Double Whammy for 'Aligarh'

After Busan, Eros International & Hansal Mehta’s 'Aligarh'

selected for screening at the prestigious BFI London

 Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh’ is fast becoming a toast of international film festivals! Close on the heels of the announcement of its World Premiere at the forthcoming Busan International Film Festival comes the news of its selection at the prestigious 59th BFI London Film Festival (7-18 October). 

The film will play as part of the Festival's Debate strand: Riveting films that amplify, scrutinise and surprise.

National award winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta brings a sensitive, humane story from small town India with ‘Aligarh’. Co-starring Manoj Bajpayee & Rajkummar Rao, the film draws from a real incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh. A Professor (Manoj Bajpayee) is suspended by his University for being gay after he is caught on camera in a sting operation. A young journalist (Rajkummar Rao) investigates his first breaking story. Set in the myriad dark lanes of a volatile, decadent society, the two strike an unlikely friendship that will change them forever.

The invite from Clare Stewart, BFI London Film Festival Director states, " Our programme team found the film to be daring and strong, telling an incredibly important story that London audiences will definitely respond to."

The BFI is often a precursor for winners & celebrated gems from cinema across the world. Says Mehta, “I am touched & very grateful that BFI has positioned ‘Aligarh’ in such a relevant discussion. I think the recognition that international film festivals are giving us validates our reasons for making this film.”

Producer Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd, said, “ At Eros, we take pride in producing films like ‘Aligarh’, that tell a story with a difference. Hansal Mehta has made a relevant & beautiful film and it’s screenings at BFI & Busan prove that such films will always find an audience.”

Eros International presents Aligarh directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva Asrani, produced by Eros International and Karma Pictures. 

Toonz Retail launches its 2nd store in Chennai

The new spacious multi branded store with many more product categories is up and operational in the East Coast Road at Sholinganallur area making it their 6^th one in Tamil Nadu

With the spirit of celebrating the joy of parenting, Toonz Retail, the fastest growing homegrown retail chain for all the needs and occasions of kids, from 0-12 years, launched their second store in Sholinganallur on August 15. Spread over an area of around 2000 Sq. feet, this new store is spacious and offers a complete range of exciting kids’ products. ECR being one of the very popular tourist spots of Chennai, the company is anticipating maximum footfalls to the new store.

“We have been receiving a great response from our Anna Nagar store and we have discovered that there is a huge potential of kids retail in Chennai. So to cater thousands of families in and around area of East Coast Road, we planned to open up a store in Sholinganallur to provide a one stop solution for the child’s needs”, said Mr. Sharad Venkta, Managing Director & CEO - Toonz Retail India Pvt. Ltd. “This is our 6^th store in the state of Tamil Nadu and it is a very important market for us. We are planning to come up with few more stores in coming months”, he further added.

Toonz store at East Coast Road comprises of exhaustive kid’s apparel collection, toys, strollers, walkers, car seats, baby care products, feeding accessories, nursery furniture, baby linen, premium party wear, ethnic wear, casual wear, footwear and accessories. Toonz has an association with world's best brands across categories giving Indian mothers and their kids an exclusive, international and innovative choice.

In terms of kids’ apparel collection, Toonz is in line with the latest fashion, through their own apparel brands WOWMOM and SUPERYOUNG.  Right from colour and texture to comfort, feel and styling, Toonz’s apparel range has the best of all. The store staff has been trained to deliver a comfortable, informed and enjoyable shopping experience to the customers.

Toonz boasts of more than 70 stores across 14 states in 46 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai among other cities. It is one of the first players in the kids’ retail market, which offers a wide range of qualitative offerings for kids at affordable price range under one roof.

The complete address of the Chennai, ECR Toonz store is appended below:

Shop No.  12 ( F2 ), Plot  No. 1 to 6, VGP Golden Beach South Part 1, VGP  Main Road, Sea  Cliff  Avenue, East  Coast  Road, Sholinganallur, Chennai – 600 113

About Toonz Retail India Pvt. Ltd. 

