Back in Dallas

It's been a while since we've been back. St. Louis's fest was a blast! We had the most amazing theater, 440 seats, where it was practically full, and they actually had an amazing projector so it was screened beautifully. The response was great, and Sachin (our lead), Raza (exec. Producer) , and Nirali (Wardrobe Designer) were all there. 

Here are some pics from a great night!

St. Louis Film Fest

We just arrived today (bright and early) in St. Louis today. The weather is great, and our view of our hotel is beautiful and overlooks the arch. We really lucked out (the first room we got, had a door that was jammed and overlooked nothing), it's amazing what a few kind words can do.

We got to see the venue of our film at the Tivoli theater, which looks to be beautiful. It's playing on Sunday. Sachin Bhatt, our lead actor is in town as well (it's his and Pooja's hometown), so luckily we'll get to see him there. I'll post more pics as they come. 

MIAAC

Just got back from the MIAAC festival, and I had to say, it was incredible. New York is an amazing city, and there were some amazing stars.

The weirdest part was riding alongside Manisha Koirala in a cab, she was very sweet, under the weather, but really kind and friendly. The opening night festivities included a screening of Today's Special, starring Aasif Mandvi. Then there was a gala afterwards which Mansi and I attended. 

There were amazing Indian celebrities present, including Shabana Azmi, Rahul Bose, Sanjay Suri, Deepti Naval, Sarita Choudry, and Mira Nair, to name a few.

Our show was Friday evening, and I was scared no one would show up because we were against the centerpiece screening Tahaan. But luckily we had a great turnout, and people really responded well to the film. And Pooja Kumar, our actress, was able to attend and it was great to see her again.

More Pics

I just got back yesterday from Mumbai. The festival went so great, I'm sad to be back, but excited about the next festival, the MIAAC Festival in New York City which starts tomorrow! Pooja Kumar will be there so it'll be great to see her. I'm posting some more pics from our press conference, along with a picture of Bollywood Beats at the 540 Film Festival that took place in Fayetville Arkansas this last weekend.

Closing Night at the Mumbai Film Fest

Well, yesterday night was the closing ceremony. It was a great event at this posh hotel, the JW Marriot in Juhu. Some great stars turned out, Amitabh Bachan received a lifetime achievement award, so he was there, Preity Zinta, Kunal Kolhi, and many more. It was an interesting event.

Even though we stuffed those ballot boxes with votes for our film, we didn't win the Audience Award unfortunately. But all in all, it was a great fest. We did an amazing Press Conference after the film, where we got to talk with the Press about the film. You can watch the 8 parts in Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcV1p9W9YLE

Mumbai Film Festival Premiere

Well, our show actually happened today, and it went really well. People really seemed to enjoy the film and laughed at the funny parts (and some of the not so funny parts...). Sound was an issue, but I hope it didn't detract too much.

I wasn't sure if people would like the film, but the overwhelming response was good. Lilette Dubey and Sarita Joshi both made it to the festival. It was great to seem them both after a long time. I think they both enjoyed it as well.

Afterwards, we had a press conference that was interesting. Got into some (ahem) interesting discussions about 9-11, Indian actors in the mainstream, and such. I'll be uploading the vids on youtube for that.  But it happened, we showed in India and people enjoyed it!

Lilette told me that this film would definitely do well in the mulitplexes in India, so it gave me some optimism that maybe we can get a release here...

Mumbai Film Festival-Day 5

It's been an interesting festival to say the least. We finally got our badges (yay!) and film festival book today. It was really interesting to see the amount of films they are showing, it's crazy. 

Our film has a press conference arranged for after our screening on Wednesday November 4th at 3:30, so I'll try to post some video from that. I'm getting anxious to see the turnout for the film. Today's film had a pretty good crowd so I'm remaining hopeful it won't just be mine and Mansi's relatives. We'll see..

Then we went to a party at the Sun N Sands, where we'll be staying for the next few days. We met a couple of the film directors in our categories, including the Producer of Today's Special, Nimitt Mankand, who actually said he heard good things about our film, which was really nice to hear. We also met Mitsein director, Aparna, who was very kind and bubbly. All in all, a great day at the fest! (Especially since we got our badges-yay!)

