Mansi

A friend sent me this link (http://spaces.msn.com/members/mangalpandey) sometime this week. I got to viewing the page this morning and in response to his email, a flurry of thoughts hit me all at once - which is often a sign that I need to blog.
The subject is Aamir Khan and he seems to regard his 'space' as a medium through which he can keep in touch/interact/respond to his fans. What we get to read in Aamir's responses are his perception of being a 'star' - actor - albeit in my opinion grossly misunderstood - Nevertheless his attempt to connect with his audience / fans ( not sure which is which in his mind) is laudable.

Before I get into the 'slurry of thoughts', let me quickly add that in no small measure, it does delight me to view this page. There is nothing like an opportunity to connect with an artist - in this case Aamir Khan - at some point, I will get to see Mangal Pandey and hopefully then will have my two-bit thrill in commenting on his 'space'.
In the larger context, this is one more door open in to the cultural space of film-making. All of us indulge in the performing arts and with films in particular, sadly, there is a huge disconnect between the artists and the audience. This is, in my opinion, largely due to media companies that monopolize the bridge of communication between film makers and their audiences.
In all art experiences, both the artist and the audience have a meaningful exchange in store that in turn fuels the cycle of art. Enter the media, TV channels, newspapers and magazines, and any 'meaning' towards the former exchange is seriously compromised. In such a scenario, the ability then to connect with Aamir Khan, an actor in the movie Mangal Pandey is quite thrilling - a renaissance of a lost connection - a resurrection of sorts and a restoration of means. While we do have virtual media facilitating the exchange ( MSN), it is far less intimidating than traditional film and paper media houses. So, Mangal Ho! to such opportunities.

Moving on....

If journalism (traditional media houses) sat on one end of a spectrum, Blogging, in my opinion, sits at the other extreme. While bloggers tend to confuse the two (in search of journalistic fame), in my mind, blogging is and can never be journalistic (and thank god for that!)in culture. It's kinda like juxtaposing justice against law. While the latter is the formalized medium to achieve the former, such is not necessarily the outcome. Over years of formalized practice, sometimes we find the business of law can be as far away as possible from the execution of justice.
Similar is the case with blogging and journalism.
Blogging is a medium by which readers get an insight into the blogger. It is governed by a personal morality that within reasonable definition rings true across humanity. Unlike journalism and their presumed sense of morality (all show, no go) it is rarely that you will come across a blog where you are unable to understand the underlying morality map.
Another example to illustrate the divide: American Idol vs INXS Rock star ( tacky name) - - While the former sells an 'IDOL' - somebody that takes on different hues in our media-glazed minds - the resolution of the show isn't necessary. Any one of the contestants could be Idol and we'd not care beyond a certain short time frame - BECAUSE the manipulation is being metered inside our heads. It's like a lullaby, babies don't really get it about the cradle rocking and the baby falling ( how traumatic that one!!!) but it still gets them to sleep. Contrast A.Idol with the INXS Rockstar ( if ever a tacky name in recent television history was created....!!!) where there isn't anything on sale. It's real and performance nights (the only nights I watch) is like going to a rock show (and hating the fact that it's on TV). I will not compare individual performances (Rockstar is far far superior!!!!) but then again, that isn't what seperates the two shows. It's the packaging of cultural intent - glaringly all icing in the former, and simply meat balls in the latter.

At Aamir's space, I was immediately slapped by the Mangal Pandey promotion theme. I was saddened to understand the motive of his 'space' - Promoting Mangal Pandey while connecting with fans/audience. Once that objective registered and was promptly dismissed ( I am not going to rush to watch Mangal Pandey), I got to the 'blogging' part of Aamir's 'Space'.

The ability to blog gives readers an insight into the blogger - Aamir Khan - and to me, he reflects a misconstrued sense of public responsibility.

What does it mean to be a 'star'? Often we see our Bollywood actors pained by their 'star' status. Some of them spend all their spare time in public demanding that they be spared their privacy (No, not their name (a la Crucible) - just their privacy). To me, this is often hillarious. After years of living off steets, friends and spouces, they 'make it' in a career in public entertainment which to me seems like the most personal and most private choice they've ever made. Once here, most of them seem completely inept at understanding themselves, their roles or their career environment. This is often because Aamir the actor becomes Aamir the star.
What is a 'star'? Were I to say that most actors cannot command their starship in any direction whatsoever, it would be a gross understatement. The list of crash-outs are plenty : Sanjay Dutt, Shakti Kapoor, Salman Khan....

