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Subhash K Jha revisits the Amitabh Bachchan-Ben Kingsley brilliant drama Teen Patti in this special look back feature at the film that released in 2010.

Teen Patti is a surprisingly skilful and audaciously complex piece of drama. It is a tautly scripted and brilliantly executed film on the deep-rooted link between financial ambitions and moral compromises.

Writer-director Leena Yadav gives the theme of monetary indulgence a dizzying but pinned-down spin. She speeds confidently across out-of-control lives on a college campus with the confident vision of a raconteur who spins a seemingly indecipherable web of deceit, intrigue, and crime.

Miraculously, Yadav’s yarn preserves its pencil-sharp edge of intrigue and wit right to the end. The story of the eccentric math magician’s adventures takes the narrative from underground addas to high-class casinos, where Professor Venkat Subramaniam, his junior colleague Madhavan, and four students convert the professor’s newly discovered mathematical theory...

On February 4, 2005, 20 years ago, two films were released simultaneously. While Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black mastered the marque, Pritish Nandy Productions’ capricious and captivating Shabd is remembered within the film fraternity for the infamous incident wherein the late and much missed Pritish Nandy’s plucky daughter Rangita asked Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan to leave preview screening meant only for the cast and crew of Shabd.

Sometimes, an interesting premise fails to carry a film to a luminous conclusion. Shabd has it all: a truly striking plot, great looking cast, terrific locations and mesmeric cinematography. Yet it misses the bus, stops short of delivering a genre-defying wallop in the jaded face of the box-office.

Shabd proves one thing for all times. Merely packaging a different plot in gloss cannot compensate for the absence of intrinsic credibility in the proceedings. Debutante director Leena Yadav displays a flair for framing her shots...

Girls Will Be Girls director Shuchi Talati says 2024 is an incredible year for independent Indian women filmmakers. “We’re collectively creating a tapestry of stories that have not been given space in our culture,” she says.

Talati’s debut feature set the tone in January by winning the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival while its 22-year-old lead actress, Preeti Panigrahi, bagged the special jury award for acting. The mother-daughter drama was more than six years in the making, with Talati first pitching it at the 2018 Nfdc Film Bazaar Co-Production Market.

She hasn...

The Burari deaths shocked the New Delhi society as much as the whole country. Eleven family members of the Chundawant family were found hanged from the ceiling of the apartment they were living in, while the oldest family member, the grandmother, was found strangled in the next room. Immediately drawing attention by the media for its mysterious circumstances, the whole thing soon because a “circus”, with the remaining family members being adamant that this was not suicide, the media exoticizing the whole thing talking about supernatural events and conspiracy theories, and various organizations trying to exploit the whole situation to promote their own agenda.

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Three years after the events, in 2021, Leena Yadav presented a 3-episode documentary that attempts to shed light on what exactly happened, what followed, and the circumstances and reasons that led to the horrifying deed. In that fashion,...

The American Film Markets runs October 31-November 5

Screen International is rounding up the key projects launched before and during this year’s American Film Market.

Refresh the page for latest updates.

They Follow

The sequel to the 2014 cult horror It Follows with Maika Monroe reprising her role and David Robert Mitchell returning to direct. Neon will co-produce alongside Good Fear Content. Starts filming in early 2024.

World sales: HanWay

Bad Apples

Saoirse Ronan leads Jonatan Etzler’s English-language debut - a satirical comedy and thriller about a school teacher who locks one of her students in her basement. Produced by Pulse Films,...

Restarted negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that could mean an end to the actors strike have raised hopes for this year’s American Film Market, which runs Oct. 31-Nov, 5 in Santa Monica. What everyone is hoping for is, in the words of one leading indie producer, that “we can all get back to business.”

Even without a new SAG-AFTRA deal, there is a healthy batch of new titles on offer — a mix of international features and U.S. indie films that have secured interim agreements from the union to begin production. “In the last few days we’ve seen a waterfall of lineups,” says Nadiia Zaionchkovska, Cco of newly-founded Ukraine distributor Green Light Films, which will be making its market debut at this year’s AFM. “Lots of theatrical films, lots either in post or in pre-production, ready to shoot in the first...

More than 30 years after she made her most famous dash across America in Thelma & Louise, two-time Oscar winner Geena Davis has lined up another wild road trip movie with Cowgirl’s Last Ride.

