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Around Tinsel Town
>> IFFI jury Nadav Lapid’s comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’ stirs up row
Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, the jury head of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), stirred a row on Monday when he described the Hindi film The Kashmir Files as “propaganda” and “vulgar”. In his speech at the closing ceremony, Lapid said he was “disturbed and shocked” to see the film being screened at the film festival. This led to a widespread uproar across the country.
Post Lapid’s remarks, several actors and politicians criticised the filmmaker. The Kashmir Files actor Anupam Kher said it is “shameful” act and that Lapid himself is “vulgar” and an “opportunist”.
Vivek Agnihotri, the director of The Kashmir Files, challenged Lapid and said he will quit filmmaking if the Israeli filmmaker is able to prove that events depicted in the film are false. The filmmaker further announced that a follow-up film to Kashmir Files will be made to expose the whole truth.
On Thursday, Lapid offered a “total apology” if his remarks on the film had been misinterpreted. He said his aim was not to insult the Kashmiri Pandit community or those who had suffered.
>> Other highlights from IFFI
> ‘Fatima’, a documentary on human trafficking screened at the festival
> Asha Parekh’s glorious career celebrated with a special ‘Kati Patang’ screening
> Telugu indie ‘Cinema Bandi’ gets a Special Jury Mention
Bollywood
Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty team up for third Singham film, ‘Singham Again’
Ranveer Singh, Rohit Shetty take us on a colourful, fun-filled ride in ‘Cirkus’ trailer
Marathi and Hindi theatre and film personality Vikram Gokhale passes away
Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Sam Bahadur’ to hit screens next December
‘Blurr’ trailer shows Taapsee Pannu playing dual roles in an intense psychological thriller
Ayushmann Khurrana opens up on ‘boycott culture’ in Bollywood
Varun Dhawan confirms teaming up with Anees Bazmee
Yami Gautam’s ‘Lost’ to release directly on ZEE5
Abhimanyu Dassani, Amol Parashar, Shreya Dhanwanthary to star in ‘Nausikhiye’
Hollywood
Harrison Ford returns as Indy for one last time in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ trailer
Ang Lee to make Bruce Lee biopic, with son Mason Lee playing the icon
Martin Scorsese jokes about making Tumblr mafia movie ‘Goncharov’
Jamie Lee Curtis to receive AARP Career Achievement Award
Robert De Niro to headline Netflix limited series ‘Zero Day’
Scarlett Johansson to lead ‘Just Cause’, a series based on John Katzenbach novel
Trailer of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ introduces Maximals to the big screen
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary footage puts royal rift at forefront
Gurinder Chadha to direct Disney original inspired by Indian princess
‘George & Tammy’ pulls back the curtain on country icons
Antonio Banderas wants Tom Holland to play Zorro in potential third film
Netflix’s new series ‘Kaleidoscope’ can be watched in any order
Warner Bros. didn’t want Henry Cavill to return as Superman: Dwayne Johnson
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ wins best feature at Gotham Awards
Regional cinema
Dhanush’s trilingual film with Sekhar Kammula launched
Veteran Odia film actress Jharana Das dies at 77
Actor Vijay Devarakonda appears before ED
Ram Charan’s next is with ‘Upenna’ director Buchi Babu Sana
Kangana Ranaut to star opposite Raghava Lawrence in ‘Chandramukhi 2’
Exhibitors in Kerala to not release ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Gautham Karthik, Manjima Mohan tie the knot
21 Malayalam films to be screened at IFFK
World cinema
Chantel Akerman’s ‘Jeanne Dielman’ voted as best film of all time
A travelling Japanese film festival connects with Indian audiences
IFFK to feature retrospective of Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica
Jordan Peele, Riz Ahmed to executive produce Bangladesh’s first Oscar-qualified film ‘Moshari’
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 December: Kartik Aaryan starrer Freddy, Vicky Kaushal’s Govinda Naam Mera, reality show Moving In With Malaika, and more
New on Amazon Prime Video: Thriller series Vadhandhi, Season 2 of Gossip Girl, Holiday movie Your Christmas or Mine?, 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) How I met Sirius Black
>> Oscar-winner Gary Oldman talks about ‘Slow Horses’ season 2, making book-to-screen adaptations, and more
2) Kartik Aaryan: ‘I am aware of the euphoria around me’
>> Ahead of the release of ‘Freddy,’ the actor looks back on the whirlwind of the year that he has had
3) Why Rajinikanth is re-releasing his ‘Baba’ now: Director Suresh Krissna explains
>> 2002’s ‘Baba’ has been digitally enhanced and is ready to hit screens again this December
4) Janhvi Kapoor on fashion, remakes and more
>> The Bollywood star talks about walking the ramp, and her wish to act opposite Telugu actors
5) A film’s worth, a juror’s conscience and a regime’s agenda: ‘The Kashmir Files’ case
>> Platforms like IFFI should be spaces where dissent is celebrated, with makers setting aside their political grudges
6) ‘Qala’ director Anvitaa Dutt on telling a mother-daughter story in her upcoming film
>> The filmmaker discusses the creative process behind the film, which has been nine years in the making
7) Vishnu Vishal on ‘Gatta Kusthi’: I want to expand my market in Malayalam and Telugu
>> Henceforth, the actor wants to be part of commercial films that have strong content
8) Sailesh Kolanu: ‘HIT 2 will be an emotionally riveting, dark ride’
>> The writer-director says that the foundation for the ‘HIT Universe’ comes from ‘HIT: The Second Case’
9) Nagesh Banell: Every horror need not be dark and brooding
>> The cinematographer discusses the visual palette of the recent Telugu horror movie ‘Masooda’
10) Chatrasal Singh on animating ‘Strange World’: ‘The challenges are the joys’
>> The animator says getting the emotion across is the biggest struggle as well as the most interesting part
11) Topher Grace: ‘Playing a villain is much more fun’
>> The ‘That ‘70s Show’ actor talks of his return to being the nice guy in ‘Home Economics’
12) Ahsaas Channa, Parul Gulati on ‘Girls Hostel 3.0’, how they use social media, and more
>> The actors also talk about where their characters are in the third season, doing projects in other languages, etc
13) Ghantasala: A legend in his lifetime
>> The writer revisits the singer-musician’s life and works on his birth centenary
What to watch
1) ‘An Action Hero’, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Jaideep Ahalwat, kicks up a storm of satire
2) Kartik Aaryan can’t cure ‘Freddy’, an unimaginative thriller
3) Vishnu Vishal-Aishwarya Lekshmi’s film ‘Gatta Kusthi’ is mad fun, when it doesn’t ramble on gender politic
4) ‘Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie’ is a fairly engrossing series, but marred by problematic takes
5) Adivi Sesh scores in ‘HIT 2’, a taut cop drama that paves the way for a ‘HIT Universe’
6) Alphonse Puthren, Prithviraj’s comedy-thriller ‘Gold’ fails to sparkle
7) Vijay Sethupathi’s action-comedy ‘DSP’ delivers no kicks nor laughs
8) Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Khakee: The Bihar Chapter’ runs out of fodder eventually
9) Violent Night’, starring David Harbour, is a dreadful, never-ending thriller
10) In ‘India Lockdown’, Madhur Bhandarkar paints stories of the pandemic spirit with broad strokes
11) ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ is a Gen-Z stoner-slasher that gets its satire right
12) Tharun Moorthy’s sophomore effort ‘Saudi Vellakka’ is emotionally impactful
13) ‘The Teacher’, starring Amala Paul, tells a hard-hitting story
14) ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is a juvenile satire on the uber-rich
15) ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ is James Gunn’s cheery Christmas gift
