ShowBiz

By Vinod Mirani
This has been an eventful week. From the North of India to the South, news related to the film industries have dominated the discussions on television news channels as well as the social media. That is because there is some positive news and there is also news that fails to make sense.


The best news of the week is the return of cinema screens in Srinagar. The IMAX chain has revived the cinema business in Kashmir after a gap of 30 years following the start of militancy and terrorism in the late 1980s. The Kashmir valley had as many as nine cinema halls. That was the single-screen era.

Jammu and Kashmir was a part of the East Punjab territory as it was known in the film trade (West Punjab having gone to Pakistan). The valley was fittingly described as heaven on earth where a lot many films were shot. In fact, it was a favourite location to shoot romantic songs as well as the place where romances started. Also, the contribution of Jammu and Kashmir to the talent pool of the film industry was commendable.

Three decades ago, when there was peace, like the rest of the country, Kashmiris too enjoyed the movie-watching experience. My job at that time was to transcribe the cinema collections that came through telegrams and, later on fax, for a trade paper I worked for. There was nothing abnormal, the Kashmiri loved or rejected a film just like any other circuit. But things changed. There were no collection figures from Kashmir to compile.

When the insurgency began, the idea seemed to create panic and cinemas being public places were targeted. A bomb blast at one of the cinemas put paid to the exhibition trade. Efforts to revive the cinemas in the 1990s were not successful.

Built by Vijay Dhar, the cinema will add to the IMAX chain and will bring the movie-viewing experience back for the people of Srinagar and the nearby areas when it opens to the public on September 30 with 'Vikram Vedha' and Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' (PS)-1.

'Chhello Show': A bolt from the blue

It was time for the nomination for an Indian entry in the Best International Film category at the Oscars. Usually, the Indian choice to send a film for the Oscar race is treated as a joke. Some or the other lobby is at work not only when it comes to Oscars or other such international honours, but also for the local, so-called popular film awards.

What is a popular award? A film the people took to and was a success at the box office. Some two films have been successful this year, one of them being 'The Kashmir Files'. The film does not even find a mention in any category of nominations.

The films in discussion all over for India's choice were two, 'RRR' and 'The Kashmir Files'. Realistically, there were no other contenders as far as the people at large and those on social media were concerned. There was no other film that the netizen could think of.

Yet, there were 13 films vying for the honour -- six in Hindi: 'The Kashmir Files', 'Rocketry', 'Badhaai Ho', 'Jhund', 'Anek' and 'Brahmastra'; two in Telugu: 'RRR' and 'Sita Ramam'; and one each in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Dimasa (a dialect spoken in Assam) and Gujarati: 'Iravin Nizhai', 'Aparajito', 'Ariyippu', 'Semkhor' and 'Chhello Show', respectively.

But a rank outsider, for the people at least, 'Chhello Show' (Gujarati), was the choice of the selection committee. An outsider, because few had heard of this film, which did not get any media exposure till it was chosen as India's official selection for the Oscars. The film is said to be inspired from the 1988 Italian film, 'Cinema Paradiso', about a small-town boy who is enamoured of the cinema.

'Cinema Paradiso' or not, I would say the film identifies equally or more with the film's director Pan Nalin's life journey. Coming from a small village named Adtala (population less than 2,000) near Amreli in Saurashtra, it was creditable that Nalin graduated from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, an institution as highly regarded as any IIM or IIT in its field. All the time cinema fascinated him.

Nalin has worked and made films in many tie-ups and made his reputation all over. 'Chhello Show' springs a surprise on film buffs. It will be worthwhile to see if it springs a surprise at the Oscars. When the selection committee is neutral sans vested interests, a surprise can always be expected. Like the one sprung with the choice of 'Hellaro', a Gujarati film, for the 66th National Award a couple of years ago.

Tamil industry's half-baked ideas

This news is from the South. It is a no-brainer. Since the Telugu film industry has set certain norms for members as well as the stars and the cinemas through the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC), the Tamil Film Producer Council (TFPC) has decided to prove that it is the dormant body.

How else does the TFPC plan to ask the film critics to refrain from writing / publishing reviews of new films till Sunday?! The major media, as in daily broadsheets, always reviewed films in the Sunday editions. The Sunday editions of the papers were meant for leisurely reading with opinions, features on various subjects as well as film reviews. Did that save a film from failing?