The comedy adventure was originally announced back in 2019, but has now taken shape, with Scoot McNairy (Argo, 12 Years a Slave), Julia Sweeney (Saturday Night Live, Pulp Fiction) and Jill Scott (The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Get On Up) joining the cast and HanWay Films launching sales at the upcoming American Film Market.

Described as a “comedic odyssey set against the vast landscapes of rural Texas,” the story follows retired Texas cowgirl Fay (Davis), who escapes her Dallas nursing home and journey’s back towards her native East Texas, first in a in a stolen pickup truck then on a horse, on a ride of rediscovery to reconnect with her former self, all while in...

Scoot McNairy (Argo), Julia Sweeney (Pulp Fiction), and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jill Scott have joined the cast of Cowgirl’s Last Ride, led by Oscar-winner Geena Davis.

Hanway Films is handling the film and will take it to the upcoming American Film Market. The film is directed by Leena Yadav, whose debut feature film, Parched, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015. Her 2018 feature Rajma Chawal, which screened at London, was snapped up by Netflix.

Cowgirl’s Last Ride is the latest production from Susan Cartsonis and Suzanne Farwell, the producers behind films such as What Women Want and The Holiday. The pair will produce with their Resonate Entertainment partner Brent Emery, with whom they made the recent Amazon pic Sitting In Bars With Cake. The screenplay was penned by Kris Hunt.

Film’s synopsis reads: We follow an unorthodox retired Texas cowgirl named Fay (Davis), who after battling against the...

The title is set to be introduced to buyers at the American Film Market (AFM).

UK sales outfit HanWay Films has boarded Leena Yadav’s comedy adventure Cowgirl’s Last Ride, starring Geena Davis, and is bringing the title to the American Film Market.

Davis, best known for roles in Thelma & Louse and A League Of Their Own, stars alongside Scoot McNairy, Julia Sweeney and Jill Scott.

Cast was attached prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike commencing.

The story follows an unorthodox retired Texas cowgirl, played by Davis, who battles against the negligent staff of her Dallas nursing home before escaping...

Documentary filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who has directed the docu ‘Brand Bollywood Down Under’, has said that the need to make the film originated from the urge of celebrating Hindi mainstream cinema in all its glory.

Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”

“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...

Documentary filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who has directed the docu ‘Brand Bollywood Down Under’, has said that the need to make the film originated from the urge of celebrating Hindi mainstream cinema in all its glory.

Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”

“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...

Los Angeles, March 13 (Ians) Singer-actor Sofia Carson and 14-time Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren performed their nominated song ‘Applause’ from the film ‘Tell It Like a Woman’ at the Academy Awards.

Carson urged the women of the world to “give themselves an applause” during the simple, stark performance of the ballad.

Carson wore a bejeweled gown over a bodysuit, as seen in silhouette in the spotlight at the Dolby Theatre, and walked over to the piano at song’s conclusion to embrace the much-decorated Warren, who accompanied the vocal performance in a white suit, reports Variety.

Prior to her collaboration with Warren, Carson starred in Disney’s ‘Descendants’ and contributed to the franchise’s three soundtracks. Since ‘Descendants’, she starred in the hit Netflix summer flick, ‘Purple Hearts’ and recorded eight original songs for the romance film.

In addition to her musical contributions to film and television, Carson released her self-titled...

Singer-actor Sofia Carson and 14-time Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren performed their nominated song “Applause” from the film “Tell It Like a Woman” at the Academy Awards Sunday night. Carson urged the women of the world to “give themselves an applause” during the simple, stark performance of the ballad.

Carson wore a bejeweled gown over a bodysuit, as seen in silhouette in the spotlight at the Dolby Theatre, and walked over to the piano at song’s conclusion to embrace the much-decorated Warren, who accompanied the vocal performance in a white suit.

Prior to her collaboration with Warren, Carson starred in Disney’s “Descendants” and contributed to the franchise’s three soundtracks. Since “Descendants,” she starred in the hit Netflix summer flick, “Purple Hearts” and recorded eight original songs for the romance film. In addition to her musical contributions to film and television, Carson released her self-titled studio album in 2022.

Warren...

Sofia Carson’s journey to the Oscar stage is an unusual one: The 29-year-old singer, songwriter and actress had her start guest starring on Disney Channel shows before breaking into film as the daughter of the Evil Queen (of Snow White infamy) in the network’s original movie Descendants. From there, she acted and created original music for the Netflix drama Purple Hearts. Now, she’s the vocalist behind Diane Warren’s Oscar-nominated track “Applause” from the anthology film Tell It Like a Woman, composed of seven short stories centered on female protagonists. “I still pinch myself about the very real reality that I am talking about the Oscars,” she says of being asked to sing at the ceremony, “and that Lady Gaga and Rihanna will also be performing on the same stage.” For the rendition, Warren will join Carson onstage, the first time the writer has performed at the Oscars,...

