India Masala

A Minute With: Aishwarya Rai

For someone who came into the Indian film industry as a former beauty queen, Aishwarya Rai has done her fair share of unglamorous roles in Bollywood.

From playing an abused wife in “Provoked” or the middle-aged wife of an industrialist in “Guru”, Rai has always let her acting do the talking.

In her latest film “Raavan”, she plays Ragini, the wife of a police officer who is abducted. It’s a role which involved negotiating tough terrain, heavy rains and the creatures of the jungle.

Rai spoke about her role in Mani Ratnam’s “Raavan”, the challenges of working in a bilingual film and why she feels bad when she is criticised for her dressing sense.

Robin Hood: This Robin is more Gandhian

Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood and Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood are looking over the shoulder of Ridley Scott’s Robin Longstride.

So rather cleverly, the movie is a sort of prequel to these and may justly be titled “The making of Robin Hood”. It ends at the beginning.

IIFA Diary: Little sparkle on awards night

Every year at IIFA, people crib about how badly organised the event is but somehow the glitz and glamour of the awards always makes you forget all these unpleasant issues.

This time however, the awards function was stretched so thin and had such few interesting moments that at the end of it all, you felt even more irritated.

Raajneeti: An epic nicely retold

First things first, “Raajneeti” is not about the first family in Indian politics even though some characters might resemble familiar cardboard cutouts.

So don’t go expecting some dope on a reality which is much stranger than fiction.

IIFA Diary: Notes from Colombo Day 2

When I left Mumbai for Colombo, I was going to cover a film awards function but two days into IIFA and I can hardly see any “film” in the event. Instead there is politics, business and even cricket, but films are missing from the scene entirely. Is that the way it is supposed to be?

Films were definitely not part of the agenda at the FICCI India Sri Lanka Business Forum on Friday morning, with the focus mainly on promoting bilateral business ties.

IIFA Diary: Notes from Colombo on Day 1

The first day of the 11th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend has been as chaotic as it has been revealing. From early morning chaos over accreditation and access to venues, by evening it had turned into excitement as the stars starting pouring in for the three-day event.

The centre of the chaos — the Cinnamon Grand hotel has become the ideal ringside location if you want to catch a glimpse of your favourite star and Bollywood crazy Sri Lankans weren’t letting go of any chance. By afternoon, the sprawling lobby of the five-star hotel was packed with eager fans, cameras ready to click and craning their necks to see if any star had arrived yet.

Kites: Romance is in the air

It has been such a long time since Bollywood has made a true-blue romance that purely on that merit alone, “Kites” is worth a watch.

Passion, chemistry and the cruel world against true love have become secondary when it comes to matters like reforming our education system or discovering new worlds.

Of Sholay and Sambha

The lines “array o sambha” (hey Sambha) brings back instant memories to a whole generation of Indian moviegoers. The person they were addressed to, perched on a craggy rock toting a rifle, played a miniscule role in the film, but his character went on to be one of the most loved of our times. When “Sambha” (or Macmohan as he was known off screen) passed away on Monday, we lost one of the iconic characters in “Sholay” and also one of the few remaining character artistes in our films — the ones who would always be the villain’s cronies or the neighbourhood doctor who announces that the heroine is pregnant. I think Ramesh Sippy’s “Sholay” was the huge hit it was partly because of the “repeat value” dialogues it had — so many of them. Right from “Ye haath mujhe de de thakur” to my favourite “Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti”, there were such gems throughout the film. And even today, these lines will be repeated whether at a dinner party or in any casual conversation you might have, in any context. So many people love this film for its action and the character of Gabbar, but for me the comedy in “Sholay” will always remain top-class. The scene where Jai speaks to Basanti’s aunt about Veeru’s marriage is hilarious and Amitabh’s deadpan expression makes it even funnier. Of course, the 70s and 80s did have some really memorable lines, but even though I can think of many lovely lyrics, I cannot really recall a dialogue I have found repeat-worthy in recent times. Perhaps it is best to look back in the past for some things. Which is your favourite “Sholay” line? And your favourite Hindi film dialogue?

The lines “arre o Sambha” (hey Sambha) bring back instant memories to a whole generation of Indian moviegoers.

The person they were addressed to, perched on a craggy rock toting a rifle, played a miniscule role in the film but his character went on to be one of the most loved of our times.

It’s a Wonderful Afterlife: Too little laughter, too much curry

Gurinder Chadha’s “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” (‘Hai Marjaawaan’ in Hindi) is a comedy about a harassed Indian mother, who is so obsessed with marrying off her only daughter that she kills off anyone who dares to reject her. Those killing methods are so corny, you want to puke when you see a victim’s stomach burst open due to an overdose of curry and another one stabbed with a skewer of chicken tikka kebabs. The victims come back to haunt her, chicken tikka skewers intact. They cannot be reincarnated unless their killer dies but Mrs Sethi doesn’t want to kill herself before her daughter is “settled”. So the spirits and Mrs Sethi (played endearingly by Shabana Azmi) set out to look for a suitable groom for her daughter, leading to a somewhat comedic situation. The problem here is that the comedy is as laboured and forced as the make-up job on the spirits and laughing becomes a chore. Chadha does bring in some of the sharp, British humour that characterised “Bend it like Beckham” but those moments are few and far between. For most of the time, there is only curry flying in all directions, making you think about the colossal waste of food shooting for this film would have involved. Also, just because it is meant to be a comedy doesn’t mean you can account for a nonsensical storyline. Most of the events don’t make much sense and plot points are explained away by the flimsiest of excuses. Azmi does play her role well and Sendhil Ramamurthy as a police officer investigating the attacks is good, but watching the film issuch a laboured exercise that these two don’t quite make up for it.

Gurinder Chadha’s “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” (‘Hai Marjaawaan’ in Hindi) is a comedy about a harassed Indian mother, who is so obsessed with marrying off her only daughter that she kills off anyone who dares to reject her.

Those killing methods are so corny, you want to puke when you see a victim’s stomach burst open due to an overdose of curry and another one stabbed with a skewer of chicken tikka kebabs. The victims come back to haunt her, chicken tikka skewers intact. They cannot be reincarnated unless their killer dies but Mrs Sethi doesn’t want to kill herself before her daughter is “settled”.

Housefull: Turn down the volume!

There is a song in Sajid Khan’s “Housefull” with the lyrics “volume kam kar” (turn down the volume). Wouldn’t it be nice if the director and actors had imbibed this simple message? That would have made this alleged comedy easier to tolerate.

Instead every character in the film either screams, laughs or cries so loudly, and for seemingly no reason, that you want to hit the mute button.