M. Night Shyamalan a Roma: anteprima di Trap

Il 2 agosto 2024 M. Night Shyamalan era a Roma per l'anteprima di Trap, proiettato al cinema Barberini.

Tabu in Dune: Prophecy

Tabu è stata scritturata dalla produzione della serie fantascientifica americana Dune: Prophecy, la cui diffusione è prevista entro la fine del 2024. All'attrice indiana è stato affidato il ruolo di Sister Francesca. La serie si ispira al romanzo Sisterhood of Dune, di Brian Herbert (figlio di Frank, l'autore del celeberrimo Dune) e Kevin J. Anderson. 

Tell it like a woman

Tell it like a woman è un film antologico in lingua inglese di produzione italiana e statunitense. Uno degli episodi è ambientato in India, è diretto da Leena Yadav e interpretato da Jacqueline Fernandez. Lo scorso 7 marzo la pellicola è stata proiettata al Los Angeles-Italia Film Fashion and Art Fest, alla presenza di Jacqueline Fernandez.

Love Again in Italia

Vi propongo la locandina e il trailer italiani di Love Again, nuovo progetto internazionale interpretato da Priyanka Chopra - nel ruolo della protagonista - e Sam Heughan, con un cameo di Nick Jonas. Nel cast anche Céline Dion al suo debutto sul grande schermo. Alla regia James C. Strouse. Il film verrà distribuito nelle nostre sale a partire dall'11 maggio 2023.

Festa del Cinema di Roma 2022

La 17esima edizione della Festa del Cinema di Roma si svolgerà dal 13 al 23 ottobre 2022. Vi segnalo, fuori concorso, il premiatissimo documentario All that breathes di Shaunak Sen. In cartellone anche What's love got to do with it?, film britannico diretto da Shekhar Kapur e interpretato, fra gli altri, da Shabana Azmi.

Aggiornamento del 22 ottobre 2022: What's love got to do with it? si è aggiudicato il premio Ugo Tognazzi per la miglior commedia, e verrà distribuito in Italia a partire dal 16 marzo 2023 - grazie a Lucky Red - col titolo What's love?. Trailer. Ricky Tognazzi si è complimentato nel suo profilo Twitter. Shekhar Kapur è attualmente a Roma. Vi propongo di seguito alcune fotografie.

Aggiornamento dell'11 marzo 2023: Lucky Red ha ideato una geniale promozione per il film. Domani, a Roma, si svolgerà l'evento Bollywood Experience, che prevede danze, musica, degustazioni, tatuaggi. La festa si concluderà con una parata che premierà i partecipanti con l'anteprima di What's love? (video).

Shekhar Kapur e Carlo Verdone

Shekhar Kapur, Andrea Occhipinti e Jemima Khan

Extraction: locandina e trailer

A partire dal prossimo 24 aprile Netflix proporrà il film d'azione Extraction, con Chris Hemsworth. Nel cast anche Randeep Hooda e Pankaj Tripathi. La versione italiana si intitola Tyler Rake. Trailer in italiano.

Adil Hussain in Star Trek: Discovery - stagione 3

Adil Hussain è nel cast della terza stagione di Star Trek: Discovery e non potrei essere più felice. Trailer. 

Aggiornamento dell'11 novembre 2019 - How Adil Hussain became a part of Star Trek: Discovery, The Times of India:

'Adil said the first day of the shoot was the most memorable. "On the day of the shoot, everyone, including the actors, gathered around and made a circle. They formally introduced me, 'Adil Hussain from India. We welcome you to the family of Star Trek.' They all clapped and then looked at me. I said, 'Do I have to speak?' They said yes. I didn't know what to say because I didn't prepare. But I said, 'The only thing coming to my mind right now is that I was born in a small town in Assam where newspapers used to come three days late. And now I'm here today, crossing the galaxies. So thank you for letting me into your family'", the actor reminisced'.

Vicky Kaushal: 'When KJo's video was shared, I had no clue that I became the charsi'

Vi segnalo questa magnifica intervista (non integrale) concessa da Vicky Kaushal a Mayank Shekhar e pubblicata oggi da Mid-Day. Il pezzo include il link al video dell'intervista completa.  When KJo's video was shared, I had no clue that I became the charsi':

'How did you land Uri [given the unlikely CV]? (...)

