JugJugg Jeeyo is a story set in the heart of Patiala and much like the city, it’s full of love and laughter, colour and drama. It’s about family and its values, unresolved yearnings, and unexpected reconciliations.
In cinemas 24th June, 2022.
Viacom18 Studios & Dharma Productions present
A Dharma Productions Film
JUGJUGG JEEYO
Starring Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Maniesh Paul & Prajakta Koli.
Directed by Raj Mehta
Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta
Story by Anurag Singh
Screenplay and Dialogues by Rishhabh Sharrma
Screenplay by Anurag Singh & Sumit Bhateja
Music Supervised by Azeem Dayani
As films return to cinemas more, and less to OTT, box office numbers seem to have experienced spikes. While Kartik Aaryan-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 has earned around Rs 14 crores on its opening day, thereby making it the second film with the highest opening post the pandemic for a Hindi film, Kangana Ranaut‘s Dhaakad has only garner Rs 50 lakh.
Silverscreen India brings to you a compilation of reviews of films that released both online as well as in cinemas.
Dhaakad
Photo Caption: Poster of Dhaakad
Razneesh Ghai‘s Dhaakad features actors Kangana Ranaut, Arjun Rampal, and Divya Dutta in pivotal roles. The film tells the story of Agent Agni, essayed by Ranaut, who is a field agent entrusted with the mission to gather Intel and eliminate Rudraveer, an international human and arms trafficker.
Sankeertana of Silverscreen India writes that apart from Ranaut’s portrayal as an international agent – a rare sight in Indian cinema – Dhaakad has very little to offer.
However, she adds that the film’s gaze is firmly male, and notes that even though the protagonist does not have to explain her streak of violence, “the film needed so much more to sustain the incessant action. I can even understand the simple emotional stakes, but the cliche-riddled journey the film takes its protagonist on is unacceptable. ”
“Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta‘s characters are given enough scope and space to shine, and they do in parts. But the emotional arcs of all characters involved in the film are broad and predictable. How can a viewer invest if they already know a character’s every beat? How can they connect with something that’s barely there?” Sankeertana writes.
Rahul Desai of Film Companion, notes the tonal similarities between Dhaakad and other Hollywood female-assassin thrillers, including but not limited to Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow.
Desai reflects similar sentiments as Sankeertana, and writes, “The intent is correct, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.”
He adds, “The film itself is all too tropey and familiar, as is her final face-off with raspy Rudra, not to mention the final twist that comes as no surprise to anyone who wonders what sort of agency recruits grief-stricken children and mines their trauma to make them deadly assassins.”
Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost calls the film “shamelessly derivative”, and writes, “It is not Tarantino though, but the Lara Croft blockbuster franchise starring Angelina Jolie that the team of this Hindi film primarily seems to be mining, right down to the heroine’s look, which includes figure-hugging black outfits of varying lengths and long plaited hair in large parts of the narrative.”
She calls the storytelling colourless, and the film unoriginal, and notes that the film’s biggest problem lies in its lack of imagination.
“To make up for the vacuum of ideas, extremely violent scenes are inserted into the proceedings at intervals,” Vetticad writes.
Even in terms of performances, Vetticad writes that Ranaut, Rampal, and Dutta weren’t as noteworthy as Saswata Chatterjee and Sharib Hashmi.
Directed by cinematographer and filmmaker Santosh Sivan, Jack N Jill revolves around Manju Warrier‘s Parvathy, a patient of schizophrenia, who, without her will, becomes the subject of an AI experiment conducted by Kesh (Kalidas Jayaram), a US-based scientist. The test transforms Parvathy into a superhero equipped with the best cognitive and combat skills.
According to Aswathy Gopalakrishnan of Silverscreen India, the film does not look like a Santosh Sivan film.
She notes, “Where are Sivan’s famous fascinating compositions, frames dripping with delicious colours and lights, the building of atmospherics? The film has what the general viewers call the “video” look ﹣blunt and raw, resembling old home videos.”
Gopalakrishnan adds that apart from Warrier, Jayaram, and Venu, every other actor looks out of place. Even the characterisation of Shahir, Varghese, and Joseph, she says, is a humongous waste of talent.
“One can see their characters resemble Balarama’s Vikraman and Muthu, the foolish thugs, in tune with the film’s overall low-cost comic book nature. But the jokes do not work, thanks to the flat staging of the scenes,” writes Gopalakrishnan.
The sole takeaway from the film, according to the reviewer, “is the hinting of a romantic track featuring her and Kalidas, the 28-year-old son of her former co-star, Jayaram.”
SR Praveen of The Hindu, writes, “It is not often that one would come across a film where every department seems to be in a competition with each other in a race to the bottom, where cinema lies battered and bruised.”
Directed by Jeethu Joseph, 12th Man is a thriller that is headlined by Joseph’s frequent collaborator Mohanlal. The story revolves around a murder that takes place at a resort, and points finger at 12 people.
Aswathy Gopalakrishnan of Silverscreen India, writes that 12th Man is not an especially smart film. “The plot goes in circles, from one red herring to another, yet it cannot outwit the viewer who has, in all these years, been trained at noticing the patterns.”
She adds that Joseph’s film is amateurishly insensitive, which “does not care about the dead or the human frailties that led to the murder. 12th Man, unlike the dark intrigue stuffed into its name, is a soap-operatic film founded on archaic morality.”
The characters, she writes, dress alike with hardly any point of difference.
Shot during the pandemic, Gopalakrishnan notes that while the film has been able to keep the industry afloat, it drags Malayalam cinema many decades behind, turning filmmaking into a mindless job of visual content creation.
Vishal Menon of Film Companion, reflects similar sentiments as Gopalakrishnan in terms of the film’s approach to the story and writes, “But given the nature of the chamber drama, there are only so many possibilities the script can explore to arrive at an ending. And as with 12th Man, once you’ve considered each person in the group as a possible culprit at least once during its runtime, how shocking can it be when a name is revealed towards the end?”
However, he adds that the biggest reason why the film fails to achieve its full potential, is because of the standards set by the actor-director duo in Drishyam and its sequel.
Directed by Anees Bazmee and Pankaj Kumar, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is the sequel to Priyadarshan‘s 2007 film Bhool Bhulaiyaa. The cast includes, Kartik Aaryan, Tabu, Kiara Advani, Rajpal Yadav, and Sanjay Mishra in pivotal roles. The story follows Ruhaan, played by Aaryan, who lands at a palace in Rajasthan and uncovers a secret.
Rahul Desai of Film Companion writes that the only comedy comes from Rajpal Yadav’s Chote Pandit, who reprised his role from the prequel.
‘The first half meanders and meanders, biding time till Manjulika is released, almost willing Kartik Aaryan to invoke his inner Akshay Kumar – the way he walks, talks, cracks up, cracks down, laughs, fat-shames, curses,” Desai writes, and adds that while some imitations are amusing, most others are jarring.
He writes that Tabu is the backbone of the film, but “not entirely in a good way”. “The veteran actress is the backbone of the bizarre horror comedy, but there are times when she’s so into her role that the movie is almost forced to be as serious.”
According to Tatsam Mukherjee of Firstpost, “In a screenplay where flashbacks and Kartik Aaryan’s teeth occupy a majority of the space, Tabu is left with limited space to excel. She tries her best, but Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 isn’t the kind of home that nurtures a Tabu performance.”
Actors Mithila Palkar and Jaaved Jaaferi will be seen in Alka Raghuram’s upcoming project, In The Ring, Variety has reported. The film was announced at the Cannes Film Market during the ongoing festival. The director was seeking collaborators in sales, distribution and co-production.
The film is said to be a psychological thriller which is set in the female Muslim boxing community in Khidderpore, Kolkata. It revolves around Shama, a 17-year-old boxer who exchanges places with her double to fight in the national championship when she is framed for her aunt’s murder.
The cast will also include Bangladeshi actor Siam Ahmed and Razia Shabnam, one of the first Indian women to become an international boxing referee and coach.
Raghuram directed the feature documentary Burqa Boxers, which also revolves around the female boxers from Khidderpore. It was one of the 12 projects selected for Open Doors Co-production Market of Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland, where it was awarded, Grant Open Doors.
She said that she started writing the script for In The Ring while she was filming Burqa Boxers.
“I started writing this script while I was filming the documentary Burqa Boxers. While the immersion into their world allowed me to tell the documentary story in the style of realism, it also made me want to explore the interior [worlds] of the characters via a more stylized narrative and style. In that sense, this particular version of the story has been over a decade in the making, waiting for the right family of collaborators to bring it to life. I am thrilled to have found a home in them,” Raghuram said.
The film is being produced by Sreyashii Sengupta of Singapore-based Darpan Global and Souvikk Dasgupta for Oriizon Global in India, with Los Angles-based Rick Ambros serving as executive producer. It will begin its principal photography on December.
“Growing up in Kolkata and always searching for stories from my roots whilst in Singapore, I was unaware of this community of spirited women till I watched her documentary. The intensity and power of such a story then made into film gives it a voice like no other,” Sengupta said in a statement.
Netflix has bought Emily Blunt‘s upcoming film, Pain Hustlers, at the Cannes market section, for over $50 million, Deadline has reported. The streamer’s splurge comes a month after it announced financial losses and a subscriber drop.
Pain Hustlers centers on Liza Drake, played by Blunt, a high-school dropout dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, who lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical start-up in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. “Liza’s charm, guts and drive catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences,” according to the Deadline report.
