9 maggio 2012

Seattle International Film Festival 2012

Il Seattle International Film Festival 2012 si svolgerà dal 17 maggio al 10 giugno. Fra i titoli indiani in cartellone, vi segnalo Adaminte Makan Abu e Valley of Saints.

Una città nella storia: Mumbai Bollywood

Milano si confronta con quattro città. Oggi e domani tocca a Mumbai. Allo Spazio Teatro No'hma, alle ore 21.00, si svolge l'evento Una città nella storia: Mumbai Bollywood. L'ingresso è gratuito. 

Bikram Singha: locandina, trailer, Dhin Tak Na, Na Champa Na Chameli

Calcutta, anzi, Kolkata non è solo la città che vanta il maggior numero di premi Nobel al mondo (fra cui, vado a memoria: Rabindranath Tagore - letteratura, Madre Teresa - pace, Amartya Sen - economia), e non è solo la capitale culturale dell'India. Kolkata è anche la sede della cinematografia in lingua bengali (e occasionalmente in lingua inglese), considerata la più autoriale ed europeizzata del Paese. Il neorealismo italiano è apprezzatissimo dai suoi cineasti. A Kolkata si svolge annualmente il festival del film d'autore più importante di tutto il continente asiatico. Ma a Kolkata si producono numerosi titoli commerciali, tanto che questa industria condivide con quella in lingua telugu lo stesso nomignolo: Tollywood. La superstar del cinema bengali è Prosenjit Chatterjee, celebre per gli innumerevoli ruoli in pellicole d'intrattenimento e per le rigorose interpretazioni in film d'autore. Presto potremo ammirarlo a Bollywood in Shanghai. Prosenjit è il protagonista di Bikram Singha, di Rajiv Kumar, remake bengali del successo telugu Vikramarkudu, e quindi cugino di Rowdy Rathore. Vi propongo in un colpo solo locandina, trailer e i video dei brani Dhin Tak Na, composto da Shree Pritam, e Na Champa Na Chameli, composto da Bappi Lahiri.

The secret to writing a bestseller in India

Vi segnalo l'articolo The secret to writing a bestseller in India, di Mukti Jain Campion, pubblicato oggi nel sito della BBC. L'India è il terzo mercato al mondo per l'editoria in lingua inglese, dopo gli Stati Uniti e il Regno Unito, ma gli osservatori ritengono che scalzerà presto gli avversari per posizionarsi trionfalmente in vetta. La classe media indiana si espande a vista d'occhio, e l'inglese è ormai la sua lingua ufficiale. Molteplici case editrici straniere stanno dunque inaugurando filiali nel subcontinente, ma devono tener conto della peculiarità demografica del Paese: un terzo della popolazione è sotto i trent'anni. Cosa legge la gioventù urbana indiana? Jeffrey Archer è lo scrittore straniero più apprezzato, tanto che i suoi nuovi lavori vengono pubblicati prima in India che altrove, e le sue visite nel subcontinente sono un successo clamoroso. L'autore indiano più venduto è Chetan Bhagat, i cui romanzi sono scritti in un inglese facilmente accessibile, a differenza della lingua aulica adottata da Salman Rushdie o da Arundhati Roy, nomi celebri all'estero ma poco commerciabili nel loro Paese d'origine. Di seguito riporto l'articolo:

'The Indian market for English books is booming. Third only to the USA and Britain, it's set to become the biggest in the world as India's middle class continues to expand rapidly over the next 10 years. Keen to get a piece of the action, international publishers are flocking to set up offices in India, while many canny Indian publishers have already been reaping big rewards from backing emerging homegrown talent. India has a demographic profile very different to the US or Britain, with more than a third of its population under 30. With literacy on the rise and a fiercely competitive education and work environment, English has become established as the language of the new middle class. Book sales are demonstrating that these young urban Indians, with more disposable income than ever before, are hungry for books that will develop their English and help them to succeed on college campuses and in the globalised offices of corporate India.
So what are Indians reading? It used to be Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, but no longer. 
Jeffrey Archer is the most successful foreign author in India. He now launches his books in India before anywhere else and his book-signing tours are big crowd-pullers. He puts his success down to the nature of his protagonists. "The Indian race is an aspiring race, and my books so often are about someone coming from nowhere and achieving something, which is what every Indian believes will happen to them - and that's a wonderful thing."
Business books, self-help books and books about India written by Indians are all selling well.
But the biggest growth has been in commercial fiction, led by a banker turned author called Chetan Bhagat whose books have become a publishing phenomenon. His first novel, Five Point Someone, published in 2004, was a laddish tale of student antics and young love set on a college campus. It became a huge bestseller, opening up a previously untapped mass market of young readers. His subsequent books have also all been fantastically successful, turning him into a nationwide celebrity. Bhagat ascribes his success to being able to catch the zeitgeist: "India is seeing a lot of change in terms of economic development and change in values and each of my five stories has connected with the youth audience in a way that other books have not. That's why they continue to patronise me and be my fans." His books are often criticised for dumbing down but it is the very accessibility of his language that attracts readers for whom English may be their second or even third language and who may previously have never bought an English book.
While Indian authors like Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy have won great international acclaim, their style of literary fiction is largely inaccessible to the majority of Indian readers. Today there are many hundreds of Indian authors trying to emulate Bhagat's success, writing in simpler language, devising fast-paced narratives with plenty of humour and, most importantly, a finger on the pulse of modern urban Indian life.
Jaishree Misra is an Indian-born novelist who lived in Britain for more than 20 years, where her first novel Ancient Promises was published. She has now switched to writing commercial fiction and moved back to live in Delhi. A three-book deal for a chick-lit series beginning with Secrets and Lies was commissioned by Harper Collins in Britain but has actually won her more readers in India. The plots feature jet-setting Indian characters, glamorous foreign locations and the prose is liberally sprinkled with luxury designer names. She has been more than willing to adapt her style for Indian readers. "I am now trying to keep my language a little simpler than before. As it is in the world of commercial fiction, you have editors breathing down your neck saying: 'Don't use big words.' "I would rebel against that in the past but now I understand. I'd rather not lose these people who are buying books in hundreds of thousands."
So what else does it take to write an Indian bestseller? Kapish Mehra of Rupa [casa editrice indiana], who first published Chetan Bhagat, has these words of advice. "There is no formula. You have to keep on looking for what the reader is expecting. Is there a certain sort of aspiration that today's youth have that is not being fulfilled? You have to constantly engage in dialogue with your target market, to speak to the reader in the language they want to be spoken to." And he is optimistic that, for those who can crack it, the rewards will prove worthwhile. "Today we have three generations of English-speaking Indians, and that will continue to grow. With every new generation we are obviously creating a bigger market".'

