War Pieces
Paatini, a women’s group in Chennai, was not making any claims to "artisticinnocence", but it learnt quite a lesson on how British foreign policy could affect acreative reading of Sri Lankan poetry. The group was to perform Surya Mukham, EelamTamil poetry interpreted through a combination of theatre, dance and music, at the BritishCouncil on October 11-12. But the Council developed cold feet after the Afghanistanbombings. They backed off at the last minute, citing security reasons.However, BritishCouncil’s loss was Max Mueller Bhavan’s gain. Lending their skills to the show,directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy, were poets Inquilab and Kanimozhi, theatre veteransMangai, Preetam Chakravarty, and Muthuswamy, and danseuse Anita Ratnam. In a reading,which otherwise talked about strife and suffering, Ratnam’s interpretation ofCheran’s Kadhal Vari, which depicts a copulation scene as a homecoming ofsorts, was full of contrasting energy. It was an impassioned interpretation of an Eelampoet’s encounter with a blonde, white woman. "As an artist, I have to respond towhat is happening around me," said Ratnam, adding: "The Eelam context may haveseemed to have nothing to do with what is unfolding post-WTC, but through my dance I wasable to relate one to the other."
S. Anand
Date Dilemmas
Kamalahaasan is ready with his techno-driven Aalavandaan but the producers aredithering over the film’s release. Initially, it was to hit the screens on September28 but that would have meant just a 46-day run till Diwali, a crucial day when theexhibitors would have yanked it off from important cinemas to make way for the newerflicks. And the unwritten code of the filmdom is that a star’s film has to run for100 days whether people watch it or not. Now Kamal fans will have to wait till Diwali. Butthere’s a catch here as well. By Pongal (January 14) Alavandaan would haveto again make way for other films, after completing only a 60-day run. So has the actormiscalculated? Not really. Pammal K. Sambandam, where Kamal is paired with Simran, wouldalso be ready for a Pongal release. Kamal makes way for Kamal.
S. Anand
Creative Overflow
At Potter About, the new pottery studio in Chennai, even amateurs can now let theirimagination run riot and play ‘artiste’ for a while. A brainchild of RanjiniManian and Anjana Sunil, the cheery studio has worktables littered with paints andbrushes. Buy a piece of pottery or tile and personalise it with your own painting. PotterAbout will fire and glaze it for you. Adults pay Rs 100 and kids Rs 75 per hour. A niceidea for kiddy parties as well as adult get-togethers.
Vaishna Roy
Musical Currency
The European Union Chamber Orchestra, with performers drawn from nine Euro nations, boastsof patronage from Queen Sofia of Spain and is touted as an ambassador of the EuropeanUnion. It recently got a standing ovation at a concert organised by the Bangalore Schoolof Music. The 19-member orchestra was led by Lavard Skou Larsen.
With a medley of soundsand instruments—ranging from the violin, cello, flute and horn to the imposing doublebass—they played out a J.S. Bach symphony ahead of two compositions from Mozart. Themost rapturous response, however, was reserved for a Haydn Symphony.
Archana Rai
Shopping For Travel
Last fortnight, curious onlookers, buyers, travel enthusiasts, all thronged the IndiaInternational Travel Mart at Hyderabad’s Necklace Road.One of the highlights wasthat people were asked to bid for package tours to various destinations. Interestingly,some that were worth around Rs 6,000 got sold for as much as Rs 17,000! "We wish tomake it an annual event, since Hyderabad and Bangalore are both moving fast in the tourismmarket," says Anurag Gupta, director of iitm. Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu,who formally inaugurated the fair, was more than thrilled. "My government’sdream to make Hyderabad a tourist hub is closer to realisation now," he said.
Naidu also visited the Outlook stall and was impressed with the OutlookTraveller. "Such informative magazines will help guide the people who wish tomake travel a passion and education," he observed.
M.S. Shanker
Famous Five
It was the famous five’s night out for a cause. ‘Jammie’ Dravid, AnilKumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Srinath and Sunil Joshi placed souvenirs under the gavel at adinner to support the cause of adoption. These were memorabilia that cricket fans wouldpull their last penny to possess—batting gloves worn by Dravid during his recordpartnership with V.V.S. Laxman at Eden Gardens that eventually helped India humble themighty Aussies earlier this year; Kumble’s ‘perfect ten’ pictures andscore-card of the ten wickets he bagged against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999; Srinath’scricket blazer of the early ’90s tour of Sri Lanka.
"The cause of adoption got a lot of attention," said Dr Saraswati, presidentof Su-datta, a support group that co-hosted the auction along with India ChildcareFoundation. About Rs 2.50 lakh was garnered at the auction. Kumble’s ‘perfectten’ alone fetched Rs 75,000.
B.R. Srikanth
The magical ‘K’ Word
On October 1, the local Vijay TV formally merged with the Star group to become Star-Vijayand has been offering a whole new fare targeted primarily at women. It has roped inKhushboo for a serial eyeing the prime-time market that wll be up for grabs after RashikaSarath Kumar’s super-hit serial Chitti winds up this month. Meanwhile, onOctober 22, market leader Sun is launching yet another channel: K-TV. Now, "K"is supposed to stand for "Kondaattam" (meaning celebrations), but wags say itcould actually stand for Kalanidhi Maran, Sun TV ceo, or why, even Karunanidhi! Thenew-look Star-Vijay has upped its ad-spend and Sun finally seems to have seriouscompetition, especially for the more urbanised audience.
S. Anand
Film Review
Paandavar Bhoomi **
Director: Cheran; Starring: Raj Kiran, Arun Kumar,Samhita
Cheran’s Paandavar Bhoomi is about how a goody-goody joint family, headed bya Yudhishtira-like big brother (Raj Kiran), is hounded out of a nameless Ideal Village(flush with dam-enabled water and greenery) by a villain who’s a Villain because hebrings a tractor for farming. The youngest sister of the family falls for a man from theenemy camp and elopes. The Bheema-like third brother (excellent performance by Ranjith)sickles away the heads of newlyweds. He goes to jail while Raj Kiran and Co. head for a14-year vanvas in urbandom and succeed in textile business. (Hidden message: goodlandlords can turn good capitalists). The patriarch sets foot again in his village (nowdriving a Qualis). He hires an engineer (Arun Kumar) to build a bungalow who, in turn,falls for Raj Kiran’s niece (Samhita). But this 20-year-old is supposed to marry her40-year-old Uncle Ranjith who is to return from jail soon. The film is riddled with shamdidacticism. Men make all the decisions; women obey without a murmur. Cheran alsoadvocates that all of us must return to villages and preserve "its culture". Acrude nostalgia for feudalism and patriarchy.
S. Anand
**** Must See *** Good ** Watchable * Avoidable
