India/Pakistan -- Country Music Goes to Bollywood...

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Shahvaar Ali Khan, a  musician based in Lahore, Pakistan, has infused the score of his friend director Rohit Dhawan’s upcoming Bollywood movie Desi Boyz with some US style country music...

Unmistakable country twang sets the tone of Khan's song titled “Filmain Shilmain” -- which also has elements of Pakistani and Indian music.

States an article by Rafay Mahmood in the Pakistani newspaper the Express Tribune:

The song itself has captivated the audience with its reminiscent feel. It takes the listener to the good, old carefree days, when sipping tea at roadside stalls and jamming at college concerts defined life.

Here's the song:

Country Indian - Indian Country (Cowboy) -- More on Super Cowboy

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The new Indian Cowboy movie "Super Cowboy", the first "Kollywood" (Tamil film industry) western in nearly 40 years, continues to get press in the Indian media. In an interview published HERE, the movie's star. Raghava Lawrence, talks about "authenticity" in the film, which was directed by Chimbu (also spelt as Simbu) Devan.

“I was keen to work on this project right from the time Chimbu narrated the story. He was well prepared and had even taken a few photographs of the characters in their complete make up to give me a feel of the film. Kollywood has seen a cowboy film after 38 years and he had gone that extra mile to make it look authentic. Right from the get-up to style to dialogues, I loved them all,” Lawrence said to a leading English daily.

You can check out the movie's sound track HERE -- the Theme Song attempts to capture the flavor of old Hollywood westerns. Sort of

Cowboys in India -- Another Movie Report

Picture from Indiaglitz.com

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Here's another of my sporadic links on Cowboy Movies in India, specifically in the Tamil film industry in southern India. This time it's to an article at the Indiaglitz web site, reviewing a movie called "Super Cowboy," by the director Chimbu Deven (also written Simbudevan) -- which I posted about a few months ago, when it was in production. It is the first Tamil cowboy flic in something like 36 years.

‘Super Cowboy’ is the rebirth of the cowboy films in Tamil cinema, a movie that is a mixed bag of entertainment.

Hollywood is a kingpin in the cowboy genre, with a lot of heroes in fact carving a niche for themselves including Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood and a host of other cowboy heroes. ‘Super Cowboy’ is an inspired movie of one such page from the big book of cowboy history. Firstly, credit and two thumbs up to director Chimbu Deven to make such a movie that needs a lot of effort and specially attention to detail. He has brought out a wholesome entertainment.

Starting the movie with the narration from the director himself about the evolution of cowboy culture in the world, he gives examples of different cowboys in different countries with conclusion of the narration with cowboys in India, in particular south India. Here is introduced Jaishankarpuram, a village that has a lot of cowboys (even cow woman) and horses! Jaishankarpuram is in the clutches of the villain Nasser as Nalla Trachu who lives in the ‘Iron Fort’ in USApuram. Nalla Trachu also dictates terms on five other villages. He is a wicked man, mind you! With only one eye and the other being a dummy!

There's fuller description of the film HERE.

WATCH THE TRAILER!

Meanwhile, Simbudevan is quoted as saying

“We chose 18th century subject and bringing out the film as a comedy adventure. We are showing Red Indians in a never before manner. We prepared a fantastic set with the help of 300 workers in Kerala on Hollywood style. It is the biggest set in the entire film industry’s history in India. We also shot the film in Thenkasi, Thada, Madhya Pradesh, Rayachoti, Sathunur, Bengaluru, Pune, Nagpur, Palghat, Amba Samudram and Pondicherry. Ours is the first unit to shoot in Kandi Canal in Kandikota of Vijayanagar dynasty. We took several risky shots in this 30-foot depth canal. We gave training to all the artistes in horse riding.”

