Natural nostrums

Are herbal beauty products completely free from harmful side effects? Not always, says Devlina Ganguly

Nabanita Dey, who works for a private bank in Calcutta, had sleepless nights over her skin problems. Dey was suffering from severe acne — a skin condition that occurs owing to the overproduction of oil by the sebaceous glands. So she went to a beauty parlour for a facial and the beautician advised her to use an anti-acne gel. The gel, containing cinnamon extracts, is manufactured by a Mumbai-based company that uses natural ingredients for its skin and hair care products. But Dey was in for a shock. “The very next day my face was covered with rashes. I had to go to a dermatologist as my face had become red and there was severe itching. I have very sensitive skin but nowhere does the product label warn people with such skin to do a patch test before using the product.” The 15ml tube of anti-acne gel cost Dey Rs 200 as well as a trip to the doctor and additional skin problems. Natural beauty products may be all the rage today because they are perceived to be without the so-called harmful effects of chemical ingredients in other cosmetics. But can one be always sure that herbal cosmetics will guarantee tender loving care for your skin or hair? Says Dr Sachin Verma, consultant dermatologist, Apollo Gleneagles, Calcutta, “‘Herbal’ basically means natural products which are derived from plants. However, the problem is that there is no standardisation of what you call herbal. Though many products may claim to be ‘herbal’, they may in fact contain other chemical substances.” He further adds that since there is no regulation that forces manufacturers to disclose all the ingredients on the label of a product, one cannot really be sure as to what goes into making it. Of course, personal care products with natural ingredients have been doing very well for many years. Says Vikas Mittal, executive vice-president, personal care, Dabur India Ltd, “Our Vatika shampoo has been the fastest growing shampoo brand for the last four years. Dabur Gulabari, a skin tonic that contains pure rose extracts, has shown 30 per cent growth in the last three quarters of the current financial year. And Dabur Amla Hair Oil is the highest selling hair oil in the country today with annual sales exceeding Rs 400 crore.” Advocates of herbal skin care believe that any natural substance is more effective than its synthetic counterpart and that non-herbal cosmetics have harmful effects if used over a long period of time. Says herbal cosmetics queen Shahnaz Husain, “Natural ingredients and plant products have a long history of safe usage. They are free from harmful after effects. Chemical and synthetic ingredients, on the other hand, can cause allergic after effects or irritation and even a toxic build-up in the system over a period of time.” Agrees Jawed Habib, a well-known hair expert who also manufactures herbal skin and haircare products, “There is a big demand for herbal products in India as they are pure, natural and have no side effects. Besides, since they use a non-chemical base, the possibility of getting an allergy does not arise.” However, medical experts tend to disagree with this view. Says Verma, “Whether a substance is derived from a natural source or is manufactured in a laboratory, it may contain contaminants or irritants. In general, harmful substances are more likely in chemical products, but they can be present in natural substances as well. Thus the usage of natural products only reduces the risk of toxic substances — it does not eliminate it.” In fact, dermatologists often deal with patients who have severe allergic reactions to perfectly organic, non-carcinogenic products such as tea tree oil, geraniol, ylang-ylang and sandalwood oils. Verma cautions, “There are many natural substances in lotions and creams that can cause contact dermatitis (an itchy red rash) in people with sensitive skin. Natural does not necessarily mean that you won’t experience a reaction from using it.” He also points out that a common side effect of herbal cosmetics is photosensitivity. “Most of these products contain plant extracts that have sunlight absorbing properties owing to the presence of chlorophyll. This plant extract will absorb the light and give the energy back to the skin, resulting in a condition called photodermatitis. This leads to swelling, a burning sensation, a red itchy rash, and skin peeling.” Herbal extracts could also be a potential source of allergens. Aloe, found in many herbal beauty products, can cause contact dermatitis — a localised rash or irritation of the skin. Arnica flowers, lavender oil, peppermint oil and camomile, which are commonly used in cosmetics, have also been known to cause allergic reactions. But experts in the field of herbal beauty products point out that such reactions are rare. In any case, says Husain, “Essential oils are never used by themselves. They are diluted with carrier oils, lotions and other ingredients in the prescribed proportions.” Adds Dr M. Ramam, additional professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, “These products undergo rigorous laboratory testing but there might be a few cases where such allergies occur.” The preservatives used in these beauty products have also raised a few eyebrows. Herbal cosmetic manufacturers assert that they do not use chemical preservatives. “We use nature-derived preservatives, oils, vitamin D and E extracts,” says Vinta Jain, managing director, Biotique, the herbal cosmetics brand. Husain too says that her products use natural ingredients like neem, grapefruit seed extract, wheatgerm oil and essential oils as preservatives. However, many skin experts contest this claim. Says Verma, “Herbal cosmetics manufacturers have to use artificial preservatives because herbal preservatives can keep a product from getting spoiled only for a month or two. After that the product is bound to go bad and if it doesn’t, then artificial preservatives have definitely been used.” Others point out that certain manufacturers claim that their products are made from natural substances when in fact they only contain trace amounts of organic ingredients. The consumer is misled into believing that a product is greener than it is while the manufacturer laughs all the way to the bank. Skin experts like Verma and Ramam feel that even if a beauty product is “herbal”, one should always do a patch test on the arm before using it on one’s face. They also advise consumers to buy products from trusted, well-known companies that have been in the market for several years rather than go for smaller ones that have recently joined the all-natural bandwagon. For, green may not always be clean.

