All eyes on Manmarziyaan

While their first-time collaboration, Mukkabaaz which garnered rave reviews continues to impress the cinegoers in its second week, Aanand L Rai and Anurag Kashyap have decided to take their association to the next level by joining hands once again for their next venture, Manmarziyaan.

Manmarziyan starring Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal is all set to go on floors in February. Anurag wanted to finish Mukkabaaz before prepping for this Film and is all geared to shoot the film in Punjab in the fading winters. The film is said to be a project close to Rai’s heart who has ambitious plans around it’s making with special mention to the music which will see the exciting combination of Anurag Kashyap and Amit Trivedi once again.

Aanand L Rai says, “Mukkabaaz has been a great and fruitful journey and now we are very excited for Manmarziyaan which is a complex and beautiful love story, with very relatable human emotions. I am happy that the pieces fit for the perfect cast to come together. Anurag has great energies and I’m very confident with him as the captain of this ship.’

Anurag Kashyap adds, “I have enjoyed working with Aanand L Rai immensely. He is a director’s delight since he gives you all the creative liberty and I’m looking forward to collaborate with the master storyteller again with Manmarziyaan.”

Presented by Eros International & Aanand L Rai and produced by Colour Yellow Productions in association with Phantom Films, Manmarziyaan directed by Anurag Kashyap is set to release later this year.

5 things to watch out for in Prithvi Vallabh from the producer’s lense

Writers Galaxy Studio’s Anirudh Pathak will make his debut as a producer with Prithvi Vallabh airing tonight at 9.30 pm on Sony Originals. The producer identifies 5 things which makes Prithvi Vallabh stand out from the crowd.

1.       The content: We have usually seen a love saga of a hero and a heroine but seldom have we seen such a contrasting nature where the heroine is filled with revenge and the hero is in for peace. Prithvi Vallabh is an unseen unheard story from the Indian soil with all emotions put in one. The content will enlighten the viewers on how Prithvi Vallabh was in his time

2.       The VFX: VFX plays a crucial part in Prithvi Vallabh where the team has culled some breath taking images and videos put across in a beautiful manner. The grandeur of the show will make you fall for it right from the huge palaces to the warships

3.       The sets: Prithvi Vallabh has 2 sets, Manyekhet and Malwa sets which are breathtaking beautiful and astonishing. Mr Chokkas Bharadwaj has done a fantastic job when it comes to set designing. The viewers will see larger than life kingdoms, the army of both kingdoms, lakes and palaces of the two dynasties.

4.       The African Giants: Prithvi Vallabh becomes the first show to use international artistes and warriors. The African men who are as tall as 7 foot have done a great job. From fight sequence with Prithvi Vallabh to leading the navy base for Mrinal (played by Sonarika Bhadoria), these people play a crucial role in showing the war sequence of Manyakhet kingdom

5.       The Outdoor shoot: To show the vastness of the 2 kingdoms the team of Prithvi Vallabh has shot extensively in outdoor locations near Mumbai. Acres of land have been hired to shoot the war sequence between the two armies of Manyakhet and Malwa kingdoms. The VFX put together have created visuals to look out for.  

Filmmaker & CEO Wave Cinemas Rahul Mittra to attend the first mega film festival in Mizoram organized by the Government!

Award winning film maker and CEO Wave Cinemas Rahul Mittra & producer of hit Bollywood films like Saheb Biwi aur Gangster series,  Bullet Raja & Sarkar 3 would be attending the first ever Indian Film Festival Mizoram in Aizawl from 23rd – 25th January alongwith a galaxy of path breaking film makers from India. 

The first of its kind mega film festival in Mizoram is being jointly organised by the Government of Mizoram and Innovations India under the patronage of the  ambitious Swachh Bharat Abhigyan. The festival will open with Amitabh Bachchan starer Sarkar 3 and shall showcase 5 path breaking films in different Indian Languages curated by Captain Rahul Bali who has been successfully organising Indian Film Festivals Worldwide. 

The Indian Film Festival Mizoram shall be inaugurated by Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on 23rd January at the Vanapa Hall in Aizawl and shall be attended by dignitaries & Luminaries from across India and the world. 

