Patang (Kite): Soars with Sensitive Story

BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN *


A thought-provoking film with serious overtones, Patang is definitely not Bollywood. Seniormost in the film’s credits is Seema Biswas (Bandit Queen, Water) who makes sure that the seriousness of the film is maintained though, admittedly there are hilarious moments within the family story dynamic when kites are soaring in gay abandon on the vibrant streets of Ahmedabad.

An exuberant Priya (Sugandha Garg) in dance

A thought-provoking film with serious overtones, Patang is definitely not Bollywood. Seniormost in the film’s credits is Seema Biswas (Bandit Queen, Water) who makes sure that the seriousness of the film is maintained though, admittedly there are hilarious moments within the family story dynamic when kites are soaring in gay abandon on the vibrant streets of Ahmedabad.

In a story set around the Makar Sankranti festival on January 14 (a.k.a. Uttarayan in some parts of India) the film will reverberate in several parts of the country. Delhi businessman Jayesh (Mukund Shukla) returns to his family home after five years and wants to make good by his family. He wants to set up a condo across town for his mother and sister-in-law Sudha (Seema Biswas) and his nephew, Chakka, a 20-plus man without a job who generally hangs out with young boys in the neighborhood.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Gangs of Wasseypur,Kahani) plays Chakka and keeps the tension going while highlighting earlier family slights and resentments with his mother, Sudha and Jayesh’s mother. The bright light in the movie is Jayesh’s daughter, sparkling Priya (played by Sugandha Garg) who is visiting the city for the first time. Her earlier appearance was in My Name is Khan, and Sugandha’s infectious laugh and expressive face do the talking.

Hamid Shaikh awestruck by kites

The film weaves together the stories of six people transformed by the energy of India's largest kite festival. Made of paper and bamboo, these colorful kites are metaphors for many families in Ahmedabad every year when they show off their kite-flying prowess while letting go off their emotions.

Flying a kite successfully is a virtual journey into a philosophical realm. Apart from the breeze that exhilarates it is a cathartic experience as one looks up at the busy sky triumphantly: the freedom and expertise of controlling a square piece of paper and bamboo amidst competitive forces in the form of other challenger kites with glass-laced strings, the merciless wind and the messy skyline with hovering satellite towers and disks from building roofs. 

Shanker Raman (Harud, Peepli Live) has captured the essence of the passionate kite flyer’s psyche through his camera in the night sky. Kites with candles and lanterns glow each narrating a story or expressing a feeling, a thought or a mere moment in his busy life.  Raman’s earlier efforts were Harud and Peepli Live.

Chakka (Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a band

While Chakka is all swagger and resentful of his uncle, Priya’s seductive fondness for a young shop clerk, played by Aakash Maherya from the neighborhood adds to the suspense when Aakash takes her on a scooter ride and one wonders: Will the father take objection to his daughter hanging out with this young boy? Will Chakka have a serious falling out from his uncle? Will the undelivered bunch of kites affect the future of young Hamid Shaikh who lives on the streets and is an associate of Chakka?

Prashant studied theatrical directing at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York and computer science at Cornell University. A native of Chicago, Prashant's interest in the arts began as a graffiti artist. This film Patang (the Kite) was featured at The Berlin Film Festival and in the world Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival. Patang won the Golden Orchid Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2011 Hawaii International Film Festival and at the DC APA Film Festival.

Director and writer, Prashant talks fondly of the amount of “intense research he did for the film and how spindles of thread and bundles of kites” form the fabric for this touching 92-minute film.

Prashant says, “Scenes were not rehearsed; they were improvised largely with non-actors and shot hand-held in long takes, without the conventional over-the-shoulder shots. As a result, the edit was a two-year process of distilling and constructing a scripted narrative from 200 hours of documentary-like footage. Just watching the footage took over a month.

“I began by constructing those scenes with major plot points and then proceeded to the transitional scenes. I would make small discoveries, pulling a shot from here, splicing it with a magic moment there, and then returning to the overall structure. Eventually the edit captured the narrative of the original script.”

Indeed, the filmmakers do convey with panache the sense of euphoric excitement that the city is part of in a very real manner. And the film soars.

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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Spectacular Hi-tech 3-D Film Immortals Promotes Greek Story

BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

It seems like a cross between Star Wars and Harry Potter. It has the seriousness of a war and the crafty playfulness of a Harry Potter. The gigantic settings and wide-angled sequences are out of this world, accentuated by 3-D and VFX technology. Director Tarsen Singh (The Cell) has succeeded in creating a grand illusion with masterful effects in cinematography and sound. Film frills and thrills take over where an antiquated story attempts to appeal.

Leading lady Phaedra (Freida Pinto)

The movie I am talking about is Immortals that was released on 11.11.11 and directed by Tarsem Singh, and written by brothers -- Charles Parlapanides and Vlas Parlapanides (Everything for a Reason). Female lead, Freida Pinto is not looking back after Slumdog Millionaire catapulted her into the international scene few years ago and the recent success of the hit movie The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Producer Gianni Nunnari who produced action epic 300 also says of Pinto: “There are certain actors or actresses that grow within the time of the shooting and that was Freida.”


Leading man Theseus (Henry Cavill)


Pinto’s striking beauty and other-worldly air won Tarsem Singh’s immediate approval. “Phaedra needed to be exotic compared to most of the people in her world,” says Singh. “People might expect that because it’s a Greek film, she would be Greek, but that’s not what I envisioned. When I met Freida I just said, she’s it.” For her part, Pinto says, “she feels lucky to have had Singh to guide her. “Tarsem is one of the most encouraging directors you will ever meet,” she says.

Athena (Isabel Lucas)

Tarsen Dhandwar Singh has come a long way from the world of ad films (hit Pepsi commercial) and music videos. Born in Jalandhar, India, Singh schooled in Shimla, moved to America when he was 24 and graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.


King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke)

In the November opening weekend on 11th, Tarsem became the first director of Indian origin in over six years to attain the No. 1 spot at the U.S. box office with Immortals scoring an estimated US$32 million in North America and $38 million internationally in 35 countries. Produced and released by Relativity Media, Singh's action film beat out new films from Hollywood's ‘A’ list including Adam Sandler's comedy Jack and Jill and Leonardo DiCaprio's J. Edgar about J. Edgar Hoover, former director of FBI, directed by Clint Eastwood. The last film by an Indian director to open at No. 1 in the U.S. was 2005's Dukes of Hazzard from filmmaker Jay Chandrashekar. M. Night Shyamalan in 2004 with The Village.

