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Showing posts with label FILMS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FILMS. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 November 2012

Panel recommends total ban of ‘A Woman in Brahmanism

08th November 2012 08:32 AM
The state government appointed committee which reviewed the controversial film “A Woman in Brahmanism” has recommended a total ban on it on the grounds of obscenity.
The state government had formed the panel following protests from a cross-section of people against the film. The committee, headed by Women and Child Welfare principal secretary Neelam Sahani, submitted a report on Wednesday in which they recommended stopping the screening of the film.
The committee felt that the film was picturised with only an eye on “obscenity, vulgarity, sex and bedroom romance”. “The scenes in ‘A Women in Brahmanism is intended to hurt the sentiments of one particular caste and it is not acceptable for public screening,” the committee informed the government.
Meanwhile, on the demand of Cine Prekshka Viniyogadarula Sangam, Hyderabad and Brahman Organisation Joint Action Committee, the state government has constituted another committee to review the other controversial film “Denikaina Ready

Controversy not new, unintended in Tollywood movies

One after the other, the Telugu cinemas are landing in controversies. After the “Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu’s” controversy, it is now the turn of “Denikaina Ready” and “A Woman In Brahmanism” to draw a lot of flak.
Movies embroiled in controversies are not uncommon in the Tollywood. In fact, some producers are known to rake up controversies themselves to promote their films.
‘Denikaina Ready’ and ‘A Woman in Brahmanism’ both hurt the sentiments of Brahmins, who launched protests across the state. BJP state unit too backed the Brahmin’s cause.
It may be recalled that some years ago Vijayasanti-starrer “Pratighatana” too became a controversial issue. But, it helped the film  earn bumper collections.
‘Rakta Charitra’ based on Anantapur factionalism, ‘Bezawada Rowdeelu’ based on Vijayawada group clashes, Vidya Balan’s ‘Dirty Picture’ based on Silk Smitha’s biography received trenchant criticism in the recent time.     
NTR Jr’s ‘Brindavanam’ too faced some controversy where Lord Krishna was shown in a modern avataar, raising hackles of Hindus and Yadavas.
The Viswa Hindu Parishad reacted curtly to this at that time. Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Komaram Puli’ title was mired in controversy because using Komaram in the title was construed as an insult to Komaram Bheem, a tribal warrior.
Producers fought for the titles of “Khaleja” and “Katti” sometime back. But, the latest controversy in the Tollywood is about the content in the movies. ‘Ganga Tho Rambabu’ hurt the sentiments of Telangana people.
Government's response
The response of the state government to the latest controversies is generating curiosity. It constituted a committee to watch “Ganga tho Rambabu” movie.
The committee suggested nine cuts and later those scenes were deleted from the movie. Now, the state government on Saturday constituted another committee to watch “A Woman In Brahmanism” movie and submit a report by November 10. Also, there is a demand for constitution of another committee to watch and suggest cuts to ‘Denikaina Ready’.
But, some producers argue that once the cinema is censored, deletions or additions to the censored movie should not be made without informing the Censor Board.

"A Women in Brahmanism" producer admits moral wrong

05th November 2012 12:01 PM
It seems to be a season of movies landing in controversies. The two latest films to be in the line of fire are “A Woman in Brahmanism” and “Denikaina Ready”, both of which hurt the sentiments of the Brahmin community across the state.
‘A Woman..’ was originally made in Hindi and the producer had planned on dubbing in various languages, releasing them simultaneously. But it was censored by the Mumbai censor board and following widespread protests against the movie, the state government constituted a committee that would decide if the movie had ‘objectionable’ scenes or not. The government’s decision came after powerful lobbies like MLA Dronamraju Satyanarayana, minister D Sridhar Babu, MP Undavalli Arunkumar and others mounted pressure on it.
Excerpts from an interview wth the film’s producer and directer Topuri Gangadhar. A native of Prakasam district, this is his debut film.
Q What inspired you to produce and direct “A Woman In Brahmanism”?
A I am obsessed with the writings of Srisri and Chalam. Reading Brahmaneekam made me want to make it into a movie, which I did with the help of a PRO.
Q There is a controversy over the trailers of the film.
A I have deleted the promotional part on YouTube.
Q What do you have to say about the state government constituting a committee to review the film?
A I will talk on this later. When there were objections raised, I approached the Mumbai censor board on October 30 and wanted them to make 2.40 minutes cuts, deleting the word ‘Brahmin’ from the entire film. I even decided to change title to ‘A Woman’ and remove Brahmanism from the title too. I am waiting for a response from the board.
Q A section of people want a ban on the movie. What do you have to say?
A I did something morally wrong and I repent it. I have corrected it myself. I can assure that those who watch the movie will leave the theatres with tears rolling down their cheeks. The plot is that powerful.
 Q Why did you choose to make a movie on Chalam’s  controversial writings? Are you confident of the movie being released?
A I never considered Brahmaneekam a controversial novel. Once the cuts are approved, I do not think there will be any objection on the release of the movie. I am confident that the movie will be screened in theatres soon.

Monday, 5 September 2011

No new films to Be launched: Producers, employees at loggerheads

VV Balakrishna
Last Updated : 05 Sep 2011 11:17:18 AM IST

HYDERABAD: T Venkatesh Yadav, a native of Bhongir in Nalgonda district, took his first steps into the film industry on Sunday with the shooting of his yet-to-be named movie, based on the novel Anaitikam of Yandamuri Veerendhra Nath, being formally launched here at Rama Naidu Studios. The opening saw many Telanganites congratulating Yadav on producing a movie at a time when the growing feeling is that the industry is dominated by Andhra producers.

