“बिटिया हईं महान बाबुल के अभिमान”
का भव्य संगीतमय मुहूर्त सम्पन्न
माताजी एंटरप्राइजेज कृत भोजपुरी फिल्म “बिटिया हईं महान बाबुल के अभिमान” का भव्य संगीतमय मुहूर्त खुशबू जैन व जीतेन्द्र सिंह के स्वर में गाये युगल गीत के साथ हुआ। पिछले दिनों कृष्णा ऑडियो स्टूडियो, एस.वी.रोड, गोरेगाँव (पश्चिम), मुम्बई में यह मुहूर्त सम्पन्न हुआ। मुख्य अतिथि के रूप में उपस्थित जाने माने फिल्म वितरक राजेश गुप्ता (माँ एंटरटेनमेंट) ने नारियल तोड़कर मुहूर्त का श्रीगणेश किया। सच्चिदानन्द ‘कवच’ के लिखे गीत के लिए संगीत अमन श्लोक ने दिया। इस सामाजिक फिल्म के निर्माता रामा देवी व वीरेन्द्र कुमार तथा निर्देशक जगदीश सिंह हैं। कथा केशव राठौड़, पटकथा व संवाद सच्चिदानन्द ‘कवच’ और सच्चिदानन्द के साथ अतिरिक्त गीतकार राजपति चतुर्वेदी ‘पागल’ हैं। आम्रपाली दुबे और सत्येन्द्र सिंह की मुख्य जोड़ी वाली यह फिल्म दिसम्बर में स्टार्ट टू फिनिश शेड्यूल के तहत जौनपुर (उत्तर प्रदेश) व आसपास के अन्य खूबसूरत लोकेशन्स पर शूटिंग के लिए जायेगी। गुड्डू यादव भी इस फिल्म में काम करेंगे। शेष कलाकार व तकनीशियनों के चयन की घोषणा शीघ्र की जायेगी। 
लॉकडाउन के बाद आरंभ हुई हलचल में वीरेन्द्र कुमार का यह प्रोजेक्ट अग्रणी रहा। पत्रकारों से बात करते हुए वीरेन्द्र ने कहा कि यह फिल्म प्रधानमंत्री के बेटी बचाओ बेटी पढ़ाओ नारा को मजबूती प्रदान करेगी। माँ बाप बेटों पर आश्रित या पराश्रयी नहीं, उन्हें देखनेवाली बेटियां भी हैं, यही संदेश देगी यह सार्थक फिल्म। यह फिल्म बेटियों को समान शिक्षा, समान अधिकार देने की पुरजोर वकालत करेगी। फिल्म जगत के गणमान्य व्यक्तियों, कलाकारों, तकनीशियनों की महती उपस्थित ने इस मुहूर्त को शानदार बना दिया। सीनियर डायरेक्टर जगदीश सिंह ने एक अच्छी और साफ सुथरी फिल्म बनाने का आश्वासन देते हुए कहा कि यह फिल्म कन्याओं के प्रति समाज का दृष्टिकोण बदल देगी।
“I have been a film buff since childhood and always dreamed of becoming an actress. I am glad I realised my dream and pursued it sooner,” says Kressy chirpily. 
She has been a huge inspiration for me to take to acting and make my way to Mumbai!”
- India’s legend and leading superstar, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan released the memoir of celebrated hairstylist Shivarama K. Bhandary of Shiva’s salons, whose deeply inspiring life story aims at reaching out to the new generation and budding entrepreneurs and shows that hard work and the will to learn as the two mantras to achieve success.
The book titled Styling at the Top, The Journey of Shiva Bollywood’s Celebrated Hairstylist, written by Jayashree Shetty is published by Amaryllis, an imprint of Manjul Publishing House and distributed by HarperCollins India.
Despite having a busy schedule of film shoots and back-to-back meetings, Mr. Bachchan took time out to unveil the book at a small function held recently in his office, Janak, in the city and wished all success for the book.
The towering personality of Mr. Bachchan was all-pervading throughout the evening. With his awe-inspiring presence he made the evening function held for friends, family and close associates a memorable one. Most of all, his smile and jovial demeanor were rather infectious as he posed with the book and with everyone present there for photos. He was also seen spending some affectionate moments with Rohil and Aaradhya, children of Shivarama or Shiva as he is well known.
Styling at the Top traces Shiva’s amazing life journey, from the rigours and perils of his early years when he acquired the elementary craft, while assisting his uncle in a barber shop in a hilly village in Karnataka to this day when “Shiva’s” has become a brand name to reckon with in India’s metropolis. It is a story that spells of grit and determination. It is a testament to the power of hard work and positivity and proof that where you start does not determine the heights you can reach.