Special effects and photography keep one engrossed in Immortals while one tries to concentrate through the specially-provided 3-D shades. Huge battle scenes, mountains collapsing, and the gods and the Titans battling are a treat to watch. The film makers used a system called Inter Sense here just as in Avatar, where unparallel visual style and cutting edge systems were used for framing and composition.

The Immortals narrative highlights a ruthless King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler), who leads his bloodthirsty army on a murderous rampage across Greece to find a deadly weapon, the lost Bow of Epirus, that will destroy humanity. With this invincible bow, Hyperion hopes to overthrow the gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of the world.

A mortal -- a stonemason by trade -- named Theseus (played by British actor Henry Cavill -- Superman: Man of Steel) must lead the fight against Hyperion’s hordes with the fate of mankind and the Gods at stake. He has been chosen by Zeus, supreme deity of the ancient Greeks, for this important task. As village after village is obliterated, Theseus vows to avenge his mother, who was killed in one of Hyperion’s brutal raids. Luke Evans (The Raven) plays Zeus.

When Theseus meets the trained priestess and gifted Oracle, Phaedra (played by Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire), Phaedra’s clairvoyant visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. Phaedra sees Theseus holding the emperor’s belt which means he could be the savior. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final, do-or-die desperate battle.

Athena, played by Australian actress Isabel Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), is the Goddess of Wisdom and Zeus’ favorite daughter. She is her father’s trusted ally and advisor, but when warfare on earth threatens to destroy mankind, she defies Zeus and supports Theseus and his rebels among the divine inhabitants of Mount Olympus.

Poseidon, the God of the Sea, is played by Kellan Lutz (Twilight Series) and is ordered by his brother Zeus to allow mankind to settle its own scores. But like Athena, Poseidon has a mind of his own, and he finds an ingenious way to aid Theseus and his supporters. Stavros, played by Stephen Dorff (Somewhere), is a thief and has been enslaved by Hyperion along with Theseus and Phaedra. But the defiant one he sides with Theseus and fights against heavy odds. John Hurt (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2), as the older Zeus however delivers the best lines with authority.

One is reminded of the Clash of the Titans, released in 2010, except that the canvas here is gargantuan and seems larger thanks to the 3-D effect. In keeping with the times, period costumes are authentic, and Eiki Ishioka has done a terrific job. Some of the helmets such as Hyperion’s tends to be unusual, putting it mildly. But then we are thinking “period.”

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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Anurag Kashyap, Director, That Girl in Yellow Boots

BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

“I cast actors who don’t like to act” - Anurag Kashyap

Ruth (Kalki) massaging Diwakar (Naseeruddin Shah)

NEW YORK: In a candid talk in a New York hotel room, Kalki Koechlin (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dev D) and Anurag Kashyap (Dev D, Black Friday, and now director and co-writer for Yellow Boots) opened up about their latest film. The fact that these two stage actors are married to each other is incidental.

Ruth and boy friend Prashant Prakash


The obvious question: How difficult was it to direct your wife? Anurag shot back: Demanding. She (referring to Kalki, the co-writer) was the constant writer, demanding answers for everything. In what could be termed half-hearted jest, Kalki vowed “not to act in a movie where I am also the writer”. She added, “he doesn’t like to direct, he lets me be.”

At movie's premiere, the lead players and director, Kashyap


Any specific challenges you faced in shooting in Mumbai with constant traffic and crowds?

Anurag: “I had to hide cameras and shoot whenever and wherever – all in 13 days. We had no alternative, were in debt, we had to complete fast.”

Yellow Boots is a dark film about Mumbai’s underworld, about bribes, meaningful winks and nods. Ruth Edscer (Kalki) is desperately trying to locate her father. She is stubborn, an “illegal” in the country, is uncomfortable in her own sexuality and works for cash as a masseuse and one of her clients is Diwakar (Naseeruddin Shah). Relating to her real life, Kalki said, since she was born in India, she had to personally go through the hassles of obtaining her visas with its concomitant problems.

Gulshan Devaiah as the villain

Debutant Prashant Prakash (Prashant), who plays Ruth’s boy friend has the junkie role pat. Interestingly, Prashant and Kalki, the male and female leads in this film were co-winners in 2009 of the MetroPlus Playwright Award – a prize of Rs. 1 lakh for their entry ‘Skeleton Woman’ that was instituted by The Hindu for the best original, unpublished and unperformed English script.

Anurag elaborates: “An organic story with participation from all actors, with humor in the mundane in everyday life. All the actors are part of one theater group and generally hang out together. For most of them, this was their first film. I asked all of them to come over to my house (Versova in Mumbai), and just start talking, and all of them landed up in the film. I tell them what not to do, NOT what to do.”

Kalki, co-writer says, “I had no idea how to write cinematic writing and envision a movie, so I just wrote separate scenes and had conversations between the characters – people I have seen in my life, growing up in Bangalore – have seen uneducated gangsters with wads of money, who try to be sophisticated, or receptionists at corporate offices.” Bangalore-born Gulshan Devaiah (Chittiappa) is the gangster who has problems handling money and women. His previous film was Shaitaan. Puja Sarup, another stage actor who plays Maya, the talkative receptionist at the massage parlour is thoroughly in character all the time and keeps the film moving.

How Naseeruddin Shah became a supporter of Anurag’s is an interesting anecdote. “Initially when I approached him for acting in Black Friday he turned me down. He had known me as a theater person – not as a filmmaker. Later in a New York interview he had given to MTV, he had expressed a desire to work with me.” So, I promptly called him: “I have this film and I want you to act in Yellow Boots. We did all the shots in one day, and he was very generous.”

Kalki confessed that the first time I met him “I was star-struck. I went blank, I couldn’t remember my lines, it took me three takes; he’s so focused that he doesn’t shift his gaze off you, and that was unnerving. Once we got past that I was happy.”
Kalki Koechlin

Why the name? Kalki explained, “when we were writing the script, we were in London, we saw the yellow boots in a showroom: there were red, orange and yellow boots and the yellow stood out: less stereotypical than others, so…we thought of Ruth’s character, her existing displacement in a city such as Bombay and her persona in India, and we thought the yellow boots will go with the theme. They stand out in any scenario.”

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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Bodyguard: Love Story with a Twist

Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor

Right off the bat in the opening scene, we see Lovely Singh, that’s his name (Salman Khan) pound the “bad” guys. One speculates: perhaps the film is about the brawny “good” guy beating up the bad guys like any other Hindi flick. But no – actually it turns out to be a love story of sorts with Salman being involved in love knots.


