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Quirky Manipuri coming-of-age comedy-drama 'Boong', produced by Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment, won the prestigious BAFTA Award for Best Children's & Family Film in London on Sunday. The film's debutant director, Lakshmipriya Devi, made an emotional plea for peace in her acceptance speech after receiving the coveted trophy from Paddington Bear, the lead character starring in the West End show 'Paddington The Musical'. She was joined on stage by producers Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and the assistant director of 'Boong', Rahul Sharda. "The walk up till here felt like the last few steps to reach a summit of a mountain we never knew we were climbing in the first place," said Devi. "Just want to use this opportunity to say that we pray for peace to return to Manipur, we pray that all the internally displaced children, including the child actors in the film, regain their joy, their innocence and their dream once again. "We pray that no conflict is ever formidable enough to destroy .
You cannot denigrate a section of society by using such a title, the Supreme Court remarked on Thursday while rapping filmmaker Neeraj Pandey on his film 'Ghooskhor Pandat'. The top court was hearing a plea seeking a stay on the release of the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer film on OTT platform Netflix. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notices to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Central Board for Film Certification and Pandey on a plea against the movie. "Why should you denigrate a section of society by using such a title. This is against morality and public order. We will not allow you to release the film unless you tell us the changed title," the bench said. The top court directed Pandey to file an affidavit that the film 'Ghooskhor Pandat' doesn't denigrate any section of society. The matter would be heard again on February 19. The plea alleged that the movie promotes caste and religion-based stereotyping and threatens public order, communal harm
The Madras High Court on Tuesday set aside an order of a single judge which directed CBFC to grant censor certificate to top actor Vijay's 'Jana Nayagan'. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice M M Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan stated that the single judge, Justice P T Asha, should have given time to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for filing counter affidavit. The ruling virtually makes the fate of the film, originally slated for a Pongal release earlier this month, uncertain. The film is stated to be Vijay's last, ahead of his full-fledged political entry. The High Court allowed the producer of 'Jana Nayagan' to approach the single judge for early disposal of the case. It also stated that the single judge is at liberty to decide whether the decision taken to refer the matter to revising committee is correct or not. The Bench on January 20 reserved orders, on the appeal filed by the Central Board of Film Certification, against an order passed by Justice Ash
Four Indian titles, including Kannada blockbuster "Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1" and the Hindi film "Tanvi The Great", are among the 201 feature films eligible to compete for the Best Picture award at Oscars 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced. The Academy on Thursday released the Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 98th Academy Awards. The list of films that satisfy the eligibility criteria for consideration in the general categories, including Best Picture, is the step before the nominations that will be announced on January 22. Besides Rishabh Shetty's "Kantara" and Anupam Kher's directorial, the other two Indian productions are multilingual animated film "Mahavatar Narsimha" and Tamil title "Tourist Family" by first-time filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth. Radhika Apte-starrer "Sister Midnight", a Hindi language UK-India co-production, has also made it to the list. In all, 317 feature films are eligible for the 98th Academy Awards, the Academy
Filmmaker Anuparna Roy, who made her debut with "Songs of Forgotten Trees", bagged the Best Director award at the Venice International Film Festival. Presented by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, the film premiered in the festival's prestigious Orizzonti Competition section, an international competition for films that highlight new trends, with a focus on debut works, young talents, indie features, and lesser-known cinema, on September 1. Roy said she the film is a tribute to all the women who are "silenced, overlooked, or underestimated". "This film is a tribute to every woman who's ever been silenced, overlooked, or underestimated. May this win inspire more voices, more stories, and more power for women in cinema and beyond," she said in a statement. According to the film's official synopsis, Songs of Forgotten Trees follows the story of Thooya, a migrant and aspiring actress, who survives the city by leveraging beauty and wit, occasionally trading intimacy for opportunity. When she ..
The Indian box office minted Rs 5,723 crore in the first six months of 2025, marking a 14 per cent year-on-year growth, a new industry report has said. The 'India Box Office Report: Jan-Jun 2025', released by Ormax Media on Saturday, highlighted that 17 films crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the domestic box office between January and June, an increase from just 10 titles that achieved the same feat during the first half of 2024. "The cumulative box office for Jan-Jun releases stands at Rs 5,723 crore, which is 14 per cent higher than the same period in 2024 and just Rs 12 crore short of the 2022 record for Jan-Jun box office," the report stated. So far in 2025, the box office has seen fewer big-ticket blockbusters, with only one film crossing the Rs 250 crore mark. Instead, the momentum has been driven by a steady stream of mid- to high-performing titles that grossed over Rs 100 crore. The highest-earning film of 2025 so far has been "Chhaava", a historical action-drama headlined
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said pluralism has been in the past suppressed by colonialism and big power dominance, and it was essential to give voice to traditions, heritage and ideas amid attempts to democratise the world order. Addressing the Global Media Dialogue along with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) here, he also made a strong pitch for smoother mobility for talent to contribute to stronger creativity. Amid increasing influence of artificial intelligence, the External Affairs Minister cautioned that irresponsible use of emerging technologies will be an increasing preoccupation and reducing bias, democratising content, and prioritising its ethics were all part of the emerging discourse. "The truth is that the world is essentially, intrinsically and essentially diverse, and that pluralism has been suppressed in the past by both colonialism and big power dominance," Jaishanka
It's the season of red roses, hearts and chocolates but couples out on a movie date to rekindle their romance or perhaps begin one can pick only from a historical-actioner or a superhero film, unless they settle for a rerun of a nine-year-old film. This Valentine's Day, which falls on a Friday, only three new films would have released. There's Vicky Kaushal's historical action drama Chhaava, superhero film Captain America: Brave New World and scattered screenings of the latest in the Bridget Jones franchise. It is a far cry from earlier years when romantic dramas were an important part of Hindi cinema's release calendar. That the two romances currently in theatres are the 2016 Sanam Teri Kasam, starring Harshwardhan Rane and Pakistani actor Mawra Hocane, and the recently released Loveyaapa with Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor is telling. The former, a flop when it released, is a surprise hit and the latter is doing humdrum business. The inevitable question being asked is this - why ha