"We're just friends." "Did I say any different?" Janus Films has revealed an official trailer for Mississippi Masala, an early 90s romantic drama from filmmaker Mira Nair - her second film at the time. She later went on to make Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, but before those she made this starring Denzel Washinton and Sarita Choudhury. The film first premiered in 1991, and opened in US theaters in early 1992. This 4K digital restoration was commissioned by the Criterion Collection and supervised by director Mira Nair and cinematographer Edward Lachman. The film is about an ethnic Indian family that's expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in 1972 and now lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back, while the grown daughter falls in love with a Black man - played by Denzel. It also stars Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, & Ranjit Chowdhry.
- 4/7/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Even though Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will be shortened to just one pre-taped hour on TNT and TBS, the special In Memoriam segment will still be a highlight. Since the 2020 event aired on January 19, it will be over 14 months until the one on April 4. That means even more actors, actresses and members of SAG/AFTRA will hopefully be honored than the 40 people in the tribute last year.
Chadwick Boseman died last August and is a four-time nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The two individual nominations are for his leading role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and his supporting performance in “Da 5 Bloods.” Those two films also are nominated for the top ensemble category.
Oscar winners who have died in the past 14 months include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Academy Award nominees include Boseman, Kirk Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm,...
Chadwick Boseman died last August and is a four-time nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. The two individual nominations are for his leading role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and his supporting performance in “Da 5 Bloods.” Those two films also are nominated for the top ensemble category.
Oscar winners who have died in the past 14 months include Sean Connery, Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer. Academy Award nominees include Boseman, Kirk Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Ian Holm,...
- 4/2/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Roger Beatty, the five-time Emmy-winning writer of “The Carol Burnett Show,” died April 6 in his Palm Desert, California, home after losing his battle with prostate cancer. He was 87.
The Southern California native and former Coast Guard began his television career at CBS in 1956 on “The Bing Crosby Show,” which led to work on the network’s other variety shows, including “The Red Skelton Show” and “The Danny Kaye Show,” and eventually landing as an associate producer on “The Carol Burnett Show” in 1968.
There he wrote comedy sketches for Burnett and her team which included Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, through the show’s last season in 1978. During his stay, he won five Emmy Awards for his comedic writing.
Also Read: Ranjit Chowdhry, 'The Office' and 'Prison Break' Actor, Dies at 64
When “The Carol Burnett Show” ended, Burnett’s costars brought Beatty along...
The Southern California native and former Coast Guard began his television career at CBS in 1956 on “The Bing Crosby Show,” which led to work on the network’s other variety shows, including “The Red Skelton Show” and “The Danny Kaye Show,” and eventually landing as an associate producer on “The Carol Burnett Show” in 1968.
There he wrote comedy sketches for Burnett and her team which included Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, through the show’s last season in 1978. During his stay, he won five Emmy Awards for his comedic writing.
Also Read: Ranjit Chowdhry, 'The Office' and 'Prison Break' Actor, Dies at 64
When “The Carol Burnett Show” ended, Burnett’s costars brought Beatty along...
- 4/18/2020
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Ranjit Chowdhry, an actor best known for playing Vikram in NBC’s “The Office,” died on Wednesday. He was 64.
The Indian daily newspaper The Economic Times reported the news on Thursday. No cause of death has been announced. Chowdhry’s half-sister Raell Padamsee also revealed the sad news on Instagram, saying, “For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life and share stories on May 5th. With love, Raell.”
View this post on Instagram
For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life n share his stories on May 5th. With love, Raell.
A post shared by Raell Padamsee's Ace (@raellpadamseesace) on Apr 15, 2020 at 9:12am Pdt
The actor appeared as Vikram in two episodes of “The Office,” one in 2007 and another in 2009. In season 4 of the hit comedy, Michael...
The Indian daily newspaper The Economic Times reported the news on Thursday. No cause of death has been announced. Chowdhry’s half-sister Raell Padamsee also revealed the sad news on Instagram, saying, “For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life and share stories on May 5th. With love, Raell.”
View this post on Instagram
For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life n share his stories on May 5th. With love, Raell.
A post shared by Raell Padamsee's Ace (@raellpadamseesace) on Apr 15, 2020 at 9:12am Pdt
The actor appeared as Vikram in two episodes of “The Office,” one in 2007 and another in 2009. In season 4 of the hit comedy, Michael...
