Rakendu Mouli

Rakendu Mouli is an Indian lyricist, actor, singer, and dialogue writer who works in Telugu films.
Career.
Mouli made his debut as an actor with "Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante" (2015) in which he played the lead role. In 2016, he played Naga Chaitanya's friend in "Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo". He played supporting roles in "Kirrak Party", a Telugu remake of the Kannada film "Kirik Party", and played one of the lead roles in "My Dear Marthandam" (2018). In 2019, he made his Tamil debut with "Enai Noki Paayum Thota", where he played Dhanush's friend.
He made his Telugu debut as a lyricist with "Andala Rakshasi" and garnered acclaim for the song "Manasu Palike". He wrote the lyrics for four of the five songs in "Meeku Maathrame Cheptha" (2019).
Personal life.
His father, Vennelakanti, is a lyricist and his brother Shashank Vennelakanti is a dialogue writer.


Amit Pawar

Amit Pawar was an Indian film editor, most known for the films, "Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon", "Dombivali Fast", and "Mumbai Meri Jaan". He won the Filmfare Award for Best Editing for "Mumbai Meri Jaan" in 2009.


Dry Hot Summers

Dry Hot Summers (, transliterated: "Har gaf sayfan") is a 2015 Egyptian short film directed by Sherif El Bendary. It was an official selection at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Plot summary.
One summer day in Cairo creates an unexpected encounter between two strangers on opposite chapters of their lives. Shawky is a silent old man struggling with cancer, who only has a few weeks left. Doaa is an energetic young woman who grabs her last chance to marry and start a new life in another city, building up a family, she herself so desperately misses. Both are isolated from society in different ways. Since his son is too busy to accompany him, Shawky is alone on his way to see a tumor specialist, a French physician, who is in Cairo for just a few days and means his last hope. Shawky's yellow plastic bag containing all his x-rays and medical tests are accidentally taken by the young woman (Doaa) he shares a taxi with. Doaa is getting ready for her wedding party later that night, but as she lives all alone in the city, only her motherly neighbor helps her with the busy preparations. As Doaa rushes through the city, the bridal bouquet gets lost and is picked up by Shawky, who is following her in search of his yellow plastic bag. The lost x-rays and the lost flowers oblige them to spend a fraught and exhausting day together, a journey through the city that plants the seed of hope where they never expected it. Before he catches his appointment with the doctor and she finally arrives at her wedding party, the two isolated people reconnect against all odds and form a human bond as they realize the preciousness of this very moment in their lives.
References.
http://mecfilm.com/index.php?id=3803


Melanie Mayron

Melanie Joy Mayron (born October 20, 1952) is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama "thirtysomething" for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1989. In 2018, the Santa Fe Film Festival honored Mayron for her outstanding contributions to film and television.
Personal life.
Mayron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Norma (née Goodman), a real estate agent, and David Mayron, a pharmaceutical chemist. Her family is Jewish; Mayron's father is from a Sephardic background (the original surname was "Mizrahi"), while her mother is of Russian descent. She trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
In 1998, she and her chemist father developed a line of skincare products for babies and adults called Mayron's Goods.
Mayron was in a long-term relationship with screenwriter and producer Cynthia Mort, with whom she shared co-parenting of their two children.
Career.
Mayron appeared in the 1974 film "Harry and Tonto", the 1976 movies "Gable and Lombard" and "Car Wash", and the 1977 films "The Great Smokey Roadblock" and "You Light Up My Life", and starred in 1978's "Girlfriends". In the mid-1970s, she played Brenda Morgenstern's best friend, Sandy Franks, on three episodes of the sitcom "Rhoda". In 1982, she played Terry Simon, the photographer, in director Costa-Gavras' political drama "Missing".
In 1988, she co-wrote and co-produced the comedy film "Sticky Fingers". In 1995, Mayron directed "The Baby-Sitters Club", a film based upon the book series of the same name. She also directed the television movie "Toothless" (1997) starring Kirstie Alley and the movie "Slap Her... She's French" (2002), starring Piper Perabo (which appeared on television as "She Gets What She Wants"). In 2006, she appeared as a judge in the reality show "Looking for Stars" on the Starz! channel.
She also directed episodes of "thirtysomething", as well as episodes for shows such as "In Treatment", "The Fosters", "Providence", "Dawson's Creek", "Ed", "State of Grace", "Nash Bridges", "Wasteland", "Tell Me You Love Me" and "The Naked Brothers Band"; the latter series was created and ran by Mayron's former "thirtysomething" co-star Polly Draper.
In 2015, she directed and released on YouTube "The Living Room Sessions", a collection of videos of up-and-coming musical artists performing acoustic sets in her living room.
Mayron has directed an episode of the Netflix original series "GLOW", an episode of "SEAL Team", an episode of "The Enemy Within", and multiple episodes of the 2018 "Charmed" reboot, as well as "Jane the Virgin".
Awards.
"Winner:"
"Nominations:"


Latin American Film Festival

The Latin American Film Festival (LAFF) was a film festival dedicated to Latin American cinema, held annually in the city of Utrecht, Netherlands, from 2005 to 2013.
Awards and winners.
Latin Angel Jury Award.
The top prize of the Festival was awarded since 2005 by a professional jury to the best film in the competition. The prize has been awarded to:
Hivos Latin Angel Audience Award Feature.
This special prize in the category "Feature films" has been awarded since 2007 to the following winners.
Hivos Latin Angel Audience Award Documentary.
This special prize in the category "Documentary films" has been awarded since 2007 to the following winners.


Da Brat

Shawntae Harris (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album "Funkdafied" (1994) sold one million copies, making her the first female solo rap act to receive a platinum certification, and the second overall female rap act (solo or group) after Salt-N-Pepa. Brat has received two Grammy Award nominations. She has achieved two-top ten hits on the "Billboard" Hot 100, "Funkdafied" and "Not Tonight Ladies Night Remix", the latter with Lil' Kim, Lisa Lopes, Missy Elliott and Angie Martinez. Brat has also had commercial success with other songs including "I Think They Like Me", " and a remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy".
Early life and education.
Da Brat was born on April 14, 1974, in Chicago, Illinois, She was raised on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Her father is David Ray McCoy, Chicago businessman, and mother, Nadine Brewer, Chicago city bus driver. Her parents never married. Brat was subsequently raised in two different households. Da Brat lived part of the time with her mother and grandmother and attended an Apostolic church four times a week, where she sang in the choir. Da Brat attended Kenwood Academy during her sophomore and junior year, where she ran track and played basketball. She graduated from the Academy of Scholastic Achievement, a continuation charter school that caters to at-risk students in 1992.
Career.
1992–1995: Early success.
In 1992, Da Brat's big break occurred when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by "Yo! MTV Raps". For the prize, she met the young rap duo Kris Kross. They introduced her to their producer, Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat's image as a "female Snoop Doggy Dogg," and she became one of the first female "reality-based" rappers. Da Brat told the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" that her stage name was inspired from being "a spoiled only child." Da Brat's debut album "Funkdafied" was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at number 11. The album went platinum, making her the first female solo rapper to sell one million copies. The single "Funkdafied" reached number 1 on the rap singles chart and number 6 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Her follow-up single from the same album, "Give It 2 You," reached number 26 on the Hot 100.
1996–1999: Collaborations and film projects.
In 1996, Da Brat released her second full-length album, "Anuthatantrum", which included the single "Ghetto Love" featuring T-Boz of TLC. During the rest of the 1990s, Da Brat came to be known more for her "featured" appearances on other rappers' and R&B singers' albums rather than for her own solo work. Da Brat was also featured with Kris Kross on the title track of their album "Da Bomb" (1993) as well as on their third album "Young, Rich and Dangerous" (1996). She contributed a rhyme to the hip hop remix of Mariah Carey's hit, "Always Be My Baby" (1996). She also made her feature film debut that year in "Kazaam" (1996) with Shaquille O'Neal. In 1997 she and Dupri appeared on the remix of the Dru Hill hit "In My Bed". That same year, Da Brat appeared along with Dupri on a remix of Carey's "Honey (So So Def mix)" (1997) and recorded the hit remix of "Ladies' Night (Not Tonight)" (1997) with Lil' Kim, Left-Eye of TLC, Angie Martinez, and Missy Elliott. Also in 1997, she was featured on "Sock It 2 Me," a track on Missy Elliott's debut album, "Supa Dupa Fly". In 1999, she appeared, alongside Krayzie Bone, on the remix to Mariah Carey's cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" (1998). She also appeared as a guest artist with Elliott on Carey's remix of "Heartbreaker" (1999), and on the remix of Brandy's "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)." That year, she was also featured on a remix of the Destiny's Child single "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (1999).
2000–2003: Return to solo work.
In early 2000, Da Brat released her third full-length album "Unrestricted", which produced the moderately successful singles "That's What I'm Looking For" (U.S. number 56) and "What Chu Like" (U.S. number 26), featuring soul singer, Tyrese. The album was not well-received compared to Brat's earlier work. However, the new album and new millennium did inspire an image makeover for Da Brat. Abandoning her "gangsta" persona, she decided to follow the trend in popular music and attempted to add to her sex appeal. In 2001, Brat continued her trend of being featured on other artist's remixes, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart along with rapper Ludacris on the main remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" and being featured artist on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix. Da Brat also appeared as Louise in Carey's 2001 movie "Glitter". In 2003, Brat released her fourth album, titled "Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz", and appeared on the 4th season of VH1's "The Surreal Life".
2005–present: Current activities.
In 2005, she made a comeback of sorts when she was featured on the remix of the song "I Think They Like Me," by Dem Franchize Boyz, which also featured Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart and No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2006, she was an onstage guest on Mariah Carey's "The Adventures of Mimi Tour" in Atlanta, New York City, Long Island, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles performing her rap verses on the "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" remixes. She was also featured on Kelly Rowland's "Gotsta Go," a bonus track from her 2007 album "Ms. Kelly" and is also featured on "4real4real", a bonus track from Carey's "E=MC²". She also co-wrote a song with Carey called "O.O.C." which appears on "E=MC²" and contributes backing vocals on the track. In 2007, she participated in the fifth season of the VH1 reality series '. In 2011, she did a remix with Kelly Rowland called "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne. Following her release from prison, she launched a web series about life after the experience titled "Brat Chronicles: In Transition" on YouTube. She released her new single "Is It Chu?" on iTunes and other digital services on July 2, 2013. She now works for the "Rickey Smiley Morning show" as a co-host (July 2015 – present) and is part of the Dish Nation cast out of Atlanta. Since 2016, Da Brat has appeared on the reality TV series "The Rap Game", as a mentor to young talent. In 2017 Da Brat joined the reality TV series ' which follows around Atlanta legends and children of Atlanta legends.
Personal life.
Da Brat dated Allen Iverson in the late 1990s. In an interview with "Variety" in March 2020, she discussed coming out as a lesbian and why it took her 25 years to do so. On March 26, 2020, Da Brat confirmed that she is in a relationship with hair product mogul Jesseca Dupart.
Da Brat and LisaRaye McCoy are sisters, they share the same father.
Legal troubles and 2008 prison sentence.
In 2001, Da Brat pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after she had battered a woman with a rum bottle during a dispute over VIP seating in an Atlanta nightclub in 2000. The victim in that incident received six stitches for a head wound. Da Brat ended up serving a year's probation, performed 80 hours of community service, and paid a $1,000 fine. On October 31, 2007, Da Brat was involved in an altercation that ended in assault at a Halloween party held at Studio 72 nightclub in Atlanta. Da Brat initially argued with a hostess, and when the hostess walked away to talk to her manager, Da Brat attacked her from behind, striking her in the face with a rum bottle. The waitress was rushed to an area hospital, and police arrested and jailed Da Brat. In court, Da Brat plead guilty to aggravated assault charges. She was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, 200 hours of community service. In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison as part of a work-release program, after serving 21 months. On February 28, 2011, Jermaine Dupri announced that Da Brat was officially released from prison, completing her sentence. Her civil trial stemming from the 2007 altercation commenced on February 24, 2014. On February 28, 2014, a civil trial jury awarded ex-NFL cheerleader Shayla Stevens, the assault victim, $6.4 million to cover her injuries and past/future loss of earnings.
Awards and nominations.
Grammy Awards
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards
BET Awards
Billboard Awards


K. Bapayya

Kovelamudi Bapayya is an Indian film director. He has directed about 80 films in Telugu and Hindi languages. He is the cousin of noted director K. Raghavendra rao.


