Bollywood Meets Hollywood

"Bollywood has met Hollywood at the Cannes Film Festival, with George
Clooney, Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt signing rupee-spinning deals for big
movie collaborations," says an article in the Times Online. It is
interesting to see that India's economic growth is going beyond
traditional business and into the realm of movies, books and other
cultural areas.

"India produces more films than any other country, and sells more than
four billion cinema tickets a year, far more than in America. Now one
of its biggest companies is to become a significant Hollywood player,
it was announced yesterday in Cannes.
Reliance Big Entertainment, part of a $100 billion (£50 billion)
Indian conglomerate, is to invest in development funds for eight
production companies owned by Alist stars: they include Nicolas Cage's
Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, Clooney's
Smokehouse Productions, Hanks's Playtone Productions and Pitt's Plan B
Entertainment.
The Indian company, owned by Anil Ambani, ranked the world's
sixth-richest man in the Forbes list, is offering an initial $1
billion investment in Hollywood. It is a vital injection of cash for
the US studios at a time when equity financing has dried up with the
credit crunch. It also offers the Americans a foothold in India.
Amit Khanna, Reliance's chairman, said: "Reliance Entertainment has a
dominant position in India but, when it comes to motion pictures, it
has been obvious that we need to extend our footprint to Hollywood . .
.
"Bollywood is somehow personified by song and dance and Hollywood by
sex and violence, and there is this idea that neither can meet. We
don't believe this is true."

Bollywood in it's original form has been quite popular in many areas
outside India, and it's popularity is only increasing. Then there is
the whole concept of the "melting pot", where as this article
emphasizes Bollywood meets Hollywood to give birth to a new genre of
films that are already in the making.

Read the full article at --
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/cannes/article3965523.ece

Indian Saris For The Indigenous Market

"With India's middle class flourishing thanks to the subcontinent's 10
percent annual growth, it is suddenly less urgent to create clothing
for foreign markets — especially when Bangladesh and China can
undercut the prices — and more interesting to adapt subtly and
gracefully, Indian style.
Indian fashion week functioned as though Mumbai were the new
Manhattan. Celebrities? Bollywood stars turned out in droves for the
splashy shows, and if you have never heard of the designer Manish
Malhotra or the superstar couple Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan,
they probably have a higher recognition factor in India than
Brangelina in the front row at Marc Jacobs," says an article in the
New York Times Magazine.

This is an interesting article that talks about the Indian fashion
industry catering to it's rich indigenous population versus
non-resident Indians, who were the focus segment earlier.

Article at---
http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/05/18/style/t/index.html#pagewanted=0&pageName=18menkes&

Hope And A Little Sugar

Hope and a Little Sugar is a new Bollywood/American collaborative
movie released this April. It is currently doing the film festival
circuit. This is the story of a Hindu American who loses her husband
in the 9/11 attack. She later falls in love with a Muslim boy much to
the consternation of her father in law who is consumed by hatred
towards Muslims due to the 9/11 incident. But he changes his mind when
he receives the same treatment from Americans who mistake his turban
and beard. This change of heart is at the crux of the movie. This
movie is a reflection of what is happening is real life.

The racial and religious intolerance that is brought to light by this
film is very relevant in today's society where we are quick to jump to
conclusions bases on the color of ones skin or religious disposition.
The fundamentalists might force us develop an attitude towards those
of a particular religion. Shouldn't we be rising above all that and
stop being judgmental? What makes a person is their own personal
character. Race and religion are accessories to this character no
doubt, but to stereotype, generalize and condemn one because of what
they are wearing or who they are praying to, is grossly unfair, is it not?

Hope and a Little Sugar is on the web at--
http://www.hopeandalittlesugar.com/

Bollywood As a Social Vehicle

In an article titled "Bollywood No Longer A Dream Too Far for India's
Lower Castes" in the Washington Post, writer, Emily Wax discussed
Bollywood's struggle with casteism, a reflection of the country's
struggle with this chronic issue.

"Paswan, 33, is a Dalit, a member of India's most ostracized caste.
Dalits are often cobblers, street sweepers and toilet cleaners, but
they are rarely actors in the world's largest film industry. Still, as
he stood that day beneath towering billboards showing Hindi film stars
hawking expensive watches and cars, Paswan decided Bollywood was for
him," says Wax in this article, succinctly pointing out that, "It is
not easy for Indians to shake loose the cages of caste, a
3,000-year-old pecking order in which professions and social status
are inherited like eye color or height. But Bollywood, like Mumbai
itself, is a place where young Indians are increasingly finding
opportunities to reinvent themselves."

