Mani Ratnam presented with Icon award at London Indian Film Festival

July 25, 2015

London, Jul 25: Acclaimed Indian film director Mani Ratnam, known for his films like Roja, Bombay and Dil Se, has won the Icon award at the Bagri Foundation London Film Festival for his outstanding contribution to cinema.

Icon awardReceiving the award at the closing night of the festival on Friday night, Ratnam said "I am honoured and humbled to receive this icon award. I think that Indian cinema is at the threshold of a new era, and the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival is a showcase of this next generation.

"I am sure that future awards will be won by some of the bright young talent that is coming up." Ratnam also gave a rare Screen Talk masterclass at the BFI Southbank, with Peter Webber (Girl With a Pearl Earring), was part of the festival.

Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala won the Spirit of Inspiration award from Sun Mark Ltd for her outstanding work in supporting the earthquake appeal in Nepal. "We admire Manisha's work in cinema where she was known for taking on difficult roles and her support for social causes and for those who have no voice and whose message needs to be spread," the Foundation said.

Delhi-born actor Suraj Sharma, whose lead role in film Umrika helmed the festival, was the recipient of the festival's Outstanding Young Talent award. "The festival has been so kind, awarding me it's first outstanding young actor award and opening the festival with our film Umrika! The response for our film has been better than we could ever imagine. My gratitude goes out to the festival for doing such a great job!" said Sharma.

Satyajit Ray Short Film Award in association with the Bagri Foundation went to Khargosh (Rabbit), while Lebara Play Audience award went to Nachom-la Kumpasar (Let's Dance to the Rhythm). The Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival's Lebara Play audience award was a very close race this year, with Fox's Indian National Award winning feature Kaakkaa Muttai (The Crow's Egg) by M Manikandan pipped to the post by sleeper festival super-hit Nachom-ia Kumpasar, directed by Bardroy Barretto, a film about Goan Jazz and its impact on Hindi film music.

The film was so popular with audiences that additional screenings had to be added at Cineworld cinemas during the festival, to cope with demand.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Washington D.C., Jun 7: South Korean pop band BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment have donated USD one million to support Black Lives Matter.

According to Variety, the donation was transferred earlier this week, with Black Lives Matter confirming receipt to the label on Friday.

"Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives," the outlet quoted Kailee Scales, managing director for Black Lives Matter as saying.

The widely lauded band, earlier on Wednesday, took to Twitter to show their solidarity with the people fighting against the social injustice.

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together," the tweet read.

The pledge of the donation from the Korean boy band and its label comes during a time when people and celebrities from the industry have come forward to demonstrate their support for the black community.

Several big names from the music and acting industry also observed 'Blackout Tuesday' earlier the week as a message of solidarity in response o the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in the United States.

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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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Agencies
March 1,2020

Washington D.C., Mar 1: British actor Daniel Radcliffe in a recent interview said he is not rushing back to reprise the role of young wizard, Harry Potter, anytime soon.

The 30-year-old star who rose to fame with the first eight films in J.K. Rowling's famed franchise, told Variety that he doesn't like to say no to things but reprising the role in the 'Fantastic Beasts' prequels is not something he's "rushing to do".

"I feel like those films have moved on and they're doing just fine without us. I'm happy to keep it that way. I like what my life is now," Radcliffe told the outlet.

"I'm not saying that I'll never go back into any franchise, but I like the flexibility that I have with my career now. And I don't want to get into a situation where I'm signed up for one series for years in advance," cited Variety as Radcliffe as saying.

Radcliffe is currently gearing up for his upcoming mystery-thriller 'Escape from Pretoria,' a true-life prison drama, where he is set to essay the character Tim Jenkin.

The forthcoming flick is set to hit the theatres on March 6.

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