She clarifies that her films are not about dealing with the unspoken and that she does not even think in that direction. “What attracts me to stories, from ‘Fire’ onwards are the human struggles to be seen, and how the characters go about achieving their rightful place in the human struggle,” filmmaker Deepa Mehta tells an entertainment portal.
Currently her latest documentary ‘I Am Sirat’, is doing the rounds at various international film festivals. It profiles Sirat Taneja, a transgender woman based in New Delhi who lives and works as a woman in her professional career and as a social media personality, but holds the familial responsibilities of a son to her widowed mother.
Mehta, who first met Sirat five years ago on the sets of the web series ‘Leila’ where she was playing the part of a transgender guard, remembers: “I got to know her during the intensive rehearsals...
Currently her latest documentary ‘I Am Sirat’, is doing the rounds at various international film festivals. It profiles Sirat Taneja, a transgender woman based in New Delhi who lives and works as a woman in her professional career and as a social media personality, but holds the familial responsibilities of a son to her widowed mother.
Mehta, who first met Sirat five years ago on the sets of the web series ‘Leila’ where she was playing the part of a transgender guard, remembers: “I got to know her during the intensive rehearsals...
- 3/18/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui, whose 1969 “The Cow” opened up a new era in Iranian filmmaking, and his wife have been found stabbed to death in their home outside Tehran, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.
Iran’s official Irna news agency quoted judiciary official Hossein Fazeli as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found dead with knife wounds in their necks by the director’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, when she went to visit her father Saturday night at their home home in a Tehran suburb.
The Irna report said the assailant was unknown but that authorities are investigating alleged knife threats to the victims made on social media in recent weeks.
Mehrjui , 83, attended the film program at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the early 1960s and during the early 1970s became known as co-founder of Iran’s new wave of social realism thanks to...
Iran’s official Irna news agency quoted judiciary official Hossein Fazeli as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found dead with knife wounds in their necks by the director’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, when she went to visit her father Saturday night at their home home in a Tehran suburb.
The Irna report said the assailant was unknown but that authorities are investigating alleged knife threats to the victims made on social media in recent weeks.
Mehrjui , 83, attended the film program at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the early 1960s and during the early 1970s became known as co-founder of Iran’s new wave of social realism thanks to...
- 10/15/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Toronto-based filmmaker Deepa Mehta has been making films since the 1970s, including the Oscar-nominated “Water,” part of her elements trilogy; “Bollywood/Hollywood” and “Funny Boy.” Her TV credits include “Yellowjackets,” “Little America” and “Leila.”
As an immigrant to Canada from India, I felt “seen” twice in my life. And both those moments, ironically, were diametrically antithetical to each other.
It was my first foray into North America as a young newlywed documentary filmmaker. I missed my home and family, had no work, couldn’t get the fuss about ice hockey and was frankly surprised at the general questions thrown my way by well-meaning, educated young and old white folk. One lot expressed wonderment at my grasp of the English language. “Where did you learn such good English?” My answer usually was, “on the flight from Delhi to Toronto.” While the other lot expressed complete pity that I came from such an impoverished country,...
As an immigrant to Canada from India, I felt “seen” twice in my life. And both those moments, ironically, were diametrically antithetical to each other.
It was my first foray into North America as a young newlywed documentary filmmaker. I missed my home and family, had no work, couldn’t get the fuss about ice hockey and was frankly surprised at the general questions thrown my way by well-meaning, educated young and old white folk. One lot expressed wonderment at my grasp of the English language. “Where did you learn such good English?” My answer usually was, “on the flight from Delhi to Toronto.” While the other lot expressed complete pity that I came from such an impoverished country,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Deepa Mehta
- Variety Film + TV
By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, March 13 (Ians) Actress and sitarist Neha Mahajan played the sitar for the song "Mi Sangre" in Ricky Martin's album "Pausa", which has bagged a Grammy nomination this year. Neha feels lucky to be part of such a collaboration, more so because the song talks about world peace and inclusivity.
"I got a call from Ricky Martin's associates Mireille Bravo. I was offered to play the sitar part in the song, but before that I was sent an English translation of the song 'Mi Sangre', as it is originally in the Spanish language. Initially, I wondered if it was a prank call. But then after I crossed-checked I realised how big the opportunity was for me. I had a 'pinch-me' moment! We all have grown listening to and admiring Ricky Martin," Neha told Ians.
The song has been nominated in the Best Latin Pop or Urban...
Mumbai, March 13 (Ians) Actress and sitarist Neha Mahajan played the sitar for the song "Mi Sangre" in Ricky Martin's album "Pausa", which has bagged a Grammy nomination this year. Neha feels lucky to be part of such a collaboration, more so because the song talks about world peace and inclusivity.
"I got a call from Ricky Martin's associates Mireille Bravo. I was offered to play the sitar part in the song, but before that I was sent an English translation of the song 'Mi Sangre', as it is originally in the Spanish language. Initially, I wondered if it was a prank call. But then after I crossed-checked I realised how big the opportunity was for me. I had a 'pinch-me' moment! We all have grown listening to and admiring Ricky Martin," Neha told Ians.
