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Around Tinsel Town
>> International Film Festival of India (IFFI)2022 begins
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opened on Sunday amid much fanfare as it returned to a fully physical format, after going hybrid for the last two editions, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are a few highlights from the festival:
> Want to establish India as global content hub, says Anurag Thakur ahead of opening ceremony
> Season 4 of acclaimed Israeli series ‘Fauda’ to premiere at IFFI 2022
> Spanish cine icon Carlos Saura honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award
> ‘Beautiful Beings’, ‘My Love Affair with Marriage’, ‘The Island of Lost Girls’ screened at the festival
Bollywood
Tabassum, veteran actor and pioneering talk-show host, dies at 78
Shah Rukh Khan to be honoured at Red Sea International Film Festival
Vikram Gokhale critical in ICU, has multiple organ failure, says wife
Teaser of Ajay Devgn’s ‘Kaithi’ remake ‘Bholaa’ out
‘Shehzada’ teaser unveiled on Kartik Aaryan’s birthday
Richa Chadha apologises after social media backlash over ‘Galwan says hi’ comment
‘Govinda Naam Mera’ ode to pulpy Bollywood masala ‘90s films, says Vicky Kaushal
Taapsee Pannu’s ‘Blurr’ to release on ZEE5 on December 9
‘Ghoomer’ a unique story, not just another film on cricket, says R Balki
Emraan Hashmi wraps up shooting for ‘Ground Zero’
SonyLIV sets premiere date for Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s ‘Faadu’
Salman Khan’s niece Alizeh Agnihotri to make her Bollywood debut
Hollywood
Actor Michael J. Fox accepts honorary Oscar for Parkinson’s advocacy
Legendary actor Gary Oldman subtly hints his retirement
Chris Hemsworth to take break from acting, learns he is at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s
‘Power Rangers’ star Jason David Frank dies at 49
Berlin film fest gives Steven Spielberg lifetime achievement award
Nicole Kidman to be honoured with 49th AFI Life Achievement Award
‘Everything Everywhere All At Once‘ leads Independent Spirit Awards 2023 nominations
Lily-Rose Depp reacts to ‘nepo baby’ tag, Johnny Depp controversy
Bob Iger returning to Disney as CEO for two years
Russo Brothers, David Reil team up for series on crypto firm FTX
Marvel hires Yann Demange as new director of Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’ film
‘The White Lotus’ renewed for season 3
Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn to lead ‘Freaky Tales’
Millie Gibson joins Ncuti Gatwa in ‘Doctor Who’
Michelle Dockery to lead Steven Knight’s BBC drama ‘This Town’
Regional Cinema
Naga Chaitanya, Venkat Prabhu’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual titled ‘Custody’
Kantara on Prime: Rishab Shetty’s blockbuster gets digital premiere with new version of ‘Varaha Roopam’
Tulu version of ‘Kantara’ to be released in India on December 2
Teaser of Prashanth Varma’s superhero film ‘HanuMan’ out
‘HIT 2’ trailer shows Adivi Sesh on a hunt for a psychopath killer
India’s Oscars entry ‘Chhello Show’ to stream on Netflix from November 25
Mari Selvaraj’s next titled ‘Vaazhai’; film commences shooting
Trisha wraps filming on maiden web series ‘Brinda’
World Cinema
Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision To Leave’ to stream on MUBI India from December 9
‘Squid Game’ star O Yeong-su indicted over sexual misconduct
‘Pachinko’ season 2 begins production
German adaptation of teen drama series ‘Euphoria’ in the works
Trailer of Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ released by Netflix
New in streaming
Coming to Netflix: Sci-fi mystery series 1899, stand-up special Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would, docuseries Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?, and more
New on Disney+ Hotstar in November: Hit Bollywood fantasy feature Brahmastra, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan starrer See How They Run, Enchanted sequel Disenchanted, and more
Coming to Apple TV Plus: Will Smith-starrer Emancipation, documentary film Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me, Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer-starrer Spirited, and more
New on Amazon Prime Video: Sunny Leone, Vishnu Manchu-starrer Ginna, Second season of The Sex Lives of College Girls, and more
New Korean titles to watch this month: Choi Min-Ho, Chae Soo-Bin starrer The Fabulous, Shin Ye-Eun’s revenge thriller Revenge of Others, and more
Essential reading
1) Nani: My sister Deepthi surprised me with ‘Meet Cute’
>> Siblings, actor-producer Nani and writer-director Deepthi Ganta, talk about Telugu anthology ‘Meet Cute’
2) Kerala-born British actor Varada Sethu on playing a rebel in ‘Star Wars’ show ‘Andor’
>> She speaks about her experience filming the ‘Star Wars’ series, sharing drinks with Stellan Skarsgård, and more
3) Actor Narain: The script gave me the confidence to go ahead with ‘Adrishyam/Yugi’
>> The actor explains why the bilingual movie ‘Adrishyam/Yugi’ is a leap of faith for him as an actor
4) The toolbox of imagination: Jinko Gotoh and Mark Osborne on global animation trends
>> Producer Jinko Gotoh and filmmaker Mark Osborne on why animation films hold so many possibilities
5) How ‘Andor’ transforms ‘Star Wars ’: a layered Foucaultian critique of fascism
>> Tony Gilroy and his writers brilliantly portray how politics become personal for people living in a fascist state
6) Ben Platt on ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’: ‘I remember a lot of on-set singing and harmonizing’
>> The actor said the rom-com was an opportunity to bond with fellow musical theatre nerd, Kristen Bell
7) ‘Monica, O My Darling’ and ‘Drishyam 2’ once again shine a spotlight on Japanese author Keigo Higashino
>> Both films are based on Higashino stories, although ‘Drishyam’ director Jeethu Joseph has always denied the link
8) Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s ‘Swayamvaram’ celebrates golden jubilee
>> The debut film of director Adoor Gopalakrishnan is now a classic in India cinema
What to watch
1) Varun Dhawan’s creature comedy ‘Bhediya’ is a modern-day fable with a timely message
2) ‘Agent Kannayiram’, Santhanam’s remake of ‘Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya’, is terrifyingly bad
3) ‘Wednesday’ season 1 is Tim Burton’s macabre and magical tribute to the misfits and outcasts
4) Telugu anthology ‘Meet Cute’ has few standout stories and other cheerful but generic ones
5) Jake Gyllenhaal voice-stars in ‘Strange World’, a multi-coloured, trippy, psychedelic fest
6) ‘4 years’ is an overstretched, hardly-engaging college nostalgia piece
7) ‘Triple Riding’ is a lacklustre entertainer aimed to appease Ganesh’s fans
8) ‘Acapulco’ season 2 is a hearty but run-of-the-mill Spanglish telenovela
9) ‘Blood Sex & Royalty’ is a gripping, raunchy retelling of Anne and Henry’s love story
10) ‘The People We Hate at the Wedding’ is an amusing but forgettable comedy
11) ‘1899’ is a dark, riveting mystery drama that loses steam occasionally
12) ‘Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?’ is an all-American pop rush that fizzles out in the end
13) Disney’s ‘Enchanted’ sequel ‘Disenchanted’ is only mildly bewitching
14) ‘Adrishyam’ is an underwhelming thriller riddled with technical issues
15) Black satire ‘The Menu’ skewers the world of haute cuisine
16) ‘She Said’ is an imperative account of Weinstein’s abuse that gives his victims the time to speak
17) ‘Smile’ is a disturbingly-messy tale of trauma and mental illness
