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Shoots have resumed in the Bengali-language film industry, after boycotts were called over a filming dispute.

Filming resumed today after an intervention from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Last week, technicians boycotted a production on which director Rahool Mukherjee was serving as creative producer. On July 23, the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (Fctwei) had banned Mukherjee from making films for three months for violating rules for shooting overseas in Bangladesh. The ban was later lifted by the local directors’ guild on July 27, but the technician boycott continued.

The production was set to feature actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya.

In a bid to show solidarity with Mukherjee, members from the Directors Association of Eastern India announced that they would cease work from July 29, bringing the Bengali film industry to a halt. Top filmmakers like Aparna Sen, Kaushik Ganguly, and Srijit Mukherjee signed a statement supporting...

Zee5’s entry into anthology filmmaking has garnered mixed reviews. The stories are weird and interesting at the same time. Lantrani is the name of the film, it tells three stories from three different years and places and talks about many issues at hand in the most satirical manner. Directed by three filmmakers, the stories in the film are quirky takes on health, moral, and social issues, and all of which are presented most realistically.

Spoilers Ahead

Hud Hud Dabbang

The title of the first short film directed by Kaushik Ganguly is a homage to the title song of the cult Salman Khan film Dabangg. The movie was set in 2017, and it was about a policeman at a secluded police station in rural India. He was a day away from retirement, and his last duty was to present the accused at the magistrate court. The journey was long, and there...

Actor turned director-producer Parambrata Chatterjee is riding high with an impressive body of work and juggling between projects with equal enthusiasm. This year the prolific actor-filmmaker Parambrata Chatterjee will be keeping busy throughout the year with a number of movies in his kitty and become one busy actor in 2024, shooting for several films, web series for different Ott platforms and directing and producing movies at the same time.

The multi talented actor was juggling between shoots and packed schedules hopping from one city to another in 2023 and we thought the actor will seem a little free in 2024, as he was working back to back schedules for his various projects in 2023 But the multi talented actor Parambrata Chatterjee has a busy year ahead and is living every actor’s dream.

Parambrata currently has some interesting line up of films in his kitty and year 2024, will be the busiest year for Parambrata...

Parambrata Chattopadhyay is the latest actor to play Oscar-winning Indian master Satyajit Ray’s detective Prodosh Chandra Mitter Aka Feluda in streamer ZEE5 Global’s series “Shabash Feluda.”

Feluda first appeared in the Ray family’s Bengali-language magazine Sandesh in 1965. Ray directed two Feluda films, “The Golden Fortress” (1974) and “The Elephant God” (1978), where the Bengali detective was played by his frequent collaborator Soumitra Chatterjee. Feluda has subsequently been played by a range of Indian actors, including Shashi Kapoor, Abir Chatterjee, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Indraneil Sengupta and Bangladesh’s Ahmed Rubel.

The detective is part of the fabric of growing up in West Bengal and Bangladesh, akin to what Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple used to be for several generations in the west.

Chattopadhyay first interpreted the detective in 2017 for series “Feluda” for Bangladesh’s Bioscopelive which he directed and also played Feluda. “It was a very radical interpretation...

Priyadarshan’s “Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea” has won best feature film at India’s National Film Awards which were announced Monday.

The Malayalam-language film, a period epic starring Mohanlal, had its global release halted last year by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now due to release in May 2021. The film also won awards for special effects and costume.

The awards are for 2019 and were due to be announced a year ago, before the pandemic intervened.

Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan was named as best director for Hindi-language film “Bahattar Hoorain.” The acting award was shared by Manoj Bajpayee for Hindi-language film “Bhonsle,” and Dhanush for Tamil-language “Asuran.” Kangana Ranaut won best actress for Hindi-language films “Manikarnika” and “Panga.”

Vijay Sethupathi won the supporting actor award for Tamil-language “Super Deluxe,” while Pallavi Joshi won supporting actress for “The Tashkent Files.”

In the writing categories, Kaushik Ganguly won the original screenplay award for “Jyeshthoputro,...

Mumbai, Jan 27 (Ians) Acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly will make his Bollywood with the film Manohar Pandey, featuring Supriya Pathak Kapur, Saurabh Shukla and Raghubir Yadav in the cast.

The National award-winning director is known for making much-feted films as "Nagarkirtan", "Jyeshthoputro", "Shabdo", "Chhotoder Chhobi", "Apur Panchali", "Bisorjon" and "Just Another Love Story".

Ganguly's upcoming Bollywood foray is a romantic-drama set against the backdrop of Covid pandemic. He has scripted and written the dialogues of the 130-minute film, to be shot primarily in the landscapes of North Bengal. The makers intend to conclude the film's schedule by February.

"‘Manohar Pandey' is a special film. It's a film that has a universal appeal and I thought it would be ideally suited for my Bollywood debut. It's a film that speaks the language of the middle class and lower income groups and touches upon the stigmas and agonies associated with a pandemic...

As I was standing outside Star theatre in a queue, I noticed a man wearing white kurta and light cream coloured shirt, he was in his fading 50’s smoking a cigarette and having his tea. Cars, buses were hustling outside on the streets casting different lights on that man. But he did not care. He was completely glued to his thoughts maybe his dead dreams came back to him. With an unbridled beard and a tired face, he was looking at the sky, he was as fatigued as this city; never really running but swanning and promenading.

My queue moved a bit as the bell rang. I took this impression into the hall imprinted on my mind like all those tiny little things in life that never really mattered. I never bother for these impressions as they come and go like a dust storm in a quilt in a chilly winter day.

Actor Jisshu Sengupta, who is balancing a film career in multiple languages and is geared up for his sci-fi web series "Skyfire", says slowly but surely Bengali cinema is reaching out to the national audience as the theatrical release of regional films has expanded.

