Latest news with #WorldAudioVisualandEntertainmentSummit
NDTV
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
No Points For Guessing Who Formed Kareena Kapoor's "Own Band People" After She Missed Guns N Roses Show
New Delhi: Kareena Kapoor might have missed Guns N Roses but her own "Band people" made it up. On Monday morning, Kareena Kapoor shared two pictures on her Instagram Stories, setting the Internet on fire. In the pictures, Saif Ali Khan and his elder son Taimur can be seen jamming. While Saif faces the camera, Taimur is seen seated with his back to the camera. In the first picture, Kareena Kapoor wrote, "Might have missed Guns N Roses." In the second one, "But I Got My Own Band People." For the unversed, Guns N Roses performed in India after a 12-year hiatus and in Mumbai on May 17, 2025 at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Kareena referred to the concert, implying she has missed the show. Earlier this month, Kareena Kapoor took part at the inaugural edition of the WAVES ( World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit). During a conversation with Karan Johar and Vijay Deverakonda, Kareena Kapoor shared an anecdote when the Lincoln director recognised her and complimented her. "I was actually in a restaurant, I am travelling somewhere. Steven Spielberg was eating at the same restaurant. This was many moons ago, when 3 Idiots had just released. He actually came up to me and told me that, "Are you that girl who was in that very famous Indian film about three students?" I said, "Yes, that's me." He said, "My god. I loved that movie." "I didn't need to act in an English film for him to see me. He watched 3 Idiots. That's a moment for us," Kareena Kapoor said while beaming with pride. On the work front, Kareena Kapoor was last seen in the multi-starrer Singham Again. She was also seen in Crew last year.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
City students bag prize for short film in nat'l contest
Ludhiana: Young filmmakers Mahi Saluja and Rabbya Wadhwa , both from Ludhiana and students of Class IX, have won the second prize in the WAVES Young Filmmakers Challenge in the junior category. It was organised by the information and broadcasting ministry, GoI. The competition formed a key highlight of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025), hosted at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. Mahi and Rabbya's thought-provoking short film on the theme of humanity and technology earned national acclaim, making it to the top 10 finalists and winning them a coveted spot in the grand finale. Jubilant on return after receiving the award in Mumbai, Mahi and Rabbya said they were surprised that the film was selected among the top 10 from entries from across the country. The award was conferred upon the finalists by L Murugan, MoS (information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs), and veteran actor Anupam Kher. The summit was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi, who described WAVES as "a wave of culture, creativity, and universal connectivity." Commending the young talents, Anuja Kaushal, principal of their school, BCM Arya Model School, stated, "This remarkable accomplishment showcases the creativity, expression, and innovation that our students bring to life when provided with the right opportunities. We are incredibly proud of Mahi and Rabbya for bringing national recognition and inspiring their peers.
Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Weeks after WAVES, BMC proposes formalising construction of temporary sets of films and serials in Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on May 16 issued a notification to amend Mumbai's Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, allowing temporary constructions of sets for films, TV serials, and advertisements in Mumbai. The civic body's move comes two weeks after Mumbai hosted the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in a bid to position India as a global powerhouse in the fields of media and global innovation. Also, earlier this month, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Centre will construct a film studio on a 240-acre plot in the Malad area of the western suburbs. Earlier in 2022, Mumbai's then municipal commissioner, Iqbal Singh Chahal, had also initiated an inquiry into the unauthorized construction of film studios at the Madh, Marve and Erangal areas in the western suburbs in Mumbai. Chahal had then stated that there were film studios being built on thousands of square metres of land that falls under the Maharashtra Coastal Zonal Management Authority (MCZMA). Later in January 2023, the civic authorities demolished 11 illegal studios in that area. The DCPR 2034 is the BMC's formal rulebook based on which the BMC will be carrying out town planning till 2034. It is based on the DCPR the civic authorities will reserve land parcels and will carry out infrastructure development. The existing DCPR will again get revised post 2034. Civic officials said that while in DCPR 2034 there was no provision of allowing temporary structures of film sets in Mumbai, the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2020 (UDCPR) rules allowed construction of structures in Maharashtra. The UDCPR is a similar set of guidelines like DCPR which is applicable in every other city in the state other than Mumbai. 'In 2019, we (BMC) had allowed establishments of temporary structures in Mumbai's plots. However, these rules led to the construction of structures in No Development Zones (NDZ), violating the environmental rules,' a civic official said. 'The revised guidelines will formally reserve plots where such structures could be set up, so that the open spaces and available land parcels in Mumbai aren't misused. In a way, the authorities will also have a record on the number of production houses that would be using these plots for setting up film sets,' the official said. 'The absence of regulation/definition for the activity of construction of temporary studios/sets for the shooting of films/TV/serials/advertisements makes it unable to move further to permit such activities and to formulate any circular. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the additional activity/formation in the regulation no. 57 of DCPR 2034, titled 'Temporary Structures,' the BMC's notice states. The notice also stated that the amendment has been proposed under the Mumbai Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act. Furthermore, the official said that operating a film set involves a slew of civic permissions like fire NOCs, and often the owners bypass these permissions as the land parcels are not formally reserved by the authorities.
