Kama Sutra, the ancient treatise on love and love-making, has always inspired admiration, awe and titillation. But little has been highlighted about how author Vatsyayana was not a mere ascetic but India’s first feminist. That’s what Jaya Misra decided to focus on in her new book Kama Sutra, a novel depicting the life and times of a man who lived 2,000 years ago. It begins with a catastrophic day in the life of Vatsyayana when he sets out on a journey. “He wrote his book at a time when few acknowledged that women had desires and needed to express them as equivocally as men. And it became a part of literature,” says she.
Misra has attempted to transport the present generation to an ancient time with her book and establish a sense of relatability. “Vatsyayana was writing in the post-Vedic period and might have faced a lot of problems while penning the book,” says she. The Kama Sutra is the first fictionalised biography of Vatsyayana and encompasses many aspects, including a tale of broken heart, lyrical violence, ageless love, pure lust, a relationship between mother and son and pain of one-sided love.
The author is a writer, creative director and producer in television who makes films and documentaries. She has also nurtured projects on sports, fashion and fiction. So writing this book while juggling all of this was tough and time-consuming but she carried her draft wherever she went with her team. Misra carried her updated version to Thiruvananathapu-ram and to Manali for the Tubelight shoot as her friend, director Kabir Khan, had invited her to visit the sets.
In search of her story, Misra visited Varanasi as the original Kama Sutra is set in the narrow lanes of the city. “I got the main idea of the story from the ancient temples because the sculptures made on the walls describe an entire era and its ways,” she says. Misra adds that characters in her story were not framed deliberately but evolved naturally as the content developed. “The way an artist paints his canvas with a mixture of colours is the way I write my story. Words flow with the content instead of colour,” she says. It took her almost six months to complete her book. Misra, a mother of two children, had to fit in writing with her regular schedule which made it difficult to finish the story in one go.
She says, “My book Kama Sutra has a very different take on the entire concept. It is about the philosophy and theory of love which needs to be explored,” she adds.
Writer: Team Viva
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The photographer who captured every single moment of Sonam and Anand Ahuja’s wedding, Anand Rathi, takes us on a behind-the-scene tour, said by the author Ramya Palisetty.
The most talked about Bollywood wedding was nothing like what photographer Anand Rathi expected. He went with the mindset that the Sonam and Anand Ahuja’s wedding would be a Bollywood affair where everybody would be holding their guard up while behaving in a certain way. But all his assumed perceptions were shattered.
How was the wedding different from your expectations?
It was a happy wedding that most brides and grooms dream about.
There were no hang-ups and everybody was a regular guest who partied like there was no tomorrow. The bride and groom were easy people without any fuss. They were not the kind of individuals who would especially pose for the camera. All the pictures that are breaking the internet like a peck on the cheek by Anand and Sonam’s giggling smiles were all natural. The Kapoors were so warm and affectionate that the first time I walked up to them, they hugged me and somehow that moment set the mood for the rest of the celebration.
The most astounding thing was that here was a couple who knew that whatever pictures they clicked were going to go wild. They could have easily chosen prim and proper ones yet they chose simplistic ones which defined them as individuals. The whole celebration was a 48-hour marathon. Nobody slowed down for even a moment and it was just like any other Punjabi wedding.
What do you hope would the couple and the guests take back from the photographs?
The theme of the wedding was very fresh with the smell of mogra in the air throughout. I wish that when the couple look back at these photos, they still smell the freshness.
The type of pictures and the idea?
Usually, at weddings you receive a detailed brief by the happy couple about the kind of pictures they want, the dresses they are wearing and the urge to make everyone look thin. In this wedding, there were zero requests. They trusted our style and didn’t try to mould us according to their needs. There was an unsaid chemistry everytime we were shooting them or they were around and it didn’t feel like we were invading their space. They completely forgot we were there. I felt like a photojournalist after a long time.
How are the memories documented?
There are pictures which are timeless and then there are gimmicks. Gimmicks catch attention and are used as marketing tools. I feel pictures are like feathers that you pass on to the future generation. Twenty years from now, when Sonam and Anand’s children look at the pictures, what would interest them and what they would like to look at was the idea in our minds when we were clicking away. Sonam is well aware of the angles and the different cameras but it was astonishing to know that Anand was all about being understated.
There were various themes around the rituals. Like the Mehendi had a white theme, the wedding had pink theme…how did you work on tonalities?
We did a run through with our lightning technicians before the event to allow us to click the white on white images without making it look jarring or gaudy. We didn’t want too many flashes going simultaneously to prevent it from looking like a paparazzi affair. The wedding pictures are very light in their tones and pastely.
The journey of the photographer?
Imagine walking into the Mehendi where the bride meets you and hugs and the groom does the same. It instantly makes you feel like you are at a friend’s wedding. With everyone, be it the DJ, wedding planner or the vendors — they made sure everyone was comfortable and relaxed. There was so much warmth that vendors were on the dance floor serving appetisers and at the same time, their feet were tapping to the beats of the groovy music. The happy vibes were in the air.
How did they zero down on you as the photographer?
