Showing posts with label Mihir Bhuta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mihir Bhuta. Show all posts
"Safety is more important than passionate scenes": Intimate scenes could be a no-go in Bollywood?
8:28 AM
In the post Covid-19 era, physical or emotional intimate scenes could be a no-go in Bollywood
Shreya Mukherjee and Sonil Dedhia (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 18, 2020)
“Do phool takraayenge, aur hum samajh jaayenge,” quips actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik as he conjectures how romantic and intimate scenes could rewind to the ’70s and ’80s in the post Coronavirus era. But on a serious note, considering how new rules of on-screen intimacy — emotional and physical — are being outlined across the world in these times of social distancing, “safety is more important than passionate scenes,” says Kaushik.Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar had recently raised the topic about how the shooting of intimate scenarios in films will change after this pandemic.
And while actor Dia Mirza had a fitting reply, “Guru, the entire process of making a film is intimate!”, screenwriter-director Hitesh Kewalya says in a country like India, where we work shoulder-to-shoulder, “it’s difficult to maintain social distancing to begin with. It won’t be easy, but we’ve to find a way”, says the Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan director.
Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, who is working on Gangubai Kathiawadi, believes “physical and emotional intimate scenes can be managed” by putting the “actors, who’d be performing these scenes, in quarantine and monitoring their health before shooting, or with certain camera angles, and use of technology and visual effects”.Actor Kunal Kemmu gives his perspective by saying since he has a two and half year old daughter at home, he would like to check into a hotel till a schedule is completed. “It would cut off the risk of my family being affected even if there are any chances. Obviously, there is no clarity as to when we will start shooting but production houses are deciding on certain norms keeping in mind the safety of everyone,” he says.
Though intimate scenes often become talking points and generate interest, trade expert Atul Mohan feels not many “actors would be ready to take the risk” of doing such scenes. “We’ll have to avoid shooting such scenes,” he adds.Intimacy coordinator Amanda Cutting, who has worked on web series Mastram and also on an unaired prequel pilot for Game Of Thrones, says that protocols have already been put in place in Spain, Australia and Italy, and India could take a cue from them. “We’ll have to look at different options. Can intimacy be done without kissing? Absolutely. An intimate moment can be two people making eye-contact or a hand touching another hand which tells a passionate love story,” she says.
Action director Sham Kaushal says that change is the law of the nature and a lot of things are going to be different when it comes to how we approach the shoots now. “We’ll have to reinvent our working style and be cautious. Also, the technology is so advanced. We can take help of VFX to show a few things.”
Censor board member and writer Mihir Bhuta says regulations from the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health, in this regard are awaited. Bhuta, who is avoiding adding group scenes in his projects, adds, “Physical intimate scenes involves two people at a time. That can be done by getting them tested and quarantining them. But that’d be difficult for over 25 people on the set.”
PM Narendra Modi's life to get a small screen adaptation by OMG Oh My God director Umesh Shukla
8:17 AM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; February 13, 2019)
Almost like the flavour of the season, Indian politicians are ready to invade both big and small screens in abundance this election year. And as if three films to mark his laurels weren't enough, digitisation fan Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to get his own digital offering. mid-day has learnt that the politician's life will get a small screen adaptation by filmmaker Umesh Shukla, and writer and Censor Board member Mihir Bhuta.Shukla tells mid-day that the 10-episode Eros Now series will not feature any celebrated faces. "The PM's story is the biggest star. If we cast a known face, the viewer will not connect with the story, and will search for the actor. So, we have cast good actors, instead," he says of the project that was "silently" under works for a year-and-a-half. "Music director Salim-Sulaiman are working on the series."
