All 15 Films Of Vidyut Jammwal’s Filmography Ranked & A Guide On Where To Watch Them. ( Photo Credit – IMDb/Youtube )
Vidyut Jammwal is undoubtedly one of the most loved action stars in the country. The testimony to this fact is his filmography, which might have been full of flops, but the reason for these flops has been inflated budgets of his films since all of them have churned out some decent numbers at the box office, proving that he has a loyal fan base in this country.
Vidyut made his film debut with Force as an antagonist, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the most talked about star of the film that year. In the right sense, he literally swept John Abraham’s stardom off his feet, stealing his thunder.
After a thunderous debut as an antagonist, Vidyut made his debut with Commando. Commando 3...
Vidyut Jammwal is undoubtedly one of the most loved action stars in the country. The testimony to this fact is his filmography, which might have been full of flops, but the reason for these flops has been inflated budgets of his films since all of them have churned out some decent numbers at the box office, proving that he has a loyal fan base in this country.
Vidyut made his film debut with Force as an antagonist, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the most talked about star of the film that year. In the right sense, he literally swept John Abraham’s stardom off his feet, stealing his thunder.
After a thunderous debut as an antagonist, Vidyut made his debut with Commando. Commando 3...
- 2/25/2024
- by Trisha Gaur
- KoiMoi
Parineeti Chopra said playing badminton champion Saina Nehwal in the biopic "Saina" became a somewhat easy job because the film's director Amole Gupte is an effortless actor, too.
"I think Amole sir is an extremely effortless actor and during the shooting of Saina, I learnt so much of minimalism in performance. He really taught me how less is more in acting, how just by staying silent, little movements of eyes can depict how an individual is screaming from inside," Parineeti informed.
"Since Amole sir loves children and has worked with them closely, I think he just knows how to extract a performance from an actor. Being a director who is an actor too, there were times he would perform a scene to explain. He could act a very intense scene slowly with a layered performance and it just left me wondering when did the acting start! I really learn the...
"I think Amole sir is an extremely effortless actor and during the shooting of Saina, I learnt so much of minimalism in performance. He really taught me how less is more in acting, how just by staying silent, little movements of eyes can depict how an individual is screaming from inside," Parineeti informed.
"Since Amole sir loves children and has worked with them closely, I think he just knows how to extract a performance from an actor. Being a director who is an actor too, there were times he would perform a scene to explain. He could act a very intense scene slowly with a layered performance and it just left me wondering when did the acting start! I really learn the...
- 3/27/2021
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Saina movie review is here. The Indian Hindi-language biographical sports film 'Saina' is directed by Amole Gupte and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Sujay Jairaj and Rashesh Shah under the banner of T-Series and Front Foot Pictures. Based on the life of Indian Badminton champion Saina Nehwal – the former world No.1, the movie stars Parineeti Chopra in the titular role. Saina was initially set to release in September 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in India. Saina is now scheduled to have a theatrical release on 26 March 2021.
Saina Movie Review
Think of badminton and what image comes into the minds of an average Indian who is a sports enthusiast. Saina Nehwal – the former world no. 1, who has over 24 international titles that includes eleven Super series titles to her credit. The only female player from India to achieve this feat. Those who are less aware about...
Saina Movie Review
Think of badminton and what image comes into the minds of an average Indian who is a sports enthusiast. Saina Nehwal – the former world no. 1, who has over 24 international titles that includes eleven Super series titles to her credit. The only female player from India to achieve this feat. Those who are less aware about...
- 3/23/2021
- by Vishal Verma
- GlamSham
Cookie movie review is here. Releasing tomorrow ? February 28, 2020, the supernatural horror drama is directed by the writer of Bhoot and Swadesh Lalit Marathe. The movie features Vibhoutee Sharma, Reena and Ankur Vikal in pivotal roles. Does Cookie provides the scares?. Let?s find out in the movie review of Cookie.
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll.
Lalit Marathe?s Cookie is a rare scare, this eerie ride of love, jealousy and guilt questions the consequences of negligence towards our loved ones.
The Story of Cookie
Cookie (Vibhoutee Sharma) elder daughter of a known psychiatrist played by Reena is nursing a grudge against her mother and her younger sister. Suffering from mood shifts Cookie one day has a tiff with her parents and in a fit of rage walks away from the dinner declaring that she doesn,t need them and will be on her own. Her boyfriend refuses to...
Immediate reaction when the end credits roll.
Lalit Marathe?s Cookie is a rare scare, this eerie ride of love, jealousy and guilt questions the consequences of negligence towards our loved ones.
The Story of Cookie
Cookie (Vibhoutee Sharma) elder daughter of a known psychiatrist played by Reena is nursing a grudge against her mother and her younger sister. Suffering from mood shifts Cookie one day has a tiff with her parents and in a fit of rage walks away from the dinner declaring that she doesn,t need them and will be on her own. Her boyfriend refuses to...
- 2/28/2020
- GlamSham
It was a moment of victory, pride, revenge and emotional freedom when the Indian cricket team clinched the NatWest trophy in 2002. And director Abhinay Deos sports drama "Doosra -- Indias Other Freedom Struggle" brings back the memories of the victory, and aims to take the audience on an emotional journey.
Also read:?Abhinay Deo's sports drama Doosra's poster is out and it will get you thinking
The trailer, released on Friday, gives a sneak peek into the story of "Doosra...", and how the moment changed an entire generation.
It was on July 13, 2002 when the then cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and his young team won the NatWest Trophy final at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. They defeated England in the final match of the three-nation tournament.
Ganguly had waived his T-shirt at the Lord's balcony following the win -- an image which is still fresh in the minds of all the cricket lovers in India.
Also read:?Abhinay Deo's sports drama Doosra's poster is out and it will get you thinking
The trailer, released on Friday, gives a sneak peek into the story of "Doosra...", and how the moment changed an entire generation.
It was on July 13, 2002 when the then cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and his young team won the NatWest Trophy final at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. They defeated England in the final match of the three-nation tournament.
Ganguly had waived his T-shirt at the Lord's balcony following the win -- an image which is still fresh in the minds of all the cricket lovers in India.
- 6/28/2019
- GlamSham
July 13, 2002 is a date etched in the memory of all Indians; a date when the then cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly and his defiant young team freed the country of its inhibitions and celebrated India's win in the NatWest Series. Showcasing the influence of this maverick cricket Captain on the young minds of the country is director Abhinay Deo in his upcoming sports drama titled Doosra. The first poster of the film released today and it gives a sneak peek into the multi-layered story told through the eyes of a young girl who chooses a different route for freedom.?
It is a socio-sports drama that marks courage and freedom of expression through one incident that gave Indians the feeling of liberation. Set in the nineties and the early 2000s, the story brings together two vastly different narratives to stand up and stand out, driven by Captain Ganguly's iconic T-shirt removal at the Lord's stadium in London,...
It is a socio-sports drama that marks courage and freedom of expression through one incident that gave Indians the feeling of liberation. Set in the nineties and the early 2000s, the story brings together two vastly different narratives to stand up and stand out, driven by Captain Ganguly's iconic T-shirt removal at the Lord's stadium in London,...
- 6/27/2019
- GlamSham
KollywoodTo be produced by Studio Green, the film has music by Sean Roldan.Digital NativeDigital NativeSaravana Rajendran, an erstwhile assistant of writer-director Raju Murugan, is making his directorial debut with upcoming Tamil film Mehandi Circus. The film’s title and first look poster were released recently. To be produced by Studio Green, the film has music by Sean Roldan. Speaking to Times of India, Rajendran has revealed that the film features real-life circus performers in key roles. He also said that the story revolves around the relationship between a guy living in Kodaikanal and a circus performer. “There are two backdrops to this film — the circus and a musical centre (that relic of the 1980-90s, where people went to record songs on to cassette tapes), and the story happens in the 1990s and in 2010,” said the director. He also said that while the film starts off as a romance, it then moves into a painful area involving relationships. The film marks the Tamil debut of Bollywood actress Shweta Tripathi, best known for her work in films such as Masaan and Haraamkhoor. Coimbatore-based Rangarajan is being introduced as the hero. “Apart from the principal cast, we have roped in real-life circus performers to play the other characters that are part of the circus,” said Rajendran, who added that Shweta had to train with a circus performer to act in a scene that involves a life-threatening stunt. “It is a crucial plot point, so I cannot reveal what it is. We could find only one person in Tamil Nadu who was an expert in the act and got this person to train Shweta.” Cuckoo and Joker fame Raju Murugan has written the story and dialogues. Apart from assisting Raju Murugan, Rajendran has also worked with Kamal Haasan and late filmmaker Balu Mahendran. The film also stars Rj Vignesh, Vela Ramamoorthy, Ankur Vikal and Sunny Charles in important roles. (Content provided by Digital Native)...
