Latest news with #ManikarnikaFilms
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Kangana Ranaut to make Hollywood debut in horror drama Blessed Be the Evil with Tyler Posey and Scarlet Rose Stallone
Kangana Ranaut is reportedly making her way to Hollyw0ood after nearly 20 years in Bollywood. According to Variety, the Queen star is set to take on a major role in a new horror drama titled Blessed Be the Evil. The upcoming project also stars Tyler Posey, known for his role in Teen Wolf, and Scarlet Rose Stallone, the daughter of Sylvester Stallone. Filming is set to begin soon in New York, and the production team is carefully selecting a location where President Donald Trump's tariffs won't become a financial burden. Kangana's move to Hollywood comes after her 2025 film Emergency received an underwhelming response from audiences. Also read: Senior journalist and author of 'The Emergency' to sue Manikarnika Films and Netflix for historical inaccuracies in Kangana Ranaut's film After initially dismissing the idea of following in the footsteps of her Bollywood co-stars like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone by working in the Hollywood industry, Kangana finally seems onboard to give a shot to the upcoming Anurag Rudra directorial. Rudra is known for his work in New Me and Tailing Pond. According to the outlet, he also co-wrote the script alongside Gatha Tiwary, the president of Lions Movies. The production is being overseen by Wade Muller, who has worked on films like Elephant White and Occupation: Rainfall. Though the story will follow a traditional folklore from India set against a Western backdrop, Kangana's role has not been revealed yet. However, the makers are extremely thrilled to have someone as exceptional as her, having won multiple National Film Awards, leading their thrilling and suspenseful horror film, which is already on the radar of several international buyers. The film will pitch its idea at the upcoming Cannes Film Market, after kicking off production this summer. Also read: Inside Kangana Ranaut's 'century-old' MP bungalow in New Delhi, actor says it 'wasn't easy to restore'. See pics According to Variety, Blessed Be the Evil will follow the life of a Christian couple who decide to live alone, away from the hustle and bustle, after losing their child through miscarriage. They buy an old farm, but little do they know, it has a dark and mysterious history. As they try to rebuild their lives, they face an evil force that tests their faith and love. Speaking about the film, Rudra said, 'Being born and spending my childhood in rural India, I was told stories that got embedded in my mind and heart.' According to him, these folk tales are so special that he wanted to bring them to a global audience through cinema. Gatha Tiwary added that Blessed Be the Evil is a unique story, filled with suspense and drama. ' Movies have developed a spine-chilling narrative with unprecedented suspense and drama. It also has great potential for international markets, both in streaming and selling.' Speaking of the cast, Kangana, who recently made her directorial debut with Emergency, where she portrayed India's former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, brings her star power to the project. Tyler Posey has already worked in a horror film before called Truth or Dare. Scarlet Rose Stallone has worked in films like Reach Me and The Gunslingers with Nicolas Cage. Earlier, speaking about her Hollywood plans, Kangana, on The Kapil Sharma Show, said that she isn't planning to do so anytime soon, saying, 'Humare yaha pe itne talented log hai na, to humein kahin aane-jaane ki zarurat nahi hai. Ab jaise ki, world has become one place na, to sab log yaha kaam karte hain, waha ke log yaha pe kaam kar rahe hain.' (India has so many talented people, so we don't have to go anywhere and work now. Now, the world has become one place, and Hollywood people are working here.)
