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.

munich here i come

this may sound absurd, but i never thought anybody would ever reach this blog and read its contents other than my friends, yani people i mentioned the existence of the blog to. So imagine my surprise when i discovered a comment: my first comment by 'beth'.

beth's comment opened a whole new world. i have suddenly discovered that there are numerous blogs about Indian films and there is a 2nd Annual Pan-European/International Bollywood Bloggermeeting to be held from 7-9 march 2008 in munich.

of course i got on the phone and spoke to joachim right away... i have officially invited myself to munich.

i wonder what my sister would think if she knew i was going to munich to meet with more people crazy about hindi films and that such meetings take place in the city where she lived.

more on acronyms

remember how I mentioned that hindi films are known by their full name as well and their acronyms? well, I was totally thrown off balance today when i ran into this link refering to hindi films:

JWM at more number of shows than OSO - bollywood news : glamsham.com

naturally I could not resist sharing this moment of confusion with anyone else who might be reading this entry!

amitabh, abishek and aishwarya

i promised to introduce some more hindi filmi figures...

the link provided takes the reader to a clip from the film Bunty Aur Babli http://youtube.com/watch?v=iO7c1u69hNI

the film, released in 2005, starred Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Muckerjee, with a special dance scene/performance by Aishwarya Rai.

Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwaria are featured in the song and dance scene on the youtube link.

So who are these three characters?

Amitabh Bachchan is considered by many to be the biggest hindi film superstar. he starred in most of the big 70s and 80s films like sholay, amar akbar anthony, don and silsila.

he is married to Jaya Bhaduri, a hindi film star (she played the role of the mother in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham) and his mother Teji Bachchan appeared in a number of Hindi films (She was the grandmother who dies in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham!). he is also father to Abhishek Bachchan.

Abhishek is a relatively new comer to the world of Hindi films. (he did not star in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham!) Abhishek is versatile and he must holds some sort of record for starring in or appearing in no fewer than 19 films in the last 3 years! How many mega star Hollywood actors can boast that they were in 8 major hits in the last 2 years? Namely, Bunty and Babli, Dhoom 2, Guru, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

Now Abhishek also happens to be married to Aishwarya Rai, the last charcter in the clip. Aishwarya was crowned Miss World in 1994 and started acting in Hindi films in 1997. Many of the films she's made have become super hits, such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Mohabbatein and Dhoom 2 but for me the most interesting aspect about Ash's career is the number of times she appears as a 'dream' figure. she seems to be repeatedly cast as India's dream girl: an ultimate fantasy.

jodhaa akbar 2

this is what i love about the hindi film world. a new star studded film is released and within less than a week google video is listing a part of the film as its movers and shakers. http://video.google.com/ on 21 feb 2008 at 19:16 turkey time.


Movers & Shakers
More »
1.
lunar eclipse - 03.03.07
www.youtube.com
2.
Total Solar Eclipse 2006
www.youtube.com
3.
Lunar Eclipse in Timelapse
www.youtube.com
4.
Gears of War 2
www.youtube.com
5.
2006 Total Solar Eclipse
video.google.com
6.
Jason Castro - What A Day For ...
www.youtube.com
7.
chaos.avi
video.google.com
8.
jodha akbar part 2
video.google.com
9.
Total Solar Eclipse - Egypt
video.google.com
10.
No Way Out 2008 Raw! Eliminat...
www.youtube.com

there are so many of us crazy hindi film lovers desparate to catch a glimpse of the new films!

Jodhaa Akbar

the who's who of hindi film industry was at the premiere of the new film Jodhaa Akbar.

the film stars two mega stars- aish and hrithrik. some day i will actually get around to introducing them and more stars in my hindi 101 blog.

for now, i am keen to share a little clip from youtube about the premiere showing the stars, their clothes, their expectations and my favorite element: surprise that mr alternative, Aamir Khan, has decided to do something mainstream, like show up to a premiere.

enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4o635Qt86o&NR=1

debating the song and dance sequence

A major issue concerning the Hindi film is the song and dance sequence. Some people love the interruption and believes the msuic adds color, energy and spirit. Other consider it to be an interruption which disturbs the flow of the narrative. There are those who argue they should not exist.

