31.12.09 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
3 Idiots may be breaking Box Office records by the day but that hasn’t kept the film and its makers far away from a controversy. Few days after the release of one of the best films of 2009, popular author Chetan Bhagat (on whose best selling novel ’5 Point Someone’ the film is based) and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have engaged in a war of words.
Chetan is apparently upset at the way the makers of 3 Idiots have been trying to keep him and his book out of the limelight. Anyone who has read ’5 Point Someone’ and watched 3 Idiots will surely be able to identify the many direct similarities between the two. Yet the makers have been going around the town saying that the film is completely different from the book. In fact, early this week at a press conference in Bangalore, Vidhu Vinod Chopra accused Chetan of seeking unnecessary publicity and needless to say the best selling writer has not taken this remark too lightly. Chetan has come out in the open and spoken about this issue in his official blog and here are the excerpts of the same:
“The 3 Idiots story credit issue has been making some noise now. The news is coming out in bits and pieces, and I think it is important I clarify a few things. Yes, clearly, the makers of the film have been unfair and thousands of my readers have been saying so. I am aware of this, and this is not an issue that has ‘just come up’. I’ve been grappling with it for two years, but kept silent about it.
The only reason it has surfaced after the movie’s release is because Five Point Someone has a few million readers, and when you copy a popular story claiming it as ‘original’ and ‘completely different’, people are going to find out. People did, and so did a lot of media journalists.
Pre-release, the makers made press statements like the movie is only ‘very loosely’, ’2%-5% inspired by the book’. After release, those who have read the book and seen the movie (and frankly, I think those are the only people who have the right to comment) find the film to be an adaptation of Five Point Someone (FPS). The setting, characters, plotline, dramatic twists and turns, one-liners, theme, message – almost all aspects that make up the story are from FPS. Yes, there are some changes, any adaptation requires that – but it is no way an original story. Leading movie critics have privately admitted to me that the film is 70% the book. Still, don’t take my word for it – go read the book, watch the film.
I, frankly, was shocked to see this. This is because I was also fed ‘this is an original movie’ line a lot. I wanted to see the final script – it was never shown to me. I wanted to see the film before release – it was not shown to me (even though trials had been done for people). What’s more, the makers had called me to their office and pressured me several times to withdraw my ‘Based on a novel by’ credit, which was by contract. They told me they’d replace it with something like ‘initiated by’ – a credit that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. I still told them that if the film is indeed original, I’ll happily withdraw the credit, but somehow the promos don’t tell me so. I asked them to show me the film and they fell silent.
Ten days before the release, I was called into their office. They said ‘we should be friends now’. I said I am always up for friendship, and the success of the film is good for me as well. They also said, and I quote verbatim ‘even though this is an original film, we have given you a great credit, right upfront. After all, we love writers and a king should treat another king with respect. You are family’. I believed them.
Then I went for the premiere. My family sat in the theatre shocked, as sequence after sequence came from the book. 2%-5% means 3-6 minutes, and I had told my family to look for the few FPS moments and note them. However, there were so many that it became impossible to keep track. The plot line was same – people meet at ragging, the first class with definition of machine, the friends separate, Alok (Raju) moves with Venkat (Chatur), Ryan (Rancho) helps Alok’s father, Alok rejoins group etc etc. From Alok (Raju) jumping to stealing the papers and calling out from Cherian (Virus’) office – the book came alive on screen. I was surprised and happy that FPS has made it in such a grand way.
However, my family had not spotted my credit in the beginning (there was none) and they were feeling let down. A screenplay associate credit to VVC had a prominent upfront placement. The story credit was not shared with me. And yes, all the office talk of a ‘king treated like king’ was a white lie.
I knew they had played with me, and that ‘based on a novel by’ credit, which they were legally bound to give would be hushed away at the end – with the clear intention of making sure people miss it. And indeed, it came after the junior artists and still photographer of the movie, and zoomed away fast. My own mother missed seeing my name, and for that she cried after seeing the film. I told her it doesn’t matter, as people know FPS. But yes, that hurt me a lot.
I went up to the makers after the premiere, and they said it is a hit so chill and forget about it. I guess I could, but it is hard. Only a writer or a creative person knows how this feels. I am one of the lucky ones that people have read FPS. Imagine the fate of other writers in Bollywood. Anyway, I came home and thanked God for making my story reach so many people.
Upon the film’s release – my mailbox and twitter account, literally became flooded. Fans and readers wrote stunned mails. They had seen the makers’ interviews which had denied FPS links and they missed seeing the credit on screen. I kept quiet, though I did send a message to the makers telling them audience reactions. They did not respond. Soon media journalists saw the film. They called me and said they have to do a story on this as they are on my side. I tried my best to avoid them. However, when one journalist from Delhi called, and asked me how I felt about the credit. I used one word – I said ‘strange’. And that’s when the news exploded.
