Section: Movies

100% Occupancy in Theatres: Telugu and Eastern India Film Producers Urge State Governments to Allow Full Capacity

BY Shrija Ganguly On

The Telugu Film Producers Council and the Eastern India Motion Picture Association on Tuesday wrote to their respective state governments- Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal- seeking to raise the occupancy of seats in cinema halls from 50% to 100%.

This was following Tamil Nadu state government’s order on Monday allowing 100% capacity in theatres. It reportedly came at the request of Tamil actors and megastars, Vijay and Silambarasan, ahead of their respective releases, Master and Eeswaran.

Theatre owners, exhibitors and producers haven’t received any response from their respective state governments yet.

Photo Credit- Silverscreen Media Library

master-third-look

Cinemas across India were shut since mid-March 2020 and were allowed to reopen with a 50% capacity and other regulations in place, from October 15, 2020. Cinemas suffered the blow in the absence of big releases, which have either been pushed to 2021, or opted for a digital release.

Cinema halls are packed spaces, mostly air conditioned, which are considered to be potential breeding grounds of Covid-19. Seating capacity was restricted due to the rising number of cases across the country.

Citing the decrease in daily number of Covid-19 cases, Arijit Ghosh, owner of Priya Cinema in Kolkata, told Silverscreen India, “Why would cases increase only in cinema halls? Firstly, the space in cinemas have been cut down. So, that huge crowd in single screens in the earlier days is not there anymore. Secondly, are you trying to say that people crowd cinema halls for longer than they crowd restaurants? We are not crowding anywhere close. And the auditorium is vast. We suck out used air and put in fresh air through air conditioning. Where is the danger of Covid?”

Owners of cinema halls have seen counting losses since March, forcing them to either take loans or shut down business.

Badam Venkat Krishna, managing director of Sree Mayuri 70MM cinema hall in Hyderabad, has shut down his theatre owing to mounting costs along with the absence of good content.

Krishna has decided against reopening his theatre even if the state government allows full seating capacity, as there is increasing competition from streaming platforms.

“While before Covid, the costs included fire equipments, and security personnel, the post-Covid era saw added costs of sanitisation. Moreover, there are threats from additional competition coming from OTT platforms, television and the digital era,” he said.

“If the films don’t release, the theatres will have to close down again,” said Ghosh of Priya Cinema, adding that policy makers do not consider the impact of their decision on the indirect employees of cinema hall owners- popcorn, snacks and soft drink sellers.

“It is also the staff at the cinemas, we are unable to pay them in full,” Ghosh said.

Queue outside a theatre in Chennai

While the reduction in the seating capacity has been a pressing issue, exhibitors’ associations were initially clueless about the state’s powers. Tamil Nadu’s stand paved the way for them.

Satadeep Saha, film distributor and owner of Ajanta cinema in Kolkata, said: “Actually, the Central government had put out the earlier gazette, which made it unclear whether the state had the power or the Centre. Once Tamil Nadu government issued the order, then other states realised that we have the orders and we can do it. We don’t need the Centre’s permission.”

Full seating capacity will catapult the industry back to action, said Saha.

“Obviously, the next big release is Master. After that there are some top Bollywood releases, like Sooryavanshi, 83, Radhe, which are ready for theatrical release,” said Saha, who is the distributor of Master in West Bengal.

However, Ghosh, and Gopal Reddy of Ranga 70MM Cinema, believe that allowing full seating capacity will encourage producers to release their ready stock of unreleased films. They think this is the only relief measure in the current scenario.

“Unfortunately, the film industry, especially the exhibition industry, did not get any form of relief from either the centre or the state, at least in West Bengal. Even the stars did not stand up to speak. And a lot of them are MPs and MLAs today,” Ghosh said.

Bengali actors Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan, and Dev Adhikari are associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and are Members of Parliament.

Reddy wants both seating capacity and parking charges to be considered.

Meanwhile, after Tamil Nadu issued its order on Monday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday asked the state to revoke its order, stating that it “amounts to dilution of MHA Order dated December 28, 2020 issued under the DM Act, 2005″.

‘Check’ Director Chandra Shekhar Yeleti Says Shooting During the Covid-19 Pandemic Was the Biggest Challenge 

BY Anusha Sundar On

The teaser of Check, the upcoming Telugu thriller film starring Nithiin, Rakul Preet Singh and Priya Varrier, was released on Saturday.

In a conversation with Silverscreen India, the film’s director Chandra Sekhar Yeleti talks about how shooting the film during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was the biggest challenge he faced.

Check revolves around the protagonist (played by Nithiin), who is imprisoned after being falsely accused of crimes he did not commit and eventually learns to play chess in prison. While Singh plays the role of his lawyer, Varrier plays a prominent role in a flashback sequence.

Talking about how he had come up with a “faint storyline” of Check more than five years back, Yeleti said, “I had a story about how a very talented person will be facing death row, but I did not have a prison set-up or chess in mind. But I always had that he would be talented in a craft. As I began to work on the film, the idea of prison and chess fell into place.”

The filmmaker said that the idea of bringing chess into the storyline came through his visits to prisons, where he came across talented prisoners.

“The character in the film has a high IQ level but he was born poor. The film brings in the question of what happens when a highly intelligent person puts his intelligence in wrong ways,” Yeleti said.

The filmmaker said that Nithiin was trained by professional chess coaches to learn the game’s basic moves.

Yeleti visited prisons in Hyderabad, Vizag, and Punjab to study its features and understand prisoners. He said that he observed prisoners’ behaviour, which helped him to write a particular scene.

“There is a scene where Rakul visits the jail and one of the prisoners tries to pull and kiss her amid the beefed-up security. For that, studying prisoners behaviour helped,” he said.

