/ Thoughts from the Editor-In-Chief, July 2010

by Hina P. Ansari

Thoughts from the Editor-In-Chief, July 2010

Jul 22, 2013

Entertainment

The word itself evokes a very specific memory for me. Location: Pali Hill, Bandra, Mumbai. The year: 1982. The scene: Me as a young girl, sitting cross legged on the hard ceramic floor while listening to my grandfather explain the intricacies of a “moving shot.” The reason: You see, I have a special relationship with this world. My grandfather (N.A. Ansari) was one of the premiere film-noir directors during Bollywood's infancy.

He was part of a small circle of mavericks whose mantra was to make films true to their hearts. It was a different time. They didn’t have marketing consultants and box office analysts jading their vision. They wanted to make films that would challenge the imagination, the soul, and emotions. He was an avant-garde artist with an equally devoted following of film aficionados.

His name held a certain gravitas. Even though he received a Lifetime Achievement award the one thing was very clear: he made his own indelible mark on the industry. Case in point: The Bollywood cocktail party scene during the '50s and '60s would be filled with A-listers who all had one thing in common: They had all worked on an Ansari film. It was he who provided an outlet for them to hone their craft on their way to stardom. He was their Lee Strasberg. Whether it was Dilip Kumar, Johnny Walker, Tanuja, Shakila, Madhumati, Rajendra Kumar, Aruna Irani or Feroz Khan, they all held a certain reverence for my grandfather.

And I’m proud to say this was and still is my world. My view has always been from one side of the velvet rope. Now, fast forward a few years later and I continue on my own journey: In Los Angeles, this time, at the 62nd Golden Globe Awards. That moment proved to be monumental for me as now I could proudly say (in my heart) that I was privileged enough to experience both worlds from both sides of the red carpet. It’s my own private Bollywood with a dash of Hollywood.

So when we decided to do our very first Entertainment Special Edition, my heart skipped not just one but an entire sequence of beats. It was perfect! I say perfect, not for me, but for us! Mainly because we, as South Asians, have hearts that are genetically predisposed to beat to the rhythm of a song while our eyes automatically crave to be dazzled by another cinematic journey on screen. Movies and music are our bread and butter, our peanut butter and jelly, our daal and chawal.

They are our golden couple whose loyalty to us goes unrivalled.

They firmly walk alongside us—with unwaivering loyalty— as we traverse the peaks and valleys of life. As in their eyes lies no caste, creed, religion, sexual orientation or political leaning. Movies and Music. They are the ultimate equalizer.

So in true ANOKHI form, we created a special issue celebrating the four leaves that complete this ANOKHI clover: South Asian music, mainstream music, Hollywood and Bollywood. Each section includes each world’s hottest buzz, scoop and sizzle (AOD pages 16, 28, 50 and 66) as well as exclusive Q&As with the trailblazers of each of these worlds, including hip hop superstar Ciara (Ciara the Conquerer page 70), Bollywood’s screen goddess Priyanka Chopra (View From The Top page 32), the Mozart of Madras, A.R. Rahman (A.R. Rahman page 54) and Canadian master thespian Bruce Greenwood (Bruce Almighty page 20).

As we always do, we love to pull back the red velvet curtains and read between the musical notes. The sexual revolution of the Indian music industry (Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves page 62) shows us that change has finally come, with these fierce femmes proving to be the voices to be reckoned with. A gentle yet firm reminder that there is a bigger world beyond Bollywood, we take a closer look at the entire Indian film industry, including cinematic players from the South. (Southern Crossover page 36).

So I do hope you will enjoy this issue.
Let your heart swell in this world.
As that is where the beat is. The scene is. The love is.

Best,

Hina P. Ansari
Editor-In-Chief

I always love to hear your feedback. Feel free to write to me at [email protected].

_{PUBLISHED: ENTERTAINMENT SPECIAL EDITION/ JULY 2010

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: ARKAN ZAKHAROV / WWW.ARKANPHOTO.COM}

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...