Venice will screen a trio of documentaries on Syria, including a movie about western fighters battling Isis.
The current crises in Syria is as multifaceted as it is complex, a trait acknowledged in three very different documentaries on the conflict premiering at the 73rd Venice Film Festival (Aug 31- Sep 10).
Two screen in the official selection and another in Venice Days, and at a time when rolling TV and digital news coverage is virtually omnipresent, the filmmakers tell Screen about the unique role cinema can play in conveying stories of conflict.
The War Show
First up in Venice is The War Show, Venice Days’ opening film. Shot on microcameras and mobile phones by SyrianDJj Obaidah Zytoon and her friends during the days that led up to and followed the Arab Spring, and subsequently assembled and edited with the help of documentarist Andreas Dalsgaard (The Humane Scale), the movie chronicles the fateful uprising through the eyes of ordinary...
The current crises in Syria is as multifaceted as it is complex, a trait acknowledged in three very different documentaries on the conflict premiering at the 73rd Venice Film Festival (Aug 31- Sep 10).
Two screen in the official selection and another in Venice Days, and at a time when rolling TV and digital news coverage is virtually omnipresent, the filmmakers tell Screen about the unique role cinema can play in conveying stories of conflict.
The War Show
First up in Venice is The War Show, Venice Days’ opening film. Shot on microcameras and mobile phones by SyrianDJj Obaidah Zytoon and her friends during the days that led up to and followed the Arab Spring, and subsequently assembled and edited with the help of documentarist Andreas Dalsgaard (The Humane Scale), the movie chronicles the fateful uprising through the eyes of ordinary...
- 8/31/2016
- ScreenDaily
I recently sat down with director Isabel Coixet, and actors Patricia Clarkson and Sarita Choudhury at the Crosby Hotel in New York City, to discuss their new film "Learning to Drive." The film, written by Sarah Kernochan, is based on the autobiographical New Yorker short story by Katha Pollit, a long-time political columnist for the Nation.
Wendy is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she’s never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor, and love in starting life anew.
My conversation began with Isabel Coixet and Sarita Choudhury
Isabel Coixet’s award-winning film credits include "Demaisiado viejo para morir joven," "Things I Never Told You,""My Life Without Me," "The Secret Life of Words," "Paris, je t’aime," "Elegy," "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," "Yesterday Never Ends," "Another Me," "Nobody Wants the Night," as well as documentaries, including "Invisibles."
Currently, Sarita Choudhury can be seen on Showtime’s "Homeland." Her film credits include "Admission," "Gayby," "Midnight’s Children," "Generation Um…," "Entre Nos," "The Accidental Husband," "Lady in the Water," "The War Within," "Mississippi Masala," "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love," "She Hate Me," "Just a Kiss," "Wild West," "High Art," "The House of the Spirits," "Gloria," and "A Perfect Murder."
Susan Kouguell: Tell me about the process of how "Learning to Drive" came about.
Isabel Coixet: We started talking about making this film with Patricia and Ben Kingsley when we were making "Elegy" (directed by Coixet, starring Clarkson and Kingsley) and we got along very well and we wanted to make another film together. Patricia discovered the short story by Katha Pollit, and she gave it to me and I thought it was wonderful. And then we got the screenwriter Sarah Kernocha involved. The film is a comedy but not a classical comedy. It was a very difficult film to pitch because you know financiers and producers want something they can put in one box and you can’t with this film. It was a long process. It took nine years.
Some Words Unspoken and the Intimacy of the Camera
Isabel Coixet: There is always this romantic feeling underneath [subtext], I think there is that possibility. You have to be true to your words. If they are true, you will have to stick to your words.
Sarita Choudhury: That’s what happens with people you meet. No you were my inspiration don’t make me your inspiration.
Isabel Coixet: I love Henry James. There is a possibility of romance in the air. My romantic side is always excited when I see something like this.
Sarita Choudhury: I had so few words in the film. In a way, I kept the words because I had to know not to say them. For us the script -- the situational was also in the script; the languidness. It was because Isabel holds the camera. There was a pace created to it. When you’re acting you can feel where the camera is, but when the camera is at the end of Isabel’s hand and she’s moving it, it almost creates an intimacy between you and the camera, and you and the actor. There’s a pace you normally don’t get in film. You didn’t know when she was on your face; you had to keep acting like acting in the theatre.
On The Lack of Women Directors
Isabel Coixet: There are so many articles about it. I’m always afraid to play the victim, to complain too much. I know there is an inequity with men and women directors. This is an issue in the world. I always say, (Coixet smiles) we have to ask for more salary to make up for all these years and maybe if we ask for more they’ll give us the same as a man.
I want to put my words where my mouth is by producing female directors; they are amazing talented people. I’m producing three short films and a feature documentary. That’s what I do.
Sarita Choudhury: I just did a young woman’s short film; there is something about her that’s brilliant. I’ve done two short films. I can’t change the caste system and I can’t do the voluntary work I need to be doing. Film is no different from the world, like Isabel said. That’s our work, to get every woman involved. And if a man is brilliant, let him in too.
I then asked Patricia Clarkson about her involvement with "Learning to Drive."
Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, Patricia Clarkson, has worked extensively in independent films. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for "Pieces of April" and "The Station Agent." Her many film credits include "The Maze Runner," "Last Weekend," "Friends With Benefits," "One Day," "Easy A," "Shutter Island," "Vicky Christina Barcelona," "Elegy," "No Reservations," "All the Kings’ Men," "Lars and the Real Girl, and "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Susan Kouguell: What attracted you to the project?
