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Inaamulhaq Speaks with Subhash K Jha about the brilliant Filmistaan which releases in 2024.

Your most vital film to date Filmistaan has completed 11 years?

Hello sir, first of all thank you very much, you always keep writing so much about my films, I am really grateful. I had talked about Nakkash, that was a special film. Filmistaan is basically a more special film than that because that was the first film that brought me into the limelight and probably everything that I have, it was given to me by this film.

How did you get Filmistaan?

I was writing for TV before this and had done only one film, Nandita Das’ Firaaq. After that, the same type of offers started coming, so I stopped and I was looking for a script which can do miracles and so my search ended with Filmistaan. So when this script came in front of me,...

A Still From Filmistaan (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Some films don’t need star power or massive budgets to strike the right chord with the audience. Sometimes, they just need to have their hearts in the right place. One such lesser-known Indian gem is Filmistaan, an offbeat yet brilliant 2012 film directed by Nitin Kakkar (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Sharib Hashmi in the lead role.

After being screened in various national and international film festivals, Filmistaan quietly made its way to Indian cinemas on June 6, 2014. Despite being released without much fanfare, the film earned a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And here’s the great news: it’s now streaming for free on YouTube. Read on to discover what the film is about, how to stream it for free on YouTube, and why it deserves a spot on your watchlist.

Filmistaan – Plot Summary

The heartwarming film follows...

Filmistaan would have been an outrageously funny film were it not for the profoundly moving underbelly that it secretes with such fluency and spontaneity. The film could have become a gallery of clichés about Indo-Pak harmony. A sort of Veer-Zara turned into a Veru and Zara-uddin who become friends in Pakistani soil while guns boom all around them.

Sachindra Vats edits the scenes down to the minimum when required. But generally he lets the characters develop naturally even if the process takes some time. The film is shot in authentic locations by cinematographer Subhransu Das who brings to the table an enticing aura of believability. The dialogues written by the film’s lead Sharib Hashmi never become top-heavy with message-mongering, nor does the going get excessively verbose as it did in the recent cross-border film Kya Dilli Kay Lahore.

It’s astonishing how director Nitin Kakkar averts all the corny...

Actor Inaamulhaq, who will be seen in the upcoming Vicky Kaushal- Sara Ali Khan-starrer film ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’, has shared an interesting anecdote about working with his ‘Filmistaan’ co-actor, Sharib Hashmi.

Inaamulhaq and Sharib share a close bond having worked together in the National Award-winning film ‘Filmistaan’. Both of them started off as writers who then turned into actors. 10 years down the line, their friendship is stronger than ever.

Walking down the memory lane, Inaamulhaq shared: “This is my fifth film with Sharib Hashmi. We first met on the sets of ‘Filmistaan’ and relate to each other as we share common backgrounds as professionals having started off as writers. We don’t have any scenes together in ‘Zara Hat Ke Zara Bach Ke’.”

He further mentioned: “So, just to spend a day with him, I told him that I would accompany him on the sets as his...

The clown as a tragi-comic icon has been a favourite device of filmmakers to define the quirks of life. From the Raj Kapoor classic Mera Naam Joker in Bollywood to Appu Raja starring Kamal Haasan among other films, numerous instances abound. Dig deeper for a profound subtext, and you would recall the recent Hollywood gem, Joker.

Watch Ram Singh Charlie official Trailer https://youtu.be/k0X24MEvyMg

Ramsingh Charlie is about the protagonist Ram Singh who excels in Charlie Chaplin acts, but is forced to eke out a living as a rickshaw puller in Kolkata once the circus that employed him folds up. Kumud Mishra essays the titular role that anchors an uncomplicated story of dreams and despair.

The narrative starts off tracing the backstory of Ram Singh who relished his job as Charlie the clown at Jango Circus. The ageing owner Masterji (Salima Raza) makes way for her...

Jackky Bhagnani was last seen in the film Welcome 2 Karachi; however since then the actor has not really been seen on the big screen. But now we hear that Jackky has already commenced work on his next venture that will see him being directed by Filmistaan director Nitin Kakkar. In fact we hear thatRead More

The post Jackky Bhagnani to feature in remake of Tamil film Pelli Choopulu directed by Nitin Kakkar appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

Filmistaan, Airlift, Jolly Llb 2 have done wonders at the box office. The one common factor about all three films was actor “Inaamulhaq” playing diverse characters and amusing the audience with his power packed performances; playing a Pakistani in Filmistaan, an Iraqi in Airlift and recently playing a Kashmiri in Jolly Llb 2. After entertaining the audiences in critically acclaimed and box office hit films, Inaamulhaq is all set with his next with Kapil Sharma in Firangi. As always, Inaamulhaq will be seen in an altogether new look playing a significant role with lot of scope to showcase his untapped talent.

Inaamulhaq who was the creative consultant on Comedy Circus while Kapil Sharma was one of the leading contestants on the show is all excited to share the screen space with his old colleague. Talking about the film Inaamulhaq says, “Firangi is a light-hearted comedy set in the backdrop of...