Waves of courage

For Thirumal, a fisherman in the Keechankuppam village of Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, the sea is both a source of livelihood as well as the cause for death and loss. Pain is etched across his face when he recounts the horrors of the tsunami of December 26, 2004, that left a trail of death and destruction in India and six other countries in south Asia. Thirumal lost his daughter as well as his mother to the killer waves. He is not alone. More than 6000 lives were lost in Nagapattinam and life has never been the same ever since.
Rajshekhar, a 19 year old from the village of Seruthur, has chosen to shun the sea that took away his sister and his grandparents. Fishing has been the source of livelihood for his family for ages, but he has enrolled himself for the housewiring and plumbing course at the Vocational Industrial Training Institute at P.R. Puram. But his elder brother Rajesh goes back to the sea everyday to make a livelihood with a prayer on his lips and fear in his heart. “Even the slightest sound from the sea scares us. I would love to stay away from it but fishing is all I know.”
According to the data provided by the district collectorate at Nagapattinam, a total of 14,048 permanent shelters were built across the district. Under the housing schemes, the government was to provide land and the NGOs were to meet the cost of construction within the government-stipulated cost and design parameters. The houses had to be of 266 square feet in area and equipped with basic amenities including lavatories and electricity. While most NGOs have followed the norms, a few have set up houses where eight families are cramped in one house with 180 sq feet allotted to each family. C Muniathan, collector, Nagapattinam says, “98 per cent of rehabilitation work has been done. The first phase of work is over.” This claim however is not agreed with by locals and NGOs who feel there is still a lot left to be done.
After the tsunami, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a surprising move refused foreign aid for relief programmes. Families where a casualty had occurred were entitled to a sum of Rs 1 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Fund in addition to another lakh from the Chief Minister’s fund. Says R.M.P. Rajendiran, president, Tsunami Fishermen Rehabilitation Development Association, “Till date in Tamil Nadu alone 36 people have received no money. We informed the prime minister’s office about this and forwarded a letter from the PMO to the district collector of Nagapattinam on November 23, 2009. We are yet to hear from the collector.” Aid poured in from all corners but unfortunately could not be properly utilised. Says Rajendiran, “Fishermen who lost their steamboats were allotted a subsidy of 5 lakhs and a loan of 15 lakhs from the government. But being uneducated most of the fishermen did not know what to do with the cheques for the loan. There are people who still store the cheque like a treasure but the date for encashment has long passed.”
It is this lack of awareness that the people of Nagapattinam have to battle against in the aftermath of the tsunami. Schools have been set up with a vengeance and children in Nagapattinam cannot mourn the lack of education facilities, whatever else they might long for. The students of the Panchayat Union Middle School, Palathaladi, have formed a children’s club Winmeengal meaning shining stars that is involved in a number of social activities. They also have formed a disaster preparedness committee along with the village panchayat, SEG and youth group members and meet on the last Saturday of every month to educate the villagers about tackling emergencies. For these children illiteracy and ignorance are bigger monsters than tsunami. Sabina who loves watching comedy shows on television wants to be a doctor, Thennarasi who has a passion for computers would love to be a teacher, while Sivanandan wants to be an IAS officer and K.Thirunavukarasa, a computer engineer. Tsunami has taught them that nothing can be of more help than the ability to reconstruct one’s life without having to depend on others.
