Best in East
While Bollywood stars take the Hollywood route to going global, Rajnikant works in the opposite direction. The superstar has become a phenomenon in Japan. His latest film Sivaji: The Boss is being dubbed in Japanese and Chinese for his oriental audience. But it won’t be the first time that Rajnikant will be spewing vitriol in Japanese at corrupt Tamil officials (he plays an anti-corruption crusader in Sivaji). Two of his earlier films, Muthu and Chandramukhi, dubbed in Japanese, were runaway hits in that country. And it’s no surprise that the actor has active fan clubs there as well. Don’t be surprised if you find little Japanese babies named after Rajni, notwithstanding the minor problems that the letter ‘r’ may throw up.
Comic take off
Move over Superman, Rocket Kumar is here. Or is he? A collection of short stories for children, Superhero: the adventures of Rocket Kumar and other Indian superheroes was released at the Oxford Junior Bookstore in Calcutta last Saturday. “This book addresses the lacunae of superheroes in Indian popular culture. The contributors have tried to introduce the Indian superhero concept by welding it to themes connected to the Mumbai film industry,” says contributor Rimi Chatterjee, author of the novels Signal Red and The City of Love, and teacher of English at Jadavpur University. But why is the Indian superhero wearing a mock Superman costume? Superman, we fear, may continue to have a long lifespan, even though he does wear his underwear over his clothes.
K sera sera
The film actor wanted to act with the theatre director but wound up as his producer. And neither is complaining. It all started with Anil Kapoor wanting to act in one of Feroz Abbas Khan’s plays. Khan was holding talks with a prospective producer for Gandhi, My Father — the director’s celluloid adaptation of his controversial play Mahatma Vs Gandhi. “And then Anil said suddenly, ‘Why don’t I do it?’” narrates Khan. The relationship between K and K — they are good friends who have known each other for 12 years — in the joint venture is more than that of a producer-director. “We are partners,” stresses Khan. While the film is Khan’s cinematic debut, it is the first production for the actor’s banner, Anil Kapoor Films Company. And does Kapoor have a role in the film? “Not at all. There is the utmost integrity in the film,” Khan asserts. Gandhigiri rules.
Music in the air
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After the serenades, it’s going to be a musical. Once Jayabrato Chatterjee is done with Lovesongs — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow starring Om Puri and Jaya Bachchan, he is going to start work on a musical. Chatterjee, who once directed the Hindi film, Kehkasha, and is now on the director’s chair after 22 years, says he has two new scripts in mind. “One of these is a musical which will have a very big cast,” he says. “Hrithik Roshan has agreed in principle to act in the film and we are working on the dates and let’s hope everything goes well,” he says. “Jayaji has also agreed to do a cameo in the movie.” The musical will be in Hinglish, but Chatterjee is not sure which of his two scripts will be his next project. “I will be completely occupied with the post-production of Lovesongs but once that happens, we will start looking at casting and other things and the script that will find the right people will be filmed first,” he says. May the better script win.
Cut to Bollywood
When Bollywood beckons, the world responds. Among the latest to doff a cap is Merle Kroger, a German author who is on a visit to India. Cut!, a book by the Berlin-based filmmaker-author, has just been released in India by Delhi-based publishers Katha. The book is about a German woman who teams up with her boyfriend to set out on a journey to trace her biological father, who happens to be Indian. What ensues is a gripping adventure that takes the couple on a roll through Indo-Germanic history, with forays in and out of reel life. The book — say the publishers — is the author’s tribute to the Indian film industry, with which she admits to having a long connection. In fact, Kroger now happens to be on her way to meet “one young and very talented director” in Mumbai, to discuss possibilities of turning Cut! into a film. Let’s guess — Karan Johar?