Commercialisation of film making

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April 1, 2014

India is a nation which produces the largest number of films per year. 73 per cent of the films produced in South Asia are Indian movies. Indian movies are also popular abroad especially in US where there is a vast number of migrated Indian population. Cinema is supposed to be a reflection of society. With changing socio-economic cultural scenario, trends in Indian cinema are also changing.

Cinema is becoming widely popular and easily available to all sections of society due to improvements in technology. Pirated CD’s available in the market within days after a new film has been released also attracts people from all strata. Since more and more population are involved in watching films which results in better box office collections and sooner or later, people throng to multiplexes to watch movies of their preferences. Not to mention multiplexes charge exorbitant rates and people casually shell out the extra buck for seeking some entertainment. So in the 90’s, the prices of tickets were Rs 70 to 80 whereas now, people have to pay anything between 150 to 300 for watching a movie. Moreover, now films have an overseas market which further enhances their revenue collection and this leads to lavish investment for their next film with shooting in exotic locations etc.

However, low budget films with meaningful storyline also rule the box office so with the evolution of the mindset of the audiences, well made films are also getting appreciated. The revenue earned by films are such that many A grade actors charge a certain portion of the profit earned by the film as their fees. No doubt they receive a hefty amount as remuneration. Of course, the star quotient is also a factor. The Khans enjoy such popularity that the films starred by them become a marketing tool for the director. They influence the market demand for the film. Further, shooting in foreign location and narrating the tale of Indian families settled abroad in a masala flick helps a film to earn foreign revenue from the nostalgic Indians settled abroad.

Of late, another trend has begun in Bollywood which is known as the 100 crore club. For instance, a film like Dhoom 3 had occupied almost all the screens across the city hence people had no option left but to watch that particular movie. Hence the movie became an all time blockbuster. Besides, box office opens on Fridays which marks the night before the weekend hence enabling film enthusiasts to watch the movie. Many movies are released on auspicious dates marking certain festivals. Hence, audiences are willing to spend that extra buck to have a good time with their family or friends. Moreover, music rites are sold globally these days which enables filmmakers to earn surplus revenues. Nowadays films are promoted extravagantly. Hoardings on BEST buses, trailers released in all forms of the media, actors appearing on silver screen to promote their movies all play with the psyche of the target audience trying to convince them to watch the movie through the glitz and glamour of the way of promotion.

Another way of increasing the popularity of a film prior to its release is merchandising. For example, before Krissh 3 was released, similar masks were available in the market for the kids. News channels also promote stars and movies through their entertainment beat. Hence, be it technology, promotions or advent of multiplexes, Indian cinema has a vast market both within and outside the country. Long live Indian cinema.

Modi should behave like a statesman

By

Mahendra Singh

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April 1, 2014

Narendra Modi is saying that Sonia Gandhi favoured the Italian Marines, thereby claiming that she had giving more preference to her home nation instead of India. This is also another way of raking up Sonia’s foreign origin to embarrass her and create doubt in people’s mind. It’s a cheap tactics which won’t enhance the image of Narendra Modi. Modi should refrain from making such comments and start speaking like a statesman and not a stereotyped politician. The Indian prime minister must possess the quality of a statesman.

Everyone is aware that the Indian Ocean region has been affected by piracy. Pirate boats initially look innocuous and harmless till they speed up and attack a ship. They are masters of camouflage, it is indeed difficult, especially for a foreigner, to correctly ascertain if the boat is user friendly or not. Several angles are associated with this episode and we should not say things which are not factual.

Have you forgotten about the 1962 debacle? Sonia may feel bad and condemn the episode and might suffer in silence. However, if you remind about these incidents to China tomorrow, they will react differently. We must understand that there is no USSR to back us now. After becoming the PM, Modi will have to deal with Italians and other Europeans hence he should refrain from issuing comments against a woman only to pin down her unfairly. Few years back, Sushma Swaraj had said that she will shave off her head but she must have had numerous lunches and dinners with Sonia after issuing that statement. Sonia looks fitter than Sushmaji.
The Indian Railways was largely built by the British. CrPC was carved out by the British and they also strengthened the education system. That does not mean that we should accuse the British of making us use these things. You make better things, improve and amend the systems, who stops you?