P. David Ebersole

P. David Ebersole (born March 16, 1964 in Los Angeles, California) is an American television director and independent filmmaker. He began his film career as a child actor, playing the lead in the musical "Junior High School" (1978), which also starred Paula Abdul.
Career.
Stepping behind the camera, as an undergraduate he won Best Film and Best Director at NYU for his first effort "Lover Man" (1986), and earned his MFA winning AFI's Franklin J. Schaffner award for best film/best director for his student thesis project, "Death in Venice, CA" (1994). He directed the boxing film "Straight Right" (2000) that premiered on Sundance Channel, and was a director on two telenovelas for Fox Television airing on My Network TV, Desire (2006) and Wicked Wicked Games (2007) starring Tatum O'Neal.
He was co-producer of the HBO original film, "Stranger Inside" (2001) and the independent film "The New Women" (2001) starring Mary Woronov. He directed and edited his first documentary "Hit So Hard" about drummer Patty Schemel of the seminal grunge band Hole (band), which had its world premiere at SXSW 2011 and was released theatrically in 2012. Along with his husband and business partner Todd Hughes, he is Executive Producer of Room 237, a subjective documentary that explores the numerous theories about the hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick's film "The Shining."
Ebersole is writer/director and Executive Producer of Dear Mom, Love Cher, a documentary about Georgia Holt, the mother of international superstar Cher. [1] Independently produced by The Ebersole Hughes Company and APIS Productions, it premiered on Lifetime May 6, 2013.
His latest film, Mansfield 66/67, premiered at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) where Paris-based International sales outfit Stray Dogs picked up worldwide rights. About the last two years of movie goddess Jayne Mansfield’s life and the rumours swirling around her untimely death being caused by a curse after her alleged romantic dalliance with Anton LaVey, head of the Church of Satan. Mansfield 66/67 is "a true story based on rumour and hearsay," celebrating Jayne's life on the 50th anniversary of her death. Directed by Ebersole with his husband Todd Hughes, and produced by Ebersole, Hughes and Larra Anderson, it will be released theatrically in North America for Halloween 2017 by .
Personal life.
He currently lives in Palm Springs, California, with his husband Todd Hughes.


Mano Khalil

Mano Khalil is a Kurdish-Swiss film director living in Switzerland. He studied history and law at Damascus University and moved to Czechoslovakia in 1987 to study fiction and film direction. Between 1990 and 1995 he worked as an independent film director for Czechoslovak and later for Slovak Television. Since 1996, he has lived in Switzerland, working as an independent film director and producer.
Prizes.
Nominations
Awards
 Festival.


Roopa Iyer

Roopa Iyer is a film director, actor (TV and Film), dancer, choreographer, fashion model, business executive, humanitarian, a philanthropist, and a philosopher. She has been involved with over a dozen movies from acting to direction, and has orchestrated, organized and performed in numerous musical and dance events in over tens of countries around the world to support HIV infected children through ICA. Her film "MUKHAPUTA – The Cover Page", produced by Narayan Hosmane, about a child suffering from HIV/AIDS through India Classic Arts (ICA) has won worldwide accolades.
Iyer is the recipient of multiple awards for her artistic achievement in film. She is known for her selfless contribution to society and indulging in creating awareness about HIV/AIDS among the people through her company ICA.
Early life.
Roopa Iyer was born in Belakavadi, a small village in Karnataka, India, to a lower middle class orthodox family. Her father (Late A. S. Prakash) was a farmer, and mother (Satya Lakshmi), an elementary school teacher. She grew up in the village until her father died due to a heart ailment when she was 6, after which her family moved to Bellur, another small village in Karnataka. Her sister Deepa Iyer is a Kannada serial actor, their daughter Sanya Iyer is a child artist who acted in Roopa Iyer's Mukhaputa and Chandra.
Career.
Her humble beginnings date back to 1992, when 10-year-old young Roopa started at a dance academy in Bellur for young girls. She learnt and taught dance and performed numerous dance programs. Five years later, she moved to Bangalore with her family and started Gurukul that not only extended dance lessons to include multiple classical disciplines but also produced and coordinated events.
Alongside, she pursued her academic goal and earned a master's degree in Commerce from Karnataka State Open University. After her start of the world tour during the early part of the decade, Gurukul evolved into India Classic Arts, a nonprofit global fine arts performing production organization, based both at New Jersey, USA and Bangalore, India. She encompasses various Indian dance forms that include: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Contemporary, Modern Art, Folk, Western, and Film.
She is not only the film director of the movie "Mukha Puta – The Cover Page" but has also written the story and screenplay, while being the lead actress in the latest award-winning movie "Daatu". In 2013, she directed & produced her bilingual big budget film "CHANDRA" in Tamil and Kannada.
Honours and Accolades.
Iyer is the recipient of many awards for her artistic achievement and contribution to charity and her involvement in supporting HIV affected children, including:
Filmography.
Other accomplishments.
She is effectively promoting Indian dance & culture around the globe. The list of performances produced and performed for the purpose of serving victims of HIV affected through ICA.
Other Programs and performances of Roopa Iyer in support of HIV/AIDS affected children through ICA


Ogirala Ramachandra Rao

Ogirala Ramachandra Rao () (1905–1957) was an Indian film actor, music director and multi instrumentalist, predominant in Telugu cinema.
Early Life and career.
Ogirala was born on 10 September 1905 at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh to Ogirala Janardhana Sharma and Subbamma. He started his career as an actor in Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1939), where he played the role of Lord Shiva. His debut as Music director was "Malli Pelli" in the same year produced by Y. V. Rao. He was also playback singer for Y.V.Rao and sang with Kanchanamala in the film.
He was also the music director for his next film "Vishwamohini" (1940). He has played key role for the success of Bejawada Rajaratnam as playback singer. He has assisted Chittor V. Nagaiah for "Swargaseema" (1945) and "Yogi Vemana" (1947) for Vijaya Pictures.
Personal life.
His son Ogirala Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy and daughter Machiraju Kalpakavalli are settled in Hyderabad, India. They used to sing in All India Radio Hyderabad and also in DD National Channel for Hyderabad in 1980's.


Alexandria Again and Forever

Alexandria Again and Forever (, translit. Iskandria Kaman wa Kaman, ) is the final entry in a trilogy of films by director Youssef Chahine. This 104-minute-long film is mainly in Arabic, with English-language subtitles. It was preceded by the films "Alexandra...Why?" (1978) and "An Egyptian Story" (1982). The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Following a violent outburst with Amr, his favorite actor, the director Yehia Eskandarany (Youssef Chahine) is forced to scrutinize his entire career under scrutiny. Nothing looks familiar any longer. His country and African cinema he loves so much, also looks strange. Little by little, while remembering his first film with Amr, Yehia traces the infiltration of the influential petro-dollar into the Egyptian cinema industry. But was it really money that caused the rift between him and Amr? Or was it the strikingly beautiful Nadia?


Vijay Award for Best Film

The Vijay for Best Film is given by STAR Vijay as part of its annual Vijay Awards ceremony for Tamil (Kollywood) films.
The list.
Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won.


Gopi Amarnath

Gopi Amarnath is an Indian cinematographer, who works in the Tamil film industry.
Career.
Gopi studied in MGR Film Institute and started to work as an assistant to ace cinematographer PS Vinod .
Amarnath received positive reviews for his work in "Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey" (2012), and was thus signed up by C. V. Kumar to collaborate on another venture. His work in Karthik Subbaraj's directorial debut "Pizza" (2012), won him critical acclaim and the Vijay Award for Best Cinematographer. He subsequently received a breakthrough and began working on bigger budget productions, teaming up with Sundar C for "Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru" (2013) and "Aambala" (2015).
As of 2015, he has five films in various stages of production.


