Pro Tools
FILMFESTIVALS | 24/7 world wide coverage
Welcome !
Enjoy the best of both worlds: Film & Festival News, exploring the best of the film festivals community.
Launched in 1995, relentlessly connecting films to festivals, documenting and promoting festivals worldwide.
Working on an upgrade soon.
For collaboration, editorial contributions, or publicity, please send us an email here.
|
IFFI 53, 2022, 01: FTII, NFDC and ESG to offer free courses to persons with disabilities
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, under its Centre for Open Learning (CFOL) initiative, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) have announced two free courses for persons with disabilities as part of the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India, scheduled to be held from November 20 to 28, in Panaji, Goa. A basic course in smartph...
Global Desi Records launched with Chhori, featuring Tanmay Ssingh and Nikki Tamboli
Global Desi Records launched their label with a track called Chhori (meaning Girl, in dialect), featuring Nikki Tamboli of Bigg Boss fame, who is a fashion icon and a supremely talented actress, and popular actor Tanmay Ssingh, marking their first on-screen collaboration.
The song is written and composed by Danish Sabri, who has written the music and lyrics for several Salman Khan and Varun Dhawan movies. It ...
Uunchai, Review: Plateau
Rajshri Productions have a tradition of making family oriented subjects and shaping them into very lengthy films. By comparison, Uunchai, at 169 minutes, is a short film. Even at that length, it fails to reach the heights that the cast and the director promise. With no less an actor than Amitabh Bachchan himself heading the cast, Uunchai (height; spelt unconventionally, this was instead of the phonetic, Oonchai) was expected to reach some dizzy heights, with a s...
Armaan Malik and Vedika Pinto croon and swoon to Rochak Kohli’s tune for T-Series’ ‘Bas Tujhse Pyaar Ho’
Multi-platinum singer Armaan Malik has released yet another collaboration with Bhushan Kumar of T Series, titled ‘Bas Tujhse Pyaar Ho’. The ‘prince of sonorous romance’ teams up with composer Rochak Kohli for the first time, to bring the lyrics, penned by Kumaar, to life. The soft and soulful love ballad features Malik and Vedika Pinto in th...
Book Review, Rebuild, by Ramya Ramamurthy, published by Hachette: Keep your brand crisis playbook handy
What is your brand? Colas, chocolate, multi-national brands, private taxis, airlines, cricket, computers, chit fund, internet shopping site, automobiles, mobile phones, pharmaceuticals, photographic film and cameras, brand store, bookstore, social network, alcohol, machine tools and watches? Whatever your brand, you will never know when a crisis might hit you, as it did brands in all the ab...
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Review: Ada-girl Harris, the Dior dress is your dress
If Mr. Deeds could go to Town and Mr. Smith could go to Washington, what prevents Mrs. Harris from going to Paris? Mr. Deeds Goes to Town was made in 1936, and was a comedy romance-drama, while Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) was a political comedy. Both were American films, directed by the legendary Frank Capra. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022, but set in 1957), which has a cute inbuilt rhyme in its title, i...
Mili, Review: Chilly
A remake it is. And an ideal vehicle to draw boundless sympathy from audiences for the lead actress, Janhvi Kapoor. For who would not root for a girl locked in a freezer chamber and subjected to temperatures of -12 degrees to -18 degrees Celsius? What if hypothermia sets in, and she freezes to death? No chance. Mili is producer Boney Kapoor’s mini Titanic tale, minus the boy, and killing her would be like committing suicide. So, once the premise of a girl battling s...
Double XL, Review: Dreams double XL, reality check less than M
What happens when two ambitious women, of XL size, meet, after their dreams are all but shattered? They help each other and everything becomes alright. Exactly. That is the trouble with Double XL…it is so predictable. Moreover, there is considerable difference in the sizes of Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureishi, with Sonakshi appearing to be L against Huma’s definite XL, maybe even XXL. They needed someone on par with H...
Palyad, Preview: Funeral rites and funereal duties
Marathi language film Palyad, meaning ‘The Other Side’, is releasing tomorrow.
Almost all Hindus cremate their dead by burning them on a funeral pyre. Some have access to electric crematoria, and the rites are therefore less disturbing, visually. To perform these rites, in some Maharashtrian villages, there are certain designated persons. They do nearly everything after the body is brought to the site, after a generous helping of...
Bengaluru’s Suchitra Film Society celebrates 50 years, releases book by Aruna Rajé Patil
Suchitra Film Society (SFS) organised a Film Festival in collaboration with the Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) and Surana College. The festival was formally inaugurated on 15 October, by watering a potted plant by the Principal of Surana College, D.N.S. Kumar, and Principal of PU College, Chandrashekharappa, in the presence of the President and Secretary of SFS, Suresha B. and D...
Puranjay Khanna’s debut book of poems, Second Star, released on his birthday
For many a literate person, reading was a lifeline throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. With the world on pause, many found themselves reading more than ever. While pandemic led to increased readership, it also gave rise to many writers. One among them is a young lad, Puranjay Khanna, whose debut book, titled Second Star got released yesterday, in the presence of renowned dignitaries, at the Taj Land’s End H...
Cinematography Art, Review: A magazine for the learned and the learners
At the Broadcast India exhibition, held at the Jio World Convention Centre, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, October 13-15, I chanced upon a stall that displayed several issues a magazine and a large poster of a film school. The film school was named Craft, while the magazine was called Cinematography Art. Art and Craft co-existing. Inquiries revealed that the two ventures are run by Naresh Sharma, who is known to me, as a c...
FIPRESCI’s Top Ten Indian films of all time includes two Satyajit Ray movies
FIPRESCI-India (India chapter of the International Federation of Film Critics:
FIPRESCI) conducted a secret poll for making a list of the All Time Ten Best Indian
Films. 30 Members of FIPRESCI-India voted in confidence and on the basis of
maximum number of votes polled in favour of the films the following list was
declared officially:
ALL TIME TEN BEST INDIAN FILMS:
1. Pather Panchali (Song of the Littl...
High Tide, Review: Time and tide wait for one
There was a film in which the main character is a psychopath who buries his victims alive. This was a European film, probably Austrian, that sent several chills down my spine when I saw it several decades ago. High Tide uses that basic premise, but builds an entirely new take around it. Three-quarters of the film are located in a box, the size of a large coffin, with a man trapped there. His plight evokes instant sympathy, for he has done nothing ...
Uunchai trailer launch: Heightened expectations
Uunchai is not about family. It is about friendship. How far will you go to fulfill the last wish of a dear friend? Mount Everest? There can be no greater Uunchai (Height) on earth, and never mind the spelling. Should be Oonchai, but I guess numerology dictated the changed spelling. Numerology again seems to be at play in choosing the release date: 11-11-22. But two factors have kindled keen interest in the film: firstly, the return of Amitabh B...
Phone Bhoot ghost shoots a mockumentary
The trailer of Phone Bhoot, the comedy horror film that is scheduled for release on 04 November, was trending continuously for 24 hours on YouTube. Taking ahead their constant efforts of building anticipation, the makers dropped a fun promo of a mockumentary, a few days back, and now they are finally here with the full video.
As we see the full video now, we notice the actors indulging in hilarious banter and enjoying taking a dig at each other. The ch...
MISMFF 2022, 07: Prize winners
A Special Mention went to Esmeralda (Mexico)
A Special Prize went to
“The Iron Digger” (Nepal)
For the masterful Cinematography and the director’s respectful attitude towards the theme.
A Special Prize went to “Preparation” (Georgia)
For the minimalistic yet very empathic portrayal of a family relationship.
The Best Short Film Award went to “Jesus Bird” (Georgia)
For the humorous, modern interpretati...
Kahani Rubber Band Ki, Review: Precaution first, protection afterwards
No, it is not the story of a rubber band. The term is used as a euphemism for something that was known as French Leather in the latter part of the twentieth century. Towards the end of the twentieth century and till now, the term ‘protection’ has taken its place. It appears from the film, set in Varanasi, that in towns and Tier III (small) towns at least, men are still shy about saying the word “condom&rd...
