Not considered a crowd puller:
Mumbai, Feb 14: Actor Jimmy Shergil says he is not under pressure to pull in the crowds for his forthcoming film "Darr@ The Mall" because the script of the horror drama is so good that it will perform that role.
He said: "It's a very unusual film and it's the script that made me do the film. I hope the audience also enjoy watching it," Jimmy, known for his performances in films like "...Yahaan" and "Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster", told reporters.
"I don't feel the pressure at all as I am not considered as an actor who can bring the crowd. But the script of the film is certainly interesting, which will pull the audience to the theatres. So as an actor I don't feel the box-office pressure,"
Directed by Pawan Kirpalani, "Darr @ The Mall" also features Nushrat Bharucha and Asif Basra, among others, and is slated for a Feb 21 release.
The Other Cinema
Despite audience ignorance and apathy, documentary films in India have slowly come of age
In a season blooming with a variety of cine award functions beaming constantly from a television screen near you, each competing with the other in glitz and ad blitz, star attendance and star performances, a recently concluded film festival like MIFF went unnoticed by the media and the public in general.
To the uninitiated, MIFF stands for Mumbai International Film Festival, a yearly event that has been showcasing documentary, short and animation films since 1990. Organised by Films Division, a unit of the ministry of information and broadcasting, MIFF is the world’s largest and oldest international week-long festival that showcased more than 400 films from 35 countries this year. This is by no means a mean feat, given our country’s obsession with glamour that Hindi mainstream cinema represents.
It is quite ironical that the same Films Division has been responsible for giving documentary films a bad name in our country. Time was, during the 60s and the 70s, when a feature film was preceded by a tacky black and white Films Division documentary which they called ‘Newsreel’, that ran for a painful 20 minutes, mostly promoting the achievements of the government. People went out to smoke and timed their re-entry just at the point when the newsreel winded up with a sporting event, primarily hockey. And then the stars took over for a duration of approximately three hours, followed by the national anthem! But thankfully, times have changed.
Young and not-so-young filmmakers, unaffected by the seduction of feature filmmaking and motivated by deep-seated desire to tell stories of a different kind, mostly about real people in real situations that could be critical of dominant mindset and practice, have been gravitating towards documentary filmmaking because of its flexible techniques that involve a motley crew. Cheap digital technology has made things easier. Without the pressure of commercial parameters, its practitioners could go to any length in matters of form and content.
The perennial problems of financing and distribution notwithstanding, the documentary film scenario in India has been sprouting some exciting films for the past 25 years and has spawned its own ‘star system’ when it comes to directors like Reena Mohan, Nishtha Jain, Sourav Sarangi, Pankaj Rishi Kumar and Kavita Joshi, to name just a few. Gulabi Gang, which chronicles the struggles of women vigilantes from Bundelkhand fighting for women’s empowerment, fetched Nishtha Jain the best director award at the recently concluded MIFF.
Sourav Sarangi’s Char … No Man’s Island, dealing with an adolescent smuggler across West Bengal-Bangladesh border, made its victory lap across all the important documentary film festivals of the world. Ad filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s feature-length documentary Celluloid Man on PK Nair, the founder-director of the National Film Archive in Pune garnered critical acclaim worldwide, while Karan Bali’s An American in Madras which documents an obscure American filmmaker who made Tamil films in Chennai in the 30s and 40s, has been arousing a lot of curiosity. Incidentally, all the filmmakers mentioned above are FTII alumni.
Other filmmakers who have made a mark in recent times include Geetanjali Rao, Deepa Dhanraj, Dylan Mohan Gray, Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa, all of whom have been exploring myriad facets of the Indian social fabric with all its warts and conflicts, subjects which are inimical to mainstream fiction filmmakers. A veteran like Anand Patwardhan has been provoking establishment and right-wing forces with his political films at regular intervals for more than three decades, while Madhushree Dutta’s films have been exploring the intricacies of sexual politics.
