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Around tinsel town
>>Cannes 2024 highlights
The Indian film contingent not only dazzled at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival but also had a milestone outing with eight films. Payal Kapadia’s debut fiction feature, All We Imagine As Light — the first Indian production in the competition in three decades — received an enthusiastic eight-minute standing ovation. Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s debut production Girls Will Be Girls was screened while Sahana Goswami and Sandhya Suri’s Santoshpremiered in the Un Certain Regard section.
A restored version of Shyam Benegal’s Manthan was showcased under the Cannes Classics segment. Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov’s Hindi-language film The Shamelessalso premiered at the festival. Producer Guneet Monga and Women In Film Los Angeles (WIF) launched a new initiative to support women filmmakers in India and the Indian Ambassador to France invited global filmmakers to explore business opportunities in India.
Here are a few other highlights from the event:
> Studio Ghibli awarded honorary Palme d’Or, makes history
> ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ director Mohammad Rasoulof attends premiere after fleeing Iran
> ‘Beating Hearts’ dethrones ‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’ with a new festival best 15-minute standing ovation
> Israeli screening of October 7 attack film cancelled amidst security concerns
> Trump Campaign threatens lawsuit over controversial Sebastian Stan starrer, ‘The Apprentice’
> Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone give fest a trippy triptych with ‘Kinds Of Kindness’
>>Lok Sabha Elections 2024
Bollywood celebrities fulfilled their democratic duty by stepping out to vote in Phase 5 of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Exercising their franchise in the nationwide elections, Hindi film stars led by example and urged fellow citizens to vote. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Jahnvi Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor voted on Monday. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, who are expecting their first child, also stepped out to exercise their democratic right. Other celebrities who were photographed casting their votes included Dharmendra, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Sanya Malhotra, Suniel Shetty, filmmakers Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar Ashutosh Gowariker, Kabir Khan and others
Hollywood
Anthony Hopkins features in first look at Roland Emmerich’s new Roman Empire series ‘Those About To Die’
Steven Spielberg’s new movie to come out in May 2026
Dwayne Johnson transforms into MMA legend Mark Kerr in first look at Benny Safdie’s ‘The Smashing Machine’
Liam Neeson to star in cross-country car chase film ‘Mongoose’
Mel Gibson, Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Flight Risk’ release date out
Steve Carell to be part of HBO comedy from Bill Lawrence
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ reboot, a spin off with Margot Robbie both still in works: Jerry Bruckheimer
‘Kinds of Kindness’ director Yorgos Lanthimos announces fourth film with Emma Stone, ‘Bugonia’
Marvel sets Vision series for 2026 with Paul Bettany
The Witcher’ Season 4 first look: Liam Hemsworth steps into Geralt of Rivia’s shoes
Oscar Isaac to voice Jesus Christ in ‘The King of Kings’
Rupert Friend joins cast of new ‘Jurassic World’ film
Kalki Koechlin to play American writer in John Keller’s ‘Her Song’
Bollywood
Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan team for spy action comedy
Bobby Deol, Joju George reported to star in Anurag Kashyap’s upcoming thriller
Jackie Shroff’s film ‘Slow Joe’ to be directed by Sandrine Bonnaire
‘Ishq Vishk Rebound’ is not a remake or sequel of ‘Ishq Vishk’: Actor Rohit Saraf
Maddock Films’ ‘Munjya’ gets a release date
Yami Gautam, Aditya Dhar welcome baby boy, name him Vedavid
Regional
‘Kottukkaali,’ starring Soori and Anna Ben, to compete at Transilvania International Film Festival
Mohanlal is back as the dashing Khureshi Abraam in ‘Empuraan’ first look
Ajith Kumar looks hip and trendy in first look of Adhik Ravichandran’s ‘Good Bad Ugly’
Bujji, the robot car from Nag Ashwin and Prabhas’s science fiction film, Kalki 2898 AD, unveiled
Vijay Sethupathi’s next titled ‘Ace’
First look of Suraj Venjaramoodu’s web series ‘Nagendran’s Honeymoons’ out
