Film co-productions between Australia and India received a significant double boost this week with the ratification of a treaty that was proposed last year and the Indian government’s major enhancement of filming incentives.
An Australian delegation is attending the ongoing International Film Festival of India (Iffi), Goa and the concurrent film market, Film Bazaar. Australian producer Helen Leake is on the Iffi international competition jury and documentary “Brand Bollywood Downunder” by Indian origin Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who also serves as director of the Australia India Film Council, is playing at the festival.
“Screen Australia is delighted that the Australian-Indian treaty is now in force. The treaty provides a framework and opportunity for greater creative collaboration between Australia and India. It will allow producers from both countries to share resources and the risk of financing a film and will provide access to new markets and audiences,” a spokesperson from Screen Australia told Variety.
An Australian delegation is attending the ongoing International Film Festival of India (Iffi), Goa and the concurrent film market, Film Bazaar. Australian producer Helen Leake is on the Iffi international competition jury and documentary “Brand Bollywood Downunder” by Indian origin Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who also serves as director of the Australia India Film Council, is playing at the festival.
“Screen Australia is delighted that the Australian-Indian treaty is now in force. The treaty provides a framework and opportunity for greater creative collaboration between Australia and India. It will allow producers from both countries to share resources and the risk of financing a film and will provide access to new markets and audiences,” a spokesperson from Screen Australia told Variety.
- 11/24/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
With the official co-production treaty between Australia and India in the process of being finalised, the Asia Pacific Screen Forum is putting a spotlight on collaboration between the two countries. If speaks to filmmaker and Australia India Film Council chair Anupam Sharma about the opportunities the agreement might bring.
The post Building a bridge to Bollywood: The opportunities and challenges for the Australia-India co-production treaty appeared first on If Magazine.
The post Building a bridge to Bollywood: The opportunities and challenges for the Australia-India co-production treaty appeared first on If Magazine.
- 11/1/2023
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Documentary filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who has directed the docu ‘Brand Bollywood Down Under’, has said that the need to make the film originated from the urge of celebrating Hindi mainstream cinema in all its glory.
Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”
“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...
Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”
“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Documentary filmmaker Anupam Sharma, who has directed the docu ‘Brand Bollywood Down Under’, has said that the need to make the film originated from the urge of celebrating Hindi mainstream cinema in all its glory.
Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”
“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...
Stating his reasons for creating the documentary, he said, “There is a need for a documentary for every aspect of Australia and Bollywood. There is a need for a global documentary on Bollywood or popular Indian cinema. There is a need for a documentary on Australia and India film links from trade, film, political and social points of views.”
“Everyone was apologising for Bollywood, sheepishly being embarrassed, and scared of ridicule. I hated that. Hindi popular cinema no matter what you call it Bollywood, mainstream, popular, is deeper in form and content and ‘seriously entertaining’ and needed to be celebrated. As Anupam Kher says in our film, ‘We make 1.4 billion people happy. We do sell misery of life,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Agency News Desk
The trailer of the Australian feature documentary ‘Brand Bollywood – down under’ was unveiled on Tuesday.
The trailer, which was launched at the Cannes Market, days after a popular session on Australia-India co-production at the India Pavillion, gives a glimpse of the extraordinary journey of Hindi cinema and its remarkable role in shaping India’s perception in Australia.
Describing the documentary and the need for it, director Anupam Sharma said, “Bollywood is India’s tremendous soft power and is India’s ambassador to the world, just like Ayurveda, Yoga, spirituality, cricket, Indian Doctors and It industry. I have personally seen the role the Indian film industry has played in creating new horizons for Indians and India in Australia and deeply felt that this was a story that needed to be told and documented not just for Indians but for the world.”
The documentary takes a deep dive into the evolving role...
The trailer, which was launched at the Cannes Market, days after a popular session on Australia-India co-production at the India Pavillion, gives a glimpse of the extraordinary journey of Hindi cinema and its remarkable role in shaping India’s perception in Australia.
Describing the documentary and the need for it, director Anupam Sharma said, “Bollywood is India’s tremendous soft power and is India’s ambassador to the world, just like Ayurveda, Yoga, spirituality, cricket, Indian Doctors and It industry. I have personally seen the role the Indian film industry has played in creating new horizons for Indians and India in Australia and deeply felt that this was a story that needed to be told and documented not just for Indians but for the world.”
The documentary takes a deep dive into the evolving role...
- 5/23/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Co-production
“Lioness,” an official Indo-u.K. co-production being made under the 2008 bilateral treaty, will star Aditi Rao Hydari (“Jubilee”) and Paige Sandhu (“Emmerdale”), it was revealed at the Cannes India pavilion on Tuesday.
Written and to be directed by Kajri Babbar (“Khoj”), the film is inspired by the research of Peter Bance, the historian who wrote about Princess Sophia Duleep, one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the U.K., the Princess of Punjab, granddaughter of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. The film will tell the story of two British Punjabi women living in the U.K., a century apart. While Sophia’s story is rooted in history, the second story is a fictional tale of Mehak Kaur an educated, married immigrant woman living in 1990’s Southall.
Bance is also one of the executive producers on the film, which is produced by Vivek Rangachari,...
“Lioness,” an official Indo-u.K. co-production being made under the 2008 bilateral treaty, will star Aditi Rao Hydari (“Jubilee”) and Paige Sandhu (“Emmerdale”), it was revealed at the Cannes India pavilion on Tuesday.
Written and to be directed by Kajri Babbar (“Khoj”), the film is inspired by the research of Peter Bance, the historian who wrote about Princess Sophia Duleep, one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the U.K., the Princess of Punjab, granddaughter of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. The film will tell the story of two British Punjabi women living in the U.K., a century apart. While Sophia’s story is rooted in history, the second story is a fictional tale of Mehak Kaur an educated, married immigrant woman living in 1990’s Southall.
Bance is also one of the executive producers on the film, which is produced by Vivek Rangachari,...
- 5/23/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Leading Australian producers Cathy Rodda (“Unfinished Sky”) and Lisa Duff (“Last Cab to Darwin”) are joining Anupam Sharma’s English and Hindi-language “Honour” as the film project heads for Film Bazaar in Goa, India.
“Honour” is a social thriller based on true events and is the story of a bride who goes to Australia with a million dreams which soon turn into a nightmare of dowry and domestic abuse. Trapped in a web of deceit, greed, visa regulations, and pressures to protect the honour of her family, herself and the Indian community in Australia, the woman decides to run when she gets pregnant and is forced to abort
The film is currently in final stages of development. It is expected to shoot in Victoria state.
Forum Films has acquired distribution rights for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands and Papua New Guinea with Janine Barnes also serving as producer. Rodda will...
“Honour” is a social thriller based on true events and is the story of a bride who goes to Australia with a million dreams which soon turn into a nightmare of dowry and domestic abuse. Trapped in a web of deceit, greed, visa regulations, and pressures to protect the honour of her family, herself and the Indian community in Australia, the woman decides to run when she gets pregnant and is forced to abort
The film is currently in final stages of development. It is expected to shoot in Victoria state.
Forum Films has acquired distribution rights for Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands and Papua New Guinea with Janine Barnes also serving as producer. Rodda will...
- 11/2/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
India’s Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest film market, has selected a range of projects from around the world for its annual co-production market, which will be held in-person this year after two years of being online due to Covid-19.
Though the 20 selected projects are from 11 countries, and most are already structured as co-productions, they are all South Asian-themed. Michael Radford, best known for BAFTA and Oscar-winning film “Il Postino,” has Spanish-language Spain-India project “The Princess of Kapurthala,” which he will co-direct with Manuel Estudillo (“Caso Urquijo”). Juan Antonio Casado and Davide Cottarelli of Pok Production are producing.
Gautam Arora’s Hindi and English-language film “The Last Lane” (India) is being produced by Kite Rabbit Films, the production company of Shaunak Sen, whose “All That Breathes” won best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes this year.