The business of movie reviews was all about passing of envelopes. Gradually, someone thought that giving stars to a film made better business sense. Four and five stars carried a decent price tag.

There were critics who had high praise if it was a film by Gulzar or Hrishikesh Mukherjee, but ran down the films by Manmohan Desai and other such commercial makers. One critic whom I knew praised Kamal Amrohi's 'Razia Sultan' to the skies ending his review with something to the effect that the film was worth every paisa you spent on the ticket. By the second show, the Rs 5 tickets were being sold by black marketers for 50 paise. It was a distress sale for there were no takers. I told the critic how right he was!

A film released on a Friday is accepted or rejected after the first show. Critics and their reviews have never mattered to the masses; they only helped massage the egos of the film stars and producers. What always mattered was the word of mouth and, today, social media does that job.

High admission rates fail a film Finally, the cinemas offered tickets at a flat rate of Rs 75 on Friday, September 23, and drew full houses all ove (the offer was valid for seats other than those in the premium zones).

I hope the cinema managements have learnt from their own experiment that it is often the high admission rates that fail a film. In the present scenario, only the stars and the cinemas make money, the producer only struggles and has to depend on other outlets such as OTT platforms and satellite rights, where, again, the price depends on a film's box office performance!

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 25 (IANS) 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' actress Karishma Tanna is currently seen playing the role of Inspector Geeta Tehlan in Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Jhulka-starrer web series 'Hush Hush'.

Talking about her experience working in the series, she expressed gratitude towards director Tanuja Chandra and said: "The character of Geeta will always be special to me and I would like to thank Tanuja ma'am for choosing me to play this character."

When the project came to her, she was not sure about doing it. As she said: "When Tanuja ma'am first told me about the role, I was not sure I would be able to do justice to this character but I am glad to see how things worked out on screen for me. I am thrilled to see the love my character is receiving and I hope the love continues for my future projects too."

The actress, who also worked in 'Naagin 3', 'Qayamat Ki Raat', 'Kkoi Dil Mein Hai' added further on what she imbibed as a actor from Tanuja while working with her in the series.

"Working with Tanuja ma'am was a wonderful experience. It has been a very educational and enlightening experience for me to work on a dark and mysterious script."

"Additionally, I feel fortunate to be on screen with so many talented and strong artistes. I'm happy that people are enjoying and appreciating my efforts and my performance as Geeta Tehlan in the show," she added.

Created by filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, the seven-episode thriller is a story of a set of women whose lives take a sudden turn when a secret from their past comes before of them. It streams on Amazon Prime Video.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 25 (IANS) Millie Bobby Brown's Enola Holmes is back on the case in the official trailer for 'Enola Holmes 2', which will arrive on Netflix on November 4, reports 'Variety'.

An extension of the iconic Sherlock Holmes character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the franchise, 'Variety' adds, stars Brown as the youngest sibling of the Holmes family, who must come into her own as a capable detective, while facing down her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill).

The sequel and its predecessor are based on 'The Enola Holmes Mysteries', the young adult fiction book series created by Nancy Springer.

The first film chronicled Enola's search for her mother Eudoria Holmes, played by Helena Bonham Carter, which offered many twists and turns for the young sleuth to navigate. Netflix describes the mystery of the sequel as one of "historic proportions", needing "two Holmes to handle", indicating a larger role for Cavill's Sherlock.

Harry Bradbeer returns to direct the sequel, having previously helmed television episodes of 'Fleabag', 'Ramy' and 'Killing Eve' before taking on the 'Enola Holmes' franchise.

In addition to Cavill and Bonham Carter reprising their roles, the movie will also feature Louis Partridge, Adeel Akhtar, Susie Wokoma, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and David Thewlis playing supporting characters.

The original 'Enola Holmes' was initially planned for a theatrical release by Warner Bros. before Netflix picked up the distribution rights during the Covid-19 pandemic. Netflix released the first film on its streaming platforms in September 2020.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 25 (IANS) Yoga will soon be made compulsory for school students in Uttar Pradesh.

