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Home , Nagesh, Nagesh Kukunoor, Suresh Productions, Sushmita Sen

VOLVIV February 2015 No. 2

HIGHLIGHTS

 Kukunoor’s bags Berlin honour  ’s 175 Grams wins at Sundance Film Festival  Bodhon wins two awards in US Film Festival  Mardaani premieres in Poland  D. Rama Naidu is no more

NATIONAL DOCUMENTATION CENTRE ON MASS COMMUNICATION NEW MEDIA WING (FORMERLY RESEARCH, REFERENCE AND TRAINING DIVISION ) MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING Room No.437-442, Phase IV, Soochana Bhavan, CGO Complex, -3

Compiled, Edited & Issued by National Documentation Centre on Mass Communication NEW MEDIA WING (Formerly Research, Reference & Training Division) Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

Chief Editor L. R. Vishwanath

Editor H.M.Sharma Asstt. Editor Alka Mathur

CONTENTS

FILM AWARDS International 1-2 FESTIVALS Berlin 1 North Carolina 2 Sundance 1-2 OBITUARIES 2-5

AWARDS/FESTIVALS

Kukunoor’s Dhanak bags Berlin honour

Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dhanak has been honoured with the Grand Prix of the Generation K plus International Jury for the best feature length film at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. The movie which premiered at the festival, also received a special mention from kids jury at the festival. Dhanak is about a young girl in Rajasthan who is determined to restore the vision of her blind brother. The film stars Hetal Gada and Krrish Chhabria. Co-produced by Manish Mundra, Kukunoor and , the film had its world premiere at the Berlinale held from February 5 to 15, 2015. Screen (20 February 2015; 12) Dainik Jagran (16 February 2015) Asian Age (16 February 2015) Hindustan Times (19 February 2015)

India’s 175 Grams wins at Sundance Film Festival

Indian film 175 Grams directed by Bharat Mirle and Arvind Iyer is one of the five winners of the Short Film Challenge programme at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival at Park City in Utah. The programme supported by Bill and Melinda Gates, premiered on January 28 at the festival. The film is a part of a global initiative that works towards ending extreme poverty in the world by 2030. 175 Grams is a short documentary film about an Ultimate (Frisbee) team from . At the face of it, Flywild is just another team of enthusiasts who get together at Elliot’s Beach, Chennai and play Ultimate (Frisbee). 175 Grams takes a closer look at lives of members of

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Flywild; how they got into Ultimate (Frisbee), the way its shaping their daily lives and what they look forward to in the future as individuals and as a team. Hindu (4 February 2015) Asian Age (5 February 2015)

Bodhon wins two awards in US film festival

Ayananshu Banerjee’s debut feature film Bodhon, which was screened in the Indian Panorama section in the 45th IFFI, has bagged two awards in a US film festival. The film won the Best Feature film and the Best Actor awards in the North Carolina Film Festival. Arpita Chatterjee, who played the mother in the film won the Best Actor award. Screen (13 February 2015; 30)

Mardaani premiers in Poland

Mardaani, in which plays the eponymous role was premiered in Poland at the Kino Muranow theatre in Warsaw on January 28. It was released in theatres on February 5, 2015. The film received a standing ovation and Mukerji was congratulated for her exceptional performance and for being a part of such a relevant and sensitive film. Screen (6 February 2015; 8)

OBITUATRIES

D Rama Naidu is no more

Noted multilingual film maker D Rama Naidu, who made memorable films like Ramudu- Bheemudu, Srikrishna Tulabharam and Premnagar passed away in on February 18, 2015. He was 78.

2 Bulletin on Film, February 2015

Born into a family of agriculturist in Prakasam district of in 1936, Rama Naidu had a passion for films and made his first film Anuragam in 1963. He went on to make the super hit Ramudu Bheemudu with late N.T. Rama Rao. His film made about 155 films in 15 languages. He produced movies in Telugu, Tamil, , Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, , , Gujarati, Marathi, and Bhojpuri. His famous Hindi films include Premnagar, Dildar, Bandish, Anari, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain and Prem Qaidi. He had the distinction of working with some of the most popular Indian film personalities including N.T. Rama Rao, A. Nageswara Rao, , , , Sreedevi, Jayaprada, and in a career spanning almost six decades. Rama Naidu was one of the pioneers who laid the foundation of Telugu film industry in Hyderabad. He was among the first to set up a full-fledged production facility, the Rama Naidu studios in Jubilee Hills in 1989. Rama Naidu, who holds the Guinness Book of World Record for producing maximum number of films in India cinema made a brief foray into politics when he won the Lok Sabha seat from Baptala in 1999. He was conferred the prestigious Raghupati Venkaiah Award in 2006, Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013. Asian Age (19 February 2015) Deccan Chronicle (19 February 2015) Deccan Herald (19 February 2015) Hindu (19 February 2015) Screen (27 February 2015; 11)

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Bulletin on Film, February 2015

Cinematographer Vincent dead

Veteran cinematographer A. Vincent, who teamed up with late film director C.V. in his masterpieces such as Kalayanaparisu, Sumai Thangi, Nenjil Or Aalyam, Then Nilavu and Kathalikka Neramillai passed away in Chennai on February 25, 2015. He was 88. Vincent, born in Calicut, was a product of Gemini studios and a student of Kamal Ghosh. He dominated the Tamil film world since the 1950s and also became a most sought after cinematographer in Telugu and Hindi. It was Vincent who first proved the importance of camera and its role in making of films and he always experimented with the instrument. Vincent’s first film with Sridhar was Kalyanaparisu a box-office hit known for its fine storyline and melodius songs. His next film was Meenda Sorgham while the film was not a success, it was talked about in the industry for its technical aspects introduced by Vincent. The portrayal of the song Sonnathu Neethana Sol Sol in the film Nenjil Oru Allayam speaks volumes for Vincent’s talents. Long before the arrival of steadicam, he had pictured the scene that will etch in the memory of the audience. Vincent was with Sridhar till Kaathalikka Neramillai. After that he left Sridhar to become a freelancer and achieved great succeeds in Telugu. He also turned a name in Hindi films. Hindu (29 February 2015).

R.C. Sakthi passes away

Filmaker R.C. Sakthi who offered Kamal Hassan his first lead role in his film Unarchigal in 1972 passed away in Chennai on February 23, 2015. He was 76. Sakthi also directed actor Rajinikanth in Dharma Yuddham in 1979 before moving on to make small-budget films. His last directorial venture was Pathini Penn in 1993. Hindu (24 February 2015).

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Bulletin on Film, February 2015

Atmaram Bhende passes away

Veteran theatre and film actor Atmaram Bhende, considered to be a pioneer in the field of Marathi experimental theatre passed away on February 7, 2015 in Pune. He was 93. The actor who was seen in many ads was also part of Raju Hirani’s Lage Raho Munnabhai and the Marathi film Yanda Kartavya Aahe. Atmaram was the joint secretary of the Marathi Natya Parishad between 1954-60 and was also the first one to make use of the revolving stage in Marathi theatre. Apart from film and theatre, Bhende was also involved in TV shows. He had acted in serials like Awhan and Chunouti and had directed a few serials, Ratrani based on writer, G.A. Kulkarni’s works being one of them. ’’ as he was fondly referred to, created a unique place in the minds of many viewers and will be remembered for his contribution to the entertainment industry. Times of India (8 February 2015) Dainik Bhaskar (8 February 2015)

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