The first project will be a web series adapted from the bestselling Shiva Trilogy novels by Amish Tripathi. The story is set in Meluha and the series will begin with the first book titled The Immortals of Meluha. It will be directed by Mr. India director Shekhar Kapur. The Family Man Season 2 fame Suparn S. Varma will be involved in this project as the showrunner and is also expected to contribute in direction.
Another venture from IAM will mark the debut of Bollywood actresses, Preity Zinta on the OTT platform. Already big Bollywood stars from the 90s like Sushmita Sen, Raveena Tandon, and Madhuri Dixit have made a debut on OTT. This will be a comeback venture for the Veer Zhara actress who took a long break from the movies after marrying Gene Goodenough. She will be seen in a murder mystery web series The Kitty Party. According to Preity, it is a female-driven mystery that has a lot of thrill and drama.
Dibaker Banerjee has directed some good movies including Khosla Ka Ghosla, Shanghai, and Lucky! Lucky Oye!” and debuted on the OTT with Lust Stories. Now, he will be directing a series titled God which is based in India and revolves around the Great Indian family. According to Dibaker, the story is all about the generations, family politics, and the power play. He has been looking for a good topic to direct a family drama and God seems to be the fulfillment of the secret wish he always had.
Led by Roy Price, the former president of Amazon Studios, International Art Machine is aiming to partner with creators across India and Asia and produce content that can be game-changers and represent the Asian original's banner abroad. IAM will also produce content for Indian television.
"I have not seen 'Masoom' since I made it! I can't watch any of my films because I only see what I could have done better. I still cannot watch as an outsider. So cannot fathom why it has such a following all these years after its first release," Kapur tweeted on Friday.
The filmmaker is known for directing films like "Masoom", "Mr. India", "Bandit Queen", "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age".
Kapur is known for his works in Hindi and international cinema. He is known in Bollywood for his recurring role in the TV series "Khandan" in the mid-1980s and his directorial debut in the cult Bollywood film "Masoom" in 1983 and then "Mr. India".
He gained international recognition with the 1994 Bollywood film "Bandit Queen", based on Mala Sen's biography of infamous Indian bandit and politician Phoolan Devi, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
The film was also premiered in the Directors Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
"A.R. Rahman is also doing the music for Bruce Lee," Kapur, who is in Mumbai briefly, told IANS over phone.
Kapur is pre-occupied with the shoot of "Little Dragon", an authorised biopic of the martial arts legend and actor Bruce Lee.
The story is a contemporary dramatisation of the 1950s Hong Kong social and political forces that shaped Bruce Lee into the most famous martial arts star and a significant modern day philosopher.
Kapur said he is excited about the music that Rahman will compose for the project.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker's young and talented daughter Kaveri too is ready to do a single with Rahman.
"Kaveri and I are going to go to Chennai. She is doing a song with A.R. Rahman," Kapur said, adding that she will be recording a single and not any song for a film with the Mozart of Madras.
A teenager, Kaveri is Kapur's daughter with actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. She has already sung "Did you know", "Half a heart" and her latest track is called "Again".
"A.R. Rahman is also doing the music for Bruce Lee," Kapur, who is in Mumbai briefly, told IANS over phone.
Kapur is pre-occupied with the shoot of "Little Dragon", an authorised biopic of the martial arts legend and actor Bruce Lee.
The story is a contemporary dramatisation of the 1950s Hong Kong social and political forces that shaped Bruce Lee into the most famous martial arts star and a significant modern day philosopher.
Kapur said he is excited about the music that Rahman will compose for the project.
Meanwhile, the filmmaker's young and talented daughter Kaveri too is ready to do a single with Rahman.
"Kaveri and I are going to go to Chennai. She is doing a song with A.R. Rahman," Kapur said, adding that she will be recording a single and not any song for a film with the Mozart of Madras.
A teenager, Kaveri is Kapur's daughter with actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. She has already sung "Did you know", "Half a heart" and her latest track is called "Again".
The 62-year-old actor also said that he is looking forward to the authorised biopic on the martial arts legend and actor Bruce Lee.
"One of finest directors of our country Shekhar Kapur directs a biography I have been looking forward to. Jai Ho" Anupam tweeted.
Kapur, who helmed the Oscar winning film "Elizabeth", is set to direct "Little Dragon", an authorised biopic of Bruce Lee.