Documentary filmmakers constitute a unique breed that have always been deprived of its due recognition, but thanks to efforts like MIFF by Films Division and the PVR’s Director’s Cut screenings, more and more filmmakers are getting an opportunity to showcase their work. And with organisations like Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), along with Films Division and private funding agencies, mostly European, young filmmakers are getting inspired to venture into the territory. Corporate sponsorship could go a long way to promote such practice, but of course, such patronage comes with its risk of regulatory terms and conditions which could defeat the very purpose of an honest documentary film.
To the uninitiated, MIFF stands for Mumbai International Film Festival, a yearly event that has been showcasing documentary, short and animation films since 1990. Organised by Films Division, a unit of the ministry of information and broadcasting, MIFF is the world’s largest and oldest international week-long festival that showcased more than 400 films from 35 countries this year. This is by no means a mean feat, given our country’s obsession with glamour that Hindi mainstream cinema represents.
It is quite ironical that the same Films Division has been responsible for giving documentary films a bad name in our country. Time was, during the 60s and the 70s, when a feature film was preceded by a tacky black and white Films Division documentary which they called ‘Newsreel’, that ran for a painful 20 minutes, mostly promoting the achievements of the government. People went out to smoke and timed their re-entry just at the point when the newsreel winded up with a sporting event, primarily hockey. And then the stars took over for a duration of approximately three hours, followed by the national anthem! But thankfully, times have changed.
Young and not-so-young filmmakers, unaffected by the seduction of feature filmmaking and motivated by deep-seated desire to tell stories of a different kind, mostly about real people in real situations that could be critical of dominant mindset and practice, have been gravitating towards documentary filmmaking because of its flexible techniques that involve a motley crew. Cheap digital technology has made things easier. Without the pressure of commercial parameters, its practitioners could go to any length in matters of form and content.
The perennial problems of financing and distribution notwithstanding, the documentary film scenario in India has been sprouting some exciting films for the past 25 years and has spawned its own ‘star system’ when it comes to directors like Reena Mohan, Nishtha Jain, Sourav Sarangi, Pankaj Rishi Kumar and Kavita Joshi, to name just a few. Gulabi Gang, which chronicles the struggles of women vigilantes from Bundelkhand fighting for women’s empowerment, fetched Nishtha Jain the best director award at the recently concluded MIFF.
Sourav Sarangi’s Char … No Man’s Island, dealing with an adolescent smuggler across West Bengal-Bangladesh border, made its victory lap across all the important documentary film festivals of the world. Ad filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur’s feature-length documentary Celluloid Man on PK Nair, the founder-director of the National Film Archive in Pune garnered critical acclaim worldwide, while Karan Bali’s An American in Madras which documents an obscure American filmmaker who made Tamil films in Chennai in the 30s and 40s, has been arousing a lot of curiosity. Incidentally, all the filmmakers mentioned above are FTII alumni.
Other filmmakers who have made a mark in recent times include Geetanjali Rao, Deepa Dhanraj, Dylan Mohan Gray, Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa, all of whom have been exploring myriad facets of the Indian social fabric with all its warts and conflicts, subjects which are inimical to mainstream fiction filmmakers. A veteran like Anand Patwardhan has been provoking establishment and right-wing forces with his political films at regular intervals for more than three decades, while Madhushree Dutta’s films have been exploring the intricacies of sexual politics.
Documentary filmmakers constitute a unique breed that have always been deprived of its due recognition, but thanks to efforts like MIFF by Films Division and the PVR’s Director’s Cut screenings, more and more filmmakers are getting an opportunity to showcase their work. And with organisations like Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), along with Films Division and private funding agencies, mostly European, young filmmakers are getting inspired to venture into the territory. Corporate sponsorship could go a long way to promote such practice, but of course, such patronage comes with its risk of regulatory terms and conditions which could defeat the very purpose of an honest documentary film.
