ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio

Cannes nominated India’s film director-screenwriter-producer Shyam Benegal will be in the “spotlight” at prestigious Belfast Film Festival, being held from April 15-30.

Besides screening of Benegal’s films “Zubeidaa” and “The Making of the Mahatma”, he will deliver a public lecture on April 22 and participate in the discussion on his films after screening.

Congratulating Benegal, Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged India Government and large private conglomerates of India to promote independent cinema. India was full of creative and excellent filmmakers and they only needed an integrated effort in funding, encouragement, marketing/promotion, exposure in global avenues, and organization of world-level film festivals in India, Rajan Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, added.

Filmmaker James Cameron (Avatar) will be in India on March 13 for the first time.

He will be discussing “The Future of Cinema” with Bollyood’s megastar Aamir Khan (Lagaan) in a conclave in a five star hotel in capital New Delhi, watched by few hundred over a dinner. Lasting about 90 minutes and ending around 09-30 pm, it will include questions from the attendees also. Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief of India’s leading newsmagazine “India Today”, will chair the session.

Describing Oscar winner Cameron’s movies, Conclave says: “…movies speak the language of immense courage and deep spirituality. His female heroes are fearless and all powerful, his men learn the power of conviction.” It talks about Cameron’s “dropping out of college to drive a truck for the local school district…selling the script of The Terminator to Hemdale Films for one dollar on the condition that he could direct it”.

Mar 11, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Pathshala is an Indian Bollywood Hindi movie directed by Milind Ukey. The star cast is led by Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia, supported by Nana Patekar, Sunil Shetty, Swini Khara, Dwij Yadav, Ali Haji and others. Watch the theatrical promo-preview trailer of Pathshala online featurng the full song Aye Khuda Promo in HD.

Mar 11, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio)  “Indian Film Festival 2010” in Australia and New Zealand is holding special “Rani Mukherjee Retrospective”.

Calling Filmfare Award winner Rani, 31, “Queen of Bollywood”, it is showing her following Hindi films: Bunty Aur Babli, Black, Hum Tum, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Paheli, and Saathiya.

Festival is being held at Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand, concluding on April 15.

Bollywood productions being shown in it include 3 Idiots, Dev D, Dil Bole Hadippa, Dostana, Ghajini, Kaminey, Love Aaj Kal, Luck by Chance, New York, Paa, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and Wake Up Sid.

Its “Beyond Bollywood” category includes regional Indian films Chaturanga (Bengali), Harishchandrachi Factory (Marathi), Kanchivaram (Tamil), Mee Sreyobhilashi (Telugu), Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai (Tamil), and Shob Choritro Kalponik (Bengali).

Mar 10, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) After the Deepika Padukone - Farhan Akhtar - Shefali Shetty starrer Karthik Calling Karthik (DVD Release), another interestingly titled Indian Hindi film Mittal Vs Mittal is on its way.

The theatrical release date of Mittal VS Mittal is March 26, 2010.

Mittal vs. Mittal is directed by Karan Razdan. The star cast includes one of the top Kolkata Bengali heroines Rituparna Sengupta with Rohit Roy, Suchitra Krishnamoorthy, Gulshan Grover, Dolly Thakore, Amar Talwar, Reema Lagoo, Anjan Shrivastava, Irawati Harshe, Hazel and others. Music director Shamir Tondon has composed music to lyrics penned by Shabbir Ahmed.

The film is about the marriage of a supermodel Mitali Mittal and business tycoon Karan Mittal. "The nation was witness to their wedding, but when this happened nobody was watching" reads the tagline.

The women-empowerment themed film explores difficulties in the life of a abused wife, facing physical and emotional abuse from her mother-in-law and a husband who adds to the problem by not standing up for his wife and siding with his mother - a family scenario which is not uncommon even today in "modern" India.

Read the complete synopsis and watch the full theatrical promo-preview trailer of Mittal vs Mittal online.

Mar 10, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Directed by acclaimed parallel Bengali film actor Indraneil Sengupta and starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, the premiere of new Bengali film was held in Kolkata, according to a report in The Telegraph. AAJKER NAYAK is the directorial debut of Indranil Sengupta.

