Breakfast in Beirut

Breakfast in Beirut is a 2015 documentary film by VioletSkye Films. It was written, directed, and produced by Farah ALHashem.
Background.
ALHashem is a Lebanese-Kuwaiti filmmaker who has made seven short films since 2011 including "7 Hours", which won several awards at film festivals in 2013. She has a degree in journalism from Lebanese American University and a MFA degree from New York Film Academy.
In 2014, the official Avant Premiere of "Breakfast in Beirut" was held at the Metropolis Sofil Theater in Beirut while the official international premiere in Paris at Le Brady Cinema in April 2016. "Breakfast in Beirut" received an honorary recognition by the municipality of Treviso, Italy and in collaboration with the Gallery "Made In" Venice, Italy as they decided to name their art festival “"Breakfast in Beirut" Art Festival” in honor the film and ALHashem.
The cast features Farah ALHashem, Zeina Makki, Layal Badaro, Badih Abou Chakra, Natasha Choufani, Abdelrahim Awji, and Mahmoud Hojej. Awatif Zaine served as the Production Supervisor.
Plot.
This film focuses on a Kuwaiti student along with her Lebanese friends. The interviewees share their intimate tales of Beirut mixed with the fictional story of a group of people and the memories of their life in Beirut while expressing their discontent and, at the same time, revealing a deep connection with the city. "Breakfast in Beirut" is a series of tales from an inspired life story about a young woman who lost her soul mate. Even though Beirut in 2005 - 2009’s political crisis was a never ending crisis, this young woman found Beirut to be the land of dreams and the safest place on earth for her eternal love to him.


Jayabharathi (director)

Jayabharathi is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on Tamil films. Regarded as one of the pioneers of alternate cinema in the Tamil film industry, Jayabharathi has directed nine films across five decades.
Career.
As a film student in the 1970s, Jayabharathi explored the idea of making films in an alternate genre in Tamil cinema and became one of the pioneers of the movement. His first film "Kudisai" (1979) was released after he undertook a crowd-funding route in order to raise Rs90,000 to distribute the film for screening, and in order to generate investment, he sold donation tickets and conducted programmes at government colleges. The film won critical acclaim upon release and has since been preserved at the National Film Archives. He subsequently went on to work with the newspaper Dinamani and wrote articles focussing on world cinema issues. He was briefly associated as an actor in C. Rudhraiya's second film "Gramathu Athiyayam" (1980), but was later replaced in the lead role by newcomer Nandakumar. His second film was "Oomai Jannagal" (1984), which depicted a tale on the bonded labour in a tea estate during the rule of the British Raj, while his third film "Rendum Rendum Aindhu" (1988), was murder mystery tale. His next, "Uchi Veyil" (1991), which focused of a middle class family's struggles, was selected as the only Tamil film at the Indian Panorama held in Calcutta in 1991 and was later screened in Film Festivals across Canada.
In the early 2000s, Jayabharathi worked on "Nanba Nanba" (2002), a tale of friendship and sacrifice amongst two friends, with Chandrasekhar winning the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a quadriplegic. The film itself, narrowly missed out on the Best Film Award. In 2006, he shot and completed the thriller "Kurukshetram" starring Sathyaraj. Through the film, he revealed he had hoped to draw an allegory of the diplomatic tensions between the nations of India, Pakistan and the United States through the leading characters. Following the film's poor response, Jayabharathi kept away from feature films and concentrated on docudramas. In 2009, he was selected by Doordarshan as one of sixteen directors to help serialize stories written by Sahitya Akademi winners and made the short film, "Velvi Thee" with newcomers. He subsequently worked on a docudrama on transgender people titled "Aravani" alongside Janaki Vishwanathan, Sivasankari and S. Ve. Shekher.
His most recent completed venture, "Puthiran", a tale on child labour and abuse, has also been stuck as a result of financial constraints. The film, which stars Y. Gee. Mahendra and Sangeetha in the leading roles, won positive reviews after being screened at the 2012 Chennai International Film Festival but could not get released as the makers could not pay the processing labs Rs 30 lakhs. In an attempt to release the film in 2013, Jayabharathi pledged that any investor who contributed over Rs 1000 would be credited in the film. In 2017, the film was awarded the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film for third best Tamil film in 2010.


P. A. Arun Prasad

Alaparthi Sivanagaprasad Chowdary, known professionally as P. A. Arun Prasad, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer known for his works in Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil cinema. He has received a Filmfare Award South and a state Nandi Award.


Ammoru

Ammoru () is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language mythological fantasy film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. The film was produced by Shyam Prasad Reddy under MS Arts Unit. The film features Ramya Krishna in the title role and Soundarya in the lead roles with Suresh, Rami Reddy, Baby Sunaina, Vadivukkarasi, Kallu Chidambaram and Babu Mohan portraying supporting roles.
The plot follows Bhavani (Soundarya), a devotee of goddess Ammoru (Ramya Krishna) who protects her from evil forces. The film's soundtrack was composed by Sri. The film's cinematography was handled by C. Vijay Kumar. The film became successful at the box office and received positive acclaim for visual effects. The film was dubbed and released in Tamil as "Amman" and in Hindi as "Maa Ki Shakti". The film was remade in Bengali as "Debi" (2005) by Swapan Saha.
Plot.
An epidemic grips a village in India, the people of the village plans to worship Goddess Ammoru. At night, when the people worship the Goddess, the Goddess comes down to Earth in the form of an old woman, and takes shelter in a fervent woman's house. The Goddess takes an oath that she will rid the village of the epidemic and will not move out of the house. The Goddess shows her true form, and the woman, who remembers the oath, commits suicide by jumping into a well, the House in which the Goddess now permanently stays, is converted into a temple.
Bhavani, a lower caste orphan and a fervent devotee of Goddess Ammoru, is responsible for the arrest of the evil Ghorakh for him killing a young girl by burying her alive. Leelamma and her family try to kill and torture Bhavani but the attempts are a sometimes success and also a bust. In one of the attempts, Bhavani is married to a doctor, Surya, who happens to be a relation to Ghorakh. Surya goes to the USA to do a business, leaving his wife unprotected. When Ghorakh's mother Leelamma tries to kill Bhavani, with the help of Leelamma's creditor, Goddess Ammoru descends to earth, kills Leelamma's creditor and then takes the form of Bhavani's small maid servant in order to protect her. Bhavani's maid servant tortures Leelamma, her husband and her daughter. The servant of Leelamma changes his mind and stays with Ammoru. One day, Surya returns to India after his American business and Leelamma tries to blame Bhavani that she is having an illegal relationship with another man in his bedroom. But the servant saves Bhavani and keeps Leelama's daughter instead in her bedroom. The daughter is married to that man by Ammoru.
Meanwhile, Ghorakh was released from jail due to Gandhi Jayanthi and decides to take revenge against Bhavani who was the reason of his arrest. First he tries to kill Bhavani by giving her poison when she was pregnant. But Goddess Ammoru, who is in the form of the servant girl saves her and helps Bhavani give birth to the baby daughter. At last Ghorakh finds out who that good spirit is who makes his power useless. Ghorakh finds that Bhavani's servant is goddess Ammoru, who saved her and the child in her womb. At last after the child's birth, Ghorakh plans to dismiss the servant by making Bhavani say that until Bhavani puts Kumkum on the goddess' forehead and asks her to come, she should not come. Ghorakh kills Bhavani's infant daughter and tortures Surya, with the help of an evil spirit, Chanda. Bhavani prays to goddess Ammoru to save her, but the goddess doesn't react to it. At last she puts her hand on the Goddess's trident and she bleeds. Ghorakh pulls her in a bid to disrobe her, causing some drops of Bhavani's blood to spill on the goddess' forehead and The Goddess returns in her fiercest form and kills Ghorakh. She then changes her form to the servant girl. At last, Surya and Bhavani realise that the servant girl was the goddess and The Goddess returns Bhavani's baby daughter (whom she saved from Ghorakh) to Bhavani and blesses all of them.
Production.
Development and casting.
Shyam Prasad Reddy, who was disappointed with the response of his previous production "Aagraham" (1991) decided to make a film in Telugu with extensive use of visual effects after watching "" (1991). Shyam chose Y. Rama Rao, who assisted Kodandarami Reddy as director and Chinna was cast as a sorcerer, however he was replaced by Rami Reddy. Eeshwar Reddy who directed films like "Mee Sreyobhilashi" (2007) and "Manorama" (2009) worked in the camera department of the film. Ramya Krishnan was selected to portray the role of the goddess and Soundarya, who was doing her debut Telugu film "Manavarali Pelli" (1994) was selected to portray her devotee after she was recommended by Babu Mohan.
Filming.
The filming began in July 1992 at Ayinavilli at East Godavari district. Despite Y. Rama Rao being announced as director, Shyam replaced him with Kodi after Shyam was not satisfied with the film's outcome. Kodi revealed that when he was offered to direct the film, he had to read books related to visual effects to improve his knowledge. Vijay C. Kumar, who handled cinematography said that he had to use blue matte for the graphics related shots and the graphics part was handled by Lin Wood. Despite not having a big star cast, the film was shot twice and took three years to complete with the budget of 1 cr 80 lakhs.
Soundtrack.
Chakravarthy was initially chosen to compose the music, but since he was unwell at that time his son Sri was selected to compose.
Legacy.
The film's success established the trend of mythological fantasy films with visual effects in Telugu cinema with Kodi directing similar projects like "Devi" (1999) and "Anji" (2004) in his career. The film proved to be a launchpad for Soundarya, who went on to become a popular actress in Telugu cinema.


