Just want to also publicly point out the chief offenders in this whole debacle, and that would be promoters Monty Syed and Rajender Singh. Nice going, guys. And a special bonus shout-out is sent to Jinesh Modi and Modi Creations, who spearheaded the souvenir photo effort.
The photos were promised in the hours and days immediately following the fair, once even accompanied by a promise of three hours!
I checked the photo website daily and nothing was there. Finally, attendees were notified at almost 11pm on Sept 5th, three weeks after the event, photos were now available. Instead of the $10 they were charging at the event, they were now listed at $18 (to include shipping, which we are forced to pay because they were not even available for pickup at the event). Just to add insult to injury, sometime between midnight of the 5th/6th and the afternoon of the 6th, they conveniently posted this message at the top of the site:
"Attn Houston carnival photo buyers: Due to high volume of images, we have to remove some images. So buy your photos on & before 5th Sept, 2009. After that each photo will cost $25. Sorry for inconvenience. All shipping will be processed on and after 1st Sept 2009."
Mind you, the photos were not even available for sale until almost midnight of the 5th/6th. So to top it off, they were multiplying the ripoff by implying that the photos had been available earlier.
The aforementioned message has now been removed, but ten days later (16 Sept, as this is finally posted), the PayPal link still doesn't work so you can't even buy the pictures. If you want to see mine, click here and then enter "saif kareena 92" in the search box. Someday i hope to be able to (grudgingly) buy the darn thing.
Showing posts with label Bollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bollywood. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Bollywood Road Trip: Memorable*, part two
(read part one first, previous post, below)
Now I high-tailed it back to the line, where Sara and/or Yoori had continued to stake out our spot in the throng. Still waiting. I was losing track of time at this point...do you decide to just blow the whole thing off after 4 1/2 hours or do you remind yourself of the time already invested in waiting? I called my husband and told him how glad he should be that he wasn't there with me. He would have left and come back to pick me up, no doubt. He then told me about the biggest star of the group (Shahrukh Khan, scheduled for Chicago Saturday and Houston Sunday) having been detained at immigration. About 6:15 or 6:30, Saif Ali Khan--a huge star and a good actor, especially when he is working off a decent script like Omkara, Love Aaj Kal or Kal Ho Naa Ho. Tells some tale about late flight and lost luggage. No one believes him. He flashes the million-rupee smile and starts doing his star duty.
At this point the organizers are pretty much rudely grabbing people and shoving them across the stage and have ceased allowing people to take their own pictures or seek autographs as promised. The crowd is getting cranky, and I'm still far enough back that I don't know if I'll ever make it to the stage. Perhaps 20 or 30 minutes later (close to 7:00), Kareena Kapoor, his real-life girlfriend, arrives on stage to join him. She has developed into a good actress, best roles being in Dev, Omkara and Jab We Met. I guess it takes her a long time to get ready--she should have just come out in whatever she wore on the plane, if indeed they had just come from the airport (doubtful). People pass across the stage, no signing, and the only pics are allowed are from their $10 a pop photographer. This after I was told by the producer that there was no extra charge for pictures (I guess that was for taking your own pictures, now verboten).
So now we are closing in on the stage at long last. After waiting in a reasonably orderly line all day, then entering a rope-and-stanchion zigzag configuration, we were then just dumped out into a giant, seething mob situation at the side of the stage. People were pushing and shoving from so far back it was as though the crowd were a living, squirming creature itself. It really was almost like a moving sea of humanity. Parents holding babies were getting smashed, I was about to have a panic attack from the claustrophobia, and it was just turning into a nightmare. Some kindly people let me pass through so that I could be on the edge of the crowd.
When we finally got up on the stage to meet the celebs, we were shoved off there so fast that I think I was facing sideways when the photo was snapped (not available yet, natch). I did manage to foist my Omkara DVD on Saif along with a Sharpie, and while I was hoping he would sign his face on the case, he signed the DVD itself. I wanted Kareena to sign too, since they were in this film together and it really represents their best work, but I took what I could get; and in a blink of an eye, I was shooed (pushed) away by the staff. I took a few pics from the ground, and we high-tailed it out of the center about 7:45. There was no way all those people were going to make it to the stars before security shut down the "festivities", and we did not want to be there when everyone figured this out. It could get ugly.
We had planned to go see acclaimed new Indian flick Kaminey but were too tired. We weren't even up to watching any of the four great Indian DVDs I had in my bag. Thank goodness we had plenty of good wine and Sara's tasty food to comfort us after our dreadful afternoon.
We also had tickets for day two, but our experience on Saturday was so unfortunate (bless Yoori and Sara for sticking with me), we decided to try and sell our tickets the next day. I could not believe I was giving up a chance to meet the King of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan, and have him sign my 2007 birthday invitation, on which we are pictured dancing together. I may be wistful about it after the fact, but I was DONE. As I mentioned before, we had been unable to pick up our tickets for both days at once, so we arrived at 1:30 to pick up our tickets on Sunday (at least we knew this time not to show up at noon). Again, no one was there with the tickets--only this time they did not show up until 2:40. As fast as I could grab the tickets, I turned to the side and found some teenage boys who would buy them for the $25 I paid rather then the $35 they would pay at the door. We could not get out of there fast enough, even though it had cost is $10 just to park.
