Bollywood Blitzkrieg - NRI Blues and desi hues 
By Subhash K. Jha, January 22, 2007 - 13:34 IST
Sour grapes seem to be the order of the day. Mira Nair thinks she's 'lucky' she didn't get Abhishek Bachchan for the lead in her new film. Has she
forgotten how much she hounded the young actor to be part of Namesake? And when he appeared reluctant (for reasons that we won't go
into here) she turned so nasty on Abhishek's business manager that the poor guy swore never to watch another film by any NRI filmmaker
again.
Why do these festival-feted filmmakers feel that Bollywood should drop all its engagements and run after a film just because it comes with an
international label? In any case after seeing Mira's last film Vanity Fairand the way critics ripped it apart I just hope she's done a better job with
Jhumpa Lahiri than she did with William Thackeray.
And after seeing what critics did to what Paul Berges did to Jhumpa's fellow-Bengali authoress Chitra Devakaruni in The Mistress of
Spices….
Gimme a full- blown Bollywood thali with pickles and onions any day. The electric current of excitement that surges in a jam-packed theatre when
the screen reads 'A Film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali' or 'A Film by Karan Johar' is an experience beyond any.
I feel sorry for my friends in Mumbai who go noiselessly into pre-arranged premiere shows kiss cheeks and often kiss other parts to show their
false appreciation for a product that they cannot criticize…..not when the maker is playing host.
Gimme Karan instead of Nair any day. No matter what the naysayer might say the fact is KANK was a very unusual departure for Karan, and
audiences were jolted by the snarl of urban relationships that the director created. And if you're lucky enough to have seen Karan's film you'd
realize every actor is outstanding. Shah Rukh presided over the plot. Abhishek's character was almost an alter-ego of the guy he's in real person.
Preity was suitably icy cold and Rani was like a cup of garam-chai.
It's time for our visual medium and Karan to mature. "How long could Karan go on being accused of drawing fluff stuff out of his creative vision?"
says the film's senior-most superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Smiles Karan. "I'm grateful to every one from Amit Uncle and Jaya Aunty to Abhishek and my 'God' Shah Rukh for making such a tough film easy
for me.” So what was KANK really about? It's not about love. It's about the departure of love. It's not about infidelity but about what love
means to those who don't have it.
I don't know about you. But I'd rather watch Abhishek Bachchan in KANK than Kal Penn (who's he???) in The Namesake.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein or statements made in the above column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect
the views of IndiaFM.
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Bollywood Blitzkrieg – Bollywood bonding??
