Posts tagged New Delhi

Pran won’t be able to receive Dadasaheb Phalke award in person

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3 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

Soumyadipta Banerjee (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 2, 2013)

 

Veteran actor Pran will not be able to travel to New Delhi to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award due to ill health. And according to sources, the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) has decided that the award will be given to Pran in absentia.

“My father is not in a condition to travel to Delhi to receive the award. I have already informed them (DFF) about it,” said Pinky Bhalla, Pran’s daughter.

The DFF will form a special delegation team, which will come to Mumbai and present Pran with the award.

“They have told the family that they will play an audio-visual clip at the award ceremony and then give him the award at his home. It is rare that the award is delivered home. They might come and record an audio-visual clip to be played at the venue but they haven’t told us anything about it,” said the family source.

Meanwhile, Pinky informed that Pran is keeping better than what he was, about six months back.

“My father is keeping better. He is honoured to have received the award but he knows that he is not in a condition to travel the distance to receive the award,” Pinky said, passing on Pran’s message to Mumbai Mirror.

Actor in YRF’s TV show turns writer for Vikram Bhatt, Kunal Kohli

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4 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; April 25, 2013)

 

Actress Sukhmani Sadana who was seen playing the lead role in YRF’s TV show Khotey Sikkey has now turned writer. She is penning two films with Vikram Bhatt’s production house and one film with Kunal Kohli. From being a writer to an actress to modelling and now a film writer, Sukhmani seems to have done it all.

Born in a small-town in Punjab, she studied at Welham Girls School, Dehradun. She moved to New Delhi for higher studies before she came to Mumbai. She says, “Ultimately my love for media got me to Mumbai. I did a diploma from the Xavier Institute in Advertising and Marketing which changed my life. I became a script writer for several agencies and got a few random offers by clients to act in my own written advertisements.” But her passion for writing did not leave her. She says, “After writing a short film for Kunal Kohli, I was lucky to get an opportunity to write a feature film for him. Right now I am writing two extremely different genres — a romantic comedy for Kunal Kohli and two horror films for Vikram Bhatt.”

Mugdha replaces Neha as item girl in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns

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4 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; January 12, 2013)

 

Mughda Godse has stepped in instead of Neha Dhupia for the item number in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns. The actress will be shooting for it later this month in New Delhi. After her debut in Fashion, Mughda went on to do a couple of films like All The Best, Jail and Help but none of them exactly helped her make a mark in B- Town. The Pune girl had always stated that she was open to do item numbers and her wish seems to have been fulfilled.

Confirms producer Rahul Mittra, “We have finalised Mughda after Neha expressed her inability to do the item number. Mugdha is a good dancer and she will surely add to the oomph factor required for the song.” As reported ‘ No great shakes’ (Hitlist, January 10), Neha had opted out due to date issues.

The actress had been pencilled in for the shoot in August last year. But the shoot was delayed and now when the makers decided to film it, the shoot schedule was clashing with her other commitments.

Neha’s assignments include Rensil D’Silva’s Ungli and as a mentor in a comedy reality show Nautanki.

Tannishtha Chatterjee goes back to her roots

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7 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Theatre- turned-big screen actress is all set to act in a play after a gap of almost five years

Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; October 6, 2012)

 

Turns out Tannishtha Chatterjee who was last seen in Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid is one of the very few Bollywood actors who come from theatre background but choose not to leave it behind. The actress is currently working in a play that’s set in New Delhi.

For someone who started graduated from National School of Drama and started her acting career with theatre, Tannishtha feels that the whole experience is very enriching. She says “For me, it’s very important as an actor to take out this time to do this play. Besides, Kirti Jain, the director of the play, was my teacher at NSD. So when she requested me to be part of the project, I made sure I’m able to take out some time to do this.”

Tannishtha is rehearsing these days in the Indian capital for the same. Set in the 18th century, the play is based on a Bengali author Ashapurna Devi’s work and is about child-marriage. In it, a little girl gets married at the age of nine and the story follows her travails where one by one all her dreams and aspirations get squashed. The actress plays the central role of Subarnalata.

According to the actress who first got noticed in Brick Lane, playing a young girl (9) is the toughest thing about the whole experience. “It’s a huge challenge to age on stage without the help of any makeup. It’s just the body language and speech pattern which one could More >

Ek Tha Tiger shot in sensitive areas of Delhi, thanks to Salman?

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10 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Permission was granted for the actor to shoot for ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ at highly sensitive and restricted areas of Delhi

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 27, 2012)

 

Salman Khan was given special permission to film in high-security areas of New Delhi for his upcoming film Ek Tha Tiger that is normally out of bounds for most. The star was also given the nod to shoot in areas where government bureaucrats live. Instead of shooting at specially-erected sets, the makers of the film wanted to shoot with the star in authentic locations.

Says a source, “Special permission was sought from the government to shoot at these locations. As Salman’s character in Kabir Khan’s film is that of a special agent, the makers were keen to shoot in real environs where the agents work and live.”

Adds the source, “Special agents never reveal their identity and live a life of concealed character profiling. Salman wanted to blend into all these aspects for his screen role. Due to which these locations have been used in the film. Apart from shooting in the Parliament Street area, several scenes were also filmed in some government quarters.” Apparently as Sallu is the star of the film and after realising what the film was all about, permission was finally granted to film in some sensitive areas.

According to the film’s spokesperson, “Salman shot at real bureaucratic colonies in Delhi. The producers (Yash and Aditya Chopra) had to seek permission from the government as such high security locations of India are More >

The rise and rise of Emraan Hashmi

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1 year ago
by Fenil Seta in

Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee and Ekta Kapoor… all want a piece of Hashmi!

