Bollywood Times News

Sunday, May 22 was a historic evening as stars and media gathered to celebrate the premiere of the world’s first NFT funded film, Ilm, a moving short following the relationship between an 11-year-old and his grandmother.

Actor Vishal Malhotra, who is still remembered for his work in Ishq Vishq, Jannat, Kismat Konnection and Salaam-e-Ishq, has turned director with the drama and also written it. Ilm’s premiere was attended by Vishal, who makes a special appearance in the film, co-star Suchitra Pillai and the rest of the cast. The grand launch was also attended by music composer Anu Malik, who shares a good rapport with Vishal.

While addressing the press at the premiere, Vishal Malhotra said that everyone present at the event was part of something “historic”. “This is a matter of pride for all of. It’s a big deal for us that the world is watching us with a magnifying glass through this film. In the US and other western countries, the use of NFT is quite advanced. But in India, it has happen only now and hence it’s an important development for us.”

Vishal also shared how this development would become a blue-print for aspiring filmmakers across the world as it makes the process of bringing one’s vision to life feasible.

“When earlier I had to make a film, I would take money from my family and friends, which would mean they could interfere in its making. So, I wouldn’t have been able to realise my vision. But with Ilm, all that was taken care of.”

Ilm will also release on a digital platform. Earlier in a press statement, Vishal had spoken about turning director with the film and the “responsibility” that the position of a filmmaker bears.

“It was a great experience to learn and understand how difficult it is to hold the torch of such a big responsibility. Directing a film is a very subjective thing as you are literally showing the audience how you see the world through your own lens. And the way I see ‘Ilm’ is that it involves happiness, grief, trauma, fear and struggle. And I hope to convey these feelings to the audience and wish that they will feel these emotions just as I did while I was directing it,” he had said.

The poster and trailer of a psychological thriller English film ‘Different’ was launched recently and it included artists from many countries including Iran, Russia, Nigeria.

The event took place at grand function held in Mumbai where the chief guest was RRR’s producer DVV Danayya, producer of Sooryavansham – GV Narasimha Rao, VP Padmalaya studio, Akbar Khan, Mukesh Rishi, Milind Gunaji, Payal Ghosh and others were present at the event. Producer NSVD Sankara Rao and Director (Dragann) Uday Bhaskar’s film is really different according to its name. In many ways its concept, casting and presentation are different. It stars Hollywood actress Aziza (Russia) and Iranian actress Elham Farhadi, hero Saran will be seen.

NSVD Sankara Rao who has produced the English film Different under the banner of Wonder Brothers International Films Pvt Ltd. said, “In Different we have made a different effort. Have worked to combine artists from different countries in a single film. While Russian heroine Aziza will be seen in it, Iran’s actress Elham Farhadi is also a part of this movie. This has never happened before in our country, so I hope the audience will like this experiment. This is my first experience in the film industry but working with director Uday Bhaskar was memorable. We have launched the trailer, you will have to watch the film on the big screen to know the full story. It is a psychological thriller, with suspense. There is no compromise on the quality of the film and CG work is interesting.

The film’s director (Dragann) Uday Bhaskar said, “Different is a psychological thriller, which has a very different story. This is the real story of a scientist. The graphics work in the film is good. The film has not been made only for India but for the whole world. It will be released in many countries around the world.”

Actress Aziza said, “We are all very excited about this film. I would appreciate the director who has made this film with a lot of passion and effort. I hope the audience will also like this film.”

The film’s hero Saran said that the entire experience of the film has been quite different for all of us. “My character is someone who hates himself. What can be more fortunate for me than to get the opportunity to work with artists from all over the world. This film is an experimental movie not only for India but also for the International market. The story of the film revolves around a doll.”

Iranian actress Elham Farhadi said, “We all have very different characters and by playing this role, we experienced many different things as human beings. There are many emotions in my character, which will shock the audience. This film is a story of human selfishness. This film shows all the weaknesses of human beings. I am very happy to be a part of this film.”