The policy, which is expected to be released soon, aims at cultivating a strong sporting culture, development of sports infrastructure and promoting sportspersons, even in the most remote parts of the state.

Additional chief secretary (sports) Navneet Sehgal said, "The aim of the policy is to increase participation of young children by identifying talent in the age group of 5 to 14 years and strengthening of the sports ecosystem through public private partnership, public association partnership and public federation partnership."

He said that the Centre has given consent to develop Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for three sports. Courses in sports management, sports journalism, sports law, sports data analytics, among others, will be conducted for the youth.

High performance centres will support the development of 20 best athletes from each sport for national and state level competitions.

Sehgal further said that each district will have one District Sports Centre to provide training to promising young talent.

The DSC will also include a District Sports Coaching Centre (DSCC) to impart basic sports and fitness training.

Under the new policy, sports federations and international level players will be given land on lease for setting up of academies. Gram Sabha land earmarked for 'Khel Ka Maidan' will be given on lease for rural academies. At least 50 per cent players in the academy will be from UP.

To encourage participation in this programme, social media and other channels will be used for spreading information regarding admissions etc.

The state government also proposes to create the Uttar Pradesh Sports Development Fund with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crores.

Under the policy, yoga will be compulsory in the training program of players and also for school students.

Facilities will be provided for training and practice of yoga in sports stadiums of all district headquarters.

UP Sports Development and Promotion Committee will work to promote sports among all sections of society, like women, handicapped, etc.

It will identify talent and develop their skills. It will also coordinate between sports associations and departments such as youth welfare, education, social welfare, women welfare, health, urban development, industry, army, railways, public undertakings and voluntary organizations.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 24 (IANS) Well-known Tamil actor Bharath, who has been part of several critically acclaimed superhits including director Vasanthabalan's 'Veyil' and ace director Shankar's 'Boys', will now be seen in a Telugu film titled 'Hunt' after almost a decade.

Taking to Instagram to disclose details of his character in the high-voltage action entertainer, Bharath said: "The world of 'Hunt' is all about guns, bullets, terror, deceit. So what makes the difference to this world ? It's the swagger and the flamboyant 'Dev'!"

"Presenting myself as "DEV" from the world of #Hunt . A Tollywood venture almost after a decade!! Super geared up for this! Thanks to my team Mahesh Surapaneni, Sudheer Babu, Bhavya Creations, Actor Srikanth Meka, Ghibran and Anand Prasad."

Apart from Bharath, the film will also feature two other Telugu stars in the lead.

While actor Srikanth plays a character called 'Mohan Bhargav' in the film, actor Sudheer Babu, plays a tough and dynamic character called 'Arjun Prasad' in the film.

The intense action thriller, which is being directed by Mahesh, has cinematography by Arul Vincent and music by Ghibran.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS) Choreographer Remo D' Souza said that his dream came true after seeing actress Neena Gupta perform on the popular song 'Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai'.

The track is originally picturised on Neena and Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit from the 1993 film 'Khal Nayak' starring Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff.

'Khal Nayak' centres on the escape and attempted capture of terrorist Ballu by inspector Ram and his girlfriend officer Ganga. The film was the second highest grossing Hindi film of 1993.

During the final episode of 'DID Super Moms', Bollywood actors Govinda and Neena Gupta appeared as special guests along with 'Pushpa' star Rashmika Mandanna.

Neena is seen playing the role of mother Rashmika's character in the movie family comedy-drama 'Goodbye'. While she plays her mother, megastar Amitabh Bachchan is seen in the role of her father in the film.

After looking at the contestants performing on the famous dance track of the 90s, Neena also joined them on stage to show her dance moves. And when Remo saw her he said that for so long he wanted to see her performing live on the dance number.

He mentioned: "Today, we are celebrating our super moms in the 'Sapnon Ka Grand Finale', but I must say, it's a dream come true moment for me as I have watched Neena Ji perform live in front of me."

The dance reality show is judged by Remo D'Souza, Bhagyashree Dassani, and Urmila Matondkar. It airs on Zee TV.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 24 (IANS) Actor Ajith Kumar on Saturday left for Bangkok, where the final schedule of shooting of director H. Vinoth's heist thriller 'Thunivu', is to happen.

A picture of the actor, who was seen at the Chennai Airport on Thursday morning, went viral on social media.

