“Who Wants to be a Millionaire” gets a third life in its largest market. When Danny Boyle, director of “SlumDog Millionaire” was looking to cast the role of the host of “Millionaire” in the movie, the obvious choices were the two Indian film stars who had already hosted the Indian version of show, called Kaun [...]
Posted on July 10th, 2010 by Gunjan
A new movie from India will feature a song by pop singer Shakira, who was on TVs screens worldwide with her World Cup Soccer performance this month. “It will be very sensuous cabaret kind of song” according to the composers, Salim- Sulaiman. Indian media describes it as a frenzied dance track to be filmed on [...]
Posted on June 29th, 2010 by Gunjan
Oscar and Grammy winner A.R. Rahman, who shot to global visibility on the back of the film SlumDog Millionaire, was to arrive at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood (Los Angeles) on Sunday. My prized pair of tickets had just been delivered yesterday. Alas it won’t happen. Rahmans special effects enhanced Jai Ho Concert: The [...]
Posted on June 24th, 2010 by Gunjan
The Indian Premier League, a three-year old condensed version of cricket that can be played two games a night, is making waves all over India this year. Cricket is India’s most popular sport, having been introduced over 150 years ago by the British rulers of the time. Last month two new IPL teams were sold [...]
Posted on April 5th, 2010 by Gunjan
Indian hottest ever female tennis star Sania Mirza is to marry Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Mirza’s father said Malik, the former cricket captain of Pakistan, and his daughter would move to Dubai after the marriage, expected next month. Reports say the wedding celebrations will be held in both countries. Receptions are expected in the Indian [...]
Posted on April 5th, 2010 by Gunjan
“The King of Bollywood” was in the United States to promote his latest movie called “My name is Khan” about discrimination against Muslims. Shah Rukh Khan and co-star Kajol participate in a video and audio inteview with Saja here http://www.sajaforum.org/2010/01/movies-shah-rukh-khan-in-my-name-is-khan-webcast.html
Posted on February 4th, 2010 by Gunjan
The results of a survey published by consultancy firm Nielsen indicates that Indians are most optimistic about job prospects and personal finances compared to the rest of the world. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence report that 92% of Indians were optimistic about their job prospects over the next year. In addition, the survey Nielsen published [...]
Posted on January 30th, 2010 by Gunjan
The production team for Eat, Pray, Love, the forthcoming Julia Roberts movie, erected a huge set to depict a bustling India market, complete with a traveling circus in Mirzapur, Haryana near New Delhi. More than 500 people were employed in the construction of the make-believe market. The movie is based on the #1 best selling [...]
Posted on January 13th, 2010 by Gunjan
Sir Ben Kingsley, who played the the title role in 1982′s Oscar-winning Gandhi (and much less remembered role in the worst movie of the 21st Century so far, the Love Guru) is soon to be seen in a Bollywood movie, Teen Patti ( three cards, or three-card poker). Perci Trachtenberg (Sir Ben Kingsley) is world’s [...]
Posted on January 2nd, 2010 by Gunjan
Pop sensation Britney Spears is visiting “God’s Own Country“, also known as the state of Kerala on India’s southern Malabar coast for her New Year’s eve celebrations. Forbes’ Magazine 13th most powerful celebrity does not have a strong following in India but is reportedly recording a new album with Kerala dances as the backdrop. Kerla [...]
Posted on January 1st, 2010 by Gunjan
Sony’s Columbia Pictures will distribute Eat, Pray, Love a feature film to be released in 2011. Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s book of the same name, the movie stars Oscar-winner Julia Roberts. The Los Angeles Times reported that shooting in Naples has just been completed and the next stop is India. Indian media is working itself [...]
Posted on September 30th, 2009 by Gunjan
With India there is always a twist; beware of thin-skinned Indian attitudes.
Posted on August 31st, 2009 by Gunjan
Rafael of Israel serenades Indian Defence Ministry with mock-Bollywood video
Posted on August 30th, 2009 by Gunjan
Spielberg seals deal with India money, Watch Amitabh Jhunhjunwala
Posted on August 23rd, 2009 by Gunjan
In my book, Doing Business in 21st Century India, I highlighted how media mogul Rupert Murdoch (CEO of News Corp) extolled India over China, even though he’s married to a Chinese woman who runs his China operations. I also pointed out how India, unlike China, does not censor American media. This means that American media [...]