Christopher Banks

Christopher Banks (born 1977) is a New Zealand journalist, musician, record producer, songwriter and film-maker.
Music.
Deep Obsession.
Banks was responsible for eight top 30 New Zealand hits (including three #1's) for three different acts between 1998 and 2002.
In 1997, he and producer Michael Lloyd formed what would become one of New Zealand's most successful pop groups, Deep Obsession, with singer/songwriter Zara Clark and Vanessa Kelly. A year later, they were the first New Zealand act to be signed direct to Universal Music and their debut single "Lost in Love" was a number 1 hit.
The next two singles, "Cold" and "One & Only", were also chart-toppers – making Deep Obsession part of local chart history. Two more singles – "You Got The Feeling" and "I Surrender" – were top 25, spending five months on the chart between them. All four were written by Banks in collaboration with Clark or Kelly.
International releases soon followed, including a US release for the Brian Rawling remix of "One & Only". The New Zealand-platinum debut album "Infinity" was released in Asia, Australia and parts of Europe.
Nicolette.
Nicolette Kenny, another Universal signing, was next. Banks co-produced her first top 20 hit in New Zealand, "Blue Day", (a cover of the Mi-Sex hit) in 1999 before co-writing her second single, "Harden Up", which became a top-20 Australian club chart hit in 2000. A third radio-only single, "If You Want Me", was released as an MP3 download in 2003.
Banks' writing collaboration with Nicolette Kenny has also seen the appearance of several more songs on the soundtrack of syndicated children's TV show "The Saddle Club", which screens around the world. One of these, "Girl With Claws", made an appearance on the cast album "Fun For Everyone".
Nurture.
In 2001, Banks formed a pop duo Nurture with singer and instrumentalist Phil Madsen. Their first single "Beautiful", a Banks composition, was a top 20 hit in June 2001, staying in the singles chart for over three months. The follow-up, "Did You Do It All For Love?", broke the top 30 in early 2002.
Joshna.
Folk and ethnic music artist Joshna (sometimes spelt as Jyosna, Jyostna or Jyoshna) LaTrobe has been a prominent figure on the folk and ethnic music scene in Australasia, the USA and parts of Europe. She has covered many styles of music, from her experimental women's group Turiiya in the eighties, to folk and the incorporation of Indian rhythms and melodies in much of her nineties work.
Christopher Banks has collaborated with her on several albums since the late 1990s, contributing keyboards to "Sounds of Silence" (1996), "Longing" (1997), "Era Dynamic" (2001), "Reddish Blossom" (2004), and co-producing (with Michael Lloyd) the critically acclaimed "Magnificence" (2000) and "Dancing Divinity" (1999), a concept album based on a performance devised by Joshna for the ill-fated 1999 Sweetwaters Music Festival.
The radio-only single "You Are Mine" was produced by Banks and released as an MP3 download in two versions in 2002.
Other releases.
His last musical release to date was the radio-only dance/pop track "I Am A Disco", performed by New Zealand drag act Reinalda and written/produced by Banks. The most successful single ever released to radio in New Zealand by a drag act, the track was also released internationally on Central Station Records official Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CD in 2003, as well as gaining widespread airplay on commercial radio throughout New Zealand.
He is listed as the composer on the Māori Television comedy show, B&B in 2005.
Award nominations.
"Lost in Love" was nominated in the Best Technical Production category in New Zealand's 1999 Radio Awards.
Banks and Zara Clark were nominated as Songwriter(s) of the Year for "Cold" at the 2000 New Zealand Music Awards.
Journalism.
Between 2003 and 2006, the senior writer at GayNZ.com was Christopher Banks. His feature articles focused mainly on social and political issues relevant to the gay community, or debunking religious arguments against homosexuality. Some articles were based around in-depth interviews with political or religious leaders.
Banks' writings for GayNZ.com also included a number of film reviews, two of which caused some upset in the conservative Christian community. His review of the controversial 2002 French film "Irréversible" was cited by the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards in their attempts to have the film banned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. His positive review of "Kinsey", the 2004 biopic of the American sex researcher, drew the ire of "Investigate" magazine editor Ian Wishart, prompting a further series of articles by Banks on Alfred Kinsey.
In 2004, Banks surfaced as a writer, presenter and director on the long-running news programme "Queer Nation" on TV2.
Film.
In 2005, Banks wrote, produced and directed a low-budget digital feature, "Quiet Night In", in which his former pop collaborator Nicolette Kenny played the lead role.
It screened as the closing night film at the inaugural 2005 Stratford-upon-Avon International Digital Film Festival in England, and was released on DVD in New Zealand by Arkles Entertainment in October 2007, and in Australia by Gryphon in March 2009.
His second film, "Teddy", was completed in 2009 and has screened at some of the world's largest gay film festivals, including Toronto, New York, Boston and San Francisco. "Teddy" won the Audience Award for Best Short at the in New Zealand, and became the first short film from New Zealand to be shortlisted for the Iris Prize, a gay short film competition in the United Kingdom.


Shepherds and Butchers

Shepherds and Butchers is a 2016 South African drama film directed by Oliver Schmitz. It was shown in the Panorama section at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. It is an adaptation of the debut novel of the same name by Chris Marnewick, a New Zealand-based author and former South African High Court barrister and judge.
Plot.
Nearing the end of "apartheid" in South Africa, a young white prison guard (Garion Dowds) embarks on a seemingly motiveless shooting that sees to the death of seven unarmed black men. A British-born lawyer assigned to his case (Steve Coogan) sets out to prove his actions were a direct result of psychological trauma from his volatile work environment. The defense attorney is an ardent opponent of the death penalty.
Awards.
The film received third place in the Panorama Audience Award at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.


Mohammed Aslam

Mohammed Aslam is an Indian playback singer. He is most known for his stage performance called "Aslam Nite" dedicated to music legend Mohammed Rafi songs. He has performed across India and Persian Gulf countries, and is also a playback singer in the Tamil and Bollywood film industries.
Early life and career.
In his childhood Aslam was inspired by Kishore Kumar, Mohd. Rafi, and Mukesh. He started singing when he was 6-years-old and began performing at age of 13. Aslam has earned international acclaim with over 2,000 stage shows to his credit. His first song for a film was "Naan Uravukaaran" in Nattamai directed by K S Ravikumar in 1994, and after that he continued to sing in several Tamil Kannada and Telugu movies. Later, he worked with A R Rahman for hit films like Rang De Basanti and Jodha Akbar. He was also a part of A.R Rahman's world tour.


Sirkazhi Govindarajan

Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was a leading vocalist in Carnatic Music and a leading playback singer of indian cinema.
Govindarajan, was born at Sirkazhi, a small town in Madras Presidency (Present day Tamil Nadu) to Siva Chidambaram and Avayambal Ammal. Sirkazhi was the birthplace of Thirugnanasambandar, one of the Samaya Naalvar and the 63 Nayanmar of the Saiva faith. It was little wonder that he became a child prodigy performing at the Tirupurasundari Temple at the age of eight on the occasion of the Gnana Paal Festival. His son Sirkazhi G. Sivachidambaram is also a Carnatic singer.
He graduated from the Tamil Isai College in Chennai(Madras) in 1949 with the Degree 'Isaimani'. He also graduated with the Degree of 'Sangeetha Vidwan'. At the same time, he started rigorous training (Gurukulavasam) under his Guru Sri. Thiruppampuram Swaminatha Pillai, who was then a Professor at the Central College of Carnatic Music, Madras. Under his tutelage and in-depth study, he gained knowledge of the nuances and intricacies of Indian Music, especially, Classical Carnatic Music. During this period, 1951–1952, he won many competitions, conducted by the Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha (Music Academy) and the Rasika Ranjani Sabha. He was the proud recipient of three Gold Medals(First place) in the austere and hallowed halls of Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha (Music Academy) from Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer. "Sangeetha Vidwan" Sirkali won all first places in the three categories: Apoorva Krithis of Sri Thyagaraja swamigal, Ragam-Thalam-Pallavi, and Tamil Classical Songs.
He was conferred the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. The Central College of Carnatic Music was the next institution for his musical enrichment.
Govindarajan had also done playback singing in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Madras University conferred a doctorate (Honoris Causa) on him in 1983. He died of a massive heart attack in 1988, aged just 55.
He had sung for many leading actors of tamil cinemas like M.G.R,SSR,GEMINI GANESAN N.T.RAMA.RAO,MUTHURAMAN.ETC
Collaboration.
Music composers.
S. V. Venkataraman, S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, S. Rajeswara Rao, S. Dakshinamurthi, V. Dakshinamoorthy, G. Ramanathan, C. N. Pandurangam, Master Venu, K. V. Mahadevan, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan, G. Devarajan, B. Narasimma Rao, A. Rama Rao, T. Chalapathi Rao, T. G. Lingappa, P. Adinarayana Rao, T. R. Pappa, Ghantasala, Vedha, G. K. Venkatesh, M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, V. Kumar, A. M. Rajah, C. Ramachandra, Ilaiyaraaja, and Shankar Ganesh, Baburaj
Playback singers.
He has sung with other male singers such as M. S. Viswanathan, T. M. Soundararajan, Ghantasala, P. B. Srinivas, S. C. Krishnan, Tiruchi Loganathan, A. L. Raghavan, K. J. Yesudas and S. V. Ponnusamy.
He also sang duets with many female singer such as M. L. Vasanthakumari, P. Leela, K. Jamuna Rani, Jikki, P. Suseela, K. Rani, L. R. Eswari, L. R. Anjali, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi, R. Balasaraswathi Devi, N. L. Ganasaraswathi, A. P. Komala, A. G. Rathinmala, T. V. Rathinam, Bangalore Ramani Ammal, Vani Jayaram, S. Janaki, M. R. Vijaya, Sarala and Rohini.
He sang duets with singing actors such as N. S. Krishnan, T. R. Mahalingam, P. Bhanumathi, S. Varalakshmi and Manorama.
Awards and Honors.
• ISAI MANI: 1949-Degree from Tamil Isai College, Madras
• SANGEETHA VIDWAN: 1951-Degree from Central College of Carnatic Music, Madras
• ISAI ARASU: 1968-Kunrakudi Adheenam, Kunrakudi
kumari'
• ISAI KADAL: 1972-Bharathi Youth Association, Madras
• INNISAI ARASU: 1974-Tamil Nadu Nalvazhi Nilayam, Madras
• DHARUMAPURA ADHEENA ISAI PULAVAR: 1974-Adheena Vidwan of Dharumapura Adheenam appointed by Sri Guru Maha Sannidhaanam
• KALAI MAMANI: 1975-TamilNadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram (State Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award)
• INNISAI VENDHAN: 1976-Kandan Arts Academy, Madras
• SANGEETHA BHASKARA: 1977-Sri Shantananda Swami, Sri Bhuvaneswari Adhishtanam, Pudukkottai
• ISAI THILAKAM: 1977-Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha
• ISAI GNANA BHOOPATHI: 1978-Brittania Hindu Shiva Temple Trust, London
• EZHISAI VENDHAR AND GANAMRITHA VARITHI: 1978-During SriLanka tours
• PERISAIMANI: 1979-Sangeetha Abhivrithi Sabha, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• IRAI ISAI VENDHAI: 1979-Seshasayee Paper Mill Temple, Erode
• MIYAN TANSEN AWARD: 1980-Delhi Drupad Sangam, New Delhi
• CENTRAL SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI AWARD: 1980
• TAMIL ISAI MANNAR: 1981-New York Tamil Sangam, New York
• GANDHARVA GEETHA VITHAKAR: 1981-Ramalingar Pani Manram, Paris, France
• DI SINGENDEN HERSEN VON INDIEN: 1981-Yoga Center(Germans), Dusseldorf, West Germany
• TAMILNADU ARASAVAI KALAIGNAR: 1981-At the Bharathiyar Centenary Celebrations
• ISAI PERARIGNAR: 1982-Annual music festival honor from Tamil Isai Sangam, Madras
• PADMASHRI: 1983
• ISAI THENDRAL: 1984-Thyagaraja Swami Aradhana Committee, Tirutani
• INNISAIMANI: 1985-Guru Gnana Sambandar Iraipani Manram
• GAMBEERA GANA ISAI VENDHAN: 1985-Arya Vaisya Schools, Madurai
• ARUL ISAI ARIGNAR: 1987-Mauritius Education and Cultural Tour
• TAMIL ISAIPERARIGNAR: 1987-Tamil Sangam, Bangalore
• MUTHAMIZH KALAI MAMANI: 1987-Tamil Sangam, Salem
• ISAIMAMANNAR: 1987-Bharathidasan Centenary celebrations by Dravidar Kazhagam, Madras
• ISAIPERARUVI: 1987-Siddhi Vinayakar Temple, Paris, France
• CULTURAL AMBASSADOR: 1987-Frei Platz Axion-World Peace Conference in Switzerland