Patricia Clarkson: I loved the Katha Pollit story in The New Yorker; it serendipitously came to me. I love Wendy, I love this character. I was nine years younger at the time, but I still felt I knew her. I was relentless trying to get this film made with producer Dana Friedman. I found it an equal dose of funny and tragic. I liked the almost commedia dell'arte aspect; this absurd situation and finding the tragic comedy. A woman who is brilliant who lives a great life -- she has everything, but “forgets to look up,” and then meets a man who has experienced tragic loss. They have disparate worlds. I found it a quintessential New York story, but it’s also universal. It’s an independent film, but it’s not independently-minded.
Some Final Words
The disparate worlds about which Clarkson refers to in regard to her character, Wendy’s relationship with Darwan [Ben Kingsley] -- the life of a financially successful New Yorker compared to the immigrant’s struggle, was a thematic element that I further discussed with Coixet and Choudhury. As Choudhury said to me, Coixet’s visual choices of her character, such as the moment when she watches feet walk by her basement apartment window, feeling trapped, underscore the poignancy of this fish-out-of-water situation. Coixet captures these elements with a delicate balance of both drama and comedy.
It was an inspiring morning to speak with these three powerful and talented women, who are committed to sharing their knowledge with the next generation of female filmmakers.
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
Wendy is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage. As Wendy sets out to reclaim her independence, she runs into a barrier common to many lifelong New Yorkers: she’s never learned to drive. When Wendy hires Darwan to teach her, her unraveling life and his calm restraint seem like an awkward fit. But as he shows her how to take control of the wheel, and she coaches him on how to impress a woman, their unlikely friendship awakens them to the joy, humor, and love in starting life anew.
My conversation began with Isabel Coixet and Sarita Choudhury
Isabel Coixet’s award-winning film credits include "Demaisiado viejo para morir joven," "Things I Never Told You,""My Life Without Me," "The Secret Life of Words," "Paris, je t’aime," "Elegy," "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," "Yesterday Never Ends," "Another Me," "Nobody Wants the Night," as well as documentaries, including "Invisibles."
Currently, Sarita Choudhury can be seen on Showtime’s "Homeland." Her film credits include "Admission," "Gayby," "Midnight’s Children," "Generation Um…," "Entre Nos," "The Accidental Husband," "Lady in the Water," "The War Within," "Mississippi Masala," "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love," "She Hate Me," "Just a Kiss," "Wild West," "High Art," "The House of the Spirits," "Gloria," and "A Perfect Murder."
Susan Kouguell: Tell me about the process of how "Learning to Drive" came about.
Isabel Coixet: We started talking about making this film with Patricia and Ben Kingsley when we were making "Elegy" (directed by Coixet, starring Clarkson and Kingsley) and we got along very well and we wanted to make another film together. Patricia discovered the short story by Katha Pollit, and she gave it to me and I thought it was wonderful. And then we got the screenwriter Sarah Kernocha involved. The film is a comedy but not a classical comedy. It was a very difficult film to pitch because you know financiers and producers want something they can put in one box and you can’t with this film. It was a long process. It took nine years.
Some Words Unspoken and the Intimacy of the Camera
Isabel Coixet: There is always this romantic feeling underneath [subtext], I think there is that possibility. You have to be true to your words. If they are true, you will have to stick to your words.
Sarita Choudhury: That’s what happens with people you meet. No you were my inspiration don’t make me your inspiration.
Isabel Coixet: I love Henry James. There is a possibility of romance in the air. My romantic side is always excited when I see something like this.
Sarita Choudhury: I had so few words in the film. In a way, I kept the words because I had to know not to say them. For us the script -- the situational was also in the script; the languidness. It was because Isabel holds the camera. There was a pace created to it. When you’re acting you can feel where the camera is, but when the camera is at the end of Isabel’s hand and she’s moving it, it almost creates an intimacy between you and the camera, and you and the actor. There’s a pace you normally don’t get in film. You didn’t know when she was on your face; you had to keep acting like acting in the theatre.
On The Lack of Women Directors
Isabel Coixet: There are so many articles about it. I’m always afraid to play the victim, to complain too much. I know there is an inequity with men and women directors. This is an issue in the world. I always say, (Coixet smiles) we have to ask for more salary to make up for all these years and maybe if we ask for more they’ll give us the same as a man.
I want to put my words where my mouth is by producing female directors; they are amazing talented people. I’m producing three short films and a feature documentary. That’s what I do.
Sarita Choudhury: I just did a young woman’s short film; there is something about her that’s brilliant. I’ve done two short films. I can’t change the caste system and I can’t do the voluntary work I need to be doing. Film is no different from the world, like Isabel said. That’s our work, to get every woman involved. And if a man is brilliant, let him in too.
I then asked Patricia Clarkson about her involvement with "Learning to Drive."
Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, Patricia Clarkson, has worked extensively in independent films. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for "Pieces of April" and "The Station Agent." Her many film credits include "The Maze Runner," "Last Weekend," "Friends With Benefits," "One Day," "Easy A," "Shutter Island," "Vicky Christina Barcelona," "Elegy," "No Reservations," "All the Kings’ Men," "Lars and the Real Girl, and "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Susan Kouguell: What attracted you to the project?
Patricia Clarkson: I loved the Katha Pollit story in The New Yorker; it serendipitously came to me. I love Wendy, I love this character. I was nine years younger at the time, but I still felt I knew her. I was relentless trying to get this film made with producer Dana Friedman. I found it an equal dose of funny and tragic. I liked the almost commedia dell'arte aspect; this absurd situation and finding the tragic comedy. A woman who is brilliant who lives a great life -- she has everything, but “forgets to look up,” and then meets a man who has experienced tragic loss. They have disparate worlds. I found it a quintessential New York story, but it’s also universal. It’s an independent film, but it’s not independently-minded.
