Hollywood
‘True Love Story’ from India is only Asian film in the Critics Week in Cannes
NEW DELHI: While ‘Titli’ by Kanu Bahl is the Indian entry for Cannes official selection in Un Certain Regard, the Asian presence at the Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival is confined to one short, Gitanjali Rao’s 19-minute animated romance True Love Story.
Behl will also be a contender for the Camera d’Or, the award for feature directing debut.
Rao describes her film, which won the Golden Conch for Best Animation at February’s Mumbai International Film Festival, as a boy-meets-girl romance between two migrant teenagers in Mumbai who re-enact Bollywood fantasies.
According to Rao, “The animation industry in India is still very nascent and undefined. This is in sharp contrast with our regional film industries and Bollywood, which have strong identities and a rich history that film-makers can draw upon while they create their own works.”
“That sort of identity is just not there with animation,” she said. “We just end up imitating Disney. The thing is, Bollywood copies from Hollywood, but it doesn’t imitate it. True Love Story is an attempt to create a unique visual effect that is Indian in its aesthetic.”
Rao previously participated in the Critics’ Week section in 2006 with Printed Rainbow (2006) about “the loneliness of an old woman and her cat, who escape into the fantastical world of match box covers”. She was a member of its short film jury in 2011.
Last year, Critics’ Week screened one Asian film, India’s The Lunchbox.
“Titli” is co-produced by Yash Raj Films and DBP, the production house of cult Indian producer-director Dibakar Banerjee. The movie stars Ranveer Shorey, Amit Sial, Lalit Behl and Shivani Raghuvanshi, and introduces Shashank Arora.
Set in Delhi’s underbelly, the film centers on Titli, the youngest member of a violent carjacking brotherhood, who plots to escape the “family” business.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
