Latest news with #Pyre
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Felt like an award: Vinod Kapri on Gulzar writing a song for 'Pyre' without charging fee
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Vinod Kapri is elated with the love and recognition that his latest directorial "Pyre" is garnering in the film festival circuit but for the filmmaker, the highest honour came from cinema legend Gulzar , who loved the movie and even wrote a song without charging any fee. Inspired by the true story of an elderly couple Kapri met in 2017 in Uttarakhand's Munsiyari, a village affected by migration, the Hindi-language film focuses on themes of love, resilience, and human spirit against the backdrop of the Himalayas. It features non-professional actors Padam Singh, a retired Indian Army soldier, and Hira Devi, a farmer, both from Berinag Tehsil in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. Kapri had earlier collaborated with Gulzar for his 2021 documentary "1232 KMS", which featured two songs by the eminent poet-director. And he decided to approach the cinema veteran once again for "Pyre", which won the Audience Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November last year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Kapri said when he told Gulzar about the film, the lyricist was curious about his two lead protagonists. "He was like, 'What are you saying? You have made a film with non-actors.' He asked how they performed in the movie and wanted to see it. So I sent him the first cut. After 48 hours, I was in Goa with my family and friends. He called me early in the morning and I missed it," Kapri told PTI in an interview. Kapri called him back and realised that Gulzar really liked the film. "Coming from Gulzar sahab, it was like an award itself," the filmmaker said, adding that lyricist agreed to write the song for the movie. The filmmaker later met Gulzar in Bombay and by then, the veteran had written the track. "He narrated the song that he had written. He also told me that if I don't like the song, then I should let him know. But I liked it. After the meeting, I realised that I didn't discuss commercial (payment) with him. "I rang up his manager and told him everything. I told him that though we have less budget, we will manage something. Within 10 minutes, I got a call from Gulzar sahab, saying, "Vinod, you have become so big that you will give me money now?' He said, 'You have made such a good film. How can I take money for this?'" he said, recalling his conversation with Gulzar. "Pyre" was recently screened at the Bengaluru Film Festival . Besides Gulzar, the film's crew also includes German editor Patricia Rommel and Mychael Danna, the Oscar-winning music composer of Ang Lee's "Life of Pi". Kapri said he decided to approach Rommel as he loved her work on "The Lives of Others", the 2006 German drama which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. "When I approached her, she said she needs to read the story first and then she asked for the rushes (unedited footage)," he recounted. After watching the rushes, Kapri said Rommel was enamoured by the performance of both Singh and Devi. "She told me, 'Vinod, I'm in love with this couple, and I would like to meet them. When can I meet them?' And I realised that Patricia is on board. I asked her, 'Will you do this film?' She said, 'Of course, I'm doing this film... I'm doing this film for this lovely couple.'" When the movie premiered in Tallinn, Rommel flew down from Berlin, just to meet the old couple. "She spent three days with them and gave all her love to them... And in fact, she also bought some nice gifts for them. So it was really heartwarming," he said. For the background score, Kapri had Danna in mind but then he found that the music composer was on a six month sabbatical. "He asked me to approach him six months later. I wrote to him, saying, 'I completely respect that you have taken a sabbatical but I would like you to watch some rushes of the film... maybe you will change your mind.' And that really worked," Kapri said. "After watching the first cut, he said, 'This is unbelievable stuff, the way these people have acted and I am doing this film." Stay updated with the latest Best Hindi Movies , Best Tamil Movies , Best Telugu Movies , Best english Movies , Best Malayalam Movies
Hindustan Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Felt like an award: Vinod Kapri on Gulzar writing a song for 'Pyre' without charging fee
New Delhi, Vinod Kapri is elated with the love and recognition that his latest directorial "Pyre" is garnering in the film festival circuit but for the filmmaker, the highest honour came from cinema legend Gulzar, who loved the movie and even wrote a song without charging any fee. Inspired by the true story of an elderly couple Kapri met in 2017 in Uttarakhand's Munsiyari, a village affected by migration, the Hindi-language film focuses on themes of love, resilience, and human spirit against the backdrop of the Himalayas. It features non-professional actors Padam Singh, a retired Indian Army soldier, and Hira Devi, a farmer, both from Berinag Tehsil in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. Kapri had earlier collaborated with Gulzar for his 2021 documentary "1232 KMS", which featured two songs by the eminent poet-director. And he decided to approach the cinema veteran once again for "Pyre", which won the Audience Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in November last year. Kapri said when he told Gulzar about the film, the lyricist was curious about his two lead protagonists. "He was like, 'What are you saying? You have made a film