While Thousands Cheer

While Thousands Cheer is a lost American film released in 1940. Leo C. Popkin directed. It was the only football-themed film with an African American lead character for decades. It starred Kenny Washington, a football star from UCLA who went on to become the first African American in the NFL after initially being refused an opportunity to play as a professional due to segregation.
Plot.
The film is a football melodrama. The plot was said to be based on true stories about gambling and corruption in football at a specific Black college. The story follows a star football player and his brother as they get involved with, and later break up, a gambling ring's attempting to "fix" a college game.
Cast.
The film featured a mostly African American cast, including UCLA football star Kenny Washington, who was denied entry to the segregated NFL for several years. The film was Washington's first movie role. Jeni Le Gon played the leading actress.
Production.
The film was produced by Clifford Sanforth and Million Dollar Pictures. The premiere date was moved back due to requests from theatre managers that the film be released around the same time as other football films, to "get the minds of the public on football" and increase attendance at the theatres.
Reception.
The film was praised in a review by the Hollywood "Daily Variety". The "Cleveland Call and Post" called it "one of the most exciting, interest holding pictures ever filmed to entertain the young and old, male and female, of all races."


Dhanush

Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), better known by his stage name Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, writer, lyricist, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, besides few Hindi films. Starring in 44 films over his career, among Dhanush's awards include 13 SIIMA Awards, nine Vijay Awards, seven Filmfare Awards South, five Vikatan Awards, five Edison Awards, four National Film Awards (two as actor and two as producer), and a Filmfare Award. He has been included in the "Forbes India" Celebrity 100 list six times, which is based on the earnings of Indian celebrities. He is one of the prolific actors in Indian cinema.
Dhanush's first film was "Thulluvadho Ilamai", a 2002 coming-of-age film directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja. He achieved further success in "Polladhavan" (2007) and "Yaaradi Nee Mohini" (2008), both of which were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. His role as a rooster fight jockey in "Aadukalam" (2010) won him Best Actor at the 58th National Film Awards and Best Tamil Actor Award at the 60th Filmfare Awards South. He continued success with films including "3" (2012), "Maryan" (2013), "Anegan" (2015), "Kodi" (2016), "Vadachennai" (2018) and "Asuran" (2019). "Vadachennai" emerged as the highest-grossing A-rated Tamil film of all time, while "Asuran" entered the 100 Crore Club earning a revenue of ₹100 crore within a month of its release, when adding the theatrical box office collections with non-theatrical revenue such as satellite, digital, and audio rights. During the 2010s, Dhanush also starred in the action comedy film series "Maari" (2015) & "Maari 2" (2018) and "Velaiilla Pattadhari" (2014) and "Velaiilla Pattadhari 2" (2017).
In 2011, Dhanush's popular song "Why this Kolaveri Di" from the romantic psychological thriller film "3" became the first Indian music video to cross 100 million views on YouTube. He made his Bollywood debut with Aanand L Rai's "Raanjhanaa" (2013). His performance as an obsessive one-sided lover in the film won him the Best Male Debut Award and earned a Best Actor nomination at the 59th Filmfare Awards. Dhanush produces films through his production company, Wunderbar Films, and he made his directorial debut with "Pa Paandi" (2017). His song "Rowdy Baby" from "Maari 2" became one of the most-viewed Indian songs of all time. It is the only South Indian video song to receive 1 billion views on YouTube. Dhanush won his second National Film Award for Best Actor for "Asuran" (2019).
Early & personal life.
Dhanush was born to Tamil film director and producer Kasthuri Raja on 28 July 1983. He entered acting after being pressured by his brother, director Selvaraghavan.
Dhanush married Aishwarya, Rajinikanth's eldest daughter on 18 November 2004. They have two sons named Yatra and Linga, who were born in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
Acting career.
2002–2010: Career beginnings.
Dhanush debuted in the 2002 film "Thulluvadho Ilamai", directed by his father Kasthuri Raja, which received mostly positive reviews from critics and the public. He then appeared in his brother Selvaraghavan's first directorial venture "Kadhal Kondein" in 2003. The film portrayed Dhanush as a mentally-disturbed youth, Vinodh, who yearned for the love of his friend, eventually turning possessive of her. Upon release, the film won critical acclaim and also became a major commercial success, eventually becoming Dhanush's first major breakthrough in Tamil cinema. His next film was "Thiruda Thirudi".
In 2004, Dhanush appeared in "Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan" and "Sullan". Later, he also appeared in "Dreams", another film panned by critics. The film was directed by his father, like their previous ventures. In 2005, Dhanush appeared in "Devathaiyai Kanden". Later, it was dubbed into Telugu, and in the same year, he also worked on Balu Mahendra's "Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam". In 2006, Dhanush worked under his brother in their gangster film "Pudhupettai". The film, about a young man's journey from street urchin to gangster received critical acclaim, with Dhanush's performance receiving especial praise. The Telugu dubbed version was titled "Dhoolpet". Dhanush went on to star in the commercial entertainer "Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam", romancing Shriya Saran.
Dhanush's first release of 2007, "Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram" did not go well. The film was a remake of the successful Kannada language film "Jogi". However, his second film "Polladhavan" was released during Diwali 2007. "Polladhavan" was based on the 1948–Italian neorealist film "The Bicycle Thieves" and Dhanush's performance was appreciated.
The remake of a Telugu film directed by his brother formed the plot line for Dhanush's next movie directed by debutant Mithran Jawahar. The movie was titled "Yaaradi Nee Mohini". He later appeared in a cameo appearance, for his father-in-law Rajinikanth's venture "Kuselan". His subsequent venture was Suraj's "Padikathavan", which was released in January 2009. His performance was praised and well received. His next two films "Kutty" and "Uthama Puthiran", were both collaborations with director Mithran Jawahar.
2011–2014: Critics success.
Dhanush's first release in 2011, which he had shot for over three years, was "Aadukalam", marking his second collaboration with Vetrimaran. Dhanush played the role of a local cockfighter and described the venture as his "Dream Project" during production. The film gained highly positive reviews and won six awards at the 58th National Film Awards, with Dhanush receiving the National Film Award for Best Actor, becoming the youngest actor to win the award. Dhanush appeared in an extended guest appearance in Subramania Siva's "Seedan". His next two ventures were the action films, "Mappillai", a remake of his father-in-law's same-titled 1989 film and "Venghai", by Hari, which received mixed reviews but was a commercial success.
Dhanush's next film, "Mayakkam Enna", in which he once again collaborated with his brother, casting him with Richa Gangopadhyay, received largely positive reviews. His only 2012 release was "3", directed by his wife, Aishwarya Rajinikanth with co-star Shruti Haasan. The movie was a moderate success, owing to the popularity of the song "Why this Kolaveri Di". The song quickly became viral, the first video from India to gain 100 million YouTube views. In 2013, he appeared in "Maryan" opposite Parvathy, which was applauded by critics, but became an above-average grosser at the box office. His next release was "Naiyaandi", directed by A. Sarkunam, which did not make any notable impact at the box office. He made his debut in Bollywood with the film "Raanjhanaa", directed by Aanand L.Rai opposite Sonam. The film was released on 21 June 2013 with the Tamil dubbed version "Ambikapathy" releasing a week later. This film had background score composed by A. R. Rahman, and it grossed over 135 crore rupees worldwide.
Dhanush's first film of 2014 was "Velaiyilla Pattathari", which was also his 25th film and was directed by Velraj. It received mostly positive reviews and was a success, being among the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2014. His next release was "Shamitabh", released in year 2015 which was also his second Hindi film directed by R. Balki. It opened to very high positive reviews and was praised for the concept, but failed at the box office. His next film "Anegan", was a psychological thriller directed by KV Anand, which generated positive reviews and became a box office success.
2015–present: Experimental projects.
Dhanush's next release in 2015 was the action comedy "Maari", featuring Kajal Aggarwal, Robo Shankar and Vijay Yesudas. Directed by Balaji Mohan and composed by Anirudh Ravichander, it was released worldwide on 17 July 2015. He also appeared in "Thanga Magan", directed by Velraj with Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Amy Jackson, K. S. Ravikumar and Raadhika. In 2016, Dhanush appeared "Thodari", which was an action thriller film set on a train and
"Kodi", a political action thriller.
He played a cameo in his directorial debut "Power Paandi", which released on 14 April 2017. "Velaiilla Pattadhari 2", directed by his sister-in-law Soundarya Rajinikanth, was his first film of 2017 as a lead actor. He penned the story and dialogues for movie. as well as producing it. It was one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2017. His films "Vadachennai" and "Maari 2", a sequel to "Maari", were released in 2018. "Vadachennai" was praised by critics and emerged as the highest-grossing A-rated Tamil film of all time, while "Maari 2" got mixed reviews. Dhanush's first international film, titled "The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir", released in 2019 worldwide and was a flop. His main 2019 release, "Asuran", was praised by critics for its gritty portrayal of land and caste violence and became a box office success, entering the 100 Crore Club for grossing ₹100 crore within a month of its release. His next release, a romantic thriller titled "Enai Noki Paayum Thota" was released on 29 November 2019 after several delays due to financial problems and it received positive reviews.
Dhanush's first 2020 release, on Pongal, was the martial arts action film "Pattas", directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar, in which he played a double role. The film received mixed reviews. Dhanush joined the ensemble cast of Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana De Armas in Russo Brothers Netflix produced film 'The Gray Man'.
Dhanush's first 2021 role was his starring role in "Karnan", directed by Mari Selvaraj, and featuring Lal, Natarajan Subramaniam, Yogi Babu, Rajisha Vijayan, Gouri Kishan, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli alongside him. The film released on 9 April, to admiring reviews. He is also starring in Aanand L. Rai's film "Atrangi Re", co-starring Akshay Kumar and Sara Ali Khan, releasing in August.
Dhanush's upcoming action thriller black comedy gangster movie Jagame Thandhiram, written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The movie features Aishwarya Lekshmi and James Cosmo in lead roles.
Music.
Dhanush occasionally records music, generally for his own films. He was introduced as a playback singer in "Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan", by its composer Yuvan Shankar Raja and collaborated again with him in his brother Selvaraghavan's directorial, "Pudhupettai". He sang further numbers in Selvaraghavan's films "Aayirathil Oruvan" and "Mayakkam Enna"; the former featured him alongside his wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth.
"Why this Kolaveri Di" was released on YouTube in 2011 as part of the soundtrack to the film 3, the directorial debut of Aishwarya Dhanush. The song became the most searched video in India. Anirudh Ravichander was the soundtrack composer for the film and Dhanush wrote much of the lyrics. He has also sung "No Problem" in the Kannada movie "Vajrakaya" and "Thikka" in the Telugu movie "Thikka".
Dhanush has sung for the debutant musician Ganesh Chandrasekaran in the film "Ezhumin". The song was received well among the audience as he famously renders it emotionally.
Other work.
Dhanush worked with WWF India to support Earth Hour 2012. In August 2013, Dhanush was signed by Perfetti India Ltd. as their brand ambassador for Center Fresh chewing gum.
He has made his directorial debut with the movie "Pa Paandi".
Awards and nominations.
Dhanush has won and received several nominations at the National Film Award, Filmfare Awards and Vijay Awards ceremony. He won the National award for Best Actor in 2011 for his film "Aadukalam".


