Actors don different avatars to keep buzz alive

By M H Ahssan

There was a time when actors were bigger than the characters they played — Amitabh Bachchan never altered his hairstyle and Rajesh Khanna never changed the way he delivered his dialogues. But today, actors are not only willing to take the risk of soaking into the character but also use multiple looks in a single film to create a buzz around it.

Take for example the 2008-blockbuster Ghajini. The success of the track Behka came from the fact that Aamir Khan showed up in six different avatars. A few weeks earlier, King Khan didn’t disappoint when he alternated between Simpleton Suri and Romeo Raj in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Though unlike Ghajini, the varied looks here formed an integral part of the script.

Whether a marketing ploy or as an important part of the storyline, the trend is here to stay and one expects to see at least a handful of films take it forward in 2009. The most talked about of which is director Ashutosh Gowarikar’s What’s Your Rashee, where Priyanka Chopra is likely to be seen in 12 different avatars, each of which represents one rashee or sun sign.

Closer on the calendar is Madhureeta Anand’s Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye that has Randeep Hooda in 18 iconic characters, including that of Elvis Presley and James Bond.

Anand, who came up with the idea while writing the story accepts that it is the USP of the film but assures that it isn’t a PR strategy to sell the film. “My film is about a simple woman who has an imaginary friend Jai and how he empowers her imagination. Jai is her fantasy and therefore takes on the form of the popular icons.” The director, who closely worked with the costume department on Hooda’s looks, says, “It isn’t easy to come up with 18 variations of one face. In a lot of ways, it was creatively liberating for the artistes as well as the actor.”

Southern siren Asin Thottumkal, who is filming for Vipul Shah’s London Dreams, agrees. “I play a split personality — as one character I’ll be wearing a salwar kameez and as the other, you’ll see me in a grunge look. It sounds mad but it gives us actors so much space to experiment.”

Designer Ashley Rebello who has worked on both of Thottumkal’s looks narrates how it took time to get her rocker look right. “The first time around she reminded us of Ghajini. So we gave Asin kohl eyes, tights, dresses and loads of accessories.”

The makeup artistes, hair and costume stylists feel that finally, this phenomenon has led the industry to recognise their potential. Arjun Bhasin who put together Aamir’s looks in Behka, says, “We have to think of what will look good on the actor and also make sure the director likes it. Ghajini was especially a challenge as we had to portray Aamir in a way he never has looked before.”

The audience no doubt loves to see the stars in more than one avatar. Director Murgadoss, who added the track in Ghajini only for the benefit of the Bollywood audience, explains why the trick works: “We knew the response to the song would be fabulous. After all, people get to see their favourite star six times over.” To put in simple words, it’s full ‘paisa vasool’.

Are non-film music albums dying out?

By Ruchika Kate

Acclaimed singers like Sonu Nigam, Shaan, KK and even Asha Bhonsle have come out with independent music albums that have been popular with audiences. But these non-film albums are now on the decline and many blame Bollywood for the downward trend.

Some allege that artists and albums are not promoted well, while others say Bollywood music has completely overshadowed independent music.

'Albums are dead. It doesn't make sense to waste nine good songs on a box of plastic when people will only listen to what TV offers them. I think I should do films now,' said Rabbi Shergill, whose song 'Bulla ki jaana' topped popular charts.

Some of the other non-film songs that did great business over the past years include 'Tanha dil' -, 'Ab ke saawan' -, 'Dhoom' -, 'Tu' - and 'Bheegi bheegi raaton mein' -. But such albums have now taken a backseat.

'The main reason for the diminishing presence of non-film albums is that our country is very Bollywood-centric,' said Sachin Gupta, the in-house composer of Tips Industries Ltd.

This trend has accelerated the pace of musicians and even lyricists heading towards the Hindi filmdom and expressing their creativity through movie songs.

'It isn't that I don't want to do a non-film album. I love doing albums because I get more creative freedom and there are no constraints or limitations of the storyline,' said lyricist Prasoon Joshi, who has penned the lines for songs like 'Dooba dooba' - and 'Man ke manjeere' -.

'But the problem is that the market for private albums is shrinking. People now are more inclined towards film music. So that's why I now try and find my expression in Bollywood songs,' he added.

Along with the popularity of film music, singers cite inadequate publicity as a major reason for the failure of non-film albums in the Indian market.

'Independent or non-film albums are not promoted the way they should be. It's sad that channels don't even give them enough airplay,' said pop artist Shibani Kashyap, who became popular with her song 'Ho gai hai mohabbat'.

