Amul Butter parodies the world of entertainment (via Boing Boing and Avi Solomon). Click each ad for a related post.
Some of the political parodies are in questionable taste, but always feature delightfully dorky desi punnery:
Check out the full archive, which dates back to 1976.
Okay, so she never said that. But as her self-appointed advocate, I’m going to brazenly make that statement on her behalf. Oh, whatever. Just read it.
She’s very happy and flattered by the attention she’s getting in the US for Bride, especially after the bashing the film and Ash got back home. “But we all know that was premeditated. Now, after seeing the response in the US, I feel like I’m back to where I was when I was starting out as Miss World ten years ago — the same attention and the unbiased critical overview. It feels wonderful and comforting.
“…The US has been wonderful. When I landed there for the promotion of Bride, everything happened so quickly! I was on David Letterman’s show, and then in Chicago recording for Oprah Winfrey.
“They wrote about my clothes and appearance, but not about my giggling which a part of the Indian press seems to be obsessed with. Honestly, this is how I’ve been all along!In fact, (photographer) Gautam Rajdhyaksha wrote about my giggling habit in his book several years ago. So it isn’t an overnight affectation which I’ve acquired as part of my image. Please! Grant me more substance than that!”
Substance is what Ash is looking for in her roles as actress and brand ambassador. Does it feel good to be carrying Bollywood to the West? “It sure does! But wasn’t I doing that all along, even when I was a model and Miss World?”
Of course you were, Aishu. Do your thang, girrrl, do your thang. Continue reading
Like a pair of star-crossed lovers, the words “Bollywood” and
“sex scandal” just can’t keep their hands from going down each other’s
pants (or something like that). The latest hullabaloo erupted after the broadcast
of famous villain actor Shakti Kapoor purportedly soliciting sex from a reporter
posing as an aspiring actress:
A video clip, which the station said was taken earlier this year, purportedly shows Kapoor in a Bombay hotel room telling the undercover reporter, “I want to make love to you … and if you want to come in this line (of business), you have to do what I am telling (you) to do.” Kapoor is heard on the 40-minute recording telling the woman that he will put her through acting and dance classes before introducing her to top directors. He also names three Indian actresses who allegedly had sex with top producers and directors in exchange for roles. [AP/Yahoo!]
Kapoor denies any wrongdoing, claims it’s a frame-up, and accuses the broadcaster of altering the clip. See, when he said “I want to make love to you,” the unedited version actually had him saying, “I want to make love to you, mom.” So really, there’s nothing tawdry about what he said. Oh, wait…
AP/Yahoo!: Sex scandal embroils Bollywood
Update: Saurav points us to a download site that has a copy of the video (5.1 MB).
Update 2: DesiDancer directs us to a pair of Sify articles (1, 2) that name names. Kapoor’s spin is almost as hackneyed as his pick-up lines:
Kapoor found himself deeper in trouble because he named leading film personalities to have used the casting couch to enter the film industry. “With folded hands I have apologised to the entire film industry, including Subhash Ghai, Preity Zinta, Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukerji, who are close to me,” he said. “I had no intention to hurt them. The whole thing was doctored and tampered and, in case they still feel hurt, I am ready to apologise again.”…“I have been framed so badly that I could suffer a heart attack,” he said. “They could have pushed me to the brink of committing suicide.”…“I suspect I have been framed by a political party. I had supported the Congress and my opposing rivals would have found this the right opportunity to settle scores for having backed the party. The said channel (India TV) which has pulled through this ’expose’ is known to have the backing of the rival party. Hence, I strongly suspect that the whole thing had been framed,” he said. [Sify]
Bride and Prejudice has done just $3M in the U.S. so far, $17M worldwide. With a production budget of $7M and likely a similar marketing budget, it’s probably just crossed break-even.
A couple of months ago, the film increased its U.S. presence by 400% to 156 theaters, but its revenues jumped only 100%. To some degree, that’s to be expected as it expands out of culture vulture cities. But the dropoff has been quite severe.
Bride has the same marketing problem as Bombay Dreams: an old-school plot with the trappings of exoticism. The foreign element brings in film critics who are disappointed with the unironic plot. At the same time, it scares off mainstream viewers.
You have to have some affection for a movie that melds mariachi, gospel and filmi music and throws Nitin Ganatra around in an American flag thong. There’s some serious novelty value there. But the final cut felt messy and unfinished. And not all fusion works: Hindi tunes sung in English can be jarring, especially with a desi accent, and the novelty of hearing them for the first time in Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings and a Funeral has long since worn off.
A much better attempt is the Bollywood/Hollywood version of ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo.’ The singer seems to switch effortlessly between ’20s swing and Hindi, it’s a marvelous mix.
Harvey Weinstein, head of Miramax, showed up in person at the Bride and Prejudice New York premiere and said he was looking for the next Moulin Rouge ($70M invested, $178M gross). Bride and Prejudice did well in the UK, but in America he’ll still be looking.
I’ll never bitch about spending Rs. 435 at the Sony Metreon ever again;
According to the cinema index from market researcher Screen Digest, tickets in India cost an average of 19 cents which means moviegoers here have to work for just 16 minutes to earn enough to buy a ticket, reports BBC.
