Globalwoodnews

While, in the past, many actors have come under the radar of hurting religious sentiments and has been accused on many occasions by religious and political leaders, this time around, it is Taapsee Pannu who has been accused of the same. The actress’ recent appearance at the Lakme India Fashion Week in Mumbai has triggered a controversy where a man named Eklavya Singh, who is a member of the Hind Rakshak Sangathan and son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur, has filed a complaint against the actress for her look at the prestigious fashion show. In the complaint, Singh has alleged that Taapsee Pannu wore a revealing outfit while adorning temple jewellery with Goddess Laxmi’s statue in the locket. An official was quoted in ANI reports, opening up about the complaint registered against the actress saying, “We received a complaint from Eklavya Gaur (son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur) against actor Taapsee Pannu for hurting religious sentiments and image of ‘Sanatan Dharma’ by wearing a locket having ‘Goddess L...

Ishita Dutta and Vatsal Seth announce pregnancy: Expecting their first child!

Ishita Dutta and Vatsal Seth are undoubtedly one of the most favourite couples in the entertainment industry. The duo first met on the sets of their show "Rishton Ka Saudagar - Baazigar" and fell in love with each other while shooting for the series. Since then, they have been setting couple goals for their fans. Recently, the duo announced that they are expecting their first child. On Friday morning, March 31, Ishita Dutta and Vatsal Sheth shared a joint post on their respective social media handles to share the good news. In the two-photo post, the couple can be seen in coordinated outfits against a picturesque backdrop on the beach. In fact, in one of the photos, Vatsal can be seen posing for the camera while giving Ishita’s baby bump a kiss. Captioning the image, they wrote, “Baby on Board,” followed by a red-heart emoticon. The news has sent waves of excitement and joy among her fans, who have been eagerly waiting for this moment. “So glad to see this and get this news...

Pathaan director Siddharth Anand opens up on ‘Besharam Rang’ controversy; says he chose orange bikini “randomly”

The ‘Besharam Rang’ controversy arose when a few fringe groups called for a boycott of the film Pathaan after objections were raised over the colour of Deepika Padukone's bikini in the song. Many demanded that the song be removed or the colour of the costume be changed. However, the makers did not make any changes, and the film was eventually released to positive reviews from the audience. Speaking of the same, director Siddharth Anand shared the story behind choosing an orange colour bikini. It all happened during the News18 Rising India summit 2023. While addressing the issue, Siddharth stated that he chose the costume “randomly” and “never gave it too much thought.” He asserted, “The colour was looking nice. It was sunny, the grass was greener and the water was blue and the orange colour was looking good.” Anand further explained, “We thought when the audience would watch it they would understand that our intent was not wrong.” As he continued, Siddharth mentioned that “they wer...

Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault: key moments from ski crash trial – video report

Gwyneth Paltrow has been found not at fault over a 2016 ski collision. The actor and wellness entrepreneur was sued by retired optometrist, Terry Sanderson for injuries he allegedly sustained in the crash. Sanders, 76, claimed Paltrow, 50, skied out of control and crashed into him, leaving him with four broken ribs and a concussion. He sought “more than $300,000” – a threshold that provides the opportunity to introduce the most evidence and depose the most witnesses allowed in civil court. Paltrow countersued for a symbolic $1 and legal fees Gwyneth Paltrow trial: plaintiff’s loss of joy claim at odds with his travel pictures Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/7fqbLKC via IFTTT

Jennifer Aniston: ‘A whole generation of kids’ finds Friends offensive

Actor tells Variety that working in comedy has grown increasingly difficult, as comedians now ‘not allowed’ to ‘make fun of life’ “A whole generation of kids” now finds Friends offensive, said Jennifer Aniston , the actor who made her name in the smash-hit 90s sitcom. Speaking to Variety , Aniston said working in comedy had grown increasingly difficult, as comedians were now “not allowed” to “make fun of life”. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/N1cJk2v via IFTTT

SCOOP: Koffee With Karan returns with Season 8: Shah Rukh Khan to kick off the new season; Yash, Allu Arjun and Rishab Shetty to make their appearance

Karan Johar is getting ready for the new season of his smash-hit talk show Koffee With Karan. Preparations are on to lock in the dates for Season 8. It will probably go on air around August or September. In the meanwhile, here is what we know about the next season: the super-celebrity guests would be a mix of the fresh and the familiar. Shah Rukh Khan, who did not appear in Season 7, but has appeared in all other seasons, is likely to kick off Season 8, talking about the smash success of Pathaan. Also, sources say there will be more emphasis on the South side. “Stars from the South are now very much a part of the pan-India stardom. Karan Johar will be inviting Yash (of KGF fame), Allu Arjun (of Pushpa fame) and Rishab Shetty (of Kantara fame) with their respective wives,” said a source. There will be new segments and a complete change of décor. All in all, more power, more glamour and, yes, more scandalous revelations are to be expected in Season 8 of Koffee With Karan. As far as films...

BFI accused of taking limited steps to address systemic racism

Film-makers Faisal Qureshi and Jonte Richardson question measures taken so far by British Film Institute Two prominent film-makers of colour have accused the British Film Institute of failing to meaningfully address systemic racism. Faisal Qureshi, who produced the hit film Four Lions, said although the BFI had admitted to racism, it had taken limited steps to address it, such as through an independent investigation into the organisation’s culture. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/a9Tx7d6 via IFTTT

Producer of Sachin - A Billion Dreams Ravi Bhagchandka teams up with Aamir Khan & Sony Pictures for a sports film

Sachin – A Billion Dreams, which was based on India’s cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, was one of a kind documentary that also did well at the box office apart from gaining critical acclaim. Now, the producer of the film Ravi Bhagchandka has teamed up with Aamir Khan and Sony Pictures to producer a sports drama titled Champions. Sharing more about the film, Bhagchandka said in a statement, “Champions is not an out and out sports film. It has a human-interest story against the backdrop of sports.” The film is the official remake of the 2018 Spanish film Campeones (English title: Champions). “We saw the film at the Berlin Film Festival and we really liked what we saw. It’s about the individual challenges of the differently abled and how they are living their lives. There are also a lot of heart-warming and humorous moments in the film and that’s essentially what we liked most about the film,” added Bhagchandka. He also said that they will reveal the cast of the film at a later date. Apar...