There was another Kolkata Bengali movie titled Ajker Nayak (Today's Hero) released in 1972 directed by Dinen Gupta starring Samit Bhanja, Sumitra Mukherjee, Kali Bannerjee, Kajal Gupta, Kalyan Chatterjee, Kamu Mukherjee, Bharati Devi, Niranjan Ray, Gita Dey, Partho Mukerjee, Rabi Ghosh, Shekhar Chatterjee, Jayshree Roy and more.

Mar 9, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Bengali film lovers in USA and Canada no more have to wait six months to see that new Bengali movie! Nor will they have to suffer bad quality pirated DVDs from their local Indian grocery store.

Buy Bengali Movie DWANDO DVD Online: Click Here »

Check availability online of Bengali movie EKTI TARAR KHONJE : Click here »

Feb 9, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Indian Bollywood movie industry stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu and Anusha Dandekar released Bipasha's new fitness DVD called "The Fit And The Fabulous" at the JW Marriott Hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. The workout video includes a song "Baby Love Yourself" with music directed by Soham Shah.

According to Bipasha quoted in OneIndia in this article, The Fit And Fabulous DVD is the first step in Bipasha's line of fitness products to be launched in March of 2010, called BB Love Yourself. Additionally, popular Hindi Movie stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh, Priyanka, John, Dhoni, Akshay, Ajay and Ranbir Kapoor.

The fabulous DVD is available online - CLICK HERE TO GET IT »

Watch a free online video news item about Bollywood Bombshell Bipasha Basu launching the DVD and VCD.

March 7, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Acclaimed Indian film-maker Mani Ratnam's eagerly awaited movie Ravana (Ravan, Raavana) has an announced release date of June 18, 2010. Raavan will be released in three languages simultaneously - Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Partially shot in the controversy-mired Vedic Village housing complex in Kolkata, Raavana has a star cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Vikram, Govinda, Nikhil Dwivedi, Mani Ratnam's wife Suhasini, Priyamani, Bhojpuri movie and TV serial hero Ravi Kishan, Nikhil Dwivedi and others.

Mar 9, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Acharya Zen is the only self-help expert and Motivational Speaker who combines the true essence of Eastern Spirituality with the rousing tone of Western Motivation.

Upcoming film to explain role of “Karma” in Tiger Woods’ famous apology: A new film, titled "Karma: The New Revolution", will explain the role of Karma in the recent golfer Tiger Woods’ apology, according to reports.
 
Reportedly releasing on March 15, it will also explain the role Karma played in the death of entertainment icon Michael Jackson. It will highlight how Karma Yoga has helped everyday individuals overcome credit crunch, cancer and crime, it is said.

Read all about the upcoming film and watch a video of Acharya Zen free online.

Mar 9, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Bengali Cinema is considered as the most elite, artistic and merited with the highest quality script among the South Asian films. History of the Bengali cinema is enriched by the directors like Satyajit Ray, who was an Academy Honorary Award winner, and the recipient of India and France's greatest civilian honours, the Bharat Ratna and Legion of Honor respectively, and Mrinal Sen, who is the recipient of the French distinction of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters and the Russian Order of Friendship.

Despite the international merit and potential market outside India, no initiative was hitherto taken to market the Bengali films internationally.

Finally this deadlock has been broken by databazaar MEDIA VENTURES LLC which has taken the initiatives of distributing Bengali Movies in North America through Netflix, BlockBluster, Amazon, Best Buy, ITunes, Target and many more distribution channels.

So finally, all the new Bengali releases will be available to North American Bengalis with stunning DVD quality as well as download-formats.

To start off this great initiative, the databazaar groups presents দ্বন্দ (Dwando) - a film by Suman Ghose - the National Award Wining Director of Podokkhep ( Footsteps). Dwando is being released in over 19,000 online and retail stores in the USA and Canada including top retailers and chains like Best Buy, Target, Fry’s Electronics, Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Fight online piracy and support the Bengali movie industry - buy legal DVD's online:

PODOKKEP (FOOTSTEP) >

DWANDO (দ্বন্দ) >

MK Films' Prem By Chance is an upcoming Bengali film starring Koel Mullick and Abir Chatterjee in lead roles, supported by Dipankar De, Manoj Mitra, Suman Banerjee, Arijit Dutta, Monalisa and more. The movie is directed by the duo Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha.