Toonz Retail India Pvt. Ltd. is a one-stop shop for all the needs and occasions of kids, from 0-12 years, promoted by Mr. Ankur Aggarwal and managed by a team of highly experienced professionals, who are pioneers in the fields of retail who expertise in marketing, sales and operations, merchandising, e-Commerce and finance. 

Conceptualized in 2010, Toonz opened its 1st store in Total Mall Bengaluru, with a steady growth and market acceptance, today it is successfully operating with 70 stores across India and growing, which span across 46 cities in states like Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

Back in Business! Ranveer Recovers from Injury to Plunge into Action

Ranveer Singh had a difficult injury to his shoulder around May this year. Triggered by a hard fall from horseback, Ranveer suffered this injury while shooting for ‘Bajirao Mastani’, forcing him to rest up for nearly 2months. He was spotted wearing cool slings while promoting ‘Dil Dhadhakne Do’ But there is very good news for his fans & filmmakers, as Ranveer has made a near complete recovery very quickly from this major injury.

Shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’, with its epic action sequences, sword fighting and training for combat, had brought out the enthusiastic action hero in Ranveer. But the injury compelled him to stop all physically intensive shooting, however Sanjay Leela Bhansali continued to shoot other portions during this course thus not interrupting the film schedule.

Determined to make full recovery, Ranveer has focused on healing and physiotherapy extensively, and now is back to great physical shape. Earlier, movement of the shoulder after surgery was very restricted & physiotherapists focused on increasing the range of his shoulder’s movements.

In his own words, Ranveer fills us on his tough physiotherapy schedule. He said,“I have been treated like an athlete would be treated. It’s 3 hours of physiotherapy each day, 1 hour in the morning followed by 1 hour in the middle of shoot and 1 hour post wrap.The physiotherapy program assigned to me is the same as one assigns to a professional athlete and the recovery has been five times faster than that of a normal person. “ 

Ranveer has been shooting emotionally intense scenes for Bajirao Mastani. End of this week he will turn his attention on physically demanding action sequences. Giving his all, Ranveer has once again gone the extra mile for the iconic part of Maratha royal Peshwa Bajirao.

After the great success of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Mary Kom, Rob Miller roped in for Azhar.

International stunt and sports director, Robert Miller aka Rob Miller who has worked on several Hollywood films including John Miller Must Die and License to Wed, apart from international sitcoms like One Tree Hill and The Office has been roped in to direct the sports sequences in MSM Motion Pictures & Balaji Motion Pictures' Azhar starring Emraan Hashmi.

The sports director who last worked on National award winning sports films ' Mary Kom , Bhaag Milkha Bhaag  and Chak De! India ‘ will now be chalking out and directing some crucial highlight scenes in the entertainer based on the life and times of former Indian Captain , Azharuddin.. Sources reveal that Rob and his team of stunt and sports coordinators are currently in London, where the film is being shot. Recently we spotted cricketer Azharuddin flying to London to overlook the filming of the cricket scenes and support Emraan Hashmi in the portrayal of himself. One could only imagine what a cricketing  extravaganza film ‘Azhar’ would be with  Azharuddin’s technique and Rob miller’s expertise.

Rob Miller’s quote - " We are excited to come on board, Azhar. Its been exciting few days on the sets as we are shooting critical cricket portions. Emraan is in full form and working hard on his cricketing skills. Tony is particular about bringing authenticity of the game to the film and we all are fully committed to that."

Balaji Motion Pictures & MSM Motion Pictures' Azhar is scheduled to release 13th May 2016.

A special van for Akshay Kumar all the way from Bulgaria

While shooting in Romania for Singh is Bliing, Akshay Kumar had a vanity van brought in from Bulgaria. The reason being, Romania didn’t have a large van that could meet the actor’s specifications. Producer Ashwini Yardi confirms, “Akshay had a vigorous action schedule in Romania with a song and a 10-day long action. We thought it would be best to provide him with the most luxurious vanity van so that his comfort between shots is taken care of. The van was specially called in from another country (Bulgaria). It had a massage chair, a bedroom that extended out to a regular size bedroom at any home, a full functional kitchen and a huge dining area.”