N. B. Srikanth

N. B. Srikanth is an Indian film editor, working primarily in the Tamil film industry. He worked along with Praveen K. L. in various successful films. They both won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Editor in 2008 for the film Saroja. He also won the National Film Award for Best Editing for the film Aaranya Kaandam. He assisted national award winner A. Sreekar Prasad.He is one of the big technicians in tamil cinema


Sanjith Hegde

Sanjith Hegde is an Indian playback singer from Bangalore, Karnataka. Sanjith Hegde has rendered film songs in several Indian languages and has several chart hits to his credit. He has sung songs in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His rendition of "Gunu Gunuguva" from the film "Dalapathi" composed by Charan Raj topped the music charts for a year. Sanjith won the Gaana Mirchi Music Award for the Best Upcoming Male Vocalist for the song "Kush Kush" from the movie "Chamak" composed by Judah Sandhy.
Career.
Sanjith Hegde became popular after participating in the Kannada singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – Season 13, judged by Rajesh Krishnan, Vijay Prakash and Arjun Janya, broadcast on Zee Kannada. Following which Sanjith also participated in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – Seniors, judged by Karthik, Vijay Prakash and Srinivas, which was broadcast on Zee Tamil.
Sanjith made his singing debut in the Kannada Film Industry with the song 'Gunu Gunuguva' from the film "Dalapathi" composed by Charan Raj in 2017. Sanjith made his Tamil debut in the film "Kalakalappu 2" with the song 'Thaarumaaru' and Telugu debut in the film "Krishnarjuna Yudham" with the song 'I Wanna Fly' in 2018. Sanjith's popularity as an individual artist and as a playback singer grew after that juncture, with a number of popular new songs.
Sanjith Hegde has also performed live in various cities in India and abroad.
Personal life.
Sanjith Hegde was born and raised in Bangalore, Karnataka. He did his schooling from Sishu Griha Montessori and High School. He completed his pre-university from CMR National PU College. Sanjith discontinued his Engineering from J.S.S. Academy of Technical Education, Bangalore and later on, took up his Bachelor in Business Administration.


Citizen Mani

Citizen Mani is an Indian comedian who works in Tamil-language films. He has acted in 200 films and television serials. He directed and acted in a film, "Perunali", in 2019.
Career.
Mani left his village for Chennai to pursue a career in acting. He played a role as a tea master in "Citizen" (2001). After garnering acclaim for his portrayal as a tea master, Mani added the moniker 'Citizen' to his stage name. "Citizen" enabled him to get comedic roles in several films including "Anniyan" (2005) and "Aaru" (2005). He made his directorial debut with "Perunali" (2019).


Aaram Haram Aahe

Aaram Haram Aahe is a Marathi movie released on 26 October 1976. The movie was produced by Prem Chitra and directed by Kamlakar Torne.
Cast.
The cast includes Ravindra Mahajani, Ruhi, Sharad Talwalkar, Ganesh Solanki & Others
Soundtrack.
The music has been directed by Sudhir Phadke.


Amhi Doghe Raja Rani

Amhi Doghe Raja Rani (English: We are king and queen) is a Marathi movie released on 31 December 1986.
Soundtrack.
The music has been directed by Ram Laxman.


Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated, kind-hearted working class Italian-American boxer, working as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia. Rocky, a small-time club fighter, gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship. The film also stars Talia Shire as Adrian, Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey Goldmill, and Carl Weathers as the reigning champion, Apollo Creed.
The film, made on a budget of just over $1.1 million, was a sleeper hit; it earned $225 million in global box office receipts, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976. The film was critically acclaimed and solidified Stallone's career as well as commenced his rise to prominence as a major movie star of that era. Among other accolades, it went on to receive ten Academy Award nominations, winning three, including Best Picture. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". "Rocky" is considered to be one of the greatest sports films ever made and was ranked as the second-best in the genre, after "Raging Bull", by the American Film Institute in 2008.
The film has spawned eight sequels: "Rocky II" (1979), "Rocky III" (1982), "Rocky IV" (1985), "Rocky V" (1990), "Rocky Balboa" (2006), "Creed" (2015), "Creed II" (2018), and "Creed III" (2022). Stallone portrays Rocky in all eight films, wrote six, co-wrote two, and directed four of the six titular installments.
Plot.
In 1975, the heavyweight boxing world champion, Apollo Creed, announces plans to hold a title bout in Philadelphia during the upcoming United States Bicentennial. However, he is informed five weeks from the fight date that his scheduled opponent Mac Lee Green is unable to compete due to an injured hand. With all other potential replacements booked up or otherwise unavailable, Creed decides to spice things up by giving a local contender a chance to challenge him.
Creed selects Rocky Balboa, an Italian journeyman southpaw boxer who fights primarily in small gyms and works as a collector for a loan shark. Rocky meets with promoter George Jergens under the presumption that Creed is seeking local sparring partners. Reluctant at first, Rocky eventually agrees to the fight which will pay him $150,000. Rocky undergoes several weeks of unorthodox training, such as using sides of beef as punching bags.
Rocky is later approached by Mickey Goldmill, a former bantamweight fighter who turned trainer and whose gym Rocky frequents, about training him further. Rocky is not willing initially, as Mickey has not shown much interest in helping him before and sees him as a wasted talent, but eventually accepts the offer.
Meanwhile, Rocky begins to build a romantic relationship with Adrian Pennino, who is working part-time at the J&M Tropical Fish pet shop, culminating in a kiss. Adrian's brother, Paulie, helps Rocky get a date with his sister and even offers to work as a corner man with him. Paulie becomes jealous of Rocky's success, but Rocky placates him by agreeing to advertise the meat packing business for which Paulie works, as part of the upcoming fight. The night before the fight, a sleepless Rocky visits the Philadelphia Spectrum and begins to lose confidence. He confesses to Adrian that he does not believe he can win, but strives to go the distance against Creed, which no other fighter has done, to prove himself to everyone; if he can go the distance, he won't be just "another bum from the neighborhood."
On New Year's Day, the fight is held with Creed making a dramatic entrance dressed as George Washington and then Uncle Sam. Taking advantage of his overconfidence, Rocky knocks him down in the first round — the first time that Creed has ever been knocked down. Humbled and worried, Creed takes Rocky more seriously for the rest of the fight, though his ego never fully fades. The fight goes on for the full fifteen rounds, with both combatants sustaining various injuries. Rocky, with hits to the head and swollen eyes, requires his right eyelid to be cut in order to restore his vision. Apollo, with internal bleeding and a broken rib, struggles to breathe. As the fight concludes, Creed's superior skill is countered by Rocky's apparently unlimited ability to absorb punches, and his dogged refusal to go down. As the final round bell sounds, with both fighters locked in each other's arms, they promise to each other that there will be no rematch.
After the fight, the sportscasters and the audience go wild. Jergens announces over the loudspeaker that the fight was "the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring", and Rocky calls out repeatedly for Adrian, who runs down and comes into the ring as Paulie distracts arena security. As Jergens declares Creed the winner by virtue of a split decision (8:7, 7:8, 9:6), Adrian and Rocky embrace and profess their love to each other, not caring about the outcome of the fight.
Production.
Development and writing.
Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for "Rocky" in three and a half days, shortly after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner that took place at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio on March 24, 1975. Wepner was TKO'd in the 15th round of the match by Ali, with few expecting him to last as long as he did. Despite the fact that the match motivated Stallone to begin work on "Rocky", he has subsequently denied that Wepner provided any inspiration for the script. Other possible inspirations for the film may have included characteristics of real-life boxers Rocky Marciano and Joe Frazier, as well as Rocky Graziano's autobiography "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and the movie of the same name. Wepner filed a lawsuit which was eventually settled with Stallone for an undisclosed amount.
At the time, Stallone was represented by Film Artists Management Enterprises (FAME), which was a joint venture between Hollywood talent agents, Craig T. Rumar and Larry Kubik. Stallone submitted the script to Rumar and Kubik, who immediately saw the potential for the script to be made into a motion picture. Rumar and Kubik shopped the script to various producers and studios in Hollywood but were repeatedly rejected because Stallone insisted that he be cast in the lead role. Eventually, Rumar and Kubik secured a meeting with Winkler-Chartoff productions. After repeated negotiations with Rumar and Kubik, Winkler-Chartoff agreed to a contract for Stallone to be the writer and also star in the lead role for Rocky.
United Artists liked Stallone's script, and viewed it as a possible vehicle for a well-established star such as Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. Stallone's agents, Rumar and Kubik, insisted that Stallone portray the title character, to the point of issuing an ultimatum. Stallone later said that he would never have forgiven himself, had the film become a success with somebody else in the lead. He also knew that producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff's contract with the studio enabled them to "greenlight" a project if the budget was kept low enough. The producers also collateralized any possible losses with their big-budget entry, "New York, New York" (whose eventual losses were covered by "Rocky" success). The film's production budget ended up being $1,075,000, with a further $100,000 spent on producers' fees and $4.2 million on advertising costs.
Pre-production.
Although Chartoff and Winkler were enthusiastic about the script and the idea of Stallone playing the lead character, they were hesitant about having an unknown headline the film. The producers also had trouble casting other major characters in the story, with Apollo Creed and Adrian cast unusually late by production standards. Real-life boxer Ken Norton was initially sought for the role of Apollo Creed, but he pulled out and the role was ultimately given to Carl Weathers. Norton had had three fights with Muhammad Ali, upon whom Creed was loosely based. According to "The Rocky Scrapbook", Carrie Snodgress was originally chosen to play Adrian, but a money dispute forced the producers to look elsewhere. Susan Sarandon auditioned for the role but was deemed too pretty for the character. After Talia Shire's ensuing audition, Chartoff and Winkler, along with Avildsen, insisted that she play the part.
Boxer Joe Frazier has a cameo appearance in the film. The character of Apollo Creed was influenced by outspoken boxer Muhammad Ali who fought Frazier three times. During the 49th Academy Awards ceremony in 1977, Ali and Stallone staged a brief comic confrontation to show Ali was not offended by the film. Some of the plot's most memorable moments—Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of his training regimen—are taken from the real-life exploits of Joe Frazier, for which he received no credit.
Due to the film's comparatively low budget, members of Stallone's family played minor roles. His father rings the bell to signal the start and end of a round, his brother Frank plays a street corner singer, and his first wife, Sasha, was stills photographer. Other cameos include former Philadelphia and then-current Los Angeles television sportscaster Stu Nahan playing himself, alongside radio and TV broadcaster Bill Baldwin; and Lloyd Kaufman, founder of the independent film company Troma, appearing as a drunk. Diana Lewis, then a news anchor in Los Angeles and later in Detroit, has a small scene as a TV news reporter. Tony Burton appeared as Apollo Creed's trainer, Tony "Duke" Evers, a role he would reprise in the entire "Rocky" series, though he is not given an official name until "Rocky II". Though uncredited, Michael Dorn, who would later gain fame as the Klingon Worf in ' and ', made his acting debut as Creed's bodyguard.
Filming.
Principal photography for "Rocky" began on January 9, 1976. Filming took place primarily throughout Philadelphia, with a few scenes being shot in Los Angeles. Inventor/operator Garrett Brown's new Steadicam was used to accomplish smooth photography while running alongside Rocky during the film's Philadelphia street jogging/training sequences and the run up the Art Museum's flight of stairs, now colloquially known as the Rocky Steps. It was also used for some of the shots in the fight scenes and can be seen at the ringside during some wide shots of the final fight. "Rocky" is often erroneously cited as the first film to use the Steadicam, although it was actually the third, after "Bound for Glory" and "Marathon Man".
Certain elements of the story were altered during filming. The original script had a darker tone: Mickey was portrayed as racist, and the script ended with Rocky throwing the fight after realizing he did not want to be part of the professional boxing world after all.
Both Stallone and Weathers suffered injuries during the shooting of the final fight; Stallone suffered bruised ribs and Weathers suffered a damaged nose, the opposite injuries of what their characters had.
The first date between Rocky and Adrian, in which Rocky bribes a janitor to allow them to skate after closing hours in a deserted ice skating rink, was shot that way only because of budgetary pressures. This scene was originally scheduled to be shot in a skating rink during regular business hours. However, the producers decided that they could not afford to hire the hundreds of extras that would have been necessary for that scene.
The poster seen above the ring before Rocky fights Apollo Creed shows Rocky wearing red shorts with a white stripe when he actually wears white shorts with a red stripe. When Rocky points this out, he is told that "it doesn't really matter, does it?" According to director Avildsen's DVD commentary, this was an actual mistake made by the props department that they could not afford to rectify, so Stallone wrote the brief scene to ensure the audience did not see it as a goof. Conversely, Stallone has stated that he was indeed supposed to wear red shorts with a white stripe as Rocky, but changed to the opposite colors "at the last moment". Similarly, when Rocky's robe arrived far too baggy on the day of it was needed for filming, Stallone wrote in dialogue in which Rocky points this out.
Music.
Soundtrack.
The musical score for "Rocky" was composed by Bill Conti, who previously composed a score for director John G. Avildsen's "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" (1975) that was ultimately rejected by the studio. In fact, David Shire (then-husband of Talia Shire) was the first to be offered the chance to compose the music for "Rocky" but had to turn it down due to prior commitments. Thus, Avildsen reached out to Conti without any studio help due to the film's relatively low budget. "The budget for the music was 25 grand," said Avildsen. "And that was for everything: The composer's fee, that was to pay the musicians, that was to rent the studio, that was to buy the tape that it was going to be recorded on."
The main theme song, "Gonna Fly Now", made it to number one on the "Billboard" magazine's Hot 100 list for one week (from July 2 to July 8, 1977) and the American Film Institute placed it 58th on its AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. A soundtrack album was released on November 12, 1976 by United Artists Records. The album was re-released in 1988 by EMI on CD and cassette.
Release.
Theatrical.
The movie was released on Sunday, November 21, 1976 by United Artists at Cinema II in New York City.
Reception.
Box office.
"Rocky" grossed $5,488 on its opening day at Cinema II, a house record. When it was released nationally, it grossed $5 million during its first wide weekend and consistently performed well for 8 months and eventually reached $117 million at the North American box office. Adjusted for inflation, the film earned over $500 million in North America at 2018 prices. Overseas "Rocky" fared well too, grossing $107 million for a worldwide box office accumulation of $225 million. With its production budget of $1 million, "Rocky" is notable for its worldwide percentage return of over 11,000 percent. It was the highest-grossing film released in 1976 in the United States and Canada and the second highest-grossing film of 1977 behind "Star Wars".
Critical response.
"Rocky" received positive reviews at the time of its release. Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave it 4 out of 4 stars and said that Stallone reminded him of "the young Marlon Brando." "Box Office Magazine" claimed that audiences would be "touting Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone as a new star". Frank Rich liked the film, calling it "almost 100 per cent schmaltz," but favoring it over the cynicism that was prevalent in movies at that time, although he referred to the plot as "gimmicky" and the script "heavy-handed". Several reviews, including Richard Eder's (as well as Canby's negative review), compared the work to that of Frank Capra.
The film, however, did not escape criticism. Vincent Canby, of "The New York Times", called it "pure '30s make believe" and dismissed both Stallone's acting and Avildsen's directing, calling the latter "none too decisive". Andrew Sarris found the Capra comparisons disingenuous: "Capra's movies projected more despair deep down than a movie like "Rocky" could envisage, and most previous ring movies have been much more cynical about the fight scene," and, commenting on Rocky's work as a loan shark, says that the film "teeters on the edge of sentimentalizing gangsters." Sarris also found Meredith "oddly cast in the kind of part the late James Gleason used to pick his teeth."
Four decades later, the film enjoys a reputation as a classic and still receives nearly universal praise; "Rocky" holds a 92% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's consensus states: "This story of a down-on-his-luck boxer is thoroughly predictable, but Sylvester Stallone's script and stunning performance in the title role brush aside complaints." One of the positive online reviews came from the BBC Films website, with both reviewer Almar Haflidason and BBC online users giving it 5/5 stars. In Steven J. Schneider's "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", Schneider says the film is "often overlooked as schmaltz."
In 2006, "Rocky" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Accolades.
"Rocky" received ten Oscar nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, winning three:
The Directors Guild of America awarded "Rocky" its annual award for best film of the year in 1976, and in 2006, Sylvester Stallone's original screenplay for "Rocky" was selected for the Writers Guild of America Award as the 78th best screenplay of all time.
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Rocky" was acknowledged as the second-best film in the sports genre, after "Raging Bull".
In 2008, "Rocky" was chosen by British film magazine "Empire" as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". In contrast, in a 2005 poll by "Empire", Rocky was No. 9 on their list of "The Top 10 Worst Pictures to Win Best Picture Oscar".
In 2015, "The Hollywood Reporter" polled hundreds of Academy members, asking them to re-vote on past controversial decisions. Academy members indicated that, given a second chance, they would award the 1977 Oscar for Best Picture to "All the President's Men" instead.
"Rocky" has also appeared on several of the American Film Institute's "100 Years" lists.
Other media.
Sequels.
The film's success led to eight more sequels, Beginning with "Rocky II" in 1979. Followed by "Rocky III" in 1982, "Rocky IV" in 1985, "Rocky V" in 1990, "Rocky Balboa" in 2006, "Creed" in 2015 and "Creed II" in 2018. Another sequel, titled "Creed III", will be released in 2022, but won't feature Stallone, as the actor announced he will not appear as Rocky in April, 2021.
Possible prequel.
In July 2019, Stallone said in an interview that there have been ongoing discussions about a prequel to the original film based on the life of a young Rocky Balboa.
Rocky Steps.
The famous scene of Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art has become a cultural icon, with the steps acquiring the vernacular title of "Rocky Steps". In 1982, a statue of Rocky, commissioned by Stallone for "Rocky III", was placed at the top of the Rocky Steps. City Commerce Director Dick Doran claimed that Stallone and Rocky had done more for the city's image than "anyone since Ben Franklin."
Differing opinions of the statue and its placement led to a relocation to the sidewalk outside the Spectrum Arena, although the statue was temporarily returned to the top of the steps in 1990 for "Rocky V", and again in 2006 for the 30th anniversary of the original "Rocky" (although this time it was placed at the bottom of the steps). Later that year, it was permanently moved to a spot next to the steps.
The scene is frequently parodied in the media. In the 2008 movie "You Don't Mess with the Zohan", Zohan's nemesis, Phantom, goes through a parodied training sequence finishing with him running up a desert dune and raising his hands in victory. In the fourth-season finale of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", as the credits roll at the end of the episode, Will is seen running up the same steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; however, as he celebrates after finishing his climb, he passes out in exhaustion, and while he lies unconscious on the ground, a pickpocket steals his wallet and his wool hat. In "The Nutty Professor", there is a scene where Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) struggles to and eventually succeeds at running up a lengthy flight of steps on his college campus, victoriously throwing punches at the top.
In 2006, E! named the "Rocky Steps" scene #13 in its "101 Most Awesome Moments in Entertainment".
During the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay, Philadelphia native Dawn Staley was chosen to run up the museum steps. In 2004, Presidential candidate John Kerry ended his pre-convention campaign at the foot of the steps before going to Boston to accept his party's nomination for president.
Novelization.
Upon the film's release, a paperback novelization of the screenplay was written by Rosalyn Drexler under the pseudonym Julia Sorel and published by Ballantine Books in 1976.
Video games.
Several video games have also been made based on the film. "Rocky" was released in 1987 for the Sega Master System. More recently, a "Rocky" was released in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, and a sequel, "Rocky Legends", was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In 2016, Tapinator released a mobile game named "ROCKY" for the iOS platform, with a planned 2017 release for Google Play and Amazon platforms.
Musical.
A musical was written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics and music), with the book by Thomas Meehan, based on the film. The musical premiered in Hamburg, Germany in October 2012. It began performances at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway on February 11, 2014, and officially opened on March 13, 2014.
Documentaries.
The 2016 film "Chuck" depicts Chuck Wepner, his 1975 title fight with the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, and the fight's influence on the screenplay for "Rocky".
"Rocky" is featured in the 2017 documentary "John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs" about Academy Award-winning "Rocky" director John G. Avildsen, directed and produced by Derek Wayne Johnson.
Stallone later hand-picked Johnson to direct and produce a documentary on the making of the original "Rocky", entitled "40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic", which was released in 2020. The documentary features Stallone narrating behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.


