Shahrukh BBC Interview

A Superhero in a Prism, Antiheroes in Deep Focus (NY Times)

(this one’s for Qalandar)
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The cartoonist Darwyn Cooke is an extraordinary talent. He had already proven himself to superhero fans with a taut psychological examination of Bruce Wayne (“Batman: Ego”), a down-and-dirty heist adventure (“Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score”) and an audacious revisionist look at the formation of the Justice League (“The New Frontier”).

Bachchan — 466 (Bachchan’s close call with elephants) & 467 & 467 (i)

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“A massive tusker stopped suddenly, turned to look in our direction and without warning charged towards us. General panic ensued. And after a few excited screams and shouts the vehicles quickly changed gears into reverse and started to back.”
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[a media piece attacking Bachchan in really disgusting fashion]
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“They that ask, are never asked. Why ? They that accuse, are never accused. Why ? In a liberal free and fair democracy, it cannot be tolerated, that one section of society remains above question. It cannot be tolerated that for petty commercial gain, you will be the masters of a medium that shall destroy reputation and renown at will and without authority.”

Saif-Deepika at Love Aaj Kal’s Delhi Premiere

Guillermo del Toro on ‘Why Vampires Never Die’ (NY Times)

(he’s co-authored this)
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TONIGHT, you or someone you love will likely be visited by a vampire — on cable television or the big screen, or in the bookstore. Our own novel describes a modern-day epidemic that spreads across New York City.

Love Aaj Kal Trailers (Updated)

(earlier T20 tie-up here)

Thoda Thoda Pyar
Dialogue Promo

Emraan Hashmi claims religious profiling

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MUMBAI BIASED? If as a celebrity I am facing such problems then what about the common man, asks Hashmi.

New Delhi: Accusing a Mumbai housing society of religious profiling and discrimination, actor Emraan Hashmi on Friday said that he never though he would have to give a “character certificate” to buy a house.

Hashmi tried buying an apartment in Mumbai’s posh Pali Hill locality but the actor believes the housing society is discriminating against him because he is a Muslim. He has filed a complaint with the State Minorities’ Commission, demanding action against the housing society’s members.

Nishabd or a History of Bachchan(s)

(this piece appeared on NG initially. It has been somewhat modified here)

Nishabd signifies a certain kind of end for Ram Gopal Verma. The earlier director who made films like Rangeela or Satya down to Company or even lesser works like Jungle always seemed interested in the visual grammar of cinema even if in his case it was entirely derivative. There was always a certain panache and passion on display, even moreso an energy that the director brought to his subjects. These qualities, combined with competent or better performances on the part of his actors, further complemented by the often quirky nature of his subjects, produced interesting works for the most part. For better or worse RGV at a certain point in time did introduce a ‘different’ cinema to Bombay and to this extent he certainly occupied a cultural space in the 90s and beyond.

Immortal Rafi…

(I am including some of my favorite Rafi songs here off the top of my head, and also as always avoiding some of the too obvious choices)
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85 years ago, a legend was born and even 28 years after his demise, he is still alive in the hearts of music lovers who just can’t think of any substitute for this legendary singer. You have guessed it right, we are talking of none other than Mohammed Rafi whose soulful renditions are still remembered by people from all generations.

Order of the Kids

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While a plethora of sectors target kids as key consumers, Indian cinema is yet to tap the market
Houseful. Irrespective of which of the about 450 screens you went to last Thursday night, that was the response as Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince released with 350 plus prints in India. Films for children are big globally. This film made a new record for opening day collections — Rs 520 crore. Just about everyone is familiar with the top box-office grossers — The Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Ice Age series, Lord Of The Rings, The Lion King, Jurassic Park and countless others. Eight of the top 10 grossing movies ever made are children’s films. As a series, the Harry Potter films overtook all the Star Wars films when the Order Of The Phoenix was released. While global cinema has recognised the enormous potential of kids as consumers, Indian cinema seems to have still not woken up to this goldmine.

UTV to screen Delhi 6 & Dev D at Venice

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UTV Motion Pictures’ Delhi-6 and Dev.D will be screened at the 66th Venice International Film Festival in the Out of Competition section. Organized by La Biennale di Venezia, the Festival will be held on the Venice Lido from 2 – 12 September 2009. The Festival has the official recognition of the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations). A maximum of six Out of Competition films will be screened under this section at the Festival, the aim of which is to raise awareness and promote the various aspects of international cinema in all its forms: as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance.

Of crowded buses and packed trains..

Isn’t it ‘reality’ anymore to imagine someone finding it very hard to get on a bus every single day because of crowds, the jostling and so forth? Does no one take trains in Bombay today? Does no one live in a Bombay chawl anymore? It’s just that most films today do not represent this aspect of life (this ‘common reality’ is still well and alive in for example Tamil cinema; public transport is an integral and vital element in all kinds of genres). In so much of older Hindi cinema there was always a slice of life relevant to one social group or another but the issues were nonetheless universalized.

Michael Wood on Taking of Pelham One Two Three

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The chief pleasure of the new version of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is the sight of John Travolta as the model bad guy. He is genial and livid by turns, entirely persuasive in both moods, the very image of crazed behaviour, and far more engaging and unhinged than he was in Pulp Fiction. That film brought certain of his earlier roles to mind, but this one makes us want to rethink Grease entirely, and maybe the whole genre of the musical.

Bachchan — 465

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“There has been an incident at the shooting of ‘Ravana’ in the forests of Kerala. Abhishek and Aishwarya were to do an action sequence with an elephant. Aishwarya was to be on it and minutes before the shot was to be taken the elephant went beserk. Gored his ‘mahout’ with his tusk, wrapped him around in his trunk and smashed him on the ground and then trampled on him. He then went mad around the sets sending everyone, unit member cast and crew running for cover into the forest.”
“The first promo of ‘Aladin’ as promised has been put up. I do hope that you are able to access it and if you do, let me know what you think of it.”

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra trailer

(I don’t know anyone else saw this cartoons but i was a fan…)

Veteran Malayalam actor Rajan P. Dev dead

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Rajan P.Dev(58) veteran character artist of Malayalam cinema died in Kochi early today (July 29) morning.

He was admitted at Lakeshore hospital after vomiting blood. He was under treatment for liver disease for a long time. He is survived by his wife Santha, daughter Ashamma and son Jibile Raj.

His body will be kept for public to pay respects at Ernakulam town hall. Funeral ceremony will be held at St. Xavier’s church in Karukutti on Thursday at 11am.

Irfan in the snow…

This was a majestic moment in English director Asif Kapadia’s feature “The Warrior” which is a continually under-appreciated, small epic. The first film I’d seen Irfan in, and there is so much he does with silence here it’s truly breathtaking. A great “beginning” for one of the great actors in Hindi cinema today.

There’s also a mesmerizing visual tone to this film that recalls Leone in a number of ways, and the “climax” here at the “apex” of a mountain in the North is beautifully realized.

Chal chalein trailer (Mithun)

( a critical movie on education system and suicides and pressure that young people face)

‘I will be judging like this only’!

(this was part of an older exchange with GF)

It is always a bit untenable to have ‘absolute’ standards about cinema or any other art form as I am often guilty of (though hopefully with enough caveats added). At the same time I also a bit ’skeptical’ of more relativistic approaches. It is certainly true that any art work is of its world, its environment, its socio-cultural milieu. I am quite persuaded by the idea that something crucial about the artwork always perishes once the world of that work vanishes. There is something that nonetheless survives, that transcends the particular. In other words there is this constant tension. A work must be ‘rooted’ in a profound sense in its world, at the same time there must be larger effects produced by the same that transcend this world. The tension then is between the ‘iterability’ of the work over time that necessarily effaces the local’ and the ’specific’ to a great degree and the very transcendence that depends on such effacement.

Bachchan — 464 (on Gayatri Devi)

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“After joining the movies there were many visits to the pink city of Jaipur for shootings and that is when a formal introduction with the Rajmata took place. Of the many private palaces that belong to the Jaipurs, some have been converted into grand hotels and I have had the pleasure of staying in them and enjoyed their exquisite regal ambience. I was later asked by Gayatri Devi ji to inaugurate one of the functions at the girls school that she started, now a flourishing institution. Some years ago she had invited me to be the chief guest at a charity she promoted for the under privileged and cannot forget what a gracious host she was that evening.”