My portfolio, musings, amusing(s - that a word? No? K.) and more. Photoshoots over the years, behind the scenes anecdotes, some awesome celebrity encounters (some horrific ones too!). 21 years+ as a journalist in Hong Kong - that's a lot of verbal diarr... um... discourse!
If you’re run into a few people who seem to have had a weight lifted off their shoulders, it might be because they’ve had an audience with Avdhoot Baba Shivanand, who’s been preaching in Hong Kong this week. The Indian guru’s talks feature a non-religious sermon. (No, that’s not a contradiction in terms).
“I am not espousing a religion of any sort,” Baba Shivanand said. “I just want to share my learning, the teachings of ancient arts and scriptures that have to do with a lifestyle to bring inner peace and happiness. I preach about humanity. Whether you’re Christian, Hindu, Muslim, that’s of no concern to me. I preach happiness, light, of the divine not of deity.”
More than 1,000 people have attended his talks each night since Monday. “In the early days, I used to find it easier to address foreign [Western] audiences as they were a blank slate, no preconceived notions and no belief system. They were or are in search of something.”
So what are they in search of? “The one thing I’ve found in my travels, from any part of the world, whether they be rich or poor, it all boils down to, ‘how can I be happy?’ Whether it’s a better job, more money, better health, mankind is essentially in search for joy.”
So, can money buy happiness in capitalist place like Hong Kong? “No, but happiness can buy you money!” he said with a laugh. “Well ... it can help create money. Work hard, work well and do it with joy, and the money will naturally follow.”
Avdhoot Baba Shivanand’s last free talk, in English, is tonight (Fri) at Kitec, Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, 6pm-9pm.
Singer Sunidhi Chauhan may not be the most recognised face in Bollywood, but she's certainly the voice of it. “I have no idea how many songs I’ve sung for Hindi films,” she says, hours before she hits the stage in Hong Kong for a one-off concert at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. “Hundreds, thousands? I don’t know. I’ve been very fortunate.”
As a playback singer to all the A-list actresses of Indian cinema (when those gorgeous Miss Worlds and Miss Universes break into song and dance on film, it’s the gorgeous voice of Chauhan that they are all lip-syncing to), she's had an incredible year already with the song “Sheila ki jawani” hovering between the No:1 and No:2 spots for the past six months.
In fact, Chauhan’s high octaves span up and down the hit-list often and she’s been nominated a whopping 14 times at Filmfare awards (the Indian equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Singer, having won three times.
“I don’t judge the success of a song by an award or recognition – though I’m thrilled when I do get it – but when I go to any club or party, if they’re playing my song, I know it’s a hit.”
Last when she was in Hong Kong (back in 2006), for a concert, she said, she'd love to collaborate with Western singers. This year, a dream came true.
"Working with Enrique Iglesisas was wonderful,” she gushes, having collaborated with the Latin heartthrob for his upcoming album Euphoria. “I was excited to work with Enrique, he was pretty kicked about working with an Indian artist for the first time. We both gelled well and the song too came out great — I think it was a great combination.”
As Chauhan sings alongside the sitar, tabla and flute, merging traditional Indian song to Iglesias’ pop and club tunes, she has high hopes for this musical fusion. “When I was approached for the collaboration, there was no question of giving it a second thought, I was too excited about it.”
Catch the excitement tonight for Sunidhi Chauhan’s sole, solo show. Sunidhi, Live in Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom Monday, April 04, 8:00 pm Tickets: $500-1000 www.jadegroupasia.com
P.Ramakrishnan urges people to be adventurous with Indian dishes by sampling the more exotic treats - some not even on the menu.
A spicy curry, pappadams, naan bread and samosas do not constitute Indian food in its full range, yet few strangers to Indian cuisine are willing to go beyond what is easy to remember from the menu.
From the foot of Kanyakumari to the head of Kashmir, India is a celebration of diversity, in language, customs, religion and food. Ask any Indian chef or restaurateur will cry, Indian food need not be spicy or heavy.
For light dishes, head down South. Other than dosas, most south Indian dishes are neglected almost entirely due to the fear of the multi-syllabic, unpronounceable names the dishes are burdened with.
As Ganga, from Gunga Din, will admit, only those in the know will pick up the navaratanam korma. a grand mixture of nine vegetables and fruits - French beans, carrots, cauliflower, green peas, potato, capsicum, mushroom, apple, pineapple - and nuts (often almonds) cooked in cashew-nut sauce and dressed with cottage cheese, it is a rich delicacy that vegetarians would adore.
Similarly, dosas are far more popular than the odd-sounding uttapam - which are, in essence, a thicker version of the rice flour pancake. Layered with tomatoes, onions and green chilli, it is primarily a breakfast item in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but they also make an excellent light lunch. Although, fried, it does not simmer in coats of oil.
To the Chinese palate, an iddly may be a novelty in syllables but not in taste.
The steamed, savoury rice cakes in Woodlands come with sambar (a spicy vegetable soup) and coconut chutney (a staple item in southern India, as most of the land is strewn with palm groves and rice paddies) that makes a delicious instant lunch.
To sample a variety of curries in one go, try the thali at Woodlands. The Indian version of fastfood (although preparation is anything but), thalis are large metal plates with many cups, each filled with small portions of different curries.
Pappadams, savoury wafers that come in a variety of flavours (either studded with crushed black pepper and red chilli powder or sprinkled with asafoetida), are a bonus.
For the best of Indian food, try Kashmiri cuisine. More "meat-centric" than food of the southern regions, these dishes - such as the mutton, marinated in spices - take hours of preparation.
These dishes have evolved from the times when Muslim moguls once ruled India. The North Indian cooking style is now a synthesis of Kashmiri, Punjabi and Mughlian food with basic vegetarian curries (dhal or lentils) on the side.
Meats traditionally burnt over a charcoal fire, are mixed in finely granulated spices. The masala (a range of flavouring and seasoning agents) dishes are offset by sweet lassis (a yoghurt, often flavoured, milk shake).
As the manager at the Mughul restaurant in Wyndham Street, Central, says, any of the dishes can be toned down by either going easy with the spice rack or by adding cream.
Every restaurant will gladly modify dishes to suit the customer's palate.
At the other end of India, Assam touches neighbouring countries Bangladesh and Myanmar (and is not too far from China, either) where the natives introduced an uncommon element to the Indian diet - noodles! Khauwse are thick threads of wheat flour mixed with meat (chicken, lamb or prawns), a rare treat in Hong Kong and available at the Mughul restaurant.
Let your taste buds explore the rich, multitudinous flavours of India.
Atul Dodiya is helping to put India on the modern art map, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
Forget about the pictorial clichés of India. Contemporary artist Atul Dodiya doesn't do snake charmers, elephants and the Taj Mahal in bright and vibrant colours. Instead, his oil paintings are subtle and introspective.
In Vishal, for example, he examines the simultaneous pictorial depiction of the interior and exterior of a given space, while not one sari-clad, poverty stricken soul can be found in Lodging in Somnath. In his multi-layered work series, allegorical collages are an amalgam of Dodiya's life, and he also known to have thrown in the odd social and political references.
The prolific Mumbai-based artist is in Hong Kong this week to give a talk on what inspires and shapes his work. Organised by the Asia Art archive, the Thursday event will also introduce his vast pool of works that includes installation, photography and painting.
