India’s Maddock Films Unveils 15-Strong Slate, Plans for ‘Arabian Nights’ Films (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has released an action-packed teaser – described by the producers as a ‘prevue’ – for his upcoming film “Jawan” (“Soldier”). The film has Khan playing a dual role and features him in several avatars – as a soldier, a bandaged avenger, and also in a bald persona. The teaser features Tamil-language cinema stars Nayanthara (“Annaatthe”), Vijay Sethupathi (“Vikram”) and teases a special appearance from Deepika Padukone (“Pathaan”). The cast also includes Sanya Malhotra (“Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery”) and Priyamani (“The Family Man”). “Jawan” is directed by Atlee, known for his three back-to-back Tamil-language blockbusters “Theri” (2016), “Mersal” (2017) and “Bigil” (2019), all starring Vijay. It is produced by Gauri Khan for Red Chillies Entertainment and features music by hitmaker Anirudh Ravichander (“Thiruchitrambalam”).

Scots broadcaster Nicky Campbell has hit out at a twisted troll who claims the telly veteran is the BBC star accused of paying cash to a teenager in exchange for explicit photos.

Naman Ramachandran Indian content queen Ektaa R Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms, which is in robust financial health, has revealed a strong upcoming slate. On the film front, Balaji recently boarded director Nanda Kishore’s Malayalam and Telugu-language magnum opus “Vrushabha,” starring Mohanlal, and also in the works are Hansal Mehta’s “The Buckingham Murders,” starring Kareena Kapoor, Rajesh Krishnan’s “The Crew,” starring Kapoor, Tabu and Kriti Sanon and Karan Boolani’s “Thank You for Coming,” starring Bhumi Pednekar. Sequels to Dibakar Banerjee’s groundbreaking “LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha” and Raaj Shaandilyaa’s “Dream Girl,” starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Ananya Pandey are also in the making.

Naman Ramachandran “Dangal” filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari’s “Bawaal,” starring Varun Dhawan (“Bhediya”) and Jahnvi Kapoor (“Mili”), has unveiled a teaser and confirmed its direct-to-digital global premiere date on Amazon’s Prime Video. Varun Dhawan plays Ajay Dixit, a school teacher in Lucknow, idolized by his students, and admired by everyone in town and Janhvi Kapoor as Nisha, a bright and beautiful girl, whose only hope is to find her one true love. But love is never easy and it has to passage through a war of its own. The film is shot in India and multiple international locations. The film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala’s banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment in collaboration with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari’s Earthsky Pictures.

Naman Ramachandran Kajol and Kriti Sanon will lead the cast of Netflix India’s mystery thriller original film “Do Patti.” The film also marks the producing debuts of Sanon and writer Kanika Dhillon. Billed as a “thrilling suspense-filled ride,” the film is set in the hills of northern India. A director has not been revealed yet. Kajol, one of India’s best-loved actors, has credits that include romance “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” melodrama “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…,” romantic thriller “Fanaa” and drama “My Name Is Khan.” She made her streaming debut with Netflix film “Tribhanga,” which played from 2021, and stars in a segment of the streamer’s “Lust Stories 2,” which released June 29. She will next be seen in Disney+ Hotstar series “The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha,” the Indian adaptation of CBS series “The Good Wife.”

Naman Ramachandran Amazon miniTV, the free streaming service available on the Amazon Shopping app in India, is dubbing a raft of Korean, Turkish, Mandarin and Spanish dramas into the Hindi language for local consumption under the MiniTV Imported banner. The first set of shows, which streams from July 7, are all Korean and includes “Cheer Up,” “Heart Surgeons” and “Doctor Detective.” Amogh Dusad, head of content, Amazon miniTV, said: “In recent times, the viewing preferences of digital video consumers in India have changed significantly. They love diversity in content offering and are looking for unique stories & captivating characters from across the world. We have curated a list of blockbuster shows, from Korean, Turkish, Mandarin, Spanish and many more languages, that we believe will resonate with Indian viewers.”

Naman Ramachandran A decade after scoring a major hit with “Raanjhanaa,” Indian director-producer Aanand L. Rai is returning to its universe with “Tere Ishk Mein.” “Raanjhanaa,” an intense Hindu-Muslim romantic drama, was the Hindi-language debut of Tamil cinema star Dhanush and featured chartbusting music by Oscar-, BAFTA-, Grammy- and Golden Globe-winner A.R. Rahman. While keeping the plot under wraps, Rai told Variety, “When we were working on the ‘Tere Ishk Mein’ script, we realized that we are catching on to the same aggression. And in terms of genre, it’s falling in that genre of tragedy and I said, it’s actually belonging to that world. They’re not similar stories, but they have a similar heartbeat. We were getting the same feeling what we were getting when we were working on ‘Raanjhanaa.’ I said, let’s start belonging to that world.”