This, my friends, is the story. Meanwhile, the makers have accused me of seeking fame – when clearly it is the other way round. They’ve taken my story to make fame for themselves, and shut me out of it. I know my readers will spot it immediately. However, the film also reaches millions of other people who do not read books – and they deserve to know who wrote the story. And that is why I am talking about this issue (and I admit for people who’ve read the book, they may wonder it’s so obvious so why I am going on about it).
Some people have told me that I should keep silent. I did try to be silent but didn’t work. Also, people say this is how Bollywood works. Sorry, I disagree. Not all Bollywood works like this. There are a lot of good people too. And every event like this helps change things for the better. And that is what I am all about anyway.
I urge you to not believe me at face value. Read the book, see the movie – and like the movie says – think for yourself and decide.”
Whatever be the outcome of this clash, one thing is certain that Aal Izz certainly not Well between Chetan Bhagat and the makers of 3 Idiots.
31.12.09 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Best Film
3 Idiots
Dev D
Kaminey
Love Aaj Kal
Paa
Best Director
Anurag Kashyap – Dev D
Imtiaz Ali – Love Aaj Kal
R Balki – Paa
Rajkumar Hirani – 3 Idiots
Vishal Bhardwaj – Kaminey
Best Actor (Male)
Aamir Khan – 3 Idiots
Amitabh Bachchan – Paa
Ranbir Kapoor – Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Ranbir Kapoor – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Saif Ali Khan – Love Aaj Kal
Shahid Kapoor – Kaminey
Best Actor (Female)
Deepika Padukone – Love Aaj Kal
Kareena Kapoor – 3 Idiots
Katrina Kaif – New York
Priyanka Chopra – Kaminey
Priyanka Chopra – What’s Your Raashee?
Vidya Balan – Paa
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Abhimanyu Singh – Gulaal
R Madhavan – 3 Idiots
Rishi Kapoor – Love Aaj Kal
Rishi Kapoor – Luck By Chance
Sharman Joshi – 3 Idiots
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Arundhati Naag – Paa
Divya Dutta – Delhi-6
Gauhar Khan – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Neha Dhupia – Raat Gayi Baat Gayi
Shahana Goswami – Firaaq
Best Actor in a Negative Role
Amole Gupte – Kaminey
Boman Irani – 3 Idiots
Kay Kay Menon – Gulaal
Mahesh Manjrekar – Wanted
Manish Choudhary – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Best Actor in a Comic Role
D Santosh – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Omi Vaidya – 3 Idiots
Paresh Rawal – De Dana Dan
Sanjay Mishra – All The Best
Vinay Pathak – Raat Gayi Baat Gayi
Best Background Music
Amit Trivedi – Dev D
Ilaiyaraja – Paa
Salim-Sulaiman – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Shantanu Moitra, Atul Raninga, Sanjay Wandrekar – 3 Idiots
Vishal Bhardwaj – Kaminey
Best Music
A R Rahman – Delhi-6
Pritam – Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Pritam – Love Aaj Kal
Pritam – Tum Mile
Vishal Bhardwaj – Kaminey
Best Playback Singer Female
Kavita Seth – Iktara – Wake Up Sid
Rekha Bhardwaj – Genda Phool – Delhi-6
Shreya Ghoshal – Zoobi Doobi – 3 Idiots
Shilpa Rao – Mudi Mudi – Paa
Sunidhi Chauhan – Mere Sang – New York
Best Lyrics
Amitabh Bhattacharya – Emosanal Attyachaar – Dev D
Irshad Kamil – Chor Bazari – Love Aaj Kal
Javed Akhtar – Sapnon Se Bhare Naina – Luck By Chance
Piyush Mishra – Ranaji – Gulaal
Prasoon Joshi – Man Ko Ati Bhavey – London Dreams
Best Story
Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani – 3 Idiots
Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Malhotra, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Sanjay Maurya – Gulaal
Imtiaz Ali – Love Aaj Kal
Nandita Das, Shuchi Kothari – Firaaq
R Balki – Paa
Best Screenplay
Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra – 3 Idiots
Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane – Dev D
Imtiaz Ali – Love Aaj Kal
Pankaj Advani – Sankat City
R Balki – Paa
Best Dialogue
Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani – 3 Idiots
Imtiaz Ali – Love Aaj Kal
Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane – Dev D
R Balki – Paa
Vishal Bhardwaj – Kaminey
Best Editing
Aarti Bajaj – Dev D
Aarti Bajaj – Love Aaj Kal
Anil Naidu – Paa
Meghna Manchanda Sen, Sreekar Prasad – Kaminey
Rajkumar Hirani – 3 Idiots
Best Sound
Bishwadeep Chatterjee, Nihar Ranjan Samel – 3 Idiots
Dileep Subramaniam – Love Aaj Kal