Some Final Words
The disparate worlds about which Clarkson refers to in regard to her character, Wendy’s relationship with Darwan [Ben Kingsley] -- the life of a financially successful New Yorker compared to the immigrant’s struggle, was a thematic element that I further discussed with Coixet and Choudhury. As Choudhury said to me, Coixet’s visual choices of her character, such as the moment when she watches feet walk by her basement apartment window, feeling trapped, underscore the poignancy of this fish-out-of-water situation. Coixet captures these elements with a delicate balance of both drama and comedy.
It was an inspiring morning to speak with these three powerful and talented women, who are committed to sharing their knowledge with the next generation of female filmmakers.
Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College Suny, and presents international seminars on screenwriting and film. Author of Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! and The Savvy Screenwriter, she is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with writers, filmmakers, and executives worldwide. www.su-city-pictures.com, http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog...
- 8/21/2015
- by Susan Kouguell
- Sydney's Buzz
TV Editor’s Note: This blog entry contains detailed analysis and a recap of the “Sons of Anarchy” series finale, titled “Papa’s Goods.” If you have an aversion to spoilers, please stop reading now. The series finale of FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” is titled, prophetically enough, “Papa’s Goods.” The war within Jax Teller grew out of …
Read more →...
Read more →...
- 12/10/2014
- by Melanie McFarland
- IMDb Television Blog
Whether you are a filmmaker, or one of the Sundance programmers whose task it is to identify the films that make up a line-up, it is indeed the most wonderful, panic-filled and nerve racking time of the year. The 31st edition of the Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 22nd with Park City and Salt Lake City playing host to some of the more innovative, thought-provoking narrative and non-fiction films of 2015. Last year, a Jenga tall order of 4,057 features and 8,161 shorts were submitted. Now let’s think about those numbers for a second.
Twenty years ago, Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb claimed the Grand Jury Prize Documentary award, Living in Oblivion‘s Tom Dicillo was honored with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and Edward Burns’ micro-budgeted The Brothers McMullen (there is a read-worthy, lively, eleventh hour account on how it was submitted to the fest in Ted Hope’s “Hope...
Twenty years ago, Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb claimed the Grand Jury Prize Documentary award, Living in Oblivion‘s Tom Dicillo was honored with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, and Edward Burns’ micro-budgeted The Brothers McMullen (there is a read-worthy, lively, eleventh hour account on how it was submitted to the fest in Ted Hope’s “Hope...
- 11/17/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Starting today, The Vladar Company - an independent motion picture and entertainment studio - opens the critically acclaimed feature documentary "Death Metal Angola," from director Jeremy Xido ("The Machinist"), produced by Joseph Castelo ("The War Within"), with Vlad Yudin and Edwin Mejia exec producing. The film is now in a limited theatrical release in New York & Los Angeles, and will be available on iTunes on November 21. The film first caught our attention when it screened at Doc NYC - New York’s premier documentary festival - in 2013. The short version of the story, goes... Following nearly 40 years of unrelenting war,...
- 11/8/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
TheWrap looks ahead to Season 5 of AMC's “The Walking Dead” with 4 episodes of “Drinking With the Stars” Video: ‘Walking Dead’ Star Steven Yeun Reveals the New Threat of Season 5 ”The war within ourselves. It's really just choosing which way to live, because if you're out there too long, sometimes you can't come back.” Watch part 2 for Yeun on Glenn and Maggie, and why fans shouldn't get too attached to one character: Video: 'Walking Dead’ Star Sonequa Martin Green Talks Season 5 Romance, Pregnancy and Public Obsession With Her Feet “Oh my goodness. Apparently, there's this thing where people search for people's.
- 10/13/2014
- by Rebecca Rosenberg
- The Wrap
The Vladar Company - an independent motion picture and entertainment studio - has acquired (from production companies Coalition Films and Cabula6) release rights to the critically acclaimed feature documentary "Death Metal Angola," from director Jeremy Xido ("The Machinist"), produced by Joseph Castelo ("The War Within"), with Vlad Yudin and Edwin Mejia exec producing. The company will release the film in a limited theatrical release on November 7, 2014, in New York & Los Angeles. The film first caught our attention when it screened at Doc NYC - New York’s premier documentary festival - in 2013. The short version of the...
- 9/7/2014
- by Shadow And Act
- ShadowAndAct
The Vladar Company - an independent motion picture and entertainment studio - has acquired (from production companies Coalition Films and Cabula6) release rights to the critically acclaimed feature documentary "Death Metal Angola," from director Jeremy Xido ("The Machinist"), produced by Joseph Castelo ("The War Within"). The company will release the film in a limited theatrical release this fall in New York & Los Angeles. The film first caught our attention when it screened at Doc NYC - New York’s premier documentary festival - in 2013. The short story, goes... Following nearly 40 years of unrelenting war, peace and...
- 9/4/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
• Will Ferrell may play schlock film producer Russ Meyers in the indie film Russ and Roger Go Beyond. Written by Christopher Cluess (The Simpsons), the movie will explore the relationship between Meyers and film critic Roger Ebert as they collaborated on the 1970 satire film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. [Variety]
• Joseph Fiennes and Harry Potter’s Tom Felton will co-star in the first-century epic thriller Clavius. Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld) will direct the film told through the eyes of Fiennes’ character, an agnostic Roman Centurion forced to locate the missing body of Jesus of Nazareth. Production begins this month in Spain,...
