How can bend backwards for an old actress

Actresses hardly get old...at least in their own eyes. That Maharashtra government was forced to change the name of prominent award is testimony to this fact. All this just for the sake of an actress's sake.

Bollywood icon, who was the top actress in the Amitabh era and still appreciated for her long lasting beauty, Rekha refused to make any compromise on her image of an evergreen actress. About a fortnight ago, the state government announced to honour her with the Raj Kapoor Jeevan Gaurav award (Lifetime Achievement award in memory of first showman Raj Kapoor). But officials of the state cultural ministry were in for a shock when Rekha told them to change the name of the award. According to her, Lifetime Achievement is supposed to be given to someone who has spent his entire life in the service of the industry. But she thinks she is still active in the field.

To honour her sentiments, the government has now amended the title of the award to "Raj Kapoor Pratiba Gaurav" (Raj Kapoor Talent Award), putting an accent on the creative aspect of the artist.

Now, the renamed award will be presented to the actress on the occasion of 46th Maharashtra state film award distribution ceremony slated for May 30 in the city.The fact was disclosed by none other than the Maharashtra cultural affairs minister Harshwardhan Patil। It is also to be noted here that the state government has also doubled the award amount this year to Rs two lakhs. The award ceremony is to take place on May 30.

Now, the question arises should government have give in before an old actress, who is now 55 years old? This is one of the flagship award of the state government. Earlier, actors like Rajnikant have received this award without any fuss. After that, he went on to create new records with the release of Sivaji-the Boss. So who is Rekha to make such a demand and can government just nod with her? Was not there anybody else as worthy and less exacting? One can understand if someone extracts the benefits when he is in prime. But to throw tantrums even after fading away to natural oblivion is an act that only Bollywood can do. Only the minister can tell what type of cultural activity this is.

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Happy Birhtday…..Boss!

He reigns supreme in the hearts of those who, with a stomach for reverence and thirst for entertainment frequent the darkness of the film theatres. His mannerisms have survived the criticisms of the detractors and the onslaught of the time. Through thick and thin, from touring talkies to multiplexes, Tamil superstar Rajnikant rules the box office and the minds of cinegoers alike. This is not a new eulogy in the light of the recent success of the Sivaji the Boss, but a time tested praise the actor deserves most.

Rajnikant is celebrating his 58th birthday today. As I write this, he would be celebrating this occasion with the same modesty and charm that he is always known for. He will retreat to one of the holy places that only he knows, visit some orphanages or old people’s home, distribute some sweets or meal to students and many other charity deeds he do often. But for the millions of his fans worldwide, 12th Dec. is the day for commemoration every year. The reserved attitude of their idol notwithstanding, they will also be involved in welfare activities.

Why Rajnikant holds this charisma and influence on so wide an audience is a question that a large no. of critics and viewers have pondered on alike. I would hardly like to add this leaf in the already heavy pile of life stories available on the net. What I would like only to add here, besides wishing him Happy Birthday of course, is that whenever an enjoyment-hungry man will take his place in the darkness of the theatre or in the comfort of his home moving his eye on the TV screen in search of the stuff that he wants, the brimming activities of Rajnikant will be there to amuse him.

People call him desi James Bond or Amitabh Bachchan of the South India. I think and insist that it is passé. Rajnikant is Rajnikant…his own citations of Superstar and Style King fail to appropriately describe his personality. So, the best thing we can do is to watch his movie and say………Repeat


Wish him again Happy Birthday Rajnikant.

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Rajnikant : The new movie icon of India

The new frontiers

As the monsoon has set in the this nation, which is stretched from Himalayas to the Indian Ocean, the news of Sivaji-the Boss conquering one after another box office records are also pouring in. In the hitherto untreaded parts of the country, where regional films were strictly a no-no till now, the film is marching ahead to say the least. Not only in India, but even in overseas markets also it saw even the Hollywood blockbusters in the fray bite the dust in top ten charts. It seems that whole of India is rediscovering this Style King often derided for his mannerisms which many others have tried to ape but fail the produce the charm that Rajni has.
That also made the reigning Superstar of North India (devotees of Big B, please excuse me, but that’s the kind of address more often than not used in Tamil and other South Indian press) to attend a special screening of the film. The Boss was also there with him. And even BigB praised Rajni on the occasion. He has already praised the Thalaivar as the emperor of Indian cinema.

