...a totally random Bollywood film clip on youtube. It's from an old Shahrukh film which I haven't seen called Zamana Deewana (1995). From what I understand the story is about the police trying to stop the violence between two rival gangs. Rather than tackle the gangs directly the police have decided to try and make the children of the two gang leaders fall in love.
The clip is a dance number between the children. If I'm not mistaken, at this point the two of them have been captured by the police and handcuffed to each other. They've realized what the police is trying to do, so they pretend to be in love (while hitting and strangling each other when the officers aren't looking) so as to make the police let them go.
I'm not sure why I'm addicted to it... Mid-90s Bollywood is usually not something I get addicted to easily - especially if it's a dance sequence. But somehow I keep turning this one on again and again...
Showing posts with label Shah Rukh Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shah Rukh Khan. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Krazzy 4 - the item boys
Hopefully, this post will mark my proper "comeback to the internet" (yes, maybe I'll even start replying to e-mails soon ;-P). When one doesn't have internet for a long time, one kind of almost gets used to not having it and now that I've finally gotten it back I have no idea how I ever found time for it in the first place. I still haven't gotten through all the news in my RSS reader btw, so I have absolutely no idea what's happening in the world right now ;-P
But anyway, I should probably stop moaning about not having had internet for a month in every post - it's not exactly gripping reading, is it? I'm not sure the rest of my blog is either, but hey - even Bollywood's gotta be more interesting than me not having internet, right? ;)
Publicity for Krazzy 4 is in full throb at the moment. From what I understand it's a comedy about four guys who escaped from a mental institution:
It doesn't have any major stars in the lead parts, but Rakesh Roshan (Hrithik Roshan's dad), who is the producer of the film, put a different "strategy" in play. He got the no.1 and no.2 Bollywood stars (not everyone would agree with the "numbering", but that's the "numbering" I usually hear ;-P) to do item numbers to the same song. To translate that into plain English for people who are perhaps less interested in Bollywood than myself - an item number is usually a song & dance number in which a star who isn't in the rest of the film takes central position. Naturally, the main idea is to make the star look sexy and often the number will have nothing to do with the plot. The ingenuity of Rakesh Roshan in this case is that he got what are possibly the two biggest stars in Bollywood - Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan to do an item number to the same song (Shahrukh's starts the film off and Hrithik's plays during the closing credits).
Here's the promo for Shahrukh's:
And here's the one for Hrithik's:
It's curious to see Shahrukh take up this sort of "challenge" cause against Hrithik he has to lose ;) Hrithik is so much more the "item boy" type. But I guess he doesn't lose as badly as I thought he might when I first heard of this ;)
And it's kinda interesting (at least IMO ;-P) to compare how the numbers were put together. Hrithik is out there solo and almost entirely in wide shots, while SRK gets a whole troop of dancers and lots of close-ups instead. Good choices for both of them I think - they get to play to their strengths.
But anyway, I should probably stop moaning about not having had internet for a month in every post - it's not exactly gripping reading, is it? I'm not sure the rest of my blog is either, but hey - even Bollywood's gotta be more interesting than me not having internet, right? ;)
Publicity for Krazzy 4 is in full throb at the moment. From what I understand it's a comedy about four guys who escaped from a mental institution:
It doesn't have any major stars in the lead parts, but Rakesh Roshan (Hrithik Roshan's dad), who is the producer of the film, put a different "strategy" in play. He got the no.1 and no.2 Bollywood stars (not everyone would agree with the "numbering", but that's the "numbering" I usually hear ;-P) to do item numbers to the same song. To translate that into plain English for people who are perhaps less interested in Bollywood than myself - an item number is usually a song & dance number in which a star who isn't in the rest of the film takes central position. Naturally, the main idea is to make the star look sexy and often the number will have nothing to do with the plot. The ingenuity of Rakesh Roshan in this case is that he got what are possibly the two biggest stars in Bollywood - Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan to do an item number to the same song (Shahrukh's starts the film off and Hrithik's plays during the closing credits).
Here's the promo for Shahrukh's:
And here's the one for Hrithik's:
It's curious to see Shahrukh take up this sort of "challenge" cause against Hrithik he has to lose ;) Hrithik is so much more the "item boy" type. But I guess he doesn't lose as badly as I thought he might when I first heard of this ;)
And it's kinda interesting (at least IMO ;-P) to compare how the numbers were put together. Hrithik is out there solo and almost entirely in wide shots, while SRK gets a whole troop of dancers and lots of close-ups instead. Good choices for both of them I think - they get to play to their strengths.
Friday, January 04, 2008
2007 MEETS 2008 | PART 2: 2008 in Polish cinemas
This is a list of films that I'm excited about, ordered by the Polish release date (the dates may of course still change). You can treat it as an open invitation to see any of these films in the cinema with me ;)
18th January, 2008 Lust, Caution
Why I'm excited?
It's Ang Lee's first film after Brokeback Mountain, so I guess I would have always been curious about it (like a lot of the cinema going world I think). But the controversy surrounding it has made it even more of a must see for me. It received an NC-17 certificate in the US which is very rare - especially for such a mainstream director. And Ang Lee isn't known for sexually explicit films.
The Chinese angle is also very interesting for me - it's a China-USA co-production and I guess somehow just the idea that a Chinese production company would be doing a film that is that explicit has an interest factor in it for me (even if the film was cut significantly for Chinese audiences).
Surprisingly enough there is also a Bollywood angle to the film since Anupam Kher has a small part in it (his face will probably be familiar to you if you've watched a few Indian films).
Finally, this is the film that won the main prize at the Venice film festival in September and of all the big film festivals and award ceremonies Venice is probably the one I trust the most.
Previous mentions on my blog
15th February, 2008 The Kite Runner
Why I'm excited?
Well, I'm not expecting it to be the best of films (even though AFAIK the reviews in the US have been good), but somehow I'm just getting a kick out of Hollywood making a film that is so heavily based in Afghanistan, but at the same time doesn't seem to be particularly political (I may be wrong about this, but that's my impression thus far).
The story itself sounds rather interesting (I'm just hoping it won't be told as sentimentally as it's treated on the trailer). It's about two boys who are good friends. The turning point is when one of the boys gets abused and raped and the other just lets it happen. And then the rest of the film is largely about the guilt of allowing that. Apparently, a lot of people wanted the director to take out the rape scene (leaving in just the violence). But he said it was necessary because you had to feel how terrible the deed was for the attempts at redemption to follow naturally. I guess that comment got me even more curious.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
22nd February, 2008 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Why I'm excited?
Do I even have to explain this one? lol
Previous mentions on my blog
? March, 2008 Dhoom 2
Why I'm excited?
Bollywood + Hrithik Roshan + Abhishek Bachchan + a trailer like that = fun ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
13th June, 2008 The Happening
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
For a reaaaaally dumb reason - it's the first time that an Indian producer (UTV) is co-producing what is essentially a Hollywood film.
That said, it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan, so there's hope that in ecological thriller terms it won't be so bad ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
? September or October, 2008 Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Why I'm excited?
Because more Bollywood in Polish cinemas is always a good thing and when it involves Abhishek Bachchan then it's even better ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
28th November, 2008 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
Because I'm amongst the Harry Potter fans who think the films are getting better and better ;) Plus there's a few scenes in this one that I soooo want to see on screen *dreamy eyes*
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Some time during 2008? I'm not there
So far there's no release date for Poland, but the film sounds big enough to have gotten a distributor, so I expect we will be seeing it at some point during 2008 (the world premiere was in September 2007).
Why I'm excited?
Because Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and a little boy I don't know called Marcus Carl Franklin are all playing the same person and according to the buzz the film actually works lol All of these are terrific actors, so it should be quite something.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
late in 2008? Om Shanti Om
2008 is probably wishful thinking on my part as no Polish distributor has bought the rights as of yet, but hey - a year after its initial release is not exactly soon ;-P I'm pretty sure *somebody* will pick up the rights as Om Shanti Om is on its way to become the highest grosser in Indian cinema history.
Why I'm excited?
Shahrukh Khan is quite enough for me to be excited about any film ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
Late in 2008? Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
This is Sacha Baron Cohen's next and I like him, so I guess a project with a title like that has to get some curiosity from me ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
18th January, 2008 Lust, Caution
Why I'm excited?
It's Ang Lee's first film after Brokeback Mountain, so I guess I would have always been curious about it (like a lot of the cinema going world I think). But the controversy surrounding it has made it even more of a must see for me. It received an NC-17 certificate in the US which is very rare - especially for such a mainstream director. And Ang Lee isn't known for sexually explicit films.
The Chinese angle is also very interesting for me - it's a China-USA co-production and I guess somehow just the idea that a Chinese production company would be doing a film that is that explicit has an interest factor in it for me (even if the film was cut significantly for Chinese audiences).
Surprisingly enough there is also a Bollywood angle to the film since Anupam Kher has a small part in it (his face will probably be familiar to you if you've watched a few Indian films).
