Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in 'RRR'.&nbsp;SS Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time. It pairs two of the country’s biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, and topped Netflix streaming charts over the summer.

It’s been showered with praise from the likes of J.J. Abrams and Jessica Chastain. It won the best original song at the Golden Globes for the exuberant “Naatu Naatu” and has five Critics Choice Awards nominations, including for best picture.

But the Academy Awards generally shun foreign films and over-the-top action movies in key categories. And “ RRR” can’t win the international feature film Oscar because India submitted Pan Nalin’s much quieter “Chhello Show” instead. A nomination for best picture at the Oscars remains a long shot.

To give their film a final push, Rama Rao Jr. and Charan travelled to Los Angeles to walk the Globes grey carpet, mingle with the likes of Cate Blanchett at parties, and attend packed screenings for potential awards voters, including one at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood that featured a riotous dance party during the “Naatu Naatu” scene.

They sat down with The Associated Press for a joint interview to talk about their real-life bond, Rajamouli’s discussions of a sequel, and building bridges between the world’s film industries.

Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: The movie was a big success when it opened in India but it’s been a slow burn in terms of Western audiences catching on through word-of-mouth and watching it on Netflix. How have you experienced that?

RAMA RAO JR.: You really don’t get to know what’s actually happening in the audience’s mind when people are watching movies on Netflix. But our breakthrough was when we saw Mr Rajamouli have a screening at the TCL (in September). And the response — he got a standing ovation. I think that was the opening for how we started knowing that the West has taken “RRR” into their hearts. And I wish we both were there. But I think that was our first breakthrough — and social media.

CHARAN: It’s so satisfying to see every reaction. Everything we performed for has been appreciated. And the reactions were just priceless. Yeah, it was like a slow burn. But nevertheless, this is like another feather in the hat for us.

AP: Ram Charan, you were in production during at least part of that time on your next movie. How were you sort of staying in touch with your “RRR” brothers?

CHARAN: The “RRR” journey started in 2018, and this is 2023 now, and we are still in touch. I think we just took a consensual break that we needed time away from each other because we were so into each other.

RAMA RAO JR.: We were so into each other. Like in each other.

AP: Rajamouli’s talking about a sequel, but you guys are both probably booked up?

CHARAN: No. We’d clear the calendar.

RAMA RAO JR.: We’ll clear the calendar. But unfortunately, we have no idea about it. We have no clue about “RRR 2” until he spoke about it. So if you interview him, you should actually get the clarity from him so that we know when it’s starting, so that we can keep our calendar free.

AP: Was it something that had been discussed when the movie wrapped?

CHARAN: No. Nothing. We heard it for the first time when he was talking to you guys. I mean, we’re not kidding about this. We never spoke about it.

RAMA RAO JR.: And he never tells us anything.

CHARAN: Yeah, everything is a surprise.

RAMA RAO JR.: I would say it’s a bad thing. I hate surprises. Maybe Charan likes them.

CHARAN: He knows we clear the calendars whenever he calls us. He takes us for granted on that. (Laughs)

AP: The political message of the film and the timing of its release, how important is that to you?

CHARAN: I personally feel it was more about the brotherhood than the nationalism or the patriotism in the film. It was in the background. Obviously, it’s the era that we have selected, the director has chosen had the sense of nationalism running under the water, like under the carpet. But what you actually see is a full-fledged fictional story.

RAMA RAO JR.: Bromance.

CHARAN: Bromance derived from two historic characters, legends. But the end of the day, we’re not playing a part of history. It is Mr Rajamouli’s interpretation and his fictional thoughts and writing with his father.

RAMA RAO JR.: Rajamouli as such, I really don’t think he makes movies because he wants to send out a message. For him, it’s just storytelling and it’s about making entertainment … To tell this story, he’s picked up a time frame when India was being ruled by the British Empire. Yeah, simple. So other than that, there was no message to it. But yes, it was more about two friends — their egos, their understanding of the world, each other, how they grew together, how they were apart, and how they came together. How they went off, separated, and how they got back together and grew strength individually in their lives.

AP: And how much does that sort of “get together, push apart, come back together,” mirror your own real-life relationship between the two of you?

RAMA RAO JR.: I think we never acted in the movie. I think we are that.

CHARAN: Yeah, but we never had such bad misunderstanding and separation where we were fighting. But yeah, we are very close. The characters we played have been very close. On all the good, good parts of the movie, it’s pretty much what we also share in real life.

AP: What are the goals in terms of being in Hollywood? Do you want to star in, say, a Quentin Tarantino movie?

CHARAN: Absolutely. I mean, it’s always there. As I said, it was not part of our goal to come to LA, but we landed here. So we are taking it as it goes. And of course, we want to experience the great directors of LA and Hollywood, and I want them to also experience us as actors and share some cultural ideas and stories between the East and the West. I would love to explore it, of course. And (Tarantino) is one of my favourite directors.

