Posts Tagged ‘september 24’
Bharati Dubey & S Ahmed Ali I TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 24, 2009)
Mumbai: UTV software and communications, producers of the film What’s Your Raashee? has demanded a compensation of Rs 50 crore each from Adlabs Films Limited and UFO moviez for ‘abetting piracy and infringement of copyright’. Both the parties have been asked to pay up within 7 days.
The masterprint of Ashutosh Gowariker’s yet to be released What’s Your Raashee? was stolen from Adlabs on Monday evening. UTV in its notice to Adlabs mentioned that in violation of the agreement, the masterprint of the film had been illegally copied on the Adlabs premises and sold to persons engaged in piracy, causing huge damage. The notice also alleged that the illegal activity was possible because of some highly-placed persons employed by Adlabs who gained access to the prints and made copies of it.
In its notice to UFO moviez, the producers alleged that UFO employee Rajesh Chowdhry arrested in the case has also confessed to piracy of the film Aage Se Right. “It is apparent that the entire illegal piracy racket has been able to continue unchecked on UFO premises and that their security system does not provide adequate protection,’’ the notice said. UFO has sacked Chowdhry but officials said that Aage Se Right was not released on the UFO platform.
UTV has also written to all producers and distributors’ bodies to send showcause notices to Adlabs and UFO moviez. Also, a film delegation including producer Mahesh Bhatt, senior vice-president of AMPTPP Vikas Mohan, Yash Chopra, Ratan Jain and Mukesh Bhatt will be meeting joint commissioner Rakesh Maria on Thursday.
Meanwhile, two more officials of two private companies, Neerav Shah (30), the manager of Reliance Big Pictures (overseas distributions) and Nagda Kalapi (29), the head of the overseas distribution of Shemaroo pictures, were arrested in the case. Kalapi and Shah get a ‘benefit’ of Rs 35,000 to 50,000 per film, said senior inspector Ansar Peerzade. A video-piracy racket was busted on Sunday. Ashraf Hussain alias Afsar, Feroz Khan and Aman Tanzeem Sayyed were arrested in the case. Their interrogation helped the police arrest Durgadas Bhakta, manager, business development of Adlabs and Chowdhry.
An Adlabs spokesperson said, “The incident in connection with What’s Your Raashee is not attributable to us in any manner. The film prints are recorded under the best possible security measures.’’ A UFO spokesperson Charu Sacham said that the company has communicated separately with the producers’ fraternity and assured them that their business interests and intellectual property are of paramount importance.
By Subhash K. Jha, September 24, 2009 – 12:41 IST
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Balki has just left to shoot the last bits of Paa in Lucknow.
The director’s eagerly-awaited project Paa has been postponed by a month. However, the imminent clash with the other Bachchan starrer Teen Patti has been averted, thanks to the actor’s timely intervention.
Apparently, Mr. Bachchan personally requested the producers of Teen Patti to avoid any clash with Paa.
So it’s Paa going solo on December 4. Says Paa director Balki, “As far as I’m concerned it is only Paa releasing on December 4. We were supposed to release on November 13. But that would have been two weeks after another Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aladin. And we couldn’t ask Aladin to shift. They’ve gone through too many delays already,” rationalized Balki before leaving for patchwork shooting in Lucknow on Tuesday.
“Though Paa is set in Lucknow, this is the first time that I’m visiting the city in my entire life,” said Balki.
BOLLYWOOD HUNGAMA.COM
By Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 24, 2009)
Shatrughan Sinha will play NT Rama Rao, Telugu Desam party’s chief, in Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra. The bio-pic is based on the alleged outlaw Paritala Ravindra, who was wanted for several serious cases, but he contested and won elections on a Telugu Desam ticket. The film will go on the floors in Hyderabad shortly.
Ram Gopal Varma confirmed and said, “I chose Shatruji because he has a larger-than-life personality, which is required to play NT Rama Rao. NTR played a very important part in the life and political career of Paritala Ravi.” Talking about the film, Shatrughan Sinha said, “Rakta Charita is more like the Mahabharata in spirit than the Ramayana. The film’s tone is similar to that of The Godfather.” The film will be made in Hindi and Telugu and veteran actor Mohan Babu will play the role of NT Rama Rao in the Telugu version. |
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After hitting the big time by directing expensive films like Dhoom and Dhoom 2 for Yash Raj Films, Sanjay Gadhvi’s career seems to be in a downward spiral. After reports of Gadhvi’s much talked about film, 7 Days in Paris with Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif getting shelved, the latest is that the director has decided to go ahead with the film sans any big star.