Regardless of what one thinks, Hindi films are not imaginable without the song and dance. So do as I do, sit back and enjoy!

Today I will comment no further. I am copy and pasting a little spontaneous debate between YouTube users on this issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L3rMFmHWjs&NR=1


dev12345 (1 week ago) Show Hide Marked as spam
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This song was necessary here. This entire movie is from the point of view of Sehar. Her life changed starting from this song. She got drugged here and lots of bad things happened with her that night. I agree that Bollywood is dumb about inserting songs in movies but here it was necessary. Besides its a nice song so enjoy.

maharajakal (1 week ago) Show Hide Marked as spam
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put a song where it is not neccesary. come on step ur game up bollywood

CNN Revealed! program on Shahrukh Khan

CNN has decided that the Hindi film sector is as worthy as I feel... so this months Revealed! personality is none other than... Shahrukh Khan. Here is the link for all interested.

http://www.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/revealed/

Enjoy!

The Kapoor Khandan

www.saawaryafilm.com

Turks and Iranians usually know the film Awara. Pretty much everyone can hum the theme song ‘Awara hoon’… and some mention the name Raj Kapoor: producer, director and star of Awara.

If this was a 101 class explaining Who is Who in the Hindi film sector, then Raj Kapoor would be an excellent place to start.

http://www.amazon.com/Awara-starring-Raj-Kapoor-Nargis/dp/B000056N4I

Raj Kapoor was not only an actor, producer and director of Hindi films, he and his name represent a whole Hindi film ‘khandan’ (family). His father was a famous Indian stage actor called Prithviraj Kapoor. His brothers Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor are still active as actors and producers in Hindi films.

His oldest son Randhir Kapoor is head of RK film studios in Mumbai. His second son Rishi Kapoor is a famous actor and his youngest son Rajiv Kapoor was also active in Hindi films as actor and producer.

His son Randhir is father to Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, both of whom are incredibly popular and successful actresses in the Hindi film sector. Kareena Kapoor is the star of my favorite Hindi film Jab We Met, which I have already mentioned. Rishi Kapoor’s son Randbir Kapoor made his acting debut in the cinematically very beautiful Saawariya in November 2007.

language issues

I still haven't figured out how to place a clip from youtube on my blog page, so for now I provide the link to my favorite Hindi film's trailer.

The film is called Jab We Met.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNQGunDx68&feature=related

I watched the film 3 times in the cinema while I was in Delhi last October. Would I watch it 3 times at 12 YTL per occasion I am not sure. But cinema is cheap in India, unlike Turkey.

www.chakpak.com/movie/jab-we-met/18964

So one can go to the cinema and watch the same film several times.

As I searched the web for a suitable trailer for the film I realized one major problem. The trailer I chose manages to express the films main storyline. It also contains a melody from the film. Other trailers had a englşsh song which has nothing to do with the film. This trailer also contains enough scenes where the Actors utter words in English for anyone who speaks English to be able to make some sense of what is going on. But this is entirely the problem: to appreciate and enjoy and have fun, one has to be able to understand what is being said, especially with a fast paced, conversation based film like Jab We Met.

It is true that many Hindi films are simple in storyline and they are obvious in their imagery. If the mother is praying for a light of hope, then a light literally turns on in the neighbor's house and so on. The audience doesn't have to use too much brain power to understand the message. There is very little subtelty or hinting. That is one of the features I love about good Hindi films. They don't beat about the bush!!

But there is a lot of coversation and a lot of reference to other Hindi films, or real life situations that Indians or Hindi filmophiles would recongnize but others just don't get. So this is going to be the main issue of difficulty at hand. There is a lack properly sub-titled Hindi film and music clips on the internet for me to use...

I have to start looking. Or inspiring everyone to learn the Hindi language.

Istanbul Modern Hindi Film month

For the second year in a row the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art has a month - 20 days of the month- dedicated to Hindi films. The film program is entitled Bollywood! Ask ve Musik. It runs from 8- 20 February.