"Little Dragon" will be a contemporary dramatisation of the 1950s Hong Kong social and political forces that shaped Bruce Lee into the most famous martial arts star and a significant modern day philosopher, reported variety.com.
Production on the Bruce Lee project is by Bruce Lee Entertainment, a company operated by the late star's daughter Shannon Lee along with Los Angeles-based Convergence Entertainment.
The celebrities took to Twitter to share their views on Gandhi, whose birth anniversary on October 2 is also celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence all over the world.
Here's what they have tweeted:
Shekhar Kapur: Gandhiji understood grassroots India better than most. He always maintained India needed to grow from grassroots upwards, not top downwards #GandhiJayanti.
Gandhiji understood grassroots India better than most. He always maintained India needed to grow from grassroots upwards, not top downwards #GandhiJayanti
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) October 2, 2019
Arjun Kapoor: Father of the nation. Creator of harmony. Preacher of simplicity. You will always be remembered! #GandhiJayanti.
Father of the nation. Creator of harmony.
Preacher of simplicity. You will always be remembered! #GandhiJayanti— Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26) October 2, 2019
Sonali Bendre: This Gandhi Jayanti let's honour his core values of compassion, non-violence, humility and forgiveness.
This GandhiJayanti let's honour his core values of compassion, non-violence, humility and forgiveness.#Mahatma150#GandhiJayanti #FatherOfTheNation
— Sonali Bendre Behl (@iamsonalibendre) October 2, 2019
Saqib Saleem: To the father who taught us not to lose faith in humanity. Happy #GandhiJayanti.
To the father who taught us not to lose faith in humanity. Happy #GandhiJayanti
— Saqib Saleem (@Saqibsaleem) October 2, 2019
Huma Qureshi: May we remember all that he said and stood for.
May we remember all that he said and stood for ?????? pic.twitter.com/0WFhx45ghT
— Huma Qureshi (@humasqureshi) October 2, 2019
Aayush Sharma: Once in a thousand years, a few great people walk the face of the earth and leave their mark forever. Mahatma Gandhi was one of them. Happy #GandhiJayanti
Once in a thousand years, a few great people walk the face of the earth and leave their mark forever. Mahatma Gandhi was one of them.
Happy #GandhiJayanti— Aayush Sharma (@aaysharma) October 2, 2019
Jackky Bhagnani: "In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all." #MahatmaGandhi #GandhiJayanti
"In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all."#MahatmaGandhi#GandhiJayanti pic.twitter.com/sFUfk2mYF3
— Jackky Bhagnani (@jackkybhagnani) October 2, 2019
Sophie Choudry: Remembering Gandhiji on his 150th birth anniversary. A true messenger of peace, love, compassion. The father of our nation. May we all do our bit to follow in his path so that the world could be a more peaceful, thoughtful, kind place #GandhiJayanti.
Remembering Gandhi ji on his 150th birth anniversary.. A true messenger of peace, love, compassion. The father of our nation. May we all do our bit to follow in his path so that the world could be a more peaceful, thoughtful, kind place??❤️ #GandhiJayanti #GandhiAt150 pic.twitter.com/9ysBzQKOx4
— Sophie C (@Sophie_Choudry) October 2, 2019
Earlier this week, Zee Studios had announced that they have signed Zafar to helm a trilogy: "Mr India", based on the 1987 Shekhar Kapur-directed movie, which featured Anil Kapoor as Mr India and late Sridevi as a journalist.
"A lot of people have been asking me about the 'Mr India' remake. Honestly, my father didn't even know the film was being remade, we found out about it through social media when @aliabbaszafar tweeted.
"It's quite disrespectful and underhanded if it is true since no one bothered to consult my father or Shekhar uncle, two people who played a major role in making the film what it was and is," Sonam wrote on Instagram.
The actor said the original creators should be respected and one shouldn't encash on the popularity of "Mr India".
"It's sad because that was a film made with heart and hard work and is very sentimental to my father, beyond commerce and announcements, it's a part of his legacy. I should hope they respect for someone's work and contribution is still as important to us as a big weekend at the box office," she added.
A day after the trilogy was announced, Shekar had also expressed his displeasure over the project.
"No one has even asked or mentioned to me about this film called 'Mr India 2'. I can only guess they are using the title to get a big weekend. For they cannot use the characters/story without permission from the original creators of the film," he posted on Twitter.
