Pickle May Cannes 2015 edition

I N D I A N E N T E R TA I N M E N T BIZ GUIDE

MAY 2015

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EUROPEAN FILM MARKET  IT ALL STARTS HERE.

1119 Feb 2016

8,600 Participants 490 Exhibitors 1,600 Buyers 750 Films 1,000 Screenings WWW.EFM-BERLINALE.DE

Meet us at Palais Level 01 Stand No. 22.02 – 24.01

CII Big Picture Summit October 16-17, 2015, New Delhi

Towards $100 billion Indian M&E Sector

Make in India, Show the world 4th Edition

Confederation of Indian Industry presents the fourth edition of its annual flagship event - The Big Picture Summit - for the Media and Entertainment sector.

Join key decision makers, strategists and visionaries driving digital change. “Make In India, Show the World” will be the theme at the Summit.

For more information Ms Kavita Saini/ Ms Neetu Sikka Phone +91 11 45771016, 45771053 email: kavita.saini@cii.in | neetu.sikka@cii.in Website: www.ciibigpicture.com

8 DAYS IN NOVEMBER san ta monica

AMERICAN FILM MARKET & CONFERENCES

www.AmericanFilmMarket.com

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The American Film Market is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance I www.ifta-online.org

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MAY 15TH FRIDAY 9:30 AM @ PALAIS F

FOX STAR STUDIOS INDIA PVT. LTD. WORLD SALES CONTACT

ROHIT SHARMA | rohits@in.foxstarstudios.com | +919820189556 KANIKA VASUDEVA | kanika.vasudeva@in.foxstarstudios.com | +919820283208

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0752484269 / 0763029590

Because Our Audience Makes All the Difference

TIFF Industry would not be what it is without the people it attracts.

Last year alone we welcomed over 5,000 delegates from 80 countries, and more than 2,000 buyers. We hosted 71 professional development sessions and over 250 speakers, presented 1,200 screenings, and much more.

facebook.com/TIFFIndustry twitter.com/TIFF_Industry tiff.net/industry

™ Toronto International Film Festival Inc.

Early-bird registration opens May 5, 2015.

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The world’s top market for the animation film industry 2,450 delegates ■ 513 exhibitors ■ 334 buyers ■ 60 countries

s u Join 2015

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17th 19th June

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30

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annec y festival

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INDIA AT CANNES 2015 12

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he Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, is organising the India Pavilion at the 68th Cannes Film Festival/Market 2015 to project Indian cinema, facilitate to syndicate and market Indian films and filming in India.

The India Pavilion at 111, Village International, Cannes will provide a platform for Indian filmmakers and producers (mainstream and independent) to market Indian films with international territories and engage in coproduction. The objective is to boost the profile of Indian films, facilitate business to business meetings, production services and Indian locales to the world.

The idea is to get to the global audience to see Indian Cinema and become familiar with Indian mainstream and new young aesthetic language.

The India Pavilion will facilitate and provide market opportunities for Indian Panorama films, Indian National Film Award winning movies for sales, syndication and distribution in international territories. In addition, to engage with the mainstream, regional and independent filmmakers, India Pavilion will have networking, knowledge sessions and Happy Hours.

A series of activities are being planned at the India Pavilion Embassy during the market to drive Indian showbiz during the festival. Interactive and networking sessions with international delegates on filming in India, co-production are being planned at the India Pavilion.

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CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2015

THE ASSASSIN

AMY

CAROL

LOUDER THAN BOMBS

The Competition this year, besides two women directors, has as many as nine filmmakers that have never made it to this league before, including one debutant, Hungary’s Laszlo Nemes

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Setting

Cannes ON FIRE There are no known mavericks or potential rabblerousers in the Cannes Competition this year. So look elsewhere for the fireworks. By Saibal Chatterjee

M

any of the most loved heavyhitters of world cinema are conspicuous by their absence from the main Competition of the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Only two directors vying for the Palme d’Or this year – Italy’s Nanni Moretti and American indie veteran Gus Van Sant – have won the coveted prize before. They are in a field that, to some, might seem a bit lightweight at first glance.

Consider this: none of the 17 other Palme d’Or contenders in Cannes 2015 is a previous winner though several of them have, over the years, had multiple films in the festival’s principal section, and even won the secondary awards.

But does the paucity of marquee names rob the Competition of any of its lustre?

It probably does exactly the opposite. It creates the delicious possibility of an exciting new discovery, an absolute outsider in this charmed circle, being added to the pantheon of Palme d’Or winners.

The Competition this year, besides two women directors, has as many as nine filmmakers that have never made it to this league before, including one debutant, Hungary’s Laszlo Nemes, erstwhile Bela Tarr assistant and maker of acclaimed shorts.

Who knows, we might, on awards night, watch Valerie Donzelli, Stephane Brize,

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Michel Franco, Justin Kruzel, Yorgos Lanthimos or Guillaume Nicloux walk up to Grand Lumiere stage and hold aloft the top prize for which the 19 Competition films are in the running.

It is not that they will have it easy. These lesser-known directors are up against auteurs of the stature of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Paolo Sorrentino, Jacques Audiard, Jia Zhangke and Hirokazu Kore-eda, filmmakers whose work never fails to find takers in Cannes. And of course, there are those two old dependables, Moretti and Van Sant.

Nemes’ holocaust drama, Son of Saul, will be in contention for the Camera d’Or for the best debut film in the festival, besides of course the top Competition prize.

The official selection has a host of other debut essays, including Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan, which is one of two Indian films in the Un Certain Regard sidebar.

Among other entries that will be vying for the Camera d’Or are Natalie Portman’s A Tale of Love and Darkness (Special Screening) and the first-ever official selection from Ethiopia, Yared Zeleke’s Lamb (Un Certain Regard). The latter is about a nine-year-old boy and his sheep in a drought-stricken land.

In the main Competition, many discerning eyes will be on 68-year-old Taiwanese mas-

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TALE OF TALES

ter Hsiao-Hsien’s first film in five years, the long-in-gestation martial arts epic, The Assassin. This is the seventh time that Hsiao-Hsien is competing in Cannes.

Starring the director’s long-time muse Shu Qi in the role of a woman trained by a nun to be an assassin in 9th century Tang dynasty China, the film is expected to be a far cry from the contemplative dramas that Hsiao-Hsien is celebrated for.

Cannes Competition regular Nanni Moretti, who took home the Palme d’Or in 2001 for The Son’s Room, is returning to the Croisette this year with Mia Madre (My Mother).

Featuring Margherita Buy and John Turturro, Mia Madre is about a woman filmmaker dealing with a demanding American actor on set and an ailing mother and a growing daughter at home.

Gus Van Sant, winner of the Cannes top prize in 2003 for Elephant, will be a strong contender once again with The Sea of Trees, a drama starring Matthew McConaughey, Ken Watanabe and Naomi Watts.

The Sea of Trees tells the story of an American who travels to Japan to commit suicide in a forest off Mount Fuji, where he meets an equally depressed Japanese.

The two men bond as they explore their inner selves in a bid to understand life and death.

Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, after the immense critical success of 2013’s The Great Beauty, returns to the Croisette with his second English-language film, Youth.

It stars English thespian Michael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor who is compelled to cut short a holiday for a command performance for the Queen. The cast of the film includes Rachel Weisz, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda.

MACBETH

Preeminent Sixth Generation Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke, whose evocative A Touch of Sin won the Best Screenplay prize in Cannes in 2013, is competing this year with Mountains May Depart, a film that moves between eras and continents – from 1990s China to futuristic Australia – to narrate three separate stories.

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2013 for Like Father, Like Son and is hailed for his mastery over the little intimate moments of everyday life, is set to bring pretty much the same subtle emotional texture to bear on his latest Competition entry, Our Little Sister.

The film centres on a 13-year-old girl who meets her elder siblings for the first time ever at the funeral of their father – just the kind of human drama that Kore-eda is so brilliant with. For the Coen Brothersheaded jury as well as the critics, Our Little Sister could be the film to watch.

One of two American directors in the Competition, Todd Haynes, has his hat in the ring via the romantic drama Carol, starring Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett.

Adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel, The Price of Salt, it is the story of a 1950s New York department store clerk who falls for an older, married woman in the hope of turning around his drab life.

Matteo Garrone’s fantasy epic The Tale of Tales may prove to be a worthy follow-up to the 2008 Neapolitan crime drama Gomorrah, which fetched the Italian director the Cannes Grand Prix.

So, even though the 68th Cannes Film Festival does not have a top-heavy Competition line-up, the jury members will have quite a job on their hands, given that the contest looks like a wide open field.

Saibal Chatterjee is an independent New Delhi-based film critic and writer who has worked on the staff of several leading publications, served on the editorial board of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s volume on Hindi cinema and authored a biography of poet-filmmaker Gulzar.

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OUR LITTLE SISTER The race will by no means be limited to the Competition veterans. For in here are two directors – Norway’s Joachim Trier and French-Canadian Denis Villeneuve – whose new films might spring a surprise or two.

Trier is in the fray with his first Englishlanguage film, Louder than Bombs, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert and David Strathairn.

Louder than Bombs is a complex drama about a departed war photographer (played by Huppert), whose husband and two sons discover a secret from her past while a retrospective of her work is being put together.

Villeneuve’s film in the Competition, Sicario, is also an American production. It revolves around a female police officer in Arizona (played by Emily Blunt) who travels across the border to Mexico with two hard-nosed mercenaries (Benecio Del Toro and Josh Brolin) to nab a drug lord.

English seems to be the dominant medium of communication in Cannes this year with several other non-English directors opting for the language in their Competition films.

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ The

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Lobster is a “sci-fi rom-com set in the dystopian near future” starring Colin Ferrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw and Lea Seydoux.

Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco also makes his English-language debut with Chronic, starring Tim Roth.

