NewsIndiaTimes - page 18

News India Times
April 17, 2015
18
Arts & Entertainment
By a StaffWriter
A
short filmmade by
cinematographer
Shaneil Deo has
been officially selected for
the 68th Cannes Film
Festival. “Layla,” will be
screened in the Festival
Corner section of the film
festival to be held May 13
to 24. Other entries and
official selections will be
announced April 16, the
festival website said.
“Layla” is based on the
story of a young girl’s
attachment to her late
dad’s scooter.
“When we lose some-
one we love, their belong-
ings become that much
more precious all of a
sudden reminding us of
the loss,” Deo told The
Times of India from
Hyderabad, where he is
working on a Telugu film
“Kshanam.”
The film tells the story
about how her dad’s old
scooter helps her come to
terms with the loss and
get back to life.
Born in Fiji, Deo grew
up in California before
moving to Hyderabad to
work in Tollywood five
years ago. He has worked
on several commercials, a
handful of Telugu films
and a couple of inde-
pendent films so far.
Shaneil Deo’s Short
Film ‘Layla’ to be
Screened at Cannes
By Bhargavi Kulkarni
fter playing a home cook
turned professional chef
in “The Hundred-Foot
Journey,” Manish Dayal
will now essay the role of a
NewYork-based boxer in
“Uppercut.” Dayal will play Shiva
Singhavi, a young boxer raised in
the blue-collar, Queens neighbor-
hood of Jackson Heights. As he
moves up the ranks of fighters,
Singhavi struggles to navigate the
gritty underworld of fixed fights,
grimy gyms, and dirty cops. Racial
tensions escalate following a shoot-
ing that Shiva is the sole witness to,
and the street-smart athlete soon
finds himself caught between a
police force that protected him and
the community that raised him.
The film is written by Neeraj
Katyal, Black List writer for the “The
Amazing Adventures of the
Monogamous Duck” (2008). The
filmwill be produced by NewYork-
based production company Create
Entertainment helmed by Dayal’s
long-time friend Atit Shah who
helped put the project together
with the actor.
Following the box-office success
of “The Hundred-Foot Journey,”
Dayal expressed his passion for “the
sweet science” Shah, after which
the two began putting the project
together via Shah’s Create
Entertainment banner, a press
release issued by Dayal said.
“I’m excited to be a part of this
film, “Dayal said in a statement.
“Uppercut” is a story about a world
that still hasn’t been explored on
screen, he said. The film portrays a
resilient, unseen part of NewYork
and a community that is confront-
ed with evolved injustices like
NYC’s stop-and-frisk program,
racial profiling, and growing,
underreported crime – “all seen
through the eyes of a young man
whose dreams and ambition are at
stake” he added.
The 31-year-old South Carolina
native was voted People Magazine’s
Sexy Man of theWeek last
November.
He grew up spending all of his
time at Blockbuster but never knew
he was going to be an actor.
Instead, he thought he would be a
director and producer and studied
business in college, Dayal told
People.
He however admitted that when
he first tried acting, he had no idea
what he was doing, “but it just
clicked.”
After a stint on TV’s 90210, he
played the lead role as a chef in this
summer’s culinary romance The
Hundred-Foot Journey.
FromNews Dispatches
M
ove over Katrina Kaif,
Sunny Leone, Nargis
Fakri – yet another for-
eign actress is looking to carve a
niche in the Hindi film industry.
British model Lucy Pinder is
making her Bollywood debut
with “Waarrior Savitri,” a film
based on the Satyavaan-Savitri
tale from the Mahabharata.
The film is directed by Param
Gill, a California-based filmmak-
er, whose Hollywood film, “Last
Supper,” and Bollywood film,
“Death of Amar,” both received
their world premiere over the
same weekend at a Film Festival
in San Francisco last year.
“It’s a women centric film
based on the Satyavvan-Savitri
tale,” Gill told The Times of
India.”With this project we are
trying to give out a message that
women should not only look into
learning dance and music but
also martial arts for self-defense,”
he added.
Apart from her modelling
assignments, Pinder has made
numerous TV appearances in
international shows like “Dream
Team”, “I’m Famous and
Frightened!” “Soccer AM”, “The
Real Hustle”, “Living la Vida
Loca”, and “Celebrity Big
Brother.”
While “Udaan” fame Rajat
Barmecha plays Satyavaan,
Niharica Raizada, the grand-
daughter of music director O.P.
Nayyar, plays the role of Savitri.
The film has Niharica and
Lucy pitted against each other.
“In a quest to save Satyavaan,
Niharica (as Savitri) will be seen
fighting with Lucy’s character.
Both are well trained in action
and stunts,” Gill said.
While Lucy will be seen per-
forming Mixed Martial Arts,
Niharica will be seen doing kung
Fu,” Gill said. Parts of the film
were shot in Las Vegas.
But Pinder is not the only for-
eign actor in the film.
Hollywood actor, Ron
Smoorenburg is in India and has
begun shooting for the film,
according to an urbanasia
report.
Smoorenburg is mainly
known for the end fight in Jackie
Chan’s “Who Am I?,” which won
a Hong Kong action award for
Best Fight scene in the year
1998. He has appeared in over
70 action films and has worked
with several action stars like
Jackie Chan, Tony Jaa, Jean
Claude Van Damme, Scott
Adkins, Donnie Yen, Sammo
Hung, and Gary Daniels.
Smoorenburg will also be seen
in the Akshay Kumar starrer
“Brothers.”
A
ManishDayal to Star inNewYork-set
Boxing Film ‘Uppercut’
– that’s all you need to know
BritishModel, HollywoodActor Roped in for ‘Waarrior Savitri’
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