John is Anand’s lucky charm

Veteran producer Anand Pandit is on a success streak with his films. Having recently acquired the all-India distribution rights for three films, Pandit is riding the box office wave. Batla House, the second film to release under his banner in August stars John Abraham as the protagonist.

He says, “Batla House is a gripping film and with John in the lead, it’s definitely going to be a superhit. The storyline has been developed carefully and it incorporates layers of every character’s personality. John is my lucky charm, my last film with him was a blockbuster and this will be no different.”

He has done films like, Great  Masti, Sarkar, Baazaar, Batti Gul Meter Chalu, etc.

‘I want to thank Mitu (Bhowmick Lange) who has been such a strong force right through the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It’s not the films but the people who make it what it is. When I see a fantastic panel and we say the theme is courage, it is reflective of the glorious courage of our films and changing face of Indian cinema. I am proud of it.’

—Karan Johar

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra will screen the Emmy-nominated documentary, The Price Of Free, which follows Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi and his team’s journey as they rescue children caught in the web of trafficking.

When asked about how he felt about organising the special screening of the movie, Rakeysh says that it is an honor to host this.The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize.

The 87-minute film portrays how Satyarthi left a career as an electrical engineer and started Bachpan Bachao Andolan to rescue children from slavery. The director is now gearing up to start shooting for his next film, Toofan with Farhan Akhtar. 

Oprah praises late friend Toni

Oprah Winfrey praised her late friend and idol, Toni Morrison, hailing the best-selling author’s “confidence and self-assuredness and nobility.”

Winfrey and Morrison knew each other for more than 20 years, dating back to when Winfrey was so determined to learn the author’s unlisted phone number that she called the local fire department. Winfrey said that when she started her book club in 1996, she was thinking of Morrison.

Winfrey recalled that when Morrison made her first appearance on “The Oprah Show,” and talked about raising her boys as a single mother.