Both "heads" courtesy BBC's front-page today:
Headline #1: Youth guilty of racist axe murder
Headline #2: BA to axe one-third of managers
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Everything Looks Better in Black and White
I am crashed out on the couch. My legs, neck and back hurt. Even the imagined sound of the doorbell hurts my head. I figured I must have read about a possible alcohol famine in the Northeastern parts of the USA. Why else would I drink so much the night before?
Anyway, not wanting to punish ourselves with anything too heavy, we start playing a DVD of Dev Anand's songs. Turns out to be a wiser decision than opening that last bottle of Cognac.
The melodies of these songs - and these are some of the greatest songs out there - are lush, the rhythms gentle, the women honey-sweet and The Dev - always eccentric and funny.
Time has been far kinder to Navketan Studios' "song-videos" than to some of their films. It is easy to see why. The videos are shot very artistically, i.e., with a plan and passion. Attention is paid to details like camera movement and editing. It makes some of the songs look surprisingly modern. For e.g., that well-known song set inside the Qutub Minar - played on mute, it almost passes off as a sequence from a 1950s Neo-Realistic European film.
Many of the songs are shot outdoors. Even here, the artistry is obvious. (Pay attention to some of the newer songs shot in outdoors. The camera actually crops out the scenery from the frame because cleavage and butt demand top billing. The landscape barely even registers on our minds.) The lighting is mostly muted, except for close-ups, when the then aesthetic dictated a glowing soft-focus. Makes Madhubala's face glow like the moon and no complaints about that one.
The editing of these songs, very gentle and leisurely, makes the song so easy on the eye. Forget smashes and jump-cuts. Long-shots are common. Close-ups occur only for a Madhubala or a Sadhana and that too, to accentuate a lyric. The camera is not afraid to look away from the hero and the heroine.
It is true that Bollywood's only motivation is to produce song-videos with the main film as the filler. But why must it forget what it once knew? Why can't they make them appealing to the multiplex goer and the terribly hungover movie-lover?
Read this excellent technical analysis (opens a PDF, link to Sarai.net) on some the key Indian cinematographers. The essay also tells us how the changing dynamics of the studio business and the growth of the advertising industry pushed Bollywood films into adopting their present look and feel.
Anyway, not wanting to punish ourselves with anything too heavy, we start playing a DVD of Dev Anand's songs. Turns out to be a wiser decision than opening that last bottle of Cognac.
The melodies of these songs - and these are some of the greatest songs out there - are lush, the rhythms gentle, the women honey-sweet and The Dev - always eccentric and funny.
Time has been far kinder to Navketan Studios' "song-videos" than to some of their films. It is easy to see why. The videos are shot very artistically, i.e., with a plan and passion. Attention is paid to details like camera movement and editing. It makes some of the songs look surprisingly modern. For e.g., that well-known song set inside the Qutub Minar - played on mute, it almost passes off as a sequence from a 1950s Neo-Realistic European film.
Many of the songs are shot outdoors. Even here, the artistry is obvious. (Pay attention to some of the newer songs shot in outdoors. The camera actually crops out the scenery from the frame because cleavage and butt demand top billing. The landscape barely even registers on our minds.) The lighting is mostly muted, except for close-ups, when the then aesthetic dictated a glowing soft-focus. Makes Madhubala's face glow like the moon and no complaints about that one.
The editing of these songs, very gentle and leisurely, makes the song so easy on the eye. Forget smashes and jump-cuts. Long-shots are common. Close-ups occur only for a Madhubala or a Sadhana and that too, to accentuate a lyric. The camera is not afraid to look away from the hero and the heroine.
It is true that Bollywood's only motivation is to produce song-videos with the main film as the filler. But why must it forget what it once knew? Why can't they make them appealing to the multiplex goer and the terribly hungover movie-lover?
Read this excellent technical analysis (opens a PDF, link to Sarai.net) on some the key Indian cinematographers. The essay also tells us how the changing dynamics of the studio business and the growth of the advertising industry pushed Bollywood films into adopting their present look and feel.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Bullock-Cart Drivers Clarify They Are Not Balloonists
"This goes to show to the world that we are not bullock cart drivers."
This week's pat-on-the-back comes from Vijaypat Singhania, who reached a new "high" in aviation. (Link goes to the Independent UK.)
Hate to break this to you Mr. Singhania, but not many people outside India think of Indians as "bullock-cart drivers". Now, they do think of us as software engineers, doctors, convenience store owners, motel owners and maybe even think of us as nation of snake-charmers and blissed-out Gurus. But not once have I encountered the question "was your grandfather a bullock-cart driver"? (In case you are wondering, no, he wasn't. He was a doctor.)
Besides, what's wrong with being a bullock-cart driver? Last time I checked, it was an honest profession.
This week's pat-on-the-back comes from Vijaypat Singhania, who reached a new "high" in aviation. (Link goes to the Independent UK.)
Hate to break this to you Mr. Singhania, but not many people outside India think of Indians as "bullock-cart drivers". Now, they do think of us as software engineers, doctors, convenience store owners, motel owners and maybe even think of us as nation of snake-charmers and blissed-out Gurus. But not once have I encountered the question "was your grandfather a bullock-cart driver"? (In case you are wondering, no, he wasn't. He was a doctor.)
Besides, what's wrong with being a bullock-cart driver? Last time I checked, it was an honest profession.
Pritty Pritty Pritty Pritty Peggy Sue
Even as I sit facing it directly, the heat from the 2PM winter sun can barely be felt on my skin and my eyelids. Still, it is something to be thankful for. And to show the sun my appreciation, I pump up the volume. It's Buddy Holly singing "Peggy Sue". (Yes, my tribe thanks the elements by turning up the volume on its CD players.)