Sanjay Maurya, Allwin Rego – Dev D
Shajith Koyeri, Subhash Sahu, P M Satheesh – Kaminey
Tapas Nayak – Paa
Best Special Effects
Charles Darby – Aladin
Prime Focus Ltd – Blue
Best Cinematography
C.K. Muraleedharan – 3 Idiots
P.C. Sreeram – Paa
Rajeev Ravi – Dev D
Shankar Raman – Frozen
Tassaduq Hussain – Kaminey
Best Art Directon
Acropolis, Rajnish Hedaa, Sumit, Snigdha Basu – 3 Idiots
Sabu Cyril – Aladin
Samir Chanda – Delhi-6
Samir Chanda – Kaminey
Sukanta Panigrahy, Helen Jones – Dev D
Best Choreography
Ahmed Khan – Prem Ki Naiiyya – Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani
Avit Dias – Aal Izz Well – 3 Idiots
Bosco- Caesar – Zoobi Doobi – 3 Idiots
Prasanna – Marjaani – Billu
Baawre – Vaibhavi Merchant – Luck By Chance
Best Action
James D Bomalick – Blue
Huan-Chiu Ku – Chandni Chowk To China
Shyam Kaushal – Kaminey
Tinu Verma – Acid Factory
Vijayan Master – Wanted
Most Promising Newcomer (Male)
Amole Gupte – Kaminey
Chandan Roy Sanyal – Kaminey
Navin Kaushik – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Omi Vaidya – 3 Idiots
Most Promising Newcomer (Female)
Gauhar Khan – Rocket Singh – Salesman Of The Year
Giselle Monteiro – Love Aaj Kal
Jesse Randhawa – Gulaal
Kalki Koechlin – Dev D
Mahie Gill – Dev D
Most Promising Debut Director
Ayan Mukerji – Wake Up Sid
Nandita Das – Firaaq
Pankaj Advani – Sankat City
Shivajee Chandrabhushan – Frozen
Zoya Akhtar – Luck By Chance
Best Child Artiste
Jahan Bativala – Little Zizou
Iyanah Bativala – Little Zizou
Rahul Kumar – 3 Idiots
Parzan Dastur- Sikandar
Pratik Katare – Paa
Best Ensemble Cast
Delhi-6
Firaaq
Gulaal
Luck By Chance
Sankat City
31.12.09 / Bollywood / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Abbas Tyrewala who directed one of 2008′s biggest successes is also a writer of great repute, having written among other things, the prophetic dialogues of Munnabhai MBBS and the screenplay of Maqbool.
Abbas went to see the latest Yashraj production Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year not only as a writer and director but also as an eager fan of the films that the banner comes out of.
“I love Jaideep Sahni’s writing and Shimit Amin’s direction. But what were they thinking while doing Rocket Singh? Where is the payoff in the screenplay? Where is the hero? Ranbir plays a timid Sardar who steals phone lines and computer hardware from his work-place to start his own business. And we are supposed to accept him as a man of integrity! Would he be able to start his own business if it wasn’t for the nefarious support he gets from his work-place? In other words the ‘hero’ resorts to those very underhand tactics that he claims to abhor and takes the help of that very organization which has disgraced him!”
Most damaging of all, Abbas couldn’t see a hero in Ranbir’s character. “The boss (Manish Chowdhary) is so over-the-top he belongs to another sensibility altogether, calls Ranbir a ‘bastard’ several times, humiliates and disgraces him publicly. We wait for our hero to have his revenge on the boorish boss. I completely believe in the old-fashioned Hindi film formula where the hero gives his tormentor tit for tat. But Boss, where’s the comeuppance for the villain? In fact the story comes across more as the boss’ redemption story as the hero’s.”
Abbas is now more than sure what he wants to do with his own hero John Abraham in 1-800-Love at the end. “I want my hero to either win or die at the end. Not a hero whose fight for the right simply peters out to a dead-end.”
In fact Abbas’s disappointment with Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year has given him a renewed creative strength. “I now know exactly how my hero’s journey to end. I’m an old-fashioned storyteller. And we’ve at heart a very traditional audience. They want to see the hero triumph at the end, not walk away from the villain as he makes an apology speech.”
30.12.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Tens of thousands of Iranians have protested in favour of their government in major cities across the country, following recent opposition protests.
Government supporters marched in Tehran, Shiraz, Qom and elsewhere, chanting “Death to opponents!”
The rallies – reportedly organised by the government – were a response to the opposition demonstrations on Sunday.
Tehran has accused Western powers of stirring-up the protests which left at least eight people dead.
