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By Khushi Jain

A police noir set in the black and bribable nights of Mumbai, Anurag Kashyap's 27th feature “Kennedy” is a shoddy portrait of a cop turned contract killer. Premiering at a Midnight Screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the film is Kashyap's hasty pandemic project that would have greatly benefitted from some ruthless rewriting and nuanced acting.

Kennedy is screening at Cannes Official poster – 76th edition © Photo © Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Scoop – Création graphique © Hartland Villa

Uday Shetty a.k.a. ‘Kennedy' (Rahul Bhat) is an ex-cop, deceased on paper, now working as a hitman for probably the most corrupt police chief of them all, Rasheed (Mohit Takalkar), who capitalizes on this walking-dead-ness, making Kennedy clean all his messes. And thus, Kennedy wanders the roads of Mumbai at the height of the pandemic killing people left, right and center. This blunderous mixture of tragic anti-hero and...

Uday Shetty is an angry man, consumed by his desire to kill the man who killed his son. Actually, Shetty has an appetite for killing in general that shocks even his fellow police officers, whose own methods are unnervingly direct. They all appreciate the efficiency of simply tipping criminals, or those who fail to pay protection money, into the river – it saves time – but only Uday Shetty rhapsodizes about the wonderful moment when you see a victim die and the light in his eyes turns off, as if you had flicked a switch. Only Uday Shetty goes to shake down an uncooperatively honest politician and ends up massacring his entire family. “No witnesses!” Shetty says abruptly, when the chief accuses him of being a monster. No witnesses indeed.

The curious twist in Anurag Kashyap’s Cannes Film Festival Midnight selection Kennedy is that Uday Shetty is not supposed to exist.

It’s 11 years since Anurag Kashyap’s electrifying five-hour crime opus “Gangs of Wasseypur” jolted Cannes audiences, triggering renewed global interest in Indian genre cinema and vaulting Kashyap to auteur status with several subsequent films granted A-list festival premiere status — even if none quite matched his breakout feature for ambition or execution. Following a run of lower-profile potboilers in a range of genres that saw him through the pandemic era, Kashyap’s elaborately conceived, brashly violent policier “Kennedy” aims to return him to the art-pulp elite, starting with an obliging premiere slot in Cannes’ Midnight section.

The result is a declarative but somewhat disappointing return to underworld territory. Enlivened by some propulsive action, a hip-hop-inflected song score and a combative streak of anti-institutional protest — in a Covid-era context that proves one of the script’s more interesting specifics — “Kennedy” is ultimately weighed down by hit-or-miss performances and convoluted plotting that...

Coming from the house of Zee Studios and Good Bad Films, ‘Kennedy’ is essentially a police noir film, by Anurag Kashyap. The film revolves around an insomniac ex-cop, long thought to be dead, but still operating for the corrupt system, and looking for redemption. The film stars Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in the lead roles and has been selected for a Midnight Screening at Cannes Film Festival 2023.

While announcing the film, Shariq Patel, Cbo, Zee Studios said, “It’s always a creatively enriching experience collaborating with Anurag Kashyap. With Kennedy, we are reaffirming our commitment to conveying Indian stories globally. We are thrilled that this film happens to be the only Indian film premiering at the 76th edition of Festival De Cannes.”

Director Anurag Kashyap also added, “It’s a film and genre I always wanted to explore. It’s more polar than noir, inspired by crime writing of...

India’s Platoon One Films, co-producers of Berlin Film Festival Panorama strand title “Ghaath” (“Ambush”), has seven films in the works.

Four films are in advanced development. Police procedural “Bayan” by Bikas Mishra (“Chauranga”) was developed at Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program in Los Angeles and the film is supported by the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund.

Drama “Kadminche,” the feature directorial debut of Tushar Paranjape, writer of Berlin Crystal Bear winner “Killa,” has Rinku Rajguru (“Sairat”) attached to star. Action fantasy film “Don’t Sleep” will mark the Hindi-language debut of Arun Bose (Malayalam-language “Luca”). And Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha, creators of series “Candy” for Viacom18 streamer Voot Select, will make their feature directorial debut with psychological thriller “Influenzaa.”

Three films are currently in post-production. India-set Hindi-language social drama “Bhagwan Bharose” (“For Heaven’s Sake”) marks the directorial debut of Platoon One founder Shiladitya Bora.