- 4/18/2020
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Ranjit Chowdhry, a Bollywood actor who crossed over to the Us mainstream, died Wednesday at a Mumbai hospital. He was 64-years-old and suffered a ruptured ulcer that required emergency surgery, according to reports. Chowdhry had returned to India for some dental work, but then was trapped there by the pandemic travel shutdown.
Chowdhry first starred in Indian comedies of the late ’70s and early ’80s before moving to the Us. Chowdhry appeared in two episodes of The Office in season 5 of the NBC sitcom, where he played a telemarketer named Vikram opposite Steve Carell. In the story arc, he was recruited to work at the Michael Scott Paper Company.
More from DeadlineCraig Gilbert Dies: Creator Of Groundbreaking 'An American Family' Documentary Series Was 94Danny Goldman Dies: Actor Who Questioned 'Young Frankenstein' And Voiced Brainy Smurf Was 80Saul Turteltaub Dies: Emmy-Nominated Writer For 'The Carol Burnett Show...
Chowdhry first starred in Indian comedies of the late ’70s and early ’80s before moving to the Us. Chowdhry appeared in two episodes of The Office in season 5 of the NBC sitcom, where he played a telemarketer named Vikram opposite Steve Carell. In the story arc, he was recruited to work at the Michael Scott Paper Company.
More from DeadlineCraig Gilbert Dies: Creator Of Groundbreaking 'An American Family' Documentary Series Was 94Danny Goldman Dies: Actor Who Questioned 'Young Frankenstein' And Voiced Brainy Smurf Was 80Saul Turteltaub Dies: Emmy-Nominated Writer For 'The Carol Burnett Show...
- 4/18/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Ranjit Chowdhry, an actor who appeared on The Office and Prison Break, has died. He was 64.
No cause of death was given. His death was first reported Thursday in The Economic Times.
Chowdhry's half-sister Raell Padamsee also shared the news on Instagram, writing, "For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life and share stories on May 5th. With love, Raell."
Chowdhry was born in 1956 in India and began his career in 1978 in Basu Chatterjee’s feature film Khatta Meetha. He went on to appear on NYPD Blue, Cosby, Falcone and Prison ...
No cause of death was given. His death was first reported Thursday in The Economic Times.
Chowdhry's half-sister Raell Padamsee also shared the news on Instagram, writing, "For all those who knew Ranjit, the funeral will be held tomorrow and a gathering to celebrate his life and share stories on May 5th. With love, Raell."
Chowdhry was born in 1956 in India and began his career in 1978 in Basu Chatterjee’s feature film Khatta Meetha. He went on to appear on NYPD Blue, Cosby, Falcone and Prison ...
- 4/18/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Actor Ranjit Chowdhry, who played Vikram in The Office, Dr. Gudat in Prison Break and made many other appearances in television and film, has died at age 64. Chowdhry passed away in his home city of Mumbai, India after he’d travelled from the Us for a dental procedure. He was scheduled to fly back to the Us on April 8th, but because of flight restrictions related to the Coronavirus pandemic, he had to remain in India. While there he suffered a ruptured ulcer in his intestine and despite the efforts of surgeons, he died on Wednesday morning.
The Office fans will be familiar with his portrayal of Vikram, who appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of the show. We’re introduced to the character when Michael takes a night job at a diet pill company. He discovers that Vikram’s sales figures are significantly higher than his co-workers, with his reasoning for this being,...
The Office fans will be familiar with his portrayal of Vikram, who appeared in seasons 4 and 5 of the show. We’re introduced to the character when Michael takes a night job at a diet pill company. He discovers that Vikram’s sales figures are significantly higher than his co-workers, with his reasoning for this being,...
- 4/17/2020
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
One of the most likable performers in the business, Queen Latifah finally gets a vehicle that gives her formidable talents and expansive spirit plenty of blooming room.
That picture, a remake of a 1950 Alec Guinness film recast as a female-targeted fantasy romantic comedy, would have at best been a minor bit of genial fluff without her presence.
