'Padmavati' row: No shooting for 15 mins across India tomorrow

Agencies
November 25, 2017

Mumbai, Nov 25: As a mark of solidarity with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversy-hit "Padmavati", hundreds of people - from filmmakers to workers - across the country have announced a 15-minute blackout tomorrow.

The Indian Films and TV Directors' Association (IFTDA), along with 19 other bodies of the film and television industry from across the country will stop shooting for 15 minutes to protect the right to freedom of expression of those in the creative field.

Organisations such as Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Western India Cinematographers Association, Screen Writers Association, The Film and Television Producers Guild of India Limited, Association of Voice Artistes, Cine Costume & Make-up Artiste and Hair Dressers Association, Cine Singer Association, Movie Stunt Artistes Association, among others will participate in the protest called "Main Azaad Hoon?" (Am I free?) at Film City here, starting at 3.30 pm will tomorrow.

"Over 600-700 people from the entire film industry in India from filmmakers to writers, workers, make-up men will come together in support of 'Padmavati'.

"All shoots across India will be halted from 4.15 pm to 4.30 pm. Through this protest we are trying to say let us know - Are we free people? Are we living in a democratic country?" filmmaker and IFTDA convenor, Ashoke Pandit told PTI.

"Padmavati" has been facing the ire of various Rajput groups and political leaders, who have accused the director of "distorting historical facts".

Referring to the country-wide agitation against the film, Pandit said if a "great filmmaker" like Bhansali can be threatened for exercising creative freedom, it can happen to anyone in the fraternity.

"We are creators of cinema... art. We are educators, we contribute towards the betterment of the country. There are stars supporting various causes (of the government). We stand by them, whenever there is a need. We are hurt with what is happening with 'Padmavati', we are (being) ill-treated, we feel we are living like orphans in this country," he says.

Last week, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the release of "Padmavati", with Delhi High Court following the suit yesterday.

Chief ministers of BJP-ruled states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have called for a ban on the movie.

Commenting on the same, Pandit said, "We are not fighting against any particular person. The judiciary has passed some orders but nothing has been done. How can a chief minister ban a film without even watching it?"

He added everyone present at the venue will pay tributes to the martyrs in 26/11 terror attacks before the protest begins.

Featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, "Padmavati" was set to be released on December 1.

The makers of the film will announce a revised date after clearance from the CBFC.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 9: Actors Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish are hopeful about the future for women in Hollywood and now cinema is making films about women because the audience was "neglected".

The duo along with Rose Byrne star in Like a Boss, a comedy directed by Miguel Arteta, which follows best friends Mia and Mel (Haddish and Byrne) who join forces to run their own boutique cosmetics company.

When the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the beauty industry (Hayek) tempts them, their lifelong bond - and their business - is put in jeopardy.

Hayek said she is happy with the increase in female-driven films in Hollywood.

"We're on the right path. And we're not going to stop," the actor told Variety.

"What I can tell you is that a lot more women are directing and acting and writing and producing. And there are a lot more movies made about women and for women because the audience was neglected, she said.

She was speaking at the premiere of the film in New York.

Haddish added that the mantle for change shouldn't be left to the traditional decision-makers.

To get things, one has to sometimes make noise, the actor-author said.

"It's about us putting in the work and creating the projects and creating the opportunities in order to do those things to make it better. I sit back and I listen to people talk sometimes, saying, 'They're not letting us; they're not giving it to us.' Why do we have to ask permission? Why can't we just start putting it together? If they want to come on board with it, come on board. And if not, oh well," Haddish said.

"I'm about creating an opportunity. People say I'm loud and obnoxious, but sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil and gets things done," she added.

The comedy comes on the heels of a year gone by in cinema that featured female protagonists in films like Little Women and Captain Marvel.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Mumbai, May 12: Superstar Salman Khan on Tuesday released his latest romantic single "Tere Bina" featuring Jacqueline Fernandez while in quarantine at his Panvel farm house.

The actor, along with close family and friends from the industry, including Iulia Vantur, Waluscha De Sousa, is living in the farm house. This is the second song Salman has released amid the coronavirus pandemic, after "Pyaar Karona."

"About seven weeks ago, when we came to the farm, we didn't know we will be here under a lockdown. So we wanted to do things to keep ourselves busy. That's when we decided to do these songs. We launched 'Pyaar Karona' and now, we are launching 'Tere Bina'," Salman said in a statement.

The song, sung and directed by Salman, is composed by his friend Ajay Bhatia and written by Shab bir Ahmed.

The actor said he had the song "Tere Bina" with him for quite a while but because it wasn't fitting into any of his film, he decided to release it now.

Jacqueline said she didn't think they would be able to shoot the song, which they finished in four days of evening shoots, with such limitations.

"We are used to shooting songs on a large stage with grand production costs. There are costumes, hair, make up. All of a sudden, we find ourselves with a team of three people. For the first time, I was checking lighting and moving props around. It was a great experience and it taught us how to make the most of what we have," she said.

Salman recently sent out food packets and ration from his farm house to those affected by the lockdown.

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News Network
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen is returning to his art roots with a series of short films at London's Tate Modern art gallery, offering a sensory exploration of black identity.

McQueen, who became the first black director to win the best picture Academy Award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave", is now based between London and Amsterdam and is focused on championing diversity in the film industry.

Visitors to his new exhibition will be greeted by "Static", a film of New York's Statue of Liberty, scrutinising the iconic symbol from every possible angle at very close range against a deafening backdrop of the helicopter from where the footage was filmed.

"What interests Steve is our view of the world, how humans are trying to represent Liberty," said Fiontan Moran, assistant curator of the exhibition.

"7th Nov, 2001" features a still shot of a body while McQueen's cousin Marcus tells of how he accidentally killed his brother, a particularly traumatic experience for the artist.

"Western Deep" is another visceral work, giving a sense through sights and sounds in an interactive installation of the experiences of miners in South Africa, following them to the bottom of the mine.

"Ashes", meanwhile, is a tribute to a young fisherman from Grenada, the island where McQueen's family originated.

The images of beauty and sweetness filmed from his boat are tragically reversed on the other side of the projection screen, which shows a grave commissioned by McQueen for the eponymous young fisherman, who was killed by drug traffickers.

African-American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) is honoured in "End Credits".

The film shows censored FBI documents detailing the agency's surveillance of Robeson, read by a voice-over artist, for five hours.

"He is... testing the limits of how people can be documented in an era of mass surveillance," said Moran.

In a similarly militant vein, the exhibition features the sculpture "Weight", which was first shown in the prison cell where the writer and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned.

It depicts a golden mosquito net draped over a metal prison bed frame, addressing the theme of confinement and the power of the imagination to break free.

The show runs alongside an exhibition of McQueen's giant portraits of London school classes, many of which appeared on the streets of London last year.

"I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable eight-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible," said McQueen, adding it was "where in some ways my journey as an artist first began".

He recently told the Financial Times newspaper the difference between his art films and his feature films was that the former were poetry, the latter like a novel.

"Poetry is condensed, precise, fragmented," he said. "The novel is the yarn".

The exhibition opens on February 13 and runs until May 11.

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