CM

YK
ND-ND
DELHI FRI DAY SEPTEMBER 5, 201 4
Guru Maya Rao, who recently passed away, put
Kathak on world dance map PAGE 2
Public art scene continues to witness innovative
ideas PAGE 3
CALENDAR
T.Rama Raos Lok Parlok was a
delightful satire PAGE 4
A
s Priyanka
Chopra sets out
to become our
very own
Million Dollar
Baby by featuring in and as
Mary Kom, she can feel the
weight of the mantle. It is a
huge responsibility. Mary
and her husband Onler have
shared the deep fears that we
discuss within family with
me. Training in boxing and
working out in gymis easier
stuff. If I train hard I might
become a decent boxer, if I go
to gymregularly I will
develop muscles but
depicting the emotional core
was my real concern. Will the
people be able to feel Marys
struggle through me. I am
punching above my weight
like Mary did in Olympics,
says Priyanka in an interview
on the wheels. One joins her
in her black Audi as she
criss-crosses Delhi and NCR
on a whirlwind tour with my
driver in his modest Santro
trying to outpace the sedan
to have a look at the star
whose glamorous image
often outpaces the actor.
According to her the lm
will help her give the dignity
that Mary deserves not just
as sportsperson but also as a
lady and somebody who
comes fromthe Northeast.
Few know that the Olympic
medallists father-in-law was
shot dead and it almost
ended her career. We have
touched upon various issues
that shaped Marys life and
insurgency is one of them. Is
that the reason that the lm
is not releasing in Manipur?
Hindi lms are banned in
Manipur for more than a
decade. It is a very delicate
matter and we should not be
judgmental about it. But it is
about their daughter? But it
is still a Hindi lm. And you
can gauge peoples anger
fromtheir decision. I feel for
Marys sake it should have
released. She is aniconthere.
But outsiders should not
comment onwhat happens in
someones house and I guess
we are outsiders inthis case.
It is not fair for me to
comment onsucha big
decisiontakenby the people
of a State. However, whenI
went there I found that they
know all my lms and most of
my songs. We danced onDesi
Girl. Mary has herself tried
but if it doesnt happenI will
say it was not inthe lms
fate.
Withmost of the cast
drawnfromthe Northeast,
chances are that Priyanka
might become the odd one
out. Marys Hindi is poor and
if we had spokenher way a
large sectionof the audience
would not have understood
the dialogues. Sowe have
takena creative liberty to
keepthe dialogues inHindi.
However, there were dialect
coaches, whohelped me
developa Manipuri accent
like the way I worked on
Marathi twang inKaminey. I
spent time withMary at her
house. I went toher school,
her church, her fathers
home. I evenpeeped intoher
cupboards. She was shy about
it but I was adamant.
Priyanka says she was
aware of the fact that there is
little physical similarity
betweenthe two. I aman
actor. And if I fail todissolve
myself intoa character it will
be my failure. Our faces dont
match. Soit was all the more
important for me tobring her
personality out. I want people
tobelieve after a few scenes
that they are watching Mary
Kom. I dont want toplay
Priyanka Chopra. By the
way, she adds, we did try
prosthetics and VFX tomatch
eyebrows and all but thenit
was looking toogimmicky. As
a teamwe decided to
encapsulate her spirit.
But we have oftenseen
whenstars are surrounded by
a freshsupport cast their
performance starts looking
rehearsed. I have not
thought somuchabout it. Ab
mainplay kar rahi hoonnaa.
AbmainhoonPriyanka
Chopra abmainkya karoon,
counters Priyanka adding
whenshe gets passionate she
switches toHindi.
This is not a docudrama,
she emphasises. Now Onler
and Mary would not have
beensinging songs but we are
doing it inthe lm. Onler
liked it. Mary asked me why I
dont dance because she
dances very well. I said, Mary
if we show youdancing we
would be slammed. I have
sung inthe lmbecause she
loves singing. Ina scene Mary
sings toher child.
And whenit comes tothe
core, Priyanka nds Marys
story anextensionof her as a
woman. Like her for me my
personal space precedes
everything else. I alsofeel
why cant a mother whois
supposed tobe a home maker
could be a professional as
well. Perhaps Marys father
was not as supportive as hers.
My father was supportive of
me only whenmy mother
decided tobe withme
because I was 17 whenI went
for Miss World pageant. In
small cities our upbringing is
suchthat we tend toprotect
our daughters, she relates.
Priyanka says the lmis
not just for girls. It is for
every young personwhois
told that because of your
conditionand circumstances
youcant achieve your
dreams. There is scene inthe
lmwhere Mary shaves her
head inprotest. Whichgirl
will doit I asked and
somebody might say it is
ctional but it is a fact.