Thai lunch in Rice Village, a stop at the chocolate shop and we were on our way back to Dallas. Yoori, now having discovered the deliciousness that are Sam's pies, requested a Sam's break along the way so she could buy some pies (chocolate meringue, pecan, and apple or peach crumb). We arrived home around 9:15, I think, and once the car was unloaded and the road snacks put away, I enjoyed a glass of wine and related this exciting tale to my dear husband, who had sweetly encouraged and supported me in taking such a silly trip in the first place.
I'll definitely never forget the adventure, but I wish it were for more pleasant reasons. So yes, it was memorable, but not in a good way*. Why did I go against my very deliberate nature and do something that spontaneous? Why didn't I just stay in Dallas and go to the Indian Independence Day celebration here (Anand Bazaar) for five bucks? Live and learn!
I'm a devoted fan of Indian movies, but I guess I'm just not quite that kind of fan...unless my radio journalist husband gets to interview one of them someday like he has Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman ("the Mozart of Madras")and Sonu Nigam (a top Bollywood playback singer). In that case, I'll be there with bangles on.
Now I high-tailed it back to the line, where Sara and/or Yoori had continued to stake out our spot in the throng. Still waiting. I was losing track of time at this point...do you decide to just blow the whole thing off after 4 1/2 hours or do you remind yourself of the time already invested in waiting? I called my husband and told him how glad he should be that he wasn't there with me. He would have left and come back to pick me up, no doubt. He then told me about the biggest star of the group (Shahrukh Khan, scheduled for Chicago Saturday and Houston Sunday) having been detained at immigration. About 6:15 or 6:30, Saif Ali Khan--a huge star and a good actor, especially when he is working off a decent script like Omkara, Love Aaj Kal or Kal Ho Naa Ho. Tells some tale about late flight and lost luggage. No one believes him. He flashes the million-rupee smile and starts doing his star duty.
At this point the organizers are pretty much rudely grabbing people and shoving them across the stage and have ceased allowing people to take their own pictures or seek autographs as promised. The crowd is getting cranky, and I'm still far enough back that I don't know if I'll ever make it to the stage. Perhaps 20 or 30 minutes later (close to 7:00), Kareena Kapoor, his real-life girlfriend, arrives on stage to join him. She has developed into a good actress, best roles being in Dev, Omkara and Jab We Met. I guess it takes her a long time to get ready--she should have just come out in whatever she wore on the plane, if indeed they had just come from the airport (doubtful). People pass across the stage, no signing, and the only pics are allowed are from their $10 a pop photographer. This after I was told by the producer that there was no extra charge for pictures (I guess that was for taking your own pictures, now verboten).
So now we are closing in on the stage at long last. After waiting in a reasonably orderly line all day, then entering a rope-and-stanchion zigzag configuration, we were then just dumped out into a giant, seething mob situation at the side of the stage. People were pushing and shoving from so far back it was as though the crowd were a living, squirming creature itself. It really was almost like a moving sea of humanity. Parents holding babies were getting smashed, I was about to have a panic attack from the claustrophobia, and it was just turning into a nightmare. Some kindly people let me pass through so that I could be on the edge of the crowd.
When we finally got up on the stage to meet the celebs, we were shoved off there so fast that I think I was facing sideways when the photo was snapped (not available yet, natch). I did manage to foist my Omkara DVD on Saif along with a Sharpie, and while I was hoping he would sign his face on the case, he signed the DVD itself. I wanted Kareena to sign too, since they were in this film together and it really represents their best work, but I took what I could get; and in a blink of an eye, I was shooed (pushed) away by the staff. I took a few pics from the ground, and we high-tailed it out of the center about 7:45. There was no way all those people were going to make it to the stars before security shut down the "festivities", and we did not want to be there when everyone figured this out. It could get ugly.
We had planned to go see acclaimed new Indian flick Kaminey but were too tired. We weren't even up to watching any of the four great Indian DVDs I had in my bag. Thank goodness we had plenty of good wine and Sara's tasty food to comfort us after our dreadful afternoon.
We also had tickets for day two, but our experience on Saturday was so unfortunate (bless Yoori and Sara for sticking with me), we decided to try and sell our tickets the next day. I could not believe I was giving up a chance to meet the King of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan, and have him sign my 2007 birthday invitation, on which we are pictured dancing together. I may be wistful about it after the fact, but I was DONE. As I mentioned before, we had been unable to pick up our tickets for both days at once, so we arrived at 1:30 to pick up our tickets on Sunday (at least we knew this time not to show up at noon). Again, no one was there with the tickets--only this time they did not show up until 2:40. As fast as I could grab the tickets, I turned to the side and found some teenage boys who would buy them for the $25 I paid rather then the $35 they would pay at the door. We could not get out of there fast enough, even though it had cost is $10 just to park.
