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Thread: Chandni Chowk goes to China

  1. #16
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    Gene, you want befuddlement I suggest Thailand's SARS WARS: Bankok Zombie Crisis. I was completely befuddled by that movie just a couple days ago.

  2. #17
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    Thanks Zenshiite, you're not the first to recommend that to me...

    Since both kung fu and Bollywood movies can be an acquired taste, this surely won't be for everyone. It seems to be befuddling the critics on that level.

    CC2C opened at a theater very close to where I live. It's in general multiplexes, not the art/rep houses.
    Film Clips
    Jonathan Curiel
    Friday, January 16, 2009

    POLITE APPLAUSE Kung fu action comedy. Starring Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Mithun Chakraborty, Ranvir Shorey, Gordon Liu and Roger Yuan. Directed by Nikhil Advani. Written by Shridhar Raghavan. In Hindi with English subtitles. (Not rated. 140 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)

    Is the world really ready for Bollywood's first kung fu action comedy? Put another way, will U.S. audiences embrace a movie that features Hindi-speaking actors and actresses who sing, kick and kiss? One thing is certain: To appreciate this scenic spectacle requires a leap of faith that will test even die-hard Bollywood fans.

    Take the silly plot: Two Chinese elders pass through New Delhi, where they see a middle-aged stumblebum named Sidhu who they believe is the reincarnation of a famous Chinese warrior. The buffoonish Sidhu (Bollywood star Akshay Kumar) works as a chef's assistant, but he's so pathetic he can't even slice a potato. The Chinese men use the duplicity of Sidhu's spiritual adviser (Ranvir Shorey) to persuade Sidhu to fly to China, where they want him to nullify an evil gangster (Gordon Liu). Into this fray steps a stunning beauty named Sakhi (model-turned-actress Deepika Padukone) who - like Sidhu - converges on China's Great Wall and the Chinese elders' village. There, Sakhi meets her long-lost twin; Sidhu discovers how inept he really is but (remember, this is Bollywood) meets a master who turns him into a facsimile of Bruce Lee, and the gangster imitates James Bonds' Oddjob, whose derby became an omnipotent weapon.

    Laughs are to be had in "Chandni Chowk to China," but they're often based on absurdity (as when Sakhi wears an ankle device that turns people into super dancers) or slapstick (as when Sidhu's boss kicks him across the Delhi skyline, into a wedding ceremony) or facile twists (as when Sidhu believes that a Hindu deity appears on a potato). Tender moments also abound in absurd and caricatured ways.

    As for the kung fu, well, that's the best part. Seeing Padukone (who also portrays Sakhi's twin) lacerate menacing pursuers with her feet and hands - especially against the aural backdrop of Bollywood beats - is a sight to behold. So is the transformation of Kumar's character from a mental and physical lightweight into a fists-of-fury Zen master. Their maneuvers were choreographed by Huen Chiu-Ku, the stunt director who has worked with Jet Li and who helped arrange the martial-arts scenes in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Matrix," and other films.

    Bollywood movies are known for their elaborate musical numbers, and "Chandni Chowk to China" certainly has its share of uplifting songs, which fit in nicely. The final puzzle piece that helps rescue "Chandni Chowk to China" is the narrator's voice, a booming God-like projection that sets the tempo for a feature that is ultimately a benign bout of Bollywood entertainment.

    The name "Chandni Chowk" refers to the historic (and chaotic) Delhi district where Kumar grew up in real life. Turns out Kumar was also a chef before becoming one of Bollywood's biggest celebrities. Knowing these facts isn't crucial to appreciating the silliness that anchors this film. More important is to be in a silly mood yourself. Without that - without a complete suspension of disbelief - "Chandni Chowk to China" is a drag to sit through.

    -- Advisory: Violence.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #18
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    This was a total guilty pleasure for me...

    ...but I'm doubtful that most of you will like it. For most non-Indians, Bollywood is an acquired taste.

    For Bollywood fans, it's another fun romp. I saw it at Naz cinema, an Indian multiplex where you can get good samosas with spicy chutney and decent tea at the snack bar. I was the only non-Indian, much to the amusement of my neighbors, who asked me if I understood Hindi. They also asked me how I was liking it during intermission and shared popcorn. The older Indian lady with the warmest grin said proudly "Let's see Hollywood make a movie like that!" after to me.