The song has been nominated in the Best Latin Pop or Urban...
- 3/13/2021
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta’s next film is a “Get Out”-style supernatural thriller, she revealed on Tuesday.
Speaking at a virtual event organized by Indian socio-cultural organization, the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Mehta said, “There’s a horror film that I’m working on, which I’m so intrigued about because it’s like ‘Get Out,’ a supernatural thriller, which actually is about women.”
Mehta is also developing Madhuri Vijay’s award-winning 2019 novel “The Far Field” as one of her next projects with Huma Qureshi, the star of her Netflix series “Leila.”
“The Far Field” traces the journey of a woman from Bengaluru to the troubled Kashmir region in quest of a lost figure from her childhood. It won the 2019 Jcb Prize for literature. Mehta say the novel adaptation will take some time.
Mehta’s “Funny Boy,” based on Sri Lankan-Canadian author Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 Lambda-winning coming-of-age novel explores...
Speaking at a virtual event organized by Indian socio-cultural organization, the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Mehta said, “There’s a horror film that I’m working on, which I’m so intrigued about because it’s like ‘Get Out,’ a supernatural thriller, which actually is about women.”
Mehta is also developing Madhuri Vijay’s award-winning 2019 novel “The Far Field” as one of her next projects with Huma Qureshi, the star of her Netflix series “Leila.”
“The Far Field” traces the journey of a woman from Bengaluru to the troubled Kashmir region in quest of a lost figure from her childhood. It won the 2019 Jcb Prize for literature. Mehta say the novel adaptation will take some time.
Mehta’s “Funny Boy,” based on Sri Lankan-Canadian author Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 Lambda-winning coming-of-age novel explores...
- 2/2/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Series starring Saif Ali Khan is testing issues of Ott regulation and freedom of speech in India.
The production team behind Amazon Prime Video’s Hindi-language web series Tandav have agreed to change some of the content following an outcry that is testing issues of Ott regulation and freedom of speech in India.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and starring Saif Ali Khan (Sacred Games), the political drama started streaming on January 15 and by the weekend had prompted several complaints from politicians in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp).
The series follows a power-hungry politician in his quest to...
The production team behind Amazon Prime Video’s Hindi-language web series Tandav have agreed to change some of the content following an outcry that is testing issues of Ott regulation and freedom of speech in India.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and starring Saif Ali Khan (Sacred Games), the political drama started streaming on January 15 and by the weekend had prompted several complaints from politicians in India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp).
The series follows a power-hungry politician in his quest to...
- 1/20/2021
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
The director is shooting a Nord-Ouest Films production sold by WTFilms on the early days of French hip hop band Ntm, starring Théo Christine and Sandor Funtek in the roles of JoeyStarr and Kool Shen. On 5 August, filming commenced on Suprêmes, Audrey Estrougo’s 6th full-length movie after Ain’t Scared (uncovered in the 2008 Berlinale Forum), Leila (2011), Une histoire banale (2014), Jailbirds (which earned itself a 2017 Magritte nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category) and A la folie (whose release date is yet to be confirmed). Standing tall in the cast are Théo Christine (who made his mark in the series Skam France and whom we’ll be seeing in French cinemas on 28 October by way of My Best Part), Sandor Funtek,...
Three new series are part of Netflix’s $420m (Rs30bn) spend on Indian content in 2019 and 2020.
Netflix is partnering with Tipping Point, the digital content arm of India’s Viacom18 Studios, to produce three drama series.
These include Jamtara - Sabka Number Aayega, which explores the conflicts that emerge when a small town is identified as India’s phishing capital, and She, the gritty story of an undercover cop’s journey discovering her sexuality and breaking stereotypes while taking down a drug cartel.
Taj Mahal 1989 is described as a nostalgic exploration of love and longing set against the historic Taj Mahal monument in Agra,...
Netflix is partnering with Tipping Point, the digital content arm of India’s Viacom18 Studios, to produce three drama series.
These include Jamtara - Sabka Number Aayega, which explores the conflicts that emerge when a small town is identified as India’s phishing capital, and She, the gritty story of an undercover cop’s journey discovering her sexuality and breaking stereotypes while taking down a drug cartel.
Taj Mahal 1989 is described as a nostalgic exploration of love and longing set against the historic Taj Mahal monument in Agra,...
- 12/17/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The Cairo Film Festival’s Industry Days wrapped Tuesday on a high note, with several Arabic film projects emerging as standouts of its co-production platform.
The informal market component of the rebooted Cairo fest entailed five days of networking, deal-making, and mentoring, and had a greater focus on TV. Attending were such high-level execs as Agc Studios topper Stuart Ford, AMC Networks’ VP of productions Kristin Jones, and Netflix director of international originals Ahmed Sharkawi. There was also a clutch of CAA agents, plenty of European buyers, and producers and financiers from India and China.
