Actors Imran Khan and Kangana Ranaut will be paired together in Katti Batti, a love story to be directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by UTV Motion Pictures.
Kangana, who will be seen as Payal in the film, says that the story will strike a chord with the new generation.
“Writers have used elements like the battle of the sexes, issues of urban couples, expanded truth and non-linear narrative. We have UTV as the producers and I have worked with them in Fashion and Life in a Metro, two of my most memorable films,” Kangana said in a statement here.
Imran, who will be essaying the role of Maddy, is eagerly waiting to start shooting for the film.
“My last outing with UTV was Delhi Belly and we have worked together on many films like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, I Hate Luv Storys and Ek Main aur Ekk Tu. We hope to recreate the magic with Katti Batti. Nikhil is a great story teller and Kangana is one of the finest actors of our generation,” Imran said.
STORY: A director’s movie is inspired by a thief’s character; but when reality and fiction collide – his story takes an unexpected turn.
REVIEW: Get ready to go on a ‘trip’. This one’s rolled up in celluloid – with all the kaleidoscopic colours and hues associated with it. Roy takes you on an orgasm of the imagination, and gives you a treat of visual delight – with all things good-looking.
Varun Dhawan’s astonishing transformation form as lover boy in Student Of The Year to a revenge thirsty man in Badlapur has shocked one and all. The role certainly wasn’t a cake walk for the actor as it drained him completely forcing him into depression.
The role sent him to morgue, a prison which housed serial-killers, and an ICU which led to depression. The actor who though he was the most unfit candidate for the role, says he was terrified by Badlapur’s story but still wanted to do it. The only question he asked Sriram Raghavan was, ‘Why me?’ the director retorted, “Because you have innocent eyes, something my character needs.”
From left: Award winners Roma Sur and Jessica McGaugh of The Golden Hour; Nandita and Parvathaneni Harish; Sutapa Ghosh; Charles Foster; Omana and Sam Abraham and actor Ajay Gehi standing in for The Good Road director Gyan Correa. Photo: Krishna Giri
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: After screening its run of movies over the last four years at the Studio Movie Grill in City Centre, the Indian Film Festival of Houston shifted its venue this year to the Asia Society on Southmore in the Museum District. Both Festival Founder and Director Sutapa Ghosh and Asia Society Houston Chairman Charles Foster were at hand for the three day long festival (October 4 through 6) which concluded with Awards Ceremony this past Sunday, October 6.
Actor Ajay Gehi of The Good Road (second from left) and his wife with Carolyn Farb (center) and other guests.
Foster and Ghosh had expressed their delight at the alliance which brought another artistic event celebrating Asian culture to the Society’s minimalist but elegant building and exposed the art of Indian filmmaking (which is celebrating its 100th year) to those who appreciate Asian life. Out of a crowded filed of films submitted for the festival, seven made the cut and were screened in the Society’s Auditorium over the three days.
From left: Lily and Charles Foster, Omana Abraham, Mrs. Lam, Sam Abraham and Henry Lam at the reception. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra
These selections were three feature films – Goynar Baksho (The Jewelry Box) by Aparna Sen, The Good Road by Gyan Correa and Celluloid by Kamaluddin Mohammed; two short films – Silvatein by Arati Raval Pandey and Afterglow by Kaushal Oza and two documentaries – The Golden Hour by Jessica McGaugh and Roma Sur and When Hari Got Married by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam.
Sutapa Ghosh with Chef Sunil Srivastava with the appetizers served at the event.
The Awards Ceremony at the Society’s Auditorium was preceded by a VIP cocktail reception in the lobby area where over 120 guests and local celebrities mingled over appetizers catered by the Great W’kana Cafe, whose chef and owner, Sunil Srivastava was on hand to supervise his staff as they handed out quarter plates of delicacies to lined up guests.
The affair was decidedly less glamorous than the red carpet, black-tie and star-studded ceremony of last year. The chief guest, Calcutta-based director Aparna Sen, had to bow out at the last minute due to illness but the actor Ajay Gehi of The Good Road was on-hand, as was one of the festival’s perennial supporters, Houston socialite Carolyn Farb dressed, as usual, in resplendent finery and a colorful salwar-kameez.
Emceeing the event this year were KRIV TV Channel 26 long time news anchor Jose Grinan dressed in a aquamarine embroidered sherwani coupled with the much younger news reporter Rashi Vats who has moved two months ago to 26 from KBTX 3 in Bryan/College Station. Vats is the daughter of long time Houstonian Raj Vats and was born in the Bayou City. The entire Vats clan, including Rashi’s fiancé Daniel Gotera who is a sports reporter for KHOU TV Channel 11, and his parents.
