Bollywood's Imports

There's no dearth of desi blood in Bollywood, but ever since Rachel Shelley lost her itty-bitty heart to Aamir Khan in Lagaan, our divas have had to accommodate their western counterparts in their movies, sometimes as leading ladies, sometimes as sidekicks and sometimes as rivals in the game of onscreen love.

We talk about our exports with such heart-bursting pride - for instance, there's our very own beauty queen slash first lady of Bollywood royalty and brand endorsements slash perennial favourite of Bollywood bigwigs slash wife of the scion of a one-man industry slash ... you get the point. She's yet to hit the big time in "crossover" cinema, but to fill up  the void that her periodic goodbyes to home soil bring about, Bollywood has made way for blue-eyed starlets from across the seas. Here's a look at some of them.

Rachel Shelley: This green-eyed Brit beauty was in the news for divulging the plotline of Lagaan prior to its release, thereby managing to get on the wrong side of Mr Perfectionist Khan. Psst, I think the height was a bigger issue.

Rachel's official fansite

Alice Patten: Repeat offender Aamir Khan's love interest in 2006's ode to jingoism, Rang De Basanti, the willowy Alice Patten, was another import from the UK. But she was no Rachel Shelley - she kept mum and reaped rich praise for her role of an exchange student that she played with warmth and humour.

Alice's Facebook fan page

Barbara Mori: She can safely be called the western equivalent of Aishwarya Rai, insofar that she and the movie she starred in were polished to a shine and promised fireworks, respectively, but both went kaput at the box office. Rumoured to have been more than c0-star to Hrithik, Barbara's Bollywood debut might not have set the cash registers ringing, but she passed with flying colours. Will this Uruguayan-Japanese come back for seconds? Time will tell.

More about Barbara

Giselle Monteiro: Bollywood's best kept secret last year was Brazilian lass Giselle, opposite Saif Ali Khan in the "Kal" half of Love Aaj Kal. Her role of shy Harleen Kaur had people sitting up and taking notice right from the time movie teasers and promos were released.

Giselle's Facebook fan page

Kalki Koechlin: This unconventional actress of French descent danced into the limelight with her gritty, edgy portrayal of Chandramukhi in boyfriend Anurag Kashyap's modernistic, psychedelic adaptation of Devdas, Dev D. Again in the news for the wrong reasons, Kalki looks like she's here to stay.

More on Kalki

Sarah Thompson: This accomplished American actress shared some terrific chemistry with Ranbir Kapoor on the sets of Raajneeti. Even though she had a minor role and very little screen time, she says she'd love to work in Bollywood again. Any takers?

Sarah on Ranbir Kapoor and Bollywood

'To Hell With Mr.Suresh Kalmadi'

Guest writer TheComicProject in his second post on FTP offers a contrarian view of the CWG 2010 debacle - what if India comes together and miraculously manages to pull this off, in spite of the Kalmadi calamities this mega-sporting event is facing? Read on.

Over the centuries, sporting events have been used as a medium of celebration, entertainment, as distraction and as a show of strength, appeasement of egos and a display of national pride. The Delhi Commonwealth Games were meant to be no different, except it has become a bizarre show of corruption, construction delays and the Rs.3,750 (or is it Rs.4,138) toilet roll. It has rightly attracted criticism from all quarters, questioning the logic of hosting these games and if the money could have been used elsewhere. There are some who would be happy if the games fail, some calling for the games to be cancelled and finally, there are those who can't stop making fun of the event.

With so much going on, our desire to see those responsible for this mess to be held accountable, and aversion to reinforce failure, there are less than 2 months to go for the opening ceremony and the only hope for the organizers seems to be a grand fireworks show that will dazzle us into forgetting this state of unpreparedness. But looking beyond the outrage, the blame games, media coverage, probes, “national pride” and a painful countdown to embarrassment this could turn out to be - what about the sports, sportspersons, and sports lovers?