Gogularaajan Rajendran’s Tamil and Malay-language project “Depth of Darkness” is being produced...
Though the 20 selected projects are from 11 countries, and most are already structured as co-productions, they are all South Asian-themed. Michael Radford, best known for BAFTA and Oscar-winning film “Il Postino,” has Spanish-language Spain-India project “The Princess of Kapurthala,” which he will co-direct with Manuel Estudillo (“Caso Urquijo”). Juan Antonio Casado and Davide Cottarelli of Pok Production are producing.
Gautam Arora’s Hindi and English-language film “The Last Lane” (India) is being produced by Kite Rabbit Films, the production company of Shaunak Sen, whose “All That Breathes” won best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes this year.
Gogularaajan Rajendran’s Tamil and Malay-language project “Depth of Darkness” is being produced...
- 10/21/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
A new council has been established with the aim of building stronger ties between the Australian and Indian film industries.
Director Anupam Sharma will chair the inaugural board of the Australia India Film Council (Aifc), which includes vice chair and former head of Film Victoria Julie Marlow, and producers Sheila Jayadev, Jomon Thomas, Deepti Sachdeva, Kartik Mohandas and Vikrant Kishore.
The council will work collaboration with practitioners, producers, investment bodies and seek support from government bodies for the benefit of Australian screen professionals.
In a statement, Sharma spoke of the mutual benefits both industries could stand to gain from engaging with each other.
“India is one of the most prolific film industries in the world and Australia is one of the most professional film industries in the world,” he said.
“By providing a platform for the two to engage, Aifc will be able to encourage a whole new era of innovation,...
Director Anupam Sharma will chair the inaugural board of the Australia India Film Council (Aifc), which includes vice chair and former head of Film Victoria Julie Marlow, and producers Sheila Jayadev, Jomon Thomas, Deepti Sachdeva, Kartik Mohandas and Vikrant Kishore.
The council will work collaboration with practitioners, producers, investment bodies and seek support from government bodies for the benefit of Australian screen professionals.
In a statement, Sharma spoke of the mutual benefits both industries could stand to gain from engaging with each other.
“India is one of the most prolific film industries in the world and Australia is one of the most professional film industries in the world,” he said.
“By providing a platform for the two to engage, Aifc will be able to encourage a whole new era of innovation,...
- 11/30/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Anupam Sharma, former Safc CEO Helen Leake and supervising Dop Casimir Dickson filming ‘Bollywood Downunder’.
Travel bans have shut the door to offshore feature films, TVCs and other productions, with a devastating impact on companies and crews who relied on that work.
One of the companies hardest hit by the shutdown is Anupam Sharma’s Fox Studios-based Films and Casting Temple, which this year had serviced only one Tvc for an Indian client when the bans were imposed.
“Financially and in the short term it is a major blow for my team and many of my colleagues who work predominantly with overseas markets,” Sharma tells If.
“We were gearing up for a great 2020 and now all our projects from abroad are cancelled. I wish I could say postponed, but unfortunately they are cancelled as TVCs need to be on air by a certain time.”
Among the work his firm...
Travel bans have shut the door to offshore feature films, TVCs and other productions, with a devastating impact on companies and crews who relied on that work.
One of the companies hardest hit by the shutdown is Anupam Sharma’s Fox Studios-based Films and Casting Temple, which this year had serviced only one Tvc for an Indian client when the bans were imposed.
“Financially and in the short term it is a major blow for my team and many of my colleagues who work predominantly with overseas markets,” Sharma tells If.
“We were gearing up for a great 2020 and now all our projects from abroad are cancelled. I wish I could say postponed, but unfortunately they are cancelled as TVCs need to be on air by a certain time.”
Among the work his firm...
- 3/19/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
A film charting Pat Farmer’s 4,600km dash across India piles on the platitudes, reducing an amazing odyssey to nippy travelogue
The Indian ascetic tradition can add another name to its ranks: former Australian parliamentary secretary and ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer, whose 4,600km “Spirit of India” run in 2016 from the subcontinent’s southern tip to Kashmir is chronicled here. That’s 80km – two marathons – a day, for 64 days. If that, often undertaken in 80% humidity, doesn’t sound masochistic enough, Farmer’s social schedule (the run is to promote girls’ education) would finish any normal man off: he attends more than 750 “events”, many on the hoof, during this time.
India can’t fail to provide colour en route, but director Anupam Sharma’s nippy travelogue format is strictly passing through. Barely any Indians are interviewed about what Farmer’s feat means to them, and the alternating asphalt-pounding and meet-and-greets eventually stretch the bounds of documentary patience.
The Indian ascetic tradition can add another name to its ranks: former Australian parliamentary secretary and ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer, whose 4,600km “Spirit of India” run in 2016 from the subcontinent’s southern tip to Kashmir is chronicled here. That’s 80km – two marathons – a day, for 64 days. If that, often undertaken in 80% humidity, doesn’t sound masochistic enough, Farmer’s social schedule (the run is to promote girls’ education) would finish any normal man off: he attends more than 750 “events”, many on the hoof, during this time.
India can’t fail to provide colour en route, but director Anupam Sharma’s nippy travelogue format is strictly passing through. Barely any Indians are interviewed about what Farmer’s feat means to them, and the alternating asphalt-pounding and meet-and-greets eventually stretch the bounds of documentary patience.
- 9/5/2019
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Anupam Sharma.
Distributor Forum Films has signed a first-look deal with Temple, the Sydney-based production company headed by Anupam Sharma.
The first two projects confirmed for distribution include Melbourne-based thriller Honour, which looks at the issue of dowry deaths and domestic violence within the newly arrived Indian bride community in Australia, and feature documentary Bollywood Downunder, which is a musical and tongue-in-cheek look at Australia’s links with Bollywood.
Both projects are directed by Sharma and were announced in Mumbai last year at a ceremony hosted by Nsw Premier Gladys Berejiklan as part of Aacta’s Asia International Engagement Program.
Other projects in the deal include Bill Bennett thriller Defiant, and Grant Scicluna’s Chantou. Forum will release the films across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Sharma said: “The distribution and production space has changed dramatically particularly in relation to diverse Australian content, which has historically struggled for theatre space.
Distributor Forum Films has signed a first-look deal with Temple, the Sydney-based production company headed by Anupam Sharma.
The first two projects confirmed for distribution include Melbourne-based thriller Honour, which looks at the issue of dowry deaths and domestic violence within the newly arrived Indian bride community in Australia, and feature documentary Bollywood Downunder, which is a musical and tongue-in-cheek look at Australia’s links with Bollywood.
Both projects are directed by Sharma and were announced in Mumbai last year at a ceremony hosted by Nsw Premier Gladys Berejiklan as part of Aacta’s Asia International Engagement Program.
Other projects in the deal include Bill Bennett thriller Defiant, and Grant Scicluna’s Chantou. Forum will release the films across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Sharma said: “The distribution and production space has changed dramatically particularly in relation to diverse Australian content, which has historically struggled for theatre space.
- 3/13/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Australian producer Anupam Sharma has inked a first look deal with Bollywood speciality distribution company Forum Films, as Forum eyes expansion with more mainstream Australian titles, the pair announced Wednesday.
Sharma, through his Sydney-based shingle Temple Films, is a pioneer of Australia’s film industry links with India, championing diversity in the Australian screen sector and promotion of Australian films in nontraditional and emerging markets.
He has produced Australian-Indian English-language features such as The Run, UnINDIAN, Indian Aussies – Terms & Conditions Apply, among many others.
Forum, headed by Pritesh Rinega, will distribute Temple’s current slate, including Melbourne-based ...
Sharma, through his Sydney-based shingle Temple Films, is a pioneer of Australia’s film industry links with India, championing diversity in the Australian screen sector and promotion of Australian films in nontraditional and emerging markets.