We had done a few high profile events. Rhea played a pivotal role in choosing us along with Sunita, Sonam’s mother. Both of them have a very keen eye with artistic minds. Sunita Kapoor, as we all know, has a very refined taste. Somewhere, our style matched their taste.
Weddings are a very personal affair as you are in someone’s emotional space and physically very close to them on their big day. Hence, it was important that they feel the vibes that you carry and vice-versa. We never felt out of place.
Sonam as a bride?
If you see any of the movies with Sonam as the actress, there is a girl next door giggle where she covers her face with her hand. I observed her do that for the very first time during the Mehendi ceremony and I understood that this is her personality. It is very rare that you find someone being comfortable in their own skin at a wedding touted to be the wedding-of-the-year. Most brides and grooms would have a game face on but these two were just blissfully happy.
Anand as a groom?
The first time I met Anand, he told me that I look sharp and greeted me with a hug. At a wedding, it is difficult to keep a tab on everybody but they knew everyone. And then we had a conversation about basketball, one of my favourite sports. This wasn’t a facade, it was something that was there throughout the celebration.
Challenges and obstacles?
We had an instant edit team on standby as we knew we would need pictures that were to be released to the media. They weren’t fussy about the pictures at all. There was zero usage of photoshop. The Anand Karaj ceremony was a challenge as it was a silent ceremony. We had to be practically invisible and the choice of equipment and the lens were basically the ones used for sports photography. With Sony cameras, we could shoot at a good speed and be totally silent. There was no movement of the photographers as well.
One obstacle was keeping up with Bollywood on the last night. Salman Khan would not stop singing and Shahrukh Khan would not stop dancing. At 4:30, they were on stage and going about it like there was no tomorrow. Then, there was Ranveer Singh with a whole different level of energy. After the wedding got over, during the lunch, there was a band playing Bollywood numbers in a slightly fusion way. Arjun and Ranveer are such stand-up comedians that they decided to do a performance and retrieved the Maskalli song from somewhere. They were two jokers but nobody cared and everyone was laughing uncontrollably.
Writer: Ramya Palisetty
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Keeping it real and simple, Pulkit Samrat believes that its best to let success go to the head and never let failure reach the heart.
Actor Pulkit Samrat is honest to himself. Which is why despite a string of failures and somewhat pyrrhic successes of the Fukrey franchise, he keeps going. “Success doesn’t go to my head and failure never reaches my heart. I just want to keep doing my best in each and every project.” Right now he is hopeful about Fukrey 3. “Filmmakers are working on the content. Currently I am shooting for two other films and waiting for the respective announcements to be made by the producers”, he tells us during a brand launch.
Pulkit does not endorse a brand for promotions but actually believes in it with his heart. He uses a lot of khaki during summers with kurtis, sherwanis, blazers, jackets, shirts and trousers as the fabric is extremely comfortable and cool. Calling khaki an integral part of men’s wardrobes, he says, “The smart casual collection can be worn at work and while travelling. Khaki goes with every color and carries an edge which makes an individual look sharp and focussed. Comfort, ease and lightness are the USP. Khaki is one of the few alluring materials that can be worn for a festive occasion or during some quality time with friends. It goes well with pre and post wedding celebrations.”
The actor also had a few summer tips: “Hydrate yourself and eat a lot of seasonal fruits like watermelons, melons and berries.”
Writer: Team Viva
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Author Ramiya Palisetty interviewed the actor, Gaurav Sareen. According to his role in his upcoming show “Krishna Chali London” on Star Plus, he is living his dream to the fullest. He will be looking for his real soulmate in the serial in the lanes of Kanpur.
At 23, he is focussed on the eye of the fish just like Arjuna. With goal-oriented approach, he is rarely distracted and never strays from the path, he has chosen. Though, he has struggled for the past four years, he doesn’t reflect over the period of rejections and failures. For him, it was a time when he was building himself. In a city that is full of grey characters, he is an individual who is black or white. The philosophy that has carried him so far is the less people you know, the less problems you would have in life. Gaurav Sareen is the new face of Star Plus show, Krishna Chali London. He envisioned a path for himself, the day he landed in Mumbai. Beginning his career with advertisements like Set Wet and Honda, he has ventured into television dramas.
Set against the backdrop of Kanpur, the show Krishna Chali London delves into the life of Radhe Lal Shukla portrayed by Sareen who is seen as a hopeless romantic. His sole purpose in life is to find his bride and shower her with unconditional love. In a time when youngsters are focussed on building careers and achieving success, he wants to go on a bike ride with his wife and write shayari for her.
He caught the acting bug as a child when he first caught a glimpse of Hrithik Roshan. He was so passionate about becoming Hrithik that when he was in kindergarten, his mother came to drop him to school. One day, he told her with complete frankness that she should groom herself and set her hair well otherwise people would comment, “look at Hrithik Roshan’s mother, she is not even dressed properly.”In his mind, he was already an actor. It is one of those few memories that the mother and son cherish to this day.
During his childhood, he never watched any television soaps since he was always eager to go out and play with his friends. “I was in school at the time when school bags weighed more than the children. Living in a joint family in Amritsar, my whole family including the kids were glued to the television but I had eyes only for the playground. While the theme song of Kasautii Zindagii Kay played in the background, I used to change my uniform to get ready for the play hour.”
