by मोहित कटारिया
(Mohit Kataria is an IT engineer by profession, writer & poet by passion, and a Gulzar fan by heart. He is based in Bangalore and can be reached at [kataria dot mohit at gmail dot com] or @hitm0 on twitter)
बात धनक की
Posted: July 5, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Movie Recco, movie reviews, reviewsTags: Dhanak, Mohit Kataria, Nagesh Kukunoor, review
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VOTD : Q & A with Abhishek Chaubey & Sudip Sharma on Udta Punjab
Posted: June 28, 2016 by moifightclub in Q & A, video, VOTDTags: Abhishek Chaubey, Q & A, Sudip Sharma, Udta Punjab, VOTD
Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab has been topic of much discussion, both pre and post-release. Navjot Gulati and Mihir Desai got the director-writer duo to talk about the film in a post-screening session.
Do watch.
MAMI Film Club Is Open For Registration. Will Premiere Q’s Brahman Naman
Posted: June 21, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, NewsTags: Brahman Naman, Film club, MAMI, Mumbai Film festival, Q
Some exciting news for film buffs. Mumbai Academy Of Moving Image (MAMI) which runs the Mumbai Film Festival, has now opened a Film Club. And here’s the best part – the registration is absolutely free. Not only that, the film club membership will also give you 10% discount on the MAMI registration fees. So do it now! Click here to go to registration page.
The club launched with the Ian McKellen Masterclass. Now, it’s going to have another exciting event on Monday, 27th June – the premiere of Q’s latest film Brahman Naman. Written by Naman Ramachandran and co-produced by Celine Loop and Steve Barron, the film will be available globally starting 7 th July 2016 as a Netflix original film.
Brahman Naman stars Shashank Arora as the lead character with Tanmay Dhanania and Chaitanya Varad as his sidekicks. The cast also includes Vaiswath Shankar, Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy and Sid Mallya. Well-regarded internationally as one of India’s most vital and provocative indie filmmakers, Q’s latest cinematic cocktail is a nerdy sex comedy.
The screening will be followed by a Q and A with Q. Don’t miss it.
The pic attached tells you what you need to do to attend the screening.
When Bombay High Court Gave A Hulk-Smash To CBFC/Pahlaj Nihalani
Posted: June 10, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, NewsTags: CBFC, Justice S C Dharmadhikari, Pahlaj Nihalani, Udta Punjab
The issue of Udta Punjab’s censorship came up for hearing in Bombay High Court today. A bench headed by Justice S C Dharmadhikari was hearing a petition filed by Phantom Films. What happened next is popularly known as Hulk-smash. Check out the tweets.
HC indicates that it will set aside 12 cuts and will allow Udta Punjab to release with just 1 cut. The order will be pronounced on Monday, June 12th.
But going by the tweets, let’s just say #JaiJusticeDharmadhikari
Anurag Kashyap On Pahlaj Nihalani’s Allegation & Blatant Lies Of Paid Trolls
Posted: June 8, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, NewsTags: anurag kashyap, Pahlaj Nihalani, Udta Punjab
So after taking a hard stand with censorship, the trolls are out there creating diversion from the issue with blatant lies and accusations. Since I can not put up this post on Twitter, am writing it here.
I have had run ins with censor many times. First was Paanch which everyone still believes was banned by censors. The truth is the film was cleared by revising committee after a few cuts and two disclaimers, and the same version , the cleared one is available on the net.
Black Friday was cleared uncut by censors but were blocked by the court as the case was under trial. Finally Justice Sabharwal cleared the film for exhibition in two years from when it was blocked even before the verdict was out. A lot of film stayed intact except some references to Shiv Sena that were cut out under pressure.
Gulaal was never caught up in any censor issue, the film had few references muted in one dialogue. It was stuck in production. Most of the lists the trolls are floating on the net of a million cuts on every film are lists of cuts made for TV of the adult films.
Ugly was never stuck with censor board, it was cleared. We decided to push the film to fight the health ministry on anti-smoking logo. It was our decision to fight the then government and we lost the case, in Court. Film came out intact.
Water was not allowed to shoot at all and that was not during the UPA government, and that’s when first time I met Mr. Jaitley and was an admirer of his since. But in all the battles, I never felt that I was being silenced or blackmailed into doing something against my will. All those battles were a fair fight of belief systems, all those fights were not being lost, not knowing what’s going on. All those battles we knew who and what the enemy was, be it a person, a thought or just the understanding of the board.
This one is different. This was blackmail, this has been a wall of lies. We got the official letter in a day after going to press and immediately after the first hearing of the court. We have a signed acknowledgement from Mr. Nihalani’s office dated yesterday 7 th June, which requests him to give us the official copy. So him saying he gave the letter on Monday is a lie and proof of all his lies. Him pressurising us to delay release, and accepting cuts is and was a thought through strategy. His accusing me of taking money from AAP is not just a lie, is a diversion from the real issue to make the fight for a filmmaker’s right into a political battle. And in this he is being helped by all the trolls to make sure that the real issue somewhere is lost in the political blame game.