Even though Fawad Khan maybe just 2 films old in Bollywood, he has not just impressed everyone, but also made everyone stand up and take notice. One such person who has been extremely impressed by Fawad Khan's work is Salman Khan. The last few days were buzzing with the rumors that Fawad Khan had been signed up for Salman Khan Productions' Jugalbandi. However, it turned out to be a rumour with no truth in it. The latest buzz that is doing the rounds is that Fawad Khan has now been signed up for a Salman Khan Productions' film, that will be directed by the talented Nitin Kakkar, who displayed his directorial abilities with his debut film Filmistaan. While repeated attempts to establish contacts with Salman Khan Productions' CEO Amar Butala yielded no response, do watch this space for more developments.

Inaamulhaq who played a Pakistani in National Award winning Filmistaan will now be seen playing an Iraqi in Akshay Kumar starrer Airlift. Inaamulhaq plays a very essential role of an Iraqi ‘Major Kahalf Bin Zayd’ who is the main antagonist of the evacuation that the film is based on.

The actor won a lot of accolades for his role in Filmistaan from winning five Awards including Screen Awards, Aiba, Sica and a nomination at Iifa. Looks like the wait of his fans is finally over and the actor who was listed in the top 10 stand-out actors of 2014 will again be proved to be the star attraction of 2016.

Inaamulhaq who is coming back with a bang after almost a year says, “It is very difficult for an actor to wait for one and half year for his next release. But if the wait has to finish at Airlift then it becomes a different ball game altogether.

Inaamulhaq who played a Pakistani in Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan recently shot for a short film ‘Ab Rab Havale’ directed by Ritika Bajaj Vijra and produced by Creative Canvas Entertainment. The film has been nominated in film festivals like Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards (Laiffa), The Cannes Short Film Corner, 2015 and Indie Fest USA. ‘Ab Rab Havale’ is based on the story of partition, the night when India and Pakistan became two entities and where families got separated. It is the story of one such family, who decided to leave the place they called their home. An emotional short film, which talks about the people who had to be left behind during separation because the circumstances were not in favour.

Inaamulhaq who is playing a pivotal role in the short film says-“I am glad to be a part of a short film like...

Inaamluhaq who last seen in Nitin Kakkar’s ‘Filmistaan’ and has won three awards so far will be seen as a part of an ensemble cast for Nikhil Advani’s next. The actor who played a Pakistani man is very excited about this and says, “I owe all this to Nitin Kakkar and Filmistaan. It was after Nikhil Advani and his team who saw my performance in FIlmistaan and approached me for the auditions.” The film is likely to go on floors by the end of 2015.

Apart from this Inammulhaq will also be seen in a children film ‘Chidiya’ with Vinay Pathak. The actor has also been nominated and all set to fly for his first Iifa.

The post Inaamulhaq bags a role in Nikhil Advani’s next appeared first on BollySpice.

The 16th edition of the most spectacular celebration of Indian Cinema globally, the International Indian Film Academy (Iifa) Awards has announced the much anticipated list of nominations in the popular category. The Videocon D2H Iifa Weekend & Awards will take place at Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 5-7 June 2015.

Indian Cinema saw a fantastic year in 2014 with some exceptional films taking the box-office by storm. Leading the polls is the heart-warming ‘2 States’ with 9 nominations followed closely by Vishal Bhardwaj’s hard-hitting ‘Haider’ which garnered 8 nominations. Rajkumar Hirani’s inspiring ‘Pk’ achieved 6 nominations and the naively stirring Kangana Ranaut starrer Queen received 5 nominations. Some of the other noteworthy mentions this year also up for awards are Imtiaz Ali’s Highway and ‘Ek Villain’.

Speaking on the nominees, Andre Timmins, Director – Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, said, “It is amazing how Indian cinema is growing strength by strength every year.

Sharib Hashmi, who gained popularity after playing the Bollywood-crazy Indian, who strays into Pakistan in Filmistaan, had a narrow escape last week when his aircraft almost crash-landed in Chandigarh but was saved from catastrophe by an alert pilot in the nick of time. Reliving the nightmare Sharib says, "This is the closest I've ever come to death. It was the scariest experience of my life. I was sitting at the window seat. Jo manzar maine dekha woh bahot darwaana ttha (the scenario I witnessed was terrifying)." The aircraft which flew the team of the Sharib's new film Badmaashiyan from Delhi to Chandigarh encountered inclement weather while landing. Says Sharib, "The entire cast was there in the flight. The pilot tried to land the plane twice but the visibility was almost nil. Thank God the pilot took a decision to return to Delhi. His decision probably saved all our lives. Only...

The upcoming film Badmashiyaan that features Filmistaan actor Sharib Hashmi, Suzanna Mukherjee and TV actor Karan Mehra seems to have run into trouble. In fact the Delhi High Court has issued an order restraining the distribution and exhibition of the film after a complaint of copyright infringement was filed against makers of the film Vrg Motion Pictures.

This ruling came after Msm Motion Pictures and Kaleidoscope filed a plea stating that Badmashiyaan was a blatant copy of the Korean film Couples, whose rights had been acquitted by them for their yet to release film Mango.

Commenting on the same, Msm Motion Pictures released an official statement saying, "The Delhi High Court has restrained the distribution and exhibition of the trailer and the film titled Badmashiyaan, on the basis of a claim for copyright infringement by Msm and Kaleidoscope. The Plaintiffs claimed that Badmashiyaan is a copy of the Korean film...

