All for that difference

WITH BOLLYWOOD productions crossing over on a big scale to international audiences, here is Zee Cinema taking its annual Zee Cine Awards event out of the country for the first time. To be held in Dubai on February 26, the gala event, launched by the channel in 1998 to honour excellence in various categories of tinsel town, is expected to attract the Who’s Who of Bollywood, the corporate and media worlds, besides an estimated audience of 8,000 guests and of course, television viewers through the Zee television network.

Yogesh Radhakrishnan, Business Head of Zee Cinema and Special Projects Manager, Zee Network, says, since the Indian film industry is now a global phenomenon with a fan base extending beyond people of Indian origin, the company has decided to move the awards function from India to Dubai. “Our focus to take Zee Cine Awards 2004 to an international platform is to showcase the best of Indian cinema to the world and also to delight the Indian movie-crazy Diaspora,” he says.

To be selected through voting by a set of judges and common moviegoers, 32 winners in different categories will be honoured. “Since it is also a ceremony where the fans of Indian cinema would vote for their favourite performances, you can call it the most democratic award of its kind,” Radhakrishnan adds. To the Bollywood fans’ excitement, the event, to be organised jointly with Dubai Media City, would feature stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta and Lara Dutta besides hordes of film producers and directors.

Radhakrishnan says though it would be “a four-hour spectacular”, the endeavour would be to keep the event in the viewers’ minds till the next do. But should we say, cross that bridge when it comes?

Hindu On Net

Shekhar’s day out

Shekhar Gupta’s “Walk The Talk” succeeds because it stands convention on its head, says MUKUND PADMANABHAN.

…with Sushil Kumar Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister.

TELEVISION talk shows, even those that affect an air of breezy informality, are invariably masterminded, down to the smallest detail. Predetermined camera angles, controlled lighting, carefully touched up faces, studiously selected clothes, reshoots, post-shoot editing… the fastidiousness of TV talk shows is exactly what you would expect in a medium which is also the message.

Since April last year, one talk show has attempted to stand convention on its head — and done very well for it. The distinctiveness of Shekhar Gupta’s “Walk The Talk” on NDTV 24×7 does not emerge alone from its repudiation of the studio format.

True, the backdrop — against which Gupta chooses to walk his talk — is often impossible to ignore. To understate the point, you can hardly fail to notice that a swaddled George Fernandes is fielding questions in the icy wastes of Siachen (“We were at 17,600 ft above mean sea level,” says Gupta.) Or for that matter that Jagmohan is diligently answering his questions within the stirring precincts of the Taj Mahal and that L.K. Advani is interviewed against the magisterial edifice of North Block.

“The effort here,” says Gupta, “is to find a location that fits either the person or the subject we are addressing.”

What really singles out “Walk The Talk” is its truly unfussy and laidback nature. One camera (that follows Gupta and his guest as they saunter around the “set” and that sometimes seems to struggle to keep up with them). Twenty-three minutes of conversation (relayed as it is). No editing. No reshoots.

“This means that the odd mix-up or glitch is inevitable,” says Gupta.

The other distinctive characteristic of course is Gupta’s manner itself. It is an approach that is best defined by what is absent.

No Armani suits, no saccharine smiles, no clever put-downers, no aggression or intimidation, no attempt to affect a suave manner or feign an accent. In short, nothing to detract attention from what ought to be the focus of any talk show: the guest. Asked about his signature attire — the crumpled pair of trousers, the rolled up shirt-sleeves, the pen stuck in his front pocket — Gupta jokes: “That’s partly because I am lazy. And then I have a tough time thinking with my sleeves rolled down!”

V. Ganesan

When he was discussing the possibility of hosting such a show with NDTV’s Prannoy Roy, Gupta says he had suggested: “Let’s do it as I am.” He says he was clear from the beginning that he did not want a “tu tu mein mein” format.

“It was never the intention to insult the guests. The idea is to make them drop their defences, draw them out.”

And so have more than one of them. Amitabh Bachchan was nudged into speaking about his frosty ties with the Gandhi family, the Kanchi Sankaracharya’s disclosures about his attempt to reach a negotiated settlement on the Ayodhya issue sent ripples through the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and, recently, Harkishan Surjeet’s revelations about how Mulayam Singh Yadav lost the Prime Ministerial race to I.K. Gujral have provoked some considerable interest as well as some controversy.

As the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express, you would expect Gupta to be at his best when tackling subjects related to politics and diplomacy and so he is.

But “Walk The Talk” has opted for an eclectic guest list (some might think too ecletic) that includes an assortment of people connected to business, sports and cinema.