His love for acting and his dedication towards achieving his goals has always been his strength but acting wasn’t always his priority. His father wanted him to become an IPS officer and till class 12th, even he was inclined towards civil services. But then acting happened and his father was proud and excited, mentioning his name to their relatives and friends. But as usual, the mentality of our society is to put everyone down. “Everybody used to tell my father that I won’t become a hero. Rather, I would become a womaniser who would get into the habit of drinking and doing drugs after which I would come home empty handed.”
He has portrayed the character of Donal Bisht’s brother in Ek Deewana Tha before he landed the lead role in the show, Krishna Chali London. With no professional background, he came to Mumbai, unaware of how the industry works. “In the beginning, I was told to build a port-folio, socialise with people to develop contacts which might fetch me good opportunities.”
After 2500 auditions, Sareen finally achieved what he had dreamt of, all his life but it wasn’t served to him on a silver platter. “There were days when I used to have four auditions, standing under the scorching sun for hours with no time to even eat. Rejection has been a part of my journey and they have taught me valuable life lessons. Failures and rejections are like questions and answers in my life. I believe, if you can face rejection and failure in life, you can do anything.”
There were a few challenges but the actor wanted to prove his mettle and hence he was able to get through each and every problem. “I had 40 days to learn the language of Kanpur. During those days, I rarely talked to my parents or any of my friends. I concentrated solely on personifying the character.”
While essaying the character of Radhe, the most difficult aspect was to get a grip over the language. The actor watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books to get the enunciation right. “I used to go out at night to talk to auto-rickshaw drivers to strengthen my language. I haven’t spoken Hindi or English at all during this period.”
There are a few similarities between Radhe and Gaurav which is estimated to be about 40 per cent according to the actor. “I am usually cast for innocent characters by various production houses and I have always received positive feedback about my character. I do believe that I can play bad boy character as well if I work hard at it.”
The show is bringing forth a new concept where the hero is unlike any of the heroes that have dominated the small screen for quite a long time. He is simple and honest with no qualms about living on his father’s inheritance. The roles have been reversed where the actor thinks only about marriage while the actress is driven by ambition to achieve her dreams professionally. “I hope the audience likes the new perspective because I feel what you see is what you learn and that is how the television works.”
The promos have been receiving a lot of accolades since it’s release. “Relatives and strangers have praised my work and I have got a number of messages in the past five days expressing the same. I am unable to reply to each one of them but they are long messages of appreciation.”
In the show, he is searching for a beautiful woman who would be his companion for life. As an individual, his definition of beauty is quite different. “I don’t think beauty lies in appearances. If you are beautiful on the inside, it is reflected in your eyes. For me, personality is beautiful, not the face or the body”.
With each step, the actor is climbing the ladder of success slowly and steadily. “I am very particular about my goals. If I am thirsty for water, I will only drink water even if there are a range of options like flavoured water, juices or carbonated drinks on the table.”
Being an actor requires dedication and a strong will power. It isn’t an easy path and many actors return home with broken dreams and shattered souls. “If you want to achieve anything in life, you need to manage time. It is the most precious skill one can learn in today’s generation. If youknow the various ways to tackle time, everything will be easy.”
He needs eight hours of sleep which is becoming impossible since the shooting began. As he stays alone, he has day-to-day chores as well. “It is tough but I hope once I get on the right track, everything else will fall into its rightful place.”
Writer: Ramya Palisetty
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Karen Gillan who plays Nebula in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War said that the movie will be a conclusion of an unbelievable fight where every character will face challenges. The best part is that they have never faced such challenges before.
The last time we saw Nebula, she was trying to stop her father Thanos from completing the Infinity gauntlet in Guardians of the Galaxy. We still have no idea if she got revenge against her father but she is returning to the big screen with Avengers: Infinity War. Actress Karen Gillan portrays the role of a bald, blue-skinned and surly space warrior. She feels that directors Anthony and Joseph Russo are miracle workers who provide a smooth transition for the actors to get into their respective characters. For Gillan, Mantis is one superhero whose power she would borrow for the world to be a better place.
Have you watched any Bollywood movies?
I have and I think they look spectacular and colourful with all the dancing. I love Indian cuisine a bit too much and it is pretty popular in the UK.
If you have to form your own list of Avengers but not from the original five, who would you pick?
Nebula, of course, and Mantis because she has emphatic powers which are very crucial for helping with solving things. Spiderman and Black Panther as they will be great and maybe Valkyrie from Thor since she’s cool.
Could you describe the movie in three words?
Epic ultimate war.
What can fans expect from this movie?
If you are a Marvel fan who has been following the movies for the last ten years, it’s all been leading to this moment. A culmination of this incredible fight of their lives — every single character will never face a greater challenge than the one they are going to face in this movie. It’s going to be epic and nobody is safe, so there are going to be a lot of unexpected twists.
Let’s go back to the time when you were the first cast for this movie and walk us through your emotional experience when you learnt that you will be playing this role in one of the biggest movie franchises…
It completely blew my mind that I even had an audition for a new Marvel movie. I didn’t know the movie Guardians of the Galaxy was coming as it is not one of the well-known films. All the characters kind of set the tone and I was always excited to join the Marvel universe because the movies are brilliant and popular, I just couldn’t believe it.