The next question

Now, question arises: Is Rajnikant the next movie icon of India? What Rajnikant has achieved is undoubtedly one of the biggest feats in movie industry in India as well as overseas. First of all, he climbed to the stardom in spite of any real backing from the industry. He has proved his mettle through his talents and mannerisms and most of all, his unparalleled ability to churn out films successively single handedly. In likes of MGR and Shivaji Ganeshan, not least Kamal Haasan, he created a place for himself that was unique in every sense. After appearing in some remakes of Amitabh Bachchan, he was described as Amitabh of Tamil movies.
Then in 1983, just eight years after he made his entry on silver screen, Rajnikant starred in the Hindi movie Andha Kanoon, which had Amitabh himself in what was said to be a `guest appearance’ role but extended to a large part of the film, convincingly. That success set up a train of some flicks, some of them making hay on box office while some bringing tears to the producers and distributors. Rajni then satisfied himself with some petty side roles in Bollywood while consolidating his position in his home (?) industry. But even so, his popularity and fan following in rest of India continued to grow. His image as an maverick was also reinforced through the new media like internet, even though there he was more present through the odd jokes.
But to speak of it, Rajinikant was the only non-Hindi actor to gain a large audience in the northern parts of India. His predecessors, like MG Ramachandran never quite entered in this specter, or some like Shivaji Ganeshan could only appear in one or couple of flicks. They never really have a base here. Even Kamal Haasan, who entered Hindi films with a bang through Ek Duje Ke liye (1980), could not make a mark here barring some odd films and a distant admiration from critics. (It was very later, in late ‘80s that Kamal made his re-entry through films like Appu Raja.) Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, and Nagarjun…all these heroes came and went but except for registering their presence, they could hardly do anything. In that sense, Rajnikant was the first and only southern hero who could navigate the box office.

A large vacuum to fill

Now with Sivaji, Rajni has arrived on the centrestage and with what role, a man single-handedly taking the system by the horns. Many a Bollywood heroes had their careers built on this his image but in the last few years, in an era of globalization, Bollywood has largely discarded this category giving way to some ice-candy floss cinemas. While the former category of heroes and cinemas might appear old fashioned to some, in India these types of films do really capture the imagination of the people. That’s why actors in these types of films are more endeared to the public. This is the large vacuum, that now only Rajnikant can fill.
The process seems to have already started with Sivaji-the Boss gaining foothold even in non-Tamil speaking parts of India. If Rajnikant can bring the Tamil (or for that matter South Indian movie industry) with Bollywood, he will be the first to have this type of accomplishment. The day might be not far away when Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood would be amalgamated as one industry. The process has been already started with many a Tamil and Telugu films featuring prominent Hindi and Marathi artists in increasing numbers. And it will also be noted that the process was started by Rajni films whereby his Hindi films were dubbed in Tamil and vice versa (when the trend was almost non-existent.) His Dalpathi had Amrish Puri as the main villain.
In a nutshell, Rajnikant is set be a movie icon for the new India. Sivaji-the Boss’s collection records in UK and phenomenal rush it witnessed in Chicago, Muscat and Malaysia…you name it and he have it…only points to this fact. So toast to this new Sultan of the Indian Movies!

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Two for tango, humble tango

Shivaji the Boss is a hit now. There is no doubt about it. But before the release of the film, some mediamen went on to ask Rajnikant about his comparion with Amithabh Bachchan. And Rajni, in his classic humble manner went further to say that Amitabh is Emperor.
I could not but put this interview on my blog.

You can also watch interview on NDTV here
Now, the same bollywood giant Amitabh Bachchan has gone on record to praise Rajnikanth as the undisputed superstar, the emperor of the Indian cinema. Read the article here...

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Sivaji-the spoiled status

Thank God, 'Sivaji the boss' is here. The total success of this film has lost its relevance for me and now, one has to resign himself to the fact that the movie has hit the halls. Till now we were only treated to the news of various hurdles coming in the way of this magnum opus of Tamil cinema. In the way, there was so much hype built up by media and Rajini fans that it was hard to forget the film for even a moment. So much so that some news channels had gone overboard to portray this film as the only offering from down south.
Now that the `Sivaji the boss' has just started to make waves in theatres, is it not time to ponder whether this film should have been given a fair treatment in terms of the publicity? First of all, the thing that played all over in the hype-trail of Sivaji was the amount Rajini fetched for this film. Some have quoted this amount to the tune of 16 Crores (160 million) Indian Rupees while others have went ahead to predict the amount to be some 20 Crores. Not dwelling much on this subject, one can only say that how can an actor’s remuneration be an attraction of the film. The expense occurred in the making of a film is not a sure guarantee of the quality for the film. This fact was more than evident in the case of Devdas (2002) starring Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. That Sanjay Leela Bhansali, director of the film managed to get away with a success was a case apart. But the fact remains as it is.
As many ardent fans of Tamil movies and Rajinikant himself know, this is not the first time that Rajini has got this much big amount for his presence in film. He has constantly seen his price soaring to sky after the `once-in-a-lifetime’ success of his `Baasha’ in Tamil. The movie catapulted him to the new heights of superstardom and since then he has never looked back. He is since long been the numero uno of the Tamil movie industry. He commands and receives such prices, because distributors and producers believe in him alike. But that amount created ripples in North and people were awestruck with it. How can someone other than Amitabh Bachchan or Shahrukh Khan get this much money? Surely, Director Shankar and AVM Studios, the producers of the `Sivaji the Boss’ must have gone mad, was the common refrain. But that refrain gave way to a remote curiosity, by which the angle of viewing has got twisted.
A Rajini film is a complete entertainer. We have seen this in films like Muthu, Baasha, Padaiyappa and many more. One has to keep in mind while waiting or watching Sivaji. But now people throng and muse themselves, “Hey, let’s see this film. Come, let’s see why this guy has been paid so much for this film?” The reputation of director Shankar, a man known for his extravagant but socially relevant films like Gentleman, Indian (Hindustani), Kadhalan (Hum se Hai Mukabala) and Mudhalvan (Nayak), have been washed away by a wave named Rajinikant, whose own reputation as an actor has been faded away by the new image of highest paid actor in India.
With this background, can one expect a helthy discussion on Rajini’s performance, storyline of the film or music or any other aspect. Rarely one sees a hoopla hijacking a film’s credentials so overwhelmingly. With this background, one only hopes that Rajini’s status as an actor, and not as a highest paid actor be established through Shivaji.
(At the moment this post is written, Sivaji has arrived with a bang and with some rave reviews. In Pune, from where I am writing, the film is scheduled to arrive on 22nd June 2007. It means one has to wait one more week to see Rajini in action. Till then, we have to be satisfied with reading the reviews of the film.)

