Indian actress Sudha Chandran in Hong Kong

Sudha Chandran, shot by Leon Saperstein, back in 2005 in Hong Kong when she came down for a play. 

One of the most inspiring and lovely women I've ever met. 

Despite having encountered so many challenges in life (esp for those who know her story), she still had faith, temerity to face life head-on, with guts.

Friend's tireless aid to Thais hit by floods inspires photographic fund-raiser to rebuild homes

Model turned photographer David Elliott

Locally based model-photographer David Elliott’s first exhibition, A City Under Water, at JaaBar in Central, is a fund-raiser to help victims of last year’s flooding in Thailand.

“Last November, I made a four-day trip to the heart of the flood zone,” Elliott said. “A friend of mine was heavily involved in the flood aid. Every morning, we were arranging and picking up supplies and driving to Pathum Thani [province], where we would rendezvous with the boats – a necessity in navigating the floodwaters. The waters rose to the shoulders of the few people whom braved them. There was such a starkness in contrast to the imagery I captured and to the murky, milk tea-coloured water which we were floating in.”

Lending their support at Saturday’s exhibition opening were models David Oshry and Anna Rivera, photographers Jesper McIlroy, William Furniss and Lucy McNally, actor Darren E. Scott and socialite Yumiko Honda.

“The project was inspired by my friend Mednune and her devoutness to help the Thai people,” Elliott said. “She was there working tirelessly, as long as there was one person suffering, she was getting up and about working. In the wake of any calamity, we all want to do something, and it was then I decided the imagery I captured, could be used as a device to help her bring something back to the beautiful souls of Thailand. All proceeds from sales will go towards re-building homes for those who lost theirs to the flooding.”


CITYSEEN
P. Ramakrishnan
Jun 14, 2012

David Oshry, David Elliott and Darren

Aamir Khan: A rude awakening

TASTEMAKER: Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan bucked Bollywood's sense of propriety with his latest project, writes P.Ramakrishnan.


You know you're entering uncharted territory for the usually squeaky clean Bollywood when a film opens with a stool sample and a bag of cocaine getting mixed up.

Elsewhere, in the newly released Delhi Belly (out in Hong Kong now), you'll find excessive profanity, both blatant and subtle sexual innuendo, and scatological humour that's only for the brave of heart (and stomach). The expletives and alleged corruptive influence of one of the songs on the soundtrack was discussed by India's Congress party in parliament. And dialogue in a brothel was deemed so offensive the movie was banned in Nepal (but finally released after the offending scene was cut).

Delhi Belly has no beauty queens dancing around trees. And its three male leads, the bearded, the corpulent and the afro-coiffed (then tonsured!) , have never modelled before - quite an achievement for an industry that pays obeisance only the photogenic. The film was a huge hit when it was released in India last year. The Hollywood Reporter called it a "sexy, filthy and thoroughly entertaining comedy" that "marks a welcome shift in contemporary Indian cinema". And the man responsible for this shift was its producer: Aamir Khan.

What made Khan back the film? "The script. I thought it was funny. That's the simple reason," he says. "The script was written by Akshat Verma. He came from Los Angeles and had been chasing me for months. I get scripts all the time and I was completely busy working on another film. He ended up giving the script to my maid when I was away."

The script landed on his desk on top of a pile of 50 to 60 other scripts. "My wife Kiran [Rao, also a writer/ director] read it," Khan says. "I was in another room, and I kept hearing her giggle, then laugh out loud. Then she was holding her stomach laughing and she fell off the sofa. She finished reading the entire thing in 90 minutes. I had to grab it from her. When I finished the last page, I knew we had to make the film."

However, by then, Verma had left India, presumably having given up. The day he landed in the US, he got the call from Khan and flew back to Mumbai within 24 hours. "The film could not have been made without the conviction of Aamir Khan," says Verma.

Khan, 47, has been one of India' leading actors for the past 24 years. But in Delhi Belly, he relegated himself to the role of producer and appears only briefly at the end of the film. Unrecognisable as a 1980s throwback disco king, Khan's spoof of a Bollywood hero is ironic, as he's very much the Bollywood archetype.

"I wanted to act as as one of the characters in the film - but it would have required me to put on a lot of weight and grow a beard. It would have taken too much effort to lose the weight, as I had other films on hand," says Khan, who opted for the cameo role instead. "My kids were very embarrassed when they say my get-up. But I explained to them that back in the day, the heroes of Hindi films looked like that."

The expletive-laden Delhi Belly is certainly a change for a man who's made an Oscar-nominated film (Lagaan), movies with social messages and family entertainment.

"I have made entertaining, family films in the past and movies with messages, but this isn't one of them. We applied for an adult-certificate before the film was released and we got it," Khans says.

