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Karen Idelson While debates about the use of A.I. take center stage across the entertainment industry, the technology has been quietly assisting animation and visual effects crews for years. It had made some of the most astonishing visual images possible when artisans have been asked to do what was previously thought impossible. When helmer Peter Sohn wanted characters based on the elements of fire, water, air and earth for his new film “Elemental,” VFX supervisor Sanjay Bakshi and his team at Pixar looked to A.I. to make the process smoother. The look of the characters depended on adjustments that would align them with Sohn’s vision. “We used A.I. for a very specific kind of problem, and we used a machine learning algorithm called neural style transfer,” says Bakshi. “Our animation is so highly scrutinized. We go through so many review cycles for every shot and the animators are really handcrafting it and there’s not a lot of places where machine learning is applicable in the current form.

Netflix has dropped the trailer for upcoming Indian series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, showcasing the private exchanges of courtesans amid sweeping scenes of revolution in British-ruled India.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled a spectacular trailer for Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.” The series is set in Heeramandi, Lahore, British India, where Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala) rules over an elite house of courtesans. She schemes, fearing no one — until the return of her late nemesis’ daughter, Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), brings tensions in the house to a boil. Outside, the city is also roiling, with revolutionaries demanding India’s freedom from British rule, with Bibbojaan (Aditi Rao Hydari), one of Mallikajaan’s daughters, joining the fight for freedom.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker and composer Sanjay Leela Bhansali has launched music label Bhansali Music with the soundtrack of Netflix series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.” The first song from the album, traditional composition “Sakal Ban,” with lyrics by Amir Khusro and sung by Raja Hasan, will be released on Saturday. Via the label, the filmmaker will collaborate with musicians and artists to produce compositions for his films and shows and also independent albums.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Sonakshi Sinha is all praise for her director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose anticipated magnum opus series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar” is due on Netflix this year. Netflix describes the series as “an epic saga of love, power, revenge and freedom.” With a cast that also includes Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Richa Chadha, and Sanjeeda Sheikh, the series is set in the midst of multiple power struggles in Heeramandi, Lahore (now part of Pakistan) and more generally in undivided, pre-independence India, where anti-colonial freedom movements were emerging.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed its upcoming 2024 Indian slate and Monika Shergill, VP, content has outlined the streamer’s commissioning philosophy and strategy for the country. New titles on the slate include: Luv Ranjan comedy film “Wild Wild Punjab”; Neeraj Pandey heist film “Sikandar Ka Muqaddar”; scripted Anubhav Sinha thriller series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack”; Kapil Sharma’s unscripted comedy series “The Great Indian Kapil Show”; and cricket themed docu-series “The Greatest Rivalry – India vs Pakistan,” featuring top Indian and Pakistani cricketers.

Netflix‘s dramatization of Prince Andrew‘s infamous Newsnight interview has taken its next step with launch of first trailer. Scroll down to watch.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood megastars and real-life power couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt will star alongside Vicky Kaushal in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s “Love & War.” Kapoor debuted as a leading man with Bhansali’s “Saawariya” (2007). Bhatt headlined Bhansali’s “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” which bowed at the 2022 Berlinale. They starred together in Disney’s sci-fi mythological superhero film “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” (2022).

A Chicago-area CEO has sadly died in a freak accident that took place in front of his entire company.

Naman Ramachandran Indo-British sports drama “A Game of Two Halves,” which tackles themes of identity crisis and racial dissonance, is set for a global bow in 2024. Directed by British Asian filmmaker Khayam Khan (“Bus Ride”), the film is set across the U.K. and India.

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for feature directing debutant Shuchi Talati‘s “Girls Will Be Girls,” world premiering at Sundance’s world cinema dramatic competition. The film is set in an elite boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in northern India and follows the story of Mira, a 16-year-old girl whose sexy, rebellious awakening is hijacked by her mother who never got to come-of-age. Malayalam cinema actor Kani Kusruti (“Pada”) is playing one of the leads.