'Even music companies today feel that investing in a non-film album is a losing proposition and not commercially viable because most music channels play Bollywood numbers.

'It was very disappointing to see that even an album by legends Asha Bhonsle and Ghulam Ali saw very little airplay and there was hardly any promotion visible on TV,' she added.

So what can remedy the situation?

'I have done 17 albums last year and I'll keep doing that because you never know what clicks with the audience. If we stop churning out albums then obviously the segment will die. So we need to keep trying to revive it,' said Sachin Gupta.

'Along with implementing sufficient promotional tools for the albums, I feel there should be a channel dedicated to only non-film albums. We need dedicated space to revive them,' suggested Shibani.

Deepika Padukone turns 23

Change was Buzzword for TV Industry in 2008

By Radhika Bhirani

Change, they say, is the only constant in life. The saying may not have been true for India's Rs.226 billion/ Rs. 22,600 Crores television industry for the past seven years but it certainly seemed apt for 2008.

A nearly month-long workers' strike, the end of long-running serials from TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor like "Kasauti Zindagi Kay", "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" and "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi", the success of new channels...the TV industry had a lot of surprises and shocks during the year. And all these marked a departure from set norms.

The strike by the apex body of cine workers, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), was for a hike in wages. They failed to reach a settlement with the producers' association and viewers had to bear the brunt by watching re-runs of shows.

According to Keertan Adyanthaya, general manager and executive vice president of STAR Plus, the strike had a significant impact on the industry.

"Thanks to the strike, producers are today looking beyond Mumbai to produce their shows as they realize the futility of putting all their eggs in one basket. The broadcasters have come together for the first time and have taken a united stand against an arbitrary increase in costs," Adyanthaya told IANS.

"The strike was of no benefit whatsoever and everybody ended up losing - the federation lost wages for three weeks, producers had to incur costs on standing sets and broadcasters lost advertising revenue because of repeat telecasts of programmes," he added.

Prior to the strike, the industry witnessed a flutter when Ekta's long running saas-bahu sagas ended.

New entertainment channels like NDTV Imagine, 9x and Colors brought in a breath of fresh air for viewers by offering more variety and meaning in their content and older channels - STAR Plus, Sony and Zee TV - tried to regain their popularity by revamping their programming content.

Said Tarun Mehra, business head of Zee TV: "It has been a great year. Numerous channels were launched, the viewers were spoilt for choice and every existing channel worth its salt kept churning out content that was palatable for its viewers."

New shows like "Balika Vadhu", based on the evils of child marriage, brought about a change in subject and also introduced a child actor as a protagonist in mainstream television shows.

Also, "Saat Phere", "Kasammh Se" and "Teen Bahuraaniyan" of Zee lost out to new concepts like "Mohe Rang De", "Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi", "Jasuben Jayantilal Ki Joint Family" and "Uttaran" being telecast on new channels.

Most of these shows have drifted away from the typical saas-bahu sagas that the older channels have sworn by. Even the established channels were forced to end their top shows to introduce fresh concepts with shows like "Sapna Baabul Ka...Bidaai", "Santaan" and "Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat".

"In terms of quality, each channel is trying to raise its standard of programming. Also, all of them want their good share of the viewership pie and so they are trying to adjust their programming strategy accordingly," Ashwini Yardi, senior vice president and content head of Colors, told IANS.

SAB TV also tried to strengthen its position with new comedy shows like "Lo Ho Gayi Pooja Iss Ghar Kii", "Main Kab Saas Banoongi", "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah" and "Jugni Chali Jalandhar".

This year, the TV industry also witnessed an overdose of reality shows with nearly all channels hosting at least one. Most shows like "Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena" on Colors and "Zara Nachke Dikha" on STAR One tried to make their presence felt by spicing up their content.

"Every channel tried different formats of reality shows. We tried showing stunts through 'Fear Factor', then 'Bigg Boss' and even 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena' was different in the sense that we brought in cricketers. Even though there is an overdose of it, reality shows are here to stay," said Yardi.

Another significant alteration in primetime television was the return of mythological epics - "Mahabharata" and "Ramayan". They made a comeback on screen in a digitally enhanced avatar with Ekta Kapoor's "Kahaani Humaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki" and Sagar Arts' "Ramayan". There were also additions like "Jai Shri Krishna" and "Sai Baba".

Bollywood also marked its presence on the small screen by stars hosting quizes and talk shows. While superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan hosted "Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain" and "Dus Ka Dum" respectively, others like Shilpa Shetty and Akshay Kumar hosted "Bigg Boss" and "Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi" respectively.

