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Mark Kermode on… Kathryn Bigelow, a stylish ruffler of feathers

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From vampire noir to Bin Laden, Point Break to Detroit, the first woman to win an Oscar for best director has never pulled her punches Watching new Jeff Nichols release The Bikeriders , starring Austin Butler and Tom Hardy as 60s Chicago greasers, I was reminded of two other movies: László Benedek’s 1953 Marlon Brando vehicle The Wild One , explicitly cited as an inspiration, and The Loveless , the 1981 feature debut of Kathryn Bigelow , the American film-maker (b.1951) who would go on to become the first woman to win a best director Oscar with her 2008 war drama The Hurt Locker . A symphony of leather-clad posing (with just a touch of Kenneth Anger ), The Loveless was a staple of the late-night circuit in the 80s, often on a double bill with David Lynch’s Eraserhead . Sharing directing credits with Monty Montgomery, Bigelow playfully deconstructed masculinity and machismo in a manner that was one part wry to two parts relish. I remember seeing The Loveless at the Phoenix in East
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Amitabh Bachchan reflects on the 'changes in cinema content'; speaks up on freedom of expression

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In a rare moment, megastar Amitabh Bachchan spoke about civil liberties and freedom of expression in films. He also spoke about how current historicals reek of jingoism. Amitabh Bachchan was one of the chief guests at the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival. As per the video shared by the news agency ANI, Amitabh spoke about cinema and censorship. He said, “The 1952 Cinematograph Act set out the structure of censorship as it stands today upheld by the film certification board (Central Board of Film Certification). But even now, ladies and gentlemen--and I am sure my colleagues on stage will agree--questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression.” "Since early times there have been many changes in cinema content. From mythological films and socialist cinema to the advent of the angry young man and the current brand of historicals, couched in fictionalised jingoism, along with moral policing, the range has kept audiences reflecting on the politics and
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Kangana Ranaut recalls going for therapy after acid attack on sister Rangoli; says, “Caused me to cover my face violently”

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Actress Kangana Ranaut never shies away from expressing her thoughts about ongoing issues. Recently, a 17-year-old girl faced an acid attack by two men in Delhi's Dwarka on Tuesday. Sharing her piece of mind on the same, Kangana recalled her sister Rangoli Chandel's trauma and how she herself was terrified after the attack. The Queen actress took to her social media handle and shared a note on her Instagram story section. While speaking of the same, Ranaut stated that she used to violently cover her face every time a stranger passed her. The Simran actress’s note read, “When I was a teenager my sister @rangoli r chandel was attacked with acid by a road side Romeo.... She had to go through 52 surgeries, unimaginable amount of mental and physical trauma.” Kangana further added, “We as a family were devastated .... I also had to go through therapy because I feared anyone passing me might throw acid on me which caused me to cover my face violently in a reflex action every tim
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Bigg Boss 16: A wish-granting library will grant contestants their wishes but there is a twist

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A magical library in the coveted Bigg Boss 16 house awaits a few lucky contestants, who get to choose among three exciting wishes. Entry into this library must be earned through a task that divides the house into two teams - Team White and Team Black. These teams must compete in the task that involves two members of each team making gold biscuits and the team that prepares the maximum number of biscuits wins the round. A member of the winning team will be granted access to the wish-granting library. It will be fun to see who earns library privileges and the wish they choose. Drama over food escalates to an entirely new level in Bigg Boss 16 as a huge fight breaks out between Archana Gautam and Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, who are known as friends that bicker often. It all started with Priyanka kneading separate dough for her and Ankit because she didn't want to have ‘Methi ka paratha’ for breakfast like the rest of the housemates. Archana was miffed that Priyanka saved some dough f
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Stree 2: Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana to kick off shooting the horror comedy next year

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After teasing the audience of the arrival of Stree 2 in the mid credit scene of Bhediya , there is news of Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee are all set to start to shoot for Stree 2 next year.  The film is a part of the horror comedy franchise kicked off by Dinesh Vijan under his production banner Maddock films. The Varun Dhawan starrer was also a part of the same franchise and with Abhishek Banerjee being the key to both the stories; we wonder what the next film in the Shraddha Kapoor starrer franchise has in store for its audience. A source from the production house confirmed that Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurrana along with the rest of the original cast of Stree will begin shooting in March 2023 with shooting set to take place across four cities. The source said, “The end credit scene in Bhediya where Rajkummar Rao (Vicky) and Aparshakti Khurana (Bittu) are seen is a clear giveaway that there is Stree 2 in the pipeline. The original star cast of the 20
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Naseeruddin Shah to play Akbar in web-series

