By Fuad Omar
This week there's lots to tell you all about! I definitely want to let you
know all about Lagaan and the Oscars but first up let me proudly tell you
exclusively what many of you have been writing in about: the forthcoming
Bollywood World Tour!
 The tour which is tentatively called 'Heartthrobs' will bring to the UK
Hrithik Roshan, Aftab Shivdasani, Arjun Rampal, Karisma Kapoor and Kareena
Kapoor in a show that's sure to be an instant success. Demands for tickets
are high given this is a first for many of the stars involved and rehearsals
indicate it'll be worth the hype. The dates I can reveal are as follows: May
10th, 11th and 12th. Venues have yet to be announced but if past shows are
anything to go by it's most likely going to be Wembley, then Birmingham then
finally Manchester. For tickets I'd recommend the most reliable source being
the box office for Wembley for those in London and the respective ones for
the Birmingham and Manchester, but if you know you can make it BOOK NOW to
avoid disappointment. It's unlikely we'll see a show of this magnitude here
again and it has a lot to live up to, but given Hrithik has expressed in the
past he may not do another world tour for a while, it could be worth going
to see him perform live as well as to see the others. Remember, you read it
here on Asiangigs.com first!
 Onto the Oscars! Lagaan's wicket keepers and fielders are all set and
waiting to clean bowl the Oscars or whack a sixer. The film that (on the
surface) seems about cricket but delves into the human spirit and tells the
story of survival, boundaries and overcoming hardship through unity has
slowly edged its way into the international limelight and is hoping to bring
home to Bollywood Hollywood's greatest honour.
The mood in India is full of expectations and optimism shines through. Ask a
young beggar if he's seen Lagaan and he'll cheer and say "Wo to apneliye
award lekar-hi aayega!" before realising, technically he shouldn't have
enough money to see the film. Two days after the FilmFare Awards, director
Ashutosh Gowariker left for the States to promote his film and join Aamir in
rallying support for Lagaan. As Aamir categorically stated with a touch of
nervousness, "Our strategy is to get as many people to see the film as
possible, after that we know the film will speak for itself."
Before boarding the plane that would take him to the land of the red carpet
and glitzy glamour he made a request to all Indians abroad to turn up for
support at the Oscars and cheer for Lagaan so that he could not only share
with them his pride in a film that has made it this far, but also in hope
that the positivity and enthusiasm will help him get through this
nerve-racking time too.
"I'm grateful to all the fans, friends and media for their support of my
film," he said realising the expectations that travel with the film, but in
India he's already won. Confidence looms on every street corner,
household and text messages buzz across the airways predicting a win for
Lagaan from stars' phones to friends to journalists to fans, the mood is
clear: How can we not win?
 The Lagaan board game, colouring book and comic are available everywhere and
the songs are once more doing the rounds. "Apni jeet ho, uunki haar ho!"
sings the tape in the 14th Road rickshaw and as the time draws near people
pray for the film to bring home the one award Aamir doesn't mind collecting.
The red carpet is laid out, the film is all set to be re-released in the UK
on a mainstream level and in India it's India's pride itself. Whatever
happens the Lagaan team will return heroes. Good luck guys.
What are the industry saying about Lagaan and he news of its nominations and
chances, here's what some had to say.
Shah Rukh Khan: It's a great honour for the country and for our cinema and
I'm very happy for Ashutosh and Aamir. It's wonderful, well done guys.
Amitabh Bachchan: It's a great moment for Indian cinema, for India for all
of us. It must be wonderful for Aamir and Ashutosh. What their team has done
for India, makes us very proud. It will be a great moment of anticipation
for us all when Aamir and Ashutosh sit in the nominees area at the Oscars,as
the cameras pan their faces. It'll be wonderful.
Salim Khan: I'm so happy for Aamir, Ashutosh and the entire Lagaan team. My
son Sohail gave me the news about the nominations, he was also excited about
it. This is a well deserved nomination. Aamir and Ashutosh's hard work has
paid off. It was quite a bold step to do this film. Even I would have been
sceptical if the script had been offered to me because there is no precedent
film to check whether this would work.
