Bombay Rose a Roma

Bombay Rose verrà proiettato a Roma, al cinema Nuovo Olimpia, il 18 settembre 2019 alle ore 18.30.

Chola a Milano

Chola verrà proiettato a Milano, all'Eliseo Multisala, il 25 settembre 2019 alle ore 18.30, nell'ambito della manifestazione Le Vie del Cinema.

Woh

Vi segnalo l'articolo How two men pulled off a 52-episode Indian adaptation of Stephen King's It... without reading a single page, di Gayle Sequeira, pubblicato oggi da Film Companion. Il pezzo racconta l'incredibile realizzazione di Woh, una serie televisiva indiana horror diretta da Glen Barretto e Ankush Mohla, trasmessa nel 1998 dal canale Zee TV, ispirata dalla seconda parte del celebre romanzo It - o meglio, dalla sinossi di dieci righe - e dalle due puntate della miniserie americana omonima. Né i registi né gli sceneggiatori hanno mai letto il libro. Nel cast Ashutosh Gowariker, Shreyas Talpade e Liliput Faruqui (nel ruolo del clown). L'articolo include il link ad un paio di episodi.

'Fresh off the shoot of Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995), on which he [Mohla] was an assistant director, he wanted to bring that "small-town, college campus" wibe to Woh. He asked Barretto, a chief assistant director he'd met as an apprentice on Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), to help him adapt the book into a series. (...)

His [di Barretto] next task was 'Indianizing' the show. He moved the setting from Derry, Maine, to the hill station of Panchgani, linked the resurgence of the clown to a solar eclipse (considered inauspicious in Hindu mythology) and wrote it such that the evil could only be defeated by a crystal found inside the well of a local temple.

In 1996, the two shot a 40-minute pilot at Madh Island "just for fun". They were in their 20s. (...) As he [Barretto] had assisted Gowariker on Pehla Nasha (1993) and Baazi (1995), convincing the director to play the part of Ashutosh, whose son is kidnapped (and later possessed) by the clown, was easy.

What's harder was finding takers for the show. (...) Sony passed on the pilot. Doordarshan picked it up but gave the show the 6.30 PM 'child programming' slot on seeing the clown. Baffled, Mohla and Barretto decided to turn down the offer. (...) Zee TV was interested in the show. " We got to know this in November 1997. Janyuary 1998 was supposed to be the telecast date. Everything moved quickly after that," says Mohla.

The title track happened overnight. Mohla and composer Raju Singh holed themselves up inside a room and listened to English electronic band Prodigy from 11 PM to 5 AM. They emerged with an eerie, childlike 'na na na na' tune. The voices chanting 'woh woh woh woh' over what sounds like a sick turntable beat are theirs. The resulting opening credits were a spooky, seemingly Se7en-inspired montage, featuring shots of a bloodied knife, scorpions, barbed wire, tribal masks and a mud crab (to represent Madh Island, where parts of the show were shot). (...)

As neither writer had read the book, they borrowed much of their characters' personalities from the actors playing them. (...) Mohla himself, who had what Barretto calls a "James Dean vibe" played Shiva, a local don. (...) As most of the cast were friends, dialogues were born out of their banter. Scenes and subplots were written, rewritten, added or subtracted to accomodate actors who had become more popular over the course of the show and were now busy with other projects. (...)

Liliput's own life experiences heavily influenced the ending. He told Mohla and Barretto anecdotes of being publicly laughed at and discriminated against because of his stature. His move to Mumbai and success as an actor despite these obstacles made them determined to give the character a great sendoff in the finale. The actor would later say this show was one of the few times he wasn't relegated to just the comic relief'.

Vicky Kaushal: 'When KJo's video was shared, I had no clue that I became the charsi'

Vi segnalo questa magnifica intervista (non integrale) concessa da Vicky Kaushal a Mayank Shekhar e pubblicata oggi da Mid-Day. Il pezzo include il link al video dell'intervista completa.  When KJo's video was shared, I had no clue that I became the charsi':

'How did you land Uri [given the unlikely CV]? (...)

I got a call from Ronnie Screwvala's office that they had dropped off an action script [to be directed by Aditya, who I already knew]. I saw the title, Uri: The Surgical Strike. And now I wasn't the actor. I was actually curious to know what happened [in Uri]. It took me four-and-a-half hours to read the script, in one go, which is what I prefer - as if I'm watching a film. That's when I get a true sense of what I feel.

