India Masala

from India Insight:

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”.

And the Oscar goes to…

Pulitzer prize winning film critic Roger Ebert says he can’t remember a year when it was easier to pick the Oscars.

Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker”, which has picked up key awards in the run-up to the world’s most prestigious movie awards, is the favourite to bag the Best Picture trophy, with all-time box-office king “Avatar” the other contender.

The best actor award is expected to go to Jeff Bridges for his role as a country singer in “Crazy Hearts” but Morgan Freeman could prove the dark horse with his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in “Invictus”.

The best actress trophy is a toss-up between double Oscar winner Meryl Streep for her role as a chef in “Julie & Julia” and favourite Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side”, in which she helps a homeless boy become football star.

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz’s performance as a Nazi officer in the World War Two fantasy “Inglourious Basterds” could earn him the trophy for best supporting role while in the women’s category, comedian Mo’Nique is the frontrunner for her role as an abusive mother in “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”, a movie about an abused, obese teen.

Notable among the best film nominees is animated movie “Up”, which is the only movie ever nominated for both best film and best animated film.

Rahul Mahajan searches for the perfect TV bride

As India heads into wedding season, yet another celebrity is hoping to get hitched — with millions of people watching on prime-time television.

Rahul Mahajan follows in the footsteps of Bollywood starlet Rakhi Sawant and will choose a life partner from among 16 candidates in a reality TV show.

Mahajan features in the second season of ‘Swayamvar’, which made a much-publicised debut earlier this year with Sawant being wooed by 16 men from varied backgrounds, each trying to portray himself as the perfect bridegroom.

Sawant did choose a winner but didn’t marry him at the end of the series, insisting she wanted to know him better.

Unlike Sawant, who sceptics say misled audiences in a publicity stunt, viewers will be hoping to catch Mahajan tie the knot in an elaborate televised ceremony.

Few details are available about the show, announced at a press conference on Tuesday, except that Mahajan will make his choice from among 16 potential brides living under one roof and taking part in various tasks and challenges to impress him.

Mahajan, 34, is an unlikely celebrity. He first shot into the limelight in 2006 — getting arrested on drug possession charges just weeks after his politician father was shot dead by a disgruntled brother.

Are Indian audiences ready for the truth?

There is something addictive about watching ‘The Moment of Truth’, the American TV show where contestants have to tell the truth to win cash.

Contestants go through a polygraph test to determine if they are lying while answering a set of questions based on their lives.

I must admit to feeling a certain thrill when contestants are exposed as adulterers, cheats and liars as family members and viewers look on.

When the show’s Indian version ‘Sach Ka Saamna’ premiered on television this month, I wondered if the questions would be as personal.

And they were.

A woman was asked if she wanted physical relations with someone other than her husband.

She answered in the negative but the polygraph test proved she was lying.

from India Insight:

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.

Jana Gana Mana ‘Rann’: new-age anthem?

Nearly 60 years after Rabindranath Tagore’s composition was adopted as India’s national anthem, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s interpretation of it is raising conservative eyebrows.

Varma uses the tune of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and adds to the lyrics, making it a full-fledged song for his film about India’s media industry — “Rann”.

The 47-year-old filmmaker has maintained he meant no disrespect but only wanted to use the anthem as a vehicle to “draw attention” to the country’s problems.

“For any right-thinking person, I do not believe that he can take offence to the way it’s been done and in what context it’s been shown,” Varma said at a news conference during the unveiling of “Rann” in New Delhi.

Unfortunately for Varma, his adaptation of “Jana Gana Mana” has proved to be more controversial than the film itself. The Censor Board refused certification to the song promo on grounds of it violating the National Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950. And the song is no longer being aired on television.

But that hasn’t stopped curious netizens from checking it out on video-sharing web site YouTube.

“The National anthem is not meant to be Remixed. End of Discussion,” YouTube user ‘orionrage’ wrote in response.

“13B”: Don’t expect to get too scared

I am one of those people who get scared even when they aren’t meant to. I hate dark rooms and stormy nights don’t evoke any romance in my mind. In short, I am a perfect candidate for horror films — or at least that’s what I thought.

Thankfully director Vikram Kumar changed my mind, merely by making “13B”.

The film, based almost entirely in a plush, modern apartment, revolves around a typical middle-class family who have just bought the house of their dreams.

Small things begin to go wrong first. The milk always curdles, the walls in the prayer room seem nail resistant and the lift refuses to function.

And the TV-watching women of the house get addicted a soap that seems to mirror their own lives. But no one seems to notice the glaring similarities. Except younger son Manohar (played by R Madhavan).

There is also a sinister blind neighbour and although I think you will guess his role in the end, it would have been better if it was explained.

Matters come to such a head midway through the film that Madhavan enlists the help of his friend, a police inspector, to dig out the mystery.