Sondrio Festival 2012

L'edizione 2012 del Sondrio Festival si è svolta dal primo al 7 ottobre. Il Primo Premio Città di Sondrio 2012 è stato assegnato a A tiger dynasty, documentario indiano diretto da Subbiah Nallamuthu.

Radio Vaticana e la musica indiana

A partire dal 6 novembre 2012, ogni martedì, alle ore 16.30 sul primo canale e alle ore 21.00 sul quinto canale di Radio Vaticana, andrà in onda un programma che illustrerà la musica indiana, dalla classica alle colonne sonore hindi.

Emraan Hashmi signs Danis Tanović's next, Anurag Kashyap to co-produce

Da qualche giorno in India circola una notizia entusiasmante: Emraan Hashmi è stato scritturato da Danis Tanović per il suo prossimo lavoro. Vi segnalo l'articolo Emraan Hashmi signs Danis Tanović’s next, Anurag Kashyap to co-produce, di Prashant Singh, pubblicato da Hindustan Times il primo novembre 2012: 'Anurag [Kashyap], who is responsible for picking Emraan, says, “Kalki [Koechlin] told me how sincere and focused he was during Shanghai. (...) When I saw Shanghai, I loved him, after which I pitched a script to him. He said no, but explained why. I saw in him a person who had no delusions about himself. He knew what he wanted to do.” So, when Anurag got the Bosnian writer-director’s script, he approached Emraan again. “When I read the script, I strongly felt Emraan should do it. But the west doesn’t know him. We also didn’t know whether he would agree. But he said yes. Then we pitched him to Danis, who came to India and met him. Now we’re on,” adds Anurag. Vi ricordo che No man's land, diretto da Tanović, nel 2002 strappò a Lagaan l'Oscar per il miglior film straniero.

Aggiornamento del 27 luglio 2022: la pellicola in questione è Tigers, proiettata in prima mondiale al Toronto International Film Festival 2014. Nel cast anche Adil Hussain. Tigers non ha mai beneficiato di una regolare distribuzione nelle sale, sembra a causa dell'argomento trattato: la storia si ispira allo scandalo che coinvolse la Nestlé negli anni settanta del secolo scorso, scandalo riguardante la commercializzazione di latte in polvere nei Paesi economicamente disagiati. Nel 2018 è stato diffuso in streaming. Trailer. In Italia è stato proiettato al Trieste Film Festival 2015. Vi segnalo l'articolo Danis Tanović contro Big Pharma e Nestlé nel suo thriller etico "Tigers", di Paolo Russo, pubblicato da La Repubblica il 6 marzo 2015:

'[Danis Tanović] “Finché a Venezia incontrai Anurag Kashyap (...) e quando gli dissi della sceneggiatura (...) che però nessuno era tanto folle da produrre, lui mi indicò Guneet Monga (...) dicendo ‘se c’è una così pazza da farlo è lei’. E così ce l’abbiamo fatta”. 

Emraan Hashmi, da Bollywood all’impegno

Ne è venuta fuori una produzione anglo-franco-bosniaco-indiana di tutto rispetto. Girata in India, Germania e Inghilterra. (...) Ed ecco (...) la bella perché autentica colonna sonora di Pritam, (...) e la presenza nell’ottimo cast di Emraan Hashmi, giovane idolo di Bollywood al debutto in un ruolo impegnato, che ha saputo virare ottimamente il suo charme di “serial kisser”, così lo chiamano a casa, nelle facce ora grintose ora disperate, speranzose o distrutte di Ayan [il protagonista]. (...) Una storia complessa per un film altrettanto complesso, che nella sua struttura a scatole cinesi ne contiene altre mille. Una tragedia immane che Tanović accosta assai bene, però privilegiandola, alle vicende personali dei tanti personaggi coinvolti a partire da Ayan. (...) Del quale il film rivela la pur temporanea adesione alla militare aggressività di certa cultura aziendale in nome del proprio riscatto economico, il suo terrestre vacillare davanti alla mazzetta Nestlé, facendone così un uomo fallibile, salvato però da una solida, laica pietas, e non l’eroe che ci si poteva aspettare. E come resistere alla dolcezza della sua arcaica, adorabile famiglia che vede sempre uniti, a dispetto della tremenda situazione, il vecchio padre saggio, testardo e di solida, tenera umanità, la madre gioiosa e inesauribile, la giovane moglie, bella quanto coraggiosa e incorruttibile.

