SAY OOOOM SHANTI OM

They laughed the minute SRK arrived on screen. They laughed some more when he flicked his fingers through his hair. They laughed when his 'filmi Ma' (Kirron Kher) rattled off one over the top dialogue after another. One of them laughed till he rolled off the chair. Even after the Happy's Thee End, they laughed all the way back home.

The audience in question was our four and eight year old, our helper who is Indonesian and knows very little Hindi and only understood half of the dialogues or the characters that were emerging larger than life. They might not have recognised the Dev Anand or the Rajesh Khanna or Govinda or Subhash Ghai or Manoj Kumar or anyone else for that matter. Yet that didn't come in the way of the laughs unlimited. If you are looking for something that effortlessly cuts across the age, language, race and every other conceivable barrier, then Farah Khan's latest offering Om Shanti Om has got to be it.

The movie starts in the 70s presenting King Khan as a struggling junior artiste - Om Prakash Makhija, who hangs around movie sets with his best pal Pappu Master, played to perfection by Shreyas Talpade. They dream of making it big in the movies, they dream of awards, ceremonies, speeches, recognition. They also dream of love. Om is in madly in love with superstar Shantipriya. Hold your breath for the stunning Deepika Padukone.

As the movie poster tells you "for some dreams, one lifetime isn't enough."
That's where the twist is. The villian (Arjun Rampal) emerges, love takes a beating, the story leaps know no bounds, though the fun continues as the dramatic story progresses. It's a rocking rollicking ride through some of the fascinating aspects and periods of filmmaking.

Remember those car scenes, where the scenery changes all the time or the superhero stuff brought alive through outrageous costumes and death-defying stunts. The mock tiger fights, the PR speak in the film industry - "we are just good friends." Blink, blink Rani, blink blink Preity.

Nothing is spared along the way. Script writers, actors, producers, directors, stunt men. And the industry joins in to make the laughs all the more real.

"Om who?" Amitabh Bachchan asks at the awards ceremony, that pits the acting talents of Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan.

Then there are the foot tapping numbers that make you want to put your hands in the air, never mind if you are hot or not.

Often when a project of such scale is put together, no one even thinks of the entire industry of people working behind the scenes to pull it all together. Full marks to Farah for making all the spot boys, ADs, junior artistes and all the assistants look so good on screen.

This is the stuff dreams should be made of. Thank you all at OSO, for making them seem so within reach.

BEYOND THE GLITZ & GLAMOUR

20th May 2004:
The glitz and glamour of Bollywood is in Singapore for a three day extravaganza featuring the icons of the Indian film industry. The event kicks off with Mani Ratnam's premiere of 'Yuva.' Its a multi-starrer, it's a World Premiere, the crush of fans is there even at 3:30 in the afternoon - the set up time given to us. The premiere is supposed to begin at 6:30pm, the stars only start arriving close to 7pm. You can spot families, girls dressed in their Friday best, Aunties in their rustling silk sarees, waiting for all the biggies to arrive and they all do. Starting with the Big B, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor. Long after they have all stepped into Lido, there's still no sign of the crowd heading home. At 8:30pm, I decide to walk through the crowd, mike in hand, with the who are you waiting for question. Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh, they yell. Try telling the disbelievers, he hasn't arrived in town, you get stunned disbelief, then the look - how can you be so sure? By the time, we pack up, the moon is out in its glory, the stars are shining, yet the crowd is unrelenting. It's the King Khan or nothing.


22nd May 2004:
The action has shifted from Lido to the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The crowd is even larger. For the most part, they stay behind the barricades, cheering one arrival after the other. Then the world seems to come to a stop. You hear a collective gasp, followed by the cries, Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh. Soon the barricades look like they are going to give way. Extra security guards rush in. You know the King of Bollywood has arrived. Before him, so many of the other stars have simply walked past their fans, no handshakes, its the practised Hi's and Bye's and the 'I Love Yous.' He pauses, he shakes hands, he accepts gifts from his fans lining up on the right side. Then he turns around and gives the media their sound bytes. A superstar like no other.