    You really got to see Bollywood with an Indian audience to *get* it. These are family events. There were kids and babies in the audience at the 10Pm showing, which given the length of CC2C, didn't let out until 1 AM. Indians whistle and cheer when the stars first appear. They stand up and shout approval when the film's moral is declared - surely something about true love, familial loyalty, respecting tradition, honoring your word and/or patriotism. Moreover, they laugh hysterically at anything over-the-top, especially the scenes played for the heartstrings. The tearful interludes aren't supposed to be serious, despite some fine performances and well-overlaid plot devices. Those are totally meant to be funny. In one totally preposterous romantic flying scene, the audience reacted with 'oohs' first because it was so saccarin and should have been totally predictable given the foreshadowing and then laughter at how totally absurd it was. Ashkay plays like a Ben Stiller character who looks like Borat with a goofy mustache and then transforms into George Clooney after his kung fu enlightenment. It's a fair display of dramatic range. The film references James Bond (or Askhay's own Indian version Khiladi), classic Bollywood and Ashkay's own hits. Ranvir Shorey kept reminding me of a young Nic Cage. Roger Yuan is the Mako of the new millennium. Ironically, the dance numbers were fairly lackluster, played mostly for laughs, but I confess, I'm still humming the theme song.

    As a kung fu movie, it's painfully in the wake of Kung Fu Hustle, to the point of homage in many early scenes. But it's not as rapid-fire absurd as KFH, muddled with an extra hour's worth of Bollywood sentimentality. Gordon Liu is relentless in his portrayal of Hojo. It's a good to see him in action in such a strange masala mix. He's so still got it. Deepika comes from a pro-badminton family and had the opportunity to turn pro, so she has the quick reflexes to handle her scenes and the good looks that make us overlook the mediocrity of her fights; still, she's better than Charlie's Angels or D.O.A. Ashkay was a former martial arts teacher, is in great shape and has a decent roundhouse. Who can fault him for wanting to fight Liu, the Master Killer himself? It's reminicent of Lee wanted to fight Shek Kin in ETD. Of course, Ashkay's no match for Liu, so they default to a lot of wire work and CGI. Even in the Good, Bad, Ugly pre-final-fight eye duel stare down, Liu trounces Ashkay with eyes that have stared down a hundred such matches before - to his credit because Indian stars really work their eyes more than anything else, I'd venture. The choreography is pretty par for the course in cinema nowadays - lots of wires, lots or dramatic cinematography, fair choroegraphy overall. And still, there are some fight moments that are almost fresh. If you're a follower of the genre, it's worth checking out.

    As an American release, I doubt it will do well. It's too long, too odd, and will be taken too seriously by those who have no foundation in Bollywood. I'm glad to see it get a large release, but I think it will put most Americans off of future ventures in this direction, if there are any.

    As a Chinese release, it might work. The Chinese actually speak Chinese and there's a lot of narration that could easily be swapped into Chinese. They just need to change that and the narration, which would be easy switches, much easier than trying to get U.S. audiences to sit still for 2 1/2 hours. That's the key in CC2C's success. It can tank here in the states, but if it does well in India and in China, a trend will follow.

    If you see it, see it with an Indian audience if you can. There will be moments when everything seems really serious, sad, or poignant - some crazy soul baring moment where the actor really starts to deliver - and the audience will start laughing uproariously, and you'll realize that it's just meant to be entertaining.

    And be sure to get the mint chutney on the samosas.
    Gene Ching
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  4. #19
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    And speaking of the Asian take on this...

    Here's a review from Singapore
    Sunday January 18, 2009
    Kumar the kungfu fighter
    By JASMINE TEO

    BOLLYWOOD star Akshay Kumar has a personal connection with his latest Hollywood-backed film, Chandni Chowk to China.

    For starters, the movie is based loosely on his life. He plays Sidhu, a streetside hawker from Chandni Chowk in Delhi who goes to China to learn martial arts.