Sharib Hashmi, who was last seen in the critically acclaimed film Filmistaan, was conned by his director Amit Khannna on the sets of his upcoming film Badmashiyaan. The actor was asked to kiss his co-star Suzanna Mukherjee as a part of prank.

Upon hearing the ‘much-required development’ in the scene, Sharib Hashmi immediately asked for mouth-freshners and even made sure he was all clean shaven for the scene. He was so nervous that he called his wife to tell her about kissing scene but later got to know it was a prank on him.

When asked Sharib how he was conned on the set, he says, “I have got conned several times in life. The last one was during the making of Badmashiyaan when while shooting one scene, they told me to kiss Suzanna and she refused to kiss me and started crying. Earlier I thought the prank was on Suzanna.

Powerful messages, stunning cinematography and authentic performances – 2014 was a good year for independent (indie) cinema. Here is a list of some of our favourites which are worth catching if you missed them.

Ilai (Leaf)

Director Rajiv Reddy’s film traced the journey of a young homeless girl in India, Chennai. Ilai was a good exploration of human emotion, survival and regeneration. The performances were outstanding and natural. Profoundly, the protagonist returns to the same place that she had started off at at the beginning of the film; however, this time she sees the world with different eyes. The film highlights how experiences impact the human soul. We saw this at the London Indian Film Festival and our reviewer wrote, “At times, the cinematography will have you spell bound. Artistic shots of the sun and the streets make this film a visual treat: for instance, a particular shot of the heat...

Cinestaan's first subsidiary, the Cinestaan Film Company, will foray into film production in association with Anand Mahindra, with a three film agreement with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's production company Romp.

Speaking about this new venture Rohit Khattar, Founder and Chairman of Cinestaan said, "I am delighted to announce the launch of Cinestaan Entertainment in partnership with Anand Mahindra. We share a common vision and similar tastes in story-telling which shall, we hope, manifest in some good films. Cinestaan is committed to preserving the rich legacy of our cinema heritage for which we are working on several initiatives including an oral histories television project that shall celebrate the memories and contributions of our screen legends."

About Cinestaan's association with popular filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Rohit added, "To begin our film slate with a prodigal talent like Rakeysh Mehra is an incredible high and we are excited about developing these films with him.

Actor Inaamulhaq who was seen making his debut with Filmistaan has come across a funny incident after the release of the film. Since Inaamulhaq looked quite promising in the role of Aftab – a Pakistani character who makes Hindi Film piracy and sells them cross the border, his character has convinced a lot of people to believe him to be a Pakistani actor. Inaamulhaq being an Indian has managed to get the right accent of a Pakistani in Filmistaan.

When asked Inaamulhaq about the people he has come across believing him to be a Pakistani actor, he laughingly said, “These days when ever I go out on any theater visit or with my friends, people come to me to congratulate for my performance and get really shocked to know I am an Indian actor and not a Pakistani actor. I guess my involvement with the character of Aftab convinced people to believe the same.

Debutant director Nitin Kakkar's Filmistaan has made impressive profits. With the Maharashtra government granting the film an entertainment-tax exemption the ticket sales are expected to show an upward climb in the third week. The pressure on the Filmistaan team to do a sequel has increased. Says the film's leading man and the dialogue and screenplay writer Sharib Hashmi, "We're being persuaded to do a sequel. The film had an open ending where we don't know what happened to the Indian and Pakistani protagonist. But both the director Nitin Kakkar and I are very clear that unless we get a storyline that takes forward the two characters played by me and Inaamulhaq, we aren't doing a sequel. There is no point doing a sequel just because the first film has succeeded." Says Sharib, "The Indo-Pak border issue is a serious matter. We can't treat it as a formula and drag...

Akshay Kumar can now cheer aloud. His ‘Holiday’ is now well on course to enter the 100 crore club, what with around 68 crore coming in the first week itself. What makes this A.R. Murugadoss directed film special is the fact that it has been well accepted by the audience with some good to very good appreciation coming in, hence also resulting in repeat viewing. One of the rare films to do well across A, B and C centers with multiplexes as well as single screen audience giving it a nod of approval, ‘Holiday’ is all set to be a good box office success of the year.

For Akshay, this is great news indeed as after ‘Rowdy Rathore’ and ‘Housefull 2′, this is going to be his third 100 crore earner. The film has sustained beyond a good opening and that must be music to his ears. As for Sonakshi Sinha, she has...

It was expected that ‘Holiday’ would open well and see its collections consolidate over the weekend. Also, it was predicted that the film’s collections during the first three days would be around 40 crore. This is exactly what happened as this A.R. Murugadoss directed film saw good traction coming its way from the audience. The film had a gradual growth on a day by day basis, which was pretty much expected out of this genre.

As a result, eventually 41 crore came in for this Vipul Shah production and now all eyes are how the weekdays perform. Unlike quick-fire entertainers that bring in majority of moolah in their first few days itself and then taper down, ‘Holiday’ comes with good strength of finding consistent audience on weekdays as well. Moreover, with no competition whatsoever in its week of release and ‘Fugly’ being the only new release next, ‘Holiday’ has the stage...

