Oreange to colour Indian race relations a rosy glow
MESSAGES, Samuel Goldwyn famously said, should be sent by Western Union, not filmmakers. But the producers of Indian movie Orange, which is shooting in Melbourne, would beg to differ.
The movie is technically a piece of Tollywood rather than Bollywood cinema (it is being shot in the Telugu language spoken in southern India, not the Hindi that is dominant in Bollywood films), but it follows the well-worn formula of pretty young leads, romance, a few laughs and dazzling dance numbers.
It's light entertainment for a potential audience of about 300 million people but, its Australian-based line producer insists, it is also a film with a serious message.
''The producer from India wanted to come here and prove a point - that what is being told in India is totally against what is happening here,'' said Anupam Sharma on the Southbank set of the film yesterday.
He was referring to the perception in India that Australia is not safe for Indians, particularly young students. Having lived here for 21 years, Mr Sharma said that view bore little relation to his experience. ''The facts are on one side and the media hype in India is on the other side,'' he said.
That was a view state Education Minister Bronwyn Pike, who visited the set yesterday, was happy to hear. ''There's been an impression created in some quarters that Melbourne isn't a safe and welcoming city, and I'm just delighted to be hearing a different message from the producers, the director and the stars. They see that they have a responsibility to turn that message around,'' she said.
Orange is a romance about two Australian students of Indian background, filmed in Sydney and Melbourne and set, said Mr Sharma, ''against a backdrop of arts and painting and a young crowd and funk''. It stars Genelia d'Souza, a 22-year-old rising star of Indian cinema, and 24-year-old Ram Charan Teja, the son of legendary actor Chiranjeevi.
With a 14-week shoot and a budget of about $A10 million - more than half of it to be spent in Australia - it is the biggest Indian production to shoot here. Despite a call to boycott Bollywood shoots in Australia in the wake of perceived racism, Mr Sharma insisted there were no signs of a slowdown.
''We have had maximum number of Indian films and maximum amount of money spent since that call was made last September,'' he said. ''The fact remains that a prolific country like India and a professional country like Australia in terms of films, when they come together it's a win-win situation.''
love actually
By Hindustan Times
New Delhi, April 15 -- Is falling in love a hate-it or want-it situation for Generation Next? Are we mute spectators to the failing belief in eternal, "oh-my-heart-beats-only-for-you" love?
You know, the 'forever' sort! Having grown up on Karan Johar's ideals of falling in love against all odds and ending up together till death do us part, I don't want to believe so. But I hate to admit that us young ones are getting a bit too practical and uncompromising in finding life-partners. With divorce rates hitting the roof, is the term 'life-partner' even applicable?
What's the problem? Maybe we are incorporating 'fast-food' ideals into our relationships as well. Two things strike me hard:
Let's step back into the past when our grandparents ended up as life-partners - victims (or should we say victors) of somebody else's informed choice. Look where it got them! Still in love and flirtatious as ever! Our parents fell in love in college, bravely stood up to parental opposition, finally wore them down and are continuing to live happily ever after. Which brings us to our predicament. Some of us have given up on finding that one true soulmate - heartbreak is a scary emotion. Hence we have chosen, smartly, to leave our fate in the hands of our parents. If they got it right, they can do right for us as well. Arranged marriage are back in fashion.
Some of us opt for the no-frills, no traditions attached 'living in together'. We are as good as married but not exactly and there's always the 'panic button' to get out of it without the messiness of a divorce.
But there's still a small population of people who are head-over-heels in love with the idea of love and this is where I belong. We believe that love will find a way and we will find our way along with it. We believe that we will, sooner or later, find that one person who makes our hearts beat faster; the one person to give us sleepless nights and moony stares; the one person who completes our sentences, shares our goals and doesn't laugh at our dreams. Believe in love, guys. Granted that 'practical thinking' will give you more options and possibly keep your life stress-free. But being in love will keep you more alive and happier. To quote a line from one of my favourite films Love Actually, "The thing about romance is....people only get together right at the very end." So hang in there!