Marathi-language Indian romance film “Toh, Ti ani Fuji” will start principal photography across across India and Japan from September.

The film, written by Irawati Karnik (“Anandi Gopal”) and to be directed by Mohit Takalkar (“Medium Spicy”), revolves around a passionate love affair that turns toxic due to a change in priorities, opposite personality traits and unfair demands. When the former couple unexpectedly meet in Japan seven years later, the relationship could be rekindled. Lalit Prabhakar and Mrinmayee Godbole, who starred together in 2017 blockbuster “Chi Va Chi Sau Ka,” have been paired again for this film.

The film is produced by Shiladitya Bora for Platoon One Films (Busan selection “Yours Truly”) and for Crazy Ants Production, Rakesh Varre, who previously produced “Evvarikee Cheppoddu” and has acted in “Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.”

Bora said: “The genesis of the film started with my stint at the Kyoto Filmmakers’ Lab in 2019, where I got...

This country?s relationship with theatre has been much like a classic tale of love: a pot pourri of emotions, melodrama, humour and romance. It started way back as a purely narrative driven form and gradually moved on to our folk dances and music. Live entertainment gradually evolved from the real to the reel, the stage to the screen. But then there were those struggling to keep the spark alive with their grand visions of raw theatrical beauty.

One such promoter of the cause is Aadyam - a theatre initiative on a quest to initiate the uninitiated. A product of love and passion for the arts, this initiative is back for its fifth season with a commitment to grandeur and series of performances, unparalleled to anything seen before.

Since its inception in 2015, Aadyam has been breathing life into scripts, ideas and artistic visions. Plays with big production value and colourful...

Mira Nair-produced Three And A Half and Amitav Kaul’s Interpreter Of Maladies are among the 32 projects selected for the Co-production Market of this year’s Film Bazaar (Nov 20-24) in Goa, India.

Three And A Half will be directed by Mira Nair’s long-time collaborator Sooni Taraporewala, while Interpreter Of Maladies is based on Pultizer Prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story.

Organised by India’s National Film Development Corp (Nfdc), the co-production market has previously selected projects such as Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, Kanu Behl’s Cannes title Titli and Chaitanya Tamhane’s recent Venice winner Court. This year’s selection comprises 18 projects from India and 14 from overseas.

The Indian line-up also includes six projects previously selected for Nfdc Screenwriters Lab, such as Aamir Bashir’s Winter and The Boyfriend from Vidur Nauriyal and Ashim Ahluwalia.

The international line-up includes two projects from the Us, two from Sri Lanka and projects from Pakistan, Afghanistan...

The National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) announced thirty-two projects selected for the Co-Production Market to be held during Film Bazaar in Goa from November 20-24, 2014.

The lineup includes 18 Indian and 14 international projects. The international projects include two films from the Us, two from Sri Lanka, a film from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Norway, France, Germany, Singapore and United Kingdom each and an Ifp project which is selected through Nfdc collaboration with Independent Filmmaker Project, USA.

Indian projects:

• By/Two – Directed by Devashish Makhija and produced by Dutta Dave

• The School – Directed by Suchita Bhhatia and produced by Vivek Kajaria

• Blossoms (Pallavi)- Directed and produced by Nila Madhab Panda

• Nuclear Hearts – Directed by Bornila Chatterjee and produced by Tanaji Dasgupta

• Seven (Saat)- Directed by Ashish Bende and produced by Suhrud Godbole

• Medium Spicy – Directed by Mohit Takalkar and produced by Nikhil Mahajan

• The Invisible One – Directed by Amit Datta...

Nfdc Film Bazaar is calling for entries for its Industry Screening Program. The screenings will be organised at Film Bazaar to be held from November 20 – 24, 2013 in Marriott Resort, Goa.

Under the Industry Screenings, filmmakers can showcase and pitch their films to a select audience of sales agents, distributors, producers, festival programmers and directors. Filmmakers can either reserve their film screenings for a selected audience of international distributors and sales agents or open it for all attending delegates.

The fee for each screening is Rs 10,000 (inclusive of all taxes).

Last date for applications is November 15, 2013.

The Bright Day by Mohit Takalkar, Pune 52 by Nikhil Mahajan, The Good Road by Gyan Correa, Touring Talkies by Gajendra Ahire, Masala by Sandesh Kulkarni, Love Tomato by Hideo Nanbu, Tasher Desh by Q, Kshay by Karan Gaur are some of the films that had industry screenings in 2012.

