entertainment

Indian cinema needs to do an honest introspection to improve its standards to match global productions and strive to produce strong scripts, Oscar awardee Resul Pookkutty said here on Wednesday.
“There is hardly any serious scriptwriting in our industry and this is why we are not as involved as should be in the global arena, Pookkutty said during the launch of director Leo Thaddeus’ upcoming movie ‘Payyans’.
Pookkutty expressed concern over the reluctance shown by Indian filmmakers to adopt technical advancements in the field of film making which was crippling the domestic films.
“It is high time we took up movie-making seriously. We must utilise our opportunities and take initiatives to make movies globally competitive,” he said.
Resul Pookkutty, who won the Oscar for sound engineering for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was keenly working on redefining entertainment, with 3D imaging being the landmark development. It is one field where the new generation of youngsters in the country have a great scope for making their mark at the world stage,” he said.
Denying reports on his debut as a director, Pookkutty said that at present he has no plans to shift profession.
“After Pazhassiraja, I will be doing sound engineering for one more Malayalam movie, a Mammootty-starrer, scheduled later this year,” he added.
“Winning the Oscar was a dream for me. But being one of its voting members is even bigger. This just goes to prove that no mountain is too high for us,” Pookkutty, who was recently extended an invitation by the Oscar Academy to join as a voting member,” he said

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Lal Jose is not only a creative director, but is also a pathbreaker. He has introduced more heroines to Malayalam cinema in recent times than any other director.

In his new film Elsamma Enna Aankutty, he is introducing character actor Augustine’s daughter Ann(see pic).

Some of his finds who made it big are Kavya Madhavan (Chandranuddikunna Dikkil, her first heroine role) Jyothirmayi (Meesa Madhavan), Samvrutha Sunil (Rasikan), Tessa (Pattalam), Muktha (Achan Urangathu Veedu), Meera Nandan (Mulla) and Archana Kavi (Neelathamara).

Ann will be the first of Lal Jose’s heroines who is from the film industry itself. Indrajith and Kunchacko Boban are the male leads in the film.

The film would also have Nedumudi Venu, Janardhanan, Jagathy Sreekumar, Manianpillai Raju, Sooraj Venjaranmoodu, Vijayaraghavan and KPAC Lalitha in supporting roles.

Former journalist Sindhu Raj, who had earlier scripted Lal Jose’s Mulla would be scripting the film, produced by M Ranjith. The music of the film would be composed by Rajamani.

Anwar, that has director Amal Neerad teaming up with Prithviraj, starts rolling
Amal Neerad, a product of the SRFTI (Satyajit Ray
Film and Television Institute), Kolkata, had begun as a cinematographer, getting trained under none other than Ram Gopal Varma. His entry into Malayalam cinema too was as a cinematographer, with the Ranjith-directed Black, which had Mammootty in the lead. The film was noted for its cinematography.

Amal made his directorial debut with the Mammootty film Big B, an action movie that stood apart for its style, technical brilliance, subject, presentation and acting.
After Big B, Amal teamed up with Mohanlal to deliver Sagar Alias Jackie. And now, it’s Anwar, a movie that’s reportedly going to be different, in treatment. The film has a big cast with Prithviraj, Prakashraj, Mamta Mohandas and Lal coming together. Anwar looks at terrorism from a different angle. The film has Prithviraj playing the title-role, of an ordinary Muslim youth whose life takes a drastic turn. Terrorism is what makes the life of this ordinary youth go wrong.

Mamta plays the heroine, Ayisha. She had earlier acted in Amal’s Big B, but it is for the first time that she is pairing up with Prithviraj.
Prakashraj plays a key role in the film of an anti-terrorist officer named Stalin Manimaaran. Prakashraj and Prithviraj had formed a successful combination in the Tamil film Mozhi, after which they had also acted in Vellithirai, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam hit Udayanaanu Thaaram. This is the first time that Prithviraj and Prakashraj are teaming up in Malayalam. Lal plays a key role, that of Babookka, who is more like a guru and mentor to Prithviraj’s Anwar. It’s from the perspective of these four characters- Prithviraj’s Anwar, Lal’s Babookka, Mamta’s Ayisha and Prakashraj’s Stalin Manimaaran – that terrorism is viewed in Anwar, which also has in the cast Saikumar, Nitya Menon, Geetha, Chali Pala, Sreejith Ravi etc.

Anwar is produced by Raj Zachariahs under the banner of Celebs and Red Carpet Films. The story and screenplay are by Amal himself while it’s Satheesh Kurup who does the cinematography. Lyrics by Rafeek Ahammed are set to tune by Gopi Sundar. Vivek does the editing while Joseph Nellickal is in charge of the art direction. The shooting of Anwar is on at a brisk pace.

