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Measured persona
What's with the NSDians? "I don't know. What is it?" smiles Rajendra Gupta, an alumnus of NSD, 1972 batch. "You tell me. Do I look different than others?" he questions.
In the absence of tabulated data, we could only say almost 80 per cent NSDians we met up with have an 'attitude', and as we say, they are different. Rajendra Gupta, in the city shooting for Ek Noor, tries to explain: "The difference comes with how grounded they are. They live life like any other common man, and yes, they are not glamour-struck, which is why they are, as you colloquially put it, hatkey." However, we choose to believe the difference comes with many other things as well - selection of movies, knack for the unusual and realistic roles, experimentation with character and the passion for art. "Now that you have mentioned craft, I personally feel there in a thin line between art and craft. Art can be taught, but the craft for acting comes naturally," shares the actor known for his work in television serial Chandrakanta, Saaya (Sony TV) et al. And he is off late serving a jail sentence in the daily soap Balika Vadhu. Undoubtedly, this one sure knows his craft well. Rajendra modestly stands to differ on this. "As an actor, I am never satisfied with my work for I feel there is always scope for better work and learning. Till date, I am unsure about how my scene will turn out, how will I perform." Mark of a passionate actor. Yet another trademark we thought all good actors carry is that they never let 'age' (on the higher or the lower side) affect their work. "It should not. What has age got to do with acting and how you face the camera? In fact, with age comes experience and experience means better knowledge of things," shares Rajendra Gupta, who has done some meaty roles in movies like Lagaan, Guru, Apney, Krishna Cottage et all. But it is theatre where is calling lies. "A good 40 years approximately. Theatre direction and acting is what I started with. I have been doing it for long. However, I haven't been able to zero-in on the best medium - films, theatre or television. I like to work to keep myself busy. And, everyday is a revelation." Does that mean working on TV was a revelation!! (Knowing the kind of repetitive stuff, it is nothing short of a surprise for someone who has done extensive theatre and cinema in his life). "Television is in so much better position than what it used to be. More realistic serials have given a new lease of life to television." "Besides," he adds, "TV has lot more dimensions to it as well," says the actor, who will next be seen in Shyam Benegal's Well Done Abba and Paan Singh Tomar. jasmine@tribunemail.com |
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By women, for women
Literally, it's 'We the women'…’We’, a group of Indian contemporary women artists, bring Beyond Self, the seventh annual art exhibition on the eve of International Women's Day.
Twenty-two artists, 88 works and what's on display are a collage of canvases dedicated to the spirit of women. While the canvases are being nailed down, organisers running around, some of the works, even minus titles, come through. A woman at the threshold, at the doorstep, in flight, in imagination, on the chaff cutter, a woman waiting in ephemeral white, in deep contemplation, sleeping, drawn against a breeze, like a movement of the fish, against the chess squares…To begin with there's one reflecting the current issue, the societal problem: Female feticide. One depicts a female form against a chaff cutter, the other a woman in transient imagery along with a door, sky and swans. Shares Anu Dheer, Chandigarh-based artist, "I've attempted discussing the problem of female foeticide through my works. The swans stand for the female souls gone by while the sky is just a reflection of how under it we could not get dignity, and may be achieve that under a different sky." Moving on, some are a riot of colours, depicting abstract female character; one has a woman dressed in shades of parrot and pink hue against the background of pink, holding a parrot; yet another has a portrait of a beautiful face, while one more shows a lady in deep reflective mode. Another picture is serenity personified, with an old lady on a cot resting in sleep, with spectacles along side. Shares Kamal Sohal, the artist, "Women in position can be just as determined, I also tried to capture the longing for freedom." Apart from the local entries are displays of artists from Gwalior, Shahabad, Mumbai, Nagpur…Inserted in between is a series on Buddha, works depicting wilderness and nature in mix media; and also sketching in black and white on mermaid and fish. —
Manpriya Khurana (On till 10th March 2010 at Panjab Kala Bhawan-16)
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Baba's take
Yo man, yeah, hey baby; all right, what's up…No, no, no these aren't the lyrics of Bohemia's or Hard Kaur's new album. These are the just so easily available words with a rapper. A dash of it here, a spill there, a jerk in between, and here you are… a perfect rap!