The cast of Australian director Justin Kurzel’s MacBeth, a reworking of the William Shakespeare tragedy, is spearheaded

by Michael Fassbender and and Marion Cotillard. The film has generated a fair bit of buzz ahead of the festival.

The French presence in the Competition isn’t negligible, with as many as five films representing the host nation: Jacques Audiard’s Dheepan, Valerie Donzelli’s Marguerite and Julien, Maiwenn’s Mon Roi, Stephane Brize’s The Measure of a Man and Guillaume Nicloux’s The Valley of Love.

There are no known mavericks or potential rabble-rousers in the Cannes Competition this year. So look elsewhere for the fireworks. May we suggest Gaspar Noe’s unabashedly erotic Love and Asif Kapadia’s Amy Winehouse documentary? Both get Midnight Screenings.

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MASAAN

Un Certain Regard

by Neeraj Ghaywan

Screening Date and Time:

International Sales Contact:

19th May, at 5PM.

Themba Bhebhe Pathe International, themba.bhebhe@pathe.com

Four lives intersect along the Ganges – a lower-caste boy in hopeless love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a hapless father with a fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family, long to escape the moral constructs of a small-town.

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UN CERTAIN REGARD

CHAUTHI KOOT

Un Certain Regard

by Gurvinder Singh

Screening Date and Time:

International Sales Contact:

15 May: 4:30 pm, Salle Debussy

Elle Driver

16 May: 11 am, Salle Bazin

Eva Diederix, Managing Director eva@elledriver.eu

22 May: 10 pm, Salle Debussy

Chauthi Koot unfolds in 1984 Punjab, a state in turmoil, in the midst of Sikh militancy, in the midst of fear and suspicion. The movie explores the horrible plight of the common man as he ďŹ nds himself trapped between the army and the extremists.

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Shooting of Dheepan in Rameswaram, India

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WIDE ANGLE, THE PRODUCTION PROFESSIONALS F

rench film Dheepan, parts of which have been shot in Tamil Nadu, will vie for the coveted Palm D’Or prize in the Competition Section of the 68th Cannes International Film Festival. India’s ‘Wide Angle Creations’, led by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, collaborated with the Paris-based company ‘Why Not Productions’ to shoot the Jacques Audiard-directed film in India. Portions of Dheepan, based on the journey of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who migrates to Paris, were shot in Rameshwaram, Mandapam, Tuticorin and Ooty.

Among the executive production houses, Wide Angle Creations is known for its transparency and professionalism in it operations and has won trust among many foreign filmmakers. Prior to Dheepan, Wide Angle Creations worked with Michel Spinosa’s Son Epouse (Produced by M/S Ex Nihilo (Paris).

You can connect to George Pius at georgepius@yahoo.com

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CII@CANNES 2015

OPENING GLOBAL GATES FOR INDIAN CINEMA Apart from promoting select Indian states as ideal shooting locales globally, the CII Booth at Palais area would also be coordinating B2B meetings between Indian and international stakeholders

T

he Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been representing India at Cannes for more than a decade, positioning the Indian entertainment industry on the global landscape. Apart from promoting select Indian states as ideal shooting locales globally, the CII Booth at the Palais area would also be coordinating B2B meetings between Indian and international stakeholders. India’s participation at Cannes is aimed at not only promoting the Indian film industry, but also enhancing Trade and Investment for this sector and building ‘Brand India’ at Cannes.

CII will facilitate one-to-one B2B meetings, display brochures at the booth and poster space for companies. CII’s B2B Stand at the Cannes Film Market 2014, Palais will have participation from Indian showbiz companies and various tourism boards.

This year, CII will also promote the second edition of Global Exhibition on Services (GES) from February 24-26, 2016 in New Delhi. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, GES is organised in association with CII and SEPC. The first edition of GES brought content buyers, content creators, technology service providers and location executives under one platform. At Cannes, CII looks forward to engage with international buyers to explore GES 2016. The main objective of

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the event is to position India as a leader in the services sector to the rest of the world.

At Cannes, CII M&E Division will project its annual flagship conference ‘The Big Picture Summit’, which would take place on 16 - 17 October 2015 at New Delhi with the objective of “Taking Indian M&E industry to $100 billion”. One of the themes for this year is ‘Make In India, Show The World,”. CII cordially invites international delegations and overseas production houses to participate in the Summit. “Visit our booth for more details”.

With 29 States, 67 languages, 850 million people under the age of 35, five hundred TV channels, three billion cinema ticket sales and no major restrictions, India offers immense opportunity for filmmakers not only to shoot in India, but simultaneously work on an Indian version of the film that will give business access in India. And, there are no restrictions to dub and release the film in as many as five languages.

VISIT CII @ PALAIS Meet us at Palais Level 01 Stand No. 22.02–24.01

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MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE IN PICKLE JUNE 2015 ANNECY & MIFA ISSUE. Pickle reaches out to audio visual companies in over 50 countries; Targets global buyers and distributors; Film Festivals and markets; Animation production companies; Global companies looking at offshoring from India; Co-production seekers and location service providers. Pickle business guide tracks the entertainment business in India.

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EROS AT CANNES 2015

Eros’s Cannes plans revealed

Pranab KAPADIA President Marketing & Distribution

Cannes gives us a great platform to showcase our forthcoming content as well as evaluate the ever evolving, creative trends worldwide, says Pranab Kapadia, President Distribution & Marketing, Eros International Eros International has been regular for almost three decades at Cannes Film Market. How is Cannes different from other markets?

Cannes has always been an important market for us. Not only does it attract buyers from across the globe, most of them attend with a mindset to transact and close deals. Cannes also gives us a great platform to showcase our forthcoming content as well as evaluate the ever evolving, creative trends worldwide.

What are your focus films at this year’s market?

We have some significant films releasing this year. Tanu Weds Manu Returns is

pickle entertainment biz guide

sequel to the hit Tanu Weds Manu starring Kangana Ranaut and Madhavan.

Releasing worldwide 22 May, this will be followed by Dil Dhadakne Do, a film from the makers of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Don & Dil Chahata Hai, comes this year’s biggest multi starcast family blockbuster.

Directed by Zoya Akhtar and starring Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Anushkha Sharma & Anil Kapoor. Releasing Worldwide 5 June. Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan will star in the most awaited film of the year, Bajrangi Bhaijaan releasing 17 July. Singh is Bling, a sequel to the hugely successful Singh is King starring Akshay Kumar will release on 2 October. This year

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Indian film content has diversified significantly in terms of concepts and narratives promises to end with a bang with the release of much awaited Bajirao Mastani, a film produced & directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali starring Ranveer Singh & Deepika Padukone.

Eros tops the global distribution of Indian films and your forte is Europe?

Do we have any more ground to cover in newer territories?

We are constantly working on expanding the territorial scope of our films. Latin America, Middle East, North Africa & Eastern European block are our focus areas after successfully expanding into nontraditional markets like Taiwan, Korea & Japan. France, Spain, Germany & Austria are witnessing frequent releases from Bollywood so that’s very encouraging.

What is unique about Indian film content? Give your perspective on Indian content consumption beyond Diaspora and where is the action now?

Indian film content has diversified significantly in terms of concepts and narratives. With cross cultural influences and constant inflow of Hollywood films in India, our film makers are thinking out of the box, constantly developing ideas that are different, yet retaining connect with both mass and class audiences. This change has allowed us to break into newer markets outside the diaspora.

India’s NDA government is top in the radar of many countries in the world.

Do you see this as a new trend in India’s soft power and do you see this reflected in business of entertainment?

pickle entertainment biz guide

We have witnessed a gradual and distinct Impact of India’s soft power on the business of entertainment through the last decade. This present government is doing a great job of pushing that forward at an even faster pace. I have no doubt we will see some huge opportunities in the near future.

How rampant is piracy of Bollywood films in the international market?

And how have you been battling this?

Piracy is major problem. Earlier it was in physical form, now on the internet.

As long as there are enough consumers seeking it, piracy will continue to thrive.

Having said this, we have deployed significant resources to counter piracy. We have engaged multiple agencies specialising in take downs of illegal web/torrent links, these are followed by legal notices to non compliant sites, some even resulting in prosecution. We hope to mobilise more resources through collective participation of other content stakeholders.

This year Fast & Fuirous 7, Avengers Age of Ultron have exceedingly done well in Indian box office. How do you see this trend?

Apart from the fact that both these films were blockbusters worldwide, this was the first time, Hollywood Studios decided to use the wide network of e-cinema (non DCI compliant) screens available in India. This gave them a chance to double their screen count and thereby reach a bigger audience. This trend will continue and we will see more big ticket Hollywood films entering the ‘100 crore club’.

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EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

KUMAR AHUJA President, Business Development kumar.ahuja@erosintl.com

BOOTH NO PALAIS 01 STAND 25.02

ALICE COELHO PRANAB KAPADIA VP Syndication Sales President Marketing & Distribution alice.coelho@erosintl.com pranab.kapadia@erosintl.com

Eros International Media operates on a vertically integrated studio model managing content as well as distribution and exploitation across all formats globally, including cinema, digital, home entertainment and television syndication. It has over 1900 films in its library and is at Cannes with new films. Eros can be reached at Cannes Stand PALAIS 01 Stand 25.02.

DIL DHADAKNE DO D Dhadakne Do A bittersweet comedy drama Dil aabout a family that takes a trip that changes tthem forever. Kamal and Neelam Mehra, one oof the most popular couples in Delhi society aare entering their 30th year of marriage. This iis an occasion that calls for a lavish celebration iin their circles. Kamal and Neelam take these ssocial responsibilities very seriously and invite cclose family and friends on a 10 day cruise of EEurope. O Once on th the ship, hi th theiri lilives start t t tto unfold. f ld KKamal is heading to bankruptcy; Neelam and he can barely tolerate each other. Their business savvy daughter, Ayesha is sick of her marriage and wants a divorce, which leads to a lot of drama with her husband, and inlaws who are also there. Their son Kabir, who is slated to take over the family business and hopefully save the company by marrying the only daughter of the wealthy Sood family, starts to have other ideas. He falls in love with an entertainer on board the ship and realizes he is not cut out for business after all. Will the Mehra s socially sink? How will they be able to confront the society that is so fake and judgmental? How will they swim to shore and survive as a happy family? This is what Dil Dhadakne Do is about.

