India Showbiz Latest News and Updates

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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon’s free-of charge, ad-supported streaming platform that is only available in India, miniTV, is expanding its reach within the country. It is adding 200 shows for regional audiences and speakers of Tamil and Telugu. The new line-up of dubbed titles includes marquee and fan-favourite Hindi originals including “Hunter- Tootega Nahi Todega,” “Physics Wallah,” action-packed patriotic series “Rakshak- India’s Braves,” and young romance series “Highway Love.” Hollywood titles dubbed into Tamil and Telugu will include library titles “Twilight,” “Now You See Me,” the “Hunger Games” series, the “Step Up” franchise films and “Red.” miniTV will also upload Korean, Turkish and Mandarin shows dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.

Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) is pushing forward with Christmas Karma, a contemporary Bollywood musical set in London and inspired by Charles Dickens’ seminal A Christmas Carol, with Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) signed on to lead an ensemble cast. 

YouTube star Abhradeep Saha, who was better known as Angry Rantman online, has died aged 27.The influencer's family confirmed his sudden death on social media on Wednesday 17th April. "With profound grief and sorrow, we hereby declare the sad and untimely demise of Abhradeep Saha AKA AngryRantman today," they wrote. "He touched the lives of millions with his honesty, humour and unwavering spirit.

Coachella 2024, while comparing himself to Kurt Cobain.The Indo-Canadian artist delivered a set on the Sahara stage at the festival in Indio, California last Sunday (April 14).Dhillon has since shared footage of himself destroying his metallic gold ESP LTD Kirk Hammett V guitar during a dramatic part of the show. He honoured the late Indian rapper/singer Sidhu Moose Wala by performing ‘Brown Munde’.However, his act of smashing his instrument led to widespread condemnation from fans.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”), John Hannah (“The Mummy”) and British newcomer Alanah Bloor are set to join Turkish lead Can Yaman in “Sandokan,” Lux Vide’s reboot of the cult Italian TV series about the adventures of its titular pirate who, with his motley crew, fights against colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Shooting is set to start April 22 outside Rome on this high-end reboot of Italian writer Emilio Salgari’s exotic epic.

A three-day festival featuring the very best food and drink Bury has to offer from across the world will be held for the first time next month. From Thursday, May 23 the town centre will be packed with pop-up food markets, artisan drinks and craft stalls, music and live entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: Metrograph Pictures announced on Wednesday that Good One — the first feature from writer-director India Donaldson, which premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — will open in theaters nationwide on August 9.

Swiss Films Previews, the only spread of national movies at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel, the country’s leading doc festival. Presented via excerpts at a two-hour showcase on Wednesday, three further titles – “Kalari – the Martial Art of Female Power,” “The Boy from the River Drina” and “Spheres” – underscored the strength in depth of documentary filmmaking in Switzerland and at least in this year’s Previews, a leitmotif.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth.

Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” debuted atop the U.K and Ireland box office with £2.77 million ($3.4 million), according to numbers from Comscore. It was neck-and-neck for the second spot. Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Civil War,” directed by Alex Garland and starring Kirsten Dunst, debuted with £1.82 million, including previews.

Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the line-up for its 56th edition running from May 15 to 23, at a press conference in Paris’s Forum des Images cultural center.

Naman Ramachandran Anil Thadani’s AA Films has acquired the Hindi-language distribution rights for four highly anticipated 2024 southern Indian titles. The films are: Sukumar’s “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” starring Allu Arjun; Shankar’s “Game Changer,” headlined by Ram Charan; Nag Ashwin’s “Kalki 2898 AD” led by Prabhas; and Koratala Siva’s “Devara,” starring NTR Jr. All these films are originally made in the Telugu language but will also be released across India and the world in several Indian languages, including Hindi.

India–Taiwan co-production “Demon Hunters” will be unveiled at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The action-horror-comedy film is directed by Chen Mei-Juin (“The Gangster’s Daughter”) and produced by Light House Productions (Taiwan) and Kleos Entertainment Group (India), with the backing of the Taiwan government. The cast is headlined by India’s Arjan Bajwa (Prime Video series “Bestseller”) and Taiwan’s J.C.