At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, we see that Nebula is heading off to take on Thanos by herself. What can you tell us about the thoughts running in her head when she is coming down to Infinity Wars?
In the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie, we learnt a lot about her backstory, her upbringing with her father and how terrible it was since he sort of abused her. She has a very clear mission to hunt Thane and kill him. That definitely comes into play in this film as she shares that agenda with everybody else in the movie but she has her own personal motivations and we are going to learn more about them.
What do you like the most about your character?
I am over obsessed with her. I am her lawyer and I am here to explain to every individual why she does some of the things and that she is not a bad girl. I believe I love playing this character who on one hand is a massive sadist but on the other hand is a broken victim of an abusive relationship with her father.
Considering that you had to spend quite a lot of time in the make-up room, how does it feel when you are finally on set? Can you describe the experience?
It feels like we are finally here where I get to do my part of the job. That’s when I forget all about the make-up on my face and I get to be an actor. It is the only reason why I am into this profession. Yes, it’s a big ordeal in the morning but it helps me get into the character completely and it’s part of my ritual now.
India loves superheroes. Do you have a message for the fans in India?
Hello India, thank you so much for loving super hero movies. Watch this one because it’s going to be one of the best that you have ever seen.
We have a quick rapid-fire round and you have three seconds to answer each question. Who has the coolest suit between Black Panther and Ironman?
Black Panther.
Who has the coolest suit between Spiderman and Antman?
Spiderman.
Who has the better beard, Ironman or Doctor Strange?
Ironman.
Your weapon of choice between Captain America’s shield or Thor’s Mjolnir?
I’m going to say Thor’s Mjolnir.
(Movies Now got exclusive access to the cast of Avengers: Infinity War who opened up about their experience while shooting the film)
Writer: Karen Gillan
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Bringing the works of contemporary artists to the front – all thanks to the songs of the Uncaged Bird at NGMA.
Songs of the Uncaged Bird is a show that traces not just about the contribution of women in contemporary Indian art, it is a tribute to women artists in the nation,” says Adwaita Gadanayak, Director-General NGMA Delhi, who has put together an empowering collection for the first time under one roof. “When you look at the sculptures of Meera Mukherjee, you realise that she was setting a foundation for contemporary art practices. I also found brilliant works of Leela Mukherjee and Uma Siddhanta from Bengal,” he adds.
In the monumental maze-like rooms of the old building at Jaipur House in Delhi, the mélange of 66 works that celebrates the women artists of the nation, Songs of the Uncaged Bird holds within it infinite stories. One has to begin with the avant garde artist who pioneered modernism in the early 20th century, Amrita Shergil. Celebrating her achievements and contribution to modern Indian art, the Central Government recognised her as a national treasure artist in 1976. The majority of Shergill’s works are at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi and these are among the 172 documented works from the artist’s oeuvre. It is, therefore, a historic moment to look at her three works here in this majestic collection.
Sculptural richness
Gadanayak mention of Meera Mukherjee aptly shows that she is both worthy of scrutiny as well as intense admiration. The two sculptures here are inversely proportional in height and their dimensions affirm the brilliance and intellectual superiority that she enjoyed in the language of her creations.
The large sculpture Spirit of Work and the small sculpture both exemplify resonance personified. Mukerjee created works that embody the power of pathos and the beauty within India’s humblest workers — the tribals whom she extolled as extraordinary beings of gravitas. These two works portray the brilliance of Mukherjee and exemplify the poetic cadences that are distilled in the ideation of composition and expressionist idioms. Both these works bring back the words of critic Maitrayi Chatterjee when she wrote: “Passion goaded her creativity and expressed itself in her work, which for her was worship. She exemplified the Keatsian concept, ‘the poetry of the earth is never dead.’” Among the many sculptures on view are the brilliance of Laitka Katt, Rita Dutta, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Leela Mukherjee, Pilloo Poochkan Wala, Shirin Jalvirjee and Uma Siddhanta.
Poochkanwale’s Teeming Millions is evocative. Shirin Jalvirjee’s portrait of Win min Than, the Burmese actress, is an expression of calm serenity. Leela Mukherjee’s Dancer is a minimalist rendition of graceful lines and balance — if the rough rough-hewn edges tell us about simplicity, it is her pot form that adds to the brilliance of composition and the fragility of the life lived.
Sculptor Rita Dutta’s Ganesh Jamai is a statement that extols the richness and strength of India’s religious and mythic traditions. The essence of expression in organic sensibilities comes to the fore in Uma Siddhanta leafed car called Of Mortality an Eternity. Siddhanta was the pupil of Prodosh Dasgupta and this work exudes a love for nature as well as the gravitas of conception when you see that an object such as a car can be translated into the leaves and textures of the botanical kingdom. Sidhanta’s sculpture was the mascot for the invitation card that celebrated 63 years of the founding of the NGMA last year.
