Posts tagged film city

Truck runs over Akshay Kumar’s foot; rushed to hospital

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3 days ago
by Fenil Seta in

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 22, 2013)

 

Last evening, while shooting an action scene for Thupakki, Akshay Kumar was injured when a truck ran over his right foot. He was immediately rushed to a Versova hospital.

A source on the set told Mirror: “The accident took place at Film City where an action scene with a speeding truck was being shot. During the course of the stunt, the driver missed the timing. Akshay tried to get away from the collision course, but a part of the wheel ran over his toes.” Akshay was immediately taken to the nearest hospital. His wife, Twinkle rushed in as well.

Luckily for Akki, it proved to be just a close call. According to the doctors who attended him, he was administered first aid, and after tests ruled out a fracture, he was discharged.

SLB can’t afford to take rest despite ill & being on liquid diet

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5 days ago
by Fenil Seta in

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 20, 2013)

 

While the ongoing heat wave is plaguing the country, looks like Sanjay Leela Bhansali has fallen prey to the extreme weather.

Sources say that while shooting in Film City for Ram Leela, the director was taken ill and is now recuperating and has been kept on a liquid diet. A doctor is also on call to rush to the venue if SLB’s health takes a turn for the worse.

A source from the sets says, “The director is quite a taskmaster himself and does not want to waste any dates due to his illness. He has agreed to go on a liquid diet and wants to get back to top shape soon. It is a tight schedule as the team is shooting for a massive song sequence. Since SLB’s presence is required on the sets, a doctor is on stand-by in case he needs medical assistance.”

A unit hand says, “Sanjay sir is very particular about time. He is not taking a single break even when he is really unwell. Since the makers are looking forward to release the film in November, he wants to finish the shooting in time.” Sources say that the doctors have advised the filmmaker to take complete rest. There was recent buzz that the lead actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh too were struggling to manage their dates to complete the film in time for its release.

Sidharth-Parineeti’s Hasee Toh Phasee inspired from Aaina?

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3 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; April 30, 2013)

 

Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap’s upcoming romantic triangle film — starring Sidharth Malhotra, Parineeti Chopra and Adah Sharma — seems to be loosely based on the Yash Chopra produced and Deepak Sareen directed Aaina (1993). Parineeti essays Juhi Chawla’s role and Adah plays Amrita Singh while Sidharth Malhotra plays the role of Jackie Shroff.

A source says, “Sidharth is currently shooting for it at Film City. The entire film will be set and shot in Mumbai. Sidharth, a Johar protégé will be playing the protagonist in the film. His role is written such that it will highlight his strong points. The story deals with Adah Sharma and Sidharth playing a couple who have been in love for over eight years and than Adah’s younger sister Parineeti comes in and Sidharth falls in love with her which incidentally was also the premise of Aaina.” The source furthers adds, “Sidharth’s name in the film will be Nikhil Bharadwaj. He plays a Punjabi boy from Delhi, a middle- class boy who loves his parents and always wants to see everyone happy. Sidharth wants reach the top and is very competitive. So that he gets well into character he has asked everyone on set to call him Nikhil. He behaves as his character would all day on set. He is putting in a lot of hard work to prove that he has the talent to get him to the top.”

Vikas Behl of Phantom who is co-producing the film with KJo did not revert to our SMS.

Indra Kumar reshoots the climax of Grand Masti; makes it funny enough

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; April 18, 2013)

 

Indra Kumar has begun reshooting the climax of his upcoming comic caper Grand Masti. After it was shot late last year, he as well as producer Ashok Thakeria felt it was not funny enough.

They reworked on the script, as they were keen to raise the laughter quotient.

The film, which features the original actors of the first part — Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi and Aftab Shivdasani — had a long shoot schedule in Vadodara in October.

Says a source, “The reshoot is happening at Film City. With Riteish and Vivek busy with their small screen outings and other commitments, fresh dates had to be sought for the shoot. They have worked out a madcap laughathon for the climax scenes.”