The film’s shooting commenced in August 2020 and was completed in November. While Check was shot in Hyderabad, most of it was shot within sets, Yeleti said, adding that the while shooting amid the ongoing pandemic was challenging, it helped him get a new experience.

“We had started to shoot after the lockdown was lifted and we had to ensure that whoever was on the set get tested [for Covid-19] in the morning. Even I got tested three to four times during the schedule. There were at least around 150 members in the set always, so we had to keep in mind the protocols, since it was our duty to take care of the whole unit,” said the filmmaker.

He said he had to re-visualise some scenes due to the pandemic to avoid crowds.

Check is produced by V Anand Prasad, under the Bhavya Creations banner, and music is composed by Kalyani Malik. The production designer is Vivek Annamalai, who has previously worked with entertainment giants Warner Bros and Walt Disney.

Talking about designing the prison sets, Vivek said that the team undertook a rigorous task as the film traverses through several years, which the sets had to depict.

“We wanted to show the transition of time through the sets, from the time of the hero’s arrest to him being shifted to barracks and solitary [confinement]. We visited prisons across India to study the security pattern, prison walls and understand the space design, spoke to jailors and observed abandoned places to see why they were not used,” he said, adding that the team visited several prisons in March 2019.

Vivek, who has previously worked as an architect, said that the trips helped him understand the psychological behavioural pattern of prisoners in a high security environment.

Attention was paid to designing the walls of the sets, he said.

“Dust accumulation, fungal formation, porous and dampness in walls, change in colour due to seasons and physical proximity of people, were studied to understand the look of the walls. About 21 days of training was given to painters to understand how the walls of prisons look,” Vivek said.

While around 80-85 people worked for 18 months to construct the sets, Vivek said that sets sprawled over 58 acres. He added that the team was keen on reusing materials, like wood, to ensure sustainability of the sets.

Though the film’s release date has not yet been confirmed, Yeleti said, “The producers have to take the call since it is a pandemic. They should be able to assess when is the right time to release and when people would feel comfortable to visit theatres. The film will most probably be a theatrical release, but nothing is confirmed and most of the filmmakers are waiting to know how the situation unfolds. A few films are releasing for Pongal and we will get an idea of how people are responding to it.”

‘The Great Gatsby’ and Other Classic Works Copyrighted in 1925 Enter Public Domain in 2021

BY Anindita Banerjee On

On January 1, a host of classic books, music, and films created in 1925 became free for anyone to use without licensing or getting permission from a copyright holder. Books such as F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time, Sinclair Lewis’ Arrowsmith, Aldous Huxley’s Those Barren Leaves, Agatha Christie’s The Secret of Chimneys, and The New Negro have all come on the public domain.

Copyright on films like Buster Keaton’s Go West, Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, The Merry Widow, and Lovers in Quarantine have lifted, while songs like Always by Irving Berlin, Yes Sir, That’s My Baby by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson, and songs by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey’s and Bessi Smith can be used for free as well.

What does coming under the public domain mean?

In the USA, copyright terms are set by the Congress. According to the Duke University Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, “when Congress passed the first copyright law in 1790, the copyright term lasted for 14 years, with the option to renew for another 14 years if the copyright holder was still living”.

In an amendment in 1998, the copyright term was increased to 70 years after the author’s death. Later, the term was changed to 95 years since a work was published. After a gap of two-decades of no new works being free from copyright, in 2019 works of 1923 came under the public domain.

The year 2021 marks the third time since copyrights have expired and the works brought under the public domain.

What’s coming in 2021?

“It’s a blockbuster list from 1925,” says Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke University Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain in an article about this year’s Public Domain Day.

“1925 brought us some incredible culture. The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing. The New Yorker magazine was founded. The literature reflected both a booming economy, whose fruits were unevenly distributed, and the lingering upheaval and tragedy of World War I. The culture of the time reflected all of those contradictory tendencies. The BBC’s Culture website suggested that 1925 might be “the greatest year for books ever”, and with good reason. It is not simply the vast array of famous titles. The stylistic innovations produced by books, such as Gatsby, or The Trial, or Mrs. Dalloway, marked a change in both the tone and the substance of our literary culture, a broadening of the range of possibilities available to writers, while characters such as Jay Gatsby, Hemingway’s Nick Adams, and Clarissa Dalloway still resonate today,” writes Jenkins.

Here are some of the works from 1925 that will be available from this year:

Books

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
The Trial (in German) by Franz Kafka
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos

Films

Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman
The Merry Widow
Stella Dallas
Buster Keaton’s Go West

Music

Always by Irving Berlin
Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey
Works by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey
Looking for a Boy by George and Ira Gershwin (from the musical Tip-Toes)
Manhattan by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers
Ukulele Lady by Gus Kahn and Richard Whiting
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson

You can find the complete list on the website of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain, a Duke University project that tracks copyright expirations.

Actor Sudheer Babu’s Next Collaboration With Filmmaker Mohankrishna Indraganti is a Romantic Drama

BY Anusha Sundar On

Sudheer Babu, the Telugu actor and sportsperson, is collaborating with filmmaker Mohankrishna Indraganti for their third film, the duo announced on social media on Monday. The film will also star Krithi Shetty, Avasarala Srinivas and Vennela Kishore.

The untitled film is a romantic drama written by Mohankrishna.

Speaking to Silverscreen India, Mohankrishna said, “We will be commencing shooting from March and we are looking to finish it in one schedule and end it by May. I always like to shoot in natural locations instead of sets, so we are looking to shoot them in such locations in Hyderabad, also keeping the [Covid-19] pandemic in mind. We are looking to reveal the title of the film by mid-February.”

