Reliance’s Jio Studios Plots 100-Strong Film And TV Slate

Diplo truly vibed with Indian singer Diljit Dosanjh at the recently concluded Coachella music festival.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK Asian Film Festival has set Bollywood stalwarts Poonam Dhillon and Rajkummar Rao as special guests for its Closing Gala, which takes places May 14 at the BFI Southbank in London.

Reliance Industries’ Indian content arm Jio Studios is teaming with Indian filmmaker Nagraj Manjule to make a Marathi-language film about India’s first Olympic medallist, freestyle wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (a.k.a. Khashaba). 

Naman Ramachandran The rights of three songs from iconic 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” have been acquired by Indian film “Music School.” The musical was adapted as a 1965 film by Robert Wise, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which went on to win five Oscars and also had two live television adaptations – on NBC in 2013 and ITV in 2015. “Music School” is directed by Indian civil service officer-turned filmmaker Paparao Biyyala, who has obtained the rights for three songs from “The Sound of Music” – “Do Re Mi,” “So Long Farewell” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” Veteran Indian composer Ilaiyaraaja has recreated the songs along with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to suit the sensibilities of an Indian audience.

Naman Ramachandran The term ‘pan India film’ is quite the rage across the country these days and four leading producers convened at the recently concluded Dakshin South India Media and Entertainment Summit in Chennai to break down the concept. Organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), southern region, the theme of the conference this year was Beyond Borders and the pan India discussion fell neatly into that remit. In recent decades, India has been a patchwork of local cinema markets, defined partly by geography and language group, and with only limited overlap or transfer between them, except for the Bollywood (Hindi-language) segment which enjoys wider releases. Change may now be afoot.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is expanding its efforts to engage the industry side of the business and in June will host its inaugural IFFLA Industry Day. The festival was founded in 2002 and, now in its third decade of operation, has pivoted to a strategy of year-round programming and events. The center piece of the IFFLA Industry Day will be a pitch competition that involves selected emerging and established film and TV writers and directors who pitch their upcoming project to a panel of executives from different sectors of the industry. The executives and a live public audience will provide feedback and heighten the sense of discovery. The winner will receive a $10,000 development grant.

Priyanka Chopra is packing an authentic punch in her new series “Citadel”.

Nick Jonas gave his daughter, Malti, a cool new experience. The 30-year-old dad, along with his brothers, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas, performed at the renowned Royal Albert Hall in London over the weekend and the  singer brought his daughter to soundcheck. This was the first time that Nick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas' daughter attended one of the Jonas Brothers' concerts. Nick shared a black-and-white photo on Instagram, writing, «Her first soundcheck,» with a red heart emoji. In the adorable photo, Nick is holding a mic and his daughter, who wears noise-canceling headphones. A post shared by Nick Jonas (@nickjonas)As soon as Nick posted the photo online, friends and fans of the singer flocked to the comment section to praise the cute father-daughter duo, including actress Huma Qureshi, who wrote, «Aww.»Earlier this month, Priyanka, 40, shared a look inside her daughter's first trip to her home country of India.The colorful photos showed the 1-year-old receiving blessings while being held by her mom at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai.

Citadel doesn’t premiere on Amazon Prime Video until April 28, but the spy thriller starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden is set for a second season, and it’s coming to California.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor ZDF Studios has secured the global distribution rights (excluding India) for “Colonies in Conflict,” a feature-length documentary that examines the perilous existence of wild bees in a fast-changing Indian landscape. Last year, the film was a finalist at the Jackson Wild Media Awards and won the best independent production award at Rotterdam’s Wildlife Film Festival. “Colonies in Conflict,” which is directed and written by Rajani Mani (“Miles to Go,” “In God’s Own Country,” “Food? Health? Hope?”), focuses on the threat to honeybees. These prolific pollinators are a keystone species that props up the ecological arc on which the survival of several species, including humans, depend. Human action is causing pollinator declines all over the world spelling disaster to nutritional security and the biodiversity of our ecosystems.

The Sands International Film Festival, Scotland’s burgeoning film event, opened its second edition this weekend with the world premiere screening of Citadel, the much-talked-about Prime Video series from Marvel auteurs Anthony and Joe Russo.

Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra were joined by co-star Stanley Tucci at a photocall for their new series Citadel on Thursday (April 13) in London, England.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jio Studios, the content arm of Reliance Industries Limited, has unveiled a huge slate of 100 new films and TV shows that will play on Reliance’s streaming platforms. They range from the previously-announced Shah Rukh Khan-starring Bollywood movie project “Dunki,” through Adil Hussain’s Bengali-language art-house picture “The Storyteller,” which appeared at the Busan Film Festival last year, to a range of web originals and mini-series. Contents are made as originals in a range of local languages including Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and Bhojpuri. Genres range from action, drama, thriller and romance to horror and musicals.

Thania Garcia Palm Springs will be the it-destination for thousands of music lovers across the next two weekends where the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is taking place on April 14–16 and April 21–23. As one of the world’s most in-demand music festivals, the fun extends far beyond Coachella grounds with a lineup of events — including one taking place in Leonardo DiCaprio’s former desert digs — that will serve as an oasis for artists and attendees. Coachella 2023 will see a historically international lineup that includes Bad Bunny (first Latin headliner) and Blackpink (first K-pop act to headline); other top-billed artists include Icelandic icon Bjork, Spain’s Rosalía, Nigeria’s Burna Boy and British-Indian singer Jai Paul. For those looking to catch the action at home, both weekends will be fully live-streamed on YouTube.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.K.-based sales agent Mister Smith Entertainment has picked up international rights to “Grafted,” a New Zealand-set horror film which marks the feature directing debut of Sasha Rainbow. The film is now in production. Mister Smith will launch sales next month in Cannes. The film tells story of a Chinese student who travels to New Zealand to complete the scientific work of her deceased father only to find a new way of achieving popularity, one body at a time.

Johnny Depp will be making his return to the Cannes Film Festival when his new historical drama, “Jeanne du Barry”, will open the 2023 edition of the iconic film fest, making its world premiere.

Johnny Depp comeback movie Jeanne Du Barry is to open the Cannes Film Festival.

RRR star N.T. Rama Rao Jr  (aka NTR Jr) is set to star alongside Hrithik Roshan in War 2, the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster War, which forms part of Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe. 

Naman Ramachandran NTR Jr, star of Oscar- and Golden Globe-winner “RRR,” will feature alongside Hrithik Roshan in “War 2,” one of the future instalments in leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe. “War 2” will be directed by Ayan Mukerji, who previously helmed Disney’s Indian mythological superhero film “Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva.” NTR Jr is currently shooting his 30th film, known by the working title “NTR 30,” with Koratala Siva directing. The actor hails from the South India-based Telugu-language film industry, but the pan-India and international success of “RRR” has seen him transcend boundaries.

Naman Ramachandran Ayan Mukerji will direct “War 2,” one of the future instalments in leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe. Mukerji previously directed Disney’s Indian mythological superhero film “Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva,” which was one of the biggest Bollywood hits of 2022, grossing $52 million. He debuted with coming of age film “Wake Up Sid” (2009) and followed up with romcom “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” (2013). Created by producer Aditya Chopra, the spy universe kicked off with the Tiger franchise, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, beginning with “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) and “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017), and continued with “War” (2019), starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff. The latest instalment in the universe, “Pathaan,” starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, is the biggest Indian hit of the year so far, grossing $130 million. The four films have together grossed some $300 million.