Doctor G, review: A 124-minute operation, performed by a novice
G in the title could stand for ‘jee’, a suffix denoting respect, or for gynæcology. Neither is moniker material, so why title your film Doctor G? Because the protagonist is a male student of medicine and has his heart set on orthopædic studies and practice, but no seats are available in that branch of study and the only option is gynæcology. Pray, why the reluctance to study gynæcology? B...
Kantara, review: Dispossessing the 'possessed'
Kantara is about conflict. Conflict between nature and human beings. Conflict between landlords and their subjects. Between Forest Officers and villagers using forest resources for subsistence. Between two powerful and major landlords. Between humans and ‘possessed-by-deities’ humans. Between humans and wild beasts. Between a mother and her son. Between a hero and his nemesis. Between a film and its audience. Yes, a film and i...
Aye Zindagi, Review: Goodness of human beings, greatness of cinema
A very touchy, sensitive and polarising subject, Aye Zindagi (O Life) hits the right chords and sticks diligently to its theme and thrust. Based on an “incredible” true story, the film comes across as honest and well-crafted. One can feel emotions similar to those evoked by Anand, made 50 years ago, and Safar, before it, but, though both starred the new star on the horizon, Rajesh Khanna, both were works of fiction...
Phone Bhoot trailer launch: Horrorlarius
Ever since the audience saw the first poster of Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Ishaan Khattar starrer Phone Bhoot, they were eagerly waiting to get more glimpses of the film. Their wait is over: the trailer of this most awaited comedy of horrors was launched on 10 October at the PVR multiplex, Juhu, Mumbai.
Phone Bhoot is a title most likely chosen as a pun on the word Phone Booth, and has been in the news for some time now, because superstar ...
Trailer launch of 1st Marathi multilingual film Har Har Mahadev: 300 against 12,000
ZEE Studios' released the trailer of their upcoming film Har Har Mahadev on 10 October at the PVR Cinemas, Juhu, Mumbai. The film is the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (King Shivaji), from the point of view of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, who was initially an opponent, but joined ranks with Shivaji later on. The trailer is trending high in the Tamil and Telugu versions. Har Har Mahadev (a battle cry among ...
Janpath Kiss, play review: Kiss and miss
Staged in testing circumstances, Janpath Kiss, a full-length play in Hindustani, provided its share of laughs and satirical commentary on the contemporary socio-legal scene in India, particularly New Delhi. With a huge cast and three musicians seated on stage, it appeared to be under-rehearsed and a bit longer than necessary, considering there was no intermission or act division. Showing patches of imaginative theatrical ideas, it started on the wrong ...
Ticket to Paradise, Review: Destination rom-com that loses track of both the rom and the com
When you have actors of the calibre of Julia Roberts and George Clooney on board, you can pretty much get them to do anything. And when you ask them to deliver motor-mouth dialogue, full of love-hate content, it becomes a long spat that is occasionally funny but, at times, unfortunately, predictable. Pretty Woman Julia and Batman (1997) George have a ball, as do the co-actors, for most of the action i...
|
About Siraj Syed
 Syed Siraj
(Siraj Associates)
Siraj Syed is a film-critic since 1970 and a Former President of the Freelance Film Journalists' Combine of India.
He is the India Correspondent of FilmFestivals.com and a member of FIPRESCI, the international Federation of Film Critics, Munich, Germany
Siraj Syed has contributed over 1,015 articles on cinema, international film festivals, conventions, exhibitions, etc., most recently, at IFFI (Goa), MIFF (Mumbai), MFF/MAMI (Mumbai) and CommunicAsia (Singapore). He often edits film festival daily bulletins.
He is also an actor and a dubbing artiste. Further, he has been teaching media, acting and dubbing at over 30 institutes in India and Singapore, since 1984.
Bandra West, Mumbai India View my profileSend me a message
|