Touting his venture to be a window to tracing Modi's rise to power, Bhuta reveals that filming has already kicked off in the "real locations where Modi ji lived". "I am not interested in showcasing his work or political [agendas]. I'm interested in his personality. He has an amazing sense of humour, which few know about. He also has a deep interest in spirituality, not religion. The show follows his childhood and youth, the factors that influenced him, the way he was before, and how he emerged to be the person he is today. It concludes with him taking oath as the prime minister of India. We have started shooting in rural Gujarat, and are currently filming portions involving his youth, spent in Siddhpur and Vadnagar."
At Shukla's behest, the team employed three actors to play the PM across different stages of his life. Mahesh Thakur is set to play the politician from his journey to becoming the PM of India after his appointment as Gujarat CM. As a young adult, Modi will be depicted in the show by Ashish Sharma, Bhuta says.
He asserts that the show's release during elections is merely coincidental, and his film is unlikely to alter political opinions. Producer Sanjay Trivedi hopes to complete production work by March 15. "Everybody associated with this project believes it must reach all kinds of viewers."
Neeraj Vora passes away; for once, the timing is off
7:59 AM
Having
learnt comic timing and wit from his classical musician father, Neeraj
Vora wrote some of Hindi cinema’s funniest films, but he had much more
than just comedy to offer
Malay Desai (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 15, 2017)
Neeraj Vora: January 22, 1963 to December 14, 2017
For a man who got his heart to do much of his writing, acting and music, Neeraj Vora did not take utmost care of it. When he went down after his first cardiac arrest, he was just over 40 and while at Nanavati Hospital, was petrified to face his father, expecting a verbal lashing. When Vinayak Vora, inventor of the taar-shehnai and an accomplished name in classical music and All India Radio circles, strode in to the ICU, he asked son Neeraj with a straight face, “Peli Blue Label whisky kya chhe? Ghare thodak mitro ne aapva thay… te darmyan tu sajo thai ne bahar aav” (‘Where is that whisky bottle? I have a few friends over to share with… while you get better and come back’) and walked out.
Many believe Vora, besides music, also picked his wit and comic timing from his teetotaller father, who, on that occasion, knowing that Neeraj would be fearful, diffused the tension. The father-son equation had had many such anxious moments over the years, especially after Vora opted for a career in cinema over a formal education in music. “When Neeraj showed his SSC report card to his father, Vinayakbhai told him to go find a masterjee and hone his musical talent. But he already had other ideas… he delved into the college theatre circuit and the talented musician that he was, gave music tuitions to fund his studies,” reminisces writer and theatre veteran Naushil Mehta, who in the ’80s would cast Vora in his plays and later co-write Baazi (1995) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) with him.
For all the time that Vora spent at Mithibai and NM Colleges, not much was inside classrooms, as he was busy getting an informal education in writing, acting and directing plays for theatre festivals. “He was my first friend at Mithibai, in 1982. We grew closer over the sheer love of plays and films… and practically lived with each other for two years. The college theatre scene back then was formidable, and with all the writing and rehearsing we were doing, there was barely any time to attend lectures!” recalls Mihir Bhuta, a playwright with whom Vora later created Aflatoon, one of Gujarati stage’s most popular comedies, and the inspiration behind Rohit Shetty’s first Golmaal film. “I had lost touch with him by the time the film released… I didn’t even know he was involved. But the gem that he was, he called me out-of-the-blue to offer me a share of the remuneration,” Bhuta adds.
Intercollegiate theatre must have indeed been formidable then, because alongside Vora, the platform gave rise to talents such as Paresh Rawal, Ashutosh Gowariker and Aamir Khan. Not too long after college, Gowariker and Khan would be part of Vora’s acting debut, Ketan Mehta’s Holi (1985), while Rawal would be a lifelong friend and collaborator. “He always wanted to be an actor, and thanks to his musical knowhow, his timing would be fantastic,” Mehta feels, recalling that Vora (with brother Uttank) also went on to compose music for Gowariker’s directorial debut, Pehla Nasha (1993). The duo of Vinayak Vora’s sons, Neeraj-Uttank, would become the go-to composers for several producers of Gujarati theatre, but it was Neeraj who simultaneously made strides in Hindi cinema’s screen-writing space. With Ram Gopal Verma’s iconic hit Rangeela (1995) and Abbas Mastan’s comic caper Baadshah (1999), he made it to the big league as one of the most promising comedy writers.
