Simi Garewal pays a beautiful tribute to Shashi Kapoor

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne had its awards night yesterday, beginning on an all time high with Bollywood biggies like Rani Mukerji and Rajkumar Hirani leading the pack of winners like Richa Chadha and Vicky Kaushal to a rather lustrous 3rd Day.

Sanju, which won Best Film, with leading man Ranbir Kapoor bagging the Vanguard award, had a special screening at the La Trobe University in Melbourne which was followed by a rather interesting Q&A with director Rajkumar Hirani and writer Abhijat Joshi. The students were quite interested in the interaction and as the evening flowed, so did the session. With a rather fun repartee between the students and the esteemed director and writer, relevant questions and responses flew back and forth as Raju even answered the frequently asked question: Why did you make a biopic on Sanjay Dutt? “We were actually writing Munnabhai immediately after PK when we happened to meet Sanju. He was out on parole and we met at his place, when he started venting out; things that were bottled up. He just didn't care who he spoke to. He had to get it out. I always had a professional relationship with Sanju, but that was one long evening. He has told us things about his life, things that I didn't know and I thought, that's a wonderful story. Abhijat and I went over to his place for 5 days and just kept recording while he spoke. People know about the drugs and the controversies. But there are so many aspects of his life that the people don't know about. We wanted to show the world the other side of the story, the relationship he shared with his father, his mother; the wonderful relationship he shared with one of his closest friends. We wanted the audience to see that side of him,” the PK director replied.

Another highlight of the evening was the special screening of the evergreen Siddhartha, starring the late Shashi Kapoor and Simi Garewal, who gave a rather touching tribute to her co star and dear friend. Held at HOYTS, the evening brought in an eager crowd of cinephiles who wanted to watch this 1972 classic and get a feel of true cinema. A Q&A session followed the screening and the veteran actress answered several wonderful questions on the film and how it was way ahead of its time with much élan. Remembering such an important member of the Hindi film industry, Simi reminisced, “Shashi was my friend and fellow actor and it is very common in India to praise someone after they've gone but I have always said this, Shashi Kapoor was the perfect Co-star. You don’t want someone to interfere; you want someone to support you when you’re acting. You want someone well behaved, punctual, who is polite and courteous with everyone and he was exactly like that. He was very professional and he had no ego at all he would shake hands with everyone from the lighting technician to everyone else. He was amazing that way and I don’t know another actor in the world who would work in commercial cinema earn money from there and take it and put it into meaningful films like Kalyug, 36 Chowringhee Lane etc. But he had a passion for real cinema and he put his money where his mouth was. He started the parallel cinema. We never had it before.”

Day 4 of the Indian Film Festival closed on a positive and hopeful note, chronicling Sanju as a true film for the masses and Siddhartha as a film for every generation. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will continue holding screenings of wonderful films from all across India and the subcontinent till 22nd August, ensuring the Australian audiences revel in the truest sense of cinema.

THE GERMAN WORLD RENOWNED MENTALIST & MAGIC MAESTRO, NICOLAI FRIEDRICH'S COMES CALLING CHARMS FICCI FLO LADIES WITH HIS TRICKS

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) organised a very exclusion event with internationally renowned German Mentalist and Master of Illusion, NICOLAI FRIEDRICH.

Nicolai Friedrich is a Magician- Mentalist, who belongs to the new generation of Magicians whose success lies not only with their technical equipment, but with an unparalleled and remarkable stage presence that amazes the audience.

The German The illusionist made some objects float pulled out certain things out of the thin air and red minds of several FLO ladies members

Two minutes into German mentalist-magician Nicolai Friedrich’s show and even the dyed-in-the-wool sceptics are left with plummeting jaws. For not only  he made a table float and tear a newspaper to shreds only to make it whole again with a flick of his hand, he also read several minds and guessed present audience birthdays and the identified pix  of the person whose photo is in the  wallet of the audience.

. “There is a science behind it because I do not have supernatural powers,” he laughed. “There is psychology involved and the power of suggestion. It also involves hypnotism and manipulating and influencing people by planting thoughts in their heads. It creates the illusion of mind reading,” said Friedrich

FLO President, Pinky Reddy speaking on the occasion said, “Nicolai Friedrich not only performs magic tricks on a stage, he seems to be a real magician. He captivates with his brilliance, charm and comedic talent. His mixture of visual artistry, fantastic comedy and fascinating Mental Magic is one of a kind.”

“This was a very special programme and to ensure extensive outreach and benefits, we opened it up for the families of our members. An illusionist possesses the skill to involve everyone around, whether it’s a child or an adult. We thought this event will add to the holistic well-being of our members, by way of entertainment and a refreshing break from their busy schedules.  She added.

The Coolest, Freshest And Most Awaited Jodi Of 2018 – Varun Dhawan And Anushka Sharma Is Here!

