Bollywood Adda

Slumdog Millionaire, a film that revolves around a Mumbai slum child Jamal who wins a fortune on a reality quiz show, bagged the top People's Choice Award at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival.

The film, which stars Dev Patel (Jamal), Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, was voted as the best film by audiences, winning the first Cadillac People's Choice Award at the fest that concluded on Saturday.

Accepting the $15,000 award and a hand-crafted glass and crystal designed by renowned Canadian artist Jeff Goodman on behalf of director Danny Boyle, actress Freida Pinto said she was thrilled to have her first premiere at the world's foremost film festival.

The award-winning film, which has Anil Kapoor playing the host of the game show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, was screened at the city's landmark Elgin Theatre in the evening.

Four other Indian-themed movies – Deepa Mehta's Heaven On Earth, Priyadarshan's Kanchivaram, Nadita Das' Firaaq and Megan Doneman's Yes Madam, Sir – also had their world premieres at the film festival.

The festival closed with the screening of Stone of Destiny, which re-creates the story of four Glasgow University students who plotted to steal the 300-pound Stone of Destiny, the ancient coronation stone of the Scots from the English in 1950.

Considered to be the pillow stone of Jacob as per the Bible story, the stone was taken away by King Edward I of England in 1296.

Stone of Destiny shows how the four friends, fired by patriotism, reach London on Christmas day in 1950 to steal back the symbol of their heritage right under the noses of the English police.

Over 300 films from 64 countries were screened at the 10-day festival.

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by ibnlive.com

The young lead actors of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which has emerged as one of the biggest audience catcher of the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), are having the time of their lives in Toronto.

The two teenagers, Londoner Dev Patel and Mumbai girl Freida Pinto are on a dream run. They are two of the freshest stars on the international movie firmament with the film poised to cast a spell wherever it plays.

At their post-premiere press conference as well as at subsequent parties, Patel and Pinto lapped up all the attention they attracted.

Boyle cast Patel in the role of the titular character on a suggestion from his teenage daughter, a fan of Skins, a British television series featuring the 17-year-old actor in the lead role.
Pinto landed the role of the heroine of the film after a round of auditions. "I am out and out Mumbai girl, so the role wasn’t difficult for me" she told the media. Any more films on the way? "Well, none at the moment," she revealed.

At the press conference, Patel, sitting alongside Boyle, chose to keep a low profile. Asked how and why Boyle chose him for the part, he quipped, "My lack of muscles got me the role."

This was a follow-up to Boyle's statement that he was looking for an ordinary, vulnerable-looking guy and not "the sort of muscle-bound Bollywood star who finds it tough to lower his arms". The guy clearly knows his cues.

At the annual TIFF party hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body that hands out the annual Golden Globes, the duo was among those who were the first to arrive and the last to leave.

"I do not want this to ever end," Patel was overheard saying after having his photograph clicked with Paris Hilton.

Pinto, on her part, lost no opportunity to soak in the warmth spread by the presence of Hollywood stars like Rachel Weisz, Tim Robbins and Ethan Hawke, among others.

The Slumdog Millionaire stars sat in a corner and chatted incessantly, probably exchanging notes on what the future held for them.

The film is adapted from Indian diplomat-author Vikas Swarup's best seller novel 'Q & A' and scripted by Simon Beaufoy of The Full Monty fame.

It is the story of an 18-year-old uneducated slum dweller who goes on to win the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and, in bargain, reconnects with his lost love.

by indianexpress.com

'Singh' is king in India. But, Canada's permanent resident Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar reportedly faced hurdles to see his blockbuster through in the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival.

And, now it seems that 'Kinng's flick isn't going well with critics in this democratic North American nation, the reason being the entry of an out-and-out commercial movie in the film festival mostly dominated by art films.

However, TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey has strongly defended his decision to invite Singh is Kinng to Toronto.

"The idea is to bring the full diversity of Indian cinema to audiences in Toronto. People here are familiar with India's regional cinema but commercial Hindi films haven't had the sort of exposure it deserves. It is an integral part of the Indian cinema landscape," he said.
In fact, in the course of a party hosted by Percept Picture Company, Akshay revealed that he was keen to have Priyadarshan's comic drama Bhool Bhulaiya included in the official Toronto film festival list in 2007.

But, the organisers of North America's premier film festival rejected the request, the veteran actor said.

It may be mentioned here that mainstream Mumbai cinema was totally blanked out by Toronto last year although the selection did include Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, starring Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta.

Significantly, the Toronto film festival has offered recompense this year by hosting two separate films involving both Akshay and Priyadarshan in its official selection although the two entries have nothing in common.

The latter is in Toronto with an offbeat Tamil-language drama, Kanchivaram, the first-ever Priyadarshan venture to make the cut for a major film festival.

by indianexpress.com

TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) has started offering a slate of highly popular films along with the gritty and introspective art film recently, and shows at least one high profile Bollywood film. It centers on Vengadam, an optimist and weaver of saris, who at the birth of his daughter pledges to wrap her in the finest silk on the day of her wedding.

Mehta will show her first feature film Sam and Me (1991) at the festival, and will discuss how it helped to launch her career. But when his access to the silk is in danger, Vengadam becomes desperate to find a way to keep his promise.