RAMA RAO JR.: We come from families which have been in the business for a very long time, but for both of us, our entry into films was never planned. It was just very accidental. And accidentally, we are here today, talking about films in L.A. So, yeah, we are actors who I think with “RRR” we have crossed the boundaries of those imaginary lines of Eastern film industry, Western film industry. I think we’ve somewhat erased that. And it’s a big good crossover. There’s so much talent here. There’s so much talent there. I think everybody should come together. “Avatar 2” is doing phenomenal numbers down in India. So did the 'Avengers: Endgame'.&nbsp;So I think it’s high time we all have to collaborate and start making films for global audiences.

CHARAN: We are waiting for the day when all the “woods” get burned and there’s one global cinema.

AP: Was it weird that the way that most viewers experienced the film was through the Hindi version on Netflix?

CHARAN: But fortunately, we dubbed all the languages. It was actually us.

RAMA RAO JR.: So Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, whatever — it was our voice. So we were happy about that. But yes, I would say maybe it should have been out in Telugu as well. That’s now, that’s me being, being very, very, very emotional about being a Telugu person. But other than that, “RRR” resembles India and whatever language it is, I’m happy that it’s reached out to the audiences.

AP: What have your family members said about this weird journey that you’re on with “RRR”?

CHARAN: I think they are happier than us.

RAMA RAO JR.: I wish my grandfather was alive to see this happen. Of course, he’s not there anymore. But the family has been very supportive, and excited. Everybody’s excited. Who wouldn’t be?

Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in 'RRR'. SS Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time.