Of course, ace Mani Ratnam’s Raavanan (Raavan in Hindi and Villain in Telugu) is special for all of us! Don’t even ask why! But unlike many of us, Prithviraj fans have an extra reason to anticipate this multi-starrer. What is that?

The youth icon is expected to showcase a stylish, trendy six-pack abs in this flick and has been working hard for the last two years to develop his six-pack, which he notably refused to display in his earlier youthful movies like Lollipop, directed by veteran Shafi.

Now, we just got another interesting scoop about Prithviraj’s physique. Critically acclaimed Malayalam director Blessy of Kazcha, Palanku, Thanmatra and Bhramaram fame has asked Prithviraj to reduce his weight by 20 kg for his character in Aadujeevitham (based on a tale by Benjamin).

Prithviraj is said to be ready to do anything “to get under the skin of the character” and will go on a crash diet after he completes his ongoing Anwar. How would Prithviraj look if he sheds 20 kg? Skinny, of course! The shooting of Aadujeevitham will commence from August in the deserts of Dubai and Rajasthan.

A special preview and release of five films on climate change will be the highlight of the World Environment Day celebrations named ‘Five Scripts, One Plot: Solutions for Climate Change Challenges’, organised in Thiruvananthapuram on June 5 by the Association of British Scholars in association with YMCA, the British High Commission, National Geographic channel and British Council.

Wheeling in Change, directed by Nina Subramani, focuses on lifestyle changes adopted by the residents of Bangalore to minimize emissions. Notes from a Green City by Madhyama Subramaniam features the successful reforms introduced by the Surat Municipal Corporation to mitigate climate change.

Blocks of Green by Bishnu Dev Halder and Jitendra Adappa explains how existing buildings can be made more eco-friendly. Melting Paradise, a joint venture by Vijay Bedi and Ajay Bedi, features the glaciers and wetlands of Jammu and Kashmir. The film stresses the conservation of water resources as a mitigation strategy against climate change.

The Miracle Water Village by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh offers an insight into the groundwater conservation strategy adopted by the villagers of Hilware Bazar. It offers these strategies as a replicable model for water-stressed regions.

Noted director Shyamaprasad is scheduled to release these films produced by the British Council. Former chairman of Pollution Control Board Rajmohan will inaugurate the Environment Day celebrations. Madhyama Subramaniam will introduce the films and interact with students.

A few weeks ago, a school teacher went to court against Sreenivasan accusing the film man of stealing his story for the new movie ‘Oru Naal Varum’. The court then stayed the movie’s release and asked for clarifications. And now after Sreenivasan, its director of family hits Sathyan Anthikkad who is facing a similar accusation.

A lesser known novelist and a journalist Hamza Alunkal has now come up with charges that Sathyan has deliberately stolen his story, for the latest film ‘Katha Thudarum’. Hamza says that his novel ‘Mazha Thorathe’ which also tells the story about the plight of an women left alone after the death of her husband, is the base inspiration for Sathyan’s movie.

Anyhow, the director who is back at home after the release of the film, hasn’t yet given his version of the story.

source : IndiaGlitz.com

Naduvazhikal , which was a superhit of mohanlal in nintees is set to have a sequel this year. Directed by Joshi and scripted by S.N Swamy ,Old Naduvazhikal released in 1989.

Second part of Naduvazhikal will be directed by Shaji kailas and Scripted by S.N Swamy. Naduvazhikal 2 will have Prithviraj in lead role. Prithviraj is working with filmmaker Shaji kailas for the first time in this movie. The other cast details are awaited. S Chandrakumar will produce Naduvazhikal 2 under the banner of Malavika Productions. Shoot will start by August 2010.

Director Major Ravi says that Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has given his nod for his Malayalam film “Kandahar”, a film about plane hijacking that will also star veteran Mohanlal.

The news came when Big B had made a short visit to the city Sunday.

Speaking to reporters, Ravi, a former NSG commando who had directed two films featuring Mohanlal, said that he is just trying to imagine how the two greats would come in one single frame. “It is great feeling when I think of that,” he said.

Film: “Bumm Bumm Bole”; Cast: Atul Kulkarni, Darsheel Safary, Ziyah Vastani, Rituparna Sengupta; Director: Priyadarshan;

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s “Children Of Heaven” comes down to earth in an endearing spiral of the spell-binding and the sensitive.

Let’s not get unnecessarily and unjustly nostalgic about the original Iranian film. This remake, done up in shades of terrorism in the idyllic northeast (region unspecified) is so lyrically lush in its visuals and so gently evocative in treatment that the original material is forgotten 10 minutes into the narrative.

A great deal of the credit for the film’s immense, intense but toned down impact must go to the children – Darsheel Safary no longer the buck-toothed moppet from “Taare Zameen Par”, and little Ziyah Vastani who’s quite easily the most delightful new discovery of the year.