Finally, this is the film that won the main prize at the Venice film festival in September and of all the big film festivals and award ceremonies Venice is probably the one I trust the most.
Previous mentions on my blog
15th February, 2008 The Kite Runner
Why I'm excited?
Well, I'm not expecting it to be the best of films (even though AFAIK the reviews in the US have been good), but somehow I'm just getting a kick out of Hollywood making a film that is so heavily based in Afghanistan, but at the same time doesn't seem to be particularly political (I may be wrong about this, but that's my impression thus far).
The story itself sounds rather interesting (I'm just hoping it won't be told as sentimentally as it's treated on the trailer). It's about two boys who are good friends. The turning point is when one of the boys gets abused and raped and the other just lets it happen. And then the rest of the film is largely about the guilt of allowing that. Apparently, a lot of people wanted the director to take out the rape scene (leaving in just the violence). But he said it was necessary because you had to feel how terrible the deed was for the attempts at redemption to follow naturally. I guess that comment got me even more curious.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
22nd February, 2008 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Why I'm excited?
Do I even have to explain this one? lol
Previous mentions on my blog
- Initial promotion for Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd"
- Sweeney Todd trailer - yay!
- Can Johnny Depp sing?
- Second Sweeney Todd trailer
- Sweeney Todd promotion in full throb
? March, 2008 Dhoom 2
Why I'm excited?
Bollywood + Hrithik Roshan + Abhishek Bachchan + a trailer like that = fun ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
13th June, 2008 The Happening
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
For a reaaaaally dumb reason - it's the first time that an Indian producer (UTV) is co-producing what is essentially a Hollywood film.
That said, it's directed by M. Night Shyamalan, so there's hope that in ecological thriller terms it won't be so bad ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
? September or October, 2008 Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Why I'm excited?
Because more Bollywood in Polish cinemas is always a good thing and when it involves Abhishek Bachchan then it's even better ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
28th November, 2008 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
Because I'm amongst the Harry Potter fans who think the films are getting better and better ;) Plus there's a few scenes in this one that I soooo want to see on screen *dreamy eyes*
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Some time during 2008? I'm not there
So far there's no release date for Poland, but the film sounds big enough to have gotten a distributor, so I expect we will be seeing it at some point during 2008 (the world premiere was in September 2007).
Why I'm excited?
Because Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and a little boy I don't know called Marcus Carl Franklin are all playing the same person and according to the buzz the film actually works lol All of these are terrific actors, so it should be quite something.
Previous mentions on my blog
None
late in 2008? Om Shanti Om
2008 is probably wishful thinking on my part as no Polish distributor has bought the rights as of yet, but hey - a year after its initial release is not exactly soon ;-P I'm pretty sure *somebody* will pick up the rights as Om Shanti Om is on its way to become the highest grosser in Indian cinema history.
Why I'm excited?
Shahrukh Khan is quite enough for me to be excited about any film ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
- "Om Shanti Om" - Shahrukh's next release
- Tom Cruise film loses out to two Bollywood films i...
- Another Shahrukh interview (OSO promotion)
Late in 2008? Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt
No trailer available yet.
Why I'm excited?
This is Sacha Baron Cohen's next and I like him, so I guess a project with a title like that has to get some curiosity from me ;)
Previous mentions on my blog
None
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Ever wondered how Shahrukh Khan started his career?
Answer: By playing a very small part in a TV film called In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones. He had only a few lines in the film and they were dubbed over by somebody else in post-production. Even more amusingly, his character in the film is gay *grin*
If you wish to see this strange turn of events with your own eyes then see below ;)
If you wish to see this strange turn of events with your own eyes then see below ;)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Another Shahrukh interview (OSO promotion)
A lot of the time when I don't post for a long time, I re-start by posting something completely random and short, so this will be no exception ;)
Here's Shahrukh at his flippant best, promoting Om Shanti Om :) It's a 3 part interview embedded as a playlist, so I hope it works right... Part 3 is by far the funniest :)
P.S. I'm expecting to be quiet throughout January as well, but hopefully halfway through February I'll be writing a bit more :)
Here's Shahrukh at his flippant best, promoting Om Shanti Om :) It's a 3 part interview embedded as a playlist, so I hope it works right... Part 3 is by far the funniest :)
P.S. I'm expecting to be quiet throughout January as well, but hopefully halfway through February I'll be writing a bit more :)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tom Cruise film loses out to two Bollywood films in the worldwide box office
Bollywood is still a long way from properly challenging the major Hollywood studios, but for the first time something of the sort has happened (although I think these results require some interpretation ;)).
Generally, trade analysts divide box office results into the US box office and the worldwide box office (worldwide = everybody except the US). This is convenient because films tend to stack up a bit differently in the US, but also because a Hollywood film can earn about a third of its revenue in the US alone. The joke is that United Artists released Lions for Lambs in 45 countries and earned $10.3 million in the worlwide box office this weekend. Whereas Saawariya made $14.4 million and Om Shanti Om $17million in India alone. It is a bit of a blip as Variety calls it because it's Diwali weekend in India and two of the most anticipated films of the season have just released. Hollywood on the other hand is probably having a weaker weekend and it looks like Lions for Lambs is going to be a flop. But considering India's economic growth this is a very strong signal of what is to come and puts my last Hollywood-Bollywood post into perspective I think. India is now becoming a very important market for Hollywood to break into and they're going to do a lot to get there. It's significant that Saawariya was co-produced by a large American studio.
While this result tells us more about India's significance as a market than about any global trends regarding Bollywood films, both films have done very well outside of India too. Om Shanti Om has made 11th place in the US weekend box office which is I think the best result any Bollywood film has made at this point. And look closely at the screen count - Om Shanti Om has been released on 114 screens in the US while its Hollywood rivals have a 2000 or more screen count! And notice the per screen average - it's 3 times that of the other big releases. Clearly there would have been room to give Om Shanti Om a wider release than that!
It's interesting to look at Saawariya's result. It has made 24th place in the US box office which is also an excellent result. And for the first time I think I'm seeing a Bollywood release that has done well in the US and the per screen result is around what other films are collecting. Since Saawariya was co-produced by Sony, it's also Sony doing the distribution in the US and it appears that they've done it properly - released it on as many screens as it needs to be released and also it is I think the first Bollywood film to be released in the US which was submitted to the MPAA for rating (it received a PG).
Both films, but particularly Om Shanti Om has made an impact in other countries as well. Om Shanti Om has made no.7 in the UK box office, just behind the Tom Cruise flick which is at no. 6 and considering all the other numbers (54 vs 404 screens, £9,977 vs £1,629 per screen average) it looks like in the long run Om Shanti Om will be the winner.
It's done well even in Australia where it has made 9th place and as usual I recommend you check out the screen count and average per screen. Sony gave Saawariya a slightly wider release in Australia than Eros was able to give Om Shanti Om, but you can still see Om Shanti Om has done better.
Finally, because as you know I'm addicted to youtube, here are some of the trailers of the films mentioned in this post ;)
So here's the loser of this week, the Tom Cruise starrer - Lions for Lambs:
This is the trailer for Saawariya, the first Bollywood-Hollywood production:
And finally two teasers for Om Shanti Om, the Shahrukh Khan starrer (Shahrukh Khan has beaten Tom Cruise at the worlwide box office buahahaha):
And here's one of the bigger selling points of the film ;)
Generally, trade analysts divide box office results into the US box office and the worldwide box office (worldwide = everybody except the US). This is convenient because films tend to stack up a bit differently in the US, but also because a Hollywood film can earn about a third of its revenue in the US alone. The joke is that United Artists released Lions for Lambs in 45 countries and earned $10.3 million in the worlwide box office this weekend. Whereas Saawariya made $14.4 million and Om Shanti Om $17million in India alone. It is a bit of a blip as Variety calls it because it's Diwali weekend in India and two of the most anticipated films of the season have just released. Hollywood on the other hand is probably having a weaker weekend and it looks like Lions for Lambs is going to be a flop. But considering India's economic growth this is a very strong signal of what is to come and puts my last Hollywood-Bollywood post into perspective I think. India is now becoming a very important market for Hollywood to break into and they're going to do a lot to get there. It's significant that Saawariya was co-produced by a large American studio.
While this result tells us more about India's significance as a market than about any global trends regarding Bollywood films, both films have done very well outside of India too. Om Shanti Om has made 11th place in the US weekend box office which is I think the best result any Bollywood film has made at this point. And look closely at the screen count - Om Shanti Om has been released on 114 screens in the US while its Hollywood rivals have a 2000 or more screen count! And notice the per screen average - it's 3 times that of the other big releases. Clearly there would have been room to give Om Shanti Om a wider release than that!
It's interesting to look at Saawariya's result. It has made 24th place in the US box office which is also an excellent result. And for the first time I think I'm seeing a Bollywood release that has done well in the US and the per screen result is around what other films are collecting. Since Saawariya was co-produced by Sony, it's also Sony doing the distribution in the US and it appears that they've done it properly - released it on as many screens as it needs to be released and also it is I think the first Bollywood film to be released in the US which was submitted to the MPAA for rating (it received a PG).