He has produced Australian-Indian English-language features such as The Run, UnINDIAN, Indian Aussies – Terms & Conditions Apply, among many others.
Forum, headed by Pritesh Rinega, will distribute Temple’s current slate, including Melbourne-based ...
- 3/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Australian producer Anupam Sharma has inked a first look deal with Bollywood speciality distribution company Forum Films, as Forum eyes expansion with more mainstream Australian titles, the pair announced Wednesday.
Sharma, through his Sydney-based shingle Temple Films, is a pioneer of Australia’s film industry links with India, championing diversity in the Australian screen sector and promotion of Australian films in nontraditional and emerging markets.
He has produced Australian-Indian English-language features such as The Run, UnINDIAN, Indian Aussies – Terms & Conditions Apply, among many others.
Forum, headed by Pritesh Rinega, will distribute Temple’s current slate, including Melbourne-based ...
Sharma, through his Sydney-based shingle Temple Films, is a pioneer of Australia’s film industry links with India, championing diversity in the Australian screen sector and promotion of Australian films in nontraditional and emerging markets.
He has produced Australian-Indian English-language features such as The Run, UnINDIAN, Indian Aussies – Terms & Conditions Apply, among many others.
Forum, headed by Pritesh Rinega, will distribute Temple’s current slate, including Melbourne-based ...
- 3/13/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Heath Davis.
A newly formed indie filmmakers co-operative will meet monthly in Sydney and plans to expand to a Melbourne chapter.
Around 15 directors attended the inaugural meeting of the group which was convened by Heath Davis and is named Cinegar Bar in Sydney last Thursday.
Among the ideas canvassed were making films as a collective and staging festivals or other screenings of Australian films.
“Our main aim is to create and control our own content and to support each other’s films,” Davis tells If. “We all acknowledge there is a crisis point in Oz cinema and we all have the same war stories.
“We have to find ways to ensure directors are treated better financially. I know some who spent a year on a film and had to reinvest their fees so they were paid zero.”
Among the attendees at the The ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney’s Cbd were Dean Francis,...
A newly formed indie filmmakers co-operative will meet monthly in Sydney and plans to expand to a Melbourne chapter.
Around 15 directors attended the inaugural meeting of the group which was convened by Heath Davis and is named Cinegar Bar in Sydney last Thursday.
Among the ideas canvassed were making films as a collective and staging festivals or other screenings of Australian films.
“Our main aim is to create and control our own content and to support each other’s films,” Davis tells If. “We all acknowledge there is a crisis point in Oz cinema and we all have the same war stories.
“We have to find ways to ensure directors are treated better financially. I know some who spent a year on a film and had to reinvest their fees so they were paid zero.”
Among the attendees at the The ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney’s Cbd were Dean Francis,...
- 2/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Heath Davis (L) on the set of ‘Locusts.’
Seventy Australian filmmakers have joined a co-operative aimed at supporting each other’s work and fostering awareness of Aussie films.
The initiative is the brainchild of writer-director Heath Davis, who made his debut with Broke, followed by Book Week and, due to open later this year, suspense drama Locusts.
The group started coalescing before Christmas and rapidly gained members among established directors as well as those with one or two features under their belt. The working title is Cinegar Bar (a play on a cigar bar that Davis used to frequent in Vancouver).
He had the idea after talking to veteran cinematographer John Seale, who told him that when he started out, all the DPs knew and supported each other and formed lasting friendships.
Davis contrasted that camaraderie with the current environment for writers-directors, where it is largely a case of ‘every...
Seventy Australian filmmakers have joined a co-operative aimed at supporting each other’s work and fostering awareness of Aussie films.
The initiative is the brainchild of writer-director Heath Davis, who made his debut with Broke, followed by Book Week and, due to open later this year, suspense drama Locusts.
The group started coalescing before Christmas and rapidly gained members among established directors as well as those with one or two features under their belt. The working title is Cinegar Bar (a play on a cigar bar that Davis used to frequent in Vancouver).
He had the idea after talking to veteran cinematographer John Seale, who told him that when he started out, all the DPs knew and supported each other and formed lasting friendships.
Davis contrasted that camaraderie with the current environment for writers-directors, where it is largely a case of ‘every...
- 1/6/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
New channel aims to screen “carefully curated, meaningful stories” but still needs to comply with Indian censorship.
Indian broadcaster Star India has launched a channel, Star Gold Select HD, to show specialist and story-driven Hindi-language movies to a “discerning audience”.
The move comes as India’s growing ranks of “non-Bollywood” independent and arthouse filmmakers are gaining greater recognition both in India and overseas.
Star said it would “serve carefully curated, meaningful stories from Indian cinema”. The exclusively HD channel, which is available on Tata Sky and Indian digital cable platforms, will premiere one movie every week in the 9pm prime time slot.
Titles included in a promo for the channel include Neeraj Ghaywan’s 2015 Cannes title Masaan (pictured); Anu Menon’s Waiting, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin; Tanuj Bhramar’s coming-of-age story Dear Dad; and Anupam Sharma’s Australia-set, English-language romantic drama Unindian.
In a departure from Star India’s other movie channels, it will screen...
Indian broadcaster Star India has launched a channel, Star Gold Select HD, to show specialist and story-driven Hindi-language movies to a “discerning audience”.
The move comes as India’s growing ranks of “non-Bollywood” independent and arthouse filmmakers are gaining greater recognition both in India and overseas.
Star said it would “serve carefully curated, meaningful stories from Indian cinema”. The exclusively HD channel, which is available on Tata Sky and Indian digital cable platforms, will premiere one movie every week in the 9pm prime time slot.
Titles included in a promo for the channel include Neeraj Ghaywan’s 2015 Cannes title Masaan (pictured); Anu Menon’s Waiting, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin; Tanuj Bhramar’s coming-of-age story Dear Dad; and Anupam Sharma’s Australia-set, English-language romantic drama Unindian.
In a departure from Star India’s other movie channels, it will screen...
- 3/8/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
It’s always something with the Indian censors.
This time, it’s the refusal of the Central Board of Film Certification (Cbfc) to grant filmmaker Alankrta Shrivastava’s “Lipstick Under My Burkha” certification for a theatrical release in India. The film, a drama following four women in small-town India exploring sexual empowerment, freedom from patriarchy, and personal fulfillment won the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival last October and the Spirit of Asia Award at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, with upcoming screenings at festivals everywhere from Miami to Glasgow. The board’s rejection of the film reignites familiar outrage, as the filmmakers and audiences alike have taken to social media to slam the decision as an “assault on women’s rights.”
Infuriating as it is, this is hardly the board’s first frustrating clampdown. The Cbfc has long been the bane of...
This time, it’s the refusal of the Central Board of Film Certification (Cbfc) to grant filmmaker Alankrta Shrivastava’s “Lipstick Under My Burkha” certification for a theatrical release in India. The film, a drama following four women in small-town India exploring sexual empowerment, freedom from patriarchy, and personal fulfillment won the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality at the Mumbai Film Festival last October and the Spirit of Asia Award at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, with upcoming screenings at festivals everywhere from Miami to Glasgow. The board’s rejection of the film reignites familiar outrage, as the filmmakers and audiences alike have taken to social media to slam the decision as an “assault on women’s rights.”
Infuriating as it is, this is hardly the board’s first frustrating clampdown. The Cbfc has long been the bane of...
- 2/27/2017
- by Anisha Jhaveri
- Indiewire
UnIndian
Starring Brett Lee, Tannistha Chatterjee
Directed by Anupam Sharma
Rating: * ½
UnIndian could well be titled ‘There’s a White Naked Man In Our Daughter’s Bedroom’, as one of the film’s intended high-points occurs when Brett Lee saunters out of his lady-love Tannishtha Chatterjee’s bedroom only to run into her shocked parents in the living room.
Nervously his towel drops off. Giggle.