The games will feature 17 disciplines ranging from Aquatics to Wrestling, over 8000 athletes and officials from 71 countries – from Anguilla to Zambia. Athletes have trained for months in the lead up to these games, each one of them with something at stake, something to prove. An estimated 100,000 tourists from all over the world will visit Delhi to witness the event, support their teams and hope for a taste of India that was promised to them in the tourism advertisements. And they might end up being confronted by a state of unpreparedness.

Not of the venues and the infrastructure, but that of a public that has not participated in something this big for a long time. Because, while we will most likely find a way to “fix” the mess – completing the construction, ensuring that they stand for 12 days; cover up dug up roads, beautify parts of the city while hiding the ugliness behind curtains and brushing corruption allegations under the carpet – we still do not know for sure what it takes to be part of a city that is hosting an event on the world stage, in front of hundreds of cameras, thousands of spectators and millions of TV viewers.

We can continue piling on the criticism, making sure that the heat is kept on those responsible, but in the next 54 days, there is more to do – some trivial, and some a little more than that. Like being extra-vigilant and checking if surroundings are safe. Or looking out for the tourists, women in particular, by making sure they are not being harassed. Or by turning out at the venues to support athletes whose morale and performance would get that extra fillip when they see a stadium full of noisy supporters. In short, make the visitors feel safe, cared for, and at home.

Maybe it’s too much to ask for, but if only Delhi could turn up when it matters the most (unlike that city by the Arabian Sea). Because when the participants get ready to go back with their medals, and the tourists start catching their flights back home, their impressions will be shaped, not just by the colours, sounds and smells, but also by a unique experience called “Atithi Devo Bhavah” – and if we get that right, it would be something to be proud about.

Don’t Play Cupid, Stupid!

If you’ve watched “Aisha”, irrespective of whether you liked the film or not, you would’ve taken one lesson home - to never play cupid! While you might have the best intentions, here are some reasons why matchmaking is not a good idea:

First and foremost, why exactly are you trying to match-fix? While you might be feeling smug about your “in a relationship” or “married” relationship status, some people are happy being single. Just because you think they’ll be happier hooked up doesn’t mean they do. Respect their decision to remain single.

Given that there are some people who do need a little help where matters of the heart are concerned, let them find their partners on their own rather than pursue them to hook up with someone you think is right.

No matter how well-intentioned your initiatives are, there’s always a chance that you might bring two totally mismatched people together. Chances are, since you are trying to influence them to decide on your “chosen one”, you might unintentionally manipulate their choice regarding someone else.

Despite all the efforts you make, if things don’t work out the way you thought they would, you’ll end up bearing the brunt. All your well-meaning interventions will be looked upon as interference and you will be at the receiving end of all the resentment they feel towards each other.

Even if things work out, you’ll always be the scapegoat when something goes wrong. What you are essentially doing is signing up for a lifetime of mediation whenever they have problems.

Do You Always Tell The Truth?

Is it co-incidence or are we as a people increasingly feeling the need for honesty in our lives?

I recently saw a tweet from Preity Zinta:

Friendship day, mothers day, fathers day , valentines day etc ! Wat bout Honesty day where v could honestly tell people how v really feel?

A few weeks back I came across an article and tweeted it. It talks about radical honesty. About being brutally honest, even if it means the end of some relationships.

You don’t really like what your neighbour is wearing, but you still say it’s nice. An acquaintance might say something you don’t agree with, but you nod and say “how true!” Your boss asks you for the long overdue assignment and you say you’re just mailing it across, when you’re actually just starting on it.

We all tell little (some to a greater extent) white lies every day. Sometimes it’s just simpler to agree to something you don’t actually believe is true. Why can’t we just be honest and say it like it is? Why can’t we accept criticism? I’ve debated this thought with myself and sometimes with my colleague on our way back home.