Kill Boksoon review – intense Korean assassin thriller with satisfying complexity

This fast-moving yarn about a woman balancing contract killing with raising a teenage daughter has flair and depth to spare Like a lot of topline Korean films, this prestige action thriller is a little too long at 137 minutes, but it’s consistently entertaining throughout, and quite well-suited given the length to being viewed on a streaming platform. Viewing in chunks works quite well, especially since the dialogue zips by so quickly that if you don’t speak Korean you may need to rewind to read the subtitles – and they’re actually worth reading here, which is not something you can always say about a film with this much martial arts and fisticuffs. Jeon Do-yeon (South Korea’s version of Meryl Streep, best known in the west for Im Sang-soo’s The Housemaid and Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine) stars as Gil Bok-soon, a middle-aged single mother to teen daughter Jae-yeong (Kim Si-a). Jae-yeong and the yummy mummies at the private school Jae-yeong attends think Bok-soon is some kind of ex...

‘I chose to survive’: Jeremy Renner gives first interview since snowplough accident

Avengers star was left in a critical condition after his snowplough crushed him, but says ‘I’d do it again’ to save his nephew Jeremy Renner is set to give his first interview since he was critically injured in a snowplough accident in January, telling journalist Diane Sawyer he was “awake through every moment” when the seven-tonne machine crushed him. Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview – A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph, will air in the US on ABC News on 6 April, ahead of the premiere of Renner’s new Disney+ series Rennervations. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/nEHrQTR via IFTTT

Ranveer Singh becomes the brand ambassador of Star Sports; says, "It's an honour for me"

Star Sports, India’s Home of Sports, is delighted to announce Bollywood superstar and sports aficionado Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador. This association makes the pop culture icon the first actor to be associated with Star Sports, a development that reflects the growing synergy between sports and entertainment in India. Ranveer, in his role as 'sutradhaar' for the upcoming season of the "Incredible League", will be involved in creating a stream of immersive and entertaining content which brings alive compelling narratives from the past, present, and future of the league. The journey of the ‘sutradhaar’ starts with the opening weekend (Fri, Mar 31 – Sun, Apr 2) as Ranveer introduces the key narratives for the 16th edition of the tournament, its biggest to date. Singh's collaboration with Star Sports is a significant move for the brand. Star Sports aims to leverage Singh's massive popularity and his deep love for sports to connect with diverse audience c...

The Thief Collector review – the ordinary married couple behind a massive art heist

This entertaining documentary looks at how teachers Rita and Jerry Alter walked into a museum and left with a rolled-up Willem de Kooning now worth $160m It was a brazen case of daylight robbery . In 1985, a couple walked into an art gallery on the campus of the University of Arizona and left 15 minutes later with a rolled-up Willem de Kooning shoved up the man’s jacket. In 2017, the painting was finally recovered – not by the FBI, but by a trio of house clearance guys in New Mexico. It had been hanging for 30 years on the bedroom wall of retired teachers Rita and Jerry Alter. How an ordinary couple like the Alters pulled off one of the biggest art heists of the 20th century is told in this mostly entertaining documentary. You can imagine the story being turned into a podcast and it’s perhaps stretched a little thin for a full-length documentary. (Did we really need an interview with the couple’s nephew’s son?) The weak link is the film’s dramatisation of the theft: a tongue-in-cheek...

Billionaire chic: the meaning of Gwyneth Paltrow’s court wardrobe

The actor’s outfits have gone viral over the last week. Free from garish logos and colours, they are a careful display of stealth wealth and soft power On Tuesday, Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actor turned wellness advocate, appeared in a Utah court over a collision at a ski resort in 2016. Photographs of Paltrow sitting next to her defence lawyers, wearing a simple cream knitted jumper, her honey-coloured hair loose, makeup pared back, quickly went viral. Paltrow’s high-necked jumper appears to be from the Italian luxury brand Loro Piana. Nicknamed “Uniqlo for billionaires” by fashion insiders, it specialises in cashmere, with Paltrow’s Parksville turtleneck priced at £1,220 online. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/IA4OQti via IFTTT

Om Raut and Bhushan Kumar visit Vaishno Devi to seek blessings for Adipurush

Filmmaker Om Raut and producer Bhushan Kumar recently visited the holy Vaishno Devi temple on the occasion of Navratri and to seek blessings for their upcoming keenly awaited film Adipurush, which stars Prabhas and Kriti Sanon in lead roles. For the unversed, Vaishno Devi is one of the foremost pilgrimage sites in India, situated in Jammu and Kashmir. Sharing more about the visit, a statement from the makers said, “Remarking the creation of universe and beginning of the world by Maa Shri Durga, Chaitra Navratri holds immense significance in the Hindu culture! With this belief and Shri Gulshan Kumar’s immense faith in Maa Vaishno Devi, the makers seek divine blessings for Adipurush.” Adipurush is the retelling of the great Indian epic Ramayana. The film will see Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Sunny Singh and Saif Ali Khan essay the roles of Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Raavan respectively. Sharing more about the film, Kriti had told the agency PTI (Press Trust of India) earlier this year, “It is...