Modi should not take the entire credit for Gujarat’s prosperity as it was developing prior to his reign. In the early eighties, factory manufacturing firefighting equipment existed at Chandivli which faced labour problems regularly. The firm relocated to Umergaon and its business was functioning smoothly there on account of industrial peace and order. During that period of time, Modi was not the CM of Gujarat. I must further add that Modi has done a laudable job in pushing the state further up on development scale but the entrepreneurship mindset of Gujaratis and their practical approach plays a pivotal role in his success. I hope that hereafter Modi speaks about the developmental program for the future, uniting and mobilizing the masses, taking effective steps to control population and reduce the number of heavy fuel consuming vehicles by improving the public transport system across the country. He must start talking as Indian PM and not as a mere electoral candidate.

HC acquits three convicted to life term in murder case

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

Eleven years after being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, the Bombay High Court has overturned the conviction and acquitted three persons after observing that they have been falsely implicated in the case.

A division bench of Justices P V Hardas and A S Gadkari overturned the conviction and life sentence awarded to three accused – Maruti Dhangar, Laxman Babu Konkeri and Bhima Sidda Mang – by a sessions court at Kolhapur in 1993.

The court, however, upheld the conviction and life sentence of the fourth accused – Pandurang Konkeri. According to prosecution, on September 26, 1988, the four had assaulted one Birappa and Rama, the cousin brothers of one of the accused Maruti. The accused had assaulted the two after a feud over agricultural land between the victims and Maruti. While Birappa died on the spot, Rama survived and was the sole eye witness in the case.

The sessions court had convicted the four relying on the evidence given by Rama.

The High Court, however, discredited Rama’s testimony and observed that the evidence given by other witnesses and circumstantial evidence submitted by prosecution shows that only Pandurang had assaulted the two and that Rama included Maruti and other persons’ names due to personal enmity.

“The evidence of the prosecution clearly indicates that it was Pandurang who had alone assaulted deceased Birappa and witness Rama. The evidence does not conclusively establish that the other three accused had assaulted the two. Thus the three would be entitled to be given the benefit of doubt,” the court observed.

“The conviction and sentence of Maruti Dhangar, Laxman Babu Konkeri and Bhima Sidda Mang is hereby quashed and set aside and they are acquitted of the offence with which they were charged and convicted,” the court said.

No room for NCP in NDA: Thackeray

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday made it clear that before or after the general election, there is no room for the Nationalist Congress Party in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

NCP chief Sharad Pawar who keeps praising Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on-and-off, likes to keep all his options open and will change course as the winds change after election, he said.

“He seemed to be veering towards joining the NDA. But Gopinath Munde, Ramdas Athawale, Raju Shetty, myself and others strongly objected, so his dream was shattered before the election itself,” Thackeray said, in the second part of his marathon interview to party mouthpiece “Saamana” published on Monday.

He expressed confidence that in the post-election scenario, the NDA would not require support from any other party, especially the NCP.

“Even if required, it will not be possible to take NDA’s support as it is facing the ire of the masses. It will be a betrayal of the electorate… People would question that if you (NDA) wanted to eat dirt, why did you fool us?” Thackeray said.

To a pointed query that the NDA has taken support of controversial people like the Reddy brothers in Karnataka or Ram Vilas Paswan, and the NDA may seek NCP support to form government, Thackeray said it would not be possible to take (NCP help).

“The masses are agitated against the current government at the centre of which NCP is a part, and even Sharad Pawar is the target of the public ire… He may not get any MP elected, but even if four-five are elected, we cannot take their support as it would be backstabbing the public,” Thackeray declared.

On Sunday, in the first part of his interview, Thackeray had showered praises on Modi, saying that after years, the opposition parties have got a face in him.

Referring to the state’s development, Thackeray lamented none of the ruling party MPs from the state ever raise their voice for Maharashtra at the centre for fear of losing their positions.

“We can expect nothing from (Chief Minister) Prithviraj Chavan. It is imperative for us to get the maximum number of Shiv Sena MPs elected to raise the state’s voice in parliament and get the maximum benefit for the people here,” Thackeray urged.

After all, Mumbai and Maharashtra alone account for 40 percent of the revenue to the central coffers — “What do we get in return — a ‘thenga’? On the other hand, Shiv Sena MPs will roar like tigers in Parliament and get the most resources for the state,” he assured.

He reiterated his earlier statement that Manmohan Singh was the weakest ever prime minister in the country and “we have been tolerating him for 10 years”.

Crime branch raids bar, rescues 18 girls, arrest more than 35

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

The Thane police crime branch raided a bar last night, rescued as many as 18 girls and arrested more than 35 people, including its owner, manager as well as customers, the police said on Sunday.