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RECENT UNREST IN IRAN
19 Dec: Influential dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri dies aged 87
21 Dec: Tens of thousands attend his funeral in Qom; reports of clashes between opposition supporters and security forces
22 Dec: Further confrontations reported in Qom
23 Dec: More clashes reported in city of Isfahan as memorial is held
24 Dec: Iran reportedly bans further memorial services for Montazeri except in his birthplace and Qom
26 Dec: Clashes reported in central and northern Tehran
27 Dec: At least eight dead following anti-government protests in Tehran; 300 reported arrested
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Among those killed was the nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Seyed Ali was buried on Wednesday, and opposition websites reported that family members had been ordered to hold a quiet funeral to avoid further protests.
The authorities deny opposition claims that police shot the protesters on Sunday.
Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the US have all condemned the violence.
Hundreds of people, including a number of opposition figures, have been arrested since Sunday – one of the most violent protests since June’s disputed presidential election.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in the poll, which the opposition believes was rigged.
‘Pawns of enemies’
Opposition websites said the pro-government rallies were sponsored by the authorities as a show of force against the regime’s opponents.
The official death toll from the latest protests is the highest since June
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They say that state-owned companies provided transport for their employees to take part in the demonstrations and that traditional bazaars were closed for the day in some cities.
Iran’s hardliners have reacted angrily to the opposition protests staged during the Shia festival of Ashura.
“The offensive slogans have made the pious Iranian nation sad and the Zionist world happy,” the government said in a statement.
It described the opposition as “pawns of the enemies” who “have furnished a red carpet for the foreigners who [are] aiming at the nation’s security”.
Some 500 people have been arrested since Sunday’s protest, Iran’s police chief Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam said.
The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the Iranian authorities are clearly seeking to throw down a gauntlet to the opposition.
He says they are now embarking upon a two-pronged assault on the opposition:
- the undiplomatic attacks on Britain, the US and Israel – blaming them for fermenting the political unrest inside Iran – represents a clear attempt to paint opposition forces as the puppets of foreign powers
but increasingly there is also an ominous religious tone to the government attacks as well; a branding of at least some of the opposition demonstrators as “enemies of God” – a label which could be used to justify their deaths.
All this makes it even harder for foreign governments to grapple with the Iranian authorities, our correspondent adds.
30.12.09 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
British hostage Peter Moore has been released alive from captivity in Iraq, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.
He said Mr Moore, an IT consultant from Lincoln who was seized in Baghdad in May 2007, was in good health and “absolutely delighted at his release”.
Mr Miliband said the Moore family felt deep relief after two-and-a-half years of “misery, fear and uncertainty”.
Four bodyguards were seized with Mr Moore. Three were shot dead; the fourth is also thought to have been killed.
The bodies of Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, of Glasgow, were returned to the UK in June 2009, followed by that of Alec MacLachlan, of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, in September.
Mr Miliband has called for the release of the body of the fourth guard – Alan McMenemy from Glasgow.
Mr Miliband said Mr Moore, who had been released on Wednesday morning, was in the British Embassy in Baghdad and would be reunited with his family as soon as possible.
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We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends
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The foreign secretary said he had had a “very moving” conversation with Mr Moore, who was “to put it mildly, absolutely delighted”. He is undergoing medical checks.
Mr Miliband said: “The joy and relief that will be felt by Peter’s family will be mirrored by the continuing anguish of the family of Alan McMenemy, the last of the five men taken hostage.
“We have believed for some time that he has been killed and his family have been told our view of his likely fate.”
The foreign secretary also told the BBC there were no concessions or deals made to secure Mr Moore’s release.
“This was an Iraqi-led process of political reconciliation in which an armed group has made vows to come within the political system and to renounce violence, and that’s the foundation of Peter Moore’s release,” he said.
Mr Moore had been working for US management consultancy Bearingpoint in Iraq. The other men were security contractors employed to guard him.
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British hostage released in Iraq
The group was captured at the Iraqi Ministry of Finance by about 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.
They were understood to belong to an obscure militia known as the Islamic Shia Resistance, which demanded the release of up to nine of their associates held in US military custody since early 2007.
‘I’m breaking down’
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “I am hugely relieved by the wonderful news that Peter has been freed.
“At this moment of celebration, we also remember the families of British hostages who have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere.
“And we pledge to continue to do everything we can to bring British hostages back to their loved ones.”
Mr Moore’s father Graeme, 60, from Wigston, Leicestershire, said he was “over the moon” at the news.
Alan McMenemy is believed to have been killed by his captors
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He said: “We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends.
“I’m breaking down, I’m just so overjoyed for the lad.”
Terry Waite, who himself was a former hostage, said he was absolutely delighted at Mr Moore’s release.
He added: “It is both a very happy time for Peter and his family and… while the other families will be delighted for him, there will be that tinge of sadness and one keeps them in mind at this point.”
