Veteran Bollywood actor and producer Boman Irani is now stepping into the director’s chair with his debut film, ‘The Mehta Boys’, which will have its world premiere at the 15th Chicago South Asian Film Festival on September 20.
The film cast includes Booman Irani, Avinash Tiwary, Shreya Chaudhry, Pujasarup, and Daneshirani. The story of the film revolves around a father and son who are forced to spend 48 hours together. The movie chronicles their turbulent journey and provides a sophisticated examination of the nuances that are frequently present in father-son relationships. ‘The Mehta Boys’ is written by Irani and Oscar winning writer Alexander Dinelaris Jr.
The official account of Prime Video of Amazon posted a film poster with the caption on their Instagram, “boys played well, indeed The Mehta Boys premieres as the Opening Film of the Chicago South Asian Film Festival!
Tag: Amazon Prime
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Boman Irani’s directorial debut ‘The Mehta Boys’ to premiere at Chicago South Asian Film Festival
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Aur band to collaborate with August Moon of Anne Hathaway’s The Idea of You
Aur, the band famous for ‘Tu Hai Kahan’, has partnered with the recent Amazon Prime hit “The Idea of You,” which starred Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.
In an Instagram post, the band announced the launch date as June 21 with the caption, “Anne Hathaway k liye kuch likha hai, sunnana hai?”
The band recently collaborated with Zayn Malik and now have become the first to collaborate on such a big scale.
The storyline of ‘The Idea of You’ revolves around a leading boy band member, Hayes, 24, played by Nicholas Galitzine, who falls in love with a forty-year-old Solene, played by Anne Hathaway. Although the steamy romance is the centre of attention, the original music from this fake boy band gained popularity among the audience. There are a number of tracks in the film, including Dance Before We Walk, Closer, The Idea of You and Taste.
However, Aur has collaborated to present a new rendition of Closer. The song is set to be released tomorrow, and we can’t wait.
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‘Culpa Mia’ actor Gabriel Guevara arrested on sexual assault charges
Spanish actor Gabriel Guevara has been arrested at the Venice Film Festival on an international arrest warrant accusing him of sexual assault in France, as reported by Hollywood Reporter. The actor was set to receive the best young actor honor award given out by Filming Italy. After his arrest, the organisation released a statement saying they had cancelled the award as a precautionary measure, and were waiting for the outcome of the case.
The Venice Film Festival posted a statement on their official account to address the arrest:
“#BiennaleCinema2023#Venezia80#LaBiennaleDiVenezia would like to specify that the presence in #Venice of Spanish actor #GabrielGuevara, that some press websites have recently reported as being under arrest, was not linked to any activity or production of the 80th Venice International Film Festival.”
Guevara sky rocketed to international fame after the Amazon Prime movie ‘Culpa Mia’ where he played the rebellious step brother, Nick, who clashes with his step sister Noah (played by Nicole Wallace) after she moves to their mansion after their parents re-marry. The two originally start off as enemies, but soon come to realise their feelings for each other can’t be ignored.
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Dalit author slams ‘Made In Heaven’ creators for stealing ideas without credit
Warning: spoilers
The second season of the critically acclaimed Amazon series ‘Made In Heaven’ came back on screen after a four year break, exploring darker topics like domestic violence, colorism, and transphobia. However, the show has been accused of plagiarising content. Social media users are demanding that show runners Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti give credit to a Dalit author.
The episode ‘The Heart Skips A Beat’ received critical acclaim for featuring a Dalit woman getting married in to a Buddhist man in an inter-caste ceremony. However, many who watched the episode observed the close resemblance between the female protagonist, Pallavi Menke, a Dalit author who writes a book ‘Coming Out’ narrating her experiences as a Dalit- to the real life author Yashica Dutt, who had written the same book. Dutt has taken to Instagram to address the controversy.
On her Instagram post, Yashica shared a picture of the Dalit wedding, calling the depiction a triumph, but also demanded that show creators stop stealing the works of minority communities and to formally give her credit for her work.
“Before I came out as Dalit in 2016, there was no vocabulary to identify the process of revealing your Dalitness after hiding it for years and owning it with pride either. Today, in 2023, there is both. Dalit directors like Neeraj Ghaywan have revolutionised our cinematic language by showcasing unapologetic Dalits in Bollywood, a tradition that has an even longer history in Southern cinema,” wrote the author.
“;The Heart Skipped a Beat’, the fifth episode of Prime Video’s Made in Heaven is no less than a cinematic triumph, when it comes to showcasing what it truly looks like for a Dalit woman to take her power back in this casteist society.”
Addressing the issue, Dutt wrote it was empowering to witness a woman on the popular series speak about how her grandmother used to scrub toilets, and asserts her self before her partner. But she did not see the director giving her credit.