Un avvincente thriller etico 

Scritto con sagacia, girato per lo più in piani medi e americani, spesso addosso ai protagonisti, alternando inquadrature di gran pregio (su tutte la sequenza del matrimonio di Ayan) (...) ad altre anonime, brutali, montato con esemplari cambi di ritmo, capace di dare ugual profondità ai cattivi come ai buoni, Tigers è un avvincente thriller etico. Un documentario in noir nel quale investigazione e ricerca del colpevole scandiscono le tappe dell’estenuante catarsi di Ayan, (...) piccolo uomo con poche chance, della condanna senz’appello dei potenti occidentali e dei loro sicari pakistani. Addestrati, come si vede nel film, da un molto americano manager-marine ad aggredire mercato e concorrenti ruggendo come le tigri del titolo. Mostra, il film, con fermezza che basta a se stessa, la palude di corruzione e speculazione che della sciagura di tanti piccoli innocenti continua a fare la fortuna dei già fantascientifici bilanci di Big Pharma. (...) Malgrado i successi di critica, Tigers - vale ripeterlo: un magnifico film anche in senso squisitamente cinematografico - (...) [è] ancora in attesa, da noi per certo, probabilmente pure altrove, di un distributore. Perché il cinema, per esser fatto ma anche fatto vedere, ha bisogno di coraggio'.

Aishwarya Rai: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Il primo novembre 2012 Aishwarya Rai ha compiuto 39 anni. La diva ha festeggiato l'occasione ritirando una prestigiosa onorificenza conferitale dalla Francia, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Ash, accompagnata da Abhishek Bachchan, da Amitabh Bachchan, dalla madre e dalla piccola Aaradhya, ha tagliato la torta presso il consolato francese a Mumbai. La star indiana è, ad oggi, la personalità più giovane a cui sia stata assegnata l'onorificenza di cavaliere. Shah Rukh Khan è ufficiale del medesimo ordine (2007), mentre Big B ha conquistato il titolo più alto, la Légion d'honneur (2007, cavaliere). Video Moviez Adda. 

Shah Rukh Khan: My wife doesn’t think I am a good actor

Il 2 novembre 2012 Shah Rukh Khan ha compiuto 47 anni. Come sempre in queste occasioni, i media indiani hanno offerto centinaia di tributi dedicati al divo. Vi segnalo un revival davvero gradito: il 31 ottobre 2012 Filmfare ha riproposto la prima intervista concessa al periodico da un giovanissimo SRK (parliamo degli inizi degli anni novanta). My wife doesn’t think I am a good actor: Shah Rukh Khan, Meera Joshi:

'How does it feel that your first film Deewana is a hit?

I'm glad the film has done so well. I feel happy for the producer, the director. A hit is a good for the industry as well. But I don’t think I’ve contributed in any way to its success. My performance was awful - loud, vulgar and uncontrolled. I overacted terribly and I take full responsibility for it. But that’s what happens when you work without a graph. I didn’t even have the script with me. I was to start shooting for the film much later but then some of my other schedules got cancelled and I allotted my dates to this film. I am my worst critic and when I saw myself on the screen I was appalled. Isn’t it amazing that that people have liked me in the film? Perhaps that’s because I am a fresh face. It’s not a performance I’d care to repeat or remember. (...) I wish people could say that 'the film's music is good but Shah Rukh is better.' But in Deewana the music scored over everything. (...) The producer has spent so much money on my clothes, my make up, my conveyance, my meals in addition to paying me a fat sum, so it’s only fair that I should've contributed my best to the film. I don’t want to be successful because of my film; the film should do well because of me. (...)

