Showing posts with label Sapna Bhavnani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sapna Bhavnani. Show all posts
Sapna Bhavnani cancels Kolkata leg of Wench Film Festival after I&B ministry pulls SRFTI as venue
8:31 AM
Sapna Bhavnani forced to cancel Kolkata leg of Wench Film Festival after I&B Ministry removes Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute as its venue
Priyanka Sharma (MID-DAY; February 19, 2026)
If things had gone as planned, Sapna Bhavnani would be unveiling the sixth edition of the Wench Film Festival at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata today. But events over the past week have compelled the filmmaker to cancel the Kolkata leg of the horror film festival.
Things came undone a week ago when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) shared a few updates with her, which included the removal of SRFTI as the venue.
“On February 11, SRFTI’s PR manager informed me that they were told to put all festival activities on hold. A day later, my team member got an email from the I&B ministry in which they had mentioned the two films that they didn’t clear for screening. Also, they removed SRFTI as the venue. We never heard directly from the institute,” she shared.
With little time to arrange a new venue, Bhavnani had to cancel the screenings. She added, “We did everything as per protocol. It’s sad, especially since it’s a film school. I don’t know what pressure they have given in to.”
My objection lies in the fact that Chingum was made without my consent-Srinivas Annamraju
8:26 AM
Writer Srinivas Annamraju files copyright infringement case against Chingum director Mihir Fadnavis; claims movie among two projects conceived by him that Fadnavis tried to pass off as his own
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 24, 2021)
Writer Srinivas Annamraju has filed a copyright infringement case against writer-director Mihir Fadnavis, former development head of the now-defunct Phantom Films, over the latter’s upcoming movie, Chingum. As stated in his suit to the Bombay High Court, Annamraju has alleged that the story, written by him along with Fadnavis, has been developed into a feature film without his permission.
“My objection lies in the fact that Chingum was made without my consent. Unless J K Rowling consents, can [Harry Potter And The] Prisoner Of Azkaban be made into a movie?” asks Annamraju, alleging that this isn’t the first time Fadnavis has played foul with him.
According to his account, the duo had first met in 2015 for a project that was to mark the collaboration of Blumhouse Productions and Phantom Films. Among the many ideas discussed in the following years, Kalkut was lapped up by Phantom Films and hairstylist-producer Sapna Bhavnani in 2018. However, in 2019, the official announcement of Kalkut bore only Fadnavis’s name as the writer. “Kalkut’s press release was my first wake-up call. [I realised] Mihir had misled me into trusting him. I got confirmation [from some collaborators] in November-December 2019 that my name had been secretly removed from the documents.”
Annamraju claims Fadnavis introduced him as a co-writer to producers in June 2019 only after he confronted the latter. Soon, Bhavnani exited from the project in December 2019, citing Fadnavis’s unethical conduct as the reason. This led to the project being shelved. Bhavnani corroborated the chain of events to mid-day.
In the interim, Annamraju alleges that he realised that Fadnavis had edited his name from several documents and “put his own name before sending them to eminent studios all over the world.”
Another bone of contention was Chingum. Annamraju says that he was told of the project’s development only four days before it was to roll in November 2019. He apparently approached producer Vikramaditya Motwane in December 2019, who, after hearing his account, promised to dissociate himself from Fadnavis and inform other collaborators. Since then, Annamraju was under the impression that the film was put on the backburner until he saw, earlier this month, that the project was headed to the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. It has been selected at BiFan Festival South Korea.
While he has been credited as one of the writers, neither has he received remuneration for the project, nor was he kept in the loop. “We’ve filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court, and I pray for justice from the Honourable Judge.”
mid-day reached out to Fadnavis, who declined to comment on the story.
Jammu & Kashmir film body to vet scripts before giving permission to shoot; filmmakers dissect the policy
7:57 AM
A still from Janaan, a music video which was a collaboration between hairstylist-filmmaker Sapna Moti Bhavnani and Kashmiri folk musician Noor Mohammad. The song was shot in the Valley
As the J&K film body releases a set of policies that include vetting scripts before giving permission to shoot in the Valley, filmmakers dissect the implications of the move
Anju Maskeri (MID-DAY; August 22, 2021)
Last September, hairstylist and filmmaker Sapna Moti Bhavnani visited Kashmir to assist a local Sufi musician, Noor Mohammad, with his music video. “He wanted me to star in it. It was such a soulful Kashmiri song that I decided to co-produce it,” says Bhavnani, who divides her time between Mumbai and Kamshet. The track, titled Janaan, promoted by Zee Music, has received 2.4 million hits in the last nine months. During her stay in the valley last year, Bhavnani also visited Baramulla, reportedly one of the volatile areas in the state, to give a talk “on being a hajaam”. “Many people on Twitter, including locals, told me not to go [to Baramulla] , but I went ahead and it was a great session. Kashmir embraced me like I was one of its own.” Buoyed by her experience, she planned a “horror” movie set in the Valley for which a script is ready. But, for that, Bhavnani will now need a green signal from the state.