Both films, but particularly Om Shanti Om has made an impact in other countries as well. Om Shanti Om has made no.7 in the UK box office, just behind the Tom Cruise flick which is at no. 6 and considering all the other numbers (54 vs 404 screens, £9,977 vs £1,629 per screen average) it looks like in the long run Om Shanti Om will be the winner.
It's done well even in Australia where it has made 9th place and as usual I recommend you check out the screen count and average per screen. Sony gave Saawariya a slightly wider release in Australia than Eros was able to give Om Shanti Om, but you can still see Om Shanti Om has done better.
Finally, because as you know I'm addicted to youtube, here are some of the trailers of the films mentioned in this post ;)
So here's the loser of this week, the Tom Cruise starrer - Lions for Lambs:
This is the trailer for Saawariya, the first Bollywood-Hollywood production:
And finally two teasers for Om Shanti Om, the Shahrukh Khan starrer (Shahrukh Khan has beaten Tom Cruise at the worlwide box office buahahaha):
And here's one of the bigger selling points of the film ;)
Friday, September 14, 2007
"Om Shanti Om" - Shahrukh's next release
So the marketing campaign for Shahrukh Khan's next film has started!
It's already run into some controversy, as it will release on the 9th of November - the same day as Bhansali's "Saawariya" (which was mentioned in more detail in one of my other posts) and Bhansali is angry with Farah Khan (the director of "Om Shanti Om" and "Main Hoon Naa") because he says she has ridiculed his mother.
So anyway, below is an episode of "Koffee with Karan" with Shahrukh and Farah in which amongst many hilarious answers, you will also see the supposedely offending comment about Bhansali's mother. The interview is in 5 parts - but it's really worth the watch!
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 1 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 2 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 3 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 4 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 5 - MyVideo
And below are some more clips promoting the film.
This is another exclusive trailer (quite similar to the one they showed during Koffee with Karan):
And here's an opportunity to see the 6-pack that SRK and Farah were promising during the interview. Is it just me or is it really weird to see Shahrukh do this sort of thing? lol
Finally a trailer for one of the more romantic songs in the film which for some reason sounds totally like Japanese popular music to me (even though I'm sure it's not ;-P):
It's already run into some controversy, as it will release on the 9th of November - the same day as Bhansali's "Saawariya" (which was mentioned in more detail in one of my other posts) and Bhansali is angry with Farah Khan (the director of "Om Shanti Om" and "Main Hoon Naa") because he says she has ridiculed his mother.
So anyway, below is an episode of "Koffee with Karan" with Shahrukh and Farah in which amongst many hilarious answers, you will also see the supposedely offending comment about Bhansali's mother. The interview is in 5 parts - but it's really worth the watch!
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 1 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 2 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 3 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 4 - MyVideo
Srk in KwK 2007 Teil 5 - MyVideo
And below are some more clips promoting the film.
This is another exclusive trailer (quite similar to the one they showed during Koffee with Karan):
And here's an opportunity to see the 6-pack that SRK and Farah were promising during the interview. Is it just me or is it really weird to see Shahrukh do this sort of thing? lol
Finally a trailer for one of the more romantic songs in the film which for some reason sounds totally like Japanese popular music to me (even though I'm sure it's not ;-P):
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Some Indian box-office news (that will probably bore you, but I'm fascinated ;-P)
Last week, the Indian box-office saw possibly the biggest flop of recent times.
Ram Gopal Varma has remade Sholay, the 1975 classic with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. In the new version Mr Bachchan stars as the villain of the film.
Reviews have been terrible and there's been a general uproar against re-making "Sholay" (it's a bit like doing a remake of "Citizen Kane"). The film has been taken off screens after just one week!
Ram Gopal Varma, though he did seem somewhat shaken by the reactions, took it with his characteristic cynicism:
"The messages have been pretty vocal and direct about their dislike for what I've done. I've been called names and treated to the nastiest comments. But I've enjoyed the backlash, far more than people enjoyed Aag" laughs Ramu.
On the other side of the spectrum, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) has just completed its 615th week in Indian cinemas (that's almost 12 years!) and it's still going really strong. In August when four Yash Raj productions were being shown in Mumbai, it was DDLJ that was the biggest earner! The film is a world phenomenon - no other film in the history of world cinema has played this long since its initial release (it has beaten the previous record holder - "Sholay (1975)" by about 7 years).
And finally, something I'm finding quite shocking is that Chak De! India which I thought would be a god-awful film and worth seeing only for Shahrukh, is not only a blockbuster, but is getting terrific reviews! After the first trailer came out, I was (like many people) convinced it would be horrible, but it's now going strong in its 4th week.
Reviews aside, perhaps the most surprising reaction to the film is that of the Academy (the Academy in the US that gives out the oscars ;-P) who have asked for a copy of the script for their permanent script collection.
Shahrukh has also received surprising reviews for his role as hockey coach. It's not just that they're good (which is rare in itself), but anyone who has watched him knows that "understated" or "restrained" are not adjectives that are usually associated with him.
Check out the first teaser trailer for "Chak De India" below (it promises none of the above, does it? lol):
The theatrical trailer looks a bit better, but is still far from promising the kind of reaction the film has received:
Ram Gopal Varma has remade Sholay, the 1975 classic with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. In the new version Mr Bachchan stars as the villain of the film.
Reviews have been terrible and there's been a general uproar against re-making "Sholay" (it's a bit like doing a remake of "Citizen Kane"). The film has been taken off screens after just one week!
Ram Gopal Varma, though he did seem somewhat shaken by the reactions, took it with his characteristic cynicism:
"The messages have been pretty vocal and direct about their dislike for what I've done. I've been called names and treated to the nastiest comments. But I've enjoyed the backlash, far more than people enjoyed Aag" laughs Ramu.
On the other side of the spectrum, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) has just completed its 615th week in Indian cinemas (that's almost 12 years!) and it's still going really strong. In August when four Yash Raj productions were being shown in Mumbai, it was DDLJ that was the biggest earner! The film is a world phenomenon - no other film in the history of world cinema has played this long since its initial release (it has beaten the previous record holder - "Sholay (1975)" by about 7 years).
And finally, something I'm finding quite shocking is that Chak De! India which I thought would be a god-awful film and worth seeing only for Shahrukh, is not only a blockbuster, but is getting terrific reviews! After the first trailer came out, I was (like many people) convinced it would be horrible, but it's now going strong in its 4th week.
Reviews aside, perhaps the most surprising reaction to the film is that of the Academy (the Academy in the US that gives out the oscars ;-P) who have asked for a copy of the script for their permanent script collection.
Shahrukh has also received surprising reviews for his role as hockey coach. It's not just that they're good (which is rare in itself), but anyone who has watched him knows that "understated" or "restrained" are not adjectives that are usually associated with him.
Check out the first teaser trailer for "Chak De India" below (it promises none of the above, does it? lol):
The theatrical trailer looks a bit better, but is still far from promising the kind of reaction the film has received:
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Bollywood and Hollywood together - it's happening!
It seems like every 2-3 months is bringing stronger reasons to believe that Bollywood and Hollywood want to have a working relationship!
The first time I posted about this was in February and then again in May.
Well, now it's August and there's loads more to report :)
Hollywood is starting to take the Indian market very seriously. In other words they've realized that there's a billion people in India, that the country's economy is developing very fast, the people of India are veeeery interested in cinema and Hollywood only has about 8% of the market... oooops...
The problem is that the way they've dominated Western markets just isn't going to work in India. In the words of Gareth Wigan, vice chairman of Columbia TriStar - "The importing of American films into India is not filling a gap (...) You're not bringing a dish to a bare table. You're bringing a dish to a table where you have to move a lot of other dishes to fit in, and that's not true in a lot of other countries."
Disney, Warner Bros and Columbia/Sony in particular seem to be seeing this 8% market problem and there's no longer any doubt - they're looking for opportunities!
So a number of things have been happening...
Disney have made a deal with Yash Raj films (which is one of the biggest production companies in Bollywood) to make animated films for Indian audiences.
They've also apparently been in touch with Shahrukh Khan, hoping to invest in his production company - Red Chillies Entertainment. And they're not the only ones either, apparently Sony and Fox are considering the same move!
There's also a number of projects which are essentially Bollywood films, but with some of the money coming from Hollywood.
The first of these to come out is Saawariya, with Columbia/Sony Entertainment behind it. It will be released this November. It's directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (the director who also did Devdas) and will star Rani Mukherji and Salman Khan. The first teaser trailer is looking absolutely stunning. See it here.
Warner Bros is venturing out into Bollywood with "Made in China", which will be directed by Nikhil Advani (the director of Kal Ho Naa Ho) and will star Akshay Kumar.
Perhaps most excitingly, both of these films will have mainstream American distributors which makes their chances in the international box office much better! :)
But also Bollywood stars are being offered Hollywood movies!
