Blog Archive
August - September 2006
Yash Chopra to Be Honoured in Australia
Bollywood director
Yash Chopra
is to be honoured in Australia with a retrospective of his films. He is also
reportedly to attend a fund-raising lunch on October 10th.
September 30th, 2006
Latest Tania Sighting
Sydney's Daily Telegraph
claims to have spotted
Tania Zaetta in Ibiza on the arm of singer James Blunt.
September 30th, 2006
Bandy the Singing Professor & the
Bandyopadhyay Singing Family of Sydney
- Website
A while back I mentioned Bandy the Singing Professor (scroll down). He and
his family now
have their own website.
September 29th, 2006
Bollywood's Back
Bollywood
returns to my city Melbourne:
Sports film "Chak De! India" (Go India!) will be shot at the State
Netball Hockey Centre in Parkville from next month.
The film is from the same team who produced hit musical "Salaam Namaste"
(Hello! Greetings!) in Melbourne last year, which has been credited with
lifting the number of tourists from India to Australia.
"Chak De! India" follows the story of a disgraced player who returns to the
game as the coach of an Indian women's hockey team.
Heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan — a household name in the world's second
most-populous country — plays the lead role.
...The number of tourists from India to Australia in the first five months
this year reportedly increased by 31 per cent compared with the same period
last year.
September 28th, 2006
South Australia As It Has Never Been Seen Before
 Bollywood
arrives in
South Australia. The Adelaide Advertiser reports:
More than one billion people will soon see South Australia as it has
never been seen before, courtesy of a former Miss World and the Bollywood
juggernaut.
Premier Mike Rann today officially welcomed to SA the production team behind
Love Story 2050, hoping that the $10m movie would ignite an ongoing,
lucrative relationship with the world's largest film industry.
"It's the biggest Bollywood movie ever shot in Australia and we hope it is
the first of many more," said Premier Rann while director Harry Baweja
conducted a busy scene on the stairs outside Adelaide Festival Centre.
India's first sci-fi film, Love Story 2050 stars Baweja's son Harman and
Priyanka Chopra, a former Miss World who hit the No.2 on this year's Top
Bollywood actress list in India.
September 7th, 2006
Not Just Glamour and Masala
I didn't know this.
Bollywood movies are being used in Aussie schools. At least that's the
claim of IndiaFM:
Rakyesh Mehra’s "Rang De Basanti" which created a wave at the Box Office
early this year and also got highly appreciated for its content is now being
used at the Australian schools....Besides "Rang De Basanti," other films
like "Lagaan" and "Salaam Namaste" are also a part of their syllabus.
The Shalom College in Bundaberg, Queensland is another school that has been
screening Gurinder Chadha's "Bend it Like Beckham" for discussions. This is
definitely a big achievement for Bollywood which gets accused of making
escapist cinema. This is a strong proof to everyone that Bollywood is not
just about glamour and masala and that it also produces films that are
meaningful and sensible.
August 31st, 2006
Bollywood Returning to Melbourne
Here's
an
announcement from the Swish Group:
Swish Group is delighted to announce that its Swish Black Cat Films
division has been appointed by Indian film production company Yash Raj Films
to be the Australian Line Producers for the international shoot of the
Indian film “Chak de India” in Melbourne and Sydney.
Black Cat which was acquired by Swish Group in 2005 previously carried out
production on the Yash Raj film, “Salaam Namaste” which was shot in
Australia. Yash Raj Films is the largest production and distribution company
in India, having been established over 35 years ago. The Indian film
industry produces approximately 800 feature films per year and “Chuk de
India” is expected to have a worldwide audience of up to 300 million people.
The Company currently expects the contract to generate revenue of
approximately AUD $1.6m in the first half of the current financial year.
August 28th, 2006
Bandy the Singing Professor
I don't know if this is Bollywood, but it's Australian and I've received an
email about it - it's
Bandy the Singing Professor:
His Indian song albums in Bengali and Hindi have received high acclaim
too around the World, in both Indian and Western communities. The simple yet
spiritually lifting lyrics, soothing melody and instrumental music
combination - Indian and western - is unparalleled : keyboard, sitar, tabla
- Indian drums, flute, guitar, piano accordion and percussion.
August 28th, 2006
Imagine You're Really Sad
 Here
in Melbourne some local town councils are promoting
Bollywood dance lessons. The Age reports:
The classes are equally cheesy. "Now, the chest heave," the teacher
calls. "Imagine you're really sad because your lover has stood you up, then
heave a big sigh, like this," she says, extending graceful arms and staring
skywards with a hyper-soulful pout. Later she exhorts, "Put everything
you've got into it - and smile!" as she skips through a routine of jumps,
hops, Punjabi shoulder-shrugs and advanced sashaying. For a largely white,
middleclass, congenitally stiff audience, this is challenging. But Craig, a
regular - and often the sole male - loves it. "There's an exuberance about
this, not like with aerobics" - his eyes roll - "or some other fitness
class."
August 7th, 2006
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