WHY THIS KOLAVERI DI? CONQUISTA YOUTUBE

Dhanush

Non posso concludere l'anno senza dedicare un pezzo al fenomeno Why This Kolaveri Di?, brano incluso nella colonna sonora del film tamil 3, diretto da Aishwarya Rajinikanth e interpretato dal marito Dhanush e da Shruti Haasan. La nota canzone è stata composta dal giovanissimo Anirudh Ravichander (cugino di Aishwarya) al suo debutto, mentre lo spiritoso testo tanglish (un mix di tamil e inglese) è stato redatto dallo stesso Dhanush. Ed è sempre Dhanush al microfono a prestare la voce. Il video ufficiale è stato caricato in YouTube il 16 novembre 2011, e ad oggi ha registrato 27.207.000 visite e 93.000 commenti da 130 Paesi. Non si contano le versioni alternative e le parodie fiorite nel web. Why This Kolaveri Di? è il primo brano tratto da una pellicola non hindi ad essere trasmesso con grande frequenza da tutti i canali radiofonici indiani.

È molto interessante l'analisi pubblicata da The Hindu:

'Il clamoroso successo di Kolaveri Di è stato salutato dai commentatori come il primo esempio indiano di marketing virale. E non solo: con Kolaveri Di è balzato al centro dell'attenzione il cambiamento nei rapporti che si intrecciano fra cinema e web. Gli utenti della rete, provenienti da ogni parte dell'India, hanno remixato, rimontato, riutilizzato il video per creare una propria narrazione. Inoltre, sino ad ora, erano solo i filmati a sfondo pornografico o voyeuristico a registrare un numero altissimo di visite. Kolaveri Di è il primo caso in India di un video di tipo diverso che diviene così famoso semplicemente perché divertente e accattivante'.

Ma cosa significa il titolo del brano? Letteralmente: perché questa furia omicida, ragazza?, e per furia omicida qui si intende crepacuore (perché mi hai spezzato il cuore, ragazza?). Nel testo si incontra anche l'espressione soup song. Soup in questo caso indica qualcuno che è stato rifiutato in amore. Soup song si può tradurre con canzone di un fallimento amoroso. In breve Why This Kolaveri Di? parla di un ragazzo che è stato respinto da una ragazza, che si è ubriacato, e che, da brillo, canta chiedendosi perché sia successo.

 

Dhanush e Anirudh Ravichander

RASSEGNA STAMPA/VIDEO

Numerose testate, indiane e non, hanno dedicato articoli al fenomeno Why This Kolaveri Di?, fra cui The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Time, Los Angeles Times. 

- Why this 'Why This Kolaveri'?, Sudhish Kamath, The Hindu, 23 novembre 2011: “Director (...) said the situation demanded a light-hearted fun song about love failure. I came up with a tune in ten minutes. I don't know what kind of mood Dhanush was in... he started singing in broken English and came up with this in 20 minutes. It just happened,” recalls Anirudh'.

- Kolaveri Di: Tamil actor Dhanush's studio rendering of bathroom crooning becomes a global rage, Sangeetha Kandavel, The Economic Times, 23 novembre 2011: 'Interestingly, around 1.5 million people had watched this on youtube in four days, the largest song ever in India. (...) “We did not plan or write down this song. When I explained the scenes to Dhanush he started humming this song at home and I told him we should include this in the movie. And he immediately told me, Why this Kolaveri di (murderous rage)? That’s how the idea for this song came up,” says Aishwarya'.

- The secret behind online viral trends, Pranav Dixit, Brunch, 10 dicembre 2011. Riporto un lungo estratto, che include un'intervista concessa da Dhanush:

'On the evening of November 21, 2011, a strange-looking 10-letter word became the number one trending topic on Twitter. No one knew what it meant but everyone was suitably intrigued. The word read #kolaveridi. Clicking on it opened up a series of tweets, all with links to a YouTube page. Loading the video revealed a wholly unremarkable-looking man singing strange lyrics to a catchy beat in a recording studio as two pretty women looked on. Closer inspection revealed that one of those women was actress Shruti Haasan.

Then, the dam exploded - something happened along the way (God knows what!) - and the song Why This Kolaveri Di from an upcoming Tamil film called 3 went viral. It broke all records to become the number one searched-for song on YouTube from India. In less than two weeks, it received 17 million views and more than 75,000 comments from over 130 countries. Kolaveri, a chilled out, irreverent song about heartbreak, became the national anthem for a generation of ‘soup boys’ who ensured its popularity by playing it 24/7 on cellphones, in cars, as dialer tunes and more; and Dhanush, superstar Rajinikanth’s son-in-law, went from being a South Indian star to a household name. “It was like magic. Like some superior power was at work. You can’t predict these things. Never,” he says.