In a recent move, two years after the reading down of Article 370, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, announced a new “film policy” for the Union Territory. The Jammu and Kashmir Film Development Council’s (KFDC) website states that the synopsis and script of a film, complete with dialogues, will have to be submitted by a filmmaker who is seeking shooting approvals and availing subsidies. The website clarifies that the “script will be evaluated by an expert from a panel constituted by the Union Territory of the Jammu and Kashmir Film Cell. It adds that security arrangements for “approved filmmakers” will be made free of cost.
Incidentally, the Uttar Pradesh government too, has posted similar rules on the website of Film Bandhu, Uttar Pradesh, where filmmakers seeking shooting approvals in the northern state are required to get their scripts and dialogues vetted by the authorities. The requirement earlier applied only if the filmmaker was seeking subsidies.
Bhavnani is baffled by the development. “I don’t see the logic,” she says. “The state wanting to vet your script and decide whether you’re showing them in a good or bad light goes against all forms of artistic freedom, which is all that filmmakers really want.”
Her decision to shoot the film in Kashmir stems from her need to capture its ethereal landscape, which she says lends itself to her narrative. “My characters have nothing to do with Kashmir or Kashmiris. I’m simply keen to use the Valley as a location. And to be honest, the state could really do with more tourism at this point. The pandemic has worsened an already bad economy.”
Director Aijaz Khan who made Hamid, a cinematic adaptation of the play Phone No. 786 by Mohammed Amin Bhat, seconds Bhavnani’s opinion. “When we have a Censor Board to vet commercial films after they have been completed, why do we need to get the script evaluated at the start just to get permission to shoot? There’s no need for state intervention at this stage. I think it’s not fair at all,”
Khan, whose 2018 film about seven-year-old Hamid went on to win a National Award in 2019. It’s the story of a boy, whose carpenter father disappears. After he learns that 786 is God’s number, he decides to dial so that God can connect him with his father.
Khan was mulling on filming a trilogy on Kashmir, but is now rethinking his decision. Bhavnani believes the move will sting indie filmmakers more than their commercial counterparts because they have a host of other hurdles to surmount, including arranging finances and finding a platform to release their films.
What’s welcome, however, says Khan, is the introduction of the single window clearance mechanism by the KFDC, which will ensure filmmakers don’t need to run from pillar to post to secure permissions. “This, I think, is wonderful because I remember how much my crew and I had to run around while shooting Hamid. We had to figure out with the local line producers whether a certain area is safe to shoot. Before shooting in Badarkot, Tangmarg, we checked whether any riots had taken place, because the situation can worsen quite quickly there. The other good thing they’ve done is made provisions for resources and equipment for outdoor filming.”
According to filmmaker Shyam Kishore, it’s documentary filmmakers who will be the worst hit. “Docus are rooted in reality and you want to get as close to facts as possible, whether past or present, so this policy could make it harder for non-fiction storytellers.”
In 2017, Kishore shot a documentary in Pahalgam with his Kashmiri Pandit actor friends, Ashwath Bhatt and Amit Wanchoo. “The story is about two Kashmiri Pandits, Bhatt and Wanchoo — one who was part of the mass exodus of the community in 1990, and the other who chose to stay back in the Valley.” He also points to certain “grey areas’ in the newly-introduced policies such as the mention of grants being provided for films produced to patronise One Nation, Best Nation (Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat), on the website.
This statement is open to interpretation, he thinks. “Does this mean you need to pander to the government’s ideology? And what if your idea of ek Bharat is different from theirs? It’s tricky.”
He says some restrictions such as making certain locations out of bounds for filmmakers, are understandable and even necessary to maintain the sanctity of the place. “The KFDC has created an exhaustive list of shooting locations accessible to filmmakers. I’ve seen the websites of both the UP and Jharkhand governments, which also have a similar film policy, and they are not as thorough and detailed. The KFDC also assures a revert within the shortest time [two to four weeks after submitting the complete application on the Single Window Portal].”