Director(S): Zoya Akhtar Producer(S): Farhan Akhtar (Excel Entertainment), Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel Entertainment) Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Shefali Shah, Anil Kapoor

BADLAPUR It’s a crime dark drama with an interesting game of taking action and responsibility, of being able to -- and not being able to -forgive and make sacrifices. The film delivers top-notch thriller, which gives a little imagination of how a happy man’s life changes into an unstable emotional state, and the twist becomes the part of formula. Varun Dhawan will be playing roles of three generations in the film including that of a 60 year old.

Director(S): Sriram Raghavan dia Ltd) Producer(S): Sunil Lulla (Eros International Media Ltd), Dinesh Vijan (Maddock Films) Cast: Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam 26

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NH10 NH10 is a 2015 Indian crime-thriller film directed by Navdeep Singh. It stars Anushka Sharma and Neil Bhoopalam in lead roles, and marks the production debut of Sharma. The film is co-produced by Phantom Films and Eros International.

Director(S): Navdeep Singh Producer(S): Vikramaditya Motwane (Phantom Films), Anurag Kashyap (Phantom Films), Vikas Bahl (Phantom Films), Anushka Sharma (Clean Slate Films), Kanesh Sharma (Clean Slate Films), Krishika Lulla (Eros International) Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Boopalam

TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS Director(S): Aanand L . Rai Producer(S): Krishika Lulla (Eros International Media Ltd.), Aanand L. Rai (Colour Yellow Productions Pvt Ltd.) Cast: Kangana Ranaut, R Madhavan

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GABBAR – IS BACK Gabbar Singh Rajput (Akshay Kumar) creates his own vigilante military network called the Anti-Corruption Force (ACF) that eliminates the most corrupt individuals, from all walks of life, in a systematic manner. As pressure builds on Police and Government to track down the Man who masterminds these killings, Balbir Singh, is specially summoned to head the task. He is aided by Suryam who, though being just a constable in the mammoth Police force, is compelled by his instincts to see through the underlying design.

Director(S): Krish Producer(S): Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions), Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures)

MARY KOM Director(S): Omung Kumar Producer(S): V18 Mp (Viacom18 Motion Pictures), Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions) Cast: Priyanka Chopra

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YASH RAJ FILMS Résidence L’impératrice / Left Of Grand Hotel, 3rd Floor 44 Boulevard De La Croisette 06400 Cannes, France Email: cannes@yashrajfilms.com / avtar@yashrajfilms.com Tel: Mob: + 33 - 660693921 India Mob: + 91 9920 347780 AVTAR PANESAR Vice-President, International Operations

Yash Raj Films is at Cannes Film Market to showcase the current slate of YRF tentpole films for 2015. They are are also looking to syndicate the YRF catalogue of films along with “Dhoom: 3” - the highest grossing film in Indian cinema history

Market Screening

MARDAANI (FEARLESS)

Shivani Shivaji Roy is an astute cop working in a Mumbai Crime Branch unit. Deft at picking up hidden clues and fearless in confronting hardened criminals, Shivani stumbles on a case that will change her life forever.

A teenage girl is kidnapped by the child trafficking mafia and smuggled outside the PALAIS J 15:30hrs city. Shivani embarks on an obsessive hunt MAY 19 for the girl and what follows is a cat and mouse game between a fearless cop and a ruthless mafia kingpin.

Directed by: Pradeep Sarkar | Produced by: Aditya Chopra (Yash Raj Films) | Starring: Rani Mukerji | International Sales: avtar@yashrajfilms.com

CALCUTTA DETECTIVE (DETECTIVE BYOMKESH BAKSHY!) In a contemporary interpretation of war torn Calcutta during the 1940’s, the film follows the first adventure of Byomkesh, fresh out of college, as he pits himself against an evil genius who is out to destroy the world. It’s his Market Screening wits against the most villainous arch criminal PALAIS J 17:30hrs the world has seen, in a world of murder, MAY 19 international political intrigue and seduction.

This is the first in a series that will feature Bengali bestseller writer Saradindu Banerjee’s most famous creation and India’s widest read and best known detective character for the first time in a Hindi feature.

Directed by: Dibakar Banerjee | Produced by: Aditya Chopra (Yash Raj Films) | Starring: Sushant Singh Rajput | International Sales: avtar@yashrajfilms.com 28

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MY BIG FAT BRIDE (DUM LAGA KE HAISHA)

Market Screening

PALAIS H 11:30hrs May 20

The story revolves around the life of a small town couple. From overcoming his fear of the English language to dealing with an overbearing father, Prem discovers that his oversized wife, Sandhya, who he thought was a spanner in his business and life, will actually lead him to something cool.

Director: Sharat Katariya | Producer: Maneesh Sharma (Yash Raj Films) | Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar | International Sales: avtar@yashrajfilms.com

PIKU Piku (Deepika Padukone) juggles her life as a successful architect and being a single parent to her 70-year old father Bhashkor Banerji (Amitabh Bachchan). Getting a life of her own, just doesn’t seem possible – not for the lack of trying but she’s weighed down Market Screening by the responsibilities of her work, home PALAIS H 15:30hrs and a hypochondriac father. While both are May 20 deeply attached with one another, they are equally strong headed, stubborn and just won’t let go when dealing with each other’s idiosyncrasies and quirks!

When Bhashkor emotionally blackmails Piku to take a road trip from Delhi to native Calcutta, the owner of the local cab company Rana (Irrfan Khan) has no choice but to drive them personally since none of his drivers are willing to endure Piku or her eccentric father. During this crazy road trip they learn to deal with each other’s moods and idiosyncrasies and it reveals more than Bhashkor’s bathroom habits.

Piku is a heart warming slice of life film about a father daughter relationship where Bhaskor’s irritating yet endearing demeanor and Piku’s equally headstrong nature may always be at loggerheads but this seemingly dysfunctional relationship is bonded by an understated and an unconditional love that leaves you wanting more.

Director: Shoojit Sircar | Producer: Ronnie Lahiri | Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan | International Sales: avtar@yashrajfilms.com

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YASH RAJ FILMS @ CANNES

FANTASTIC 4 FROM YRF

AVTAR PANESAR Vice President, International Operations, Yash Raj Films What will be your highlight at the Cannes Film Market 2015?

We are having 4 market screenings for the first time as we have a very mixed basket of films this year. The focus is to showcase these films this year.

All your focus films at Cannes -Mardaani (Fearless), Calcutta Detective, My Big Fat Bride and Piku -- are very distinct and different. What makes these films reach beyond territories?

Well I feel they all tell indigenous Indian stories yet speak to the world, both in their

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pickle entertainment biz guide

Yash Raj Flms is at Cannes Film Market with 4 market screenings for the first time. It has a very mixed basket of films and the focus is to showcase them to global audience.

A chat with Avtar Panesar

narratives and the basic human emotion.

These are what I term as New Age Bollywood, no song and dance numbers, shorter 120 minutes as the running times – makes these films more palatable to the non-Indians all over the world.. We have had a great response to these films so far and I am hoping we’ll see some deals here in Cannes.

YRF has the biggest release of the year -- Shah Rukh starring Fan… Yes indeed, this is a very interesting film that deals with Hero worship in India,

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as you are aware, there are a number of stars who have temples made for them and people worship these stars – Fan is a story of one such obsessed fan. It’s a real edge of the seat thriller and despite having India’s biggest star, there are no song and dances in the film. We have brought the Korean action director Mr. OH on board, to give the action a different look and feel.

How does YRF’s 2015 slate look like…

The 2015 slate is consciously light as we have a monster year in 2016. So this year, we only have 4 films with Calcutta Detective, Piku, Bank Chor and FAN. Talk about the Dhoom franchise?

Last year YRF released Dhoom 3 in Chinese market? Tell about the global reach of Dhoom 3?

Well Dhoom is India’s most successful action franchise and every Dhoom film comes with high expectations. The franchise revolutionised the business with its launch in 2004 and every Dhoom film has raised the stakes. The franchise is unique in that being cast as a Dhoom villain is considered the ultimate high for any star/actor. When you go for Dhoom, you expect stunts will be the next level.

However, in D:3 people also discussed an emotional core in the film and not just motor bike chases and robberies. I believe that’s made D:3 achieve the numbers it did.

China has opened with 2500 approx screens and that’s opened the doors to others. Of course we need to work harder with the Chinese distributors to get the reporting and the logistics sorted but that’s something that we’re all working towards collectively. Dhoom, found its way to around 60 International markets and has increased that footprint.

Has the multi-screen viewing of films altered the way of your engagement with buyers in international territories?

That’s evolution and we have to embrace it. So far it hasn’t impacted us greatly but I suspect slowly but surely, it will.

Do you see Bollywood film’s content growth in the international market?

Of course, I think we are all working towards growing our international footprint but we must be careful and be honest about our films. By that I mean, while it’s always tempting to sell a film to an unsuspecting buyer who may not have the insight, we must be clear in

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our own minds that if the film is not right for an audience, don’t insist on a release. We have paid heavily in the past in markets like Germany and Poland where everything went crazy.. Eventually Poland died out and now after 8 years we are trying to introduce that audience to “New Age Bollywood”. Are we expanding to new geographies and new audiences?

