Entertainment
From listening to oral storytellers to 100 screens in France, Garo filmmaker Dominic Sangma's 100-foot journey
New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) As a child, he would sit during chilly winter nights in Meghalaya with a bonfire in attendance and listen to oral storytellers who would mostly forget when dawn decided to yawn and make its presence felt.
They just needed to be given rolled-up tobacco, and some local alcohol to invoke tales of the jungles coming to life, its mysterious creatures, and spirits breaking into a trance. Filmmaker Dominic Sangha was not even 10 years old at that time. But he was convinced that stories would drive his life.
Cut to the present: Even as his Garo language film ‘Rapture’ is being screened at more than 100 cinema halls in France and garnering international acclaim, he almost whispers, “But it is still about storytelling during those misty nights, no?” says Sangmawhose father and grand-father were also oral storytellers.
Smiling that he is still in shock considering none of the distributors picked up ‘Rapture’ even after it won the Cultural Diversity Award at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards and premiered at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival last year, he recalls, “We were so disappointed and convinced that all our efforts had gone waste,’ this pass-out from Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTII), Kolkata, tells IANS.
‘Rapture’, with a certain rhythm ‘guides’ the audiences into the soul of Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, exploring the intricate interplay between gullibility and tolerance within a rural village. Part of a trilogy based on his memories in his village, which he remembers vividly, the film is the second part of his trilogy after ‘Ma. Ama’ made five years ago.
While ‘Ma. Ama’ was based on his family, ‘Rapture’ dwells on the memories of the people and the village where fiction also finds some space.
He admits that growing up in the village, some fears have not divorced him. “In that part of the country, there have been so many misunderstandings owing to the language barriers — fear of strangers, child kidnappers etc. Well, the Church would preach — ‘there would be darkness for 40 days and 40 nights’, etc. As a child, you may not completely understand many things going around you, but somewhere they did leave a scar, manufactured space for fear — and I managed to deal with them through my art,” he says.
The break for ‘Rapture’ came when it was screened at the ‘The Three Continents Festival in Nantes in France.
“And we received an invitation from the prestigious ’Capricci’, a French independent arthouse company of film production, distribution and sales. They represent high-end films from all around the world. Frankly, we had not even approached them during Locarno. The moment the mail came, I realised the film had finally found its destiny now, its journey.”
Smiling that it is almost next to impossible for a film from the North East to get a theatrical release in India, he is pleased that it has been received well at over 50 festivals in India and abroad.
“The response from Indian critics has been overwhelming. ‘Rapture’ is now in the Indian top 10 of the International Film Critics Awards (FIPRESCI Prize).”
Looking forward to releasing it in Meghalaya first, the director, who after first seeing moving images on a television wrote ‘director’ on the back of his school chair, says that while the first part of the trilogy ‘Ma. Ama’ was about his family and what happened to it, ‘Rapture’ captures memories from his village and fear; and the third untitled one is about ‘beauty’.
When Sangma was making these films, he lived in Shillong and elsewhere, not his village, thus imparting himself a unique insider-outsider perspective.
“This helped me — in fact, it is a theme I explore with my craft. You are born into rituals and traditions of the village, and when outside those atmospherics, you discern and distinguish yourself from that space and the way people there think.”
There was a time when he thought of moving to Mumbai, but decided against it. When he enrolled at SRFTII, he was bombarded with the work of masters, and a certain un-learning of the usual Mumbai cinema metaphors commenced.
“The great masters we were exposed to could summon beauty from such simple things of life, they could so effortlessly make us see life afresh. Realising that, I was convinced that I had to go back to my village and make a film that belongs to that land, those people, and make them relatable to the world,” he asserts.
For someone who made the first professional film in the Garo language ‘Echoes’, it is not surprising that some fantastic cinema made on a show-string budget is emerging from the North-East.
Directors like Rima Das, Pradip Kurbah, Bhaskar Hazarika and Haobam Paban Kumar are making extremely ‘rooted’ cinema which nevertheless finds resonance across the world.
“We are telling stories exclusive to our lands — you cannot just take the template and set it somewhere else. Thus, people get to see something very original, an experience they have not known before.”
