The Life of Pi book

Earlier director M. Night Shyamalan, writer Dean Georgaris, and writer-director Jean-Pierre Jeunet were associated with the project, but Ang Lee might be the one to direct the movie version of the wildly successful book. If he does, the director will work with a new screenplay.

The Life of Pi is the story of a young Indian shipwreck survivor, Pi Patel, who finds himself on a life raft with an injured zebra, orangutan, hyena and a Bengal tiger.

Reports say that Irrfan Khan who recently starred in Slumdog Millionaire has been signed up for The Life of Pi. There is no information about what he has been signed up for. I am thinking that if he has been signed up it is likely that he will play some role in Pi’s life in Pondicherry, before the shipwreck.

Irrfan Khan photo

Yann Martel is delighted with the idea of a film adaptation of his book. He has been quoted as saying, “I’ll be delighted if it happens. Ang Lee is a great director and I would happily trust him with adapting Life of Pi.”

The Life of Pi is the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, in 2002, and has been translated into 40 languages.

Ang Lee is best known for directing movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, and Lust, Caution.

He was won two Oscar awards, Best Director for the 2005 Brokeback Mountain and Best Foreign Language Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000.

Ang Lee with his experience in adaptations (Brokeback Mountain, The Ice Storm) and his ability to depict the fantastic with the real, seems to be good choice to direct The Life of Pi.

In 2008, Irrfan Khan won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, for Slumdog Millionaire. His recent release was Shahrukh Khan’s Billu, which has not done too well at the box office.

In the past, Irrfan Khan has received critical acclaim for movies like Mira Nair’s The Namesake, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Life in a Metro, A Mighty Heart, Haasil, and Vishal Bharadwaj’s Maqbool.

The Aquarian Gospel book cover

And for once, she is not doing sexy. In The Aquarian Gospel, Mallika Sherawat plays Saraswati, a good friend of Jesus and an ascetic, whom she accompanies on his travels.

The Aquarian Gospel will be directed by Drew Heriot and co-written by John F. Sullivan and Keenan.

The Aquarian Gospel, a book first published in 1908, chronicles the missing years in Jesus Christ’s life, from 13 to 30. In the missing years, according to The Aquarian Gospel, Jesus travels around the world, from Israel through India, Tibet, Persia, Greece and Egypt. He is said to have wandered all over India and taken inspiration from Eastern philosophies.

This movie is going to stir up a hornet’s nest in so many ways, that the mind boggles.

Roman Catholics are going to denounce this as heresy. Sure they like watching Mallika Sherawat too, but in some distinctly non-religious movies. Placing a Mallika Sherawat named Saraswati alongside a celluloid Jesus, oh my.

Even if they do grudgingly live with the notion of Jesus travelling to India, there is no way can accept Mallika Sherawat, oops Saraswati, as a co-traveller.

The Hindus will take offence at goddess Saraswati’s name being used on many counts.

a) Saraswati’s name being used in vain, in a Hollywood movie. Which are immoral, from the core.
b) Saraswati wandering all over India with Jesus Christ, that too unchaperoned. What the..!
c) And the most rankling reason of all: Mallika Sherawat, that queen of Oomph, that blot on Indian womanhood, to be named Saraswati! And then she hangs out with who?! MF Hussain is sure going to get some company soon!

Mallika Sherawat

Expect many coronaries, that is if the movie gets made.

There are some rumors that Saraswati may be the love interest of Jesus Christ. If that is true, expect bloodshed.

The Guardian had said that the Indian church has dismissed the movie as “Hollywood filmmakers in search of a new audience rather than the truth.”

John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union was quoted as saying, “I have personally investigated many of these claims and they remain what they first seem: fiction. I am sure it will make money but I do not think it will displace thousands of years of biblical thought.”

The Aquarian Gospel is described as a fantasy action adventure about Jesus’ early life. William Sees Keenan, producer and screenwriter of The Aquarian Gospel, have said, “We think that Indian religions and Buddhism, especially with the idea of meditation, played a big part in Christ’s thinking. In the film we are looking beyond the canonised gospels to the ‘lost’ gospels.”

The Aquarian Gospel will be made at a budget of $20 million.

The rest of the cast is yet to be decided.

But, honestly, why would anyone expect Aishwarya Rai to get lots of footage in the trailer? Pink Panther 2 is all about Steve Martin as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. And so is the trailer. None of the other characters in the movie are in your face, in any way whatsoever. So why should Aishwarya Rai be treated differently?

If you take a look at the Pink Panther 2 official website, the Cast & Filmmakers page has Aishwarya Rai’s picture and details among those of the nine principal characters.

The website also has five games based on five characters, Clouseau (Steve Martin), Vincenzo (Andy Garcia), Sonia (Aishwarya Rai), Pepperidge (Alfred Molina), and Kenji (Yuki Matsuzaki).

