Nova Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 Indian cinema is a joke' date=' period.[/quote'] There is good stuff out there. :orderorder:
Nova Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 Gangs of Wasseypur appreciated at Cannes It was a five-hour, 20-minute Bollywood film, but the audience was glued to their seats. That's no mean feat, especially at an international festival, but if the brain behind it is that of Anurag Kashyap, it's quite possible. That's what happened at Cannes, where Kashyap screened Gangs of Wasseypur during the Directors' Fortnight. Presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and produced by AKFPL, the movie was highly anticipated and was apparently among the largest films in terms of cast and characters in attendance at the French Riviera. Besides Kashyap and wife Kalki Koechlin, the cast of the movie present at Cannes included Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Reemma Sen, Huma Quereshi and Richa Chadda, as well as music director Sneha Khanwalkar. After the screening, Kashyap told us, "We're really thrilled with the reactions. Cannes is such a busy festival and it was amazing to see a full house for such a long film. Both parts of Gangs of Wasseypur were received well." With the film being compared to Godfather and Gomorrah, Kashyap says the perception about Indian mainstream cinema is changing. "Indian cinema has been about only song and dance to the West. But with films like GoW, the perception is changing. I think they were surprised to see a film that is fierce in its spirit and yet entertaining." Kashyap added the perfect desi touch by ensuring that all actors turned up in designer wear, but added a gamcha to their look! He says, "The gamcha embodies the film's brazen, cool and fun attitude." The screening led to immediate offers from distributors to take the film to international markets, including offers from "France, Latin America and the Middle East so far," said Kashyap. The movie releases in India on June 22. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Gangs-of-Wasseypur-appreciated-at-Cannes/articleshow/13523612.cms This movie was on my IMDB watch list and I wanted to see if it was released. Coincidentally, I found a article on it on TOI. I can't wait to watch this one. Kashyap is one of my fav directors.
Yoda-esque Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 Indian cinema is a joke' date=' period.[/quote'] Mostly yes...about 95% of films are crap,but then again which was the last good movie to come out of Hollywood?
Yoda-esque Posted May 26, 2012 Posted May 26, 2012 I am sorry to see that it's the same gora-loving inferior complexity at the root of this article. She could not find another phrase to express her concern? As if the presence of a gora would have meant success for the Indian party? I think the writer meant it as a firang...after all its an international film festival. If they party amongst themselves in Mumbai, why go to Cannes?
Nova Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 then again which was the last good movie to come out of Hollywood? The Avengers :D
Deleted_User_1 Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 Bollywood is mostly crap. And Aishwarya looks fat!!!!
bihutoli Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 No wonder tax payers money gets splurged amongst the elite in India. 'Kadoo katega sab mei batega' being the driving philosophy.
ravishingravi Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 Generalizations' date=' where would I be without you.[/quote'] Pardon me. I did not qualify that 1% of stuff is above average and some percent of that is very good. But truth to be told, as someone who has followed world cinema and attended festivals, we are considered a joke of an industry.
Magneto Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 Indian cinema is a joke' date=' period.[/quote'] Do not confuse Indian cinema with Bollywood.
Magneto Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I am sorry to see that it's the same gora-loving inferior complexity at the root of this article. She could not find another phrase to express her concern? As if the presence of a gora would have meant success for the Indian party? Sheetal is a plump bespectacled 'he'; not a 'she'. :giggle:
ravishingravi Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 Do not confuse Indian cinema with Bollywood. No I am not. Even if you consider regional cinema, the % of good substantial films to average crass is pretty low.
Magneto Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 No I am not. Even if you consider regional cinema' date=' the % of good substantial films to average crass is pretty low.[/quote'] The percentage shall always be low, but regional/non-mainstream cinema does provide some noteworthy films. They might not be at par with a Kiarostami or an Almodovar or a Wong-Kar Wai, but they are far superior than the trash Bollywood generally comes up with. On a non-mainstream note, if you look at the three films that have qualified for the 'Orizonti' section of Venice in the last three years; they've been standouts.