But perhaps, the timing of Yadav’s entry with `2 crore in hand is wrong. What with film producers and employees in the four southern states at loggerheads over the latter’s demand for a 30 to 50 per cent hike in their wages. With the producers not ready to oblige, they have decided to not to produce any movie from November 1 and to finish all the current shootings before the end of October.

The producers have decided not to allow the start of any new movie from Monday onwards. So, in a way, Yadav is lucky and hopes to finish his movie by November. “I too heard of the latest controversy over increase of wages,” Yadav told Express after the muhurat shot of movie. “The wages for film workers are very high. Of the `2 crore budget, around `70 lakhs will be spent on workers’ wages,” he said and added, “I am now in a hurry to complete my film by October end and plan to finish the movie in two schedules.”

On the first day of the launch of his movie itself, Yadav observed that the first two hours of the call-sheet is wasted on arrangements. “But if the day’s shooting is delayed by half-an-hour, the workers demand extra money. The wages are too high and the demand for satellite rights has also decreased. I doubt is I will get back my investment back,” Yadav said.

These problems are not inherent only to debutantes like Yadav. Most big producers in all the four southern states are also against the steep hike in wages demanded by the employees. To discuss the wage issue, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce held a meeting in Chennai on Sunday where producers from all four states - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala - met and decided on not allowing the start of any production after September 5. The producers will also meet Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday to represent their case.

There was also a discussion on giving giving wages in two categories. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which mostly produce big budget movies, should pay higher wages to employees, whereas low budget movie makers in Kerala and Karnataka should pay lesser wages. “We will abide by whatever decision taken by the South Indian Film Chamber,” Natti Kumar, Producer Sector Chairman of AP Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) told Express over phone from Chennai.

Tollywood had been hit badly in the last one year as film workers were on strike for over 45 days in two schedules.

Their demand then too was an increase in wages. After a prolonged strike, film makers in the state, who feared that a delay in production would lead to budget shortfall, hiked the salaries of some of the workers by 30 per cent. This angered the producers in Tamil Nadu.

“The film producers were paying the hike in principle. APFCC is still to enter into an official agreement with us,” said Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, president of the AP Film Industry Employees Federation.

If the AP Chamber decides to implement the South Indian Chamber’s decision, the producers in state are unlikely to officialise the deal. But such an impasse would lead to another strike by employees. “If the producers fail to make an official agreement honouring their earlier commitment, we have no other option but to strike work again,” warned Venkateswara Rao.

QUOTES

"We are discussing the matter with the South Indian Chamber and will abide by whatever decision is taken by them. The employees federation even dictates the number of drivers to be engaged by producers. Producers have personal drivers and cannot hire more. We will also not recognise the drivers' union. The employees federation is also restricting new membership by demanding `3 lakh as deposit even from a petty worker to get a membership card. If the federation allows free membership, the producers can talk directly to the workers.
- Natti Kumar, AP Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) producer sector chairman

The APFCC had agreed in principle to hike the wages by 30 per cent. Some of the producers are also paying accordingly. However, they must formalise the agreement. If the AP producers follow the TN producers, the employees have no other option but to strike work again. Also, around 14,000 employees are dependent on the industry. If the membership opened in a big way, it would affect the interests of the existing members who have been dependent on the industry for more than 30 years. We will open membership every year to a limited extent. Moreover around 600 drivers depend on the industry. If producers engage their own driver, what will be the fate of these drivers.
- Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao, President,AP Film Industry Employees' Federation

The industry suffered a lot for three months due to the strike. The Chamber and Federation must break the ice. In the next two months around 25 to 30 films are expected to start shootings. I hope the producers meeting finds a solution acceptable to all.
- N Sankar, Producer and director



THE DEMANDS

Producers
* The first call sheet should be 12 hours while the second must be of 8 hours
* Equal beta for all cameras
* Food should be served in buffet system
* Employees must not insist on the number of drivers being engaged

Employees
* The first call sheet should be 12 hours while the second only six hours
* Producers must engage more drivers who are dependent on the industry

***

Employees, who work in over 24 different kinds of craft are vying for a pay hike of 30 to 40 per cent.

Employees                    Hike
Production assistant          Rs 350 to Rs450
Lightsman                         Rs 300 to Rs 400
Makeup man                    Rs 350 to Rs 450
Hair dresser                      Rs 350 to Rs 450
Jr artist (with dialogue)      Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200
Jr artist (without dialogue)  Rs 300 to Rs 500
Group dancers                  Rs 350 to Rs 550

***

25 New Movies Likely to Be Hit
As decided by the South Indian Chamber, the APFCC has decided not to launch new movies from Monday onwards till the deadlock with employees is resolved. The decision will affect 25 small and big budget movies which were to be launched in the next couple of months
* Usaravelli starring NTR Jr
* RR Movies starring Raviteja
* Puri Jagannath's film starring Chiranjeevi
* Tivikram's film starring Allu Arjun
* Unnamed movie starring Allari Naresh
* Unnamed movie starring Prabhas
* 'Businessman' starring Mahesh Babu likely to be delayed