Roma: Indian Film Festival 2025

Dal 7 all'11 febbraio 2025 presso la sala cinema della sede ANICA di Roma si svolgerà l'Indian Film Festival, organizzato dall'Ambasciata Indiana. In cartellone RRR (solo su invito), Gangubai Kathiawadi, Soorarai Pottru (di Sudha Kongara, con Suriya, in lingua tamil), Vikram e Kantara. Le proiezioni saranno in lingua originale con sottotitoli in italiano e in inglese. Ingresso gratuito ma occorre prenotarsi qui.

Aggiornamento del 21 febbraio 2025: il Consolato Indiano di Milano offre la proiezione di RRR presso la sala Aurora del CityLife Anteo, proiezione in cartellone il 28 febbraio 2025 alle ore 19.30. Ingresso gratuito ma occorre prenotarsi qui.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: 25 anni di carriera

In occasione dei 25 anni di carriera di Sanjay Leela Bhansali, vi segnalo il video ufficiale celebrativo, nonché l'articolo A tour through Sanjay Leela Bhansali's cities of dreams, di Baradwaj Rangan, pubblicato ieri da Film Companion:

'The masochistic unattainability of love by at least one of the vertices of the triangle is something that's always watered this director's imagination. (...) I do not think Bhansali has ever entered the modern era, or even the real world. (...) Even if the places "look" real, they are cities of dreams, cities you won't find in any map of the world because they exist only in Bhansali's imagination. (...) 

It took a while for this Bhansali to bloom. His first two films aren't his. (...) He's trying (...) to get those images from inside his head onto the frame that the audience will see them in, but keeps failing, and failing. (...) These two films had too much generic melodrama, and it's only when we come to Devdas that we finally get inspired melodrama: in this sado-masochistic (...) story, Bhansali finds the pitch on screen to match the pitch he's been hearing inside his head. (...) Devdas is the first real Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie. (...)

It's not just the writing, but also the way he uses colour that singles him out. (...) Bhansali's dream worlds require dream logic. (...) In a Hindi cinema landscape littered with filmmakers who write in English and quote English filmmakers as inspiration, Bhansali is one of the last of the traditionalists. His "madness", if you will, reflects the emotion-filled Indian nature. (...) 

It's not that every film of Bhansali's, post-Devdas, has been successful in its entirety. But he is one of the handful of original, homegrown Indian filmmakers who can be counted on to give us at least 10-20 scenes (even in the lesser films) that sear themselves into memory. (...) His love for artifice and theatricality, his love for Indian music and Indian folk arts and Indian movie-making traditions, (...) his love for beauty and symmetry. But this beauty isn't just empty prettiness. (...) At his best, no one comes close to the mix of the real and the unreal that Bhansali unleashes on the big screen. (...) It's a style. And no one does it better'.

Bajirao Mastani: locandine, trailer e video

Sanjay Leela Bhansali tornerà ad incantarci il 18 dicembre 2015 con la distribuzione di Bajirao Mastani, sontuoso film in costume interpretato da Deepika Padukone e Ranveer Singh. La pellicola si ispira alla vita di Bajirao I, monarca, generale e primo ministro di religione hindu del quarto imperatore dell'impero maratha (siamo nel diciottesimo secolo). La danzatrice Mastani, di religione musulmana, è la sua seconda moglie. Nel film, il ruolo di Kashibai, la prima moglie del protagonista, è toccato a Priyanka Chopra. Bhansali firma anche la colonna sonora. Un assaggio nel magnifico brano Deewani Mastani, visualizzato in modo splendido, e in Pinga. Il trailer è accattivante quanto un cortometraggio. Una curiosità: in passato sono state prodotte ben due serie televisive in lingua marathi imperniate sulle figure di Bajirao I e di Mastani. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: I don't want more heartbreak

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Sanjay Leela Bhansali a Farhana Farook, pubblicata da Filmfare il 6 gennaio 2014. I don’t want more heartbreak:

'Was it a challenge to have Deepika Padukone as your muse [in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela], Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being your longstanding one?