• Joseph Fiennes and Harry Potter’s Tom Felton will co-star in the first-century epic thriller Clavius. Kevin Reynolds (Waterworld) will direct the film told through the eyes of Fiennes’ character, an agnostic Roman Centurion forced to locate the missing body of Jesus of Nazareth. Production begins this month in Spain,...
- 8/2/2014
- by Jake Perlman
- EW - Inside Movies
Vampire Academy's Lucy Fry has joined drug-trafficking drama The Preppie Connection.
The film will be directed by The War Within's Joe Castelo and chronicles a group of private school students who ran a drug ring during the early 1980s, Deadline reports.
Fry has been tapped to portray Alexis, the love interest of a drug dealer by the name of Toby.
A target release date for The Preppie Connection has yet to be announced.
Fry is best known for her prior roles in Mako Mermaids and the TV series Lightning Point.
The 22-year-old recently wrapped up filming on the movie 6 Miranda Drive with Kevin Bacon.
The film will be directed by The War Within's Joe Castelo and chronicles a group of private school students who ran a drug ring during the early 1980s, Deadline reports.
Fry has been tapped to portray Alexis, the love interest of a drug dealer by the name of Toby.
A target release date for The Preppie Connection has yet to be announced.
Fry is best known for her prior roles in Mako Mermaids and the TV series Lightning Point.
The 22-year-old recently wrapped up filming on the movie 6 Miranda Drive with Kevin Bacon.
- 7/31/2014
- Digital Spy
Himesh Reshammiya is back to facing the camera. While it is a known fact by now that his next film as an actor is titled The Xpose, the newest development is that it would be directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, who recently won 4 National Awards for his Marathi film Mee Sindhutai Sapkal. "Other than this, Mahadevan has been at the helm of another critically acclaimed film Red Alert - The War Within (2009). Now with The Xpose, he and Himesh are looking at probing the decade of 60s which has never been explored before. In fact it would be entering a space that will be a revelation in Hindi cinema." Himesh and Ananth go back a long way as former has composed music for latter's Dil Maange More and Aksar (remember the chartbuster 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa'?). As per sources, The Xpose would be set as a musical thriller in the zone...
- 11/5/2013
- by Joginder Tuteja
- BollywoodHungama
This year’s Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, announced Monday along with other winners for the highly prestigious writing awards, is the play Disgraced, which opened at Chicago’s American Theater Company in January 2012.
The Pulitzer for drama honors “a distinguished play by an American author, preferably in original in its source and dealing with American life.” Disgraced, which centers on a dinner party gone wrong, moved to New York’s Lincoln Center Theater after its initial run in Chicago. Set to have its London premiere next month, the American production starred Indian-American actor Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show) as Amir Kapoor,...
The Pulitzer for drama honors “a distinguished play by an American author, preferably in original in its source and dealing with American life.” Disgraced, which centers on a dinner party gone wrong, moved to New York’s Lincoln Center Theater after its initial run in Chicago. Set to have its London premiere next month, the American production starred Indian-American actor Aasif Mandvi (The Daily Show) as Amir Kapoor,...
- 4/15/2013
- by Emily Rome
- EW.com - PopWatch
Exclusive: American Horror Story‘s Evan Peters and Not Fade Away‘s Bella Heathcote are set to star in The Preppie Connection, the next film by The War Within helmer Joe Castelo. Based on a true story, The Preppie Connection chronicles the exploits of a group of Choate private school students who ran a drug distribution operation in the early 1980s. The story centers on Toby, the lower-class scholarship student, who uses his street cred and access to drugs to make friends with the popular kids, eventually allowing him to cultivate a drug trafficking network. Toby gets in far over his head as he leads his friends into the dangerous world of Colombian drug cartels. Castelo’s first feature, The War Within, was nominated for screenplay by the Independent Spirit Awards. Electric City Entertainment partners and Sundance fixtures Jamie Patricof and Lynette Howell are producing, with shooting to begin this summer in New York City.
- 1/22/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
New Delhi, Jan 8: Vipul Amrutlal Shah successfully launched Vidyut Jamwal in Bollywood as a good looking villain with action-drama "Force". Jamwal's second film too is with Shah and the actor says that the filmmaker fulfilled his promise by offering him "Commando - The War Within".
"Vipul sir is someone who I owe a lot for the kind of faith he has shown in me after 'Force'. He promised me that whenever he will do an action film next, he will definitely do it with me, and he stood by it," Vidyut said in a statement.
"(In the film) I had a chance to do the kind of action I would want to see and audiences would like to see on.
"Vipul sir is someone who I owe a lot for the kind of faith he has shown in me after 'Force'. He promised me that whenever he will do an action film next, he will definitely do it with me, and he stood by it," Vidyut said in a statement.
"(In the film) I had a chance to do the kind of action I would want to see and audiences would like to see on.
- 1/8/2013
- by Diksha Singh
- RealBollywood.com
Rising star Vidyut Jamwal who grabbed eyeballs with a ripped and power packed performance in Force is all set to enthrall audiences in an upcoming action flick being titled Commando-The War Within. The action packed sequences have been shot in locales across the Northern Parts of India. For one of the scenes which was shot in Punjab it so happened that Vidyut had to Read More...
- 12/24/2012
- Bollywood Trade
Rising star Vidyut Jamwal who grabbed eyeballs with a ripped and power packed performance in Force is all set to enthrall audiences in an upcoming action flick being titled Commando-The War Within. The action packed sequences have been shot in locales across the Northern Parts of India. For one of the scenes which was shot in Punjab it so happened that Vidyut had to hold the arm of the villain and flip him over, but due to the excessive heat and sweating it was getting...
- 12/24/2012
- GlamSham
Mumbai, Dec 22: Vidyut Jamwal, known for his well-built body and hold over action scenes, came to the rescue of the team of the movie "Commando - The War Within".
