Top Entertainment India News Stories of 23rd October 2008

Daily news summary

‘London Dreams’ flags off the India-Britain co-production treaty
The historic India-Britain film co-production treaty has come into force with British Culture Minister Barbara Follett launching it on the Trafalgar Square sets of Vipul Shah's Ajay Devgan starrer "London Dreams". "London Dreams" is Shah's latest venture after "Singh is Kinng" and "Namaste London". The coming into force of the treaty means that any Indian filmmaker who wants to collaborate with a British producer under the treaty will now have access to a range of benefits including tax breaks, sources of funding and practical support. Follett said, as quoted by popular British website on Indian entertainment, chaisamosa.com: "Any Indian filmmaker who wants to collaborate with a British producer will find it more financially worthwhile. We can also offer a mature production infrastructure and share expertise between the two countries' film industries. The main body of the treaty was signed by former secretary of state Tessa Jowell and Indian Minister for Information and Broadcasting P.R. Dasmunshi in New Delhi in Dec 2005. Negotiations on the detailed annex to the agreement were completed and signed in June 2008. Without this treaty, British-Indian co-productions would have to pass the Britain cultural test to qualify for tax relief. Hindi and Tamil films would be most unlikely to, pass this test as it is in a non-Council of Europe language. However with the treaty these co-produced films would be allowed to bypass this test. This means that they are granted national status in both countries. And this means they can gain access to the new Britain tax relief, said to be one of the most generous and competitive tax reliefs in the world. This treaty will also enable films to attain funding from the UK Film Council, and support to sell their films at international festivals and increased access to EU markets and TV sales. The treaty will also indirectly support the businesses, which supply costumes catering to the industry also.

‘James & Bond’ may spell trouble for Harman Baweja
Harry Baweja has resurfaced after the futuristic disaster ‘Love Story 2050’ to make a comedy with son Harman called "James & Bond", but it may not be that easy to get the title so closely linked to the '007' franchise. "James & Bond" may not go down well with the celluloid fans of Ian Fleming. Besides there are strong copyright-protection acts protecting all globally acknowledged brand names in the entertainment business. Harman however says that the film may not be called 'James & Bond' at all. They have just registered the title but chances are that the film will not carry that title at all. Regarding the first father-son duo ‘Love Story 2050’ Harman commented that the film worked for him and its is proved by the number of projects he has been offered from big names such as Ashutosh Gowariker and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Newer channels making the going tough for the old ones
After the scheduled end of long-running serial "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi" Nov 10, a phase of fatigue on the 'idiot box' might also conclude, as newer channels like NDTV Imagine, 9x and Colors are bringing more variety and meaning in their content for viewers. Fresh concepts and storylines adopted by new channels had led to a decline in the popularity of major soap hits. According to data received by TAM Media Research, in the Hindi-speaking markets and among cable and satellite viewers, Colors boasted of a total channel share percentage of 19.5, ahead of Zee's 16.2, and below STAR Plus' 22.6 in the Oct 5-11 week. Shows like "Kasammh Se", "Saat Phere", and "Teen Bahuraaniyan" of Zee are fast losing out to new concepts like "Balika Vadhu", "Mohe Rang De", "Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi", "Main Teri Parchhain Hoon", "Jasuben Jayantilal Ki Joint Family" being telecast on new channels.

IBN Network partners up with Bond film distributors to run contest
India's IBN Network has tied up with the distributors of the next James Bond movie “Quantum of Solace” to run a contest and telecast an interview with lead actor Daniel Craig. The network will bring a host of shows on the British super spy like special features on the movie, the legacy and history of Bond movies and an interview with Craig and director Marc Foster conducted by the network's English wing Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand. The network will also run a contest hosted on http://007.in.com that will invites viewers to send a question that they would like to ask the actor. Masand will put two chosen questions to Craig during the interview while other participants can win passes to the Indian premiere of the film, movie merchandise and tickets. The movie releases in India Nov 7.

Victoria Beckham adorns saree for India Vogue
Former Spice Girl will adorn saree, dressed as an Indian bride to, delight Indian fans as cover girl for Vogue India November issue. Commenting upon her new image, she said: "I've never played safe with my image." Beckham has been living in Hollywood for the last 18 months with her family and has been working on her fashion ranges. The magazine will hit the stands within a week, reports the sun.co.uk.

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