DUBAI BASED INDIAN BUSINESSMAN TAKING BOLLYWOOD BEYOND BORDERS

~FILMFARE Middle East, re-launched by Danube Group in 2018, celebrates its first successful year with a Star-Studded Anniversary Celebration in Muscat~

~The only Bollywood magazine in Arabic language to target the Arab World~

Muscat, 28th March, 2019 –Bollywood has become a melting pot of bringing together different ethnicities, cultures, traditions and fans from all over the world. Addressing the rage among audience across borders, world renowned Danube Group re-launched FILMFARE Middle East Magazinewith celebrated actress DeepikaPadukona along with director and Producer Karan Johar and many others in 2018, with the aim to reignite the magic of silver screen and bring the best of B-town to the Arab world. Celebrating a successful first year, the glittering event will have an air of class, luxury, panache and some truly spectacular moments commemorated by the reigning super stars from Indian cinema ranging fromSonamKapoorAhuja, SwaraBhaskar, Tabu to Rajkumar Rao, Jim Sarbh, Ali QuliMirza, IshaanKhatterand Jhanvikapoor at Shangri la barr al jissah on 29^th March 2019.Omani singer Haitham Mohammed Rafi will be opening the evening.

The anticipation around the event is gaining momentum as not only the reigning but the actors like ShatrughnaSinha, Madhu Bhandarkar, Jackie Shroff, Asha Parekh, RazaMurad, Shan, PadminiKolKolhapure, from yesteryears will gather on the festive evening and the past will walk alongside the present at the Red Carpet to cheer the lauding fans. If this was not all, the audience are in for a treat with a curated list of power packedperformances by Nora Fatehi, twin singer SukritiKakkar and PrakratiKakkar and evergreen BappiLahiri, Kubra Sait, AmanVerma and DJ Scorpio.The event will witness an amalgamation of golden years with the talent of millennials as legendary singer BappiLahiri who is celebrating 50 golden years of music in cinema will set the mood for the evening with some melodious medleys.

Rizwan Sajan, Founder and the Chairman of Danube Group shared, “After breaking the record of 1.3 billion dollars’ turnover in 2018, we have been growing ever since and we credit this success to our fans and fraternity across the world. Our only strategy is reaching to the right people and keeping our engagement simple. We are thrilled to be associated with one of the biggest industries in the world which reaches out to audience across borders and ethnicity.”

FILMFARE Middle East unveiled at Bollywood Parks Dubai at Raj Mahal Theatre on 30th March, 2018 in its brand new avatar caters predominantly to the large Asian expatriate population in the UAE and the GCC, as well as a significant Arab population who love their Bollywood cinema and celebrities. The brand brings India’s biggest Bollywood film and celebrity content to the audience month on month; and with it, the rich legacy of Indian cinema to the Arab world.

Sharing about the vision to re-launch the magazine to the Asian audience, Mr. Rizwan shared, “Filmfare Middle East is a cult brand and it was my dream to revive this brand. We started this venture because we believed that this magazine holds an essence for the cinema and a huge readership among its target audience. We’re grateful to our readers and advertisers for their loyal support as this one year marks the success of our vision to create one-stop content provider for Bollywood cinema.”

About FILMFARE Middle East:

Filmfare ME sets the benchmark for content in the Middle East. It has been launched by a group that is visionary and foresighted about its business. Under Starz Media Incorporation supported by the Danube Group, the magazine has made a mark in Middle East. Also, it’s the only Bollywood magazine in Arabic language.

About Danube Group

Danube Group traces its origin through Danube Building Materials. Established in 1993, the company provides more than 50,000 products in stock and in-house value added services in all of its multiple set of showrooms across the Middle East region and India. The company operates from its head offices and occupies more than 5.5 million square feet of land in Jabel Ali Freezone Authority (JAFZA) making it one of the biggest land bank occupiers in JAFZA. The warehouses across the UAE stock more than 50,000 products.

From a small trading firm, Danube has grown into one of the largest building materials company in the region, with its diversified branches worldwide including UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and India, in addition to procurement offices in China. Danube has a team of 3,600 plus people working across strategic locations across the GCC and India. 

Soni Razdan's No Fathers in Kashmir finally set to release on 5th April!

Presenting the first poster of the film by Oscar® nominated and two time national award winning director Ashvin Kumar

After being banned for 8 long months by the censor board, audiences pan India will get to see one of the most awaited films of 2019. The film made headlines earlier this week when it finally got justice and the UA certificate that it had been fighting for all these months.

