Ace cinematographer Santhosh Sivan may have failed to rake in profits with his recent filmAsoka. But, he has received accolades for the promotion film for the Internet andcommercial made recently for the Department of Toursim, Kerala.
The 30-second ad film, titled Water Colours by God, is an attempt to portraytourism in Kerala as a tryst with nature. Although official figures are not known, thegrapevine has it that this Rs 50-60 lakh project was completed in a record 20 days with a100-member crew. Shot at 20 locations in the state, the film used 120 cans of film, three35 mm cameras, an akila crane and a jimmy jip (crane) to capture Kerala’sriches—natural and cultural. "This is one of the films that has given me veryhigh satisfaction. I enjoyed capturing the varying moods of a land like Kerala—greenand fresh after the first monsoon showers," says Santhosh Sivan.
Prime South : Tidings From The Southern States
Santhosh Sivan, Mamooty: Bollywood Calling, Chennai's pub politicks, Maya Kamat's caricatures, film review : Tiladaanam and, of course, Trash of the month : Parthale Parvasam.
This is not the tourism department’s only enterprise to lure tourists. Kochi isgearing up for the mega event, the Grand Kerala Festival, to be held between December 22and January 20. The fete will have a lot more than the ususal fare—food festivals,tribal, folk and classical dances. The list of events is a mixed bag: backwater cruise ina house boat and ayurvedic rejuvenation therapy, bungee jumping, the world’s longestNew Year Party hosted by international DJs, a Bollywood night, face painting, streetshows, film festivals and night shopping.
The event will be designed and managed by Zest Connect, the event management divisionof Hindustan Thompson Associates in association with Impresario Event Marketing CompanyPvt Ltd.
If Mohanlal is here, can Mamooty be far behind? After Mohanlal joined RamgopalVarma’s Company, Mamooty has put on the lawyer’s suit for AnishRanjan’s (of Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar fame) Rs 5-crore venture, Shafaq.He is Arvind Verma, a hard working advocate, who is near happy living with an insomniacwife (Raveena Tandon). Till Rinke Khanna walks in... Shafaq is being directed by debutanteBapaditya Ray. "My busy schedule in Tamil and Malayalam movies has barred me fromaccepting any offer from Bollywood. The character in this film looked like a difficultone. I took the offer as a challenge," Mamooty says. And speaking Hindi was not atough ask for him. "I know Hindi very well so there was no need for anyone to dub forme," he says.
But he may not have forgotten his disastrous entry (Dhartiputra) intoBollywood a few years ago. His accent was one of the factors that undid the film.Language, however, is not a problem for Rambha who is planning a permanent transition toMumbai. "I plan to buy a house and settle down here," she says. "I want tomake it big in Hindi films like I did in south India," she adds. She was recentlyseen with Govinda in Kyonki Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta. Her forthcoming releasesinclude Jaani Dushman with Akshay Kumar, a Sunil Bohra film with Sunil Shetty, anAnwar Khan movie and one with David Dhawan.
Chennai’s spending class has been having a hard time since Commissioner of PoliceMuthukkaruppan’s clampdown on discotheques. (Grapevine has it that the cop’sdaughter was harassed in one of these discos.)
It is in such dry times that Geoffrey’s has opened the first pub in Chennai. Sodesperate are Chennaiites for a watering hole that they are willing to patronise it, bothin spite and because of its faults. On its menu, this Sarovar Park Plaza chain prom-
ises cognac. But if you order it in a hurry, you may confront a polite "sorry,foreign liquor only from next week." And if you ever get to drink it, you have to payRs 350 plus 70 per cent tax! Not all. Two rounds of draught beer at 8 pm and the stock isover. You have to make do with lager. The food, however, is reasonable (dishes within Rs150). The ambience is not. Loud music...the furniture thuds... you cease to hear yourself.Hearing is also DJ Michael’s problem. Names like Macy Gray or Lauryn Hill draws ablank from him.
