what we are reading – EightandHalf
Earlier it was just Shor and now it’s Shor In The City. Reason – No clue. And here is the first look of the film which is trying hard to project Tushar Kapoor as the new Dude in the town.
The film is written and directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK and produced by Balaji Telefilms’ ALT Entertainment. It stars Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Radhika Apte and Preeti Desai.
And here is the official synopsis….
When the noise is deafening, can you really hear yourself ? That is the underlying thought that runs through this gritty, grounded film that revolves around three loosely interconnected stories set in the midst of the noise and grime of Mumbai during the Ganpati festival.
Abhay, an outsider, is forced to come to terms with the fact that he is alone in an unwelcoming city, which he thought was home. Living in a comfortable shell, he soon discovers that he might not be different from the thousands that mill around the city.
Tilak, an honest bootlegger, who pulls scams with his unruly buddies, chances upon a rare loot on a local train, which opens up new, dangerous avenues for them. He is pulled into the unlikely adventure of findings an empty place in the overpopulated city where they can blast a bomb….. For kicks!
Young Sawan has one goal, and more importantly, the only option – to get into the Mumbai Junior Cricket team. In a city where corruption is a way of life, the goal comes at a price1 he needs to find the money first.
In the overcrowded urban landscape that forms the backdrop of this film, the right and wrong are blurred, giving way to the more basic need to survive and succeed. As the characters come to grips with the noise – from within and outside – you realize that in this city, which runs on its own ad hoc rules, you don’t need an excuse to be good or bad; especially bad!
Click on the play button to check out the trailer of the film. It was cut during the MIAAC Fest. They might release a new trailer now.
Abhay Kumar – the name sounds familiar. Little bit of searching and i realised that it’s the same Abhay whose short Udaan was in the news when Dibakar Bannerjee’s LSD released. His short was suspiciously similar to one of the stories in LSD and we wrote about it earlier here.
Abhay is ready with his new film and it’s titled Just That Sort Of A Day. Well, when i first heard the title, it felt like just that sort of a title that doesn’t say anything. No emotions attached, no nothing attached. And then i read the official synopsis…
.. Just that sort of a day is a 14 minute short film which follows seemingly random characters as they go about their day to day activities, watching the dense cloud of nothingness which surrounds their lives…
Aha, nothingness again!
And the IMDB synopsis tells you little more or just say, little more about the objects in the film…to quote…
Peeps into the lives of random characters, with their doubts, quirks and misgivings. As these characters hang in a timeless space- they gaze at the universe through letters, galaxies, parapets, and fishbowls
Finally saw the film and it was love at first sight. Quickly wanted to watch it again because it’s just BRILLIANT.
No actors, no names, random characters, all moving around in that very familiar atmosphere with those very familiar emotions. Difficult to put a finger where exactly you connect with them and start flowing with their emotions because it moves fast and jumps from one character to another. Add to that, some biutiful images and you are easily lost in that maze called life.
Made over a period of 9 months and shot on a handycam with zero budget, the film is a Must-Watch for those who have been cribbing about the death of new ideas. Without explaining much, will just say that it also works as mixed art form installation, and i was grinning from ear to ear while watching it. Pure joy!
The film premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, is also in competition at the IFFLA and has now been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival.Watch it, whenever you can.
For a moment, we felt that one star is missing in the title and it’s A** Is Killed. But naah, Himesbhai is just a *.
According to TaranBhai’s report, “Himesh was selected by the makers as they felt he suited the part of Sidharth Patel, who is supposed to be an Indian musician absolutely mesmerized by a superstar who is killed under mysterious circumstances. How the truth behind the superstar’s murder unfolds forms the crux of the story.”
And HimeshBhai also claims that “I am the only Indian actor in the film.”
( PS – We need LOL tags soon. For this post, will use the Bolly jokes tag. )
Well, he can shout out Meri Marzi! Fair enough. But do watch the videos in this post. The first one is a trailer of his new film Memories in March. The film is directed by Sanjay Nag and stars Rituparno Ghosh, Deepti Naval and Raima Sen.
To quote from the official release, “Written by Rituparno, Memories in March unspools the story of a bereaved mother who comes to Kolkata to collect her son’s ashes. She is Arati Mishra, an art curator who lives in Delhi. Through his friends and colleagues, she discovers that they knew him in ways different from the way she knew him as his mother.”
Seems like Memories In March is Hazar Chaurasia Ki Maa, just replace Naxalism with sexuality. But from the trailer it feels like Rituparno Ghosh might have killed the film with his acting. Because he is just playing himself.
A filmmaker who knows how to explore that intimate space in a relationship so bloody well, and someone who has done it so many times, why this acting keeda suddenly ? Mr Ghosh, you can do better.
The second clip is from another bengali film titled Just Another Love Story (Arekti Premer Galpo). Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, it’s about a filmmaker Abhiroop Sen (played by Ghosh) who makes a documentary about Chapal Bhaduri, the legendary jatra (Bengali folk theatre) actor who spent his entire career playing female roles on stage, primarily as Goddess Shitala. Thus begins a journey where director and subject learn from one another – on the one hand is Bhaduri (playing himself) who was a closeted gay for fear of social ostracism but was openly accepted as a cross-dressing actor, and on the other is the modern urban filmmaker who is open about his sexuality but is still negotiating his gender identity.
The film stars Rituparno Ghosh, Raima Sen, Jishu Sengupta, Indraneil Sengupta and Chapal Bhaduri.
And click here to read Variety’s review of the film and more about Ghosh’s acting debut.
We haven’t seen either of the films and may be it’s completely wrong to judge his acting just on the basis on the trailers. But then, if the reverse is true, we will write the apology post in big and bold font too.
Patang – The debut feature of Prashant Bhargava will have its North American premiere at the 10th Tribeca Film Festival. It will be shown in the World Narrative Feature Competition and will compete with 11 other films for the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best New Narrative Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
The film was also shown at this year’s Berlin Film Festival in the International Forum of New Cinema. It stars Seema Biswas, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sugandha Garg and Aakash Mahayera, and has been shot by Shanker Raman.
Click on the play button to check out its goregous preview trailer…
To quote from Tribeca’s official release..
A family saga set against the colorful spectacle of the Uttarayan, India’s largest kite festival, The Kite is a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of energy, romance, and turmoil. A businessman arrives in Ahmedabad for a surprise visit to his once grand family home, bringing with him his daughter and some unexpected news for the family’s future. Amongst the flurry of preparations and the energy of the festival itself, the transformative and intersecting tales of six characters unfold.
To know more about the film, click here. To read more about the other films selected for Tribeca Fest, click here.
You can also watch Prashant Bhargava’s short film Sangam at www.mubi.com. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
Once upon a time there was a filmmaker called Nikhil Advani who directed Kal Ho Na Ho. And the rest, as they say, is all history. Salaam-e-Ishq, Chandni Chowk To China, Patiala House. And looking at his history, some say KHNH wasn’t that Advani but might have been that Johar. If that wasn’t enough, he has signed Akshay Kumar for one more film. And somewhere in between is the Delhi Safari.
It’s a 100 minute 3D animation feature which involves 7 main characters voiced by Govinda, Akshay Khanna, Urmila Matondkar, Boman Irani and Prem Chopra. And here’s a trailer of the film..
And if you are still curious about the film without thinking much about Rango, Rio or Kung Fu Panda2, here’s the synopsis of the film…
The animals of the national park in Bombay welcome a bright sunny morning, birds singing, animals running, Sultan the leopard and his young cub Yuvi, playing by the lakeside. The jungle has an air of joy and peace. Until, a distant thunder breaks the silence and a closer look reveals the jungle being raided by man and machine, destroying everything in its path. Sultan tries to fight a futile battle and ends up losing his life. A sign announcing a proposed apartment complex is hammered into the ground where Sultan has fallen.
That night, a group of frightened animals gather to discuss their fate. Yuvi, Sultan’s cub, tries to reason with the elders, urging them not to give up their homes. Asking them to do what his father would have wanted. The hot headed military monkey, Bajrangi, wants to declare a full scale war, but the anger management Guru, Bagga the bear, has a more civilized suggestions. He believes that all problems could be sorted out through peaceful discussions. Saying the best way to get back their homes is to have a dialogue with the humans and win their hearts. The only problem being that animals can’t speak to humans. Then, Air India, a pigeon with short term memory loss, remembers meeting a parrot who spoke human.
With hope in their hearts, Yuvi, Bajrangi, and Bagga set out and ultimately find Alex, the talking parrot, in his luxurious golden cage. However, their hope turns to despair as Alex is not interested in helping the barbaric animals with their cause, since this would mean leaving his life of luxury. Also Alex is sure that such issues would need to be addressed in the parliament at Delhi.
The motley crew manage to coerce Alex to join them and they begin their journey across the mountains and rivers of India, hitching rides in trains and trucks, to take their petition to the leader of the humans in Delhi. Along the way they discover that not only are their homes in jeopardy, but the homes and lives of thousands of other animals on the way. Their exciting journey becomes one where enemies become friends and an unlikely family comes together to fight for what rightfully belongs to them – A HOME.
Tip – Jhandubaba Chinchin
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is back after the debacle of Delhi – 6. But this time as a producer.
Teen Thai Bhai is produced by PVR Pictures and ROM. It stars Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade and Deepal Dobriyal. The film is directed by debutant Mrigdeep Singh Lamba. Lyrics are by Gulzar and music is Ranjit Barot and Sukhwinder Singh.
The film was earlier titled Mad, Madder, Maddest. The cast is interesting for sure but seems like the film is going to be slapstick.
Vikram Bhat goes 3D with Stereophonic sound, and Mimoh Chakraborty is Mahakshay. And it seems Mimoh, oops Mahakshay’s voice is dubbed by Vikram Bhatt.
Remember Sagar Bellary? Bheja Fry ? Dinner Game ? His next film Kaccha Limboo has been ready for quite sometime. And now it’s finally releasing.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 