Certainly not. This is a mere misconception. We bet none of the rapper would agree to it. At least, the king of rap Baba Sehgal doesn't. In city to judge Fem De Sohney Sohney Mukhde of Punjab, the rapper-cum-actor definitely wants to correct. "This isn't rap. All the same, every rapper has a style, which is not debateable. All said and done, it is difficult to rap in Hindi, Punjabi and English," says Baba. There is more to what meets the eye. His absence from the rap scene, does this call for any investigation? "Unfortunately, music companies are neither coming nor supporting people with original kind of rap. What they offer is some kind of hip-hop. So, there is no fun in wasting time on rap," he adds. "Besides, the companies do not spend time in promotion of the album. I am ready to settle for lesser money, but no compromises with the promotion." No compromises. The message is clear. Baba Sehgal will not do substandard stuff, whether it is rapping or acting. "I have been doing television, and now I have taken to it pretty seriously," says Baba the Ice-Ice Baby guy. Upcoming projects? "Well loads. I am doing a lot of Telugu and Tamil playback. My Friend Ganesha 3 and Midnight are some of the films which will give an insight into my acting skills." Lastly, on Fem de Sohney Sohney Mukhdey: "I am looking for a complete package of beauty and brain." — Jasmine Singh |
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Spring is here!
A continued celebration of the just-concluded Rose Festival, the two-day festival opened with the ritual of dhol and nagada beats and cultural dance performances.
And although the sun was out in its full strength, there was no letting up in the crowd's spirit, which could be seen enjoying at the food stalls as well as the fun rides. There were smiling faces posing for the cameras and an open house for families to enjoy nature. Never mind the competition of who's got the best bloom, the festival promises a treat with an open invitation. Any plans for a picnic on Sunday? —
TNS |
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Away from routine
A week or so to go before the third IPL, and filmmakers are found to be in a rush to release their ventures. This week, there were five. Two films Irfan Kamal’s Thanks, Maa and Dev (English August) Benegal’s Road, Movie came fresh from international plaudits and therefore had curiosity value. Warner Brothers second Bollywood effort after the disastrous Chandni Chowk to China’, ‘Atithi, Tum Kab Jaoge? was promoted as a comedy and was likened to the Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedies of yore, so a little curiosity value was there for that as well.
Rokk yet another horror movie and Hello Zindagi a coming-of-age, slice-of-life tale, were the other two that came without much fanfare and are likely to vanish from the screens in the same manner. Of the lot Thanks, Maa and Road, Movie were the ones to stir up a few latent emotions. The rest were typical of the bland, unappetizing fare that Bollywood keeps churning out at regular intervals. Little angels
Film: Thanks Maa Director: Irfan Kamal Cast: Shams Patel, Salman, Fayyaz, Almas, Jaffer, Sakshi This film is spearheaded by a young cast — the little wonders Shams Patel, Salman, Fayyaz, Almas, Jaffer and little baby Sakshi carrying the entire film on their fragile shoulders with some extremely tangible and heartwarming performances. Irfan Kamal, the film’s director, appears to want to cash-in on the Slumdog phenomenon. A 12-year-old Municipality Ghatkopar (Shams Patel) on the run from the reformatory finds a two-day old baby (Sakshi) being attacked by a dog and decides to take responsibility for the child. He lugs the baby around while escaping from the police and vociferous recriminations from his group of street-buddies Soda (Salman), Cutting (Fayyaz), Sursuri(Almas) and Dhed Shana (Jaffer). Municipality decides to set on a search for the child’s mother because he does not want the child to go through the same trauma - that he is living but a heartless social hierarchy impedes him at every step. This is basically an alarmist’s tale camouflaged in realism and hits the heavy note right from the first sequence itself. A child is shown crawling away from her parents towards the edge of a platform in front of an oncoming train and is saved in the nick of time. It’s Irfan’s and his co-writer Vishal Vijay Kumar’s opening gambit for establishing the existence of a careless society. But that sequence has very little to do with the rest of the film. Cut to the boot polish walas (the street kids) who double-up as petty thieves and orchestrate a distraction to ease some of the