Sonam Kapoor feels fear of 'film festival' tag keeps Indian makers away from fests

May 24, 2017

Mumbai, May 24: Actress Sonam Kapoor said Indian producers are reluctant to take their movies at international festivals as they feel the "festival film" tag can hamper its commercial success in the country.sonam1

This year at the 70th Cannes International Film Festival, only FTII student Payal Kapadia's short film "Afternoon Clouds" made it to the Cinefondation category.

When asked why not many Indian films make it to the prestigious festival, Sonam, in a FaceTime interview from Cannes, said, "I don't know why there are no Indians films coming here... I just know that Indian market is very different from the international market.

"As soon as you put a tag of festivals on it, producers are under the impression that the film isn't going to do well commercially. I think that's why many producers don't put our films in festivals unless we need somebody to distribute them," she said.

The actress said even she has experienced the same with certain producers.

"That is what has been my experience with certain films that I've been a part of where producers are like 'we don't want to put our films in festivals because we don't want that perception (of the film being serious).'

"I don't agree with it at all. I feel a film like 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'The Lunchbox' got a lot of attraction and became a worldwide success because of festivals."

Sonam's "Neerja" co-star Shabana Azmi recently tweeted a picture of herself from Cannes Film Festival in 1976, when her film "Nishant" was in the official section.

Azmi had tweeted, "Film was important not the clothes."

When asked about this, Sonam said, "It is a film festival and all (others) are walking for a film. I am here for a makeup brand. If I was here for my film, I would be dressing very differently. Since I am here for a makeup and glam brand, I think it makes sense to me to look a certain way."

Sonam, however, in unfazed by comparisons between other L'Oreal Paris brand ambassadors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.

"The comparisons are not in my hands, it's what the media is doing, so they have to decide whether it is fair or unfair. They are pitting one woman against the other. They should be celebrating all women. I consider all of this foolish, I don't even like to indulge in it," said Sonam.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Indore, Jun 6: An FIR has been registered against television producer Ekta Kapoor and two others here in Madhya Pradesh on charges of spreading obscenity, hurting religious feelings, and improper use of national emblems in her web show 'Triple X season 2', police said on Saturday.

The FIR also mentions about a particular scene which allegedly portrays the Indian Army's uniform in a highly objectionable way, an officer said.

Besides Kapoor, the FIR names director of the web series Pankhudi Rodrigues and screenwriter Jessica Khurana, said Annapurna police station inspector Satish Kumar Dwivedi.

The complaint was lodged on Friday night by Valmik Sakaragaye and Neeraj Yagnik, both residents of Indore.

"Ekta Kapoor's OTT platform ALTBalaji streamed (erotic) web series 'Triple X season 2' which not only spread obscenity but also hurt religious feelings of a particular community," Dwivedi said quoting the complaint.

A scene in the web show portrayed the Indian Army's uniform in a highly objectionable manner and also disrespected the national emblems, he said.

Kapoor and others have been booked under sections 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 298 (Uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology (IT) Act, and the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005, Dwivedi said.

Mumbai-based Ekta Kapoor is the founder of ALTBalaji, which is owned by her production house, Balaji Telefilms.

Further investigation is underway, the police officer said.

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May 24,2020

Los Angeles, May 24: Filmmaker Frank Marshall, one of the producers behind Jurassic World: Dominion, says the forthcoming film is not a conclusion of the franchise.

Colin Trevorrow, who rebooted Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise with 2015's Jurassic World, is back on the director's chair after sitting out on second movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

Asked about the upcoming movie, Marshall told Collider: "It's the start of a new era."

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are coming back for the third film, which will also feature original stars of 1993's Jurassic Park -- Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill.

The producer also revealed how he sees the film franchise extending into the future.

"The dinosaurs are now on the mainland amongst us, and they will be for quite some time, I hope," Marshall said.

The film was three weeks into production when it was shut down over coronavirus concerns, but the producer said the team has the sets built in London and will be "back in business" once they have guidelines from the British government.

Dominion is still slated to be released on its scheduled date of June 11, 2021.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Washington, Jan 11: Fresh off his win at the Golden Globes, actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in a climate change protest and was arrested by the police.

The "Joker" star took part in the weekly protests against climate change, started by Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor also addressed the crowd of close to 300 people.

In his short speech, he took aim at the meat and dairy industry for being the third leading cause of the climate crisis.

"Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume," Phoenix said.

"There are things I can't avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits," he added.

Besides Phoenix, veteran Hollywood star Martin Sheen also turned up for the protest and got arrested by the police. Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon were also present.

Capitol Police said it arrested 147 people who were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding. All the protestors were later released.

Fonda, who was on stage with Phoenix, called him "one of the greatest living actors today".

She has been protesting weekly as part of her "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative since announcing she was moving to Washington "to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate." Her participation has ended in multiple arrests.

Earlier this month, Phoenix had talked about climate change at the Golden Globes ceremony, asking Hollywood to walk the talk on the issue.

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