Month: September 2017

Dileep Gets Two-Hour Break From Jail Term

BY IANS On

Actor Dileep on Wednesday got a two hour break from jail to perform a religious ritual at his home in Aluva. A trial court had last week granted him a two-hour break from the prison. The star has been lodged at the Aluva sub-jail since July 9 for his alleged involvement in the abduction and arrest of a popular Malayalam actress.

A good crowd had gathered before the sub jail near here as Dileep, dressed in a white shirt and jeans and sporting a full-grown beard, was driven to his home.

The house was cordoned off by around 200 policemen and access was only given to immediate family members.

As soon as he arrived after 8 a.m, the rituals started.

His mother, actress wife Kavya Madhavan and his daughter, Meenakshi, amongst others took part in the prayers. The court had instructed him not to use the mobile phone.

After the prayers, he had breakfast with his family. By 10 a.m., he was back in the jail.

By now, all three of Dileep’s bail pleas have been turned down – the first time by a trial court and then twice by the Kerala High Court.

Since early this week, he has been getting a stream of his colleagues from the film industry visiting him at the jail including Jayaram, former minister and actor K.B.Ganesh Kumar and several others.

Ed Sheeran Doesn’t Want To Go Back To ‘Game Of Thrones’

BY IANS On

Ed Sheeran has said that nobody wants to see him on Game Of Thrones. The singer had a brief role in the seventh season of the show. His appearance (as a friendly Lannister soldier who sings) became the source of a lot of memes and social media trolling.

According to an IANS report, Sheeran said:

“No one wants to see me come back. I wanted to be a cameo in it, and I’ve done the cameo,” the musician told MTV News.

This hasn’t disappointed Sheeran, though. “I’m cool with it, though. I enjoyed it,” he added.

According to a TIME report, Sheeran got a role in the show because of his friendship with star Maisie Williams (who plays Arya Stark in the series).

“She’s come to gigs for years. They basically put me in a scene with her to be like ‘Hey, thanks for doing the show for so many years. Ed’s gonna be in it.’ I think, anyway. That’s what I was told.” 

The singer also said that there’s no way his character could survive in Game Of Thrones. 

“We were all quite young, those soldiers.I doubt I’m going to survive for that long, to be honest, when there are dragons in the world.” 

Besides, the singer is not really interested in a repeat experience.

“My whole thing was like, I didn’t want to be in it for that long. because I’m not an actor. I wanted to be in it for like 30 seconds or whatever, which I kinda was, so happy days,” he added.

Manjima Mohan Likely To Lead ‘Queen’ Malayalam Remake; Vedhika In Talks For New ‘Muni’ Film

BY Vandhana On

A quick look at everything making news in the world of cinema today!

Sign On

Manjima Mohan will headline the Malayalam version of Queen; while Tamannaah will lead the Telugu version, reports say.

Vedhika is in talks to star in the latest Muni film.

Newsworthy

Dileep was granted two-hour reprieve from his jail term earlier this week. Amidst tight security, the actor was allowed to attend a religious ritual at his home in Aluva. Dileep has been in jail since July 10 for his alleged involvement in the abduction and assault of a popular Malayalam actress.

Spotlight

Audience is bored of fantasy films, director Farhan Akhtar said at a recent event.  According to an IANS report, the actor believes that stories are presented in a cyclical format in the industry.”I believe things in the film industry… the stories that are presented, what the audience likes to see, follow a cyclic format which even has an evolution. And it’s a good thing that our audience, writers, and producers want to talk about our people, they want us to talk about our issues.”

Akhtar says that the audience wants to learn about themselves now, and are showing a tendency to move away from fantasy films.

“A few years ago, it was the age of NRIs, love stories were very popular. Everyone was eager to witness the presentation of romance and the world of fantasies was blooming. Maybe the audience is now bored of fantasies to some extent and they want to learn about themselves now, share our issues with each other.”

Let them eat cake!

Actors Mammootty, Radhika Apte, Sports Star Jwala Gutta will all turn a year older today!

Freddie Mercury Biopic: First Look Of Rami Malek As Queen Frontman Out

The first look of Rami Malek as Queen frontman, singer, songwriter, musician, and cultural icon Freddie Mercury is out. The photo, released by Entertainment Weekly, coincided with Freddie Mercury’s 71st birthday, yesterday. 

Entertainment Weekly tweeted the image:

Silverscreen earlier reported that Malek had been signed on to play Freddie Mercury, in the biopic on his life: Bohemian Rhapsody. Bryan Singer will direct the film, which has been in production for a long time. Earlier, Sacha Baron Cohen was to play the iconic singer, but differences between Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, and Cohen led to the latter opting out of the film. 

Brian May and Roger Taylor, who are also executive producers of the film, earlier told QOL, “Rami has great presence and he’s utterly dedicated to the project. He’s completely living and breathing Freddie already, which is wonderful.”

Talking about his prepping for his role, and the make-up sessions, Malek told EW: “When you’re able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror, it’s a very affirming moment.”

Freddie Mercury, Rami Malek,

Mercury vs Malek

In the picture released, Malek is channeling Mercury’s style and look from the legendary 1985 Live Aid performance in London. (Fangirl aside: He does look a bit like Mercury). Talking of the resemblance, he says that “only adds to the level of confidence that one would need to play Freddie Mercury.”

Physical resemblance in one thing. Replicating Freddie’s voice is entirely another matter altogether. Freddie is known to belt through different vocal ranges, and can hit the highs and the lows with effortless ease. Freddie also improvises a lot, and his studio recordings and live performances are vastly different in extremely good ways. Malek has been practicing his vocal skills.