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April 22, Mumbai: Documentary film “India’s Sons” showing several stories where innocent men and boys were falsely accused of rape in India and later honourably acquitted, punished for years for a crime that they did not do, was screened at St. Andrews Auditorium on April 22. The film has been directed by Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj and Neeraj Kumar and produced by Shonee Kapoor. Mumbai Premiere was presented by Kiren Srivastav, Founder, Fempowerment Foundation, a women empowerment organization that aims to work towards women empowerment and strongly believes in Justice for all irrespective of Gender.
Justice B N Srikrishna, Former Judge of Supreme Court of India presided as the Chief Guest of the evening said “The film rightly shows how people are misusing laws for selfish motives for extortion, revenge. It is happening because attitude of police and judiciary isn’t objective. Justice for women should not come at cost of trampling upon others’ rights. I commend the efforts of the Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj and team India’s Sons for showing the other side of the misuse of rape laws. It is certainly something we need to discuss and consider as false cases take away the belief in the legal system of the real victims too.”
The film was received by a thundering applause at the event and a standing ovation by one and all present to watch the film.
Kiren Srivastav, Founder, Fempowerment Foundation said “As someone who champions rights of women and celebrates women achievers through the Fempowerment Awards, I am today ironically also supporting India’s Sons .Paradoxical as it may sound to many, I in fact feel these are two sides of the same coin. At a time when women are finally becoming powerful, it is also the right time to talk about the misuse of this power. For, I truly believe that with great power, also comes great responsibility. And not just because Spider-Man said it. But because, the world will soon need more than him – a Spider-Woman! And so we better get talking about both a woman’s power and a woman’s responsibility with that power, in the same breath.”
Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, Director of the film said “While we are all raising our voice for daughters, it’s time we also stand up for India’s Sons.”
About India’s Sons
Since the infamous “Nirbhaya” Gangrape case that happened in the heart of Delhi, India has been under the world’s eye for rising numbers of crimes against women. The horrific case led to various amendments in India’s rape laws, making laws stricter and punishments more severe than ever before. Burden of proof practically shifted on the accused and testimony of woman alone became sufficient for conviction. While the laws were strengthened to address menace of sexual assault posing threat to lives of innocent women and girls, a new problem seems to be spreading fast in the country posing threat to lives of innocent men and boys – that of false rape accusations.
India’s Sons documentary is a compelling compilation of shocking cases from across India that present a true picture of blatant abuse of rape laws. Whether it is story of Prince – a young boy who was just 18 when he was thrown behind bars in a false rape case and his struggle for five years to get his freedom back or a full-fledged racket that was running in Rajasthan where an organized racket comprising of High Court lawyers, women and police made crores by threatening rich men of false rape cases, the film takes you through several instance where many questions get raised on how is the law functioning. The film has been narrated by Actor Karan Oberoi. It presents well researched data from National Crime Records Bureau and various courts depicting the abuse of rape laws. The documentary specifically discusses that while number of reported cases have drastically increased, conviction rate has dwindled and acquittal rates gone up essentially due to false cases in India. Analysing data on rape on false promise of marriage cases (where a man allegedly refuses to marry a woman who he was in sexual relationship with by making promise of marriage) the documentary states that such cases have increased from 19% of total reported cases in 2015 to 45% of total reported cases in 2019. The film ends on a tragic note of case of Arvind Bharti, a young man from Delhi who ended life on a railway track after fighting with false accusations from his ex-wife for almost a decade.

 

Personal care brand Beauty Garage released its botoplexx hair treatment with gorgeous Television acteress Hina khan at ongoing beauty professional expo ,

As she visited there, she was pleasantly surprising to learn about botoplexx hair treatment which is new and that it’s a first ever “all in one “treatment, which works on inner layer of the hair and infuses protein which repairs the broken bonds. And the final result is frizz free, smooth & shiny hair with improved elasticity which last up to 6 months.

