Viacom18 has bowled out the opposition and caught the sought-after streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.
24.05.2022 - 20:53 / variety.com
Naman Ramachandran The cream of the current crop of young Indian documentary filmmakers were on fire during the annual Doc Day at the Cannes Film Market, discussing ways of expressing dissent within India’s current political dispensation.Since 2014, India has been ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” is showing as a special screening at the festival and previously won the documentary grand jury prize at Sundance. It follows Delhi-based Muslim brothers Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who, against the backdrop of the territory’s polluted atmosphere and escalating sectarian violence, devote their lives to saving the black kite bird species.“I was absolutely certain that this film was not a snapshot of the current political moment; this film’s main interests were ecological and the human-bird relationship,” Sen said.
“However, the last couple of years, especially in Delhi, have been chaotic, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re making a film that’s frontally looking at issues, per se. But if you really look at an object or person consecutively for three whole years, the world around them starts bleeding in.” Sen also said that conversations around the topic are probably going to be “couched in the language of tact and stratagem.” Rahul Jain, whose climate change film “Invisible Demons” played at Cannes last year, said via Zoom, “I don’t understand why there needs to be tact with nonfiction, and how it’s presented. It’s like a snake that eats itself up.
I don’t get it. But yeah, sure. You don’t want to get shot, canceled, butchered or whatever.
Good for you, best of luck. Yeah, be nice. Have your words.
Viacom18 has bowled out the opposition and caught the sought-after streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.
Indian Premier League cricket tournament, one the world’s richest sporting events, have been sold for a combined $5 billion, according to several reports.The successful bidders have not been named as the auction, which started on Sunday is ongoing and may run to a third day.The TV rights went for $2.72 billion and the digital rights for $2.28 billion, for a five-year deal covering the 2023-2027 tournaments. In both cases the rights packages are limited to the Indian subcontinent.There are two more rights packages on offer – for selected tournament games including the playoffs, only for the Indian subcontinent; and TV and digital rights for the rest of the world.
S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR, a huge hit when it opened in March, is dipping back into the U.S. market in a novel and, so far, successful bid by distributors to expand the reach of the Telegu period drama beyond the traditional audience for Indian film.
EXCLUSIVE: Mila Kunis has partnered with superhero creator Sharad Devarajan of Graphic India to launch Armored Kingdom Media Inc.—a new entertainment franchise spanning a Web3 trading card game, digital comics, animation and film, which will be built on the carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain, NEAR. To commemorate the launch of the sci-fi/fantasy franchise, a limited-edition Issue #0 comic book NFT will be made available for free, for seven days only, at this link.
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. marketing giant Trailer Park Group has taken its first steps into India with the acquisition of Mumbai-based creative agency White Turtle Studios.
Johnny Depp isn’t worried about spending too much at dinner. On Sunday, the actor enjoyed dinner a the Varanasi Indian restaurant in Birmingham, England where he reportedly spent more than $62,000 (£50,000).
A controversial TV ad in India is garnering condemnation from Bollywood stars.
“authentic Indian cuisine,” cocktails and rosé Champagne at the Varanasi restaurant serving “heavenly recipes and soothing ambience,” according to its website. The actor — declared a “down-to-earth bloke” by restaurant staff — famously scored a big victory Wednesday when he was awarded a $10.35 million judgement in his brutal defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard, 36.The “Edward Scissorhands” star was hanging out with his musician friend-collaborator Jeff Beck, 77, and 20 other people in their party at what’s billed as “Birmingham’s largest Indian restaurant.”Depp has been staying in the United Kingdom to join Beck on his tour.
EXCLUSIVE: Ellen Wander’s Film Bridge International has sold shark survival thriller Maneater to a host of buyers during the Cannes market including Saban Films (North America, UK, Australia/NZ, Scandinavia and South Africa), Challan Films (Korea), Superfine Films (India), YouPlanet (Spain), ILY Films (France), Monolith (Poland), Suraya Filem (SE Asia), Blitz Film Group (Ex-Yugo), and Selim Ramia and Co. (Middle East).
KK, a popular Indian playback singer and songwriter with more than 300 film and TV credits, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest in Kolkata, shortly after performing a concert. He was 53.
Naman Ramachandran Krishnakumar Kunnath, the Indian singer popularly known as KK, died of a cardiac arrest while performing a concert at Nazrul Mancha, Kolkata on Tuesday. He was 53.Known as one of the most versatile singers in the country, KK sang across languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati.After a successful career singing advertising jingles, KK debuted in films in 1996 with Hindi and Telugu-language versions of composer A.R.