There would, however, be one film which would perfectly capture Vora’s streak of madness, and that was Hera Pheri (2000), for which he wrote the dialogues and screenplay. “The two Hera Pheri films (Neeraj went on to direct the sequel, Phir Hera Pheri in 2006) have some of the craziest, funniest writing of Hindi cinema. We watched Hera Pheri with him and I remember my son, just five then, was falling out of his seat laughing,” Mehta shares.
Vora may have made a remarkable career with his comic acting and screen-writing (he wrote dialogues and screenplay for many of Rohit Shetty’s and Priyadarshan’s laugh riots, which went on to become money spinners), but his old-timer friends feel his talent went way beyond just comedy. “Neeraj had a great sense of storytelling and drama. What made Aflatoon such a massive hit was not just its funny moments, but the dark and heart-wrenching climax that he created. It stayed with the audience for years,” Bhuta says, adding, “Also, he’d never stop improving his work. After just three-four shows of Aflatoon, he told me ‘yaar majha nathi avti’ (‘it’s not fun yet’) and added a dance sequence which was a superhit.”
Among the ones who’d always show all emotions but never self pity, Vora refrained from writing characters who would wallow in defeat. “‘Hero hai yaar, aisa kaise kar sakta hai?’ he would object if he would come by a core character turning to drinking or something. He had a problem with such storylines,” Bhuta shares. It would have been this spirit of liveliness and detest toward self pity in Vora that kept him going for a year after his last cardiac arrest, and although he was given the best of care by his film-maker friend Firoz Nadiadwala, he never fully recovered from the subsequent coma. Perhaps he gave in early because on this occasion, he did not have his father around to make him laugh, the man who had put up a poster reading ‘Vinayak Vora Marg’ in the passage of their home, jokingly claiming that if nobody named a street after him after he died, there was always this one. Neerajbhai, this time, your timing is off.
For a man who got his heart to do much of his writing, acting and music, Neeraj Vora did not take utmost care of it. When he went down after his first cardiac arrest, he was just over 40 and while at Nanavati Hospital, was petrified to face his father, expecting a verbal lashing. When Vinayak Vora, inventor of the taar-shehnai and an accomplished name in classical music and All India Radio circles, strode in to the ICU, he asked son Neeraj with a straight face, “Peli Blue Label whisky kya chhe? Ghare thodak mitro ne aapva thay… te darmyan tu sajo thai ne bahar aav” (‘Where is that whisky bottle? I have a few friends over to share with… while you get better and come back’) and walked out.
Many believe Vora, besides music, also picked his wit and comic timing from his teetotaller father, who, on that occasion, knowing that Neeraj would be fearful, diffused the tension. The father-son equation had had many such anxious moments over the years, especially after Vora opted for a career in cinema over a formal education in music. “When Neeraj showed his SSC report card to his father, Vinayakbhai told him to go find a masterjee and hone his musical talent. But he already had other ideas… he delved into the college theatre circuit and the talented musician that he was, gave music tuitions to fund his studies,” reminisces writer and theatre veteran Naushil Mehta, who in the ’80s would cast Vora in his plays and later co-write Baazi (1995) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) with him.
For all the time that Vora spent at Mithibai and NM Colleges, not much was inside classrooms, as he was busy getting an informal education in writing, acting and directing plays for theatre festivals. “He was my first friend at Mithibai, in 1982. We grew closer over the sheer love of plays and films… and practically lived with each other for two years. The college theatre scene back then was formidable, and with all the writing and rehearsing we were doing, there was barely any time to attend lectures!” recalls Mihir Bhuta, a playwright with whom Vora later created Aflatoon, one of Gujarati stage’s most popular comedies, and the inspiration behind Rohit Shetty’s first Golmaal film. “I had lost touch with him by the time the film released… I didn’t even know he was involved. But the gem that he was, he called me out-of-the-blue to offer me a share of the remuneration,” Bhuta adds.