He said, “We’re going to use Freddie as much as possible and use myself as much as possible. I’m in Abbey Road [Studios] right now if that should say anything to you. I’m not working on my acting.”

The filmmakers will use recordings of Freddie where possible, and Malek and a special sound-alike will fill in the rest. 

And because there is never such a thing as ‘I’m done listening’ to Freddie Mercury performing live at the concert, here: Bohemian Rhapsody and Radio Gaga

 

 

Nayanthara: Heroines Don’t Have A Lot To Do In Mainstream Films

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Kollywood actress Nayanthara, who won the SIIMA Award for best actress this year for her film Irumugan, reportedly said that actresses in cinema these days, particularly mainstream cinema, don’t have much to do in films. A video of her speech, which has since been removed from YouTube, has her thanking director Anand Shankar, for having a heroine featuring in more than just the songs, reports The News Minute.

“This award is very special to me. Irumugan is a mainstream, proper proper commercial film. Usually, in a proper commercial film, with a big star like Vikram Sir, heroines won’t have much work. They won’t give them that much importance. But thank you, I really want to thank Anand Shankar, for believing in me and believing that a heroine can do so much more than just do the songs,” The News Minute quotes her from the video as saying. 

Nayanthara isn’t the first actress in Tamil cinema to acknowledge the lack of roles for women. Last year, taking to Twitter, Samantha Ruth Prabhu had vented out how there is a dearth of good roles for women in the industry. 

Veteran actresses, too, have spoke about how women’s roles in most film lack depth. In an exclusive interview with Silverscreen, yesteryear actress Saroja Devi, too, spoke about a lack of women-centric roles in the industry.

“The women, too, look much the same. The Tamil cinema heroine is now a standardised format. You need a certain look, long hair, flawless skin, perfect figure. In my time, it was not so. Women chose to act after marriage, and were still revered. I have acted in films after giving birth to my children, and I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to do that now. Jyothika is perhaps the exception to the rule.”

Suhasini Maniratnam, having featured in scores of powerful films such as Nenjathai Killathe and Sindhu Bhairavi, in a recent interview with The Indian Express admitted that women are slowly learning the tricks of the business.

“See, 75% of the audience who come to the theaters are men. That’s what decides what kind of genre the film should be in. They are not women-centric at all. Rather, it is the women they fantasise about, or the women they see at home, or the woman they don’t want anything to do with. It is decided by men. That’s why I think women aren’t getting better roles.”

Over the years, the industry has seen a surge in the number of films centred around women. There are also actresses like Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan and Radhika Apte, for whom scripts are written. These actresses are not only highly successful, but also vocal about the industry’s pay disparity and sexism.

Read: 6 Women Who Made A Mark In 2016

Also read: Long road to a level playing field – Interview with filmmaker Vaishnavi Sundar

‘Sea Prayer’: Khaled Hosseini’s Poignant Short Film Is Based On Syrian Refugee Alan Kurdi

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Bleating of goats and the sound of children playing is soon replaced with the sounds of bombs, shrapnel hitting the floor. And the plangent wails. Men, women, children — all of them wailing and running away from the mayhem that was home. 

Sea Prayer, a 360 degree illustrated film written by Khaled Hosseini, is barely seven minutes long but packs in quite a punch, narrating the lives of all those families who have been forced to evacuate Syria. Death by bombs or death by sea — most never had much of a chance once the war ensued. 

Hosseini’s story, narrated by an unrestrained Adeel Akhtar, is focused on the day before the boat capsized and the world witnessed a chilling photograph of the three-year-old boy, Alan Kurdi, whose lifeless body had washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015. The image came to represent the thousands of refugees who had lost their homeland, friends and families.  

A paramilitary police officer carries the body of Alan Kurdi. Photo courtesy: AP/Quartz Media.

The story begins with a tranquil picture of a field with goats, a house, children, and a home being painted. A father, speaking to his son, talks about how he would’ve remembered the serene times before the war. 

“I have a sharply etched memory of your mother from that trip, showing you a herd of cows grazing in a field blown through with wild flowers.

I wish you hadn’t been so young.”

From a serene description about how religions co-existed, about the haggling at soukhs, and the smell of kibbehs on the streets, the dark colours silently take shape in the background. It isn’t too sudden, but strike one shade at a time.

“You know a bomb crater can be made into a swimming hole. You have learned dark blood is better news than bright.”

With the words painting a sombre picture of the chaos around, Hosseini’s dialogues are not only haunting but also keeps taking us back to when three-year-old Kurdi’s photo was all the proof the world needed of how the war stole lives, stole childhoods, and rendered millions homeless and Stateless. 

The final image is painted — the faces are shown. In the moonlight, amid the bloodshed and the roaring sea, a father holds on to his child, assuring him things will be fine. Because, as he says, words are all that a father has, and words they will only be. 

They embark on their journey, unbeknownst of what the next day holds.

“All I can do is pray. Pray God steers the vessel true, when the shores slip out of eyeshot and we are a flyspeck in the heaving waters, keeling and titling, easily swallowed.”

Kurdi’s family members were hoping to join their relatives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In the early hours of 2 September, 2015, Kurdi and his family boarded a small plastic or rubber inflatable boat, which capsized about five minutes after leaving Bodrum in Turkey. Sixteen people were on board, which was designed for a maximum of eight people.

It was later found that the life jackets on the boat were fake, and after the boat capsized, bodies kept floating ashore. Alan’s five-year-old brother, Ghalib and mother Rihanna had also drowned. 

Illustrated by Liz Edwards, Sea Prayer is a collaboration between The Guardian‘s own virtual reality team and SoWhen?