The …errrr….joke doesn’t end there. Mira’s father stares at Brett’s crotch and exclaims, ‘You are not wearing a chaddhi.’
This stating-of-the-obvious business, we soon realize, is a force of habit in the film. Everyone is doing it all the time. Thrusting banal home-truths into our faces until we cry for mercy. But who’s listening? Everybody brown or white, is busy dancing to Bollywood beats manufactured in factory-precise doses for global consumption.
Come to think about it, from the opening shots...
Starring Brett Lee, Tannistha Chatterjee
Directed by Anupam Sharma
Rating: * ½
UnIndian could well be titled ‘There’s a White Naked Man In Our Daughter’s Bedroom’, as one of the film’s intended high-points occurs when Brett Lee saunters out of his lady-love Tannishtha Chatterjee’s bedroom only to run into her shocked parents in the living room.
Nervously his towel drops off. Giggle.
The …errrr….joke doesn’t end there. Mira’s father stares at Brett’s crotch and exclaims, ‘You are not wearing a chaddhi.’
This stating-of-the-obvious business, we soon realize, is a force of habit in the film. Everyone is doing it all the time. Thrusting banal home-truths into our faces until we cry for mercy. But who’s listening? Everybody brown or white, is busy dancing to Bollywood beats manufactured in factory-precise doses for global consumption.
Come to think about it, from the opening shots...
- 8/27/2016
- by Subhash K Jha
- Bollyspice
unINDIAN director Anupam Sharm with stars Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee.
Following on from its showing on Australian screens last year, unINDIAN.is set for release in India and the Middle East.
Star Brett Lee.will walk the red carpet along with co-stars Tannishtha Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak, Gulshan Grover and Akash Khurana and director Anupam Sharma at the Indian premiere on August 19. The film will then open on 300 screens across the country.
unINDIAN is a romantic comedy that follows the chequered path of Aussie bloke Will (Brett Lee), as he attempts to woo Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee, Bhopal: A Prayer of Rain, Siddharth, Brick Lane), a gorgeous Indian woman who lives in Sydney with her daughter.
Among the other cast members are John Howard, Tiriel Mora, Maya Sathimoorthy, Arka Das, Sarah Roberts, Adam Dunn, Nicholas Brown, Kumud Merani and Pallavi Sharda. The film was produced by Sharma, Lisa Duff and Nitika Thakur.
Following on from its showing on Australian screens last year, unINDIAN.is set for release in India and the Middle East.
Star Brett Lee.will walk the red carpet along with co-stars Tannishtha Chatterjee, Supriya Pathak, Gulshan Grover and Akash Khurana and director Anupam Sharma at the Indian premiere on August 19. The film will then open on 300 screens across the country.
unINDIAN is a romantic comedy that follows the chequered path of Aussie bloke Will (Brett Lee), as he attempts to woo Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee, Bhopal: A Prayer of Rain, Siddharth, Brick Lane), a gorgeous Indian woman who lives in Sydney with her daughter.
Among the other cast members are John Howard, Tiriel Mora, Maya Sathimoorthy, Arka Das, Sarah Roberts, Adam Dunn, Nicholas Brown, Kumud Merani and Pallavi Sharda. The film was produced by Sharma, Lisa Duff and Nitika Thakur.
- 7/21/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Anupam Sharma’s cross cultural Australian comedy unINDIAN, featuring cricket star, Brett Lee and internationally acclaimed Indian actress, Tannishtha Chatterjee, will be screened in the Antipodes Festival at Cannes during Cannes Films Festival this May 2016, then in October 2016 during St Tropez Film Festival (https://issuu.com/michelolivier/docs/cannesantipodes2016__bd_). The film was produced with financial assistance from Screen Australia and Screen Nsw and major investment from Australia India Film Fund.
Opening with a world premiere at Montreal, unINDIAN continued to be screened at number of film festivals throughout Europe and America. The film opened across 70 screens in Australia, with Madman picking up ancilliary sales in Australia. The producers will be selling the film to various territories, particularly India, through their global sales agents, Yellow Affair at Cannes. Speaking from Cannes, Miira Paasillinna and Chris Howard from Yellow Affair said “We are delighted to be selling this warm and funny Australian film.
Opening with a world premiere at Montreal, unINDIAN continued to be screened at number of film festivals throughout Europe and America. The film opened across 70 screens in Australia, with Madman picking up ancilliary sales in Australia. The producers will be selling the film to various territories, particularly India, through their global sales agents, Yellow Affair at Cannes. Speaking from Cannes, Miira Paasillinna and Chris Howard from Yellow Affair said “We are delighted to be selling this warm and funny Australian film.
- 5/12/2016
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
unIndian director Anupam Sharm with Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee.
unIndian director Anupam Sharma has launched his next project, One Step at a Time, just months after the lacklustre box office performance of last year's heavily marketed comedy starring cricketer Brett Lee.
The feature documentary, a co-production between Australia and India to be directed and produced by Sharma, will follow former Australian politican and ultramarathon runner, Pat Farmer, as he runs the length of India..
Producer, Penny Robins, is the consultant executive producer on the project.
With a working title of One Step at a Time, the film will document Farmer.s run and will showcase the colourful, enchanting, challenging and organised chaos of India..
Also joining Sharma on the film is India.s award-winning documentary filmmaker Yasmin Kidwai as creative consultant and co-producer..
Kidwai will be tasked with ensuring broadcast sales in India.
Kidwai said she was very excited...
unIndian director Anupam Sharma has launched his next project, One Step at a Time, just months after the lacklustre box office performance of last year's heavily marketed comedy starring cricketer Brett Lee.
The feature documentary, a co-production between Australia and India to be directed and produced by Sharma, will follow former Australian politican and ultramarathon runner, Pat Farmer, as he runs the length of India..
Producer, Penny Robins, is the consultant executive producer on the project.
With a working title of One Step at a Time, the film will document Farmer.s run and will showcase the colourful, enchanting, challenging and organised chaos of India..
Also joining Sharma on the film is India.s award-winning documentary filmmaker Yasmin Kidwai as creative consultant and co-producer..
Kidwai will be tasked with ensuring broadcast sales in India.
Kidwai said she was very excited...
- 2/5/2016
- by Brian Karlovsky
- IF.com.au
The Bahamas International Film Festival has announced their lineup and competition programs for their 12th year, which will run from December 1-12. More than 130 films are represented in the lineup, which includes competition categories for Spirit of Freedom: Narrative, Spirit of Freedom: Documentary, New Visions, Carribean Spotlight Narrative, Carribean Spotlight Documentary, Comedy and non-Jury Short Films. Read More: Vanessa Hope's 'All Eyes and Ears' Examines U.S.-China Relations Below is the list of films. Spirit Of Freedom (Narrative) "Eadward" (Canada) / Director: Kyle Rideout "Showing Roots" (USA) / Director: Michael Wilson "Sin and Illy" (Germany) / Director: Maria Hengge "The Sleeping Tree" (Bahrain) / Director: Mohammed Rashed BuAli "UnIndian" (Australia) Director: Anupam SHarma "Wildlike" (USA) / Director: Frank Hall Green Spirit Of Freedom (Documentary) "All Eyes All Ears"...
- 10/26/2015
- by Wil Barlow
- Indiewire
On Friday one Australian distributor looked at the abysmal opening day figures for four new films and muttered, .It.s a bloodbath..
Alas the carnage continued over the weekend as Crimson Peak, Legend, The Walk and UnINDIAN failed to resonate with cinemagoers.
The huge publicity and marketing campaign for UnINDIAN did not pay off as the cross-cultural romantic comedy starring Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee generated $110,000 on 65 screens.
Producer-director Anupam Sharma tells If, .The box-office could have been better but we still have the ancillary revenues and the rest of the world to come.
