THE DEWARISTS BRONZE AT CANNES LIONS!

 

The novel music series THE DEWARISTS by Only Much Louder Entertainment and Babblefish has made Indians proud by being awarded the Bronze Lion at the Cannes 59th International Festival of Creativity for Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or light entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s).

"Dewarists" has become a new term to designate those people who believe in passion and things worth doing. "What better language to convey that passion than music, so some things are worth doing", may have thought the young team behind such a successful programme showcasing the best of Indian contemporary music and featuring some of its finest performers, from the cinema world an outside of it.

As Season 1 has already conquered audiences here in India and abroad, we are eagerly awaiting season 2, its renewed passion, new destinations and sounds.

Watch Season 1 of The Dewarists on Youtube

Visit The Dewarists official website

Follow The Dewarists on Facebook

THE DEWARISTS (TV series)

Direction: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy with Fred & Nick

Starring: Imogen Heap, Vishal-Shekhar, Shantanu Moitra, Swanand Kirire, Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz, Zeb and Haniya, Shantanu Moitra, Swanand Kirkire, Indian Ocean, Mohit Chauhan, Parikrama, Agnee, Shilpa Rao, Shri, Monica Dogra, Rajasthan Roots, Papon, Rabbi Shergill, Shubha Mudgal, Swarathma, Baiju Dharmajan,  Raghu Dixit and Rewben Mashangva

Theme song: Raghu Dixit

Season episodes: 10

Production: Babble Fish Productions, Only Much Louder

TV Channel: STAR WORLD India

Season 1 run: October 16, 2011 – December 21, 2011

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NICOLE KIDMAN's "GRACE OF MONACO" co-financed by YRF

Talk about the South of France and Cannes may be a hot topic at the moment due to the worldwide known Cannes festival 2012 but our attention was recently diverted by the news that the South of France will also be the "point of departure" for Nicole Kidman's Grace of Monaco. What does this have to do with Hindi cinema, a reader may ask. YRF Entertainment, a subsidiary of  Yash Raj Films studios in India is a company that focuses on the production of English language films abroad. The company will be participating in Kidman's endeavour in the executive production, script writing and financing/production departments. YRF Entertainment's CEO, Uday Chopra, has met with producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam (ex co-founder of Europacorp and known for global films such as Colombiana) to organize the financial production of Grace of Monaco, which will be directed by Olivier Dahan (well known in France for La Vie En Rose starring Marion Cotillard).

Films having a mix of Indian and foreign crew and cast include Oscar nominated movies by Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth and sequel Elizabeth : The Golden Age) or films such as Karma: Crime, Passion, Reincarnation. We are looking forward to see the successful collaboration of entertainment professionals from France, India and the USA in Dahan's film, which retraces the political life of Grace Kelly.

Keep updated about Grace of Monaco at IMDb

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HINDI CINEMA AT CANNES 2012 - Kashyap at the forefront

The Hindi Cinema Blog is gleefully watching how Anurag Kashyap has become the new Indian "coqueluche" at the Cannes cinema festival. The director that our partner CinemaHindi interviewed back in August 2009 (read the Exclusive Interview with Anurag Kashyap) will be showcasing 3 of his banner's films at the coveted screens of the festival:

PEDDLERS, by Vasan Bala (assistant in Gulaal and  Dev D), has been selected for the Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Film Critics Week). The film stars Gulshan Deviah (Hate Story) and Kriti Malhotra (acclaimed for her performance in Dhobi Ghat).

Moreover, none other than Kashyap's most recent film, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR (Parts I and II), starring Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is one of the select group of films to be scheduled for the festival's Directors Fortnight.

Anurag Kashyap excitedly announced his participation in Cannes through Twitter "Three of our films; Peddlers, Gangs Of Wasseypur (I&II) at Cannes Film Festival. HUGE MOMENT OF PRIDE FOR US!' 'Waiting at theBrussels airport in a silent zone, wanting to scream out loud, off to Copenhagen.. I am very happy..really Happy today." 

Apart from Kashyap’s films, another Indian film, MISS LOVELY, by Ashim Ahluwalia will compete in the Un Certain Regard category, which has been selecting high quality cinema over the years.We are looking forward to see Nawazuddin Siddiqui performing in this film too and are delighted to see two of his films are being showcased.

Last but not least, the film DELHI BELLY by Abhinay Deo is allegedly set to be screened at the festival, off competition, and we wish it utmost success.

We hope this new wave of Indian cinema at the prestigious festival will set a precedent and will get the French audience increasingly acquainted with Indian cinema. It is high time!

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BOLLYWOOD ROMANCES CANNES

"We are open to all genres, all budgets and all types of cinema, except for Bollywood, which we are not interested in at all" declared Frédéric Boyer, the artistic director of the Cannes festival's parallel section, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Director's Fortnight). This was considered a heretic statement coming from the lips of a cinema enthusiast and intellectual and will be countered by the Cannes Festival's willingness to duly honour Bollywood in its 2011 edition.

Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival 2011 is passionate about India's 7th art and has invited two of its representatives to dazzle audiences at the festival with a documentary on the history and beauty of Bollywood. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Rang de Basanti, Delhi 6) and Shekhar Kapur (Mr. India, Elizabeth, Bandit Queen, Masoom, New York I love You), who was recently a part of the festival's jury, are the two known artists who have lent their creative view in conjunction with UTV and American filmaker Jeff Zimbalist to the project titled Bollywood - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.

Cannes organizers have described the film as a “swirling and poignant montage in which Shekhar Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Jeff Zimbalist pay tribute to this cinema genre that has contributed to establishing India’s identity in the eyes of the world and to making Mumbai one of the world capitals of film history.”

The documentary will be screened within the official "festival off" or "out of competition" section of the Cannes Film Festival. Generally speaking, despite an increase in recent years of the Indian presence at the prestigious festival, the number of Indian films featured in  the Cannes official and competition sections has always been rare. Shekhar Kapur's uncle, Chetan Anand, had directed one of these rare internationally acclaimed diamonds, Neecha Nagar, winning the coveted festival prize in 1946. Here is hoping that this new documentary will entertain and touch international sensitivity, opening new doors for Indian cinema across the world.

Read Shekhar Kapur's personal note on Bollywood - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

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Hindibuzz at CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2010

 

Cannes definitely Hindibuzzed this year with India's participation in the 63rd edition of France's renowned film festival.

* Acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen, Mr. India, Elizabeth) was a member of the 2010 jury.

* Udaan participated in one of the festival's official sections ("Un Certain Regard" - A Certain Focus). The film is produced by Anurag Kashyap and directed by young Vikramaditya Motwane and earned a standing ovation after the screening.

* Khandahar (directed by Mrinal Sen) and Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (directed by Ritwik Ghatak), films that were released several decades ago, were both restored and presented to the audience.

More news included the presence of actors on the red carpet and additional film screenings or sales:

* Raavan, Mani Ratnam's awaited film, starring Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan and Vikram as well as the highly appreciated soundtrack composed by A.R. Rahman.

* Peepli Live, directed by newcomer Anusha Rizvi, an Aamir Khan Productions film was seemingly screened in Cannes after having gathered applause in other festivals around the world.

* Hissss (aka Nagin: The Snakewoman), coproduced by India and the USA. The film is directed by Jennifer Lynch and stars Irrfan Khan, Mallika Sherawat and Divya Dutta. You may visit the film's official website.

* Mallika Sherawat walked down the red carpet as she also performs in Love, Barack directed by Doug McHenryset.

* Other films have been promoted for overseas distribution: LSD, I am Kalam, Harischandrachi Factory, as well as animation films Arjun-The Warrior Prince and Alibaba and 41 Thieves. 

Cannes Film Festival official website

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