No ‘Dirty Pictures’ please, we are Indian
Indians woke up on Sunday to front page newspaper ads announcing the TV premiere of “The Dirty Picture”, a National-award winning film that was both critically acclaimed and successful at the box-office.
The film, based on the life of soft porn star Silk Smitha, was one of the most popular Bollywood movies of 2011, and its success catapulted lead actress Vidya Balan into the big league.
It was a glaring example of how Indian audiences, torn between traditional values and rapidly Westernising cities, have come to accept films with bolder themes.
For those who hadn’t watched the film in cinemas, this was a chance to see what the hype was all about. Sony Entertainment, the TV channel, launched a high-octane publicity campaign for Sunday’s telecast.
But noon came and went and there was no “Dirty Picture” in sight. Instead the channel ran a ticker, apologising for not being able to show the movie. As it turned out, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting deemed it unsuitable for family viewing, asking the channel late on Saturday night to air the film only after 11 p.m.
This after the censor board asked the film’s producers to make 59 cuts in the film to make it suitable for television viewing. Bollywood was furious, as were the producers of the film.
“It is sad that even after a valid U/A certificate from the CBFC and all the cuts being in place, the channel was directed to telecast the film at 11 p.m.,” Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, which produced the film, told Reuters. “We have not seen this happen to any other film”.
Bollywood stars kick up a fuss with real-life rumpus
Pow! Biff! Bang! Dishoom! Real life action by Bollywood celebrities has caught the nation’s eyeballs. Shah Rukh Khan was accused of roughing up Shirish Kunder some days ago and made ripples as he brought the media’s gaze from corruption scams and the election circus to the one thing that never fails to draw attention — a spicy brawl.
Now, Saif Ali Khan diverts attention from Vijay Mallya’s king-size woes for beating up a certain businessman in Mumbai’s Taj hotel. Saif was booked for assault, arrested and later bailed — insisting that he was only defending himself.
Salman Khan has lost his temper on many occasions, and so have many others from Bollywood. Shah Rukh and Salman engaged in a verbal duel some years ago, and it would have ended ugly had Shah Rukh’s wife Gauri and Salman’s then girlfriend Katrina Kaif not intervened.
The latest incident comes a month before Saif Ali Khan’s spy thriller “Agent Vinod” is set to release. Therefore, we are pushed to wonder — publicity or aggression? Or could these public spats be attributed to a heady mix of fame, power and alcohol?
It is acceptable in a movie for the hero to rough up the bad guys. The audience savours the good guy’s vengeance. But these men are not superheroes in their real-life avatars, and are bound by the law. Justice will take its course, but in the mean time, the nation’s politicians should be grateful their real-life foibles are pushed down the front page.
from Photographers Blog:
India’s touring cinemas under threat
The sleepy Indian village of Ond comes alive for a week every year when trucks loaded with tents and projectors reach its outskirts. The tents are pitched in open fields, converting the trucks into projection rooms for screening the latest Indian blockbusters to exuberant villagers, who otherwise have few chances to see a film at all.
Photographer Danish Siddiqui travels to these "talkies" to document the decades-old tradition. View the multimedia below for an in-depth look or click here to read the full story.
Travelling Talkies from Vivek Prakash on Vimeo.
from Photographers Blog:
Come, fall in love
I first encountered the 52-year-old Maratha Mandir movie theater while I was on one of my walks to explore Mumbai. Being new to the city, I do this often. It was just a casual walk down the lanes of the city when I saw a huge billboard promoting a film outside the cinema. The billboard proudly advertised it as the longest-playing film in Indian history.
The film "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (The Big Hearted Will Take the Bride), starring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is a simple romantic film shot in Europe and India, where a boy meets a girl and falls in love with her - girl is about to get married in India - boy takes the journey from Europe to India to win her over.
I still remember when the film was released in 1995, it became an instant hit amongst the youth. Fifteen years down the line it’s unthinkable that people still love to watch it and in a cinema to boot!