travellers of their hard-earned money. Municipality is caught and sent to the reformatory from where he escapes, fearing the sexual abuse of the Warden (Alok Nath acting against type). That is when he sees the baby being abandoned by a woman emerging from a yellow cab. The story takes you on a journey through a terrible series of hardships faced by the young protagonists. The tone is unemotional and by and large the events are factual and accurately portrayed. It’s the convoluted plot that doesn’t really stick because of its central conceit. That a 12-year-old would be in any position to take responsibility for a two-day old child and both survive the ordeal for several weeks is too far-fetched and unviable. Also the series of co-incidences that the writers incorporate in order to establish culpability and callousness of society at large makes the plot appear manufactured. But there is little hope at the end of it all — Municipality hands over the baby to the kind-hearted priest (Barry John, with a weird accent) who runs an orphanage, promising to come back for her when she is older. Tepid drama
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Konkana Sen Sharma,
Paresh Rawal Director: Ashwini Dhir A bland, unexciting, tepid drama that pre-publicity defined as a comedy, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge fails to make the desired impact despite its powerhouse cast that includes national award winning actors like Ajay Devgn, Konkana Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal. Sheer waste of talent! The story is an assembled assortment of difficulties experienced by a couple Puneet and Munmun (Ajay and Konkana) when a guest (Paresh Rawal) overruns their ordered lives. The treatment by Ashwini Dhir is so lacking in imagination that the whole series of events appears enervating. The tone is also not light enough to make it a comic experience. The dialogues are unassuming. The set-up is unbelievable and the lack of proper development hampers the objective of maintaining light-hearted verve. The performances are standard but Dhir’s heavy-handed approach renders them ineffective. The comic timing is missing and the film ends up becoming a fabricated social commentary rather than an insightful comedy that was it’s original aim! Take off
Cast: Abhay Deol, Tanishta Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik Director: Dev Benegal Dev Benegal (English August, Split Wide Open) gets back to directing after a decade long hiatus. His Road, Movie has already been declared a celebrity charmer (Robert De Niro has decided to distribute it in the US) and international critics have been praising it at all the top festivals. But the film fails to live up to the expectations. It is basically an escapist’s journey. Vishnu (Abhay), son of an oil merchant, feels throttled by his father’s expectations and one fine day decides to take-off on a journey into the unknown. The narrative is eclectic. He buys a travelling cinema and sets out into the rough heartland traversing parched deserts and experiencing life in some of its toughest forms. While at it, he teams-up with a mechanic (Satish Kaushik), a young tea-vendor (Mohammed Faisal) and a gypsy (Tanishta) and the intriguing relationships that develop thereon forms the crux of the narrative. The entire sequence, which begins when he leaves home and ends when he sits atop the truck’s hood enjoying the musical notes played by a river swollen with water, has a dream-like quality where everything happens in exaggerated proportions. We are to believe that at the end of it all Vishnu has discovered his true self, which has been thirsting for escape from the rigid cage, enslaved by unrealistic expectations. But Dev Benegal’s treatment is a tad too simplistic and has little purchase. The story itself has little depth and lesser impact. The art direction, costumes and picturesque settings have a strong impact on the senses. Michel Amathieu’s cinematography is captivating and the performances are a cut above the common place. The narrative is also thought-provoking, but the experience still falls far too short of exciting. |
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Tarot TALK
ARIES: You make an impact and shine like a star. A certain situation may be coming towards you. Your role is to stand back. If you try to take charge, things may not go as you had hoped, but if you allow them to take their course the chances are that things will work out for the best. You could easily be carried away by your own enthusiasm and because of the complex planetary situation just now this may work against you. Tip: Listen to your voice of wisdom. Lucky colour: White
