Bhojpuri cinema finds fans among Mumbai’s migrants

MUMBAI, India — An old man sits at a wooden stand slicing lemons for fresh juice as a group of movie fans gathers at a nearby gate. The collection of rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers and other migrants all eagerly wait to buy tickets for the latest Bhojpuri film. Bhojpuri is a Hindi dialect spoken in India’s northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and among much of the city’s migrant workers.



One of the men at the gate, Rajaram Chauhan, moved to Mumbai from his village in Uttar Pradesh 10 years ago to earn money to support him and his family back home. Wearing an old orange button-down and loose polyester pants with a hole in the knee, he says he earns 9,000 rupees (US$195) a month working a machine. Every Friday he spends his free time by going to the movies, usually a Bhojpuri film in his language. Asked if the movies remind him of home, Chauhan says: “Why would you ask a question like that? Of course it happens!”



As Bollywood films have increasingly catered to a wealthy, cosmopolitan class of Indians here and abroad, regional cinemas have seen a growth in demand from Indians who can no longer relate to the Hindi movies, according to Kathryn Hardy, a University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. candidate in South Asia studies who is working on a dissertation on Bhojpuri cinema.



Regional cinemas have filled the hole left by Bollywood by producing movies that cater to a local audience through language, themes, music and settings that resonate with them. Bhojpuri films have been around since the 1960s, but the number of movies made each year has jumped in the past decade. About 100 films are now made a year, Hardy said.



Read more about Bhojpuri cinema or scroll down for photos at LINK

Bhojpuri cinema finds fans among Mumbai’s migrants

MUMBAI, India — An old man sits at a wooden stand slicing lemons for fresh juice as a group of movie fans gathers at a nearby gate. The collection of rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers and other migrants all eagerly wait to buy tickets for the latest Bhojpuri film. Bhojpuri is a Hindi dialect spoken in India’s northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and among much of the city’s migrant workers.



One of the men at the gate, Rajaram Chauhan, moved to Mumbai from his village in Uttar Pradesh 10 years ago to earn money to support him and his family back home. Wearing an old orange button-down and loose polyester pants with a hole in the knee, he says he earns 9,000 rupees (US$195) a month working a machine. Every Friday he spends his free time by going to the movies, usually a Bhojpuri film in his language. Asked if the movies remind him of home, Chauhan says: “Why would you ask a question like that? Of course it happens!”



As Bollywood films have increasingly catered to a wealthy, cosmopolitan class of Indians here and abroad, regional cinemas have seen a growth in demand from Indians who can no longer relate to the Hindi movies, according to Kathryn Hardy, a University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. candidate in South Asia studies who is working on a dissertation on Bhojpuri cinema.



Regional cinemas have filled the hole left by Bollywood by producing movies that cater to a local audience through language, themes, music and settings that resonate with them. Bhojpuri films have been around since the 1960s, but the number of movies made each year has jumped in the past decade. About 100 films are now made a year, Hardy said.



Read more about Bhojpuri cinema or scroll down for photos at LINK

Raavan - My Review

In a religious country like India, where people have ended up fighting over Rama and Allah, it needs some courage to take up one of the two greatest epics written and show our worshipped Lord Rama having a grey side to him. It takes even more courage to start telling the story from the villain Raavan’s point of view and justify his actions. Mani Ratnam is his latest film does exactly that when he gives the mythological story a realistic setting in today’s world and twists the story a bit to make people sympathize for the villain of the epic.

Abhishek Bachchan plays an outlaw called Beera(Raavan) in the film. Though he goes against the law, the villagers believe in him, his actions, and his ideology which makes him a character like Don Vito Corleone or the Sarkar. The only difference is he is wilder than those. The wildness, ofcourse is to draw parallelism to Raavan’s character in Ramayana. He kidnaps Raagini(Sita) played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to kill her for reasons told later in the film. But instead of killing her, he starts falling for her beauty, her bravery. This is where we see the film getting similar to RGV’s Jungle where the lead bandit started falling for Urmilla Matondkar and starts taking wrong decisions.