They came to mingle with the Middle East industry at a time when the region’s market is increasingly perceived as having potential that can be unlocked despite turbulence in territories such as Lebanon, an Arabic film industry hotbed, where banks have currently blocked money transfers outside the country until unrest subsides.
“We are just...
The informal market component of the rebooted Cairo fest entailed five days of networking, deal-making, and mentoring, and had a greater focus on TV. Attending were such high-level execs as Agc Studios topper Stuart Ford, AMC Networks’ VP of productions Kristin Jones, and Netflix director of international originals Ahmed Sharkawi. There was also a clutch of CAA agents, plenty of European buyers, and producers and financiers from India and China.
They came to mingle with the Middle East industry at a time when the region’s market is increasingly perceived as having potential that can be unlocked despite turbulence in territories such as Lebanon, an Arabic film industry hotbed, where banks have currently blocked money transfers outside the country until unrest subsides.
“We are just...
- 11/27/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Cairo co-production platform metes out $200,000 worth of prizes.
Lebanese director Karim Rahbani has won a place at the Rotterdam Lab next January after his feature project Shameem clinched one of the top prizes at the Cairo Film Connection (Cfc).
The co-production platform, running November 24-26 within the framework of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff), awarded 16 prizes worth a combined $200,000.
Shameem revolves around a young Bangladeshi man who travels to Lebanon to work in an industrial laundry.
It will be Rahbani’s debut feature after award-winning shorts Why Thy Spirit and Cargo.
It received the Arab Cinema Center award offering the film’s producer,...
Lebanese director Karim Rahbani has won a place at the Rotterdam Lab next January after his feature project Shameem clinched one of the top prizes at the Cairo Film Connection (Cfc).
The co-production platform, running November 24-26 within the framework of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff), awarded 16 prizes worth a combined $200,000.
Shameem revolves around a young Bangladeshi man who travels to Lebanon to work in an industrial laundry.
It will be Rahbani’s debut feature after award-winning shorts Why Thy Spirit and Cargo.
It received the Arab Cinema Center award offering the film’s producer,...
- 11/27/2019
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
As Shalini, who sets out on an arduous 16-year-long search for her missing daughter born out of a 'mixed' marriage in the latest dystopian show "Leila", actress Huma Qureshi felt challenged to push her boundaries and play the role with full justice and honesty.
Based on Prayaag Akbar's 2017 novel of the same name, "Leila" showcases the fight of Huma's character for her lost daughter amidst undesirable situations and frightening experiences in the fictional world of Aryavarta.
"It has been a gratifying journey for me. It have never played such a strong character before this show. With this character, I have pushed myself as an artiste. I really had to go deep into the story.
"Playing a mother on-screen was quite difficult because it was not only about being a mother...it was more about inheriting the qualities of Shalini who fights against the evils to find her daughter. Shalini...
Based on Prayaag Akbar's 2017 novel of the same name, "Leila" showcases the fight of Huma's character for her lost daughter amidst undesirable situations and frightening experiences in the fictional world of Aryavarta.
"It has been a gratifying journey for me. It have never played such a strong character before this show. With this character, I have pushed myself as an artiste. I really had to go deep into the story.
"Playing a mother on-screen was quite difficult because it was not only about being a mother...it was more about inheriting the qualities of Shalini who fights against the evils to find her daughter. Shalini...
- 6/16/2019
- GlamSham
Leading Indian director-presenter-producer Karan Johar will host a dating reality show that will bow on Netflix. BBC Studios India will produce.
Titled “What’s The Love? With Karan Johar,” the show will have Johar expressing his thoughts on love and relationships. But with a twist.
A flamboyant talk show host, Johar’s immensely popular “Koffee With Karan” concluded its sixth season on Disney’s Star World India channel in March. Over the years it has featured a who’s who of the Indian entertainment industry. Johar is also a judge on “India’s Got Talent” that airs on Viacom 18’s Colors television network.
Johar tweeted: “Where there’s chemistry, there’s always a way! Can’t wait to join the Netflix India family and spread a whole lotta love!”
Johar’s Dharma Productions is having a busy 2019. Films that have released include “Kesari,” “Kalank,” and “Student Of The Year...
Titled “What’s The Love? With Karan Johar,” the show will have Johar expressing his thoughts on love and relationships. But with a twist.
A flamboyant talk show host, Johar’s immensely popular “Koffee With Karan” concluded its sixth season on Disney’s Star World India channel in March. Over the years it has featured a who’s who of the Indian entertainment industry. Johar is also a judge on “India’s Got Talent” that airs on Viacom 18’s Colors television network.
Johar tweeted: “Where there’s chemistry, there’s always a way! Can’t wait to join the Netflix India family and spread a whole lotta love!”
Johar’s Dharma Productions is having a busy 2019. Films that have released include “Kesari,” “Kalank,” and “Student Of The Year...
- 5/28/2019
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
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