'Mowgli' Neel Sethi is bringing 'The Jungle Book' to India

March 24, 2016

Mumbai, Mar 24: Mowgli of the upcoming Hollywood film The Jungle Book, child actor Neel Sethi will begin the international promotional tour for the movie in India, later this month. The Disney live-action epic film will mark the debut of the 12-year-old actor, who plays the only human being in the story. Neil will visit India to present the film and visit some special sites in Mumbai.

JungleBook

"I have heard so many stories about the jungles of India from my maternal grandparents who live here. I am so excited to be visiting my homeland once again. When my parents heard that I got the part to play Mowgli, they were so excited because the stories are based in India," Neel said in a statement.

The New York-based actor was hand-picked by director Jon Favreau from over 2000 hopefuls to play the role of Mowgli. Neel says he is "thrilled" to play the iconic character and hopes people in India will enjoy the movie. "I am thrilled to have played Mowgli in my first film and befriend the much loved characters like Bagheera the Panther and Baloo, the Bear. India is the first country internationally that I will be presenting the film in. I really hope people in India enjoy watching the jungle come to life."

Favreau, who has directed films like Iron Man, The Office and Chef, had an "exhaustive worldwide search" to find the right child to play Mowgli but narrowed on Neel the moment he saw the young actor. "He was one of the last people that I looked at, and right away, I felt that he had the same emotional and physical qualities that Mowgli had in the '67 animated version. His look was uncanny in how much he evoked what we wanted. He inherently had a good sense of fun and humour," he said.

"Everything in this movie is geared towards the performance of this one kid. I've worked with enough kids to be confident in my own taste and my ability to get the performance. He was just so real. He felt right. We knew we found our Mowgli," the filmmaker added.

The Jungle Book will release in India on April 8, a week before coming out in the US.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Mumbai, Aug 2: Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron has come aboard as an executive producer on filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane's movie The Disciple. The Marathi feature is set to represent India at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It will be screened in the Competition section of the prestigious film gala.

The movie, which is Tamhane's follow-up to his National Award-winning feature Court, has also been selected for 2020 Toronto International Film Festival's official line-up.

"I met Chaitanya through a mentorship program where I had the opportunity to watch his very superb debut film, Court  I was immediately impressed by his sense of cinema and fearless confidence to tell stories.

"He was part of most of Roma's process and I jumped to the opportunity to be part of the process of his second film The Disciple. I believe Chaitanya is one of the most important new voices of contemporary cinema," Cuaron said in a statement.

Tamhane said he is honoured to have Cuaron aboard the film.

"It’s a bit surreal and an incredible honour for me to have one of the most recognised and acclaimed filmmakers in the world be part of 'The Disciple'. In some ways, this validation from Alfonso Cuaron is even more," he added.

The Disciple, a 127-minute long feature, stars Aditya Modak, Arun Dravid, Sumitra Bhave, and Kiran Yadnyopavit. It has been produced by “Sir” actor Vivek Gomber through his Zoo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

The Disciple marks Tamhane’s return to Venice after he won the Best Film - Orizzonti and Lion of the Future award for Court in 2014.

Court, a poignant commentary on India's judicial system, also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 2015 and was India's official entry for the Best Foreign Film at the 2016 Oscars.

Endeavor Content will sell North American rights and New Europe Film Sales boards the film as an international sales agent.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Mumbai, Jan 18: Actor Shabana Azmi was injured in an accident on Saturday afternoon on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra's Raigad district, an official said.

The incident took place around 3.30 pm near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the car in which she was traveling rammed into a truck, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar.

She was rushed to MGM hospital in Navi Mumbai and was undergoing treatment, he said.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 1: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has struck a two-year television deal with Amazon. The 37-year-old actor shared the news about her "multimillion-dollar" first look deal with the streamer in a post on Instagram.

"So honoured and excited to finally share this news with you. Looking ahead, we already have so much on our slate! Big thank you to @jsalke and her team at Amazon for being such great partners, and for sharing in the belief that talent and good content knows no boundaries," Priyanka wrote.

The actor, who launched her own production banner Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, said she aims to create "great content" featuring "creative talent" from all over the world.

"This has always been the DNA of my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, and is the foundation of this exciting new endeavour with Amazon. ⁣⁣

"And as a storyteller, my quest is to constantly push myself to explore new ideas that not only entertain but most importantly, open minds and perspectives," Priyanka said.

She thanked her fans for being a "big part of my journey so far".

"And for those who are just getting to know me, or maybe only recognise me as Alex Parrish from 'Quantico', I'm excited for you to get to know me better," Priyanka concluded.

Priyanka, who started her Hollywood career with ABC series Quantico, has featured in films such as Baywatch and Isn't It Romantic.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke told Variety that she bonded with the actor over their "shared passion for diverse global storytelling".

"Priyanka is drawn to exciting original content and characters that can resonate globally. She’s a powerhouse producer, and we are thrilled to collaborate with her for years to come," she added.

Prior to her deal with Amazon, the actor lined up two projects with the streamer. She will star opposite Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden in upcoming thriller series Citadel, to be produced by Anthony and Joe Russo.

The actor will also feature in Sangeet, an unscripted series co-produced with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Priyanka's another project with Amazon is a film about Ma Anand Sheela, the assistant to guru Bhagwan Rajneesh (also known as Osho). The actor will be producing the movie which is based on Netflix docu-series Wild Wild Country.

Besides her association with Amazon, the actor will next star in two Netflix projects -- superhero movie We Can Be Heroes and The White Tiger,  opposite Rajkummar Rao.

She is currently shooting for Keanu Reeves-starrer The Matrix 4, which recently resumed filming after production was halted by the pandemic.

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