Even veteran actors Jeetendra and Hema Malini have joined the bandwagon by becoming judges on the newly launched show "Dancing Queen". A string of others like Hrithik Roshan, Sushmita Sen, Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Sonali Bendre, Arjun Rampal and Farhan Akhtar also plunged into the medium.

Apart from the new shows that were launched in 2008, the year witnessed the launch of a bouquet of channels offered by production house UTV Global Broadcasting Limited (UGBL). The company began youth channels Bindass and Bindass Movies, international movie channel World Movies, mainstream Hindi movie channel UTV Movies and two news channels UTV News and UTVi.

In the entertainment category, the year also saw the launch of various regional channels, including two by Rupert Murdoch's STAR. It launched STAR Jalsha and STAR Pravah to cater to the Bengali and Marathi viewers respectively.

This apart, STAR has joined hands with parliamentarian Rajeev Chandrasekhar's company Jupiter Entertainment Ventures for a joint venture - STAR Jupiter Entertainment Television targeting south India.

INX Network launched NewsX in March and announced plans for nearly nine regional channels.

Youth channels like Bindass, MTV and Channel V also saw an upsurge in viewership thanks to adventure reality shows like "MTV Roadies", "MTV Splitsville", "Cash Cab" and "Dadagiri".

In November, "reality TV" assumed a different meaning when the terror attacks struck Mumbai.

The 60-hour bloodbath that claimed over 170 lives provided for continuous feed of grim, sensational images, survival stories and political discussions across not just national but also international news channels. People remained glued to their TV sets, leading to a spurt in viewership of Hindi news channels during that time.

All in all - 2008 proved to be an eventful year of change for the TV industry.

Rewind 2008: HIGH-VOLTAGE DRAMA OFF-SCREEN

By M H Ahssan

Spats, political drama, fan wars and a star debut overtook show business in Tollywood. HNN rewinds to the year that was.

Drama – there was no dearth of it in Tollywood this year. More than films, there were other issues that took centre stage in the Telugu film industry. A political tsunami engulfed the stars, who were either busy floating their own party or supporting existing ones. A political divide like this was never seen before in the industry.

STAR POLITICS
Mega star Chiranjeevi's political plunge saw family members –– Pawan Kalyan, Nagababu and Allu Aravind ––getting busier by the day. While, Nagababu known for his managerial abilities, saw a sudden spurt in his acting career (he acted in more than 20 films this year), actor Pawan Kalyan got busy managing Yuvarajyam, the youth wing of Prajarajyam (with the nightmare of his divorce behind him). Not to be outdone, the Nandamuri clan united for a political cause –– Balakrishna, Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram –– declared their support to Telugu Desam and Balakrishna was the star attraction at TDP’s Yuvagarjana. The sudden influx of stars into the political arena pushed the Congress to woo the remaining stars. At the Nandi Awards, actor Nagarjuna, Krishna and Mahesh Babu made their political allegiance obvious and other stars like Rajasekhar, Jeevitha and Srihari have sent feelers to the Congress, we hear.

FAN WARS, CRICKET & SON-RISE
The year also saw a fan war between actor Rajasekhar and Chiranjeevi, with the mega star apologising in public on behalf of fans who attacked Rajasekhar. This was a first! On a pleasanter note, Manchu Vishnu bought a stake in the ICL and the year also saw the most memorable son-rise, that of Naga Chaitanya.

NOT A SINGLE FILM
The biggest surprise of the year comes from Mahesh Babu –– the star did not shoot for a single day the whole year and had no release either. Disturbing silence!

FREAK ACCIDENT & A PASSION CRIME
River Godavari, where umpteen films are shot each year, turned into a watery grave for a junior artist while performing a stunt for the film Baladoor. The accident in March opened a can of worms but the issue died a slow death.

Towards the year-end the murder of Bhargavi, the second lead actress in the hit film Ashta Chemma, shook the industry, once again highlighting the struggles of upcoming actors and the downside of glitz and glamour.

Krisshwa the first Bhojpuri Superhero

By Giridhar Jha

BHOJPURI cinema hero is flying high. Well, literally!

Forget the country bumpkins in dhotis riding bullock carts on dusty roads as leading men of the cow belt cinema.

It has its own Superman now.

If Krissh was the first flying superhero of Hindi cinema, he will now don the avatar of ‘ Krisshwa’ for Bhojpuri films.

Vinay Anand, nephew of Bollywood actor Govinda, is playing Krisshwa in a forthcoming Bhojpuri film called Jaade Mein Balmaa Pyara Laage that will release in February.

