RANN: media as a battle field setting the agenda for the nation unplugged

Trust Ram Gopal Verma to bounce back with a hard hitting subject, after he gets hit hard by the rejection of his previous films. With RANN set to release in a short while from now (also hoping that the impasse between the producers and the multiplex owners would be resolved by then), he has brought into focus the role of media in setting the agenda for and of the nation. The contextuality of the topic lies in the fact that with the on-going elections, and the postures that media has adopted, more so the electronic media, RANN would provide a reference point for introspection. 

For Big B it is return to his name Vijay once again through RANN, and may be the name Vijay signifying victory for Amitabh Bachchan for quite a long time, would again do the same with RANN as well. 

There might be voices of protest and troops of unrest against the attempt to deconstruct the national anthem and run it in modern contextuality, but the deliberate breaks in the songs that have been interspersed by Ram Gopal Verma should be seen in its proper perspective as the unity of the country is indeed under threat and what better way to symbolically represent it than interpreting it through the national anthem itself. 

CHECK OUT: RAM GOPAL VERMA Interview

For Riteish Deshmukh as well, it would be an interesting point of disruption in his career as he returns to the cinema with a serious role, which he has not done so far and this could indeed give a new lease of life to his career. 

As Amitabh Bachchan during the course of his interview for the promotion of film had said RANN is manifestation of what can happen when one tries to make commerce, as in the process of doing it a compromise with the conscience has to be made, and it is this compromise that is at the root of all evil. For Big B it could also be his take on his off and on relationship with the media. 

For all the critics who had hounded Ram Gopal Verma when he had gone to visit Taj after the Mumbai attack, may be the thing can be put in perspective with RANN as Ramu was indeed on a mission to understand the nature in which the attacks were covered, and the field out there is indeed a battle filed as the Hindi meaning of RANN goes by what with TRP ratings ruling the roost and setting the agenda.

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- view JANA GANA RANN lyrics

Rs. 75 lacs set for Ravi Teja film

The shooting of ‘Anjaneyulu’ starring Ravi Teja and Nayantara in the lead roles is under brisk progress in Hyderabad.
An expensive corporate office set costing Rs 75 lacs has been erected extensively for this film. Parasuram of ‘Yuvatha’ fame is directing the film while Ganesh Babu is producing the movie under Parameshwara Arts banner and is presented by Ravikiran Babu. SA Thaman is scoring the music for this film.
Speaking about the film progress, Ganesh Babu said: “A huge corporate office set worth Rs 75 lacs has been erected for this film. The shooting will continue up to 15th May on this set. After that we are planning to go abroad to shoot the songs. The name Anjaneyulu is very powerful and it has a high dose of spirituality. The film is a combination of action, comedy and mass elements”.
Prominent cast includes Prakash Raj, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, Ahuti Prasad, Jayaprakash Reddy, Nazar, MS Narayana, Master Bharat, Jeeva, Sana, Rajesh, Vinay Prasad and others.

After 'Yuvvraaj' fiasco, Subhash Ghai turns to comedy

''Paying Guest' is an out-and-out comedy based on a play of the same name and directed by Paritosh Painter. It ran for two years in the US, UK and UAE. Now the movie too is being directed by the director of the play,' Ghai told IANS in an e-mail interview.
'Paritosh has done an equally good job as the director of the film. It will sure be a blockbuster, something I can predict at this moment,' the filmmaker said.
The multi-starrer revolves around five close friends who stay together in Dubai and is set to hit screens next month.
'In a comedy film like this, you really need genuinely talented actors rather than only a star who has a sale value. So we decided on Shreyas (Talpade), Javed Jaffery, Ashish Chowdhary, Celina (Jaitley), Neha Dhupia and so on,' he said.
So does he feel comedy is the flavour of the season?
'I completely feel that comedy is the flavour of the season. Today stress levels are so high that people like comedy, even mindless comedies if it's entertaining,' said Ghai.
'Nowadays, people don't have time to appreciate your poetry or cinema unless you compel them to go and watch it, but that's a tough proposition for a filmmaker today,' he added.
Ghai, whose production house Mukta Arts Pvt Ltd has produced successful films like 'Aitraaz' and 'Iqbal' among others, says his banner believes in churning out films of all budgets and genres.
'My company is a major movie production company in Mumbai for which I direct one film and we produce three to four films a year with various directors and all kinds of budgets and genres.
'For example, we produced 'Aitraaz', '36 China Town' and 'Yuvvraaj' with big budgets and 'Iqbal, 'Apna Sapna Money Money' and 'Black and White' as small budget movies,' said Ghai.
The director-producer has himself directed hugely popular films like 'Karz', 'Hero', 'Karma', 'Saudagar', 'Pardes' and 'Taal'.
Ghai has planned five more productions this year including 'Right Yaa Wrong', 'Hello Darling' and three new projects to be launched soon.
Asked about the ongoing tussle between the producers and multiplexes over sharing of revenue, Ghai said the root of the problem is that both the sides are not considering the other's grievances.
'It's a tussle of business interests. Both are right with their grievances but not ready to consider the other's point of view. I think producers asking for 50 percent, 40 percent and 35 percent in first three weeks respectively is a fair demand whereas in the fourth week it should be re-negotiable as per the merit of the film.

Piyush Jha: Shooting SIKANDAR in Kashmir was a peaceful affair

Over the years one has heard horror stories from film makers who have attempted to shoot in the valley of Kashmir. Rahul Dholakia's LAMHAA is the recent example of a film that faced issues in Kashmir when Bipasha Basu returned to Mumbai in the middle of shoot due to safety concerns. However, Piyush Jha, director of SIKANDAR, says that he didn't find shooting in the valley troublesome at all and had a peaceful and productive stint in the state. ''Really, I didn't actually find it so challenging to shoot in Kashmir'', says the film maker who has moved on to a sensitive subject after making two comedies CHALO AMERICA and KING OF BOLLYWOOD. CHECK OUT: SIKANDAR Movie Preview''Kashmir was an absolutely beautiful place to be in. We shot in the spring time because the view of the valley in that season is so spectacular. Also, I wanted to show Kashmir the way it was portrayed in the films of 60's and 70's. We didn't really have any issues shooting there as the people were very supportive and welcoming. It was a peaceful affair'', remembers Piyush. While the film's shooting went on quite peacefully and the crew didn't feel threatened due to the law and order situation in Kashmir, there were some logistical challenges that the film's unit had to encounter. ''The only difficulty was off the terrain to get from one point to another as we were shooting in mountains and jungles. They were really difficult to access and resulted in quite some time being spent in just traveling. Moreover, it was quite tiring as well'', says Piyush who has brought together actors like Madhavan and Sanjay Suri along with teenage actors Parzan Dastur and Ayesha Kapur for his film. CHECK OUT: Newspaper reports inspired the making of SIKANDARA co-production of BIG Pictures & Sudhir Mishra, SIKANDAR is a suspense thriller, which tells the story of a 14 year old schoolboy Sikander (Parzan) living in Kashmir with his uncle and aunt. One day, on his way home, from a school football match, Sikandar finds a gun lying on the path, which changes his life forever. Previously known as FOOT SOLDIER in its production stages, SIKANDAR also stars Arunodoy Singh in a key role and is now expected to arrive in the month of June.