Hollywood’s awards season has found an unlikely underdog in 'RRR'. SS Rajamouli’s three-hour maximalist action epic is one of India’s most expensive and top-grossing films of all time. It pairs two of the country’s biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, and topped Netflix streaming charts over the summer. It’s been showered with praise from the likes of J.J. Abrams and Jessica Chastain. It won the best original song at the Golden Globes for the exuberant “Naatu Naatu” and has five Critics Choice Awards nominations, including for best picture. But the Academy Awards generally shun foreign films and over-the-top action movies in key categories. And “ RRR” can’t win the international feature film Oscar because India submitted Pan Nalin’s much quieter “Chhello Show” instead. A nomination for best picture at the Oscars remains a long shot. To give their film a final push, Rama Rao Jr. and Charan travelled to Los Angeles to walk the Globes grey carpet, mingle with the likes of Cate Blanchett at parties, and attend packed screenings for potential awards voters, including one at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood that featured a riotous dance party during the “Naatu Naatu” scene. They sat down with The Associated Press for a joint interview to talk about their real-life bond, Rajamouli’s discussions of a sequel, and building bridges between the world’s film industries. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity. AP: The movie was a big success when it opened in India but it’s been a slow burn in terms of Western audiences catching on through word-of-mouth and watching it on Netflix. How have you experienced that? RAMA RAO JR.: You really don’t get to know what’s actually happening in the audience’s mind when people are watching movies on Netflix. But our breakthrough was when we saw Mr Rajamouli have a screening at the TCL (in September). And the response — he got a standing ovation. I think that was the opening for how we started knowing that the West has taken “RRR” into their hearts. And I wish we both were there. But I think that was our first breakthrough — and social media. CHARAN: It’s so satisfying to see every reaction. Everything we performed for has been appreciated. And the reactions were just priceless. Yeah, it was like a slow burn. But nevertheless, this is like another feather in the hat for us. AP: Ram Charan, you were in production during at least part of that time on your next movie. How were you sort of staying in touch with your “RRR” brothers? CHARAN: The “RRR” journey started in 2018, and this is 2023 now, and we are still in touch. I think we just took a consensual break that we needed time away from each other because we were so into each other. RAMA RAO JR.: We were so into each other. Like in each other. AP: Rajamouli’s talking about a sequel, but you guys are both probably booked up? CHARAN: No. We’d clear the calendar. RAMA RAO JR.: We’ll clear the calendar. But unfortunately, we have no idea about it. We have no clue about “RRR 2” until he spoke about it. So if you interview him, you should actually get the clarity from him so that we know when it’s starting, so that we can keep our calendar free. AP: Was it something that had been discussed when the movie wrapped? CHARAN: No. Nothing. We heard it for the first time when he was talking to you guys. I mean, we’re not kidding about this. We never spoke about it. RAMA RAO JR.: And he never tells us anything. CHARAN: Yeah, everything is a surprise. RAMA RAO JR.: I would say it’s a bad thing. I hate surprises. Maybe Charan likes them. CHARAN: He knows we clear the calendars whenever he calls us. He takes us for granted on that. (Laughs) AP: The political message of the film and the timing of its release, how important is that to you? CHARAN: I personally feel it was more about the brotherhood than the nationalism or the patriotism in the film. It was in the background. Obviously, it’s the era that we have selected, the director has chosen had the sense of nationalism running under the water, like under the carpet. But what you actually see is a full-fledged fictional story. RAMA RAO JR.: Bromance. CHARAN: Bromance derived from two historic characters, legends. But the end of the day, we’re not playing a part of history. It is Mr Rajamouli’s interpretation and his fictional thoughts and writing with his father. RAMA RAO JR.: Rajamouli as such, I really don’t think he makes movies because he wants to send out a message. For him, it’s just storytelling and it’s about making entertainment … To tell this story, he’s picked up a time frame when India was being ruled by the British Empire. Yeah, simple. So other than that, there was no message to it. But yes, it was more about two friends — their egos, their understanding of the world, each other, how they grew together, how they were apart, and how they came together. How they went off, separated, and how they got back together and grew strength individually in their lives. AP: And how much does that sort of “get together, push apart, come back together,” mirror your own real-life relationship between the two of you? RAMA RAO JR.: I think we never acted in the movie. I think we are that. CHARAN: Yeah, but we never had such bad misunderstanding and separation where we were fighting. But yeah, we are very close. The characters we played have been very close. On all the good, good parts of the movie, it’s pretty much what we also share in real life. AP: What are the goals in terms of being in Hollywood? Do you want to star in, say, a Quentin Tarantino movie? CHARAN: Absolutely. I mean, it’s always there. As I said, it was not part of our goal to come to LA, but we landed here. So we are taking it as it goes. And of course, we want to experience the great directors of LA and Hollywood, and I want them to also experience us as actors and share some cultural ideas and stories between the East and the West. I would love to explore it, of course. And (Tarantino) is one of my favourite directors. RAMA RAO JR.: We come from families which have been in the business for a very long time, but for both of us, our entry into films was never planned. It was just very accidental. And accidentally, we are here today, talking about films in L.A. So, yeah, we are actors who I think with “RRR” we have crossed the boundaries of those imaginary lines of Eastern film industry, Western film industry. I think we’ve somewhat erased that. And it’s a big good crossover. There’s so much talent here. There’s so much talent there. I think everybody should come together. “Avatar 2” is doing phenomenal numbers down in India. So did the 'Avengers: Endgame'. So I think it’s high time we all have to collaborate and start making films for global audiences. CHARAN: We are waiting for the day when all the “woods” get burned and there’s one global cinema. AP: Was it weird that the way that most viewers experienced the film was through the Hindi version on Netflix? CHARAN: But fortunately, we dubbed all the languages. It was actually us. RAMA RAO JR.: So Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, whatever — it was our voice. So we were happy about that. But yes, I would say maybe it should have been out in Telugu as well. That’s now, that’s me being, being very, very, very emotional about being a Telugu person. But other than that, “RRR” resembles India and whatever language it is, I’m happy that it’s reached out to the audiences. AP: What have your family members said about this weird journey that you’re on with “RRR”? CHARAN: I think they are happier than us. RAMA RAO JR.: I wish my grandfather was alive to see this happen. Of course, he’s not there anymore. But the family has been very supportive, and excited. Everybody’s excited. Who wouldn’t be?

India's 'RRR' an unlikely underdog in Hollywood awards race

Katrina Kaif and south star Vijay Sethupathi are reportedly set to star together in Sriram Raghavan’s next film.&nbsp;

Sriram Raghavan had last given us thriller film ‘Andhadhun’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu in leading roles.&nbsp;

Well, as per recent reports, Sriram was initially busy with ‘Ekkis’ with Varun Dhawan that he has has put on hold and instead working on his next with Vijay Sethupathi owing to the pandemic.&nbsp;

Vijay Setupathi’s last release was ‘Ka Pae Ranasingam’ that had to miss theatres and opt for OTT release owing to COVID restrictions. His latest ‘Master’ also starring Thalapathy Vijay is due in cinemas on January 13 (today) in the southern part of India and a day later in other parts of the country.&nbsp;

‘Master’ was recently in the news as certain important film scenes were leaked by hackers after which director and actors had to share statements with fans asking them to not share them and wait for the full feature film to release -- so as to value the hardwork put in by them.&nbsp;

Apart from the original in Tamil, Master will also be released in Telugu and Hindi simultaneously.&nbsp;

On the other hand, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/katrina-kaif">Katrina Kaif</a> is teaming up with filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar for an upcoming superhero movie. She also has ‘Sooryavanshi’ with Akshay Kumar that was supposed to release in 2020 but got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She is also prepping up for 'Phone Bhoot', which also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khatter.

Katrina Kaif and south star Vijay Sethupathi are reportedly set to star together in Sriram Raghavan’s next film. Sriram Raghavan had last given us thriller film ‘Andhadhun’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu in leading roles.