Indeed, the video has sparked hundreds of spin-offs, sequels, spoofs and remixes, each of which has gone viral in its own right - there’s a heavy metal version of Kolaveri Di, a Marathi version, a female version, a cute-as-hell version by Sonu Nigam’s four-year-old son and even one that stars - go figure - Adolf Hitler! The Japanese are dancing to it; heck, there’s even Kolaveri merchandise. And despite some criticism - lyricist Javed Akhtar called it a song with an ordinary tune, substandard singing and words that insult sensibilities - the juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. (...)

“I think the song appeals to so many people for a number of reasons - the music is hummable, the lyrics are really simple and heartbreak is an emotion that appeals to everybody. We put it up on the Internet because somehow, we were sure that the song would travel beyond its core markets of Chennai and South India,” says Arjun Sankalia, director, special projects, Sony Music India. (...)

Dhanush, the man behind the ‘funny’ lyrics of Kolaveri Di, on how it feels to be part of a viral phenomenon

From South Indian star to global viral phenomenon! Are you on top of the world?

It feels REALLY nice, especially because this is not something that we were aiming at. It was a humble, honest attempt and it paid off splendidly. I must say that the response we got was completely unprecedented.

Whose idea was it to record a video of a recording session and put it up on YouTube?

Well, what happened was that a rough version of the song was somehow leaked from our computer on to YouTube. We didn’t want to the public getting their hands on an unfinished version like that. So we decided to release it officially on YouTube as well.

It was around midnight and we were exhausted after an entire day of shooting for 3. But we still managed to shoot and record it in about 30 minutes. To tell the truth, we simply recorded a regular jamming session. It’s not like we laboured over the lyrics and the composition for hours. We didn’t rehearse, there were no retakes or anything like that. I think that the video reflects the simplicity of the song itself.

When did you realise it had gone viral?

In about two or three days. Suddenly, we were getting swamped with calls and messages. When I saw the number of views on YouTube, my heart jumped into my mouth.

You have your fair share of critics who say that the song isn’t really that special. Why do you think it has become such a rage?

I really think it’s because of the funny lyrics...

You wrote them yourself, right?

Yes, I did. I just strung together the most commonly used English words in the Tamil language. The irreverence of the song, the Tamil accent, the mood, the simple tune... I think these are the things that broke all barriers and made it work. It’s crazy to be a part of something like this!

Have you sung playback before?

Oh yes, I’ve sung about six to eight songs in various Tamil films here and all of them have been hits regionally.

So what’s next? Bollywood?

(Laughs) You know it’s funny. Last year, I won the National Award for Best Actor for my Tamil film Aadukalam. No one there knew my name. It’s amazing now that when I visit other parts of the country, people say “Oh, you’re the Kolaveri guy!” That said, I’m getting a lot of offers to cut an album... they want Anirudh (the composer of the song) and I to make different versions of the song... maybe even a Kolaveri sequel! Also, the pressure to release the film nationally has now gone up, so we’re looking into that as well'.

- Video Zoom TV: intervista concessa da Dhanush, Anirudh Ravichander e Shruti Haasan

- Video Business of Cinema: caotica intervista concessa da Dhanush nella quale l'attore accenna al testo modificato in onore di Amitabh Bachchan

- Video India Today: partecipazione di Dhanush al Mind Rocks: India Today Youth Summit 2011 a Chennai. Dhanush, imbarazzatissimo, improvvisa un'esibizione.

- Video The Times of India: partecipazione di Dhanush al flash mob organizzato a Mumbai il 21 dicembre 2011 da Mumbai Mirror

- Video: CNN International dichiara Why This Kolaveri Di? 'top song of the year' (aggiornamento del 29 dicembre 2011)

- Video Bollywood Hungama: Dhanush dedica Why This Kolaveri Di? ad Amitabh Bachchan (aggiornamento del 2 gennaio 2012)

Il blog The Kolaveri Wall raccoglie le diverse versioni del brano, fra cui:

- versione del piccolo Nevaan, figlio del celebre cantante Sonu Nigam (4.000.000 di visite in tre settimane)

- versione punjabi (706.000 in due settimane)

- flash mob a Auckland (quasi 400.000 in una settimana)

- versione con Tom & Jerry (258.000 in due settimane)

