Ghajini

Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini, remake of the popular eponymous Tamil film, released at theatres across India on December 25, 2008. Directed by AR Murugadoss (who also helmed the Tamil version) the film also features Asin and Jiah Khan. Despite a few pre-release hiccups, it has received a good opening allover. What added punch to the movie was visual effects work (close to 300 shots) done by Mumbai-based post production major Prime Focus.

Click to watch the making of Ghajini

Govind Nihalani too starts a new Animation Film

The director talks about his animation film Kamlu with Shilpa Jamkhandikar
After almost four years, one of India’s most acclaimed film-makers is back, but don’t expect another Ardh Satya or a Dhrohkaal from firebrand director Govind Nihalani. This time round, his focus of attention is Kamlu, a baby camel, the protagonist of his new animation film.
“I have always wanted to do animation, but earlier the budgets and the technology were a constraint. Now, however, we have so many facilities at our calling that this was the time for me to jump into animation,” Nihalani says.
Kamlu, which is about a baby camel who gets lost in the desert and finds new friends in the process, is currently being given shape in an animation studio in Chennai. Nihalani says the process has been a learning experience for him. “After my 2004 release Dev, I took a break, and worked on my animation project, because I knew it would take a lot of time. I do have a few actors in mind for the films, but everything is still in its primary stages,” he adds. Things, he says have changed considerably in the last three years. (Courtsy DNAIndia)

The Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a HUGE collection of movie information. They catalog every pertinent detail about a movie, from who was in it, to who made it, to trivia about it, to filming locations, and even where you can find reviews and fan sites on the web. The IMDb people present this information in a manner that is easy to search and access.
The IMDb started as a hobby project by an international group of movie fans(history of IMDb), essentially something by movie fans for movie fans.
IMDb creators say "We are some of our site's most hardcore users. Our managing director claims to have seen over seven thousand movies. Most of our people could write or win a movie trivia game show. One of our proposed slogans was "we just love movies." As big and intimidating as we may seem because of our millions of monthly visitors, we're just a bunch of hardcore movie fans who still can't get over the fact that we're getting paid to keep improving this tool we use so much for our own pleasure."

Warner Bros. to distribute Nikhil Advani's 'Made in China'

Warner Brothers Pictures has inked a worldwide distribution deal for Made in China, a Hindi film to be produced by Ramesh Sippy and directed by Nikhil Advani. According to an official release, the shooting for the film which for the first time will see an Indian production in China, is expected to get underway in January 2008. The film, written by Sridhar Raghavan (Khakee, Bluffmaster), stars Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone and music composers are Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The story is centred around Kumar who plays the role of Sidhu, a lowly Mumbai cook mistaken for a martial arts hero.Warner Bros entertainment India country manager Blaise Fernandes said, "We are excited and proud to be working with such respected partners as Ramesh Sippy and Orion. We will count on our partners' expertise and will do everything in our power to make a well-crafted, popular and successful Indian film."Advani will be helming an action film for the first time. He has previously directed the drama-musicals Salaam-E-Ishq and Kal Ho Na Ho. Besides directing Sholay, Ramesh Sippy has produced films such as Bluff Master and Taxi No 9211.

A one-stop online movie tickets booking portal for India

Everyone wants to watch movies, but no one wants to queue up outside multiplexes for tickets. That, simply put, is why online booking of tickets has been seen as a viable e-model for cinema houses. Now, there’s a new player – http://www.bookmyshow.com/ – that has unveiled a one-stop-shop for online purchase of movie tickets across the country.
The website is promoted by BigTree Entertainment, which recently received funding from the TV18 Group. BigTree is not new to the business; over the past five years, they have been offering ticketing and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions to major multiplexes such as the PVR chain. Buoyed by the fact that BigTree Entertainment helps sell around 2 million tickets annually, it’s not surprising that they have now decided to come up with their own online ticketing facility.
Bookmyshow.com offers consumers the ability to book movie, play and concert tickets in real time, either through the site or through their call centre. It has tied up with major multiplexes such as PVR, Adlabs, Fun Cinemas, Inox, DT cinemas, Prasadz, Wave, M2K cinemas and 24Karat.
Initially, Bookmyshow.com’s booking services will be available across 27 cities from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Lucknow to smaller cities such as Agra, Aurangabad, Indore, Latur and Panipat. According to Ashish Hemrajani, CEO, BigTree Entertainment, Bookmyshow will later expand to cover ticketing facilities for venues all over India. There is a strong focus on boosting the number of call centres across India; right now, only 11 cities have call centre facilities.
What about the new site posing competition to the online ticket booking systems (powered by BigTree) owned by multiplexes? Hemrajani feels there will be no clash and that his site will only augment the total number of tickets sold.
When a ticket is booked through the site, an SMS is sent or a voucher is mailed as a booking receipt. The voucher needs to be printed out and taken to the venue to get the ‘real’ tickets). To book through a call centre, a consumer needs to call on a number (39895050) and order a ticket, which will be delivered at his doorstep.
A consumer has to pay a convenience fee of Rs 10-15 per ticket, whether booked through the call centre or online. “Right now, Bookmyshow.com is not offering SMS-based booking, but will launch SMS booking and Pay by Mobile services soon,” says Hemrajani. Apart from booking the tickets, a person can choose his seats, too.
The major revenue stream is going to be the convenience fees charged for booking tickets, which is Rs 10-15 per ticket. Right now, there are no ads on the site and Hemrajani is not convinced about offering space to advertisers because he thinks it will create transactional hassles for customers.