Anil Kapoor launches global entertainment company

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Anil Kapoor has launched a global media and entertainment company called Antila Ventures in Dubai.

The company is domiciled in the UK and is targeting its subsidiaries and offices in strategic locations like London, Dubai, Singapore and Los Angeles.

Projects that will immediately go into production under Antila's Film and television verticals are: 24 Season 2, 7 Hindustani and Battle for Bittora, an adaptation of Anuja Chauhan's best-seller.

"Creating such an institution and making it a state of the art content provider has always been an enterprise close to my heart. I now feel the time is right, the market is vibrant and the audiences primed for selective and intelligent content.

"The way I see it, people will not settle for any old stuff, there is too much to choose from and a professional provider becomes vital in the chain so that the end-user gets the best options," Kapoor said.

Kapoor has established an association with MAS Clearsight Limited, an investment banking advisory firm regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and based out of Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) that was mandated to provide arrangement and strategic advisory services.

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Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha is all set to be honoured for his 'outstanding contribution to Indian cinema' at the upcoming International Indian Film Acacdemy (IIFA) awards this year at Tampa Bay, Florida.

The 67-year-old veteran actor, who was last seen in Ram Gopal Varma's trilingual crime drama Rakta Charitra, will be awarded for his illustrious career in the Hindi films for more than 45 years.

"It has truly been a long but fulfilling journey in the movie business and I thank IIFA for commemorating my eventful career with this prestigious award. The honour not only humbles me, but makes me feel loved by a country where cinema is the ultimate equaliser of the masses," Sinha said in a statement.

IIFA has acknowledged many Indian cinema legends including the late director-producer Yash Chopra, lyricist Javed Akthar, filmmaker Ramesh Sippy and songstress Asha Bhosle among others.

The 15th IIFA Weekend and awards will be held from April 23-26.

A documentary made on the life of activist Sampat Devi Pal will be screened at the 14th New York Indian Film Festival in New York.

Thirty-four award-winning and critically-acclaimed movies from South Asia, including from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will be screened at the at the festival that will run from May 5 to 10.

Gulabi Gang, directed by Nishtha Jain, is based on the life of Pal, a child bride and former government health worker.

Pal formed the gang of pink sari-clad women in 2006 which works for rights of women in impoverished Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The festival, which celebrates independent, art house, alternate and diaspora films, would feature 23 narrative and 11 documentary films, including Nagesh Kukunoor directed Lakshmi and Gurinder Chaddha's Bhaji On The Beach.

Lakshmi is yet to be seen in India after it missed its January premiere date in the country due to censorship issues involving its theme of child prostitution and human trafficking. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in California, where it won the Audience Award for Best narrative feature.

Anurag Kashyap's Ugly, a sensational tale of corruption, indifference, and systemic violence that begins when a 10-year-old daughter of an aspiring actor disappears, will open the festival that is organised annually by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC).