CALLING YOUNG SCRIPTWRITERS

If you’ve got a film script you’ve been nurturing quietly while you work away in the week as an accountant/marketing consultant/IT nerd, here’s your chance.

Celebrated filmmaker and screenplay writers Raju Hirani, Juhi Chaturvedi and Anjum Rajabali have invited young scriptwriters to be a part of a ‘Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Script Contest’.

This will be the second edition of the contest announced by Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan.

“Last year when we announced the Cinestaan India’s storytellers script contest, it was an attempt to give an opportunity to budding writers. We hope that through this contest, we are able to reach out to all those who want an opportunity to write a film script,” said Aamir Khan.

The contest follows a transparent process of accepting only those entries that are registered either with the Screen Writers Association (SWA) or with any other organisation where registration is considered valid.

Rajabali, who is also the jury chairperson, said, “We are currently shortlisting the scripts from the first edition. The winners will be announced before the year-end.”

The Sanju filmmaker, while sharing the details of the contest said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for writers and I am happy to be a part of the second edition of the contest.”

Think you have what it takes?

Mirzapur Set To See A Glorious Bloodbath

From the look of its trailer, Mirzapur - Amazon’s new bust-or-boom series - promises a fusillade of flamboyant fights and bloodshed.

First things first. It feels reassuring and comforting to see the very gifted Pankaj Tripathi finally taking centrestage. He was plainly riveting as the Shakespearean mafia don in Shankar Raman’s Gurgaon. He returns to play a restless crime lord with a problematic son in Mirzapur

It’s a world that perhaps Francis Ford Coppola or Martin Scorcese would approve of. There is sly deceit and tormenting treachery as Tripathy’s Kaleen Bhai (he deals in carpets) tries to control his wild son, played by that extraordinarily credible actor Divyendu Sharma, last seen stealing every scene from Shahid Kapoor in Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Divyendu is the Sonny Corleone of this sanguine saga of internecine wars. The dollops of aggression and trippy retribution are served up with a dash of humorous relish.

Ali Fazal has bulked up and trimmed his hair to look menacing, and the super-talented Vikrant Massey looks positively mousy as his sibling. These two brothers promise to turn the rugged terrain of Mirzapur into an area of a subverted Mahabharat.

The series is splattered with superb actors. Rasika Dugal turns up as Pankaj Tripathi’s sex-starved wife reminding him that he always leaves her unfulfilled.

Well, we won’t come away from the series with that feeling.

SHORTER CONTENT: YAY OR NAY?

A gradual increase in demand for shorter content, on digital platforms, seems to be creeping in. So says director Tariq Naved Siddiqui, who has just released his short film The Playboy Mr. Sawhney

“Audiences these days have smaller attention spans so the consumption of shorter content has increased over the last few years, especially, among the younger generation,” he said.

The film debuted at the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films in late October. The 25-minute project boasts a huge star cast, including Jackie Shroff in the lead role, Arjan Bajwa, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Divya Dutta, Neetu Chandra, Manjari Fadnis, Pitobash, Samir Kochhar and Sudhir Mishra.

Perhaps that’s why Siddiqui calls it the “Sholay of short films”.

Or is it because the long form continues to exert its magic, despite what the film-makers say?

“I haven’t seen a short film till now which has such a huge star cast. We have also shot it like a feature film.” Point proven! “Star cast” and “shooting like a feature film” still define the worth of a film till it hits the screens.

But Siddiqui makes a quick comeback. “It doesn’t matter what’s the duration of your film. Now what matters is the subject of your film and how it will impact the audience.” O-kay….

Take A Kaagaz Ki Kashti In Nov

No prizes for guessing who this upcoming film is based on. Kaagaz Ki Kashti which traces the life of legendary ghazal singer and composer late Jagjit Singh, will release on 2 November.

Born Jagmohan Singh in Rajasthan and belonging to a Punjabi Sikh family, Jagjit Singh left an indelible mark in the world of music with his treasury of ghazals, many of them sung jointly with his wife Chitra Singh.