Ali Abbas Zafar over 'Mr. India Trilogy', calls debacle 'disrespectful'
(PTI)
Shekhar also hinted that he may take a legal action against the makers of the remake.
Director Kunal Kohli on Saturday took to Twitter and wrote: "Javed Akhtar won a hard fought battle for the rights of lyricists and writers. Its time we did the same?"
Responding to Kohli's tweet, Shekhar tweeted: "Yes. It's time to test this legally... Let's do it."
Not only this, Shekhar on Sunday took to social media and posted late actor Amrish Puri's still from "Mr India", in which Puri played the popular villain Mogambo.
Reacting on how Mogambo would have reacted to the news of the film's remake if he was alive, Shekhar tweeted: "Kya Kaha? Mr India 2 ? Is duniya mein koi aur Mogambo bhi hai?"
Shekhar also found it disrespectful for the new makers for not given him the "creative rights" for the remake.
"We sit with writers from day one, but are not the writers. Help actors hone performances but are not actors. Develop and create visual language of film. Slave hours over editing consoles. Directors lead and inspire every aspect of a film and have no creative rights? #MrIndia," Shekhar added.
Earlier this week Ali Abbas Zafar had announced the remake of the iconic Hindi film.
Zafar had tweeted: "Excited to partner with @ZeeStudios_ for an epic trilogy #MrIndia! It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character loved by everyone. Currently, working on the script, no actor has been locked till now. Once we lock the first draft of the script, casting begins!"
Released in 1987, "Mr India" featured Anil Kapoor and late Sridevi in the lead roles.
(IANS)
Good Content Will Score Over Mediocrity Led By Superstars
Leading director Shekhar Kapur has said that this new system will kill the star system in Bollywood. Indirectly it indicates that if major projects are forced to release on webspace in the months to come it will crash the stardom of big stars like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar as the hype around 100 crore business will come to an end.
It is a known fact that the stardom of a superstar is measured by the box-office collection of his movies. With the OTT releases becoming a regular thing the decisive factor will be the amount in which the rights of a movie were sold to an online channel instead of what it will earn at the box-office.
In this case, stardom is expected to take a backseat over good content. The Bandit Queen Director in his tweet a week ago penned, “What mainstream media did not catch on was that as Bollywood was becoming inert, true creativity was flowering in films outside Bollywood. Best Indian films are coming from languages other than Hindi. Media was too caught up in glare and glitz of Bollywood they themselves created.”
https://twitter.com/shekharkapur/status/1281050352540774400
Stars Will Come Up With Their Apps, Says Shekhar Kapur
According to Mr. India's director, the star system will end due to the closure of movie theaters during COVID-19. In his tweet, the director says, “Theatres are not going to open for at least a year. So all hype around first week business of 100+ crores is dead. So the theatrical Star System is dead.” He further says, “Stars will have to go to existing OTT platforms or stream films themselves through their apps. Technology is quite simple.”
https://twitter.com/shekharkapur/status/1282975209524310017
Another big director Anurag Kashyap believes that releases on OTT will reduce the pressure on theaters as once the theaters are opened for audiences there will be stiff competition among producers for releasing their movies. In one of his recent interviews, the Choked director said, “I think both cinema and OTT will co-exist. My thing with the theatre owners is that they think that the films that should have released in theatres and are coming out on OTT, and they are reacting to it. But the thing is when cinemas will open; there will be such a bottleneck of movies, that there will be a struggle.”
Kashyap further added, “I have suffered when Gangs of Wasseypur was nine days in cinemas and Ek Tha Tiger came out, and the film was doing well, but it was thrown out of cinemas.”
More Stories:
Allu Arjun Has His Heart Set Out On Bollywood Movies, But On Certain Conditions | WATCH
Nepotism Side-Effect: Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh Brought For Alia Bhatt’s Rescue
https://twitter.com/shekharkapur/status/1285831861705400320
As is known, Shekhar Kapur was one of the first Bollywood figures to state that the shelving of Paani was one of the reasons that led to Sushant’s depression. On the other hand, the Mohabbatein director insisted that the production house and the Kedarnath actor were on the same page regarding the closing of Paani.
Shekhar Kapur won the hearts of Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans with his latest tweet. While the director may have just shared from his heart causally, fans want the Paani project to come on screen. While many believe that nothing can replace the presence of their dearest Dil Bechara actor, they still would love to see his dream project come alive on the big screen.
