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ControversyMany in Malappuram and the state feel that making different versions of the episode to score political points will impact society negatively.Nijeesh NarayananPhoto courtesy- Kochi Post The Malayalam movie industry, which has a history of more than seven decades, has rarely portrayed Malappuram realistically, and a large chunk of those rare portrayals have actually come up only in the last five or six years. Now, back to back announcements about five films based on a single theme revolving around the contentious Malabar Rebellion or Moplah Rebellion which occurred in three taluks of Malappuram in 1921, have created a furore. Amidst laments and outright rejection, the debates on the Rebellion and the hero of the Rebellion -- Variyamkunnath Kunhahammed Haji -- that followed the movie announcements, have raised concerns about these ventures leading to a scenario in which the world of the past is replaced by the frames of the present.

Jan 18, 2019

Thrillers on Netflix, Jack Dorsey, the Aclu, and more in today's daily Link Tank!

Jack Dorsey has promised stronger anti-doxxing enforcement on Twitter

"Twitter loves a good verbal takedown. And Twitter seems to especially relish it when the person being taken down is the actual creator of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. But amid the vague, non-committal reflections on the importance of listening (to alt-right figures like Ali Akbar) and how a protester handcuffing herself to the Twitter building was “speaking truth to power,” Dorsey, in a recent Huffington Post interview, does appear to promise one thing: harsher anti-doxxing enforcement on Twitter."

Read more at Inverse.

The list of the most popular Netflix shows state by state is unexpected.

"Did you know that they love Jane the Virgin in Texas? That Idaho is wild for Stranger Things? That way, way, way too many states are obsessed with 13 Reasons Why? Lifehacker dug...

Ahead of the Academy Awards, we’re reviewing each short category. See the Documentary section below and the other shorts sections here.

Body Team 12 – Liberia – 13 minutes

For Americans the Ebola scare was a handful of cases and nurses who weren’t as careful as they should have been. To the world it was thousands upon thousands of dead bodies—loved ones that family members can’t normally mourn because every second the deceased’s blood lays in the streets is an extra second risking greater contamination. It’s easy to forget the scope of epidemics like this when ground zero isn’t in our own backyard. We blame countries for being inferior, rejoice in our capabilities to put a lid on things, and go about our daily business as though nothing is wrong. This isn’t the case for citizens of Liberia where outbreak numbers exploded exponentially. It was a plague destroying their country.

Explosives intended for special effects work went off accidentally yesterday, killing five members of an Iranian film crew. The incident occurred at the Sacred Defence Cinematic Town just south of Tehran, on the set of Merajiha, a film about the Iran-Iraq war.

Although most film crews use safer, more easily controlled explosives, the Merajiha crew explained that they had resorted to using TNT because the import of those alternatives is banned by the Iranian authorities. It appears that the explosives detonated next to special effects technician Mohammad Javad Sharifi's car, killing everyone inside. Sharifi was among the dead, as was set manager Ali Akbar Ranjbar. Other names have yet to be released. Several more people are understood to be seriously injured.

Most work on Merajiha had already been completed and it was expected to premiere at the Fajr Film Festival next month....

Coming up on December 20th is the, need we say, highly anticipated Dhoom:3 starring Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra. The man behind the story of the first two Dhooms, Vijay Krishna Acharya, this time takes the lead as director as well!

Check out what he had to say in his Director’s note:

Dhoom is a journey that started in 2003. A light footed caper that became a runaway hit. It is said that sequels are arguably the legitimate offspring of successful films. However, we at Yash Raj Films always felt that the reason to make the film should be its content and not just the tag of Dhoom. With this intent we brought Dhoom:2 to you in 2006. This time, the cops and robbers set up hid a love story within its folds. It had a dream run at the box office and it created a...

