Page 2 - Films

Films reflect soft power of India: Kant at G20 Film Festival inauguration

India's G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Wednesday said Indian films reflect the soft power of the country as well as its unity and diversity. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the G20 Film Festival organised by the India International Centre (IIC) in collaboration with the G20 Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs. Satyajit Ray's 1955 black-and-white classic film "Pather Panchali" (Song of the Little Road) opened the festival, which will run till September 3. Kant, who was the chief guest at the event, said films reflect the "unity and diversity" of India. "I have been a great believer in Indian films. Our G20 presidency is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam': One Earth, One Family, One Future... Indian films truly reflect the soft power of India. More than anything else, they reflect the unity and diversity of India. And, there's no better way to start a film festival than to show Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Panchali'," he said. Tourism and culture are two major components of G20, K

Govt mulling increasing filming incentives for global production: I&B secy

India is mulling increasing the incentives offered to international production houses for filming in the country and also grant one-off perks for big-ticket films. Last year, the government unveiled an incentive scheme for audio-visual co-production where the Indian co-producer can claim a cash reimbursement of up to 30 per cent on qualifying expenditure in India, subject to a maximum of Rs 2 crore. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra on Tuesday said the government is considering increasing the quantum of incentives as it realised that other countries are offering more attractive perks for filming. "We will reveal the quantum of increase shortly, the proposal is under consultation within the government," Chandra said at the CII Summit FX4th Global AVGC and Immersive Media Summit here. He said the government received six to seven applications from producers to film in the country under the incentive scheme but expressed displeasure that the initiative was not known

As years go by, the plot weakens for Indian women-centric cinema

The number of such movies has declined and their box office collection too

Magic of 'pink' publicity campaign? Barbie creates history at box office

Barbie has outperformed Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which earned $24.5 million on its opening day in 2008

Barbenheimer: How much money did two movies make on the opening weekend?

Barbenheimer's stellar performance comes as Hollywood grapples with its largest strike in decades

Father of atomic bomb, charged for spying: Who was J Robert Oppenheimer?

Christopher Nolan's much anticipated movie Oppenheimer is set to hit the theatres tomorrow. Here is all you need to know about the American physicist

After Kathmandu, Pokhara bans all Indian films amid Adipurush dialogue row

Standing alongside Kathmandu Metropolis, the Pokhara Metropolitan City has also enforced a ban on the screening of Indian films following the 'Adipurush' dialogue controversy

I&B Secretary Apurva mulls hosting an animation film festival in India

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra on Thursday met Annecy Festival Director Michael Marin to explore the possibility of hosting an animation film festival in India. Chandra led the Indian delegation at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France to showcase India's prowess in creating animation and VFX (visual effects) content for global audiences. "The Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects and Comics (AVGC) Sector in India is making progress with the adoption of world-class techniques and innovative technologies, coupled with a pool of immensely talented professionals," Chandra said. He said India was among the few countries that provided cash incentives to foreign companies for making AVGC content in the country. "The incentives are the same as for shooting films in India. This is a huge opportunity for companies to benefit from this. As a country, we are committed to providing incentives to the industry, as well as supporting pre and post-production ...

'The Kerala Story' to be screened at FTII for its students: Makers

The makers of "The Kerala Story" have announced that a special screening of the movie will be held for the students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Directed by Sudipto Sen, "The Kerala Story" depicts how women from Kerala were forced to convert and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS). It is produced by Vipul Shah's Sunshine Pictures. "We are very excited to meet our own people there. This is the future of the industry that is getting ready in FTII. It would be very interesting and exciting to see how they are looking at 'The Kerala Story', and what they think of it. What they have understood and their viewpoint, which is the future's viewpoint. It is going to be fun," Shah said in a statement. The movie, which has polarised the political discourse in the country, was released in theatres on May 5. The West Bengal government had imposed a ban on the film on May 8, apprehending tensions among the communities. Theatres in Tamil Nadu had decided to stop i

The Kerala Story: All you need to know about the raging controversy

The Kerala Story box office collection: Since its release, the movie has collected Rs 37.03 crore in India

South Indian films outshine others in 2022, may maintain trend in 2023: CII

Movies in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam accounted for 54% of all releases and Rs 7,800 cr, or 52%, of the national film revenue of Rs 15,000 cr

Unseen shades of financial fraud orchestrated from small-town India

Even as cybercrime comes under national spotlight, filmmakers remain myopic in their depiction

A marketplace to unlock value for small, unseen interesting films

This ability to unlock the va­lue of small, difficult-to-discov­er and interesting films is what ProducerBazaar hopes to ach­ieve at scale

Avoid 'unnecessary remarks' on films: PM Modi asks BJP workers at meet

PM Modi's statement comes amid the recent protests against Shah Rukh Khan's film 'Pathaan', with several BJP leaders like Ram Kadam and Narottam Mishra criticising the makers

The year of scale and spectacle: Why 2022 was a big deal for media

From spectacle films to large media deals, scale, both on and off screen, remained the central theme in the evolving entertainment landscape

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says company won't take down antisemitic film

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Wednesday the company does not have plans to stop selling the antisemitic film that gained notoriety recently after Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving tweeted out an Amazon link to it. Pressure has been mounting on Amazon to discontinue sale of the film, called Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," since Irving shared the link to the documentary with his millions of Twitter followers in October. The synopsis on Amazon says the film uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel. At The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City, Jassy said it is difficult for the company to determine what content crosses the line to where Amazon doesn't make it available to customers. As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints, the Times quoted Jassy as saying. He s

Amazon CEO says won't take down anti-semitic film Kyrie Irving promoted

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Wednesday the company does not have plans to stop selling the antisemitic film that gained notoriety recently after Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving tweeted out an Amazon link to it. Pressure has been mounting on Amazon to discontinue sale of the film, called Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America," since Irving shared the link to the documentary with his millions of Twitter followers in October. The synopsis on Amazon says the film uncovers the true identity of the Children of Israel. At The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City, Jassy said it is difficult for the company to determine what content crosses the line to where Amazon doesn't make it available to customers. As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints, the Times quoted Jassy as saying. He sa

Nadav Lapid: Israel's 'philosophical' filmmaker who has stirred up a storm

Reacting to the backlash for his remarks about The Kashmir Files, Lapid says making bad films is not a crime, but the film is 'crude, manipulative and violent'

Wrong to categorise commercial films as theatrical releases: Karan Johar

Filmmaker Karan Johar says he doesn't believe in the common perception among storytellers that commercial films are meant for theatrical release and art-house films are ideal for digital platforms. Johar was speaking at the trailer launch of his upcoming production Govinda Naam Mera, which is slated to be released on the streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar on December 16. "This divide, I think we have created ourselves... that commercial films are theatrical and that alternate or slightly off-the-cuff films for digital (release). "We thought Disney+ Hotstar is a wide platform and the film can reach many more houses. I believe this mainstream masala twisted entertainer ('Govinda...') has got a beautiful house. So, there are no second thoughts, the producer told reporters on Sunday night here. Starring Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and Kiara Advani, "Govinda Naam Mera" is a comedy crime-thriller that tells the tale of an underdog. It is directed by Shashank Khaitan. The film is yet .

Top official represents Uttarakhand at International Film Festival of India

Abhinav Kumar, special principal secretary, Information of Uttarakhand government represented the 'Land of the Gods' at the IFFI, which kicked off in Goa on Sunday, officials said