If Bollywood is the place to break this norm then so be it. It is not
surprising how many taboos are broken and norms changed by popular
media. If Bollywood can help break the taboos surrounding casteism in
India then kudos to this film industry that is often ridiculed for
their song and dance type films.

According to Wax, "Across India, Dalits and members of other low
castes are struggling to gain access to quality education and
better-paying jobs. The economy is booming, and Indians of low caste
-- often identifiable by their surnames, birthplaces or parents'
status -- want to share in the wealth, or at least the opportunity.
Some aspiring actors from low castes say their confidence is growing.
There is more social mobility than ever before, they say, and
Bollywood is experiencing its share of change."

Read the full article at--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/26/AR2008042602200.html

Bollywood Arrives In Pakistan

"Indian movies were banned in Pakistan in 1965, after the two
countries fought a war. Crippled by poor production and, more
recently, undercut by a burgeoning market of pirated DVDs, Pakistan's
film industry appeared to be on the verge of extinction. Box office
sales dwindled, and more than 600 movie theaters closed.But since a
government decision in February to lift the ban on the screening of
Indian movies, the ailing industry stands poised for a rebound," says
an article in the Washington Post.

"Race" a racy new Bollywood movie was screened in Pakistan, a delight
to many young Pakistani's who are craving Bollywood films. One common
interest between the people of Pakistan and India, that should
definitely be taken advantage of.

An excerpt from the Washington Post article --
It's 12:30 p.m. and dozens of people are lined up outside the Cinepax
movie theater, waiting in the unforgiving heat for their first glimpse
of one of Pakistan's few multiplex cinemas. About 100 yards away, four
towering columns mark the spot where a former prime minister was
hanged years ago, casting a long shadow over the theater grounds.

Inside, a slice of America with Bollywood flavoring beckons. Ice-cold
air conditioning blasts across the spotless, polished marble floors of
the five-screen multiplex. The plush purple stadium seats are slowly
filling up, while an Indian raga plays loudly on the sound system.

Mushtaq, a 24-year-old telecom worker who lives with her parents in
Peshawar, can barely keep still. In a few minutes, she will see her
first Indian-made movie -- a slick thriller-cum-pop opera called
"Race," about two pretty girls, two rich brothers and a triple
double-cross at a highflying racetrack in South Africa.

"The moment we entered the theater," Mushtaq says, gesturing toward
two friends at the concession stand, "we thought we'd never seen
anything like this. There has been nothing like this in Pakistan --
that's why we had to come."

Read the full article at--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/20/ST2008042001910.html

Lead India Video - Priyanka Chopra

Lead India Video - Abhishek Bacchan

Lead India Video - SRK

Lead India Video - Amitabh

Dishoom 2008

This is for those of us who like a good laugh!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Latest Gig

A departure from making top-grossing Bollywood flicks like Hum Dil De
Chuke Sanam and Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali the popular Bollywood
filmmaker has a new gig, he is now the director of "Padmavati" a Paris
opera!

An excerpt from the International Herald Tribune --
As the rousing overture reaches its operatic climax, the curtains part
and Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god, descends from the rafters.

"Padmavati," currently playing at Paris' gilded Theatre du Chatelet,
is not your typical operatic fare. It's equal parts straight-laced
European opera and Bollywood blowout, with a cast that includes a top
French mezzo-soprano, scores of classical Indian dancers and a live
tiger.

The director is hit Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose
pathos-filled 2002 musical "Devdas" became a crossover international
blockbuster and made him hot Bollywood property.

"Padmavati," the revival of a long-neglected French ballet-cum-opera
from 1923, is Bhansali's first foray into the rarified world of opera
— which he had rarely listened to before beginning work on the
project.

"There was an e-mail that came (proposing the project) and I thought
somebody was joking," said Bhansali, speaking in his dressing room at
the theater. "I though 'Opera? An Indian director? What are they
talking about? Somebody's playing a prank.'"

But then he started listening to the score — written by sailor and
composer Albert Roussel after a 1909 trip to South Asia and based on
the legend of a 13th century queen who chooses death over surrender.

Soon, Bhansali warmed to the idea. "It was the chance to come to
stage, an unknown discipline, and unfold Indian history."

Read the full article at--
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/20/arts/EU-A-E-MUS-France-Bollywood-Opera.php

Bollywood Goes Global???