Kareena (right) and Hazel Keech in college library

Bodyguard and Divya


Divya Rana (Kareena Kapoor) is a college student, and her confidant is Maya played by Hazel Keech (London-born daughter of an Indian mother and British father). Divya, the only daughter of Sartaj Rana, (Raj Babbar), a business bigwig, is a spoiled brat. Being priceless in a manner of speaking, Sartaj Rana appoints Lovely as a bodyguard to protect Divya.

On Satraj’s orders Lovely, being a true professional, follows Divya everywhere including into her college classroom to the chagrin of the professor as also to the ladies room since he is an obedient servant. Through anonymous phone calls Divya tries to irritate Lovely though her best friend, Maya does not approve of such tactics.

With Lovely being a constant pain in the neck Divya, who seeks a normal college life, tries to throw the bodyguard off track by trying to trap him in a fake love affair. However, the affair misfires and Divya is obliged to cover her tracks since she really falls for the hunk, but its too late.

In a story where the heroine’s father is very authoritarian she cannot afford to fall in love with the help, its just not done. The “laws of hierarchy” in Hindi films do not permit such a happenstance. Soon follow a web of lies and trickery and with her best friend, Maya in cahoots, what starts as an innocent prank goes awry.

Turns out that the bodyguard’s young boy later reads a diary left behind by his mother. Shades of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai that starred another Khan – Shahrukh, and Kajol.

Salman does have his shirtless moments but he seems rather gentlemanly and low-key even in his “romantic” interludes since he has fallen in love with the telephonic voice of “Chaaya” – not the face. A couple of reverberating numbers do have the customary Punjabi beat.

As the boss’s sidekick Asrani’s sychophantic demeanour is understandable. Actor of yesteryear, Vidya Sinha shows up in a guest appearance and Katrina Kaif dances for a song, Aaya Re Aaya.

With an unusual name such as “Tsunami Singh” one is assured early that Rajat Rawail is the comedy element thanks to his oversized frame. His explanation as to how he got his name does not particularly help any. His comedy tends to be a stretch and jars at times.

Salman’s fights against villains – Aditya Pancholi and Mahesh Manjrekar – are well-staged but one missed the “gold standard” in terms of fighting scenes: Rajnikanth. The Bodyguard’s weapon of choice tends to be his bare, well-toned physique and his upper body strength that repels all kinds of physical attacks. The occasional pistol shot aimed at him tends to boomerang and maim or kill the adversary. The viewer has to accept the fact that the Bodyguard is invincible. Period. One should not expect logical outcomes or why the laws of physics fall by the wayside when watching the movie.

Bodyguard has been seen in several forms. Starting in Malayalam, director Siddique had also made it in Tamil as Kaavalan and the Telugu version is due for release soon. The Hollywood version released in 1992, showed Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.

Kareena’s wardrobe is flattering. As an actor she has matured as well. In a film that goes slightly over two hours with English subtitles, the film has merciless, ongoing action, a weak storyline and an attempt at romance. Billed as a romantic thriller, Bodyguard has not only surpassed first-day collections of recent releases – Singham, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Delhi Belly – but has also broken all international records in North America, London and Dubai for any Bollywood film.
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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Walt Disney Studios Now Releases Indian Movies

Entertainment

By Raj S. Rangarajan

Yet another proof – if proof be needed – that Indian entertainment has gone global. It was merely a function of time. Disney’s release of Indian films into the home entertainment market across North America last week is another indication that Hollywood is getting closer to Bollywood.

Market-watchers have been studying the real value that Bollywood productions can offer for a while, and its just not surprising that Disney had signed up for Indian films. Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California has released three films from India – Do Dooni Chaar, a feel-good Hindi movie, Once Upon a Warrior, a special-effects fantasy adventure in Telugu and Zokkomon, a Hindi production. Each of them mercifully has English subtitles – a great help.

Most Disney adventures tend to involve kids in some form and are normally released in Summer. The films are available immediately on multiple platforms, including DVD, video-on-demand and digital download in North America. Providers are offering the films on VOD including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon, AT&T, DirecTV, InDemand, TVN, Charter, Playstation, and Xbox. And, if you prefer digital download you can get the films on iTunes and on other platforms.

Disney, which produced the films, was expanding entertainment options for multicultural groups in North America while recognizing local talent from India. More information on the films and their availability can be found on the official site: www.DisneyWorldCinema.com.

Also active in entertainment for South Asians are Reliance ADA (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group), now an established international name in entertainment, and former tennis star, Ashok Amritraj’s company, Hyde Park Entertainment that produced the comedy, The Other End of the Line about call centers starring Shriya Saran who played opposite Rajnikanth in Sivaji.

Reliance ADA’s interests include film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema as also FM Radio and a formidable cinema chain, Big Cinemas with a presence in the United States, Malaysia and Netherlands.



Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh in Do Dooni Char







Aditi Vasudev, Neetu Singh, Archit Krishna Rishi Kapoor in Do Dooni Char






Harshitha, Siddharth, Lakshmi Manchu in Once Upon a Warrior


Reviews of the Films:

Do Dooni Chaar, a humorous family comedy featuring Rishi Kapoor and his wife, Neetu Singh won the 2011 National Award for Best Hindi Film of the Year at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) in May and Rishi won the Best Actor Award. In a running time of 111 minutes, these two stars of yesteryear keep the audience engaged with hilarious asides.

Set in Delhi, the movie shows Santosh Duggal (Rishi Kapoor) play an honest, principled school teacher and is always broke. He has to constantly cope with the demands of his job as also with living up with the Joneses in a peer-conscious society and extended family. His college-going daughter Payal (Aditi Vasudev) is independent and rebellious like any other teenager and the Duggal son, ambitious Sandy (Archit Krishna) gets into gambling to make a quick buck.

Portrayed as a typical, middle-class dysfunctional family, while Santosh tries to keep the wolf from the door, he is constantly short in his execution for no fault of his: its the system that short-changes him every time. When the Duggals decide to upgrade from a scooter to a family car, they confront major road blocks. However, the film is not depressing, it is replete with mismanaged chaos, peals of laughter and good-natured efforts at blackmail. All in all, a must-see.

Once Upon a Warrior is a special-effects-filled fantasy adventure (Telugu movie, subtitled in English) that focuses on courage and friendship. Set in a fictitious land named Sangarashtra (also known as Agartha), the film follows the epic journey of Moksha (Harshitha), a nine-year-old-girl with special healing powers and an obsession with butterflies.

As Moksha embarks on a quest to save her homeland from the tyranny of an evil Queen (Sarpini, played by Lakshmi Manchu, theater grad from Oklahoma City University who has appeared in TV serials, Las Vegas and Desperate Housewives and has her own Telugu talk show in America), she joins forces with a smart but visually-challenged warrior, Yodha (played by Siddharth), and his gypsy girl friend, Priya (played by Sruthi Hasan) who later becomes his beau.

