Le prime del 9 maggio 2014: Mastram

Con l'eccezione del citatissimo Kanti Shah, poco o nulla trapela della produzione softcore indiana, sia cinematografica che editoriale. Ultimamente, però, l'argomento - piuttosto in voga negli anni ottanta - ha stuzzicato l'interesse di alcuni registi (v. The dirty picture e Miss Lovely). È ora la volta di Mastram, diretto dall'esordiente Akhilesh Jaiswal, già sceneggiatore di Gangs of Wasseypur. La pellicola è la biografia fittizia di Mastram, scrittore di culto di narrativa softcore in lingua hindi. In realtà pare che Mastram non sia mai esistito, o meglio, che dietro questo pseudonimo si celassero diversi autori sconosciuti. Trailer. 

Vi segnalo l'articolo The Mastram effect: Erotica comes of age in Indian cinema, di Urmimala Banerjee, pubblicato da Mid-Day il 2 marzo 2014:

'Out in the open Akhilesh Jaiswal (...) says, “Like many young North Indian men, I too grew up reading Mastram’s books. I used to wonder how this guy would be like and what would he be telling people about his profession. It was just a thought that later formed the base for my film. We did a lot of research but could not find any links to the ‘actual’ Mastram. Most of the old bookstalls that sold his stuff had shut shop or the owners had died, so I could not establish any contact.” Working on a film based on the life of a porn writer would not have appealed to many Bollywood heroes but Jaiswal says that the initial reaction wasn’t that negative either. “I did not approach any big star but 90 per cent of those I asked were kicked about the script. When Nawaz (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) heard it, he loved it and so did Rajkummar Rao. Unfortunately, they could not be a part of the film due to other commitments”.'

Bollywood vs. Jihad

Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan

[Archivio] 

Vi segnalo il curioso articolo Bollywood vs. Jihad, firmato da Shikha Dalmia e pubblicato da Reason nel numero di agosto-settembre 2011. Può il soft power di Bollywood contrastare l'avanzata del fondamentalismo islamico? L'8 settembre 2011 Il Foglio aveva pubblicato la traduzione in italiano del pezzo. Di seguito un estratto dal testo originale:

'Islamic fundamentalists have long worried about the threat that Bollywood poses to their puritanical demands. Of late, they have even taken to making videos - rap videos, no less - condemning Bollywood movies as being the product of an infidel culture trying to brainwash Muslims against their own religious values and duties. They have ample reason to be worried. About 3 billion people, or half the planet, watches Bollywood, and many of them live in the Islamic world. By depicting assimilated, modernized Muslims, Bollywood - without even trying - deromanticizes and thereby disarms fanatical Islam. (...)

The kind of Western soft power that proved so crucial in bringing down the Soviet empire - jazz, Hollywood, the Beatles - is arguably less relevant in the struggle against fundamentalist Islam. American culture, despite its alleged ubiquity, doesn't have the same resonance in Eastern countries that don't share the West's ethnic, religious, and cultural background. While hip hop and heavy metal have helped inspire some of the street protesters demanding more freedoms across the Middle East and northern Africa, outside of the hardcore early adopters these cultural subgenres remain more voyeuristic than aspirational. Their popularity arguably stems more from a curiosity about how exotic people in alien countries live than from an inclination to emulate them.

That isn't true of Bollywood. India's flamboyant, campy, kitschy film industry is rooted in heritages, values, aesthetics, and geographies shared with much of the Muslim world. The Middle East is Bollywood's third largest overseas market. Many Bollywood movies now hold their premiers in Dubai. (...)

Disaffected youth throughout the unfree Muslim world see in Bollywood a glimpse of the pleasures, colors, and riches available in a world with more liberty. Among the first businesses to open after the Taliban fell in Afghanistan were movie theaters showing Bollywood films. Even at the height of the Taliban's repression, shopkeepers kept a secret stash of undestroyed film star posters that they would barter for food and goods. (...)

The Muslim country most in the grip of Bollywood mania is Pakistan, India's cultural twin in every respect but religion. The more aggressively that Pakistani authorities have tried to purge it from their soil, the more Bollywood's popularity has grown. During the country's four-decade-long ban on Indian movies, Pakistanis watched them via satellite dishes and smuggled VHS tapes. When the ban was finally lifted in 2008, the Bollywood scene in Pakistan exploded. Not only have Bollywood movies been playing to packed houses, but Indian movie stars are treated like demigods, despite Islam's taboo against idol worship. The latest fad among Pakistan's urban nouveau riche is Bollywood theme weddings in which the bride and groom dress in outfits worn by a particular movie's stars and hold their wedding reception in elaborate tents constructed to resemble movie sets.

It's hard to emulate - and adulate - a cultural form while simultaneously rejecting its message. And Bollywood's message is profoundly at odds with the strictures of Islamic extremism. At the simplest level, women who don Bollywood outfits, even when adapted for more modest sensibilities, are resisting the Islamic strictures that would shroud them in a burqa. At a deeper level, Bollywood movies offer a compromise between tradition and modernity that resonates with ordinary Muslims while subverting Islamist designs.

Take romantic movies. You might have expected Hollywood's more sexually explicit romances to pose a bigger threat to puritanical Shariah law than Bollywood's tamer approach. You'd be wrong. Both Hollywood and Bollywood idealize true love that conquers all. But the obstacles that Hollywood couples face - previous lovers, infidelity, commitment phobia, baggage from broken marriages - have little to do with the concerns of people in traditional Muslim countries. They can relate far more with Bollywood's paramours, whose chief impediment is familial objections, given that arranged marriage is still a revered institution in that part of the world. (...)

Veer-Zaara portrays the tension between the possibilities of modernity and the demands of tradition, offering a resolution that accommodates both. It affirms the right of young men and women - not their parents or families - to decide their own romantic fate. But it does so without demanding the wholesale jettisoning of religion, tradition, or family. Zaara's original journey to India to dispose of her caregiver's ashes conveys her piety, love, and deep respect for her elders, all prized virtues in traditional, religious cultures, Islamic or Hindu. What's more, Veer and Zaara don't simply thumb their noses at Zaara's family and run off to Las Vegas. That would have delegitimized their cause. They pursue a much harder balancing act. Zaara does not dishonor her family or reject its claims on her. But she breaks away from her husband, choosing instead to be single.

Bollywood, then, encourages young lovers to follow their heart by persuading their families of the rightness of their cause, not by turning their backs on them. It seeks to realize romantic love not outside the broader structure of faith and family but within it, at once reforming and affirming key social institutions - a resolution that legitimizes Muslim reformers against Islamist reactionaries. Bollywood is at once both progressive and conservative, a combination that appeals to Muslim youth.

Veer-Zaara was released when Pakistan had not yet lifted its ban on Bollywood. But it became an underground cult hit there anyway. By depicting ordinary Pakistanis, if not their government, as decent, honorable, family-oriented people, the movie flattered one of its key audiences. Pakistani athletes who happened to be in India when the movie was released reportedly watched the film at a special screening and spilled into the theater aisles to dance and clap along when Veer performs an obligatory fantasy dance sequence on a bus rooftop.