For one of the scenes, which was shot in summer in Punjab, it so happened that Vidyut had to hold the arm of the villain and flip him over. But due to excessive heat and sweating, it became tough for him to get a grip over the villain.
Each time the crew tried to take the shot, Vidyut's hand would slip due to the intense heat. Despite his hard work and practice, he couldn't deliver the required shot. Vidyut paused and asked one of the production members to get.
For one of the scenes, which was shot in summer in Punjab, it so happened that Vidyut had to hold the arm of the villain and flip him over. But due to excessive heat and sweating, it became tough for him to get a grip over the villain.
Each time the crew tried to take the shot, Vidyut's hand would slip due to the intense heat. Despite his hard work and practice, he couldn't deliver the required shot. Vidyut paused and asked one of the production members to get.
- 12/22/2012
- by Anita Agarwal
- RealBollywood.com
Reliance Entertainment and Sunshine Pictures' (owned by Vipul Shah) next, Commando-The War Within is slated for a March release in 2013. The high octane, action-packed thriller which stars Vidyut Jamwal will also launch Miss India- 2009 Pooja Chopra!Having grabbed eyeballs with a power packed performance in 2011's Force and swept reputed awards in Best Male Debut category; actor Vidyut Jamwal sure has made the audience and film industry take notice of him.
- 11/20/2012
- GlamSham
As a nice Jewish girl, I’ve always loved Christmas and Chanukah and Festivus for the rest of us.
We lived on a “not quite” cul-de-sac that had an island in the middle of the street. On that island was a huge old fir tree, and every holiday season all the “cul-de-sac’ers” would decorate it for Christmas. Yep, it was “National Brotherhood Week” on Hodges Place – I always wondered if the street was named for Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I doubt it – this was on Staten Island, not Brooklyn – but it would make a nice story, wouldn’t it?
Anyway, my brother and I didn’t feel cheated in mid-December – like every snotty, young, selfish Jewish kid, Chanukah meant eight days of presents. And latkes ; potato pancakes for the uninitiated. But truth to tell, we also thought the story of the oil in the Temple miraculously burning...
We lived on a “not quite” cul-de-sac that had an island in the middle of the street. On that island was a huge old fir tree, and every holiday season all the “cul-de-sac’ers” would decorate it for Christmas. Yep, it was “National Brotherhood Week” on Hodges Place – I always wondered if the street was named for Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I doubt it – this was on Staten Island, not Brooklyn – but it would make a nice story, wouldn’t it?
Anyway, my brother and I didn’t feel cheated in mid-December – like every snotty, young, selfish Jewish kid, Chanukah meant eight days of presents. And latkes ; potato pancakes for the uninitiated. But truth to tell, we also thought the story of the oil in the Temple miraculously burning...
- 12/19/2011
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
After playing a Naxalite in Red Alert-The War Within, Sameera Reddy would be getting into a glam chic avatar all over again in her next action thriller Tezz. However the young woman insists that it isn't the lure of stepping into a glamorous zone that makes her choose her movies now. "After being in the industry for so long, I guess I have the luxury and understanding to understand whether a film really needs me or not," says Sameera who started off just less than a decade ago... Read More...
- 8/19/2011
- Bollywood Trade
After playing a Naxalite in Red Alert-The War Within, Sameera Reddy would be getting into a glam chic avatar all over again in her next action thriller Tezz. However the young woman insists that it isn't the lure of stepping into a glamorous zone that makes her choose her movies now. "After being in the industry for so long, I guess I have the luxury and understanding to understand whether a film really needs me or not," says Sameera who started off just less than a decade ago...
- 8/19/2011
- GlamSham
After going non-glam in critically acclaimed Red Alert-The War Within which saw quite a few prestigious international awards coming its way, Sameera Reddy would be back to her glamorous best in Tezz. An action affair which is scheduled to arrive this November, the film has Sameera getting into a commercial space two years after De Dana Dan. For someone who is being quite choosy in picking up her assignments, Sameera says that she found herself to be indeed important to the scheme... Read More...
- 8/9/2011
- Bollywood Trade
After going non-glam in critically acclaimed Red Alert-The War Within which saw quite a few prestigious international awards coming its way, Sameera Reddy would be back to her glamorous best in Tezz. An action affair which is scheduled to arrive this November, the film has Sameera getting into a commercial space two years after De Dana Dan. For someone who is being quite choosy in picking up her assignments, Sameera says that she found herself to be indeed important to the scheme...
- 8/9/2011
- GlamSham
Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) actor Bhagyashree has dubbed for an animation film for the first time. She will be the voice of a young mother in the film, Baru – The Wonder Kid. “They wanted a voice that was inspiring and soothing to hear. I was told that after Maine Pyar Kiya, people identified my voice with love and innocence — a young mother’s voice. The experience was novel since I had to relate to just a face and express emotions through my voice,” says the actor, who was last seen in Red Alert – The War Within. The animated ...
- 8/18/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Be it her role as the bimbette Mini in Race or the naxalite Lakshmi in Red Alert — The War Within, actress Sameera Reddy always manages to make heads turn. But, she insists that her de-glam role for the latter isn’t as big a deal as it is being made out to be. “To begin with, it wasn’t a conscious decision to shed any image. Though people may think glamourous roles are easy, trust me — they are not. Who says playing a dumb bimbo in Race was an easy task?” she says. Why me?One of the several ...