1st April 2007:
Location : Genting, Malaysia.
Event: Zee Cine Awards
I've got my camera in hand, yet the organisers are kind enough to give me back stage access. No interviews, they remind me. And who do we have here? None other than the King Khan himself being put through his Don and KANK moves. It's high energy work, easy to tell by the sweat soaked shirts. If you think superstars have it easy, think again. Shah Rukh is put through the paces, it's tough work but everyone knows one step is all it takes to prevent a choreographed piece failing to achieve perfection. In the evening, the action will be live, there will be no chance for another take, they've got to make sure everything is in sync. It looks like it is. When the choreographer deems it perfect, King Khan taps everyone on the shoulders, has a quick exchange, then takes a break on the stage itself before getting off. Here's there till a little past 2pm, the red carpet action begins at 6:30pm. Lots of stars are here, no big ones yet. A couple of them who had been rehearsing till late didn't even get out of the venue appropriately titled - 'the Arena of the Stars.' Others who did have used the restricted entrance earmaked for them. So the red-carpet watchers are left to welcome the smaller stars till Salman Khan arrives. There are a few cries of joy, which turns into something loud and clear. It's 2004 once more. Fans are breaking security cordons, one little boy's family has helped him jump over the fence, the security perimeter is tightening. Yet, Shah Rukh is unfazed. He does his handshakes -there are fewer this time round. He's being rustled in, the show is being beamed live.


It is the story of one such fan that kicks off Anupama Chopra's brilliant book - King of Bollywood that tracks the life and career of Shah Rukh Khan together with the Seductive charm of Indian Cinema. It is September 3rd, 2004, "Elvis level hysteria" it is, the Temptation Tour is at the Gwinnett Center in Atlanta, where one man's life is about to be changed forever. He had dreamt of it, and when it comes to SRK, dreams do come true.

Wherever he goes, the evening is often best remembered for the biggest brand in Indian entertainment. Even when the audience is glued to their seats, you can count on him to get them swaying to a new beat.



He may have the world at his feet now, "But Shah Rukh's life is more than just a dramatic show-biz success story. He is a Muslim superstar in a Hindu-majority country and his life reflects the fundamental paradoxes of a post-liberalization nation attempting to thrive in a globalized world. His story provides a ringside view into the forces shaping Indian culture today," the author points out.

And it is some of those paradoxes that she sets out to trace. Shah Rukh's personal life is interspersed with all the changes taking place in Indian cinema through the years. With the access she has had to the star and through the many interviews she conducts as part of her research, Anupama takes you to the heart of the story. The heart break of partition followed by a bigger rejection in 'No Man's Land', his father's struggles and how his strong-willed mother put up a brave front all the time.

There is Shah Rukh's childhood, captured together with the poetry that flowed, ebbed, then disappeared after his father's death.

"Shah Rukh believed his father was a superhero who would defeat the disease."

The impact this had on his family simply couldn't be undone:

"For days, Shehnaz (Shah Rukh's sister) did not shed a tear. Instead she retreated into a depression from which she would never fully emerge."

Shah Rukh wasn't even 15 then and his struggles were just about to begin. He dabbled in theatre, auditioned for Pradip Kishen and Arundhati Roy's film 'In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones,' in which he only got a minor role - a slight he never forgot. Years later, when Arundhati won the Booker Prize and Shah Rukh was invited for a celebratory event, he declined. His career took off in a big way with television, with the series Fauji and just when things were falling into place career wise, he suffered another huge personal loss. This time it was the death of his mother.

Two weeks after his mother's death, he left Delhi to make movies. He took on roles other stars were saying no to, he challenged himself, he let his energy speak for itself and the audience loved every bit of it.

Shah Rukh's star was on the rise, though things started falling apart when he set up his company. Just as she tracks all the ups, the authors gets to the flip sides as well - his temper in the early days, the collapse of his company and through it all you see his pillar of strength, his wife - Gauri Khan.

In a lesser hand, this book could have easily fallen into the realm of another star-struck reflection, but Anupama Chopra, ranked as one of India's finest film critics, takes a fine lens to present the many facets of Bollywood's undisputed King. The key being the reflection of his vulnerability and his ability to keep his private space private. Beyond the subject, which is a huge draw anyway, anyone who wants to understand why Indian cinema is rapidly looking like the block busters it churns out year after year would do well do start with this book.

Trivia:
Did you know that in the early days Shah Rukh tamed his unruly mane with a homemade mixture of Camlin glue and water. Not that I'm recommending it, but the next time you run out of gel you know what to do.

When co-star Juhi Chawla first saw SRK on the sets of Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, she noticed his scrawny frame, his untidy hair and the same night called Viveck (Vaswani) to scream: "Eek, this is the next Aamir Khan?"

