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Tag: Vidya Balan

  • Release of Talaash delayed to 7 December

    Release of Talaash delayed to 7 December

    MUMBAI: The release of Reema Kagti’s Aamir Khan-starrer Talaash has been delayed for the umpteenth time and will now release on 7 December.

    The film was initially scheduled to release on 26 January this year. Then came reports that since Khan was a little apprehensive about the climax of the film being strikingly similar to that of the Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani, he wanted a change in the climax. The film got delayed automatically and was rescheduled for release on 1 June.

    But, there was no headway even though the film’s trailers were splashed all over. Then the producers declared that the film would open on 30 November as it was said that Khan was busy with his Satyamave Jayate.

    But now it is heard that that the film might come one week later on 7 December, though there is no specific reason given for the delay.

    The project is jointly produced by Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan Productions.

  • Vidya Balan is brand ambassador for new Aliva variants

    MUMBAI: PepsiCo India has named Vidya Balan as the brand ambassador for its six new baked variants of snack brand, Aliva.

    The three new products, Multigrain Waves, Milk Minis and Crispy Thinz, are available in two variants each – providing more variety, flavours and ingredient choices.

    The new Aliva range, now endorsed by Lay’s, follows the introduction of parent brand Lay’s baked range of potato chips earlier this year. It further strengthens PepsiCo India’s snack portfolio in line with the emerging consumer health needs.

    PepsiCo India marketing director – foods Vidur Vyas said, “Endorsed by Lay’s, the new Aliva range is baked and brings forth a unique combination of grains with great taste. An accomplished actress, a woman of substance and an affable personality, Vidya is a great match to highlight the brand’s positioning of a snack jo tasty hai, accha hai.”

    The launch will be supported by a 360-degree campaign featuring Vidya that will be unveiled shortly. Apart from her, Aliva continues to be endorsed by actress Chitrangada Singh who has been the face of the brand since 2009.

  • Endemol bags remaking rights of Kahaani in Tamil and Telugu

    Endemol bags remaking rights of Kahaani in Tamil and Telugu

    MUMBAI: Known for making shows on Indian television like Bigg Boss and Fear Factor, Endemol India has forayed into the film making business.

    Starting their foray, the production company has already acquired remaking rights of the Sujoy Ghosh-directed Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani in Tamil and Telugu.

    “After having produced content for some of the biggest format shows in the country, we realised that it was time for us to venture into something new. Film making was always on the cards and we are delighted to finally set out to actually do it. We are already lining up projects for 2013 and are extremely excited about our first project, the remake of Kahaani which will be in production soon,” Endemol India CEO Deepak Dhar said.

    Will the Tamil and Telugu remake be a low cost affair like the original? “The South markets have their own dynamics and cost structures. We will be producing these films at levels comparable to medium to high cost films that one sees down South. We are investing in the best of talent and technical talent to do justice to the original script,” quipped Dhar.

    Sujoy Ghosh, who produced the original script, will also step in as the producer for the remakes and will be working with a leading director from the South Indian film industry.

    Would Ghosh direct the remakes? “Ghosh would continue to be involved in this project from the scripting to the first copy as a creative producer. His learnings and creative skills will be utilised to the fullest by us on the project. But to do justice to the local language and the market dynamics, we will be investing in the best of directorial, writing and technical talent down South,” Dhar observed.

    Endemol India is currently in talks with a couple of leading actors from South for the lead role in the remake of Kahaani. Will the original characters be there in the remakes too? “We are currently writing the script for both languages keeping in mind the local culture and sensibilities. We will retain the original characters but who will play them and how they will play out will be a matter of time before we announce them,” answered Dhar.

    Filming of the remakes is slated to begin in September while the release of the film in the two languages is earmarked for early January.

  • Warne joins Vidya Balan to launch Indian Film Festival, Melbourne

    Warne joins Vidya Balan to launch Indian Film Festival, Melbourne

    MUMBAI: Cricketer Shane Warne joined Vidya Balan at yesterday‘s launch of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), a state government-funded event.

