Latest news with #DharmaMovies
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Kartik Aaryan begins shooting for ‘Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri'
Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan has started shooting for his upcoming film Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri. Produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the film is directed by Sameer Vidwans. The production banner shared the announcement on its official X handle. "Saat samundar paar hum @TheAaryanKartik + his new look ke peeche peeche aa hi gaye! #TuMeriMainTeraMainTeraTuMeri shoot begins now," read the caption. Saat samundar paar hum @TheAaryanKartik + his new look ke peeche peeche aa hi gaye!#TuMeriMainTeraMainTeraTuMeri shoot begins now 🎬 — Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) May 23, 2025 The 34-year-old uploaded a video clip earlier this week featuring him with the luggage bag as he headed off to Europe for the shoot of the film. Aaryan's latest work is Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Released in 2024, the film was directed by Anees Bazmee. It also featured Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan. ALSO READ:Kartik Aaryan, Sreeleela promise a stirring love story in first look of Anurag Basu's next The Hindu review of the film said, 'The second installment was lit up by a highly spirited performance by Tabu as the ghost. Here Bazmee brings Madhuri and Vidya to step into the backward-facing shoes of the witch. 'Both bring their rhetorical best to the spooky portions but the storyline with Kartik at the centre of the narrative doesn't have enough heft to do justice to their towering presence.'
Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Homebound at Cannes 2025: The real story behind Neeraj Ghaywan's sophomore directorial
Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's second feature film, Homebound, premiered on Wednesday (May 21) at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where the movie is competing under the Un Certain Regard category. The film, starring actors Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Jahnvi Kapoor, received a nine-minute standing ovation, signalling a positive reception. The duration of the standing ovation has become an unofficial barometer for the success of a film at the festival, with Pan's Labyrinth (2006) holding the top record of 22 minutes. 9 minutes of pure love & applause!🤌🏻 Team Homebound receiving all the appreciation at @Festival_Cannes! — Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) May 21, 2025 Ghaywan's directorial debut, Masaan, was also screened under the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes festival, winning two awards. The Un Certain Regard (translated as 'a certain glance') category runs parallel to the main competition and platforms arthouse directors and young auteurs. Homebound follows the story of two friends, a Muslim and a Dalit, as they aspire to shed the socio-economic realities that constrain them till the 2020 coronavirus pandemic alters their lives forever. The film, backed by American filmmaking legend Martin Scorsese and Bollywood giant Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, was inspired by a 2020 essay in The New York Times by Basharat Peer, former Opinions editor at the publication. Peer's op-ed first appeared in the Sunday edition of The New York Times on August 2, 2020, with the headline, 'Taking Amrit Home'. (It's now available to read on the website as 'A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway'.) Ghaywan was intrigued by Peer's article, prompting Dharma Productions to buy its rights from The New York Times. By then, Peer had left his job at the Times and received no royalties for his work. Peer wrote of real-life friends Mohammad Saiyub, a 22-year-old Muslim, and Amrit Kumar, a 24-year-old Dalit, who belong to Devari village in Uttar Pradesh. A striking photo, showing Saiyub cradling an unconscious Amrit on the side of a road, first drew Peer's attention. The image captured the desperation of India's stranded migrant workers during the peak of the Covid lockdown and quickly went viral on social media. In an interview with entertainment writer Aseem Chhabra, Peer revealed that when he set out to report on this story, he had called up his editor in New York and said the story would need 3,000-4,000 words or 'maybe more'. He admitted that he was scared because the Covid situation 'was quite bad at that time'. According to Peer, Saiyub and Amrit's friendship was unassuming and untethered to the politics of their identities. 