Watch the film here:

Sikkimese Film ‘Pahuna’ To Premiere At The Toronto International Film Festival

BY IANS On

As Sikkimese film Pahuna – The Little Visitors, produced by Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, gears up for its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Thursday, its director Paakhi A. Tyrewala says since the film deals with negative impact of political violence on the mind of children, she hopes for a peaceful world where there will be no need to make such film.

Sharing a little insight of the story of her film, Paakhi told IANS: “Though the protagonists of the film are children, the film deals with a story which is an adult topic, very relevant to the present situation. Every action of adults affects children.

“Therefore, we should be very responsible for everything that we do, that we say. Socio-political turmoil and religious fights always affect children and this film shows how. I wish we do not need a film like ‘Pahuna’ after five years as I hope the world will be a more peaceful place by then.”

Pahuna is being touted as the first ever Sikkimese language feature film. It’s a children’s film with a realistic subject and tells the story of an unexplored land and in a language less spoken. All of these elements made it tougher to get financial support, but Paakhi loved the journey of making her first film.

“Making a film in Sikkimese language is first-of-its-kind. There was a series of discovery and that excited me a lot. But, it was not easy. People (producers and financiers) told me that they won’t get returns from a children’s film, that too in a language that is new to them, so finally when I met Dr Madhu Chopra and Priyanka, I actually mentioned these points at the first place.”

“And then, they said, these are the reasons why they are interested in producing the film,” she said.

Thanking her team, including the cinematographer, story translator, music director and sound engineer, Paakhi said: “Priyanka told me that if I can manage to make a good film, she will take me to an international platform. Everything is happening. Hats off to my producers and the wonderful team that I have worked with. This film is as much theirs as mine.”

Since Sikkim has no film industry, there are no professional actors apart from theatre actors from National School Of Drama (NSD), Sikkim. Therefore, the director had to go through an extensive process of auditioning to choose the right cast, followed by a three weeks long acting workshop and training by her mother Veena Mehta, who is an actress and lecturer at NSD.

“Oh God, that was something and I would like to tell you the story,” she said excitedly.

“I auditioned and finalized two kids for the lead roles. But by the time we started shooting, their look changed, because my story is of kids of 8 or 9 years old. This is the phase of physical change, so a child of 11 or 12 years looks quite different from someone who is 8 or 9 years old. That ‘baby look’ goes away… They enter adulthood. So, I was like, ‘Wow, now?'”

However, they later finalized two child actors from an earlier audition.

“I had (initially) rejected them because they were too tiny then, and they have done a fantastic job. They are brilliant and have all the potential to become a professional actor even in Bollywood,” she said.

While the director is happy for her debut film’s world premiere at the TIFF 2017, Paakhi said: “After liking the story, our producers expected one thing from me, and that was, to make a film that matches up the international standard. I think that is very important – matching the quality, and telling a story in a manner that shouldn’t look like just a regional film.

“I think we managed to do that. The cinematography is beautiful, it blends the beauty of mountains and faces of local people and local elements that give a glimpse of their world. It’s a good looking fairy tale with a touch of reality.”

Ravi Teja’s Son, Mahadhan, Plays A Pivotal Role In ‘Raja The Great’

BY IANS On

Actor Ravi Teja’s son Mahadhan is making his acting debut in upcoming Telugu action-thriller Raja The Great, its makers announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, it was revealed that Mahadhan will be seen playing a crucial role in the film. But they refrained from divulging much information.

A source from the film’s unit told IANS that Mahadhan will be seen playing the younger version of his father.

Director Anil Ravipudi on Wednesday tweeted: 

In the film, Ravi plays a blind character.

The film will be Ravi’s first release in two years and it comes after the debacles of  Kick 2 and Bengal Tiger.

Raja The Great also stars Mehreen Pirzada, Prakash Raj and Radikaa Sarath Kumar.

 

British A-Capella Band to Tour India, Wants to Share Music, Work with Local Musicians

BY IANS On

For their upcoming maiden India trip, British A Cappella group The Magnets are going to “try” to do a cover version of the 1970s’ youth anthem “Dum maro dum“. The group is also willing to learn more about Bollywood, says its co-founder Nic Doodson.

The Magnets, and Italian-Canadian classical-crossover singer Natalie Di Luccio, known as a Bollywood Soprano, will be touring India from September 9-16.

“One of the greatest privileges of our job is that we can travel all over the world making music. We want to not only share our music, but also learn about where we are going and the best way for us to do this is by working with local artistes,” Doodson, who won’t be accompanying his band to India, told IANS in an email interview from London.

A Cappella, which is Italian for “in the manner of the chapel”, is group or solo singing usually without instrumental accompaniment. Mumbai is one the cities where the vocal harmony group’s other members Ball Zee (Patrick Hirst), Callum Mcintosh, Duncan Sandilands, James Gibbs, Matthew McCabe, and Michael Conway will perform as part of the tour titled The Magnets Feat. Natalie Di Luccio, which has been conceptualised by Indian events management company AGP World. 

Thought of collaborating with any Indian artiste?
“We’d love to. As this is our first trip, we’re using it as an opportunity to learn more about the Bollywood scene and if there is anyone who would like to collaborate with us, we’d love to do it,” Doodson said.

Any Indian song that they would like to do a cover version of? 
“We’re going to try ‘Dum maro dum!‘ It’s got a great rhythm and the harmonies should work really well. We hope!” Doodson said. “We are super excited to be coming to India. It’s such an exciting, vibrant, mobile and young country, so we can’t wait to come and eat, learn and most importantly listen to what India is going to tell us,” he added.

Known for their vocal and beatboxing talent, the group has performed at the Buckingham Palace, Glastonbury Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and many more venues.