Shilpa Shetty is rumoured to be in talks for the next James Bond movie, as well as possibly starring in a movie with Keanu Reeves. But there have been a number of other Bollywood stars approached for various projects, this article lists most of them.
Less dynamically, but Hollywood producers also seem to be thinking about Bollywood directors for their Hollywood projects. Santosh Sivan (the director of Asoka) has been approached with a script set in a colonial background.
Finally, perhaps less energetically, but Bollywood is making its own attempts at venturing into Hollywood and making use of their talents.
They have roped in a leading Hollywood VFX man into Pixion - a post-production studio in India. David Crawford is behind films like "Titanic", "Spiderman" and "Mission Impossible II"!
UTV is trying to make a big World War II movie with Vishal Bharadwaj (Omkara) as the director, hopefully bringing together Uma Thurman and Hrithik Roshan, but at the moment the project will remain in pre-production for a while yet.
UTV has also ventured into co-production with Fox on a Hollywood film - it will be Shyamalan's next film.
Not bad, huh? :-D
P.S. Not strictly related to the Hollywood-Bollywood issue, but I'll put it in anyway ;-P Danny Boyle's next film is set in India and he's supposed to have met Shahrukh Khan about it.
The first time I posted about this was in February and then again in May.
Well, now it's August and there's loads more to report :)
Hollywood is starting to take the Indian market very seriously. In other words they've realized that there's a billion people in India, that the country's economy is developing very fast, the people of India are veeeery interested in cinema and Hollywood only has about 8% of the market... oooops...
The problem is that the way they've dominated Western markets just isn't going to work in India. In the words of Gareth Wigan, vice chairman of Columbia TriStar - "The importing of American films into India is not filling a gap (...) You're not bringing a dish to a bare table. You're bringing a dish to a table where you have to move a lot of other dishes to fit in, and that's not true in a lot of other countries."
Disney, Warner Bros and Columbia/Sony in particular seem to be seeing this 8% market problem and there's no longer any doubt - they're looking for opportunities!
So a number of things have been happening...
Disney have made a deal with Yash Raj films (which is one of the biggest production companies in Bollywood) to make animated films for Indian audiences.
They've also apparently been in touch with Shahrukh Khan, hoping to invest in his production company - Red Chillies Entertainment. And they're not the only ones either, apparently Sony and Fox are considering the same move!
There's also a number of projects which are essentially Bollywood films, but with some of the money coming from Hollywood.
The first of these to come out is Saawariya, with Columbia/Sony Entertainment behind it. It will be released this November. It's directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (the director who also did Devdas) and will star Rani Mukherji and Salman Khan. The first teaser trailer is looking absolutely stunning. See it here.
Warner Bros is venturing out into Bollywood with "Made in China", which will be directed by Nikhil Advani (the director of Kal Ho Naa Ho) and will star Akshay Kumar.
Perhaps most excitingly, both of these films will have mainstream American distributors which makes their chances in the international box office much better! :)
But also Bollywood stars are being offered Hollywood movies!
Shilpa Shetty is rumoured to be in talks for the next James Bond movie, as well as possibly starring in a movie with Keanu Reeves. But there have been a number of other Bollywood stars approached for various projects, this article lists most of them.
Less dynamically, but Hollywood producers also seem to be thinking about Bollywood directors for their Hollywood projects. Santosh Sivan (the director of Asoka) has been approached with a script set in a colonial background.
Finally, perhaps less energetically, but Bollywood is making its own attempts at venturing into Hollywood and making use of their talents.
They have roped in a leading Hollywood VFX man into Pixion - a post-production studio in India. David Crawford is behind films like "Titanic", "Spiderman" and "Mission Impossible II"!
UTV is trying to make a big World War II movie with Vishal Bharadwaj (Omkara) as the director, hopefully bringing together Uma Thurman and Hrithik Roshan, but at the moment the project will remain in pre-production for a while yet.
UTV has also ventured into co-production with Fox on a Hollywood film - it will be Shyamalan's next film.
Not bad, huh? :-D
P.S. Not strictly related to the Hollywood-Bollywood issue, but I'll put it in anyway ;-P Danny Boyle's next film is set in India and he's supposed to have met Shahrukh Khan about it.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Indian film releases I'm excited about...
So there's Chak de India, the new Shahrukh release in August, which I'm anticipating to be rather awful judging by the trailer (though of course because it's a Shahrukh release I'm still a little excited ;)). The premise of the film is Shahrukh's character coaching a women's field hockey team. The first teaser is below:
But I also think it's high time to introduce the topic of Akshaye Khanna onto this blog (yes, there are in fact Indian actors other than Shahrukh that I'm a fan of lol). Some of you may have seen Akshaye in Dil Chahta Hai. Otherwise he's not a Bollywood star that has gotten much attention before this year really. But recently his career seems to have taken off. His style of acting is rather rare in mainstream terms (I'd say he's usually a very subtle actor even in Western standards) and I think he's quite into experimenting with different things, so with the recent surge of interest in him, he seems to have had some interesting film offers to choose from. The result is that I'm quite excited about a few films with him him attached that are coming up ;)
So firstly, there's Gandhi, My Father which is probably going to release in August and is getting even some international focus. While Gandhi as a character has featured in a huge amount of films, this film seems to be a very unique (and controversial) take on him. You might like to read up on this film a little here. But if you don't - then well basically it's about Gandhi's family and the conflict he had with his son (Akshaye plays the son). They never got on well and apparently Gandhi forbade him to become a lawyer which is what his son really wanted to do. The film tries to paint both Gandhi and his son in grey colors and tells the story of how Gandhi's sacrifice for the nation was very difficult on his family. Below is one of the first trailers for this film:
On a lighter Akshaye Khanna note, there's Naqaab. I don't know when this is going to be released, but I assume probably soon as the trailers have started coming out. I've no idea what this film is about ;-P But it's probably totally crazy, as the directors of it (Abbas-Mustan) are the ones responsible for films such as Baazigar (1993) and Baadshah (1999). The difference is that now they have the special effects to pull off a silly James Bond type movie with James Bondy type effects if they really wanted to ;) Trailer is below:
Finally, on a rumoured Akshaye Khanna note, he may be part of a much talked about and controversial film (I think it's Western financing), which has been in pre-production for a very long time. Even though When Kiran met Karen seems to be appearing in news articles quite a lot considering how early the stages of its production are (for all we know it might not even get made), there's hardly any info about its plot. What mainly gets repeated is that it's a "lesbian flick".
P.S. This month my blog has been rather neglected, the reason is that June is my busiest school period, but now that's almost finished, there's hope I'll improve ;) (though I'll be off-line for about 2-3 weeks in the second half of July - first bit of August).
But I also think it's high time to introduce the topic of Akshaye Khanna onto this blog (yes, there are in fact Indian actors other than Shahrukh that I'm a fan of lol). Some of you may have seen Akshaye in Dil Chahta Hai. Otherwise he's not a Bollywood star that has gotten much attention before this year really. But recently his career seems to have taken off. His style of acting is rather rare in mainstream terms (I'd say he's usually a very subtle actor even in Western standards) and I think he's quite into experimenting with different things, so with the recent surge of interest in him, he seems to have had some interesting film offers to choose from. The result is that I'm quite excited about a few films with him him attached that are coming up ;)
So firstly, there's Gandhi, My Father which is probably going to release in August and is getting even some international focus. While Gandhi as a character has featured in a huge amount of films, this film seems to be a very unique (and controversial) take on him. You might like to read up on this film a little here. But if you don't - then well basically it's about Gandhi's family and the conflict he had with his son (Akshaye plays the son). They never got on well and apparently Gandhi forbade him to become a lawyer which is what his son really wanted to do. The film tries to paint both Gandhi and his son in grey colors and tells the story of how Gandhi's sacrifice for the nation was very difficult on his family. Below is one of the first trailers for this film:
On a lighter Akshaye Khanna note, there's Naqaab. I don't know when this is going to be released, but I assume probably soon as the trailers have started coming out. I've no idea what this film is about ;-P But it's probably totally crazy, as the directors of it (Abbas-Mustan) are the ones responsible for films such as Baazigar (1993) and Baadshah (1999). The difference is that now they have the special effects to pull off a silly James Bond type movie with James Bondy type effects if they really wanted to ;) Trailer is below:
Finally, on a rumoured Akshaye Khanna note, he may be part of a much talked about and controversial film (I think it's Western financing), which has been in pre-production for a very long time. Even though When Kiran met Karen seems to be appearing in news articles quite a lot considering how early the stages of its production are (for all we know it might not even get made), there's hardly any info about its plot. What mainly gets repeated is that it's a "lesbian flick".
P.S. This month my blog has been rather neglected, the reason is that June is my busiest school period, but now that's almost finished, there's hope I'll improve ;) (though I'll be off-line for about 2-3 weeks in the second half of July - first bit of August).