Katrina Kaif and south star Vijay Sethupathi are reportedly set to star together in Sriram Raghavan’s next film. Sriram Raghavan had last given us thriller film ‘Andhadhun’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu in leading roles. Well, as per recent reports, Sriram was initially busy with ‘Ekkis’ with Varun Dhawan that he has has put on hold and instead working on his next with Vijay Sethupathi owing to the pandemic. Vijay Setupathi’s last release was ‘Ka Pae Ranasingam’ that had to miss theatres and opt for OTT release owing to COVID restrictions. His latest ‘Master’ also starring Thalapathy Vijay is due in cinemas on January 13 (today) in the southern part of India and a day later in other parts of the country. ‘Master’ was recently in the news as certain important film scenes were leaked by hackers after which director and actors had to share statements with fans asking them to not share them and wait for the full feature film to release -- so as to value the hardwork put in by them. Apart from the original in Tamil, Master will also be released in Telugu and Hindi simultaneously. On the other hand, Katrina Kaif is teaming up with filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar for an upcoming superhero movie. She also has ‘Sooryavanshi’ with Akshay Kumar that was supposed to release in 2020 but got delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She is also prepping up for 'Phone Bhoot', which also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ishaan Khatter.

Katrina Kaif paired opposite Vijay Sethupathi in Sriram Raghavan's next?

3 men were killed and 9 others were left injured in a crane accident on Wednesday on the sets of Kamal Haasan's upcoming film 'Indian 2'. The film is being shot at EVP Film City near Chennai.&nbsp;

According to police, the men were seated in the box-like structure on top of the crane when it crashed. "It appears they were working on lighting for the shoot. The incident happened at 9:30 pm on Wednesday," a police officer told a daily.&nbsp; 
 
The film, directed by Shankar, is a sequel of 1996 hit film 'Indian'.&nbsp; 
 
The deceased have been identified as Madhu, personal assistant to director Shankar, Krishna, assistant director, and a staffer Chandran. 
 
It is not clear yet if the director was present on the set when the accident took place. Kamal Haasan was reportedly at another location in the same complex during the time of the accident.&nbsp; 
 
Terming the incident as 'cruel', Kamal Haasan said, "I lost three colleagues. More than my pain, the grief of their families would be immense. I share their sorrow. My deep condolences to them."

The film's leading heroine, Kajal Aggarwal was visibly shaken by the incident. Aggarwal was on the set when the mishap took place as she tweeted, "Words cannot describe the heartache I feel at the unexpected,untimely loss of my colleagues from lastnight.Krishna,Chandran and Madhu.Sending love,strength and my deepest condolences to your families.May god give strength in this moment of desolation. #Indian2"

In another tweet, the actress wrote,"In so much shock, denial, trauma from the monstrous crane accident last night. All it took was a fraction of a second to stay alive and type this tweet. Just that one moment. Gratitude. So much learning and appreciation for the value of time and life."

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Words cannot describe the heartache I feel at the unexpected,untimely loss of my colleagues from lastnight.Krishna,Chandran and Madhu.Sending love,strength and my deepest condolences to your families.May god give strength in this moment of desolation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indian2?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Indian2</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LycaProductions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LycaProductions</a>
— Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) <a href="https://twitter.com/MsKajalAggarwal/status/1230339449323569153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In so much shock, denial, trauma from the monstrous crane accident last night. All it took was a fraction of a second to stay alive and type this tweet. Just that one moment. Gratitude. So much learning and appreciation for the value of time and life. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
— Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) <a href="https://twitter.com/MsKajalAggarwal/status/1230341231030358016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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An action thriller, 'Indian 2' will have a political theme. The previous film had Kamal Haasan playing a double role in the film.&nbsp; 
 
Kamal Haasan who visited the injured in the hospital also said they were given first aid and are being treated and he hoped they would soon recover.

&nbsp;

3 men were killed and 9 others were left injured in a crane accident on Wednesday on the sets of Kamal Haasan's upcoming film 'Indian 2'. The film is being shot at EVP Film City near Chennai.