- How could you do this to me? versione R&B inglese (54.000 in due settimane)

- Where Is Democracy Di? versione satirica pachistana (17.000 in una settimana)

Vedi anche #kolaveridi #ko(s)mikbuzz, 29 dicembre 2011

Aggiornamento del 24 aprile 2012: la pellicola tamil 3 pare non abbia incontrato i favori del pubblico, malgrado il tormentone Why This Kolaveri Di? incluso nella colonna sonora. Vi propongo il video ufficiale tratto da 3. Caricato in YouTube il 10 aprile 2012, conta ad oggi 743.000 visite. Personalmente preferisco il filmato originario girato in studio di registrazione - ad oggi più di 53 milioni di visualizzazioni -, anche se le coreografie maschili sono sempre divertenti.

Aggiornamento del 16 dicembre 2021: 300 milioni di visualizzazioni.

EKTA KAPOOR: LA VERA SIGNORA DI BOLLYWOOD

Forse il trend non continuerà, o forse la conquista femminile di Bollywood è ormai compiuta. È indubbio che il 2011 termini in India con la deflagrante esplosione di The dirty picture, pellicola innovativa nel panorama della cinematografia hindi per un nugolo di ragioni. The dirty picture rientra nel filone masala dei film indiani di intrattenimento, con danze, canzoni, colori, amore, commedia, dramma. Ma è una pellicola tutta al femminile: narra la storia di una donna, è interpretata da un'attrice - Vidya Balan - dotata e consistente, ed è finanziata da una produttrice - Ekta Kapoor - che con una manciata di titoli sta rivoluzionando le regole tradizionali dell'industria dei sogni di Mumbai. Il tema investigato da The dirty picture è molto audace per gli standard del cinema popolare indiano: il genere softcore in lingua tamil degli anni ottanta del secolo scorso.

Ma chi è Ekta Kapoor? 36 anni, figlia della star Jeetendra e sorella dell'attore Tusshar Kapoor, Ekta è la proprietaria della casa di produzione Balaji Telefilms, che dal 1994 ha realizzato una miriade di soap opera di successo. Nel 2001 Ekta fonda la Balaji Motion Pictures e debutta nel mondo del cinema. Sino al 2011, finanzia undici titoli (e ne coproduce quattro), fra cui:

* Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010) di Dibakar Banerjee, il botto che tramortisce pubblico e critica, la pellicola ad oggi forse più scioccante del cinema indiano a beneficiare di una larga distribuzione, di certo molto trasgressiva per la tradizione locale, e pionieristica nell'uso originale della tecnologia digitale. Per la prima volta la censura consente di includere la parola sex nel titolo di un film;

* Once upon a time in Mumbaai (2010), stiloso gangster movie di Milan Luthria, con Ajay Devgan e Emraan Hashmi (è in cantiere il sequel, diretto da Luthria e interpretato da Akshay Kumar);

* Shor in the city (2011) di Raj & DK;

* Ragini MMS (2011), horror di grande successo di Pavan Kirpalani, realizzato con tecnologia digitale;

* The dirty picture (2011) di Milan Luthria.

Scorrendo i film prodotti da Ekta Kapoor, balzano all'occhio alcune caratteristiche comuni. Innanzitutto una singolare predilezione per l'horror, genere non troppo amato in India. Poi il sostegno a registi non appartenenti al giro che conta ma che stanno rimescolando le carte dell'ortodossia estetica bollywoodiana. L'ingaggio di attori in ruoli inaspettati (Emraan Hashmi in OUATIM e in The dirty picture, Tusshar Kapoor in Shor in the city, Naseeruddin Shah e soprattutto Vidya Balan in The dirty picture, Akshay Kumar nel sequel di OUATIM). Nessun timore di abbracciare un tema considerato audace come il sesso (che traina al successo anche l'horror Ragini MMS). Budget di bassa o media entità, resi possibili anche grazie all'esclusione di sequenze girate in location straniere e all'assenza nei cast di superstar (con l'eccezione di Devgan e Akshay Kumar).

