Irrfan Khan and Kangana Ranaut starrer Divine Lovers is an Indo-French co-production!

Director Sai Kabir's upcoming film, Divine Lovers starring National Award winners Irrfan Khan and Kangana Ranaut, is  one of the few projects from all over the world which has been noticed and advised by Frank Priot,DGA Film France, the French Film Commission, which has been closely following Sai Kabir’s work as a director for 3 years now.

Helping set up the partnership between Paris and Mumbai talents and companies, Film France made sure that Divine Lovers is on the track to be an official Indian-French co-production, and therefore could be eligible for French Qualification when its production starts. What this means for the film is that Divine Lovers may receive a mainstream cinema release in France and the rest of Europe, a very rare occurrence.

Every bit the great Indian Dream,Divine Lovers will be India’s answer to French edgy , love stories that the whole world watches .Bringing together two versatile talents, Divine Lovers is a love story drama set in the heartland of India that deals with the lives of the lower middle class.

Talking about the film says director Sai Kabir, “Divine Lovers will be a collaboration of French & Indian producers coming together for a project.The film will also star French technicians. It's an attempt at making an authentic Indian film, with French technical and philosophical support. I really admire their passion for cinema”.

Says Frank Priot, DGA Film France, "It is exciting for us at the Film France to have young talents like Kabir Sai, from the new generation of Indian directors, willing to work with France and French talents in order to have their movies reaching out to wider audiences outside of India. And his impressive knowledge of French cinema for sure will help him to find common grounds and references with us.With its reality-grounded style, Divine Lovers has a potential appeal to European audiences, even if they don't know the Bollywood conventions".

The film will be produced by  Shailesh R Singh with Irrfan Khan. Shailesh Singh has previously produced many acclaimed films like Tanu Weds Manu, Dil Kabaddi and Shahid to name a few. He is excited to collaborate with his French partner, Léonard Glowinski (co-producer), a successful film producer,having headed StudioCanal and Pathé and produced films like Oliver Stone's Alexander,Alain Chabat's Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre and  Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterly to name a few.

Says French co-producer Léonard Glowinski, "What I notably appreciate is that Sai's Divine Lovers deals with hard and complicated subjects with a comic tone which I'm sure will prove extremely effective.The casting too is perfect for the exposure of the film".

The film that goes on floors March next year, will be shot in various locations across India.

Says Kangana Ranaut, "To work on Divine Lovers is extremely exciting for me as an artist and as an actor .It will be India's answer to edgy, love stories that world-cinema viewers enjoy and I'm glad to be a part of the film".

CID team's funny side revealed on Kaun Banega Crorepati

 

What happens when two of television’s most popular shows come together? Well it is a high dose of entertainment and fun for the fans! Recently the longest running show on television Sony TV’s CID team visited the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati. ACP Pradyuman along with Daya, Abhijeet and Dr. Salunke came on the show for a very noble cause to win money for charity named Maharogi Sewa Samiti in Warora. It is a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. 

The usually sombre CID team revealed their funny side when they received a special request from AB to solve a case in their own mother tongues. The team whole is from different cultural backgrounds, where ACP Pradyuman aka Shivaji Satam is a Maharashtrian, Abhijeet aka Aditya is a Bihari, Daya aka Dayanand Shetty is a Tuluvas and Dr. Salunke is a Marwadi. AB requested them to solve a case in their mother tongue and very sportingly the CID team recited some dialogues in their respective languages. In no time the entire audience and AB burst out laughing as the team’s diversifying languages made each one laugh out loud.

Well the entertainment level does not stop here! By special demand from AB, the team - ACP, Daya and Abhijeet also sang a song and shocked everyone with their melodious voices.

With such entertainment, you can’t afford to miss this episode for sure!

Tune into Kaun Banega Crorepati, this Wednesday, 24^th September at 8.30pm only on Sony Entertainment Television

History created on Kaun Banega Crorepati 2014

~ The Narula brothers, Achin and Sarthak, become the first ever contestants to win the highest prize of Rs. 7 crore ~

Kaun Banega Crorepati, known to inspire contestants to achieve their dreams, set another milestone for Indian television as it got its first ever 7 crore winner. The moment will be cherished and celebrated for a long time when brothers Achin and Sarthak Narula from Delhi answered the 14^th question and took home the highest amount to be ever offered on any game show in India.