As an audience?

Yes. So I started watching the film, and I just couldn't get it. There was just too much information, military-technical-logistical language. Also, I didn't feel anything. Because I hadn't taken four-and-a-half hours to read a script before. (...) My dad, who was equally curious about the Uri incident, and had read the script lying around, asked me what I thought of it. I said I'm not sure. He told me that if I miss this film, it'll be the biggest mistake of my life! He said that maybe I'm in a different space right now, in another kind of military film, and that's why unable to connect.

You were playing a Pak military officer, shooting for Raazi. Of course you're not going to like Uri!

[Laughs] And then I don't know what happened. I got back to the script four days later, finished it in an hour-and-a-half, as if I was reading it for the first time. I called up Sonia [Screwvala's associate] at 3 am, and said, I will do the film.

You essentially have your dad to thank for Uri. What I find most fascinating is actually your dad [Sham Kaushal]! Tell us his [lesser known] story.

My dad and mom are from a small village in Punjab. He was good in studies, and started learning English in sixth grade. He went on to top BA, in English Literature; did his MA. And wanted to be an English professor in Punjab. But the family's financial situation was such that he could not pursue an M.Phil from Chandigarh. At 23, he was frustrated, with no job, even after an MA degree. My dadaji [grandfather] had a very small kiraane ki dukaan [convenience store] in the village. My dad's friend Satpal was going to Bombay to become an actor. Since my dad was doing nothing at home, and frustrated, my grandfather asked him to tag along with the friend, for a few days, feel better, and come back. In Bombay, my dad wanted to start a new life. He had a distant uncle in New Bombay, who got him a salesman's job in a plumbing-wall shop, behind RK Studios, in Chembur. He did that for Rs 350 a month, and really struggled. He's been on streets. Without letting anybody know, he used to live in the office, having done a 'setting' with the peon. He would sleep, leave early; and come back, when work started.

He would take a shower in office?

Yeah, everything. After a year, he knew he couldn't start a family with R350 a month, even if he did the same thing for 15 to 30 years. So, without Plan B, he quits his job, and comes to a PG [paying-guest accommodation] in Santacruz. Here, he stays with 10 Punjabi guys, who're stuntmen. They leave for work in the morning, and come back with a tidy sum in the evening. That's when he discovers this [profession]. Purely for survival, he decides to become a stuntman, at 25. People start training at 13-15, when their body is flexible. He had never done any physical activity before. He used to sit in his father's shop, and do accounts. So he is a stuntman for 10 years. He lands up his first film as action director with Mohanlal, because the Malayalam filmmakers were shooting in Bombay. They needed someone to handle the stunt sequences. They would've been okay with an experienced stuntman as well. So long as the person understood English, so they could communicate with him. My father was the only guy around who knew English. He got that job because of his degree in English Literature! (...)

Did you get to observe showbiz closely as a result?

No. Well, my brother Sunny and I knew that the good things we were getting in life was because of a lot of dad's hardships, and my mom's support to him. But it was never a house, where we wanted to meet our favourite stars, go on sets, parties, etc. We had friends line up outside our house, for an autograph of an actor who was visiting. For us, that actor was my dad's friend. For example, Anurag [Kashyap] sir and I always have a laugh about this. He knows me since Black Friday [in which my dad was action director]. I was probably in my eighth grade. So when he used to come over for meetings, I used to call him uncle, serve him parathas, and go out to play cricket. So it was that. (...)

Did it bother you, as in a system where a star takes all, or that you would have to become one [in order to succeed]?

Not at all. To be honest, I don't know why, but I never had a sense [of entitlement] that I should be launched as a star. I knew I could make a mark by knowing my job - just going through the drill, and getting opportunities on the basis of what I know. Also, my father had made it clear that he would back my decision to be an actor, as a father alone. And not as an action director. So I had that reality-check - that nobody is going to spend crores, because I'm Sham Kaushal's son. And he's not going to do it either. Besides, for whatever reasons, whether some sort of complex, or plain under-confidence, my dream wasn't so big - that I want to be a hero. I was just on auto-pilot - that I'll give auditions, learn the craft through theatre, be an AD [assistant director]...

