Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Latest Gig
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
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Mira Nair's Kosher Vegetarian
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/
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mallika Sherawat as an ascetic...
"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
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Tollywood vs Bollywood with Sivaji
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