Thai lunch in Rice Village, a stop at the chocolate shop and we were on our way back to Dallas. Yoori, now having discovered the deliciousness that are Sam's pies, requested a Sam's break along the way so she could buy some pies (chocolate meringue, pecan, and apple or peach crumb). We arrived home around 9:15, I think, and once the car was unloaded and the road snacks put away, I enjoyed a glass of wine and related this exciting tale to my dear husband, who had sweetly encouraged and supported me in taking such a silly trip in the first place.
I'll definitely never forget the adventure, but I wish it were for more pleasant reasons. So yes, it was memorable, but not in a good way*. Why did I go against my very deliberate nature and do something that spontaneous? Why didn't I just stay in Dallas and go to the Indian Independence Day celebration here (Anand Bazaar) for five bucks? Live and learn!
I'm a devoted fan of Indian movies, but I guess I'm just not quite that kind of fan...unless my radio journalist husband gets to interview one of them someday like he has Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman ("the Mozart of Madras")and Sonu Nigam (a top Bollywood playback singer). In that case, I'll be there with bangles on.
Bollywood Road Trip: Memorable*, part one
I was promised a meet-n-greet and photo op with Bollywood stars, good food, fashion shows, great music, and a huge Indian shopping bazaar. Doesn't it look like fun? Alternating big stars and singers on a whirlwind weekend in Chicago and Houston. Have a gander at the promotional video and website. Girls-only road trip; Houston, here we come!
What I got was a three-second blurry view of two stars as I was essentially shoved across the stage, so-so food at high prices, fashion shows I couldn't see because I was stuck in the meet-n-greet line, and a few shopping booths (which I also didn't get to visit due to the standing in line problem).
Even so, I went with low expectations. What I experienced was probably the most frustrating and poorly-organized event I have ever attended. It makes all my experience living with Mardi Gras look like an annual picnic in the park. And because both Sara and I have long and productive experience in organizing large events, every little thing that went wrong was another stake in the heart of what could have been.
Yoori and I piled into the car late Friday afternoon and headed for I-45. We fought the mixmaster mélée for a few minutes, but soon enough broke free and set out on the open road. Our timing was perfect for a dinner pit stop at Sam's restaurant in Fairfield, home of tender, flavorful barbecue and mouthwatering homemade pies. It's a challenge to drive to Houston without being sucked into the Sam's vortex, something Yoori would unwittingly discover. I had my usual sliced brisket sandwich with a side of black-eyed peas; I didn't know Yoori was such a burger gal until she passed up the succulent barbecue for a cheeseburger. We shared a piece of coconut meringue pie for dessert and, I have to say, the meringue at Sam's is a work of art.
We arrived in Houston without misadventure and settled in at my cousin Sara's townhouse.
I began the day most delightfully by spilling scalding hot coffee on my chest (leaving a smallish, barely-second-degree burn). Slathered in aloe vera gel, I got dressed...which cute outfit should I wear today? I think I'll save the black fedora for Shahrukh, so for today, let's go black/brown and funky.
Here are Yoori and I, pretending to have fun.
We arrived at the Reliant center promptly at noon, exactly as we had been told only a few days before by the producer of the event, and exactly as it had been listed in the paper. I had cleverly--or so I thought--bought our tickets online at Sulekha in order to save $10 each over the door ticket price. Now wouldn't you think that the people who had already paid for their tickets should be the first to get in the door at noon and form the line to meet-n-greet? Well, you'd be wrong in so many ways.
First of all, upon our arrival we (and a slew of other people) were informed that the producer had arbitrarily decided that the event would now begin at 1:30. Of course, the Starbucks in the center was closed and you could not exit and re-enter the parking lot, so we were forced to cool our heels (and our stomachs) till then. Well, how about picking up our tickets in the meantime? Nope, the box office wouldn't open till 1:00. When the box office DID open at long last, the employees were not in possession of the tickets for all the people who had purchased them in advance. No one knew where they were or when they would show up. Finally, someone appeared with our tickets and we had to go form yet another line to retrieve them, while everyone else who had purchased them at the door was let into the venue at 1:45. I got my hot little hands on our tickets at nearly 2:00, and of course I could not simultaneously pick up my tickets for the next day (that would have been too efficient). Have these people never heard of e-tickets with a bar code that can be scanned at the door??? The step of having to pick up physical tickets was completely avoidable!
When Yoori, Sara and I gained entrance to the space, I proceeded directly the meet-n-greet line, where there were already hundreds upon hundreds (thousands?) of people ahead of us, thanks to the completely unnecessary delay in claiming our tickets. At this point, we were starving and the first order of business was taking turns getting something to eat. The food variety was not impressive and the prices were high, but it was decent enough. Sara went shopping and found herself some fabulously elaborate ruby and ruby-esque jewelry.