Colpisce poi la lungimiranza nella selezione delle campagne promozionali a sostegno dei titoli Balaji, campagne accattivanti ma mai invasive, sempre originali e ben concepite. L'industria cinematografica indiana (e non solo) rimase piacevolmente sorpresa dall'affissione, in diverse città, di manifesti di OUATIM realizzati a mano, con la stessa tecnica utilizzata negli anni settanta e seguendo lo stesso stile grafico. Da manuale anche l'azzeccatissima promozione relativa a The dirty picture, inaugurata con largo anticipo - come è ormai in uso a Mumbai - ma misurata a creare le giuste aspettative, senza eccedere in clamori o sovraesposizioni. Da sottolineare che The dirty picture è stato sostenuto e promosso con la convinzione tipica con cui si promuovono le pellicole imperniate su figure maschili e interpretate da superstar, ponendo l'accento sull'intrattenimento puro (omettendo dunque il risvolto tragico nella vita della protagonista), ed eludendo scaltramente l'errore nel quale si incorre in India quando si pubblicizza un titolo al femminile, quello cioè di indurre il pubblico a credere che si tratti di un film d'autore.

In questa lunga intervista concessa il 3 dicembre 2011 da Ekta Kapoor a Brunch, si legge:

'Ritengo che negli affari l'aspetto commerciale sia importante quanto quello creativo. E ciò va tenuto a mente. Le mie pellicole sono diverse ma onestamente non le definirei molto coraggiose. Ad esempio: LSAD e Shor in the city sono inusuali, realizzati sulla base di una certa idea, destinati ad un certo pubblico, e hanno funzionato. OUATIM è un regolare film commerciale. Secondo me è The dirty picture il più coraggioso, perché per la prima volta ho tentato di mescolare i due aspetti e di raggiungere comunque le masse. Da un lato ho prodotto una pellicola su un'attrice soft porno tutta sesso e nudo, e dall'altro ho preteso che non fosse una semplice esposizione di sesso e di nudo. E nemmeno una storia triste. La protagonista non è una vittima, bensì una donna audace e del tutto non apologetica che celebra la sua sessualità e diviene una forza con cui fare i conti. È stato davvero piuttosto complicato e decisamente azzardato produrlo, ma ho corso il rischio'.

L'intervista è molto interessante e rivelatrice, per cui vi propongo di seguito il testo integrale: 

'It was the beginning of the year 2000. Satellite TV had arrived in India just under 10 years ago and was already charting unconventional territory with serials such as Hasratein, Tara, Swabhimaan etc, which dealt with women friends, working women, forbidden love and other such themes. It was all quite different from what TV audiences were used to - but they were loving it. That’s when Ekta Kapoor walked into the Star Plus office with her "different" story ideas.

"Different" is a mild term. Ekta’s serials were traditional, melodramatic and a throwback to another era altogether, when mothers-in-law were nasty and wicked and daughters-in-law cringe-makingly subservient. "So out of sync with the nation’s modern, progressive psyche," cried the critics. There was overall consensus that with sagas like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, TV had regressed by 20 years.

But that was then. Today, Ekta still does TV but she has shifted her focus to movies. And her 70mm avatar is nothing like her small screen persona. As a film producer, she has some very unconventional, interesting films to her credit. (...) Her foray into films has revealed a new, improved Ekta. A no-holds barred interview with the new Ms Kapoor.

From soap queen on television to a movie czarina, you seem to have made the transition quite effortlessly.

Wow! Does it look like that? (laughs). Quite the contrary, actually. Though I have to confess that I had great fun on TV and am beginning to have fun in films too. I say ‘beginning,’ because in films I am still a newbie. We are just about starting up and it is rather tough. We are the newest studio, with no background of filmmaking, no money, no international associations and not too much to talk about - except for a couple of small budget films. So really, why would anybody risk working with us?

That’s not really true. After all, you were the biggest TV production house. And when it comes to films, there is always your father’s name, Jeetendra, that works, right?

I knew you would say that! Of course, dad’s name counts, and that gets a lot of respect. But the fact of that respect turning into work is not a given. Having said that, work comes and people are ready to risk working with you if you are established in some ways. For me, there really was nothing. I had done TV but had no experience in films. I had done films but they were a one-off or in collaboration with other production houses. Till of course Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) happened. I call that my beginning.

How did LSD happen?

I met Dibakar (Banerjee, the director of LSD) and he wanted to make a film that was somewhat commercial in nature but also experimental. He didn’t require a big budget, but he wanted a producer who would understand the storyline and not interfere too much with the creative aspect. He had done some good films earlier, but both Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! were modest in nature and appeal. With LSD, he wanted to push the envelope. We were happy to do that. So in a way, LSD was also a good start for me.

That it was. The kind of films that you have made, whether it’s LSD, Shor In The City, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai or even Ragini MMS and now The Dirty Picture, they are all so contemporary. In fact, they seem to be taking the film industry years ahead. That, coming from a production house blamed for taking television 20 years into the past is quite a change.

I really don’t believe that I set TV back by 20 years. People, well, critics to be specific, said so. I never did. In fact, I love the work I did on TV. And going by the TRPs, so did the masses. Yes, it was populist in nature, so it just didn’t suit the elite. But it did what it was meant to do - reach out to the masses. It isn’t anything new. In fact, it is rather common to pull down anything populist. My serials created icons. Tell me, can anybody deny what a Kahaani or a Kyunki did to regular households? (...) So how can something that completely takes over the psyche of almost the entire nation be so wrong? I really feel that if I justify them, I demean them. I think Kyunki and Kahaani were just brilliant.

Does that mean that the nation doesn’t get moved by more intelligent stuff?

I agree that my serials were not the most intellectual or intelligent in nature. But you cannot deny that they were ‘thinking’ dramas. They were thought-provoking yet very simplistic. And it was perhaps the simplicity of the situations and the characters that connected.

Coming back from the dead, going to bed in full makeup and jewellery... really simple?

Look, I tell stories. It is the stories that connect. The rest is the paraphernalia. Daily serials are your daily dose of entertainment. They need to be a mix of drama, sometimes high energy. The jewellery and the costumes add to the aspirational touch. (...)

And what of those headache-inducing jerky camera movements during important scenes?

But that was the TV style of the time! There really was no great technique available. And don’t forget we were catering to an audience that was a mix of a mother who was perhaps also cooking for the family, a father who could have switched to a news channel, kids who were busy with other things and grandparents who just may have dozed off in the middle. So when you needed to grab the attention of all these people, you had to use ways and means that would get them hooked. You needed to make sure that every person, even the one who had just walked in, waited for the climax.

But didn’t the drama become a bit too much? If you say you started realistically, didn’t it all go haywire with so many new characters, silly plots like the mother killing the son, extramarital affairs etc?

By the end of it, around 2008 or so, I agree, we somewhere lost the plot. And that was because I honestly was threatened. I was scared of Colors being launched and I started doing what others told me to do. My storylines and plots were more according what other people thought they should be. I guess I stopped thinking. I stopped being myself. So obviously things did go a bit haywire.

And then came the famous low point of Ekta Kapoor...

That’s the point, it wasn’t my low point. Yes, professionally things did go awry, but what I did not understand was why were people writing me off completely. Critics, rivals, everybody seemed to be having a field day at my cost. Rivals claimed I was paying money to actors to give up acting in their serials. Tabloids wrote that my brother and I were fighting over property and other personal issues, leading to the downfall of Balaji. A lot of machinations happened. It wasn’t nice.

What did you do?

After a point, I stopped reading the papers. I still don’t read them. And that was the phase when I learnt to disassociate myself at a personal level from everything. Now I treat my profession as just that. I don’t get affected by what people say. I do exactly what I feel is right. I just believe in one thing, I came into the industry in spite of huge resistance. I survived and made it to the top, in spite of all the criticism and I will make it work again.

You talk of catering to the audience but isn't the audience the same for films? Then, how are your films so different?

(Laughs) Movies, unlike TV, are like hotel food. You pick and choose what you order and eat. So in movies, I do exactly what I want to do. Here also, my basic premise is a good storyline, but the presentation is more my way. Also, in a film, you have to pack every element in two-and-a-half hours. So whatever is shown needs to be packaged perfectly. The impact has to be made in one go.

But your films have also been brave.

I have always believed that whatever be the creative outlook, commerce is very important in any business. And that has to be kept in mind. My films have been different, but honestly I wouldn’t call them very brave. Not LSD, nor Shor In The City, for example. They were different films, made with a certain mindset, for a certain audience, and they worked. Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai was your regular commercial film. For me, what is brave is The Dirty Picture. I have tried to mix the two - the classes and the masses -  for the first time. On one side, I have made a film about a soft porn superstar. She was all skin and sex. And on the other side, I am claiming that hey, this is not a film about her skin and sex show. Also, it isn’t a sob story either. She wasn’t a victim. Yet, this is her story. It is about a woman, who was bold, in your face and completely unapologetic. She celebrated her sexuality. She became a force to reckon with.

So it is really quite tricky (laughs). To make a movie about a sex siren that is not a documentary and make it in such a way that it is not titillating, is definitely a brave attempt. I have taken a risk with this one. A big gamble. This can swing any way.

Your casting too has been very unconventional. Who would have thought of Vidya Balan as Silk Smitha?

