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The 54th National Film Awards for the year 2006 were announced today. The whole awards & entries list is here:

http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2008/jun/54th_nfa.pdf.

However, some salient features:

1. At last, Soumitra Chatterjee has won a national award for the best actor - for the Bengali film Podokkhep. In 2001, he had won a special jury award for Goutam Ghose’s Dekha, but he had declined it. That year Anil Kapoor had got the award for Pukar. The best actress award goes to Priyamani for Paruthi Veeran (Tamil).

2. Priyanandan’s Malayalam film Pulijanmam has got the best feature film award.

3. Kabir Khan’s Kabul Express (Hindi) and Madhu Kaithapuram’s Eakantham (Malayalam) share the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best First Film of a Director.

4. Lage Raho Munnabhai has won the Best Popular Film Award, best screenplay (Abhijat Joshi, Raj Kumar Hirani & Vidhu Vinod Chopra), best lyrics (Swanand Kirkire for Bande Mein Tha Dum).

5. Care of …

Theres no way I can remotely hope to recount the effect of watching “The Killing Fields”, no amount of words can effectively portray the heart wrenching effect the movie had on me and millions who saw it. Regardless of ‘when’ you watch it, it still resonates within you, the emotional aspect of the story as much as the craft of narrating this true story visually.

This comment on IMDB says it all,

“Based on the Khmer Rouge revolution in Cambodia, this is an excellent tale of hardship and friendship. Basically director Roland Joffe` did an wonderful job in exposing the detailed facts so simply in the film that you believe that you are in that time in person. The two actors, Sam Waterson and Haing Ngor both displayed godlike pieces of acting. It’s unfortunate Waterson couldn’t join Ngor in Academy Awards. In addition, the director’s credit is to highlight both the …

An unidentified brown man (insert ethnicity/race you despise) was finally arrested in Manhattan’s Flatiron District after a bloodlust rampage that has left in its wake, 3 dead and 22 injured from serious stab wounds. The victims include 5 women, and two grade school children. He was brought down by another brown man (insert ethnicity/race you like) Striker, a soccer player, and actor. It is unclear if Striker knew the man, whom he referred to as “dabba.”

The cause of the attacks continue to remain a mystery, but everyone agrees that the assailant had emotional and psychological problems. Several witnesses in Murray Hill, fondly called Curry Hill for the Indian restaurants and stores in the neighborhood (the chicken tikka masala is to DIE for), noticed a man who they believed to be Navajo or Sioux Indian, wielding a blood-dripping ceremonial knife and saying some weird chant “Bhill come, bhill come.” They thought …

Can’t write much, can’t talk much.

Just heard (or rather read) the news here

Tamil Writer Sujatha is dead

The key person behind the development of the Electronic Voting Machine and an eminent writer, S Rangarajan alias Sujatha, has died.

To be very honest, I have never read a single sujatha’s story (I cant read/write Tamil unfortunately). Although i do watch tamil films eagerly. And the films written by him …I’ve loved.

The article further adds on

Sujatha was a pioneer in the field of science fictions in Tamil. He also wrote short stories, novels, screenplays and columns in weeklies

Here’s some info from another site

His true name was Rangarajan, Sujatha being a pseudonym. He has written over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems. His very first story featured in a magazine called Sivaji in 1953. His short …

This surely marks a high in the Indian film festival circuit! According to an announcemnt today, Osian’s-Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema will give away over Rs 1 Crore (approx. USD 250, 000) in Prize Money for its Competition Sections and Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The festival will celebrate its 10th Anniversary in New Delhi from 10-20 July, with its Mumbai Preview preceding in June 2008.

While the Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Cinema was introduced in the 6th Osian’s-Cinefan in 2004, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Cinema will be introduced this year, and Rs 6 lakh (approx. USD 15,000) will be presented for each category.

The Best Films in the Asian-Arab and Indian Competition sections will be awarded Rs 20 lakh each (USD 50,000) and the Best Director in each section will win Rs 8 lakh (USD 20,000).

The Special Jury Award and the Best Actor …

Hi Folks,

The next round of Oscar Foreign Film categories were announced and of course Eklavya did not make it:

Here is the list that did make it to Phase 2:

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:
Austria, “The Counterfeiters,” Stefan Ruzowitzky, director
Brazil, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” Cao
     Hamburger, director
Canada, “Days of Darkness,” Denys Arcand, director
Israel, “Beaufort,” Joseph Cedar, director…

SOMETHING GOOD ON TV

1. If you want to show your expensive glazed bathroom tiles without inviting anybody at your home; just get a dead cockroach in your bathroom & contact INDIA TV or any Indian news channel - I am sure that Mr. Sharma will cover your dead cockroach as “BREAKING NEWS”.

2. If you have capability to get tears without glycerin; just take part in any singing or dancing competition on any channel; I am sure you would be able to sustain for minimum 2 rounds.

3. If you are not bored with repeated watching of movies Garv-Pride & Honour, Hungamaa, Naayak, Gangaajal, Maalamal Weekly, No Entry, Sarkar….just go to Set Max, Sahara One or Zee cinema. You would get revision of your movies.