Riotsville, USA review – disquieting study of police tactics to deal with social unrest

Echoing the work of Adam Curtis, film-maker Sierra Pettengill curates archive footage from riot-torn 60s America to create an unsettling picture of the authorities’ response As if in a seance or hypnotic trance, Sierra Pettengill conjures the ambient voices of the riot-torn United States in the 1960s, traumatised by the uproar in Watts, Chicago, Newark and Detroit. She curates archive TV discussion show clips and newsreel footage of the times, including some quite extraordinary contemporary reports about the “Riotsville” imitation towns that the US army built to practise anti-riot techniques. These were complete with audience bleachers in which an invited crowd of military brass could approvingly watch a full-scale re-enactment of the Watts riot – a bizarre theatrical fantasy in which the disorder was swiftly and efficiently brought under control. (Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s 2008 film Full Battle Rattle discussed the fake Iraqi town built in the Mojave Desert for very similar reaso...

Law of Tehran review – ferocious Michael Mann-style thriller of the Iranian underworld

A barnstorming – and ultimately gruesome – opening sequence sets the grisly action-packed tone, as a morally ambiguous cop takes on a powerful drug lord If Michael Mann made a movie in Iran it might look like this: a ferocious drama-thriller in which a haunted, morally ambiguous cop faces off with a despairing drug lord. We begin with a barnstorming chase sequence in which an officer runs after a drug dealer holding a bag of heroin; the scene climaxes with a shockingly nasty end for the dealer, setting a gruesome tone for the rest of the film. The director is Saeed Roustayi, whose Leila’s Brothers was in competition at Cannes last year; this is in fact his previous film. Payman Maadi (from Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation ) is police officer Samad, who is losing the “war on drugs”; gangsters have murdered the son of his subordinate, so his team’s dedication to bringing down the drug dealers has a new fanatical energy. Navid Mohammadzadeh is Naser, a drug kingpin who is already feeling ...

Man suing Gwyneth Paltrow describes 'serious smack' of ski collision – video

Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, who is suing Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski collision in Utah, took the stand. He testified that he heard a 'blood-curdling scream' before the ski crash. Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 and Paltrow has countersued for $1 and attorney fees. Man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over ski crash testifies about ‘serious smack’ Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/qVzD9I5 via IFTTT

Nawazuddin Siddiqui files Rs. 100 crore defamation case against his brother and estranged wife

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has moved the court for defaming and maligning his image and has filed a defamation suit against Shamas Nawab Siddiqui and former wife Aaliya Siddiqui seeking damages of Rs. 100 crores. As per current reports, the hearing will be held on March 30 by Justice RI Chagla. The suit has come after several allegations were thrown against the Kick actor after his wife accused the Siddiqui family of harassment and torture. In his suit, the actor has alleged that the allegations thrown towards him has affected his public image. In the suit that has been filed through advocate Sunil Kumar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has alleged that he is unable to make any kind of appearances or attend social gatherings owing to the many accusations thrown towards him. He has alleged that these ‘misleading claims’ have impacted his career and hence, he has also requested the court to pass an order of injunction to restrict his brother and estranged wife Anjana Pandey alias Aaliya Siddiqui from makin...

Please Baby Please review – Andrea Riseborough leads retro reverie of vamp and camp

Riseborough and Harry Melling play a couple who get off on violence in an oddball, over-saturated thriller with a surprise cameo from Demi Moore A rocky-horror sexual awakening is promised in Amanda Kramer’s initially interesting but ultimately laborious queer reverie of 50s and 60s style, like a theatrical daydream as experienced by Anybodys, from West Side Story. The long dissolve fades and blue-lit nightclub scenes are amusingly Lynchian, as is the very stylish and all-too-brief cameo from Demi Moore as a mysterious and worldly neighbour called Maureen. But the film feels over-determined and self-satisfied. Andrea Riseborough and Harry Melling play Suze and Arthur, a couple with liberal, bohemian tastes who live in a rough part of town and like going to beatnik poetry clubs. But passionate, slinky Suze is unsatisfied with her milksop husband Arthur; he rejects caveman masculinity and quotes Hamlet: “Man delights not me, no nor woman neither …” (Their apartment has the Shakespearea...

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman review – Murakami’s surreal tales around a Tokyo earthquake

The seductively quirky sad-serious tone of the author is evident as a constellation of characters try and save the city – including a lost cat and a giant talkative frog Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has inspired some prestigious movies, most recently Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car . Regardless of whether this new Murakami adaptation (based on his short story collection of the same name) comes to be considered the best, I think it might actually capture the elusive essence of Murakami more than any other – something in it being a Rotoscope animation of elegant simplicity. It has the ruminative lightness, almost weightlessness, the watercolour delicacy and reticence of the emotions, the sense of the uncanny, the insistent play of erotic possibility and that Murakami keynote: a cat. Pierre Földes makes his feature directing debut here, having been long been a composer; his musical credits include Michael Cuesta’s L.I.E. from 2001, and he has written the score for this movie too,...

Man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over ski crash testifies about ‘serious smack’

Terry Sanderson, 76, suing actor for more than $300,000 over 2016 collision, claiming she skied recklessly into him from behind The man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 collision at one of the most upscale ski resorts in North America took the witness stand on Monday as the closely watched trial goes into its second week in Utah. Terry Sanderson, 76, recounted a ski collision that he claims was caused by Paltrow, 50, causing four ribs to fracture and head trauma that he claims manifested as post-concussion syndrome. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/ACJgDOE via IFTTT

BFI accused of taking limited steps to address systemic racism

Jeremy Renner posts first video of himself walking after snowplough accident

The actor, who broke more than 30 bones after being run over on New Year’s Day, is seen using an ‘anti-gravity’ treadmill Actor Jeremy Renner has posted a video of himself walking for the first time since his snowplough accident in January. In a short film posted on Sunday on social media, Renner is seen walking on an “anti-gravity treadmill”. On Instagram Renner captioned the sequence: “Now is the time for my body to rest and recover from my will”; while on Twitter he wrote: “I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will.” Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/8aSX4K7 via IFTTT

Don’t look down: 100 years of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!