Calling the film a coming-of-age drama, Mohankrishna said that the film follows Sudheer’s character who discovers another side of himself after he falls in love with Shetty’s character. “Being a mature guy but arrogant and self-centered, he discovers what his strengths and weaknesses are through the process of falling in love. Love is the core concept of the film,” he said.

On Monday, the film’s team held a pooja ceremony in Hyderabad to mark the launch of the venture. The event was attended by filmmaker VV Vinayak, Y Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers, director Venky Kudumula, and film producer Dil Raju.

Previously, Sudheer and Mohankrishna collaborated for the 2018 Telugu romantic drama Sammohanam, which marked actor Aditi Rao Hydari’s debut in Telugu films, and the 2020 action thriller film V, starring Nani that released on an OTT platform.

“I admire his [Sudheer] acting style. I have done Sammohanam, which is a love story and V, which is an action film with him. I think he is an underrated actor in the Telugu film industry. He does not do over the top acting, which I like and think suits this story very well. He is a versatile actor and I am always surprised why he does not get many opportunities and is under-utilised in this industry,” Mohankrishna said.

Talking about Shetty’s character, Mohankrishna said that her character was as important as Sudheer’s. “Krithi has got huge screen space in the film. It is through her character that Sudheer’s will develop, and she acts as a lens through which the hero sees himself. They both are the protagonists, though the story is from the point of view of Sudheer’s.”

“It is not a feel-good film. I want the audience to be affected by the emotions shown in the film while they walk out after seeing it,” the filmmaker added.

The film will be jointly produced by B Mahendra Babu and Kiran Ballapalli, while Gajulapalle Sudheer Babu will be presenting the film as the first project under the Benchmark Studios banner.

While Vivek Sagar will compose music, cinematography will be handled by PG Vinda. Raveendar is the film’s art director and Marthand K Venkatesh is the editor. Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry and Rama Jogayya Sastry will be penning the lyrics.

Shetty and Sudheer are also starring in the upcoming Telugu film Uppena.

Besides this film, Sudheer will also be seen in the upcoming film Sridevi Soda Center, and a biopic on former badminton player Pullela Gopichand. Sudheer, a former badminton player, will be seen in the biopic directed by Praveen Sattaru which will be a Telugu-Hindi bilingual film.

Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan Denies Reports of Making Web Series on Kandahar Hijacking

BY Anindita Banerjee On

Sriram Raghavan, the director of the hit Hindi film Andhadhun, has denied reports of him making a web series based on the December 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar.

When Silverscreen India contacted Raghavan, he denied the news and called it a “fake” piece of information.

Refuting the rumours, he said that production house Matchbox Pictures were in talks for making the series, which will revolve around the flight Indian Airlines that was hijacked on December 24, 1999, while it was travelling to New Delhi from Kathmandu, Nepal.

“I am not doing that web series. The production house that backed my film Andhadhun, Matchbox Pictures, is in talks to do it. I don’t have any further information regarding that,” said Raghavan.

The Indian Airlines Flight, IC 814, was hijacked by five gunmen and passengers on the plane were held hostage for seven days until the demands of releasing three terrorists, who were imprisoned in India, were met by the Indian government. The flight was made to stop at Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai before landing at Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was then controlled by the Taliban. One passenger was killed and several others were wounded. The Malayalam film Kandahar (2010) is inspired by these events.

Meanwhile, Raghavan is soon expected to start working on his upcoming film, Ekkis, starring Varun Dhawan. The director-actor duo had previously worked in Badlapur (2015).

Raghavan said that Ekkis, which was announced in October 2019, is still being made and he is currently busy with that. “We will be starting the film Ekkis this year around September,” he told Silverscreen India. 

Ekkis is a biopic on Paramvir Chakra winner Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was martyred in the Battle of Basantar during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. Though Raghavan had announced the film in 2019 and it was slated to go on floors in 2020, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic delayed it. The shoot which was supposed to begin in September 2020, will now begin in September this year.

Ekkis is produced by Dinesh Vijan.

IMDb Ratings of Films of 2020 Reflect Viewers’ Rage Against ‘Nepotism’ in Hindi Film Industry 

BY Shrija Ganguly On

The IMDb page of the Hindi film Khaali Peeli is a sorry sight. The film has received a rating of 2.4 on the online entertainment database, and its trailer had garnered one million dislikes in less than 24 hours of its release.

One of the comments on the ‘User Review’ page of the website reads, “Simply waste of your time. No story no acting. This movie don’t deserve to be released. Ananya Pandey is worst actor of nepotism lot.”

Starring Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khatter, the film has mostly received ratings between 1 and 2 out of 10.

Such user reviews on IMDb have not been limited to only Khaali Peeli in 2020. A number of films, including Sadak 2 and Coolie No. 1, seem to have abysmally low ratings (with 1.1 and 3.7 respectively) on the platform, often accompanied with comments on nepotism, privilege and easy opportunities, leading to the question- has the discussion around nepotism truly impacted the Hindi film industry in 2020?

User Reviews of Sadak 2 on IMDb

How does IMDb work?

IMDb, or Internet Movie Database, is a user-generated online database platform which provides information on films, television programs, home videos, video games and online streaming content.

It has a trusted base of registered users or “regular voters”, whose ratings, out of 10, determine the final rating. To ensure the effectiveness of the voting or rating system, the platform does not disclose the criteria that makes a user a registered one. These anonymous registered users are invited to rate a film on a scale of 1 to 10. An average or weighted mean is taken of the total and is displayed alongside the title of the film.

How actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide put the Hindi film industry on the spot

The year began with the releases of Tanhaji and Baaghi 3, both of which were blockbusters. Anticipated films included Salman Khan’s Radhe, Coolie No. 1, Angrezi Medium, Gulabo Sitabo, and Laxmii. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown, films could not release between mid-March to October. Consequently, big releases like Radhe, were pushed to 2021 while others decided to take the digital route.

Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Gulabo Sitabo was the first big Hindi release on an OTT platform. However, during the same time in June, another incident hit the Hindi film industry- actor Sushant Singh Rajput‘s death by suicide case. What followed was a wave of debates over nepotism, with allegations of abetment to suicide on filmmaker Karan Johar, who faced a trial by media for allegedly “spearheading” the nepotistic brigade in the Hindi film industry.

Soon, a drug probe was initiated with the biggest names in the Hindi film industry, including Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, and Shraddha Kapoor, being interrogated by the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Netizens began using the thumb-down icon to express their dissent against “star kids”. Around the same time, Sadak 2 released and was the first film to bear the brunt of people’s dislike for “star kids”. The trailer of the Mahesh Bhatt directorial, starring Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sanjay Dutt, went on to become the most disliked video on Youtube, with 13 million dislikes against 700k likes.

User rating of Khaali Peeli on IMDb

It was followed by Khaali Peeli, which saw 197k dislikes against 67k likes on its trailer on YouTube.

However, with Akshay Kumar-starrer Laxmii, things took a different turn as the makers decided to conceal the number of likes and dislikes on the trailer which currently has 37 million views. While Kumar does not fall into the category of “products of nepotism”, his stand defending the film industry against allegations of being a drug nexus drew criticism.

User rating of Coolie No. 1 on IMDb

More recently, Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan-starrer Coolie No. 1 followed Laxmii‘s footsteps by hiding the number of likes and dislikes on its trailer, which in November 2020 stands at 65 million views.

Among the films released in 2020 which have poor ratings, a few were exceptions- filmmaker Anurag Basu’s Ludo and Rajput’s swan song Dil Bechara. While the former was a blend of a good story and a stellar cast, the latter banked on the sentiments around the actor’s tragic demise. Currently, the films hold IMDb ratings of 7.6 and 7.9, respectively.

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl– an exception

The two works that got caught in the tug-of-war were actor Janhvi Kapoor’s film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, and Khatter-starrer web series A Suitable Boy .

Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl was caught in a controversy for allegedly maligning the Indian Air Force by showing workplace sexism. While the film was lauded by critics for its direction and performances, especially that of Kapoor and Pankaj Tripathi, its reception by the public, and the IMDb ratings told a different story.

User rating of Gunjan Saxena on IMDb

With an IMDb rating of 5.3, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl faced flak for having a “star kid” play the lead role. One user posted, “Everything in this movie is unprepared, half baked and too much predictable. Acting of nepo kid is pathetic. Only Pankaj Tripathi can’t save the film. One of the worst movie.”

A Suitable Boy has a rating of 5.8 on IMDb and was caught up in the controversy of “love jihad” over a scene from the series which saw the characters Lata, a Hindu girl kissing Kabir, a Muslim boy, against the backdrop of a temple.

Consequently, two Netflix India officials were booked in November after a complaint was filed by the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. “Love Jihad” is a term coined by the right-wing activists to describe an alleged conspiracy wherein Muslim men convert Hindu women to Islam by marrying them.

What’s next?

Although the call for representation and inclusion in the film industry by the public grew louder in 2020, 2021 will see yet another crop of fresh faces with deep-rooted ties to the film industry making their debut. Actor Sunil Shetty’s son, Ahaan Shetty, and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson, Agastya Nanda, are among those set to make their debuts in 2021.

It remains to be seen whether trend-driven IMDb ratings decide the fate of the new content, which are likely to feature “star kids”.

Bachchan Pandey: Kriti Sanon and Team Reach Jaisalmer to Start Shoot of the Hindi Film

BY Anindita Banerjee On

Kriti Sanon, the Hindi actor, along with the cast and crew of the upcoming Hindi film Bachchan Pandey reached Jaisalmer on January 2 to commence the film’s shooting.

Nadiadwala Grandson, the film’s production house, posted pictures on Twitter of the team having an “in-flight” party.

Directed by Farhad Samji, the film’s shoot will commence on Wednesday. Arshad Warsi and Prateik Babbar, who play pivotal roles in the film, were also seen in the photos.

Sharing the photos on Twitter, Sanon wrote, “And full deja vu happening going to the exact same place we shot Housefull4 in!! Jaisalmer it is!” She also shared photos and videos from the location as Instagram stories.

This will be Sanon’s first shoot after she tested positive for Covid-19 in December 2020. The actor had announced on social media that she had tested positive after returning from Chandigarh, where she had been shooting with actor Rajkummar Rao for Abhishek Jain’s upcoming comedy Second Innings.

Bachchan Pandey also stars Akshay Kumar in the lead alongside Sanon. According to reports, he will be joining the cast and crew a few days later.

Kumar, who recently wrapped his film Bell Bottom, is currently shooting for Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re, with Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush.

Bachchan Pandey, which marks the 10th collaboration between the actor and the production house, will see Kumar in the role of a gangster, who wishes to be an actor while Sanon will be seen as a journalist who aspires to become a director.

The film was originally slated to release on December 25, 2020, but it was delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The first look of Kumar from the film was unveiled in July 2019. Bachchan Pandey also stars Pankaj Tripathi and Jacqueline Fernandez in pivotal roles, but they are yet to join the shoot in Jaisalmer.

Tamil Nadu Govt Allows Theatres to Operate With 100% Seating Capacity; Health Officials Concerned

BY Ramya Ashok Kumar On

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday passed an order to allow theatres in the State to function with 100% seating capacity, up from the earlier 50% occupancy. With this order, Tamil Nadu becomes the first state in India to allow 100% occupancy since the Covid-19 pandemic measures were enforced.

