Showing posts with label International Film Festival of India 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Film Festival of India 2015. Show all posts
A R Rahman on Aamir Khan's intolerance remark row-I too faced a similar situation
12:42 PM
Backing actor Aamir Khan, who has come under heavy criticism for his rising intolerance statement, Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman has said that he faced a similar situation sometimes back.
Speaking at National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) Film Bazaar at the 46th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) at Panaji, Rahman said, "I had gone through something similar a couple of months ago". He was referring to Mumbai-based Raza Academy's fatwa against him after he composed the music for Iranian film 'Muhammad: Messenger of God'.
Raza Academy had claimed that the title of the film disregarded the Prophet. Rahman had to face huge opposition from fringe groups and his shows in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were cancelled due to the controversy. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had even invited the celebrated singer, music composer to re-convert to Hinduism, saying it was time for his ghar wapsi.
Responding to a question regarding artists returning their awards in protest against what they described as growing intolerance, Rahman, was known as AS Dileep Kumar before he embraced Islam, said, "Everything should be done classily. I feel what people are doing is very poetic. We should set an example for the world because we come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi".
INDIA TODAY
People of our country are mature enough to know what they can & cannot watch-Rajyavardhan Rathore
8:05 AM
Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for I&B, addresses issues involving CBFC Chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani and the FTII, reveals that a new Cinematography Act is in the works and the plans to completely digitalise censorship by 2020
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 23, 2015)
The Ministry of Information
& Broadcasting (I&B) along with National Film Development
Corporation (NFDC) launched a 'Film Facilitation Office' at the Film
Bazaar on Saturday in Goa. Col.Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State
for I&B, unveiled the logo with a short campaign video of 'Film In
India', along the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In
India' campaign. Excerpts from the interview:
You met filmmakers in Mumbai earlier this year (Mirror, March 17) to discuss issues with the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Nothing has changed since with two kisses from the latest James Bond film, Spectre, reduced to half.
The main role of the CBFC is certification, not censorship. CBFC cannot give suggestions to film makers to cut scenes and change details. They can only certify a film. If the producer wants to make changes, he can make them himself. We are very clear on this.
Then how has the CBFC got away with ordering cuts to filmmakers?
The CBFC is an autonomous body of intelligent people from different walks of life. The government does not interfere with their day-to-day activities. Censorship should be according to the limitations of the programming codes of the Constitution of India which clearly states what the 'U', 'UA' and 'A' certificate stand for without propagating their ideologies or beliefs.
But the Cinematography Act has not changed since 1952...
The I&B Ministry is working on a new Act. The Justice Mudgal Committee is ready with the first draft. After taking more opinions from experts, we may put it out in the public domain.
There is also the issue of films and documentaries being banned frequently while a propaganda film made by the CBFC Chairperson, Pahlaj Nihalani, is being screened across mediums. Is that fair?
It's not purely only an I&B decision, there are other ministries involved. We need not be overly worried by such freak cases but need to focus on the positive ones instead. From my readings, several films which released in the past, when there was another party in power, also got different cuts. So please don't address this as a government agenda. You can be fair to the government of India in this respect at least.
I may not be precise on statistics but five months ago, it was mentioned that 200 films went to the CBFC and 175 were passed in the first instance itself. Out of the 25 that went to the Revising Committee, only one was not cleared. I am making this comparison only to emphasise that we are the better of the worse. And we are in the process of making the entire process faster and transparent.
How?
We are setting up an online process of certification wherein no CBFC member can decide the date on which a producer will screen his film so there is no pressure on him. It will be a transparent process that protects filmmakers' rights. Once our software improves, we might take the entire process online, whereby you don't have to meet or interact with anyone. We could achieve this in the next five years.
But currently fellow members are peeved that Pahlaj Nihalani is monopolising the CBFC, certifying films at his whims and fancies?
What you are saying is absolutely true. This news has reached the Mantralaya and the Board members are constantly updating us. The Board should work together and its actions should be in favour of films, the government and of course, the entertainment of the people. If this does not happen, the government will interfere. The people of our country are mature enough to know what they can and cannot watch.
During the opening ceremony of the 46th IFFI on Friday, two FTII students held placards and protested from the stands. The Goa police have been told to specifically keep an eye out for FTII students in Goa...
Jaitleyji (Arun Jaitley, Cabinet Minister for Information & Broadcasting) had said that at an international event like IFFI, “Bharat ki Chhavi“ should not be negatively affected by anyone from this country in any way. It was a small protest by two people but they spoilt this image and I was disappointed.
