Parvez Damania gets into movie production

Mumbai, Feb 6 (IANS) Former Indian aviation baron Parvez Damania has entered movie production and floated his own banner, One More Thought Entertainment. The first production, a Marathi film called 'Tingya', has already fetched critical acclaim.

Apart from the medium-budget 'Tingya', he has planned nine movies with nine different directors.

Though not a commercial movie, 'Tingya' has won several awards, including the Best Actor award for Sharad Goekar for his title role in the recently concluded Pune Film Festival.

The movie tells of an emotional bonding between a boy, Tingya, and a bull. The movie inquires through Tingya's innocence the validity of existence.

Without resorting to needless frills to make the movie attractive, debutant director Magesh Hadawale sticks to simple narrative and succeeds in sending his message across.

The international jury of the Pune festival also adjudged it as the Best International Marathi Film. The movie, produced by Ravi Rai for the Damania banner, has been selected for this year's Asian Film Festival to be held in November.

'Tingya' was also shown at the Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India 2007.

It has been nominated in four different categories for the forthcoming Alpha Gaurav Puraskar presented annually to the best Marathi movies by a Marathi television channel.

Thrilled at receiving national and international recognition for 'Tingya', Damania told IANS: 'Azam Khan, Ravi Rai and I are thrilled at the appreciation our first movie has earned. Our aim is not just to produce commercial movies but also contribute to meaningful cinema.'

But not all the nine movies he is launching will be 'meaningful'. 'Of course, some of them will be entertainers, but those would be packaged nicely,' he said.