Ever since he moved away from the YRF camp, Gadhvi has been struggling to deliver a hit. His last film, Kidnap bombed. There was also speculation about him directing Dhoom 3 but that is not happening. When we spoke to Sanjay about his low budget remake of 7 Days in Paris with a new cast, he chose to reply with a “no comments”. |
Gadhvi, who is known for making big budget and stylised films, is making a different attempt this time. According to sources, “After his project with Imran Khan failed to materialise, Gadhvi has decided to go ahead with the project with a completely new cast. Even the budget of the film will not be more than Rs 3 crore now. The fireworks Gadhvi showcased in his Dhoom series will also be missing in this film.”In a rare display of guru-shishya bonding, Shaad Ali devotes himself to Mani Ratnam’s film; he is efficient assistant, nursemaid and mediator on the sets
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In Mani Ratnam’s Raavana, Govinda plays Hanuman, while Vikram, the star from the south, plays Ram. Off camera, a heart-warming relationship between the guru and shishya is playing out on the sets. Even the crew equates Shaad to the devoted Hanuman, while his reverence for Mani Ratnam has put the latter on a pedestal as Ram.
Mani could not have wished for a better assistant than Shaad Ali. After directing films like Saathiya, Bunty aur Babli and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Shaad should ideally be concentrating on getting his next (with Yash Raj Films) off the ground. Instead, he prioritised his mentor Mani Ratnam’s film and rushed to the south to assist him. Shaad’s involvement goes deeper than the professional commitment. He also plays Mani’s nursemaid and right-hand man. He ferociously guards the senior director from potential problems, tends to his dietary needs and keeps a paternal eye on his guru’s health.
When Mani was hospitalised for his heart problem, Shaad was at his bedside constantly. He played a significant role in nursing the senior director back to health. His dogged devotion extends to monitoring Mani’s meals to keep the unhealthy stuff at bay. He fusses over his dietary dos and don’ts and nothing can get past his watchful eye, as he inspects the dabbas daily. Shaad is up at the crack of dawn for a 6am shoot. At 5am, he makes sure that everything is in order and flawless to give his guru minimum reason to stress when he arrives at 5.45am. Even on the sets, everything is chalked out, so Mani doesn’t have to exert himself physically. The assistant is also the good cop to Mani’s bad cop. Mani has the reputation of being quite the taskmaster, and the stars dare not voice their objections to the tough orders. Shaad plays the mediator and irons out any disputes brewing on the sets, often leading the problems to amicable solutions. Even though stars return to Mumbai at the end of schedules, Shaad stays put by his guru’s side and intends to park himself there through post-production and till the film releases. As far as his YRF film is concerned, it was supposed to take off early next year. Mani’s health has delayed that project. An unperturbed Shaad has informed Aditya Chopra to push back the plans as well. Shaad’s new film has three heroes and three heroines, newcomers in all probability. He will not move on to his ambitious project with YRF, until his guru’s film releases in cinemas. Shaad Ali has given new meaning to the phrase, ‘Work is worship.’ |
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It’s final. Shahid Kapoor will be taking nine months off starting this November to work on his father Pankaj Kapur’s first directorial venture, Mausam. Since Shahid wants to give all his time to Pankaj Kapur’s film, he won’t do any other film until July 2010.
Mausam is an out-and-out romantic film to be shot in five countries – Austria, the UK, Spain, Italy and India. Shahid will start shooting for the film in the last week of January 2010.
A reliable source says, “Though there is still some time before the shooting starts, Shahid will begin preparing for the film long before January 2010. He has been urging his father to direct a film for many years. In fact, if Shahid had his way, his debut would’ve been with his father’s film. But Pankaj likes to work at his own pace and only with those he’s comfortable with. They’ve found the right producer now.” Pankaj Kapur’s directorial debut will be produced by Religare Vistaar Entertainment. “The romantic film’s screenplay, written by Pankaj Kapur, spreads over 10 years,” adds a source. A new girl for whom an all-India hunt will begin soon will be launched with Shahid in Mausam. Commenting on the kind of girl the filmmakers are looking for, the source says, “The girl has to be fresh-faced, innocent, virginal and has to have a never-seen-before quality.” Sheetal Talwar, chairman and managing director of Religare, confirms the news and says, “I’m not denying any of what you’ve heard but I’m not at liberty to talk about it at the moment.” |