Sruthi Hasan and Siddharth in Once Upon a Warrior

One would think the film maker was trying to imitate Harry Potter but while one ponders one is led to an exotic bar scene – an Arabian Nights-type scenario (comedy element, Brahmananda – Mozhi) with hanging bottles and flasks and colorful smoke billowing aimlessly. Shot partly in Turkey, the mid-eastern touch is unmistakable. At the bar, Yodha gets inebriated and loses his way till the other do-gooder, Druki (played by Ramji Vallabhaneni) sets things right.

Boomerangs and butterflies are part of the fantasy and released at appropriate times, the good guys constantly win specially with Yodha having no problem wielding the sword like a champion fencer.

For good to prevail over evil – we all know – sacrificial fires (yagnas) have to be performed by well-meaning priests and finally, Sarpini or Irendri (read evil queen) after incredible scenes with venomous snakes and fire-spitting dragons playing havoc, the villain is put to rest. Special effects help in large part to make the movie credible and the villain’s over-acting is par to the course. Curses, revenge and superstition are part of the mix, and after 133 minutes, one is happy the curse is lifted, and all is normal in the world.

Produced by Walt Disney Studios, India, Zokkomon is an action-packed adventure about an ordinary boy who rises from despair to meet extraordinary challenges. It’s a story of a money-minded, heartless uncle, a crafty schoolmaster, gullible villagers and how suddenly a kid from a city, transplanted by the uncle to his village transforms his classmates into believing in themselves.

Kunal (Darsheel Safary, who played a dyslexic child in Taare Zameen Par) plays the orphaned boy and discovers how cruel life can be when he is abandoned by his uncle (Anupam Kher). Left to fend for himself, Kunal soon realizes the hero within himself and begins his epic journey of adventure and transformation to become Zokkomon.

He is assisted by an estranged “uncle” (also played by Anupam Kher), but this gentleman is more interested in science and gizmos such as telescopes, mikes and costumes and does not believe in villagers’ tales or mythical superstitions. Kunal reveres this “Magic” uncle and takes his help to avenge the villainous uncle and shady sycophants who run the village. Ghosts show up and so do unexpected sounds from still classrooms.

A fast movie (thanks to director, Satyajit Bhatkal) that even kids can relate to specially when they are making fun of adults and are held to account, the viewer doesn’t realize how 109 minutes pass by. Typically Disney’s summer fare tends to portray kids in better light than their scheming adults.

Manjari and Darsheel in Zokkomon

The scenes in a small village are quite authentic and Anupam Kher is as good as his billing in two roles – as the evil uncle with a wig and as a failed, but temperamental scientist. Kunal’s “Kittu didi” Manjari Fadnis (Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, 2008) helps the young boy when in distress. An excellent movie for all ages as long as you have an open mind and believe in the magical.

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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Breezy Summer Comedy

Raj S. Rangarajan


Harleen Kaur (Brazilian model, Giselli Monteiro) and Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif)



(Photos Courtesy: Sulekha.com)

Straightaway, one notices this is going to be a Hindi film with English being thrown in regularly – a sign of the times and a staple now of many films from Bollywood. One didn’t need subtitles. It’s perhaps a consequence of many actors’ large fan following in North America. Also, Bollywood celebs are easily accessible here though we had the odd instance of Shahrukh Khan being detained and frisked at Liberty International (Newark) recently. Some called it a publicity stunt.

Literally speaking, Love Aaj Kal is about love nowadays and what it was in the days of yore. Light, sophisticated – sometimes strained and occasionally trivial – the film promotes male lead, Saif Ali Khan in a big way. Wonder if that’s because he was co-producer with Dinesh Vijan.


Deepika and Saif





Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif) and Meera (Deepika Padukone), a young, hip independent-minded couple is involved in a relationship without a commitment. But Jai, a practical guy wants to break up what would possibly be a fruitful relationship. Meera, who restores frescoes in New Delhi, agrees. Flash back: about 30 years. Here is Jai’s older friend, Veer Singh (Rishi Kapoor) from London in his resplendent turban, amazed at seeing Harleen Kaur (played by 20-year-old Brazilian model and Bollywood debutant, Giselli Monteiro), a mellow, conservative Punjabi girl.

Saif plays two roles in the movie: one has the young Jai and the other as a young Veer, both in somewhat comedic roles with success. He seems to carry a mischievous demeanor in his comedic roles that appeals to a younger audience. Director Imtiaz Ali has made yet another easy going film on the lines of his earlier success – Jab We Met (Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor).

Veer (Rishi Kapoor) travels by train from Punjab to Calcutta just to stand under her balcony (Romeo and Juliet, style – of an earlier era). Briefly put, Saif and Deepika are tired of the old ways of courting and want to check out the courting scene before committing. But old-fashioned Veer talks of love being a pure thing and says, one should not deal with it like some type of merchandise. The usual gap between generations. Interaction and dialogues between Jai and Veer constantly revolve round their differences in approaching the concept of love in this film of slightly over two hours. There’s a commendable effort at banter and easy repartee.

These days, the wooing happens across continents with modern social networks such as cell phones and emails, Face Book and Twitter, and one won’t be surprised if one sees soon a Hindi film revolving around the Twitter theme – just as we enjoyed the hit 1998 Hollywood movie, You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Imtiaz Ali and his team have worked diligently with deft camera angles in London, San Francisco, Delhi and Calcutta. Some of the shots are really breathtaking. Pritam Chakraborty’s music had a certain resonance that meshed somewhat harmoniously with the film’s youngish theme though editing by Aarti Bajaj was lacking in parts. Following Om Shanti Om, this was perhaps the first time that Deepika had to prove herself and in Love Aaj Kal she has taken her skill level up a notch creditably.

For the older generation and sentimental types, Love Aaj Kal would bring back memories of Cheeni Kum where an older Amitabh Bachchan, as a chef, had an appetizing interlude with talented Tabu. Ali has handled with aplomb the aspect of distance, longing for each other, the seeming apprehensions and confusions that evolve with today’s wide-ranging options, as also the compulsions that a long-distance relationship necessitates. Sometimes, young folks’ careers are the very reason for a breakup and two love-birds just cannot decide in time to make a success of a relationship.

Its perhaps just a trivial coincidence that both the leads – Saif Ali Khan (son of the cricketer, Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan) and Deepika (daughter of Prakash Padukone) happen to be kids of accomplished international sportsmen from an earlier era. Admittedly, that has nothing to do with their acting.