Talking about on botoplexx hair treatment experience Hina Khan said: ‘It Is very unique treatment, it doesn’t weigh down the hair and helps them retain their natural volume & also its suitable for all hair types, in nutshell I feel it’s an anti – aging treatment for our hair’.

Talking about the Hina khan visit at professional beauty expo Beauty garage co-founder Mahesh Ravaria said : ‘ we started this company in 2017 in haircare segment & our product botoplexx hair treatment has taken over the market in no time despite of being a new entrant, It was pleasure to see Hina khan echoing about our botoplexx hair treatment, which shows the credibility that we generated as a brand, Hina khan is a youth icon and this voicing over for our brand would only strengthen our efforts.’

 

 

With demand for new content at an all-time high, creators everywhere are looking to leverage cutting edge technology to bring their stories to life. Virtual production lets them do exactly this — enabling storytelling beyond the constraints of location, space and budget. Today, Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema announced their plans to deliver India’s first full-service LED virtual production stage for pan-Indian and international content creators. This transformative collaboration between two of India’s most respected names in the media business aims to provide the tools for creators to craft the best versions of their stories for feature films, streaming episodics and advertising commercials.

“The future belongs to whoever designs it! When faced with disruptions and innovations, we must learn to maneuver. Virtual production enables the creative mind to imagine without limit, and then create it. We are proud to partner with Qube, renowned for bringing new technology to the entertainment industry. Our strength and experience in making movies and running studios in tandem with Qube’s technical knowledge makes this a great collaboration.” said Nagarjuna Akkineni of Annapurna Studios.

The purpose-built virtual production stage with a 20 ft high and 60 ft wide curved 2.3 mm dot- pitch, ultra high refresh rate, wide colour gamut, high brightness LED screen is expected to be the first world-class permanent facility in India. The setup will use top-of-the-line AOTO LED displays, state-of-the-art camera tracking and powerful, custom-built rendering systems using Unreal Engine to render complex photorealistic virtual locations in real-time. This would help filmmakers greatly expand their palette while saving money by reducing compositing and on- location production costs and saving time by enabling the creative team to see close-to-final shots on camera, in real-time on the live-action set.

Qube’s success in transforming the media industry in India multiple times over the last three decades emerged from the company’s willingness and ability to identify and adopt technology that had the potential to greatly improve their own feature and advertising production and post- production workflows. Annapurna and Qube will draw on this experience to reimagine the production process for today’s fast-paced and demanding entertainment environment with virtual production — the next evolutionary step in content production.

“At Qube, we’ve always been at the forefront of movie technology, combining our passion for cinema and our willingness to push the limits of technology for the benefit of content creators and audiences,” said Senthil Kumar, Co-founder of Qube Cinema. “In Annapurna Studios, we have found a partner who brings decades of experience, a deep love of cinema, and many shared values to the table. We are thrilled to be working with them on virtual production. Our purpose is to bring to life every story, to engage, entertain and enlighten the world. This collaboration pushes us ever closer to fulfilling that purpose.”

The stage expects to begin setup and testing in early June and be available for commercial projects from October 1, 2022.

Superstar Ajay Devgan will soon be seen in the film ‘Runway 34’ which is set to release by the end of this month. The film is an aviation thriller and it also marks Ajay’s return to the director’s chair after 6 years.

While the audience awaits for the film to hit the theaters, it has already left stone unturned with its glimpses. Runway 34 is a story of a night of debauchery prior to helming Flight Skyline 555 from Doha to Cochin, leaving him hungover, exhausted and unable to focus on his work. Yet when climatic conditions start replicating the turmoil within him, he has no option but to sober up. A howling cyclone rages on, whilst on the ground, a bereaving and distracted Air Traffic Control Officer forgets to relay important information to the Captain. Information that has the potential to threaten the lives of the 150 passengers and crew on board

Ajay Devgan who’s playing a role of Captain Vikrant Khanna is put on trial for grave misconduct by a Law-Enforcement Officer who leaves no stone unturned to uphold justice.Well, here begins a cat and mouse game till the end.

