escapism 101

(aka the genius of harry potter and gold seats)

bollywood = escapism. plain and simple that is what the entire film industry of india is devoted to. everything about bollywood is about fantasy; the gorgeous people, the lush sets, the vibrant dance sequences, the fact that they're never shorter than two hours long (the better to get you out of the heat and into AC), and 9 times out of 10 have a happy ending. i knew most of this coming in - the delightfully campy nature of bollywood was what i loved. as a sidenote (b/c this is a whole different conversation) - what i didn't realize until i got here was exactly what they were escaping from.

but let me tell you, this emphasis on escape extends beyond the films themselves and to the very movie going experience. i saw diehard in the regular theater - which was already nicer than most american movie theaters. last night - i saw harry potter in the GOLD SEATS, which is a whole other story. in the GOLD SEATS - you don't go in the regular doors, you enter through the red lounge, which is a separate waiting area, with separate concession stands, bathrooms, massage chairs, and MTV playing on giant plasmas. the theater itself has far fewer seats and rows (no such thing as a bad seat in the gold section) - and each seat is a reclining red lazyboy. during intermission (in india they have intermission during all films -- they're built in to indian films and they just add them arbitrarily into american ones half way through) waiters will come through to see if you want more popcorn or chai or anything and overall it's absolutely the best theater going experience i've ever had. did i mention the tickets were less than $10? and only $3 more than regular seats?? i'm a little in love.

that said - i really enjoyed the movie - against incredible odds daniel radcliffe is actually becoming attractive - and my only complaint was my usual one for those movies which is that because of how much stuff is in each book the pace of the movies feels off b/c you know that they're rushing but they're trying so hard to make it seem as though they're not (example: long slow pauses in the scene where harry is discussing his first kiss w/ ron and hermione). as an added bonus, i LOVE helena bonham carter and thought she was super fun to watch on screen.

update for the week(end)

last week i went to go check out a dance academy and i had really high hope for it --- and was extremely dissappointed. not what i was looking for at all and a really bad fit for me. so the search continues for a studio.

went out on thursday night with desiree's friends from UVA, shefali and anisha - and we met up with these people anisha met through facebook (bombay interns 2007!) at the hardrock cafe for drinks...really overpriced drinks. most of them went to yale and were interning in real offices doing actual jobs and seemed baffled by the idea that desiree and i just kind of...observe and hang out. oh yale. but it was good to meet other english speaking people and a lot of them live near us in andheri so i'm trying to make a friend in that group so that i can still have a life when all of my apartment-mates leave in two weeks...

went shopping in colaba over the weekend - determined to find lenghas for me and desiree (traditional indian outfit w/ short top and long skirt) and we found nothing. however, in searching we successfully refined what we wanted to the point that we figured it would be easier to buy fabric and get it made by a tailor - so saturday we bought fabric and monday our mission was to find a tailor. which we did, and i'll see the results of that adventure on saturday. if it's good then i will get a bunch more stuff made, so fingers crossed.

also, on sunday we went back on set to the song shoot - where they were shooting another dance break in front of this wall of lights (and again with flame throwers - see picture above). it was fun to watch for a little while, but it hasn't rained in a few days and the sun was out for the first time all trip and it was SO HOT it felt like i couldn't breathe.

so... after a few hours of observing and hanging out and sweating, desiree and i left to go see a play with shefali at the national center for performing arts. it was called "Sammy! the word that changed a nation" and was about gandhi's personal life. the first half was really good - especially scenes between gandhi and his wife that highlighted the ways in which he tried to implement his beliefs at home tore apart his family. ie - he never discussed his decision to be celibate and not be in the same room with his wife alone with his wife ahead of time, he refused to let his son recieve a scholarship to go to university b/c he didn't want people thinking he had only gotten the scholarship b/c he was gandhi's son (even though the son apparently deserved it) - things like that. it was nice to see a play and sit in an air conditioned room for a few hours. all in all a good night.

more later - i think we're visiting post production facilities this week and then on sunday we're leaving for delhi/agra to see the taj majal. pictures etc to come....