The so-called protectors of
Indianculture dont like to
associate adjectives like ziddi
(obstinate) withgirls. Mary
Kom celebrates the
propensity tobe stubborn
about your goals witha song
called Ziddi. Cynics might
say that Priyanka is leading
the girls astray. Male
audience need tounderstand
that girls are not their
property. She is not a
commodity whose volume or
setting youcanchange at will.
Onler says that he doesnt
mind if somebody laughs at
himbut he is not ready to
listena single word against
Marys profession. We need
this kind of security ina man
that he says that I will take
care of kids, yougoand ght.
And critics need to
understand that Priyanka will
returntoher glamorous
avatar after this one. I am
not one of those actresses
whowant tot intoa mould. I
did Aitraaz inmy second
year inthe industry. I was a
villaininthe lmand I was
told that fromnow I will be
cast as a vamp. WhenI did
Fashion, I was told nobody
watches female-oriented
lms but the lmtookan
opening. WhenI did Don I
was told heroines are not
supposed toindulge in
serious action. I ama game
changer and I want every girl
should have the courage to
experiment. The fear of
failure should not stop. I went
toanother country and made
music. If we wont take risks
inour youththenwhenwill
we. There is nothing like door
die inlife.
Whenshe is sosorted and
articulate why did she not
respond tosome hard hitting
questions fromthe Internet
users recently? They were in
my personal space. Asking
whether she uses autotune
while singing doesnt amount
tobreaching the personal
space...
WhenI make muscles
they say that they have been
Photoshopped. WhenI sing
they say I use autotune.
WhenI drove a bike inDon,
they said I used a body
double. According tothemI
cant doanything onmy own
and I amfabricated but I
know how muchhard workI
put inand believe that some
day I will be accepted as a
personwhocould domulti-
tasking, jabs Priyanka as the
journey comes toa halt.
I am punching above my weight
Fear of failure should not stop one from trying, says Priyanka Chopra in a candid chat with Anuj Kumar
Priyanka on training
Today if you put me in the ring I may not be
able to beat a professional but I can save
myself and last one round at least. I have
learnt more than the terms like jab, uppercut
and footwork. Those who have seen boxing
will not be ashamed of me.
Film screening
White Robes, Saffron
Dreams, a lm about the dis-
criminatory treatment of
women in Theravada Budd-
hism in Thailand
Venue: Auditorium, IIC,
Max Mueller Marg
Date: September 5
Amour Fou
Gallery Latitude 28 hosts
the rst solo show of artist
Deepjyoti Kalita
Venue: Lado Sarai
Date: Till October 5
Of Games II
A show curated by Khoj and
Prayas Abhinav resulting
from a gaming residency
Venue: Khoj Studios, S-17,
Khirkee Extension
Date: Till September 6,
2014
T
he adage goes that
crime does not pay but
in modern times its
depiction by television
channels has proved to be a
money-spinner for many.
Taking a leaf fromthis
genres proven ability to
attract viewership, Discovery
Networks Asia-Pacic has
recently launched a Hindi
channel, Investigation
Discovery (ID) offering true
stories of crime,
investigation and suspense.
The original English version
is a runway hit in US.
This was disclosed by
Rahul Johri, Executive Vice
President & General
Manager, South Asia,
Discovery Networks (DN)
Asia-Pacic in a round table
with the media. He
remarked, ID is one clear
proposition for a large base
and maximummass audience
and therefore we have
consciously done it in Hindi.
To be able to have a wider
reach among the audience,
the programmes have been
translated into Hindi and
dubbing has been done
keeping in mind viewers
sensibilities. Our dedicated
teamof translators/writers
have ensured accurate
translation, added Rahul.
Some of the serials on ID
include Solved, Mobster
Confessions, Forensics:
You Decide and Escaped.
Stressing the importance of
Indian market, Rahul said,
It is the rst Asian market
to beamID.
Pitching DNas Indias
No. 1 non-ction media
company, Rahul presented
its growth strategy,
underlining its commitment
to satisfy the curiosity and
aspirations of millions of
Indian viewers. India is a
young country and the
people are curious and DN
offers thementertainment as
there is appetite for it, said
the VP. He said the network
had a large and wide reach
and this was proved by the
fact that it has distribution
in over 300,000 villages.
Out of 600 million viewers
of DNacross Asia, India has
240 million for its current
portfolio of 11 channels
which besides ID include
Discovery Channel, Animal
Planet, TLC, Discovery Kids,
Discovery Science, Discovery
Tamil, Discovery Turbo,
Discovery HD World, TLC
HD World and Animal Planet
HD World.