Going by the demand for their shows, what does Doodson have to say about their style of performance?
“It’s very popular in the US, The Netherlands, Germany and also Australia. We’re waiting for the rest of the world to catch up,” he said. The group has also supported tours with stars like Tom Jones and Bryan Adams. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

Talking about their days of struggle, Doodson said: “The early days were hard. We spent about seven years trying to make an impression and trying to get noticed. We’d play to about 10 people in bars and clubs and slowly, slowly we managed to get a following and started to get noticed. You have to be resilient and ready to take the knocks.”

So it’s not a surprise that they did cover songs of artistes like The Beatles, Lady Gaga and Bon Jovi. 
“Covers are beneficial to introduce yourself to new audiences. People like to hear songs that they know. After that, when you have fans and people who like your music, then it’s important to have original music so you can give something more of yourself to your audience,” said the vocalist of the band that launched its debut album, “Giving It All That”, in 2001. 

Internet, movies and TV shows have also helped a cappella artistes.
“The Magnets have been going for 22 years now. We spent the first 17 years explaining what ‘a cappella’ meant and what it was. In the past five years, thanks to the internet, movies like ‘Pitch Perfect’ and TV shows like ‘The Sing Off’, we don’t have to explain ‘a cappella’ — it’s been a real help,” he said.

What changes has the group gone through in terms of style?
“When we started, I think we had lofty ideals about doing ‘serious’ music, but over the years we learned that all music is good and the best music is the type that makes your audience happy. So over the years we’ve become more populist in our song choices,” Doodson said.

For the uninitiated, a cappella as a genre has its origins in Christian and Jewish worship.

 

Image: The Magnets

Shilpa Shetty Produces A Television Game Show, ‘Aunty Boli Lagao Boli: Sabse Kam Sabse Anokhi’

BY IANS On

Actress-entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty has produced her first small screen live game show.

Shilpa shared the show’s poster on Twitter on Wednesday. A caption read: “Car ki tammanna bekaar nahi jayegi! Ab kam se kam paisai mein aunty aapko, har hafte….Ek car dilayegi.” 

The poster of the show titled Aunty Boli Lagao Boli: Sabse Kam Sabse Anokhi, also features actress and comedienne Archana Puran Singh posing near a car.

It will air on Colors from September 24.

Shilpa tweeted:

The actress has earlier featured in a string of reality TV shows as a judge. In fact, she got a new lease of life in showbiz after she won the international show “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2007.

FEFSI Strike Continues: All You Need To Know About The Union

BY Nadika Nadja On

The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) has called for a strike once again over continuing disagreements with the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council (TFPC). But what exactly is FEFSI? And whom does it represent?

FEFSI is an umbrella organisation of 24 Trades Unions of workers from the Tamil film industry, Set up over forty years ago in Chennai in 1967, it is a federation of existing unions. It represents the Unions of choreographers, dancers, stunt persons, junior artists, and others. It is a combined umbrella group that could represent the needs of a large section of the film industry workers, and lobby for better overall conditions across the industry.

Although some performing artists unions are part of the FEFSI, the larger union of actors is the SIAA – referred to as the Nadigar Sangam, while directors and cinematographers, and producers have separate unions for themselves.

In effect, FEFSI is the organisation that represents the needs of workers with the least power and influence, and to protect the rights of those workers who may not have any say in the outcome of the film.

Directors, actors, cinematographers, etc., have their own bargaining power and star pull, which allows them to fix the rates or pay based on their past work. However, for the junior artist, or the stunt double, or the dubbing artist, FEFSI ensures that the minimum wage agreed to by the industry as a whole, is paid.

FEFSI’s intervention in such a situation often makes the difference between payment and free labour/exploitation.

1997: Raman Abdullah

Perhaps one of the most important FEFSI strikes happened in 1997, as reported here by Rediff. Director Balu Mahendra was shooting his Raman Abdullah, and had allegedly employed non-FEFSI workers for the film. This led to minor violent actions by some FEFSI members, and a strike, leading to a halt in the production of the film. The Tamil Nadu government and the Chief Minister then, M Karunanidhi, had to intervene and ask for FEFSI to call off the strike. By this time, production on over 20 films, including Kamal Haasan’s Marudhanayagam, had been hit. The High Court of Madras also came down hard on FEFSI in a case filed by then TFPC president K Rajagopal.

The film directors and cinematographers’ union also decided to split away from FEFSI, and form their own federation, with director Bharathiraja leading the move. With the directors union exiting FEFSI, and with the power and influence wielded by the TFPC, this meant that the “non-creative” employees of a film would have no one to stand up for their rights on a film project.

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FEFSI also provides a grievance redressal forum for its members and cinema employees/workers, and addresses complaints either by the employee/technician against the employer (producers) or vice-versa. FEFSI also ensures that agreements, decrees, and orders agreed upon by the constituent unions are fully implemented and enforced.

As an organisation, it can institute legal proceedings on behalf of the federation or negotiate with the employers and their organisations on behalf of the federation. Each craft union under the FEFSI has its own rules by which they function, but the larger group will also have its own rules and regulations, formulated by the governing council.

2011: Emergency Strike

According to Sify, a sudden strike was called for by the FEFSI, protesting the long working hours and low wages for film employees. The strike came after talks between FEFSI and TFPC failed and no agreement was made. TFPC announced that it will proceed with the talks only after a new council was constituted. All film shoots in Chennai were cancelled.

The FEFSI has certain incentives, schemes, and support for its constituent members. It operates a pension scheme for members, and also provides a sort of insurance scheme – a lump sum payment, on the death of a member. It also has a scholarship scheme for the children of its members.

