At the Barbican: From Bombay to Bollywood

As part of the City of London Festival, the Barbican is hosting the oddly titled 'From Bombay to Bollywood' weekend showcasing films, documentaries and workshops .

21 June: Before Midnight - A Portrait of India on Film 1899-1947 (PG)
21 June: Bombay Railway (PG) + Introduction by director Gerry Troyna
22 June: Bollywood for Beginners Talk with Cary Rajinder Sawhney
22 June: Mother India
23 June: Sholay
26 June: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Those with a Heart Will Take the Bride)

Mr.R and I should be packing, but we can't possibly miss one particular movie. I've seen Sholay about 21 times so far (yes, I've kept track) and this will be a fantastic opportunity to watch it on the big screen again, with Mr.R, in London. How cool is that? :)

Tickets for Sholay are almost all gone, so hurry if you want to be there.
For tickets and other info, click here.

The joys of Bollywood

Life has not been the same ever since Mr.R discovered the existence of Star Gold.

Since he stumbled upon 811 (formerly 830) , he watches the most inane (in my opinion) films with enthusiasm. The channel shows good films sometimes but the majority of the schedule is populated by the likes of 80s box office blunders. The songs, dances, costumes and dialogues (we counted six usages of "khabardar" in three minutes) make me want to wish for a power-cut, but the sun is shining and the look on Mr.R's face is too endearing for any ill-will.

It's not just the film itself that entrances him, but also the music. He quickly recognises tunes that are 'inspired' by western classical music and is able to name the copy accurately. Most of the time *I* have only a vague sense that I've heard the tune somewhere so it's rather amazing to have it identified this way.

I'm so glad Bollywood has somewhat grown up since then. I can't bear the thought of another villain bleeding at the steps of a fake temple, a snake looking on with an "I-told-you-so" look and a daughter screaming "Nahi!". And no more Tom Alter as the white smuggler, please!

Bollywood calling...

(original grammar and text preserved)
WANTED male-hero for the lead role

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Reply to: aksh_hotboy@yahoo.com
Date: 2007-04-14, 6:51PM IST


Wanted a bold leading male hero for a indo-American production on clonisation of human beings. Should have a good physique and fresher can also apply with pics only

Giving Jackson a bad name

Bollywood on a roll. And it's giving MJ a bad name.

Here's another one...
http://video.aol.co.uk/video-funny/1738862

Looking for stars

Meet a Brit Indian for the first time and you can bet your last pence that they will ask you, with wide eyes, "You must have seen a lot of Bollywood actors!" It doesn't matter whether the person asking is Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi. The fervour which the Bollywood film industry generates here is something quite unpalatable. Maybe it's a case of grass being greener and all that. I can't for the world see what's so fascinating about a bunch of starlets singing and dancing and spouting well worn dialogues in snow clad mountains. I can relate to the devotion that perhaps AB or any of the Khans get. But here, it goes to absurd lengths. I couldn't really claim any personal knowledge of any 'stars', or any 'sightings' for that matter. Perhaps mentioning that Govinda was my local MP back home might have redeemed me.

Last weekend, Mr.R and I went to the local HSBC to open an account for me. That was an uphill task because they needed a proof of address for me, preferably a utility bill in my name and at our current address. Considering that all payments are currently made from Mr.R's account (seeing that I don't have one and they won't let me have one without bloodshed), how does one get one's name on the bill? Well, BT (British Telecom) does it on a phonecall, apparently. This banking regulations must have driven several people to insanity, I tell you. We were attended to by a (very) young Pakistani girl at the bank. Early 20's , smartly dressed in her crisp trouser suit with lovely long hair, she was definetly more interested in my experiences with Bollywood, than in opening an account for me. These girls have such stars in their eyes, dreaming of marrying (yes!) an actor and living a great life, yet knowing deep down that their father would hitch them up with a boy that's (95% of the time) brought up 'back home'. The culture clash is inevitable, one would think. But these girls are well trained for marriage. It's a pity when you see all that intelligence and polish being wasted on a couple of hoodlums who still sing Hindi movie songs when they pass women in streets. A real pity.

Of old memories, hidden in a song

Mr.R and I spent the better half of the afternoon thrilled with our discovery of www.musicindiaonline.com . All our favorite oldies in one place! With lyrics!

I would say 'Tere Bina Zindagi' from Aandhi is one of my all time favorite Hindi songs. It's so full of nostalgia, regret, what if's.... The lyrics have a hidden passion and I savour the poetry as I hum along...I remember writing a poem once, after hearing the song for the nth time. The song has that kind of an effect on me. If you love it too, sing along.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi

Kaash aisa ho tere qadmo se, chun ke manzil chale aur kahi door kahi - 2
Tum gar saath ho, manzilo ki kami to nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi

Jee mein aata hai, tere daaman mein, sar jhuka ke hum rote rahe, rote rahe - 2
Teri bhi aankho mein, aansuo ki nami to nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi,
shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi,
zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi

Tum jo keh do to aaj ki raat, chaand doobega nahi, raat ko rok lo -2
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki to nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi,
shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi,
zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi

The Lost age of innocence

Nostalgia is not what it used to be.