- 6/26/2018
- by Monalisa
- The News Minute
Starring Kirti Kulhari,Tota Roy Choudhary, Neil Nitin Mukesh
Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar
Maybe it’s too early here to mention Kirti Kulhari’s indomitable brilliance in this grossly mis-reviewed film. But then, considering she has given what is arguably the most outstanding performance by a female protagonist since Tabu in Chandni Bar and has even gone further than Tabu in some sequences, this is as good a time as any to bring up her climactic court scene where she tells the spellbound judge (he wears the same expression that I did) how her life changed one day when she took the wrong turn and ended up watching the ravages caused by the Congress regime at Turkman Gate.
When Kirti speaks of serendipity her character Indu (I will ignore the cheap thrills of ambiguity afforded by her full name) doesn’t know what that words means. It is that innocence...
Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar
Maybe it’s too early here to mention Kirti Kulhari’s indomitable brilliance in this grossly mis-reviewed film. But then, considering she has given what is arguably the most outstanding performance by a female protagonist since Tabu in Chandni Bar and has even gone further than Tabu in some sequences, this is as good a time as any to bring up her climactic court scene where she tells the spellbound judge (he wears the same expression that I did) how her life changed one day when she took the wrong turn and ended up watching the ravages caused by the Congress regime at Turkman Gate.
When Kirti speaks of serendipity her character Indu (I will ignore the cheap thrills of ambiguity afforded by her full name) doesn’t know what that words means. It is that innocence...
- 7/30/2017
- by Subhash K Jha
- Bollyspice
The masterful and heart wrenching film about the trafficking of a thirteen year-old girl Sold is now available digitally on many different platforms. This award-winning narrative feature film is based on the best selling novel by Patricia McCormick of the same name. The film places the audience in the shoes of a child who is trafficked to a prison brothel. Ultimately, she must risk her life to gain back her freedom.
Sold is co-written and directed by Academy and Emmy award winner Jeffrey Brown. The film is produced by award-winning impact producer Jane Charles, and executive produced by two-time Academy Award winner, Emma Thompson. The film stars Gillian Anderson, David Arquette along with a great Indian and Nepali ensemble cast including Seema Biswas, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Tillotama Some, Sushmita Mukerjee, Ankur Vikal and Parambrata Chatterjee.
One of the most amazing things about Sold is that by telling the story...
Sold is co-written and directed by Academy and Emmy award winner Jeffrey Brown. The film is produced by award-winning impact producer Jane Charles, and executive produced by two-time Academy Award winner, Emma Thompson. The film stars Gillian Anderson, David Arquette along with a great Indian and Nepali ensemble cast including Seema Biswas, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Tillotama Some, Sushmita Mukerjee, Ankur Vikal and Parambrata Chatterjee.
One of the most amazing things about Sold is that by telling the story...
- 1/12/2017
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
It is a film that has inspired people to act, to work and to raise awareness of the human rights tragedy of human and child trafficking and sex slavery. We are talking about the hard hitting film Sold. Based on Patricia McCormick’s book of the same name, the award winning film tells the unforgettable story of a girl who risks everything for freedom after being trafficked from her mountain village in Nepal to a prison brothel in India. Sold places the audience in her shoes to give voice to the millions of children who disappear every year. Directed by Jeffrey D Brown and Produced by Emma Thompson, Sold stars Gillian Anderson, David Arquette, Seema Biswas, Sushmita Mukerjee, Tillotama Shome, Parambrata Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal and many others. The film had its premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and has gone on to affect audience at more than 25 films festivals.
- 11/13/2015
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
The controversial film Unfreedom has now released in New York and Los Angeles, as well as on national digital platforms such as iTunes. Directed by Raj Amit Kumar, the film explores subjects that rock the boat…especially so in India.
Consequently, the country went as far as banning it.
Following two story lines of same-sex love in India and terrorism in the USA, discrimination and violence are prised gruesomely out in the open.
Unfreedom stars Victor Banerjee, Bhanu Uday, Bhavani Lee, Preeti Gupta, Seema Rahmani, Ankur Vikal, Samrat Chakrabarti and Adil Hussain.
Aashi Gahlot at BollySpice interviewed actress Bhavani Lee, who plays the part of spunky bisexual Sakhi Taylor.
Lee is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York. She is also a Kathak dancer with the iconic Pt. Birju Maharaj as one of her gurus. Bhavani toured the world with Cirque du soleil and has done various theatre productions,...
Consequently, the country went as far as banning it.
Following two story lines of same-sex love in India and terrorism in the USA, discrimination and violence are prised gruesomely out in the open.
Unfreedom stars Victor Banerjee, Bhanu Uday, Bhavani Lee, Preeti Gupta, Seema Rahmani, Ankur Vikal, Samrat Chakrabarti and Adil Hussain.
Aashi Gahlot at BollySpice interviewed actress Bhavani Lee, who plays the part of spunky bisexual Sakhi Taylor.
Lee is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York. She is also a Kathak dancer with the iconic Pt. Birju Maharaj as one of her gurus. Bhavani toured the world with Cirque du soleil and has done various theatre productions,...
- 6/1/2015
- by Aashi Gahlot
- Bollyspice
Unfreedom (Dagh Ujala) Paladin Film & Dark Frames Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for CompuServe ShowBiz. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: C Director: Raj Amit Kumar Screenwriter: Damon J. Taylor, Raj Amit Kumar Cast: Victor Banarjee, Adil Hussain, Bhanu Uday, Pretti Gupta, Bhavani Lee, Bhavani Lee, Ankur Vikal, Seema Rahmani, Samrat Chakrabarti, Danae Nason Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 4/1/15 Opens: May 29, 2015 Director Raj Amit Kumar does not believe in extremism and neither does the majority of populations whether in the U.S. or Pakistan, Canada or Afghanistan. In distributing his film, “Unfreedom,” the director is preaching to the choir, since the audience for this drama will also be [ Read More ]
The post Unfreedom Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Unfreedom Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/3/2015
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
The controversial new film Unfreedom has unveiled its first theatrical trailer. Banned in India and featuring an ensemble cast including Victor Banerjee, the provocative film will be released uncut in U.S. theaters on May 29.
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists because she is secretly in love with another woman. The four characters come face to face with gruesome acts of violence in battles of identity, sexuality, religion, love, and family.
Written and directed by Kumar, the film stars Victor Banerjee (A Passage to India, Meherjaan), Bhanu Uday (Monsoon), Bhavani Lee, Preeti Gupta, Seema Rahmani (Good Night Good Morning,...
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists because she is secretly in love with another woman. The four characters come face to face with gruesome acts of violence in battles of identity, sexuality, religion, love, and family.
Written and directed by Kumar, the film stars Victor Banerjee (A Passage to India, Meherjaan), Bhanu Uday (Monsoon), Bhavani Lee, Preeti Gupta, Seema Rahmani (Good Night Good Morning,...
- 3/28/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
When a film is “banned” by the Censor Board of Film Certification, you know you are onto something. Well, that is exactly the case with Raj Amit Kumar’s film Unfreedom.
Homosexuality.
Islam.
Thinking outside of convention.
Unfreedom breaks all the “rules”.
The film follows two different lives, the storyline pivoting on a female same-sex relationship and the dangers of religious extremism.
Shifting between New York and Delhi, one story explores the kidnapping of a liberal Muslim scholar by a Muslim terrorist. The other story dives into a woman’s journey -a woman secretly in love with another woman. She faces the challenges of this love when she refuses an arranged marriage set up by her religious father.
Classified as “too controversial” for release in India, the film will release in North American theatres on the 29th of May 2015 and simultaneously on digital channels via Film Buff.
The juxtaposition of...
Homosexuality.
Islam.
Thinking outside of convention.
Unfreedom breaks all the “rules”.
The film follows two different lives, the storyline pivoting on a female same-sex relationship and the dangers of religious extremism.
Shifting between New York and Delhi, one story explores the kidnapping of a liberal Muslim scholar by a Muslim terrorist. The other story dives into a woman’s journey -a woman secretly in love with another woman. She faces the challenges of this love when she refuses an arranged marriage set up by her religious father.