Kavin - Andrea Jeremiah team up for ‘Mask’; Vetrimaaran to produce the film
Kamal Haasan-Shankar’s ‘Indian 2’ gets a new release date; First single ‘Paaraa’ out
Vijay’s ‘GOAT’ VFX completed; Venkat Prabhu shares update
Kajal Aggarwal to be part of Vishnu Manchu’s ‘Kannappa’
Siddharth teams up with director Sri Ganesh for a new film
Glimpse of Manoj Manchu as Black Sword from Teja Sajja’s ‘Mirai’ out
Darshan’s ‘Devil’ gets a release date
World cinema
Indian actor plays German-speaking role in Austrian film ‘Happy’
First look poster of Shantanu Maheshwari, Avneet Kaur’s ‘Love in Vietnam’ unveiled
‘Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction’ anime series to release on Crunchyroll
‘One Piece’ to take over the Sphere in Las Vegas for 25th anniversary celebration
Trailers
Kartik Aaryan as Murlikant Petkar fights against all odds in ‘Chandu Champion’ trailer
Jake Gyllenhaal is a prosecutor accused of murdering his mistress in ‘Presumed Innocent’ trailer
In ‘Garudan’ trailer, Sasikumar, Soori and Unni Mukundan promise a riveting actioner
Dakota Johnson explores sexuality, dating and more in ‘Am I OK?’ trailer
Nic Cage’s terrifying voiceover is haunting in ‘Longlegs’ trailer, a serial killer horror flick
‘Gam Gam Ganesha’ trailer gives a glimpse of Anand Deverakonda’s crime comedy
Jessica Alba packs a punch in Netflix’s ‘Trigger Warning’ trailer
Superhuman Sathyaraj turns target for Vasanth Ravi in ‘Weapon’ trailer
Krishna Shankar, Johny Antony and Sudhi Koppa promise a fun cat-and-mouse comedy with ‘Pattaapakal’ trailer
Sarathkumar chases a sickening psychopath in ‘Hit List’ trailer
Essential Reading
1) Zeenat Aman on social media, mental health, pay gap and ‘Bun Tikki’
>> The veteran actor recently rolled up for the #WeSeeEqual summit to drive conversations on parity, inclusion and mental health
2) Karthik Gowda weighs in on why he feels Kannada cinema is lacking in consistency
>> The producer-distributor explains why the Kannada film industry has blown hot and cold in the last two years
3) Roopa Rao and director Sahadev Kelvadi speak about the Kannada film ‘Kenda’
>> The film’s producer and director speak about the joys and challenges of making the film and what winning the award means
4) Amul MD talks about restoring ‘Manthan’, India’s first crowdfunded film
>> Jayen Mehta, who walked the red carpet at Cannes, speaks about ‘Manthan’’s legacy and releasing the restored version in theatres
5) Are standing ovations getting out of hand? Here’s how Cannes 2024 has fared so far
>> Is the practice a genuine measure of a film’s merit, or just a reflection of festival dynamics and the art of the schmooze?
6) Stepping up India’s XR game at Cannes 2024
>> Poulomi Basu’s ‘Maya’ is one of the eight projects at Cannes Film Festival’s new Immersive Competition category
7) A Palme d’Or contender after 30 years and more: A look at Indian indie cinema’s incredible year at the Cannes
>> With eight films in the showcase and the biggest-ever contingent of actors and filmmakers, India made a big splash at the festival
8) Director Ashwin Agrawal on ‘Broken Mirror’ and catalyzing social change through films
>> Ashwin Agrawal’s short indies on self-acceptance and self-love are getting recognition in the international film circuit
9) ‘Kireedam bridge’, at Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram, gets set to attract fans of the Mohanlal-starrer
>>The Ministry for Tourism announced that work was progressing on the bridge to transform it into a tourist spot
What to watch
1) Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth bring Miller’s manic vision to life in ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’
2) Manoj Bajpayee burns bright in a toothless revenge saga, ‘Bhaiyya Ji’
3) Weak screenplay holds back Mammootty’s charge in ‘Turbo’
4) Jennifer Lopez gamely carries ‘Atlas’, a middling actioner, on her shapely shoulders
5) Biju Menon, Asif Ali’s thriller ‘Thalavan’ has an intriguing plot, but ends up wasting its potential
6) ‘Blue Giant’ is an ethereal, synaesthetic love letter to jazz like no other
7) Hiphop Tamizha Adhi bats for empowerment in ‘PT Sir,’ a dull entertainer
8) Ravichandran anchors a predictable yet engaging courtroom drama in ‘The Judgement’
9) Althaf Salim, Anarkali Marikar’s wedding drama ‘Mandakini’ entertains in parts only
10) ‘Moorane Krishnappa’ is a fantastic rural comedy with Rangayana Raghu and Sampath Maitreya in great form
11) An earnest Vijay Kumar tries to salvage ‘Election’, a meandering film