- 7/22/2010
- Hindustan Times - Celebrity
Be it her role as the bimbette Mini in Race or the naxalite Lakshmi in Red Alert – The War Within, actress Sameera Reddy manages to make heads turn. But, Reddy maintains that her de-glam role for the latter isn’t as big a deal as is being made out to be.“To begin with, it wasn’t a conscious decision to shed any image. Though people may think glamorous roles are easy, trust me — they are not. Who says playing a dumb bimbo in Race was an easy task?” she says.One of the several celebs addicted to ...
- 7/21/2010
- Hindustan Times - Celebrity
July 17, 2010: Red Alert – The War Within, produced by T P Aggarwal and Rahul Aggarwal, Star Entertainment, and directed by Ananth Mahadevan, which released last weekend has taken a tremendous response with critics raving about the realism portrayed in the film about India’s clear and present danger of Naxalism.
According to the trade pundits, the film has garnered the best reviews for this year and has picked up big time in the box office because of the positive word of mouth publicity. In fact, the director has been pleased by the fact that the youth have liked the film big time and are instrumental.
According to the trade pundits, the film has garnered the best reviews for this year and has picked up big time in the box office because of the positive word of mouth publicity. In fact, the director has been pleased by the fact that the youth have liked the film big time and are instrumental.
- 7/17/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Red Alert-The War Within, produced by T P Aggarwal and Rahul Aggarwal, Star Entertainment, and directed by Ananth Mahadevan, which released last weekend has taken a tremendous response with critics raving about the realism portrayed in the film about India's clear and present danger of Naxalism. According to the trade pundits, the film has garnered the best reviews for this year and has picked up big time in the box office because of the positive word of mouth publicity. In fa...
- 7/14/2010
- GlamSham
Sameera Reddy could well believe that she has had a new phase kick starting in her career. Though majority are aware about the controlled and impressive performance she has given in last weekend's release Red Alert - The War Within, not many know that this is not the only reason for her feeling joyous. That's because on the same Friday, her Malayalam film Oru Naal Varum with none other than Mohan Lal also opened. That's not all as the film is a commercial success....
- 7/14/2010
- GlamSham
After making an impression in the festival rounds, Red Alert - The War Within has seen good critical acclaim coming its way even in India. Majority of critics have given the film a Thumbs Up and those who have seen the film in theaters have also given it a nod of approval due to its topical theme and hard hitting narrative. Obviously, director Ananth Mahadevan who has a half a dozen films to his credit is positive that he now wants to work further in telling stories that are sensi...
- 7/13/2010
- GlamSham
It's an all new beginning that Suniel Shetty is enjoying for himself. Post the critical acclaim that Red Alert - The War Within has fetched for itself as well as its lead actor Suniel Shetty, the man is on a different high altogether. He admits that it has been the most unbelievable appreciation which is coming his way, something that has been unprecedented in his two decade long career so far. "Yes, great films are indeed coming in my way now. I too am maturing as an actor"...
- 7/12/2010
- GlamSham
After a brief hiatus, actor Suniel Shetty has returned to movies with his recent release Red Alert-The War Within, where the actor essays the role of Narasimha – a farm labourer, who finds himself trapped in a Naxal group.Talking about his character, Shetty says, “I was very nervous while shooting for this movie. It is the toughest character I have played after the role of Capt. Bhairav Singh in Border. Through Red Alert, we want to send message ogf hope and tell everyone that taking up guns is not the solution for the naxalite movement in India.”<Img alt="Suniel Shetty" src="http://www.hindustantimes.com/images/HTEditImages/Images/suniel-shetty.gif" ...
- 7/11/2010
- Hindustan Times - Celebrity
Red Alert: The War Within
Red Alert-The War Within, quite frankly, is a well-made film. It has a lot of things going for it - a topical theme and an illustrious ensemble cast for example. But it’s a film sans conviction.
The Republic of Andheri hardly ventures into domain political, and for a good reason. It doesn’t seem to have the idiomatic wherewithal and, let’s face the truth, the ideological commitment to represent and reflect on some of the most important matters of our times. (I consider Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi a rarity.) So, naturally there’s lot of cheer all around when a film like Red Alert hits the theatres. But a closer look will tell you that this ‘gutsy’ film has nothing but rotten guts.
You have, here, a Naxalite guerrilla outfit that;
- Seems to be up to doing some good work, as we...
Red Alert-The War Within, quite frankly, is a well-made film. It has a lot of things going for it - a topical theme and an illustrious ensemble cast for example. But it’s a film sans conviction.
The Republic of Andheri hardly ventures into domain political, and for a good reason. It doesn’t seem to have the idiomatic wherewithal and, let’s face the truth, the ideological commitment to represent and reflect on some of the most important matters of our times. (I consider Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi a rarity.) So, naturally there’s lot of cheer all around when a film like Red Alert hits the theatres. But a closer look will tell you that this ‘gutsy’ film has nothing but rotten guts.
You have, here, a Naxalite guerrilla outfit that;
- Seems to be up to doing some good work, as we...
- 7/10/2010
- by Faiz Ullah
- DearCinema.com
Red Alert - The War Within releases today and Sameera Reddy couldn't have been happier. It was close to a couple of years back when she was associated with this Ananth Mahadevan directed film. Now that her effort is ready to be unveiled in front of audience, she can't help but keep her fingers crossed and wait for the final outcome. The film is also special because she started working on it at the time when she was going through a low period. "I wasn't quite enjoying my life...
- 7/9/2010
- GlamSham
Movie Review: Red Alert; Star cast: Suniel Shetty, Sameera Reddy, Bhagyashree, Vinod Khanna, Ashish Vidyarthi, Gulshan Grover and Naseeruddin Shah (in Sp App); Director: Anant Narayan Mahadevan; Rating: *** – A good attempt.