Here again in Aamir's 'space' we are treated to one too many servings of misplaced gratitute and holy patriotism. In response to a fan's comment that Aamir is Hollywood material, he akins Bollywood to nothing short of a holy institution. (excuse me???)
Why does Aamir Khan have to assume any 'star' responsibility? Why does he need to handle his fans with kid gloves? Why wasn't he talking to us about his experience of Mangal Pandey, the production woes, the marketing woos??
HEY - you might interrupt - A guy can do only what a guy can do - look, you point out, at the kind of hero-worship comments on the site ..... how can Aamir respond any differently?
There in lies the problem. After years of monopolized bridges, the disconnect is now a deep divide. Even when we do get to communicate with artists, it seems like we're shouting at each other across the grand canyon. And if any of you are familiar with the 'suicide point' experience, the most powerful words are always 'I love you'. So there we are, at it, screaming words of adoration and praise, simply because we aren't sure when we'll ever get to do that again. We're not sure when the channel of communication will be severed again and all we'll have left is NDTV and Stardust!

Serious dialogue on the culture of films and film making will need to adopt informal channels such as blogs. Traditional media will need to be shunned like an untouchable for the damage they have and still continue to wreck on society at large is immense. I don't necessarily mean that all of traditional media is bad or worthless. All I want to stress on is that on more occasions than one, traditional media has transgressed our collective personal justice and worser still they seem to be getting away with it.

With informal media on the rise, we will be able to save the Aamirs and the Aamir audience and in the process re-invigorate the culture of cinema.

What is the USP for media firms? Looking across news channels, I reckon it's 'C'redibility.
Across all news Channels, more and more we see reporters and news readers trying their best to look earnest and Credible. A man who Caught on early to the sword of Credibility is none other than NDTV's Pranoy Roy.

I Caught him two nights in a row anChor the 9pm news this week. While he still wields the mighty 'C' sword, I think he's also lost his own reporting edge.. This evening he called Uddhav Bal Thakeray's nephew and Raj the latter's son! Yesterday he had trouble Choosing between the words livelihood and living.

His humor isn't as sharp or reflective either. Tonight and as always he thanked his weather anChor, telling her that viewers believe her more than we do the Met dept. And then he swung around and brandished us (any of us who aren't part of his Chosen 'Viewers') to 'pay Close attention'. Quite funny that - for we were listening when NDTV's weather report yesterday predicted rain today in Delhi and down here in the Capital as of 10:06 pm the day after, we're still listening!!

But that's not what got me irked on the mighty 'C' sword he weilds with such arrogant Charm.

The story - The assasination of Sri Lankan foreign minister.
Last night Prannoy Roy Came in informing us that his brave reporters, in the thick with the LTTE, had eliCited an exclusive denial. (Never mind that LTTE has denied just about any and every assassination and attempt of)
The LTTE Confessed to having no hand in the assassination. Of Course, while we waited to see just what our brave reporters were unravelling, we lost all footage.
Was Dr. Roy fazed? No, ( I do now suspeCt that this was a post-recording editing job) for not for a single second was Dr. Roy even aware of what had even happened.

Today the LTTE's political spokesperson was heard reassuring India that we do not have to 'fear', for the LTTE would not now or in the future use their arms against us or our leaders ( Yeah right! Like Rajiv was not plenty enough)
Next we were on the phone with the Sri Lankan milatary. EaCh word uttered by them was measured against NDTV's interview in the heartland (a la Chamba valley - no less) of LTTE.

The question remains: While the LTTE has denied a hand in the assassination, what is the evidence that the Govt of Sri Lanka possess?

Does NDTV care? NO! All the news channel does care about is promoting it's own bravado ( however hare-brained the motive of the project) and it's (in)accurate weather news (Dr. Roy: Thank you dear - News Anchor: You're welcome, Chacha Roy)

Is media Credible?
Why do media Companies repeat the same two bits of news over and over again, lest we suCCumb. Are our minds that fuddled?
What will it take for the media to admit that they fumble?
Why are most media professionals and a growing seCtion of eager bloggers smug about their perCeived swords of justice?

