Indian disco and M.I.A.

M.I.A.'s pretty cool. Check it:

She's done this completely fab version of "Jimmy Aaja," one of my favorite Indian disco songs from the '80s. That's right, the '80s. Indian disco was awesome. It came much later than the rest of the world and featured the pingy sitar samples that Western music used for 1960s rock ("Norwegian Wood," for ex.)

Indian disco was also hilarious because it was nonsensical, as much disco is. It also featured stars such as Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty pretending to be cool and dancing, but in reality they were just strutting around and stuff. No John Travolta or MJ-type moves here, unfortunately, although Mithun came close.

Anyway, back to M.I.A. Her new album sounds ok--I've heard some of the songs. I can't say that I like all her songs, but "Bucky Done Gun" and "Paper Planes" (from the new album) as well as "Jimmy" are pretty good. I just love Jimmy (particularly the video) because it's so funky and fun, and she really taps the ridiculousness and absurdity of disco. Don't get me wrong, I love disco but it was crazy! As much of music is anyway. But that's a different point.

I particularly love the cheesy gold outfit she wears and her lazy, high-pitched "chicken squawk" (as it was referred to in an MTV review), because it contrasts really well with the original song, sung by a high-pitched female vocal. The contrast is jarring but great.

In the beginning, she raps, "Can we go Rwanda Congo, take me on your genocide tour..." which I guess is supposed to be her political statement about how violence is caused by men and how men are dominant etc. But beyond the first few words about violence in Africa, she sings a story about pleading for love from "Jimmy" (who I guess represents all men). The rest of the lyrics aren't particularly inspired, but the song is definitely fun to listen to.

Check out the video, too, especially the little dancing digitized stick figures (hilarious!). Here it is.

Self-Exoticism, anyone?

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has a new film out, everyone! Here it is: Saawariya.

And guess what! It's produced by Sony. Which makes it the first Indian film to be backed by a Hollywood production company. Pretty cool, no?

Yes, it is pretty cool! Except for the fact that it's not. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a fair director who makes beautiful films--that's the only word for it, beautiful (I believe Karan Johar once referred to his films as "paintings in cellulite") but they do tend to lack major substance, etc. Hum dil de chuke sanam was an embarrassment, Devdas was enjoyable but a little melodramatic, and all seem to perpetuate some major patriarchal values I have issues with (but what don't I have issues with?)

Okay, but that's all not important. The great point here is that SLB makes fabulous, wonderful movies...that exoticize India. Which is why I'm using his Saawariya has an example of the self-exoticism that happens in Indian films. It's important because Saawariya is historic--it's the first film to be backed by Hollywood--and yet, in a circular fashion, it is also the very type of film that Hollywood would WANT to back. I.e., why on earth would Hollywood back a Munna Bhai or a Chokher Bali or a Dil Chahtha Hai? These movies are too grainy, too real, too down to earth and familiar to the average Indian (okay, yes, I know DCH was about spoiled rich kids, but work with me here).

Rather than seeing those agonizingly beautiful themes, overseas audiences would much rather see overdressed courtesans from 19th century Lucknow fling themselves dramatically onto a Persian-carpeted floor. OH, and bad classical dancing. OH, and backless blouses. Did I mention overdone eyeliner?

Films have been doing this for decades--exoticizing India--but when it's affirmed by Hollywood, it might be a bit of a problem. You see, Hollywood has always had this perception that Indian films feature lots of color, singing, dancing, big-eyed women, floppy-haired men, incomprehensible customs ("Oh...so THAT's how the wedding ceremony of the Hindus is conducted...") etc. Growing up in a South Indian household made me realize very early on that the world of Hindi movies is vastly separated from everyday Indian life. No, our brides don't always wear red at weddings. And GOD no, very few brides cry when they "leave home" to "go to their husband's house." To echo GOB, "COME ON!"

It's a MOOOVIE, people.

In Hollywood, the life of bigscreen characters is exoticized in relatively harmless ways--such as the fact that a female advertising executive can make enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side, or that working professionals barely seem to do any work at all. On TV it's a bit worse ("Friends," anyone?) but still, there's a healthy assumption that viewers won't be taking it seriously.

Newsflash: people in America don't know how people in India live. For all they know, overdressed courtesans in 19th century Lucknow is just another day in Mumbai. One time I was watching a song from "Kandukondein" where Aishwarya Rai was dancing with a bunch of folk dancers in the fields of Tamil Nadu. My roommate, who was watching with me, asked me innocently if people in India dressed like that. Forgive her ignorance, but you should ask yourself the question: if non-Americans saw a bunch of Elvis impersonators in a film, do you think they would ask if regular Americans dressed like that? (Well, probably not, they know our pop culture better than we do. But you see the distinction, I hope.)