Kumari (actress)

Nagaraja Kumari Maddela (1921 – 3 March 2008), better known as Kumari, was a renowned Indian actress, playback singer, musician, beauty queen, and a model. She was the first Indian actress to play dual-roles in film. She pioneered the art of playing multiple roles in a single film. She was also one of the first Indian faces used by Lux (soap), a brand that pioneered female celebrity endorsement, and have since used famous faces such as Aishwarya Rai.
She was born in Tenali in 1921. She wanted to be an actress since she was a child but her parents did not approve of her aspirations. Her relative Anjaiah Puvvala became her agent and booked her for acting in "Dasavataram" in 1936. This was her debut film, where she played three roles as Lakshmi, Seetha and Yashodhara. In 1939, she played the heroine in her second film "Amma" directed by Niranjan Pal. She portrayed the role of Chitralekha in "Usha" in the same year. She then booked for three films with Vauhini Studios. Her major breakthrough film was "Sumangali" in 1940, and since then she was known as Kumari. She played as an innocent housemaid in "Devatha" in 1941. She competed with Chittor V. Nagaiah and Tanguturi Suryakumari and earned a great repertoire. She played with K. S. Prakash Rao in "Tulasidas". She was one of the very few actress of that time that voiced her own songs. After a five-year hiatus, she acted in the successful film "Mugguru Maratilu" in 1946. She acted played another dual role very well in "Maayapilla" in 1951 where she played Asha and Roopa. She subsequently acted in the classic film "Malliswari" (1951) as Maharani, "Akasharaju" (1951), based on the story by Vishwanatha Satyanarayana, "Pempudu Koduku" (1953) and "Sri Kalahastiswara Mahatyam" (1954).
Kumari moved to Vijayawada in 1958. She died on 3 March 2008 at the age of 87 years.


Indraganti Srikanth

Indraganti Srikanth Sharma (; 29 May 1944 – 25 July 2019), was an Indian Telugu lyricist and writer. He wrote books, including short stories, radio plays, poetry and primarily lyrics during his lifetime career and was actively involved in Telugu literature and cinema of south Indian film industry.
He was born in Ramachandrapuram, East Godavari town of Andhra Pradesh. He was born to Indraganti Hanumath Sastry. He married Janaki Bala, with which he had two children: Mohan Krishna Indraganti, including one daughter Kiranmayi Indraganti.
Career.
Srikanth began his career with a Telugu weekly newspaper "Andhra Jyothi" where he worked as a journalist. Later in 1976, he joined the All India Radio's domestic serve in Vijayawada where he used to write scripts for radio plays throughout his twenty years of service. Prior to start literary career, he worked at the "Andhra Prabha" weekly newspaper as an editor. He wrote lyrics for Telugu films, including for his first film "Sri Krishnavataram" in 1982, "Nelavanka" and for his last film "Sammohanam" in 2018. His lyrics also appears in several films directed by Mohan Krishna Indraganti. He wrote novels, poems and documentaries such as "Telugu Kavula Aparadhalu", "Malavika", and his own autobiography titled "Inti Peru Indraganti".
Death.
Srikanth Sharma was suffering from aging-associated disease and died of medical complications in Hyderabad on 25 July 2019.


Anjali Parvati Koda

Anjali Parvati Koda is a writer-director in Telugu films, acclaimed playwright and the co-founder of Hyderabad's popular theatre group Samahaara along with theatre personality Rathna Shekar Reddy. Her father is filmmaker Mohan Koda and her brother is writer Rahul Koda.
Biography.
Koda is a critically acclaimed playwright and writer in films. Her father is filmmaker Mohan Koda and brother Rahul Koda is a screenwriter in Telugu who co-wrote Telugu movies including Anaganaga O Dheerudu, Panjaa. She wrote her first play Purushotham-He, the Victim of Spiders and Pressure Cookers at 18, and later on penned Dominic Wesley, directed by Stu Denison, which received rave reviews including "well-written and witty". She co-wrote the adaptation of Samahaara's hit production 'The Last Wish Baby', a satirical comedy which is one of Hyderabad's most popular plays with reviews calling it a "laugh riot" and a "must watch". Her next play was Gregor Samsa, a stage adaptation of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis which was critically acclaimed with reviews citing "at once horrific and comic, thanks to the deft adaptation and impressive performances". Her first play Purushotham, He the Victim of Spiders and Pressure Cookers was included in the syllabus for prestigious universities abroad including for Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
Her next play Karna was funded by National School of Drama, and it "deviates from the traditional portrayals" and is inspired by the great Indian epic Mahabharata and interprets it from Karna's point of view.
She is also a Standup Comedian. She has directed short films and web series. She was honoured by Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad which hosted a group art exhibition, ‘NavDevi’ celebrating diversity of talent and creativity in women by putting up an exhibit with quotes from her plays and her photographs. She has written dialogue for Telugu films. She has acted in plays such as Hamlet and Anton Chekov's The Bear.
Samahaara.
Rathna Shekar and Anjali began with touring their maiden production The Crest of the Peacock, an educational play on mathematics across the twin cities to schools and colleges, staging more than 50 shows. Their play Purushotham-He, the Victim of Spiders and Pressure Cookers has gotten critical acclaim. They have worked on many productions since including another original play Dominic Wesley written by Koda directed by UK-based Stu Denison, Unlucky (based on Samuel Beckett's plays) also directed by Denison, Rabindranath Tagore's Post Office, Woody Allen's God, Athol Fugard's The Island and many workshop productions.
The Hyderabad Theatre Festival.
The group Samahaara under the guidance of Rathna Shekar Reddy and Anjali Parvati Koda is credited with making theatre popular and involving the young crowd in Hyderabad. Their most significant contribution to the Theatre of India, apart from their original productions, has been organizing three editions of The Hyderabad Theatre Festival, namely The Hyderabad Theatre Festival 2009, The Hyderabad Theatre and Short-Film Festival 2010 and the Samahaara Hyderabad Theatre and Rock Music Festival 2011. The Festival has been instrumental in bringing together the various amateur and professional theatre groups in Hyderabad and improving the quality and scale of the plays. The platform of HTF as it is abbreviated has been a great boost for theatre groups in Hyderabad.
Many of Samahaara's stand-alone productions are performed at various auditoriums across the city, including the open-cultural center Lamakaan, the iconic Ravindra Bharathi, Telugu University and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. HTF 2009 was held in June 2009 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, HTF 2010 was conducted at Ravindra Bharathi in July 2010 for 7 days and HTF 2011 was conducted in December 2011 at three venues: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Ravindra Bharathi and Taramati Baradari.


Maha Subair

Maha Subair, born Subair Pareed, is an Indian film producer, predominantly working in Malayalam films. He is associated with "Varna Chithra" and has produced a number of films such as "Meesa Madhavan", "Manassinakkare", "Thirakkatha", "Christian Brothers", the first mentioned being the highest grossing film in the year of its release.


List of interracial romance films

This is a list of interracial romance films.
Films.
The films in this list satisfy the following requirements:


Kate Box

Kate Box is an Australian stage, film and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in "Rake" and as Lou Kelly in "Wentworth".
Career.
In 2003, Box graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Her first stage performance was in 2004 as Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Bell Shakespeare Company, while her other credits include the Sydney Theatre Company presentation of "Top Girls" which she received a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play nomination, "Dolores" (Old Fitzroy Theatre), "Macbeth" (Sydney Theatre Company) and "A Christmas Carol" (Belvoir).
She went on to make her screen debut with a role in the 2005 television film sequel "". Following this, she made her film debut in 2008 with "The Black Balloon" and she received guest spots on television shows such as the medical drama series "All Saints" and the children's drama series "My Place". She came to prominence with her role as Nicole Vargas in the ABC comedy-drama series "Rake" for which she appeared throughout its entire run. During her run on "Rake", Box was cast in popular television series including "Offspring", "Old School" and the six-part mini-series "Fucking Adelaide".
In 2014, Box was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in "The Little Death".
Box played Marg McMann in the 2018 television film "Riot", a film focusing on the LGBTI rights movement and the origins of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in the 1970s, a role of which won her the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama.
Her subsequent acting credits have included roles in the 2018 mini-series adaptation of "Picnic at Hanging Rock", "Wanted", "The Unlisted" and "Les Norton", and the feature films "The Daughter", "Three Summers" and "Back of the Net".
In 2019, it was announced Box was cast in the role of Lou Kelly in the Foxtel prison drama series "Wentworth".
Personal life.
Since 2009, Box has been in a relationship with actor Jada Alberts, who also appeared in "Wentworth" from 2013 to 2014. They reside in Sydney with their three children.


Al-Kompars

Al-Kompars () (International title: "The Extras") is a Syrian feature film by director Nabil Maleh. It features Bassam Kousa and Samar Sami.


Poovaiyar

Poovaiyar is an Indian gaana singer and actor who works in Tamil-language films. He is known for being a part of Star Vijay's "Super Singer Junior" and co-singing "Verithanam" from "Bigil" (2019).
Career.
Poovaiyar participated and became the second runner up of Super Singer Junior 6. He sang a song in "Natpe Thunai" (2019) along with Hiphop Tamizha Aadhi. Poovaiyar co-sang the song "Verithanam" in the film "Bigil" (2019) with Vijay and Sangeetha Rajeshwaran in addition to appearing in the song. Poovaiyar sang the song "Kolamav Kokkila" in the film "50/50" (2019). The film picturizes Yogi Babu and is inspired by the song "Kalyaana Vayasu" from "Kolamavu Kokila". He later appeared in "Master" (2021), and has been signed to play a role in the upcoming films "Andhagan" and "Cobra".