Harold Lloyd’s stunts in Safety Last! make it one of the most heart-in-mouth films of all time. On its 100th birthday, his granddaughter remembers his mastery, inspiration – and the real-life love at the film’s heart It is one of the most famous images in film history: a bespectacled man dangles from the hands of a broken clock, 12 storeys above the Los Angeles traffic. The climax of Harold Lloyd’s slapstick suspense masterpiece Safety Last!, which is about to celebrate its centenary, is also a defining image of the city, much like the construction workers perched on a steel beam in the 1932 news photograph Lunch Atop a Skyscraper is for New York. They share a sense of the giddy dangers of 20th-century urbanism, and the precarity of the working man. Harold, the hero of Safety Last!, is just such an ordinary joe: a department store sales clerk struggling to keep his job, while boasting of a big promotion in letters home to his sweetheart, Mildred. When he spends his entire pay cheque...

Salman Khan Threat Case: Dhakad Ram Bishnoi arrested in Jodhpur by Mumbai Police

Over a week ago, Bollywood actor Salman Khan's security was beefed up by the Mumbai Police after one of his associates, Jordy Patel, received a threat via an email. His close friend Prashant Gunjalkar filed a complaint regarding the same and a case was registered at the Bandra Police Station in Mumbai against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and a person named Rohit Garg under IPC sections 506(2),120(b) & 34. Now, Mumbai Police has arrested a man named Dhakad Ram Bishnoi in Jodhpur in connection with the email threatening case. As per reports, Dhakad Ram Bishnoi (21) is a resident of Siyagon ki Dhani in Rohicha Kalan village in Jodhpur. He was reportedly out on bail under the Arms Act. Gaurav Yadav, Jodhpur’s DCP (West), said that a team from Mumbai’s Bandra Police had arrived to arrest him. “They asked us to assist them in detaining Bishnoi. We provided them with the support and handed Bishnoi over to the Mumbai PoliceYadav said, as reported by PTI on Sunday. "After ...

The Gallery review – bloody interactive treatise on post-Brexit Britain

Viewers can choose the outcome of the characters in this cleverly assembled art-world thriller available on PC, console and your local screen Interactive cinema has existed since the 1967 Czech film Kinoautomat , but remains niche, despite a brief flare-up of interest around Charlie Brooker’s choose-your-own-adventure Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch . British director Paul Raschid – ambitiously for a 30-year-old – specialises in tending these mind-boggling gardens of forking paths. His latest The Gallery is a trenchant and thoughtful post-Brexit treatise that can be played on PCs and consoles, but it’s also doing the rounds in cinemas, where the group experience – including voting by glowstick – could work something like a referendum on modern Britain, given the film’s state-of-the-nation bent. The Gallery has two separate but symmetrical timelines in 1981 and 2021. Plus ça change: both spotlight a reeling and fractured Britain in which the Argyle Manor gallery, about to put on a p...

Drømmeland review – hermit and his smartphone in the Norwegian wilderness

This voyeuristic account of an eccentric who broadcasts himself hunting naked never meaningfully addresses his paradoxical existence Having resolved to extricate himself from the chains of civilisation, Nils Leidal has taken solitary refuge among the mountains of Norway. While his basically furnished shed and daily rituals of scavenging and ice baths hark back to a simpler way of life, the sixtysomething is also glued to his internet-connected smartphone. The paradox is beguiling: how does one maintain a philosophy of self-sufficiency while simultaneously broadcasting his existence online? Unfocused in its structure, Joost van der Wiel’s muddled documentary grapples with these fascinating contradictions on a superficial level. Apart from Nils’ vague distrust of the government, as evidenced in a video in which he burns his passport, the film offers little information about his background or the reasons behind his self-imposed exile. Punctuated by nondescript drone shots of the beautif...

‘A tough time – but so exciting’: cult film-maker Vivienne Dick on post-punk New York

She fled rural Ireland and hit the Big Apple just in time to capture Lydia Lunch, James Chance and the post-punk scene take off. Now back in her home country, she relives those turbulent years In 2014, the Irish Times ran a profile of the film-maker Vivienne Dick with the headline: “Stifled in Ireland, celebrated in New York.” As an encapsulation of her formative years as an artist who found her calling in exile, it was blunt but pretty accurate. “There was nothing for me in Ireland back then,” says Dick of her youth in the 1960s and early 70s. “It was not an attractive place because, as a woman, you were essentially treated as a second-class citizen. You could train as a teacher, but that was about it. I remember I bought a camera, but there was no way to even get on a course.” Having relocated to New York by the mid-70s, after various overland adventures that took her to Pakistan, Nepal and even Kabul, she found herself instinctively drawn to Manhattan’s edgy, bohemian downtown sc...

Kriti Sanon, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu starrer The Crew begins shoot

One of Kriti Sanon’s upcoming projects is The Crew. The movie will see her teaming up with much senior actresses like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Tabu. The actress is here to increase the excitement as she has begun filming The Crew, while her admirers are eagerly awaiting more about her involvement in the picture. On Saturday, Kriti took to Instagram and shared a picture of a clapboard along with a warm message. She wrote in the caption, “New beginnings!!! Toooooo excited for this one! The feeling of a new story, a new character.. this journey will be a memorable one! @rheakapoor @ektarkapoor @rajoosworld @anujdhawan13 Butterflies dancing in my stomach Wish me luck guys! Missing my girl gang.. @kareenakapoorkhan @tabutiful.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kriti (@kritisanon) Ekta Kapoor, the producer of the film, also posted a video on Instagram, announcing the commencement of the shoot. Sharing the video, she captioned, “The crew begins !!! Best of luck ...

Can Gwyneth Paltrow’s star and brand bounce back from recent misses?