I got a call from Ronnie Screwvala's office that they had dropped off an action script [to be directed by Aditya, who I already knew]. I saw the title, Uri: The Surgical Strike. And now I wasn't the actor. I was actually curious to know what happened [in Uri]. It took me four-and-a-half hours to read the script, in one go, which is what I prefer - as if I'm watching a film. That's when I get a true sense of what I feel.

As an audience?

Yes. So I started watching the film, and I just couldn't get it. There was just too much information, military-technical-logistical language. Also, I didn't feel anything. Because I hadn't taken four-and-a-half hours to read a script before. (...) My dad, who was equally curious about the Uri incident, and had read the script lying around, asked me what I thought of it. I said I'm not sure. He told me that if I miss this film, it'll be the biggest mistake of my life! He said that maybe I'm in a different space right now, in another kind of military film, and that's why unable to connect.

You were playing a Pak military officer, shooting for Raazi. Of course you're not going to like Uri!

[Laughs] And then I don't know what happened. I got back to the script four days later, finished it in an hour-and-a-half, as if I was reading it for the first time. I called up Sonia [Screwvala's associate] at 3 am, and said, I will do the film.

You essentially have your dad to thank for Uri. What I find most fascinating is actually your dad [Sham Kaushal]! Tell us his [lesser known] story.

My dad and mom are from a small village in Punjab. He was good in studies, and started learning English in sixth grade. He went on to top BA, in English Literature; did his MA. And wanted to be an English professor in Punjab. But the family's financial situation was such that he could not pursue an M.Phil from Chandigarh. At 23, he was frustrated, with no job, even after an MA degree. My dadaji [grandfather] had a very small kiraane ki dukaan [convenience store] in the village. My dad's friend Satpal was going to Bombay to become an actor. Since my dad was doing nothing at home, and frustrated, my grandfather asked him to tag along with the friend, for a few days, feel better, and come back. In Bombay, my dad wanted to start a new life. He had a distant uncle in New Bombay, who got him a salesman's job in a plumbing-wall shop, behind RK Studios, in Chembur. He did that for Rs 350 a month, and really struggled. He's been on streets. Without letting anybody know, he used to live in the office, having done a 'setting' with the peon. He would sleep, leave early; and come back, when work started.

He would take a shower in office?

Yeah, everything. After a year, he knew he couldn't start a family with R350 a month, even if he did the same thing for 15 to 30 years. So, without Plan B, he quits his job, and comes to a PG [paying-guest accommodation] in Santacruz. Here, he stays with 10 Punjabi guys, who're stuntmen. They leave for work in the morning, and come back with a tidy sum in the evening. That's when he discovers this [profession]. Purely for survival, he decides to become a stuntman, at 25. People start training at 13-15, when their body is flexible. He had never done any physical activity before. He used to sit in his father's shop, and do accounts. So he is a stuntman for 10 years. He lands up his first film as action director with Mohanlal, because the Malayalam filmmakers were shooting in Bombay. They needed someone to handle the stunt sequences. They would've been okay with an experienced stuntman as well. So long as the person understood English, so they could communicate with him. My father was the only guy around who knew English. He got that job because of his degree in English Literature! (...)

Did you get to observe showbiz closely as a result?

No. Well, my brother Sunny and I knew that the good things we were getting in life was because of a lot of dad's hardships, and my mom's support to him. But it was never a house, where we wanted to meet our favourite stars, go on sets, parties, etc. We had friends line up outside our house, for an autograph of an actor who was visiting. For us, that actor was my dad's friend. For example, Anurag [Kashyap] sir and I always have a laugh about this. He knows me since Black Friday [in which my dad was action director]. I was probably in my eighth grade. So when he used to come over for meetings, I used to call him uncle, serve him parathas, and go out to play cricket. So it was that. (...)

Did it bother you, as in a system where a star takes all, or that you would have to become one [in order to succeed]?

Not at all. To be honest, I don't know why, but I never had a sense [of entitlement] that I should be launched as a star. I knew I could make a mark by knowing my job - just going through the drill, and getting opportunities on the basis of what I know. Also, my father had made it clear that he would back my decision to be an actor, as a father alone. And not as an action director. So I had that reality-check - that nobody is going to spend crores, because I'm Sham Kaushal's son. And he's not going to do it either. Besides, for whatever reasons, whether some sort of complex, or plain under-confidence, my dream wasn't so big - that I want to be a hero. I was just on auto-pilot - that I'll give auditions, learn the craft through theatre, be an AD [assistant director]...