TAURUS: Queen of Cups is in a combustible mood, so expect social plans to flare up. You may be attracted to a good cause. If faced with a difficulty on Monday, look for the silver lining, the potential to turn adversity to advantage. A sudden change of attitude may get you out of a rut and put you in a powerful position. Tip : Be positive; you can make things happen out of the most unlikely circumstances. Lucky colour:Brickred GEMINI: The Chariot brings you face to face with priorities. Communications, conversations and taking care of routine tasks require mental clarity. Buying, selling, or negotiating is likely to go well on Monday. New friendships will develop through group events.. Tip : Don’t reveal your plan of action to anyone. Lucky colour: Green. CANCER: You draw The Fool. You feel free, unburdened and happy. No matter how you hard try, you can’t fully control the object of your love without changing it into something different. The middle of the week you may face some drudgery, but don’t let it drag you down. Buying or selling property is favourable on Wednesday. Medical report or suspected health problems gives you a sense of relief. Tip: Do not be in the rush to spend extravagantly. Lucky colour: Silver. LEO: Ace of Swords pulls you in opposite direction when making a decision. You are tending to throw your emotional needs into work at the moment. A financial wish comes true with strategy. Delays in personal relationships force you to seek alternatives. Your wallet will be full of easy money, don’t spend all in one go on Saturday. Tip : You must share responsibility with others before continuing. Lucky colour: Cherry. VIRGO: The Moon reveals you gain balance and clarity in relationships. Meditation, physical exercise or dancing can be therapeutic. Alternatively, your current state of bliss could even come from being single! You’ll have to go easy on the excitement as your heart and imagination may actually be doing more for you than the people themselves. Tip: Avoid loose talks at work as someone shall carry tales just when you are building fences. Lucky colour: Lemon. LIBRA: The Wheel of Fortune blesses you sensitivity and creativity in whatever you do. On Monday, it will be pleasant when the piece of a very old jig saw finally fall into place. You want financial security and to have nice things now. Focus on your own sense of self-worth. Money and possessions won’t compensate for low self- esteem. Tip: Be careful not to alienate people with an arrogant approach or all your efforts might come to naught. Lucky colour: Royal blue. SCORPIO: Strength gives you taste of freedom and releases you from emotional restrictions. You have strong ideas, but that doesn’t mean you’re not open to learning new things. A celebration in the family keeps spirits flying high. Tip: Take no chances despite the assurance of people. Lucky Colour: Crimson. SAGITTARIUS: The Hermit brings a change and mutation. You will come up with certain bright business ideas on Monday. Friends and associates will be of great help. Those in love appear inseparable and they are likely to spend most evenings together keeping their friends away for a change. Wednesday will give you an opportunity to meet a VIP or influential person who will be helpful. Tip: Be careful not to go in too many directions at the same time. Lucky colour: Deep Red. CAPRICORN: You draw Ten of Pentacles, so a very depleting and confusing week when you do not know exactly what you want. Your vitality and courage are strong now and you are eager to meet challenges. You can accomplish a great deal of work, especially if it involves physical effort. Major changes in professional and business aspects may look constructive. Beware of making rash moves on Wednesday. Tip: Be cautious in your action and speech. Lucky colour: Peacock blue. AQUARIUS: The Ace of Pentacles leads to actualization of personal and professional plans. You have abundance of physical energy and self-confidence right now and can take on new challenges with ease. Women working with any charitable trust, watch out for unreliable people. Tip: Do not swing away from the course you have charted so far. Lucky colour: Golden brown. PISCES: The Priestess infuses a gracious influence in your life. Entertainment will be on your mind on Tuesday. Financial gains seem likely, but you need to be careful before entering into any new partnerships. Family affairs run smoothly. Women must guard against wrong driving. Children will bring happiness. Tip: A positive and caring attitude heals old wounds. Lucky colour: Yellow. |
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Twitter them on!
We couldn't do anything much when IPL shifted ground to South Africa. On television, it looked like the same IPL we saw in season 1, a wee bit more glamorous though. Stars, friends of stars and relatives of the stars secured a place for themselves on the terrace, at the right camera angle. Everything went as usual, Shah Rukh Khan and his clan cheering, Vijay Mallaya and his flamboyant friends hooting, Shilpa Shetty and her royal gang stomping…sixes, fours, yorkers. As the camera panned, we saw crowds cheering, unfamiliar faces. "Ah! The boys so missed the crazy Punjabi fans," smiles Preity Zinta in one of her interviews. "South Africa stint was great, but nothing like playing in a stadium jam-packed with fans, clapping and stomping. The adrenaline rush in the stands pumps up the players," she adds. We get (We knew already), fans are to the match what moon is to night! No matter how many analogies you create, fans are just too important for a match. And now, this crowd has turned hi-tech. They have taken to 'Twitterdom', the social networking site, to cheer the teams and share what's hot and what's not on the field. And well, the celebrities are doing it too! Actor Shilpa Shetty, the co-owner of IPL team Rajasthan Royals, is the latest celebrity to join the micro-blogging website Twitter. "Hello Hello I am the newest inclusion to twitterdom! In London now…IPL jitters kicking in. Launched the new mascot 'Moochu Singh'…too cute," the actress wrote. Other Bollywood celebrities on twitter are Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Mallika Sherawat, Riteish Deshmukh, Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Shahid Kapoor and Anupam Kher. It isn't tweets on IPL alone, actors like Shah Rukh Khan, IPL mastermind Lalit Modi, tennis ace Sania Mirza and shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore are cheering the hockey team on Twitter. From stands to networking site, what has brought an upsurge in the phenomenon? Fans share. Anil Srivatsa, CEO Kings XI, Punjab, sees it as a symbiotic relation between those who want to provide the information and those who want to receive. "Celebrities tweeting is a matter of personal choice. Why it is getting popular is because it serves as a platform where fans get to hear directly from celebrities, which is not possible otherwise. There are some fakes on the site as well, but this is beside the point. It is in a way an authentic source of information. For the IPL, Yuvraj and Preity Zinta's tweets will be up on the website. Fans can write back and cheer for the team." Actor Sonu Sood quotes busy work schedules as the reason why suddenly people have taken to twitter to cheer up the sports fraternity. "Watching live matches is a privilege, which not everyone gets to enjoy. Comes in twitter, where people can share information as live updates. Besides, people know that almost half of Bollywood is cheering for sports on twitter, so they would want to connect with them. It is also a fad," he says. And when almost every second soul is on one or the other social networking site, increase in tweets is not an out of the world phenomenon. Raghav Sharma, working with an online site on cricket, shares that fans have discovered a new way to enjoy the match. So, the next time you come back after seeing a live match, do not forget to tweet your take — Howzzat! jasmine@tribunemail.com |
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Away from the ordinary
It's a point of view and it's the artists' muse. And taken a flight from the usual birds, clouds, mountains, leaves, trees, hills, landscapes, water drops, flowers, beauty, nature, human shapes, animal spirit or abstract forms on the canvas. Anjolie Ela Menon once depicted a chair, and just a chair, with a piece of cloth hanging from it. And was the painting of freight train crossing the mountains, actually on sale at Christie's website, for $ 3,750 only?
Closer home, Diwan Manna took a fancy to a deserted kitchen in Indonesia, focusing on it's eerie haunting character while depicting some odd, unused utensils. "Generally, more or less, one sees the same routine subjects in artists' works or even the exhibitions. As a result monotony sets in, this scenario also sets up a process for anything hitherto untouched, unexplored," explains artist Jagjit Singh. His series on chairs, exhibited recently was an offshoot of his own experience. "An artist basically wants to be free and the chair stood for politics, something binding." What followed was a chair with barbed wire all around and the other one with crows all over. Street lamp, sofa, ladder, mortar and pestle, lamppost, calendar, curios…anything's ordinary till an artist tweaks his eyes on it. Likewise, almost anything could have an imposing thought process attached to it; it's just the point
of view. Just as with Bheem Malhotra, artist, faculty, Chandigarh College of Art. "It all depends on the observation. An artist must be aware of his surroundings, deeply observe everything around." He adds, "I travel a lot and generally when you are in search of something different, one does find a lot of subjects. At times, things not beautiful look good in the paintings. At times, it's quite a contrast, of ugly and aesthetic in real life and on canvas." His series on chaff cutter, rickshaws, letterbox, and road rollers, being the case in point. He adds, "A lot of artists in Bengal have painted rickshaws. For me it was a challenge to relate Chandigarh and rickshaws. Generally, the city's considered a conglomeration of straight lines and structures and not associated with very artistic or Indian themes." Another series on countryside tea-stall is on the anvil. Continuing with the unusual: Stairs could stand for the elementary philosophy of life. Just as in Soniya Chopra's The Turning Point, a work depicting a few steps of stairs in the corner. "Every moment in our life has a turning point, we keep on going on our paths but we never know the future, where the life turns," she says. Like in another of the works of a different artist, an ending queue of ants symbolized hard work, teamwork and coordination. Who knows a street or a stream could teach the basic values of humanity and harmony. It's the artists' reflection, an attempt at analogy through imagery. manpriya@tribunemail.com |
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Jewel in the crown
A fact stated yet again. “Chandigarh and the region has people with huge disposable incomes; the reason people indulge in luxuries, buy the costliest of cars, travel to exotic locations and splurge money on jewellery,” says Asha Kamal Modi, who is here every six months to hold a jewellery exhibition.
