THE VENICE film festival opened on Wednesday (August 29) with The Reluctant Fundamentalist, based on a novel of the same name which traces a young Pakistani’s journey from Wall Street high flyer to suspected Islamist radical targeted by American intelligence. The adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s 2007 novel was directed by Mira Nair, an Indian […]
Movie/TV Gossip
Toronto film fest to probe global conflicts, mortality
NORTH America’s largest film festival opens on Thursday (September 6) in Toronto with a wide-ranging trove of new movies and a spotlight on global conflicts and baby boomers’ mortality. “It’s our most diverse slate ever, with 72 countries represented,” Toronto International Film Festival co-director Cameron Bailey told reporters. “There’s a lot of new filmmakers […]
Life of Pi starring Indian actor opens NY film festival
DIRECTOR Ang Lee’s film Life of Pi starring an unknown Indian actor premiered at the 50th New York Film Festival on Friday (September 28). Lee says he broke every rule in Life of Pi, bringing the best-selling novel into stunning 3D life with a production featuring an unknown Indian actor, four tigers and the world’s […]
Kabul Cards shows ‘other side’ of Afghanistan
THREE teenaged girls from Afghanistan have made a short film Kabul Cards, screened at the ongoing 14th Mumbai Film Festival in Maharashtra, which showcases the lighter side of the war-ravaged country. Sahar (16), who attends high school, 19-year-old Sadaf, a music student and Nargis (19), who is studying law, have teamed […]
Telling the story toughest part of "Life of Pi", says Lee
DESPITE the slick special effects, creation of a fake tiger and shooting underwater, the toughest part of making Life of Pi was telling the story, director Ang Lee said on Monday (October 29). The Academy Award-winning director who is in Mumbai to promote his latest project, based on the bestselling novel of the same […]
Naomi to celebrate boyfriend’s birthday at Rajasthan fort
BRITISH supermodel Naomi Campbell arrived in Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan on Sunday (November 4) with her Russian billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin. Doronin will be celebrating his 50th birthday in Jodhpur on November 7. The couple, who have been dating since 2008, has chosen the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort for the pre-birthday bash on November […]
Naomi flies in 200 guests for Jodhpur birthday bash
TWELVE chartered planes on Monday (November 5) ferried around 200 guests from New York, Moscow and London for the birthday bash of British supermodel Naomi Campbell’s Russian billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin. High-end sedans and vintage cars were roped in for transporting the guests from the Jodhpur Civil Airport. The guests will be staying at the […]
Pakistan boycotts ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, US dramas
PAKISTANI movie distributors and TV stations are boycotting an Oscar-nominated film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden and popular US dramas to avoid offending sensibilities or sparking a violent backlash. Pakistan may have a starring role in Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty”, which dramatises the 10-year CIA hunt for the 9/11 mastermind, but […]
Naomi Campbell wins damages over India elephant polo story
MODEL Naomi Campbell won damages from a British newspaper on Thursday (January 30) over a report claiming she was planning to organise an elephant polo tournament for her partner’s birthday in India, her lawyer said. The Daily Telegraph formally apologised in court for the story published in November and agreed to pay a “substantial […]