At Maratha Mandir, it was the watchman who first told me that DDLJ, as the film is popularly known, still runs to a full house in the 1000-plus-seats cinema. I, of course, didn’t believe him until I met Manoj Desai, the cinema’s executive director. He invited me to watch the film, promising it would answer all my questions. He asked his manager to reserve a seat for me, as on Sundays the film is usually sold out. He said it was the first time in the history of Maratha Mandir he was allowing someone to shoot inside the ‘heart’ of the theater --- the projection room.
On the day of my shoot, I arrived an hour before the ticket window was to open…and there was already a long line waiting to get inside. There were young men, old men, women, children...all equally keen to catch a glimpse of the iconic Bollywood film.
Indeed the Movie is still running in various states of India..
Since, I am a Huge SRK Fan..this movie marks him as the KING KHAN as he still rules our hearts..
INTERVIEW – Supreme Court lawyer on Khushboo case
Pinky Anand, counsel for actress Khushboo in the Supreme Court, spoke to Reuters about the case and how the verdict would have a far-reaching impact.
this judgement needs a fuller bench of entire supreme court for review as it has far reaching adverse consequences in the society. human beings have sense and not animals
The media and paid news: Who shall guard the guardians?
The media watches everyone but itself, commented an argumentative friend the other day.
How many ‘sting operations’ has the media done on any of its own, say on the ‘Paid News’ controversy?
I was at a loss.
The morality of sting operations is a debatable topic but the larger point demanded a response.
The media does investigative stories practically every week but does it deliberately avoid turning the gaze inwards?
Is everything as it should be with the Indian media – newspapers or television channels?
Even with the relatively free, noisy media we have it is difficult to answer that in the affirmative.
Glad you wrote on this, Vishal.
I recently came back to India after a few years of living abroad and incidentally this thought crossed my mind while I was flipping through our local news channels.
However, I found that your write-up lacked any deep investigation or reflection with too many questions posed for the reader.
Interesting comments by all the readers above me.
Much ado over Indian Summer?
Universal Studios has shelved plans to shoot “Indian Summer”, a film based on the lives of Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten.(UPDATE: On Friday, a studio spokesman was quoted as saying “Indian Summer” is continuing to be developed but will not go into production until the script, budget and cast are all in place)Filmmaker Joe Wright, who was slated to direct the project, was quoted as saying there were creative differences between the studio and the Indian government.Many people are not comfortable with national leaders being portrayed on celluloid in any way other than flattering.Most leaders are interpreted by their followers in a particular manner. Any alternative recounting especially on celluloid runs into controversy.Biopics of leaders are few and far between in Bollywood in spite of it being a vibrantly political and prolific film industry.Some say the Indian masses tend to deify their leaders and hence are less receptive to anything critical.And celluloid is a mass medium more than any book on history ever can be.In Pakistan, the movie “Jinnah” starring Christopher Lee and sanctioned by the Pakistan government had also run into controversy.But does public policy also contribute to this state of affairs?The Indian Express says in a report that ministries don’t transfer records to National Archives “which leaves modern, democratic India’s history shrouded in secrecy”.Does this contribute to a lack of public discussion on various facets of our leaders’ lives and policies and therefore an intolerance of alternative readings?As for the movie “Indian Summer”, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was to appoint a liaison officer to ensure the movie did not deviate from the approved script.Is imposing a government-sanctioned memory of events on people any different from Mayawati’s efforts to erect statues to herself?
@Gandhi’s called his works as EXPIREMENTS with truth. A very funny scientific statement.- Posted by Rohit– Did Dara say GANERU or Gandhi–I did not see? You always find a way to drag irrelevent stuff without telling why you are annoyed with anti-Mayawati comments. A specific rebuttal rather than an advise to read history would have been much useful.How do you know that Dara is not an ex-serviceman who has read history half- or one full generation ago and is speaking from personal experience in military and civil life unlike you.
Mumbai Holiday on a Vespa?
Think Vespa, and images of Audrey Hepburn and rides down cobble-stoned streets immediately come to mind.
