Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Bedabrata Pain’s Chittagong gets a new poster

Posted: April 4, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cast & crew, cinema, News, Posters, Story / Plot / Synopsis
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Bedabrata Pain’s directorial debut Chittagong is finally ready for release. The film will have its world premier at IFFLA fest. The makers have just released a new poster of the film. And it looks good.

And here’s the synopsis according to the official release…

To say that 14-year-old Jhunka Roy’s life was about to change would be an understatement. Set against the beautiful forests and villages of Chittagong, a youth movement was underway, leading up to a drastic revolution. Based on true events in British occupied India of the 1930s, a group of untrained school youth handed the British their first military defeat. Led by a schoolteacher, local villagers and school children showed the power of mass resistance over colonial oppression.

Bedabrata Pain’s directorial debut is a coming-of-age tale of triumph, sacrifice and love, as a young boy’s determination sets the course for an entire nation’s freedom. This progression is what would later spark the first mass peasant movement in India, with the help of Jhunka Roy.

Credits include –

Director: Bedabrata Pain. Producer: Bedabrata Pain
Screenwriter: Bedabrata Pain, Shonali Bose
Cinematographer: Eric Zimmerman
Editor: Aldo Velasco
Music Composer: Shankar Mahadevan, Eshaan Noorani, Loy Mendoza
Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Vega Tamotia, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Barry John and Dibyendu Bhattacharya.

Screenwriting workshop by Anjum Rajabali

Posted: April 2, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, News, Workshop, writing
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Bit bored and tired today, so just copy pasting the release.

Unlike a few years ago, filmmakers today readily and repeatedly admit that without a good script, a good film is impossible. In fact, talent hunts and script contests are announced every other month. Every producer and studio is on the lookout for good scripts and competent writers.

While writing well is hard work, a sound knowledge of basic storytelling principles combined with an understanding of the form & rhythms of the screenplay help free up the writer’s imagination. This gives him the confidence to follow his intuition, helping him uncover interesting aspects of the characters, which in turn make the screenplay more nuanced, fresh and engrossing.

The Workshop will tackle all aspects that go into the construction of a script, starting with the basic central idea that drives the story.

Five intensive days of six hours each will cover the entire journey of the script from theme, premise, character, and plot, to structure, scene construction, and dialogue, and the use of music and song in Indian script. Plus, there will be a substantial session on mythology, with particular reference to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata which have had such a lasting influence on Indian cinema. The final session will deal with writers’ rights, model contract, copyright matters, and other professional issues.

Questions like

  • What makes for a compelling idea?
  • How does one know if a story could make a good script?
  • Can a great story turn into a weak screenplay?
  • How does one figure out the appropriate structure for a script?
  • What makes for an interesting character?
  • How can one write scenes that are crisp, compact and yet dramatically meaty?
  • Is there a technique to writing good dialogue?
  • What is the difference between Hollywood style of screenwriting and what we have here in India?
  • How relevant is the navras theory to modern Indian screenwriting?
  • What is the relevance of songs in modern Indian script?

and other relevant concerns of the Indian screenwriter will be discussed in depth.

About the Workshop Instructor : Anjum Rajabali has been a professional screenwriter for 20 years with films like Drohkaal, Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Raajneeti to his credit. He is the Head of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods, as well as Honorary Head of Screenplay Writing at FTII, a course that he began in 2004. Apart from being a script consultant on several films, he also conducts workshops and seminars on screenwriting in India and abroad.

According to him, “Screenwriting is an exceedingly interesting and rewarding craft. Learning it should be an enjoyable process. It is with that aim that I conduct screenwriting workshops.”

Three Guest Faculty will be invited from among Vishal Bhardwaj, Jaideep Sahni, Sriram Raghavan, Shridhar Raghavan, Saket Chaudhury.

Venue :  Whistling Woods International, Film City, Goregaon (E), Mumbai.

Dates :  April 25-29 (both days inclusive)

Timings : 10 AM – 1 PM and 2-5 PM

(Film viewing : 5.30-8 PM, April 25, 26, 27)

Fee : Rs. 6000/- (inclusive of lunch and tea/coffee on all days)

– The workshop is open to all.