Aadanthe Ado Type

Aadanthe Ado Type is a 2003 Indian Telugu romance film directed by E V V Satyanarayana with Sivaji, Aryan Rajesh and Anita Hassanandani in lead roles. It is a remake of the 2002 Tamil film "Mounam Pesiyadhe" written and directed by Ameer Sultan, with Aryan Ramesh, Anita, Shivaji, and Sindhu replacing Suriya, Trisha, Nandha, and Maha, respectively, who originally played the roles. The film released on 30 August 2003. There is also a dubbed Telugu version of "Mounam Pesiyadhe", titled as "Kanchu", which released in 2006.
Plot.
Surya (Aryan Rajesh) is a man who hates love. But somehow he is charmed by Brunda (Anita Hassanandani). Brunda likes his attitude and admires him as a friend. But her admiration coupled with a few coincidences makes Surya think that she is in love him. When he is expecting her to speak those magical words (I love you), she introduces Surya to her fiancé (Sai Kiran). After Brunda marries her beau, a damsel (Bhoomika Chawla) meets Surya and explains the flashback. That beautiful girl is a silent admirer of Surya and had been following him for years. She proposes to Surya when they were in college. Surya asks her to come back once he is financially settled, as love and life afterall need security. Finally Surya settles down with her and the movie ends on a happy note.
Soundtrack.
The music, including film score, was composed by Ilaiyaraaja's youngest son, Yuvan Shankar Raja. The soundtrack comprises 7 tracks, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja as well, out of which 5 songs were retained from the original film with minor modifications. The lyrics were written by Surendra Krishna. "Todakotti" is best song of this Album.The audio was launched live through Gemini TV, whereas viewers themselves could release one of the songs, by calling on a certain number. Out of 2.7 lakhs callers 7 people got the chance to release a song each.


Lee Daniels

Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His first producer credit was "Monster's Ball" (2001), with which he became the first African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film, when Halle Berry won Best Actress. After his directorial debut "Shadowboxer" (2005) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Daniels directed "Precious" (2009), based on the novel "Push". The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including two nominations for Daniels (Best Director and Best Picture).
In 2013, he directed "Lee Daniels' The Butler", a drama that tells the story of an African-American butler who served at the White House during seven presidential administrations. In 2015, Daniels co-created and directed Fox's "Empire" and served as executive producer for all six seasons.
Early life.
Daniels was born on December 24, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Clara Watson and William L. Daniels. Daniels has four siblings - Cheryl, Lydia (aka Girlie), Maynard and Leah. His younger sister, Leah Daniels-Butler, is a television and film casting director credited with casting many of his projects. As a teenager, Daniels earned a scholarship to Radnor High School. In 1975, when Daniels’ was 15 years-old, his family faced a devastating loss, when their father, who was a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. He graduated from Radnor High School in 1978, and then Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.
After graduating from Radnor in 1978, Daniels attended Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. But he soon realized the liberal arts school was not for him, and he moved to Hollywood, eventually working as a receptionist in a nursing agency. Before long, Daniel's started his own nursing agency - specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment. Eventually, he sold his nursing agency and segued into casting. He began his career in entertainment as a casting director and manager after a chance meeting with a Hollywood producer, working on such projects as "Under the Cherry Moon" and "Purple Rain". He continued managing talent. The documentary "My Big Break" features Daniels early in his career when he was managing actor Wes Bentley, who starred as Ricky Fitts in "American Beauty". In the documentary, Daniels comments on Bentley's reluctance to capitalize on his newfound celebrity status.
Career.
"Monster's Ball", the debut production of Lee Daniels Entertainment, was a critical and box office success. Halle Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress; the film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Daniels said he did not attend the Oscars when the film won, citing his challenges with addiction and his struggle over whether he "deserved" to attend, according to an emotional interview on MSNBC in 2019.
His 2004 production "The Woodsman", starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It went on to garner three nominations at the 2005 Independent Spirit Awards, the CICAE Arthouse Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Deauville International Film Festival, and a "Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking" award from the National Board of Review. Former president Bill Clinton persuaded Daniels to produce public service announcements to encourage young people of color to vote. The campaign was launched in March 2004 and featured Grammy winners LL Cool J and Alicia Keys.
His first directorial effort, 2006's "Shadowboxer", debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. It starred Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr., Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Mo'Nique, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Macy Gray. It was nominated for Best New Director at the San Sebastian Film Festival.
His 2008 production "Tennessee" was written by Russell Schaumberg and directed by Aaron Woodley ("Rhinoceros Eyes"); the film is about two brothers, played by Adam Rothenberg and Ethan Peck, who travel from New Mexico to Tennessee to search for their estranged father. Along the way they meet Krystal (Mariah Carey), an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband (Lance Reddick) to join them on their journey.
His 2009 film "Precious" told the story of an obese, illiterate, 16-year-old girl (Gabourey Sidibe) who lives in a Section 8 tenement in Harlem. She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long-term physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from her unemployed mother, Mary (Mo'Nique). Carey appeared as a social worker. The film screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and went on to garner widespread acclaim. Mo'Nique won the Academy award for best supporting actress, Daniels was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the film received a Best Picture nomination. It was a financial success grossing $63 million worldwide against a budget of $10 million.
In 2010, Grace Hightower De Niro, who appeared in "Precious", presented Daniels with the Pratt Institute's Creative Spirit Award.
Daniels directed "The Paperboy" (2012), based on the 1995 novel by Pete Dexter who penned the original script which was further developed by Daniels; it starred Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, and Nicole Kidman. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
He directed the historical fiction drama film "The Butler" (2013), starring Forest Whitaker, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, and Oprah Winfrey. "The Butler" received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $100 million in the United States against a budget of $30 million.
"Empire", a television series created by Daniels, premiered on January 7, 2015. Daniels directed the first episode and co-wrote it with "The Butler" screenwriter Danny Strong. The series stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, and is about a family's music empire.
In 2015, Daniels was listed as one of the nine runners-up for "The Advocate"'s Person of the Year.
In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Daniels and others told the stories of the people killed there.
On December 2, 2016, Daniels received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry.
On February 8, 2018, amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research) paid tribute to Daniels at their 20th annual amfAR Gala New York at Cipriani Wall Street. Award-winning actress, singer, and songwriter Queen Latifah presented him the amfAR Award of Courage, describing his past work with HIV/AIDS patients. She also shared that as a gifted creative force, he creates "unfailingly human" characters, who are "often striving to rise above difficult circumstances". In his acceptance speech, he spoke about a generation lost to AIDS and said that the crisis had taken at least 40 of his personal friends. In the fight against AIDS, he said it is important to "step up when it matters".
Controversy.
On September 16, 2015, in a "Rolling Stone" interview, Daniels was asked about actor Terrence Howard who said that his first wife "was talking to [him] real strong, [that he] lost [his] mind and slapped her in front of [their] kids" and that he got physical with his second wife too. Daniels excused the domestic violence and called Howard a "poor boy", saying that Howard "ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn". A week later, Daniels was sued by Penn in a 10 million dollar defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit stated that "Daniels falsely equate[d] Penn with Howard [and that] Penn (unlike Howard) [had] never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would [have] confirm[ed] and attest[ed]." Penn dropped the lawsuit in May 2016 after Daniels retracted his statement and apologized.
Personal life.
Daniels lives in Manhattan. He is gay. He and his then-partner, casting director Billy Hopkins, adopted Daniels's biological niece and nephew, Clara and Liam.
Hopkins and Daniels later separated.
In 2015, Daniels clarified his sexuality by stating that despite being gay men, both he and "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett are sexually fluid.Jussie and I both share the same feeling that, yes, even though we are gay, we’re sexual human beings...And we do occasionally want to sleep with a woman. [Laughs] Maybe once every 10 or 15 years, but it happens! And there are a lot of people who don’t want to hear about that. It’s such a complicated conversation. It's not necessarily the body one is attracted to. You can be sexually attracted to the spirit, the energy, the life force in another person. We're showing life on "Empire", and I won't apologise for it.


Ella Hunt

Ella Hunt (born 29 April 1998) is an English actress and singer. She is known for her film roles in "Intruders" (2011), "Robot Overlords" (2014), and her starring role in "Anna and the Apocalypse" (2017). From 2016 to 2017, she played Ellie Marsden in the ITV comedy series "Cold Feet". As of 2019, she plays Sue Gilbert on the Apple TV+ series "Dickinson".
Early life.
Born in London to sculptor and actress Louise Hunt and art dealer David Grob, Hunt grew up on a farm in Parracombe, North Devon near Barnstaple. She is of Swiss descent on one side. She has an older brother William, a younger brother Arthur, as well as three older half-siblings from her father's first marriage.
Hunt attended Millfield Preparatory School in Somerset and then Blundell's School in Tiverton. She was discovered by an agent when she was in a school production at Millfield at the age of 11.
Career.
Beginning as a child actress, Hunt appeared in the 2011 film "Intruders", the 2012 film "Les Misérables", and the 2014 independent film "Robot Overlords". She made her television debut at 18 in 2016 as Ellie Marsden alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones as her twin Olivia in the ITV series "Cold Feet".
Hunt starred as Anna Shepherd in the 2018 film "Anna and the Apocalypse", which earned her a Scottish BAFTA nomination as well as an ensemble award at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. She also appeared in the 2019 film "Summer Night" and starred as Kat Malone in the 2020 film "Kat and the Band". In 2018, Hunt was cast as Sue Gilbert in the 2019 Apple TV+ period drama "Dickinson".
Personal life.
Hunt splits her time between Islington, London and Brooklyn Heights, New York. In March 2021, she came out as queer.


