My new story on Indian Cinema - East Bay Express
30/07/08 10:38 Filed in: Filmi
I'm the feature story in this week's East Bay
Express - a Northern CA weekly.
Namastey East Bay
The local Indian filmmaking community has Bollywood dreams. The goal is not as far-fetched as it might once have seemed.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/namastey_east_bay/Content?oid=799102
I'm excited about the feature because the Express is the only one of several local magazines I've been pitching stories about Indian cinema to lately that bit. It's been perplexing to me a little, because as I may write about later, for a whole bunch of reasons I think that N Cal is so ready to read more about Indian cinema. And I'm so ready to write more!
It was great working with the Express- the editors were responsive and sensitive to some of the preferences I expressed (ie: avoiding the word "Bollywood" in my narrative, though you'll notice many of the people I quote use it. Hey - chacun à son goût!), and I felt we worked together well to craft an interesting piece. They originally proposed an article title that included the word "Bollywood," and we compromised for the "Namastey" title and "Bollywood" in the "deck." I love the wink in "Namastey East Bay" - not only does it rhyme, but it's a nod to 2007's "Namastey London," which is one of the films I'll be looking at in more depth in my next book, which is just in its embryo stages.
Working with a paper for the first time I can get a little anxious about the relationship with the editor. I was once commissioned for a cover story interview (for a magazine that doesn't exist anymore) where the editor changed both my quotes AND those of my interviewee to create a story angle she wanted (she was convinced my interviewee was in a secret relationship with the director of a film about her, and wanted that to be the drama of the interview). It tried my abilities to be diplomatic to keep what I thought was the integrity of the piece. And I chose not to work with them again.
Check it out - I'm interested in your feedback.
Namastey East Bay
The local Indian filmmaking community has Bollywood dreams. The goal is not as far-fetched as it might once have seemed.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/namastey_east_bay/Content?oid=799102
I'm excited about the feature because the Express is the only one of several local magazines I've been pitching stories about Indian cinema to lately that bit. It's been perplexing to me a little, because as I may write about later, for a whole bunch of reasons I think that N Cal is so ready to read more about Indian cinema. And I'm so ready to write more!
It was great working with the Express- the editors were responsive and sensitive to some of the preferences I expressed (ie: avoiding the word "Bollywood" in my narrative, though you'll notice many of the people I quote use it. Hey - chacun à son goût!), and I felt we worked together well to craft an interesting piece. They originally proposed an article title that included the word "Bollywood," and we compromised for the "Namastey" title and "Bollywood" in the "deck." I love the wink in "Namastey East Bay" - not only does it rhyme, but it's a nod to 2007's "Namastey London," which is one of the films I'll be looking at in more depth in my next book, which is just in its embryo stages.
Working with a paper for the first time I can get a little anxious about the relationship with the editor. I was once commissioned for a cover story interview (for a magazine that doesn't exist anymore) where the editor changed both my quotes AND those of my interviewee to create a story angle she wanted (she was convinced my interviewee was in a secret relationship with the director of a film about her, and wanted that to be the drama of the interview). It tried my abilities to be diplomatic to keep what I thought was the integrity of the piece. And I chose not to work with them again.
Check it out - I'm interested in your feedback.
Duniya Mein Kitni Hai Nafratein - Haters beware!
29/07/08 19:22 Filed in: Culture
Ruminations
I recently saw the first episode of "Khatron Ke
Khiladi " - "Fear Factor" Indian style (lit:
Dangers' Players). The show is a little different
from the American version, which I vaguely
remember from a brief time that - God knows why -
I got into it in the early 2000's. The American
version was hosted by a "comedian" who seemed to
delight in the failure of the contestants to be
brave or to compete. The show hyped up the
bitchiness between contestants, often cutting
away to one or the other of them trash talking
while someone was at the challenge. Why I watched
this show more than once is a mystery to me now.
Maybe it was on just before bedtime?
In KKK, host Akshay Kumar works with two groups, the female contestants and the Indian Army officers (male and female) who are their trainers and cheerleaders. As with the American version, all contestants watch each other try the stunts, which in the episode I saw included jumping to a water target from a helicopter flying by, and bobbing for plums in an aquarium filled with snakes. This version, though, has a very different feel from its US cousin. Akshay talks about the contestants as they go out to their tasks, saying things like "She's very tough and I know she can do it." After each stunt is completed, the contestants clap for the person as she comes back - whether she made the target or not. Kumar salutes them, says "great job!" & he's proud of them. Their Army buddies say great things about them. It's with a palpable sense of reluctance that he counts up who has the most points and who has the least and will have to go.