A stint in Qatar in the UAE, where he was exposed to a gamut of hair textures of sportspersons coming from different parts of the world to play there, to later studying hi-fashion in hairstyling from the two renowned institutes, Vidal Sassoon and TONI&GUY, set him up as a hairstylist to groom the world stage.
He came to Mumbai with dreams of making it big in his field and so he did, but not before starting out from a tiny barber shop in suburban Thane in the mid-eighties. Today, he owns a chain of 20 salons and spas, bespoke salons and a line of cosmetic products under his brand name. Shiva’s outlets, spread across the length and breadth of the city, draw an enviable clientele consisting of Bollywood celebrities and corporate achievers. The sky is only the limit when it comes to fulfilling one’s dreams and ambitions. The Marathi and Kannada language editions of Styling at the Top will be available soon. The Gujarati and Hindi translations will follow.
The trailer launch of the popular director Partho Ghosh’s latest film Dosti Zindabad was launched with great fanfare on Friday in Mumbai. It may be remembered that Partho had earlier directed several hit films including Agnisaakshi and Ghulam E Mustafa. 
The youth centric film has been conceived by Ashih Maheshwari and directed by Partho Ghosh. The film shot in Lucknow is slated for release all over the country on November 8 this year. Present on the occasion of the trailer launch were the producers and the distributor Shakeel Hashmi, besides the star cast comprising of Dev Sharma (of Yaariyaan fame) Sabeeha Uttarwala, Saakshi Mago, Rahul Chowdhary and Ali Khan.
The young Indians will like this film which sets out to bring to the fore friendship to different level in an entirely different angle altogether.
The film has been designed out and out as a family entertainer. Distributor Shakeel Hashmi said that when the audiences set out to watch the film, they will feel that a slice of their own life has been portrayed on the screen. He added that the songs of the film would appeal to the audiences instantly.
२७ सप्टेंबर हा दिवस जागतिक पर्यटन दिन म्हणून सर्वत्र साजरा केला जातो. त्यानिमित्ताने ‘क्लासमेट्स’ आणि ‘बॉइज’ फेम अभिनेत्री पल्लवी पाटीलने नुकत्याच हंपीला दिलेल्या भेटीच्या आठवणींना उजाळा दिला.
अभिनेत्री पल्लवी पाटील म्हणते, “जगातल्या सर्वोत्तम स्थळांमधलं एक उत्तम पर्यटन स्थळ म्हणून हंपीची गणना केली जाते. मी आर्किटेक असल्याने ह्या ऐतिहासिक पर्यटन स्थळाला भेट देण्याची इच्छा मला कॉलेजमध्ये असल्यापासून होती. पण ही इच्छा नुकतीच पूर्ण झाली.”
पल्लवी हंपीच्या आठवणी जागवताना म्हणते, “तुंगभद्रा नदीच्या किनारी असलेली सुंदर शिल्पं, मंदिरे पाहताना, त्यांच्यावर केलेलं कोरीव काम बघताना आपल्या प्राचीन संस्कृतीची, कलासौन्दार्याची प्रचीती येते. हंपीमध्ये भटकंती करताना प्राचीन स्थापत्यकलेचा वारसा असलेल्या ह्या हंपीच्या सौंदर्याच्या आपण प्रेमात पडतो.”
पल्लवी सांगते, “मला कोणत्याही शहराला भेट दिल्यावर तिथल्या लोकांविषयी जाणून घ्यायला आवडते. त्यामूळेच मी हंपीला दिलेल्या भेटीत हॉटेलवर न राहता, एक होम-स्टे केला होता. तिथल्या रिक्षावाल्या मामांपासून ते ज्यांच्या घरी आम्ही राहिलो होतो, त्या काकूंपर्यंत सगळ्यांशी खास नाते निर्माण झाले. आणि म्हणूनच कदाचित हंपीची टूर एक मेमोरेबल ट्रिप ठरली.”
