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| EPIC FIGURES: Liv Tyler (above)
as eleven princess Arwen Evenstar; Elijah Wood (below right) is Fordo |
One ring to
bring them all and in the darkness bind them." In a time before history,
in a place called Middle-earth, there lived a Hobbit named Frodo. The Lord
of the Rings is the story of his adventures. It is rated by many as the
greatest work of imagination in the past millennium. Now it is also a film,
and indications are it will make Harry Potter look like what it is: a kiddie
version of the real thing. J.R.R. Tolkien's book has a grandeur that J.K.
Rowling's Potter never achieves. So too the films.
Fellowship of the Ring, the first part in a cinematic trilogy that will
include The Two Towers and The Return of The King, is huge. Director Peter
Jackson's opus involved morehan 20,000 people. It was filmed in New Zealand,
a country with more sheep than people, so small surprise the country is
now in a Ring-inspired fantasy. The $300 million three-hour movie is due
for release on December 19.
Already, half the world is in thrall; the film's website has reported
45 million hits. India expects the spectacle by March.
-Samrat Choudhury
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| BURNING ISSUES: The race riots
raised questions of loyalty |
COMMUNITY
When in England
Must all immigrants speak English?
London: Immigrants should take an oath of allegiance when they
become British citizens, suggests an official inquiry report into July
2001's race riots here. This comes in the wake of Home Secretary David
Blunkett's call for all immigrants to learn English and accept British
culture.
The document, called the Cantle Report, says that "it is essential
we agree to some common elements of nationhood", and cites the English
language as one. Not everyone thinks it must be so. Says Lord Nazir Ali:
"If you do not speak English, it does not mean you are not proud
of being British." Under the plan, new citizens would be expected
to agree to universal acceptance of the English language, support for
women's rights and respect for the law. Commission for Racial Equality
Chairman Gurubux Singh has welcomed the report. "It has brought into
sharp focus the problem of segregation in the society," he says.
"I believe English should be spoken by all but that doesn't mean
that Urdu or Punjabi should not be spoken."
The report says that failure to communicate between communities is compounded
by the lack of an honest debate as people in all communities "tiptoe
around" the issues of race, religion and culture. Well, now the debate
is on, even though some fear it could be less than congenial.
-Ishara Bhasi
Grudge Match
It's anti-us time for cricketers
They're not drinking cricket any more. According to reports, seven of
Pakistan's cricket stars, spearheaded by opening batsman Saeed Anwar,
have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to drop Pepsi as team sponsor
because of the US bombing of Afghanistan. The cricketers and the PCB are
expected to go into a huddle over the issue soon but there's little doubt
the country's cricket authorities are in a jam. Pepsi has the rights to
international series held in the country and the national team wears its
logo on their clothing. The players call to purge Pepsi from Pakistan
cricket is backed by several anti-American religious groups, but its success
will depend on the PCB finding alternative sponsors. There's another ticklish
issue: some senior players, Anwar included, have also done individual
promotions for Coke earlier this year. The case raised the temperature
between the rival soft drink giants. So will Anwar and Co take their protest
to its logical extension and renounce Coke too?
-Sharda Ugra
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