SRK Speak:
He is the unrivalled master of the soundbyte and there are several in the book, but this one did it for me:
"I have never done a film with the market in mind. Cinema is a mishran (mixture) of Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth) and Saraswati (the Goddess of Knowledge). I've always gone for Saraswati and Lakshmi has followed. I may be stubborn and an idiot, but it works for me. I know this is a business but I always dole out art."

Details:
Publisher: Warner Books
Year: 2007
Pages: 250 (including references and index)
Category: Popular Culture

ZEE SHINE OF BOLLYWOOD

They came from London, Melbourne, Jakarta, Singapore, Mumbai, New Delhi and beyond to Genting Highlands. The occasion - the 10th Zee Cine Awards which drew the A list of Bollywood to Malaysia. The stars had arrived some before the fans and they were being put through the paces for what would be a show to remember. "There'll be lots of surprises," Tripta Singh of Zee Television had told me a couple of days before the show.

As I made my way to the venue appropriately called 'The Arena of Stars,' I wasn't about to doubt that. Months of work had gone into the making of this show. From the airport to the hotel counter, to the Zee Room, there was a buzz of activity all round. I wanted a quote from Lydia Fernandes, who makes all of these mega scale events happen for Zee but she was quickly shooing everyone. "I need two minutes of quiet, I need to speak to these guys." Various folks were getting their duty checklists, run through - security, red carpet, star seating, the works and then there were the intense rehearsals.

The reigning King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan was here practising his Don steps as was the leading actress Priyanka Chopra. She made her descent from what looked like a precarious harness, somersaulting her way mid-air. There was no stopping the heart-pumping action when she landed on terra firma, that's when the charged dance steps took over. This, as another star, Katrina Kaif, waited patiently for her turn. And it sure took a long time. That was because the man in charge, choreographer Ganesh Hegde would tolerate no misstep, no mixed up musical notes, no dancer messing his steps and no stage curtain woes. "Why is there still a gap there?" he'd boom into his mike before the word was heard again "CUT."

Lots of things happening simultaneously too. Celebrity Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty reading through her autocue, fixing her script - "that doesn't sound right, let's try this." If there was ever an indication of how far the Indian film industry has come, it was to be seen way before the award ceremony. For far too long, the Indian film industry has been panned for its lack of professionalism. Watching Shah Rukh sweat it out, Priyanka perfecting her descent, Katrina waiting and watching, dancers going through their steps over and over again, Ganesh painstakingly spotting and fixing every minute error, the sound crew ensuring the boom was just right, the camera guys capturing every moment, everything that was happening behind the scenes was as professional as it ever gets.

At 5pm, some of the stars who clearly took entertainment seriously were still on stage sorting out all the last minute stuff. Outside the fans had packed both sides of the red carpet. "We want Shah Rukh, " we want Saif", "we want Salman", "we want Abhishek." Having stepped out of the rehearsals, I knew most of the A list wouldn't even be able to make it here. But the King did and proved why his sheer presence is still unmatched. Despite a packed schedule, he stole the limelight from the rest of the gliteratti thanks to his red carpet appearance. There was the usual crush of fans, some attempting to break through the security cordon, all in a bid to shake hands with the super star. His beefy guards did their best to keep him safe, but Shah Rukh proved yet again why he is such a hit with his fans. There were the quick hellos, the handshakes and loving all round. "We love Shah Rukh," "We love Shah Rukh," the chanting hit fever pitch as he led some of his fans into the main stadium Pied Piper like.

Once the star gazing on the red carpet was over, it was time to shift the action indoors. Things kicked off with a performance by Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan. Hosting part of the event, Karan Johar upped the ante with his own brand of humour. "You look stunning," he told Urmila Matondkar and "you don't have to return the compliment!"

Interspersed with the performances, were the awards, of which there were plenty. The main Zee Awards, the Viewers Choice Awards and the Critics Choice Awards. The critics, who often tend to differ from the mainstream, when it comes to picking the best films, seemed to mirror the minds of the audience. They picked the blockbuster Lage Raho Munnabhai - a movie that has captured the imagination of film lovers beyond India by reviving the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

In the main awards category Hrithik Roshan took home the honours for Best Actor for his role Krrish - a movie that was partly shot in Singapore. He was laid out due to an injury, but he made up to his fans through an SMS message which in true Krrish fashion arrived slightly before the actual award was announced. Read by his father, Director Rakesh Roshan, it said "Krrish started out as an impossible dream for me and my father," though its something that would spur him onto even bigger things. Take note all you Hrithik fans, there might be something bigger than that and Dhoom 2 in the works even as I write this.