Bengali cinema has had an impact at international film festivals with the work of iconic filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak among others, apart from movies by filmmakers like Rituparno Ghosh, Aparna Sen, and Goutam Ghose or Kaushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukerji. But now across India also, movies are getting a platform for release.

On the changing scenario, Jisshu told Ians here: "I think slowly, but surely Bengali cinema is reaching out to the national audience as regional films are getting a wider theatrical release. When it comes to the global audience, our presence is very much there. For ages, Bengali cinema holds...

The word “cinema” mostly brings the aura of dream inside the minds of audience, who sail in the boat of that dream to reach their hopes and wishes. The cinema is the escape route for millions. Director Kaushik Ganguly’s quest for that dream through the mind of Pranabendu Das or the “Cinemawala” creates poetry on celluloid. The director is clearly influenced by the iconic movie of Satyajit Ray “Jalsaghar” (The Music Room) but definitely has a narrative which is unique and contemporary.

The movie is based on a conflict between a past which has a glorious legacy and the present which is powered by technological advancement. Pranabendu Das (Paran Bandopadhyay) , the past , owns a single screen movie theatre “ Kamalini”, named after his separated wife. But with time and technological advancement, the era of single screen movie theatre is decaying and the age of multiplexes has arrived...

If I were asked about the one sound in the world I love, hands down the answer would be the whirring of a film projector. In this day and age, when digital is king, I still remember the joys of watching films at my uncle’s house, the whirr of the projector, the dancing of dust in the light in front of the lens and – joy – the ability to send the thing into reverse, which gave us countless hours of silly pleasure. I still remember the excitement of learning how to use the projector myself, a skill that I’m sure has grown rusty as I’ve enjoyed a world of media streamed right to my computer.

The changing nature of the film business in India acts as a catalyst to explore the relationship between a father and a son in Bengali director Kaushik Ganguly’s latest film, Cinemawala. Pranabendu...

Challenging stereotypes of India and South Asia, and wrestling with some very hard issues the 7th Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival returns this Summer.

The Director of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, Cary Rajinder Sawhney states,”We aim to showcase films that entertain but challenge and make one think about the many social issues happening in India today, and that includes many positive changes including the fact that so many emerging Indian women filmmakers who are producing world-class films that are giving their male counterparts a serious run for their money.”

The diverse programme of brand new features, documentaries and shorts includes seven films directed by power-packed women filmmakers that give the Bechdel Test a run for its money, including the Thelma and Louise-esque opening night buddy movie, Parched, set in the desert villages of India’s Gujarat (female director Leena Yadav and Producer and Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, is expected). Double Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, introduces her punch in the guts, documentary, A Girl In The River – The Price of Forgiveness.

With a strong Lgbtq+ following, the festival proudly hosts its first Transgender movie based on an empowering true story – I am Not He…She, at BFI Southbank, supported by Mac Cosmetics and Sun Mark Ltd, amongst others. Bangalore Director Bs Lingadevaru, is expected.

Reflecting the linguistic diversity of UK’s South Asian communities, the carefully curated programme will include 15 major languages, including films from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. All films are English subtitled.

This celebration of Indian regional diversity includes a very rare on-stage Q&A at BFI Southbank with one of South India’s greatest ever superstars – Kamal Haasan, who moved from child actor to Tamil cinema star, to produce, write and direct some of India’s most acclaimed features, including many Bollywood hits. He is adored by millions of fans, worldwide.

The closing night gala, is the world premiere of the incredibly moving and intense Toba Tek Singh, which focuses on patients locked in a Punjabi mental health hospital during the Partition (legendary director Ketan Mehta, is expected).

Sri Lankan breakout filmmakers Kalpana & Vindana Ariyawansa explore the taboo subject of obsessive compulsive disorder (Ocd) in a very personal family drama Dirty, Yellow, Darkness, while at the Ica, Director Jayaraj from Kerala, presents the Berlinale Crystal-Bear winner, Ottaal (The Trap), a heart-wrenching drama, based on the roots of child slave labour.

On a lighter note the festival also celebrates two icons of cinema with on-stage interviews with Satyajit Ray’s favourite actress Sharmila Tagore from Kolkata and the only Indian filmmaker to truly cross from Bollywood to Hollywood – Shekhar Kapur, who will discuss his plans for Elizabeth 3. Let’s hope that Cate Blanchett continues her reign in this expected sequel.

Also in the line-up is a special screening of the risque film Brahman Naman, directed by India’s leading indie director Q, the hilarious coming-of-age comedy is exclusive to Netflix. The Mumbai music industry focused Jugni, shows that love and a damn-good Punjabi song, can conquer even the toughest hearts (female director, Shefali Bhushan, is expected).

As well as synchronous screenings in London and Birmingham from 14-24 July, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival goes live on digital, with the festival showing a selection of films on BFI Player into the Autumn.

Festival Patron Tony Matharu, who is also our founding sponsor, from Grange Hotels, continues to support with full fervour, and the festival welcomes back supporters including title sponsor, the Bagri Foundation, who share our passion for South Asian arts and culture. The British Film Institute and Cineworld Cinemas have supported Liff since year one. The festival enjoys on-going essential support from major sponsor, Sun Mark Ltd.

Title Sponsor Alka Bagri of the Bagri Foundation says, “We are delighted to support such an incredible festival which reveals the richness of South Asian culture and offers a wonderful platform for emerging talent. This year’s programme epitomises the diversity and dynamism of South Asian cinema, and through films, debates and panel discussions, we will explore topical issues such as gender, identity, mental health and equality. We look forward to being joined by two acclaimed figures of Indian cinema: Kamal Haasan and Shekhar Kapur who will take us on their cinematic journey”.

Liff presents the prestigious annual Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition, in association with the Bagri Foundation, with a prize of £1,000 to the winning film. The short film programme screens at the Ica on Wednesday 20th July and the winning short will be announced at the closing night gala, on 21st July, at BFI Southbank. The festival continues in Birmingham, until 24th July.