Caur and Menon
Among paintings, there are two gems in Anjolie Ela Menon’s Mata Ji, a singular portrait in shades of ochre and Arpana Caur’s surreal Dharti. Caur is feminine and feminist in its perspective, with portraits of women placed in a contemporary urban context. The erotic is downplayed in favour of the sturdy: Gayatri Sinha states that in her paintings, “There is no hint of an expressive sexuality; woman and nature are both symbiotically tied in a circle of perceived threat and uncertain renewal.” The other major concerns in her work, include time, life and death, the environment and the violence of man on man (like Hiroshima, the Partition of India, and the 1984 massacre of the Sikhs). She has created several large non-commercial murals on subjects relating to the environment in Delhi, Bangalore and Hamburg. Caur’s work responds to the surroundings and events of her life, from the crowded Patel Nagar of her childhood to events such as the rape of Maya Tyagi and the widows of the Chasnala mining disaster.
Writer: Uma Nair
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Ramya Palisetty, while discussing Artist Biswajit Das’ paintings says that his art holds up a mirror to the dual nature of groups as well as individuals.
A painting with a woman sitting on a throne, a parrot carrying a scroll between its teeth surrounded by five blind women sitting and in the corner, there is Ravana. The painting is a depiction of the status of women since Ramayana and Mahabharata. Though the society is changing but the position of women in the hierarchy remains the same. Even today, a woman can be a scholar studying her PhD or working in an MNC earning well but, at the end of the day, her mother-in-law still expects her to cook and serve the family.
In another artwork, one can see a snake charmer, Mughal soldiers on horses who are fighting and an elephant with a lady doing gymnastics. As a society, we still enjoy women being shown as objects of entertainment. In the same painting, Gandhi is walking out which depicts that if he was alive today, he wouldn’t be happy with the situation. Though he led the country to independence but the country’s youth hasn’t done anything worthy with it.
Biswajit Das is an artist who displays his internal emotions on the canvas. In today’s times, he feels that we see an incident occuring right in front of our eyes but we do not say or do anything. The political parties try to find associations with religion, promote casteism and religion for elections. “As human beings, I see my fellow mates as a blank slate without any religion and if we do not stop labelling others, we will never progress as a society.” The exhibition is named Indian Circus and the artist has worked on this particular series for the past seven years.
Das hasn’t done any shows or exhibitions, before this, as he wanted to focus on his work. As a painter, he feels that everything that is happening around us is a circus. “Though I display the circumstances but it is for the audience to decide whether it is good or bad.”
Based on current scenario, the exhibition captures Das’ experiences, realisations and childhood memories. He has used icons and symbols to display his thoughts. The idea is to tell a story through the paintings.
India represents classical paradoxes in the way our society functions. The artist feels that if you have money, you can get anything today. “Even if you have no manners, etiquette or proper dressing sense, you are given a status quotient if you have enough money. Everyone is eager to be your friend, ask you for help and want you to solve their problems. Basically, if one has money, s/he has the power to dominate others.”
Dualities are present everywhere and the artist has tried to capture the versatile dualities that are ever-present in our society. “Since my childhood, I have seen Maa Kali and Mother Teresa who are opposite to each other and I was unable to decide who I should believe in. As children, our brains are not developed, so our mothers are our role models. My mother worshipped Kali everyday. As I grew up, I started reading about Mother Teresa and her contribution to the society. The same can be said about Gandhi and Netaji. Both had ideologies that were contradictory to each other which confuses an individual. The belief system keeps shifting and a person is unable to decide who should be believed.”
In a fractured society, Das is inspired to create art because he feels it is his responsibility as an artist to express his concerns about the changing society. “Painting is my medium to voice out my opinions, my realisations and thoughts. I can’t stand in front of everyone and give a speech that would unite people to fight a war like a politician or a leader. If I can contribute something towards the society, it will be through my paintings.”
He has decided that he will continue to do this show in various cities even though it might take him some time as he doesn’t have any tie-ups with art galleries. For this series, he has used acrylics with pastel colours like green, yellow and blue. Earlier, he worked with oil, pencils and a whole lot of different media.
He has never been one to follow rules. As a child, he was pretty clear about one thing. “If I can secure my finances, I can paint whatever I want, the way I want. Today, I work as a graphic designer to keep myself afloat and I don’t have to depend on anyone.” He has always dreamt of making his own identity with his paintings so he could create his own space in the pages of history. “My goal has never been to earn money but to create a name for myself.”
Writer: Ramya Palisetty
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The reporter Kritika Dua says, Abhay deol is no more interesting in signing formula films and want to engage himself in ethical advertising. He will make sure that women characters will be empowered in his films.
The non-conformist Abhay Deol has created a niche for himself in the film fraternity by making certain choices and opting for unconventional projects. Known as someone who never shies away from speaking his mind, his films have been quite a quirky mix, his latest Nanu Ki Jaanu being a horror comedy. But only the “thinking” Deol can be blasé about it and even justify the legitimacy of the oddball theme. “I do the kind of films I believe in and those which go away from formula. These films are written very rarely and their stories need to be told. If I had gone down the formula road, you would have seen a lot more work from me. But because of the choices I have made, it can go only as fast as people producing different content,” he told us.