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Indian movies growing out of all woods

The film industry in India could not have better than this. After witnessing its most successful year in the recent past in terms of box-office collections, the industry is poised to grow even more. And this is not an abstract anticipation of any Bollywoodwallah, it is a studied inference of an American institute.
The PTI recently reported about a report by the Creative and Innovative Economy Centre (CIEC) of George Washington University Law School, wherein the centre has estimated that Indian film industry will grow by more than 15 per cent in the coming year. The reasons attributed are growing number of multiplexes and the availability of digital technology.
What this report did not elaborate, and which I specifically observed some three months ago, that this trend of growth is more evident in Bollywood but it equally, or more precisely more forcefully exist in the regional film industries. The statistical data of these scattered centres of film making does not come up at once and hence it is relegated to the unhidden corners of respective trade papers.
The Bollywood, that now produces Hindi films for mainly urban and overseas audience is considered worth 25, 000 Crores, according to Industry sources. Coming next to it is Kollywood or Tamil film industry which had a turnover of around 23, 155 Crores at the end of year 2005. This year’s data is yet to come by. The second biggest film industry in South India, that is Telugu film industry has a turnover to the tune of 23, 044 Crores.
Even the once near-dead or non-existent industries are gaining or regaining ground in the unprecedented ways. The Marathi film industry was staring at its death just five years ago. But the Shwaas changed it all. The film released in 2004 won a Golden Lotus Award from the President and that provided a much-needed impetus to the Maharashtrian producers. That’s why this year saw as many as 75 films in Marathi language were passed for the release by the Central Certification Board of India, called Censor Board, compared to the two or three on an average in the 90s.
The Bhojpuri films till recently remained in the shadow of the Hindi films. But as the Bollywood turn more and more urban; these films emerged strong with flavor of local themes and talent providing ingredients. Even Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has thought it imperative to act in a Bhojpuri film, which was quite unthinkable in the past.
So given this trend, it is hardly surprising that world is anticipating a big growth from Bollywood. The question is, will it take cognizance of the growth of other film industries in India.

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Shahrukh Ban Gaya Joker

It is official now. However Shahrukh might try to ape Big B, he alwasys turns out to be a damp squib. First he tried to step in the Bachchan's shoe was when he acted in the remake of Don. His pubilcity machinery worked overtime and managed to proclaim that film as a hit, but the truth is that the film failed totally. Not satisfied with that misadventure, he jumped on the hot seat as anchor of the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. This time also he has got a bitting and in the attempt to crown himself as the new ruler of Bollywood, he has proved himself a joker. Even figures substantiate these observations.
A recent report in Hindustan Times tells how Khan has failed in recreating the magic that Bachchan created six years ago. There is a sheer absence in the overhyped performance of Shahrukh khan of the aura weaved by Bachchan. His popularity as host of KBC is no match for his predecessor Amitabh Bachchan, the report says. The data compiled by India's Television Audience Measurement for the first four days showed a television viewership rating, or TVR, of 12.33. Bachchan, 61, had a bigger four-day audience in August 2005 with a 19.75 rating, the daily said. The paper did not provide the margin of error, and the show remains India's most popular.
Originally based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from the USA, "Kaun Banega Crorepati" was started year 2000 as the main attraction og the relaunch of the Star Plus. The grandesque image and persona of Bachchan catapulated it to the heights unknown to the Satellite TV shows till then. It soon caught imagination of the millions of viewers across India. SO much so that this show played a big role in reviving Big B's film career. The show ran in two parts, but was halted abruptly following Bachchan's illness.
It was resurected last week with 41-year-old Khan at the helm. As with his filmy image, Khan brought with him a lot of hoopla in the form of songs and dances in this show, which was not the part of the show in its prior run. The Show started on Jan. 22, and a random survey shows that audiences have given Khan, one of the biggest Bollywood heartthrobs of the past decade, the thumbs down, the Hindustan Times has said.
Expectedly enough, Star Entertainment India doesn't agree with the findings. The number of people "reached " on Khan's first day was 23 million compared to Bachchan's 18 million, Paritosh Joshi, the network's president in charge of advertising and distribution said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Joshi's figures are based on those who watched the gameshow for at least a minute. The TVR, on the other hand, gives the number of people who sat through the hour-long program. If that does convince the anyone, here is some figures given by a portal moneycontrol.com.
TAM numbers for the opening week of Kaun Banega Crorepati with SRK are in. It looks like Shahrukh Khan has lost out in round one, reports CNBC-TV18. While Shahrukh's KBC debuted with a 12.3 rating the first episode of Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC had garnered 19.75.
But there's good news for Star Plus as well. The channel's relative shares in the general entertainment category is up from 37.7 to 55.9 percent in the primetime in the 9-10 pm band in the KBC launch week.
A closer look at the TAM data for all four episodes last week, however, shows a dipping interest in the show after the opening episode. Especially so on day three which was the 24th of January when KBC went head-to-head with the India-West Indies ODI in Cuttack. The show seems to have borne the brunt then, losing viewers to cricket.
That settles the matter for once. The reality is that Shahrukh is no match for BigB.