    The event is said to be more about spinning Victoria‘s business relations with the subcontinent to showcase the world‘s largest movie industry, Bollywood.

    ‘‘The world is interested in India because of its burgeoning middle class and its capacity to buy,‘‘ Tourism Minister Louise Asher has reportedly said. ‘‘We want to ensure [Victoria is] at the forefront of positioning our businesses to do well in India. It‘s in that context, given that Bollywood is so big, that we‘re not only looking to develop business ties but cultural ties with India.‘‘

    Asher said that it was hoped that the upcoming festival might attract tourism from India and conceded that the government hoped it might play a part in repairing the damage to Victoria‘s education industry. ‘‘Education is Victoria‘s number one export and Indian students are a substantial part of that,‘‘ she said.

    Victorian premier Ted Baillieu has been a staunch advocate of the festival. Incidentally, Balan is the event‘s ambassador.

  • Vidya Balan for Melbourne to promote Indian film fest

    Vidya Balan for Melbourne to promote Indian film fest

    MUMBAI: Vidya Balan, who has been named the ambassador of Indian Film Festival in Melbourne, is set to visit the city to promote the forthcoming annual festival to be held in June, according to Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu.

    Baillieu said the Victorian coalition government was committed to strengthening ties between the Victorian and Indian film industries, and was pleased to be delivering the Indian Film Festival election pledge.

    “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will showcase the extraordinary depth and diversity of the Indian film industry, and create a greater understanding and shared experiences between Victoria and India. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will offer diverse screenings in a variety of Indian languages, host prominent Indian filmmakers and screen professionals, and provide an interactive programme of master classes,” Baillieu said in a statement.

    Louise Asher, the minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business said that having Balan as the ambassador for the inaugural festival has further enhanced Victoria‘s reputation as an international film hub.

    “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne joins our already rich roster of screen events and activities including the Melbourne International Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival and the recently-secured Screen Producers Association of Australia annual conference,” she observed.

    The festival that runs from 11 to 22 June is being organised by Mind Blowing Films.

  • Kahaani to show on VOD from 20 April via Mela

    Kahaani to show on VOD from 20 April via Mela

    MUMBAI: Video on demand service Mela has acquired the streaming service rights of Sujoy Ghosh‘s Kahaani.

    The film will start airing on the service from 20 April.

    “Mela is thrilled to announce that we have acquired non-exclusive online rights to the hugely successful and highly popular recent Bollywood hit, Kahaani. The film‘s release on Mela comes a month after its theatrical premiere in India. We will provide distribution of the film on the Mela Movies iPad App and Roku channel starting 20 April,” the company said.

    The Sujoy Ghosh-directed film stars Vidya Balan as a 7-month pregnant woman who travels to Kolkata in search of her missing husband only to find that everyone she asks his information from claim that no such person exists. The film received instant public and critical acclaim upon its theatrical release on 9 March collecting praise for its cinematography, originality, screenplay, and performances.

    Kahaani arrives on the heels of last year‘s hit The Dirty Picture that earned Vidya Balan the best actress Filmfare award.

    Mela‘s services are available worldwide.

  • Agent Vinod fails to thrill weekend audiences, nets Rs 273 mn

    Agent Vinod fails to thrill weekend audiences, nets Rs 273 mn

    MUMBAI: Agent Vinod, the Saif Ali khan thriller, has finished its opening weekend score at Rs 273 million. The film failed to improve its box office performance during the Saturday-Sunday weekend due to lack of good word of mouth, as it found audiences mostly from the multiplexes and failed to influence the single-screen theatres.

    The new releases, Zindagi Tere Naam, Chaurahe, Akkad Bakkad Bam Be Bo, Say Yes To Love and Love Possible, received tepid response at the box office and in their first week appearance managed to collect just a few lakh of rupees.