The crime branch raid unearthed a dingy room in which bar girls used to be hidden during the raid.

The police have charged the arrested under section 308 of the IPC the police said.

HC upholds MCOCA invoked against alleged gangster

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

The Bombay High Court has upheld an order of a special court invoking provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in a case of an alleged gangster who was arrested in Pune on charges of murder.

The accused, Farman Imran Shah alias Karu, filed an appeal challenging the order of March 4 last year passed by a Pune court invoking the provisions of MCOCA in the case.

Farman had challenged the order on the ground that there was no material to frame charges against him.

He also pleaded that there was total non-application of mind on the part of competent authorities while granting prior approval as contemplated under section 23(1)(a) and sanction as contemplated under section 23(2) of MCOCA.

“After scrutinising the entire material made available to us in the appeal, we are of a firm opinion that the impugned order passed by the special judge, Pune, under MCOCA does not suffer from any legal infirmity. Hence, no interference is called for with the same. The appeal, being without any merit, is dismissed,” said a bench headed by Justice P V Hardas on March 25.

The complainant, Parvin Anwar Shaikh, told police she was travelling with her husband in her Santro car on March 13, 2012, when accused Matin Rafique Shaikh and Nadir Munir Sayyed on a motorcycle obstructed their way and pulled her husband out and assaulted him.

Parvin further told police that her husband died in hospital due to injuries received in the assault.

During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the crime was committed by the organised crime syndicate of Mohasin alias Guddu Anwar Shaikh and his accomplices. Guddu Shaikh and 12 others, including the petitioner Farman Shah, were booked under MCOCA for the crime.

HC seeks government reply on CBI plea for probe in land grab plaint

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

The Bombay High Court has directed Maharashtra government to reply to a petition of CBI seeking to take over probe in the complaint of alleged land grab filed by RTI activist Satish Shetty, before he was murdered, against IRB chairman and managing director Virendra Mhaiskar.

CBI, which is probing the murder case of Shetty, approached the High Court seeking permission to take over probe into Shetty’s complaint after a magistrate court in Maval set aside the closure report filed by the local police in the case in September 2011.

CBI counsel Hiten Venegaonkar said on March 18 that the magistrate set aside the closure report, thereby asking the local police to re-investigate Shetty’s complaint afresh.

Following this, CBI filed a petition before the High Court seeking to probe the complaint filed by Shetty against Mhaiskar as it could be linked to the RTI activist’s murder.

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and A M Thipsay on March 28 directed the government to file its reply to CBI’s petition and posted the matter for hearing on April 4.

In October 2009, Shetty filed a complaint with the Lonavla city police against 13 people, including Mhaiskar and a sub-registrar alleging that land acquired by the government for the Mumbai-Pune expressway, for which compensation was paid, was re-sold by the original owners to Aryan Infrastructure and Investment – an IRB Group company.

Shetty had alleged that IRB and its subsidiary companies, in collusion with bureaucrats, prepared fake documents regarding ownership of government land.

However, the local police filed a closure report in September 2011 saying that they did not find any evidence to substantiate Shetty’s allegations.

Shetty was stabbed to death near his house in Talegaon on January 13, 2010, when he had stepped out for morning walk.

Modi needs to be treated in mental hospital: Sharad Pawar

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

A week before polling begins for the general elections, the quality of political discourse has nose-dived, with many personal attacks and much name-calling.

Sharad Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party and is a Cabinet minister at the Centre, set a new record for senior leaders when he suggested on Sunday that Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, needs to be “treated in a mental hospital for talking rubbish”.

Mr. Pawar’s attack on Mr. Modi in an election rally speech was retaliatory. Hours earlier, Mr Modi, who held several rallies in Maharashtra on Sunday, had slammed Mr Pawar in Amravati, which is in a region that is considered the NCP leader’s stronghold and has seen a spate of farmer suicides.

The BJP leader accused Mr Pawar, who has also been a cricket administrator, of having time to talk about the game but being “unable to save farmers.”

Mr. Pawar retorted in his speech at Ghanswangi, about 300 km away, “Modi must have become deranged as he talks rubbish and needs to be treated in a mental hospital.”

Mr. Pawar, who had only last month said that Mr. Modi should not be held responsible for the 2002 riots in Gujarat since he had been cleared by court, also seemed to revise his opinion at Ghanswangi. He brought up the riots, accusing Mr. Modi of being apathetic to the plight of victims of the communal violence and said the Gujarat chief minister “is dangerous for the country.”

