The music of Karthik Calling Karthik

There are several reasons the music of the upcoming Farhan Akhtar-Deepika Padukone starrer Karthik Calling Karthik is very interesting to listen to.

The music of KCK is diverse. You'll hear all kinds of different but neighboring genres integrated to sound seamless - which comes from the composer's diverse influences.

Its emblematic of the new sound that so many new wave Bollywood directors desire - smart, urban, contemporary. It's not just enough to create hits anymore, composers have to deliver feel and popularity in a single package.

Charged with creating a trendy set of songs after a script hearing, composers Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy settled down for a bunch of jam sessions. A month later, they had this whip smart soundtrack.

KCK's flagship single is a song about a budding romance called Hey Ya! Unlike on Wake Up Sid where Clinton Cerejo's scratch vocals were retained on the massive hit Kya Karoon - this time Clinton's vocals were laid down for the final song. Hey Ya! is a frothy electropop track. Several times Clinton breaks out into a neo-soul alto, but only slightly so, keeping the song squarely in pop territory.

KK sings a ballad about a life transformed by love called Jaane Ye Kya Hua - a song that is allowed to breathe and develop amidst a meandering melody. Jaane starts like a power ballad, settles into an easy groove and gets its soul from a harmonica and KK's bravura singing.

Shankar Mahadevan opens the title track and hands it off to Suraj Jagan who sings it in low slung notes. KCK is a trippy, psychedelic song which gets its mojo from several deliciously conceived backup vocal bits by Suraj himself, Caralisa Montiero and Malika Singh.

Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale collaborate to deliver the instrumental Karthik 2.0. Tasked to compose the background music for the movie, Punditz and Kale realized they had a theme on their hands while scoring one of the scenes. Thus born spontaneously and added to the CD, K2.0 has speed metal guitars styled with electronica. It sounds terrific. Several times the Punditz will break the song down and incorporate KCK's signature phone dial tones into the music. There is some generic pacing with violins at the end, but its rousing and its absolutely forgiven given the other surprises on the track.

There are other interesting songs on KCK that you should explore. A more trademark SEL style - hindustani vocals over a dance beat - is put on high octane on Uff Teri Ada. SEL labored over this song the longest and paired Shankar Mahadevan with Loy's daughter Alyssa Mendonsa who makes a delicious debut. Kailash Kher does a stellar job on Kaisi Hai Yeh Udaasi which has a nifty melody driven by the interplay between a flute and guitar.

Click on any song in this post to listen. You can listen to all the songs in Saavn's widget below.



Ehsaan, Punditz, thanks for sharing your notes with me!

Mika + Himesh = Music Ka Maha Muqqabla

MkMM is threatening to become a full fledged entertainer after a somewhat slow start.

How is this happening? Primarily a few judges have aligned with the camp of the show, but more on that in a little bit.

The outpouring of nutty behavior from a few has been infectious. Almost everyone regularly has WTF moments and the show hums along nicely. Because it appears that everyone might have smoked a doobie before appearing on TV, I hereby will call this show Zoobie Doobie Taram Pum.

A few weeks ago, stung by his defeat in one of the frivolous contests that propel this show, Shaan came out in full Zoobie Doobie mode. Wearing a sleeveless white shirt and prancing about on stage with the energy of a dancer, he flexed his muscles. No, literally. Several times. Thus indicating that he sings with his biceps. Powered by this jordaar display, Shaan won the contest and has happily retained his table thumping enthusiasm since.

Himesh, we all know, is a reality show man for the ages. He has been in fine form - primarily because he senses Shreya Ghoshal's constant irritation at him. Not one episode goes by when the camera will not catch Shreya issuing a subtle eye roll at Himesh's antics. Once we saw Shreya holding her head during one of Himesh's terrific bhaashans.

Thus needled (it's NEVER Himesh's fault), Himesh has become a philosopher judge. "What should I judge" he asks constantly. "Performance? Singing? His singing? Your singing? Why? What? Whyfor?" So scared is he of being judged himself that he feels the need to explain, clarify and ask for permission before handing out scores. Often he'll also say "ROJI ROTI BARKAT!!" and make a tiny puri with his shaking fingers.

But the judge who has really ramped up the fun on MkMM has been Mika. A week or so ago, pitted against Mohit Chauhan (who we all thought would be a pushover), Mika decided to sing a song and serenade Priyanka Chopra who was wearing a short, smart bob and an even shorter and smarter skirt. Admirably Priyanka kept her modesty intact but Mika, inexplicably caught in the moment, starting sobbing like a baby. He couldn't finish the song, swore loudly, then apologized and slunk back to his seat - using his scarf to wipe his tears.

This moment of loopy vulnerability touched me. Later Mika emerged in the final medley portion of the competition to do his famous helicopter move - where he spins around and appears to be trying to torque his head off his shoulders.

Brilliantly enough this week both Mika and Himesh entered the fray as competitors. And predictably it resulted in MkMM's greatest episode yet.

This competition was close: Himesh's first entry - Vineet faltered badly. Toshi appeared for Mika's team and opened up a three point lead. Himesh's smile disappeared. Gloom and doom settled into The House of Reshammiya. But you can't keep a fierce competitor down and so Himesh threw little Aishwarya in the maidan in the second round. Aishwarya delivered a superlative performance - forcing Himesh to maro thumkas in the background and issue a number of sideways claps (first pioneered by Bappida for an entirely different reason: physical limitations).

