what we are reading – EightandHalf
Few new song promos out this week. Putting it all together. First one is from Yashraj Films’ Pyaar Impossible starring Uday Chopra and Priyanka Chopra and directed by Jugal Hansraj. Second one is ‘give me some sunshine’ song promo of 3 Idiots. And the last one is from Ken Ghosh’s Chance Pe Dance. Enjoy!
Pyaar Impossible has nothing “impossible” to offer and Chance Pe Dance looks like come, count my packs!
Dibakar Banerjee is ready with his new film titled Love Sex Aur Dhokha. LSD, ah…killer! With LSD, Dibakar is going digital, low budget ( just 2 cr), all new actors and even ADULT! And here is the story/plot/synopsis of the film….
Rahul, a final year film student, gears up for his diploma film. With his digital camera, with an amateur cast, he starts etching the perennial themes of the great bollywood love epic – his ideal – into his low budget magnum opus. While testing actors for his film he falls in love with Shruti, a new student who he casts as his heroine.
Somewhere in the same city, Adarsh, an unemployed young man, installs security cameras in a small upcoming 24 hour departmental store. Under pressure to pay off a loan shark – Adarsh gets persuaded by his friend from the camera company to act ina porn clip recorded through the security cameras in the shop.
In another corner of the city, Prabhat – once a committed sting journalist following cases of national importance – tethers on the brink of collapse. When he meets Naina, a dancer, who is trying to commit suicide, Prabhat sees the last chance to set his life right –a sting that exposes India’s biggest pop star, Laki Local.
LSD is a roller coaster ride told through three different cameras that instead of passively recording the characters invades the drama, affecting the outcome of the characters’ destinies, snooping, prying, baring the fangs of real perversion hidden deep inside all of us.
And if you want to know more about LSD, how and why, click here for our previous post on the film and its treatment.
Quentin Tarantino’s script of Inglorious Basterds was out on the net much before the film released. Nobody was bothered about the twists and the turns. Call it confidence, great promotional tool or the maverick’s way in movieland. But for us, it was a great treat.
Its easy to locate the script of many hollywood/world cinema titles on the net. But when it comes to desi films, we are miserable at documenting our cinema. Forget the script, we dont know how to take care of the print also. For fans of Lage Raho Munnabhai, there is some great news. And if you are writer, look no further. According to Sunday Mid-day, the screenplay of Lage Raho Munnabhai will be out soon. To quote….
Om Books International is releasing the 350-page screenplay (priced at Rs 395) on December 7, at a function that is expected to have Lage Raho Munna Bhai’s producer-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra, director Rajkumar Hirani, actor Sanjay Dutt and 3 Idiots star Aamir Khan in attendance.
The book will be in Roman script, with the Hindi dialogues as they appeared in the film. Says Om Books International head, Ajay Mago, “When I met Vinod (Chopra), we thought it would be a great idea to publish all his films in screenplay form, starting with Lage Raho Munna Bhai. In August 2009, we began it all.
You can read the full report here. And excited by the idea, Vidhu Vinod Chopra is now planning to release the script of all his feature films, starting from Parinda to Eklavya. And even the ones that he produced (Parineeta, 3 Idiots). To read Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s interview on the same issue click here. (BTW, do notice the way in which he is still dropping names…David Lean, Pual Schrader. Aur bolo ?)
The name is Bond. Ruskin Bond.
This one comes as a surprise. We had no clue about this development, though we make sure to track every move of one of our favourite filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. In an interview to Indian Express, Ruskin Bond has given out the details of the story that he is writing for Vishal Bhardwaj. Its called The Seven Husbands. Last time they came together to create the magical Blue Umbrella. And this one, it already sounds delicious. Read on.
To quote Mr Bond….
Vishal asked me if I could do another story for him and I saw no reason why I wouldn’t. He liked a four-page short story of mine, Susanna’s Seven Husbands. I expanded it into a 200-page episodic piece that can be filmed. My protagonist is a femme fatale who bumps off her seven husbands… I had to find ingenious ways of bumping seven people off while writing the story. Not something that I am used to contemplating generally.
On Priyanka Chopra and some more….
I haven’t actually seen her films. She gives a lot of interviews on TV so I have seen her occasionally. My protagonist comes from an Anglo-Indian background, she is a beautiful lady, but reserved. She isn’t very glamorous like Ms Chopra and doesn’t try to charm men in obvious ways. I hope Vishal will keep that in his characterisation. She is very smart too. She even gives an old husband of hers an overdose of Viagra in my story, who of course can’t take it. No, no, I can’t give out anymore of the story. My only regret will be, I couldn’t be cast as one of Ms Chopra’s seven husbands. Guess I am too old for that (laughs).
Woohoo…Piggy chops goes chop chop! And its not big surprise that Vishal Bhardwaj is again working with Priyanka Chopra. The performance that she delivered in just 10-12 scenes of Kaminey, any director would want to repeat that act. You can read the full Ruskin Bond interview here.