There is a scene in Filmistaan where Sunny (Sharib Hashmi) watches the film Maine Pyar Kiya from afar and speaks each and every dialogue of the movie along with the characters. As a film buff who has seen that film more than 40 times, I could totally identify with him. This is what Filmistaan should have been about – the unabashed love we feel for our cinema, the pure joy it brings us. Unfortunately such moments of Bollywood love are too few in the film. It gets more serious than it should have and that is the reason that, despite being all heart, the film fails to make an impact.

Sunny works as an Assistant Director in films while waiting for his big acting break. During a shooting schedule in Rajasthan he is kidnapped by extremists from across the border and taken to a small village in Pakistan. The hostile environment fails...

In a region wracked by hostility, communal tension and the historical baggage of partition, Cinema can be the balm that soothes and unites the divided people of India and Pakistan. That is the message of Filmistaan, a low budget gem that celebrates the power of movies with humour, grace and even a little pathos. It is also a welcome addition to Bollywood’s increasing staple of mainstream yet meaningful cinema.

Though ostensibly an ode to popular Bollywood melodramas such as Maine Pyar Kiya and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the film is closer in spirit to world cinema classics like Cinema Paradiso, Life is Beautiful and No Man’s Land in its examination of the futility of all conflict and assertion of a common humanity that binds us all. And nowhere is this brotherhood of man more evident than through the shared love of movies. People forget their caste, colour or...

Filmistaan actors Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq who are being applauded for their performance in the film have bagged praise this time from Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Earlier Mr. Amitabh Bachchan has tweeted about their performance and the film. Mr. Vidhu Vinod Chopra was very happy with their performance and enjoyed the film. As a warm encouragement gesture he offered to sponsor a vacation for them.

“Chopra watched the film as he had heard a lot about it from his friend. He also met the actors and told them that he would promote the film in any way he can. During their chat, he even offered to sponsor a vacation for them,” says a source.

On this Sharib says, “We were overwhelmed to meet Vidhu sir. The fact that offered us a vacation after watching the film means the world to us. For us, the gesture really counts. We are indebted to have his blessings.

Summer season has officially begun and it is time for some really interesting films to start hitting the screens. Moreover, it has been a while since a biggie arrived in theaters and starting with ‘Holiday’, it is pretty much going to be a non-stop affair right till the end of year. Moreover, whenever a film like ‘Filmistaan’ gets ready for arrival, there are hopes re-instated that there is place for different kind of stories to be told, as long as the entertainment quotient is maintained.

This is the reason why there are good hopes from both ‘Holiday’ as well as ‘Filmistaan’. Let’s begin with ‘Holiday’ first. After ‘Jai Ho’, this is the biggest film to arrive in 2014 and hence expectations are of course monumental. The same story has been told in South earlier (Thuppakki) and the film was a bumper success there. With the star power of Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha coming together,...

Sharib Hashmi first caught my eye in Jab Tak Hai Jaan as Shah Rukh Khan’s roommate, and I thought this was an actor we would see again. And here he is in a National Award winning film. Sharib stars in Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan, which won the National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film in 2012. Though showcased at film festivals around the world, it has taken a while for this critically acclaimed film to get to theaters, but now audiences will finally get to experience the magic of Filmistaan when it releases on June 6th.

Sharib plays the starring role of Sunny Arora, a wannabe actor and assistant director who, more than anything, wants to be a hero in a Bollywood film. Through a series of misadventures, including a kidnapping to Pakistan, Sunny finds himself staying with another Bollywood fanatic, Aftaab. What happens next shows how Bollywood can bring people together.

On June 6th, theatergoers will finally get to experience the 2012 National Award winning Filmistaan. Directed by Nitin Kakkar, the film stars Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq who play two men from opposite sides of the border who find common ground and create a bond through the magic of Bollywood films.

In Mumbai, affable Bollywood buff and wanna-be-actor Sunny (Sharib Hashmi), who works as an assistant director, fantasizes on becoming a heart-throb star. However, at every audition he is summarily thrown out. Undeterred, he goes with an American crew to remote areas in Rajasthan to work on a documentary. One day an Islamic terrorist group kidnaps him for the American crew-member. Sunny finds himself on enemy border amidst guns and pathani-clad guards, who decide to keep him hostage until they locate their original target. The house In which he is confined belongs to a Pakistani Aftaab (Inaamulhaq), whose trade stems from pirated Hindi films,...

Watch out Mr. Serial Kisser, there’s a new man in town!

And this one’s gonna make sure he gets his pound of stardom – not just by starring in Utv Spotboy’s next, Filmistaan but also by stalking filmy folk across the city.

Sharib Hashmi, the lead man of this lovable film, is the country’s biggest Bollywood fan who’s been getting himself photographed with tinsel town’s biggest talent!

His movie Filmistaan an ode to Bollywood and hits theaters 6th June – but before that Sharib’s determined to share ‘screen’ space and rub shoulders with every celebrity in the country!

Filmistaan is a heart-warming tale of how films are the fabric that binds two nations. Sunny Arora (Sharib Hashmi), a wannabe actor and assistant director gets kidnapped by Pakistani militants and taken hostage across the border. There he’s forcibly kept in the house of Aftab (Inaamulhaq...