Al Halfout

Al Halfout () is a 1985 film and satire written by Wahid Hamids and directed by Samir Seif and Mustafa Gamaleddin. The cast includes Adel Emam, Ilham Chahine, Saeed Saleh and Salah Kabil. Filming of "Al Halfout" occurred mainly in Egypt. The film takes a satirical look at Egypt's government and its attitude to the poor.
Concept.
The movie examines life in the suburbs of Egypt. It focuses on a small village affected by social inequality and a corrupt regime. The role of government is not apparent whereas landlords and rich businessmen appear as unrestrained criminals. To survive, the villagers sell unusual services such as witchcraft. One lady opens a gentlemen's club. The village is timeless with the only dating feature being the train line.
Protagonists.
Arafa.
Adel Emam plays Arafa, a 34-year-old grocery delivery man who likes to 'hang out' at the market or the railway station. He is lean, clumsy and odd; disorganised with a slow way of speaking. He is poor with no education or prospects. He dreams of marriage but events in the village make this more and more unlikely.
Dosoki.
Dosoki, played by Saeed Saleh, works in a cafe at the railway station. He is an Arafa's best friend and does his best to help and consol him. For example, he will give Arafa money or help him to find a different job.
Warda.
Warda is a widow played by Ilham Chahine. Arafa maries her.
Plot.
Arafa's progress is influenced by traditional cultural practices such as sorcery and by degeneration of society into activities such as prostitution. Despite these things, Arafa eventually marries the widow Warda. A few days later, Arafa finds himself jobless when a younger man takes his place at the market. A local hitman kills a famous businessman. Arafa has the opportunity to assume the identity of the hitman (neither he nor the hitman have ever been seen by the boss' intermediary). Arafa is hired to make a hit. However, when Dosoki is killed by mafia in a gun fight, Arafa tries to escape. Warda discovers this and follows Arafa only to be killed by the mafia herself. Arafa kills all the mafia.


8 Thottakkal

8 Thottakkal () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film written and directed by Sri Ganesh. Produced by Vellapandian, the film stars his son Vetri, alongside an ensemble cast including Aparna Balamurali, Nassar and M. S. Bhaskar. Principal photography of the film commenced in August 2016 at Chennai and was completed in November 2016. The film released on 7 April 2017. This movie, which was loosely inspired by the 1949 Japanese movie "Stray Dog", was remade in Kannada in 2018 as "8MM Bullet".
Plot.
The film starts with an orphaned boy, Sathya, getting framed by the employer for the murder of his wife and is sent to juvenile. He befriends the warden who helps him secure the sub inspector job.
Sathya remembers what his warden taught him and stays honest in his profession. Unlike the other policemen at his station, he refuses to be involved in bribes and is made an outcast. One day, Sathya helps a writer who is beaten by his corrupt inspector, Gunasekaran. Thinking that Sathya is trying to become a hero by making him look bad, the inspector plans to shame Sathya. The inspector then arranges for Sathya to shadow a dangerous gangster. While shadowing the gangster, he loses his gun fully loaded with 8 bullets. The inspector gives him one day to find his lost gun or face disciplinary action.
With the help of a reporter friend, Meera, Sathya nabs the boy who pickpocketed his gun but the boy has sold the gun. The guy who bought the gun attempts a bank robbery along with two other men and in the process he accidentally shoots and kills a little girl. Meera, in danger of losing her job tells her superiors about the case, it goes viral, and Sathya is suspended from duty. Sathya hides from police as he will be arrested, and is tracked down by Pandian, the new handler of the case, Pandian says that if Sathya was a real policeman he should never stop searching, which causes Sathya to join him. Meanwhile, one of the robbers tries to buy his girlfriend a necklace for her birthday and takes all the fresh notes available, despite the boss's opposition. In the jewelry shop, he is exposed as the police kept track of the serial number of the fresh notes. He escapes the arrest and goes to get his share. After a confrontation with the boss he tries to steal all the money and the leader shoots and kills him. The remaining two dispose the body. The second robber fearing he also will be shot dead by the boss, contacts police. When the police attempt to arrest the boss with a ploy the boss shoots and kills the second robber and made sure there is no one left to connect him with the robber. Sathya meets an old police man, Krishnamurthy, who got suspended for letting a terrorist slip away as a constable. It turns out that Gunasekaran accepted a bribe from the terrorist and let her go, but this has already ruined Murthys profession. Sathya talks to Murthy about life and how things have changed. After this, Murthy sees the man who sold him the gun and leaves. Murthy kills him with the same gun when he follows Murthy to a restroom. However we learn that Murthy is actually the leader of the robbery and he kills the officer who didn't sanction his Provident Fund. Sathya, now looking for clues in the murder, finds Murthy's application sanctioned and goes to his house to give it to him. However, Murthy's son tells him that the application got sanctioned earlier and Murthy gave the money to the family, by connecting the murder of the guy who sold the gun and Murthy's son's statement he figures out that Murthy is the robber and the boss. Meanwhile, Murthy follows Gunasekaran to a bank and attempts another robbery and kills him, after which he throws the money on the street. When Murthy returns home he finds out that the police have surrounded him. Pandian takes Murthy's grandson hostage and there is a confrontation in which Sathya walks out with his gun . He later tells the investigation board that Murthy shot Pandian dead and Sathya had killed Murthy in self-defense. Sathya is given his job back.
As Sathya drives with Meera, she tells him that he should not feel bad for Murthy, as he was a bad person. And we are shown what actually happens in that room. Pandian with his gun on Murthy's grandsons head slips, and a shot is fired. Murthy in shock, shoots and kills Pandian, but it turns out that Pandian missed and did not hit Murthy's grandson. Sathya grabs Murthy and fights him, but cannot hurt him as he feels sorry for him. Murthy stands up and grabs the gun and tells Sathya to shoot him. He then explains that he did not tell his family about his cancer because he heard the family speaking why god didn't take him instead of his wife. He then says he robbed the bank for them and that he wanted to live his last days as a king. Murthy also says he did not mean to shoot the child and breaks down. Murthy grabs Sathya's hands, puts the gun to his forehead and says he doesn't want to put the family in shame by going to prison then shoots himself dead with the last bullet when Sathya hesitates.
After this flashback, at a stop light, Sathya sees the employer that framed him, on the side of the street, and the movie ends.
Production.
After working under director Mysskin as an assistant director in "Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum" (2013), Sri Ganesh started working on his script which he revealed to be a cop thriller. Talking about the film, Sri Ganesh said that since it is a film about criminals trying to take advantage of a specific situation, it allowed him to understand the mindset of police officers. Ganesh attributed parts of the film to real-life incidents and literature, citing he was interested by the mystery series of Inspector Martin Beck. For the film, he also spent time speaking to the cop who was part of the 2012 Velachery encounters, where five men suspected of robbing banks in the city were shot dead, with Nassar's character in his story being partly based on this policeman. The production began in August 2016 and ended in November 2016, with the film shot almost entirely in Chennai, over a period of 47 days.
Newcomer Vettri was selected to play the lead role of a sub-inspector in the film, with his family producing the film. Actress Aparna Balamurali was signed on as the lead actress soon after the release of her debut Malayalam film "Maheshinte Prathikaaram" (2016), and revealed that she would play the character of a scribe. Actress Meera Mithun also worked on the film, which became he first film release. Other members of the cast included Nassar and M. S. Bhaskar, while Ranjith, the brother of "Kaaka Muttai" actor Ramesh, also made his debut as a petty thief.
Soundtrack.
KS Sundaramurthy composed the songs and background score for the film. Yuvan Shankar Raja bought the audio rights of "8 Thottakkal" under his banner, U1 Records.
Release.
The film had a theatrical release on 7 April 2017, alongside Mani Ratnam's "Kaatru Veliyidai" (2017). In their review of the film, Sify.com wrote "To conclude, "8 Thottakkal" definitely has minor flaws including the impassive hero and lengthy second half but still, the film is a satisfying watch". The reviewer added that ""8 Thottakkal" has plenty of positive aspects to discuss but two things have certainly reduced the quality of the film, one is the wooden hero who just can't act and the other one is unnecessary song sequences, which comes as speed-breakers", while stating "another issue is the length of the film is a bit of a downer as the long drawn out scene composition tests your patience — but despite these flaws, the film is worth a look and hits the target with the heart touching performance of MS Baskar, who has given his career best". A reviewer from The Times of India noted "Taking the set-up of Akira Kurosawa's "Stray Dog", Sri Ganesh gives us a slow-burning cop thriller which changes track halfway and becomes a contemplation on life. It is a risky move because the film starts to empathise more with its antagonist and wants us to do the same as well, but surprisingly, Sri Ganesh manages this feat". The critic added "the director gives us songs that break the mood and momentum of the film" and that "you really are baffled that a director who displays such confidence in letting his film unfurl at a meditative pace would settle for such compromises". A vapid film with a sleepwalking hero cannot recreate the magic of Stray Dog- Kollywood Kapsa.


Boyapati Srinu

Boyapati Srinu is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Best known for directing action films in Telugu cinema, Boyapati has garnered two state Nandi Awards.
Early life.
Boyapati completed his intermediate from JKC College in Guntur and attended Nagarjuna University. His family runs a photo studio. Boyapati was interested in photography and worked as a part-time reporter for the Eenadu newspaper. His cousin Posani Krishna Murali recommended Boyapati Srinivas to work in the direction department of Muthyala Subbaiah studio in 1997 after requesting him for a while. Srinu worked with him for films like "Oka Chinna Maata", "Gokulamlo Seetha", "Pelli Chesukundam", "Pavitra Prema", "Annayya" and "Manasunna Maaraju".
Career.
In 2005, Boyapati made his directorial debut with "Bhadra", which starred Ravi Teja, Meera Jasmine, and Prakash Raj. "Tulasi" was his second film. In 2010, Boyapati's third release was "Simha", starring Nandamuri Balakrishna in a dual role, Nayantara and Sneha Ullal. In 2012, he made his fourth film "Dhammu", starring Jr NTR, Trisha, Karthika Nair.


F. S. Faizal

F. S. Faizal is an Indian music composer who graduated from Trinity College London. He was trained under Abdul Sattar until he reached the eighth grade. He was a former advertisement jingles composer who worked on over 275 jingles in the likes of Vasanth & Co, Credai, and Jaipur Gems. He made his film production debut in the Tamil film "Newtonin Moondram Vidhi" and then made a breakthrough with his work in "Sillunu Oru Sandhippu". Other notable films he helped with where Vajram and "Tharkappu", which both got accolades. He is now working on the film "Thani Mugam", which is under post-production.
Career.
Faizal composed his first film album, "Newtonin Moondram Vidhi", under the stage name of Vinay, before moving on to compose music for "Kalavaram" in 2011. In 2013, he worked on "Sillunu Oru Sandhippu", which became his third album release and received positive reviews for his work on the songs. A critic from Sify.com criticised his work on the film's background score, stating that it was "too loud". Faizal has since worked on two low budget films featuring Sree Raam, as well as on "Tharkappu". Faizel had done background music scores on the film, "Pizhai", which has received positive reviews from critics for his song. He has worked on independent Tamil films originating from Tamil diaspora directors that settled in France such as "DOT" and "Encounter Hall".