This desire to have control on one’s life is what has spurred the women to leave their homes and go for women empowerment trainings on bookkeeping and leadership offered by various NGOs. Says Jayanthi who is attending a training programme on bookkeeping, “Before the tsunami, concepts like banking used to be alien to us. But tsunami showed us that we should save for the future so that we do not have to depend on alms and aid in case of a crisis.”
Physically residents of Nagapattinam have moved on to a new life but it is the psychological trauma that still persists in their minds. Says Dr. Dadrudeem who runs a mobile clinic that provides medical help to villages in Nagapattinam, “Even after five years there are so many people who even refuse to look at the sea. There are fishermen who refuse to venture out in their boats even at the cost of loss of livelihood. Any ailments that they have, from a simple fever to joint pain, they immediately associate it as an after-effect of tsunami.”
Joe Velu, director, People’s Development Association (PDA), an NGO which stepped in to provide relief immediately after the tsunami and moved on to the role of a facilitator in years to come says that physical reconstruction of life is not enough, “In the months after tsunami there were about nearly 400 NGOs who came to work in Nagapattinam. Five years down the line only a handful remains. Ideally what is needed is a situation whereby the common people in the event of a tragedy can get back to normalcy even without the aid of NGOs.” Velu further mentions that unfortunately some people still use tsunami as a crutch and refuse to go on about earning their own livelihood. Aid and help from agencies have made them dependent and they refuse to come out of the stupor. Five years have passed since that day when thousands perished to the gigantic waves ravaging lives and property. One wonders what has been done regarding the installation of tsunami-detecting equipment so as to facilitate evacuation in danger zones. An early warning system for tsunami is operational in India since September 2007. Maintained and run by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, the warning system comprises of a real-time network of seismic stations, bottom pressure recorders (BPRs), which are sensitive to even slight changes in the pressure at the sea bottom and an array of tide gauges installed all along the Indian coast. “We have the most sophisticated and world class tsunami warning system in place”, says C Vinod Chandra Menon, member of National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi. “We are much better prepared now to face an eventuality,” he says. R K Sharma, a senior scientist with the Union ministry of earth sciences, which coordinated the setting up of the tsunami warning system, says that with the system in place, India can hope to get a lead time of at least one hour before a future tsunami strikes the Indian shore. Will a tsunami hit Nagapattinam in the near future? Is the administration well-equipped to deal with such an event? These are questions which only time can answer. But what is important is that the people of Nagapattinam have not succumbed to the catastrophe. Life has moved on—for better or for worse, it is still early to say. But while the bells ring at the famous Saint Mary’s Church in Vailankanni, it feels as if the whole populace is praying for strength to fight, for hope to build a new future, bereft of the scars of tsunami.

A different tune

A Sunday evening at a park in south Calcutta that is known to be the haunt for the young crowd. A car filled with people who seem to be college goers comes to a stop. Loud music blares from the deck and you find yourself tapping your feet to the groovy tune. You wonder as to which movie is the song from what comes as a surprise is that it’s not a Bollywood number but a groovy Bengali music track you are listening to. One might feel that there is nothing spectacular in a bunch of young Calcuttans listening to a Bengali commercial movie song. But for those who have followed the rise and fall of Tollywood music from the golden era of sixties-seventies to the dry period of eighties-nineties, this certainly holds some significance. Has Bengali film music started the journey to regain the lost glory?
Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s second movie Antaheen (2009) has remained at the top of music charts in various music countdowns even after six months of its release. The music was scored by Shantanu Moitra who has delivered Bollywood hits such as Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Laaga Chunri Mein Daag. He feels that it was the freshness of the tracks that appealed to the audience. In Antaheen, Moitra did away with any traditional musical instruments such as the dholak or the tabla. “The music in this album is completely unplugged. Some of the songs are just acoustic guitar based.” At a time when there is a general perception that Bengali film music has no takers, how did Moitra manage to come up with such a popular track? He says, “What I have done is no rocket science—all that is required is good melody, nice words and a good singer. That is the quintessential formula for making good songs.” But what one wonders is whether Bengali film music really getting back the popularity that it used to enjoy in the sixties and seventies? Innumerable songs from that period such as “Tumi je amar”, “Ei poth jodi na sesh hoy” were on the lips of every Bengali music buff, irrespective of any class divide. Then there came a lull in the eighties and nineties where apart from a few exceptions, Bengali film music seemed to have hit a rock bottom. Songs with jarring beats, weird lyrics could be heard only from blaring loudspeakers at puja pandals. One can recall with embarrassment songs with lyrics such as “Ami Kolkatar rosogolla”, “Prem jegeche amar mone bolchi ami tai, tomay ami bhalobashi tomay ami chai” or even worse. Says film critic Sunetra Ghatak, “Bengali film directors and composers tried to sell the fact that there were no takers for good music and therefore they had to resort to derive ‘inspiration’ from popular Bollywood music. But the fact is what plagued the music industry was sheer lack of talent. Even now for every Antaheen, Anuranon or Bong Connection, there are also movies like Challenge that have songs like ‘Krishna korle leela, amra korle bila’ which cannot appeal to any person with refined sensibilities.”
In recent years thought-provoking lyrics have also made a grand re-entry into Tollywood film music. Anindya and Chandril of the popular Bangla band Chandrabindoo have used modern poetry in the lyrics of Antaheen. Songs like Jao pakhi and Pherari mon prove that it is the marriage of lyrics and melody that creates good music, one is incomplete without the other. Lyrics like “Guro guro nil rong pencil jochhonar jol/Jhuro jhuro kanch agun chhoyach dhekechhe anchal,” involve imagery that is sweet, simple and deep at the same time. Says Anindya, “The directors have to be conscious of the quality of their films music. Somewhere there was a lack of consciousness on filmmakers’ part for the mediocre quality of music produced in the eighties and nineties. The situation seems to be looking up as directors too now want the music of their films to do as well as the films themselves.”
Moreover Tollywood music directors also had the habit of falling back on good old Rabindranath to bail them out when they could not come up with an original score. However there was also a section of the young generation that was left untapped in this process, as they were not connoisseurs of Rabindrasangeet. This trend saw a departure with Subrata Sen’s Ek Je Ache Kanya (2001) where the title track ‘Ek je ache kanya/ sadharon shey tobu shadharon naa” had an amalgamation of beautiful lyrics and mellifluous music scored by Debajyoti Misra. “Ek Je Ache Kanya can said to be the turning point in contemporary Bengali film music because it lured back the young urban audience to Bengali film songs. They understood that good Bengali film music did not translate into Tagore songs,” says Misra. He again struck gold with director Rituparno Ghosh’s Titli in 2002 where the song “Megh peoner bag er bhetor mon kharaper dista” again stirred up the romantic notes so very reminiscent of yesteryear Bengali films. However Calcutta-based film critic Meena Banerjee is not so optimistic about the revival, “Antaheen is a good departure from the present trend of copying Bollywood music; so are a few others. But the majority swears by the big brother Bollywood.”
Disappointed by the dearth of good Bengali film music Bengali music lovers had to find solace in Bengali bands and bands like Cactus, Bhoomi, Chandrabindoo and Parash Pathar belted out songs that seemed to fill up the lacunae created in Bengali music. Keeping this popularity of Bengali bands in mind director Subrata Sen played a masterstroke and roped in the band Cactus for his movie Neel Nirjane in 2003. The film that also dealt with same sex relationship did not find many takers but the songs like “Ami sudhu cheyechi tomay” or the title track “Neel nirjane” are still remembered by music lovers six years after the movie’s release. Says Siddhartha of Cactus, “One of the major reasons for the success of Neel Nirjane’s success was the fact that the thematic content of the movie gelled well with the kind of sound that we generated. Moreover the fact that we came from a different background and were not the stereotype film music directors also helped.”
