People Archive | Saritha Rao Rayachoti

Nagesh Kukunoor

Introductions are passe when it comes to Nagesh Kukunoor. It’s well-known that this NRI returned to India to make his first feature film with a meager budget, even playing the lead role himself. Hyderabad Blues touched a chord and everyone was talking about this hilarious film about an NRI and his family’s attempts to get him married.

Then came a string of films as varied from each other as they could possibly get (see filmography), but all having those little nuances that define a Kukunoor film. And the nuances are aplenty in Nagesh’s latest film, Iqbal.

Sitting cross-legged on a sofa, in the midst of much post-release activity at the producer’s office, Nagesh Kukunoor says, “Iqbal is the classic underdog tale. If you look at the poster, you already know what the ending of the movie is. But it’s the way that the tale is told, that makes the difference.”

Iqbal, is the story of a hearing and speech impaired person (Shreyas Talpade) from Kolipad village, who aspires to bowl for the Indian cricket team. He has the support of his mother and his sister (Shweta Prasad), and later, an alcoholic ex-cricketer (Nasseeruddin Shah), who coaches him. But the mainstay of this film is not Iqbal’s disability, it’s his unwavering focus and determination.

Speaking of the challenges of making this film, Nagesh says, “The longest time I’ve spent on casting was possibly for the character of Rajesh Naidu in Rockford. After that, it’s been Iqbal. I wanted the right Iqbal – not just someone who could act, but also fast-bowl and barefoot at that. To top it all, I wanted someone who could put in the dedication required to learn sign language and make it look effortless on screen. Which is where Shreyas Talpade came into the picture. I looked at about 200 cricketers for the role, and found they just couldn’t act. Then, I looked at actors who could look like fast bowlers, and that was even worse in some respects. Then, Yateen Karyekar, who plays Iqbal’s dad in the movie mentioned that there were a lot of Marathi actors who are also good at cricket. One of them was Shreyas and we zeroed in on him after separate screen tests for acting and bowling. If you look at the sign-language interactions between Shreyas and Shweta, it’s so effortless and natural. This was what I wanted and got.”

One question that often arises when it comes to Nagesh’s films, is the obvious lack of song sequences. It’s a marked departure from the Indian film format. Nagesh has this to say about it, “While I’ve grown up with Bollywood, I’ve developed my sensibilities as an adult, by watching movies from the West. As a result, I’m unfamiliar with how to handle a format with songs, like it’s done in Bollywood.”

“If you see my movies, you’ll notice that I’ve grown as a person. While Hyderabad Blues was an outsider’s perspective (albeit an NRI’s), Iqbal can’t get more Indian. I have scripts where the protagonist is white, and that’s the prerogative I take as a writer. But as a director, I can adapt the story any which way I want to.”

Coming back to Iqbal, it is not very different from his other movies, yet, there seems to be a conscious need to make a completely feel-good film. “There’s a great deal of cynicism that has crept into our lives. I’ve noticed this of myself too. Somewhere along the way, our optimistic side gets buried. Which is where we need a film like Iqbal that can energise us to go chase our dreams.” replies Nagesh.

KUKUNOOR SPEAK:
– If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure out a way to get it. The key thing is to ‘want badly enough’.
– If you dream of making a movie, it’s entirely up to you how to go about it. You could either get trained under a good director for a few years or like me, just go ahead and make that movie by using your savings.
– I believe that there are some basic rules that one follows in genres of film-making. If one breaks the rules, it has to be conscious. Like in Teen Deewarein, it starts out being a drama and then becomes a thriller. That was deliberate.