अपनी फिल्मों और म्यूजिक वीडियो से अलग पहचान बनानेवाली अभिनेत्री चांदनी सिंह अब लोगों की पसंदीदा हीरोइनों की सूची में शुमार हो चुकी हैं। छोटी-सी उम्र में ही म्यूजिक वीडियो की सनसनी बन चुकीं चांदनी सिंह आज भोजपुरी के सभी सुपरस्टारों के साथ काम कर रही हैं।फिल्मो और म्यूजिक वीडियो में लगातार व्यस्त रहने वाली चांदनी सिंह पहली बार रितेश पांडे के साथ म्यूजिक वीडियो में दिखेंगी जिसका नाम है लड़की धोखेबाज। उनका कहना है कि हालांकि उनकी जिंदगी फिल्मो और म्यूजिक वीडियो के बाद से बदल गई है लेकिन वह एक नॉर्मल टीनएजर के जैसा बर्ताव करने की कोशिश करती हैं। चांदनी ने बताया, म्यूजिक वीडियो ‘मिलते मरद हमके भूल गईलु ‘ करने के बाद जिंदगी अवश्य ही बदल गई है। अब लोग मुझे ज्यादा पहचानने लगे हैं। लगता है कि अब आपने एक नाम कमाया है लेकिन मैं जितना हो सके सामान्य बर्ताव करने की कोशिश करती हूं। मैं एक नॉर्मल टीनएजर की तरह रहने की कोशिश करती हूं जो कि मैं हूं। मैं अपने परिवार और दोस्तों संग घूमने जाती हूं। मैं जितना हो सके, नॉर्मल चीजों को करने की कोशिश करती हूं।’ आपको बतादूँ की चांदनी सिंह और रितेश पांडे के नए म्यूजिक वीडियो लड़की धोखेबाज को जानी मॉनी म्यूजिक कंपनी आदिशक्ति फिल्म्स एन्ड म्यूजिक द्वारा रिलीज किया जा रहा है। इस समय चांदनी सिंह फ़िल्म बॉस को लेकर भी चर्चा में हैं जिसमे भोजपुरी सुपरस्टार पवन सिंह की मुख्य भूमिका है।
Director Dinesh Soni recently recorded a song for his film Tumse Milkar in the voice of singer Yasser Desai, who had earlier crooned songs for Abbas Mustan’s film Machine and Akshay Kumar’s Gold. The romantic song Besabra Khwahishen was recorded at the Goregaon based A G Studios by music director Rajesh Atibal Sharma. The DOP of the film produced by Dinesh Soni and Ritesh Sharma is Dinesh Soni himself and written by Vikash Koushik.
A Short Film Festival where stories come to life
FILMBUG: A CHARITABLE INITIATIVE TO TEACH PURPOSEFUL FILM MAKING TO LESS FORTUNATE & MARGINALIZED CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO BRING ABOUT SOCIAL CHANGE AND AWARENESS.
Evening saw the presence of Kapil Mattoo, Jackie Shroff, Kunal Kohli, Shaan, Sanjay Mishra, Nandish Sandhu, Gaurav Goyal,Nikhila Varun, Pawan Panara, Rashmi Kucchal, Satish Kaushik Ranvijay Singh and many more. 
Highlights-
- About FilmBug Foundation & The Initiative:
Founder: Nameeta Premkumar
Co-Founder: Kapil Mattoo
- Jury- Ms. Shabana Azmi, Ms. Smita Thackeray, Mr. Kabir Bedi, Mr. Satish Kaushik, Mr. Sudhir Mishra, Mr. Kunal Kolhi, Mr. Siddharth Anand (Bang Bang, War), Shaan, Mr. Ritesh Shah (Writer: Airlift, Kahani, Pink, Batla House etc).
- 65 children came from all across India to watch their films with the jury at a magical evening
- This year 11 short films were screened, made by children from Haryana, Shivpuri,Satara, Jaipur ,Patna ,Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai before an eminent jury at the Mukti Cultural Hub, Andheri West, Model Town, Andheri West.
FilmBug is a charitable initiative that was formed with the philosophy of giving back to children who lack opportunity. The idea is to teach professional film making “with a purpose” which is otherwise an expensive skill to Less Fortunate & Marginalised Children through Film making workshops across the country.
Nameeta Premkumar has had over 20 years of experience as a Producer and Director and has learnt film making in New York and India. She is on the Faculty of a few media schools and runs the company Imagik Media Pvt.Ltd which has made varied content across platforms from feature films, music, commercials and series.
Filmbug started with the idea of taking professional and good film making to less fortunate children who have fertile minds but no vent or avenue to be creative and express themselves.The idea was to train them and impart a skill that is lifelong and empower them to tell their stories through film
Kapil Mattoo has been a Producer and worked on feature films, events, series and with the company Imagik Media has produced content that has always pushed the envelope. Together they travel across imparting knowledge and skills to the less privileged.
Filmbug is designed to encourage children to think out of the box, to work in teams, to give vent to their emotions, to gain confidence, to empower them to tell their stories through film and to enjoy an immersive movie making experience.
The curriculum:
-The genesis of an idea
-From an idea to a story
-From a story to a screenplay –Writing in Final draft format
-Story boarding
-Technical: Camera angles,Shots ,Lenses , Axis , Lighting and sound for film
-Pre Production & Planning
-Shot breakdowns
-Shooting on location
-Making their own films
Film making workshops:
Over the last two years the FilmBug team has gone across 6 towns in phase one
And 5 towns in phase 2.
The result has been tremendous.
350 children came together to write, act and direct their own films.
PHASE 1 (2016-17)
Patna –Rat eating community children
Bhubaneshwar –Children from the rag picking community
Kangra –Orphaned and homeless girls
Mumbai-Street children
Kolhapur-Children working in brickyards
PHASE 2 (2018-2019)
Haryana- Girls Sexually abused and rescued from trafficking
Shivpuri – Children who are victims of child marriage
Satara- Children from Nomadic tribes
Jaipur – HIV positive children
Bengaluru- Slum and laborers children
Advanced workshop-Children from first phase (Bhubaneshwar,Patna , Mumbai)
ABOUT INDIA ALIVE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2017
The films needed a serious platform where they could be showcased and appreciated for their technical prowess and content.
The India Alive Short Film Festival is a platform that celebrates these films with eminent makers who are a part of viewing these films as a jury and encourage the skills of these children as filmmakers.
The films were showcased at a red carpet event at Cinepolis Mumbai on the 31st of May, 2017 to a thunderous applause from the audience and the children shared the stage with prolific filmmakers in Mumbai.
For the first time ever, these children were brought down from various cities to participate in this one of its kind Festival which is purely to encourage talent.
The jury comprised of eminent personalities from the fraternity who supported and applauded this initiative namely Prakash Jha, Kabir Bedi, Farah Khan, Satish Kaushik, Sudhir Mishra, Emraan Hashmi, Shanm, Jackie Shroff and Varun Dhawan were also present to interact and meet the children as it was their wish list and a dream come true to be with their stars.
The Festival Directors Nameeta Premkumar & Kapil Mattoo are very hopeful that this will kick start something big as the platform that is being created is a serious one and will open doors to these children which are unimaginable. True talent can be spotted, nurtured and taken to another level as these children are hardworking, realise the value of this opportunity and have great stories to tell. They just need the right support.
At the end of the 14-day workshop the children pick their own ideas to make a film. They write their screenplays in final draft format, act in them, and direct the films themselves.
About India Alive Short Film Festival 2017- The films needed a serious platform where they could be showcased and appreciated for their technical prowess and content. The India Alive Short Film Festival is a platform that celebrates these films with eminent makers who are a part of viewing these films as a jury and encourage the skills of these children as filmmakers.
FILMBUG TALENT POOL- Filmbug has created a talent pool with children from the first phase who have come together to make the curtain raiser of the festival. This is a film that was made after Filmbug conducted master classes and an advanced workshop with the children from the first phase who displayed exceptional skills in film making. Children were picked from Patna, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar who came together to make a film which was shot in Mumbai.
Television is no longer the space for entertainment any more. Personal content viewing has given family entertainment a big run for its money and that’s just why there are OTT platforms that are picking up pace in the web world.
And while a lot of big players in the OTT space are vying for customers and luring their attention with cheaper monthly subscription plans, soon enough the market will see the rise of a new player that’s sure to be lapped up readily by the masses. 
Going by the name of Rapchee App, this new OTT platform is soon to take over the content space. 
The unveiling of logo of the OTT APP was organised by Dharam Gupta at Ramada Palm Grove Hotel, Juhu. Gauhar Khan, Rahul Roy, Jasleen Matharu, Kangana Sharma, Gehna Vashisth, Jyotsna Chandola, Tinaa Ghai, Sajan Agarwal, Dr.
Yogesh Lakhani of Bright Outdoor, Hemant Birje, Nigar Khan and others came specially to attend the unveiling . Kangana Sharma performed live on this occasion.
I have worked in this line for the longest, and I am seeing the shift from Television to OTT platforms, which is why we planned to venture in this space, because this is the future.
Also this app is also made for those production houses and people who have great scripts and shows but aren’t being able to sell them to the big wigs. I have seen this first hand, where all the bigger apps are just interested in names and faces, the content be damned, that’s not the case here. I am launching this platform so that many producers can find their way into showcasing their work.” 
With great promise and potential, Rapchee App is said to be going live with 15 shows and while the curtain is just raised, there’s lots to follow. “The subscription is free for a year and while the customers will get a taste of great Indian content, there will also be a lots of international content up for consumption on this app.
I am currently in process of tying up with content creators from 6 different countries and while I have already got 3 countries legally on board, 3 more are in the process. So while we will get to see their content in our local language, they too will get a taste of our content in their local language. Provisions are being made for that. 
Our shows will also be available in 10 regional languages, so people from every nook and corner can enjoy this content!” says Dharam Gupta.