Write to [email protected] or click here for more details.

Gajendra Ahire’s Marathi film Touring Talkies will open the Indian Film Festival, The Hague 2013.

The festival that will be held from October 2-6, 2013 in The Netherlands will host art-house films, documentaries and popular Hindi films from India.

Full Line up:

Asha 80 by Henk Schepers and Mahindra Goercharan

B.A. Pass by Ajay Bahl

Ballad of Rustom by Ajita Suchitra Veera

Bombay Talkies by Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap

Celluloid Man by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur

Commando – A One Man Army by Dilip Ghosh

Fukrey by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba

Gangoobai by Priya Krishnaswamy

Jadoo by Amit Gupta

Kai Po Che by Abhishek Kapoor

Mumbai Cha Raja by Manjeet Singh

Nina’s Heavenly Delights by Pratibha Parmar

Oass – The Dew Drop by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari

Omg – Oh My God! by Umesh Shukla

Ramaiya Vastavaiya by Prabhudeva

Shahid by Hansal Mehta

Special 26 by Neeraj Pandey

Mine – Story of a...

Yesterday we gave you an overview about the exciting London Indian Film Festival that is running from July 18th to the 24th. Today we thought we would give you the full list of films and events that will be featured at the Beyond Bollywood film festival!

Films

B.A. Pass | Dir. Ajay Bahl | Hindi, Punjabi, with English subtitles

The Graduate meets film noir in this sizzling tale of seduction and betrayal where a young man is seduced by a gorgeous cougar who leaves him entranced, that is until she farms him out to entertain her lady friends with dangerous consequences. The film’s steamy trailer drew millions of hits on YouTube and the eroticism of the film has drawn the ire of India’s moral police.

Bombay Talkies | Dirs. Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Anurag Kashyap | Hindi, Marathi with English subtitles | Closing Film.

Mumbai’s spectacular homage to 100 years of...

Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout will be the opening night film of the 4th edition of the London Indian Film Festival (July 18-25).

Closing the festival will be Bombay Talkies directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. Both these films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

The centrepiece ‘In conversation’ on Saturday 20th July at the BFI Southbank, will be with Actor Irrfan Khan talking to award winning director of Senna, Asif Kapadia. Read Irrfan Khan to conduct Masterclass at London Indian Film Festival

Adoor Gopalakrishnan will conduct a Masterclass ‘Life in Pictures’ on July 19.

The winner of the annual Satyajit Ray short film competition will be announced at the end of the festival.

Complete list of films to be screened at London Indian Film Festival:

Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar

Bombay Talkies by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar

Pune...

A still from The Bright Day

The Bright Day, directed by Mohit Takalkar and produced by Abhijeet Bhosale, has been selected to compete for Asia New Talent Award at the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival.

The festival is scheduled for June 15-23 in Shanghai.

The Bright Day is the only Indian film in this section which will compete with films from Iran, Korea, China, Singapore and Indonesia. The film has been screened at Toronto, Mumbai, South Asian International Film Festival, Calgary and South Asian film festival in Vancouver in 2012.

The Bright Day revolves around a young man Shiv who abandons his dear ones to set out on a spiritual quest.

Indian film critic Aruna Vasudev is on the Jury for Asian New Talent award headed by Chinese director Lu Chuan and comprising South Korean director Choi Dong-hoon, Us producer Gary Kurtz and French actress Laura Weissbecker.

The Shanghai International Film Festival,...

I n 2012–the year Indian cinema turned 100–it showed renewed vigour and youthfulness as if it were being reborn. A new generation of young and restless filmmakers, who caught attention of festival programmers worldwide, rewrote the rules of not only mainstream cinema but also challenged what Indians traditionally believed an “alternative film” or at times labeled as “art film” stood for.

We use the term ‘independent’ to denote the attitude rather than the economic mode of production. That’s why films that are backed by major studios and the government as well as films which have been funded in completely non-traditional ways co-exist in our list.

Any such list can’t claim to be authoritative and scientific; however, what we claim is that our listing isn’t arbitrary. We took into consideration factors such as selection at A-list festivals, popularity among festivals in general, awards, jury mentions, international reviews, international distribution and domestic release.