Next Sunday, Lodging in Somnath will go under the hammer at Christe's autumn sale here. Only six months ago the artist broke his personal record when Vishal fetched HK$3.1 million at Christie's.
"We are no more a part of the Indian art scene, we're part of a global art scene," says Dodiya when describing Indian art and artists. "We feel a solid freedom. American artists, European masters, Chinese artists Japanese art - we can relate to all their work and it is visible and palpable in contemporary Indian art."
Born in Mumbai in 1959, the JJ School of Art graduate says local recognition of his artistic talent came only seven years ago. He says the country is still in shock that the art it produces can today make millions of dollars.
"Recognition [of my work] within the Indian community itself came late. Modern cities around the world have exhibited my works over many years, in New York, in Madrid, in Tokyo. For example, back in 2001, the Japan Foundation Asia Centre hosted a retrospective of my work," says Dodiya.
"It's only recently, when the media started reporting how well Indian artists are doing around the world, did a sudden emergence of interest in contemporary Indian art in India itself come about."
And it is often the money, rather than the art, that arouses interest among the elite in the country. Since Christie's launched sales of Modern & Contemporary Indian Art in New York in 2000, sales have continued to rise, with US$42 million in sales in 2006.
Tyeb Mehta's Mahisasura holds the world record at US$1.6 million, and modern and contemporary Indian art has its own alcove in galleries studded around New York, London and Hong Kong.
But people understand sales better than artistic themes, don't they?
"In understanding Indian art, there are two divisions generally; modern and contemporary. With a great influence of artists like [Pablo] Picasso and [Henri] Matisse in Indian art, the current generation of artists, including myself, look beyond our own borders," says Dodiya. "Contemporary artists, young artists have a world vision. It's not just the woman carrying a clay pot in a vibrant sari that you see on canvas any more."
Dodiya joins a steadily rising tide of artists whose work adorns the walls of many a grand gallery.
With the esoteric themes that dwell in his work, would a Hong Kong audience be able to fully appreciate his contribution? Dodiya says: "Why Hong Kong? Even among my own people, I deal with those who don't understand a piece for what it is. For example, one of my works is inspired by a Gujarati poem. Now, even if you're from Germany or Delhi if you don't speak the language or if you aren't aware of that paricular poem, not many will follow the source of the inspiration.
"But it hasn't taken anything away from those who've liked the work. Their enjoyment hasn't been short changed."
With a chuckle he adds "There are some pieces even my own mother looked at and didn't understand.
"One of my works was an amalgam of the birth of the river Ganges, superimposed with Nude Descending Staircase. Now, she got the gist of how Ganga was born through the head of Lord Shiva but all references to [Marcel] Duchamp were gone."
So even though his Devoured Darkness series might not be understood by all, he has no problems with that.
"I must tell you that I really enjoy it when a viewer comes to a piece without any preconceived thoughts," he says.
"I give a clue, a few things he can understand clearly, others he can't. If he doesn't understand the mythologies of Hinduism, the infinite number of gods and goddesses, their tales that are interwined with the theme of some of my art - for the theme and style is ever changing in my work since I was 11 - then that's just fine.
"How refreshing it is to hear what they have to say and see in my work."
Shaan will feature on the soundtracks of all of this year's big Bollywood films, but P.Ramakrishnan finds him unexpectedly modest.
When reminded of his first encounter with fame, Indian singer Shaan bursts out laughing. The 35-year old performer, born Shantanu Mukherjee, was appearing on television with his indie-pop group Oorja back in the early 1990s when a gaggle of female fans tried to grab his vest.
"Surely you're confusing me with someone else,"he says. "Girls have never been that interested in me. I was never cool."
His ever-present smile and long hair (shorn since he got married) seem to have ensured that he would attract teen fans, but Shaan feigns ignorance. "That wasn't me. I've never been a heart-throb."
Shaan, who will perform in Hong Kong next week, was born into a musical family. His father was music director Manas Mukherjee and his sister Sagarika is also a singer. He started singing jingles and trying to make it as an independent singer without joining the ranks of behind-the-scenes Bollywood playback singers.
"We wanted to be a pop group, but it never took off," he says. "The first album did relatively well, but the Indian pop scene is nowhere as strong as Bollywood film albums. I sang for a few films - not the big-budget ones, but smaller movies with new casts. Although the films didn't do brilliantly, the music did. And somehow I kept getting calls to sing for Hindi films."
Having won just about every award for best male playback singer for last year's song Subhaan Allah, from the film Fanaa, Shaan's career is now rock solid. As the host of a reality TV show, he's better known than most of his contemporaries. His appearances on TV and in film ("which I did for a lark - and never again!") haven't dulled his desire to remain a singer.
"I love singing in stage shows for the reaction - you know what the audience likes and what's popular," he says. "I mostly sing for a younger crowd as the music that's in clubs today - the film songs - cater to youth. But at the same time I also love to sing old numbers with great lyrics and melodies.
Despite appearing in front of a live audience every week for his television show, Shaan says he doesn't get nervous. "I've heard of singers who don't speak for 24 hours before they go on stage to save their voices, or don't sit near air-conditioning, or have strange diets. But if I had to not speak for a day, I'd go mad.
"I pray that I didn't get a cold or a cough on concert nights, but somehow I always pull through. I guess I'm lucky"
What's been his most memorable performance? "Years ago, I was on a stage somewhere and a gun was shot in the audience. I have to wear specs, I have poor eyesight, but I don't when I go on stage - so I had no idea what was going on and I kept singing. A bullet was fired somewhere. I thought it was part of the act by the producers and I kept going. With the stage lights and without my glasses, I couldn't see anything and kept thinking, "Well, the show must go on."
Shaan has landed work singing for nearly all the major Indian films in the coming year, and he's booked for concerts throughout Asia, the US and Britain.
He has been voted one of India's most popular singers by his peers, and never appears in the tabloids.
"That has more to do with the times than me," he says. "Gone are the old days when singers were constantly competing against each other. Now, there are hundreds of films being made and thousands of songs to be sung. There's work for everyone. So why bother back-biting and bitching?
"It isn't just me. My contemporaries feel the same way. We all steer clear of controversy and fights in print."
Shaan has just one complaint about the music scene. "I do wish singers were a bit better trained. I can always tell a good singer from a great one, when they've studied music, learned the craft and their voices aren't as scratchy or they don't break when they hit the high notes."
His own vocal range is wide, and he performs love songs, rock'n roll and melancholy numbers with equal ease.
"May be there's a trend towards a variety of voices, so the new generation craves a different sound - and I'm fine with that," he says. "But with strange videos and technological inputs, there's little actual singing involved."
Just as Hong Kong's handover anniversary is celebrated each year with a dance party, India's Independence Day has also proved to be a good excuse for hedonistic dance-floor fun.
Providing the soundtrack at this year's extravaganza is Akbar Sami, one of Mumbai's best known DJs and provider of countless Bollywood sound-tracks. Sami is one of the Indian entertainment capital's highest paid disc jockeys.
Although he's said to have single-handedly brought house music to Indian dance floors, Sami says his sound resists easy categorisation. "In India, one needs to have a sense of rhythm, know some of the basics of instruments and have a wide collection of different styles - unlike in the west, where they have genre-specific DJs and clubs."
In the world of Indian remixing - where producers often illegally sample movie soundtracks and rework them for the dance floor - Sami is one of the few to work with original composers. He's the official remixer for no fewer than five upcoming Bollywood releases.