Ashvin Kumar the director who has helmed the project has previously been nominated for an Oscar® for his short film, Little Terrorist and has won two National Awards for his eye opening films on Kashmir — Inshallah Football and Inshallah Kashmir. No Fathers in Kashmir is the 3rd in his 'Kashmir trilogy’. Themes of hope, peace and humanity runs through all his films so far with No Fathers being within the same emotions.

Besides being its writer & director, Ashvin also stars as one of lead characters of the film and is joined by stars Soni Razdan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Anshuman Jha and Maya Sarao and it is all set to release on the 05th of April 2019 across cinemas in India.

The makers now released the first look poster of the film which features the shattered screen of a phone behind which two charismatic blue-eyed, grinning 16 year olds peer out. The story traces a teenage British Kashmiri, Noor, who re-traces her roots in search of her father. There she meets Majid, a local boy smitten by her, takes her to a forbidden area near the Indo-Pak border fraught with danger. They stumble upon a dark secret and things going awry when they’re arrested. Noor is soon released with Majid still captive. Having put him into peril how far will Noor go to have Majid released. And can love ever be the same again for these two?

With a bold tagline “Everybody thinks they know Kashmir”  the makers are clearly hinting at what is expected from the film and its storyline.

 Speaking about the release and poster launch, director Ashvin Kumar said, “It is a film made for young people all over India to connect with young people all over Kashmir, about the euphoria and hopefulness of being young - an A certificate would keep both these audiences away from each other. Now I am confident kids will come out with their hearts beating for Kashmir”

Catch Vicky Kaushal, Karan Johar, Kartik Aryan, and more, spill the beans on season 2 of Social Media Star with Janice

After a successful first season, Social Media Star with Janice is back to let the cat out of the bag on the digital lives of popular faces and new gen digital influencers that are flooding the feeds. Right from a dream come true pairing of Prajakta Koli and Vicky Kaushal to Karan Johar and Kusha Kapila’s K3G tribute (grab those napkins already!), to all the fire on the couch with Rana Daggubati and Mallika Dua and some uber cuteness with Kartik Aryan and Dolly Singh, Social Media Star promises double the fun coz #DoubleIsBetter.

The show will also see more of such fun combinations that’ll keep everyone on tenterhooks. #OMGCantWait!

From keeping up with the super active social media space, to dealing with fandom, giving sneak peek from behind-the-scenes and making every move viral, these celebs are set to reveal some binge-worthy chat to keep an eye out for.

“With her millions of fans tagging me on her posts, doing a video with Prajakta AKA mostly sane was definitely something I was looking forward to. Thanks to the show, it’s finally happened.” said actor, Vicky Kaushal.

Speaking about the show’s second season, Janice Sequeira said, “With everyone wanting to “break the internet”, we wanted to get people who do this, to come and give us a first-hand experience of what it takes. The show features these celebrities and their digital selves talking about their social media ‘hits’ and ‘misses’, along with some wise words on treading carefully, yet playfully. Season 2 takes these sizzling conversations a notch higher with a doubly popular line-up and some cool new interesting segments.”

Anshuman Goenka, Chief Marketing Officer, Bacardi India, said, “Everyone’s in line to jump on the social media bandwagon. If it’s not on Instagram, it’s not even LEGIT. With Social Media Star with Janice, the idea was to put out relatable content that our audiences are constantly on the lookout for. With millennials always keen to know more about what goes into the lives of some of these popular celebrities, Dewar’s takes a quirky play to get some more scoop out.”

Dewar’s presents ‘Social Media Star with Janice’ will stream on Sequeira’s YouTube channel every Thursday and Monday, starting on 14th March 2019. 

About Bacardí Limited 

Bacardí Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, produces and markets internationally recognized spirits and wines. The BacardíLimited brand portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDÍ® rum, the world’s best-selling and most-awarded rum, as well as the world’s most-awarded spirit; GREY GOOSE® vodka, the world’s leading super-premium vodka; DEWAR’S® Blended Scotch whisky, the world’s most-awarded blended Scotch; BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, the top-valued and fastest-growing premium gin in the world; MARTINI® vermouth and sparkling wines, the world’s leading vermouth and the world's favorite Italian sparkling wines; CAZADORES® 100% blue agave tequila, one of the most popular premium tequilas in Mexico and the United States; and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON’S®, the fastest-growing global Scotch whisky brand; ERISTOFF® vodka, one of the fastest-growing vodka brands in the world; and ST-GERMAIN®, a super-premium elderflower liqueur. Founded 156 years ago in Santiago de Cuba on February 4, 1862, family-owned Bacardí employs over 6,000 people, manufactures its brands at 27 facilities and sells in more than 150 countries. Bacardí Limited refers to the Bacardí group of companies, including Bacardí International Limited. ​www.Bacardí Limited.com