Photos - Tanisha Singh’s Valentine’s Day shoot for Rahul Gandhi
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Tanisha Singh |
| Check out all the photos from Tanisha Singh’s Valentine's Day special photoshoot for Rahul Gandhi, held in Mumbai, on Thursday, February 13th, 2014. Tanisha Singh recently said: “Whenever you love someone you want that person to grow in life so I want Rahul Gandhi to be our next PM.” She added: “I support Congress from a long time but I got to show it today. I am a huge fan of Rahul Gandhi and since elections are approaching, I thought I would express my feelings.” Rushes  Bengaluru: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor at a promotional event of Pepsi in Bengaluru Wednesday. Back to front!
In the age of six-pack, Ranbir Kapoor is a glorious exception. Interestingly, from his first film, filmmakers are focussing on his derriere. But with Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet things are going to change for him. “Yes, you will see my chest,” confirms Ranbir from the sidelines of IPL auction where he was arrived as the Pepsi Intern on a bicycle.
Ranbir is playing a street boxer in Bombay Velvet. “I am more interested in playing an underdog than a hero in the conventional sense of the term. I might do something larger than life later in my career but right now I am interested in playing a character that people can relate to.” Is Bombay Velvet going to change that as well? “Not quite. As it is set Bombay of ‘50s and ‘60s, the budget is big but the character is quite relatable.” From the time he joined the soft drink brand as the brand ambassador, he was promoted as a football guy. “I am more into football but who can skip cricket in India. And my new role will help me understand the game better. My father is a great fan of the game. He used to send bouquet with a note to players after a sterling performance,” says Ranbir.
Dream out of the dabba!
After Stanlay Ka Dabba, Amole Gupte is ready with his second directorial venture Hawaa Hawaai. Celebrating the idea of chasing a dream with a passion like no other, the film features one of the most promising young stars, Saqib Saleem and child actor Partho Gupte in lead roles. It follows their journey as they set out to live their dream through exciting twists and turns against the backdrop of sports!
Gupte says, “Hawaa Hawaai celebrates the triumph of the human spirit against all odds and salutes those dreamers who carry the will to turn their dreams into a reality. It’s a clean, family entertainer which will find resonance with the dreamer inside us. I am glad I have got a chance to work with two path-breaking performers with a great ensemble cast.” The film is scheduled to release on May 9.
Super effort
In a first of its kind partnership, Spider-Man will be the first superhero ambassador for Earth Hour, the global movement organised by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), with a message to inspire individuals to use their power to become superheroes for the planet.
This year, Earth Hour and the hero of the highly anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – along with the film’s stars, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and director Marc Webb – are throwing their support behind Earth Hour Blue, which aims to harness the power of the crowd to raise funds for on-the-ground environmental projects from across the world. “I’m proud Spider-Man is the first ambassador for Earth Hour because he shows we can all be super heroes when we realize the power we all have,” says Andrew Garfield, who plays Spider-Man in the upcoming film. The crowd funding section of the new platform will allow participants to help deliver energy efficient stoves to families in Madagascar, help communities in the Philippines build fiberglass boats to withstand climate impacts like Typhoon Haiyan and raise funds to expand and conserve the iconic Table Mountain National Park in South Africa, with many more projects to come.
“Earth Hour gives you the power to inspire anyone, even if you’re just one person, and Earth Hour is much more than an hour. There are great projects from the crowd, for the planet, happening all over the world,” says Emma Stone.
Happily Never After
Love is in the air and Star Plus is once again experimenting with short story format to bring out the diverse shades of love and passion coupled with thrill on the small screen. Dubbed as a romantic thriller, Ishq Kills promises to bring to the viewers stories inspired by true incidents of forbidden love and relationships. These are unusual love stories that dared to go beyond the traditional norms of society. Director Vikram Bhatt, known to have mastered the romantic thriller genre, will be seen interpreting these unexplored relationships and its end for the viewers. Talking about the show, Vikram Bhatt, says, “Love can be perceived from various angels. Through this show we don’t intend to define right or wrong but leave the viewers with a thought and a decision to make for themselves. Some of the stories will prove extremely shocking but the reality is that they exist.”