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Chiru...the eternal hero

The megastar of Telugu films Chiranjeevi recently completed 29 years of his film career. A function was organized to celebrate the occasion wherein his friend and another Telugu star Nagarjuna was present. Being one of the superstar’s quartet, (Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Rajinikant comprises other three in this club) Chiru, as he is fondly called by his fans, is undoubtedly the most prominent figure of the Indian movies. The word Chiranjeevi in Sanskrit means 'one who live on eternally.' Chiranjeevi's feats on screen and in movies make him really live eternally in the mind of the viewers.
Chiranjeevi was as Siva Sankara Vara Prasad Konidela, on 22 August 1955 at Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh, India
He was a student of the famous Madras Film Institute and later became a professional film star. His first public performance was in a government parade ballet at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 1976.
He started his professional career the film "Punadhirallu" in 1978. Though Punadhirallu was his debut, his first success came up with a negative role in the film 'Intilo Ramayya Vidhilo Krishnayya' which was released in the year 1981.
His roles in movies such as Abilasha, Adavidonga, Chantabbayi, Challenge, Gang Leader, Master, Kondaveeti Donga, Kodama Simham, Indra, Tagore etc. were all block busters in Tollywood. In the pre-90s, Chiranjeevi was first seen on Hindi scree. His first Hindi film released was Pratibandh (1990) with Juhi Chawla as his heroine. The films was a blockbuster and Rami Reddy, the main villain in the films also received much attention in the film. The success of Pratibandh prompted producers to make another movie with Ciranjeevi, exploiting his macho man and angry young man image. This films ‘Aaj Ka Gundaraj’ (1992) was a remake of Telugu hit Gang Leader. Meenakshi Sheshadri was the heroine in the film. As this movie minted money on the Box Office, Chiranjeevi’s popularity also soared.
Though his subsequent films could not recreate the magic that is Chiranjeevi is known for, his charisma as an actor remains in place as is shown by the number of dubbed movies. These movies appear in small cities and run to packed houses as well as in CDs and DVDs which have a good run on Cable cicuit. Besides Telugu, Chiranjeevi commande a huge fan following in Tamilnadu also.
He is married to Konidela Surekha on February 20, 1980 and is blessed with two daughters Susmita and Sirija, and one son Ramcharan Teja. His brothers Nagendra Babu and Pawan Kalyan are both into movies as well.
Chiranjeevi is the founder of the Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust, which is the state's largest recipient of Eye and Blood Donations. With the help of Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust more than 20,000 people have donated blood and more than 10 lakh people have pledged their eyes. Chiranjeevi also assists people for medical expenses in genuine cases.

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Bollywood 'Dhoom' in Germany

Bollywood cruises in Germany
That Bollywood is crossing new frontiers in geographic terms is nothing of a news now. But that it has created a much frenzy outside India is certainly a thing to be applauded. That frenzy at this point of time is evident much in Germany. The country will witness a gala show in about a month's time to celebrate the life Bollywood-way.
In Germany, many people know Bollywood through television only. And for Germans, Bollywood films are those in which songs, dance, laughter, crying and all other masalas are rolled into one. For them, now Bollywood is to be presented live in show called 'Bharati.' Which will showcase entire spectrum of the Indian movies from yesteryears to this day as they are. I read on a German website named ka-news.de the description of this show as follow (I have tried to translate it) : Bharati is a two hour long innovative work of art in fabric and tone, wherein 100 costumes made of expensive materials, brilliant fabric and vivid creations are employed. With these the Musical ensemble will tour all of Germany and Austria. The show will be held on 8 and 9 February 2007 in Baden-Baden.
In this show, 15 artists and Six singers will play the songs from popular Bollywood films, which will be traditional tunes but will be played on modern lines. This will be second show of this proportion in Europe. The first being Bombay Dreams some two years ago.