Popular Bengali Modern Song singer-songwriter Rupankar is the music director of Prem By Chance.

Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy have delivered popular superhit Bangla cinema releases previously, including the romantic comedy Cross Connection (2009) [Buy DVD] starring Ritwick Chakraborty, Abir Chatterjee, Payal Sarkar, Rimjhim Mitra, Biswajit Chakraborty, Sasawata Chatterjee with music by Neel Dutt, and the romantic drama Sudhu Tumi (2004) [Buy DVD] starring Prasenjit Chatterjee, Koel Mullick, Gargi Roychowdhury and others.

Watch a full Bengali film song music video Mukhosher Opare Cross Connection from Cross Connection.

My name is Adrita and yesterday I watched a movie named Alice In Wonderland. In the beginning like the first movie Alice sees the rabbit and again she follows it and she fell down the hole ...

Read the complete review and order the blu-ray dvd online.

Mar 8, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The shooting of director Onir's upcoming film AFIA (also known as I AM AFIA) is complete.

AFIA is a short film about the Sperm donation Mafia and the struggle for a single woman to have a child. The cast includes Nandita Das as Afia Sengupta, Manav Kaul as Manav Tiwari, Purab Kohli as Suraj Sharma and Anurag Basu as Dr Subrata Basu. Afia is shot in Kolkata.

Critically acclaimed film-maker Onir has previously delivered intelligent films tackling difficult social issues, like My Brother Nikhil (2005) [Buy DVD Online] on AIDS and  Sorry Bhai (2008) [Buy DVD]. AFIA is expected to be no less.

Mar 8, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The latest theatrical trailer of Kolkata Bangla movie director Riingo Banerjee's upcoming film JODI EKDIN has been released. The film is being promoted as the biggest love story of 2010.

Produced by Washington Bangla Radio partner Orion Entertainment, Kolkata, Jodi Ekdin has a credited lead star cast of Indraneil Sengupta and Priyanka Sarkar. Music by Joy Sarkar is set to lyrics penned by Anindya Chatterjee and Chandril of Chandrabindoo Bengali band.

Watch the complete Jadi Ekdin Bengali movie trailer online free via You Tube.

Mar 8, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) KOHI MERO is an upcoming Nepali film directed by Alok Nembang starring Subash Thapa, Jharana Bajracharya, Aryan Sigdel, Sanchita Luitel and more.

Nepali movie lovers are viewing Kohi Mero as the comeback movie for Jharana Bajracharya who famously won the Miss Nepal 1997 crown at the young age of only 16 and went on to represent Nepal in the Miss World contest that same year. Jharana Bajracharya has appeared in Indian Bollywood Hindi movies as well, including director Rajat Mukherjee's LOVE IN NEPAL (2004) [Buy DVD Online] co-starring Sonu Nigam, Fllora Saini, Sweta Keswani, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Zutshi, Ehsan Khan, Asif Basra, Anil Nagrath and others with music by Nikhil-Vinay.

Subash Thapa is a fresh face in Nepali movie industry.
 
Alok Nembang is a popular music video director who also directed the full-length Nepali feature film Sano Sansar.

Watch the full theatrical promo-preview trailer of Kohi Mero online free via You Tube.
 

Only one “Asia-focused” entry won at Oscars

There were no nominations for “Made in Asia” films at 82nd Academy Awards given in Hollywood (USA) on March seven, and out of four films nominated with Asia-focused topics, only one (The Cove) was able to win.

“The Cove” (Louie Psihoyos), which won in “documentary feature” category, is an investigative-journalism style venture about animal abuse and human health issues revolving around dolphins in Japan.

