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Nandita Das’ Manto to open 2nd edition of Sg.SAIFF

Posted: September 2, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Film Festival, Indie, News
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The 2nd edition of Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2018 (Sg.SAIFF) will open with actor-director Nandita Das’ Manto which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the titular role as Sadat Hassan Manto and follows the most tumultuous years and times in the life of the famed writer and of the two countries he inhabits — India and Pakistan.

The 2nd edition of the festival held from 5th to 14th October 2018 in Singapore will commence with an opening ceremony on 5th October at Carnival Cinema and close on 13th October at Resorts World Sentosa will also include the awards ceremony.

The film was chosen for the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2018 and features an impressive ensemble of actors including Rasika Duggal, Rajshri Deshpande, Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. The screening at SGSAIFF 2018 marks the film’s South East Asian premiere and will be attended by Nandita Das.

Das who will be presenting the film at the festival says, “We are delighted to screen Manto as the opening film at SGSAIFF. Manto was very much a South Asian writer. But unlike the Europeans, we South Asians do not own this identity, despite many cultural and social similarities amongst the countries in the region. Therefore, it is important to support such festivals that celebrate cinema from the Subcontinent. Last year, SGSAIFF screened a film I acted in, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai as the opening film, which is yet to be released. I was unfortunately unable to make it. So, I very much look forward to attending it this year.”

Abhayanand Singh, Chairperson of SGSAIFF, whose association with Nandita Das started with Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai, the film co-produced by his production company, Muvizz says, “It’s a great honour to open the 2nd edition of SGSAIFF with one of the most important Indian films of this year, MANTO. We are happy that Nandita Das accepted our invitation to come and present the film at the festival.”

The SGSAIFF 2018 lineup which will be announced shortly includes an interesting mix of features, documentaries and shorts which includes titles from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan.

About The South Asian Singapore Film Festival

Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (Sg.SAIFF) is devoted to a greater appreciation of South Asian cinema and culture. The festival seeks to support emerging filmmakers, open a fertile space for dialogue and collaborations within the industry, and most significantly share with the audience of Singapore the diverse and complex experiences of South Asia through the intimate storytelling medium of cinema.

With the impetus to effectively channel the expansion of South Asian cinema beyond the subcontinent and engage with a wider spectrum of audience. Singapore with its sizable population of South Asian descent, is a natural choice for this purpose. Supported by the Singapore Indian High Commission(IHC), the festival is a landmark initiative to serve as a cultural gateway between the global city of Singapore and the developing nations of South Asia.

Singapore, being the gateway of Asia, only enhances the potential of the festival to emerge as the melting pot of diverse cultures using cinema as a medium.

All the buzz around Tumbbad at Venice Film Festival

Posted: August 31, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, film, Film Festival, film review
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Aanand L. Rai, Sohum Shah, and Anand Gandhi’s much awaited mythological thriller about a goddess who created the entire universe, Tumbbad opened the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and is generating a lot of buzz at Venice Film Festival.

So here’s all the buzz around the film at the fest.

– Baradwaj Rangan’s review on Film Companion here

– Hollywood Reporter’s review here

– Screen Daily’s review here

– Sohum Shah’s interview in Variety here

– Sohum Shah on the film in Quint here

– Jared Mobarak’s review on The Film Stage here

– Deloret Imnidia’s review on High on Films here

– Tommaso Tocci’s review on Ion Cinema here

– Bénédicte Prot’s review on on Cineuropa here

First Look: Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi’s upcoming Indo-German love story Once Again

Posted: August 31, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, film, first look
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Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi’s upcoming Indo-German feature love story, Once Again which is slated to release soon.

Witten and Directed by Kanwal Sethi, Once Again is an unusual and mature love story of Tara, a widowed mother who runs a small restaurant and one of her customers, a popular film actor Amar, who she delivers his daily meals. Tara has never seen him – except on the big screen.

Apart from the lead stars, Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi, the film features a stellar cast including Rasika Dugal, Bhagwan Tiwari, Bidita Bag and Priyanshu Painyuli.

The music composer, Talvin Singh, who has been at the helm of fusion music, and has played with the likes of Madonna creates an enchanting and melodious soundtrack.