"If you hear my remixes, just about everything is new - the range, the instruments," he says. "Film producers ask me to work with them, but I've had to say no because I don't have time to work on bad albums. If the music's bad, you can't do anything with it."
Since Sami first spun in the 1980s, he dreamed of opening a nightclub. He realised his ambition two months ago, with the launch of Synergy, which has rapidly become one of Mumbai's top hangouts.
"I wanted to do it for a long time, but I couldn't find the right place. A friend showed me this property and so Synergy was born."
However, such is the demand for Sami that he hasn't found time to man the decks. "When everthing settles down - the club is still a baby - I'll spin," he says.
At 23, Sunidhi Chauhan dominates the Indian charts. Now, her sights are set on the west, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
Long before American Idol, 11-year old Sunidhi Chauhan was shooting to fame on a nationally televised singing competition in Mumbai called Meri Awaaz Suno (Listen to My Voice).
Chauhan, now one of India's most popular singers, won the competition easily. That led to a recording contract with HMV (India) and a spot on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Shastra (Weapon). But then came the lull. "Success didn't come easily and I had to wait," she says. "Then I got the chance to sing the title song of the film Mast [in 1999]. But if a film doesn't do well, the songs can get lost.
"The movie didn't do well, my voice was changing, I wasn't mature enough, things didn't pick up immediately. Years later, three of the tracks in Mast hit the charts and I've never looked back. But there were years in between when I just did one or two songs. Now I'm in a recording studio every week."
Now 23, and with an unprecedented 11 No 1 songs on Indian charts last year, Chauhan is unquestionably Bollywood's top female playback singer - who provides the vocals that are mimed by actors.
"Singers hope for at least one or two songs a year that will hit the charts and stay there. You can't trust sales figures or what radio shows say is in. Go to any party or club - is the song being played? That's the true mark. I'm blessed because a dozen of my songs have been hits, and not just in India."
Chauhan is an Indian Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Diana Krall rolled into one feisty package, and her powerful vocals can be heard in almost every Indi-pop-bhangra club.
"My career is what it is because of the big jazzy, pop numbers, but I prefer to sing love songs. I enjoy soft numbers with good lyrics more than the chartbusters."
Like most singers, Chauhan listens to herself rarely. During the interview the strains of British jazz-funk band Incognito drift in the background. "I also love Billie Holiday. I listen to her a lot. One day I hope to cut an English album," she says.
"When I think of Indian artists who've recorded English songs, I think it hasn't emigrated well because the words don't strike a chord, even if the music is good. My interest in western music has always been there. It would be a dream come true to go into a music store anywhere in the world and find an Indian CD sitting alongside Celine Dion or Whitney Houston."
Chauhan now performs about 12 concerts per year around the world. She first came to Hong Kong several years ago as a back-up singer for Indian stars. "But this will be my first solo show in Hong Kong. I'm really looking forward to it, even though I'm visiting for just one day."
"The balcony scene of Romeo And Juliet held over a swimming pool where Romeo, in the water, has to look up to Juliet - high up on a diving board. Now that's a scene!" At the risk of offending every traditionalist, scholar or student, that's one of 38-year-old scenographer Taurus Wah Man-wai's visions for Shakespeare's classic play. Not that he has any intention of realising it: it is just something that plays on his mind as he works on any one of the many dance/musical/operatic dramas that are keeping him busy till the end of next year.
"When I see something on stage that's straight out of a book, exactly as written with no changes or innovation, to me, a scenographer has failed," Wah says. "In the United States, a long time ago, I saw an alternative version of Carmen, well, it was Car Man, set in a garage. Didn't like the dances, the songs, the music or anything - but the concept was good. At least it's different."
So what does a scenographer do? "Well, everything. Using the space available on stage, everything that's visible has to be placed by a scenographer. I've created costumes, worked on the lighting, props, decor, picked artists, overseen the make-up - all of it."
Wah is the man behind, above and below some of the most innovative theatrical pieces staged in Hong Kong and Europe, including the Hong Kong Dance Company's Yellow River, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre's Songs Of Wanderers, and his own company Open Daily's Everything that Is Unimportant Falls Away - Arvo Part.
"I created Open Daily, which is an independent production house, because often I am restricted by budgets and other people's visions and have to mend and bend my way across to suit others. Now I can create what I want and get the people I need. Not that I don't have budget issues to deal with. Sometimes I have to pick a second choice, a third, even a fourth."
A former dancer who trained with renowned ballet teacher Joan Campbell in Hong Kong during his teens, Wah also trained and worked as an accoutant before his career changed in leaps and bounds. "I was interested in theatre, opera, the visual arts," he says. "Initially, I didn't get much encouragement from my parents, who wanted me to do something practical, to become a professional. So I did my accounting and worked in London for a year or so. I came back to Hong Kong to work in the administrative department for the Cultural Centre when it opened in the late 80s. At that time it was great - I got to meet Prince Charles, Princess Diana, which was impossible in Britain. To work with all the great international artists such as Cellist Yo-Yo Ma was wonderful."
He later met Willie Tsao Sing-yuen, of the City Contemporary Dance Company [CCDC] and subsequently became the troupe's manager. One of the founding members and resident choreographer of CCDC, Helen Lai, saw Wah's work in various departments and out of the blue asked him to create costumes for a show.
"It was extraordinary. I can't sew or stitch but I could draw and design. So I did and one thing led to another. Word got around and I worked on many shows."
His love of research, however, prompted him to postgraduate studies abroad. In 1995, he won a fellowship from the British Council and the Anglo-Hong Kong trust that led him to a master of arts in scenography at the university of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland. Now, he is studying for a PhD in the drama department at the University of London's Goldsmith's College. His doctoral thesis is on China's Kun Opera.
His studies, however, have not stopped him from working. He is collaborating with Timmy Yip, the Oscar-winning art/set director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, on "a grand Chinese musical along the commercial lines of an Andrew Lloyd Webber production" that will be staged tentatively next year.
He is also busy with Fetish: Stories, a physical theatre performance directed by British choreographer Robert Tannion and produced by Wah that is scheduled to play on April 26-27 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, although the dates have yet to be confirmed. With eight local dancers, the dance drama will be jaw-dropper, Wah declares. "We promise the audience an exciting experience such as they've never had before in Hong Kong theatre."
Martial arts meets philosophy in Lillete Dubey's play about the life of Bodidharma, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
For many people, Lillete Dubey is the international face of Indian cinema, thanks to Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding and Vanity Fair.
A noted wit off stage and on, her appearances in films, including some memorable Bollywood roles, have given her international recognition.
"Someone mentioned that I'm in every other film and I was quite taken aback," Dubey says. "I've done about six or seven Hindi and three English films in the last two years. How is that every other film?
"It just so happens that the movies were high-profile stuff. They weren't all box-office hits, but the independent films like My Brother Nikhil [about Aids] and Morning Raga [about the death of a classical singer's son] made a lot of news. I just can't be part of any old rubbish."
Dubey has long been associated with some of the best plays from India, including Dance Like a Man, which she directed and acted in.
In Mumbai, as her driver races through the rain to drop her at a movie set ("guest appearance darling, I can't be the lead at this stage"), Dubey is enthusiastic about taking her latest English play, Zen Katha, outside India - starting in Hong Kong this weekend.
"Theatre is my true love," she says. "I'll never leave it and I'm so excited about bringing the play to Hong Kong. Thematically, so much of it is relevant in that part of the world. the story was told to me by writer Pratap Sharma, I was keen to direct this on stage."