Krisshwa is a desi ( indigenous) superhero modelled on Hrithik Roshan’s title role of Hindi blockbuster Krissh . Just like Krissh, Krisshwa flies and also rescues a damselin- distress — Mona Lisa, who plays the female lead in the film.

Anand insists his latest flick is not a copy of Rakesh Roshan’s superhit film. “ We have not plagiarised the theme of Krissh ,” Anand said.

“ We have only retained the look of the mask- wearing character.” Apart from the lead pair, Bali, Gurlin Chopra, Dev Malhotra and Sambhavana Seth also play stellar roles in the film which is produced by Mukesh Kumar.

Anand said he was pleasantly surprised when he was first told about the character and its look.

“ This is an entirely new concept in Bhojpuri films,” he said. “ I am confident this movie will turn out to be a blockbuster in the Bhojpuri cinema like Krissh became in Bollywood.” Anand, who has acted in a few Hindi movies such as Tabu- starrer Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya , T. Ramarao’s Soutela and Rajat Rawail’s Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya , said the idea behind creating a Superman- like character was to introduce the Bhojpuri cinema audience to a different kind of entertainment.

“ We have used a lot of special effects in the film, which the Bhojpuri audience has not seen before,” he said. “ I firmly believe that they should also have exposure to variations in their films.” Being made under the banner of MKG Films, Jaade Mein Balmaa Pyara Laage is being directed by Mukesh K. Dev.

The film, however, does not revolve around the Krissh- like character alone. “ This character appears in different sequences which, I am sure, will appeal to the audience,” Anand said. “ I am not supposed to reveal more about the film before it is released.” Anand, who has acted in about 20 Bhojpuri movies over the past three years, believes that the audience in Bihar, in particular, will relate more to the character, who symbolises the triumph of good over evil.

“ The character annihilates criminals and raises consciousness of the common man to fight for their rights.

He is like someone that the crime- prone Bihar needs,” the actor said.

Though Krisshwa will be the first Bhojpuri superhero, Jaade Mein Balmaa Pyara Laage is not the first tryst of the Bhojpuri audience with a superhero. Last year, they had the experience of watching Spiderman 3 dubbed in Bhojpuri.

Popular Bhojpuri star Ravi Kissen had dubbed the dialogues of the lead actor, Tobey Maguire. The dubbed version of the Hollywood film was released in Bihar and many other Bhojpuri- speaking places across the country.

Kissen was so inspired by his Bhojpuri dubbing for the film that he announced to make a film in which the main protagonist would be a physically challenged man who would fly like Spiderman with the blessings of Lord Hanuman.

“ The superhero of my film will not be seen in an underwear over his costume.

He will rather fly in a dhoti because he has to be the Bhojpuria Spiderman,” Kissen had said.

Kissen’s ambitious venture is yet to hit the screens. Anand has pipped him to the post and is ready to fly high as Krisshwa.

Incredible India on an Online Overdrive

By Pratul Sharma

The Tourism ministry will launch an online media campaign to attract foreign tourists who have been shying away from coming to the country after the 26/ 11 terror attack.

The ministry decided to launch the campaign on country- specific web portals after the success of hosting video clips of Incredible India on popular website YouTube . The campaign will promote India as a safe destination.

The government, which has already announced 2009 as Visit India Year, believes the next year would be tough for the industry, which is feeling the heat after the terror attacks in Mumbai and the recession.

The move came after major players in the tourism industry asked the government to aggressively market Brand India abroad. Officials said the online campaign will be comprehensive, covering major portals and websites in the countries that register the maximum visits in India.

“ This year, the thrust has been on selecting region- specific portals. Some of the portals which will be featured in the current campaign are project India as a safe destination MSN , Yahoo, Google, orange. fr , t- online, libero.com, baidu.com, zuji.com, news. com. au, khaleejtimes.com, wallstreetjournal.com .

The campaign will stress on how large India is geographically and would highlight its varied products,” said an official.

The ministry currently has seven international media campaigns running in Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific.

Some of the important publications covered under the print media campaign include the Financial Times , Economist and Sunday Magazine in Australia; China Daily; News Week Asia, Nikki Business Magazine in Japan; Sunday Times in the UK; Le Monde in France; Geo Magazine in Germany; Travel & Leisure and Conde Nast Traveller in the US; and Proxima Viagem in Brazil.

Under the Visit India Year, foreign tourists would get free holiday packages for 2010 and 2011. The ministry is also working on special packages on rural India, eco- tourism, and adventure tourism.

Officials claimed the tourism offices overseas have also been advised to liaise with the media and travel trade in their respective regions and examine the possibility of organising familiarisation tours to Mumbai and other regions of the country.