So I request to not get involved in any rumour mongering and let us stick to the real honest issue of freedom of expression, and free thought, and, our rights as film makers versus the censorship. No, I am not a member of AAP or Congress, nor do I associate with any other political party. I have made more films without a fees than anyone else and I don’t take money that is not earned from anyone. Thank you.
– Anurag Kashyap
POTD : Pahlaj Nihalani – The Celluloid Butcher
Posted: June 8, 2016 by moifightclub in POTDTags: Pahlaj Nihalani, POTD
Felt this was the best photographic tribute I could pay to our erudite censor in chief. I fully understand why the entire film community couldn’t take a stronger public stand against the mindless SANSKARI cuts, fearful of further massacre/ wrath, being unleashed on their hapless underproduction films. Read the entire story on the censorship debate in this week’s India Today magazine.
– Rohit Chawla, Group Visual Director at India Today
(shared on his FB wall)
Leela Samson (Ex-CBFC Chairperson) On The Udta Punjab Controversy
Posted: June 8, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, NewsTags: CBFC, Leela Samson, Udta Punjab
Leela Samson, the ex-chairperson of Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) wrote this post on her Facebook. And it’s going viral, for all the right reasons. We thought that it’s important for more people to read it. So we are sharing it here.
Udta Punjab – a film made by some of the country’s boldest and finest industrywalas! Yet another film and its slaughter at the hands of the CBFC – that is made into a national news item and flogged to death with opinions intended to fan more debate and endless hours of controversy. Have we not had enough? Enough opportunity to talk to each other, to debate the issues of certification and its down-face – censorship.
There are 3 parties involved. That’s already one too many. It should be just the industry and what should be an empathetic CBFC board. The board exists because cinema exists and is a critics art form, a creative platform for debate on the life we live.
But who appoints the Board? The members of the Viewing and Reviewing committees? The Ministry.
Who dictates which officials will be placed in Mumbai? The Ministry.
Who makes policy? The Ministry.
Who runs the Film Festivals? The Ministry.
Who sets up an Enquiry committee as was just done? The Ministry.
The point Anurag, is that the industry ought to know by now that this act of certification should be transferred to an internal body within the industry. Self regulation is the only regulation that should exist! This goes for every individual as well. Those who do not like it, should not see it.
Turn the switch off for heavens sake!
Art is not compulsory.
Get together.
Fight for it. It’s the good fight.
Everything else, boards, committees – they are a sham!
This is dhool in our eyes. Kuch nahin hoga.
I know you won’t see this Anurag, as we are not Facebook friends.
Thithi’s Limited Release Expands To Four More Cities This Friday
Posted: June 2, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Indie, Kannada, NewsTags: News, Raam Reddy, release, Thithi
Raam Reddy’s much acclaimed debut feature, Thithi had its initial run in Bengaluru and few more cities in Karnataka. And this friday (3rd June, 2016), the film expands to four more cities – Mumbai, Delhi/NCR, Pune and Chennai. The film will play with English subtitles.
The film bagged the National Award for Best Film in Kannada this year. Last year, it also won two Golden Leopards at the Locarno Film Festival.
According to official release, Thithi is a realistic, light-hearted Kannada-language film about how three generations of sons react to the death of their patriarch, Century Gowda: a locally renowned, highly cranky 101-year-old man.
If you haven’t seen its trailer yet, click here.
Don’t miss this one!
Theatre listings and show timings in the pic enclosed.
Call For Entries : NFDC Film Bazaar’s Co-Production Market, 2016
Posted: June 2, 2016 by moifightclub in Call For EntriesTags: Call For Entries, Co-production Market, Film Bazaar, NFDC
NFDC Film Bazaar 2016 officially announces Call for Entries for the 10th Co-Production Market from filmmakers with compelling South Asian stories seeking co-production, financial and artistic support.
Date : The applications will be accepted from May 23 until July 11, and with late fee until July 25, 2016. The final selection would be announced in September 2016.
The Co-production Market, which is one of the main segments of the NFDC Film Bazaar, is held between 20 – 24 November in Goa.
Selection : 20 remarkable South Asian stories will be selected this year. Projects get to pitch their film to the Indian and international film community that attends Film Bazaar with a focus on fiction features.
The pre-requisite of submission states that the project can be from any country dealing with a South Asian theme, must have a producer and director attached with 25% of the finance in place. In addition to the above the project must have scope for international co-production, distribution and sales.
Film Bazaar : Open Pitch, a unique platform, was created last year to increase the visibility of projects. During the Open Pitch, selected participants have a chance to present projects including mood books, trailers or any other visual reference.
Last year 384 meetings were scheduled for 19 projects over four days of the market. The duration of each meeting was 20 minutes. The CPM team provided individual support and set up meetings based on requests received from delegates and the availability of the two parties. (Pre-FB and during FB).