The FEFSI, along with similar umbrella unions in the Western and Eastern parts of the country, is affiliated with the All India Film Employee Federation, which is the sole Union/Federation recognised by the Government of India. This means that only the All India Federation will be taken as a representative of all film employees by the government, when looking into issues over trade/industrial disputes, worker rights, and the like.

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Unions in Tamil Cinema

Although associations of actors/performers existed in the late 1930s and 1940s, they did not last long. In fact, Thyagaraja Bagavathar, MKB, was a president of a cine artistes association that lasted all of six months.

One of the earliest unions to be formed and to endure, was the Nadigar Sangam. Set up in 1952, the Nadigar Sangam, or the South Indian Artistes Association, was formed due to the efforts of Director K. Subrahmanyam (who was instrumental in setting up the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce), and RN Somasundaram, Sivathanu, and others. Originally set up as the Junior Artists Association, the Nadigar Sangam acquired its name when MGR wanted to join the union.

The FEFSI came into being in 1967, but it does not directly recruit members. Each craftsperson or technician will need to seek membership into their specific trade union, which will then seek to join the FEFSI.

Since its founding in 1967, FEFSI has periodically been in the news. Strikes in 1997, 2011, 2013, and now 2017, have been a regular feature of the federation. However, given that largely the same set of people represent both the Producers and the Actors Unions, the role of FEFSI in safeguarding the rights of its employee-members is paramount. And strikes will need to be seen as a call for rights, and a voice for those whose work is invisible in the films we see every week.

*****

Read more about the Unions of the film industry in India, here: COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL
INITIATIVES IN THE AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY.

Composers Vishal-Shekhar To Participate In Annual Music Conference – ‘All About Music’

BY IANS On

Composer duo Vishal-Shekhar have lent support to ‘All About Music’, a platform curated to put the spotlight on the potential of the Indian music industry.

Artist management agency Tarsame Mittal Talent Management is gearing up to host the annual music conference titled All About Music on September 18-19 here.

“Three words to describe All About Music is awareness, togetherness and fun. It’s also Tarsame Project,” Vishal Dadlani said in a statement.

Shekhar Ravjiani added that All About Music is the “biggest music conference in India”.

“It’s aim is to bring all the artists and technicians together and discuss the future of the music industry. A lot of great discussion to be expected at All About Music.” 

The forum will have representation from over 10 states, and will play host to over 500 delegates and more than 50 experts. It will travel to tier two and tier three cities too.

Apart from international speakers like Tracy Maddux – CEO of CD Baby, there will be homegrown speakers like musicians Vishal-Shekhar, Arijit Singh, Nucleya, Raghu Dixit, Jassie Gill; composers Amit Trivedi and Sunny M.R., lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya, Devraj Sanyal of Universal Music India, Prashan Agarwal of Gaana and more.

“Conferences are like a mini industry reunion and serve as a reminder to everyone in the business to constantly empower and update themselves and everyone around them. India is currently one of the world’s biggest music markets that caters to 1.3 billion people and is valued at Rs 14 billion,” said Tarsame Mittal Talent Management’s founder.

All About Music is a platform curated to put the spotlight on the potential of the Indian music industry and set new benchmarks and goals. Our aim is to bring together all the different stakeholders of the music industry together on an exclusive platform to amplify the future of music.

The conference will see representation from key influencers and personalities from the music industry including law firms, digital distribution companies, record label owners, management agencies, festival organizers, programmers and arrangers, mix-master engineers, lyricist, musicians and artists across all genres and regions of music.

Topics discussed would widely range from rights and legal, revenue, marketing, management, digital, deployment, technology and creative.

 

Feature Image: YouTube

Dileep Is Getting Special Privileges In Jail, Alleges Complainant; Actor Gets Support From Congress MLA

BY Janani Karthik On

Kerala Congress leader and MLA Ganesh Kumar, who visited Dileep in jail, has said that those who received favours from Dileep before his arrest should support him during his tough times.

According to PTI, Ganesh Kumar said, “Dileep has done many favours to a lot of people in this industry. They should support him and stand by him until he is proved guilty. No one can be called a culprit before his crime his proved by the court. People who had got help from Dileep are apprehensive to support him fearing police harassment.”

The film actor-turned politician said this after meeting Dileep in Aluva sub-jail where he has been lodged following his arrest in July in connection with abduction and molestation of an actress.

Dileep’s second bail application was rejected by the Kerala High Court last week.

Meanwhile, according to a report in Manorama Online, Girish from Aluva, has lodged a complaint with the DGP prisons, alleging that Dileep has been receiving special privileges in the jail.  He allegedly said, “Dileep has been spending a long time in jail superintendent’s AC room. Though visitors are not allowed, many have been visiting Dileep in jail ever since the arrest. How can a person arrested for hatching a plot to kidnap and assault get privileges in jail?”

While Dileep spent Onam in jail, actor Jayaram visited him with traditional Onakkodi on Monday. Director-writer Renjith, producer Alvin Antony, actors Nadhirshah, Suresh Krishna and Harisree Asokan have also visited him.

 

 

Piaa Bajpai Tonsures Head For Her Role In Abhiyum Anuvum

BY IANS On

Actress Piaa Bajpai, who will next be seen in upcoming Tamil-Malayalam bilingual Abhiyum Anuvum, says she didn’t hesitate to tonsure her head for the sake of her character because the story demanded it.

Piaa is paired with Tovino Thomas in the film.

“I’m happy to be a part of this project. When I was narrated the script, I enjoyed the story so much that I badly wanted this offer. The script demanded that I tonsure my head and I didn’t hesitate even for a minute because the story genuinely required it,” Piaa told IANS.