The film will be helmed by David Yates, who is renowned for directing a few Harry Potter films, namely, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, and the franchise’s spin-off films Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), The Crime of Grindelwald (2018), and the latest TheSecrets of Dumbledore.
Pain Hustlers is expected to begin production in late August.
The script is written by Wells Tower. Lawrence Grey will produce under his Grey Matter Productions banner, alongside David Yates and Yvonne Walcott Yates’ Wychwood Pictures. Lewis Taylor and Ben Everard are executive producing the film, with Cyrus Mojibi, Patrick Wade, Lawrence Kao and Lloyd Everard serving as co-producers.
Blunt is a BAFTA and Golden Globe winning actor, who came into the limelight for her critically-acclaimed performances in films like The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Girl on the Train (2016), A Quiet Place (2018), and its sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2021).
She was last seen in Disney’s adventure film Jungle Cruise, opposite Dwayne Johnson. The film followed the hybrid release model, and was simultaneously made available on the streamer Disney Plus.
Blunt is also set to appear in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming historical film Oppenheimer. The movie is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin, and is about the life of the famous scientist J Robert Oppenheimer– dubbed as the father of the atomic bomb – and his involvement in the Manhattan Project.
The trailer of the upcoming Tamil film, Pothanur Thabal Nilayam, was released on Friday by actor Vijay Sethupathi. The film is set to premiere on Aha Tamil on May 27.
Produced by Sudhan Sundaram, and G Jayaram under the Passion Studios banner in association with Bicycle Cinemas, the film is directed by debutant Praveen, who has also headlined it.
Speaking to Silverscreen India about the film, VFX artist Praveen, who worked as a technical director for Rajinikanth-starrer Kochadaiiyaan, says, “Pothanur Thabal Nilayam is a trilogy, with the first part coming out on May 27. It is a suspense drama against the backdrop of a post office. The whole film takes place within a span of two days and looks into how a mistake made by one person creates a ripple effect, becoming problematic for other people. There is also an element of robbery in the film.”
Praveen, who has also written the script, says that he got the idea to make it into a trilogy, when he finished writing the first instalment, back in 2013. “Although the story has a concrete ending, I expanded it into two other parts, as there is so much to say in this story. The first part takes place in 1990, while the other two instalments are set in 1991 and 1992, respectively. There will be a sense of continuity between all three films,” he adds.
The filmmaker reveals that his father was a cashier at the Pothanur post office in Coimbatore. He says that while the story’s “base” falls under fiction, the “toppings” were inspired by the real incidents that his father had narrated. Praveen says, “After school, we used to go to the post office. Once, when he went to the bank to withdraw money, he was escorted by the police. Those visuals stayed in my mind for a long time. My father has also shared his experiences, which I have taken references from. However, the film’s storyline is not entirely based on real incidents.”
On being asked why he chose this film as his debut, Praveen says, “I had many ideas, but this one stayed in my mind for long time. The period backdrop of this film was also interesting, given that the post office was functioning at its peak, at that time. The element of suspense also sat well with the period drama the modes of communication that existed at the time.”
Aside from Praveen, other cast members include Anjali Rao, Venkat Sundar, Jagan Krish, Seetharaman and Deena, among others. “About 50 artists from a theatre background from Coimbatore were also roped in for the film. I play the role of an entrepreneur, aspiring to start a computer-based company. It is set in the 90s, when such businesses were just kicking off. As my character struggles, the incidents that take place in his life will turn his plans upside down.” Praveen adds that he wrote the script for him to take on the lead role, since the film’s conception.
Praveen has also handled the film’s art direction. He says that his team and him took minute details into account. “About 90% of the film was shot on set, with some VFX. We constantly got in touch with my father and his colleagues, in order to match the accuracy of that time. Apparently, there were no printed logos until 1993, but for cinematic liberty we used a logo. We even cross-checked for props, like the different types of pens that existed in that period.”
Pothanur Thabal Nilayam was shot by cinematographer Sukumaran Sundar across Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Kerala. It was filmed in 2018 and 2019 and was edited by Praveen, himself. “We were scheduled for a theatrical release before the pandemic hit. However, if the film garners good reception post its release, the second one will also premiere in theatres,” he says. Tenma has composed four songs for the film.
Touching upon the other instalments, Praveen says that the scripts are ready but filming has been delayed due to the pandemic. The other parts will also feature the same characters, and is a continuation of the same storyline.
Aside from the trilogy, Praveen will be helming a “hard-core crime” drama, which is yet to be announced.
It would be disingenuous to complain about the high-octane action sequences and gore in a film that fancies itself an action thriller—one of the agencies thanked at the film’s beginning is ‘Trigger Happy.’ So, even if my head is still reeling from the many sounds a bullet can make, I will not question Dhaakad‘s violence. What I will question, though, is everything else. Except for the fact that it has a female protagonist playing an international agent, a rare occurrence in Indian cinema, the film has nothing new to offer its viewer—not the premise, plot devices, twists, and, definitely, not the set pieces. Yes, it is fun to watch a Villanelle-esque Kangana Ranaut lick the blood around her mouth; I was excited at the prospect of a psychotic protagonist, but that only goes for a few seconds, and the film is two hours long.
Even the female aspect falls apart because the film’s gaze is firmly male. Otherwise, why would a short scene whose purpose is character exposition, which the movie rarely spends time on, wastes some of its time zooming in on strippers working the pole? Look, it is nice that Agent Agni (Ranaut) is left alone to brood and scowl instead of having to entertain a romantic interest. It is refreshing that she never had to explain her violent streak beyond the weak flashback/origin story. But, the film needed so much more to sustain the incessant action. I can even understand the simple emotional stakes, but the cliche-riddled journey the film takes its protagonist on is unacceptable.
The film begins promisingly. Tetsuo Nagata’s camera opens the film with a great shot of Budapest. He continues to capture the city and the city of Bhopal rather marvellously—especially the fight on the rooftop towards the film’s end. The lighting, too, adds so much to the atmospheric nature of the narrative. Even if Kangana’s intro feels inspired, to put it mildly, the scene of her returning to the hotel room with a wound invites one to expect great things. Without the wig and the devil-may-care attitude, she looks much more vulnerable. The Agni we are yet to see and understand. Kangana, too, is excellent in those sequences. But the film, or rather Razneesh Ghai, doesn’t know what to do with this potential, both of the actor and the character, so he takes the tried/tired and tested route.
Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta‘s characters are given enough scope and space to shine, and they do in parts. But the emotional arcs of all characters involved in the film are broad and predictable. How can a viewer invest if they already know a character’s every beat? How can they connect with something that’s barely there? The problem isn’t just with the characterisation. It is the screenplay as well. Despite Rameshwar S. Bhagat‘s editing and smooth transitions, the script underneath moves randomly from one scene to the other. The jumps rarely make sense, and replaying an already weak flashback three times ensured that what little heft it carried was also lost.
Razneesh Ghai’sDhaakad is a prime example of a film that thinks intentions are enough. Clandestine meetings in expansive churches, aesthetic placement of fire in coal mines, Divya Dutta’s easy evil, and Arjun Rampal’s bleached hair can only take a film so far. Dhaakad needed a better Kangana, one we saw in her Revolver Ranidays. But, more importantly, it needed a better script that could inspire her to push behind all the noise and do what she does best: commit. Because the diligent Kangana we once knew, would know immediately that blocking her face with eight hairpins—to hold a blonde wig in its place—is not what sexy and pouty is all about.
*****
This Dhaakad review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Kartik Aaryan-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 performed well on its opening day, earning around Rs 14 crores and securing the second-highest opening post the pandemic for a Hindi film.
However, the Kangana Ranaut film Dhaakad, did not see a lot of footfall and managed to earn only around Rs 50 lakhs.
It was reported that Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 performed the best across the Hindi belts, as well as Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the footfall in the south and eastern regions, except West Bengal, are comparatively lower, but still as expected.
Aside from being the second-highest Hindi opener post the pandemic, the film has also become the highest opening for Aaryan that beat Love Aaj Kal, which was Rs 11.50 crore. If taken into consideration alongside the Hindi versions of KGF: Chapter 2 and RRR, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 will be counted as the fourth-highest opener at the box office, since the onset of the pandemic. This comes in as a relief to the Hindi film industry, which was struggling to create an impact at the box office.
As for Dhaakad, it was reported that the film was a disaster on its opening day and collected less than a crore. Even if it performs better during the weekend, it is doubtful that the film will be a competition to the Aaryan-starrer. Talking to Silverscreen India, film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says, “These two films really compliment each other at the box office because one of them is a true-blue family entertainer, and the other one, in my opinion, is a mass entertainer. So, I really think both the films can co-exist as they appeal to different audiences and will perform well.”
Directed by Razneesh Ghai, this action thriller is led by Ranaut, and is said to be Hindi cinema’s first action-packed spy thriller, headlined by a female actor. It also stars Arjun Rampal. Dhaakad is produced by Deepak Mukut and Sohel Maklai and co-produced by Hunar Mukut.
As for the other Hindi film at the box office, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, it is unlikely that the film will last another week, considering the low numbers of audiences, which has urged theatre owners to reduce the number of shows.
Manju Warrier at 43 is more dynamic on the screen than any actor, even those a decade younger than her, in Malayalam cinema at the moment. Within the movies she headlines, she creates her own little show that, often, turns out to be many times more entertaining than the former. In Jack N Jill, she plays Parvathy, a patient of schizophrenia, who, without her will, becomes the subject of an AI experiment conducted by Kesh (Kalidas Jayaram), a US-based scientist. The test transforms Parvathy into a superhero equipped with the best cognitive and combat skills. When she dances, laughs or fights the villains like a seasoned warrior, she submits herself to the camera without the slightest inhibition, one of the last true entertainers in Malayalam mainstream cinema. Say what you may, but Warrier is cutting new grounds in Malayalam cinema, reclaiming and developing an ancient wasteland where filmmakers and the audience dumped their junk, into a thriving space for women.
