Deepa Mehta at the University of Toronto, photo by Katie Billo
There was a moment during acclaimed Indo-Canadian director Deepa Mehta’s talk recently at the University of Toronto — about the making of her new film Midnight’s Children — when I felt the jolt of inspiration. It came near the end. Someone asked if “it’s easier to break into film today, or when you got started.” Deepa replied very thoughtfully in a deeply felt, lyrical voice: “I think it’s really difficult making films. The challenge has not diminished or increased. Whenever you want to write a book, whenever you want to make a film, whenever you want to make a painting — whenever you do something that isn’t about going to an office, whenever your future is not secured by a paycheque, it’s a risky thing. Whenever you take a risk it’s going to be tough.” (more…)
Naseeruddin Shah in Michael
Michael is a new “Hindie” film from India with a powerhouse duo behind it: producer Anurag Kashyap and star Naseeruddin Shah. Directed by first-timer Rubhir Dasgupta, the film follows Shah’s eponymous character on a dark psychological journey through the streets of north Kolkata (Calcutta). Michael is demonized by an action from his past — accidentally shooting a 12-year-old boy while on duty as a police officer — and it’s ramifications on his present. His own son is about to turn 12; and he is terrified that the father of the dead boy is planning to kill his son for revenge.
Rubhir Dasgupta and Guneet Monga on stage at TIFF
The film is a study in karma, and while the storyline is interesting, the naturalistic talent of actor Naseeruddin Shah and the tarnished beauty of Kolkata are the real stars. As he explained after the film’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), both actor and location were very deliberately chosen by writer/director Rubhir Dasgupta.
Dasgupta was at the film, along with one of the other producers of the film, Guneet Monga. These filmmakers are part of the “new age” of Indian cinema. Kashyap wrote and directed That Girl in Yellow Boots, Gulaal and Dev.D, among other films; and wrote the Deepa Mehta film Water (one of my all-time favourite films). Monga was an associate producer on That Girl in Yellow Boots and a co-producer of Trishna.
The movies they make are very different than stereotypical “Bollywood” fare. They do not feature song-and-dance numbers, melodramatic love stories, big-budget productions or mega-stars. Instead, they evoke a sense of naturalism and tell dramatic, personal stories that reveal both psychological truth and modern-day India. (more…)
Freida Pinto as Trishna
His voice was filled with exasperation, and the churned-up emotion of watching tragedy unfold before him, onscreen. “Didn’t she realize she had the upper hand,” he asked. “He kept coming back to her. Why didn’t she take control of the relationship?”
He was a white Canadian, a “gora,” who had — like me — just sat through the premiere of Trishna at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, based on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and set in modern-day India, was directed by Michael Winterbottom (Jude). It stars Freida Pinto (Slumdog Milionaire) and Riz Ahmed as the doomed lovers swept up in the tumult of a changing society. The decision to set the story in modern India was brilliant, and gave the film multi-layered depth, the sheen of reality and the depth of pathos. (more…)
Elephant at Breakaway premier
Breakaway is a new Canadian film about a young Sikh Canadian man (Vinay Virmani) who is a mad about hockey — against the wishes of his traditional, turban-wearing father (Anupam Kher). It’s set in suburban Toronto and features Russell Peters, Rob Lowe and a cameo by Akshay Kumar. The film explores the meeting of Sikh/Punjabi/Indian and Canadian culture, and attempts to reconcile them against the backdrop of Canada’s national sport (and pseudo-religion) — hockey.
On Saturday, September 10, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with a raucous Punjabi-themed parade on Yonge Street that included bhangra music and dance, a painted elephant, Miss India-Canada, the cast and crew in colourful autorickshaws and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar on a white horse. The waiting crowd loved it and camera lights were flashing. It was a great start to a fun, feel-good movie. However, the film didn’t quite live up to its promise. (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…)
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…)
Jodhaa Akbar with Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan swept the 2009 IIFA Awards
My hometown is about to be invaded by Bollywood. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards are rolling into Toronto June 23-25, 2011. It’s the first time the IIFA awards are in North America, and it’s a pretty exciting event for Bollywood fans and many of the 700,000 Indo-Canadians in this city. Some of India’s biggest stars are coming including Shahrukh “King Khan” Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan and Dharmendra. This year, 2011, is also The Year of India in Canada — so there’s lots of South Asian celebrations happening in the city, and across the country.
I’ll be blogging from ground zero, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the host hotel for the IIFA festivities, so check in for lots of news, photos, interviews and stories.
For those of you who are not Bollywood fans, here’s a primer on what you need to know, and below, How to catch the Bollywood buzz, information about where to go, what to see and what’s free. (more…)
Sadhu at the gates of the "Beatles ashram" in Rishikesh, India
In Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail, celebrity columnist Johanna Schneller says about Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love: “Gilbert’s story distills for me my problem with spiritual quests. Is trying to be a better person just a really great excuse to think about yourself all day long?” Only in the world of Eat, Pray Love – which does not describe a spiritual quest at all.
On location in India in Columbia Pictures' EAT PRAY LOVE. © 2010 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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The Windamere, Ganges View, Casa Cottage, Jas Vilas and Inn Seventh Heaven: My top 5 favourite hotels in India. They each combine personality, charm, comfort and integrity — and they’re clean and friendly.
~If you are planning to go to India, read this first. I have pulled together a packing list and a lot of travel tips, recommended books and do’s and don’ts that will really help make your trip smoother and more enjoyable.