Mani Ratnam goes back to what he is most known for and does the best, depicting violence and terrorism on screen. Though Raavan isn’t exactly a film about terrorism, its style is very similar to those. He might not have come back to his real best, but it seems like he is on his right way now after Guru where I thought he completely lost his way and like other directors got pulled and attracted by commercial brand of cinema. With Raavan, he seems to be coming back to his own.

The most pleasing thing in this film is the visuals, the cinematography. Santosh Sivan is really a master of camerawork. He has never disappointed me with his camera work. While Terrorist is his best piece of work for me, Raavan isn’t very far behind. Though shooting infront of the waterfalls, and naturally beautiful scenes makes it easier for him to make the picture look beautiful, he is equally good in indoor scenes and close-up shots. He and Manikandan make the film a visual treat and worth watching just for the visuals alone.

Read more from HERE

Raavan - My Review

In a religious country like India, where people have ended up fighting over Rama and Allah, it needs some courage to take up one of the two greatest epics written and show our worshipped Lord Rama having a grey side to him. It takes even more courage to start telling the story from the villain Raavan’s point of view and justify his actions. Mani Ratnam is his latest film does exactly that when he gives the mythological story a realistic setting in today’s world and twists the story a bit to make people sympathize for the villain of the epic.

Abhishek Bachchan plays an outlaw called Beera(Raavan) in the film. Though he goes against the law, the villagers believe in him, his actions, and his ideology which makes him a character like Don Vito Corleone or the Sarkar. The only difference is he is wilder than those. The wildness, ofcourse is to draw parallelism to Raavan’s character in Ramayana. He kidnaps Raagini(Sita) played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to kill her for reasons told later in the film. But instead of killing her, he starts falling for her beauty, her bravery. This is where we see the film getting similar to RGV’s Jungle where the lead bandit started falling for Urmilla Matondkar and starts taking wrong decisions.

Mani Ratnam goes back to what he is most known for and does the best, depicting violence and terrorism on screen. Though Raavan isn’t exactly a film about terrorism, its style is very similar to those. He might not have come back to his real best, but it seems like he is on his right way now after Guru where I thought he completely lost his way and like other directors got pulled and attracted by commercial brand of cinema. With Raavan, he seems to be coming back to his own.

The most pleasing thing in this film is the visuals, the cinematography. Santosh Sivan is really a master of camerawork. He has never disappointed me with his camera work. While Terrorist is his best piece of work for me, Raavan isn’t very far behind. Though shooting infront of the waterfalls, and naturally beautiful scenes makes it easier for him to make the picture look beautiful, he is equally good in indoor scenes and close-up shots. He and Manikandan make the film a visual treat and worth watching just for the visuals alone.

Read more from HERE

Who's who in Mani Ratnam's Raavan

By now everyone knows that Mani Ratnam's film Raavan is loosely based on Valmiki's epic Ramayana.

We all also know that Abhishek Bachchan's character is loosely based on Ravana, but what about the others?

Does the film script follow the original? Read on as this could also be a good chance for you to brush up your knowledge of the classic.

Abhishek Bachchan -- Ravana

Valmiki's version: In popular perception Ravana maybe the villain in the epic -- after all, he does kidnap Ram's wife, has an epic battle with him in which Ram kills him -- but Ravana was also a great king of Lanka, a famous Shiv bhakt, a veena virtuoso, and was famed for his physical prowess -- he once tried to lift Mount Kailash with Lord Shiv seated on it. Ravana's wife, the beautiful Mandodari, was one of the virtuous women of the time. Valmiki's epic shows that all virtue comes to naught when you let your senses run amok -- as Ravana did on seeing Sita.

Mani's version: Abhishek Bachchan plays Beera Munda, loosely based on Ravana. Beera is a tribal leader who cares for the villagers, is the voice of the underdog, snatches power from the rich and gives it to the poor. He rules a small village in Madhya Pradesh called Lal Maati where the police has no powers, only Beera does. So when his life is disrupted by a brave police officer, Beera carries off his wife Ragini into the jungle.

Vikram Kenni - Rama

Valmiki's version:Venerated as the maryada purshottam, Rama today is a pan-south east Asian phenomenon. In Valmiki's epic, Rama was the dutiful elder son of King Dashrath who sacrifices his crown to keep his father's promise to his stepmother. Embodiment of all virtues, Ram marries Sita but is forced to spend the next 14 years in the jungle -- from where Sita is abducted by Ravana, which sets off a tragic chain of events.