Jackie Shroff: I'm really excited and happy about Lagaan being shortlisted.
All the best to our young friend for putting us on the world map.
Raveena Tandon: It's absolutely great, I don't know what to say, I have no
words to express my feelings!
Subhash Ghai: Lagaan is not a triumph for Aamir and Ashutosh, but for Indian
cinema. We are proud of the whole team who took part in this risk. Yes, it
was a risk but emerged triumphant. When I saw the first trail of the film, I
sent Ashutosh and Aamir a message that after a long time I had seen a
perfect film. The nomination is well deserved. I hope it wins and bring
greater glory.
Mahesh Bhatt: It's good news but my dear boy, I hope you realise that the
Academy Awards, like most awards, are also political and can be negotiated,
although many deserving people have won it. The whole concept of awards is
silly to me because if they decide who deserves it, they also have the right
to decide who does not deserve it.
Frankly speaking, who cares about a 13 and a half inch statue which weighs
three-and-a-half kilos and costs $100? I think the opinion of a tongawallah
is more important than that of an ageing Academy member. I wasn't surprised
when I heard Lagaan got nominated. The global focus seems to be on Southeast
Asia, especially India, and America is not naïve to ignore it. I know Aamir
lobbied for Lagaan but that is the way it is done there. If you are in the
race, you might as well race the opponent out. After the September 11
attacks in the US, Asia has been under the keen eye of the Americans. You
might recall that Aamir had recently visited Afghanistan and given them a
print of Lagaan. Wonder what they think of that?
Still on the topic of Lagaan, Sony Music will soon release the dialogues of
Lagaan in a double album set. Other films to follow this trend include
Saajan, Sholay, Mohabbatein and more recently Sunny Deol's Gadar (although
unsurprisingly that one didn't quite make it here). As an added bonus an
extra song is going to be added to the 2 cassette set called Zin Zinak Zin,
which was a light spirited score sung while the Lagaan 11 were gearing up
for the cricket match in the film. The film itself is also being readied to
be re-released at nationwide cinemas across the UK and there's definitely a
demand from a non-Asian audience to see the film. Film fans saw Asoka. And
Amelie and No Man's Land are still showing at some places but Lagaan is one
that some missed and so there's already queues for this one.
 Lagaan was at the IIFAs last year and this year is Gauang Doshi's Aankhen.
As the promos of Aankhen state it's about a dangerous game, and now film
fans too can in a new marketing strategy take part in the game! Amitabh
Bachchan released the mutlimedia CD game of the movie Aankhen at the IIFA
Awards Press Conference last week at the Hotel Taj President in Mumbai.
The Big B commented that the game was fun to play and that just as in the
film you have to rob a bank and plan everything correctly, but it's a lot
more difficult on the CD than it was on-screen! Not too sure about a game
that asks you to rob a bank, but then again, any publicity is good!
The game CDs will be available soon via retail outlets (and please don't
xpect Xbox type graphics) but it's a bit of fun anyway. Have your own sneak
peek at this link.
Mr Bachchan also revealed the nominees for the Electrolux Kelvinator IIFA
awards 2002 recently too.
IIFA is aimed at promoting Indian cinema abroad and has done a good job so
far in London and South Africa. Chandni Bar, Dil Chahta Hai, Gadar - Ek Prem
Katha, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Lagaan haven been nominated in the best
film category. Best Actor nominations are for Aamir Khan for DCH and Lagaan,
AB for Aks, Shah Rukh for K3G and Sunny Deol for Gadar.
Best Actress nominees are Amisha Patel for Gadar, Gracy Singh for Lagaan,
Kajol for K3G, Preity Zinta for DCH and Tabu for Chandni Bar. Hmm tough
competition this year, but why isn't Kareena nominated for Asoka?? IIFA takes
place on April 6 at the Genting Highlands Resorts in Malaysia, and should be
broadcast soon after on TV.
That's a wrap for this week, but keep checking back for more news soon!
Fuad Omar.
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