Participating cinemas’ in London are: Cineworld (Haymarket, O2, Wandsworth, Wembley), BFI Southbank, Ica, Picture House Central, Crouch End Picturehouse, East London’s rustic Boleyn Cinema, with Cineworld Broad Street and Midland Arts Centre (Mac), in Birmingham.

Opening Night | Dual English Premiere: Parched

– Hindi with English subtitles | 117 min | India 2015 | Dir: Leena Yadav | with: Radhika Apte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan.

Director Leena Yadav tells a wonderfully joyous and inspiring tale of female comradery.

– Q&A with Director Leena Yadav and other special guests.

14 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Haymarket, London

15 July | 19:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham

16 July | 17.30 | Cineworld Wembley, London

20 July | 20.40 | BFI Southbank, London

Closing Night | World Premiere: Toba Tek Singh

– Hindi / Punjabi with English subtitles | 75 min | India 2016 | Dir: Ketan Mehta | with: Pankaj Kapur, Vinay Pathak.

Acclaimed director Ketan Mehta delivers this unforgettably moving and at times joyous version of Manto’s legendary story, produced by the Zeal for Unity project.

– Q&A with Director Ketan Mehta and other special guests.

21 July | 18:00 | BFI Southbank, London

24 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham

– Icons from India, polymath Kamal Haasan (whose films have the highest number of Academy Award submissions from India), and director of the exquisite BAFTA & Oscar® winning Elizabeth & The Golden Age films, Shekhar Kapur, will give masterclasses at BFI Southbank, with the famous female scion of the Tagore family, who married into Indian royalty, Sharmila Tagore, speaking at the historic art deco cinema, Cineworld Haymarket.

– A 2016 highlight, is a rare opportunity to hear female filmmakers like Pakistan’s double Oscar®-winning Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Mumbai’s multi-award winning Leena Yadav, documentary filmmaker Rinku Kalsy and other special guests, talking about their unique careers and exploring commonalities of experience, with women filmmakers around the world.

– The UK premiere of the restored verison of the 1948 film Kalpana (Imagination), by the legandary dancer, Padma Vibhushan Uday Shankar (brother of the late Sitar stalwart Ravi Shankar), starring the legendary dancer and actress Padmini (Mera Naam Joker/Thillana Mohanambal), in her cinematic debut, gets a one off special screening in Birmingham.

– Winner of the best directing debut at the Venice Film Festival, the Hindi language film directed by Ruchika Oberoi, Island City, tells three stories, of a drone employee at a soulless corporation wins an office competition entitling him to a whole day of fun at the mall; a domineering head of a family who suffers a stroke and is on life support, and a woman who is leading a mechanical existence blossoms, when she gets a series of anonymous love letters.

– Actor, Leader, Hero, God. For his fans, the superstar Rajinikanth is all of these. Men from various generations alter their lives, sell their belongings, and place fandom above their families in devotion to the iconic actor, a man who has inspired a fanatic cult following across the world ranging from India to Japan. This is explored in the riveting documentary, For The Love Of A Man.

– Made under the Zeal for Unity India-Pakistan filmmaking initiative, Khaema mein matt jhankain (Don’t Peek Into The Tent) and Jeewan Hathi (Elephant In The Room) explore different facets of life in Pakistan. Tamil Naidu’s hottest young filmmaker M Manikandan returns to the festival, after last year’s hit Kaaka Muttai (Crow’s Egg), with the stylish, twisted plot thriller, with Kutrame Thandanai.

– The new tale by Kaushik Ganguly, one of West Bengal’s most accomplished directors, depicts a love-torn nostalgia for the passing age of film called Cinemawala, while Liff’s first Nepali screening is directed by new hot-property director Min Bahadur Bham, who has been delighting audiences around Europe with his film Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen).

– For more information on the festival please visit:

http://www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk

– The full festival programme for London and Birmingham:

http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/programme.htm

The post The London Indian Film Festival brings cinematic diversity to London and Birmingham: 14-24 July appeared first on BollySpice.com.

The New York Indian Film Festival (Nyiff) announced the full lineup last night for their 16th year of celebrating independent, art house, alternate, and diaspora films from/about/connected to the Indian subcontinent (May 7 – May 14). Dedicated to bringing these films to a New York audience, the festival will feature 40 screenings (35 narrative, 5 documentary) –all seen for the first time in New York City. In addition, the festival will also feature five programs of short films.

The festival highlights various cinemas of India’s different regions. All the films are subtitled in English and some of the languages this year include Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telegu, Assamese, Haryanavi and Urdu. This year’s festival will feature a couple of sidebars –Nfdc restored first films of filmmakers and a three-generations sidebar, films of Bimal Roy, Basu Bhattacharya and Aditya Bhattacharya.

The festival’s film lineup includes 2016 National Award winners A Far Afternoon,...

Ar Rahman

The Colombian film ‘Embrace of the Serpent’ directed by Ciro Guerra and produced by Cristina Gallego has been awarded the Best Film Award at the 46th International Film Festival of India. Honourable Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar and Honourable Minister of State I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore jointly presented the Golden Peacock to the Art Director of the film, Ramses Benjumea at a spectacular closing ceremony held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. The ceremony was compered by the actors Lillete Dubey and Kabir Bedi.

The world renowned and Oscar-winning music composer Mr. A. R. Rahman was the chief guest of the evening. He said, “I am so fascinated by the way the festival is being organized. I thank Iffi team for hosting the festival so beautifully. I hope that supported by festivals like Iffi, the people will come up with great cinema...

The 46th edition of International Film Festival of India (Iffi) is all set to conclude with a grand closing ceremony to be held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Goa. Honorable Minister of State, I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd) along with Honorable Governor of Goa, Smt. Mridula Sinha, Honorable Chief Minister Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar and Secretary I&B, Shri Sunil Arora will inaugurate the closing ceremony. The ceremony will be compered by actors Lillete Dubey and Kabir Bedi.