Mohit Takalkar’s A Bright Day won the Grand Jury Award and Best Director award at the South Asian International Film Festival (Saiff) 2012.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival followed by Calgary International film festival, Mumbai Film Festival and South Asian Film Festival, Vancouver 2012.

Debut film of the director, A Bright Day is the story of a coddled young man who yearns for meaning in his life and abandons his girlfriend and family to set out on a spiritual quest across India.

The ninth edition of Saiff was scheduled to conclude on 30th October, 2012 but has been postponed until further notice due to hurricane Sandy.

Read interview with Mohit Takalkar: “People want big names, no one is ready to distribute small films”...

The maiden edition of the Canada South Asian Film Festival (Saff) will be inaugurated by veteran Indian actress Jaya Bachchan on October 31st, 2012. Apart from screenings of feature, documentary and animation films, there will also be a Master Class from Buddhadeb Das Gupta.

The festival will run from 31st October to 4th November, 2012 in the British Columbia cities of Vancouver, Surrey and Abbotsford and will host films from the South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and India. To commemorate 100 years of Indian Cinema the festival has organised “Memories of their first Indian Film”, wherein cinephiles are invited to send in written accounts on the topic. The highlights of the festival are:

Through Her Eyes: Women in South Asian Film

South Asian Mosaic: Lives lived in South Asia

Way Beyond Bollywood: Feature films from throughout India and South Asia

Debut Views: First or second feature films

Docs Docs Docs!

Miss Lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia, in its Us premiere, will be screened at the opening of the South Asian International Film Festival (Saiff). Earlier in the year the film was screen in the Un Certain Regard in 65th Festival de Cannes.

The Centrepiece Premiere this year at Saiff would be Paanch Adhyay (Afterglow) by Pratim D Gupta. This will be the international premiere of the Bengali film. It is scheduled to screen at the 14th Mumbai International Film Festival under the New Faces in Indian Cinema section.

Valley Of Saints by Musa Syeed will be the Closing Night Premiere of the festival. The film has won the world cinema audience award at the Sundance film festival in January this year.

Recently, Saiff in association with HBO had announced the South Asian Rising Star Awards to be held on October 23rd and co hosted by American adult entertainer and Bollywood actor Sunny Leone.

14th Mumbai Film Festival (Mff) announced its complete lineup today in a press conference. Mff will be held from October 18th to 25th at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Ncpa) and Inox, Nariman Point, Liberty Cinemas, Marine Lines as the main festival venues and Cinemax, Andheri and Cinemax Sion as the satellite venues. Click here to watch trailers and highlights from the festival.

Here is the complete list of films to be screened during the festival (October 18-25)

International Competition for the First Feature Films of Directors

1. From Tuesday To Tuesday (De Martes A Martes)

Dir.: Gustavo Fernandez Triviño (Argentina / 2012 / Col. / 111′)

2. The Last Elvis (El Último Elvis)

Dir.: Armando Bo (Argentina / 2012 / Col. / 91′)

3. The Sapphires

Dir.: Wayne Blair (Australia / 2012 / Col. / 103′)

4. The Wall (Die Wand)

Dir.: Julian Pölsler (Austria-Germany / 2012 / Col. / 108′)

5. Teddy Bear (10 timer til Paradis)

Dir.: Mads Matthiesen (Denmark / 2012 / Col. / 93′)

6. Augustine

Dir.: Alice Winccour (France / 2012 / Col.

“Isn’t it unfortunate that you still don’t know where your heart lies?” says Shiv’s father to him. Shiv’s parents are worried about him. At twenty-three he is coddled and a little cocky, and totally aimless. But Shiv agrees with his father, so it’s perhaps not surprising that he sets off on what turns into a very personal and spiritual journey, a journey that shows the progress of his soul as he tries to figure out what his life means and what it is worth.

It’s a drastic step, and one that has consequences, both for Shiv (Sarang Sathaye), and for the family and friends he leaves behind, who miss him terribly and worry about him. But like the best of spiritual quests, the things we need are given and revealed only when we are ready for them. Along the way, Shiv meets people who change his life,...

Mohit Takalkar

Pune-based theatre director Mohit Takalkar’s debut feature The Bright Day will premiere today at the Toronto International Film Festival. Mohit tells us about his foray into filmmaking:

What is The Bright Day about?

