The Speedy Singhs hockey team: Breakaway cast with Vinay Virmani, right
Breakaway sounds like the penultimate Canadian film: first and second generation Indo-Canadian family members clash over traditional culture versus hockey. And it’s funny! I haven’t seen the film yet, but I saw the trailer at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) press conference — held in the elegant Imperial Room of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel! — and I laughed-out-loud. How can you not laugh when Russell Peters is on-screen? But don’t take my word for it, watch the trailer below. (more…)
Aamir Khan as Disco Fighter in Delhi Belly
The first cross-over hit?
Like every traveler to India (and many Indians), I have had my share of Delhi belly. It’s not usually fun — unlike the new film, produced by Aamir Khan. The film Delhi Belly is a roller-coaster ride through real, and modern, Delhi. The main plot line is about three friends (Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur and Vir Das) who get entangled in a diamond smuggling ring, while many other comical sub-plots about girlfriends, fiances, bosses, landlords, and, yes, a bout of Delhi belly, play out as the movie barrels along at break-neck speed with a high-tempo, infectious soundtrack. The film’s directorial style has been compared to Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, but I think it’s something new altogether. Director Abhinay Deo and writer Akshat Verma have talent.
The main reason I like this film is that it’s good — all of it, the direction, cast, music, plot, ending — but there are other reasons I like it, too. For one thing, it shows us the real Delhi, the Delhi I know — not a Bollywood-ized version. For another, it is a refreshing, new, modern style of Indian film. It’s not a western film, it’s definitely Indian, but it speaks a modern language that should appeal to westerners (though not to everyone as much of the humour is crude and rude). Most of the film is in English, which also adds to its universality.
The cameo by Aamir Khan at the end of the film, in an “item” number (song and dance) is hilarious, and almost worth the price of admission. It also adds a post-modern element that, again, western audiences will appreciate (as long as they know who Aamir Khan is — and if they don’t, they probably will one day. I think he’s the most talented person working in film today, anywhere.)
I have been waiting for some time for the first real crossover hit, and Delly Belhi could be it. I know it’s coming; I’ve known for some time it’s coming. I don’t think Slumdog Millionaire is it, as the film was made by a westerner (Danny Boyle). My money is on either Shahrukh Khan or Aamir Khan. Shahrukh will make a big budget action flick, that casts him as an Indian version of Rocky or some other manly-but-tender hero figure; with Aamir, it’s going to be hip, clever and offbeat, like Delhi Belly.
Enjoy the trailer, which gives you a flavour of the real film — but only a fraction of the madness.
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The sumptous decor added to the glamour of the IIFA Awards after party, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel
Bollywood in Toronto
Perhaps it’s not exactly the same as Eloise at the Plaza … but staying at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Toronto did make me feel I was on an awfully wonderful adventure. I was a guest in the hotel from Tuesday, June 20 to Sunday, June 26, and totally immersed myself in all the preparations, behind-the-scenes activities, press conferences, events, star sightings and parties taking place in the hotel during those five days. (more…)
Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the IIFA Awards. Photo courtesy Andrew Adams Photography
The pillars of excitement at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during IIFA were definitely the stars. Every time a Bollywood star entered or left the hotel, a bubble of excitement burst in the lobby, resulting in a chorus of near-hysterical cheers. I had a media pass, so I was able to gain access to off-limit areas, and it became normal for me to see stars like Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Ritesh Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Shabana Azmi and Harman Baweja milling around the hotel. (more…)
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood and fans in the lobby of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the IIFA Awards. Photo courtesy Andrew Adams of Katha Images.
Bollywood in Toronto
Staying at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the host hotel for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Toronto, gave me a unique and close-up look at both the behind-the-scenes action and the fans. I have lived in India, so I was not at all surprised by the fan frenzy: Indian movie stars have the biggest and most loyal fan followings in the world. Hands down. No comparison. (more…)
Shahrukh Khan arrives at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the 2011 IIFA Awards
Some of my readers will have no doubt, others will be totally surprised to learn: Shahrukh Khan (often known as SRK or King Khan) is the world’s number 1 movie star. By far. Any number or metric you want to use to measure — loyalty, fan base, power, influence, sheer hysteria — will show SRK way out in front. He is NOT the Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt of India. We do not have stars in the west the way they do in India. There are probably 1 billion people — that’s about one-quarter of the planet — who would give Shahrukh their kidney, if he needed it. (more…)
Sonu Nigam, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Ritesh Deshmukh at IIFA press conference
Bollywood lays it on thick
It’s only Day 1 of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards extravaganza in Toronto, and there’s already enough hype, madness, feuds, controversy, gossip and stars to fill the most epic Bollywood blockbuster. If you read my post, Bollywood primer, you’ll know that Bollywood operates like a big family, with all the drama that entails.
