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Shoots have resumed in the Bengali-language film industry, after boycotts were called over a filming dispute.

Filming resumed today after an intervention from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Last week, technicians boycotted a production on which director Rahool Mukherjee was serving as creative producer. On July 23, the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (Fctwei) had banned Mukherjee from making films for three months for violating rules for shooting overseas in Bangladesh. The ban was later lifted by the local directors’ guild on July 27, but the technician boycott continued.

The production was set to feature actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya.

In a bid to show solidarity with Mukherjee, members from the Directors Association of Eastern India announced that they would cease work from July 29, bringing the Bengali film industry to a halt. Top filmmakers like Aparna Sen, Kaushik Ganguly, and Srijit Mukherjee signed a statement supporting...

Actress Karishma Tanna has extended greetings for the New Year and thanked her fans for being part of her journey, wishing for a fantastic year filled with love, and endless possibilities.

Karishma is known for her work in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, ‘Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand’, ‘Kkusum’, ‘Baal Veer’, ‘Guilty Minds’ and others.

Taking to Instagram, Karishma, who enjoys 7.6 million followers, shared a string of pictures, wherein she can be seen smiling candidly, wearing a white sweater, and blue denims. She opted for neutral makeup and kept her hair open.

The post was captioned as: “Happy New year everyone ‘May this New Year bring you joy, success, and countless beautiful moments! Thank you for being a part of my journey. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead filled with love, happiness, and endless possibilities. Happy New Year to all my wonderful Instagram fam #HappyNewYear #2024’.”

Meanwhile, on the work front,...

Iffi 2023: Endless Borders Wins Best Film, Panchayat Season 2 Awarded Best Web Series Honor! ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

The 54th edition of the acclaimed International Film Festival of India (Iffi) honored groundbreaking performances from the world of cinema and Ott during the closing ceremony on Tuesday (November 28). Abbas Amini’s Endless Borders bagged the Best Film honor, while Rishabh Shetty, who has swept the majority of awards this year for Kantara, took home the Special Jury Award for his film, which has now become a cultural phenomenon. Panchayat Season 2 was at the forefront of scripting history by winning the first-ever Best Web Series (Ott) Award. Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, meanwhile, received the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.

Endless Borders Wins Best Film

The Persian film Endless Borders, directed by Abbas Amini, took home the award for Best Film at Iffi 2023. The film, follows an exiled Iranian teacher, Ahmad, living in...

Actress Karishma Tanna, who has bagged the ‘Best Lead Actress’ award for her work in Netflix’s series ‘Scoop’ at the Busan Film Festival 2023, shared how winning a film festival is a big deal, but she will not keep changing her parameters of choosing roles as per the projects. Karishma also picked the trophy for ‘Best Series’ for ‘Scoop’ at the Busan Film Festival, which is one of Asia’s most celebrated cinematic events.

Speaking to Ians, Karishma talked about her win, the celebrations, journey of her character Jagruti Pathak and more.

Karishma said she was literally excited, dumbfound, nervous and everything at the award ceremony.

“It started with the series category, and straight away I am hearing ‘Scoop’, so it was a very good start for me. Nervous, because I was the first one to go on the stage among the artists. I was representing Netflix, the entire show,...

Actress Karishma Tanna, who has bagged the ‘Best Lead Actress’ award for her work in Netflix’s series ‘Scoop’ at the Busan Film Festival 2023, shared how winning a film festival is a big deal, but she will not keep changing her parameters of choosing roles as per the projects. Karishma also picked the trophy for ‘Best Series’ for ‘Scoop’ at the Busan Film Festival, which is one of Asia’s most celebrated cinematic events.

Speaking to Ians, Karishma talked about her win, the celebrations, journey of her character Jagruti Pathak and more.

Karishma said she was literally excited, dumbfound, nervous and everything at the award ceremony.

“It started with the series category, and straight away I am hearing ‘Scoop’, so it was a very good start for me. Nervous, because I was the first one to go on the stage among the artists. I was representing Netflix, the entire show,...

Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, who plays the love interest of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s transgender character of Harika in crime drama ‘Haddi’, spoke about his role, and said that the basic idea was to communicate the concept of true love between people irrespective of gender.

Directed by Akshat Ajay Sharma, the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, and Zeeshan in the lead. Nawaz plays the character of Haddi/Harika, while Zeeshan is seen as Irfan.

Talking to Ians, Zeeshan spoke on the mental and physical toll such characters take on the actors.

“I don’t think there is any such toll on you. Some things of the character remain with you. There is always a give and take. It’s not a very intense but nice and tender character. And we had to achieve that softness. A tenderness should remain in their relationship,” he said.

“Romance should not be a special romance,...

Mumbai, Sep 6 (Ians) Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu U. Sengupta are set to star in the upcoming Bengali film ‘Dawshom Awbotaar’ along with Anirban Bhattacharya and Jaya Ahsan.

