Tag Archives: featured

TV

Discovery Plus drops line-up of exciting titles this August

Leave a comment

Discovery Plus, India’s first aggregated real-life entertainment streaming app, which offers of thousands of hours of exclusive content across 40+ genres including Science, Adventure, Military, Survival, Food and Lifestyle, further strengthened its offering in the armed forces led content by dropping new episodes of Tales of Valour in the month of August. Beyond Tales of Valour, another series which will enthrall audiences seeking investigation led content is ‘Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…’ which will explain what killed some of the most famous celebrities including the likes of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith. While, Planet Child, a three-part series, delves into the way children experience life exploring areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness.

Independence day special

Discovery Plus, in a short span of time, has augmented its position as the hub of armed forces led content. The line-up includes documentaries such as ‘India’s Paratroopers – Earning the Badge’, ‘Revealed: LOC’,’ Battle Ops’, ‘Revealed: National Defence Academy’, ‘Revealed Siachen’,‘1965: India’s Battles and Heroes’ and Breaking Point franchise on Air Force Academy, Indian Submariners, High Altitude Warfare School, Women Fighter Pilots and Commando School Belgaum.

Battle Castles With Dan Snow

The OTT platform will add new episodes of Tales of Valour this August focusing on

·       Battle of Namka Chu releasing on August 05- During the Indo-Sino war of 1962, the Indian army fought in unfamiliar terrain. Celebrate the sacrifice of Subedar Dashrath Singh who lived to tell his tale of valour.

·       Battle of Rezang la releasing on August 10 – The battle of Rezang La in 1962 was one of the toughest battles fought in the highest of mountains. Rezang La was the last stand of the C Company of 13 Kumaon, during the Sino-Indo War in 1962 where only about 120 Indian soldiers went up against Chinese troops.

·       Battle of Longewala releasing on August 15- The Battle of Longewala was fought during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri and his brave band of soldiers led the defence at the Indian border post of Longewala, against the Pakistani forces.

·       Battle of Asal Uttar releasing on August 24- The Battle of Asal Uttar was one of the largest tank battles fought during the Indo-Pak War of 1965.

·       Battle of Haji Pur and Dograi releasing on August 31– In the second Indo-Pak war, India launched many aggressive operations to push the enemy out. The courageous capture of Haji Pir Pass and Battle of Dograi were part of it.

Other highlight shows which will keep audiences hooked include

Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…:

This Discovery Plus exclusive looks at crucial medical evidence that explains what killed some of the most famous celebrities as a forensic pathologist attempts to understand what their last days looked like. Celebrities covered in the series include Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Whitney Hoston & Anna Nicole Smith.

Planet Child:

This three-part series, streaming exclusively on Discovery Plus, delves into the way children experience life. The series explores key areas such as risk-taking, independence, morality and gender awareness in a range of scenarios, in order to understand how the development of kids is influenced by how they are raised and where they live.

Restaurant Stakeout

Willie Degel is known for running a tight ship at his restaurants. His secret: cameras canvassing every inch of his restaurant, allowing him to keep a close eye on his floor, staff and patrons. Starting August 24, Restaurant Stakeout follows as Willie takes his practices to troubled restaurateurs looking to find and rectify the hidden problems that lie within their establishments.

Mountain Life

The series follow families who want to get away from the hustle and bustle as they search for the ultimate mountain retreat. From the wooded peaks of the East Coast’s Blue Ridge to Hawaii’s tropical Mauna Loa, there are remote mountain locations you didn’t even know existed.

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt

Killer Whales: The Mega Hunt takes you inside the world of the predator that rules the oceans. Orcas – also known as killer whales – confidently and effortlessly stalk their prey fearing no other living creature. This fascinating programme streaming on the app on August 28, will give you an insight into how they live, feed and hunt; as well as a variety of incredible facts about their anatomy, behavioural traits and survival techniques.

Latest News

Madhuri Dixit Nene share then & now to celebrate 26 Years Of Hum Aapke Hai Koun

Leave a comment

Madhuri Dixit Nene took to social media to post a  then & now with Salman Khan to celebrate 26 Years Of Hum Aapke Hai Koun. 

The actor captioned Then & now! Can’t believe it’s been #26YearsOfHAHK. Remembering the fun memories & hard work of the incredible team who left no stone unturned to perfect every single scene. Thanks to everyone for watching & enjoying the film even today. बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद और ढेर सारा प्यार

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/MadhuriDixit/status/1290897932586287104/photo/1

Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDf2iMMHXuG/

Latest News

MUGHAL-E-AZAM completes 60 glorious years of release today

Leave a comment

Director K. Asif’s Indian epic historical film MUGHAL-E-AZAM completes 60 glorious years of release today. Produced by Shapoorji Pallonji, the film was released on 5 August 1960. The film stars Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. The soundtrack was composed by music director Naushad, and the lyrics were written by Shakeel Badayuni. 