“The scene where the Dalit author, who is from Columbia, has written a book about ‘coming out’ and talks about her grandmother ‘manually cleaning toilets’, asserts her selfhood with her life partner-to-be, gave me chills. It was surreal to see a version of my life on screen that was not, but yet was still me. But soon the heartbreak set in. They were my words, but my name was nowhere… The ideas I cultivated, that are my life’s work, that I continue to receive immense hate for just speaking, were taken without permission or credit.”
“Dalit’s have a long history of being taken from, erased, ignored, obliterated from our own stories. Dalit women in particular are the easiest to take from , what’s the worth in their labor they’ve created anyway. It’s for everybody to claim.
Except this time, I’m reclaiming my work, my worth and my contribution to the discourse and history, defying the order of what’s expected of me as a woman who is supposed to fine tune the ‘register of her rage’.”
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‘Made In Heaven’ comes back with a bang in second season, critics praise sinister take on Big Fat Indian Wedding
Warning: spoilers if you havent seen season 1
Eid came a little too early for social media users when on August 10, the much awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime series ‘Made In Heaven’ released online. The nine episode drama focuses on the lives of Delhi wedding planners Tara and Karan, as they attempt to build a brand name for themselves in the cut-throat world of India’s wedding industry.
Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, the season was lauded for the powerful performances by Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur, as well as for boldly bringing to light issues like cast prejudice and sexual assault.
This time, the second season promised to be quite a show-stopper as Karan decides to stop living in shame because of his sexual orientation and Tara decides to take her ex-husband Adil to court to get a good settlement in divorce. The two were left grappling with loss as their business is torn to shreds after a mob attacks it because of Karan’s support to decriminalize homosexuality. And critics, along with social media, had to agree, kay dair aye laikan drust aye.
Indian drama critics have praised the show for delivering beyond their expectations, and bringing the four year long restlessness to a solid conclusion. The Indian Express praised the show-stopping performances by Sobhita, Jim Sarbh and Marthur, praising the skills with which Akhtar, Kagti and their collaborators “detail their characters and fill them in with specificity, reflect a sense of inner knowledge and empathy, which makes you curious about what’s going on behind their perfect exteriors.”
If the first season was praised for addressing bold themes like same sex relationships, infidelity and ageism, NDTV commented that the new season dwleves even deeper by casting a transgender actor to play a career woman who has had a gender-reassignment surgery and is proud of being in her own skin.
Writing for Film Companion, Rahul Desai praised Made In Heaven for remaining “a rare series that isn’t afraid to present its characters as paradoxical and unlikable.”
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Pemra to take action against Netflix and other streaming platforms after Eid holidays
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) is reportedly preparing to take action against over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix after the conclusion of Eid-ul-Azha, according to Khalid Arain, Chairman of the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan.
Khalid disclosed that a productive dialogue had taken place between cable operators and senior officials from Pemra, during which the concerns of the cable operators were effectively communicated. He expressed the cable operators’ predicament, stating that they operate under broadcasting restrictions and are limited in the number of channels they can offer. In contrast, OTT platforms enjoy the freedom to stream popular channels.
Khalid’s reference to OTT platforms pertains to online streaming services that deliver content via the internet. He further stressed the cable operators’ request for regulatory measures concerning operators that offer both internet and cable services.
He said that the regulatory body has responded positively to the demands of cable operators. Pemra will establish a committee to address the issuance of licenses to cable operators and undertake a crackdown on OTT platforms following the conclusion of Eidul Azha.
According to ProPakistani, the chairman also advocated for tax exemptions in the cable sector, drawing a parallel to the solar power industry and suggesting that taxes on cable operators should be alleviated. However, he did not provide a specific explanation or justification for this request.
Additionally, he highlighted an inequity where the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) collects Local Loop license fees from cable operators in US dollars, while subscribers make payments to cable operators in the local currency. Arain deemed this situation unfair, citing the existing rupee-dollar exchange rate as a contributing factor.
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Fact Check: Sharif family ki corruption par independent documentary toh ban rehi hai, lekin it isn’t confirmed if it’s on Netflix/Amazon
Claim: Several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politicians and multiple social media users on Twitter are claiming that an upcoming documentary, about the alleged corruption of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and his family, will be released on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The trailer of the new documentary, titled “Behind Closed Doors” was released on social media on Monday, October 18.
The trailer was shared across platforms, raking up views.
The trailer features, amongst others, Imran Khan, the former prime minister, as well as several investigative journalists including Tom Stocks and John-Allan Namu.
Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Soon on Netflix and Amazon. A must-watch documentary on corruption very relevant as Sharifs also feature in it.”