    In real life, Kumar, a martial arts nut, went to Bangkok to learn muay thai. This was after he had obtained a black belt in taekwondo in India.

    “I could not afford to go to China, Singapore or Hong Kong. Bangkok was the only place I could go to learn martial arts,” he said over the telephone from London last Sunday, before he was due to attend the movie premiere.
    Akshay Kumar with Deepika Padukone and director Nikhil Advani promoting their film Chandni Chowk to China in New York City on Jan 8. The movie opened on more than 125 screens in the United States and Canada – the largest Bollywood release in North America, according to Warner Bros. – Reuters

    That was more than 20 years ago and he had to earn his keep as a waiter to fulfil his dreams of learning muay thai. The 41-year-old has come a long way since and his visits to Bangkok these days occur in a far more glamorous context.

    Chandni Chowk was shot partly in Bangkok, with the rest of the principal photography taking place in China and India.

    The movie is about the madcap adventures of a simpleton called Sidhu who is mistaken by two Chinese men as the reincarnation of Chinese hero Liu Sheng.

    Sidhu’s opportunistic friend and translator Chopstick (Ranvir Shorey) tricks him into believing that they must make a trip to China. There, Sidhu comes face to face with a vicious village gangster, Hojo (Gordon Liu).

    This is Hollywood’s second attempt at breaking into the profitable Bollywood market.

    The first Hollywood-backed Bollywood production was the Hindi musical, Saawariya (2007). Backed by Sony Pictures, it earned about US$15mil (RM52.5mil) in 13 countries, according to reports by Variety Asia.

    Chandni Chowk has already encountered its first bump on the road, as the Chinese government has denied it a theatrical release in China.

    Kumar says he will “keep his fingers crossed that things will eventually work out”. But he is grateful and enthusiastic about his first brush with Hollywood and China.

    The international cast and crew involved in the production, helmed by director Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Na Ho), offered plenty of lessons in cultural differences.

    Recalled Kumar of a shoot at the Great Wall of China: “It was supposed to be a 15-day job. But the Chinese cast and crew worked very hard, working 14 to 17 hours a day and we managed to complete it in seven days.”

    In the movie, he also spars with veteran Chinese action stars such as Roger Yuan and Gordon Liu in scenes choreographed by stunt co-ordinator Dee Dee Ku, who has worked on movies such as Kill Bill Vol.1 and Vol.2 (2003 and 2004) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004).

    “I thought I knew martial arts until I met these Chinese dudes and then I realised how slow I was. I had to learn it all over again,” he said.

    Asked if he considered this movie his ticket to Hollywood, the modest Kumar said: “Let me work on promoting this film first and then I’ll think about Hollywood.” – The Straits Times, Singapore / Asia News Network
    Gene Ching
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  5. #20
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    Great review, Gene.
    I got a chance to see it today; it's only playing at one theater here. The audience was sparce due to it was an early show (though I was the only non-Indian in the theater).

    It took me a while to warm up to this film and to Ashkay's character, Sidhu. In fact, not until after the first half-hour did I start getting into it. His getting kicked in the butt and being sent to the stratosphere was looking way too close to Kung Fu Hustle vs. Borat. It's definitely a niche film that won't appeal to most Americans, IMO. But the movie gets better as it goes along. Plus, Deepika is smokin' hot!

    It's good to see Gordon Liu still going strong, and I thought he got to look better here than he has in any recent films (either Kill Bill film, or Drunken Monkey). He definitely has more screen time and chances to act.

    The action, including the slapstick kung fu, isn't something that hasn't been seen before. Once Ashkay's character begins to settle down somewhat from the ultra-overacting in the first part, he adds a bit of uniqueness to the action. And Roger Yuan was really good as his teacher. I think this movie has more emphasis on, and longer kung fu training sequences, than any recent movies. I actually ended up liking this film more than I did Forbidden Kingdom.

    This is the first full Hindi film I've seen in like 20 years, and was a bit surprised. And I was expecting dance numbers to break out at silly moments, but in this movie they seemed smoothly inserted into the story (except the ridiculous scene with the dancing devices on Ashkay's feet). I sure wouldn't mind seeing more of Deepika Padukone.