Kalanjiyam

Mu. Kalanjiyam is an Indian film director, who has made Tamil films. A winner of Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Story Writer, Kalanjiyam has also featured in the lead role in his films.
Career.
Kalanjiyam's first film "Poomani" (1996) featuring Murali and Devayani won commercial and critical acclaim and the director won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Story Writer for 1996. His next venture, the rural drama "Kizhakkum Merkkum", starring Napoleon with Devayani also won positive reviews. A proposed film titled "Sangeetha Thirunaal" produced by music composer Ilaiyaraaja was planned, but did not materialise. He returned with another film, "Poonthottam" (1998), with the cast of his first film; but the film went unnoticed as a result of the bigger budget films which released around the same period. He then made "Nilave Mugam Kaattu" (1999) starring Karthik and Devayani, which became his fourth consecutive film with the actress, though the film was panned by critics who cited the director "disappoints with this well-worn tale of friends sacrificing love for friendship." Kalanjiyam later started other eventually shelved films titled "Vikadan" with Murali again, and "Kesavan" with Sarathkumar and Rambha, before going on to make the Prabhu-starrer "Mitta Miraasu" in 2001.
In 2002, the director resurfaced with a project titled "Sathamintri Muthamidu" which was set to be the launch for actor Mayur, Devayani's younger brother, and actress Anjali though the film later failed to materialize. He also began two other films with Anjali, "Valiba Desam" and "En Kanavu Thaanadi", though those also failed to materialize. In 2010, following actress Anjali's rise to fame, she made a goodwill gesture by agreeing to be a part of a few of Kalanjiyam's future films, noting she considered him her mentor. The director returned with his next film, "Karungali" in 2011, which saw himself play the lead role of a drug peddler alongside an ensemble cast including Anjali, Sunitha Varma and Asmitha. The film opened to unanimously poor reviews, with a critic noting that the film was a "crude affair", citing that the "subject in question is too heavy and has been handled in an insensitive way, making the film come across as a cheap, sex thriller." The film was later dubbed and released in Telugu as "Sathi Leelavathi", with the director creditting himself under the name Prabhakaran.
In 2013, it was reported that he was working on another project titled "Oor Suttri Puranam" with Anjali again, with the actress suffering a freak accident on the sets of the film. In a turn of events, Anjali filed charges against the film-maker noting he had been advising her step-mother on various issues and feared that she was being harassed by him. The film has since been stalled and Kalanjiyam subsequent sought an industry wide ban against the actress for failing to complete the film. In 2014, he worked as an actor in Kathiravan's "Kodai Mazhai" and landed in trouble for slapping actress Sri Priyanka during the making of the film, prompting her faint on location. He was involved and injured in a fatal accident in August 2014, when a car he was travelling in had toppled in Andhra Pradesh, killing a co-passenger.


Rajeev Ravi

Rajeev Ravi is an Indian cinematographer, director, and producer from Kochi, Kerala. He's best known for his Hindi and Malayalam films.
After graduating from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1997, he started his career by assisting in the Malayalam film, "Pranayavarnangal" (1998) shot by Santosh Thundiyil. He debuted as an independent cinematographer with the film "Chandni Bar" (2001) directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. Ravi is known for his collaboration with director Anurag Kashyap. They have collaborated in several commercial and art films in Hindi cinema. In 2012, he co-produced the Hindi feature film "ID". The film premiered in the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. Ravi won the 2010 Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography for Anurag Kashyap's "Dev.D". In 2013, he received the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for "Liar's Dice" directed by his wife Geetu Mohandas.
Rajeev made his debut as a director with the Malayalam film "Annayum Rasoolum" (2013). Rajeev Ravi's second feature film, "Njan Steve Lopez" was released in 2014. In March 2016, Ravi completed filming of "Kammatipaadam", starring Dulquer Salman, which was released on 20 May 2016.
Personal life.
He married Malayalam film actress and director Geetu Mohandas. The couple has a daughter named Aradhana. He holds a diploma in cinematography from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.


Raavi Kondala Rao

Raavi Kondala Rao (11 February 1932 – 28 July 2020) was an Indian film actor, playwright, theatre artist, journalist, editor, producer, director and writer who appeared in Telugu films and performed in over 600 movies. Veteran actress Radha Kumari was his wife. His brother R Kaameshwara rao was a leading dubbing artist.
He used to write articles for "Mahodaya" weekly newspaper. He worked as sub editor for "Aanandavani" weekly magazine in Visakhapatnam. He was a writer of Paata bangaram in "Sitara" magazine, owned by Eenadu groups. He used to write cinema articles for "Andhra Jyothi", "Vijaya Chitra". He worked for "Vijaya Chitra" for 26 years.
His father was a postmaster, as retired at Srikakulam. Raavi Kondala Rao's education has been done in Srikakulam. He participated in satyagraha in 1948 in Rajahmundry a city in Andhra Pradesh against the ban on RSS and Hindu Mahasammelan and as has been kept in jail for three months. In free time in Rajahmundry's jail he read lots of books on literature.He wrote stories in the name of 'mana oohalu', a few stories has been published in "Chandamama". Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao, was his inspiration for writing. Later, he was encouraged by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana, Gutha Ramineedu to act in movies and Mullapudi Venkata Ramana gave his first chance in movie "Dagudu Moothalu". He also worked as assistant director for B. N. Reddy, Kamalakara Kameswara Rao, D. V. Narasa Raju.
He always like the character played in the movie Preminchi Choodu.
The legendary actor S. V. Ranga Rao used to call him as "Pantulu".
External links.
Etv show ali tho Saradaga 2019


Cinema of Bahrain

The cinema of Bahrain is small as its lacks support from the government and the private sector. There are many short films produced by individual filmmakers, and about five feature films in Bahrain's history.
There are a number of theaters in Bahrain showing a mix of Indian, American and Arabic movies. Bahrain also has a cinema club established in 1980, and the Bahraini Film Production Company, established in 2006 to support the Bahraini film industry.
History.
The first attempt to create a movie theater in Bahrain was in 1922, on the initiative of Bahraini businessman Mahmood Al Saati. He imported a projector and set up a makeshift cinema at a cottage on the north coast of Manama. The first official cinema was established by Abdulla Al Zayed and associates in Manama, in 1937. The cinema had no air-conditioning or heating system so the cinema was moved to an open-roofed building during the winter season with one of the walls being used as a screen. In 1939, the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, visited the cinema while on a diplomatic visit with the then-Hakim Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa.
During the 1930s and 1940s, films were in black and white with the majority of them being predominately Egyptian as well as some American films. Westerns and the Tarzan films were reported to have been very popular in the country. Initially, the introduction of cinemas drew criticism from elderly citizens who stated that it "would destroy traditional values".
During the pan-Arab era of the 20th century, Egyptian films enjoyed immense popularity in the country.
Establishment of cinemas.
In the early 1940s, the Bahrain Petroleum Company opened a cinema in Awali for its staff. The cinema moved to a different building in Awali in 1958, but finally closed in 1991.
In the 1950s and 1960s, eight new cinemas opened in Bahrain, including the Pearl Cinema, Al Hamra Cinema, Al Nasr Cinema and Awal Cinema, all of which were established in Manama. The first cinema to open in Muharraq was Al Jazira Cinema in 1955 and it is still in use today.
The first modern-style cinema to open in Bahrain was the Delmon Cinema at the Gosi Complex in 1996, but it has since closed. The trend for modern-style cinemas was continued by the Bahrain Cinema Company, which opened cinema complexes at Seef Mall in 1998 and in Saar in 2000 respectively. An independent cinema, Dana Cinema, was opened at the Dana Mall in Manama, in 2002. A 20-screen cinema complex was constructed in the Bahrain City Centre, the largest such cineplex in the Middle East. In July 2015, the country's first IMAX theatre was opened in Seef Mall Muharraq under Novo Cinema. Other cinema companies entered the Bahraini market in the 2010s, such as Mexican company Cinepolis in January 2019.
Bahrain filmmakers.
"Al-Hajiz" ("The Barrier"; 1990), "Za'er ("Visitor"; 2004), "A Bahraini Tale" (2006)
"Between Them" (2006), "From the West (2007), "Absence" (2008), "The Good Omen" (2009), "Canary" (2010)
"For Girls" (2008), "Longing" (2010)
"Voices" (2012), "Dinner" (2008), "The Cage" (2009)
"Paranorma" (2010), "Gilgamesh Pearl" (2011), "Silveraven" (2012), Dead Sands"(IMDB link to Dead Sands)" (2013) ("Pre-Production"), "UCB Multimedia Video Showcase 2013" (2013), Bits of What I Have (2015-16)
"The Traveller" (2004), "Phone Call (2005), "The Body" (2006), "Lu'bba - Game" (2012), "Souq Al Markazi - Central Market" (2014), "Beek - Ab - PickUp" (2014)


Ayodhyecha Raja

Ayodhyecha Raja, literally "The King of Ayodhya", was the first Marathi talkie, released in 1932, directed by Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre. It is based on the mythological story of Raja Harishchandra of Ayodhya and his test by sage Vishwamitra, as recounted in Valmiki's epic, "Ramayana".
The film was also made as a double-version, "Ayodhya Ka Raja" (1932) in Hindi, making it the first double version talkie of Indian cinema, wherein Munshi Ismail Farooque wrote the Hindi dialogue, while screenwriter N.V. Kulkarni also did Marathi dialogue. India's first full-length feature film, "Raja Harishchandra" (1913), was also made on the same storyline.
Significance.
The film was not just Prabhat Film Company's first talkie film, but also for its director, V. Shantaram. In its time, it was a leap not just in sound, song and dialogue quality and became a hit. Eventually, it turned out to be a social leap as well for the film industry, as the entry of Durga Khote, who belonged to an upper class and elite Brahmin family into Marathi cinema, paved way for other women from upper classes to enter cinema. V. Shantaram made another version film, "Duniya Na Mane" ("Kunku" in Marathi) in 1937.
After the 2003 fire at the National Archives of India, Pune in which prints of first Indian talkie "Alam Ara" (1931) were lost, it is also the earliest surviving talkie of Indian cinema.
Soundtrack.
"Ayodhyecha Raja" has music by Govindrao Tembe:


Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad

Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad is a Marathi language film released in 2009. The film is directed by Satish Rajwade, story has been written by Girish Girija Joshi, Dialogues by Kiran Yadnyopavit and cinematography by Suresh Deshmane. The movie is produced by Ashok Saraf, Shree Mangesh Films and Zee Talkies. Music of the movie has been given by Vishwajeet-Avinash.
The film stars Ashok Saraf in the lead role of Dadasaheb Dandage, while Mukta Barve, Kishori Shahane, Pushkar Shrotri, Bharat Ganeshpure, Prasad Oak, Madhura Velankar plays the supporting characters in the film. Film started with a story of famous goon from a village, Dada Dandage and later he finds his teenage love. For his love, he starts changing himself and people around him. Meanwhile story takes a different turns and twists to form a wonderful comedy drama. It draws elements from several earlier films, notably, Oscar (1991 film)
Plot.
The lead cast of the movie ensembles veteran actor Ashok Saraf, who plays the role of Dadasaheb Dandage, a well-known goon in the village Bhongalpoor. The two main people working for Dada are Bhagwan (Bharath Ganeshpure) and Babu (Pushkar Shrotri). Bhagwan works with soft hands, i.e., with a small talk and money he solves the problems. While Babu acts as killer-person, who uses gun to do his work.
According to Dada, the location for the school for the village is most suitable for his Beer bar, and that`s why he was threatening people who were supporting for school. During the protest, he meets his lost love Hema (Kishori Shahane) and he asks her to get married. But, as a well-educated lady she refuses to marry to a goon. The incident changes Dada`s life, and he quit his all illegal businesses, as well starts learning clean Marathi from Prof Parkhadkar (Subodh Bhave). Meanwhile his daughter Sulakshana (Mukta Barve) lies to him that she is pregnant from the son of Sakha Patil (Uday Sabnis). Therefore Dada asks him to marry his son with Sulakshana, which he refuses to. Later Dada tries to set up the marriage with his accountant Tryambak Joshi (Prasad Oak). But later Tryanbak manages to make Prof Parkhadkar and Sulakshana together, and get engaged with Sayali (Madhura Velankar). During all this Drama Inspector Dhande (Sanjay Mone) is watching all the dada`s activities, as he suspects that Dada is responsible for the theft reports in the village. While Dada is discussing with the Directorate board of Gyanmarg Shikshan Sanstha, Inspector Dhande raids Dada`s home with press and finds out that Dada is actually not responsible, and catches Sakha Patil red-handed. At the end, Dada gets to know that Sayali is the daughter of Hema and him, and he explains Hema how he has changed himself to get her.
Music.
Background Music of the film is given by Vishwajeet- Avinash, while the Title song has been composed and sung by Ajay-Atul. The film features two main tracks, a title track Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad, while the other song Tujhi Majhi Jodi jamali ga is taken from the famous old movie Maza Pati Karodpati (My husband is billionaire).


Nandi Award for Best Fight Master

The Nandi Award for Best Fight Master winners since 1999:


The Lebanese Cinema Movie Guide Awards

The Lebanese Movie Awards known as The LMAs, is an award ceremony recognizing the best Lebanese & International cinematic achievements in the film making industry. The LMAs honors these films both in their artistic and technical aspects with categories including Best Lebanese Motion Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, among others.
The award was first presented in 2014, at Vox Cinemas, before finally moving in 2018 to The Casino Du Liban, a lush and luxurious venue hosting the ceremony so far. The LMAs is the first and only award ceremony for film in Lebanon.
The 5th edition of the LMAs was held on the 17th of April at The Casino Du Liban, with 7 films competing in major categories, The Insult by Ziad Doueiri came out as the big winner with 4 awards including Best Picture. Mahbass took home two awards for Best Soundtrack and Best Costume Design and Tramontane picked up the award for Best Director.
Nomination.
The nominees were announced Live on Monday January 15, 2018, on MTV Lebanon, by the president and founder Emilio Eid.
The nominees included a total of 7 films, competing for 10 categories among which Best Picture, Best Lebanese Director, Best Ensemble Cast and more. This year a new category was added to honor the achievement of costume designers under the title of Best Wardrobe. For the sixth edition new categories will be added including Best Independent Short & Best Documentary Feature
Jury Members.
The jury members for the fifth edition are as follows, Emile Chahine, Sam Lahoud, Anne Dominique Toussaint, Darine Hamze, Phillipe Aractangi, Hassan Mrad, Fadi Abi Samra, Nibal Arakji, Mario Jr. Haddad, Pierre Rabbat, Zeina Daccache and Ghida Majzoub
Jury Members are carefully selected each year, as the LMA cares to keep a track record of prestigious and esteemed figures voting for the nominated films. Each jury member would receive his voting ballot and will have a period of time to cast his votes and return his ballot. All jury members votes are kept confidential at all times.
Here's a few of the jury we've had across the years: Raya Abirached, Elias Doummar, Marie-There Maalouf, Amin Dora, Jassmina Najjar, Mahmoud Hojeij, Georges Khabbaz, Wissam Breidy as well as many others.
Venues.
For the first two years, the awards were presented at Vox Cinema Lebanese, before eventually moving to the prestigious downtown location, at Beirut Souks Cinemacity, which hosted the award ceremony for the third and fourth edition.
The awards moved to the Casino Du Liban, in Jounieh which currently hosts the awards for future editions.
Categories.
Cinematic Achievement Award.
The cinematic achievement award is awarded to a special recipient who has worked and pushed the boundaries of the Lebanese film industry and who has made a notable contribution to its international recognition. The first recipient was Georges Khabbaz, who has worked on films such as Ghadi, Void and Under The Bombs.
The recipient name would only be announced a few days before the ceremony.


Leonie (film)