How about families of four riding precariously on the choked streets of Mumbai or Delhi?
Piaggio, the Italian vehicle maker that has made the Vespa since just after World War II, has made a big success of its three-wheeler auto rickshaws and commercial vehicles in India, and intends to relaunch the iconic brand here soon.
Why now, when vehicle sales are sluggish, at best? Why now, when the two-wheeler market has moved pretty much decisively to motorbikes? Why now, when a certain low-cost car is close to actually rolling into homes of a lucky 100,000?
But not so long ago, which middle-class Indian family didn’t aspire for — and wait months for — a Bajaj Chetak?
Now, despite gravity-defying motorbikes endorsed by the likes of Hrithik Roshan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scooter sales are slowly but surely ticking up.
Sure, many of these are the gentle, gearless variety so popular with the ladies. And yes, they cannot hope to match the numbers of their more macho cousins.
Vespa, it is a nice scooter, and driving it in Mumbai would tempt me, even though it would be considered a bit dangerous 
Star seeks groom on TV and other soaps
A new reality show in which a bunch of suitable men vie for the hand of Bollywood starlet Rakhi Sawant is an interesting twist on the prevailing custom of Indian men choosing their brides.
“Rakhi Sawant ka Swayamvar“, which harks back to the ancient tradition of princesses choosing a groom from a line-up, began airing on Monday night, pitting more than a dozen men from varied backgrounds — and with varying singing and dancing abilities — wooing Sawant, a colourful personality known more for her antics off camera.
It may be yet another publicity stunt for Sawant, who claims she will marry one of the men at the end of the series in a traditional wedding ceremony.
It may be yet another move by the channel, fighting for eyeballs and advertisers, to score high TRPs – or Television Rating Points that show how popular a programme is.
Still, it offers some respite from the female stereotyping on the Indian airwaves: from ads that show women as being incapable of any decision save the right cooking oil for the family, to shows that glorify child marriage and female foeticide under the guise of ushering in social change.
A soap featuring a child bride married at the age of eight claims it “very sensitively portrays the plight of children who are unwittingly forced into marriage, in the name of tradition”.
A brief blink-and-you-miss-it disclaimer at the end of the show says child marriage is illegal.
Politics and films: An Indian affair
The Congress party has bought the rights to “Jai Ho”, the Oscar-winning song from “Slumdog Millionaire”, to use for its election campaign.
Although popular Bollywood song tunes have always been used after being set to new lyrics for canvassing votes, acquiring the rights to a song for election campaigning is a possible first.
Congress leaders said the song, whose title is Hindi for “Let There be Victory,” will be played during rallies in rural towns, villages and cities. But why did the party go so far as to get the song rights?
Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi cited the Oscar wins as a result of good governance and inclusive democracy under UPA rule.
Popular culture in India has politics, movies, cricket and religion as predominant ingredients and elections are a mix of all these.
The list of movie stars who have contested and won elections is a long one.
Occasionally a politician also forays into acting — like communist party leader Brinda Karat in the film “Amu”.
Hollywood can boast that it is the movie capital of the world but the movie industry in India is so intertwined with people at all levels of society that it is scary to think of this society devoid of its movie industry. Take away food, water, and I dare say air and a lot of people will complain but take away the movies and these movie buffs will become totally dysfunctional. Life for these people will come to a total halt and they would not know what to do and will move around like zombies. From cradle to grave movies provide a certain kind of entertainment to the addicted that it is like religion. Movie stars are worshipped like demigods in India. In terms of comparative clout of stars in India and the USA, Hollywood stars will have to move to the proverbial back of the bus. This is the country where temples are built for movie stars and huge cutouts of the stars bathed in milk and worshipped before the release of a movie starring the blessed ones. Though such activities are self promoting and cheap, the stars condone such celebrations. It is said that sometimes the producers of movies finance such celebrations as a marketing ploy to advertise their movies. Such exhibition of fan loyalty though sick, comes with the territory in Indian movie industry.
