How do Indian actresses cope with long hair and other comments on the past year...

It's been almost a year I haven't been all that keen on watching Hindi films. I also lost interest in following all the ups and downs of the lives of Hindi stars. In fact I lost touch with my fascination for India.

Of course I have watched films.. an interest, an obsessive hobby doesn't just disappear into thin air, but my desire to write about the films, or discuss them with everybody and anybody disappeared.

Maybe until recently.

Several times I tried to formulate entries to my blog... sitting on the over crowded metro on the way home from work I mentally wrote a sentence or two but they felt fake and out of place.

Looking back on the past year I have to say I haven't seen much that has really inspired me. The yucky Kismet Connection comes to mind. The even yuckier Tashan. What the hell was Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic. My goodness, last year was just BAD YEAR where Saif Ali Khan films were concerned!!

And what was that Mission Istanbul? When I came across a dvd in my local DVD store I jumped for joy. A rare Hindi movie had made it to Istanbul- it was about Istanbul or set in Istanbul- so I had a platform from which I could trick highly skeptical, uninterested friends to watch the Indian vision or interpretation of our beautiful city... I didn't even make it to the end of the film. I was fed up with the crap storyline- I felt embarrassed for Al Jazeera- and I could not figure out why every scene needed to be SO loud.

Bhoothnath? vay. vay. vay. It was a year for didactic, overly moralistic children's films.

I liked Superstar. But I couldn't think of much to write about it.

I wasn't exactly thrilled by Ghajni. I could not get the point of all the gratuitous violence and why the hell did Aamir Khan need a 6 pack stomach? is this some bizarre trend? Akshay has one. Shahid Kapur had one, so Shah Rukh got one so we all have to jump on the bandwagon? is it some bizarre fear of growing old and undesirable? last chance to look good?

I should point out, I was ok with the 6 pack in the 'memento' segments of the film. Howelse were they going to show all those tatoos? and we had precedents with 6 packs. The part that troubled me was the romance scenes. Those bore the feeling of desperation.

I was actually really tempted to write when I first saw Slumdog Millionaire. I know it is not 'Hindi' or 'Bollywood'. But I thought I would make a comment any way. At that time it was in early January - some weeks before the film won the Golden Globes and every other award, no one had heard of the film. But I was too slow and by the time I was ready to write anything at all, everyone and anyone was talking about the film. Half my friends had made comments on facebook and every other form of digital communication - nothing wrong with writing together with or after everyone else, but I had run out of anything to say by the time I had read everyone's comments. In fact, I was no longer sure what I had to say in the first place.

Mid- January I returned to Australia- first trip after many years- and wow!! I was impressed with the many Indian grocery stores selling the latest dvds. That's how I watched Ghajni.

I was also really impressed when I read the name Ghajni among the films being shown in the cinemas in Sydney. Some of the cinemas had specific 'Bollywood' special segments. Australia is way ahead of Turkey where Indian films are concerned. They get distributed there and they are available for the mass public. This remains a dream in my adopted homeland.

During the past year my hair grew long- or longer than it has ever been. And this has been my biggest wonder regarding Hindi films. How do all these Indian actresses cope with the long hair? I have no problems washing- drying- maintaining- but I have a problem sleeping... it gets caught under my arms or Alper's shoulders and I wake up because my hair is being yanked...

my hair get caught inside my winter jacket- between the back of chairs in cafes and restaurants... you name it. I live in a state of constant fear that my hair will be pulled- yanked- caught- stuck...

actors turned producer turned director: hurray for the experience

I love many of Aamir Khan's films but I had already watched his last film, Taare Zamin Par when I started to write this blog and he did nothing sensational (that I heard of) during the past 3 months to convince me to mention him.

Then day before yesterday I watched U, Me Aur Hum. Another film which has nothing to do with Aamir Khan, except for a situational link: actors turned producers turned directors direct first film about psychologically difficult to deal with illnesses.

