by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Anubhav Sinha
By Arundhuti Banerjee,
Mumbai : Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, whose forthcoming film “Mulk” — about the plight of a Muslim family accused of treason — has had online trolls slamming him for being “anti-Hindu”, says the idea of inclusive India is very much secure and the people who are trying to ruin the country’s communal harmony are really small in number.
“The concept of original India is still breathing in various parts of the country and while shooting the film, my faith in that has strengthened. Wherever I shot the film, the way local people have participated made me believe that the very essence of India, which is inclusive, is existing nicely,” Sinha told IANS in an interview here.
What does he mean by original India?
“Inclusiveness,” he said, and explained: “The problem is that the narrow-minded people, who are a tiny part of the vast population, speak much louder than the majority. The majority, the inclusive people, are like a deep ocean that stays calm, quiet and flows. The liberal-minded secular people choose to flow silently.
“So, basically, people who are trolling with narrow thoughts, are a minuscule, negligible minority.”
Sinha had earlier this week penned a long open letter in response to the trolls, outlining how they are merely “under-educated, highly energetic people with no productivity”.
The story of “Mulk” essentially revolves around stereotyping of a minority community and how they are in a constant struggle to prove their patriotism due to their religious practices.
Asked about what sparked the thought behind the film, Sinha, who has earlier made movies like “Tum Bin” and “RA.One”, said: “To put it on record, ‘Mulk’ is not trying to deal with Islamophobia or talking about the present government. The story is about us, we the people in the society.
“The film is bringing some of the uncomfortable questions to the table and the intention is to make the audience find the answer from life because they are subjective. We are not specifically answering anything in the film. We are raising the questions.”
The movie features iconic and talented actors like Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Pahwa and Neena Gupta. Young actress Taapsee Pannu plays a lawyer in the movie.
On his experience of working with them, Sinha said: “In this film, the main element was the story and the question it raised. The fact is that all our actors involved in the film subscribed to the idea. They were only interested in the narrative. So we made the film together, really.”
The film, releasing on August 3, also features two youngsters — Vartika Singh and Ashrut Jain. Sinha says he was initially worried if they will manage to perform well.
There are scenes Vartika has with Neenaji and I thought she would feel intimidated. But her performance level was pretty high. So was Ashrut’s. Today’s kids are a little irreverent also, but I must say, along with all these big actors, these two kids performed really well,” he said.
“Mulk”, despite its sensitive subject, managed to get a U/A certificate.
Asked if he was sceptical about the clearance, Sinha said: “No, why should I be? My film is not made with a bad intention. Honestly, the censor board is a tough place because every decision is taken by at least five people coming from different walks of life. So finding a common ground in an argument might look tough at times, but at times they are reasonable.”
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Azhar Iqbal,
Pakistani Cinema and Indian Bollywood Industry have a plenty of similarities like a common language, music lyrics, themes, highlighting social and domestic issues, action and romance, poetic verses in dialogues, anger and love etc. You have certainly watched many of the Bollywood and Lollywood feature films in which the plot of the movies are exactly same or with a slight difference. Pakistan and India have many of the historical events and folk stories in common. If we go through the film industries across the border we would be surprised that hundreds of movies have been featured with same name and titles with same or different plot and scripts. But there are some movies which were made on the same stories or scripts with different music, directors, actors, and crews both in India and Pakistan.
Here are top 10 movies that were made more than once but Title and Story were not changed both in Pakistani and Indian movies.