Opinon polls say Mr Modi is leading the race for the country’s top post and he has been singled out for more such attacks. In Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, Haji Yakub, a Lok Sabha candidate from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP called Mr Modi “cruel.”

A Congressman Imran Masood was arrested over the weekend after he was caught on camera threatening to “chop Modi to pieces.”

On the other side, a BJP legislator from Tonk in Rajasthan targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He said Mr. Modi would be PM and suggested Mrs. Gandhi “get a visa to go back to Italy.”

Many leaders of the Congress have, over the last few months, made attacks on Mr. Modi. At a rally in February, Mrs. Gandhi accused the BJP and Mr. Modi of sowing “the seeds of poison” (zeher ki kheti) by inciting communal tension.

For his part, Mr. Modi refers to Mrs. Gandhi’s 43-year-old son, Rahul Gandhi, with the derogatory “shehzada” (prince) to underscore the allegation that the Congress is a dynastic party and that Mr. Gandhi’s ascension to top spot is based solely on his famous surname.

Vote for change, vote for Modi, says Advani

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

Days after ending the row over his parliamentary seat that brought to fore strains in his relations with Narendra Modi, BJP veteran L K Advani on Monday kicked off the campaign for Lok Sabha polls, saying the party’s PM nominee would revive the process of development started by Atal Behari Vajpayee.
“Vote for Modi, vote for change,” Advani said, addressing his maiden campaign rally for the ensuing polls at Shevgaon for sitting BJP MP Dinesh Gandhi.

“The nation needs and expects action and not mere slogans. So, vote for change, vote for Modi,” he said.

Modi changed the face of Gujarat through the Narmada project, industrialisation and providing water to every farmer, besides improving electric supply, education, public distribution system and the law and order situation, he said.

Vajpayee and the NDA had tried its best to fulfil every commitment, right from the Pokharan nuclear test to providing basic amenities, he said.

Advani described Manmohan Singh as India’s weakest prime minister.

This was Advani’s first public rally as the star campaigner began canvassing for Lok Sabha elections, days after the row over his choice of seat.

The 86-year-old leader had sulked over the party’s decision to field him from his traditional Gandhinagar seat in Gujarat against his wish to contest from Bhopal but later agreed after a meeting with Modi. Advani’s decision to shift from Gandhinagar, a seat he has represented since 1991, was seen as a reflection of the growing chasm between him and Modi.

This was the BJP veteran’s first major poll-related engagement after his latest stand-off with the party’s central election committee over Lok Sabha seat.

Advani earlier landed at Aurangabad and inaugurated the election office of BJP’s Jalna candidate Raosaheb Danve at Chikalthana.

Tata Housing buys 7 acres land in Mumbai for Rs. 214 crore

By

Afternoon Voice

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March 31, 2014

Realty firm Tata Housing has bought seven acres of land in Mumbai for Rs. 214 crore from KEC International for development of a premium housing project.

Tata Housing signed an agreement with KEC International on Saturday to buy 7.3 acres of land parcel in Thane, according to sources.

Tata Housing, a real estate arm of Tata group, will build premium homes on the land and expects Rs. 1,300 crore revenue from the project, they added.

When contacted, Tata Housing spokesperson declined to comment on the land deal.

KEC International is global infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major. It has presence in the verticals of power transmission, power systems, cables, railways, telecom and water.

Tata Housing generally enters into a joint venture with land owners. However, the company seems to have changed the strategy and has now started buying land outright.

Tata Housing had recently bought a 20 acre land parcel in north Bangalore for a consideration of around Rs. 120 crore from Alstom and a one acre land parcel at Hailey road in Delhi.

Amid slowdown in the real estate market, Tata Housing is utilising this opportunity to buy quality land parcels at marquee locations to increase its presence in the premium and super premium segments across major markets in the country.

In a big-ticket land deal in Mumbai, Steel major Tata Steel has sold its 25-acre Borivali land parcel for Rs. 1,155 crore to Oberoi Realty. In 2012, Lodha Group had acquired a 17-acre land parcel at Lower Parel from DLF for Rs. 2,725 crore.

Tata Housing is a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, which holds 99.86 per cent stake in the realty firm.

The company is currently developing 70 million sq ft of area and an additional 19 million sq ft is in the pipeline. It has ventured into Maldives market and is actively exploring other markets including Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries.