Established 1961 20 The First Daily in The Arabian Gulf Monday, October 8, 2018 L i f e s t y l e Fe a t u r e s Indian actress takes #MeToo claims to police he Indian actress whose public alle- repeated the allegations in a recent inter- statement last week that she had received however begun to speak out about an issue gations of sexual harassment by a view and on Saturday went to the police to legal notices from both Patekar and almost never discussed in Indian media. In TBollywood star is sparking a string officially report the 2008 sexual harass- Agnihotri, who deny her accusations. December, star Swara Bhaskar said she of similar #MeToo claims has filed a formal ment claims. “Dutta visited the police sta- Dutta said she had also received “violent had been harassed by an unnamed director complaint, police told AFP yesterday. tion last night and submitted a written threats” from the fringe, far-right national- early in her career. Former Miss Universe contestant complaint,” Shailesh Pasalwar, a Mumbai ist group Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Bhaskar also referred to a “casting Tanushree Dutta first alleged in 2008 that police inspector, told AFP. “We are inves- and has been hounded by a “smear cam- couch” culture where young women are multi-award-winning Nana Patekar tigating the case but right now, it is not an paign” on social media since reiterating her expected to exchange sexual favours to behaved inappropriately towards her dur- FIR (First Information Report, or a formal claims against the pair. “This is the age- secure film roles. Bollywood’s cliquey ing the making of a romantic comedy the investigation) but a written complaint old saga of survivors in our nation,” she nature also made it difficult to go public, same year. No action was taken at the time about harassment incident,” he added. said. India has yet to witness its own ver- she said. In recent days, #MeToo claims against Patekar and she made no formal She also alleged in the interview that sion of the #MeToo movement that rocked have also begun to surface against men in complaint. filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had behaved Hollywood last year, but Dutta has received other sectors, including several top Indian But emboldened by the global #MeToo inappropriately towards her during the the backing of several high-profile stars newspaper editors, comedians and writers In this file photo Indian Bollywood actress Tanushree campaign-where women have shared shooting of the 2005 movie “Chocolate: including Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar including a top-selling English language Dutta poses for a photo during an event for the Mandate accounts of harassment or assault-Dutta Deep Dark Secrets”. The actress said in a and Sonam Kapoor. Other actresses have author.—AFP Model Hunt contest in Mumbai.—AFP ‘Whiplash’ producer Blum unrattled by China trade war backlash otshot Hollywood producer Jason Blum predicts his plans to tap into the lucrative Chinese movie market Hwon’t be derailed by the tit-for-tat trade war that has erupted between Beijing and Washington. Tensions have soared following President Donald Trump’s policy of implementing billions of dollars of tariffs on China with film Hollywood producer Jason Blum buffs closely watching for any fallout within the world’s two largest movie markets. But Blum said he was unruffled by any potential fallout. “I like challenges,” he said, speak- language horror and thriller films in partnership with Blum. ing on the sidelines of the 23rd Busan International Film The American said yesterday the plan now was to make Festival. one film. “We’re developing it,” said the 49-year-old. “But The driving force behind such global hits as the Oscar- it’s not a big part of our business so that part of the politi- nominated “Whiplash” and horror sensation “Get Out”, cal climate is not going to affect me.” Blum has forged a reputation for turning low-budget pro- Blum and his Blumhouse Productions have ridden a A picture in Moscow shows a woman holding a magazine with a promotional ad for the “House Arrest” comedy ductions into box office gold. He revealed Thursday he still wave of critical acclaim since the company was formed in series.