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir will now promote the establishment of film studios and processing laboratories until a fully active film city is established in the state, and encourage owners to reopen closed cinemas.
Mushtaaque Ali Ahmed is one of the leading filmmakers and festivals directors from the Valley. Supportive of the new policy, he feels vetting is a minor quibble if you look at the overall picture. “What I feel is that they [the authorities] want Kashmir to be portrayed in a positive way and not as a state battling unrest. Therefore, the idea is to eliminate any idea that perpetuates this at the very outset.” He, however, admits that filmmakers will need to be mindful of the subjects they take on.
“Yes, controversial subjects such as militancy or extra-judicial killings might be tough subjects to tackle now.”
One reaction since the first look trial was that of shock, says Vikram Gaikwad on Lara Dutta's look in Bellbottom
8:41 AM
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 12, 2021)
When the trailer of Akshay Kumar’s BellBottom was launched in Delhi, Lara Dutta Bhupathi turned out to be the surprise package in it. The actress plays former prime minister late Indira Gandhi in the spy -drama set in the 80s. The movie revolves around the hijack of an aircraft and a covert mission to rescue passengers. Lara’s make-up, loaded with prosthetic elements, did the trick for her. Talking about it, National Award-winning makeup artist Vikram Gaikwad, says, “It’s a humongous responsibility to design the look of characters for a film set in a specific period. And it’s an even bigger responsibility when you are recreating the personality of a powerful figure like Indira Gandhi.”
Elaborating on the process of putting together Lara’s look, Vikram says, “BellBottom is a period film, which means all the characters in the movie belong to a certain era and have to look a certain way. For Lara’s look, we researched pictures and videos of Indira ji. She has three prominent features —eyebrows, nose, and a face cut, along with a particular hairstyle. We changed the shape and style of Lara’s eyebrows to make them look more dominant. We got prosthetics done on the nose and the wig was worked out in fine detail. Also, the wrinkles were created with a lot of shading work. It took the team around two to three trials before the shooting started. Each make-up session took about 3 hours. Make-up like this cannot happen without the dedication and cooperation of the artiste.”
Talking about the reactions to Lara’s look, Vikram says, “There is one reaction that has been consistent from the beginning — shock! During the first trial when Lara saw herself in the get-up, she was unable to find her old self. She was convinced about the look and that was very important for me. Everyone associated with the film was surprised. Even people close to Lara could not identify her.”
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Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 12, 2021)
People are going absolutely gaga over how actor Lara Dutta Bhupathi has transformed into late politician Indira Gandhi for the upcoming thriller BellBottom. And major credit for it goes to makeup expert Vikram Gaikwad. Calling it a “humongous responsibility”, the three-time National Film Award-winning makeup artiste says, “The result you see is the outcome of a very thorough process. I read the script, then the casting and direction team informed us that Lara is going to perform as Indira Gandhi.”
Thus began the challenge, as Gaikwad felt that there’s no likeness between their faces. “However, Lara is a brilliant actor, so I had to do my best to deliver the look,” he explains, adding, “We’ve changed the style and shape of Lara’s eyebrows and done prosthetics on her nose.”
Two-three trials were done before the shooting began, and each makeup session took three hours. And the end result “shocked everyone” to say the least, according to Gaikwad. “There’s one reaction that kept coming since the beginning, and that was of shock. The most important thing is that Lara, Akshay (Kumar), Ranjit (Tiwari; director) and Jackky (Bhagnani; producer) trusted me and my team,” he adds.
While people were stunned with Dutta’s look, hair stylist Sapna Bhavnani tweeted her disappointment: “Such a bad wig though, can see the lining. But of course, you wouldn’t as you’re not a hair person...” Point this out and Gaikwad says it is not “worth commenting”.
Instagram restricts activities of Sapna Bhavnani's Wench Film Festival over it's name
8:02 AM
Ahead of Sapna Bhavnani rolling out Wench Film Festival, India’s first women directors’ movie fest, Instagram bars its account due to ‘objectionable’ name
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 24, 2021)
When Sapna Bhavnani christened India’s first female-directors-only indie film gala Wench Film Festival, she hoped to spark a dialogue about how sexism influences our everyday language. But the hair stylist-artist-producer did not expect social media giant Instagram to be among the first to raise an objection. Over the past two days, the social media platform has restricted the activities of the film festival’s account.