His first film Filmistaan is all set to clash with Akshay Kumar starrer Holiday- A Soldier is Never Off Duty and it's time for actor Sharib Hashmi to already prep up for his next. Sharib has been roped in by Nikhil Advani for his next. Apparently, Nikhil was impressed with Sharib's acting skills when he saw him performing in his debut film during a special screening and he decided to rope in the actor. Nikhil who has already signed him for his next also promised that Sharib will be seen in a new avatar in his film. Though he hasn't divulged any details on the film, we hear that it will be a political satire. However, Sharib's role is being kept under wraps.

Debutant Director Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan team has walking on cloud nine after getting praise from Mr. Amitabh Bachchan after he saw the trailer. Now, the team is on cloud 11 because the esteemed actor, who watched the Film recently, tweeted his rave review for the film!

Big B’s tweet read:

T 1498 – ‘Filmistan’ .. the film on release .. cinema in its bountiful glory. Just saw it .. films bind they do not divide.. love is power!

Filmistaan starring Sharib Hashmi, Inaamulhaq is all set to release on June 6th.

Filmistaan, who won the National Award in 2012, tells the tale of ab affable Bollywood buff and wanna-be-actor Sunny, who works as an assistant director in Mumbai, fantasizes on becoming a heart-throb star. However, at every audition he is summarily thrown out. Undeterred, he goes with an American crew to remote areas in Rajasthan to work on a documentary. One day an Islamic terrorist...

A National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film, special jury mention at Busan International Film Festival, Best Debut Director at International Film Festival of Kerala and a couple of other awards later; Nitin Kakkar was still in the dark over Filmistaan’s chances of making it to the theatres. He typified the Indian independent filmmaker who is the toast of festivals but gets a cold shoulder from biggies of the distribution game unless a bigger benefactor comes along.

Kakkar’s hard work is finally paying off. Almost two years after its world premiere at Busan, Filmistaan, acquired by Shringar Films and subsequently by Utv, is releasing on June 6 with more than 450 prints.

Featuring explosive performances by Sharib Hashmi and Inaamulhaq, the film is a funny and entertaining take on Indo-Pak relationship hinged on their shared love for Bollywood.

Excerpts from a conversation with Nitin Kakkar about his uphill journey to...

India’s Prime minister – elect Narendra Modi’s attempt to improve relations with Pakistan seems to have initiate favour with unusual quarters – Debutant director Nitin Kakkar’s 2013 National award-winning film Filmistaan incidentally revolves around the story of aspirant actor and Bollywood devotee, who finds himself detain in Pakistaan. Filmistaan makers are keen to have film release across border are now taking talks further with some Pakistani distributors.

An insider close to production says, “They are using this opportunity, when India and Pakistan’s relation is the highlight in the news, to ensure the smooth release of their film. They have contacted a few distributors for the same.”

“We are really looking forward to releasing the film in Pakistan. We are showing it to some distributors over there and we wish to send out a message of love and brotherhood through the movie,” confirms Nitin Kakkar.

Filmistaan – bridge between Indo – Pak...

Mr Amitabh Bachchan tweeted the trailer of Filmistaan with words of praise. This warm gesture gave more hits to the trailer and added respect to the publicity campaign of Filmistaan. A national award winning film, Filmistaan, is about a hindi film buff who gets abducted by terrorists at Indo Pak border and is kept prisoner in pakistan and his friendship with the local villager over Hindi cinema.

His tweet number 1479 is as follows, “@SrBachchan T 1479 – Fresh talent, innovative ideas compassionate audience in our cinema. Watch http://goo.gl/IpsAv2 .. ‘Filmistan’ . Loved it !!”

Sharib Hashmi, the film’s lead actor says, “I think I am Amitabh sir’s biggest fan, I have watched Coolie 72 times. I was over thrilled and almost chocked with happiness when I saw Amitabh sir tweet. Can’t express in words how thankful I am to him for tweeting the trailer.”

Nitin Kakkar, the film’s director adds,...

Having won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 2012, Filmistaan is getting ready to hit the big screen on June 6 worldwide. Director Nitin Kakkar said in a statement, “Every movie is a reflection of its director’s thoughts and this movie is a reflection of the way I think. I am extremely excited about the mainstream release of my film and look forward to the audience’s reaction.”

Apparently the film caught the eye of esteemed actor Amitabh Bachchan who tweeted, “”Fresh talent, innovative ideas compassionate audience in our cinema. Watch trailer of ‘Filmistaan’. Loved it,”

Here’s a preview of what’s in store!

Synopsis:

In Mumbai, affable Bollywood buff and wanna-be-actor Sunny, who works as an assistant director, fantasizes on becoming a heart-throb star. However, at every audition he is summarily thrown out. Undeterred, he goes with an American crew to remote areas in...

Utv Spotboy launched the trailer of Filmistaan in an unusual marketing activity. To highlight the trailer which is attached with the film 2 States, the lead actor Sharib Hashmi, went to a few  media houses with a placard saying watch my trailer that is attached to 2 States. This campaign is in keeping with the theme of the film which is based on hindi film fanatic played by Sharib.

Filmistaan, directed by debutant director Nitin Kakkar and Produced by Shrinagar Films, won the national award for Best Film category in 2012 and is set to release on 6th June 2014.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-0LWnz8Ut0

 

Filmistaan trailer launched is a post from: BollySpice

The post Filmistaan trailer launched appeared first on BollySpice.