She believes a real actor will score big even when they don’t look good on screen.

The film, gearing up for release soon, has been directed by BR Vijayalakshmi.

On teaming up with a female director, she said, “She is very efficient to work with. The way she handled the sets and extracted work out of every actor and technician was amazing. She is a real task master.”

On sharing screen space with Tovino, Piaa said, “I was really impressed by his acting abilities. His great performance combined with good looks has made this story even more beautiful.”

Piaa is confident that audiences are going to “love this very bold love story”.

Suriya Writes Anguished Post On Current Education System; Calls For Reform

BY Janani Karthik On

Actor Suriya, in a lengthy note, expressed his concerns about the chaos that the NEET entrance exams have created in the state.

Suriya, who is also the founder of Agaram Foundaton, wrote for The Hindu Tamizh. “We have been helping educate children from remote rural areas via our education trust. I have met many enthusiastic students from a very poor background. I have seen kids of parents who wouldn’t have money for bus fares. We choose children whose parents earn below Rs 2,000 per month. These children study in schools that don’t even have qualified teachers or basic facilities. Despite all odds, many children have scored excellent marks in their public examinations. From the experience of handling Agaram foundation, I can understand why these kids will not be able to take up NEET entrance exams.”

“NEET is not our only issue when it comes to the education system. There are so many Anithas in this country that we do not know about. Anitha’s loss is irreplaceable and to add meaning to her loss, we have to find a solution for all the flaws with our education system. One system for the poor, and one for rich, but the same entrance test for all – we cannot take this any longer.  Next election, we have to vote for people who promise us a better education system as it concerns the future of many children in this country.”

Makers of Spyder, Starring Mahesh Babu, Deny Film’s Footage Leak

BY IANS On

 The makers of superstar Mahesh Babu’s upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual Spyder, gearing up for grand release this Dussehra, have rubbished reports about the leak of film’s footage.

“There’s been no footage leak. We have ensured no such thing happens. Everything that you’re reading online or in papers is absolutely baseless,” a source from the film’s unit told IANS.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that some footage including a few minutes of a song had leaked out.

Mahesh plays an intelligence bureau officer in Spyder, directed by A.R. Murugadoss.

The project marks the first time  collaboration of Murugadoss and Mahesh.

Tipped to be made on a lavish budget, the film will be based on bio-terrorism featuring actor-filmmaker SJ Suryah as the antagonist. Rakul Preet Singh plays the leading lady.

Netflix & ‘La La Land’ Director Damien Chazelle Team Up For A Musical Drama Series

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle will soon be teaming up with Netflix for a musical drama series called The Eddy. The series will be set in Paris and will have eight episodes, with Chazelle directing two, reports Variety.

Speaking to Variety, Erik Barmack, Netflix’s VP of international originals, said that the show will explore the relationship between the American and French-Arab co-owners of a jazz club and it will be something along the lines of Chazelle’s two films Whiplash and La La Land.

Marking his debut in a TV series, the musical drama will centre around a club, its owner, the house band, and the city that surrounds them. It will be produced by Patrick Spence and Katie Swinden’s Fifty Fathoms. BAFTA-winning producers Spence (Guerrilla, Fortitude) and Swinden (Luther, Peaky Blinders) will executive produce along with Chazelle, Thorne, Poul and Ballard.

The eight-episode series will be filmed in France and will feature dialogue in French, English and Arabic. 

 

Feature Image: La La Land’s official website

Kalki Koechlin: Gender Discrimination In The Film Industry Is A Reality That People Should Accept

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Actress Kalki Koechlin, in a recent interview with Hindustan Times, minced no words when she spoke about the gender discrimination and pay disparity in the film industry. Calling it a fact and not an opinion, Kalki believes that it’s about time people accepted its existence as opposed to pretending it isn’t around.

“It’s a fact that the film industry is male-dominated. You can’t have any arguments about that. It’s true that things are a bit complicated. Filmmaking is a business model, and you can’t expect to be paid equally just on the basis of your sex,” she says, further adding that though times are changing, some things remain the same.

“[The] success of films like Piku (2015) or Queen (2013) does point to the fact that women, too, can carry films forward, and that films with female protagonists also do good business and bring in good amounts of money. If that happens, then women have every right to ask to be paid as [much as] the male counterparts,” she reiterates.

She further adds that an actress should be treated more than just a hero’s plot. 

The Jia Aur Jia actress isn’t the first industry member to call out pay inequality. Recently, producer Kiran Rao said that it’s shameful that women still have to fight for getting equal pay. She also said that women shouldn’t stop dreaming or working towards their goal. 

Unequal pay is a reality in several countries, including India. According to the ‘Men and Women in India 2016‘ report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, there is a 25 percent difference in the wages of women and men. The National Sample Survey of 2011-12 also states that the average wage or salary received per day by regular wage or salaried employees between the age group of 15 and 59 years is Rs 201.56 (rural) and Rs 366.15 (urban) for females and is lower than that of males who get paid Rs 322.23 (rural) and Rs 469.87 (urban).

LGBT Characters In Tamil Cinema: It’s High Time The Community Is Given Its Due Dignity

BY Vandhana On

At a recent event, writer-turned-filmmaker Raju Murugan said something that has been long in the coming. He said that film audiences will not accept films that portray the transgender community in an insensitive manner. “Gone are the days when we used to look down upon transgender people and others from the community,” he declared, “They have worked hard to carve out spaces for themselves in our country, and it is high time that we addressed this change on-screen. Instead of showing the dignified lives these people lead, Tamil films still choose to show them in a degrading manner. This has to stop!”

