Posts tagged tanuj garg

Ekta Kapoor sues Siddhartha Jain over Rock The Shaadi mess

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6 days ago
by Fenil Seta in

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 17, 2013)

 

Things just got worse for Rock the Shaadi, what with Ekta Kapoor slapping a case against the film’s co-producer, Siddhartha Jain.

The complaint filed by her alleges that “Siddhartha failed to execute the production in an organised manner, and the film went overbudget.” A source close to the development told Mirror: “The movie was in such a financial mess that after the first schedule itself, it became impossible for Balaji Motion Pictures to take it over and recover the investment.”

As things stand, with shooting having come to a standstill, the Abhay Deol-Genelia D’Souza starrer that had gone on floors in October 2011, may never see the light of day.

Matters have come to such a head that Siddhartha has been asked to cough up a compensatory amount and until he does so, Balaji will not get involved in the project.

When contacted, Balaji Motion Pictures CEO Tanuj Garg refused to comment and Siddhartha, who was at Cannes, said he’d call us back.

It’s not been a smooth sail for the film. First, it overshot the budget. Next, director Navdeep Singh got into a fight with VFX specialist Niraj Shanghai. Not too long ago, Siddhartha had alleged Abhay was responsible for the delay. To which, Abhay had reportedly said: “Both producer Ekta and me really want to complete the film. Forty minutes are ready and it is looking really good. The film has everything that a commercial pot-boiler needs. But Siddhartha has messed it up.”

Sanjay Gupta not promoting Shootout… because of Sanjay Dutt?

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

While promotions around his upcoming film are going strong, the director has been conspicuous by his absence at most events. Could his friendship with Sanjay Dutt be the reason…

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; April 19, 2013)

 

Ever since the promotional activities around Shootout At Wadala started, producer Ekta Kapoor has gone hammer and tongs to create a buzz for the project. Incidentally, the film’s director Sanjay Gupta has been conspicuous by his absence from almost all the events. And sources say it could have something to do with a fall-out between him and Ekta over the way the film was promoted after his close friend Sanjay Dutt’s imminent arrest.

Apparently, Ekta went ahead with the launch of Sunny Leone’s item song in the film just a day after the Supreme Court gave its verdict on Dutt’s long pending case. While Gupta wanted to hold back on the maker’s celebratory spirit, Ekta had her own way.

Friend first

A source says, “Gupta was there only for the initial music release event of the film. He has disappeared from the scene and neither is he part of any ongoing city tours that the film’s marketing team has been organising.” An insider says, “Gupta, who patched up with his close friend after five years, was not in the favour of any kind of celebration, especially since the verdict had gone against Dutt. Ekta was hellbent on going ahead with the event. Gupta decided to skip the event and even the others that followed suit.”

Off note?

Gupta was apparently also upset at the More >

Why Sophie Choudry won’t attend launch of her Shootout At Wadala song

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; April 16, 2013)

 

The makers of Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala are hoping that Sophie Choudry’s item number with John Abraham, Ala Re Ala, becomes a Marathi anthem for music lovers.

But unfortunately, while the song is all set to be launched today, Sophie will not be able to attend as she is travelling abroad.

Since John plays a Maharashtrian character in the film, grand plans had been made to organise the launch in a big way. A source says, “Both John and Sophie were going to give a live performance on top of a truck. However, the singer-item girl had to cancel her plans as she had to go to France for work.” Insiders say the actor were to dance on typical Marathi dance steps seen during most Ganpati performances.

“When she realised she wasn’t going to be able to be part of the event, she was upset. But her stage show abroad is also important,” a source adds, Tanuj Garg, CEO of the film’s production house says, “It is unfortunate that Sophie won’t be part of the launch but we too could not delay it as the song went on air over the weekend. She was upset as she shot for the song in three days even without any rehearsals.”

Sunny Leone’s Laila song altered for TV

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Shootout At Wadala makers change lyrics in Sunny Leone’s item number at Censor Board’s behest

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; April 10, 2013)

 

The Censor Board seems to have sprung into action yet again. And this time Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala has come under CBFC’s radar.