So what am I talking about? Taare Zamin Par (TZP) is a film about a little boy suffering from dyslexia. Until more than half way through the film no one, not even the audience, realizes this problem. The boy is sent away from home to boarding school by his over achiever, pushy 'my sons will be Engineers' father and the boy loses his last link to a very sensitive and nuanced child life: his desire to draw and express himself through art. Post-intermission: enter Aamir Khan as an alternative and caring art teacher who after examining the boy's school work and notebooks comes to recognize and inform everyone what the problem is. The second half of the film is about learning to cope and accept this illness which cannot be cured and regaining the little boy's sense of self and desire for life once more.

U, Me Aur Hum is the story of a psychiatrist who goes on a cruise holiday with friends. On cruise he experiences love at first sight. The cruise waitress he falls in love with, falls for him likewise and they start to live happily ever after until one day when psychiatrist is driving home in the rain and runs into his very disorientated wife on the road. She states she could not remember his name, nor the address to their house. Post-intermission: we discover that the woman is suffering from Alzheimer's and is little by little bound to forget eveything. The second half of the film is about learning to cope and accept this disease which cannot be cured. It includes an interesting study of the idea of institutionalizing the loved one and attempts made to explain to one's self that this is for the best and figuring out the power love can have when it is channeled to conquer pain.

TZP's extremely sensitive and loving portrayal of the little boy's private life and imagination during the first half is very touching. And the portrayals of routinized Middle Class family life and aspirations are harsh and apt. The fact that most of this is done through music, offering the audience either hazed and hallucinatory gilmpses of a mind or a rushed tizzy of Middle class life just improved the whole experience for me. TZP was one of the films where every song just 'lop diye yerinde dusuyor' (just falls into place)! Image and lyrics and melody blending into a harmonious (curious, dreamy, angry, frenzied, choppy.. whatever the desire to express is) whole experience.

It is the first half which wins all the brownie points TZP deserves. I have not seen another film about a child dealt in this way in a Hindi film before. Though to be fair, I haven't watched many Hindi films about children full stop. I think like most reviews I have read of TZP, I too have to admit that it is brave of Aamir Khan to take the back seat and give all the emotional energy to the little boy but they manage (beautifully)!

TZP's strength: the first half, is U, Me Aur Hum's weakness for me. Maybe weakness is not the write word. The first half just is. It is fancy and bright, with a very pretty Salsa dance sequence. The first half seems to rely too much on Kajol's bright smile and gorgeous eyes and it feels shallow in comparison to the very intense and painful last 45 minutes of the film. But maybe that is the point: that if we knew, we wouldn't take the bright moments for granted. We would treat the happy moments with greater intensity, deeper meaning and care because you don't really know when they are going to disappear.

The film wove its magic for me personally in the last 40 minutes. And when I say personally, I mean personally. I am still very touchy when it comes to caring portrayals of hospital and clinic scenes, particularly involving young women. Such scenes carry kilometres of meaning beyond the film for me and if the film can depict it all poignantly, then I grant the film well deserved tears and grateful thanks. This film never gives in to cheap miracle cures or miracle recognition: Kajol never recognizes her husband at just that right moment to help sustain his faith, strength, love, hope. But he doesn't lose his love, nor the need for her love and that's what makes this whole experience a very emotional and touching Hindi film experience.

Black and White vs Race: NO COMPETITION

What an evil mosibat this flixter has become... since I started writing little film reviews there I have ceased to write here! now to remedy...

During the weekend I managed to watch Black and White and Race. Can 2 films be any different from one another?

Race was probably the worst Hindi film I have seen in ages. I was stunned at how little I cared about anything or anyone in the film about 20 minutes after it started. How can every single character be two dimesnional- shallow- materialistic and dominated by only the wish to place their hands on money that is actually their own already... I mean the only character that gets something in the end is Anil Kapoor. The brothers and their women already owned everything?!

The only thing I actually liked was Atif Aslam's song Pehli Nazar Mein.

