NARGIS: THE LEGENDARY ACTRESS!

Nargis definitely was one of the gifted actresses of Hindi cinema. She was introduced into the world of cinema by her mother Jaddanbai, who was a classical singer and courtesan, to stop her from becoming a courtesan too.

She has acted in several critically acclaimed films with the celebrated actors Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. A few of those films are Deedar, Barsaat, Awaara and Andaz. Mother India stands out as her best movie in her career, which span through the ’40s to ’60s. For this film, she received the best actress award in Filmfare awards.

Meet India’s first female film director!

Fatima Begum directed ‘Bulbul-e-Paristan’, the first Indian film to be ever by directed a woman. The movie was a big-budget fantasy film with special effects set in a Parastan or fairyland. Meet Fatima Begum, India’s first female film director.

Fatima began her career on the Urdu stage and debuted in the silent film, ‘Veer Abhimanyu’ that came out in 1922. In 1926, she came up with Fatima Films which later came to be known as Victoria-Fatima Films in 1928. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatima Films.



Fatima continued acting till her last film in 1938, ‘Duniya Kya Hai?’. She died at the age of ninety-one but her legacy was carried on by her legendary actress of a daughter, Zubeida, who besides being a silent film star, acted in India's first ever talkie, ‘Alam Ara’.

Meet India’s first female film director!

Fatima Begum directed ‘Bulbul-e-Paristan’, the first Indian film to be ever by directed a woman. The movie was a big-budget fantasy film with special effects set in a Parastan or fairyland. Meet Fatima Begum, India’s first female film director.



Fatima began her career on the Urdu stage and debuted in the silent film, ‘Veer Abhimanyu’ that came out in 1922. In 1926, she came up with Fatima Films which later came to be known as Victoria-Fatima Films in 1928. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatima Films.

Fatima continued acting till her last film in 1938, ‘Duniya Kya Hai?’. She died at the age of ninety-one but her legacy was carried on by her legendary actress of a daughter, Zubeida, who besides being a silent film star, acted in India's first ever talkie, ‘Alam Ara’.

Master Class with David Freeman - Schedule

Hey guys check out the Schedule for the Master Class “Beyond Structure” by David Freeman

Schedule for both days is as below:

Day 1 – March 26th 2011

Create Riveting, 3-Dimensional Characters
* 10 techniques for crafting unique, psychologically complex characters
* 28 kinds of character growth for your hero
* 32 ways to make lead characters likable without making them bland
* Create characters who aren't copies of those in movies or books
* 35 types of quirks and eccentricities for a character
* 20 techniques for giving a character depth
* 11 ways to show character development in stages
* Techniques to create interesting villains

Write Luminous Dialogue
* How to give each character their own distinctive "voice"
* 5 ways to capture a character's dimensionality in dialogue
* 14 techniques for written dialogue to capture the sound of speech
* 4 ways to inject depth or 'subtext' into dialogue

Advanced Dialogue Techniques
* The Ultimate Dialogue Challenge:
6 techniques for revealing ambivalence in dialogue.



Day 2 - March 27th 2011

Invent Great Premises
* 8 techniques for coming up with fresh story ideas
* 11 ways of modifying ideas to develop radically alternative story-lines.

Develop these premises into Imaginative Plots
* 46 types of plot twists
* 28 possible objectives for your hero
* Techniques for using character's emotional growth to shape the plot
* Techniques for using the plot to shape character emotional growth
* 8 additional ways to relate character's growth to the plot
* The most efficient way to brainstorm a story from beginning to end.

Create Memorable Scenes
* "Scene Sculpting" -- 25 ways to make scenes interesting and emotionally layered.

The Marketplace
* The stories Hollywood likes & dislikes in film, cable and network movies-of-the-week.
* Learn the art of pitching from classroom demonstrations.

For enquiries email shortcourseunit@whistlingwoods.net or call +91 22 30916002  / +91 22 30916003  / +91 22 30916000.

Last day for registration is March 18, 2011 at Whistling Woods International.

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Screenwriting and development Master Class in Los Angeles, New York and London comes to Mumbai –“Beyond Structure“ by David Freeman

David doesn’t teach formulas. Instead, he offers over 200 specific techniques to make your characters, dialogue, plots and scenes both unforgettable and emotionally rich. Many top writers, directors, and important Hollywood and British film and television executives have studied with him.



What’s your preference –– Bollywood Films? Smaller, more personal works? Animation? American style films? Television series? Or are you just starting out?

For all of these, this class will change the way you write, direct, develop, or act in films or television.

David Freeman is a screenwriter who has sold scripts to numerous Hollywood studios, and he’s an international screenwriting and development teacher. He attracts large audiences wherever he speaks. Last year he conducted workshops in over 10 countries!
Here’s the reason David’s classes are so popular:

Many top writers, directors, and important Hollywood and British film and television executives have studied with him. To get an idea of what David means by “writing and development techniques,” look under “Articles” on the Navigation Bar on the left side of the page, and read any of the articles.

A good one to start off with is “How to Write an Unforgettable Scene”. David teaches with clarity, passion, warmth, and humor. He works hard to make sure you master all the techniques he’ll be presenting.

Venue: Pelicula Auditorium at Whistling Woods International.

Address: Film City Complex, Goregaon (East), Mumbai 400065.

Dates: Sat. & Sun., March 26th & 27th.2011

Time: 9:30am – 7:30pm both days

Price: 4,995 rupees (Just 1/4th the price of the class when it’s held in Los Angeles or London!) [Price includes lunch.]

For enquiries email shortcourseunit@whistlingwoods.net or call +91 22 30916002/ +91 22 30916003/ +91 22 30916000.

Last day for registration March 18,2011 at Whistling Woods International.

Why people love to watch films?

[caption id="attachment_404" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="A movie still from Academy Award Winning movie (1989) 'Cinema Paradiso'"][/caption]

The answer is beautifully summarized by Academy Award winner actor Jack Nicholson, in one of his speech during Oscar award ceremony, “… they entertain us; they offer hopes (and) give traumas; they take us places, we never been, just even for few moments; they can take us away, when we want to get away; Movies inspire us; they challenge us and despite our differences, they are (the) common link to humanity, in all of us.”

Do you agree?