Comments on: English, August DVD update

By: Abhinav

Abhinav — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:19:08 +0000

Hi Dev,

IT’s middle of january 2007, give us the good news. when is English August dvd is finally coming out.

I remember some glimse of it long time back. need to refresh

Cheers !

By: Chirantan

Chirantan — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:28:53 +0000

Well, Sept’06 has long been history………any updates please……..

By: sreya

sreya — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:45:21 +0000

wow! this is great I loved the film way back in the 1990s (when i was still trudging through school and as usual, life seemed all about existential angst) Just wondering if the DVD has been released. Also, any plans of releasing ‘Split Wide Open’ on DVD? That would be great,

Cheers!

By: Pushpa

Pushpa — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 02:39:07 +0000

Any updates on when the DVD may become available? Also will it be released simultaneously in India and the US, or will we have to wait 18 years for it to reach these shores?

Cheers!

By: Manik Grover

Manik Grover — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 04:59:18 +0000

Hi Dev,

Waiting for updates …

~Manik

By: susheel

susheel — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:51:39 +0000

september’s come and gone..

By: Jadish

Jadish — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:54:52 +0000

Hi Dev,

This is the first time August is coming after September, Guess this because its “English August” DVD… eagerly waiting to hear the release date…

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 00:37:23 +0000

Hello Dev,

Looking for to the release of English, August and Split Wide Open. What’s the latest on the release. Thanks

Cynthia

By: Ranjit

Ranjit — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:03:06 +0000

Hey Dev,

I am big fan of both the book and the movie. Its the end of August and I eagerly await the release in September. Are you thinking of filming any more of Upamanyu Chatterjee’s work?

Ranjit

By: rachna

rachna — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:59:14 +0000

hi dev..guess patience is running out as dvd is nearing preparation.pls do update as soon as its ready for release..n all the best for ur venture on mammaries..hope it turns out to be exactly wat u want..good luck

By: tapan

tapan — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 11:07:13 +0000

Dev,
Just stumbled upon your blog after a long search session for English, August DVDs…
Can’t wait till September to get my hands on a copy of this movie. It is one of my all time favourites… and I have hunted like crazy for a copy of this for the last god knows how many years. Last saw it on Star Movies a good 8 years ago or so.

I remember seeing it in Eros when it was released, and to your credit, we could not heckle the movie even once We watched it with absolute reverence, and left the theater with a huge grin on our faces, which lasted for a couple of days. Probably the first Indian movie in English which I remember seeing.

Good luck with Mammaries of the welfare state!

By: Dev Benegal

Dev Benegal — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:40:01 +0000

Yes Virginia,

The previous post mentions the release of the book in the US 18 years after it was published. The DVD of English, August will be available Fall 2006.

By: Virginia K

Virginia K — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 07:26:46 +0000

Dear Dev Benegal

First — I hope you know that English, August has just been published in the US in English and was reviewed in the Sunday New York Times today.

I wonder if there is any way this would present an opportunity for you to get your movie shown here (I am in New York), in theatres or on television. I will not be suprised if the book takes off and does well here.

Second – I have tried from time to time to find a way to see that movie but so far failed. I saw Split Wide Open at a film festival (Indian Diaspora in NY) some years ago and it made a big impression on me.

I am a non-South Asian fan of Indian films.

Anyhow – thanks for Split Wide Open and I hope to be able to find your work again soon.

Best wishes, Virginia Kelley NY, NY

By: Dev Benegal

Dev Benegal — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 01:29:30 +0000

Hey everyone, I’m as impatient as you are. Satheesh PM the sound engineer has finally completed the mix on English, August and is giving the DVD team a PAL and NTSC master. So watch out for both formats which will be region free.

I’m also looking at making this film available for digital download as well.

So what’s the date? I should imagine September and no later.