Now, Sangma is married and has made a house in his native village. Perhaps on a cold winter night, a lost oral storyteller will sit by the bonfire and tell enigmatic tales all night. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons Sangma wants to live there again…
–IANS
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Allu Arjun is poised to dominate the box office with his highly anticipated film, Pushpa 2: The Rule, set to release on December 6, 2024. The excitement surrounding this film is phenomenal, already making headlines with an impressive pre-release collection of RS 1,085 crores! This achievement is particularly notable, given that it reached this milestone well before the movie even debuts in theaters.
Fans are eagerly looking forward to Allu Arjun’s return as Pushparaj, the character that earned him a National Award for Best Actor in the first installment, Pushpa: The Rise. The buzz surrounding Pushpa 2 is unparalleled, and the film is expected to break even more records upon its release. The pre-release collection includes a record-setting deal for theatrical rights, sold for ₹640 crores, making it one of the most lucrative film deals in Indian cinema.
Additionally, Pushpa 2 has secured a significant digital distribution agreement with Netflix, which acquired the rights for ₹275 crores, highlighting the high demand for the film. The overall pre-release earnings have been impressive across various regions, with ₹220 crores collected in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ₹200 crores in the North, ₹50 crores in Tamil Nadu, ₹30 crores in Karnataka, ₹20 crores in Kerala, and ₹40 crores from overseas markets. The music rights were sold for ₹65 crores, while the satellite rights fetched ₹85 crores, contributing a total of ₹425 crores from non-theatrical rights.
Directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, Pushpa 2: The Rule features a talented cast, including Rashmika Mandanna and Fahadh Faasil alongside Allu Arjun. The film’s music will be released by T Series, further adding to the anticipation.
With Allu Arjun’s National Award win and the remarkable pre-release collections, it’s clear that Pushpa 2 is set to be a blockbuster. As the release date approaches, fans are excited to see how this film will perform at the box office. If the pre-release collections are any indication, Pushpa 2 is bound to shatter records and become a massive success!
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Actress Anu Aggarwal, who rose to fame with “Aashiqui”, and “King Uncle”, recalled the time when filmmakers would come to her with money for signing a film and would not have a script ready.
In a conversation with Lehren shared on Instagram, the actress could be seen talking about it.
“I was shocked to see that people who don’t have their scripts are not ready when they would come to sign me up for a film. They would have the money ready and I would say I don’t want to sign with the money. I would like to hear the script.”
“They would say the script will be made so you can sign,” she added.
“This was the way and because I am an actor I would like to see what my role, story is. Everything is important. Nobody would have a script… 98 per cent of people would not have the script,” she said.
Anu Aggarwal gained immense popularity in the 1990s after featuring in the musical romantic drama “Aashiqui” directed by Mahesh Bhatt.
She starred alongside Rahul Roy and Deepak Tijori.
The film was known for its music, by composer duo Nadeem–Shravan establishing their careers.
The soundtrack album has been rated fourth by Planet Bollywood on their “100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks”.
It was the best-selling Bollywood album at the time of its release.
The film was remade in Kannada as “Roja” in 2002.
A sequel to the film, “Aashiqui 2”, with a completely new theme, directed by Mohit Suri, with Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, was released in 2013.
–IANS
dc/khz
Entertainment
Ram Charan's daughter Klin achieves this milestone on grandfather Chiranjeevi's birthday
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) On the 69th birthday of actor and politician Chiranjeevi, his son Ram Charan has shared a peek into their family vacation to Paris, France, which is also the first trip of his daughter Klin Kaara with her grandparents.
Ram took to his Instagram account, where he has 23.9 million followers, and shared a family picture from Paris.
The snap shows his parents– father Chiranjeevi, mother Surekha, his wife Upasana Kamineni, and their furry friend–pet dog. We can see Chiranjeevi holding his granddaughter Klin adorably in his arms.
Ram looked dapper in a black shirt, matching trousers and an olive green jacket.
They are posing against the backdrop of Eiffel Tower.
The post is captioned as: “Klin Kaara’s first trip with her grandparents!!! Memorable”.
In another post, Ram dropped a photograph with his father, wearing matching South Indian ethnic outfits.
He wrote in caption: “Happpiest birthday, Appa!!”
Meanwhile, on the occasion of Chiranjeevi’s birthday, UV Creations and director Vashistaa Mallidi have unveiled the highly anticipated first look poster for ‘Vishwambhara’, a fantasy adventure film.
Sharing the poster on social media, the makers wrote: “When darkness and evil take over the world, a Magnanimous Star shall shine bright to fight, Happy birthday, MEGASTAR @KChiruTweets, Let the world witness your aura with #Vishwambhara, Get ready for a MEGA MASS BEYOND UNIVERSE, In cinemas from January 10th, 2025.”