3 men were killed and 9 others were left injured in a crane accident on Wednesday on the sets of Kamal Haasan's upcoming film 'Indian 2'. The film is being shot at EVP Film City near Chennai. According to police, the men were seated in the box-like structure on top of the crane when it crashed. "It appears they were working on lighting for the shoot. The incident happened at 9:30 pm on Wednesday," a police officer told a daily. The film, directed by Shankar, is a sequel of 1996 hit film 'Indian'. The deceased have been identified as Madhu, personal assistant to director Shankar, Krishna, assistant director, and a staffer Chandran. It is not clear yet if the director was present on the set when the accident took place. Kamal Haasan was reportedly at another location in the same complex during the time of the accident. Terming the incident as 'cruel', Kamal Haasan said, "I lost three colleagues. More than my pain, the grief of their families would be immense. I share their sorrow. My deep condolences to them." The film's leading heroine, Kajal Aggarwal was visibly shaken by the incident. Aggarwal was on the set when the mishap took place as she tweeted, "Words cannot describe the heartache I feel at the unexpected,untimely loss of my colleagues from lastnight.Krishna,Chandran and Madhu.Sending love,strength and my deepest condolences to your families.May god give strength in this moment of desolation. #Indian2" In another tweet, the actress wrote,"In so much shock, denial, trauma from the monstrous crane accident last night. All it took was a fraction of a second to stay alive and type this tweet. Just that one moment. Gratitude. So much learning and appreciation for the value of time and life." Words cannot describe the heartache I feel at the unexpected,untimely loss of my colleagues from lastnight.Krishna,Chandran and Madhu.Sending love,strength and my deepest condolences to your families.May god give strength in this moment of desolation. #Indian2 @LycaProductions — Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) February 20, 2020 × In so much shock, denial, trauma from the monstrous crane accident last night. All it took was a fraction of a second to stay alive and type this tweet. Just that one moment. Gratitude. So much learning and appreciation for the value of time and life. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 — Kajal Aggarwal (@MsKajalAggarwal) February 20, 2020 × An action thriller, 'Indian 2' will have a political theme. The previous film had Kamal Haasan playing a double role in the film. Kamal Haasan who visited the injured in the hospital also said they were given first aid and are being treated and he hoped they would soon recover.

Crane accident on sets of Kamal Haasan's 'Indian 2' leaves 3 dead, 9 others injured

Helmed by Devashish Makhija, child rape drama film Ajji&nbsp;won actress Sushma Deshpande a special jury mention for her performance at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA).&nbsp;She also won The Flame Award at the UK Asian Film Festival along with the Fresh Blood competition at the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival 2018.&nbsp;

Produced by Yoodlee Films, Ajji tells the story of a 65-year-old arthritic grandmother who decides to take revenge from the society when it fails to provide justice for the rape of her nine-year-old granddaughter.&nbsp;

Speaking about the film, Siddharth Anand Kumar, head of Yoodlee Films said, “We are proud that Ajji is finding such a warm reception from worldwide audiences at film festivals. When you take a risk on making a strong film without compromise and receive such appreciation you are encouraged to be even more fearless in your choice of cinema.”

On his film getting international recognition, Devashish said, “A niche genre film like Ajji&nbsp;gets most of its traction and strength from film festival programmers, organisers, critics and audiences without whom such a film might never have been made even. The awards we have won tell us that we can keep making these films. To be able to keep doing this itself then is the biggest award.”

A dark take on the classic fairy tale ‘Red Riding Hood’, the film was also the official selection at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and was showcased in the New Currents section of the 22nd Korean film extravaganza apart from being nominated for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award category at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival with Star 2017.&nbsp;

She received a special jury mention for her performance in the film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Helmed by Devashish Makhija, child rape drama film Ajji won actress Sushma Deshpande a special jury mention for her performance at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). She also won The Flame Award at the UK Asian Film Festival along with the Fresh Blood competition at the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival 2018. Produced by Yoodlee Films, Ajji tells the story of a 65-year-old arthritic grandmother who decides to take revenge from the society when it fails to provide justice for the rape of her nine-year-old granddaughter. Speaking about the film, Siddharth Anand Kumar, head of Yoodlee Films said, “We are proud that Ajji is finding such a warm reception from worldwide audiences at film festivals. When you take a risk on making a strong film without compromise and receive such appreciation you are encouraged to be even more fearless in your choice of cinema.” On his film getting international recognition, Devashish said, “A niche genre film like Ajji gets most of its traction and strength from film festival programmers, organisers, critics and audiences without whom such a film might never have been made even. The awards we have won tell us that we can keep making these films. To be able to keep doing this itself then is the biggest award.” A dark take on the classic fairy tale ‘Red Riding Hood’, the film was also the official selection at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and was showcased in the New Currents section of the 22nd Korean film extravaganza apart from being nominated for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award category at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival with Star 2017.