  6. #21
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    33 crores

    I have no idea how many crores constitutes a Bollywood blockbuster...
    CC2C grosses 33 crores from India
    Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 14:51 [IST]
    By: Abid, Glamsham

    The initial results are out and the producers of the first major release of 2009, Chandni Chowk To China, have declared that the Nikhil Advani directed Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Gordan Liu and Ranvir Shorey starrer has grossed a decent 33 crores from India, during its first weekend, inclusive of the Thursday previews.

    While that may not be something extra-ordinary, but the fact that Chandni Chowk To China is just about lagging the top 5 weekend openers of the last one year or so, may well be an encouraging factor for the producers Warner Bros. And the reason for the optimism is also due to the fact that the list of major weekend grossers from India include names such as Ghajini, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Singh Is Kinng, Om Shanti Om and Race. In fact, Warner Bros India's director sales, Neeraj Goswami says that he is happy with the weekend numbers and expressed confidence that the movie will do good business during the full week.

    Meanwhile Chandni Chowk To China has an estimated gross of $700,000 from the US and also an actual gross of $117,339 to show from Australia. Here's wishing that despite negative reviews and mixed word-of-mouth, Chandni Chowk To China manages to impress during the weekdays.
    Deepika could beat me. I would allow that.
    I hope Deepika does not beat me: Akki

    Action hero Akshay Kumar says he helped co-star Deepika Padukone match his action skills in their forthcoming film "Chandni Chowk To China" but made sure she came "second best" to him.

    "She (Deepika) once said she wants to be the female Akshay. I hope she doesn't beat me. She has done a good job in the film and I helped her here and there. That way I made sure she always came out second best to me," Akshay told IANS in an email interview.

    Though Akshay was slightly apprehensive in helping Deepika considering "how good women are at picking up skills", he was quite sure he wouldn't be "outshone" by his leading lady.

    Chandni Chowk To China, slated to release on Friday, features the two actors in a story of an Indian cook, Sidhu, played by Akshay, who goes to China and is mistaken for a martial arts expert.

    The film is apparently based partly on Akshay's own life as he was also born in Chandni Chowk in Delhi and grew up to go to Bangkok to work as a chef.

    About his character in the film, he said: "I love my character. It's so much like me. Come to think of it, Sidhu is a man I was once in Bangkok. Though the purpose of the journey is different but the drama is definitely the same. I have fought as many villains in this movie as I have in my career."

    Chandni Chowk... is being talked about for its aggressive promotional activities as well as for the association of international names like renowned Chinese actor Gordon Liu and action choreographer Dee Dee Ku.

    For Akshay, training under Ku, who has worked for films like Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Matrix among others, was like "squeezing blood from a stone".

    "He is super quick. Whenever he would have crazy stunt ideas, one couldn't figure if he was serious or joking. He is incredible in his field. And I trusted him with my life.

    "If I would have met him before, my life would have been different. He has only worked with the best. So pleasing him was like squeezing blood from a stone. When he used to say 'Akshay the take is okay', that used to be a huge compliment coming from him," he said.

    Sharing screen space with Gordon Liu was like a childhood dream come true for the actor.

    "You know how fans react when they see Aamir Khan and how they run behind him. That's how I see Gordon Liu. I have admired him and his martial arts since the beginning. It was superb working with him," said Akshay.

    Chandni Chowk... also holds the credit of being the first Indian film to be shot at the Great Wall of China.

    "We had a fabulous experience shooting at the legendary monument of the world - the Great Wall of China. It was spiritually breathtaking and probably the highlight of our shoot," he shared.

    A part of the film has also been shot in Chandni Chowk. Akshay has a lot of fond memories of the popular market place.