Zen Katha traces the story of Dharma, a Pallava Indian prince, recounting his journey from India to the Chinese court in 525AD. Through his tumultuous adventures, including an encounter with Emperor Wu Ti, the peace-loving Brahmin prince-turned-monk founded martial arts and the philosophy of Zen at a Shaolin monastery.
"I was fascinated because its part of our historical legacy," Dubey says. "The founder of Zen and martial arts - all the kung fu, tai chi and everything - can be traced to Maha Malappuram, which literally translates as the city of great wrestlers. It's a part of Indian history that little is known about.
"Bodidharma was originally known as Dharma. When he was prematurely born he was sentenced to death. Born weak, blue in the face, he was thought to be a disgrace by his father, the king who wanted only fighters as sons.
"But a Hindu priest begged the king to hand over the child to him. The priest taught pranaya, yogic breathing skills, and taught him kallaripayattu, a martial art, to gain strength.
"This first part of his life in India, before he headed off to Canton, fell into place as the first act of the play. He left through the Himalayas to learn martial arts that would enable him to fight faster than breath, faster than thought."
The second act unfolds across the borders as Dharma attempts to better himself. "It reveals what happened after he met Emperor Wu, who was surrounded in court by yes-men and sycophants," says Dubey. "The ruler was an extremely pious man, and the monk annoyed him terribly. The king wanted to know how he'd be rewarded in the after life. The monk said nothing. His answer to everything was nothing. The concept of nothingness, Zen, infuriated the king and the monk had to flee."
Writing and research took the theatre production team that Dubey founded in 1991 years. "The very word Zen is derived from Dhyaan - meditation, sharp focus. When you're fighting or mediating, there must be focus."
The multicultural play posed multiple challenges, from casting to tightening the script while preserving the epic nature of the story. "It's a very visual production," Dubey says. "So, my actors had to learn martial arts for months - but just the basics."
Will Hong Kong audiences be treated to high-level martial arts? "They perform some," she says. "But they're actors who play martial artists. The audience isn't going to see the fireworks they might be accustomed to. But our sensei, who taught them the basics, wasn't shy in his praise."
Decked out in suits, saris and salwars, Hong Kong's Indian community will get together next weekend for the screening of an epic Bollywood musical as part of the annual Diwali festival. And full houses are anticipated for the three-hour India-Pakistan cross-border love story Veer Zara.
Bollywood king Shahrukh Khan leads a cast that includes Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, with India's finest director/producer, Yash Chopra, at the helm. Rumours that the epic will be the 72-year-old filmmaker's last directorial venture have only raised expectations - and the price of the tickets. At HK$150 to HK$180 a head, the screening at Chinachem will be one of the city's more expensive cinema experiences.
Catering to Hong Kong's lovers of all things Bollywood has become a risky business. But the woman behind the Veer Zara screening, Deepa Datwani of Cineworld, is unperturbed: "The tickets have to be high because, unlike English films, the theatres don't share the profits with us. It's a flat price. Whether someone's in a seat or not, we're still paying for it and, us to make any money, we need at least 60 per cent of the hall to be full - which is never guaranteed. And we had to bid highly to secure the rights for the film in Hong Kong because competition has intensified." Indeed it has.
The venues for screening of Hindi films change regularly - from the massive Ocean theatre to the plush exhibition halls at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the cost of tickets has remained steep, regardless of the screening location.
"The Hindi movie industry is so unpredictable," Datwani says. "They change release dates at the last minute, so we can't book in advance when it's cheaper. In the past, we've lost deposits because the film in India gets delayed in production and we have to cancel our bookings.
"The venue is the most difficult thing we have to deal with. Whatever is available at short notice, we have to stick to that."
The first Hindi film to be screened in Hong Kong was Hum Aaapke Hain Kaun back in 1994 when, much to the surprise of organisers, all the $100 tickets were sold. Since then, Bollywood's best have made it to our shores reasonably regularly, with screenings held on average about once every four months.
Pamela Kapoor and Kamalesh Kalra were among the first to bring Indian films to local audiences and showed them at the Hong Kong Convention Centre, the Arts Centre and in universities. But they have now backed out of the game.
"There's too much competition, getting a cinema is so difficult and pricey," Kalra says. "And with the success of Indian movies internationally, the prices of buying Indian films have gone up, and we weren't seeing the returns in Hong Kong."
Meghna Agarwal, another organiser of local screenings whose father is a film distributor in India, imported Kal Ho Na Ho last year. "We didn't make a huge profit. We didn't have full houses for all our shows, so we just about broke even. For Indian films, there's nothing like word of mouth publicity, so most of our audiences we get through sending out e-mails and faxes. Advertising in papers and magazines doesn't help much."
Datwani agrees. "People have a general idea of what a film is like. If the cast is good and the music is good then they can predict what the film will be like. But it's a big risk on our part.
"Dev, which had a great cast and good music wasn't that successful. Audiences found the film too slow and attendance for later shows fell drastically."
Not unlike the Hollywood box-office, the only real money made is in the first weekend. "Two days after a film is released in India, DVDs of the film are easily available in Hong Kong. We have to show the film in the first few days, otherwise people will rather pay for HK$20 for a pirated disc - no matter how good the print - than pay HK$120," says Agarwal.
Will the gamble pay off for her latest venture? Datwani has her fingers crossed. "It's a big banner, the director is well known and it's a top cast, Shahrukh movies always do well and our biggest success was his last film, Main Hoon Na. With English subtitles, we expect anyone who's a fan of a musical to turn up."
A.R.Rahman is known as a musical wizard who has revolutionised film scores, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
Bollywood movies feature an average of seven songs - which means that the Indian film industry churns out about 4,800 numbers a year. But there's only one man who has consistently claimed the No 1 spot on the music charts.
Indian composer Allah Rakha Rahman (A.R.Rahman), has been credited with "changing the face of Indian music" (India Today). His song Roobaroo, from the film Rang De Basanti (Paint It Yellow), has occupied the top spot on the Mumbai charts since its release four weeks ago.
"Rahman is the biggest representative of Indian music," says Bollywood movie mogul Subhash Ghai. "He's an example for future generations. He's the best fusion of art and science in music."
Singer Hariharan, who will visit Hong kong as part of Rahman's troupe this weekend, met the composer when he was working on a cosmetics commercial and says Rahman helped his career.
"After the commercial, he asked me to record a song for the movie Roja [Rose, 1992]," says Hariharan. "Then, in 1994, the film Bombay was released and my song Tu Hi Re became a big hit. It was as if Rahman exhibited my voice and gave it a huge commercial perspective."
A steady stream of hits led Rahman from the mean streets of Chennai to the lavish sets of London musical Bombay Dreams - the first time British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber invited another composer to write for him.
"I think he has an incredible voice," Lloyd Webber has said. "I've seen many Bollywood films, but what he manages to do is unique. He keeps it very much Indian. As a westerner, I can always recognise his music because it has a voice of its own. It's definitely Indian, yet it has an appeal which will go right across the world.
"He will hit the west in an amazing kind of way - that is, if he's led in the right way. He's the most extraordinary composer who is still true to his cultural roots, and deserves to be heard by an international public."
For those familiar with the average length of an Indian movie, it should come as no surprise that the concert at the Convention and Exhibition Centre will run for three and half to four hours.