Diane Warren is heading back to the Dolby Theatre. The legendary songwriter garnered her 14th Oscar nomination on Tuesday recognizing her work on “Applause” — an original song penned for the Samuel Goldwyn Films anthology, Tell It Like a Woman.

Related Story Oscar Nominations: The Complete List of Nominees Related Story How To Watch The 2023 Oscar Nominations Related Story Ryan Coogler On Sundance & 'Fruitvale Station' A Decade Later & How 'Creed' May Be The Most Park City Franchise Ever

While Warren was recognized in November with an Honorary Oscar, she has somehow not yet taken home a statuette for Best Original Song. Her most recent nominations from the Film Academy have come for the songs “Somehow You Do” from Vertical Entertainment’s addiction drama, Four Good Days; “Io Si (Seen)” from Netflix’s Sophia Lorren starrer The Life Ahead, co-written by Laura Pausini; “I’m Standing With You” from Twentieth Century Fox...

Diane Warren’s songwriting job for Tell It Like a Woman was simple: create a hymn for female empowerment.

“We tend to beat ourselves up a lot,” the veteran tune scribe said during a panel at Deadline’s Sound & Screen event. “Every now and then you have to just give yourself some f*cking applause, give yourself some love, give yourself some respect. Give it to yourself before you give it to someone else.”

Tell It Like a Woman is comprised of seven segments directed by female directors from different parts of the world. Genres include drama, comedy, docudrama and animation. “They are pretty powerful stories,” said Warren. “I wanted to write a song that could fit in all these various movies, which is basically just about empowerment. These are stories about strong women. I wanted the song to reflect that.”

Related: Deadline’s Sound & Screen: Full Coverage

It took...

Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has closed a deal with Italian outfit Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment to acquire U.S. distribution rights to star-studded female-powered feature Tell It Like A Woman, whose filmmakers and actors include Taraji P. Henson, Jennifer Hudson, Pauletta Washington, Cara Delevingne, Catherine Hardwicke, Margherita Buy, Marcia Gay Harden, Eva Longoria, Leonor Varela, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anne Watanabe and Mipo O.

For the film, superstar songwriter and 13-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren (who is getting an honorary Academy Award in November) has written original song Applause which was performed by Sofia Carson and is being released later this year as a single through Disney Music Group label Hollywood Records. An accompanying music video was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, starring singer and actress Carson.

Warren’s song is described as “the defining sound of the film and intended to serve as a hymn for female empowerment”. The filmmakers say they...

Mubi is closing the year out on a high note with their December lineup, featuring some of 2021’s most acclaimed U.S. releases.

Highlights include Tsai Ming-liang’s Days (along with his previous feature Afternoon), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife of a Spy, Andreas Fontana’s Azor, Anders Edströ & C.W. Winter’s eight-hour epic The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin), Frank Beauvais’ Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream, and Michael M. Bilandic’s soon-to-premiere Project Space 13.

Also among the lineup is Arnaud Desplechin’s Esther Kahn, a quartet of Godard classics, Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s short The Bones, produced by Ari Aster, and much more.

Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.

December 1 | Pierrot le fou | Jean-Luc Godard | The Cinema of Marx and Coca-Cola: Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960s

December 2 | Le bel indifferent | Jacques Demy | Scenes from a Small Town:...

Photo credit: Aseem Bajaj

With her unique eye, Leena Yadav always has brought something new to the world of cinema. Her slate of films includes the psychological thriller Shabd, the complex human drama Teen Patti that featured Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley, the critically acclaimed thought-provoking drama Parched, and the Rishi Kapoor comedy-drama Rajma Chawal.

Always wanting to challenge herself, her newest project certainly proves that she is committed to that path. The director has taken on a documentary, and not only that it is a true-crime docu-series.

Titled the House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths, the Netflix 3-part series examines chilling truths and theories around the deaths of 11 members of a Delhi family. Was it Suicide, murder… or something else?

Leena Yadav took time out of her busy schedule to talk over Zoom with Stacey about this incredible series. Full of passion for her project and this story, the...