The official poster of the film was unveiled on Wednesday, and it shows ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, each with its own unique symbolism and purpose like Lord Rama (The Bow and Arrow), Matsya (The Fish), Narasimha (The Man Lion), Parasurama (The Axe), Lord Budhha (Buddhist Prayer Wheel), Kalki (White Chess Horse -The Mighty Warrior), Vamana (The Bonsai Plant), Varaha (The Boar Tooth), Kurma (The Tortoise) and Lord Krishna (Peacock Feather).

The film marks Bengali cinema’s inaugural venture into the realm of prequels and a cop universe, and has Srijit Mukherji at the helm of affairs.

As per the makers, within the poster’s imagery lies a complex puzzle, featuring depictions of cult characters Probir Roy Chowdhury and Bijoy Poddar played...

Veteran actress Shabana Azmi hoisted the Indian flag at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023. As the Tricolour fluttered against the Melbourne skyline, the shared emotions of patriotism and unity resonated strongly with attendees.

Commenting on the ceremony, Shabana said: “To be having this honour to hoist the Indian flag, the flag that I’m so proud of, the flag all of us present today are proud of in Melbourne is an honour I never believed I could have.”

“I would like to reiterate that we are here to celebrate Indian cinema in Melbourne, and I truly believe that art knows no boundaries and cinema can be an instrument for social change.”

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 continues to be a significant platform for showcasing the vibrancy and diversity of Indian cinema on the global stage and the festival started on 11th august and will conclude on 20th august.

Mumbai, Aug 11 (Ians) Rani Mukerji was named the Best Actress In Film (Female), Vijay Varma as Best Actor (Male) In Series took home the top honours at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (Iffm).

Rani won for ‘Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway’ and Mohit Agarwal took home the award for Best Performance in Film (Male) for ‘Agra’.

While ‘Sita Ramam’ was announced the Best Film, ‘Agra’ the Best Indie Film, Kannada Filmmaker Prithvi Konanur was feted with Best Director.

‘To Kill A Tiger’ took home the Best Documentary.

Vijay Varma for ‘Dahaad’ and Rajshri Deshpande for ‘Trial By Fire’ were named as Best Performance (Male) and Best Performance (Female) in a series respectively.

Period Drama ‘Jubilee’ starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor was tagged as the Best Series.

Best Short Film – People’s Choice honour was won by ‘Connection...

Melbourne, July 13 (Ians) The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (Iffm) has announced the nominations for its 14th edition, which includes titles such as ‘Darlings’, ‘Kantara’, ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Bhediya’, among many others.

This year, the festival welcomes a new addition to its jury panel, the Oscar-winning Australian filmmaker Bruce Beresford, known for directing films such as ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and ‘The Contract’.

The Iffm advisory committee after meticulous consideration of hundreds of films and series from across Indian cinema, have finalised the nominations of films and series which have been released between June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023.

Leading the pack in the film categories, including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress, are notable productions such as ‘Darlings’, ‘Monica O My Darling’, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ and ‘Kantara’.

In the Ott category, series such as ‘Trial By Fire’, ‘Jubilee’, and ‘Delhi Crime Season 2’ have garnered the highest number of nominations. The winners of the prestigious...

Mumbai, June 26 (Ians) Actress Sonam Khan, who has worked in 1990s blockbuster films such as ‘Ajooba’, ‘Tridev’, and ‘Vishwatma’ to name a few, wants to make a comeback into the spotlight and is eyeing digital platforms for her second chance into the industry.

Sonam has worked opposite names such as Naseeruddin Shah, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, and Chunky Pandey, as well as pan-India stars like Prosenjit Chatterjee and Chiranjeevi.

With Ott becoming the new medium to lap up some interesting content, the ‘Vishwatma’ actress said: “Every actor is a hero on Ott as the content is so rich on Ott platforms I am a huge fan of the ‘Mirzapur series’ and ‘Jamtara’. I have binged watched them. That’s how powerful and intriguing these stories are.”

“I am happy that the narratives have changed, makers are seeing to it that every character stands out, and...

Netflix original ‘Scoop’, starring Karishma Tanna, Harman Baweja, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Prosenjit Chatterjee, is based on former journalist Jigna Vora’s book ‘Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days In Prison’. Creator and director Hansal Mehta shared anecdotes of filming the series in an IMDb Exclusive.

Speaking of the process of filming Scoop, Hansal Mehta said, “Scoop deals with a pet world of mine which is a Gujarati joint family. The aspirations that come from within that small unit. It’s an exploration into our current times through the story of Jagruti Pathak. It’s the story of Jagruti, an ambitious journalist who wants a story at any cost. It’s an exploration of ambition, of aspiration.”

“I think what we’ve done through this entire journey is to show that Jagruti, being a reporter, then becomes the reported. Good stories allow room for introspection, and I think that’s...

Wamiqa Gabbi lost a tremendous amount of weight during the promotion of the ‘Jubilee’. In the series, she plays the role of an actress in her 40s and 50s for which she has to put on some weight to look the part. Post that she went on a weight-loss journey.