Opening Night Festivities for the Mumbai International Film Festival

Well, Opening Night was yesterday. We arrived early to try to secure our badges (which we still haven't gotten, and probably won't till the last day of the fest ;) but were shocked to see the stars that turned out. 

We got to see Karan Johar, Shabana Azmi, Yash Chopra Neil Nitin Mu

kesh, Farhan Akhtar and Rani Mukherjee. It was a pretty cool opening ceremony. They had a tribute to Yash Chopra and Shashi Kapoor, both legends. As soon as that was over though, most people left and didn't watch the opening night                                                                                         film, which was kinda funny.

 

Mansi and I stayed for the Informant, directed by Steven Soderberg. It was definitely interesting, a bit different from what I was thinking it would be. I was wondering if Indian audiences would get the humor, but I did hear a few chuckles. I'm a little a

nxious to see if they'll get any of the jokes in Bollywood Beats. We'll just have to wait and see!

It was cool to see that a lot of Bollywood showed up to the fest, I think it'll just be for the opening and closing night films. 

Made it to India!

Well we made it to India last Thursday! It's been an interesting experience so far. The plane ride was relaxing, at least the second leg, since Mansi and I both got upgraded (thanks Anil!). 

So far, the fest hasn't begun, but there is an insane amount of movies they are showing. The Informant, by Steven Soderberg opens the fest, which I haven't seen, and am looking forward to seeing. 

We're still waiting on getting our passes, but our show is November 4th at 3:30 pm at the Andheri Fun Cinemas theaters. Our lovely leading ladies, Lilette Dubey ("Monsoon Wedding", "Kal Ho Na Ho") and Sarita Joshi ("Baa Bahu Aur Baby") are both coming. Sarita aunty has seen the film and loved it, but I'm kinda nervous to see what Lilette will think.... hmm...

Anyhoo, I'll post more pics from the fest as we get into it. 

Leaving for India to attend the Mumbai Film Fest Today!

Well, the day has finally come! Off to Mumbai, the heart of Bollywood cinema for the Mumbai film festival! The last few weeks have been dizzying trying to get all the copies made for the various film festivals sent before I leave. For some reason, DHL has my freaking copy of the film stuck in Mumbai customs for the last 4 days, so I'm gonna have to figure that out when I land. 

We're also going to be doing some audio mixing work over there, and I can't wait to be able to relax for a few days before the fest starts. I'll post some pics and vids as they come. It'll be great to see both my beautiful leading ladies, Sarita Joshi, and Lilette Dubey again. I can't believe it's been 2 years!!

 

Bollywood Beats hits the Film Festival Circuit

THE BLOG

Hello World. This is my first post after the completion of the film. I can't believe my first and only post was done in 2006 and we are now complete and going to film festivals with the film!

Bollywood Beats was shot in Dallas and stars Sachin Bhatt (Bombay Dreams, The Ode), Lilette Dubey (Monsoon Wedding, Kal Ho Na Ho), Pooja Kumar (Bollywood Hero, Flavors), Sarita Joshi (Baa Bahu Aur Baby, the Guru), Mansi Patel (Pyar Ke Side Effects), and me. It's an extremely fun and light hearted film that really got audiences laughing when we premiered it at AFI Dallas 2009.

It's been a long journey from the film, from raising money, to casting, to actually shooting (which we did in 24 days), post production, and more. This film has had some major ups and downs, but I can't believe the kindness of people who just believed in the film 

enough to help make it happen. 

We're so excited that we have 4 festivals coming up where Bollywood Beats has been accepted. Our first festival is the Mumbai Film Festival that runs from October 29-November 5 (http://www.mumbaifilmfest.com). Then we go to Fayetville Arkansas for the 504 Film Festival from November 5-8, then NYC for the MIAAC Film Fest from November 11-15, and the St. Louis International Film Festival from Oct 12-22. 

     Oct 29- Nov 5th, 2009 (screening Date not announced)

          November 6-8, 2009 (screening Date not announced)

          Nov 13 (6 pm @ Quad Theater)

         November 22, 2009

I'll be adding pictures and info about this as we go. So check back and see us travel the globe with this great film. I really do hope it take us places.