.We made a $4.5 million independent film which was released on more than 60 screens, so we got 10/10 for everything we could control. Our distributor Friends India Entertaainment (sic) is scratching his head..
Still, with the producer offset and investment from Screen Australia, Destination Nsw, Screen Nsw and other sponsors, Sharma is confident his investors will recoup from the international sales.
Alas the carnage continued over the weekend as Crimson Peak, Legend, The Walk and UnINDIAN failed to resonate with cinemagoers.
The huge publicity and marketing campaign for UnINDIAN did not pay off as the cross-cultural romantic comedy starring Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee generated $110,000 on 65 screens.
Producer-director Anupam Sharma tells If, .The box-office could have been better but we still have the ancillary revenues and the rest of the world to come.
.We made a $4.5 million independent film which was released on more than 60 screens, so we got 10/10 for everything we could control. Our distributor Friends India Entertaainment (sic) is scratching his head..
Still, with the producer offset and investment from Screen Australia, Destination Nsw, Screen Nsw and other sponsors, Sharma is confident his investors will recoup from the international sales.
- 10/18/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Tannishtha Chatterjee stands out opposite the former fast bowler in Anupam Sharma’s romcom, best when it taps the warm humour of Indian family values
• Brett Lee on UnIndian: ‘People are sick of racism in film and sport’
Former cricketer Brett Lee, remembered as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of the sport, has made a ballsy career switcheroo from the oval to the big screen – starring as the male lead in a cross-cultural Australian romcom about a sweet Caucasian bloke and a beautiful Indian woman with conservative heritage.
Joining director Anupam Sharma’s film UnIndian hardly suggests a cash-in of the Michael Jordan in Space Jam ilk. One suspects this deal was rather less lucrative, meaning Lee’s move into acting was presumably because he actually wanted – the horror, the horror – to become an actor.
Continue reading...
• Brett Lee on UnIndian: ‘People are sick of racism in film and sport’
Former cricketer Brett Lee, remembered as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of the sport, has made a ballsy career switcheroo from the oval to the big screen – starring as the male lead in a cross-cultural Australian romcom about a sweet Caucasian bloke and a beautiful Indian woman with conservative heritage.
Joining director Anupam Sharma’s film UnIndian hardly suggests a cash-in of the Michael Jordan in Space Jam ilk. One suspects this deal was rather less lucrative, meaning Lee’s move into acting was presumably because he actually wanted – the horror, the horror – to become an actor.
Continue reading...
- 10/14/2015
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
The former fast bowler prepared with acting training, vocal warm-ups, and pre-dawn starts to take on his latest test, starring in a cross-cultural feature film
UnIndian: Brett Lee’s film debut as lanky as its lead – review
The phrase “golden boy” might have been tailor-made for Brett Lee. The Australian cricket great is in Sydney promoting the launch of unINDIAN, his debut as lead actor in a feature film. He sits in a chair alongside the film’s director Anupam Sharma – 185cm of laid-back charm, easy smiles and a wave of bright, blonde hair. He seems completely nonplussed by the fact later that evening his acting chutzpah will be at the scrutiny of Australian audiences for the first time.
Lee admits it was “weird” seeing himself on the big screen. It will be “weird” for audiences too, so used to seeing him in a baggy green on the cricket pitch,...
UnIndian: Brett Lee’s film debut as lanky as its lead – review
The phrase “golden boy” might have been tailor-made for Brett Lee. The Australian cricket great is in Sydney promoting the launch of unINDIAN, his debut as lead actor in a feature film. He sits in a chair alongside the film’s director Anupam Sharma – 185cm of laid-back charm, easy smiles and a wave of bright, blonde hair. He seems completely nonplussed by the fact later that evening his acting chutzpah will be at the scrutiny of Australian audiences for the first time.
Lee admits it was “weird” seeing himself on the big screen. It will be “weird” for audiences too, so used to seeing him in a baggy green on the cricket pitch,...
- 10/12/2015
- by Monica Tan
- The Guardian - Film News
Tannishtha Chatterjee is a film festival veteran, but the success of her films at the Toronto Film Festival or at the Venice Film Festival consistently surprise her. Chatterjee appeared in two films at Tiff: Pan Nalin’s Angry Indian Goddesses, which is India’s first female buddy film that won the first runner up prize at the Grolsch People Choice Awards at Tiff, and in Leena Yadav’s Parched, which follows three women in rural Rajasthan as they disrupt patriarchal customs. These films won critical acclaim at the festival, which speaks to the amazing female-oriented cinema she’s gravitated towards. In her new film UnIndian, in which she stars opposite cricketer Brett Lee, Chatterjee tries her hand at comedy, and this is one we can’t wait to see. We caught up with Chatterjee to talk festival life, UnIndian, and roles for women in Indian cinema.
How do you decide...
How do you decide...
- 10/8/2015
- by BollySpice Team
- Bollyspice
Strong demand from exhibitors is prompting unINDIAN director/producer Anupam Sharma and his distributor to broaden the cross-cultural romantic comedy.s cinema release.
The first feature from the Australia India Film Fund (Aiff) is already booked to launch on 86 screens on October 15 and Sharma expects the number to reach 104 by opening day.
The distributor is Vikas Paul.s Friends India Entertaainment (sic), who is keen to handle more mainstream films as well as handing Indian product.
Aiff's head of films and the founder of the Fox Studios-based Films & Casting Temple, Sharma tells If the launch will be backed by a P&A spend of more than $1.2 million: almost $750,000 from the distributor and $500,000 from his investors.
Scripted by Thushy Saathi, the plot follows Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a beautiful divorcee and single mother of one who has settled in Sydney and has a successful career. When she meets the charismatic Will (Brett...
The first feature from the Australia India Film Fund (Aiff) is already booked to launch on 86 screens on October 15 and Sharma expects the number to reach 104 by opening day.
The distributor is Vikas Paul.s Friends India Entertaainment (sic), who is keen to handle more mainstream films as well as handing Indian product.
Aiff's head of films and the founder of the Fox Studios-based Films & Casting Temple, Sharma tells If the launch will be backed by a P&A spend of more than $1.2 million: almost $750,000 from the distributor and $500,000 from his investors.
Scripted by Thushy Saathi, the plot follows Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a beautiful divorcee and single mother of one who has settled in Sydney and has a successful career. When she meets the charismatic Will (Brett...
- 10/7/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Propelled by Oddball and Blinky Bill: The Movie, next week Australian films are set to smash the record for the biggest B.O. total in a single year.
The feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers have amassed an estimated $61.8 million.
Produced by Steve Kearney and Richard Keddie and directed by Stuart McDonald, Oddball raked in $3.55 million in its second week, lifting its earnings to $6.3 million. Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill climbed to $1.9 million after pocketing a tad over $1 million in its sophomore session.
So by the end of next week the 2015 total will surpass the current record of $63.4 million set in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La..
In that year the Australian films. market share was 7.8 per cent. If the 2001 total was adjusted for inflation then 2015 would not be a record in real terms but the market share is a consistent barometer.
The feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers have amassed an estimated $61.8 million.
Produced by Steve Kearney and Richard Keddie and directed by Stuart McDonald, Oddball raked in $3.55 million in its second week, lifting its earnings to $6.3 million. Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill climbed to $1.9 million after pocketing a tad over $1 million in its sophomore session.
So by the end of next week the 2015 total will surpass the current record of $63.4 million set in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La..
In that year the Australian films. market share was 7.8 per cent. If the 2001 total was adjusted for inflation then 2015 would not be a record in real terms but the market share is a consistent barometer.
- 10/1/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian films are poised to record their highest share of the national box-office for 14 years, which goes a long way towards regaining the faith of audiences after a long lean spell.
Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million.
It might be a stretch but 2015 could come close to the all-time record of $63.4 million in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market...
Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million.
It might be a stretch but 2015 could come close to the all-time record of $63.4 million in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market...