Actor Neeraj Kabi, who was last seen in Netflix show Sacred Games as DCP Parulkar has done diverse roles in films such as Talvar, Byomkesh Bakshi, Ship Of Theseus, Hichki. Excited about playing a romantic hero on celluloid for the first time, Neeraj says, “I have always wanted to perform a love story on celluloid. I am so happy I finally did.”

The Indo-German film is produced by Crawling Angel Films, Jar Pictures, Neufilm in collaboration with ZDF/ARTE and is presented by Sanjay Gulati and Neeraj Pandey. ZDF/ARTE are the powerful channels behind films like Lunchbox, Masaan and Qissa.

The film won Facebook Award for the best Work-in-Progress Lab project at the Film Bazaar in Goa.

About the film:
Tara is a widowed mother who runs a small restaurant. One of her customers is popular film actor Amar, she delivers his daily meals. Tara has never seen him – except on the big screen. A chance phone conversation becomes a ritual. They spend hours on the phone, unable to muster the courage to meet. Aware of the reality of an impossible relationship and afraid to transcend the boundaries both have drawn around themselves they live within their safe bubbles. Until one day, when Amar sets out to meet Tara… What follows is a poetic journey of the two lonely hearts in Mumbai, a city of 15 million souls.

About the director:
Kanwal Sethi was born in Amritsar, India. After finishing school, he founded a theatre group and began to stage at various independent theatres. He shifted to Germany and studied Political science and Economics in Dresden. Followed by his own stage productions and parallel to this he started work on his own film projects. His short films and documentaries were screened at various international film festivals as well as the Museum of Modern Art New York. JUNCTION POINT was his debut feature film and premiered at Max ÖphulsPreis and MAMI.

About the Producers:
Neufilm
Since we successfully started producing films 10 years ago, we are constantly confronted with the phenomenon of a separation of art and commerce. Arthouse and mainstream seem to be often incompatible in the industry. The aim of Neufilm is to connect these two poles and make the author film accessible to a broader audience.

Crawling Angel Films
Crawling Angel Films is a film production company based in India that aims to tell the world unique stories through films, which have the quality to capture human emotions through their strong narratives. The dedicated team of Crawling Angel Films is all set out to dissolve the boundaries between the various nations of the globe by getting them well versed with one universal language – the language of Cinema. They have produced award-winning films such as, LAJWANTI (Berlin International Film Festival 2014), ASHWATTHAMA (Busan International Film Festival 2017), MEHSAMPUR and THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SEVEN SONGS (co-production lab in Film Bazaar and Hong Kong International Film Festival) is currently under the process of shooting.

Manmarziyaan Music review

Posted: August 30, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, Music review
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Anurag Kashyap is back, this time with a love story, teaming up with Aanand L Rai as producer. Manmarziyaan is going to premiere at the TIFF 18. While we keep wondering about the actual release date (21, 14, or 7th September?), why don’t you read the review from Rohwit below, while listening to the official playlist?
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Mast ali has a voice which sounds aptly familiar yet fresh, filmi punjabbbi songs wise. In Fyar he has been credited along with Vicky Kaushal and Sikandar Kahlon. I love the way song starts and credit to Amit Trivedi for smartly manipulating the pace of the song and even though the difference between ‘Pya’ and ‘Fya’ is not super easy to understand when you hear it, the song is just spot on. I didn’t care much about the rap part but it didn’t disturb my Foncentration.

Daryaa has ‘udaan types (Yes i am looking at you ‘hooo oo oo oo’) meeting Punjabi love’ sound which works like a charm. I have always been at pains to see Shahid Mallya not getting the kind of uptake that he deserves. He sounds madly in love and it sets the emotion of the song perfectly. Ammy Virk sounds powerful yet quite hurt and because of him, the song soars, pity his name doesn’t appear in the youtube song title credits till the time this was written. What a delight it is to hear Amit’s ‘hoo ooo oo’ template complimenting Virk’s passionate singing and spilling emotions like two glasses brimming with wine falling to the ground. There is also an unplugged version of this song sung by Deveshi Sahgal. It has a headstrong sound which I absolutely loved along with the super Guitar play of the always dependable Sanjoy Das. Deveshi’s singing is fearless and it would be silly to compare her version with the other version because, well the other version is not unplugged to begin with. In fact, with the ‘Udaan type hoo ooo oo’ missing from the song, this version sounds rather fresh! Super like!