The Jodi Special episode of KBC 8 saw the young duo, barely in their 20s, tackle 14 difficult and diverse questions with the help of 4 lifelines and emerge victorious. The success of Achin, a marketing manager and Sarthak, a student, not only glorifies their exceptional intelligence but also proves that ‘Yaha sirf paise hi nahi dil bhi jeete jaate hai’. An ardent fan of the quiz show, Achin has been trying to be part of this iconic show for the last 10 years but always fell short of being selected for the fastest finger first. This year his determination, hard work and go-getter attitude paid off as he not only fulfilled his dream of coming on the Hot Seat but also went down in history by winning the highest prize money. The duo was extremely positive and calm on the Hot Seat and answered questions with confidence and ease. Their demeanor was a clear reflection of their thirst for learning and knowledge.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice President Marketing, Sony Entertainment Television said, “This is a momentous occasion for all of us at Kaun Banega Crorepapti and we would like to congratulate the 7 Crore Jackpot winners-Achin & Sarthak. Over the years the show has evolved from being just a knowledge based game show to something which is greatly appreciated and aspirational to our audience.  We hope KBC continues to inspire people the way it has been all these years.” 

Adding to that Mr. Siddhartha Basu, Chairman and Managing Director of Big Synergy Media Ltd said’ “We have been waiting for a moment like this since the inception of this show. It is a pleasure to see bright brains like Achin and Sarthak battle it out for the Maha Jackpot. It will be our endeavour to continue to raise the bar on this knowledge based game show so that we can encourage more and more people to achieve their dreams through this show.”  

The Narula brothers left the host of the show, Amitabh Bachchan completely speechless with their sheer brilliance. Not to forget, he was completely elated to sign a cheque of Rs. 7 crores, first time ever, for the lucky winners!

यह बच्चों की फिल्म नहीं है- सोहा अली खान

नवोदय टाइम्स २० सितम्बर २०१४

Kunal Nayyar's Cricket Documentary's child prodigy Prithvi Shaw gets record breaking 36 lakh sports deal!!

One of the most popular and acclaimed Indian faces in Hollywood, the tv show Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar who plays scientist Rajesh Koothrapalli in the award winning show, has voiced and produced a prolific documentary on Cricket, and after many festival laurels, it is finally releasing in theaters in October. The documentary BEYOND ALL BOUNDARIES is presented by Enlighten Films directed by Sushrat Jain and tells the stories of three ordinary Indians, a penniless superfan, a boy superstar and a girl cricketer, for each of whom cricket is a lifeline. One of the people the documentary follows is 14-year old cricket prodigy Prithvi Shaw who is breaking several long-standing Mumbai school records in batting. Coaches, players, and even local politicians speak about him in hushed tones, convinced he is the next Indian cricket superstar.

And in what’s fantastic news for the team, Young Prithvi Shaw who had shown glimpses of his huge potential when he slammed a record 546 while playing for Rizvi Springfield in an interschool game in the Harris Shield here last year has landed a deal worth Rs 36 lakh with cricket equipment manufacturers SG, which has had greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag endorsing their brand in the past!!

Prithvi will receive this sponsorship over a six-year period.

“I am extremely thrilled about this fantastic piece of news for Prithvi. He was one of the three main subjects of our documentary feature, Beyond All Boundaries.  Our film captures not just the amazing 2011 World Cup win but the stories of three remarkable Indians for whom the sport of cricket was a salvation of sorts. We spent a lot of time with Prithvi during the making of the film, interviewing him and everyone around him, including his father, following Prithvi as he spent hours upon hours training relentlessly to become a better cricketer.   I’m delighted to finally be bringing the film to Indian audiences, who will now be able to get a glimpse of Prithvi's life before all the successes - all the struggle and passion that goes into making a young cricketer.  As you will see in the film, Prithvi and his father have fought some tremendous odds and hardships so he can pursue his dream and fulfill his rare cricketing promise, and they deserve every bit the good fortune that has come their way.  It's a great story behind the scenes of Indian cricket.” says an elated Director Sushrut Jain

The film had its World Premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival in April 2013. It subsequently screened at the Arclight theaters in Hollywood as an official selection at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA), the premiere festival of Indian cinema in the world. At IFFLA, Beyond All Boundaries won both the Audience and Jury Awards for Best Documentary Feature. And after all the acclaim, the Documentary is finally hitting Indian theatres!!