MASTRAM A film by Akhilesh Jaiswal

MASTRAM

A film by Akhilesh Jaiswal

https://www.facebook.com/starfridaynews/photos_stream

OUTLINE

Rajaram, a bank clerk in a small town, dreams of traveling to Delhi and becoming a reputed writer.  No one takes his litterateur aspirations seriously, least of all his uncle, who marries him off to the beautiful Renu.  Although a simpleton, Renu wholeheartedly supports her husband’s ambition. Edged on by her encouragement, Rajaram starts stealing writing time from his humdrum work routine, and is eventually forced to leave his job, when his boss publicly humiliates him, and derides his fancy aspirations.

To his utter surprise and delight, Renu unstintingly supports his decision, and starts doing odd jobs from home, while Rajaram begins to focus completely on his writing.  But, being a stay-at-home writer doesn’t go down too well with prying neighbors, who are quick to pass judgment on other peoples’ lives.  Rajaram becomes a butt of all jokes in the neighborhood.

Turning a deaf ear to the all the snubs, Rajaram starts in earnest to show his work to several publishers.  Each time he is rebuked.  They tell him he should stick to writing text book material, and give up fanciful ideas of writing a novel.

Finally, Rajaram encounters a fledgling publisher duo – Purohit and his brother-in-law, Bharti.  They agree to publish Rajaram’s story about the plight of a small town girl.  However, there is one hitch.  Rajaram would have to add some necessary sensational elements to his dull tale – some `masala’, as they refer to euphemistically. 

Rajaram is initially miffed by this writing brief.  The only meaning of `masala’ familiar to him is the kind that adds spice to food.  He is not sure what it means to bring that to his writing – till he meets Chacha, an eccentric, old village Idiot.  Chacha is an anomaly in the hypocritical society we live in – he is unashamed of showing Rajaram the spicier side of life and of saying it out loud.  He introduces Rajaram to the salacious and secret world of soft pornography.  It’s on everybody’s mind, but no one will admit it.  Chacha does.

Rajaram, scandalized at first, accedes to the “compromise”, and thus starts discovering another facet of literature – erotica.  He adopts the colorful pseudonym of `Mastram’ becomes the first author of the first pornographic novel seriesin the Hindi language.  He churns out colorful stories about sex that his eager readers voraciously devour.  Yet, Rajaram’s success still remains elusive to him, as all the glory is due to `Mastram’.

Will the “real” Mastram finally be exposed?  Will Rajaram’s sudden windfall arouse suspicion in his ever-supportive wife?  How will Rajaram face the hypocrisy of a society that secretly enjoys reading porn, but otherwise treats such matters with disdain? 

Director’s comment

The idea of “Mastram” came to me after I finished writing “Gangs of Wasseypur”.  I was searching for a unique idea.  I also wanted to pick on an issue that was relevant to contemporary Indian society.  Incidentally, that was the time when internet censorship by the Government of India was being disputed all over.  I was highly intrigued by the nature of the debate considering almost everyone I know surfs pornography on the internet.  I wanted to make thatsameissuethe core of my story.  Ironically, I found the inspiration to the film right next to my bed - a Hindi porn pulp book called “Mastram”.  This book is extremely popular in Northern India, despite its absence in big stores, being available only at in small dingy bookstalls near bus and train stations.  For the last 30 years, the book has been published as “Mastram”, with the author also credited as “Mastram”.

What really struck me the most was that despite being so popular, no one knows the real identity of the author.  Is it because we harbor disdain and derision for such impropriety?  Could we really accept such a person in our society?  The question thatintrigued me was, whether the writer’s family knows that he is actually “Mastram”.  That is the germ for the character of Rajaram.  I – and millions like me, I’m sure – can relate to Rajaram and his struggle to achieve his dreams, in the midst of his responsibility to his family.  Rajaram’s predicament as a clandestine writer of erotica, and how he faces his conservative famiy and society - this became the premise for my film.

Director’s biography

Hailing from the small town of Bhopal in central India, Akhilesh came to Mumbai in 2006 to pursue his Mass Communication degree from University of Mumbai.  Only a year later did he realize that he was ready to launch into his true calling -  film-making.  He dropped out after his first year of college, and ventured out in to the battlefield that film-making is.  Akhilesh’s big break was when he had the opportunity to co-write a seminal film in Indian cinema – AnuragKashyap’s `Gangs of Wasseypur’, which went on to premier at the Cannes Film Festival with much fanfare.

`Mastram’ is his directorial debut.

“ Non Stop”, releasing on 21st February 2014.

“ Non Stop”, releasing on 21^st February 2014.

The film is being released all across India.

Starring–Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, etc.

Director – Jaume Collet - Serra

Film Trailer link # 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiHDJ19A3dk

Film Synopsis –

The film takes place on an international flight from New York to London. During the flight, U.S. federal air marshal Bill Marks Liam Neeson receives a series of threatening text messages, stating that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a secret bank account. When the bank account is discovered to be under Marks' name and a bomb is found aboard the plane, Marks is branded as a hijacker.

FROM BARBIE DOLL TO BABY DOLL

FROM BARBIE DOLL TO BABY DOLL

 

The keenly awaited ‘Baby Doll’ track from RMMS-2 is out but what is unknown is that till very recently, the song was recorded as ‘Barbie Doll’.

However, on being advised by the legal team, Balaji decided to exercise precaution and changed ‘Barbie’ to ‘Baby’, given that Barbie is a young girls’ toy brand. Using ‘Barbie’ might have not only invited copyright complications but created an outrage for obvious reasons.

A kids’ brand being used in a sexy song sequence, pictured on Sunny Leone in a HORREX (horror and sex) film, would have opened a can of worms.

The track was promptly re-dubbed (with the word ‘Baby’) in London.

Tanuj Garg, CEO – Balaji Motion Pictures, confirmed the news.

The URL of the track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kShTN0Jz6Jg&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL095CA373D64B70C0

Kareena threw a party for pompy her hair stylist..

Kareena threw a party for pompy her hair stylist..  It was yesterday. She was shooting in mehboob for a brand and she Called couple of friends to celebrate his birthday. He generally doesn't work but as it was bebo he worked for her

Spokesperson's quote :
Pompy Hans has been Kareena's hair stylist for years now and on the occasion of his birthday Kareena decided to do something special and throw him a mini-celebration on

SRK and Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on the sets of Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd's film Happy New Year

SRK and Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on the sets of Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd's film Happy New Year on Feb 11, 2014 which is currently being shot in RK Studios in Mumbai. Fox was accompanied by his wife, Martha Fox and the current Mexican ambassador to India Jamie Nualart. They discussed everything from Bollywood films, to things about Mexico and the importance of education.

The meeting was organized by KidZania, in whose Indian franchise SRK owns about 26% stake. Fox said, "We have been visiting many places, but meeting SRK and talking to him we feel he is a great person. The set is fabulous and the activity is just amazing. We hope that Mr Shah Rukh Khan would visit us at Mexico some day. India is a great country with great people, he has always admired India. Also proud that KidZania is Mexican and I am glad that it has SRK’s blessings and that he is looking into the Indian franchise of this wonderful way of educating kids with entertainment." 

Food Fiesta on the sets of Humshakals!!

Food Fiesta on the sets of Humshakals!!

Often when actors are working together for a film, they tend to bond with each other especially when they have long shooting schedules. 

But for the huge star cast of Humshakals team it was more of bonding over food and having a gala feast on the sets of Sajid’s Khan Comedy caper.

Yes! You read it write a big gala feast for literally a week’s time. It started with the Nawab Saif Ali Khan who would get home cooked but which would consists of Diet food like grilled chicken, vegetable & chicken salads, soups and many other healthy items. Saif made sure all his Co-stars too followed the diet,’ informs a source close to the team.

After Saif, it was Riteish D got yummy home cooked food from his house, which consisted of all the Maharashtrain delicacies like Aamti, Puran Poli, Kolhapuri fish to Shrikhand and that too in large portions for all his co-stars on the sets

Well! with the boys getting home cooked food from their house why would the leading ladies shy away from there on even they got nice big dabbas from their home Tamannah would get Sindhi food like the famous Sindhi Kadhi and many more, the gorgeous Esha Gupta was not far behind & got hardcore Punjabi food.

All this went on for nearly a weeks’ time & everyone had an amazing time on the sets!!

Humshakals stars Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah and Esha Gupta.

Produced by Fox Star Studios and Pooja Entertainment, Humshakals is directed by Sajid Khan and is all set to release this June!!

George Clooney & Monuments Men Team get special access to Da Vinci's painting The Last Supper!!!

The Monuments Men (releasing on 21st February) Team got unprecedented access to photograph the cast in front of one of the world's greatest art masterpieces – Leonardo Da Vinci's THE LAST SUPPER!!!

This art masterpiece was in danger of being lost during WWII and was rescued by the Monuments Men as is depicted in the film, so there is a direct correlation to the film. These images were shot exclusively for Fox by Italian photographer Gianmarco Chieregato.

THE MONUMENTS MEN AT THE LAST SUPPER MURAL. The fine arts meet cinema in a unique photograph of the cast of the film The Monuments Men , in front of one of the greatest masterpieces of the world's art: The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.The unprecedented historic photograph, made possible thanks to the cooperation amongst the Italian Ministry for Culture and Tourism, the Milan's Monuments, Fine Arts and Landscape Department, and Twentieth Century Fox, the film distribution company, was taken inside the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie Church.

“The Magificent Seven” in the snapshot are: the director, screenwriter, producer and star of the film George Clooney and co-stars Matt Damon, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, and Dimitri Leonidas. 

In the second photograph there are the author of the book by the same title on which the film is based, Robert Edsel, and the real Monuments Man Harry Ettlinger. 

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci is the set of one of the opening scenes of the film, because the bombing that endangered Leonardo's masterpiece strongly contributed to the decision to set up the Monuments Men, a group of art critics, museum curators, and archivists, who towards the end of the Second World War, saved thousands of artworks from bombings, pilfering, looting and Nazi barbarity.

Aamir Khan meets Humshakals!!

Aamir Khan meets Humshakals!! 

Well we aren't talking about his Humshakal exactly but the movie that goes by the name Humshakals directed by Sajid Khan. We hear the team had none other than Aamir Khan visiting their sets in Mumbai !! Apparently the actor was shooting in the neighborhood and decided to drop in on the sets for a quick chat with the entire team.

A source close to the team said, ‘Aamir Sir was shooting nearby and when he heard that the team of Humshakals was shooting in the vicinity, he decided to come and visit the sets after wrapping up his shoot. The entire team was quite happy with Aamir's kind gesture. In fact, Sajid, Saif and Riteish along with Tamannaah and Bipasha were seen chatting up for quite a long time and sharing few jokes as well. Sajid also showed him a little footage of what was shot that day and Aamir gave his feedback." 

Well, we are sure the entire team had a great time on the sets!!

Humshakals stars Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah and Esha Gupta.

Produced by Foxstar Studios and Pooja Entertainment, Humshakals is directed by Sajid Khan and is all set to release this June.

Sexy Sunny Leone in the BABY DOLL song (RAGINI MMS-2)

Kiran Rao hosted a special screening of the documentary, Gulabi Gang

Kiran Rao hosted a special screening of the documentary, Gulabi Gang on 13^th February 2014.

Everyone knows how Kiran Rao extended her support and turned presenter for the critically acclaimed film, Ship Of Theseus and got the film a theatrical release for it to reach wider audience.

This time around, it is Sohum Shah who has turned presenter for the first ever high profile release of a documentary titled Gulabi Gang, which is based on Sampat Pal and the fiery women of her Gulabi Gang–who take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption in Bundelkhand.

Kiran Rao has watched the film and she feels that it is a must that people watch the film. So, she has invited her friends to watch the documentary, directed by Nishtha Jain.

The list includes names like Raj Kumar Hirani, Gauri Shinde, Vinod Chopra, Victor, Reema Kagti, Prasoon Joshi and few others.