EXCLUSIVE: The Sundance Institute has named the participants and projects selected for the 2023 edition of its Episodic Lab, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah from November 3–7. The list includes Daniela Bailes (The Letters), Elaine Hsieh Chou (Get Home Safe),Marissa Díaz (Cochinas), Sam Dunnewold (Guts), Laurie Hartung (Rabbit Hole), Farah Merani (The Painted Muse), Sylvia-Anne Parker (Blackbirds), and Hernando Cortes Watson (Horsepower).

Naman Ramachandran India’s Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest film market, has selected a range of projects from around the world for its annual co-production market. The 20 selected projects are from 11 countries, most are already structured as co-productions, and they are all South Asian-themed.

South by Southwest Conference and Festivals announced its initial Keynote and the second round of Featured Speakers for the 38th edition of its annual Conference of technology, film, television, and music. SXSW takes place March 8-16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 

Naman Ramachandran India’s Hansal Mehta has scored his second successive streaming hit of the year with SonyLIV series “Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story.” This follows his earlier success with Netflix show “Scoop.” Based on Sanjay Singh’s book “Telgi: A Reporter’s Diary,” “Scam 2003” is written by Kiran Yadnyopavit, Kedar Patankar and Karan Vyas. It follows the story of Abdul Karim Telgi, the mastermind behind a scam printing counterfeit stamp paper in India, which earned $3.8 billion. A stamp paper is a government-issued blank document with headers of varying financial values that are used to validate most business transactions in India.

Naman Ramachandran S.S. Rajamouli’s “RRR” was the big winner at India’s annual National Film Awards with six honors, while actor R. Madhavan’s directorial debut “Rocketry” won best film.

Alia Bhatt is one of India’s biggest stars, having starred in critically acclaimed Hindi movies like Highway, Udta Punjab, Gangubai Kathiawadi, and the Oscar-winning film RRR.

Naman Ramachandran Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the Indian production designer best known for his work on the Oscar-nominated “Lagaan” (2001) and BAFTA-nominated “Devdas” (2002), was found dead Aug. 2 at his studio in Karjat, near Bollywood capital Mumbai. He was 57.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor has spoken out against the gender pay gap that exists in the industry, in which male Bollywood stars are typically paid much more than their female counterparts. Kapoor was speaking at the Creative Industries and Cultural Economy Summit at London’s Nehru Centre as part of India Global Forum’s U.K.-India Week on Wednesday. She was in conversation with Amish Tripathi, minister (culture and education), Indian High Commission and director Nehru Centre, who is also a bestselling author. Kapoor said that while Bollywood is changing, the change isn’t quick enough. “The gender pay gap is humongous. And I don’t think that will be narrowing very soon, unfortunately, but the roles are getting meatier for sure,” Kapoor said, adding that her contemporaries like Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone have pursued films where they could play the central character.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor has signed with leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ talent management division, YRF Talent. Kapoor made her acting debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Saawariya” (2007) and has won critical and commercial acclaim for “Aisha” (2010), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Khoobsurat” (2014), “Neerja” (2016), “Veere Di Wedding” (2018) and “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga” (2019). The actor is also a regular on the Cannes red carpet as an ambassador for global brands. In 2020, Kapoor took a career hiatus to start a family. Her return will begin with two tentpole projects, details of which are currently under wraps.

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

Devi is getting ready for the end of high school.

Naman Ramachandran India’s official entry to the 2023 Oscars, Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show,” and Rima Das’ acclaimed 2017 festival favorite “Village Rockstars,” are amongst the films screening at the inaugural Nirvana – Festival de la Culture et du Cinema Indiens. Taking place in Saint-Tropez May 26-28, the festival will also screen Shubhashish Bhutiani’s 2016 Venice winner “Hotel Salvation” and Rajat Kapoor’s “RK/RKAY” (2022). On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, the director’s cut of the international version of Ketan Mehta’s freedom fight themed “The Rising” (2005) will be screened. Indian filmmakers Sundaram Tagore, Deepa Sahi, Surina Narula and Sanjay Bhutiani will speak at a roundtable on Indo-French cinema.

Inflation is due to drop back below 10 percent following a shock rise in February, experts have predicted.