In fact, not only in Germany, but Bollywood films are gaining ground in Europe all over. Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner filmmakerYash Chopra has attributed this popularity to one reason. "People who see our films feel happy," he said in an interview at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
The beats and strain of Bollywood music extravaganzas has become a booming economic and cultural force across Europe. Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Rithik Roshan starrer ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gum’ was shown on a German TV channel last year. This was the first time a Bollywood film was aired such a way. And it was a instant hity. Germany has a very small ethnic Indian (if not Asian) population, but radio stations there frequently broadcast listeners’ favourite Hindi, Punjabi, Pakistani, Ghazals, Indian Pop, Filmi and Bhangra hits. Indeed, in Germany, a national television network is drawing high ratings with prime-time Bollywood film marathon weekends.
Dance schools around Europe are now besieged by people clamouring to sign up for courses in Bollywood-style dancing. Boutiques are all a-bling with glittery costume jewellery designed to make wearers look like Bollywood stars.
In Britain, Bollywood films have started to make more money at the box office than home-grown productions. 'Pardes' and 'Taal', produced by Subhash Ghai are two examples for this. This year, 69 Bollywood films have been released in Britain and 14 productions financed by the Indian film industry are being shot there.
Britain’s three largest multiplex chains - Odeon, Vue Cinemas and Cineworld - routinely screen Hindi films that appear in the nation’s top 15 film lists.
Hugely successful
The Bollywood fad was spearheaded in Germany by Berlin’s Radio Multi-Kulti station, which specializes in ethnic programming. But the fad took off when dance club deejays began mixing Bhangra beats on their turntables.
Arthouse cinemas featured Bollywood productions and that led to the first tentative prime-time TV viewings.
"They were hugely successful," says Joyce Mariel, a spokeswoman for RTL II television. The youth-oriented network aired "Good Times, Bad Times – Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham " and, against all odds, scored high ratings.
"We had an average 2 million households, which is very good for us," Mariel recalls. "And the best part of it all was that 73 per cent of the viewership was young women, which is an ideal target audience."
Following up that success, RTL II aired "Indian Love Story - Kal Ho Naa Ho " and then showed "Main Hoon Na" last spring. Through word-of-mouth publicity alone, each was a bigger hit than the previous one.

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Needed : Indian lesson for Stallone

It happens now and then. Especially in moviedom. Stars who are accustomed to arclights can not breathe `out of focus.' They try to prove the world that they can still grab the focus of the public. Many a stars and superstars have fallen prey to this attitude and some have really been sussessful in the endeavour. An actor after carving a larger than life image for himself, is assigned a measured time as his careerspan based on the experiences of past performers. Only a Amithabh or Rajnikant here or Marlon Brando there can outlong this careerspan. Examples of men who either proved to the world that they can overlive their prescribed and expected careerspan or perished in the process of attempting this can be found dime a dozen. But someone crying out loud to grab attention of public, and that too in Hollywood, was never heard of. And when that long unexpected thing happened, it could not become so curious as name of the person behind that cry. That man is Sylvester Stallone.

One who is nourished on a regular dose of Bollywood, Hollywood and all other flicks, needs no introduction of Sylvester Stallone. The 'Rocky' of the Seventies and 'Rambo' of the eighties someshow was overshadowed in Nineties and afterwards. This action hero is now 60 years old and feels sidelined in Hollywood. He thinks it's time to show people that careers of guys like him can last long after most people retire, and he sets out to prove it in his new movie, "Rocky Balboa." "People are living longer. They are healthier. They have more ambition, more energy, yet society is telling them to move aside," Stallone told Reuters. The movie "Balboa," will be released in US theaters on December 20. It is the sixth movie in 'Rocky' series that began with 1976's "Rocky." Stallone famously raised about $1 million to make that low-budget film based on a screenplay he wrote and would not sell to Hollywood's studios unless he was the star. It subsequently went on to become a cult hit and established Stallone as the Superstar even before Rambo appeared on the scene. It also gave birth to various copied movies in India and elsewhere, the notable being `Boxer' starring Mithun Chakraborthy and 'Main Intequam Loonga,' a Dharmendra starrer.

The original movie tells of a hapless boxer, Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa, who overcomes huge odds to better his life. It became a surprise smash hit, earning over $117 million at US box offices, ($362 million in today's dollars), winning the Oscar for best film, and making Stallone a worldwide star. Four other movies followed the Philadelphia boxer through various stages -- career success, family troubles and bankruptcy. Stallone said the lovable lug has been championed by fans because he is humble, can be self-deprecating and is sometimes fearful of what life offers. "He has an almost childlike naivete in the body of a very courageous fighter," Stallone said. Stallone said he wanted a nobler ending to the "Rocky" series than in 1990's "Rocky V," in which Balboa fights a young boxer he trained to help save himself from financial collapse. Stallone, who wrote and directed "Balboa," said he spent 6 1/2 years trying to get the movie made and most Hollywood studio executives scoffed at the idea. Eventually new management came in at the MGM studio which owns the "Rocky" films, and they helped Stallone raise $20 million -- a small amount by studio standards -- to make the movie.

People in India, especially those in media and movies, tend to teach us about the excellence of Hollywood. But apart from the unacademic lure of the Indian movies, developments like these show that Hollywood can take a leaf out of us. We have more than one persona who have showed time and again that they need not go through tests once their mettle is unarguably proved. Take Amitabh Bachchan for example. The man who ruled Hindi movie industry for more than two decades, is now 65. Full five years more than Stallone. But he is still busiest actor in country. And if Stallone was a king in the Ring, Amitabh was the Shahenshah of action. But after a point in his career, he remained out of glare of cameras for about two years. Then he came again. Not 'Don'ning his usual 'Angry Young Man' image but with a reinvented look of a sophisticated elder. Welded with the family dramas filled with Indian ethos, this elderly actor has now transgressed to yet unreached territories for Hindi cinema. Amitabh's resentful young actor might have been popular in Egypt and Mauritius, but his new avataar is now buzzword in places like Germany.

A second example is that of Southern superstar Rajnikant. This actor is playing almost unifocal roles for more than twenty-five years, and still going places. He is the second most paid star in Asia (Pay: Approximately two million rupees per movie.) He had also at times put off his movie assignments, but every time he did so, managed to return with a bang. And with a bigger bang for that. He has not altered his image for a long time, but has experimented with the themes in the same set ups. That has endeared him to the public more and more. He did not nor does not require to say to public, that he wants to prove 'a certain point' throgh his projects. Besides all these, Indian movie world is filled with people who have defied their age and set the screen on fire. Dileep Kumar, a stalwart in his own right, worked wonders in Saudagar in 1991, when he was more than 75 years old. Mohanlal, Mammooty, Chiranjeevi, Nagarajun...these are some of the actors in Indian films, who are past their forties and in some cases, even past their 50s but are not only have a footing in industry but also giving young performers a run for the money. They are playing usual Hero in the run-of-the-mill ventures as well as doing some memorable, so called 'meaningful' roles. That's why when Stallone claims to try to prove something, it sounds so unconvincing. And to return to his basic film for such an attempt is most fallacious. 'Balboa' might come out as a good movie. But to relate it to one man's attempt to gain a footholding sucks the enjoyment out of it. Instead of banking on such fallacies, he should go on striking and shooting, the way we all liked him till now. C'mmon man, show must go on.

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Why Amitabh is Big B

Big B's Bindass Bol

Hindi film superstar Amitabh Bachchan is known as Big B in India. It has something to do with his stature as the most successful actor in Hindi filmdom. As a man who has ruled Bollywood without any challenge for more than a decade, whose name spells profit for distributors and who have proved time and again, what length he can to achieve his goals, he deserves the title the fans and industry people have given to him. But it is his thinking mind that gives more credence to his already established position as the numero uno man of Hindi films. Any issue pertaining to Bollywood remains unresolved until BigB has aired his opinion on the same. And man, what thoughts he speaketh out. Sometimes he speaks what others in the industry are either afraid of speaking or can't speak up, being utterly unable to grasp the reality. One gets to know why Amitabh was once called 'One Man Industry'. This guy is the only thinking block around. Others might feign intellectuality, the wisdom comes only from the knowledgeable ones.

Given this background, his latest statement attributing Bollywodd success to economic progress of India goes on to be one more example of his amazing many sided persona.
"The burgeoning economic progress of the country has given a huge fillip to Indian films globally," Mr. Bachchan has been quoted as saying. This is not the first time that he has sighted some non filmy reasons as the base of success for the movies. It is a different matter altogether that many of these films featured Big B as in prominent roles and those who flooded theatres to watch his movies would vouch something else. Some two years ago, Mr. Bachchan had said that the frustration and anger in Indian youth after emergency was one of the reason for unbelievable success of his consecutive films. By doing so, he established himself as a thinking artist in Bollywood, a rare commodity in itself. His reasoning at that time was as valid as it is this time.
There is no denying of the fact that after the emergency episode in 1975, Indian youth and people as a whole were full of resentment. They found their 'Exhaust valve' in Big B. His portrayal of angry youth, full of vengeance taking revenge on society, was easily lapped up for this reason. Diwar, Lawaris, Trishul...these were some of the films that showed a fierce Amitabh with 'Vendetta' as his sole agenda. This roles earned him the epitaph of 'Angry Young Man.'
But this could not be the success of Amitabh movies, as is proven by the recent run of his films on various Satellite Channels of his films. His popularity lies not in political reason or situations surrounding him but the solid base of his personality.
Now he has explained away economic growth of the country as the reason for the stunning run of Bollywood movies in overseas market. "I always believed that when a country does well economically, everything about it gets noticed - its dress, culture, language and the films", the 64-year-old actor said while launching the album of his latest film "Baabul" which will have a world premiere on Dec 8.
"The success of Bollywood films like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna shows that the Indian audience is also beginning to mature and are prepared to watch films with different topics and different subjects," he said.
Mr. Bachchan was also categorical about venturing into Hollywood. Though revered in India and many Third World countries more than any actor from Hollywood, he has been asked time and again about working in Hollywood or winning an Oscar. This time also, asked whether he planned to move over to Hollywood films, Bachchan said such presumption gave the impression that acting in Hollywood films was the ultimate thing.
"We are happy with Bollywood films and we would like to see good films being produced in Bollywood which are universally acclaimed." Answering a question on different types of roles he had been playing during his illustrious career, the "Big B" said that "we move with the time and adopt ourselves to the changing times, values and perception." "May be a film like ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ which deals with extra marital relations might not have been so successful a few years back."

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Billa makes a French Bang

It seems that Rajnikant’s magic is only spreading by each passing day. His 'Muthu' captivated the imaginations of Japanese audience. A certain French film, which is yet to be released, ‘Pret moi toi main’ features Rajnikant’s fight scene in Muthu. The scene is featured for 150 seconds where the main heoine of the film watches this clip. Then she tells her friend, “This is Muthu, a must watch Indian movie.”
Now it is the turn of 'Billa' to floor Western audiences. France’s deputy director of Film France Commission Nationale, Frank Priot, who was in Chennai recently, said the comedy sequences in Billa are particularly ‘‘very interesting and pretty good.’’ He has picked up a few DVDs of the same to watch it all over again with friends in France.
'Billa', which was a remake of the original Amitabh bachchan starrer Don, was released in 1980. It is hailed as Rajnikant’s second film coming and was a huge box office hit. Songs from this film are considered a hit even today particularly `My name is Billa’, is most famous. There are plans to remake the film, and Ajith may play Rajni’s role.Priot was also impressed with 'Dhool' and 'Ghajini'. He watched the Suriya starrer 'Ghajini' in a theatre and liked it so much that he has bought the DVD. Who knows, there may be remakes of those as well. Already, Anniyan, last year’s blockbuster was dubbed into French and it is the first Indian film to be dubbed in French.