That’s the fun. You get people who are not known for what you want to cast them as. It’s a challenge but it works wonderfully. The surprise element is great. For me, this entire film has been a gamble. I started The Dirty Picture with a loss. (...) People told me not to take it up. I did. People told me not to cast Vidya in this role. I did. The same people today are stunned.

Talking of casting, why haven’t you cast any of the Khans in your films?

Well, I would love to, if only they agree to work with me (laughs). Like I said, I am still a newbie and it will take a while maybe for big stars to have confidence in me and my films. I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan. He’s a big favourite.

Going back to the ‘people’ or ‘critics,’ they seem to have always been on your case. You are panned endlessly. Doesn’t it hurt?

Really, I couldn’t care less. I am quite stubborn that way. I do exactly what I wish to do. And as long as I connect with the people I want to connect with - my audience in this case - I don’t care about anyone else.

It is perhaps this “couldn’t care less” and aggressive attitude of yours that also gets people talking. You are known to bulldoze over your colleagues. There are also stories that you have slapped people.

Oh pleeeeeeaasse! No personal questions...

But isn’t it better to clarify the accusations?

Clarify what? There are a lot of things that are said about me. I really don’t want to talk about it at all. I feel that it gives the matter unnecessary credence. But yes, if you ask, then I will agree that I do have a temper. And when you are working on something that caters to the livelihood of some 200 people, you really don’t want to mess with it. So yes, there have been times when I have lost my temper and have got angry, but that’s natural. I take my work very seriously and I expect others to do the same. Has anybody ever realised that the anger outburst could be out of sheer helplessness?

Having said that, I don’t justify anything. And I am working hard on keeping my temper in control. Not because I feel it is wrong, but because if you are in a certain position and there is an outburst, people view it negatively. Then even a helpless expression of emotion becomes a tantrum.

That apart, tell me, if I was such a nutcase, why would people work with me for years together? Most of my people have been with me for years. (...) There has to be some merit, right?

And what of those famous 2am meetings?

Oh! I don’t have them any more. I can’t. It was different when I was younger, in my 20s. Now, I can’t do it. My health doesn’t permit it. I miss them though.

I am sure your colleagues don’t miss them!

Oh, you are mistaken - they miss it more than me. Those who worked in Balaji in the initial years crib and rant about the fact that now it isn’t the same. The creative energy and the madness of those days was just magic. And the people involved really didn’t mind or care about time schedules. In fact, they now feel that Balaji is very corporatised and sanitised. They sometimes call it boring!

You are also known to be very religious?

I am a very spiritual, karmic person. But I am not stupidly religious, as is commonly believed. I am a lot into colour therapy. I think astrology is a wonderful science and I am not unnecessarily superstitious.

So what was all that ‘K’ factor all about?

That was more of a brand exercise than anything else. We wanted the audience to identify our work instantly. The ‘K’ factor helped.

Why so many rings and threads on your wrists?

Just like that. These rings are for various things - health, love, communication, prosperity etc., and the threads - they are from the many temples that I keep visiting. They tie these there and I just don’t take them off. I like wearing them and to all those fashionistas who cry foul, I just ask, ‘why should I do what you expect me to do?’

In an interview to this newspaper nearly a decade ago, you had described yourself as a psycho, crackpot kid. You seem to have matured...

(Laughs) Yes, now I am a psycho, crackpot woman! No, seriously, you do grow with age, no? And your actions and reactions become more sorted. But I still remain an impulsive, temperamental person. I deal with people on an emotional level. You either love me or hate me. You cannot ignore me!'.

(Una curiosità: agli inizi della sua carriera, Vidya Balan era stata ingaggiata da Ekta Kapoor per la serie Hum Paanch).

Il 5 dicembre 2011 Ekta scrive sulle colonne di The Times of India:

'Truly overwhelmed with the feedback that The Dirty Picture is receiving. It’s taken the audiences by storm. I smile when I hear people calling it a game-changer and myth-buster. Somewhere it gives Team Balaji added confidence to back conviction. That’s the only way to create good, compelling content. I’ve never had a problem with criticism. Whether films or television, I’ve lived with it and emerged stronger. If someone doesn’t like something, it’s their prerogative not to like it. It’s not possible to please everyone. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to change my mental make-up. I follow my instinct.

I cannot stop gushing over the reviews that The Dirty Picture has garnered. I’m glad that people are loving it. There’s praise coming in from every quarter. It’s been a hurricane of sorts. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Vidya is the only actress who could pull this off with panache! I remember narrating the script to her and her shocked expression. I told her, “You can do it.” She transformed herself into the character and had everyone enchanted with her curves, passion and drive. Every award next year belongs to Vidya!'. (Testo integrale).

