It is Germany again. I have talked about Bollywood films being popular in the beer country and loat of shows and shooting concerning Bollywood taking place there. It seems that the love between Germany and bollywood has stretched too far and cracks have begun to show.
Bollywood's current blue eyed boy Himesh Reshmiya is producing a film on his own life. This news item was flashed through various medias some time ago. At that time, no one cared much about the project. This same project has now created news in Germany for some wrong reasons. Reshmiya and his crew flew to Cologne this eek to film in one of the city's Gothic churches. But some residents opposed the shooting claiming the film crew had desecrated the site.
Bollywood has unarguably got a foothold in Germany. Indian films have made it onto German cinema and television screens and have a huge following. But Indian filmmakers have also discovered Europe offers prime locations for shooting. While they have already almost exhausted some scenic spots in the Alps, ever new locations are hunted zealously which make them constantly vulnerable to controversy.
The Agnes church is one of Cologne's biggest sacred buildings. Its gothic steeple rises up to the sky. Surrounded by cramped apartment buildings and busy streets, the landmark church is an oasis of calm .Amid that sorrounding, a voice drons out of the loudspeakers. That voice belongs to Himesh Reshamiyya. He plays the lead in the Bollywood film "Aap Ka Suroor," which is currently being shot in Germany.
Agnes church is one of the film's locations. The producers want to simulate a night-time concert in the huge nave and covered the windows and walls with black drapes. In a place where believers usually kneel down to pray, there are now 50 professional dancers in silver sequined dresses shaking their hips while a few hundred extras mill around waiting to play the cheering crowd.
But having fun and dancing in a church has raised a few eyebrows. Cologne's archbishop Joachim Meissner tried to stop the shooting from going ahead, but failed when it was revealed the church's pastor had already signed the contract with the production company.
Many parishioners are angry about the production. An elderly woman shakes her head as she enters the church and then turns to leave saying: "I wanted to pray, to light a candle."
Until Sunday, only the film team will be allowed to use in the main nave, which has upset more than a few people. They don't understand why she shoot has to take place in a building they consider holy. Deutsche welle recently reported about this episode. The full story is available on http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2387067,00.html
The picture can’t be more contradictory. On one hand, Hindi movie channels are running successfully showing dubbed and remake versions of Telugu films, which in all earnestness seem to be getting a lot of response from audience. At the same time, Telugu films themselves are facing a hard day in Andhra Pradesh itself. Having found itself in a quagmire of business losses and a stiff competition from Bollywood and Kollywood, it is striving hard to regain its land. But for the passive onlooker, that seems a distant possibility. What make it more pitiful is that this year Tollywood is celebrating its 75th year.
Telugu film industry in India has a unique standing. It has not only the distinction of being the third biggest film industry in India, in terms of films produced per year and the turnover achieved therein, it also thrives on many demi-gods and cult like fan following of some actors. These actors in turn have never let down their fans and have delivered year after year the films, that we relish even years later. That’s why a Chiranjeevi starrer ‘Gang Leader’ became a super hit in the latter part of 1980s and when it is shown on Star Gold in a dubbed version (named Naya Don), it still got a better TRP. It prompted the channel to show one more dubbed movie named ‘Vishwa’. It was a Nagarjun starrer which was released in 2004 as ‘Nenunnanu.’ The trend continued and rival channel Zee Cinema started to show some dubbed Chiranjeevi movies in prime time. Diler (Anji) and Rakshak (Mrugraju) are two films falling in this category.
It is not that all Telugu films sell on star value. They usually have a strong story element with eye-catching picturisation and of course, a great music. That was the case till recently, i.e. till last year. Now it is almost a sorry picture. Tollywood has seen too many flops for the last couple of years and it is frantically searching for a hit. Even superstars like Chiranjeevi and Nagarjun are finding it difficult to break this mould. One problem that these actors face is the non-availability of good roles. They have been caught in a kind of trap where they can’t play the roles they wish.