PTI’s Finance and Health Minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Taimur Jhagra tweeted, “A film about corruption. Coming soon to Netflix / Amazon Prime. The truth is out there. In Pakistan, sadly it just seems to lead back the same people to corridors of power, again and again.”
Fact: According to the official website of Behind Closed Doors, the documentary highlights “Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), people who hold a public function and as a result present higher risks of being involved in bribery or corruption.” It also mentions offshore leaks which have revealed that PEPs use the British financial system and offshore jurisdictions to launder, hide and re-invest their wealth into the global financial system.
“But what happens when a developing country fights back and attempts to get Britain to return the money that it claims has been stolen?” question the documentary makers.
The film is produced and directed by Michael Oswald and Murtaza Mehdi. The IMDb website states that Oswald is a UK-based director, writer and editor.
The webpage names all of Netflix’s upcoming releases till January 2023. Behind Closed Doors has not been listed.
The website of Prime Video by Amazon Studios also does not name the documentary as an upcoming release.
While several members of the PTI camp have claimed Behind Closed Doors will be featured on Netflix, the streaming service has made no such announcement nor have the makers of the documentary mentioned it on their website or YouTube channel.
Verdict: FALSE
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Pakistan becomes third-largest Amazon marketplace
Pakistan has become Amazon’s third most popular new seller, with more than 1.2 million registered sellers.
Following the enactment of Pakistan’s first e-commerce policy, Pakistan was granted access to the Amazon marketplace in May 2021, a year after negotiations began in 2020, according to Marketplace Pulse.
According to Marketplace Pulse, Pakistan also has more retailers than India, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
The three biggest Amazon seller groups in the world are based in the nation, which has recently registered on the marketplace. These suppliers are anticipated to contribute to Pakistan’s $28 billion in exports.
The platform’s perks will be extended to young entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses throughout the nation, which will increase and diversify Pakistan’s export options.
Additionally, this will help the government improve the macroeconomic picture of the nation while also increasing their revenue.
In order to help medium-sized and small-scale businesses thrive and turn a profit in the face of increased operating costs, the e-commerce sector must grow.
Pakistan’s e-commerce strategy is a component of the larger Digital Pakistan vision, which aims to pave the path for a comprehensive expansion of e-commerce by fostering an environment where businesses have an equitable opportunity to expand steadily.
The nation’s economy is mostly supported by Pakistan’s exports of textiles, leather goods, sporting goods, chemicals, carpets, and rugs. Significant quantities of grains, sugar, cotton, fish, fruits, and vegetables are also exported from Pakistan.
With revenue of $5.9 billion in 2021, Pakistan will surpass Iran to become the 37th-largest market for eCommerce, according to research of eCommerce data.
The Pakistani eCommerce market grew by 45 per cent in 2021, contributing to the global growth rate of 15 per cent.
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Aryan Khan to debut as screenwriter reportedly for Amazon Prime
Bollywood superstar, Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan is reportedly planning to make his debut as a screenwriter for the streaming site, Amazon Prime and Red Chillies Entertainment.
According to Pinkvilla, Aryan has been working on various ideas which might be turned into a web series or feature film.
Closed sources revealed, “Of all the ideas in development, the two in the forefront is a web series for Amazon Prime and a feature film to be bankrolled by Red Chillies Entertainment. The Amazon Prime series is said to be about the life of a die-hard fan with some elements of thrill, however, the details of feature films are not known yet. If everything proceeds at the right pace, there’s a strong possibility of the show being greenlit by the platform this year itself.”
Currently, scripts are in the initial stages of development. He is also collaborating with writer Bilal Siddiqi for the same production house. Once the script meets all the requirements of Amazon Prime, the streaming service will likely premiere the project.
Last year, Aryan Khan graduated from the University of Southern California (USC). He was awarded a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cinematic Arts, Film and Television production.
Recently, Suhana Khan, daughter of Shahrukh Khan is also making her acting debut in Zoya Akhtar’s directorial film for the streaming site, Netflix. The story is based on Archie Comics.
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Amazon Prime releases teaser of the much-awaited ‘The Rings of Power’ web series
Amazon Prime has unveiled the teaser of the much-awaited, Rings of Power series which is a prequel to The Lords of the Rings. The web series contains nine episodes and is set to be released on September 2, 2022, on the streaming platform.
The series will be primarily focused on the character, Galadriel who will sense the rising evil of Sauron and reunite the inhabitants of the world to fight against him.
The teaser has introduced new characters Robert Aramayo as Beldor, Markella Kavenagh as Tyra, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, and Joseph Mawle as Oren.
According to the description of the video that the series is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Fans of the epic fantasy film, Lords of the Rings will be taken to an era, ” in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The creators of the film, JD Payne and Patrick McKay shared, “This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J R R Tolkien’s other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.”