Posts tagged Vikram Bhatt

Vikram Bhatt shifts his editing studio to Ooty

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1 day ago
by Fenil Seta in

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; June 18, 2013)

 

While he has a two-month long schedule in Ooty for his next film Creature starring Bipasha Basu, Vikram Bhatt has decided to take on some more on his plate. The director has expanded his office by moving all editing equipment from Mumbai to the hill station.

Bhatt has lined up two of his productions for the editing table — Hate Story and Horror Story.

A source says, “While Vikram’s horror film is complete and the sequel is more than half way through, he had to look into the editing of these films. He ordered his staff to bring in all his editing equipments to Ooty where he edits the film when he is not shooting for the Bipasha starrer.” Apparently Kuldeep Mehan, the editor of the film, too has also gone to Ooty with his assistants.” Says Bhatt, “Since I am shooting and the release of the other films cannot wait, the editing room has shifted to Ooty.” Ayush Raina, the director of the horror film, is also currently in the hill station to edit his film with Bhatt.

My wife and my audience, both took time to understand me-Emraan Hashmi

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3 days ago
by Fenil Seta in

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 16, 2013)

 

Emraan Hashmi, 34, contrary to what one would imagine, is an English film buff. While he may expectedly dance on a Sufi song with Altaf Raja in his upcoming film Ghanchakkar, in reality, he is a Michael Jackson fan. He is deceptive, mysterious, egoistic, but simple. He opens up to Bombay Times about why he would not change himself for others, how he stalked his wife for three years and why Mahesh Bhatt will always hold a special place in his life. Excerpts:

Your grandmother Purnima Verma has acted in over 100 films. Did she influence your decision of becoming an actor? Bhatt sahab always says she was the first star in our family. His mother and my grandmother were real sisters and both were actresses. And so, my grandmom probably secretly yearned for me to become an actor. My grandfather (whose surname was Hashmi) was a journalist, who separated from her and went away to Pakistan during partition. Though my grandmother re-married, my stepgrandfather died and she never had kids from that marriage. My father worked for the cargo division of Air India and my mother for a multinational, and they are both retired now. My dad went and met him, my grandfather, once in 1994 in Pakistan before he died, without telling him that he was coming. My grandmom was wealthy and originally owned the famous Ketnav theatre, which, at that time, was a bungalow where she lived with her second sister. She had a lot of money and my dad tells me that she More >

Biscuit brand sues Ankur Arora Murder case

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1 week ago
by Fenil Seta in

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 12, 2013)

 

Sources tell us that a biscuit major has sent a legal notice to Vikram Bhatt’s ASA Productions Pvt Ltd, the coproducers of Ankur Arora Murder Case, alleging that the recently released trailer of their film shows a child dying on the operation table because he consumed a biscuit made by them.

This, they argue, shows their product in bad light and is detrimental to the reputation of the brand built over a long period of time. In addition, the unauthorised use of the visual representation of their brand is an infringement — both of the copyright and the trademark act, which attracts punishment up to three years or a fine of 2 lakh or both.

The biscuit manufacturer has claimed damages of 1 crore in addition to seeking an unconditional apology. They have also asked Bhatt’s company to refrain from visually using the brand any further in their advertisements, trailers or film.

ASA Productions have responded to the notice wherein they claim that the biscuit lying next to the boy does not amount to an infringement of the trademark act; that the boy does not die in the film due to eating the biscuit, but due to medical negligence and thus, the assumption on behalf of the biscuit company is ill-founded.

They, in fact, claim that the biscuit company would gain from the in-film placement for which they have not even charged the manufacturer. However, to avoid any trouble during the release of the film, they have agreed to blur the image of More >

Vikram Bhatt ventures into Marathi cinema

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1 week ago
by Fenil Seta in

Parag Maniar (BOMBAY TIMES; June 7, 2013)

 

Vikram Bhatt will mark his foray into Marathi cinema with Ek Doosrey Ke Liye, which will be directed by Ashwini Kumar Patil. The film, produced by Bhatt’s ASA Productions & Enterprises Pvt Ltd, has actors Amruta Khanvilkar, Abhijit Khandekar and Aniket Vishvasrao in pivotal roles.