Now that we’re talking about honesty, I must admit that there have been days when I’m in a conversation with someone and I think that person is lying through his teeth. In my head I’m screaming, “No, no. That’s not how it is. You’re completely making that up”. Outside, I’m all composed, with a somewhat stoic look.

I can’t help but sneak in a song by Billy Joel aptly titled ‘Honesty’ . It goes something like this.

If you search for tenderness
it isn't hard to find.
You can have the love you need to live.
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind.
It always seems to be so hard to give.

Then again, circumstances aren’t always black and white. Sometimes lying can be the only solution in a tricky situation. So is honesty an overrated virtue? Or are we not giving it its full due?

I’m tempted to try being 100% honest for a week and see where it takes me. Will I be jobless? Or homeless? Or friendless? We’ll soon find out...

Julia: Eat, Pray and Love Hinduism

Hilary Clinton has said she loved ‘Eat Pray Love’. Supermodel Elle Macpherson has advised every woman to read it. Women have been exchanging Elizabeth Gilbert’s irresistible autobiography like manna. My own copy was gifted by a friend and I am inexorably drawn into Gilbert’s search for everything.

Now, Julia Roberts has joined the search. The 42-year-old actor, who was among the world’s highest paid for five straight years, picked ‘Eat Pray Love’ over ‘The Blind Side’ as her ‘comeback’ film. Considering that ‘The Blind Side’ is an All-American sports film and won Sandra Bullock three big awards, Julia Roberts took a risk.

From People Magazine: What makes Julia Roberts most beautiful – still!

Will the risk pay off? We don’t know that yet. What we do know is that like the character in Gilbert’s book, Julia Roberts has been hit by a bolt of spirituality. She recently told the world she’s a practicing Hindu.

Here’s what she told People magazine:

The entire Roberts-Moder family, goes to temple together to "chant and pray and celebrate. I'm definitely a practicing Hindu."

[On possible reincarnation] "Golly, I've been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life," she says. "Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting."

When religion is intensely personal, then why are celebrities prone to public religion-hopping? So Lindsay Lohan is in the process of converting to Judaism after breaking up with Sam Ronson. Oh wait. That was before her 2009 karma finding mission to India. “I am all about Karma, what comes around, goes around,” she had posted on Twitter.

Katie Holmes, better known as Mrs Tom Cruise, than the average actor she was, followed him to Scientology. Dreamy actor Orlando Bloom gave up the Church of England for Buddhism.  Though Buddhism’s top celebrity remains Richard Gere. Gere reportedly meditates daily which helps him to stay motivated. Rapper Snoop Dogg left behind his Baptist roots to join the Nation of Islam which started as a Black empowerment group.

In 2008, Michael Jackson became Mikaeel, following his conversion to Islam. Plagued with fall from grace from the zenith as the King of Pop to the nadir and relentless scrutiny over his marriages, plastic surgeries and charges of child molestation, Jackson had perhaps hoped that conversion would help him find the way and lead a better life.

Madonna has been strict follower of Kabbalah. So have Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.

So celebrities can quit one religion and join another. Just like that. It’s like a privilege they expect with a celebrity status.

Look closer.  Before the release of their films, actors will go for ‘quiet’ visit to temples, gurudwaras, mosques, temples. So you’ll hear of actors in burqas at Ajmer Sharif, walking to Siddhivinayak in the dead of night or prostrating at Tirupati.  Blessing is what they seek. Why not at home?  You and I do it - spend quiet time in prayer. Why must everything, including religion, be larger-than-life for celebrities?

Four words sum it up. Seek attention. Gain publicity. Does Julia Roberts need publicity? After all she’s no Katie Holmes. Julia Roberts is worth upwards of $140 million dollars. But isn’t self obsession every celebrity’s curse?

As the whole world discusses Julia Roberts’ new religion and she derides the use of botox, preferring to look natural instead, ‘Eat Pray Love’ releases on August 13.

How’s that for timing?