Allari (film)

Allari ( Ruckus) is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film produced and directed by Ravi Babu under the Flying Frogs banner, the film stars Naresh and Swetha Agrawal in lead roles. The film was remade in Tamil as "Kurumbu."
Plot.
This is a story about a young man Ravi (Naresh) who belongs to a middle-class family. His father (Kota Srinivasa Rao), runs a small business and is quite tight fisted when it comes to money. Ravi's best friend Aparna "Apu" (Swetha Agarwal), lives in the same building as Ravi. Apu and Ravi have grown up together and share a very special friendship and Apu has always been there for Ravi whenever he needed anything (especially "money"). Both Ravi and Apu take each other for granted and are unaware of their feelings for each other.
Ravi has a crush on a new neighbour, Ruchi (Nilambari) who has recently moved into the flat opposite of his flat. Ruchi enjoys all the attention and gifts she receives from the opposite sex and is quite a flirt. Ravi who believes he is deeply in love with Ruchi, writes a love letter to her and requests Apu to pass it on to Ruchi without revealing the source. Apu reads the letter and finds the content of the letter very childish. She re-writes the love letter making it more expressive and passes it on to Ruchi. The letter has the desired effect on Ruchi and she loves the idea of having a secret admirer.
One fine day, Ravi introduces himself as the person who has written the love letter and they start dating each other. The love letter (which was not destroyed) accidentally changes a few hands and leads to many misunderstandings and confusion, especially between Ruchi's father and Ravi's mother. Apu starts feeling lonely and hurt and feels bad for her best friend who was so blind to the truth and during this period she realizes her true feelings towards Ravi. The last act comes, when Ruchi invites Ravi to her place saying that she was all alone and that she wants to give a "special gift" to him on her birthday. Before Ruchi bestows her "special gift" upon Ravi, their parents storm into the flat and it leads to a comical mayhem which ends with each character waking up to their own folly. Apu in the meantime has got into a medical college and was leaving town. Ravi gets a chance to read the letter he had written to Ruchi and realizes that it was Apu who had written the letter to prevent him making a fool of himself. The movie ends with Ravi being forgiven by Apu after he honestly expresses how he feels about her.
Soundtrack.
The music of the film was composed by Paul J.
The music director used offbeat instruments (like Tabla, flute etc.) in the background.
There are five songs in the film. All songs are written by Sirivennela. Three of them are situational songs and two of them are dream songs (duets). The canning of duets is in MTV song picturization format.
Reception.
"Sify" gave three out of five stars, and praised Naresh for his performance. "Idlebrain.com", giving four out of five, wrote that "Allari is a good film and it should be appreciated well so that we can see new talent making films with innovative themes."


Shahram Qadir

Shahram Qadir () is an Iranian filmmaker, screenwriter, and photographer. He grew up in Iran in Teheran, Qom, and West Azerbaijan. Shahram lives in Sweden since 1992. He is a master graduate of Södertörn University in Art and Art History in Sweden.
References.
"Radio Sweden", Sweden 2013
"VOA Persian", Voice of America 2018
"Vivente Andante Magazine", Portugal 2020
"Expresso Magazine", Portugal 2020
"Hawler Newspaper", Iraq 2020
"Hawler Newspaper", Iraq 2020
"Kurdsat TV", Iraq 2020


Soldiers. Story from Ferentari

Soldiers. Story from Ferentari (original title in Romanian: Soldații. Poveste din Ferentari) is a 2017 Romanian drama film directed by Ivana Mladenović and based on the novel with the same title by Adrian Schiop.
Storyline.
The film tells the story of Adi (Schiop), an introverted anthropologist who moves into Ferentari, an ill-famed neighbourhood of Bucharest, to study for his PhD in manele music. After meeting Alberto (Vasile Pavel-Digudai), a Romani former convict who was sexually abused in prison, they begin a romantic relationship.
Awards.
For "Soldiers. Story from Ferentari", Mladenović won Best Debut at the 2018 Gopo Awards; the film also received nominations for Best Actor (Vasile-Digudai) and Best Art Direction (Adrian Cristea).


Gandhi Krishna

Gandhi Krishna is an Indian film director who has worked on Tamil films. After beginning his career as an assistant to Shankar, he has made commercially and critically successful films.
Career.
After apprenticing under Shankar in "Indian" (1996), Gandhi Krishna approached writer Sujatha to allow him to adapt his novel "Pirivom Sandhipom" into a screenplay. Sujatha refused the offer citing that film makers had often misinterpreted his novels' characters, so the plan was consequently dropped. Gandhi Krishna then began work on his first venture, a social drama film titled "Engineer" in late 1997. Touted as a big-budget project, the film starred Arvind Swamy and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles and was based on a story regarding the building of a dam project in South India. The film ran into financial trouble after eighty percent of the film's shoot had been completed and has since remained unreleased. In 1999, director Shankar, the mentor of Gandhi Krishna, attempted to revive the project through his production house but was unsuccessful in doing so. A further attempt was made to restart the project with Suriya in the lead role in 2004, but it also failed to materialize.
Subsequently, Gandhi Krishna made his directorial debut through the art film "Nila Kaalam" (2001), a coming-of-age television film starring children. Based on Sujatha's novel "Andru Un Arugil", the film won a National Film Award and received critical acclaim, with a reviewer from The Hindu stating the film "is a must for one and all" and that Gandhi Krishna tackles the "theme confidently". He next made the romantic thriller, "Chellamae" (2004), featuring newcomer Vishal in the lead role alongside Reemma Sen and Bharath. The basic premise of the plot was taken from a line from the Ramayana, with Bharath portraying the antagonist. Unlike his first venture, "Chellamae" was made to entertain audiences and prompted a positive response from critics as well as at the box office.
Gandhi Krishna finally ended up making "Pirivom Sandhipom" from mid-2007 as "Ananda Thandavam" (2009), with rookie actors Siddharth Venugopal, Tamannaah Bhatia and Rukmini Vijayakumar in the leading roles. Despite being promoted heavily prior to release, the film garnered negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office. A critic from Rediff.com noted "though its scores in parts for sensitivity, the overall effect is rather lacking in enthusiasm". In 2012, it was reported that Gandhi Krishna had taken over as the director of the fantasy film "Karikalan" from L. I. Kannan. The film, which starred Vikram, Zarine Khan and Radhika Apte, had been in production since 2010 but has failed to restart even after Gandhi Krishna's appointment.


Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

The Cine Las Americas International Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Austin, Texas featuring Latin American and indigenous films from the Americas. In its 14th year in 2011, the Festival has grown into a citywide event, with over 100 screenings in a nine-day span. Patrons of the festival are offered a wide variety of films to choose from including narrative and documentary features, short films, animation and youth films.
Organization.
Cine Las Americas, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a multicultural organization that offers cultural experiences and business opportunities for Latinos in film and media arts, and brings media arts education to minority youth in Austin. While the international film festival seeks to become an institution in the international film business and trade, fostering multi-national film production, and accessing emerging markets and diverse audiences, Cine Las Americas remains a community oriented Media Arts Center, offering diverse opportunities for culture, education and fun.
Festival history.
The Cine Las Americas International Film festival began in 1997 as a Cuban film retrospective sponsored by the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, Texas. While programming the initial event, the organizers realized that although Austin was building its reputation as an important city for producing and showcasing independent film, films made by and about Latinos were largely absent from the community's cultural landscape. In 2001, Cine Las Americas partnered with the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and moved the organization's offices to Johnston High School in East Austin, where it established a Media Arts Center, implementing educational and mentoring programs to support the District's Dropout Prevention Campaign. During this time the organization offered the school's students hands-on bilingual opportunities in multimedia production, event production, and non-profit organization management.
Festival-related programs and milestones.
The training students received in the Cine Las Americas-school district partnership culminated in students producing "Emergencia", the youth component of the film festival. In "Emergencia" they receive entries from around the country, preview them in order to curate a program, grant awards for the best work, and produce a day of free screenings within the context of the festival. "Emergencia" remains a special competitive section of the festival open to filmmakers ages 19 and under and is curated by students participating in Cine Las Americas' multicultural Media Literacy programs.
In 2003, professional musicians and other guest artists began to instruct and mentor dozens of students at a recording studio inside the organization's classroom at the school. There, students were able to write and record music and lyrics in a professional studio environment within a bilingual Digital Music Production curriculum in the after-school program "BeatLab". Many students have used skills learned there in preparing work for subsequent Festivals. "BeatLab" has continued at other area schools since the organization's offices moved to East Austin after its contract with the school expired.
Also in 2003, the festival extended its program to include indigenous work from the Americas, established competitive sections granting juried and audience awards.
By 2005, the organization had presented more than 300 films at the annual Festival and at various screenings throughout Texas, collaborating with institutions such as The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), the South By Southwest film festival (SXSW), and the Austin Film Festival.
In 2007, the Festival expanded to its current format in celebration of Cine Las Americas' 10th anniversary.
The 13th annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival was held April 21–29, 2010, and featured Mexico as the invited country in celebration of Mexico's bicentennial.
2009 awards.
Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature:
El truco del manco (The Handless Trick)
Director: Santiago Zannou, Spain, 2008
Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature:
Intimidades de Shakespeare y Víctor Hugo (Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies)
Director: Yulene Olaizola, Mexico, 2008
Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature:
Unidad 25 (Unit 25)
Director: Alejo Hoijman, Argentina / Spain, 2008
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short Film:
Danzak
Director: Gabriela Yepes, Peru / USA, 2008
Special Jury Award for Narrative Short Film:
Saliva
Director: Esmir Filho, Brazil, 2007
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film:
Conversations II
Director: Marianela Vega Oroza, Peru / USA, 2007
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature:
Cinco días sin Nora (Nora's Will)
Director: Mariana Chenillo, Mexico, 2008
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature:
El General
Director: Natalia Almada, Mexico, 2009
Emergencia Youth Competition, Jury Award for Best Film:
Journeys Through the Red, White and Blue: Brian's Journey
Andrea Williams, USA, 2008
2008 awards.
JURY AWARD WINNERS:
Jury Award for Best First or Second Narrative Feature
NOEL POETA DA VILA (NOEL, THE SAMBA POET), Ricardo van Steen, Brazil, 2006
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short
MEXICAN DREAM, David Michan, Mexico, 2007
Special Jury Mention for Narrative Short
EN TRÁNSITO (IN TRANSIT), Isabel Muñoz Cota Callejas, México, 2007
Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
LA AMERICANA (THE AMERICAN), Nicholas Bruckman, USA, 2008
Special Jury Mention for Documentary Feature
LOS PUÑOS DE UNA NACIÓN (THE FISTS OF A NATION), Pituka Ortega Heilbron, Panama, 2006
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short
CON EL TOQUE DE LA CHAVETA (WITH A STROKE OF THE CHAVETA), Pamela Sporn, Cuba, USA, 2007
Special Jury Mention for Documentary Short
POR MIS HIJOS (FOR THEM), Aymée Cruzalegui, Spain, 2007
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
NAO POR ACASO (NOT BY CHANCE), Philippe Barcinski, Brazil, Drama, 2007
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
LA AMERICANA (THE AMERICAN), Nicholas Bruckman, USA, 2008
Earlier winners.
Best Documentary Feature 2006:
De NADIE, Tin Dirdamal, 2006
De NADIE went on to win many other awards including the Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival 2006, and Mexican Ariele award for Best Feature Documentary, 2006.