In Mumbai main theater was Maratha Mandir. A grand structure was erected near the theater.

The film is a tale of the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on to become Emperor Jahangir) and Anarkali, a court dancer. Salim’s father, Emperor Akbar, disapproves of the relationship, which leads to a war between father and son.

Mughal-e-Azam had the widest release of any Indian film up to that time, and patrons often queued all day for tickets. It broke box office records in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, a distinction it held for 15 years. The accolades awarded to the film include one National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards at the 8th Filmfare Awards. Mughal-e-Azam was the first black-and-white Hindi film to be digitally coloured, and the first in any language to be given a theatrical re-release. The colour version, released in November 2004, was also a commercial success.

Trivia

Mughal-e-Azam was actually shot thrice. While it is known that the film released in Hindi, with prominent Urdu dialogues, it was also shot in Tamil and English. As the actors didn’t know how to speak in Tamil fluently, they lip-synced to Tamil dialogues instead. The Hindi version of Mughal-e-Azam was a blockbuster. However, the Tamil version flopped badly. Since the Tamil film didn’t work, the makers decided not to release the film in English.

The well-known song “Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya” has a unique history attached to it. The song cost Rs. 10 million at a time when a movie would be made for less than a million. Reportedly, the song was written and re-written 105 times by lyricist Shakeel Badayuni. The song was shot in the renowned Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors). Also in those days, there was no way to provide the reverberation of sound, and hence playback singer Lata Mangeshkar sang the song in a studio bathroom.

The film took 16 years to be complete.

For the battle sequence of the film, 2,000 camels, 4,000 horses and 8,000 troops were used. Also, many of the soldiers were borrowed from the Indian Army.

The statue of Krishna, which was used in the film, was made of pure gold.

Latest News

Revenge drags a father down the devil’s alley in ‘Scotland’, the next release at ShemarooMe Box Office

Leave a comment

ShemarooMe Box Office has lived up to its promise of providing big screen entertainment experience right at our doorsteps, and with its next release; India’s favourite video streaming platform will be premiering internationally applauded, Manish Vatssalya’s directorial Hindi Film “Scotland” which has already made it to the prestigious list of Indian films. True to its promise to deliver a bouquet of unreleased Bollywood and regional films, ShemarooMe Box Office has witnessed immense popularity with its initial release My Client’s Wife, and now is back with its second release – Scotland.

Scotland is a story of a wronged father deciding to get back at four criminals who rape his daughter; the film is inspired from real incidents that keep popping up in newspapers. It holds a mirror in front of society by confronting us with the heartbreaking reality of violent crimes against women in the country. The intense thriller has already won hearts of many film buffs With ShemarooMe Box Office; it finally makes its much awaited debut on Indian screens. The movie also holds a special mention since the background score and songs have been sung by the multi-talented, Arijit Singh.

“It was indeed an honor to make a film with a socially relevant message. To find it standing among Hollywood as well as foreign cinema’s best just swells the team with pride”, reveals director Manish Vatssalya. He adds, “I am glad that the audience will be able to watch our film through an incredible platform such as ShemarooMe Box Office. The lockdown is pushing us to become a digital universe and ShemarooMe Box Office is the right initiative for the era we are moving towards”.

Scotland features a troupe of fresh faces like Khushboo Purohit, a much-celebrated former contestant of popular reality show Dance India Dance and Chetan Pandit, known for his commendable work in movies like A Wednesday and Dilwale. The movie Scotland also stars director Manish Vatssalya himself. In a unique casting coup, the makers even discovered Adam Saini, an ex-Scottish cop making his debut in the Indo-UK production.

Adam Saini has snagged 11 best actor awards in various festivals for his role. “As a common man, catching the eye of a director was a fairytale chance. Manish made me very comfortable in front of the camera, so much so that I never felt I was acting”, shares the newcomer. On his film premiering on ShemarooMe Box Office, he says, “I’m a huge buff of watching films and shows online; and it seems destined that Scotland finds a home at ShemarooMe Box Office, thus guaranteed an audience that appreciates top quality cinema”.

Earlier, ShemarooMe Box Office had streamed Sharib Hashmi starrer “My Client’s Wife”. The film sparked immensely positive word of mouth on social media. If the buzz around Scotland is anything to go by, ShemarooMe surely has another winner on its hands. The platform has managed to strike the right chord among audiences, with more and more netizens swearing by the portal.

Scotland is produced by Zainia Ibourek and Manish Vatssalya  starring Khushboo Purohit, Manish Vatssalya, Chetan Pandit, Adam Saini and Daya Shankar Pandey releases on ShemarooMe Box Office on the 7th of August 2020. Tickets can be booked on the ShemarooMe app and website as well as on BookMyShow.