Classified as “too controversial” for release in India, the film will release in North American theatres on the 29th of May 2015 and simultaneously on digital channels via Film Buff.
The juxtaposition of...
- 3/15/2015
- by Aashi Gahlot
- Bollyspice
Dark Frames, a new distribution company dedicated to bringing high-quality, non-Bollywood Indian films to North American and international audiences through theatrical and digital channels, will release its first title, Unfreedom, on May 29, it was announced today by Dark Frames’ founder, Raj Amit Kumar. Veteran film marketer and distributor Mark Urman of Paladin is partnering with Dark Frames to lead the marketing and distribution of its release slate. Dark Frames will also partner with Film Buff to distribute Unfreedom at the same time on Cable VOD and other digital platforms.
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists...
Unfreedom juxtaposes two powerful and unflinching contemporary stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. Shifting between New York and New Delhi, one tale follows a Muslim terrorist who kidnaps a liberal Muslim scholar in order to silence him, while the other charts the travails of a young woman whose devout father tries to force her into an arranged marriage, which she resists...
- 2/13/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
First a video
There may be no human rights issue in the modern world that is harder to visualize than the enslavement and sale of children, but that is story told in Sold, which is now having its European premiere at the London Indian Film Festival after opening in Los Angles earlier this year. Based on Patricia McCormick’s book of the same title and compiled based on real-life stories, Sold is a hard-hitting but hope filled saga of a young girl named Lakshmi who is sold into a prison brothel. Through her eyes, we experience her horrors but also the moments of goodness and hope that give her the courage to ultimately escape. It is a powerful tale, and the film and the issues it exposes has changed the lives of everyone involved.
Yesterday we heard from Producer Jane Charles about Sold and now I would like to present...
There may be no human rights issue in the modern world that is harder to visualize than the enslavement and sale of children, but that is story told in Sold, which is now having its European premiere at the London Indian Film Festival after opening in Los Angles earlier this year. Based on Patricia McCormick’s book of the same title and compiled based on real-life stories, Sold is a hard-hitting but hope filled saga of a young girl named Lakshmi who is sold into a prison brothel. Through her eyes, we experience her horrors but also the moments of goodness and hope that give her the courage to ultimately escape. It is a powerful tale, and the film and the issues it exposes has changed the lives of everyone involved.
Yesterday we heard from Producer Jane Charles about Sold and now I would like to present...
- 7/9/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
There are some films that are just more than the images onscreen and Sold is one of those films. It not only takes you on the journey of Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old Nepali girl who is sold into prostitution in India, and her tale of survival, escape and hope, it also puts you in the middle of the global issue of human trafficking.
Sold, based on the book by Patricia McCormick, was directed by Jeffrey D Brown and produced by Jane Charles. The film also had noted actress Emma Thompson on board as exectuive producer. Featuring Gillian Anderson and David Arquette, the film also boasts a cast that includes Seema Biswas, Sushmita Mukerjee, Tillotama Shome, Parambrata Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal and many others. Sold has been creating a buzz and moving people to act at festivals in La and Albuquerque and the next stop is the London Indian Film Festival.
Sold, based on the book by Patricia McCormick, was directed by Jeffrey D Brown and produced by Jane Charles. The film also had noted actress Emma Thompson on board as exectuive producer. Featuring Gillian Anderson and David Arquette, the film also boasts a cast that includes Seema Biswas, Sushmita Mukerjee, Tillotama Shome, Parambrata Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal and many others. Sold has been creating a buzz and moving people to act at festivals in La and Albuquerque and the next stop is the London Indian Film Festival.
- 7/8/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
This year the 12th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) includes a lineup of narrative and documentary features and short films. The impressive program reflects the rich diversity of Indian cinema, as well as the future of Indian filmmaking, with cutting-edge filmmakers and emerging voices bringing their acclaimed films to Los Angeles.
The festival is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally. Iffla will run April 8-13 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. Jadoo, an exploration of family bonds amidst two feuding brothers’ restaurants in England, will screen as the festival’s Closing Night Gala. The film is written and directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta, and first premiered at the 2013 Berlinale. It features a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, and Madhur Jaffrey. As previously announced, Iffla will open with Jeffrey D. Brown’s Sold, produced by Jane Charles and executive produced by Emma Thompson.
Iffla 2014 wil l present more than 33 films, including three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
“I'm thrilled and proud that Iffla's line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora,” said Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani. "We would like to thank our Programming Advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha, for helping our programming team source some of these exceptional films."
Program highlights include: the North American premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s latest, Ugly an intense, masterfully directed psychological thriller that premiered in the 2013 Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes; Liar's Dice, the remarkable directorial debut of South Indian actress Geetu Mohandas that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, starring Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire), winner of Netpac Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Dioraphte Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival Hank and Asha , an exploratory, romantic look at two people bonding in the digital age by newcomer James E. Duff; Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, a highly praised debut feature for its multilayered emotion and realism on the subject of caste discrimination; Brahmin Bulls starring Roshan Seth (Gandhi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Mississippi Masala) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Beauty and the Beast, Heroes) as an estranged father and son unexpectedly brought together to confront the family’s past; and Siddharth, a nuanced look at a family whose son goes missing, by lauded Canadian director and Iffla alum Richie Mehta (Amal).
The festival's feature documentary competition includes an eclectic mix of films from established and upcoming filmmakers that consider India's unique traditions and dynamic future. The films include: the world premiere of
The Auction House , an intimate and funny look at two brothers trying to keep their anachronistic family business going in the digital age; festival favorite Powerless, which depicts intense struggles over electricity in a mid-size Indian city; Faith Connections, Iffla alum Pan Nalin's beautiful and rare look at the Kumbh Mela; and the National Award-winning Shepherds of Paradise, about an arduous, mountainous trek through an animal drive in the Kashmiri winter.
The Bollywood by Night series returns this year with Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout. Premiering at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Bombay Talkies is a quartet of short films that celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. The omnibus film features work by four of India’s most exciting contemporary directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Anurag Kashyap, as well as a stellar cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, and Katrina Kaif. Monsoon Shoutout is a thrilling debut by Iffla alum writer/director Amit Kumar about how a split-second decision made by a rookie police officer has rippling effects in his life and the lives of those around him.
The shorts competition showcases a diverse selection of 15 films that include narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include Academy Award® shortlisted Kush; Sundance award winner Love.Love.Love.; and the world premiere of acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni’s The Fly.
Festival Passes and Gala tickets are currently on sale at the festival's website.
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.indianfilmfestival.org.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ indianfilmfestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com /iffla
Tumblr: http://indianfilmfestival.tumblr.com/
About Iffla
Now in its 12th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.
Opening Night Gala
Sold
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2014/97min
Director: Jeffrey D. Brown
Producer: Jane Charles
Executive Producer: Emma Thompson
Screenwriters: Joseph Kwong, Jeffrey D. Brown
Composer: John McDowell, Sammy Chand, Salim & Sulaiman Merchant
Cast: Susmita Mukherjee, Seema Biswas, Tillotama Shome, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal, Parambrata Chatterjee, Gillian Anderson, David Arquette
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jeffrey D. Brown adapts Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold – a National Book Award finalist – into a vivid, harrowing and inspiring story of a young girl’s resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Closing Night
Jadoo
Los Angeles Premiere
UK/2013/84 mins
Director: Amit Gupta
Producers: Amanda Faber, Isabelle Georgeaux, Richard Holmes, Nikki Parrott
Screenwriter: Amit Gupta
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Cast: Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, Madhur Jaffrey
Set in Leicester, England, Amit Gupta’s culinary comedy charts the chaos that ensues when young Shalini gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend Mark. The fact that Mark is not Indian is the least of Shalini’s concerns. Her father Raja and uncle Jagi have been at war for years. After a legendary falling out that caused them to close their family restaurant, each man opened his own establishment – directly across the street from one another! Shalini’s dream wedding would see both men put aside their differences and prepare the feast together, but resentment runs deep and neither man can hear mention of the other’s name without a spike in blood pressure. Both the prospect of disappointing their beloved Shalini and the threat of a new, hip restaurant opening in the area force Raja and Jagi to work together – but for how long? In this uproariously funny and heartfelt exploration of family bonds, shared history and gastronomic perfection, Gupta’s cast is endlessly appealing. Plus, there’s enough mouth-watering Indian food on display to have your stomach growling before the credits roll.
