Showing posts with label Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Show all posts
We, Indians, are loyal to our country and love to travel within India-Sonakshi Sinha
9:02 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 5, 2024)
If you follow Sonakshi Sinha on social media, it’s hard to miss her travel updates. What’s interesting is that the actor loves to travel within India. While one might feel that the focus of travel aficionados has shifted to promoting local tourism only recently, after the India-Maldives row, Sinha, who went scuba diving in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands last week, feels, “People have always wanted to explore these destinations. We, Indians, are loyal to our country and love to travel within India. I have friends who love to visit hill stations, the beaches in Goa and places in South India. It’s just that the chatter has started only recently.”
Sinha also announced on Insta that she took an advance open water scuba diving course along with her rumoured beau, actor Zaheer Iqbal, and is now a certified diver.
“I started working in films at 21 and wasn’t thinking of anything else in my 20s. I used to not take holidays and it was only about work till I turned 30. Then, I realized I can’t be working all the time. I first tried my hand at scuba diving in 2020 and it was always on the cards to go to the next level. An instructor got in touch since Zaheer and I knew how to dive. Hence, this (the Andamans visit) became a study trip,” shares the 36-year-old.
For SwatantryaVeer Savarkar, we’ll be recreating Andaman prison in a studio in Mumbai-Anand Pandit
7:40 AM
Sharing details of the making of Randeep Hooda’s next, SwatantryaVeer Savarkar producer Anand Pandit on why they will have to create a set of the Andaman and Nicobar prison
Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; October 16, 2022)
Earlier this month, Randeep Hooda began filming SwatantryaVeer Savarkar, near Wai, Maharashtra. While he plays the freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in front of the camera, he’s also making his debut behind the camera, as director of the biopic.
While Mahesh Manjrekar was to initially direct the film, he had to opt out due to his other work commitments. Producer Anand Pandit confirms that the scheduling issues cropped up due to the weight-loss process that Hooda had to undergo. “Randeep had lost 18 kilos, but he wanted to shed a few more to look the part. We discussed the idea of making him look leaner in the post-production, but eventually decided to go with his decision.”
They decided against roping in another director because they wanted to meet their date with the audience on May 26, which aligns with Veer Savarkar’s 140th birth anniversary. “Also, it would take another director a while to align with our vision, and execute the making accordingly. Randeep has researched extensively on the revolutionary, and has also written the biopic along with Utkarsh Naithani.”
After wrapping up the shoot near Wai, the team will film a schedule in Mumbai, and another in London. Asked if they will film in prison in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where Savarkar was lodged, Pandit is non-committal. He says, “Over the decades, that jail has been refurbished. So, it doesn’t look like what it used to be when Savarkar was serving his sentence there. We’ll be recreating that prison in a studio in Mumbai.”
Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra to wrap up The Sky is Pink by March end?
8:13 AM
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 21, 2019)
Farhan kicks off the last schedule of the film on March 1 with an eight-day shoot in Mumbai, after which the team moves on to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for seven days. “Priyanka and Zaira Wasim, who plays their daughter in the film, will join him. They will film a wedding sequence in the Andamans, while the Mumbai portions are set on the streets,” said a source close to the development.
Shonali is aiming to wrap up the film by March-end, which will be followed by work on the final edit. The film is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur along with the Golden Globe-nominated Ivanhoe Pictures. It is inspired by the late motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary, who was born with an immune deficiency disorder and was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis at 13.
After finishing his work on the slice-oflife film, Farhan will jump into prep for Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra’s upcoming sports film, Toofan, which sees him in the role of a boxer. Currently in the pre-production stage, the sports-drama will go on the floors by the year-end. “It entails a prolonged training session for the actor for over six months, as the role demands him to be authentic with his moves. Apart from boxing, Farhan will hit the gym for rigorous training to acquire a body type like a real-life boxer,” the source concludes.
Tom Alter's last film to be released as a TV series
8:36 AM
Over 10 months after his demise, a film in which the thespian explored the Andamans, has been converted into a series and is now headed to TV
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 13, 2018)
Six years ago, Tom Alter who succumbed to skin cancer on September 29, 2017, had shot for a film exploring the Andamans. Now, the project Andamans - Jewels Of The Sea, has been revived as a TV series. It will be aired on Epic channel
“Besides the North and South Andamans, we also explored Ross Island, where the British has set up base to rule over the island, and travel through forests inhabited by the local tribes. Tom also went through every nook and cranny of the infamous Andaman jail and visited the famous Havelock and Neill Islands, which are a major tourist attraction, and the Radhanagar beach, considered one of the best beaches in the world,” Ganesh Shankar Raj, who had directed and produced the TV series told Mirror, adding that the late actor, being a good orator, would mouth off impromptu lines and come up with bright ideas on the location
It took the film’s team three-four months to shoot the underwater portions and a month to wrap up the remaining bits. On the decision of airing it as a show after Tom’s demise, Ganesh said, “The film is a part of his legacy; the younger generation is also familiar with him. Besides, the Andamans is such a beautiful place but many Indians still ask if they need a passport to go there. So, we thought it would be the right time to educate youngsters about this island they must visit at least once in their lifetime. This project is also a tribute to Tom.”
They had a 15-member crew with two camera setup and Ganesh admits it was challenging as Andamans has very unpredictable weather. “When it is raining you cannot travel from island to island as the sea becomes rough and boats and ships don’t operate. Our initial plan was to shoot for 20 days but due to the erratic weather we had to extend it to 30 days. Tom was with us for about half of the schedule,” he concluded.
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