An interesting article in the Washington Post which debates why
Bollywood is going global.

An excerpt --
"More than ever before, Bollywood is being flooded with cash from
Indian investors who see the country's film industry as a money
machine. The rise of the multiplex theater has led to a wider variety
of films, with more socially relevant scripts that discard the
overused Bollywood formula: a rambling, four-hour hodgepodge of twins
separated at birth, rare blood diseases, wet sari scenes and lots and
lots of singing and dancing in alpine meadows. More linear and
socially conscious storylines are becoming popular, as are shorter
movies.

"The new trend in Bollywood is the death of the cliche," said Anupam
Kher, an award-winning Bollywood actor who has been in more than 300
films. Three years ago, Kher opened Actor Prepares, one of many acting
schools trying to improve the skills of young Indian actors. He also
has announced plans to open a school in London that will teach
foreigners, as well as those of Indian descent, thick Hindi dialects,
yoga and the infamous Bollywood style of dancing (think petting a dog
with one hand and screwing in a little bulb with the other, as
described in the film "Bride and Prejudice").

"We used to have very few trained actors. We were a young country.
Entertainment was the last thing on our agenda," Kher said between
takes on a film set. But now, "the Indian economy is booming, and
Bollywood is booming right along with it. There is a huge middle class
who have traveled and watched foreign movies on cable or at an upscale
multiplex. The consumer has awakened, and the quality is soaring."

Read the full article at--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030802679.html

Mira Nair's Kosher Vegetarian

Mira Nair's has cast Irfan Khan and Natalie Portman in lead roles in
her new venture, a romantic comedy titled "Kosher Vegetarian" India
eNews reports. "Irrfan is ready to morph into a 'Gujarati' Romeo. 'But
no accent this time. I'm very clear about that,' laughed the actor,
who has just returned from Santa Monica in California after attending
the Spirit Awards," says India eNews. They also claim that this is
Irfan Khan's second movie with Mira, but according to the IMDB
database, this is her third with Khan, after Namesake and Migration.

According to IMDB Mira Nair has the follwoign movies in the works
1. Amelia (2009) (pre-production)
2. Shantaram (2009) (pre-production) -- with Amitabh Bachan
3. New York, I Love You (2008) (filming)
4. Migration (2007) -- also with Irfan Khan

Read the India eNews story at --
http://www.indiaenews.com/bollywood/20080227/100423.htm

See Mira Nair's IMDB page at --
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619762/

Mallika Sherawat as an ascetic...

From the New York Times --

"Mallika Sherawat, above, the actress known in some circles as
Bollywood's Bardot, has been cast as an ascetic who befriends Jesus of
Nazareth in "The Aquarian Gospel," a Hollywood film based on the
legend that Jesus visited India, Reuters reported. The $15 million
film, directed by Drew Heriot, deals with the life of Jesus between
the ages of 13 and 30, a period not documented in the Gospels, when
some believe he journeyed through India, Tibet and Persia. In a
statement released by her press agent, Ms. Sherawat, whose 17 kissing
scenes in her Bollywood debut, "Khwahish," created a stir, said: "I
find that in most mythological and spiritual film stories, women seem
to be lacking any true wisdom or a sense of humor. I look forward to
bringing both of those qualities to this character."

Also read at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntget=2008/02/20/arts/20arts-ANEWROLEFORB_BRF.html&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin

Money, Money, Money...

Isn't it baffling how much money there is in Bollywood? Forget the
movie actors and actresses, the producers and associated media folks
are also very affluent and well to do.

According to the New York Times, a duplex penthouse with two
43-foot-wide terraces at the Beresford, at Central Park West and 81st
Street, sold for $19 million. "It was one of four rarely sold
penthouses atop one of the most celebrated buildings on Central Park
West. The seller was Nari Hira, an Indian magazine mogul and movie
producer, who created a leading Bollywood news and gossip magazine,
Stardust. The listing, with Maria and Joanna Pashby of the Corcoran
Group, started out at $28 million last June," reports the New York
Times.

Read the full article at --
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2008/02/17/realestate/17deal1.html&tntemail0=y

The biggest American release ever for a Hindi film...

A nice article about Aishwarya Rai and her latest talked about release
"Jodhaa Akbar" in the New York Times.

An excerpt from this article by Anupama Chopra:
"Jodhaa Akbar" focuses on that quintessentially Indian subject:
arranged marriage. Set in the 16th century, it explores the marriage
between the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, a Muslim, and his Hindu wife
Jodhaa.