Feature Films
Before My Eyes (Ankhon Dekhi)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/107min
Director: Rajat Kapoor Producer: Manish Mundra
Screenwriter: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Sanjay Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Rajat Kapoor, Taranjeet, Maya Sarao
Celebrated writer, director, and actor Rajat Kapoor (Midnight’s Children, Monsoon Wedding, Mixed Doubles, Mithya) paints an offbeat yet thought-provoking portrait of domestic life in modern day Delhi when an incident prompts head of the family Bauji to reject anything he himself has not experienced, much to the exasperation of his extended family but to the delight of his newfound philosopher disciples. Balancing the comical and the existential, both Bauji and the film ask the basic question, ‘Can you know truth without true experience?’
Brahmin Bulls
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/96min/2013
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Producer: Yoshinobu Tsuji
Screenwriters: Anu Pradhan, Mahesh Pailoor
Cast: Sendhil Ramamurthy, Roshan Seth, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Bartha, Cassidy Freeman, Monica Raymund, Michael Lerner
Mahesh Pailoor's tender, funny, and touching debut tells the story of estranged father and son Ashok and Sid, who reunite at Sid's Los Angeles home when Ashok arrives unexpectedly. Each man is keeping secrets from one another, and when the truth is revealed, parent and child must work even harder to close the rift between them.
Fandry
North American Premiere
India/2013/103min
Director: Nagraj Manjule
Producers: Vivek Kajaria, Nilesh Navalakha
Screenwriter: Nagraj Manjule
Cast: Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Somnath Awghade, Suraj Pawar, Rajshree Kharat, Sakshi Vyavhare, Aishvarya Shinde, Nagraj Manjule
Marathi poet Nagraj Manjule's impressive debut feature tells the story of Jabya, a Dalit boy, and his family's struggle against daily prejudice in their Maharashtra village. Jabya's carefree childhood desires and antics are soon stifled by his family's "untouchable" status, and the film's gradual transformation into an insightful and damning look at caste discrimination builds from a murmur to a defiant roar. Refusing to reduce his Dalit characters to victims – most explicitly at the film's explosive conclusion - Manjule's socially reflective film has received critical acclaim in India.
Hank and Asha
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/73min
Director: James E. Duff
Producers: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Screenwriters: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Cast: Mahira Kakkar, Andrew Pastides
James E. Duff's feature directorial debut, the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, is an endearing tale of a long-distance connection in the digital age. Hank and Asha, two aspiring filmmakers separated by an ocean, connect with one another through video messages and quickly find themselves heading towards romance. That is, until Asha reveals some surprising news. Duff has created a captivating ode to the new possibilities open to us now that the world's gotten smaller.
Liar's Dice
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/104min
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Producers: Alan McAlex, Ajay G. Rai
Screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta
Established actress Geetu Mohandas steps behind the lens for her bracing directorial debut. A woman named Kamala and her daughter journey from their remote Himalayan village to Delhi in search of Kamala's missing husband. They find a guide in an unfriendly wanderer whose interest may lie more in his personal gain than in any help he can offer them. Beautifully shot by Rajeev Ravi (Gangs of Wasseypur), Mohandas' film evokes a hazardous world where answers may never be clear and a helping hand always comes at a price.
Phoring
North American Premiere
India/2013/128min
Director: Indranil Roychowdhury
Producers: Anasua Roychowdury, Sugata Bal
Screenwriters: Indranil Roychowdhury, Sugata Sinha
Cast: Akash Adhikary, Sohini Sarkar, Sourav Basak, Ritwick Charaborty, Shankar Debnath, Senjuti Roymukherjee
Indranil Roychowdhury's stunning feature debut is an evocative, unpredictable tale of confused adolescence in a struggling North Bengal town. Phoring, an imaginative adolescent boy, and his beautiful new teacher Doel form a close friendship that soon arouses doubt and suspicion when Doel's presence in the town is revealed to have less-than-noble origins. Roychowdhury accomplishes a tricky feat with his first film by luring us with the promise of an inspirational teacher-student story before ultimately delivering a much more complex and truthful account of the joys and pains of growing up.
Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (2013)
Los Angeles Premiere Germany-India-Netherlands/2013/109min
Director: Anup Singh
Producers: Bero Beyer, Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper, Thierry Lenouvel
Screenwriter: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal
Set in 1940s Punjab, Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa details the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan Partition through the experiences of one Sikh family, headed by Umber (Irrfan Khan). Following the family’s forceful displacement from their village, Umber’s desire for a male heir is stronger than ever. When his wife gives birth to their fourth daughter, Kanwar, Umber makes the fateful decision to raise her as a boy. This tragic choice ends up dividing the family in violent ways, and provokes a series of increasingly unsettling situations for Kanwar as she grows up. While in a sense a ghost story, the source of pain and suffering is all too real.
Siddharth
Los Angeles Premiere
Canada-India/2013/96min
Director: Richie Mehta
Producers: David Miller, Steven N. Bray
Screenwriter: Richie Mehta
Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee
A celebrated Iffla alum, Canadian director Richie Mehta returns to the festival with a heartbreaking story of parents Mahendra and Suman, whose son goes missing after being sent to work 200 miles north of Delhi. Carried by powerful yet restrained performances from Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee as the parents, Mehta and cast capture the dignity of those facing the unthinkable. Mehta's chance encounter with a man searching for his lost son alerted him to the underreported plight of the families of 44,000 children estimated missing in India every year.
Ugly
North American Premiere
India/2013/128mins/Dcp
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Writer: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vivek Rangachari, Arun Rangachari
Cast: Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Anshika Shrivastava
When ten-year-old Kali disappears from her father Rahul's car on the busy streets of Mumbai, the events that follow quickly spiral out of control and plunge into a morass of corruption and violence. Rahul and Kali's mother, Shalini, are divorced. Shalini is now married to Shoumik, the local police chief. When Shoumik learns that his stepdaughter is missing, he and Rahul clash in a breathless race to find the girl. With intricate plotting and vivid characterizations, Iffla alum Anurag Kashyap fashions a story that's sure to keep the heart racing.
Writers (Sulemani Keeda)
North American Premiere
India/2013/90min
Director: Amit V Masurkar
Writer: Amit V Masurkar
Producer: Datta Dave
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari, Aditi Vasudev and Karan Mirchandani
Writing partners Dulal and Mainak dream of shaking up Bollywood in director Amit Masurkar's slacker comedy. The two young men take a job from the wealthy, oddball son of a famous B-movie producer, but soon fear they're on the path to selling out. Masurkar's film captures the creative spirit of Andheri West, a Mumbai suburb where writers, directors, and actors come from all over India with the dream of working in the film industry, and is a sweet taste of things to come from the new "hindie" cinema.
Documentary Features
The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers
World Premiere
UK/2014/85min
Director: Ed Owles
Producers: Ed Owles, Giovanna Stopponi
The auction houses of Kolkata used to be where the rich and famous found the right high-end objects to decorate their homes. Today, the family-owned Russell Exchange is the last, and oldest, one to remain in India. Director Ed Owles follows two brothers, with the older brother moving back to Kolkata from London with hopes of using his Western business acumen to bring the Exchange into the 21st century. However, in a country radically transformed by technology and a rising youth culture, it may already be too late.
Faith Connections
Los Angeles Premiere
France-India/2013/115min/Dcp
Director: Pan Nalin
Producers: Raphaël Berdugo, Gaurav Dhingra, Pan Nalin, Virginie Lacombe
Every three years, Hindus gather at one of four rotating sites for Kumbh Mela, a religious celebration of faith and devotion marked by bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges. With 100 million people at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the pilgrimage is said to be the largest gathering on the planet. Iffla alum Pan Nalin crafts a moving and unique view of the mass gathering and presents unique stories of how individuals came to be there to share in the belief of the divine.
Powerless (Katiyabaaz)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/82min
Director: Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar
Producers: Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam, Leopold Koegler
Screenwriter: Fahad Mustafa
In Kanpur, a city of three million that has seen better days, one of the only ways for many residents to get electricity is to steal it. Co-directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar focus their attention on the likes of pirate engineers like Loha Singh and first female CEO at the local power authority Ritu Maheshwari. Coupled with beautiful photography of the intricately tied together powerlines of the city and a pulsating original score, they present a unique documentary about current-day India and its future battles over limited resources.