Vice Chairman, Entertainment Society of Goa, Shri. Damodar Naik, Chief Secretary, Government of Goa, Shri R.K Srivastava, Secretary General Icft, Ms. Lola Poggi Goujon, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa, Ameya Abhyankar will also be present at the event.

A.R. Rahman is the Chief Guest of the evening. International Jury members including the chairperson, Shekhar Kapur, UK based BAFTA winner director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha Arraf,...

In conversation with filmmaker Anand L.Rai at Iffi 2015

This year, the 46th International Film Festival of India has become a memorable and learning experience for cinema lovers and aspiring filmmakers. With its newly introduced special series titled “In Conversation”, the festival has been able to bridge the gap between the audience and the filmmakers and create a platform for discussion on art and craft of films. The series offered film lovers a unique opportunity to travel down the memory lane with path-breaking Indian directors like Rajkumar Hirani, Madhur Bhandarkar, Shyam Benegal, Vettrimaran, Kaushik Ganguli, Priyadarshan, Anand L Rai and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao among others.

The series started off with director Shyam Benegal who has been credited with the introduction of the ‘New Cinema’ genre in India. Talking about the future of cinema, the ace filmmaker said, “In the last 40 years the means of getting to see a film has increased.

Although Kangna Ranaut has rightfully walked away with the National award as Best Actress for her performance as the Delhi girl on a solo honeymoon after being deserted by her fiance on the eve of their wedding, the rest of the Queen team was in for a disappointment, especially director Vikas Bahl who lost the best director award to the Bengali auteur director Srijit Mukherjee who won the best director award for Chatuskhon. Srijit admits he was "pleasantly surprised" by the win considering Queen was such a popular film. "It is a rare honour and I am totally overwhelmed," says Srijit. It may be mentioned here that last year, Queen was embroiled in a plagiarism controversy when it was alleged that the film's theme was suspiciously similar to Parvati Balagopalan's unsung film Phir Zindagi. Srijit's Bangla film Chatushkon stars Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose, Chiranjeet Chakraborty and Parambrata Chatterjee as four...

“I am not handicapped,” says Khoka, the protagonist of Kaushik Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi, when he is offered a seat reserved for the physically challenged on public transport. Khoka is a dwarf. The film by Kaushik Ganguly tells the story of people affected by dwarfism and their fight for existence and a normal life.

Khoka (Dulal Sarkar) works as a clown in a circus. His life takes a turn when his colleague- Shibu, also a dwarf-meets with an accident. Khoka is entrusted with the responsibility of handing over the compensation to Shibu’s family. He meets his daughter Soma and strikes a bond immediately. Soma suffers from the same physical condition as Khoka.

The story examines various issues at deeper emotional level- self pity versus self respect, survival versus existence, choice versus compromise and ultimately realism and romanticism. Ganguly successfully shows how most dwarfs who work in circus live a...

Elizabeth Ekadashi, directed by Paresh Mokashi, will screen as the opening Feature Film of the Indian Panorama section at the 45th International Film Festival of India 2014. The other highlights in the feature-film section include Kaushik Ganguly’s Chotoder Chobi, Rajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi, Rajeev Ravi’s Njan Steve Lopez, Shaji N. Karun’s Swapaanam and Avinash Arun’s Killa.

The Last Adieu by Shabnam Sukhdev has been chosen as the Opening Film of the Non-Feature Film section of Indian Panorama 2014.

Feature Films

Title of the Film Language Director Othello Assamese Hemanta Kumar Das Punashcha Bengali Souvik Mitra Chotoder Chobi Bengali Kaushik Ganguly Bodhon Bengali Ayananshu Banerjee Jodi Love Dile Na Praane Bengali Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha Teenkahon Bengali Bauddhayan Mukherji Gour Hari Dastaan – The freedom File Hindi Ananth Narayan Mahadevan Ankhon Dekhi Hindi Rajat Kapoor 1-December Kannada P. Sheshadri Ri Khasi Pradip Kurbah 1983 Malayalam Abrid Shine North 24 Kaatham...

The inaugural edition of International Film Festival of Colombo, the first major international film festival to be held in Sri Lanka, will screen a special package of Indian films curated by DearCinema.

The festival, to be held from September 2-7, is being organized by the Directors’ Guild of Sri Lanka with the support of Okinawa International Movie Festival in Japan.

The package comprises of award-winning and festival-favourite Indian films like Kanu Behl’s Titli, Avinash Arun’s Killa, Anup Singh’s Qissa, Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, Geethu Mohandas’ Liar’s Dice, Kaushik Ganguly’s Apur Panchali, Jahnu Barua’s Ajeyo, Shilpa Ranade’s The World of Goopi and Bagha and Rajeev Ravi’s Annayum Rasoolam.

Kanu Behl, Avinash Arun, Nagraj Manjule, Geethu Mohandas, Kaushik Ganguly, Jahnu Barua, Shilpa Ranade and Rajeev Ravi will be in attendance at the festival. Actors Geetanjali Thapa (Liar’s Dice) and Rasika Dugal (Qissa) will...

A portrait of Satyajit Ray by Rishiraj Sahoo | Source: Wikimedia commons

Let’s start to play a game here – What is common between the 9 Bengali films listed below:

1 – Antaheen (2009, dir: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) advertised that this was the first film after Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri where Aparna Sen and Sharmila Tagore acted together. It went further stating that even the Ray masterpiece didn’t have the two pitted against each other in the same frame as this film did.

2 – Abar Aranye (2003, dir: Goutam Ghose) took three of the four characters of Aranyer Din Ratri to the forest of Dooars on a sequel train at a time when the DVD, CD version of the Ray original was not readily available.

3 – Aborto (2013, dir: Arindam Sil) flaunts that all the characters of the film have the same names as the different major characters in the master’s film oeuvre.