Bollywood's Funny Guy

Ranvir Shorey non è solo un ottimo attore, ma anche un uomo intelligente ed estremamente divertente. Vi segnalo Bollywood’s Funny Guy, l'intervista concessa da Ranvir ad Aastha Atray Banan, pubblicata da Open il 4 maggio 2012. Di seguito un estratto: 

'“Don’t say I play middle-class characters well. That’s not true. I can just ‘be anyone’. That’s the right phrase.” As friend and co-actor Vinay Pathak says, “Ranvir has this honesty that he brings to each character that makes you believe everything he does. It’s a rare talent and that’s what makes him so good.” (...) “I have a three-tier method of selection. I first see the script, then the role and then the director. I trust Rajat [Kapoor, the director] implicitly.”  Rajat (...) says, “I have high regard of him as an actor. He is an instinctive actor and that’s great. Even in his first reading of a scene, he always catches the right note. He also brings this sense of humour and endearing quality to the role that is so him.” (...) 
It’s easy to see why people relate with him on screen. He seems so normal, a rarity for actors from Bollywood. (...) His opinions on politics and the general state of our country and film industry well thought out, he seems sorted and intelligent. I almost cringe asking him, “How did films happen?” He smiles, “I am from Jalandhar, but moved to Mumbai when I was only one. My father was a film producer, so yes, I grew up on sets and all. I wanted to be a pilot, but then did so many odd jobs when I was 21 - like working in a restaurant. There was pressure at home to make money, and so I had to work. And then I started doing TV and became a VJ, because the money was good, not because I wanted to act. And then I did Ek Chhotisi Love Story. You want to hear about my first day at shoot?” he asks, and then laughs, “I played Manisha Koirala’s boyfriend. And the first shot was that I had to ring the bell of her house, and she would pull me in and tear my clothes off. I was shivering, and Manisha was laughing.” 
Since then, he has done a variety of roles; and (...) he’s managed to convince audiences and critics that he truly gets under the skin of the character. Actress and wife Konkona Sen Sharma puts it simply, “He is a compassionate actor, he makes you feel for the character. He is much better than me, actually.” But (...) Ranvir rues the futility of being a good actor in this industry. “Investors don’t want to invest in small movies. Money comes with glam, and glam comes with stars. This niche I am working in is not completely ‘niched’ yet. Don’t fall for the fallacy that small movies are doing well. A Vicky Donor has John Abraham behind it, and a Dhobi Ghat or Peepli [Live] has Aamir Khan behind it. It’s great though that they are supporting new talent. But I will always try and bridge that gap between alternative and masala movies. I will die trying if I have to.” 
But he has no problems with being an underdog. “I’d rather be an underdog and achieve something that is not supposed to be achievable, than be a star and do nothing. The fact that I have work and people like me are doing what I am doing is such a blessing. I may have been a star, but then you may have hated me.” He’s surprised though that many good scripts never turn into films. “You know, I will get two scripts. One will be great and one not so. And the one which is not good will get made. I have no clue how this happens. There are so many scripts just lying around. I still have around three movies waiting for release.” (...)
I ask Ranvir what drew him to his wife, Konkona, when he first met her, and he wickedly remarks, “So what draws a guy to a girl, ya?” I am trying to be polite now: “Maybe her eyes?” He throws back his head and laughs, “I was 35, I had had enough eyes and legs. I wanted to settle down. So yes, apart from being attracted to her, I love Koko’s ‘qualitative exactitude’. She never overdoes anything.” Konkona, on the other hand, loves the fact that with Ranvir around, there is “never a dull moment”. At home, he is either playing with his one-year-old son Haroon, which means ‘hope’ in Sanskrit, or, “[spending] hours with his gadgets,” says Konkona. “He is also an avid foodie,” reveals Vinay, “he knows all about food - what’s good, what’s healthy, what’s nutritious. He knows everything.” (...)
As I leave him, he says modestly, “Don’t be too hard on me, okay?” Well, it’s not even an option, is it?'.