4. If you want …

The Indian Panorama for the 38th IFFI (Goa, Nov 23-Dec 3) has been just announced.

Lenin Rajendran’s “Ratri Mazha” (Night Rain) in Malayalam and Samir Chanda’s “Ek Nadir Galpo” (Story of a River) will represent India in the Asian-African-Latin American Competition section. The Panorama section will open with another Malayalam film, Shyamaprasad’s “Ore Kadal”.

The other films in Indian Panorama are B S Lingadevaru’s “Kada Beladingalu”, P R Ramdas Naidu’s “Moggina Jade” K Shivarudraiah’s “Daatu” (all Kannada), Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s “Naalu Pennungal”, Renjith’s “Kayyoppu”,
Babu Thiruvalla’s “Thaniye” (all Malayalam), Bhavna Talwar’s “Dharm”, Sameer Hanchate’s “Gafla” (both Hindi), Sanib Sabhapandit’s “Jaatingaa Ityadi” (Assamese), Mangesh Hadawale’s “Tingya”, Gajendra Ahire’s “Maai Baap”, Bipin Nadkarni’s “Aevdhe Se Aabhaal” and Vishal Bhandari’s “Kaalchakra” (all Marathi), Gnana Rajasekaran’s “Periyar” and Padma Magan’s “Ammuvagiya Naan” (both Tamil), Anjan Das’ “Jaara Brishtite Bhijechilo”, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s “Ami, Yasin Aar Amaar Madhubala” (both Bengali), Makhonmani Mongsaba’s “Yenning Amadi Likia” (Manipuri).

The jury was headed by veteran …

iView Author:
PRANAV SINGH
(New Delhi, India)

EMAIL:
pranav.singh [at] gmail.com

The Oscars controversy refuses to die. Almost every year, we witness a sort of circus over which movie to be sent to Oscars. Last year it was RDB versus ‘ Lage Raho…’ Although the debate never stooped to the level it has this year. With the judiciary coming into the picture, the whole debate has left me cold. Personally, I don’t think either of the two movies would get the jury’s nod. All said and done, they are not ‘great’ movies.

Eklavya despite being a visually remarkable motion picture does not overwhelm me. It has all the making of a great movie yet it falls awfully short of making it to the top league. First, the director’s assertion in countless interviews about his ‘courage’ in keeping the screen completely blank for few minutes puts …

Warning: This post contains content that may be found objectionable by some sensitive souls.

It was late 90’s. I was a grad student - and I had a car and the cable TV… HBO, Sundance, USA, Showtime, Comedy Central, and… hold your breath… Playboy.

During then, this one time, we (my gang and I) saw this movie called Prison Heat or something like that.

It’s about a group of innocent female travelers who go on a vacation to one of those police states, somewhere in the Middle East, play innocent mules to drug smugglers, get arrested by the corrupt army officials and get exploited by the prison guards - especially this angel faced babe named Lori Jo Hendrix (can never forget that name) who plays an uncorrupted american girl - she wears powder pink night gowns in the prison as a protection from …

Folks,
Article in Variety indicates that India is no longer “flavor of the month,” for LA, but is on the way to becoming Londonisque, where the curry is now a British “national” dish.

Read on - Choice of films though is dissapointing methinks —READ ON!!!

Warner Bros. on Tuesday unveiled its first India production, the action comedy “Made in China,” for which it will hold worldwide rights.

With the film — helmed by Nikhil Advani (”Salaam-e-ishq”) and produced by Indian shingles Ramesh Sippy Prods. and Orion Pictures –Warner joins Viacom, Sony and Disney in the accelerating Hollywood race to make movies in India.

Though Hollywood fare flourishes overseas, it accounts for a small percentage of the box office in India –the world’s second most populous nation. For example, Hollywood fare accounted for 85% of Spain’s B.O. in 2006 but only 8% in India.

Since new multiplexes mean the Indian B.O. pie is growing, Hollywood is determined …

Writing this post as I am going through a glossy book that introduces Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chand and a flier on Manish Tiwari’s directorial debut dil dosti etc, both products of Prakash Jha Productions. Sudhir’s film will release on October 26, and Manish’s on September 28.

Manish Tiwari, as the flier introduces him, is a PhD from Cambridge (UK), did a post-doctoral fellowship from Yale (USA) and United Nations University (Japan). He has worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in Rome, Nepal and India. His monograph, titled Participatory Forest Policies and Politics in India was published by Ashgate (UK). He has produced and directed two documentary films - Lo Manthang and Ramnagar.

Well, the director’s educational and work experience are really, really impressive, and that is why the film, which the flier says has an original story by him, should be worth waiting for if nothing …

Hi friends. One great news - Shyam Benegal has been chosen for the Dada Saheb Phalke Award. He truly deserves it for all the great films he has made, though personally I feel he has slowed down a lot bit in recent years. Here’s the official announcement:

Shri Shyam Benegal one of the pioneers of new Indian Cinema has been selected for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2005. `The Award is given by the Government of India for outstanding contribution in the field of Indian Cinema. The award will be conferred on Shri Shyam Benegal by the Hon’ble President of India at a ceremony later this year. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.2,00,000/-, a Swarna Kamal and a shawl.

