Monday, September 22, 2008

Aba: The Story Of Prince Pandukabhaya” (Sri Lanka)

'ABÁ' is the high-budget Sinhalese film directed by Jackson Anthony, based on the historical legend of King Pandukabhaya which took place in Sri Lanka more than 2400 years ago. It was released in Sri Lanka on 8th of August, 2008. Plans are being made to screen this film in several other countries including China, Italy and Australia.
The Legend of King Pandukabhaya
The title “Aba” is derived from “Pandu Aba”, another name for the title character. This famous Sinhalese legend is extravagantly portrayed in ‘Mahavamsa’ (the most comprehensive chronicle of the history of Sri Lanka) written during the 5th Cent. AD by Mahanama thero. Although it has been difficult to specify the time period in which King Pandukabhaya ruled, it can be inferred from the chronicles that he ruled over 2300 years back. A brief description of the legend as related in Mahavamsa is given below.After Prince Vijaya, an outcast of India, who came ashore in Sri Lanka in 543 B.C. and settled in the island, died, Panduvasudeva became the king. Bhaddakachchana, a Shakya Princess, was brought down from India as his queen consort. At length, the monarchs had ten sons and one daughter. The daughter was called Ummada Chitra because of her exceeding beauty. The soothsayers foretold that the son of Princess Chitra would destroy his uncles and wrest the kingdom for himself. Therefore, the brothers decided to kill their sister but the elder brother Abhaya persuaded them to keep her in a chamber built upon a single tower (called ‘Ektamgeya’) which was accessible only through a door from the king’s bedchamber. In the meantime Bhaddakachchana’s brothers established settlements around the island. Dighagamini, the son of Digayu, one of these brothers was appointed to serve the court of the king at Upatissagama. Dighagamini heard of Chitra and fell in love with her. By means of a stratagem he visited the chamber and Chitra conceived a child. Hearing this, the uncles decided to kill the child if he were to be male but Chitra exchanged babies with another woman whose child was a girl. Afterwards Chitra’s son, Pandukabhaya, grew up in a village called Doramandalawa (Dwaramandala). When he was seven, the uncles discovered the boy’s existence and started to kill all the boys of his age. Somehow he escaped death and later on he grew up under the tutelage of a Brahmin named Pandula. Having attained youth he killed all the uncles except Abhaya and became the first King of Anuradhapura marrying Swarnapali and ruled for 70 years.
Aba: film synopsis
By the fifth century BC, the Yakshas, among the ancient peoples of the island of Lanka, had seized overall power. They were however subdued by the Sinha Clan who arrived from North India. The defeated Yakshas thereafter launched insurrection after insurrection against the Sinha Clan.Vijaya was the first to defeat the Yakshas. His nephew, Panduwasdeva, a Prince, who arrived from India, succeeded him. It was from the North East of India also that his consort-to-be, Princess Bhadrakachchana of the Royal line of the Shakya Clan came.Paduwasdeva chose as his seat of power, the City of Upatissa, located north of Anuradhapura. Bhadrakchchayana bore him ten sons and finally a beautiful daughter, Chitra. The Royal Astrologers, perusing her horoscope, articulated a horrifying prophecy. They predicted that a son born to Chitra would slay his ten uncles and assume the throne.The ten princess, complete in their faith in the prophesy, plotted to murder their sister. Chitra thwarted their efforts. Finally, she was imprisoned in a tower where she could not encounter any man...
Controversy
Although Mahavamsa is the largest source of knowledge about the history of Sri Lanka, some of its content might have been subjected to favoritism and exaggeration. As the writer of the foregoing chronicle might have been in favor of India, now these early legends are being subject to controversy. Vijaya is portrayed in Mahavamsa as the forefather of the Sinhalese, who married the Yakkha queen Kuveni who betrayed her people over to Vijaya. But it is evident from the fact that there existed a city called Sirisavattu in the island where Yakkhas lived at the time, that a civilization had prevailed in the island before Vijaya arrived. Although the chronicler portrays the Yakkhas as devils, now it is widely believed that Yakkhas were one of the major tribes in the island at that time. This fact shakes Vijaya’s position in the history of Sri Lanka. It is possible that the chronicler, who could have been biased towards India, preferred to consider Vijaya and his retinue as the first Sinhalese community rather than accepting the fact that Vijaya was a conqueror. If that is true, from that time onwards Sri Lanka witnessed a foreign rule. However, a circle of historians have now formulated the hypothesis that the father of King Pandukabhaya was a native tribesman. This hypothesis is used to explain the fact that it was King Pandukabhaya who destroyed the foreign invaders and brought back independence to the island. The synopsis of ABA is not identical to the story in Mahavamsa. It will merge historical events with imaginary ones to create the atmosphere gathering around the life of young Pandukabhaya who was protected by various people. It will portray the bravery and tact of those who were bound to protect Pandukabhaya. However, ABA is expected to bring forward a more reasonable, clear picture of the legend of King Pandukabhaya. In doing so, it will also capture ancient Sinhalese traditions and folklore to create a vivid background for the film.
Other Detailes
Country: Sri Lanka
Production Company: Mandakini Creations (Pvt) Ltd.
Genre: Drama/ History
Director: Jackson Anthony
Starring: Sajitha Anuttara, Malini Fonseka, Ravindra Randeniya, Sriyantha Mendis, Sabitha Perera, Saumya Liyanage, Daulani Anuradha, Vasantha Moragoda, Neil Alles, Bimal Jayakody
Duration: NA
Date of release: 8th August, 2008
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“Aba: The Story Of Prince Pandukabhaya” Official Trailer