- 9/15/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian films are poised to record their highest share of the national box-office for 10 years, which goes a long way towards regaining the faith of audiences after a long lean spell.
Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million, the best result in the past 10 years. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market share of 2.43 per cent) and 2013's $38.5 million. Despite some critical acclaim, Ruben Guthrie, Women He.s Undressed and Partisan did not resonate strongly and Manny Lewis tanked.
Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million, the best result in the past 10 years. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market share of 2.43 per cent) and 2013's $38.5 million. Despite some critical acclaim, Ruben Guthrie, Women He.s Undressed and Partisan did not resonate strongly and Manny Lewis tanked.
- 9/15/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The first Indo-Australian film unINDIAN, featuring Australian cricketer Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee, directed by Anupam Sharma, has been selected to screen at the prestigious Montreal World Film Festival where the film will have its World Premiere.
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
Yellow Affair’s Chris Howard said: “We’re very proud to be representing unIndian. Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world.”
The film’s director Anupam Sharma said: “For a film which was never intended to be a festival film, it is an honour and a pleasant...
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
Yellow Affair’s Chris Howard said: “We’re very proud to be representing unIndian. Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world.”
The film’s director Anupam Sharma said: “For a film which was never intended to be a festival film, it is an honour and a pleasant...
- 8/31/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
The first Indo-Australian film unIndian, featuring Australian cricketer Brett Lee and Tannishtha Chatterjee, directed by Anupam Sharma, has been selected to screen at the prestigious Montreal World Film Festival where the film will have its World Premiere.
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
Yellow Affair's Chris Howard said, "We're very proud to be representing unIndian. Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world."
Further adding the film's director Anupam Sharma said, "For a film which was never intended to be a festival film, it is an honour and a pleasant surprise...
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
Yellow Affair's Chris Howard said, "We're very proud to be representing unIndian. Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world."
Further adding the film's director Anupam Sharma said, "For a film which was never intended to be a festival film, it is an honour and a pleasant surprise...
- 8/28/2015
- BollywoodHungama
Australian film unINDIAN has been selected to screen at the Montreal World Film Festival, where the film will have its world premiere.
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
.Yellow Affair.s Chris Howard said: ..We.re very proud to be representing unIndian..
"Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world.
The film.s director Anupam Sharma said the film was never meant to be a festival film..
"It is an honour and a pleasant surprise to be selected to Montreal and also have the world premiere there..
.unINDIAN stars Brett Lee...
The film has also been picked up by the Scandinavian boutique international sales agent Yellow Affair. Yellow Affair will launch sales with a major presence for the film at the Toronto Film Market.
.Yellow Affair.s Chris Howard said: ..We.re very proud to be representing unIndian..
"Not only is it entertaining and genuinely funny, it touches cleverly on cultural differences and has a charming love story at its centre. We feel the film has a commercial charm that should get it healthy distribution around the world.
The film.s director Anupam Sharma said the film was never meant to be a festival film..
"It is an honour and a pleasant surprise to be selected to Montreal and also have the world premiere there..
.unINDIAN stars Brett Lee...
- 8/24/2015
- by Brian Karlovsky
- IF.com.au
Watch the trailer of filmmaker Anupam Sharma’s upcoming Indo-Australian comedy film ‘unIndian’. The film marks the lead debut of Australian cricketer Brett Lee. Tannishtha Chatterjee is playing the lead female in this film.
https://
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QMRiv9a7uI
unINDIAN is a comedy with a lot of heart and a little spice. It highlights the complexities of wooing another from a different culture. Lee plays a teacher who introduces migrants to Australian language and culture named “Will” while Tannishtha portrays a divorced career woman, named Meera, who is constantly urged to marry “a nice Indian man”.
Produced by Anupam Sharma and Lisa Duff, unIndian is scheduled to release on 15th October, 2015.
The post Video: Trailer of Brett Lee’s debut film ‘unIndian’ appeared first on BollySpice.com.
https://
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QMRiv9a7uI
unINDIAN is a comedy with a lot of heart and a little spice. It highlights the complexities of wooing another from a different culture. Lee plays a teacher who introduces migrants to Australian language and culture named “Will” while Tannishtha portrays a divorced career woman, named Meera, who is constantly urged to marry “a nice Indian man”.
Produced by Anupam Sharma and Lisa Duff, unIndian is scheduled to release on 15th October, 2015.
The post Video: Trailer of Brett Lee’s debut film ‘unIndian’ appeared first on BollySpice.com.
- 7/17/2015
- by BollySpice Editors
- Bollyspice
Simon Baker will make his feature directing debut, Matchbox Pictures will adapt another Christos Tsiolkas. novel for the ABC and Endemol Australia will produce a female-driven drama for the Nine Network in projects funded by Screen Australia.
Among other funding recipients are a TV spin-off of Tomorrow, When the War Began, a Nowhere Boys telemovie for the ABC and a relationships comedy directed by Tim Ferguson and Marc Gracie.
In total Screen Australia is investing $13.4 million in 12 film and television projects which will trigger production worth $64.3 million.
Baker (The Mentalist) will direct and star in the screen adaptation of Tim Winton.s novel Breath, scripted by Top of the Lake.s Gerard Lee.
The producers are Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, The Notebook), Baker and See Pictures. Jamie Hilton (Backtrack, The Little Death).
Arclight is pitching the 1970s-set project to prospective buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The novel focusses on two teenagers,...
Among other funding recipients are a TV spin-off of Tomorrow, When the War Began, a Nowhere Boys telemovie for the ABC and a relationships comedy directed by Tim Ferguson and Marc Gracie.
In total Screen Australia is investing $13.4 million in 12 film and television projects which will trigger production worth $64.3 million.
Baker (The Mentalist) will direct and star in the screen adaptation of Tim Winton.s novel Breath, scripted by Top of the Lake.s Gerard Lee.
The producers are Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, The Notebook), Baker and See Pictures. Jamie Hilton (Backtrack, The Little Death).
Arclight is pitching the 1970s-set project to prospective buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The novel focusses on two teenagers,...
- 5/13/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Filming is now complete on the highly anticipated Australian feature film unINDIAN. Wrapping last week, the cross-cultural comedy is the first production of the newly established Australia India Film Fund (Aiff).Highlighting the complexities of Indian diaspora and wooing another from a different culture unINDIAN, a film by Anupam Sharma, stars internationally acclaimed actress Tannishtha Chatterjee (Bhopal: A Prayer of Rain, Siddharth, Brick Lane) and Brett Lee in his first lead role.
Seen in Indian Traditional outfit, Brett looked like he enjoyed the dramatic and larger than life dance sequence that Indian films are known for. After wrapping up the shoot Tannishtha Chatterjee has returned to India while Brett Lee took to the microphone to commentate for the Icc Cricket World Cup.
Anupam Sharma, producer and director of the film says, “We were all excited prepping up for this final number composed by Salim Sulaiman. Specially because the number has some interesting twists and turns,...
Seen in Indian Traditional outfit, Brett looked like he enjoyed the dramatic and larger than life dance sequence that Indian films are known for. After wrapping up the shoot Tannishtha Chatterjee has returned to India while Brett Lee took to the microphone to commentate for the Icc Cricket World Cup.
Anupam Sharma, producer and director of the film says, “We were all excited prepping up for this final number composed by Salim Sulaiman. Specially because the number has some interesting twists and turns,...
- 4/3/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
Producer Lisa Duff has joined Screen Australia as investment development manager, documentaries.
She succeeds Mary-Ellen Mullane, who started two weeks ago as senior commissioning editor at Sbs.s National Indigenous Television (Nitv).
Duff has worked on features, TV dramas and documentaries for 15 years. Most recently she produced with Greg Duffy Last Cab to Darwin, Jeremy Sims. road movie drama starring Michael Caton, Jacki Weaver, Emma Hamilton and Ningali Lawford-Wolf; and Anupam Sharma.s Unindian, a romantic comedy featuring Tannishtha Chatterjee and Brett Lee in his first lead role.
