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Ace director Onir recently visited Iim, Calcutta to address the students at the prestigious TEDx platform. TEDx has featured some of the greatest personalities from across various disciplines. Onir was present to address the audience on the challenges that are faced by Indie cinema today, especially in India. Onir has been an indie film director/producer for more than a decade and one of the few possible authorities on the subject.

In the last decade Onir has carved his niche in Hindi cinema. His debut film My Brother Nikhil was applauded for the awareness and sensitivity it created in its audience and won many national and international awards. Since then the director has been involved in multiple path breaking projects in varying capacities. His film I Am won two National awards and he is looked upon as a pioneer in crowd funding and sourcing through social network in India.

The...

She impressed us in Angry Indian Goddesses and now her upcoming film Chauranga is all set to release this Friday. After being a part of the much-spoken about movie with Brett Lee – Unindian, Tannishtha Chatterjee truly seems promising in her roles through art films. But we in fact asked the actress if she will ever do a commercial film and her response is just epic! To know more about our Q&A session with her, read on… Read More...

Filmmakers Onir, Sanjay Suri and director Bikas Ranjan Mishra reveal that they faced one of their worst nightmares when the child artiste zeroed in to play the main protagonist Santu in their film Chauranga dropped out a few days before the film was to go on the floors.

“Yes, we were without the lead actor right before we were to start shooting as the child was not granted holidays from the school,” share the trio. As luck would have it they finally got child actor Soham Maitra on board. “Soham came with an innocence and a spontaneity that lifted the script,” says Bikas. The young actor also bonded instantly with his screen brother played by Riddhi Sen and so the chemistry translated on screen too.

The director adds that Soham was required to learn to use the ‘hoop and roll’ and since there was very less time, the actor would...

Check out the gorgeous Tujhe Ilzam Na Denge composed, written and sung by Avinash Narayan

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRlQxcQZEs

Chauranga (Four Colours) is set in the dark hinterland of India where tradition and modernity collide precariously, Chauranga is inspired by a real incident. Fourteen-year-old Santu wants to go to school like his older brother Bajarangi. Their mother works as a maid at the mansion of the upper-caste village headman with whom she is having a dangerous, secret liaison.

When Bajarangi comes home from boarding school on holiday, he exposes Santu to the dreams of city life. But Santu’s destiny was pre-written in a village that’s steeped deep in caste-hierarchy and debauchery. Unaware of the consequences, he is nurturing defiance and courting a few dangerous infatuations that can topple the equations of caste in the village. How far will his defiance take him? What will be the price of his escape?...

Chauranga, which won the film best award at Mami last year and also the Grand Jury prize at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles Iffla, has released their trailer.

The film is set in the dark hinterland of India where tradition and modernity collide precariously, Chauranga is inspired by a real incident. Fourteen-year-old Santu wants to go to school like his older brother Bajarangi. Their mother works as a maid at the mansion of the upper-caste village headman with whom she is having a dangerous, secret liaison.

When Bajarangi comes home from boarding school on holiday, he exposes Santu to the dreams of city life. But Santu’s destiny was pre-written in a village that’s steeped deep in caste-hierarchy and debauchery. Unaware of the consequences, he is nurturing defiance and courting a few dangerous infatuations that can topple the equations of caste in the village. How far will his defiance take him?...

Chauranga, produced by Onir and Sanjay Suri, and directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, has run into trouble, with the Censor Board asking the filmmakers to delete two vital scenes from the film. The filmmakers have been asked to remove a love-making sequence between Sanjay Suri and Tannishtha Chatterjee, as they feel the scene is derogatory to women. Another crucial scene involving a Dalit boy being pushed into a well has also been asked to be deleted.

The film is based on the story of a high-caste zamindar from Jharkhand and the love-making scene between Sanjay and Tannishtha, who works in his home, is a very vital part of the film. Upset with the development, Onir says, “Every scene is crucial for a film as it contributes to the narrative, otherwise it should not be there. Having said that, I feel the sequence of the boy being pushed into the well...

An infatuated young boy who faced death for writing a love letter in a remote village is the subject of Chauranga. The film that won the Best Indian Film award at Mami last year and also the Grand Jury prize at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles Iffla, is slated for January 8th release next year.

Director Bikas Ranjan Mishra says, “Chauranga was prompted by a news story. The film is my understanding of the village life where a gruesome act of killing is possible in the name of preserving the sanctity of caste system. It’s a fictional re-telling of the actual incident set in a real village where I grew up and which I was very much a part of.”

Fourteen-year-old Santu wants to go to school. But his destiny was pre-written in a village that’s steeped deep in caste-hierarchy, oppression and debauchery. Unaware of the consequences,...

UK actress Wendy Glenn is starring in Indian filmmaker Onir’s Veda, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which is currently shooting in the UK.