Rahul Mittra, who shall be the Chief Guest at the festival appreciated this initiative by the Govt. of Mizoram and said,"I am looking forward visiting Mizoram and am sure the festival will offer a great platform to filmmakers to explore the rich natural resources of the state, apart from interacting with local filmmakers & talent.” 

 The Festival will also promote the Cleanest small town of Asia – BIATE as a destination that has conformed to the Swachh Bharat Abhigyan in an exemplary manner. A short film making competition has also been announced on this subject and the winners will get cash prizes & certificates of Appreciation by the State Government.

Managing Director of Innovations India & the Curator of IFF Mizoram Captain Rahul Bali said, " Indian Film Festival Mizoram is sure to generate awareness about Mizoram across the world. As the state partners, we look forward to introducing the Magnetic Mizoram to the world & seek to develop a lot of synergies for the overall growth of the state. We have a lot of interactive events planned in Mizoram in the near future."Apart from Rahul Mittra, National Award winning film makers like Umesh Shukla, Rajesh Mapuskar, Mikhil Musale, Shahnaab Alam, Popular Assamese Actress Zerifa Wahid and the talented Italian Film Maker Katerina Tarbo Ignatenko along with popular TV actor and General Secretary of CINTAA - Sushant Singh would also be attending the Festival.

Gaurav Sharma to put his Black Belt skills into use in BIG Magic’s Deewane Anajne

BIG Magic's show Deewane Anjane has never failed to entice its audience with the characters getting into interesting and amusing situations time and again. The comic trails of Jay Pathak and Gaurav Sharma keeps the audience glued to the television screen. However, this time around the situation turns a bit of tipsy topsy due to an unexpected turn of event, where we see the lead actor Gaurav Sharma aka LK gets into a brawl with a local don.

A source close to the production house informs us about the new developments, “As Biji's money gets stolen by some miscreants, LK reaches out to the well known Vasooli Bhai in his locality for help. Upon hearing the story, Vasooli Bhai directs him to Jhoota Don stating that since the money has been stolen in his area, the culprit has to be him. His habit of lying on every occasion possible got him the tag of Jhoota Don. Unaware of the circumstances LK will go to fetch the money from the Don. To his surprise, he is challenged for a fight with Jhoota Don to get his money back.”

Speaking about the sequence, Gaurav Sharma said, “It is an interesting sequence with a boxing ring set up. I am a black belt holder and I enjoyed shooting this plot. However, given the comical theme of the show, I couldn’t go that aggressive on the action scene. However, we had lot of fun off-screen too while shooting this. We recorded some kicks and flips in a video. It was a good experience overall.”

What fate lies ahead for LK. Will he be able to face the wrath of the don and get his money back? To Know more stay tuned to Deewane Anjane every Monday to Friday at 8pm only on BIG Magic

Unique anthology on legendary Singer Mohammed Rafi released

A bilingual book on legendary singer Mohammed Rafi "The World of Rafi / Rafi Ki Dunia” was released recently in a function organised at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi.

On this occasion, music lovers were present in large numbers besides well known personalities from different fields were present. Many singers from Mumbai, Amritsar and Delhi paid musical tributes to Mohammad Rafi Sahab. The function was organised by Golden Greats.

Releasing the book, film producer and music promoter Amarjit Singh Kohli, said that Mohammad Rafi remains till today the most versatile of all the singers who could sing any type of song. Such versatile geniuses are born in a millennium. Every singer has some idol and Rafi has perhaps the biggest following amongst budding singers. He said that Vinod Viplav has been doing marvellous job and he had earlier penned the legendary singer’s first biography titled ‘Meri Awaz Suno,’

Music Organiser and presenter Mr. Kaushik Kothari said that probably because of the miraculous blend of all the singing qualities that he possessed with that humility and godliness that he conveyed and expressed silently and so naturally during his lifetime. A man of few words, he was a great human being and a singer that made him the greatest legend of all time. This new book, edited by Vinod Viplav tells the different shades of his personalities and his fan followings.