Plot twist of events has seen the actor face backlash for her wellness choices and a week in court for a Utah ski crash lawsuit It has not been a great week for actor and lifestyle tycoon Gwyneth Paltrow, once one of Hollywood’s hottest properties, who successfully founded a hugely lucrative wellness empire known as Goop. But in a plot twist that seems as unlikely as any denouement in the movies she once graced, Paltrow spent much of last week in the drab surroundings of a Park City, Utah court room. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/gxpTBqW via IFTTT

Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha is expected to release around Diwali 2023, says producer Shreyans Hirawat

- March 25, 2023

Ajay Devgn is gearing up for the release of his highly awaited film Bholaa. It is all set to arrive in cinemas in less than a week, on Thursday, March 30, and there’s significant buzz around it. Once the big-budget action entertainer is out, the superstar won’t have time to sit back and relax as he’ll be resuming the shoot for Neeraj Pandey’s Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha. Producer Shreyans Hirawat of NH Studioz yesterday spoke about it and also shared interesting details about the film’s release period. Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha’s first schedule took place in February 2023. As per a report in Mid-day, the second schedule has commenced in Film City, Goregaon with Jimmy Sheirgill and Saiee Manjrekar. Ajay Devgn and the female lead Tabu are all set to join the shoot from the first week of April. The report also quotes Shreyans Hirawat who stated that the principal filming is expected to get over by Mid-day. He also added that they plan to release Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha around Diwali. The hig...

Salman Khan brings Pooja Hegde in place of Kareena Kapoor Khan in Pavan Putra

- March 25, 2023

Released in 2015, Bajrangi Bhaijaan not only became one of the biggest hits but also a film that found mass acceptance. Starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and child actress Harshali Malhotra, the film about the unusual bond between a simpleton Indian and a little Pakistani girl moved hearts. Last year, fans of Salman Khan had a moment of rejoice when the sequel of Bajrangi Bhaijaan titled Pavan Putra was announced. The thought of seeing their favourite star essay the same role again was reason enough to excite them. But there was no update on the project following the announcement. But now, Bollywood Hungama has learnt that Salman has brought Pooja Hegde on board for Pavan Putra. In other words, the film will see her replacing Kareena Kapoor. Whether Pooja will play the same character that Kareena played in the first film is not known yet. Interestingly, Pooja is also the leading lady in Salman’s upcoming release Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Directed by Farhad Samji, the film is a...

Gwyneth Paltrow testifies she felt ‘violated’ in Utah ski crash

- March 25, 2023

Actor thought crash was a ‘prank’ or something ‘perverted’ during a 2016 collision with Terry Sanderson at a mountain resort Gwyneth Paltrow testified on Friday afternoon that she felt “violated” during the 2016 ski collision at a mountain resort in Utah, over which she is being sued, and initially feared the crash may have been something “perverted” or a prank. Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, is suing the Oscar-winning actor for $300,000, claiming that her recklessness caused the crash and left him with lasting physical injuries. He and experts say the crash significantly affected his life and relationships. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/ofVs5Hw via IFTTT

Kapil Sharma starrer Zwigato becomes tax-free in Odisha

Zwigato produced by Applause Entertainment and Nandita Das Initiatives, starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami in lead roles, has been made tax-free in the state of Odisha where it was shot. The government of Odisha announced that it is waiving off entertainment tax on movie tickets for Zwigato as part of its effort to promote the movie and the state as a destination for film shooting. The Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik, applauded Nandita Das for her efforts in promoting the state as a destination for commercial movie making and made the announcement of the entertainment tax waiver. Zwigato has received positive reviews from both critics and audiences for its universal theme. The positive word of mouth has encouraged the Odisha government to take this move, which is sure to help drive people to the cinemas and promote the message of the movie to a wider audience. A source close to the film spoke about how the team reacted to this news adding, “Overall, this is a great...

Hurst: The First and Only review – misty-eyed football doc reveals the man behind the hat-trick

While too much time is spent on 1966 and all that Matthew Lorenzo’s profile draws out a hitherto unseen vulnerable side to the striker turned insurance salesman The current flood of football documentaries shows no sign of abating; the recognition certain teams and individuals enjoy means that it’s not likely to any time soon. Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero of the 1966 World Cup final, is no doubt a natural subject for the “legacy” strand of these things: along with the likes of Jack Charlton , Bobby Moore and Bobby Robson , Hurst stands for a misty-eyed idea of Proper Football, when men were gods on the pitch and ordinary semi-dwelling blokes off it. Hurst was all this and more, even if this profile focuses, football-wise at least, on that three-goal game at the expense of almost everything else. (Though that title might need a bit of nudging since Kylian Mbappé pulled off the same feat in 2022.) A rollcall of greats line up to heap praise on his sterling work against West Germany,...

Don’t look down: 100 years of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!

Man was ‘fun-loving’ before Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision, daughter testifies

Polly Sanderson-Grasham said seeing her father’s state after the incident was like ‘a slap in the face’ The daughter of the man who collided with Gwyneth Paltrow on a ski slope, has said seeing her father’s state after the incident was like “a slap in the face”. Polly Sanderson-Grasham said that following the crash in 2016, her father was unable to “see the forest for the trees” and got “lost in the minutiae” of things. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/aW7csM3 via IFTTT

Dance Craze review – thrilling documentary captures the explosive energy of 2 Tone

Joe Massot’s vivid 1981 film about the British ska scene brims with life, sweat and the faces of ecstatic fans US director Joe Massot, known for the psychedelic 60s curiosity Wonderwall and Led Zeppelin concert movie The Song Remains the Same, directed this tremendously vivid 1981 documentary about the British 2 Tone movement , this vital music being a kind of evolutionary product of reggae’s coexistence with punk the decade before. Working with producer Gavrik Losey, son of Joseph, Massot gives us live footage, whimsically interspersed with Pathé newsreels from the early 60s (not so long before the present-day material) with plummy-voiced chaps earnestly intoning about “young people”. The movie is a madeleine for people of my generation: summoning up the sweat of venues such as London’s Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, it shudders with the bands’ inexhaustible jogging-on-the-spot energy, the kind of live show where the singer lets rip directly into the ecstatic faces of the people at ...

