Tanushree Dutta's #MeToo takes Nana Patekar international

The world's leading pirate site YIFY aka YTS normally only uploads Hollywood movie torrents. But seemingly because of all the uproar caused by motor-mouth Tanushree Dutta's spin on Nana Patekar, the latter's epic Marathi-language film Natsamrat seems to have found a coveted place on the international YIFY Hollywood-centric website this week.

"When Hollywood looks at the Indian film industry, it only pays attention to Bollywood's Hindi films. It almost ignores regional cinema and the huge and tech-savvy South film industry too," points out Bollywood's only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar. "So inspite of this being a matter involving piracy, it's interesting that a Marathi film has been put along with Hollywood films," he remarks.

For the record, Femina Miss India and actress Tanushree Dutta who had fallen into near obscurity, returned to India from the United States of America last month, and dragged acclaimed actor Nana Patekar in almost a decade-old matter; alleging that he had looked at her with bad intentions, and wanted to touch and feel her on the sets of a film she was to perform an item number in. 

The controversy-hungry media promptly fell for Tanushree's words and labelled it a #MeToo episode, crediting her as the spearleader of the international #MeToo movement in India's Bollywood, which earlier began in Hollywood with dozens of women accusing American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years.

The Nana Patekar starrer Natsamrat (roughly translated as king of the theater) was directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and officially released in India in 2016, receiving tremendous word-of-mouth publicity. It portrayed the tragic life of a stage actor, who retires from acting, but is unable to forget his fond memories of theatre, drama and stage. Considered a classic, it emerged as the highest-grossing Marathi film of all time, until Sairat occupied that place later the same year.

Producers Guild of India amends by-laws

Makes it mandatory for members to implement ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace’ (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 (PoSH)

Producers Guild of India at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

on 14th November, 2018 in Mumbai unanimously passed a resolution to amend its by-laws thereby making it mandatory for all those members who fall under the purview of the The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 (PoSH), to implement the requisite laws including constitution of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and accordingly submit a declaration to the Producers Guild of India confirming enforceability of

necessary PoSH guidelines within their organisation.

Prior to the EGM, Producers Guild of India also conducted a workshop through a specialized external agency which made a comprehensive presentation highlighting various facets and provisions required to be statutorily executed under the PoSH Act 2013. The objective of the EGM along with the workshop was not only to educate members on the legal provisions of the PoSH Act 2013 but also sensitize them about the growing need and urgency to institute and implement robust processes at their workplaces.

President of the Producers Guild of India, Siddharth Roy Kapur stated that “It is incredibly heartening to see the unanimous support that our members have extended towards the initiatives taken by the Guild to help make workplaces in our industry safe spaces for women. We are committed to working closely with our members to ensure complete compliance with PoSH guidelines across the industry.”

Namah Pictures To Bring To Life The Biopic of Revolutionary Leader Birsa Munda

Post the release of their critically acclaimed film Beyond the Clouds, directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Majid Majidi, producer duo Shareen Mantri Kedia and Kishor Arora are now set to collaborate with another popular filmmaker Pa.Ranjith for an inspiring biopic on the life of revolutionary leader Birsa Munda, a real life hero, who single handedly raised an army of tribals and fought against the British for their rights to ownership of land.

On the occasion of Birsa Munda's 143rd birth anniversary, the makers feel privileged to announce a story based on his life. Interestingly, the film makers have also acquired the rights of Padma Vibhushan and Sahitya Akademi Awardee Mahasweta Devi's book Jangal Ke Davedar based on the life of Birsa Munda.

Having directed blockbusters like Madras, Kaala and Kabali, Pa. Ranjith will helm the project for Namah pictures- one of the fastest growing production houses that strives to deliver films and web content with entertaining narratives connecting audiences world over.

The company has recently forayed into the digital world with the sensational show Karenjit Kaur- The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, which has gone onto become a huge success.

Creating a diverse content portfolio, the company is also producing a Marathi film on India’s first female doctor- Anandibai Joshi which is set to release early next year while also taking forward their association with Majid Majidi for another project which is in the scripting stages.    