Mumbai, Oct 3 (Ians) With audiences for the format expanding and streaming services making them more accessible, documentaries have broken out from the stereotype of being just film festival fixtures. Participating in a panel discussion titled ‘Decoding Documentaries’ here, filmmakers Claire Cahill, Dylan Mohan Gray and Leena Yadav shared their perspective on the genre. The […]...

Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Pauletta Washington have joined Iervolino Entertainment’s star-studded anthology project “Tell It Like a Woman.”

The trio will take on “Pepcy & Kim,” one of the anthology’s seven segments. Henson has signed on to direct the piece, which is inspired by the true story of Kim Carter, a former addict who has used her story and her nonprofit, the Time for Change Foundation, to help homeless women and children break the cycle and reclaim their lives.

Hudson is set to star in the segment, playing both Pepcy and Kim, opposite Washington. The segment is written by Catherine Hardwicke.

“Pepcy & Kim” completes the puzzle for the “Tell It Like a Woman” project, a film made by and about women, comprised of seven segments that make one intertwining feature film. Hardwicke, Cara Delevingne, Margherita Buy, Marcia Gay Harden, Eva Longoria, Leonor Varela,...

Exclusive: Cara Delevingne, Eva Longoria, Margherita Buy, Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Varela and Jacqueline Fernandez are among the all-star cast for anthology feature Women’s Stories, whose segments will be directed by filmmakers including Catherine Hardwicke.

The film will be comprised of six segments directed by female directors from different parts of the world, shot in Italy, India and the U.S. They will range in genre from drama to comedy, docu-drama to animation. Cast will be all female.

The first four segments have been mapped out: Unspoken will be directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi and star decorated Italian actress Margherita Buy (My Mother), the seven-time David di Donatello award-winner; Lagonegro will be directed by Lucia Puenzo (La Jauria) and star Desperate Housewives and Overboard actress Longoria; Elbows Deep will be directed by Twilight filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke and star model and actress Delevingne (Suicide Squad), Oscar-winner Marcia...

Gujarati „Hellaro” juggles with components, which are often associated with Indian cinema. With its vibrant colours, impetuous choreography, traditional costumes and melodies, as well as drawing from Incredible India campaign-style folklore aesthetics, it may even seem a movie crafted especially for traditionalists and convention-oriented viewers, but it makes excellent use of these signature components. Moreover, the director Abishek Shah, contrary to the likes of Bhansali, knows the line behind which “stylish” turns into overwrought banal.

Although he tells his period story in a traditional way, his message is thoroughly contemporary. The film corresponds with the current trend of women-centered movies focused on emancipation, carefully looking into deep-rooted patriarchal patterns and despite its costume entourage, relates easily to the “here and now”.

All these heavy-weighted topics are served in a light (but not neglectful) manner. A few years back, Leena Yadav tried similar unpretentious strategy in “Parched”, but her movie, also...

Exclusive: Oscar-winner Geena Davis has been set to lead feature Cowgirl’s Last Ride from fledgling La production firm Resonate Entertainment, formed last year by Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want), Suzanne Farwell (The Intern) and Brent Emery (The Stanford Prison Experiment).

With echoes of her role in 90s classic Thelma And Louise, Glow and Eve star Davis will play Fay, an ailing but still rebellious Texas cowgirl who escapes a Dallas nursing home to live what’s left of her life on her own terms. She makes a perilous journey back to her native East Texas— first by truck, then by horse—while being pursued by her well-meaning adult son Randall (still to be cast), who can’t help but care about his mother despite the dysfunction he experienced as a child, and well into his adult life.

The project was written by eighth-generation Texan Kris Hunt, who loosely based...

The Indian film industry has historically been a male-dominated one, but the winds of change are blowing across the country, albeit slowly.

Better-served than the rest of the country is the Mumbai-based Hindi-language industry, where there are several active female filmmakers including Zoya Akhtar (“Gully Boy”), Reema Kagti (“Gold”), Leena Yadav (“Rajma Chawal”), Gauri Shinde (“Dear Zindagi”), Meghna Gulzar (“Raazi”), Shonali Bose (“Margarita With a Straw”), Farah Khan (“Om Shanti Om”) and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (“Bareilly ki Barfi”), to name just a few.

“The new generation of young women directors is now making ad films, web series, corporate films, short fiction, documentaries and feature films, so it’s getting to be quite a level playing field,” says Priya Krishnaswamy, who works in Mumbai. Her Tamil Nadu set Tamil-language film “Baaram” is making the rounds at festivals.

Mumbai-based Yadav recalls being amused when a potential second assistant director thought working for...