Shri Shyam Benegal is considered one of the leading filmmakers in the country with his first feature film Ankur, which broke new grounds from the cinematic trends of the …

And it’s again a first for PFC… for the first time the blogger community gets to see an exclusive first - the trailer of an eagerly awaited movie… and the honor for that goes to …

JOHNNY GADDAR

by Sriram Raghavan who made the taunt thriller… Ek Hasina Thi…

The trailer’s a Whammo… this looks like a movie which will rise above, much above what I’m expecting from Sriram… the opening - how the camera zips and brakes at each character, the humming song “Hey Johnny…” playing in the background, the introduction of characters, a brief idea of what the movie “really is about” (which most film previews forget to mention these days), Dharmendra with all his suaveness, I love how Sriram lends energy to his camera, the darn fun he’s having playing with light and darkness… DAMN IT… in short : it is one hell of an exciting trailer… watch and let …

When Apne go to make a movie with a backdrop of world boxing title at stake–first for redemption and then for revenge,you know you have exposed yourself to blows and bhaashanbaazi by not some ETs but your own Apne.

When Apne start talking nonsense in English and then switchover to Hindi to make some sense and Sunny Deol says Aa saale tujhe yahin gaarh doonga, you wonder whether its an arena or an akhaara.

When Apne in the boxing ring mouth more gaalis than land ghusaas at each other and a reigning world champion some Luca Garcia mouths I F*** you, and Sunny Deol echoes it to the tee and when the champion raises the bar a notch and shouts you motherf***** and Sunny gives him back a mouthful of motherf***** you dont wonder anymore –you simply feel f*****.

When Apne Dharam Paaji with his …

One of India’s talented cameraman and an upcoming Tamil director, Jeeva died of a massive coronary in Russia, where he was with his crew shooting the film Dhaam Dhoom, under severe weather conditions for the past one month or so. He was 43.

Jeeva began his career in films in 1993 as a cameraman working for the movie Gentleman, which was Shankar’s directional debut. Jeeva himself turned to movie direction in 2001 with 12B which was a rehash of the hollywood movie Sliding Doors. His second movie as a director was Run the hindi remake of the Tamil namesake. Then came the Tamil movie Ullam Kaetkume (the heart asks), which was a coming to age movie. His last movie as a director is Unnaale Unnaale (because of you, because of you) in 2007, which was his biggest hit as a director.

He had worked as a cinematographer for almost …

This is an exclusive transcript of a short film that has already been selected for the award in one of just-for-the-heck-0f-it festivals even before the competition section films have been finalised.I know it sounds really paradoxical and contradictory as any Bollywood messed up masalas . But what to do. Thats how the world is. And thats how the script is:
…

Hi Folks,

 a) The folks who gave us movies like 1971 and Honeymoon Travels, have become listed in the UK. Congratulations go to Studio 18 and TV 18 and the parent company

18 June 2007
The Indian Film Company Limited, Admission to Trading on AIM

The Indian Film Company Limited (AIM: IFC) is pleased to announce that it has been admitted to trading on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange plc (”AIM”), and that its ordinary shares commenced trading today on AIM under the symbol “IFC”.   The India Film Company’s Management Company will be jointly owned by Viacom  (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) and Raghav Bahl, following regulatory approval of a new 50/50 joint venture created in India by Viacom and TV18, Viacom-18.

Highlights

The Company raised £55 million in gross proceeds through a placing of 55,000,000 ordinary shares at 100p per share giving the Company a market capitalization of approximately £55 million at admission.

The …

I received two emails from Subhash K Jha in response to this article I wrote few days ago

” Shame on you Mr Subhash K Jha : share the whisky with me”

Here’s mail no 1 I got from Mr Subhash K Jha -

Hey Karthik….you’re right.I deserve all the vilification on passionforcinema. But can I just say in my defence that I did mention very clearly that Srinivas spoke to Tarantino.? The only reason I didn’t mention the website is because I didn’t know the interview was off that site when I used those quotes.
Please accept my apology. And if you give me Srinivas’ email ID I’ll personally apologize to him.
As for all the hatemail calling me all those ugly names…all I can say is, thank you. I didn’t know I was so much loved by everyone …

For those of you who attended the screening of Pan Nalin’s Valley Of Flowers, we apologize for the cancellation which took place due to an unforseen projector malfunction. Please note that the screening has been rescheduled now, in the same large theater #10 (no glitches this time!) as follows:

Saturday, April 21 - 3:30 p.m.

Please make sure you bring your ticket stub from last night. You do not have to buy a new ticket. They will let you in with the same one. Most of the attendees who caught a sneak peak at the opening were quite awed by the visuals. It is a terrific, visually mesmerizing effort by one of India’s most successful directors of crossover cinema. We look forward to having you all back there. Please help spread the word!

Saturday, April 21 - 3:30 p.m. …