Take a look at some of the pictures from the Pink Panther 2 trailer. The prominence she has got is adequate for her role and good enough for me, thank you very much.

Aishwarya Rai's photo on the Pink Panther 2 website's Cast and Character's page

Aishwarya Rai in a still from the Pink Panther 2 trailer

Aishwarya Rai in another still from the Pink Panther 2 trailer

But one cannot expect balance and maturity from the Indian media. It is a past master at knee-jerk reactions and drawing pat conclusions.

An actress adopts a child, it’s a trend. Papers and news channels will run story after story on how single women today are adopting furiously before their biological clocks wind down.

A manic depressive actress kills herself. Be ready to brave stories and chats with pop psychologists about how actresses in the show business are prone to offing themselves and why.

India wins a Gold at the Olympics, and suddenly it is a major player on the World’s sports scene.

The India cricket team wins two matches in a row, it’s the best team in the world. India loses one match, it’s the worst team in the world. Ganguly doesn’t retire, he is selfish. Ganguly retires, he is the most wonderful player ever in Indian cricket. I mean, grow up!

And then there are our film critics. Most don’t know the basic rule of writing a critique: you don’t compare apples with oranges. But no, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Bombay to Bangkok will be compared to his Dor and found wanting, never mind they belong to two different genres.

Bombay to Bangkok may or may not be a good movie, but if comparisons have to be drawn then it better be compared to, say, a Jab We Met or any other romantic comedy.

Whatever happened to perspective?

Pink Panther 2 will be released on February 6, 2009. Aishwarya Rai plays Sophie Solandres, a criminologist, in the movie.

Photo: Mallika Sherawat's look in Nagin

Does not augur well for Hisss on the face of it. But, Hisss‘ costume, make-up, and special effects teasers have generated a lot of interest. You can see from the pictures here that this is not your standard Ramsay, or even Ramu (The Factory) horror film. Costume quality and makeup in the Hiss arfe definitely on Hollywood standards. We hold our judgement though on that ridiculous name Hisss – who chose that, some assistant director to the Ramseys?

The producers, Vikram Singh and Govind Menon, have roped in Robert Kurtzman, known for his expertise in make-up, special effects, and visual effects. Kurtzman has won the Saturn award in 1999, for make-up in the movie Vampires.

Mallika Sherawat

Mallika Sherawat is best known as the hottest bod in Bollywood. Mallika Sherawat was last seen in Maan Gaye Mughal-e-azam and Ugly aur Pagli, both of which were box-office disasters. She has also acted in The Myth with Jackie Chan.

Mallika Sherawat’s look has been crafted quite painstakingly in Hisss. In the movie, Mallika Sherawat has to wear huge contact lenses that even cover the white of her eyes. Mallika Sherawat has to take out the lenses every few hours to let her eyes breathe. The elaborate nagin elaborate costume has to be kept on for 8-10 hours at a stretch, and she has to be carried around.

Mallika cannot drink water or go to the loo during those 8-10 hours.

Photo: Mallika Sherawat in her Nagin avatar in Hisss

Mallika Sherawat was first noticed in Khwahish (2003), a movie that became famous for its seventeen kisses. The hero was forgotten, Mallika was both appreciated and condemned for her “boldness,” depending on which side of the fence you are on. Mallika Sherawat refused to apologise for her sexy image, rather she reveled in it.

Next came the 2004 Murder, which was a runaway hit. Mallika Sherawat played the role of a woman who has an extramarital affair.

All through her career, Mallika Sherawat has courted controversy because of her outspoken comments on sexuality.

Mallika Sherawat’s last hit has been Pyaar Ke Side Effects, a multiplex movie that did quite well, and gave her an opportunity to shed her sexy image.

Mallika Sherawat does not have any other films in her kitty right now, except the recently announced Unveiled. The other movie she was supposed to apppear in, Fauj Mein Mauj, has been shelved. Hisss is very important to Mallika’s career, in that sense.

Hisss revolves around a vengeful nagin (Mallika Sherawat), who shape shifts into a gorgeous woman and goes to the city to hunt for her mate, who has been captured from the jungle by an American, George States. Hisss also stars Irfan Khan who plays a cop who has to track her down to stop the destruction she unleashes in the city.

The vengeful nagin theme has been very popular in Indian cinema, with more than a dozen movies made on snakewomen, between 1925 and 1990. What is common among all the Nagin movies is the horrendous make-up and equally terrible special effects.

With good production values, Hisss might actually do justice to the tired theme. The last woman to play a Nagin in Bollywood was the sumptuous Sridevi in Nagina (1986). Nagina was a huge hit and even had a sequel.

Hisss will be released in 2009.