She says, “Going on a weight-loss journey was, of course, a conscious decision and the focus was on being fit. For Jubilee, I had to put on some amount to look the part since the series is set in the 40s and 50s and people then had a certain body type.”

“My only concern was I didn’t want to starve, but I have an excellent and talented fitness team who made sure I didn’t but had some good food. It feels good to fit into my old clothes.”

Wamiqa plays the role of Niloufer Qureshi, a yesteryear actress . The series stars Prosenjit Chatterjee,...

She was noted for her wide range of roles in a career that spanned six decades of her career but she is remembered the most for playing mother to many of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars, including Amitabh Bachchan.

Here’s our pick of seven films where Hindi cinema’s longest-serving mother was at her best.

1. ‘Faraar’: A 1975 crime drama directed by Shanker Mukherjee, ‘Faraar’ starred Sulochna as Amitabh Bachchan’s mother. The film follows the story of a middle-class man, Rajesh, essayed by the Big B, who avenges the rape and murder of his sister. The film also stars Sharmila Tagore, Sanjeev Kumar, Sajjan, Agha and Bhagwan Dada. Priyadarshan remade the movie in Malayalam by Priyadarshan as ‘Parayanumvayya Parayathirikkanumvayya’.

2. ‘Prem Nagar’: The 1974 Hindi-language romantic drama directed by K.S. Prakash Rao has Sulochana playing mother to Hema Malini’s character. The film follows Karan Singh (Rajesh Khanna), who...

Director Hansal Mehta’s ‘Scoop’ is a crime drama series streaming on Netflix. The series is based on Jigna Vora’s biographical memoir ‘Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’. It follows the real-life story of Jigna Vora who was accused of murder of mid-day reporter Jyotirmoy Dey in June 2011.

In journalism, a scoop or exclusive is an item of news reported by one journalist or news organization before others, and of exceptional originality, importance, surprise, excitement, or secrecy. Scoops are important and likely to interest or concern many people. It may be a new story, or a new aspect to an existing or breaking news story. It may be unexpected, surprising, formerly secret, and may come from an exclusive source.

Scoop Premise

If you have read the meaning of scoop above, it will make more sense to read further. Scoop, the web series, retells an account when print...

Mumbai, May 21 (Ians) Basking in the critical acclaim for “Jubilee” (where he plays a studio boss modelled after Himanshu Rai of Bombay Talkies) and the positive buzz about the upcoming series “Scoop” (where his character is inspired by crime journalist J. Dey), Prosenjit Chatterjee has announced that he’ll be next seen in the Bengali film “Devi Chowdhurani: Bandit Queen of Bengal”.

Based on the novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, “Devi Chaudhurani”, a role that was first essayed by Suchitra Sen, is about a young woman in 18th-century Bengal who, after being abandoned by her in-laws, is adopted by a dacoit and ends up becoming a female Robin Hood.

Sharing the motion poster and details about the film, Prosenjit took to his social media profile and shared a prayer addressed to Goddess Kali, the deity of dacoits: “Muktakeshi khargahaste, tamas binashini, namami Maate Kalike, sarvasiddhi dayini.”

After the benediction came...

Mumbai, May 17 (Ians) The uncanny similarities between Anand Swarnakar, Vijay Varma’s evil character in the web series “Dahaad”, and the serial killer notorious as ‘Cyanide Mohan’ have not escaped people familiar with the real-life story.

What’s striking, though, is the silence of the “Dahaad” makers — Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s Excel Entertainment — on the inspiration for the show.

Mohan Kumar Vivekanand, aka ‘Cyanide Mohan’, was a soft-spoken physical education teacher between 1980 and 2003 before his arrest at his home village outside Mangaluru, Karnataka, in 2009. In “Dahaad”, Anand Swarnakar teaches Hindi in a women’s college in Rajasthan. But that is where the dissimilarities end.

‘Cyanide Mohan’ was arrested on the charge on marrying women from economically less privileged families, killing them using cyanide-laced contraceptive pills after spending a night with them, and dumping their bodies clad in wedding finery in public toilets. He repeated this crime 20 times. Sounds familiar?...

Scoop is an Indian series directed by Hansal Mehta, starring Karishma Tanna, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Prosenjit Chatterjee.

The shocking murder of a journalist thrusts a leading crime reporter into a nexus of police, media and the Mumbai underworld as she fights for justice.

Scoop Trailer Release Date

June 2

Where to Watch Scoop

Netflix

The Cast

Karishma Tanna

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub...

Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for hard hitting crime drama series “Scoop” from acclaimed filmmaker Hansal Mehta (“Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story”).

Based on journalist Jigna Vora’s 2019 memoir “Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison,” the series is created by Mehta and Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul (“Thappad”). The book recounts how renowned journalist Jyotirmoy Dey was murdered by members of the Chhota Rajan gang in 2011. A few months later, fellow journalist and crime reporter Vora was arrested in connection with the murder.

