First, let me make this clear. Here Babetude is talking about B'wood( though I don't like the copied name either)because for many who are interested in Indian from abroad, and even Indians, think it reflects Indian culture.
Today out of the blue a childhood memory hit Babetude! And she decided to listen to this beautiful song which she has a memory of from the 90s.The composition might be from the 50s but yours truely had the good fortune of viewing it only in the early -mid nineties, on TV.
What a beautiful song it is...What a haunting melody, it can stay with a music lover( more so Indian music lovers) for a long time.
The youtube vidoes which most of us net users look at now-a-days have some very sensible comments. Babetude has talked about it in the past.
About this well liked tune, a user calls it relaxing apart from being beautiful and brilliant.
This composition is capable of leaving the emotional listener a little sad too. Of course that would be stand true for who understands music and better still, the poetic lyrics.
Well,Babetude has talked about the legendary Kishore Kumar in the past. The lady in the video- the legendary Indian beauty Madhu Bala makes it very alluring as well. No two ways about that!
The sad part is that in those times there were natural beauties who were Godesses of acting too. Madhu Bala, Meena Kumari, Nutan and Nargis were some examples.
In fact, of late there's been too much of sad news all around.The loss of the great ghazal maestro with the golden voice, Jagjeet Singh recently has also left the art world and true blue appreciators very sad as well...It won't be too much to say that true blue appreciators of music and classic cinema lovers are being left orphaned with the exit of so many veterans.
Visionary Steve Jobs who passed on recently too has very wisely quoted-" Old has to go to make way for the new". But what does one do when the new is deteriorating things instead of improving or even preserving. Technological and economic advancement in India is there, but most wise men think it's losing touch with it's culture.
And what do audiences have in India right now? Is there music of this kind and sensuality of this kind left in India any more? It's really very sad and it's just another post where Babetude laments again...Guess she will have to until things change. '
Babtude's repeating again- there are a few good movies but their number is low. The non sense outnumbers the sensible. And there's no sensuality...Like how the fan said, probably it died in the 60s with she going away in Feb 1969. Well guess in the 70s it was there abit but it's hardly there any more. It's more about blatant sexuality these days. Well it's been noticed that the process of deterioration had started around two decades back and now it's kind of reaching its pinnacle.
An elderly lady close to me, who's not even from India, says she's sad when sometimes she sees an entire movie and doesn't see the heroine in a saree. Her husband who's a very knowledgeable elderly man who left India in 1960, agreed he won't be able to recognize India of today. I might also return to India after a while now, when I am in my thirties, but even from far, this is a painful sight.
It's all bout business, marketing and money making. All that is important but at the expense of what?Can someone tell the dream merchants and the sellers of dreams that if an intelligent viewer wishes to enjoy westernized stuff, he/she can very well turn to what western culture offers- Hollywood, even Broadway, ballet and so on.After all, the original is the best. Yes, beaing westernized is good but has improved only a few things in the movies... Futuristic films will be appreciated but not as much as Hollywood futuristic films and science fiction which have much better technology.If a lot of things had improved at the expense of losing cultural identity, it was okay. But it's not so. Most films are still laughable and mindless song and dance sequences in foreign locations don't help.
While actors looking fit is very important these days and it's there, that doesn't mean one can over look the most important thing - performance itself.
Maybe the problem is that the amount of intelligent viewers ain't that much! As long as the mindset of the majority doesn't change, nothing is going to change...
Wonder till how long one(the folks that care) will have to tolerate she male hybrids, expressionless non actors who CAN'T deliver their own dialogues, nonsensical films, most times copied from Hollywood, and mediocre loud (on many occasions copied as well)music reflecting Indian culture! Will this stop? Time to stop it but who will?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The world loses a tech giant, a visionary): iSad too):
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-front-pages_n_997817.html
Iconic figure of this century
Borrowed from Some touching Twitter and FB posts---
Barack Obama
Quote of the day: "The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented." —President Obama tonight on the passing of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What's your excuse?
Steve Jobs: "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter.. Going to bed saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters"
RiP Steve Jobs. The Willy Wonka of our generation.
Rest Well, Steve, for you have earned it, friend.
3 apples changed our life 1st apple of adam & eve 2nd apple of newtons invention of gravity &3rd apple of Steve Jobs. RIP
Albert Einstein: 1879 - 1955. Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011. It's almost as if he continued the legacy of innovation
RT @GreatestQuotes: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” - Steve Jobs
Has anyone seen the clouds today? Going through a major design upgrade, Steve Jobs RIP
Steve Jobs was "bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it." ~ @BarackObama -on.mash.to/nNoU2S
richardbranson
RIP Steve Jobs. A truly great businessman. Inspiration to so many. A real Family man. He will be sorely missed. virg.co/steve
RIP.May the Almighty's light shine upon him forever.
Iconic figure of this century
Borrowed from Some touching Twitter and FB posts---
Barack Obama
Quote of the day: "The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented." —President Obama tonight on the passing of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What's your excuse?
Steve Jobs: "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter.. Going to bed saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters"
RiP Steve Jobs. The Willy Wonka of our generation.
Rest Well, Steve, for you have earned it, friend.
3 apples changed our life 1st apple of adam & eve 2nd apple of newtons invention of gravity &3rd apple of Steve Jobs. RIP
Albert Einstein: 1879 - 1955. Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011. It's almost as if he continued the legacy of innovation
RT @GreatestQuotes: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” - Steve Jobs
Has anyone seen the clouds today? Going through a major design upgrade, Steve Jobs RIP
Steve Jobs was "bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it." ~ @BarackObama -on.mash.to/nNoU2S
richardbranson
RIP Steve Jobs. A truly great businessman. Inspiration to so many. A real Family man. He will be sorely missed. virg.co/steve
RIP.May the Almighty's light shine upon him forever.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Where is current B'wood's soul and substance??
It was Soha Ali Khan's birthday today. Well, must say, it was a pleasure to read a wonderful post on her by a famous Bombay female blogger...
It was a pleasure in the sense that most media people in the country of my birth( i.e India) are only interested in giving attention to so called big stars.
Well, nothing wrong with that. The problem happens when some of them have made a mockery out of acting.
Like Mother, like daughter. How pretty she looks in the pictures, so much like her gorgeous mom, the original sex pot.
Bad news had hit the family when Sharmila ji lost her Nawab/ former cricket captain husband,a refined, handsome man, Soha and her siblings their dad and the nation that lost a Tiger, only 11/12 days back.It's sad...Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle who yours truly follows on Twitter, tweeted it so right..The Jolliest of men in recent days have been taken away in recent days...
Some things are in the hands of fate indeed. But they seem to be holding on, being strong.
But as far as movies go,will things change again??? I mean for the better?Sharmila Ji was a great performer( from the golden days, the times which Babetude misses so much) and so is Soha. She has proved her mettle in Rang De Basanti which was a hit, followed by Ahista Ahista, Khoya Khoya Chand, Mumbai meri jaan...Some were small films, but yet her performance was good. She was praised recently at the fashion shows where the pics posted above were clicked, a little more than a fortnight back, but not worshiped like a star. Her brother Saif Ali Khan who has been around for almost two decades and does more commercial movies, in fact is.
Many true blue film lovers today are lamenting...And there's reason enough for it!
Look at who are stars these days...There's nothing much to speak about the acting and performances of big male or female stars...Aamir Khan, the thinking actor with his wonderful choices of scripts, and acting is an exception.So are some experimental directors.But the overall percentage of film folks this kind is low...
Maybe also because the audience want other things( more superficial entertainment?) and the filmmakers and even big banners want to play safe? In the process they end up encouraging non actors more and more and making a mockery of the art of film making, acting... No wonder a lot of what B'wood produces is not taken seriously worldwide.
The worst is the big star now who can't speak the language in which her movies are made. Worse, she looks and is old( as claimed by a few), but is pretending to be young, getting paired with younger heroes and older stars.A few knowledgeable ones( including Bloggers) protest, know the truths,can't stand the dead, expressionless face. Babetude remembers during the time she was associate editor how one of her young male writers had called this lady the 'horse lady" in the review of a terrible masala flicka that glorified the turban about three years ago. Yes it's kind of insulting but people who expose themselves in media and now with so much of social media etc being around, public figures have to take criticism.