4 – Charulata 2011 (2012, dir:...

Apur Panchali, director Kaushik Ganguly’s homage to renowned Bengali director Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy, is all set to win over a whole new generation of British cineastes when it premieres at the world’s best cinema, the British Film Institute’s prestigious National Film Theatre 1 on July 14and subsequently at the Cineworld Wembley on July 15 as part of the 5th anniversary celebrations of the London Indian Film Festival.

The event is being held in association with the Satyajit Ray Foundation and the screening will also honour the Foundation’s Founder and Chairperson Pam Cullen, a dear friend and tireless advocate of Ray during his lifetime, and former member of the Free India Movement in her younger days.

The President of the Foundation is Mrs Bijoya Ray and the Vice President is Sandip Ray. The Foundation’s Patrons are a glittering array of film personalities including Lord Attenborough Cbe,...

Hemalkasa to close London Indian Film Festival

The 2014 London Indian Film Festival, that will be held from July 10-17, unveiled its lineup. While Jeffrey Brown’s Sold will open the festival, Marathi-language film Hemalkasa directed by Samruddhi Porey will be screened as the closing film.

Featuring Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni and Mohan Agashe; the film is a biopic that follows the selfless journey of Dr. Prakash Baba Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte, a couple who dedicated their lives to a project for the development of tribal people of Maharashtra. This is the world premiere of Hemalkasa.

Praveen Morchhale’s Barefoot to Goa, Amit V Masurkar’s Sulemani Keeda, Shilpa Ranade’s Goopi Gawaiiya Bagha Bajaiiya, Anup Singh’s Qissa, Kaushik Ganguly’s Apur Panchali and Kr Manoj’s Virgin Talkies are some of the well-known films that will be screened at the festival.

Also screened will be Kannada...

Get ready London film fans! The fabulous London Indian Film Festival, running July 10th – 17th, will bring you an eclectic and cool mix of films! Now Europe’s largest platform for Indian cinema, the London Indian Film Festival returns to the Capital, in association with Pure Heaven, the British Film Institute, and official Hotel Partner Grange Hotels, celebrating the exploding movement of Indian Independent cinema and bringing to UK audiences a rare selection of cutting-edge films from some of the Indian subcontinent’s hottest independent talents. Going way beyond Bollywood, the festival presents a kaleidoscope of new films that challenge, shock, generate debate and present a more realistic view of India and the subcontinent today, in all its diversity.

The festival has many highlights and will showcase Emma Thompson’s Sold and Million Dollar Arm, which stars Jon Hamm and also boasts a bevy of Bollywood stars! The festival will stretch citywide,...

A still from Goynar Baksho

Sholay 3D will open the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne which will take place from May 1-11. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the film’s star Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured as the Iffm International Screen Icon for 2014. To celebrate this visit, La Trobe University of Melbourne is creating the ‘Shri Amitabh Bachchan’ scholarship and Bachchan will present the inaugural scholarship to a student during his visit.

The festival will close with Goynar Baksho, directed by Aparna Sen, which will be introduced by lead actor Konkona Sen Sharma.

‘Hurrah Bollywood!’ section of the festival will feature “the best mainstream Hindi cinema from the last 12 months”, including Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela and Dhoom 3.

‘Beyond Bollywood’ section will present arthouse and regional language cinema including Gajendra Ahire’s Anumati, Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan, Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry,...

Kaushik Ganguly’s Apur Panchali takes off on Pather Panchali and is about the child actor who played Apu in the film – Subir Banerjee – and what happened to him because he never made another film after Ray’s masterpiece.

Cinema in India has now split up into several pan-Indian categories. Apart from the mainstream Hindi film we have the ‘indie’ cinema represented by films like The Lunchbox and Ship of Theseus as well as the documentary (Fire in the Blood), which has become commercially viable, as it was not. Apart from these categories, there is the regional art film which, unlike its popular counterpart, is pan-Indian rather than local – because it is aimed at audiences at film festivals and other pan-Indian cultural gatherings, and cannot be imagined without subtitles in English. The pan-Indian art film is gaining ground across India and well-known film critics were also recommending the Indian Panorama...

Kaushik Ganguly won the Best Director Award of the 44th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) for Apur Panchali. The award comprises of Silver Peacock, Certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 million (Usd 24000).

Apur Panchali (Apu’s Song) is a real-life story inspired by Subir Banerjee, the child actor who played the iconic role of Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. The film released theatrically in August 1955 and it has been 58 long years hence. But ironically Subir never became a part of any film again in his entire life. On his way to receive an award in a film festival in Germany, he reminisces about his life.

Beatriz’s war from East Timor bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film and a cash prize of Rs. 4 million (Usd 64000). The film is directed by Luigi Acquisto and Bety Reis.

Alon Moni Aboutboul won the Best Actor (Male) award for...

Iffi to screen festival favorites Blue is the Warmest Colour, Ilo Ilo, The Past among others

A still from The Coffin Maker

Two Indian Films; Apu’s Song by Kaushik Ganguly and The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi have been selected in the International Competition section at the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) to be held in Goa from November 20-30, 2013.

Apu’s Song is a real-life story inspired by Subir Banerjee, the child actor who played the iconic role of Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. The film released theatrically in August 1955 and it has been 58 long years hence. But ironically Subir never became a part of any film again in his entire life. On his way to receive an award in a film festival in Germany, he reminisces about his life.

The Coffin Maker by Veena Bakshi (India) is set in a small village in Goa.

The highly-rated film The Lunchbox has lost the race as India's Oscar nominee for 2013. The elegiac, haunting tragic Gujarati travel drama The Good Road has won the coveted privilege of being India's official Oscar entry for this year. The film earlier won the National award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati. Speaking on the decision on Saturday evening the head of the jury for the Oscar selection, filmmaker Gautam Ghose said, "We chose this wonderful Gujarati film The Good Road. We were surprised by the film. There were other strong contenders in the short-list, Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish and Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam and also two regional films Kaushik Ganguly's Shabdo, and the Malayalam film Celluloid directed by Kamal." There were 16 members in the jury. They were given the task of sifting through all the entries.