“Last year, Facebook had restricted my production house’s account because of the term ‘wench’. It took three months of persistent conversation with the US office to fix that. Now, I am facing the same issue with the festival’s Instagram page. We are unable to reach out to our audience because we can’t follow people back,” says Bhavnani. The film festival, partnered by mid-day, is slated to kick off on March 6.
Bhavnani asserts that in naming the festival and her studio thus, she hoped to battle the negative connotation that ‘wench’ has acquired over the decades. With its roots in Old and early Middle English, the term originally meant a female infant or a young unmarried woman. However, over time, it came to designate a servant, but the disempowered status was tied to servitude rather than femininity or sexuality.
She notes that its current usage as a derogatory term for a woman is another example of our sexist society. “Wench means a young girl, not what it has colloquially come to be known as. When I was naming the studio, I asked Twitterati for two terms used to derogate women. Wench, witch and spinster are three words with problematic connotations. I chose ‘wench’ because I wanted to subvert its connotation. The effort to see our intention is lacking in these social media sites.”
Silence from Imran Khan not acceptable response-Sapna Bhavnani
7:58 AM
Pakistani fans join forces to help Sapna Bhavnani procure a visa for documentary screening across the border
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 6, 2019)
Elated as she is that Sindhustan (below) earned praise at the New York Indian Film Festival, Sapna Bhavnani feels her documentary is incomplete without a visit to Sindh. Despite being denied the visa on two prior occasions, the hairstylist-director is undeterred in taking her project across the border. After she tweeted to prime minister Imran Khan to grant her a visa to showcase her film in the country, Pakistani fans have lent their voice to the cause by initiating the #Grantvisatosapna2visitsindh online."The love from the other side is overwhelming. I shared my application again last week, but have received no response from them. After the Kashmir decision today, it looks difficult. Silence from Imran Khan is not an acceptable response, especially after thousands of tweets. There is no need to deny me a visa. I want to simply show my film to the people there, and see where my father was born," asserts Bhavnani. The film explores the history of the Sindhi community that migrated to India during the Partition in the language that Bhavnani knows best — tattoos. She reveals that the second part of Sindhustan could be in order. "My struggle to get there is another story waiting to be told."
Amyra Dastur emulates celebrity hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani in Leena Yadav's Rajma Chawal
8:27 AM
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 20, 2018)
Amyra Dastur, who is presently juggling the shoots of Sanjay Dutt’s upcoming production Prassthanam and the Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao-starrer Mental Hai Kya, recently wrapped up her portions in Leena Yadav’s Rajma Chawal. The actress’s look in the film is inspired by Mumbai-based celebrity hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, who was a participant in the sixth season of Salman Khan’s reality show, Bigg Boss.
Amyra confirmed the news, saying, “Sapna Bhavnani has the unique ability to pull off punk looks while retaining her femininity. For my look in the film, we wanted something different that would stand out and that’s how the side shave happened. I would definitely not be looking like myself on screen with this cut, which is one of the perks of being an actor… It lets you try out different looks.”
The 25-year-old actress, who plays a hairstylist in an upmarket Delhi salon in the film, admits that she has never met Sapna but did reference her aesthetic by looking her up online. “It’s a major hair transformation, so we flipped through pictures and decided to go with a mix of Rooney Mara (as her character from The Girl With a Dragon tattoo) and Sapna. This girl is from Meerut who runs away from home because of certain circumstances. The hair reflects her rebellious streak. She is someone who doesn’t wish to be perceived as accessible,” Amyra explains.
As part of her prep, the actress also dropped by her trusty salon. “I trained under my hairstylist for about three months. I can blow-dry and curl now. I can even cut people’s hair,” laughs Amyra. Next up, she heads to Lucknow towards the month-end to wrap up Prassthanam, which will be followed by the last schedule of Mental Hai Kya in August.
People need to respect the judgment-Salim Khan
9:00 AM
Salim Khan responds to adverse reactions to son Salman Khan's acquittal in the 1998 poaching case
Gaurav Dubey and Kasmin Fernandes (MID-DAY; July 26, 2016)
Soon after news of Salman Khan's acquittal in the 1998 chinkara and blackbuck poaching case trickled in yesterday (Read More), social media went into overdrive with netizens expressing a range of emotions — joy, relief, anger and sarcasm. Barring a few, most B-Town folk shied away from tweeting about the big story. Internet trolls, however, had a field day, coming up with memes and jokes on what led the Rajasthan High Court to give a clean chit to Salman.
Salman's father, Salim Khan wasn't in the least bit amused about the relentless trolling. He said, "We are relieved and happy. We always knew we would get justice. I would say that people who have been talking against this [ruling] need to respect the judgment. Even if it had gone against us, we would have accepted it."
The star's sister, Arpita Khan Sharma, tweeted: "Thank you God for always showering us with your grace and blessings. Today is a big day for us @BeingSalmanKhan. Thank U to all bhais and the families, well wishers for your prayers, support, love and best wishes. This wouldn't have been possible without you (sic)."
Salman later thanked fans in a one-line tweet, "Thank u for ur prayers and support (sic)."
Others to congratulate Salman on social media were Subhash Ghai and Ram Gopal Varma with the latter rubbing the judicial system's nose in the dirt. Singer Sona Mohapatra and celeb hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, who had earlier slammed the Sultan actor over his 'rape' remark, condemned his acquittal. Sapna wrote, "Salman Khan is the biggest joke to come out of India" while Sona said, "Money, political Mileage & messiah of Mediocrity. 3M's help 'get away'. Not for long."
How black is the buck?
Excerpts from what Renuka Shahane, Salman's reel bhabhi in Hum Aapke Hain Koun, wrote on Facebook: "In 1998 a blackbuck & 2 Chinkaras (that are endangered species) were allegedly killed on a hunting trip that included Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Amrita Singh, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. Somehow... they wanted to shoot endangered animals. And they did and ate them too. But did they? Out of all, only Salman was charged for killing a blackbuck and a chinkara. He also served time for the same in Jodhpur jail. No charges were framed against the others. The case carried on and on and on as our cases do for two main reasons — 1) Having big bucks (sometimes even black bucks, different from the blackbuck who passed) or 2) Not having big bucks.
Salman of course falls in the 1st category. So, now, after 18 years he has been acquitted of charges in both cases. Some questions come to mind: 1) Who killed the Black Buck & the Chinkaras? 2) Did the driver kill them? 3) Did nobody kill them? 4) Do judges decide according to Buckworth-Lewis method? (What? Er...it's Duckworth-Lewis?) Sorry! 4) Who will pay for the mental torture that Salman has had to go through now that he has been declared not guilty? 5) Doesn't the nation want to know the truth? (preferably very loudly) What? The nation doesn't want to know? No? Why? Oh you don't say... busy spending bucks on Sultan...
Er, then let it pass....yeah the Buck, what else? Dear, deer! Surreal!!!"
Twitter troll posts obscene, doctored image of SRK; abuses Sapna Bhavnani; account suspended
8:07 AM
Kasmin Fernandes (MID-DAY; July 15, 2016)
A Twitter user, who goes by the handle @SRKMyCondom, made singer Sona
Mohapatra as well as ex Bigg Boss contestant and celebrity hairstylist
Sapna Bhavnani the target of trolling along with a vulgar, photoshopped
image of Shah Rukh Khan. Sapna retweeted the offensive image to
her 37.7k followers and followed it up with a barrage of tweets on July
12 and 13 with the hashtag, #IamTrolledHelp. The hairstylist
even tagged the Mumbai police and Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for
Women and Child Development, in her tweet and complained to Twitter with
regard to violent threats and abusive behaviour. The microblogging
site, however, didn’t find it in violation of any “rules”.Says Sapna, “I wanted this account to be suspended. Twitter initially told me it was not violating any guidelines. Since I tagged Menaka Gandhi and the Mumbai Police, this user started tagging them too, but it backfired for him. Ever since I spoke out against Salman Khan for his ‘rape’ comment, I face trolls every day. But, they don’t bother me and I don’t block those profiles; I just report them. However, that picture and the tweet was so vile and distasteful, I tagged Maneka Gandhi in the retweet, but there has been no response from her yet.”
The troll’s account was suspended on July 13 and Sapna posted a jubilant tweet, “Small victory! These accounts cannot just be blocked. They hv to 2 reported. No one has the right 2 speak like that (sic)”. Meanwhile, Sona has retweeted Sapna’s posts. She says, “There is a clear line between freedom of expression and targeted obscene harassment and it is critical that community guidelines be followed in the virtual world, just like the real world. I feel bad that Sapna got dragged into this since I had posted a pic of us in the gym and the Salman controversy was still raging.” SRK was unavailable for comment.
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