PICTURE SPEAK

Macwan's acrylic on canvas

MUMBAI In universities, feminist studies are in. In the arts, the female form is celebrated. Amidst all this, does the man feel left out? Why should Shah Rukh Khan in a bathtub create ripples across the nation? The city is getting ready to make amends and find some answers. "Met-Fest: Masculinities in the City", a first-of-its-kind festival in India, will analyse "metrosexuality" and look at the Indian male in a sociological context. Curated by Delhi-based Himanshu Verma, the festival will look at the urban male up, close and personal and "celebrate men and masculinities in varied art forms-visual art, music, dance, theatre and film".

Verma feels the time is right. Never before has the male been under so much public and personal scrutiny. He says the festival will try to be a platform where artists can interact with each other and with academics who are studying the evolving urban phenomenon. 'The concept of metrosexuality is not new to India," he says. But the phenomenon as we know it in its westernised avatar is largely unexplored.

The 10-day festival, spread across several venues in Mumbai, will have exhibitions where artists like Riyas Komu, Justin Ponmany, Chintan Upadhyaya and Julius Macwan will show their works. On October 5, there will be a music concert by Shubha Mudgal at the gallery, The Fourth Floor. It is not all show. There will be talk as well. On October 9, Gallery Beyond will have Sanjay Srivastava, a social anthropologist, speaking on "Pedestrian Desires"-and that includes footpath pornography. What the **** is Metrosexual?, a play written by Vijay Krishna Acharya, will be staged on October 11, while on October 15 there will be a dance performance, "On the Other Side", by Gilles Chuyen. The films shown will include Men, Muscles and Masculinity by Rohit Dubey and Hakeem Tartoosie's Oil by Sarnath Bannerjee.

From October 5 to 15 across Mumbai.

-By Geetika Sasan Bhandari

PICTURE SPEAK

The cast and crew of Kachche Lamhe

MUMBAI With no particularly interesting films on offer, denizens can afford to take a detour to good ol' theatre. Gulzar's Urdu short story on relationships and their vulnerable moments gets a stage adaptation. Directed by NSD old boy Salim Arif and starring television veterans like Kiran Karmakar, the play Kachche Lamhe is about director-husband Sudhir (played by Kiran Karmakar) and his actor-wife Seema (Lubna Salim). It is a theatre world on stage.

While Sudhir's universe is the one on stage, his wife tries to break free from borrowed identities. The crisis is the entry of Sudhir's friend TK (Harsh Chhaya) whom Seema falls in love with and marries. But the past follows her, like a shadow. Scripted by Javed Siddiqui, who directed Tumhari Amrita, the play concentrates on the three protagonists, unlike the 11-character story. Opens on October 2 at Tata Theatre.

-By Geetika Sasan Bhandari

PICTURE SPEAK

The Legend of Sikandar

BANGALORE Ever thought Alexander the Great would inspire chefs? Well, he just did-in Bangalore. The Legend of Sikandar is a tribute to the Macedonian conqueror and dwells on what he loved and the lands from where he acquired a seasoned palate. They may not have made a movie on this aspect of the emperor yet but he was supposed to be a gourmet. Like the cuisine, the restaurant's decor is also a fusion of the Indian and the Mediterranean-white and blue with mirrors, beads and glitter. At the Garuda Mall.

-By Nirmala Ravindran

PICTURE SPEAK

Bachchan and Karan

DIL JO BHI KAHEY
Director: Romesh Sharma
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Sharma, Revathy and Bhumika Chawla

At 6 ft 4 inches, debutant Karan Sharma is one of the few people in Bollywood who towers over Amitabh Bachchan. Unfortunately, height does not make a hero. Karan is sincere and sporadically endearing but mostly he is clumsy in front of the camera. To make matters worse, father Romesh, who directed, produced and wrote the film, has saddled him with a lavish but lacklustre script.

It has all the launch-son requisites: exotic locales and a nubile new heroine. But the conflict-a conservative mother who doesn't approve of a foreign bahu-is feeble. At a time when the family values factory, Yashraj Films, makes romantic comedies out of premarital sex, this is old-fashioned.

-By Anupama Chopra

PICTURE SPEAK

Zharotia's oil She and Horse II

DELHI The expression of one's feelings through the medium of art is supposed to be one of the most cathartic experiences. When an artist is able to submerge himself in his work without any inhibitions, the result is a feeling of unadulterated joy. This is the feeling that Gallery Joie wants to showcase in its maiden exhibition "Palette Poetry", which will provide a platform for established and lesser-known names to share the joy they derive from their creative expression. From Jai Zharotia's enigmatic She and Horse II to Abhijit Guha's mystical Krishna With Birds to Kaushik Raha's stark Cityscape, each artist brings a lyrical touch to his or her palette.

The exhibition will also feature the works of, among others, Rajeev Lochan, Laila Khan Rajpal, Sudip Roy, Paresh Maity and Suhas Roy. Part of the sale proceeds will go to Venu Charitable Trust, which works to combat blindness among the poor. From October 8 to 16 at the Kendra Art Gallery.

-By Deepanjali Kakati

PICTURE SPEAK

Audiard's romantic thriller

MUMBAI The dark side of world cinema comes to the city of Bollywood. The French Noir Film Festival will show Claude Berry's visually brilliant Bye-Bye Pantin, Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1953 classic Wages of Fear and Jacques Audiard's Read My Lips. The last is a thriller about a girl called Carla who is ridiculed by her colleagues. But they don't realise that she is deaf. Carla hires ex-con Paul to help her at work and between the two of them-their different attitudes notwithstanding-they have some fun at the expense of others.

Collect your pass an hour before the movie begins. From September 30 to October 6 at Fun Republic, Andheri Link Road.

-By Geetika Sasan Bhandari

Santoor player Satish Vyas has been included in Music Today's Maestro's Choice series. He talks to Assistant Editor S. Sahaya Ranjit about the santoor and his experiments in fusion music. Excerpts.

Q. How does it feel to be upgraded as a maestro?
A. I have never considered myself a maestro. I am still a humble student of music. In fact, now I am conscious of my inadequacies while 15 years ago I played fearlessly.

Q. Is santoor a difficult instrument?
A. Yes, it is. It is not easy to bring out the raga bhava.

Q. Whom do you give credit for popularising the santoor?
A. My guru Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. We disciples are enjoying the fruits of his struggle and innovations. His contributions put him on a par with musical saints.

Q. You have performed with Silk, the world music fusion group. How was that experience?
A. This is the age of globalisation, there is an intermingling of cultures and musical genres. If two musicians come together to exchange their thoughts, what is wrong with that? Through fusion music, we can create an awareness of Indian classical music.

Index