Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet and India - US Film Summit

Award-winning, Hollywood filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, are inviting one Indian-based Bollywood filmmaker to learn about the process for creating Hollywood films with a global reach. As part of the India-US Film Initiative, the selected filmmaker will be set up with one-on-one meetings with key leaders in the film industry during one week in November in Los Angeles, California.

This year’s honored Indian filmmaker is Nikhil Taneja, a Mumbai- based film producer and screenwriter, who is working on a documentary to empower and engage youth in India.

This year, Gaudet and Pullapilly are directing their feature comedy, QUEENPINS, starring Kristen Bell, Leslie Jones, and Josh Gad.

Emmy-nominated filmmakers, Gaudet and Pullapilly, recognize the importance of sharing stories from India and the United States on a global scale. “As an Indian-American and having spent much of my childhood in India, I value the importance of incorporating Indian values and beliefs in the Hollywood system. And I believe there are tremendous opportunities for U.S. filmmakers to learn from working professionals in the largest film industry in the world,” said Pullapilly.

Uploaded by Post Production on 2019-04-29.

Gaudet and Pullapilly started their creative partnership in 2004 as a husband and wife filmmaking team. Together, their unique cultural perspectives allow them to create authenticity and truthfulness to their films. “It is important for us to expand this partnership to other filmmakers, working in the film industry in India and the U.S.”

Mentors to the program include top Hollywood casting agents, film producers, studios executives, financiers, and distributors as well as other high-profile filmmakers based in Los Angeles.

During the week, the invited filmmaker will learn about the inner workings of the Hollywood system as well as the independent system of making both documentary and narrative films for worldwide release. One-on-one time will be set aside with screenwriters and film directors, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, to help the invited filmmaker brainstorm the best ways to move their project forward as well as create an action plan and next steps.

NIKHIL TANEJA BIO:
Nikhil Taneja is a Mumbai-based writer, producer, storyteller, teacher, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. He is the co-founder and CEO of Yuvaa (www.instagram.com/weareyuvaa), a youth media company, that aims to curate and create socially conscious content to empower young Indians. With Yuvaa, Nikhil recently traveled across 25+ cities and 70+ colleges of India to record the mental health and identity issues faced by India's Gen Z through a docu-series, and to create safe spaces for young people to express themselves on ground and online. He won the Goalkeepers Youth Action Accelerator Award for his work on this documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QadlLTxFkAU&feature=youtu.be

He currently serves on the Global Advisory Board of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s community and international UNGA week event, Goalkeepers, that brings together change-makers from across the world who are working on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Nikhil started out as an entertainment reporter for MTV India and a Senior Reporter for the Hindustan Times. Having been in the media and entertainment industry for a decade now, Nikhil has been responsible for the biggest hits in the digital space at Y-Films, the youth wing of Yash Raj Films, where he headed development and production. At Y-Films, his work on the 6 Pack Band, India’s first transgender pop group, won the Cannes Grand Prix Glass Lion Award, among a host of international accolades.

He has also consulted with Girl Effect, a Nike-Powered international non-profit that aims at empowering the girl child. He currently serves as the Festival Creative Director of the India Film Project for two years and is also a TV critic on 94.3 Radio One, where he has a weekly radio segment. He is a former host of a YouTube show for Film Companion called ‘The Awesome TV Show’ and hosts a podcast as well. He now works across film, digital, TV, advertising, print, radio and teaching in any capacity that gives him happiness and meaning, especially if it is about the youth.

He has given a talk on how stories can heal the world at TEDx Bandra 2018, on Kindness at TEDxSRCC 2015, and given lectures at over 100 colleges across India, including premier institutes like IIT Kanpur, IIT Mumbai, AIIMS, SIMC Pune, AIIMS Raipur, IIM Kozhikode, Sydenham Institute of Management Studies Mumbai, IP College for Women Delhi, Amity University Mumbai, Symbiosis College of Economics Pune, NIT Kurukshetra, DY Patil College of Engineering Pune, PIMR Indore, and many more. Most recently, he has been doing giving corporate talks and workshops on the art of storytelling, as well as on mental health and self-care at YouTube Space, Mumbai, The Startup Buddy Conference Delhi, Social Nation Festival Mumbai, Girl Effect, East India Comedy and more. He also does workshops on telling stories with kids in lesser-privileged and low-income areas. In 2019, he went to 70 colleges across 26 cities of India to give talks on how sharing stories can be empowering, as part of a Yuvaa campaign.

Nikhil graduated from NIT Kurukshetra as a B.Tech in Computer Engineering and currently resides in Mumbai.