- yes of course, we hope to keep chipping away at it.. In the recent past, even counties like Lebanon and Myanmar are showing a marked improvement after having opened up with Dhoom. I expect this to continue. Pakistan proved to be the 4th largest market for Dhoom 3 despite only around 35 cinema reach.. So imagine what that market can do once we’re in to 350 screens. The tougher challenge is to see if we can get traction in the core markets like US & UK where we are not able to get the native audiences to taste the flavours of Bollywood.

How rampant is piracy of Bollywood films in the international market?

And how have you been battling this?

This has been an age old problem and isn’t going away ever. As a company we have invested millions to combat this menace, but the fact remains, it’s a soft crime and while there might be all the laws in place, implementation is non-existence. From the physical it has moved to online now..

The piracy has now resulted in us opening wider on day one, the other windows are shrinking and the shelf life of a film is reduced to days. While we continue to do whatever is necessary we are coexisting, that’s the bitter truth.

This year Fast & Furious 7, Avengers Age of Ultron have exceedingly done well in Indian box office. How do you see this trend?

It’s early days but it’s certainly a preview of the things to come. Big ticket Hollywood films are finding a foothold now as the trend of dubbing them is capturing the interiors of India – that said the not all Hollywood content appeals to the Indians. This mirrors our Bollywood success in the International markets, where, irrespective of good content, the big hitters are the spectacles led by stars and the smaller films or just plain ‘good cinema’ is not getting any traction. We’ve had a bad first half for Indian films this year, but the second half looks immensely promising – but that’s the Entertainment Business.

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FOX STAR STUDIOS INDIA PVT LTD.

ROHIT SHARMA Head – International Sales & Distribution Mob: + 91 98201 89556 rohits@in.foxstarstudios.com

KANIKA VASUDEVA Associate Vice President – International Sales & Distribution kanika.vasudeva@in.foxstarstudios.com

Fox Star Studios India is a joint venture between 20th Century Fox and STAR, Asia’s leading media conglomerate, to produce world-class local- language films for worldwide distribution. At the Cannes Market this year Fox Star will be selling their latest films for 2015-2016

Market Screening

CROW'S EGG (KAAKAA MUTTAI) MAY 15, Palais F 09:30hrs When a pizza parlor opens on their old playground, two carefree slum boys are consumed by the desire to taste this newfangled dish called ‘pizza’. Realizing that one pizza costs more than their family’s monthly income, they begin to plot ways to earn more money – inadvertently beginning an adventure that will involve the entire city.

Director: M Manikandan | International Sales: rohits@in.foxstarstudios.com; kanika.vasudeva@in.foxstarstudios.com

BOMBAY VELVET MAY 15, Palais I 18:00hrs; May 16, Palais F 17:30hrs; May 18, Palais I 18:00hrs Set against the jazz age of Mumbai, the story spans a period from the late 1940’s through to the 1970’s Bombay Velvet is the story Market Screening of the rise and fall of one boy Balraj who transforms into Karan, a gangster in Mumbai post Independence and on the verge of becoming a metropolisThe story of the rise and fall of one boy Balraj who transforms into Karan, a gangster in Mumbai post Independence and on the verge of becoming a metropolis.

Set against the jazz age of Mumbai, the story spans a period from the late 1940’s through to the 1970’s when the first skyscrapers started to be built.

It is also his love story with Rosie, a jazz singer from Goa. Jazz clubs, bareknuckled boxing, a growing city, gangsters fighting for a piece of the pie; welcome to Bombay Velvet Director: Anurag Kashyap | Producer: Fox Star Studios And Phantom Pictures | Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar | International Sales: rohits@in.foxstarstudios.com; kanika.vasudeva@in.foxstarstudios.com 32

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VIACOM18 MOTION PICTURES

Gayatri Gulati Head- Revenues & International Business Sales gayatri.gulati@viacom18.com

Viacom18 Motion Pictures is India’s finest fully integrated motion pictures studio that has emerged as a force to reckon with by delivering a stream of critically and commercially successful films

SHIMLA MIRCH

While on a holiday to Shimla, Avi meets Naina and falls in love with her. Smitten by her, he decides to stay back and starts working in her café as a handyman.

He writes her a love letter to confess his love but she sends it on to her mother Rukmani, who’s struggling with a low self-esteem after her husband left them for another woman. Eventually Rukmani comes to the conclusion that Avi is her secret admirer and Naina plays up to this to keep her mother content and sane. When Naina tells the truth neither Rukmani nor Avi are pleased but love eventually finds a way to make them all happy.

Director: Ramesh Sippy Producer: Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures)

PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA II

A story of 3 unsuspecting bachelors who fall for the girls of their dreams, or so they think, until the dreams are turned into nightmares. Riding the roller coaster ride called relationship, the three are tortured in their own unique, yet relatable ways.

A notch above the cult - Pyaar ka Punchnama - watch a man’s ‘better half’ tear him apart into halves with Pyaar ka Punchnama II. Director: Luv Ranjan Producer: Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures)

DRISHYAM

Desperate measures are taken by a man who tries to save his family from the dark side of the law, after they commit an unexpected crime.

Director: Nishikant Kamat Producer: Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures)

DHARAM SANKAT MEIN

Dharampal Rammohan Tiwari is a easygoing 53 year old, average upper middle class man. He runs a much admired catering business in Bhopal. He is a moderate Hindu and has fairly liberal views about religion. The recent death of his mother is when Dharampal discovers his true identity. While rummaging through his mother’s few worldly possessions in a bank locker he chances upon his birth certificate from which he learns that he is adopted, and is originally, a Muslim and his biological father is alive (albeit on deathbed)….and in order to meet his father all he needs to do is embrace Islam! What happens next is a hilarious turn of events, with lies, tricks, embarrassments and some extremely poignant moments…this time…Dharam really is in Sankat!

Director: Fuwad Khan Producer: Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18 Motion Pictures)

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ZEE ENTERTAINMENT @ MIPTV

fro m

CONTENT BUYS

Zee Bollywold is the world’s biggest complication of premium Indian entertainment content. A one point source that gives you access to over 120,000 hours of programming that range from family dramas, romance, reality, comedy, cookery, thrillers, travel, formats, movies and more!

DANCE INDIA DANCE – Format India’s biggest dance talent show, DID is aunqiue platform for talented and aspiring dancers to become future sensations. This is the highest level of competition for promising dancers who compete with each other with guidance from well-known Bollywood choreographers. Their destiny will finally be decided by public voting.

Our services include movies and television serials with dubbed or subtitled versions readily available in many foreign languages.

EMAIL: sunita.uchil@zee.esselgroup.com WEBSITE: www.zeebollyworld.com / www.zeetelevision.com

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HOME MINISTER – Format A unique family based game show that caters to a range of emotions: love, pride, honour, fulfillment, joy and tears of compassion. Exciting and pulse racing house games are conducted in between our two ‘Home Ministers’ and their families.

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KUMKUM BHAGYA – Format GOOD FOOD AMERICA Good Food America takes viewers on a coast-to-coast culinary adventure in search of the tastiest, healthiest eats in America. From vegan cafes and locavore bistros to truck shops and cantinas, hosts Danny Boome discover the country’s most inspired farm-to-table restaurants and chefs and serve up delicious new cooking alternatives while bringing to life benefits of healthy eating. Danny Boome has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.

The Story follows the life of a mother who runs a marriage hall called ‘’KumkumBhagya’and lives with the hopes of seeing her two daughters’ who are poles apart in bearing, outlook and disposition, happily married someday. It is about these two sister’s bond, dreams, aspirations and their interwined as seen from the eyes of their mother.

RAZIA SULTAN – Drama Grand-daughter of Qutub-ud-din Aibak, and daughter of Shams-ud-din Illtumish, Razia was born a princess like many other nameless and countless girls born around her every day.

But, there was a fire in her, which in the years to come would make her an extraordinary ruler and a fearsome warrior.

Razia Sultan is the story of the first woman Sultan of India and the only woman to have successfully ruled and unified the Mamluks - a fierce and extremely vicious race of men for whom violence was second nature.

Z LIVING Z Living has the best of health, lifestyle and wellness programming. With over 1,500 hours of first-run, original HD/SD content, it is the most comprehensive catalogue of fitness, healthy cooking, wellness, lifestyle, reality and travel shows that connect more and more viewers to the benefits of joys of living a healthy life.

YOGAPALOOZA Hosted by performer, songwriter, yoga teacher Bari Koral, Yogapalooza teaches kids simple yoga moves and build selfawareness while igniting their imagination. Join Bari and her friends in the wonderland land of Yogapalooza as kids morph from caterpillars into butterflies, zoom like rocket ships and visit ‘the mindful garden.

THE INCURABLES Despite all the advances in modern medicine, many medial conditions confound even the best of conventional doctors. The Incurables follows the courageous journeys of patients who have overcome crippling or even life-threatening disorders, using alternative treatments.

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ZEE MAKES IT FOR THE WORLD

ZEE SERVES ENTERTAINMENT TO WORLD India still remains the key focus of content creation. Through ďŹ lms, Bollywood has already made a mark around the globe; TV dramas and series will soon follow to claim their share of the limelight, says SUNITA UCHIL, Global Head - Syndication, CRO- International Ad Sales, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Excerpts of an interview with Pickle SUNITA UCHIL Global Head - Syndication, CRO- International Ad Sales, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

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Make In India, Show the World is real now with Zee Entertainment syndicating its home grown reality show Dance India Dance as Dance Thailand Dance to JKN Global Media Thailand. What is its significance?

This is a landmark achievement since it’s the very first time that a talent show format created for mainstream GEC in India has been licensed internationally Indian content industry’s contribution to the national initiative - ‘Make in India’.

Historically, Thailand and India have shared a wonderful bond of friendship & cultural harmony. Our tie-up with JKN Global Media to create ‘Dance Thailand Dance’ is yet another tribute to this bond.