The board has apparently taken an objection to certain words in Sunny Leone’s item number in the film from being aired as part of the television promo. And to comply with the board’s demands, the makers have altered the lyrics from Laila teri le legi to Laila tujhe loot legi for the telly audience.

A source says, “The Censor Board felt that it had to be changed to make it more appropriate for the TV audience. The makers had to re-dub the line and the new version will now be shown on television.”

Tanuj Garg, CEO of the production house says, “Yes, various modifications had to be made in the Laila promo at the behest of CBFC to get it aired on TV.”

Why Tusshar Kapoor shuttled between Delhi and Mumbai four days in a row to shoot this song

It was almost a date drama for Tusshar Kapoor recently. The actor had two shoot schedules in Mumbai and Delhi on the same days. According to sources, the actor’s dates on the sets of Sanjay Gupta’s upcoming film in Mumbai and Shashant Shah’s Bajaate Raho in the national capital were coinciding with each other. And Tusshar had to shoot for the Mumbai leg during the day and fly to Delhi in the nights for four days straight.

A source says, “Gupta wanted Tusshar in the song More >

Why Akshay-Sonakshi-Imran weren’t shown on TV even once during IPL Day 1

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Promotional gimmick at Eden Gardens goes horribly wrong as the actor and his co-stars spend futile minutes wooing the cameras

Mehul S Thakkar and Soumyadipta Banerjee (BOMBAY TIMES; April 5, 2013)

 

What is being made out to be a battle of egos between Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, may be just a case of a publicity gimmick gone wrong.And according to reports, Akshay is not at all pleased to have been dragged into a situation where he is in the path of direct conflict with SRK.

On Wednesday, Akshay, Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, were at Eden Garden stadium in Kolkata for the IPL match, not for their love of the game, but to promote their upcoming film Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Again.

The strategy, devised by the Balaji team, involved the stars dressing up in identical T-shirts that said: ‘Once Upon a Time in IPL,’ and hanging out at the venue till the cameras were drawn to them. The seemingly harmless plan went awry when the stars arrived at the stadium, took their seats and waited, and waited for their spot in the sun.

They did Mexican waves, they cheered and at one point, Akshay and Sonakshi got up and waved out to the crowd even, but not for a second, did their faces flash on the screens. To make matters worse, at that precise moment, the cameras chose to focus on the crowd waving back at the stars instead.

According to sources, the camera crew was acting on the behest of a certain ‘administration official’ from the the IPL team. And while Akshay and Co More >

Akshay Kumar and OUATIM 2 team play mock quiz on Kolkata flight

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; April 5, 2013)

 

We all know how boring it can be to sit for hours on a flight.

But Akshay Kumar knew just the way to entertain his wife, co- stars and crew of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again while flying on a private jet from Mumbai to Kolkata.

A source says, “It was a long journey and Akki came up with the idea to play Kaun Banega Crorepati to pass the time. They divided themselves into two teams — of actors and non-actors.” Apparently both the teams were good at the game and won one round each. The source adds, “Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Akshay were on one team while Tanuj Garg, Twinkle Khanna and the others were part of the opposite team.” Garg, who is the CEO of the film’s production house says, “We had a lot of fun and my team won the final battle.”

Incidentally, Shah Rukh Khan hosted a season of the game show on television a few years ago.

Wiccan priestess meets Pranab Mukherjee; complains about Ek Thi Daayan

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

The President refers Ekta’s film to the Women’s Commission based on a petition by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti

Soumyadipta Banerjee (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 4, 2013)

 

Ekta Kapoor has often happily courted controversy to promote her films, but this time her strategy may have backfired. Balaji had sent a cordial invitation to Kolkata-based self-proclaimed Wiccan priestess, author and social activist Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, asking her to be a part of Ek Thi Daayan’s promotional campaign. Not only has Chakraverti refused to be a part of the drive, but has taken offence with the way witches are allegedly portrayed in the film. She met President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, and convinced him to refer the matter to the National Women’s Commission chief Mamta Sharma.

