Page 549 - Entertainment Culture

'Simmba' will be blockbuster: Deepika

Actress Deepika Padukone, who just got married to long time boyfriend actor Ranveer Singh has said her husband's forthcoming film "Simmba" will be a blockbuster.

Sam Mendes' '1917' sets December 2019 release

Director Sam Mendes' World War I drama '1917' is all set to hit the theatres on December 25, 2019,The flick will open in limited release on Christmas Day and then go wide two weeks later on January 10, 2020, confirmed Deadline.Mendes, who wrote the original script with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, has earlier helmed two James Bond movies, 2015's 'Spectre' and 2012's 'Skyfall,' and 'Road to Perdition,' 'Revolutionary Road,'Produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners/DreamWorks, Mendes worked with Spielberg on his first two movies when the latter was running DreamWorks.

Japanese classic 'Totoro' gets China release after 30 years

Japanese animation classic "My Neighbour Totoro" is finally being screened in Chinese cinemas, 30 years after it was first released.

Oscar-nominated actress Sondra Locke dies at 74

Actress and director Sondra Locke, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her first film role in 1968's "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" and went on to co-star in six films with Clint Eastwood, has died. Locked died November 3 at her Los Angeles home of cardiac arrest stemming from breast and bone cancer, according to a death certificate obtained by The Associated Press. She was 74. Authorities were promptly notified at the time, but her death was not publicised until RadarOnline first reported it Thursday. It is not clear why it took nearly six weeks to come to light. Locke was best known for the six films she made with Eastwood whom she dated for 13 years starting with the Western "The Outlaw Josey Wales" in 1976 and ending with the Dirty Harry movie "Sudden Impact" in 1983. Born Sandra Louise Smith she would later take on a stepfather's last name and take on the stage name Sondra Locke grew up in Tennessee, where she worked at a radio station and appeared in a handful of ...

Emma Watson shares picture from sets of 'Little Women'

Looks like Emma Watson is enjoying every bit of being a part of 'Little Women', and her latest post is proof of the same.The 'Harry Potter' star took to Twitter to share a picture from the sets of the film, where she can be seen posing for a picture with the director of the film Greta Gerwig and her coactors Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen, in what appears to be an attic.Quoting an excerpt from the book, Watson wrote " "I could never love anyone as I love my sisters." - Louisa May Alcott, @LittleWomen ?? From left: Meg March, Greta Gerwig (director), Jo March, Amy March, Beth March and Laurie (Theodore Laurence)," alongside the picture.The film, which also stars Meryl Streep, is based on a novel penned by Louisa May Alcott, and centers around the March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy - in post-Civil War America.The novel was previously adapted into a 1994 feature starring Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Susan Sarandon and Kirsten Dunst.'Little Women' .

'CID' director-producer BP Singh named FTII president

BP Singh, the director-producer of popular television series 'CID', has been named the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and Chairman of Governing Council.Singh's appointment as a successor to actor and former FTII chief Anupam Kher was announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. His tenure will be for the remaining period of block of three years starting from March 4 2017 as per provisions of FTII rules, the Ministry said in an official statement.An FTII alumnus (1970-73) who specialised in film cinematography, Singh earned his reputation as producer-director of CID, which recently completed a record 21 years unbroken run on Sony TV.In 2004, Singh made it to the Limca Book of Records for taking a single continuous shot of 111 minutes to mark the completion of six years of CID.Prior to being nominated as the new FTII chief, Singh was serving in the capacity of vice chairman of the FTII Governing Council.Welcoming ...

Ranveer, Alia's 'Gully Boy' to have special screening at Berlin International Film Festival

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer 'Gully Boy' has been selected by Berlin International Film Festival for a special screening.Confirming the big news, Ranveer Singh tweeted, "Delighted!!! #GullyBoy has been selected by the Berlin International Film Festival for a special gala screening!!! Ow Oww!!!Directed by Zoya Akhtar, Ranveer and Alia will be pairing up on the silver screen for the first time for Gully Boy. The film is inspired by the lives of Mumbai street rappers Divine and Naezy.This is Ranveer's second collaboration with Zoya. The first movie they had worked on together was 'Dil Dhadkne Do'.'Gully Boy' is expected to release in February 2019.Apart form 'Gully Boy', Alia Bhatt will be next seen in Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahamastra' and multi-starrer 'Kalank', while Ranveer is all set to hit the screens with Rohit Shetty's Action/Adventure film 'Simmba'.

'Aquaman': Simply fluid and impressive (IANS Review, Rating: ****) (Lead, Crrecting last para)

Film: "Aquaman"; Director: James Wan; Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Temuera Morrison; Rating: ****

'CID' maker B P Singh new FTII chairman

Producer-director Brijendra Pal Singh was appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and chairman of the institute's governing council by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday. Singh, best known as the producer-director of popular TV series 'CID', is currently vice-chairman of the FTII governing council. He succeeds veteran actor Anupam Kher, who had stepped down as the chairman in October citing "international commitments". . "The tenure of Singh, who succeeds Anupam Kher, will be for the remaining period of block of three years starting from March 3, 2017 as per the provisions of FTII rules," an FTII release said. The FTII functions as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Singh is an alumnus of the FTII (1970-73 batch), who specialised in film cinematography. The Singh-helmed crime drama recently completed a record 21 years of unbroken run on Sony TV. In 2004, Singh made it to the Limca ...

