Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair believes obsession for cinema and a fire in the belly to succeed are far more important than luck to become successful in filmmaking.

"I do not think about luck much. I think it is about the fire in the belly, I think the kind of obsession for cinema that keeps you going, is more important. Of course there is some amount of luck involved in filmmaking to be able to transform your idea in a film and get it out to the audience in exactly the way you want it, but I don't sit waiting for lady luck," Nair said during a session at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival here on Thursday evening.

Nair, who has enthralled the audience all over the globe with films like SALAAM BOMBAY!, MISSISSIPPI MASALA and THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, said tenacity and a calm acceptance of rejection are also prime requisites in filmmaking.

"It is more of an idea that something is so strong within you that you just have to make it. Filmmaking is also about the tenacity to never say die. Also if you want to be a filmmaker, I think you have to learn to accept rejections because you are going to get rejected at every level all the time even if you have good connections," she said.

Reliving her days of making the 1996 movie KAMA SUTRA: A TALE OF LOVE, which was banned in India because of its erotic content, the filmmaker said "it was a modern film about an ancient time" and explained how she wished to explore different facets of love that is not twisted or coquettish, through the film.

Nair is more interested in real-life stories on issues that ask questions as opposed to a good Sunday evening rom-com because there are a lot of others who can make such films better.

"I like to make films about things that get under my skin and don't let me go and at the same time something that doesn't feel like home work or a lecture. I have a great love for nonsense and mischief and I like to combine that in films because life is like that," she said.

Nair, who worked in theatre and also started her filmmaking career with documentaries, said her background enables her to mix legendary actors with complete non-actors, which has been a trademark of many of her films.

"My own training as an actor and my love for the actors helped me to bring actors of different temperaments and also from different countries together. Having worked as an actor as well as a documentary filmmaker, gives me a way to understand what a certain person can give you as an actor," she added.

Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair believes obsession for cinema and a fire in the belly to succeed are far more important than luck to become successful in filmmaking.

"I do not think about luck much. I think it is about the fire in the belly, I think the kind of obsession for cinema that keeps you going, is more important. Of course there is some amount of luck involved in filmmaking to be able to transform your idea in a film and get it out to the audience in exactly the way you want it, but I don't sit waiting for lady luck," Nair said during a session at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival here on Thursday evening.

Nair, who has enthralled the audience all over the globe with films like SALAAM BOMBAY!, MISSISSIPPI MASALA and THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, said tenacity and a calm acceptance of rejection are also prime requisites in filmmaking.

"It is more of an idea that something is so strong within you that you just have to make it. Filmmaking is also about the tenacity to never say die. Also if you want to be a filmmaker, I think you have to learn to accept rejections because you are going to get rejected at every level all the time even if you have good connections," she said.

Reliving her days of making the 1996 movie KAMA SUTRA: A TALE OF LOVE, which was banned in India because of its erotic content, the filmmaker said "it was a modern film about an ancient time" and explained how she wished to explore different facets of love that is not twisted or coquettish, through the film.

Nair is more interested in real-life stories on issues that ask questions as opposed to a good Sunday evening rom-com because there are a lot of others who can make such films better.

"I like to make films about things that get under my skin and don't let me go and at the same time something that doesn't feel like home work or a lecture. I have a great love for nonsense and mischief and I like to combine that in films because life is like that," she said.

Nair, who worked in theatre and also started her filmmaking career with documentaries, said her background enables her to mix legendary actors with complete non-actors, which has been a trademark of many of her films.

"My own training as an actor and my love for the actors helped me to bring actors of different temperaments and also from different countries together. Having worked as an actor as well as a documentary filmmaker, gives me a way to understand what a certain person can give you as an actor," she added.

Filmmaker John R. Leonetti feels the clamour around sexual harassment in showbiz is a turning point in Hollywood, and a reflection of how men have looked at women for ages. The ANNABELLE director says it is a signal that it's a time for change.

At the moment, there are debates around women's safety in showbiz as some well-known men in power have been accused of using their position to harass people.

From Harvey Weinstein, Ben Affleck, Brett Ratner, Charlie Sheen, Dustin Hoffman, James Toback to Kevin Spacey and James Franco, several men from Hollywood have been been accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Asked about his views on the controversy, Leonetti told IANS in an email interview from Los Angeles: "This is a turning point in awareness about how men have looked at women and where lines are finally being drawn… It's about time."

Leonetti, who has explored the supernatural genre through his creative vision, said horror films backed with a bigger message is the trend to look forward.

"Really smart writing like GET OUT (is the trend that will make it big in the genre in the time to come). It is horror with smarts and a message in irony."