Despite the rich tradition and folklore surrounding the third gender, Tamil Nadu and Tamil films continue to depict the transgender community disrespectfully. More often than not, filmmakers use the trans community as an object of ridicule, only to evoke a few laughs from the gallery.

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It reached new heights with Anand Shankar’s Iru Mugan. With the one-note depiction of its transgender character as: 1) a villain and 2) a lustful maniac, the film disappointed. As such, it sought to pander to the existing stereotypes about transgender persons, and worse, portrayed them as villains.

That Vikram, one of the leading stars in the Tamil film industry, took on this role was made much of, initially. When the film did release, the character he played, Love, was a ‘campy’, cringe worthy version, that did no justice to the community.

Another Vikram film to have done this was Shankar’s I. It had a transgender stylist, Ojas Rajani, playing Osma Jasmine, a stylist obsessed with Vikram’s Lingesan. When he spurns her drunken advances, she plots to disfigure him.

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Karpaga, a noted LGBT activist, says that the portrayal in I was perhaps the worst in the film. “Already, the film was one-dimensional, with a wafer thin plot. But, a mega budget film that seeks to condition men and women into thinking that the transgender community is vile and evil, is troubling on so many counts. The general notion is that the community should stay within roles allotted to them years ago. Filmmakers still see them as people who beg for alms on streets, and not as professionals with lives of their own. When this attitude changes, perhaps they will write better characters for us.”

When I released, trans rights activist, theatre producer and actor, Living Smile Vidya wrote an open letter to director Shankar, in which she strongly criticised the portrayal of trans woman Osma. 

Vidya wrote: 

 

Just ten minutes into the film, Vikram, the epitome of on-screen machismo, stares at the villain and says ‘dei, potta’. I was not surprised. Other ‘pottai-s** like me and I are used to such slander on screen. When Vinoth, director of the socially-sensitive film Sathuranga Vettai, casually uses the word ‘pottai’ as an abuse, and critics ruling this part of the world support him, can we expect any less from you?

Shankar, how are we, the pottais of the world, any less dignified than your masculine ideal? Is that ideal bigger than our realization that our being is filled with femininity, and we yearn to live the truth of our gender? Is your ideal much bigger than the courage to be honest and leave the safety of our home, and the comfort of our families? Is your ideal nobler than us losing our basic rights as citizens, when we run away and become refugees, second-class citizens, in our own country? Is it more magnificent than the scorching pyre of starting life afresh as a woman, without economic or social support?

 

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In Appu, Prakash Raj plays a transgender brothel owner/goon who is the epitome of evil. Lakshmanan, a film professor based in Chennai, says that this was a bold move for its time, but seriously misguided. “As it only established the opinion that the community was not to be trusted. Like it or not, films inform large sections of audiences about things, people and kinds of behaviour that they do not know about. You and I may know differently, but somewhere in Tamil Nadu, there is a man or woman who has formed opinions about the LGBT community based on Tamil films. That’s why everybody insists on sensitive characterisations.”

When not prominently positioned, transgender characters are often used in gags in which they are ridiculed. “They dare to express their love for the male lead. That kind of sexuality is considered dangerous by the hetero-normative film industry, and so it must be silenced at all cost. One way to do this is by ridiculing it and laughing at it,” Karpaga says.

The cross dressing for comedy routines that Tamil actors and comedians indulge in, also doesn’t help. “The opinion that is conveyed here is that any man/woman who chooses to take on roles and attributes ordained for the other gender is meant to be laughed at. This is prevalent from the times of MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. It’s high time we changed things,” Karpaga says.

There have been some exceptions, of course. Vivekh played a trans woman in Murattu Kaalai, and used the opportunity to drive home some key issues with the way people treated the community. Raghava Lawrence also used his Kanchana to create a more sensitive, grounded trans woman (essayed by Sarath Kumar). 

What is heartening is the negative response that films like Irumugan, Thiraikku Varadha Kathai, I received; and with Raju Murugan’s latest declaration, a change is in the offing, perhaps.

*****

Noted Journalist Gauri Lankesh’s Murder Condemned: Condolences Pour In From Celebrities

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Karnataka-based senior journalist, Gauri Lankesh, was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru last night. The 55-year-old editor and activist had reportedly stepped out of her car and opened the gates when the assailants fired at her seven times. Four bullets hit her, one in the forehead.

Editor of the weekly ‘Gauri Lankesh Patrike,’ Lankesh was fearless and very vocal about her criticism of the right wing and Hindutva politics. She was the elder daughter of P Lankesh, one of the pioneers of a new kind of journalism in Kannada.

Many reports have suggested that her murder was similar to the murder of other free thinkers like renowned scholar MM Kalburgi killed in 2015, Leftist thinker Govind Pansare in 2015, and rationalist and anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013.

Celebrities have since condemned her killing, with some even calling it the death of free speech and democracy.

Feature Image: The Hindu

Harshavardhan Kapoor To Portray Abhinav Bindra In A Biopic

BY IANS On

Bollywood actor Harshvardhan Kapoor will play shooter Abhinav Bindra on the silver screen and says he is “stoked” to be chosen to essay the Olympic champion.

Harshvardhan on Tuesday shared a photograph of himself along with Bindra, who won the country’s first individual gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Beginnings are very special. Especially when you get to play a character that has made the nation proud on world stage. I am stoked to have been chosen to play Abhinav Bindra and hopefully will do justice to the man, the legend! Like the man himself said ‘Hard Work is a talent’,” he captioned the image. 

Harshvardhan, 26, who is the son of veteran actor Anil Kapoor, made his debut in Bollywood with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s  Mirzya. 

