Dulquer Salmaan, R. Balki on ‘Chup,’ Where a Serial Killer Targets Bollywood Film Critics (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran “Adipurush,” one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2023, unites the talents of Prabhas (the Baahubali franchise) and Om Raut, who directed Ajay Devgn-starring “Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior,” the biggest Indian box office hit of 2020 with a $50 million gross. “Adipurush” is Raut’s take on Indian mythological epic “Ramayana,” by Valmiki, where Rama, the king of Ayodhya, travels to Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, who has been abducted by the king Ravana. “Adipurush” is set 7,000 years ago and in the film, Prabhas’ character is not called Rama, he is Raghav, another name for Rama. Sita, played by Kriti Sanon, is called Janaki, while Saif Ali Khan’s Ravana is Lankesh, also derivatives of their “Ramayana” names. Adipurush literally means “first man,” but here the interpretation is that of “best man.”

Naman Ramachandran Vijay Sethupathi (“Vikram”), Aditi Rao Hydari (“Hey Sinamika”), Arvind Swamy (“Thalaivi”) and Siddharth Jadhav (“Tamasha Live”) will star in film “Gandhi Talks.” While plot details are under wraps, the film is described as a dark comedy. A teaser for the film was released on Oct. 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The film will be dialogue free and the only aural language will be the music by Oscar-, BAFTA- and Grammy- winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”). It will be directed by Kishore P. Belekar (“Hajari”). Produced by Zee Studios (“36 Farmhouse”), ‘Gandhi Talks’ is co-produced with Kyoorious Digital (“420 IPC”) and Movie Mill Entertainment (“Respect”).

Naman Ramachandran As Amazon Prime Video closes in on six years of operations in India, it is one of the market leaders in the streaming segment. A major part of the success is due to it getting a handle on the multiple local languages in the vast market. “One of the things we look at when we expand into new territories and languages is to see early signs and then double down on those early signs,” Gaurav Gandhi, VP, Amazon Prime Video India told Variety. The service programs in 10 languages in India, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali and English. “When we started programming in 10 languages we saw early signs before most others how content travels across languages,” says Gandhi, who spoke on the sidelines of the APOS conference in Singapore. “Today, 50% of our audience base is watching content in four plus languages, which was not the case three or four years back. And a big reason for that is the fact that as you program multiple languages across the board, we realize that you truly transcend linguistic boundaries and barriers and expand the linguistic palette.”

Indian restaurant, Zouk, has upped the ante for autumn with an impressive entertainment schedule and stunning seasonal decoration enhancing its dining experiences.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films president Peter Goldwyn has weighed in on the backlash to India’s selection of its competitor for this year’s best international film race at the Oscars, calling candidate “The Last Film Show,” which it will release in North America, “a really strong contender.” Directed by Pan Nalin (“Samsara,” “Valley of Flowers”), the Gujarati-language film is the story of a nine-year old boy pursuing his dreams in cinema. It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2021 and has since played fests in Palms Springs, Seattle and Mill Valley. “Last Film Show” will have its commercial release in Gujarat, India on Oct. 14, 2022, giving it the necessary qualifying theatrical run in its home territory.

Naman Ramachandran Hindi-language “Maja Ma,” starring Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit Nene, is the first of many Indian original films from Amazon Prime Video, Aparna Purohit, the head of India originals for the streamer, has revealed. The film is a Prime Video commission, as opposed to an acquisition. “We have been acquiring films, we have been putting films straight on our service and over the last two years, we put almost 60 films out and we also bought into co-productions. Producing our own films was the next logical step,” Purohit told Variety. Next up are films in the Telugu and Tamil languages, with films in Malayalam and Kannada being explored. “We want to tell stories that are truly rooted in our soil, stories that are compelling, that are differentiated, in the hands of very passionate creators – story being the starting point for every decision. That’s the strategy,” said Purohit. “And we want to really delight our audiences spread across the length and breadth of the country.”

EXCLUSIVE: Game of Thrones alum Jerome Flynn has joined the cast of 1923, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel series at Paramount+.

EXCLUSIVE: In a coup for the agency, CAA has signed in-demand Indian filmmaker SS Rajamouli.  

grossed an impressive $11.3 million at the North American box office this year.Instead, the country’s selection committee went with “Last Film Show,” a coming-of-age drama that was compared to “Cinema Paradiso” after its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. In the vein of Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” it is a semi-autobiographical work based on moments from its director’s childhood.The decision was reminiscent of the choice in 2013 to send “The Good Road” to the Oscars over “The Lunchbox,” which had been considered an all-but-certain nominee if it had been chosen.India has sent 54 films to the Oscars dating back to 1957, landing three nominations with no wins.

Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show, produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Nalin, Dheer Momaya and Mark Duale, has been selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Oscar race.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Indian star Varun Tej is to head the cast of a patriotic air force action thriller backed by Sony Pictures International Productions. The untitled picture will begin filming from November. Tej, known locally as ‘Mega Prince,’ has his roots in the Telugu-language regional film industry and achieved fame with the Krish-directed “Kanche” in 2015. With the new picture, he will be making his debut in a film in Hindi, the default language of Bollywood. Production will take place in Hindi and Telugu versions. Jointly produced by SPIP and Renaissance Pictures, the film will be directed by Shakti Pratap Singh Hada – a seasoned commercials maker, cinematographer and VFX aficionado who will be making his directorial debut with this film. Written by Shakti Pratap Singh Hada, Aamir Khan and Siddharth Raj Kumar, the movie will be shot in Telugu and Hindi simultaneously. A release is expected in cinemas in 2023.

Shalini Dore Features News Editor As with so many western films, Bollywood has taken a beloved smash and turned it into a stage musical. Aditya Chopra’s “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge” opened in 1995 and is still playing in a theater in Mumbai, India, still popular thanks to toe-tapping songs that grabbed audiences from the start and a charismatic lead pair (Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol). The film seems to have created a built-in audience for the stage version, “Come Fall in Love,” now playing its Old Globe premiere in San Diego on its way to Broadway. The opening overture (the film’s composers are replaced here by duo Vishal-Sheykhar) includes snippets of the Hindi hit. Moving the story from cold and gray London to cold and gray Boston, the tuner opens on Baldev (Irvine Iqbal) who runs a small shop catering to racists and jerks, seemingly. He is saving up money for a venture he and his partner have set up in India called Maharaja Tours.

Naman Ramachandran For India in general and the Sikh community in particular, 1984 is a particularly emotive year, including for musician and actor Diljit Dosanjh, the star of Netflix film “Jogi.” In June 1984, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered an army operation against separatist militants at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy location for Sikhs, that was criticized by many in the community. In October, Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards assassinated her, leading to ant-Sikh riots across northern India, with the country’s capital Delhi as its epicenter. The happenings of 1984 left deep and enduring scars on the Sikh community and the events have been depicted in film and television over the years. In “Jogi,” directed by Ali Abbas Zafar (“Sultan”), Dosanjh plays the titular Jogi who takes it upon himself to heroically save his family and neighbors as politically-backed riot mobs in Delhi, including childhood friends from other communities, systematically target Sikhs during the 1984 riots.

Naman Ramachandran “Vikram Vedha,” starring Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte, is releasing worldwide in over 100 countries, making it one of the widest openings for a Bollywood film. Besides India, the film is releasing in territories where Bollywood films normally release day-and-date, including North America, U.K., the Middle East and Australia and New Zealand, on Sept. 30. What is remarkable is that the film is also releasing day-and-date in countries where Bollywood fare releases after it has had its initial run in the traditional territories. “Vikram Vedha” is opening across 22 countries in Europe and 27 countries in Africa and Latin America, including Japan, Russia, Panama and Peru, all non-traditional territories for Bollywood.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, who directed the Oscar winners “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” U.S. producer Christine Vachon, whose credits includes Oscar winner “Boys Don’t Cry,” and Oscar nominees “Far from Heaven” and “Carol,” and Romania’s Alexander Nanau, the director of the Oscar nominated “Collective,” are among the jury members at the 18th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, which takes place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 2.  Farhadi will head the jury for the International Feature Film Competition. He is joined by the U.K.’s Clio Barnard, who directed the BAFTA nominated “The Arbor,” “The Selfish Giant” and “Ali & Ava”; L.A.-based Brazilian Daniel Dreifuss, a producer on the Oscar nominated “No” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany’s Oscar entry; Swiss/Italian screenwriter and director Petra Volpe, whose credits include Tribeca prizewinner “The Divine Order”; and  Sweden’s Peter “Piodor” Gustafsson, the producer of Ali Abbassi’s “Border,” which won the main award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.