Intercollegiate theatre must have indeed been formidable then, because alongside Vora, the platform gave rise to talents such as Paresh Rawal, Ashutosh Gowariker and Aamir Khan. Not too long after college, Gowariker and Khan would be part of Vora’s acting debut, Ketan Mehta’s Holi (1985), while Rawal would be a lifelong friend and collaborator. “He always wanted to be an actor, and thanks to his musical knowhow, his timing would be fantastic,” Mehta feels, recalling that Vora (with brother Uttank) also went on to compose music for Gowariker’s directorial debut, Pehla Nasha (1993). The duo of Vinayak Vora’s sons, Neeraj-Uttank, would become the go-to composers for several producers of Gujarati theatre, but it was Neeraj who simultaneously made strides in Hindi cinema’s screen-writing space. With Ram Gopal Verma’s iconic hit Rangeela (1995) and Abbas Mastan’s comic caper Baadshah (1999), he made it to the big league as one of the most promising comedy writers.
There would, however, be one film which would perfectly capture Vora’s streak of madness, and that was Hera Pheri (2000), for which he wrote the dialogues and screenplay. “The two Hera Pheri films (Neeraj went on to direct the sequel, Phir Hera Pheri in 2006) have some of the craziest, funniest writing of Hindi cinema. We watched Hera Pheri with him and I remember my son, just five then, was falling out of his seat laughing,” Mehta shares.
Vora may have made a remarkable career with his comic acting and screen-writing (he wrote dialogues and screenplay for many of Rohit Shetty’s and Priyadarshan’s laugh riots, which went on to become money spinners), but his old-timer friends feel his talent went way beyond just comedy. “Neeraj had a great sense of storytelling and drama. What made Aflatoon such a massive hit was not just its funny moments, but the dark and heart-wrenching climax that he created. It stayed with the audience for years,” Bhuta says, adding, “Also, he’d never stop improving his work. After just three-four shows of Aflatoon, he told me ‘yaar majha nathi avti’ (‘it’s not fun yet’) and added a dance sequence which was a superhit.”
Among the ones who’d always show all emotions but never self pity, Vora refrained from writing characters who would wallow in defeat. “‘Hero hai yaar, aisa kaise kar sakta hai?’ he would object if he would come by a core character turning to drinking or something. He had a problem with such storylines,” Bhuta shares. It would have been this spirit of liveliness and detest toward self pity in Vora that kept him going for a year after his last cardiac arrest, and although he was given the best of care by his film-maker friend Firoz Nadiadwala, he never fully recovered from the subsequent coma. Perhaps he gave in early because on this occasion, he did not have his father around to make him laugh, the man who had put up a poster reading ‘Vinayak Vora Marg’ in the passage of their home, jokingly claiming that if nobody named a street after him after he died, there was always this one. Neerajbhai, this time, your timing is off.
Meet the new members of Censor Board under chairmanship of Prasoon Joshi
7:57 AM
Prasoon Joshi’s newly inducted team of 12 boasts of Padma Shri awardees and acclaimed writers
MUMBAI MIRROR (August 12, 2017)
Gautami Tadimalla, Actress-designer
Acclaimed South Indian actress, costume designer and winner of two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for her work in Namma Ooru Poovatha and most recently, Vishwaroopam.
Narendra Kohli, Author
Delhi-based author credited with reinventing the ancient forms of writing into modern prose. Regarded as a pioneer of literary works based on the Puranas. Owing to his acclaimed contribution to literature since 1975, the period is referred to as the Kohli Era in Hindi literary circles.
