varma brushed it aside by saying that it has been an abject failure. He, however added that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will look into the grievances of the LCOs.