    Kahaani continued to grip the box office, winning appreciation for its suspense, narration, acting and filmmaking skills. The Sujoy Ghosh movie, with Vidya Balan as the main protagonist, mopped up Rs 189 million in its second week to take its total to Rs 436 million.

    Chaar Din Ki Chandni added Rs 10 million, taking its two-week tally to Rs 62 million.

    Paan Singh Tomar collected Rs 31 million in its second week. The film has so far netted Rs 150.5 million.

    Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya collected Rs 9 million in fourth week. Its total now stands at Rs 182 million.

  • Kahaani nets Rs 141 million at BO

    Kahaani nets Rs 141 million at BO

    MUMBAI: Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani opened to a poor response but improved on Saturday and Sunday with word of mouth in its favour. The Sunday collections showed double the Friday figures; along with its Thursday paid previews, the film collected Rs 141 million over the weekend, mainly from multiplexes in major cities with little contribution from single screens and interiors.

    Meanwhile, Chaar Din Ki Chandni has not been appreciated; it collected Rs 36 million in its four-day weekend (the film was released on Thursday to take advantage of Holi festival).

    Paan Singh Tomar, which was released with a limited number of prints after about three-years since its making, opened slow but went on to consolidate reasonably to end its first week with Rs 75.5 million for its makers and much acclaim for Irrfan Khan. The film has added another Rs 25 million in its second weekend.

    London Paris New York has failed to work, collecting Rs 58 million in its first week.

    Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya collected Rs 51 million in its second week to take its total to Rs 163 million, proving that Desi content works.

    Jodi Breakers survived for second week and collected Rs 12 million; it has so far netted Rs 96 million.

  • Kahaani: All thrills, no frills

    Kahaani: All thrills, no frills

    MUMBAI: It is not often that a film based on Kolkata background is made and when one is made, Pujo and Rabindra sangeet are mandatory as are visuals of the Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge; however, what is not mandatory is having an all local supporting cast when you plan to appeal to an all India audience. That leaves little option for a viewer, not much used to heroine oriented films in the first place, but to be content with Vidya Balan.

     

    Producers: Kaushal Kantilal Gada, Sujoy Ghosh.
    Director: Sujoy Ghosh.
    Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

    A heavily pregnant Vidya Balan ascends on Kolkata in search for her missing husband and makes a police station her first halt and seeks help to trace her husband. Next she checks into a guest house where her husband was supposed to have stayed and used to call her from. She has a young police inspector, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, at all times and takes her around in her search. At the data centre, she is told that though there is no record of her husband having worked there, they did have an ex-employee named Damji resembling the husband‘s picture she carried. Vidya Balan‘s search is not easy for wherever she checks; the traces of her husband as well as his lookalike have been deleted, from files as well as the computers. What is more, whoever helps her or is willing to help her is killed while she herself has some close shaves from the killer.

    It is when she finds the picture and address of Damji from old records from the data centre‘s old, unused office that she stirs things up and soon a senior intelligence office from Delhi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, joins the action. This results in some twists and turns and thrilling moments as the climax is played out during a Pujo procession and Vidya Balan springs a surprise on all those involved on the wrong as well as the right side of the law.

    Director Sujoy Ghosh chooses the inner, drab and crowded parts of Kolkata which add to the atmosphere and create anxiety. His handling of the subject is deft with ample help from a tight script without distraction in the form of songs except for “Ekla chalo” number in the background in pre-climax.

    The film is an out and out Vidya Balan show in a role that offers her no frills; she is a desperate pregnant woman on a mission and she goes around it credibly. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is impressive balancing his act between negative and positive shades adding to the suspense. Parambrata Chattopadhyay is natural.

    Kahaani a fair thriller and due for much acclaim; however its business will be limited to few metro multiplexes.
     