Navin Chowdhry, who joined EastEnders with a bang in September 2022 as villainous Nish, has been on TV since he was a teenager having starred in Doctor Who and Star Wars.The 52 year old actor joined the cast in Albert Square as Nish, the husband of Suki Panesar, after he was released from prison for serving a murder sentence and quickly became a devious character on the BBC soap. Driven by a need for power and respect, Nish hatched a plan to try and buy the Queen Vic which has been the fight for many legendary brawls throughout the years.

EXCLUSIVE: Zarna Garg is bringing her comedy chops to Prime Video.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s movie about the BBC’s bombshell 2019 interview with Prince Andrew has rounded out its cast after going into production last month.

Naman Ramachandran A documentary series on disgraced former 1970s British pop star Gary Glitter is in the works at Netflix, the streamer has confirmed. The three-part series, with the working title “Hunting Gary Glitter,” will feature previously unseen photographs and archive footage and will cover Glitter’s life story and his later conviction for child sex abuse and a series of sexual offences. The series will have exclusive access to the journalists who pursued Glitter over several years across the world in order to bring him to justice and alerted authorities to his whereabouts in Southeast Asia, ultimately leading to his arrest. It will also feature conversations with victims of Glitter. It is directed by Sam Hobkinson (“The Confession,” “Misha and the Wolves,” “Fear City”) and produced by Cammy Millard (“The Puppet Master”).

Naman Ramachandran Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealed a continued investment push in the Indian market on Saturday. In a freewheeling chat with Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Mumbai to promote the latter’s upcoming Netflix series “Heeramandi,” Sarandos was bullish about India, repeating what he said on Friday to local media about the market’s growth. “India is the fastest growing Netflix market in the world this year and because of that, we’re able to continue to invest in great storytelling. And I think when you see ‘Heeramandi,’ you’re gonna see why it has been such the honor of a lifetime to work with Sanjay and to be able to bring this to screen. And you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Sarandos said.

Netflix’s Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has told an audience of Indian filmmakers that they “ain’t seen nothing yet” in terms of the streamer’s ambitions in the country.

Production has begun on Netflix’s Scoop, the feature project that provides an inside account of the road to BBC Newsnight’s bombshell 2019 interview with Prince Andrew about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gillian Anderson has joined the investigative drama as Emily Maitlis, the former lead presenter of Newsnight who conducted the now infamous exchange. Rufus Sewell will play the disgraced royal.

“The Cell” director Tarsem Singh is making his global comeback with his first Indian film, “Dear Jassi,” based on a true story with plot details being kept under wraps. Singh made his name with visually dazzling fantasy films like “The Cell,” “Immortals” and “Mirror, Mirror” but has been mostly out of action since helming the single 10-episode season of NBC’s “Emerald City” in 2017. “Dear Jassi” will be his first feature since “Self/Less” in 2015.“It’s my passion project,” Singh said of “Dear Jassi.” “I believe this is the right time for the world to see it.

Lisa Marie Presley‘s cause of death remains unclear after a coroner’s initial investigation.

It’s been another year of format fun in television, with Banijay’s Dutch mystery competition series The Traitors emerging as a new global hit, especially in the UK on the BBC, while the likes of Big Brother and Survivor have fronted a reboots commissioning revival that has divided entertainment producers, buyers and sellers. As the year comes to a close and the world heads into 2023 under threat of recession and belt-tightening, Deadline has placed six new formats that could help shape the genre in the spotlight. As is often the case, programs from the Netherlands dominate, with three on our list, while others hail from the UK and Canada.

EXCLUSIVE: After recently kickstarting a BAFTA campaign in all categories, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s hit Hindi crime drama Gangubai Kathiawadi is now also setting its sights on Oscar. The film, which will be up on the AMPAS site this week and will hold screenings in London and Los Angeles, is officially launching a campaign in major categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and others for the 95th Academy Awards.

Indian acting star Ranveer Singh took centre stage at the opening night of the Marrakech International Film Festival on Friday evening, treating spectators to dancing and an impromptu rap session as he received a tribute award.