It has been forever hasn't it? This time I blame it entirely on laziness and too much television. This post is also going to be a reflection of all that excessive TV programming and as always, everything that's hit my face via Twitter and other social media. I'm going to say right away that this piece is tilted a little more towards lifestyle, sport and movies so be forewarned!!
For this post I am trying to explore this world of absolute hype that we as a society have become so good at creating and yet so uncomfortable at managing.. So my five pointer today is examples of hype that we've seen in the recent past and in some cases, what I make of it;
1) Shahrukh Khan, Chennai Express and the 100 Crore club:
My question (and fear) here is if this whole 100 crore obsession has created a monster.. where the large production houses rally for maximum exposure on the first 3 days and other smaller films with simple content will just have to wait and release another week or fade away in the shadow of the big banners. It seems like the more you hype it, the more people are gonna watch it. I have always been optimistic about our choices as viewers - that if the film is bad, its not going to make it.. but this formula has battered that confidence because my concern is that the collections in the first 3 days is actually agnostic to the quality of the movie. 'Ship of Theseus' and the upcoming 'Lunchbox' may be outliers because of studio support but let's not ignore films that may be weak starters but can pick up pace as the weeks go by because.. well they're actually good films :) I know I won't!! Attaching the trailer of Lunchbox here for you guys though. Enjoy and please encourage...
2) Hannah Montana ne kya kiya??
I am not trying in any way to dignify all the publicity this has already fetched. The events that transpired during the MTV VMAs are incredibly public and detailed by now all over the online world.. So anyone who hasn't seen the Miley Cyrus performance can Google it. I do want to appreciate Adam Lambert's reaction to the whole thing on Twitter though. That I am a Lambert fan is no secret. But I admire that succint manner in which he proposed to end all the hullabaloo and 'give the girl a break'. Let's move on indeed! However, the only reason I am bringing this up is again how much publicity has always surrounded Miley Cyrus for so many years now. The performance and the 'twerking' was shocking to say the least. To think that an artistic Vanity Fair cover of hers caused so much controversy back then (see below for the link), this one has left us all speechless! But I am not sure what pressures are created that lead them here. The online world is ruled by Youtube and 'views' are everything! The pressure its going to put on these young stars is crazy.. I only hope this is not another Amanda Bynes or Lindsay Lohan breakdown in the making. I'd be happier if we just let this go and instead started considering just how these teen/young idols are managed and advised. I'd be very interested to know!
Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair Controversy
3) Gareth Bale, na na na re!
If I hear the name again, I am pretty sure I'll scream.. At this point when the transfer to Real Madrid finally happened last week, I couldn't care less how much he was worth or how the world reacted. Again football seems to be losing its charm with only money talk dictating the news. My friends and I are to blame too. We meet on a Whatsapp group pretty often and for months we've only been catching up, arguing, commenting on transfer news. Its fun speculating I'll admit but every once in a while I do wish the leagues were more about the game. It really looks like they're not anymore :(
Imagine the magic Bale has to create now; I do hope we haven't set him up for disaster.
On the other hand maybe I didn't pay enough attention but the Mesut Ozil transfer seems to have happened pretty quietly. That's really the playmaker I'm gonna watch this season. I think he's the future! Someone told me we've reached the deadline for transfers. Thank God for that! NOW can we watch the game??
4) Raghuram Rajan:
To say that we are all looking to him like he's Moses is an understatement :) But there is something reassuring and infectiously optimistic about his personality. We also saw that 'Raghuram Rajan' effect on the rupee which analysts say will last this week too.. so far so good. And yet that one point we keep missing is that its really the Government that needs to make the decisions, not so much the Central Bank. Still, he has come across as reassuring and cautious at the same time from what I gather. I am certain most of you have probably read a lot more about how he has proposed to tackle India's economic problems but I thought this Economist piece is a nice summary of the week gone by in his life as RBI Governor.
India's New Central Bank Boss - The Savior Trap
I am confident he will live through the hype and shine! Hoping we can give him a little air soon though :) Country ka sawaal hai after all!
5) Benedict Cumberbatch - Too much Too soon??
Before anyone starts to doubt it, I still love him :) And I am so certain that he's going to make it exactly on his terms. That's just something you can say instantly about talented, hard working and more importantly unaffected actors which I have no doubt he still is.
The initial rise of Benedict Cumberbatch as the BBC's poster boy for modern productions and one of the most promising stage actors was sweet and gradual - what he could definitely predict I'm sure! What happened after 'Sherlock' went viral and 'Star Trek Into Darkness' is a mystery to everyone. A few months after, there he was last week at the Toronto International Film Festival with 3 of his films on showcase. After this he's going to start filming Imitation Game and at the end of this month, hope to win an Emmy for his Parade's End performance. Phew! Clearly this has been the most glorious year for the 37 year old.
As a fan, I read and see everything even remotely connected to him that's published. So I do know when Benedict addresses reporters at 'The Fifth Estate' press conference, gives his reaction to the Chelsea Manning verdict and even when 3000 or so fans are talking about how he wore his hair at the festival.... I read it all!
His fan base has grown exponentially and so has the papparazzi's interest in his affairs other than films. Even about 4 months ago I did not see as much reference to who he visited parties with and what he was doing in Ibiza with a Russian model - as I see now.
Plus the messages he put up for the paps were met with a fair share of criticism; I was also a bit surprised at the pictures and definitely wish that if he has something to say, he should write it as a piece in the paper or a magazine as I am certain someone of his intelligence can express freely and will definitely put points across very effectively. I was and am still not sure if a few hand written messages will really make their way to where they should. Having said that, I admire the fact that he wants to make a statement on some of these issues. But Benedict, please write a column! You'd be awesome at it :)
So much hype leading into the festival and now suddenly, The Fifth Estate doesn't open to rave reviews and talk about him landing an Oscar nod is getting milder and milder. The fact that its still not released in theatres, that its an obviously controversial film that is going to attract extreme opinion only - seems to have vacated minds. Still being in 3 strong films is certainly so praiseworthy that he is sure to maintain the visibility all the way until next year. This fall season is going to be great and I can't wait for the focus of the articles I read to shift to his films and performances rather than on his 'alleged' escapades.
I did read a lot more this past month and have been affected by everything that went on; the Syria crisis, Egypt crisis, the 'almost omnipresent by now' Rupee crisis, the most recent UP crisis (as of today), the Chelsea Manning sentencing, even the Amartya Sen - Jagdish Bhagwati debate (remember that?) - read it all and definitely tried to understand it all. But serious issues like this always make me doubly sensitive, almost paranoid about saying or reflecting the wrong thing.
So while I do have opinions and some knowledge of all that went down, I would rather take some time and get used to this writing thing for fear of saying something frivolous. Having said that, my point of really listing it all here is for you guys to read up in case you already haven't and let me know what your sense is. Maybe we'll put something together basis what we all think, a little crowdsourcing anyone??