The movie promises to be a cinematic spectacle, featuring Chiranjeevi in a lead role. The film also stars Trisha Krishnan, Ashika Ranganath and Kunal Kapoor.
The film will be released on January 10, 2025.
Chiranjeevi was last seen in Telugu action drama ‘Bhola Shankar’ directed by Meher Ramesh. It also featured Tamannaah Bhatia, Keerthy Suresh and Sushanth.
Meanwhile, Ram Charan last appeared in action drama ‘Acharya’, directed by Koratala Siva. The film starred Chiranjeevi, alongside Pooja Hegde, Sonu Sood and Jisshu Sengupta.
He next has ‘Game Changer’, and ‘RC16’ in the pipeline.
–IANS
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Entertainment
Rani Mukerji: Shivani Shivaji Roy shows how a woman can lead from front in a male-dominated field
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Actress Rani Mukerji has talked about why she loves her character Shivani Shivaji Roy from “Mardaani,” which has completed 10 years in Hindi cinema on Thursday.
She said: “Shivani Shivaji Roy is my most favourite on-screen character. She is a defiant, fierce force of nature who will stand up for what is right no matter what. She is someone who subverts gender norms in cinema and shows how a woman can also lead from the front in a male-dominated field.”
As the film celebrates its 10th anniversary, Rani is grateful for all the love and acclaim that she has received.
She said: “I’m truly proud of my ‘Mardaani’ franchise. It is a franchise that keeps on giving. The love, adulation, and the respect that I have received from Mardaani is truly humbling.”
On Thursday morning, the makers of the film teased fans about the next chapter of the franchise.
Production Yash Raj Films banner took to YouTube, where they dropped a teaser of sorts, which begins from the first installment, which first released in 2014.
The production company captioned it: “10 years of #Mardaani and the next chapter awaits… Celebrating the feisty, daredevil cop #ShivaniShivajiRoy and the spirit of #Mardaani today. Thank you for a decade of love and appreciation for our beloved franchise. We are inspired… again… thanks to you. #RaniMukerji #10YearsOfMardaani.”
Rani is too excited to reprise the role and don the cop uniform once again.
She said: “I’m looking forward to bringing back Shivani Shivaji Roy on the big screen soon. It’s been a while since I have donned the cop uniform and paid tribute to the women police force of our country.”
“Each (woman cop) one of them relentlessly works hard to keep our families safe and I have always loved to salute these fearless women. Shivani will be back and I hope you will give as much love to her as you have always showered for 10 years now!” added the actress.
–IANS
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Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor brought out her A-game in fashion, where she flaunted “minimal, bold and effortlessly on point” look.
The actress took to Instagram, where she shared a string of pictures. In the pictures, she is seen wearing a powder pink shirt, paired with a blazer and long skirt. She completed her look with sunglasses.
“Celebrating @perniaq season 2 podcast drop with that sleek @phoebephilo energy—minimal, bold, and effortlessly on point. Shoutout to the squad for keeping the vibe,” she wrote and also mentioned that she is styled by her sister Rhea Kapoor.
Recently, Sonam shared several glimpses from her son Vayu’s vintage car themed cake as he turned two on August 20.
Sonam took to Instagram, where she shared a reel of the two-tier toddler friendly, refined sugar free chocolate cake. It featured a vintage ice blue car atop of the cake with the number 2 written on it.
The actress had also penned a heart-felt note for her son Vayu.
“My baby turns two today!!! Happy 2nd Birthday to our sweet, precious Vayu! W Being your mom is the greatest gift I could ever receive. You’ve filled our lives with so much joy, laughter, and wonder,” Sonam said.
The actress shared that with her son, everyday is an adventure filled with “your boundless curiosity, your infectious laughter, and your sweet, loving nature.”
“You’ve brought so much light and happiness into our world, making every moment more beautiful and every relationship stronger. You’ve deepened the love between your dadaa and me in ways we never imagined, and you’ve brought pure, unfiltered joy to everyone who loves you-your nani and nana, dadi and baba, kaaa masa, Masi and chachu,” she said.
“Your sweet spirit and playful energy make our family complete, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.”
She tagged Vayu as her sunshine, music, little genius, and their endless “source of happiness”.
“We love you more than words can say, and we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you will continue to bring into our lives,” Sonam said.
–IANS
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