Bollywood Cult Classic ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla!’ Sets Multiple Local Language Remakes (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran “Zende,” a feature documentary about supercop Madhukar Zende, who arrested the notorious Charles Sobhraj twice, will have its world premiere at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Produced by Dora Digs Studios and directed by debutant Akshay Shah, “Zende” is one of the first Indian feature documentaries to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to recreate and regenerate some of Mumbai’s most iconic locations and moments in history.

Naman Ramachandran Jayant Rohatgi’s feature directorial debut “Sumo Didi” has its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s Asian Future strand. The film is based on the life of Hetal Dave, India’s first professional female sumo wrestler. Rohatgi, a veteran of TV commercials, was on the lookout for a story with a strong human connection to make his feature film debut.

Disney could be offloading its Indian operation in a deal valuing the business at $10B.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian powerhouse producers Guneet Monga Kapoor and Karan Johar, who have previously collaborated on movies including lauded drama The Lunchbox and TIFF 2023 title Kill, are moving ahead with their Hindi-language adaptation of French smash Intouchables, by hiring director Collin D’Cunha.

Naman Ramachandran Global music icons Curtis ‘50 Cent‘ Jackson and Ed Sheeran have unveiled concert dates for India. 50 Cent will perform at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Nov. 25 as part of his “The Final Lap Tour” to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his blockbuster album “Get Rich or Die Tryin.” The opening line-up will consist of popular Indian acts including Divine, Prabh Deep, SVDP and Yung Raja.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief India’s Yash Raj Films has set a mid-November release date through the Diwali holidays for “Tiger 3,” its anticipated spy-action film starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. Holiday complexities have caused the company to devise what it called a “strategic and unique release plan.” Having previously only released teaser footage, YRF has now also unveiled a full trailer. Unusually, the film will open in Indian and international theaters on a Sunday – Nov. 12 – the first day of Diwali. “2023 is the year of ‘Adhik Maas’ which has led to complications regarding festival dates.

EXCLUSIVE: Beach House Pictures is riding the crest of an Asian true crime wave. Having created three premium doc projects for Netflix, the Singapore-based producer has now optioned the story of the disappeared Instagram adventurer Justin Alexander.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Top Japanese star Yagira Yuga (“Nobody Knows,” “Asakusa Kid”) was front and center of streamer Disney+’s plans when it gave a green light to a second season of drama-horror series “Gannibal.” The creepy show, in which Yagira portrays a damaged police detective on the heels of a gangster-like family in a troubled village, has been a ratings winner in terms of minutes watched for the streamer. And, on Sunday, it earned Yagira win an Asian excellence prize at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards. He spoke to Variety about the newly-started production of the second season.Where does Season Two kick off? In Season One, we saw the surfacing of many secrets including those of the village and the villagers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese actors King Jieh-wen and Hsueh Shih-ling and Indonesia’s Angga Yunanda are set to star in “Malice,” a multinational Asian thriller that will shoot next year. The film’s producers, actors and government backers presented the fully-assembled package to press and industry on Monday at the Busan International Film Festival. The film, pitched as “a road movie at sea,” is a dark tale of three men who put out to sea in search of a particular, large swordfish that had been rumored to have died out.

U.S. producer E. Bennett Walsh, who has made films including Mortal Kombat, Meg 2: The Trench and The Kite Runner across the APAC region, says he’s got his eye on Japan and Korea as the next hot destinations for footloose Hollywood productions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief EST N8, a recently-established finance, production and rights sales company, has added a Hong Kong remake of classic film “Tape” and the LGBT comedy-drama “ASOG” to its bulging sales slate at the AFCM market that accompanies the Busan Intenational Film Festival. “Tape” tells the story of three best friends who, following an event at a graduation party that transforms their lives, reunite 15 years later where a case of blackmail forces them to confront a terrible secret from their past. The original film starred Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard and played at the Sundance, Toronto and Rotterdam festivals.In the Cantonese-language remake directed by Bizhan Tong, Selena Lee, Kenny Kwan, and Adam Pak play the contemporary characters while Mason Fung, Summer Chan, and Angus Yeung portray the characters’ younger versions. The script is written by Stephen Belber, Tong, Lee and Bonnie Lo, and is an adaptation of Belber’s own scripts from both the original film and stage play. The writers and director have significantly modernized the script to reflect advances in technology. Producers on the film include Tong, Lee and Belber.

Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has tweaked its incentive schemes for both international co-productions and offshore production, with the latter cash rebate being increased to 25% with the addition of a cultural bonus. 

Naman Ramachandran The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has added a 5% cultural bonus incentive to the existing 20% cash rebate that is part of the Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), it was revealed at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. The cultural bonus will apply if the project showcases Philippines culture and heritage.

Naman Ramachandran The renaissance in Indonesian cinema is being celebrated at the Busan International Film Festival this year with 15 films, shorts and series being showcased. Hilmar Farid, Director General of Culture at Indonesia‘s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is leading a 50-strong delegation of filmmakers, committee members and media to the festival. Variety spoke with Farid about the country’s boom and its upcoming opportunities and challenges.

UPDATED, 11:34 a.m.: Sony Pictures Classics has firmed up release plans for its drama Freud’s Last Session, starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode, which charts the relationship between psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and author C.S. Lewis. Based on the stage play by Mark St. Germain, who wrote the script, the film opens in theaters in New York and L.A. December 22nd, with an expansion to follow in January.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.

Naman Ramachandran “RRR” Star NTR Jr‘s next film “Devara” will release in two parts, director Koratala Siva has revealed. The first part will release on Apr. 5, 2024.

The indie drama City of Wind, marking the feature directorial debut of Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, has been set as Mongolia’s International Feature Oscar entry for 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: The London Indian Film Festival is expanding. 

Prime Video has big plans for the Southeast Asia region, including the introduction of channels and an expanded local-language content slate, the streamer’s Vice President, Asia Pacific, Gaurav Gandhi, told the APOS conference today.