"The Black Prince" by Kavi Raz, story of the last king of Punjab, starring Satinder Sartaaj, opens today!

Kavi Raz's "The Black Prince" is a biopic on Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last king of Punjab and son of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. As the last King of Punjab, The Black Prince chronicles Maharajah Duleep Singh's lifelong struggle and daring journey of self-discovery in order to reclaim his identity, his faith, and the Kingdom that was rightfully his. This ultimately leads him to meeting his mother, long herself in exile, after 13 years. The Black Prince spotlights Queen Victoria’s warm relationship with Maharajah Duleep Singh as he begins adjusting to and ultimately embracing the English culture into which he was drawn at the age of 15.

Kavi is an Indian-born British actor, writer, director and producer. Born in Punjab, Raz left India at a young age for the United Kingdom, where he grew up. He became the first ever South Asian actor to be signed on as a regular in a major TV series, St Elsewhere. He was a cast member for the first two seasons of the medical drama, and after being let go continued to appear on a recurring basis. Raz has appeared in over 200 plays, TV shows and films, including guest appearances on The A-Team, M*A*S*H and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Raz began his career as a filmmaker with The Gold Bracelet, a movie about a Sikh man faced with the realities of post-9/11. Produced by Hollywood's elite Brillstein Entertainment Partners, The Black Prince is his second film as director. We talked to Kavi exclusively. Here it is:

Kavi Raz, writer & director of "The Black Prince" talks to Art Shrian, about Diversity & Inclusion in Hollywood today, being Indian in America, his film "The Black Prince", and more. The Black Prince releases July 21, 2017

Acclaimed singer-poet Satinder Sartaaj marks his acting debut in The Black Prince, playing the role of Maharajah Duleep Singh with eloquence. We also chatted with Satinder. Here's the video:

Satinder Sartaaj, Indian singer, poet & star of "The Black Prince" talks to Art Shrian about his film, acting debut, music, NYC & more The Black Prince releases July 21, 2017

He is joined by an esteemed cast of acting stalwarts including Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) as Dr. Login, the foster parent for theMaharajah; English stage, screen actress Amanda Root (The Iron Lady), who boldly portrays the role of Queen Victoria; and veteran actress Shabana Azmi as Rani Jindan, the exiled King’s mother. The film also features Keith Duffy, David Essex OBE, Canadian actor Rup Magon and Sophie Stevens in supporting roles. 

'The Black Prince' film premiered at the Manchester Film Festival on 3 March 2017 with worldwide release 21 July 2017. The film is going to release in two dubbed editions of Punjabi and Hindi language also. Here's the trailer:

The true story of Queen Victoria and the Last King of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh and his lifelong struggle to regain his Kingdom Website: www.theblackprince.com Facebook: Facebook.com/TheBlackPrinceFilm Instagram: Instagram.com/TheBlackPrinceFilm Twitter: @TheBlackPr1nce Hashtag: #TheBlackPrince Cast: Satinder Sartaaj, Jason Flemyng, Shabana Azmi, Amanda Root, Keith Duffy, David Essex, Rup Magon,Sophie Stevens Directed by: Kavi Raz Written by: Kavi Raz Produced by: Brillstein Entertainment Partners Distributed by: Crossover Pictures India Distribution by : Unisys Infosolutions Private Limited Australia/New Zealand & Fiji Distribution by: Seven Colors Entertainment PTY Ltd.

Checkout more at www.theblackprince.com

Despicable Me 3 (3/4) | Same old minions, Gru and team, that we love!

The minions are back for 4th time! Oh, and Gru & others are back too. And this time Gru has a twin-brother as well, very smartly called Dru. All your other favorite voices are also back. But again. minions are back. It's pretty apparent that "Despicable Me" aka DM, has become "De Minions". The fart, they mumble, they run, fall, do tricks etc etc etc, and they are lot of fun!

It is the third installment in the Despicable Me film series, and the sequel to Despicable Me 2 (2013). Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, and co-directed by Eric Guillon,[6] the film is written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and stars the voices of Steve Carell in a dual role, Kristen Wiig, and Trey Parker. It tells story of Gru discovering he has a twin-brother Dru, who wants to push him back to being  super villain. Unwillingly, he has to partner with his brother to bring down a new supervillain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who grows up to become obsessed with the character he played in the '80s and is bent on world domination. And then ether's minions, disappointed by Gru's lack of interest in being a villain. They leave him. But do they?Old story? Maybe. Family story? Maybe.

Despicable Me 3 - In Theaters June 30 http://www.despicable.me The team who brought you Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, returns to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters-Margo, Edith and Agnes-and the Minions.

