India’s Arshad Warsi Basks in ‘Asur’ Success, Teases Next ‘Munna Bhai’ Film: Script Is ‘Almost Ready’

The Indian mega-merger between Sony’s TV operations in India and Zee Entertainment has been given the greenlight, paving the way for a $10B TV partnership.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and Sony’s TV operations in India has finally been given a green light – nearly two years after the deal was first announced. The merged entity’s estimated value is some $10 billion.

Netflix has announced a slate of Japanese dating, comedy and reality shows, part of a wider push into Asian unscripted content, which also takes in South Korea and India. 

The mystical and the industrial cross paths in this haunting debut from India, screening at this year’s Locarno Film Festival in the event’s parallel competition for first and second movies. It begins in an almost documentary style, showing the harsh, eerie beauty of Jharia, a once-proud mining community that’s now an apocalyptic ruin of a city, where toxic waste is dumped 24/7 and noxious fires burn just as endlessly. Midway through, however, Lubdhak Chatterjee’s film begins to change direction, as its passive hero becomes attuned to the natural mysteries lurking in the adjacent woods.  

Naman Ramachandran Eminent filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan is in post-production on “Phule,” about the pioneers of women’s education in India. Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai were social reformers known for their efforts against India’s endemic caste system. Phule’s first school for girls was founded in Pune, western India, in 1848.

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker and media personality Karan Johar’s “Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani” is one of the few local films that has withstood the “Barbenheimer” juggernaut and emerged triumphant. The film had a lot going for it. Johar is a hitmaker whose credits include “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” (1998), “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…” (2001), “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” (2006), “My Name is Khan” (2010) and “Student of the Year” (2012).

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Dominic Sangma’s “Rapture” (“Rimdogittanga”) is the second in a trilogy of films based on his memories of village life that began with his debut feature “Ma’ama” (2018). The Garo-language film, which revolves around a 10-year-old boy who suffers from night blindness and for whom every night is terrifying when his village is gripped by the fear of child-kidnappers, originated from another memory of Sangma, who hails from Meghalaya in northeastern India.

The world’s most valuable tech company saw sales and profit for the three months ended in June beat on the top and bottom line although revenue was still sluggish, down 1% at $81.8 billion. Earnings of $1.26 per share beat the $1.19 anticipated.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market is set to welcome several of the region’s top auteurs either as producers or prospective directors at its next edition in October. APM organizers Thursday unveiled 30 projects to be presented during a four-day round of one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. India’s Rima Das (“Tora’s Husband”) will pitch “Malti My Love.” Japan’s Fukada Koji (“Love Life,” “Harmonium”) will pitch “Nagi Notes.” Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak (“Autobiography”) will pitch “Watch It Burn.” Among the successful producers adding their weight to APM contenders are: Patrick Mao Huang (“Moneyboys,” “Tiger Stripes”) selling Peter Ho’s project “Appetite for Desire”; Jeremy Chua (“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” “Autobiography”), pitching Rafael Manuel’s “Filipinana”; Ichiyama Shozo (“Ash Is Puirest White”) pitching Song Fang’s Japan-China collaboration “Full Moon”; Fran Borgia (“A Land Imagined,” “Tiger Stripes”) pitching Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September”; and Tan Chui Mui (“Barbarian Invasion”) pitching Jian Xiaoshuan’s “To Kill A Mongolian Horse.” The project market and the Asian Contents & Film Market are both scheduled to operate Oct.

Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the prominent Bollywood production designer of the Oscar-nominated music sports drama Lagaan, has died aged 57.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney India head and producer of Sony LIV hit “Rocket Boys,” Siddharth Roy Kapur has hailed the reinvigorated Indian box office and robust streaming space. Nevertheless, he sees challenges ahead.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, which aims to curb piracy that causes losses of INR200 billion ($2.4 billion) to the film industry, according to government estimates. Those found guilty of film piracy by way of camcording in theaters or unauthorized copying and online transmission and exhibition of a pirated copy of any film will now face punishment of minimum three months imprisonment and a fine of $3,650, which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost.

Naman Ramachandran Season 2 of WWII drama “World on Fire” has proved to be another success for popular South Asian-Canadian actor Ahad Raza Mir. Created by Peter Bowker, Season 1 of the PBC Masterpiece production premiered on the BBC in 2019 and dealt with the war in Western Europe. In Season 2, the action shifts to the North African theater of war and one of the protagonists is Lieutenant Rajib Pal of the British Indian Army, played by Mir.

Sam Heughan has teased future seasons of his hit travel show with Outlander co-star Graham McTavish.

Christopher Nolan’s latest epic is being censored in some parts of the world.

Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Rampal film, which is now titled “Punjab ’95,” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Indian movie “Kalki 2898 AD” (working title “Project – K”) made a splash at the San Diego Comic-Con with the successful teaser and title release.

Naman Ramachandran The title of the Indian sci-fi epic long trailed as “Project K,” has been unveiled as “Kalki 2898 AD” at the ongoing San Diego Comic-Con, alongside a teaser. The film is directed by Nag Ashwin (“Mahanati”) and produced by C. Aswani Dutt’s Vyjayanthi Movies. It stars Indian A-listers Prabhas (“RRR” director S.S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali franchise); Deepika Padukone, star of “Pathaan,” the biggest Indian hit of the year so far; Amitabh Bachchan, who starred in 2022 hits “Uunchai” and “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva,”; Kamal Haasan who starred in and produced “Vikram,” one of the biggest hits of 2022 and has “Indian 2” in the works; and Disha Patani, who was last seen in “Ek Villain Returns” (2022).

Naman Ramachandran “The Lady of Heaven,” “The Batman,” and “The Kashmir Files” were the most complained about films in the U.K. in 2022, the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) annual report reveals. “The Lady of Heaven,” which the BBFC describes as “a drama concerning the life of Fatima, a daughter of the prophet Muhammad,” topped the list with 1,573 complaints “from people who felt that the film was blasphemous and historically inaccurate.” The film was pulled from some U.K. cinemas upon release due to these concerns. “Sometimes, we also receive complaints which do not relate directly to BBFC classifications, but instead reflect people’s wider objections to a certain film,” the BBFC said in its annual report. “Filmmakers are free to explore historical or controversial themes and events within their films. Our role is to ensure that we classify the content appropriately based on our guidelines, in order to protect children and other vulnerable groups from potential harm and to empower consumers to make informed viewing decisions.”

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has picked up North American rights to the sports documentary Big Crow from director Kris Kaczor, slating it for release on VOD platforms on August 1.