Actress Sushma Deshpande wins applauds at international film festival for child rape drama ‘Ajji’

In what looks like Anushka Sharma&#39;s creepiest avatar till date, makers of her next film &quot;Pari&quot; released the teaser of the film and it&#39;s enough to haunt you at night when you are alone.&nbsp;

After leaving an impression with the first look of the film in the form of posters, the makers are here to intrigue you with a little more.&nbsp;

Announcing the film as &quot;Not a fairytale&quot;, Anushka Sharma can be seen in an 18-second long teaser which has the actress&#39;s face in closeup while it deforms by each passing second. Bruised and wounded, her face changes into one of a witch.&nbsp;

Watch the teaser:&nbsp;

<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tXfJOSlnd9M" width="970"></iframe>

The teaser also announced that the date of release for the movie is changed. It will no longer release on February 9 but has been shifted to March 2. It will hit the theatres with Hate Story 4 starring Urvashi Rautela and Karan Wahi.&nbsp;

Pari is the third film produced by the actress after NH-10 and Phillauri.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-this-is-how-shah-rukh-khan-and-team-zero-welcomed-anushka-sharma-back-on-set-28868" target="_blank">Also Read:&nbsp;This is how Shah Rukh Khan and team &#39;Zero&#39; welcomed Anushka Sharma back on set</a>

Anushka is currently shooting for Shah Rukh Khan&#39;s &quot;Zero&quot;&nbsp;with Aanand L Rai. She will also begin working on &quot;Sui Dhaaga&quot;&nbsp;with Varun Dhawan soon.&nbsp;

Anushka recently returned from a long vacation and honeymoon. She got married to Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli in a private ceremony in Italy and gave a grand reception to family and friends in both Delhi and Mumbai.&nbsp;

The makers released Anushka Sharma's next film Pari's teaser that is slated for a release on March 2

In what looks like Anushka Sharma's creepiest avatar till date, makers of her next film "Pari" released the teaser of the film and it's enough to haunt you at night when you are alone. After leaving an impression with the first look of the film in the form of posters, the makers are here to intrigue you with a little more. Announcing the film as "Not a fairytale", Anushka Sharma can be seen in an 18-second long teaser which has the actress's face in closeup while it deforms by each passing second. Bruised and wounded, her face changes into one of a witch. Watch the teaser: The teaser also announced that the date of release for the movie is changed. It will no longer release on February 9 but has been shifted to March 2. It will hit the theatres with Hate Story 4 starring Urvashi Rautela and Karan Wahi. Pari is the third film produced by the actress after NH-10 and Phillauri. Also Read: This is how Shah Rukh Khan and team 'Zero' welcomed Anushka Sharma back on set Anushka is currently shooting for Shah Rukh Khan's "Zero" with Aanand L Rai. She will also begin working on "Sui Dhaaga" with Varun Dhawan soon. Anushka recently returned from a long vacation and honeymoon. She got married to Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli in a private ceremony in Italy and gave a grand reception to family and friends in both Delhi and Mumbai.

Watch teaser: Anushka Sharma in 'Pari' looks creepy as a witch

Even before superstar Rajinikanth&#39;s film &quot;2.0&quot; comes out on the floor, there is happy news ringing for the south Indian project.&nbsp;

If reports published in a leading daily are to be believed, &quot;2.0&quot; could become the first major south Indian movie to launch in the highly conservative Saudi Arabian market.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Saudi Arabian government had shut down all of its cinema halls in the 1980s and since then no movies have released in that country.

With the new Saudi Arabian government trying to project a new and modern image&nbsp;of the nation, there&nbsp;is&nbsp;news that&nbsp;they will&nbsp;be opening&nbsp;their cinema halls&nbsp;from March 2018.&nbsp;

This has propelled the makers of 2.0 to&nbsp;make efforts to launch the&nbsp;highly-anticipated film&nbsp;in the nation.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-rajinikanths-20-to-have-its-digital-premiere-on-amazon-prime-25242" target="_blank">Also Read:&nbsp;Rajinikanth&#39;s &#39;2.0&#39; to have its digital premiere on Amazon Prime</a>

As quoted in the daily,&nbsp;Raju Mahalingam, COO of Lyca Productions, said, &quot;The overall revenue for a big film production can increase by 30 per cent. Since movies have now begun to open in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in India, we hope to release them in all three languages in Saudi Arabia too. A new market in West Asia, where a substantial number of Tamil and Malayalees stay, will be a big boost for our movies.&rdquo;

The film is directed by Shankar and will be a sequel to the&nbsp;2010 blockbuster &quot;Enthiran&quot;, which had Rajinikanth in the lead role and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the heroine.

In &quot;2.0&quot;, Bollywood star&nbsp;Akshay Kumar will play the antagonist and Amy Jackson will be seen as Rajinikanth&rsquo;s love-interest. AR Rahman is producing music in the film with Nirav Shah on camera and Anthony at editing.&nbsp;

The movie is projected as the most expensive movies India has ever seen and is&nbsp;produced by A Subhashkaran under his banner Lyca Productions on a budget of Rs 450 crores.

The mega-budget sci-fi movie is expected to release in three languages, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

&quot;2.0&quot;&nbsp;was initially scheduled to hit the screens during the Republic Day weekend but its release has been pushed to April 15, 2018.

There is news that Saudi Arabia is all set to re-open its cinema halls from March 2018 and if all goes through as planned then superstar Rajinikanth starrer '2.0' will be released there.