In India, workers earn an average of 70 cents an hour, whereas, across the globe, the average working time needed to pay for cinema admission is 57 minutes.
Cheapest countries for cinema tickets, according to the survey, are: 1. India – 16 minutes’ wages 2. US – 24 minutes’ wages 3. China – 26 minutes’ wages 4. Luxembourg – 28 minutes’ wages 5. Ireland – 30 minutes’ wages
The most expensive countries? Well, I wouldn’t worry your pretty heads. Four out of the five are Eastern European nations that are rather Orthodox places. The fifth? Thailand, where nothing is orthodox. 😉
via Rediff. Continue reading
My friend Atul R. at HBS emails me about a recent alumnus from his program coming up with the hottest game since Star Wars-opoly: The Filmigame
THE FILMIGAME is a fun and exciting experience for all Bollywood Movie Lovers. With over 1200 trivia questions on your favorite Movies, Stars, Songs, Dances, Dialogues and Movie Clips. THE FILMIGAME is packed full of fun for everyone.
Play THE FILMIGAME, the first ever Trivia Game on DVD!
The Best of Bollywood comes right to your living room! Watch your favorite movie moments from blockbusters like KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM and KAL HO NAA HO to all time favorites like NAMAK HALAAL and SHARAABI!
See how much you know with over 1,200 questions on your favorite Movies, Stars, Songs, Singers and Dances – All on DVD!
Challenge your friends and family to a night of unforgettable fun and entertainment!
This sucks actually. I am super competetive. If any cute girl invites me over for game night to play this thing, I will totally lose. I know jack about Bollywood films. Hmmmm. Maybe I could use it as a tutorial instead. They should totally market it that way.
THE FILMIGAME has been designed and developed by two dynamic Asian women based in the US, Sunaina Anand and Prita Uppal. Their main goal as UNAMEDIA is to bring people the most innovative and creative, culturally targeted entertainment. They aim to do this through advanced gaming and entertainment techniques, such as THE FILMIGAME.
Both Sunaina and Prita feel very passionate about this new game and are confident that it will be a hit with movie lovers all around the world. Ms Anand says: “We are developing cultural connections between people in a fun, entertaining and unique way. Our goal is to help people understand and enjoy Indian culture and traditions. And we believe THE FILMIGAME is a giant step in that direction.”
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A quick shout-out for Bay Area / Cali mutineers – the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival starts tomorrow, Thursday, Mar 10 and extends until Mar 20. |
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They’ll be playing 16 Desi flicks including –
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I’ll be representin’ SM with a crew of friends who are coming up from LA. The socializing promises to continue late into the evening 😉 Continue reading
Bollywood
actress Preity Zinta writes about a pair of year-end brushes with death in a
column for BBC
News. Her first experience came during a concert
and dance show entitled “Temptation 2004” in Colombo, Sri Lanka:
I am waiting in the left wing for my finale. The music is pulsing through the audience, and the pyrotechnics are lighting up the inky black night.
Suddenly I see a man in the front row flying to his left. Then I see Shah Rukh looking to his right and left. Then I see the dancers disappear.
What is happening?
I stepped on the stage and leaned over. I saw a pool of blood in the front rows. The security men grab us from behind and ask us to leave.
A bomb has exploded in the front rows – two people are dead, more than a dozen injured. The concert has come to a bloody end.
“Born
Into Brothels” picked up the Academy Award for documentary
feature, and filmmakers Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski were on-hand to accept
the award. In case you missed it, here’s a Quicktime
video of the presentation, and acceptance speech (2.3 MB, 2:20 mins.).
Ashvin Kumar’s “The Little Terrorist” lost out to “Wasp” in the category of live action short. Here’s a brief clip of the presentation, where you can briefly spot Kumar (900 KB, 50 sec.). Spain’s “The Sea Inside” took home the award for foreign language film, beating out South Africa’s “Yesterday,” which was produced by Anant Singh.
Previous posts: The award for the most sepia film goes to…, The Little Terrorist, “Born Into Brothels” earns Oscar nom, & Kids with cameras
This morning, I had a vision of a meta-awards ceremony, one that honored all things brown at the Oscars. Although the Oscars aren’t until later tonight, desis are lousy at keeping secrets (what’s the last successful desi surprise party you went to?), so I’ll let you know what was inside the brown envelope:
With little cash to fund his project, Kumar’s hopes rested on a short script with a strong message. He posted the script on the internet, asking people to help him make the film even though he couldn’t pay for their services. Kumar was also keen to cast non-professional actors, a technique he admired in Iranian film. “Around 15 people turned up from all over the world. I met most of them for the first time on location in Rajasthan,” says Kumar. [BBC]This is India’s first entry in the short film category since 1979, and the first short film to get a commercial release in India.
“I hope my film starts a trend encouraging alternate and experimental film-making. That way people can discover that there is more to Indian cinema than Bollywood [BBC]“
See also previous SepiaMutiny posts on The Little Terrorist, Born into Brothels, and Gowariker and the Oscars . Continue reading