Icon will release Last Cab, the saga of a taxi driver who is told he doesn.t have long to live and embarks on an epic drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms, in August.
Her other credits include Sims. Last Train to Freo and the shorts Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wakgun and Footy: The La Perouse Way.
She succeeds Mary-Ellen Mullane, who started two weeks ago as senior commissioning editor at Sbs.s National Indigenous Television (Nitv).
Duff has worked on features, TV dramas and documentaries for 15 years. Most recently she produced with Greg Duffy Last Cab to Darwin, Jeremy Sims. road movie drama starring Michael Caton, Jacki Weaver, Emma Hamilton and Ningali Lawford-Wolf; and Anupam Sharma.s Unindian, a romantic comedy featuring Tannishtha Chatterjee and Brett Lee in his first lead role.
Icon will release Last Cab, the saga of a taxi driver who is told he doesn.t have long to live and embarks on an epic drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms, in August.
Her other credits include Sims. Last Train to Freo and the shorts Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wakgun and Footy: The La Perouse Way.
- 3/31/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Australian cricketer Brett Lee who’ll be soon seen in the first Indo-Australian production, UnIndian celebrates the festival of colours, Holi. Brett recently shot for a Holi scene for his film. This was the first time that he celebrated the Indian festival of colours and simply loved and enjoyed it.
Director Anupam Sharma says, “Holi with its intoxicating fun of colours is a crucial part of unINDIAN film. We created a Holi festival in Sydney with hundreds coming in as Extras to celebrate Holi with Brett Lee and the cast . Brett had a very Indian holi celebration while shooting for UnIndian. Indian actors Tannishtha, Supriya Pathak and Akash Khurana were very surprised to see how within minute Brett learned how to colour and be coloured in a very Indian style….then it was free for all with some great colours and music by Salim Sulaiman.”
The post Australian Cricketer Brett Lee...
Director Anupam Sharma says, “Holi with its intoxicating fun of colours is a crucial part of unINDIAN film. We created a Holi festival in Sydney with hundreds coming in as Extras to celebrate Holi with Brett Lee and the cast . Brett had a very Indian holi celebration while shooting for UnIndian. Indian actors Tannishtha, Supriya Pathak and Akash Khurana were very surprised to see how within minute Brett learned how to colour and be coloured in a very Indian style….then it was free for all with some great colours and music by Salim Sulaiman.”
The post Australian Cricketer Brett Lee...
- 3/10/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
Wayne Blair, Rachel Perkins, Greg McLean, Cameron and Colin Cairnes get green lights for new Australian films, including a new feature starring Kevin Bacon.
The directors of two of Australia’s biggest hits of the last five years, Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae) and Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) have had new films financed in Screen Australia’s last funding round for the year.
Six films in all got a green light: another is Jungle from Wolf Creek director Greg McLean, who recently made his first Us film, 6 Miranda Drive, and has cast Kevin Bacon in this cinematic recreation of the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg managing to survive in the Amazon rainforest.
Perkins will direct the adaptation of the extremely popular book Jasper Jones in Western Australia next year. No cast are yet attached to the coming-of-age murder mystery written by Shaun Grant who was thrust into the limelight when the film of his debut script [link=tt...
The directors of two of Australia’s biggest hits of the last five years, Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae) and Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) have had new films financed in Screen Australia’s last funding round for the year.
Six films in all got a green light: another is Jungle from Wolf Creek director Greg McLean, who recently made his first Us film, 6 Miranda Drive, and has cast Kevin Bacon in this cinematic recreation of the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg managing to survive in the Amazon rainforest.
Perkins will direct the adaptation of the extremely popular book Jasper Jones in Western Australia next year. No cast are yet attached to the coming-of-age murder mystery written by Shaun Grant who was thrust into the limelight when the film of his debut script [link=tt...
- 11/27/2014
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
Unindian, the first feature from the Australia India Film Fund (Aiff), will go into production in October in Sydney.
The romantic comedy, which looks at the complexities of the Indian diaspora and the issue of cross-cultural relationships, will star Australian cricketer Brett Lee in his first lead role and Tannishtha Chatterjee, who gained international acclaim in the. feature Brick Lane.
Scripted by Thushy Saathi, the plot follows Meera (Chatterjee), a beautiful divorcee and single mother of one who has settled in Sydney and has a successful career. When she meets the charismatic Will (Lee), love is the last thing on her mind.
Her family encourages her to marry 'a nice Indian man,' which raises the questions:. Does she do as her family wishes?Or does she follow her heart and live her life the way she wants to?.
The director/producer is Anupam Sharma, Aiff's head of films and...
The romantic comedy, which looks at the complexities of the Indian diaspora and the issue of cross-cultural relationships, will star Australian cricketer Brett Lee in his first lead role and Tannishtha Chatterjee, who gained international acclaim in the. feature Brick Lane.
Scripted by Thushy Saathi, the plot follows Meera (Chatterjee), a beautiful divorcee and single mother of one who has settled in Sydney and has a successful career. When she meets the charismatic Will (Lee), love is the last thing on her mind.
Her family encourages her to marry 'a nice Indian man,' which raises the questions:. Does she do as her family wishes?Or does she follow her heart and live her life the way she wants to?.
The director/producer is Anupam Sharma, Aiff's head of films and...
- 9/4/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
New Delhi, Feb 19: A two-day conference and film festival will be held in the Australian city of Newcastle to celebrate and explore the Mumbai-based Indian film industry.
Organised by the University of Newcastle, the Bollywood 101 Film Festival will be opened by the consul general of India in Sydney, Arun Kumar Goel, on Feb 20.
The fest will include film screenings and presentations from film producers, while the Bollywood and its other conference at the University of Newcastle will take place Feb 21.
The fest will host a variety of speakers, including Indian-Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma.
Filmmaker Vikrant Kishore and Susan Kerrigan, from the university, are the conference convenors.
"Bollywood.
Organised by the University of Newcastle, the Bollywood 101 Film Festival will be opened by the consul general of India in Sydney, Arun Kumar Goel, on Feb 20.
The fest will include film screenings and presentations from film producers, while the Bollywood and its other conference at the University of Newcastle will take place Feb 21.
The fest will host a variety of speakers, including Indian-Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma.
Filmmaker Vikrant Kishore and Susan Kerrigan, from the university, are the conference convenors.
"Bollywood.
- 2/19/2014
- by Lohit Reddy
- RealBollywood.com
Melbourne, Dec 8: A group of Sydney-based Indo-Australian professionals have come together to form a venture which would invest in feature films, documentaries and TV shows with Indian themes.
The Australia India Film Fund (Aiff) would be led by two Sydney-based professionals of Indian origin - Devendra Gupta and Yateendra Gupta.
The Aiff was launched Friday and has also managed to rope in perhaps the best known Indian film personality Down Under, Anupam Sharma, as its Head of Films.
"We believe it is the right time to invest in the Australian film industry's niche projects and redefine the form and content of an Australian.
The Australia India Film Fund (Aiff) would be led by two Sydney-based professionals of Indian origin - Devendra Gupta and Yateendra Gupta.
The Aiff was launched Friday and has also managed to rope in perhaps the best known Indian film personality Down Under, Anupam Sharma, as its Head of Films.
"We believe it is the right time to invest in the Australian film industry's niche projects and redefine the form and content of an Australian.
- 12/8/2013
- by Ketali Mehta
- RealBollywood.com
Sydney-based Anupam Sharma has been appointed head of film for the Australia India Film Fund (Aiff) and expects to be able to name the first film to be financed by the new fund by the end of February.
It executive Devendra Gupta and accountant Yateendra Gupta, the key pair behind Aiff, have guaranteed $4.5-$5.5m (A$5-6m) in private finance from Australian/Indian business people in the first 18 months, Sharma told ScreenDaily.