In a recent interview, Chiranjeevi has said, “"My image troubles me in different ways. I cannot act in roles different from that of mass commercial ones due to image." That brings the real dilemna of a hero who has steadfastly lead the industry for more than a decade. Lack of worthwhile stories and too much insistence on the routine formulas, that have proved to be a bane for Tollywood. The producers in the industry seem only working for garnering the monetary profit from the films without giving a hint of thought as to what its outcome might be. Trying to emulate the Bollywood for that purpose is just a way of doing that. That’s why heroines and character artists from Mumbai find their way in Telugu films these days more and more. Add to that song (and they abound to the hilt) and dance sequences picturised on the exotic foreign locations. Not surprisingly, the budget of the film skyrockets to few crores. Given the stiff competition in this era, this money is hardly recovered giving more sleepless nights to everybody associated with the project. Even the advertising cost of the film amounts to few crores.
From the start of this year, 40 films have been released in Andhra Pradesh and only two of the proved to be a hit. That’s why trade pundits are anticipating a bleak show ahead. Sankranti season, in which Tollywood is expected to make fortune did not yield expected revenue. Filmmakers and industry insiders are now pinpointing their hopes on summer season. Holidays to school and colleges mean a boon to the film circuit. Many big films are expected in this season. So one can only hope their expectations come true and we are treated to an entertaining fair once again, like we were in the past.
Yesterday evening. As I finished my daily work in the newspaper office, we readied ourselves for the things to come. It was me and my friend, Ashish, who were set for the tiny adventure that was to be unfolded. As decided before, our crime reporter Mangesh has arranged the tour with the help of a policeman. We were to take stock of the situation existing in the historical and inarguably the most infamous part of the Pune city, Budhwar Peth.
We did not reach to the galli, as it is called locally, and decided to have the dinner first. It was a wise decision as the view unfolded within half an hour was nothing less than unsavory. Once done in hotel, we were out on the street that lead us to the main place where various hues of flesh trade take place day in and night out. The policeman aided us and quelled each and every querry posed by us, and they were plentiful. There was no shade of emotion on his face and he betrayed no awkwardness of the situation as we made our way through the constant in and out rush of the people condemned to quench their lust here. The curiosity was not limited to us either.
‘‘Kuch nahin, hamare dost aaye hai,’’ the policeman would tell everyone in the brothel as they scanned our faces. Is it a raid? Round? The girls and women in the dark and tiny rooms looked at us questioningly. There was not a word from their mouth but the air spoke more loudly than one could hear.
‘‘Namaskaar, Namaste," the hapless females greeted us each time we entered a room. We were so not a position to answer that gesture in the manner that we would normally.
"These women demand at least Rs. 100 for once," informed our police guide. On one of question, he showed us even those women who settle for twenty or thirty Rs. Those women were past their prime. With number of men ready to sleep with them fastly depleted, they are sometimes even can’t have their meal or breakfast. This being so, they sell themselves for any meagre amount they can get. "Anyone sleeping with these women and here in these rooms, will that person have any wish to have sex later in his life?" quiped Ashish. Yes, it is an open question. But the fact remains that women with some flesh on their bodies do thrive here and men who go for them has remained, if not increased, intact for at least two centuries.
We were there for some one and two hours only. But that little amount of time itself opened our eyes to many facets of this world which hitherto woukd have never come to us in our mediocre life. Many myths were broken and many new thing known. Take for examle, the underaged girls relived from the brothels.
Our policeman told us this way, "Some girls take money from the middlemen. Then they come here and are enaged in prostitution. When all their money is spent, they convey their whereabouts to police or other institutions or better still some NGO. If they are thus freed from the prostitution home, they go to their native village and stay there for some time. After that, they again contact some middleman and come here through them."
It is Germany again. I have talked about Bollywood films being popular in the beer country and loat of shows and shooting concerning Bollywood taking place there. It seems that the love between Germany and bollywood has stretched too far and cracks have begun to show.
