May 22, 2003

FILM
The trouble with Leela, a decently made and acted minglish production, is that too much of it is a little too derivative.

Tell me if any of this sounds familiar — the South Asian immigrant experience in the West; the young boy becoming a man in the arms of a beautiful older woman; the beautiful woman trapped in a marriage where she is no more than a trophy wife; the moment of self-discovery when a woman learns that she need not be defined by either a man or by society, but that she should live for herself as well; the dysfunctional family where the parents find it hard to communicate either with each other or with their child; and so on and so forth.

And because so much of the movie seems borrowed from other movies (Summer of 42 meets American Desi meets The Doll House meets ?) and because there are so many plot lines, it all results in there being no room left to put an original spin on the familiar material. Each story is intriguing enough on its own — especially the relationship between Leela (Dimple Kapadia) and her husband (Vinod Khanna)? but writer/director Somnath Sen only manages to scratch the surface of any one of them. This is not a bad movie by any means and Dimple Kapadia turns in one of her more polished performances, but the movie would have been better off if it hadn’t taken on more than it could chew. Also starring Deepti Naval. —Khusro Mumtaz

 

OR
The Hours certainly isn’t an uplifting experience (you can’t expect a movie revolving around the subject of suicide to be that), but it isn’t exactly a depressing one either. Sad, certainly, but not depressing.

Adapted by writer David Hare and director Stephen Daldry from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham, The Hours has three separate stories to tell, all linked to each other by the novel Mrs Dalloway written by Virginia Woolf.

The first story set in 1923 chronicles Woolf’s (Nicole Kidman) own attempt in writing her novel while attempting to keep her depression at bay. In 1951, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), a housewife, comes to a decision about her life while reading Woolf’s novel. And in 2000, literary editor Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep) tries to put a dinner party together for a prize-winning writer (Ed Harris) dying of AIDS. By the end, this layered movie isn’t so much about death but about life and life’s choices. Nicole Kidman (nearly unrecognizable in a fake proboscis) won an Oscar for her portrayal, and she is indeed excellent as is Meryl Streep. But in my book, it’s Julianne Moore who takes the acting honours.—K.M.

 

WEBSITE
Some recently-designed Urdu web sites have enabled those who cannot understand English to enjoy the benefits of the Net.

One such site is www.pehchaan.com. This vast site features links which may keep the elderly lot busy. In the Khabrain section, you get to read current national and international news in Urdu, as well as editorials, articles and weather reports. It also has links to other Urdu newspapers of Pakistan.

Sections dedicated to entertainment and other stuff include fashion and showbiz. You also have Urdu email and messenger on the site. Pakswaan is a section entirely dedicated to cookery. You can also check out the daily horoscope in Urdu.

Sending near and dear ones E-cards in Urdu would be just great and this site enables you to do just that. You can also get yourself updated with the latest development and news about Urdu literature in the site’s Adab section.—Azeem Haider

 

SINGLE
The Beastie Boys, famous for introducing the mainstream world to rap in the mid-80s, have just released their first song in over five years, In A World Gone Mad.

The reflective single is a statement against what the Boys’ call an “unjustified war.” A band once famous for “fighting” for their “right to party” is now fighting for the right not to fight.

Released on the Internet, In A World Gone Mad is ineligible for charts, but has caused a buzz. On the track, rapper Adam Horovitz comments on where the US appears to be heading, stressing the need to build friendships, and not to bully the rest of the world. One of the very few artists who have been brave enough to speak out about the war, the Boys voice their unequivocal disapproval of current events, and it’s such a shame that as an Internet release, only those actively seeking out the track will actually be able to hear it.

If the world has gone mad, it’s nice to know the sanest advice can come from the unlikeliest of source.—T.U. Dawood

 

OR
With her legendary father, Elvis Presley, still remembered and revered over 25 years after his death, only child Lisa Marie Presley has as much chance of making a name for herself in singing as recent Razzie winner Madonna does in acting.

Although Presley looks a lot like her father, she doesn’t have that je ne sais quoi that made him so special. As an aspiring singer-songwriter, she’s far from natural. It’s taken her years to release her debut album, which she has titled To Whom It May Concern.

Her first single, Lights Out, unfortunately, is not worth the wait...or the ink with which this review is printed. The country-rock ode to her father’s Graceland fails and will soon be forgotten, while similarly themed songs such as Paul Simon’s catchy Graceland and Alannah Myles’ sexy Black Velvet are undoubtable classics. “Memphis, that’s where my family’s buried and gone...in the damn back lawn,” the famous daughter sings. Unfortunately, Lights Out will likely be buried there, too.

As her father’s estate is worth an estimated $100 million, with a minimum of $20 million more coming in annually, the former Mrs Michael Jackson and soon-to-be-ex-Mrs Nicolas Cage has the freedom to make her own music any way she likes. Sadly, even if she does something special, it will be hard for her to shine beneath the eclipse of her father’s success.—T.U. Dawood

 

ALBUM
Now That’s What I Call Music is famous for compilations that are must-haves for pop fans looking for a quick way to play catch-up on the ever-changing music scene.

Unfortunately, their latest effort, Volume 12, misses the mark. Aside from token must-haves, such as Justin Timberlake’s uninspired Michael Jackson rip-off, Like I Love You (that sounds like a one-glove discard) and Snoop Dogg’s Neptune joint the rockin’ Beautiful, the disc has nothing memorable.

Unnecessary inclusions, such as Telepopmusik’s Breathe and Dru Hill’s flop, I Should Be You are pure fast forwards, while the remaining yawn-worthy string of rock and country singles from Keith Urban, Saliva and 3 Doors Down will have you tossing this CD out just so you can never admit to owning it.

An eager music listener would be better off investing in a five-disc CD player, and having it randomly slot together a mix of tracks than buy this poor collection.—T.U. Dawood

 

ANNOUNCEMENT
The Child Aid Association, NICH, has organized a piano recital on Saturday, 24th May, by Asad Anees, Usman Anees and Ahsan Anees at the PACC at 7.30 p.m. The proceeds will go to the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the NICH, Karachi. Entry cards will be on sale at Agha’s and the PACC for Rs100 per ticket.

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