Rahman will play keyboards and sing, accompanied by Alka Yagnik, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, BlaaZe, Kailash Kher, Madhushree and Sadhana sargam and a full orchestra.
Media-shy Rahman is popular among so-called playback singers, whose songs are pre-recorded for use in films. The singer records, and the actors lip sync for the cameras. He's also popular with Bollywood stars, who often fly from Mumbai to Chennai to record at his studio.
"His strength is the way he designs sound," says Hariharan. "He has revolutionised film music. He's perpetually on a quest to get the best out of you and make you feel at ease. I have sung some of my best songs for him."
Singer Alka Yagnik agrees. "He's a one-man show. Once he's taught you the song, he gives you a free hand. He lets you sing it the way you want to."
For the local audiences unfamiliar with Bombay Dreams, Rahman's work can be found closer to home: he was responsible for the haunting background score for mainland action/adventure epic warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003).
Most mainstream Bollywood films tend to stick to a formula, reinforcing, good, clean, family values as white sari-clad heroines and dashing young heroes fall in love among fields of sunflowers.
But when 27-year-old Siddharth Anand got approval from producer Aditya Chopra to turn his screenplay into a film, the debutant director chose to push the envelope. Well, just a bit. In Salaam Namaste, the lead couple (played by Preity zinta and Saif Ali Khan) don't get married - they simply live together.
Not long ago, such a thing in a Bollywood film would have been scandalous. But times are changing. "We have to push the audience little by little," says Anand. "A live-in relationship isn't a big deal in Indian cities any more.
"As new directors, we have to push the envelope - but slowly. The film isn't provocative or scandalous. It's a young couple who live together. We're not there to shock anyone just for the heck of it. In fact, no one will be shocked by it in India. It's the NRI [non-resident Indian} market - the Indians who left India 20, 30 years ago and are still maintaining old standards. They need to see how far India has progressed."
Anand's family has a long association with Bollywood - his grandfather Indra Raj Anand was a screen writer in the 70s and is credited with about 120 films - but he turned overseas for inspiration.
"It came from F.R.I.E.N.D.S," he says. "When Star started showing the sitcoms around India, it was incredibly influential. They had the issues that youth did. I think audiences will recognise Monica, Ross and Joey-ish characters."
Big things are expected from Salaam Naamaste! Hong Kong 's Bollywood fans can see it at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Sunday.
The film has come out under the banner of Yash Raj, India's oldest and most successful film production company, which has recorded profits of more than 300 million rupees ($53 million) in the past two years.
"I had co-written Hum Tum [Me and You] and the film was last year's biggest hit for the company," Anand says. "I wanted a young film, but the team of writers I had were just not getting the language right, so I wrote the story and screenplay. I guess script writing is in my genes."
The title uses Muslim and Hindu greetings - leading some people to think the film will be a caste - conflict romance. But Anand says there are none of those cliches.
"I'm glad the title of the film is going to mislead people because they're in for a complete surprise then," he says. "There aren't any fighting parents, no rich and poor tales and no culture clashes. This is a simple, musical romance and the only conflict is the inner conflict between a couple.
"The reason older filmmakers are struggling now is because they haven't adapted to the times - unlike Yash Chopra, who's in his 70s and still makes the biggest success because he's kept up with social and economical changes, and the attitudes and intelligence of the urban audience."
It took DJ Suketu just three years to top India's remixing scene. Now locals can find out why, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
As he prepared to fly to Hong Kong last week, DJ Suketu was caught up in a controversy in Mumbai when Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar denounced the remixing culture "for its utter corruption and hollow value."
Suketu's name was mentioned as Mangeshkar railed against the new breed of youngsters in Mumbai 's burgeoning lounge and club scene, but the DJ thinks he knows the real reason she's upset.
"The only reason - she's not getting any money or royalties from the remixes," Suketu, 28, says as he drives around Mumbai with his own chart-topping song playing in the background.
"Manna Dey said he was thrilled that his songs from the 50s and 60s are being brought to a new generation who would otherwise never have even known he existd. Why not adopt that atttude?"
Suketu is without doubt the hottest name in India's remixing scene, with his reinterpretations of old Bollywood songs combined with house, techno and lounge rhythms finding their way into the charts - and shoving aside new bollywood songs.
"I still remember when my first remix video hit MTV India in 2002. I was flooded with SMS messages within minutes. Since then I've worked in the hottest clubs in London, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia... every month I'm in a different country."
What started as a hobby inspired by a love of old Indian songs quickly turned intto a career when Suketu's remixing skills came to the attention of Indian music companies.
"After just three years I'm working with the best Indian music directors, who want remixes of their new compositions to be included as supplements to their albums."
Suketu's skills behind the turntables have also been recognised. He won the national DMC (Disco Mix Club) headquarters in London. He's also a trained tabla player. "There are thousands of remixes coming out of Mumbai. You really need a sense of rhythm and timing - which is where my background in the tabla helps."
The competition is fierce. What separates Suketu from his competitors is that he gets singers to record new vocal tracks for all his releases, along with incorporating an eclectic jumble of sounds sourced from around the world. "In every country I go, I buy the top 20 hit list and check out the local scene of music. I get new singers to sing the tracks in different styles and then it goes off to the music companies," he says.
Suketu's performance during the Diwali festival will be his first in Hong Kong. "I'm bringing all the stuff I've collected over the year and I carry house, hip-hop and Bollywood. No DJ will prepare everything in advance. You have to study the crowd, try things, see what's working."
Are original songs the next step? "I'd definitely like to do more original songs, but I'll never turn my back on remixing."
What Caroline Hu achieved in her first foray into filmdom could be the seed that sprouts into cinematic legend. A first-year student at City University [working on her master's degree in media design and technology], Hu won the best Experimental Film award at the NYU Student Film Festival in New York in October - with her first video project. The university's alumni include Ang Lee, Martin Scorsese aand Oliver Stone.
"I was just thrilled to be in New York ," says Hu, after showing her nine-minute film at the screening room in City U's media centre. It's such a great city. I shot as much footage as possible and didn't waste my time there. At the festival, when they honoured my film, Rememberance, it was completely unexpected. I was proud and thrilled."
After completing a bachelor's degree in comparative literature at the University of Hong Kong, Hu taught English before shifting gears. "I've always been interested in cinema, the arts, literature - and this is a bit of everything. I was fed up with what I was doing. I wanted to do something practical and creative. So I embarked on a media course."
The leap of faith and academic shift paid off. "The film took about four months to make. I shot it, edited it, mixed the sound, wrote the script, typed up all the subtitles. it was a one-woman production, so its merits and its faults are all mine.
"I made the film for my Moving Image course, and when my teacher recommended that I send it to New York for the festival, I had no idea I would return with an award," Hu says.
Shot while walking and riding public transport around Hong Kong, the film [in monochrome, which unfolds into colour] is narrated by Hu and includes classical music from her own collection.
The script is a mixture of quotes, memories and words from letters sent and received.
"I borrowed the camera from the university, It was quite heavy lugging it around. shooting in the tram was not easy, with people bumping into me. but standing at the back of the tram, as the city passed me by, moving away from me, fitted perfectly with my theme of recollection. Remembering what has gone by."
Was she worried that her foreign audience and judges might have misunderstood the movie?
"I think the main reason the film won was that the theme appealed to a lot of people," Hu says. "It was a moody piece about what your city means to you. Hong Kong had gone through tragedies, and so had New york."