What's good:

• The voice cast is good, the animation is crisp.
• Trey Parker as the evil Balthazar is damn good!
• Steve Carrell's Drummer is quite interesting.
• There are tons of jokes, many land well.
• Minions are back!

What's not-so-good

• Lot of vice talent is wasted. Like Kristen Wiig, Jenny Slate etc.
• Many jokes don't land. Guess, it happens in comedies. Or the jokes are too childish. )Kids would get a laugh)
• Rehash of everything we have seen. Nothing special.
• More minions. Do we really need that? (Yes!)

If you like Minions, or you have kids that like minions, or like silly fun movies. Go ahead and watch this. Otherwise, not really necessary.

Despicable Me 3 - In Theaters June 30 http://www.despicable.me The team who brought you Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, returns to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters-Margo, Edith and Agnes-and the Minions.

A chat w/ Anupam Kher - Acting, Hollywood & his 500th film "The Big Sick"

ANUPAM KHER is one of India’s most prominent actors. He has performed in over 100 plays and has been featured in over 500 films. Besides working in Hindi films, he has appeared in many acclaimed international films such as the Golden Globe® nominated Bend It Like Beckham, Ang Lee's Venice Film Fesitval’s Golden Lion-winning film Lust, Caution, and David O. Russell's Oscar®-winning Silver Linings Playbook.

He co-stars in Kumail Nanjiani's "The Big Sick" with happens to be his 500th film. For Nanjiani, there was a sense of purpose in approaching veteran Indian actor Anupam Kher to play the role of Kumail’s father, Azmat. “I’ve been a fan of Anupam my whole life,” Nanjiani says. “I had asked my real-life dad who he wanted to play him. He said ‘Anupam Kher.’ I said ‘Perfect. My first choice too.’ From then on, I only ever saw Anupam in the role and we pretty much wrote it for him. But he found such specificity in the role and brought so many ideas about how our particular relationship worked.”

Art Shrian had an opportunity to talk to him, for MyNewYorkEye. Here are the excerpts:

Art Shrian: Congratulations Anupam on the wonderful "The Big Sick". And thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.

Anupam Kher: Thank you so much! It’s wonderful to be here and be part of this film, it’s my 500 th film.

AS: I was going to say that. 500th film! Congratulations! That’s mind blowing!

AK: Yes (laughs)

AS: In your humongous career, you’ve played every kind of roles. And you’ve played lot of fathers too. So tell me what attracted you about this role personally?

AK: I have done this film, to make a son’s wish come true. So there is no professional reason. Kumail’s father, when Kumail asked him, who do you want you to be played, and he said, Anupam Kher. And Kumail did not know how to get in touch with me. So, Kumail’s friend turned out to be my distant cousin Priyanka Mattu. So she called me by and she said, there is this actor called Kumail Nanjiani. I’ve not seen Silicon Valley and other things, so I didn't know about him. I was wondering, why does he want me? So she told me the story that his father wants you to play that role. So I said, okay, give me Kumail’s number. She said, no no, let it be professional, I mean, you don’t have to, let them reach out to you (laughs). So I dialed Kumail’s number, Kumail thought somebody was playing a prank with him that Anupam Kher was calling him up. But he said, I will call you back. And when he called me back, I said, “Look, do you want your father’s wish to come true? And I am the person who can make that wish come true. So, I am doing the film.

AS: (smiles) Okay, wow.

AK: It was as simple as that. And I said, let’s work on the script later on, if I don’t like certain portion of the film, or if I don’t like the role, then we will work on it, but I don’t want to decide after I’ve read the script. I'll do it your film. So, that’s how it was decided. It had nothing to do with acting capabilities or the role, it’s done for emotional reasons.

AS: Wow, that’s a wonderful story, thank you for sharing that. So did you make any suggestions or incorporate any changes to your role afterwards?

AK: Well, in the first draft, everybody’s character were very well edged out and had all the details etc. But I thought, the father’s character was, father and mother’s characters were hurriedly written, it did not have that similar kind of weightage. Even though, film, does not require that. So we exchanged some mail, I gave him some ideas and they were generous enough to incorporate those suggestions and make them up with new scenes. So finally, I think, it turned out to be what it is. It was great, I think. They were all so open to suggestions at the time of the shoot, rehearsals, it was great. I think, a confident director always is open to suggestions.

AS: I really like it, especially your role as well, the scene that really stood out, when he is leaving and you know, you come out with the mom-made things and you’re handing out and she’s seeing from the car. That particular scene really stood out, for me, because you bring in so much depth, there is not a lot of dialogue in there. But you’re feeling everything. You can feel the pain and pride that you feel in that moment for your son, which is amazing. You really make that wonderful.

AK: And incidentally, that was the first scene we shot of mine, on the first day of shoot. So that scene was shot first.

AS: (laughs) Oh wow! That’s how films work, alright. First is last and the last is first! 
You’ve done several International films all over. But it’s a very important film in America. This normalizes brown and muslim? A brown guy falls in love a white girl and what happens then. Yet It’s not about him being brown but just a love story. And it does that beautifully. It also brings in other aspects of, how the family gets impacted. So working on this project, what was your perspective?

AK: I think, South Asian families mostly react in a certain manner. Its tradition, its certain way of life, etc. But one does not read a script from that point of view. Every film at the end of it is story-telling and then the other interpretations come in. If there is a cause, if there is that, you make a documentary about it. You don’t need feature film. As you can be making the most amazing film, but it does not have a soul or it does not have a story telling, it does not work. So, yes ofcourse, it [subject] was important. Also, I did not want to make it into a cliché kind of a thing. I didn’t want it to make a stereotype. So I liked that aspect of it. It did not have stereotyping.
But yes, I personally feel that the most important thing in the world is compassion in today’s time. Compassion, togetherness, the language of love, so all these things are very important. But they cannot be told because you think that they must be told. They can only be incorporated if the work is, if the story is, interesting. So that’s what worked well in this film's favor.

AS: It absolutely does work, you’re doing an amazing job. So, you have played a variety of characters that are so different from each other. From comedy, to villain, to character roles etc. Can you share  where does that truth and honesty comes from. How do you make them all so real and believable.

AK: I think, my brief to myself is all these people are real. All these people, their emotions, their ups and downs, their highs and lows, are real. They are people. And I have to make them as closer to reality or as real as I can. That’s what acting is all about. That people have to have livability. And I have not worked so much in terms before I got into movies, I am from drama school. And if I don’t do that, you will not ask me that question. So I do it for my own survival (laughs). I always wanted to be different. My job, is to sort of make it as closer to reality as possible. Of course, I’ve done comedy, and things like that. Yeah, even if it’s idiotic, all kinds of exaggeration, I do it with conviction. Because I love life. I enjoy being an actor and I enjoy being who I am.
Also the other thing is, I run an acting school "Actor Prepares" in Mumbai for the last 14 years. My brief to actors is and to students is that, “You should be ready to make a complete fool of yourself. Then only you will be able to find the nuances of acting.” So, I don’t take myself seriously as a person or as an actor. So that makes my job easy and I am not scared of failure. It’s your fear of failure which makes you, sort of, be a little more careful in life, also in acting. That you want to be, you want to sort of make it, “Oh, it should work!”. But I also believe that when you are competent, you can never be brilliant. So, it’s okay to be bad, because no actor, writer, poet, artist has always given best work. He can only try it. So that’s what I did.

AS: That’s so true, and I don’t think that there are many actors who can match that  variety of the work that you have. So what about your favorite actors, like in India, or in Hollywood for that matter?

AK: Performances are favorite. I have loved performances of various actors. My all time favorite is Brando, De Niro, Al Pacino. But that doesn’t mean that younger generation hasn’t done some amazing work, I think Bradley Cooper was superb in Silver Linings Playbook, you know. And Leonardo Dicaprio was superb in so many other films.

AS: Last question Daniel Day Lewis, just announced that he is going to quit acting. You have done over 500 films already. Do you ever feel like that? Do you feel that I should quit? Or if not, why?

AK: No, I respect Daniel’s decision, that’s how he wants to lead his life. I want to keep on working as long as I can. Its, I think, to me, work gives the best self-motivational things, I enjoy working. So, I will want to work as,till 90-95 whatever.

AS: And we look forward to keep seeing you. So thank you so much for talking. Congratulation on your 500 films. 

AK: Thank you Art Shrian.

The Big Sick is based on the real-life courtship between Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani (Kumail Nanjiani) and grad student Emily Gordon (Zoe Kazan) who fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.

SYNOPSIS: Based on the real-life courtship between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, THE BIG SICK tells the story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail (Nanjiani), who connects with grad student Emily (Kazan) after one of his standup sets. However, what they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Kumail by his traditional Muslim parents. When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, Beth and Terry (Hunter and Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. THE BIG SICK is directed by Michael Showalter (Hello My Name Is Doris), written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani, and produced by Judd Apatow (Trainwreck, This Is 40) and Barry Mendel (Trainwreck, The Royal Tenenbaums).

Directed by: Michael Showalter
Written by: Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
Produced by: Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Aidy Bryant and Anupam Kher

Official Site: www.TheBigSickmovie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebigsickmovie/
Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/thebigsickmovie/
Hashtag: #TheBigSick