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Is there a better actor than Naseeruddin Shah in this land? Not that we know of. The maverick actor is now all set to face the biggest challenge of his career. Naseer will play the Moghul emperor Akbar in web series being produced by Contiloe Entertainment. Confirming this Naseer tells me, “It’s a series called TAJ. It is about Akbar and the battle of succession among his sons. I’m playing Akbar, and not at all like Papaji (Prithviraj Kapoor in Mughal-e-Azam )’s version!” Naseer’s latest release  Maarrich  sank without a trace. Clearly, his unfathomable talent is not being properly used on the big screen. Playing Akbar in a web series might just be the boost that his career needs. Also Read: Naseeruddin Shah calls The Kashmir Files an ‘almost fictionalised version of the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus’; Vivek Agnihotri reacts from Latest Bollywood News | Hindi Movie News | Hindi Cinema News | Indian Movies | Films - Bollywood Hungama https://ift.tt/wG24t6L via IFTTT https://ift.
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EXCLUSIVE: Pushpa actress Rashmika Mandanna plays a blind character in Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Mission Majnu

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Sidharth Malhotra recently delivered a dud in the form of  Thank God  (2022). But his popularity is intact and a major reason behind it is the super-success of  Shershaah  (2021). This patriotic war film, backed by Karan Johar, earned a lot of accolades for him. As a result, the expectations are tremendous for  Mission Majnu , his upcoming film. It is a period film and is also in the patriotic zone, just like  Shershaah . And just like the Kiara Advani co-starrer,  Mission Majnu  will also skip a theatrical release. 2 days ago, the team of the film announced that the film will release directly on Netflix, on January 20. Bollywood Hungama  has stumbled upon significant piece of information about the film. A source told  Bollywood Hungama , “Rashmika Mandanna is paired opposite Sidharth Malhotra in  Mission   Majnu . This will be a very unique role for her as she plays a blind woman, a first for her. She plays the love interest of Sidharth and that she is visually impaired makes for an
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Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey, Chitrangada Singh starrer Gaslight to release directly on Disney+ Hotstar

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The makers of the Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey, and Chitrangada Singh-starrer Gaslight have decided to release the film directly on OTT, as per a report in PeepingMoon. Directed by Pawan Kripalani, the film, which is a psychological thriller, will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. Explaining the reason for the makers opting for an online release, the publication quoted a source saying, “ Gaslight is a psychological thriller with a strikingly unconventional plot, which might not be of interest to theatre-going audiences. This genre of movies has worked better on OTT than in cinemas in the past, and hence the makers have decided to give it a digital release as that would give the film a better reach besides the financial safety that comes with it.” The unusual casting of the film had made heads turn when it was announced as none of the three actors – Vikrant, Sara and Chitrangada – have worked with each other before. Kripalani’s last directorial venture was the horror-comedy Bhoot P
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Rani Mukerji to inaugurate the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival

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Rani Mukerji will make a trip to the West Bengal capital to inaugurate the Kolkata International Film Festival with the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. In its 28th edition, the festival has invited Rani as a distinguished guest for her illustrious career over the last 25 years and her immeasurable contribution to the Indian film industry. She will be felicitated at its inaugural ceremony where dignitaries from world cinema, Indian cinema and West Bengal will be present. As a successful mainstream movie star who has sustained over decades and re-invented herself multiple times, the actress has been considered as an inspiration for Bengali youth. Talking about the honour, Rani said, “A visit to Kolkata is always special to me as it brings back childhood memories and reminds me of my love for cinema that grew in my heart from an early age. Kolkata International Film Festival has celebrated the legacy of filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen and many Ben
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Akshay Kumar reviews Avatar: The Way of Water; cannot stop heaping praises at the James Cameron marvel

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When the first instalment of Avatar released across countries about twelve years ago, the entire world couldn’t stop gushing about the visual treat. Now a decade later, James Cameron has marked the return of the franchise with Avatar: The Way of Water and fans cannot wait to see what the filmmaker has in store. The fans of this film franchise also include Bollywood stars, who have been eagerly awaiting the release of the second instalment and one of the first ones to catch the screening of the same is Akshay Kumar. The actor took to social media to give his review/opinion about the 3D marvel. Akshay Kumar took to Twitter to share his experience of watching Avatar: The Way of Water , “Watched #AvatarTheWayOfWater last night and Oh boy!! MAGNIFICENT is the word. Am still spellbound. Want to bow down before your genius craft, @JimCameron. Live on!” Followed by his post, some fans shared their excitement about watching the film when it releases in theatres. One fan commented, “Already
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Pathaan ban: Protestors burn Shah Rukh Khan effigies and demand ban of the Deepika Padukone starrer

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While the Bollywood community and many fans of Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t stop showering love on his film Pathaan , the film has been facing some issues in certain territories of India. It seems that Indore experienced some disruption as a Right-Wing group has demanded a ban on the release of the film as well as taken an objection to the recently released song ‘Besharam Rang’ that also features popular actress Deepika Padukone in bikinis. It seems that a group named Veer Shivaji group planned protests on the streets, at a road intersection, in Indore where they burnt effigies of the superstar Shah Rukh Khan. As per reports, the protestors claimed that the song ‘Besharam Rang’ featuring the superstar and leading lady Deepika Padukone has offended the sentiments of the Hindu community. And therefore, they have been demanding the ban on the release of Pathaan , which is expected to be releasing in January next year. This is probably not the first time when the SRK film has come under th
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