Let me leave you with a startling Connection between modern literary aesthetiCism and the Contemporary worlds' indifference to violence (read truth) - Courtesy, a Bosnian writer Dzevad Karahasan. He said " The decision to perceive literally everything as an aethetic phenomenon - completely sidestepping questions about goodness and truth - is an artistic decision. That decision started in the realm of art, and went on to become characteristic of the contemporary world.' ( further courtesy - Amitav Ghosh, Tehelka)

What ever happened to Toni Braxton? At one point, I believed we were beholding a diva and the next, it was all skin and affairs.
Now, what we have is Il Divo performing 'Unbreak my heart', first caught on V and today I caught them again on VH1. Il Divo take 'Unbreak my heart', a song I remember as a favorite Toni Braxton number, remove the emotions Braxton was so good at delivering and instead inject in a new wave.
It's not opera but it's very close. Known as a cosmopolitan cross-over pop-opera band, Il Divo is not just a visual treat. It's an oratory relish, and to hear men sing opera (domingo, paverotti, bocelli, groban) is to me one of the sexiest treats of all.
The only song I've caught on TV from this troupe is 'Unbreak my heart'. It's not in English and that's the first difference. It's not American either, opera never was. It isn't with women with bare minimum clothes, in and outside swimming pools, with nothing to lose in this world but their hearts.
And I've just begun to skim the surface of differences, which heralds in a refreshing new wave of music.

This troupe of four men, aren't anything like the boybands, both past and present. The video is about pride, respect, continuity and a different kind of success. Like one fan said - 'Of course, your average boyband doesn't have an average age of 35 and wear Armani..'

The songs are in Italian, Spanish and English. I'd say that the genre is somewhere between pop and opera - but the vote is out there for cross-over jazz, classical, pop and even rock!

When we think cross-over, most of us normally pick up Josh Grobin, probably because of his famous stint on Ally McBeal - - Il Divo is not about individual performance, they are about the group and that's a clear difference again. Together their voices are superb, highly explosive and they aren't shying away.

Something about the average age of 35 strikes a chord with me too. What do men about 35 really want to sing about? Nothing is more disappointing than men in their 30s and 40s pretending to be in their 20s. Il Divo isn't even trying and that's 10 points to their favor!

Lastly, and perhaps the most disappointing piece of trivia that is true, that I picked up, is that this troupe, dubbed the classical beatles are the new operatic vocal group from Simon Cowell's syco music. BAH! To add to my misery pot, this is what Simon Cowell had to say about the band, a result of a two year long talent search that brought together an American, A Frenchman (oooooooooooo la la), A Spaniard and a Swiss - "Il Divo have taught me more than I have taught them. I am actually intimidated and slightly in awe of their talent! I am more proud of this album than anything else i've ever been involved with, they are going to be huge."

Well! As much as I can't stomach Mr. Cowell, I can't really stop now can I? Il Divo is a great band and album and after listening to tid-bits of all their songs on Amazon, I am anxious to get my hands on the complete songs myself!

While the Cowell factor did dampen my enthusiasm for this band, I have decided not to let it shut me up.
So here's more about Il Divo:
1. David - He's the guy you see hitting the high notes, clearly American, the one 'boy-band' character in the troupe. Don't let that deceive you however. Just like his partners, he's a classically trained musician with a Masters degree in Opera Theatre! He's spent a good 10 years and more in New York and to his acclaim has been part of West Side Story (Tony - - good fit!) and La Scala ( Italy).
2. Sebastien - He's the Frenchman ( ooooooooo - though he's not my favorite). The only self taught musician, he was last seen in the production of Le Petit Prince and even working on a solo album. The troupe looks to him for original scores.
3. Urs - This Swiss hottie was last performing with the Netherlands Opera. With roots in HARD ROCK, believe it or not, he also undertook formal training in Amsterdam.
4. Carlos - Last, but not least, (and my favorite looker of Il Divo,) Carlos is the Spaniard who oozes charm and pride like only the spanish can. He's participated in the spanish versions of Les Miserables ( my all time fav musical) and many others. His opera repertoire is splendid, winning critical acclaim as Prima Baritono in many operas, including renowned works such as La Boheme, La Traviata, The Barber of Seville and Madame Butterfly. He also isn't another Enrique and heralds of a different Spanish flavor, spared from the emotional faux pas that is Iglesias Jr.

Allright, I've just seen one song and I think I've discovered gold???? YES! The first time I registered the video on V, months ago, I thought to myself, European charm is lethal. Compared to American opaque, this is vintage, deep blue, red and white. The video - 'Unbreak my heart' - is also done in a classy manner, reflecting on work ethics, pride and is all MALE. That certainly worked with me, and for the rest of it, they ooze their talent. There is nothing sexier than skill in classical music and this troupe has it.

While Grobin can keep his American audience, the rest of us are in for a treat.