FILMOGRAPHY
– Hyderabad Blues – 1998
– Rockford – 2000
– Bollywood Calling – 2001
– Teen Deewarein – 2003
– Hyderabad Blues 2 – 2004

– Iqbal – 2005

(an edited version published in Java Connect)

Sachin Tendulkar – A profile

People Archive

You would be excused for not knowing who Sachin Tendulkar is, if you’ve lived all your life in a non-cricket -playing country with little exposure to the game and are now faced with the daunting prospect of living in a country where cricket is religion.
you’ve just been released after being held hostage with no contact with the outside world for the last two decades.
you’ve arrived in the present on a time machine from a time when few Indians broke international cricketing records.
Arguably one of the most talented cricketers of all time, everybody it seems, knows about the legendary Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
Making his test debut in 1989, the Little Master as he is called, went on to break record after record with his batting prowess. To fathom why Tendulkar is considered the most-worshipped cricketer in India, one must simply look at the numbers – in his career, the man has notched up a whopping 14692 runs from 177 test matches with 51 centuries and 59 half-centuries! And in 448 One Day Internationals he has scored 17842 runs with 47 centuries and 93 half centuries.
Let’s not forget that his first test hundred was made when he was a mere lad of 17 and by the time he was 25, he had 16 of them. And to think Tendulkar originally wanted to be a fast bowler, but Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Academy persuaded him to focus on batting instead!
There is a lot of trivia associated with Sachin Tendulkar’s batting talent. Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar’s coach, is said to have famously created a reward of a coin for any bowler who would get him out, failing which, Tendulkar could keep the coin. The champ apparentlywent on to collect 13 of them! Sir Donald Bradman is said to have compared Tendulkar’s batting to his own and one of the highpoints of Tendulkar’s life was meeting Sir Bradman.
Peter Roebuck, a former cricketer and now a newspaper columnist and commentator is presumed to have said, “On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. “
Ask Tendulkar fans why they worship him, and pat comes the reply, “His passion for the game and his hard work. He’s been around for 20 years, long after others have made their money and left. He has taken a god-given talent and honed it with hard work. And of course, he has held himself with great poise while facing some of the fiercest bowlers of his time!”
Watch Sachin Tendulkar captain the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premiere League Season 4, beginning April 8, 2011.
For the latest statistics related to Sachin Tendulkar, visit http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/35320.html

An edited version appeared in Culturama’s April 2011 Issue

Made In Chennai – Rehane Yavar Dhala

People Archive

One of the first and most dynamic fashion designers to catapult the name of Chennai into the world fashion horizon.

Professionally, you could be based anywhere in the world. Why Chennai?
This is where my husband is, my family is. And I want it all – a career and a family. It doesn’t matter where you are based – if you do your job well, the whole world will know how good you are.

What was your first big break?
After being part of the vibrant fashion scene in Rome, I moved to Chennai, married with a baby. I wanted to express myself through my art, but frustratingly, there were no takers for western wear. I didn’t have a label back then, but I got the opportunity to design for Jacqueline Verghese who contested in Femina Miss India (I think in 1996). When I won the Best Designer of the Year award at the pageant, it was a validation of my work.

What was the turning point for you as a designer?
Lakme Fashion Week Mumbai 2002. It was not just about me – it was about being pitched against so much design talent, so many designers with their own thumb prints from across India, all under one roof. The experience reaffirmed that my designs were unique and distinct.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced on the way to establishing yourself?
When I first began in Chennai, I did simple silhouettes with excellent cuts and no embellishments. There were no takers. Sadly, even today, there are no takers for a simple well-cut trouser. It’s almost always unsold in my boutique. Nobody even tries it on. But when I wear it, people want to know where I bought it!

How do you define a Rehane creation?
More is less. I decided to change my design definition and go the opposite direction – from simple, unembellished to flamboyant, over-embellished design. I have now toned it down a little to strike a balance.

Any interesting anecdotes?
When one of my tailors got married, in his wedding card, under his name, it read, ‘Head Tailor for Rehane’. I thought that was very cute!

In 2000, I had just launched my Roses Collection that did brilliantly well. A few ladies walked in to my boutique on Khader Nawaz Khan Road and sprayed yellow paint on my collection! We tried dry-cleaning, but that didn’t work. We then replaced parts of the garments and had to throw away the stained sections. Why would anybody simply walk in to a boutique and do that?

There was also the time someone forged my signature on a cheque and tried to encash it!

What makes you tick?
Belief in myself and dogged determination. Nothing on earth can stop me! I believe everything starts in the mind. So, when someone gave me a copy of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, none of it was new to me – I already knew and practised what was in the book.