"I know I have a great responsibility towards my fans, I respect them a lot, but had to warn them about this film... but the reaction from my fans so far has been great."

When the film was being promoted, Khan went on practically every television channel in India to say, "If you're easily offended, please don't watch this film. If you want a clean romance, please don't watch it. If you're expecting a family entertainment, please don't watch it. If vulgar language offends your sensibilities, please don't watch it," and so on.

Of course, this reverse psychology worked so well the masses turned out in force and made Delhi Belly a box-office smash.

But for the millions who have seen Khan's previous film 3 Idiots - a runway success in Hong Kong and the mainland, Delhi Belly will come as a culture shock. 3 Idiots holds the record for the most successful Indian film of all time and the fact that Khan was able to get Delhi Belly made, highlights his acumen as a producer.

"I was prepared for a percentage of the audience not to like the film," he says. "It's a very irreverent films, but with lots of humour. I knew it would work when I saw the audience laughing the same way as when I first read it, and at the same points. When I sit in the cinema, I just want to be entertained."


And despite the acclaim he has received during his long career, Khan says this is not what motivates him. "I don't crave a single award, not one," he says. "My award comes in the darkened theatre when I hear the response of the audience. When they laugh in the right times, cry at the others, and clap and whistle. That's my award. Trophies are meaningless."



Delhi Belly is showing now in UA Cinemas in Hong Kong.

27th May 2012
ramakrishnanp @ hotmail. com

Essentially yours: David Oshry on his travel basics:

Having modelled for more than a decade in New York, Paris and Beijing, Hong Kong-based model David Oshry has a portfolio that's a veritable catalogue of menswear. But his wardrobe reveals a few surprises (including his cat, Hobbes, snuggled between rows of Calvin Klein and Jack 5 underwear). You might expect to see a rackful of monogrammed swag, but Oshry’s collection is surprisingly modest.

“Sometimes we do get to keep the clothes, but it is not as often as people think,” he says. “What’s more surprising are the things that I have been asked to give back. Like designer underwear that I wore for a couple of hours, running around on the beach and swimming in the ocean. Not sure what they plan to do with them.”

Oshry has worked with most of the major brands in the world, and his personal favourites include multiple shiny acronyms. “I love the greats, like CK, LV [Louis Vuitton], D&G [Dolce & Gabbana], and Boss,”he says. “But a funny thing happens to models: we get a bit desensitised to brands. Ultimately, I prefer simple clothes that fit well and don’t cost a fortune.”

Instead of glistening accessories, his cupboard is full of sentimentally gilded trinkets and tokens. “The Skagen watch I have is from my father,” he says. “Actually, it is not typical of my sort of style, but it has sentimental value, and that’s more important than how it looks. All my most treasured things are the ones that my favourite people gave me. Things don’t have to be expensive to have value.”

But there is one item worth its weight in gold that Oshry always wears. “My wedding ring – a simple white band, made of yellow gold, coated in white gold. As time passes the white gold wears away, and the ring turns more and more golden in colour. The longer the commitment, the more golden the ring becomes. It’s very romantic.”

As someone who’s on a plane more often than not, he invests in travel gear. “I can live without clothes – as long as I have my iPad. And noise-cancelling headphones. The cheaper you travel, the more expensive your headphones should be. There is nothing like being able to turn down the volume on the world around you.”

One fashion capital that has inspired him is Paris. “To be truly chic, you shouldn’t seem like you are trying too hard. Things should just seem to come together effortlessly. I have never seen this done better than in Paris. People look like they have just stepped off a film set, and yet it all seems completely unforced,” he says. “I have seen many outfits where a beautiful design has been carried past perfection with one or two unnecessary accessories. It’s like an artist who’s finished his masterpiece, but feels compelled to just add one or two more brushstrokes.”

When it comes to clothes, Oshry likes to keep it simple. “Calvin Klein got it right over four decades ago with simple jeans and a tee [T-shirt]. I have many plain shirts, and I’m not afraid of colour.”

One thing that does stay white in his wardrobe, however, is his sneakers. Even so, just because they’re white doesn’t mean he wants them to look pristine. “I was born in the ’80s, I grew up in the ’80s and I’m a product of the ’80s,” Oshry says. “I get a new pair every few months. When I get them, I make sure to scuff them up a bit, though: brand new, shiny white sneakers are just not cool.”

There’s one more thing Oshry says he always carries with him: “My blue swimming trunks from Zara. Great, lightweight fabric that dries in an instant. They have saved me more than once when a client decides they want a ‘creative’ shot of me running through the waves or diving into a pool, and I realise that I am going to have to spend the next few hours travelling in wet underwear.”

David Oshry, outtakes by Carmen Chan

Words: P.Ramakrishnan
Photography: Carmen Chan
25th May 2012
South China Morning Post