Starring legendary actors Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley, and directed by Leena Yadav (whose movies have premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival), Teen Patti is about a mathematics experiment that ends in chaos, death and repentance.

The movie is about an Indian mathematician, Venkat Subramaniam (Amitabh Bachchan), who is invited to the University of Cambridge by Perci Trachtenberg (Ben Kingsley), whereupon he recounts his life as a Mathematics Professor in an unnamed Indian college, his theory of probability and his success playing card games. Venkat tests his equation to crack Teen Patti (an Indian card game derived from poker) at the addas (underground gaming dens) of wild Bombay, with the help of a few students and a colleague. But what started out as a naive experiment becomes a game of blackmail and greed that is both uncontrollable and inescapable.

The movie’s inspiration comes from the same place...

Literally meaning beans and rice, Rajma Chawal is a new movie in Hindi directed, produced and written by Leena Yadav. Rajma Chawal is a staple of many middle-class households throughout north India, but as a title it belies the underlying web of weirdness that makes this film a 6/10 on IMDb. Starring venerable actor Rishi Kapoor as well as Aniruth Tanwar and Amyra Dastur in the lead roles, this is a simple story that quickly goes sideways.

From a story point of view, this is a story about how loss affects each one of us in different ways… a story about the love of a father has for his son, but also a story of moving on with life. Raj Mathur (Rishi Kapoor) having been cheated in business, and upon the death of his wife, decides one day to shift to Chandni Chowk – a part of Old Dehli, with his son Kabir.

Los Angeles-based content executive will not be relocating to Mumbai.

Netflix India’s director of international originals and acquisitions, Swati Shetty, has resigned from her position.

Shetty is based in Los Angeles, from where she makes frequent trips to India, but it’s understood that her post is being relocated to Mumbai. She has made the decision to remain in Los Angeles.

Netflix is understood to be expanding its office in Mumbai as it ramps up its activities across content production and marketing.

Shetty joined Netflix in 2016 after holding positions as president of Balaji Telefilms and executive director at Walt Disney International Productions India.

In the current season of fresh pairings, Bollywood will see yet another sizzling pair as Amyra Dastur and debutant Anirudh Tanwar will keep the audiences hooked with their sizzling chemistry in Leena Yadav’s next ‘Rajma Chawal’. The movie Rajma Chawal is a story about family, love, loss and acceptance.

Anirudh Tanwar finds himself fortunate to be debuting opposite Amyra Dastur. The actor shares, “Amyra and me share a great chemistry because of our off-screen bond. She has been a very big support for me throughout the movie which helped me pull off the scenes in ease. Her coming with an experience in cinema came handy as she would make me understand the technical aspects. As a person, she is very crystal clear which reflects in her acting as well. I am glad, I found a friend in Amyra who is always a call away at any hour.”

Actress Amyra...

Anirudh Tanwar, who will be seen making his debut with Leena Yadav’s next Rajma Chawal impressed everyone with his daredevil stunt in the movie. The actor refused to use a body double and insisted on doing the difficult stunt on his own.

Talking about the action sequence Anirudh says, “A scene in the movie demanded my character Kabir, to slide through automated doors at metro station. Initially, it looked fairly simple until we realised that the space was tricky. Our action director recommended me to not do the scene as it might cause serious hip injury. But, Leena wanted to take a single shot of the complete scene and using a body double would have led to jeopardizing her vision. Hence, I insisted on doing the stunt myself and after some persuasion Leena agreed for the same.”

Anirudh further adds, “The action director and his team were kind and professional enough.

Netflix used the second night of its See What’s Next: Asia content gathering in Singapore to unveil eight new original films for its India market, including a regional release for Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures’ long-gestating Hotel Mumbai, which the streaming giant has rights to in the South and Southeast Asian territories.

The film, directed by Anthony Maras and starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher and Jason Isaacs, had been in limbo as part of The Weinstein Company bankruptcy. A 2019 U.S. release date is likely for the movie, which depicts the events of the 2008 terrorist attacks on the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Other films in the works include Firebrand, a Marathi Film directed by Aurna Raje and produced by Priyanka Chopra that follows a successful lawyer (Usha Jadhav), a sexual assault victim, as she tackles difficult family cases while also dealing with intimacy issues in her own marriage.