I wonder how Anil Kapoor could actually take part in both these films? Shall I commend him on his diversity and acting skills? I put it to the desire to be part of a big budget, star studded, muscle show fest. The man looks good at age 50!! achhhhhh if only he didn't constantly, disgustingly munch on all that fruit. What was the point in that?


I was cautious when I started watching Black and White. A Hindi film whose main theme is modern day Muslim (global) terrorism affecting India could potentially have been an absolute piece of nationalistic, insulting, shallow crap. Sarfarosh was pretty disturbing. Fiza was beyond disturbing. Main Hoon Na was about everything other than terrorism. Fanaa... what can I say? But this film was actually engaging and very good.

It did have its nationalistic moments. I felt my body cringe when Anil's daughter played the Indian national antham on her little keyboard, among several other scenes. But overall, I found it a thoughtful and thought provoking experience.

Like many people living in this end of the world (or anywhere actually) I have thought a lot about religion, being religious, having faith, being fanatical about your faith, mixing faith with politics, terrorism and faith and what 'life altering experience' could possibly make you shift your whole persective on faith and its role in life/world, etc.

After a long build up portraying unquestionable faith and willingness to kill for this faith- including scenes where the young man is shown being brought up, trained and brainwashed in what is presumably an Al Qaida camp in Afghanistan (I am guessing here because the scenes are shown during a musical break from the storyline. My link to Al Qaida is the fact that we see the young man speaking in Farsi-Dari during several scenes spread through out the film) he decides to live and let live for now.

Setting the film in Delhi's Chandni Chowk, with the narrow lanes, little shops, endless cups of tea, crowds and constant interference, not to mention the Juma Masjed and the intensity of Islamism in the area (for me only to be rivalled by Nizamuddin!) was perfect. Some how Chandni Chowk is my symbol of Islam in India (most likely due to the fact that I haven't traveled very extensively and I only know the cliche sites) ... so the decision to make the film there fulfilled my foreigner's mental expectations. WOW! How very oriental of me... I hadn't realized that until now.

The acting was convincing. The music was great. And the stroyline?

The experience portayed in the film was not a hundred percent convincing but I am not sure anything would be... it was pretty sudden but it is clear that the young man does not have a complete change of heart. I guess he just decides there are good Hindus or non-Muslim people and he has to evaluate his faith. That's the reason I gave for his running away rather than giving himself up.

Gratefully the film never became filmy. The storyline carefully avoided romance and sentimentality. No Kajol here to challenge Aamir's faith in his 'mission'!

I was deeply, genuinely surprised by the fact that the man was not dutifully killed off as a sacrifice in the name of multicultural, multiethnic, multi religious, secular India. I had never seen a terrorist, non-secular character survive before. I wonder if the scriptwriters desperately sought ways to keep Aamir's character alive in Fanaa? or was the whole point there that he dies in love (and in protection of secular India)???

Survival really was for me the ultimate demonstration of gray within the black and white.

Sertab Erener in Hindi

Hindi films are always full of surprises. Take my experience just a few minutes ago.

I decided to give the film Life Mein Kabhie Kabhie another chance. I have managed to get through more than half the film but over a period of 6 months and many sittings.

At present I have managed to make it through the 1 hr and 36th mintue when I had a massive shock. A pretty little lady with brown hair started to sing (obviously that is not the shock!) The surprise was when I found myself singing along, in Turkish rather than Hindi and then suddenly realized I was listening to Sertab Erener's Yanarim in Hindi.

The Hindi version of the song is called Dekho Jo Gaur Se.

And for all who are curious to know about either or both versions, here are the appropriate links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X_e7q4te54 for Dekho Jo gaur Se

and

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9008426680393755223 for Yanarim.