While the ending didn’t surprise too many people, a cameo from an older Kapoor’s real-life-wife brought the “oohs” and “aahs” in loud decibel. You got to see the movie to see who it is.
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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Republic of Korea and India.]

Drama & Suspense in Bollywood movie, New York

Raj S. Rangarajan

Its almost Hollywood – it has dramatic action and suspense, a mild love element and fear: its a Aditya Chopra production of the movie, New York and directed by Kabir Khan who earlier made Kabul Express. There is a refreshing candor to the film shot entirely in America though one could detect Bollywood effects.

The film picks up speed from the get-go with Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh, Johnny Gaddaar) being picked up in a busy street. A scheme designed by Roshan (Irrfan Khan, a FBI sleuth) and his boss to entice Omar to fess up regarding his former college buddy Samir’s (John Abraham) alleged involvement in terrorism, seems to go nowhere.

Flashback to collegial days: happy scenes of students – Samir, Maya (Katrina Kaif, Namastey London) and Omar in a carefree, cheerful environment make for pleasant takes. Omar’s love interest shows up later but generally the almost 3-hour film is fast-moving and one is surprised when 'interval' is announced.

“If I had watched the movie in India I would have found no fault, but since I live in the U.S. now I noticed minor shortcomings such as Liberty State Park being shown in New York (actually its in New Jersey) and I was happily surprised that Katrina, a Hong-Kong born, half-Kashmiri actress of British origin, who reportedly dubbed her own lines, appeared articulate and confident while delivering her lines.” This from pharmaceutical researcher, Anjana Nair, an avid aficionada of Hindi, English and Malayalam movies, whom I met outside the cinema hall. Thirty-plus V. Ranjith, who runs a wine shop in New York said, “Katrina was really friendly and hot and I liked the film.”

Director Kabir Khan seems to have digested thoroughly the 9/11 Report made public in July 2004 by Commission Chairman and former New Jersey governor, Thomas Kean. Kabir’s cues for New York are uncanny, a tribute to his sense of cinema though some stock shots were predictable. He has handled controversial subjects such as racial profiling, torture, water-boarding with panache and professional zeal.

One could not but be reminded of Hollywood movie, Rendition where Anwar played by Omar Metwally, (Munich), gets picked up, and is never told why he is arrested. Anwar, an Egyptian-born engineer is married to Reese Witherspoon and the lady boss who runs the “rendition” program for the American administration is Meryl Streep. Anwar is moved from America to a North African country, but in New York, Samir is tortured at home. Like in Rendition, the makers of New York appear to be earnest about the film’s objectives.

Based partly on “racial profiling” the movie tries to tread new territory though the basic premise presupposes an emotional decision, i.e., why a person is picked up based on name, looks and stereotypes. Howsoever much authorities try to make racial profiling a science it is still a nascent art and the subject is very much a pawn to human frailties. While the viewer may not agree with some of the decisions taken by law enforcement, the movie attempts to honestly represent many aspects of what could happen if one is accidentally on the wrong side of the law.

The title of the movie – New York – should help box office sales in North America even if the storyline were not about terrorism. Like a true FBI sleuth, Irrfan Khan, occasionally gives the impression that he is on the side of the alleged terrorist and in a rare moment, discloses that though married to an Italian he doesn’t favor pasta. One is almost lulled to believe that we are watching a Hollywood drama when suddenly Irrfan’s crisp but accented dialogue jars one to reality.

A scene showing Samir with his sidekicks plotting in the dead of night was straight out of Bollywood. However, some high-rise, chopper and street shots of Manhattan and Philadelphia seemed real. Even Samir scaling the tall downtown building to place his detonating device was creative, and kudos to the skilful camera crew and the editing desk.

High drama and tension grip the final scene with Omar, Roshan and Maya trying to negotiate on behalf of Samir, and how it all ends is an interesting lesson in crisis management. For a comparatively new entrant to the celluloid world, Neil has done a commendable job. John Abraham has come a long way from Viruddh to Dostana to New York and Katrina has matured responsibly in her craft.

Finally, one often wonders why FBI guys in every movie – specially the men – have to yell. Is it because they are trying to drown their own fears or is it an outward manifestation of lack of confidence when confronting a potential gun-wielder.

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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Republic of Korea and India.]

Mixed World Reviews for Slumdog Millionaire

By Raj S. Rangarajan

It all started in Toronto.

It was the first city to recognize the film – Slumdog Millionaire – with the People’s Choice Award way back in September 2008, and soon came recognition at Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The film was released in November 2008 in a few theaters in North America rather quietly and not too much was expected of Slumdog.

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto

While the Academy Award event in Los Angeles on February 22 was the culmination of the effort preceded by Best Adapted Screenplay award from the Writers Guild of America and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Awards) on February 8 in London, it was one meteoric rise for the directors, creative folk, crew and cast of the movie. December drew more awards starting with a nod by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and another from the New York Film Critics' Circle, as well as six nominations for the Critics Choice Awards.

The International Press Academy awarded three Satellite Awards including Best Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Score to the film. It also won four EDA (Excellent Dynamic Activism) Awards from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists including for Best Film and Best Direction. The Screen Actors Guild chimed in with Dev Patel (Jamal) in a lead role and so did London Critics’ Circle with nods for six nominations. Detroit Film Critics Society and Florida Film Critics Circle recognized the movie and soon Chicago Film Critics Association did the same. The mantel shelf was getting crowded.

The buzz was now spreading in film circles. Producers Guild of America (PGA) had put the acclaimed film on track to be a major contender at the Oscars in California. The 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards conferred five top prizes and soon followed the Los Angeles Broadcast Film Critics Association that represents 200 of the top film critics across the United States. Soon came the Golden Globes on January 8 and The Directors Guild of America awarded its highest honor, the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film, to Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire on January 31. This movie was Boyle’s eighth feature film, and he was visibly thrilled.

Exploiting the Underprivileged

It’s amazing how the entire film world in the United States, Canada and in Europe went gaga over a movie that is India-based, but in India where the film was made, reviews have been mixed. Part of the reaction seems to stem from a seeming exploitation of poverty in India and a candid portrayal of a love story that touches on the winning of huge rupee amounts. Speculation is also rife that because director, Danny Boyle is British just as Richard Attenborough is of British origin, the movie attempted to make fun of the underdog.

Simon Beaufoy, the British screen writer who won was excited to adapt Indian diplomat-cum-writer Vikas Swarup’s novel “Q&A” since he said, he had the flexibility of changing the narrative to emphasize love instead of money. Two brothers – Jamal and Salim – are poles apart in personalities but their binding love in spite of setbacks comes through in the writer’s creation.

