Prakash Raj surprised by peopleOctober 6th, 2009 Prakash Raj is astonished that people have a problem with him for remaking his own Tamil movie, Abhiyum Naanum, into Kannada. He claims that he is simply remaking it because he is inspired by it and that it is still sensible cinema.
11th Osian film fest to put spotlight on IndiaOctober 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The 11th annual Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, starting here Oct 24, will focus on Indian films and filmmakers for the first time since its inception a decade ago. "Osians-Cinefans young friends Vishal Bhardwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee along with their wonderful star actors and technicians will directly present in NewStream (Cinema Section) the emerging new face of Indian cinema through their films that have won both critical and popular acclaim, Mani Kaul, director general of the film fest, said in a statement released here Tuesday.
Shobana loves cinema!September 19th, 2009 Two-time National award winning actress Shobana has expressed her love for cinema and that she is happy with the changes taking place in both commercial and art films. A lot of commercial movies that star her favorite actors do well and also win National awards.
Amol and Sharmila are back together after 30 years!August 13th, 2009 Yesteryear stars Amol Palekar and Sharmila Tagore are back together after three decades. They have formerly worked together in a Bengali film ‘Mother’ in the late 70s.
Film festival to be held in KozhikodeJuly 31st, 2009 The Kerala State Chalachithra Academy will be organizing the sixth edition of the National Film Festival in Kozhikode from August 3 to 6. It will be inaugurated at the Tagore Centenary Hall by Minister for Culture M.A.
Government gets proactive in curbing video piracyJuly 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With video piracy hitting India's film industry hard, the government Tuesday said it has taken a slew of steps to curb the menace, including reduction of entertainment tax and promotion of digital theatres. State governments have been requested to reduce entertainment tax rates, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told the Lok Sabha, th lower house of parliament.
Book on Muslim culture in Hindi cinema releasedJuly 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A book on the depiction of Musim culture in Hindi cinema from the 1930s, co-authored by an Indain professor and the head of cinema studies at New York University, was released here Saturday evening. The "Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema" was written over a period of almost two years by Ira Bhaskar, an associate professor of cinema studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Richard Allen, chair of Cinema Studies at New York University.
Kerala to set up film institute, cine park and archives centreJuly 1st, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The Kerala film industry has lots more to cheer about - it is set to get a film institute, a film park and an archives centre, state Culture Minister M.A. Baby announced in the assembly Wednesday.
PM assures film producers he would protect the industryJune 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday promised a film industry delegation that called on him that he would protect the industry against piracy, and that he wanted "Indian cinema to flourish". "Piracy is like the kiss of death for us.
Our films have kept India-Pakistan from all-out war: Mahesh BhattJune 17th, 2009 PANAJI - Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt feels that steady, subtle infiltration of Indian cinema into Pakistani households is one of the reasons which has kept both countries from an all out war. Speaking in Panaji Wednesday to announce the launch of the South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) being held here June 26-29, Bhatt said that the medium of storytelling automatically dissolved political boundaries.
Manali gets its first cinema hallJune 11th, 2009 SHIMLA - Manali, one of Himachal Pradesh's more popular tourist destinations, has got its first cinema hall. It was inaugurated in the Piccadilly multicomplex building this week.
Fox Star Studios enters Tamil film industry with MurugadossMay 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Fox Star Studios, a joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and Star, has decided to expand its operations to the Tamil film industry by signing an exclusive deal with "Ghajini" director A.R. Murugadoss. Murugadoss, who has an impeccable track record in the industry down south, will play the role of a creative producer as per the deal that includes the development and production of Tamil films, said a press release from the production company.
Sayaji Shinde scores a super hit on comeback to Marathi films after a decade May 18th, 2009 Popularity in Hindi cinema for Marathi theatre and cinema actor Sayaji Shinde came with his first major role in Ram Gopal Varma produced Shool where he played the rogue politician Bachoo Yadav. Following its success, Sayaji gradually slowed down his work in Marathi films and plays.
Indian cinema best example of national integration: AmitabhMay 8th, 2009 MACAU - Indian cinema was considered 'infradig' several decades ago, but it has become the 'best example of national integration' as it brings people of different castes and communities together, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan said at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) press meet here Friday. 'Indian cinema, for those perhaps unaware of its existence 70 or 80 years ago, was an entity that was looked somewhat down upon socially.
Amisha Patel to enter SandalwoodMay 3rd, 2009 Rumours are going around that Bollywood beauty Amisha Patel would be entering into the world of Sandalwood with the remake of Telugu hit flick Athanokkade. Debutant Naveen will direct the film and the hero will be a newcomer.