Shepherds of Paradise
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/50min
Director/Producer/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor: Raja Shabir Khan
Composer: Bilal Iran
Nomadic herder Gafoor has to lead his large flock of goats, sheep, cows and horses across Jammu all the way to Kashmir so they can graze. Director Raja Shabir Khan presents lives few have ever seen, let alone lived, with simple beauty and real terror in a film that has won major National Awards in India. A cinematic wonder that must be seen to truly understand, Shepherds of Paradise is a testament of the power of film to transport us to other lands and experiences.
Bollywood By Night
Bombay Talkies
North American Premiere
India/117min/2013
Directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Guneet Monga
Screenwriters: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan , Rani Mukerji, Katrina Kaif, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
A quartet of short films directed by four of India’s most exciting contemporary filmmakers celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema in this omnibus film. Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap crafts a tale of ordinary people whose love of movies profoundly alters the course of their lives. Each story beautifully captures how lovers of cinema can’t help but carry that fascination into their day-to-day life. Haven’t we all wished, at one time or another, that our lives were more like a film?
Monsoon Shootout
Los Angeles Premiere
India-uk-Netherlands/2013/88min
Director: Amit Kumar
Producers: Trevor Ingman, Guneet Monga, Martijn De Grunt
Screenwriter: Amit Kumar
Cast: Vijay Varma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Geetanjali Thapa
A split-second decision made by a rookie police officer propels writer/director Amit Kumar’s debut feature, which fascinatingly splinters into three separate, equally pulse-pounding scenarios. In a secluded alley drenched in the pouring rain, principled cop Adi aims his gun at Shiva, a vicious gangster on the run. What Adi decides to do next will reverberate throughout his personal and professional life in ways he could never imagine. Kumar thus explores the ripple effect our choices have, and how we unknowingly alter the lives of those around us.
Shorts
Aarti
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
USA/2013/4min
Director: David Walter Lech
Producer: Terrie Samundra
A hypnotic look into the nightly “ceremony of light” ritual in a Hindu temple in Sheikhupur, Punjab.
Alchemy
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/5min
Directors: Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat, Janmeet Singh
Producer: Pritesh Varia
A bold and vibrant song to the intricate fabric of modern day India, a kaleidoscope of voices, colors and traditions.
Bhiwani Junction
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/18min
Director: Abhi Singh
Producer: Abhi Singh
A poignant documentary portrait of Himanshu, a 12-year old boxer, whose formidable commitment to the sport makes his lofty dreams to become an Olympic champion appear well within reach.
Black Rock (Kaatal)
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/22min
Director: Vikrant Pawar
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Two young lovers spend one last afternoon together. A beautiful meditation on the ephemeral nature of young love that has won three of India’s National Film Awards.
The Fly (Makhi)
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
India/2013/31min
Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Employed as a Fly Killer in an upscale restaurant, Pipal must ensure a fly-free environment by smacking dead the flies that buzz over the patrons’ heads. When a nearby drainage is closed and the source of the fly infestation eradicated, Pipal must find a way to produce enough live flies to save his job, in this delightfully absurdist commentary on urban India’s emerging work culture.
Beloved (Humsafar)
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors/Writers: Swapnil Awate, Laura Erbacher
Producer: Dsk Supinfocom
A sweeping single shot takes us on the breathtaking animated journey of two lovers and their eternal pursuit of harmony.
Jaya
Shorts Program 2
USA/2013/19min
Director: Puja Maewal
Producer: Puja Maewal
Young Jaya is able to survive the gruesome gang life in the unforgiving streets of Mumbai by posing as a boy. When she meets a wealthy businessman who looks like he could be the father who abandoned her, she sets out to reclaim her identity, in this engrossing drama that was shortlisted for a Student Academy Award®.
Kush
Shorts Program 1
India/2013/25min
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer: Shubhashish Bhutiani
A bus full of schoolchildren boisterously makes its way back from a field trip when the news of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards breaks. As violence quickly erupts across the country, Kush, the only Sikh student in the class, must find a way to escape the unquenchable fury of retribution, in this gripping drama that was shortlisted for an Academy Award®.
Little Gypsy (Kachho Gadulo)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors: Saptesh Chaubal, Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat
Producer: D.S.K. Supinfocom
Inspired by the folk traditions of various parts of India, this stunning animated film sweeps us into a mythical journey that celebrates the power of play and imagination.
Love.Love.Love.
Shorts Program 2
Los Angeles Premiere
Russian Federation/2013/12min
Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram
Producers: Tanya Petrik, Guillaume Protsenko
An intimate ode to the wondrous force of love, as it takes new shapes and forms through the endless Russian winters. Love. Love.Love. won the Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-Fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Outpost
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India-usa/2013/17min
Director: Shiva Shankar Bajpai
Producer: Aditi Anand
In the barren desert of the India-Pakistan border, two lone army guards on the opposite sides of the line yearn for booze, mosquito repellent and some human contact, in this humorous glimpse into the absurdity of rigid immaterial divides.
Presence
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/17min
Directors: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Producers: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Long days and nights spent within the bellies of the rising structural beasts that rapidly transform the city of Bangalore bring on visions of ghosts that speak of the construction workers’ memories, longings and fears, in this haunting meditation on the migrant experience.
Skin Deep
Screens with Writers
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/20min
Director: Hardik Mehta
Producers: Devang Bhavsar, Niraj Kothari
Sanjay and Sushma plan to elope to escape a looming arranged marriage. They are in love and their future together shines bright and perfect and filled with possibility--that is, as long as an extra piece of skin that complicates their sex life gets fixed in what should be a routine medical procedure. But Mumbai’s electricity gods have other plans in store for them.
Small Yellow Field (Tau Seru)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
Australia-India/2013/8min
Director: Rodd Rathjen
Producer: Rodd Rathjen
In the remote vastness of the Himalayas, a young nomad's curiosity lies beyond the horizon. This stunningly photographed film made its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week.
The Puppet (Tamaash)
Screens with Shepherds Of Paradise
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/32min
Directors: Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
Producers: Datta Dave, Chaitanya Hegde, Omar Nissar Paul, Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
A mysterious puppet offers young Anzar the chance to escape his father’s relentless punishments over his poor school grades by granting him the power to inflict misfortune on his nemesis, his brilliant classmate, Sadat. However, his newfound peace is short-lived as Sadat falls severely ill and Anzar comes to realize that the puppet’s powers are spiraling out of his control...
The festival is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally. Iffla will run April 8-13 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. Jadoo, an exploration of family bonds amidst two feuding brothers’ restaurants in England, will screen as the festival’s Closing Night Gala. The film is written and directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta, and first premiered at the 2013 Berlinale. It features a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, and Madhur Jaffrey. As previously announced, Iffla will open with Jeffrey D. Brown’s Sold, produced by Jane Charles and executive produced by Emma Thompson.
Iffla 2014 wil l present more than 33 films, including three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
“I'm thrilled and proud that Iffla's line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora,” said Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani. "We would like to thank our Programming Advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha, for helping our programming team source some of these exceptional films."
Program highlights include: the North American premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s latest, Ugly an intense, masterfully directed psychological thriller that premiered in the 2013 Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes; Liar's Dice, the remarkable directorial debut of South Indian actress Geetu Mohandas that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, starring Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire), winner of Netpac Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Dioraphte Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival Hank and Asha , an exploratory, romantic look at two people bonding in the digital age by newcomer James E. Duff; Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, a highly praised debut feature for its multilayered emotion and realism on the subject of caste discrimination; Brahmin Bulls starring Roshan Seth (Gandhi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Mississippi Masala) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Beauty and the Beast, Heroes) as an estranged father and son unexpectedly brought together to confront the family’s past; and Siddharth, a nuanced look at a family whose son goes missing, by lauded Canadian director and Iffla alum Richie Mehta (Amal).
The festival's feature documentary competition includes an eclectic mix of films from established and upcoming filmmakers that consider India's unique traditions and dynamic future. The films include: the world premiere of
The Auction House , an intimate and funny look at two brothers trying to keep their anachronistic family business going in the digital age; festival favorite Powerless, which depicts intense struggles over electricity in a mid-size Indian city; Faith Connections, Iffla alum Pan Nalin's beautiful and rare look at the Kumbh Mela; and the National Award-winning Shepherds of Paradise, about an arduous, mountainous trek through an animal drive in the Kashmiri winter.