Discovery Channel (DC) is
provided with audio feed in
English, Hindi, Bangla and
Telugu. Keeping in mind that
DCalone has reach of 50
million weekly in the
country, Rahul unveiled
some of the India
productions to be telecast in
future. These are Revealed:
Worlds Biggest Election on
how the Election
Commission of India
conducts one of the biggest
exercises in the world; India
Living Traditions
showcasing lesser known
facets of the countrys
vibrant cultural practices,
fascinating living traditions,
unique art forms and
amazing natural phenomena;
and Revealed: Rann of
Kutch about geology,
history, culture, people and
wildlife of the region.
Earlier there was audio
feed in Tamil too but the
strong following it evoked
and response fromthe
advertisers led it been hived
off as a separate channel,
Discovery Tamil which has
localised content too. It has
over 200 local and national
advertisers, said Rahul.
Keeping in mind the
dominant segment of the
broadcast spectrum the
children, Discovery Kids,
which has some ction
content, Rahul said, In 2014
it registered 127 per cent
growth in viewership.
Beamed in English, Hindi
and Tamil it has lined up new
programmes in the next
quarter. We have Kisna by
Ketan Mehta, the rst Indian
animation commissioned by
the network. It is not
mythology based and set in
present day. The children
will relate to the character,
said Rahul. Other titles lined
up are Mister Maker,
Transformers Energon,
blockbuster movies,
Khumba and Stan Lee's
Might 7.
Asserting that each
channel has its own unique
content, the VP stated that
Discovery being the largest
content creator spends 1.5
billion dollars every year.
He said that the library had
enough depth to provide
programmes for all the 11
channels of DNthough a few
programmes are shown in
more than one channel due
to its relevancy and
topicality. Rahul also
highlighted that the
programmes on normal and
the HD channels too are
different. In fact we have
separate production teams
for both.
He said viewers expect us
to deliver and added we do
not look at competition, as
our goal is to provide our
end-users the viewers
with entertainment and
make themfeel that after
watching our programmes
they have spent their time
gainfully.
New content for India
To cash in on viewers appetite for entertainment, Discovery Network underscores
its expansion drive, new content and India productions.
S.RAVI

REACHING OUTA
still fromKisna and
(left) Rahul Johri
TELEVISION
P
aid news is not
the cancer in the
system. It is the
system. Thus ends Umesh
Aggarwal's 2012
documentary, Brokering
News Media, Money and
Middlemen. A study of the
invasion of paid news and
the erosion of ethics in
Indian media, the
documentary produced by
PSBT recently won a
Ramnath Goenka
Excellence in Journalism
Award under the
'Uncovering India Invisible'
category.
While the lm's focus was
on the transformations in
the media in the previous
decade, culminating with
the implosion of the Radia
tapes, the issues raised in it
haven't lost their salience.
Recent events suggest
media independence is in
dire threat, with the
corporate takeover of media
houses, and the attendant
tweaking of editorial
policies. The institution of
the editor too, Aggarwal
says, has weakened
considerably.
Talking about what
prompted the lm, the
director says, I as an
individual who used to
watch news with great
interest, suddenly started
losing interest around 2010-
11. I could feel a
contradiction; one day we
were told something, and
the next day we were told
the exact opposite. He also
felt that in the garb of news,
channels were actually
delivering entertainment.
It became an alternative to
saas bahu serials.
A cover story in Outlook
magazine on the paid news
menace proved the trigger
for the lm. Armed with the
experience of having
produced Newswatch, a
media watch programme on
Doordarshan in the '90s,
Aggarwal started
researching the lm. I
thought no one would be
willing to talk on camera,
but very senior people
talked very openly about
the changes in the
profession, he says.
Among those interviewed
in the lm are senior
journalists Vinod Mehta,
Rajdeep Sardesai, Sucheta
Dalal, Shobhaa De, Pradeep
Magazine and Mrinal
Pande. Through their
testimonies, the lm
uncovers the collusion
between journalists and
those they are supposed to
report on be it politicians,
corporations, lmstars or
sportspersons. The lm also
lays bare the problem of
paid news, afflicting English
media as well vernacular
media.
While Aggarwal admits
that the scrutiny media is
subjected to is more than
ever before, he cautions
that this is perhaps true
only of English media.
Unless similar tools are
available for those who do
not consume their news in
English, the dream of a free
and independent media
would remain a distant one,
he says.
Having previously tackled
issues such as caste based
reservations, corporate
malpractice and coal mine
res in his lms, Aggarwal is
now working on a
documentary that tracks
the life and music of A.R.
Rahman.
Media scan
Brokering News by Umesh Aggarwal has won a
Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism award
BUDHADITYA
BHATTACHARYA
I thought no one would
be willing to talk on
camera, but very senior
people talked very
openly about the
changes in the
profession.
Z
DOCUMENTARY

BRING IT ON! Priyanka

Chopra in a still from
Mary Kom.