    "Shooting in Chandni Chowk was a unique experience. I was born there. I thought it was sheer madness to shoot there in the narrow lanes but people there were overwhelming. I am an expert regarding the food available there so I used to treat the unit of the film to the best delicacies there," he said.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  7. #22
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    33 crores is low apparently

    Those kids that shared their popcorn with me when I saw it said that the Ashkay flick to see is Singh is Kinng.
    Chandni Chowk to China crosses Rs 33 cr at local box office
    20 Jan 2009, 0135 hrs IST, Amit Sharma & Meenakshi Verma Ambwani, ET Bureau

    NEW DELHI: Akshay Kumar-starrer Chandni
    Chowk to China has earned Rs 33 crore in the first three days of its release at the domestic box office, Rs 12 crore less than what the previous Akshay Kumar film, Singh is Kinng, made in its opening weekend.

    Co-producer Warner Brothers expects the film to earn Rs 100 crore, including ticket revenues from overseas markets, two top executives in Warner Brothers said. The movie has been produced by Warner Brothers and Ramesh Sippy.

    Chandni Chowk To China was reportedly made at a cost of over Rs 80 crore, including marketing expenses. The film got the widest release for a Bollywood film, releasing in over 135 screens in more than 50 markets in North America. It is released with 1,400 prints, globally.

    But multiplex operators said that they witnessed a dip in occupancy levels and advanced bookings by Monday.

    "The movie is comparable to SRK’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, but cannot be compared with the success of Singh is Kinng and Ghajini at the domestic box office," said a senior executive with a leading cinema chain.

    National Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors president Shashank Raizada said that the producers may have earned Rs 33 crore in revenues. "There are minimum guarantees that distributors take from some cinemas. Also, the film did decent business in the past weekend, with 80-90% occupancies in most cinemas."

    Last year, Singh is Kinng earned an estimated Rs 45 crore on the domestic box office in the opening weekend, while Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi made an estimated Rs 60 crore in the first three days worldwide.

    Post-release, Chandni Chowk to China received criticism for weak storyline. The film is pegged as Bollywood’s first Kung Fu comedy and was also the first Indian film to be shot at the Great Wall of China.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #23
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    gobi manchurian?

    There used to be this Indian restaurant nearby that I liked that did some Chinese fusion dishes. It was a mom & pop kind of place. I was sorry when it closed. They made this odd fish curry noodle dish that was scrumptious and they had a big screen TV that constantly played Bollywood music vids.
    Akshay Kumar
    West by Way of East: Chandni Chowk to China
    By Angilee Shah
    AsiaMedia Contributing Writer

    A lot is riding on Warner Brothers' culture crash Chandni Chowk to China. When the dust and incense clears, the surprise is that everyone leaves unscathed.

    Akshay Kumar's last trip west was in the 2007 Bollywood hit Namastey London. He played the provincial but lovable Punjabi boy, Arjun, who eventually won the heart of his British Indian leading lady with his desi values and pride. The movie did very well overseas, making a particular impact in the U.K. and U.S.

    Less than two years later, his globetrotting is taking a different turn. This time, Kumar's road west goes through China. Warner Bros. co-produced its first Hindi film, Chandni Chowk to China, and released it to 131 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Jan. 16. The story is similar to Namastey's. Kumar plays a silly and superstitious vegetable cutter from the famous Delhi market, Sidhu, who wins the heart of the glamorous heroine Sakhi (Deepika Padukone who made her debut in Om Shanti Om). Except this time, he does it by learning kung fu.

    Gordon Liu, most famous for his role as a martial arts monk in The 36th Chambers of Shaolin, is cast as the villain, Hojo, a vicious boss who terrorizes a village by killing people with his hat. The villagers believe that Sidhu is the reincarnation of the mythological warrior Liu Sheng, and bring him to China to battle Hojo. At the same time, Sakhi discovers that Hojo abducted her long-lost twin sister, Meow Meow (also played by Padukone), and that her Chinese father, who becomes Sidhu's kung fu master, is still alive. In short, the plot is an indulgent combination of every slapstick storyline screenwriter Shridhar Raghavan and producer Ramesh Sippy could think of.

