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We are always busy or tired. In our quest to 'make a living' we sometimes forget to 'live a life'.... This page is just a comma in our hectic lives, a pause before we get back to the rat race. Nothing profound... Just comma... Comma in and see for yourself.. :-)
Not only was Asok a geek he was utterly lovable as even the vilest characters in only Dilbert can be.
Today morning he has been cloned/reincarnated and is feeling a little nuts and you have to check out the strip to find out why exactly, or should I say why literally. Suffice it to say that the little dusky Indian intern has become caramelized, sorry, Americanized.
So Asok is Dead. Long live Snickersok
Speaking of cartoons, the animated movie is big business in Hollywood.
Shrek, Toy Story, Ratatouille etc have made huge bucks and so why should India lag behind. In the beginning the ‘animated’ movies were downright embarrassing and looked like they were sketched (drawn is too strong a word) by children. Initially underestimated as children’s movies the success of Bal Hanuman and Bal Ganesh and Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish (which were a success only due to the kids dragging the parents to the theatres) Bollywood has now woken up to the potential of animated movies.
Yashraj Films had teamed up with the biggest player in this genre, Walt Disney Studios and is making the first big budget feature length film titled Roadside Romeo.
The trailors of it are out and it is about a dog (voiced in true Hollywood tradition by a ‘star’ Saif Ali Khan in this case) who wants to be an actor. The clip is about his audition for a movie and like the proverbial hindi actor, Romeo dances, sings and recites soliloquies - both dramatic and comedic. The animation seems to be of very high quality and Saif’s unique Winchester School accented voice is quite apt to give character to the dog who is quite aptly named Romeo. It doesn’t hurt that current squeeze Kareena is voicing the canine love interest.
I don’t know how the preview was released in India but here in the UAE it also had English subtitles. And therein lies the interesting part as the English subtitles were not only different but in fact classic Hollywood quotes. Check out the difference between what Romeo says and what the subtitles read.
Romeo: Mere paas bungla ha gaadi hai bank balance hai, tumare pass kya hai ? (Amitabh Bachchan - Deewar)
Subtitle : I could have been someone, I too could have been a contender… (Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront)
Romeo: Senorita, bade bade desho mein aise chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain… (SRK – DDLJ)
Subtitle: Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get… (Tom Hanks – Forest Gump)
Romeo: Kitne aadni the? Sardar do. Phirbhi waapas aagaye… Khali haat .. (Gabbar – Sholay)
Subtitle: You want the truth? Yes. No. You can’t handle the truth. (Jack Nicholson – A Few Good Men)
I can’t quite get the reason for that but I am sure the international market is also being targeted. Let’s see how that turns out when the movie releases in Summer 2008. Maybe it is the time for Bollywood to finally emerge as a global player.
More Soon.