Posts Tagged ‘trailer’

Amole Gupte, the writer and creative director of Taare Zameen Par, is ready with his directorial debut titled Stanley Ka Dabba. The film is distributed by Fox Star India. Amole has not only written and directed it but has also composed one of the songs, written the lyrics and has acted in it. It also stars Divya Dutta and Divya Jagdale.

Here’s the first trailer of the film…

And here’s the official synopsis..

Imagine this boy in your mind’s eye. He arrives in school much before any of his classmates to drum away his blues on empty benches. He stuffs himself with water instead of the nutritious food that his schoolmates relish during the lunch break. He covers up for his lack of social rank with the finesse of the most seasoned diplomat. Who is this child? What is he like? Why is he anything like he is? Wouldn’t you like to know? Meet Stanley, the protagonist of the much awaited ‘Stanley Ka Dabba

‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ is the latest offering from the insightful writer-director, Amole Gupte that throws light on the everyday life of a school going child. The character, Stanley, tugs at your heartstrings with his indomitable spirit, while warding off the hostile world he is surrounded by at all times, everywhere. The film reveals how this is child-soldier, rises above his choking real life situation on the way setting a template for all whiners to learn from, even emulate.

Like most others his ilk, Stanley loves to be amongst friends and win the appreciation of his peers and colleagues. He uses his sparkling wit and innocent wisdom to impress everyone he touches. At times spinning-a-yarn amongst friends about his mother’s flight, while on occasion conjuring some heartfelt poetry to impress the lovely English teacher, Rosy Miss (Divya Dutta). There are though teachers like the pungent Science Madam, Ms Iyer (Divya Jagdale) whose rigid beliefs smother Stanley’s innovative science experiment with all the contempt at her disposal. Then there is the gluttonous Hindi master, Verma Sir (Amole Gupte) who emerges as the catalyst in helping the boys bond for Stanley’s dignity and rightful place in the school.

The camaraderie between the boys comes to the fore when they thwart Verma Sir’s desperate attempts to polish off their dabbas with all the guile at their disposal. The gang makes the ‘invincible’ Verma show his true vulnerable self for once as he marches from one possible hideout to another in the school premises trying to binge upon their home made food.

Stanley, the little protagonist of Amole Gupte’s, latest film ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ shows how, like the proverbial lotus, can one rise above all the filth around and make the world a better, beautiful place to live in.

The way he goes about bringing cheer to his colleagues and his little friends is what makes him the Stanley we all need to be in today’s day and age. Wise and sensitive, loving and mischievous: living every moment as if there is no tomorrow.

Dear Amole, open the Dabba soon! Can’t wait. All the best.

( PS – Geetanjali Rao has done the opening credits for the film )

( PPS – According to Vishal Bhardwaj, if that was Taare Zameen Par, this one is Chand Zameen Par)

Click here to know more about the film.

The first trailer of Onir’s I Am is out. It stars Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koirala, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Sanjay Suri, Purab Kohli, Abhimanyu Singh, Arjun Mathur, Shernaz Patel, Radhika Apte, Anurag Basu and Anurag Kashyap.

To quote from the official release, I AM is about people with fractured lives held together by unbroken dreams.

Click on the play button to watch the trailer..

And here is the official synopsis…

I AM is about issues and dilemmas that bruise the modern Indian society. Unraveling and exploring these tribulations, the film unfolds many a tale of individuals struggling to find their identity, and uphold their dignity in a world that is callous, cold and unsympathetic.
Shot in four different cities across India, I AM is a fusion of stories where the protagonists share a common dream – a desire to regain their lives, to regain an identity which has been taken away from them.

I AM AFIA is the story of a single woman who feels her identity will be made whole through the singularly feminine experience of motherhood. Unable to trust or even wait for a man, she is frustrated by a society that demands a “husband” to have a child. Thus her search is defined – does motherhood necessarily require the burden of a man?

I AM MEGHA is a story of two friends – a Kashmiri Pandit woman and a Muslim woman – separated by conflict.  Against the backdrop of the ethnic cleansing in Kashmir in early 90’s, this story tells of loss of home and identity. If your own home rejects you, where do you go and where are you “from”?

I AM ABHIMANYU is the story of a broken man, with a proud mask. Abhimanyu is trapped by the demons of his past, a past of sexual abuse. To move forward he must first go back, into a world where hi childhood was stolen from him.

I AM OMAR is a horrific tale of sexual discrimination; blackmail and prejudice is part of the torrid fabric. It reveals how the police use Article 377 (law under Indian Penal code which criminalizes homosexuality) to harass and blackmail gay men. In the current climate of media sensationalism, perhaps this story gains even more poignancy.

And having seen the film, we definitely recco this one. Our favourites – Afia and Megha. You don’t need a Lamhaa to know the Kashmir story, you can do it in a much simpler and better way, and without all the dhoom-dhaam-dhadaap. Megha proves that.

Afia is a story about unique friendship between two strangers. Nandita Das and Purab Kohli bring  such a natural charm to it, and bet you never knew that Anurag Basu can act too. Do watch.

Click here to know more about the film.

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.

Congrats Abhay. Way to go!
Click here to go to its Facebook Group.

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

The first look of Rohan Sippy’s new film Dum Maaro Dum is out. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Rana Daggubati. Prateik is credited as Special Appearance in the teaser. It’s written by Shridhar Raghavan, shot by Amit Roy and has Pritam’s Music. Check it out.

And here is the official synopsis….

Goa. Paradise on Earth. But every Paradise has a few snakes.

Multiple lives collide brutally one day at Goa Airport… and change forever.

Prateik Babbar: Lorry
A student on the verge of following his girlfriend to a US University. But when his scholarship gets rejected, his life threatens to spiral out of control, until he meets a smooth talking hustler who promises to get it back on track. For a small price. His soul.

Abhishek Bachchan: ACP Vishnu Kamath
A self destructive cop fleeing his own past, Kamath is given the job of destroying the brutal local and international drug mafia in Goa. As he begins his ruthless, relentless campaign and takes on the murky drug world… he discovers nothing is what it seems.

Rana Daggubati: DJ Joki
A local musician and mute spectator to what is happening around him, Joki drifts aimlessly through life after an encounter with the drug mafia cost him everything he held dear. Today he discovers history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. Will he finally have the guts to take a stand?

Bipasha Basu: Zoe
An aspiring airhostess who saw her dreams turn to dust, Zoey in a way represents Goa itself. A child of the hippy generation, a mix of local and foreign culture, innocence and beauty have gradually been replaced by cynicism and abuse.

Aditya Pancholi: Lorsa Biscuta aka the Biscuit
A ruthless local businessman, the Biscuit has his finger in every Goan pie, legal or illegal. The point person between all the various Mafias operating in Goa, the Biscuit finds himself pushed to the extreme limit with Kamath’s arrival. But he knows who to turn to:

A mysterious shadow
The ultimate drug kingpin. Many names, many identities but no one knows who he is….

We hurtle into the bylanes, beach shacks and raves of Goa with Lorry as his life spirals out of control, with Joki as he tries to redeem the past and with Kamath as he goes no-holds-barred after the mysterious shadow figure behind it all…

Punctuated with a soundtrack that moves from pulsating dance tracks to haunting Konkani songs, shot right in the midst of the teeming international tourist hotspots, Dum Maaro Dum takes you on a dramatic, thrilling trip filled with twists, turns, suspense… and a shocking finale!

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.