Cable News Network (CNN) is streaming the Oscar Ceremony 2010 Academy Awards live video from their web-site. The stream is a high-def video real-time video feed, part of CNN's exclusiv Oscar coverage - with live video enhanced using a plug-in that the flash player will automatically install. Academy Award red carpet fashion - CNN.com's live coverage of red carpet arrivals, star-studded fashion and one-on-one interviews: click here.

iPhone support - if you have installed the exclusive CNN iPhone app, watch the Oscar Awards 2010 ceremony live video stream online on your iPhone via CNN's iPhone stream. To get the app, click here.

March 7, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Dev Benegal's ROAD, MOVIE released in cinema halls across India on Mar 5, 2010. The audience response is appreciative.

Also starring in Road, Movie are Tannishtha Chatterjee and Satish Kaushik, of the graceful and tender Brick Lane (2007) [DVD] fame.

Director Dev Benegal with producers Susan B. Landau and Ross Katz (Lost in Translation [DVD], In The Bedroom [DVD]) have captured some of the fantastic grandeur of the Indian landscape, its people and culture in a unique concept movie. This is the third film by Benegal.

Road, Movie premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2009. Watch the free Making of Road, Movie video via NDTV Online.

Feb 7, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) Irfan Kamal's award winning Hindi film THANKS MA has opened to great reviews and critical acclaim on March 5, 2010 in Indian cinema theaters.

Focusing on  street children in the metropolis of Mumbai (Bombay), the principle characters in Thanks Maa are all played by kids with great performances. The characters are interestingly named - the hero is Municipality with Soda, Sursuri, Cutting and Dhed-Shaana in supporting roles.

In addition to the real actors, well known Bollywood actors like  Alok Nath, Raghuvir Yadav, John Barry, Sanjay Mishra, Ranvir Shorey, Mukta Barve and others are also in the credited cast.

The theme of the film is abandoned children and their struggle in an urban context. A kid picks up an abandoned child and finding no takers, takes it upon himself to find the mother. Hence the satirical title of the movie. The tag-line of the film is apt - it is indeed a true depiction of over 12 million true stories of real children.

The film is not exactly a family entertainment flick - real issues like predatory pedophiles and girl-child molestation by fathers are address boldly and openly.

THANKS MAA is available on DVD Release - buy the DVD online here.

Watch a video review of Thanks Maa free online via You Tube.

Mar 7, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The KOLAJ Bengali Magazine editorial team is gearing up again for the next edition after their successful paperback Bangla magazine launch over last year's Durga Puja.

March 6, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The release date of director Miguel Sapochnik's sci-fi action thriller REPO MEN movie is March 19, 2010.

The film is rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality and nudity. Buy movie tickets online:

Synopsis

March 6, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The release date of directors Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois' 3D Animated Sci-Fi Action Adventure HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON movie is March 26, 2010.

The film is rated PG with some scary images, brief mild language and sequences of intense action. Buy movie tickets online:

Synopsis

Mar 6, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) The director of the Hollywood blockbuster Rush Hour - Brett Ratner - watched an unfinished cut of upcoming Indian Bollywood Hindi movie KITES starring Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress-model Barbara Mori and saw situations reminiscent of Brett Ratner's own film RUSH HOUR (Special Edition DVD) starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in lead roles, reports Anupama Chopra in the New York Times.

March 6, 2010 (Washington Bangla Radio) KAJIRANGA is a hilarious story of a woman trying to find her life partner, unfolding over March 8 - March 12 on the Bondhu Tomay TV show at 7 pm & 9 pm on Rupashi Bangla TV Channel broadcast from Kolkata, India.

KAJIRANGA is directed by Kushal Chakraborty, starring Kushal Chakraborty, June Maliah and Bhaskar Banerjee.

Watch Indian Bengali Kolkata TV Channels video live on your PC - click here.

Bhaskar Banerjee and June Malia have previously appeared in Debraj Sinha's film RAKTOMUKHI NEELA (Buy DVD) with Sabyasachi Chakravarthy, Dolon Roy, Dipankar Dey and others. June Maliah also played a lead role in NRI director Suman Ghosh's critically acclaimed film Padakkhep - Footsteps (Buy DVD) costarring Soumitra Chatterjee, Nandita Das, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Sabitri Chatterjee and more.