There is another key reason for Bollywood's appeal to the Islamic world. Since its inception, some of the Indian film industry's biggest stars, both male and female, have been Muslims. Currently, the three highest grossing male leads are Muslims, all with the recognizably Muslim surname Khan. Bollywood's most respected music composer - A.R. Rahman - (...) is also a Muslim, as are many of Bollywood's best lyricists and screenwriters.

The success of these Bollywood Muslims has profound implications for the emergence of a moderate Islam. They have a very different attitude toward their faith than the one prescribed by radical Islamists. Some industry professionals are more religiously observant than others, and movie gossip circles are always abuzz over which member of the Khan troika is more serious about the faith. It's widely reported that Salman Khan (...) eschews alcohol and that Shah Rukh Khan (...) fasts to observe Ramadan. But ultimately the faith of Bollywood's Muslims is about personal spiritual elevation, not subordination to Taliban-style medievalism. Rahman, the composer, is a devout Sufi who prays five times a day - not because he is trying to popularize Islam's rigid strictures but because, as The Times of India puts it, it helps him "release his tension and gives him a sense of containment."

The best Sufi music these days is arguably coming not from the Mideast but from the Indian subcontinent, thanks in no small part to Bollywood Muslims. By showcasing these artists and their work, the Indian film industry demonstrates to Muslims everywhere that adapting to modernity does not require them to abandon their faith and traditions. In fact, it can be a vehicle for preserving and promoting them.

None of this satisfies hardcore Islamists, of course. But their vitriol at (...) Bollywood's many (...) transgressions has little resonance with the industry's Muslims. Shah Rukh, who has one billion fans across the world, in fact has made it something of a personal crusade to take on clerics who question his faith or try to impose on him their rigid version of Islam. "Jihad [meaning 'inner struggle'] was supposed to be propagated by the Prophet himself," the actor told CNN-India. "Now two versions of Islam exist. There is an Islam from Allah, and very unfortunately, there is an Islam from the Mullahs." 

But at the same time Shah Rukh criticizes extremists, he uses his stardom and artistic platform to convey the legitimate concerns of ordinary Muslims to the rest of the world. For example, his 2010 film My Name Is Khan depicts the indignities to which American Muslims have been subjected post-9/11, especially through racial profiling. As if to prove his point, immigration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport detained and questioned Shah Rukh for several hours when he came to America to promote the movie.

America's reliance on hard power stems from a subconscious fear that, without it, there will be nothing left to counter the spread of Islamic extremism. But hard power's inevitably blunt application makes distinguishing between extremists and nonextremists nearly impossible, thus alienating the very people America needs to enlist on its side. Pakistan has borne the brunt of Washington's hard power, from the constant drone attacks to the infringements on its sovereignty during Osama bin Laden's killing. And the more America has deployed its hard power, the more that anti-American sentiment has grown among ordinary Pakistanis. (...)

But even as Pakistan's resistance to America's drones and raids has grown, its resistance to Bollywood's soft power has crumbled. The extremists who find sympathetic audiences when directing fire and brimstone toward the Great Satan are powerless to prevent Pakistanis from consuming Bollywood blasphemies'. 

Spazio: ultima frontiera del cinema indiano?

Aishwarya Rai in Enthiran

[Archivio] 

Sto per offrirvi una vera chicca. Nel luglio 2011 Aelfric Bianchi pubblicava per Forma Cinema il breve saggio Spazio: ultima frontiera del cinema indiano?, nel quale analizzava il rapporto fra fantascienza e produzione cinematografica popolare. Di seguito un estratto:

'Koi... Mil Gaya. (...) Raro esempio di convergenza tra successo di pubblico e alto apprezzamento della critica. (...) Ponendo in atto un'intelligente ed equilibrata mediazione tra istanze artistiche ed esigenze di mercato, non rinnega i tipici stilemi della cinematografia popolare, (...) ma li padroneggia con sapienza e originalità e li sfrutta come mezzo di trasmissione di un messaggio forte, impegnato e impegnativo, in linea con la tendenza della nuova Bollywood, che (...) si avvale proprio degli stereotipi dei masala movies per veicolare contenuti difficili a platee tradizionalmente poco inclini ad accogliere novità troppo rivoluzionarie. (...) Koi... Mil Gaya rielabora elementi di un genere definito come la science fiction alla luce della sensibilità e della cultura indiana, in perfetta adesione all'eclettico sincretismo che caratterizza - a tutti i livelli - lo spirito del Subcontinente. Esemplificativo in tale prospettiva è l'espediente adottato per giustificare la venuta sulla Terra degli extraterrestri, richiamati da un segnale radio molto particolare: la sillaba mistica Om, ripetuta, in infinite varianti, da un mirabolante elaboratore elettronico.

Tale fu il successo del film, pur così anomalo nel panorama bollywoodiano classico, da generare un sequel, Krrish, (...) lodato dalla critica e accolto con straordinario calore dal pubblico. (...) Questo secondo capitolo (...) è assurto al rango di autentico fenomeno di costume, giustificando appieno l'etichetta di cult movie. Un colossal per molti versi epoch-marking, a buon diritto considerato capofila di un filone nuovo per il cinema indiano, ma assai popolare in ambito hollywoodiano: il Superhero movie. (...) 

Krrish può vantare ormai diversi epigoni, ma anche un illustre antesignano: Mr. India. (...) Il film, tra i maggiori successi degli anni Ottanta e ancor oggi oggetto di un'affezione tanto intensa da sfiorare l'adorazione religiosa da parte di folte schiere di fan, è il primo Superhero movie indiano e, sorprendentemente, a dirigerlo è Shekhar Kapur, il regista che, con Bandit Queen, inaugurò un'autentica rivoluzione copernicana nel policromo ma in ultima istanza immobile mondo di Bollywood, imprimendo una svolta epocale che avrebbe indotto molti registi commerciali a rinunciare ai suoi più tipici stilemi, a cominciare dalle canzoni e dalle coreografie faraoniche, senza tuttavia astenersi da un utilizzo mirato e funzionale del linguaggio e dei valori del pubblico tradizionale. Un autore poliedrico e proteiforme, (...) che ha saputo acquisire grande notorietà anche in Occidente, (...) ed evidenziando sempre una incoercibile e talora persino violenta carica innovatrice e dissacratoria. (...)