“Scoop” marks Mehta and Netflix’s maiden partnership and the series is set up as the first season of a franchise. Mehta has directed all six episodes of the first season.

The series follows Jagruti Pathak, a headline-writing journalist who is caught between the nexus of the police, the underworld and the media. “It explores that nexus through a personal story,” Mehta told Variety.

“The...

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta’s debut series titled ‘Scoop’ is all set to drop on Netflix on June 2.

Produced by Matchbox Shots, season one of the series is inspired by real events and Jigna Vora’s book, ‘Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison’, serving as the show’s maiden installment.

Created by Hansal Mehta and Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul, the first season will track crime journalist Jagruti Pathak, played by Karishma Tanna who in pursuit of a career-defining story is caught between the powerful nexus of the police, the underworld, and the media, and is charged with the murder of a fellow-journalist.

Written by Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul and Mirat Trivedi, the human drama features a talented ensemble including Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Harman Baweja with Prosenjit Chatterjee.

With ambition getting the best of an enterprising journalist, audiences can expect high stakes as Jagruti races to break the most significant headline of her career.

Actress Kangana Ranaut has praised the entire cast and crew of the web-series ‘Jubilee’ and thanked the director for launching “two fresh faces” such as Wamiqa Gabbi and Sidhant Gupta.

Kangana took to her Instagram stories and wrote: “What a splendid, spectacular, absolutely sublime drama series …. The seed of the Golden age of Hindi cinema was sown in the ashes of partition and the aftermath of World War 2… Drama characters resemblance to the most iconic stalwarts of that era is rather uncanny …. It brings alive all the folklores and legends of the golden age we daydream about till today … beyond wonderful… A must watch… .”

She added” “@motwayne in all his glory shines like the golden age of Indian cinema.”

Kangana also said that every department excels, “from writing to photography, from costumes to sets, from music to make up everything is blending together to bring about an exhilarating screen experience.

Mumbai, May 1 (Ians) The special screening of National Award winning filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 2’ was recently held in Mumbai and had Bollywood biggies swarming up the event to watch the magic created by the filmmaker.

The special screening of the film was held at the Yash Raj Films studio in Mumbai’s Andheri area.

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who stars in dual roles in the film, arrived at the party with her daughter Aaradhya. The actress was seen wearing a black and golden suit. Her co-star Vikram was also spotted at the party, making a stylish appearance in a black shirt and sunglasses.

Other attendees included actress Manisha Koirala, Bengali megastar Prosenjit Chatterjee, his ‘Jubilee’ co-star Aditi Rao Hydari, who donned a light blue suit, veteran actor Anil Kapoor, ‘Dhamakaa’ star Kartik Aaryan, actress Isha Talwar, who’s awaiting the release of her streaming show ‘Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo’, Shriya Saran,...

Actor Nandish Singh Sandhu, who is receiving a lot of appreciation for his portrayal of Jamshed Khan in the streaming series ‘Jubilee’, had a clean slate before him in terms of sketching the character as he had no references to model his character on.

In this series, Nandish essays the role of a theatre actor Jamshed Khan, who is looking to cross-over to films in order to have a financially fulfilling career but is confused between listening to the mind and the heart.

On the portrayal of Jamshed’s character, Nandish shared: “Jamshed Khan’s character is a crucial element in the show’s storyline. The impact of his presence is felt throughout the series. He brings a certain energy and strength to the show that impacts each character in a unique way. His strong personality and witty comebacks have a way of influencing the trajectory of the show and...

Mumbai, April 21 (Ians) Actress Wamiqa Gabbi, who is seen in ‘Jubilee’ playing a yesteryear’s actress named Niloufer Qureshi, was inspired by Rekha and Priyanka Chopra Jonas for the number ‘Babuji Bhole Bhale’ from the series.

‘Jubilee’ is a period drama is set in the 1940s and 1950s, based on the golden days of the Hindi film industry. She even tried her hands at jazz for the film with the song ‘Babuji Bhole Bhale’.

Wamiqa said: “Playing a character for a period drama is extremely tricky because we tend to caricature people as we have seen in the movies. However, the dance sequences are different, since they used to have very subtle movements and heavy eye and facial expressions.”

“To get those right, I have followed actresses like Rekhaji, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and watched songs by legendary actresses over and over again to prepare for the peppy jazzy number Babuji Bhole Bhale.

Wamiqa Gabbi as Niloufer Qureshi is flawless in the series ‘Jubilee’, a period drama which is set in the 1940s and 1950s, based on the golden era of the Hindi film industry. She plays the role of a yesteryear actress and her journey from being an aspiring actress to an established one.

The song ‘Babuji Bhole Bhale’ has been quite popular on social media. To get the song sequences right, she took some inspiration from many icons like Rekha and Priyanka Chopra to name a few who have had iconic jazz numbers in Bollywood.

Wamiqa says, “Playing a character from a period drama is extremely tricky because we tend to caricature people as we have seen in the movies. However, the dance sequences are different, since they used to have very subtle movements and heavy eye and facial expressions. To get those right, I have followed actresses like Rekhaji, Priyanka...