You did a lot of theatre?

I did. But I started off as an intern to Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur. I also started reading scripts that my dad would get, to match with the final film, and see changes that an actor brought in. I could visit sets with him. But realised I'd then just be a visitor. My knowledge of engineering is so bookish that I can't even repair a TV. I wanted to be an engineer, who has been at the garage for four years. So I decided to dive into acting, with on-field learning. (...) Through actors on set, I got to know the importance of theatre. I'd been active on stage since school, but feared it professionally. I started doing theatre with Manav Kaul, Kumud Mishra, Naseer saab [Naseeruddin Shah], Thespo Festival, and Rage Productions - my first pay-cheque. I joined Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting academy. I also had to clean my slate, after being an assistant-director, because I wasn't looking at that profession. I completely cut off from Anurag sir.

But he made you act in Gangs, though!

It's the scene where Nagma Khatoon [Richa Chadha] goes to a brothel. Last minute, everyone [junior artistes] that we'd rounded up in Benares refused to participate in that scene, once they realised it's a brothel. The entire direction team stood-in for them. I'm that silhouette you see behind the window-grille, (...) when Nagma Khatoon is cursing Sardar Khan [Manoj Bajpayee]! That was the first time I faced a camera.

Oh, I'm told your first time before camera was for [director] Michael Winterbottom?

Yes, that was the first time I faced the camera, and you could see my face! Michael Winterbottom was making a film called Trishna, with Freida Pinto. We'd just finished shooting Gangs in March, 2011, and I had these braces, and was an AD. I had gone to my native place in Punjab with family, when I got a call from Anurag Kashyap, and he said, "Item number karega (Will you do an item number)?" I was like, what? He said, it's a Michael Winterbottom film, and Huma [Qureshi] and I will dance, and that he's acting in it as well, it'll be fun. So, Trishna, that's Freida's character in the film, comes to Bombay from Rajasthan, and a friend of hers takes her to a film-set. There's a song being shot with choreographer Ganesh Acharya, which is being picturised between and Huma and I [in the film, within the film]. (...) I was wearing this shimmery black, typically item-number costume, which I was very conscious of. I had no idea how it feels to be before a camera, with 50 back-up dancers, and 200 people around. So, my body is dancing, but my face is like this [frozen]. Ganesh Acharya sir, who was very sweet, came up to me and said, "You're dancing well. Now just dance from your face!" Of course, with several retakes, we got it right. (...)

Masaan was your first release. But Zubaan, which picked up top festival awards, was actually your first film. Honestly, couldn't understand that movie. Should one go back and watch it again?

I don't feel an audience should change the way they should watch a film. If you can't connect, you can't. It really resonated with me - a Punjabi from Gurdaspur, going to a big city, living that life, eventually realising it's not him; and now he has to connect back to his roots, and music becomes his medium. There was a lot for me to do as an actor - the journey, plus that stammering, plus music... If I feel connected to a material, for any reason, I just plunge into it. I don't think if it's going to do any good. I went through several rounds of auditions, from a short-list of around 200-300 actors, for that role.

Even Masaan, for that matter, I'm told, you'd seen the pilot promo of that film with other actors already. Who were the other people doing that film then?

I remember [director] Neeraj [Ghaywan] and I, with the entire AD team of Gangs of Wasseypur, were going to Pune. Because a friend had lost someone in her family. We were in the same car, catching up after long. He was telling me about a film he was trying to make. (...) He showed me the pilot-promo. It looked very interesting, and he gave me the gist. The cast was Rajkummar Rao for the part I [eventually] played. (...) There was Manoj Bajpayee for the part played by Sanjay Mishraji, and Richa [Chadha], and Shweta [Tripathi]. That was the promo. The film had to be shot in October during Durga Puja. (...) If they missed the deadline, they'd have to shoot the following year, which they couldn't afford. Raj couldn't make it during the time, so that slot became open. They were looking for new actors. So they auditioned me, and I passed!

That was a breakout role. You owe your career to Rajkummar Rao!

[Laughs] Yes. In fact, my first few films, even Zubaan or Raman Raghav [2015], had gone to somebody else, and then they started auditioning again. (...)

