Indian Exhibitor PVR Inox Launches PVR Inox Pictures To Increase Acquisitions Of International Films For India

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here bringing you a rundown of all the biggest headlines and analysis from the international film and TV universe. Read on. 

Naman Ramachandran Indian cinema superstar Rajinikanth has wrapped principal photography on Sun Pictures’ “Jailer.” The film is directed by Nelson, who previously helmed the hits “Kolamaavu Kokila” (2018), starring Nayanthara, “Doctor” (2021), starring Sivakarthikeyan and “Beast” (2022), starring Vijay. While the plot is under wraps, the film belongs to the action genre. The cast includes Kannada-language cinema star Shiva Rajkumar, Malayalam-language cinema legend Mohanlal and Tamannaah Bhatia and Ramya Krishnan from the Baahubali franchise. Kalanithi Maran produces for Sun Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike entering its second month in the U.S., writers and filmmakers around the world are taking note of how these issues play out in their own countries.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian mega-star Ranveer Singh has signed for representation with WME in all areas globally.

Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) has unveiled the major competition selections for its 25th edition (June 9-18), which will be the first to be held in a fully physical format with international guests since before the pandemic. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The U.K.’s London Indian Film Festival and Birmingham Indian Film Festival will work together to present a two-city, two-part panoply of feature and short films, kicking off next month with “The Storyteller.” Directed by Ananth Mahadevan, “The Storyteller” sees Adil Hussain play a Gujarati businessman who believes that once physical wealth is accumulated, happiness will follow, but this proves not to be the case. Paresh Rawal plays the titular storyteller. The film is based on a story by the late, great Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray and contrasts the pursuit of material wealth with that of intellectual knowledge. Hussain, co-star Tannishtha Chatterjee and Mahadevan are expected to be on hand for Q&A sessions on June 22 at BFI Southbank and on June 23 at MAC Birmingham.

EXCLUSIVE: India’s Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films are collaborating on an action thriller featuring Shahid Kapoor in the lead. 

Beyoncé recently arrived in Sunderland as she continues on the UK leg of her sold-out Renaissance tour, and has treated her entourage to an Indian takeaway from Tyne and Wear's Bombay Barn.The meal receipt, which was shared by the restaurant on Facebook, shows that the Single Ladies singer ordered a curry tapas box - which included chicken massala, lamb curry, chicken bhuna, a vegetable bhaji, pilau rice and Indian chunky chips.The tapas box, which cost £24.99, was ordered alongside a 12-inch smashed burger pizza for £16.47, which was upgraded to stuffed crust for £2.50. Sharing a snap of the receipt to their Facebook page, Bombay Barn shared their excitement at their A-list clientele.

One of the most enchanting elements of visiting a new part of the world is experiencing the local cuisine. Bold and beautiful flavours that tell a story, and awaken our senses as we indulge them in an authentic setting - there's nothing quite like it.

EXCLUSIVE: Henry Ford’s failed industrial town in the Amazon Rainforest is the backdrop of a supernatural Brazilian TV drama.

Whether it’s a plate of hearty lamb curry or a scoop of fresh mint ice cream, Indian home cooking is sure to tantalise our taste buds. But while the dishes may be bursting with flavour upon flavour, it turns out that the intricacies of cooking with spice and flavour is easier to create at home than you might think. In her book Chilli and Mint, food writer Torie True is on a mission to help people bring more spice into their life, whether that’s in the form of chutneys, bread or even sweets treats.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Leading French producer Michael Gentile’s Paris-based outfit The Film is about to start shooting Julie Delpy’s next directorial outing, “The Barbarians,” and Laurence Arné’s “Les Hennedricks” starring Dany Boon. Delpy’s comeback to French filmmaking since “Lolo,” “The Barbarians” is a satirical comedy unfolding in a small town in Brittany which is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees after voting unanimously to greet them in exchange for subsidies from the government. But instead of seeing Ukrainians come into town, they see Syrian refugees, causing some tensions among locals and testing their liberal beliefs. Delpy will star in the film opposite Sandrine Kiberlain (“Mademoiselle Chambon”), Laurent Lafitte (“Elle”) and Ziad Bakri (“The Weekend Away”), India Hair (“Angry Annie”), Mathieu Demy (“The Bureau”) and Delpy’s father Albert Delpy.

EXCLUSIVE: Here at the Cannes Film Festival, Mubi has taken rights in North America, UK, Italy, Latin America, Turkey, India and Benelux to Un Certain Regard movie The Delinquents (Los Delincuentes).

Naman Ramachandran Indian auteur Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou,” which screened at the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes in 1991 is returning to the Croisette in a restored version. The Manipuri-language film is the only Indian film at the festival’s Cannes Classics section this year. “Ishanou” (“The Chosen One”), follows Tampha, a young woman with a loving husband and a small daughter, who leads a tranquil existence in the Manipur valley and is occupied with the mundane details of life. Suddenly she begins to behave in a strange manner, talking to flowers, becoming afflicted with dizzy spells and wandering out of the house in the dark of the night. The family tries to find a cure for her malady and finally realize that she does not have a sickness, but rather is responding to the call of a deity who has chosen her.

For foreign audiences, Indian cinema long has been closely associated with Bollywood — sprawling, colorful spectacles that feature songs and dance routines — and often one of the three Khans (the unrelated trio of Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh). But there has been a shift across the past year as focus turned from Mumbai, which had suffered a string of misses until Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan took off on a tear early this year, toward Southern India.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Richa Chadha and the U.K.’s William Moseley will headline the cast of India-U.K. co-production “Aaina.” The film, set between London and India, is a drama about the impact of the cycle of violence, both within cultures and on human beings in the form of PTSD. It marks the feature directorial debut of Markus Meedt, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, including “Shelter” and “Anonymous” and episodes of mini-series “Let’s Get Macho.” Chadha starred in “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Masaan,” both of which debuted at Cannes. She was most recently in Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder.” Moseley made a mark as a child actor in the Narnia franchise. He was one of the leads in “Land of Dreams,” which debuted at Venice, and was also in Indian film “Margarita With A Straw,” which had festival play at Toronto, Busan and London.

Naman Ramachandran Indian multiplex chains PVR and Inox, which merged earlier this year, have launched a combined distribution arm PVR Inox Pictures, formerly PVR Pictures, “to increase investments in content acquisition to streamline high quality content for the Indian market, generate further opportunity for underrepresented storytellers and independent creators, and deliver a robust content slate to the Indian audience.” PVR Inox operates a network of 1689 cinema screens in 361 properties across 115 cities in India and Sri Lanka, and holds 43% share of multiplex screens in India. PVR Inox Pictures is the largest independent distributor of foreign language films and a prominent distributor of Indian films, in India.

The art of beauty! Lupita Nyong’o is using her head as a canvas. 

Comedian Jason Manford has been hit with heartbreak just months before his Nan's milestone birthday. The comedian shared a poignant video as he updated fans.

India Amarteifio is all everyone is talking about after the debut of Queen Charlotte on Netflix.