Naresh Chandra Lal, Filmmaker-Activist
National School of Drama alumnus, Padma Shri and founder of Andaman People Theatre Association (APTA). Organized street plays on alcoholism, polio AIDS, family planning, women empowerment and sanitation in 1998 and was awarded the Bharat Jyoti Award and the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal for his patriotic-drama, Gandhi – The Mahatma.
Neil Herbert Nongkynrih, Musician-pianist
Award winning concert pianist from Shillong and founder, mentor and conductor of Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC), Neil won the reality TV show, India’s Got Talent in 2010 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.
Vivek Agnihotri, filmmaker
Filmmaker-activist, whose last release, Buddha In a Traffic Jam ran into controversy after it was denied a screening by the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s administration due to the unstable political atmosphere. The film was later invited by students and subsequently screened to faculty and politicians and wellreceived nationally.
Waman Kendre, Academician
Director of the National School of Drama (NSD), National Award-winner for Theatre Direction in recognition of his work for the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Eight-time winner of Maharashtra Government Award for Theatre.
Vidya Balan, Actress
Padma Shri, National Award and five-time Filmfare Award-winning actress who established herself as an A-lister in 2011 with the commercially successful heroine-centric films No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture. Went on to capitalise on the hits with 2012 thriller, Kahaani.
T S Nagabharana, Director
Pioneer of parallel cinema in Kannada films, winner of nine National awards and founder of the acclaimed theatre organisation called Benaka.
Ramesh Patange, Journalist-author, member of CBFC
A senior member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and founder of Samarasata Manch. Authored 40 books as the foundingeditor of a Marathi weekly from 1984 to 2009.
Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Actress, member of CBFC
Former National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the former actress has featured in films like Chalte Chalte and Dushman. Has brieflly served as visiting faculty at the NSD and is actively involved with the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama.
Jeevitha Rajasekhar, Actress
Actress and filmmaker, known for the acclaimed South Indian films Ankusham, Aahuthi and Dharma Pathni.
Mihir Bhuta, screenwriter, member of CBFC
Writer of the acclaimed 1996 Marathi language TV Series, Maharath, and winner of the ITA Award for best dialogue. Wrote the Gujarati play, Aflatoon, which inspired the first instalment of the Golmaal franchise.
Gautami Tadimalla, Actress-designer
Acclaimed South Indian actress, costume designer and winner of two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for her work in Namma Ooru Poovatha and most recently, Vishwaroopam.
Narendra Kohli, Author
Delhi-based author credited with reinventing the ancient forms of writing into modern prose. Regarded as a pioneer of literary works based on the Puranas. Owing to his acclaimed contribution to literature since 1975, the period is referred to as the Kohli Era in Hindi literary circles.
Naresh Chandra Lal, Filmmaker-Activist
National School of Drama alumnus, Padma Shri and founder of Andaman People Theatre Association (APTA). Organized street plays on alcoholism, polio AIDS, family planning, women empowerment and sanitation in 1998 and was awarded the Bharat Jyoti Award and the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal for his patriotic-drama, Gandhi – The Mahatma.
Neil Herbert Nongkynrih, Musician-pianist
Award winning concert pianist from Shillong and founder, mentor and conductor of Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC), Neil won the reality TV show, India’s Got Talent in 2010 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.
Vivek Agnihotri, filmmaker
Filmmaker-activist, whose last release, Buddha In a Traffic Jam ran into controversy after it was denied a screening by the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s administration due to the unstable political atmosphere. The film was later invited by students and subsequently screened to faculty and politicians and wellreceived nationally.
Waman Kendre, Academician
Director of the National School of Drama (NSD), National Award-winner for Theatre Direction in recognition of his work for the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Eight-time winner of Maharashtra Government Award for Theatre.
Vidya Balan, Actress
Padma Shri, National Award and five-time Filmfare Award-winning actress who established herself as an A-lister in 2011 with the commercially successful heroine-centric films No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture. Went on to capitalise on the hits with 2012 thriller, Kahaani.