Cinema of Syria

Syrian cinema has existed since the early 20th century. The first Syrian film was "Al Muttaham al Baree (The Innocent Suspect)", released in 1928. Since the early 1960s, the film sector has been mainly managed by the National Organization for Cinema, a department of Ministry of Culture. The film industry blossomed in the 1960s, despite a significant shift toward nationalistic documentaries, and has continued to garner attention. Prominent filmmakers include Nazih Shabandar, Rasheed Jalal, and Qays al-Zubeydi.
History.
In 1908, the first film ever screened in Syria was shown at a cafe in Aleppo. Eight years later, the Ottoman administration established the first film theater, in Damascus. The theater was inaugurated by the Ottoman governor, Jamal Pasha; however, it was burned down one month later. The French assumed mandate over Syria at the time, and many theaters were subsequently built in Damascus. The first Syrian film was "Al Muttaham al Baree (The Innocent Suspect)", a silent black-and-white feature released in 1928. The film was written, directed and produced by Rasheed Jalal, in association with Ahmed Tello. The crew set another precedent by forming the first Syrian production company: Hermon Film. In 1934, the second silent black-and-white film, "Tahta Sama' Dimashq (Under the Damascus Sky)", was released, coinciding with the Egyptian musical talkie, "Unshudat al Fuad (Hymn of the Heart)". The Syrian film became a commercial failure, as it was overshadowed by "Unshudat al Fuad's" success. In 1943 the 1,500 seat Cinema Dimashq, one of the largest movie theaters ever constructed in the Eastern Mediterranean, opened in Damascus.
In 1947, Nazih Shabandar established a production studio filled with equipment he created. The following year, he produced the first Syrian talkie, "Nur wa Thalam (Light and Darkness)", written by Mohamed Shamel and Ali el-Arna'ut. The film was also significant because it featured several rising Syrian stars: Rafiq Shukri, Yevett Feghli, and Anwar el Baba.
Film production improved during the 1950s, but was still hindered by lackluster distribution. The 1960s saw significant improvements with Doreid Lahham and Nuhad al-Qala'i, a comedic duo, generating higher profit margins than their predecessors. Their first film was "Aqd al-Lulu (Necklace of Pearls)", released in 1965. "Aqd al-Lulu" was the first in a tightly linked series of comedy films from the duo. Thanks to ample profits, they were able to produce films at a rate of two per year.
The 1960s also marked a period of transition for Syrian film-making. In 1963, the General Organization for Cinema was established as an arm of the Ministry of Culture to oversee the production and distribution of Syrian films. Due to the deaths of Arabs in the Six-Day War and Syria's loss of the Golan Heights, the government granted the General Organization for Cinema strict monopoly over the production and distribution of films. Consequently, the private film industry all but phased out by the end of the 1960s. The government focused on films promoting Syrian advances in agriculture, health and transportation. Documentary films were produced in large numbers to promote the construction of infrastructure; the impact of agricultural reform; and the provision of public services. In other words, the Syrian cinema shifted from entertainment to propaganda. Iraqi film maker Qays al-Zubeydi produced multiple films documenting the struggles of Palestinian refugees. Films like "Bai'dan 'an al-Watan (Far from their Country)" and Shahadat al-Filastinyyin fi Zaman al-Harb "(Testimonies of Palestinians in the Time of War)", released in 1970 and 1972 respectively, circulated around the Arab world to influence the masses. The first fictional movie produced by the General Organization for Cinema was "Sa'eq al-Shahinah (The Truck Driver)", directed by Yugoslavian film maker Poçko Fockovic and released in 1967.


Nandi Special Jury Award

The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films since 1981.


Alaipayuthey (soundtrack)

Alaipayuthey is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2000 Indian Tamil film of the same name. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks in original Tamil and Hindi versions of the albums whereas the Telugu version of the album has seven tracks. The soundtrack of "Alaipayuthey" was unanimously hailed as a Mani Ratnam film soundtrack turning for rhythmic fusion using modern synthesizers. A film, initially planned with film score, the recording of the songs eventually took place.
The soundtrack was well received by the audience and received a number of awards held in the subsequent year. The original soundtrack sold over six lakh cassettes, and A. R. Rahman won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 2000. The film score achieved cult status after the release of the film.
Development.
Initially, director Mani Ratnam wanted A. R. Rahman to compose only the film score. However, by the end of filming, nine songs were recorded. The lyrics of the track "Pachchai Nirame" are based on colours. The track is influenced by the instrumental works of Kitaro. The song is based on the raga "Kharaharapriya" and brings out the relaxing effect by using the facets of the musical scales. Cinematographer P. C. Sreeram used different color lenses as per the lyrical lines while filming this track. The song uses reverberating effect throughout its length. However, Rahman used light percussion, gently strummed acoustic guitars and layered the acoustic and synthesized versions of the same instrument. Additionally, the track has sounds of flute, violins and percussions. For Pachchai Nirame, Rahman ensured to use the timbres effectively so that the picturisation of the song matches to the tune. The track was filmed at Taj Mahal, village, lake, forests of Kashmir. The track "Snehithane Snehithane" is an ode by a wife to the husband. The track is based on the Shringaar raag. "Snehithane Snehithane" has a video edit version, with additional opening vocals by Ustaad Rashid Khan. The video edit version was released only as a bonus track on the soundtrack and cassettes of Alaipayuthey (Original version) and not on Sakhi (Telugu version) or Saathiya (Hindi version). However, the video edit version was used in all the three film versions. "Kaadhal Sadugudu" consists guitar riffs, based on the IndiPop and coming of age genre. The song was regarded as 'Beach Song' by Ratnam. The track "September Maadham" is a funky track, loosely based on fast paced R. D. Burman music. "Yaaro Yarodi" is a rustic number that blends of folk instrument sounds appearing intermittently. The track was used in the 2008 film "The Accidental Husband". "Maangalyam" song consists of nuptial mantras interspersed with lyrics of "Endrendrum Punngai". The rhythm pattern of the song "Endrendrum Punnagai" was inspired by the song "Everybody" by Backstreet Boys. The title track "Alaipayuthey" was originally composed by the Carnatic music composer Oothukkadu Venkata Subbaiyar, who also set it to the raagam 'Kaanada'. Rahman added additional beats to the track. The track "Evano Oruvan" which has an Egyptian base to its composition.
Singer Bombay Jayashri recorded for the film score. Rahman made her sing the raag Sindhu Bhairavi for half an hour whose portions were used in a scene when the lead actress was hospitalized in the film. For the Hindi version of the soundtrack, the songs, "Alaipayuthey" and "Evano Oruvan" were not re-composed. Instead, Rahman composed a Sufi track "Mere Yaar Mila De" and "Naina Milaike", a classical number. Lyricist Gulzar, who wrote all the Hindi version songs, stated, "In "Saathiya" I wrote 'Mere Yaar Mila De', which isn't a typical romantic number though it's essentially a love song." Unlike previous soundtracks recorded by Rahman for Ratnam, the former composed majority of the songs by fusing the classical carnatic music genres into moderns rhythms.
Critical response.
Original version.
Critic based at "The Hindu" asserted, "A. R. Rahman's numbers are already a hit – be it "Pachchai Niramae" zestfully rendered by Hariharan or the melodious "Snegithanae" or "Yaaro Yaarodi". Now they come with added flavour in the form of excellently captured visuals and scenic presentations." However, the song "September Madham" was criticized to obstruct the smooth flow of scenes with music. Methil Renuka of "India Today" praised the music of the film, calling it 'great'."St. Louis International Film Festival", critic Rich Cline called the music exuberant and colourful. Based on the 5.1 surround DVD release, James Grey stated, "The soundtrack is obviously heavily dubbed, which is not the disk's fault, and while the music doesn't have particular weight it comes across nicely enough. the music surprisingly (to me, anyway) accessible (with one tune going round my head even now)."
Hindi version.
On penning review for "Bollywood Hungama", critic Taran Adarsh stated, "A.R. Rahman's music is melodious and easy on the ears. The title track is the pick of the lot, but the item song can easily be deleted, for it serves as a speed breaker in the goings-on. Perhaps, even this song was added to add spice." Critic based at Australian Cine Urban praised the music, "A superb digital sound mix drives the all important soundtrack, fantasy music video clips on the cable music channels in that they are multi-costume and multi-location showpieces, taking us from waterfalls to snowy mountain fields to idyllic shorelines. Duets and full scale wedding routines follow each other as the first half zips along with its charter to set the musical mood." Vijay Ramanan of "Planet Bollywood", "A. R. Rahman's music and score, while simply re-created from the original except for two songs is as usual – fantastic."Mr. Brown" reviewed the music of the film, "The songs-chiefly are the lilting title number; the percussive wedding song "Chhalka Chhalka Re" ("It Spilled"); and the seductive ballads "Chupke Se" ("Quietly") and "Aye Udi Udi Udi" ("Flew Away") a highlight. Glamsham pointed, "All in all, all praises to the music composition by A R Rahman; the music is unique and upbeat. A R Rahman has been successful in creating a different genre of music for his ever increasing list of fans. The lyrics is definitely getting subdued by the exciting music. A must buy for people who love new music".
Track list.
Original version.
All lyrics by Vairamuthu, except track "Alaipayuthey", written by Oothukkadu Venkatasubba Iyer and rap portion of "Endrendrum Punngai" written by Praveen Mani. The order of track listing is according to the music cassette or soundtrack CD. The order of tracks in the listing differs in the digital download websites.
Telugu.
All lyrics by Veturi. The order of track listing is according to the digital download websites.
Hindi.
All lyrics by Gulzar.
Album credits.
Credits adapted from A. R. Rahman's official website.
Original.
Backing vocals: Dominique Cerejo, Clinton Cerejo, Srinvas, Febi, Noell James, Kanchana, Ganga, Chandran, Sriram
Hindi Version.
Backing vocals: Karthik, Tipu, Chandran, Clinton Cerejo, Raqeeb Aalam, Febi, Feji, Poornima
Personnel
Additional programming: Pravin Mani (for the tracks "O Humdum Suniyo Re" and "Chori Pe Chori")
Strings conducted by V. J. Srinivasamurthy
Additional sound design: H. Sridhar
Sound Engineers, H. Sridhar, S. Sivakumar


After Sex (2007 film)

After Sex is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Eric Amadio. The plot revolves around several couples having conversations after having sex. It looks at the complexity of modern-day relationships told through eight separate couples. Through dialogue and compromising situations, the film goes from the beginning of a relationship to the aftermath of one, and examines every stage in between.
The film had its world premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival on September 26, 2007, and was released in the United States on DVD on February 19, 2008, by Anchor Bay Entertainment.