Directed by Ajay Devgn, ‘Runway 34’ is produced by Ajay Devgn Films and is co-produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak, Vikrant Sharma, Sandeep Harish Kewlani, Tarlok Singh Jethi, Hasnain Husaini and Jay Kanujia.

The film, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rakul Preet Singh, Boman Irani, Aakanksha Singh and Angira Dhar, is set to hit theatres on April 29

Joining Pravin Shah, Sagoon Wagh & Narendra Hirawat of NH Studioz the various celebrities who attended the event were :

Nana Patekar, Jeetendra, Sohail Khan, Singer Sukhwinder Singh, Rajat Bedi, Rakhi Sawant, Johny Lever, Arjan Bajwa, Mukesh Rishi, Satish Kaushik, Kumar Taurani, Isha Koppikar ,Sunny Singh, Gurmeet Choudhary, Jayantilal Gada, Siddhant Kapoor, Manmohan Shetty, Ashok Pandit, Chitah Yagnesh Shetty & many more

Time Group & NH Studioz unveiled their forthcoming mega expansion plans & embarked upon a new journey

April 2022: TIME Group & NH STUDIOZ made an exciting announcement at a gala event held at Hotel Sahara Star. TIME is an end-to-end entertainment major, that covers Acquisition,Production,Distribution,Exhibition of films/content all under one banner. NH Studioz a leading content house with distribution of Indian Cinematic Content around the Globe Via all possible modes and mediums.

Industry doyen, Mr. Pravin Shah of TIME Group and Mr.Narendra Hirawat of NH STUDIOZ along with Mr. Sagoon Wagh announced their plans.

TIME Group Chairman, Mr. Pravin Shah, Mr. Sagoon Wagh (Managing Director), Mr.Viral Shah (Director) and Mr. Jeet Wagh (Director) unveiled the amped logo of TIME to mark the momentous occasion of their four decades in the Indian media and entertainment business.

TIME unveils the most advanced state-of-art chroma studio at Golden Tobacco, Vile Parle West. It is the biggest shooting floor in Mumbai sprawling across 30,000 sq. ft. and 55 ft. height. Having world class technologies, providing the finest services nationwide. In collaboration with Mr. Subhash Kale, owner of Real Touch Studios making the Impossible-possible in content creation.

Mr. Pravin Shah, Chairman, TIME Group, said, “I pledge to keep raising bars the way I have been doing with every project since four decades and keep entertaining with larger than life visuals as always!

Mr. Sagoon Wagh, Managing Director, TIME Group, has been in the Film Industry for 40 years and has been with Time Group during its early days. He said, “Time Group Chairman, Pravinbhai and I go a long way and have been associated since 1982. I was a part of blockbuster films Vijaypath, Jodi No.1, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, etc. We will now be announcing new projects in films, web-series and music videos.”

Mr. Viral Shah, Director, TIME Group, said, “TIME Group has been a pioneer and innovator through the last 40 years and now, we are making a quantum leap towards future forward Gen-Next technology, services and solutions in the Indian entertainment space. Apart from its established verticals, TIME Films and TIME Audio, TIME Group now has diversified into TIME Virtual Studios, TIME Artists Network and TIME Motion Picture Services.” He also added, “The amped logo symbolizes TIME Group’s renewed energy. We, at TIME, are revolutionizing the future with frontier technologies that will take Indian film-making and content creation to the next level. Our new verticals will add and augment our holistic integrated offering to Indian entertainers.”

TIME Films & NH Studioz unveiled new projects with their associates:
Zakhami,Freedom at MidNight,Operation Operation Khiladi, Topspin, Samosa Singh,Wedding Unplanned,Kabool,Ranneeti,Gandhi Maidan,Taskari

The unstoppable ‘MRFW’ show created yet another glitzy occasion to put across the message of Education and Support of street kids and orphans, since education is the birth right of every child and a wealth no can steal or take away from them. The Montrose Runway Fashion Week, conceived by Vishal Montrose, Founder of Montrose Foundation, was held recently in Mumbai. Like every year, this year too celebrities came in support of the movement and pledged to support the education of Street Kids and Orphans. The glittering event saw the most gorgeous actresses of the entertainment industry cheering their best as audience.