Alla logica commerciale del mainstream sembra invece sottrarsi il film Deham, (...) del veterano Govind Nihalani.  (...) Il film coniuga fantascienza e impegno sociale. Amara e dolente riflessione sui conflitti economici, politici e culturali tra mondo capitalistico e paesi poveri e sulle loro conseguenze potenzialmente devastanti, si allinea piuttosto all'ideologia della nuova Bollywood. (...) In una cupa e soffocante Mumbai del 2022, Om Prakash, un giovane disoccupato, è indotto dalla disperazione ad accettare l'offerta della Interplanta, una multinazionale che opera illegalmente nel settore dei trapianti su commissione di ricchi clienti: vendere i propri organi in cambio di una vita agiata per la sua famiglia. Falsificando il proprio stato civile per firmare il faustiano contratto (la società per evitare complicazioni giuridiche ammette infatti soltanto donatori single), pone le basi di una progressiva e inesorabile discesa agli inferi: alla frustrazione della moglie Jaya, costretta a fingersi sua sorella, si aggiunge la sconvolgente scoperta che le parti asportate verranno sostituite con elementi artificiali, trasformandolo in un ibrido uomo-macchina, un cyborg. Dominato da atmosfere fosche e intriso di un claustrofobico pessimismo, Deham ribadisce la propria estraneità al circuito nazionalpopolare adottando la lingua inglese. (...) Nonostante l'accoglienza tiepida del pubblico e della critica, anche in virtù di scelte stilistiche non sempre convincenti e di effetti speciali rozzi e artigianali, il film rappresenta comunque un esperimento di grande interesse e originalità, documentando altresì la crescente attenzione dedicata da Bollywood alla science fiction'.

For real: locandina e trailer

[Archivio] For real è un film in lingua inglese del 2009 scritto, diretto e prodotto dalla regista Sona Jain. Nel cast Zoya Hasan, Sarita Choudhury e Adil Hussain. Il trailer è talmente intrigante e la trama talmente singolare, che ne resterete ammaliati. 

Deepika Padukone a Milano: pubblicità Van Heusen

[Archivio] Maschietti: mantenete la calma perché l'occasione di incrociare la bellissima Deepika Padukone è scaduta da mesi. Nel settembre 2013 l'attrice era a Milano per la campagna pubblicitaria commissionata da Van Heusen.

Priyanka Chopra: I can't make you love me

Il 29 aprile 2014 è stato caricato in rete il video di I can't make you love me, la nuova canzone interpretata da Priyanka Chopra. Il brano è una cover dell'originale omonimo di Bonnie Raitt, incluso nell'album Luck of the draw del 1991. In soli cinque giorni, il filmato è stato visionato più di un milione di volte. I media, anche occidentali, hanno dedicato parecchi articoli alla diva indiana. Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Priyanka a Sally Holmes, pubblicata il 29 aprile 2014 da Elle (US). Priyanka Chopra on her new country single and shattering Indian stereotypes:

'In terms of film and/or music, is there a direction that you really want to pursue?

I want to be able to do everything. And as a girl we're really great at multitasking anyway. So I still am doing Indian movies and I will continue to do so as long as people want to watch me, and at the same time I'm looking for something interesting to do here too. I don't want to do stereotypical Indian parts, (...)I want to break that for India, I want to break that for people from where I come from. No we don't ride elephants. We don't all speak or smell a certain way. You know the stereotypes that come with people from that part of the world. I think it's a time when the globe's become so small right now. You can be living in New York and your neighbor could be from ANY part of the world. I'd like to pave the way for more diversity, not just for Indian people, but people around the world who don't get to come into just mainstream pop culture'.

Randeep Hooda: I'm in touch with my exes

[Archivio] 

Com'è come non è, mi ero dimenticata di segnalarvi questa bella intervista (non lasciatevi ingannare dal titolo zuccheroso) concessa dal tenebroso Randeep Hooda ad Ashwini Deshmukh, pubblicata l'11 dicembre 2013 da Filmfare. I’m in touch with my exes:

'He’s the quintessential alpha male and he lets everyone know it. Best part is Randeep Hooda’s tongue-in-cheek humour and no-mincing-words attitude add an edge to his sex appeal. But the capricious actor is a transformed man today. The somewhat difficult nature is now replaced with a more accommodating attitude. Clearly, he’s a man amongst the boys who has seen much more than the fanfare of tinsel town. And just as casually he recalls those drunken nights when he’d get thrown out of house parties. But he’s moved on. To a career that’s alive and kicking. (...) 

Once the poster boy for middle-of-the-road cinema, Randeep now has a place on the rosters of A-list production houses. Banners like Dharma Productions and directors like Imtiaz Ali have placed their faith in the intense actor. “It’s flattering. I consider myself lucky. Not too many people have an outing and then a second outing,” he says of his earlier not-so-eventful stint in films. (...) “I don’t know if I’m a brand yet but I’m getting interesting work out of my comfort zone and that keeps me on my toes. I’m also putting in more effort. I’ve found a way to communicate with myself, thinking about pros and cons, rather than just being moody.” In a confessional mode he says, “I believed I was the centre of the Universe. I was young and brash. Not being from a film family, I did not follow the ‘pairi-pona’ (touching the feet of elders) tradition. I realised that people in the industry are too sensitive and their egos are fragile. All creative people are like that. I was like ‘I’m doing my thing and I am right’. But I realised everyone needs encouragement and respect. So it’s dangerous to be yourself - a brash Jatt,” he smiles adding, “In that way you end up bruising a few egos. I’m not going to make those mistakes again.” It must be mentioned that while his acting skills were never questioned his allegedly brash behaviour and people skills were. “You cannot blame your circumstances because they are somewhere created by your own actions. I blame myself for the bad spell. Also, maybe the timing wasn’t right. But now an actor like me is getting work because of the kind of films being made. Cinema is evolving, so I’m evolving as an actor.”

Also success has triggered a change in him. “I started saying ‘yes’ more than ‘no’. I started trusting people. I’m seeking work rather than being idealistic because unless you reach somewhere, you can’t be idealistic. Beggars can’t be choosers.” Earlier he’d say no to movies for ‘stupid reasons and whims’. “The whole thing about ‘I’m going to do only one movie at a time’ works for stars like Aamir Khan. I couldn’t afford that liberty. Today I’m doing double shifts, small roles, big roles, extreme roles... Basically, I’ve become more professional. I work a lot more, so you see more of me. I’m grateful to what you call ‘fate’. People are knocking at my door now to do their movies as opposed to when I was a nobody. When I step out people treat me with a newfound respect. I even enjoy some privileges here and there,” he smiles.

Bagging a film with Imtiaz Ali sure is a huge achievement. But Randeep thought someone was playing a prank when Imtiaz’s team called him up regarding the project. But eventually the actor did meet the director. “He’s a lovely guy. I’m glad that the ‘Randeep Hooda image’ will be broken. I’m playing a physically and mentally ugly character. So I’m pushing the envelope. It was stepping out of a certain quintessential, mature ‘deep voiced Hooda’ that people had started liking. I did that on purpose.”

He’s also kicked up about working with Salman Khan in the mega project Kick, which he says just ‘fell into his lap’. “I’ve always been inspired by Salman. He’s a real superstar. He doesn’t give a damn about anything. He is what he is, which is difficult to be. I consider him as a friend though we haven’t been in touch for long,” he smiles. Doesn’t he have a problem playing second fiddle to another actor, more so now? “To Salman Khan? Everyone should play second fiddle to him,” he grins.