R. S. Durai Senthilkumar

R. S. Durai Senthilkumar is an Indian film director, writer and lyricist, who is currently working in the Tamil film industry.
Career.
Senthilkumar worked as an assistant director to Vetrimaaran, before making his directorial debut with "Ethir Neechal" (2013), starring Sivakarthikeyan, Priya Anand, and Nandita in the lead roles. The film, with music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, was released on 1 May 2013 to critical acclaim from critics, for which Senthilkumar was awarded the Vijay Award for Best Crew in 2014.
His next venture was "Kaaki Sattai" (2015), again starring Sivakarthikeyan and featuring music composed by Anirudh, alongside Sri Divya, Vijay Raaz, Prabhu in the lead roles. The story revolves around an honest police constable who wants to prove himself as a true, powerful cop by finding ways to solve issues of corruption in the law and order system in the department of police, and in the process thwarts an illegal organ donation scam. The film was released on 27 February 2015 to positive reviews from critics, with many praising the transition of Sivakarthikeyan from the comedy genre to the action genre.
Senthilkumar's next project was the 2016 film "Kodi", starring Dhanush, Trisha and Anupama Parameswaran in the lead roles. The film, based on two twin brothers, one a brash politician and the other, a pacifistic, straight thinking teacher who is forced to enter politics following his twin brother's murder to avenge his killer, features music by Santhosh Narayanan. The film was Dhanush's first time doing dual roles in his career. The film was released on 28 October 2016 to a mixed-to-positive reception from critics.
His next venture is the Dhanush-starrer "Pattas", again featuring the latter in dual roles along with Sneha and Mehreen Pirzada in the lead roles.


Parthu

Parthasarathy Nemani, (born 24 September 1974) popularly known as Parthu, is an Indian Telugu playback singer in Tollywood with rich classical music background. Parthu has rendered more than 100 film songs and sung more than 2000 private songs in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada. Parthu is one of the very few Telugu playback singers who has performed internationally.
Parthu debuted as music director with a recent Telugu film and has also composed music for several fusion, devotional albums.
Early life.
Parthasarathy Nemani (Parthu) was born in 1974 in a traditional Telugu family in Kakinada, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Parthu began learning Carnatic classical music at the age of five and had his initial training from Smt.Srilakshmi and advanced training from Neti Sriram Sarma had his entire schooling in Kakinada and subsequently graduated from Vasavi College of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.
Achievements.
Parthu won numerous awards in more than 400 competitions at various levels in the fields of Carnatic classical, light music and film music. Some of his major accomplishments include:
Concerts.
Parthu has more than 500 stage performances to his credit in India and abroad. Parthu is one of the very few playback singers to perform in all five continents including in the US, UK, Australia, Kuwait, and is the first Telugu playback singer to perform in Botswana and Nigeria. Parthu gave performances together with other renowned singers like S P Balasubrahmanyam, Smt. S. Janaki, Mano and Smt. Chitra.
Albums and musical direction.
Parthu sang more than 2000 private songs which include devotional songs, folk music, light music and songs for television serials.
Parthu composed two songs "Kudikannu Adirene" and "Kanna Velugantha" for Kalatapaswi Sri K. Viswanath's movie "Swarabhishekam". The film won the National Award for Music. Parthu debuted as music director with the movie "Nandeeswarudu" in 2012. Parthu composed music for several devotional, fusion and remix albums.
Parthu has established a sophisticated recording studio "Keerthana Digital" in Hyderabad in the year 2001.
Charity.
Parthu, with the help of some friends established the Lotus Foundation, a non-profit organisation to support the educational needs of 'Economically Backward Brilliant Students' in 2009. It has been supporting a number of students in Engineering and Medicine many of whom have successfully completed their studies and got employed upon graduation.


SIIMA Award for Best Male Playback Singer (Telugu)

SIIMA Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Telugu is presented by Vibri media group as part of its annual South Indian International Movie Awards, for the best singing by a male playback singer/vocalist of a Telugu-language song. The award was first given in 2012 for songs and films released in 2011.


Aditya Gadhvi

Aditya Gadhvi (born 3 April 1994) is a playback singer and lyricist from Gujarat, India. He has rendered film songs in several Indian languages and has many chart hits. He is involved in Gujarati film scoring and has released a number of singles. He created and released a special song for Independence Day
His renditions of "Manzil" and "Luv Ni Love Storys", composed by Parth Bharat Thakkar, were used in the film "Luv Ni Love Storys".
Early life.
Gadhvi was born in Gujarat to a Gujarati-speaking family. His father is Yogesh Gadhvi. He speaks fluent Gujarati, Hindi, and Marathi.
Career.
He was a winner of "E-Tv Lok Gayak Gujarat" a folk and Sufi singer 2 songs from the movie 'Kamasutra3D' sung by Gadhvi shortlisted for Oscar nominations in 2014. He was also the winner of Gujarat's highest T.R.P gainer show "Lok Gaayak Gujarat" at the age of 18. After winning the show "Lok Gayak Gujarat", Gadhvi performed Gujarati folk music all over Gujarat, as well as Hong Kong. Gadhvi gave his voice to represent Gujarat's tableau in the Republic Day Parade of 26th January. This parade was in the presence of United States of America's President Barack Obama and India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as well as thousands of other guests. Performed with A .R. Rahman as backing vocalist in his live shows in Dubai, Vadodara, etc. Gadhvi has worked with A. R. Rahman on the Bollywood film 'Lekar Hum Deewana Dil'.
He has performed at many live concerts and is quite popular when it comes to Navratri events. He is popular for hits such as 'Sharato Lagu', 'Hellaro' and 'Love Ni Bhavai' among many others. Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has performed dandiya on Gadhvi's song when he was performing "Dakla" song on Navratra festival.


Our Crazy Aunts

Our Crazy Aunts () is a 1961 Austrian comedy film directed by Rolf Olsen and starring Gunther Philipp, Gus Backus, and Vivi Bach. It was followed by two sequels "Our Crazy Nieces" and "Our Crazy Aunts in the South Seas".
The film's sets were designed by the art director Felix Smetana.


Vedanth Bharadwaj

Vedanth Bharadwaj (born 1 October 1980) is a vocalist and composer born in Mumbai, India. He is a qualified guitarist from the Trinity College London and is best known for his work with songs and poems from the Bhakti Movement.
Early life.
Vedanth started training in Classical music around the age of four, under Neyveli Santhanagopalan. At first a reluctant student, he soon realised that he enjoyed his music lessons. After being a student of Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan for over ten years, he trained with Sri Narayana Iyengar for about three years. But his training came to an abrupt end when he moved to Rishi Valley School. While there, he met his roommate and future collaborator, Ananth Menon, who introduced him to rock music, and taught him the guitar. Vedanth is a Post Graduate in Psychology and an MBA in Corporate Communication.
Music.
Early career.
When he returned to Chennai from Rishi Valley School, Vedanth formed a band called Buddha's Babies, playing in a genre they liked to call "alternative acoustic trance". Soon after, he returned to Indian classical music and started training with Ramamoorthy Rao, who remains his guru to this day.
While doing his Masters, Vedanth did a series of studies on music therapy. He worked as a music therapist with children with special needs at the Kaleidoscope Learning Centre. Meanwhile, he was composing ad jingles for companies like Reliance and Parry's.
He formed a group with Ananth Menon and another friend Balu (music director SK Balachandran), and they composed the music for Jagapati Babu-starrer Telugu film Brahmastram in 2006.
Music for Films.
Vedanth scored the music for the film Aruvi (in collaboration with Bindhu Malini). The film was directed by first-timer Arun Prabhu, starring another first-timer Aditi Balan.
Vedanth scored the music for the film His Father's Voice, directed by Kaarthikeyan Kirubhakaran.
Albums.
Mati Kahe.
A few years later, during which he composed for a few more films and set up a studio in his house, Vedanth rediscovered songs from the Bhakti movement. He started singing songs of Mirabai, Guru Nanak and Kabir, adding his own twists to the tunes. This eventually led to the germination of his first album, Mati Kahe (2007), which contains songs from the saints and poets of the Bhakti movement. All the songs are accompanied only by the guitar, and some of the tunes were composed by his guru.
Suno Bhai.
The success of his first album fuelled his drive and he started work on his second project. Wanting to concentrate on the works of Kabir, he read translations of his couplets and listened to renditions of his songs by Kumar Gandharva. He collaborated with classical singer Bindhu Malini, and together they made his second album, Suno Bhai (2013).
Frequent collaborations.
In addition to Suno Bhai, Vedanth and Bindhu Malini, frequently perform together, including at the annual Kabir Yatra in Madhya Pradesh. Vedanth collaborated with several musicians for his second album, including flautist Navin Iyer, and kanjeera-player BS Purushotaman. He also collaborated with the Trichur brothers as part of their group Anubhuti.
There are several musicians who Vedanth performs with regularly. Among them are Anil Srinivasan and Sikkil Gurucharan of whom Vedanth says, "when the three of us get together, music just happens."
Another common collaborator of his is Ananth Menon of Bangalore-based musical group Galeej Gurus. Vedanth and Ananth have given several performances together including at the Fireflies Festival of Sacred Music in Bangalore. Shruthi Vishwanath, a classically trained singer who sings abhangs and nirgun poetry is another of his collaborators at the Kabir Festival of Mumbai, and the Malwa Kabir Yatra.
He has also played the guitar on Bombay Jayashri's album, Kannamma, and composed the score for contemporary dancer Anita Ratnam's production, Faces, Ma3Ka, Million Sitas among others.
He has collaborated with theatre director Rajeev Krishnan, giving music and playing small parts in his plays, Jujubee and How to Skin a Giraffe.
Performances.
Vedanth has a unique style that blends Indian Classical and folk music. Vedanth has given several performances and concerts all over India and abroad. Some of his notable performances have been at the Playhouse Company South Africa, Singapore, Ladakh Music Confluence 2010, TED Conference 2011, Congo Square Jazz Festival in Kolkata 2010, Chennai Sangamam 2012, Coimbatore Vizha 2011, Fireflies Festival 2011, TEDxSVCE Chennai 2012, Kabir Yatra at Bikaner, Mumbai, Pondicherry and Malwa, NH7 Bangalore, Storm Festival Coorg.
Influences.
Vedanth has a diverse set of influences ranging from Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Eagles, Beatles, Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra to TR Mahalingam, Ilayaraja, AR Rahman, Ustad Amir Khan, Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Kabir and Meera.
Personal life.
Vedanth married Neha, a Punjabi girl, in 2010. They live in Chennai where Vedanth has set up his studio.
He is passionate about music, wherever he finds it. He is known to have helped a Chennai-based street Banjo player by buying him an amplifier and promoting him on his YouTube channel.


