Posts Tagged ‘arth’
SUBHASH K JHA Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; November 30, 2009)
Bhatt, who was chosen to produce and direct the film because of his close cultural links with Pakistan, and after making Awarapan in the neighbouring nation, said, “Zardari stepped in to say we must not make the film until we get their nod. We’ve stepped back for now.” However, preparations continue quietly. Shabana, who bears a cultural and physical resemblance to Benazir, and who is working with Bhatt for the first time since Arth, added, “I’d love to do the part. But the project is at a very nascent stage.”
New ailments to spice up BO
Posted on: October 19, 2009
Meenakshi Sinha | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 18, 2009)
New Delhi: The destitute poet dying of cancer, the coughing mother suffering from tuberculosis — over the decades, Hindi films have often used diseases to create engrossing drama. Now, with changing times, a fresh bunch of ailments, disorders and conditions are afflicting the protagonists: dyslexia, dextrocardia, progeria, and short-term memory loss.
‘Pa’, a forthcoming Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan-starrer, deals with progeria, a condition where a person ages five to six times faster than the average individual. Director R Balakrishnan was toying with the idea of casting the father-son duo in a role reversal. “The film’s story fructified when a doctor gave me the details of the condition,” he says.
The recent shift in the nature of diseases of protagonists partly stems from the fact that tuberculosis is no longer life threatening. Cancer remains a major killer but timely discovery offers a possibility of cure. The new ailments provide a certain topicality and give the story a modern feel.
Characters with special ailments gathered focus when Hrithik Roshan played a “developmentally disabled” youth in ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ (2003). A slew of films highlighting such conditions have followed since: Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007) created huge awareness about dyslexia, a condition where a person has difficulty in reading and writing. Also, Amitabh Bachchan and Kajol brought Alzheimer’s disease in to the limelight in ‘Black’ (2005) and ‘U, Me Aur Hum’ (2008) respectively. Karan Johar’s forthcoming film, ‘My Name is Khan’, turns its attention to autism. Aamir Khan suffers from short-term memory loss in the action blockbuster, ‘Ghajini’. The disease plays an important part in the movie’s plot. More recently in ‘Luck’ (2009), Imran Khan had dextrocardia, a rare medical condition of a person born with his heart on the right.
Irregular ailments have always been an integral part of Hindi films. Mental sickness formed a vital part in movies such as ‘Raat Aur Din’ (1967, where the heroine had multiple personality disorder, and ‘Arth’ (1982), where the heroine was schizophrenic.
Film trade expert Taran Adarsh says earlier films seldom discussed diseases in detail. “But now, with growing awareness, scripts often explains the ailments or mental conditions in detail. The audience also accepts reality more easily today. Hence you have films like ‘Pa’ and ‘My Name is Khan’,” says Adarsh. But, as Amol Gupte, who wrote the story and screenplay of TZP, points out, barely 2% of Hindi cinema looks at special medical conditions.
Changing Script
->Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’ created huge awareness about dyslexia, a condition in which a person has difficulty in reading and writing
->Amitabh-Abhishek starrer ‘Pa’ deals with progeria in which where a person ages 5-6 times faster than normal
->Karan Johar’s forthcoming film, ‘My Name is Khan’, starring Shah Rukh Khan, turns its attention to autism
->In ‘Luck’, Imran Khan had dextrocardia, a medical condition in which a person is born with the heart on the right
->The trend started with Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Koi Mil Gaya’
Fenil and Bollywood 