Actor Ram Kapoor, who plays a film producer – Shamsher Singh Walia, in the recently released streaming series ‘Jubilee’, shared that to essay the part he unleashed the inner Punjabi in him and played it to the gallery because he fully trusted director Vikramaditya Motwane’s instincts as the two go long way back, having worked in Motwane’s directorial debut ‘Udaan’ which was released in 2010.

Shamsher Singh Walia always addresses Madan Kumar (played by Aparshakti Khurana) as, “Madan Kumar, B******d” whenever something goes south for him. This has now become a catchphrase, with fans using it to express their own frustrations and exasperations in memes.

On his transformation journey, Ram Kapoor shared, “For Shamsher Singh Walia, I realised that I must bring that Punjabi inside me out. I must be as Punjabi as I can in terms of body language, with my abuses, my obnoxiousness, everything. And that is what I did,...

Actress Wamiqa Gabbi’s character in ‘Jubilee’ is a tribute to actresses from that golden era, like Madhubala, Nargis, and others.

Wamiqa said: “I play the role of Niloufer Qureshi, an aspiring actress through the 1940’s and 50’s. She is unapologetically ambitious and willing to go the lengths to make it big. My research was completely based on all the actresses from that era, like Madhubala, Nargis, Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rahman, Geeta Bali, Mumtaz, Mala Sinha.”

“I was extremely conscious of not imitating any of them but to create something of my own. This is my little homage to them to embrace their grace and perhaps try to recreate the memories of that elegant period of cinema.”

The series stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Ram Kapoor in pivotal roles. The series is created and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane.

Mumbai, April 12 (Ians) Actor Nana Patekar is set to make his Ott debut with the upcoming series titled ‘Laal Batti’, a political thriller helmed by Prakash Jha.

The project was unveiled on Wednesday as a part of the content slate of Jio Studios. The star-studded event was held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Over 100+ stories in multiple languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Bhojpuri and southern languages, across genres of films and original web series are lined up for release.

Some of the biggest directors of Hindi cinema, including Raj Kumar Hirani, Sooraj Barjatya, Ali Abbas Zafar, Aditya Dhar, Prakash Jha, Amar Kaushik and Laxman Utekar, will be releasing their projects as a part of the slate.

The film line-up in the slate includes ‘Dunki’, ‘Bloody Daddy’, ‘Bhediya 2’, ‘Bhul Chuk Maaf’, an untitled film starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, ‘Stree 2’, ‘Section 84’, ‘Hisaab Barabar’, ‘Zara Hatke Zara...

Reliance Industries’ Indian content arm Jio Studios has unveiled a huge slate of films and streaming shows at a star-studded event in Mumbai. It also struck a production deal with Bengali film powerhouse Svf Entertainment.

The slate titles comprise projects for the Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, South and Bhojpuri markets, and span action, drama, thriller, comedy, romance, biopics, horror and musicals.

The studio was launched in 2018, around the same time Indian streaming content began to boom as international players such as Netflix and Prime Video and local services such as ZEE5 Global and SonyLIV began to pump cash into their local originals slates.

The Svf agreement will see Jio Studios and the Bengali company working to create blockbuster-sized features from creators such as Dhrubo Banerjee, Raj Chakraborty, Anirban Bhattacharya and Srijit Mukherji that star the likes of Mithun Chakraborty, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jisshu Sengupta.

“We are in the most exciting...

Mumbai, April 12 (Ians) Actor Aparshakti Khurana says that there is a weird real-life connection between him and his character Binod from the recently released series ‘Jubilee’.

In the series, Aparshakti showcases Binod’s journey – starting off as a worker in the studio to climbing the ladder to stardom as Madan Kumar.

Aparshakti said, “There is a weird real-life connection between me and my character, Binod. I started my career as a costume designer at the age of 21-22 but I always wanted to switch careers and work on TV as a host.”

“So, I joined a television channel as a costume stylist and worked my way through and landed an audition as a TV host for a show. Luckily, I was selected for the same and my journey started from there. And in Jubilee, too, I start my career as an employee at Srikant Roy’s (Prosenjit Chatterjee) studio where...

Mumbai, April 11 (Ians) Actress Wamiqa Gabbi, who is receiving a lot of appreciation for her work in the recently released streaming series ‘Jubilee’, feels that there was a certain kind of innocence in the Golden era of the Indian cinema which seems to be lost in current times.

‘Jubilee’, which also stars Aparshakti Khurana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu, and Ram Kapoor, is set against the backdrop of the golden age of Indian cinema and explores the evolution of Hindi cinema.

Wamiqa, who is plays the role of a yesteryear actress, said, “There’s a splendid innocence about the golden age of cinema and its actors, which is lost today and it needs to be touched upon. Even if things were not perfect, it was all part of learning”.

She further mentioned, “Being an actor or showbiz during that time was a profession without any frills attached to it.