I know I prefer the original. But all others can decide for themselves.

washington Post on Padmavati, the Opera

Bollywood and Opera Meld in Paris

By JENNY BARCHFIELDThe Associated Press Thursday, March 20, 2008; 9:55 AM
PARIS -- 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-turned-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."
Indian history in French, that is.
The opera's libretto is the language of Moliere, and most of the cast's classically trained singers are French, too.
French mezzo-soprano Sylvie Brunet lends just the right dose of defiance and submission to the role of Queen Padmavati _ who legend has it committed sati, throwing herself onto her husband's funeral pyre to keep from being abducted by a rival leader.
A troupe of classical Indian dancers weaves around the singers, fleshing out the plot with their flex-footed movements. They shimmer and shake, spin and leap, taking center stage during long orchestral movements originally intended for ballet solos.
Although there's not a single Indian instrument in the orchestra, the dancers _ under Calcutta-based choreographer Tanusree Shankar _ appear seamlessly in synch with the music.
Decked out in lavish costumes, they incarnate warriors, ladies in waiting, slaves and a host of Hindu gods, from the fiery goddess of destruction, Kali, to a flying Ganesh.
A live horse, elephant and tiger also play bit parts.
Rehearsals, which brought together performers, musicians and crew of at least six nationalities, were exercises in cultural understanding, Bhansali said.
"It was all very new to the (Western) actors," the director said. "They were very curious about Indian culture and had questions about everything."
The language barrier was a problem _ some of the French cast didn't understand English _ so Bhansali said he gave his stage directions through an interpreter.
"Slowly, slowly, we understood each other."
Plans are in the works to take "Padmavati," which is playing in Paris through March 24, to Italy later this year, Bhansali said.
India could follow, he said, adding he'd like to perform the opera at a fort in the historical Padmavati's town in the northwestern region of Rajasthan.
Or perhaps, Bhansali might do a film version _ sung not in Hindi but in the original French. That could be a hard sell in a country unaccustomed to Western opera, Bhansali acknowledged, but said he thought his compatriots were ready.
"A group of Indian people has gone and done something no Indian had ever done before," said Bhansali. "That makes us very excited and proud at home."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032001525.html?tid=informbox

Bollywood and Opera by pure coincidence

Went to Paris last weekend- 19 mar to 24 mar for Norooz. Eid Norooz mobarak to all who celebrate!!

Apart from a great family reunion and a lot of activity, my cousins Leyli, Farhad and I managed to make it to Padmavati, an opera written by Albert Roussel in 1923 and staged by none other than Sanjay Leela Bhansali. (This is the link to my title Bollywood and Opera by pure coincidence becasue the opera viewing far from planned; it just happened because everyone I know in Paris knows I love Hindi films!)

Hindi film lovers who appreciate art, decoration, lighting and color as opposed to script, storyline and logical narrative love Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I rushed to his Saawariya on opening day when I was in Delhi last November. So did half the rest of Delhi (the other half made it to Om Shanti Om, which opened on the same day!) Saawariya was absolutely gorgeous- sensual, touching but dreadfully long and storyless. I loved it for the visual feast and have returned to parts of the film several times since then, but as a whole, I couldn't wait for it to end.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is better known for a massive hit all Hindi film lovers know: Devdas. Yet another terribly dull, dreadfully pathetic melodrama starring Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai among a million others. But boy was it beautiful. Devdas contains some of the most beautiful scenes I have come across in a Hindi film. I often use these scenes as my 'advertisement' for friends who have never sat through a Hindi film but are curious to know what it looks like!

Much like the advertisement teasers for Saawariya, the song and dance scenes from Devdas are perfect teasers, but the film itself is to be sat through only by those who genuinely love Hindi films.

Now let me come to Padmavati. The opera was stunning. The whole thing felt like a film: dreamy lighting, lavish costumes, fantastic sets and decorations, massive cast of dancing men and women, 'beautiful' leading lady, a live elephant and a live tiger... the attention to detail was unbelievable!

The opera commenced with an offering made to Ganesha- much like the films often start with an image of a God, an offering and the hope for blessing and success- and a group of women dressed in brightly colored traditional clothes walked past the audience, down the aisles and onto the stage to make the offering of flower petals.

The storyline I discovered afterwards is based on a 13. century Hindu story. I acquired this bit of knowledge after watching the piece. Without this knowledge, I would let you know that it was a tragic storyline of unrequited one sided love of a Mogol leader for the wife of a Rajput Prince: familiar enough!