This waxing eloquent on Warrier’s performance is, by no means, a compliment for Jack N Jill. This fantasy-comedy, directed by renowned cinematographer and filmmaker Santosh Sivan, is a damp squib, possibly a project dead on arrival. The widespread criticism against the film must be that it does not look like a Santosh Sivan film. Where are Sivan’s famous fascinating compositions, frames dripping with delicious colours and lights, the building of atmospherics? The film has what the general viewers call the “video” look ﹣blunt and raw, resembling old home videos. However, this texture is not consistent throughout the film. There are fleeting parts where Sivan uses stark shadows and elaborate lighting.
Everything, from the cinematography and production design to the choice of actors, smells of absolute indifference. Nedumudi Venu plays a former soldier, the grandfather of Kesh. The house he lives in looks tacky, embellished with a poor riot of colours, not the kind of house a cinematographer as sharp as Sivan would pick, in a usual scenario.
Except for the lead actors, Manju Warrier, Kalidas Jayaram and Nedumudi Venu, everyone else looks out of place in this comedy. There is no logical explanation to why Shaylee Krishen, who plays a Kashmiri woman in a Malayali household, gets several close-ups. A young actor confined to eye-candy characters, we might never know if she is a good actor ﹣the word good might be stretching it too much ﹣or at least, a decent performer who would not make one want to turn off their screen. In Jack N Jill, she gazes in envy at other women getting close to the man of her desire, and fumes when he shows interest in them. The expression of love, including its most fleeting variety, deserves some flourish on the screen, and Sivan, who brought to screen the naive beauty of first love in Anathabhadram and Urumi, must certainly know that. The sight of Krishen awkwardly dancing to Malayalam folk tunes, accompanied by a man dressed like a lower-caste farmhand, whom she freely talks down upon, must be the sorest in the film.
The film’s comic supporting cast includes Soubin Shahir, Aju Varghese and Basil Joseph, three popular actors in the young fold, whose comic mettle is well-known. Soubin is the genie, a chatty AI that Kesh develops based on an old friend. Aju and Basil are forced to hang around the hero and relentlessly deliver quips. A humongous waste of talent! One can see their characters resemble Balarama’s Vikraman and Muthu, the foolish thugs, in tune with the film’s overall low-cost comic book nature. But the jokes do not work, thanks to the flat staging of the scenes. An actress, who hardly speaks a line in the film, gets plenty of screen time as an object of the comedians’ desire. One can only wonder what prompted Sivan to pick these actors or write these characters.
Or, look at the actor playing the villains. They generously ham up, speaking Malayalam in an alien tongue. You can see that there is a decent story in the clutter that the narrative is, about a greedy capitalist who invests in a chemical factory that will turn a pristine village and its river toxic and the local residents who fight him with all their might. The plot is simple yet with a child-like quality which could have been a unique home-grown female superhero tale. Unfortunately, it does not happen.
The sole takeaway, besides Warrier flaunting her fun side, is the hinting of a romantic track featuring her and Kalidas, the 28-year-old son of her former co-star, Jayaram. Kesh gazes at Parvathy in awe when she explodes into a wild thing, singing gibberish songs and dancing like no one is watching, turning his quiet laboratory into her party. Their relationship, sometimes, turns mildly sensuous, slipping into the terrain of romance, only to be interrupted by Krishen’s more conventional and obvious romantic advancements towards Kesh. Nevertheless, a rare shine in an otherwise dreary movie.
*****
This Jack N’ Jill review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Satyajit Ray’s 1970 film Pratidwandi (The Adversary) was screened at the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival, on Thursday, and has been archived in the Cannes Classics Section. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, who supervised the film’s restoration, tells Silverscreen India about the process of restoration of films in India.
Pratidwandi is one of Ray’s many films that are currently being restored by the National Film Archive of India under the Indian Government’s National Film Heritage Mission, launched in 2016. Chatterjee was brought on board about two and a half months back, when NFAI was looking for a senior cinematographer to supervise the process.
“About two months back, I got a call from Mr Prakash Magdum, who used to be the director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), and he said that they have found these 10 negatives of the later works of Ray. For some films, they did not have the 100% percent negatives. They just had 60 to 70% of the negatives and the rest from the release prints,” says Chatterjee.
Chatterjee’s career of over two decades comprises a diverse slate of films, including, Dor, Iqbal, Dhoom 3, Chotushkone, Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, and the recent release Gangubai Kathiawadi.
Photo Caption: Still from Pratidwandi; Credit: IMDb
The National Award-winning cinematographer said that he was happy, when he was contacted to head the restoration “because in the wrong hands it can be something else.” His entire intention was to make sure that the future generation can see them for their authenticity, just like he did.
“I have seen these films in my childhood, in theatres. I saw them in their full glory, and I saw what it did to me. It is very unfortunate that a few years back, when I would try to show these films to my children, they would refuse to watch it because of the inferior quality. A lot of Ray’s written works like Hirak Rajar Deshe and Sonar Kella, and later works like Ghare Baire and Agantuk, they are in really bad shape as far as the digital versions are concerned,” Chatterjee adds.
Pratidwandi is the first part in Ray’s Calcutta trilogy, and follows the story of Siddharta, an educated middle-class man, caught up in social unrest due to rampant corruption and unemployment. Siddharta cannot align himself with either his revolutionary activist brother or his career-oriented sister. The film features actors Dhritiman Chatterjee, Debraj Ray, Krishna Bose, Indira Devi, Kalyan Chowdhury, Joysree Roy, and Sefali.
The film, Chatterjee says, was recovered from a reluctant Purnima Dutta of Purnima Pictures, the production house that had backed Pratidwandi.
“When the academy (NFAI) had come asking for the films, she said that she didn’t have the negatives. Because she didn’t want to give it to the academy. For so many years she had it, and no one knew. Then Prakash Magdum met her and convinced her to give the negatives,” mentions Chatterjee.
However, the entirety of the film could not be used from the negatives that were recovered from Dutta.
“Only about 70% could be used. The rest was very badly damaged. When we were trying to take the negatives out, parts of them were falling off. So, about 70% of the negatives we could manage. The rest were taken in bits and pieces, from the three release prints,” he adds.
Photo Caption: Satyajit Ray shooting for Pratidwandi; Credit: IMDb
Chatterjee explained that the process of restoration follows two levels.
Restoration entails acquiring the available film negatives, scanning them, and cleaning them to get rid of any scratches or dirt. Conducted manually, it has to be done frame by frame, and one needs to take care that the original frame structure is not altered.
He notes,”Once that happens, it comes to me to form the digital scan through grading, to take out release copy for DVDs, Blu-Ray, and for streaming as well as theatrical projection.” He adds that he is supervising the restoration drive of Ray’s films, but from the point-of-view of a Director of Photography.
Restoration in India
Chatterjee notes that the aspect of acquisition is tricky. He explains that the traditional method of storing films, followed producers submitting the film reels to labs after their releases in cinemas. These labs came with vaults that controlled humidity and air conditioning, among other factors, that were conducive to the storage of films.
While some producers submitted their films with the NFAI, others chose the labs.
Around 2012, or 2013, when there was a shift from shooting on film to digital cameras, these labs went out of business.
“So, most of the labs shut down. When they shut down, they sold all the equipment on junk basis. They tried to contact a lot of producers to come and collect the film negatives from them. Some producers took it seriously, while others didn’t. Some producers are not even there anymore, and the next generation did not keep a tab on it. So, a lot of these negatives were just thrown off in the junkyard. A lot of negatives were recovered from junkyards and scrapyards and old second-hand shops,” he said.
Lack of proper technology, and not intent, was another deterrant factor in the restoration of Indian cinema.
Photo Caption: Still from Pratidwandi; Credit: IMDb
Chatterjee explains that even a decade or two ago, when films were digitised, the digital technology was not very evolved. “There were no digital cameras. Just normal tele-cine machines, which are not the best way to get all the information that is there on the film,” he adds.
He notes, “What happens is, when the film is kept for such a long time, the moment you try to take it out, unwind it and put it through a scanner, there are chances of the film breaking, or getting stuck because of the moisture. Today, we have the facilities and the technology to make sure that that does not happen.”
Chatterjee remarks that the NFAI has set up a whole facility where they scan the negatives and the release prints on 4k, and that the facility is “top-notch.”
While the NFAI has been able to restore Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe, Agantuk, and Shatranj Ke Khiladi, aside from Pratidwandi, there are several films that continue to be missing.
“We have lost a lot of things. For instance, the negatives of Kanchenjunga is not even available. We could not find the negative even for Hirak Rajar Deshe, but what we did was that we restored it from a master positive. When you are doing restoration work, you amass all of the things available, and take from the best only,” he mentions.
“They must be lying around somewhere. It’s just about time,” Chatterjee concludes.
Ranveer Singh‘s Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which was released a week earlier, is already set to leave several theatres across the country, with the releases of two other Hindi films, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Dhaakad, say theatre owners.
Singh’s film barely managed to earn a little under Rs 12 crore, over the first weekend. According to Anupam Reddy, Secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, theatres were already cutting down on shows for the film since Monday, and once Bhool Bhulaiyaa2 releases, it is possible the Singh-starrer will barely get one show in every theatre in Hyderabad.