But apparently some men and women find this masculine looking star sexy...That's why she's around of course, right?. Does it reflect well on India?
No.A smart guy had once said, even transsexuals in Brazil( a country known for hot men & women) are far hotter.
Not that I and others of my type have problems with foreign actors acting in B town movies. Well, I live outside of India and am a part of the cosmopolitan culture of the world,so why would me and someone like me have complaints? We see it in Hollywood all the time. But they are actors acting or trying to better the craft. They believe in performing. Not someone who makes a mockery of the art itself. Dialogue delivery is important part of acting. It's not about fluttering eyelashes and smiling.Oh, it's so shameful in B'wood right now...True blue cine fans have a lot to be sad about.
Apart from the name being a blatant copy. Mr. Bachchan, the talented theatre personality Sanjana Kapoor has talked about how it was not called so, years ago.
Also if the foreign actors play roles suited to themselves there's nothing to be sad about. Like how Penelope Cruz does roles in Hollywood, or half Indian beauty Lisa Ray from Canada, foreign item girls and talented British actress Alice Patten did in Rang De Basanti...
There are some wonderful examples from the past as well...
Now maybe some can understand why the feminine, classy dresser but dusky( and discriminated against as claimed by her for being so and also flat chested in Btown) Freida Pinto could happily leave M'bai and be a rising star in Hollywood instead!
She's just one. There could be others who rise just like that too. In India, it seems anything is possible. Here's the video where some truths about that so called star is out.A forthright lady, who's known for her honesty had spoke some facts not very long ago.( It will be uploaded soon too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIdkw_xy1I4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL365BD9F65AE9030E
Changes will be so much welcome in filmdom.When stars will be great actors too! Till then, like some you tube users said, by staying away from most B'wood Babetude is missing nothing at all!
It was a pleasure in the sense that most media people in the country of my birth( i.e India) are only interested in giving attention to so called big stars.
Well, nothing wrong with that. The problem happens when some of them have made a mockery out of acting.
Like Mother, like daughter. How pretty she looks in the pictures, so much like her gorgeous mom, the original sex pot.
Bad news had hit the family when Sharmila ji lost her Nawab/ former cricket captain husband,a refined, handsome man, Soha and her siblings their dad and the nation that lost a Tiger, only 11/12 days back.It's sad...Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle who yours truly follows on Twitter, tweeted it so right..The Jolliest of men in recent days have been taken away in recent days...
Some things are in the hands of fate indeed. But they seem to be holding on, being strong.
But as far as movies go,will things change again??? I mean for the better?Sharmila Ji was a great performer( from the golden days, the times which Babetude misses so much) and so is Soha. She has proved her mettle in Rang De Basanti which was a hit, followed by Ahista Ahista, Khoya Khoya Chand, Mumbai meri jaan...Some were small films, but yet her performance was good. She was praised recently at the fashion shows where the pics posted above were clicked, a little more than a fortnight back, but not worshiped like a star. Her brother Saif Ali Khan who has been around for almost two decades and does more commercial movies, in fact is.
Many true blue film lovers today are lamenting...And there's reason enough for it!
Look at who are stars these days...There's nothing much to speak about the acting and performances of big male or female stars...Aamir Khan, the thinking actor with his wonderful choices of scripts, and acting is an exception.So are some experimental directors.But the overall percentage of film folks this kind is low...
Maybe also because the audience want other things( more superficial entertainment?) and the filmmakers and even big banners want to play safe? In the process they end up encouraging non actors more and more and making a mockery of the art of film making, acting... No wonder a lot of what B'wood produces is not taken seriously worldwide.
The worst is the big star now who can't speak the language in which her movies are made. Worse, she looks and is old( as claimed by a few), but is pretending to be young, getting paired with younger heroes and older stars.A few knowledgeable ones( including Bloggers) protest, know the truths,can't stand the dead, expressionless face. Babetude remembers during the time she was associate editor how one of her young male writers had called this lady the 'horse lady" in the review of a terrible masala flicka that glorified the turban about three years ago. Yes it's kind of insulting but people who expose themselves in media and now with so much of social media etc being around, public figures have to take criticism.