Speaking of directors, you've worked with Anurag Kashyap as an intern [Gangs], then actor [Raman Raghav, Manmarziyaan], he also produced Masaan. He's notorious for throwing actors into the deep-end, no script, etc. How did that work for you, starting off?

He's a very impromptu kind of a creative force, relying on impulse. If you give him everything ready on paper, then he might not know what to do on a set. He does give you the lines. He just doesn't want actors to be rigid, when it comes to them. So he wants you to enter knowing what your character is. And then allow him, the geography, and the costumes to mould you.

Give an example?

Sometimes, we may not have the lines beforehand. For example, my last scene in Manmarziyaan. It's the separation scene between Taapsee and I, in her room. We were ready in costume. He had told the DOP [cinematographer] to keep the tracking-shot ready. And he is with his pen and paper, writing the scene, while we're in costume. He gives us the lines, and we have five to ten minutes to prepare. I had to hug Taapsee. It is an emotional moment. My character has accepted the fact that he's not the guy in her life. He hugs her. And once a scene is over, as per the script, for the next ten to fifteen seconds, Anurag sir has a tendency to not say cut.

He will just keep the camera rolling?

Yeah, while the actors are thinking, what do I do next? I still remember, it was my OS [over-the-shoulder] shot. I have hugged Taapsee. The moment is done. And done. And done... But I still can't hear, cut! Then I see Anurag Kashyap sitting right next to that camera, looking at me, going, "Alag ho jaa, alag ho jaa [separate]." So in that emotional, teared-up state, I don't know what to do. She [Taapsee] doesn't know what to do either. And then, I just start beat boxing. That makes Taapsee smile. And that makes me smile. And then, he says cut. That is the moment, and the scene in the film. Not the one he had written.

Is Rajkumar Hirani the methodically prepared, polar-opposite?

He is as organic. The difference between them lies in the writing, and structuring of the film. And their ways of presenting a story. As directors, they are both fine editors. They can see the film while shooting it, and so they are super-fast - no safety-shots, no safety-cuts. I've seen on Sanju, Raju sir has called for a steady-cam operator on set for a specific shot and moment. It's a full night's shoot anyway. While shooting the scene, he captured that moment on a static camera. He was so sure that he had got the shot, that he just told the steady-cam operator to pack-up'.

Maria Rosaria Borrelli: Raccontare la notte dell'anima. Il cinema di M. Night Shyamalan

È in distribuzione nelle librerie italiane il saggio Raccontare la notte dell'anima, dedicato al noto regista M. Night Shyamalan. L'autrice è Maria Rosaria Borrelli. Pubblica Shatter Edizioni.

Dimple Kapadia e Christopher Nolan: set di Tenet in Estonia

Dimple Kapadia è stata scritturata per Tenet, il nuovo film di Christopher Nolan. La pellicola verrà girata in diversi Paesi, fra cui l'Italia. La troupe è attualmente in Estonia. Nelle due fotografie diffuse in rete, l'attrice e il regista sono immortalati sul set allestito in questi giorni per l'appunto in Estonia.

Aggiornamento del 26 agosto 2020: a partire da oggi Tenet è in distribuzione nelle sale italiane.

Dimple Kapadia e John David Washington, set a Mumbai, settembre 2019

Giffoni Film Festival 2019

La 49esima edizione del Giffoni Film Festival si è svolta dal 19 al 27 luglio 2019. Hichki, diretto da Siddharth Malhotra e interpretato da Rani Mukherjee, si è aggiudicato il premio per il miglior film della sezione Elements +10. Condividendo il mio messaggio relativo alla vittoria, Malhotra ha commentato nel suo profilo Twitter: 'Super super excited to share that our labour of love @hichkithefilm wins the Elements +10 best film award at the @giffonifilmfest' (clicca qui). Blinded By The Light, di Gurinder Chadha, ha vinto il premio per il miglior film della sezione Generator +13, e verrà distribuito nella sale del nostro Paese a partire dal prossimo 29 agosto (trailer).

Baywatch in Italia

A partire dal primo giugno 2017, Baywatch verrà distribuito nelle sale italiane. Priyanka Chopra è inclusa nel cast. Vi propongo la locandina e il trailer doppiato nella nostra lingua.

Nimrat Kaur in Wayward Pines - stagione 2

L'attrice indiana Nimrat Kaur è nel cast della seconda stagione della serie Wayward Pines. Il primo episodio andrà in onda in Italia il 29 agosto 2016 alle ore 21.00 su Fox.