Shareen Mantri Kedia informs, "The life and times of Birsa Munda are an inspiration and it’s a remarkable story that needs to be told. There are very few parallels in history of so much being achieved at such a young age. We at Namah Pictures feel privileged to bring this story to screen and are excited to collaborate with Pa Ranjith to direct the film."

Director Pa Ranjith's says"

When I first read about Birsa seven years back, in Mahaswetha Devi's Aaranyer Adhikar (Jangal Ke Davedar in Hindi), I knew that one day I will narrate this story.

When Namah Picture’s Shareen and Kishore and I met to discuss Birsa early this year, we realized that we shared the same passion to narrate this inspiring story that will make a brilliant feature film, which will appeal to the Indian audience as well as the International  audience. I am happy to be working with Namah and excited by the commitment that they have expressed towards telling Birsa’s story.

Birsa’s Life transcends time and I am sure it will inspire the audience, as it has all of us."

Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan dance for the first time in Thugs Of Hindostan's Vashmalle

Yash Raj Films mega action adventure Thugs of Hindostan has stunned audiences worldwide with it’s larger than life, extravagant trailer that has made it the biggest film to come out of Bollywood in years. This visual spectacle about an epic war and adventure on the high seas, is releasing this Diwali. The film has managed an incredible casting coup of this generation by bringing together two of the biggest icons of Hindi cinema Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan for the first time on big screen and to make this even more interesting, looks like the two have also danced together in the film!

Prabhudheva, whose choreography sets benchmarks each time, has directed this song titled Vashmalle (Meaning : Dance your heart out and make merry). Prabhudheva always leaves his mark with high energy dance numbers that boast of unique dance moves. Vashmalle too will stand out because Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan are seen dancing their heart out in the film.

Vijay Krishna Acharya, director of Thugs of Hindostan says, “It is amazing that we could write a suitable moment in the film that sees these two icons of Indian cinema shake a leg with each other and the song will stand out because of their infectious energy and camaraderie. The song presents Mr. Bachchan and Aamir Khan in the mood to celebrate. I have to reveal, the sequence will show them getting drunk during the celebrations and then breaking out to dance on this high energy number. It is a priceless moment that we have captured in Thugs of Hindostan.”

Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani have sung this anticipated number while celebrated lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya has penned its supremely catchy lyrics. Ace music composers Ajay-Atul have created this track.

Thugs of Hindostan co-stars Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film is set to treat audiences across India with the biggest jaw-dropping action sequences seen by audiences on screen to date. With its edge-of-the-seat thrills and a visually immersive experience, YRF’s out and out entertainer, Thugs of Hindostan, is set to release on November 8, a national holiday, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu

Ali Fazal turns real life director, directs a critical scene for Tigmanshu Dhulia's Milan Talkies

Ali Fazal is a director’s actor. He improvises, follows orders and tries to understand his director’s requirements to its fullest for a scene. But imagine if the roles get reversed and Ali also becomes the director for a scene. That is exactly what happened during the shoot for Milan Talkies, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film that has been years in the making.

The Victoria and Abdul actor just turned director on the sets of the film to understand his character better. Ali plays a director in the film that revolves around the single screen cinemas that have been dying out. To get into director mode, he wanted to direct a scene and look at all the aspects from the background actors, the dialogue deliver, the ambient sound, the cinematography to learn for his reel life job. The actor has always been one to delve deep into a character and this time was no different.

When asked about how it felt directing, the actor said, “i cant quite reveal which part of the film i worked upon or that part will or will not be in the film but i can say this- i have learnt many trades on a tigmanshu dhulia set. My saying this might piss a lot of people off but i am not anxious about what the fateful friday will bring to us because this experience this journey has been a personal one for me. It is diff for each actor and artist and so was mine. Each to his/her. For me, the fun has just begun. Its like when u learn to do something and then u just cant wait to donit again and again. But i wish the team well because everyone’s sweat and muscle went into the making of Milan Talkies  …”

It will be fun to watch Ali’s directed scene on the big screen.