As Anil Kapoor (Prem Kumar, the question-master in the film) says, after the first rave reviews, everything was a surprise, and it was difficult for everything to sink in. He adds: “The past two-three years have been phenomenal for me, and from a fulfillment standpoint I am happy with whatever I have done – both as actor and producer.”

Doors have opened already for the Slumdog lead – Freida Pinto who has been signed up by film maker Woody Allen with Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, stars Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins in a film to be made in London. Well-known director of supernatural films, Night T. Shyamalan (of Indian origin) has picked Dev Patel for his next movie, a martial-arts movie, titled The Last Airbender. Dev would perhaps fit in seamlessly in the film since he has a black belt in Tae Kwando and dreams of making a martial arts movie like Britain's Bruce Lee. Slumdog’s success has spun off favorable impacts for many individuals starting with the young children who will obtain a decent education to A.R. Rahman’s singers who will go on to higher octaves.

Dev Patel (Jamal) grew up in Harrow in North West London, U.K. and played Anwar Kharral in the hit British teen show, Skins. Dev says, he grew up with Bollywood films at home, and “being a London kid, a British Asian, I was happy to get in touch with my Indian roots, and I found another piece of myself when I was in Mumbai. I really wanted to have a chance to play a scene when I was actually in the depths in the slums, immersed in that environment.” In a dramatic cameo a younger, excited Jamal, about to meet actor Amitabh Bachchan (played by Feroze Khan) actually falls into a trough of night soil (actually, peanut butter, clarifies Dev, helpfully).

Also acclaiming the movie was Vancouver Film Critics Circle, Phoenix Film Credits Society, Oklahoma Critics Circle, Writers Guild of America for best Adapted Screenplay for screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and Anthony Dod Mantle earned a Best Cinematography nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers. The NAACP Image Awards (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) said, yes. There seemed to be no letting up and by mid-February, the India-made movie seemed a shoo-in.

While everyone was preoccupied with the success of Slumdog, another director, Megan Mylan quietly celebrated her Oscar win with her 39-minute documentary – Smile Pinki – produced in Hindi with English subtitles that relates to a 6-year-old village girl, Pinki from Mirzapur district, who is surgically treated for a cleft palate.

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty celebrated their victory in the sound mixing category. Resul dedicated his award to India while ‘Jai Ho’ A.R. Rahman thanked his mother and declared in his mother tongue, Tamil: Ella pughalum iraivanuke (“all glory to God”). The film also received honors for its score, cinematography, sound editing and film editing. (See separate box for Winner categories)

Not a Success in India

It is interesting that the movie is more popular in North America than in India even today.

As of week 16 (Feb 27 to March1) the movie has grossed $115,024,121 in 2,943 theaters, the second highest grossing film in distributor, Fox Searchlight’s history.

Following controversies stirred up by vested interests in India, the film is not doing too well at the box office perhaps because poverty has been portrayed blatantly. Admittedly, many filmgoers, find it difficult to accept negative images of India specially since over the past few years, she has been riding the crest of a success wave. There is also chatter on blogs that A.R. Raman did not give sufficient credit to his singers and musicians.

Finally, lets remember, it is just a movie – it is fictional – for crying out loud. Why should every movie have a message or an agenda?

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, South Korea, India and Australia.]

Oscar Score To Date
1983: Oscar for Best Picture – Gandhi and for Best Costume Designer, Bhanu Athaiya
1992: Satyajit Ray won an Honorary Academy prize for contribution to world cinema.
2009: Among the Oscar statuettes handed out at the 81st annual Academy Awards at the Kodak theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 22, 2009, eight were for Slumdog Millionaire and the ninth one was Best Documentary Smile Pinki about a poor Indian village girl:
Film producer: Christian Colson
Best song: Jai Ho, by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
Best film editing: Chris Dickens
Best cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Best director: Danny Boyle
Best original score: A.R. Rahman
Best sound mixing: Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Best adapted screenplay: Simon Beaufoy
Documentary film about an Indian girl that won an Oscar was:
Best documentary short: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki

The Love Guru – A Delightful Spoof

BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN *

Mike Myers and Jessica Alba

The Love Guru is primarily a spoof – not to be taken seriously. Once you accept that you may enjoy the movie. Some followers of Hinduism and others who are touchy about the Hindu faith and beliefs may not approve of the film.

After his success as a “foreign agent” Austin Powers (Mike Myers) has taken up a new avatar: Guru Maurice Pitka. The guru’s words of wisdom are expected to help a high profile couple in Canada get back together after marital troubles. Myers plays the role of healer and is charged with the responsibility of getting back reputed ice hockey player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) of the Toronto Maple Leafs team with his estranged partner, Prudence, played by Meagan Good (Eye’s Bayou with Samuel L. Jackson), who is now dating the L.A. Kings’ goalie from Quebec, Jacques “Le Coq” Grande, played by Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog, multiple Grammy winner with platinum albums).

Guru Pitka creates a new-found philosophy which he encapsulates into DRAMA – D-istraction, R-egression, A-djustment, M-aturity, A-ction to get his message across. Darren has lost his enthusiasm to win hockey games for the team, and that concerns the team’s owner, Jane Bullard played by actress, Jessica Alba (Dark Angel, Sin City) and the 32-inch actor coach Cherkov, played by Verne Troyer. There are plenty of jokes about midgets, smallness and body parts. Jane is anxious to win the Stanley Cup for her father, the former owner of the team.

On another front, Guru Pitka’s aide (John Olivers) is looking for a payback in the form of an appearance on the Oprah show so that he could prove that he is bigger than Deepak Chopra, the new age guru who also makes a cameo appearance.

The real-life Mariska Hargitay, a fixture in NBC’s “Law and Order” makes an appearance and Guru Pitka does not stop chanting her name after meeting her since she is gorgeous and the name is supposed to resemble a Hindu mantra. His mode of transportation – a carpet on wheels – is original and he deserves a plus for creativity.

While the film’s publicity department talks of an all-star cast that includes Alba, Timberlake, Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi, Malco (The 40-year-old Origin) there is no mention, in the credits, of a relative newcomer Manu Narayan, the Bombay Dreams Broadway star, who has a major role in the film.

As Rajneesh, Manu has several significant lines and while the movie could turn out to be a flop Manu’s role may well catapult him into a meaningful career. His talent as a singer comes in handy. Kingsley, as cross-eyed Guru Tugginmypuddha teaches a young Maurice Pitka and a young Deepak Chopra the ABCs of “guruhood” but the fact remains that this foray into comedy may not sully his famous Academy Award winning Gandhi role.