Kiran Rao says, "Gulabi Gang is not just a really good film, I think its a really important film, and so I wanted to help it gain some attention within the film industry and also in the public space. So I'm having a screening for a few friends who I am hoping will be as moved as I was by it, and will spread the word that its in the theaters tomorrow."

 

Gulabi Gang is slated to release on 21st Feb 2014.

Muavza to release on 21st March, 2014

Muavza to release on 21^st March, 2014

Muavza directed by Girish Juneja under the banner Jagson Entertainment is all set to release on 21^st March, 2014. The film stars Annu Kapoor, Akhilendra Mishra, Pankaj Beri, Govind Pandey and Kmalesh Gill. The film also stars Tejinder, Deepak Verma, Manoj Bakshi, Sanjeev Kumar, Naresh Dabral, Ajay Verma, Jatin Sarna, Mamta and Bhupesh Pandya.

The film is produced by Jagdish Gupta and the Script & Screenplay is by Rahul Thagele and Girish Juneja the Editor of the film is Vinod Pathak, Creative Director is Aslam Khan, DOP – Fasahat Khan, Costume by Sangeet Kumar, Art Director is Mukesh Kumar, Choreographer- Shabeena Khan,Music Director - Upmanyu & Jaidev and Background Music by Upmanyu.

Muavza is a rib tickling, super sarcastic, unique story of razor sharp wit focusing on the lives of Nuevo Rich of New Delhi & NCR. Their lifestyles, before & after, their identity crises & their raw approach to everything, their chowdharayat to prove their one-upmanship… spin a tale which is warm, endearing, exceedingly funny and full of moral lessons.

Deepika Padukone was recently working for 30 odd hours in a stretch

Everyone knows how hard working and committed the actress Deepika Padukone is when it comes to her work.

It has been a hectic year for Deepika last year with four back to back releases. Even this year around, she has been working very hard.

We have heard about working round the clock but this time around the actress Deepika Padukone has broken even that. The actress was recently working for 30 odd hours in a stretch.

Starting with her shoot for her upcoming film, Happy New Year for about 16 odd hours she got into rehearsing for her performance at an award function, gave her performance and also attended the award function. So, the actress had a 30 hour long day working.

However, the actress has absolutely no complaints as she swept two awards at the award function.

The actress has been bagging all the awards this year at all award functions so she is all for smiles.