The Bright Day speaks out the confusions and dilemmas that the young generation faces in the process of finding the path they want to tread. The film explores this journey through strong cinematic imagery. It is shot in different terrains of India – City, Desert, Banks of Ganges; thus depicting imagery and reflections of inner and outer world beautifully. The film also works on spiritual and experiential layers to deal with the complexity of mind. A film of chance encounters, shifting perspectives and unexpected insights, The Bright Day is an intensely personal cinematic experience that is also universal.

What was the starting point for the film?

The starting point for the film was my own life.

From focusing on Mumbai in the festival’s ‘City to City’ programme to holding panel discussions on Bollywood and the Indian indies, Toronto International Film Festival will be a grand celebration of Indian cinema this year. From Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara to Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish, the festival promises something for everyone. Known for his fondness for Mumbai and Indian films, Tiff’s artistic director Cameron Bailey talks about the city, its emerging new-cinema as well as Bollywood:

What excites you about Mumbai as a city and the films that emerge out of it?

Mumbai has more movie-mad people than anywhere in the world. From the time I land at the airport to the time I leave, I encounter countless people who want to talk about their favourite films, their favourite stars and the gossip around both. People love movies in Mumbai, so on that level it feels like home.

Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.

The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.

Galas

A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)

Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)

The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)

Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)

Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)

English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)

Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)

Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)

Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)

Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)

Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)

Looper (Rian Johnson,...

The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.

Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...

Today the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) announced the much-anticipated line-up for the fourth edition of the City to City programme, a series designed as an “exploration of the urban experience, highlighting the best in emerging cinematic talent in a particular locale.” It’s been no secret that the spotlight this year would be placed squarely on Mumbai, as confirmed earlier this year by the festival’s Artistic Director, Cameron Bailey.

“Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely different from what it was even a few years ago. The rise of independent cinema has shifted the terrain, probing into previously taboo subjects and adopted styles that were earlier unpalatable to the Indian audience,” said Bailey. “Mumbai’s film industry is going through a significant change and a strong group of new filmmakers has emerged. They’re representing the evolution of their city in an interesting way. Toronto audiences are in for a treat this fall.

The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival line-up got another boost with today's announcement of the Midnight Madness, Vanguard and Documentary selections which include films from the likes of Barry Levinson, Don Coscarelli, Rob Zombie, Martin McDonagh, Ben Wheatley, Michel Gondry and Alex Gibney and include titles such as Aftershock, Dredd, Seven Psychopaths, Pusher, Sightseers, The We and the I, The Gatekeepers, Finding Nemo 3D, Hotel Transylvania and a Cinemateque selection that includes Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder, Roman Polanski's Tess and Roberto Rossellini's Stromboli. Considering Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master was recently added to the official selection as a Special Presentation I am going to have my hands full when it comes to screenings, but I will definitely make sure to catch McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, which is one of my most anticipated films of the year. Otherwise, the schedule will determine which ones I check out. The...

Toronto International Film Festival 2012 has announced the ten films in the Mumbai City to City program. The new Indian films that will have their world premiere at Toronto this year include Manjeet Singh’s “Mumbai Cha Raja” (The King of Mumbai), Anand Gandhi’s “Ship of Theseus”, Mohit Takalkar’s “The Bright Day” and Hansal Mehta’s “Shahid”.

The lineup includes Anurag Kashyap’s two part “Gangs of Wasseypur”, Dibakar Banerjee’s “Shanghai” and Vasan Bala’s “Peddlers”.

The lineup of the fourth edition of City to City program was announced today which focuses on Mumbai and its thriving film industry.

“Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely different from what it was even a few years ago. The rise of independent cinema has shifted the terrain, probing into previously taboo subjects and adopted styles that were earlier unpalatable to the Indian audience,” said Bailey. “Mumbai’s film industry is going...

Following up an already stellar initial line-up, the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 has announced additional sections including Midnight Madness, Documentaries and Vanguard. When the clock strikes 12, some titles one will be able to see include the highly anticipated Seven Psychopaths, from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. There’s also the world premiere of the horror anthology The ABCs of Death, as well as Dredd and Eli Roth‘s Aftershock and new films from Rob Zombie and Barry Levinson.

The documentary section brings new films from Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and an interesting one titled How to Make Money Selling Drugs, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and more. Rounding out the Vanguard section is many titles screened elsewhere, including the excellent documentary on The Shining, Room 237, as well as the next from Kill List director Ben Wheatley, Sightseers (Cannes review). We also have Luis Prieto‘s Pusher remake, and Michel Gondry...