You did a lot of theatre?

I did. But I started off as an intern to Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur. I also started reading scripts that my dad would get, to match with the final film, and see changes that an actor brought in. I could visit sets with him. But realised I'd then just be a visitor. My knowledge of engineering is so bookish that I can't even repair a TV. I wanted to be an engineer, who has been at the garage for four years. So I decided to dive into acting, with on-field learning. (...) Through actors on set, I got to know the importance of theatre. I'd been active on stage since school, but feared it professionally. I started doing theatre with Manav Kaul, Kumud Mishra, Naseer saab [Naseeruddin Shah], Thespo Festival, and Rage Productions - my first pay-cheque. I joined Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting academy. I also had to clean my slate, after being an assistant-director, because I wasn't looking at that profession. I completely cut off from Anurag sir.

But he made you act in Gangs, though!

It's the scene where Nagma Khatoon [Richa Chadha] goes to a brothel. Last minute, everyone [junior artistes] that we'd rounded up in Benares refused to participate in that scene, once they realised it's a brothel. The entire direction team stood-in for them. I'm that silhouette you see behind the window-grille, (...) when Nagma Khatoon is cursing Sardar Khan [Manoj Bajpayee]! That was the first time I faced a camera.

Oh, I'm told your first time before camera was for [director] Michael Winterbottom?

Yes, that was the first time I faced the camera, and you could see my face! Michael Winterbottom was making a film called Trishna, with Freida Pinto. We'd just finished shooting Gangs in March, 2011, and I had these braces, and was an AD. I had gone to my native place in Punjab with family, when I got a call from Anurag Kashyap, and he said, "Item number karega (Will you do an item number)?" I was like, what? He said, it's a Michael Winterbottom film, and Huma [Qureshi] and I will dance, and that he's acting in it as well, it'll be fun. So, Trishna, that's Freida's character in the film, comes to Bombay from Rajasthan, and a friend of hers takes her to a film-set. There's a song being shot with choreographer Ganesh Acharya, which is being picturised between and Huma and I [in the film, within the film]. (...) I was wearing this shimmery black, typically item-number costume, which I was very conscious of. I had no idea how it feels to be before a camera, with 50 back-up dancers, and 200 people around. So, my body is dancing, but my face is like this [frozen]. Ganesh Acharya sir, who was very sweet, came up to me and said, "You're dancing well. Now just dance from your face!" Of course, with several retakes, we got it right. (...)

Masaan was your first release. But Zubaan, which picked up top festival awards, was actually your first film. Honestly, couldn't understand that movie. Should one go back and watch it again?

I don't feel an audience should change the way they should watch a film. If you can't connect, you can't. It really resonated with me - a Punjabi from Gurdaspur, going to a big city, living that life, eventually realising it's not him; and now he has to connect back to his roots, and music becomes his medium. There was a lot for me to do as an actor - the journey, plus that stammering, plus music... If I feel connected to a material, for any reason, I just plunge into it. I don't think if it's going to do any good. I went through several rounds of auditions, from a short-list of around 200-300 actors, for that role.

Even Masaan, for that matter, I'm told, you'd seen the pilot promo of that film with other actors already. Who were the other people doing that film then?

I remember [director] Neeraj [Ghaywan] and I, with the entire AD team of Gangs of Wasseypur, were going to Pune. Because a friend had lost someone in her family. We were in the same car, catching up after long. He was telling me about a film he was trying to make. (...) He showed me the pilot-promo. It looked very interesting, and he gave me the gist. The cast was Rajkummar Rao for the part I [eventually] played. (...) There was Manoj Bajpayee for the part played by Sanjay Mishraji, and Richa [Chadha], and Shweta [Tripathi]. That was the promo. The film had to be shot in October during Durga Puja. (...) If they missed the deadline, they'd have to shoot the following year, which they couldn't afford. Raj couldn't make it during the time, so that slot became open. They were looking for new actors. So they auditioned me, and I passed!

That was a breakout role. You owe your career to Rajkummar Rao!

[Laughs] Yes. In fact, my first few films, even Zubaan or Raman Raghav [2015], had gone to somebody else, and then they started auditioning again. (...)

