A YOUNG KASHMIRI BOY MEETS A CRPF SOLDIER….

The coincidence of it all is spooky. Hindi film Hamid, scheduled to be released on 1 March, will now be delayed.

Hamid is the story of a relationship that develops between an eight-yearold Kashmiri boy and a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) trooper.

In the wake of the Pulwama attack, the makers of the film have pushed back its release of the film, which explores the conflict in Kashmir through the perspective of the little boy.

"The film was made with the attempt to bridge the gap of alienation because that is the very root cause of what is happening in the valley," director Aijaz Khan said.

"At this time, we feel that the very attempt of peace and the work that our jawans are doing is being undermined," Khan added.

Hamid, which is produced by Yoodlee Films, is a sensitive portrayal of the fragility of the human condition in the conflict-ridden Kashmir. The film stars Talha Arshad Reshi as the young protagonist, Rasika Dugal, Vikas Kumar and Sumit Kaul.

In the film, a little boy rings the “phone number of God”, 786, to ask after his father, who his mother says has “gone to Allah”. One day, his phone call is answered…

Yoodlee Films had been planning a special screening for CRPF troopers in Srinagar, scheduled for four days after a suicide bomber rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama district. 49 soldiers lost their lives.

Siddharth Anand Kumar, Producer at Yoodlee Films, said, "The attack to the CRPF troopers in the Pulwama district can only be termed as a heinous and dastardly act by those who have negated all sense of humanity within them. We at Yoodlee Films stand in solidarity with the families of the soldiers whose lives have been so cruelly erased."

Kumar said the film carries a message of peace and hope in the most unlikely circumstances.

"We are under attack now and this is neither the time nor the right atmosphere for us to release our film or for people to absorb the narrative of the film. We will take a call on the subsequent release date shortly," he said.

Shabana Azmi and husband Javed Akhtar, usually proponents of close artistic ties with Pakistan, cancelled an upcoming tour of Karachi to take part in centenary celebrations of Shabana's poet-father Kaifi Azmi.

Singers Rekha Bhardwaj and Harshdeep Kaur have withdrawn their names from Shaan-e-Pakistan 2019 gala in Lahore next month. Rekha's multi-faceted husband and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj was also planning travel to Pakistan for research on the Netflix series Midnight's Children, based on Salman Rushdie's novel. However, as of now the plan of the web series' showrunner stands cancelled, said a source in the know.

Music labels are also dropping works by Pakistani artistes and stopping collaborations with them. T-Series has already removed Pakistani artistes' videos from their various channels including some recently released songs - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's single and Atif Aslam's Baarishein from YouTube. The promotions of these songs on television and radio have also been stopped.

Meanwhile the All Indian Cine Workers Association announced ban on Pakistani artistes in the country. The announcement comes a day after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) said Indian filmmakers must not work with Pakistani artistes and must not release their films in Pakistan.

WHY THE EMPHASIS ON OPENING WEEKEND BIZ: SWARA BHASKER

Actress Swara Bhaskerhas questioned the constant emphasis on a film’s box office collection, calling it ‘damaging to the art of cinema’.

"The whole system of emphasising the opening weekend business of a film is damaging the art of cinema. I believe there is no connection between the box office collection and the value of a film or to the artistic part of it," Swara said recently. "I understand that cinema is an art that involves a huge amount of finance and it demands a steady economy. But the business part of a film should not overpower the core of a cinema, storytelling," the actress said. The Veere Di Wedding star continued: "Some of the cult films were flops at the box office when they were released. Now, when we revisit those films, we call them classics. I think this system needs to be changed."

ZARINA WAHAB: MODI’S MUM

Veteran actress Zarina Wahab will be seen playing the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi in the upcoming biopic PM Narendra Modi.

"It's an honour to play this role,” she said. “This is going to be one of the most special roles I have ever played. I hope the audience like it."

Television actress Barkha Bisht Sengupta will be playing Modi's wife Jashodaben in the film. She had a great experience shooting for the film, Bisht said.

"I am grateful to Sandip Ssingh (producer) for giving me an opportunity to be a part of such an amazing film. I had a great experience working with him earlier in Goliyon Ki Rasleela RamLeela and I know playing Jashodaben is going to be interesting too," Barkha said.

The film also stars Manoj Joshi (as BJP chief Amit Shah), Prashant Narayanan, BomanIrani, Darshan Kumar, Akshat R. Saluja, Anjan

Shrivastav, Rajendra Gupta and Yatin

Karyekar. Actor Vivek Anand Oberoi will be playing the title role of Modi.

"These two characters are quite crucial in the film. I am glad that Zarinaji agreed on doing it as no one other than her could have done a better job. Barkha is playing his wife and she is doing a great job," Producer Sandip Ssingh said.

PM Narendra Modi, the biopic will discover the journey of Narendra Damodardas Modi from his humble beginning to his years as Gujarat Chief Minister onto his landmark win at the 2014 general election, finally becoming the 14th Prime Minister of India.

It is being directed by National Awardwinner Omung Kumar. The biopic will be shot extensively in Gujarat and across locations within the country.

GOING DIGITAL: ARJUN

RAMPAL,

Emraan Hashmi

Binge-watchers, get ready for more Indian content.

Actor Arjun Rampal is set to make his debut on a digital platform with a web series titled The Final Call. He plays the role of a pilot with a dark past, a psychological thriller that talks about mental illness, spirituality, and destiny.

The show is based on Priya Kumar's novel I Will Go With You: The Flight of a Lifetime.

The Final Call also features actors like Javed Jaffrey, Anupriya Goenka, Neeraj Kabi, Sakshi Tanwar, Bipin Sharma and Pradeep Rawat in pivotal roles.

Arjun said recently that he would like to explore all the avenues of film making, including directing. Arjun begun his career as a model and then forayed into Bollywood as an actor. He has recently turned producer with the film Daddy.

Meanwhile Emraan Hashmi is on the final schedule of his maiden Netflix show Bard of Blood, an adaptation of Bilal Siddiqi's novel of the same name. Set against the backdrop of the Indian subcontinent, the multilingual series will tell the story of an expelled spy Kabir Anand, who is recalled from his new life as a Shakespeare professor in Panchgani to save his country and long lost love.

On making his debut in the web world, Hashmi said, "It's different. Through a web show, we are not only pitching the content to the Indian audience, but to audiences in over 180 different countries. Web shows can't be only Indianised versions... A fair balance should be maintained in terms of performances and content."

He added, "I am sure our audience will like it and I hope international