Mani's version: Vikram Kenni plays the character of Dev Pratap Sharma, loosely based on Rama. Dev, a police officer, falls in love with Ragini and marries her. Soon after Dev gets transferred to Lal Maati village which is under Beera's control. Beera and his accomplices face a few setbacks thanks to Dev, and Beera abducts Dev's wife to teach him lesson.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Sita

Valmiki's version:Rama's wifeSita is kidnapped by Ravana from the forest before being rescued by her husband Rama following a bloody battle. After rescuing Sita, Rama asks her to prove her chastity by doing theagni pariksha, from which she emerges unscathed, and Rama accepts her.

Mani's version: Aishwarya Rai's character is called Ragini in the film and she is a dance teacher. Ragini gets abducted as her police officer husband makes local don Beera Munda's life miserable. She is taken into a forest and kept in captivity. As Mani sees it, when Dev doubts his wife's character, Ragini will sympathise with the other man.

Govinda - Hanuman

Valmiki's version: For devotion there's none like Hanuman, wrote the poet, and till date the bachelor-god remains a huge favourite among followers. He was the one who flew to Lanka to spot Sita in captivity, he was the one who carried the entire mountain while looking for the miraculous Sanjeevani herb to revive Ram and Lakshman in battle.

Mani's version: Govinda is called Sanjeevani Kumar in the film and his character is based on Hanuman. Sanjeevani is a forest guard who knows the region very well. He is a drunkard and therefore gets suspended all the time. Sanjeevani has great admiration for Dev but he also understands Beera and respects him, even though he does not agree with his unlawful ways.

Nikhil Dwivedi - Lakshman

Valmiki's version: The brothers were inseparable, and Lakshman accompanies Ram into the jungle. Hot-blooded, it is Lakshman who disfigures Ravana's sister Surpanakha when she takes a fancy to the handsome Rama, setting in motion Sita's abduction, the war, everything.

Mani's version: Nikhil Dwivedi's character is loosely based on Lakshmana. Younger brother to Dev Pratap, he too plays a cop, Laxmana Pratap.

Priyamani - Surpanakha

Valmiki's version:Surpanakhawas Ravana's sister who takes a fancy to Rama, whom she sights in the forest. She tries to entice him but Rama, celebrated for his commitment to Sita, rebuffs her. When she persists in her advances Lakshman steps in and chops off her nose, following which she goes crying to her brother Ravana.

Mani's version: Priyamani plays Beera Munda's sister Serena, a negative character in the film who is the cause of the entire drama.

Ajay Gehi - Vibhishana

Valmiki's version:Vibhishana is the younger brother of Ravana who, stricken by his conscience that his sibling has abducted a married woman, walks out just before war breaks out, when his calls for restoring Sita to her husband and avoid bloodshed are not heard. After the war Rama crowns Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.

Mani's version: Ajay Gehi plays Hari, Beera Munda's brother.

Ravi Kissen - Kumbhakaran

Valmiki's version: The mightyKumbhakaranis the younger brother of Ravana who, even though he doesn't agree with his brother's action in kidnapping Sita, goes to war on his behalf. Before he is felled, Kumbhakaran decimates Rama's army.

Mani's version: Ravi Kissen's character is called Siddharth, and is a trusted aide to Beera Munda.

LINK

Who's who in Mani Ratnam's Raavan

By now everyone knows that Mani Ratnam's film Raavan is loosely based on Valmiki's epic Ramayana.

We all also know that Abhishek Bachchan's character is loosely based on Ravana, but what about the others?

Does the film script follow the original? Read on as this could also be a good chance for you to brush up your knowledge of the classic.

Abhishek Bachchan -- Ravana

Valmiki's version: In popular perception Ravana maybe the villain in the epic -- after all, he does kidnap Ram's wife, has an epic battle with him in which Ram kills him -- but Ravana was also a great king of Lanka, a famous Shiv bhakt, a veena virtuoso, and was famed for his physical prowess -- he once tried to lift Mount Kailash with Lord Shiv seated on it. Ravana's wife, the beautiful Mandodari, was one of the virtuous women of the time. Valmiki's epic shows that all virtue comes to naught when you let your senses run amok -- as Ravana did on seeing Sita.