Now that her first film has done so well, what's next for Hu? "There is that look of expectation now. I see it around me. My next project is due soon and it's not just other's expectations that I have to meet, but my own as well."
One of China's best-known conceptual artists tells P.Ramakrishnan the secret of his brilliant career: Take it easy.
In a 1985 work titled The Butterfly of Zhuangzi is a Pair of Scissors, what appear to be Chinese characters on a pitch black canvas turn out to be merely strokes of red oil paint. The only character that has any meaning says "nirvana".
A decade later, the medium may have changed, but the same edginess is evident. A photo shows a family picnicking just a few feet away from a nuclear power plant.
Welcome to the world of Wu Shanzhuan - possibly China's best-known conceptual artist. The 45-year-old from Zhoushan was closely associated with the mainland's Political Pop movement of the 1990s.
His body of work includes paintings, installation art, performance, photos and drawings.
This Friday, Wu will launch his first book, the bilingual Red Humour International, published by the Asia Art Archive. But don't ask him what it's about because you're unlikely to get a straight answer. Wu can be unpredictable and erratic.
"I don't really care about what people think about my work and take away from it," says Wu, who is now based in Hamburg. "I don't define it anyway. Once it's done, I leave it behind. My work stands on its own and there's no word really to describe it. I call it 'Wu's thing'.
"I'm afraid of being serious. I'm afraid of responsibility - that word to me is scary. I always look back on my work, on life, with humour. So the book is Red Humour International. I don't understand these serious, serious artists. Why? Take it easy."
The book, designed by Ou Nign, includes unpublished material and commissioned texts by critics such as Gao Minglu, Ursula Panhans-Buhler and Qiu Zhijie. Long-time collaborator Inga Svala Thorsdottir - who was featured in a 1993 video still and many of Wu's photos - also helped out.
If it's true that all art is self-expression, what do the video stills or photos say about Wu? "I'm not here to criticise or promote, condemn or condone," he says. "But I think there should be an awareness. The picture of the power plant with the family - I'm not saying whether it's good or bad, but I think people should be aware.
"The photograph of a couple about to jump and swim in Hong Kong harbour - there's no judgment. Criticising something or liking something is an easy emotion. It's one step away from... Well, I think it leads to dictating. What you want is imposed on others. I just wantt to share. Getting people to think or do what you want - to me that's politics and I'm not about politics."
Reflecting on some of his more prominent work, Wu says it's strange how the media in the past few years - they use the same pictures of my work. Like the photograph of the room filled with Chinese characters or the canvas with the false red characters. I don't understand why.
"To me, the vegetable piece was interesting. I got a lot of vegetables - some organic; others not. I brought them all to a studio and I left for weeks. It was interesting that some things decayed rapidly, while on others, things started to grow."
Wu says he doesn't seek inspiration from the things he sees around him. Even the term "inspiration" irks him.
"I don't like that word. It's another one of those big words that scares me. I don't find inspiration. I don't have a muse. Everyday things like this table or this chair, we just take it, we use it. I have a use-ology for everything that I see, I hear, I smell. It's just my work and that way, I'm always working."
Two performers from India and Pakistan with the gift of ghazal are getting together for a one-off concert, finds P.Ramakrishnan.
The tensions between India and Pakistan may be palpable at times, but when it comes to creative collaborations, the countries have never had it so good. Numerous musicians have featured in Hindi films during the past two years, and singers, comedians, writers, lyricists and even Pakistani actors have worked in Bollywood. Such cross-border cultural harmony may seem extraordinary, but Indian singer Talat Aziz begs to differ.
"Creative people don't see boundaries and politics," the 50-year-old artist says. "There are many music lovers in India who greatly appreciate the singers and musicians from our neighbouring countries, and producers have invited singers and writers to work with them in India for decades.
"The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan flew from Pakistan and sang for filmmaker Raj Kapoor in Delhi in the early 1980s. Similarly, someone like Ghulam Ali is a respected figure among all music lovers, irrespective of their or his origin."
Aziz has collaborated with Karachi-born Ali in joint concerts for several decades. "I've been an admirer and friend for years. I met him nearly 30 years ago. The upcoming concert in Hong Kong is a collaboration - a confluence of harmony that has been long in the making."
The two ghazal singers - each considered among the best in his respective country - will give a one-off concert this Friday at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The ghazal is said to have originated in 10th-century Persian verse, making its way to India in the 12th century. A poetic form of music, it's sung in delicate melodies, with greater emphasis on Urdu words and language than on tempo and beat.
Some consider in to be an elitist form of music, but Ali doesn't agree. "The more youngsters attend, the more they seem to enjoy it. Ghazal isn't elitist. It's not just for those who are well-read. It's for everyone who can enjoy good music."
Ali has performed around the world and has made more than 50 platinum-selling albums during the past three decades. His fan club is mixed. "I've worked with and met many wonderful Indian artists and it has always been a pleasure to collaborate with them, meet them and exchange ideas," he says. "The warmth and love I've received in my concerts abroad, I can't tell you what it means to me."
At the age of 15, Ali became a protege of classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali khan. He was taught by Khan's brothers and trained in classical music for years before he started composing and singing professionally. His compositions are raga-based (traditional melody) and include various innovations.
Aziz, who was born and brought up in Hyderabad, India, learnt classical singing at a young age. He was trained by Ustad Samad Khan and later by Ustad Fayaz Ahmed, then introduced to recording studios by Jagjit Singh.
Although Aziz sang on many private, non-film based albums, he eventually began so-called playback singing for Indian actors. He has also acted in films and television shows - but he says music is his first love.
"There are no rehearsals as such for concerts," says Aziz. "You never know what's going to happen, how we adhere to audience requests, and gauge the mood from their reactions."
From across the border, Ali agrees. "Live shows are a unique experience every time," he says. "I've had requests from audience to sing their favourite song again and again. They never tire of certain classics. Luckily , I enjoy singing old numbers, and popular choices are my own favourites, too."
Aziz is confident that Hong Kong audiences will appreciate ghazals, "Not long ago, I was in Sauddi Arabia for a concert and the audience was a very mixed, international crowd," he says. "The Russian and the Japanese Consulate Generals were attending, with their respective people and entourage. I thought they would stay for a few minutes and then leave. But they stayed till the very end and, although I'm sure they didn't understand a single word that was sung, they came up to me. At the next concert, there were more Russians and Japanese people in the crowd. What does that tell you about music transcending borders?"
Amabel Liu may appear one of the fresher faces on the local music scene, but she has a long history in the arts.
Liu, who will perform at the Fringe as part of jazz and blues band Subito, may be familiar to some as one half of the now now disbanded girl group, Sisters. "Well, I do enjoy singing and my sister and I - we were in our teens - had signed this contract with a company and we had to perform songs in a particular style that was, well, pretty formulaic. I was in it about two years and then... it didn't work out that well, for me at least."
Hence, the repeated appearances on local TV shows and radio petered out. "We wanted to compose our own songs with a bit more diversity, but the compaany wanted us to do just the pop stuff. I really didn't."
So she hung up the microphone and left the music scene. Now she is back.
Much to the joy of the Fringe Club's Catherine Lau who says of Liu: "She's what I want to be - a singer, an artist, a pianist who does jazz. She's studied in New York. She's doing a course here now in fine arts. All this and she's just 21."
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Liu went through the rigmarole of the averaage local student, with school followed by extra-curricular activities that required as much, if not more, effort. "I've been playing the piano and composing my own songs since I was seven. I started learning the piano quite young and I was no genius that learnt everything in a year. I hated going to the exams."