1- DEVDAS
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s blockbuster “Devdas” is all time mega hit of Bollywood romantic drama film. Devdas was based on 1917 Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas, released in 2002 starred by Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. The plot of this movie surrounds the central character Devdas and Paro who is childhood love of Paro, later on, marries to an aged widower with two adult children. Devdas dies in the end due to excessive alcohol drinking in the memory of his ex. Paro. Devdas has been made several times in India and Pakistan. Pakistani film director Iqbal Kashmiri’s Devdas was released in 2010 in Karachi, Pakistan. Leading roles were played by Zara Sheikh, Meera, and Nadeem Shah. This movie was also made in 1965 in Urdu in Pakistan by a Pakistani director Khawaja Sarfaraz. It was featured in the Hindi language for the first time in Bollywood after the partition, in 1955. The leading roles were played by Legendary Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, and Suchitra Sen. It was produced and directed by Bimal Roy. Devdas has also been made several times in Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi before partition and after independence in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
2- UMRAO JAAN
Bollywood classic “Umrao Jaan” was also based on Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, released in 1981. It was produced and directed by Muzaffar Ali. Bollywood all-time iconic Rekha played the lead role of Umrao. Other leading roles were played by Seema Sathyu Farooq Shaikh Naseeruddin Shah and Umme Farwa. This is the story of Lucknow courtesan and her rise to fame. She is kidnapped early in her childhood and then sold to a brothel in Lucknow. This film was also made in Pakistan with the original name of the Urdu Novel “Umrao Jaan Ada” starring Rani and Shahid and directed by Hasan Tariq. This Pakistani film was released in 1972, 9 years before Bollywood Umrao Jan. Later on, in 2006, this film was released once again with new cast and crew. Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachan were starred for main roles.
3- HEER RANJHA
Based on Sufi Saint Waris Shah’s classic folk love story of Punjab, Heer Ranjha was a super hit Lollywood film released in 1970. Pakistani Heer Ranjha was directed by Masud Pervaiz. Lollywood stars Firdaus and Ejaz Durrani played the roles of Heer and Ranjha. The story revolves around Heer the daughter of a wealthy family and Ranjha who became their servant. Heer Ranjha was also made in India in 1970 starred by Priya Rajvansh as Heer and Raaj Kumar as Ranjha. Later on, this movie was released in 1992, this time Heer Ranjha was directed by Harmesh Malhotra. Bollywood Queen Sridevi and Anil Kapoor were cast as Heer and Ranjha. More than a dozen, Heer Ranjha has been featured in India and Pakistan from 1928 to 2017.
4- ANARKALI
Based on Imtiaz Ali Taj’s Urdu drama Anarkali has also been films plenty of times in India and Pakistan. In 1953, an Indian historical drama film was released with the title of Anarkali. This film was the top Indian grossing film of the year. Pradeep Kumar, Bina Rai, and Noor Jehan were the main cast of this movie and directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal. This story revolves around the Mughal Prince Jahangeer (Saleem), his father emperor Akbar and a girl Anarkali. This film was also made in Pakistan in 1958 in which the legendary Noor Jahan played the lead role of Anarkali.
5- LAILA MAJNU
Based on an Arab/Persian historic love story, Laila Majnu has been the title of many films made in Pakistan, India and some other countries also. Bollywood 1976’s Laila Majnu is also based on this historic love story of Qais and Laila. Rishi Kapoor was cast as Qais and Ranjeeta Kaur was the heroine as Laila. This film was directed by Harnam Singh Rawail. Laila Majnu was also made and released in Pakistan in the year 1974. It has been made many times not only in Pakistan and India but in many other countries with different regional and local languages.
6- MIRZA GHALIB
The tribute to the great Urdu Poet Mirza Asad Ullah Beg Khan Ghalib was given both in Indian and Pakistani cinemas. The first film was made with the title of Mirza Ghalib in India in 1954 in which Bharat Bhushan plays Ghalib and Suraiya plays his courtesan lover, Chaudvin. Later on, this film with the same title was made in Pakistan starred by Sudhir and Noor Jehan in 1961.
7- SOHNI MAHIWAL
The tragic love story of Mirza Izzat Beg and Sohni of Punjab is also a famous love story usually known as Sohni Mahiwal. This is the story of Prince Izzat Beg who comes to India and falls in love with a Punjabi girl Sohni. Sunny Deol and Poonam Dhillon were starred in pivotal roles in Bollywood Sohni Mahiwal in 1984. This film was also made in Pakistan where Yousuf Khan and Mumtaz were starred for pivotal roles. Sohni Mahiwal also made in 1958 and the years before partition.
8- SASSI PUNNO
Hassan Askari’s “Sassi Punnu” was released in Lahore, Pakistan in 2004 starred by Moammar Rana, Sana Nawaz, and Veena Malik. This film was based on a Sindhi love story originally written by Sufi Saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689-1752). This film was initially made in the Sindhi language in 1958 in Pakistan and Akbar Ali was the director. Punjabi version of this story was featured in 1977. The movie with the same classic story and name was also made in India in 1983 in Punjabi directed by Satish Bhakhri. It was also made in India in 1965.