Jazim Sharma and Harshdeep Kaur are heard in Grey wala shade, a song that revels in mischief. The tune is intimate and lyrics are delightfully naughty. Jazim‘s voice has a soothing effect and it is a pleasant change to hear Harshdeep in a simple song. Jazim and Harshdeep Kaur team up again in an Esraj rich Choch Ladhiyaan. I love what Amit has done with the tune of this song and to me, this could easily be the most layered composition of the album. The near classical arrangement is more essential than decorative. Being someone who understands ghazal gayaki closely, Jazim uses all the thehraav in his rendition and is a delight to the senses. Harshdeep Kaur is again in top form and sounds even more playful due to absolute crazy lyrics by the magician Shellee, Bande andar, paigambar…naache!

Dhayaanchand shines because of its lovely tune structure. Vijay Yamla, Nikhita Gandhi, Amit Trivedi & Suhas Sawant are pretty good in the song yet my favorite parts are those with Amit‘s voice. On a related dhinchak note – Tumbi, Tumba, Been, Dhadd & Bugdu by Vijay Yamla and Dhol by Kukki Jogi are composition’s heart and soul. A song that is definitely going in my dinchak 2018 playlist.

Omkar Dhumal has made several appearances in good and not so good songs this year so far. Here, his Shehnai is used brilliantly by Amit Trivedi. I was almost not looking forward to the song because of Jyoti Nooran’s name. Of late, her songs are one note, one character, unwelcoming and filled with unnecessary ‘See I can do so many alaaps’. I can confirm that she is super steady in this song. Along with Romy, she holds your attention in the serious Hallaa. Don’t miss the faint Shehnai and those lovely backup vocalists especially towards the end of the song…a brilliant touch by Amit Trivedi.

Shahid Mallya & Jonita Gandhi sing Sachchi Mohabbat very well, a song that bitterly regrets love that ‘could have been’, a love where they could have celebrated ‘Them being them?’. The wordplay in this song is deceptively simple and credit to Amit Trivedi for keeping the tune light in spite of two geniuses at play here. I am of course referring to Arshad Khan (On Israj) and Omkar Dhumal (On Shehnai).

Jaisi teri Marzee is a little ‘Tujhe yaad na meri aayi‘ in its character and it is not a bad thing. I liked the fact that rather than presenting a track as ‘title song’, they have used the said phrase to name it. Did I like the song? Yes. Would i listen to it again? No. Harshdip Kaur is pitch perfect and Bhanu Pratap Singh sounds fresh and promising. Still, I found this to be a ‘credit rolling’ song and not very ‘playlist durable’

Bijlee giregi has Devenderpal Singh, Babu Haabi, Sikander Kahlon & Vaishali Sardana in top form. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I absolutely love Shellee and what he has done here. There is not a comma (let alone a word) that feels force inserted. Bhasudi, durachari, cutie pie nahi kutti pie hai, Vayusena ka vimaan, missile waali…I can go on and on. The tune structure flirts with my other favorite song from the year – Teri pappi le lu from ‘Veere di wedding’. That said, I am already conflicted whether this song should go in the dinchak 2018 playlist from this album instead of Dhayanchand?* Anyway, I love the song and extra points for NOT using Badshaah for the rap portion in this (or any song for that matter). Fun fact – If you have a heart rate monitor, you will see your heartbeats take off like a rocket in this song. Trust me, I checked.

Meenal Jain, Yashita Sharma, Yashika Sikka, Rani Kaur, Anita Gandharva, Meghna Mishra & Vaishnavi Mishra are heard in Kundali. Predictably, the song is high tempo with a good thump. Yet again, Shellee’s lyrics shine (Sunnn pyari simran, jaa ji le apna jeevan!). I didn’t dislike the song but I would not go looking for this one in the playlist.

I don’t want to jinx it but this year has been relatively better than last couple of years in terms of film music. Still, I was yet to come across a devilishly delicious album. Last week I came across one that was truly 5 star stuff yet it didn’t ‘bite’ enough. May be because that is a pretty straight forward love story and because Mannmarziyaan is ‘complicated’ and handled by Anurag Kahsyap, the search ended with Manmarziyaan. I am confident that the album will outlast the film for years to come.