Produced by Bhavna Talwar of India’s Wsg Pictures, the film is shooting in Manchester and Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon, before moving on to India.

Glenn, who is playing Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, has previously starred in Us films such as Patrick Hoelk’s Mercy and Adam Wingard’s You’re Next as well as TV shows CSI, CSI Miami and Reunion.

Hamlet was also recently adapted by Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj as Haider, which transported the play to Kashmir and starred Shahid Kapoor as the title character.

Onir’s directing credits include Nikhil, My Brother and I Am, which both tackled social and gender/sexuality issues. Along with Sanjay Suri, he also produced Bikas Mishra’s Chauranga, which won best film in the India Gold section at last year...

UK actress Wendy Glenn is starring in Indian filmmaker Onir’s Veda, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which is currently shooting in the UK.

Produced by Bhavna Talwar of India’s Wsg Pictures, the film is shooting in Manchester and Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon, before moving on to India.

Glenn, who is playing Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, has previously starred in Us films such as Patrick Hoelk’s Mercy and Adam Wingard’s You’re Next as well as TV shows CSI, CSI Miami and Reunion.

Hamlet was also recently adapted by Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj as Haider, which transported the play to Kashmir and starred Shahid Kapoor as the title character.

Onir’s directing credits include Nikhil, My Brother and I Am, which both tackled social and gender/sexuality issues. Along with Sanjay Suri, he also produced Bikas Mishra’s Chauranga, which won best film in the India Gold section at last year...

Nfdc Film Bazaar is introducing a new segment for films in need of gap financing this year. Eighteen projects will be pitched to potential investors to find finishing funds at the first Investor Pitch in Goa this year.

“We learnt that independent films invariably run out of budget at post-production stage. So we thought of organizing a pitching session of such films from Nfdc Recommends section and presenting them to investors, producers and distributors. Here prospective investors can get to watch full films,” says Deepti DCunha, the curator of Investor Pitch.

In order to try out the idea, Nfdc invited selected filmmakers from the Viewing Room section last year for a pitching forum. Filmmakers were asked to showcase the trailers and talk about their films for about five minutes.

One of the filmmakers who pitched his film at the forum last year was Lajwanti director Pushpendra Singh. He met Delhi-based...

Nfdc has announced the selection for Film Bazaar recommends (Fbr) section of Film Bazaar 2014. Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Labour of Love, Bikas Mishra’s Chauranga, Kamal Swaroop’s Dance of Democracy, Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor, Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s Proposition for a Revolution feature among the list of 25 selected films.

Film Bazaar Recommends is a curated section of the market. The selected films are seeking finishing funds, world sales, distribution partners and film festivals.

Here is the complete list of Film Bazaar Recommends section:

12 Acres

Director – Rajesh Thind

Asha Jaoar Majhe

(Labour of Love)

Director – Aditya Vikram Sengupta

Bokul

Director – Reema Borah

Chauranga

(Four Colours)

Director – Bikas Ranjan Mishra

Crd

Director – Kranti Kanade

Dance of Democracy

Director – Kamal Swaroop

For the Love of a Man

Director – Rinku Kalsy

Foreign Puzzle

Director – Chithra Jeyaram

Gaalibeeja

(The Floating Seed)

Director – Babu Eshwar Prasad

Haraamkhor

(The Wretched)

Director – Shlok Sharma

Island...

Chaitanya Tamhane’s “Court”

Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut film Court swept three awards in International Competition at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival. The film, produced by Vivek Gomber, won the Golden Gateway award for Best Film, Best Director and Jury Special Mention for Ensemble Cast. The International Competition Jury of the festival was headed by British director Peter Webber.

In India Gold competition, Bikas Mishra’s Chauranga took home the Golden Gateway award for Best Film. Avinash Arun’s Killa won the second Best Film and a Jury Special Mention for Best Ensemble Cast. The Jury was headed by Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljevic.

In Dimensions Mumbai short film section, the Jury awarded the Best Film to Disha Rindani for Mumbai 70. Unfit directed by Shristi Jain won the second Best Film. Ramachandra Gaonkar’s Selfie got a Jury Special Mention.

Complete list of awards:

International Competition:

Best film – Court, dir: Chaitanya Tamhane...

Indian films Court, Chauranga and Killa were the big winners at the close of the Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), which wrapped on Tuesday night.

Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court won best film and best director in Mff’s International Competition for first and second-time filmmakers, along with a Special Jury Mention for the ensemble cast. The film, produced by Vivek Gomber, also recently won best film in the Orizzonti section at the Venice film festival.

The jury for this section, headed by UK director Peter Webber, gave the Jury Grand Prize to Mexican film Gueros, directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (see full list of winners below).

Chauranga, directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, won best film in the India Gold competition. Produced by Onir and Sanjay Suri, the film tells the story of a young ‘dalit’ boy who dares to write a love letter to a girl from a higher caste.

Avinash Arun’s Killa, about a young...