T S Nagabharana, Director
Pioneer of parallel cinema in Kannada films, winner of nine National awards and founder of the acclaimed theatre organisation called Benaka.
Ramesh Patange, Journalist-author, member of CBFC
A senior member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and founder of Samarasata Manch. Authored 40 books as the foundingeditor of a Marathi weekly from 1984 to 2009.
Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Actress, member of CBFC
Former National Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the former actress has featured in films like Chalte Chalte and Dushman. Has brieflly served as visiting faculty at the NSD and is actively involved with the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama.
Jeevitha Rajasekhar, Actress
Actress and filmmaker, known for the acclaimed South Indian films Ankusham, Aahuthi and Dharma Pathni.
Mihir Bhuta, screenwriter, member of CBFC
Writer of the acclaimed 1996 Marathi language TV Series, Maharath, and winner of the ITA Award for best dialogue. Wrote the Gujarati play, Aflatoon, which inspired the first instalment of the Golmaal franchise.
Pahlaj Nihalani serves on the Revising Committee for Bombay Velvet; complaint filed
8:04 AM
In a major breach, Board Chairperson chose members who initially denied Bombay Velvet a U/A certificate, to serve on Revising Committee
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 12, 2015)
Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet was cleared with a U/A certificate last
Friday by the Revising Committee (RC), after the Examining Committee
(EC) argued that excessive violence and abusive language made it apt for
adult viewing. Now, in a letter, a copy of which is with Mirror, it has
been revealed that in a complete breach of rules, the RC had the same
members (among a few others) who were on the EC. The screening was
presided over by CBFC Chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani who insisted on three
cuts - he snipped a kiss between Ranbir and Anushka, and insisted on
editing out the words, 'son of a bitch' and 'haraamzaada'. Senior Board member, Nandini Sardesai told Mirror she has filed a complaint against Nihalani and his autocratic ways with the Information & Broadcasting Ministry. She's also written to Union I&B Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
In mid-March, Rathore in a closed-door meeting with Bollywood bigwigs had stated that the CBFC's job is "not censorship, but certification" and Nihalani had "no business sitting in on Examining or Revising Committee screenings." Clearly, his lip-service hasn't translated into action. "It is unprecedented. Never in the history of CBFC has the RC had the same members as the EC. Nihalani claims he's following the book, but he's been flouting rules left, right and centre," says an aggrieved Sardesai who after reading the Mirror report about the film going to the RC, requested Nihalani if she could chair the screening. "A day before the screening, he told me he isn't aware when it's happening, then presides over it. I've taken the matter up with the Ministry. There has to be a solution to this autocratic nightmare."
Pahlaj Nihalani chose not to respond.
-------------------------------
Sonup Sahadevan (MID-DAY; May 12, 2015)
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Pahlaj Nihalani finds himself in hot waters yet again for alleged violation of norms related to film screenings.
Nandini Sardesai, a senior member of the board’s revising committee (RC), has written to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry accusing Nihalani of keeping them in the dark about Bombay Velvet’s screening while chairing it personally.
The Board’s examining committee had initially seen the film and suggested a few cuts. The makers then appealed for a revision and the screening was allegedly not conducted as per rules.
In a series of e-mails written to the Minister of State for I& B Rajyavardhan Rathore, a copy of which is with midday, Sardesai states that she had informed Nihalani thrice about her availability to be part of the screening, but was not called. She later found out that the revision preview was attended by the examining committee members all over again and not those from the RC — which includes her, Ashoke Pandit, Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Mihir Bhuta and a few others.
Expressing her grouse, Sardesai tells hitlist, “The chairperson comes into the picture only when there is a disagreement among the RC members. But all rules are being bypassed here. The same set of members of the examining committee along with Nihalani sit for revision screenings. The minister had clearly said the last time that the CBFC is a body where decisions and policy are framed together, not an institution to be governed by one person.”
Meanwhile, Nihalani did not respond to our calls or text messages.
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