Adds the source, “One song also needs to be shot with the actors which will be filmed immediately after the climax scenes.” Initially, the makers had planned an April release but due to the reshoot, the film was pushed back. The Kumar-Thakeria duo also got busy with their other film Super Nani starring Rekha and Sharman Joshi, which further delayed the shoot as reported ‘Shunted out’ (Hitlist, March 25).

The source further adds, “With the schedule of their Rekha-starrer done, they are now concentrating on the sequel.”

Check out Ranbir shooting for Besharam in Film City’s ‘Delhi’

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4 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

We caught the actor sporting a stubble and dressed in street-smart gear on the sets of Abhinav Kashyap’s next

MUMBAI MIRROR (January 25, 2013)

 

Ranbir Kapoor has often said that he longs to essay a kind of role that has people dancing in the isles and greeting him with catcalls. Perhaps which is why he signed up for Abhinav Kashyap’s Besharm, which according to reports, is about a street-smart guy, who is ready to take on the rough and tumble of a life ‘on the run from the law’ with style. Gives you a sense of déjà vu? Well, given that Dabangg was his baby, one can expect Kashyap to bring a certain kitsch-coolth to his next as well. Something that endears his characters to the masses and does not turn off the classes either. When Mirror lensman Raju Shelar trained his eyes on Ranbir in Film City the other day, he caught the actor dressed in the kind of gear that anyone who has walked the skinny alleys of Delhi would be familiar with.

The set too was reminiscent of the capital where wide roads wind off to gutters and swank cars make way for two-wheelers. There was also a life-like Delhi Metro site recreated for the audiences.

Besharm also stars Ranbir’s parents Neetu and Rishi, who incidentally plays a Hariyanvi cop, while newcomer Pallavi Sharda plays the female lead.

Why not first-of-its-kind daayan film in India?-Vishal Bhardwaj

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4 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Ekta Kapoor and Vishal Bhardwaj talk about their supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan

BOMBAY TIMES (January 16, 2013)

 

Supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan, starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kalki Koechlin and Huma Qureshi, has been inspired by a short story written by Mukul Sharma (Konkona’s father). When Mukul narrated the story to Vishal Bhardwaj, he envisaged a movie script. And when Ekta heard it, she agreed, almost immediately, to produce the film along with Vishal.

The film has been directed by debutant Kannan Iyer. Ekta says, “Indians love folklore, but there has been no recent film on the subject. Surreal, intriguing and enigmatic folklore enjoys a strong mass connect. If America’s obsession with vampires can give rise to a series of vampire flicks, why not a first-of-its-kind daayan (witch) film in India? Dark, diabolical women fascinate us…”

Says Vishal, “Our film is laced with horror, romance and music. It is fascinating to choose a subject that taps into the unknown.”

Keeping with the ‘spirit’ of the film, the media will be taken in a bus from the gates of Film City (Mumbai) to inside the studios, where surprises have been planned for the launch of the film. Interestingly, the media invite reads ‘Bus to hell’.

What remains to be seen is which of the leading ladies will be the ruthless daayan in Bobo’s (Hashmi) life. Or, is there a secret fourth that we don’t know about?

Ek Thi Daayan, presented by Balaji Motion Pictures and produced by Vishal More >

If I am honest, I will win-Subhash Ghai

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4 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 6, 2013)

 

Subhash Ghai, 67, is a self made man who continues to dream big inspite of his many struggles. His film institute ‘Whistling Woods’ has put him probably through his toughest test both financially and personally. He talks to Bombay Times about what led him to this and how he will fight it to the last to restore his pride and achieve his passion. Excerpts:

What are the facts behind your acquiring your film institute ‘Whistling Woods’? I thought of opening a platform for film aspirants in Mumbai in 1992 when I had a earned a good amount of money. I know that when you achieve anything in life either you turn power hungry or you want to share with every one. I chose the latter and decided to initially build a film library for the industry as I had seen film aspirants and strugglers roam the streets to search for information and connect to Bollywood but in vain. I approached then CM Sudhakar Naik in the government. My application in 1992 went from Congress to the BJP-Shiv Sena in 1996 and finally back to the Congress in 2000. Balasaheb Thackeray also encouraged me. Mukta Arts went public in 2000 when I told my investors that we should focus on human capital too and open a film school as the industry was growing and did not have a talent pool to support it. Soon after, I started negotiating a space in Panvel and announced the same. That time MD of Film City Govind Swaroop called me and asked me why I was opening in Panvel and not in More >

