Film 'Rab Ne...' tests India-Pakistan relations
The three-day siege of Mumbai, for which India blames a Pakistani extremist group, has derailed plans for increasing economic ties between the countries, says The New York Times, Monday, November 2008.“Four years of sincere and bold initiatives from both sides have been put on pause mode, The momentum is badly affected,” said Jairam Ramesh, India’s junior minister for commerce. Latest Bollywood movie 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' featuring India's top film star Shah Rukh Khan has become the latest victim of the Indo-Pak tensions. Read more »
Dholakia's controversial film 'Lamha' on Kashmir in serious trouble
Srinagar (Kashmir)- The shooting of a controversial film on Indian Kashmir has led to a slanging match among Indian authorities, separatists and filmmakers. The trouble started after Bollywood filmmaker Rahul Dholakia's admission that his forthcoming movie "Lamha" would depict the pain and suffering of Kashmir even though it was essentially a love story. Bollywood's 'sex bomb' Bipasha Basu is portraying the character of an Islamic separatist (woman), Asiya. Read more »
Shah Rukh Khan knighted in Malaysia amid controversy
What started as an attempt to promote Malaysian tourism among Indians has turned into a national controversy in Malaysia. The country, home to about 2.6 million people of Indian origin, bestowed one of Malaysia's prestigious titles 'Datuk' on India's most bankable film star Shah Rukh Khan. But the opposition leader has questioned the decision. Malaysian honour 'Datuk' is almost equivalent of the British knight 'Sir'. The news has amused press ranging from The Washington Times to 'The Variety'. Read more »
Firaaq, Kanjivaram and Singh is Kinng at 33rd Toronto Festival
Deepti Naval in FiraaqToronto- The best of current international filmmaking features in 'Contemporary World Cinema' category at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival (4th Sept- 13th Sept 2008). So, it's an honour for Indian actress Nandita Das` directorial debut 'Firaaq', based on the 2002 Godhra incident in Gujarat, to be selected for this prestigious category. 'Singh is Kinng' by Anees Bazmee and 'Kanjivarm' by Priyadarshan too feature at the Toronto Festival but they fall into the showbiz sort of categories. During the last three years very few Indian films have featured in the competitive categories of international festivals. Read more »
Indian Media Scene sparkles with Murdoch Money
Rupert Murdoch, world's most powerful media-baron and Chairman of News Corp., became front page news in most of the Indian papers as he dined and wined in India in the first week of August 2008. He met PM Manmohan Singh and other political heavy weights, including the Chairperson of India's ruling alliance UPA. Murdoch announced plans to launch six new regional television channels in India, where the media is expected to grow 18.5 per cent between 2008 and 2012, the fastest rate among the Bric countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – according to the consultancy firm PwC. Read more »
'Ban all Indian movies in Pakistan'
LAHORE: Bollywood movie 'Dostana' has been banned in Pakistan and now the Lahore High Court of Pakistan is hearing a petition which says exhibition of all Indian films be declared unlawful, illegal and against the current Film Rules of Pakistan. Read more »
Roadside Romeo: Walt Disney’s First Hindi Animation
MUMBAI - For the first time Walt Disney has made a film in Hindi. The release of ‘Roadside Romeo,’ the animation tale of a dog finding true love after being abandoned in a Mumbai slum, Friday, October 24, 2008, has hit international headlines. Made in co-production with Yashraj Films, ‘Roadside Romeo’ casts Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Javed Jaffrey. Like a typical Bollywood film, it has songs and dances. Read more »
'Baarah Aana' indicts India's affluent people
'Barah Aana' (2008), based on Aravind Adiga's debut novel 'The White Tiger', shortlisted for Man Booker 2008 and directed by Raja Menon, exposes the hypocrisy of Indian's upper and middle class, and its atrocities committed against poor people. Featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Tannishtha Chaterjee, Violante Placido Vijay Raz, Benjamin Gilani and Barry John film has been a subject of intense debate in the Western press as India emerges to become a super power. Read more »
Attacks on Shah Rukh Khan intensify: Amitabh, Aamir, Salman, Akshay and now- court cases!
They say his kingdom is under threat. It seems the whole world has turned against India's, arguably, most successful film star Shah Rukh Khan (SRK). Others point out, it was a black Wednesday (6th August) for him. Exaggeration? Read on this idiot's guide to the 'Inner World Of Shah Rukh Khan's Feuds With Foes & Friends':An exclusive feature by a Bollywood insider Read more »
4th India International Women Film Festival 08 invites entries
"We have a general theme for our festival : Women Behind the Camera .. to establish "female gaze" behind the camera as we believe women are not just meant to be looked at on screen as an object of pleasure," says Shyamali Banerjee, Director of India International Women Film Festival. In an interview with India-EU Film Initiative, she informs "We do accept films directed by women only for the main competitive section for fiction and documentaries ( Cinema International), followed by non-competitive sections like MALE VOICE, JOINT HAND, FOCUS INSTITUTE, CHILDREN FILM which are not restricted to women directors only." Read more »