Sonu Nigam’s father robbed of Rs. 72 lakh, FIR registered against ex-driver

Sonu Nigam’s father Agamkumar Nigam has filed an FIR (First Information Report) against his former driver for allegedly stealing Rs. 72 lakh from his residence in Mumbai. The singer's father lives at Windsor Grand building in Oshiwara, Andheri west. The alleged robbery took between March 19 and March 20. The FIR was registered by Sonu Nigam's sister Nikita who reached Oshiwara police station in the wee hours of Wednesday. As per the complaint, Agamkumar Nigam has a driver named Rehan for 8 months but was sacked from the job after his performance was unsatisfactory, as told by an official. As per a report in PTI, an official said that Agamkumar visited Nikita's home in the Versova area on March 19 for lunch. He was back at his residence after sometime. He called his daughter in the evening to inform her that “Rs 40 lakh was missing from a digital locker kept in a wooden cupboard.” Agamkumar Nigam visited his son's house the next day at 7 Bungalows for visa-related work. ...

Michael Haneke films – ranked!

The Austrian auteur has made his name with disturbing and superb studies of the violence and repression of bourgeois life. As he turns 81, we rate his finest films An early, and relatively minor, Haneke showing 71 “fragments” – or glimpses of apparently unrelated scenes and people – set in present-day Vienna. These involve a security guard, a troubled young man, a depressed retiree and a Romanian illegal immigrant. So what’s tying them all together? The answer is partially given at the beginning and fully at the end, and the movie gives us Haneke’s keynote themes: the nature of violence, urban alienation, the abolition of compassion and community in capitalism and western hypocrisy in primly looking away from injustice and desolation in other parts of the world. But the backstory twist ending – similar to the one Krzysztof Kieślowski in effect gave us the same year in Three Colours Red – is a bit pat. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/lzWcr08 via IFTTT

Daisy May Cooper as M: does that mean James Bond is turning into a comedy?

Would the Am I Being Unreasonable actor make a great M? Sure. But not if it means the 007 franchise is turning into Austin Powers You can have the good news first. At last, the ceaseless pounding drumbeat of speculation over who will play the next James Bond has paused. A semi-official moratorium has fallen over the shrieking clickbait dedicated to wondering aloud whether Aaron Taylor Johnson or Idris Elba or about eight people from Game of Thrones or any actor seen in public in a suit will be chosen to succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond. Now for the bad news: this has happened because there is now a ceaseless pounding drumbeat of speculation over whether or not Daisy May Cooper from This Country will be the next M. For this week, everyone has suddenly decided that this is a thing, even though it probably isn’t. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/gAvdw1V via IFTTT

The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future review – gripping tale sprinkled with animal magic

Chilean director Francisca Alegría weaves together singing cows and family trauma in this thoughtful magical realist fable with an environmental message First-time Chilean director Francisca Alegría turns up the arthouse dial past eleven right from the name of her debut feature. The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future is a conspicuously poetic title that gives every impression that we’re in for a hardcore cine-patience tester. I have to admit that it made my heart sink. But while, yes, TCWSSF is a dreamy magical realist fable with an environmental message, Alegría weaves into her tale an emotionally satisfying, gripping family drama, with singing cows – and fish too. It begins with the fish, dying by the shoal-load on the banks of a river, poisoned by pollution from a nearby factory. As the fish die, a woman gasps to the surface of the water. This is Magdalena (Mía Maestro), who drowned herself decades ago. Now she is back from the dead as if time stopped – still gorgeous, still dres...

Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Paul Grant dies aged 56

The actor was found collapsed outside King’s Cross station in London on Thursday afternoon Paul Grant, an actor who appeared in the Star Wars and Harry Potter films, has died aged 56 after being found collapsed outside a train station. Grant was found outside King’s Cross station in north London on Thursday afternoon. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/gOklZqB via IFTTT

Post your questions for Alison Steadman

Ask the British national treasure – star of Mike Leigh films aplenty, as well as countless TV and stage roles – about any of her brilliant performances by 6pm Sunday How long can you be a national treasure for? Alison Steadman arguably holds some sort of record: ever since her breakthrough performance in the TV version of Abigail’s Party, back in 1977, she’s been a brilliant, comforting, spiky staple of British screen and stage. Her collaborations with ex-husband Mike Leigh (she was pregnant with their first son shooting Abigail’s Party) are what defined her early career in the public consciousness. Life is Sweet, Hard Labour, Nuts in May; later the likes of Topsy-Turvy. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/hOCynEd via IFTTT

Gwyneth Paltrow trial over ski collision enters second day in Utah

Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson is suing actor for incident on slopes he claims caused lasting injuries and brain damage More witnesses were expected to testify on Wednesday in a trial about a 2016 ski crash between Gwyneth Paltrow and the retired Utah man who sued her, claiming her recklessness left him with lasting injuries and brain damage. On the opening day of the trial , Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson appeared across the courtroom from each other, looking nonplussed to hear arguments that have become familiar over the past seven years of legal proceedings. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/SeLmINo via IFTTT

Akshay Kumar’s remake of Soorarai Pottru to release on September 1

The release date of the Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan and Paresh Rawal starrer Hindi remake of the Tamil film Soorarai Pottru is out. The Sudha Kongara directorial venture will be releasing in theatres on September 1 this year. Produced by Abundantia Entertainment and 2D Entertainment, the yet untitled film is tentatively called Production No. 27. Released in November 2020, Soorarai Pottru starred Suriya, Aparna Balamurali, Paresh Rawal and Mohan Babu, among others. The film was also helmed by Sudha Kongara. The Hindi remake of Soorarai Pottru went on floors in April 2022 in an auspicious way through the breaking of a coconut by Radhika. The video of the same was shared by Akshay back then. He had also asked his fans to suggest a title for the film. “With the auspicious coconut-breaking and a small prayer in our heart, we begin the filming of our yet untitled film which is about dreams and the power of it ???? In case you’ll have any title suggestions, do share and of course your best wi...