Produced by Rowdy Rascals, the series, starting this Saturday, is backed by a talent pool that boasts of some of the exciting names from the Hindi film industry like screenplay and dialogue writer Shagufta Rafique and directors like Vishal Mahadkar, Rajat Mukherjee, Jijy Philip, Sachin Khot, Siddharth Anand, Shashant Shah. Moreover, popular faces from television like Priyal Gor, Sachin Khurana, Shruti Bapna will be seen donning various characters in the episodic series.
Couples celebrate Valentine's Day, radicals play spoilsport
Activists of Bajrang Dal punishing youngsters for celebrating the Valentine's Day in Faridabad on Friday -
New Delhi: Radical groups played spoilsport in Valentine's Day celebrations on Thursday in some parts of the country, from throwing rotten tomatoes at couples to chasing them away from parks, but it did not deter Cupid-struck people from marking the day dedicated to love with enthusiasm.
Red, the symbolic colour of love, was the theme at many restaurants and food joints, and youngsters thronged parks and gardens to celebrate the moments with their special ones. In Delhi, rains and overcast skies provided a perfect backdrop for the young and old to display their affection for their loved ones. Braving rainy and chilly weather, over 5000 people, mostly young couples visited the Garden of Five Senses here at a floral festival that was inaugurated on Friday, coinciding with the day marked for love in the calendar. Heart-shaped flowers and red and pink balloons could be seen festooned at coffee houses and themed restaurants while While hi-end eateries claimed they were chock-a-block with lunch and dinner reservations.  Senior citizens celebrating Valentine's Day at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Friday - And, while the national capital saw the day passing off peacefully, celebrations in other parts of the country were marred by disruptive activities from radical groups. In Ahmedabad, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists threw rotten tomatoes at couples celebrating the occasion on the banks of Sabarmati river there, calling Valentine's Day as an 'obscene celebration'. Hundreds of couples were present at the Sabarmati riverfront Friday morning to celebrate Valentine's Day. "There is nothing wrong in imbibing positive aspects of western culture, but VHP and Bajrang Dal are against obscenity in the name of westernisation. Valentine's Day is one such obscene celebration," Bajrang Dal city president Jwalit Mehta said. Bajrang Dal activists burned an effigy in Hyderabad protesting against the celebrations. In Srinagar, radical women's outfit Dukhtaran-e-Milat Chief Asiya Andrabi and her three colleagues were detained by police here while carrying out an anti-Valentine's day drive. In industrial city Jamshedpur, a group of persons chased away lovers assembled at the famous Jubilee Park there and made a bonfire of Valentine's Day greeting cards before being rounded up by the police. The protests took a rather bizarre turn when a few workers of Hindu Munnani performed the marriage of a goat with a dog in Ooty. Describing the Valentine's Day celebrations as amounting to denigrating the culture and blindly following the customs of the West, the workers made both the goat and dog exchange garlands in front of a temple here. Marking the day in Kolkata, around 70 women from red-light areas of Sonagachi and Munshiganj took out a procession on a two-kilometre stretch in Khidirpore as part of the global One Billion Rising campaign to end violence against women and promote gender equality. But, youngsters in Aizwal showed their enthusiasm for the day in a different manner by volunteering to donate blood as a way of celebrating the festival of love. At least 655 people, mostly youngsters, donated blood in the north-eastern city and southern town of Lunglei, Lalbiakthanga Pachuau, president of the Association for Voluntary Blood Donation of Mizoram (AVBDM) said. Pachuau said that mass blood donation camp called 'Blood for your Valentine' was organised by the AVBDM in Aizawl, Lunglei, other six district headquarters and big towns. Ruchira Gupta, founder of anti-trafficking organisation Apne Aap Women Worldwide describing describing the protests in Kolkata said, "Most of the girls participating are daughters of women in prostitution, or are victims themselves. Few of them, have survived the wrath of trafficking and rape." Prostitutes and their daughters also took part in street plays and dances in and around the red-light area marking the Day, Gupta said. |
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