The organizer Mr. Vishal Montrose said, “I feel overwhelmed by the response, even though we were so new to the city of Mumbai, I feel grateful. I can only thank everyone who has supported us over the years and are still supporting us today.” While his co-organizer Mr. Nitin Bhardwaj said, “Now we have this huge responsibility of keeping up to expectations and we will make sure we live up to it.”

Celebrities present at the event were Pavitra Punia, Ridheema Tiwari, Kamya Punjabi, Lakshmi Iyer, Neerusha Nikhat, Vipin Bhardwaj, Dinesh Mohan, Priyanka Munjal amongst others who came in to support the cause.

Anuj Sachdeva who is currently seen in Woh To Hai Albelaa has another project lined up for release. The actor is gearing up for his new webseries ‘Ek Extra Mile’ for Voot. Anuj shares, “I was always keen to do a web series and I have done a few good series’, and this one also is as special to me. When this series was offered to me, I said yes to it because the team especially the director was very enthusiastic about it. The director himself has written a lot of portions of the series and it’s his own passion towards the series and this story, that actually pulled me. If the director himself is so indulged in the character and how it’s supposed to be, then you as an actor also get more enthusiastic about it and feel let’s just do this. If the director is seeing in it I should go with his vision and walk with him in the project. It’s an interesting series, a simple story and everyone will love it and I am looking forward for its release.”

In a world fraught with human clashes and discord, we are constantly searching for that inner peace. We have long realised that our life’s purpose can be sought only when we delve into our own selves, leading to inner peace as well. One such dynamic and evolved personality is Nityanand Charan Das. Associated with ISKCON since many years, He has chronicled the stories of 21 saints who attained great spiritual heights through their commitment and dedication in a book that was released recently.

This spiritual event was marked by several cultural activities that were presented in the form of bhajans and interesting conversations around spirituality and connect with our day to day lives. Actor Kajal Aggarwal who was also a Special Guest of the event conversed with Nityanand Charan Das about the book and his journey. “Icons of Grace is one of the most spiritually relatable books written by Nityanand Charan Das from ISKCON. It makes the divine personal for each one of us through stories of 21 saints who witnessed grace through their devotion. Makes one feel like it’s achievable in their life too! Loved the book and strongly recommend it as a must-read,” she said while speaking about the book.

Nityanand Charan Das said “There is something for everyone in *ICONS OF GRACE,* For an aspiring spiritualist, it acts as a guiding light..* For an advanced one, it acts a source of nourishment. For someone who is looking for solace for a wounded heart, it acts as a soothing balm & For someone with a troubled mind, it acts a perfect medicine. Just read and see the wonderful magic that manifests!

Some other personalities who attended the event were: Ajay Mittal, Chairman-Arshiya Limited, Partner-Mittal Builders – Abhishek Karnani, Nisha Aggarwal (Actor & Influencer), Malti Jain, Subodh & Snehal Runwal, Kiren Shrivastav (Founder Fempowerment and Chairperson CFBP Consumer Film Festival)

About the Author: Born in a small village in Himachal Pradesh, Swamiji harboured and pursed his dream of becoming an Army officer since his young days. He did pray and chant and he did have a recurring vision of donning saffron robes even as a young boy, but did not pay much attention to it.
However, life’s experiences drew him to spirituality and led him to being a monk. He has been treading the path of spirituality since, enlightening and inspiring others to discover their own purpose in life.

About the Book: Icons of Grace traces the journeys and lives of 21 luminaries of India who were spiritual guides to many and people even today through their teachings and personal experiences. The book offers hope to each and every one of us to believe that though our journey maybe imperfect, spiritual redemption is accessible and possible to everyone.