Friday, May 25, 2007
Shahrukh and Saif at the 49th Filmfare Awards
I found these clips from Filmfare Awards 2003-2004 when Shahrukh and Saif were hosting together. It must have quite soon after Kal Ho Naa Ho since they were making references to it all the time (in the film, everytime Kantaben - one of the characters - sees the two of them together it looks as if they're having some sort of romance or something). Anyway, the clips are so silly I had to post them ;)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Random Shahrukh video
Just found this clip and thought it was hilarious, so I'm posting :) It's from one of Shahrukh's live concerts (he's hinted he might be coming to Poland on the next tour he does :) ).
Thursday, May 17, 2007
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" - the Indian and American film industries working together
Collaborations between the two biggest film industries in the world sound like a very natural thing, but Indian cinema has never been taken seriously enough for it to happen.
Attitudes, however, are changing on many levels (also see my post from February).
For one thing - who'd have thought that tabloid stories from Bollywood would be the subject of a comedy show on mainstream American TV? (the story of a supposed fallout between Shahrukh and Big B is quite old now, but still talked about in India - they've both repeatedely said there's no truth in it, Shahrukh of course in his own unique way)
But there are also some much more serious changes. A fairly recent story is that UTV Motion Pictures and 20th Century Fox are co-producing M. Night Shyamalan’s next film - The Happening. India has been in co-productions before now (though AFAIK quite rarely), but this time we're talking about a major blockbuster.
That's not the end of things for UTV either. There's also talk of an international project which would co-star Uma Thurman and Hrithik Roshan.
The Shyamalan film sounds rather awful - toxic plants... er right... But I'm very curious how the situation between the Indian and American industries is going to develop.
Just to finish this post on a totally random note (and get rid of something that has been in my drafts since February or something like that ;-P), here are two funny clips - one from this year's Academy Awards with Ellen Degeneres as the host and one from the Filmfare Awards which are the most important awards in India (and take place around the same time that the Academy Awards do) - this year they were hosted by Shahrukh.
(if you desperately want to have an explanation for the sudden appearance of these two clips in this post then I suggest you assume that this is just a way of showing some similarities and differences between the two industries ;))
P.S. Unlike my dad I don't expect everyone to know the quote in the title of this post (since the film it comes from was made in 1942). It is from Casablanca which incidently might be remade in India.
Attitudes, however, are changing on many levels (also see my post from February).
For one thing - who'd have thought that tabloid stories from Bollywood would be the subject of a comedy show on mainstream American TV? (the story of a supposed fallout between Shahrukh and Big B is quite old now, but still talked about in India - they've both repeatedely said there's no truth in it, Shahrukh of course in his own unique way)
But there are also some much more serious changes. A fairly recent story is that UTV Motion Pictures and 20th Century Fox are co-producing M. Night Shyamalan’s next film - The Happening. India has been in co-productions before now (though AFAIK quite rarely), but this time we're talking about a major blockbuster.
That's not the end of things for UTV either. There's also talk of an international project which would co-star Uma Thurman and Hrithik Roshan.
The Shyamalan film sounds rather awful - toxic plants... er right... But I'm very curious how the situation between the Indian and American industries is going to develop.
Just to finish this post on a totally random note (and get rid of something that has been in my drafts since February or something like that ;-P), here are two funny clips - one from this year's Academy Awards with Ellen Degeneres as the host and one from the Filmfare Awards which are the most important awards in India (and take place around the same time that the Academy Awards do) - this year they were hosted by Shahrukh.
(if you desperately want to have an explanation for the sudden appearance of these two clips in this post then I suggest you assume that this is just a way of showing some similarities and differences between the two industries ;))
P.S. Unlike my dad I don't expect everyone to know the quote in the title of this post (since the film it comes from was made in 1942). It is from Casablanca which incidently might be remade in India.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Shilpa Shetty and scandal
Funnily enough it's not the biggest Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai who make international headlines because of scandal. It's Shilpa Shetty - a girl who goes with her mother almost everywhere and seems to be one of the most politically correct stars in Bollywood *grin*
For those of you who have been talked into watching some Bollywood movies, you may remember Shilpa from Baazigar. Baazigar (which was made in 1993 and was her debut film) is in fact her biggest hit to date ;-P The trailer for this film is here if any of you want to see it :) (she's the first lady Shahrukh is romancing, the other leading lady as many of you will know is Kajol).
So firstly, as you may or may not know, Shilpa won the UK celebrity Big Brother not too long ago, but what happened to her in the house caused an international incident. Major British politicians such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown felt it necessary to speak up and the incident provoked a huge discussion about racism in the UK (as well as discussion about whether what happened to Shilpa was racism or just bullying). Perhaps the best way to give you more of an idea about what happened is this video (go forward to the part when she's interviewed and shown clips from what happened if you're bored with the beginning bit):
Part two of the video is here, but I imagine the first clip will be quite enough information.
But now, Shilpa has become part of another international incident. This time it involves Richard Gere, public kissing (on the cheek!) and I guess further food for thought on how different people from different cultures feel about what's appropriate and what's not (which was the topic of this post). Here's a news report on the incident:
The incident has now gone even farther with talk that Richard Gere might be sentenced to prison for "public obscenity".
For those of you who have been talked into watching some Bollywood movies, you may remember Shilpa from Baazigar. Baazigar (which was made in 1993 and was her debut film) is in fact her biggest hit to date ;-P The trailer for this film is here if any of you want to see it :) (she's the first lady Shahrukh is romancing, the other leading lady as many of you will know is Kajol).
So firstly, as you may or may not know, Shilpa won the UK celebrity Big Brother not too long ago, but what happened to her in the house caused an international incident. Major British politicians such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown felt it necessary to speak up and the incident provoked a huge discussion about racism in the UK (as well as discussion about whether what happened to Shilpa was racism or just bullying). Perhaps the best way to give you more of an idea about what happened is this video (go forward to the part when she's interviewed and shown clips from what happened if you're bored with the beginning bit):
Part two of the video is here, but I imagine the first clip will be quite enough information.
But now, Shilpa has become part of another international incident. This time it involves Richard Gere, public kissing (on the cheek!) and I guess further food for thought on how different people from different cultures feel about what's appropriate and what's not (which was the topic of this post). Here's a news report on the incident:
The incident has now gone even farther with talk that Richard Gere might be sentenced to prison for "public obscenity".
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Follow-up on Shantaram and Water
Just a short follow-up to my previous post.
You can read a nice article about Water's chances for an Academy Award and about Hollywood starting to take notice of Indian cinema here.
And I've found something on youtube that makes me even more excited about Shantaram. Below I've embedded an interview with the author of the book. It's in five parts (but I've embedded it as a playlist so it should appear as one with the possibility to switch between the five parts). If they manage to keep that sort of spirit in the film then OMG! I really hope they do!
Also, here's confirmation that Mira Nair is indeed in talks with Shahrukh Khan over a small role in the film.
You can read a nice article about Water's chances for an Academy Award and about Hollywood starting to take notice of Indian cinema here.
And I've found something on youtube that makes me even more excited about Shantaram. Below I've embedded an interview with the author of the book. It's in five parts (but I've embedded it as a playlist so it should appear as one with the possibility to switch between the five parts). If they manage to keep that sort of spirit in the film then OMG! I really hope they do!
Also, here's confirmation that Mira Nair is indeed in talks with Shahrukh Khan over a small role in the film.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Is Indian cinema on the verge of making an impact in the USA?
There's many things to write on the topic of why films from outside of the US don't seem to be able to make an impact in the US box office. Someday I hope to write a very long post about why that is (or at least why I think that is), but since I still have to read up a lot about it to properly write it, it won't be soon ;)
But to make a long story short, the most major reason that makes it almost impossible for a non-US (or independant US) film to make an impact in the USA is the system there. A few major studios pretty much own the market and the same companies that produce films also own all the major cinema chains. This means that a film that has not been produced by one of these major studios will probably only get shown in independant cinemas and these are few and far apart. There is no way that a film made outside of "the system" could get shown on a few thousand screens in the US alone as is the case with many major Hollywood productions.
Occasionally a film from outside of the US will do very good business (like Borat did recently), but when you'll check the company credits you'll always find one of the major US studios in them (for Borat it was 20th Century Fox).
India has so far never had a major financial success in the US even though interest in Indian cinema is growing. But there's two films on the horizon which might change this.
The first is Deepa Mehta's Water. In fact already based only on its Canadian box office results it's the biggest Indian box office earner ever in North America. While technically a Canadian film (that's where the financing has come from) it is about Indian issues and by Indian filmmakers (some of them like the director based in Canada and some of them from the Indian film industry like Bollywood star John Abraham).
So far it's enjoyed only a small release in the States (less than 100 screens), but it's being distributed by Fox Searchlight, which is the independant branch of 20th Century Fox and therefore I assume they have the means to give it a wider release if they think it commercially viable. It is Canada's official entry for this year's Academy Awards and has made it into the final five nominated foreign films. While Pan's Labyrinth is probably the favourite to win, Water is most often named as the other film that has a strong shot at winning the award. Ironically, Deepa Mehta has had huge problems with releasing this film in India. It had to be shot in Sri Lanka because the issues raised (it is a film about the treatment of widows in India) were so controversial in India. It has however finally passed the Indian censors and will be released there in March.