But with the Queen on the scene, it's elevated to a breezy escapist romp with considerable crossover appeal. "Last Holiday" should be a solid King Day holiday weekend entry with sufficient word-of-mouth stamina to emerge as a tidy little hit for Paramount Pictures.
Latifah is Georgia Byrd, a glammed-down, shy New Orleans department store sales clerk who sings in her church choir and has dreams of having a boyfriend, traveling to exotic countries and meeting the celebrity chefs who inspire her to cook great meals which she dutifully photographs and pastes in her Book of Possibilities before popping a Lean Cuisine in the microwave.
As fate would have it, those possibilities are about to meet reality when a bump on the head leads to a faulty CAT scan resulting in a misdiagnosis that gives Georgia mere weeks to live.
Determined to make every last minute count, she quits her job, cashes in her savings and jets off to the venerable European resort village of Karlovy Vary, home to fairy-tale snowy mountains and the truly grand Grandhotel Pupp (not to mention the annual Karlovy Vary Film Festival).
In short order, Georgia waxes those oppressive eyebrows, outfits herself in fabulous clothing and generally busts out of her shell to become the toast of the Pupp, charming congressmen (Michael Nouri), senators (Giancarlo Esposito) and even the notoriously temperamental Chef Didier (a swell Gerard Depardieu in one of his threatened final performances), while proving to be a thorn in the side of the smarmy retail magnate (Timothy Hutton) who once was her boss.
While Georgia might be making up for lost time, director Wayne Wang ("Maid in Manhattan", "The Joy Luck Club") keeps the pace quite leisurely, for the most part refusing to force any of the gentle comedy to be found in the script by Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman ("Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas").
Although their adaptation lacks the satiric edge of the J.B. Priestly original, it gives its star plenty of opportunity to showcase a more introspective side to that proven, more lively personality.
Wang also mines terrific performances from a supporting ensemble that would have been right at home in any vintage studio comedy. In addition to the aforementioned players, there's also nice work from LL Cool J as the soft-spoken object of Georgia's secret affections, Alicia Witt as Hutton's reluctant mistress, Ranjit Chowdhry as a neurotic doctor and Susan Kellermann as an uptight, nosy hotel valet.
Contributing to the desired escapist vibe are those Old World European locations, photographed to postcard picturesque effect by "Under the Tuscan Sun" DP Geoffrey Simpson, not to mention costume designer Daniel Orlandi's fabulous frocks and composer George Fenton's lush score.
Last Holiday
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures presents an Imagemovers/Laurence Mark production
A Wayne Wang film
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriters: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Based on a screenplay by: J.B. Priestley
Producers: Laurence Mark, Jack Rapke
Executive producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Richard Vane, Peter S. Seaman, Jeffrey Price
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: William Arnold
Editor: Deirdre Slevin
Costume designer: Daniel Orlandi
Music: George Fenton
Cast:
Georgia Byrd: Queen Latifah
Sean Williams: LL Cool J
Kragen: Timothy Hutton
Chef Didier: Gerard Depardieu
Ms. Burns: Alicia Witt
Sen. Dillings: Giancarlo Esposito
Congressman Stewart: Michael Nouri
Rochelle: Jane Adams
Ms. Gunther: Susan Kellermann
Dr. Gupta: Ranjit Chowdhry
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time 108 minutes...
That picture, a remake of a 1950 Alec Guinness film recast as a female-targeted fantasy romantic comedy, would have at best been a minor bit of genial fluff without her presence.
But with the Queen on the scene, it's elevated to a breezy escapist romp with considerable crossover appeal. "Last Holiday" should be a solid King Day holiday weekend entry with sufficient word-of-mouth stamina to emerge as a tidy little hit for Paramount Pictures.
Latifah is Georgia Byrd, a glammed-down, shy New Orleans department store sales clerk who sings in her church choir and has dreams of having a boyfriend, traveling to exotic countries and meeting the celebrity chefs who inspire her to cook great meals which she dutifully photographs and pastes in her Book of Possibilities before popping a Lean Cuisine in the microwave.
As fate would have it, those possibilities are about to meet reality when a bump on the head leads to a faulty CAT scan resulting in a misdiagnosis that gives Georgia mere weeks to live.
