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It’s his life
There is a fair possibility that he wouldn’t read what we write about him. But the conscious decision to keep ‘news about him’ at bay has a reason behind it. Actor Harman Baweja admits without any qualms, “This allows me to maintain my peace of mind,” he shares.
Of course, we know what he means. Even before someone steps in tinselville, the gossip mill begins to work overtime. “Initially, I would get worked up by the rumours, link-ups and comparisons with Hrithik Roshan. Then, one fine day, I decided to distance myself from whatever was being written about me. This is how it is, till date,” he smiles, adding that he has understood that a movie fares well on the basis of good content and not spicy rumours. As for the comparison with Hrithik, he says, “It comes like a pat on the back. At the same time, it means dealing with a lot of expectations.” Someone is learning tricks of the trade pretty fast? “You bet,” Harman smiles, glad to see that we could understand his situation. “Rumours can spoil a working relationship; once in a while they do affect my family also. But, as I said before, everyone goes through this grind; whatever you do people will have an opinion. They have a firm opinion on the Nuclear Treaty as well, whether or not they understand a word about it.” Before the conversation moves onto the next level, a fellow colleague notices that Harman isn’t flaunting any of those red, blue or turquoise gemstones for health, wealth or success. Not even an amulet to ward off evil eyes, despite being deeply religious. He smiles, amused by the observation. “I was forced to wear a stone a year back. I don’t wear anything now.” He pauses to take a good look at his hands. “I only believe in prayers. Thankfully, my mother ensures that the family is in constant touch with the almighty through prayers,” shares Harman. It seems he is interested in talking more on ‘spirituality’. We better not disturb. “We have earmarked a special place for Guru Granth Sahib at home. Morning prayers are a norm. In fact, I am also learning Gurmukhi these days,” he shares, adding how he struggled to read ‘theka’, a word that appears almost everywhere in Punjab. I don’t get to speak Punjabi in Mumbai.” Oh, we forgot, he is in Bollywood now. “Hardly,” comes the reply. “I do know people in the industry, I have a good professional equation with them. But, if I have to invite guests over for a party, none of them would have anything to do with the industry. Professionally, I am part of Bollywood, personally, I belong to a different world,” he adds. Harman elaborates on ‘the different world.’ “I was good at fancy dress competitions, dramatics and Hindi elocution at school. My mother thought I would be an IAS officer one day. But I dabbled with a hotel management course initially, left it for a course in theatre from Los Angeles, which assisted me in movie-making before I became an actor,” Harman narrates the incidents of ‘making of an actor’, which explain the ‘different world’ he comes from. Ah well! Star kids always have it easy, don’t they? “Yes, as compared to other struggling youngsters they get an easy entry into Bollywood. The question is what after that. Star parents cannot script the success of their kids. On the contrary, celebrity kids are under pressure of living up to the name of their parents,” Harman puts it candidly. All said and done, the stage is set for director-producer Harry Baweja’s son, and the audiences are waiting for that one ‘awesome’ performance. Jittery? “I get jitters 15 days prior to the release of my film. Then they vanish, but come back with an equal force some days later,” sums up the actor; all set for his upcoming release It’s My Life. The title indeed draws a simile with Harman’s lifestyle — easy, simple, grounded, spiritual, homely and nonchalant. It’s his life! jasmine@tribunemail.com |
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On the roll
The last time when these two came together, we had a houseful, standing ovations, deafening applause and performances par excellence. Their play — Salesman Ramlal — recorded the best rating in the city out of the 100 shows they did across the country. But then, you can’t underestimate names like Satish Kaushik and Seema Biswas. Who can forget the Bandit Queen or the lovable Calendar from Mr India? And the two share a lot in common — critical acclaim, award winning character roles, passion for thoughtful cinema and love for theatre. Their latest comes with Mahesh Manjrekar’s social drama City of Gold. Working alongside 65 actors including Sachin Khedekar, Siddharth Jadhav, Kashmira Shah, Sameer Dharmadhikari and Anusha Dandekar, among others, the two get candid about the hard-hitting film and their first experience of working with Manjrekar. “The movie deals with the problems faced by cotton mill workers during the period of strike - poverty, family issues, unfulfilled dreams. But without luxuries, they were a happy lot,” says Kaushik, who plays one of the workers. Seema Biswas agrees, “They suffered hell, yet never gave up hope. The tagline of the movie, Humne Aapko Vastra Diye Aur Apne Humko Nirvastra Kiya, itself reveals the pain and suffering of mill workers.” Initially hesitant, Satish and Seema finally found their reasons to be part of Mahesh Manjrekar’s dream project. “There is a strong message in the movie. Also, I had heard a lot about Mahesh and found Vaastav impressive. So when he narrated the script I was convinced,” says Satish. And the experience was nothing more than satisfying. “Mahesh is a hard-worker. Watching him run around the sets while shooting gave us a lot of energy. I was a little conscious about doing the role at first since it is an adaptation from the famous Marathi play Adhyantar, but Mahesh made it happen for me,” adds Biswas. Both Satish and Seema opine that doing out-an-out commercial movies has become easier for actors who were limited in their cinema earlier. “The unpredictable media,” as Seema calls it, “is now connected to reality. Innovative concepts and different dimensions given to scripts make it easy to do a good film.” As for the future, both want to try out something different. Seema is doing her first comic role in Deepa Mehta’s Cooking with Stella and Satish Kaushik brings out the real actor in him with City of Gold and Road, the Movie. “The international audience is appreciating realistic cinema being offered by us. It’s a cultural exchange like never before,” says Seema. Cooking with Stella was screened at the Toronto Film Festival, while Satish’s Road, the Movie will be premiered in New York after film festivals in Japan and Canada. Next, Seema will be seen in Rahul Dholakia’s star-studded Society along with Dimple Kapadia, Sarika, Paresh Rawal and Javed Jaffery, while Satish is ready with his directorial venture Milenge Milenge with Shahid and Kareena Kapoor. nehawalia@tribunemail.com
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Bus to cyber space
Internet is our own personal world, which at one click comes to our feet. Name it and you can find it on Wikipedia. Need it and you can search it on Google. (Well, hasn't the name has become one and the same as Internet). So, when a highly consumerised Indian market shows only 7 per cent Internet usage, the data seems like an insult to the claims of having become an Internet-savvy generation. The World Wide Web is not that widely used in India and that's what prompted cyber space giant Google to come up with an experiment. To spread Internet awareness, optimise the Internet experience and popularise its usage, Google brings the Google Bus, a door-to-door initiative to get you connected to the cyber world. "Let me give you an example. My mother who belongs to the highly educated group didn't know that one can read the Hukumnama from the Darbar Sahib in Amristar on Internet and she was thrilled after accessing it virtually. Internet maybe the way of life in metros, but a majority of India living in small towns and villages are not aware of it. The idea behind Google Bus is to reach out to that majority and open their mind to a world called Internet," says Jagjeet Chawla, product manager, Google India. Unveiling its mobile cyber café at the Taj-17, Jagjeet emphasised on the fact that with a 60 per cent population still unfamiliar to the web world, the initiative tries to shrink the gap. "We've already covered Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. A month-long schedule for Punjab and Haryana is ahead of us, travelling through Ludhiana, Amritsar, Sirsa, Hoshiarpur, Hisar and parking outside schools, colleges, city hot spots for the maximum reach." While the small towns get to experience the virtual world, Jagjeet believes that for the tail end of the problem, ie the rural areas, language is a barrier. "Online search is available in nine different Indian languages, out of a trillion plus web pages across the world, only 40 million are in Indian language. We have trans-literature on web but not translations since there is no data or content available for these languages. With wider internet reach, this problem can see a solution," he says. Another highlight that he points out is e-commerce and route mapping through the web. "Less than 1 per cent people use Net for commerce. To encourage them, we have initiatives like Feet on Street, getting business information from local shops and updating it on the site. With Google Mapmaker, you can find even a small paan corner in a city. Also, we are in talks with the central government to get information of the route map of the public transport in India." Well, as for the city, get ready to hop on the Google Bus and get connected! nehawalia@tribunemail.com
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Cut-2- Cut
Trying relentlessly to keep up with your appointment at the saloon? Late working hours at office don't leave you with enough time or energy to visit one? Or you don't have the will to drive 13-14 km for a simple haircut? Don't worry, the roaming duo of Garry and Rohit offer a ready solution. All you need to do is pick up your mobile, call them, explain what you want - a haircut, rebonding, colouring, straightening, advanced haircut or spa - and the duo ensures you get it right at your home. Sounds quite like a pizza home delivery! Well, it is pretty close to it. But, of course, instead of pizzas they deliver haircare and styling services. Over to Rohit & Garry's Touch Hair Studio, which offers 'at your doorstep' service. Says Garry, who has come back to Chandigarh after advanced training in hair-styling from Indonesia, Hong Kong and Mumbai, "It was only after I met Rohit, who was already offering home services in this line, that we decided to take the job to the next level." He adds, "Rohit and I already had a good clientele in the city," says Garry. Does it sound like any other beautician coming home for facials or manicure? Garry lists the difference. "We use branded products and provide services at half the price that you get at any saloon. For instance, a saloon charges Rs 5,000 for rebonding, but we do the same job for Rs 3,000 and that too with the best of products." And the duo does not charge extra for home service. So, who are the new clients availing the services? Adds the duo, "It is mostly girls staying at paying guest accommodations; those working at call centres, homemakers or those who are not comfortable with the idea of going to a saloon. We start taking orders from 10 in the morning till about midnight." Lastly, the two also give free counselling on haircare. Isn't it like getting a family pizza and a choco lava cake or pasta for free?
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School of thought
Presented by: Eros International Directed by: Milind Ukey Music: Hanif Shaikh Cast: Nana Patekar, Shahid Kapoor, Ayesha Takia and child artistes Dwiz Narendra Yadav, Swini Khara, Avika Gor and Ali Haji Director of super hit animated film Hanuman Milind Ukey's debut Hindi film Paathshaala is a film with a message that tries to answer of today's education system. It is a meaningful film that sheds light on the wrong doing in today's schools. It depicts the various issues faced by school children today. So, get ready to be educated with Paathshaala in theatres nearest you. Horror struck
Title: Phoonk 2 Presented by: Sarthak Movies, ZED 3 Pictures Production Directed by: Milind Gadagkar Music: Rahul Pandirkar Cast: Sudeep, Amruta Khanvilkar, Ahsaas Channa, Neeru Singh, Anu Ansari, Zakir Hussain, Amit Sadh and Ganesh Yadav Phoonk 2 is also a horror movie on black magic. It captures the fear of a family caught hostage to a murderous animalistic sprint seeking revenge by brutally terrorizing them. It is a touted as a perfect horror movie directed by Marathi director Milink Gadagkar. The film releases all over today. — Dharam Pal |
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Lanes Joyshri Lobo Just(ice) rewards An allegedly tainted Justice, who hardly ever kept the peace but was in the centre of a maelstrom, has been posted to Sikkim. He was nauseated with the odour around him and needed a breath of pure ozone aromatised by the perfume of orchids. The posting is to one of the youngest states in the country. Its people are cheerful and simple. They still play with bows and arrows. They say what they mean and go about their work with single mindededness of purpose. Most of them hardly concern themselves with Indian politics and probably still consider Bharatmata a foreign country, as do the Goans. My brother-in-law always asks, "…and how is Eendyah?" He gets very emotional as he gazes at the bombed out post office, which was a part of his property at Tivim, and one of the first casualties of the War of Liberation. Ever since amalgamating this tiny state, Eendyah has imported garbage on the beaches, corruption in the offices, cheating, samosas, bhel-puri, tandoori chicken and loud, fat, unabashed oglers who travel in packs minus their wives. I wonder what bilking and boodling awaits the poor Sikkimese? Another judge went blue in the face denying the fact that a brown parcel was meant for her. She was whisked away to some remote region and is waiting for the fires to die down, or retirement, whichever comes first. It seems that misdemeanours have their own rewards which sometimes cater to spiritual growth and physical well being. Is this because bhai-bandhi has created a culture of protecting errant friends? Vociferous protests, banner waving marches and turning the truth on its head seems to be the only solution to free erring friends and colleagues from punishment. Should punishment never be meted out? Well, if you can gather enough cronies with a similar odour, have a good voice, a good artist for the graffiti, consider yourself safe. Your detractors will back off due to time limits, injury or sheer lack of will power. A new kind of lawful exercise is called "telling truthful lies." Keep repeating half-truths and as in the water-drip torture, the speaker and the listener are ultimately convinced that what is recounted is the truth and nothing but the truth. This exercise requires buying off the media and winning over the populace. Recently, even the Armed Forces are showing their dirty under-belly. Corruption, which was an exclusive domain of civilian society, has snaked its way into the Defence forces. Caps, medals, uniforms are rolling off during court martials where it is difficult to differentiate between truths and half-truths. Sometimes in the name of morale and discipline, scapegoats are produced and in the saluting, marching and standing to attention, many innocent heads roll. Is Indian society unique? I don't think so. Human nature being what it is, continously adds finesse to its good and bad traits. If we could perfect and make our laws effective, all our people would have an equal chance towards quality of life. Sending errant officers to areas where they can write books and smell the orchids, does not seem to be the answer. Maybe a stint with the Maoists would bring in discipline and commitment. The marches would be good for the body and their food would reduce paunches. How about a re-think on punishment postings?