The Bollywood by Night series returns this year with Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout. Premiering at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Bombay Talkies is a quartet of short films that celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. The omnibus film features work by four of India’s most exciting contemporary directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Anurag Kashyap, as well as a stellar cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, and Katrina Kaif. Monsoon Shoutout is a thrilling debut by Iffla alum writer/director Amit Kumar about how a split-second decision made by a rookie police officer has rippling effects in his life and the lives of those around him.
The shorts competition showcases a diverse selection of 15 films that include narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include Academy Award® shortlisted Kush; Sundance award winner Love.Love.Love.; and the world premiere of acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni’s The Fly.
Festival Passes and Gala tickets are currently on sale at the festival's website.
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.indianfilmfestival.org.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com /iffla
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About Iffla
Now in its 12th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.
Opening Night Gala
Sold
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2014/97min
Director: Jeffrey D. Brown
Producer: Jane Charles
Executive Producer: Emma Thompson
Screenwriters: Joseph Kwong, Jeffrey D. Brown
Composer: John McDowell, Sammy Chand, Salim & Sulaiman Merchant
Cast: Susmita Mukherjee, Seema Biswas, Tillotama Shome, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal, Parambrata Chatterjee, Gillian Anderson, David Arquette
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jeffrey D. Brown adapts Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold – a National Book Award finalist – into a vivid, harrowing and inspiring story of a young girl’s resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Closing Night
Jadoo
Los Angeles Premiere
UK/2013/84 mins
Director: Amit Gupta
Producers: Amanda Faber, Isabelle Georgeaux, Richard Holmes, Nikki Parrott
Screenwriter: Amit Gupta
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Cast: Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, Madhur Jaffrey
Set in Leicester, England, Amit Gupta’s culinary comedy charts the chaos that ensues when young Shalini gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend Mark. The fact that Mark is not Indian is the least of Shalini’s concerns. Her father Raja and uncle Jagi have been at war for years. After a legendary falling out that caused them to close their family restaurant, each man opened his own establishment – directly across the street from one another! Shalini’s dream wedding would see both men put aside their differences and prepare the feast together, but resentment runs deep and neither man can hear mention of the other’s name without a spike in blood pressure. Both the prospect of disappointing their beloved Shalini and the threat of a new, hip restaurant opening in the area force Raja and Jagi to work together – but for how long? In this uproariously funny and heartfelt exploration of family bonds, shared history and gastronomic perfection, Gupta’s cast is endlessly appealing. Plus, there’s enough mouth-watering Indian food on display to have your stomach growling before the credits roll.
Feature Films
Before My Eyes (Ankhon Dekhi)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/107min
Director: Rajat Kapoor Producer: Manish Mundra
Screenwriter: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Sanjay Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Rajat Kapoor, Taranjeet, Maya Sarao
Celebrated writer, director, and actor Rajat Kapoor (Midnight’s Children, Monsoon Wedding, Mixed Doubles, Mithya) paints an offbeat yet thought-provoking portrait of domestic life in modern day Delhi when an incident prompts head of the family Bauji to reject anything he himself has not experienced, much to the exasperation of his extended family but to the delight of his newfound philosopher disciples. Balancing the comical and the existential, both Bauji and the film ask the basic question, ‘Can you know truth without true experience?’
Brahmin Bulls
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/96min/2013
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Producer: Yoshinobu Tsuji
Screenwriters: Anu Pradhan, Mahesh Pailoor
Cast: Sendhil Ramamurthy, Roshan Seth, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Bartha, Cassidy Freeman, Monica Raymund, Michael Lerner
Mahesh Pailoor's tender, funny, and touching debut tells the story of estranged father and son Ashok and Sid, who reunite at Sid's Los Angeles home when Ashok arrives unexpectedly. Each man is keeping secrets from one another, and when the truth is revealed, parent and child must work even harder to close the rift between them.
Fandry
North American Premiere
India/2013/103min
Director: Nagraj Manjule
Producers: Vivek Kajaria, Nilesh Navalakha
Screenwriter: Nagraj Manjule
Cast: Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Somnath Awghade, Suraj Pawar, Rajshree Kharat, Sakshi Vyavhare, Aishvarya Shinde, Nagraj Manjule
Marathi poet Nagraj Manjule's impressive debut feature tells the story of Jabya, a Dalit boy, and his family's struggle against daily prejudice in their Maharashtra village. Jabya's carefree childhood desires and antics are soon stifled by his family's "untouchable" status, and the film's gradual transformation into an insightful and damning look at caste discrimination builds from a murmur to a defiant roar. Refusing to reduce his Dalit characters to victims – most explicitly at the film's explosive conclusion - Manjule's socially reflective film has received critical acclaim in India.
Hank and Asha
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/73min
Director: James E. Duff
Producers: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Screenwriters: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Cast: Mahira Kakkar, Andrew Pastides
James E. Duff's feature directorial debut, the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, is an endearing tale of a long-distance connection in the digital age. Hank and Asha, two aspiring filmmakers separated by an ocean, connect with one another through video messages and quickly find themselves heading towards romance. That is, until Asha reveals some surprising news. Duff has created a captivating ode to the new possibilities open to us now that the world's gotten smaller.
Liar's Dice
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/104min
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Producers: Alan McAlex, Ajay G. Rai
Screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta
Established actress Geetu Mohandas steps behind the lens for her bracing directorial debut. A woman named Kamala and her daughter journey from their remote Himalayan village to Delhi in search of Kamala's missing husband. They find a guide in an unfriendly wanderer whose interest may lie more in his personal gain than in any help he can offer them. Beautifully shot by Rajeev Ravi (Gangs of Wasseypur), Mohandas' film evokes a hazardous world where answers may never be clear and a helping hand always comes at a price.
Phoring
North American Premiere
India/2013/128min
Director: Indranil Roychowdhury
Producers: Anasua Roychowdury, Sugata Bal
Screenwriters: Indranil Roychowdhury, Sugata Sinha
Cast: Akash Adhikary, Sohini Sarkar, Sourav Basak, Ritwick Charaborty, Shankar Debnath, Senjuti Roymukherjee
Indranil Roychowdhury's stunning feature debut is an evocative, unpredictable tale of confused adolescence in a struggling North Bengal town. Phoring, an imaginative adolescent boy, and his beautiful new teacher Doel form a close friendship that soon arouses doubt and suspicion when Doel's presence in the town is revealed to have less-than-noble origins. Roychowdhury accomplishes a tricky feat with his first film by luring us with the promise of an inspirational teacher-student story before ultimately delivering a much more complex and truthful account of the joys and pains of growing up.
Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (2013)
Los Angeles Premiere Germany-India-Netherlands/2013/109min
Director: Anup Singh
Producers: Bero Beyer, Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper, Thierry Lenouvel
Screenwriter: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal
Set in 1940s Punjab, Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa details the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan Partition through the experiences of one Sikh family, headed by Umber (Irrfan Khan). Following the family’s forceful displacement from their village, Umber’s desire for a male heir is stronger than ever. When his wife gives birth to their fourth daughter, Kanwar, Umber makes the fateful decision to raise her as a boy. This tragic choice ends up dividing the family in violent ways, and provokes a series of increasingly unsettling situations for Kanwar as she grows up. While in a sense a ghost story, the source of pain and suffering is all too real.
Siddharth
Los Angeles Premiere
Canada-India/2013/96min
Director: Richie Mehta
Producers: David Miller, Steven N. Bray
Screenwriter: Richie Mehta
Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee
A celebrated Iffla alum, Canadian director Richie Mehta returns to the festival with a heartbreaking story of parents Mahendra and Suman, whose son goes missing after being sent to work 200 miles north of Delhi. Carried by powerful yet restrained performances from Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee as the parents, Mehta and cast capture the dignity of those facing the unthinkable. Mehta's chance encounter with a man searching for his lost son alerted him to the underreported plight of the families of 44,000 children estimated missing in India every year.
Ugly
North American Premiere
India/2013/128mins/Dcp
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Writer: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vivek Rangachari, Arun Rangachari
Cast: Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Anshika Shrivastava
When ten-year-old Kali disappears from her father Rahul's car on the busy streets of Mumbai, the events that follow quickly spiral out of control and plunge into a morass of corruption and violence. Rahul and Kali's mother, Shalini, are divorced. Shalini is now married to Shoumik, the local police chief. When Shoumik learns that his stepdaughter is missing, he and Rahul clash in a breathless race to find the girl. With intricate plotting and vivid characterizations, Iffla alum Anurag Kashyap fashions a story that's sure to keep the heart racing.
