SAJAforum

FILM: Satyajit Ray's films at Lincoln Center

Join SAJA for a webcast about the films of Satyajit Ray...

Discuss the work of Satyajit Ray, one of the most influential directors of all time, with Richard Pena, one of the leading film scholars of our time. From the legendary Apu trilogy — Ray’s groundbreaking debut saga that influences filmmakers to this day — he is widely considered India’s greatest filmmaker. Pena, who is the Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, will talk about Ray and the program Pena has curated, April 15-30 at the Walter Reader Theater, "First Light: Satyajit Ray from the Apu Trilogy to the Calcutta Trilogy."
MODERATOR: Aseem Chhabra, SAJA board member and entertainment writer

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
11 am-noon ET (see local time around the world: http://bit.ly/2y4xfR)
Listen live or to a recording here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/04/14/Satyajit-Ray-films-with-Richard-Pena
or call into (347) 324-5991

Post your comments/questions below or send them to saja[at]columbia.edu

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For any art-film fanatic, Satyajit Ray's name represents an era of fine filmmaking and  successful storytelling.

The same era, via Ray's films will now be relived at the film series at the Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center, beginning April 15, 2009.

According to the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Web site, the film series is being presented by FSLC and Columbia University in collaboration with the Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center at the University of California-Santa Cruz and the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.

The series will feature Ray’s cinema from the first half of his career, which started in 1955 with the movie “Pather Panchali.”

From his directorial debut in 1955 to 1966, Ray had written and directed 13 films including “Aparajito” and “Apur Sansar (The World of Apu),” which are a part of the "Apu Triology."

“First Light: Satyajit Ray From the Apu Trilogy to the Calcutta Trilogy” runs through April 30.

Here is the list of films and showtimes.

FILMS: Q&A with Mehul Shah, director of "Bollywood Beats"

Sitting at Starbucks, talking to his friends, Mehul Shah had his first idea to make a movie. And he didn’t let the idea go. 

In 2003, soon after he graduated from Southern Methodist University in filmmaking, Shah collaborated with one of his friends, Mansi Patel, and completed a short independent movie called "Diwali."

That was the beginning of a dream for the 27-year-old Dallas native. After five years, Shah is ready with his latest movie "Bollywood Beats." The movie premiered at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival this week.

A fun, comic movie that delves into various issues in the India-American community, "Bollywood Beats" raises questions on various levels. From homosexuality to extra-marital affairs and dreaming out-of-the-box, the movie talks about them but in a lighthearted way.

As Shah says, “It’s a dreamer’s story,” full of music and moves. Songs from different eras from Bollywood and lively music from the U.K.-based rapper Hard Kaur and Canadian artist Bilz liven up the ambiance.

Here are the excerpts from an interview with Shah outside The Magnolia theater hours before the screening of "Bollywood Beats."

How did your interest in film making start?

I’ve always been fond of films. Movies are always a great escape. Ever since I was a little kid, I was able to be watch Bollywood and Hollywood films. I got a good blend of both cinemas and that kind of affected my upbringing of wanting to bring those two together. I wanted to see what I could do with it. I just decided to major in it and study it more, go more in-depth about history of films.

What is "Bollywood Beats" all about?

ADVERTISING: Israeli Arms Manufacturer Lures India, Or At Least, It Tries

One of Israel's major arms manufacturing companies, Rafael, thought the smartest way to attract the Indians to buy their new weapons system would be to produce a Bollywood style video advertisement. I ran into this video as I was reading the Switchblog:

Defence Professionals, a website that covers international defence community, says in this article that India has been shifting its arms supply from Russia to Israel in recent years.

In 2008, Rafael won a contract worth some $ 340 million to provide 18 Spyder- short-range air defense systems as the Indian Air Force’s low-level quick reaction missile system (LLQRM). The Israeli company is now pushing the Spyder MR (medium-range) variant of the missile, with a range of 35 kilometers, as the Indian Army’s next Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) as well as the Spike MANPAD missile system.

According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade, Rafael currently works with several big arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. More here:

Rafael expects orders worth $600m for Gill/Spike from Europe and seems likely to get them as the Netherlands, Finland and Poland ⁹ have already ordered the weapon. Gill/Spike is also operational in Singapore. ¹⁰

Other Rafael exports include the Barak ship-borne anti-missile system to Chile and Singapore,¹¹Popeye missiles to South Korea, ¹²and a co-production agreement with Turkey for Popeye II missiles.¹³

And now India. Wonder if the video sealed the deal.

Please post your thoughts below.

SLUMDOG: Liveblogging the Oscars

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IN ADDITION TO THE LIVE BLOG BELOW, we will also be on Twitter - http://twitter.com/sajahq. Another place to watch and comment live: Saavn/Facebook commenting at Saavn.com (similar to the CNN/Facebook commenting during the presidential inauguration).

RIGHT AFTER THE SHOW:
SAJA/SAMMA live, two-hour call-in show begins as soon as the Best Picture Oscar is announced: Sunday night, 11:45 pm-1:45 am NYC time; 8:45 pm-10:45 pm Hollywood time; Monday, 10:15 am-12:15 pm Bollywood time; (see local time around the world: http://snurl.com/ca2x0)

~~~

11:55 pm ET: SLUMDOG OSCAR #8: Best Picture

11:20 pm ET: SLUMDOG OSCAR #7: Danny Boyle for Best Director

11:05 pm ET: Freida Pinto presents the Best Foreign Film category with Liam Neeson

SLUMDOG: Opinion, essay roundup

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Don't forget SAJA/SAMMA's live, two-hour call-in show that begins as soon as the Best Picture Oscar is announced: Sunday night, 11:30 pm-1:30 am NYC time

Everyone, it seems, has an opinion about "Slumdog Millionaire." And with the Oscars being announced Sunday night, those opinions are being spouted all over the place - in Los Angeles, in Mumbai and everywhere in between. So here is the START of a roundup of the opinion pieces surrounding Slumdog (it's too much work to keep typing out the full title or to worry about quote marks). In order to make it more exhaustive (and exhausting to read!) please post essays, blog posts, links, etc, in the comments section below.

~~~

Before I get to the roundup, however, I wanted to get a little personal and  recount some of what happened this week across three generations of Sreenivasans, tell you of a childhood incident and share how I made peace with Oscar.

As we were planning this weekend's Academy Award-viewing plans, I mentioned them to my 5-year-old twins, Durga and Krishna. "Oscar Award?" asked Krishna, "is that when they give awards for garbage?" - referring, of course, to the green, garbage-can-inhabiting Muppet on Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch.

As I tried to correct him, I realized his description of the Oscars would please his grandfather, my dad, T.P. Sreenivasan. If he'd heard Krishna, he might have said, "Yes, that's about right." After all, that's basically what my father thinks of the worthiness of Slumdog. He captured his feelings about the movie in a piece in India's Rediff.com entitled "Exploiting India." Among the, er, highlights:

* Having read the novel and seen the film, I cannot say that it has done more good than harm to India. This is not a matter of my wanting to shove the reality under the carpet.

SLUMDOG: Oscar viewing parties and more

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Several NYC-based journalists have asked if there are desi viewing parties for the Oscars - and we presume journalists in other cities will want to know about versions in their area. Below is a list of the events that SAJAforum knows about. If you know of any Slumdog-related events in the U.S. or Canada, please add them in the comments section.

NYC:

• Indo-American Arts Council & Children's Hope Party & Benefit
• Columbia University's largest South Asian group, Club Zamana, and LGBT communities unite for party to celebrate Slumdog & Milk

DC:

• Saturday-night pre-Oscar party to benefit Hamara Foundation (which supports street children in Mumbai)

WEBCAST: Post-Oscar call-in show about "Slumdog Millionaire"

Listen to a recording:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/02/23/Slumdog-Millionaire-Post-Oscar

Don't forget: SAJAforum will be liveblogging the Oscars themselves at the link here and AFTER the telecast, will be hosting the event below.