Filmistaan is a film directed by Nitin Kakkar, starring Kumud Mishra, Inaamulhaq, and Sharib Hashmi. The film has been screened at numerous film festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival, the Mumbai Film Festival, and the International Film Festival of Kerala. Filmistaan also won the Best Feature Film in Hindi in the 60th National Film Awards in 2012.

Synopsis:

In Mumbai, affable Bollywood buff and wanna-be-actor Sunny, who works as an assistant director, fantasizes on becoming a heart-throb star. However, at every audition he is summarily thrown out. Undeterred, he goes with an American crew to remote areas in Rajasthan to work on a documentary. One day an Islamic terrorist group kidnaps him for the American crew-member. Sunny finds himself on enemy border amidst guns and pathani-clad guards, who decide to keep him hostage until they locate their original target. The house In which he is confined belongs to a Pakistani,...

Filmistaan, directed by Nitin Kakkar, will be released on June 6 by Utv Spotboy and Shringar Films. The trailer of the film will be unveiled in cinemas with 2 States on April 18, 2014.

“It gives me immense pleasure to join hands with Utv Spotboy for the release of my debut film. Every movie is a reflection of its director’s thoughts and this movie is a reflection of the way I think. I am extremely excited about the mainstream release of my film and look forward to the audience’s reaction,” said Nitin Kakkar, writer- director of Filmistaan.

Filmistaan won the 60th National Film award for Best Film in Hindi. Besides screening at several international film festivals, the film also won the Audience award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2013 and the “German Star of India” award at the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart 2013.

“We believe it’s a film that just...

A still from Goynar Baksho

Sholay 3D will open the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne which will take place from May 1-11. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the film’s star Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured as the Iffm International Screen Icon for 2014. To celebrate this visit, La Trobe University of Melbourne is creating the ‘Shri Amitabh Bachchan’ scholarship and Bachchan will present the inaugural scholarship to a student during his visit.

The festival will close with Goynar Baksho, directed by Aparna Sen, which will be introduced by lead actor Konkona Sen Sharma.

‘Hurrah Bollywood!’ section of the festival will feature “the best mainstream Hindi cinema from the last 12 months”, including Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela and Dhoom 3.

‘Beyond Bollywood’ section will present arthouse and regional language cinema including Gajendra Ahire’s Anumati, Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan, Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry,...

With a promise to be back next year, bigger and better, the final day of the first edition of Navi Mumbai International Film Festival (Nmiff) unfolded.

After two days of celebrating cinema, the third final saw movies like Touring talkies, directed by Gajendra Ahire, Surkhab, directed by Sanjay Talreja, Echo, directed by Suraj Nair, and Why Mom, directed by Jay B Ghadiali among others.

Post the movie screenings, the celebration started by an award ceremony to felicitate the talent of established as well as young & independent filmmakers from across the globe. The jury rewarded Lost House by Nikolay Kotyash from Russia as the best film under the student shorts category and Prism by Sandip Pandurang Mane from India won the second prize under the student shorts category. Prios Feher Zold (red, white and green) by Tarek Raffoul from Lebanon won the first prize for the best documentary under the students...

Indian studio Disney Utv has unveiled its release slate for 2014, which includes Hindi tentpoles such as P.K. starring Aamir Khan and Disney 3D titles Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Maleficent.

Other Disney titles lined up for Indian release this year include Into The Woods, Million Dollar Arm, Planes 2 – Fire & Rescue, Saving Mr Banks and Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Following its success with handling the Indian distribution of non-mainstream Hindi titles such as The Lunchbox, Ship Of Theseus and Shahid in 2013, Disney Utv has also lined up specialist titles such as Haider, Vishal Bharadwaj’s adaptation of Hamlet starring Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, and Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan, which played at the Busan and Goteborg film festivals.

P.K. is one of a slate of locally-produced Disney-branded movies, also including Shashank Ghosh’s Khoobsurat, starring Sonam Kapoor, Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos, with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and 3D dance movie sequel Abcd 2. The studio...

Indian studio Disney Utv has unveiled its release slate for 2014, which includes Hindi tentpoles such as P.K. starring Aamir Khan and Disney 3D titles Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Maleficent.

Other Disney titles lined up for Indian release this year include Into The Woods, Million Dollar Arm, Planes 2 – Fire & Rescue, Saving Mr Banks and Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Following its success with handling the Indian distribution of non-mainstream Hindi titles such as The Lunchbox, Ship Of Theseus and Shahid in 2013, Disney Utv has also lined up specialist titles such as Haider, Vishal Bharadwaj’s adaptation of Hamlet starring Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, and Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan, which played at the Busan and Goteborg film festivals.

P.K. is one of a slate of locally-produced Disney-branded movies, also including Shashank Ghosh’s Khoobsurat, starring Sonam Kapoor, Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos, with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and 3D dance movie sequel Abcd 2. The studio...

The line-up of the 2nd edition of the Dharamshala International Film festival has been announced. The festival will showcase feature films, documentaries and short films.

Organised by White Crane Arts & Media; the festival will be held from October 24 – 27, 2013 in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala.

This year, a new section ‘Art and Film’ has been introduced at the festival in collaboration with Vienna-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation. The section will feature art films made by international artists Sean Snyder, Wael Shawky, Marine Hugonnier, Omer Fast, Walid Raad and Rabih Mroué.