He was always referred to as a sex symbol but with his homosexual character in Karan Johar’s short film in Bombay Talkies, he’s added an edge to his sensuality. About his lip lock with co-star Saqib Saleem he says, “I guess Saqib was a bit nervous. But when it happened, it just happened. I did not feel uncomfortable at all.” And no, his homosexual act has not made a dent in his female following. “In fact, women have started liking me more. Some even said, ‘You look hot in the movie’,” he says. His well-wishers dissuaded him from playing a gay character but Karan Johar’s conviction made him go ahead. “Karan delivered what was promised and it was not cheap or trivial. It was a deep character. I deliberately played a mature character, someone who has lived his life but there’s pent-up frustration and questions about his sexual orientation.”

Can we safely assume that he’s become the thinking woman’s sex symbol then? “Usually, the thinking woman’s sex symbol is one who’s not so good-looking. But I’d like to be pompous and say that I’m not that bad looking!” he laughs adding, “Actually, for me there’s no distinction between thinking and non-thinking women.” He goes on to add that all the attention has not affected him. “I make it a point to be oblivious to it. That’s the only way to deal with it. Because you’re the same person, just that the people around you change. I don’t get swayed by all this.” He attributes this level-headedness to his past experiences. That’s also got to do with the anonymity and failure he has faced. “I know what the ‘Almost famous syndrome’ is. It’s important to be human and not think that we are God’s gift to mankind... or womankind for that matter,” he grimaces adding, “That’s why I love horses and riding because they don’t know whether my movie is a hit or whether people are talking good or bad about me. They love me regardless.”

His busy schedules and travel leave him without any time for friends or loved ones. “I don’t intend to neglect people but they feel I do. I make an effort to make a phone call or meet them. I was never regular at parties. But when I do attend, I feel nice when people talk to me and compliment me. But you have to keep reminding yourself that, ‘Hey, they are saying all these things because of your work. So go back and work harder.” His career may have taken off but his lifestyle hasn’t. With the exception of a luxury car that he bought for his father, life hasn’t changed much. “My dad had liked this particular car with particular interiors, so when I got money that’s the first thing I bought. Though I now have a big house, I still enjoy sleeping in one corner. I’m not even particular about fancy clothes or eating out,” he says. “It’s hard not to get used to luxuries. But I indulge in what I love. Like I bought this polo team, which I’m going to take forward in a big way. I’m also thinking of buying horses from Germany or England for my show jumping. I’m already buying polo ponies from England.”

His relationship status as of now is ‘single’ courtesy his hectic schedules. “Everything is in a limbo for now because I’m so engrossed with my work.” He adds with a smile, “I’m sure you journalists hear this all the time!” Then on a serious note he explains, “It’s not good to be in a relationship if you can’t contribute. Being just a taker can never work out. Unless I have the time and mental space to enjoy togetherness, I don’t want to be in a relationship. I’ve had some wonderful people in my life. And I’m trying to keep that equation healthy. But I’m not in the frame of mind to have a spouse right now. I am honest about it.” The last time we met, things were different. He was keen on settling down. Remind him and he says, “Yes. I felt that way then and it was wonderful. But then due to work and erratic schedules my personal life took a beating. Sooner or later, someone will fit in. Even if someone doesn’t I won’t regret it. In that sense I’m quite detached.” He chooses not to speak about the much reported relationship with actress Nitu Chandra or anyone else due to the respect he accords to all his relationships. Ask him if he’s in touch with any of his previous girlfriends and it doesn’t take him a second to answer, “All of them. Because my biggest asset is that I am honest. Though it’s hard to be honest in a relationship!”.'  

IIFA Award per l'anno 2013: i vincitori

Il 26 aprile 2014 a Tampa (Florida), nel corso di una cerimonia presentata da Farhan Akhtar e da Shahid Kapoor, sono stati assegnati gli IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Award per la produzione cinematografica del 2013. Segnalo i vincitori nelle categorie più importanti: 

* Miglior film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

* Miglior regista: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra per Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

* Miglior attore protagonista: Farhan Akhtar per Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

* Miglior attrice protagonista: Deepika Padukone per Chennai Express.

Grazie alla partecipazione di John Travolta e di Kevin Spacey, l'evento si è guadagnato una risonanza mondiale, al punto che persino i media italiani ne hanno dato notizia. Travolta si è esibito sul palco con Hrithik Roshan e con Priyanka Chopra. Kevin Spacey ha improvvisato qualche passo di danza con Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor e Deepika Padukone.

Spacey e Travolta sul "green carpet" dei Bollywood Awards, Blasting News: video in italiano.

Per un'ampia carrellata di fotografie, clicca l'argomento AW IIFA nella sezione Photo Gallery.

Unforgettable Tour

[Archivio] Nel 2008 il magnifico show Unforgettable Tour condusse il clan dei Bachchan in nove città di tre continenti diversi. Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai e Abhishek Bachchan si esibirono dal vivo dinanzi ad un pubblico in delirio. Ad affiancarli in quella spettacolare avventura c'erano, fra gli altri, Preity Zinta (in tutte le date), Madhuri Dixit e Akshay Kumar. Le performance più apprezzate? Le coreografie dei brani tratti dalla colonna sonora di Dhoom:2 - Back in action, e naturalmente la coreografia di  Dola Re Dola (da Devdas).  

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Atlantic City

Highway : Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Highway (2014), nuovo lavoro di Imtiaz Ali. Con Alia Bhatt e Randeep Hooda. Colonna sonora di A.R. Rahman.

Elio e le Storie Tese: L'eterna lotta tra il bene e il male

[Archivio] Pronti per una vera chicca? Nel 1997 il gruppo Elio e le Storie Tese pubblicò la raccolta Del meglio del nostro meglio - Volume 1, album che includeva l'inedito L'eterna lotta tra il bene e il male. Una sorpresa per tutti i bollywoodiani tosti: la canzone contiene un (martellante) campionamento del brano Very good very bad, tratto dalla colonna sonora del film Trimurti del 1995, diretto da Mukul S. Anand e interpretato da Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor e Jackie Shroff. (Grazie a Roberto per la segnalazione).

Ranveer Singh: spot Durex

Quest'oggi è stato diffuso in India il primo spot pubblicitario di una marca di preservativi con un attore bollywoodiano come testimonial. Il giovane, stiloso, lanciatissimo Ranveer Singh ha osato infrangere il tabù, ed eccolo danzare e perfino cantare nell'energetico video promozionale Do The Rex.

Rani Mukherjee a Aditya Chopra sposi in Italia

La notizia, che pareva un pesce d'aprile arrivato in ritardo, è ormai confermata da tutte le principali testate giornalistiche indiane. Dopo anni passati a smentire la loro relazione Rani e Aditya si sono finalmente sposati ieri con una cerimonia per pochi intimi tenuta segreta fino a questa mattina. Incontenibile il desiderio di conoscere la location italiana prescelta dalla coppia, indicata al momento solo come una "tranquilla località di campagna". Altro non si sa e la curiosità cresce, soprattutto per il fans italiani. Intatto twitter e internet si scatenano con messaggi d'auguri da parte delle altre celebrità, e articoli dedicati. Al momento non è rintracciabile in rete alcuna foto ufficiale dell'evento, se non alcuni scatti rubati alla coppia durante le celebrazioni di Diwali in casa Chopra. Congratulazioni agli sposi! E grazie per aver scelto il nostro bellissimo Paese!