Video India Today: Ekta Kapoor ospite del programma On the couch with Koel, 3 dicembre 2011 

Video Bollywood Hungama: intervista concessa da Ekta Kapoor

BUY TOURISM ONLINE 2011

La quarta edizione dell'evento Buy Tourism Online si è svolta a Firenze dal primo al 2 dicembre 2011. In programma anche un seminario dal titolo Bollywood, il sogno. Nel sito ufficiale della manifestazione si legge:

'Il cinema di Bollywood contribuisce a costruire il sogno delle classi sociali indiane: il panel indaga su come questo sogno influenza la costruzione del viaggio (a partire dalla scelta della destinazione) e quali sono gli elementi che l’offerta turistica di un luogo, compresi i personal touch dei singoli operatori, può e deve tenere conto per non deludere le aspettative del viaggiatore indiano'.

Vi propongo il divertente video dedicato al seminario creato da Dario Salvelli.

THE ATTACKS OF 26/11

Qualche giorno fa Ram Gopal Varma ha annunciato nel suo profilo Twitter il prossimo progetto, un film dedicato alla serie di atti terroristici compiuti a Mumbai fra il 26 e il 29 novembre 2008 (e che costarono la vita a 175 persone. Fonte: Wikipedia). Il regista ha dichiarato:

'Il mio obiettivo non è solo quello di rappresentare quanto è accaduto (e che tutti abbiamo visto negli speciali televisivi), bensì anche quello di analizzare ciò che è avvenuto prima e dopo, dal momento in cui i terroristi raggiunsero le acque indiane sino alla cattura di Ajmal Kasab. Sarò assistito da Rommel Rodrigues, autore del saggio Kasab - The face of 26/11, ma la mia pellicola non si baserà su quel libro. Il film verrà realizzato anche per un pubblico internazionale, e sarà interpretato da volti nuovi allo scopo di rafforzarne il realismo'.

Secondo il giornalista Faridoon Shahryar (che un paio di giorni fa ha intervistato Varma), il titolo della pellicola dovrebbe essere The attacks of 26/11. Il regista, nel suo film, non intende giustificare nessuno, né affrontare la questione del coinvolgimento del Pakistan o del ruolo dei media, bensì sondare l'aspetto umano, provare a capire ad esempio cosa spinse Kasab ad uccidere un bambino di dieci anni alla stazione ferroviaria.

Vi ricordo che Ram Gopal Varma visitò il Taj Mahal Palace, l'albergo teatro di uno degli attacchi, all'indomani degli attentati. Il suo sopralluogo suscitò grandi polemiche in India, e provocò le dimissioni di Vilasrao Deshmukh, primo ministro dello Stato del Maharashtra e padre dell'attore Riteish (entrambi avevano accompagnato il regista). Nel sito del Corriere della Sera, in data 17 dicembre 2008 e a più di due settimane dall'accaduto, veniva riportata la notizia della visita di Varma (clicca qui).

Vi ricordo inoltre che uno dei siti colpiti fu il Leopold Cafe, locale reso celebre dal romanzo Shantaram di Gregory David Roberts. L'ormai famoso flash mob sulle note di Rang De Basanti (video), messo in atto da 200 persone il 27 novembre 2011 in uno dei luoghi degli attentati, la stazione ferroviaria Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (ex Victoria Terminus), è stato organizzato in memoria delle vittime. 

Aggiornamento del 2 gennaio 2012: intervista video concessa da Ram Gopal Varma a Bollywood Hungama (prima, seconda e terza parte).

100 HOTTEST WOMEN OF ALL TIME

Aishwarya Rai - Cannes, 2006

Il periodico americano Men's Health ha pubblicato la classifica 100 hottest women of all time. L'unica rappresentante del continente asiatico è ovviamente lei: Aishwarya Rai. La donna più bella del mondo si posiziona 44esima, con la seguente motivazione:

'Va a credito dell'incomparabile bellezza esotica di Aishwarya Rai il fatto che la diva mantenga un tale fedele seguito negli Stati Uniti, malgrado non abbia mai partecipato a grosse produzioni americane. E no, non teniamo conto del perfetto disastro che fu la commedia di spionaggio La Pantera Rosa 2, nella quale Aishwarya interpreta un'esperta criminologa che tenta di sedurre l'indifferente ispettore Clouseau (come se lui - o qualunque altro uomo - potesse resisterle). A 37 anni, la magnifica attrice bollywoodiana ed ex Miss Mondo è ancora una delle maggiori attrazioni indiane. Aishwarya ha recitato in più di quaranta film in lingua hindi, inglese e bengali'.