Former reality star Binky Felstead staged an impromptu Made in Chelsea reunion at the weekend, as her famous co-stars from the show came together to celebrate her son Wilder’s first birthday.The 33 year old reality star who previously shot to fame on the E4 series invited the entire gang to her house on Saturday to celebrate the milestone occasion, before documenting the party with a string of adorable snaps on social media. At the party, close pal Lucy Watson, 33 made an appearance alongside James Dunmore and brought their six-week old son Willoughby along for the party, while her sister Tiffany, 30, was joined by her son Jude, nine months.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s documentary “Sugarcane” garnered the top nonfiction honor at the 26th annual Sarasota Film Festival. About the abuse and death of Indigenous children at a Canadian-based Indian Residential School, the docu premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (SFF), where it picked up the U.S. documentary directing kudo.

She burst onto our screens at the beginning of this year as the daughter of Dean Wicks and Shabnam Masood. Elizabeth Green was cast in the role of Jade Masood, originally portrayed by Amaya Edward between 2015 and 2016. Jade has instantly become a poignant character on the show, raising awareness of the condition cystic fibrosis, which she suffers from.

Refresh for latest…: As it crossed the $1B international box office milestone this past weekend, Warner Bros again owned the frame with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and its third session haul of $33.7M from 71 markets. That was good for a 47% drop from the previous weekend and lifts the overseas cume to $278.6M and global to $436.6M. Meanwhile, WB and Legendary’s other major title in the marketplace, Dune: Part Two, now has a shot at getting to $700M worldwide.

EXCLUSIVE: Amit Dhanuka has joined forces with Indian filmmaker Shashank Khaitan at Mentor Disciple Entertainment as a partner.

As Barry Hulse walked into the number eight barracks at the maximum security Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai his mind reeled. Awaiting trial for drugs smuggling offences, he'd been locked up with hardcore addicts, terrorists and some of India's most ruthless gangsters.

Survivor host Jeff Probst is happy that CBS ordered the show to be more inclusive.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor-producer Yash‘s Monster Mind Creations and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios have partnered on an adaptation of Indian epic “Ramayana” for global audiences. The film will be directed by Nitesh Tiwari, whose “Dangal” is the highest Indian grosser of all time.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has announced that the 40th annual festival will take place in Santa Barbara, California, from February 4 through February 15.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Rachel Perkins has been appointed as chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) council for a period of three years. She follows previous chairs Russell Howcroft and Debra Richards. AFTRS is Australia’s leading specialist education, training and research institution, supporting excellence in Australian screen and audio storytelling. “Rachel is one of Australia’s leading storytellers, particularly when it comes to First Nations stories,” said Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke. A graduate of AFTRS, writer, director and producer, Perkins founded Blackfella Films, which has gone onto become one of Australia’s leading production companies.

K.J. Yossman International writers guilds representing 67,000 professional screen writers across the globe are collaborating on developing an “ethical framework” for the use of AI in screenwriting.

The Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur is set to tie the knot with fellow contestant Akshay Thakrar in the show's first ever wedding, and Lord Alan Sugar is on the guest list.The couple, who met during the 2022 series of the hit reality show and got engaged in 2023, are planning to say their vows at the end of next month. Harpreet has revealed that not only is Lord Sugar invited, but also Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell from the show.The lovebirds have planned three separate days of celebrations, including a traditional English-style white wedding, followed by an Indian ceremony and then a "big fat reception party".

Netflix has dropped the trailer for upcoming Indian series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, showcasing the private exchanges of courtesans amid sweeping scenes of revolution in British-ruled India.

The BBC‘s news operation in India has formally split in two, as the UK broadcast organization seeks to comply with local media rules.

Studiocanal’s The Copyrights Group Bolsters Exec Team

Alex Ritman Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire (“Augure by Baloji,” “My New Friends”), French producer Sylvie Pialat (“Timbuktu,” “Staying Vertical”), Belgian cinematographer Virginie Surdej (“The Blue Caftan,” “Our Mothers,” “Casablanca Beats”) and Canadian film critic, journalist and frequent Variety contributor Ben Croll have been named on the jury for the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival. The four will now join Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who last week was named Critics’ Week jury president, with the group set to choose the sidebar competition’s award winners, including the Grand Prize for best feature film, the French Touch Prize of the Jury, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star award for best actor or actress and the Leitz Ciné Discovery Prize for best short film.