The success of this dance format will bring to fore the latent talent of the youth of Thailand to 22 million TV viewing homes in the country.

The interesting part in Dance India Dance format is that before it was launched nationally in Zee TV, it was tried in one of Zee’s regional TV channels. So, Dance India Dance has a strong audience connect across segments?

DID is a successful format across our regional network. We believe that ‘Dance India Dance’, like some of our other format shows as ‘Home Minister’, has played an important role in the transformation of our society. Our formats not only have a strong connect with audiences, but have also helped people open up towards acceptance of performing arts as a profession. The aspiring talent looks upon these ZEE shows as a platform to launch their professional career.

Zee is the leader from India in its global spread. Give a perspective of Zee’s reach in global territories.

Spanning 5 continents, ZEE reaches out to more than 730+ million viewers in more than 169 countries. The South Asian diaspora is spread across the length and

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pickle entertainment biz guide

breadth of the world and is of relevance in most countries both financially and culturally. True to our brand philosophy of ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam – The World Is My Family’; Zee also has localized channels addressing the entertainment requirements of local mainstream audiences.

Zee Entertainment has been capturing the attention of international eyeballs through its syndication of variety of its programmes from India. Where do you see this going forward?

I guess this stems from the fact that world over audiences are seeking good storylines with great production values.

We currently syndicate our content to 62 countries in over20 languages. We have been approached with ideas for customized productions and co-productions. This will set the pace for the next big initiatives.

What are the other Zee shows and programmes that you are currently focusing?

We are proud to present our Z living catalogue which has health, wellness and lifestyle content produced in our studios from the USA. We also have some exciting new drama series ‘Jamai Raja’, ‘KumKumBhagya’, & ‘Service waaliBahu’ and ‘SatrangiSasuraal’; along with our blockbuster costume drama; ‘Razia Sultan’. Interestingly, for the first time ever we are also showcasing 2 animated series and some fantastic edutainment content for children.

What attracts Indian content as a genre to the world?

Zee is the first to create a separate brand umbrella for Trading & Syndication and this concept has well received within trade circles. This embodies the global nature of Zee with its roots in Indian culture & tradition. A perfect balance of great stories for modern times. This is the core of attraction to Indian content.

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A new wave has emerged in Indian cinema. An exciting new breed of filmmakers, many of them film school alumni, have embraced radical and rebellious ‘marginality’ to share more than just straightforward stories. They are the future of Indian cinema to the world. By Saibal Chatterjee

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THE NEW GEN

Indian ‘Indies’ Where the Future Lies

39

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Anup Sin gh

Geneva-ba sed FTII alumnus Anup Sing h made a d istinctive directorial deb ago with th ut over a decade e Bengali-l anguage Ekti Nadir Naam (Th e N a River), a ame of tribute to c inematic lodestar R itwikGhata k through a love sto ry of two refugees.

Singh follo wed it up in 2 0 the haunti ng Qissa – 14 with The Tale of a Lonely G crafted Pu host, a brilliantly nja family upro bi ¿lm about a oted from its land by the Part ition.He is c urrently working o n M the Scorpio antra – Song of ns, set in R ajasthan and fea turing P aris-based Iranian Go lshiftehFara hani.

Manjeet Singh Mumbai-based mechanical engineer-turned-¿lmmaker, the ¿ercely independent Manjeet Singh crafted Mumbai Cha Raja, India’s answer to Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Billionaire. The ¿lm, an of¿cial selection at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, celebrated the indomitable spirit of two Mumbai street boys, Rahul and Arbaaz, who escape life’s grim realities by making the most of the little joys of life. Singh’s next project, Chenu, set against the backdrop of caste violence in rural Bihar, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s CinefondationL’atelier in 2013.

40

r Singh

de Gur vin

ian dent Ind n e p e d in ices, One of nique vo u t s o m d cinema’s der Singh passe ¿ rst Gurvin 2001. His a in II T F hey D out of heyGhor n ,A e r rse, tu fea Blind Ho a r fo s lm dia’s Daan (A ed him In ch tc fe , ) 1 ire 201 r Best D fo d r a w A on, withti a National it c d r awa on, tion. The aggerati x e f o ta out an io as “an aesthetic nd e ¿lm h’s seco hailed th g in S . ” e rc th tour de fo hauthiKoot (Four C n venture, two India f o e n o ), is n in Direction l selectio ia c f¿ o e r. ¿lms in th Cannes this yea

Dev Be ne g

al One of the earli es the gen uinely in t movers in d epende space o n f Indian cinema t Benega , De lb in 1994 urst on the sce v ne wit applaud h the critically ed Engli sh based o n Indo-A , August, n Upama nyu Cha glian writer tterjee’s novel o f the sa m e name screenw . The rit made tw er-director has since o Wide O other ¿lms, Sp pen and lit R that hav e con¿r oad, Movie, m tation a s a dire ed his repuctor with sibility e a senntirely h is own.

Movie e R merged oad, fro Cannes L’atelier m the , project was sele for which the c Benega ted in 2 00 lis a dark c currently work 6. in omedy, Dead, E g on nd.

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Much has been, and is being, made of the New Bollywood. But if one were to take a closer and more dispassionate look, that is probably not where the action is, and will be. Indeed.

It is ‘Non-Bollywood’ that is poised to be the latest buzzword. If it isn’t already there, it is most certainly on the way to becoming the space where the world will increasingly engage with Indian cinema in the foreseeable future.

An exciting new breed of Indian filmmakers, many of them film school alumni, have embraced radical and rebellious ‘marginality’ to share more than just straightforward stories.

Their films are packed with lush cinematic experiences, complex personal memories, visions of socio-political fissures, and surreal allegories rooted in both traditional folklore and postmodern phantasy.

These individualistic directors are India cinema’s true independents. They work outside of Bollywood, strike partnerships with unconventional global allies, and venture forth into uncharted territories.

Despite the odds loaded against them on account of a distribution-exhibition system that resists even the mildest of experiments, they still manage to get their voices and images across to an audience, which, thankfully, is swelling slowly but steadily.

The funds are limited, the audience is insubstantial, and survival is anything but easy. Yet these filmmakers haven’t panicked and thrown in the towel. The result has been salutary.

A few years ago, Cannes embraced Ashim Ahluwalia’s layered Miss Lovely. This year, in the same section of the world’s biggest film festival, another unique cinematic voice will be heard: that of Gurvinder Singh (ChauthiKoot).

Many of the other major films festivals of world – Berlin, Venice, Torontoamong them – have regularly been showcasing the works of Anup Singh, Amit Dutta and Qaushiq Mukherjee.

Each of these mavericks responds to creative impulses that are entirely original and startlingly rewarding for audiences that have tired of the familiar and the predictable.

These directors stand well apart from even the likes of Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Vishal Bhardwaj.

These successful Mumbai filmmakers, while working within the confines of mainstream Hindi cinema, have rendered yeoman service in upholding fresh modes of filmic expression that break free from old narrative templates.

Dibakar Banerjee was a co-producer of erstwhile assistant KanuBehl’sTitli, which made the Un Certain Regard cut last year.

This year, the section has NeerajGhaywan’sMasaan. Ghaywan, a former media executive, learnt the ropes of filmmaking under the tutelage of Anurag Kashyap during the Gangs of Wasseypur shoot.

But the ‘new’ independent Indian cinema is driven by directors who draw inspiration from moments of history, personal and cultural, that lends themselves to images of such eloquence that they speak a universal language to communicate with cineastes the world over.

41

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an rabhush d n a h C Shivajee of both style and -

ab In terms eChandr je a iv h S e, e substanc ho carved a nich w , but, hushan 2007 de is h h it of lf w for himse of¿cial selection n a al Film Frozen, ternation In to n o nd r the To a black a re s a w It whe Festival.

Ladakh, in t e s ge white ¿lm ggles against hu u t str the mids a family in t a o À tay a pe odds to s eautiful landsca b ly stunning s as a contrast to e ships. that serv ing hard d n e n u d ¿lm, their ’s secon n a h s u h h, b in Ladak Chandra t e s o ls e, a e One Mor a local ic d n u o r a anrevolved 2012, Ch e In . m a h te hockey project, T w e n ’s han s the drabhus h explore o ic h w , le c a n Àamen Untold T e e tw e b on connecti k, was part of the a 12. and kath lier in 20 te á L s e n Can

Amit D utta

India’s m mental ¿ ost prominent lm e with ima maker, Amit Du xperige and s tta plays o that is dif¿cult und in a manne r to cate ease to gorise be but ing from enthralled by.

Gr FTII Pun e in 200 aduatceasele 4 ss , he has path do ly followed a c inematic wn whic h reality c oalesce memories and the ima s gination eamlessly with . Dutta length ¿ ’s featu lm re Anya K s – Aadmi Ki AuratAu ahaniya r an an and Other S (Man’s Womt (The G olden B ories), Sonchid ird) and i – have Nainsuk aroused h cr around the wor itical interest a ll ld a rare I , makin nd g him a raised t ian ¿lmmaker he med who ha s ium to t high art he leve . l of

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pickle entertainment biz guide

Ashim Ahluwalia Born and raised in Mumbai, Ashim Ahluwalia has steadfastly worked outside the mainstream movie industry. Not only that, the maker of the feature length documentary John & Jane (2005) and Miss Lovely (2012), his style is characterized by a blend of documentary and ¿ction. The latter ¿lm probed the innards of the 1980s C-grade Mumbai ¿lm industry.

Ahluwalia is now prepping for his third ¿lm, The Boyfriend, is an adaptation of a 2003 novel set in Mumbai and authored by gay rights activist R Raj Rao. It delves into the class and caste dynamics of a city through a love story between two men.

