‘Pathaan’ Director Siddharth Anand On Film’s Success, Bollywood Action Cinema & Future Projects

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) announced its winning films at a ceremony this morning in Santa Barbara.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore and India-based Mumba Devi Motion Pictures is screening two films at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) and has unveiled a slate of future titles. The company, headed by producer Sweta Chhabria and producer-director Aditya Kripalani, makes issue-based films focusing on stories that are mostly to do with gender and burning topics like suicide prevention and mental health. The outfit makes it a point to minimize the male gaze by bringing on board heads of department who are all women. Kripalani and Chhabria’s just-completed Singapore-set film “Grand Sugar Daddy,” which has its market premiere at EFM on Feb. 18, follows a 70-year-old widower who is introduced to the world of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. The film traces his conversations with a Singaporean Chinese woman, an Indian woman and a transgender Malay.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The wave of protests sparked across Iran by the death of Mahsa Amini by Iranian morality police in September came amid a banner year for Iranian cinema.  But as 2023 kicks off, more than 500 people who have protested her death and called for justice have been killed while prominent members of the Iranian film industry were either arrested, put on trial or banned from making movies. The result being that the country’s cinematic community has largely ground to a halt.  Which raises the question: unless something changes, how many films actually shot in Iran will be surfacing on the international festival circuit going forward?  

Paul Mescal, Letitia Wright, Gemma Chan and Taron Egerton were just a few of the stars to attend the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours on Thursday evening (February 16).

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Protagonist Pictures has sold out international on Rebecca Miller’s Berlinale opener “She Came to Me.” The Peter Dinklage-led film has sold into Sky for the U.K. and Ireland, Belga for Benelux, Originals Factory for France, Lusomundo for Portugal, Trip Pictures for Spain, M2 Eastern for Europe, Cinesky for Airlines, Aud for South Korea and Shochiku for Japan. In addition, Universal Pictures Content Group has made a multi-territory deal that spans Germany, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Scandinavia, Iceland, Switzerland, Israel, Middle East, South Africa, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Asia pay-TV rights.

EXCLUSIVE: Viveik Kalra, star of Gurinder Chadha’s Sundance 2019 musical Blinded By The Light, has been set to co-star with Indian superstar Samantha Ruth Prabhu in cross-cultural rom-com Chennai Story.

Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) has confirmed that the Mumbai Film Festival is returning as a physical event, set to run over ten days starting in late October. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong-based sales agency Golden Network Asia has amassed a large collection of advanced sales on upcoming Jackie Chan-starring film “Ride On.” The film, pitched as an action dramedy and one in which Chan pays homage to old-school stunt men, has recently been given an April 7 release date in mainland China. The date also mark’s the star’s 69th birthday. The film has already been licensed to: Well Go USA for North America; Plaion Pictures for Germany; Eagle Pictures for Italy; SPI International for Eastern Europe, Benelux and Israel; AN Media for CIS; ATV for Turkey; Phars Film for Middle East; Twin Co. for Japan; Contents Panda for South Korea; Shanghai Pictures for Malaysia; Shaw Renters for Singapore; Eagle International for Taiwan and worldwide Airline; Prima Cinema for Indonesia; Pioneer Films for the Philippines and Indo Overseas Film for India.

Shalini Dore Features News Editor Smriti Mundhra, the creator of “Indian Matchmaking,” has launched a show called “The Romantics” on Netflix just in time for Valentine’s Day. The docuseries centers on a bastion of Hindi cinema, Yash Raj Films, which just released the smash hit “Pathaan.” Netflix releases the series day and date in India, the U.S. and around the world. And it is coming just as interest in films from the subcontinent are piquing international interest. “It was sort of on my bucket list to make something about Indian cinema, broadly,” she tells Variety. “The intention was to look at the formative, most iconic films in Indian cinema, or the filmmakers — something that gives a glimpse into our industry.”

Almost a decade ago, a passenger plane went missing mid-flight with more than 200 people on board. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 suddenly disappeared from radar around 40 minutes after takeoff on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport in China.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian director Dibakar Banerjee’s Tees has been shelved by Netflix and the auteur is now seeking a new home for the feature.

Famous for fast and intricate movements Pooja assures New Idea Bollywood dancing can be enjoyed by everyone no matter what age, ability, or gender!

The makers of Call Me Dancer are going from coast to coast to unveil the documentary about the struggles and triumphs of astonishing talent Manish Chauhan. The film directed by Leslie Shampaine and Pip Gilmour held its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday and last night it opened the Dance on Camera Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center.

EXCLUSIVE: For the second time this week, we can reveal a milestone performance for a Mubi film, with the update that Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave has become the company’s most streamed film in North America.

When Anil Kapoor was offered a lead role in the Hindi adaptation of UK drama series The Night Manager, his first thought was how he could apply what he’d learned while making the Indian version of U.S. crime drama 24. 

EXCLUSIVE: Avantika (Senior Year), Christopher Briney (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Bebe Wood (Love, Victor) have landed major roles in Paramount Pictures’ film adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway hit, Mean Girls, which is itself based on the classic Paramount comedy of the same name.

Continuing its powerhouse run at worldwide turnstiles, Shah Rukh Khan espionage actioner Pathaan has topped the global box office century mark, getting there in 12 days on Sunday and now with $103.6M through Monday. It is the first Bollywood movie to the $100M milestone without a China release.

Refresh for latest…: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has overtaken the filmmaker’s own Titanic at the international box office with an estimated $1.538B through Sunday. That makes it the No. 3 movie of all time abroad, behind the original Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

Jack Roland Murphy just about had it all: Kennedy-esque good looks, charm to burn, athletic talent and even a musical gift. Still, he wanted more.

Three cast members of Two Doors Down had a night out in Glasgow on Friday night, as they enjoyed a meal in the Merchant City.