Nineteen projects were selected to participate in the Co-production Market 2015, including films such as Bombay Rose directed by Gitanjali Rao, Manto directed by Nandita Das, Agra directed by Kanu Behl, Pirates by directed Ritesh Raj More and produced by Ritesh Batra, A Goat’s Life directed by Fahad Mustafa (of Katiyabaaz fame),Newton directed by Amit V Masurkar (of Sulemani Keeda fame) and produced by Manish Mundra, Drishyam Films, Memories and My Mother (Bengali) directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta (Labour of Love fame)
Past success stories: A few notable films that were represented at the Co-Production Market over the years are Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, Aushim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s Deool and Highway, Mostofa Farooki’s Television.
Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher – Music Review
Posted: May 26, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, music, Music reviewTags: abbas ali khan, Coke Studio, ismail ka urdu sheher, ismail ka urdu sheher review, jaffar zaidi, Pakistan, samra khan, sara haider, scifi novel, zara madani, zoe viccaji, zohaib kazi
‘Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher’ is a Sci-fi comic by Zohaib Kazi. He has been associated with Pakistan’s Coke Studio for a long time. I have never come across a music album that is cut for a comic, so it was obvious that I was too keen to explore it. What I found next has taken the shape of the write up below.
Have you ever heard the sound of faith when it tells you that you can fly? That is exactly the feeling you get when you hear Sara Haider’s alaap in the intro song of the album. It is hardly 2 minutes but be rest assured these 2 minutes would make your spirits soar.
Samra Khan doesn’t get lost in the geek talk that introduces Wake up/Jaago. Partly in English, the song really didn’t affect me much singing wise. Of course the tracks of the album are meant largely to further the narrative, but I feel this composition would have been better without the Hindi/Urdu lyrics. Just the background radio would have been enough. In Awaaz/the last radiowave, Jaffer Zaidi and Samra khan try to merge with the sound and the effort is good in pieces. I did feel there was no need to ‘compose’ this into a song because just the music would have left a larger effect on the senses.
Black coffee starts with addictive keyboard notes that will play in your head long after the song is over. Sung by the solid Jaffar Zaidi, it has all the qualities of a ‘never-leaves-the-playlist’ song. Jaffar’s voice has a heavy vibe to it and this composition uses the same for good effect. The Santoor towards the end is smartly used! In the reprise version of this song, we hear Abbas Ali Khan teaming up with Sara Haider, and a bit more complex music arrangement at play. Sara is top class though she doesn’t get much to do in the song but like me, most probably you would also be indecisive to pick the favorite from the two versions. What competes with Jaffar’s rock solid singing is an overall celan rendition and that alaap from Khan towards the end of his version.
Orange sung by Samara Khan has all ingredients of a 90s pop song and with the help of good back up vocals, the song breezes through. I might not go back to the song again but it has a likable quality to it, the way we (90s kids) remember Ace of base today. In Mehr Jaan, you would hear Zoe Viccaji giving us one of those late night, ‘by-the-guitar’ songs that talk of longing, and make you miss your loved one who has left you with a song on your lips. Like always, Zoe is superb. Kinara makes you forget the sadness of Mehr Jaan. With Sara Haider teasing her way along with an equally tantalizing guitar by Omran Shafique, it’s very easy to fall in love with the song. A simple, melodic song that is a perfect fit for slow dances as well as a long drive.
Listen to Nida Khurram in Raat Bazaar when she goes ‘saadey libaas mein, sawan naraaz hai kyu?‘ and you would wish this track was longer than 2 minutes. A track that is arranged light, but decorated with words so rich, you would hit ‘repeat’ more number of times than you would be able to count.
In Death Of Mehr-Un-Nisa, you would be greeted with complex music for about a minute and then Sara Haider soars. You would be excused to think that this track would probably be floating in a lot of music with nothing memorable to hum, yet by the time it ends, you would be humming along with Sara…’Tu rooth ke na jaa, meri jaan‘. There is an element of finality in the song that of course resonates with the serious track name, still, a good song.
With tune largely similar to Mehrjaan, Mehr-Un-Nisa Falls in love is a bit more spaced out composition and thereby sounds more insightful. Of course, the solid vocals of Jaffar Zaidi make it impossible to not sink in the song. I absolutely loved the way the song is set. It’s like someone is sitting right next to you with a Piano, letting his fingers wander on the keys the way his life has moved over the years. The sense of calm in the song is reassuring and has an abstract feel to it.
Butterfly In Space is a bit too techno for my liking but it didn’t hurt hearing faint samples of Rahat Ali and Zara Madani. The flute is the winner in this track, more like a glue that keeps the central tune soothing. Not a bad track if you like fusion. Back up vocals are good too. On a related note, I would never understand why Zara Madani is not doing more international projects?
Overall a fantastic set of songs which you must surely check. Don’t let iTunes fool you into believing that the music was released in December 2015. The album was available to Indian iTunes from May 2016.
(Disclaimer – Zohaib shared these songs (not the comic) with me in December 2015. Why is this a disclaimer? I don’t know, we felt like we must tell you. 🙂
Written, Composed, Arranged & Produced by Zohaib Kazi
Recorded by Zohaib Kazi
You can hear the album here
Complete artist credits here
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 