The first edition of the Extravagant India! International Indian Film Festival will be launched in Paris in association with the Indian Embassy in Paris and the Paris City Hall showcasing Indian cinema from October 16-22, 2013.

The festival will have competitive and non-competitive sections along with interactions with filmmakers and meetings with industry experts to boost co-productions between India and France.

There are three sections in competition: feature films, short films and documentary films.

Feature films in competition are Ship of Theseus by Anand Gandhi, Shabdo by Kaushik Ganguly (French Premiere), Ugly by Anurag Kashyap, Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra, Raajneeti by Prakash Jha (French Premiere) and Kahaani by Sujoy Ghosh (French Premiere).

Short films in competition are Skin Deep by Hardik Mehta, Tatpaschat – And Then by Anadi Athaley, Allah Is Great by Andrea Iannetta, For Hire by Varun Chavla and The Three Of Us by Umesh Kulkarni.

Faith Connection by Pal Nalin (European Premiere), Char,...

Anurag Basu best known for the recent success of his film Barfi, has apparently acquired the rights to remake the Bengali film Shabdo. The national award winning film which was directed by Kaushik Ganguly revolved around the life of a foley (sound recording specialist) artist and featured Ritwik Chakraborty, Raima Sen, Churni Ganguly, Victor Banerjee and Srijit Mekherji. As for the Hindi remake, Anurag will be producing as well as directing the film, while Kaushik will be assisting him in scripting the same. Currently, under scripting process, the film's shoot should commence by December.

After celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema in its 2012 edition, the 10th Dubai International Film Festival has again included a “Celebration of Indian cinema” section in its out-of-competition programme.

Feature films and documentaries can be submitted for inclusion in this section.

Last year, under this section, Diff screened Joy Mathew’s Shutter, Kaushik Ganguly’s Sound, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Quartet 1, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Hansal Mehta’s Shahid among others.

Besides “Celebration of Indian cinema”, the other out-of-competition sections are Arabian Nights, Cinema for Children, Cinema of AsiaAfrica, Cinema of the World and Gulf Voices.

Indian filmmakers can also submit entries for competitive sections: Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature, Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary and Muhr AsiaAfrica Short.

For submission, films must have been produced after September 1, 2012. Films must not have been screened in the Gulf region for any audiences before Diff with the exception of...

Kolkata, July 23: The West Bengal government will honour 50 Bengali film personalities on the occasion of the 33rd death anniversary of matinee idol Uttam Kumar Wednesday.

Actors Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, Ranjit Mullick, Dipankar Dey and Sandhya Roy, and filmmaker Gautam Ghosh would be presented the lifetime achievement award for their contribution to Bengali cinema.

Actors Chinmoy Roy and Partha Mukherjee, and directors Sandip Roy, Kaushik Ganguly, Sujit Guha, Srijit Mukherjee and Raj Chakraborty would be presented special awards.

The Mahanayak Samman, 2013, will be awarded to leading actors Tapas Pal and Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Other.

Ace filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, who is known for his unique films, suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away on Thursday morning at 7.30am in Kolkata at the age of 49. He was reportedly suffering from pancreatitis.

Rituparno Ghosh was first acknowledged in the 90’s when he made films in Bengali with strong and sensitive subjects. His recent endeavours were with some Bollywood biggies like Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Ghosh won many national awards and his film Chokher Bali starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Raima Sen was nominated for Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 2003.

Rituparno Ghosh was a bold director and did not refrain from touching the otherwise sensitively discussed topic of homosexuality. He played the role of a homosexual filmmaker in Kaushik Ganguly’s ‘‘Arekti Premer Galpo’ and Sanjoy Nag’s ‘Memories in March’. He was one person who never attempted to hide his sexual preferences.

Paan Singh Tomar (Hindi) directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia was declared the Best Film at the 60th National Film Awards announced today at a joint Press Conference addressed by the Chairpersons of the three juries; Basu Chatterjee for Feature Films, Aruna Raje for Non-Feature Films and Swapan Mullick for Best Writing on Cinema.

In non-feature film category, the award for the Best Film went to Shepherds of Paradise (Gojri & Urdu) produced and directed by Raja Shabir Khan. In the category of Best Writing on Cinema section, the book ‘Silent Cinema in India – A Pictorial Journey’ (English) written by B.D. Garga has bagged the top honour, whereas P.S. Radhakrishnan has been conferred the award for the Best film Critic.

Chittagong (Hindi) and 101 Chodiyangal (Malayalam) have shared the Indira Gandhi award for the Best Debut Film of a Director. The award for the Best Popular Film for providing wholesome entertainment has...

Kolkata, Jan 9: Independent cinema is under seige in India with multiplexes and studios taking over the production and exhibition of movies, a group of filmmakers said at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2013 here Wednesday.

At a panel discussion, "India's Indie Film Future - Questions and Concerns : A Filmmakers' Forum", directors like Goutam Ghose, Kaushik Ganguly, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Suman Mukhopadhyay and Onir questioned the role of the state in promoting cinema.

They asked why independent cinema was not considered a part of art and culture of India and discussed ways to nurture quality cinema with the help of enterprising.

Writer-Director: Kaushik Ganguly, Cinematographer: Shirsha Ray Editor: Mainak Bhoumik, Cast : Churni Ganguly, Kaushik Ganguly, Raima Sen, Ritwik Chakraborty, Srijit Mukherje, Victor Banerjee

Shobdo is a tribute to all the unsung heroes of the film industry on 100 years of Indian cinema. Kaushik Ganguly has chosen to highlight the Foley artists who go unheard despite creating accurate and effective ambience sounds that pour life into every frame and scene.