    An inconsistent film with limited prospects

     

    Producer: Samir Karnik.
    Director: Samir Karnik.
    Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Kulraj Randhawa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Mukul Dev, Johny Lever, Anita Raaj, Sushant Singh, Chandrachur Singh, Rahul Singh, Farida Jalal.

     

    A vibrant, bubbly girl lands up in a stubborn family of erstwhile Rajasthan royals who still live in the same delusions of being royal Rajputs. The family is full of oddballs all taking a fancy to her in their own way. A romantic comedy needs ample gags and characters; Chaar Din Ki Chandni has some of the latter. In an attempt to add a bit of everything from royalty to status barrier and the Indian wedding with romance and comedy, the film is a farce made of a series of situations.

    Tusshar Kapoor arrives in Rajasthan to attend his sister‘s wedding with his girlfriend, Kulraj Randhawa, whom he plans to introduce to his family and obtain their approval to marry her. However Anupam Kher, his father, has these notions of Rajput superiority and none of his children can marry anybody else but a Rajput and he always keeps a gun handy if the case is otherwise. Besides this trait he is a jovial person. Given this situation, Tusshar Kapoor fumbles at the last moment and introduces Kulraj Randhawa as a journalist from UK here to cover an Indian royal wedding. Tusshar Kapoor has four brothers, all with their own peculiarities – one is a drunkard, other is headstrong and violent while yet another is a womaniser; only one of them is sober and okay with Tusshar‘s romance since he himself is heartbroken. Soon, Kulraj Randhawa has won the hearts of all members of the household; while Anupam Kher treats her as a daughter of the house and even promises to get her married to a suitable Punjabi boy, the three wayward brothers each try to score with her in their own clumsy ways while Tusshar Kapoor and Kulraj Randhawa keep romancing on the sly. To add to the tricky situation come Om Puri and Farida Jalal on the scene enthused that their daughter is planning to get engaged; but they are soon passed off as decorator and his chief assistant by Tusshar Kapoor as revealing their true identity would not work with Anupam Kher. With so many characters involved, there is a series of gags, some good some flat. In an old-fashioned way, the climax is a free for all with Johny Lever as one of the parties.

    The story idea for Chaar Din Ki Chandni is the second half of the director‘s earlier film, Yamla Pagla Deewana which had a huge Punjabi family and false identities; with many characters to share the screen, Samir Karnik keeps the pace moving. Using old film songs is a good ploy. Dialogue is not much help. Tusshar Kapoor is okay. Kulraj Randhawa is fairly good. Anupam Kher‘s versatility is obvious. Om Puri Plays his loud Punjabi guy very well. Mukul Dev, Sushant Singh, Chandrachur Singh and Harrish as brothers along with Rahul Singh, Farida Jalal and Anita Raj are good in support. Johny Lever is wasted.

    Chaar Din Ki Chandni is a passable entertainer with limited prospects.

  • National Awards: Vidya Balan wins for Dirty Picture, Deool & Byari share best film

    National Awards: Vidya Balan wins for Dirty Picture, Deool & Byari share best film

    NEW DELHI: Continuing her winning streak, Vidya Balan has once again won the award for the best actress for her role in the film ‘Dirty Picture‘ in the 59th National Film Awards for 2011.

    The best feature film award went to ‘Deool‘, produced by Abhijeet Gholap and directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, and ‘Byari‘ (Byari language), produced by TH Althaf Hussain and directed by Suveeram.

    ‘Deool‘ also won awards for best actor for Girish Kulkarni who also won the award for dialogue.

    The top award carries Swarna Kamal and cash prize of Rs 250,000.

    In Non-feature film category, the top honour of best film went to ‘And We Play On‘ (Hindi & English), directed and produced by Pramod Purswane. The award carries Swarna Kamal and Cash prize of Rs 150,000.

    In Best Writing on Cinema category, the Swarna Kamal went to the book titled ‘RD Burman – The Man, The Music‘ written by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal, published by Harper Collins India, while Manoj Barpujari from Assam was awarded Best Film Critic.