Speaking of directors, you've worked with Anurag Kashyap as an intern [Gangs], then actor [Raman Raghav, Manmarziyaan], he also produced Masaan. He's notorious for throwing actors into the deep-end, no script, etc. How did that work for you, starting off?

He's a very impromptu kind of a creative force, relying on impulse. If you give him everything ready on paper, then he might not know what to do on a set. He does give you the lines. He just doesn't want actors to be rigid, when it comes to them. So he wants you to enter knowing what your character is. And then allow him, the geography, and the costumes to mould you.

Give an example?

Sometimes, we may not have the lines beforehand. For example, my last scene in Manmarziyaan. It's the separation scene between Taapsee and I, in her room. We were ready in costume. He had told the DOP [cinematographer] to keep the tracking-shot ready. And he is with his pen and paper, writing the scene, while we're in costume. He gives us the lines, and we have five to ten minutes to prepare. I had to hug Taapsee. It is an emotional moment. My character has accepted the fact that he's not the guy in her life. He hugs her. And once a scene is over, as per the script, for the next ten to fifteen seconds, Anurag sir has a tendency to not say cut.

He will just keep the camera rolling?

Yeah, while the actors are thinking, what do I do next? I still remember, it was my OS [over-the-shoulder] shot. I have hugged Taapsee. The moment is done. And done. And done... But I still can't hear, cut! Then I see Anurag Kashyap sitting right next to that camera, looking at me, going, "Alag ho jaa, alag ho jaa [separate]." So in that emotional, teared-up state, I don't know what to do. She [Taapsee] doesn't know what to do either. And then, I just start beat boxing. That makes Taapsee smile. And that makes me smile. And then, he says cut. That is the moment, and the scene in the film. Not the one he had written.

Is Rajkumar Hirani the methodically prepared, polar-opposite?

He is as organic. The difference between them lies in the writing, and structuring of the film. And their ways of presenting a story. As directors, they are both fine editors. They can see the film while shooting it, and so they are super-fast - no safety-shots, no safety-cuts. I've seen on Sanju, Raju sir has called for a steady-cam operator on set for a specific shot and moment. It's a full night's shoot anyway. While shooting the scene, he captured that moment on a static camera. He was so sure that he had got the shot, that he just told the steady-cam operator to pack-up'.

Maria Rosaria Borrelli: Raccontare la notte dell'anima. Il cinema di M. Night Shyamalan

È in distribuzione nelle librerie italiane il saggio Raccontare la notte dell'anima, dedicato al noto regista M. Night Shyamalan. L'autrice è Maria Rosaria Borrelli. Pubblica Shatter Edizioni.

Chanakya: le riprese in Italia

Nella giornata di ieri a Como sono state effettuate alcune riprese di Chanakya, film in lingua telugu diretto da Thiru e interpretato da Gopichand e da Mehreen Pirzada. Le location selezionate: lungolago, piazza Duomo, Teatro Sociale, Tempio Voltiano, piazza Giuseppe Verdi, via Francesco Ballarini. Oggi e domani i set vengono allestiti a Milano. 

Video Troupe indiana a Como per le riprese di un film, Espansione Tv, 28 agosto 2019.

Video Riprese di un film indiano in centro Como, CiaoComo Radio, 28 agosto 2019.

Aggiornamento del 3 novembre 2023: video del brano Gulabhi.

Sex, drugs, politics: how the streaming giants are blowing up Bollywood

Vi segnalo l'articolo Sex, drugs, politics: how the streaming giants are blowing up Bollywood, di Steve Rose, pubblicato ieri da The Guardian:

'“The three big ‘no’s in Indian cinema are sexuality, religion and politics,” says Anurag Kashyap. “And in Sacred Games we address all three.” The Netflix series, which Kashyap co-directed, takes viewers to places Bollywood rarely does. (...) A dense, tense crime saga that closely tracks real-world history: political and police corruption, organised crime, religious tension, nuclear terrorism. (...) There is blood, sex, and violence, not to mention a trailblazing transgender character. “You cannot do that in mainstream cinema and have an audience,” Kashyap says. “It’s a given that movie-watching in India is a family experience, a community experience. Families didn’t sit together to see Sacred Games.” (...)

