Hindi
Frames to focus on cinema
MUMBAI: The habit of lifting entire films frame by frame from non-Indian films is still ingrained in the Indian film industry
This is a question to be addressed at one of the sessions at the Ficci Frames Convention to be held from 17-19 February in Mumbai. The session, “Copy, Cut, Paste to Indian Taste: Films in India” will bring together filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt, Imtiaz Ali, Shimnit Amin, Rohan Sippy, Dibankar Banerjee, and screenwriter Jaipdeep Sahni.
This year America is Frames‘ partner country. Keeping that in mind, the session “Overcoming obstacles to doing business in the world‘s two largest film markets (India and the USA)” looks at the challenges of excessive taxation, market access restrictions, labour strife and intellectual property disputes. I&B secretary Sushma Singh will deliver the session keynote. Panelists will be Anadil Hossain (Producer, Namesake and Darjeeling Limited), Elizabeth Daley (Dean, USC School of Cinematic Arts), Farokh Balsara (Leader, Entertainment Practice, Ernst & Young.)
Indian film pioneer Satyajit Ray
Another session “Business of filmmaking 2008: agony or ecstasy?” examines the issue of why, despite the influx of capital into filmmaking, distribution and exhibition, 2008 has been one of the worst years ever for the Indian film industry.
Panelists include Goldie Behl, Vishesh Bhatt (Director, Vishesh Entertainment), Sunir Kheterpal (COO, Big Pictures), Vikas Bahl (COO, UTV Spotboy) and filmmaker Kabir Khan.
“De-risking the Cinema Business” will explore how does a small budget film become a box-office success with effective use of marketing tools? Faster TV broadcasts of freshly released films, and faster home videos releases are the new buzzwords. Mulling on this topic will be Ajay Bijli (MD and Group Chairman, PVR), Harish Dayani (CEO, Moses Baer), Madhu Mantena (Producer, Ghajini, Vijay Singh (President, FOX Studios India) and Ramesh Sippy (filmmaker).
Actor Kamal Hasaan will deliver a keynote at a session that looks at filmmaking in South India. A key issue to be covered is whether the industry should be open to outside investment or stay with the conventional structures.
The session “Globalisation of Indian Cinema” will trace the journey of Indian films into global theatres over the past decade. Looking at this will be Karan Johar, Jill Gwen (Distributor, Slumdog Millionaire), Pritish Nandy, Rahul Bose, Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Naseeruddin Shah.
For cinema lover and watchers, it can‘t get any better than this. So expect a full house.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