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Lone rangers Just collect a few paintings and an exhibition is ready. Revisit the invites, reserve a gallery, call in the media, throw in a word…and there’s a solo event added to the resume. The description of some of the shows held in the past few months goes like this - an architect toured five cities, took a camera along, came back with hundreds of pictures and also the concept of exhibition! Likewise, with a bunch of friends that went on a trip. Moving on, a pharmacist-turned-painter, an amateur artist, final-year fine arts student, even a Class XIII student; they’ve all held exhibitions and solo, to be precise. How easy or difficult it is to have a solo show? How good or bad it is to hold an exhibition every now and then? Is it a new trend? Opines Viren Tanwar, city-based renowned artist, “It all depends. If your work is presentable, qualification or profession is not important. So many artists do not even have training, but they’ve done wonderfully well. It all depends on the type of work they’re exhibiting.” He adds, “If your work is not mature enough, you shouldn’t go ahead with it.” At 18, Anjolie Ela Menon held a solo exhibition with 53 paintings spanning a variety of styles. She’s had over 30 solo shows so far. But then she’s Anjolie Ela Menon. In 1952, MF Husain held his first solo exhibition at Zurich and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and the US. If the figure’s accurate, yet another big name in Indian art circle, Jatin Das, has held 37 solo exhibitions, both national and international. On his recent visit to the city, he had something to share on the subject? “A painter should paint first and then think about the exhibition rather than plan an exhibition and then paint.” As for himself, did he not say, “I just exhibited in May 2009. I won’t exhibit so soon.” Are budding artists listening? Says DS Kapoor, principal, Government College of Art, “As a student one is learning so one can’t hold an exhibition, rather one should keep working. Its only when one matures as an artist that it should be done.” Apart from the collection, the second requirement is the venue. As Viren Tanwar says, “You can book a gallery and hold an exhibition, but there should be some committee to decide what works to display and what not.” A thought that finds favour with others? Nods DS Kapoor, “Whether group or a solo show, there should be some committee to screen the works.” But like with every aspect, there’s a flipside. As NPS Randhawa, director, Museum and Art Gallery, opines, “The job of a museum is to give people a platform, especially budding artists. Whosoever wants to showcase his or her works should be allowed to do so. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder who can evaluate the work. Popular artists, even if they draw a line, sell for crores. Even budding artists need to make their works known.” Perhaps, he summed up the debate. manpriya@tribunemail.com |
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Tumhari Amrita
The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi is organising a lecture and slide show. Amrita Sher-Gil: a project and a history by Vivan Sundaram, renowned artist and nephew of Amrita Sher-Gil. The book Amrita Sher-Gil: A self-portrait in letters and writings, edited and annotated by Vivan Sundaram will also be released by Professor. BN Goswamy on April 16 at 5.30 pm at the Government Museum and Art Gallery-10. The lecture will be illustrated with visual material from the archives of the Amrita Sher-Gil family. Vivan Sundaram will talk about the work he has done on Amrita Sher-Gil, his mother’s elder sister, and the Sher-Gil family as artist, writer, editor and organiser since the early 1970s. Since the mid 1980’s he has made several art works, on the Sher-Gil family, as painting, installation, photography and video. The publication ‘Amrita Sher-Gil: A self-portrait in letters and writings has been referred to as his latest ‘art work’. Vivan Sundaram was born in 1943, Simla. He studied painting in MS University, Baroda and The Slade School of Fine Art, London in the 1960s. Since 1990 he has turned to making artworks as sculpture, installation, photography and video. (At Government Museum and Art Gallery-10, today at 5.30 pm)
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String magic
It’s not everyday that one comes across a family so devoted to classical music. Their fascination for it can be gauged from the fact that all family members are named after popular ragas such as Shivranajni, Yaman and Kalyan. And it makes classical vocalist Deepak Vaid, their father and guru, one proud man. Meet Shivranajni, a student of GCG-42, who excels in academics, but is best known as a sitar player. She was raised in a family dedicated to music and later honed her skills under the tutelage of Gopal Dass Garg, Meena Rammani and finally Pandit Bhim Sain Sharma. But at home, she faces tough competition from her father Deepak Vaid, brothers — singer Yaman as well as tabla player Kalyan — and cousin Naval Mehta, national award winner in the ghazal category. “This helps me improve further,” says the otherwise shy and introvert Shivranjani. An admirer of legendary maestros like Shahid Parvez, Nishat Khan, Sujaat Khan and others, Shivranjani turned to sitar at age five. She won a gold medal in the inter-state music competition in 2006 and later bagged the first position in zonal youth festivals in 2008 and 2009. “My performance at Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, which received praise from world renowned maestros, was a memorable experience,” she says.
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Title: Paathshaala