How’s 2011 looking for you?
Busy. In April, there’s Fashion Week Delhi. In May, I’m working on a collection in tandem with the Handloom Council. In July, I’m launching my range of spiritual wear in fabrics like organic cotton, ahimsa silk etc. It’s very simple, new-age lounge wear that is comfortable and pleasing to the eye. In August, I’m preparing for Pret A Porter Paris. I’ll be taking the same Paris collection to Fashion Week Delhi in end-September / October.

Any words of advice to someone just starting out in fashion design?
If you think it’s easy, think again. If you think just because you’re from Chennai, your collection will be accepted here, forget it. If you think making a style statement will work, you will hardly get any response beyond media labelling it as off-beat. If you’re in it for the money, you will never succeed. Few people have the gift of making money and they make the best finance professionals, not designers. And finally, you will have to twist and bend yourself – be willing to make ghaghras for brides. It can also be very interesting.

An edited version appeared in Taxi Magazine’s March 2011 Issue.

Raghu Rai – A profile

People Archive

It would be a cliché to say that Raghu Rai’s photographs speak a thousand words. Words fall short. Case in point, the picture on the cover of this issue. How does one describe the unanimity of the two sets of hands despite the pronounced difference in textures, the disproportion of scale or for that matter, the unstated generational gap? The picture is called ‘My Father and My Son’.

Raghu Rai is considered the foremost photographer in India excelling in social, political and cultural themes. Currently working on books on Delhi, Varanasi and legends of Indian music, Raghu Rai spoke to us from Kohima, Nagaland, where he is attending the annual SPIC MACAY Cultural Convention.
“My father once joked that he has four children – two of them had ‘gone photography’ – in essence, he was saying it was akin to ‘gone crazy’. But mad people are mad people and we don’t listen to anybody”, he fondly remembers his parents’ unhappiness when he followed in his brother’s footsteps by becoming a photographer in 1965 despite being a qualified civil engineer.

Raghu Rai joined the newspaper, The Statesman as their Chief Photographer in 1966, then took on the mantle of Picture Editor with Sunday, a weekly news magazine in 1977. He joined India Today, now one of India’s leading news magazines in 1982 until 1991. His photo features have appeared in the world’s leading magazines and newspapers including Time, Life, GEO, The New York Times, Sunday Times, Newsweek, Vogue, GQ, D magazine, Marie Claire, The Independent and The New Yorker. He is revered as the man who brought aesthetics to photojournalism in India.

In 1984, Raghu Rai documented the plight of those affected by the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. He says, “There was a high possibility of journalists and photographers being physically affected by the chemical contamination. But then, there is always an element of risk in any assignment.” In 2002, he returned to Bhopal to capture the continuing effects of a tragedy that occurred almost twenty years ago, thereby creating greater awareness about it.

Since 1991, Raghu Rai has traveled extensively, and produced over twenty books on his favourite subject, India. He has focused on communities like the Sikhs, places like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar as well as chronicled the Tibetan people in exile. He is also renowned for his photo essays on Mother Theresa, former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and several classical music stalwarts such as Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, M.S. Subbulakshmi and Kishori Amonkar. Every portrait is as though a moment from the subject’s life has been captured for posterity.

A significant bulk of Raghu Rai’s photography is in the Black & White medium. This harkens back to the time when he began his career. “For one, the magazines and newspapers carried only black and white. Colour film was hard to come by and hence, expensive. Moreover, in order to process colour, one had to send the films to Paris or New York. Gradually around the late 1970s and early 1980s, colour films started being processed in Mumbai and newspapers and magazines began using some colour. ” His finesse with colour is evident in the play of colour in his compositions, be it the Indian bride getting a prenuptial anointing of vibrant turmeric, the buoyant colour of balloon sellers’ wares at dusk on Mumbai’s Chowpatty Beach or the somber maroon-ochre of Buddhist Lamas’ robes as they huddle against the rain during a prayer meeting in Ladakh.

In 1971, no less a legend than the photographer, Henri Cartier Bresson nominated Raghu Rai to the eminent photographers’ cooperative, Magnum Photos. Raghu Rai was conferred the Padmashree, one of the highest civilian honours in India in 1972. There have been numerous prestigious awards since, both national and international.