Total Siyapaa : Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Total Siyapaa, divertente commedia degli equivoci con un cast di tutto rispetto : Ali Zafar (autore e interprete anche della colonna sonora), Kirron Kher, Anupam Kher e Yami Gautam. Diretto da E.Nivas.

Le prime del 25 aprile 2014: Kaanchi

Dopo una lunga gestazione, arriva finalmente nelle sale indiane Kaanchi, il nuovo attesissimo lavoro di Subhash Ghai. Definito un musical-thriller, la distribuzione era stata inizialmente prevista per l'agosto 2013. Ma Ghai, che è anche il produttore del film, ha preferito concedersi un periodo di tempo maggiore per dedicarsi meglio alle rifiniture della pellicola. Nel cast, l'esordiente, misteriosa Mishti. Rishi Kapoor interpreta il ruolo dell'eroe negativo. Ghai è forse il regista più autenticamente bollywoodiano, nell'accezione positiva e negativa del termine. I suoi lavori forse non ammalieranno la critica, ma le sue immense doti tecniche conquistano alla prima occhiata. Nessuno visualizza i brani musicali in modo così magnifico e potente come Ghai. La sua abilità di tradurre il suono in immagine è unica al mondo. Forse Kaanchi mi deluderà, ma non vedo l'ora di assaporare ogni fotogramma delle visualizzazioni della colonna sonora, composta da Ismail Darbar e da Salim-Sulaiman. Trailer.

Ranbir Kapoor gira un film con mamma e papà

[Archivio] 

Il 30 settembre 2013 Euronews aveva caricato in rete un video in italiano dedicato a Besharam che includeva un'intervista concessa da Ranbir Kapoor. La star di Bollywood Ranbir Kapoor gira un film con mamma e papà:

'La più pregiata "fabbrica di sogni" orientale sforna una nuova commmedia d'azione con la superstar trentenne Ranbir Kapoor. L'anno scorso Forbes lo aveva catalogato come una delle massime celebrità indiane che peraltro vanta un notevole patrimonio di diversi milioni di dollari. Sentiamo dalla voce del protagonista come si presenta questo nuovo prodotto cinematografico destinato prima di tutto al vasto pubblico indiano: (...) "E' una commedia e il mio personaggio è un po' sopra le righe, estroso, volgare, un po' disgustoso. Ma è stato divertente interpretarlo. Non credo di voler far diventare questa commedia un marchio, è solo la quintessenza del film d'intrattenimento hindi. C'è la commedia, il romanzo, il dramma, l'azione. Concentra tutto ed è divertente, un nuovo genere per me". Fra l'altro l'attore si esibisce insieme ai suoi stessi veri genitori, il mitico Rishi Kapoor e Neetu Kapoor che interpretano una coppia di poliziotti. Cosa significa girare con i propri genitori? (...) "I preconcetti  direbbero che la cosa spaventa. Ho pensato che mi sarei alterato davanti a loro senza riuscire a creare il giusto dialogo. Soltanto perchè erano i miei genitori ma loro stessi sono dei grandi attori, bravi lavoratori, appassionati nel momento in cui andavamo sul set, ben calati nella parte quindi è stata una bella esperienza con una bella dinamica tra i vari protagonisti. Io interpreto un ladro, loro gli sbirri. Divertente".'

Why Vidya Balan rules

[Archivio] 

Brunch, il supplemento settimanale di Hindustan Times, offre sempre interessanti approfondimenti di argomento cinematografico. Vi propongo la copertina del numero speciale trimestrale di novembre 2011-gennaio 2012 dedicata ad un'irriconoscibile Vidya Balan, nonché il lungo articolo Why Vidya Balan rules, di Vir Sanghvi, del 17 dicembre 2011. Di seguito un estratto:

'For two weeks now everyone I know and possibly most of urban India has been going crazy about Vidya Balan. Nearly everywhere you go she is the subject of discussion and the conversations are nearly always flattering. The obvious point of reference is The Dirty Picture. For two months before the movie released, Vidya was everywhere. Never before in the history of Indian cinema has a star done so much publicity for a film. And The Dirty Picture was not even a big budget special effects extravaganza. (...) But Vidya appeared on every television show you could think of (and many that you would never have thought of) and in every print publication. (...)

Could it be that everyone loved The Dirty Picture? The box office figures suggest that it will be a massive hit not just relative to its (somewhat modest) budget but compared to most other films released this year. Obviously, this is a picture that everyone has seen and liked. Or it could be that they all think that Vidya is terrific in the movie (which she is)? Few actresses could have carried off that role with so much aplomb and managed to hold their own against an actor of the calibre of Naseeruddin Shah who gives one of his best ever performances. (...)

My view is that India has fallen in love with Vidya Balan all over again (...) not because of her current ubiquity or because of any individual film but because we have finally come to terms with who she is. In an industry full of size zero figures, dancing bimbettes and self-consciously trendy bejeaned muppets, Vidya comes off as a breath of fresh air. Basically, it’s this simple: she is a real person. Everything about her is real: the curves, the little roll of fat that she makes no attempt to hide, the clothes that she chooses herself, the roles that she agonises over before finally selecting one that suits her, the hard work she puts into each performance and then into the promotion, and most of all, the guts she demonstrates in finding her own path against the advice of nearly everybody in Bollywood.

We talk of Vidya’s courage only in terms of her willingness to play a southern sex symbol in The Dirty Picture. But compared to the other things she’s done in her life, this is no big deal. In fact, her whole story is one of courage in the face of impossible odds. Born and brought up in Bombay to a middle class south Indian family, Vidya had a dream: to become an actress. But while other girls with that dream would want to be glamorous heroines, Vidya focused on the acting itself. (...) Vidya’s parents insisted that she (...) studied. She did her BA and then an MA in Sociology. “My father said that I could always become an actress,” she recalls. “But I couldn’t go back to college later in life. So I had to first finish my education and then I could do what I wanted. At the time I was not pleased but now, I can’t thank him enough. My parents were absolutely right.”

The education explains why Vidya started off late. But nothing explains why things kept going wrong for so long. She was eventually signed up for a Malayalam film and though it wasn’t the Bollywood career she dreamt of, at least it was a beginning. Moreover, she was starring with Mohanlal. (...) But Mohanlal had a problem with the film’s makers. And so, halfway through, the movie was abandoned, never to be completed. Because Mohanlal is such a big deal in the south, it was unusual for one of his movies to remain incomplete. And the film industry, ever quick to blame a newcomer, decided it was because Vidya Balan brought bad luck to the project. (...) What followed was heartbreaking. In the initial flush of excitement after she had been cast as Mohanlal’s heroine, she had signed a dozen Malayalam films. She was sacked from every single one of them.

She tried Tamil cinema and found a role. There too, things went wrong. The producer also decided that she was a jinx and she was replaced. She signed a second Tamil film, got to the sets and discovered that it was a sex comedy. She had been signed up under false pretences. Naturally she walked out. And as naturally, she was replaced once again. Desperate to find some work at least, she agreed to act in a (...) music video directed by Pradeep Sarkar. This time she was not replaced and the video was completed but there was a fight between labels and the release of the video was stalled. So, after three years in the film industry, Vidya Balan had been replaced in twelve Malayalam movies, two Tamil films and had made one music video which had been caught up in a legal quagmire and not released. (...) I asked her about her state of mind during that phase. She says that it took every ounce of will power to keep from giving up. (...)