The protests have been going on since the last six months and there has been no outcome yet...
It takes time, it will get sorted out. (Laughs) I really like this about journalists that six months with this government is considered a very long time. But 60 years is not a long time, I appreciate this growing impatience. Right at the beginning, when stories were being spun around the FTII and that a certain ideology was being promoted, we took a stance. We asked filmmakers to start a trust and I, as the government representative, would fund them for the next five years, after which, for another five years, I would give them subsidies. Can the industry come and take over FTII? Where is the intention?
Simultaneously, a fund is being created for young filmmakers to travel to international film festivals with their projects...
Cinema is the greatest soft power of the country. We cannot let a bad administration bring down our strength. Films made in India can win awards across the globe. What they lack is campaign funding. Our prime minister immediately asked us to go ahead and plan it. The intention is there but do we have the know-how? I have been repeatedly saying that the film industry should come and discuss the creation of this new fund with me. The government will be the sponsors while filmmakers create content, select the movies and help our soft power take over the world.
Every year there is a session on 'Single Window Clearance' at IFFI, FICCI Frames, MAMI and every other film festival in India. Can we expect any changes this year?
The first and most important thing is that the attitude of the government officials within our ministries needs to change. For that we need to educate them so they know what it is like to have a film shot in India. We've had long discussions in-house and every day is a learning process. We will evolve and change policies. We may falter and get delayed over permissions, but that will not stop us. Over a period of time, with a single-window-clearance, we will sensitize all departments, with the central government encouraging the states. It will not hap pen immediately, but the intention is there. It will be done in a service fee structure and professionally, with time-bound responses from officials. I met the minister of foreign affairs in Mongolia a couple of months ago and I told him they might want to invite Indians to their beautiful country. He responded by saying all he needed to do was get one of our films filmed here.
What about red tapeism?
Bureaucracy in India has been known for its red tapeism, the point is to not to escape it, but face it. The prime minister has been saying that he will lay out a red carpet instead of red tapism.
Anil Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana swing a hit at IFFI 2015 opening ceremony
9:11 AM
IFFI kick-starts on a Bollywood high, Goa CM describes it as 'our very own beach festival'.
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 21, 2015)
The 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) kicked off at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium on the outskirts of Panaji in Goa to a packed house on Friday with plenty of song and dance. I&B cabinet minister Arun Jaitley who inaugurated the festival, and state minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, natty in a three-piece suit, were among the early birds. The Bollywood brigade, including chief guest Anil Kapoor, International jury head Shekhar Kapur, and Sonakshi Sinha, arrived fashionably late. Jaitley released the book on Dadasaheb Phalke award winners, Legends of Indian Silver Screen, in the presence of Sonakshi, actress Devika Bhise and filmmaker Kabir Khan.
Ayushmann Khurrana, who was the co-host with Aditi Rao Hydari, was a hit with the locals, as was chief guest Anil Kapoor. Also turning heads on the red carpet was Dev Patel, the lead of the fest's opening film, The Man Who Knew Infinity, also featuring Devika. The film's director, Matthew Brown, who had earlier overdosed on spicy pani puris at the IFFI Food Festival, was down with a stomach bug and arrived later.
Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar described IFFI as the Cannes (Film Festival) of India, "our own beach festival". Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja, who was honoured with the Centenary Award, asserted that music needs to be taught in every school and college. Earlier, he was seen conversing with Anil Kapoor who worked with Ilaiyaraaja in his first film as a leading man, Mani Ratnam's 1983 Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi.
"There are times when films are made and don't get commercial releases but film festivals give them recognition. I gave the Marrakech Film Festival a miss to be here. Unfortunately, I won't get to enjoy Goa on this trip as I have to be on the sets of my TV series, 24, from Sunday. But from now on I will come here every year," Kapoor told Mirror.
The actor met Shekhar Kapur warmly who teased him saying, "Thirty years on and you're still Mr India. You will never live it down, I'm sorry."
Kapur introduced the International Jury members, Michael Radford (UK), Julia Jentsch (Germany), Suha Arraf (Palestine) and Jeon Kyu-Hwan (South Korea). Seven Spanish filmmakers were also there as part of the fest's Country Focus.