'Interfaith friendships in India are not as uncommon as the regnant political discourse might suggest,' he writes in his essay. Unlike the movie, where the two aspire for a police job to reclaim 'dignity', Saiyub and Amrit worked at separate factories in Gujarat's Surat. They aimed to earn enough to send money back home. They shared a rented room in the city. But when the pandemic struck, the factories were shut down and the duo were out of jobs. For a bit, they whiled away their time in Surat, but soon, they began running out of savings. They needed to head home. Saiyub and Amrit decided they would take one of the government-run special trains back home, but couldn't get a ticket for weeks. Finally, they decided to board a truck carrying other workers like them to Uttar Pradesh. To reach it, they walked over 24 kilometres through the stifling May heat. Cramped into the truck with others, Amrit developed a fever. Co-passengers decided to leave him behind, fearing he was infected. Saiyub chose to stick by his friend. The duo were stranded in a small village in Madhya Pradesh. With a local politician's help, Saiyub and Amrit were admitted to the hospital, where Amrit passed away due to dehydration, leaving Saiyub with the task of getting his body back to his folks in Devari. Both Saiyub and Amrit had tested negative for Covid at the time. Migrant workers like Saiyub and Amrit were the worst-hit by the nationwide lockdowns imposed in March 2020 to curb the spread of Covid. These workers were left without jobs, adversely impacting their savings, food security and health. Many of them covered perilous journeys on foot, walking thousands of kilometres. While exact figures remain unknown, a study suggests that over 44 million workers migrated back in the first lockdown and over 26 million in the second. To facilitate this unprecedented reverse urban to rural migration, the government introduced special 'Shramik trains' in May. The trains ran free of charge for the workers, with the Central and state governments picking up the tab. However, this mass exodus spotlighted the worrying gaps in policies to protect this vulnerable section of society, including a lack of data on unorganised workers and access to government schemes. Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She runs The Indian Express's weekly climate newsletter, Icebreaker. Apart from this, her interests range from politics and world affairs to art and culture and AI. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. ... Read More
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Cannes 2025: Neeraj Ghaywan embraces Karan Johar as ‘Homebound' receives 9-minute standing ovation
Neeraj Ghaywan's latest film Homebound premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard section, drawing a nine-minute standing ovation from the audience. The screening marked an emotional moment for the director, who embraced producer Karan Johar in a long hug as the crowd responded with sustained applause. The film is the only Indian feature selected at Cannes this year. The cast, including Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, and Vishal Jethwa, were present at the premiere alongside the crew. They were seen acknowledging the audience's appreciation following the screening. 9 minutes of pure love & applause!🤌🏻 Team Homebound receiving all the appreciation at @Festival_Cannes! — Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) May 21, 2025 Set in a small village in North India, Homebound follows the story of two childhood friends preparing for police recruitment as a way to escape their circumstances. As their dream begins to materialise, tensions surface, threatening their relationship. Ghaywan co-wrote the script with Sumit Roy. In a statement shared before the premiere, Ghaywan said, 'This film taught me humility, empathy, and patience. Casting showed me that actors need to be more than just talented, they also need to be morally connected to their character.' Ten years after his debut feature Masaan premiered at Cannes, Ghaywan returns to the festival with a film that similarly explores social structures and personal aspirations. On his working process, he said, 'I believe in collaboration and having a democratic crew. Inclusivity is fundamental: I aim for every department to comprise at least 50% women and I hire people from marginalised communities.' The film is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra, with Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier serving as co-producers. Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese is credited as executive producer. I am still in disbelief! To have an icon like Martin Scorsese lend his name to our film, #Homebound, is an honour beyond words. I'm deeply grateful to our co-producer Melita Toscan, who introduced us to him. Mr. Scorsese mentored us through the screenplay and multiple rounds of… — Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) April 26, 2025 Ghaywan spoke about his approach to emotionally intense scenes, saying he uses a system called 'Code 360' to create a focused and respectful environment on set. 'It's complete silence, appropriate ambient music, and minimal people on set,' he said. On working with his cast, Ghaywan added, 'If I were to make the film again, I'd choose the same cast, no question. They brought deep empathy and critical thinking to their roles.' Janhvi Kapoor prepared for her role by reading Annihilation of Caste and watching films like Rosetta and Three Colours: Blue. Ghaywan described her portrayal as carrying 'a genuine tenderness and moral clarity.' Reflecting on what he hopes audiences take from the film, Ghaywan said, 'The importance of kindness and empathy, especially toward those who are different from us. Seeing others as equals.'