Some Reliant Center security doofus decides she is going to adjust the line, make a snake or something so it will curve back or double up on itself, because it is so long and takes up so much room. She comes up to exactly my point in the line and tells everyone past that point (500 people or more) to move over to form a sideways turn next to a point farther up in the line that she has designated. We go along like sheep. Then it just gets totally screwed up, and she ends up with no plan whatsoever, and has all of us who are facing in one direction turn around and go back to the new end of the line, resulting in the complete reversal in order of half the people in line. Whereas we were formerly close to the halfway point, we're now almost last. Are you following this? It didn't make any sense at the time, either.
Finally, sometime around 3:00, somebody shows up on the stage: it's Katrina Kaif, a stunningly beautiful but relatively talent-free Bollywood star. Line moves imperceptibly for the next hour as she meets, greets, signs and poses for photos with fans. Then she goes to the other stage and has an audience Q & A. Now she comes back to the star stage. Clearly she is starting to fill time for the other expected stars as the day wears on. Shortly after 5:00, she's done.
Meanwhile, on the other stage there has been a fashion show, one or two actually talented and quasi-famous singers, and some questionable other "talent" essentially performing karoake. Now I took a turn to go shopping. I found two gorgeous 3-piece churidar suits, one of a kind and hand made by a Desi designer in Atlanta. They were so much more creative and interesting than the usual suits (although there are many beautiful items even in the world of the usual suits) and I was really excited about buying them after I had tried the long tops on. Typically you can skip even trying the pants because they are loose at the top with a drawstring or elastic, and the long, skinny calf sections are meant to slouch and gather at the ankles so length is not an issue. But I thought that these pants looked awfully skinny all the way up the thighs, so I went to try them on just before handing over my money. Good thing, because they were too tight!! So I saved myself a few bucks there, but then again, since she makes everything herself I have a feeling I'll be looking her up in Atlanta the next time I go to visit my sister. I feel a custom-made churidar suit coming on.
At another booth, I found a cute Anarkali kameez instead and didn't have to worry about pants because it was only the tunic, not a suit. So now I had a sparkly tunic, but still no glittering stars.
end of part one
What I got was a three-second blurry view of two stars as I was essentially shoved across the stage, so-so food at high prices, fashion shows I couldn't see because I was stuck in the meet-n-greet line, and a few shopping booths (which I also didn't get to visit due to the standing in line problem).
Even so, I went with low expectations. What I experienced was probably the most frustrating and poorly-organized event I have ever attended. It makes all my experience living with Mardi Gras look like an annual picnic in the park. And because both Sara and I have long and productive experience in organizing large events, every little thing that went wrong was another stake in the heart of what could have been.
Yoori and I piled into the car late Friday afternoon and headed for I-45. We fought the mixmaster mélée for a few minutes, but soon enough broke free and set out on the open road. Our timing was perfect for a dinner pit stop at Sam's restaurant in Fairfield, home of tender, flavorful barbecue and mouthwatering homemade pies. It's a challenge to drive to Houston without being sucked into the Sam's vortex, something Yoori would unwittingly discover. I had my usual sliced brisket sandwich with a side of black-eyed peas; I didn't know Yoori was such a burger gal until she passed up the succulent barbecue for a cheeseburger. We shared a piece of coconut meringue pie for dessert and, I have to say, the meringue at Sam's is a work of art.
We arrived in Houston without misadventure and settled in at my cousin Sara's townhouse.
I began the day most delightfully by spilling scalding hot coffee on my chest (leaving a smallish, barely-second-degree burn). Slathered in aloe vera gel, I got dressed...which cute outfit should I wear today? I think I'll save the black fedora for Shahrukh, so for today, let's go black/brown and funky.
Here are Yoori and I, pretending to have fun.We arrived at the Reliant center promptly at noon, exactly as we had been told only a few days before by the producer of the event, and exactly as it had been listed in the paper. I had cleverly--or so I thought--bought our tickets online at Sulekha in order to save $10 each over the door ticket price. Now wouldn't you think that the people who had already paid for their tickets should be the first to get in the door at noon and form the line to meet-n-greet? Well, you'd be wrong in so many ways.
First of all, upon our arrival we (and a slew of other people) were informed that the producer had arbitrarily decided that the event would now begin at 1:30. Of course, the Starbucks in the center was closed and you could not exit and re-enter the parking lot, so we were forced to cool our heels (and our stomachs) till then. Well, how about picking up our tickets in the meantime? Nope, the box office wouldn't open till 1:00. When the box office DID open at long last, the employees were not in possession of the tickets for all the people who had purchased them in advance. No one knew where they were or when they would show up. Finally, someone appeared with our tickets and we had to go form yet another line to retrieve them, while everyone else who had purchased them at the door was let into the venue at 1:45. I got my hot little hands on our tickets at nearly 2:00, and of course I could not simultaneously pick up my tickets for the next day (that would have been too efficient). Have these people never heard of e-tickets with a bar code that can be scanned at the door??? The step of having to pick up physical tickets was completely avoidable!
