In a cohort led by minister Anurag Thakur, the Oscar and Grammy-winning composer was joined by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and maestro AR Rahman, no stranger to global acclaim for Thakur’s directorial debut Le Musk. The film marks the artist venturing into immersive film direction, unlocking a bold, new chapter of storytelling. The virtual reality film is set to be an immersive experience for audiences punctuated by music, motion and scent.
Cannes 2022 celebrated India as the country of honour and Deepika Padukone was the show stopper. She said the day is not far when Cannes will be showcased in India and I agree with Padukone. There is no doubt that Indian movies are all set to change global entertainment but before that some recurrent anxieties need to be addressed.
Recently, three young Indian actresses died before time, Kannada actress, Chethana Raj, underwent fat free surgery and never surfaced. She was only 22. Telegu actress, K Sarvani committed suicide hanging from a ceiling fan after failure in love and Bengali actress, Pallavi Dey, was discovered dead at her flat in Kolkata. Her live-in boyfriend Chakroborty was arrested by Garfa Police after Pallavi’s parents accused him of murdering their daughter.
Show business is a sleeping monster and our dream merchants are falling prey to the pressures, with few friends and no one to share thei woes, death is the easiest answer.
Bhawana Somaaya
contact@bhawanasomaaya
75th Cannes Film Festival was the topic of discussion for the entire month and almost the entire film firmament was at Cannes. Some, because they were invited to walk the Red Carpet, others because they fantasized walking the red carpet. The first timers, for lack of adequate information, described their poster launches as Red Carpet. Bhanushali Studios Limited announced Safed and Pa Ranjith launched the poster of Vettuvam/ The Hunted, a story about the Dalits. The film poster, a hand painted artwork, represents the dichotomy of power, where the Hunter become the Hunted.
Pooja Hegde of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo made her debut at the festival with dignity and pride. Hegde was the right choice with her unrivalled filmography spanning across languages and said, “I’ve not come to Cannes with a brand, rather I am here to represent brand India. There cannot be a bigger honour for me than Cannes celebrating Indian cinema.” Post Cannes, Pooja resumed shooting for Salman Khan’s Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali and promotions for Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus and SSMB28 with Mahesh Babu.
It was a distressing month for Bollywood with four films Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Jersy, Heropanti and Runway 34 not performing at the box-office. Call it a coincidence but all the South movies SVP, KGF and RRR were rocking big times mesmerising pan India audience. In my opinion the Bollywood actors must introspect what is going wrong and where, probably they are but not in public. Most of them were shooting outdoors, so there is a possibility that reality has not hit them in full force. Anil Kapoor was in Rajasthan with Avengers actor Jeremmy Renner and new bride Alia Bhatt in Hollywood for Heart of Stone.
Karan Johar pulled out all stop for the trailer lunch of his ambitious Jugjug Jiyo and the team celebrated when the social media views crossed 43 million. The same with his fiftieth birthday bash which was a bigger event than any of the annual award’s night. The stars came dressed to kill and partied all night. It is amazing how show business has adapted to different marketing strategies and everyone is game to play the music.
The latest South star to join the 100-crore club (even before the release of his film) is Advi Sesh. His forthcoming Major based on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan is screenings in multiple cities before the release and finally, superstars are not the only brand ambassadors any longer. Director Rohit Shetty is signed by a top brand to represent what they describe as aspirational clothing.
Usha Khanna is the third female music director, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi. O. P. Nayyar introduced Usha Khanna to Sashadhar Mukherjee, who asked her to compose two songs daily and when satisfied with her versatility signed her for Dil Deke Dekho 1959 followed by Hum Hindustani 1961. Over the decades her best songs were delivered in combination with Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. Usha Khanna ruled the film industry from 1960s to 1980s and later composed music for tele-serials too.
Sai Parānjpye may not be the premier woman director but she is a pathbreaking director to present us winners like Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor, and Disha. She has written and directed many Marathi plays like Jaswandi, Sakkhe Shejari, Albel. Paranjpye started her career in All India Radio (AIR) in Pune, Maharashtra, India as an announcer and soon got involved with AIR’s Children’s Program. Later that year, she was selected to produce the inaugural program of Bombay (Mumbai) Doordarshan. Sai made several TV serials Ados Pados, Chhote Bade., Hum Panchi Ek Chawl Ke and several documentaries and children’s films like Bhago Bhoot.
Saroj Khan started her career as a child artist in Nazarana. She learnt dance while assisting choreographer B Sohanlal. Sadhana gave her break as an independent choreographer in Geeta Mera Naam but had to wait many years to receive acclaim with first Sri Devi, ‘Hawa hawai…/ Mr India, ‘Main tari dushman…’/ Nagina and Chandni and later with Madhuri Dixit in Ek do teen…/ Tezaab, Tamma tamma loge… / Thanedaar and ‘Dhak dhak karne laga…’ / Beta. Saroj Khan is the first choreographer to have television dedicated an exclusively show. concluded
Devika Rani Chaudhuri widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema met Himanshu Rai, an Indian film-producer, who persuaded her to join his production crew in 1928. Devika assisted in costumes design and art direction for Rai’s film A Throw of Dice 1929 after which the two got married.
Rai sent Devika to Germany to learn film-making in the UFA Studios in Berlin and on her return, cast her as heroine in the 1933 talkie Karma. Rai established a production studio, Bombay Talkies, and produced several successful films with Devika Rani portraying the lead roles.
After Himansu Rai’s death in 1940, Devika Rani took charge of Bombay Talkies and produced films in partnership with Ashok Kumar and Sashadhar Mukherjee. These films did not prove successful and in 1945 Devika Rani quit the film industry. Devika Rani was the first woman studio owner of Hindi cinema.
To be continued
The United Nations celebrates 22 May as International Day for biological diversity. Our cinema has innumerable examples where women have blurred the differences and celebrated diversity. Looking back at those moments and saluting their courage and power.
Fearless Nadia best remembered as the masked heroine in Hunterwali released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-lead Indian films. Born as Mary Ann Evans, she came to India with her father and learned horseback riding, hunting, fishing, and shooting during their stay in the North-West Frontier Province.
After her father’s demise she tried job as a salesgirl and even a stenographer but was not successful. She mastered the art of cartwheels and splits, which came in handy when she began working for Zarko Circus in 1930. J B H Wadia, founder of Wadia Movietone took a gamble and presented her as a slave girl in Desh Deepak, and then as Princess Parizaad in Noor-e-Yaman. Nadia proved a huge hit. She was the first and the only stunt heroine of Hindi films.
Recent Comments