On Sunday, Feb. 22, as soon as the Best Picture Oscar is announced, join SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association) and SAMMA (South Asians in Media and Marketing Association) on BlogTalkRadio for a live two-hour webcast and call-in show about "Slumdog Millionaire."

• Film experts, journalists and others will discuss the phenomenon that the movie has become and why - no matter how it does at the Oscars - it will be talked about for years to come.
• We will look at every aspect of the film - its origin as Vikas Swarup's novel; how it almost never made it to the screen; the reviews around the world; its Golden Globe and BAFTA success; how it was marketed and promoted in ways never seen before; the controversies surrounding it and much, much more.
• We will also have live reports from the post-Oscar parties in various cities, including the official Fox Searchlight party for "Slumdog" cast and crew in Hollywood as well as live reaction from Mumbai.
• Confirmed speakers so far include:
  Cyndi Stivers, managing editor, EW.com, the website of Entertainment Weekly (see EW's coverage)
  Rita Drucker, senior VP of feature film promotions for 20th Century Fox
  Maria Giovanna, blogger, Filmiholic.com, a blog about all things Bollywood
  Anna John, blogger, SepiaMutiny.com
  Minal Hajratwala, author of the forthcoming "Leaving India: My Family's Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents" and a critic of the film (see her critiques here and here) - and read her blog post that tells you how you can help specific organizations deal with specific problems/issues shown in the slums of Mumbai 
  Aseem Chhabra, SAJA board member and arts writer who has been commenting on the film for everyone from Good Morning America to NPR to India Abroad (see AseemChhabra.com)
  Raakhee Mirchandani, fashion reporter, New York Post

FILM: India frets, tweets, celebrates over "Slumdog Millionaire"

We know than no controversial film release is complete in India without a lawsuit, several street protests and offended religious groups. And so it goes with "Slumdog Millionaire." Let's start with Tapeshwar Vishwakarma, general secretary of Slum Dwellers’ Joint Action Committee: he filed a complaint because he believed the film’s name defames slum-dwellers by calling them ‘slumdogs’.

Erika Kinetz in the Huffington Post: "Protesters held up banners reading "Poverty For Sale" and "I am not a dog" outside Anil Kapoor's House’."

A Hindu group in Goa demanded a ban on the release of the film, saying a few scenes in the award-winning film denigrate Lord Ram. Then they went further:

A mob of Shiv Sena activists threw stones at and ransacked a multiplex cinema in Panaji on Friday for screening internationally acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire."

The film, which has already won several Golden Globe awards and has been nominated in 10 Oscar categories, has been the target of Hindu right wing groups, who claim that the movie hurts Hindu sentiments.

The Panaji police arrested 12 activists, including Goa Shiv Sena unit chief Upendra Gaonkar, for the attack.

The police said the Shiv Sainiks have been booked for tearing posters and breaking the glass facade of the only multiplex in Panaji.

In the midst of all the hype-joy and despair-aggravation, AFP reports from Mumbai, a day after the release:

Newspapers reported a good turnout for the film on its first day, receiving praise from cinema-goers for the strength of its story, cinematography and music.

Nevertheless, some expressed disappointment, saying it failed to live up to the hype, was not as good as Vikas Swarup's book "Q and A," on which it was based, or that it gave a foreigner's view of India and poverty.

Cinema managers were reportedly expecting attendance to pick up over the weekend, but one highlighted how the film was viewed in certain quarters in the home of Bollywood.

"'Slumdog' is big but it is essentially a Hollywood film," Joydeep Ghoshroy, general manager for marketing and sales at PVR Cinemas, told the Hindustan Times.