Here is a song number from the film:
The trailer is not up on youtube, but you can see it here (I don't have the required plugin, but the downloaded file works for me in vlc). You can read more about the film here.
But perhaps an even more "curious" prospect is Shantaram. It is currently in pre-production and should be released in 2008. Johnny Depp is producing it and is set to play the lead. Warner Bros is involved in the company credits so clearly we're looking at a very wide release. Originally Peter Weir was attached to direct, but it seems he has left the project "over artistic differences" with Johnny Depp and it is now Mira Nair who will direct it. The film is set in Bombay and the Indian cast will probably include some big names. Amitabh Bachchan has recently been attached to the project and is apparently going to star as something of a mentor to Johnny Depp's character. There are rumours (the imdb boards are my source for them so I'm not sure they are reliable) that the producers are in talks with Shahrukh Khan over a smaller role. Certainly there is reason to think that the author of the book is keen on this since he has used Shahrukh's photo on his site as an example of what one of his characters might look like.
Needless to say I'm quite excited about both films ;)
Of course it's quite likely that Water will not win an Academy Award and Shantaram (although I think a wide release is a given) might not spark people's interest in Bollywood stars, but at least what these two films do show is that America is starting to take Indian cinema more seriously than before.
But to make a long story short, the most major reason that makes it almost impossible for a non-US (or independant US) film to make an impact in the USA is the system there. A few major studios pretty much own the market and the same companies that produce films also own all the major cinema chains. This means that a film that has not been produced by one of these major studios will probably only get shown in independant cinemas and these are few and far apart. There is no way that a film made outside of "the system" could get shown on a few thousand screens in the US alone as is the case with many major Hollywood productions.
Occasionally a film from outside of the US will do very good business (like Borat did recently), but when you'll check the company credits you'll always find one of the major US studios in them (for Borat it was 20th Century Fox).
India has so far never had a major financial success in the US even though interest in Indian cinema is growing. But there's two films on the horizon which might change this.
The first is Deepa Mehta's Water. In fact already based only on its Canadian box office results it's the biggest Indian box office earner ever in North America. While technically a Canadian film (that's where the financing has come from) it is about Indian issues and by Indian filmmakers (some of them like the director based in Canada and some of them from the Indian film industry like Bollywood star John Abraham).
So far it's enjoyed only a small release in the States (less than 100 screens), but it's being distributed by Fox Searchlight, which is the independant branch of 20th Century Fox and therefore I assume they have the means to give it a wider release if they think it commercially viable. It is Canada's official entry for this year's Academy Awards and has made it into the final five nominated foreign films. While Pan's Labyrinth is probably the favourite to win, Water is most often named as the other film that has a strong shot at winning the award. Ironically, Deepa Mehta has had huge problems with releasing this film in India. It had to be shot in Sri Lanka because the issues raised (it is a film about the treatment of widows in India) were so controversial in India. It has however finally passed the Indian censors and will be released there in March.
Here is a song number from the film:
The trailer is not up on youtube, but you can see it here (I don't have the required plugin, but the downloaded file works for me in vlc). You can read more about the film here.
But perhaps an even more "curious" prospect is Shantaram. It is currently in pre-production and should be released in 2008. Johnny Depp is producing it and is set to play the lead. Warner Bros is involved in the company credits so clearly we're looking at a very wide release. Originally Peter Weir was attached to direct, but it seems he has left the project "over artistic differences" with Johnny Depp and it is now Mira Nair who will direct it. The film is set in Bombay and the Indian cast will probably include some big names. Amitabh Bachchan has recently been attached to the project and is apparently going to star as something of a mentor to Johnny Depp's character. There are rumours (the imdb boards are my source for them so I'm not sure they are reliable) that the producers are in talks with Shahrukh Khan over a smaller role. Certainly there is reason to think that the author of the book is keen on this since he has used Shahrukh's photo on his site as an example of what one of his characters might look like.
Needless to say I'm quite excited about both films ;)
Of course it's quite likely that Water will not win an Academy Award and Shantaram (although I think a wide release is a given) might not spark people's interest in Bollywood stars, but at least what these two films do show is that America is starting to take Indian cinema more seriously than before.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Valentine's Day in India
This story totally cracked me up. I know it probably shouldn't - the Hindu groups in the article sound rather like some of our Christian groups in Poland which is not good news (not that the Polish groups aren't hilarious sometimes ;-P). But I think the Indian Hindu groups are much more creative in how they want to combat immoral Western behaviour than their equivalents here in Poland:
One Hindu group, the Shiv Sena, said its volunteers would photograph couples caught in "compromising positions".
Overt signs of affection, such as kissing and holding hands, are frowned upon in much of traditional Indian society.
Shiv Sena has warned that its activists will stake out public parks, cinemas and shopping malls in a number of cities, and photographs of couples courting will be handed over to their parents.
But that's not all my Valentine news from India :) (of course this next paragraph is only here because it's a great excuse to write about Shahrukh yet again or rather about something that has been in my drafts since December ;-P) Anyway, in case you're wondering what my favourite Indian actor has prepared for Valentine's Day I have to first fill you in on some news that first appeared in December, but I was too lazy/busy/forgetful (choose the one that you think best applies to me) to put it up on my blog.
So er... Shahrukh was offered the position of host on a very popular TV show called Kaun Banega Crorepati (Kaun I think means who and one of the other words means courage, but that's about all I've managed to pick up of Hindi ;-P). And he accepted. The press loved it because it gave them opportunity to write lots of stories about how tense the relationship between SRK and Amitabh Bachchan is because it was Mr Amitabh Bachchan who used to host KBC. This went well with everything else they had written about the two previously (about which I might also post on my blog very belatedly some day because I think it's rather hilarious).
Anyway, lets get to the show... "Kaun Banega Crorepati" sounds so foreign to me that I made no connection whatsoever as to what this show actually is. All I'm gonna say is that I know it rather well from Polish TV (and I'm pathetic at watching TV, so you'll definitely know it *grin*). It would have never occurred to me that in India being the host of it is so prestigious that stars like Shahrukh and Big B would be offered the position... Of course neither of them host it in the same style as I think it's hosted around Europe but that just makes it all the more amusing. Check out a short totally random fragment with Shahrukh as host (if you want more, all you have to put into the youtube search is "srk kbc"):
My favourite KBC clip however is the hip hop music video promo which I've embedded below. Apparently the video was Shahrukh's idea. But it's just so typical... I don't think any country apart from India could have come up with that sort of promotion for a TV show *grin*
Erm... and the boring bit is that he's invited some celebrities to the show for Valentine's Day (I had to have some excuse for giving you all this KBC news two months after it was due, ok? ;) ).
One Hindu group, the Shiv Sena, said its volunteers would photograph couples caught in "compromising positions".
Overt signs of affection, such as kissing and holding hands, are frowned upon in much of traditional Indian society.
Shiv Sena has warned that its activists will stake out public parks, cinemas and shopping malls in a number of cities, and photographs of couples courting will be handed over to their parents.
But that's not all my Valentine news from India :) (of course this next paragraph is only here because it's a great excuse to write about Shahrukh yet again or rather about something that has been in my drafts since December ;-P) Anyway, in case you're wondering what my favourite Indian actor has prepared for Valentine's Day I have to first fill you in on some news that first appeared in December, but I was too lazy/busy/forgetful (choose the one that you think best applies to me) to put it up on my blog.
So er... Shahrukh was offered the position of host on a very popular TV show called Kaun Banega Crorepati (Kaun I think means who and one of the other words means courage, but that's about all I've managed to pick up of Hindi ;-P). And he accepted. The press loved it because it gave them opportunity to write lots of stories about how tense the relationship between SRK and Amitabh Bachchan is because it was Mr Amitabh Bachchan who used to host KBC. This went well with everything else they had written about the two previously (about which I might also post on my blog very belatedly some day because I think it's rather hilarious).
Anyway, lets get to the show... "Kaun Banega Crorepati" sounds so foreign to me that I made no connection whatsoever as to what this show actually is. All I'm gonna say is that I know it rather well from Polish TV (and I'm pathetic at watching TV, so you'll definitely know it *grin*). It would have never occurred to me that in India being the host of it is so prestigious that stars like Shahrukh and Big B would be offered the position... Of course neither of them host it in the same style as I think it's hosted around Europe but that just makes it all the more amusing. Check out a short totally random fragment with Shahrukh as host (if you want more, all you have to put into the youtube search is "srk kbc"):
My favourite KBC clip however is the hip hop music video promo which I've embedded below. Apparently the video was Shahrukh's idea. But it's just so typical... I don't think any country apart from India could have come up with that sort of promotion for a TV show *grin*
Erm... and the boring bit is that he's invited some celebrities to the show for Valentine's Day (I had to have some excuse for giving you all this KBC news two months after it was due, ok? ;) ).