"Unfortunately you have to return home," he tells the loser, and gives her a little gift. Akshay thanks them for playing, and they thank him too.
I can't help but think about another summer game show, "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain," the Indian version of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Despite being hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, also one of the biggest film stars, the show had bad ratings almost from the start. Some said this was because it was up against the newly-launched Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket games, but my sense was that no one felt this was anything but an excuse. Something went wrong that couldn't be predicted. As he often does when things go wrong, SRK took all the responsibility, and had many celebrity guests towards the end of the run that I can only guess helped the ratings.
But what sticks with me in thinking about this show is commentary I read that part of what hurt Paanchvi Pass is that it was seen as mean. Required to stick to the US format as part of the franchise, KAPPSTH did not offer multiple choice questions (at least at first - I think it added them in later) like "Kaun Banega Krorepati" (Who Wants to be A Millionaire, also hosted by Khan) had. You had to know the right answer off the top of your head or use up one of your three cheats off the smart fifth grader.
And worse, contestants who got a question wrong and had to leave the show were forced to face the camera, recite their name, their accomplishments, and then say "I am not smart enough to pass 5th grade." This was a tough one for many. Some would forget to do it, and have to be prompted by Khan walking them through each of the three steps of the admission:
I, (insert your name), PhD in Economics, director of a school, winner of such and such award ..... am not smart enough to pass 5th grade.
After a show full of SRK's graceful hosting, joking, and kids helping, along with gift giving and the occasional song, dance, hug or kiss as the show went on, many guests were choking on their emotions, and Shah Rukh seemed to try to make their speech more of a laugh, sometimes to weak effect. If they resisted saying all the speech parts, he would draw them back to repeating each one.
The format of reciting all your accomplishments, followed by the admission that you can't pass 5th grade, seems like a weird class resentment holdover that comes from the US but may not be too logical in the Indian context, where being educated seems to hold more regard (from my own anecdotal research).
I note here too that in America "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, who's built his career on using the working class as protagonists, even if to a sometimes pejorative effect. What Cheech Marin does about Chicanos, Foxworthy does for rednecks. With America's general animosity for "intellectuals," the show's talk of shame makes a little more "sense" to me, though I think it's lame in any context.
I'll probably keep watching KKK for morale reasons - I'd rather hear Kumar tell contestants "I'm here to give you encouragement and to tell you to never fear anything in your life" than watch most of what's around on US terrestrial. Colbert Report and The Daily Show excepted. Oops- those are cable.
In KKK, host Akshay Kumar works with two groups, the female contestants and the Indian Army officers (male and female) who are their trainers and cheerleaders. As with the American version, all contestants watch each other try the stunts, which in the episode I saw included jumping to a water target from a helicopter flying by, and bobbing for plums in an aquarium filled with snakes. This version, though, has a very different feel from its US cousin. Akshay talks about the contestants as they go out to their tasks, saying things like "She's very tough and I know she can do it." After each stunt is completed, the contestants clap for the person as she comes back - whether she made the target or not. Kumar salutes them, says "great job!" & he's proud of them. Their Army buddies say great things about them. It's with a palpable sense of reluctance that he counts up who has the most points and who has the least and will have to go.
"Unfortunately you have to return home," he tells the loser, and gives her a little gift. Akshay thanks them for playing, and they thank him too.
I can't help but think about another summer game show, "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain," the Indian version of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Despite being hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, also one of the biggest film stars, the show had bad ratings almost from the start. Some said this was because it was up against the newly-launched Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket games, but my sense was that no one felt this was anything but an excuse. Something went wrong that couldn't be predicted. As he often does when things go wrong, SRK took all the responsibility, and had many celebrity guests towards the end of the run that I can only guess helped the ratings.
But what sticks with me in thinking about this show is commentary I read that part of what hurt Paanchvi Pass is that it was seen as mean. Required to stick to the US format as part of the franchise, KAPPSTH did not offer multiple choice questions (at least at first - I think it added them in later) like "Kaun Banega Krorepati" (Who Wants to be A Millionaire, also hosted by Khan) had. You had to know the right answer off the top of your head or use up one of your three cheats off the smart fifth grader.