Commonwealth Games: A Total Farce

Even a nation like Malaysia is better-placed to host the Games. It's sad but true. We should not have bid for the Games - Baichung Bhutia

Come something like Commonwealth Games, in India, and the first tendency of our sports bureaucrats seems to be the 'money' factor. Not to be mistaken that the money we are talking about here is the one which goes in their pockets rather than doing the usual. The event will and anyway happen (who gives a darn), regardless of the fact that anybody will participate in it. It's a loot - come take and don't worry about the fact that the name India is associated with it. But, don't even think about the bid for 2020 Olympics if you have any pride left.

Commonwealth Games was a chance for India to show off its proficiency to everyone and instead they are busy looting public money in the name of CWG projects.

With less than two months away for the Games, they are busy forming an emergency panel to investigate the large-scale corruption - i.e. financial irregularities to be precise - rather than deciding the parameters for hosting an event like CWG. Did anyone say whatever about tarnishing the country's image? No kidding why top foreign athletes decided to pull out. Some Indians too!

If we had put Rs 35,000 crores into providing games facility for 90 per cent of our children who have no games facilities no access to them. Tomorrow we'd be winning all the medals in the world. But so long as you go on spending thousands of crores on circuses like this and totally ignore the aam bachcha (common child), there is no hope, said a thoughtful Mani Shankar Aiyar.

On a lighter note and more rightly Mr. Aiyar said, with rains hitting the capital, he was delighted as it would enable agricultural production in the country and it would cause difficulty for the Commonwealth Games Federation in the preparations.

The outspoken MP's remarks should have embarrassed the government or the CWG committee or us otherwise, but the way things are managed here everybody preferred to shut up and let the mockery continue. Please see the sarcasm in the above quote, which is quite true to say the least.

The Prime Minister has given us Rs 700 crore for training of athletes, I am confident that will reflect in India's medal tally, said a happy chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Suresh Kalmadi.

The question anyone will ask looking at the chaos and organisational mess is: Does India actually plan to host the mega sporting event in the country?

Nevertheless, hurrah! With the onset of the Rs 700 crore, all the focus from the Games shifted to paisa making. We finished fourth - medals tally - in Melbourne during the 2006 Games. But this time Mr. Kalmadi has other plans for the athletes. He tweaked the Common 'Wealth' Games format a bit to suit his own charms.

- Crores of money has been spent. Some went here some went there. So in aquatics category - since Phelps is not coming - they are swimming in money.

- Athletics requires lots of running to do. And since, the hands of the law are very long - according to Bollywood - you should be prepared to run. Anil Khanna couldn't because his conscience was clear.

- Since demotivated India's ace shooter Gagan Narang is thinking about skipping the Commonwealth Games, Kalmadi and co has shot themselves right on their foot. No medals though!

- Olympian bronze medalist grappler Sushil Kumar among others promised a rich medal haul at the Commonwealth Games. But the entire CWG committee seems to be wrestling with their self-conscience. Whether Sushil and others will manage a medal is unknown but Kalmadi surely will have no contest.

- In the racing category however, the Suresh Kalmadi team is seriously behind schedule. Delhi got the bid to host the mega event as early as 2003 and we are still racing against time to complete the basic infrastructure.

Is anyone still talking about the amount of disgrace brought to country? Please bear with them; we are famous for our IST.

In all 272 gold, 272 silver and 282 bronze medals will be given away to the athletes during the mega event. Each medal are said to be six mm in thickness and 63.5mm in diameter. Some money to be made here too. I am clueless what the budget for the toilet papers was. It's an inflation time and maybe they were concerned over the price rise.

Even the National AIDS Control Organisation is scratching their heads over the delay in installing condom-vending machines at various Commonwealth Games sites. With the market rising exponentially, maybe Kalmadi and co are busy working on the prices of the CWG-type condoms. Hey we are talking about several lakh rupees. There are no system of checks and balances to ensure accountability of these politicians-turned-managers. After the heat, couple of them have resigned but all of them are in line. Whose head do you want?

Amidst all the chaos in the name of a sports event, I was just curious; do we actually need Common 'Wealth' Games in India? With due respect to our Indian athletes, the huge amount of money that went in hosting such an event (in Kalmadi's pocket) should have been spent on commitment towards the cause of sports in the country. Or sit back, rely on our favourite formulajugaad, hope for the best and be proud to be irresponsible.

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FTP Recap 9 – Top Posts

Yet another week comes to a close, and it's time for a weekly roundup of what happened on Yahoo! Fit To Post.

This week around, we focus on the top grossing posts of the week. Take a look at the top 10 posts the last week had to offer. Let's start with Piyali's post on Rahul-Dimpy: The Real Story. This was an engaging post on the 'reality checks' of the Rahul Mahajan - Dimpy "arranged-cum-reality show" relationship (marriage). This post also brought in an overwhelming response in the form of comments, almost 350 to date.

If controversy is not your cup of tea, why not try out Rapture in a Tea Cup: A Day out in Munnar? Clint's photo-feature about a small hill-station near his hometown have left readers planning their next trip there. Take a look at scenic Munnar, Kerela, fromClint's eyes.

Speaking of eyes, 'Who Has the Most Beautiful Eyes?' earned third place last week. Khristina (with Suma's help) put together a list of pretty eyes from Hollywood and Bollywood. With almost 450 comments and even more votes, the clear winner seemed to be our very own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

All you auto lovers, fret not. Clint's Super Seller Alto Gets a Facelift took 4th place last week. With exciting new features and a price it can boast of, could the new Alto be the next Maruti 800? Let's wait and watch.

10 Celeb Singles Who Should Be Together takes fifth place in our countdown of hottest posts of the week gone by. Have you ever wondered why can't Shahid Kapur and Amrita Rao's reel-life chemistry (in Ishq Vishq and Vivaah) turn into a real-life chemistry? They're perfect for each other right? Take a look at some more potential Bollywood couples, seen through Khristina's eyes, which could make you wonder, "Yeah why aren't they together? They're perfect for each other!"

For Rahul Dravid fans, this should be a treat. Anirban's For the Love of Dravid takes 6th place. In Anirban's own words:

There are a few men we hate to see fall -  one such man is Rahul Sharad Dravid, 'The Wall' of Indian cricket for decades. Many dream to do what Dravid has done with the willow – with which he fought many a battle to bring glory to Indian cricket.

We couldn't agree more!

The latest to fall into the trap of plastic surgery is Lara Flynn Boyle from 'The Practice' fame. With her post on Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong, Suma uncovers the truth about the millions women spend on to retain their "youthful" looks, not once thinking about the consequences of these extremes.

Does Age Matter? Not in Sachin's Case! And boy, do we agree. No wonder this post earned 7th spot in our countdown of top posts last week. Bikash's tribute to the little master is about the recent controversy linking his performance with his age; will he play the next World Cup or not, is the question everyone seems to be asking. Bikash rubbish-es these comments and asks all the let the master do his own thing. Don't you agree?

Come Friday and we all look forward to the current movie reviews by our in-house movie freak Rummana. This week, she watched Aisha and her post gets 9th position in our countdown. According to her expert eye, the movie is a sure one-time watch; but she warns, post the climax, it seems long-ish, and you will want it to end, NOW.

Priyadarshini concludes last week's countdown in 10th spot with a serious debate. Her take on Domestic Violence: Speak Up or Shut Up speaks about the reality of domestic violence in the family, keeping in mind the Rahul-Dimpy Mahajan case. The statistics are alarming, and yet, how many of them actually reach the courts? Just a handful. Take a look at her research piece on the subject.

Well, that's all for this week on FTP. Keep visiting our blog because here's where you'll get all the dope on happenings around the world.