This time she has on display jewellery inspired by the museum jewels of Nizams of Hyderabad. Famous for designing jewellery for Bollywood flicks like Devdas, Monsoon Wedding and Zubeida, Asha has picked up the Nizam theme for its brightness and wide appeal. “The Nizam style uses various bright coloured stones with light coloured pearls. The designs can be customised as per the demand. The usual Nizam design is heavy kundan work, outlined by emeralds and rubies and with strings of white or pink pearls,” she says. Besides India, the collection is a hit in the US and UK. “Youngsters are open to experiment. The jewellery is affordable since costly metals, including gold and platinum, have not been used,” adds Asha. However, she maintains that her jewellery is not a replacement of gold or platinum, “Times have changed. Gold is no longer bought with the intention that it can be mortgaged in difficult times. Jewellery instead is bought and worn to look pretty.” What else is keeping Asha busy is two projects with Karan Johar, “Both are period films, which require elaborate jewellery for the entire cast.” —
Ashima Sehajpal |
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Little wonder!
MAX, the premium movies and special events channel, is all set to bring on the excitement in one of cricket’s biggest battles, the DLF IPL 2010, with its mega initiative – Extraaa innings T20 junior. After launching a nationwide hunt, MAX has zeroed-in on city-wise winners. And it’s a bunch of eight kids to kick-in some punch! Kid presenters will be brought onto screen for the first time ever on MAX extraaa innings T20 during the DLF IPL 2010.
And Avneet Sandhu, a 10-year-old cricket enthusiast from Chandigarh has stood out and made her school, city, family and friends proud by becoming one of the presenter. The selection was based on confidence levels, communication skills, on-screen presence and passion of the competing kids for DLF IPL. Avneet, a fifth grader at Chitkara International School, Sector 25, was born and brought up in Canada. She has been watching cricket since her childhood and plays a little bit of cricket at home. Her favourite cricket is Yuvraj Singh, whom she has never met. But in her first meeting she has decided to ask him…“When are you going to get married?” Avneet wants to be a TV anchor and emulate Mandira
Bedi. —
TNS
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Big offer
BIG Cinemas, invites all women to come and watch movies for free on Women’s Day. To avail the offer, women would have to arrive at the box office 45 minutes prior to the movie show and collect their free tickets. They also get a chance to participate in a lucky draw and win gift vouchers from kaya skin clinic and Titan Raaga.
The offer is valid for any movie show at BIG Cinemas only on March 8 at Level 2, Paras Downtown Square. —
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Welcoming the spring and following tradition, the 24th annual Flower Festival opened at the Town Park, Panchkula, amidst the usual cultural fervour and flavour, with fresh spring bloom, a packed house and lots to look at on a bright Saturday afternoon.
The immediate attraction was the flower show, which appealed the visuals and aesthetics with a wide range of botanical beauties creating a colour riot. Whether it was flower arrangement, an open display, rangoli or the creative figures made out of marigold flowers, the festival presented flowers in every form.
Film: Athithi tum kab Jaoge?
Film: Road, Movie