The decision comes days ahead of a number of big-budget film releases, including Vijay‘s Master on January 13 and Silambarasan‘s Eeswaran on January 14. Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and starring Vijay Sethupathi, Andrea Jeremiah, and Malavika Mohanan, will be the first major Tamil film to opt for a theatre release, after Covid-19 related lockdown restrictions were lifted in Tamil Nadu.

According to the government order, theatres will be allowed to function with 100% seating capacity while following the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued earlier. The order also states that theatres must screen precautionary measures for Covid-19 during the show, to create awareness among the audience.

The order is a response to a representation from the Theatre Owners Association, who had asked for an increase in seating capacity of cinema halls, in light of the decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in the State.

Theatres in the State were reopened with 50% seat occupancy on November 10.

The move has raised concerns among several health officers. Speaking to Silverscreen India, Dr Manoj Murhekar, the Director of National Institute of Epidemiology, felt that it would create a high-risk situation.

“In terms of numbers, we are seeing a decline consistently in the last two-three months. The number of cases are certainly low. But opening theatres with 100% occupancy, I am not really sure if it is the right decision. Because some demographics can be susceptible and people can get infected as there will be a lot of exposure. There could be another outbreak due to that,” he said.

Dr Murhekar also said that a decrease in the number of cases did not mean that functioning at full capacity was at all advisable. He said, “There is a risk with people sitting for three hours in an air-conditioned place. I personally feel that it is a high-risk situation. People can get infected. There have been instances with people in an air conditioned-room and the transmission there is much higher. People should be really consider whether they want to go or not.”

President of the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners’ Association, Tirupur Subramaniam, however welcomed the decision and thanked the Tamil Nadu government. He told Silverscreen India, “We welcome this decision. We suffered a lot in 2020. Theatres could not function well. However, we expect 2021 to be bright for us. People have been suffering and stuck at their homes attending online classes. Now, when they step out, it will be a refreshing entertainment for them.”

When asked about the health risks posed by the move, he said, “We are screening Aayirathil Oruvan now and it is running house-full with 50% occupancy. There have been no issues at all.”

While other industries in Tamil Nadu have been functioning with 100% occupancy, the theatre industry has been at 50% occupancy. Rakesh, owner of Vetri Theatres in Chennai, told Silverscreen India, “We had represented to the Tamil Nadu government asking for 100% occupancy since the commercials were not working out with the existing 50% occupancy. With a big budget film like Master releasing, the budget cannot be covered with 50% occupancy. The first one week is the main business. So if there is only 50% occupancy during this one week then the collections also get halved.”

According to Rakesh, the frequency of the shows may decrease now. “Cleaning between each show will take more time now since every seat and armrest will have to be wiped. We will need more time between shows. Screening frequency may be decreased depending on a movie’s runtime. Earlier, just half an hour was enough for cleaning after a show. Now we may need an hour,” he said.

According to some media reports, actor Vijay had met with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami last week to request that cinema halls be permitted to run with 100 % seating capacity.

26th Kolkata International Film Festival to Open With ‘Apur Sansar’ on January 8

BY Kathakali Nandi On

The 26th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) will see auteur Satyajit Ray’s 1959 film Apur Sansar, the debut film of late actor Soumitra Chatterjee, being screened as the inaugural film.

The seven-day film fest will pay tribute to the veteran actor by screening eight more of Chatterjee’s films- Dekha, Wheel Chair, Ganadevata, Akash Kusum, Podokkhep, Kony, Mayurakshi and Bohoman.

Addressing a press meet on Saturday, West Bengal PWD minister and KIFF organiser Arup Biswas said that 131 films (including feature, short and documentary formats) will be screened across eight venues in Kolkata.

Actor and director Parambrata Chatterjee, a member of the KIFF organising committee, said that six films by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini will be screened at the festival. He added that film tickets and delegate cards will be available online.

As a mark of tribute to those who died in 2020, the film festival will screen works of actors Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Tapas Pal and Santu Mukherjee, directors Basu Chatterjee, Kim Ki-Duk, Fernando Solanas and danseuse Amala Shankar.

The annual Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture, an anticipated event of the festival, will be delivered by Thappad director Anubhav Sinha, with this year’s topic being Social Responsibility in Mainstream India Cinema.

According to The Telegraph, in the competitive section, the Best Film and Best Director will get a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh and Rs 21 lakh, respectively, along with the Royal Bengal Golden Tiger trophy. In the Indian Languages section, the Best Film will get the Hiralal Sen Memorial Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh. The Best Short Film and the Best Documentary Film will each get the Royal Bengal Golden Tiger Trophy and Rs 5 lakh.

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza will be the international jury board chairman, the report added.

KIFF, which is held every year in November, was postponed to January 2021 due to the rising cases of Covid-19 in Kolkata.

This year, while film screenings will be held physically only at government venues (Nandan, Rabindra Sadan, Calcutta Information Centre, Sisir Mancha, Chalachchitra Satabarsha Bhavan and Rabindra Okakura Bhavan), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will virtually inaugurate the festival at the state government headquarter, Nabanna, on January 8.

The inauguration is usually a star-studded affair, with the likes of veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan along with other Hindi and Bengali actors and directors attending the gala event at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

Mumbaikar: Actor Vijay Sethupathi to Debut in Hindi Films With this Santosh Sivan Directorial

BY Shrija Ganguly On

The title of the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Maanagaram, which marks the Hindi debut of Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi, was unveiled by filmmakers SS Rajamouli and Karan Johar on Friday.

Directed by Santosh Sivan, the film is titled Mumbaikar.

Mumbaikar will also feature actors Vikrant Massey, Tanya Maniktala, Sanjay Mishra, Sachin Khedekar, Hridhu Haroon, and Ranveer Shorey in the lead roles, alongside Sethupathi.

According to Amazon Prime Video, Maanagaram, which was Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s directorial debut, was a hyperlink cinema connecting four youngsters from different walks of life. It starred Sundeep Kishan, Sri, Regina Cassandra, Charle, Munishkanth, Madhusudhan Rao, Vivek Prasanna, and others and was produced by SR Prabhu. The Tamil film focussed on Chennai as one of the major characters in the film, where the backdrops become a prominent part of the story. The names of the protagonists in Maanagaram are not mentioned through the film.

In Mumbaikar, Sethupathi will be playing the character that was played by Sundeep Kishan in the original film- a youngster who comes to Chennai from his village for an interview.

Mumbaikar is produced by Riya Shibu and music will be composed by Prashant Pillai. Besides direction, Santosh is also in charge of the film’s cinematography.

Apart from Mumbaikar, Sethupathi also has another Hindi project in the works- an action web series directed by filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, popularly known as Raj & DK. The film also stars Shahid Kapoor.

Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan‘s upcoming film Laal Singh Chaddha, the Hindi remake of Tom Hanks’ 1994 Academy Award-winning Hollywood film Forrest Gump, was initially supposed to be Sethupathi’s Hindi debut. He backed out of the film over scheduling issues, according to his publicity manager. 

While Mumbaikar is scheduled to release in theatres, an official release date has not yet been announced.

One Cut Two Cut: Comedian Danish Sait to Bring His Character Gopi to Life in Kannada Film

BY Namrata Ganguly On

Comedian Danish Sait will bring Gopi, a character of a government school teacher that he created during the Covid-19 lockdown, to life in an upcoming Kannada film titled One Cut Two Cut, that will be backed by Puneeth Rajkumar‘s production banner PRK Productions.

“Gopi, the character that I created on the internet, is now becoming a full-fledged film,” Sait told Silverscreen India.

The poster of One Cut Two Cut was released on Friday. The film will be directed by standup comedian Vamsidhar Bhogaraju, who also wrote the dialogues for Sait’s debut film, Humble Politician Nograj in which Puneeth Rajkumar had also appeared in a cameo role.

The story is about Gopi’s first day at school and all the things that go awry, Sait told Silverscreen India. Gopi is a character created and played by Sait in an episode titled Perfect Proposal from his Youtube channel. In the original episode, Gopi is in search of a suitable life partner.

“So, I’m playing Gopi, who is an origami teacher, and it is his first day at a government school and everything that goes wrong there. It is a crazy comedy action film. The shooting will take place all indoors in one location,” Sait told Silverscreen India.

This will be the third time that Sait will be bringing one of his characters to life in a comedy feature film. Sait played the role of a corrupt politician, named Nograj, in his debut film titled Humble Politician Nograj (2018), which won him the South Indian International Movie Award for Best Debutante in Kannada and was backed by actor Rakshit Shetty and filmmaker Hemanth Rao. Sait played the role of an auto driver, named Asgar, in his next venture, an Amazon Prime Video film titled French Biriyani (2020), that was also backed by Puneeth Rajkumar’s PRK Productions.

Shooting for One Cut Two Cut will begin in February.

Kerala Theatre Owners Await Government Aid, May Keep Theatres Shut For Longer

BY Anindita Banerjee On

Despite the Kerala government giving the official nod for theatres in the state to reopen from January 5, theatre owners may keep their establishments shut for longer. Theatre owners say they are still waiting for the state goverment to announce relief measures for the industry and for issues with producers to be amicably resolved.

After more than nine months of closure, cinema halls in Kerala were, on Friday, permitted by to reopen with 50 % seating capacity and other Covid-19 related safety norms from Jan 5 onwards. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement.

Suresh Shenoy, the owner of Shenoys Theatre in Kochi tells Silverscreen India that he will open his theatre only on January 13,  ahead of Vijay’s film Master‘s release and not on the 5th. “Some decisions are yet to be taken and there’s a meeting on the 5th between all cine exhibitors, producers, and distributors. Based on that meeting, decisions will be taken,” says Shenoy.

MC Bobby, secretary, Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), says other theatres are still undecided on reopening and what films to screen first.  “For theatres to open on Friday and for films to continue releasing smoothly, producers and distributors need to have a discussion and reach a conclusion. For this, we are holding an executive committee meeting on January 5 to discuss future plans. This will also be discussed during the executive committee meeting on Jan 5.”

The association had raised demands in a memorandum submitted to the government in November, seeking relief measures.

“During the meeting with the CM on November 19, we discussed a lot of issues, including waiving the Entertainment Tax and Fixed Electricity Charges for the time the theatres remained shut. Some theatres’ licenses may also have expired in these 10 months so we have asked the government to extend the date for renewal of licenses. The CM also agreed during the meeting that some of the issues raised in the memorandum need to be solved. However, the election code of conduct was in place at the time and the CM had said he will make a decision later. Right now, we are hoping the government comes up with a solution to all the issues we have raised,” he says.

Sumesh, owner of Maharani Theatre in Pala tells Silverscreen India that his theatre will not reopen on January 5 due to ongoing maintenance work and that he hopes to reopen before the release of Master.

Mukesh R.Mehta, who has produced Malayalam films Guppy and Adithya Varma among others, says he expects multiplexes in Kerala to reopen on January 5 but is doubtful whether single screens will also reopen.

“The Government has given the permission so maybe the multiplexes like PVR and Inox will open. But the single screen associations will take a call after the meeting. It is not an unrestricted opening so one can’t just ask to open theatres suddenly. The Government should have given at least 15 days time for theatre owners to prepare and producers to also decide whether they want to release a film during a non-festival time. Whatever old movies were there, that may come back. It’ll take a couple of days to figure out whether it is opening on the 5th or the 13th,” he tells Silverscreen India.