Writers (Sulemani Keeda)
North American Premiere
India/2013/90min
Director: Amit V Masurkar
Writer: Amit V Masurkar
Producer: Datta Dave
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari, Aditi Vasudev and Karan Mirchandani
Writing partners Dulal and Mainak dream of shaking up Bollywood in director Amit Masurkar's slacker comedy. The two young men take a job from the wealthy, oddball son of a famous B-movie producer, but soon fear they're on the path to selling out. Masurkar's film captures the creative spirit of Andheri West, a Mumbai suburb where writers, directors, and actors come from all over India with the dream of working in the film industry, and is a sweet taste of things to come from the new "hindie" cinema.
Documentary Features
The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers
World Premiere
UK/2014/85min
Director: Ed Owles
Producers: Ed Owles, Giovanna Stopponi
The auction houses of Kolkata used to be where the rich and famous found the right high-end objects to decorate their homes. Today, the family-owned Russell Exchange is the last, and oldest, one to remain in India. Director Ed Owles follows two brothers, with the older brother moving back to Kolkata from London with hopes of using his Western business acumen to bring the Exchange into the 21st century. However, in a country radically transformed by technology and a rising youth culture, it may already be too late.
Faith Connections
Los Angeles Premiere
France-India/2013/115min/Dcp
Director: Pan Nalin
Producers: Raphaël Berdugo, Gaurav Dhingra, Pan Nalin, Virginie Lacombe
Every three years, Hindus gather at one of four rotating sites for Kumbh Mela, a religious celebration of faith and devotion marked by bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges. With 100 million people at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the pilgrimage is said to be the largest gathering on the planet. Iffla alum Pan Nalin crafts a moving and unique view of the mass gathering and presents unique stories of how individuals came to be there to share in the belief of the divine.
Powerless (Katiyabaaz)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/82min
Director: Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar
Producers: Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam, Leopold Koegler
Screenwriter: Fahad Mustafa
In Kanpur, a city of three million that has seen better days, one of the only ways for many residents to get electricity is to steal it. Co-directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar focus their attention on the likes of pirate engineers like Loha Singh and first female CEO at the local power authority Ritu Maheshwari. Coupled with beautiful photography of the intricately tied together powerlines of the city and a pulsating original score, they present a unique documentary about current-day India and its future battles over limited resources.
Shepherds of Paradise
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/50min
Director/Producer/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor: Raja Shabir Khan
Composer: Bilal Iran
Nomadic herder Gafoor has to lead his large flock of goats, sheep, cows and horses across Jammu all the way to Kashmir so they can graze. Director Raja Shabir Khan presents lives few have ever seen, let alone lived, with simple beauty and real terror in a film that has won major National Awards in India. A cinematic wonder that must be seen to truly understand, Shepherds of Paradise is a testament of the power of film to transport us to other lands and experiences.
Bollywood By Night
Bombay Talkies
North American Premiere
India/117min/2013
Directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Guneet Monga
Screenwriters: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan , Rani Mukerji, Katrina Kaif, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
A quartet of short films directed by four of India’s most exciting contemporary filmmakers celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema in this omnibus film. Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap crafts a tale of ordinary people whose love of movies profoundly alters the course of their lives. Each story beautifully captures how lovers of cinema can’t help but carry that fascination into their day-to-day life. Haven’t we all wished, at one time or another, that our lives were more like a film?
Monsoon Shootout
Los Angeles Premiere
India-uk-Netherlands/2013/88min
Director: Amit Kumar
Producers: Trevor Ingman, Guneet Monga, Martijn De Grunt
Screenwriter: Amit Kumar
Cast: Vijay Varma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Geetanjali Thapa
A split-second decision made by a rookie police officer propels writer/director Amit Kumar’s debut feature, which fascinatingly splinters into three separate, equally pulse-pounding scenarios. In a secluded alley drenched in the pouring rain, principled cop Adi aims his gun at Shiva, a vicious gangster on the run. What Adi decides to do next will reverberate throughout his personal and professional life in ways he could never imagine. Kumar thus explores the ripple effect our choices have, and how we unknowingly alter the lives of those around us.
Shorts
Aarti
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
USA/2013/4min
Director: David Walter Lech
Producer: Terrie Samundra
A hypnotic look into the nightly “ceremony of light” ritual in a Hindu temple in Sheikhupur, Punjab.
Alchemy
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/5min
Directors: Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat, Janmeet Singh
Producer: Pritesh Varia
A bold and vibrant song to the intricate fabric of modern day India, a kaleidoscope of voices, colors and traditions.
Bhiwani Junction
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/18min
Director: Abhi Singh
Producer: Abhi Singh
A poignant documentary portrait of Himanshu, a 12-year old boxer, whose formidable commitment to the sport makes his lofty dreams to become an Olympic champion appear well within reach.
Black Rock (Kaatal)
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/22min
Director: Vikrant Pawar
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Two young lovers spend one last afternoon together. A beautiful meditation on the ephemeral nature of young love that has won three of India’s National Film Awards.
The Fly (Makhi)
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
India/2013/31min
Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Employed as a Fly Killer in an upscale restaurant, Pipal must ensure a fly-free environment by smacking dead the flies that buzz over the patrons’ heads. When a nearby drainage is closed and the source of the fly infestation eradicated, Pipal must find a way to produce enough live flies to save his job, in this delightfully absurdist commentary on urban India’s emerging work culture.
Beloved (Humsafar)
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors/Writers: Swapnil Awate, Laura Erbacher
Producer: Dsk Supinfocom
A sweeping single shot takes us on the breathtaking animated journey of two lovers and their eternal pursuit of harmony.
Jaya
Shorts Program 2
USA/2013/19min
Director: Puja Maewal
Producer: Puja Maewal
Young Jaya is able to survive the gruesome gang life in the unforgiving streets of Mumbai by posing as a boy. When she meets a wealthy businessman who looks like he could be the father who abandoned her, she sets out to reclaim her identity, in this engrossing drama that was shortlisted for a Student Academy Award®.
Kush
Shorts Program 1
India/2013/25min
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer: Shubhashish Bhutiani
A bus full of schoolchildren boisterously makes its way back from a field trip when the news of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards breaks. As violence quickly erupts across the country, Kush, the only Sikh student in the class, must find a way to escape the unquenchable fury of retribution, in this gripping drama that was shortlisted for an Academy Award®.
Little Gypsy (Kachho Gadulo)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors: Saptesh Chaubal, Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat
Producer: D.S.K. Supinfocom
Inspired by the folk traditions of various parts of India, this stunning animated film sweeps us into a mythical journey that celebrates the power of play and imagination.
Love.Love.Love.
Shorts Program 2
Los Angeles Premiere
Russian Federation/2013/12min
Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram
Producers: Tanya Petrik, Guillaume Protsenko
An intimate ode to the wondrous force of love, as it takes new shapes and forms through the endless Russian winters. Love. Love.Love. won the Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-Fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Outpost
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India-usa/2013/17min
Director: Shiva Shankar Bajpai
Producer: Aditi Anand
In the barren desert of the India-Pakistan border, two lone army guards on the opposite sides of the line yearn for booze, mosquito repellent and some human contact, in this humorous glimpse into the absurdity of rigid immaterial divides.
Presence
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/17min
Directors: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Producers: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Long days and nights spent within the bellies of the rising structural beasts that rapidly transform the city of Bangalore bring on visions of ghosts that speak of the construction workers’ memories, longings and fears, in this haunting meditation on the migrant experience.
Skin Deep
Screens with Writers
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/20min
Director: Hardik Mehta
Producers: Devang Bhavsar, Niraj Kothari
Sanjay and Sushma plan to elope to escape a looming arranged marriage. They are in love and their future together shines bright and perfect and filled with possibility--that is, as long as an extra piece of skin that complicates their sex life gets fixed in what should be a routine medical procedure. But Mumbai’s electricity gods have other plans in store for them.
Small Yellow Field (Tau Seru)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
Australia-India/2013/8min
Director: Rodd Rathjen
Producer: Rodd Rathjen
In the remote vastness of the Himalayas, a young nomad's curiosity lies beyond the horizon. This stunningly photographed film made its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week.
The Puppet (Tamaash)
Screens with Shepherds Of Paradise
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/32min
Directors: Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
Producers: Datta Dave, Chaitanya Hegde, Omar Nissar Paul, Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
A mysterious puppet offers young Anzar the chance to escape his father’s relentless punishments over his poor school grades by granting him the power to inflict misfortune on his nemesis, his brilliant classmate, Sadat. However, his newfound peace is short-lived as Sadat falls severely ill and Anzar comes to realize that the puppet’s powers are spiraling out of his control...
