‘Umeed’ Trailer Is Hard-Hitting, Thought-Provoking And Spine-Chilling

Rajat S Mukherjee will make his directorial debut with the medical thriller ‘Umeed’, presented by S.O.I.E. The film based on true events boasts of an ensemble cast and its trailer was released today. 

One of the most hard-hitting films to have been made in India, ‘Umeed’ revolves around the concept of unethical drug trials, wherein foreign pharmaceutical companies conduct drug trials on children from poverty-ridden Indian families in rural hinterlands by obtaining their consent through unethical means.

The film stars Anjali Patil as a social activist, who decides to lock horns with the big pharmaceutical companies with the help of a lawyer (Freddy Daruwala) and a supermodel (Pallavi Das), who had unwittingly endorsed the products of the pharmaceutical companies involved in such unethical activities. Apart from the actors mentioned above, ‘Umeed’ also stars Harsh Chhaya, Dalip Tahil, Mohan Kapur, Milind Gunaji, Achint Kaur and other able supporting players.

From what we could see in the trailer, ‘Umeed’ is quite a hard-hitting fare, a medical thriller, which will provoke people to think about certain harsh facts that have been ignored by everyone.

Presented by S.O.I.E and produced by Welcome Friends Productions, ‘Umeed’ is slated to hit cinemas on September 22 this year.

Trailer Link

Punit Malhotra shares his experience of directing B- Town’s power couple SRK and Gauri in an ad

Punit Malhotra, who shot for a commercial with superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his better half, Gauri says "Its an honour to direct them together. Malhotra’s effusive display of emotions is understandable — it’s no mean feat to bring the King of Romance and his real- life romance together on screen.

As a project for Dharma ; . : , a creative outfit which allows in- house directors to work on ads, Malhotra took on the ambitious assignment of shooting the couple.

How is the real- life chemistry between BTown’s power couple? “ Dreamy, easy and every bit beautiful — just what the world would imagine them to be. People have never seen Shah Rukh sir and Gauri ma’am in this light,” the director says.

While Khan is, needless to say, a natural in front of camera, the star wife refrains from facing the arc lights.

Malhotra reveals that Khan made sure that his wife was comfortable in front of the camera. “ Before Gauri ma’am faced the camera, Shah Rukh sir would run her through the shot.

During her shots, he would sit somewhere close and give her cues. I wanted to capture the chemistry of a husband and wife, who have been married for years. It’s sweet how they know each other’s habits like the back of their hand.” Malhotra agrees that convincing the star wife for the commercial wasn’t easy. It took Gauri’s good friend Karan Johar to change her mind. “ She was apprehensive initially, but barely took any time to warm up. Everyone on set was familiar with her and that put her at ease.” The superstar and his wife send out a strong message with this ad. “ We show the man of the house doing all the work. We wanted to take the division of labour in a marriage to the next level.”

SONY ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION & KAPIL SHARMA’S PARTNERSHIP IS RENEWED

Putting to rest all the recent rumors, Sony Entertainment Television and Kapil Sharma have renewed their partnership. The contracted has been extended for a year. This show continues to reinvent and maintain itself as the benchmark in comedy entertainment. 

Talking on the development Danish Khan, EVP and Head at Sony Entertainment Television said, “The Kapil Sharma Show bring smiles to millions of viewer every weekend nights across the globe. Kapil is an extraordinary talent and we are delighted to have further cemented our relationship with extension of this contract. We are confident that the show and its talented cast will continue to enthrall the audiences across the globe.” 

Adding to this, Kapil Sharma said, “I am deeply touched with the warmth and love the audience has showered on us over the years. It’s their belief and undying devotion that encourages us to continue to reinvent ourselves and bring smiles to every household week on week. I am grateful to Sony Entertainment Channel for believing in me and our show and supporting us in creating and bringing unlimited entertainment to every household every weekend.