Skin (2008 film)

Skin is a British-South African 2008 biographical film about Sandra Laing, a South African woman born to white parents, who was classified as "Coloured" during the apartheid era, presumably due to a genetic case of atavism. Directed by Anthony Fabian and Based on the book "When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race" by Judith Stone, "Skin" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2009.
The film was released to a limited number of US cinemas on 30 October 2009. It started showing in South Africa on 22 January 2010, and in Australia and New Zealand 25 July 2010.
Synopsis.
The year is 1965, and 10-year-old Sandra and her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaners. Her parents are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra's mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their white little girl. Sandra is sent to a boarding school in the neighbouring town of Piet Retief, where her (white) brother Leon is also studying, but parents of other students and teachers complain that she does not belong in this school.
She is examined by State officials, reclassified as coloured, and expelled from the school. Sandra's parents are shocked, but Abraham fights through the courts to have the classification reversed. The story becomes an international scandal and media pressure forces the law to change so that Sandra is classified as officially white again.
By the time she is 17, Sandra realizes she is never going to be accepted by the white community. She falls in love with Petrus, a young black man and the local vegetable seller, and begins an illicit love affair. Abraham threatens to shoot Petrus and disown Sandra. Sannie is torn between her husband's rage and her daughter's predicament. Sandra elopes with Petrus to Swaziland. Abraham alerts the police and has them arrested and put in prison for the illegal border crossing. Sandra is released by the local magistrate to return home with her parents, but she decides to return to Petrus, as she is pregnant with his child. Her father disowns her.
Now Sandra must live her life as a coloured woman in South Africa for the first time, restricted to housing with no running water and no sanitation, and struggling on little income. Although she feels more at home in this community, she desperately misses her parents and yearns for a reunion. She and her mother make attempts to communicate but are consistently thwarted by Sandra's father. Late in his life, when he is too sick to act on his own, he reconsiders and asks his wife to take him to visit Sandra. Sandra's mother, angry that his new-found guilt had surfaced only after he had for 10 years stubbornly ignored her own emotional torment and longing for a reunion, refuses his request and says that neither of them deserves Sandra's forgiveness.
Eventually, Sandra's marriage to Petrus deteriorates and he becomes physically abusive. She leaves him, taking their two children with her. She looks for her parents but finds they had since moved from her childhood home. Not knowing where they are, she continues with her life, raising her children by herself.
When the country's apartheid government comes to an end, there is renewed interest in her story by the media. Sandra's mother sees Sandra interviewed on television and writes to her to tell her of her father's death two years earlier. The letter provides no return address nor any other clue as to Sannie's whereabouts, but receiving it prompts Sandra to renew her search. Eventually, she finds her mother living in a nursing home and the two are happily reunited.
An epilogue tells that Sandra's mother died in 2001, and her two brothers continue to refuse to see her or her family.
Awards.
"Skin" has won 19 international festival awards, including Santa Barbara International Film Festival (Audience Award), Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival (Audience and Jury Awards), AFI Dallas International Film Festival (Audience Award), Palm Beach International Film Festival (Jury Award, Best Film), Rochester High Falls International Film Festival (Audience Award), Tri-Continental, South Africa (Audience Award), Bordeaux Cinema Science Film Festival (Grand Jury Prize, Best Film), Mediterrante Film Festival (Bari), Italy (Best Film), Belize International Film Festival (Audience Award), Moondance International Film Festival, USA (Best Score, Hélène Muddiman), Accolade Award For Excellence (Original Score Hélène Muddiman), United Nations Time For Peace Award (Voted by 21 UN Ambassadors), Amnesty International Humanitarian Award (Italy), Griffon Environmental Award, Giffoni Film Festival, Italy, Orange Film Prize, Ability Media International Awards, MAE Moseac Award for Best Independent Film, MAE Moseac Award for Best Actress (Sophie Okonedo), Bahamas International Film Festival, Rising Star Award, Sophie Okonedo.
Nominations.
British Independent Film Awards 2009, Best Actress (Sophie Okonedo)
NAACP Image Awards 2010 (Outstanding Foreign Film and Best Actress, Sophie Okonedo)
Black Reel Awards 2010 (Sophie Okonedo, Best Actress)
Political Film Society, (Best Film)
Ivor Novello Awards (Best Score), Hélène Muddiman


Hari Om Vithala

Hari Om Vithala is a Marathi movie released on 24 October 2008.The movie has been produced and directed by Saad Dalvi.
Cast.
The cast includes Makrand Anaspure, Nisha Parulekar, Amita Khopkar, Jayang Savarkar & others.
Soundtrack.
The music has been provided by Abhijit Joshi.


Deepan Chakravarthy

Dheepan Chakkravarthy is an Indian playback singer. He is the son of the first playback singer in the Tamil film industry, "Isai Thendral" Thiruchi Loganathan and grandson of actress C. T. Rajakantham. He is the younger brother of playback singer T. L. Maharajan.
Career.
In 1975, he was first introduced to perform on All India Radio by T. R. Pappa. The same year, he was introduced to Doordarshan (Indian television) by Thanjai Vanan. In 1980, he entered the Tamil film industry as a playback singer, introduced by Isai Gnani "Maestro" Ilaiyaraaja. The first song he sang was "Oh Nenjame Ethu Un Raghame", with S. Janaki, from the film "Enakaka Kathiru", with music by Ilaiyaraaja, directed by Nivas and lyrics by Gangai Amaran. The song which was first released was "Poongathave Thazh Thiravai" from the film "Nizhalgal", with music by Ilaiyaraaja, directed by Bharathi Raja and lyrics by Gangai Amaran.
Acting career.
He acted as the hero in the movie "Rani Theni", directed by G. N. Rangarajan and "Marupatta Konangal", directed by Erode Murugesh.
He also acted in several Tamil television serials such as "Ethanai Manithargal" on Doordarshan, "Megala" on SUN TV and "Aaru Maname Aaru" on RAJ TV. Recently he acted in "Magarasi" on Sun TV


A Bahraini Tale

A Bahraini Tale ( "Ḥikāya Baḥrayniyya") is a 2006 Bahraini Arabic-language drama film directed by Bassam Al-Thawadi, screenplay by Fareed Ramadan and starring Saad Abdulla, Fatima Abdulrahim and Abdulla Al Sa'adawi. This is the third feature film to be directed by Bassam al-Thawadi and one of the only three films ever made in Bahrain.
Synopsis.
Set during the Six-Day War of 1967, the film revolves around the personal story of a middle-class Bahraini family and an account of the hopes and faith the Arab world had in Gamal Abdul Nasser as its leader.
Reception.
The film was screened nationwide across Bahrain and across the Arab world. The film was critically acclaimed by critics locally and internationally. It was given a 90% rating by Rotten Tomatoes - NB: not available on Rotten Tomatoes so not verifiable.


Bianca Comparato

Bianca de Souza Mendes Comparato (born November 19, 1985) is a Brazilian actress. She is known for starring in critically acclaimed productions such as "Como Esquecer" in 2010, as well as "A Menina sem Qualidades" and "Somos tão Jovens", both in 2013, the latter for which she won the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro as Best Supporting Actress for her role of Carmem Teresa. In 2016, she starred in the Netflix-exclusive series "3%", gaining international attention and acclaim for her portrayal of the series' protagonist, Michele.
Biography.
Bianca was born in Rio de Janeiro, the daughter of the writer Doc Comparato and older sister of actress and presenter Lorena Comparato. She is of Portuguese and Italian descent. At age 16, Comparato attended a three-month course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, as a prize given by the British School of Rio de Janeiro, for standing out in the theatre course. She returned to Brazil determined to quit school to devote herself to her artistic career, but was dissuaded by her parents. Along with the regular school, Bianca attended courses on body language and drama. In 2010 Bianca graduated from the film school at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
Career.
Comparato's first theatrical performance was in "O Ateneu", directed by Leonardo Bricio. She debuted on television in 2004, participating in the series "Carga Pesada". Later that year, she made a cameo appearance in "Senhora do Destino".
In 2005, lived Maria João in "Belíssima" girl who lived in a war with his sister Giovanna, played by Paolla Oliveira. Then made an appearance in the last chapters of "Cobras & Lagartos" Rosimary villain as a nurse in 2006. The same year she starred in the short film "Pedro, Ana e a Verdade" and also participated in the film "Anjos do Sol" posed for the "Women We Love" in the 381 edition of Playboy magazine.
In 2007, Comparato attended series of "Toma Lá, Dá Cá" and "Antônia" and miniseries "Amazônia, de Galvez a Chico Mendes", and was in the theater with the play "Últimos Remorsos Antes do Esquecimento". In 2008, she joined the "Beleza Pura" cast of TV Globo and also premiered the play "A Fruta e a Casca", inspired by the story of Dom Casmurro.
The following year in 2009, she performed the play "Rock'n'Roll" and the cast of the television series "Aline" from the first season onwards, in which she, as Kelly, lived with her modern best friend Aline.
In 2010, Comparato was in the feature film starring "Como Esquecer" How Ana Paula Arósio. In the same year, she acted in the play "Mordendo os Lábios", written and directed by Hamilton Vaz Pereira. In 2011, she participated in two episodes of "Tapas & Beijos", enacts the stage show "A Escola do Escândalo" and also made a cameo on the soap opera "A Vida da Gente".
In 2012 she participated in the episode "A Culpada de BH" in the series "As Brasileiras", will be on the soap opera "Avenida Brasil" of João Emanuel Carneiro, in the novel she interprets the attendant Betânia.
In 2013, she returns to the big screen with the movie "Somos tão Jovens", a biographical work on the singer Renato Russo. Bianca had interpreted the film Carmem Teresa. With this film won the Bianca Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro Best Supporting Actress. In the same year she returned to television with the series "A Menina Sem Qualidades", in which she plays a troubled Ana Girl Without Qualities and MTV Brazil's first foray in the field of television drama. She was also in Season 2 of the series "Sessão de Terapia", the GNT.
Personal life.
As of January 2020, Bianca Comparato had been dating actress Alice Braga for three years.


Jeeva Shankar

Jeeva Shankar is a cinematographer turned writer, director active in Tamil films. His prominent films include Naan and Amara Kaaviyam.
In 2013, he started an "untitled project" for Escape Artist Motion Pictures. Jeeva Shankar's next project is Yeman.
Career.
He started his career as an assistant cinematographer to Jeeva. His debut film "Naan" was initially launched in 2008, with Siddharth Venugopal portraying the lead role with Rukmini Vijayakumar playing the lead female role, however due to the failure of his previous film "Ananda Thandavam", the producer Oscar Ravichandran called off the project. The film restarted with Vijay Antony's intervention in December 2010 who also took the lead role from Siddharth Venugopal. The film received positive reviews from critics and did well at box-office.
Following the critical and commercial success of his previous project "Naan", director Jeeva Shankar wrote a new script titled "Amara Kaaviyam", a college love story set in the 1980s. Madhan of Escape Artistes Motion Pictures was to produce the film, while Yuvan Shankar Raja was announced as the music composer. Adharvaa was announced to play the lead role but consequently opted out during pre-production stages, and the production house dropped the film.
Jeeva Shankar replaced him with Sathya in September 2013 with Sathya's brother, Arya producing the film under his production house, The Show People. Malayalam actress Miya was signed to play the female lead role, making her debut in Tamil films. The film began production in October 2013 in Ooty, with costume designer Sai preparing clothes for the film's 1980s backdrop. However, the film received negative reviews and went unnoticed.