LIVE PASSIONATELY. DRINK RESPONSIBLY. BACARDÍ, AND THE BAT DEVICE ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF BACARDÍ & COMPANY LIMITED. BACARDÍ, THE BAT DEVICE AND OTHER MARKS RELATED TO BACARDÍ GROUP PRODUCTS QUOTED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE ARE TRADEMARKS OF BACARDÍ  & COMPANY LIMITED OR OF OTHER SUBSIDIARIES OF BACARDÍ  LIMITED.

Jabariya jodi meets wrestling gangs in Railway Raju

Railway Raju is a story of the jabariya jodis that are made in north India. Dinkar Rao the director came across one such girl in Delhi who was forcefully wedded to a man she escaped from. “I found her story very interesting. She had changed name to Maya and was living undetected from the people who were still hunting for her. I decided to retain her name for a character in the film,” says Dinkar Rao.

Maya is from a small village near the banks of the Ganges and we have used the Ganges to tell the story. “The film is narrated by Maya and it has the eponymous character of Raju – Railway Raju and her relationship with a man who belongs to the underworld wrestling gangs of Benares. The Benares underground wrestling gangs are not very popular because of the very nature of these gangs. These gangs operate in multiple ways. There is a huge betting going on in these wrestling bouts like out in the west where there are underground fights,” explains Rao.

Sunny Shaw and Lavanya Rao play the leads in the film which has Leena Malhotra as he creative director with S Ramachandran as the project designer.

Vkaao (PVR-Book My Show joint venture) releases the film on March 29, 2019. 

About Dinkar Rao 

Dinkar Rao directed the film sZoya the black widow about a woman violated in the riots which happened in Mumbai and Gujarat. That film was the official selection at Strasbourg International film festival and the Milan International film festival. It was banned by CBFC and finally passed by the Appellate Tribunal with 26 cuts. His other short film Asthi, about a daughter running off to Haridwar to immerse the ashes of her classical singer was premiered at Cannes Court Metrage. Rao is also directing a film Papoo Photowalah with an international cast and is about the search for the diary of John Nicholson, The British East India Company hero of 1857 & treasures hidden by the British. Another documentary film Dancing Daughters was at WIP lab at Film Bazaar Goa as Snake Dancers of the Thar and is being filmed.  About Railway Raju he says “It’s very tough to shoot 100+ scenes including action, song outdoor scenes of the Ganges in this “shoe string” budget. I always wanted to make a gang-war film within social aspects of Uttar Pradesh,” Says Dinkar.

I didn’t realise that I was risking my life, Vidyut Jammwal

Known for his jaw dropping stunts and unprecedented moves, action star Vidyut Jammwal took his daredevilry to the next level with upcoming family action adventure Junglee.

The actor, who shares screen with magnificent elephants in the film, shook crew members when he pulled off an extremely daunting scene with his sheer presence of mind and core instincts.

In one of the scenes of the film, Vidyut’s character was supposed to run with his tusker friends that required him to run infront with Bhola, the majestic tusker, and the rest of the herd was supposed to follow the two. However, things were not going as planned. Since elephants run at their own pace and don’t necessarily follow the straight line required for the camera, Vidyut was getting pushed out of the frame.

After two takes with a similar outcome, for the third take, Vidyut decided to run through the herd instead of catching up with them from the side. This required him to run at a very calculated speed in order to manoeuvre around the herd.

Vidyut says, “The scene originally had me running alongside Bhola and the other elephants but it wasn’t working because they don’t run in a straight line. After a few takes, I knew that to make this work, I had to run between them. I just took the plunge without thinking about the danger I was putting myself in. In that moment, I felt like the world around me was closing in on me. All I did was follow my core instinct and focus everything on finding my way to the other side.”

This high risk scene was too dangerous to pull off with this ease, especially when the magnificent giants are on the run. It left the whole crew awe struck!

He explains, “Elephants are just incredible creatures and when they run in herds, nothing can stand in their way. I was guided by my heartbeat and the sound pattern created by the herd as they ran. As I closed in, I saw a narrow space between two elephants and slid my way through, and that’s how we got that shot.”

The family adventure Junglee now releases on March 29