I went to meet Deepika Padukone after the existing leading lady (Kareena Kapoor) left my film at a time when the set was already constructed.  Deepika was unwell and had fever. (...) Her eyes were watery and she appeared beautiful. (...) Many felt that she wouldn’t be able to do justice to the role. But I realised here was an evolved actor. She’s intelligent and speaks little, saving all the energy for the shot. When she walked onto the set, she looked every inch my heroine. That was the same feeling I got when Ash or even Madhuri Dixit walked in. When you view Ash on camera you’re hypnotised. Deepika’s beauty is earthy and confident.

Was it difficult reining a ‘hyper’ Ranveer Singh?

(Laughs) If Red Bull was a person, it would be Ranveer Singh. You can come laughing and jumping on my set and can continue jumping till the evening, I don’t care. What I want is work. And that boy, though over-energised, is at the same time talented and focused. He got his character of Ram bhai, a village Romeo, bang on! He worked hard on his body. He gave good suggestions, never behuda (irrelevant) ones. I’d pamper him but after a point I’d say ‘enough is enough, go and give the shot!’ But I never had to tell him to concentrate. (...)

What are those subtexts [in your work]?

You are your childhood. You are what you’ve experienced, succumbed to or fought with and overcome. I can’t reveal why I made Khamoshi but it had personal elements. That’s why my films have power. Your work can only resonate if it comes from within. (...) Devdas is a tribute to my father’s alcohol bottle. Black was based on a story, which my father always wanted to script - the importance of words for human beings. Ram-Leela is a tribute to my mother.

In your films, tragedy assumes a celebratory flavour...

I’ve done samjhauta (compromise) with my pain long ago. So when you’re no longer fighting pain, you can express it well. Being unhappy and sad are two different things. Unhappiness is destructive. But sadness gives a perspective. (...) But in spite of having lived a sad life, I’m a happy person. I want to sing, dance...

Why do you say that?

I was a kid when my father took me to the studio. I realised this was my world. Make-up, dust, lights... that is my world. I want to express even the saddest moments in a grand way. I love life. I believe in opening the door of the dark studio and letting the light come in. That’s why I made Guzaarish. It said celebrate your destiny. I don’t look up to the skies. My God is in the catwalk.

Can you ever envision a film without candles, curtains and chandeliers?

No, no, I love them. (...) Had I not been a filmmaker I’d have been an architect. (...)

You come across as lonely...

I am lonely. Even when there are 150 people working on the set, I’m aware of my loneliness. When the shift is over, I like to sit on the set alone'.

Priyanka Chopra in Ram Leela

Oltre un milione di click in soli tre giorni, l'audace danza di Priyanka Chopra in Ram Leela ha scatenato un'impetuosa pioggia di visite. Il brano è stato composto dal regista S.L.Bhansali e le coreografie sono di Ganesh Acharya.

"Ram Chahe Leela". Il video.

Ram Leela : Le canzoni

Manca poco ormai alla distribuzione di Ram Leela, gustiamoci intanto i video promozionali delle canzoni composte dal regista Sanjay Leela Bhansali. 

Ishqyaun Dhishqyaun

Nagada Sang Dhol

Lahu Munh Lag

Tattad Tattad (guardate anche il making of e ... attenzione ragazze!)

Ramleela : Il trailer

La seconda metà del 2013 si preannuncia ricca di sorprese, e proprio quando l'attenzione sembra concentrarsi solo sui nuovi capitoli delle saghe di Dhoom e Krrish, nuove locandine, immagini, e finalmente un primo trailer, ci ricordano che sta tornando lui: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, l'artista dell'estetica cinematografica assoluta,  colui che con il suo magnifico Devdas (2002) conquistò nuove folle di seguaci del cinema indiano rompendo ogni barriera geografica. Speriamo che il nuovo lavoro, Ramleela, dramma romantico à la Romeo e Giulietta ambientato in Gujarat, riporti il regista sulla cresta dell'onda.

Trailer del film.

Photogallery della presentazione ufficiale del primo trailer.

Ram Leela : First Look

Se sentite la mancanza del visionario regista SL Bhansali e' tempo di consolarsi perche' il suo prossimo lavoro, un dramma epico /  romantico dalla confezione grandiosa, uscira' nelle sale cinematografiche il 29 Novembre 2013. Mancano ancora molti mesi ma la promozione di Ram Leela segue passo passo il suo shooting tanto che girano indiscrezioni sul look degli attori e aneddoti su alcune scene girate in Gujarat e a Udaipur. Ecco il primo poster del film che ritrae i protagonisti Ranveer Singh e  Deepika Padukone. Presente nel cast anche Richa Chadda, uno dei volti femminili di Gangs of Wasseypur I & II.