Have you signed a great many new films?

After Deewana I had taken on five more films which are now complete. (...) That’s going to be my strategy. Four to five films a year which will leave me with enough time to do an occasional offbeat film. If the role is good, I’m always interested.

Why did you turn down the sequel to Fauji? (...)

Because I didn’t want to repeat myself. Though (...) the character I play had become quite popular, I wasn’t convinced about the sequel. I’m sure my fans wouldn’t want to see me doing the same thing again.

Does this mean you won’t be doing any more serials?

I am doing Mani Kaul's telefilm Idiot (...) in which I play a negative role. If the role is interesting, I’ll definitely do even a serial. When Fauji began I was nobody, six and a half hours on television and I became a superstar. Today what little success I’ve seen is because of television. (...) 

For a newcomer you appear extra confident. What makes you so sure of yourself?

My talent. Some actors get on by their looks and their physique, some bank on their voice; my asset is my spontaneity, my ability to do a variety of roles. If in one film I play a man on the brink of insanity, in another, I’m someone's kid brother. I work hard on every role - my expressions, my look and my mannerisms. This has at times landed me in trouble too, with producers and directors. They want me to enact the role in a particular way but my argument is that since they've signed me because they think I'm a good actor, they should just let me do things my way. Just because I'm playing a romantic hero doesn’t mean that I have to follow a set pattern. I may have just one release to my credit, but I'm not new to the camera, I know how to act, so let me act my way.

In most of your films you're pitted against a veteran. (...) Doesn’t this put you at a disadvantage?

Why should it? I don’t think any actor or actress is better than I am. No one honestly feels that another guy is better than he. If anyone denies this, he is lying. If you are good, you shouldn’t have any problem even if you have 35 stars opposite you, but if you don’t have the talent, you'd be lost even in a solo manner. I deliberately chose to match skills with these talented actors because I was sure I’d be noticed. If I am not, I’ll admit I made a mistake. (Shrugs) Everyone makes mistakes.

Is there any film you are particularly excited about?

Nothing really. How interesting can a role in a Hindi film be? I am trying to do five different roles in a year but next year they may not look all that different. I am trying to develop the character I play, make them individuals that audience can identify with. (...) The offers had been pouring in and had I wanted I could have signed 25 films by now. But why should I work with producers that only come to me because I’ve had a hit? For them I am like a racehorse - they'll back me only so long as I am on a winning streak. One flop and they'll stay away. I will only work with those people who have faith in my talent, who believe that I am one of the finest actors in the country.

Who would you say is your closest rival?

Well, there's Aamir Khan, I can’t call him competition, he is a far better actor. If there's a superb actor in a country today it’s Aamir. I’ve heard that he wants to retire after 30 and turn director. I plan to quit at 30 too.

Do you also want to direct?

I don’t know anything about direction. But I just might try my hand at it. Basically I am a very lazy man. Even now I can’t handle more than five films a year. I want to slog for another three or four years and then sit back and take it easy. If I still get good roles, I might do one film a year. Otherwise I’ll stop altogether and do theatre or something else connected with films.

That explains your attitude towards the press. While other newcomers hanker after publicity, you've banned all film magazines and even shun photo sessions?

I didn’t want to talk to any film magazine till my film was released. I wanted journalists to approach me only after seeing my work. Also, I was put off by certain journalists who are so pompous they believe they can make or break a star. If publicity is everything, all those actors who give fantastic interviews would be superstars. But no, Mr. Bachchan, who the press shunned for years, is still the reigning no.1. There’s no substitute for good work. Interviews and magazine covers don’t make you a good actor. Does taking off your clothes for photographs prove your virility? Are you a macho hero only if you pose for magazine covers with five girls clinging to you? If other want to do it they are welcome, I’ll stick to my work and keep my private life as private as possible'.

