Manoj Bajpayee, Zeeshan Ayyub's 'Joram' to make its world premiere at 52nd IFFR 2023

Mumbai [India], December 20: Manoj Bajpayee and Zeeshan Ayyub's 'Joram' is all set for its World premiere at the upcoming 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

IFFR returns with this edition to play as a bigger, robust on ground festival after 2 online editions in 2021 and 2022 because of the pandemic.

Helmed by Devashish Makhija, a survival-thriller about a displaced indigenous man. Made in collaboration with Makhijafilm, an independent production house jointly owned by Devashish himself and curator-producer Anupama Bose. The film stars Smita Tambe and Megha Mathur. It also features Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajshri Deshpande in special appearances. 'Joram' is Devashish's third collaboration with Manoj Bajpayee, and his third film to be screened at IFFR after Ajji (2018) and Bhonsle (2019).

The film was also part of FBR section of the Viewing Room at NFDC's Film Bazaar, 2022. Recounting his experience of playing his role in Joram, Manoj Bajpayee said, "The film Joram is a riveting story of a man torn between his past and present. I loved playing the intricate character, Darsu, whose past and present have a significant contrast. On the outside he looks like an ordinary man that people may not even notice, but in no way is he a common man! A brilliant story with such impactful characters! It's always been a pleasure working with Zee Studios & Devashish Makhija. I always remain very proud of my artistically fulfilling relationship with them." Actor Zeeshan Ayyub shared, "I play Ratnakar - a city bred cop in the film who is low on the social ladder & therefore amongst his colleagues too. Being a city bred person myself, to me this film, my first ever trip into jungles to shoot it and the iron ore mines made me realise how much of 'me' was Ratnakar - that my access to education & middle class angst was a luxury compared to the bleak, stark and forever-on-the-edge lives that the 'Other' truly underprivileged live on a daily basis." Producer & Makhija Film's Managing Partner Anupama Bose said, "Both Devashish and I set up Makhija Film to make and support independent spirited & accessibly told films & web series about people, cultures, identity conflicts & human dilemmas across genres and languages. We are fortunate that all our collaborators and Zee Studios held on to that spirit as they walked with us on the film. We hope with the IFFR, Rotterdam selection our debut home production JORAM will embark on a journey that reaches out to audiences across the world as well." Joram Director & Partner, Makhija Film, Devashish Makhija said,"Joram is my third film at IFFR, after AJJI (2018) and BHONSLE (2019), but the first film produced by Anupama Bose and myself as Makhija Film, and backed by Zee Studios, a rare Indian studio that loves and nurtures independent-spirited cinema like ours. JORAM features some of the finest international actors from India - Manoj Bajpayee, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Smita Tambe, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Rajshri Deshpande, and many more.

In its vision and its making, our film has sought to bridge that ever shifting gap between the artistic cinema and the mainstream, hopefully having pulled in the best of both. The brilliant team behind JORAM is filled with strength and hope by our selection for our World Premiere in the Big Screen Competition at IFFR." Shariq Patel, the CBO, of Zee Studios said, "'Joram' is a the gritty tale of how a common man transcends and overcomes all barriers to protect his blood. It is an honour that a story so rooted in India has been selected in the 'Big Screen Competition' section and Zee Studios is looking forward to the films World Premiere at the illustrious 52nd International Film Festival of Rotterdam."

Presented by Zee Studios and produced by Zee Studios in association with Makhija Film, 'Joram' is all set to be released next year.

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Predictions: Best Sound Winning Veterans Take On Potential First-Timers Vying for Academy Attention

Other contenders include Raghunath Kemisetty, Mark Mangini, Kevin O'Connell, Gary Rydstrom and Rachael Tate

©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

2023 OSCARS PREDICTIONS: BEST SOUND

CATEGORY COMMENTARY: Celebrating 25 years since James Cameron’s “Titanic” (1997) tied for the most wins ever and the Oscar ceremony itself, which boasted the highest ratings in Academy history, some of the same artisans are in the race again. Those include sound designers Mark Mangini (“The Fifth Element” and “Good Night Oppy”), Gary Rydstrom (“Titanic” and “The Fabelmans”) and Kevin O’Connell (“Con Air” and “The Woman King”).

Supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom (“The Fabelmans”) has netted seven statuettes throughout his incredible career — “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (sound and sound effects), “Jurassic Park” (sound and sound effects), “Titanic” (sound) and “Saving Private Ryan” (sound and sound effects editing). Since his last win in 1999 for “Ryan,” he’s picked up eight more nods in that timeframe including four outings with Steven Spielberg — “War Horse” (2011), “Lincoln” (2012), “Bridge of Spies” (2015) and “West Side Story” (2021).

There’s also recent winner Mark Mangini with the documentary “Good Night Oppy,” fresh off his win for “Dune” (2021) and has another trophy for “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015). Kevin O’Connell hasn’t been nominated since his win for “Hacksaw Ridge” (2016), which marked his first win after 21 nominations, beginning with “Terms of Endearment” (1983). This year, he’s offered his signature beats on Gina Prince-Bythewood’s “The Woman King,” an action-epic that could find its way into the lineup.

Mangini, O’Connell and Rydsrom aren’t the only veterans contending as Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate are pulling double duties with “Empire of Light” and “Thirteen Lives” after getting nominated for “1917.”

The veterans could face competition from some newcomers such as the team behind the Indian epic “RRR” (Raghunath Kemisetty, sound designer, Boloy Kumar Doloi and Rahul Karpe, re-recording mixers) and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Brent Kiser, supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer, Andrew Twite, sound designer, Stephen Nelson, production sound mixer, and Alexandra Fehrman and Ian Chase, re-recording mixers). We’ll see how they stand up to the bigger names and companies in the race.

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National Festival of Mayurbhanj Chhau 'Naatki' concluded with spectacle of performances

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], December 18: After two days of breathtaking dance performances, the National Festival of Mayurbhanj Chhau 'Naatki' has concluded.

Swati Bhat

The festival included artists from Mayurbhanj Chhau performing unit of Project Chhauni who performed in various creative productions choreographed by Vidushi Sharma Bhate from Pune and Padmasree Dr Ileana Citarist from Bhubaneswar alongside Nichuapada Uttarsahi Chhau Nritya Pratisthan of Moroda Block. The choreography combined elements from contemporary and traditional aspects of the Mayurbhanj Chhau dance. On the festival's last day, three performances took place 'Panchabhoota', 'Yodhha', and 'The Mystical Forest'.

Talking to "TC" about the motivation behind 'The Mystical Forest', dancer Mahi Sharma from Delhi said, "Our choreography which was conducted by our guru Santosh Nair, was motivated by nature. Taking care of our environment is quintessential in keeping our livelihood safe. If we don't take care of our environment, gradually our forests would start depleting and the natural resources important for humans would become lost. Our dance aimed to spread the message of forest conservation among people". The festival was conducted by Chhauni as a means of helping the 'Chhau' dance of Odisha get some exposure and recognition among the masses. Chhauni was an initiative led by the Mayurbhanj District Administration. It began operations in 2016 "to preserve and promote the art form and provide a livelihood to the artistes." Chhauni had conducted a survey in Mayurbhanj which covered 202 social organisations and 11,738 people who were associated with the dance form. After auditioning more than 400 Artists the performing unit was created in 2017.

In a conversation with "TC" , Praveen Chandra Bhanjdeo, the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj threw some light about the origin of the initiative. "In 2016, Mayurbhanj's ex-collector Shri Rajesh Patil guided the project Chhauni after years of the dance form's old Gurus being neglected....he picked up all the young artists along with Shubhoshree Mukherjee who herself was a dancer and had done Chhau," he said. "'Naatki' is the first National event for the Chhau dance, which showcases the dance form in a modern way," he added.

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