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18-yr-old records 4-hr-long love ballad
No big Hindi film release on Diwali
Diwali sparks off sleaze bonanza
I have their respect but I also have that chaap: Mira
Bollywood puts money on Lagaan, says Oscar no formality this time
Controversial Tamil film gets Censor nod
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18-yr-old records 4-hr-long love ballad
MUMBAI: A young musician is recording a more than four-hour-long song based
on the romance of a Hindu warrior king and his Muslim wife, a beautiful
dancer.
Musician L. Anand has studied the history books to compose the 300-verse
song which is being recorded by 15 singers and 10 musicians in an Indian and
western classical music fusion.
"I chose the Bajirao-Mastani's love story because it has so many
moods--love, happiness, sadness, anger, moments of war and triumph," Anand,
18, said.
Historians say the handsome Bajirao fell in love with Mastani, an
illegitimate daughter of an old ruler in central India. She became his
second wife against stiff opposition from his princely upper-caste orthodox
Hindu family.
The king died when he was 40 years old having spent 20 years of his life on
the battlefield.
Anand, who began his training in western and Indian classical music at the
age of four and has ambitions of becoming a Bollywood music composer,
started recording his latest composition in September.
Five years ago, he composed 110 songs that were a mix of nursery rhymes and
romantic numbers.
"Half of my composition is about their love story. I have included parts of
the king's subjects refusing to accept Mastani as Bajirao's wife. They said
she was only a courtesan," he said.
Anand, who expects to complete the recording this month, would like to stage
an opera of his composition and hopes that a producer would be interested in
turning it into a Hindi film.
Top
No big Hindi film release on Diwali
The calendar seems to be playing the spoilsport for Mumbai's tinsel town
this year. This year, Diwali, the high-decibel season which traditionally
witnesses the release of the year's biggest and best projects - clashes with
Ramzan, the month of abstinence for Muslims.
Hence, for the first time since 1991, there will be no big budget releases
this Diwali. Karan Johar's much-hyped Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, starring
Hritik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh and Jaya
Bachchan, which was slated for a Diwali release, will now hit the silver
screen around Christmas. Diwali will only see the release of four average
budget films, Deewanapan starring model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal and beauty
queen Diya Mirza, Ajay Devgan-Sonali Bendre-starrer Tera Mera Saath Rahein,
Kamal Hasan's Abhay and Tanuja Chandra's Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar.
''The excitement and fireworks which generally accompany a big-banner
release is certainly missing this Diwali,'' confirms trade analyst Komal
Nahata.
According to him, the trend of big budget films being released during Diwali
started with Feroz Khan's Yalgaar and Ajay Devgan-starrer Jigar in 1991.
''Both these films were huge money grossers. Then, the overwhelming success
of Shah Rukh Khan's first anti-hero film Baazigar the next year started the
trend of Diwali releases. The trend received a fillip with the success of
other Diwali releases: Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Aditya
Chopra's Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Dharmesh Darshan's Raja
Hindustani (1996), Yash Chopra's Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Karan Johar's Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), Mohabbatein and Mission
Kashmir (2000),'' an industry source added.
A lacklusture Diwali (no major releases) this year will only add to
Bollywood's overflowing cup of woes. The industry is facing its worst
financial crisis with only three all-India hits this year - Aamir Khan's
Lagaan, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha and Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai.
Top
Diwali sparks off sleaze bonanza
The titles are more entertaining than the films. In the next few
weeks, cinema halls across the country will get a clutch of new
releases with names like, Ghar Mein Ho Saali To Poora Saal Diwali,
Chandni Bani Chudail, Shaadi Basanti Ki Honeymoon Gabbar Ka and so on.
They're what you get when you scrape Bollywood's bottom. And there's a
reason why so many are releasing now. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta,
"Pre-Diwali is a bad time to release big films. People are too (busy)
with festival shopping and renovating their homes to spend money on
movies."
The vacuum is filled by C-grade stuff made on G-string budgets. Says
Krishan Shah, a veteran of 15 such films, "They cost about nine or ten
lakh and are completed in as many days." They're usually dacoit
dramas, horror films, and sex comedies, covering what Shah coyly
refers to as "social subjects". Stars are paid as little as Rs 3,000
or Rs 5,000 ($100) - and in a change from the Bollywood norm, the
heroines get more. The reigning queens of sleaze are Sapna, Satnam,
and Durgesh Nandini.
Since the films cost so little, they are sold to distributors for
peanuts (Rs 2-3 lakh) $4k, and the recovery of the investment is
easier too. Says Ved Tyagi, another veteran, "Do-teen peti (read lakh)
to ban hi jaata hai." Tyagi's most recent offering was Biwi Naram
Padosan Garam, which the censors forced him to change to Biwi Aur
Padosan.
