Taking cue from our
Couch Potato
CULTURAL CORRESPONDENT
This correspondent opted to literally take heed of our official Couch Potato, here at New Age and nose dive into her own little cushy couch, relishing every moment of the three day Eid holiday, blissfully watching TV, and only TV! Nothing can be more rewarding than enjoying an assignment (okay, so it was self assigned!). Equipped with a cosy warm blanket, worn out old socks, assortment of chanachurs, Ruchi, Pran, Bombay, you name it; cans and bottles of RC’s, Chasers, Euro..the works. And oh! A note pad and a pen.
Thanks to our Extra’s pages 6 and 7 of last Friday, the correspondent had highlighted as many events as she could with a bright green, fluorescent pen and wished she had not just one TV set, but four; no actually five, to do justice simultaneously to all the elaborate programmes drawn out by ATN Bangla, Channel- I, NTV and BTV. The fifth set would have been necessary to keep an eye on the international scene, especially the blizzard (for personal reasons) that was rampaging through the north eastern parts of the United States.
The diversity in the events presented by the four channels was really quite commendable. From beautifully choreographed children’s programmes to band shows, variety of musical presentations, special talk shows, magazine shows, special Tritiyo Matra’s, full length Bangla films and of course the Eid dramas….the air times were packed, to say the least. Some of the presentations were very good, some not so good, but there was no dearth of entertainment. It was not humanly possible for this correspondent to watch everything (and that too with just one monitor) but a number of the programmes certainly need special applaud.
It was a refreshing change to watch Channel-I’s Zillur Rahman (he did it last year too) conduct Tritiyo Matra, not wearing his usual bullet-proof vest, but instead, coaxing his celebrity guests ( not political rivals but happily married couples!) to woo one another across his desk! And in Bhalobashar Bangladesh, his magazine programme, Rahman succeeded in bringing out hidden talents of unlikely people, like the Education Minister, who played the guitar, quite flawlessly.
Some of the dramas were exceptionally good. ‘Shaila’s Recipe’ written by Masum Reza and directed by Syed Awlad on ATN Bangla was one of them. With a good script, and Touqir, Tarin and Tazin Ahmed in the cast, not much can go wrong? Mamunur Rashid’s ‘A Aa’ also on ATN Bangla, was a change from the usual theme and had some particularly funny moments, with Rashid dominating the scene as a teacher, supported by an equally good cast, on a bicycle mission to study and rectify the map of Bangladesh. ‘Danda Samas’ on Channel-I, had some side splitting colloquial dialogue, with fireworks flying between young lovers, with Ahmed Rubel trying to counsel them, in vain.
By the time this correspondent was back at work on Monday she may have been a little cross-eyed, but all said and done, thanks to the joint efforts of all the satellite channels, the Eid holiday was a, no chintha, no hassle, very relaxing break, especially for those who chose to stay away from the gorus and chagols.
Tribute: A bohemian rhapsody
DINESH RAHEJA
There was a great schism in the seventies between the fans of Zeenat Aman and the fans of Parveen Babi. The two were constantly singled out for comparison because both were sex symbols who spoke anglicised Hindi, had lustrous hair and long legs, were favourites of reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and had made their mark in no-holds barred, unconventional roles (Zeenat in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Parveen in Yash Chopra’s Deewar).
The very definition of the seventies Bohemian cool, Junagad-born Parveen Babi was studying in Ahmedabad University when B R Ishara discovered her in a chance meeting. Ishara, who was keen to cast a new girl opposite ex-cricketer Salim Durrani, chose Parveen for his Charitra (1973), a bold follow-up to his Chetna. Charitra bombed but the tall, bright-eyed Parveen stood out. Her second release, the Kishore Sahu-directed Dhuen Ki Lakeer (1974), also flopped, but a song from the film, Teri jheel si gehri aankhon mein, lingered in public memory, as did Parveen’s beaming countenance.
But it was Parveen’s small but crucial role in Yash Chopra’s Deewar (1975), that was largely responsible for formulating her image as the sleek, chic, Western woman whose long, open tresses, flying wildly in the wind, became an unspoken expression of her desire to be unshackled by convention, both on and off screen.