Gupta reacts to the suggestion that he may have spread himself too thin by saying that he wanted “this kind of variety”. “I think it was natural for me to leverage my 26 years in journalism, which has been spent dealing with diverse areas,” he adds.

He also points out that the film stars on his show are not portrayed as celebrities but dealt with in a thematic way. For instance, Shahrukh Khan was quizzed as a Muslim role model and Madhuri Dixit provided the opportunity to explore the sentiment of NRIs.

“Walk The Talk” has also interviewed such people as E. Sreedharan, the father of Delhi’s Metro, two young MiG fighter pilots and a couple of Mumbai policemen. “While we do not chase the story of the week, we are not a celebrity chat show,” stresses Gupta.

If asked to name one high point in the show, which one would it be? Gupta ducks the question by answering it literally: “At 17,600 feet, I guess it must be the one with George Fernandes.”

Hindu On Net

Joining the big league

After Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, it’s now Madhavan’s turn to enter into an agreement with international image managers, IMG

IT WAS Madhavan minus camera, action, fans, autographs and most of all, the beanie cap that he has been wearing for the last few months. At the Leather Bar in The Park to announce his agreement with image managers IMG, we finally got to see his fashionable crew cut complemented by a burgundy silk shirt.

The “Run” star who made it to home base with “Anbe Sivam”, seemed excited about his association with the global name — IMG. “I am thrilled to join its big list of clients — Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Keanu Reeves, Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise who are also part of Creative Artist Agency (CAA), a global alliance of IMG.”

IMG will be taking care of his off-screen projects and endorsements and he feels that this arrangement would take the load off his shoulders, “It will help me be more careful about the kind of brands I endorse and in achieving my professional goals.”

Having been the first Indian actor to be associated with IMG, he feels that its global presence can keep track of the brands that use his name in the overseas market too.

Apart from brand management, he is looking forward to Maniratnam’s “Ayutha Ezhuthu” and K.S. Ravi Kumar’s “Aethriee”, which are to hit the theatres soon. “I have been told not to reveal anything about my role in Maniratnam’s film,” he tells us stating the obvious fact that it casts Surya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine and Trisha apart from himself.

So we begin to talk something he can talk about — his latest film “Jay Jay”, “The reviews were a mixed bag in the beginning, but then it is running for 75 days now, which means it is a success. But I am sure I will not be doing remakes any more. Playing roles that have been done by another actor means you cannot make your presence felt — the audience tends to draw comparisons between the actors, which I don’t like,” he asserts. “For now, I am just looking for good stories, I don’t mind the kind of character. I guess character would fall in place if there is a good storyline.”

What about his other interests when he is not facing the camera? This former NCC cadet, who represented India as a junior defence ambassador to England, loves playing golf, and spending time with family, which he misses for obvious reasons. “Given a chance I would just lazily sit around and surf the net.”

PRASSANA SRINIVASAN

Hindu On Net

Holding sway with remixes

DJ Aqeel cast a spell on the audience at Dublin with his wide repertoire of remixes

THOUGH REPLETE with remixes, DJ Aqeel’s musical creations come with a distinctive “Aqeel seal”. His songs such as “Tu Tu Hai Wahi” are individualised versions of time-tested numbers. When remixing numbers, he does more than alter the balance of separate tracks. He infuses new life into them. The quantum of sales that some of his albums have notched up speak volumes for his talent. “Jenny From The Block” (by Jennifer Lopez) and my own “Tu Tu Hai Wahi” are my favourites,” says Aqeel, minutes before casting a spell on the Saturday-evening crowd at Dublin.

With his new album “Don” drawing a mixed response, one may conclude that the law of averages has finally caught up with Aqeel. But Aqeel is undaunted by what some may call “a setback of sorts”. He has a tight schedule, as usual. “I produce music by the day, and play the turntable by night. In fact, I have now cut down on my deejaying. I do only seven to eight shows in a month. I am focussing most of my energies on creating music.”

Till date, Aqeel has 120 remix numbers to his name.

Having heard his repertoire at Dublin, it is difficult to believe that Aqeel “strayed” into DJing. “I am a DJ by accident. Before I turned a DJ, which was nine years ago, I was just an admirer of turntable-music. Thanks to my friends I decided to give DJing a try.” And voila, overnight he had a career!