Interestingly, a few fans have already come up with ideas of crowdfunding so that the director is not forced to shelve the movie yet again due to a lack of finance.
https://twitter.com/rkver2/status/1285905224121503744
https://twitter.com/GeetanjaliTri12/status/1285893871327604736
Some other users have given the option of Rajkummar Rao Amit Sadh as a replacement for Sushant.
https://twitter.com/UpasanaDutta15/status/1285929273967046660
More importantly, the fans do not want Shekhar Kapur to take A-listed stars in place of Sushant as it was his dream project.
https://twitter.com/TRUTHSPEAKS047/status/1285903252890873856
https://twitter.com/SBS88484229/status/1285914737574686721
While there are a few who think no one can replace the Kai Po Che actor in Paani, if at all it is produced and completed, it will be a tribute to the brilliant actor.
https://twitter.com/SRaEarth09/status/1285888966655270913
The fan honoring Kangana through this clip wrote, "In honor of Kangana shaking up the Bollywood industry for the nth time, Here is a fan edit." The message also quotes Kangana's exact words, "I don't feel left out, I stand out."
https://twitter.com/NaviKRStan/status/1286993780596301829
Shekhar Kapur in his latest tweet showered praises on Kangana Ranaut for her work in Fashion. In his post, the director says, "Fashion, the film. A Young girl nervous, emotionally wrecked Drugged. Her name being announced on stage. She was, after all, a top model. It was one shot. Kangana transformed herself from a wreck to a Diva as she walked on the ramp. It was a genius acting. Unforgettable @KanganaTeam."
https://twitter.com/shekharkapur/status/1287242938204921857
https://twitter.com/shekharkapur/status/1287265932096581633
The team of Kangana quickly said, "Thank you, Sir."
https://twitter.com/KanganaTeam/status/1287254642481455104
Shekhar Kapur suddenly came into the limelight last month when he shared his views on Sushant Singh Rajput's death. While the director has repeatedly said that YRF's decision to shelve Paani depressed Sushant, he is yet to come forward to directly support Kangana in her crusade demanding CBI inquiry for SSR.
That is why when he praised the actress openly on social media it surprised many. A user even said that Shekhar Kapur might be having some hidden agenda behind this.
https://twitter.com/sameer27038259/status/1287263083073871872
Apart from Shekhar Kapur, fans who watched the clip have also appreciated Kangana for her acting in Fashion.
https://twitter.com/RanguKutta/status/1287262554671050752
https://twitter.com/Pranoy_Majumder/status/1287244445692260354
Kangana Ranaut gave a stellar performance in Fashion alongside Priyanka Chopra. Incidentally, she won National Award for her role in this movie as a supporting actress. It somehow did not go well with her fans who even today believe that Kangana was the lead actress of Fashion.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, tweeted to confirm the news on Tuesday: "Happy to inform that renowned international film personality #ShekharKapur has been appointed as the President of FTII Society & Chairman of Governing Council of FTII. @narendramodi.@shekharkapur."
"Mr Kapur, who has a vast experience, will add more value to the Institute. I am sure everybody will welcome his appointment," he added.
According to an Order issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Films Wing), and signed by Under Secretary (Films-II) Surajit Indu, Kapur's tenure will last till March 3, 2023.
The director has made his mark in Hollywood as well as Bollywood. He started out as a filmmaker with "Masoom" in 1983. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Jugal Hansraj, the film was a critical and commercial success. Kapur would score a blockbuster at the box office with his 1987 release "Mr India", starring Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Amrish Puri.
The international acclaim he won with his hardhitting biopic of Phoolan Devi, "Bandit Queen"" in 1994, helped him take his craft to the West. He made his Hollywood directorial debut with the Oscar-nominated "Elizabeth" (1998), and went on to make "The Four Feathers" (2002), and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007), besides directing a segment of the 2008 anthology, "New York, I Love You".
Apart from direction, Kapur had a stint as a Bollywood actor with films like "Toote Khilone" (1978), "Falak" (1988), "Gawahi" (1989) and the TV series "Udaan" (1989-1991), among other works.
(IANS)
Also Read:
Amitabh Bachchan Mentions Sushant Singh Rajput During First Episode of KBC 12