Neel Dutta tasted success with his first movie as a music director. The Bong Connection created quite a stir with tracks such as Majhi re and a re-rendition of Tagore’s Pagla Hawa. Very few would have ever imagined having to listen to discotheques playing Tagore’s song. “Pagla hawa was thematically required as Sayan’s character Andy is an NRI who though into electronic music wants to work with the bauls. Hence there is a lot of new age electronics used in the music but at the same time I tried to retain the element of fun. Tagore himself uses words like ‘kon balaramer ami chyala’ and thus there had to be an edginess to the sound.” In Madly Bangali—a film about music, dosti, madness--Dutt has played around with musical forms like rock, hip hop, electronica and techno. However Dutt feels that there is a dearth of talented technicians in the Tollywood music industry. “As the money here is less, talented technicians flock to Mumbai seeking greener pastures. This is one problem we have to tackle.”
The music of commercial Bengali movies catering solely to the masses took a new turn with the appearance of composer Jeet Ganguly, formerly part of the Bollywood music director duo Jeet-Pritam. Right from his first movie Premi in 2004 to his latest hit Challenge, Ganguli seems to have introduced a new lease of life into commercial film music. Apart from experimenting with new sounds, this admirer of Sudhin Dasgupta and Salil Chowdhury also seems to seek ‘inspiration’ from various other sources. The song “Tumi chhara keu nei amar ei mone jibone” from Premer Kahini bears an uncanny resemblance to international boy band Backstreet Boys hit number Quit playing games with my heart. Says Ganguly, “Music directors of the past experimented with musical forms like jazz and rock even back in the seventies. But this trend to look beyond one’s times seemed to have stagnated later on, contributing to the downfall of Bengali film music. I try to make every films soundtrack sound new.” Anupam Gan, head, music, Venkatesh Films, says that the music of Challenge has tasted immense success with almost one lakh CDs, mp3s, cassettes being sold. However Sangeeta Roy, assistant manager, stores, Music World, Park Street has a different story to tell, “Films that cater to the multiplex audience like Antaheen, Madly Bangali or The Bong Connection find a lot of takers for their music. But to be honest there aren’t that many a number interested in the music of commercial Bengali films. What draws them are the oldies or parallel/multiplex movies. But yes we have noticed that Bengali film songs now have more takers than what they used to say in the beginning of the new millennium.”
There is no denying the fact that Bengali film music is getting a makeover but at the same time one should remember that there is a long way to go before Tollywood music can regain its lost glory. But with directors, music composers, lyricists putting their best foot forward one hopes such a day is not that far away.

I am the emperor of all i see

Time really flies. It seems like yesterday that Subhrangshu Mitra was walking down the hallowed precincts of one of the most reputed colleges in Calcutta, his heart beating faster than usual due to excitement as well as trepidation. His happiness at having gained admission into one of the most sought after colleges in the city was marred by one word that brings fear into the hearts of every new college entrant—ragging. This small town boy had heard horror stories of the humiliation a “fresher” is subjected to during his first few days in the college. It didn’t help matters that Mitra had to seek admission in the boys’ hostel adjoining the college, infamous for its notoriety. What followed in the next 72 hours almost forced this 18 year old to forsake his studies and return home. But this guy was a survivor. He stuck around and those very seniors who had made his life miserable are now his closest pals. Mitra passed the litmus test and is now eyed with considerable respect.
A year down the line he is sitting with a group of friends in the college portico, eyeing the first years trooping down. Some of them look distinctly uncomfortable as if passing through a scanner; some carry with them an air of false bravado. Mitra smirks. He knows exactly the thoughts that can filter through their minds. After all he had been in their shoes only a year back. And he is pretty sure that his seniors had also been scrutinizing their lot as a hunter sizes his prey. The juniors have been asked to assemble in the common room so that the seniors, mostly second years, can get to know them, so as to “break the ice”. Mitra as well as his friends know that the real fun will begin much later, outside the boundaries of the college. What with anti-ragging committees keeping vigil during the new session, stretching the limits of the “getting to know each other” session could get them into serious trouble. However being part of the ruling students union has given Mitra and his friends quite a lot of power.