Of course it is Anurag Kashyap‘s collaboration with Amit Trivedi. Of course they have delivered, big time. Still, I think the most critical factor of this blockbuster album is Shellee. His lyrics truly walk in beauty. Not once do you feel the lyrics are dumbed down so that junta doesn’t dismiss the album as being ‘too punjabi’. I just hope the film is worthy of the lyrics and music it has got. Actually, I don’t care about the film at all. I am just happy Anurag and Amit have got back to their winning ways and given us an album that we can listen to in our little cocoons and forget the world.

How’s the album?

Filmi Hindustaan jaise…Chhaye Gurdass maan jaise

– Rohwit

*Of course I will use Bijlee Giregi in the playlist. Hashtag Girl power.

First Look: Ivan Ayr’s Soni (Poster & Trailer)

Posted: August 23, 2018 by moifightclub in Film Festival, first look, News, Trailer
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Ivan Ayr’s debut film Soni, which is making its world premiere at the 75th Venice Film Festival under the Orizzonti Competition category just released its first look poster and trailer.

It is the only Indian feature to compete at the festival.

Summary of the film

Soni, a young policewoman in Delhi, and her superintendent, Kalpana, have collectively taken on a growing crisis of violent crimes against women. However, their alliance suffers a major setback when Soni is transferred out for alleged misconduct on duty.

Soni had won the Facebook Award for Best ‘Work-In-Progress’ Project and Prasad DI Award for the Best Film In ‘Film Bazaar Recommends’ section at NFDC Film Bazaar 2017.

The film has a running time of 97 minutes and features newcomers Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Saloni Batra in lead roles. The producers are Kimsi Singh and Kartikeya Narayan Singh, whose previous credits include the 2015 Cannes Un Certain Regard Selection Chauthi Koot.

Anand Patwardhan’s Reason (Vivek) at TIFF18

Posted: August 22, 2018 by moifightclub in Documentary, Film Festival
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Renowned Indian documentary maker Anand Patwardhan’s latest film Reason (Vivek) is having its world premiere at TIFF in the TIFF Docs section.

The official note from the festival reads:

In what is perhaps his most urgent and thorough exploration of Indian society yet, renowned documentarian Anand Patwardhan charts his country’s slide away from secular democracy and toward divisions of power, caste, and religious belief — and the violence that has followed.

Anand Patwardhan’s passionate, detailed chronicling of injustices in India has made him the filmmaking conscience of his nation. In The Name of God, Jai Bhim Comrade, and Father, Son, and Holy War stand not only as first-rate documentaries, but as direct interventions on behalf of justice and compassion. After years of work, Patwardhan is back with perhaps his most urgent and thorough film yet.

Divided into eight chapters, Reason sets out to chart what Patwardhan sees as India’s slide away from the complex tumult of a secular democracy towards hardening divisions of power, caste, and religious belief — lines that are enforced increasingly by violence.

The first chapters recount the work, struggles, and eventual assassinations of Narendra Dabholkar, a rationalist who fought what he called “blind faith,” and Govind Pansare, a communist politician and anti-caste activist. Later chapters probe subjects such as Dalit caste protests against social oppression, terrorism’s tangled roots, and how religious outrage can so easily descend into mob violence. Accompanying interviews, captured footage, and archive sequences, Patwardhan’s voiceover makes connections and provides deeper context.

Reason is not an easy film to watch, nor should it be. The film denounces — and depicts — violence perpetrated or fuelled by religious nationalists pushing to make India a Hindu state. As Reason builds and expands toward its conclusion, the scale of the dangers India faces becomes clear, and connections are made between the country’s inner conflicts and the similar political fires burning all over the world. Even with countless people of conscience offering resistance, the film ends with yet one more assassination. This time it is a journalist.

The film runs at 260 minutes, is shot by Anand Patwardhan himself along with Simantini Dhuru, and edited by Patwardhan.

Anand Patwardhan is one of the most prolific documentary makers from India, with films like In the Name of God (’92) and Father, Son and Holy War (’94), both of which have featured at TIFF in the past, as well as War and Peace (02) and Jai Bhim Comrade (11).