When Yoori, Sara and I gained entrance to the space, I proceeded directly the meet-n-greet line, where there were already hundreds upon hundreds (thousands?) of people ahead of us, thanks to the completely unnecessary delay in claiming our tickets. At this point, we were starving and the first order of business was taking turns getting something to eat. The food variety was not impressive and the prices were high, but it was decent enough. Sara went shopping and found herself some fabulously elaborate ruby and ruby-esque jewelry.
Some Reliant Center security doofus decides she is going to adjust the line, make a snake or something so it will curve back or double up on itself, because it is so long and takes up so much room. She comes up to exactly my point in the line and tells everyone past that point (500 people or more) to move over to form a sideways turn next to a point farther up in the line that she has designated. We go along like sheep. Then it just gets totally screwed up, and she ends up with no plan whatsoever, and has all of us who are facing in one direction turn around and go back to the new end of the line, resulting in the complete reversal in order of half the people in line. Whereas we were formerly close to the halfway point, we're now almost last. Are you following this? It didn't make any sense at the time, either.
Finally, sometime around 3:00, somebody shows up on the stage: it's Katrina Kaif, a stunningly beautiful but relatively talent-free Bollywood star. Line moves imperceptibly for the next hour as she meets, greets, signs and poses for photos with fans. Then she goes to the other stage and has an audience Q & A. Now she comes back to the star stage. Clearly she is starting to fill time for the other expected stars as the day wears on. Shortly after 5:00, she's done.Meanwhile, on the other stage there has been a fashion show, one or two actually talented and quasi-famous singers, and some questionable other "talent" essentially performing karoake. Now I took a turn to go shopping. I found two gorgeous 3-piece churidar suits, one of a kind and hand made by a Desi designer in Atlanta. They were so much more creative and interesting than the usual suits (although there are many beautiful items even in the world of the usual suits) and I was really excited about buying them after I had tried the long tops on. Typically you can skip even trying the pants because they are loose at the top with a drawstring or elastic, and the long, skinny calf sections are meant to slouch and gather at the ankles so length is not an issue. But I thought that these pants looked awfully skinny all the way up the thighs, so I went to try them on just before handing over my money. Good thing, because they were too tight!! So I saved myself a few bucks there, but then again, since she makes everything herself I have a feeling I'll be looking her up in Atlanta the next time I go to visit my sister. I feel a custom-made churidar suit coming on.
At another booth, I found a cute Anarkali kameez instead and didn't have to worry about pants because it was only the tunic, not a suit. So now I had a sparkly tunic, but still no glittering stars.
end of part one
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
"Unforgettable" trip to India, er, Houston
I am a real aficionado of Hindi films, along with the music that enhances them. Half the music on my iPod is probably Indian tracks, and I own 50+ Indian films on DVD. I call myself the Texas Bollywood Evangelist (even though Bollywood only refers to Mumbai-industry, Hindi-language films, or no more than a quarter of the films that are made in India). I've even given talks at my local school as well as a community college to help enlighten and expose other people to the fascinating world of Indian film.
My dream trip is to spend a couple of months in India, soaking up the culture, sights and sounds of the subcontinent. But since that's not in the stars right now, I decided that the stars and India would just have to come to me. Only they could not get closer than 250 miles away.
Last weekend we drove to Houston to see The Unforgettable Tour, a three and a half hour Indian movie and music stage extravaganza headlined by some of the biggest movie stars in India. Make that the world, since India has practically a billion people watching movies, plus all the diaspora Indians living around the world. I was so excited about it that I got an awesome new salwar-kameez suit and dupatta for the occasion at one of our local Indian shops (such affordable prices!).
So who was in this show?
Amitabh Bachchan, the most celebrated Indian actor in the world...
Madhuri Dixit, uncontestedly the best dancer and one of the best actresses of Indian cinema...
Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh and a good actor himself; with his wife, actress Aishwarya Rai, called the most beautiful woman in the world and a fine dancer also...
Preity Zinta, dimpled popular actress and star of many hit movies geared to the NRI (non-resident Indian, i.e. those of Indian origin or background living abroad) audience...
Riteish Deshmukh, a younger actor (and son of prominent politician) who excels at comedic roles...
Music director duo Vishal and Shekhar, creators of the infectious music for the film Om Shanti Om and many other hits
And not to be forgotten, Choreographer Shiamak Davan and his troupe of energetic, graceful dancers did an amazing job and were really the basis for a great show!
The stars tried to invite me up onto the stage to dance with them, but they could not reach me in the top of the arena in the cheaper seats...
Besides all the spectacular dancing, I enjoyed Amitabh's recitation of some of his famous dialogues even though I don't speak a word of Hindi--that's how good an actor he is. (He did summarize in English before speaking in Hindi.) He also recited of one of his poet father's famous works, Agneepath. If I can find a good English translation I'll post it.