Iranian Film "Dark Room" bags 'Suvarna Chakoram' award at IFFK

Iranian movie 'Dark Room', which revolves around the efforts of the parents of a boy to identify the abusers of their child, bagged the 'Suvarna Chakoram' (The Golden Crow Pheasant) award in the 23rd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala. Malayalam Director Lijo Jose Pellissery has been awarded the 'Rajatha Chakoram' (The Silver Crow Pheasant), for the best director for his movie 'Ee.Ma.Yau'. The Silver Crow Pheasant award for the best debut director went to Anamika Haksar for the movie 'Taking the horse to eat jalebis.' Directed by Rouhollah Hejazi, 'The Dark Room' will get a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, which will be shared with the producer. Pellissery's 'Ee.Ma. Yau' narrates the difficulties faced by a son for fulfilling his father's last wish-a grand burial. The award carries a prize amount of Rs four lakh. Pellissery had bagged the best director award in the International Fim Festival of India (IFFI) at Goa, for the same movie, which also saw actor ...

Thoppil Ajayan, National award winning director, dies at 66

National award winning Malayalam film director Thoppil Ajayan, who won laurels with his only feature film "Perumthachan", died at a hospital here Thursday, family sources said. Sixtysix-year-old Ajayan, who was ailing for some time, leaves behind wife and two daughters. "Perumthachan" (The Master Carpenter), which had received rave reviews, had fetched Ajayan the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director and Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director in 1990. The film had also won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Popular Film in 1990 and was nominated for the Golden Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1992. Eldest son of legendary playwright and writer Thoppil Bhasi, Ajayan made his entry as director with "Perumthachan", the screenplay of which was penned by M T Vasudevan Nair. Late actor Thilakan, who essayed the role of Perumthachan, had brought to life the character with his acting prowess. After securing a diploma in film .

'Gully Boy' to have world premiere at Berlin film fest

Zoya Akhtar's "Gully Boy", starring Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Kalki Koechlin, will have its world premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.

Kerala's one film wonder Ajayan dead

Ajayan, who shot into fame with the only film that he directed "Perunthachen" (master carpenter), died here on Thursday, said his colleague and veteran character actor Nedumudi Venu.

Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt's 'Gully Boy' set for world premiere at Berlin Film Festival

Zoya Akhtar's next directorial "Gully Boy" will have its world premiere at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival. The film, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, is based on the lives of rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy, known for their song "Mere Gully Mein". The film will be screened at the Berlinale Special Gala segment of the film festival, the festival organisers said in a statement. The movie also features Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Raaz, Amruta Subhash and Vijay Verma, and is set to release in February next year. The 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 7 to 17 next year. Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig's "The Kindness of Strangers" will kick off the film extravaganza.

Abhimanyu Dassani finds it encouraging to attend different fests

Actor Abhimanyu Dassani is here for the screening of his debut movie "Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota" at the International Film Festival and Awards - Macao. He feels grateful for "this humbling yet encouraging experience" of attending different festivals.

Change must begin somewhere: Saloni Chopra on Sajid's IFTDA suspension

Actress Saloni Chopra, who had accused Sajid Khan of inappropriate behaviour, is glad the change has begun with the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA) suspending the filmmaker for a year.

Two Indians among five persons charged with running massive movie piracy ring

Two Indians are among five men charged in the US for allegedly running an international piracy ring that distributed major movies and television shows prior to their official release by hacking Hollywood film companies. According to the indictment filed in the United States District Court, members of the hacking conspiracy broke into computer systems used by Hollywood film production companies and stole digital files, including feature films, trailers, television series episodes and audio tracks. The suspects include Aditya Raj and Jitesh Jadhav from India. According to prosecutors, the men uploaded the hacked movies and shows onto a server in France, which contained 25,000 movie-related files, including the feature films "Godzilla", "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and Horrible Bosses 2". They are also accused of selling access to the stolen films via PayPal. The suspects are alleged to have sold films to a confidential source working on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of ...

Jason Momoa wants to visit India

Actor Jason Momoa is looking forward to the release of "Aquaman" in India, and says he wishes he could visit the country soon.

Musical evening to promote heritage of classical instrument sarangi

A musical evening, 'Sarangi Legacy 2018 - Festival of Music and Dance', hopes to promote the heritage and legacy of Hindustani classical instrument sarangi Thursday. Organised by Sarangi Cultural Academy and Saurang Sangeet Society, to be held at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre here, the event will release a postage stamp honouring Padma Bhushan awardee "Sarangi Samrat" Ustad Sabri Khan. The festival will see eminent artistes like Ustad Kamal Sabri (sarangi solo), his nephew and disciple Nabeel Khan (sarangi) along with Pt. Anindo Chatterjee (tabla) will set the bar high. Later in the evening, a solo kathak performance by Rani Khanam with Ustad Akram Khan on tabla will enthral the audience. Talking about the event, sarangi maestro Ustad Nasir Khan, said the idea behind the festival was to promote the "fading heritage of the Hindustani classical instrument Sarangi" apart from paying tribute to Sabri Khan. "I am honoured and lucky to learn under Ustad Sabri Khan Saheb, who is ...

'Rangeela Raja' passed with three cuts by FCAT

The battle of words with the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has ended for Pahlaj Nihalani. His film "Rangeela Raja", which had been ordered 20 cuts by the Examining Committee, has now been passed with only three cuts by the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), also known as the Tribunal.