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
The big cost of watching a film on the large screen in Bengaluru
Harish Mallya, an ardent film buff from Bengaluru, concedes that his theatre visits have come down post the COVID-19 pandemic period. An engineer and a curator of world cinema for the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), Harish had the habit of watching a film every Friday without fail for decades. In the current situation, he highlights a development that reflects the falling demand for theatre viewing. 'Earlier, I would book my seat in advance, thanks to the mad rush for tickets for marquee movies in the opening weekend. However, in the last couple of years, I have been able to get tickets at the box office of multiplexes even for the highly anticipated films across languages,' he says. There is no denying that theatres are facing their biggest test today. Factors such as the advent of streaming platforms and high-priced tickets have changed the viewing habits of the average movie-goer. In 2024, PVR Inox Ltd. shut down 85 underperforming screens. The following year, the multiplex chain decided to close 70 more properties. Similarly, single screens continue to suffer, with the total count in Karnataka coming down to 500 active screens post pandemic from 650 earlier. Bollywood star Aamir Khan delved into the issue at the recently held World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai. Aamir, one of the canniest box-office minds, suffered a failure with his previous film Laal Singh Chaddha (2022). As he awaits his next, Sitaare Zameen Par, the actor sounded alarmed about the prospect of theatrical releases in the coming days. 'For the size of the country and the number of people living here, we have few theatres. I think we have 10,000 screens. Only 2% of the nation's population watches movies in theatres. In the U.S., which has one-third of India's population, there are 40,000 screens. China is ahead with 90,000 screens. There are districts and vast areas in India which don't have single-screen theatres. Whatever issues we have faced over the decades are about having more screens. According to me, this is what we should be investing in,' Aamir said at the event. Karnataka government proposes a cap Movie-watching, especially in multiplexes, is a costly experience. Bengaluru has remained infamous for the high-priced tickets. In this context, the State government's proposal to cap the film ticket price at ₹200 came as a ray of hope for film buffs. The March 7, 2025, announcement reminded people of a similar call from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his previous term, in 2017. The Multiplex Association of India (MAI) appealed against the government's decision in court and brought a stay on the order at the time. The government seems to have kept the issue in 'suspended animation', says author and film critic S. Shyam Prasad. 'The Chief Minister has aligned with the public sentiment, but I don't think market forces will allow him to implement the price cap. He has just made a populist statement,' he says. Incidentally, just two months after proposing the price cap in 2017, Siddaramaiah spent ₹1,050 to watch Baahubali 2: The Conclusion at a multiplex. An executive from a popular multiplex chain, on condition of anonymity, reveals that tickets for big films range from ₹700-₹800 in the opening weekend. The price may go up to ₹1,500 in premium screens such as Gold Class or Insignia. Bengaluru multiplexes had grabbed the eyeballs for exorbitant rates for big-star films such as KGF: Chapter 2 (maximum rate of ₹2,500), RRR (₹2,000), and Ponniyin Selvan (₹1,200). Dynamic ticket pricing The makers of such magnum opuses vouch for the special pricing of tickets as seen in the case of Pushpa 2: The December 2024, actorAllu Arjun thanked the Andhra Pradesh government for approving the ticket price hike and called it a 'progressive decision'. The Andhra Pradesh government permitted theatre owners to revise ticket rates for the first 10 days for other films, such as S.S. Rajamouli's RRR (2022) and the Ram Charan-S. Shankar film Game Changer (2025). 'Producers want to recover the money in four days or so. The opening figures matter a lot to them. They want to earn ₹100 crore to ₹150 crore on the first day. Nobody is interested in running a movie for the long term,' Gautam Dutta, CEO, revenue and Operations, PVR INOX, had said during the release of Pushpa 2: The Rule. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala have fixed ticket rates not exceeding ₹200, the Andhra Pradesh government has catered to the requests of makers of big-budget films to alter the ticket prices in the first week. This move could be problematic, as not all big films elicit positive reactions. The interest in a movie might fizzle out due to poor buzz, as family audiences might hesitate to come to cinemas unless the movie is worth experiencing on the big screen. In such cases, producers and distributors suffer losses, says M.R. Rajaram, vice-president, Karnataka Film Exhibitors Federation. 'Multiplexes, which deal in the percentage sharing system with the makers, are the biggest gainers from the price hike of tickets. They play a strong role in altering the costs,' he says, adding that single screens do not raise the ticket fare by more than ₹100 for A-lister films. Kannada filmmaker Karthik Gowda, founder of the production house KRG Studios, has been pushing for dynamic ticket pricing for the last two years. 'A film will open with a specific price, and if it gets a good response, the ticket price will increase. We at KRG Studios are discussing this with the exhibitors,' Karthik had proposed in 2023. Yogi G. Raj, co-founder of KRG Studios, says it is the way forward. 