While Amruta is a well-known Marathi television and film actress, Abhijit and Aniket shot to fame with telly show Majhiya Priyala Preet Kalena.

The film is expected to hit the floors in August and will be released by the end of 2013.

Says Bhatt, “A production house needs to diversify and look for other avenues to make revenue. Earlier, it was only the South film industry that came up with quality content. But today, films made in other languages also boast of good stories and talented actors. I have watched some Marathi and Punjabi films and they have been good. There is an audience for these films.”

But why is the title of the film in Hindi? Bhatt says, “It’s the director’s call. As long as the film is made within the budget, it does not matter to me.”

Adds Bhatt’s partner Anuj Bisnoy, “Our target is to make at least four films a year”.

Creature is like Jurassic Park-Vikram Bhatt

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2 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

Agencies (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 30, 2013)

 

Director Vikram Bhatt says his upcoming movie Creature is similar to Jurassic Park, the landmark Hollywood film on dinosaurs. “It is India’s first creature film. We have never made a film on creature. It is like Jurassic Park. This is done by Prasad Labs. It will be in 3D Imax,” Vikram said.

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. This film centered on the fictional Isla Nublar near Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of cloned dinosaurs.

Reportedly, Creature will be set in a menacing forest that will house certain humongous and dangerous creatures. But Vikram refused to divulge any further details about the project.

The film stars Bipasha Basu in the lead and this is the third time that Vikram and Bipasha have teamed up after Raaz and Raaz 3.

The shooting for the film will begin in Ooty and it is expected to hit the screens this year.

Medical practitioners’ community need to fix ethics and accountability-Paoli Dam

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4 weeks ago
by Fenil Seta in

DNA (May 21, 2013)

 

Paoli Dam, who was last seen in Hate Story, is all set to take up the cause of medical negligence in a big way.

She says, “A few years ago, my close friend’s relative was admitted to the hospital because she was suffering from jaundice. She died due to doctors’ and hospital’s negligence. I felt bad but couldn’t do anything for her family as I was in no position to do so. But I couldn’t forget the incident. The victim’s family has moved the apex court against the doctor and the hospital. They had asked for justice and compensation and though they waited for the judgment, they were rewarded as the hospital had to pay huge compensation in a landmark judgement. When Vikram Bhatt got in touch with me for his film based on the Ankur Arora murder case, I immediately said ‘yes’ to the role. The thing came to my mind was: this is the right platform to express my opinion about the medical system and create mass awareness. Medical practitioners’ community need to fix ethics and accountability. They should have the authority to take disciplinary action against delinquent physicians. People from all stratas of society are affected by this. Michael Jackson’s, doctor was imprisoned for medical negligence. I also admire Aamir Khan for bringing the issue of medical negligence to the fore in Satyamev Jayate.”

Emraan to let go of Bhatt film to accomodate a Balaji film?

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 13, 2013)

 

Bhatts are family for Emraan Hashmi and they are the ones who gave him a break in films. But as they say, loyality is a rare virtue in Bollywood. Emraan is currently holidaying with his family in the US and apparently is a little miffed at the reports of him going back to the Bhatt camp — the very banner that launched his career.

According to a source close to him, “He is upset with such irresponsible rumours because he has not signed any film with them as of now. He has other offers also, let’s see which one he chooses.” Apparently the actor is also being considered for another Balaji film but has still not decided which one to go forward with at the moment. He will only decide once he is back from his vacation.

Mukesh Bhatt, however, diffuses any rift between the production house and the actor. “Emraan is like a family to us. He was never out of the Bhatt camp. It’s just that there was a gap in between and he did a few movies outside our banner. He is definitely doing a movie with us for which we have signed Vikram Bhatt also.”