Determined to make every last minute count, she quits her job, cashes in her savings and jets off to the venerable European resort village of Karlovy Vary, home to fairy-tale snowy mountains and the truly grand Grandhotel Pupp (not to mention the annual Karlovy Vary Film Festival).
In short order, Georgia waxes those oppressive eyebrows, outfits herself in fabulous clothing and generally busts out of her shell to become the toast of the Pupp, charming congressmen (Michael Nouri), senators (Giancarlo Esposito) and even the notoriously temperamental Chef Didier (a swell Gerard Depardieu in one of his threatened final performances), while proving to be a thorn in the side of the smarmy retail magnate (Timothy Hutton) who once was her boss.
While Georgia might be making up for lost time, director Wayne Wang ("Maid in Manhattan", "The Joy Luck Club") keeps the pace quite leisurely, for the most part refusing to force any of the gentle comedy to be found in the script by Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman ("Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas").
Although their adaptation lacks the satiric edge of the J.B. Priestly original, it gives its star plenty of opportunity to showcase a more introspective side to that proven, more lively personality.
Wang also mines terrific performances from a supporting ensemble that would have been right at home in any vintage studio comedy. In addition to the aforementioned players, there's also nice work from LL Cool J as the soft-spoken object of Georgia's secret affections, Alicia Witt as Hutton's reluctant mistress, Ranjit Chowdhry as a neurotic doctor and Susan Kellermann as an uptight, nosy hotel valet.
Contributing to the desired escapist vibe are those Old World European locations, photographed to postcard picturesque effect by "Under the Tuscan Sun" DP Geoffrey Simpson, not to mention costume designer Daniel Orlandi's fabulous frocks and composer George Fenton's lush score.
Last Holiday
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures presents an Imagemovers/Laurence Mark production
A Wayne Wang film
Credits:
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriters: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman
Based on a screenplay by: J.B. Priestley
Producers: Laurence Mark, Jack Rapke
Executive producers: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Richard Vane, Peter S. Seaman, Jeffrey Price
Director of photography: Geoffrey Simpson
Production designer: William Arnold
Editor: Deirdre Slevin
Costume designer: Daniel Orlandi
Music: George Fenton
Cast:
Georgia Byrd: Queen Latifah
Sean Williams: LL Cool J
Kragen: Timothy Hutton
Chef Didier: Gerard Depardieu
Ms. Burns: Alicia Witt
Sen. Dillings: Giancarlo Esposito
Congressman Stewart: Michael Nouri
Rochelle: Jane Adams
Ms. Gunther: Susan Kellermann
Dr. Gupta: Ranjit Chowdhry
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time 108 minutes...
"Such a Long Journey" presents a slice of life in 1971 Bombay on the eve of yet another Indian war with Pakistan, this time over East Pakistan, later to become the independent state of Bangladesh.
Though vividly directed by Canadian helmer Sturla Gunnarsson and featuring a cast of excellent veteran actors from the Indian cinema, the film never gains its narrative footing. Devolved from Rohinton Mistry's 1991 best-selling Dickensian novel, Sooni Taraporevala's screenplay suffers from too many loose plot threads, none of which feels satisfying or fully developed.
The third movie in the Shooting Gallery's traveling film series, "Journey" will play only to an art house audience, and to be fully understood, that audience needs some grounding in Indian history and Parsi culture.
The central figure is Gustad Noble (Roshan Seth from "Gandhi" and "My Beautiful Laundrette"), a Parsi bank clerk whose easygoing routine gets disrupted during the course of the movie. Troubles come all at once: His son (Vrajesh Hirjee) refuses to go to a top Indian college; a mysterious friend asks a "favor" that has Noble depositing large sums of dubious money at his own bank; his young daughter becomes ill, possibly with malaria; and his wife (Soni Razdan) falls under the influence of an aging witch (Pearl Padamsee) living in the upstairs apartment.
The film is populated with a number of comical eccentrics, which include Noble's daffy pal at the bank (Sam Dastor) and a mental misfit (Kurush Deboo) whose death causes Noble's emotional breakdown. Then there's major Indian star Om Puri in the small but pivotal role of a shady political operative and Ranjit Chowdhry as a street artist who transforms the wall outside Noble's flat from a public urinal to a shrine dedicated to various gods.