A Good Person review – Zach Braff’s tale of self-healing is excruciatingly ersatz

Writer/director Braff takes Florence Pugh’s ‘good person who has done a bad thing’ on an contrived journey towards self-forgiveness In his dual capacity as writer and director, Zach Braff here puts us through an ordeal of excruciating contrived nonsense: a masturbatory Calvary of ersatz empathy and emotional wellness. The film goes on a long, long indie-acoustic healing journey towards indie-acoustic self-forgiveness after Florence Pugh’s Allison accidentally kills her fiance’s sister and husband while driving them in her car, having taken her eyes off the road to look at her phone. Allison breaks up with her fiance, spirals into OxyContin addiction and alcoholism and then finds herself at 12-step meetings with her fiance’s grieving old dad and AA veteran Daniel, played by Morgan Freeman, who with heartsinking inevitability delivers a sonorous voiceover of cute wisdom over the opening scene. Daniel spends a lot of time tinkering with his model railway and its hand-painted tiny human ...

Gwyneth Paltrow trial begins as actor accused of ‘out of control’ ski crash

Retired optometrist sues actor for $300,000 in case that has lasted years following 2016 accident at upscale Deer Valley Resort A trial pitting the Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow against a retired optometrist who accuses her of violently crashing into him in a 2016 ski accident began on Tuesday in Utah. An attorney for Paltrow called the accusation “utter BS”. Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/rutkMd1 via IFTTT

1976 review – nerve-jangling noir unpicks middle-class guilt of Pinochet era

A wealthy woman is drawn into Chile’s anti-Pinochet resistance in this thrilling feature debut from actor turned director Manuela Martelli An outstanding performance from Aline Küppenheim is the driving force in this engrossing suspense drama-thriller about an elegant and prosperous woman being drawn into Chile’s anti-Pinochet resistance in 1976. It is a terrific feature debut from performer turned director Manuela Martelli, who herself acted opposite Küppenheim in the film Machuca , which was set in Chile in 1973, the time of the Allende overthrow. But this film has more bite. Küppenheim plays Carmen, the stylish wife of a Santiago hospital doctor, currently working on the redecoration of the family’s holiday home by the sea, where she and her family mingle with reactionary friends of her husband’s from the local yacht club. Slightly imperiously, she lectures the contractor in his workshop on the exact shade of red paint she needs and as she does so, there is a terrified shout outsi...

Varun Dhawan to play a CRUCIAL but brief role in Stree 2; Unlike Bhediya, the crossover in the Shraddha Kapoor-starrer to be an important part of the narrative

Stree (2018) was one of the biggest surprises of 2018. The horror-comedy had generated a lot of buzz before the release. Yet, no one expected it to cross the Rs. 100 crores mark and earn as much as Rs. 129.90 crores in its lifetime. Starring Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, Stree’s success prompted the makers to create a horror universe. Varun Dhawan-Kriti Sanon starrer Bhediya (2022), which was released last year, was also a part of this universe and it featured Rajkummar Rao in a mid-credit scene. Additionally, Shraddha Kapoor made a brief appearance in the song ‘Thumkeshwari’, which was played in the end credits. It has now come to light that Varun Dhawan will have an important cameo in Stree 2. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “In Bhediya, the characters of Stree enter towards the very end and had nothing to do with the main conflict in the narrative. But in Stree’s sequel, Varun Dhawan will have a crucial role to play. It wil...

Salman Khan’s fans not allowed to gather outside his Mumbai residence after threat email; security beefed up

Bollywood actor Salman Khan's security has been beefed up by the Mumbai Police after one of his associates received threats via email. While the security has been increased, a case has been registered at the Bandra Police Station in Mumbai against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and a person named Rohit Garg under IPC sections 506(2),120(b) & 34. Now, police officials have informed that fans won’t be allowed to gather outside his Mumbai residence after the threat. According to a report in PTI, a police official said that “two Assistant Police Inspector (API)-rank officers and eight to ten constables will be part of Khan's security detail round the clock.” The official also added that fans won’t be allowed to assemble outside Salman’s Galaxy Apartments residence in Bandra. It was earlier reported that Y-plus security has been provided to Salman Khan by the police. He will also travel in a bullet-proof car with his personal security detail. Additional security measures ...

Akshay Kumar starrer Hera Pheri 4 lands in legal trouble; T-Series issues public notice claiming audio and visual rights of songs

Bollywood's comedy trio is back as Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal kicked off the shoot for the third instalment of Hera Pheri in February 2023. However, the film has already landed in legal trouble. Music giant and production house T-Series has reportedly issued a public notice to the makers of Hera Pheri 4, claiming the visual and audio rights to every song in the franchise. The notice reads that the production house is the “sole and exclusive right holder of all copyright of all Music and Audio Visual Song Rights” of the franchise in all mediums. According to the Times Of India, an excerpt in the notice read, “Notice is hereby given to the public in general and film trade in particular that Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited (T-Series) is the sole and absolute owner of copyright in relation to the music and audio visual songs i.e. Master Sound Recordings, Literary Works and Musical Works embodied in the Sound Recordings, and Audio Visuals of all the songs (...

Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Akshaye Khanna starrer Drishyam 2 to have its world television premiere on Colors Cineplex

The World Television Premiere of Drishyam 2 co-presented by Kia Motors, co-powered by Cadbury Fuse, special partner Club Mahindra and Parle Smoodh Lassi in association with Ramdev Strong Hing and Acko General Insurance will be held on Saturday, March 25 at 8 pm on Viacom18's movie channel, Colors Cineplex. Produced by Panorama Studios, Viacom18 Studios, and T-Series Films, this highly anticipated sequel to the 2015 hit Drishyam boasts an A-list cast, including the likes of Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Shriya Saran and others. Directed by Abhishek Pathak, the sequel takes off years after the prequel. Drishyam 2 is packed with suspense, drama, and unexpected twists as it features the Salgaonkar family’s fight for their survival. The edge-of-the-seat thriller traces the turmoil that erupts in the their family after the homicide case opens and wreaks havoc in the lives of its family members living in Goa. The sequel of the movie captures how far one can go to protect their family...