Friday, September 12, 2008

Malaysia’s first martial arts film ‘Kinta 1881′

Malaysia is set to join Thailand and Vietnam in the rush to fill the relative void in martial arts movie output from Hong Kong. KINTA 1881 is their first martial arts movie featuring local wushu champions and action choreography from Hong Kong veteran Chin Kar-lok. A newly released trailer depicts impressive action and production values similar to ONG BAK and THE REBEL.
Directed by C.L. Hor, KINTA 1881 is set in the late 19th century and centers on a tin rush in Malaysia’s Kinta Valley where Chinese immigrants poured in to seek their fortunes. A tin mine becomes a central backdrop for much of the film’s kinetic screen fighting.
This is the first release for Absolutely Black, a production company formed from Hor’s Blackbox Pictures and event management company CMG Absolute.
What should interest genre fans is that the stars are all real martial artists. Robin Ho is a former world wushu champion. Michael Chin, Kuan Fei and Shawn Lee are all national Malaysian wushu artists and David Bao is a world champion tai chi performer from China.
Of this set, Michael Chin has the most action film experience. He began working as a stuntman at age 16 and is a one-time member of Sammo Hung’s stunt team with credits that include FULL THROTTLE and DRUNKEN MASTER 2. He has even doubled for Jackie Chan.
AD Chin Kar-lok should need no introduction for Hong Kong action fans. Having started out as a stuntman in Sammo Hung’s stunt crew in the early 1980s, he has been at the center of Hong Kong’s famous action output ever since, in front of and behind the camera. Some of his best work as action director includes ON THE RUN and THE ICEMAN COMETH. His more recent work with Hong Kong’s Brat Pack in films like ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK and DRAGON SQUAD have not given him the best opportunity to showcase his talents but KINTA 1881 and its straight up martial arts action looks to remedy that.
‘Kinta 1881′ Official Trailer

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Rajini’s ‘Sultan: The Warrior’

Sultan: The Warrior is a forthcoming animated Indian film. The main character is an animated version of Rajinikanth and will also be voiced by him. The film is slated to be released worldwide in early 2009 with 3,500 prints (which is a record in Indian film industry) and will be released in English, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. The film will be produced by Adlabs (in association with Ocher Studios) and directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth, Rajnikanth's daughter.
Development
During the production of Rajinikanth’s Shivaji: The Boss, an animated film with Rajinikanth as the animated character was under discussion. Soundarya Rajinikanth also has fame from working in S.J.Surya’s film Anbe Aaruyire a couple years ago. Animation of the film is to be done by a Chennai-based animation studio, along with international specialists. The soundtrack for the film is being composed by A.R.Rehaman. Recently, Soundarya Rajinikanth had traveled to Brazil for working on the animation of the film.
The Movie's new official trailer was released on January 14, 2008. The running time of the trailer is 1 minute 45 seconds.
‘Sultan: The Warrior’ Official Trailer

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Hollywood film ‘My Best Friend's Girl’

My Best Friend's Girl is a 2008 comedy film by Howard Deutch and stars Jason Biggs, Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Alec Baldwin, and Lizzy Caplan.
My Best Friend's Girl: Synopsis
Smart, beautiful and headstrong, Alexis is the girl of Dustin’s dreams. But after only five weeks of dating, the love-struck Dustin is coming on so strong that Alexis is forced to slow things down--permanently. Devastated and desperate to get her back, Dustin turns to his best friend, Tank, the rebound specialist. A master at seducing--and offending--women, Tank gets hired by freshly dumped guys to take their ex-girlfriends out on the worst date of their lives--an experience so horrible it sends them running gratefully back to their beaus. But when Tank works his magic on Alexis, he ends up meeting the challenge of a lifetime. Alexis is the first girl who knows how to call his bluff, and Tank soon finds himself torn between his loyalty to Dustin and a strange new attraction to his best friend's girl.
Lead Cast
Dane Cook as Tank
Kate Hudson as Alexis
Jason Biggs as Dustin
Alec Baldwin as Billy
Lizzy Caplan as Ami
Jenny Mollen as Colleen
Diora Baird as Rachel
Amanda Brooks as Carly
Mini Anden as Lizzy
Production
As of December 19, 2007, the film is currently in post-production and has a set release for September 19, 2008.
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My Best Friend's Girl: Trailer

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Pink Conspiracy: Story and Official Trailer

Dave is convinced that his knockout girlfriend Jamie is cheating on him, despite his best friend Victoria's reassurance that it's all in his head. When his life begins to unravel, Dave's suspicions overwhelm him and he stumbles upon a discovery that turns his world upside down. Dave is shocked to learn that his girlfriend is the leader of a conspiratorial group of ex girlfriends, whose sole purpose is to torment him and ruin his life. Dave soon finds himself tumbling through a series of adventures as he attempts to unveil the truth, all while getting his life back on track. Dave ultimately pieces the puzzle together and finds out the hard way that sometimes-true love is worth fighting for.
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The Pink Conspiracy: Official Trailer