“I needed to get that commitment, to know it was a real initiative, so that if nothing else happens we will have one feature film and one television series or documentary,” he said.
The Aiff is promoting itself as the “first ever private initiative in Australia to fund India-centric Australian feature films, television and documentaries” but it is also the first to fund projects with a foot in any of the many diasporas in Australia.
Sharma is currently considering seven scripts and uses Bend It Like Beckham...
It executive Devendra Gupta and accountant Yateendra Gupta, the key pair behind Aiff, have guaranteed $4.5-$5.5m (A$5-6m) in private finance from Australian/Indian business people in the first 18 months, Sharma told ScreenDaily.
“I needed to get that commitment, to know it was a real initiative, so that if nothing else happens we will have one feature film and one television series or documentary,” he said.
The Aiff is promoting itself as the “first ever private initiative in Australia to fund India-centric Australian feature films, television and documentaries” but it is also the first to fund projects with a foot in any of the many diasporas in Australia.
Sharma is currently considering seven scripts and uses Bend It Like Beckham...
- 12/6/2013
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
The first Australian Indian Film Fund aims to bankroll one Australian feature and one TV series or documentary every 18 months, each with India-centric themes. The fund was launched on Thursday by a group of Australian businessmen of Indian origin led by Sydney-based It entrepreneur Devendra Gupta and Cpa Yateendra Gupta (no relation). Iaff has signed Fox Studios-based Films & Casting Temple to produce the Australian screen content, appointing Anupam Sharma as its Head of Films. Sharma founded Temple, a production, consultancy, and casting firm 13 years ago. His company has produced the short films Indian Aussies: Terms & Conditions Apply and SMS (Small Man Syndrome) and served as the line producer on multiple film, TV and video projects including From Sydney with Love, Orange, We Are Family, Crooks: It.s Good to be Bad and Just Dance 2. The fund will trigger several million dollars. worth of production and will utilize the 40% producer offset.
- 12/5/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Australian organisers of picSeeder, the inaugural global, online pitching competition designed to enable aspiring filmmakers to fund short films, have extended the deadline for entries to June 30.
The brainchild of filmmaker Bill Bennett and his wife, producer Jennifer Cluff, the competition invites contestants to submit a one-minute pitch video.
Members of the site (www.picseeder.com), which is free, get to vote on their favourite pitch. Those who submit the 12 most popular pitches will be asked to provide a three-minute video.
The winner will be determined by an international jury comprising Us sales agent Robbie Little, French financier/producer Jean-Charles Levy, Stephen Gates, New York-based head of the literary department at talent management company Evolution Entertainment, actress Michelle Ang and Indian producer Udayan Baijal.
The cash prize, funded from the $28 entry fee, is up to $50,000.
Bennett told If the take-up was slower than he expected and he hopes extending...
The brainchild of filmmaker Bill Bennett and his wife, producer Jennifer Cluff, the competition invites contestants to submit a one-minute pitch video.
Members of the site (www.picseeder.com), which is free, get to vote on their favourite pitch. Those who submit the 12 most popular pitches will be asked to provide a three-minute video.
The winner will be determined by an international jury comprising Us sales agent Robbie Little, French financier/producer Jean-Charles Levy, Stephen Gates, New York-based head of the literary department at talent management company Evolution Entertainment, actress Michelle Ang and Indian producer Udayan Baijal.
The cash prize, funded from the $28 entry fee, is up to $50,000.
Bennett told If the take-up was slower than he expected and he hopes extending...
- 6/6/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Films & Casting Temple’s Anupam Sharma, Lauren Edwards of Goalpost Pictures and Robyn Kershaw are among 10 producers heading to India for the Goa Film Bazaar to help create tighter links between the Australian and Indian film industries. The delegation is lead by Screen Australia and the screen Producers Association of Australia.
The announcement:
Screen Australia and the Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) will lead a delegation of Australian producers to the Goa Film Bazaar to develop new and reinforce existing screen industry partnerships in India.
India is now Australia’s third biggest export market and the two countries have a strong and growing bilateral relationship. With a population of 1.2 billion, a prolific film industry and millions of passionate cinema-goers, India has many potential opportunities for Australian screen content. Australian producers have a growing interest in developing projects with Indian partners and an official co-production treaty is in negotiation.
Organised...
The announcement:
Screen Australia and the Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) will lead a delegation of Australian producers to the Goa Film Bazaar to develop new and reinforce existing screen industry partnerships in India.
India is now Australia’s third biggest export market and the two countries have a strong and growing bilateral relationship. With a population of 1.2 billion, a prolific film industry and millions of passionate cinema-goers, India has many potential opportunities for Australian screen content. Australian producers have a growing interest in developing projects with Indian partners and an official co-production treaty is in negotiation.
Organised...
- 11/21/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has committed almost $700,000 in development support across 23 feature projects.
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
Fifteen new projects have been added to Screen Australia.s development slate, while eight teams will receive continued support to develop their projects.
Two Australian filmmakers will also be supported to undertake overseas internships: producer Ma.ara Bobby Romia will work for six months with Screentime Group in New Zealand and director Ariel Martin-Merrells will work under the mentorship of director James Foley in Los Angeles for five months.
Screen Australia.s head of development Martha Coleman said in a statement: .Following a now well-established tradition, the development slate announced today includes a diverse range of compelling stories from both established and emerging filmmakers. The high calibre of screenplays coming through our door backs up positive feedback we are getting from the domestic and international marketplace and I.m looking forward to seeing the best of these projects make...
- 8/29/2012
- by Staff reporter
- IF.com.au
The story of Rupert Murdoch’s rise to become the world’s biggest media mogul looks set to become an Australian TV telemovie,
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
Screen Australia has provided funding development for the work which is being written by Bob Ellis and Stephen Ramsay.
The announcement comes days after Southern Star’s production of Howzat, the story of how Australian media mogul Kerry Packer took on the cricket establishment delivered the Nine Network with 2m+ ratings.
The series has the working title of The News of the World.
The British Sunday tabloid the telemovie is named after was closed by Murdoch last year in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
Bob Ellis wrote the Australian journalism drama Newsfront and most recently ABC’s Infamous Victory: Ben Chifley’s Battle for Coal while Stephen Ramsey wrote and directed The Baby Boomers Picture Show and Flashbacks.
Ellis told Mumbrella: “What we have...
- 8/28/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
A new feature documentary by director Bill Bennett about a protection group for multicultural Indian couples is due to air on Sbs.
The documentary, called Love Commandos is produced by Bennett and Anupam Sharma with Peter Abbott of Freehand executive producing.
With a pre-sale offer from Sbs, the documentary has come off the back of research for Bennett and Sharma’s forthcoming feature film Defiant, starring Toni Collette and Dev Patel.
The two films have been the result of multiple trips to India for Sharma and Bennett interviewing and researching around the topic of honour killings.
Sharma said that it’s a 360 approach to the subject matter, which also will include a social and digital platform.
Sharma told Encore: “At the moment its a 360 approach, It’s an Indian project and in line with an Indian goddess, it has many arms.”
Explaining the project, Sharma said: “While we were researching Defiant we discovered Love Commandos.
The documentary, called Love Commandos is produced by Bennett and Anupam Sharma with Peter Abbott of Freehand executive producing.
With a pre-sale offer from Sbs, the documentary has come off the back of research for Bennett and Sharma’s forthcoming feature film Defiant, starring Toni Collette and Dev Patel.
The two films have been the result of multiple trips to India for Sharma and Bennett interviewing and researching around the topic of honour killings.
Sharma said that it’s a 360 approach to the subject matter, which also will include a social and digital platform.
Sharma told Encore: “At the moment its a 360 approach, It’s an Indian project and in line with an Indian goddess, it has many arms.”
Explaining the project, Sharma said: “While we were researching Defiant we discovered Love Commandos.
- 8/24/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
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