India Masala
Bollywood and culture in an emerging India
IFFI 2009: INTERVIEW – Actress Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury, known for her roles in Mira Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” (1992) and “Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love” (1996), spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the tourist haven of Goa.
Choudhury’s latest film “For Real“, an English film set in New Delhi, premiered in Goa.
(Click below to watch video)
(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
IFFI 2009: Sona Jain on ‘For Real’
Jain’s first feature film is the story of a six-year-old who witnesses a moment of discord within her family.
The ensuing depression evident in her parents causes a chain reaction in the child’s mind, making her withdraw into a fantasy world where she believes her real mother has been sent to the Orion Galaxy and “mother” at home is really an alien. No one believes her story till the lonely child runs away in search of her real mother.
(PHOTO: Actress Sarita Choudhury is seen in a still from the film)
(Click below to watch video)
(Flip cam video: Tony Tharakan)
IFFI 2009: Rituparno Ghosh on ‘Sab Charitro Kalponik’
The Bengali film, starring Bipasha Basu and Prosenjit, explores the relationship between a poet and his wife.
Ghosh, who won a National Award for the English film “The Last Lear“, said he was unhappy that his Bengali projects did not get as much publicity as mainstream movies.
outstanding film in which poem recited/portrayed by Bipasha was one of the most memorable moment. The path traced by the pieces of poem is a wonderful imagery
IFFI 2009: Aijaz Khan on ‘The White Elephant’
Aijaz Khan‘s debut feature film, about Shabri the drunkard and a ‘holy’ elephant which chooses him as its keeper, is set in a village in Kerala.
The Hindi film, starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Prroshanth Narayannan and Neena Gupta, is being screened at the 40th International Film Festival of India in Goa.
Khan spoke to Reuters about ‘The White Elephant’, where he got the idea for the film and how the mahout controlling the elephant was the “real hero”.
What’s in a name? The truth about “Kaminey”
When a friend went to buy movie tickets for Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Kaminey”, she felt uncomfortable.
She had never before used the word — Hindi slang for ‘scoundrels’ — and was embarrassed to utter it at the ticket counter.
The film, set in Mumbai streets, is a crime thriller about petty desires that turn two brothers against each other.
Director Bhardwaj says the title, though unusual, is apt. He went ahead with “Kaminey” after his mentor, filmmaker and lyricist Gulzar, approved it.
Bhardwaj, speaking during a panel discussion at the Osian’s-Cinefan Film Festival in New Delhi, revealed that he took inspiration for the title from Gulzar’s “Ijaazat“.
In a scene from the 1987 classic, actor Naseeruddin Shah uses the word as a term of endearment for his wife (Rekha) after she makes a cup of tea for him.
Bhardwaj said this usage of “kaminey” as a romantic expression stuck in his subconscious and changed his perception of the word as used in everyday language.
I guess it is more about the commercial freedom rather than creative freedom that gets such slang words and other not-so-creative stuff into Bollywood movies. With a majority of movies flopping, the movie-makers resort to such populist techniques. Kaminey is as creative as Choli Ke Peeche number
Of Karma, Porn and Osian’s Cinefan
Thou shalt not go to the Osian’s Cinefan film festival expecting each film to be a masterpiece. I learned this the hard way.
Over the years, I have chanced upon several nuggets at Osian’s, an annual feast for fans of cinema in New Delhi. But on the opening day of the 2008 edition, I arrive at the venue in the evening — with no time to decide on what I want to watch. I check the schedule and my eye falls on an unusual title.
“Karma – Crime Passion Reincarnation” is in English, has a sort of international cast and is set in Ooty. It had apparently been screened in the Cannes Film market this year and was being premiered at Osian’s. The synopsis didn’t reveal much and I decide to take my chances. After all, how bad could it be.
The film is about a woman who comes to India with her husband and is haunted by visions of a murder that happened 30 years ago.
What follows next is a predictable plot, tacky special effects, plenty of hamming and lots of why-am-I-watching-this-film moments. All of which is forgivable.
What I couldn’t stand were all the gratuitous sex scenes.
Husband and wife doing it in the bedroom, in the bathroom, wife peeping through windows to see mysterious woman and boyfriend doing it in the living room, barely-clad hippies gyrating around a campfire just before an elaborate attempt-to-rape sequence. And how did all this advance the plot? Well, it didn’t.
I guess you have to understand the context in which it has been shown. As long as it fits the narrative sex in any amounts is fine. European films usually know the balance. Though by the way you have described this film, this one seems to be badly made
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The Wall