But apparently some men and women find this masculine looking star sexy...That's why she's around of course, right?. Does it reflect well on India?
No.A smart guy had once said, even transsexuals in Brazil( a country known for hot men & women) are far hotter.
Not that I and others of my type have problems with foreign actors acting in B town movies. Well, I live outside of India and am a part of the cosmopolitan culture of the world,so why would me and someone like me have complaints? We see it in Hollywood all the time. But they are actors acting or trying to better the craft. They believe in performing. Not someone who makes a mockery of the art itself. Dialogue delivery is important part of acting. It's not about fluttering eyelashes and smiling.Oh, it's so shameful in B'wood right now...True blue cine fans have a lot to be sad about.
Apart from the name being a blatant copy. Mr. Bachchan, the talented theatre personality Sanjana Kapoor has talked about how it was not called so, years ago.
Also if the foreign actors play roles suited to themselves there's nothing to be sad about. Like how Penelope Cruz does roles in Hollywood, or half Indian beauty Lisa Ray from Canada, foreign item girls and talented British actress Alice Patten did in Rang De Basanti...
There are some wonderful examples from the past as well...
Now maybe some can understand why the feminine, classy dresser but dusky( and discriminated against as claimed by her for being so and also flat chested in Btown) Freida Pinto could happily leave M'bai and be a rising star in Hollywood instead!
She's just one. There could be others who rise just like that too. In India, it seems anything is possible. Here's the video where some truths about that so called star is out.A forthright lady, who's known for her honesty had spoke some facts not very long ago.( It will be uploaded soon too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIdkw_xy1I4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL365BD9F65AE9030E
Changes will be so much welcome in filmdom.When stars will be great actors too! Till then, like some you tube users said, by staying away from most B'wood Babetude is missing nothing at all!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
It's Gandhi Jayanti again!
Last year Babetude mused on Gandhiji's Birthday...
http://thebabetudeblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/remembering-mahatma_02.html
Gandhi who came up with so many ideals for the world to follow will always be special for many more centuries to come. In many parts of the world!
In India, someone known was right when she tweeted not very long ago, how Gandhi would be sad about so many ideals of his, being murdered in the country.
Let's hope and pray things get better for the world and for Gandhiji's India...
"Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, Patita pavana Seeta Ram.Ishwar Allah Tero naam, Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwan..."
http://thebabetudeblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/remembering-mahatma_02.html
Gandhi who came up with so many ideals for the world to follow will always be special for many more centuries to come. In many parts of the world!
In India, someone known was right when she tweeted not very long ago, how Gandhi would be sad about so many ideals of his, being murdered in the country.
Let's hope and pray things get better for the world and for Gandhiji's India...
"Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, Patita pavana Seeta Ram.Ishwar Allah Tero naam, Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwan..."
Sunday, September 11, 2011
9/11 & beyond...
Some pictures from when yours truly got a chance to visit Ground Zero in New York. It would have been nice to see the twin towers more than a decade ago or better still the horrible incident of attack towards humanity should never have happened.Many peace lovers of the world would easily agree.
I remember as a child praying miles away in a small town in India.
Now the site looks like this- a shrine.
An organisation that stands up for causes says that it's great now that the memorial is filled with trees. Nature is soul soothing. Signifies peace.
Millions watched the program, in fact had been following up since the beginning of September.
But must say, Enough of negativity and destruction in the world...May God bless. May there be peace now. Amen.
P.S The sad event happened 10 years ago and still remembered solemnly and serves as a reminder and such unfortunate events hardly happen in the US anymore. Sadly in the country of my birth, India, such attacks have become a habit. Before and after one of the worst, 26/11 there were many such as in July 2006 and as late as July 2011 and September 2011. Why on earth have they made it a habit? Yes some citizens are concerned and some like me who don't live in India anymore, are saddened and alarmed too. But the politicians and the people in power there have the same stories- of how much sad and sorry they are, how they would look into it, how it wouldn't happen again and so on and so forth. In fact by now it seems many citizens have taken such things very lightly too...Very sad. It's time to analyse and take major steps. There are problems all over the world- some places have it more, while others less. It's tome for big changes in the largest democracy of the world who is aspiring to be a super power in the future. India's neighbor China is already an economic super power and one doesn't things like these happening there. It's High Time...