Historians have described the union as a political alliance, but in
the hands of Ashutosh Gowariker, the film's director, the story has
become "an epic romance with its share of battles, harem politics and
intrigue," he said in a telephone interview. Mr. Gowariker, whose 2001
period film, "Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India," was nominated for an
Oscar for best foreign film, isn't claiming factual accuracy but
insists that the film is "embedded in historical truth."

He cast Ms. Bachchan as the queen (a figure some Indian historians
dispute ever existed) because, he said, "Aishwarya is a comic book
princess with a certain dignity, elegance and sense of purity." For
the role of Akbar, Mr. Gowariker wanted someone with "the physique of
a warrior and the face of a romantic," and selected another Bollywood
superstar, Hrithik Roshan."

Read the full article at--
http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntget=2008/02/10/movies/10chop.html&tntemail0=y&oref=slogin

Jolie-Ash may have common ancestors

Yeah, here is some very important research to spend valuable time on
and to invest valuable resources into!!! Jeeze!!!

A report from MSN --
"Top actors Aishwarya Rai and Angelina Jolie may have common
ancestors. If a research is to be believed all people with blue eyes
can trace their ancestry back to one person who probably lived about
10,000 years ago in the Black Sea region.

Scientists studying the genetics of eye colour at the University of
Copenhagen found that more than 99.5 per cent of blue-eyed people who
volunteered to have their DNA analysed have the same tiny mutation in
the gene that determines the colour of the iris.

Professor Hans Eiberg of the university said he has analysed the DNA
of about 800 people with blue eyes, ranging from fair-skinned,
blond-haired Scandinavians to dark-skinned, blue-eyed people living in
Turkey and Jordan. "All of them, apart from possibly one exception,
had exactly the same DNA sequence in the region of the OCA2 gene. This
to me indicates very strongly that there must have been a single,
common ancestor of all these people," he said.

The study reported in the journal Human Genetics indicates that the
mutation originated in just one person who became the ancestor of all
subsequent people in the world with blue eyes. "From this we can
conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same
ancestor. They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same
spot in their DNA," Professor Eiberg was quoted as saying by The
Independent daily of Britain on Thursday.

Even though the scientists are unable to pinpoint the exact date when
the mutation occurred, evidences suggested it probably arose about
10,000 years ago when there was a rapid expansion of the human
population in Europe as a result of the spread of agriculture from the
Middle East."

Producer eyes better TV, film roles for Muslims

Producer eyes better TV, film roles for Muslims
By Omar Sacirbey, Globe Correspondent | June 26, 2007

When Labid Aziz of Natick thinks about "Never Mind Nirvana," he sees a
missed opportunity. A 2004 pilot for an NBC sitcom, it was centered on
the travails of an Indian-American doctor, his pregnant white
girlfriend, and his traditional parents, who move in. It was written
by Indian-American novelist Ajay Sahgal, directed by "Friends" star
David Schwimmer, and starred Kal Penn of "Harold and Kumar go to White
Castle." But the show didn't make NBC's final cut, losing out that
year to "The Office" and "Joey."

South Asians like Aziz, 32, a Bangladeshi-American Muslim and aspiring
producer, saw in "Nirvana" a wellspring of roles that didn't involve
playing a terrorist or convenience store clerk while portraying the
South Asian community, or a slice of it, in a way that might inspire
empathy rather than incite resentment. On this fall's schedule, Aziz
has a second opportunity: The CW network is unveiling a new sitcom
called "Aliens in America" about a Muslim exchange student from
Pakistan.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/06/26/producer_eyes_better_tv_film_roles_for_muslims/

Tollywood vs Bollywood with Sivaji

While Bollywood is more popular internationally, it is amazing how much green Indian regional films as in Tamil films, better known as Tollywood make.

The Business Standard reports --" The country's highest-paid film star is also its most famously reclusive one. His latest blockbuster released this weekend to hysterical audiences as India's most expensive film.
On Friday, India’s most expensively mounted film starring the country’s highest-paid film star opened across 760 screens to a juggernaut of hysteria.
Preceding its box-office debut, the lead actor addressed his fans from Tirupathi, prints were carried on elephant-back accompanied by a traditional band in Kerala’s Sultanpetta to the local Vadakkunthari temple to be handed over by the priest to the theatre manager, and bookings closed a record three weeks in advance."

Read the full article at
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_supp.php?autono=287889&leftnm=2&subLeft=0&chkFlg=Features