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Inside Kangana Ranaut's ‘century-old' MP bungalow in New Delhi, actor says it ‘wasn't easy to restore'. See pics
Almost a year after being elected as an MP from the Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has finally moved into the official residence allotted to her by the government in Delhi. This comes seven months after she sold her bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai. On Wednesday, Kangana offered glimpses of her official residence and the housewarming ceremony on social media. Taking to her Instagram stories, Kangana shared photos and videos from the ceremony while noting, 'Finally got some time to shift to the Delhi MP house. It was not easy to restore a century-old MP house. Thanks dear @design_by_darshini for doing this.' In one of the photos, she can be seen posing with Darshini, the interior architect and designer who gave the space a facelift. Another picture features the actor-MP with her sister-in-law Ritu Ranaut, relishing some sweets together. Ritu is the wife of her brother Aksht Ranaut. As the moment marked a major milestone in her life, Kangana chose to go with something very rooted and was seen sporting a red and white Kanjeevaram saree, smiling from ear to ear. Incidentally, she moved into the bungalow on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. In September 2024, Zapkey India reported that Kangana had sold off her Bandra bungalow for a whopping Rs 32 crore. Located at Bandra West's posh Pali Hill area, the Bollywood actor purchased the property in September 2017 for Rs 20.7 crore. She also took a loan of Rs 27 crore against the property, which served as the office for her production company, Manikarnika Films, as well, in December 2022. Taking to social media, Kangana Ranaut shared photos and videos from the ceremony. (Credit: Instagram/@kanganaranaut) Kangana Ranaut with Darshini, the interior architect and designer who gave the space a facelift. (Credit: Instagram/@kanganaranaut) On the occasion, Kangana Ranaut wore a red and white Kanjeevaram saree. (Credit: Instagram/@kanganaranaut) Kangana Ranaut moved into the bungalow on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. (Credit: Instagram/@kanganaranaut) Kangana Ranaut's movie career, however, has been going through a rough patch since 2019, with all her movies that released after Judgementall Hai Kya bombing. Her most recent release, the historical biographical drama Emergency, which marked her debut as a solo director as well, had also failed at the box office miserably, grossing just Rs 23.75 crore against a reported budget of about Rs 60 crore. She will be next seen in Thalaivii director Vijay's upcoming project, wherein she shares the screen with her Tanu Weds Manu co-star R Madhavan.
Scroll.in
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
In movies based on real events, how far can creators stretch ‘creative liberty'?
'Sometimes you have to forsake accuracy, but you must never forsake truth.' That's how Peter Morgan defended the expansive creative liberties taken in The Crown, the acclaimed Netflix series that he created and scripted. The show tells the story of the British royal family through the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Though the show's creators have clearly said that The Crown is a 'fictional dramatisation … inspired by real events', it has been criticised for inaccuracy. One critic derided it as ' fake history '. The debate about how much creative liberty the creators of dramatised works based on real events can take played out in India this week, as a controversy broke out about actor-director Kangana Ranaut's biopic Emergency about Indira Gandhi. Veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor alleged that distortions and misrepresentations in the film are being blamed on her 2015 book, The Emergency: A Personal History, for which she had signed adaptation rights with Ranaut's Manikarnika Films Private Limited. Kapoor told The Telegraph that the facts about Indira Gandhi's life are in the public domain. ' Don't cite the book and present wrong facts,' she said. Kapoor has sued Manikarnika Films and Netflix for defamation and breach of contract. Responding to the legal notices, Manikarnika Films on April 10 said that the film was based not just Kapoor's book but on other material too. It said that the agreement explicitly allowed for creative liberties 'to make necessary modifications to the subject story and screenplay', reported The Telegraph. The company also said Kapoor had given them 'absolute and complete intellectual property rights'. The case raises questions about the legal rights of authors of non-fiction works when their work is adapted for the screen and how far creative liberty can be taken. Signing a contract for the rights of a non-fiction book does give a filmmaker creative licence – but not to the extent that the screen adaptation is untrue to the source material, said lawyers and an editor at a publishing house. 'Authors have a right against distortion or mutilation of their work if it affects their honour or reputation,' said Nikhil Narendran, a technology and media lawyer and partner at the law firm Trilegal. It is also important to differentiate between dramatisation and completely distorting or twisting of facts, he said. 'A misrepresentation of a fact from a non-fiction work is arguably a distortion,' said Narendran. 'Especially when a movie claims that it is made on a non-fiction book, but distorts facts represented in that book.' Signing away rights Priya Kapoor, editorial director at Roli Books, said that contracts involving screen adaptations can only go so far in protecting the author and their work – unless specific protective clauses are negotiated into the agreement. To protect the reputation of the book, Kapoor said the filmmaker or serial maker is usually asked to add a disclaimer stating that the work is 'based loosely' on a book and that the author or publisher is not liable for creative liberties that have been taken. Lawyer Dushyant Arora said adaptation contracts are fiercely and closely negotiated. 'Some of these contracts not only reserve some sort of a greenlight as far as the script is concerned, sometimes they also reserve rights as far as the casting is concerned,' he said. Coomi Kapoor had signed a tripartite contract with her publisher, Penguin Random House, and Manikarnika Films, according to The Print. The agreement granted the producers 'full artistic licence' but without modifying anything 'not in consonance with historical facts'. It also added that the author's name and book were not to be used to promote the film without her approval. Legal cover Sometimes, filmmakers buy the rights to a non-fiction book to use it as a legal shield if a social or political group takes exception to something shown on screen. More important, basing a show or film on a book adds credibility, even if material about the subject is widely available. 