Mani's version: Abhishek Bachchan plays Beera Munda, loosely based on Ravana. Beera is a tribal leader who cares for the villagers, is the voice of the underdog, snatches power from the rich and gives it to the poor. He rules a small village in Madhya Pradesh called Lal Maati where the police has no powers, only Beera does. So when his life is disrupted by a brave police officer, Beera carries off his wife Ragini into the jungle.

Vikram Kenni - Rama

Valmiki's version:Venerated as the maryada purshottam, Rama today is a pan-south east Asian phenomenon. In Valmiki's epic, Rama was the dutiful elder son of King Dashrath who sacrifices his crown to keep his father's promise to his stepmother. Embodiment of all virtues, Ram marries Sita but is forced to spend the next 14 years in the jungle -- from where Sita is abducted by Ravana, which sets off a tragic chain of events.

Mani's version: Vikram Kenni plays the character of Dev Pratap Sharma, loosely based on Rama. Dev, a police officer, falls in love with Ragini and marries her. Soon after Dev gets transferred to Lal Maati village which is under Beera's control. Beera and his accomplices face a few setbacks thanks to Dev, and Beera abducts Dev's wife to teach him lesson.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Sita

Valmiki's version:Rama's wifeSita is kidnapped by Ravana from the forest before being rescued by her husband Rama following a bloody battle. After rescuing Sita, Rama asks her to prove her chastity by doing theagni pariksha, from which she emerges unscathed, and Rama accepts her.

Mani's version: Aishwarya Rai's character is called Ragini in the film and she is a dance teacher. Ragini gets abducted as her police officer husband makes local don Beera Munda's life miserable. She is taken into a forest and kept in captivity. As Mani sees it, when Dev doubts his wife's character, Ragini will sympathise with the other man.

Govinda - Hanuman

Valmiki's version: For devotion there's none like Hanuman, wrote the poet, and till date the bachelor-god remains a huge favourite among followers. He was the one who flew to Lanka to spot Sita in captivity, he was the one who carried the entire mountain while looking for the miraculous Sanjeevani herb to revive Ram and Lakshman in battle.

Mani's version: Govinda is called Sanjeevani Kumar in the film and his character is based on Hanuman. Sanjeevani is a forest guard who knows the region very well. He is a drunkard and therefore gets suspended all the time. Sanjeevani has great admiration for Dev but he also understands Beera and respects him, even though he does not agree with his unlawful ways.

Nikhil Dwivedi - Lakshman

Valmiki's version: The brothers were inseparable, and Lakshman accompanies Ram into the jungle. Hot-blooded, it is Lakshman who disfigures Ravana's sister Surpanakha when she takes a fancy to the handsome Rama, setting in motion Sita's abduction, the war, everything.

Mani's version: Nikhil Dwivedi's character is loosely based on Lakshmana. Younger brother to Dev Pratap, he too plays a cop, Laxmana Pratap.

Priyamani - Surpanakha

Valmiki's version:Surpanakhawas Ravana's sister who takes a fancy to Rama, whom she sights in the forest. She tries to entice him but Rama, celebrated for his commitment to Sita, rebuffs her. When she persists in her advances Lakshman steps in and chops off her nose, following which she goes crying to her brother Ravana.

Mani's version: Priyamani plays Beera Munda's sister Serena, a negative character in the film who is the cause of the entire drama.

Ajay Gehi - Vibhishana

Valmiki's version:Vibhishana is the younger brother of Ravana who, stricken by his conscience that his sibling has abducted a married woman, walks out just before war breaks out, when his calls for restoring Sita to her husband and avoid bloodshed are not heard. After the war Rama crowns Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.

Mani's version: Ajay Gehi plays Hari, Beera Munda's brother.

Ravi Kissen - Kumbhakaran

Valmiki's version: The mightyKumbhakaranis the younger brother of Ravana who, even though he doesn't agree with his brother's action in kidnapping Sita, goes to war on his behalf. Before he is felled, Kumbhakaran decimates Rama's army.

Mani's version: Ravi Kissen's character is called Siddharth, and is a trusted aide to Beera Munda.

LINK