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Monday 10 December 2012
quoterie Making an impact Continued from Page 17 The television and radio personality was approached by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation for the show — which airs on Radio Indigo- wanting to act as a platform for the people who are working towards a better Bengaluru. “I was on the jury for the Namma Bengaluru Award last year, to the pick heroes of the city. Some other people on the jury were actor Ramesh Aravind, Ramya, Pradeep Kar, Sudarshan Ballal. Sometime back, I was approached to host an eight-episode show that would be about inspiring Bengalureans,” she starts off, “It features inspiring people, who by virtue of their own work are changing the city for the better. The format of a talk show is new to radio. I was an RJ till 2008, but in my earlier outings, it was more a music led role. This one is an exclusive talk show, in a nonmusic format.” The show has been enriching experience for Vasanthi, and this is amply evident in the way she talks about some of the change-makers featured. “There is this girl called Megha Harish who does self-esteem workshops for slum children, and then there is Monika who is a campaigner for the rights of Northeast Indians in Bengaluru — she was someone people could reach out to when the whole unrest happened some months back,” she says, adding, “But one of my favouritest (sic) is Madhurao Sambargi, the head constable at Ulsoor, who I featured last week. He did his job so well in terms of regulating traffic, streamlining buses, making things easier for pedestrians, helping pregnant women cross the street, that even in his limited role he was able to make a difference. Regular commuters saw the work he does Animal welfare activist Alpana and have built a Bhartia was one of those Facebook page for featured in the show him. He doesn’t even have an Internet account!” So, the big comeback to radio…how does it feel? She chuckles, “This sounds a bit pompous, but it is somewhat like what film actors say about retuning to acting. ‘Did I ever go to make a comeback?!’ I feel each medium has its own dharma. It has been a self-questioning time for me. Radio is the medium of the young, and I need to take the role very responsibly.” Of her other roles, she lists, “As we speak, I am anchoring and moderating sessions at the Bangalore Literature Festival. I am an independent writer, and also get approached to give training on how to face the media. Last week, for a particular company, I was training scientists on how they can communicate on their innovations and products.” As for hobbies, Vasanthi loves music and sings. “I enjoy Carnatic music as much as movie songs, and quite love the influence of music in my life,” she gushes.
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Bengaluru Chronicle
Sequels are not always a hit Though filmmakers like to bask in the success of a blockbuster, it’s a tough task to repeat the success in a sequel PRIYANKA BHADANI DECCAN CHRONICLE
Usually it is difficult to pick up from where you left off, and these days even filmmakers who initiate a sequel think the same. It’s difficult for them to take a successful story forward in a sequel. Salman Khan, whose Dabangg was a blockbuster, recently commented that making Dabangg 2 wasn’t easy. According to Salman, planning a sequel is difficult as one cannot do something very similar to the previous film and one can’t do something very different too. “There has to be a mix,” he said in a recent interview. Filmmakers feel that finding a new story for a sequel and giving it a new twist is difficult. Rahul Mittra, the producer of Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster, says that it’s a daunting task to start a sequel. “With Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster, we already had a germ of the sequel in the end, keeping the audiences guessing and eager for more. But it’s difficult to take it forward, as
Salman Khan in a still from Dabangg 2
ILEANA SHINES IN MOROCCO Ileana in a D&G gown at the film fest
The actor dazzled in a Ileana D'Cruz was seen with fellow beautiful actor Priyanka Chopra and director Anurag Basu at the 12th Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday sari and a night. She was spotted in two different outfits. For the screenflooring she wore a hip sari and, later on, changed into a floor length, fitted purple lace, strapless, Dolce & Gabbana length evening gown. Though her co-stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra gown at are bigger names in Bollywood, Ileana has not let their fame overshadow her. the film Despite Ileana having plenty of big hits in Tollywood to her credit, none of them have gotten her the kind of nationfest al and now international recognition, like a small part in DC CORRESPONDENT
a Bollywood film did. This is the reason why actors like Rana, Ram Charan Tej, Tamanna, Kajal and many more are working towards building a career in the Hindi film industry. A small role in a good Bollywood film gives them more national recognition than a super hit South film.
Ileana and Priyanka Chopra arrive at the screening of Barfi!
we have to start the story from where it ended in the previous part. Hence, staying in the same world, we have aimed to cater to a loyal audience that loved the first part, by giving them more in the lives of Saheb and Biwi,” says Mittra. Continuity has to blend with a gripping plot, something that makes a sequel worthwhile and profitable. Filmmakers agree that while planning a sequel, content and performances have to be in sync with the previous part. Umesh Shukla, whose Oh My God was a big hit, is keen to do a sequel, but he is clear that he doesn’t want to get typecast. “I would do a sequel only when I am confident of the plot for the sequel,” he says. Sujoy Ghosh, who is planning a sequel to his critically acclaimed suspense drama Kahaani, says that it takes a lot to make a hit sequel. “It’s just not an idea that you have It is difficult to take to develop into a story. A lot needs to be thought about, sequels forward, as as you have created a cerwe have to start the tain standard with the first installment,” he says story from where it “Plus, you’ve to be careended in the ful if you want to create a franchise or a sequel. Films previous part like Golmaal and Housefull have become franchisees RAHUL MITTRA, now. To create sequels, you PRODUCER have to take into account and maintain the emotional bond that the audience have created with the characters in the film,” adds Ghosh.
Lensman Raghu Rai will be holding his exhibition here from December 14
Wheat thrashing, Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi, 1966
Stark, black & white images! AYSWARYA MURTHY DECCAN CHRONICLE
Neither Raghu Rai nor his iconic pictures need any introduction. Ever since he picked up his first camera in 1965 (“A small Agfa Super Siletta with a fixed lens,” he remembers), he has been a huge force in Indian photojournalism. While doing time in a 10-5 job as a civil engineer at his father’s behest, Raghu Rai picked up his brother’s camera one day and started shooting for the sheer fun of it. But fun turned into passion quickly and the genius of his talent was validated very early on, when his first picture Baby Donkey was printed in the London Times. “That was quite a beginning for any photographer and it became easy for me to quit my engineering job,” he says. The celebrated photographer will be in the city for the opening of an exhibition of his photographs, titled Divine Moments. “It is going to be a small retrospective of about 35 Black and White pictures,” he explains. In his lifelong quest to capture on camera “the energy and essence of all things” he sees, he has recorded some stunning and poignant images that have come to define their eras. But whether they are bound for the newsroom or gallery, Rai says his approach to both is the same. “There is always the problem of space - it’s limited. So unless you capture the essence of what you are seeing within the four corners of your viewfinder, irrespective of whether you are doing this for yourself or someone, the photo doesn’t survive. It can’t sustain,” he says. One can’t help but ask him about the picture that become the defining image of the Bhopal gas tragedy - the burial of the baby - and whether he knew then what that picture would come to mean but he brushes off the question. “I am almost 70 now and I have never indulged in nostalgic nonsense. I lookout for the moments and live in totality. I was just doing my job in Bhopal - trying to capture the real story. Of course,
Raghu Rai
one is fairly aware of what you have just witnessed and what it may mean to people,” he says. So how does he know when he has clicked something special? “This, like any other creative process, is highly subjective. But if you have the ability and discipline to connect with every inch of space that you are photographing, you’ll just know,” he says enigmatically, “At the end of the day, it’s an instinct. If your image can convey the same strength and intensity to another person as it did you to at that moment, then it’s worth holding on to.” According to him, photography can’t be replaced with or compared to any other art form. “A photograph always captures reality, the truth of a situation. Its purpose is very different from say a painting or a piece of writing. You can’t alter it, you can’t rewrite it and it’s far more intense and meaningful.” Mother consoling a child, 1970