With a hard hitting realistic film Red Alert – The War Within actor turned filmmaker Anant Narayan Mahedevan has finally found his calling after directing a good number of average movies distinctively belonging to a diverse genre. The film based on a true story manages to strike a chord with the manner Mahadevan has narrated the subject without.
With a hard hitting realistic film Red Alert – The War Within actor turned filmmaker Anant Narayan Mahedevan has finally found his calling after directing a good number of average movies distinctively belonging to a diverse genre. The film based on a true story manages to strike a chord with the manner Mahadevan has narrated the subject without.
- 7/9/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Suniel Shetty's Red Alert- The War Within, which has won a lot of critical acclaim internationally, is all set to release on July 9. The actor is playing a farmer in the film, which takes up the sensitive issue of Naxalism. Suniel says, "Naxalixm is an issue that will out beat every other problem that the country has. Poverty is acceptable but not Naxalism." The actor went on to add, "Terrorists are people who come from outside to harm the nation. They can be stopped by...
- 7/8/2010
- GlamSham
Red Alert—The War Within will open in 20 cinemas in Chhattisgarh this Friday. And the locals there have the choice of seeing the film in Hindi or Chhattisgarhi.Director Ananth Mahadevan informs that at the Q&A session that followed a screening in Goa, there was an overwhelming demand to dub the film in every Indian language, particularly Bengali and Chhattisgarhi, since these two states fall in the radar of the Maoists. “We couldn’t dub it in ‘Bangla’ because the association in the state supposedly has a ban on dubbing a non-Bengali film in Bengali. But a month ago, we came up ...
- 7/8/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
This Friday will see two totally diverse films, one that is a typical mushy romance while the other tackles the stark reality of the Naxal problem facing the country. Yes, the films in question are indeed Shahid-Kareena's Milenge Milenge and the Suneil Shetty and Sameera Reddy starrer, Red Alert . The War Within. One feels that the makers of the long delayed Milenge Milenge should have released the film just after 10-15 days of its first promo and not waited any further, to reap t...
- 7/8/2010
- GlamSham
July 8, 2010: On the eve of the release of his latest film Red Alert- The War Within, Sunil Shetty confesses to Jyothi Venkatesh that he feels that it is time for him to grow as an actor and do serious cinema, now that he has been appreciated for his performance in the film by his peers
Tell me about your character in Red Alert- The War Within!
Red Alert – The War Within directed by Ananth Mahadevan and produced by T.P. Aggarwal is a true story though it has been scripted. Narsimha is a real life character, who actually lived in Tamil Nadu. Bullet for Bullet is a wrong presumption that we have.
Tell me about your character in Red Alert- The War Within!
Red Alert – The War Within directed by Ananth Mahadevan and produced by T.P. Aggarwal is a true story though it has been scripted. Narsimha is a real life character, who actually lived in Tamil Nadu. Bullet for Bullet is a wrong presumption that we have.
- 7/8/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
July 8, 2010: Ananth Mahadevan directed ‘Red Alert – The War Within’ has made people sit up and take notice worldwide. In last year’s Stuttgart Film Festival, Germany, this drama about Naxalite movement in India received a standing ovation after it was screened as the closing film of the festival. Not just that, it was also hailed by international critics and presented with the ‘Director’s Vision Awards’.
Says Ananth who has earlier followed the Bollywood route and made ‘Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar’ [musical] and ‘Aksar’ [suspense thriller], "Even.
Says Ananth who has earlier followed the Bollywood route and made ‘Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar’ [musical] and ‘Aksar’ [suspense thriller], "Even.
- 7/8/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Mumbai, July 8 – Gulshan Grover plays a police officer in ‘Red Alert:
The War Within’ but for audiences he will always remain the Bollywood bad man he’s played in innumerable films. And the actor takes pride in saying that he is the only ’specialised villain’ left in the industry.
‘Villains like that have disappeared from the film. Nowadays there are no villains you know. I know and believe that I am a versatile, capable actor; it was initially just to get stardom. I still play villain, I still take pride that I.
The War Within’ but for audiences he will always remain the Bollywood bad man he’s played in innumerable films. And the actor takes pride in saying that he is the only ’specialised villain’ left in the industry.
‘Villains like that have disappeared from the film. Nowadays there are no villains you know. I know and believe that I am a versatile, capable actor; it was initially just to get stardom. I still play villain, I still take pride that I.
- 7/8/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Red Alert-The War Within, slated for release this Friday reveals an unusual angle in the Naxalite fold.the power of women. Toplining Sameera Reddy, Bhagyashree, Seema Biswas and Ayesha Dharker, the film highlights women fighting alongside men. Going totally deglam, these actresses battled it out in rough terrain and heavy rain enacting sequences from the film that closely resemble headlines today in a movement that has empowered women with equal rights.For Seema Biswas, Red Alert marks a return to the gritty realism of Bandit Queen, Ayesha Dharker picks up the threads after The Terrorist, Sameera Reddy continues her tryst with serious cinema after Kaalpurush and Bhagyashree sheds her Maine Pyar Kiya image for some real life conflict. The admirable male ensemble in the film sure has some terrific competition in the acting and action departments.Red Alert is releasing this friday 9th July 2010.
- 7/7/2010
- Filmicafe
July 7, 2010: Red Alert-The War Within, slated for release this Friday, reveals an unusual angle in the Naxalite fold…the power of women. Toplining Sameera Reddy, Bhagyashree, Seema Biswas and Ayesha Dharker, the film highlights women fighting alongside men. Going totally deglam, these actresses battled it out in rough terrain and heavy rain, enacting sequences from the film that closely resemble the headlines today in a movement that has empowered women with equal rights.