But those in the C-grade film business have learnt to work around the
censors where it matters most: in the cinema halls. Once a film is
released, scenes cut by the censors - the semi-pornographic 'masala' -
make their way back to shady theatres. Sure, it's a bit risky, but
what business doesn't have risks?
In fact, Sleazewood's film-makers are always gambling - on Bollywood's
failure. That's when they get larger audiences. So when Yaadein flops,
you can be sure that the producers of Tamboo mein Bamboo are laughing
all the way to the bank. With more than a peti or two tucked under
their arm.
Top
I have their respect but I also have that chaap: Mira
Having won the coveted Golden Lion trophy at the Venice Film Festival, and
rave reviews at Toronto and across the globe, filmmaker Mira Nair gets ready
to unveil her latest film, Monsoon Wedding to Indian audiences next month.
The celebrated director of such acclaimed films as Salaam Bombay,
Mississippi Masala, The Perez Family and Kama Sutra is currently in Mumbai
to tie up business deals with local distributors.
Recently she wrapped up production on her latest venture, an HBO film called
Hysterical Blindness starring Hollywood heavyweights Uma Thurman and Gena
Rowlands, and has been deluged by offers from Hollywood studios since.
As the Oscar buzz surrounding Monsoon Wedding gets stronger, Nair also tries
to distance herself from all the hype and hoopla. Excerpts from an interview
with RAJEEV MASAND:
In 1988, your Salaam Bombay was nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Foreign Language Film, and now there's a buzz around Monsoon Wedding as
well.
I try not to think of the fruits of the action while I'm working. I don't
make the film for an Oscar. I support it certainly, but I don't sit around
thinking about it. Because, let's face it, an Oscar is not just the result
of a worthy film, but the result of a very serious, orchestrated, millions
of dollars-styled campaign.
And it just so happens that USA Films bought Monsoon Wedding in Cannes for
winning India's first Oscar because they saw the potential. And since every
studio needs an Oscar, they decide that this is the horse they will bet on.
They are extremely confident about this film, but they have to have a
nomination from the Film Federation of India in order to get the horse to
run. So the Chairman of USA Films is waiting to hear from the Film
Federation.
But his belief is - and generally the belief in the Academy is - that any
other film from India, no matter how worthy, is a wasted vote because
Monsoon Wedding has the campaign, the presence and the pure euphoria that it
takes.
Does all of this put a lot of pressure on you?
No, because I've made the film. And the film is the pressure. The film is
the focus of my energy. And I'm pleased with the film because it's captured
the masti that I wanted. I'm sort of passionate about the whole thing, but
I'm also quite detached.
Have you checked out the competition?
I know the competition. In India it's Lagaan, and it's a lovely film. But
the trouble is, it has no presence in America. In any case, I don't think
it's right for me to speak on other films. I'm really not into that.
Following the festival success of Monsoon Wedding, you've been offered a
bunch of scripts from the big Hollywood studios. Are you going to miss the
entire guerrilla filmmaking approach that most of your previous films
required, now that you move into the big studio-picture circuit?
I am interested in the Hollywood big boys, but it depends on the right
material and the right context. Two of the six offers are very good scripts,
but you know I'm so much an independent by nature that I'm currently in the
struggle between going for a bigger landscape, or should I create my own
world.
How do they perceive you internationally? As an Indian filmmaker who makes
these quirky movies about a culture she's firmly rooted in, or as a talented
filmmaker who has the potential to make big blockbusters given the
opportunity?
(Dismissively)...I'm the flavour of the moment, yaar. I know they respect my
work but basically they're coming now to me because they've seen Monsoon
Wedding, they know my pedigree - which they wouldn't probably have trusted
before, but I've got a good pedigree, I went to Harvard and I've got that
chaap - and now they've got their a...s covered. They probably think:
''She's from somewhere else, but she makes these really unique films that
never lose money, and sometimes even make money, and often win some
prestigious award.'' But with Monsoon Wedding, they've sort of experienced
an ineffable joy, and they know that everybody else is feeling that way -
and that's big bucks for them. I'm interested, but I'm not overwhelmed by
all the sudden, overnight attention.
What about all the hype and success. We're talking about a possible Oscar
nomination, not to forget your Golden Lion from Venice...
But women are different from men. I have a multi-world, I'm not just a
director and producer. I love my life, I love that I have all these
relationships. I want to be able to enjoy that. These things will come and
go.
You've said you would like to do the big Bollywood spectacle. Would you
really?
I watch some good Bollywood films. I last saw Dil Chahta Hai and I loved it,
I think it was full of energy. Among the Indian stars who interest me are
Madhuri Dixit, and definitely Preity Zinta, who I like very much. Of the
men, Aamir (Khan) is always very serious about what he does, and Hrithik
Roshan had a great presence in his first film. I'm really thinking about
doing a Bollywood film. Now too many people are pressuring me to do it, so I
just might. We have a pretty good idea that we're working on right now.
Why do you think films like Monsoon Wedding and Lagaan are generating such
international interest?