The part that is more interesting of course is the fact that the whole opera is not just Sanjay Leela Bhansali's staging, it is also Albert Roussel's amazing Orientalist view of exotic India. From this perspective the massive cast, the costumes, many group dances, the elephant and tiger take on a different dimension and meaning.

My cousin who is writing her PhD thesis about staging operas and the representation of the body in opera made the following comments: 1) she commented on the amazing compliment between very typical Western music and the Indian dancing- stage movement. She spent most of her time looking at the gestures, the body language, the movement of the hands. She was partly disappointed at the French casts Western body presence. 2) She noted that the dancers repeatedly created a totality- a holistic group as opposed to making an effort at maintaining or creating an individualistic presence on stage; which apparently is the norm in Western Opera.

Turkiyeli Bollywood Bloglari

Ok I am pleased and surprised and impressed. I have just come across Turkey based Turkish language blogs about Bollywood and Indian films! So,

arkadaslar, zorlayacam kendimi ve hata dolu Turkcem ile yazi yazacagim.

Aciklama getirmem gerek gibi hissediyorum...

gecen Jodhaa Akbar'i izledimde bir sahnesinde takilip kaldim. Resmen filmi rewind edip o bolumu bir daha izledim.

Sahneyi hemen anlatim: mega Padisahimiz Akbar- Hindistanda Mogol Musluman Imparaturlugun ilk onemli figuru- bir Hindu Rajput Prenses Jodhaa ile evlenmektedir. Jodhaa zavalim kapali bir cadirda oturup, kadinlari ile harem nasil bir yerdir kesf ederken, Padisahimiz ve diger erkekler acik havada, muhtesem yildizlar altinda egleniyorlar.

Bu 16.yy bir resmi dugun oldu icin tabi ki eglence resmidir. Resmiyet bu durumda nedir?
Mevlevi bir sema. Ve super etkilenen, saygili ve liberal Padisahimiz ne yapar? Cok etkilenip, kendisinden gecip semayi katilip donmeyi baslar.

Bu donme sahnesi bir 3-4 dakika devam eder...

Bunu izledikten sonra ne dusunecegimi bilemedim. Sinirli olan Hint tarih bilgim hemen bana sunu hatirlatti: Mogol Padisahlar ve genel anlamda Islam in India (son buyuk Mogol Padisah Aurangzeybi disinda) her zaman liberal, mystik, Sufi unsurlarla karisik bir Islamdi. En guzel ornegi- 13.yyden kalma, ibadet ve ayin icin henuz acik olan Nizamuddin Dergahi Kasim ayinda Delhideyken ziyaret ettim ve guzel bir Qawwali performans dinledim/izledim. Ama kimse kalkip donmedi. Ve ben simdiye kadar- show and performance sebepleri disinda- Turkiye disinda kimsenin dini ayin anlaminda kalkip donmesini gormemistim. Hele 16.yy Hindistani gosteren/ temsil eden bir Hindi filminde hic beklemiyordum.

So of course bu sahne benim beyinimde takilde ve arada sirada bam baska birseyi dusunmem gerekirken geri donup dusuncelerimi iskal etti.

Bende sonunda bugun bu konuyu internette arastirmayi karar verdim. Acikcasi, arastirmam cok ilerlemedi cunku about 10 minutes and 2 articles into the research bir Turkiyeli, Turkce Bollywood ile ilgili blogu rastladim. Gecici bir sure icin arastirmayi rafa kaldirdim ve blog- bloglari arastirmayi basladim...

and then I ended up at my own blog - reinventing Turkish I have recounted my discovery of the Turkish language Turkey based Bollywood lover blogs.

Thank you to http://bollycinema.blogcu.com and her (?) friends. May all who are interested in Hindi and Indian films visit these blogs often. May our numbers grow into the Millions so we get the chance to watch some of these fun filled, intriguing films at a local cinema.