The big release of this friday is Kurbaan. Produced by Karan Johar, directed by Rensil D’ Silva and starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi. And here is the score card…
Anupama Chopra (NDTV) – The film has ambition but it is too flawed and simplistic to explore issues like religion, violence and the politics of terrorism with any conviction or gravitas – 2.5/5
Taran Adarsh (Indiafm) – On the whole, KURBAAN is the most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry in 2009, so far. The film has a captivating plot, gripping screenplay, super performances and a climax that shakes you up completely. Watching this movie should be on top of your agenda this week – 4/5
Rajeev Masand (CNN IBN) – Stripped to its bone, Rensil D’silva’s Kurbaan is an edge-of-the-seat thriller that seldom loses its grip on your attention. Credible performances from its leads, and a nail-biting screenplay make up for the plot holes that threaten to eat into this otherwise engaging film – 3/5
Khalid Mohamed (PFC) – In effect, then, Kurbaan is the sort of film that doesn’t have a clue about the complex subject it is dealing with. It set my teeth on edge. And ha ha , not only because it is revealed at the end that the real name of Saif Ali Khan’s terrorist happens to be Khalid. Thanks Karan, Rensil..I’d just like to see how you guys would respond if your names were used for heinous criminals on screen. Or even in graffiti. Try it – 1.5/5
Shubhra Gupta (Indian Express) – It’s not as if the director has refused to make concessions to the starry status of his lead couple, with Kareena displaying a daringly naked back, and Saif showcasing a bare brawny torso, the bloody rivulets just so. Or that D’Silva doesn’t fall into the self-indulgent trap all debutants do, to keep it too long: the second half drags, and the last half-hour telegraphs its punches. But you overlook these because, at its core, ‘Kurbaan’ has power and resonance – 3/5
Nikhat Kazmi(TOI) – Kurbaan sure does strike a chord and sets you thinking on stuff that needs to be sorted out before the new world order – a more humanitarian, less violent – sets in. Don’t miss it – 3.5/5 ( BTW, this review deserves a separte post. Why and how ? Coming soon)
Minty Tejpal (Mumbai Mirror) – Despite a difficult subject that deals with terrorism and Islam, the director gets the tone and pitch of the film just right, a tricky art to pull off in a purely commercial space. While the recent New York was more flamboyant in its approach, Kurbaan is textured and well-measured – 3/5
Mayank Shekhar (HT) – What you may brave through then is a flick neither real or serious enough to be a meditation on global terror, nor sweetly suspended and adequately brain-dead to be Die Hard. It’s hard to be both. The hardship shows.
Chandrima Pal (Rediff) – Go watch Kurbaan, explore it, find your own points to agree, disagree, endorse, enjoy, debate and be angry about. Either way, you definitely cannot walk out without the film leaving an impression on you. And a strong one at that – 3.5/5
Gaurav Malani (ET) – Kurbaan, noticeably, is set on the same plot of New York – the pun involves both the city and the cinema. And while in any other case this could have been a setback for the ulterior release, Karan Johar’s film, on the contrary, scores for being a more convincing and compelling version of the Yash Raj production that released few months back – 3/5
Kaveree Bamzai (India Today) – Welcome to the world of Islamic terror. Where blood flows artistically, a rich red, slowly and steadily; where love is the perfect antidote; where FBI agents are heroes; where sleeper cells operate out of racially stereotyped neighbourhoods amidst kebabs and biryani; and where the Koran is discussed over coffee and chai – 2/5
Priya Ramani (Livemint) – Before this movie I believed that New York was to Karan Johar what Switzerland was to Yash Chopra. Why would he make such an offensive film about his favourite city? Bas karo yeh meaningful cinema. Please give us a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai again.
Aniruddha Guha (DNA) – You are not quite sure after watching Kurbaan what exactly the motive behind making the film is. Was it designed to be a thriller? Then, in the almost 2hrs and 40minutes of its running time, it’s too long and dips at various points to be able to thrill you enough. Was it supposed to be a love story? Then it fails on that count because the ‘lovers’ in the film come across as shallow. Was the film supposed to be a comment on global terrorism? Then it’s a haphazard one, raising questions (old ones at that) and not bothering to give any answers – 2/5
A new song promo of Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year is out. Pocket me rocket hai, pocket me…check it out!
Its not Unknown anymore! In this era of social networking, how do you expect to steal and run away. Acid Factory is directed by Suparn Verma and produced by Sanjay Gupta. Earlier we wrote about the Acid-Factory-Unknown plagiarism issue here. They set a new benchmark by even copying the trailer of the film!
Dear Guptaji and Vermaji,
Havent you heard “kanoon ke haath bahut lambe hote hain”. Its time to shut the dvd shop! Cntrl C + Cntrl V is getting too risky. Learn the other commands soon!
According to reports in international press, Simon Brand, the director of Unknown has got to know about the film Acid Factory, has seen the trailer and now is planning to take the matter to court and sue the makers of the film. You can read the reports here and here.
The reports are in French/Spanish, and if you are too lazy to do the translation, we have done it. But since its google translation, you might have to jumble few words here and there.
Director desolate with the copy that Indian industry has its ‘Unknown’, ‘Acid Factory’ is bet of the year.
