As children we often looked at the sky and gave forms to the clouds and made stories. As
children we spent time with other children playing games and listening to each other. That is
not happening now. Today, children are spending time only with their gadgets. The age of
information technology has captured the minds of children with four screens TV, Computer,
Movie and mobile screens. This has led to overloading of content and suppresses their
imagination, something we parents are aware of but choose to ignore because of other
pressures surrounding adult life.
We need to change that; we need to engage children in an active process of creating original
content that their friends and they will enjoy. So as an experiment a workshop was conducted
with 20 children from both, the privileged and the underprivileged groups where kids were
exposed to traditional oral and visual art forms -folklorists, dancers, puppeteers, animators,
sculptors, painters and on the basis of what majority of the kids were drawn to was selected
as content. Published by Pratham Books supported by drawings made by the children. This
special is available in multiple languages.

PVRINOX Pictures is set to release the highly anticipated psychological horror-
thriller, Heretic in cinema halls this December. Written and directed by acclaimed
filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods – of A Quiet Place fame, the film stars Hugh
Grant as Mr. Reed, alongside Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as Sister Barnes and Sister
Paxton, respectively. Their seemingly routine day of door-to-door preaching takes a chilling
turn when they knock on the wrong door, plunging them into an intense psychological
struggle that unravels over a single harrowing night, challenging the very foundations of their
faith.
 
Hugh Grant takes on a haunting new role, bringing his characteristic charm to a disturbingly
complex Mr. Reed. This character, a departure from Grant’s usual roles. Reflecting on the
film, Grant shares, “I found Heretic to be daring, not just because it questions the unspoken,
but that it is set inside a house and spans over a day with characters talking— hardly normal
practice for a horror film.”

The 15th edition of NH7 Weekender is all set to make their India debut. Co-presented by The
House of McDowell’s Soda, they are all set to perform at the Teerth Fields in Pune, live for
two power-packed shows on December 14 and 15, 2024. This year, the Happiest Music
Festival features a notable lineup of international artists making their India debut comprising
a diverse range of genres and cultural influences, these performers are all set to deliver
memorable experiences! Celebrated artists gearing up to perform in India for the first time
include singer-songwriter Jorja Smith, who has made her mark with popular tracks like On
My Mind, Blue Lights. Then there is Craze, the only solo DJ in history to win the DMC
World DJ Championships trophy three times consecutively and has been proclaimed
by Time Magazine to be “America’s Best DJ.
Third on the list is Asterism, the three-piece instrumental heavy metal band, with trio HAL-
CA, MIYU, and MIO, bring their signature Mass Metal sound to Indian audiences at NH7
Weekender and finally, Oliver Cronin, who has cultivated his own space in modern pop with releases like Halfway to Paradise and Girl Next Door, where authentic storytelling meets
infectious beats

Hisaab Barabar, produced by Jio Studios and SP Cinecorp, will have its world premiere at
the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Directed by Ashwni Dhir, Hisaab
Barabar features Madhavan in the role of Radhe Mohan Sharma, a meticulous railway ticket
checker who discovers a small yet inexplicable discrepancy in his bank account. What starts
as a minor issue soon spirals into a larger investigation, leading him to uncover a massive
financial fraud orchestrated by a powerful banker, Mickey Mehta (Neil Nitin Mukesh). As
Radhe battles against systemic corruption, he also faces the complexities of his own personal
life, realizing that relationships, unlike balance sheets, cannot be fixed with numbers alone.
 
Madhavan shared that “Hisaab Barabar is not just a battle against corruption but confronting
personal flaws as well. a story of moral accountability, and through Radhe’s journey, we
explore the complexities of a common man trying to make sense of a world where justice
often feels out of reach.

This year, Mumbai will get to experience the laugh-out-loud humour of Defending
the Caveman the longest-running solo play in Broadway history. A comedic exploration of
relationships, conflicts in modern-day, the play was unusual in the sense, it had the audience
stumped into silence. “We have adapted the play to suit the Indian sensibilities, that’s why we
were very clear that we will have an Indian Director and an Indian actor” explained Jiten
Bhagat, the show’s Associate Producer in India. Directed by Heeba Shah, the subject
resonates with audiences because it’s rooted in universal experiences. The show has
captivated audiences in over 45 countries and 30 languages. Created by Rob
Becker, Defending the Caveman is about the battle of the sexes.

We Are Faheem & Karun | Onir | India | 81 mins | 2024 | (World Premiere). Karun, a
young security officer from South India, is stationed in Gurez, a remote village in

Kashmir. One day, a charming Kashmiri man named Faheem arrives at the check-post,
but their love is doomed.
Cinema Pe Cinema: The Theatres. The movies. And us. | Vani Subramanian| India, USA
|63 mins | 2024 | (World Premiere). Cinema Pe Cinema meanders through theatres in
small towns and big cities across India and creates a memory cape of women and men
whose lives have been touched by single screen cinemas.
Village Rockstars 2 | Rima Das | India | 106 mins | 2024. In a charming village, a
teenage girl passionately pursues her musical dream, as she embarks on a journey to
rediscover the profound connection between music and life.
Nocturnes | Anirban Dutta & Anupama Srinivasan | India, USA | 83 mins | 2024. In the
vibrant landscapes of India’s forests, ecologist Mansi and her Bugun collaborator Bicki
study moths, inviting audiences to reconsider humanity’s relationship with the natural
world in this immersive film.