Shobdo tells the story of Tarukh, a foley artist who holds his work in high esteem. He considers himself a master craftsman recreating sounds of the universe dressed in his underwear and confined to a sound studio. Tarukh’s work soon becomes his obsession where his mind starts registering only the ambience sounds, drowning out human voices and making him oblivious to the reality around him. Tarukh’s wife (Raima Sen) and his psychiatrist ( Churni Ganguly) have to fight for Tarukh against him.

The ninth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) that opens on Tuesday, December 9, is celebrating the centenary year of Indian cinema. The festival (December 9-16) will screen a total of ten Indian films and see Indian actor Frieda Pinto on the Muhr Emirati & Shorts Jury.

Still from Quartet 1

Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, an American production with Indian actors mostly shot in the south of India, will open the eight day festival. Wayne Blair’s The Sapphires will close the festival.

Nashen Moodley, Diff’s Director of Asia-Africa Programmes says, “To commemorate 100 years of Indian cinema, we have selected a collection of unique films that reflect the richness, flavor and essence of Indian filmmaking. Over 1,000 films are made every year in India and the platter is huge and diverse, which is a testament to the filmmaking excellence we see year after year.”

Shahid by Hansal Mehta, Buddhadeb Dasgupta...

Ang Lee’s Life of Pi will open the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) while Wayne Blair’s The Sapphires will be the closing film of the festival. Diff will run from 9 – 16 December, 2012.

Egyptian actor Mahmoud Abdul Aziz and British director Michael Apted will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Awards this year.

Diff will host a total of 161 films across sections. Karzan Kadar’s Bekas and Haifa Al Mansour’s Wadjda; Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren; Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away and Michael Haneke’s Amour will make their Arabian premieres at the festival.

83 films will compete in the three competition sections: The Muhr Emirati, Muhr Arab and Muhr Asia-Africa awards. Another award is the Iwc Schaffhausen Filmmaker Award which offers a $100,000 cash prize to the winning filmmaker.

From India, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Rajan Khosa’s Gattu, Sourav Sarangi’s Char…The No-Man’s Island,...

Still from Quartet

The upcoming 9th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) announced its ‘Celebration of India’ programme to mark 100 years of Indian cinema.

The festival will host world premieres of Joy Mathew’s Shutter and Kaushik Ganguly’s Sound.

Shutter is a Malayalam satire by actor-turned-director Joy Mathew. The film is set and filmed in Kozhikode and revolves around three individuals: a wandering film director, an expatriate from the Gulf and a Kozhikodan auto driver. All three of them are worthy citizens but get embroiled in unforeseen circumstances.

Sound (Shobdo) by Kaushik Ganguly is based on the life of a foley artist in Tollywood whose life becomes inextricably intertwined with the sounds that he has to produce for a living.

Acclaimed films from the festival circuit including Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Rajan Khosa’s Gattu, Sourav Sarangi’s Char…The No-Man’s Island, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus,...

The 17th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) has announced its lineup. The festival will run from 7th to 14th December, 2012 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Some of the highlights of the lineup are festival favourites of the year Amour, Chitrangada, Samhita, The Sapphires, Drapchi, Miss Lovely, Me and You, Celluloid Man, and Baandhon.

Fourteen films will screen in the Competition section while seven contemporary films will be screened in “Indian Cinema Now” section.

Complete list of films:

Competition Films

Fourteen feature films from Asia, Africa and Latin America will compete for the coveted “Suvarna Chakoram” (Golden Crow Pheasant) and other awards.

Always Brando by Ridha Behi (Tunisia)

Inheritors of the Earth by T V Chandran (India)

A Terminal Trust by by Masayuki Suo (Japan)

Shutter by Joy Mathew (India)

Today by Alain Gomis (Senegal-France)

The Repentant by Merzak Allouache (Algeria)

Sta. Niña by Manny Palo (Philippines)

Present Tense...

Jahnu Barua’s Baandhon will open the Feature Film section of Indian Panorama 2012 at the International Film Festival of India. Celluloid Man will open the Non-Feature Film section.

The 43rd edition of the festival will be held from 20th – 30th November, 2012 in Goa.

The jury for the Feature Film section was headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta and comprised Pradip Biswas, Suresh Krissna Katte Ramachandra, Kireedam Unni, Munin Barua, Pawan Manavi, Ajay Sharma, Venita Coelho and Sibi Malayil. The jury selected 18 films from the 144 eligible entries.

The jury for the Non-Feature Film section is chaired by M.R. Rajan picked up 18 films from the 147 eligible entries. Other jury members are Bachaspatimayum Sunzu, Mohammad Ali Baig, Jasmine K Roy and Rajesh S Jala.

The films selected under Feature Film section are:

Baandhon by Jahnu Barua

Shabdo by Kaushik Ganguly

Chitrangada by Rituparno Ghosh

Elar Char Adhyay by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay

Deswa by Nitin Chandra...

Jahnu Barua’s Baandhon will open the Feature Film section of Indian Panorama 2012 at the International Film Festival of India (Iffi). Documentary Celluloid Man will open the Non-Feature Film section.

The 43rd edition of the festival will be held from 20th – 30th November, 2012 in Goa.

The jury for the Feature Film section was headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta and comprised Pradip Biswas, Suresh Krissna Katte Ramachandra, Kireedam Unni, Munin Barua, Pawan Manavi, Ajay Sharma, Venita Coelho and Sibi Malayil. The jury selected 18 films from the 144 eligible entries.

The jury for the Non-Feature Film section, chaired by M.R. Rajan, picked up 18 films from the 147 eligible entries. Other jury members were Bachaspatimayum Sunzu, Mohammad Ali Baig, Jasmine K Roy and Rajesh S Jala.