Then, slowly, her luck began to change. She was cast in a Bengali film and discovered that she was a Bengali at heart and learnt to speak the language fluently. (She even sings Bengali songs, one of which she sang on camera for me when I seemed somewhat dubious about her linguistic abilities). Pradeep Sarkar (...) had planned to make Parineeta for producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and insisted that Vidya would make a perfect heroine. Naturally, Chopra was leery of investing money in a first-time director and a virtual newcomer as an actress. He insisted on auditioning Vidya and she says she has lost count of the number of auditions she did over a period of several months. Finally, Chopra gave in. He agreed with Sarkar that she was the perfect choice for the role and agreed to sign her. (...)

Lage Raho Munna Bhai gave her the stamp of commercial acceptability and it would have been easy enough for her to have joined the Bollywood rat race since success seemed to come so easily and naturally to her. But after some strange films (...) in which she tried to pretend to be what she is not a Bollywood bimbette Vidya decided that this was not part of her original dream. (...) The reason I like Vidya Balan (...) is because she was ready to start from scratch again. She was willing to walk away from one kind of success. She was ready to take risks that seemed like commercial suicide. All because she still believed in that original dream, not in the commercial fantasy that it had morphed into.

The films that have come in the latest phase of Vidya Balan’s career are not those that a commercially savvy actress would have signed. She agonised for three months before agreeing to do Paa even though it offered her a chance to act with Amitabh Bachchan. (...) It wasn’t that she minded playing Amitabh’s mother. It was just that she was terrified of screwing up. As it turned out, she was brilliant. She was terrific as a deglamourised Sabrina Lal in No One Killed Jessica. And she was even better in Ishqiya where she played the kind of character she developed further in The Dirty Picture: a woman who is willing to use her sexuality in the advancement of her own interests.

Even so, The Dirty Picture represented a huge risk. Hindi cinema no longer requires its heroines to be virginal angels of innocence. But I can’t think of a single other film where a heroine is shown as seducing a man simply to advance her career and is still treated as a sympathetic character. And then there was the terrible visual deterioration that her character suffered at the end of the movie. Which heroine would agree to do all this without wondering about the effect on her stardom? But Vidya took the risk. She liked the role, she said. It offered her a chance to take a character that society looked down on and to invest that person with dignity and depth. Her character didn’t have to be somebody you felt sorry for. You just had to accept that she was an independent woman making her own choices in her own interests. “‘Treat her with respect,’ was my motto,” she says. Now that the risk has paid off and the film is such a stupendous success, it is easy to say that Vidya was right to take the role. But had it gone wrong, it could well have been career suicide.

Except I don’t think that Vidya cares too much about that any longer. She doesn’t care about image or about body issues. She’s happy to be a star. But she’d much rather be an actress. At some level, I think all of us recognise that in Vidya we are dealing with a real person who is making real choices and not with some machine-made, image-manipulated Bollywood star. We respect her risks. We admire her resilience. And we know that even if we didn’t do all of this, even if we didn’t go to see her movies, it would not make that much difference to her. Because after those years of disappointment, rejection and experimentation, Vidya Balan has found her destiny. And her destiny is simply this to be her own person. To be Vidya Balan'.

Hasee Toh Phasee : Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Hasee Toh Phasee godibilissima commedia romantica interpretata da Parineeti Chopra e Sidhart Malhotra diretta dal debuttante Vinil Mathew.

35 years on, the Sholay fire still burns

[Archivio] 

La locandina è pura meraviglia e ne vorrei una gigantografia a casa. Il film è un magnifico classicone. Amitabh Bachchan è DIO e ciò vi basti. Insomma: impossibile averne abbastanza di Sholay, il titolo più celebre e amato della cinematografia popolare in lingua hindi e forse del cinema indiano. Il 24 luglio 2010 Hindustan Times pubblicava un bell'articolo, 35 years on, the Sholay fire still burns, dedicato alla pellicola:

 'It drew its inspiration from multiple Hollywood movies but went on to become the quintessential Indian film, perfectly balancing drama and tragedy, romance and violence, comedy and action. (...) Sometimes described as an Indian curry western, Sholay is still a reference point for Indian cinema and impossible to pin down to any one genre. (...) Director Ramesh Sippy was called a magician for the spell he cast. (...) "We had no idea that this will become such a huge film. We conceived an idea and when we started working on the screenplay, gradually it dawned on us that the film has more than two important characters," Javed Akhtar, who co-scripted the cult film with Saleem Khan, told IANS. "After 35 years, even the minor characters are used in ads, promos, films and sit coms," he said.

Ironically, there were few takers when Sholay, which translates to fire, released Aug 15, 1975. At three hours and 20 minutes, it was deemed too long. But, in an era where there was no television and no effective visual marketing tools, word of mouth worked. It ran for five years straight at Mumbai's Minerva theatre, for instance. "No multistarrer worked as Sholay did. It's got everything. It was a complete package. Initially, in the first two weeks, it didn't do well but it picked up from the third week onwards and became an overnight sensation," said trade analyst Taran Adarsh. "It remains the box office gold standard, a reference point for both the Indian film-going audience and the film industry. For Sholay is not merely a film, it is the ultimate classic," film critic Anupama Chopra wrote. (...)

Technologically, too, the movie was one of its kind - Sholay was India's first 70mm film and also the first stereophonic sound movie. (...) Produced by G.P. Sippy at a budget of about Rs.3 crore at that time, it was completed by Ramesh Sippy over a period of two-and-a-half years. It was released with as many as 250 prints. Scriptwriter duo Salim-Javed wrote themselves into posterity, their dialogues being mouthed across the country. They were at their creative best, from scripting action scenes, to flavouring it with romance and comedy, they served the tastiest ever curry for Indian audiences. (...) Sholay still has to its credit a standing record of 60 golden jubilees across India. It was the first film in the history of Indian cinema to celebrate a silver jubilee at over 100 theatres across the country. The plaudits have never stopped. In 1999, BBC India declared it as the film of the millennium. Its run at the Bollywood box office even caught the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records, where it was inducted for its five-year run'.

Kajol: As a single mother, it was tougher for mom

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Kajol a Karishma Loynmoon, pubblicata oggi da Filmfare. As a single mother, it was tougher for mom:

'Ferocious, uncontrollable and loyal to a fault. That’s Kajol for you. When she’s around, the octave levels in the room rise by a few notches. And in her roar, she’s all love. You realise she’s all bark and no bite. (...) Perhaps it’s this child-woman persona that has kept her endeared to a generation of viewers. (...)

How has the meaning of romance changed for you?