Mr.R and I spent some time yesterday watching, of all things, an AB movie. We were kindly lent a video of 'Trishul' the one-time hit with good ol' AB, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Rakhee, Poonam Dhillon and poor Waheeda Rehman as AB's long suffering mother. And ofcourse, how could the film be complete without Prem Chopra making a nuisance of himself?

We reminisced about the days when watching such movies as kids gave us a thrill - the songs, the fights, the dialogues. Just watching AB striding through the movie is enough to make my day! And what dialogues! Just spectacular little effects like the grand 'Interval' or 'The End' splashing with the trademark flamboyant music , which somehow seems to have faded away from our movie screens. 'Gapuji Gapuji Gum Gum' was a hit back then and the song evokes memories of a more carefree era, when one didn't have worries, when love and romance conquered all, when AB was around to turn right any wrongs ...

Shashi Kapoor plays the US returned son of Sanjeev Kumar and he calls Rakhee, who works for Kumar, 'computer' because she knows everything about the business. Kumar asks him to explain what that term means and in today's context, it's all so corny!

An era without mobile phones, rap music, lewd songs, suggestive dances and four letter words. The villains even hesitate at 'You Bloody B...........' and the facial expressions make up for the lost words after the trembling 'B'. Poonam Dhillon, like all 70s actresses, looks perfectly natural in a swimsuit and can beat any of our Page 3 girls today.

It's the lost age of innocence. They all grew up. Just like we did.

A dream come true....only on TV!

Just watched bits and pieces of one of my all time favorite movies on TV (ok,don't laugh now!); it's 'Nayak' starring Anil Kapoor, an OTT fantasy of a TV journalist who gets a chance to be CM for a day and turns the city around. It's the kind of stuff I pray will come true some day. Paresh Rawal has some great lines in the film. When AK has his doubts about being a full-time politician, Rawal lectures him saying that "....everybody says that when they grow up they want to be doctors or engineers or accountants. Nobody says I want to be a politician. And then we grumble about the state of the country, the corrupt people in power ...yet we are not prepared to do anything about it..." so true, so true.

I like this movie for many reasons. It strikes a chord somewhere deep in me - it 'shows' a dream that I have for a change that rocks our lives, drags us out of our complacency, makes us accountable for our lives. This is a movie that I relate very deeply to; I just wish it were fact and not fantasy. Anil Kapoor isn't one of my favorite actors, but I admire his acting here - one is almost convinced that he means what he says. Or perhaps I'm just gullible :)

"Join politics" is on my list of 'things to do before I die'. I probably added it to the list in a fit of idealism but I know that it's not one of the things that I'm going to make happen. There are other ways to make a difference. I don't think I can (or want to)deal with the 'politics', the corruption, the expectations, the rivalries, the name-sullying, the character assasinations, the fake smiles and the hypocrisy. Life is just too short to be pleasant to people you don't want to be around.. There are other ways to make a difference....

We need more young, educated, literate people in Parliament. For those of you brave enough to try, you have my entire support, for what it's worth! If you have the thick skin to take on the Uma's, Mayawati's and the Laloo's of this world, then may God and the junta be with you! Good luck!

Miracles never cease.

I walked through Bombay Central station again yesterday (had to) on my way to Byculla and what do I see, the station is spotless!!!! (well, spotless may be too strong a word....)

The permanent beggars were gone at 3 pm. They were still not there at 7.30 pm. The hawkers spawning the entrance were cleared. There was a lady on the overbridge at 7.30 , sweeping, clearing bits of paper from the .... It was too much to believe. My eyes were surely giving me dhoka. This is what happens, I thought, pleased with myself, when you feel very strongly about something. Some cosmic intervention takes place and the unthinkable happens. Like streetlamps being repaired the morning I sit to draft a letter to the newspaper. Like a deadly pothole being filled a day after I decide to something about it. Like a plaque at Churchgate being resurrected after I mention it on my blog...... My life is lately full of strange coincidences, or maybe they have been there all along and I've never noticed them. But, still........

I was so pleased with the new look of the station that I forgave the gropers, the spitters, the loafers with no life to lead except sit at a railway station and eat up women with hungry eyes. I forgave them all. The Railways can't do anything about them, anyway. That's upto me (and you). Next week, I might not feel so generous. Especially if the beggars are back. Especially if the clean-up is a by-product of the elections on Wednesday. That would be unforgivable.

I think I'll drop a thank-you note to the station master.

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Happy B'day, Big B.

AB is my favorite actor. He beats Naseer, Aamir and Harrison Ford to the post. That's another funny coincidence that Mr.R and I have - our admiration for the angry old man. Our devotion to Sholay is another coincidence that's really too strange for words. We've both seen the movie umpteen times (my latest count is about 22, not sure about Mr.R's tally). That's one of the first things I discovered when I met Mr.R. We've had many moments discussing the finer points of Sholay, repeating dialogue that is now immortal, wishing for that era to return.

Talking about coincidences, I remember one Saturday evening, when I, here in India, was watching a Sholay re-run on TV. I sent a text to Mr.R in the UK telling him about the movie. And lo! He replied with funny shock that at that very moment, he's listening online to a track from Sholay which was emailed to him by someone!!

It's really eerie thinking about the two of us, on two different continents, watching/listening to Sholay at the same time. Very eerie!!

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