Chitrashi Rawat to play female protagonist in the show Shankar Jai Kishan- 3 in 1

After roping in the good looking Kettan Singh, the veteran actress Asawari Joshi and the talented Falaq Naaz in prominent roles, Sony SAB’s upcoming fiction show Shankar Jai Kishan- 3in 1 adds a popular actress in their cast. The Bollywood daredevil, Chitrashi Rawat will play one of the female protagonists in the show. 

Chitrashi will be seen essaying the role of Simple Kapoor who will be paired against Kishan (Kettan Singh) the main lead of the show. Simple is the youngest sister of the three Kapoor daughters with whom Shankar, Jai and Kishan will marry. Unlike her name, Simple’s life is supremely complicated. She believes that everything should work in her own favour, she always spins situations to suit her choices. She is always doubtful about her surroundings and counter questions Kishan. To add to this, she is a judo expert and one can always find Kishan seeking shelter behind her whenever he is in trouble.                         

Confirming the news Chitrashi said, “I am really excited to be part of a comedy show again. After my show F.I.R on SAB, I was waiting for the right break and then I bagged this role. Simple is exactly like me. An outspoken girl who does not hesitate to speak her mind.”  

Ssharad Malhotraa and Prateek Chakravorty reunite for a short film

Ssharad Malhotraa’s fans are in for a treat. The actor will be directing a short film called Prem, Gajra Aur Chilli Chicken soon. The actor has collaborated with Prateek Chakravorty, grandson of late film-maker Pramod Chakravorty, for the venture. 

“I wanted to do something different. The idea to make a short film came to me from a few true incidents that took place in Mumbai. I thought it would make for an interesting subject. It’s a quirky comedy but it is also dark at the same time,” says Ssharad, who has been acting since the last 10 years. 

The two have worked together before in the film Sydney With Love (2012), which Prateek had directed and share a great rapport. “I share an emotional connection with him as that film was our first project together. Collaborating on this short film with him as the producer and me as a director will be another first for us. My entire team is ready, and we will start shooting in a couple of days in Mumbai,” says the Banoo Main Teri Dulhann actor. Ssharad, who acted in another short film earlier this year, plans to send his directorial venture to various film festivals before releasing it online. 

Although he had never planned to don the director’s hat anytime soon, it was the story of the film that got him on board. “I have three very successful TV shows to my credit which is why perhaps people feel that (his) turning a director has to be something really cool. That kind of pressure can be scary but I am not feeling any pressure. I never thought of becoming a director. Being an actor, you want to act all the time but the story of the short film compelled me to direct,” says says the Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap actor. He and his team have been working on the project for the past six months. 

In fact, the actor shares that the idea of the film came from his girlfriend Pooja Bisht. "Sometime back, Pooja had heard about this incident which had occurred and mentioned it to me. I got the idea from there and then started working on the script with my writer," he says. 

The actor is eying the digital medium as well and wants to venture out in that direction soon. “I have done television shows for 10 years and I have done two feature films in my career, so in the future, I would love to do theatre or act in a web series. There is a lot of scope out there for digital content, and I want to explore that,” he says. He further adds "I call Prateek (Po (Kung-fu-Panda) and he is like brother from another mother and we have seen ups and down together". 

Prateek, who shares a wonderful rapport with Ssharad, says that they are almost like family. "Ssharad was the main lead in my film “From Sydney With Love” (2012). Since then we have developed a bond like brothers. We have seen the miseries of our fall together and helped each other grow in our own space over the period of time. He reinvented himself on television in very versatile shows and I stand so proud of him as a brother. I hope our friendship remains one that lasts a lifetime," he says, adding, "Ssharad had narrated me a story last year which I found highly amusing, stunningly different, extremely quirky, raw and twisted and I loved it from the word go. The story was told and then he got on with his shoots and shows. I met him 4-6 months later and we were catching up, when I mentioned about my plans to produce short films and make then ready for festivals. He mentioned that he wanted to make a short film and the subject that he narrated was the film that he wanted to make. It was like destiny inked it for us to make together. I needed interesting short stories and he was making one. So it fell together in place and here we are making Prem, Gajra Aur Chilli Chicken. I am producing his first directorial debut."