Lurker Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 The percentage shall always be low' date=' but regional/non-mainstream cinema does provide some noteworthy films. They might not be at par with a Kiarostami or an Almodovar or a Wong-Kar Wai, [b']but they are far superior than the trash Bollywood generally comes up with. On a non-mainstream note, if you look at the three films that have qualified for the 'Orizonti' section of Venice in the last three years; they've been standouts. You really wanna go there? Bollywood comes up with its own share of gems. It has become fashionable to suggest that regional movies keep churning up gems while Bollywood is dishing trash. Back to the OP - Indian cinema becoming a joke. Quite true. In retrospect this trend has been ongoing perhaps since mid to late 80s. We are hardly original movie nation anymore, most of our stories are rehash from other countries, culture, language. Overall we are more of a popular movie making nation than good movie making nation. It is another side-affect of Americanization of India. Also on this whole gora point. That makes total sense. If there is an Indian movie function in Switzeland one would expect some Swiss to show up, if not all. If it is the same old South Mumbai brigade then basically it is the same thing as Filmfare India, isnt it? No need to get antsy about this.
Magneto Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 You really wanna go there? Bollywood comes up with its own share of gems. It has become fashionable to suggest that regional movies keep churning up gems while Bollywood is dishing trash. Back to the OP - Indian cinema becoming a joke. Quite true. In retrospect this trend has been ongoing perhaps since mid to late 80s. We are hardly original movie nation anymore, most of our stories are rehash from other countries, culture, language. Overall we are more of a popular movie making nation than good movie making nation. It is another side-affect of Americanization of India. Also on this whole gora point. That makes total sense. If there is an Indian movie function in Switzeland one would expect some Swiss to show up, if not all. If it is the same old South Mumbai brigade then basically it is the same thing as Filmfare India, isnt it? No need to get antsy about this. I keep a tab on virtually every Bollywood release and watch as much as regional cinema as possible; it's a true statement and not a 'fashionable' comment. I did not say that regional cinema is full of 'gems'; but in general you'll find more interesting stuff happening there. There are multiple reasons behind it; one of them being regional cinema giving you much more independence to make personal cinema in comparison to Bollywood. The other reason again is the fact that Bollywood often needs a star to approve a script, while a low-budget regional film can be made without such hangups. All these eventually end up giving more freedom to the regional filmmaker who is often as talented (or more) than the average Bollywood director.
Lurker Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 I keep a tab on virtually every Bollywood release and watch as much as regional cinema as possible; it's a true statement and not a 'fashionable' comment. I did not say that regional cinema is full of 'gems'; but in general you'll find more interesting stuff happening there. Are you lumping ALL languages here into Regional cinema? Because that would be unfair. Lets take Bengali cinema, since that's perhaps your background. Do tell how Bengali cinema has outscored Hindi (Bollywood cinema) by miles. And why in last year Kollywood scored 10 such gems while Bollywood only did 2, say? There are multiple reasons behind it; one of them being regional cinema giving you much more independence to make personal cinema in comparison to Bollywood. The other reason again is the fact that Bollywood often needs a star to approve a script, while a low-budget regional film can be made without such hangups. All these eventually end up giving more freedom to the regional filmmaker who is often as talented (or more) than the average Bollywood director. You are right on the money about celebrity culture and start power in Hindi cinema. But your last point, about Directors are way off mark. There are enough decent Directors in Hindi cinema world that shall compete, and in my opinion beat, regional stable. In my personal opinion, one of the reason why Regional Cinemas have managed to hold up is because they were pretty strong in cultures with strong language and history. Specially Bengali, Malayali and so on. I dont quite see how Andhra and Punjabi movie industry has been anything but masala for most of their lives with Tamil and Marathi cinema somewhere in between. Bengali and Malayali will still be around for a while because of their literary strength and the natural imagination and freedom that comes with it. Hindi cinema, in particular, has suffered greatly at catering to NRI and wannabe NRI crowd. The language, alongside Urdu, has been severly depleted. If Bengali goes the same way the result wont be any different.
Yoda-esque Posted May 27, 2012 Posted May 27, 2012 Off late, I have been impressed with Umesh Kulkarni. Some of his Marathi films like Vihir and Valu have successfully captured the feel of rural India. http://moifightclub.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/umesh-kulkarnis-vihir-the-well-is-bloody-brillant-cinematic-masterstroke-and-a-must-watch/ With Natarang and Harishchandrachi Factory receiving cricitcal reviews and winning many international awards, I feel that Marathi cinema is moving in the right direction.They now need some good production houses to support them.
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