Director: Vikrmaditya Motwane. Cast: Prasenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor.

Music: Amit Trivedi. Cinematography: Pratik Shah.

Ians Rating: ***1/2

The mainstay of the Indian film industry has been its checkered history with a motley mix of religions, castes and regions headlining a wide cross-section of actors — some from a privileged background, others from the periphery — who lived in Bombay and contributed to its glory.

"Jubilee" spans an era that heralded new beginnings in Indian cinema, as the country cast off shackles of British rule. Focusing on an eventful period that presaged an independent cinema, the web series has many firsts to its credit: the reconstruction of imposing film studios headed by the original honchos; a closer look at the stars and star-wives; the spectacle surrounding the struggling actors and filmmakers; dreamers and aspirants amid the divide between the two central religions...

Jubilee

Lights, sound, camera… action! And here we go. At last, a series that encapsulates the genesis of Hindi cinema…the good, bad, and the ogling.

The fun part of Vikramaditya Motwane’s see-real is to spot who’s who and … my God, is this true??!!! Motwane’s writer Atul Sabharwal uses historical facts to create a kind of free-flowing fusion of fact and fantasy that is at once arresting and liberating.

From the silent era in the 1940s to the not-so-silent era when the Partition of 1947 tore the nation into two, Jubilee begins its comprehensive exhilarating journey by introducing us to the brooding maverick producer Srikant Roy, most meticulously modeled on the legendary Himanshu Rai. As played by Prosenjit Chatterjee, Roy is wily and mysterious, ambitious and nasty…It’s a brutal role played with tremendous understanding.

In comparison Aditya Roy Hydari as Roy’s wife Sumitra Devi (modeled...

Indian filmmaker Subhrajit Mitra’s latest venture “Bandit Queen of Bengal” (aka “Devi Chowdhurani”) will start principal photography in the final quarter of the year.

The film is based on Mitra’s own research into the the advent and invasion of the British East India Company in India, the battles of Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764), the great Bengal famine of 1770, the Sannyasi and Fakir rebellion (1770-77) and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s 1884 Bengali-language novel “Devi Chowdhurani,” which features a female freedom fighter protagonist.

The film will follow the journey of a villager who eventually becomes the first Indian woman freedom fighter. It will also tell the story of the Hindu monks who had no other option but to take up arms against their British colonial rulers to save the country and their people. It was the first armed revolution by the Indians, led by Bhavani Charan Pathak, against the British East India Company.

Mumbai, April 4 (Ians) Singer Shahid Mallya has shared that his latest track ‘Dil Jaha Pe Le Chala’ from the web series ‘Jubilee’ is all about the film industry in the era of 1940s and 1950s.

The show, which is created and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, features Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor.

Shahid, who has sung in a number of movies like ‘Mausam’, ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’, ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’, ‘Student of The Year’, ‘2 States’, ‘Qala’, and many more, is also known for his singles such as ‘Wajood’, ‘Gumnaam Shayar’, ‘Kyu’, among others.

Talking about his love for old songs and music, he said that the track will take the listeners to the bygone era.

In the track, the singer has successfully recreated the era of the 60s with his singing style and voice.

He said: “Old Bollywood classics have always held...

The next magnum opus from Amazon Prime Video India is “Jubilee,” a period piece that charts the growing pangs of India and the rise of the country’s Hindi-language film industry that would come to be known by the term Bollywood in later years.

Beginning around the months in 1947 when the subcontinent was partitioned into India and Pakistan, the dramatis personae in the series include studio boss Srikant Roy (Prasenjit Chatterjee), his movie star wife Sumitra Kumari (Aditi Rao Hydari), trusted aide with acting ambitions Binod Das (Aparshakti Khurana), talented refugee Jay Khanna (Sidhant Gupta) and courtesan Nilofer (Wamiqa Gabbi), whose worlds collide.

The series is created by Vikramaditya Motwane (“Sacred Games”) and Soumik Sen (“Mahalaya”) and written by Atul Sabharwal (“Class of ’83”). It is produced by Andolan Films in association with Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Studios.

Motwane says that the genesis of the series was a decade ago when...

Mumbai, March 27 (Ians) Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee, who will soon be seen playing Srikant Roy — the head honcho of a Hindi film studio in the upcoming streaming series, ‘Jubilee — recently revealed that his style in the series is an ode to his father Biswajeet Chatterjee.

The series, which is set parallel to the evolution of both India and the Hindi film industry, is a layered drama, interwoven with multiple characters.

Speaking of his character, Prosenjit shared, “I was living Srikant Roy’s character for 7 months before shooting (due to lockdown), there were just minor changes when I got back on the sets. In the series, you will see me in a very nice hairstyle. This is dedicated to my father Biswajeet Chatterjee, they used to have that kind of styling back in the days.”

The series also stars an ensemble cast of Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sidhant Gupta,...