Even before superstar Rajinikanth's film "2.0" comes out on the floor, there is happy news ringing for the south Indian project. If reports published in a leading daily are to be believed, "2.0" could become the first major south Indian movie to launch in the highly conservative Saudi Arabian market. The Saudi Arabian government had shut down all of its cinema halls in the 1980s and since then no movies have released in that country. With the new Saudi Arabian government trying to project a new and modern image of the nation, there is news that they will be opening their cinema halls from March 2018. This has propelled the makers of 2.0 to make efforts to launch the highly-anticipated film in the nation. Also Read: Rajinikanth's '2.0' to have its digital premiere on Amazon Prime As quoted in the daily, Raju Mahalingam, COO of Lyca Productions, said, "The overall revenue for a big film production can increase by 30 per cent. Since movies have now begun to open in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in India, we hope to release them in all three languages in Saudi Arabia too. A new market in West Asia, where a substantial number of Tamil and Malayalees stay, will be a big boost for our movies.” The film is directed by Shankar and will be a sequel to the 2010 blockbuster "Enthiran", which had Rajinikanth in the lead role and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the heroine. In "2.0", Bollywood star Akshay Kumar will play the antagonist and Amy Jackson will be seen as Rajinikanth’s love-interest. AR Rahman is producing music in the film with Nirav Shah on camera and Anthony at editing. The movie is projected as the most expensive movies India has ever seen and is produced by A Subhashkaran under his banner Lyca Productions on a budget of Rs 450 crores. The mega-budget sci-fi movie is expected to release in three languages, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. "2.0" was initially scheduled to hit the screens during the Republic Day weekend but its release has been pushed to April 15, 2018.

Rajinikanth's '2.0' to be first south Indian film to release in Saudi Arabia?

India&#39;s official entry for the category Best Foreign Language Film at the&nbsp;Oscars&nbsp;2018, &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/newton-a-sweet-film-with-a-bitter-aftertaste-20576" target="_blank">Newton</a>&quot;, is out of the race.&nbsp;

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday that only nine feature films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards, according to the official website of the&nbsp;Oscars.

Indian film &quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/newton-is-indias-official-entry-to-oscars-2018-20522" target="_blank">Newton</a>&quot; dropped out of this new list.

The nine films that have made to the next round are: &quot;A Fantastic Woman&quot; (Chile), &quot;In the Fade&quot; (Germany), &quot;On Body and Soula (Hungary), &quot;Foxtrot&quot; (Israel), &quot;The Insult&quot; (Lebanon), &quot;Loveless&quot; (Russia), &quot;Felicite&quot; (Senegal), &quot;The Wound&quot; (South Africa) and &quot;The Square&quot; (Sweden).&nbsp;

India&#39;s entry &quot;Newton&quot;&nbsp;directed by Amit V. Masurkar is a story set against the backdrop of elections in the world&#39;s largest democracy. Actor&nbsp;Rajkummar Rao received several domestic <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-rajkummar-rao-wins-best-actor-award-at-asia-pacific-screen-awards-for-his-film-newton-25042" target="_blank">awards</a> for his portrayal of an election officer who fights against the system and politics to help conduct free and fair elections in a poor, backward area of India.&nbsp;

The film was part of 92 films that were selected from all around the world for the category at Oscars.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Nominations for all categories of the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on January 23.

The&nbsp;Oscars&nbsp;ceremony will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre.&nbsp;

India has sent several feature films to Oscars but so far only three have made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards: &quot;Mother India&quot;, &quot;Salaam Bombay!&quot; and &quot;Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India&quot;. No Indian film has ever won the honour.&nbsp;

Only nine films have moved to the next round and Newton couldn't make it to the list

India's official entry for the category Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2018, "Newton", is out of the race. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday that only nine feature films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards, according to the official website of the Oscars. Indian film "Newton" dropped out of this new list. The nine films that have made to the next round are: "A Fantastic Woman" (Chile), "In the Fade" (Germany), "On Body and Soula (Hungary), "Foxtrot" (Israel), "The Insult" (Lebanon), "Loveless" (Russia), "Felicite" (Senegal), "The Wound" (South Africa) and "The Square" (Sweden). India's entry "Newton" directed by Amit V. Masurkar is a story set against the backdrop of elections in the world's largest democracy. Actor Rajkummar Rao received several domestic awards for his portrayal of an election officer who fights against the system and politics to help conduct free and fair elections in a poor, backward area of India. The film was part of 92 films that were selected from all around the world for the category at Oscars. Nominations for all categories of the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on January 23. The Oscars ceremony will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre. India has sent several feature films to Oscars but so far only three have made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards: "Mother India", "Salaam Bombay!" and "Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India". No Indian film has ever won the honour.