GET OUT is a horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner. The movie was a satire on racism and it was critically lauded.

It is the shrills and thrills that keep Leonetti hooked to the horror genre. He is known for working with director James Wan as a cinematographer. Leonetti also served as director of photography on INSIDIOUS and INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2.

He first sat on the director's chair in 1997 for MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION, and has directed films like ANNABELLE, WOLVES AT THE DOOR and forthcoming film WISH UPON. Carnival Motion Pictures has brought WISH UPON in India on Friday.

Talking about his influences, he said: "Alfred Hitchcock and John Frankenheimer inspire me, they both were masters in suspense and keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Steven Spielberg inspires me with 'ET'.

"There is a script about the inception of Rock n Roll in Philidelphia in 1956. It is a drama with lots of music and performance… I would love to make that movie."

"I like horror that teases the audience to pull back the curtain to ‘the other side' because none of has been there but we are all so curious about what happens after we die," he said.

But he rued "although ‘jump scares' are still expected, suspense and thrills are just as if not more important" now.

At present, he hopes WISH UPON pushes the entertainment buttons in India as it is a film through which he has tried to make a "fantasy teen thriller that could resonate with teens and have a message that everyone could relate to".

WISH UPON narrates the story of a teenaged girl who finds a magic box that grants wishes, but kills someone close to her each time. The film stars Joey King, who also played a pivotal role in THE CONJURING, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Elisabeth Rohm and Ryan Phillippe.

After WISH UPON, Leonetti has gone in THE SILENCE mode.

"I am in post now on THE SILENCE, based on a book by Tim Lebbon. It is a sci-fi suspense thriller that is set in an apocalyptic world. It is scheduled to come out in June."

[By Sugandha Rawal]

Filmmaker John R. Leonetti feels the clamour around sexual harassment in showbiz is a turning point in Hollywood, and a reflection of how men have looked at women for ages. The ANNABELLE director says it is a signal that it's a time for change.

At the moment, there are debates around women's safety in showbiz as some well-known men in power have been accused of using their position to harass people.

From Harvey Weinstein, Ben Affleck, Brett Ratner, Charlie Sheen, Dustin Hoffman, James Toback to Kevin Spacey and James Franco, several men from Hollywood have been been accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Asked about his views on the controversy, Leonetti told IANS in an email interview from Los Angeles: "This is a turning point in awareness about how men have looked at women and where lines are finally being drawn… It's about time."

Leonetti, who has explored the supernatural genre through his creative vision, said horror films backed with a bigger message is the trend to look forward.

"Really smart writing like GET OUT (is the trend that will make it big in the genre in the time to come). It is horror with smarts and a message in irony."

GET OUT is a horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner. The movie was a satire on racism and it was critically lauded.

It is the shrills and thrills that keep Leonetti hooked to the horror genre. He is known for working with director James Wan as a cinematographer. Leonetti also served as director of photography on INSIDIOUS and INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2.

He first sat on the director's chair in 1997 for MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION, and has directed films like ANNABELLE, WOLVES AT THE DOOR and forthcoming film WISH UPON. Carnival Motion Pictures has brought WISH UPON in India on Friday.

Talking about his influences, he said: "Alfred Hitchcock and John Frankenheimer inspire me, they both were masters in suspense and keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. Steven Spielberg inspires me with 'ET'.

"There is a script about the inception of Rock n Roll in Philidelphia in 1956. It is a drama with lots of music and performance… I would love to make that movie."

"I like horror that teases the audience to pull back the curtain to ‘the other side' because none of has been there but we are all so curious about what happens after we die," he said.

But he rued "although ‘jump scares' are still expected, suspense and thrills are just as if not more important" now.

At present, he hopes WISH UPON pushes the entertainment buttons in India as it is a film through which he has tried to make a "fantasy teen thriller that could resonate with teens and have a message that everyone could relate to".

WISH UPON narrates the story of a teenaged girl who finds a magic box that grants wishes, but kills someone close to her each time. The film stars Joey King, who also played a pivotal role in THE CONJURING, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Elisabeth Rohm and Ryan Phillippe.

After WISH UPON, Leonetti has gone in THE SILENCE mode.

"I am in post now on THE SILENCE, based on a book by Tim Lebbon. It is a sci-fi suspense thriller that is set in an apocalyptic world. It is scheduled to come out in June."

[By Sugandha Rawal]

BETTER CALL SAUL star Bob Odenkirk is on board to produce and star in the action thriller NOBODY.