Prime Video recently announced fictional drama Jubilee that has left the audience excited ever since the first look of the series. The Amazon Original series which is set parallel to the evolution of both India and the Hindi film industry, is a layered drama, interwoven with multiple characters – a studio boss, his movie-star wife, a trusted aide, a rising star, a nautch girl, and a refugee – and their dreams and ambitions. It features the Bumba Da aka Bengal cinema’s superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee as studio head, Srikant Roy, of the illustrious Roy Talkies. Ever since the announcement of Jubilee, which is also the superstar’s first Ott series, his fans have been excited for the series premiere.

Speaking of this character, the legendary actor shares, “I was living Srikant Roy’s character for 7 months before shooting (due to lockdown), there were just minor changes when I got back on the sets.

Mumbai, March 27 (Ians) Actress Wamiqa Gabbi, who is known for her work in streaming anthology series ‘Modern Love Mumbai’, will be soon seen in another streaming series, this time a period drama titled ‘Jubilee’, and the role was a dream come true for her as she is a huge period drama fan.

To prepare for her part, the actress saw the popular films from the 1950s to 1960s to sketch up her part.

Having grown up in a family who watched black and white movies together, Wamiqa revealed she jumped on to the opportunity when she was offered ‘Jubilee’. It was not just a huge nostalgic factor for her, but also a challenge as an actress.

She said, “I have always been a fan of period drama films, especially from the black and white era. There was a time when I used to enjoy such films with my entire family in Doordarshan.

The trailer of the upcoming streaming series ‘Jubilee’ was unveiled on Friday. It introduces the viewers to the captivating world of Jubilee and takes them down the golden age of Indian cinema. With under 3 minutes in length, the trailer starts off with an accident site in frame with an overturned car as Aparshakti Khurana goes onto kick the accident victim before the camera cuts to another sequence.

It then walks the viewers through an era of films gone by. With retro vibes, costumes, elegant vintage cars, styling, the trailer paints a vivid imagery of the world of films and the secrets held together by the close doors.

Set against the backdrop of the Golden Era of Bollywood, Jubilee is a layered drama that chronicles the lives of a studio boss, his movie-star wife, a trusted aide, a rising star, a nautch girl and a refugee and the gambles they’re...

Sincere, deadbeat and with eyes full of dreams, Aparshakti Khurana’s new character look as Binod Das in the upcoming Amazon Original series Jubilee looks convincing. Binod, who’s a trusted aide at the studio, finds himself traversing through a series of circumstances on his way to stardom. Aparshakti’s new avatar is bound to grasp everyone’s attention with his ambitious on-screen persona.

Jubilee is directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, created by Soumik Sen along with Motwane. The series also features Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu and Ram Kapoor in pivotal roles. Prime members can stream Part One (Episodes One-Five) on April 7, with Part Two (Episodes Six-10) releasing the following week on April 14.

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Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee’s intriguing new poster from the upcoming series ‘Jubilee’ was unveiled on Saturday by its makers.

The actor can be seen sporting a moustache dressed in a black and white suit. He stares into the lens very intensely.

The official Instagram of streaming portal Prime Videos shared the look and captioned it: “Presenting ‘Srikant Roy’, the suave studio honcho who has only one rule, not being told what stories to tell!”

The 10-episode fictional drama unveils the stories that gave birth to the Hindi film industry.

In the series the Bengali cinema’s superstar plays the suave studio honcho ‘Srikant Roy’ who is the power, prestige and pride at Roy Talkies.

‘Jubilee’ is directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, created by Soumik Sen along with Motwane. The series will also feature Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu and Ram Kapoor in pivotal roles.

The...

Mumbai, March 17 (Ians) Filmmaker-producer Vikramaditya Motwane, who is known for films like ‘Udaan’, ‘Lootera’, ‘Sacred Games’ and others, is coming up with a streaming drama series titled ‘Jubilee’.

The series is set parallel to the evolution of both India and the movies and follows the stories and dreams that gave birth to the Hindi film industry, and it was in the making for me ever since Motwane was an assistant director.

The series features an ensemble cast led by Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu, and Ram Kapoor.

Talking about the series, the director said: “‘Jubilee’ has been a love story in the making for me ever since I was an assistant director enamoured with the world of the movies, even when there wasn’t a story to tell.”

“While the series is set in that celebrated era of cinema, at its core,...

Mumbai, March 2 (Ians) Actor Jackie Shroff, who is known for his uber cool attitude, took to his Instagram on Thursday to share a sweet birthday post for his son, Tiger Shroff.

In the post, he shared an adorable collage of pictures from when Tiger was a kid, showing his love for his son and his immense pride in all of his accomplishments.

He captioned the post, “Good health and happiness to you always.. keep inspiring the kids. Happy Birthday @tigerjackieshroff”.

Not many people know but Jackie had also shot for a video with Tiger when the latter was just a toddler. The promotional video was of a song titled ‘Pyar Ki Ganga Bahe’, and it revolved around national integration and conveyed the message of communal harmony.

The song starred baby Tiger Shroff, Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor can be spotted with their fathers Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor.