Old Delhi normally gets a bad rap in movies, which like to contrast its grungy, tumble-down buildings and loose electric cables with the wealthier, more genteel New Delhi. Rajma Chawal, directed by the versatile Leena Yadav, is instead an undisguised love letter to the narrow alleys and friendly denizens of the old city and its busy market street Chandni Chowk. Starring Rishi Kapoor as an aging businessman who’s lost his money and two cool young actors as star-crossed lovers, it’s a very Indian rom-com whose broad comedy is amusing enough but ultimately a local flavor, like the dish of ...

Old Delhi normally gets a bad rap in movies, which like to contrast its grungy, tumble-down buildings and loose electric cables with the wealthier, more genteel New Delhi. Rajma Chawal, directed by the versatile Leena Yadav, is instead an undisguised love letter to the narrow alleys and friendly denizens of the old city and its busy market street Chandni Chowk. Starring Rishi Kapoor as an aging businessman who’s lost his money and two cool young actors as star-crossed lovers, it’s a very Indian rom-com whose broad comedy is amusing enough but ultimately a local flavor, like the dish of ...

The pilot turned actor Anirudh Tanwar will be soon be debuting with one of the most awaited movies Leena Yadav’s Rajma Chawal. If that was not exciting enough his first film is opposite the incredible Rishi Kapoor! The movie is based on father-son dynamic where Rishi Kapoor as a father is attempting to reconnect with his estranged son Kabir (played by Anirudh Tanwar) through social media. From what we hear this delightful take on a father–son relationship is full of heart. The film also features Amyra Datsur.

Talking about working with Mr Rishi Kapoor, he said, “It has been a wonderful experience and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have shared screen space with Rishi Sir in my debut movie. I took this as an opportunity to soak as much as I could by being around him.”

He also mentioned the director Leena Yadav, “My director has been...

Directors, actors, producers, executives and film journalists were celebated at Lff photocall.

Actresses Rosamund Pike and Andrea Riseborough, producer Christine Vachon and directors Tinge Krishnan and Carol Morley were among the over 80 women who came together at the BFI London Film Festival to celebrate women filmmakers at the festival and women working throughout the UK and international film industry and as film journalists on Friday (October 12).

They were joined by Tricia Tuttle, artistic director of the Lff and Amanda Nevill, chief executive of the BFI. ”I’m so proud to celebrate more female filmmakers at Lff 2018 than ever before, and...

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Hindi-language title Rajma Chawal, which will have its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. Netflix will stream the title worldwide on Nov. 30.

Set in the Chandni Chowk historic quarter of India's capital Delhi, the film revolves around a father, played by well-known veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, attempting to reconnect with his estranged son (played by newcomer Anirudh Tanwar) through social media. The film also stars Amyra Dastur and Aparshakti Khurana.

Rajma Chawal is directed by Leena Yadav, whose previous film Parched premiered at Toronto and won the best screenplay award at ...

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to Hindi-language title Rajma Chawal, which will have its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. Netflix will stream the title worldwide on Nov. 30.

Set in the Chandni Chowk historic quarter of India's capital Delhi, the film revolves around a father, played by well-known veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, attempting to reconnect with his estranged son (played by newcomer Anirudh Tanwar) through social media. The film also stars Amyra Dastur and Aparshakti Khurana.

Rajma Chawal is directed by Leena Yadav, whose previous film Parched premiered at Toronto and won the best screenplay award at ...

The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® has announced the contenders for the Official Competition and the long list of films in the other “Strands”.

The Best Film Award recognises inspiring, inventive and distinctive filmmaking and this year’s line-up showcases the enormous depth and diversity of talent working in the global film industry today, with 50% of the films from a female director or co-director.

The Festival has also welcomed as Jury President Academy Award-nominated director of Room (Lff Official Competition 2015), Lenny Abrahamson, whose long-awaited film adaptation of Sarah Waters’ horror novel The Little Stranger will be released this September. For the first time, the winner of the Best Film will receive their award in front of a public audience at a special screening on Saturday 20 October at Vue Leicester Square.

And here is the full list of Asian entries in this rich edition of BFI...

Rishi Kapoor introduces his on-screen son, Anirudh Tanwar from Leena Yadav’s Rajma Chawal. The film revolves around the quirky relation share by father and son share in the virtual world. The film looks at a very contemporary issue – social media and its impact on relationships.

Talking about it Rishi Kapoor says,“I have played possibly all generations in reel and real life – from being the grandson, to a son to a father to a grandfather and each relationship taught me something about life. This Father’s Day, introducing the main family member from my new Rajma Chawal…. my on-screen son, Anirudh Tanwar!”

