18 febbraio 2012

Annual Indian Comic Con 2012

La seconda edizione dell'Annual Indian Comic Con si svolge a Delhi dal 17 al 19 febbraio 2012. Sito del Comic Con India.
Aggiornamento del 20 febbraio 2012 - Children drifting away from comics, Hindustan Times:
'The second Comic Con India (...) showcased a huge range of heroes, both new and old. (...) But the children who were once the biggest lovers of comics were largely absent. (...) Abhishek Sharma [autore di Munkeeman] agreed that more children were now increasingly drawn to interactive media. (...) "This generation of kids is more tuned in to watch television or surf internet, than read comics. (...) I'd say it is just organic growth. With increased avenues of entertainment, the kids prefer those which are more eye-catching. Most of the comic lovers are from our generation". (...) The annual event celebrates the use of cartoons and comics in the ancient Indian tradition of story-telling. (...) Indeed the comics with their increasingly darker themes and subjects seem to be catering more to young adults than kids. From epic tales being told from the antagonist's perspective, such as Ravanayana, to a graphic novel by Ari Jayaprakash based in Sonagachi, the world famous red-light district of Kolkata, the new comics seem to be breaking new grounds in story-telling. Jayaprakash said this trend meant that comics were gathering acceptance even with more mature audiences. "The central character of my story is an Aghori woman. It is based in an alternate Kolkata, which has become a dark place. Set in Sonagachi, the story has a lot of mature themes," he said. Incidentally, Aghoris were the central characters in more than one novel. Aghoris are devotees of Lord Shiva and are said to follow practices such as staying in charnel grounds and cannibalism. Indian superheroes, such as the Avatars of Vishnu, were also a big subject for many books. However, while the stories largely followed the mythologies, the illustrations had a lot of western and Japanese-style Manga comic influences with elaborate costumes and character details'. 

Daniel Craig: GQ India gennaio 2012

Il nuovo capitolo della saga di James Bond non verrà parzialmente girato in India, ma l'edizione indiana di GQ ha comunque dedicato la copertina di gennaio 2012 a Daniel Craig. Il numero è disponibile in questi giorni nelle edicole italiane.

Nicoletta Gruppi: Lo specchio danzante

Presso la libreria Azalai di Milano (via Gian Giacomo Mora n. 15), martedì 21 febbraio 2012 alle ore 18.30 Nicoletta Gruppi presenterà Lo specchio danzante - Guida ragionata a Bollywood, saggio pubblicato nel 2011. È prevista la proiezione di spezzoni di film. A proposito del volume, nel sito di Città del Sole  Edizioni si legge: 'Cinema rozzo e infantile, melenso feuilleton basato su stereotipi e strutture ripetitive, baraonda di colori e balli, belle fanciulle e amori ostacolati; per tutti, critici e non, il cinema di Bollywood è universalmente una produzione di serie B. Eppure è un’industria che gode di ottima salute, continua a resistere senza problemi alla macchina del cinema americano che ha spazzato via due scuole ben più valide e salde, come quella francese e quella italiana, ed è l’industria cinematografica più prolifica al mondo. Questo libro intende aprire una finestra accurata e obiettiva su questo particolare segmento della produzione indiana, mostrandone gli elementi di interesse, e soprattutto sottolineando la sua utilità per comprendere la società indiana, una nazione che rappresenta un sesto dell’umanità'. 
(Grazie a Giovanni per la segnalazione).

Abhishek Sharma: Munkeeman

Il regista Abhishek Sharma si lancia in un progetto del tutto nuovo: firma Munkeeman, un fumetto ispirato al fantomatico Monkey Man. Tere Bin Laden director pens graphic novel, Hindustan Times, 13 febbraio 2012: 'The graphic novel is said to be inspired by Monkey Man, a half-monkey, half-human creature, which allegedly attacked and petrified people in Delhi in 2001. This was also used as a subplot in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's film Delhi-6. “It is not just an ordinary comic. It is a tale of a monster who thinks that he's a superhero. It is a tragedy of a brother who loves his stepsister. It is an experiment of a scientist that has gone horribly wrong. It is after all a comic with a decent dose of sex and violence,” Abhishek said in a statement. “Why Munkeeman? That's the question every person who remembers the mass hysteria of 2001 is going to ask. Well, my answer is simple - he has been ignored for a very long time and before he comes back to draw some more attention to himself, let's give him his due. This is his story in his own words. He wanted someone like me to make a movie on him but for now this is the best I could do," he added'.