With 1.3 billion people and more than 500 million internet subscribers, not to mention flatlining growth in other territories, the streaming giants have been moving into India big time. Both Netflix and Amazon launched their services there in 2016, taking on larger local rivals such as the Disney-owned Hotstar. (...) Not only are these companies telling stories Bollywood can’t, they are bringing them to audiences Bollywood can’t reach. Sacred Games was a phenomenon in India, but the show was watched by twice as many people outside the country, according to Netflix. (...)

Sacred Games is not the only boundary-pushing Indian show Netflix has released. There is supernatural horror Ghoul, set in a detention facility in a near-future India under martial law due to sectarian violence. There is cricketing drama Selection Day, based on the book by Booker prize-winner Aravind Adiga, and directed by British-Indian Udayan Prasad. On a very different tack was Lust Stories, an anthology of short films by four directors (including Kashyap), all focusing on female sexuality. (...) Amazon has also put out provocative content, such as Mirzapur, a crime saga infused with sex and violence, that would not get past the cinema censors.

At the other end of the spectrum was this year’s Delhi Crime, based on the horrific gang rape, torture and murder of Jyoti Singh on a Delhi bus in 2012. (...) Delhi Crime focuses on the manhunt for the six perpetrators, based on the real-life case files. The investigation is spearheaded by a female deputy police commissioner. (...) Powerfully portrayed by Shefali Shah, she is a different kind of heroine to the Bollywood norm: fortysomething, a sympathetic mother but also a formidable leader, who insists everything is done by the book. (...) A pacy police procedural that doubles as a wide-ranging societal survey. Although it is sympathetic towards the police, the series hardly casts India in a flattering light. This is a landscape of institutional sexism, societal indifference, self-serving politicians, endemic corruption, press leaks, power cuts, pollution and badly funded public services. Even to get a forensic team to a crime scene requires twisting arms and calling in favours. (...)

Even in cinemas, streaming giants are exerting an influence on Indian cinema, it seems. (...) Could this be the beginning of a brain-drain in Indian cinema? Could the streaming services start to erode Bollywood? (...) There is something to lose here. For all its inaccessibility, Bollywood is really the only substantial national cinema that has not been co-opted by the US and other foreign players. As Kashyap puts it: “Our biggest strength is our biggest weakness: that we do not need to sell a single ticket to a non-Indian to sustain ourselves.” It doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game, but the streaming companies have created an extra platform for more outward-facing Indian film-makers such as Kashyap. (...) Having been outsiders, they now find themselves in a position of unprecedented power and influence. The game has changed'.

Priyanka Chopra e Nick Jonas a Selinunte: Google Camp 2019

Priyanka Chopra e Nick Jonas sono nuovamente in Italia, questa volta a Selinunte (Sicilia), per partecipare al blindatissimo Google Camp 2019.

Dimple Kapadia e Christopher Nolan: set di Tenet in Estonia

Dimple Kapadia è stata scritturata per Tenet, il nuovo film di Christopher Nolan. La pellicola verrà girata in diversi Paesi, fra cui l'Italia. La troupe è attualmente in Estonia. Nelle due fotografie diffuse in rete, l'attrice e il regista sono immortalati sul set allestito in questi giorni per l'appunto in Estonia.

Aggiornamento del 26 agosto 2020: a partire da oggi Tenet è in distribuzione nelle sale italiane.

Dimple Kapadia e John David Washington, set a Mumbai, settembre 2019

Kabir Bedi cittadino onorario di Caggiano

Il 27 luglio 2019 Kabir Bedi ha ricevuto la cittadinanza onoraria di Caggiano (Salerno) con la seguente motivazione: 'Interpretando i sentimenti della Comunità di Caggiano nel riconoscere degnamente, quale pubblica attestazione di stima e gratitudine, i grandi meriti artistici universalmente riconosciuti dell’attore Kabir Bedi per aver magistralmente interpretato il leggendario e carismatico eroe salgariano di ‘Sandokan’ nella storica serie televisiva RAI, nonché, per le sue benemerite attività che lo vedono attualmente impegnato nel sociale in favore dei bambini poveri dell’India'. Kabir ha replicato: 'Essere cittadino di Caggiano è una cosa molto speciale per me. Da sempre ho provato a migliorare i rapporti tra Italia e India perché pur avendo cultura e religione differenti, abbiamo tante cose in comune, a partire dalla storia e dai valori per la comunità e la famiglia che uniscono tutti i popoli. Ho girato tanti posti in Italia, tra cui Caggiano e quando rientro in India porterò tanti ricordi ma soprattutto la testimonianza del vostro calore che ho ricevuto già durante la mia visita di ottobre scorso [clicca qui]'. Fonte Ondanews. Video Italia2Tv.