Can’t make workers toil for over 12 hours-Ekta Kapoor

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5 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Technicians stall Ekta Kapoor’s shoot, threaten to raid TV and film sets flouting the rule

Soumyadipta Banerjee (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 25, 2012)

 

There was high drama on the sets of Ekta Kapoor’s Ek Thi Daayan at Film City, Goregaon last Saturday as an arm of the Technical Workers’ Association stormed inside, alleging its members are being ‘overworked’.

The protesters stalled the shooting and managed to wrest an assurance out of the producers that technicians will not be made to work for even a minute more than the mandatory 12-hour shift.

Turns out, the incident is only the first casualty of the latest decision taken by the Technical Workers Association – to halt any film or television shoot, where technicians are made to work for more than 12 hours at a stretch. Acting on member complaints that have been pouring in for the past month, the body has threatened to launch surprise raids on film and television sets to stop its members from being overworked.

Dharmesh Tiwari, President of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) confirmed the development and said, “We will be raiding the sets where our members are being made to work for more than 12 hours. Every shift is supposed to be of eight-and-a-half hours duration and can be extended up to 12 hours. But under no circumstances can the shift be extended beyond that.”

Apparently, the association has received scores of complaints from its members that their shifts are being stretched beyond the stipulated 12 More >

People’s Choice Awards in India… finally!

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6 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra express their views about the celebrated event

MID-DAY (November 3, 2012)

 

The 1st Annual People’s Choice Awards in India was held over the past weekend on Saturday 27th October 2012 at Reliance Mediaworks Studios, Film City. The awards gala that has been conducted in the US for the past 39 years has arrived for the first time outside its home country to India.

The awards evening was power- packed with celebrities across Bollywood, TV, music and sports present at the event. Speaking to the media on the red carpet, Priyanka Chopra said, “We have been seeing the US version of People’s Choice Awards for many years. And I am glad that the awards have come to India. These are for the people, by the people and about the people. It’s the people who vote, who decide who gets the awards, and who vote for the categories. So, it will be really great. It’s the first award of the season. It’s very cool. I am very excited to see who all are going to win.” Ranbir Kapoor was also at the do and said, “This is actually the first People’s Choice Awards in India. It’s really exciting. I have actually followed this format, which happens in America and it’s a really cool format… with cool nominations. I really don’t know which category I am nominated in or I am getting an award or not.” However, the Kapoor scion was nominated at the awards for the Favorite Youth Icon category.

Bulldog Media & Entertainment has licensed the People’s Choice Awards format for India More >

Finding an actress to be Mary is difficult-Sanjay Leela Bhansali

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8 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

While Sanjay Leela Bhansali and debutant director Omang Kumar are a little worried about the casting, Kom herself is least perturbed

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 29, 2012)

 

The women in his films so far have been strong-willed (Rani Mukerji as the vision and speech impaired girl in Black), selfless (Madhuri Dixit as Chadramukhi in Devdas) and hardworking (Aishwarya Rai as Sofia in Guzaarish). But Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest muse, boxing champion Mary Kom is different from all of them. And thus, when the filmmaker meets the woman he wants to make a biopic on, it makes us curious about the unlikely turn of events. But dressed in a yellow kurta and smiling ear-to-ear, Bhansali looks prepared to take the plunge.

It is late noon when Mary arrives at Film City. Bhansali is heard saying, “She is such a lovely girl,” reaffirming his determination to make a biopic on the Olympic winner. We learn that Omung Kumar, the art director of Black and Saawariya, has long decided that his debut directorial will only be on Mary Kom. He even approached a few filmmakers before Bhansali decided to produce the venture.

Mary’s story moved Bhansali. From the remote corners of northeast India, her struggle to overcome the odds and win five world championships and one Olympic medal, strikes a chord with Bhansali. “Here’s a person so warm, so motivated, so inspiring. Her story needs to be told to the world. She is India’s pride,” says Bhansali.

Meanwhile, his 29-year-old subject remains More >

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