– To Register for the workshop, please call 30916003 or e-mail: kanchi.parikh@whistlingwoods.net

Vidhu Vinod Chopra Retrospective at PVR Cinemas

Posted: March 30, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Film Festival, News, Q & A
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To celebrate 30 years of making cinema, Vinod Chopra Films is having a retrospective of its films at PVR Cinemas. From 29th March to April 4th, VCF is showing almost all its films, from Sazaaye Maut to 3 idiots. Check out your local listing or you can check out PVR’s website.

– The films have also been digitally restored and their sound has been re-done in 5.1 Surround Sound.

– Screenings will be followed by discussions moderated by well-known filmmakers at PVR Juhu, Mumbai.

Here’s the schedule for the panel discussion –

1. 30th March – 5.30 – 6.30 pm : Discussion on Parinda.

Moderator – Anurag Kashyap and Sudhir Mishra.

Director : Vidhu vinod Chopra.

Cast – Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher, Suresh Oberoi

2. 30th March – 7 – 8 pm : Discussion on Parineeta.

Moderator – Sujoy Ghosh.

Director : Pradeep Sarkar.

Cast : Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Dia Mirza

3. 31st March – 7 – 8 pm : Discussion on Munna Bhai MBBS + Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

Moderator – Sriram Raghavan.

Director – RajKumar Hirani.

Cast – Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Dilip Prabhavalkar.

Screenwriter – Abhijat Joshi

4. 1st April – 7-8pm : Discussion on Khamosh.

Moderator – Rohan Sippy.

Director – Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Cast – Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Sudhir Mishra

5. 2nd April – 7-8pm : Discussion on 1942 – A Love Story.

Moderator – Imtiaz Ali.

Director – Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Cast – Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala, Danny Denzongpa

6. 4th April – 7-8pm : Discussion on 3 Idiots.

Moderator : Ram Madhavani.

Director – RajKumar Hirani.

Cast – Cast -Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi.

Screenwriter – Abhijat Joshi

And here’s a nice video feature on VVC films

Screenwriting & filmmaking workshop at IIT-Madras

Posted: March 30, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, News, Workshop
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WHAT: IMAGING CINEMA 2012: An International Screenwriting and Filmmaking Course

DATES:  1-10 JUNE  2012

VENUE: IIT Madras

Resource people :

▪    Atul Tiwari (Mission Kashmir, Dasavataram, Viswarupam, forthcoming with Kamal Haasan)

▪    K Hariharan (Director, LV Prasad Institute of Film & Television Chennai)

▪    Rohan Sippy (Dum Maro Dum, Bluffmaster,  Taxi NO 9211, Kuch naa  kaho, The President is Coming)

▪     Shridhar Raghavan ( Screenwriter: Khakee, Dum Maro Dum, Apaharan)

▪     Sriram Raghavan (Director: Agent Vinod, Johnny Gaddar, Ek Haseena Thi)

▪     Anurag Kashyap (Dev D, No Smoking, Gulaal, That Girl in Yellow Boots, Shaitan)

▪     Patricia Gruben (Director, Praxis Screenwriting Programme, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver)

 COURSE :

Hands on training with experts in screenwriting and discussion of mechanics of screenwriting and direction with major industry figures.

– The course will be divided in four parts-

1. THE MAGIC OF CINEMA – This capsule in the first 3 days will introduce the participants to the magical world of Cinema, by making them go through a FILM-APPRECIATION module. How to read a film is the basic theme of this section.

2. THE MECHANICS OF CINEMA – This section for next two days will introduce the participants with the mechanics that goes into making a film including Camera, Lighting, Sound, Sets, Editing, Special Effects etc- to demystify and tell how the magic is created.

3. THE METHOD OF CINEMA– This section will introduce the participants to the most basic & important aspect of any film – the Blueprint, the Map, the Method behind the madness – THE SCRIPT. This will go on for next 4 to 5 days and the emphasis will be to make the students WRITE scripts and to dissect and discuss their work in class. It will be a group exercise where a group of 4-5 students will work together on mini-scripts to understand the process of film-script construction. At the end of this the groups will be ready with one short 3-5 minute executable script.