Indian film 'Newton' out of Oscar race

Indian film director, Faraz Arif Ansari, has made a 20-minute short film, titled &lsquo;Sisak&rsquo; on the LGBTQ community of India. The movie deals with their struggle, especially the ordeal they face while using public transport in the country. The director was unaware that his film would turn out to be&nbsp;India&rsquo;s first silent LGBTQ movie.&nbsp;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KTtgOaIWC4Q" width="970"></iframe>

The name of the movie &lsquo;Sisak&rsquo; is an Urdu origin word, meaning &quot;sob&nbsp;stuck in the throat&quot; - with reference to the dilemma faced by the LGBTQ community. The movie documents two men who take the same local train in the city of Mumbai, India, every night. It captures the discrimination they face&nbsp;while travelling every day.&nbsp;Ansari has made a silent movie, using transitions and poetry of their encounter with different set of people. The men don&rsquo;t talk to one another, while on the journey and the movie makes use of real-life noise and music, to tell a story of love, but also of fear and despair.

Ansari thought of the plot nearly four years ago, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling reinstating Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised homosexuality.

The director&nbsp;narrated how he thought of the plot in an interview to HuffPost India: &ldquo;I was working on another screenplay in a cafe in Nainital at the time. I tried to compose a tweet, but deleted it. I wanted to put up a Facebook post, but couldn&#39;t find the words.&quot;

In the end, he opened a word document and wrote the entire story of Sisak &mdash; in three hours flat.

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Faraz Arif Ansari, Director, Sisak (Pinterest)
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In the meanwhile, he kept contemplating on using dialogues but decided against it, as he thought &lsquo;no words would do justice&rsquo;.&nbsp;

On why he wanted&nbsp;the movie to be silent, he said, &ldquo;We are a part of a generation that rants everywhere. Sometimes silence can allow us to look inside and connect with ourselves. In a world where the young seem driven by likes and retweets, people have forgotten to love.&quot;

It wasn&rsquo;t all smooth sail for Ansari, as he had to struggle with uncertainty, facing problems like lack of funding, actors dropping out&nbsp;just few days&nbsp;before the shoot and worse&nbsp;being chased by police while shooting on site. The film had a budget to&nbsp;shoot&nbsp;for just five days, but he wrapped it up in just three days, owing to shortage of&nbsp;funds.

Among other challenges, the actors had to change into their costumes behind dupattas held up by the female members of the crew. The team also had to be swift on their feet, moving from one platform of the train to the next, in a couple of minutes.

The movie has now been submitted to Cannes this year. He is already in the process of making the short film into a full-length silent feature film.&nbsp;

(WION)

The film directed by Faraz Arif Ansari has been submitted to Cannes this year

Indian film director, Faraz Arif Ansari, has made a 20-minute short film, titled ‘Sisak’ on the LGBTQ community of India. The movie deals with their struggle, especially the ordeal they face while using public transport in the country. The director was unaware that his film would turn out to be India’s first silent LGBTQ movie. The name of the movie ‘Sisak’ is an Urdu origin word, meaning "sob stuck in the throat" - with reference to the dilemma faced by the LGBTQ community. The movie documents two men who take the same local train in the city of Mumbai, India, every night. It captures the discrimination they face while travelling every day. Ansari has made a silent movie, using transitions and poetry of their encounter with different set of people. The men don’t talk to one another, while on the journey and the movie makes use of real-life noise and music, to tell a story of love, but also of fear and despair. Ansari thought of the plot nearly four years ago, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling reinstating Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised homosexuality. The director narrated how he thought of the plot in an interview to HuffPost India: “I was working on another screenplay in a cafe in Nainital at the time. I tried to compose a tweet, but deleted it. I wanted to put up a Facebook post, but couldn't find the words." In the end, he opened a word document and wrote the entire story of Sisak — in three hours flat. Faraz Arif Ansari, Director, Sisak (Pinterest) × In the meanwhile, he kept contemplating on using dialogues but decided against it, as he thought ‘no words would do justice’. On why he wanted the movie to be silent, he said, “We are a part of a generation that rants everywhere. Sometimes silence can allow us to look inside and connect with ourselves. In a world where the young seem driven by likes and retweets, people have forgotten to love." It wasn’t all smooth sail for Ansari, as he had to struggle with uncertainty, facing problems like lack of funding, actors dropping out just few days before the shoot and worse being chased by police while shooting on site. The film had a budget to shoot for just five days, but he wrapped it up in just three days, owing to shortage of funds. Among other challenges, the actors had to change into their costumes behind dupattas held up by the female members of the crew. The team also had to be swift on their feet, moving from one platform of the train to the next, in a couple of minutes. The movie has now been submitted to Cannes this year. He is already in the process of making the short film into a full-length silent feature film. (WION)

'Sisak': India's first LGBTQ silent film

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