While some of the dance scenes (read Bollywood) were off the wall, the viewer is always conscious that the movie is just a light comedy, and one ought to look at it through that prism. With Bollywood being such a vital part of entertainment in India, its not surprising that India’s Reliance ADA group owned by Anil Ambani is in talks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen at Dreamworks SKG to form a new movie enterprise.

Marco Schnabel, who graduated from the USC’s School of Cinema/Television, makes his directorial debut for this feature film that was co-written and co-produced by Mike Myers who was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario (Toronto). His original comedy sketches, work on “Saturday Night Live”, his Emmy in 1989 and the Austin Powers role are almost legendary.

Its perhaps incidental that the storyline demanded crude language and a scene where two elephants are seen in a seemingly sexual act in a stadium filled with cheering fans. Knowing Mike Myers’ past antics, one can always expect the unexpected. All of the above must have contributed for a PG-13 rating.

Deepak Chopra, who has a considerable following in Hollywood and outside comes in for envy and praise by wannabee Guru Pitka. Chopra talks favorably of the film and has in fact criticized the Hindu zealots who have called for a boycott of the film. The average English-speaking filmgoer is perhaps not affected by such protests.

In 88 minutes the movie manages to mock Hindus and offer humor – a kind of slapstick, but not mature enough for the average viewer’s comfort. With Hindu groups protesting the film’s content in some countries it may end up garnering free publicity, for, such controversies tend to help the box office.

[Raj S. Rangarajan, a New York-based trends writer, covers art and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for publications in the United States, Canada, Australia and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com.]

Dance-Drama (Central Park, New York city)

Ramayana in New York
BY RAJ S. RANGARAJAN *



L to R) Regina Ress, Diane Wolkstein, Tamara (from PS 242), and Raouf Mama at CelebrateStory 2007.
Photo courtesy of & ©2007 Philip David Morgan / Cloudstone Productions.





Summer and stories always go together. Whether it is Canada, U.S.A., India or Australia, there is something special about summer. Imaginations run wild and children tend to become creative and sometimes get into raptures in the heat. Adults spin yarns and create magic for the young listeners.

India and Indians in Canada have had a long storytelling tradition with the generic grandma constantly regaling young minds with humour, exaggeration, suspense and adventure, incredibly-talented fairies, winged animals and huge aircraft – all for passing time on a lazy evening.

For more than 50 years – on Saturdays – during the summer, New York City’s children and adults have assembled around Hans Christian Andersen’s statue in Central Park to hear tales told by well-known storytellers and performers such as Victor Borge, Eva LaGallienne and Diane Wolkstein. Hans Christian Andersen was known for his fairy tales and his statue is a well-known Central Park landmark.

This year – the 51st anniversary – it was the turn of Indian performer, Anita Ratnam.
Anita narrated her Dance Katha, Tales from India as part of the celebrations to honour a veteran storyteller of 40 years, Diane Wolkstein who created CelebrateStory: storytelling as entertainment. Anita enacted scenes from the epic Ramayana that were based on “Neo Bharatam” that she created ten years ago as an artistic archetype.

Anita says, she was inspired to create Neo Bharatam after seeing the 1999 science fiction (sci-fi) movie Matrix where Thomas Anderson, played by Keanu Reeves, has the alias ‘Neo.’ In Anita’s case, the search was “to find an original way to protect my work, interpret new nuances, rhythms and moves that defined my style and creativity.”

CelebrateStory is actually a special “thank you” to the City of New York and to the caretakers of Central Park for nourishing not only Diane's Wolkstein’s career but also that of so many other storytellers from New York and elsewhere. Many of the festival tellers – Laura Simms, Regina Ress, Ron Sopyla, Therese Folkes-Plair, Gioia Timpanelli, and Bill Gordh are in fact long-time residents of the New York metropolitan area. This year, special guests included Raouf Mama (from Benin in West Africa), Michael Parent (of Portland, Maine), Dovie Thomason, a Native Indian (of Lakota and Plains Apache heritage) and India’s Anita Ratnam.

Known for her versatile prowess in Bharata Natyam and other dance forms, Anita translated her love of mythology into a new genre of “dancing stories” for an urban audience and “conveyed the stories of her soil in English.”

On her 40th anniversary of performing at Central Park Diane Wolkstein, also was in action. She inaugurated the day with a small sampler of the stories told through her career, including Andersen’s comic tale of “Hans Clodhopper,” followed by “The Glass Mountain” (her retelling of the Brothers Grimm's “Old Rinkrank”), and others.

Diane’s webmaster in New York, Philip David Morgan says, “Diane’s kind of storytelling involves the audience directly, whether by asking listeners what they think might happen next (and why), by inviting them to join in the refrain of a song that may be part of the story, or by making the audience part of the story.

Anita opened with “an invocation of Ganesha, the god of all beginnings, how Ganesha got his head (demonstrated with a cut-out of an elephant’s head) and then I moved on to the Rama story; starting with Vishwamitra, the wise priest counseling his wards Rama and Lakshmana, how the prince was banished to the forest and how his adversary Ravana cut off his sister Soorpanakha’s nose (tall Amazonian-looking woman), of Lakshman-rekha and Hanuman, the monkey god who enlisted help from his friends to locate Sita.”

Anita interspersed the English narration with slokas in Sanskrit and Tamil and with “dance movements and expressive articulation, I could capture the essence of the 40-minute presentation. I tried to make the overall effect prismatic and multicultural, being New York.” In a final act of audience participation, Anita handed over “jalra” sets (two-finger cymbals used for rhythmic accompaniment) to the kids urging them to join in a procession towards the lake.
On a salubrious Sunday afternoon in Central Park with distractions such as cyclists, boat enthusiasts and picnickers vying for attention, the writer inquired, “how did you manage to get the attention of the audience?”

Anita’s response: “It was a wonderful feeling narrating the story with adults and children listening intently; there was a certain silent ambience. Since I had thought out the dress and accompaniments earlier, had rehearsed and practiced voice modulation for the open air event distractions didn’t bother me.”

For a predominantly New York audience not familiar with the epic, to a question, “what kind of allegoric metaphor did you create?” Anita said, “the Neo Bharatam-based moves in a free-flowing style blended with sound, dance and pithy explanations helped me communicate. I now have the space and luxury of innovating as a kind of optic idiom.” Through choreographic motifs of her Neo Bharatam, Anita is known to raise the bar, so to speak, with a dance repertoire that crosses national boundaries.