Mallika Sherawat at IIFA press conference
Here at the epicentre of it all, the grand Fairmont Royal York Hotel — I’m calling it Bollywood ground zero — the action never stops. Twice a day, planes from Mumbai land, carrying a dozen or more stars. In fact, two airlines actually changed their flight schedules to accommodate IIFA — which is unbelievable. When they arrive at the hotel, there’s a media and fan frenzy. (more…)
Fairmont Royal "Raja" York kicks off Bollywood week with an Indian-food inspired lunch
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto has “gone Indian” for the 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, June 23-26, 2011. Renamed the Fairmont “Raja” York Hotel for the week, the landmark hotel has also introduced the Raj Kapoor Martini and several other cocktails and mocktails, and a specially created Indian menu. The hotel is also turning its York’s Deli into Delhi Deli for the three-day show. Indian-inspired foods the hotel will be serving include spicy Bombay street snacks, home-style curries and authentic recipes such as chai, samosas and pakoras. The iconic hotel is also holding its first-ever Indian Wedding Show on Wednesday, June 22.
Stars such as Shahrukh Khan, Dharmendra, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Sonny and Bobby Deol, and many more are expected to attend.
Here are the cocktails the Fairmont Raja York will be serving:
Paheli with Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji
My second night in India ever, back in December 2005, I was struggling with jet lag and trying to sleep, and a big party two doors away from where I was staying in South Delhi was underway and keeping me awake. It was quite an introduction to India: loud music, fireworks, frenetic party sounds, well into the wee hours. I was so excited to finally be in India, following my dreams, and at the start of my six-month “trip of a lifetime,” that I didn’t really care, I took it in stride, but I was very interested to learn from the newspaper the next day that the party was at a Bollywood star’s home, and I will never forget the headline: King Khan in Delhi.
As a writer and trained journalist I was intrigued by the term “King Khan.” Who could he be? I quickly found out that actor Shahrukh Khan (SRK), who hails from Delhi, was one of the biggest stars in Bollywood. I began seeing his picture everywhere, and his charismatic smile was soon beguiling me. But it wasn’t until I saw Paheli, the film he made as a labour of love, with co-star Rani Mukherji and entertaining cameo by Amitabh Bachchan, that I fell for him.
Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in Paheli
I loved Paheli, a wonderfully whimsical story about a woman (Rani) in fairytale Rajasthan who marries a rich, money-obsessed man (Shahrukh), only to find that he’s leaving on a two-year business trip the day after the wedding. However, on the journey to bring the bride back to the groom’s village, a “ghost” sees her and falls in love with her. He takes the form of a squirrel, and then a bird, and follows her to a step well.
Later, after the husband leaves, he takes the form of her husband and returns to be with her. She, of course, doesn’t know this man — who transformed into a loving husband is a ghost until he tells her. It’s too late, she’s in love with him.
The movie is filled with delightful moments, absolutely wonderful music and of course gorgeous sets and costumes as it’s set in magical Rajasthan. It is one of my all-time favourite films as it appeals to the child in me who loved the 1,001 Arabian Nights stories and painted huge murals of genies (djinns) and Rajasthan-like palaces all over my bedroom walls as a child. And who believed in magic. (more…)
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis: The patron saints of transformative travelYears ago, during a dark time of my life, I spent a lot of time on the couch, with my tabby cat Sydney beside me, watching movies. I bought VHS copies of a few favourites that I watched over and over again, and they sat piled up beside my TV. Thelma and Louise was at the top of the pile. I watched the movie so many times I’ve lost count. I know every scene and every line.
Louise: “You’ve always been crazy, you’ve just never had a chance to express yourself before.”
Thelma: “Something’s changed in me and I can never go back.”
Thelma: “I feel so alive, I’ve never felt so alive, know what I mean?”
So when I got a chance to go to the Thelma and Louise 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, I jumped at it. I watched Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis being interviewed on stage and had the good fortune to meet them afterward, thanks to tickets from the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, a sponsor of the event. (more…)
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