Janice Pariat: Boats on Land

Vi segnalo la recensione di Boats on Land, raccolta di racconti di Janice Pariat, recensione firmata da Manjula Narayan e pubblicata da Hindustan Times il 6 ottobre 2012. Il testo raccoglie alcune dichiarazioni rilasciate dalla scrittrice:

'There’s something about Janice Pariat’s short stories that makes you want to linger, to return to particular lyrical descriptions of the north east, to set down the book and contemplate the point where folk lore and reality intersect. “I grew up with a lot of stories that my dad told me; my grandfathers were big story tellers,” Pariat says (...) adding that her community, the Khasis, generally have a vibrant tradition of story telling as they were largely an oral culture before the arrival of the British in the mid-1800s.

“I think our stories serve as the reservoir of our history and of our understanding of the world. (...) Our landscape was marked by folktales - why’s the mountain shaped in a certain way, why the cock crows in the morning... With Boats on Land, I’ve taken these folk stories and interwoven them with the Shillong, Assam and Cherrapunji of today,” she says suggesting that a reality imbued with folklore and even superstition is perhaps imaginatively richer. In her stories this mingling of myth and reality hints at difficult truths: the suicide of a young man in The Discovery of Flight, the fear of the army in Sky Graves. “I wanted to find the marvellous real,” she says.

The most powerful story, Boats on Land brings together sexual yearning, beautiful descriptions of Assam, where Pariat spent much time when she was growing up, and a damaged character so well fleshed out she seems real. “It started as a story about a relationship between a boy and a girl and it felt wrong. I couldn’t find the right narrative voice. Then I read Once In A Lifetime by Jhumpa Lahiri where she used the third person narration and brings in the ‘you’. That evening, I sat down and rewrote the story. It became a story about two girls and it just felt right,” reveals Pariat who seemingly writes effortlessly in the male voice. “Even at school, classmates asked: ‘How are you writing as a boy?’ I really don’t know. I try and imagine what it’s like for a particular person and the thing about being a man or woman comes naturally,” she says. “Gender is such a construct.”

Still, writing the book wasn’t easy. “I always had these stories floating around in my head but they didn’t have a context, a place to reside. I went back home to Shillong to spend time with mum and dad and to write about the place that I’m from,” says Pariat who is glad the north east, which is “forever exoticised”, is emerging as a “place with fresh voices and fresh writers”. “People think it is a timeless, ageless place untouched by many things but I’ve tried to show that pockets were also affected by vast sweeps of history, the world wars, the missionaries, Christianity. These are things we forget Meghalaya and Assam were affected by; we forget it shaped the people living there now,” says Pariat, who, much as she loves Shillong, doesn’t intend to ever live there permanently. “I am attached to Shillong in a way that people who leave home are attached to an idea of home; so it’s a home of eternal return. I think there’s a particular attachment that comes from not being in a place,” she says sounding like one of the quiet revelations that stud her stories.

It isn’t the firebird or the dreams of dead kin that make you linger on Janice Pariat’s short fiction; it’s the truth they help you arrive at, that fresh understanding of an old world'.

Mirchi: le riprese in Italia

In ottobre la troupe di Mirchi (Vaaradhi era il titolo provvisorio) era in Italia per effettuare alcune riprese. I set sono stati allestiti a Certaldo (8-9 ottobre 2012), al Top Club di Cinquale in Versilia, a Lucca (Mura), al Lido di Camaiore (dove la troupe ha soggiornato), al Polo Tecnologico di Sorbano del Vescovo e a Volterra (teatro romano). Mirchi è un film in lingua telugu diretto da Koratala Siva. Nel cast Prabhas, Anushka Shetty e Richa Gangopadhyay.

Aggiornamento del 26 luglio 2022: video del brano Yahoon Yahoon.