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Oh, the golden age...
The reading in the last few days about the aftermath of the loss of one of the revered figures of the Indian industry just brings to mind these thoughts.
Mr. Bachchan in his blog has put forth some somber thoughts as well of the days gone by.
Yes, the days gone by in the Indian industry were different...Shri Shammi Kapoor ji was indeed a one of a kind actor, performer and dancer.
Films like the ones he made weren't that technically sound, no special effects et al and formulaic too, but had a soul and reflected Indian culture...And the music was one of the best...
There are some good films been made now, experimental ones, but the ratio is skewed. Originality in actors is difficult to find...
Time to go down memory lane a bit when there were real and original men and women...
These are unforgettable melodies rendered powerfully with beautiful lyrics that hold a lot of meaning ...Not too many songs of today have this kind of staying power...
And there are so many wonderful and beautifully picturized songs!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZjI9A6yFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=-J1PUEiilUU
Courtesy- Youtube
Babita Shivdasani used to look gorgeous with her future uncle-in -law.She really had a lot of charm in her hey days and for some even more than what her daughters Karisma and Kareena had in the future...
(More videos will be uploaded soon...)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Is the mind without fear and the head held high?
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
On the 64th year of Indian independence can this beautiful poem stand true for the country of my birth, India?
Anyway, before dwelling too much into a negative discussion, a look at some links of the real heroes...
http://www.timesnow.tv/Tribute-to-men-who-fight-for-the-nation---Part-3/videoshow/4381300.cmsWell, as child in school a little more than a decade back I remember reading about how the population explosion, unemployment et al has held the nation back. These issues are still around.
The corruption according to most is the biggest problem.
Social activist Anna Hazare's struggle for the common men is ray of hope for the Indian nation burdened by years of corruption. So the conscious and common citizen of the nation has found a hero ...
And a chance to prove the following wrong! But the question is will it happen soon?
Sir Winston Churchill had reportedly written this 64 years ago about India :
"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low caliber & men of straw. They will have sweet tongues & silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power & India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air & water would be taxed in India ."
P.S- Being a person who's studied history, art, cinema, music et al and delved deep into it, I must add something about entertainment here. Yes, there are still a few good Indian movies which are being made.But their number is low and the percentage isn't encouraging.
Rang De Basanti, a patriotic film which came out almost five and a half years ago had the ability to touch the youth of the country deeply. It had a message. And it also talked about the corruption killing and eating up the country
But where the actors of the film now apart from Aamir Khan who has an intelligent understanding of cinema and also is a smart/ suave business man?Well, they are not stars in B-Town.They hardly do much work and such meaningful movies are hardly made apart from a Taare Zameen Par from time to time. Historicals such as Jodhaa Akbar relect Indian culture but there aren't much of that sort any more either.
Instead some who do silly similar kind of movies, shake their bodies, are expressionless to the core, a few bimbos who can't even speak Hindi but probably can excite a few Indian males( never mind that people and men internationally don't care about that kind of botoxed, plastic, silly, brainless type) are so called stars in Bollywood or B-town. God. It really seems things are going to the dogs...
No wonder most Indian movies are ridiculed worldwide.Apart from the name Bollywood( for being a copy of Hollywood). The likes of Mr. Bachchan not liking that name is quite understandable indeed.
The one of a kind hero Shammi Kapoor's loss is A GREAT one indeed. It just happened a day before Independence Day. Have been talking about the tragic events in the month of July. August gave a blow as well to a lot of cine viewers.
He was from a time when people were original. He had an original, unique style.
There was a time when men used to be real men in Indian cinema. The music was original and the lyrics beautiful and meaningful.The stories were kind of similar, yes but they were closer to Indian culture. But sadly we don't see much of that anymore...
Mr. Bachchan's tribute on his blog is a wonderful and touching read.
A you tube song and many tributes dedicated to him by the common fans are here:
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