The lead exchanged hands. Finally we all got to the home stretch where everyone from a team shows up on stage and sings a medley. Himesh ran out on stage and issued a bhaashan with fervor. He said a number of things that sounded passionate and important. I didn't understand any of it. Then he scampered off and returned in his long mothballed topi to sing one of his famous hits-in-a-row medleys. He sent the crowd in a frenzy - revealing that there are more rickshawallahs in Mumbai then one might be inclined to believe.

Galvanized by this dramebaazi Mika jumped up on stage and told the audience: "If you vote for me, I promise to sing Mauja Hi Mauja next time!" The competition had thus become a full fledged election with candidate promises. With this fell swoop, Mika elevated MkMM to TV greatness. He then delivered a mix of Punjabi songs so infectious that I sloshed my chai around everywhere.

Mika won the muqqabla and Himesh then delivered the first loser's speech I've seen on the show. It didn't matter - MkMM delivered entertainment in spades thanks to these two great reality competitors.

The rest of the judges - Mohit, Shreya and Shankar - try to keep up will you?

Bringing home Bollywood's most eligible bachelorettes: Another interview with TigerMaasi

I often have this recurring nightmare. In this nightmare, the Drift Memsaab is leaving me for Aamir Khan. "Don't do this!" I plead. "How can you leave me for that short pengdu man?!" The Memsaab smirks at me and says "Pengdu? When was the last time you updated this nightmare?"

But before she can take off, I usually snap awake. I grope around the bed to make sure aal izz well and go right back to sleep.

But just the other day - probably because I ate too much grease at Due's (to be fair there was some pizza in it), my nightmare kept going on! The Drift Memsaab was gone. I was debilitated with grief! Frantic in my nightmare, I decided to call on the best person who could help me - my aunt Tigermaasi, astrologer to the stars.

Here is how the conversation went.

Me: Maasi, sob! My wife just left me!
Tigermaasi: (slaps me on the head) You must have done something terrible to drive that sweet girl away!

Me: I didn't look like Aamir Khan.
Tigermaasi: That bites. How can I help my favorite nephew?

Me: I'm thinking of marrying some hot Bollywood actress to get back at her
Tigermaasi: Ah! Revenge, it's a dish best served with mutton. But its bad for you!!

Me: Because of the mutton?
Tigermaasi: No, because of the heartburn from revenge. But I'm bored and need entertainment. So let's do it!

Me: What do you think of Kareena Kapoor? Will she be good for me?
Tigermaasi: Brilliant complexion! Beautiful girl! And she's even put on some weight now so you don't have to worry about her slipping off the couch onto the floor after a drink. But I'd say no to her!

Me: Why Tigermaasi?
Tigermaasi: Well you know how you've always been freaked out by her sister Karishma because she looks like Randhir Kapoor in drag? Do you really want to be looking at that every Diwali?

Me: Good point! Who would be good for me you think?
Tigermaasi: Saif Ali Khan!

Me: Sorry maasi, but I don't swing that way and I'm not sure he does either.
Tigermaasi: Your loss. I guess I'll just have to hunt him down and ravish him without your help.

Me: Hey who is this conversation about!? Let's focus! Any other suggestions?
Tigermaasi: How about Aishwarya? She is my favorite - such a lovely girl!

Me: She's married. Besides she's too pretty for me.
Tigermaasi (smirks): Well have you seen a photo gallery of all her men? I'd say you're in with a chance!

Me: One in a million maybe!
Tigermaasi: Well, that's still a chance! Paak Dadaar Hormuzd, you always sucked at Math!

Me: How about Lara Dutta?
Tigermaasi: I thought you weren't into men!

Me: What?! Lara Dutta is a hot chick!
Tigermaasi: Could have fooled me.

Me: Whatever. What do you think of Vidya Balan?
Tigermaasi: She is so beautiful and looks like she can flip a roti. But if she doesn't stop dressing like an amaa, you'll have to explain to our nosy relatives why you married your teacher.

Me: That would be awkward. Ok, what about Priyanka Chopra then?
Tigermaasi: I love Priyanka! Such a great personality - that girl is always enjoying herself and has so much spunk. She'd fit right into the family. But she is too high maintenance for you!

Me: How so?
Tigermaasi: Look at the all the things she wears! You'd be broke in a year and then she'd go back to Shahid Kapoor...again.

Me: That would kill me! Katrina Kaif then?
Tigermaasi: Not unless you want to be beaten up silly!

Me: By Salman?
Tigermaasi: No by the family bodyguard Sohail!

Me: Ouch! Well you know I've always had a thing for Bipasha Basu.
Tigermaasi: Forget her, you know how Parsi men don't marry anyone darker than them.

Me: That is so not true! Would you rather I marry Preity Zinta then?
Tigermaasi: That woman broke my sweet boy Ness Wadia's heart. For that reason she is a pariah in the Parsi community! Cute dimples and all but you'll be an outcast at ALL Parsi functions and will have to stop going to them altogether!

Me: Wow, that sounds like a good deal!
Tigermaasi: You napphat chhokra! Can you really live with no more Patra ni Machhi? Or Sali Boti for that?