The festival, which after Cannes and Berlin, has become a powerhouse for the sale of small and big films from across the globe will also show films directed by Deepa Mehta (Heaven on Earth) and Priyadarshan (Kanchivaram). The story is set one month after the violent events of 2002 came to an end," says Nandita, who has been working to get the project off the ground for over four years.

The story, which unfolds over 24 hours, 'explores the impact of violence on the human psyche, on relationships, and on one's ability to remain hopeful in the face of a horrendous tragedy.Last year's Oscar winners Ethan Coen and Joel Coen return with the comedy Burn After Reading starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and Brad Pitt.

Giving up his preoccupation with comedies, Priyadarshan offers in Kanchivaram a heartfelt story of good intentions that could go wrong. But then one must also remember that Toronto has not only one of the most film loving communities in the world, and a significant number of them are people of South Asian origin.

The festival has always been dedicated to showcasing the best in films from Asia for our diverse Toronto audiences,' the festival's co-director Cameron Bailey said in a statement. If the promise is not fulfilled, people tell him, a curse will follow.

Mira Nair and Shekhar Kapur's short films, a part of the New York, I Love You omnibus are also being screened. Also showing is the two part opus Che by Stephen Soderbergh, the biopic of the revolutionary.

The 33rd edition of the festival will be held between September 4 and 13, and will screen 312 films. On the other end of the spectrum is Firaaq, Nandita Das' directorial debut that examines the psychological consequences of the 2002 Gujarat communal killings.

There are too many sloppy action sequences, the humour's too broad, the storytelling lackluster.Probing beyond the clich�s of cross-cultural encounters, Mehta and writer Ranjit Chowdhry (who also plays Nikhil) bring to the screen a warm and complex relationship that bridges the ethnic communities from which each man comes,' the festival literature says.

The Akshay Kumar-starrer Singh Is Kinng -- which its distributors claim has grossed $25 million worldwide in 12 days -- will have a high profile release at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Bailey had programmed South Asian films at the festival for over five years. Her Oscar nominated Water, which went on to gross over $5 million in North America making it the highest grossing Hindi language film in the territory, was the opening film at the festival.

Singh Is Kinng isn't a great movie,' The New York Times wrote in its review.Apart from Akshay and Singh Is Kinng director Anees Bazme, the Indian contingent will include Priyadrashan and Nandita, and Preity Zinta, who plays a beleaguered immigrant wife in Heaven on Earth.Can I think of any other film festival that has invited as many Indian films year after year," she muses.

The little seen but well received film tells the story of Sam Cohen, a cranky older Jewish man and Nikhil, a young immigrant, who is hired to take care of him.But the immensely likable Mr Kumar shines as a Capraesque hero who spreads bedrock Indian values -- honour your mother, help the poor -- by example, most conspicuously as the accidental leader of a feared crime gang in Australia. The festival will feature movies from 64 countries.

Last year, it screened Rituparno Ghosh's The Last Lear, and before that, it screened Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. While Priyadarshan and Bazmee are represented at the festival for the first time, Deepa Mehta always had her films shown at TIFF.

Singh Is Kinng, which is expected to overtake the $35 million worldwide gross of Om Shanti Om in a few weeks, is one of the 11 gala presentations at TIFF.

With programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon now selecting our films from Southeast Asia, TIFF has increased its focus on the vibrant film communities in these regions, paving the way for a significant presence of Asian cinema at this year's festival,' he added.

Desperate to keep his word, he steals a thread of silk each day, weaving secretly each night.TIFF sets off the annual Golden Globe and Oscar buzz screened, as well as finds distributors for smaller films.

by rediff.com

As many as 116 films will have their world premiere at the festival, as against 101 last year.Organisers have also trimmed the number of films to 312 this year, from 352 last year.

To take the film festival outdoors this year, the organisers have also announced free public performances and presentations by some of the artistes and entertainers featured in this year's films. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which begins on September 3, will be a lighter affair this year in terms of film themes and their numbers.

Breaking away from the past practice of showcasing films with serious and political themes, the organisers announced that this year's films will have thrust on comedies and domestic issues.

Announcing the final lineups for various segments on Tuesday, they said the numbers have been pruned to make the festival manageable as there is no central place for screenings and accommodating viewers. The 312 films come from 64 countries. While in hospital, he falls in love with the beautiful and caring nurse Sarah.

Apart from being a great platform to showcase the very best in world cinema, the festival also offers a great business opportunity for securing distribution rights for movies. However, his life takes an interesting turn when his lover's brother David enlists to fight in Europe despite suffering from asthma.

Brad Pitt, Ed Harris, Keira Knightley and Ben Kingsley are some big Hollywood names among the 500 star and special invitees. These include 249 full-length feature films.

Festival co-director Cameron Bailey said the aim is to showcase more films with introspective themes - human relationships and family dramas, rather than heavy political themes. Michael too returns to the battlefield to join thousands of Canadians in the third battle of Ypres - commonly known as Passchendaele. Also, 61 filmmakers will make their directorial debut at the festival, which ranks with the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals.

The film tells the story of soldier Michael Dunne who returns home to Calgary after being wounded - physically and emotionally - in action in France.Though the festival is focussing on lighter films, Canadian director Paul Gross' Passchendaele - which is on World War I - will open it.

by ibnlive.com