The Best of recent Indian Shorts curated by filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni will also be showcased.

Besides, Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky’s Watermark will make its world premiere at the festival.

Some of the film personalities who will attend the festival are: Jacek Borcuch (Lasting), Nishtha Jain (Gulabi Gang), Nitin Kakkar (Filmistaan), Avijit Mukul Kishore (To Let the World In), Nagraj Manjule (Fandry...

Four Indian feature films and two short films will be screened at the 37th Montreal World Film Festival to be held from 22 Aug — 2 Sep, 2013.

All the films will be screened in Focus on World Cinema section that includes 105 features, 1 medium length and 110 short films.

Chittagong by Bedabrata Pain, Filmistaan by Nitin Kakkar, Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar and Papilio Buddha by Jayan K. Cherian are the feature films. While the first three are festival regulars, Papilio Buddha is the story of a group of displaced dalits in the Western Ghats of India. The Malayalam-language film has been refused a censor certificate from the Cbfc for its content denigrating Mahatma Gandhi, visuals of extreme violence against a woman and severe use of expletives, among other reasons [as per this notice from the Cbfc].

Short film Tau Seru by Rodd Rathjen (India-Australia) which premiered at Cannes Critics Week is also part of the lineup along with Shri Hanuman Chalisa...

A still from “Filmistaan”

Nitin Kakkar won the “German Star of India” award for his feature film Filmistaan at the 10th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart. The award comprising cash prize of 4000 Euro is given to a film that narrates a very serious political theme in a very poetic and humorous way.

The German Star of India in the short film category went to Calcutta Taxi by Vikram Dasgupta. Set in the grimy backdrop of a city going through a political crisis, Calcutta Taxi unravels the story of three lives that coincide and affect each other.

Salma by Kim Longinotto was awarded the German Star of India in the documentary category. Salma chronicles the life of a woman from south India who was locked by her parents on reaching puberty and decided to fight her way back to the outside world twenty-five years later. Now she is a well-known poet.

The...

10th Indian film festival Stuttgart has announced its selection. The festival will take place from July 17 to 21 in the German city of Stuttgart.

Here is the complete list of films to be screened at the festival:-

Ashok Rane’s doucmentay Being with Apu

Blood Brothers by Steve Hoover

Dancing Colours by Stuttgart Media University students

Liv & Ingmar by Dheeraj Akolkar

Much Ado about Knotting by Geetika Narang Abbasi and Anandana Kapur

No Problem! 6 Months with the Barefoot Grandmamas by Yasmin Kidwai

Powerless by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar

Resonance of Mother’s Melody by Dip Bhuyan

Salma by Kim Longinotto

The Human Factor by Rudradeep Bhattacharjee

The World Before her by Nisha Pahuja

Bombay Talkies by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar

Shahid by Hansal Mehta

Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh

Bawdi – The Well by Viver Soni

Paroksh by Kuldip Patel

Thaambadhyam by Yugandhara Muthukrishnan

Umbartha by...

I've made allusions to the absolute mania that follows Bollywood stars around the globe, but it's hard to truly express what that is like to someone who is completely unfamiliar with this singular phenomenon. In India and South Asia in general, film stars are revered as divine, as such they inspire devout devotion the likes of which American film audiences just don't understand. Have you built a literal shrine to your favorite actor lately? Very few of us understand this kind of passion, but even those would be astonished by the passions of South Asian film fans. Thankfully, I now have Nitin Kakkar's Filmistaan to show just how powerful the cinema of India is in even the most unforgiving of circumstances.Sharib Hashmi is Sunny, one...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

This year I finally went to the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla). It took me 11 years of urging by my friend and former employee Carla Sanders, a festival guru, who works there and whose festival career began with "the two Garys" the founders of Filmex which was Los Angeles' first film festival in the 70s and 80s and one of the greatest shows on earth. In its second year The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie closed Filmex '72, and Luis Buñuel attended his first-ever public screening of one of his films. I won't go into this piece of history except to say it spawned the American Cinemateque and AFI Fest. The two Garys (Gary Essert and Gary Abraham) passed on, both victims of the first wave of the AIDS epidemic that hit the artistic community very hard, wiping out a generation of innovative filmmakers and film curator/ historians in Los Angeles.

The opening night of Iffla reminded me somewhat of Filmex with the glory of the filmmakers on the red carpet, beautiful young stars in glitzy clothes and skyscraper tall high heels, being stopped for interviews, flashbulbs going off and a general yet genteel excitement in the air. Even those interviewing were worth watching. It was different because all the stars were Indian which made this affair rather exotic at the same time.

The opening film, Gangs of Wasseypur, which had shown last year in the Cannes Film Festival, was truly extraordinary and the director Anurag Kashyap spent at least an hour talking to the audience about this film which is reminiscent of The Godfather and Gangs of New York though not at all derivative. Its second part showed the following evening and was equally outrageously original. Again the director spent an hour in the Q&A. He spoke to his move to Bombay as a filmmaker and the return to his own roots in telling the story of Wasseypur where he in fact grew up. The film actually is an analysis of the place's history and evolution as a burning inferno as the fight for the coal industry fuels the feud. From digging coal to killing someone in an innocuous brawl, the tale of vengeance runs parallel to the tale of India itself.