Complimenting both the beautiful weather and a great turnout, Morgan said of the evening: “...it was simply a large, lavish banquet of story that no one could take in all at once. The most you could do was hear and see all you could, and go home grateful for that.” On Anita’s performance, the webmaster added, despite having to dance on concrete and marble in the New York summertime heat, she held the audience rapt throughout.”


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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel, lifestyles, Indian cinema and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]

Soaring Art Season in New York

(Opening of Atul Dodiya’s exhibition at Bodhi Art) (Photo: Michael Toolan)



Arts and Culture November 2006

Raj S. Rangarajan

New York: If it’s fall in New York its time for art shows and auctions, cheese-wine receptions and film festivals. Around this time Manhattan picks up a buzz about art and paintings, about medium and texture, style and angle, and of course expression and enigma.

Art is ubiquitous. Everyone has an opinion on art – it’s like advertising or politics. We have heard the old saw – modern art is not to be seen, it’s to be discussed. The person who mused that would undoubtedly revise his/her opinion now after seeing the phenomenal variety and quality of art being created in several parts of the world including those by contemporary Indian artists. And like so many things “Indian” (read South Asian) these days, ranging from BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing) to Bollywood to Indian food, contemporary Indian art is fetching high prices at auctions in art capitals of the world.

At Asian art sales in September auctioneers Sotheby’s and Christie’s had a field day with contemporary Indian art selling at record-setting prices. Francis Newton Souza’s (1924-2002) two oil paintings on board – Man and Woman and Man with Monstrance each sold for US$1.36 million. Eighty-one-year-old Tyeb Mehta’s Untitled painting went for US$1.13 million, abstractionist Vasudev Gaitonde’s (1924-2001) “Atul Dodiya’s Mirage, 2002 sold at $216,000 and Jitish Kallat’s Ancestral Fruit on a Siamese Twine, 1998 was bought by a private Indian collector for $72,000. Dodiya is 47 and Kallat is merely 32.

To a question to Kallat regarding what the title of his creation meant, the artist said, "Ancestral Fruit on a Siamese Twine was part of a series of works I made in the late 90s that dealt with autobiographical themes often evoking ideas of family ancestry. My family comes from the Southern state of Kerala but I was born and raised in Mumbai. That degree of separation was often explored in art works; the elephant became symbolic of ancestry/Kerala and these ideas were put forth through cryptic titles and image constructions that made the viewer play detective. The paintings wore the look of a weather-beaten wall creating a friction between the private act of diary writing and encrypting them to take a dimension of public wall.”






Art-lovers admiring paintings
(Photographer: Michael Toolan)

Two Mumbai artists Atul Dodiya (right) and Jitish Kallat (left) had an inspiring one-on-one talk recently at Bodhi Art Gallery in artsy Chelsea district in the city at a standing-room-only reception on Dodiya’s art, style, motivations and why he draws what he draws. While at residency at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute in late 2005, Dodiya created The Wet Sleeves of My Paper Robe (Sabari in Her Youth: After Nandalal Bose) a body of work that includes 31 new works on paper. Dodiya emphasized how “my intention as an artist is to create a narrative and a continuity, otherwise it will stay as an illustration.” Dodiya said, “from the age of 11, I wanted to be a painter and artist and initially I used to copy masters such as Matisse and Picasso to get a feel for their work.” To a question on how to appreciate art, Dodiya said, “there are times when you don’t have to explain perception of a work of art, it just hits you.” Bodhi Art, which has a presence in Mumbai and New Delhi, opened in Singapore in 2004 and in New York this September.

About TamarindArt:
TamarindArt is open to the public as a museum-gallery. Inaugurated in 2003 by celebrated contemporary Indian artist M.F. Husain, it is owned by prominent collectors Mr. and Mrs. Kent Charugundla. TamarindArt Gallery’s main focus is to introduce Indian contemporary art to a larger audience and to create a platform for intellectual dialogue between senior and younger artists. It has become one of the foremost centers for contemporary Indian art in the United States, with the collective experience of over fifty years. Since its opening, the Charugundlas have held numerous private exhibitions, including the works of renowned Indian artists M. F. Husain, F.N. Souza, Ram Kumar, S. H. Raza, Vasudev S. Gaitonde, and Bal Chhabda, whose work was shown in New York for the very first time.

At the Tamarind Art Gallery that opened in 2003 in mid-town New York, 78-year-old Akbar Padamsee’s nudes and abstract art were on display with a catchy title – Lines of Distinction, Strokes of Genius. Padamsee’s treatment of the human form conveys both pain and tenderness and makes his art stand out. His nudes seem to yearn for attention in a subtle yet provocative manner – if that’s possible.

Earlier in May-June, art collectors and gallery owners of Tamarind Art Gallery, Kent and Marguerite Charugundla hosted “50 years of artist Bal Chhabda” a formidable figure in the art business harkening back to the Progressive Artists Group made famous by the likes of M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, Krishen Khanna, Raza, Gaitonde and Alkazi.

When asked about his motivation to become an artist, Chhabda, who is 80-plus confided, “I am actually an accidental artist, my first love was to produce and direct movies in Bombay, which he did in 1950 with his film “Bal Chhabda Exhibits at TamarindArt


Art collector (left) with Natvar Bhaskar (New York artist)



New York, New York - TamarindArt Gallery, located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, presented a show of legendary contemporary Indian artist Akbar Padamsee.

Akbar Padamsee is a commanding presence in the contemporary Indian art movement, his imaginative work replete with metascapes and figures splendid in their alienation and solitude. It is his treatment of the human form, which conveys both pain and tenderness that makes his art visually stunning and intellectually provocative.

“Padamsee’s devoted attention to form, volume, space, time, and color makes his works both real and transcendent,” said gallery owner Mr. Kent Charugundla. It is an honor "to host a show of one of the most important ground-breaking modern artist of our time.” The exhibition featured work done in pencil and charcoal on paper as well as watercolors.

Akbar Padamsee is one of the India’s most celebrated contemporary artists. As a young artist in the 1940s Padamsee broke new ground by, “inventing modernism for India”. To create a new modernism he rejected India’s artistic traditions and looked to the contemporary art of Paris for inspiration. Padamsee lived in Paris from 1951 to 1967. Over the years Akbar Padamsee has received a number of prestigious awards and honors including, The Rockefeller Fund Fellowship in 1965, the Nehru Fellowship in 1969-70 and awarded the Kalidas Samman by the Medhya Pradesh Government for 1997-98. Akbar Padamsee has also been invited to participate in a number of important shows, including, two Venice Biennales and the Tokyo Biennale in 1959. Akbar Padamsee lives and works in Mumbai.



Resources:
www.bodhiart.in
www.tamarindart.com

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]