Only recently, the unit of director Vinoth's 'Thunivu' had announced the title of the film and its first look.

The film, which was being tentatively referred to as #AK61 until now, has a plot that is believed to revolve around a bank heist.

Interestingly, the unit had erected a giant set resembling Chennai's popular landmark Mount Road in Hyderabad where certain important scenes of the film were shot in its previous schedules.

After the schedule in Bangkok, Ajith is expected to move on to his next project, which is to be directed by Vignesh Shivan.

Manju Warrier plays the female lead in the film and the actress too is expected to join the sets in Bangkok.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 24 (IANS) Director Ra Karthik, who is all set to release his film 'Nitham Oru Vanam', said that his film featuring actor Ashok Selvan in the lead, will be a good travelogue that has a premise beyond the element of love.

The film, which has three heroines -- Ritu Varma, Aparna Balamurali, and Shivatmika Rajshekar, has led many to believe that it will be a romantic drama.


Talking about it, director Karthik said: "Travelogue movies are rare in our Tamil film industry. 'Nitham Oru Vaanam' will be a feel-good travelogue movie, which has three different landscapes with different emotions.

"Since there are many female lead actors in this movie, NOV might give the impression of being a love story, but it has a premise beyond this element, which is about celebrating life."

"Ashok Selvan has excelled as a performer in this movie. All three female lead roles played by Ritu Varma, Aparna Balamurali, and Shivatmika Rajshekar are equally prominent and substantial. All of them have performed respectable roles that will be liked by women from all age groups."

The director continued: "Nitham Oru Vaanam is a movie about positivity. Whenever we feel low and depressed, we feel a desire to travel, which will keep our minds positive. Feel-good movies have become a rarity. Having been confined to homes and walls for the past couple of years due to the pandemic, we as a team, wanted to make a movie that would refresh audiences with smiles as they walk out of theatres."

'Nitham Oru Vaanam' is set around three different periods and landscapes. The film has been shot across the beautiful locales of Chennai, Chandigarh, Manali, Gobichettipalayam, and Kolkata.

Gopi Sundar has scored music for the film which has cinematography by Vidhu Ayyanna.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 24 (IANS) Actress Shruti Haasan, who will be seen playing the character of Aadya in director Prashanth Neel's eagerly awaited film 'Salaar', which features actor Prabhas in the lead along with her, is all praise for her director, who she says has clarity of thought and vision.

Sharing her experience of working with director Prashanth Neel, Shruti said: "Prashanth is fabulous with his actors. It's nice to work with a director who is so clear headed about his vision."

Shruti added: "It has been Prashanth's strength in all of his films. He really creates this world and it is our job as actors to melt into his world."

"With Prashanth, even within the action and drama, there's a core human story he runs so well. 'Salaar' is also so huge, but it's also so human," she points out.

Apart from Shruti and Prabhas, Salaar also stars Prithviraj Sukumaran and Prajapathi Babu in pivotal roles and the film is slated to release on September 28, 2023.

Apart from 'Salaar', Shruti is also busy shooting for her other films in which she will be seen playing the female lead. She plays the female lead opposite Telugu mega star Cheeranjeevi in Chiru 154 and opposite Nandamuri Balakrishna in NBK 107.

Shruti also released her latest single 'She Is A Hero', which throws light on the struggles and triumphs of women and the song has been receiving immense love from the audiences.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS) Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor and actor Sunny Kaushal have commenced prepping for their upcoming film 'Letters To Mr Khanna'.

Neetu took to her Instagram story, where she shared a photograph of the script of the film, which is Lionsgate India Studios's first feature film.

She captioned it: "Shubh Aarambh. Letters to Mr Khanna" along with a joined hands emoji. She also tagged Sunny, younger brother of actor Vicky Kaushal.

Sunny re-shared the post and wrote: "Bahot mazaa aane wala hai ma'am. (It's going to be too much fun ma'am)."

Using comedy as its main premise, the film, directed by Milind Dhaimade, delves into the integral fabric of families, communication, and memories, as well as their role in forcing us to grow up.

The coming-of-age story will capture the beautiful and relatable relationship between a mother and her son. It also stars Shraddha Srinath.

--IANS
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