4. THE MAKING OF CINEMA – For Next 2 days – this will be very interesting hands on exercise with the students,  where they will have to shoot, act, record sound, edit, do post-production and be ready with their films within 48 hours. Candidates can bring their video cameras or use cell phone cameras.

5. THE MAJESTY OF CINEMA – The last day will be a ‘red carpet’ event where the films made by the student groups will be seen by all. A jury will then rate them and announce the AWARDS to the films – with
analysis – so that this too is a time to learn. The certificates will be given to all at the end of the event.

– An IIT-M CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE COURSE

Fee structure:

▪  Rs 10,000/ for professionals

▪  Rs 9000/ for attendees of 2009 & 2010 events

▪  Rs 8000/ students with valid ID and documents

$250 for NRI’s and International Students/professionals.

– Last date of application : April 30

– Application Forms can be dowloaded from Application form IIT Madras Screenwriting Filmmaking Course

– Limited rooms available in IITM guest house (AC), based on the date of applying.

– Few rooms available in hostels (Non ac).

– The course fee does not include accommodation payment.

– Application form duly filled in can be mailed to : draysha@iitm.ac.in

– For daily updates, visit www.imagingcinema.wordpress.com

Ashvin Kumar’s ‘The Forest’ gets a release date & a new poster

Posted: March 23, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, first look, News, pics, Poster
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Finally! It’s been a long wait for Ashvin Kumar’s film, The Forest. It stars Jaaved Jaffery, Nandana Sen and Ankur Vikal and is all set to release on 4th May under PVR Directors’ Rare. The makers have just released a new poster for the film which is quite striking.

Call For Entries – NFDC Screenwriters’ Lab, 2012

Posted: March 19, 2012 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, News, Scripts, writing
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WHAT:  Screenwriter’s Lab 2012, a 2-part workshop is designed to prepare screenwriters with original Indian stories for working with the international filmmaking market place. It aims at improving a completed screenplay in its final stages and to increase the international marketability of the same.

The Lab is organised in partnership with Binger Filmlab, Netherlands, and the Venice International Film Festival, Italy.

LAB : The 1st Session will be held during the Venice International Film Festival in Venice (31st August- 4th September, 2012) where participants will get first-hand experience of the workings of the international film community and get to train with their screenplay mentors.

The 2nd session at Film Bazaar, Goa from 24–27 November, 2011 is where participants will apply their training and pitch their revised screenplays to participants at the film market. (dates are subjected to change)

MENTORS : The workshop will be conducted by Marten Rabarts, Artistic Director, Binger Filmlab, aided by experienced international guest mentors. It is organized in association with Binger Filmlab, Netherlands and Venice International Film Festival.

DATES : Last date for submitting complete application forms : 31st May 2012.  Results : August 2012

FEES : Application will not be considered complete without the Submission fee of Rs. Three Thousand Only [Rs. 3000/-]. The fee can be paid through cheque/demand draft/electronic transfer. For more details, click here.

CONTACT: For any doubts, you can check out the FAQ and other details here or can write to  screenwriters-lab@filmbazaarindia.com

Rules & Regulations : Do carefully read the Rules and Regulations page as there has been some changes this year.

Happy writing!

And here are the Ghanta winners

Posted: March 19, 2012 by moifightclub in Awards, bollywood, News, pics
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The Ghantas (TheGhantas.com) celebrates and rewards the worst of Bollywood every year. The 2nd Annual Ghanta Awards rewarded the worst Bollywood films of 2011. And the only nominee who dared to be present was Sonam Kapoor. All RESPECT.

The nominees were decided by a panel of experts and voting for the winners was done through a public, online vote that was held between Feb –  March 16th, 2012. The awards were presented by @AmusedDouche, @awryaditi, @gkhamba, @varungrover and @iarevaboon.

Winners in BOLD.