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To make or to remake…

(Second part of the story The Remakes-Same Old Story)
Regional films coming to Bollywood screen and vice versa have acquired such a proportion that attempts to make a catalog of it have been already shelved. Sheer number of such projects is so huge that anybody trying to keep a record of it might feel ridiculous. A large number of films in such category have been represented in fairly good manner. An exception here or there will sound justified with the numbers involved. Now, these films have been in the circuit for a very long time and nobody cared a damn for them. Only now have people started to talk actively and in high decibels that makes it sound like it has come into fashion only recently. Or is it that they have been induced to talk in such a way.
Hoopla created at the time of making Devdas, Parineeta, Don and many others has only substantiated this suspicion. There is Priydarshan who can be credited with really most successful remakes in recent times. Since 1992 is remaking his old Malayalam and Tamil hits into Bollywood blockbusters and he has never talked about it. His foray into Bollywood was with the movie "Muskurahat" (1993). This was a remake of the original Kilukkam. His first successful Hindi film was "Gardish" 1994), that was a remake of the Kiridam.
Then again He made his second foray into hindi films with the remake of the acclaimed Kamal Haasan" starrer "Thevar Magan" Tamil) in Hindi. The film was titled "Virasat". He later directed a string of remakes including "Hera Pheri" a remake of Ramji Rao Speaking, "Hungama" , a remake of "Poochakkoru Mookkuthi", "Hulchul", a remake of "Godfather and "Garam Masala" 2005)( remake of "Boeing Boeing"). Priyadarshans has also made Saat Rang Ke Sapne, a remake of "Thenmavin Kombath" Malayalam, 1994); "Kabhi Na Kabhi" 1997), "Doli Sajake Rakhna" (1998) a ramake of Aniyathi Pravu; "Yeh Tera Ghar Ye Mera Ghar" (2002) a remake of Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam and "Kyonki" 2005) a remake of "Thalavattam". Some of the these remakes of Priyadarshan however failed to achieve boxoffice success. Some of these movies originally featured Mohanlal as the lead actor and any retrospective of this Malayalam Superstar will be incomplete without these. But only a handful of the Hindi moviegoers might know this fact. They take these movies as the originals ones. Still they are successful. So why this hype only over Don and Umrao Jaan.
One answer might lie in the statement given by Anandji Shah, one of the music directors of the original Don. Terming the remake of Don as purely a commercial act, he has said on record that makers of the new film had exploited the loop-holes in the Copyright Act to make money. “Listening to the remake of my song ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ has hurt me immensely,” said Anandji of the Anandji-Kalyanji fame. “The first time I heard the remake of my song, I could only laugh.” The director of original film Chandra Barot has said that such remakes act as ‘nuisance value’ for the original filmmakers. “I would personally never go for a remake of any film. Why opt for a remake?” Barot questioned. He added that new film was aimed at making money and nothing else. Barot said, “I am worried if more and more Bollywood classics are remade. It will be a sad day when low budget remakes of classic films like Mughal-e-Azam are made.”
As a movie buff, personally I will say that bringing various regional films into Hindi or its reverse trend is a healthy practice. That gives a chance to viewers to appreciate artworks in another regions, which in India can be a tedious thing to do. One more thing is that movies that usually are remade go not only through the regional-Hindi mode but also one regional language to another one. That’s why Mohanlal’s Thenmavin Kombath was remade into Hindi as well as Tamil. In its Tamil version, Muthu, Rajnikant was the hero and this remade version was a bit different in its storyline as well as presentation to suit to Superstar’s image. This remade version superceded all the collection records of the original one and still has a unique reputation of being the biggest Indian hit in Japan. Though they did not give an ample idea of the talent that the original artistes, writers, music directors or any other who made the film tick, they give a reflected glimpse of the currents in the respective film industries. Many Hindi films in the 1980s and 90s were imported from the South and those movies provided enough indications of the film genre in vogue at that time.
As in Hollywood, many remade films also provided a base for the new crew to improvise on the original films and they did well. Money factor, a bane of Bollywood, for many decades, played an important role in the refurnishing of new creations and it showed in the films as well. That’s why some original regional movies fail to cast a spell to the extent that new, Bollywood hits could. Sometimes, a persona or an actor like Amitabh Bachchan would made it very difficult for others to recreate the magic. With the exception of Rajinikant, many others who tried to do such a trick paled in the effort.