Me: Goodbye Preity then! Speaking of dimples, what do you think of Gul Panaag?
Tigermaasi: Huge dimples and even bigger...

Me: Maasi, STOP!!
Tigermaasi: Ok, I'm just trying to be thorough - these things matter to some men.

Me: Never mind. Should I just marry Celina Jaitley?
Tigermaasi: Dikra, I have to say this: WHAT THE HELL?!

Me: Why?
Tigermaasi: Didn't we teach you to marry a woman who is smarter than you?

Me: Celina is smart and compassionate. She volunteers for PETA!
Tigermaasi: So she is a VEGETARIAN! That's just sone pe suhaaga then! There'll be chaos if you bring her into the family!

Me: All I've left now is Deepika Padukone.
Tigermaasi: I have two words for you: RANBIR TATTOO! Avoid!

Me: Well can you just pull my kundli and make a prediction?
Tigermaasi: Sure! (Ruffles through her diary) You will have a lifelong relationship with whoever walks in through my door next.

Me: Whoa! Are you expecting company?
Tigermaasi: Yes, a hot Bollywood superstar wants to know which film to do next.

Me: Today might be my lucky day!

(The doorbell rings)
Tigermaasi: Get that for me, will you dikra?
Me: Sure!

Tigermaasi: Well who is it?
Me: *%#$! Its Aamir Khan!

I wake up.

My thanks to Joules for the idea for this post

How artist Kim Kyoungae poured her heart and memories into her new solo show

Kim Kyoungae was born and raised in South Korea. She's lived in Vadodara for the past 16 years where she creates her gorgeous, often foreboding, intense, surreal paintings. She's done six solo exhibitions since 2000.

A while ago, after a gap of five long years, Kim went back home with her daughter. She re-entered her past and relived her old memories. She noted the changes and made some new ones. Along the way, something eventful happened. She watched a documentary on the young Korean women taken as sex slaves to serve the Japanese Army during World War II.

Like many whose lives are touched by this issue Kim was consumed by sorrow. When she finally was able to make sense of it, she put together her thoughts in a collection of paintings. Those paintings are part of her seventh solo show Resonance which opens at the Hacienda Gallery in Mumbai on January 21.

I invited Kim to stop by the Drift and tell us about herself and her work.

AspisDrift.com: Kim, you did your B. FA in Oriental Arts in South Korea. You then came to Vadodara and did a Masters in Museology. Now you are a career artist. How did this long journey happen?

Kim: I chose to come to Baroda because initially I used to prepare documents for Santiniketan. I found that the environment there was what I wanted. But I felt I wanted to search for another institution. Baroda is very active and very dynamic. So it was nice.

When I studied Museology my interest was in the conservation and preservation of Indian paintings. I knew about these before coming to India and I was very fascinated. I also studied Chinese and Korean paintings when I studied Oriental Arts. There were a lot of similarities between the two.

I came to realize that the aesthetics of what I knew and what I could see were very different here. So I took the decision not to take any academic training in Art. So there is less influence of academics on my work. Because I chose an indirect learning process, I could articulate my artistic message my own way.

AspisDrift.com: Did you set out to be an artist or did that just happen?

Kim: Ha ha! I never thought I could be an artist. When I was in in the 10th standard I was involved in Art practice with a teacher. But I didn't push after school and didn't join Fine Arts. I took a break of three years. I traveled. I took a temporary job. I had a very different life. I traveled alone almost ten years from city to city.

I tried to find an isolate place to find myself and concentrate and focus on what I like to do.

A colleague suggested that I travel to India. India felt like an extension of Korea - I didn't think of it as a different, far away country. My impression of India was that it had so much more variety than Korea - variety of culture, people, colors.  Everything is different but it all exists equally in India.

AspisDrift.com: What has been the most difficult adjustment to make in India?

Kim: I still have problems with the reluctance to be able to affect one's own destiny. If there is an economic downturn for example, the belief that the self cannot impact it and its all part of destiny is something I have problems with. I also have issues with the religious and class divisions in India.

Indians are very warm and welcoming to foreigners. But its the division within India that disturbs me.

AspisDrift.com: Kim, I mean this as a compliment: some of your new paintings scare me to death! They are beautiful and foreboding. Where does this come from? Do you read scary novels or watch scary movies?

Kim: This is mostly because of the theme I've dealt with (the Korean Comfort Women of World War II).

This show is almost two years of my work. During the initial stages of creating these paintings, I was very depressed but I didn't realize it. Everybody around me used to notice that I was down and depressed but even when I realized this, I didn't know why. After a year into working towards my show - I was able to finally define the issue, control my emotions and paint them. I repainted several of my works at that point.

AspisDrift.com: Ok, let's talk about your working style. What is the process of painting like for you?

Kim: For me a painting is like a diary. There is movie I once watched in about a village where everyone goes to the trees. They put their mouth into the hollow of a tree and whisper into it. The villagers make a list of those trees that contain their thoughts. That is what my paintings feel like for me.

When I start on my paintings I write my idea down. Sometimes its one word, or one line or a haiku. I don't sketch out my idea because it dilutes the essence for me. I go straight to the painting. Earlier I used to paint one by one. Now I finish about 80% of a painting and leave it for some time. At this point I try to define it further. This process goes on in my head. So I attend to other paintings in the meantime. Then I finish the final work on the painting.

When I start its very abstracts - I paint the atmosphere. The form comes later. I listen to the paintings and I like to hear what it says instead of imposing my ideas.

AspisDrift.com: Kim, would you like to tell us about a couple of your paintings?

ALBATROSS: Ok, first let me talk about the painting I used for the invitation cards for my exhibition. It has a female figure with a big spiral on top. I was thinking of the victims of the sex slavery. These women were living outside their hometown and couldn't go back to their families. It's been almost 70 years since it happened. Society was much more conservative then. Recently even in India a girl was molested, couldn't bear to live with it and committed suicide. I visualized this type of horrified memory that the women carry as an albatross. I tried to imagine what the albatross might look like for the Korean women.

RESONANCE: My husband is an archeologist. I tried to imagine the excavation of a temporary site used to commit these atrocities by the Japanese Army. What could be under the earth? That was the initial thought. There is the image of a tree without any flowers. The tree might be dead - it even looks like a jackal. There is a traditional Korean blouse that can be seen on it. When archeologists find it - they would call it an 'artifact'. The women used in sex slavery were young so I used a colorful blouse.

Also:

• You can see more of Kim's earlier work here
• Kim blogs along with two of her talented colleagues from Vadodara on Theen Tamasha.
• Kim's artists' statement for her new show
• If you are interested in Kim's work, shoot an email to Jasmine Shah Varma

Oscars' big gamble: how it could work (or not)

The popularity of the Academy Awards (Oscars) is measured primarily through the ratings of its awards telecast. These numbers for the 80th Oscars in 2007 hit an all-time low with 32 million. Last year, Hugh Jackman's appearance pushed that up to 36.3 million. But the writing has been on the wall for the Academy - less people want to watch their show and by implication believe in the significance of the Oscars. Worse, ABC won't pay as much for broadcast rights if they can't get advertisers to cough up money because of the shrinking audience.

There are several reasons for this decline in viewers - and this year the Academy is tackling one of those reasons.

First, as the US increasingly becomes a celebrity obsessed culture - the Red Carpet telecasts attract a steadily growing audience. This is where you get to see who dressed up in what and who is draped on whose arm. Once this celeb-gazing is over, people are likely to switch off their TV because they are either too exhausted or they have had their fix of the stars already. The Academy actually embraced the red carpet a few years ago by selling VIP access to ABC and becoming part of the circus. If you can't beat them, you join them.

Second, there are just way too many awards shows in the US. Granted all of them lead up to the climactic Oscars, but the quantity dilutes the Academy Awards.

Lastly, the Academy tries to reward smaller, arty flicks (ostensibly because the box office has already rewarded the blockbusters). This results in the fact that the majority of Oscars' potential audience hasn't seen most of the nominated movies. Thus disenfranchised, they tend to stay away from the ceremony. (It's like expecting an Indian to watch a tri-series cricket final in which India doesn't feature).

Last year the Academy announced a bold new change to the way they go about looking for their Best Picture in a bid to change this last factor. Here is how it works.

The Academy now nominates TEN instead of five Best Pictures. The pool is now bigger. Because there are ten nominees and the Academy used employs a First Past the Post voting sytem, the FIRST nominee that scores 11% of the vote during counting would win. (It doesn't matter if some other movie gets to a majority later on - by then the game is over). This has also been changed but more on that later.

So how does this make the Oscars more accessible to viewers? There are two ways this is supposed to help.

By expanding the pool, the Academy is encouraging its voters to include popular flicks - movies that made money because they were exciting to watch and reached out to a large audience. Movies like 2012 are still not likely to be nominated in this category, but a widely watched groundbreaking flick like Avatar will likely make the grade. With just five slots, Avatar's nomination would have been unlikely (the Academy still gets brickbats for ignoring The Dark Knight in its nominations in 2008).

At the outset this strategy makes sense. The most widely watched Oscar telecast was in 1998 when a whopping 55 million viewers tuned in. The reason? The widespread nominations for history's most biggest grossing flick: Titanic. But there are some problems.

If blockbusters make their way into the big picture nominations but regularly lose to the smaller movies - as they always have, viewers will develop ennui and tune off once again. In this case the ten nominees strategy will have to be mothballed. A number of people are expecting this to happen. The wider nomination slots are an experiment at best - but because the Academy is willing to try and take risks, its something worth supporting while it runs.

Here is where the second variable introduced by the new change comes in. Because of the First Past the Post voting system used by the Academy in the past, a movie could win Best Picture simply because it got the MOST early votes. In other words, if it hit its winning post of 11% of the total Best Picture votes before any other film does, it would win. The Academy has sanely enough followed its widening of the pool with an instant run off system. Its a bit complicated but it makes this race unpredictable. Heck if most Academy voters don't understand how this works, how will the punters?

This element of risk is what the Academy is banking on when it comes to bigger pictures holding their own against smaller nominees. There is some criticism of this voting strategy because it is inherently unfair to a film that would end up with majority votes had all votes been counted. But as it stands, it has the potential to really carve up predictions and make the Oscars unpredictable more so than ever before.

If the unpredictability manages to favor a few films that mainstream audiences are interested in, then it stands to change the industry itself. The gloss of Oscar buzz that draws so many big names to do smaller films will lose a bit of its sheen. That changes movie making dynamics (although an analysis of that is too involved to include in this post).

I'm not overtly worried about this unpredictability favoring bigger films: there is no such thing as a 'small' film anymore. Most films that prioritize Art over Commerce (and not that the other way is diabolical or anything - after all bills have to paid) are big studio projects at best and vanity projects at worst. Sure a small film will make its way into the nominations once in a while - but the mounting costs of running Oscar campaigns puts small budget flicks at a distinct disadvantage.

So what are the possibilities here? There are four permutations of the following: (1) Ratings are up or (2) Ratings are indifferent or down and (a) Everyone is happy with the Best Picture selection or (b) There is a hue and cry over the Best Picture selection.

If you look at the percentages, the Academy loses in the short term only if ratings don't improve. In every other case, they can claim triumph or claim the high ground.

Sure there will be arguments over 'dilution' of the prestige - which in my opinion are hokey: there isn't much prestige in a circus act masquerading as an opera. I see the Academy Awards as meta entertainment. If you perceive it as anything but, you might be missing the point.

The making of Ishqiya's Dil To Bachcha Hai by the numbers

In this age of Youtube and what not - try as I will, its hard to listen to a song before watching its video first.

Take Ke$ha's Tik Tok (the first US Billboard #1 of the decade) for instance. Long after the insanely persistent tune left my head, the image of a trashed out party chhokri who gargled with Jack was so seared in my brain that it was hard not to break out into the song whenever I felt boredom (or the police) approaching. This took a while to get rid of. (I did however add the vaguely inappropriate term 'Blow my speakers up' from the song to my vocabulary.)

In a similar vein, I ended up discovering Ishqiya's flagship song Dil to Bachcha Hai via its 'making of' video. And this messed up my perspective completely.

It's easy to mistake this song as a simple melody. Its the production more than the melody that is simple. Composer Vishal Bhardwaj uses Hitesh Sonik and Clinton Cerejo as his producers and together they are able to use instruments sparingly without making the song sound sparse.

There are two things that give Dil to Bachcha Hai its lilting cuteness: (1) a waltz rhythm, minimal percussion and a peti and guitar as primary instruments that don't overrun each other (2) delicate vocals by Rahet Fateh Ali Khan.

I review music a lot on the Drift so I decided to do something different. I watched the 'Making of...' video instead and made some important notes.



Number of times someone says 'bachcha': 13

Number of times Naseer explains the role of a song in a film: 1

Number of times Naseer clears his throat while doing that: 2

Number of come hither looks thrown by Vidya Balan: 8

Number of dopey looks thrown by Naseer: 1

Number of times Naseer's age in the film is referred to: 3

Number of references to lyricist Gulzar's age: 1

Amount of enthu Naseer has for the interview = Amount of enthu KJo has for RGV

The different ages that love reduces you to a bachcha according to Vidya Balan: 15, 50 and 80

Times composer Vishal instructs singer Rahat on how to pronounce 'Safed': 1

How Rahat pronounces 'Safed': Soofayd

Number of cheeky looks thrown by Rahet at Vishal immediately after doing this: 1

Number of people who think this is Vishal Bhardwaj's best work: 2

Number of shots of Drift favorite Hitesh Sonik: 4

Number of stills of Gulzar shown in montage: 6

Number of stills in which Gulzar's mouth is agape: 3

Number of times third lead Arshad Warsi shows up: 0

You can listen to the songs of Ishqiya on Saavn here. Be sure to catch Rekha Bhardwaj's super nasheeli jazz ghazal Ab Mujhe Koi.

Auntylove: The magic of Vidya Balan

A long time ago when I was young I used to note with amusement that while we would chase young women our age, we would be endlessly fascinated by the ripe beauty of the aunties around us. Just about all the young boys in my circle shared this trait - they would crank their heads to take a closer look at PYTs but they would stand and stare at the neighborhood aunties.

It's happened several times: I would be playing cricket with my friends and would end up hitting the ball on a nearby terrace. This would result in a clandestine mission to retrieve the ball. On the way back I would chance on a window framing the gorgeous wife of some unkil brushing her hair in front of the mirror. And I would stop and stare. It would only be the imminent danger of my teammates' yells threatening to reveal my stakeout that would get me to climb down. (Yes, I'll admit I should have been locked up).

Years later when trying to demystify the appeal of the gorgeous but staid Vidya Balan, these memories came in handy. Despite having a fashion sense under development, no snappy ability to provide sound bites to the press, a clunky inability to carry off western dresses, virtually no appeal in the 'youth segment', Vidya Balan is putting together a career that is the envy of scores of Bollywood actresses.

Why is Vidya Balan the Shabana Azmi of the new millennium?

Several reasons, but primary among them is the fact that she IS the aunty that the boys all desire. (If Ms. Balan ever read this post she'd be offended. And I would turn around and say: why what an ageist attitude. What is wrong with hot aunties anyway? But I digress.)

Vidya is in a unique niche: the dusky, Indian actress who can provide glamor and bring acting chops to a role. There aren't many such roles to go around. Which is why one actor's lunch in this segment is another's poison. By dominating her segment with hits (Lage Raho Munnabhai, Guru, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa) and strong performances (Parineeta, Paa) Vidya has put Gracy Singh out of business and pushed Tabu to the back burner.

Coupled with that is her ability to bring a sly sparkly eyed seductiveness while playing seemingly strait-laced women. She seems inviting even when she's wrapped head to toe in some dress that looks like a blanket. She constantly seems to be telling us that she isn't exactly quite what she is playing.

But because she remains a niche player (her modern make over in Kismat Konnection yielded mixed results), there is work to be done.

First, there is her look. Vidya comes across as way too mature on screen - making male actors her age look like her kid brothers. To be fair, this is the bane of all young actresses. Forced to take up roles with big (read: over 40) stars to establish themselves, they style themselves so maturely that when its time to act opposite actors their age, they tend to look way older. (see: Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Katrina Kaif). But the problem affects Vidya deeply because she can't pull off a skirt or a swimsuit with the same panache as some of her competition.

Then there is that seductive, serious, ethnic chick image. The fact of the matter is that Vidya - because of her body type - will always look better in a sari than a cat suit.

Finally there is the matter of chemistry. Vidya's chemistry with her actors is choppy - with some it crackles, with others its distinctly thandaa. In other words, she needs the roles AND the right lead to make her mark.

For an actor who has built up such a beach head of hits, Vidya seems to have no built-in audience at all. There are a small minority of people who will go see a movie because it has Vidya in it. In this sense, she remains one of the most underrated talents in Bollywood.

So how does Vidya overcome these limitations and become a top tier actress instead of just an A-list one? If I knew the answer would I be wasting my time writing this blog? No. But I'll definitely be watching this particular career with interest.

How to get over heartbreak: a guest post by Mind Rush

The Drift's Love Chakker guru Mind Rush returns with sage advice for the heart-broken beauties of Bollywood.

Heartbreak is in the air in Bollytown.

A pretty actress / model / athlete unceremoniously dumped by her towel-dancing boyfriend...

A recently-svelte actress being dragged along for a decade by her ho-hum BF without a ring or proposal or mandap in sight...

A cricket loving, dimples-n-cream complexioned heroine is suddenly all alone...

Yeah, heartbreak sucks! Mind Rush’s advice to these lonely beauties: REVENGE, NOT KLEENEX!

Revenge is sweet! Revenge is empowering! But what to do? It is a known fact that in the film industry power resides in relationships i.e. 'camps'. And these camps are headed by the not-so-fairer-sex. So what’s a dumped beauty to do?

Recent news reports got Mind Rush thinking…If men make more money, hold more power, they also get in more trouble. I have three words for the ladies: NO FLY LIST!

The United States has lowered it’s bar for inclusion on the No Fly List. So, here’s the scene: A girlfriend is dumped by a commitment phobic boyfriend. A devoted mom of two finds out that her husband has a mistress (or fifteen). A film-walla is trading his 30-something wife for a younger model.

No more tears! Ladies, dial the authorities. Share some (semi-fake) dirt. Voila, it’s done! Ex gets dumped by TSA and is grounded for life!

Three cheers for the No Fly List!

The music of Pyaar Impossible

Its official! Priyanka Chopra is the patron saint of female singers in Bollywood.

While women vocalists struggle to find more than one decent song to sing in most movies, Priyanka's movies (the ones we talked about not so long ago) offer opportunities galore.

Of the five cuts on the soundtrack (composed by Salim-Sulaiman) for the terrifically cheesy looking new release Pyaar Impossible, women feature on all of five and headline four. PI's music is pure pop (there is one exception - but more on that later) and its squarely in what could be perceived as teen pop territory (the non-angst kind). But phirangi teen pop has grown up and become more complex in the last few years and so PI ends up sounding more Disneyfied than it probably wants to.

This is not to say it's not fun to listen to. For one, I was thrilled to hear Anushka Manchanda's turn in Alisha. She's a great voice for Priyanka Chopra and she not only makes this song her own but shows flashes of why she is a standout talent on the Bollywood scene. Alisha is full of catchy programming like a slapped bass line, short guitar riffs and a clap percussion - and this is useful because its is one LONG song (5m) but doesn't feel like one.

The standout song for me - and the one that breaks with the pure pop theme - is Benny Dayal and Neha Bhasin's You and Me. Set to a funk rhythm and embellished with nifty horns and spanish guitar licks - You and Me is a song about one-way love and has some deft lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan (who also wrote all the other lyrics).

There are four more tracks on the CD - all programmed by Clinton Cerejo - and vocalized by talent you won't find on most other filmi CDs. Dominique Cerejo (a big favorite of mine) sings a sexy duet with Vishal Dadlani (Pyaar Impossible), Mahua Kamath collaborates with her ex-Viva bandmate Anushka and Naresh Kamath on the entirely too flouncy 10 on 10 and Rishika Sawant sings Ek Thi Ladki, which has the catchiest pre-chorus you can hope you to hear on a pop song.

Pyaar Impossible opens on January 8.
Click on any linked song name to listen


You can listen to the music of Pyaar Impossible on Smashits
The official Pyaar Impossible website
The breakout success of Anushka Manchanda in 2009

Music Ka Maha Muqqabla: First Look

Right off the bat you know that Music Ka Maha Muqqabla is special. Why?