'They need a solid IP [intellectual property], like a book, to underline their entire storymaking,' said Priya Kapoor. Streaming platforms want this too, she said. 'They're saying, where is the research coming from, where are these facts coming from?' she added. 'You can't just put it out there. Put out a book behind it – and pay for it.' But this strategy comes with limitations. '...When you claim that your movie is based on a book, you can't deviate from basic facts presented there, or else you will face claims of mutilations and distortion,' Narendran said. That's what Coomi Kapoor complained about to The Print. She noted that Ranaut's biopic prominently credited her book as the source. 'In order to give credibility to their work, they used my name,' she said. Journalist Sunetra Choudhury, one of the co-authors of Black Warrant, which was published by Lotus Roli Books and turned into a Netflix series, said that she could have asked for riders while selling adaptation rights but the agreement was based on trust as well as familiarity with director Vikram Aditya Motwane's work. 'They had a special screening for us and we were very happy with what they'd done because it was very nuanced,' she said. The limits of creative liberty One of the contentious features of Peter Morgan's approach of blending fact with fiction in The Crown is how he imagines dialogue between characters. Josh O'Connor, who plays Prince William in two seasons, told the BBC that Morgan takes historical facts, or moments in history viewers either remember or have seen footage of, and 'paints in-between those punctuation moments'. Dramatisation is key to making a film or television adaptation of real-life events engaging and entertaining. That is part of the creative licence that filmmakers seek when buying rights to a book, said Narendran. Choudhury said she was pleased that the web series of Black Warrant was true to the book. '...Of course they had to make dialogue and that dialogue is obviously creative liberty but it has the same spirit,' she said. Arora said that in the end, the makers of dramatised series and films based on real events owe their subjects the truth 'because you are profiting off their stories'. He explained: 'It is some sort of an act of documentation.' The Emergency is as much about the excesses of a power-hungry prime minister as it is about powerless citizens whose liberties were abused and whose lives were crushed by the state, he said. 'I think that especially when you're telling stories about power, democracy and the marginalised, you ought to stay as close to the truth,' he said. Here is a summary of the week's top stories. Pahalgam and its aftermath. India and Pakistan fired tit for tat diplomatic salvoes following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday. Twenty-six persons were killed and 17 others were injured in the attack that took place in Anantnag district's Baisaran area. Militants fired at tourists, most of whom were from outside the state. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of the dead were Hindu. India suspended visa services for Pakistani citizens and said all valid visas would be revoked from April 27, except medical visas, which would remain valid until April 29. Pakistani citizens in India under the SAARC visa scheme were given 48 hours to leave. India's Ministry of External Affairs also advised its citizens against travelling to Pakistan and urged those already there to return. India declared Pakistan's defence, military, naval and air advisers in New Delhi persona non grata and said it would withdraw its defence advisers from Islamabad. India also suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty on sharing water from the Indus and its tributaries. Pakistan said this was an 'act of war' and warned that it would respond with 'full force across the complete spectrum of national power'. It also said it would suspend the 1972 Simla Agreement signed with India in the aftermath of the 1971 war. Among other features, the agreement resulted in the recognition of the Line of Control that serves as the de facto boundary between the countries in much of Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the punishment meted out by India for the attack will be ' bigger than what the terrorists imagine '. The contentious waqf amendment. The Union government told the Supreme Court that the Waqf Amendment Act does not violate constitutional rights. In an affidavit submitted on Friday, the government argued that the law regulates only secular aspects of waqf property management and steers clear of religious freedoms governed by Article 25 and Article 26 of the Constitution. The amendments, it said, were based on an 'in-depth and analytical study' and aimed at reforming administrative procedures. It also defended the inclusion of non-Muslims on waqf boards, saying these were secular bodies with advisory roles. The government said over 20 lakh hectares had been recorded as waqf land after 2013, alleging misuse of earlier provisions to encroach on private and public land. It opposed a 'blanket stay' on the law and said that legal challenges to it were based on the 'false premise' that it impinged on religious freedoms. The government assured the court it would not denotify waqf properties or appoint new council members before May 5, when the matter will be heard next. Court criticises Ramdev. Patanjali Ayurved founder Ramdev was ordered by the Delhi High Court to remove an advertisement in which he claimed that popular drink Rooh Afza was being used for 'sharbat jihad'. The court said that the comment by the yoga guru was 'indefensible'. Food company Hamdard, which makes the drink, had moved the court seeking the removal of a video. While advertising for a Patanjali product on April 3, Ramdev, without naming Hamdard, claimed that proceeds from its sale were used to construct mosques. He described this as 'sharbat jihad'. While Ramdev defended his remark, arguing that he had not named any company, Justice Amit Bansal said that the comment 'shocks the conscience of court'. The court also directed Ramdev to file an affidavit that he would not repeat such statements. Follow the Scroll channel on WhatsApp for a curated selection of the news that matters throughout the day, and a round-up of major developments in India and around the world every evening. What you won't get: spam.