Post the Kerala Chief Minister’s announcement permitting theatres to reopen, makers of Mohanlal‘s film Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, one of the big-budget Malayalam releases that were stalled due to the Covid-19 related lockdown, announced that the film will release on March 26, 2021-one year post its initial scheduled release date. Other Malayalam films awaiting release include Mammootty‘s One, Fahadh Faasil‘s Malilk and Dulquer Salmaan‘s Kurup.

Dhruv Vikram Announces New Tamil Film With Director Mari Selvaraj

BY Anusha Sundar On

Actor Dhruv Vikram announced on Friday that he would be teaming up for a new Tamil film with filmmaker Mari Selvaraj. Mari Selvaraj’s debut directorial was the award-winning Pariyerum Perumal, which was produced by filmmaker Pa Ranjith.

Speaking to Silverscreen India, Mari Selvaraj however said, “I have so far not made any announcement on the film. The project is still being finalised and I do not want to comment on it at this stage.”

 

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A post shared by Dhruv (@dhruv.vikram)

Mari Selvaraj is currently working on the upcoming Tamil film Karnan, which stars actor Dhanush. The Karnan team finished its shoot at the beginning of December 2020.

While plans for the film with Dhruv Vikram are still ongoing, Mari Selvaraj said that Karnan was close to wrapping up and would release in theatres this year. He said, “Karnan‘s post-production is on. But we have not yet decided when the film will be released since Dhanush is also working on Jagame Thandhiram (by Karthik Subbaraj). We don’t want the promotions to clash.”

Karnan will be Mari Selvaraj’s second directorial. His debut directorial was the award-winning Pariyerum Perumal (2018), which was produced by filmmaker Pa Ranjith. The film starred actors Anandhi and Kathir and was critically acclaimed for its treatment of caste oppression and discrimination in Indian society. The film won several awards.

Dhruv Vikram will also play a role in an upcoming film starring his father, actor Vikram. Karthik Subbaraj had announced the film, provisionally titled Chiyaan 60 in June.

Dhruv Vikram made his debut with the 2019 film Adithya Varma, the Tamil remake of Telugu hit film Arjun Reddy directed by debutant Gireesaya. Director Bala, who has worked with Dhruv’s father, actor Vikram, in hit Tamil films such as Sethu (1999) and Pithamagan (2003), had initially been chosen to direct the Tamil remake titled Varmaa. Post shooting however, the production company backing the film E4 Entertainment decided to scrap the version of the movie directed by Bala and reshoot it entirely-this time titled Adithya Varma with Arjun Reddy director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s assistant Gireesaya.

Dulquer Salmaan’s ‘Adi’ (the ‘Slap’) Will Star Shine Tom Chacko and Ahaana Krishna

BY Anindita Banerjee On

Malayalam actor-producer Dulquer Salmaan announced his fourth production, Adi, which will star actors Shine Tom Chacko, Ahaana Krishna and Dhruvan. The film will be directed by Prasobh Vijayan.

Speaking to Silverscreen India, Pramod Vijayan said that Adi would be a “fun-filled movie” with some social mockery. He said, “Adi means ‘slap’ in Malayalam. So in our film ‘Adi’ stands for a tight slap to the kind of society that says everything is in a man’s control while his wife has to accept his (male) ego. In Adi, we try to show that there are no specific responsibilities for the husband and for the wife. [Things are okay] as long as everything is dealt with as a family and not as an individual.”

He added, “The film will deal with emotions, ego, and even caste privilege in Kerala. But in a fun way.”

Adi will be very different from his previous films, Lilli and Anveshanam, said the director. “In this film, no one will kill anyone,” he joked.

Vijayan said Shine Tom Chacko had been his first preference for the lead. He said, “We went to Shine and told him the story. He said ‘okay’ immediately. I then called Ahaana and told her I want the Ahaana from Njan Steve Lopez movie and not the Instagram Ahaana. She agreed.”

The Adi team filmed for 50 days during the lockdown in Aluva. Vijayan said it had been “very tough” to shoot in conditions where a team of 80-84 people had to work with strict safety protocols set by the production house, Wayfarer Films.

There was minimal publicity during the shoot. While announcing that shooting had wrapped up in mid-December, Dulquer Salmaan had said that he did not want to attract any attention as there were strict protocols and measures in place.

“I’m very happy to share that we managed to finish the entire film with no cases or any danger to our team or to the public. Now that its safely wrapped we feel we can share things about the film,” he wrote in his post.

While a release date has not been announced as yet, Vijayan said that the team was hoping for a theatrical release. He said, “I will finish my work on the film by the end of February. The production company has said that if the situation improves in four or five months, the film will be released in theatres.”

However, there was a 10% chance of an OTT exclusive as the production company may have a deal with some OTT platforms, he said. Although his preference would be for a theatrical release, he said, “I feel films should be released in theatres first and they can then go on to OTT platforms or other channels. That model worked for my previous film (Anveshanam) as well.”

The film’s crew includes writer Ratheesh Ravi (Ishq), music director Govind Vasantha, cinematographer Faiz Siddik, costume designer Stefy Xavior, art director Subhash Karun, and Ranjith R handling the makeup.

Adi will be Wayfarer Films’ fourth production after Maniyarayile Ashokan, Varane Avashyamund, and Kurup.

Dadasaheb Phalke Awards South 2020: Dhanush, Jyothika Win Top Honours

BY Namrata Ganguly On

Actor Dhanush has won the Best Actor (Male) in the Tamil films category at the Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for South Indian films 2020, announced on Friday. Other winners among actors included Jyothika for the Best Actor (Female) in the Tamil films category, and Ajith Kumar and Mohanlal in the Best Versatile Actor in the Tamil and Malayalam film categories respectively.

To Let won the Best Film award among Tamil films, while Jersey and Uyare won in the Telugu and Malayalam Best Film categories. R Parthiban won the Best Director (Tamil) for Oththa Seruppu Size 78, while director Madhu C Narayan won Best Director (Malayalam) for Kumbalangi Nights and director Sujeeth won Best Director (Telugu) for Saaho.

Films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages were eligible for these awards. The awards ceremony, which aims to recognize and celebrate South Indian films every year, was first held in 2019 in Hyderabad, Telangana. 

Speaking to Silverscreen India, the publicity manager for the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) said, “Though the list of winners has been announced, the event will be held once the pandemic is over.”

In the first edition, actors Mahesh Babu and Anushka Shetty had won the Best Actor awards for their respective categories while actors Yash and Keerthy Suresh won the Outstanding Performance of the Year award.

Following is a list of awardees for 2020:

Best Film

  1. Tamil- To Let 
  2. Telugu- Jersey 
  3. Malayalam- Uyare 
  4. Kannada- Mookajjiya Kanasugalu 

Best Director

  1. Tamil- R Parthiban (Oththa Seruppu Size 7)
  2. Telugu- Sujeeth (Saaho)
  3. Malayalam- Madhu C Narayan (Kumbalangi Nights)
  4. Kannada- Ramesh Indira (Premier Padmini)

Best Actor (Male)

  1. Tamil- Dhanush (Asuran)
  2. Telugu- Naveen Polishetty (Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya)
  3. Malayalam- Suraj Venjaramoodu (Android Kunjappan)
  4. Kannada- Rakshit Shetty (Avane Srimannarayana)

Best Actor (Female)

  1. Tamil- Jyothika (Raatchasi)
  2. Telugu- Rashmika Mandanna (Dear Comrade)
  3. Malayalam- Parvathy Thiruvothu (Uyare)
  4. Kannada- Tanya Hope (Yajamana)

Best Music Director-

  1. Tamil- Anirudh Ravichander
  2. Telugu- SS Thaman
  3. Malayalam- Deepak Dev
  4. Kannada- V Harikrishna

Most Versatile Actor

  1. Tamil- Ajith Kumar
  2. Telugu- Nagarjuna Akkineni
  3. Malayalam- Mohanlal
  4. Kannada- Shivraj Kumar

DPIFF also hosts the awards ceremony for the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards, which will be held this year on 20 February 2021 at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai. 

Kodiyil Oruvan Teaser Starring Vijay Antony, Aathmika

Kodiyil Oruvan is an upcoming movie that has Vijay Antony and Aathmika playing the lead roles. Directed by Ananda Krishnan and Music by Nivas K Prasanna.

Credits:

Movie : Kodiyil Oruvan
Starring: Vijay Antony, Aathmika, Ramachandra Raju, Prabhakar & Others
Writer & Director: Ananda Krishnan
Producer: T.D. Rajha & D.R. Sanjay Kumar (Chendur Film International)

Co Producer: Kamal Bohra, Lalitha Dhananjayan, B. Pradeep, Pankaj Bohra, S. Vikram Kumar

Music: Nivas K Prasanna
Cinematographer: N.S. Uthaya Kumar

Editor: Vijay Antony
Art director: Pappanadu C. Uthayakumar
Lyricists: Mohanrajan, Arun Bharathi A, Subbu
Stunt master: Mahesh Mathew
Choreographer: Hari Kiran

Costume Designers: Sowbarnika
Production Executive: P. Pandiyan
DI: Igene
DIT: Janarthanan
Sound Engineer: S Chandrasekhar
Sound Mix: A.M. Rahmathulla
Sound Design: Vijay Rathinam MPSE
Production Manager: Mariappan Ganapathy
Makeup: P. Mariappan
Stills: R.S. Raja
Costumer: R. Kumar

Infiniti: D. Naveenkumar
PRO: Riaz K Ahmed
Designer: Sivakumar S (Sivi Digital Art)

Music Label – Saregama

‘Aayirathil Oruvan’ Sequel Announced: Dhanush Will Star, Selvaraghavan Will Direct

BY Anusha Sundar On

Director Selvaraghavan announced the sequel to his 2010 action-adventure film, Aayirathil Oruvan, on Friday. He also said that his brother, actor Dhanush, would play the lead role.

Following the announcement, Dhanush said on social media that audiences had a long wait ahead for the final release, as the film was a “magnum opus” that would take time to make. He said that pre-production alone would take the team a year.

The first installment of Aayirathil Oruvan starred actors Karthi, Andrea Jeremiah, and Reemma Sen, with actors R Parthiepan and Pratap K Pothen in supporting roles. The story followed a group of Indian archaeologists on an expedition to discover the lost dynasty of the Chola kingdom. The film was influential in establishing the then-newcomer Karthi’s acting career. It also won Parthiepan the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2010, while Reemma Sen won acclaim for her role as the antagonist. Aayirathil Oruvan went on to achieve cult status.

On Wednesday, actor Karthi had said that Aayirathil Oruvan would be re-released in over 55 Tamil Nadu theatres from December 31, 2020 onwards.

One of these theaters is GK Cinemas, which is screening the film three times a week. Speaking to Silverscreen India, GK Cinemas owner Ruban said, “The re-release is going really well. In March 2019, when we screened the film, we had a very good response from moviegoers. The film has achieved cult status. It appeals to audiences at all levels, from youngsters to all members of the family, everybody has coming to see the film. Though it is not house full, we are getting a sizeable audience for the film.”

He added, “I am very glad that Selvaraghavan sir announced the sequel of the film by quoting my tweet.”

On Friday, Selvaraghavan released an illustrated poster of the sequel.

Aayirathil Oruvan’s sequel will mark Selvaraghavan’s fourth film as a director with Dhanush.