“The performance of Jayeshbhai Jordaar has been incredibly bad. The film barely managed to see some footfall during its first weekend but since Monday, very few people are coming to watch the film. A number of shows have already been cut down and theatres were choosing to play KGF: Chapter 2 over this film. Now, with the release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, we will be keeping only one show for the Ranveer Singh-starrer,” adds Reddy.
Written and directed by Divyang Thakkar, Jayeshbhai Jordaar features Singh as the son of a traditional Gujarati sarpanch. The film deals with the issue of equal rights for women in society and conversations around the perceived necessity for a male child to carry on a family’s legacy. It also stars Shalini Pandey, Boman Irani, and Ratna Pathak Shah, and is produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the Yash Raj Films banner.
A theatre owner in Delhi, who chose to remain anonymous, told Silverscreen India that given the option he would rather not play the film at all as the cost is surpassing the income. “Even during the weekend, JayeshbhaiJordaar saw only a handful of people coming in for the shows. I did not want to play the film in my theatre after Monday, as charges for electricity and maintenance was increasing, more than the earnings from ticket sales for the film. Like other theatres, I also reduced the number of shows and kept running KGF: Chapter 2. Now, I am waiting to see if the upcoming Hindi films perform well. The (Hindi film) industry really needs to buckle up instead of only giving flops.”
According to film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, the Singh-starrer lacked a certain “fire part” to be a big theatrical hit. “The film was a very interesting and sweet film but it lacked a sense of fierceness that is needed for any film to be a big theatrical hit, in present times. I think some things did go wrong, with respect to the communication and marketing front, and the other thing that could have certainly been better was added theatrical value coming into play and using Ranveer Singh’s star persona rather than just his acting. But, every production house and every actor has their hits and misses. It is all a part of the game.”
Rathi however does not feel that the Kartik Aaryan-starrer will have an impact on Jayeshbhai Jordaar. “The programming of cinema halls works purely on the law of demand and supply. Any movie, for which there are takers and tickets are being sold, compared to any movie which does not do the same, will be replaced by the one that comes by.”
In Kolkata, Sunit Singh of Paradise Cinema, informed us that only a few theatres are playing the Singh-starrer because it is performing “very poorly.”
It was reported that Jayeshbhai Jordaar currently stands at Rs 16.50 crore and it is expected to leave theatres before even crossing Rs 20 crore. The film has performed much poorly in comparison with Singh’s previous release ’83, which managed to earn around Rs 45 crore, over its first weekend.
Periyandavar, the upcoming Tamil film starring comedian Yogi Babu, is set to have elements of fantasy, time-travel, and period drama, director-producer R Kannan tells Silverscreen India.
The film is backed by Kannan’s production banner Masala Pix, and was launched on Thursday.
Speaking to us about the upcoming film, Kannan, who is currently working on a remake of the hit 1972 Tamil caper comedy Kasethan Kadavulada, says, “While working on Kasethan Kadavulada, I worked with Yogi Babu, and we eventually became good friends. We decided to collaborate again, for this film. I liked his comic presence as well as films like Mandela, where he plays the lead and have been received well.”
Talking about the film, Kannan says, “Periyandavar will revolve around a series of events that take place, when Lord Shiva comes down to the Earth and meets a woman. It will look into several conversations between them, and how he answers her questions from a the perspective of a god. The film also carries a social message.”
The filmmaker, who has also written the film’s story and screenplay, notes that he had worked on the script, about a year ago. “It was written during the lockdown period. I had observed that films like PK, starring Aamir Khan, have rarely been made in Tamil cinema. I was dabbling with these thoughts, when I got the idea to present the current political scenario in a decent yet satirical way,” Kannan adds.
Details surrounding the rest of the cast members are yet to be revealed, and Kannan says that announcements will be made within a week. The film is set to go on floors in July and looking to wrap up by October. “The script is ready and casting is almost finalised. There will be a lot of known faces. The film is nearing completion of pre-production. There will be CGI works involved, as well as a segment from the 70-80s time period will be included.” Kannan notes that the team is hoping for a release in December.
Kannan says that as Kasethan Kadavulada is gearing up for its premiere in June, he will begin working on Periyandavar, soon after. Kasethan Kadavulada features an ensemble star cast, including Urvashi, Mirchi Shiva, Yogi Babu, and Karunakaran, among others. Kannan is also helming the Tamil remake of the critically-acclaimed Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen. Retaining the same title, the film will see Aishwarya Rajesh essaying the role of Nimisha Sajayan. Giving an update about his other sci-fi horror comedy with Hansika Motwani, Kannan says that the first schedule is completed and the film is yet to be titled.
The biographical drama film is said to signify Indo-Bangladeshi relations, as described by delegations of both the countries.
Anurag Thakur, India’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth and Sports Affairs had attended the trailer launch event. While Thakur headed the Indian delegation, his Bangladeshi counterpart, Hassan Mehmud, led the Bangladeshi delegation that also comprised actors Arifin Shuvoo and Nusrat Imrose Tisha.
The film also marks the centenary celebration of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh.
Born in 1920, Rahman was a Bangladeshi political leader and the pioneer behind the independence of erstwhile East Pakistan. He is popularly referred to as Bangabandhu or ‘the friend of Bengal’ and Jatir Jonok or ‘father of the nation’.
Benegal threw light on Rahman, and said, “Sheikh Mujib was an extraordinary person. He was a person, who seemed like he had a background that was very middle-class; a simple man with very simple tastes, and a very simple life. But, he had a burning ambition that eventually created a nation.”
Rahman assumed office as the first Prime Minister of the newly-formed Bangladesh, in 1971. He helped bring liberation to Bangladesh and, as Mehmood put it, “transformed an unarmed nation into an armed one.”
However, on August 15, 1975, Rahman, along with most of his family, was assassinated. Sheikh Hasina, the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and Rahman’s daughter, survived the assassination since she was at West Germany, along with sister Sheikh Rehana. Actor Nusraat Faria will be essaying the role of Hasina in the film.
The National Award-winning filmmaker was not present at the event but addressed the launch through a video message. Benegal said that he was unable to attend the event as he was working on finishing the project.
Photo Caption: Indian and Bangladeshi delegation during the trailer launch of ‘Mujib- The Making of a Nation’
He added that the film should be completed, by the end of this year.
Benegal called Mujib: The Making of a Nation first of its kind, between the countries. He noted that it is “a conglomeration of Bangladeshi actors and Indian technicians.”
The co-production features Shuvoo, Imrose Tisha, and Faria in prominent roles.
Shuvoo, who will be seen essaying the titular character of Rahman, said, “Imagine a human being lived for 55 years, and in those 55 years, he spent 11 years in jail. So, in 44 years, a person from a village came to the city and became the father of the nation.”
Shuvoo described Rahman’s formidable nature as the ‘liberator of erstwhile East-Pakistan’, and shared that the leader’s youngest son, Sheikh Russel, used to refer to the prison – an on-and-off settlement for Rahman – as “Abba’s house.”
“Just imagine how a father would feel. He (Rahman) could not be at the wedding of his children, including Sheikh Haseena’s. I would want you to imagine how you would feel if in one night your whole family gets killed,” he added.
Shuvoo further threw light on being casted as Rahman, in the film.
The actor, who is predominantly known for appearing in commercial films in Bangladesh, was as sceptical of his own casting as Benegal’s staff, who had disapproved of the actor due to his physique. Shuvoo had just shot for a cop film in Bangladesh, when he had met Benegal for the film.
But Benegal’s only reply was, “He is the one.”
Shuvoo also reflected on Benegal’s suggestion of ‘conceiving the soul’ instead of getting the physical, external aspect right, to prepare for the character. He shared that he took the advice and after the first scene was shot, Benegal had come up to him and said, “Arifin, I don’t know if you have gone to the spirit, or the spirit has come to you. Stay there.”
The film, according to Shuvoo, not only portrays Rahman’s able leadership, but also the ‘family man’ that he was.
The Memorandum of Undertaking for the production of the film was signed in January 2020, between India’s National Film Development Corporation and the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation.
Mujib: The Making of a Nation has been under progress for the last two years. It was initially supposed to go on floors in March 2020 but was delayed, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The film finally went on floors in January 2021. It was shot at Mumbai’s Film City, partially, while the other half of it was shot in Bangladesh.
Photo Caption: Hassan Mehmud and Anurag Thakur during the trailer launch of ‘Mujib- The Making of a Nation’
Thakur added that the film comes at a time when countries continue to face challenges from neighbouring nations, and noted that the co-production is an example of maintaining good ties with one’s neighbours.
“I thought this was the best time to release the trailer, to show the strength of friendship between Bangladesh and India. It is not only India’s progress, but it also talks about our relations with our neighbours, and how we compliment each other’s work,” Thakur said.
Hassan Mehmood also reflected similar sentiments, and said, “The joint production of this movie is the demonstration of the strength and depth of the bond between Bangladesh and India.”
“In 1971, not only did India open its borders, but people in India opened their minds as well,” he added.
Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi have written the film’s screenplay, while Shantanu Moitra has composed music for the film.
12th Man, a crime drama directed by Jeethu Joseph, is peak pandemic-time filmmaking. It is set in a single location, a resort in Idukki, with a big, fat cast consisting of popular faces, headlined by Mohanlal. When Shiny (Anusree), one of the eleven friends having a get together at the resort, is found dead in a trench, Chandrasekhar (Mohanlal), a deputy superintendent of police who had been holidaying at the same resort, gets down to business and starts grilling the young men and women. There are twists in the story, brutal betrayal and revelations that shatter the relationship of the eleven friends at the centre of the film.