 is a 2010 Japanese film directed by Hisako Matsui and starring Emily Mortimer and Shido Nakamura. The film is based on the life of Léonie Gilmour, the American lover and editorial assistant of Japanese writer Yone Noguchi and mother of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer Ailes Gilmour.
Production started in April 2009 and the film was released in Japan on November 20, 2010. An extensively reedited version of the film began a limited theatrical run in the United States on March 22, 2013, and was released on DVD on May 14, 2013.
Plot (Japan release version).
The film opens on a beach. A window overlooks the beach. In a dark room, Isamu Noguchi, grown old, is chipping away at a large stone with a hammer and chisel. "Mother, I want you to tell the story." The film periodically returns to this scene of Isamu at work.
Bryn Mawr 1892. After a class in which she argues with a professor about the importance of artist Artemisia Gentileschi, Leonie (Emily Mortimer) befriends Catherine Burnell (Christina Hendricks). Later, they meet Umeko Tsuda (Mieko Harada), a graduate student. In Tsuda's room, Leonie gazes at a print of Hokusai’s "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".
The story now alternates between Pasadena 1904—where Leonie, living in a primitive tent with her mother Albiana (Mary Kay Place), bears a child temporarily named "Yo,"—and New York, where Leonie met Japanese poet Yone Noguchi (Shido Nakamura). She and Yone succumb to passion while collaborating on his anonymous novel, "The American Diary of a Japanese Girl", published by Frederick A. Stokes (David Jensen). They quarrel when Yone returns unannounced from London with an apparently drunk Charles Warren Stoddard (Patrick Weathers). The Russo-Japanese War begins and Yone, declaring he will return to Japan, greets Leonie's announcement of pregnancy with angry disbelief. Leonie tells her sad story to the now unhappily married Catherine, who reminds her of her advice not to be boring. In California, Leonie fends off a racist attack against her son and decides, against Albiana's advice, to accept Yone's invitation to come to Japan.
In Yokohama when the steam ship arrives, Yone finds Leonie and the child, on whom he now bestows the name Isamu. Welcomed somewhat coldly by Yone, Leonie accustoms herself to unfamiliar customs and meets three Tokyo University students Yone has arranged for her to tutor. Angered by Yone's belated confession that he now has another wife, she moves out, against Yone's protests. She begins tutoring the children of Setsu Koizumi, whose stories of her idyllic marriage with the late Lafcadio Hearn starkly contrast with her own. She also visits Umeko Tsuda to ask for a job at her now famous school, but Umeko, fearing scandal, refuses her. Leonie then gives birth to a daughter, Ailes whose father was one of Leonie's Japanese students. When they visit Yone, he calls her a slut. She decides to build a house in Chigasaki, allowing Isamu, who is unhappy in a Yokohama school, to stay home and supervise the construction.
Yokohama, 1918: Isamu now wants to go to America. At the ship Yone tries to stop him; Leonie tells him to go, and he obeys. Because of the war, Leonie does not receive Isamu's letters explaining the school has been closed due to the arrest of founder Edward Rumely (Jay Karnes) for alleged treason. Rumely belatedly appears and makes arrangements for Isamu, now Americanized as Sam Gilmour.
Leonie and Ailes (Kelly Vitz) arrive in New York and surprise Isamu (Jan Milligan) who, on Rumely's advice, is studying medicine. Leonie objects, telling Rumely Isamu is destined to be an artist, and he is soon seen neglecting his medical studies for drawing and sculpture. As Isamu gains artistic success and Ailes enters the world of dance, Leonie grows old, eking out a meager existence selling Japanese knickknacks. After an argument with Ailes, she becomes ill and is hospitalized. By the time Isamu makes it to her bedside she has died. At the small funeral Isamu meets Catherine.
In a closing scene shot in Sapporo's Moerenuma Park, Leonie watches children play in the playground designed by Isamu.
Production.
Hisako Matsui, an independent filmmaker who previously directed the films "Yukie" (1998) and "Ori ume" (2002),<ref name="http://home.att.net/~creativeentpr/JLSF/Aurora2004Screening.html"></ref> became interested in making a film of Leonie Gilmour's life after reading Masayo Duus's biography of Isamu Noguchi. She began a grassroots fund-raising project for the film in 2005, giving personal presentations throughout Japan and encouraging her supporters to take an active role in fund-raising. One private donor contributed 1.2 billion yen (about ten million dollars) to the project.
On Feb. 12, 2009, "Production Weekly" listed the film as a production of Hyde Park Entertainment to be produced by Ashok Amritraj and Patrick Aiello, with Emily Mortimer and Shidou Nakamura identified as cast members.
<ref name="https://www.scribd.com/doc/11856226/Production-Weekly-Issue-647-Thursday-February-12-2009-122-listings-23-pages">https://www.scribd.com/doc/11856226/Production-Weekly-Issue-647-Thursday-February-12-2009-122-listings-23-pages</ref> (Matsui's initial choice for the part of Leonie Gilmour had been Cynthia Nixon). On April 27, 2009, "Production Weekly" reported that actresses Christina Hendricks and Mary Kay Place had joined the cast, which was said to be currently filming in New Orleans. Production in the Santa Ynez Valley on May 11–14, 2009 was reported in "The Santa Ynez Valley Journal". According to the story, a local ranch "was used as the setting for a small settlement just outside Pasadena in 1904, where settlers are trying to eke out an existence in the hard scrabble life of the time." The article also noted the participation of local residents as extras, including seven-week-old Jordyn Oltman serving as "Baby Isamu photo double." Returning to Japan, production continued in Takamatsu and Moerenuma Park, Sapporo. In both cases, Matsui invited supporters to participate as extras.
On July 30, 2009, Matsui returned to the United States and began postproduction work in Los Angeles. On September 1, 2009, she reported on her selection of Barbara Tulliver as editor, citing Tulliver's work on numerous films, and noting her extensive work for David Mamet.<ref name="http://blog.myleonie.com/?eid=942246">http://blog.myleonie.com/?eid=942246</ref> In September 2009, Oscar-winning composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek started writing the score for Leonie.
On April 3, 2010, at Sogetsu Hall in Tokyo a special preview screening of the film was given for the film's supporters. The screening was followed by a party attended by Matsui, Nakamura Shido, and many of the film's organizers. It was announced that Kadokawa Pictures would distribute the film theatrically in Japan. Additional preview screenings in Japan and at the Hawaii International Film Festival followed through the summer and fall. On October 5, 2010, Empress Michiko attended a special pre-release screening at Yūrakuchō Asahi Hall with Matsui and many cast members.<ref name="http://www.kadokawa-pictures.co.jp/official/leonie/11544.shtml">http://www.kadokawa-pictures.co.jp/official/leonie/11544.shtml</ref> The film opened in Japan on November 20, 2010. A DVD was released by Kadokawa Pictures in August 2011.
Following the film's theatrical run in Japan, Matsui assembled a new production team to reedit and market the film for international release. The new edit, credited to Craig Hayes and Sabine Hoffman, simplified the narrative structure reducing the length from 132 minutes to 102 minutes. On August 30, 2012, "The Wrap" announced that Monterey Media had acquired U.S. rights to the film from the director. "The deal was brokered by ICM Partners," (Emily Mortimer's agency) "on behalf of the filmmakers." The article noted that "Monterey plans a winter theatrical release for the film." The reedited version opened its American theatrical run at New York's Clearview 1st & 62nd Cinemas on March 22, 2013. A DVD was released by Monterey Home Video on May 14, 2013.
Critical reception.
Response to the film's limited theatrical release in the United States was mixed, with the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 45% favorable score based on eleven reviews and a 71% "liked it" score out of 247 user ratings on the eve of the film's DVD release in May 2013. John Anderson's review in "Variety" praised Matsui for "bring[ing] to light a curious and intriguing story of a great-woman-behind-a-great-man" and also praised the production: "Tech credit are generally good, especially d.p. Tetsuo Nagata’s bronzed and burnished widescreen lensing; the interiors in particular pay much homage to Ozu." The "Hollywood Reporter" commented that "the screenplay co-written by the director and David Weiner is frustratingly sketchy and at times overly florid, especially in its heavy doses of pseudo-poetic narration delivered by the older Leonie recounting her story. But it is also moving and inspirational in its portrait of a devoted mother’s passionate commitment to nurturing her son’s artistic talents. The emotional impact of the film was also mentioned by several reviewers, including Rex Reed, who praised the film as "inspirational... a remarkable portrait of a brave, uncompromising woman who maintained her identity and spirit against all odds," though giving it an overall score of C+.
"Variety"'s reference to the film as a "feminist/revisionist celebration of the life of a major artist" was echoed in a number of reviews, but some were left unimpressed by its supposed feminism, including Rachel Saltz in the "New York Times": "Too bad that the film that bears her name ultimately reduces her to the mother of her child." Emily Mortimer's performance in the title role was almost universally praised, "The Hollywood Reporter" and "The Village Voice" both referring to it as "stellar." "The Hollywood Reporter" also praised the "stellar support" of Shido Nakamura and Mary Kay Place.
Fictional elements and historical inaccuracies.
Matsui has described the film as "a work of imagination built on a foundation of fact." In "Leonie Gilmour: When East Weds West", biographer Edward Marx wrote that Matsui "had worked hard to reconstruct Gilmour's world," but had based her portrayal of Gilmour on a biography of her son in which she was merely a secondary character. The film includes no mention of her life before college. Marx notes a number of "misinterpretations and outright errors" about her life, such as "the primitive Pasadena campground to which Albiana welcomes Léonie in Matsui’s film... in fact, Léonie lived during her Los Angeles years in Boyle Heights," and only worked in an office building in Pasadena.
Léonie's friend "Catherine Burnell" was actually Catharine Bunnell (niece of Yale benefactor John Sterling); Léonie did not meet her in an art history class, which Bryn Mawr College did not have at the time, but rather in their dormitory, where they shared a dining table. "Noguchi’s relations with various editors and publishers were more complex than Matsui’s single figure of Frederick A. Stokes, publisher of "The American Diary of a Japanese Girl", nor did Gilmour have anything to do with the decision to publish that book anonymously." One of Gilmour's students (played by actor So Yamanaka in Matsui's film) is misidentified by Duus and Matsui as Tomoharu Iwakura (grandson of Iwakura Tomomi); the student, named Iwamura according to Gilmour, was presumably "one of the five sons of Baron Iwamura Michitoshi, a former samurai from Tosa." Duus's assumption that Gilmour's scandalous life was the cause of her failure to land an anticipated job at Umeko Tsuda’s school is regarded by Marx as unlikely; Tsuda already had a qualified American teacher who worked without pay, and Gilmour worked at other morally strict Christian schools. Lafcadio Hearn's wife Koizumi Setsuko's English-speaking role in the film is at odds with Gilmour's comment that "she has a very sympathetic face, but we could not speak each other’s language."
Marx also notes the absence of "Yone’s other American love interest, Ethel Armes" from the film "Originally, blonde bombshell Nichole Hiltz was cast to play the role of Ethel, which would have made Yone’s motivations more comprehensible," but the Ethel scenes were eliminated because of time constraints.


Pramod Ranade

Pramod Ranade is an Indian playback singer, violinist and music arranger in Marathi industry.
Career.
Ranade started his career as singer and harmonium player and is performing stage shows for Programmes.
Personal life.
Pramod Ranade has son. Hrishikesh Ranade is an Indian playback singer in Marathi film industry. Hrishikesh is married to singer Prajkta Ranade


Chellapilla Satyam

Chellapilla Satyanarayana Sastry, better known as Chellapilla Satyam (1933 - 12 January 1989) was an Indian music director. He was popular in the Telugu and Kannada cinema fields in 1960s to 1980s. He was introduced in films by director M.Nageshwara Rao through the popular silver jubilee Kannada hit "Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha". Sathyam is best remembered as "Andhra RD Burman".
He also composed to handful of Bengali, Bhojpuri and Hindi movies.
He was born in "Gunanupuram" village in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh. He has acted in some plays with popular writer Rajasri and others at Vizianagaram. He later shifted to Madras worked in the orchestra under P. Adinarayana Rao and T. V. Raju.
He was assistant composer in the magnum opus film Suvarna Sundari (1957). His debut film as a full-fledged music director is "Pala Manasulu" in 1967, though he was credited as a music director in 1963 with NTR's "Savati Koduku".
Some of his memorable Telugu hit songs are Ye divilo virisina parijatamo, Gunna mamidi komma meeda , O bangaru rangula chilaka, Kalise kalla lona, Puche pula lona, Tholi valape teeyanidi, Madhumasa velalo, Kurisindi vana.
Sudigadu fame music director Sri Vasanth is his Grandson.
In memory of Satyam musical night was organized by Bay Area Telugu Association and Chimata Music in California, USA in 2009.


7 Seconds (film)

7 Seconds is a 2005 American crime action thriller film directed by Simon Fellows and starring Wesley Snipes and Tamzin Outhwaite. The film was released on Direct-to-DVD in the United States on June 28, 2005. The title refers to the timers at the beginning of the film, which are set at 00:07 (7 seconds).
Plot.
After professional thief Jack Tulliver and his crew pull off a meticulously planned armored car heist, they are ambushed in Bucharest by a group of Romanian racketeers. This rogue group, tipped off to the heist by an unknown turncoat, kills Tulliver's associate Bull and most of his crew.
Tulliver escapes with a mysterious sealed case that was the most valuable part of the stolen loot. After car-jacking Sgt. Kelly Anders' car, he makes a getaway through Bucharest, but leaves Anders under the suspicion of her fellow officers. Meanwhile, Tulliver tries to save a team member who has been captured by Alexie Kutchinov, a sadistic Russian millionaire gangster in charge of the Romanian racketeers that ambushed Tulliver.
Jack and Sgt. Anders are saved by Bull's brother Mikail Mercea, a Romanian mobster who shoots Alexie and the turncoat Suza to avenge his brother's death. During the aftermath, Tulliver and Anders learn that the sealed case contained an actual valuable painting that was originally believed to be a forgery.
Production.
Filming.
"7 Seconds" is set and filmed in Romania (Bucharest and Castel Film Studios), over 32 days from June 28 to July 30, 2004.
Release.
Home media.
The DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on June 28, 2005, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2005, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Reception.
Critical response.
Despite action star Wesley Snipes heading the film, "7 Seconds" was a failure in the DVD market and received bad reviews, described as "drivel" with "sloppy screenwriting".


Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (born 15 October 1979) is an Indian filmmaker and writer. After working in advertising for several years, she made her debut by directing the 2016 comedy drama "Nil Battey Sannata". The film garnered critical acclaim and Tiwari went on to direct its Tamil remake entitled "Amma Kanakku". She had previously served as the Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett before she moved on to pursue a filmmaking career. Tiwari won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the 2017 comedy "Bareilly Ki Barfi".
Early life and background.
Ashwiny Iyer was born on 15 October 1979 and grew up in the suburb of Mulund, Mumbai. She studied in St Marys Convent and did her higher studies from SIES college of commerce and economics. She is married to writer-director Nitesh Tiwari.
Career.
Advertising.
A gold medalist in commercial arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, Ashwiny spent 15 years in the advertising agency Leo Burnett (India). She won several awards like Cannes Lions, New York festival, One show, Promax and the Goafest Awards. She quit Leo Burnett to follow her passion in filmmaking.
Films.
Iyer made her first short film "What's for Breakfast" in 2012. In 2016, she made her feature film debut with the comedy drama "Nil Battey Sannata" starring Swara Bhaskar. which was produced by Colour Yellow productions (Aanand L Rai) in association with Jar Pictures and Opticus Inc. and presented by Eros International . It was inspired by a contestant in "Kaun Banega Crorepati hosted by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan" which inspired many Indian viewers.
Released under the title of "The New Classmate" internationally, the film garnered critical acclaim and Tiwari was praised for her direction and sensitive handling of the subject matter. She remade the film in Tamil as Amma Kanakku which released on 24 June in the same year.
She was selected as one of the "Powerful Women in 2016" in the "Femina" poll and was a part of Grazia Women Achievers 2016. She was a speaker at Tedx Bangalore 2016 on women, films and self-empowerment. In 2017, she won a Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director.
Iyer next directed the 2017 romantic comedy "Bareilly Ki Barfi", for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Director at the 2018 ceremony. The film and Iyer's direction received a critical praise and the film went onto become a commercial success. Devesh Sharma praised the film in his four stars out of five for "Filmfare"; he praised Tiwari for her versatility and wrote that the film, "will give you ample laughs throughout and you’ll walk away from the theatre with a satisfied smile on your face." She signed a two-film deal with Ekta Kapoor 's Balaji Motion Pictures from which one she will direct and another she will produce along with Ekta.
In 2018, Iyer teamed up with Kangana Ranaut, Neena Gupta, Richa Chadda and Jassie Gill to make "Panga", a film about a new-age family that challenges stereotypes. The film released on 24 January 2020 to rave reviews.
As of March 2021, her book as an author titled "Mapping Love" will be released on 21 May, 2021. She is also directing the life story of Mr. Narayan Murthy and Mrs. Sudha Murthy.


World Festival of Black Arts

The World Festival of Black Arts (French: Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres), also known as FESMAN, is a month-long culture and arts festival that takes place in Africa. The festival features poetry, sculpture, painting, music, cinema, theatre, fashion, architecture, design and dance from artists and performers from around the African Diaspora.
History.
The festivals were planned as Pan-African celebrations, and ranged in content from debate to performance — particularly dance and theatre.
Dakar, 1966.
The First World Festival of Black Arts or World Festival of Negro Arts was held in Dakar, Senegal, 1–24 April 1966, initiated by former President Leopold Senghor, under the auspices of UNESCO, with the participation of 45 African, European, Caribbean, and North and South American countries, and featuring black literature, music, theater, visual arts, film and dance. It was first state-sponsored festival to showcase the work of African and African diasporic artists, musicians and writers to a global audience. Participants included historian Cheikh Anta Diop; dancers Arthur Mitchell and Alvin Ailey; Mestre Pastinha, a Capoeira troupe from Bahia; Duke Ellington; Marion Williams; singers Julie Akofa Akoussah and Bella Bellow; writers Aimé Césaire, Langston Hughes, Wole Soyinka, Amiri Baraka, and Sarah Webster Fabio. The filmmaker William Greaves made a 40-minute documentary of the event entitled "The First World Festival of Negro Arts" (1968). Italian journalist Sergio Borelli produced "Il Festival de Dakar (1966)" a 50-minute documentary for RAI.
Lagos, 1977.
In 1977, from 15 January to 12 February, the Second World Festival of Black Arts or Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture — known as FESTAC '77 — took place in Lagos, Nigeria, under the patronage of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Attended by more than 17,000 participants from over 50 countries, it was the largest cultural event ever held on the African continent. Among artists who took part were Stevie Wonder, the Sun Ra Arkestra, and Donald Byrd from the US, Tabu Ley and Franco from the Congo, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, Bembeya Jazz National from Guinea, and Louis Moholo, Dudu Pukwana, and Miriam Makeba from South Africa.
Dakar, 2010.
The 2010 World Festival of Black Arts took place 10–31 December 2010, and was initiated by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade with the theme of African Renaissance. In President Wade's 2009 address at the UN, he said: "I call all Africans, all the sons and daughters of the Diaspora, all my fellow citizens, all the partners that are ready to walk by our side, all States, all international organizations, foundations, firms, etc. for a shining success for this Festival, and for the rise of a new Africa." It was curated by Kwame Kwei-Armah, and participants at the opening ceremony included Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Angélique Kidjo, Toumani Diabaté, Wyclef Jean, Euzhan Palcy, Carlinhos Brown and the Mahotella Queens. As well as music and cinema, the festival featured art exhibitions, theatre and dance performances, fashion shows, photography and other events, with the participation of artists and intellectuals from dozens of African and African diaspora countries, including the US, Brazil, Haiti, France and Cuba.


Cinema of Somalia

The cinema of Somalia refers to the film industry in Somalia. The earliest forms of public film display in the country were Italian newsreels of key events during the colonial period. In 1937 the film Sentinels of Bronze (awarded in the Venice Film Festival) was produced in Ogaden Somalia, with nearly all Somali actors. Growing out of the Somali people's rich storytelling tradition, the first few feature-length Somali films and cinematic festivals emerged in the early 1960s, immediately after independence. Following the creation of the Somali Film Agency (SFA) regulatory body in 1975, the local film scene began to expand rapidly. In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicals known as "riwaayado" were the main driving force behind the Somali movie industry. Epic and period films as well as international co-productions followed suit, facilitated by the proliferation of video technology and national television networks. In the 1990s and 2000s, a new wave of more entertainment-oriented movies emerged. Referred to as Somaliwood, this upstart, youth-based cinematic movement has energized the Somali film industry and in the process introduced innovative storylines, marketing strategies and production techniques.
History.
1910s-1950s.
Storytelling is an ancient custom in Somali culture. Love of cinema in Somalia is but a modern, visual incarnation and continuation of this well-established oral tradition.
The earliest forms of public film display in Somalia were Italian newsreels of key events during the colonial period in Italian Somaliland. Examples of such works include "Somalia: Gheledi" (1913), "Somalia italiana" (1913), "Somalia: Le bellezze del fiume Nebi" (1913), "Sotto la Croce del Sud - Somalia Italiana" (1926), "Visioni della Somalia italiana" (1929) and "Viaggio di S.M. il Re in Somalia (novembre-dicembre 1934)" (1934).
In the 1930s and 1940s, early Somali actors and film technicians co-operated with Italian crews to domestically produce Fascist films. Among the latter productions were "Dub'aad" and "Sentinels of Bronze". The movie "Sentinels of Bronze" ("Sentinelle di bronzo") was awarded in the Festival di Venezia of 1937 as the "Best Italian colonial Film", winning an Italian Cup.
In the late 1950s there was some collaboration between Rome's Cinecitta and the first Somali directors. As a consequence, in 1963 Hajji Cagakombe's Miyi Iyo Magaalo ("The Countryside and the City" or "Town & Village"), a Somali-Italian co-production, was the country's first full-length feature film.
1960s-1970s.
Following independence in 1960, a growing number of privately owned production and distribution companies as well as actual projection theaters sprang up.
In 1961, one of the first Somali feature films to be released was "Love Does Not Know Obstacles" by Hussein Mabrouk.
During that same year, the Somali-Chinese collaboration "The Horn of Africa" won the highest prize at the 4th International African Film Festival held annually in Mogadishu, the nation's capital.
The Somali director Hadj Mohamed Giumale ("Hajji Cagakombe") would produce the popular film "Miyo Iyo Magaalo" ("Town and Village") a few years later. In 1966, he and other Somali filmmakers also played an integral part in helping to establish the continent-wide Fédération Pan-Africaine des Cinéastes (FEPACI).
In 1969, another long feature film titled "Pastoral and Urban Life" was released by the director Mohammed Goma Ali.
In 1973, Idriss Hassan Dirie directed "Dan Iyo Xarrago" ("Reality & Myth"). An early full-length film, it was processed in the Technicolor studios in Rome.
Following a bloodless military coup d'état in 1969, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized by the newly established Supreme Revolutionary Council. Privately owned movie theaters were subsequently replaced with government-controlled film houses, and about 500 films were projected annually.
In 1975, the Somali Film Agency (SFA), the nation's film regulatory body, was established. An adjunct to the federal Ministry of Information and National Guidance, it grew out of the Ministry's visual aids arm. The SFA's duties included overseeing the importation, distribution and censorship of movies in the country. It later also oversaw the production of both long and short films. Most of the imported films were brought in from Egypt, Italy, the Soviet Union and East Germany. To facilitate processing and post-production, the SFA also forged a working partnership with British Films LTD, a British movie company. From 1979 to 1983, the Somali film producer and director Ali Said Hassan served as the SFA's representative in Rome.
A new generation of film directors, camera operators, cinematographers and sound engineers subsequently emerged, most having been trained in Egypt, Italy, the Soviet Union, West Germany, East Germany, India and the United Kingdom. Amongst the latter filmmakers were Abdi Ali Geedi, Hassan Mohamed Osman, Ibrahim Awad, Ibrahim "Cunshur", Fuad Abdulaziz, Cumar Cabdalla, Mohamed Fiqi and Muxiyadiin Qaliif.
Between 1970 and 1982, over 30 short feature films, documentaries and newsreels were made. Produced on a weekly and monthly basis, they were processed mostly in Egypt and were referred to as "Somaaliya oo Sawir'ah" ("Somalia in the picture"). These short film productions were exhibited in 120 cinema halls throughout the country before the main attraction was projected.
1980s.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicals referred to as "riwaayado" were the main driving force behind the Somali film industry.
In 1983, the feature-length film "A Somali Dervish" was released. Centering on the revolutionary Dervish State and its influential leader, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (the "Mad Mullah"),
In 1984, the Somali studies scholar Charles Geshekter produced "The Parching Winds of Somalia". Shot on location in Somalia, the film examines how the country's nomadic inhabitants managed to withstand the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of imperial forces by synthesizing knowledge of the past, Muslim practices, and skillful livestock management in a successful fusion of traditional values with modern techniques.
In 1984-1985, the Somali playwright and filmmaker Said Salah Ahmed directed his first feature film, "The Somali Darwish" (alt. "The Somalia Dervishes"), with Amar Sneh serving as producer. With a budget of $1.8 million, the 4-hour-and-40-minute epic was devoted to the Dervish State. It was made in seven languages, namely Somali, Arabic, Italian, English, and three regional dialects. The movie included an actual descendant of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan as its star, and featured hundreds of actors and extras.
In 1986, the first local short feature film to be shot on video was released. Titled "Ciyaar Mood" ("It is not a Joke"), it was directed by the filmmaker Abdurrahman Yusuf Cartan. Several renowned independent theater productions were later transposed to video by Muxiyadiin Qaliif Cabdi and various other young Somali directors.
In 1987, Somali film director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said released a short film entitled "Geedka nolosha" or "The Tree of Life", which the following year earned the Prize of the City of Torino in the "Best Film - International Short Film Competition" category at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema.
That same year, the inaugural Mogadishu Pan-African and Arab Film Symposium (Mogpaafis) was held, bringing together an array of prominent filmmakers and movie experts from across the globe, including other parts of Northeast Africa and the Arab world, as well as Asia and Europe. Held annually in Mogadishu, the film festival was organized by the Somali Film Agency.
The establishment of national television networks during this period further fueled the growth of independent Somali productions, most shot on video. Having now obtained greater penetration of the domestic market, the focus then shifted from traditional film premieres in movie theaters to private projections. Consequently, fewer foreign films were imported into the country.
1990s-present.
In 1992, Abdulkadir Ahmed Said released the Somali-Italian co-production "La Conchiglia" ("Aleel"). Another environmentally conscious short film, it predicted the devastating effects that illegal toxic waste dumping by foreign vessels would have on local marine life and the fishermen who depended on it.
In 2008, the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell wrote and co-produced the short film "Charcoal Traffic", which was directed by the filmmaker Nathan Collett. Shot on location in Somalia, it employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the ecological damage that charcoal production can create.
In 2011, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival also launched the SANAD development and post-production fund for cineastes from the Arab world. With the goal of encouraging independent and auteur-based cinema, Somali filmmakers now have access to financial grants, screenwriting and pitch workshops, and personal meetings with industry mentors and experts. In conjunction with the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) professional training, networking and project development organization, the Dubai International Film Festival also offers to Somali filmmakers the Interchange group of development and co-production workshops earmarked for directors, screenwriters and producers from the larger Arab region.
Somaliwood.
A new generation of more entertainment-oriented movies coming from the Somali film industry has grown increasingly popular among Somalis both within Somalia and in the diaspora. Referred to as Somaliwood, this upstart cinematic movement has energized the local movie scene, in the process introducing innovative storylines, production techniques and advertising strategies. The latter include cross-media marketing, with tie-in film soundtracks featuring prominent Somali music artists. Popular movies from Somaliwood include the Somali language slasher thriller "Xaaskayga Araweelo", the action comedy "Rajo", and "Warmooge", the first Somali animated film. The young directors Abdisalam Aato of Olol Films and Abdi Malik Isak are at the forefront of this quiet revolution. In 2010, the Somali director Mo Ali also released "Shank", his first feature film set in a futuristic London.