Still from “A Pestering Journey”

What: Documentary and short film screenings in Mumbai

Organizers: The Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (Idpa), Dada Saheb Phalke Film City and P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Mumbai

Program:

1) Radha Krishna – Director: J.S.Bhownagary ( 22 mts)

Specially planned for the occasion of Janmashtmi. Based on miniature paintings.

In this film made in 1957, J.S.Bhownagary presents the legend of Krishna and Radha among his other lovers through miniature paintings belonging to the Pahari tradition. Through the deframing of the images by using the camera lens and the music of V. Shirali, Ali Akbar and Ravi Shankar, the film is a poetic retelling of the love between Krishna and Radha.

2) Do Pahar- Director : Shazia Shrivastava (27mts)

Lead role of Rohini Hattangdi

Sudha, an old woman survives her remaining days on scraps of leftover food, abuse from her son and watching the world from the countless windows of her ancestral house.

It was a big day for Uday Chopra as he proudly showcased his brand new venture, Yomics with Abhishek Bachchan by his side. Uday Chopra hosted the launch event and introduced his vision for getting in to the comic space.

Uday highlighted the tagline of Yomics that is ‘Not Just for Kids’. His efforts to revive the Indian comic industry were visible as he spoke about his childhood passion for comics. Abhishek Bachchan was in the best of his wits while supporting his dear friend and also keeping the audiences entertained with his nerve wracking humor.

Yomics has kick started with 4 major comic series including Dhoom, Hum Tum, Ek Tha Tiger and a brand new character Daya Prochu, which incidentally is an anagram of Uday Chopra himself. In fact, his passion for comics has also driven him to write the scripts of two of the comic series including Dhoom and Daya Pronchu.

I love talking to directors; they are actually my favorite people to interview because they have such passion about their projects. Last week I got a chance to talk to someone who is not only directing his movie but also is starring in it and it was even better! I am talking about Asad Shan and the film is UK’s 7 Welcome to London. He says acting has always been a bug and though it was a tough journey he finally was able to follow his dream. After studying in New York with some of the best acting teachers there and a couple of very successful years in Bombay, Asad came back to the UK and saw a gap that he could fill in terms of making movies. As he says he had a vision and faith and the result is his first major film 7 Welcome to London. It has...

As mentioned in the previous entry announcing that you can watch a few of its documentaries for free, the Mill Valley Film Festival opens today and runs through October 16. Introducing his overview of the festival (and his batch of capsule previews), Michael Hawley notes that this year's Mvff opens with Glenn Close's "gender-bending turn as a 19th century Irish butler in Albert Nobbs. Close will attend the screening with director Rodrigo García, and then reappear the following night for her own festival tribute and reception. Sharing opening night duties at a separate venue will be Jay and Mark Duplass' Jeff Who Lives at Home, starring Jason Segel and Susan Sarandon. The film is scheduled for a March 2012 release, making it an unusual choice for a Mvff opener. Both Duplass brothers are confirmed guests. Closing out the fest on Sunday, October 16 will be the film I'm most anticipating this autumn,...

Eminent filmmaker Yash Chopra’s son Uday Chopra has finally bade adieu to acting. Debuted with ‘Mohabatein’, Uday failed to firm his foot in the challenging world of filmdom. Seen in films like ‘Nil and Nikki’, Uday even tried his hand in screenplay with ‘Pyaar Impossible’. But none of his skill showed color and he finally decided to quit Bollywood. His last film will be ‘Dhoom 3’. Though the actor failed to give a memorable performance, he will always be remembered for the role as Ali Akbar Fateh in ‘Dhoom’ and ‘Dhoom 2’. Uday tweets, "No I'm not givin...

Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 – Thespian Thilakan, who was ousted from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (Amma) on the grounds of indiscipline, is all set to don the grease paint after a few months.

Speaking to Ians after appearing before the labour commissioner here Monday, Thilakan said director Ali Akbar has signed him in the lead role for his next film ‘Achen’.

‘Akbar told me that he has taken it as a challenge to cast me in his film. He has said that he does not care what the consequences are going to be. The shooting.