Actor Kartik Aaryan, producer Bhushan Kumar and director Anees Bazmee have reunited for “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3,” the next instalment of the successful horror-comedy Bollywood franchise.

Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan starred in Priyadarshan’s “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” (2007) that means labyrinth, a remake of Fazil’s Malayalam-language film “Manichitrathazhu” (1993), starring Mohanlal and Shobana.

“Manichithrathazhu” was also remade in the Kannada-language as “Apthamitra” (2004), starring Vishnuvardhan, in the Tamil and Telugu languages as “Chandramukhi” (2005), starring Rajinikanth, and in the Bengali language as “Rajmohol” (2005), starring Prosenjit Chatterjee.

“Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2,” starring Aaryan and Tabu, was one of the few box office successes in an otherwise forgettable 2022 for Bollywood, earning $33 million. The film cemented Aaryan’s position as one of Bollywood’s A-listers.

The franchise premise turns on a malevolent female spirit haunting a heritage property and the efforts of the protagonist to exorcise it.

“Shehzada,” starring Aaryan and marking his debut as a producer, is currently on release.

Spanish-language film “I Have Electric Dreams” won the Golden Peacock, the top prize at the 53rd International Film Festival of India held in Goa from Nov. 20-28. The Silver Peacock for best director was awarded to Iranian writer-director Nader Saeivar for protest drama “No End.”

Directed by Costa Rican filmmaker Valentina Maurel, “I Have Electric Dreams” explores the mercurial relationship between an artist and her 16-year-old daughter. While announcing the prize at the closing ceremony of Iffi at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, the jury said: “It was so electrifying, so vibrating, that while watching it, we felt as if we, ourselves, were trembling.”

“No End,” described as “a magical and subtle portrayal of Iran’s regressive socio-political system,” also earned its lead actor Vahid Mobasseri the Silver Peacock for best male actor. In its citation, the jury commended Mobasseri’s “economy of gestures and being capable to transmit,...

The Film Heritage Foundation in partnership with Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation (Tff) and the International Federation Of Film Archives (Fiaf) is all set to conduct the Film Preservation And Restoration Workshop India 2022 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay (Csmvs Museum), Mumbai.

Since its inception in 2015, this highly commendable flagship training programme has travelled successfully to cities such as Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata and attracted unconditional endorsements from film luminaries such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shyam Benegal, Naseeruddin Shah, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, S S Rajamouli, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Goutam Ghose.

The seven-day workshop designed by David Walsh, Training and Outreach Coordinator, Fiaf, will include theory and practical group sessions in the best practices of the preservation and restoration of celluloid and digital films and film-related material like paper, photographs, and 3D objects. It will be held from December 4 to December 10.

Aside from this, there will...

Indian media and entertainment company Shemaroo Entertainment is collaborating with Indian Media Entertainment Network (Imen) to reimagine 1990 Bollywood hit “Jamai Raja,” that starred Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Hema Malini.

The news was revealed on Oct. 19, the 32nd anniversary of the film’s theatrical release.

The film, which revolves around a mother-in-law and son-in-law conflict, was originally made in the Telugu language in 1989 by writer-director A. Kodandarami Reddy as “Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu,” starring Chiranjeevi and Vijayshanti. It was remade in Tamil the same year as “Mappillai,” starring Rajinikanth, and another Tamil-language remake of the same name, starring Dhanush, released in 2011. Reddy also directed “Jamai Raja.” A Bengali-language remake “Sasurbari Zindabad,” starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, released in 2000.

Shemaroo Entertainment, which is celebrating its 60th year of operations, owns more than 400 Bollywood IPs. The organization is looking to modernize classic content with youth-targeted reboots. Imen, known for its action films, will adapt...

The (sub)genre that has been carrying Japanese cinema to the international stage for years, was one of the main components of the explosion of Korean cinema during the last decades, and has given some of the most iconic Hong Kong titles, is not other than the serial killer movie. In this list, we tried to include some of the most memorable titles that include the particular type of murderers in their scripts, in a list, that as you can see, is filled with masterpieces, not only from the aforementioned countries, but also from India, China, Iran, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Without further ado, here are 35 Great Asian Serial Killer Moviers, in alphabetical order.

1. Baishe Srabon

For those who associate Bengali cinema just with Satyajit Ray, it should be a must-watch. A captivating neo-noir crime thriller that combines formulaic genre elements with subtleties for nerdy bookworms. We have two cops,...

Director Srijit Mukherji’s recent project “Dwitiyo Purush” is set for release on January 23, 2020. The film is a sequel to the directors previous film “Baishe Srabon” and follows a cop following in the footsteps of his mentor. A trailer for the production was recently made available through Svf and can be viewed below.

Synopsis

Dwitiyo Purush is a sequel of Baishe Srabon where Prosenjit Chatterjee dies at the end. In this film we will see Parambrata chattopadhyay as a police inspector who follows the path that Prasenjit Chatterjee showed him in Baishe Srabon to fight with criminals in various regions of kolkata. (IMDb)...