Yet Chennaiites are saying ‘cheers’. Within 10 days of its openingGeoffrey’s has been getting a boisterous repeat crowd of 30 per cent. Even on aweekday the place, with a capacity of 90, is bursting at the seams. Despite a dress codethat insists on shoes.
It was a fitting homage to a woman whose subtle sketches have generated abundant lines forthought. In a career spanning over 16 years, Maya Kamat dealt with a range of themes inher caricatures—beginning with strips on family life and moving to cartoons onwomen’s and civic issues, the environment and business. However, it was as a socialand political cartoonist that Maya made her mark.
Maya’s work has appeared in magazines such as The Illustrated Weekly ofIndia and Femina, and in almost all of India’s major mainstream newspapers. Her lastwork, a political cartoon, was for The Asian Age.
At the three-day exhibition, The World of Maya—A tribute, people whomattered to Maya Kamat and to whom she mattered streamed in, with family, to have a lookat her cartoons and to laugh yet again.
Maya’s family had to sift through 5,000 pieces to select some for the exhibition.These cartoons would be taken to other cities beginning next week.
Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, who inaugurated the exhibition, said: "I did not knowMaya well, but I’ve always enjoyed her cartoons. Her cartoons had a subtlesensitivity about them."
The Taj Residency’s terrace garden is resplendent in Christmas colours. It’s theannual Charity Christmas Bazaar and the stalls are selling Christmas decorations, homecollectibles, jewellery, stain glass items, and confectioneries. The organisers hurryingaround or the women manning the stalls are from all nationalities. And it is not uncommonto spot blondes sporting salwar-kameezes. This is the annual function of CommunityServices of Bangalore; a group made of expats and Indians who have relocated to the city.The effort sounds like a global version of How to Make an American Quilt. Only that it isset in Bangalore and involves more than quilting. Community Services of Bangalore hasaround 130 members. It was started four years ago by a Scottish woman to give a meetingground to women who were new to the city whether they were from Denmark or Delhi. Makingnew friends and getting a guided tour of the city were part of the deal. At their Tuesdayworkshop members share their craft skills and there are even guest lectures. The worksthat come out of the coffee mornings are a fusion of ethnic craft styles and fabrics. SaysMichelle Heuschen, a Belgian and the chairperson of CSB: "I quilt, but they are a mixof Indian fabrics and those I pick up while travelling or visiting home." They are upfor sale every year at the Charity Bazaar and the money raised is given to variouscharities.
To trash K. Balachander’s so-called 100th movie is an insult to the trash-can. On thesheer weight of his past record, KB got on board some of the biggest stars of Kollywoodfor Parthale Pravasam—Simran, Madhavan, Vivek and Sneha and A.R. Rahman. Theresult is so unwatchable that the audience, who are misled into expecting some decentfare, need to be given some viewing allowance. Hero Madhavan is a film star-cum-doctor.Fans mob him, love him and would die for him. But he marries Simi, chosen by his mom.Suddenly a rich woman descends from London to merely inform Simi that she is the mother ofMadhavan’s seven-year-old child—a product of jawani ki bhool! Simiquits the marriage. Seems like we have a story here, but KB narrates it in a ridiculousmanner. The scenes are utterly disjointed. Rahman, with no sweat, has dished out just whatthe film deserves—some mediocre songs.
People in Andhra Pradesh are unwilling to accept any good film based onreal-life stories," laments critic-turned-filmmaker K.N.T. Sastry. His filmTiladanaam, based on a short story published in Andhra Prabha, has run into roughweather. It has been stalled from screening by the four-member regional censor board forhaving "objectionable" portions against Brahmins and their traditional practicesas such.
Tiladaanam is the story of a poor shanti (brahmin) who is unable to adjust tothe fast-changing society around him. His son, Raghuram, has become a Naxalite. Havinglost ground in the village, he decides to make a living in a city. "It appears thatTelugus, who are used to seeing Brahmins on the screen as either wealthy gentry whosechildren have gone astray, are unable to digest a serious attempt to portrayreality," feels Sastry.
A reason why fine Telugu films like these fail to mark on the national or internationalcircuit.
**** Must See,*** Good,** Watchable,* Avoidable