For one, the last word has 'Q' in it twice - which is a deft indicator by the show's creator (Gajendra Singh) that this is entertainment by excess. True to his word Gajju delivers way too much singing (and not enough jhagdas if you ask me) and the same ghisa pita format over and over again.

Second, its got my gujju brother Himesh Reshammiya in it. But more on that later.

MKMM features six teams led by known music industry maharathis - Himesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Mika and Mohit Chauhan (and this is totally in order of popularity lest someone think I'm trying to be diplomatic and all). These teams are pitted against each other two at a time. The remaining four team captains act as judges and give points for each 'round'. The audience also weighs in: you get to see the Aunty Brigade pounce on their voting meters after every performance.



The show is replete with some really good singers: Raja Hasan, Vineet, Aabhaas, Rahul Vaidya, Himani Kapoor, Aneek Dhar. Some have gone on to build miniscule playback careers, others have hosted TV shows. One even has his own composing gig. All of them do shows like mad. Raja Hasan still does his 'achhaa insaan' bit but has it under control. Aneek still improvises (his re imagining of Love Aaj Kal's 'Twist' as 'Tweest' was revelatory). Himani retains her terrific voice.

Let's indulge ourselves in one of the Drift's favorite activities: smugly judging the judges. Instead of scores I'll give out grades.

Himesh Reshammiya

Grade: Himesh is beyond grades. In fact grades give chandaa to Himesh.

Usually our man is hyper-competitive and a magnet for fights. Sadly for us, Himesh has leashed his motor mouth - thus leaving only the hyper-competitive part behind. Fortunately, this is still enough to keep us entertained.

Once Shankar and Himesh had a 'match'. Shankar pulled strategy after strategy (this basically means he chose singers to perform for his team that surprised many). Himesh's smile disappeared from his face and he started looking worried. In the match finale, he pulled out all stops and did a desh bhakti medley. Hoping to impress the audience with nationalist fervor, he plastered an expression of radiant love (think Arun Govil in Ramayana) and sang loudly. He ended with tears in his eyes and blurted out "JAI MATADI JAI HINDUSTAN!!!". Wah Himesh - if you acted this well in your last two movies, your career wouldn't be in the can.

Himesh lost that match.

Shankar Mahadevan

Grade: B

Shankar is full of smiles and 'positive energy' in this show. He is the good Samaritan of the show - the voice of reason. This could become gagworthy but Shankar somehow pulls it off. He eschews jhagdas and entertains himself by saying all kinds of good things about Himesh.

Unfortunately on the show he once sang that clunker Maa - possibly the most annoying song of the decade if A. R. Rahman hadn't come up with Balooo. This unforgivable mistake affects Shankar's grade.

Shreya Ghoshal

Grade: A

I dig Shreya's presence on the show. She always sounds great and is a pretty good team captain as well. Its also much fun to watch her struggle not to roll her eyes whenever Himesh or Mika is up to no good. However, she takes this show entirely too seriously.

Shaan

Grade: B

A regular customer at singing competitions on TV, Shaan once got into a jhagda with Mika. Against all odds, he escaped unscathed from this attempted suicide and later managed to even patch up with Mika and establish decorum on the judges panel.

Often Shaan will enjoy a performance enthusiastically with his trademark smile - the one in which his eyes disappear. At other times he'll communicate his displeasure at a singer's performance by staring straight ahead but with his mouth hanging open like a goldfish. Either way, he's entirely too safe for a show like this.

Mika Singh

Grade: A+

Mika is a bit like Jack Black's character in Year One: he thinks he's totally jhakaas and no one else's opinion matters. Periodically Mika will interrupt proceedings and tell a chick how beautiful she is. He once gave way too many points to Neekita Nigam after a disastrous performance just because she looked cute. Another time he resolved an ill-concieved dispute between Sharib Sabri and Mohit Chauhan by jumping on stage and delivering a kick-ass performance while humping the audience.

Mohit Chauhan

Grade: C

Mohit appears on stage usually wearing a stubble and a fuddy duddy cap. He looks more like a golf caddy than the rock star he is. He is terribly quiet - most of his attempts at jokes fell flat both times. His steering of his team is like his judging - staid and his team suffers for it. Also, he's entirely too serious. Someone tune this man into the camp of this show, stat!

Star Plus

Grade: F

Once upon a time long ago, a show would be taped and the tapes would be aired. Then if the show needed to be telecast in another country, the tapes would have to be sent to the other TV station - by boat and later by plane. This would cause delays of up to a month before the show would be telecast in another country.

But Star Plus has incorporated cutting edge Internet technology into its process. Using the best the world has to offer, they've cut this delay down to only ONE WEEK! US viewers get to watch stale week old episodes. Thanks, Star Plus!

Prarthna Singh's pictures tell a story: Here's eight of her best

Prarthna Singh photographs people with a unique sense of visual style. The people in her pictures seem to jump out at you and tell a story. Those stories seem to be playful, fluffy, fierce, funny, romantic, melancholy - in other words they are a lot like a Bollywood film. (I'm only partly joking.)

