Amidst the tangle called ‘my life’ comes some good news. CHI is launching the Mumbai chapter of SIGCHI. For the uninitiated, ACM SIGCHI is the ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, which brings together people working on the design, evaluation, implementation, and study of interactive computing systems for human use. ACM SIGCHI provides an international, interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas about the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Amongst some notable chapters are BayCHI (San Fransisco), and BostonCHI (Boston City).
Happenings
Do we need the Oscars?
We have yet again failed to get a nomination for the OSCARs in the foreign film category. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti (Paint me Yellow), the new found mantra of the indian nextgen was rejected even before the final roll call. The last time an Indian movie made it to the five was Aamir’s Lagaan in 2001; a riveting account of a small village lad taking the British Raj up in a captivating cricket match. Before that, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay and Mehboob Khan’s Mother India have graced the coveted final OSCAR nomination list. None of them won the award though. The chinese film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (CTHD) won 3 OSCARs at the 73rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony, giving the director Ang Lee a godlike status in the Hollywood precincts overnight. CTHD was masterfully made with martial art sequences at its best and a traditional chinese story which is expected from oriental directors. Years later, he made a comeback by winning the OSCARs again for his work in Brokeback Mountain at Hollywood.
In complete contrast, our filmmakers develop themes which appeal to the western audiences, in an experiment to seduce the crowd and prove our technological advancement. In the end, we do a patchy job of something which the west had already mastered eons ago and fail to impressthem. Take into account typical indian movies like Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham, Yaadein and even Pardes which have done exceptionally well at the box offices around the globe. The message taken from the movie fans globally is that they want to see pure indian fanfare from our scripts and not poor, crap, rehashes of their own stories. The storyline of Rang de Basanti, to the astonishment of its million fans, has been borrowed from a canadian movie called Jesus of Montreal. We are thus, killing our unique artform of story-telling by aping the hollywood movies. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Deepa Mehta’s Water which deals with the caste oppression of the 1930s India, has been shortlisted to be nominated for the foreign film OSCAR. Such a shame that certain caste based organizations stalled its shooting in Varanasi and the film was finally completed in Sri Lanka. Sadly though Water is Canada’s official entry for the OSCARs.
The Indian film industry thrives on its audience which has a taste and dreams of its own. Our sensibilities vary from our friends abroad and our emotions are well reflected in the kind of movies we make here. Due to our socio-ecomomic structure, we also take the help of the film medium in imparting knowledge to the population at large. That explains the legitimacy of banning of cigarette smoke forever from the silver screen but that’s another story altogether. If the audience is different and the movies are made for their minds then why do we need the seal of foreign institutions like the OSCARs to prove our legitimacy over what is good or bad film-making? isn’t it degrading to call ourselves ‘Bollywood’ which sounds like a poor distant cousin of the big brother?
It’s disgraceful that with a wide variety of movies being churned out in India since the past 100-odd years, we haven’t yet formed a film body that respects and honours film talent and oversees the distribution of citations as well. Hence, I propose the formation of an autonomous institution that is truly representative by the people of this great film industry and which has no interferences whatsoever, both political or corporate that could cast a shadow of uncertainty over the allocation of awards. Cinematographers, directors, actors, technicians, etc. cutting across the film industries of India would play the role of the jury. Let the members pay a registration fee for the upkeep of the organization and let the ceremony be bereft of all the glitz and the hoopla so the focus is back on honouring talent rather then the jiving and jiggling actors. Let us free ourselves from the shackles of foreign influences yet again and strive to maintain our traditional art and culture. Finally, let us pray that we enjoy our movies without any malaise.
[tags]OSCAR, Academy Awards, Rang De Basanti, Deepa Mehta, Water[/tags]
Apple Introduces iPhone
It was speculated to come for a long time. At the Macworld 2007 keynote at San Francisco, Steve Jobs announced the launch of iPhone, a new age telephone device, which is going to shape the future of telecommunications and put pressure on some of the established players in the field. The iPhone introduces touchscreen navigation (yes..no stylus, only fingers) and uses the power of Mac OS X to run itself. A 2 megapixel camera, a widescreen iPod for music and video lovers, Safari for browsing the internet and Mail for sending emails through the touchscreen keypad, one couldn’t have asked for more from a device that fits in your palm.
Last Frontier Conquered
After the disastrous 4-0 one-day loss, India redeemed their lost glory on the cricket field in the first test match at the Wanderers which was won by 123 runs and completed in 3 and a half days by some superb display of grit and talent. When we made 249 in the first innings, one thought the score to be unsubstantial against the SA batting line-up. Until I received an SMS from a colleague who asked me to switch on the TV. A certain lad by the name of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was running through the opposition with his seam bowling. Suddenly I saw the final score and rubbed my eyes in dismay – SA were bowled out for a paltry 84; their lowest score since readmission. In the second innings Zaheer Khan’s late outburst with the bat with VVS Laxman ensured that we had a decent target of 402 set for the springboks. Ashwell Prince seemed to be the only ray of hope in the playing eleven. South Africa was the only country where India had never won a test but all that’s changed now.
Let's 'pitch' for Cricket
I am truly perturbed at seeing Indian cricket being strangled mercilessly by politicians and the media alike, at a time when it requires immediate attention and perhaps an admission in the “ICU”. Getting emotionally charged up by criticizing the team’s performance and vandalizing their houses would do more harm than good. The failure of this team must be attributed to some top players in the team who are playing below expectations. Especially our bowlers who have lost their charm and magic on the field – where’s the famous Irfan swing and what happened to Munaf’s pace?
But now comes a new chapter in the sad part of this story called Indian Cricket – Dravid, perhaps the sole light of hope in our dark moments, has been ruled out for the rest of the One Day series because of an injury and VVS Laxman is being flown down to South Africa to take his place. It must be true, that when you’re in a mind set that our team has settled in, seemingly easier tasks feel gargantuan plus there is no respite from the pressure back home that keeps building on you to perform. It’s a rather difficult situation to be in. Must I remind this team that they have been in a familiar situation in the past, in the 2003 world cup at South Africa. Soon after their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Aussies, they fought their way back to the final. Victory, as I see it has the ability to settle the dust of criticism and straightening out things assuredly making the road towards the future smooth and clear. Just few wins to get that much needed confidence back!
The Left parties in India have been vocal about the inclusion of Sourav Ganguly. Firstly, any attempt at portraying Sourav, who has been absent from the national team for a long time, as the savior of our times will only make him more vulnerable in performing for his team. On the other hand, the pitches in West Indies, where the world cup is held next year will suit his stroke playing potential more than then bouncier ones in South Africa. His role in the current team would have been marred since the “supporting cast” is currently performing miserably. I certainly hope that he is considered for the world cup squad. We will require all the help to get us out of this black hole. But we must start winning now and end the long drought.