But 12th Man is not an especially smart film. The plot goes in circles, from one red herring to another, yet it cannot outwit the viewer who has, in all these years, been trained at noticing the patterns. The last one to speak cannot be the killer, it must be the quietest person in the room, whom the viewer had not suspected at any point because the narrative had kept the others in a strong shadow of a doubt. One of the most famous films in this format, Knives Out (2019), had excellent writing and filmmaking that put the viewer on edge throughout the narrative, staying miles ahead of the viewer’s deductions, bringing everything to a brilliantly poignant finale. Jeethu Joseph’s film is, most importantly, amateurishly insensitive. It does not care about the dead or the human frailties that led to the murder. 12th Man, unlike the dark intrigue stuffed into its name, is a soap-operatic film founded on archaic morality. It displays strong voyeuristic tendencies, presenting female desire and libido as criminal. For one, a blurry sight of a neighbour, a friend of many years, in a tight embrace with a man drives one of the characters to take out her phone and shoots it. The narrative frames the event in such a way that the lovers look vicious and the one with the phone camera a moral crusader.
The characterisation of Chandrasekhar swells with contradictions. He is, in the early scenes, an unabashed pervert who barges into private spaces and talks to young women in a language laced with sexual innuendoes. The film, like a troll imparting wisdom on social media, indicates that a pervert who doesn’t hide his perverseness could be just a goodhearted, decent man having some fun. Mohanlal plays the role like a ghost of one of his vintage characters, Kanimangalam Jagannathan or Poovalli Induchoodan, men who possess a twisted sense of humour.
Another most striking feature of the film is costume design for the characters. The friends are dressed alike, in modern clothes of similar shades of black with a dash of lighter colours. They are identical, not just in their fashion sense but also in behaviour. It is impossible to recognise them by their dialogue; they speak alike. The viewer would find the eleven friends equally uninteresting and bland as the production design which is, essentially, a bunch of tacky table lamps.
No wonder none of the young actors come off as memorable. They are merely functional, like Satheesh Kurup’s cinematography which dutifully inserts shadows, fog, warm lights, and some gimmicks into the mix to create eeriness. Never does it occurs to the viewers that the group share a bond. Jeethu Joseph is infamous for crude expository dialogue writing and he continues to do that in 12th Man. In the opening sequence, Doctor Nayana (Ssivada), one of the friends, wonder aloud, “Isn’t it amazing to remain friends even after many years of college?!” and her audience, Zacharia (Unni Mukundan) and Annie (Priyanka Nair), members of the same group, agree. Leona Lishoy is a divorcee with a free spirit. Unlike the wives of his friends, she smokes. Jeethu Joseph, who understands how unusual a female smoker is in Kerala society, frequently inserts into the narrative the sight of Lishoy with a cigarette, staring into the vacuum, with a mysterious smile on her lips. Male smokers in the film, though, do not get this coat of intrigue.
Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph gave the world the wonderful Drishyamwhich, despite the regressive moral anxiety at its centre, was a fine lesson in storytelling in mainstream cinema. With 12th Man, they counterintuitively reveal the arrogant complacency that has crept into the top order in the Malayalam film industry. Thisdistasteful and utterly plain mystery drama is one of the many OTT projects pitched and executed during the pandemic lockdown. Although they kept the film industry afloat when it was forced to be dormant, several of these films, artistically poor, drag Malayalam cinema many decades behind, turning filmmaking into a mindless job of visual content creation.
*****
This 12th Man review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Romancham, the upcoming Malayalam film starring actors Soubin Shahir and Arjun Ashokan, to be a horror-comedy based on a real-life incident, debutant director Jithu Madhavan tells Silverscreen India.
The film is produced by Johnpaul George, Soubin and Girish Gangadharan. The makers released the film’s title poster on Sunday via social media.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Jithu says, “Romancham is a film based on a real incident that happened in my life in 2007. I was living with my friends in Bengaluru and this particular incident was witnessed by us. 90% of Romancham is based on that and I drew inspiration from my friends for building the characters. I have also set the film in 2007.”
Talking about how he decided to make a film inspired from his own life experience, he says, “I have different friend circles. When I told a few of them about my incident at Bengaluru, they laughed at me a lot and enjoyed listening to it. So, that’s when I realised people liked this story. After I entered the film industry, I thought it would be good to do a simple, light-hearted film, based on this incident.”
Having worked as an associate alongside filmmaker Johnpaul, who is known for directing films like Guppy and Ambili, Jithu pitched Romancham to him. He liked the story and took up the responsibility to help him develop it, further. After which, Girish and Soubin came on board.
“I have creative people managing the film’s production and I am very fortunate for it. They are understanding and supportive. Hence, there was no delay in commencing the project. We discussed it at the end of last year, and the film went on floors in March, this year. We wrapped up a few weeks, earlier. The film was predominantly shot in Bengaluru by Shanu Thahir,” says Jithu.
The filmmaker mentions that aside from Soubin and Arjun, budding artists and popular faces on social media such as; Sajin Gopu, Siju Sunny, Abin Bino, Jagadeesh Kumar, Afzal, Anantharaman Ajay, Joemon Jyothir and Sreejith Nair play important roles in the film.
“I did not have time to set up auditions. I had a habit of following Instagram reels or YouTube videos. And I tend to save some of the content I like. I revisited these videos and selected a few artists and roped them in for the project. We spent one week together, and I told them the story. Following which, I developed their characterisation after observing their accents, personalities, and mannerisms. It was a very organic process,” adds Jithu.
He shares that Soubin was very cooperative and the actor got along very well with the team. This also resulted in delivering the best results on the screen. The director adds, “I was super excited to recreate what had happened in my life and to see it visually come to life in the form of a film, was exciting. I was also happy as the artists provided fresh perspectives that enhanced the film, overall.”
Romancham is currently in post-production stages with editing done by Kiran Das, currently underway. The film’s music has been composed by Sushin Shyam.
Gujarati theatre actor Pratik Gandhi, who also works in Hindi cinema,is all set to play the role of Mahatma Gandhi in an upcoming series, which is an adaption of two biographical novels written by historian Ramachandra Guha.
Applause Entertainment, the makers of the upcoming series, called it “a sweeping tale of Indian Independence seen through the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi”, while announcing the series on Thursday. It is produced under the Aditya Birla Group venture and will “bring alive the period of Indian Independence through the lens of our greatest freedom fighters,” as per a statement issued by makers.
Based on the writings of Guha, the upcoming project is a multi-season series, which will be adapted from two of his books titled Gandhi Before India and Gandhi – The Years that Changed the World.
From his earliest days and his actions in South Africa to the great struggle in India, the series will tell the “lesser-known” stories of his life, which played an important role in shaping young Gandhi into a Mahatma. It will also tell the stories of all his compatriots and contemporaries of the freedom movement, incredible personalities who, along with him, played an integral part in the shaping of a free and modern India.
“Truth, love, non-violence and an iron-willed determination, the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi are timeless. He was a great leader, a symbol of peace and a marvel of humanity, who with his extraordinary deeds changed the course of Indian history, and impacted generations of leaders all over the world,” the makers stated.
They also mentioned that the upcoming series will be produced at global standards for a worldwide audience and shot across several Indian as well as international locations.
Speaking on the upcoming project, Guha noted that he is confident that the adaption of his books will “bring complex contours of Gandhi’s life and the moral essence of his teachings to viewers across the globe.”
Pratik Gandhi, best-known for his role as stock broker Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992, said, “I deeply believe in the Gandhian philosophy and his values and imbibe many of his qualities and teachings in my daily life. Moreover, playing the role of Mahatma is very close to my heart ever since my theatre days and now it is a huge honour to yet again essay this role with dignity, grace and conviction.”
Chennai-based social activist has sent a legal notice to YouTube India on Thursday, demanding the platform to remove the recently released song Pathala Pathala, from the upcoming Kamal Haasan-starrer Vikram.
He went on to claim that the song has been the cause of “serious controversial and public issues” in Tamil Nadu.
The film, which also features actors Vijay Sethupathi,Fahadh Faasil, and Suriya in a cameo appearance, is slated for a theatrical release on June 3. With the music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, the makers kick-started promotions and recently released a song Pathala Pathala from the film. Written and sung by Haasan himself, the song has garnered 25 million views on YouTube.
However, on Thursday, as per the legal notice accessed by Silverscreen India, activist RTI Selvam, a resident of Korukkupet, referred to some of the lyrics from the song and claimed that it mocked the Union government of India.
(“There is no money left in the treasury, when diseases are on the rise. Because of the mistakes made by the Union government, there is nothing left now. The key now lies with the thief.”)
(“He is a fox and it is his game to destroy, he shares memes that talk about caste on the Internet. Take the vaccinations friend, it has swollen the buttocks.”)
Referring to these lines, the activist claimed in the notice that the lyrics target the “Central government of India” calling them a “thief” and goes on to “mock” the government’s vaccination program, which is “protecting” people from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Alleging that the song is also inciting “caste unrest” the notice stated, “The song is causing serious controversial, public issues in Tamil Nadu. Hence you should immediately remove the aforementioned song from the YouTube channel as well as other platforms, which are managed by Google.”
The notice also stated that the lyrics can be rendered as “defamatory”, as it goes “against the principles of the Constitution of India, violating fundamental rights.”