Sidhu Moose Wala, a prominent Indian rapper-turned-politician, was shot dead Sunday while driving in the Mansa district of Punjab, police said. He was 28.
Popular Indian rapper and singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot and killed on Sunday evening. The artist, 28, was taken to hospital in the Mansa region of the Punjab state where he was declared dead. Punjab police official VK Bhawra has stated that the killing was the result of an inter-gang rivalry (via The Guardian).
India’s All That Breathes followed up its victory at the Sundance Film Festival by winning top documentary honors in Cannes.
Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes” has won the Cannes Film Festival’s top documentary award, the Golden Eye.The film won the documentary grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was acquired by HBO Documentary Films during Cannes, where it played as a special screening.Set in Indian capital Delhi, where, in an unbreathable atmosphere, the threat of inter-religious massacres floats in the air, the film follows two brothers, Nadeem and Saud, who along with their assistant, dedicate their lives to save the migratory black kites that are destroyed by human madness.The Golden Eye jury, composed of Agnieszka Holland, Iryna Tsilyk, Pierre Deladonchamps, Alex Vicente and Hicham Falah, said: “The Golden Eye goes to a film that, in a world of destruction, reminds us that every life matters, and every small action matters. You can grab your camera, you can save a bird, you can hunt for some moments of stealing beauty, it matters.
Naman Ramachandran India’s Kamal Haasan is a true multi-hyphenate. Beginning as a child actor in 1960, he is one of the country’s most consummate actors with films like “Pathinaru Vayathinile” (1977) “Moondram Pirai” (1982) “Nayakan” (1987), “Thevar Magan” (1992) and “Vishwaroopam” (2013) behind him.He also produces via his Raajkamal Films International (RKFI), writes, directs, and runs the Makkal Needhi Maiam political party.The upcoming “Vikram,” directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj (“Master”) and costarring Fahadh Fasil (“Maalik”) Vijay Sethupathi (“Kadaisi Vivasayi”), will be Haasan’s first release since 2018’s “Vishwaroopam 2.” It is produced by RKFI.Haasan was at the Cannes Market to launch NFTs based on “Vikram” from Fantico, a digital licensed platform of Singapore’s Vistas Media Capital.
Naman Ramachandran Rotem Shamir, whose credits include hit series “Fauda” and “Hostages” will make his Indian film debut as director of “Garud.”Inspired by real events, “Garud” will present a fictionalized depiction of the rescue mission in Afghanistan, based on the story of a police officer and his team of special forces.The film will be produced by Ajay Kapoor (“Attack”) for Ajay Kapoor Productions and Subhash Kale for Vikrant Studio. The cast is being finalized.Kapoor said: ” ‘Garud’ is a huge project for me, I’m emotionally driven to the film and want to give it the best treatment possible.
Naman Ramachandran The late Govindan Aravindan’s 1978 masterpiece “Thamp̄” (“The Circus Tent”) is one of two Indian films at this year’s Cannes Classics selection, alongside Satyajit Ray’s “Pratidwandi” (“The Adversary”) from 1970.“Thamp̄” was painstakingly restored by India’s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), an organization founded by filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (“Celluloid Man,” “CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel”) in 2014. Dungarpur facilitated the restoration of Uday Shankar’s landmark film “Kalpana” (1948) by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation, the restored version of which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.
Naman Ramachandran Deaf Crocodile Films and Gratitude Films have acquired Indian films “Lalanna’s Song” and “Dhuin” for North American distribution. The deals were completed during the Cannes Market.“Dhuin” is one of six Indian titles selected by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a market screening.
Naman Ramachandran Indian documentary “From the Shadows,” by Miriam Chandy Menacherry (“Lyari Notes”), has been selected for the Breaking Through the Lens initiative at the Cannes Film Market.The initiative connects female and non-binary directors to finance at top-tier film markets.In the documentary, artist Leena Kejriwal relentlessly sprays silhouettes on public walls tagged #missing, activist Hasina Kharbhih accompanies girls rescued from child sex trafficking across international borders, and survivor Samina fights a long and arduous legal battle against her traffickers. Parallel narratives intersect to reveal a sliver of hope when women challenge a powerful trafficking nexus operating in a country where every eight minutes a child goes missing.