Feature Films:

Baandhon by Jahnu Barua

Shabdo by Kaushik Ganguly

Chitrangada by Rituparno Ghosh

Elar Char Adhyay by Bappaditya Bandopadhyay

Deswa by Nitin Chandra

Byari by Suveeran

Lessons In Forgetting...

A potent mix of sleek production, inspiration from literary works, sex and high quality music are behind a resurgent commercial Bengali cinema, which is again giving tough competition to Bollywood films in West Bengal..Bengali cinema has been going through an excellent phase for the last two-three years. But there is no place for complacency and we need to build up and improve on it,. filmmaker Sandip Ray told Ians.His latest film .Royal Bengal Rahasya., based on the detective series Feluda created by his father Satyajit Ray, has been a blockbuster hit.The year 2008-09 was the year of renaissance of the Bengali film industry as the new genre of talented directors with their fresh ideas and challenging attitudes changed the tide of the industry.Movies like .Antaheen., .Kalbela., .Autograph., .Aparajita Tumi., .Abohoman., .Moner Manush., .Arekti Premer Golpo., .Chalo Lets Go., and .Mahanagar@Kolkata. created a rage among the urban audience,...

Urumi directed by Santosh Sivan will screen as the opening film of Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India, Goa 2011.

The jury for Feature films, headed by filmmaker Sai Paranjpye selected 23 films out of a total of 118 eligible entries for the Iffi 2011, Indian Panorama Section. Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu, directed by Salim Ahamed which won Best Feature Film award at the recent 58th National Film Awards is the 24th film of Indian Panorama, by virtue of direct entry.

In the Non-Feature Film category, Adwaita Sangeet directed by Makarand Brahme will be the opening film. The Non-Feature films Jury chaired by writer-director Ashok Rane picked 21 films out of 135 eligible entries. The winner of Best Non-Feature film in the recent 58th National Film Awards for 2010 Germ by Snehal R. Nair has not been included in the Non-Feature film category, as it was already included in Indian Panorama 2010 last year.

Delhi Belly directed by Abhinay Deo, and produced by Aamir Khan will open the second edition of the London Indian Film Festival on June 30, 2011.

“Irreverent, crude and downright rude this fabulous new comedy caper from modern Mumbai cocks its hat at bad-boy cults like Snatch and The Hangover, with perhaps a little peppering of the Beatles,” reads the synopsis of the film on the festival’s official website.

The other films that will be screened at the festival are: Rang Rasiya by Ketan Mehta, Riding The Stallion Of a Dream by Girish Kasaravalli, The White Elephant by Aijaz Khan, The Way Home by Dr. Biju Kumar, That Girl in Yellow Boots by Anurag Kashyap, Memories in March by Sanjoy Nag, Just Another Love Story by Kaushik Ganguly, Shukno Lanka (Dry Red Chillies) by Gaurav Pandey and Ladli Laila (Virgin Goat) by Murali Nair.

Bengali film Autograph directed by Srijit Mukherji...

Rahul Bose

Rahul Bose talks to Udita Jhunjhunwala about last week?s release Kucch Luv Jaisaa and why kissing a man in I Am was not so difficult.

Rahul Bose is waiting to board a flight from Chennai to Mumbai on Saturday morning when I speak to him on the phone. He has attended the Ipl match, which his team Mumbai Indians lost, and he has had an exciting meeting with a leading actor-filmmaker in Chennai. ?I just don?t want you to write about that project right now,? he says cautiously.

So instead we speak of his latest release Kucch Luv Jaisaa in which he plays a criminal called Raghav and other forthcoming work.

How was it working with a first-time woman director on Kucch Luv Jaisaa?

Barnali Ray Shukla is not the first debutante woman filmmaker I have worked with. I also worked with Vinta Nanda on her first film (White Noise). It?...

Filmmakers, aficionados and critics celebrated in unison the closing night of the I-View Film Festival 2010, which culminated Sept 26 in New York after a weeklong showing of bold and contemporary cinematic work from South Asia.The festival screenings encapsulated a stimulating discussion on gender and queer themes among the panelists and attendees.Vinay Shukla.s directorial return, Mirch had its world premiere as the closing night feature. The screening received an overwhelming response from audiences, followed by an emotional Q & A with the director and the leading ladies, Konkona Sen and Raima Sen. A star-studded red carpet at the Asia Society followed. Appearances on the carpet included directors and actors Onir, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen, Rituparna Sengupta, Raima Sen, Sanjay Suri, Maradona Rebello, Sudipto Chattopadhay, Jitin Gulati, among others. Mother and daughter fashion designers and icons Bina and Malini Ramani were also present. Reacting to the Best Film Award, Kaushik Ganguly,...

The third edition of I-view Film festival will be held from September 18-26, 2010 in Manhattan. The festival will screen over 25 features, documentaries and shorts. I Am will be the opening film of the festival while Mirch will close the festival. The venue for the festival organized by Engendered will be Asia Society, Tribeca Cinemas and Big Cinemas.

Rituparno Ghosh’s Antarmahal, Kaushik Ganguly’s Just Another Love Story, Sanjay Sharma’s Dunno Why!!!...Naa Jane Kyun by, Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex aur Dhoka, Saeed Mirza’s Ek Tho Chance etc. are a few other films that will be screened at the festival.

I Am directed by Onir is a series of four short stories about issues and dilemmas facing modern Indian society, ranging from policing of homosexual men to adult survivors of childhood sex-abuse, and unmarried motherhood. It stars Sanjay Suri, Shernaz Patel, Anurag Kashyap, Radhika Apte, Rahul Bose,...

I View Film Festival 2010, presented by the human rights organization Engendered and runnning from Sept. 18-26 at the Tribeca Film Center and Asia Society in New York City, will open with Indian director Onir's "I Am."

The festival focuses on South Asian Cinema.

The line-up also includes Duane Baughman and Johnny O’Hara's "Bhutto," about assassinated Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and Kaushik Ganguly and Rituparno Ghosh's "Just Another Love Story."...