When these stars capitalize on their popularity and try to enter politics, a totally new and alien field for which they are not trained or equipped, the situation becomes pathetic. The common man and woman try to put them with great expectations at the top in a totally different field based on their performance in the movies. If such cross field success is the norm then I have the following recommendations. For the next Robot kind of movie, Mr. Narayanamurthy instead of superstar Rajni because the former has been very successful in putting India on the global map of technology. I think the character of the Robot itself should be played by none other than Mr. Azim Premji, another giant in the IT field. And who else can I recommend for Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s role other than Ms. Indra K. Nooyi, the CEO of Pepsi International? Or how about giving the scalpel to a person who has been an eminent lawyer and ask him to perform delicate neurosurgery on your one and only child? I hope the absurdity comes through clearly.
Whenever the stars are felicitated at a function and you ask them about reasons for the success of a movie, they will shed their ego and in the spirit of the moment enumerate the producer, the director, the art director and a host of others including the lowly light boy as the reason for the success. Without their knowledge and under the intoxication of the festivities for a fleeting second they are being totally honest. Yes, the truth is that the movie was successful because of the team, not just the star. This being the case, these stars claim that they can do a wonderful job as a politician that the so called “stalwarts” haven’t been able to do. When an actor is asked if he would like to say anything about the prospects of his entering politics, the stock answer is “no comment at this time.”
I wish they would for once say, “No, I have no intention of entering politics, God has blessed me in my chosen field, I have made enough money, it is time I put my efforts in some small and simple grass root level social projects to help a village at a time.” He would have a built a temple for himself in everyone’s heart.
Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is a great actor and many want to emulate him. He was in politics but swears now that he will not touch politics with a ten foot pole. How about emulating Mr. Bachchan on this?
We should be remembered for our work. Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi, a Bharat Ratna brought fame to the art she was blessed with leaving behind music for ages to come but with no other monument or an edifice to mark her tenure on earth. Humility, thy name is MS.
Presently, politics in Tamil Nadu is controlled by two dynasties. They both started with lofty goals like – loosely translated in English – Duty, Honor, and Restraint. These have been thrown by the wayside. The dynasty in power usually gets caught up in corruption and incompetency until the public forgets the corruption and incompetencies exhibited during the other dynasty’s tenure and realize that the previous dynasty’s shenanigans pale in comparison to those of the dynasty in power and elect the previous dynasty to power. This cycle repeats.
The government at the center is no gem either. The Nehru years from 1947 to 1964 were highlighted by inaction. After that the country has mostly been governed by the Nehru family to various degrees of “prosperity” along with scams and corruption galore. A single party majority government has become a thing of the past and coalition governments have been of great disservice to India.
There is a dearth of political stalwarts like Winston Churchill throughout the world. Ronald Reagan, a movie star turned politician is remembered better as the Governor of California than the President of the United States. George W. Bush is remembered better as the Governor of Texas than the President of the United States.
To put man’s insignificance on earth, let’s compress the 14-billion-year history of the Universe into one day, or 86400 seconds. Thus, the Big Bang occurred at t=0 and now is at 24 hours. Our Galaxy formed just a few hours after the Big Bang. Our Solar System formed at about 16 hours; in other words, two-thirds of the day passed before the Solar System formed. Homo sapiens appeared about 1 second ago, and a long lifetime of 100 years is 0.0006 seconds – less than 1/1000 of a second. Our lives are a blink of an eye in the history of the Universe.
If we had only intellectuals in our societies the choosing of our leaders will be less erroneous. In India, the movie stars instead of aspiring for elected offices can do the following with help from intellectuals and thinkers who put country in front of self.
1. Demand manifestos from the different parties and analyze them
2. Choose the best party and its candidates
3. Educate the public to vote for the best party and give it a majority mandate to avoid coalition governments which ends up in horse trading
4. Monitor the performance of the elected party and make sure the things in the manifesto are fulfilled
5. At the end of the tenure repeat the process.
I know it is easier said than done. Heck, we have tried everything else. Why not give this a shot?
After 59 cuts by the sensor board, the movie is the watchable. I am surprised.