National Award winning producer-director duo of Maneesh Sharma and Sharath Kataria, the team that won hearts with their first collaboration Dum Laga Ke Haisha are set to present their next – a big ticket YRF entertainer Sui Dhaaga – Made in India. The film has done a casting coup as it brings together two of the most exciting superstars of today Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma to pair up for the first time ever! Their pairing is already being hailed as the most awaited and freshest Jodi to hit the screen this year. 

Maneesh and Sharat speak up about this fresh, popular jodi and the tremendous interest that they’ve created amongst fans. “Varun and Anushka relished the chance to go out of the comfort zone of being portrayed as glamorous stars. Mauji and Mamta are salt of the earth characters and these characters gave our duo the chance to really push themselves as actors,” explains Maneesh Sharma explains. He adds, "As performers there’s a certain yin and yang to their approach to the craft and that reflects in their amazing chemistry on screen.” 

Director Sharath Katariya says, "More than getting a fresh Jodi, the excitement was to get the right actors who will complement each other. And luckily, both of them agreed to do the film and they have done a remarkable job which everyone will get to see on September 28.” 

Varun and Anushka’ s Sui Dhaaga trailer releases today to widespread anticipation from fans and audiences.

EPIC Channel Brings to TV - Real Heroes and Inside Stories of India's Valiant Army Regiments in a series titled REGIMENT DIARIES

EPIC Channel's upcoming original series will take you behind the heavily guarded gates of army regimental centres. The regiment is a soldiers’ second family and each regiment has its own illustrious history, and glorious traditions. The show provides insights into their training, lineage, legacy and all that goes into turning a civilian into a soldier.

Regiment Diaries, which will air from August 16th, is a tribute to the valiant men that make these regiments, and who honour the simplest thing in life - love for the motherland, above all else. Each episode is a showcase of brave tales that warm the heart, moisten the eye, and leave you in even greater awe of the bravest children of India.

Though several documentaries and movies have been made about the Indian army in the past, this is the first time that an entire series of this scale is filmed inside real regimental centres, with real army men - serving, and retired - speaking about their life and experience as soldiers of India in times of peace and war.

EPIC has worked closely with ADG-PI, the public information wing of the Indian Army and the individual regiment centres, doggedly pursuing the show through every procedure and permission, to make a deserving re-telling of our nation’s brave hearts.

Akul Tripathi, Content and Programming head, EPIC Channel said, “We have it as our mission to celebrate every aspect of India and the celebration was always incomplete until we celebrated the Indian Army. In many ways, this show is special for us; it is also our personal mark of gratitude and pride for the army. Every person who has worked on the show, has gone that extra mile for this particular series and had only this much to say for it – ‘ itna toh banta hai’.”

The weekly series will be telecast every Thursday at 10 pm. Episodes feature stories of various battles from India’s history, and the regiment’s contributions in it along with anecdotes of both battle, and the preparations that go into making men ready for battle. Each episode also explores the specific traditions and culture within each regiment and how they each add colour and character to the fabric of the Indian army.

The show will be flagged off with an episode on the Madras Engineers Group regiment, followed by episodes on other regiments including Rajputana Rifles, Sikh Regiment, Jat Regiment, Maratha Light Infantry amongst others.

On Independence Day, EPIC will release a 4-min trailer of Regiment Diaries that embodies the soul of the show. This will be part of a specially curated day-long programming line-up that includes episodes from its popular shows, riveting documentaries on historic battles of independent India by Maj. Gen. G.D Bakshi and a revisiting of historic moments through a compilation of iconic speeches by Indian leaders, which changed the course of Indian politics and society, from their show ‘Bharat Ki Awaaz.’ 

Watch Regiment Diaries, 16th August onwards, every Thursday at 10 pm only on EPIC channel.

ndustry goes all hails for Maniesh Paul’s 'Black Briefcase'

Maniesh Paul left everyone intrigued when he shared the first poster of his upcoming short film ‘Black Briefcase’. The movie is produced by Vevek Paul, who is also Maniesh’s brother. Vevek Paul apparently met the director of the film while travelling in a flight. Intrigued by his fellow passenger’s passion to make film, he decided to give him a chance to direct Maniesh Paul.

This is the first time that the host turned actor Maniesh has come up with a serious and dark role. The intensity of his character could be felt with the first look of the film.

The special preview of the film saw a lot of attendees including Raj Nayak, Ramesh Taurani, Vikram Phadnis, Anu Malik, Aanad Tiwari, Vishwas Pandya, Prachi Pandya, Sehban Azim, Iqbal Khan, Tisca Chopra, Rohan Mapuskar, Farhad, Iulia Vantur, Rumi Jaffre and others. They were indeed spellbound by his performance and are all hails for our performer.

A film by Cinemaddicts9, Black Briefcase is presented by T-series and is produced by Vevek Paul.