You can change the actors, the title – by Unknown (Hollywood, 2006) for Acid Factory (Bollywood, 2009) – are still shots and sequences and a slight film draws up another success. The director of Strangers (in Portugal) is inconsolado with a new episode of shameless plagiarism of the Indian industry.
“I was in shock,” said the Colombian director Simon Brand. “It took me a while to assimilate it, especially after seeing the trailer on the Indian tape. I found a copy that is identical to the point of stealing plans and entire sequences,” he said, desolate, the filmmaker. In 2006, in a discreet, left the film that told the story of five men who are in a factory without knowing who they are. This thriller is starring, among others, James Caviezel, Joe Pantoliano and Greg Kinnear.
Three years later, the streets of major cities in India are filled with posters for a big Bollywood production – a budget five times that of Unkown. Five men are in a factory without knowing who they are … The movie is signed by Sanjay Gupta, who perhaps should think three times before going through Hollywood – accuse him of, among the 13 films he has done, have made plagiarism by 95%.
The story is not new and even classics (Godfather, etc. ..) have been “adopted” by Bollywood, who does not pay a penny for the rights. “After the initial run, it is difficult to prosecute them,” says Brand. Acid Factory debuted there 15 days.
The other report has more details, including the director’s plan to sue the makers of Acid Factory….
In the United States has struggled to get into theaters, but in India is the big bombshell of the season. The streets of large cities have been papered indas for weeks with the announcement of the release of the film, while Hollywood was just one more. The American version is called ‘Unknown’ (2006). The Indian, ‘Acid Factory’. But this is not the story of a comparison, nor a remake, but of a plagiarism by any measure.
Simon Brand, director of the Colombian original version released in Spain under the title ‘blank mind’ with James Caviezel, Joe Pantoliano and Greg Kinnear as protagonistas’-heard the case a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, where he lives five years. It was told by her producer or his agent, but an Indian journalist who called him to interview him about it.
‘I was shocked,’ admits Brand. ‘It took me a while to assimilate, especially after seeing the trailer for the film in India. I found that is an identical copy to the point that they have stolen entire flat and take ‘.
And do not lie. It is true that the plot is the same-five men wake up locked in a factory, and none of them remember how they got there or who they are-but with Indian actors, produced by one of the directors of the highest reputation in his country, Sanjay Gupta, and the title changed to make it more attractive.
Then, according to criticism from several local media, the thriller is a chain of sequences copied frame by frame, of the Colombian film director. Some go further, asserting that the 13 films directed, written or produced by Gupta, 95 percent are exact copies of Hollywood titles or Korean films.
It seems that not alone and that plagiarism in Bollywood is already part of the culture of the industry. Crushing machine by the intellectual property rights have come films like ‘The Godfather’, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, ‘My friend the ghost’, ‘Sabrina’, ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’, ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ‘,’ The Fugitive ‘and’ Sleeping with the enemy ‘, to name a few of an endless list of titles of current and classic cinema.
But nobody could stop them. Even 20th Century Fox, which in May this year filed a lawsuit against the film by BR Films ‘Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai’, arguing that it is an exact copy of ‘My Cousin Vinny’, starring Danny de Vito and Marisa Tomei.
‘Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors’
Even Harry Potter has been victim of Indian intellectual property theft. ‘Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors’ is the Indian version of the character of JK Rowling, but so far have escaped any sanction despite the demand for Warner.Now, two weeks after the release in India of ‘Acid Factory’, Simon Brand is expecting that the lawyers for the distributor of ‘Unknown’ in Asia to take action on the matter, while acknowledging that it will be difficult.
‘I talked to industry insiders familiar with the matter and tell me that when the film has already opened in the United States sue for plagiarism is complicated because it is a common practice in India’, says Brand, who claims to feel a ‘huge powerlessness and frustration “to see how he copied their work without receiving any reward for it. And that the Indian film was shot with four or five times more than his budget.
It has a director with his second film, ‘Paraiso Travel’, managed to beat all box office brands in Colombia last year and be compared with ‘Amores Perros’ and ‘City of God’. “The problem is that piracy was and is unstoppable, has Brand, who, despite everything, he dreams of making films of high power in India someday.
As Dhoni says in the Aircel tvc “Aur bolo” !
After making many headlines, Dulha Mil Gaya is finally ready for release. The film is directed by Mudassar Aziz, produced by Viveck Vaswani and stars Fardeen Khan, Sushmita Sen & Shah Rukh Khan has a guest appearance.
Guest appearance ? Well, Shah Rukh is on screen for 45 minutes in the second half of the film, but he hasnt charged anything for it. Its all for good ol’ Dostana! When Shah Rukh came to Mumbai and had no place to stay, it was Vaswani who opened his doors for SRK! No pun intended, if you have heard different version of the story!
ET reports that the film has finally found a buyer in Rajat Jhunjhunwala, a finance professional with an investment and restructuring background who is making his foray into bollywood. Click on the video to check out the trailer of the film. The quality is not good but its easy to figure out that they are trying to sell it as a Shah Rukh Khan film.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 