'We distributed Daredevil Musthafa,a content-oriented Kannada film from newcomers. We charged just ₹1 for the premiere. Those who came to the show loved the film and spread the word. You should treat each film differently and increase the price based on people's response,' he says. To please a price-sensitive audience, the Multiplex Association of India organises National Cinema Day frequently. On that day, tickets are priced at ₹99 for all shows. PVR INOX has also introduced a movie pass called PVR Passport, with which you can watch four films a month for ₹349. The OTT challenge Despite these changes, many people continue to watch their favourite films in the comfort of their homes as they find OTT subscriptions affordable. Amazon Prime Video offers an annual subscription at ₹1,499, while Netflix provides a monthly subscription at ₹649 with an option to share the account with four people. JioHotstar offers an ad-free annual subscription at ₹1,499. The amount is much lower for mobile subscriptions across platforms. Expensive refreshments Apart from the ticket rates, the steep prices of popcorn and other food and beverages at multiplexes have often angered the public. 'Multiplexes are selling social status instead of promoting cinema,' says Rajaram of the Karnataka Film Exhibitors Federation. A regular-sized popcorn tub costs ₹350 to ₹400, while the maximum price is around ₹600 at a multiplex. PVR Inox Ltd. continues to face the heat from audiences over the pricing of refreshments. Journalist Tridip K. Mandal posted on X (formerly Twitter) explaining why people prefer OTT platforms over theatres. '₹460 for 55 gm of cheese popcorn, ₹360 for 600 ml of Pepsi. Total ₹820 at PVR Cinemas, Noida. The expenditure is equal to the annual subscription of OTT platforms. No wonder people don't go to the cinemas anymore. Movie watching with family has just become unaffordable,' he wrote. His post went viral on social media in 2023, forcing PVR Inox to introduce the 'Bestsellar@99' offer, through which people can buy refreshments at ₹99 from Monday to Thursday for shows till 6 p.m. However, the offer comes with restrictions that vary from city to city. On the opening weekend of a big film, a family of four might spend ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 at a multiplex, including for snacks. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that 'multiplexes are private properties, and the owners can set the terms and conditions for entry', leading to a ban on people carrying food to theatres. 'Consumers are a small fish against big sharks like the multiplexes. The MAI makes crores annually. It's impossible to go against it in court,' notes Shyam. 'Many from the State government and MLAs are stakeholders in multiplex properties. If the revenue from multiplexes comes down, it will affect them. So, I doubt the ticket price-capping proposal will get official in Karnataka,' says Rajaram. Recently, Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar reopened the debate by speaking about people staying away from theatres. 'Since a movie outing costs as much as ₹10,000, families do not spend that much on films, reducing their trips to the theatre,' he said at an interaction. In a public statement, MAI president Kamal Gianchandani countered Karan's observations. 'In 2023, the average ticket price (ATP) across all cinemas in India was ₹130. The country's largest cinema chain, PVR INOX, reported an ATP of ₹258 for the fiscal year 2023-24. Additionally, the average spend per head on F&B at PVR INOX during this period stood at ₹132. So, the total average expenditure for a family of four adds up to ₹1,560, significantly different from the ₹10,000 figure carried in the media reports.' He added that a film's fate depends on 'content and appeal' rather than pricing. 'Any evaluation of pricing in the cinema industry must account for the broader economics of the movie business, which involves multiple stakeholders, including producers, distributors, and exhibitors. Each of these players contributes to the final cost to consumers, with prices ultimately shaped by the market forces of demand and supply. If lowering prices could optimise revenue for everyone involved, cinema operators would naturally make those adjustments without needing to be told,' his statement read. The exorbitant rates do not matter to people who watch films occasionally, says Rajaram. 'For them, it's just an outing, and they will be willing to spend. The regular cinegoer feels he is getting ripped off by the theatres. It's a daylight robbery of film buffs,' he says. (Edited by Giridhar Narayan)
Indian Express
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kesari 2 director Karan Singh Tyagi: ‘The youth must know they can't take their freedom for granted'
Writer and director of the recently-released Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh, Karan Singh Tyagi drew on his days as a lawyer to script this period courtroom drama. He studied at Mumbai's Government Law College before getting his postgraduate degree in law from Harvard University. The 39-year-old, also a media columnist, has scripted Bandish Bandits Season 2 and been the showrunner on the web series Kaalkoot as well. At the panel discussion on the topic 'Old Ghost, New Generation, Portrayal of Colonial History in Indian Cinema and its Relevance', hosted by the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) in collaboration with SCREEN, he spoke about Kesari Chapter 2, adapting it from a book on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and why young people should watch it. Take us through your journey from being a lawyer to directing and co-writing a courtroom drama. They say one can't outrun their destiny, and mine was sealed in 1985. In fact, even before I was born. My parents were movie buffs and my mother went to watch a film with