Film critic, documentary filmmaker and writer, CS Venkiteswaran hosted the first coffee chat session at the Kazhcha-Niv Film Festival 2018 in his Trivandrum home where filmmakers discussed the state of film criticism in India and thought through modes of exhibition wherein independent filmmakers could reach out to a wider audience. Venkiteswaran spoke about the way … Read more

Malayalam filmmaker and screenwriter KP Kumaran, who co-authored Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s iconic Swayamvaram (1972), hosted filmmakers on Day 2 of the Kazhcha-NIV Indie Film Festival in Trivandrum yesterday. Reminiscing about the 1970s and the 1980s, the period when he was making films, Kumaran spoke about the confluence between theatre and cinema and the fact that there were outstanding writers … Read more

Director Vikas Bahl was accused of sexual harassment in October by a female employee working with the now defunct Phantom Films, which was owned by him, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena. Days later, actress Nayani Dixit came out and accused Bahl of sexual misconduct and harassment during the shooting of Queen (2014), in … Read more

Day 2 of the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala yesterday saw actress-director Nandita Das sit down for a conversation with film critic Meena T Pillai on subjects that veered from her film Manto (2018) to feminism and even the Sabarimala issue. Praising the rise of the Women in Cinema Collective in the Malayalam film industry, Nandita … Read more

When you hear the topic ‘Renaissance and new-age technology’, the first association might be with philosophy, or history. So, when AP Ahammed cleared his throat to start speaking, the audience was unaware it was in for a wonderful oration combining history, philosophy, humour and sarcasm encompassing contemporary issues. Thus, the session aptly titled Voices at the second Kazhcha-NIV Indie … Read more

Theatre and film actress and acting teacher Nayani Dixit conducted a masterclass on acting at the LIFFT India Filmotsav in Lonavala on Saturday. During her session, Dixit gave special importance to pronunciation and diction which, she said, is poor in today’s youngsters who fail to achieve fluency in their own language in their pursuit of English.  … Read more

Theatre and film actress and acting teacher Nayani Dixit conducted a masterclass on acting at the LIFFT India Filmotsav in Lonavala on Saturday. During her session, Dixit gave special importance to pronunciation and diction which, she said, is poor in today’s youngsters who fail to achieve fluency in their own language in their pursuit of English.  … Read more

Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor has urged the Uttarakhand government to lift the ban on the movie. “I plead with the Uttarakhand government to please lift the ban on my film Kedarnath. It is an attempt to bring peace, harmony and healing to the people of this country. Please don’t deprive us of this opportunity,” Kapoor … Read more

Day 2 of the Kazhcha-NIV Indie Film Festival on Saturday (8 December) saw a panel discuss the ‘myth and realities of film certification and censoring’ in India. The session, titled ‘Certification And Censoring: Myth and Reality’, brought together voices of rebellion in cinema like the Babusenan brothers (directors Santosh and Satish Babusenan); film critic Sachin Chatte; advocate Vijay … Read more