I find it funny how my opinion of Buddy Holly's music has changed over the years. When I first discovered rock and roll, I thought early rock and roll was just great fun. Simple stuff, right? Then when I picked up the guitar and discovered 60s and 70s rock music, I began finding the music from the 50s too limiting. Too many ballads and filler on those albums. I was happy to lose my way in that dark jungle of blues, metal, classical, jazz blah blah. Then suddenly, all this 50s music began showing up again in my collection. I love how that happens. Great music just manifests itself without warning.
I again started paying attention to Buddy Holly's songs. What a revelation it has been. How the hell did he figure out that intro to Rave On? It's so damn modern in its feel (or has rock not grown up in 50 years?) The delicious groove on Peggy Sue. Or the guitar parts on "Words of Love" (George practically duplicated it note for note on "Beatles For Sale"). Or the vocal styling on "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". Or the evergreen "Not Fade Away", which was covered so beautifully by both the Stones and by the Dead in so many great shows. So much musical treasure is buried in those 2-minute songs.
Between Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, I feel at least one of them deserves to share the title of the "King" with the - well - the King.
I find it funny how my opinion of Buddy Holly's music has changed over the years. When I first discovered rock and roll, I thought early rock and roll was just great fun. Simple stuff, right? Then when I picked up the guitar and discovered 60s and 70s rock music, I began finding the music from the 50s too limiting. Too many ballads and filler on those albums. I was happy to lose my way in that dark jungle of blues, metal, classical, jazz blah blah. Then suddenly, all this 50s music began showing up again in my collection. I love how that happens. Great music just manifests itself without warning.
I again started paying attention to Buddy Holly's songs. What a revelation it has been. How the hell did he figure out that intro to Rave On? It's so damn modern in its feel (or has rock not grown up in 50 years?) The delicious groove on Peggy Sue. Or the guitar parts on "Words of Love" (George practically duplicated it note for note on "Beatles For Sale"). Or the vocal styling on "It Doesn't Matter Anymore". Or the evergreen "Not Fade Away", which was covered so beautifully by both the Stones and by the Dead in so many great shows. So much musical treasure is buried in those 2-minute songs.
Between Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, I feel at least one of them deserves to share the title of the "King" with the - well - the King.
Sabrina, Or What Rhymes With Glass
I need a Billy Wilder fix every now and then. So, couple of days ago, I rented "Sabrina" (link goes to Turner Classic Movies.) Normally, I would pick "Sunset Blvd.", but it is the start of the holiday season and dead chimps make me sad.
I love "Sabrina" for the genuine moments of surprise in the screenplay (the great Ernest Lehman wrote it. The same Mr. Lehman who also wrote North By North-West.) I love "Sabrina" for Wilder's wit and his trademark directorial touches all through the film.
Sabrina is the reason God created Film. Sabrina is the perfect excuse to build your own little temple for Billy Wilder. People of Tamil Nadu, are you listening?
P.S.:
Just to counter the sweetness of Sabrina, I also rented the great F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, Which explains the smell of garlic around the house.
I love "Sabrina" for the genuine moments of surprise in the screenplay (the great Ernest Lehman wrote it. The same Mr. Lehman who also wrote North By North-West.) I love "Sabrina" for Wilder's wit and his trademark directorial touches all through the film.
Sabrina is the reason God created Film. Sabrina is the perfect excuse to build your own little temple for Billy Wilder. People of Tamil Nadu, are you listening?
P.S.:
Just to counter the sweetness of Sabrina, I also rented the great F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, Which explains the smell of garlic around the house.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
A Little Classic Rock Quiz
A question for fans of '60s rock:
(Challenge: no Googling or using the Wiki on these names. Feel free to browse through your CD or LP collection. Your MP3 collection won't save your souls.)
1. What is common to Mahatma Gandhi, Purna Das Baul, Yukteshwar Gigi, Sri Paramhamsa Yogananda, Sri Lahiri Mahasaya and Sri Mahavatara Babaji?
2. Why is Gandhi also the odd one out in this list?
(Challenge: no Googling or using the Wiki on these names. Feel free to browse through your CD or LP collection. Your MP3 collection won't save your souls.)
1. What is common to Mahatma Gandhi, Purna Das Baul, Yukteshwar Gigi, Sri Paramhamsa Yogananda, Sri Lahiri Mahasaya and Sri Mahavatara Babaji?
2. Why is Gandhi also the odd one out in this list?
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Death By Guitar
From the Scarier-Than-Death-Metal dept.:
A 16-year-old Chinese boy studying in Singapore fell to his death from a hostel room after jumping up and down on his bed while playing a guitar, a media report said on Thursday.
Yikes. For a guitar-playing kid to fly out of a window, either the window was wide enough (or else the guitar would have hit the window-frame first) or the kid flew out of the window sideways (so the fretboard was perpendicular to the plane of the window.) Look at it any which way, it is bizarre.
Read the story here. (link to Star of Mysore)
A 16-year-old Chinese boy studying in Singapore fell to his death from a hostel room after jumping up and down on his bed while playing a guitar, a media report said on Thursday.
Yikes. For a guitar-playing kid to fly out of a window, either the window was wide enough (or else the guitar would have hit the window-frame first) or the kid flew out of the window sideways (so the fretboard was perpendicular to the plane of the window.) Look at it any which way, it is bizarre.
Read the story here. (link to Star of Mysore)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)