Dreaming an Island review – an eerie tour of planet Earth’s depopulated future

This documentary about a small Japanese island, a once thriving mining outpost that now has only 100 residents, lightens its existential concerns with a focus on human connection In his second full-length documentary, Swiss director Andrea Pellerani gives us a guided tour of what a post-industrial, post-growth, or even an eerily post-human future might look like. We are on the south-western Japanese island of Ikeshima. Once a thriving mining outpost that was home to 8,000 people, since the facility’s closure in 2001 it has been reduced to just 100 mostly elderly holdouts. As the residents fish the grey sea off abandoned wharves, inspect pregnant cats and loiter around derelict lots, there is a sense they inhabit the set of a long-shuttered stage play, and are awaiting new lines. Though it begins with long tracking shots of greenery choking empty apartment blocks, Dreaming an Island isn’t exactly ruin porn . Pellerani is more interested in the vestiges of human activity, and milks a d...

The Five Devils review – superpower sense of smell in intriguingly weird psychodrama

A child’s Perfume-style ability enables her to witness emotional crises in her parents’ past, in this disquieting movie There are some intriguing ingredients in the mix for this weird, contrived supernatural psychodrama from French director Léa Mysius; some strong performances too, and a genuinely stunning final image. For good or ill, I can imagine M Night Shyamalan wanting to remake it for Hollywood. But somehow it doesn’t all come together, delivering neither the stab of actual fear nor the satisfaction of real, plausible psychological insight. The setting is Isère near the French Alps. The always excellent Adèle Exarchopoulos carries the movie in the role of Joanne; she works at the local sports centre and is unhappily married to Jimmy (Moustapha Mbengue), a guy from Senegal. The tensions in their marriage are made much worse when Jimmy reveals that his sister Julia (Swala Emati) is coming to stay; a disturbed woman whose history with them both is disquieting. And under all this ...

The Killer review – super-violent South Korean thriller with well-coiffed assassin

A retired mercenary must free a kidnapped teen in this lurid and drum-tight thriller Charismatic star Jang Hyuk plays Bang Ui-gang, a retired mercenary compelled to shoot, maim, slice and dice an assortment of adversaries in this extremely violent action thriller. At all times, Ui-gang also manages to keep his hair immaculately coiffed in a floppy K-pop-by-way-of-1990s-Hugh-Grant style. He’s so darn cool that at one point he arrives at one of the film’s many dens of iniquity with a large coffee in one hand and a gun in the other, and shoots his adversaries stone dead between dainty sips. This would all seem faintly ridiculous if it weren’t that director Choi Jae-hoon (who recently made The Swordsman , also with Jang) and screenwriter Nam Ji-Woong have injected some biting social critique among all the bloody malarky – notably through the way the story reveals that the sex trafficking ring at the heart of the evildoing is condoned and exploited by people at the highest levels of autho...

Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Paul Grant dies aged 56

The Whisper of Silence review – coffee-taster drama makes most of stunning locations

Alfonso Quijada’s feature follows a young woman gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell. It looks great, but fails to satisfy This drama from El Salvador has several commendable features, starting with a tender, sympathetic central performance from Laura Osma as Josefina, a sweet young woman who discovers she has an exceptional sense of smell. However, something doesn’t quite smell right about the way the film clumsily layers uplift and violence, served up with excessively stylised visuals and sound. It’s as if writer-director Alfonso Quijada, better known hitherto as an actor and producer, doesn’t know if he wants to make a telenovela-style melodrama or something more elevated and arty – in the tradition of Claudia Llosa’s The Milk of Sorrow or Lila Avilés’s films The Chambermaid and Tótem – with long takes and oblique storytelling strategies. In the end, it fails to satisfy either ambition. Josefina and her younger brother Alfredo (William Castillo) lost their mother not long a...

Antidote review – ayahuasca tourism film lauds hallucinogenic tea’s healing powers

Is the vogue for the Amazonian drink a beneficial driver of tourism – or a form of capitalist exploitation? This film lacks the rigour to find out Often mocked by standup comedians and sitcom writers – a sure sign of its ubiquity – ayahuasca, the hallucinogenic tea, has brought an influx of western travellers going on healing retreats to the forests of Peru. Focusing on its medicinal properties, Marc Silver’s documentary aims to dispel certain misconceptions about the psychedelic brew. Among Indigenous people, rituals involving ayahuasca have been practised for millennia. Made from vines and other plant extracts, the concoction relieves patients of physical and mental traumas. The cure also carries a ceremonial aspect; the taking of the medicine is at times accompanied by songs and chants. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/uekyI2m via IFTTT

Kangana Ranaut reveals she wanted to launch restaurant last year; says couldn't do it due to “financial setbacks”

Kangana Ranaut is a name that needs no introduction in the Indian film industry. She has made a mark for herself with her impeccable acting skills, bold choices of roles, and expressing of her opinions. Apart from acting, Ranaut has also tried her hand at direction and production. However, did you know that she wants to own a restaurant as well? In one of her recent Instagram stories, the actress opened up about her dream of owning a restaurant while revealing that she wanted to open a restaurant last year but she couldn’t because of “financial setbacks”. For the unversed, the Queen actress shared a clip of one of her old interviews with film trade analyst Komal Nahta. The host asked Kangana about her wish list other than films. Meanwhile, captioning the same, she wrote, “Another interview from more than a decade ago, yes cooking is very much on my agenda ... had some financial setbacks last year otherwise I was all set to launch my restaurant in the valley, will be coming soon though....

Dreaming an Island review – an eerie tour of planet Earth’s depopulated future