The 5 hours and 20 minutes were riveting. The music and dancing was also outrageous. Our friend Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it, "A dizzying explosion of an Indian gangster film, whose epic structure and colorful, immoral killers capture the imagination for over five hours."

David Chute, quoted in Thompson on Hollywood, says "Gangs is headlong, hand-held, violent entertainment. It manages to keep a dozen major characters and their agendas clear while rarely pausing to take a breath. It is also one of those rare movies that acknowledge the influence of movies and other forms of pop culture in shaping the values and motivations of its characters.

The story was actually based upon fact, a story of revenge over three generations of two families in a small city of India. My surprise and reaction to it reminded me of how I felt when I saw John Woo's The Killers in Toronto in 1989 which opened the door to John Woo in the U.S. (Coincidently it was the same David Chute who brought John Woo to the U.S. as I recall). The international sales agent, Elle Driver, has not made a sale in the U.S. Which surprises me.

Iffla concluded on Sunday evening (April 14) with a red carpet and gala fete that included the Los Angeles premiere of Deepa Mehta’s Midnight's Children, and the presentation of the festival's Grand Jury and Audience Choice Awards, followed by an after party.

This year the festival showcased more than 35 film features, documentaries, and short films at ArcLight Hollywood, home of Iffla since its inception. “The awards are always bittersweet for all of us in the programming team as we truly believe in the exceptional talent and relevance of each film which has been so carefully chosen,” said Lead Programmer Terrie Samundra. “That being said, we wholeheartedly share the enthusiasm of the audience and our prestigious jury. A huge congratulations to the winners!”

Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely took home the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature, with an honorable mention for Ship of Theseus directed by Anand Gandhi. The Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary went to Sushrut Jain for Beyond All Boundaries, and for Best Short to Unravel directed by Meghna Gupta, with an honorable mention for Tatpaschat directed by Vasudev Keluskar.

Audience Awards

Best Feature: Filmistaan directed by Nitin Kakkar

Best Documentary: Beyond All Boundaries directed by Gotham Chopra

Best Short: Unravel directed by Meghna Gupta

The 2013 feature film jurors were International Director of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute Paul Federbush, director/editor/writer Kanika Myer (Halo, Heart Of India), and Assistant Curator of Film Programs at Lacma Bernardo Rondeau.The Best Documentary Award was decided by The Hollywood Reporter and Los Angeles Times film critic Sheri Linden, Senior Programmer at Film Independent Maggie Mackay, and Producer Nadine Mundo (Chelsea Settles). Judging the short films were filmmaker and Iffla alum Prashant Bhargava (Patang), Film Curator and Director of Industry Programming at Palm Springs ShortFest Kathleen McInnis, and actress Sheetal Sheth (Abcd, Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World).

About Iffla

Now in its 11th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.

The six-day festival is the premiere platform for the latest in cutting edge global Indian cinema and bridges the gap between the two largest entertainment industries in the world – Hollywood and India. The festival showcased over 35 films from the Indian filmmaking community across the globe, hosted the highly anticipated opening and closing red carpet galas, and the closing awards ceremony.

For more information:

http://www.indianfilmfestival.org.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/indianfilmfestival

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iffla...

New Delhi, May 5: Cinema must be beyond a "few reels of entertainment" as it is a good medium to channelise the positive changes in the country's socio-cultural milieu, says filmmaker Nitin Kakkar, whose debut feature "Filmistaan" was named the best film at the 60th National Film Awards.

"As far as social issues are concerned, I feel cinema is a strong tool to bring about a change in the society. Cinema is lot more that few reels of entertainment," Kakkar told Ians in an interview.

His thoughts find resonance in President Pranab Mukherjee's recent comment on how "cinema can play a crucial role in influencing society".

Mukherjee.

Still from Filmistaan

Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely won the Jury prize for Feature Film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) that concluded on Sunday. Ship of Theseus by Anand Gandhi won a Jury Honourable Mention.

Filmistaan by Nitin Kakkar won the Audience award in the Feature Film category.

Beyond all Boundaries by Sushrut Jain won both the Jury and Audience award for Documentary.

Unravel by Meghna Gupta won the Jury and Audience award for Short Film while And After That by Vasudev Keluskar won an Honorable Mention.

Producer Guneet Monga and Executive Vice President, Universal Television, Bela Bajaria were honoured with the sixth annual Industry Leadership Awards.

Gangs of Wasseypur I opened the festival while Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children was the closing film of the festival.

Still from Dekh Tamasha Dekh

The 13 New York Indian Film Festival will open with Feroze Abbas Khan’s political satire Dekh Tamasha Dekh and close with Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan. The festival will be held from April 30 – May 4, 2013.

This year the festival will screen 22 Indian features, all having their New York City premieres.

Khan’s 108 minute film Dekh Tamasha Dekh explores a country where bizarre is normal through a poor man in search for his religious identity. While Kakkar’s 117 minute film Filmistaan connects humans and cultures through cinema.

The festival will celebrate 100 years of Indian Cinema with the screenings of Rudradeep Bhattacharjee’s The Human Factor, Jaideep Varma’s Baavra Mann, Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa and Uday Shankar’s Kalpana. Whereas, Hansal Mehta’s Shahid will be presented under the Centrepiece section and Amit Gupta’s Jadoo under Special Screening.