Amhi Satpute

Amhi Satpute is a 2008 Marathi remake of English movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It was produced by Sachin Pilgaonkar who also appears in it, alongside other primary cast including Ashok Saraf, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Swapnil Joshi, Atul Parchure and Nirmiti Sawant.
Production and release.
Before the release Sachin commented that the movie was not a remake of "Satte Pe Satta", but instead was an adaptation of English movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He said that "Satte Pe Satta" had a crime angle, while this film is a musical comedy. About the title, Sachin said, "Satpute is a common Marathi surname, and since the film has seven brothers, I thought it was an apt name for the film."
Tata Motors tied up with the film to promote Tata Ace mini-trucks.
The film was released in theaters in Maharashtra on 18 April 2008.
Soundtrack.
The movie soundtrack has 7 songs and was released by "Video Palace". Jitendra Kulkarni produced the music and lyrics were penned by Pravin Davane. Singers include Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Nihira Jodhi, Rajendra Salunkhe, Vibhavaree Apte-Joshi, Vaishali Samant, and Sachin.


Murali Krishna (director)

Murali Krishna is an Indian film director who has worked on Tamil language films. He is best known for making romantic films in the early 2000s, and gained acclaim for "Paarvai Ondre Podhume" (2001).
Career.
Murali Krishna made his directorial debut with the romantic film "Paarvai Ondre Podhume" (2001) featuring Kunal and Monal and the success of the first film, prompted the trio to reunite for another film titled "Pesadha Kannum Pesume" (2002). The second film received negative reviews, with a critic stating it was "one of the most insipid films" and that "there is nothing new about the story, presentation and even the acting of Kunal and Monal are disappointing". In 2002, he began production on a project titled "Endrum Unnai Nesippen" starring Karthik and Haripriya in the lead roles. The film eventually failed to materialise owing to Karthik's off-screen problems. His third film, "Thirudiya Idhayathai" (2005), was shot within seventeen days and featured Kunal in the lead role again with newcomers Rohan and Shubha Poonja.
He then worked on the romance film, "Balam" (2009) with a lead pair of newcomers, which opened to negative reviews. A critic from Rediff.com criticised the director for failing to make use of experienced artistes like Rahman, Suhasini and Santhanam in the film. Murali Krishna then worked as the director and music composer on a film titled "Karvam" and then on "Thuttu" featuring Aryan Rajesh and despite having an audio release function in April 2013, the films remain unreleased.
In 2015, Murali Krishna was revealed to be working on a project titled "Mirantavan" starring Prajin and Manochitra, a tale on blackmail featuring seven actresses.


V. N. Aditya

V. N. Aditya (born Vadrevu Aditya) is an Indian film director and screen writer known for his works in Telugu cinema.
Career.
V.N.Aditya made his film debut with the 2001 family drama film "Manasantha Nuvve" starring Uday Kiran and Reemma Sen. The film ran for more than 200 days in many theatres across what was then the Andhra Pradesh.
V.N.Aditya went on to make "Sreeram", a 2002 Tollywood film starring Uday Kiran, Anita Hassanandani & Ashish Vidyarthi. This was a remake of the Tamil film "Dhill" which starred Vikram, Laila Mehdin, Nassar and Vivek. His third film, "Nenunnanu", was released in 2004 Starring Nagarjuna Akkineni , Shriya Saran & Arthi Agarwal and became a stupendous hit . It was dubbed in Tamil as Chandramadhi and in Hindi as Vishwa ("The He Man").
V.N.Aditya's other films include "Manasu Maata Vinadhu" (2005) with Navdeep and Ankitha, "Boss" (2006) with Nagarjuna, Nayantara, Poonam Bajwa, "Aata" (2007) starring Siddharth Narayan and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles.


Sudhakar Komakula

Sudhakar Komakula is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He is known for acting in the film "Life Is Beautiful" (2012).
Career.
Sudhkar Komakula was a part of a dance group in Visakhapatnam. He bagged a role in "Manasutho" (2002) when the music director of the film, Ashirvad Luke, introduced him to the makers of the film. He shared screen space with Brahmanandam in the film and later played a supporting role in "Oka V Chitram" (2006). However, both of these films failed to provide the actor a big break. He received a breakthrough with Sekhar Kammula's coming of age film "Life is Beautiful" (2012). He garnered acclaim for his character's Telangana accent. After the success of the film, he went on to act in several films including the thriller "Hang Up!" (2014), the romantic drama "Vundile Manchi Kalam Mundu Munduna" (2014) the romantic comedy "Kundanapu Bomma" (2016), and the masala film "Nuvvu Thopu Raa" (2019) in which he used a Telangana accent again. He turned singer for "Nuvvu Thopu Raa".


Marcus Bartley

Marcus Bartley (1917 - 14 March 1993) was an Anglo-Indian cinematographer who played a key role in the success of many Indian films. While at school, Bartley was an amateur photographer. He joined the "Times of India" in 1935 as press photographer, and then became a newsreel cameraman for British Movietone under the auspices of the "Times of India". He was the cinematographer of all time classics like Pathala Bhairavi, "Maya Bazaar" and "Chemmeen".
Film industry.
Bartley arrived in Madras and joined Pragati Studios. His maiden film was Swarga Seema in 1945. This film showed his genius at Black and White photography. The movie strengthened the friendship between him and the BN Reddy, KV Reddy, and Nagi Reddy. Successively, Bartley worked in many studios such as National Studios, Newtone Studios and Vauhini Productions. He wielded camera for all the forty odd Vauhini movies including such great hits as "Yogi Vemana", "Guna Sundari Katha", as well as Vijaya's productions "Shavukaru", "Patala Bhairavi", "Pellichesi Chudu", "Chandraharam", "Missamma", "Maya Bazaar", "Appuchesi Pappukudu", "Gundamma Katha", "Shri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club", etc. Most of the superhits of those times were made with his photographic hand at the camera. His specialty was the shots under the moonlight.


Kandikonda

Dr. Kandikonda (born 13 October 1973) is an Indian film lyricist, known for his works in Telugu cinema. Kandikonda was born in Nagurlapally, Narsampet Mandal of Warangal district. He was awarded with Doctorate for his thesis on "Situational songs in Telugu cinema" from Osmania University.
Biography.
Kandikonda penned lyrics for over a hundred films in Telugu and private albums as a lyricist. During his initial days he worked for many private and spiritual albums with Music Director Chakri. His vested interest in Chalam's literature made his career inclined towards penning songs as lyricist in Telugu film industry. While working with Chakri, he made his debut into the industry with "Malli Kuyave Guvva" for Puri Jagannadh's Itlu Sravani Subramanyam. There after he worked as a lyricist for many songs like "Chupulatho Gucchi Gucchi", "Gala Gala Paruthuna" and many more. He also wrote a song named "Maagani Matti Merupu" on the journey towards Telangana statehood. In 2019 he wrote a song "Bhogimantalu, Sankrantulu, Kanuma Poojalu Saradalu" which is based on the festival Sankranti. In 2018 he wrote a song on K. T. Rama Rao's birthday "Vachadu Vachadu Oka Leader"


Day of Independence

Day of Independence is a 2003 short film, broadcast in 2005 as a half-hour PBS television special. It is a drama, set during the Japanese American internment of World War II, produced by Cedar Grove Productions with Visual Communications as fiscal sponsor.
History.
The story of the film is based on playwright and executive producer Tim Toyama's own father's World War II experience. During the war, Toyama's father, whose nickname was Zip, was sent along with his entire family to a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans. Zip's "Issei" (Japanese immigrant) father fell ill and elected to return to Japan, along with Zip's mother, on a prisoner exchange ship, called the MS "Gripsholm". However, the parents told Zip that as an American, he should remain in the U.S.
Background.
Toyama wrote a play based on his family history, "Independence Day". He and director Chris Tashima then adapted the play into a short film, which was produced by Lisa Onodera. The film was shot in 6 days, in Stockton, California and in Los Angeles. It was completed in 2003 and played in over 70 film and video festivals and competitions, winning 25 awards. Following its broadcast premiere on KHET/PBS Hawai'i on May 12, 2005, the film received a Regional Emmy nomination, from the NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Chapter (which includes Hawaii), in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special.
Synopsis.
A young baseball player faces the tragic circumstances of the internment of 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Set in a relocation camp in 1943, "Day of Independence" chronicles a family torn apart by a forced, unjust incarceration, a father's decision that challenges his son, and ultimately his son's triumph through courage, sacrifice and the All-American game of baseball.