Derek Kolstad, who wrote JOHN WICK, will be writing the screenplay of the film. Its story is about an ordinary man who comes to the defence of a woman being harassed by thugs, and then learns later that one of the thugs is the brother of a drug kingpin and is out for vengeance, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Odenkirk is best known for portraying lawyer Saul Goodman in crime drama series "BREAKING BAD" and its spin-off BETTER CALL SAUL.

He currently stars in Steven Spielberg's THE POST, in which he portrays journalist Ben Bagdikian. The film is presented in India by Reliance Entertainment.

BETTER CALL SAUL star Bob Odenkirk is on board to produce and star in the action thriller NOBODY.

Derek Kolstad, who wrote JOHN WICK, will be writing the screenplay of the film. Its story is about an ordinary man who comes to the defence of a woman being harassed by thugs, and then learns later that one of the thugs is the brother of a drug kingpin and is out for vengeance, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Odenkirk is best known for portraying lawyer Saul Goodman in crime drama series "BREAKING BAD" and its spin-off BETTER CALL SAUL.

He currently stars in Steven Spielberg's THE POST, in which he portrays journalist Ben Bagdikian. The film is presented in India by Reliance Entertainment.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, ready with his new film 1921, yet another supernatural-horror thriller, says his obsession with the spooky comes from how fear is the most palpable of all emotions.

Excerpts from an interview:

Vikram, you are back doing a genre you are most comfortable with?
I don't know ‘comfortable' is the right expression. I have always had a feel for the romanticized horror. All my horror films have been love stories. The horror is the villain of the films usually. I have always believed that fear is the most basic of human emotions. There is no other emotion that we can feel that is so palpable as fear. They say that fear is the basic emotion to a lot of other emotions. Fear of hunger is greed, fear of dark is light, fear of losing is insecurity… so on and on. If fear is done well, then nothing attracts us more. A horror film is like an adventure where you live to tell the tale.

How have you re-invented the genre this time?
You can't really re-invent a genre. A genre is a genre is a genre. One can tell a story that has not been heard before within the genre. And that is what I have done. Also I have listened to my audiences carefully in my previous films and corrected the genre where they thought I had gone wrong. '1921' is not the usual horrex, it has a soulful love story and great music. It is a movie that transcends the scares and talks about love and sacrifice. It is also high on horror as the audiences have told me that they want more of it.

You have also been very active on the web with a number of products. Is that the future or the present?
Yes, I have been actively doing work on digital for the past year and on January 27, which is my birthday, my app, VB on the Web comes out, which is like a theatre on the phone. You have to just buy a ticket for the show you want to watch. No subscription or other stuff, just good old movie style. I don't know if the content on the cell phone is the future but I do know that content being beamed to you directly is the future. Entertainers should be where the crowd is. Today the crowd is on the phones.

What do you think of the films being made in Hindi these days? Is the audience more open to novel themes or is it still status quo?
We have always been a business of doing more of the same. If it is comedy, then it is going to be tons of the same. Now it is the time for bio-picture, so everyone is on that road. We are going to learn about a lot of people, some we know and some we did not know. The audience has always been open to novel ideas.

It is us, the filmmakers who are scared to put our money where it matters. The audience is done with marketing gimmicks. It is not going to bring the people into the theatres. We will have to tell good stories. That is all.

As the director who reinvented the supernatural genre with RAAZ, what do you feel about the way the genre has evolved?
About the evolution of the genre… I really don't know what that means. If we want our films to be more like the Hollywood horror films, I don't think they are and they should be. We have a different art form. We tell stories with an emotional arc. We are not the country of unrelenting horror with little human relationships. Those kind of films just won't work. Yes we need to source different stories and make the stories we tell more believable. We have to work on that.

Must ask about the freedom of expression vis-a-vis PADMAAVAT. Do you think filmmakers in this country are under siege? And what's the solution?
This is another discussion altogether. One that needs pages and pages to fill.

[By Subhash K Jha]

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, ready with his new film 1921, yet another supernatural-horror thriller, says his obsession with the spooky comes from how fear is the most palpable of all emotions.

Excerpts from an interview:

Vikram, you are back doing a genre you are most comfortable with?
I don't know ‘comfortable' is the right expression. I have always had a feel for the romanticized horror. All my horror films have been love stories. The horror is the villain of the films usually. I have always believed that fear is the most basic of human emotions. There is no other emotion that we can feel that is so palpable as fear. They say that fear is the basic emotion to a lot of other emotions. Fear of hunger is greed, fear of dark is light, fear of losing is insecurity… so on and on. If fear is done well, then nothing attracts us more. A horror film is like an adventure where you live to tell the tale.