The LA Times also got a sense from Indians who’ve seen the film:

Reporting from Mumbai, India -- Even as American audiences gush over "Slumdog Millionaire," some Indians are groaning over what they see as yet another stereotypical foreign depiction of their nation, accentuating squalor, corruption and impoverished-if-resilient natives
<snip>

WEBCAST: Danny Boyle, director of "Slumdog Millionaire"

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Listen to the Danny Boyle webcast via the player above or via this link.

To get a flavor of the webcast, here is a three-minute segment where Boyle answers questions about the future of the child actors from the slums and whether he knows someone as lucky as Jamal - his answers might surprise you:

Boyle on the child actors & more (3:07 in MP3) - full webcast above.

Four days after he was nominated for a best director Oscar and his film received nine other nominations - and three days after its opening in India - Danny Boyle talks about "Slumdog Millionaire" in a live SAJA/SAMMA webcast (if you miss it live, you can catch the recording at BlogTalkRadio.com/saja). What should we ask him? Post questions in the comments section below. (Below, you will find links to SAJA webcasts with A.R. Rahman, who has three Oscar nominations and Vikas Swarup, whose novel helped Simon Beaufoy get a best adapted screenplay nomination).

Monday, Jan. 26, 2009
Noon-1 pm New York time
9-10 am Hollywood time
10:30-11:30 pm Bollywood time
See local time around the world: http://snurl.com/anhrr

Co-hosts: Aseem Chhabra, entertainment writer and SAJA co-founder; and Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia J-school professor and SAJA co-founder.

Listen live, or later to a recording:
(you can go and set an e-mail reminder for yourself)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/01/26/Danny-Boyle-director-of-Slumdog-Millionaire

or listen live via your phone by dialing this NYC number +1-347-324-5991

Send your questions/comments via e-mail to saja[at]columbia.edu (subject = webcast) or by posting them in comments section below. You can also use the chatroom that will be open at the link at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/01/26/Danny-Boyle-director-of-Slumdog-Millionaire to ask questions.

As always, you are welcome to quote from anything said during the
FREE, WORLDWIDE webcasts (50+) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja

Earlier on SAJAforum, including SAJA webcasts:

• SAJAforum blogger Jyoti Gupta's extensive roundup of the response to the movie in India
• 10 Oscar nominations for "Slumdog Millionaire"
• "Slumdog Millionaire" wows critics and moviegoers
• Slumdog Millionaire wins big-big at the Golden Globes
• Aseem Chhabra's Q&A with Danny Boyle, director of "Slumdog Millionaire"
• ** Listen to webcast with A.R. Rahman, music maestro
• ** Listen to webcast with Vikas Swarup, whose novel "Q&A" became "Slumdog Millionaire"
• Slumdog stars go on media blitz

See SAJAforum blogger Jyoti Gupta's extensive roundup of the response to the movie in India.

SONG: Twinkle Twinkle, a la Carnatic, Telugu, Mallu, Punju

We posted last year on an alleged interpretation of Jack 'n Jill by KL Saigal, but of course the oeuvre is endless. Here's an actress from a Tamil sitcom in which you can experience Twinkle Twinkle in various South and North Indian renderings.

According to one YouTube commenter, the first Twinkle Twinkle she performs is in Vasantha Ragam.
I particularly like the endless laugh track, and the token suspicious neighbor who shows up near the end. Anyone know the Tamil serial, or the Bollywood film that shows up at the end of the clip? Love that dress.

For those new to the art of Indian nursery song drills, check out this video. Also, Bhai's version. And this clip has renderings of Twinkle Twinkle in Carnatic and Bollywood styles. And here's a version of Baa Baa Black Sheep, with tabla, and yet another, performed by what appears to be some sort of teacher. This Twinkle Twinkle, lip-synched by an Indian teenager in school uniform, is sped up and a little eerie. I really must pull myself away now.