Around 60 newcomers have been assembled into the room, herded like sheep by the “dadas” who are walking down the room like executioners. Mitra and his comrades enter the room and silence descends like a pall. Mitra had been watching the pretty chick with colored hair for a long time. This one did not seem as intimidated by the proceedings as the rest. He decided that this was the one who had to be taught the first commandment of college life -- “respect your seniors”. The female and another first year guy who looked like he would soil his pants any time were called upon. They were asked to dance to an extremely lewd Bollywood number. Both put up some resistance. Mitra’s friend Bhaskar took the reins in his hands and informed the duo that they would not be allowed to attend their classes if they could not cater to their seniors’ demand for some “harmless” fun. The red faces and the almost crying countenances of the two had Mitra and his friends break out into peals of laughter. More such “bakras” followed.
Its night and the seniors at different wards of the hostel are gearing up for the whole night ragging session. Bottles of alcohol have been emptied and rounds of weed and “charas” have been smoked. After all this is a day to celebrate. A year back these very “seniors” had been ragged mercilessly to provide entertainment to boys a year senior to them. Their privacy had been invaded, the sanctity of their bodies violated. And they had been able to do nothing. But now the tables had turned, the power was theirs and this power; this superiority had to be driven home. The youngsters have to be cowed down; they have to be shown who is the boss. And having survived the “grilling” last year, Mitra is the leader of the group.
The first years of ward number three have been asked to assemble in the dormitory sharp at the stroke of midnight. Mitra and his friends have had a hearty dinner and the group of about 25 “seniors” head towards the destination. He spots a guy in the last row. This one does not look as nervous as the rest. He is called upon and asked to parade the room in a pair of polka-dotted briefs. The guy refuses to oblige and launches into a lecture on the evils of ragging. Mitra knows that breaking down this stubborn “mare” would show the rest that messing with your seniors is not the thing to do. After repeated orders, threats and a few slaps the guy still does not “cooperate”. Mitra notices a few guys gathering courage from their peer’s “heroism”. He knows now that a few slaps and colourful abuses won’t suffice. He lights a cigarette and asks his friends to pin down the arms of the guy and threatens to “design” his handsome face with cigarette burns. This works and the guy walks the room in polka dotted briefs amid jeers and catcalls. Ah! The feeling of euphoria. The point has been driven home. Supremacy has been established. Any feeling of guilt? Not at all. They aren’t doing anything that already hasn’t been done. Moreover why should he alone feel guilty? Whatever is being done is being done as a group, so any sense of individual responsibility has been reduced, rather nullified. He alone isn’t enjoying the feeling of power; the other guys are also feeling like emperors of yore, witnessing the humiliation of lesser powerful fellow humans.
Now that the first blood has been drawn it is time to go for the kill. The “freshers” are asked to drop their trousers. This is the moment every senior waits for. Mitra still remembers the exact moment when he had to strip naked in front of leering seniors and in his heart he still shudders at the total invasion of privacy. No amount of insults and beatings can measure up to sexual subjugation, the humiliation of having their most intimate organs exposed to scrutiny. The seniors have devised a host of activities—the juniors are asked to simulate orgies, to measure the size of each other’s “manhood”, and to take a round of the fields stark naked. Mitra had wondered for the last one year what joy did a 19-20 year old derive by abusing the privacy of guys a year younger than them. Today he understands. As he watches the naked boys running in the fields, fear etched on their faces, he experiences a rush of power, adrenaline shoots through his body. For this one night, he is invincible, he is king.

The Urge To Splurge

‘I want to drink life to the lees’—this seems to be the mantra of the gen-next Indian youth. Exploring every nook and corner of the journey called life, the Indian youth is living life to the hilt. Swanky cars, latest gadgets, eating out at exorbitantly priced restaurants, to dancing away into the wee hours of the morning in discotheques—the HIP urban youth is doing it all in style. The present generation is surely riding high on cash and aish(fun).
Splashing out at body workshops features at the top of the spending list of the body conscious generation. Inspired by the John Abrahams, Salman Khans, Hritik Roshans of Bollywood every Indian male wants to flaunt rippling muscles to woo the members of the Y-chromosome. Both college goers and multinational executives can be spotted at premium gyms pumping iron with unfailing punctuality. Good cash, a concoction of brawn and brains and a confident go-getter attitude—that’s the NEW Indian male for you. The dainty females are also not to be left behind in this fitness mania routine. Meenakshi Rawat, a call-center executive spends 30% of her monthly expenses on health and fitness. What other youngsters loosen their purse strings on may vary but fitness ranks high on the spending list .
