Bollywood to make Musical Biopic of Iranian President...Von-Trap family vows boycott
My lodgings have been overrun by an apocalyptically lavish wedding reception...the bride is so well adorned she passed our room three hours ago and it still smells like jasmine and incense. thus far the guests have not decided to festively blow anything up, as they are very often wont to do in such situations, but the sheer number of loud speakers and loud dresses forced me to take refuge in the gift shop behind lock and key.
There are some things that every place can take pride in. India's are many and generally well appreciated by the world at large. Spices, tea and spiritual pacifists spring to mind. However in my travels here I have found some rather unexpected specialties among the experiences often lauded in this country. For instance, cookies. specifically crisp dry and distinctly-good-with-tea-or-coffee type cookies. Also, stray dogs. I would be impressed and surprised to learn of any where else in the world where stray dogs are as numerous and yet as congenial and pleasant as on the streets of new Delhi. I must admit with a greatly reduced sense of guilt that after four months in this most eclectic of nations I say with scrutinizing honesty they do not produce good cinema. Technically proficient? Certainly. Briefly entertaining? Almost always. Varied, complex, meaningful, challenging or intelligent? Not for a fleeting second. That said, i would never suggest that there are not exceptions, or that this has always been the case, but at the moment it would seem that the entire Bollywood lexicon is comprised of mashed together content and techniques from traditional Hindi musicals and archetypal dramas or straight rip-offs, usually over simplified, of already weak imported concepts. Hong Kong and American action films seem to be the big targets for Bollification at the moment(and at least since the seventies). Now, whatever hatred or cries of cultural bigotry these opinions might garner me, I only state them because it was a surprising disappointment. I have to say the most interesting stuff I came across on the flickering screen was a very theatrical and rigidly performed 1980's TV drama depicting the Ram and Sita story with Hanuman everyone’s' favorite deified flying monkey man. It was horrendously low budget, and horrendously popular, and it was interesting to me because for all it's faults it was a very honest creation. doing no more than it was intended and using human emotion rather than any technique (at all) to tell it's story. It would seem that technique as overtaken current Bollywood production to the point of near total banality. But enough ranting. A little bird told me that some good things are to come for Bollywood.
Oh and….
The president of Iran just said the holocaust never happened...
“pregnant pause”
Jimmie Stewart didn’t once say every time a holocaust denier takes public office a ICBM gets its wings. But someone should have.
Ah, it's a crazy old world.
Happy Holidays
Chris
PS
I will not be going to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal tomorrow...dont ask me why.
There are some things that every place can take pride in. India's are many and generally well appreciated by the world at large. Spices, tea and spiritual pacifists spring to mind. However in my travels here I have found some rather unexpected specialties among the experiences often lauded in this country. For instance, cookies. specifically crisp dry and distinctly-good-with-tea-or-coffee type cookies. Also, stray dogs. I would be impressed and surprised to learn of any where else in the world where stray dogs are as numerous and yet as congenial and pleasant as on the streets of new Delhi. I must admit with a greatly reduced sense of guilt that after four months in this most eclectic of nations I say with scrutinizing honesty they do not produce good cinema. Technically proficient? Certainly. Briefly entertaining? Almost always. Varied, complex, meaningful, challenging or intelligent? Not for a fleeting second. That said, i would never suggest that there are not exceptions, or that this has always been the case, but at the moment it would seem that the entire Bollywood lexicon is comprised of mashed together content and techniques from traditional Hindi musicals and archetypal dramas or straight rip-offs, usually over simplified, of already weak imported concepts. Hong Kong and American action films seem to be the big targets for Bollification at the moment(and at least since the seventies). Now, whatever hatred or cries of cultural bigotry these opinions might garner me, I only state them because it was a surprising disappointment. I have to say the most interesting stuff I came across on the flickering screen was a very theatrical and rigidly performed 1980's TV drama depicting the Ram and Sita story with Hanuman everyone’s' favorite deified flying monkey man. It was horrendously low budget, and horrendously popular, and it was interesting to me because for all it's faults it was a very honest creation. doing no more than it was intended and using human emotion rather than any technique (at all) to tell it's story. It would seem that technique as overtaken current Bollywood production to the point of near total banality. But enough ranting. A little bird told me that some good things are to come for Bollywood.
Oh and….
The president of Iran just said the holocaust never happened...
“pregnant pause”
Jimmie Stewart didn’t once say every time a holocaust denier takes public office a ICBM gets its wings. But someone should have.
Ah, it's a crazy old world.
Happy Holidays
Chris
PS
I will not be going to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal tomorrow...dont ask me why.
posted by Chris and Nilu at 8:24 AM
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