Which Main? What Cross?: gandhinagar

Showing posts with label gandhinagar. Show all posts

May 15, 2009

Hanumanthappa Road, Gandhinagar

Sandalwood Friday Movie Release Series:
Character Artists Outside Namma Theatres - The Snake Charmer

This guy is a charmer and not just of snakes. Every Friday, the day movies release and the fans hit the streets of Gandhinagar, he mesmerises them with his show that begins at 9am outside Sam's Fashion, opposite Sukh Sagar and National Market.

He draws in the crowd with stories about how he took his Cobra personally to visit Sandalwood star homes to bless them just before a movie release. The star is usually the one who is having a release that week much to the delight of the fans.

With a snake hidden in his basket, he engages the crowd with stories of the captive reptile's miracles and roles it has played in movies. He also uses props like pigeons, colourful seeds (blessed ones again) which he hands out to people, to keep the audience glued to his show.

Once the audience is starry eyed with stories about how stars became stars and made their crores with reptilian blessing, he makes his few rupees blessing the audience.

But the most interesting part of the performance are the stories around the snake he weaves, before he reveals it to the audience. The climax. (He didn't allow me to photograph the snake - he said that my eyes would be go blind if I looked into the snake's eyes with my camera)

I have seen his show thrice and each time he had a different performance. With his charming way with words and innovation, he would most probably be able to write better scripts than the multiple copies of the same violence filled scripts being dished out these days.

Another character artist found outside Gandhinagar theatres - Dasappa

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

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May 8, 2009

Kempegowda Road

Sandalwood Friday Movie Release: 'Hat-trick' Hodi Maga.

The gang wars and related slayings of last month has got the Government getting tough with rowdyism and its glorification on the silver screen in Benglur.

The fightback started with an 'encounter', then the Sunday market where the favorite weapons of 'rowdy-sheeters' and Sandalwood stars alike - the choppers and knives, was targeted. And last week, the censor board got tough with the name of this Friday's release - Hodimaga (Hit him - a name inspired by a 'hit' song) . Following trouble with the censor board, the name of the movie was cleverly changed to 'Hat-trick Hodimaga' (it's cricket season + the hero is also known as the Hat-trick Star for his string of hits).

However, the controversy is probably welcome for the producers. Fans of Shivrajkumar were present in full force to lap up the tickets outside Sapna for the first-day first-show.

Also present in full force were the usual black marketeers and in Gandhinagar, black marketeers are no longer the taporis that movies and advertising stereotypes. They are mostly old men and women who live on the street in this part of town or handicapped. Sometimes even the cops turn a blind eye.

However, the theatre staff do not look at the black-market ticket sellers kindly. They are only allowed to buy a set number of tickets. This poor old man was shooed away when he went back to buy more tickets.

And here's a frail old man selling the crispest snacks to the fans who have come early to get tickets and soak the excitement of a Friday release. I hope his chaklis are a Super hit!

The Which Main? What Cross? The Exhibition - Is on until May 31st.

F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, St Marks Road (on the right, soon after SBI).
Ph: 080 - 40 333 888

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April 30, 2009

2nd Cross Gandhinagar + BVK Iyengar Road + Albert Victor Road + OTC Road

Mise En Place (Everything in place)

Benglur gets ready for the day's business. From the fruit juice shop in Majestic to the demoltion man sharpening his tools, everyone is putting things in place for the day's business.

Shubh Labh.

Mise En Place is the French phrase used in kitchens around the world for setting up the kitchen before the day's business. It is also what Chef Anthony Bourdain claims to be his religion. The cinema equivalent is Mise En Scène.

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April 28, 2009

2nd Cross Gandhinagar

Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira. Part 2.

The stage is also the home for the members of the travelling drama companies that perform at the Rangamandira. If you peep behind the side curtains, you can see the living rooms and kitchen next to the open make-up area for men that comprises of three mirrors, powders to whiten faces and colours for the lips and hair.

Read Part 1 of the story here.

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April 24, 2009

2nd Cross Gandhinagar

The G Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira

While the film industry complains that people are not coming to see their offering anymore, there's a place in the heart of Gandhinagar that continues to conduct its entertaining business without much complaints. They do have a lot of complaints, but then, they are not making a drama out of it.

In Karnataka. there are about 10-12 modestly sized drama companies and in Benglur, the preferred stage is the one at G Gubbi Veeranna Ranga Mandira. And these days, catering to a select band of fans, is the Sri K B R Drama Company from Davangere. The play: Kivuda Maadida Kithapathi.

Actors: Prabhakar (top) and Subramanya Shastri of Sri KBR Drama Company, Davangere.

Prabhakar and Subramanya Shastri are actors who work for the Sri KBR Drama Company. Both are originally from Malavalli in Mandya District and their home: wherever they are performing.

These days, the Government-owned Ranga Mandira is their home. The drama company is their family. Together they will be performing a series of dramas, twice a day on weekdays and thrice on Sundays, until December before they move on to the next location. And it's most likely to be somewhere in the north, in the old Bombay-Karnataka region where they draw larger crowds than in Benglur. Especially at Jathres (Mela).

In fact, while we were sitting as the actors were telling me that Putanna Kanagal's classic movie Ranganayaki is probably the best example to know about the life of people like them, a trader from Haveri who was on a business trip noticed the actors and came to tell the actors that he has seen the play they are performing, 5 times!

That isn't bad. In fact, the actors feel that the drama companies are doing a pretty good job at surviving in cut-throat world the entertainment. They feel that the the audience is fed up with the dose of violence and bad stories that the Kannada film industry dishes out and are coming to watch plays instead - even in Gandhinagar.

But then, they would also like to act in movies, and their plays made into movies. That's where you get to be really famous. However, most drama companies do not have the money to make movies. But there a few plays that are still being made into movies. Here's an advertisement for a play, made into a movie, inside the Ranga Mandira starring Anant Nag (who began his acting career doing amateur Marathi and Kannada plays in Mumbai).

To catch Prabhakar and Subramanya Shastri in action, watch Kivuda's Kithapathi at 2.45pm and 6.15pm on weekdays and 11.45am, 2.45pm and 6.15pm on Sundays.

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March 20, 2009

S C Road, Gandhinagar

There's three hours to go before Sudeep's latest film 'Veera Madakari' opens and Kapali Theater in Gandhinagar, the heart of the Kannada Film Industry is House - Full. That's sad news for a fan who woke up late, but good news for the producer, Dinesh Gandhi, as you can see from the garland on the House-Full signboard.

However, if you are die-hard fan of Sudeep, or Anna-avaru as Nagesh with a kerchief around his neck calls him, you would have reached Kapali at 5 am to make sure that you have the ticket for First-Day First-Show.

It's not just die-hard fans who have turned up early. This old lady and the man in crutches were here too. They were peddling few "Gandhi-Class" tickets for Rs. 80 to latecomers and boys who have skipped classes to catch the morning show.

But it's not just college boys who have come to catch Sudeep's new offering. Peanut and watermelon sellers are there too, to help cool, people of all ages waiting impatiently for the movie to start.

And here's something that I picked up from outside the Kapali Theater - empty boxes of exposed picture negative that was used for a Kannada movie called Police Story Part II (Can No 32288 5/7 that was used on 29/09/06).

And finally, here's the star actor-director himself - Sudeep. With the mandatory handheld weapon of the angry young Kannada star.

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March 13, 2009

2nd Main, Gandhinagar

Canon PowerShot A530 0.002 sec. (1/500) ISO 100

His name is Heera Panna. A rather colourful name for a Kannadiga from Benglur. However, nobody except his close friends call him by the name his parents gave him. To the world, he is known as Dasappa. Because that's his profession.

Heera Panna is a Dasappa who goes from home to home, doing pooja and distributing blessings in the name of Lord Venkateshwara of Thirumala Thirupati. A profession that is practised only for two days in a week. Friday and Saturday.

On a Friday, it makes senses for Dasappa to walk up and down the mains and crosses of Gandhinagar. Because that's the day for movie openings. He's likely to have film producers and distributors asking Dasappa to convey their prayers to the Lord of Seven Hills in Thirumala, AP, for a small fee.

See the full series: Friday Movie Release.

And here's a beautiful song sung by Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi for a Gandhinagar produced film called Sandhya Raaga. The song features Dr Rajkumar. You can see a poster with Dr Raj next to Dasappa.

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February 8, 2009

2nd Cross, Gandhinagar

This is like life. Some things are more colourful on reflection. See more Bus Art from Benglur.

February 6, 2009

S C Road, Gandhinagar

No pension. Here's an old lady holding the black movie tickets she's peddling in her left hand.
(Translations: The movie is called Junglee. The poster behind the old lady says: All Karnataka Duniya Vijay Fan Club.)

More pictures from the series: Sandalwood (Kannada Film Industry) - Friday movie release!