| Plus |
|
|||||
|
Classical
to popular favourites from Anjuli Anjuli will
sing a programme of varied music. She will begin with "He shall
feed his flock" from Handel's Messiah, followed by "Quando
men vo" also known as Musetta's Waltz from Puccini's wonderful
La Boheme. She will then move on to "Summertime" from
Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess and conclude with "I Could
Have Danced All Night" from Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady. Still only
sixteen, Anjuli is a student at Bishop's College Colombo. She studies
music with Mary Anne David who says she has a mature voice and remarkable
technique for one so young. Manilal Weerakoon
will conduct Saturday's SOSL concert which opens with Beethoven's
dramatic Egmont Overture followed by Mozart's spirited and lyrical
"Haffner" Symphony No. 35. The second half will begin
with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite, probably the most popular ballet
score ever written. The concert starts at 7 p.m. at Ladies College. Lalanath de Silva will give a pre-concert talk at 6.15 p.m. The box office is at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza. Touched
by warmth of family love In a changing
and uncertain world, what is it that lasts? The bonds between human
beings, forged over the years. It could be between family members
or it could be between friends. The much misused world 'love', covers
it all. This Hindi
film with English subtitles is propagandist. The stars of the Hindi
screen (No, I will not use the patronsing term Bollywood), both
past and present, have come together to convey a message very dear
to us in Asia: the importance of the family. Yet there are
families and families. The Richard family in the film was close-knit
and loved the other, in spite of their wealth and prestige. Amitab Bachchan,
no longer the heart-stopper of yore but still a striking figure,
epitomises the autocratic father figure so often found in Hindu
families. Jaya Bachchan, no longer slim but still appealing, is
the typical loving mother. Shah Rukh Khan,
as attractive in a Western suit as in Indian attire, steps down
from planes and helicopters to come flying home for the family Hindu
feast of Diwali. His brother
in the film shines at the Oval cricket ground in England. The film sets
move from a palatial residence and the poor neighbourhood of Chandi
Chowk in India to the busy streets of London and even an English
primary school. While respecting
the strong family bonds stressed by the film and the patriotism
of the Indians in England, I wonder if it was not rude and ill-bred
of Rahul's wife Anjuli, to think of the friendly English lady as
'a cunning vixen' using Hindi which the lady could not understand.
Cross-cultural
assimilation is a major problem area. There are many who wear alien
Western clothes and live in the West or travel abroad but who cannot
be called citizens of the world because their minds are still limited
only to what is good in the country and culture they have left behind.
However, love
speaks a universal language and this film conveys the warmth of
genuine family ties. You have to
stretch your imagination to think that in 10 years the still young-looking
Shah rukh Khan could have fathered the fully-grown Kareena Kapoor.
Nor does the film dwell on the reality of an Indian housewife transported
to London who has to budget as well as cook and clean, certainly
not draped in a saree and with hair flowing. If your mind
does not boggle at the sight of short skirted caucasian white skins
dancing and gyrating true to the Hindi film formula, see the film,
enjoy the acting and dancing of the stars and let your heart be
touched by the thought of human beings who bond for life even across
countries. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