Closely following the heels of the fitness splurge comes the cash that is spent on various skin/hair products, clothes and accessories to make one look good. And surprisingly the fair sex can no longer be accused of ‘wasting’ money on such narcissistic pursuits. The metrosexual man is breaking the traditional idea of the rough and rugged male. Beauty salons like Habibs have a mixed clientele of both men and women spending upto thousands for a trendy haircut or a glowing skin. Fashion designers across the country are having a ball since not only the pretty ladies are churning out lumpsum amounts for the ‘oh so exclusive’ lehenga ,saree or nightgown. Their male counterparts too are going gung ho about looking hip and cool in a Sandeep Khosla or Abu Jani creation. ‘Look good , feel good’ , is the motto for the fun loving generation of the 21st century.
Gruelling work schedules, late night shifts, meeting deadlines and stiff professional competition also contribute to this ‘work hard , party harder’ syndrome. Parties, nightclubs and movies drain a considerable portion of the young generation’s hard earned money. For most of the high-earning youngsters, it is juggling tough working hours with nightlong partying. The BPO sector, banks, multinational companies pay hefty pay packets which allow their employees to indulge in multifarious epicurean pursuits. After 5 days of hard work, the young office crowd unwind at various nightclubs and discs on weekends.
The present generation’s lust for the trendiest gizmos also burn a big hole in their pockets. From school going adolescents to multinational executives, every person is smitten with cell phones. And the good old sets with just normal call and sms features are a big no-no. To be in with the times you got to own a colour handset which is the bare minimum. Cell phones costing around ten thousand or more such as the Nokia N-series, Moto Razr V3 or the Sony Ericsson W- series are must haves to be considered fashionable. I-pods, DVD players, handycams to digicams—today’s youth wants it all and is ready to spend astronomical amounts for a lavish life style.
Multiplexes, shopping malls, fancy cars, nightclubs, restobars---options are galore to satisfy the urge to splurge. Moreover, single children brought up in the lap of luxury do not have to think about securing their future with a decent bank balance since their parents do it for them. The gen-next loves living life in a carefree manner and without having to worry too much about the future. What matters is living for the moment. To lap up the pleasures of life with open arms. So, life for most of us is a joyride which seems to go on and on and on…..

Old Wine in a New Bottle

Do you want to make a name in the big bad world of Bollywood? Is facing the camera or delivering dialogues or garma garam action sequences not your cup of tea? There’s no reason to lose heart. For all that you know you may become the next Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali or ahem Ram Gopal Verma. Make superstars dance to your tunes and deliver innumerable heart rending acceptance speeches at awards ceremonies. Just go behind the camera, pull up your socks and shout ‘sound, camera, action’! Oh yes, turning director is the easiest way to climb up the celebrity ladder.
And nowadays the job has turned easier. You do not need to spend sleepless nights in search for the perfect story. The perfect recipe which is going to set the box office afire is right there, ripe and ready to be plucked by you. All you have to do is change a few scenes here and there, remix the music and if possible arrange a casting coup with the biggest names in the industry. Lo and behold you have arrived in Bollywood. Remakes or old films in a new avatar are the current fad doing the rounds of the Hindi film industry. Here’s a look at the revamped films in recent years, some of which have set the cash registers ringing, and others being damp squibs at the box office.
Devdas, the classic tale of the biggest loser [ahem, lover] has been the favourite of many a Bollywood director. P.C Barua’s tale of the star crossed trio of Paro, Devdas and Chandramukhi was revamped by Bimal Roy with Dilip Kumar cast as the doomed lover. The film catapulted Kumar to instant stardom. Then Sanjay Leela Bhansali had the ingenious brainwave to take up this eternal saga of lost love. Shahrukh, Madhuri and Aishwarya’s presence in the film assured a good opening at the box office. Melodious music by Ismail Darbar also contributed to the film’s success. Stellar performances by SRK and Madhuri had the power to put into background ludicrous overacting by Jackie Shroff {Chunilaal), Kirron Kher {Paro’s mother}. Bhansali failed to capture the simplicity of rural Bengal, or the subtle nuances of love. But this visual extravaganza succeeded in capturing the audience’s hearts, with Devdas being the biggest blockbuster of the year.