9- MIRZA SAHIBAN
The tale of Mirza Sahiban is part of popular Punjabi culture. On the title of “Mirza Sahiban” feature films have been made more than once in both Hindi and Punjabi languages in Pakistan and India in the years, 1947, 1956, 1957 and so on with different stars, directors, and languages.
10- SHIRIN FARHAD
This is an Iranian Love story and films were made in 1956 in India and later on in Pakistan in the year 1976 on the title of “Shirin Farhad”.
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(Azhar Iqbal is an International Graduate Fellow of Cross-Cultural Communication at Ural Federal University, Russia; Second Master Degree in Communication Studies from Institute of Communication Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore Pakistan. Co-founder of The Educationist a Pakistan-based monthly English newspaper. Research interests are media, communication and journalism. New media technologies in the fields of education, politics, culture and society. Also writing for Feedback Russia (A Russian Portal), Maeeshat (An Indian Magazine), Our Russia (A Russian Journal) along with The Educationist (A Pakistani Newspaper) and SizingUpTheSouth.com. Society of Professional Journalists
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
For representational purpose only
By Amit Khanna,
In India you have hundreds of film, literature, music, dance, sports, fashion, investment, technology, science and other festivals in every part of the country. This should be a happy indicator of our rich cultural heritage and our predisposition to the arts. However, most such events are forced gatherings of similar sets of people.
The genesis of these festivals is steeped in history. In post-Independence India, it was essential that a wounded but free nation established its cultural diversity, tradition and its new-found confidence through creative expression. So, Nehru rightly set up bodies like the Sangeet Natak, Lalit Kala and Sahitya Akademis. An International Film Festival, Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan, National Book Fair, etc., were also set up. What should have been the take-off points of various arts, soon lapsed into a well-oiled machine of state patronage. Various awards instituted within the first few years became politicised.
When royal patronage of arts disappeared after the abolition of princely states, music, dance, fine art and literature almost disappeared from public spaces. So it was imperative that the government kick-started their revival. It was good when this was done in the 1950s. However, wherever politics and bureaucracy creep in, a new pecking order based not so much on real talent but political and other (social, economic, regional) considerations come into play.
So, by the end of the 1950s, there emerged a new cultural aristocracy. A group of aficionados, some genuine, some pretentious, who over time would be identified by their omnipresence on various committees and the invitation lists at concerts, festivals and other such events. This newly-minted social class did have some real scholars who did inspiring work in furthering the arts, but largely these were self-styled critics, failed artistes and social climbers.
As a new festival circuit developed initially in New Delhi and then elsewhere, it was a boon for performing artists, filmmakers, painters and authors who got a chance to reach out to a larger audience through these platforms. One has to realise that in the 1950s the only source of income for artistes was All India Radio and a few private mehfils. A chosen few like Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Indrani Rehman got a chance to perform abroad. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, an organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs, did send some artistes and films overseas, but again the selection was at the whim of some sarkari patron.
The International Film Festival of India did not acquire a proper structure till the 1970s. If you were lucky, your film, based on some foreign critic’s recommendation, was chosen for screening at a foreign film festival like Cannes, Berlin or Venice. There were auditoriums where one could watch art cinema. Film societies, with help from embassies, managed to get some films for private screenings for members in major metros.
Plays were restricted to some cities like Mumbai, Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Delhi. Literature Festivals were things of a distant future. Book launches were confined to a few established authors like Amrita Preetam, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and a few important journalists. Most artistic/cultural activity was limited to a few events where individuals were the catalyst for an art form’s growth.
There were some honourable initiatives like the Swami Haridas Music Festival in Jalandhar or the Dover Lane Music Conference in Calcutta. The Shriram Family (DCM) of Delhi held the annual Shankar Shaad Mushaira in the capital, which was the subcontinent’s most prestigous annual gathering of Urdu poets. They also organised the annual Shankarlal Music Festival and the Bharatiya Kala Kendra Ramleela and concerts.
In the South, the Thyagraja Festival and the Madras Academy concerts are largely privately funded. Soon the Sangeet Sammelan of AIR and three Akademis started holding events in major cities, which were eagerly awaited. The government also started promoting Indian festivals abroad.