But the script never succeeds in bringing all of these characters and colorful plot lines into a unified whole. Instead, it jumps here and there with only the stoic though increasingly agitated Noble holding it together.
The comic byplay among the actors is often quite funny and opens a window into life on the subcontinent and especially in Bombay during that era. The film is well produced with cinematographer Jan Kiesser and production designer Nitin Desai performing miracles in tough location shooting in one of the world's noisiest and most polluted cities.
SUCH A LONG JOURNEY
The Shooting Gallery
British Screen, BSkyB, Telefilm Canada, Harold Greenberg Fund and CBC
Producer:Paul Stephens, Simon MacCorkindale
Director:Sturla Gunnarsson
Writer:Sooni Taraporevala
Based on the novel by:Rohinton Mistry
Executive producer:Victor Solnicki
Director of photography:Jan Kiesser
Production designer:Nitin Desai
Music:Jonathan Goldsmith
Costume designer:Lovleen Bains
Editor:Jeff Warren
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gustad Noble:Roshan Seth
Dilnavaz Noble:Soni Razdan
Ghulam:Om Puri
Sohrab Noble:Vrajesh Hirjee
Pavement Artist:Ranjit Chowdhry
Dinshawji:Sam Dastor
Jimmy Bilimoria:Naseeruddin Shah
Mrs. Kutpitia:Pearl Padamsee
Running time -- 113 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Though vividly directed by Canadian helmer Sturla Gunnarsson and featuring a cast of excellent veteran actors from the Indian cinema, the film never gains its narrative footing. Devolved from Rohinton Mistry's 1991 best-selling Dickensian novel, Sooni Taraporevala's screenplay suffers from too many loose plot threads, none of which feels satisfying or fully developed.
The third movie in the Shooting Gallery's traveling film series, "Journey" will play only to an art house audience, and to be fully understood, that audience needs some grounding in Indian history and Parsi culture.
The central figure is Gustad Noble (Roshan Seth from "Gandhi" and "My Beautiful Laundrette"), a Parsi bank clerk whose easygoing routine gets disrupted during the course of the movie. Troubles come all at once: His son (Vrajesh Hirjee) refuses to go to a top Indian college; a mysterious friend asks a "favor" that has Noble depositing large sums of dubious money at his own bank; his young daughter becomes ill, possibly with malaria; and his wife (Soni Razdan) falls under the influence of an aging witch (Pearl Padamsee) living in the upstairs apartment.
The film is populated with a number of comical eccentrics, which include Noble's daffy pal at the bank (Sam Dastor) and a mental misfit (Kurush Deboo) whose death causes Noble's emotional breakdown. Then there's major Indian star Om Puri in the small but pivotal role of a shady political operative and Ranjit Chowdhry as a street artist who transforms the wall outside Noble's flat from a public urinal to a shrine dedicated to various gods.
But the script never succeeds in bringing all of these characters and colorful plot lines into a unified whole. Instead, it jumps here and there with only the stoic though increasingly agitated Noble holding it together.
The comic byplay among the actors is often quite funny and opens a window into life on the subcontinent and especially in Bombay during that era. The film is well produced with cinematographer Jan Kiesser and production designer Nitin Desai performing miracles in tough location shooting in one of the world's noisiest and most polluted cities.
SUCH A LONG JOURNEY
The Shooting Gallery
British Screen, BSkyB, Telefilm Canada, Harold Greenberg Fund and CBC
Producer:Paul Stephens, Simon MacCorkindale
Director:Sturla Gunnarsson
Writer:Sooni Taraporevala
Based on the novel by:Rohinton Mistry
Executive producer:Victor Solnicki
Director of photography:Jan Kiesser
Production designer:Nitin Desai
Music:Jonathan Goldsmith
Costume designer:Lovleen Bains
Editor:Jeff Warren
Color/stereo
Cast:
Gustad Noble:Roshan Seth
Dilnavaz Noble:Soni Razdan
Ghulam:Om Puri
Sohrab Noble:Vrajesh Hirjee
Pavement Artist:Ranjit Chowdhry
Dinshawji:Sam Dastor
Jimmy Bilimoria:Naseeruddin Shah
Mrs. Kutpitia:Pearl Padamsee
Running time -- 113 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/27/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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