He further adds, “Rajma Chawal has been an interesting journey for us all and we had a blast cooking it… I hope the audiences enjoy consuming this really special film. This movie is very relevant as it talks about bringing the father son together using Social Network in the most unique,...

Here’s some movie release news! Rajma Chawal, a quirky father-son and “social media” relationship, directed by Leena Yadav, starring Rishi Kapoor, debutant Anirudh Tanwar and Amyra Dastur is set for August 31st.

Giving more insight into the film Leena said, “The idea behind the film is to illustrate how everything happens over the mobile phone today. People would rather catch up over a chat than have a proper conversation and this affects parent-children relationships. Parents are struggling to cope with technological advancements and Rishi Kapoor portrays the many shades of a father, from funny to intense.”

Anouncing the release date the director tweeted, “Funny, we live in the space age generation yet fail to communicate with people that matter the most? Experience the social journey of a father and son with Rajma Chawal, this 31st August!”

Going more into the subject Leena said in a recent interview, “We’re...

Leena Yadav, who directed the critically acclaimed Parched, is all set to direct her next, Rajma Chawal, with Rishi Kapoor in the lead. The film goes on floor on November 7 in Delhi and is expected to wrap up by December-end in a start to- finish schedule. The film will revolve around a father-son duo and deals with generation gap-related conflicts.

Anirudh Tanwar debuts on screen as Rishi Kapoor’s son, director Leena Yadav says, “The idea behind the film is to illustrate how everything happens over the mobile phone today. People would rather catch up over a chat than have a proper conversation and this affects parent-children relationships. Parents are struggling to cope with technological advancements and Rishi Kapoor portrays the many shades of a father, from funny to intense. Anirudh has trained at Lee Strasberg theatre and film institute and is a perfect fit. I’ve wanted to work...

Rishi Kapoor has played varied roles including a patriarch in Kapoor & Sons for which he received immense appreciation. Now the actor is all set to play a father in Parched fame director Leena Yadav’s next. The film in question is a comedy drama revolving around a father-son relationship and deals with the concept ofRead More

The post Revealed: Rishi Kapoor in Parched director Leena Yadav’s next appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

Lipstick Under My Burkha

Starring Ratna Pathak Shah , Konkona Sen Sharma, Ahana Kumra, Plobota Borthakur

Directed by Alankrita Shrivstava

An inherently murky claustrophobic air pervades this inconsistently brilliant hardhitting raunchy ‘ram’-com, very conscious of its responsibilities as post-feminist cinema on women’s powerment.

Here is a film that deserves a rousing ovation for bringing out the sexual fantasies and other unspoken yearnings of four middleclass women in a non-metropolitan milieu eking each out an exciting existence from the hard brutal raw material of her inert life.

But the film falls short of being genre-defining. Shrivastava whose earlier and only film Turning 30 only hinted at the post-feminist explosion of Lipstick Under The Burkha, takes charge with an all-knowing confidence of four women from different walks of life and belonging to separate generations.

Perhaps to offset the mess that they make of their lives, the lineup of women is a little too tidy and symmetrical.

Day Five at the Jio Mami 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star saw some great sessions for film as well as television audiences.

Starting from the Oxfam and Jio Mami with Star Women in Film Brunch at Jw Marriot saw some powerful like Mami Chairperson, Kiran Rao, Oxfam head, Nisha Agarwal, Konkana SenSharma, Richa Chaddha, Poonam Dhillon, Ekta Kapoor, Leena Yadav, Deborah Young, Maanvi Gagroo, Nidhi Singh and more.

Oxfam discussed Women and Films with Oxfam Head, Nisha Agarwal, Christine Vachon, Leena Yadav, Rucha Pathak, Tala Hadid, Vibha Bakshi, Tillotama Shome and moderator Rahul BoseThe discussion covered topics like the portrayal of women in Indian cinema and how it affects the way we portray their roles in our society.

Television Vertical screened the world premiere of ‘P.O.W.’ The panel included Primetime Emmy Winner Cary Fukunaga, Gideon Raff, Gaurav Banerjee and Nikkhil Advani in conversation with Nikhil Taneja about...

Leena Yadav’s ‘Parched’ also known as ‘La Saison Des Femmes’ in French, has received a lot of critical acclaim. The film has won many hearts across the globe and will be celebrating its 25 glorious weeks in France this week, making it a silver jubilee success at French Box Office.

The French Distributor, Eric Lagesse explains, “The lifespan of films in France is about 3-4 weeks, but the word of mouth for Parched was so strong that the success is astounding. It is rare for film to have such a long career in the French theatres.”

