After Sujoy Ghosh, Apurva Asrani resigns from IFFI jury

Agencies
November 15, 2017

Mumbai, Nov 15: In another fallout of the information and broadcasting ministry dropping two films from IFFI's Indian Panorama section, scriptwriter Apurva Asrani announced today that he was resigning as a jury member.

Asrani's resignation comes a day after filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh said he had quit as chairperson of the Indian Panorama jury.

Asrani said his conscience doesn't allow him to participate in the film festival, being held in Goa from November 20-28.

"I stand with the chairman of the jury. We had a responsibility towards some very sincere films, and somewhere we have failed them. My conscience won't allow me to participate in the festivities in Goa," he said in a statement.

When contacted, the "Aligarh" scriptwriter confirmed that he had resigned but said he would not like to elaborate further.

The information and broadcasting ministry has overruled the recommendation of the 13-member jury and pulled out Malayalam movie "S Durga" and Marathi film "Nude" from the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India.

The jury submitted its list to the ministry on September 20-21, but the line-up was made public only recently and without the name of the two films, a jury member disclosed.

Yesterday, "S Durga" director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan filed a petition in the Kerala High Court against the ministry and IFFI officials.

The respondents in his petition include the Union of India, represented by the secretary to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Directorate of Film Festivals, Chairman, Jury for Feature Films and the Indian Panorama, 48th International Film Festival of India, Goa.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: In an attempt to constructively use leisure time during the lockdown, actor Bhumi Pednekar has started learning Kathak from her mother, Sumitra Pednekar, who is a trained dancer of this discipline.

Elaborating on her keenness to enhance her knowledge on the dance form, the actor explained about her routine followed for the dance practice and how much she is enjoying it.

"I wanted to learn kathak for a long time as my mother is a trained Kathak dancer! So, for about an hour in the evening this what I and my mom do. She is quite enjoying it and I'm loving learning it from her!" the 30-year-old actor said.

The growing fear of coronavirus has halted many entertainment shootings and productions. The 'Pati Patni Aur Who' actor referring to the current situation opened about the uncertainties of going back to shootings.

"It has put a big question mark on when will we get back to work and how things are going to be. There's a lot of uncertainty. Of course, our dates and schedules have gone haywire and we can't plan anything," she added.

However, the 'Bala' actor is finding a silver lining among the gloom as she says that the time has given her an opportunity to get back to what she used to love as a child - the habit of reading.

"I was a voracious reader but since entering Bollywood I haven't got a chance to read something at a stretch," she said.

"But now, I have got all the time and I'm making full use of the time at hand. I have been watching TED talks and have been reading a lot about climate change because that is something, I am severely passionate about. This time has been very educational for me," she added.

On the professional front, Pednekar will be soon seen as a leading lady in the Akshay Kumar's 'Durgavati' and award-winning director Alankrita Srivastava's 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare'.

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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
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Music maestro AR Rahman has joined the international film 'No Land's Man' as co-producer and composer.

Helmed by renowned Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the upcoming movie has Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in pivotal roles.

"Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story," Variety quoted Rahman as saying.

The movie chronicles the life of a South Asian, whose journey gets complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the U.S.

The film, shot in the U.S., Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

'Sacred Games' actor, Siddique said: "The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one. AR Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer."

"Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014. Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world," producer Srihari Sathe said.

'No Land's Man' won the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar the same year.

Earlier in January, Siddiqui posted multiple pictures on Instagram with the team of the flick, marking the schedule wrap in New York and Sydney for 'No Land's Man.'

He also captioned the post as: "Wonderful experience with the most energetic team."

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