The far-away pictures were taken by me, and the extreme closeups are provided by the production company WizCraft. Whoever designed the staging and sets, lighting, etc, also achieved a beautiful result. Here is a video of one of the undisputed high points, when Madhuri and Aishwarya danced together on the song "Dola Re Dola" from the movie Devdas.
Also attended the press conference with the stars. The "press" consisted of mostly entertainment or popular Desi media, even a couple of starstruck types, and only a few serious journos (like my husband) who wanted a deeper, more intellectually sophisticated story; and the whole lot of them were treated...not so accommodatingly...by the producers and organizers.
***
There's another world tour in the works, "Temptations Reloaded" starring Shah Rukh Khan, the "King of Bollywood". I'd love to see that one as well if they manage to get to Texas. Maybe a Dallas promoter will be able to afford it since the "Unforgettables" went to Houston...it's only fair, right? Barring that, a promoter in Atlanta is hinting at it, and I could stay at my sister's house...
I have to paste this amusing article that appeared at the time of SRK's new tour "kickoff" in Rotterdam...I have to say that show was obviously timed to take attention away from the Bachchans' tour, because there are only two other "Temptations" dates announced...anyway, here's the article from IANS, which conveys the fun of Bollywood:
Rotterdam, June 22 (IANS) Screaming fans from across Europe showered flowers, notes and trinkets as Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan performed at Ahoy, Rotterdam's large cultural and sports complex, to launch the world premiere of Temptations Reloaded, a live song and dance show that saw a number of Indian stars descend on the city Saturday night.
Shah Rukh performed on stage with Bollywood favourites like Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor in an auditorium with a capacity of 25,000 before a mixed audience of Asians and Europeans.
In between the two-and-half-hour long show, Shah Rukh and Arjun Rampal drove through the aisles of the auditorium in light vehicles and the venue echoed with the adoring screams of fans, some of whom showered them with trinkets, flowers and notes.
Some European fans were dressed in Indian clothes and referred to the Bollywood superstar as the 'Saudagar of Sunshine'. And Dutch fans preferred to watch Shah Rukh instead of the Euro 2008 football champion semi-finals between Holland and Russia played around the same time.
In a continent starved of warmth for most parts of the year, King Khan is called 'sunshine' by his fans here.
Ignoring weather forecasts that had predicted clouds and rainfall, fans travelled from all over Europe to witness the live performance.
With stars in their eyes, cine buffs arrived here under clear blue skies to watch the midsummer night performance and to sigh that the mere presence of Shah Rukh Khan makes clouds part.
'Shah Rukh Khan is our sunshine! When he is close to us, the worst day becomes bright. He fills my life with light and warmth,' an Indian female fan said rubbishing weather forecasts.
'Bollywood makes you happy' is the slogan for marketing popular Indian cinema in Europe, suggestive of the fact that Hindi movies create a state of emotional well-being that goes far beyond mere entertainment.
This is the reason for a dramatic increase in Bollywood fan communities on this continent whose activities revolve mostly around Shah Rukh Khan and his work.
'Bollywood makes European audiences happy because the films are like life seen in dreams,' Segolene Roudot, a French fan who is researching fans of Indian cinema in France, told IANS.
Colours, costumes, music, dance and Shah Rukh's charismatic screen presence have brought much joy into many lives here.
An online Swiss fan forum has a special web page filled with thank you notes to Shah Rukh for coming to Europe. The notes thank the superstar for the colour that he brings into lives and for being the light for fans in the dark.
'Such feelings become stronger at the possibility of a meeting with Shah Rukh Khan. The desire is to touch him in an attempt to experience some more of the joy and happiness that he radiates,' Elke Mader, a professor of Vienna University who monitors the behaviour of non-South Asian fans of Shah Rukh Khan for Bollyglobal, a research project, told IANS.
Mader gives the example of Christina Zuck, a Berlin-based artist who has publicly confessed that her life was magically transformed after she touched Shah Rukh at the Berlin Film Fesival of 'Om Shanti Om' earlier this year.
'The experience of fans like Christina goes beyond admiring Shah Rukh Khan as a movie star. Shah Rukh is seen much more than just an entertainer here. He is happiness and love personified. Fans want to touch him and to talk to him because he is able to transfer a lot of joy to those who are lucky enough to cross his path,' Mader said
Hosted by Netherland's Sekier Entertainment Service, the next European stop of Temptations Reloaded, a sequel to the 'Temptations' tour Shah Rukh started in 2004, is Berlin.
Founded in 1999 by Ishaq Sekier, a Dutchman originally from an Indian family from Surinam, with an evening of songs by Manna Dey, the entertainment service has since sponsored Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Shreya Ghosal, Kavita Krishnamurti, KK and Jagjit Singh here.
'We would like to see Bollywood activities increase around continental Europe,' Monique Dabloe, a Sekier staff member, told IANS.