Anyone interested can have a look at: http://www.istanbulmodern.org/tr/f_index.html

There are some really good films on the list.

So hurray and iyi seyirler!!

in spite of me, a tribute to Shahrukh Khan

I mentioned that I watched Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham the first time because my sister wanted me to pick up a long, fun film which would take her mind off everything. I also mentioned that after I watched the film I was in love. I was in love with the music, the costumes, the lights, the decorations, the locations, the smooth transition between supposed Delhi and supposed London, the sense of romance, the tribute to 'love', the respect shown to the family and the winning self confidence of the leading stars.

When I picked up that DVD I had no idea the film in my hand was about to open a whole new world for me. I didn't know that one film could make you sit in front of the internet for hours reading about stars and directors; that a film can make you try desparately to figure out if the cultural events portrayed are accurate representations of what one would really experience in India or not. I didn't know that because of this film and many other films I subsequently watched, I would cease enjoying Hollywood and Western films the way I used to (at least for the time being that is the result!) It didn't occur to me for a moment that a single film could pave the path to the desire to travel to a country, learn a language, learn about a country's sense of the self and the wish to be immersed in something that for 30 years had hardly anything to do with me at all.

I remember walking home from work one day composing a letter to Shahrukh Khan in my head. It was a letter of thanks. I was thanking him for helping me get through my sister's illness. I felt it was to a large extent because of this film and several other Shahrukh films (for Shahrukh films were all that were available in Karstadt when I first started to explore Hindi films) that I was inspired to giggle and laugh and tell stupid stories as my sister slowly slipped away.

Over the past 2 years I have watched many films- and most of them do not contain Shahrukh Khan. I have discovered that millions of girls and women love Shahrukh; dream Shahrukh; rush to the cinema on opening day to watch a new Shahrukh film and rattle on for hours to a news camera about how much they appreciated blah blah blah blah about Shahrukh or the other stars around him. I myself have made it to the opening day of 2 Shahrukh films - first in Mumbai and then in Delhi and I need to remind any reader that I have spent just about 2 months in total in India. I have convinced myself that I have outgrown Shahrukh films; I have discovered stars with greater originality, better acting skills, better looks (not that hard?), better dancing; I have decided he's too arrogent, too pretentious, too popular, too... too... too etc etc. I have even spent a time avowing undying 'screen' love to Aamir Khan.

But at the end of the day, much as I would love to be original and different from most, I can't really start a blog about Hindi films and me, without my little tribute to Shahrukh Khan.

As I have stated above, Shahrukh Khan is more than a star symbol for me. His energy, charisma, smile and noisy annoying self helped me through a really tough time. Films like K3G, DDLJ, Kal Ho Naa Ho or Veer Zaara, the first films I watched, have become more than kitch big budget films with Shahrukh at the center.

I hope Shahrukh himself never sees this piece, but I thank him and the cast and crew and directors and producers of big budget Hindi films for keeping the smile on my face.

Hindi films are often known by their acronyms

I challenge my dear reader to open google and type in DDLJ.

If your computer is the same as mine, and your internet is the same as mine, then every single entry starting with the wikepedia entry is about DDLJ.

Definitions

One minute of exploration on the internet easily informs all that there are 9 regional 'film industries' in India:

The Bhojpuri (Purvanchal) film industry
The Bengali (Bangla) film industry
The Hindi film industry, also known as Bollywood
The Kannada film industry
The Kashmiri film industry
The Malayalam film industry
The Marathi film industry
The Tamil film industry (Kollywood)
The Telugu film industry
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_India)

So it is important to be specific. My blog, for example, is principally about the largest of the regional industries, Hindi films. I have very limited experience with the other regional industries.
Also, I am against the word 'Bollywood'. I like the Hindi film industry too much to see it as the little brother of 'Hollywood'. While many Hindi films may be inspired by Hollywood films or Hollywood storylines, they are very much a genre in themselves and the industry doesn't really need to look up to its competition with a nickname invoking the others identity.