With Deewar, Parveen defied Hindi films’ norms and played a heroine who not only flaunted her drink openly but also indulged in premarital sex with her lover, Amitabh. Parveen’s understated performance brought her big notices. Her sophisticated demeanour and cool nonchalance proved a further double whammy. The poignancy that reverberated when her dream of wearing the sindoor ended in a blood-soaked wedding sari made her death one of cinema’s most memorable scenes.
But Parveen had no reason to fret. A gold mine, Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), awaited her. AAA was essentially an Amitabh show, but Parveen had the best role among the heroines. Also, the fact that she was paired opposite superstar Amitabh contributed significantly to her halo.
Her career was booming and she was singled out for the rare distinction of being featured on the cover of Time magazine . At one stage, she even placed her career on the backburner and took off with bearded boyfriend Kabir Bedi, who was to play the title role in an Italian television serial, Sandokan. Fortunately, Parveen returned in the nick of time to pick up the threads of her career with renewed fervour.
Parveen reached the pinnacle of her popularity at the turn of the new decade with a couple of interestingly dark-shaded roles in Meri Awaaz Suno (1981) and Namak Halal (1982). Her unapologetic turn as the gangster’s moll dancing to Kanwarlal in Meri Awaaz Suno revived memories of Deewar. Next, she dazzled audiences with her two cabaret numbers, Raat baaki and Jawani jaaneman, in the blockbuster, Namak Halal
No more could Parveen’s detractors regard her as the poor man’s Zeenat. Nor was she a bonsai star who grew in Amitabh’s shadow. Now she was a star-actress in her own right.
Artists to perform Tsunami
benefit concert
Country, gospel and contemporary Christian artists will perform a benefit concert Wednesday for victims of the Asian tsunami.
Christian pop star Michael W Smith and country singer Kathy Mattea will host the event — ‘An Evening for Restoration: Music City Comes Together for Tsunami Relief’ — at Belmont University.
‘I’m doing this because I want to help’, Smith told The Associated Press. ‘I think it’s a great opportunity to unify with country artists and with gospel artists in this town and make something happen’.
Nashville, known for its country music industry, is also an important centre for the Christian music business.
Performers will include Steven Curtis Chapman, Marty Roe of Diamond Rio, CeCe Winans, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Steve Cropper, the Oak Ridge Boys, Kirk Whalum, tobyMac, Crystal Gayle, MercyMe, Lee Greenwood, The Whites, Raul Malo, The Crabb Family, Dr Bobby Jones, Michael Martin Murphey, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and several Grand Ole Opry stars.
Tickets are $25, and all proceeds go to the international relief agency World Vision. The 7 pm CST show will be aired live on two XM Satellite Radio channels, America and XM Live. — AP
Dangerous Australians
10:00pm-11:00pm, Animal Planet
Australia has mountains, two million square metres of desert, the largest monolith on the planet and 1,920 kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef. It also holds the distinction of being a home to perilous wildlife. Red-back spiders raise their young under toilet seats, and twelve species of snake deliver a bite more deadly than that of the Indian cobra.
For those who think shark nets provide safety for swimmers, they obviously have not heard of the cone shell, the box jellyfish or the blue ringed octopus. Natural World: Dangerous Australians looks at all the animal hazards of Australia not only in the bush, reef and ocean, but in the most unlikely of places - the kitchen and the bathroom.
TODAY'S PIC
Cobra
Sylvester Stallone and director George P. Cosmatos re-team for this action film, which can clearly be seen as an attempt to do an urban Rambo. Cop Marion Cobretti (Stallone) aka ‘Cobra,’ gets called in when regular police methods seem to have failed. Cobra is sent to investigate a spate of random murders happening in the city. But the mysterious killer makes one big mistake - he leaves a witness alive. Cobra, determined to protect the witness, Ingrid (Nielsen), takes her into hiding. However, ‘the murderer’ is really a covert legion of trained assassins with ties to the police force, and if Cobra wants to fulfill his mission and keep Ingrid alive, he’ll have to become a one-man army.
HBO
09:30pm
Starring
Sylvester Stallone,
Brigitte Nielsen
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