Bengali literature seems to have been a source of inspiration for many a Bollywood filmmaker. First time director Pradeep Sarkar chose Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s tale of love ’Parineeta’ for his debut film. The setting of the film was changed to the 1960’s. Music by Shantanu Moitra, strong performances {Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt} and the nostalgia of erstwhile ‘Calcutta’ made Parineeta a favourite of the new generation as well as the old. Moreover Parineeta gave film lovers an extremely talented and vivacious actress in the form of Vidya Balan.
The success of Pradeep Sarkar’s film turned remakes into a rage. The year 2006 saw two blockbusters of yesteryears being revamped. The seventies thriller ‘Don’ set filmmaker Farhan Akhtar’s imagination to fire. Farhan's "Don" was a gadget-friendly hi-tech film and he changed the milieu as well - if the original was shot with Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai, the new version starring Shah Rukh Khan was filmed in Malaysia. An unexpected, startling twist in the tale, Kareena Kapoor’s sizzling dance number ‘yeh mera dil’ and King Khan dancing to ‘khaike paan banaraswala’ helped lure audiences to theatres.
Unfortunately J.P.Dutta’s remake of the classic tale of the infamous Lucknow courtesan Umrao Jaan failed to recreate the magic of the original. The journey of this love starved woman was brilliantly essayed on celluloid by Rekha. But Aishwarys, despite being one of the biggest Indian beauties failed to capture the essence of Umrao, her pain, the angst of unrequited love and hurt by the ingratitude of family members. A disinterested performance by Junior Bachchan did not help the film to gain the favor of film lovers.
Ram Gopal Varma may be touted as the king of remakes. First, Ramu decided to revamp his own creation ‘Shiva’. But the film failed miserably to match up to the intensity of the original which had Nagarjuna in the lead. A critic went as far as suspecting Ramu of suffering from some mysterious mental ailment. But the worst was yet to come. Obsessed with his ingenuity, RGV decided to venture where angel has feared to tread. ‘Sholay’, the biggest blockbuster of all times inspired Ramu to give it his own colour. Cries of protest went up in the industry where Ramu was castigated for blasphemy. But Amitabh Bachchan[part of the original] decided to lend moral support to the talented and courageous filmmaker and agreed to be part of Ramu’s project as the fearsome Gabbar Singh. The makers of the original went up in arms and Ramu had to change the title of the film to ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. But the aag turned out to be a damp squib. Amitabh Bachchan as Babban hamming away to glory could not hold a candle to Amjad Khan’s portrayal of the most fearsome villain in Indian cinema. The ravines of Chambal gave way to the dinghy suburbs of Mumbai. The vivacious tangewali Basanti gave way to the skimpily clad, profanity spewing Ghungroo[portrayed by Ramu’s current muse Nisha Kothari]. Even Urmila Matondkar gyrating and pulsating to ‘mehbooba mehbooba’ with AB’s baby for company could help the film from sinking without a trace. Ramu earned more brickbats in his attempt to remake Sholay than he has in his entire career.
The hit thriller ‘Victoria 203’ with Ashok Kumar and Pran was remade by failed actor Kamal Sadanah. Lackluster performances, unconvincing storyline and insignificant music helped the film turn into a disaster. Vinod Mehra’s daughter could not rekindle the fire of Saira Banu’s smouldering sensuality.
The dismal performances of these films however have not deterred filmmakers from joining the remake bandwagon. Pritish Nandy chose to remake the classic ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam’ but the project has finally been taken up by the ace director from Bengal, Rituporno Ghosh. Filmmakers are being smitten by the tale of the unfortunate lover Devdas. Sudhir Misra and Anurag Kashyap have announced to make revamped versions of Devdas with Shiney Ahuja and Abhay Deol respectively. The Rishi Kapoor-Simi Gerawal starrer Karz is to be remade with the singing/acting sensation [albeit nasal] Himmesh Reshammiya. More and more filmmakers are turning to remaking films as an easy way to instant success. But a thought should be spared for film lovers across all ages. Just as instant coffee fails to satisfy the tastes of connoisseurs, remakes fail to satiate true film lovers. If all films are remade, then nothing new will ever be manufactured to be remade in turn by our next generation. So here’s some food for thought for the ever increasing remake machinery of Bollywood.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.