While he has taken the DJ circles by storm, his music is making an impact abroad too. “I play in London five to six times a year. Though I play a lot of Hindi numbers, most of my audience comprises non-Indians. Seventy per cent of them are whites, 20 per cent are of Middle-East origin and only 10 per cent are Indians. Through the record label “Ayaash” we also create a lot of custom-made music, liberally doused with Indian musical elements for the city,” says Aqeel.

It is not all Hindi remixes with Aqeel. He plays house too. “A bit of funky and progressive house,” he says modestly.

Aqeel believes in the virtue of constantly pushing the envelope. He is convinced that from here destination film music is only a stone’s throw away. “Five years from now, I see myself as a music director,” he says with confidence.

PRINCE FREDERICK

Hindu On Net

Sounds of life

The audio release of “Suno M.F. Husain Ki Kahani” coincided with the reopening of Cinema Ghar, writes RADHIKA RAJAMANI

How my mother longed for a day to see me a grown-up man by putting me in my father’s shoes. As I grew up I became barefoot maybe because my mother didn’t live to see me in boots.

SO SAYS the celebrated Czar of Indian art, M.F. Husain. When Husain does something the spotlight is bound to be on him. A million dollars for his “Paris Suite” graphics, Minaxi – A Tale of Three Cities, an autobiography in Hindi, Suno M.F. Husain ki Kahani, which is also translated into sound (available in CDs and cassettes), another movie Komedy.com… Husain’s life is as hectic as ever. The octogenarian, who glamorised Indian art, displays his usual zest and verve to do things even at his age.

The artist chose Hyderabad as the first city for the release of the audio version of Suno M.F. Husain ki Kahani – A Journey in Sound. The occasion also coincided with the exhibition of paintings based on the autobiography, the hot “Paris Suite” graphics and the reopening of Cinema Ghar.

Suno M.F… in five volumes (of an hour duration) presents episodes of the artist’s life. “It is not a linear description and each volume is complete in itself. It’s more like short stories. I wrote it in third person – it’s like somebody telling a story – rather theatrical. It focuses on three aspects – as a boy, Maqbool the painter and M.F. Husain as a brand name,” says Husain sitting at Cinema Ghar.

A brief introduction by Husain begins the journey in sound. His characteristic voice and humour is not to be missed as he outlines the raison d’etre for this effort. Husain has used the katha (oral) tradition to bring his life and art to the people. “Indian tradition is oral and I have used voices of radio artistes in this. I also do not hesitate to criticise M.F. Husain as a brand – the market assumes importance in the artist’s life. But I have ensured the painter remains himself. I have always been accused of gimmickry but I use the means to take art to the people. I broke the myth of artists painting in isolation by painting in front of people in 1968. The process of painting is exciting and I want to share it with people. It’s like the difference in listening to live music and recorded music. The price tag will attract people and force them to see. When I made Gaja Gamini people asked me why I was entering tinsel town. Cinema and the superstar Madhuri Dixit became my vehicle to take art to the millions and not to make money. Cinema is a powerful medium,” says Husain.

The cassettes and CDs throw light on various aspects of Husain’s life – from his infancy, boyhood and adult years, his grandparents and others he interacted with, his married life and other incidents.

He speaks of Hyderabad’s Laad Bazaar, his association with Roberto Rossilini and his museums in other cities. In a way it encapsulates his life.

Pictographs and hieroglyphs (original sketches of select episodes) mounted on the walls of Cinema Ghar compliment the audio version and it provides a holistic experience for viewing. These contain some handwritten lines about the work.

“The human touch is important,” emphasises Husain and that is so evident even in his autobiography where his handwritten lines are printed. ” I am writing the autobiography in Urdu now,” he adds.

Husain is now in the news over the million dollar “Paris Suite” graphics. These “are part of a series I did in different cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Paris. There is no theme – it is just colours. There is no colour anywhere else as in India. Our strength lies in colour while the form is important in the West,” says Husain.

All this coincides with the re-launch of Cinema Ghar. The paintings will be on display till February 10. “Cinema Ghar (Plot 55-B, road no. 12, Banjara Hills. Tel: 23392602) will become a more lively place now. More art and art-related activities will be organised including film screenings,” says Najma, Husain’s daughter-in-law.

“Cinema is a complete medium, it encompasses literature, music, and visuals. It is the ultimate medium if used creatively,” says Husain, who will embark on his new film a comedy titled Komedy.com starring Urmila Matondkar.

Husain’s enthusiasm and energy is high as usual: “I am a late starter. I began at the age of 40. So all that reserved energy comes out now. Bachpan mein khela, Jawani mein soya and budapa mein jaga,” he says humorously. His creative journey continues…

Hindu On Net