Don’t die without seeing this

For the average South Indian male a cabaret dance is the prelude to the entry of the villain, a fight and possible torture of the protagonist.

It usually consists of 1 skimpily clad female in a body glove that imparts a feeling of nudity, a peek of cleavage, in a horrible jiggle and wiggle dance sequence reminiscent of a virtual contraceptive designed to throw off the sensitive viewer. The venue would normally be a hotel bar or the baddies den, surrounded by one eyed henchmen, muscled rogues and of course the bosses moll, who in some cases would indulge in the aforementioned dance.

A Cabaret is none of that. It is a part of French culture. Establishments existing for over a century, like Moulin Rouge carrying on the tradition of providing entertainment can be found in Paris. Possibly adding to the notion of gay Paris.

On offer is a multi course meal, with Champagne and a show. You might find the offer pricey and probably think the food could be had at any roadside brasserie and decide to go for the show any way.

Being in time is important to get good seats and don’t be dismayed by the pre show music. After the dinner service and the lights go off, what awaits is a treat for the senses. The lights, the colors, the sounds, the energy exuding from the performers, the sets, the costumes all flawlessly knit into a script that clearly depicts professionalism and artistic values that surpass the best movie productions.

That so much could be achieved in the confines of a what can be easily classified as a mid sized theatre is mind boggling. Contortionists , animals and a show that has at least 30 people on stage at a time, changing back grounds and characters in real time without a pause like a high speed locomotive that stops for none.

Artists who seem to be molded, fitting a spec, agile, fit and specially coached to move in tandem, to fit into the pieces of the moving puzzle that was being presented on stage.

Photography is prohibited, children are not though there is nudity, displayed in the least offensive manner.

There are other shows in town like the Crazy Horse and Lido. It is a must see of any visit to Paris.

Don’t die without seeing it.

Your smoking is injurious to my health

It’s one of those WTF moments, when you hear on the radio, while you are driving, that a case has been slapped on an actor because he appears on a poster smoking. 

Sure, cinema plays a very important role in Indian life. Actors are treated next to God, or rather the other way around, where even gods take a second place. The industry has yielded a lot of gems which form the Diamond Necklace that the Indian Cinema industry is. That automatically leads to a bit of imitation of style by some easily impressionable young minds and we can hope that this will be for the greater good of society. The movie itself carries a good message, if you look beyond the story, of living within your means, and now; dont smoke too!

The case slapped against Fahad Fasil an upcoming actor, who has been doing an excellent job so far, proving he is no rough diamond, is because he is portrayed as smoking in a movie poster. The rules (whose? god knows) states that there should be a statutory warning placed on smoking and drinking scenes. This must be to deter those who are considering taking up either or both as a past time or hobby. However, movies can depict violence, sexual violence and any other genre of violence against all genders without placing a statutory warning that it is a health hazard for the victim and punishable by law. Thats not done because everyone knows it would be as effective as lighting a cigarette under water. 

If the government or authorities or anyone is serious about banning smoking, because it is a health hazard, the first thing they should do is ban cigarettes (without which a certain actor would not be able to perform his trademark move) and not attack an artist. The censor board should have taken care of that. A ban on tobacco will definitely deter anyone from taking up smoking, but again it needs to be seen if cinema or tobacco and its products are the bigger contributor to the economy.

Any publicity is good publicity and that may be the case here, as the public will definitely sit up and take notice of the poster, the movie and the actor on it. 

Those who smoke and plan to start smoking…sadly…will always continue to do so…inspite of a poster, a warning or anything, as long as they can get their hands on a ciggie!

Ancient art

Cave paintings from an era gone by have been useful in understanding lives of people who lived at that time, their customs, way of life etc. While it is not clearly understood why those paintings were made, they have communicated a lot and helped us understand a lot.
I came upon two pictures, one from the paleolithic era, and one more recent. The more recent drawing was a rare display of graffiti, in these times of digital art. While the ancient drawings, which are numerous, showed life as it was then, I keep wondering, if in the event of nuclear disaster, where only the concrete walls and roaches would remain, is this what we want to leave behind? Is this the era that we live in, the legacy that we leave for those who come after us? Does this not display an evil mindset, one fraught with destruction.
The second picture is graffiti left behind by Taliban discovered in Afghanistan before their base was taken over by the allied forces. Source: Gily Gily

Across the Atlantic

In the dark

Black light puppetry uses puppets coated with special paint. The puppets are used in Black light which shows only fluorescent colors and the audience is able to see only the puppets on a dark stage.

The Famous People players are internationally renowned Black Light puppeteers who have a theater for this purpose in Toronto. The troupe consists of people with developmental disabilities.

Check out the video