Posted on May 5th, 2009 by Gunjan
While the late George Harrison was probably the biggest fan of Indian yoga, the Beatles as a group were quite influential in bring awareness of meditation and of India to the west. Their joint concerts with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar in the 1960s are remembered by many. On Saturday April 4th, Sir Paul McCartney and [...]
Posted on April 13th, 2009 by Gunjan
India’s ruling coalition government has paid several hundred thousand dollars to acquire the right to use the Oscar-winning Jai Ho song from Slumdog Millionaire as part of its election advertising. The UPA Coalition, led by the Indian National Congress party, embraced the British movie and its depiction of the poor immediately in a calculated move [...]
Posted on March 7th, 2009 by Gunjan
Why does a movie made for a mere $15 million, with a cast unknown in the West, a locale unfamiliar to Western eyes, and 1/3rd spoken in Hindi (not English) manage to sweep the Oscars. Yes it was a very well-made movie, but so were several of the other contenders. Here is my take. In [...]
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 by Gunjan
At the Grammy Awards this year, much attention was focussed on Sri Lankan born British singer, MIA, who performed despite being nine months pregnant. MIA is also featured in SlumDog Millionaire. But another important celebrity with South Asian connections was among the winners. Calfornia resident Zakir Hussain, won for the World Drum Project. Husain is [...]
Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Gunjan
At the Grammy Awards this year, much attention was focussed on Sri Lankan born British singer, MIA, who performed despite being nine months pregnant. MIA is also featured in SlumDog Millionaire. But another important celebrity with South Asian connections was among the winners. Calfornia resident Zakir Hussain, won for the World Drum Project. Husain is [...]
Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Gunjan
The British movie set in Mumbai, SlumDog Millionaire, won four Golden Globe awards yesterday including Best Film and Best Director. The music for the movie was composed by the “Mozart of Madras”, A.R. Rahman, who is now a Muslim but was born to Hindu parents and named A.S. Dileep Kumar until his conversion to Islam. [...]
Posted on January 13th, 2009 by Gunjan
In the next few weeks Hollywood celebrities, agents, dealmakers, assistants and paparazzi are going to learn how to pronounce Anil Dhirubhai Ambani’s name. Amid all the turmoil in the financial markets, Ambani’s company Reliance ADAG has just plunked down $500 million to help Steven Spielberg (the god of Hollywood) take Dreamworks SKG out of the [...]
Posted on September 20th, 2008 by Gunjan
2.6 billion people live in India and China. Yet Vanity Fair magazine could not find a single person among those two countries to make its 2008 best dressed list. Among 36 names mentioned, there are 22 whose primary residence is in the United States (including a whopping 15 New York City alone). The balance of [...]
Posted on September 6th, 2008 by Gunjan
The rewards of doing business with India are great today. But only for the patient. I counsel my clients to pack some extra patience and a sense of humor when they travel to India. The Ambani billionaire brothers are known in India for moving very quickly. Yet the god of Hollywood (Steven Spielberg) is finding [...]
Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Gunjan
A week ago both Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal predicted that the major agreement between Indian billionaire Anil Ambani and Hollywood uber-director Steven Spielberg was less than a week ago. This blog here suggestted that it may take longer than that. Why? First, when you negotiate with India you have to look at [...]
Posted on August 16th, 2008 by Gunjan
The deal to let Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks SKG exit Paramount/Viacom may be less than a week away, according to Bloomberg News. Indian billionaire, Anil Ambani would invest $550 million and the studio would borrow another $450 million. See my earlier post on this issue for more. And don’t be surprised if the [...]
Posted on August 10th, 2008 by Gunjan
On August 6, the music video of rapper Snoop Dogg and India’s Akshay Kumar will release in advance of the much anticipated (in India) movie Singh is Kinng. Most Bollywood (Indian) movies are musicals and the songs are released in advance of the movies. The producers report (legal) sales of half a million copies of [...]
Posted on July 30th, 2008 by Gunjan
Anil Ambani and his $42 billion fortune are looking to make their mark in Hollywood. Negotiations are under way between Anil and legendary director Steven Spielberg to provide $600 million in equity, enough to let DreamWorks separate from parent Paramount Pictures (a Viacom entity). But Anil’s Hollywood aspirations don’t stop there, he’s also buying up theaters, signing deals with powerhouse actors, and plans on funding major American motion pictures in the near future.
Posted on July 14th, 2008 by Gunjan