For Seema Biswas, Red Alert marks a return to the gritty realism of Bandit Queen, Ayesha Dharker picks up the threads after The.
For Seema Biswas, Red Alert marks a return to the gritty realism of Bandit Queen, Ayesha Dharker picks up the threads after The.
- 7/7/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
July 7, 2010: Now this film has been quite in the news with some great reviews at various film festivals all over. But will the ‘aam junta’ lap it up and make it a ‘success’ at the ticket window? Our in-house expert and very own celebrity astro numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi unveils the fate of ‘Red Alert – The War Within’ -
“The title ‘Red Alert – The War Within’ adds up to Number 71 ( 8 ) – this octave of Number 8 is one of the unluckiest numbers. It indicates gravest warnings for the future and foreshadows disasters brought about by.
“The title ‘Red Alert – The War Within’ adds up to Number 71 ( 8 ) – this octave of Number 8 is one of the unluckiest numbers. It indicates gravest warnings for the future and foreshadows disasters brought about by.
- 7/7/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
As an actor, Suniel Shetty is ecstatic about the new and exciting phase in his career. The fact that his realistic Red Alert - The War Within comes after a riotous comedy like De Dana Dan and a family drama like Tum Milo To Sahi tells a lot about different roles that are coming his way. Add to that the fact that a few months back, Red Alert fetched him an award for the Best Actor at New York's South Asian International Film Festival is something that excites him even more. "It'...
- 7/6/2010
- GlamSham
July 6, 2010: Sunil Shetty and Sameera Reddy starrer movie, ‘Red Alert- The war within’ is going to hit the theaters in four languages simultaneously, on July 16. The producers, T.P. Aggarwal and his son Rahul Aggarwal have taken this decision realizing the topicality of the film.
Apart from the Hindi version, the movie has been dubbed in three languages, English, Telugu and Chhattisgarhi. All the four versions will open at the theaters on the same day. The English version has been selected for an international release.
Confirming the news, Rahul Aggarwal said, “The Red Alert is going.
Apart from the Hindi version, the movie has been dubbed in three languages, English, Telugu and Chhattisgarhi. All the four versions will open at the theaters on the same day. The English version has been selected for an international release.
Confirming the news, Rahul Aggarwal said, “The Red Alert is going.
- 7/6/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Click above for more movie stills That Red Alert - The War Within tackles a topical, burning issue is well-known by now. Realising the topicality of the film, its producers, T.P. Aggarwal and his son Rahul Aggarwal, have decided to take the film forward and have dubbed it in three languages -- Telugu, Chhattisgarhi and English. In fact, the producers have decided to release all four versions simultaneously this Friday -- Hindi, Telugu, Chhattisgarhi and English. The English version will be released at select screens internationally in the first round. "We are releasing it as art house cinema at select screens in the Overseas market. We're not doing a mainstream release there," Rahul Aggarwal confirms. In fact, every actor in the film, which includes Suniel Shetty, Vinod Khanna and Naseeruddin Shah, have dubbed their lines themselves, which only goes to show how excited they are about the film.
- 7/6/2010
- by Taran Adarsh
- BollywoodHungama
That Red Alert - The War Within tackles a topical, burning issue is well-known by now. Realising the topicality of the film, its producers, T.P. Aggarwal and his son Rahul Aggarwal, have decided to take the film forward and have dubbed it in three languages -- Telugu, Chhattisgarhi and English. In fact, the producers have decided to release all four versions simultaneously this Friday -- Hindi, Telugu, Chhattisgarhi and English. The English version will be released at select screens internationally in the first round. "We are releasing it as art house cinema at select screens in the Overseas market. We're not doing a mainstream release there," Rahul Aggarwal confirms. In fact, every actor in the film, which includes Suniel Shetty, Vinod Khanna and Naseeruddin Shah, have dubbed their lines themselves, which only goes to show how excited they are about the film.
- 7/6/2010
- by Taran Adarsh
- BollywoodHungama
As an actor, Suniel Shetty is ecstatic about the new and exciting phase in his career. The fact that his realistic Red Alert - The War Within comes after a riotous comedy like De Dana Dan and a family drama like Tum Milo To Sahi tells a lot about different roles that are coming his way. Add to that the fact that a few months back, Red Alert fetched him an award for the Best Actor at New York's South Asian International Film Festival is something that excites him even more."It's a major shot in the arm when international award and recognition comes in. Suddenly, it starts seeming that you are working in just the right projects. It is ironical though that a foreign country had to come and recognize my talent", he says."Icing on the cake is when you working on different kind of films at the same time.
- 7/6/2010
- Filmicafe
New Delhi, July 5 – Having traversed the festival circuit, Suniel Shetty starrer Maoist drama ‘Red Alert – The War Within’ is releasing Friday.
Based on a true story, it has been directed by Anant Mahadevan and also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Vinod Khanna, Seema Biswas, Gulshan Grover, Bhagyashree, Ashish Vidyarthi and Ayesha Dharker.
‘Probably for the first time in Indian cinema you will get to hear dialogues which are actually spoken lines and not fabricated. We did extensive research. My writer Aruna Raje and I downloaded a lot of interviews between the Maoists and cops from the Internet. Every line they spoke was volatile.
Based on a true story, it has been directed by Anant Mahadevan and also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Vinod Khanna, Seema Biswas, Gulshan Grover, Bhagyashree, Ashish Vidyarthi and Ayesha Dharker.
‘Probably for the first time in Indian cinema you will get to hear dialogues which are actually spoken lines and not fabricated. We did extensive research. My writer Aruna Raje and I downloaded a lot of interviews between the Maoists and cops from the Internet. Every line they spoke was volatile.
- 7/5/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
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