(To be continued)

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The Remakes-Same Old Story

BOLLYWOOD has now entered a new age -The Age of Remakes. See the hype over Don, starring Shahrukh Khan, which is a remake of old movie of the same name, starring Superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Another remake, which saw the darkness of the cinema halls, was Umrao Jaan, with Aishwarya Rai playing the role that Rekha did years ago. ‘Don’ was not the first film that was remade with Shahrukh as the main protagonist. It was Devdas five years ago that Sanjay Leela Bhansali came with his Devdas, a caricature work compared to the classic and unforgettable two Devdas, played by K. L. Saigal and Dileep Kumar.
Why are Bollywood directors are going for remakes these days? One thing proposed is that they’re probably hoping to have the same success that the original movie did. Secondly, since we have advanced technical know-how now, these directors might have thinking that they can make a better version of the original. A third reason put forward (and which appeals to me nonetheless) is that they have probably run out of ideas for a new script. Let’s talk about all these reason and the hollowness of the claim in it.

There have been many films in Bollywood where the movie drew a hell lot of money when it was released. Sometimes actors in the film fetched accolades for their portrayals of the roles assigned to them. What made these films memorable were the acting, music and strong script of the film. Take the case of Don, which had Amitabh in the lead, Pran in a supporting role, which was nothing less than the main and it had music by Kalyanji-Anandji, a pair known for the versatility and experimentation. That’s why songs from the original Don are sung even today with as much enthusiasm as much as it were 22 years ago. ‘Khaike Paan Banaaras Walaa,’ ‘Jiska Mujhe tha Intzaar,’ these are the songs that have become a part of the Indian folklore. Now compared to this, recent Don has only more glitz to show while going on a lowly content. Shahrukh Khan might be a good actor (I have my own reservations on the issue), but he can never imitate Mr. Bachchan in any way. There are no technological obligations in the Don to show its unique advancement and really movie doesn’t try to show it either. The only thing in the new Don that identifies it as a new age movie are some sophisticated cars, bikes et al, which only serve to add machismo to the Heroism of the main actor. How can one forget that Mr. Bachchan had precisely flanked this same machismo by his sheer persona and without any automobile instrumentation in not only Don but also umpteen movies one after another?
The only thing that apparently might have driven the makers to remake Don is the box-office success that it enjoyed. Shahrukh Khan has a penchant for keeping his scribbling pals in good humour. Somewhere in the point of time, he got himself named King Khan even without proving its credentials on Box Offices. With Don, he has tried to ape Mr. Bachchan wherein Superstardom will only be a logical step for him. Everyone nowadays know perfectly that the Don-1981 and Don-2006 had a different turf to slog it out for tickets collection. In those days, when there was no channel to generate any hype for any sundry film, it was the name of Mr. Bachchan on account of which crowds thronged the theatres. Number of films that two Don were released with was also a factor determining the fate of the works.
As for as Umrao Jaan was concerned, the movie itself got a beating on Box-office and by critics as well. Aishwarya was no Rekha and that shows. In this case also, while watching this film, intention of J. P. Dutta does never seem to make another classic. On the contrary it smacks of cashing in the name of an old movie which has in the conscience of the moviegoers for the past two decades. The same story is going to take place for the third time I’m afraid with Ram Gopal Varma venturing out to re-make Sholay, that timeless classic which has nourished a whole lot of movie generation. News coming from the Varma camp makes all movie buff shudder to the spine. Choosing Nisha Kothari as Basanti might sound a great idea to RGV, but for the common cine-goers, it is more atrocious than any crime Gabbar Singh can commit. And What about Bhansali? He killed Devdas with such a pomp that Sharat Chandra would have never thought. That flashiness was the most tragic case for any Devdas.
It’s very, very difficult, nearly impossible actually, to make a film that’s as good as the original. If the first film was a big hit, for no matter what reason, that impression stays with the audience and they compare the remake with the original, mostly unfavorably. And in India, where film stars are next to gods, that taste of the original favourites sticks in throat and no matter how well the film is presented again, remade film does not match to that taste. This is not limited to the present crop of same language remake but also to those which have been transformed from one set up to another. India, with its multi-cultured environs and diverse localities as well as communities always provided an ideal ground for the remakes of the films. In literature, this is called translation. But when it comes to movies, one has to not only take the storyline but also actors, music and all other factors involved in film making to new set up.
From the days of Devdas, films in one language are being reproduced and represented in another language. Sometimes the film in question was remade several times. They got their
fair share of acclaim, but they lacked something that only the original had. And that is true of all remakes. An actor like Anil Kapoor in Hindi or Venkatesh in Telugu had remakes as their major hits in portfolio. People unknown to the original flooded to their hits one after another, sometimes in succession and enjoyed it unquestioningly. To be fair, these actors were talented without doubt and never let their fans down. But one who knew original scripts, finds it really hard to gulp down the fare they churn out. Thus ‘Ladlaa’ and ‘Jamai Rajaa’ (Anil Kapoor starrers) are very good and enjoyable films themselves, but having seen ‘Gharanaa Mogudu’ or ‘Jamai Majaka’ respectively, Megastar Chiranjeevi starrers, tests ones ability to praise the former two films. And consider the dilemma of one who, besides these two knows the really original ‘Mannan’ and ‘Mappillai’, knows that Style King Rajinikant has made these two films a part of the Tamil film history, that those films have a status of all time entertainers and really such are they. Then it really depreciates the appreciation one might have for the stuff brought in front. (To be continued)

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