Wait Until Spring, Bandini

Wait Until Spring, Bandini is a 1989 film written and directed by Dominique Deruddere, based upon the novel by John Fante. The film received the André Cavens Award for Best Film and won three Joseph Plateau Awards.
Plot.
The film follows the Bandini family as they struggle through hard times in 1920s Colorado. Unemployed and broke, Svevo Bandini (Joe Mantegna) tries to come up with the money his family needs to make it through the winter, while putting up with his difficult mother-in-law (Renata Vanni), his nervous wife (Ornella Muti), and his three young boys.
Production.
Parts of the film were shot in Orem and Ogden, Utah.


Bhakarkhadi 7 km

Bhakarkhadi7km (Marathi: 'भाकरखाडी ७ किमी') is a 2014 Marathi language Indian film. "Bhakarkhadi 7 km" is written and produced by Dinesh Vaidya and directed by Umesh Namjoshi.
Plot.
"Bhakharkhadi 7 km" tells the story of a young doctor who aspires to a career as a surgeon in America. His dreams are shattered by his involvement in one emergency surgery and the dirty politics surrounding the case. As a scapegoat, he is sent to a remote Marathi village to work in their primary health center. The film highlights rural Marathi culture and lifestyle alongside contemporary Indian urban life and youth.
Reception.
"Marathi Movie World" describes the film as carrying a strong social message, while remaining entertaining and breathtaking.
Production.
Crew.
Aniket Vishwasrao was selected to play the male lead whereas Veena Jamkar was cast opposite him. Veteran Theatre and Bollywood actress Renuka Shahane was said to play a pivotal role in this Movie. Anant Jog was cast as the Antagonist of the Movie


Aggi Ravva

Aggi Ravva ( Flame) is a 1981 Telugu-language action film, produced by N. T. Rama Rao under the Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner and directed by K. Bapayya. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Sridevi and music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film is inspired by an English movie. The film was a "Hit" at the box office.
Plot.
Ramu (N. T. Rama Rao) a young and energetic guy, is the only son of I. G. Raja Shekaram (Jaggayya) whose aim is to see his son as a police officer. But his timid mother Meenakshi (S. Varalakshmi) does not agree for it. Meanwhile, Ramu falls in love with a beautiful girl Vani (Sridevi). Here Ramu makes a plan as if he is working in Vani's company and in the name of promotion, he leaves for the police training. Apart from this, at a town called Nagarajapuram, three traitors make a lot of atrocities, Narasimham (Satyanarayana), Bhairavaiah (Allu Ramalingaiah) and Menaka (Kavitha), who behave like respectable citizens in the society. These people perpetrate many activities such as smuggling, gambling, prostitution, women trafficking etc. Here no one has the guts to question them and if any police officer protests them will be shot died. I. G. Raja Shekaram handovers the case to his nephew Inspector Suryam (Mohan Babu) but they trap him also in their custody by kidnapping his sister Radha (Rajyalakshmi). Now Raja Shekaram himself camps in the area when the traitors attack him and in the shootout, he loses a limb. At the same time, Ramu successfully comes back from the police training. But seeing his father's condition, a volcano bursts in his heart. At present, Ramu wants to take revenge against those criminals, he requests govt and makes his appointment at Nagarajapuram. By taking his father's blessings Ramu reaches Najarajapuram and before leaving he tells his father not to reveal this secret to his mother. Immediately, stepping he gives a direct warning to the traitors. After that, he catches them red-handed and presents them in the court, but they successfully escape from the sentence. On that night they capture Ramu, torture him badly and throws on the road. They keep their danger flag as a symbol, that's why no one comes forward for his rescue. Fortunately, Vani passing from that way spots and takes him to hospital. After recovery, Ramu crushes them all when they put a case on him. In the court where he shows the evil deed happened to him by which the court decides him as innocent. Here Ramu understands that anger is not only the source to catch criminals it should also require a proper wit. So, he changes his attire along with Vani and in various forms of disguise, he collects the pieces of evidence against them. Narasimham comes to know regarding this when he kidnaps Raja Shekaram and also kills his wife Meenakshi. Seeing his mother's dead body Ramu falls like a thunder on them, smashes their empire and gets them arrested. Finally, the movie ends on a happy note with the marriage of Ramu & Vani.
Soundtrack.
Music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. Lyrics were written by Acharya Aatreya. Music released by Audio Company.


Madhav Shinde

Madhav Shinde was a film director predominantly working in Marathi film industry.
He was born on 3rd of October 1917 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
He is best known for the films "Gruhdevta" (1957), "Kanyadan" (1960) and "Manasala Pankh Astat" (1961) for which he won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.


Veerabhadram Chowdary

Veerabhadram Chowdary is an Indian film director known for his works in Telugu cinema.
He made his directorial debut in 2011 through Aha Naa Pellanta.
Personal life.
Mullapudi Veerabhadram Chowdary was born in the village Kalavalapalli in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.
His father is a farmer and his mother is a housewife. He joined the film industry as assistant director in 1997.
Filmography as Director.
5 gymmick (aadhi Saikumar),,(Payal raj puth)


The Bronze Buckaroo

The Bronze Buckaroo is a 1939 American film directed by Richard C. Kahn. It is one of the race films made by African-American directors and performers for African-American audiences. "The Bronze Buckaroo" stars black cowboy singer Herb Jeffries, here billed as Herbert Jeffrey.
Plot.
Cowboy Bob Blake receives a letter from his friend Joe Jackson, asking for help. Blake and his men travel to Jackson's ranch, only to discover from Jackson's sister Betty that Joe has been missing for three weeks. Meanwhile, Jackson's ranch hand (Slim Perkins) is learning to use ventriloquism to make the farm animals talk, and tries to convince the gullible Dusty to buy a talking mule.
Blake discovers that Jackson is being held by a local land grabbing rancher, Buck Thorne, who (with his partner Pete) has discovered gold on Jackson's ranch. They killed Joe's and Betty's father, and are trying to force Joe to deed the land over to Thorne. Blake develops a plan to rescue Jackson from where he is being held above the saloon, but runs into trouble. Betty sends Blake's men into the saloon as backup and is kidnapped by Thorne, who then threatens to kill Betty and Joe if they do not sign the deed. While Dusty rides for the sheriff, Blake and his men backtrack Betty's horse (who arrived home riderless). A gun battle ensues, with the sheriff arriving in the nick of time. The villains are hauled off to jail, and Blake rides into the sunset with Betty.


Ishari K. Ganesh

Dr. Ishari K Ganesh (pronounced as Ai-sari) is the founder, chairman and Chancellor of Vels University in Chennai, India.
He founded the Vael's Educational Trust in 1992 in the memory of his late father Isari Velan, a former Member of Legislative Assembly in the state government of M. G. Ramachandran.
He was the president of the Pachaiyappa's Trust board (2011-2014).
He was the secretary of the consortium of colleges affiliated to The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University(2007-2009).
Ganesh is also the founder and Chairman of Vels Film International, which produces films in Tamil cinema. Ganesh has acted in 5 movies from (1992-2018) in supporting role and did a role in S. Shankar’s "2.0" (2018).


Ravindra Sathe

Ravindra Sathe is an Indian playback singer in Marathi film industry. He was the original cast and crew member of famous Marathi theatre Ghashiram Kotwal.
Career.
He started his career as sound recordist in Doordarshan. He has many performances of light music all over India. These include "Nakshtranche Dene", Diwali pahat etc.
Film singing.
He has sung songs in various Marathi films. Some of them are -
Awards and recognition.
2015 - 1st Shahir Sable award by Maharashtra BJP


Shannon Woodward

Shannon Marie Woodward (born December 17, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Sabrina Collins on the FOX sitcom "Raising Hope" (2010–2014), Elsie Hughes on the HBO science-fiction thriller series "Westworld" (2016–2018), and the voice and motion capture of Dina in the video game "The Last of Us Part II" (2020).
Early life.
Shannon Marie Woodward was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 17, 1984.
Career.
Woodward's first on-screen acting job came in 1991 when she played the occasionally recurring role of Missy on Nickelodeon's television series "Clarissa Explains It All". She reprised this role twice during the show's five seasons. Woodward next appeared in made-for-television films: "" (1995) and "Tornado!" (1996). In 1997, she played an uncredited role in the CBS miniseries "True Women".
Between 2000 and 2007, Woodward played a number of minor roles in various television shows including "The Drew Carey Show", "Grounded for Life", "Malcolm in the Middle", "Crossing Jordan", "Without a Trace", "Psych", and "Boston Public".
Woodward's big-screen debut came in 2005, when she played Emma Sharp, the daughter of a Texas Ranger assigned to protect a group of cheerleaders who witnessed a murder in the action comedy "Man of the House".
In 2007, Woodward got her big break in the series "The Riches", which aired for two seasons (2007–2008) on cable network FX. She played the role of Di Di Malloy, the teen daughter and middle child in an American family of Irish Travellers. After "The Riches" ended, Woodward played the role of Leah in the film "The Haunting of Molly Hartley".
Woodward shot the 2009 pilot "Limelight", about a New York City school for performing arts, but the series was not picked up. That same year, Woodward had a recurring role on the final season of NBC's "ER", as Kelly Taggart, the younger sister of nurse Samantha "Sam" Taggart. She also starred in another teen thriller, "The Shortcut".
In 2010, Woodward starred in the independent drama "Girlfriend". She also played the lead character in the 2015 ensemble comedy-drama "The Breakup Girl".
From September 2010 to April 2014, Woodward had a starring role in the FOX sitcom "Raising Hope", playing Sabrina Collins, a grocery store checkout clerk who is the love interest of the series lead.
Woodward appeared in her friend Katy Perry's music video "Hot n Cold" and had a cameo role in Perry's documentary/concert film "". Perry, in turn, guest-starred in a season two episode of "Raising Hope".
Woodward played Lois in the 2017 film "All Nighter". She was a regular in two seasons of HBO series "Westworld" as computer programmer Elsie Hughes.
It was announced in April 2017 that Woodward would appear in "The Last of Us Part II", which was released on June 19, 2020. Woodward played Dina, main character Ellie's friend and, later, love interest.
Personal life.
Woodward came out as queer in February 2021.