The duo, credited with the revival of and popularising ghazals, also composed music for several Bollywood films including Arth, Saath Saath, Sajda and Prem Geet

During his musical career starting 1961 till his demise, Jagjit Singh released some 80 ghazal albums which are popular to this day. He passed away on October 10, 2011.

Kaagaz Ki Kashti is an evocative film of not just Jagjit Singh’s life, but also of the monumental legacy he has left behind. The film includes in-depth conversations with friends, family, colleagues and archival footage.

RICHA CHADHA, BELLY DANCER

Actress Richa Chadha is working on her belly dancing skills for a special promotional song for a biopic on south Indian glamour actress Shakeela.

Richa plays the titular role in the movie, directed by Indrajit Lankesh. She is training under the guidance of Mumbai-based belly dancing instructor Shaina Lebana.

Richa has been taking lessons from

Shaina for the past three weeks and will be training for some more weeks. “I have always loved learning newer forms of dance,” Richa said in a statement. “Belly dancing is not only very attractive and graceful but is also a very tough dance form to learn.”

This is not the first time Richa has attempted the dance form. She took lessons three years ago, so she seems to be drawn to it somehow.

Aamir Khan In China

You know how they love him in China. Now Aamir Khan wants to make movies there.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan met a top official from China’s film regulator in Beijing recently to discuss cooperation between India and China in making films.

Khan said that he would like to share his filmmaking experiences with industry colleagues from China, seek inspiration and create more excellent works.

His sentiment was echoed by the professionals he met, who hoped that China and India could strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation, share excellent films, carry out indepth cooperation in making films and encourage filmmakers of both sides to produce more quality films.

Can’t wait to see what comes out of this.

New Roles For Older Women

Older women are invisible in the entertainment industry? Think again. Surekha Sikri is enjoying her time in the spotlight all over again, at 73.

Even after some 40 years, the sprightly Surekha has no plan to slow down, and says she has no desire to retire either.

And why should she?

She is currently seeing much love coming her way after her portrayal of the nagging grandma in the surprise hit Badhaai Ho

She chuckles when asked about retirement. “Retirement? Hello, I don’t even know that word. What does it mean?”

She adds, “That’s a very oldfashioned English concept, that you do something and then you retireand mostly it applies to government servants. Fortunately, I am a freelancer; I can just go on and on.”

Surekha made her debut in 1978 with political drama Kissa Kursi Ka, and created a name for herself by working in films, theatre and television.

She is credited for projects like Tamas, Mammo, Sarfarosh, Zubeidaa, Jo Bole So Nihaal and Humko Deewana Kar Gaye

But of course she is best known as

KANGANA

The National Film Award-winning actress says there are interesting roles being written for senior actors these days.

“The whole (scene) has changed. You could never think of making a full movie with older characters like Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor in 102 Not Out. They were the main characters of the film. I think there are far more chances for people like me who belong to a certain category, image wise.”

Here, she praised director Amit Ravindernath for taking an unusual subject with Badhaai Ho a film about a man whose mother becomes pregnant.

“There’s a whole heap of interesting directors and interesting script-writers in present-day Bollywood. They are tackling all kinds of subjects and I think it is a very exciting time for any actor to be in the industry right now,” she added.

After Badhaai Ho, Surekha has several projects lined up.

On Twitter This Week

Match the following stars to the tweet they made:

Twinkle Khanna, Aamir Khan, Deepika, Kajol

1,200 weeks and still running! Thank you all for all the love that you have been showering on ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ for so many years! It was, it is and will always be an incredibly special film for all of us.

We thank you for all the love you have showered upon us over the years and seek your blessings as we embark on this incredible journey of love, loyalty, friendship and togetherness

‘Once we hit forty, women only have about four taste buds left: one for vodka, one for wine, one for cheese, and one for chocolate.’

Here come the Thugs! It’s a big day for all of us. Missing Yash ji. Wish he was here with us. I hope that TOH will make your Diwali a fun and enjoyable ride!