Speaking of Dhoom 2, all eyes were on Bollywood's power couple Aishwarya Rai and Abshishek Bachchan. They didn't make an appearance on the red carpet but they more than made up to their fans through their sizzling individual numbers. For those who have tracked Abhishek's steps in the past, it was impossible to miss the new found spring in his step when he performed his number from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK).

Things only got better when he edged out his father, Amitabh Bachchan by taking home the Best Supporting Actor for his role in KANK. Konkana Sen Sharma bagged the same award in the female category for Omkara, while Bollywood's darling Kajol who made her comeback with Kunal Kohli's Fanaa took home the Best Actor (Female) award. Saif Ali Khan got the nod for Best Actor in a Negative Role for Omkara, for which he thanked "Vishal Bharadwaj, who had the foresight to cast me in such a role."

While the evening seemed to be equally divided between Omakara, KANK, Krrish, taking a narrow lead towards the end of the show were Lage Raho Munnabhai and Rang de Basanti. Both films defied tried and tested formulas. As the brains behind both films explained, if you were willing to test the limits, there was an audience willing to try it out. More importantly, they spoke of working as a team, actors who improvised and even brought scripts to life. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who got the Best Director and Best Film Awards for Rang de Basanti was quick to express his gratitude to Aamir Khan. "It has been a great year and it all started out with a beautiful script which would have remained in my drawer collecting dust if it weren't for Aamir Khan who told me to never fear."

As the drum rolls continued, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, whose name together with Raj Kumar Hirani will forever be associated with Munnabhai called it a "it a celebration of Indian cinema." And what a celebration it turned out to be.


The music, song and dance extravaganza continued as rivalries and competitions were forgotten. Singer Alka Yagnik may have her swipe at the "beedis and the hookahs," but all that was forgotten when Kuala Lumpur's twin towers appeared on stage. Shah Rukh Khan took a leap of faith and got the crowds on their feet. The Don was rocking the stage making this the perfect capper for an unforgettable night.

I know India seems to have had enough of Bollywood award ceremonies. 'Yet another award ceremony' is the constant refrain. Not so for the fans who had made it to Genting.

While South-East Asia gets its share of the single act, shows like these that bring together names like Shah Rukh, Salman, Priyanka, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Katrina, Abhishek, Aishwarya, among a host of others, in one night are far and few between. In fact, the last one was the IIFA in Singapore and that was way back in May 2004.

For those who made the trip all the way from London it was all well worth it. "There's nothing like seeing the real thing," said Bank Manager Maina Patel who expectedly gave full marks to Shah Rukh. "He was the best, his appearance was simply fantastic." Her husband Sunil reserved his recognition for the choregraphers, "they stole the show by putting it together in such an innovative fashion." For 13 year old Bhavisha Khatri seeing Shilpa Shetty in action was good enough. Shetty, with her new found success added oomph to the show, not through a dance number but with her script.

The awards were remembered too and fans were glad to see some of their favourites honoured. Some would have liked KANK and Krrish to be the top films of the evening, but we all know what it takes to please all the people, all the time. My salaams to the organisers who certainly tried.

Once the show was over, the action shifted to the post party. After the star struck fans had parted company, the flashes disappeared, choreographer Ganesh Hegde who put parts of the spectacular show together took to the dance floor. He unleashed more of his foot magic and then attempted to croon the night away with DJ Aqueel. Making an appearance on the dance floor in the wee hours of the morning was actor Zayeed Khan who sizzled just like stars do when they take to the stage. No script, no choreographed steps, just DJ Aqueel's heart pumping music, Hegde's moves and the dancer in Zayeed came to the fore. For those who stayed behind, it paid to party all night.

And if you've lost track of the awards, here they are again:
CRITICS AWARDS
BEST FILM: Lage Raho Munnabhai
BEST ACTOR: Sanjay Dutt (Lage Raho Munnabhai)
BEST ACTOR (Female): Gul Panang & Ayesha Takia (Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dor')

THE TOP AWARDS:
BEST ACTOR (Male): Hrithik Roshan (Krrish)
BEST ACTOR (Female): Kajol (Fanaa)
BEST ENTERTAINER: Shah Rukh Khan
BEST DIRECTOR: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Rang de Basanti)
BEST FILM: Rang de Basanti
POWER TEAM AWARD: Shared by Rang de Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai - Both bagged 6 awards each
They were followed closely by:
Kriish (5 awards)
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (5 awards)
Omkara (5 awards)

(All pictures courtesy Zee TV)