Nanu Ki Jaanu revolves around a Delhi land mafia agent (essayed by Abhay Deol) who tries to deal with the arrival of a cleanliness-freak ghost (essayed by Patralekha Paul) in his apartment. Directed by Faraz Haider, the film also features Rajesh Sharma and Manu Rishi Chadha. Abhay said that he will be seen as the perfect Dilli ka launda, a return to his Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! days. “My Hindi has a touch of Punjabi in it which proved to be an advantage because of my origins. But the twist is that though Naanu has a good background, he is still a criminal. The dichotomy dictates the person’s body language, the way of talking and you work among these things to get it right. Manu Rishi is good to train with, he is not just a fabulous writer and actor but he’s a great teacher in many ways. We (me and Manu) have done workshops before for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and we brushed up on that same thing this time.”
Of late, Abhay is known for his stance on issues like his recent slam of Bollywood endorsements for fairness products. He also steers clear of endorsing alcohol, cigarettes or anything else that spreads a wrong message in the society. Said he, “I don’t have any problem with endorsing an alcohol brand which invests in a responsible drinking campaign. You will never see me in an advertisement promoting cigarette-smoking and fairness creams. I will not endorse soft drinks. My stand on fairness creams through a Facebook post was an outburst. Now I feel that if an outburst or a confrontation doesn’t give you a result, then you have to find a new track. A lot of times when a celebrity picks up an issue, the issue is forgotten and the star becomes the issue. Sometimes their words are misinterpreted and taken out of context. So, if you genuinely want to make a change, you should do it behind the scenes.” Which is why he has slipped into the active citizen mode.
He doesn’t want to be judged the wrong way. “There are people out there who do things for publicity and we all know that. I hate publicity and don’t put myself in the papers.”
All the women characters in his films are empowered. When he did Dev D, Chanda was shown as weak as Dev, which is why they connected but Paro was not weak. She loved Dev but she would not take bullshit from him. Abhay tries to do such movies with a subliminal message at times but that is not his primary objective. “If you watch a movie with strong female characters, you will walk out feeling a certain way. I focus on this aspect, hoping it will raise the consciousness of people a little bit or have them appreciate things which are under-appreciated.”
On sexism in Bollywood, he said, “Sexism exists not only in our industry but also around the world. The position of women is below men. Scandinavian countries have taken huge strides in gender equality, so maybe we can start looking at other countries who have tackled this issue and had success with it. As far as sexism in our industry is concerned, we are not isolated from our culture. And the people inhabiting this industry come from the same culture. So it’s not something that will go immediately. Neither has feudalism or chauvinism been created by the industry but is being carried forward by them. What can be done is to stop feeding the beast. The more substantial roles women get, the more they will not be seen as objects but as individuals who work, think, are intelligent and dynamic. More likely people’s attitude will change and that will come back into the industry to stop sexism.”
Writer: Kritika Dua
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Tourism Industry in India is growing at a faster pace which shows that it has vast potential for earning foreign exchange in a huge amount and generating employment, apart from giving a boost to country’s social and economic development. If India is become a world player in the niche sector, there is a lot more that need to be done for economic growth.
Travel and tourism have been considered as an important industry in the service sector. The economic impact of tourism is significant since a huge amount of foreign inflow comes from tourism. Moreover, tourism accounts for the major source of cash incomes, and it has been regarded as a major source of economic growth and employment creation.
A total of 212 million persons are now being employed globally through direct and indirect opportunities generated by this industry. This means that one out of every nine persons now earns a living from tourism. Tourism is also highly employment-intensive. For every million rupees of investment, 13 jobs are created in manufacturing industries, 45 jobs in agriculture and 89 jobs in hotels and restaurants.
The tourism industry in emerging markets is forecasted to keep increasing in the next decade. For example, the tourism industry in China and India are growing rapidly, leading to a significant increase in both business and leisure travel. In particular, China will jump from fourth to the second position above Japan and Germany and was forecasted to increase its travel and tourism demand four times up by 2018, accounting for $2,465 billion, with an annual growth rate of 8.9 per cent.
Many countries are promoting tourism and it has become a source of major income for countries like India, Singapore and Malaysia. Tourism is, of course, big industry in most developed countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.
According to a 2018 economic impact report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in the next 10 years, India is likely to become the third largest tourism economy. Released recently, the report also says that the country would add nearly 10 million jobs in the tourism sector by 2028. The total number of jobs depending directly or indirectly on the travel and tourism industry will increase from 42.9 million in 2018 to 52.3 million in 2028. India, which is currently the seventh largest travel and tourism economy in the world, should work on improving infrastructure, said the President of WTTC Gloria Guevara. It has already been working in that direction and result is that while the world tourist growth was four percent in 2016, India saw a high 9.7 percent growth in foreign tourist arrival.
Promotion of tourism industry should, therefore, be encouraged on a priority basis by the Government of India through an aggressive tourism marketing strategy. More and more innovative and imaginative projects should be launched, highly artistic and creative posters and advertisements also should be posted highlighting India’s ethnicity, its cultural diversities and compositeness, its myriad, novel tribal, traditional folk forms, diverse oral traditions, its rich, varied, vibrant traditional, rural arts and crafts, its unchartered awe-inspiring scenic spots, jungles, forests, enchanting flora and fauna, emphasising the cohesiveness, homogeneity, the integral threads running through various complex cultures and sub-cultures coexisting in India signifying the strength of its traditions and thus to draw attention of the tourists from all over the globe and to attract them to come and visit India.