Eric Nam has announced his massive 66-date ‘House on a Hill’ world tour for 2023 and 2024.Eric Nam will kick off his ‘House on a Hill’ world tour with a 39-date trek across the US and Canada that will run form September to the middle of November. It will feature concerts in over 20 states, as well as four shows in Canada.The Latin American leg of the ‘House on a Hill’ world tour will take place in the latter half of November.

Naman Ramachandran Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan is venturing into the field of generative AI with studio, aggregator and digital IP monetization platform Ikonz. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of generating text, images, or other media in response to prompts, with ChatGPT and Bing Chat being current popular examples. Ikonz, which already works with Indian graphic novel properties Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle and Chacha Chaudhary, has a stated vision of “bringing together advanced technologies and cultural icons to create a new era of interactive entertainment.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment is taking an interim regulatory order against ZEE Entertainment directors Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka “very seriously,” despite concerns over what it could mean for the two companies’ merger.

TV presenter Anna Richardson has revealed the bunch of eager celebrities who are desperate to take their clothes off for a celebrity special on the hit Channel 4 show Naked Attraction.The premise of the dating show includes single men and women picking a partner to go on a date with based solely on their naked attraction to one another. Anna , 52, opened up on the names of the celebrities who want to strip off in the name of finding love, including Blue singer Duncan James.

News broadcaster Rae Stewart has sadly died aged 56.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Mother of all Lies, a docu-drama film that probes the secrets of Morocco’s 1981 Bread Riots, was Sunday named the best picture at the Sydney Film Festival. The jury, headed by Anurag Kashyap, called the Asmae El Moudir-directed film “audacious, cutting-edge and courageous.” It presented the A$60,000 ($41,100) cash prize film ahead at the State Theatre ahead of the Australian premiere screening of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” The film, which uses doll-like figurines, recently premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it earned the section’s best director prize. “Juxtaposing evidence from barely existent public materials with private family memory, this film reconstructs the history of the state, the family and the individual, in three distinct levels,” said the jury of Kashyap, actor Mia Wasikowska (Australia), film curator and journalist Dorothee Wenner (Germany), writer and director Larissa Behrendt (Australia) and filmmaker Visakesa Chandrasekaram (Australia – Sri Lanka).

Michael Morpurgo’s 1999 children’s book comes vividly to life in Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s joint feature debut, a castaway fantasy in which a young boy learns vital lessons about the natural order of things. Seasoned screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce is on board too, and yet this is likely one of his sparsest screenplays yet, leaning into the subtleties of the animation: traditional hand-drawn 2D with mixed-media elements for the background. Older kids will likely love it, but a beautifully stark encapsulation of the bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 may rule it out as something for the whole family.

Naman Ramachandran Indian media personality Karan Johar will be honored at the British parliament for his contribution to the global entertainment industry. Johar has many avatars, as a film director, as a producer and distributor via his Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment, a flamboyant talk show host, talent show judge and actor. He has a special relationship with the U.K., having filmed many of his productions such as “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” and “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” across the country. His blockbusters “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” and “My Name Is Khan” became the highest grossing Indian films at the U.K. box office upon their respective theatrical releases, setting new records at the time. In 2012, he was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for Visit Britain for a special campaign to attract and invite people to visit and explore the country.

The Sundance Institute revealed on Wednesday that it has received the largest endowment gift in its history, a $4M endowment in support of the the Institute’s Indigenous Program from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which will provide new support for artists from California-based tribes, both federally and non-federally recognized.

Elsa Pataky is global icon. The model and actress is known for her stunning looks and for her vast body of work. In a new interview, Pataky opened up about her experience raising her kids and her decision to now refocus on her career.

Indian Matchmaking could be a match for Emmy voters. Season 2 of the Netflix series is up for consideration as Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, following season 1’s nomination in that same category. Season 3 of  the show, which premiered on Netflix last month, takes audiences to the U.K. for the first time, peeking into the lives of the young Indians living in London searching for their ideal love match with the expert guidance of the show’s captivating yet feisty matchmaker, Seema Taparia.

Naman Ramachandran Kajol, one of India’s best-loved actors, stars in Disney+ Hotstar series “The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha,” the Indian adaptation of CBS series “The Good Wife.” The courtroom drama sees Kajol star as Noyonika Sengupta, a housewife who is forced to return to work as a lawyer after her husband’s public scandal puts him behind bars. The cast also includes Sheeba Chaddha, Jisshu Sengupta, Alyy Khan, Kubbra Sait and Gaurav Pandey in key roles. Produced by Banijay Asia and Ajay Devgn FFilms, “The Trial” is directed by Suparn S. Varma (“Rana Naidu”).

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Composer Daniel Pemberton pushed a few boundaries and “made something really creative and different” when he scored 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” When he returned to score the sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” he knew he would have to “push it as far as we can go.” Pemberton says he had to build the score from the ground up, which was complicated. “You’re trying not to make a score that sounds like other film scores. You’re trying to invent your own language.” Inventing that language took experimentation, research and failure. He explains, “I spent two years researching and developing this score, going through ideas, coming up with concepts and throwing them out.”