News Detail
India-Afghanistan film brings Afghani flavour to India
India’s celluloid connect to Afghanistan is not just limited to Amitabh Bachchan-starrer 1992 film Khuda Gawah or John Abraham’s 2006 film Kabul Express. In a unique venture, an Indian team comprising filmmakers and technicians collaborated with Afghani directors to make A Man’s Desire for Fifth Wife, a film in Dari language. Dari is one of the two official languages in Afghanistan.
This film has become first Indo-Afghan joint venture among the private directors and producers, after the last joint effort in 1947. It cost between $1.5-2 million, which included heavy bills on ensuring security.
Entirely shot in Afghanistan with local actors—many of them had fled the country after threats from the Taliban—the film was cleared by the Indian censor board last week. Apart from the Indian technical team, famous music composer Ravindra Jain provided the background score for the film.
A Man’s Desire for Fifth Wife is a love story where a man goes on looking for a fifth wife, though he is allowed only four. It portrays centuries-old tradition of northern Afghanistan and violence against women in present day Afghan society. The 90-minute film includes the cast of Shakhnaza Jabirwa, Waisuddin Samil, Takmina Rajabova, Emam Berdihof, Saher Parniyan, Maymoona Ghazai, Sahar Parniyan and Tahnima Jann.
Before releasing the film with subtitles for Indian audiences, the film’s crew will hold a premiere in Delhi on August 29. As India is closely associating with Afghanistan government on various fronts, the premiere would see Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and a host of Afghani ministers attending the show.
The film’s India connection started when Afghanistan-based production company Altin Films, led by director Mohd Sediq Abedi, began to look for technical help to shoot the film. They were searching for someone to lend them cameras and other equipment to shoot the film. “After failing to draw any help from countries like Russia and Iran—as no one was willing to lend them expensive cameras and other equipment for the war-ravaged country—they came in contact with us through our Tajiki friends,” Sanjay Bhan, who worked as production designer for the film, told The Sunday Standard.
Bhan’s wife Neelofar Shama is the associate director of the film. Both of them run a production company in Delhi, and have been making films and serials.
“We put together a team of people involving camerapersons and technicians. A week before we were to travel to Afghanistan, their former president Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed by a turban bomb in September 2011. We convinced our team to travel to Afghanistan, and shot the film in 42 days in northern Afghanistan,” Bhan said.
After being provided security by the local police and army, the team shot the film. “There are scenes on Buzakashi which had over 700 horses and 12,000 men, and my wife was the only woman,” Bhan added. Since local traditions do not allow young women to act, most of the women in the film are from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and only aged women are from Afghanistan, Shama said, adding that the main actress was from Afghanistan but emigrated from the country after the film was completed. The crew also had artistes from Russia and Canada. She also said she could see many local women watching her enviously from a distance.
The film was screened at Boston Film Festival in April and has been nominated at various other film festivals.—(Indian Express)
Multimedia
-
Salman Khan’s wax figure goes to New York
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will join fellow stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in the “Bollywood Zone” of wax figures at Madame Tussauds museum in New York on August 2. READ MORE
-
Charlie Sheen sitcom poised for 90-episode pickup
Charlie Sheen says he's not insane anymore. READ MORE
-
Stars of 'Modern Family' reach contract deal
The stars of "Modern Family" have reached new contracts to keep working on the Emmy-winning comedy, ending a dispute that had threatened to spill over into a courtroom. READ MORE
-
Emmy producer says memorial tribute a challenge
The producer of this year's Emmy Awards said it's a challenge to decide who to include in the ceremony's memorial tribute. READ MORE
-
18 films compete in leaner Venice festival
American directors dominated the competition lineup announced Thursday for this year's slimmed-down Venice Film Festival aimed at making the world's oldest movie festival easier to take in. READ MORE
-
Stewart's affair unlikely to harm 'Twilight' take
"Twilight" fans are heartbroken by Kristen Stewart's public admission that she cheated on her boyfriend and co-star Robert Pattinson. READ MORE
-
Katherine Jackson apparently back home
Katherine Jackson is apparently back home, reuniting with Michael Jackson's children after a judge temporarily took away her guardianship because of her dayslong absence from them. READ MORE
-
Kurkova joining Campbell,Rocha
Karolina Kurkova wants to be the mentor on TV's "The Face" that she didn't have 13 years ago when she started modeling. READ MORE
-
Katie Holmes heads to Broadway post-divorce
NEW YORK: Katie Holmes has decided what her first major acting project will be since announcing her divorce from Tom Cruise: Broadway. READ MORE
-
Fred Willard offered diversion course after arrest
LOS ANGELES: Fred Willard will be allowed to enroll in counseling courses to resolve a lewd conduct arrest that cost the actor a television job. READ MORE
-
Parallels between Batman film and the shooting
In "The Dark Knight Rises," a masked villain leads a murderous crew into a packed football stadium and wages an attack involving guns and explosives. It's just one of the more haunting scenes in what was one of the most READ MORE
-
The Girl from Ipanema turns 50
RIO DE JANEIRO: "Tall and tan and young and lovely..." You've heard of her. The Girl From Ipanema. READ MORE
-
Pete Rose reality show in works for TLC network
NEW YORK: Pete Rose is taking a swing at his own reality TV show. READ MORE
-
Pitbull heading north to Walmart
It's not exactly "International Love," but Miami rap star Pitbull is about to bring his act to a nonetheless far-flung site — Kodiak, Alaska. READ MORE
-
Madonna concert in Poland to open with WWII film
WARSAW: Organizers of a Madonna concert in the Polish capital have agreed to a request from city officials to start the show with a brief clip about the Warsaw Uprising, the 1944 revolt against Nazi rule, in a nod to war READ MORE
-
Hulu to stream UK comedy
NEW YORK: The cult favorite "The Thick of It" is coming to Hulu in its full, expletive-ridden glory. READ MORE
-
Charlie Sheen interested in Idol?
NEW YORK: Could Charlie Sheen be a judge on "American Idol"? The actor says he's game. READ MORE
-
Everything you need to know about Comic-Con
This weekend's Comic-Con has turned out to be an old-fashioned revival meeting. As in, revival of hobbits, Superman, the Lone Ranger, Godzilla, Captain Hook, Dracula, the Wizard of Oz, scores of undead zombies and a form READ MORE
-
French party to sue Madonna over swastika image
France's far-right National Front said Sunday that it plans to sue Madonna after the singer showed a video at a Paris concert that contained an image of the party's leader with a swastika on her forehead. READ MORE
-
While Batman lurks, Ice Age 4 tops box office
With Batman lurking, the prehistoric critters of "Ice Age: Continental Drift" ran off with the box office, earning $46 million in their opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. READ MORE
Clippings
Iran and blame the victim game
Tehran is continuously interfering in Afghanistan and pressurizing Kabul under one pretext or the other. Iran’s meddling into our internal affairs while giving it name of concern as Tehran did it recently when its ambassa...