Further, a police complaint has also been made by Selvam in the same matter, with a legal notice being served to Haasan and the rest of Vikram’s crew. Demanding that the song be removed within two days, Selvam threatened to take legal action under Sections 106 (Right of private defence against deadly assault when there is a risk of harm to innocent person), 211 (False charge of offence made with intent to injure), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 499 (Defamation), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation). He also mentioned that YouTube India will be liable for all the “costs and consequences.”
While speaking at the Indian Pavilion at the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival, Anurag Singh Thakur, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said, “Over the last few years, the streaming revolution has taken the country by storm, and the popularity of digital and OTT platforms has changed how films are created, distributed, and consumed,” noting the rise of the content era.
It may be noted that though big-budget films like RRR and KGF: Chapter 2 have recorded historic box office numbers, the Ranveer Singh-starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar had a dull opening day and managed to collect only around Rs 3 crore. On the other hand, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, the Telugu film starring Mahesh Babu, collected Rs 50.10 crore at the box office in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on its opening day.
On that note, Silverscreen India brings to you a list of seven films and series releasing on various OTT platforms this week, that you can watch from the comfort of your homes.
Directed by Jeethu Joseph and produced by Antony Perambavoor under the banner Aashirvad Cinemas, this Mohanlal-starrer is a mystery film. In an earlier conversation with Silverscreen India, Jeethu said, “It is a story that unfolds in 24 hours and the film has only 14 characters, overall. There will be no song sequences in the film.” 12th MAN is written by KR Krishna Kumar. On choosing to direct Krishna Kumar’s script, Jeethu said he found the “suspense element” in the story, interesting.
RRR (Roudhram Ranam Rudhiram) directed by SS Rajamouli, was released in theatres on March 25. It is a pan-Indian period drama, which narrates a fictional account of freedom fighters Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem, essayed by Ram Charan and Junior NTR, respectively. The film features a star-studded cast drawn from several film industries, including Hindi actors Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, Irish actor Alison Doody, Shriya Saran, Ray Stevenson, and Olivia Morris, among others. The film has crossed the Rs 1000 crore mark at the global box office.
Shahid Kapoor-starrer Jersey is a remake of the 2019 Telugu sports drama of the same name, which was led by actor Nani. It is helmed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who also directed the Telugu original. The film co-stars Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur in pivotal roles. The film was released in theatres on April 23 and collected only around Rs 4 crores on its first day. In Silverscreen India‘s review, noting that the film has an “uneven narrative”, Aswathy Gopalakrishnan wrote, “Jersey, centred on a brooding hero, who takes a slap from his wife, must have been a breath of fresh air in the Telugu cinema of 2019, a space that reeked of testosterone. But Tinnanuri’s decision to make an identical Hindi remake, without polishing the many rough edges backfires in Jersey.”
Written and directed by Mridul Mahendra, this Sanjay Dutt-starrer is the last film featuring late actor Rajiv Kapoor. It features Kapoor as Toolsidas, an ace snooker player, who proclaims that “he only plays for his son” and features Varun Buddhadev as ‘Toolsidas Junior’. Dutt plays the role of former snooker champion named Mohammad Salam, who helps Junior in fulfilling his father’s dream, after he loses an important match to his arch-rival. The film is inspired by true events and is set in 1994 Calcutta. It was released in theatres on March 4.
While the official release date of the series was May 20, it began streaming on May 18. “Panchayat is a comedy-drama, which captures the journey of an engineering graduate Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar), who for lack of a better job option joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh. Stuck between crazy villagers & a difficult village lifestyle Abhishek starts his job with the sole motivation of getting out of there as soon as possible, for which he even prepares for CAT.” The first season was well received by the audience and had an IMDb rating of 9.1/10 in April 2020.
The series is a multi-layered thriller that explores the differences between youthful aspirations and the reality of adulthood, when the lives of a group of college best friends are forever changed, after a celebratory weekend ends up with one of them dead. Now, 20 years later, the remaining five are reluctantly reunited by a threat that puts their seemingly perfect worlds at risk.
Anurag Singh Thakur, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Youth and Sports Affairs, announced incentives for audio-visual co-productions and shooting of foreign films in India as part of the ‘Film In India’ initiative, at the India Pavilion, during the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival.
The projects will have a cash incentive of up to 30% with a cap of USD 260,000, he added.
“In the case of foreign films that will be shot in India, an additional bonus with a cap of USD 65,000 for employing 15% or more manpower in India will be provided,” he said.
A separate presentation shown during the event, mentioned that permits will be applicable for all films, series, and documentaries over 30 minutes. For documentaries, however, the permission will have to be sought from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Thakur also announced Film Visa which would allow for simplified entry of cast and crew of international film projects, to both shoot as well as carry out recces for their films, in India. The document will further enable them to shoot in locations that are administered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as well as those under the Indian Railways.
The incentives were discussed at the inaugural ceremony of the India Pavilion at Cannes, where India is the country of honor this year.
Photo Caption: Anurag Thakur (middle) and Deepika Padukone (right) among those to unveil the official poster of the 53rd edition of IFFI, Goa; Credit: PIB
At the event, Thakur spoke about the emergence of cinema as an intrument of soft power and the growing digital industry.
“Over the last few years, the streaming revolution has taken the country by storm, and the popularity of digital and OTT platforms has changed how films are created, distributed, and consumed,” Thakur said as he noted the rise of content era.
He added that the country had strong intellectual property regime. “The digital medium now compliments the other more established models of consumption and dissemination, such as theatres and movies. This has brought about democratisation of consumer choice,” he said.
He also said that the country has established a task force of industry leaders to drive the growth of AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comic) sector.
The India Pavilion opened doors for Indian presence at Cannes, a glimpse of which could be seen at the red carpet event, on Tuesday. However, India will primarily focus on the Marche du Film section, said Thakur.
“At Marche du Film, this year, India intends to give the global audience a flavour of the country’s cinematic excellence, technological prowess, rich culture and illustrious heritage of storytelling,” he said.
The Cannes’ market section will see 15 Indian films, both finished as well as those in-progress, seek distributors and sales agents for their films. Indian start-ups will also display their works and conduct pitching sessions at the festival.
Satyajit Ray’s 1970 film Pratidwandi (The Adversary), which has also been chosen for an exclusive screening at the festival, will be restored in the Cannes Classic Selection. It is presented by the National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) and the National Film Archive of India.
Thakur addressed the Indian Government’s National Film Heritage Mission that is aimed at restoring Indian films, and called it “the world’s largest film restoration project.”
As part of this drive, 2,200 films across languages will be restored to their former glory, Thakur noted.
At the event, the Indian brigade also unveiled the poster of the upcoming edition of the International Film Festival of India, which is held in Goa.
The Cannes film festival returned to an in-person event two years after it last held a physical gathering. The festival kick-started on Tuesday, and will go on till May 28.
According toVariety, he said, “I think the matter will no doubt be cleared up. And I’m sorry it has created so much ill feeling.”
The filmmaker is currently serving as an international jury member at Cannes, alongside Deepika Padukone, Rebecca Hall, and others. Farhadi won the Grand Prix at the festival, in 2021, for A Hero.
Farhadi’s former student Azadeh Masihzadeh had accused him of taking key elements of A Hero from her documentary, All Winners, All Losers, and then failing to acknowledge the original source or give her due credits. The documentary was conceived during a film workshop in 2014 at Tehran’s Karnameh Institute, and revolves around the real-life story of an inmate in the debtors’ prison in Shiraz named Shokri.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker denied the allegations and maintained that he had independently researched the story. He also filed a defamation suit against Masihzadeh.
She was acquitted of this defamation charge a day before reports suggested that Farhadi was found guilty of copyright infringement.
A Hero’s producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy later claimed that the reports could have been a result of preliminary investigation conducted into the matter, and not the final ruling.
On Tuesday, Farhadi reiterated similar opinion, and said, “The newspaper you’re referring to talked about plagiarizing. This is not actually true and likewise the case is being studied by the religious authorities. There will be a jury to judge the case. But we don’t know when the case will be heard. It’s a very lengthy process.”
Although he admitted to have watched the documentary, and spoken to Masihzadeh, he added that “what is in the film is something quite different.”
“This documentary and my film A Hero are simply based on an event that happened two years prior to the workshop. When an event takes place and is discovered by the press, then it becomes public knowledge and you can do what you like — you can write a story or make a film about the event without one being a copy of the other,” Farhadi noted.
The film that revolves around a man looking for salvation, was also Iran’s official entry to the 2022 Oscars in the International Feature Film category. However, while the film made the shortlist in that category, it failed to find a place among the top five and earn a nomination.
Actor Mahesh Babu’s Telugu film Sarkaru Vaari Paata has collected Rs 102.7 crore at the box office in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, during its five-day run since its release on Thursday, Anupam Reddy, Secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce tells Silverscreen India.
However, despite being headlined by a big star, theatre owners note that the film’s theatrical release has not made a great impact, owing to the hike in ticket prices in Telangana. The film, which opened to mixed responses, is directed by Parasuram Petla and is Mahesh Babu’s first release in two years since his last outing Sarileru Neekevvaru in 2020. In recent times, Sarkaru Vaari Paata is the second big-budget film after Chiranjeevi-starrer Acharya, to underperform at the box office.
Sarkaru Vaari Paata is jointly produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar, Ram Achanta, and Gopichand Achanta, under Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment, and 14 Reels Plus banners. It is to be noted that while both the Telugu-speaking states permitted the makers to hike the ticket prices for films like RRR, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, and Acharya, the latter two did not perform well at the box office.
Speaking to us, Reddy notes, “The hike in ticket prices is a bane to films, affecting them adversely. For RRR, the mindset of audiences were different. It was a visual wonder, and aside from Ram Charan and Junior NTR, the third hero is SS Rajamouli. The expectations were huge and people would have been ready to spend more, for a film like that. This also perhaps applies to KGF. But that does not mean the audiences are ready to spend extra for all the films.” According to him, Sarkaru Vaari Paata is only witnessing 35% occupancy in theatres.
He further says that the price hike has garnered a lot of negative impact in Telangana. “In multiplexes, before the price hike, they were selling at a rate of Rs 130-150 and after the hike, tickets cost Rs 295. To top it, increasing the prices for the first few days, is becoming a serious issue,” he adds. Reddy says that actors and producers are unaware of the ground reality and only listen to the perspective of fans. He claims that audiences “abuse” exhibitors for the price hike, while makers are ignorant of what audiences say, and insist on selling higher priced tickets.
“Sometimes they vandalise the premises due to the hike, owing to frustration of such exorbitant prices. The makers don’t listen to ardent movie buffs. There are people who want to watch films, irrespective of the heroes. They are passionate about films, and want to watch all of them. They negatively perceive the rise in ticket prices,” he mentions.
Reddy says that if this continues, it will be adverse for theatres. “With higher prices, they see numbers for collections. But when it comes to the numbers in audiences, it is reducing. Occupancy is falling day by day. We want a lot of people to see the film, but perhaps, at a lesser cost. The makers should also consider the numbers in audiences, who have seen their films, not just the film’s earnings. For the past four to five months, although the OTT graph is falling, we are still unable to have more footfall, only due to the hike in ticket prices.”
Echoing the same opinions, Balgovind Raj Tadla, Secretary of Greater Telangana Exhibitors Association and partner at Sudharshan 35mm and Devi 70mm single-screen theatres in Hyderabad, says that when the prices rise, the “mass communication” of the film is affected. “When ticket prices are hiked, people sometimes think that they will watch the film, only if it is really good. If something is highly priced, a consumer will only buy it, if is really useful to them. If its cost is lower, one may end up purchasing it, even if it is not of much interest to one,” Tadla explains.
He also raises the need for increasing ticket prices, when producers are able to release films across several screens using digital projection, as compared to the analog era. “When they resort to increasing ticket costs, why do they squash the hopes of many people watching the film at a lower price?” Tadla questions.
While the hike in ticket prices is an issue in Telangana, they maintained tickets at a lower cost, in Andhra Pradesh. Mentioning that Telangana’s ticket hike was reasonable, initially, Tadla notes that it was “possibly” over-utilised by many films. “RRR opted for an increase in prices. Using that, everyone opted for a hike. Obviously, all the makers are justified to availing hikes, but they end up getting a taste of their own medicine, with the market negatively impacting the films,” Tadla adds.
Aside from the increase in ticket prices, several films being released within a short span of time, also adds to the issue, say theatre owners. “There must be a considerable time duration between the release of each film, like a few months. Within just a gap of 10-15 days, people will not be ready to spend so much money to watch a film,” observes Reddy.
Akshita Reddy, who runs the Ranga 70mm single-screen theatre (1329 seats) in Hyderabad, notes that the increase in prices should be justified with good content.
“The stories are not so nice. There are people who would want to come and watch films, but there are big budget releases that don’t have good storylines, which will make people come back for a second time. Acharya’s plot is not very compelling for people to revisit theatres. In the case of Sarkaru Vaari Paata, people are willing to watch it and it is doing better than Acharya. The price hike is fine but it should be supported by good content. Pushpa performed very well, despite running on an OTT platform. The collection Pushpa made is five times more than what Acharya made in its second week,” she says. She adds that though Mahesh Babu’s film is good, the climax was ‘off-putting’, which did not stand out in the minds of audiences.
With this, theatre owners explain that while higher prices are apt for films that deliver good content, however, it backfires when films do not meet the expectations of the people, thus creating a dent in its performance, owing to lesser footfall.
Aadhaar, the upcoming Tamil film led by Karunas, revolves around the notion of identity in the lives of people from lower sections of society, the film’s director Ramnath Palanikumar says to Silverscreen India.
Speaking about the film, Ramnath who has previously helmed Ambasamudram Ambani (2010) and Thirunaal (2016), says, “It follows the lives of simple people, who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and face several obstacles to establish themselves.”
The film was recently censored with a U/A certificate. It is produced by P Sasee Kumar under the Vennila Creations banner.
Ramnath notes, “There will be multiple characters in the film, with equal importance given to each of them. While Karunaas and Riythvika play a couple, Ineya essays the role of a woman residing in a slum neighbourhood.” Aside from them, Arun Pandian, Uma Riyaz Khan, and Dileepan, among others will also be seen in the film.
Aadhaar marks Ramnath’s second collaboration as a director, with Karunas, after Ambasamudram Ambani, where the actor plays the lead. It is also to be noted that Ramnath had previously penned the screenplay and dialogues for Karunas-starrer Dindigul Sarathy (2008), and the actor has also appeared as a supporting character in Thirunaal. Speaking about collaborating with the actor again, “I wanted the character to be played by someone, who not only fits the appearance of the male character I had in mind, and can subsequently do justice to the role. Karunas seemed like a perfect choice for it.”
The filmmaker has also written the film’s script. “Although, I have directed two films earlier, the mood of cinema and the outlooks of audiences have changed. Only when one starts working on presenting unique content, one can satisfy the audience. I began to write the script back in 2016 and kept the title as Aadhaar as this story has a strong connection to the notion of identity. This will be clearer and easier to comprehend, once audiences watch the film. However, it does not carry any political connotations,” he adds.
On working on the script for nearly six years, Ramnath says, “Sometimes, a story might take a couple of years to complete, or it can we written sooner than that. It is the nature of the script, and we cannot determine how long it might take for a script to be concretely structured. This story demanded time and effort and hence, I took a longer duration to complete it.”
Aadhaar was shot in Chennai by cinematographer Mahesh Muthuswami, and was wrapped up towards the end of 2021. Talking about shooting the film, the cinematographer tells us, “We wanted to incorporate an organic and fluid rhythm through course of the film. Using an instrument called gimbal, we were able to find that sweet spot between the handheld camera technique and the track/trolley movement of the camera. Although there is a lot of darkness and dim lighting in the film, it is very alive and kicking. As there are construction sites, and a crumbling police station, we used a dust-settled tone to add to the film’s visual language. We have used more muted and rust-toned colours, to add to the visual setting and heighten the mood of the film.”
While the film has been edited by R Ramar, Srikanth Deva has composed the music for the film, and it features one song.
Ramnath concludes that the date and mode of release for Aadhaar have not been announced, as yet.
The upcoming edition of the Cannes International Film Festival, which will be held from May 17 to May 28, is set to celebrate India as the country of honour at its Marché du Film (Film Market). It is notable that this year marks the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as 75 years of Indian independence.
This is the first time that the Cannes Film Market has an official country of honour. Future editions of the festival will continue this new tradition with different nations honoured each year. Actor Deepika Padukone will also serve as an international jury member at the festival.
Satyajit Ray’s 1970 film Pratidwandi (The Adversary) has also been chosen for an exclusive screening at the festival. It is presented by the National Film Development Corporation’s (NFDC) National Film Archive of India, and has been restored under the Indian Government’s National Film Heritage Mission.
On that note, Silverscreen India brings to you, a list of Indian films to look out for, at the upcoming festival.
All That Breathes
Caption: A still from All That Breathes by Shaunak Sen; Credit: Sundance Institute
Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes follows two siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially black kites. In January, the 90-minute long film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers. Sen’s film is a part of the Special Screenings line-up at Cannes.
The Tale of a Santa and His Moth
Photo Caption: Still from ‘The Tale of a Santa and His Moth’
Directed by Aneek Chaudhuri, The Tale of a Santa and His Moth is a take on the perspectives of third-world countries on war, and its subsequent effects on them. The story revolves around a father named Pedro (Pawan Chopra) and his ailing daughter (Usha Banerjee). Pedro used to play fancy characters at people’s parties. But when the time comes for him to choose between his job and taking care of his daughter, he chooses the latter.
In an earlier conversation with Silverscreen India, Chaudhuri explained the title and said, “The father’s role is that of a Santa to his daughter, who asks him for the cake. The ‘moth’ reference is because moths are a species that die very soon,” and added that the film was initially conceived as a short film.
A Place of One’s Own
Caption: Poster of ‘A Place of One’s Own’
Directed and produced by the Ektara Collective, A Place of One’s Own delves into the lives of two trans women, Laila and Roshni, who look for a house, after being evicted from a place that they had rented. “It soon becomes evident that their search for a home is also their ongoing search for a place in this society that wants to keep them away in a section that cannot be the center,” reads Cannes’ official synopsis of the film.
Baghjan
Caption: Still from ‘Baghjan’ – Credit: Cinando
This Assamese-language film, directed by Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia, deals with the real-life incidents of the 2020 gas and oil leak in Assam’s Baghjan area. “Fisherman Manab lives with his wife Bharabi in a small village, Baghjan, which is a fertile oil & gas field. One day during oil extraction a massive blast takes place and the entire village catches fire that has devastating consequences,” reads the film’s official synopsis.
Baghjan is a work-in-progress and is expected to be completed in 2023.
Bailadila
Caption: Poster of ‘Bailadila’
Directed by Shailendra Sahu, Bailadila tells the tale of 10-year-old Rinku and his elder brother Jiten, who is a passionate artist caught up in a miserable teaching job. “Rinku finds himself at the threshold of boyhood after losing his mother, moving in with his brother and experiences many things for the first time,” reads the official synopsis.