Adhithan Kanavu

Adhithan Kanavu () is an Indian Tamil language film directed and produced by T. R. Sundaram. The film stars T. R. Mahalingam and Anjali Devi.
Plot.
Two cousins serves as commanders in the army of a Kingdom. They make an agreement. When they marry and have children, if one gets a son and the other a daughter, then the children should marry each other. However, due to some differences, the cousins parted from each other and one of them leaves the country. Both of them marry and in due course both beget children. A boy to one and a girl to the other. The children grow up in different places. One day Gandharvas (heavenly beings) bring them together and they marry according to Gandharva custom. The Gandharvas then take both to their respective homes. This happens during the night. The following morning the man goes in search of his sweetheart. The girl becomes pregnant and undergoes severe harassment. A song, taught to the man by his mother, becomes the clue and brings back the estranged families back together.
Cast.
The list was compiled from The Hindu review of the film and from the database of Film News Anandan.
Dance:
Soundtrack.
Music was composed by G. Ramanathan and the lyrics were penned by Papanasam Sivan and his brother Papanasam Rajagopala Iyer.
The song that formed the clue in the story was 'Madhuramaana ruchi ullathey ..’ became a hit.
Reception.
The film fared well in box-office. Film historian Randor Guy wrote in 2009 that the film is remembered for "the interesting storyline, pleasing music and the palkova song."


My Big Fat Greek Wedding

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a 2002 American-Canadian independent romantic comedy film directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with the upper middle class White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Ian Miller. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and, at the 75th Academy Awards, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
A sleeper hit, the film became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time, and grossed $241.4 million in North America, despite never reaching number one at the box office during its release. It was the highest-grossing film with that distinction for 14 years until the animated film "Sing" grossed $268 million in 2016.
The film spawned a franchise, which inspired the short-lived 2003 TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life" and a film sequel titled "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2", was released on March 25, 2016.
Plot.
Thirty-year-old Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos is a member of a large, loud, intrusive Greek family that only wants her to get married and have children. Frumpy and meek, she works in her family's Chicago restaurant, "Dancing Zorba's", but longs to do something more with her life. While working one day, she is immediately smitten with Ian Miller, a handsome, White Anglo-Saxon Protestant man. She amuses Ian when he catches her staring at him and jokingly calls herself his “own private Greek statue.” That evening, Toula offers to go to college to learn about computers so she can improve the restaurant, but her father, Gus, becomes emotional, claiming Toula wants to leave him. Her mother, Maria, comforts Toula and convinces Gus to agree to Toula's idea.
As the weeks pass, Toula gains more confidence and changes her image, switching her thick-framed glasses for contact lenses, styling her hair, and wearing makeup and brighter clothes that show off her figure. She sees a notice for a course on computers and tourism and tells her Aunt Voula, who owns a travel agency, that she could apply what she learns in the course to Voula's business. Voula agrees, and she and Maria slyly convince Gus to agree as well.
Toula's happiness working at the travel agency catches Ian's attention and he asks her to dinner. Knowing her family wouldn't approve of her dating a non-Greek, Toula lies that she is taking a pottery class in order to see Ian. Ian eventually realizes Toula is the waitress from Dancing Zorba's; contrary to Toula's fear that he would lose interest in her, Ian reaffirms his fondness of her. They continue dating and fall in love.
Toula's lie is ultimately exposed. Gus is furious that Ian did not ask his permission to date Toula, despite the fact that they are grown adults. Gus refuses to let them continue seeing each other, but they ignore his decree, so Gus introduces Toula to single friends of his own, to no avail.
Ian proposes marriage and Toula accepts. Maria tells Gus that he must accept their marriage, but Gus remains upset because Ian is not a member of the Greek Orthodox Church. To get the family to accept him, Ian agrees to be baptized into the church. The Portokalos family does finally accept him, but constantly inserts themselves into the wedding planning, designing ugly bridesmaid's dresses and misspelling Ian's mother's name on their wedding invitations.
Ian's quiet, conservative parents meet the entire family during a loud and extravagant Greek family dinner and are overwhelmed by the experience, frustrating Gus. Toula worries about whether her father has really accepted Ian. Maria explains that, growing up, her family experienced many hardships, and that she and Gus simply want her to be happy. Toula's grandmother shows Toula photos of herself as a young woman and the crown she wore at her own wedding, which Toula puts on. When the three women all look at Toula in her bedroom mirror, the sight of three generations in the reflection makes Toula smile with pride. The wedding proceeds as planned.
At the wedding reception, Gus gives a heartfelt speech focusing on how the differences in the newlyweds' backgrounds do not matter. He and Maria then surprise Toula and Ian with a house as a wedding gift; Toula is speechless at the gesture of love from her father. As the two families dance together, Toula narrates that while her family is indeed loud, odd, and somewhat dramatic, she knows they love her and will always be there for her.
Six years later, Toula and Ian leave their house—conveniently located right next door to Gus and Maria's—to walk their daughter to Greek school.
Production.
Development.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" started as a one-woman play written by and starring Vardalos, performed for six weeks at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles in the summer of 1997. Vardalos later jokingly stated that she only wrote the play "to get a better agent." The play was based on Vardalos's own family in Winnipeg in Canada and on her experience marrying a non-Greek man (actor Ian Gomez). The play was popular, and was sold out for much of its run, in part due to Vardalos's marketing it across Greek Orthodox churches in the area. A number of Hollywood executives and celebrities saw it, including actress Rita Wilson, who is herself of Greek origin; Wilson convinced her husband, actor Tom Hanks, to see it as well.
Vardalos began meeting various executives about making a film version of the play and began writing a screenplay as well. However, the meetings proved fruitless because the executives insisted on making changes that they felt would make the film more marketable, which Vardalos objected to: these included changing the plot, getting a known actress in the lead role (Marisa Tomei was one name mentioned), and changing the family's ethnicity to Hispanic. Two months after the play's initial run ended, Hanks's production company, Playtone, contacted Vardalos about producing a film based on her vision for it; they also agreed to remount the play in early 1998, this time at LA's Globe Theatre. Hanks later said that casting Vardalos in the lead role "brings a huge amount of integrity to the piece, because it's Nia's version of her own life and her own experience. I think that shows through on the screen and people recognize it."
In 2000, while in Toronto doing pre-production for the film, Vardalos and Playtone producer Gary Goetzman overheard actor John Corbett (who was in town shooting the film "Serendipity") at a bar, telling a friend of his about having read the script for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and being upset that he couldn't make the auditions. Vardalos and Goetzman approached Corbett and offered him the part of Ian Miller on the spot, which he accepted.
Filming.
Despite being based on life in the Greek community of Winnipeg, the film was set in Chicago and shot in both Toronto and Chicago. Toronto's Ryerson University and Greektown neighborhood feature prominently in the film. The home used to depict Gus and Maria Portokalos's residence (as well as the home bought next door at the end of the film for Toula and Ian) is located on Glenwood Crescent just off O'Connor Drive in the Toronto suburb of East York. The real home representing the Portokalos' residence actually has most of the external ornamentation that was shown in the film. Also, some minor parts of the movie were shot at Jarvis Collegiate Institute in Toronto.
Release.
After a February 2002 premiere, it was initially released in the United States via a limited release on April 19, 2002 before receiving a wider release worldwide over the summer, including a wide release in the United States on August 2.
Box office performance.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" became a sleeper hit and grew steadily from its limited release. Despite never hitting the number one spot and being an independent film with a $5 million budget, it ultimately grossed over $368.7 million worldwide, becoming one of the top romantic films of the 21st century. It was the fifth highest-grossing film of 2002 in the United States and Canada, with USD$241,438,208, and the highest-grossing romantic comedy in history. Domestically, it also held the record for the highest-grossing film never having been number one on the weekly North American box office charts until the 2016 release of the animated film "Sing". However, adjusted for inflation, the gross of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was still higher, equivalent to $ million in 2016. The film is among the most profitable of all time, with a 6150% return on a (inflation adjusted) cost of $6 million to produce.
Critical reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating 76% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though it sometimes feels like a television sitcom, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is good-hearted, lovable, and delightfully eccentric, with a sharp script and lead performance from Nia Vardalos." On Metacritic, which assigns a rating based on reviews, the film has an average score of 62 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
10th-anniversary edition.
In 2012, a 10th anniversary edition of the film was released via DVD and Blu-ray by HBO. The edition contains a digital copy of the film and features deleted scenes as well as a 30-minute retrospective with Vardalos and Corbett.
Lawsuit.
The cast (with the exception of Vardalos, who had a separate deal), as well as Hanks's production company, Playtone, later sued the studio for their part of the profits, charging that Gold Circle Films was engaging in so-called "Hollywood accounting" practices.
Legacy.
Television series.
The film inspired the brief 2003 TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life", with most of the major characters played by the same actors, with the exception of Steven Eckholdt replacing Corbett as the husband. Corbett had already signed on to the TV series "Lucky". He was scheduled to appear as the best friend of his replacement's character, but the show was cancelled before he appeared. The show received poor reviews from critics noting the random character entrances and serious plot "adjustments" that did not match the film.
The seven episodes from the series are available on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, whose TV studio division produced the show.
Sequel.
In a 2009 interview for her film "My Life in Ruins", asked about a possible sequel for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Vardalos stated that she had an idea for a sequel and had started writing it, hinting that, like "Ruins", the film would be set in Greece.
Asked about a sequel again in a November 2012 interview, she stated:
On May 27, 2014, various news and media outlets reported that a sequel was in the works. Nia Vardalos later confirmed this via Twitter, and she also has written a script for the film. The first trailer for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" was aired on NBC's "The Today Show" on November 11, 2015 and it was released on March 25, 2016, to negative critical reception and modest box office success.