A lot. What Ajay [Devgan] and I have today is much deeper. Those 10 minutes we spend together in the day are enough. It’s just that you’re spending time with your spouse. You’re probably discussing stuff or doing your own thing. It’s the comfort and companionship. I used to do this with my mom (Tanuja). My mom, sister and me would sit in three corners and we’d all read. That’s how we’d bond. No one chatted at the time and we were content. Marriage is no different, you can be comfortable with the person even if you don’t say much.

How does he react when you throw a fit?

He gets to know I’ve had a bad day from the way I say hello. He asks me what’s wrong and that’s that. I’ll vent and rant and crib, then he’ll vent and rant and crib. In his defense, he’s not the sort to raise his voice often. But he won’t hold back when he’s absolutely pissed off. But for him to reach that point takes a lot. I get there easily.

What were you like as a newlywed bride?

It took me nearly a year to get comfortable in the house. It took time to come to terms with compromising or feeling at home. It took me six months to go to the ground floor to ask for a coffee. I used to come down every day like a sweet guest. (...) I had the right people backing me.

What’s your take on extra-marital affairs?

I don’t have them. (Giggles) Thank God for it! Frankly, it takes too much time and effort. I don’t know how people do it. As he (Ajay Devgn) tells me, one woman is more than enough. It works for me too. Seriously, I find one man difficult to handle, I can’t imagine handling two and three for that matter. (...)

What are the things Ajay loves about you?

(Laughs) You know after 15 years, you should ask me what are things he hates about me? And I’ll give you a list. Whatever’s not on that list, will be what he loves about me. Jokes apart, when he’s in a good mood, he likes me talking. I think he likes my sense of priority. (...)

What are family holidays like?

They are a mess. I need a two-to-three day holiday to recover from our vacations. I tell Ajay to not look or even talk to me after our holidays. I let the maid do all the work. (...) We take three to four holidays a year usually with the extended family with nieces and nephews. So we’re basically 25 people with the staff. We go for three to four days but for those many days we manage to pack in so much, run around like headless chickens to get things done and also handle kids' tantrums. And we have a blast. (...)

Do you see your mother Tanuja in yourself?

I see a lot of her in me now. I didn’t realise how much of her was in me till I got married and more so when I had kids. It’s happened unintentionally. Her sense of discipline, the way she looks at situations and people, the way she meets people - I think I’m a lot like her. But I’m not as nice or forgiving. We share a sense of conduct and confidence. We have our doubts and fears. But we don’t know what it feels like to be insecure.

She was largely a single mother. Now that you’re a mom, can you fathom the kind of sacrifices she may have made in her heyday?

Definitely. (...) In retrospect, I remember it so clearly. As a single mother, it was tough for her. Now that I think about it, every holiday there was no male figure or maid around to help her out. My mom took us everywhere. (...) We were seven children including my cousins. (...) She used to put us in the car and drive up and down for the weekend. It was amazing! She’s a wonder woman!'.

Anurag Kashyap: That day after everyday e spot Femina India

[Archivio] Il 29 ottobre 2013 Anurag Kashyap aveva caricato in rete il suo cortometraggio dal titolo That day after everyday, della durata di poco più di venti minuti. Da quella data, il video è stato visionato quasi quattro milioni di volte. E già che sono in argomento, vi propongo anche lo spot commissionato da Femina India, interpretato da Kalki Koechlin, diretto da Kashyap nel 2011.

Il flusso inverso dei cervelli secondo il film Swades

[Archivio] 

Vi segnalo il lungo articolo Arrivano i nostri! Dal brain drain al brain gain: il flusso inverso dei cervelli secondo il film Swades, pubblicato da Crepuscoli Dottorali il 2 novembre 2012 a firma Aelfric Bianchi. L'autore, nella sua interessante analisi, affronta il tema della diaspora indiana e della sua rappresentazione nella cinematografia popolare in lingua hindi, soffermandosi su due titoli in particolare: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge e Swades. Bianchi cita anche Lagaan. Di seguito un estratto:

'All’iniziale diffidenza, se non addirittura manifesta ostilità, nei confronti dei “traditori” NRI [Non Resident Indians], alla cui cultura ibridizzata erano contrapposti i valori puri e incontaminati dell’autentico desh agricolo, subentra una loro progressiva rivalutazione, che finisce per farne l’elemento portante di tutto un filone. Scherniti e derisi in una prima fase in quanto imitatori pedissequi dei “corrotti” costumi occidentali, (...) essi assurgono negli anni al ruolo di eroi positivi, capaci di contemperare nel migliore dei modi modernità e tradizione, importando in contesti “altri” proprio l’attaccamento ai principi e agli ideali patri che in passato erano accusati di aver rinnegato. 

A sancire l’inizio di questa nuova tendenza è senza dubbio Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, (...) autentico cult movie ancor oggi amatissimo dal pubblico indiano. (...) La trionfale accoglienza da parte del pubblico indiano (locale ed espatriato) di Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (...) è alla base del proliferare di film incentrati sulle figure di NRI visti nella loro duplice dimensione deshi e foreign, come portatori di un nuovo benessere ma al contempo strenui difensori dei valori più genuini della terra d’origine. (...)

 

Tra le numerose pellicole imperniate su personaggi di Indiani non residenti nella madrepatria, accomunate dai sermoni di acceso tono patriottico, dalle inderogabili sequenze di danza e canto e dalle scene di matrimonio, potrebbe a un primo sguardo confondersi anche Swades: We, the People. Sebbene ne condivida la tematica di fondo, tuttavia, questo film (...) se ne differenzia in maniera radicale sia sul piano prettamente stilistico e formale sia a livello di impalcatura ideologica. Nonostante la presenza di Shah Rukh Khan (...) e gli elogi unanimi della critica, ricevette un’accoglienza piuttosto fredda da parte del pubblico indiano, assurgendo invece a vero e proprio cult movie presso le platee di NRI disseminate nel mondo. (...) Ancora più evidente è il tentativo di contemperare le istanze tipiche del blockbuster (il cui successo è riconducibile a una vasta gamma di fattori, a cominciare dal costante superamento di nuove frontiere sul piano della spettacolarità, dall’offerta di un’esperienza cinematografica immediatamente gratificante a livello sensoriale e dalla capacità di intercettare i gusti, le tendenze e le opinioni più diffuse nella società) con quelle dei film “d’arte” e di superare la tradizionale incompatibilità con il mercato occidentale. (...) Swades (...) rivela nella sceneggiatura la propria diversità. (...) Al pari di Lagaan costituisce un’opera esemplare della svolta epocale ormai in atto nel cinema di massa indiano, raggiungendo un pubblico assai vasto senza cedere alle facili lusinghe dei grandi titoli commerciali, in genere poco amati dalla critica, maltrattati nei discorsi quotidiani degli spettatori “critici”, ritenuti superficiali e semplicisti nella rappresentazione della realtà, ma soddisfacendone comunque i gusti e i desideri e sottraendosi in tal modo al destino della maggioranza dei film “impegnati”, spesso visti soltanto in Occidente perché neppure distribuiti a livello locale. (...) Da non sottovalutare è poi l’assenza in quest’ultimo film di un “nemico” vero e proprio, subito riconoscibile come tale: il “male” risiede infatti nell’ideologia retrograda, nell’arretratezza e nella rassegnazione, ed è quindi un nemico interiore e senza volto, dai contorni non facilmente definibili. (...)