Raghu Rai differentiates the Indian and international outlooks on photography, “Abroad, photography and photographers are respected a great deal. In India, few people actually read a photograph. Most people glance at a picture and think they know what is being conveyed. However, those who understand art are able to understand what goes into taking a photograph.”

In Raghu Rai’s photographs, there is reverence, irony and poignancy along with a great sense of intrigue on what happened after the picture was taken.
SOME OF HIS BOOKS:
Bihar shows the way ( 1977)
Raghu Rai’s Delhi(1985, 1992),
The Sikhs (1984, 2002),
Calcutta (1989),
Khajuraho (1991),
Taj Mahal, (1986)
Tibet in Exile (1991),
India (1985)
Madhya Pradesh (2000)
Indira Gandhi (1971, 1985)
Indira Gandhi – A living legacy (2004)
Mother Teresa – Faith & Compassion (1971, 1996)
Mother Teresa – A life of dedication (2004)
Men Metal and Steel (1998)
Lakshadweep (1996)
My land and it’s people (1995)
India notes (2005) curated by Magnum Photos,
Raghu Rai’s India – Reflections in Black & White (2007)
Raghu Rai’s India – Reflections in Colour (2008)
Exhibitions
2005 India – Musei Capitolini Centrale Montemartini, Rome, Italy
2005 Bhopal 1984 – 2004 – Melkweg Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2004 Exposure – Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Leica Gallery,
Prague, Czech Republic
2003 Exposure: Portrait of a Corporate Crime – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
2003 Bhopal – Sala Consiliare, Venice, Italy; Photographic Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
2002 Volkart Foundation, Winterthur, Switzerland
2002 Raghu Rai’s India – A Retrospective – Photofusion, London, UK
1997 Retrospective – National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
Collection
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France

(An edited version was published in the July 2008 issue of ‘At A Glance’. Picture courtesy Raghu Rai)

The Girl – Meeting Sonia Faleiro

People Archive

Sonia Faleiro’s debut novel, The Girl, begins with a funeral. Through shifting narratives and timelines, it goes on to explore the life, despair and death of the Girl, in a fictional Goan village, Azul, aptly referred to as “the Village of the Dead”. The Girl remains unnamed through the book, giving free rein to the reader’s imagination, while other characters like Simon or Mama Lola are painted in vivid word pictures.

Sonia and I got freewheeling on how the book came to be. ‘I was in Edinburgh and, as a respite from hours of research for my thesis, I opened a Word document and began writing the story. The sense of isolation at being away from home, also wound its way in.’ she says.

It’s this overwhelming loneliness and sense of loss that sets the novel apart from stereotypical representations of Goa and its people. The melancholic side to Goa that the author has portrayed is something that the Goans identify with, as evidenced by responses on the message board of her website. And the non-Goan readers believe that they’re finally seeing a different facet to Goa in this book.

In early February 2006, at the launch of the book, Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram, said, “With the first book of an author, we, as readers, have been given the privilege to be part of something that’s flowering and growing in the garden of our literary appreciation. The Girl is a marvelously well-written first book, and it’s by a young writer at the beginning of her career. Her talent is only going to get more refined and every book after this, bigger and better.”

It took two years for Sonia to write The Girl, and the only part of the story, that posed a minor challenge, was the character of Luke. ‘It wasn’t a challenge as such, but it did take some effort to get into the skin of a twenty-something American backpacker.’ However, after the book, she feels her writing has evolved and has since come closer in form to her journalism.

Sonia is now writing full-time on her second work of fiction and a non-fiction title. She has an American agent who will represent her and The Girl will soon see an international edition and translation. Sonia continues with her journalism, focusing on the numerous issues that she believes need to be written about and addressed.

Among her favourite authors, Sonia loves the work of Anita Desai and Vikram Seth and among books, Shop Girl by Steve Martin.

Sonia Faleiro is being hailed as a fresh new voice in the world of Indian fiction and handles the accolades with grace, saying simply, ‘It’s been good.’

(an edited version published in the May 3, 2006 issue of Deccan Herald, Bangalore. Pics courtesy soniafaleiro.com)

Dream Merchant – An Interview with Nagesh Kukunoor