    The winners were announced by chairpersons of the jury: Rohini Hatthangady for feature films, filmmaker Ramesh Sharma for non-feature films jury, and the veteran filmmaker and author Vijaya Mulay for the best writing on Cinema. The awards will be given to the winners in a ceremony on 3 May.

    Earlier, the Jury Chairpersons submitted their report to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, who said the efforts of the juries enabled the awards to achieve new heights in terms of enhanced participation in different categories and the prestige associated with such awards.

    In Feature Film category, five films have won three awards each. These Films are ‘The Dirty Picture‘, ‘Bal Gandharva‘ (Marathi), ‘Anhe Ghorey Da Daan‘ (Punjabi), ‘Deool‘ and ‘Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na‘ (Bengali). Six films have won two awards each: ‘Chillar Party‘, ‘Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai‘ (Tamil), ‘Aaranya Kandam‘ (Tamil), ‘Phijigee Mani‘ (Manipuri), ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara‘ and ‘Game‘ (Hindi).

    Vidya Balan has already received the Best Actress award at Filmfare, Screen, Stardust and Zee Cine awards for her portrayal, which Hatthangady described as ‘brave and effortless performance portraying the rise and fall of a B grade actress‘.

    The Award for Best Direction has gone to ‘Anhe Gohrey Daan‘ directed by Gurvinder Singh.

    The film ‘Chillar Party‘ bagged the Best children‘s film award. Its artistes Irfan Khan, Sanath Menon, Rohan Grover, Naman Jain, Aarav Khanna, Vishesh Tiwari, Chinmai Chandranshuh, Vedant Desai and Divji Handa, along with Partho Gupte of ‘Stanley ka Dabba‘, jointly won the best Child Artiste award.

    The Indira Gandhi Award for the Best Debut film of a Director was won by the Tamil film ‘Aaranya Kandam‘, directed by Kamararaja Thiagarajan. The film also got the best editing award for Praveen KL. ‘Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai‘ (Tamil) won the award for the best film offering Wholesome Entertainment.

    ‘I Am‘ by Onir, a compilation of four stories on identity, won the National award for the best Hindi film and the best lyrics award for Amitabh Bhattacharya. Anand Bhate won the Best male playback singer Award in the Marathi film ‘Bala Gandharva‘, while the best female Playback singer award went to Roopa Ganguly in the Bengali film ‘Abosheyshey‘.

    The Best Supporting Actor award went to Appu Kutty for ‘Azhagar Samiyin Kuthirai‘ (Tamil), and the best actress toLeishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi for the Manipuri film ‘Phijigee Mani‘.

    The Award for Best Cinematography went to cameraman Satya Rai Nagpaul for the Punjabi film ‘Anhe Ghorey Da Daan‘. The Best Music Direction Award was won by Neel Daat for the songs in the Bengali film ‘Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na‘ which also got the best Bengali Film award. This film also got a Special Jury Mention for Anjan Dutta.

    The Hindi film ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara‘ won two awards: choreography for the song ‘Senorita‘ by Bosco-Caesar; and best audiography to Baylon Fonseca.

    ‘The Dirty Picture‘ and ‘Bal Gandharva‘ shared two other awards: best make-up for Vijram Gaekwad for both films; and costume design for Niharika Khan in ‘The Dirty Picture‘ and Neeta Lulla for ‘Bal Gandharva‘.

    The best Special Effects award expectedly went to ‘RA.One‘ while the Best Screenplay award went to Vikas Bahl, Nitesh Tiwari, Vijay Maurya, and Rajesh Bajaj for ‘Chillar Party‘.

    In the Non-Feature film category, three films have won two awards each. The Film ‘Tiger Dynasty‘ has won the Best Environmental Film and Best Cinematography awards. Awards for Best Direction and Best Editing weld to the film ‘There is Something in the Air‘, while ‘Panchakki‘ has been awarded Best Short Fiction and Best Music Direction.