my father when she was pregnant. That was Meri Jung, a courtroom drama directed by Subhash Ghai. Just as Mahabharata's Abhimanyu learned about warfare from his mother's womb, I learnt the intricacies of both court and movies from mine. What inspired you to become a filmmaker? The inspiration was movies. I grew up on the cinema of the '90s. I loved Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, which were about societal injustice. I come from a middle-class family where education is given priority. So my parents insisted that I finish my legal education and take up a job. But I knew that one day Bollywood would call me and I (finally) summoned the courage. I told my New York law firm partner that I wanted to take a sabbatical, travel to Mumbai and try my hand at filmmaking. When I came here, I was lucky to meet people like Amritpal Singh Bindra, founder of Leo Media Collective. He co-wrote the story with me and went on to produce the film along with Dharma Productions. If a Harvard student could find time to watch masala films from the '90s, that speaks volumes of the soft power of Indian cinema. My outlet during my law school days was Indian cinema. I remember walking for two kilometres in the snow to catch a show of My Name is Khan. And I, in fact, got my entire class to watch that movie. But why were you drawn to this particular episode in Indian history — the Jallianwala Bagh massacre? The trigger point was a book I read — The Case That Shook the Empire: One Man's Fight for the Truth about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (2019). We all know that General Dyer came and fired upon innocent people, but the book threw up some interesting insights. It said that everything was premeditated. Also the fact that a man called Sankaran Nair, who started out as a lawyer for the British Empire, fought a case to uncover the truth. When I read this, I knew that we had a story that needed to be told. As a filmmaker, what is your primary concern when you are taking up such a project? The concern was that the movie has to be engaging and entertaining. Which is why we compressed a courtroom trial that went on for months into a two-hour narrative. When we did that, we had to compress timelines, we had to create drama, we had to create interpersonal dynamics. How do you balance fact with drama? Because it's not a documentary, it's a feature film. So one of my screenwriting heroes, Aaron Sorkin, has said that movies on real-life events and real-life people need not be photographs. They can be paintings. Because a photograph is an accurate representation of that period but in a painting, one gets more freedom, more latitude to create drama. Our goal was that the country needed to know about Nair. And in order to do that, we also had the family's blessings with us because the book that we were adapting is written by Nair's great-grandson Raghu Palat. So we went on to create a transformational arc for the character by understanding insights from his life — where Nair goes from a point of being a British aristocrat, somebody who was knighted, to becoming the country's biggest patriot. At the same time, we were mindful that we were not deviating from the factual realities of Jallianwala Bagh. But what we did was that we transformed a defamation suit into a genocide trial because to counter defamation, you need to prove the truth of what happened. The movie essentially became about why what happened at Jallianwala Bagh was a conspiracy. Also Read | Kesari Chapter 2 Movie Review: Akshay Kumar stars in a film of its time, for its time, with dollops of patriotic fervour What I find fascinating is that you are telling us a story which happened a century ago, but your audience is fairly young. So did that play on your mind while writing and directing the film? We wanted our film to appeal to a contemporary young audience as well. Which is why, we had the character of Dilreet Gill, who was a young lawyer of that time. We wanted the young people of the country to understand that they cannot take their freedom for granted; that the freedom that we are living in today is a result of sacrifices made by innumerable people. We wanted the film to appeal to a young audience. Even in our teaser, we have used a four-letter word and the idea behind that abuse was that we wanted it to be reflective of young India's mindset. A young India, which is aggressive and strong, and which does not hesitate to look the oppressor in the eye and hold them accountable. So yes, we were intentionally appealing to the young generation. Would you make another historical period drama? I would really like to. I want to tell human dramas and I'm drawn to history. There are numerous instances in the past that I feel should be documented. So given a chance, I would really love to make another historical drama. Any specific episode from history? I absolutely love reading about the 1857 revolt, which was the first war of independence. I feel that it is a fascinating portrait of our history, which can be documented on the screen beautifully. I'm also drawn to Dr BR Ambedkar and his inspiring story. Also Read | Even as Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2 shows an imagined past, it ends up confronting the present As a filmmaker, do you feel a certain responsibility when you are telling such a story? In this case, we were documenting Jallianwala Bagh and we had to be sensitive and authentic to the people who lost their lives. An added responsibility was because we were documenting the life of Sankaran Nair, which is why we adapted a book written by his family. We had the family read the script. So that responsibility is always there when you are documenting history. But that has to be balanced with making the film engaging and making it appeal to a wide audience.