Bollywood Film Meeting Roma

Dal 29 novembre al 9 dicembre 2012 si svolge la rassegna Bollywood Film Meeting Roma, presso il Quirinetta, come evento collaterale alla grande mostra Akbar. Il Grande Imperatore dell'India. La curatrice Sabrina Ciolfi ci scrive: 'La rassegna offre uno sguardo sulla Bollywood contemporanea. Ho selezionato film di recentissima produzione, espressione sia del cinema mainstream sia di quello indipendente, il più possibile rappresentativi dei diversi generi e delle novità che si vanno affermando'. In effetti il programma è da urlo. Cito solo alcuni titoli: Jodhaa Akbar, Udaan, Dhobi Ghat, Delhi-6, Guzaarish, Delhi Belly, Shaitan, Shor In The City, Kahaani, Ra.One, That girl in yellow boots, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. (Grazie a Sabrina Ciolfi).

Vedi anche Akbar. Il grande imperatore dell'India, 12 luglio 2022

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: I'm rowdy at heart

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Sanjay Leela Bhansali a Upala KBR, pubblicata il 2 giugno 2012 da The Times of India. I'm rowdy at heart:

'What prompted you to make a massy, commercial film like Rowdy Rathore?

I wanted to make a hit film. As a producer, it’s important to make films that are different from my usual style. I wanted to make a film that would entertain people, and I wanted them to go home loving everything - the songs, the dialogues, the action. RR is not my genre, but I wanted to be part of a film that people like watching. Guzaarish changed my perspective on life, and purged me of my fear of death and sorrow. Now I am in a happy, adventurous zone. I want to do different things.

How did RR happen?

My co-producer Shabina (Khan) asked me to see the Telugu film Vikramarkudu on which RR is based. I found the plot wonderfully entertaining, and felt it was a film that needed to be produced in Hindi. I am extremely proud of what we have made. It is entertaining, beautifully-crafted and has great action and songs. My mother loved every minute of it! She whistled and screamed. She loved Akshay and kept laughing at the one-liners. (...)

Could you direct a film like RR?

Yes, it’s very easy for me to direct a film like this. I am rowdy at heart! I have done lots of mad things in my youth. Being rowdy is a state of mind, and means getting up and doing anything as a filmmaker. There is fearlessness in me as a filmmaker. I make anything that touches my heart - be it as a director or producer. After Saawariya, people thought I was mad to make Guzaarish, but I will always make what I want to.

How was it working with Akshay?

I have always wanted to work with him. He’s a very big star and a competent actor, but none of the scripts that I was working on, suited him. It was a pleasure working with him. There was not a single moment of drama, complaint or ego issue. He would be ready for a 9 am shift, in make up and costume. He’s come up with a splendid performance. Rowdy Rathore will be his crowning glory in cinema'.

The 10 greatest movies of the millennium

Il 15 maggio 2012 Time ha pubblicato la lista dei dieci film più grandiosi distribuiti a partire dall'anno 2000. Devdas occupa l'ottava posizione.

The 10 greatest movies of the millennium (thus far), Richard Corliss:

'A year after Moulin Rouge! had its world premiere at Cannes, another visually intoxicating musical opened at the festival, introducing sang-and-danced Bollywood dramas to the international culturati. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s (...) novel inspired at least a half-dozen film versions before this one - in its time, the priciest movie in Indian history (at about $ 10.6 million). The plot, based on a 1917 novel, is good-ol’ family-values propaganda, drenched in luscious masochism: rich-boy Devdas (all-world charismatist Shahrukh Khan) leaves home, abandons his girlfriend (former Miss World Aishwarya Rai) and suffers magnificently while dallying with a prostitute (Madhuri Dixit, a hot number who had danced flamenco on men’s libidos for a decade or so before appearing in this worldly-wise role). The piece is played with such commitment that the tritest plot twists seem worth believing - and dancing to, in nine nifty production numbers. But the fervid emotion is what makes the thing sing. Beyond that, Devdas is a visual ravishment, with sumptuous sets, fabulous frocks and beautiful people to fill them; it has a grandeur the old Hollywood moguls would have loved'.