Prarthna works out of Mumbai and does 'random creatively challenging work' - freelance, editorial work and catalogs, designer looks, books and album covers. (I discovered Prarthna's work entirely by accident when I recognized a photograph of someone I knew while browsing Flickr)

I thought it would be cool to invite Prarthna to the Drift and have her tell us a little about her art and craft and do a show and tell of some of her best work.

Here is her story.

How it all began

I started taking pictures about six years ago, while I was studying at a liberal arts college in Florida. Two years into my course I realized I wanted to go to art school. I applied to The Rhode Island School of Design, got in and spent the next three years learning everything about film developing, scanners, lighting, camera formats and the general happiness of being surrounded by artists.

The making of a career

I then graduated out of that blissful bubble to the real world, which for me meant the move to New York. Here I got really lucky and was able to assist one of the finest and most sophisticated fashion photographers: Nathaniel Goldberg.

My days in NY were a struggle. I did all sorts of random jobs before I finally made the decision to move back to Delhi two years ago. I was willing to assist again but I only wanted to work with someone whose work I really admired. I was lucky to have Bharat Sikka let me assist him and help him put together his first major show in India. All of this time was the best learning experience for me.

For the past year I have been working as a freelance photographer in Bombay. I've done editorial work with Elle, Vogue, Grazia and Marie Claire. I've done Look Books, Catalogs, Album Art and anything that is creatively stimulating.

Where the inspiration comes from

There are a few photographers that I highly admire: Alec Soth, Bharat Sikka, Stephen Shore, August Sandler, Richard Misrach, Katy Grannan, Tim Walker, Pushpamala, Ryan McGinley.

I am a devoted sartorialist.

I'm also a huge magazine and photo blog junkie. I can spend days in the magazine section of a bookstore: AnOther, I.D.,Wallpaper, W, Fashion Magazine, V, European Vogues, Tank, Ten, Dazed and Confused, Foam...the list goes on.

What's the money like

Money is definitely not my top priority. It's important but I don't make it the deciding factor in the jobs I choose to do. In fact some of my best work has been with friends, collaborating on projects after waking up, throwing some clothes in a bag and deciding to do some photos - running in the fields, jumping, hanging.

I think what I enjoy most is the spontaneity of the medium. That 'let's do a picture' moment is what makes it all worthwhile.

Where is the money at

Editorial work does not pay as highly as Advertising does. Advertising and Bollywood are definitely where the money is at. Being new in the industry is tough, these are not the most easy fields to crack, especially since people in India are not ready to take too many risks. But hopefully things are changing for the better.

This is a Bollywood blog that hearts Abhay Deol and I've lensed Abhay

Abhay's shoot was quite spur of the moment. He's a friend so the atmosphere was pretty relaxed. I think it was a Sunday afternoon spent drinking beer, shooting, exchanging music and generally discussing the world around us.

For one he has a serious collection of awesome indie music so that's how I got paid for the pictures! But ya, he's really fun to be around, full of stories and again I admire him as an actor and the choices he's made with the films he's chosen to do so.

That's always a plus - working with people whose work you love, which in turn inspires you.

The people I'd like to lens...but haven't gotten to yet

One person I'd love to shoot with is Leonard Cohen and have him sing for me in return, all through the shoot or Jim Morrison or the Beatles when they were together... Adrian Brody, Johhny Depp. And being on a Wes Anderson set would be nice too.

The instruments of my passion

I just recently got the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II (super delicious camera). For lighting I use my Quantum flash, Metz flash or Broncolor lights. While shooting film I use a 4x5 film camera and Canon Powershot for my everyday documentation.

I'm a Canon promoter all the way. Their cameras definitely have an edge over the others and they make beautiful lenses. Also I love my Polaroid but sadly they stopped making film, so I'm saving every last one!

Show and Tell

1. This picture is of a budding actor and friend: Arjun Mathur - a wonderful young talent to watch out for. He did a brilliant film called Barah Anna and was also in Luck by Chance. He needed some photographs for a particular role he was auditioning for, hence the scar. (Make up: Natasha Nishcol @ fat mu)



2.I recently shot Gaurav Kapoor the funny funky VJ and actor. Whenever I shoot TV personalities or celebrities I'm cautious not go over the top when it comes to hair, make up, styling and lighting. I'm a minimalist at heart. Less is definitely more.



3.The picture of the red car and the girl in the green jacket have been shot in my neighbourhood, in Bombay. They are a part of an on going series of images that involve me investigating and documenting the environment I live in as a way of understanding myself better.



4.The girl in the picture is my one of closest and oldest friends who has to bear with my bizarre artistic moments. On one of our photo adventures we once visited Santa Cruz Police Station at 7 am. Yes, long story.



5.This image above is of a friend who is also one of India's leading models. We do a lot of random non-commercial work together for the love of art. She is playful, has wonderful energy and photographs like a dream.



6.An old friend had returned after months of traveling, with many stories to tell. We spent a day catching up and doing what we do best. This was a sun drenched memory from that afternoon.



7.This, of course, is Abhay Deol. (Hair by Susheel @ Mad O Wat)



8.This last image is also a friend and aspiring actor. We were shooting in and around Bandra when we stumbled upon this beautiful, bloody slaughter house. (Styled by Saurabh Diwedi)

Also:
Prarthna's work on Flickr
Prarthna on Twitter

Please don't use Prarthna's work without her prior permission. My stuff you can copy - you know the deal.