And the India Times runs a story about the female lead in the movie, the actress Lakshmi Rai, commenting on her role:

“A cowboy film is being made in Kollywood after a very long time and I’m sure audiences will find it refreshing. Actually, I wasn’t really sure how it would fare at the box office when I first heard the script. But, the research that director Simbudevan had done on the subject assured me that it would turn out to be very interesting and fresh,” says an excited Lakshmi.

India -- Cowboy Hats Are the Rage

Photo: IndiaGlitz

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

I love stories about the Indian "Cowboy" films and embrace of Wild West trappings by "Kollywood" (southern India's Tamil-language  film industry) and the vast subcontinent as a whole: they demonstrate the universality of the American foundation saga and the global embrace of the mythology and its trappings.... Here's another. According to a web site called IndiaGlitz, cowboy hats are currently all the rage  -- "that essential Prop" even in movies that do not have a cowboy or western theme.

Its retro mode in Kollywood and guess what is the most happening ‘property’ our stars are using, eh sorry, wearing!

Call it the trend or a fashion statement - our heroes are wearing the Cowboy hats., more often than not All you Tamil Film loyalists, rewind to times of Jai Shankar, possibly one of the first cowboys of Kollywood, He wore it for his most coveted cowboy role and then continuing his legacy was Rajinikanth in ‘Thaai Meedhu Sathyam'.

Well those were the days when stories were given the importance and costumes were naturally imbibed in the story. And now, Cowboy hats everywhere. The hero wears the cowboy hat and dances with the heroine in hilly areas, or you see him wear the hat as a ‘prop’ (short for property) and smoke a puff, typically wild... wild... west! [...] 

Cowboy hats are a style symbol. Hats have always been an accessory to mankind, but as a property in movies, especially songs, cowboy hats fill the blank. Spot the actors, be it the hero, the heroine or even the villain in the movies with the cowboy hats on, in upcoming releases. The tradition has been continuing for ages now and just like sky, the hats are here to stay. At least in Tamil Cinema.

Read full story

 I have posted in the past about some of the films and actors mentioned in this story -- such as the recent movie Quickgun Murugun.  I know very little of this subculture -- but the pictures and description of the film plots are wild (west)!

 Photo: IndiaGlitz

Background to Indian Cowboy Movie

I posted recently about a new Indian (subcontinent) cowboy flick -- Quick Gun Murugun.

Here's an article about the background to the character, by Anindita Ghose: "How the iconic dosa-eating superhero, Quick Gun Murugun, broke out of his shelved television avatar on to the big screen." The article also provides biographical info and an interview with the director. (The photo is from livemint.com)

Seems Quick Gun Murugun started out as promotional spots for a new TV channel.

The promos were a comic juggernaut. Featuring an over-the-top character called Murugun fashioned on B-grade Tamil film heroes, they were designed to counter similar MTV spots, albeit with an Indian flavour.

Telugu actor Rajendra Prasad plays Murugun on the big screen. A veteran of over 200 Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, the 57-year-old portrays the swashbuckling hero with alarming comic effectiveness. The story revolves around an epic battle between vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism wherein gunslinging Murugun fights against all odds to prevent his nemesis, Rice Plate Reddy, from opening a non-vegetarian Udupi joint, McDosa. The film also marks the return of actor Rambha (Mango Dolly), back after a sabbatical and donning a stunning blonde wig that the producers claim cost Rs15 lakh (it was sourced from Los Angeles). Other characters, such as Gunpowder, Masala News Reporter and Locket Lover, complete the array of Tamil movie clichés.

Read full article

Another Indian (subcontinent) Cowboy Movie In The Works

Reports from New Delhi announce that a new "Indian Western" movie called "Quick Gun Murugun: The Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy" will be released August 28, in four languages.

The movie's web site features an amazing picture of the hero, with long sideburns, a pencil moustache, wearing a pink satin neckerchief, green satin shirt and leopard-spotted vest. The site has a lot of interactive content, including a trailer, pictures, dialogue, etc.

It describes Quick Draw as

an unlikely Superhero with Guntastic powers. He is a sincere South Indian Cowboy who considers it his duty to serve and protect. The movie revolves around mis-adventures of Quick Gun Murugun and his fight with his arch villain Rice Plate Reddy!

The Business Standard runs an interview about it with the film's director, Shashank Ghosh.

According to Ghosh:

It’s the story of a sincere south Indian cowboy who considers it his duty to serve and protect people and cows. The hero — who dies early on in the film —wants to encourage vegetarianism. His arch rival — and the villain of the film — is Rice Plate Reddy, a staunch non-vegetarian who wants the world to convert to non-vegetarianism.

Ghost says he realizes the storyline is a bit weird -- and held up production of the film for years.

You won’t believe it, but the film’s special effects alone took one year. Besides, the synopsis is so different and out-of-the-box that producers whom I approached laughed and laughed but refused to back the project till Anand Surapur’s Phat Phish Motion Pictures decided to back it.

Read the full article

Wild West Millonaire? More Cowboy News from India!

There's a new Indian Cowboy movie in the works....directed by Simbudevan, who -- the article states -- "shot to fame via Vadivel’s Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi, a mega blockbuster produced by director Shankar."

Now Simbudevan is doing a new film for Kalpathi S Agoram under the banner of AGS film Entertainment. The director known for his comedy films is now going to do a cowboy film with Lawrence as hero!

The film has been titled as Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam! The lead artistes are Ragava Lawrence, Padmapriya, Lakshmi Rai, and Nasser Says Simbudevan: “It is in the cowboy genre, a western adventure comedy set in the 17th century”.

After Jai Shankar’s Ganga in 1970, this would be the first full-length cowboy film in Tamil. Shooting starts end of March and would be shot in Madhya Pradesh and various spots in North India and is estimated to cost Rs 15 crore.

Read the full story

For more details on Indian Westerns, see my earlier blog post on the subject.

India -- Indian Movie Cowboys

We all know about the Spaghetti Westerns, the Karl May films and the DEFA East German Indianer film .... but, weeding out some old emails, I have just come across this remarkable blog posting from July about Indian actors (that is, from India) playing cowboys in Indian Western movies.

The posting, on the passionforcinema.com blog by Shaileh Limbachiya, describes Indian (especially Hindi) movie cowboys who were active mainly in a slew of films in the 1970s and 80s

They were basically inspired from Clint eastwood, Gregory pack and all other those once upon a time movie cowboys of hollywood. But our cowboys had qualities of those cowboys with essential benefits or qualities of Indian culture. Like western cowboys they used to ride on horses, wear boots, jeans and shooting bullets like playing with toys� but could also dance and sing very well, must fall in love with village girl etc etc. Most of our good cowboys had Daku or Thakur/zameendar as their hard targets.

The posting has wonderful photos of Indian cowboy actors -- and details a facet of the Imaginary Wild West of which I was utterly unaware.

According to the blogger,

FEROZ KHAN was the best Indian cowboy hindi films have ever seen. He had no name in Khote Sikke but whenever he used to appear on screen; special whistle used to play and he sing that hit song �jeevan mein darna nahin, sar nich kabhi karma nahin�� He superbly represented that arrogant nature and attitude. Instad of jacket he wore balck shawl shirt.

In the film Joshilay

Dara(Sunny Deol) and Karan (Anil Kapoor) were the young, energetic, egoist and handsome cowboys. They had their pasts and had target to destroy Jogi thakur (Rajesh vivek) and Kulbhshan Kharbanda. I liked dusty nature and action of the movie. Joshiley had good cinematography representing landscapes of Rajasthan. Also the title song “Joshilay shehzaade hain” when Sunny and Anil are riding on horses - was beautifully composed and picturised.

Here's a video of that song




Anyway -- the blog post is eye-opening. I know next to nothing about the Indian cinema, but the posters, photos and other material on this post (also the comments) are fascinating and shed a lot of light on the vast reach of America's "foundation saga" and mythology.