If Liu's relationship with music has been tempestuous, her affair with painting is more stable - even if it's being enforced by her courses at university. "I love music, but that's just a part of me. I enjoyed painting and signed up for a course in upstate New York where I was for a year, and now I've transferred to the Chinese University and doing my bachelor's degree in fine arts."
As a professional singer, it's perhaps easier to gauge one's own success, but what's it like in the finicky and struggle-filled world of the ever-suffering-artist? "I've had my paintings exhibited and sold a few already. It's cool to find someone like-minded, who didn't just say they liked my work, but went out and bought it as well.
"I know I can't just be an artist and live off that, I'm a realist," she continues. "But I have my own studio and I'm there often and the money that I get through sales may not buy me a Mercedes, but I can get my brushes and canvases and paints, things I want and need."
Although Liu's shifted focus slightly, she's never let go of her musical roots. "Music is very much a part of me. I get it from my mum. She has all kinds of music and I'd go through the discs and find something odd and old and I'd really like it. When people come to a performance, I think they are taken aback by my choices. I love Julie London - she has the sexist voicce ever. I just love it. Billie Holiday, June Christie. The golden oldies."
Subito was born after a series of fortuitous meetings and now consists of Liu on vocals, Chris Gordon on guitar, mandolin and banjo, joined by Julian on double bass and Les on drums [both say they prefer not to use their surnames].
"During the breaks, each individual performer has a chance to showcase their solo pieces too so I get to present my compossitions or just play what I want to play. This freedom is much more fun then constantly being told what to do."
This city's almost seamless building sites offer an exciting medium for a special artist. He tells P.Ramakrishnan why jackhammers are music to his ears.
Even if you've walked past 102 Austin Road, Kowloon, you've probably missed the large canvas of Stanley Wong Ping-pui's latest art work. You're not to be blamed.
At a glance, a myopic eye will not recognise what it is-the large "canvas" of red, blue and white stripes made of the same woven material used primarily in construction sites to prevent debris from falling to the pavement actually sits on a building that is under construction. Why would anyone look at Building HK04 Tsim Sha Tsui for a second longer?
Another example of his work was inconspicuously displayed last year in the lobby of G.O.D., the furniture warehouse in Causeway Bay. The "installation art" looked as if the lobby had been left incomplete for days on end. But the scene - a mess of wires and dust - was actually painfully created. Entitled Building HK01 Causeway Bay, the only thing left from the project are photographs in Wong's office.
Deceptively straightforward, Wong's theme, Building Hong Kong, derives from a city in constant motion and growth. While most people will moan at the sight of yet another pneumatic drill, Wong delights in further opportunity to create his distinctive art.
"Hong Kong is about constant growth. Why don't we celebrate that?" he asks. "For a few years, I lived and worked in Singapore and I came back to Hong Kong just in time for the handover and realised how much I missed this placee."
Looking at his prospective plans on a digital disc, Wong, who is also an award-winning graphic designer and ad-film maker, says he wants to bring his art to all parts of Hong Kong. If all his visions come true, his work will be displayed in parks, commercial centres, temples and mosques. All the works will bear his favourite colour motif of red, white and blue, which carries a sense of unity, or does it?
"No politics, please. My work is not confrontational," he says, while an image superimposed on an government building appears on the digital-display screen. "It reflects my version of utopia and peace. Peace and politics don't seem to mingle much these days. When a French guy sees the work, he thinks it's somehow related to France. Same with an American. Foreigners relate to the work with their own homeland in mind. To anyone from Hong Kong, these colours are an instant portrait of Hong Kong."
He is right. Red, white and blue are also the colours of the ubiquitous, and often derided, rectangular zip-up canvas bags favoured by Hong Kongers as holdalls. To Wong, it's really a "made-in-Hong Kong" symbol, and a good one.
"There is nothing stronger, nothing will last longer, it's efficcient and inexpensive. To any person anywhere in Hong Kong, it's symbolic of where we come from," Wong says. "I am working on a book and trying to trace the history and origin of this material - why these elementary colours were chosen? To me, it's a local icon."
It has not been easy to put his works on public display. He laughs when a reference is made about the similarities between him aand the "King of Kowloon'" graffiti artist Tsang Tsou-choi, whose "canvasses" are walls on public sites. "The idea's the same - but my work would be legal of course!" Wong says with a chuckle. His company staff try to get permission from owners and management companies around town.
"The museum and gallery audience are a secondary target, they don't concern me as much as regular people do. How maany people are willing to go all the way to Sha Tin to look at the art on display other than a few well-intended art lovers and tourists," Wong says. "It's not the gallery cult I seek. Anyone should have the opportunity to see my work, not just the people who pay to see it in a controlled environment. At bus stops, in malls, in office buildings - where the real people are, that's where my work should be."
Gazing out towards Victoria Park from his office near Tin Hau temple, he says "I don't even like the word 'art', as I am a communications major," Wong says. "Paintings, sculptures aren't art to me. Every piece is an individual and personal communicaation."
He won the gold award at the Provisional Regional Council Asian-Pacific Poster Exhibition in 1997 for his two-set posters "1 Country 2 Systems" and "50 Years Remain Unchanged". Since then, his work has travelled to Berlin, Shanghai and Taipei to glowing reviews and a slew of awards.
The goal of his latest project is to give people a positive outlook about the land they inhabit. "We've got to have faith in our country, our society, our work, our lives, ourselves as individuals. The country is a reflection of us - the big picture telescopes to us, not the other way around."
Tired of mainstream fodder? Join the fetival with a difference in a celebration of all things audio and visual. P.Ramakrishnan picks some highlights.
It is not what you can expect to see at this year's Sound And Vision Festival that will make it a genuine music lover's gathering, but rather what you won't see. No one-hit wonders who've never touched a musical instrumment, no mediocre poster boys, no airbrushed calendar girls.
The third annual festival is co-founded and directed by the husband-and-wife team of Wong Chi-chung, Universal Music's international repertoire manager, and promoter Yvonne Siet. Fuelled by passion and caffeine, the pair have jumped hoops, and dodged wars andd disease to put this year's event together. "When we had our meetings in March, we were debating whether to move it to a later date. We thought last year was bad when our sponsors abandoned us. We had to get money from friends and family. If people had $20 to give, we were happy to take it. We had a company to sponsor the paper for the 8,000 programmes. Everything was done with a smile on our face and a very big please," Siet says.
This year, it was nearly strike three. "The financial situation hasn't picked up. Then Sars hit hard... we considered cancelling the event, but everyone said, 'Let's do it, by August, it'll be gone'."
It sounds quixotic, considering the number of large-scale events that were pulled, after multimillion-dollar campaigns and advertising, particularly for an event that began with a "zero budget".
One of the names returning to Hong Kong is Victor Hugo, the Venezuelan-born singer and composer who has helped spread the Latin music message in Europe and collaborated with legendary "Salseros" such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Oscar D'Leon among others. Hugo will be supported by his regular sidemen, The Mambo Boyz, who have earned a reputation across Europe as hardy party starters.
"Victor Hugo and the band were going to visit in April and I told them not to come. It wasn't because of Sars initially, but the war. They had to fly over some iffy areas, which bothered me," Siet says. "They loved it here when they came last time and they were waiting for me to give them a firm date."