Giri Babu

Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily woks in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is a notable actor-director.


Subramaniam Siva

Subramaniyan Siva is an Indian film director and actor who works in the Tamil film industry. After making his debut in 2003 with the successful "Thiruda Thirudi", he has gone on to make other ventures including "Yogi" and "Seedan".
Career.
Subramaniam Siva made his debut with the romantic comedy "Thiruda Thirudi" in 2003 featuring Dhanush and Chaya Singh. The success of the film meant that he later remade it in Telugu as "Donga Dongadi" (2004) with a new cast. He subsequently went on to make "Pori" (2007) featuring Jiiva and then took the opportunity of directing Ameer in his pet project "Yogi" (2009), which took two years to make.
His latest release was "Seedan" (2011), a remake of the 2002 Malayalam film "Nandanam", and the film featured Unni Mukundan, Ananya and Dhanush in a guest appearance. During the making of the film, there was a conflict of opinions between the director and the lead actress. In 2012, he announced plans of becoming an actor in a film written by novelist Jayamohan however the project failed to materialise. He went on to help with post-production of "Velaiilla Pattadhari" (2014) and also went on to write dialogues for "Amma Kanakku" (2016).
He also acted in the 2018 film "Vada Chennai" and the 2019 film "Asuran". Both films were directed by Vetrimaaran and starred Dhanush in the lead role.


Karzan Kader

Karzan Kader (born 8 September 1982) is an Iraqi Kurdish film actor, director, writer. He lives in Stockholm. Karzan Kader was nine years old when his family fled Kurdistan during the Iraq War in 1990. They settled in Sweden, where Kader and his siblings were raised. In 2007 he enrolled in Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (SADA) to study directing. His short film "Bekas" eventually won a Student Oscar and was developed into the acclaimed feature-length film by the same name.
Karzan graduated from Dramatiska Institutet as a Film director in 2010 and won a Student Award for his graduation film.


Leon James (composer)

Leon James is an Indian film composer and singer. He made his debut by composing two songs for the Tamil film, "Kanchana 2" (2015) directed by Raghava Lawrence, before being noticed for his work in "Ko 2" (2016).
Early life.
Leon James became interested in music as a result of his father Noel James's involvement in the industry as A. R. Rahman's manager, and began piano lessons aged three. He played in a school band called Zinx alongside Anirudh Ravichander, with the pair remaining close friends. He is also currently a part of Project Yuj, a "neo-Carnatic funk" band alongside Aalap Raju, Prakash Hariharan and Jeoraj George and the team released an independent album in November 2014. Prior to making his debut as a composer, Leon has worked as a keyboardist for stage shows and film albums composed by Santhosh Narayanan, Anirudh Ravichander and Thaman.
Career.
Leon James made a breakthrough in the Tamil film industry after his work was spotted by Raghava Lawrence, who was working on his horror comedy film "Kanchana 2" (2015). Lawrence had heard a romantic melody song composed by Leon on YouTube and wanted it adapted to be used in his film, and subsequently brought the composer on board to work on the film's soundtrack. The song, "Vaayaa En Veera" sung by Shakthisree Gopalan, won positive reviews with Karthik Srinivasan of The Hindu noting that "Leon's music seems very new-agey" and his "sound is fresh, and purposefully cluttered". He later asked Leon to work on a further fast-paced song to be used in the film's climax, and the tune "Sandi Muni" was resultantly produced. The film went on to become amongst the profitable ventures of the year, with Leon's work noticed by critics. Soon after the release of the film in April 2015, he teamed up with singer Andrea Jeremiah to record a song called "Ezhunthu Vaa" to promote female empowerment.
The successful nature of his work in his first album prompted producer Elred Kumar to sign him up to work on the whole album for the political-thriller, "Ko 2" (2015). The album of "Ko 2" entailed of six tracks, with a promotional song titled "Unnai Maatrinal" released early as a tribute to former Indian President Abdul Kalam, consisting of lyrics based on his speeches. The album featured vocals from Bollywood artistes Vishal Dadlani, Salim Merchant and Neeti Mohan, while Chinmayi and Leon James, himself, also recorded songs. Leon James also chose to introduce Harish Sivaramakrishnan from the Bangalore-based rock band Agam and London-based singer Inno Genga, for their first respective songs in the Tamil film industry.


Asehi Ekada Vhave

Asehi Ekada Vhave is a 2018 Indian Marathi language romance drama film directed by Sushrut Bhagwat. The film stars Umesh Kamat, Tejashree Pradhan, Kavita Lad, Chirag Patil and Sharvani Pillai in the lead roles. It also stars Dr. Nikhil Rajshirke, Ajit Bhure and Narayan Jadhav in supporting roles. It was released on 6 April 2018.
Synopsis.
A Love Story... a simple unconventional love story... story of operating ancestral business... A Story of ‘Siddharth’ (Umesh Kamat) and ‘Revati’ (Sharvani Pillaai) fortifying their spice company to the next level...A Story of expressed and unexpressed relationship between ‘Kiran’ (Tejashri Pradhan) and ‘Kirit’ (Chirag Patil). A Story adorned of ‘Anirudha’ (Ajit Bhure) and ‘Renuka’ (Kavita Lad Medhekar) ... Story of camaraderie and reliance between ‘Tejas’ (Nikhil Rajeshirke) and ‘Siddharth’. A Story of brother – sister fondle between ‘Siddharth’ and ‘Revati’.Story of Love, Commitment, Possessiveness, Possession, Companionship, Relations Film is about journey of affiliations.


Damion Dietz

Damion Dietz is an American writer and film director known for his underground/indie films.
Background.
In 1990, Dietz appeared as an actor in "Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael", starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.
A graduate (1992) of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Dietz' debut feature film "Fag Hag" (1998), a politically incorrect, low-budget satire for Troma Entertainment, described as "a punk, underground trash cinema classic" ("New York Post" / Page Six), "a savagely funny, deranged comedy of manners" ("Chicago Tribune"), and "rollicking, trashy and clever" ("Variety") stars Dietz, Stephanie Orff and features Wil Wheaton.
Dietz' subsequent films: "Neverland" (2003), a surreal and modern retelling of the classic J.M. Barrie play "Peter Pan", "Beverly Kills" (2005), a campy farce about a terrorist cult of failed Hollywood actors, "Love Life" (2006), a melodrama about the marriage of convenience between a closeted former athlete and his lesbian wife, which premiered at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco and was selected as the benefit film for the Human Rights Campaign, and "Dog Tags" (2008), starring Academy Award nominee Candy Clark.
Dietz is a member of Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw).


Solo (soundtrack)

Solo is the soundtrack to the 2017 Indian anthology film of the same name released in Malayalam and Tamil. Directed by Bejoy Nambiar, "Solo" consists of four shorter films in the anthology and was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam. Composers who worked on the film are Prashant Pillai, Thaikkudam Bridge, Masala Coffee, Gaurav Godkhindi, Agam, Filter Coffee, Brodha V, TaalAtma, Abhinav Bhansal, Sooraj Kurup and Sez. The album has 22 songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and English. The whole soundtrack lasts about an hour.
Track listing.
World of Shekhar.
"Solo - World of Shekhar"'s ensemble soundtrack comprises four tracks by various artists.
"Solo - World of Shekhar"'s ensemble soundtrack comprises four tracks by various artists.
World of Trilok.
"Solo - World of Trilok"'s ensemble soundtrack comprises four tracks by various artists.
World of Siva.
"Solo - World of Siva"'s ensemble soundtrack comprises four tracks by various artists.
World of Rudra.
"Solo - World of Rudra"'s ensemble soundtrack comprises four tracks by various artists.
Release and reception.
Firstpost.com also gave the soundtrack a positive review and added "this album evidently has more than just one layer" and "though the "Solo" playlists combined last for almost an hour, many of the songs in them are worth your time".
Manorama Online called the album "highly addictive", adding the songs "belong to the fusion genre and make for a pleasant listening experience".


Amol Palekar

Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Career.
He studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he had seven one-man exhibitions and participated in many group shows. However, Palekar is better known as a stage and film actor. He has been active in the avant garde theatre in India in Marathi and Hindi theatre as an actor, director and producer since 1967. His contribution to the modern Indian theatre is often overshadowed by his popularity as a lead actor in Hindi films.
As a film actor, he was most prominent in the 1970s. His image as a "boy next door" contrasted with the larger-than-life heroes prevalent at that time in Indian cinema. He received one Filmfare award and six State awards as Best Actor. His performances in regional language films in Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada fetched him critical acclaim as well. He decided not to act after 1986 in order to concentrate on filmmaking.
As a director, he is known for the sensitive portrayal of women, selection of classic stories from Indian literature, and perceptive handling of progressive issues. He has directed several television serials on the national network such as "Kachchi Dhoop", "Mrignayani", "Naquab", "Paool Khuna" and "Krishna Kali".
Theatre journey.
Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, "Aniket", in 1972. As a theatre actor, he was part of popular plays like Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, Hayavadana and Adhe Adhure. Following a performance on stage at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in 1994, he returned to theatre after a gap of 25 years with the suspenseful play, Kusur (The Mistake). This play is directed by him and he also plays the lead role.
Movie career.
Palekar made his debut in 1971 with the Marathi film "Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe" directed by Satyadev Dubey, which started the New Cinema Movement in Marathi.
In 1974 he was cast as an actor by Basu Chatterjee in "Rajnigandha", and in the surprise low-budget hit, "Chhoti Si Baat". This led to many other such roles in "middle-class" comedies, mostly alternative. These were mostly directed by Chatterjee or Hrishikesh Mukherjee and included films such as "Gol Maal" and "Naram Garam". He won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for "Gol Maal".
He is noted for his image of the "middle-class everyman" who struggles to get a job ("Gol Maal"), his own flat ("Gharonda"), a girlfriend/wife ("Baaton Baaton Mein"), and appreciation from his boss.
In 1979, he was paired with a sixteen-year-old Sridevi in Solva Saawan, which was her debut Hindi movie as a heroine. Amol played the role of an intellectually disabled man, a character played by Kamal Haasan in the original Tamil movie.
In 1982 he played the role of Ravi in the Malayalam movie "Olangal". He turned to directing with the Marathi film "Aakriet". He showed his capabilities as a director with movies such as Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen and Paheli. "Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaayen" has become a part of management courses and study pertaining to human behaviour. "Paheli" was India's official entry for Best Foreign Film at the 2006 Oscars. The movie, however, did not make it to the final nominations.
He has also given his voice to an HIV/AIDS education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAIDS. He is willing to act once again if he is given a challenging role.
Personal life.
Amol Palekar was born to Kamlakar and Suhasini Palekar in a lower-middle-class family in Mumbai. He was raised along with his three sisters, Neelon, Rekha and Unnati, by his father who worked in the General Post Office and his mother, who worked in a private company. He worked at the Bank of India before he switched full-time to a career in acting. He also does some social work. He married Sandhya Gokhale after his divorce from his first wife, Chitra. Palekar regards himself as an agnostic atheist.