- 4/8/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
From April 8th to the 11th, Indian films will once again be showcased in the Us at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla). In its 12th year, Iffla boasts an incredible lineup of fabulous films that reflects the rich diversity of Indian cinema. Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani says, “I’m thrilled and proud that Iffla’s line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora.”
Iffla 2014 presents 33 films that include feature films, documentaries and shorts. The festival will have three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
Bollywood will be well represented with three outstanding films all showing during the festival’s run.
Iffla 2014 presents 33 films that include feature films, documentaries and shorts. The festival will have three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
Bollywood will be well represented with three outstanding films all showing during the festival’s run.
- 3/21/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
The Forest will now be released by PVR Directors Rare in theaters across India on 11 May, 2012, according to a press release. The film was earlier scheduled to release on 4th May. The film is an 'eco-thriller' and a chilling tale of a man-eating leopard. It stars Nandana Sen, Javed Jaffery, and Ankur Vikal. The film premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose in February 2009, and had its market premiere at Cannes Market '09. The youngest Indian writer/director with an...
- 4/30/2012
- GlamSham
The Forest is the debut feature film of Ashwin Kumar. His Little Terrorist was nominated for 2004 Academy Awards (Oscars) in live action short film category. The Horror-Sex drama is finally being released by PVR under its Directors Rare initiative on 4th May 2012. The film stars Jaaved Jafferi, Nandana Sen, and Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire). The film's trailer is on line and it looks like an exciting mix of gory horror and sizzling sex with busty bong actress Nandana Sen...
- 4/26/2012
- GlamSham
New Delhi, April 4: Ashvin Kumar's feature film "The Forest", which was earlier sceheduled for April 13 release, will now hit the screens May 4.
Known for making issue-based documentaries, Kumar has has merged complications of human relationship with wildlife in "The Forest", a love triangle with a subplot of a man-eating leopard.
The 86-minute movie featuring Javed Jafferi, Nandana Sen, Ankur Vikal and Salim Ali Zaidi will be released by PVR cinemas across the country.
"The Forest" has been premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose in February 2009 and it was also show at the Cannes Market in 2009.
Kumar,.
Known for making issue-based documentaries, Kumar has has merged complications of human relationship with wildlife in "The Forest", a love triangle with a subplot of a man-eating leopard.
The 86-minute movie featuring Javed Jafferi, Nandana Sen, Ankur Vikal and Salim Ali Zaidi will be released by PVR cinemas across the country.
"The Forest" has been premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose in February 2009 and it was also show at the Cannes Market in 2009.
Kumar,.
- 4/4/2012
- by Smith Cox
- RealBollywood.com
Veteran actor Victor Banerjee will play an intense role in Indian-American Amit Kumar.s directorial debut .Blemished Light., which will deal with discrimination that happens in the name of identity. The 64-year-old Victor is known for movies like .Jogger.s Park., .My Brother.. Nikhil. and Kumar points out that he will be seen as a character he hasn.t played before. .Victor Banerjee obviously has a screen presence, and he is a perfect fit for the role, but what excites me, as well as what seems to have driven him to play this part is the opportunity to perform as a character he has not played before,. said Kumar in a statement. Interestingly, the movie.s title has been inspired by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.s poem .Ye dagh dagh ujala, ye shab ghazida sahar.. Apart from Victor, Alyy Khan and Ankur Vikal also play pivotal role in the film. .The...
- 7/6/2011
- Filmicafe
It all began when a few Bollywood-loving writers and friends heard that Studio 18 and YouTube had come together to release Striker on the Internet the same day as the release in India. Immediately, tweets started flying to plan a time that we could get together and do a watchalong. Directed by Chandan Arora and starring Siddharth, Anupam Kher, Aditya Pancholi, Padmapriya, Nicollete Bird, Ankur Vikal, and Vidya Maldave, Striker is the first Bollywood film to be released on YouTube and we were all excited to be able to see the film during its first weekend. (Usually we do watchalongs after films have released on DVD or we are going back to visit old favorites!) Organized by Beth Watkins with help from Sujoy Singha, the watchalong soon grew from the 4 of us to over 25 people in 9 countries including the Us, UK, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, and Abu Dhabi. One person tweeted,...
- 2/9/2010
- Bollyspice
Movie Review: Striker; Star cast: Siddharth, Aditya Pancholi, Padmapriya,Vidya Malvade, Ankur Vikal and Anupam Kher; Director: Chandan Arora; Rating: *** - Is a good film.
Feb 5, 2010: Its December 1992 and curfew time in Malvani, Mumbai’s north western suburb when Suryakant Sarang aka Surya (Siddharth) arrives back in Mumbai from an out of town trip. Communal riots have broken out in the area mostly dominated by Muslims. Surya is stopped by the police, headed by local in charge Faroukh (Anupam Kher). But Surya is restless after he comes to know his family members have.
Feb 5, 2010: Its December 1992 and curfew time in Malvani, Mumbai’s north western suburb when Suryakant Sarang aka Surya (Siddharth) arrives back in Mumbai from an out of town trip. Communal riots have broken out in the area mostly dominated by Muslims. Surya is stopped by the police, headed by local in charge Faroukh (Anupam Kher). But Surya is restless after he comes to know his family members have.
- 2/5/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
He belongs to a new breed of makers for whom cinema is not just merely film making, but instead a process in which you get absolutely involved in the subject matter. Making a film for them is more than just organising a film and executing it, but instead believing 110% in what they're bringing to life on screen. Perhaps that is why although he's only 2 films old, Chandan Arora has somewhat a name for himself already amongst the audiences and more importantly his peers. This February, after a lot of struggle and trouble, the highly talented director is all set to release his third directorial venture which he has also produced. The film stars Siddharth (Rang De Basanti), Aditya Pancholi (Yes Boss), Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire), Nicolette Bird (Rock On!!) and Southern actress Padmapriya. Promos have made everyone more and more intrigued about this project, so Chandan put all the queries...
- 2/4/2010
- Bollyspice
Three long years after we first reported on the project could it be that Ashvin Kumar's The Forest - a bilingual (Hindi/English) survival horror - is finally nearing completion. The Forest marks Kumar's debut as a feature director - following his Oscar nominated short “Little Terrorist” - and stars Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire) as the lead character Pritam who visits the jungle to sort out his troubled marriage with estranged wife Radha. Now in post production, the film is being repped for sale by NonStop Sales. For a look at a trailer oozing with lush cinematography, head over to the films official site. Synopsis: A quiet, peaceful forest, a secluded rest house - the perfect place for Pritam and Radha, a couple from a big city, to sort out a troubled and childless marriage. But things start going wrong from the moment they run into a forgotten adversary.
- 8/20/2009
- 24framespersecond.net
Three long years after we first reported on the project could it be that Ashvin Kumar's The Forest - a bilingual (Hindi/English) survival horror - is finally nearing completion. The Forest marks Kumar's debut as a feature director - following his Oscar nominated short “Little Terrorist” - and stars Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire) as the lead character Pritam who visits the jungle to sort out his troubled marriage with estranged wife Radha. Now in post production, the film is being repped for sale by NonStop Sales. For a look at a trailer oozing with lush cinematography, head over to the films official site. Synopsis: A quiet, peaceful forest, a secluded rest house - the perfect place for Pritam and Radha, a couple from a big city, to sort out a troubled and childless marriage. But things start going wrong from the moment they run into a forgotten adversary.
- 8/20/2009
- 24framespersecond.net
Three long years after we first reported on the project could it be that Ashvin Kumar's The Forest - a bilingual (Hindi/English) survival horror - is finally nearing completion. The Forest marks Kumar's debut as a feature director - following his Oscar nominated short “Little Terrorist” - and stars Ankur Vikal (Slumdog Millionaire) as the lead character Pritam who visits the jungle to sort out his troubled marriage with estranged wife Radha. Now in post production, the film is being repped for sale by NonStop Sales. For a look at a trailer oozing with lush cinematography, head over to the films official site. Synopsis: A quiet, peaceful forest, a secluded rest house - the perfect place for Pritam and Radha, a couple from a big city, to sort out a troubled and childless marriage. But things start going wrong from the moment they run into a forgotten adversary.
- 8/20/2009
- 24framespersecond.net
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