Hollywood
Transformers’ Optimus Prime in India
MUMBAI: Transformers is back this year with Transformers – Age of Extinction, an amalgamation of drama, emotions and high octane action. Star lined with Mark Wahlberg, who plays the role of a single dad raising his daughter – Nicola Peltz, the movie is directed by Michael Bay.
Aiming to bring viewers a step closer to their favourite hero – Optimus Prime, the makers have made a whopping 12-foot high statue that weighs about 300kg. Warrior, fearless and righteous – Optimus Prime is the ultimate leader of the Autobots who are constantly raging wars against a rival faction of robots called the Decepticons.
Under a special license from Hasbro (American multinational that is one of the largest toy makers in the world), this figurine is made to exact design specifications. The viewing experience of this complex figurine has been enhanced by intricate lighting. Encased in a special package, a dedicated container has been hired to transport the robot locally around India. Optimus Prime will tour six cities, starting with Pune and eventually making his way to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
In a bid to capitalise on this diehard devotion that fans have for Optimus Prime, Viacom18 Motion Pictures has initiated a digital contest across social media. According to this, fans will be asked three simple questions, with the winners getting an opportunity to click a selfie with the mammoth figurine in their city. Not only this, the winners will also attend an exclusive fan screening to watch the film before the rest of the world.
Elaborating on the same, Viacom18 Motion Pictures VP- marketing Rudrarup Dutta said, “Optimus Prime symbolises the spirit of the Transformers as their leader and is worshipped as a hero by the ever growing Transformers fan base. This massive figurine is our way to bring Optimus Prime alive for his fans who will be able to greet him and as part of the campaign, get a once in a lifetime opportunity to click a ‘Selfie with Optimus’. Establishing the sheer magnitude and scale of this edition of Transformers, the initiative therefore aims at building an on ground connect in a unique and engaging manner with the fans.”
Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, Transformers: Age of Extinction will be released on 27 June 2014.
Hollywood
Who is Geeta Gandbhir? The director behind two separate Oscar-nominated films in one historic year
The Emmy-winning filmmaker makes history with dual documentary nominations at this year’s Oscars.
LOS ANGELES: If Hollywood loves a breakout moment, this year it belongs to Geeta Gandbhir. Long respected within documentary circles, Gandbhir has suddenly become a mainstream name after scoring two Oscar nominations in the same season, one for a feature and one for a short. It is a rare feat. It is historic. And it has prompted one big question: who exactly is the filmmaker behind this double triumph?
Before stepping into the director’s chair, Gandbhir built her reputation as a razor-sharp editor. That technical grounding shaped her storytelling style, which is precise, unsentimental and emotionally direct. Her early career included working alongside Spike Lee, an apprenticeship that sharpened both her political lens and cinematic instincts.
Over the years, she accumulated multiple Emmy Awards and a Peabody, quietly becoming one of the most respected nonfiction voices in American television.
Her feature-length nominee, The Perfect Neighbor, released on Netflix, investigates the fatal shooting of Ajike Owens through stark police body-cam footage. The film strips away dramatic embellishment and instead relies on unfiltered visual evidence to confront viewers with uncomfortable truths.
At the same time, her short film The Devil Is Busy, streaming on HBO Max, offers an intimate, ground-level look inside an abortion clinic in Atlanta. Co-directed with Christalyn Hampton, it trades scale for immediacy and delivers impact in under an hour.
The contrast between the two projects, one investigative and expansive, the other intimate and observational, highlights Gandbhir’s range. Yet both share a common thread, which is a focus on lived reality rather than spectacle.
Documentary filmmaking is often seen as awards adjacent and respected but rarely spotlighted. Gandbhir’s dual nomination changes that narrative. It positions her not just as a contender, but as a defining nonfiction voice of her generation.
Whether she takes home one statuette or two, the achievement itself has already reshaped the Oscar conversation and cemented her place in film history.