Terence Lewis paid a tribute to Hindi films with a medley. The highlight of the event was Dev Patel greeting Slumdog Millionaire co-star Anil Kapoor with a bear hug, mouthing Kapoor's line from the film, "Who wants to be a millionaire..."
The real revelry came towards the end when many of the 7000-strong delegates grooved to "Bappa Morya", Dil Dhadakne Do's "Swing" and "Lahu Muh Lag Gaya" from Ram-Leela, among others. Anil Kapoor, who took off his jacket and threw it at Dev, grooved to "Lakhan" and "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga."
No Indian producer for Ramanujan biopic-Edward R Pressman
9:06 AM
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 21, 2015)
Matt Brown's gripping biopic, The Man Who Knew Infinity, based on the life of Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan, was the opening film at the 46th International Film Festival of India in Goa last evening. It received a standing ovation, just like it had at the Toronto International Film Festival and Zurich International Film Festival earlier this year.
And the entire unit, including Slumdog Millionnaire actor Dev Patel, who plays the title role and New York-based actress Devika Bhise who plays Ramanujan's wife, were teary-eyed by the response in Panjim.
Owing to the positive buzz, several Indian distributors have demanded that the film be released here one week prior to its international release on May 6, 2016. But the film's producer, Edward R Pressman, the filmmaker behind Leonardo DiCaprio's 2010 drama, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, is still shattered by the earlier response to the film.
"I visited India 10 years ago looking for financers. I visited every major film production house and studio in Mumbai. Everyone I met wanted me to produce a Star Wars for them. My business trip turned into a vacation and I flew back to London. My wife has visited India several times since but I waited till I was ready to show the reel 'Ramanujan' to India," says Edward.
Edward who had the rights to Robert Kanigel's book, The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan, revived the project in 2012. There were a dozen producers wanting the distribution rights across continents. "In the last few months, I even received funding from Indian filmmakers, but that was too late," he sighs.
The film follows the journey of Ramanujan, growing up in a poor family in Chennai, going to Cambridge University during the First World War and becoming a pioneer in mathematical theories under the guidance of his professor GH Hardy, played by Jeremy Irons.
Edward, who has produced over 80 films, hasn't given up on Indian filmmakers and looks at IFFI as a great platform to find new talent and partners. "It's a mix of what I really want to do and what can realistically be done. I wish I could have stayed here longer to explore more cinema," says Edward who flies back to the UK on Sunday.
Sanskrit film Priyamanasam to open Indian Panorama section at IFFI
7:34 AM
Writer-director Vinod Mankara is hoping for more support from the government for a pan-India, international release
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 17, 2015)
Vinod Mankara's Priyamanasam, the third feature film in Sanskrit to be ever made in India, is the opening film in the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, which kick-starts this Friday.
And even though the Film Federation of India (FFI) is fuming over this year's jury panel, headed by former actress and National Secretary of the BJP, Vani Tripathi, claiming that all the 20 members of the board are BJP representatives as against the usual practice of drawing members from the central and state government, and also the FFI, Vinod is delighted with the Board.
He asserts that his film, which highlights India's rich culture and heritage, is finally getting its due. "The Indian Panorama section at IFFI is a stepping stone to a budding filmmaker's career. The attention he receives at this festival is a platform for further discussion and an opportunity to be invited to festivals abroad. IFFI is visited by international film personalities and my film is already getting wider attention from all over the world," an elated Vinod told Mirror.
In the past, only two films - Adi Sankaracharya and Bhagavatgeeth - both directed by GV Iyer were made in Sanskrit. It took Vinod months to wrap up his film and he had a large team of language experts working on the script during the shooting, editing and dubbing.
The makers are now looking at a pan-India and international release, hoping for the government's backing. "When I announced this project, many ridiculed me, insisting it was a waste of time and money. I was told it would be impossible to market the film," recalls Vinod, who had planned to take the 'public funding' route if he couldn't find a producer.
Fortunately, Mathew Somatheeram, an entrepreneur running an Ayurveda business in Kerala, came on board simply for the love of cinema.
Priyamanasam is the real-life story of Unnayi Varrior, a 17th century poet from Kerala, who was the author of the incredibly romantic Kathakali composition Nalacharitham. "It portrays the trauma and travails of the poet as he struggles with his demons and writer's block," informs Vinod, who had earlier directed a documentary on the poet in 2008, which won him the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam Award. He signs off confidently, "The colours of Kathakali and the film's music will make viewers fall in love with the now-unheard Sanskrit."
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