Local indie darlings Uncle Joe will join a raft of performers at the festival's finale concert. Guitarist and songwriter, Andrew Gardener, says, "The standard of Hong Kong bands has improved in leaps and bounds from when we first started playing a few years ago. Most of them are amateurs. The indie band thing is still very underground... it's for people who have a passion for music and love to play. We're not the bubble-gum attraction.
"Events like this are good for the performers too. You get to see a variety of styles, to see what's out there and what's popular," says Gardener, who also sees the festival as an opportunity to push their recently released full-length debut (go to www.unclejoeehk.com).
And while music-biz executives will be scouting for talent at the festival, Gardener insists this is not the motivation for taking part. "The Sound And Vision audience is your 20- to 30-something crowd. It's a good mix of Chinese and western people."
Local classical composer Kung Chi-shing agrees. As the festival's musician in focus he is looking forward to the range of events on offer. "I strongly believe there's a need for this sort of gathering. The music scene is dominated by Canto-pop which is very commercial and doesn't have much to do with music or art."
Kung will be leading a lecture on how film enhances an audience 's experiencee of music. "Films like Apocalypse Now, Clockwork Orange or [Japanese director] Akira Kurosawa's films have shown how a visual medium can enhance the musical experience. I don't much care for something as obvious as Chicago, or the main-stream film world. The producers may claim it was a big risk to make a musical in these times, but those films are the result of a lot of calculation. It's an adaptation of a very successful Broadway musical, has a popular cast to entice the audience. It may have been well made and entertaining, but it's superficial."
This year's festival has a few more surprises up its sleeve. Wong explains the theme ("Survival Kit") as he hands out brochures. "The Sars theme was an idea we played with, but it was dropped. Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon. It was something that happened and we didn't want to capitalise on it. Plug into some music and leave your worries behind. That's one way to survive, isn't it? This is our survival kit."
And it'ss an aural and visual smörgåsbord that's being served up. Fusion, indie, pop, rock, salsa, documentaries, films, seminars, lectures, multimediaa shows, interactive events, the list goes on.
Wong says: "Festivals are great place for people from everywhere to mingle. For local bands to get out there, to play in front of crowds of 500 or 1,000. People look forward to this every year. Everyone gets to interact. There will be a lot of crossover acts. It also gives artists a chance to experiment, to do something they wouldn't do at their normal concerts.
"Audiences must bring their mobile phones into the auditorium" is a line in the catalogue that will have everyone scratching their heads. Bring your mobile to a concert?
"Well, even I was surprised to hear that tri [a French multimedia group performing on August 29] want people to come with their phones on. They are a very interesting group-one member is a writer, a critic, another member is an installattion artist and the other is a musician. So it's an audio and vision show. They've been performing all around Europe and they're planning to be here and to interact with local audiences," Wong explains.
The Bombay Rockers and Jay Sean celebrate Diwali by putting the bang into bhangra, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
Diwali may be the Hindu festival of lights, but it will be celebrated with a cavalcade of sound in Hong Kong this year with performances by two of India's biggest pop acts.
The Bombay Rockers start off the celebrations in Cyberport's Ocean View Arena and Sea View Terrace on Saturday, followed by Jay Sean, at the Viceroy and DV8, in Wan Chai, on October 21.
Both acts have had international success with distinctly non-Bollywood, Indo-western hybrid hits.
"Part of the reason for the success of my music is because it's not anything like what's coming out of the musical films in India," says Sean. "I didn't want to repeat any of that because many in my generation of British-born Indians couldn't relate 100 per cent to it. We had to have our own sound that was a cocktail of cultures - just like we are.
"I grew up listening to rap and hip hop, and I was writing music when I was 13. My point of view was different. We spoke English at home. The only time I spoke Punjabi was [with] my grandparents, but I couldn't hold an entire conversation in Punjabi," says Sean, who is Sikh by birth and wears his traditional, trademark kara (silver bracelet) at all times.
"Like other Indian kids living in England, US or Canada, they hold on to their roots, but they're very much Western-ised. My music has that flavour they can relate to, especially since it has never been done before, not by a young Indian person. I found my niche and it's grown."
Sean, 26, is the most successful Asian R&B performer to have hit the charts in India and UK. His stage name comes from the Indian word shaan, or "pride". He was born Kamaljit Jhooti in Southhall, London, and has never lived in India. Bollywood movies were a part of his upbringing, but he noticed that Indian singers struggled to succeed internationally.
"When Indian singers try to get into the western market, from the listener's point of view, they don't quite sound authentic," he says.
"It would be like me singing in Spanish or something - the accent wouldn't be right, the tone wouldn't be quite right. But I was born and brought up in London and my music reflects that,"
As Sean fuses British and Indian influences, the Bombay Rockers bring a Scandinavian approach to the sounds of the subcontinent. Thomas Sardorf and Navtej Singh Rehal, both 25, created Bombay Rockers three years ago in Denmark and have won a faithful following from Kolding to Calcutta.
"I was brought up mostly outside India, but I did live in Delhi for about a year," Rehal says. "Culturally, of course, there's a fusion of the east and west, which is reflected in our music."
The Bombay Rockers have hit the big time with singles such as Ari Ari and Rock Tha Party, a Hindi-English song that entered the top 10 in the charts in India and Britain. Their debut album, Introducing, has gone platinum in India, with sales of more than 100,000.
"Ari Ari was the first track we made," says Sardorf. "We started making tracks with a bhangra vibe and it worked out well. The production was more pop-R&B, and the mix of Indian and English vocals gave us an opportunity to vary it. The reason it's done so well everywhere, starting off in Denmark and then racing across Asia, is that it still has an Indian heart."
The Bombay Rockers first went on stage in July 2003, at the Roskilde Festival, in front of 20,000 people. A month later, they were performing in Denmark's Images of Asia festival, and other gigs nation-wide. Ari Ari was only a lukewarm success on its release, but the impact of Rock Tha Party gave the duo new life and renewed interest in their previous work. Their third single, Wild Rose, was released in more than 32 countries last year.
Sean also realises that his music no longer appeals only to the Southeast Asian market.
"I've toured all around Asia - Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan - but this is my first visit to Hong kong, so I'm really excited about coming over and spending about a week there," he says. "Touring around has opened my eyes to the fact that the music isn't just for the desi [Indian/Southeast Asian] community. It's going over well across the board. My concerts always have a mixed crowd because hip hop and R&B don't belong just to one section of society."
Sean's show will reflect his diverse musical tastes. "I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop and soul: Naughty by Nature, Lords of the Underground, Stevie Wonder, Boyz to Men, Michael Jackson," he says. "I was aware of bhangra, but I was also aware that I couldn't do that exactly the way it should be done because it wasn't authentic from my perspective. I didn't have the same life experiences as those brought up in Punjab, obviously, so I never tried to recreate that - but the essence of that is there, somewhere."
Although Sean has kept his distance from Bollywood, he enticed Indian film star Bipasha Basu to appear in a music video that won an Asian Music Award for best video in Britain. "My record company asked who we'd like in the video and Bipasha Basu was the upcoming young actress at the time. For those who didn't know who she was, it didn't matter, because she's very, very beautiful and for those who did, they could instantly connect. Now, she's the hottest actress in Bollywood. Even the local [British] tabloids list her as the hottest babe."
Sean doesn't rule out working with a film studio. "There have been some offers, but none have been any good," he says. "They do come up with some strange ideas in Mumbai, don't they?"