India Today
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Kangana's Emergency faces legal row over alleged fact distortion by book's author
Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's recent film 'Emergency' is facing legal scrutiny after senior journalist and author Coomi Kapoor accused the filmmakers of misusing her work and distorting has alleged that Manikarnika Films Private Limited, owned by Ranaut, along with Netflix, has 'intentionally and maliciously distorted facts' and exploited her name by claiming that the film is based on her 2015 book 'The Emergency: A Personal History', published by stated that a tripartite agreement between herself, Penguin and Manikarnika Films regarding the adaptation rights of the book had been 'blatantly breached'. Kapoor further accused the filmmakers of 'multiple factual inaccuracies and misleading portrayals of historical events'.'My daughter is a lawyer, so on her advice, I included two clauses. While the producers had full artistic freedom to create the film, nothing should be altered that contradicts historical facts that are publicly available,' Kapoor explained.'The contract also stated that the author's name and book could not be used for promoting or exploiting the film without prior written consent. I was in Goa and had not seen the film at the time, believing that they would honour the contract. But they are still claiming that the film is based on the book,' she added, noting that she has already sent two legal notices but has not received a also referenced an August 2023 WhatsApp exchange with Kangana Ranaut's brother, Aksht Ranaut of Manikarnika Films, where she stressed that the contract terms must be followed and that while referencing her book in the sources was acceptable, describing the film as 'based on her book' was not. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in)Directed and produced by Kangana Ranaut, the film chronicles the Emergency months in India and how people went through has played former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film, while Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Vishak Nair, Milind Soman and later actor Satish Kaushik featured in pivotal roles. The film was delayed after the Central Bureau of Film Certification (CBFC) withheld certification for several months, before finally giving it a U/A certifcate with a few cuts.'Emergency' was produced by Zee Studios and Manikarnika Watch
Scroll.in
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Author sues Kangana Ranaut's company for claiming ‘Emergency' film based on her book
Journalist and author Coomi Kapoor has filed a lawsuit against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika Films Private Limited and streaming platform Netflix, accusing them of damaging her reputation by claiming that the Hindi language film Emergency was based on her book The Emergency: A Personal History, reported The Print on Tuesday. Kapoor has alleged that the film contains ' glaring historical inaccuracies ' that contradict her work, mislead viewers and damage her credibility, according to Hindustan Times. The film is based on the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government in 1975. It was released in the theatres on January 17. Emergency started streaming on Netflix on March 17 and carries a disclaimer claiming that it is based on Kapoor's The Emergency and Jaiyanth Vasanth Sinha's Priyadarshini. In addition to starring in it, Ranaut, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, is also the writer and director of the film. She co-produced it through her company Manikarnika Films. 'Even after two legal notices, the film still shows this disclaimer,' the author told The Telegraph. Kapoor told The Print on Tuesday that she had called Ranaut's brother, Aksht Ranaut, who is the producer of the film. 'But have received no response till this morning,' she said. 'This could have easily been avoided if the script writer had even done a cursory reading of the book in which the accurate data is given,' she said. Kapoor said that an agreement was signed between her, Manikarnika Films and Penguin, the publisher of The Emergency, after Aksht Ranaut met her in 2021. She claimed that the agreement contained two clauses that had been breached. According to Kapoor, the contract mentioned that while the producers have full artistic license in making the film, 'nothing should be modified that was not in consonance with historical facts on the subject, which are in the public domain'. The contract also mentioned that Kapoor's name and book should not be used for promoting the film without her written consent, she said. 'I had specifically told them to not use the term 'based on' but they still did,' Kapoor was quoted as saying by The Print. She also said that she was never shown the script of the film and discovered after it was released on Netflix on March 17 that it carried a disclaimer claiming to be based on her book. 'When the film was released I checked the media articles and they all said 'inspired' so I was fine,' said Kapoor. 'But, when I recently watched it on Netflix, it read 'based on' towards the end. In order to give credibility to their work, they used my name.'