How have you re-invented the genre this time?
You can't really re-invent a genre. A genre is a genre is a genre. One can tell a story that has not been heard before within the genre. And that is what I have done. Also I have listened to my audiences carefully in my previous films and corrected the genre where they thought I had gone wrong. '1921' is not the usual horrex, it has a soulful love story and great music. It is a movie that transcends the scares and talks about love and sacrifice. It is also high on horror as the audiences have told me that they want more of it.

You have also been very active on the web with a number of products. Is that the future or the present?
Yes, I have been actively doing work on digital for the past year and on January 27, which is my birthday, my app, VB on the Web comes out, which is like a theatre on the phone. You have to just buy a ticket for the show you want to watch. No subscription or other stuff, just good old movie style. I don't know if the content on the cell phone is the future but I do know that content being beamed to you directly is the future. Entertainers should be where the crowd is. Today the crowd is on the phones.

What do you think of the films being made in Hindi these days? Is the audience more open to novel themes or is it still status quo?
We have always been a business of doing more of the same. If it is comedy, then it is going to be tons of the same. Now it is the time for bio-picture, so everyone is on that road. We are going to learn about a lot of people, some we know and some we did not know. The audience has always been open to novel ideas.

It is us, the filmmakers who are scared to put our money where it matters. The audience is done with marketing gimmicks. It is not going to bring the people into the theatres. We will have to tell good stories. That is all.

As the director who reinvented the supernatural genre with RAAZ, what do you feel about the way the genre has evolved?
About the evolution of the genre… I really don't know what that means. If we want our films to be more like the Hollywood horror films, I don't think they are and they should be. We have a different art form. We tell stories with an emotional arc. We are not the country of unrelenting horror with little human relationships. Those kind of films just won't work. Yes we need to source different stories and make the stories we tell more believable. We have to work on that.

Must ask about the freedom of expression vis-a-vis PADMAAVAT. Do you think filmmakers in this country are under siege? And what's the solution?
This is another discussion altogether. One that needs pages and pages to fill.

[By Subhash K Jha]

Celebrated designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee gifted Rani the first ever jewellery that he had designed – a pair of exquisite earrings – when the two met in Mumbai. Rani was completely taken by surprise and got extremely emotional with the special gesture from Sabyasachi.

The designer also wished Rani all the best for her upcoming film HICHKI, which marks Rani’s return to acting after 3 long years. Rani was very touched by Sabya’s thoughtful gesture as he had preserved his first designed jewellery for his best friend.

“As we all know, Sabyasachi has forayed into jewellery and his collections are wowing the world. The designer had thoughtfully kept away the first ever piece of jewellery designed by him – a super exclusive polki earrings with South Sea pearls – especially for Rani. He had created the earring keeping Rani's personality and her charm in mind. He wished her all the best for HICHKI while giving the gift. Rani was naturally emotional when she received this from Sabya,” reveals a source close to the two.

Rani plays the role of Naina Mathur who has a nervous system disorder, Tourette Syndrome that forces an individual to make involuntary repetitive movements or sounds. HICHKI focusses on turning disadvantages into opportunities and staring down at challenges that life throws at one and ultimately winning over them. It is also a subtle reminder about discrimination that exists in our society and has become a part of our daily lives. It highlights this through the story of Naina, who faces discrimination from our society that firmly believes she cannot be a teacher because of her disorder.

Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma, HICHKI is set to release on February 23.

Celebrated designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee gifted Rani the first ever jewellery that he had designed – a pair of exquisite earrings – when the two met in Mumbai. Rani was completely taken by surprise and got extremely emotional with the special gesture from Sabyasachi.

The designer also wished Rani all the best for her upcoming film HICHKI, which marks Rani’s return to acting after 3 long years. Rani was very touched by Sabya’s thoughtful gesture as he had preserved his first designed jewellery for his best friend.

“As we all know, Sabyasachi has forayed into jewellery and his collections are wowing the world. The designer had thoughtfully kept away the first ever piece of jewellery designed by him – a super exclusive polki earrings with South Sea pearls – especially for Rani. He had created the earring keeping Rani's personality and her charm in mind. He wished her all the best for HICHKI while giving the gift. Rani was naturally emotional when she received this from Sabya,” reveals a source close to the two.

Rani plays the role of Naina Mathur who has a nervous system disorder, Tourette Syndrome that forces an individual to make involuntary repetitive movements or sounds. HICHKI focusses on turning disadvantages into opportunities and staring down at challenges that life throws at one and ultimately winning over them. It is also a subtle reminder about discrimination that exists in our society and has become a part of our daily lives. It highlights this through the story of Naina, who faces discrimination from our society that firmly believes she cannot be a teacher because of her disorder.

Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma, HICHKI is set to release on February 23.