Latest News

Karan Aanand shares BTS picture from sets of upcoming film ‘It’s Over’

Leave a comment

Bollywood actor Karan Aanand was last seen in a short film named ‘Aaina’ during the lockdown. The movie got a great response from the audience. The actor is on a spree of sharing behind-the-scene (BTS) pictures and videos from the sets of his films. Recently, he shared a BTS picture from the sets of his upcoming film ‘It’s Over’. In the picture, Karan Aanand is seen with his beautiful actress Swapna Pati.

Movie’s story is based on lockdown, where there is a situation when an aspiring director and struggling actress got stuck on a resort of Lonavala. Karan Aanand is playing the lead role as director and Swapna Pati is playing the role of a struggling actress. The film is directed and produced by Rajesh Kumar Mohanty. Today, he took to Instagram to share BTS picture while he was shooting scenes for the film.

Marathi Films & TV

PHULRANI – A mesmerizing Love Story

Leave a comment

Till date, there have been a number of adaptations of the play “Pygmalion” written by the legendary and gifted author, Sir George Bernard Shaw. “My Fair Lady” has been by far the most acclaimed adaptation of Pygmalion. Yet another adaptation of “Pygmalion”, the film named ‘Phulrani – an unforgettable love story’ will hit the Marathi silver screen in the year 2021.

Writing of Phulrani is done by Mr. Vishwas Joshi and Mr. Guru Thakur. The film Phulrani shall be in a totally different form with contemporary references. Though the names of the artists have not been disclosed yet, Phulrani shall present a mesmerizing manifestation of romance, says director Vishwas Joshi.

The film will be embellished by the versatile music director Nilesh Mohrir, who shall make the contemporary compositions suitable for the spirit of the film. This film shall be presented by Fincraft Media & Entertainment and will hit the floor by late 2020 for the release in 2021. After the success of his film ‘what’s Up Lagna’, director Vishwas Joshi is confident that the film Phulrani will exceed the expectations of the viewers.

The viewers can expect something different and after the grand success of ‘Natsamrat’, ‘What’s Up Lagna’ and the soon to be released film, ‘Ghe Double’.    

Latest News

‘Maesha Soi’ is the best gift I could get: Dinesh Sudarshan Soi

Leave a comment

We all love to know about celebrities’ life, Right?  And when arguably the biggest Casting Director and renowned director in the entertainment industry becomes daddy of a beautiful daughter, definitely the news becomes more interesting for us. Yes! You heard it right, Famous Casting Director -turned Director Dinesh Sudarshan Soi has been blessed with a little baby girl who has been named “Maesha Soi’’. No doubt this name is lovely, feminine sounding, and super sweet like her newborn adorable daughter.

The Star Director is now also a proud father and is completely overjoyed and feels like the luckiest father in the world. He made it official via a post on Instagram along with a super sweet caption about the arrival of her little angel. Looks like Dinesh Sudarshan Soi and his dotting wife Sonia Malhotra Soi aren’t yet done brimming with energy and overflowing with joy on the birth of their precious daughter. The duo shared Maesha’s fresh pictures and fans, well-wishers went completely gaga over it. Some comments read ‘Like father, like daughter’ and it fits accurately as cutey Maesha Soi’s social media accounts are flooded with likes and cute comments. No doubt, this cute baby girl is gaining popularity like her father Dinesh Sudarshan Soi and at this young age her Social media accounts are being handled by Digital expert Sahil Gahalyan.

Dinesh Sudarshan Soi’s Instagram caption read, of all the titles I have been privileged to have, ‘Dad’ is the best! He is now ready to sit back and think about taking more new responsibilities as a loving father.

Talking about Dinesh Sudarshan Soi, from his successful transition to different creative ventures, he truly sealed his career in the big league both as a Casting Director and Director, and with numerous titles and awards to his credit, like Dadasaheb Phalke Icon Award Films in Best Casting Director Category, Top Contributor’s Trophy from IMDB’s CEO Col Needham, Best Debutant Director Award at 6th Darshnik Mumbai Press Media Award and many more, Dinesh Soi rapidly found a footing in the industry and is still going strong. Well back to the little princess Maesha Soi, we can’t deny she is glowing from head to toe and is totally angelic.