Or maybe you don't. The point is, the self-exoticism is getting a little out of hand. I mean, seriously, nowadays Indian brides are trying to make their wedding more like a Hindi movie instead of the other way around. Sure, it makes for a great wedding video (Who needs HAHK when you can watch blank & blank's wedding?) but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

I guess the question is, should art imitate life or should life imitate art? The word "art" being used very liberally in this case.

IP and Hindi films

So I was on youtube recently, trying to watch a video of a song from the recent Hindi film "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom." I clicked on the link and was told that "this video has been removed due to a claim of copyright violation by Yashraj films Ltd."

Ha.

I find it really ironic (and, admittedly, pretty amusing), that Yashraj and other Bollywood filmmakers would be miffed about copyright violation when most of what they do, day in and day out, is re-package Hollywood storylines for a Bollywood audience (which is a hell of a lot bigger than the Hollywood audience, so can you blame them for wanting to make money?)

"Whaaa-?" You say. "But recently, Hindi films have been great--none of them have copied Hollywood storylines."

I reiterate: ha.

The masala-mix melodramatic storylines of the 80s and 90s may have been terrible (and they really were), but at least they were marginally original--boy meets girl, forbidden love blah blah, they have a few songs, boy beats up the bad guys and claims the girl.

Nowadays the films have run the gamut from top-action (Dhooms 1 & 2, Dus) to well-told love story (Hum Tum), to folksy (Paheli), to fairly good comedy/coming of age (Munna Bhai!)

Of the films I just named, only two were not copies of Hollywood stories: Munna Bhai and Paheli. Although Lage Raho Munna Bhai did seem strangely familiar, and I remember the whole time thinking, this has GOT to be a copy of something.

Dhooms 1 & 2 had elements of Fast & the Furious, M:I2, The Bourne Identity, Ocean's 11. The first half of Dus was a straight-up copy of The Usual Suspects, which was just a travesty 'cause it was such a good movie. I mean, come on guys. Yes, I know Shilpa Shetty walked on a wall and Gulshan Grover made a startling and well-deserved comeback (and then promptly disappeared), but seriously?

Hum Tum is, ironically, one of my favorites. But I can't get over the fact that it is a scene by scene copy of When Harry met Sally, one of my favorite movies of all time. Saad.

I guess this hurts my soul or something, but it annoys me that when I connect with a movie or enjoy it and then realize it's a copy of another movie I've seen and know well, it just makes me annoyed that I paid the money (err...or that I paid like a buck to rent it from the Indian store), to see a movie that's just a shabby copy. Okay, maybe it's a damn good copy but that doesn't matter. I'm just saying, what happened to creativity?

I think mostly, this says nothing about Indian artistic sensibilities etc. I think it's really just about money--it's easier to steal storylines and churn out blockbuster song-and-dance flicks with hotshot Indian actors than to work agonizingly for years on a beautiful screenplay about women's rights or whatever. But the thing is, this behavior can't continue ad infinitum.

As revealed here....

Hollywood movie producers--such as the producers of Hitch--have begun to be aware of the Bollywood industry over the past few years or so. The thing is, there's a price with fame. And when millions of viewers in America and abroad spend more money on Hindi films than Hollywood (I'm just taking a guess here--I have no actual numbers, but I do know that Bollywood is the second-largest movie industry in the world), then Hollywood's going to take an interest in their competitor.

So, yeah, I guess Hindi films are going to have watch it when they make movies "inspired" by their American colleagues. Or, at least, give credit where it's due.

And yes, I know you can make about a million arguments about IP here. Especially considering that one of the few ways in which India might benefit from TRIPS is that they have net outflow of media products--films, music, etc. It's important for them to protect their artistic products in the movie industry...but it's a two-way street.

Meanwhile, I found a copy of "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" that hadn't been removed by Yashraj. Ironically, the story of JBJ sounds completely original--it's too bad it falls pretty flat. Eh, I guess that's how the cookie crumbles.

Read this article. Believe me, it'll be worth your time. I'm trying to spread this great piece to everyone I know...succinct, well-written and unpretentious, this piece captures in half a page the neo-colonialist tendencies of development.

....sorry for being so pretentious.

First post

Hey all,

This is my first post.

Testing...

that is all ;)