And worse, contestants who got a question wrong and had to leave the show were forced to face the camera, recite their name, their accomplishments, and then say "I am not smart enough to pass 5th grade." This was a tough one for many. Some would forget to do it, and have to be prompted by Khan walking them through each of the three steps of the admission:
I, (insert your name), PhD in Economics, director of a school, winner of such and such award ..... am not smart enough to pass 5th grade.
After a show full of SRK's graceful hosting, joking, and kids helping, along with gift giving and the occasional song, dance, hug or kiss as the show went on, many guests were choking on their emotions, and Shah Rukh seemed to try to make their speech more of a laugh, sometimes to weak effect. If they resisted saying all the speech parts, he would draw them back to repeating each one.
The format of reciting all your accomplishments, followed by the admission that you can't pass 5th grade, seems like a weird class resentment holdover that comes from the US but may not be too logical in the Indian context, where being educated seems to hold more regard (from my own anecdotal research).
I note here too that in America "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, who's built his career on using the working class as protagonists, even if to a sometimes pejorative effect. What Cheech Marin does about Chicanos, Foxworthy does for rednecks. With America's general animosity for "intellectuals," the show's talk of shame makes a little more "sense" to me, though I think it's lame in any context.
I'll probably keep watching KKK for morale reasons - I'd rather hear Kumar tell contestants "I'm here to give you encouragement and to tell you to never fear anything in your life" than watch most of what's around on US terrestrial. Colbert Report and The Daily Show excepted. Oops- those are cable.
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Majbur
08/07/08 19:36 Filed in: Filmi
This past weekend I trucked it to the local Hindi
cinema to see the new Yash Raj offering -
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. YR has been
taking a beating lately in terms of audience, and
I'm interested to see the different formulas
they're trying. By turns I was both endeared by
and also annoyed by the hipster Inglish used to
promote Tashan, and I imagine they had
high hopes with the star star star star cast.
Anywho, there were some delightful moments in the film for me - mostly linked to the nationalism thread I'm tracing in film. The first dance number finds the kids bored in a museum, and their angel guardian, walks them through history, saying India has come a long way and will still go far, thumbing her nose at racist colonials along the way and inserting herself into grainy archival footage of Gandhi. "Now we will make everyone dance to our tunes," she chirps, kids in tow. It would sound ominous but for the Disney--fied setting.
In LA Geeta the angel switched the HOLLYWOOD sign to read BOLLYWOOD (anyone else see a pattern developing in this film?)
But for me the penultimate surprise comes at the end of the film when Geeta in her hiding place is virtually upstaged by the large BUCK FUSH scratched into the brick wall. Kyaa baat hai!! After the sweetness of the film, with its clean and bright Yash Raj stylee, that was like jumping into a cold pool- a shocking wakeup that got me thinking. We need more Hindi film exposure in the US to give more people a chance to see some of the perceptions of our country from other places, 'cause we Americans may not be all clued in. This kind of message in such a mainstream family film is something worth noticing. Oh, and how about more people who aren't put off by subtitles? That might help.
If you're really looking around, you can read my snarky comment on the film at the Guardian's blogsite.
Anywho, there were some delightful moments in the film for me - mostly linked to the nationalism thread I'm tracing in film. The first dance number finds the kids bored in a museum, and their angel guardian, walks them through history, saying India has come a long way and will still go far, thumbing her nose at racist colonials along the way and inserting herself into grainy archival footage of Gandhi. "Now we will make everyone dance to our tunes," she chirps, kids in tow. It would sound ominous but for the Disney--fied setting.
In LA Geeta the angel switched the HOLLYWOOD sign to read BOLLYWOOD (anyone else see a pattern developing in this film?)
But for me the penultimate surprise comes at the end of the film when Geeta in her hiding place is virtually upstaged by the large BUCK FUSH scratched into the brick wall. Kyaa baat hai!! After the sweetness of the film, with its clean and bright Yash Raj stylee, that was like jumping into a cold pool- a shocking wakeup that got me thinking. We need more Hindi film exposure in the US to give more people a chance to see some of the perceptions of our country from other places, 'cause we Americans may not be all clued in. This kind of message in such a mainstream family film is something worth noticing. Oh, and how about more people who aren't put off by subtitles? That might help.
If you're really looking around, you can read my snarky comment on the film at the Guardian's blogsite.