Well, the first big commercial release given to an Indian movie was Salaam
Bombay, which made some $25 million across the world. Now, of course, it's a
different time in the world. For one, it's a more globalised world. But we
also have to recognise that Bollywood cinema, as we know it, has been seen
by half the world, but a different part of the world - not the world that
controls the media and the world that will make an event out of Monsoon
Wedding, but the world that sees Monsoon Wedding and makes an event out of
it - like Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Also, and I can't speak for Lagaan here, what has worked with a film like
Monsoon Wedding is the fact that everybody who comes to see the film from
any part of the world can associate himself with it and embrace it as his
own story.
And finally, where do you keep the Golden Lion you won at Venice?
It's in New York. I was thinking of bringing it with me, but it's heavy. And
of course, I was sure security would suspect that I'm bringing anthrax into
the country...(laughs).
Top
Bollywood puts money on Lagaan, says Oscar no formality this time
With Lagaan being declared as India's official entry to the Academy Awards
in 2002, Aamir Khan joins that rare breed of actors which has more than one
film voted to the Oscars to his credit. In 1999, the actor's Deepa
Mehta-directed 1947: Earth was shortlisted for the same honour.
But even as star-producer Khan and director Ashutosh Gowarikar celebrate the
honour, it is interesting to note that this is probably the first time ever
that so much attention has been given to an annual formality. For the last
few weeks now, speculation has been rife in Bollywood as to which of the 10
shortlisted films (Lagaan, Asoka, Monsoon Wedding, Aks, Ek Rishtaa,
Bariwali, Pandavan Bhumi, Bhawandar, Zubeidaa and Gadar) would be ultimately
picked by a jury from the Film Federation of India to represent the country
at what is easily the most anticipated awards ceremony in the world.
''I think that this year we feel somewhere that we do stand a chance,'' says
lyricist/script-writer Javed Akhtar explaining why there has been so much
excitement over the issue this year. ''Also, of late mainstream Indian
cinema has received a lot of respectability and attention from the West,''
he adds.
Film-maker Govind Nihalani has a similar explanation to offer. ''Perhaps it
has been a long time since we have been served a batch of good films in such
quick succession,'' he says. ''And of course it has a lot to do with the
hype, popularity, interest and success that these movies have generated the
world over,'' he hastens to mention.
Retired film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, however, can always be relied upon to
provide the contrary opinion. ''We start drooling at the very mention of the
Oscars, when actually the time has come for India to stand up and reject any
kind of patronising attitude from the West.''
Bhatt believes that the media's recent ''interest'' in the Oscar nomination
''is almost like a conspiracy to sell the Oscars to India.'' He reveals that
years ago when his own film, Saaransh was nominated to the Oscars, ''I
didn't give a damn.'' He insists that ''I reject that Mecca, that altar
which every Indian wants to sit on, but one which betrays Indians.''
Bhatt accurately guesses that ''I'm probably in a minority here'', but
insists that this is his firm opinion.
Akhtar, meanwhile says he couldn't be more happier that the film chosen
turned out to be Lagaan. ''It's a true representative of mainstream Indian
cinema,'' he says of Khan's sweeping saga. ''In our Indian movies, our basic
structure of drama is very different, and we use song and dance in a very
indigenous way. Lagaan is both interesting and contemporary,'' he believes.
Nihalani explains that Lagaan is the kind of film that makes Indian people
feel proud of their movie-making industry. ''Even a film like Monsoon
Wedding gives us a tremendous sense of pride,'' he adds.
The Lagaan team, meanwhile, are getting ready to launch a campaign
worldwide, which they hope will give their film the much-needed awareness to
make it to the final Oscar selection. Apart from re-releasing the film
across the globe (this time by Columbia Pictures in all parts of the world
where there is potential for interesting, independent foreign-language
movies, after a disappointing release strategy by Sony Entertainment
Television which targeted mostly Hindi-speaking nations and pockets where
Indians resided), the film-makers intend to submit their film for
consideration at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the BAFTAs in London,
the Golden Globes in the United States and the Caesars in France.
Top
Controversial Tamil film gets Censor nod
CHENNAI: Kaatrukkenna Vaeli a Tamil film mired in controversy, was granted
the censor certificate on November 2 after its 18-month long struggle.
Stating this at a press meet here on Saturday, the film's director,
Pugazhendhi Thangaraj, said the picture was likely to be released on Diwali
eve.
Criticisng the Censor Board for its ''unnecessary'' restrictions he said the
certificate was issued following the orders of the Madras High Court on
August 27 last. The film was shot in a short span of 18 days with about 200
artists in February, last year. It was financed by about 120 traders.
Though the film is a love story involving a Sri Lankan woman extremist and
not about a militant organisation, the Censor Board refused the certificate
on the grounds that the movie was glorifying a militant organisation like
the LTTE, Pugazhendhi said.
Top
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