SRK to open IFFI 2017; Salman for closing ceremony

Agencies
November 20, 2017

Panaji, Nov 20: The 48th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has a star-studded line-up for the event, which will be inaugurated by superstar Shah Rukh Khan while Salman Khan will be present at the closing ceremony.

Bollywood actors Katrina Kaif and Shahid Kapoor will also be present at the inauguration, which will be held tomorrow at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim, near Panaji.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar among others, would be present at the event.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award at the event, while Canadian director Atom Egoyan will receive Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Directorate of Film Festival (DFF) and Goa government's Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) are jointly organising the festival, which will be held at two venues Kala Academy and Macquiniz Palace.

The organisers said 195 films from across 82 countries would be screened, including 10 world premiers, 10 Asian and international premiers and over 64 Indian premiers will be presented during the festival.

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's new film "Beyond The Clouds" will open the IFFI.

The event would conclude on November 28 with the world premiere of Indo-Argentinian co-production "Thinking of Him", directed by Pablo Cesar.

"The closing ceremony will be graced by noted actor Salman Khan. This in addition to a galaxy of noted industry professionals, international guests, dignitaries and film celebrities who will attend the festival," the organisers said in a release.

Noted actress Sridevi will inaugurate the Indian Panorama section of the festival on November 21.

On the same day, IFFI 2017 Country Focus on Canada will be celebrated with a grand red carpet opening and amidst the presence of noted Canadian actors and celebrities.

The segment has been organised in association with the government of Canada in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, curated by the Toronto International Film Festival.

In the international competition section of IFFI 2017, which carries a cumulative cash prize of over Rs 1 crore, 15 finest films of the year will be showcased.

The international competition jury will be headed by renowned filmmaker-poet Muzaffar Ali. The other jury members are director Maxine Williamson from Australia, actor-director Tzahi Grad from Isreal, Russian cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants, director and production designer Roger Christian from the United Kingdom.

"This edition of the festival will also be presenting films from a record number of women filmmakers in addition to a carefully curated section of restored classics from across the globe, which include the recently completed restorations of Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' and Tarkovskys 'Sacrifice', among some other notable films," the organisers said.

The IFFI 2017 will also present a specially curated section celebrating the most loved spy in films - James Bond.

The segment will showcase nine films featuring various leading actors, who have essayed the iconic character.

Additionally, the festival will present four movies from young filmmakers.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Chennai, Jul 30: Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli on Wednesday said he and his family members have tested positive for coronavirus and are currently quarantined at home.

The director, best known for his epic fantasy hit Baahubali series, said they got tested after they developed mild fever recently which subsided by itself.

“My family members and I developed a slight fever few days ago. It subsided by itself but we got tested nevertheless. The result has shown a mild COVID positive today. We have home quarantined as prescribed by the doctors (sic)” he said.

In a subsequent tweet, Rajamouli said he and his kin are asymptomatic and “feeling better”. They are, however, following all the precautions and instructions.

“Just waiting to develop antibodies so that we can donate our plasma,” he added.

Before the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown was announced in March, the filmmaker was working on his upcoming period action drama Rise Roar Revolt.

The Telugu film, featuring actors Ram Charan and NTR Jr in the lead, is a fictional tale based on the lives of two freedom fighters in early 20th century.

Andhra Pradesh witnessed its worst single day spike of coronavirus on Wednesday, 10,000 plus cases, as the other southern states, including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also reported high daily numbers, although they saw a dip in the infections.

The cumulative tally of southern states — AP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry was 24,855 on Wednesday.

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News Network
January 22,2020

Patna, Jan 22: Actor Kangana Ranaut has expressedher desire to make a movie on Chandragupta, the shepherd-turned-emperor who founded the Maurya dynasty, noting that the film industry has “not done enough justice to our history”.

The national award winner was here to take part in a programme organised by the publishers of a leading Hindi daily where she performed a jig to the tunes of Bhojpuri songs along with actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan before the duo participated in a question and answer session.  Replying to the questions posed by Kishan, who is also the BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Ranaut on Tuesday said it was her second trip to Bihar.

“The last time, I was here as a child though I have not yet got a chance to explore the state with which I feel a connect as my Yoga teacher has his roots here,” she said.

Ranaut, who won acclaim for portraying Rani Laxmibai, the valiant queen of Jhansi who took on the British during the revolt of 1857 -- in ‘Manikarnika’, when asked if she would like to be associated with a film on any historical figure from Bihar, said, “It would be Chandragupta Maurya. The film industry has not done much justice to our history”.

A self-confessed admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 32-year-old, who has won three National Awards in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, replied in the affirmative when asked about reports that she has turned producer and her first venture is based on the theme of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Himachal Pradesh-born actress, who has courted controversy for taking on well-entrenched Bollywood “insiders” like Karan Johar and Hrithik Roshan, said she has had a rebellious streak since childhood and shared an anecdote about her breaking her teacher’s stick upon being hit for chatting with a classmate in school.

When Kishan asked why she has gained so much weight, Ranaut replied it was in preparation for her upcoming biopic “Thalaivi”, based on late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The actress said her forthcoming release “Panga” is a family drama.

Ranaut said after landing in Patna, she gorged on ‘Litti Chokha’, a local delicacy.

She also regaled the audience by greeting them in Bhojpuri and repeating several commonly used phrases of the dialect after Kishan.

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News Network
July 4,2020

London, Jul 4: Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says he is really excited about the biopic on WWE legend Hulk Hogan, which is currently in development.

"The Thor" actor revealed that he will bulk up his physique for the much-anticipated film to be directed by “Joker” helmer Todd Phillips.

“This movie is going to be a really fun project. As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor.

''And then there is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude. I will also have to do a deep dive into the rabbit hole of the wrestling world, which I'm really looking forward to doing,” Hemsworth told British magazine Total Film.

The project was announced last year, with “8 Mile” scribe Scott Silver and John Pollono attached to pen the script.

It is expected to look into Hogan's rise from the Florida wrestling circuit to becoming the face of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s where he squared off with villain Andre the Giant.

The 36-year-old actor, however, said that the team is still “quite a way away” from starting production on the film.

“'I haven't even seen a script yet. The project is deep in development. Todd Phillips and I met to chat about it maybe a year or two ago. We talked about the idea for the film, which I think was going to be a TV series at one point.

''There were a few different ideas about what portion of his life it was going to be set in, so we spitballed about what it could be and what I thought it might be. Thankfully, they ran with a few of those ideas and the script is in the process of being written - but Hulk Hogan is still quite a way away.''

The biopic will be produced by Michael Sugar through his Sugar23's first-look Netflix deal along with Joint Efforts' Phillips and Bradley Cooper, Eric Bischoff, and Hemsworth.

Hogan will also serve as executive producer along with Sugar23's Ashley Zalta. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman will serve as co-producers.

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