First Look: Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (Trailer)

Posted: August 18, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, first look
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The first look of Vasan Bala’s upcoming Bollywood-infused action film Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (MKDNH) is out. It’s teaser cut for the Toronto International Film Festival. Take a look.

MKDNH is the first ever Indian film to be a part of TIFF 18’s Midnight Madness. It stars Bhagyashree’s son Abhimanyu Dasani and TV star Radhika Madan who is also playing a lead in Vishal Bhardwaj’s next. The film is produced by RSVP.

Call for Entries – NFDC Film Bazaar 2018’s Viewing Room & Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab

Posted: August 16, 2018 by moifightclub in Call For Entries, cinema, Film Festival, Indie, News
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NFDC Film Bazaar 2018 is calling for entries for the Viewing Room and the Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab.

– Film Bazaar will be held from November 20-24, 2018 at the Goa Marriott Resort.

– The Early Bird Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2018, which will offer a discount on the submission fees. The last date for submission of completed applications is September 14th 2018.

WIP Lab

– Submissions are invited for the WIP Fiction lab.

– Up to five projects in their rough-cut stage will be selected to be presented to a panel of international film experts for their feedback.

– Feature-length fiction films of any genre in the rough-cut stage are invited to apply to the WIP lab.

Viewing Room

The Viewing Room will present films seeking finishing funds, world sales, distribution partners and film festivals to investors, world sales agents and film festival programmers attending the film bazaar. Here, films are viewed on individual computer terminals in private booths via a specially designed software which allows the users to contact the director or producer of the film via email.

– Films (fiction/documentary) of all genres and lengths in rough or final cut are invited to apply to the Viewing Room.

– Feature length films in the rough cut are eligible to apply to both WIP lab and Viewing Room.

– Short films can also be submitted to the Viewing Room, which will be showcased in a category called Short Films.

– For application form and other details, click here.

The films that were a part of the previous Work-in-Progress Labs at Film Bazaar have had their world premieres at leading international film festivals and some have even gone on to enjoy a successful theatrical run. These include Raam Reddy’s Thithi, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Nil Battey Sannata, Kanu Behl’s Titli, Avinash Arun’s Killa, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus, Ajay Bahl’s BA Pass, Ere Gowda’s Balekampa, Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha, Dipesh Jain’s Gali Guleiyan.

TIFF Adds Two More Indian Films to the Fest

Posted: August 14, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema
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After Vasan Bala’s MKDNH, TIFF has added two more Indian films to its lineup, this time in the Contemporary World Cinema section.

Bulbul Can Sing

Rima Das is back at TIFF’s Contemporary World Cinema section yet again with her new film Bulbul Can Sing which is having its world premiere there.

Here’s the official TIFF program note on the film:

Rima Das presents a visceral coming-of-age drama about a young girl living in rural India, fighting her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is.

Rima’s last film, Village Rockstars, was also premiered at TIFF.

The Sweet Requiem

Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s latest film The Sweet Requiem (K​yoyang Ngarmo)​​​ is having its world premiere at TIFF’s Contemporary World Cinema section. Similar to Rima Das’s previous film, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s debut film had also premiered at TIFF.

This is what the official note from TIFF says about the film:

In a follow-up to 2005’s Dreaming Lhasa, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam return with a story of a young Tibetan woman grappling with living in exile, revealing a side of the refugee crisis we rarely get to see.

The film, running at 91 minutes, was one of the 19 South Asian Projects selected at the NFDC Film Bazaar 2015.

Vasan Bala’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota selected for TIFF

Posted: August 10, 2018 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, Indie
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Vasan Bala’s new film Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (The Man Who Feels No Pain) is going to be featured at the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) ‘Midnight Madness’ section. It’s the first Indian movie to be featured in Midnight Madness.

Here’s the official TIFF program note on the film:

In this Bollywood-infused action film from Vasan Bala (Peddlers), a young man quite literally born with the ability to feel no pain strikes out on a quest to vanquish 100 foes.

Cast: Abhimanyu Dasani, Radhika Madan, Gulshan Devaiah and Mahesh Manjrekar
Abhimanyu is the son of ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ actress Bhagyashree, while Radhika Madan is a popular television star who is also playing one of the main characters in Vishal Bharadwaj’s next ‘Patakha’.

The 131 min film is produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP.

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