By: Supriya Arora, Special Contributor to MyBindi.com
This was undoubtedly one of the most captivating panel discussions to which I have been. With an award winning lyricist and scriptwriter, highly talented actors and a successful Indo-Canadian film producer as guests, you can only imagine how intellectually stimulating and entertaining this evening was. Held at the Royal Ontario Museum on Wednesday 22nd of June, as part of the ROM’s South Asian Special Exhibits was ‘Bollywood, Hollywood, and Beyond’ featuring guest panelists, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Lisa Ray, Ajay Virmani and Kabir Bedi. The panel discussion tied in topics of the development and growth of Indian cinema, the changes in film making, and the popularity of cross-cultural films.
I was fortunate enough to have some one-on-one time with Kabir Bedi and Lisa Ray prior to the event at the VIP Reception. They both recently performed on stage at the Luminato Festival in the dramatic theatre production Taj. I mentioned to Bedi that the Toronto Fringe Festival is taking place early next month and how it is a wonderful platform that showcases theatre and introduces aspiring stage actors and brands new playwrights. As he is renowned for his notable theatre work in Europe, particularly Italy (he speaks the language fluently!), I asked what his advice for budding theatre actors would be. Very encouraging, yet realistic, he said,
“You should only do it if you truly enjoy the craft and love being on stage, the process, and the art of entertaining live audiences. Do not do it if your sole aim is to be rich and famous, as there are far more many people who do not succeed in the line than those who do make it big. Don’t just wait for that one role you believe to be glamorous, but take on what you can get, including commercial projects. Be realistic and give yourself a time limit (e.g. two or five years) and if you do not reach your goals, then it is best to move on.”
It was fabulous to see Kabir Bedi looking as tall and dashing as many fans gathered around him to express their admiration for this multi-talented actor who has had a successful career on stage, television and movies, both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is proud to be a part of the latter, as it is a very unique, inspirational and a potent symbol of modern Indian culture.
With social media trends and celebrities taking the world by storm these days, I asked Lisa Ray how her experience has been in terms of twitter and blogging, and talked about the fine line between interactive vs. invasive. She said that it is really a matter of choice and one should set boundaries according to their own level of comfort. She utilizes social media primarily to share her professional engagements. I must add that Lisa captivated the entire room when she entered wearing an elegant, collared red dress - hair tied back with small flower hair accessories. She was simply stunning! During the panel discussion she says that she is an interloper in Bollywood and Canadian cinema and does not belong in any of these worlds. Lisa has lived in Mumbai for almost ten years and moved back to Canada where she established a career in Indian themed films such as Bollywood Hollywood and Cooking with Stella.
During the panel discussion, Javed Akhtar discusses how songs are an integral part of Indian entertainment arts, originating in early theatre, whether it was Urdu-Farsi plays, nautankis etc. He goes on to describe how films of today have inherited this. He says how times are changing and we have not seen a stage of Hindi cinema with so much variety as it displays today. In the past, films may not have touched upon social issues however today this is simply not the case. Akhtar says he believes that the structure of Hindi film cinema is changing and brought up an amusing point that younger directors are embarrassed with too many songs in a movie and would rather have them as a backdrop. Akhtar adds on that he does not wish that Hindi films lose their identity; song and narrative have always been a team and is a form of artistic expression, so why take that away? I could not agree more!
Shabana Azmi, dressed in Indian attire, was a vision of sheer elegance. The intricate work on her kurta and jewellery were just as mesmerizing as the manner in which she spoke. She talked about the emergence of young directors, both male and female in addition to the changes occurring in mainstream cinema. She says, “Once upon a time men were portrayed as Rambos and now we also have ‘Rambolinas’’! The heroines’ roles in current Indian cinema are more realistic and show women working and having full-time jobs whereas earlier they were primarily seen wearing yellow chiffon saris, singing in the Alps! An example Shabana Azmi uses in praise is Anushka Sharma’s character in the hit movie Band Baaja Barat, a Bollywood film that has been nominated in several categories for IIFA 2011.
Toronto-based Ajay Virmani, successful businessman and movie producer whose filmography includes Deepa Mehta’s Water and Bollywood Hollywood, International Khiladi and upcoming Indo-Canadian flick Breakaway. We got a real treat as we were the first audience to view the trailer of Breakaway, a movie about a young Indian man torn between his traditional roots and his aspirations to be a hockey player. During the reception prior to the panel, I had a chance to briefly meet Vinay Virmani, the lead actor as well as the writer of Breakaway and was thrilled to hear from him that the movie releases this September. The film’s stellar cast includes Hollywood actor Rob Lowe, Anupam Kher, Sakina Jaffrey, Canadian comedian Russell Peters, Noureen DeWulf, famous rapper Ludacris and renowned Punjabi comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi amongst others. The ladies in the crowd squealed with glee towards the end of the trailer as we saw a glimpse of Bollywood hunk, Akshay Kumar. Furthermore, Virmani talked about the trends of cross-cultural films, and I know I simply can’t wait to see this new movie!
As everyone’s excitement builds up for the IIFA awards this Saturday, the celebrity buzz permeates throughout the city and I love each and every moment of it. I would like to wish all the Bollywood enthusiasts of Toronto a very happy IIFA weekend and happy star gazing!
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