Giffoni Film Festival 2019

La 49esima edizione del Giffoni Film Festival si è svolta dal 19 al 27 luglio 2019. Hichki, diretto da Siddharth Malhotra e interpretato da Rani Mukherjee, si è aggiudicato il premio per il miglior film della sezione Elements +10. Condividendo il mio messaggio relativo alla vittoria, Malhotra ha commentato nel suo profilo Twitter: 'Super super excited to share that our labour of love @hichkithefilm wins the Elements +10 best film award at the @giffonifilmfest' (clicca qui). Blinded By The Light, di Gurinder Chadha, ha vinto il premio per il miglior film della sezione Generator +13, e verrà distribuito nella sale del nostro Paese a partire dal prossimo 29 agosto (trailer).

Le Giornate del Cinema Lucano 2019

L'undicesima edizione de Le Giornate del Cinema Lucano si svolge a Maratea dal 21 al 26 luglio 2019. Kabir Bedi, ospite della manifestazione, terrà domani un seminario. All'attore verrà conferito il Premio Internazionale Basilicata 2019.

Aggiornamento del 26 luglio 2019: intervista video concessa da Kabir a Eva Elisabetta Zuccari per Today.

Shilpa Shetty in Italia

Shilpa Shetty è in questi giorni in vacanza in Italia con la famiglia. Video.

English Vinglish su Rai 1

English Vinglish, di Gauri Shinde, con Sridevi e Adil Hussain, è in programmazione su Rai 1 il 26 luglio 2019 alle ore 21.25. Il titolo dell'edizione italiana è Quando parla il cuore. Trailer in italiano. Aggiornamento del 27 luglio 2019: ieri sera 2.103.000 spettatori hanno scelto English Vinglish (clicca qui).

Priyanka Chopra e Nick Jonas in Italia

Nei giorni scorsi Priyanka Chopra e Nick Jonas erano in vacanza in Toscana (video). La coppia ha partecipato anche ad una lezione di cucina (video). La fotografia a sinistra è stata scattata a Pienza, in provincia di Siena.

Bony: le riprese in Italia

Nei giorni scorsi la troupe del film in lingua bengali Bony era in Italia per girare alcune sequenze. I set sono stati allestiti a Milano e a Lucca (Polo Tecnologico, Polo Fiere, Cittadella della Salute Campo di Marte, piazza San Michele, mura, Capannori, cimitero di Sant'Anna). Bony è diretto e interpretato da Parambrata Chattopadhyay, affiancato da Koel Mallick e dai nostri Marco Brinzi e Giada Benedetti. La pellicola è l'adattamento cinematografico del romanzo omonimo di Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

Video: In corso le riprese di “Bony”, il film indiano ambientato a Lucca, NoiTV, 5 luglio 2019.

Video: brano Lucky.

Lucca

Venezia

Lara Dutta in Italia

Lo scorso giugno Lara Dutta era con la famiglia in vacanza in Italia, precisamente a Roma, Firenze e Pisa.

Salman Rushdie e Amitav Ghosh in Italia

Lo scorso giugno Salman Rushdie e Amitav Ghosh erano in Italia - rispettivamente a Napoli e a Capri - ospiti dell'evento Le Conversazioni. 