Asides from these regional film industries there is a robust independent film industry. Films by Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, such as Water which was nominated for a foreign film Oscar in 2007 fall into this 'independent' category. The reason for this is simple. Such films are in English rather than a regional language and often the storyline is considered to be more realistic. In other words, they are closer to analytic Western films, with heavier stories, trying to teach something coherent about social, political or cultural life in India or about Indians to the foreign English speaking world.

I am inclined to also add a small but growing local language based independent film sector. Like independent sectors in other countries, these films tend to show case acting talents of unknown or rising stars or contain more thought provoking or unusual storylines/imagery.
These films are frequently produced by individuals who repeatedly work together.

As stated, I am inclined to nominate a local language independent film industry. I am sure that many Indians would not agree or would have a more appropriate name for the types of films I have in mind.

Independent film producers, by the simple fact that their films are in English, target their films to international viewership. However, regional film industries typically target Indians. Of course, criteria and conditions have been changing, especially with the ever growing Non-resident Indian (NRI) population living in UK, USA or any other country. Migration has resulted in ever greater international exposure of regional Indian films, particularly the big budget, multi-star Hindi films and growing international popularity.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sorrow)

http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/KabhiKhushiKabhieGham/

When I meet Iranians or Turks in my general age group and I mention Hindi films, they inevitably tell me that they watched tear jerking, melodramatic Indian films with funny song and dance sequences, usually involving dancing around a tree, followed by some violence as a child.

I don’t recall any specific Indian film or film sequence from my childhood. I assume I watched them because my neighbor and best friend, Gole Maryam was half Pakistani and I remember us watching a lot of films in her house. But were any of the films Indian?

I vaguely remember Mira Nair’s Salam Bombay (1988). We were in Australia then and the film was shown at a big screen cinema in the city and I was extremely reluctant to go. I have mental images of my mother half dragging me to the cinema, uttering words like ‘you need to be open to other cultures… India is a fascinating place… the film got brilliant reviews’.

Around the same time my mother taped Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata on video. She would watch entranced… that is until I accidentally taped a different film on half of the video. I bought a DVD of The Mahabharata last year but I still haven’t managed to watch it. The only thing I remember from my occasional slanderous comments to my mother about the fragments of Mahabarata that I watched was that the elephant god Ganesha looked cool, but over all, it was all very stupid.

During the final years of high school I was consumed by French film and anything French. During my undergrad years Japanalia started to spin out of proportion.

Then in 1996 I stumbled across Mira Nair’s Kama Sutra and in 2001 I watched her Monsoon Wedding. Monsoon Wedding was a revelation. I loved almost every minute of the film. But by this stage I was living in Turkey and Turkey is not exactly a bubbling hot pot of Indian culture.

So it was not until the winter of 2006 when my sister told me to buy a DVD which would be long, fun, entertaining and capable of taking her mind off everything that I discovered the charm of Hindi films. The Karstadt ‘recommendation’ section contained a film I had never seen or heard of before. The cover of the film was bright and flashy. The characters wore shiny clothes and a family was hugging and laughing their heads off. (See the picture above). The little bit of German I understood told me the film was highly recommended and best of all the back cover stated that the film lasted a whopping 3 hours and 40 minutes. Although the back cover also mentioned that the audio options were either German or Hindi, I couldn’t resist.

The name of the film was Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sorrow).

While my sister hated the film and winged and complained that I have no taste and I was banned from buying any more films without her previous approval, I was in love.

Why Hindi films?

I have asked myself and been asked this question many times since I became besoted with Hindi films in 2006. Based on my mood and the situation I have produced absurd, logical, intellectual, cultural, linguistic and even an academic analysis of reasons.

I don't actually know why I am drawn to these films. I don't have a reason. Maybe it's because I find them fun. Or because I find it incredibly easy to lose myself in a world where lead characters usually endorse good family values, fall in love with beautiful heros or heroins, sing and dance perfectly.

Something about the culture and the storyline on show reaches out to me the way Sound of Music and Thoroughly Modern Milly did when I was 9 years old: just the right blend, at the right place, at the right moment in my life.