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; April 26, 2012)

 

At a time when several superstar sons are being relegated to playing supporting roles to a more saleable bunch of actors, or sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring, one man’s meteoric rise to the top is remarkable.

Emraan Hashmi, the proverbial dark horse who started his career with what critics call B-grade cinema, is today one of the most bankable actors in Bollywood. In fact, it’s his turn now to cock a snook at the very people who mocked him. Yes, this Mahesh Bhatt discovery has made inroads into the biggest production houses. Be it Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee or Ekta Kapoor, everyone wants a piece of Emi today.

Success has made him very cautious with words though. While accepting compliments for his numerous achievements, all Emi will say is, “Nothing gives me a bigger kick than doing roles where I’m required to literally tear the envelope. I’ve worked hard to get here, and I can tell you that this is just the beginning.’’

While trade experts validate the fact that he has super successfully crossed over from single screens to multiplexes, Mahesh Bhatt prefers to throw more light on the actor’s role in Jannat 2. Says he, “Emraan is going to surprise you with the maturity of his performance. There is an universe worth of wisdom available to us everyday, in every street of our country, if we only pause, look and listen. That’s where Sonu Dilli More >

Diana Penty to debut with Saif

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

She is the latest supermodel to set her eyes on Bollywood

Prithwish Ganguly (BOMBAY TIMES; April 22, 2011)

 

Model Diana Penty has signed Homi Adajania’s film where she will share screen space with Saif Ali Khan. However, the leading lady is Deepika Padukone. The yet untitled movie is set to be shot in London and New Delhi.

Reveals an insider, “Diana went through a round of auditions before she was finalised for the role. Looks like it is a two-heroine film. The crew is presently scouting locations in London and they will start shooting mid-May. Diana went through complete grooming, from diction to acting, before she was signed on. The film is edgy and she will be tested as an actor. She is not just eye-candy in the film.”

The film brings back the Saif-Deepika Love Aaj Kal jodi. Their chemistry had worked in their first film and Homi wants to exploit it further. But this one’s nothing like LAK. It’s a little complex but a thorough entertainer.”

Anushka Manchanda to marry?

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

Pradip Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; April 21, 2011)

 

Anushka Manchanda has found her dream man and is ready to say I Do. The man in question is Gaurav Aryaa, a hotelier from New Delhi. The two are set to tie the knot next year. The girl is glowing these days, but missing from the party circuit because she has been spending a lot of time with him in the capital.

The VJ-singer is keeping her relationship a secret as she feels that too much spotlight can hamper things and she’s also superstitious about the evil eye. However, a close friend spilled the beans: “She and Gaurav have many things in common. Both share a love for motorcycles and music. He has a collection of vintage bikes and she bought her first mobike last year. Well, again both are from Delhi so they bond really well and have a huge circle of common friends which has helped as they can hang out together. They are very serious about each other and a formal announcement will happen in the coming months.”

Anushka, however, plays it safe by saying, “Gaurav is one of my closest friends. We met very recently so there’s nothing really to talk about, except that we have a blast when we hang out.”

Irrfan’s worldwide web

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2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

The Amazing Spider Man’s Proto-Goblin straddles not just Bollywood and Hollywood but also juggles the art of Ang Lee with Hindi naach-gaana

Kunal Pradhan (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 27, 2011)

In the back seat of his Prado, Irrfan Khan slips off his chappals, and allows his long legs to straddle over the front seat.

He digs out a pouch of tobacco, and rolls himself a tiny, wrinkled, runt of a cigarette. To his right, sitting nonchalantly on a sheaf of papers is the script of Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee and co-starring Gerard Depardieu.

Ten minutes ago, he was at a radio station, talking about his upcoming Bollywood release, Thank You, touted as a typical multi-star comedy that encourages viewers to leave their brains at home.

The irony of this contrast is not lost on Irrfan. He breaks into a sly smile, his eyes light up, and he puffs a little deeper the moment you start pointing it out.

Nilesh Wairkar Irrfan Khan at his home near Aksa beach; and (below) with Archie Panjabi, Dan Futterman, Angelina Jolie and director Michael Winterbottom at the Cannes film festival

Each day is a series of important conversations for Irrfan these days. He talks about the things he always wanted: phone calls from top directors; positive reinforcement from peers; interviews with the New York Times; fans saying they love him; and encounters with divas such as Angelina Jolie and Natalie Portman.

Along the way, he’s picked up adjectives. Everything is ‘wonderful’, More >

A look at marketing strategies of small films

1
2 years ago
by Fenil Seta in

By Nikhil Ramsubramaniam, March 14, 2011 – 19:09 IST

The year 2010-11 could be well termed as a Renaissance year for the Hindi film industry. While big budget films such as Raavan, Kites, Action Replayy, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey and Guzaarish failed to set the Box Office on fire, smaller films such as Udaan, Peepli [LIVE], Tere Bin Laden, LSD, Phas Gaye Re Obama & Dhobi Ghat etc. with relatively lesser known stars and debutant directors (in most cases) won both critical acclaim and commercial success.

Most of these films were made at a limited budget and focussed more on their content rather than big stars and exotic locations. An interesting part is the fact that even the marketing strategy used to promote these films was quite different and subtle targeting a niche audience.

As a unique case study we take a look at 3 such off-beat films namely Dhobi Ghat, Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) and Udaan to try and understand how an innovative marketing strategy helped in the film finding its target audience.

Dhobi Ghat

Any Aamir Khan Productions’ film always generates tremendous hype and curiosity given the actor’s penchant for quality cinema. If needed, Aamir could have cashed in on this very hype by promoting wifey’s directorial debut Dhobi Ghat as a film for all. However, Aamir didn’t want his loyal audience to feel cheated and adopted a marketing strategy which not many would adopt.

Perhaps, the most poignant insight came from an industry insider who notes that the More >

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