The film features Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte and Surveen Chawla in lead roles. Parched’ is a film which gives us a message that inspite all the hardships faced by women, their undying spirit and the zest to live life is outstanding.

The post Parched celebrates Silver Jubilee (25 weeks) in France appeared first on BollySpice.

The trailer of “Shivaay” opens to Ajay Devgn’s trademark piercing gaze, lingering there for a moment before lurching into three minutes of continuous movement as he hurtles, untethered, through Himalayan avalanches and between cartwheeling vehicles. His distinctive baritone cuts through the visuals as he narrates “shlokas” (verses) from Vedic Hindu scriptures describing the transformative capabilities of the deity Shiva, the destroyer of evil and the inspiration for the film’s lead character.

Despite some of these reference points, “’Shivaay’ is not a religious or mythological movie,” Devgn told press during a recent trip to New York, the first of four cities in a U.S-wide promotional tour for the October 28 release, which marks his second as a director. “However, it is firmly based in the idea of faith, and the main character draws heavily from Lord Shiva, both in terms of his spirituality and his superpowers.”

The result is unmistakably Indian,...

<img class="size-full wp-image-657826 aligncenter" src="http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Leena-Yadav.jpg" alt="Leena-Yadav" width="620" height="420" /> The Rabari community of Gujarat has taken offence to Leena Yadav’s <em>Parched</em> even before it was released. A day before its release, a member of the Rabari community in Gujarat filed a Pil against the film seeking its ban, claiming it projected the community in a bad light. Unperturbed and unwilling to buckle under pressure, the film’s director Leena Yadav says, “Though the Pil was filed a day before our release, we’ve been receiving threats for weeks now. Our dialect specialist Nain Rana and my husband (cinematographer Aseem Bajaj, who is also the co-producer of <em>Parched</em>), have been getting threatening calls saying things like, ‘You don’t know what we can do. We are a community of 7 lakh people.’ They have been trying to reach me. But, they don’t have my phone number. We are not giving into any pressure tactics.” Weirdly, the film makes no...

<img class="size-full wp-image-657826 aligncenter" src="http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Leena-Yadav.jpg" alt="Leena-Yadav" width="620" height="420" /> The Rabari community of Gujarat has taken offence to Leena Yadav’s <em>Parched</em> even before it was released. A day before its release, a member of the Rabari community in Gujarat filed a Pil against the film seeking its ban, claiming it projected the community in a bad light. Unperturbed and unwilling to buckle under pressure, the film’s director Leena Yadav says, “Though the Pil was filed a day before our release, we’ve been receiving threats for weeks now. Our dialect specialist Nain Rana and my husband (cinematographer Aseem Bajaj, who is also the co-producer of <em>Parched</em>), have been getting threatening calls saying things like, ‘You don’t know what we can do. We are a community of 7 lakh people.’ They have been trying to reach me. But, they don’t have my phone number. We are not giving into any pressure tactics.” Weirdly, the film makes no...

From renowned producer Ajay Devgn to Oscar-winner Director of Photography Russell Carpenter, Leena Yadav’s multi-award winning ‘Parched’ boasts of an impressive line-up of the biggest names not just in Bollywood but Hollywood too. Now with the multi-award winning film set to storm theatres here, the men behind the film’s worldwide success talk about their association with it.

B-Town’s ace star and the film’s producer Ajay Devgn says, “In Parched the four women face their own battles, but the reality is that it’s not their struggle alone. We all know women and men like them in our real lives. Parched had set out to tell the story of every such individual and I’m thrilled and proud of its beautiful journey – reaching out to people across strata and ages. Films like these need to be made and I’m proud of being a part of Parched.

Parched

Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte , Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan

Written & Directed by Leena Yadav

Long after Parched played out its poignant plot, I kept thinking about the four women at the forefront of Leena Yadav’s sparkling saga of patriarchal tyranny. The enduring grief and the brief bouts of buoyancy that Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee), Lajjo (Radhika Apte), Bijlee (Surveen Chawla) and Janaki (Lehar Khan) carry with themselves, lingers in our hearts and minds long after the last frame of Leena’s luminous work dies down.

The film is shot with such inescapable beauty by Russell Carpenter (who moves with fluent fecundity from the soggy sappiness of Titanic to the parched desertscape of this walloping work on women’s empowerment) that you fear for the inner lives of the characters. Would their emotional existence be able to withstand the sheer extraneous splendor of the storytelling?

The answer, my friend, is blowing passionately in the winds.