He is currently shooting for Vikramaditya Motwane’s upcoming film Bhavesh Joshi, which is expected to release later this year.

Photo: Deccan Chronicle

Sonu Sood Feels Like An Industry Outsider In Front Of Star Kids

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, in a recent interview with Hindustan Times, spoke of what it feels like working in an industry when star kids get more precedence. 

Having completed 15 years in the industry, mostly known for supporting roles to now negative or action ones, he said that as an outsider not many are keen on meeting or conversing.

“People have even said that there are thousands of Sonu Soods out there, and they don’t have time to cater to each one of them. There have been films where this happened, that things were almost finalised with me, and then I saw new names popping up, but I was always ready for that,” he confessed.

He even spoke of how difficult it was for him to make it in the industry. “Millions of people come every day to Mumbai to fulfill their acting dreams. Being one of them is always tough. Staying with 6-7 people in a paying guest accommodation together, and then finally coming up in life… it’s difficult,” he said.

The actor is turning producer soon with badminton player PV Sindhu’s biopic. The actor, who believes in hard work, will soon be seen playing Arjuna from the Indian epic Mahabharata in a Kannada film titled Kurukshetra, possibly directed by Naganna. 

Nayanthara’s Speech On Women In Mainstream Cinema; Prasoon Joshi’s New Rules

BY Sanjana Chakraborty On

A quick look at everything making news in the world of today!

Sign On

Harshvardhan Kapoor is all set to play Olympic Gold medalist Abhinav Bindra in a new biopic.

Indrajith Sukumaran will play a cop in Karthick Naren’s Naragasooran. 

Premam duo Siju Wilson and Sharafudheen will next be seen in a comedy thriller is titled Mandakini.

Director Puri Jagannadh will be directing an Indo-Pakistan love story for his son, Akash’s debut film.

Newsworthy

The new CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi has reportedly introduced new rules for the board, which will include no sharing of information about suggested cuts with the filmmakers and that the certificate will be the only communication with them. Earlier, informal communication used to help filmmakers negotiate before they received the certificate.

Spotlight

Actress Kalki Koechlin, in a recent interview, spoke about how it’s high time that people accepted the existence of “gender discrimination” in the film industry. 

“I am sorry, it’s not an opinion. It’s a fact that the film industry is male-dominated. You can’t have any arguments about that. It’s true that things are a bit complicated. Filmmaking is a business model, and you can’t expect to be paid equally just on the basis of your sex. [The] success of films like Piku (2015) or Queen (2013) does point to the fact that women, too, can carry films forward, and that films with female protagonists also do good business and bring in good amounts of money. If that happens, then women have every right to ask to be paid as [much as] the male counterparts.”

Along similar lines, South Indian actress Nayanthara said that women in mainstream cinema are not given enough importance. A video of her speech at the recently concluded SIIMA Award had gone viral. In the video, she says:

“This award is very special to me. Irumugan is a mainstream, proper proper commercial film. Usually, in a proper commercial film, with a big star like Vikram Sir, heroines won’t have much work. They won’t give them that much importance. But thank you, I really want to thank Anand Shankar, for believing in me and believing that a heroine can do so much more than just do the songs.”

Timeout

Actress Kangana Ranaut, who recently opened a can of worms with respect to her relationship with actor Aditya Pancholi, might face legal trouble. The actress on an episode of Aap Ki Adalat said that Pancholi had got her an apartment but it was like “house arrest” for her, wherein she wasn’t allowed to step out or have friends over. She further added that she spoke to his wife but she wouldn’t help. 

Reacting to this, Pancholi told Bollywood Life that the actress was “mad” and that her comments have really affected his family. 

“She is a mad girl, what to do, did you see the interview? Didn’t you feel like some mad person was talking? Who talks like that? We have been in the industry for so long, nobody has ever spoken anything so evil about anyone. What should I say, she’s a mad girl. If you throw stones in mud, it will only spoil your clothes. I am going to take a legal action against her. She is lying that’s why I am taking legal action against her. I don’t know about other people, but as far as my story goes and what she has spoken about me, she has said all lies. She has to prove that I have done that. My family is very much affected by it. My wife and I will take legal action against her.”

Let them eat cake!

Actors Idris Elba and Naomie Harris will turn a year older today!

I Think Acting Phase Of My Life Is Over, Says Hema Malini

BY IANS On

 Veteran actress and politician Hema Malini says that her acting phase is no longer part of her life but if something interesting comes up then she would definitely take that up.

“I think that phase of my life is over (laughs). Even people in parliament ask me whether I am working in films or not. I feel like doing a film, but I must get a proper story. I just can’t do any films which come my way. 

“If anything similar to my role in Baghban or anything interesting comes my way then I will definitely work in films,” Hema Malini said on the sidelines of the press conference for her upcoming programme “Synergy 2017”, an international cultural festival. 

Talking about the event, she said that she is going to present the programme.

“I am focusing on this programme and I will not be dancing in this but presenting it. That doesn’t mean I am going to stop dancing. I want to continue my work in the field of dance and service,” the actress added.

Hema Malini is a BJP MP from Mathura constituency.

When a journalist asked her if she is going to become a Union Minister of India, she said, “A lot of people ask me this question but I don’t think I have the nature to become a minister and rule.”

“I am very happy with what I am. I don’t expect all these things and I don’t have that desire. I want to contribute in the field of art and if I become a minister then I have to sit there and people will not able to meet me.

“As an MP, I am trying to do my best work and I am really happy with that. I want to bring change in my Mathura constituency and I will not stay in peace until that happens,” she added.

Through the “Synergy 2017” festival, Hema Malini will be promoting a lot of young artists from all over India who will perform classical dance forms. The festival will be held in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.