Shonali Bose Currently in the news for the sensitive Margarita With A Straw, a bittersweet drama about a woman with cerebral palsy, Shonali Bose has ploughed a lonely furrow as a ¿lmmaker. Her debut feature, Amu, released in 2005, homed in on individuals affected by the 1984 anti-Sikhriots. She co-wrote Bedabrata Pain’s critically acclaimed Chittagong (2012), a dramatization of a signi¿cant chapter in India’s freedom struggle. For Margarita With A Straw, Bose cast KalkiKoechlin in a role that called for absolute commitment of time and energy. For both the director and the lead actress, the ¿lm has been unquali¿ed artistic triumph.

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Geetu M ohanda

s A successfu l M alayalam actress and o n e -¿lm-old director, Geetu M oh is best k nown acro andas s s India for the in dependen tly funded Liar ’s Dice , which ha d its world premiere a t the Sund ance Film Festival in 2013. The title, also went to the Inte which rn Film Festi val Rotterd ational am, tells the story o f a hill villa g e woman who, with her three -year-old daughter, sets out in search of her hus band, who has gone missing aft er migratin g to a big city to look for work.

Qaushiq Mukherjee Few Indian ¿lms have stirred as much debate or shocked the staid into silence as Gandu (a cuss word). Its maker, Qaushiq Mukherjee, credited as Q, employs irreverence as his creative stock in trade.

Gandu, which premiered in Berlin in 2011 and has played alla cross the world and acquired cult following, has more explicit sex than Indian audiences could digest – the ¿lm has never been submitted to the censors in the country and remains unreleased. Q’s second feature, TasherDesh, a trippy adaptation of a play by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, was far more conservative by Q’s standards.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

rni UmeshVinayak Kulka

alumUmesh Kulkarni, FTII short nus, has much lauded credit. ¿lms and features to his tor The Pune-based direc nt of has been in the forefro dent contemporary indepen ering Marathi-language, deliv since consistent quality ever Wild debuting with Valu (The ce made Bull). Kulkarni has sin Vihir such well regarded as iered in (The Well), which prem TemBerlin, and Deool (The won r ple). In 2011, the latte for Best India’s National Award fetchFeature Film, besides logue ing lead actor and dia brace writer Girish Kulkarni a of awards.

Aditya VikramSengupta

Aditya VikramSengupta, pa inter and ¿lmmaker, is a Calcutta University alumnus who ca me into cinema after a longish stint at a Bengali music TV channel as a director of on -air promos, His maiden ¿lm, Asha JaowarMajhe—Labourof Lo ve, a lyrical, virtually dialogue less narrative about a youn g married couple grappling with the deleterious effects of a recession in the city of Ko lkata, won the FEDORA award fo r the Best Debut Film in the Ve nice Days sidebar of the Venic e Film Festival 2014. In the tradit ion of a true auteur, Sengupta

produced (with his wife Jonaki Bhattacharya), wrote an d edited Labour of Love himse lf.

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jule

Man Nagraj

nd poverty a id m a d e ge in Rais small villa a in n is o ti depriva ajManjule r g a N , a htr aker.

Maharas nd ¿lmm a t e o p i ich a Marath ndry (wh a F , e r tu fea ikadi His ¿rst in the Ka ig p s n d a me triking an s a is , ) language trayal of life in a g por adic com disturbin m o n d e ss disposse through the eyes e e n oft munity, s ho develops a s w irl y g of a bo er caste p p u n a t r corner fo . The ¿lm brough s s d la n sa in his c ema face enin c n ia d m into In rely ¿nd a r t a th s. places narrative m a e tr s ain g his tion in m w makin ry o n is le a sto Manju , Sairat, e r tu a fe girl, second luding a c in , s th . ou backdrop of four y l a r u r a against

MadhureetaAnand

Producer, screenwriter and director has made several acclaimed short ¿lms and documentaries, besides television shows and two full-length feature ¿lms. Her debut feature, Mere Khwaabon Mein Jo Aaye (2009), was a mainstream Hindi ¿lm featuring RandeepHooda, Raima Sen and Arbaaz Khan. But her second, Kajarya, an unÀinching look at the practice of female foeticide in a Haryana village, is uncompromisingly independent in substance and spirit.

The ¿lm is a co-production of Madhureeta’s own company, Ekaa Films, and ¿lmmaker Q.Kajarya has its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival late last year.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

Onir Born AnirbanDhar, Onir has worked off and on with mainstream Bollywood actors, but he has remained stead fastly wedded to unconven tional themes in his cinematic output.

Best known for his debu t ¿lm, My Brother Nikhil, amon g the ¿rst Hindi ¿lms to addres s the themes of AIDS and sa me-sex relationships. His crowd-fu nded I Am quartet of short ¿ction ¿lms dealt with the issues of single motherhood, gay relation ships, displacement and child abuse.

While his next ¿lm Shab (Night) is in pre-prod uction, Onir has begun sh ooting Veda, an adaptation of William Shaespeare’s Hamlet.

AjitaSuchitraVeera Hyderabad-born AjitaSuchitraVeera, writer, illustrator and photographer, is also one of India’s most exciting new ¿lmmakers. Her ¿rst ¿lm, Ballad of Rustom, made in 2012, marked her out as a director with an independent vision and approach that is at complete variance with simplistic narrative modes favoured by a majority of Indian ¿lmmakers.

The ¿lm is based on an original screenplay by Veera, who also collaborated on the editing, sound design and music of the ¿lm.

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Chaitanya Tamhane

One of independent Indian cinema’s most promising young ¿lmmakers, Ch aitanya Tamhane wields the sledgehammer lightly in his pointed legal system satire Court, but every blow that he delivers lands on targe t. This is precision ¿lmmaking at its very best, where not a lin e and not a moment is out of place.

A direct, deadpan dis section of a judicial structure tha t has no space for the dissent of the powerless, Court is one of the ¿nest ¿lms to come out of India in years.

ashir Aamir BKashmir, ed in

rais Born and hir is a Mumbais Aamir Ba and ¿lmmaker tor d based ac but, Haru e d l ia r to irec at the whose d remiered p , ) n m ilm (Autu ational F n r te In his Toronto He made v .

0 1 0 2 in in De Festival g debut n ti c a n en, e big scre Wide Op t li p S s l’ ued to Benega ce contin noin s s a h and ¿lms, in Hindi ts r a p y Peepli pla a Rizvi’s h s u n j’s A tably in Bhardwa l a h is V Live and currently in pree is Haider. H n for his next ¿lm h is productio ter, whic in W r, to as direc ond part c e s e th to be gy. designed an intended trilo of

Anusha Rizvi New Delhi-based journalist-turned-¿lmmaker Anusha Rizvi created waves in 2010 with her very ¿rst ¿lm, Peepli Live. It dwelt upon the subject of farmer suicides and the exploitative political and media response to what is essentially a result of the deepening agrarian crisis in India. Although the production was completely independent of all Bollywood inÀuences, it was produced by frontline Mumbai movie star Aamir Khan. Peepli Live was a sleeper hit and was also India’s of¿cial nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

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THE NEW GEN

Vipin Vijay

Siddarth Srinivasan Siddarth Srinivasan gained recognition with PaironTalle (Soul of Sand), which made it to the of¿cial selection of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.He is an independent ¿lmmaker who currently operates out of his hometown Delhi.

PaironTalle is a powerful drama that probes the cast dynamics and land politics that are tearing away the edges of India’s national capital region. The ¿lm was made with the support of the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Srinivasan’s next ¿lm, The Profane, a horror ¿lm set in the holy city of Varanasi, is now in the works.

ing of InOne of the most excit nt ¿lmmakdia’s young independe rala-based ers, the Kozhikode, Ke tic materiVipin Vijay adopts artis suggest a als and methods that e unusual. special af¿nity for th s several This SRFTI alumnus ha taries, inoutstanding documen Flowering cluding Poomaram (A shaparvam Tree, 2007) and Vi 12), to his (Venomous Folds, 20 Vijay made credit. In 2010, Vipin utram (Imthe ¿ction ¿lm, Chitras made cinage Threads), which notice of eastes sit up and take ination. He his phenomenal imag ¿lm titled is developing a new from ElseChavunilam (A Voice where).

The above list is by no means complete. It is growing steadily, thanks to the continuing emergence of several debutants, especially in the south, who have taken the crowdfunding route to get their films off the ground.

Sajin Baabu (Asthamayam Vare) and Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (Oraalppokkam) and Siddharth Siva (1001 Chodiyangal, Zahir and Ain) in Kerala and Karthik Ravi (Kuraiondrumillai) in Tamil Nadu are some of the young directors who are making rapid strides in the Indian independent cinema space.

These are exciting times indeed for this new, rapidly evolving brand of cinema in the world’s most prolific film-producing nation.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

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pickle entertainment biz guide

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Paris Extravagant India! Opening Night. Pierre Assouline with Mohan Agashe and Geetanjali Thapa

Thomas Nguyen

Thomas Nguyen Van

With the Jury President, Gérard Krawczyk

Paris Festival Spotlights New Directions in Indian Cinema T

he second “Extravagant India!”

International Film Festival - Paris was celebrated in March of this year at the prestigious Gaumont in the Champs-Elysees. I have the honour to serve as president and also as co-curator alongside the general delegate Gabriele Brennen.

Our dedicated Franco Indian team of film scouts was faced with an even more difficult task than for the last Festival as nowadays out-of-the-ordinary filmmakers pop up unexpectedly from atypical backgrounds and diverse regions. Those filmmakers are clearly cutting ties from commercial cinema codes and drawing upon a palette of influences which has never been wider.

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A testimony to the vitality of the new generation of Indian independent cinema: out of the nine feature films in the competition, five were first films. In further compelling evidence of its diversity: the overall selection contained films shot in over seven different languages (Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Himachali, Tamil, Malayalam, Kashmiri...).