    But the plot of 168-minute comedy is not really its driving force. CC2C -- Bollywood fans lovingly abbreviate the titles of movies -- capitalizes on a growing interest in the over-the-top drama and dance of Bollywood and the universal truth that every great movie has a kung fu training sequence. But the potential for disaster was huge. For how often India and China are put together in sentences about globalization and growing economies, most people in both countries know surprisingly little about each others' lives. So far, India's most significant pop culture connection with China is gobi manchurian, the ubiquitous Chinese dish of India that isn't actually Chinese. So the fact that the CC2C movie poster -- which was created before the film -- features Kumar wearing a straw paddy field hat in front of a rising red sun did not bode well for China enthusiasts looking for a new perspective on the far far east. CC2C is Bollywood's first foray into China, but it is not a deep reflection on Chinese-Indian relations. Moviegoers who approach it that way won't enjoy CC2C any more than they would gobi manchurian.

    Still, CC2C paints a decent portrait of Indian people's day-to-day relationship with their East Asian neighbors: Martial arts are cool, China makes a lot of electronic goods (in this film, they mass produce translating earpieces and flying umbrellas) and the Great Wall is a really big tourist attraction. Then it digs a bit deeper, calling on Wong Kar-Wai-esque Hong Kong glamour (which could be an excuse to put Padukone in a qipao) and creating the Bollywood version of a Forbidden City mega-scene. And for all of the film's unabashed stereotyping of Chinese villagers and kung fu masters, it is surprisingly not insulting. Even Sidhu is a parody, with his pencil thin mustache and devotion to a potato that looks like the Hindu god Ganesha, and though there is a character named Chopsticks (Ranvir Shorey), he is an Indian guru hack. CC2C is self-aware of its absurdity, which makes its absurdity forgiveable. And often very entertaining, even if it is predictable and long-winded. (For the abridged version, see the CC2C YouTube channel).

    CC2C had a disappointing $650,000 opening in North America; Kumar's last film released here, Singh is Kinng, took in $1 million. Notwithstanding the the spectacle of Bollywood going to China, maybe the best way west is still through Snoop Dogg.

    Date Posted: 1/23/2009
    Gene Ching
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  9. #24
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    I wonder if part of the film's disappointing take is (probably) due to very limited release. In San Diego, the only theater it played was at one Ultrastar multi-plex theater, and it only got a very small, out-of-the-way review in the newspaper and no picture ad in the movie section. If I wasn't aware of it through the forums, and happened to see the film's title listed at that one theater, it would not have registered with me as something I'd want to see. And I seriously doubt it got much if any middle-America release.

  10. #25
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    yeah theatres count big time. more theaters=more money. plus it was really advertised to hard. i dont remember seeing one commercial spot for it. but then again look at slum dog millionaire. there are lines and lines to see this film and it doesnt have a wide release. i wouldnt call this a bollywood film, in terms of the singing and dancing although(spoiler!!!) after the all the crazy drama in the film the two main characters just bust out into bollywood dancing at the end out of nowhere where made me laugh my ass off

  11. #26
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    I didn't see that one coming...

    Nepal banned CC2C.

    I think the film had a disappointing take because it was too weird. That's one of the things I really liked about it and one of the reasons why I'm following the story of it. Bollywood and Kung Fu films are two very stereotyped genres. To try to do both in one film is a lot. Instead of grabbing fans of both genres, it lost fans of each.

    Nepal government bans Chandni Chowk To China
    Story By: MANISHA PRADHAN SINGH updated on: 27/01/09

    MUMBAI: As if the bad fate of Chandni Chowk To China at the box office was not enough, the film has been banned in Nepal.

    The Nepal Government on 22 January banned the screening of the film, saying the film had wrongly mentioned India as the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

    Jai Nepal Cinema Hall in Katmandu, where the film was being screened had to stop the screening after receiving directives from the government. The theatre then began screening Ghajjini instead. The protestors on Wednesday had forcibly removed the film posters from the hall and ticket money was returned to the audiences.

    The cabinet meeting held at Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's office also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take diplomatic initiatives and appeal to nations to screen the movie only after deleting the portion that wrongly mentions India as the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

    Nepal minister for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur Mahara said, "The cabinet has asked the Foreign Ministry to write to the Indian government to point out that the movie had mentioned India instead of Nepal as Buddha's birthplace."

    The decision came after cine artists, students and youth across the country resorted to protests against the movie. The youth staged a demonstration near the Indian Embassy in the capital on 23 January.