—AFP had his eyes on a collaboration in China, and on similar 2000, with first the gripping musical drama “Whiplash” partnerships within other Asian markets. “I was intrigued (2014) and then the cutting edge horror “Get Out” (2017) by the notion of producing a movie that would qualify as a receiving Oscar nominations for Best Picture. Those low twist, his mayor has to swap a glitzy mansion for the resi- local scary movie, to follow all the rules of the [Chinese] budget movies were also impressive money spinners, rak- ‘House arrest’ drama dence he claimed for tax reasons-a communal flat with censor and to make it scary,” said Blum, referencing the ing in and estimated US$50 million and US$255 million blue-collar inhabitants and a shared toilet. hoops foreign film have to jump through to be viewed in from the global box office, respectively. Blum has also China. “I’m interested in making local language scary been behind a string of low cost but successful horror hits and others test No red lines movies,” he added. including “Paranormal Activity” (2007) and “The Purge” The show was praised as “a charming satire of corrupt China’s huge population remains a lucrative market for (2013). Blum looks to have another box office hit on his authorities” by Meduza independent news website but Hollywood, despite the cooling in trade relations between hands with the sequel to the horror classic “Halloween”, boundaries in Russia others criticized it for playing it safe with positive depic- the two economic giants. Beijing has moved to curtail for- which is poised for its roll out into theatres around the tions of security services. “Showing ‘House Arrest’ is an eign investment across all industries, including film after a world and is making a splash in Busan, Asia’s largest film ussian courts are sometimes described as a theatre obvious signal of what is permitted and what isn’t, i.e. who string of high-profile takeovers of Hollywood studios by festival. “Halloween” is being positioned as a direct sequel of the absurd, but it is television and cinema that can’t be touched and who can,” wrote opposition newspa- Chinese investors. The most prominent buy up was a $2.6 to the John Carpenter-directed “slasher” classic that was Rhave recently pushed political boundaries with their per Novaya Gazeta. The British comedy “The Death of billion purchase of AMC Entertainment in 2012 by the released in 1978 despite the fact the franchise has now depictions of trials on screen. A comedy series called Stalin” was blocked from release in Russia, while Dalian Wanda Group. produced 11 films. The film reunites Jamie Lee Curtis and “House Arrest” on a popular Russian entertainment chan- Serebrennikov’s production at the Bolshoi Ballet based on The Hollywood Reporter said the topic dominated dis- Nick Castle in the lead roles from the original and it picks nel has links to real, high-profile cases, while a new Leo the life of gay dancer Rudolf Nureyev was postponed and cussions at the recent US-China Film and Television up on the tale of Laurie Strode (Curtis), sole survivor of Tolstoy biopic has parallels with opposition struggles apparently censored. Industry Expo in Los Angeles. Blum has an established a the reign of terror unleashed by killer Michael Myers today. Several recent genre films have made mild digs at Showings of films and documentaries about the conflict reputation as Hollywood’s “king of horror” thanks to his (Castle), as their fates collide once again. contemporary politics including “The President’s Holiday” in eastern Ukraine from Kiev’s point of view have been string of hits. When asked during the press conference if There’s been a buzz around screenings of the film at this year, a mistaken-identity comedy about Vladimir Putin cancelled at the last moment or faced audience heckling there was anything that scared him, he replied: “What this year’s edition of BIFF as Blum takes it on a tour of the going incognito among ordinary people in Crimea. and threats. Slepakov said that no topic was banned in scares me is our president. Our president is a scary man.” world’s festival circuit, as there has been from film market The productions come as the Kremlin continues its comedy, nor were there any red lines. “I think those warn- watchers who predicted it would collected as much as crackdown on the opposition, and dramas tackling sensi- ings in the West are quite exaggerated that in our country Horror with Chinese characteristics US$60 million from its October 19 opening weekend in tive subjects are sometimes banned or simply never you can’t stick your head out because you’ll get bashed. I The joint Shanghai and Los Angeles-based Tang Media North America. “We’re at the top of a [horror] cycle right receive state funding to get made. The weekly “House think we’re far from North Korea,” he added. Partners entertainment group recently announced an now,” said Blum. “And if you make good horror movies, Arrest” on the TNT channel is based on the tribulations of ambitious plan to roll out a string of low budget Chinese- there’s always an audience.”—AFP a provincial mayor who is confined to his home after being ‘Russia surrounded by enemies’ caught taking a bribe in a sting by the security services.