On being asked that Emraan has apparently not said yes to the project he says, “Emraan doesn’t have to sign a contract to work with us because we are family. When he will start shooting he will sign it. And I can clarify that he is definitely not doing a Balaji movie right now.” Vikram Bhatt says, “I am scripting the role for Emraan but if you say that he has not signed the movie then you have to get in More >

Making movies is like playing cricket-Vikram Bhatt

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; May 11, 2013)

 

Vikram Bhatt is in an expansive mood. The silver-haired, pleasant and articulate filmmaker is all set to embark on a journey of 10 films that are expected to hit the theatres in the coming 18 months. His first offering is Ankur Arora Murder Case, a fiction feature inspired by a real-life incident that releases on June 14. Up next will be Bhaag Johnny, Horror Story, Hate Story 2, Creature and 1920 London.

Says Vikram, the creative director who has scripted all the films, “I have a huge influx of new talent — writers, directors, composers and a mixed bag of acting talent. It makes my work easy, I have to just sit back and listen to my team. I come into the picture when the final ideation is being done.” The filmmaker, who has written and directed Creature starring Bipasha Basu, adds, “Bipasha and I make a very good team.”

While his production house, ASA Production & Enterprises Private Limited, is also toying with romantic and comedy genres, horror remains Vikram’s passion. “Alfred Hitchcock made films in this genre his entire life-time. There is no dearth of plots for horror. One needs to keep reinventing. Making movies is like playing cricket. You got to go on the field and take the risk,” says Vikram.

Says his partner Anju Bishnoi, “My role is arranging funds. I do little on the creative side, but I’m confident about all our projects so far.”

100 years of Indian Cinema: Mahesh Bhatt on 18 great filmmakers

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

BOMBAY TIMES (May 4, 2013)

 

In 1951, the Hollywood Moghul David Selznick was strolling through an empty, ghostly movie studio when he was struck by an uncomfortable thought. The maker of such giant classics like Gone With The Wind was in heavy debt. Television was beginning to be a threat to the movie business. Pointing to the empty stages, he said to his writer friend Ben Hecht ‘Hollywood is like Egypt… full of crumbled pyramids. It will just keep crumbling until finally the wind blows the last studio props across the sands.’

Thankfully, Selznick’s prophecy did not come true. The global movie business today is a multi-billion dollar industry. No wonder then that India, the film family’s most hyperactive child, is celebrating its 100th birthday party this year.

If I was given the chance to invite filmmakers for this bash, who would be on my list? Undoubtedly, the first person would be Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Dadasaheb Phalke), who is the Brahma of Indian Cinema and whose 40-minute film Raja Harishchandra set the cinematic ball rolling in India. It was this brave son of India who understood that it is mythology that motivates cultures, not reason, race, or ideology. Next to him would sit Satyajit Ray, the only genuine auteur Indian cinema has ever had. Ray not only wrote his scripts and dialogues and songs, but also designed the sets, costumes, posters, operated the camera, edited the film and composed the music. He is the only Indian who has got a lifetime award at the More >

1920 part 3 delayed; Meerra Chopra to now debut with Gang Of Ghosts

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1 month ago
by Fenil Seta in

After a long delay, Priyanka Chopra’s cousin Meerra Chopra to finally make her Bollywood debut

Kunal M Shah (MID-DAY; May 2, 2013)

 

In spite of star cousin Priyanka, Meerra Chopra went through a rough patch of frustration and helplessness when her debut Hindi film did not take off. Looks like now that’s a thing of the past.

Meerra who was scheduled to start shooting for the third part of 1920 as her debut film will now start shooting for Satish Kaushik’s Gang of Ghosts. Apparently Meerra had earlier declined the offer as her dates were clashing with Vikram Bhatt’s film.

Now that Vikram’s project has got delayed by a couple of months, Meerra will be doing Gang of Ghosts first.

Meerra says, “ I had met Satishji just a few days after I signed 1920. The film was to start on May 1 and Satishji was starting his project as well around the same time. However just a couple of days later, I got a call from Vikram’s office informing me that the film has been pushed back. I then called Satishji, we met and everything fell into place.” About her long wait she says, “I have been looking for the right film for over a year now. However I have been regularly working in the South with my Telugu film releasing this Friday and one in June. I was confident that the moment I would land in Mumbai, I would sign multiple films.

However, reality stuck me when I reached the city. After about a year, 1920 happened which is a career-defining role for me and I am thankful to Vikram for believing in me. More >

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