A History of Violence

A History of Violence is a 2005 American action-thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen as the owner of a small-town diner who is thrust into the spotlight after confronting two robbers in self-defense, thus changing his life forever.
The film was in the main competition for the 2005 Palme d'Or. The film was put into limited release in the United States on September 23, 2005, and wide release on September 30, 2005.
"A History of Violence" was praised for its performances and its screenplay, atmosphere, and plot; William Hurt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while Olson was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. The "Los Angeles Times" has called it the last major Hollywood film to be released on VHS. Mortensen himself praised it as "one of the best movies [he's] ever been in, if not the best", also declaring it was a "perfect film noir" or "close to perfect".
Plot.
Tom Stall is a diner owner who lives in the small (fictional) town of Millbrook, Indiana, with a loving wife Edie, teenage son Jack, and daughter Sarah. One night, two spree killers attempt to rob the restaurant. When a waitress is threatened, Tom deftly kills both robbers with surprising skill and precision. He is hailed as a hero by his family and the townspeople, and the incident makes him a local celebrity. Tom is visited by scarred gangster Carl Fogarty, who alleges that Tom is actually a Philadelphia professional hitman named Joey Cusack who had dealings with him in the Irish Mob in Philadelphia. Tom vehemently denies this, but Carl remains persistent and begins to stalk the Stall family. Under pressure from Carl and his newfound fame, Tom's relationships with his family become strained.
Following an argument with his father over the use of violence on a bully at his school, Jack runs away. He is caught by Carl, who, with Jack as his hostage, goes with his men to the Stall house and demands that "Joey" return to Philadelphia with them. After the gangsters release Jack, Tom is slow to join them in their car, so they attempt to force him to cooperate. Tom kills the two henchmen with the same precision he used against the robbers, but Carl shoots Tom before he can do the same to him. As the gangster stands over Tom, preparing to kill him, Tom finally drops the façade and admits he is indeed Joey. However, before Carl can deliver a coup de grâce, Jack kills him with a shotgun.
At the hospital, Edie confronts Tom, claiming that while he was attacking Carl's men, she saw "the real Joey" that the gangster was talking about. Tom shocks Edie by admitting that he is actually Joey Cusack, and that he has killed for both money and pleasure. He tells Edie that he ran away from Philadelphia to escape his violent criminal past. This admission deepens the tensions in their marriage.
After Tom gets out of the hospital, Sam, the local sheriff, pays a visit. Sam expresses confusion about everything that has happened. He tells Tom and Edie that these mobsters would never go to so much trouble unless they were certain that they had the right man. Just when Tom is about to confess, Edie lies to Sam, claiming that Tom is who he says he is, and that their family has suffered enough. At a loss for words after Edie breaks down into tears, Sam leaves. Edie and Tom then start slapping and hitting each other, their fight eventually culminating in violent sex on the stairs. Afterward, Edie and Jack continue to further distance themselves from Tom, leaving him isolated. He receives a call from his brother Richie Cusack, who also demands his return to Philadelphia, or else he will come to Indiana to find him. After traveling to meet his brother, Tom learns that the other mobsters whom he had offended in Philadelphia took out their frustrations on Richie, penalizing him financially and delaying his advancement in the organization. Tom offers to make peace, but Richie orders his men to kill his brother. Tom manages to kill most of the guards and escape. As Richie and his last henchman are hunting for him, Tom kills the henchman, takes his gun, and confronts Richie outside; stunned, Richie says "Jesus, Joey" before Tom kills him with a single gunshot to the head, responding "Jesus, Richie".
Tom returns home, where the atmosphere is tense and silent as the family sits around the dinner table. His young daughter eventually hands him a dinner plate. Some moments later, his son offers him a communal plate of food.
Production.
Most of the film was shot in Millbrook, Ontario. The shopping centre scene was shot in Tottenham, Ontario, and the climactic scene was shot at the historic Eaton Hall Mansion, located in King City, Ontario.
Alternate versions.
The U.S. and European versions differ on only two fight scenes: one where Tom breaks the nose of one of Fogarty's thugs and one where he stomps on the throat of one of Richie Cusack's thugs. Both scenes display more blood flowing or gushing out of the victims in the European version. In addition, a more pronounced bone-crushing sound effect is used when Tom stomps on the thug's throat.
A deleted scene, known as "Scene 44", features a dream sequence in the diner, where Fogarty tells Tom he will kill him and his family; to which Tom responds by shooting him with his shotgun at close range. He then approaches Fogarty's mangled body, which raises a gun and shoots him. In the DVD extras' on-set footage, Mortensen suggests Harris should pull the gun from his chest cavity. Cronenberg, while amused by the idea, rejects it for being too self-referential; he cites a sequence in his film "Videodrome", in which a character pulls a handgun from a slit in his stomach.
Interpretation.
The film's title plays on multiple levels of meaning. Film critic Roger Ebert stated that Cronenberg refers to 3 possibilities:
Cronenberg himself described the film as a meditation on the human body and its relationship to violence:
For me the first fact of human existence is the human body. I’m not an atheist, but for me to turn away from any aspect of the human body to me is a philosophical betrayal. And there’s a lot of art and religion whose whole purpose is to turn away from the human body. I feel in my art that my mandate is to not do that. So whether it’s beautiful things—the sexuality part, or the violent part or the gooey part—it’s just body fluids. It’s when Elliott in "Dead Ringer" ("sic") says, “Why are there no beauty contests for the insides of bodies?” It’s a thought that disturbs me. How can we be disgusted by our own bodies? That really doesn’t make any human sense. It makes some animal sense but it doesn’t make human sense so I’m always discussing that in my movies and in this movie in particular. I don’t ever feel that I’ve been exploitive in a crude, vulgar way, or just doing it to get attention. It’s always got a purpose which I can be very articulate about. In this movie, we’ve got an audience that’s definitely going to applaud these acts of violence and they do because it’s set up that these acts are justifiable and almost heroic at times. But I’m saying, “Okay, if you can applaud that, can you applaud this?” because this is the result of that gunshot in the head. It’s not nice. And even if the violence is justifiable, the consequences of the violence are exactly the same. The body does not know what was the morality of that act. So I’m asking the audience to see if they can contain the whole experience of this violent act instead of just the heroic/dramatic one. I’m saying “Here’s the really nasty effects on these nasty guys but still, the effects are very nasty.” And that’s the paradox and conundrum."
Release.
"A History of Violence" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2005, and was released in the United States on September 30 following a successful limited release on September 23, 2005.
Home media.
The film was released on DVD and VHS formats on March 14, 2006, and was reported by the "Los Angeles Times" as being the last major Hollywood film to be released on VHS.
Reception.
Box office.
The film started with a limited release in 14 theaters and grossed $515,992 at the box office, averaging $36,856 per theater. A week later, it went on a wide release in 1,340 theaters and grossed $8,103,077 in its opening weekend. During its entire theatrical run, the film grossed $31,504,633 in the United States and $60,334,064 worldwide.
Critical response.
The film received widespread acclaim from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 87% based on 216 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 7.87/10. The website's consensus reads, ""A History of Violence" raises compelling and thoughtful questions about the nature of violence, while representing a return to form for director David Cronenberg in one of his more uncharacteristic pieces." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 37 reviews. It was ranked the best film of 2005 in the Village Voice Film Poll. "Empire" named the film the 448th-greatest film of all time. The French film magazine "Cahiers du cinéma" ranked the film as 5th place in its list of best films of the decade 2000–2009.
"Rolling Stone" critic Peter Travers gave the film four stars, highlighting its "explosive power and subversive wit", and lauded David Cronenberg as a "world-class director, at the top of his startlingly creative form". "Entertainment Weekly" reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film an A, concluding that "David Cronenberg's brilliant movie" was "without a doubt one of the very best of the year". Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" called the film a "mindblower", and noted Cronenberg's "refusal to let us indulge in movie violence without paying a price". Roger Ebert also gave the film a very positive review, observing that ""A History of Violence" seems deceptively straightforward, coming from a director with Cronenberg's quirky complexity. But think again. This is not a movie about plot, but about character." He gave it 3 and a half stars (out of 4).
In December 2005, it was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual Canada's Top Ten list of the year's best Canadian films.
In his list of best films of the decade, Peter Travers named this , praising director David Cronenberg:
Is Canadian director David Cronenberg the most unsung maverick artist in movies? Bet on it ... Cronenberg knows violence is wired into our DNA. His film showed how we secretly crave what we publicly condemn. This is potent poison for a thriller, and unadulterated, unforgettable Cronenberg.
BBC film critic Mark Kermode named the film the best of 2005.
In 2016, the film was ranked among the 100 greatest films since 2000 in an international critics poll by 177 critics around the world.
Awards and honors.
Won
Nominations
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack to "A History of Violence" was released on October 11, 2005.