Friday, April 3, 2009
‘Salaam Bombay' star turned driver recalls own ‘Slumdog' past
Once he was as famous as the child stars from ‘Slumdog Millionaire', but Shafiq Syed's own rags-to-riches story has ended and he now earns $3 a day driving a motor rickshaw.
Having basked in the limelight for his portrayal of a street kid in the 1988 Oscar-nominated film ‘Salaam Bombay', Syed struggles to feed a family of five at his home in southern India.
"Today the situation is so bad that if I earn today my family will get to eat something tomorrow," he told Reuters.
Watching the child stars of ‘Slumdog Millionaire' in Los Angeles as the film swept the Oscars in February reminded Syed of his own childhood and short-lived fame.
Like the ‘Slumdog Millionaire' actors, Syed was also plucked from Mumbai's teeming slums and catapulted to global stardom.
In 1987, and aged 12, Syed ran away from his home in Bangalore with some friends to Mumbai.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Having basked in the limelight for his portrayal of a street kid in the 1988 Oscar-nominated film ‘Salaam Bombay', Syed struggles to feed a family of five at his home in southern India.
"Today the situation is so bad that if I earn today my family will get to eat something tomorrow," he told Reuters.
Watching the child stars of ‘Slumdog Millionaire' in Los Angeles as the film swept the Oscars in February reminded Syed of his own childhood and short-lived fame.
Like the ‘Slumdog Millionaire' actors, Syed was also plucked from Mumbai's teeming slums and catapulted to global stardom.
In 1987, and aged 12, Syed ran away from his home in Bangalore with some friends to Mumbai.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: 1988 oscar nominated film, child stars from slumdog millionaire, motor rickshaw, salaam bombay, shafiq syed, Slumdog Millionaire, street kid
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ambegaokar crowned Queen of Azalea Festival in North Carolina
In a historic year when the United States seems taken over by Bollywood song and dance with ‘Slumdog Millionaire', and all things Indian are taking on a new light, it is almost predictable that the Queen of one of the longest running festivals should be an ‘All American' girl of Indian origin Amrapali Ambegaokar.
The North Carolina Azalea Festival announced it had chosen Ambegaokar as its Queen Azalea for the 62nd anniversary of the festival.
"I am honored and thrilled to be chosen as the current ‘Queen Azalea 2009'! It makes me so proud to be American - truly American where culture, color, ethnicity barriers are dissolved into a celebration of one another's spirit - the human spirit!" Ambegaokar declared in an announcement by the festival March 23.
But Ambegaokar is already a well-known for being ‘Miss Asian America', ‘Miss India USA' and ‘Miss India North America' in the past.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
The North Carolina Azalea Festival announced it had chosen Ambegaokar as its Queen Azalea for the 62nd anniversary of the festival.
"I am honored and thrilled to be chosen as the current ‘Queen Azalea 2009'! It makes me so proud to be American - truly American where culture, color, ethnicity barriers are dissolved into a celebration of one another's spirit - the human spirit!" Ambegaokar declared in an announcement by the festival March 23.
But Ambegaokar is already a well-known for being ‘Miss Asian America', ‘Miss India USA' and ‘Miss India North America' in the past.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: All American, Amrapali Ambegaokar, Bollywood song, historic year, Miss Asian America, North Carolina Azalea Festival, Queen Azalea 2009, Slumdog Millionaire, United states
Thursday, March 12, 2009
‘Slumdog' and ‘Jai Ho!' are named top Hollywood words
‘Slumdog Millionaire', the rags-to-riches movie that took the Oscars by storm, also produced two of the most influential words of the 2008 Hollywood awards season, a language monitoring group said on February 26.
‘Jai Ho!', Hindi for ‘Let There be Victory' and the title of the movie's Oscar-winning best song, and ‘Slumdog' -- the controversial term coined by the filmmakers for young slum-dwellers in Mumbai -- were named the top ‘HollyWords' of the year that closed with the Oscars.
The Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to track the frequency of words and phrases in the world's print and electronic media, said it was rare for two words from the same movie to be ranked in its annual list.
‘Slumdog Millionaire' crowned its awards sweep by winning eight Oscars, also including best picture and director.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
‘Jai Ho!', Hindi for ‘Let There be Victory' and the title of the movie's Oscar-winning best song, and ‘Slumdog' -- the controversial term coined by the filmmakers for young slum-dwellers in Mumbai -- were named the top ‘HollyWords' of the year that closed with the Oscars.
The Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to track the frequency of words and phrases in the world's print and electronic media, said it was rare for two words from the same movie to be ranked in its annual list.
‘Slumdog Millionaire' crowned its awards sweep by winning eight Oscars, also including best picture and director.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: 2008 Hollywood awards season, electronic media, Global Language Monitor, HollyWords, Oscar-winning best song, Slumdog Millionaire, top Hollywood words
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Film composer of international repute
T he name A.R.Rahman needs no introduction. A national and international award winning film composer, record producer and musician, his work has garnered considerable acclaim and a large global fan base.
Working in several of India's various film industries, international cinema and theater, Rahman, in a career spanning nearly two decades, has sold more than 100 million records of his film scores and soundtracks worldwide, and sold over 200 million cassettes, making him one of the world's top 10 all-time top selling recording artists.
The man who redefined contemporary Indian music, Alla Rakha Rahman was born January 6, 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai to Tamilian parents. His father R. K. Shekhar was a composer and conductor for Malayalam films. He died when Rahman was nine. His family rented out musical equipment as a source of income.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Working in several of India's various film industries, international cinema and theater, Rahman, in a career spanning nearly two decades, has sold more than 100 million records of his film scores and soundtracks worldwide, and sold over 200 million cassettes, making him one of the world's top 10 all-time top selling recording artists.
The man who redefined contemporary Indian music, Alla Rakha Rahman was born January 6, 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Chennai to Tamilian parents. His father R. K. Shekhar was a composer and conductor for Malayalam films. He died when Rahman was nine. His family rented out musical equipment as a source of income.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Alla Rakha Rahman, chennai, global fan base, Indian music, keyboard player, musical equipment, national and international award winning, Slumdog Millionaire, soundtracks worldwide, Tamilian parents
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
First Indian composer to get Golden Globe nomination
He is the first Indian composer to get a Golden Globe nomination and there's an Oscar buzz around his score in "Slumdog Millionaire", but A.R. Rahman is unfazed by talk of awards.
"The more you expect, the more frustration comes," Bollywood's most famous musician said when asked if the thought of holding an Oscar statuette had crossed his mind.
"It'll be a surprise if it comes but so far so good," Rahman said in a telephone interview.
Known for his musical versatility -- from romantic compositions to foot-tapping numbers, Rahman has innovated with different instruments and sounds to create some of India's best-known musical hits for nearly two decades.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
"The more you expect, the more frustration comes," Bollywood's most famous musician said when asked if the thought of holding an Oscar statuette had crossed his mind.
"It'll be a surprise if it comes but so far so good," Rahman said in a telephone interview.
Known for his musical versatility -- from romantic compositions to foot-tapping numbers, Rahman has innovated with different instruments and sounds to create some of India's best-known musical hits for nearly two decades.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: A.R. Rahman, Bollywood's most famous musician, first Indian composer to get a Golden Globe nomination, musical versatility, romantic compositions, Slumdog Millionaire
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