Kabir Bedi: set in Italia di The Broken Key

Dal 4 al 6 febbraio 2016 Kabir Bedi ha soggiornato all'Hotel MiraMonti di Frabosa Soprana (Cuneo). A Saliceto e alle Grotte di Bossea e del Caudano si sono svolte le riprese del film The Broken Key, diretto dal regista italiano Louis Nero.

River to River Florence Indian Film Festival 2015

La 15esima edizione del River to River Florence Indian Film Festival si svolgerà dal 5 al 10 dicembre 2015. Fra i titoli del ricco cartellone segnalo: Dum Laga Ke Haisha di Sharat Katariya (ospite della manifestazione), Dil Dhadakne Do di Zoya Akhtar, Main Aur Charles di Prawaal Raman (ospite della manifestazione - per saperne di più sulla pellicola: clicca qui), Umrika di Prashant Nair, Zubaan di Mozez Singh. Deepa Mehta è l'ospite d'onore, e domenica 6 dicembre, alle ore 20.30, presenzierà alla proiezione di Beeba Boys (per saperne di più sul film: clicca qui). Per la retrospettiva dedicata a Deepa, in programma anche Water e I figli della mezzanotte (per saperne di più sulla pellicola: clicca qui).

Aggiornamento del 13 dicembre 2015:

- video ufficiale Sharat Katariya and Andrea Guerra talk about Dum Laga Ke Haisha (Guerra è il compositore del commento musicale del film)

- video ufficiale Prawaal Raman talks about Main Aur Charles.

Prawaal Raman

Quantico - stagione 1: locandina e trailer italiani

La prima stagione della serie americana Quantico, interpretata da Priyanka Chopra nel ruolo della protagonista, verrà trasmessa in italiano da Fox a partire dal prossimo 18 novembre. Trailer.

Aggiornamento del 3 novembre 2016: a partire dal prossimo 6 dicembre, dovrebbe essere distribuito nei negozi il cofanetto di 6 DVD dell'edizione italiana della prima stagione di Quantico.

Vedi anche:

- Priyanka Chopra in Italia per Quantico - stagione 3, 12 ottobre 2017

- Quantico - stagione 3 in Italia, 9 luglio 2019

Metropolitana di Milano (scatto di Giandomenico)

The Hundred-Foot Journey: locandina e trailer italiani

[Archivio] Il 9 ottobre 2014 era stata distribuita in Italia la pellicola internazionale The Hundred-Foot Journey, diretta da Lasse Hallström, adattamento cinematografico del romanzo omonimo di Richard C. Morais. Il film, prodotto da Steven Spielberg e Oprah Winfrey, è interpretato da Om Puri e Helen Mirren. Juhi Chawla regala un cameo. La colonna sonora è composta da A.R. Rahman. Il titolo italiano è Amore cucina e curry. Trailer. Il DVD è attualmente in vendita nei negozi del nostro Paese. Il romanzo tradotto è pubblicato da Neri Pozza Editore.

River to River Florence Indian Film Festival : I vincitori della 14a edizione

Ieri sera presso il Cinema Odeon si è chiusa la 14a edizione del River to River Florence Indian Film Festival. Ecco i vincitori delle tre categorie in concorso: 

Longometraggio : Sold the Movie, diretto da Jeffrey D. Brown, tratto dal romanzo di Patricia Mc Cornick Sold. Storia di una ragazzina nepalese venduta a un bordello di Kolkata. Tra i produttori della pellicola l'attrice inglese Emma Thompson.

Sold the Movie

Cortometraggio : Hechki, diretto da Kartik Singh, delizioso short movie girato a New York il cui protagonista è un venditore di rose bengalese stressato da un lunghissimo attacco di singhiozzo.

Hechki

Ducumentario: Chronicle of a Temple Painter, di Shravan Katikaneni, storia di un pittore di immagini sacre hindu che decide di crescere una bambina musulmana sopravvissuta ad un attacco terroristico a Hyderabad. 

Chronicle of a Temple Painter

La manifestazione ora si sposa a Roma presso il Nuovo Cinema Aquila dove, nella giornata di oggi, 13 dicembre, e di domani, saranno proiettate le pellicole vincitrici e una selezione dei titoli della rassegna fiorentina appena conclusa.