Worst Film

1.    Ra.One

2.    Bodyguard

3.    Ready

4.    Mausam

5.    Don 2

Worst Holier-Than-Thou Movie

1.    Dhobi Ghat

2.    No One Killed Jessica

3.    That Girl in Yellow Boots

4.    Memories in March

5.    Shaitan

Worst Actor

1.    Salman Khan – Bodyguard, Ready

2.    Shah Rukh Khan – Ra.One, Don 2

3.    Ajay Devgn – Rascals, Singham, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji

4.    Sanjay Dutt – Ra.One, Rascals, Chatur Singh 2 Star, Double Dhamaal, Desi Boyz

5.    Vinay Pathak – Utt Patang, Tere Mere Phere, Chalo Dilli, Bheja Fry 2

Worst Actress

1.    Kangna Ranaut – Game, Miley Na Miley Hum, Double Dhamaal, Tanu Weds Manu, Ready, Rascals

2.    Nargis Fakhri – Rockstar

3.    Jacqueline Fernandez – Murder 2

4.    Gul Panag – Turning 30

5.    Bipasha Basu – Dum Maaro Dum

Worst Supporting Actor

1.    Tusshar Kapoor – The Dirty Picture, Hum Tum Shabana, Shor in the City

2.    Prateik Babbar – Dhobi Ghat, Aarakshan, Dum Maaro Dum, My Friend Pinto

3.    Anupam Kher – Every other film

4.    Om Puri – Don 2, Khap, Teen Thay Bhai, Bin Bulaye Baarati

5.    Shreyas Talpade – Hum Tum Shabana, Teen Thay Bhai

Worst Supporting Actress

1.    Hazel Keech in Bodyguard

2.    Giselli Monteiro in Always Kabhi Kabhie

3.    Mallika Sherawat in Double Dhamaal

4.    Charmy Kaur in Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap

5.    Raveena Tandon in Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap

Worst Breakthrough

1.    Chirag Paswan

2.    Rana Daggubati

3.    Zoa Morani

4.    Sarah Jane-Dias

5.    Nargis Fakhri

Worst Director

1.    Anubhav Sinha – Ra.One

2.    Anees Bazmee – Thank You, Ready

3.    Pankaj Kapur – Mausam

4.    David Dhawan – Rascals

5.    Rohit Dhawan – Desi Boyz

Worst Rip-Off

1.    Don 2 – every Hollywood action film

2.    Murder 2 – The Chaser

3.    Desi Boyz – Full Monty + all Adam Sandler films

4.    FALTU – Accepted

5.    Ragini MMS – Paranormal Activity

Worst Couple

1.    Kangna Ranaut and Ajay Devgn in Rascals

2.    Kangna Ranaut and Sanjay Dutt in Rascals

3.    Kangna Ranaut and Chirag Paswan in Miley Naa Miley Hum

4.    Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in Rockstar

5.    Shahid Kapur and Sonam Kapoor in Mausam

Worst Song

1.    Dhinka Chika

2.    Jalebi Bai

3.    Bodyguard title track

4.    Dum Maaro Dum

5.    Chammak Challo

WTF Was That

1.    Akshay Kumar going to Oxford University in Desi Boyz

2.    Ghost Rape in Haunted 3D

3.    The unexplained science behind the science fiction part of Ra.One

4.    Colourful holi song in the middle of a movie about Hitler & the holocaust in ‘Gandhi to Hitler’

5.    How Sonam Kapoor & Shahid Kapoor don’t manage to exchange a measly phone number over 10 years in Mausam

Thats Anything But Sexy

1.    3 girls conned by Ranveer Singh’s looks and acting abilities

2.    Ram Gopal Verma’s camera angles in Not A Love Story

3.    Anything involving Kangana Ranaut in Rascals

4.    Akshay Kumar as London’s most in-demand male escort in Desi Boyz

5.    Any time Shahrukh Khan says “Junglee Billi” in Don 2

VOTD : Ghantas, Samir Karnik on critics and Imtiaz Ali gets nostalgic

Posted: March 14, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, News, video, VOTD
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In today’s VOTD we have not one, but three videos. First is the promo of The Ghanta Awards which is happening on this Saturday (17th March) at Comedy Store, Phoenix Mills at 6pm. Sung by Kumar Sanu and made in Allahabad.