Infrastructural development for tourism-related activities is bound to have a series of socio-cultural, socio-economic, physical and environmental impacts on the habitat which would require a systematic evaluation and analysis, using scientific techniques, before development decisions are taken. Any programme for tourism development should thus have the underlying objective of promoting the positive impacts and mitigating the negative impacts on the social, economic and physical environments of the destination areas.
Again, the growth of tourism in India has been largely restricted to certain traditional cities and towns of historical, architectural and cultural significance and some hill stations built by the British and the contiguous areas. There remain many unexplored or underexplored beautiful places due to lack of infrastructure and communication and restrictive policies. Almost all regions in India have their own beautiful locales needing development and highlighting for tourism.
This requires an integrated approach and uniform policy implementation all across India. Further, for a systematic development of all such places, we need planning and financial support from both the State and the Centre. To lead and coordinate all these, we need a federal body like GST Council with the participation of the centre and all the States and experts in areas relevant to tourism development.
As per the lead article in Times Of India dated April 5, 2018, a Private Members’ Bill called the National Tourism (Sustainable Development and Promotion) Bill, 2018 is likely to come up soon in the Parliament. If approved and such a federal body set up, it can and should provide a fillip to development of tourism in India.
(The writer is an author and a commentator)
Writer: Sudip Bhattacharyya
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Golden discs i.e. vinyl records, powered by Nostalgia are now coming back but there is no doubt that it will remain a subculture.
One would have hardly expected nostalgia to be a tangible demand in a digital world where music is streaming in from clouds and pods. But surprisingly, vinyl records are making a comeback, with surging sales reported over the last year-and-a-half. Partly because surround sound has made music as good as a tactile entity. The other part is about nostalgia, the need to have a physical format and collectible value. Can you imagine Boney M, Abba or The Beatles just as a streaming blip with an icon or the record covers with iconic photographs? Call it technology de-addiction or saturation but vinyl is back as is the turntable.
After World War II, LP ruled the world but with the introduction of compact discs, it became obsolete. Of course, there were a few audiophiles who wouldn’t let go of it and they became collectors of vinyl records. The sound was inimitable — something which the CDs tried hard to replicate and failed. So now vinyl records have made a comeback with technology-aided sound clarity. So much so that topline contemporary musicians like Ed Sheeran are all available on vinyl records. Some artistes are just cutting a solo song disc.
The spurt in demand is linked to the passing away of some music world giants — the sales of their vinyl records skyrocketed as people bought these as mementos. For instance, after David Bowie’s death he became the bestselling vinyl artist of 2016, with five of his albums featuring in the top 30 after his death.
Vinyl consists of an analog, which means there is a continuous signal. Aficionados often attribute a warmth to pure analog sound which is why vinyl records are gaining momentum. The experience is akin to being in a bookstore. Though Kindle is flourishing in the market, the generation does not know what it feels like to go to a bookstore, hold a book in your hand, feel each page and take a whiff of the old musty smell found in libraries. It is something only a book lover can describe.
Sales of vinyl records in particular is seeing an increase because of its vintage quality and a sense of private ownership that a collector feels. It isn’t the same experience listening to Gaana, Saavn or Spotify.
Shridhar Subramaniam, president, India and Middle East, Sony Music, who was the brains behind the concept of doing a recent vinyl pop-up, says, “The sheer simplicity of playing a vinyl and enjoying the rich, warm sounds that follow make the music listening experience personal and extraordinary. It is the only physical format of music that has consistently seen a rise in demand and we decided to offer audiophiles an opportunity to start or add to their collection this International Record Store Day. We have over 2,500 titles, some of them are being released almost after 30 years. We also have exclusive box sets and record store day releases.”
Vinyl stores can be a community experience too where you can walk into a store and meet individuals from all walks of life, digging through crates trying to find something new, old or at times, rare. Says Subramaniam, “Nowadays there is no ownership of music, there is nothing to touch, feel and enjoy. The entire act of putting the vinyl on a turntable, placing a needle on it, is like an immersive experience which people don’t have now and crave for the same.”
In fact, when one does a vinyl pop-up, there are a lot of collectors who come up with their treasure trove which is a peek into music history itself. And these are being organised by other companies as well. Sony Music, for instance, does a “bring your vinyl session” where you come up with the vinyls that your grandfather and father owned. This establishes a sense of antiquity among young adults. With the availability of turntables that are as cheap as Rs 8,000, anyone can buy a turntable but the challenge arises after the purchase. Once you start buying vinyl records, you need to learn the method of maintaining them through time.
In Delhi, one can find vinyl at places like Radio and Gramophone house that was established in 1951 by a Jain family. Though the store mainly deals in modern music equipments, there is a small dedicated section to records with modern day turntables on display. The Shah Music Centre in Chandni Chowk is run by third generation of the family. Customers from across the country come looking for records and players.