Il processo di cambiamento interiore del protagonista è indagato con finezza in profondità, a differenza di quanto avviene nella grande maggioranza dei film popolari hindi, che, riducendo o addirittura azzerando l’enorme varietà di identità sociali, regionali, etniche e religiose di cui si compone la società indiana, mirano piuttosto a creare una sorta di Eden omogeneo e uniforme, carente di riferimenti alla storia e all’attualità della nazione e popolato non tanto da “uomini reali”, quanto piuttosto da archetipi, modelli perfetti e tipi fissi, sostanzialmente stereotipati (l’Eroe e il Cattivo, l’Eroina e la sua Migliore Amica, il Padre Affettuoso e la Matrigna Crudele). (...) Grande attenzione il regista dedica inoltre all’analisi psicologica dei personaggi secondari, i quali non si limitano a incarnare semplici “maschere”, ma risultano investiti di una marcata impronta specifica e individuale. (...) 

La questione stessa delle caste è affrontata con inusuale garbo e in maniera assai approfondita, senza l’enfasi retorica - e la sostanziale superficialità - che caratterizza molti film bollywoodiani di tematica “sociale”: Mohan [il protagonista], pur opponendosi alle discriminazioni e ai pregiudizi implicati da un sistema che ritiene ingiusto e arretrato, fonda le proprie argomentazioni su motivazioni razionali, argomentandole e discutendole nello spirito di una critica costruttiva, evitando condanne iperboliche e spettacolari e mostrando sempre e comunque rispetto nei confronti di opinioni che non condivide ma che sa bene essere radicate da sempre nella mentalità indiana. Improntata al medesimo realismo è anche la rappresentazione pratica della miseria che si cela sotto la facciata luminosa di una nazione in continua e inarrestabile crescita e delle iniquità di cui essa è permeata. Esemplare in questa prospettiva è la sequenza della proiezione all’aperto di un vecchio successo bollywoodiano (...), con lo schermo che divide non solo simbolicamente gli abitanti del villaggio in due (i membri delle caste inferiori essendo costretti ad assistere al film da dietro), almeno finché non si celebra il miracolo salvifico del cinema, capace di abbattere ogni barriera e di unire tutto il pubblico, sia pure per un istante, in un entusiastico coro di approvazione. Senza dubbio una così atipica e massiccia presenza di agganci alla realtà sociopolitica contemporanea (...) può aver turbato spettatori avvezzi a cercare in prima istanza l’intrattenimento puro e una sorta di rifugio ideale per i propri sogni, contribuendo a determinare l’accoglienza non certo trionfale riservata a Swades. (...) Alla luce di simili premesse, può apparire per certi versi legittimo definire Swades come una sorta di anello di congiunzione ideale tra il filone cinematografico dedicato agli indiani espatriati e i film sociali e progressisti del periodo nehruviano. (...) Emerge dunque con chiarezza l’estrema complessità di un film che si presta a diversi livelli di lettura, capace di coniugare, pur con qualche pecca, intrattenimento leggero e denuncia sociale, spettacolarità e realismo, spirito patriottico e assenza di retorica. (...) Con Swades Gowariker ha saputo senza dubbio rinnovare un modello ormai ritenuto superato, affrontando con sensibilità temi cari a molti registi del periodo post-indipendenza, in particolare a quelli bengalesi: l’oppressione dei più deboli, le diseguaglianze sociali e gli stenti degli strati meno abbienti della popolazione indiana. Parallelamente, ha dimostrato come sia possibile sfruttare un filone consolidato, quello appunto imperniato sulla figura del NRI, in maniera originale. 

Significativa è in quest’ottica la scelta di Shah Rukh Khan nel ruolo di protagonista, in quanto l’attore deve molta della sua immensa popolarità anche fuori dai confini del Subcontinente alle sue numerose interpretazioni di indiani espatriati, a partire dal già menzionato Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Non a caso la sua prova si è meritata il plauso unanime della critica, che ne ha lodato l’intensità e la misura, a loro volta piuttosto inconsuete nella carriera di King Khan, avvezzo a far convergere su di sé l’attenzione degli spettatori, spogliando i suoi personaggi di ogni parvenza naturalistica per rivestirli di cliché di successo sperimentati, dalla postura fortemente evidenziata alla dizione enfatizzata e lontana dal normale parlato quotidiano, alla drammatizzazione del comportamento fisico e affabulatorio. In Swades, al contrario, la sua recitazione è composta e controllata, scevra di gigionerie anche nelle situazioni dove ci si attenderebbe un suo atteggiamento da “mattatore”. E non è da escludere che una simile anomalia possa a sua volta aver inciso sullo scarso successo commerciale del film, almeno presso il pubblico locale, favorendone al contrario gli ottimi risultati conseguiti in Occidente, non solo tra i migranti indiani. A differenza di quanto accade in numerose pellicole appartenenti al medesimo filone, inoltre, Shah Rukh Khan interpreta qui una figura più complessa, meno ancorata agli stereotipi tradizionali: Mohan incarna in sé, infatti, proprio quell’ambivalenza (...) perlopiù assent[e] nei personaggi dei film commerciali. Lacerato da dubbi e da contraddizioni, fino all’ultimo è preda del dilemma della scelta tra due alternative, nessuna delle quali è del tutto soddisfacente. La sua decisione di tornare nella madrepatria è l’esito di un lungo processo interiore e in quanto tale non si riduce a un mero atto aprioristico, alla conseguenza “naturale” della piena positività associata nel cinema popolare all’eroe. Il suo antagonista non è esterno; risiede piuttosto dentro di lui, nelle sue paure e nelle sue incertezze. Il “nemico” che si oppone al lieto fine non è il terzo vertice del classico “triangolo amoroso”, tanto sfruttato dall’industria bollywoodiana; e nemmeno è, secondo una tendenza assai diffusa, un NRI “cattivo”, che, con le sue perversioni e i suoi vizi, rappresenta l’esatta antitesi del protagonista; bensì è costituito dal suo stesso “lato oscuro”, da un bagaglio di sentimenti contrastanti così “reale” e dunque così estraneo al modello canonico. Con la sua definitiva risoluzione, Mohan non si limita certo a incarnare l’auspicio che al brain drain subentri il brain gain, facendo leva sulla nostalgia, e magari sui sensi di colpa, degli indiani espatriati, ma si spinge oltre, giungendo a indicare una via in grado di superare l’antinomia tra vecchio e nuovo, tra tradizione e modernità, tra Oriente e Occidente, pacificando i due estremi e dimostrandone la possibile coesistenza, in linea peraltro con un pensiero che antepone da sempre l’unità alle differenze'.

Irrfan Khan: spot 7 Up

FA-VO-LO-SO !!! Dimenticate l'ingrigito personaggio di The Lunchbox e godetevi uno scatenatissimo, inedito Irrfan Khan nel nuovo spot pubblicitario commissionato da 7 Up. Da vedere rivedere e rivedere. Nel cast anche Raveena Tandon.