Monika’s Pensieve

I think this has been in my drafts since February when the last Academy Awards took place :] Now that the next ones are slowly coming up (we’ll probably have the nominees up by the end of January or so), I guess I may as well post a reminder of last year’s ceremony ;-P
Anyway, I [...]

I’m following up one of my previous post - the Indian police have not found any proof that Raqif Qureshi tried to sell his daughter.

Just when you think the controversy on Slumdog has finished, it starts over :] It is now reported that the father of Rubina Ali (the little girl who played young Latika) has tried to sell his daughter for 200 000 pounds.

I don’t usually blog about music, but this was just too weird ;) So Snoop Dogg decided to mix things up a little and after the success of Slumdog, he recorded a song with Tanvi Shah - one of the singers on the Slumdog soundtrack. I thought mixing hip hop with Bollywood music wouldn’t be [...]

I watched these two interviews on Andreja’s recommendation and she was right - he’s hilarious in them *grin*
You can watch Dev Patel on the Jonathan Ross show here and here.
And below is the second one in which he was interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel:

This is quite interesting… For a long time now, China has allowed the release of only 20 foreign films a year. But apparently now they’re planning on easing the restrictions in Shanghai. The article talks about how China hopes the move might help its own film industry, facilitating the export of Chinese films. My slightly [...]

I’ve had some people tell me they won’t watch Slumdog Millionaire because the kids in the film were exploited - they’re still living in the slums, were paid below minimum wage etc. The story that’s coming through most loudly is hardly the only one though, so I thought I’d try and gather all the different [...]

{FILM DIARY}
Slumdog Millionaire (UK/France, 2008)
Seen: Saturday, 21st February 2009 (cinema, special screening)
Runtime: 120′
Polish Distributor: Monolith Plus (27th February 2009)
Release Date (worldwide): 30th August 2008
Director: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director)
Cast: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan
Production House: Celador Films, Film4, Pathé Pictures International
Plot: (from imdb)
A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes [...]

I’m getting more and more excited about the film - can’t wait until it finally makes it into cinemas here!
I’ve been trying to follow the response in India and it’s quite peculiar. On the one hand there’s a lot of praise for Danny Boyle and a lot of excitement about A. R. Rahman’s Golden Globe [...]

{FILM SPOTTING}
Doubt (USA, 2008)
Polish Distributor: Forum Film Poland (20th February 2009)
Release Date (worldwide): 12th December 2008
Runtime: 104′
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Production House: Scott Rudin Productions
Plot: (from imdb)
Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him abusing a black student. He denies [...]