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Islam and the West
This is a difficult topic for me to write about (although at the same time one I really want to write about). I've never been around Muslims or their culture, so there are many things that I might not understand about Islam and therefore also about its conflict with the West (if there even is one - there are those who say it is a purely political conflict and has nothing to do with culture or religion). But I guess that's why I want to write this (as I explained in my first post on this blog, this blog is a Pensieve ;-P so it's supposed to help me put random thoughts in order).
Before I get to the point, I want to underline very, very clearly that I'm writing this from a Westerner's point of view, which means this post is a mix of news tidbits from Western media, some stereotypes and then a few tibits I've come across which seem to go against what I've been made to believe about Islam.
I'm not going to write about terrorism - I don't think I have anything worth saying that hasn't been said a million times over by others. And anyway, I don't really understand what Jihad is and I don't believe an encyclopedic definition will help, but for all it's worth you can check out the explanation on wikipedia here. Clearly, it has a very wide meaning and many in the Islamic community think it's being misinterpreted by the likes of al-Qaeda and other such organizations, so lets leave it at that.
I've written a long disclaimer, so I guess I can start with the nasty stuff now... Here's an article which upholds all the worst things we hear about Islam. It's about honour killings in Germany - Muslim women (Turkish in this case) get killed by their own families because they adopt a Western style of life.
I've also come across some articles about women's rights (and rape in particular) in Pakistan. This is an article about Mukhtar Mai - a woman from a small Pakistani village who was gang-raped, but has chosen to speak out about it and has become an important figure in the fight for women's rights. To read more on what Pakistani women think about this issue, try this link - there's a wide scope of opinions presented.
Other than this (well maybe apart from all the recent stories about whether Muslim women in Western countries should be allowed to wear veils - but perhaps I'll write about that at some different time), the rest of the stories showing Islam in bad light are terrorist related I think and while one can't fully discuss the matter without mentioning terrorism, I really don't feel like going into detail on it. We all know the issue exists and we all have very strong feelings against it and that I think is as much as I'm going to write.
Of course the West has done some very horrible things as well. While Bush's war on terror needs no comment I think, there are other things that have happened on the West/Middle-East front since the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq that speak very badly of the West. One of the first scandals was when the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was revealed. It was a loud case, so most of you probably remember it. If you don't then here's an article from May 2004 that covers the issue in quite a lot of detail.
While that was curbed, there are still Human Right issues that to this day have not been resolved and in fact the present state of affairs seems to have support from the US government (there seem to be slow changes made for the better, so lets keep our fingers crossed). I'm talking about Guantanamo of course. Check out what Amnesty International has to say. I still ought to read up more on their site, but I think the Case-sheets are particularly chilling reads. Also check out the short interview with Moazzam Begg - while not as descriptive on the torture as the case-sheets, what he has to say is still very shocking and very much worth knowing in the global scale of things. He was one of the people who spent a few years in Guantanamo and then was released without charges.
And this is not the end of things either. Things like this are happening all the time, but perhaps not as loudly as the two above (although frankly, Guantanamo is probably receiving a lot less attention from the media than it should!). A recent story which I found quite shocking is this - a 14 year old Iraq girl raped and killed by US soldiers (not to mention her whole family being killed by them as well).
Then there's the Arab-Israeli conflict, which many say is a major culprit in the tensions in the world now.
If you're Polish (I think most of the very few people reading this blog are) and perhaps thinking that Poland is responsible only for supporting the USA in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, well think again. If there is or was a secret detention centre in Poland then for all we know similar horrors could have been going on there. Check out this article about a recent EU investigation into the matter. There is no proof of such a place existing, but there are certainly very fishy aspects to this story. It is about these sorts of places that Moazzam Begg talked of in the interview I linked to. Here's the relevant quote:
And I think that one of the lessons, if we can call it a lesson, that the USA has learnt from Guantánamo is that there places that you don't tell people about.
Guantánamo now is almost this place that is becoming acceptable because these other places are so much worse and so much sinister.
There is this opinion in the West that Islamic culture is more aggresive and less democratic than Western culture. And yes, it wasn't people from the West who killed 3000 people in the World Trade Centre attacks. We also don't have honour killings (or at least I haven't heard of any) and women have more rights. But is there not enough evidence in the articles I linked to that show our culture is also very brutal and agressive?
You might say that the people who have inflicted such abuses on Muslims are in the minority, but that is what Muslims say about their extremists, no? I think the reason that we see our culture as less aggressive is that we know so many other aspects of it. What other aspects of Muslim culture does an average Westerner know?
I recently stumbled across a Muslim prayer on-line and I was very surprised with it. Believe it or not, it's actually very much in line with what I keep writing on this blog (I mean the values in it). Here it is (copied and pasted from this site):
Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah,
the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the
Universe who has created us and
made us into tribes and nations
That we may know each other, not that
we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do
thou also incline towards peace, and
trust God, for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
Most gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility, and when we
address them, we say "PEACE."
One of the major reasons why I even started thinking about this and wondering if I'm missing something in how Islam has been potrayed to me is Bollywood :D (yes, even though this blog is becoming a lot more political than I had intended it, Bollywood and Harry Potter will keep getting inserted into it until everyone but me is totally bored of hearing about them ;-P)
When I started getting fascinated with Bollywood I quickly realized that a lot of the major stars in the film industry are Muslim. And because I find it very easy to connect to the films, this made me think. These Muslim actors were showing a sense of humour that is no different than what we have in the West, often promoting values which I agree with (and I think the West generally agrees with) and in general there was just so little of it that was truly foreign to me.
Just to illustrate what I'm saying (and because I can't resist the opportunity to show people yet another clip of Shah Rukh Khan), below are two clips from an interview with Shahrukh on a program called "Devil's Advocate". The part which is relevant to this post (where he talks about Islam) starts at about 4:10 on the first clip and then continues into the second one (anyone wishing to watch the interview in full should start with this clip and then continue to the two below).
Shah Rukh is very proudly Muslim (he mentions it so much in interviews that some accuse him of flaunting it, the other Muslim stars are mostly much more reserved about it), but at the same time he does some things that I wouldn't associate with Islam based on the information that comes my way from Western sources.
Firstly, he is married to a Hindu and they are bringing up their children in both religions. Secondly, he is actually very feminist (there are many examples, but for some reason the following one particularly amuses me ;-P). There's an interview about one of his films, Paheli which he also produced. He's clearly very proud of the film (it's a very female centered film, telling the story of a woman's loneliness) and he seemed to be genuinely excited about being the supporting actor for a woman rather than the other way round lol:
What makes Paheli so special?
Everything about Paheli is special. See, I am sounding like a doting father! First of all, it is for the first time that I have attempted a totally women-centric movie not only as a filmmaker but also as an actor.
For the first time and probably not the last time, Shahrukh Khan will be entirely dominated by a heroine.
While I kind of feel that I should give a meaninful end to such a long and rambling post, I don't think I have anything more to say ;) This post is very heavy, long and political so instead of giving a summary of my views (which are hopefully fairly clear by now), I'll just leave you on a light note. Here's the trailer for Paheli:
The trailer of course has absolutely nothing to do with Islam other than Muslims being amongst those who made the film (the main characters are Hindu not Muslim), but this is my blog, so I think I am entitled to finishing my posts in a totally ridiculous manner if I so please, so there ;-P
Before I get to the point, I want to underline very, very clearly that I'm writing this from a Westerner's point of view, which means this post is a mix of news tidbits from Western media, some stereotypes and then a few tibits I've come across which seem to go against what I've been made to believe about Islam.
I'm not going to write about terrorism - I don't think I have anything worth saying that hasn't been said a million times over by others. And anyway, I don't really understand what Jihad is and I don't believe an encyclopedic definition will help, but for all it's worth you can check out the explanation on wikipedia here. Clearly, it has a very wide meaning and many in the Islamic community think it's being misinterpreted by the likes of al-Qaeda and other such organizations, so lets leave it at that.
I've written a long disclaimer, so I guess I can start with the nasty stuff now... Here's an article which upholds all the worst things we hear about Islam. It's about honour killings in Germany - Muslim women (Turkish in this case) get killed by their own families because they adopt a Western style of life.
I've also come across some articles about women's rights (and rape in particular) in Pakistan. This is an article about Mukhtar Mai - a woman from a small Pakistani village who was gang-raped, but has chosen to speak out about it and has become an important figure in the fight for women's rights. To read more on what Pakistani women think about this issue, try this link - there's a wide scope of opinions presented.
Other than this (well maybe apart from all the recent stories about whether Muslim women in Western countries should be allowed to wear veils - but perhaps I'll write about that at some different time), the rest of the stories showing Islam in bad light are terrorist related I think and while one can't fully discuss the matter without mentioning terrorism, I really don't feel like going into detail on it. We all know the issue exists and we all have very strong feelings against it and that I think is as much as I'm going to write.