In other spheres, drama was largely semi-professional except for regional theatre like in Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi. The first Triennale (Art Exhibition) was held in in 1971, but top artistes had gained popularity among Indian cognoscenti.
It was only in the 1970s that corporates entered the arts circuit and industry groups like the Tatas, Birlas, JK, Jains (of The Times of India) and multi-nationals like ITC became sponsors of cultural events. By then a familiar coterie of cultural interventionists could be seen on the scene. They were organising, judging, participating or just attending event after event. I was for a while a part of this jamboree. Soon from this emerged a new Brahmanical order of culturatti generally dominated by what are now known as left-liberals.
Economic liberalisation and satellite TV changed the paradigm. Today there the hundreds of festivals across disciplines. Private groups professionally organise most of these. There are expensive delegate fees for such events. So you have at least a dozen film festivals (MAMI in Mumbai, Kolkata Film Festival, Kerala Film Festival in Thiruvananthapuram and IFFI in Goa are major ones) from Guwahati to Dharamshala, Lucknow to Bengaluru.
There are a dozen litfests, led by the Jaipur Literary Festival, and events in Mumbai, Delhi and other state capitals. Several music and dance festivals, and theatre festivals like the one organised by the National School of Drama in Delhi, and those organised by the Mahindra Group, Aditya Birla Group, IPTA, Prithvi, Nandikar and others. And hundreds of smaller events.
Museums and art galleries all over hold regular exhibitions and seminars. All sponsored and many of them money-making. There are professional event mangers, PR companies and tie-ups with broadcasters. Besides, every media group, TV channel and several chambers of commerce and industry hold hundreds of events, award shows and conclaves. We are spoilt for choice.
What has not changed in 70 years is the list of 500-odd people who are the usual speakers, participants, critics and guests at these events. I am tired of hearing the same people turning up at such events with the regularity of homing pigeons. This tired lot says the same things, loaded with their ideology and opinions (often redundant) month after month, year after year. The same panelists (including me), the same chief guests and often the same applause-junky, name-dropping professional quote hangers. The show goes on.
(Amit Khanna is a writer, filmmaker and media guru. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at amitfilm@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Jaipur/New Delhi : The body of a man was found hanging at Jaipur’s Nahargarh Fort on Friday with messages denouncing “Padmavati” scribbled on rocks nearby even as passions for and against the controversial film continued to rage.
While National Award winning actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and actress Rani Mukerji voiced distress over the violent rant against the film’s producer-director and actors, some people in New Delhi burnt filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s effigy outside a metro station.
However, there was some much-needed relief for Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL seeking an expert committee of historians and social activists to examine “Padmavati” to ensure there were no “distortions”, saying such “hopeless and misconceived” pleas were “encouraging” those agitating against the film.
Also, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee became the first Chief Minister to say she was ready to welcome the film and its crew — at a time when Chief Ministers of at least four other states have opposed the movie’s release.
Hindu groups backed by the BJP are up in arms against the movie over conjectures that it distorts history about Rajput queen Padmavati and Rajput culture.
Police in Jaipur said they were finding out whether the 40-year-old man’s death — his body was found on the outer walls of the Nahargarh Fort — had anything to do with the “Padmavati” row.
The message, scrawled on rocks nearby, read, “Hum putle nahin jalate… latkate hain” (We don’t burn effigies, we hang them).
“‘Padmavati’ ka virodh karne walon… Hum main hai dum.” (Those protesting against ‘Padmavati’ … We have guts)
Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyendra Singh told IANS that the dead man had been identified as Chetan Saini, a resident of Jaipur’s Shastri Nagar who ran a jewellery and handicrafts business.
Singh said it was not clear if it was murder or suicide and that it would be too early to relate the messages on the rocks to “Padmavati”.
The Rajput Karni Sena, which is most vocal against the movie, denied any involvement in the case.
“We express complete disapproval of it and deny our involvement in any manner,” Vivek Singh Shekhawat, the Rajasthan General Secretary of the group said.
The release of the Hindi film, earlier scheduled for December 1, has been deferred.
Bhansali continued to get the support of the film fraternity.
Prosenjit Chatterjee said “directors will stop doing historical films the way it has been handled”. Rani Mukerji said she stood by Bhansali: “He knows that I back him, love him. He is my darling and Sanjay truly believes how much I love him and he knows how I stand by him.”
—IANS