By: Jagdish

Jagdish — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 09:01:34 +0000

Hi Dev,

There are enough messages asking for the release of “English August” on DVD… have been eagerly waiting for mid of 2006, its June now and hope things are running on time at the lab…. hopefully you guys have some idea for the release date by now, please keep us updated… And also waiting for future great works.
cheers, Jagdish

By: jake

jake — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 08:14:33 +0000

G�day Dev
great that your doing this blog.
Just got back from india & tried in vain to find both your movies on DVD, having seen them their on screen years ago.
�English August� was the brilliant start but �split wide open� was,for me, a revelation in indian cinema.(Also Mr Bose IS good when he�s on form;ie being properly directed!!).
It had important themes,working on many levels (like ‘salam bombay’-the abandond child within us all), enabling urban india to look at itself, shot in a gritty, sharp contemporary way. (�page three�, a weak movie, nicked one of the themes, no? …)
I saw it in a multi-plex in vasant vihar & noticed the strong audiance reaction.Brilliant.
Having enjoyed �bandit queen� & a few others plus all those made by the 2 brilliant ladies from canada, it gave me hope for a new wave of non bollywood cinema.
(B’wd not realy the art & craft of cinematography to my mind.Or maybe just a different one, particular to a given set of culturaly restrictive socio/economic circumstances??Still crap though.).
Shame we�ve had to wait so long for both your next project & the dvd releases.
As i�m sure you�re aware there are many great english lang books coming out of india now.
But did you ever come across �river of gods� by ian mcdonald? It struck me as asking to be made into a kind of indian �blade runner�, but also has a an obvious take on present day india within it.Anyway just a rambling thought.( sos cant help with ��$$ as i’m a mere civilian)
Whatever does come next is eagerly awaited.
Any films out at the moment that you would recomend?
’15 pk ave’ was gd but not the ending.Magical realism was out of place.’Ek din 24…’& ‘chamali’ were both , dont wanna be rude here, but they both seemed loose & unfinished.Or did it all get lost in translation-subtitles?.
Unfortunatly I missed �Being Cyrus� on screen. Any pointers? They dont have to be in english.
Give us a shout when the DVD�s happen & how to order from the UK.
Good luck for the future
Cheers jake

By: Pushpa

Pushpa — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:52:07 +0000

Hi Dev:
Waiting eagerly for the DVD realease. Any further news as to when that may happen?

By: Dev Benegal

Dev Benegal — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 05:03:49 +0000

Umesh,
I’m waiting too! It’s all in the hands of my itinerant sound designer P.M. Satheesh who promises he will have it ready my mid 2006. The cover artwork, the image masters and everything else is ready to go!
dev

By: Umesh Phadke

Umesh Phadke — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 15:58:43 +0000

Hi Dev,

A group of friends is waiting desperately for the release of the DVD. How can we get to know as soon as its out? Once its released, we plan to watch it together. That will be one helluva experience.

Umesh

By: kunsjoi

kunsjoi — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 09:57:33 +0000

yeah!!! Eagerly awaiting the DVD release!!! Kudos to u all!!

By: Maria-Saeeda Sartaj

Maria-Saeeda Sartaj — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 14:06:01 +0000

Hi Dev,

I can’t lie that I have seen your films but I am aware of their existence. I am aware of the texture of your body of work ; also the under production film incorporating Ravan sounds intriguing to say the least.

Tell me Dev, it must be hard making films of a different mould, especially since people are so uniformly conditioned in their understanding of cinema. Are you working on something currently? writing something?

And I must thank you for directing me to http://www.emotionaltoolbox.com through your site. I am a budding filmmaker/writer as well and must say the techniques she was asking to subscribe to will only but enhance characters. I was in India this past year, travelling, exploring and eating all the yummy delights. I stopped by Mumbai to see if I could work alongside /under a good film director and am planning of returning back to India next year hopefully. I want to write films that defy the mould yet keep the commercial aspect in tact. India is sooo culturally vast and the south asian plane itself has an abundance of stories that are hardly explored and vastly ignored for the sake of glamour.

Oops gotta run, sorry
Maria