with non-actors.' He asked how they performed in the movie and wanted to see it. So I sent him the first cut. After 48 hours, I was in Goa with my family and friends. He called me early in the morning and I missed it," Kapri told PTI in an interview. Kapri called him back and realised that Gulzar really liked the film. "Coming from Gulzar sahab, it was like an award itself," the filmmaker said, adding that lyricist agreed to write the song for the movie. The filmmaker later met Gulzar in Bombay and by then, the veteran had written the track. "He narrated the song that he had written. He also told me that if I don't like the song, then I should let him know. But I liked it. After the meeting, I realised that I didn't discuss commercial with him. "I rang up his manager and told him everything. I told him that though we have less budget, we will manage something. Within 10 minutes, I got a call from Gulzar sahab, saying, "Vinod, you have become so big that you will give me money now?' He said, 'You have made such a good film. How can I take money for this?'" he said, recalling his conversation with Gulzar. "Pyre" was recently screened at the Bengaluru Film Festival. Besides Gulzar, the film's crew also includes German editor Patricia Rommel and Mychael Danna, the Oscar-winning music composer of Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi'. Kapri said he decided to approach Rommel as he loved her work on 'The Lives of Others', the 2006 German drama which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. "When I approached her, she said she needs to read the story first and then she asked for the rushes ," he recounted. After watching the rushes, Kapri said Rommel was enamoured by the performance of both Singh and Devi. "She told me, 'Vinod, I'm in love with this couple, and I would like to meet them. When can I meet them?' And I realised that Patricia is on board. I asked her, 'Will you do this film?' She said, 'Of course, I'm doing this film... I'm doing this film for this lovely couple.'" When the movie premiered in Tallinn, Rommel flew down from Berlin, just to meet the old couple. "She spent three days with them and gave all her love to them... And in fact, she also bought some nice gifts for them. So it was really heartwarming," he said. For the background score, Kapri had Danna in mind but then he found that the music composer was on a six month sabbatical. "He asked me to approach him six months later. I wrote to him, saying, 'I completely respect that you have taken a sabbatical but I would like you to watch some rushes of the film... maybe you will change your mind.' And that really worked," Kapri said. "After watching the first cut, he said, 'This is unbelievable stuff, the way these people have acted and I am doing this film." "Pyre" is produced by Kapri and his wife, Sakshi Joshi, independently through Bhagirathi Films.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Pithoragarh woman, 80, who refused to attend Estonia acting award to look after buffalo, now nominated in New York festival
1 2 Pithoragarh : Eighty-year-old Hira Devi , who had initially declined an invitation to a major international film festival last year as there was no one to care for her buffalo, has now been nominated for best actor at the New York Indian Film Festival , to be held in the US from June 20 to 23. She attended the event in Estonia only after her daughter stepped in to help. Devi and her co-star Padam Singh, also 80, have both been shortlisted for their performances in Pyre, a feature film set in a 'ghost village' in Uttarakhand. Directed by Vinod Kapri, 'Pyre' chronicles the life of an elderly couple living in an abandoned hamlet in Pithoragarh district. The characters, played by Singh and Devi— neither of whom had acted before — are based closely on their real lives. Singh is a retired Indian Army soldier while Devi is a farmer. They share a home with their goats and a buffalo and earn a living through livestock. Their dialogue in the film is sparse. Most of the performance rests in gesture, silence, and routine. Last year, 'Pyre' was selected as one of only 18 films from around the world to compete at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, where it won the Audience Award. The story behind the film began in 2017, when Kapri encountered a similar couple in Munsyari while researching another project. Moved by their isolation, he started work on a fictional narrative that would reflect the reality of rural ageing in India's higher altitudes. Kapri wrote no formal script. Instead, he filmed around Singh and Devi's routines. The result is a film where fiction gives way to presence: a document of two people continuing their lives, rather than performing them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 35 & Earning? Protect Your Family with ₹1 Cr Life Cover ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo The film was produced by Bhagirathi Films, a venture led by Kapri and journalist Sakshi Joshi. Rejected by multiple studios, the film eventually attracted collaborators including Oscar-winning composer Mychael Danna ('Life of Pi'), lyricist Gulzar, and German editor Patricia Rommel ('The Lives of Others', 'The Tourist'). It had its Indian premiere at the 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival, where it received a Jury Special Mention in the Asian Cinema Competition. "When Hira Devi was told about the New York nomination, she was in the forest collecting fodder," Kapri said. Singh, meanwhile, is undergoing chemotherapy for prostate cancer. Neither actor has yet confirmed if they will be able to travel to the United States for the festival.