Of course the West has done some very horrible things as well. While Bush's war on terror needs no comment I think, there are other things that have happened on the West/Middle-East front since the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq that speak very badly of the West. One of the first scandals was when the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was revealed. It was a loud case, so most of you probably remember it. If you don't then here's an article from May 2004 that covers the issue in quite a lot of detail.
While that was curbed, there are still Human Right issues that to this day have not been resolved and in fact the present state of affairs seems to have support from the US government (there seem to be slow changes made for the better, so lets keep our fingers crossed). I'm talking about Guantanamo of course. Check out what Amnesty International has to say. I still ought to read up more on their site, but I think the Case-sheets are particularly chilling reads. Also check out the short interview with Moazzam Begg - while not as descriptive on the torture as the case-sheets, what he has to say is still very shocking and very much worth knowing in the global scale of things. He was one of the people who spent a few years in Guantanamo and then was released without charges.
And this is not the end of things either. Things like this are happening all the time, but perhaps not as loudly as the two above (although frankly, Guantanamo is probably receiving a lot less attention from the media than it should!). A recent story which I found quite shocking is this - a 14 year old Iraq girl raped and killed by US soldiers (not to mention her whole family being killed by them as well).
Then there's the Arab-Israeli conflict, which many say is a major culprit in the tensions in the world now.
If you're Polish (I think most of the very few people reading this blog are) and perhaps thinking that Poland is responsible only for supporting the USA in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, well think again. If there is or was a secret detention centre in Poland then for all we know similar horrors could have been going on there. Check out this article about a recent EU investigation into the matter. There is no proof of such a place existing, but there are certainly very fishy aspects to this story. It is about these sorts of places that Moazzam Begg talked of in the interview I linked to. Here's the relevant quote:
And I think that one of the lessons, if we can call it a lesson, that the USA has learnt from Guantánamo is that there places that you don't tell people about.
Guantánamo now is almost this place that is becoming acceptable because these other places are so much worse and so much sinister.
There is this opinion in the West that Islamic culture is more aggresive and less democratic than Western culture. And yes, it wasn't people from the West who killed 3000 people in the World Trade Centre attacks. We also don't have honour killings (or at least I haven't heard of any) and women have more rights. But is there not enough evidence in the articles I linked to that show our culture is also very brutal and agressive?
You might say that the people who have inflicted such abuses on Muslims are in the minority, but that is what Muslims say about their extremists, no? I think the reason that we see our culture as less aggressive is that we know so many other aspects of it. What other aspects of Muslim culture does an average Westerner know?
I recently stumbled across a Muslim prayer on-line and I was very surprised with it. Believe it or not, it's actually very much in line with what I keep writing on this blog (I mean the values in it). Here it is (copied and pasted from this site):
In the name of Allah,
the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the
Universe who has created us and
made us into tribes and nations
That we may know each other, not that
we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do
thou also incline towards peace, and
trust God, for the Lord is the one that
heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
Most gracious are those who walk on
the Earth in humility, and when we
address them, we say "PEACE."
One of the major reasons why I even started thinking about this and wondering if I'm missing something in how Islam has been potrayed to me is Bollywood :D (yes, even though this blog is becoming a lot more political than I had intended it, Bollywood and Harry Potter will keep getting inserted into it until everyone but me is totally bored of hearing about them ;-P)
When I started getting fascinated with Bollywood I quickly realized that a lot of the major stars in the film industry are Muslim. And because I find it very easy to connect to the films, this made me think. These Muslim actors were showing a sense of humour that is no different than what we have in the West, often promoting values which I agree with (and I think the West generally agrees with) and in general there was just so little of it that was truly foreign to me.
Just to illustrate what I'm saying (and because I can't resist the opportunity to show people yet another clip of Shah Rukh Khan), below are two clips from an interview with Shahrukh on a program called "Devil's Advocate". The part which is relevant to this post (where he talks about Islam) starts at about 4:10 on the first clip and then continues into the second one (anyone wishing to watch the interview in full should start with this clip and then continue to the two below).
Shah Rukh is very proudly Muslim (he mentions it so much in interviews that some accuse him of flaunting it, the other Muslim stars are mostly much more reserved about it), but at the same time he does some things that I wouldn't associate with Islam based on the information that comes my way from Western sources.
Firstly, he is married to a Hindu and they are bringing up their children in both religions. Secondly, he is actually very feminist (there are many examples, but for some reason the following one particularly amuses me ;-P). There's an interview about one of his films, Paheli which he also produced. He's clearly very proud of the film (it's a very female centered film, telling the story of a woman's loneliness) and he seemed to be genuinely excited about being the supporting actor for a woman rather than the other way round lol:
What makes Paheli so special?
Everything about Paheli is special. See, I am sounding like a doting father! First of all, it is for the first time that I have attempted a totally women-centric movie not only as a filmmaker but also as an actor.
For the first time and probably not the last time, Shahrukh Khan will be entirely dominated by a heroine.
While I kind of feel that I should give a meaninful end to such a long and rambling post, I don't think I have anything more to say ;) This post is very heavy, long and political so instead of giving a summary of my views (which are hopefully fairly clear by now), I'll just leave you on a light note. Here's the trailer for Paheli:
The trailer of course has absolutely nothing to do with Islam other than Muslims being amongst those who made the film (the main characters are Hindu not Muslim), but this is my blog, so I think I am entitled to finishing my posts in a totally ridiculous manner if I so please, so there ;-P
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Veer-Zaara in Poland
Veer-Zaara was released in Poland yesterday. For the first time a Bollywood film is being shown in a purely commercially orientated cinema in Warsaw (Wisła), though it is expected to run for only a week.
Since I think it is great news that we have the first signs of the industry trying to exploit a Bollywood film commercially in Poland (rather than in art cinemas which is what has been happening so far), I thought I would try to encourage people via my blog to go and see the film (it is important that people go to see the film if this trend is to continue) and therefore here are a few trailers :D
Here's a teaser trailer:
This is the teaser trailer for Main Yahaan Hoon (one of the songs in Veer-Zaara):
Teaser trailer for Aisa Des Hai Mera:
And finally what I think was the theatrical trailer in India:
The film itself (which I had the pleasure of seeing at a Bollywood weekend in Warsaw) is a huge romantic story with Shah Rukh Khan playing what he is best known for - a romantic hero (one of my earlier posts is full of Don trailers which is a film in which he plays a rather dark character and that is not really what he is best known for ;) ). He also does his trademark crying scenes in this film (love it or hate it - no other actor cries like Shah Rukh ;-P). And I'll add a word of caution - this film is veeeery soppy! (and not all Bollywood films are like that, so if you don't like soppy stuff, don't get discouraged from Indian cinema - it is as varied as American cinema) One of the film's strengths however are the visuals - it's absolutely stunning visually (I don't think those trailers quite do it justice) and besides that it's a lot of fun (some jokes are put in even during the soppy scenes lol).
It is the story of an Indian man in a Pakistani prison who refuses to speak to anyone. And of course his love story is behind all the mystery.
Since I think it is great news that we have the first signs of the industry trying to exploit a Bollywood film commercially in Poland (rather than in art cinemas which is what has been happening so far), I thought I would try to encourage people via my blog to go and see the film (it is important that people go to see the film if this trend is to continue) and therefore here are a few trailers :D
Here's a teaser trailer:
This is the teaser trailer for Main Yahaan Hoon (one of the songs in Veer-Zaara):
Teaser trailer for Aisa Des Hai Mera:
And finally what I think was the theatrical trailer in India:
The film itself (which I had the pleasure of seeing at a Bollywood weekend in Warsaw) is a huge romantic story with Shah Rukh Khan playing what he is best known for - a romantic hero (one of my earlier posts is full of Don trailers which is a film in which he plays a rather dark character and that is not really what he is best known for ;) ). He also does his trademark crying scenes in this film (love it or hate it - no other actor cries like Shah Rukh ;-P). And I'll add a word of caution - this film is veeeery soppy! (and not all Bollywood films are like that, so if you don't like soppy stuff, don't get discouraged from Indian cinema - it is as varied as American cinema) One of the film's strengths however are the visuals - it's absolutely stunning visually (I don't think those trailers quite do it justice) and besides that it's a lot of fun (some jokes are put in even during the soppy scenes lol).
It is the story of an Indian man in a Pakistani prison who refuses to speak to anyone. And of course his love story is behind all the mystery.
Friday, November 03, 2006
SRK Circus scene
The Shah Rukh Khan vibes from my last post continue :D
Here's a scene from Circus, a TV series that Shah Rukh starred in in 1989, before he got into cinema. It contrasts very nicely with the Don promos I think ;) (on this clip he's trying to take a shower or something of the sort ;))
Here's a scene from Circus, a TV series that Shah Rukh starred in in 1989, before he got into cinema. It contrasts very nicely with the Don promos I think ;) (on this clip he's trying to take a shower or something of the sort ;))
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