In fact, this revival is not really “news”, according to the Consumergateway.org. The website elaborates that the sales of records nearly died out in 2006. Yet soon after they have started climbing again — 2016 was the 10th consecutive year of growth in the US and the eighth consecutive year in the UK, mostly at a double-digit rate of growth. The renewed rise of records is catching attention because it happens to be the only format whose sales are increasing while other formats (CDs and even downloads of digital albums) are in decline.
In a development that has attracted attention to this phenomenon more recently, the research says, in early December of 2016 weekly sales of records (£2.4m) for the first time surpassed revenue from digital downloads (£2.1m) in the UK. In the same period of 2015, sales of records reached £1.2m compared with revenue from digital downloads that was as high as £4.4m (The Guardian, December 6, 2016). Digital downloads are not losing indeed so much to vinyl records but primarily to streaming services — downloading or streaming digital content are closer substitutes, both more distinct from vinyl.
During 2016 unit sales of vinyl albums in the UK have risen by 52 per cent to a volume of 3.2 million LP records, a record by itself. CDs remain the dominant format for albums: Over 47 million units were sold in 2016, but that was 12 per cent lower than a year earlier.
In the US, the year 2016 overall was relatively poor in terms of growth rate (1.8 per cent), nearly stagnant considering that since 2009 unit sales increased annually at rates between 20 per cent and 40 per cent, says the website. The sales volume of vinyl album records has risen from a bottom level of about one million units in 2005-2006 to a level of 17 million units in 2015-2016, rising without a break throughout this period. (Source: Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA)
Writer: Team Viva
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Traveling to Varanasi, Ram Kumar, an exquisite artist, made this magical city his inspiration.
Throughout his long, prolific life, Ram Kumar has been one of India’s most widely celebrated artists. Born in Shimla, in Himachal Pradesh, India, he studied at the Sarada Ukil School of Art in New Delhi. In 1950, he left India for Paris and studied painting at the ateliers of Andre Lhote and Fernand Leger. His early years as a painter dealt with the human condition. So one encountered figures with vacant faces engulfed in urban surroundings where they probably did not belong. He returned to India soon thereafter, ripe with Modernist influences, particularly the stylings of Amedeo Modigliani. He was deeply disillusioned upon returning to India and for most of his subsequent career, his work was decidedly abstract which often featured subtly shifting, jagged patchworks of monochromatic lines, blocks and plains.
In 1969, he travelled to the United States and Mexico on a Rockefeller Scholarship, and from the 1970s, much of his work was based upon his personal recollections of experiences and memories of travels to remote, mountainous, ancient, spiritual centres in Northern India, Machu Picchu or the mountains and Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh.
The poet, critic and theorist Ranjit Hoskote said, “[Kumar] demonstrates that a painter can enact the innermost dramas of his culture while maintaining the individuality, even idiosyncrasy of his performance.”
His greatest works were his Benares landscapes which have become blue chip art in the world of international auctions. Kumar was a writer and thinker too and his books include The Face and Other Stories, Europe ke Sketch, The Sea and Other Stories, Ram Kumar, Shilalekh Tatha Anya Kahaniyan. He had close friendships with MF Husain, VS Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta and Krishen Khanna. He had long associations with the Progressives and often exhibited with them.
It’s no secret that artists Ram Kumar and VS Gaitonde were close friends. But Kumar preferred to collect Gaitonde’s artworks. One such work owned by Kumar was an untitled oil canvas painting of Gaitonde. The painting which had a pride of place in his home, fetched the highest price at the recent South Asian modern contemporary art auction put up by Christie’s in London.
The 1975 work fetched $2,014,635 (33 per cent above estimate). Interestingly, Kumar bought this artwork from Gaitonde at a Delhi exhibition in mid 1970s. Kumar was keen on buying another painting. However, Tom Keehn, a common friend and Rockefeller Fund’s then India representative, requested Kumar to pick something else because he wanted Kumar’s first choice.
Kumar spent much of the latter part of his life in search for transcendence and awakening. “When one is young and beginning, one’s work is dominated by content, by ideas,” he said, “but as one grows older, one turns to the language of painting itself. I have grown detached. I want to find the same peace that the mystics found.”
In his lifetime, Kumar’s work has been displayed in more than 35 solo exhibitions in India with retrospectives in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. He has also participated in group shows in Geneva, Paris, and others and at the biennales of São Paulo, Tokyo and Venice as well as the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1993, a large retrospective of his work was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Despite being associated with the Indian modernist scene, the Progressive Artists Group as well as the Delhi Shilpa Chakra, he never easily fit into a simplistic modernist narrative constantly seeking to rediscover elemental origins within the lingua franca of the landscape. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Indian Government in 1979, one of India’s highest civilian awards. He passed away on Saturday, in New Delhi. Kumar’s death was confirmed by an email statement from city-based Vadehra art gallery, which had a solo show of the artist — Ram Kumar: A journey within in 1996. “It is with a heavy heart that we bid a final farewell to one of the greats of Indian art and a dear friend, Ram Kumar. The gallery went on to host 22 solo exhibitions by Ram Kumar over the years. Arun Vadehra recalls how Kumar’s entire life, like his art was a “sadhana.” He said, “It was an effort where the result was often forgotten or the result was not what mattered, it was the effort that did.”
Writer: Team Viva
Courtesy: The Pioneer
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