My dream trip is to spend a couple of months in India, soaking up the culture, sights and sounds of the subcontinent. But since that's not in the stars right now, I decided that the stars and India would just have to come to me. Only they could not get closer than 250 miles away.
Last weekend we drove to Houston to see The Unforgettable Tour, a three and a half hour Indian movie and music stage extravaganza headlined by some of the biggest movie stars in India. Make that the world, since India has practically a billion people watching movies, plus all the diaspora Indians living around the world. I was so excited about it that I got an awesome new salwar-kameez suit and dupatta for the occasion at one of our local Indian shops (such affordable prices!).
So who was in this show?
Amitabh Bachchan, the most celebrated Indian actor in the world...
Madhuri Dixit, uncontestedly the best dancer and one of the best actresses of Indian cinema...
Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh and a good actor himself; with his wife, actress Aishwarya Rai, called the most beautiful woman in the world and a fine dancer also...
Preity Zinta, dimpled popular actress and star of many hit movies geared to the NRI (non-resident Indian, i.e. those of Indian origin or background living abroad) audience...
Riteish Deshmukh, a younger actor (and son of prominent politician) who excels at comedic roles...
Music director duo Vishal and Shekhar, creators of the infectious music for the film Om Shanti Om and many other hits
And not to be forgotten, Choreographer Shiamak Davan and his troupe of energetic, graceful dancers did an amazing job and were really the basis for a great show!
The stars tried to invite me up onto the stage to dance with them, but they could not reach me in the top of the arena in the cheaper seats...
Besides all the spectacular dancing, I enjoyed Amitabh's recitation of some of his famous dialogues even though I don't speak a word of Hindi--that's how good an actor he is. (He did summarize in English before speaking in Hindi.) He also recited of one of his poet father's famous works, Agneepath. If I can find a good English translation I'll post it.
The far-away pictures were taken by me, and the extreme closeups are provided by the production company WizCraft. Whoever designed the staging and sets, lighting, etc, also achieved a beautiful result. Here is a video of one of the undisputed high points, when Madhuri and Aishwarya danced together on the song "Dola Re Dola" from the movie Devdas.
Also attended the press conference with the stars. The "press" consisted of mostly entertainment or popular Desi media, even a couple of starstruck types, and only a few serious journos (like my husband) who wanted a deeper, more intellectually sophisticated story; and the whole lot of them were treated...not so accommodatingly...by the producers and organizers.
***
There's another world tour in the works, "Temptations Reloaded" starring Shah Rukh Khan, the "King of Bollywood". I'd love to see that one as well if they manage to get to Texas. Maybe a Dallas promoter will be able to afford it since the "Unforgettables" went to Houston...it's only fair, right? Barring that, a promoter in Atlanta is hinting at it, and I could stay at my sister's house...
I have to paste this amusing article that appeared at the time of SRK's new tour "kickoff" in Rotterdam...I have to say that show was obviously timed to take attention away from the Bachchans' tour, because there are only two other "Temptations" dates announced...anyway, here's the article from IANS, which conveys the fun of Bollywood:
Rotterdam, June 22 (IANS) Screaming fans from across Europe showered flowers, notes and trinkets as Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan performed at Ahoy, Rotterdam's large cultural and sports complex, to launch the world premiere of Temptations Reloaded, a live song and dance show that saw a number of Indian stars descend on the city Saturday night.
Shah Rukh performed on stage with Bollywood favourites like Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor in an auditorium with a capacity of 25,000 before a mixed audience of Asians and Europeans.
In between the two-and-half-hour long show, Shah Rukh and Arjun Rampal drove through the aisles of the auditorium in light vehicles and the venue echoed with the adoring screams of fans, some of whom showered them with trinkets, flowers and notes.
Some European fans were dressed in Indian clothes and referred to the Bollywood superstar as the 'Saudagar of Sunshine'. And Dutch fans preferred to watch Shah Rukh instead of the Euro 2008 football champion semi-finals between Holland and Russia played around the same time.
In a continent starved of warmth for most parts of the year, King Khan is called 'sunshine' by his fans here.
Ignoring weather forecasts that had predicted clouds and rainfall, fans travelled from all over Europe to witness the live performance.
With stars in their eyes, cine buffs arrived here under clear blue skies to watch the midsummer night performance and to sigh that the mere presence of Shah Rukh Khan makes clouds part.
'Shah Rukh Khan is our sunshine! When he is close to us, the worst day becomes bright. He fills my life with light and warmth,' an Indian female fan said rubbishing weather forecasts.
'Bollywood makes you happy' is the slogan for marketing popular Indian cinema in Europe, suggestive of the fact that Hindi movies create a state of emotional well-being that goes far beyond mere entertainment.
This is the reason for a dramatic increase in Bollywood fan communities on this continent whose activities revolve mostly around Shah Rukh Khan and his work.
'Bollywood makes European audiences happy because the films are like life seen in dreams,' Segolene Roudot, a French fan who is researching fans of Indian cinema in France, told IANS.
Colours, costumes, music, dance and Shah Rukh's charismatic screen presence have brought much joy into many lives here.