    On questioning about the incident, CC2C producer Rohan Sippy said, "Yes I have read about the incident but I have not spoken to anyone there as yet. We have not done anything intentionally."

    Reports indicate that Ramesh Sippy apologised to Nepalis on behalf of the entire unit and regretted that sentiments of Nepalis were hurt even though it was not intended.

    It has also been reported that Nepal foreign minister Upendra Yadav wrote a letter to the Indian government requesting not to allow the screening of the film without removing or deleting the scenes stating India as the birth place of lord Buddha.

    When asked whether he would delete the said scene from the film Rohan said, "The film is in the distributor's hand now so it is up to them to take the decision."
    'Chandni Chowk...' gaffe fuels demand for 'Greater Nepal'
    27 Jan 2009, 1249 hrs

    KATHMANDU: The anti-Indian sentiments triggered by banned Bollywood film "Chandni Chowk to China" has stoked fresh demands for the recovery of
    the land acceded to India by Nepal nearly two centuries ago.

    On Monday, as India celebrated its 60th Republic Day, students staged a noisy protest in front of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, asking for the restoration of "Greater Nepal".

    Led by a Nepali literature professor, Phanindra Nepal, the Unified Nepal National Front is asking India and Britain to separate certain areas from four Indian states and return them to Nepal since they were part of Nepal's territory in the 19th century.

    "If our demand is not heeded now, one day, it is going to become an even bigger issue in India than Kashmir," the 58-year-old Nepali told IANS. "I have visited these areas and found that Nepalis of Indian origin as well as Nepalis forced to seek menial jobs in India support the demand."

    The roots of the movement for a "Greater Nepal" go back to the 19th century when Nepal fought a series of grim battles with the British, who had turned their eyes towards the Himalayan kingdom after colonising India.

    After several exhausting Anglo-Nepalese Wars, Nepal narrowly averted conquest by agreeing to sign a treaty that however stripped it of almost one-third of its territory.

    The infamous Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816 saw Nepal concede territory in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Siliguri which lie in India's West Bengal
    state, and territory that now lies in India's Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.

    Nepal also lost tracts of fertile land in its southern Terai plains but recovered that from the British later for helping the East India Company in 1857 to put down the Indian rebellion against the colonial rulers.

    Now, the Front is seeking to get back the conceded territory that is still part of India.

    "This is a just and legitimate demand," says Nepal. "In 1950, an independent India signed a treaty of peace and friendship with Nepal and both sides agreed that the earlier bilateral pacts signed during the British rule stood scrapped.

    "Therefore, the Sugauli Treaty is now invalid and India has no further rights to the ceded Nepali territory."

    Last year, the Front unveiled a new map of Nepal, depicting the Himalayan republic with the addition of the land lying in India. It also sent a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, pointing out that Britain also has the responsibility of resolving the dispute since it was party to it.

    Nepal says that India has a precedent of returning ceded territory.

    "The Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949 returned to Bhutan a 32 sq km strip of land known as Diwangiri," it says.

    Nepal feels the demand would become a mass movement once Nepalis realise how they would benefit from it.

    "Nepal would get back about 100,000 sq km," he says. "It will extend Nepal's borders till Bhutan and Bangladesh.

    "This means Nepal will no longer be bound by India or dependent on it for trade."

    The Front is trying to cash in on the fresh anti-Indian feeling that arose after the Bollywood film "Chandni Chowk to China" wrongly stated that the Buddha was born in India, instead of Nepal.

    Monday's rally called the film an attack on Nepal's sovereignty and underlined the need for a Greater Nepal.
    The Nepal reference went completely by me. I did notice that the Buddha statue depicted in the film was more in the Indian style than in the Chinese style.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,946

    Here's an odd ttt

    Good for Akshay.
    Kung Fu Pandas
    Akshay Kumar has decided to sponsor martial-arts education for a deserving few in China and Japan. Students will be short-listed by a team of world-class referees, judges and coaches for this sponsorship which will also give the chosen few a chance to participate in the Olympics. Ever thought of sponsoring students in India, Akshay? In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t exactly amassing medals at the Olympics.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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