Grinan shared his depth of knowledge of the Houston scene to move the ceremony along through its paces, at times drifting into long narratives of his own personal experiences. Indian Consul General Parvathaneni Harish, who has been an ardent supporter of this year’s festival, spoke about the landmark shift in moving to the Asia Society. He commented on the impact of the Indian cinema which “portrays life in India, not a caricature or stereotype”.
Ghosh expressed her thanks for the support of the festival-goers especially given the steep learning curve in her difficult year as Festival Director. “Now in its fifth year, my vision of the festival has become a reality,” she said. She acknowledged Foster’s support and added that “our mission is to build a first class festival for Houston”, though it is “challenging, often maddening, not easy, but the show must go on”. Ghosh disclosed that, starting next year, the festival would give out scholarships to students in mass communications and film.
As in previous years, performers from Rhythm India, the local dance company provided entertainment in three short numbers encompassing a medley of Bollywood songs, during breaks between the awards presentations, with Company Director Arzan Gonda dancing in the last one. The awards for best documentary went to The Golden Hour with directors Jessica McGaugh and Roma Sur onstage to accept. Best Short Film went to Afterglow with Drew Wilson accepting for the director Kaushal Oza who could not attend.
Best Feature Film went to The Good Road with Ajay Gehi accepting for director Gyan Correa. Ghosh was delighted that the film had been nominated for the Oscars next year and Gehi encouraged everyone to lobby through social media and personal contacts for the film to win.
Other Awards presented were for Philanthropy, going to Sam and Omana Abraham who have stood by the growth of the festival since it began and for Leadership to Charles Foster, who quipped that he may have won since his wife Lily had made 20 films in China years ago.
The ceremony and the evening ended with a raffle drawing for round-trip tickets on Etihad Airlines, the new upstart airline from Abu Dhabi, whose Dallas-Based Manager Ken Bapu made the presentations. By luck of the draw, IFFH Director Amey Prakash won two economy class tickets and Sutapa’s husband Atul won the business class ticket.
Ash Shah, the Executive Producer of the new movie Benoy, Badal, Dennis
By Manu Shah
HOUSTON: The 46th Annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival will premiere 150 new Feature and Short Indie Films at the AMC Studio 30 on Dunvale starting this weekend from April 12 through 21. This year, one of the entries – Binoy, Badal, Dennis, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Jimmy Shergil, K.K. Menon, Shauvik Kundagrami and Sandhya Mridul (showing on Thursday, April 18) has a very special Bayou City connection. The Executive Producer for the movie is none other than a well-known Houston entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, Ash Shah.
As one of the financiers of the $2 million budget film, Shah’s is candid about the fact that this is a commercial film and they do hope to make money but he also shares his excitement about helping bring good movies to the silver screen.
An avid movie buff, Shah’s admits flirting with the idea of getting into the movie business for a while now. A meeting with Director Anjan Dutta a few years ago in Houston sparked his interest in Anjan’s narration of a possible story for a movie. A few lively discussions followed, ideas were swapped, suggestions were seriously considered and Ash made up his mind to finance the movie. The fact that Naseeruddin Shah had been roped in to play the pivotal role of a corrupt politician was but icing on the cake.
The storyline deals with three men, Binoy, Badal and Dennis, who decide to right a wrong done to them by a manipulative politician. The idea of angry young men taking the law into their own hands is not a new one but what makes BBD different, according to Shah, is that the three protagonists are not aware of each other until the very end. The storyline has historical echoes of three lesser-known freedom fighters, Binoy, Badal and Dinesh who had plotted against General Dyer for the Jallianwala bagh tragedy. A social message about communal harmony is also interwoven in the 118 minute long movie.
Shah is the Managing Director of Impex International, a $28 million company that manufactures a wide range of plastic films for many brands. He has also dabbled in several other businesses along the way, and divested them when the opportunity was right. He and his wife Leena are active in several charitable organizations like Akshay Patra and Pratham, and donate generously. They are a down-to-earth couple who greet you with a warm and friendly hello.
Shah describes his first foray in the movie industry as an “overwhelming and emotional” experience. While not totally unaware of what it entailed, he still describes it as an eye opener to see the amount of forethought, preparation and time spent behind the scenes to bring it all together in three short hours before a demanding audience.
Asked to name five favorite movies, Shah quickly rattled off Titanic, Mohabaatein, Sixth Sense, Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam as his all-time favorites. He laughingly admits to a strong streak of romanticism and is looking forward to landing a role in his next movie venture. Clearly, it’s not just the “bottom line” that interests this businessman; it’s also about having fun along the way!