An online Swiss fan forum has a special web page filled with thank you notes to Shah Rukh for coming to Europe. The notes thank the superstar for the colour that he brings into lives and for being the light for fans in the dark.
'Such feelings become stronger at the possibility of a meeting with Shah Rukh Khan. The desire is to touch him in an attempt to experience some more of the joy and happiness that he radiates,' Elke Mader, a professor of Vienna University who monitors the behaviour of non-South Asian fans of Shah Rukh Khan for Bollyglobal, a research project, told IANS.
Mader gives the example of Christina Zuck, a Berlin-based artist who has publicly confessed that her life was magically transformed after she touched Shah Rukh at the Berlin Film Fesival of 'Om Shanti Om' earlier this year.
'The experience of fans like Christina goes beyond admiring Shah Rukh Khan as a movie star. Shah Rukh is seen much more than just an entertainer here. He is happiness and love personified. Fans want to touch him and to talk to him because he is able to transfer a lot of joy to those who are lucky enough to cross his path,' Mader said
Hosted by Netherland's Sekier Entertainment Service, the next European stop of Temptations Reloaded, a sequel to the 'Temptations' tour Shah Rukh started in 2004, is Berlin.
Founded in 1999 by Ishaq Sekier, a Dutchman originally from an Indian family from Surinam, with an evening of songs by Manna Dey, the entertainment service has since sponsored Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Shreya Ghosal, Kavita Krishnamurti, KK and Jagjit Singh here.
'We would like to see Bollywood activities increase around continental Europe,' Monique Dabloe, a Sekier staff member, told IANS.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Domestic and intergalactic travel roundup...
My RV client family leaves next weekend for the big Black Hills extravaganza. They'll be in a 31 foot class C rig with one slide (I sound like an old hand now, don't I?) as they make their way to Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Devil's Tower, and finally Rocky Mountain National Park...and all kinds of spots in between. They'll park overnight at a variety of campgrounds, from official National Parks sites to family-owned spreads in the hills. Their Devil's Tower campsite even shows "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" every night. How cool is that? Devil's Tower on the movie screen with the actual thing looming right in front of you? I wonder if they get any special visitors out there...their RV is kind of big and flattish with a million lights...and it's like a giant synthesizer...
I've been to quite a few National Parks and Monuments but never to these, so naturally I want to visit these places myself now that I've put in the research time. It's just par for the course in this business, I reckon; I can't help traveling vicariously through my clients and in the end their trips just serve to lengthen my own to-go list.
Next up is a Paris-Brussels-London family jaunt with a side trip to Normandy...I've got these folks booked into all their top accommodations choices in areas I love, so I am particularly worked up about preparing this trip. We are on the same wavelength about most aspects of the trip, so it's almost like planning my own vacation. And we know how expert I am at THAT!
My own plans are rather tame for the near future, at least in terms of distance to be traveled: first up, a road trip to Houston to see a star-studded live Bollywood extravaganza. (Actually the first "journey" will be a root canal--I will SO need to have a dose of Bollywood after the dental horror.) Then my sister will apparently be getting married sometime in the next couple of months, so it looks like I'll be using that airline certificate I bought in the charity auction to fly to exciting Atlanta--oops, I mean HOT-LANTA.
Other than that, my DH and I hope to venture up to Washington, DC, before the end of the year to visit with several of his former colleagues, who for some reason have all independently moved there as though drawn by some...humongous pied piper spaceship playing a five-note tune. We look forward to witnessing some sort of gripping congressional hearing and/or a Supreme Court argument while in our nation's capital.
Seriously. I mean it.
I've been to quite a few National Parks and Monuments but never to these, so naturally I want to visit these places myself now that I've put in the research time. It's just par for the course in this business, I reckon; I can't help traveling vicariously through my clients and in the end their trips just serve to lengthen my own to-go list.
Next up is a Paris-Brussels-London family jaunt with a side trip to Normandy...I've got these folks booked into all their top accommodations choices in areas I love, so I am particularly worked up about preparing this trip. We are on the same wavelength about most aspects of the trip, so it's almost like planning my own vacation. And we know how expert I am at THAT!
My own plans are rather tame for the near future, at least in terms of distance to be traveled: first up, a road trip to Houston to see a star-studded live Bollywood extravaganza. (Actually the first "journey" will be a root canal--I will SO need to have a dose of Bollywood after the dental horror.) Then my sister will apparently be getting married sometime in the next couple of months, so it looks like I'll be using that airline certificate I bought in the charity auction to fly to exciting Atlanta--oops, I mean HOT-LANTA.
Other than that, my DH and I hope to venture up to Washington, DC, before the end of the year to visit with several of his former colleagues, who for some reason have all independently moved there as though drawn by some...humongous pied piper spaceship playing a five-note tune. We look forward to witnessing some sort of gripping congressional hearing and/or a Supreme Court argument while in our nation's capital.
Seriously. I mean it.
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