- Video Museo Madre: Salman Rushdie

- Video e articolo Salman Rushdie in Italia: “La libertà d’espressione è in pericolo in tutto il mondo”, Fanpage, 26 giugno 2019: 

'Lo scorso 21 giugno, l'autore indiano naturalizzato britannico è stato ospite de "Le Conversazioni 2019", il festival della letteratura internazionale che da anni fa tappa a Roma, New York e Capri e che da quest'anno ha scelto il Museo Madre di Napoli, dove inaugurare il suo rapporto con la città partenopea. (...) Rushdie ha parlato ai nostri microfoni di diversi temi, dagli Usa di Trump ("Un tempo scrivevo del razzismo e della povertà in India, ora questo vale anche per le nazioni ricche") alla Brexit, dalla libertà di stampa fino al suo amore per i libri di Roberto Saviano ed Elena Ferrante. E, naturalmente, essendo "un'anima migrante", al tema delle migrazioni contemporanee: "Sono stato migrante sin dall'età di 14 anni. Lo sono stato in Inghilterra e lo sono tuttora negli USA. I migranti sono sempre un dono per le società che li accolgono." E l'Italia? Che posto occupa nel cuore di Mr. Rushdie? "Leggo ossessivamente i libri della tetralogia de L'amica geniale," ha dichiarato Rushdie ai nostri microfoni "trovo che sia una delle più grandi scrittrici dei nostri tempi".  Parlando di Elena Ferrante, bisogna quindi parlare di Napoli, la città che lo ospita per "Le Conversazioni". Città con cui Rushdie ha un rapporto che arriva da più lontano. "Sono stato qui dieci anni fa e la trovo meravigliosa". Alla città partenopea, dove si è raccontato intervistato da Antonio Monda davanti a un folto pubblico, assiepato sulla bellissima terrazza del Museo Madre, lo scrittore indiano ha dedicato i suoi pensieri quando ha "aperto" il videomessaggio che gli ha inviato Roberto Saviano e che ha strappato un po' di commozione al settantaduenne scrittore di Bombay: "Sono felice di saperti nella mia città, sarebbe bello vederti raccontare Napoli con la tua lingua straordinaria e la tua fantasia pirotecnica". (...) Di quei "Versi satanici" riparla ancora oggi Rushdie, dicendosi sicuro che ancora oggi un libro come quello "troverebbe editori coraggiosi pronti a pubblicarlo". Tema a cui si lega quello della libertà di stampa "messa in pericolo ovunque nel mondo, anche negli USA" e dei pericoli "che gli inglesi non hanno ancora compreso fino in fondo della Brexit".

Capri

Kareena Kapoor e Saif Ali Khan in Italia

Lo scorso giugno Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan e il piccolo Taimur erano in vacanza in Toscana.

Takht: le riprese in Italia?

Lo scorso aprile una delegazione indiana ha visitato le Grotte di Frasassi, in provincia di Ancona. Lo scopo era la ricerca di location per Takht, il nuovo film di Karan Johar. Pare che la delegazione abbia effettuato sopralluoghi in diverse regioni italiane. Incrociamo le dita.

Kabir Bedi a Domenica In

Lo scorso 7 aprile Kabir Bedi è stato ospite di Domenica In. Video ufficiale.

Ram Charan in Italia

[Archivio] Nel dicembre 2018 Ram Charan è stato avvistato a Milano.

Padi Padi Leche Manasu : Recensione

[Blog] Vaishali (Sai Pallavi) e Surya (Sharwanand) si amano e vivono una storia appagante. A un certo punto lei parte per il Nepal e il ragazzo rincontrando suo padre comincia ad avere dubbi sul futuro della sua relazione. La recensione nella sezione FILM

Le prime dell'8 febbraio 2019: The Fakir of Venice

Dopo ben dieci anni di attesa, è stato finalmente distribuito nelle sale il film d'esordio di Farhan Akhtar attore, The Fakir of Venice, in larga parte ambientato a Venezia. Il regista è Anand Surapur. Nel cast anche Annu Kapoor e la nostra Valentina Carnelutti. La colonna sonora è firmata da A.R. Rahman. Vi propongo il trailer e il video del brano Wako Naam Fakir. Il soggetto, di Homi Adajania, ha una genesi piuttosto curiosa. Nel 1999 Homi collaborò alla realizzazione di Mother, un'installazione artistica di Maurizio Cattelan presentata alla Biennale Arte di Venezia. Suo era il compito di condurre in laguna un fachiro indiano (!). Ovviamente era impossibile convincere un vero santone, così il nostro ingaggiò un impostore. Da qui la trama di The Fakir of Venice. Il personaggio interpretato da Farhan si ispira allo stesso Homi. Quanto a Mother, Cattelan seppellì il fachiro nella sabbia per tre ore; emergevano solo le mani, giunte in segno di preghiera.

Mother