2nd Vijay Awards

The 2nd Vijay Awards ceremony honoring the winners of the best of Tamil film industry in 2007 was held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on 3 May 2008.


Karunas

Karunas (born 21 February 1970 as Karunanidhi Sethu) is an Indian actor, politician and former comedian in the Tamil film industry. Appearing mostly in supporting roles, he has also played lead roles in films including "Dindigul Sarathy" (2008) and "Ambasamudram Ambani" (2008). Apart from acting, Karunas has also been credited in films as a producer, music composer and a singer, while he continues to serve as the Vice-President of the Nadigar Sangam, after being elected in October 2015.
Early life.
Karunas was born in Kuruvikkarambai, a village in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. He did his schooling at Palangudi Bharathi School and later studied at Nandanam Arts, Presidency College. Karunas began his career as pop singer and dancer, working extensively on Tamil folk music. He then gradually appeared in films as a comedian.
Film career.
Karunas began work as a gaana singer aged 12, earning the moniker "Gaana" Karunas, and made his television debut through Yuhi Sethu's "Naiyaandi Darbar" show in the late 1990s as a musician. Director Bala heard one of his songs and subsequently signed Karunas on for an acting role in his second directorial venture, the drama film "Nandha" (2001). He was cast as the comedian and his role as 'Lodukku' it was successful , prompting him to accept further film offers. He subsequently went on to appear in notable films including "Baba" (2002), "Pithamagan" (2003), "Vasool Raja MBBS" (2004) and "Polladhavan" (2007) in supporting comedy roles. Karunas has also distributed two films, "Pori" (2007) and "Kattradhu Thamizh" (2007), but the failure of both films has prompted him to stay away from distributing any further ventures.
Karunas first appeared in the lead role in the comedy drama, "Dindigul Sarathy" (2008), portraying an insecure man with an inferiority complex. With heavy promotions by Sun Pictures, the film became a surprise success at the box office and prompted Karunas to appear in further lead roles in the comedy films "Ambasamudram Ambani" (2010), "Chandhamama" (2013), "Ragalaipuram" (2013) and "Lodukku Pandi" (2015). In between the films, he also essayed serious performances, and was briefly involved in the making of "Thanga Meengal" (2013) before it underwent a change of cast, while he was successful for his role in Santosh Sivan's war drama film, "Ceylon" (2014). His films as the lead hero, gradually had lower key promotions than the previous ones, and in 2015, Karunas announced he would not appear in any further lead roles. He subsequently made a return to starring supporting roles thereafter, being successful for his performance of a suicidal man in "Darling" (2015) and as a villager in "Komban" (2015), which became his hundredth film. He subsequently changed his mind about not appearing in leading roles, and began work on the sequel to "Dindigul Sarathy" in September 2016.
Political career.
He was the leader of Mukkulathor Pulipadai, a Thevar political outfit. He contested for the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly from Thiruvadanai in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election 2016 with AIADMK's Twin Leaf (Irratai Ilai) as his election symbol. He won it with a margin of over 10,000 votes.
On 25 February 2017, an unidentified person threw footwear at Karunas' car while out to garland a statue of freedom fighter U. Muthuramalingam Thevar. It is believed that the incident could be connected to his support of AIADMK leader V. K. Sasikala.
Personal life.
Karunas is married to Grace, a playback singer in the Tamil film industry. The pair had met when Karunas was the guest judge at an inter-collegiate singing competition, and after being impressed, Karunas asked her to sing in his personal music album. The couple have a daughter and a son named Ken Karunas who is a child artist in the movie industry, who was born in 2001, making his debut in "Nedunchaalai".
Karunas's younger brother, Nagas, was set to making his acting debut through C. Ranganathan's "Vantharu Jaicharu", but the film eventually did not release.


Balgandharva (film)

Balgandharva is a biographical Marathi film on one of the Marathi singers and stage actors Narayan Shripad Rajhans, famously known as Bal Gandharva ("Bal"=child + "Gandharva"=Singer of Heaven). The name was bestowed to Narayan by Lokmanya Tilak after listening to his public performance in Pune while he was very young.
The film is directed by Ravi Jadhav, whose debutant film Natarang won critical acclaims as well as good box office report. The film is produced by Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the National Award-winning Art Director, under the banner of Iconic Chandrakant Productions Pvt. Ltd.
The film was declared "Super Hit" at the box-office.
Plot.
The film is a biopic on life on Balgandharva showing his struggles through poverty to riches and fame. Narayan Rajhans while in a public performance of his singing at Pune receives his new honour and name "Balgandharva". On advise of Shahu Maharaj, the king of Kolhapur state, he starts his formal training and joins "Kirloskar Natak Mandali". Narayan wins claps of his audiences and becomes the key performer of all "Sangeet Nataks." To please his insistent mother Narayan marries Laxmi. On the opening day (12 March 1911) of his play "Sangeet Manapamaan", his infant daughter dies. But he goes ahead with the performance and enthralls the audience. Due to disputes in the company Narayan decides to start his own company named "Gandharva Natak Mandali". Fully devoting himself towards his passion of drama and singing he overlooks his family. Giving audience's satisfaction key priority he starts spending money without any considerations. He loses many of his friends because of such attitude. He blindly believes in Balasaheb Pandit, who keeps his company's accounts. Narayan's carefree nature results in his bankruptcy. Meeting Gohar Bai, who is his fan, he falls in love with her and leaves his wife and family. With his old age, he also loses the charm of holding audiences. When cinema is introduced, theatre fails to grab audiences. Balgandharva also signs contract with V. Shantaram's Prabhat Film Company to act in films. Money in films would also reduce his economic burden. But he never likes the methodologies of film production and abandons it after only one film where he plays the lead role of Sant Eknath. Looking at his poverty many Royalties pay him honorary amounts in order to repay his debts. But he in turn donates this money to other charities.
Production.
The "mahurat" shot of the film was done at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Pune; the place whose foundation stone was laid by Balgandharva. As the story is based in early 20th century Maharashtra, renowned historian Babasaheb Purandare, famous theatre actress of the yesteryears, Jaimala Shiledar along with her daughter Kirti Shiledar and historian Dr. Jaisingrao Pawar helped in consulting for the production. Multiple National Award winning costume designer Neeta Lulla designed the costumes and jewellery of the characters to recreate the era.
The film premiered in Mumbai on 4 May 2011 and on 5 May in Pune. It then released all over Maharashtra on 6 May.
Awards and recognition.
The film was screened at many film festivals around the globe, starting from the New York Indian Film Festival on 8 May 2011. Subsequently, it was also screened at the Cannes and Venice festivals.
The film also won maximum number of awards (3) at 59th National Film Awards in 2011.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack of the film comprises 21 songs of which 16 feature in the film. The soundtrack was released on 25 April 2011 at a ceremony held at Rang Sharada Auditorium, Bandra.
Kaushal Inamdar is the music director of the film. To recreate the magic of Gandharva Music, the team invited Christian Howes, a Jazz Violinist to conduct the strings for "Nahi Me Bolat Natha", a legendary song of Bal Gandharva. The entire strings section was recorded by remote by Kaushal Inamdar from US and Spain. This is the first time the Marathi cinema has used a western artiste. Anand Bhate, also known as "Anand Gandharva", a Hindustani classical vocalist from Kirana Gharana has lent his voice for all songs for the lead character. Swanand Kirkire, the popular Hindi film lyricist known for his songs of "Parineeta, 3 Idiots" and "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" has penned lyrics of "Parvardigar", a qawwali and "Aaj Mhare Ghar Pavana", a bhajan.
The music was mixed in Yash Raj Studio and mastered in London. The music is released by Saregama. Following is the list of the tracks.
 - Music recreated by Kaushal Inamdar


Chatak Chandni

Chatak Chandni is a Marathi movie released in November 1982.
Cast.
The cast includes Jayshree T., Prakash Bhende, Lalita Pawar, Nilu Phule, Dhumal, Bal Karve and others.
Soundtrack.
The music has been composed by Shrikant Telang, while lyrics have been written by Sudhir Moghe.


V. K. Ramasamy (actor)

Virudhunagar Kanthan Ramasamy (1 January 1926 – 24 December 2002) was an Indian film actor, comedian and producer who was known for his versatility in various character roles, he played in Tamil films in the years between the 1947 to 2001.
Biography.
V. K. Ramasamy was born in Amaravilaa, Madras State, now Tamil Nadu on 1 January 1926. The veteran character actor and comedian, coming on the familiar stage-to-screen in the early 1940s, Ramasamy shot into prominence when, at the age of 21, he donned the role of a 60-year-old father of grown-up sons in "Naam Iruvar" (1947), first film of the AVM Films. "VKR" as the actor became known, did not look back since then. However, he always got to play only an elderly person throughout his career, which spanned over five decades in which he acted in over 500 films. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ramasamy acted with almost all leading actors including T. R. Mahalingam, M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Jai Shankar, Ravichandran, Muthuraman, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.
Kamal Haasan mentioned veteran V.K.Ramasamy as one of the important persons (/ inspiration) in his life among 60 persons of his
(Kamalhaasan) 60 year cinema career. He showed V.K.Ramasamy's image (along with other 59 important persons of his life who include Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Rajnikanth, Nagesh and his guru K.Balachander) in Kamal Haasan's 60th year function ("Ungal Naan" function) at 17 November 2019, Nehru Auditorium, Chennai.
Rajinikanth has shared the profit of Arunachalam with eight producers such as Guru Dhatchanai. V.K.Ramasamy is one among the eight producers of Rajinikanth's movie Arunachalam_(film) and benefited with the profit share.
Both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth showed their respect and love of the most senior actor of the film industry Mr.V.K.Ramasamy. Also Malayalam director Fazil has collaborated with V.K.Ramasamy in his Tamil movies such as Poove_Poochooda_Vaa, Arangetra Velai, Varusham Padhinaaru. Comedy actor Dr.Charle mentioned V.K.Ramasamy as his mentor in many interviews and stages, also submitted a chapter in his thesis about the V.K.Ramasamy's contribution of humor in Tamil cinema.
He was known for his dialogue delivery, especially as a villain or comedian. He was at ease playing any role and paired with the veteran comedienne, Manorama, to play some memorable roles in Tamil films. Peers always respected his old world values of discipline on the sets. In the later part of his career, Ramasamy produced over 15 films. Among his last films was "Dum Dum Dum", that represents the fourth generation of Tamil cinema. The end came the morning a day after VKR was discharged from the Government General hospital, where he had been admitted for a variety of complaints including hypertension, diabetes and cardiac problems. He died on 24 Dec 2002, after a brief illness. He was 76. He is survived by four sons and three daughters.
Selected filmography.
He acted in a number of films with Tamil film heroes playing the roles of comedian and supporting characters.