Ash ha battuto, fra le altre, Kim Basinger (51esima), Jennifer Lopez (60esima), Kylie Minogue (64esima), Julia Roberts (95esima).

Curiosità: tre nomi sono italiani - Monica Bellucci (21esima), Claudia Cardinale (34esima) e Sophia Loren (47esima). Conquista la corona Jennifer Aniston. 

KING KHAN - THE OFFICIAL OPUS OF SHAH RUKH KHAN

In un hotel di Mumbai domani verrà formalmente annunciata la pubblicazione del lussuoso volume King Khan - The Official Opus of Shah Rukh Khan. Il divo sarà presente all'evento e autograferà la prima copia. Il libro verrà distribuito in edizione limitata nel 2012.

Aggiornamento del 21 dicembre 2011: secondo Bollywood Hungama, per la prima volta un Opus verrà dedicato ad un attore. L'edizione limitata - mille copie - del gigantesco volume consterà di 800 pagine, sarà rilegata in pelle, peserà 37 chili (!), includerà foto e interviste inedite nonché degli estratti dal diario personale di Shah Rukh Khan. Il contenuto verrà suddiviso in tredici capitoli a tema. Tutte le copie saranno autografate dalla superstar. Fortunatamente verrà distribuita anche un'edizione diciamo tascabile di 400 pagine, ad un prezzo più accessibile, che conterrà una selezione del materiale pubblicato nella premium edition. King Khan - The Official Opus of Shah Rukh Khan sarà disponibile anche in DVD, e sarà prevista un'applicazione iTunes scaricabile per iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch e Android. Video Business of Cinema (45 minuti): presentazione del volume.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2011

Baishe Srabon

L'ottava edizione del Dubai International Film Festival si svolgerà dal 7 al 14 dicembre 2011. Vi segnalo alcuni dei titoli indiani in cartellone: Kshay (2012) di Karan Gour, Laptop (2012, bengali) di Kaushik Ganguly, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (prima mondiale), Baishe Srabon (2011, bengali) di Srijit Mukherji, Dil Se, Lagaan (2001) di Ashutosh Gowariker.

Un riconoscimento alla carriera verrà conferito a A.R. Rahman. L'8 dicembre è previsto un incontro con Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar e Priyanka Chopra. Anil Kapoor e Rahul Bose sono attesi alla manifestazione.

Aggiornamenti dell'11 dicembre 2011

- video ufficiale: Shah Rukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar e Priyanka Chopra incontrano il pubblico

- video ufficiale: red carpet di Anil Kapoor e Tom Cruise per la cerimonia d'apertura;

- video ufficiale: red carpet di Anushka Sharma

- video Ahlan!: intervista concessa da Shah Rukh

- Bollywood's Don 2 stars visit Gulf News, 8 dicembre 2011. SRK commenta il suo personaggio Don: 'I ran out of expressions and decided to pull out all the things I did earlier. It’s one of those few roles where we celebrated making the film... He’s a bad boy - he has no repressed childhood issues and we don’t go into ‘he’s a bad guy because...’.'

Anushka Sharma e Ranveer Singh - Dubai, 2011

A.R. Rahman - Dubai, 2011

Shah Rukh Khan - Dubai, 2011

Anil Kapoor - Dubai, 2011

Anil Kapoor - Dubai, 2011

Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra e Farhan Akhtar - sede di Gulf News



FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DU FILM DE MARRAKECH 2011

Shah Rukh Khan - Marrakech, 2011

L'undicesima edizione del Festival International du Film de Marrakech si svolge dal 2 al 10 dicembre 2011. Segnalo il tributo a Shah Rukh Khan previsto per il 2 dicembre, subito dopo la cerimonia d'apertura. La sera stessa, nella cornice della splendida piazza Jemaa el-Fna, verrà proiettato fuori concorso My name is Khan. Shah Rukh in queste ore è in volo per il Marocco. Preity Zinta è attesa alla cerimonia di chiusura. Vi segnalo inoltre che Aparna Sen è membro della giuria. In cartellone anche un tributo a Marco Bellocchio.

Aggiornamento del 29 dicembre 2011: video della partecipazione di Shah Rukh al festival diffuso da Business of Cinema

Aggiornamento del 24 marzo 2013: Shah Rukh Khan ha partecipato anche all'edizione 2012 della manifestazione (clicca qui).

Preity Zinta - Marrakech, 2011