Hindi
Paul Cox feels anyone can get Oscars by spending money
PANAJI: His love for India has not diminished despite his not having come here for some years. And his energy does not appear to have diminished even when he is in his seventies.
But there is one thing that Australian filmmaker Paul Cox is very troubled about. He is unable to understand the fascination that everyone including Indian filmmakers have with the Academy awards (Oscars). He says anyone with money can get these awards, and therefore has no respect for them.
Talking about Indian cinema at press meet at the ongoing International Film Festival of India, he said he did not feel India has had a bigger filmmaker than Satyajit Ray. Ray was fantastic, a splendid human being, Paul added.
And he was very clear that he prefers Bollywood to Hollywood. He wondered why Indians are always comparing Bollywood with Hollywood. He said Indian cinema should not try to find similarities with films from America.
"We should be ashamed most films are pathetic. I would rather read a book than see a bad film", says this award-winning Dutch born director who did not have any film here but has stopped over on his way to the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram where he is in the Jury.
Referring to the abysmal content of some films, Paul deplored cinema‘s exploitation of sex and violence, “If incest occurs in society, should that be an excuse to show it in graphic detail? Must filmmakers pander to base desires? Everyone is making commercial films to please others."
"I love India, it is a home away from home for me and when I nearly died from cancer, I longed for India. Kindness matters above all else in life. But today, I feel some Indians have lost their capacity for kindness.”
Krzysztof Kies‘lowski, the Polish film director and screenwriter best known internationally for The Decalogue (1989), was the last great filmmaker who touched the true potential of cinema. "But today, we (filmmakers) have lost their humanity,” he added.
He prefaced his critique by a humorous anecdote of how a print of his film had been stolen from the projection box at a Delhi filmfest and the next day copies flooded the grey market.
His other great loves are the Italian composer Vivaldi, the 17th century Dutch painter Vermeer and his (Cox‘s) wife Cathy, whom he met while both were being treated for liver cancer in hospital where he even wrote a book. Needless to add, signature traits of Cox’s work are a deep humanism and an affinity with the arts, as evinced in Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent van Gogh and The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky.
Hindi
Zee5 and Applause Entertainment team up for whodunnit ‘Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa’
Rajat Kapoor directs star-studded murder mystery streaming from 10 April.
MUMBAI: Zee5 is serving up another killer collaboration and this time, the murder mystery comes with a generous side of dark humour and family dysfunction. The streaming platform has partnered with Applause Entertainment and Mithya Talkies to bring Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, a fresh, twisted whodunnit written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker and actor Rajat Kapoor. The film will stream exclusively on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
The movie reimagines the classic murder mystery genre with a contemporary, darkly comic edge. It revolves around a group of friends and family who smile, drink, and celebrate together until the silence snaps and long-buried secrets spill out. The stellar ensemble cast includes Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Waluscha De Sousa, Saurabh Shukla, Chandrachoor Rai, Neil Bhoopalam, Koel Purie, Palomi Ghosh, and Rajat Kapoor himself.
This latest offering continues the successful partnership between Zee5 and Applause Entertainment, which has previously delivered diverse hits such as Mithya, Bloody Brothers, and Jab Khuli Kitaab.
&TV Business Head of hindi Zee5 and chief channel officer Kaveri Das said, “Our collaboration with Applause Entertainment has consistently delivered distinct, high-impact storytelling. Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is a natural progression, reinforcing our focus on genre-led content with a compelling whodunnit premise and a strong ensemble cast.”
Applause Entertainment business head for movies Sunil Chainani added, “This film adds yet another compelling layer to our slate with Rajat Kapoor’s unmistakable voice.”
Rajat Kapoor shared, “What interested me was not just the mechanics of a whodunnit, but the emotional violence that precedes physical violence. These are people who smile at each other, but there’s so much that is not said.”
The film promises razor-sharp writing, layered performances, and simmering tension, inviting viewers not just to solve the crime but to unravel the complex relationships at its heart.
If you love a good murder mystery served with wit and emotional depth, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa looks set to be your next addictive watch. Mark your calendars, the whodunnit drops on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
