Movie action cranks up
While the high schools cranked up the action in the Bollywood High Schools Dance Competition on Saturday night, the Mandali team was pumping it up, too.
Yes, the Pump Up The Mandali movie scenes were also shot during the dance competition at the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland.
Pump Up The Mandali is the first feature length Bollywood movie being made in New Zealand using the Fiji Hindi language. The makers, Mirchee TV, have been working on the movie since May with shoots involving Fiji, Auckland and Napier locations.
Saturday’s high school musical extravaganza provided the makers of the movie the opportunity to film crowd scenes and also scenes where the winners of a singing contest are announced.
During the dance competition intervals, the crowd was asked to provide standing ovation action, and also lots of boos. According to the movie’s storyline, Team Australia and Team Fiji performances were also filmed on stage.
Heading the cast of the movie are Leonard Kumar, Azhar Adams, Bhushan Mishra, Sarvesh Kumar and Auckland beauties Bali Virk and Neha Jaura.
Pump Up the Mandali is the story of four poor boys from a Fijian village struggle to reconcile with their lives after floods devastate their village and their music hall, ending their dreams of becoming professional musicians.
They win a radio contest in Fiji to enter an international music and dance competition in Auckland, New Zealand. But their joys are shortlived - they have no money to buy flight tickets nor accommodation. Through begging, borrowing and betting; and with some help from unexpected village sources, they embark on their dream trip to Auckland.
In Auckland, they are accommodated with the help of some friends. They interact with two professional Indian girls who happen to be their flat mates.
They manage to win the semi-finals by a narrow margin. But the audience is not impressed by their village ragas and flavour; the other team from New Zealand, which dance and sing to a more modern music beat, is hot favourite.
The boys are dejected and fearing ridicule and shame, they decide to give up and quietly return to their village. As they prepare to leave, they are accosted by their two flatmates (Bali and Neha) who motivate them to face up to the challenge. They are convinced and decide to stay on and fight.
After a radical make-over to their appearance and music style created by the girls with help of a music teacher, a fifth mandali mate unexpectedly joins them. They are shocked when they are assaulted by the goons supporting opposition team and even implicated in possession of drugs. With the help of friends, neighbours and police, they manage to enter the final showdown.
The movie is scheduled to be released in October.
While the high schools cranked up the action in the Bollywood High Schools Dance Competition on Saturday night, the Mandali team was pumping it up, too.
Yes, the Pump Up The Mandali movie scenes were also shot during the dance competition at the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland.
Pump Up The Mandali
While the high schools cranked up the action in the Bollywood High Schools Dance Competition on Saturday night, the Mandali team was pumping it up, too.
Yes, the Pump Up The Mandali movie scenes were also shot during the dance competition at the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland.
Pump Up The Mandali is the first feature length Bollywood movie being made in New Zealand using the Fiji Hindi language. The makers, Mirchee TV, have been working on the movie since May with shoots involving Fiji, Auckland and Napier locations.
Saturday’s high school musical extravaganza provided the makers of the movie the opportunity to film crowd scenes and also scenes where the winners of a singing contest are announced.
During the dance competition intervals, the crowd was asked to provide standing ovation action, and also lots of boos. According to the movie’s storyline, Team Australia and Team Fiji performances were also filmed on stage.
Heading the cast of the movie are Leonard Kumar, Azhar Adams, Bhushan Mishra, Sarvesh Kumar and Auckland beauties Bali Virk and Neha Jaura.
Pump Up the Mandali is the story of four poor boys from a Fijian village struggle to reconcile with their lives after floods devastate their village and their music hall, ending their dreams of becoming professional musicians.
They win a radio contest in Fiji to enter an international music and dance competition in Auckland, New Zealand. But their joys are shortlived - they have no money to buy flight tickets nor accommodation. Through begging, borrowing and betting; and with some help from unexpected village sources, they embark on their dream trip to Auckland.
In Auckland, they are accommodated with the help of some friends. They interact with two professional Indian girls who happen to be their flat mates.
They manage to win the semi-finals by a narrow margin. But the audience is not impressed by their village ragas and flavour; the other team from New Zealand, which dance and sing to a more modern music beat, is hot favourite.
The boys are dejected and fearing ridicule and shame, they decide to give up and quietly return to their village. As they prepare to leave, they are accosted by their two flatmates (Bali and Neha) who motivate them to face up to the challenge. They are convinced and decide to stay on and fight.
After a radical make-over to their appearance and music style created by the girls with help of a music teacher, a fifth mandali mate unexpectedly joins them. They are shocked when they are assaulted by the goons supporting opposition team and even implicated in possession of drugs. With the help of friends, neighbours and police, they manage to enter the final showdown.
The movie is scheduled to be released in October.
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