Latest News

Is staying silent being a part of the problem?: Ankur Rathee

Leave a comment

Actor Ankur Rathee who we best remember for his diverse roles as Arjun Nair in Four More shots please, Karan Sandhu in Thappad and Abhiraj Mukherjee in Hello Mini, is  enjoying the success of his new release Undekhi on Sony Liv. Within weeks of the release, Undekhi has been getting positive reviews and Ankur has impressed the audiences and critics again with his performance. Ankur plays an ensemble lead role (Daman) in SonyLiv’s Original series Undekhi. Produced by Applause Entertainment & Edgestorm Ventures, Undekhi is a crime thriller which was extensively shot in Manali. The story is based on true incidents and depicts two opposing classes of society-  the power-drunk influential people who think they can get away with anything and the oppressed, subjected to years of torture, who finally decide to fight  for justice. 

Talking about the impact of the show Ankur feels, in a time when injustices are rampant, ‘Undekhi’ asks some very poignant and relevant questions. He said, “In our very hierarchical Indian society, demarcated by gender, wealth, sexual orientation, caste, and color, we all know where we stand more or less. For those of us higher on that social hierarchy, we might not feel comfortable admitting the comforts and privileges we enjoy while the poor and downtrodden are victim to countless injustices. Do we fight for their human rights or do we largely ignore their suffering because it’s far more convenient to live in our ignorance. In the show, my character, Daman, made me ask a very uncomfortable question of myself: Is staying silent being a part of the problem? Here you have a character whose father has committed a heinous crime. He always knew his family acquired its fortune through criminal means, but he deliberately chose not to look too closely, afraid of what he might find. However, when a woman is shot before his very eyes, he cannot unseen it. Should he protect his father or condemn him? The truth is dangerous enough to blow up his life and jeopardize his marriage. His lies might prove more fatal. Daman’s inability to navigate his moral dilemma is not too different from our very own. Today we are so bombarded with the injustices happening in our very own communities, yet many of us choose to turn a blind eye. What is the cost to humanity when we leave something “undekhi”?”

Further talking about his character helping him in real life, Ankur said, “Playing Daman has helped me see a lot of the advantages this unfair system affords me. Every time I witness sexism, racism, police brutality, or religious discrimination, my inaction becomes support for the prejudice and inhumanity. Daman made me question my moral obligation to the truth even when it’s most inconvenient. I am trying, failing, and trying again. No one promised standing for what is right would be easy.”

The series is helmed by Siddharth Sengupta who has had a long career in Television which includes top line titles like Balika Vadhu.

Bengali, Other Language Films

Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s Muktodhara completes eight glorified years

Leave a comment

With the pandemic outbreak, we have been hooked to our mobile and laptop screens, binge-watching series and films. All the big banner films are going for digital release. We can find our favourite movie at our fingertips. Our love for the ‘blast from the past’ movies has not decreased either.  Some films from the past are worth reliving. Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee’s Muktodhara is one such film.

The director duo is known for their successful movies and for telling stories in the most inspiring way possible. One of their early films, “Mukhtodhara” had hit the big screen on 3rd August 2012. The film had Rituparna Sengupta and Gotro’s leading man, Nigel Akkara, in the lead. Shiboprosad Mukherjee also played the part of a jail inmate. It is the first film in the history of Indian cinema to be made on culture therapy. Nigel Akkara, who debuted in Muktodhara, is an ex-convict and went through culture therapy. He played the lead role of a convict going through cultural therapy quite impeccably. Culture therapy talks about the tiny streak of hope, positivity amidst the negative situations that the prisoners face. The therapy, which brought a complete metamorphosis in the convicts and enabled them to alter their lives altogether, was the most crucial part of the film. Culture therapy was initially started by then IPS B.D.Sharma in West Bengal. Dancer Alokananda Roy assisted him. They successfully instilled change in many convicts. Later the court released the convicts on the grounds of goodwill and conduct.

The film had created history and was a big hit during its time.  Nandita-Shiboprosad’s Mukhtodhara set a new benchmark for films and the film received an overwhelming response from the audience. The film completes eight glorified years and still has the same impact on us every time we see it.

TV

Riya Sharma to play the leading role in COLORS’ upcoming show Pinjara Khoobsurti Ka

Leave a comment

Beauty may seem like a boon, but at times, it may end up being the only scale by which you are judged by society. When this happens, a person may feel as if they were trapped in a cage and there is no way out. Taking off from this thought, COLORS will be strengthening its content line-up with a unique story about a beautiful girl Mayura, whose outer beauty becomes a trap for her. Titled Pinjara Khoobsurti Ka.., the upcoming show will surely strike a chord with the viewers.

Actress Riya Sharma will play the leading role as Mayura in the show. Talking about being cast as Mayura, an excited Riya said, “I am thrilled to be a part of COLORS’ latest show Pinjara Khoobsurti Ka. The concept of the show is unique, and I believe that viewers will love it. My character Mayura is written amazingly and I love my look in the show. I am glad that we are all back after the lockdown and are resuming work. I also want to thank COLORS for yet again bringing forth a path-breaking content. I look forward to starting this beautiful journey.”