News18
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Cannes 2025: Karan Johar, Neeraj Ghaywan Break Down At Homebound Premiere; Janhvi, Ishaan Numb
Last Updated: Neeraj Ghaywan and Karan Johar turned emotional as Homebound received a 9-minute standing ovation at Cannes 2025. Cannes 2025 turned emotional for the Indian contingent as Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, the only Indian feature in the festival this year, received an overwhelming 9-minute-long standing ovation at its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section. The film, which premiered to a packed house, left its audience moved, and the atmosphere post-screening was electric. A video shared by Dharma Productions on X captured the heartwarming reaction from the crowd. Karan Johar, who has backed the film, was seen hugging director Neeraj Ghaywan, who broke down in his arms. The filmmaker was visibly emotional, overwhelmed by the love Homebound had received. Actors Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, who star in the film, also appeared teary-eyed, soaking in the moment alongside co-star Vishal Jethwa and the rest of the crew. '9 minutes of pure love & applause!🤌🏻 Team Homebound receiving all the appreciation at @Festival_Cannes!" Dharma's caption read. 9 minutes of pure love & applause!🤌🏻Team Homebound receiving all the appreciation at @Festival_Cannes! — Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) May 21, 2025 Homebound follows the story of two childhood friends from a small village in North India who dream of becoming police officers. As they get closer to securing the job that could change their lives, their bond begins to unravel under the weight of desperation. The film stars Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor, and Vishal Jethwa in lead roles. The screenplay is penned by Neeraj Ghaywan and Sumit Roy. The film is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra, with Marijke de Souza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier as co-producers. The project also boasts the involvement of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who serves as executive producer. This isn't Neeraj's first moment of glory at Cannes. His acclaimed debut film Masaan, which featured Vicky Kaushal and Richa Chadha, also premiered at the prestigious festival and went on to win both the Un Certain Regard Special Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize. First Published:
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Cannes 2025: From Anupam Kher to Urvashi Rautela, a look at India at Cannes so far
As the French Riviera basks a brand new selection of film's from around the world, the 78th Cannes Film Festival (May 13–24) is already proving to be another big year for Indian representation. No longer an intermittent presence, India has made its mark this year with a mix of films in competition, fashion-forward appearances, and veteran presences that has been speaking volumes of its growing cultural clout on a stage like Cannes. Filmmaker and Cannes 2024 icon Payal Kapadia, who made history last year by becoming the first Indian to win the Grand Prix for All We Imagine As Light, returns to Cannes this year as a member of the festival's main jury. Among the key highlights is director Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, which is premiering in the Un Certain Regard section, exactly a decade after his debut feature Masaan was screened at Cannes. Backed by Dharma Productions and co-produced by Adar Poonawalla and others, Homebound features Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor in leading roles. The film has drawn international attention, with veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese joining the project as executive producer. Some bonds carry us through. Presenting the first poster for HOMEBOUND, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa & Janhvi Kapoor. Premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on 21st May 2025. — Dharma Productions (@DharmaMovies) May 14, 2025 'I have seen Neeraj's first film Masaan in 2015, and I loved it,' Scorsese said in a statement. 'Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film that's a significant contribution to Indian cinema.' French distribution for Homebound has been secured through Ad Vitam, a company known for handling several award-winning international titles. Cannes will also seen the return of Satyajit Ray's 1970 classic Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest) in a newly restored 4K version. The screening will be attended by Sharmila Tagore, who starred in the original film. The restoration is part of the festival's broader effort to spotlight landmark works from world cinema. In La Cinef, a section dedicated to film school projects, A Doll Made Up of Clay was selected. The short film, by Ethiopian student Kokob Gebrehaweria Tesfay currently studying in Kolkata, touches on themes of migration and unrealised dreams. Veteran actor Anupam Kher is in Cannes for the premiere of his new film Tanvi the Great, scheduled for May 17. During his visit, Kher reunited with Robert De Niro, with whom he co-starred in Silver Linings Playbook. De Niro, who received an honorary Palme d'Or this year, was introduced to Shubhangi, the lead actor in Kher's film. Indian actors and public figures have also made appearances on the red carpet. Urvashi Rautela attended the opening ceremony and the screening of Patir un jour (Leave One Day), wearing a multicoloured strapless gown and carrying a parrot-shaped crystal clutch that drew significant attention on social media. Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez represented Indian cinema under the Red Sea Film Foundation's Women in Cinema initiative. She was one of six global honourees recognised for their work in film. Fernandez expressed her appreciation in a social media post, saying she was 'delighted to be an honouree' and to be part of a platform supporting female storytellers. First-time attendee Nitanshi Goel, who starred in Lapataa Ladies, made her Cannes debut this year. While her red carpet gown attracted notice, it was her second outfit — a lehenga saree paired with a pearl-embellished hairpiece featuring miniature portraits of Indian cinema legends — that received particular attention for its tribute to the history of Indian film. Alia Bhatt, who was slated to make her Cannes debut as a L'Oréal ambassador, has postponed her trip. According to sources, the decision was made in light of the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. Bhatt's team has not ruled out a visit later in the festival, depending on how the situation develops. Cannes veteran Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, as well as Karan Johar, Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, and Aditi Rao Hydari, are among the many expected to walk the red carpet.