Sources confirmed that the commission has taken up the case as a “matter of national interest” since the recommendation has come from the President’s office and Balaji will soon receive a notice.

Mirror has got copies of emails exchanged between Balaji Telefilms Ltd and Ipsita, as well as a copy of the petition forwarded to the President in which Ipsita states that the film will incite violence against women and “lead to further witch hunts which are already rife in our rural areas”.

“I met the President at 7.15 pm at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday with my petition. I explained to him why such a film should not be released in India. I reasoned that the portrayal of witches in the film supports the age-old prejudice of burning More >

Chennai Express vs OUATIM 2: UTV races ahead of Balaji?

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Exhibitors finally ink deal to acquire Himmatwala and Chennai Express as a twin offer, casting a shadow on Akshay’s Eid release

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; March 26, 2013)

 

The turf war seems to be getting more interesting by the minute. As a blow to the makers of Akshay Kumar starrer Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again, sources say single screen owners have gone ahead and recorded a deal over the weekend to acquire the coming Friday’s release Ajay Devgn’s Himmatwala as a package deal with SRK’s Chennai Express.

This is in line to what several theatre owners had done last year that resulted in Devgn moving the courts against Khan’s Eid release Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Similarly, Ekta Kapoor’s film might suffer the same fate.

Says our source, “One can’t deny the recent success of both Ajay and Sajid Khan. The film is also a solo release and so exhibitors have rushed to sign the deal. With maximum single screen owners opting for the Devgn starrer, it is clear that they also have to now run Chennai Express. It means that the other Eid release Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai 2 and the Sunny Deol starrer Singh Saheb The Great will find it difficult to rope in single screen theatres.”

An industry insider says, “Producer Ekta Kapoor will now have to find some other strategy to counter this newly signed deal.”

Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, “All the major exhibitors have signed the deal over the weekend and now it will be suicidal if any film clashes with Chennai Express during Eid.”

Trade expert More >

Priyanka Chopra’s item song in Shootout At Wadala gets U/A rating

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

BOMBAY TIMES (March 15, 2013)

 

Considering that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is keeping a hawk-eyed view on item songs, Priyanka Chopra can rest easy. Her Babli Badmaash number in Shootout At Wadala has been granted a ‘U/A’ rating.

Initially, it was certified ‘A’ after a woman’s body complained against the commodification of women in item songs. On Monday, CBFC’s revising committee cleared the track with a ‘U/A’ certificate.

Tanuj Garg of Balaji Motion Pictures, the producers of the film, said, “After submitting Babli Badmaash for certification, we were informed that it would get an ‘A’ because it was an item track. We informed the board that the industry was not aware of such a rule and that it would warrant a discussion between both parties. We were later told by the CBFC that there was no blanket directive and songs would be certified according to their content.”

Ranvir-Sonakshi starrer Lootera to debut at iconic single screen

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Filmmakers respond to Mirror story about the plight of the theatre owners, plan to launch the first look at Liberty

Soumyadipta Banerjee (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2013)

 

Mumbai Mirror had recently highlighted the plight of single-screen theatres (Can’t sell, can’t survive and dying, March 8). Seems there may be some good news for the theatres after all.

Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane have decided to launch Lootera, the film they are jointly producing, at Liberty Cinema, the magnificent and royal single-screen theatre in SoBo.

!! CHECK OUT THE SINGLE-SCREENS ARTICLE HERE !!

A source close to the project revealed that the decision was taken during a brainstorming session at the Balaji office. “The meeting was about how to launch the first look of Lootera within the proposed budget. One of our members mentioned how single-screen theatres were running out of business and we realised it would be a good idea to launch the film at one such venue and everyone voted for Liberty,” said the source.

Apart from sending out a signal to the film fraternity, Liberty was also chosen because of its retro feel and the fact that Lootera, a period romance set against the 50s, would be best launched at such a theatre.

Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji, said: “Let us not undermine the importance of single-screen theatres in Bollywood. They are a vital aspect of our business. We are all aware of the current scenario but we feel if the More >

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