EARTH HOUR AND SPIDER-MAN JOIN FORCES TO SAVE THE PLANET

EARTH HOUR AND SPIDER-MAN JOIN FORCES TO SAVE THE PLANET

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH, 2014:  In a first of its kind partnership, Spider-Man will be the first Super Hero ambassador for Earth Hour, the global movement organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), with a message to inspire individuals to use their power to become Super Heroes for the planet.
Andy Ridley, CEO and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, and Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Sony Pictures Entertainment, made the announcement in conjunction with the launch of Earth Hour Blue – a radical new digital crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet, launched to engage people around the world and participants in the famous lights out event, which this year will be held on Saturday March 29, at 8:30pm.
This year, Earth Hour and the hero of the highly anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – along with the film’s stars, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and director Marc Webb – are throwing their support behind Earth Hour Blue, which aims to harness the power of the crowd to raise funds for on-the-ground environmental projects from across the world.
“I’m proud Spider-Man is the first Super Hero ambassador for Earth Hour because he shows we can all be Super Heroes when we realize the power we all have,” says Andrew Garfield, who plays Spider-Man in the upcoming film.  “Earth Hour is a movement that has created massive impact around the world, so imagine what we can do this year with Spider-Man by our side.”
The crowdfunding section of the new platform will allow participants to help deliver energy efficient stoves to families in Madagascar, help communities in the Philippines build fiberglass boats to withstand climate impacts like Typhoon Haiyan and raise funds to expand and conserve the iconic Table Mountain National Park in South Africa, with many more projects to come.
“Earth Hour gives you the power to inspire anyone, even if you’re just one person, and Earth Hour is much more than an hour.  There are great projects from the crowd, for the planet, happening all over the world,” said Emma Stone.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb is the first celebrity ambassador to announce the Earth Hour Blue project he is backing, which aims to provide better equipment for WWF Rangers protecting Indonesia’s endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran Tiger, Elephant, Rhino and Orangutan and their forest habitat.
“Earth Hour is a movement full of Super Heroes – people harnessing the power of the crowd to inspire change for the good of the planet, imagine the possibilities when we come together and do more,” said Marc Webb.
Earth Hour has grown to involve hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life across 7000 cities and towns and 154 countries and territories.  Jamie Foxx who plays the villain Electro in the film said, “Earth Hour isn’t just about lights off; it’s about people across the world coming together throughout the year to join forces to improve the planet.  Never underestimate your power, never underestimate what you can do.”
Individuals can also use Earth Hour’s crowdsourcing platform for Earth Hour Blue, which will call for people to add their voice to some of the biggest environmental campaigns across the world; including an Instagram campaign for people to share their love of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, as part of WWF-Australia’s “Lights Out For The Reef” theme for Earth Hour 2014.
Global participants in the movement will also be able to sign the Shark Saver’s “I’m FINished With FINS” pledge, which engages celebrities and public figures throughout Asia to help end shark finning in marine waters for the consumption of shark-fin soup.
“The idea of Earth Hour has grown beyond anything we could have dreamed. This year with the help of Spider-Man by our side, we are taking the movement to the next stage. We hope that Spider-Man will empower individuals to be Super Heroes for the planet, and use their voice or their dollar to support projects or campaigns around the world. It’s about harnessing the power of the crowd. That’s what Earth Hour Blue is all about,” said Ridley.
Sony Pictures Entertainment will join by contributing to a WWF-China and Earth Hour Blue project that provides efficient cookstoves to prevent deforestation in the habitat of the Giant Panda.  Through its efforts, the studio will receive Gold Standard carbon offsets that render the entire physical production of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as well as its publicity tour, carbon-neutral.
Expanding on many sustainability efforts over the years, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 became the most eco-friendly tentpole production in the history of Columbia Pictures.  These environmental efforts, on set and off, were supported at every level – from producers, studio executives, and cast and crew and began as soon as the film went into pre-production.
“Spider-Man’s always been a very relatable Super Hero.  Peter Parker is a hero to all people, and an inspiration, so it seems very fitting that he should join forces with Earth Hour to empower every single individual to help save the planet,” Blake added.  “I’m also very proud of the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is entirely carbon-neutral.  We made a commitment to be as eco-conscious as possible during production itself, when we took a special effort to think green and avoid waste; now, completing that process with Earth Hour Blue is a wonderful testament to what we can achieve when we all work together.”
Earth Hour and its Super Hero ambassador Spider-Man remind us that “with great power comes great responsibility,” so get involved and use your power at earthhour.org.
To view the Earth Hour Spider-Man Partnership Video, please go to: www.earthhour.org/spiderman

Participants can engage on social media using the hash-tags #EarthHour and #SpiderMan.
About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global environmental movement of WWF.  As one of the first opensourced environmental campaigns, Earth Hour has grown from a symbolic event in one city into a global movement, crowdsourcing actions from individuals, businesses, organizations and governments to generate environmental outcomes.  In 2014, Earth Hour Blue sees the movement enter the most exciting stage of its evolution, to be at the forefront of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing for causes, innovation and creativity for the planet.

About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries.  WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

About The Amazing Spider-Man 2
We’ve always known that Spider-Man’s most important battle has been within himself:  the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man.  But in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that a greater conflict lies ahead.

It’s great to be Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield).  For Peter Parker, there’s no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone).  But being Spider-Man comes at a price:  only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city.  With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he.  And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common:  OsCorp.  Directed by Marc Webb.  Produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.  Screen Story and Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner.  Based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.  The film will be released in theaters internationally beginning April 16, 2014, and in the U.S. on May 2, 2014.  #SpiderMan

About Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation.  SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies.  For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit marvel.com. ©MARVEL