The film Q, by Sanjeev Gupta, is a perfect example of the above mentioned “surprise film” phenomenon. I consider it to be the first “fat free” contemporary Indian film. Never from India was a story served by such a remorseless, inescapable cinematic journey set in motion from the very first scenes and propelling the viewer all the way to a bone-chilling and LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

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Elysee Press

Closing Ceremony with Vishal Bhardwaj and the Jury members Thomas Nguyen Van

With PM Narendra Modi & President Franc¸ois Hollande during Indian PM’s visit to France in April

THOUGHT LEADER

A new generation of Indian independent filmmakers is clearly cutting ties from commercial cinema codes and drawing upon a palette of influences which has never been wider says European producer Pierre Assouline who is also the president and co-curator of “Extravagant India!”

uncompromising ending. Rare rigorous editing and rare depth in Heeba Shah’s performance confirm Q as a UFO on the Indian cinema skyline.

Our Jury, presided over by eminent French director Gérard Krawczyck and comprising former CNC (highest cinema body in France) chairman Eric Garandeau, legendary painter Valerio Adami, and ‘Variety’ correspondent in France Elsa Keslassy, unanimously awarded Q with the Best Film Trophy. The tradition is to screen the Best Film at the end of the closing ceremony, but because of the austere and radical nature of Q, we opted instead to screen the more consensual Best Director awarded Haider, by Vishal Bhardwaj.

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pickle entertainment biz guide

No, best films are not necessarily meant for the largest audiences, and No, the largest audiences are not necessarily symptomatic of best films.

In the early years of the Indian Cinema New Generation (which began for me in 2004 with Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday) there was no point in trying to identify the different schools and their respective leaders. There weren’t any. Today there are several: Kashyap on the style front, Ritesh Batra on the contained sensitivity front, Rajat Kapoor on the intellectual front, Anand Gandhi on the cerebral front, Qaushiq Mukherjee (Q) on the controversial underground front....

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Today, in India, this hierarchy in independent Àlmmaking is being blown away by the digital age. It is now possible for any motivated aspirant debut director to go ahead and express his/her own cinematic language At the time of French New Wave, its leaders were clearly identifiable, Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol....Its followers just identified themselves as followers.

In the 90’s the leaders of Dogma were clearly identified: Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, and the followers just signed the chart.

Today, in India, this hierarchy in independent filmmaking is being blown away by the digital age. It is now possible for any motivated aspirant debut director to go ahead and express his/her own cinematic language. With relatively new easy access to world cinema, young filmmakers choose their Masters from all film countries.

For our first Festival we had invited Prakash Jha and selected his Rajneeti in competition. For this second Festival we invited Vishal Bhardwaj to be Guest of Honour and selected Haider in competition. Prakash and Vishal have a specificity in common, they both use Bollywood stars to serve their director-driven films. In contrast to mainstream cinema where stars are using directors, their cinema of directors-using-stars makes films relevant and reveals star actors in an unexpected light.

Where else than in Haider have you seen Shahid Kapoor convincingly crazier?

Anurag also did that with No Smoking and a better John Abraham than ever.

Looking forward to see whether the principle is confirmed with Ranbir Kapoor in his next, Bombay Velvet.

Court, by Chaitanya Tamhane was an obvious pick for a festival on the lookout for new approaches in Indian film. As the filmmaker behind a documentary on plagiarism in Indian cinema, Chaitanya had no other choice than to revolutionise the courtroom film genre. Several critics have called the film “subversive”. Has “New” now become “Subversive”? The National Award jury didn’t seem to think so.

Very much like our legendary late French comedy actor Coluche, in his first dramatic role, Vinay Pathak in Gour Hari Dastaan is masterful and naturally, he bagged the Best Actor Award.

Documentaries made, or suitable, for the big screen are rare in India. We were

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graced by Farida Pacha’s My Name is Salt.

A Bagdad Café in Gujarat. Unencumbered by voice-over. An almost real-time experience. The pace and the cinematography take you to the desert’s heart the same way the Chantal Akerman’s early films took you inside the character’s everyday life. The film received the Special Mention award from the Documentary Jury presided over by The Lunch Box producer Marc Baschet.

The winner of our competitive short film section, Kush, by Shubhashish Bhutiani, offered a tactful and intelligent insight into the anti-Sikhs riots post-Indira Gandhi’s assassination. I am looking forward to discovering the Un Certain Regard selected Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot on the same theme.

Thierry Fremaux’s statement at the Cannes 2015 press conference when evoking selected Indian films at Un Certain Regard that “the eye on India would focus on ‘new gen’ films rather than offerings from Bollywood or Bengali cinema” is just another example of how even the most cinema-savvy French are barely aware of Indian cinema in the same way that they are scarcely aware of Indian culture. To set ‘New Gen’ against Bengali cinema shows how the French are still stuck in the Ray era. Rituparno Ghosh, Kaushik Ganguly, or Qaushiq Mukherjee (Q) “aren’t they Bengali?” Their films “aren’t they Bengali in Bengali language?” Aren’t they ‘New Gen’? Isn’t Qaushiq Mukherjee’s (Q) cinema more ‘New Gen’ than most ‘New Gen’?

All of this helps us realise how essential is the mission of a Festival such as Paris Extravagant India! to open French, and European eyes generally, to the pluralistic cinema from the pluralistic India. And there is now fresh encouragement as the new Indian authorities show signs that they understand the positive potential, beyond mere Cinema, in backing such a mission.

Pierre Assouline can be contacted in Cannes at +33(0)613215900 pierre@westeastfilms.com

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TASTE OF NORTH-EAST

BRIGHT FUTURE AND FEATURE If Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li and other actors with similar looks could be successful across the world, then the North East should not feel squeamish about putting its best talent forward. By Ramesh Tekwani

L

ooking holistically, there are three components that make up cinema of the North-East-fiction features, television programs, non-features (documentaries and shorts). About 15 feature films are made every year with almost two thirds coming in from Assam and the rest from Manipur barring a few stray features coming sporadically from other states.

Despite their low numbers, North-East films rake in a large number of national and international awards - be it for features or for documentaries.

These films are world ready; and there are audiences for this cinema. A narrow vision just sees 101 cinemas spread over the North East (82 in Assam, 10 in Manipur, 7 in Meghalaya, 6 in Nagaland, 2 each in Meghalaya and Sikkim and 1 each in Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh - and these are last year’s industry figures.). How much can one collect from the box office here and how is one to recover one’s investment. This paralyses all further thinking.

A simple lesson has got missed out here, if Korea can dub its films and show them in the North-East, why can’t the tables be turned and content from the North-East-films, TV programmes, even documentaries and shorts-- be taken to the entire South East Asian region.

The ethnic similarities of the region will smoothen the playground; if this gets combined with the myriad stories that

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the North-East has to offer and with the high quality of audiovisual storytelling; the market will simply multiply.

In time, making higher budgets viable. At the other end, costs can be brought down using digital production techniques, creating a win-win situation for all.

Further, if Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jet Li and other actors with similar looks could be successful across the world, then the North East should not feel squeamish about putting its best talent forward.

All North-East states boasts of exquisite locales and constantly try to woo filmmakers from India and abroad to come and shoot there; so why don’t filmmakers from the North-East shoot their own films there and show the world.

In conclusion, there is no contemporary award winning filmmaker from the North-East who does not dream of making a feature for the world. The time is right and ripe for you right now. Government of India has its sights set on developing the North-East as a film production centre. Oinem Doren. Haobam Paban Kumar. Rongsenkla. Bani Prakash Das. Romi Meitei. Aneisha Sarma.

Bidyut Kotoky. Ronnie Lahiri. Alem Ao. Kivini Shohe. Meena Longjam. Are you ready to take your films to the world?

Ramesh Tekwani is President, Docs & Shorts. Booth 24.03 at the Palais 01. email: docsandshorts@gmail.com

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TO CANNES THROUGH AAT

AAT: EQUIPPING YOUNG MINDS

RATHISHBABU UNNIKRISHNAN CEO, AAT College

AAT affiliated courses offers a strong industry focused approach and academic rigor that equip students with the competencies to stay ahead in the rapidly growing and incredibly dynamic creative media industry, says the college’s CEO Rathishbabu Unnikrishnan 52

pickle entertainment biz guide

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A

AT occupies its own distinct niche in higher education providing high quality education with a strong focus on knowledge for the workplace for the creative industries sector. It delivers over 15 specialist certificates, diploma, degree and post-graduate programmes in Sound engineering, Music production, Digital Film making, and Media management.

AAT affiliated courses offer a strong industry focused approach and academic rigor that equip students with the competencies to stay ahead in the rapidly growing and incredibly dynamic creative media industry. AAT is extending and enhancing the value and reach of its colleges internationally through its campus in UK and Malaysia. Currently AAT operates out of three campuses Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore in India, offering a wide range of industry-designed programs. Pickle spoke with Rathish Babu, CEO, AAT College.

What are the contributions of AAT to the visual effects industry?

AAT has been in the forefront of training in animation and VFX/SFX. Since 2000 we have been building skills in this domain. We were among the first in India to offer a 12 month diploma in SFX/ VFX specialisation. In 2006 we offered the first 3 year degree in animation, fine arts and VFX/SFX. We have extensively trained students in this domain. At AAT we deliver limited number of students to the industry and most of them have been successful professionally. About 30 per cent of them move abroad to do higher studies and others serve the Indian industry. Haresh Vijaykumar is one of the earlier batch students who works extensively in the Tamil and Telugu industry on VFX. Is India emerging as a hub for film production training?

Film making is about art, technique, craft, skills, content and artistry. India had varied experiences in all these areas of film making in different ways over the last 5000 years.

Our civilisation is old and so is the living culture. From the 2000 years old theatrical treatise call Natya shastra down to the last 100 years producing films by Dada Saheb Palke and Satyajit Ray, we haven’t stopped being a civilisation that is at the cutting edge of delivering mass media content.