Follower
Caption: Still from ‘Follower’
Harshad Nalawade’s Follower looks into the story of a journalist, who believes in exposing the atrocities faced by his community. “But as the line between his professional and personal life blurs, an inconvenient truth makes him reflect back on a simpler time when he had not yet succumbed to radicalization,” adds the film’s synopsis.
Shivamma
Caption: Still from ‘Shivamma’
Directed by Jai Shankar and produced by Kannada actor Rishab Shetty, Shivamma narrates the story of a 46-year-old poverty-stricken woman of the same name, who invests in a network marketing business to make some quick money. However, it puts her daughter’s imminent marriage at stake.
Le Musk
Caption: Poster of ‘Le Musk’
Le Musk is directed by Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman, who has also composed the film’s music. The film features actors Nora Arnezeder and Guy Burnet in prominent roles. An ode to music and memory, Le Musk deals with revenge.
“Dipping into the abstract trenches of the woman’s psyche, Le Musk constructs a compelling world of music and scent that lay bare sinister and pure motives. As Juliet searches for the four men — the injured, the tattooed, the poacher, and the ‘Musk’ — she must come face to face with the price of her purpose and confront the persistent presence of the past,” reads the film’s official synopsis.
The film is born out of a conversation between the music director and his wife Saira Rahman, both of whom share a love for perfumes and have employed scent as a narrative device.
Le Musk will be presented at the Cannes XR section.
Nauha
Caption: Still from ‘Nauha’
Directed by Pratham Khurana, Nauha (to grieve) is the coming-of-age story of a 22-year-old man named Kishan, and his experiences of taking care of a 75-year-old dying man, Babuji. The film is presented by the Whistling Woods Internation school of filmmaking, and will be presented in Cannes’ Cinefondation section.
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Caption: Poster of ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ – Credit: IMDb [resized]
Written, directed, produced, and headlined by R Madhavan, Rocketry is a biographical drama based on the life of former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who fought for justice, after being accused of espionage. Simran will also be seen alongside Madhavan in the film. It is set to release in India, on July 2.
Godavari
Caption: Poster of ‘Godavari’; Credit: IMDb [resized]
Directed by Nikhil Mahajan, Godavari tells the story of a family that lives by the banks of the river Godavari in the city of Nashik, in Maharashtra. It features Jitendra Joshi, Neena Kulkarni, and Vikram Gokhale in prominent roles.
Boomba Ride
Caption: Poster of ‘Boomba Ride’; Credit: IMDb [resized]
This Biswajit Bora-directorial is a comical satire on India’s rural education system. The film is set against the backdrop of a lower primary school, where teachers mainly struggle to keep the school up and running, as it has only one student named Boomba.
Dhuin
Caption: Poster of ‘Dhuin’; Credit: IMDb [resized]
Directed by Achal Mishra, Dhuin narrates the tale of Pankaj, a small-time theatre actor, who dreams of making it big in Mumbai. However, weighed down by the obligations to his family, which has financial struggles, Pankaj is compelled to reconsider his dreams.
Alpha Beta Gamma
Caption: Poster of ‘Alpha Beta Gama’; Credit: IMDb [resized]
“As a deadly virus spreads across the globe, a woman, her almost ex-husband, and her about-to-be husband are locked down under one roof for 14 days and they realise that it is very difficult to move on and even tougher to let go,” reads the film’s synopsis, which is directed by Shankar Sri Kumar.
Tree Full of Parrots
Caption: Poster of ‘Tree Full of Parrots’ [resized]
Directed by Jayaraj R, Tree Full of Parrots is a Malayalam-language film that tells the story of an eight-year-old boy Poonjan, and how he helps a blind man find his way back home. “Poonjan tried to find the way to the blind man’s home, asking directions to acquaintances and strangers enroute. Disheartened with the outcome of their journey, he was about to give up on the quest. Right then, they hear the sound of parrots which lead them to the ‘tree full of parrots'”, reads the film’s synopsis.
It is to be noted, however, that Rocketry, Godavari, Boomba Ride, Dhuin, Tree Full of Parrots, and Alpha Beta Gamma have not made it to the any of the official selections at the festival, and are just a part of the line-up of Indian films to be screened at the festival.
In addition to the aforementioned films, the first-look posters of Pa Ranjith‘s film Vettuvam, and Sandeep Singh’s Safed will also debut at the festival.
Directed by Tarun Dudeja, the film is set to revolve around four women, who embark on a road trip adventure to the highest motorable pass in the world, as they indulge in a journey of self-discovery.
Pannu stated that as a producer, she aims to make films that are meaningful and entertaining. “We have attempted to give audiences a visual experience that they have rarely seen on screen. Dhak Dhak narrates the story of four women, who realise that freedom has to be owned and never given. Viacom18 Studios has been a crucial part of my journey in the film industry from Chashme Baddoor, Shabaash Mithu, and now, to Dhak Dhak. I am sure that this ride will be an enriching one.”
The film will be jointly produced by Viacom18 Studios and Pannu’s Outsiders Films Productions, in collaboration with BLM Pictures. Dhak Dhak is co-written by Parijat Joshi and Tarun Dudeja.
Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios stated, “Dhak Dhak is a heart-warming story of four women undertaking a trip and breaking out of their cocoons to discover themselves, through this journey of introspection and adventure. This was aperfect script that resonated well with the core of our storytelling.”
The film is now under production and will hit cinema screens in 2023.
Pannu, who was last seen in Looop Lapeta, the Indian adaptation of the German experimental film Run Lola Run, is set to appear in the sports biopic Shabaash Mithu, in which she plays cricketer Mithali Raj. She is also set to star alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Rajkumar Hirani‘s directorial Dunki. Her other upcoming releases include Do Baaraa, Tadka, and Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan.
Udal, the upcoming Malayalam family drama film, is set to be remade in Hindi, the film’s director Ratheesh Reghunandan confirmed to Silverscreen India.
The Hindi remake will be produced by Gokulam Gopalan under the banner of Sri Gokulam Movies, known for producing films like Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (2009), Kayankulam Kochunni (2018), Kamara Sambhavam (2018) and Prathi Poovankozhi (2019), who also backed the Malayalam film. “This marks the production house’s first Hindi venture, and I will be directing it, as well,” says Reghunandan.
The filmmaker adds that the production house had plans to launch their banner in the Hindi film industry, and was looking for potential films. “I had had an idea to make Udal in Hindi. Sri Gokulam Movies liked the script and our filmmaking style. The film’s first edit was ready two months ago, and after watching it they decided to go ahead with remaking it in Hindi.”
Reghunandan further says that they are currently in talks with a few actors from the Hindi industry for the remake, and hopes that an announcement on the same would be made, after a month.
“Udal’s theme is universal. The film’s premise can possibly happen anywhere in the world. So, this film has all the potential for a remake. Of course, I will make a few modifications in the script so that it caters to the cultural nuances,” notes the director. He adds that the makers have plans to remake the film in Telugu as well, but he will not be directing it.
While the film is set to release in theatres on May 20, Reghunandan, in an earlier conversation with us, said, “Udal explores the change in the dynamics of relationships across different generations. I believe that the depth of relationships changes, as generations come and go. This is the core idea of the film. It’s mainly a family drama that also has some elements of a thriller. Indrans plays the lead character, named Kuttichayan.”
Udal also features Dhyan Sreenivasan, Durga Krishna, and Jude Anthany Joseph. The filmmaker says that Jude Anthany plays Indrans’ son in the film, while the bond between the characters played by Dhyan and Durga is complicated.
Meanwhile, Sri Gokulam Movies have several upcoming projects such as Jack and Jill, Kathanar and Pakalum Pathiravum.
With Indira formally being launched with a pooja ceremony in Kochi on Saturday, the makers also released the film’s title poster on social media. Produced by Ramesh P Pillai under the Abhishek Films banner, the film is written by Shanu Samad, who previously directed the 2019 film Muhabathin Kunjabdulla.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, the film’s production manager Nibin Navas says, “Indira is set to be a feel-good entertainer. We have begun filming on Saturday. This marks the first collaboration between Asha and Somasundaram.”
On roping in Somasundaram and Asha, Navas says that they required older artists, preferably around the 40+ age group for the characters, and the team found that the duo seemed to be a perfect fit.
Talking about how the film took off, Navas mentions, “Vinu, Samad and I have been friends for a long time. One day we were at a coffee shop and Samad was talking about a few story ideas he had. One of them was Indira, and we all thought it would be great to work on this project. Later, we pitched it to Badusha, the project designer, Nelliz, the creative director and the production house and they immediately came on board. The production team has been very supportive in taking this project forward, without any delay.”
Indira‘s pre-production began a few months, earlier. The team is planning to wrap up in 23 days, and is predominantly being shot at Fort Kochi and Kakkanad.
It may be noted that Navas had earlier worked as the project designer for Escape, the survival thriller film led by Gayathri Suresh and Sreevidya Mullachery, for which filmmaker Vinu had shared his creative inputs. The production manager also adds that Vinu’s other upcoming Malayalam film titled Santa Maria, starring actor Babu Antony, is currently in the discussion phase.
Meanwhile, Somasundaram, who rose to fame with his performance in the super-hero film Minnal Murali, has a line-up of Malayalam films including the Mohanlal-starrer Barroz, Chera, Kappand Her. Asha, who was last in CBI:5, has several upcoming projects such as Peaceand Paappan.
