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Gone are the days when an English Movie had sad openings and had to be got down before they even completed a week. The Young India of the 21st Century is attracting the west. Current Junta is comprised of the English-educated urban crowd which loves to hag-out in a multiplex nearby with pop corn and friends. No wonder, India is hot destination for Hollywood.

Slumdog Millionaire can be probably said as the most famous product of the Hollywood-India Connection. The movie received a huge response world over and Indians went gaga over it. It made a celebrity out of a local girl, Freida Pinto and we proudly covered it when she became No. 2 in the year’s fastest rising star. Even the latest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace released in India a week before its American opening. The pundits are just amazed by this whole phenomenon.

The Indian and US business leaders have come up with a task force to help foster the relationships further. The recommendations of committee set up by the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) included opening of market, exchange programme, Setting up an Indian counterpart of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, devising plans to negotiate global trades etc.

The strategic tie up will help both the industries as they are the biggest in the world both by output and popularity. Also the the big Indian population abroad are a huge revenue source for both parties. They just need to plan their approach so that both get equal profits. Lets just hope that this new marriage of Hollywood and Bollywood lasts long.

Source: ibnlive.com

The story of Freida Pinto is truly admirable from being unknown to being all over the globe with the success of just one film – Slumdog Millionaire. Forbes magazine listed her as no.2 star among the 10 stars who had the fastest rises to fame this year.

The list of stars include the likes of Lady Gaga(Pop star-’Poker Face’ Fame), Jon and Kate Gosselin (the parents of eight children–sextuplets and twins), Anna Faris (Funny Girl from Scary Movie Fame) and some more.

After the success of the Oscar-sweeping hit Slumdog Millionaire , our very own Mumbai Beauty has parlayed the success into one more film role, including a project with Woody Allen, and a L’ Oreal endorsement contract.

The list highlights the stars who garnered the greatest increase in buzz and industry success in the last year. It was compiled considering press clips and blog mentions as well as television ratings, tour dates and domestic box office (where applicable) for the  12-month periods starting June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008. The stars were ranked based on their year-over-year growth in each category.

Source: in.com

Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle had a lot of Indian actors like Anil kapoor   Saurabh Shukla, Irfan Khan etc. The movie got recognition at Oscars; Golden Globe awards and many more .The success of the movie saw British filmmakers making a beeline for casting Indian actors to lure global audiences.

The filmmakers are trying to assure success of their films on the lines of Slumdog Millionaire. There are many new films which are in the production stage like the Indian Summer. The directors see India as a fascinating and extraordinary place. They are also of the opinion that whatever happens in India is going to affect them too.

NRI filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, who directed the box office hit Bend It like Beckham in 2002, is currently making Its Wonderful Afterlife, a film set in London. It stars versatile Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi and is a comedy about a British Asian mother’s attempts to marry off her daughter, which leads to a bout of serial killing.

The filmmakers say that even Bollywood has woken up to the potential of the East-West mix. The film Kites which  stars Hrithik Roshan is currently being shot at Los Angeles, Las Vegas and India and will be screened at Cannes. The screening is done to ensure that the global audiences are well aware of the movies being made.

It is good to see the east and the west cinemas blending, audiences are in for some good movies!

Source : The Finacial Express

Slumdog Millionaire has been in the thick of things since its release worldwide. The highest point of recognition for the movie came today with 8 Oscar wins. While the entire news media is rejoicing calling this as an Indian victory there are some who seem to love to hate the movie as well.

Stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan and Management guru and film producer Arindham Chaudhary have taken potshots at the film for showing India in a bad light. After all India isn’t only about slums and there is more to India is the stand they have taken. Such critics are calling the movie ‘a showcase to feed the American fantasy on India’ which has transformed from snake charmers to slumdogs now.

While this debate continues there are online blogs which are questioning whether the movie even deserved 8 Oscars. Slumdog millionaire won oscars for the following categories.

Best Film: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Direction: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song: A R Rahman and Gulzar for ‘Jai Ho…’ (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Original Score: A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty and Richard Pryke for Slumdog Millionaire.

Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

While the achievements of A.R.Rahman and its acknowledgement cannot be denied one does wonder why the oscars are placed so highly? I mean do any of the foriegn film stars even bother about what is happening on the India side of things? Also would Slumdog make the same impact at the oscars if it was directed by an Indian Director?

All these questions point towards the fact that Indian films still need a validation of success in terms of an Oscar. A filmfare award isn’t enough it seems.

Yes these questions do point towards the acceptance and recognition that Indians crave from the west even though we pretty much lead in every department in the US be it information technology or politics. Hopefully one day India would recognize international movies and not the other way round.