India has highly skilled labour, high end IP, is globally competitive in state-of-the-art technology and cost-effective in training.

We have centuries of experience in content development. It’s only a natural extension to be the leader in skills and higher education training in film making.

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ALUMNI TALK I did my film course in AAT College. I had earlier done a summer course in Los Angeles which was generically very state-of-the-art. But my course in AAT had both, state-of-the-art approach and was also rooted to the context that I will be working in. I would therefore describe the course as GLOCAL - local to India but global in perspective and course structure.

Sharada Ramanathan

I worked on an Independent Hindi Feature, “Yeh Dil Ramta Jogi”, as First A.D. Then moved onto a Telegu Feature, “ Rudhramadevi”, as Associate Director.

I have a Hindi Period Film planned for October and at the moment I am working on my own Malayalam feature script. It has been a great innings at AAT. My first mentor is the faculty at your campus.

Parvati Nair

AAT’s intensive Digital Film Making program of SAW is like a constant accelerating treadmill. Once you get on, the only way is to keep pace. Working with film students from across the world makes it great & this experience has readied me for the craziness that lies ahead in the world of media, film and video business.

So far I have Directed half a dozens of Music Videos, a dozens of Ad. film, many Corporate films through my Production house PHURBA SHERPA PRODUCTION FILM.

Phurba Sherpa I was always passionate about making music. I would tinker around with plugins, turning knobs, trying to get the sound that was in my head, not knowing how or why something worked or did not work. So instead of shooting in the dark, I decided to formally take a course in audio engineering. With education came the understanding of processes. Interaction with teachers and fellow students opened some hidden doors in my mind. If my music were a ship on the sea of ideas and possibilities then education would be the rudder.

Chirantan Bhatt My passion was acting and film making.

This drove me to an acting school in Mumbai for a year. I discontinued my engineering studies midway. Once the acting part was over I decided to take up a formal course in film making. Technology is my passion and AAT fulfilled that part of my dreamlearning from known industry greats and student facilities are the best. Though the classes are gruelling, I changed from being a on “on the surface guy” to a serious learner.

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Can you throw light on AAT college?

AAT is a 14 year old institution and specialises in higher education in film making, sound and music production, audio post production, visual communication, management studies in global creative industry management etc. The college enjoys partnership with Bharathiar University for its degree and PG courses, University of Wolverhampton for degree courses, Concordia USA for degree courses on credit exchange and with leading affiliating bodies like NCFE in UK for diploma and higher national diploma courses.

Alumni of AAT speaks for itself. Noted names include Sharadha Ramanathan , G V Prakash, Shruti Hasan, Silambarasan, Santhosh Narayanan, Siddharth Vipin, Sean Rolden, Gajendra, Parvati Nair, Aparna Pillai, Piyush Goel, Ganesh G, Alphonse Puthran, Pradeep, Sabareesh Varma, Phurba Sherpa, Zaeden, Rahul Venugopal , Dilip Subburayan, Siddharth, Hari Mohanan, Brodha, Lady Kash and Krissy etc,. AAT is now spread into campuses at Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore in India, Birmingham & Newcastle in UK and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The partner Universities allow seamless student movement between campuses and countries, thereby giving a student international exposure and cultural understanding.

Over 9000 alumni of AAT work in the industry in India and Middle East.

How about the employability factor?

The training is very mainstream, contemporary and value based. So the employability is rated very high. Our alumni speaks volumes in this area. The training emphasis is on practical skills at diploma level and moves into research, and a complete understanding of concept to production level during graduation.

AAT lays special emphasis on skills and research, which is aptly shown in the curriculum offered. All disciplines have core modules, specialised modules , skill modules and execution electives at graduate and post graduate level. This has enabled Bespoke programs of AAT to seamlessly merge with partner university/ bodies credit exchange program.

Can you elaborate on sound engineering at AAT? AAT has a strong grounding in sound engineering and music production.

Specialisation includes audio post production, acoustics, audio electronics, sound design and aesthetics etc. Our students and alumni are noted in this area.

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We believe formal education is so important because if you practise anything without proper guidance there are chances you do it in a wrong way, of course you might learn it at the end of the day but unnecessary wastage of time, unnecessary sufferings and if you have learned something in a wrong way it is not good for a career. Learning without a school is like learning driving without an instructor. You might learn it but things can go wrong on the way of learning which we can avoid through a formal education. Working in the industry on our first film Neram made us realise the importance of AAT. Pradeep Palar, Shabareesh Varma and Alphonse Puthran

I have always been interested in music.

Even though my family members are music lovers, no one is a professional musician. Hence, I also wanted to follow in their footsteps and do an MBA course.

I always knew music will be a part of me.

But had no idea about the technical part of it. The making of the songs.

But while I was doing my B.Com in Loyola college, Chennai, I came across the sound engineering course at AAT. Joining that course changed my life. My father has been my biggest strength and support . I understood the technical part of music, the sound, the frequency. Learning sound engineering gave me a different perspective about composing music. And I will continue to always learn.

Siddharth Vipin

Born in a film crazy country like India it was no surprise I went with the masses on my passion.

Numerous people influenced me and set me on this path. No matter the masters who have been adept at this craft, my question has always been - HOW and not what makes it unfold. This drove me to search for a course in Film making and i landed at AAT. I want to be responsible for my artistic creation and one day be known as a story trekker who brings to life films which are more engaging and rewarding.

N Rohit

Having born in the the southern film industry hub of Chennai, my life revolved around movies. My passion is to make my own feature film.

Joining a film making course at AAT was based on this passion. I found the syllabi extremely industry driven ( after I discussed with friends in the industry). Today it has helped me a lot. I loved the classes of direction, cinematography, writing and editing, I am excited to be on my chosen path in life.

Mohit Mehra

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TALENT VOICES

Larsen D Souza, Awesh Koirala , Sunepoz. - Live sound engineers Salim of Salim Sulaiman at AAT Mumbai

We found AAT amongst a couple of training institutes. Mumbai being the choice, AAT made us what we are today

Sangeeth Anshuman and Rudarshan, Mauritius - Students

Isaac from Nigeria - Alumni

Our selection of AAT as a college is to learn the latest techniques and technology. working in sound engineering is our aim. The faculty at AAT is very knowledgeable and helpful

After AAT I now work at a leading channel in Nigeria. My learning has helped me bag this job and also made me known in my country. India was a dream and AAT faculty helped me a lot.

Juhi Khan - Current Student and Actor

Johann Thekkan- Alumni

Kaiwalya - Alumni

Currently am at Kappa TV. My years at AAT College Mumbai was realisation of my passion. It’s my studies and dedication which made me what I am today

I work with percussionist Sivamani sir. My knowledge of sound and music from AAT helped me bag this job.

Arkopal Trivedi - Student of Film making, hailing from Rajasthan It was a dream to study in Mumbai , the heart of films in India. I searched extensively and landed at AAT. The curriculum and the course structure was very impressive. The facility makes the difference to study. I get lot of system and camera time to explore my passion.

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I came to AAT college to pursue my passion of Film making. Mumbai being what it is drove me to try my hand at small roles in acting. This made me realise the importance of a formal course in Film making.

The teachers at AAT are among the best.

Rajesh Saha - Current Student from Bangaldesh

Gaurav Kotian - Alumni - Sound Engg

I found India and AAT great for studying audio engineering. My teachers are the best and their knowledge of industry is very vast. Kudos to my college.

Selected at INDIA’s GOT TALENT of COLORS TV, I loved my year at AAT. Faculty is very well versed in electronics and music production. I am happy I am an AAT ian.

pickle entertainment biz guide

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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

W

e are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle to delegates at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and Market. India’s footprint at Cannes is visible - everywhere.

Last year Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux made a point when he said that the new breed of Indian filmmakers want to be Martin Scorsese of cinema and acknowledged the changing Indian cinema.

Indian filmmakers have already begun to occupy significant mind space in the growing global cinema. Whatever you may call -- The New Gen, The New Age Bollywood or Non Bollywood -- they are here to stay.

“It is ‘Non-Bollywood’ that is poised to be the latest buzzword. If it isn’t already there, it is most certainly on the way to becoming the space where the world will increasingly engage with Indian cinema in the foreseeable future,” says Saibal Chatterjee in his piece on future of Indian ‘Indies’.

Two Indian films in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes – Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan (international sales agent Pathe International) and Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot (international sales agent Elle Driver) -- are clear examples of this growing trend.

The India Pavilion is located at the 111 Village International, Riviera. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in partnership with FICCI, is organising India Pavilion. It will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversities, with the aim of forging an increasing number of international partnerships.

CII, for the 13th consecutive year will be at the Cannes Film Market at Palais (Stand 22.02-24.01) with exhibitors, B2B meetings and promote film locations of Indian State Governments. It will also promote its annual M&E flagship The Big Picture Summit (October16-17, 2015).

Over Indian 20 films are to be screened in the Cannes Film Market. Top Indian film studios are pitching 2015 film slate to global territories.

2015 is a landmark year for Hollywood in India. Fast And Furious 7 has officially become the first Hollywood film to enter Rs 100 crore club in India (crossing $20 million). This has never happened before and this trend is continuing with the box office success of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Our next issue will focus on Annecy and MIFA. Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions on engaging with Indian showbiz.

n vidyasagar pickle media nvidyasagar@picklemag.in, www.picklemag.com

Pickle Volume IX 1st edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com ● Mumbai ● Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

Printed by Bon Graphics New #7, Arumugam Nagar, Dayalan Garden, Chinna Porur, Chennai – 600 116 Mobile: +91 9884816263 Email: bon_graphics@yahoo.co.in

Editorial Coordinators : M Sai Email: natvid@gmail.com

For advertising: natvid@gmail.com

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Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India.

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