 

The Ghanta Nomination list is here. And you can buy the tickets here and here.

If Ghanta is here, can Samir Karnik be far behind? His latest release is Char Din Ki Chandni which has been rated zero by Rajeev Masand. That’s a rare feat. So here’s Karnik in angry-young-man-who-makes-terrible-films avatar.

A better and longer version of the video is here.

And the last one – a nice little interview of Imtiaz Ali done by his daughter Ida Ali.

Paan Singh Tomar – Q & A with Tigmanshu Dhulia & Sanjay Chouhan (Pics/Video)

Posted: March 9, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Interview, News, Q & A, video
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Last time when we met Imtiaz Ali to discuss Rockstar, there were many conspiracies and accusations. But since some of you appreciated our effort, we thought let’s try it again. This time it was done in a bit formal way. Film was Paan Singh Tomar, guests were Tigmanshu Dhulia (Director) and Sanjay Chouhan (Writer). Location – PVR, Juhu.

To get more time for Q & A, PVR helped us by cutting down the time for commercials, making the interval much shorter and delaying the next show by few minutes. But even then we could hardly manage some 20minutes of interaction. Because even the next show was housefull and people were getting desperate to get in. So we quickly wrapped it up and went outside. Aha, back to the stairs. And a filmmaker really needs a cigarette in his hand to open up. Watch the two videos and you will get what i am saying.

I saw the film on friday morning with just 15 people in the theater. And then i saw it again on wednesday night. This time it was a housefull show. A good film finding its audience is a great feeling.

And many thanks to Anurag Kashyap, Shiladitya Bora and PVR Cinemas for making it possible.

Pics – Priyanka Jain

Videos – Sumit Purohit and Manu Warrier. Edit – Sumit Purohit.

And here are pointers to some priceless gems –

00:47 – I needed an actor who could give me more than just his dates.

03:33 – Hum log ab mombatti na uthayein, bandook utha le.

04:25 – Koi research fund karne ke liye tayyar hi nahi tha.

04:40 – Actually yeh picture Vikas Behl ke wajah se huyee hai………..aaj us aadmi ko (credit) nikal diya hai unhone.

05:45 – Mad woman in the mayhem – Boss, yeh main karoonga. (Jo Shekhar Kapoor ke film se kat gaya tha.)

07:03 – Irrfan ne apne paise aadhe kar diye. Maine apne paise aadhe kar diye.

08:22 – Meri kisi picture me itne zyada darshak nahi aaye hain.

11:20 – Hum sabse galtiyaan ho jaati hai.

13:20 – Aapke sanskaar bolte hain yaar.

18:16 – Is society me hero kahan hai yaar?

20:13 – Aaj bhi duno cheeks me ched hai uske, woh zinda hai.

And if you enjoyed the first part of the video, you must watch the second part of the video.

Paan Singh Tomar – Screening + Q & A with Tigmanshu Dhulia

Posted: March 7, 2012 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, News
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It started with Rockstar. We went to see the film and then came out, sat on the stairs of Cinemax, Versova and discussed the film with its director Imtiaz Ali for next three hours. If you haven’t read the post, it’s here. The idea is to create space and platform for discussion with filmmakers after we have seen the film. Pre-release buzz is all fine but we rarely get to hear them post-release.

Last time it was completely informal. This time we are trying to do it in a bit formal way and as always, with the help of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap who will also be there. The film is Paan SIngh Tomar, one of the best reviewed films in recent times. So here are the details…

Film : Paan Singh Tomar

Venue : PVR, Juhu

Date : Today (7th March, Wednesday)

Time : 8pm show. We are hoping it will get over by 10pm and we will have 1hour time for discussion as the next show is at 11pm.

Entry : Since it’s a normal screening and discussion will be inside the auditorium, do book your tickets.

Tickets : Rs 150. You can either get it from the counter or book it at www.pvrcinemas.com

And thanks to PVR Cinemas and Shiladitya Bora for all the help.

See you there!

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