The prestigious 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), from March 21 to April 6, will pay special tribute to India’s late actor-director-producer-writer Guru Dutt, whom it calls "Bollywood Guru".
Festival will showcase his Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, with Waheeda Rehman), Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955, with Madhubala), Sahib Bibi aur Gulam (1962, with Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rahman), and Pyaasa (1957, with Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman) films. While Sahib Bibi aur Gulam was directed by Abrar Alvi, rest were all directed by Filmfare Award winner Guru Dutt himself.
Meanwhile, Bollywood actor and legend Amitabh Bachhan is set to add another feather to his cap with the lifetime achievement award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
The Hong Kong's Asian Film Festival now wishes to honour me before the end of the month. And so soon after I leave the picturesque shores of Oman, I should be heading further east to receive what I believe, not so much a personal recognition, but one that comes to me as a member of the film industry of India and indeed India itself,
the 67-year-old posted on his blog.
Bachchan has appeared in more than 100 movies in a career spanning four decades. His recent credits include "The Last Lear," "Sarkar Raj" and "Paa."
... If he had an unlimited loan, a good big amount that lets you buy anything you want? Emergency loans are not easy to come by, and you really only get what you need, not what you want. Here's a list of ten things I would want to buy if I had an unlimited loan with a decent payback interest rate:
1. ARRI 35mm camera - the latest one!
2. Stock film - at least 10 hours- for the above camera so I can shoot/get the movie shot by a professional DP. My first 35 mm film.
3. AVID Media Composer (latest version) - the best suite yet for editing films, what else.
4. Apple iMac with the latest Final Cut Pro bundle. Best for editing digital video.
5. Final Draft software - for help in formatting scripts and screenplays!
6. Filmmaking books - a list of my recommended filmmaking books is already there on this blog's sidebar (on the right).
7. Adobe Production premium - to have Adobe's brilliant editing, compositing and image editing software on my laptop .
8. Adobe Dreamweaver software with tutorial pack to help design my own proper website.
9. Various 35mm Lenses and filters for the camera mentioned in pont no. 1
10. A studio cabin where I can fit in most of this stuff!!
Hollywood has been the traditional torchbearer of excellent cinema, with scattered gems thrown in from other parts of the world, but none able to match the mammoth American film industry in quantity served with excellent quality.
Let us name a few of these gems. Sergei Eisenstein from Russia, Akira Kurosawa from Japan, Jean Luc Goddard from France, Satyajit Ray from India and Abbas Kiarostami from Iran. England has also captured world attention by propping up brilliant filmmakers like Richard Attenborough and Danny Boyle. Among all these countries, India has the most fledgling film industry.
Though in terms of quality Indian cinema still has a long way to go, it is the biggest film industry in terms of feature films produced every year. More than 1000 films are made in the country annually, led largely by the Hindi film industry pseudonymed Bollywood, while the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema follow along with other regional Indian film setups. No Hollywood film has been able to give severe competition to an Indian hit film in India. Movies like Titanic have had major successes in the sub continent, but such movies are few and far between. Many award winning Hollywood films are released here, to be watched by an elite audience, while the masses prefer to keep to their masala films.
The reverse is even more true for Indian cinema in United States and UK, where except for the Indian expat population you would find one in a million soul who follows Bollywood. However, in certain European countries Bolywood stars are quite popular. For example, Shah Rukh Khan, who was recently in controversy over his detention at a US airport, is much loved in Germany and the French government recently presented him with its top culural award.
Movies like Slumdog Millionaire have raised curiosity about India, a country of mystery and wonder for many. Incidentally, as I write this post Julia Roberts is busy shooting her new film 'Eat, Pray, Love' at a Hindu Ashram in Pataudi, India. Now while such forays by western filmmakers into India have been common, Indian filmmakers have usually shot expat stories in western locales, with hardly any local western element (a recent Bollywood movie Namstey London was an exception).
Many years before these deals and collaborations, quite a few Indian film actors have been roped in to do Hollywood roles, most notably famous among whom is Aishwarya Rai. Others include Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Gulshan Grover. Conversely, Indian movies have often roped in British actors, often to make them play roles in films displaying the colonial past. Things are getting more interesting as Indian movie budgets are going up. A forthcoming Bollywood movie called 'Blue' has Kylie Minogue performing a song which also features the voice of Indian singer Sonu Nigam while she dances along with Indian actor Akshay Kumar. Some people hate this song titled 'Chiggy Wiggy...' as a waste of Kyie Minogue, while others are loving it. Here's the full thing from YouTube:
Coming back to Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, his new film 'My Name is Khan' is slated for a December release and deals with the issue of religious profiling in the United States. Fox Studios in a joint venture with Star network has decided to invest Rupees 1 Billion ($21 million approx) in the film for distribution rights.
So is the east finally meeting west in filmmaking?
Festival will showcase his Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, with Waheeda Rehman), Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955, with Madhubala), Sahib Bibi aur Gulam (1962, with Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rahman), and Pyaasa (1957, with Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman) films. While Sahib Bibi aur Gulam was directed by Abrar Alvi, rest were all directed by Filmfare Award winner Guru Dutt himself.The Hong Kong's Asian Film Festival now wishes to honour me before the end of the month. And so soon after I leave the picturesque shores of Oman, I should be heading further east to receive what I believe, not so much a personal recognition, but one that comes to me as a member of the film industry of India and indeed India itself,
Movies like Slumdog Millionaire have raised curiosity about India, a country of mystery and wonder for many. Incidentally, as I write this post Julia Roberts is busy shooting her new film 'Eat, Pray, Love' at a Hindu Ashram in Pataudi, India. Now while such forays by western filmmakers into India have been common, Indian filmmakers have usually shot expat stories in western locales, with hardly any local western element (a recent Bollywood movie 
have been roped in to do Hollywood roles, most notably famous among whom is Aishwarya Rai. Others include Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Gulshan Grover. Conversely, Indian movies have often roped in British actors, often to make them play roles in films displaying the colonial past. Things are getting more interesting as Indian movie budgets are going up. A forthcoming Bollywood movie called 'Blue' has Kylie Minogue performing a song which also features the voice of Indian singer Sonu Nigam while she dances along with Indian actor Akshay Kumar. Some people hate this song titled 'Chiggy Wiggy...' as a waste of Kyie Minogue, while others are loving it. Here's the full thing from YouTube: